Pray with me

 

There is a need to pray specifically this weekend. The Bible teaches us that Jesus has disarmed all the powers and principalities and powers. He has already defeated them. This is the truth that we stand on! We fight in prayer knowing that He is Jehovah Nissi our victory banner. As believers we start our faith battles from the position of victory by faith alone, in Christ alone through faith alone. He is our righteousness. 

Ephesians 6:18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—

Colossians 2:15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

Father, In Your mighty name we pray for people all over this world. We stand knowing there is nothing we can do  but except Your free gift of salvation and follow You with our whole heart. Father we pray in Your mighty name that you would stop the plans of evil men. We ask a hedge of protection over our families, our churches, our neighborhoods. We pray that  You protect Your people all over this world.  Father we ask a special hedge of protection over every child, the born and unborn alike. We pray for each and every pet that you would keep them safe. Where there is wicked intentions we pray that you flood those places with dysfunction. Let equipment fail, let communications be confused. We pray that You guide our leaders with Your hands and we pray that You give them godly wisdom. We pray that lives are changed, souls are saved. We pray that our pastors would speak in the power and demonstration of the Spirit and in the meekness of wisdom. We pray for those who are traveling that You grant them traveling mercies. We ask for healing for the sick, memories to be restored and needs to be met. Send Your mighty angels wherever they are needed. Please comfort those who are hurting, being persecuted, or broken hearted. We pray for the peace of Jerusalem  And we pray you come quickly Lord Jesus! Father we thank You because we know that You love to show Yourself mighty on behalf of those who love you. We thank You for doing these things in the mighty and matchless name of Jesus Amen!

Word of encouragement

 A test might just be a testimony that isn't yet complete. Keep trusting, keep persevering. Don't grow weary in well doing. Jesus sees your tears and your fears. He hears your cries and your frustration. His name is Jehovah Jireh. He will see to it! Whoever is reading this my prayer for you is that the Lord, great and mighty will show Himself in a mighty way to encourage and strengthen you. I pray that He will keep you pure through this trial and make you wise in the knowledge of His will. He will do it. Now thank Him for it. He is trustworthy! He is Jehovah Rapha our healer. I pray that He will use the sword of the Spirit to tear down and rip away thorny thoughts and strongholds. He is your redeemer and your shepherd. Follow Him closely. Get quiet before Him and listen for that still, small voice.

Fully Loaded Hope Psalms 27:14

 

Psalm 27:14 Wait on the LORD; 

Be of good courage, 

And He shall strengthen your heart; 

Wait, I say on the LORD!

The word “wait” in Hebrew is qava. it is an expectant, hope filled waiting.  It is the same word used in Genesis 1:9 and has the implication of gathering. Think about that for a moment. The waters were gathered but empty. The fish weren’t there yet but they would be! All in God’s timing. 

We used to use the term “expecting” when a woman was pregnant. I want my hope to be pregnant with all of the goodness of God. Pregnancies take time, they change the body and carry the weight of a living growing person. Hebrews 4:12 says that the word of God is alive and powerful.

Jesus is the word and if He is in you, He is the hope of glory (Col 1:27) When we fill our lives with His word because we love Him we can reflect Him better. It's not our goodness, it's His.

I am always so encouraged as I read the Bible because I see these imperfect people like me, yet they were used by Him. Every day we can see Him at work.

Let me encourage you to walk with Jesus every day. Spend time with Him. He loves you. He wants to talk to you. I put a lot of emphasis on study but I want to make something clear. We don't study to earn anything. We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone. Knowledge is the tool the Holy Spirit uses to empower you. Jesus wants to write the word on your heart so you can learn to understand Him. He loves you no matter what. Abiding in the vine is constant fellowship. When we pray, He listens when we read the Bible we listen to Him. That's relationship!

The joy of the Lord is your strength. Jeremiah said, "Your words were found and I did eat them and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart."

Fruit From The Root Part 2

 

In honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day I wanted to honor the Bible. The Bible is where we get our faith from and our Judeo-Christian values from. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. 

I have heard it said by someone that they would take the "Christian" values but leave off the "Judeo" part. That is ludicrous. It is deception and it is foolish. Pride goes before a fall and a haughty spirit before destruction.

Look what Paul said.

Israel’s Rejection Not Final

11 I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their [b]fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. 12 Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness!

13 For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, 14 if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save some of them. 15 For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?

16 For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. 17 And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and [d]fatness of the olive tree, 18 do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.

19 You will say then, “Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.” 20 Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. 22 Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, [e]goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. 23 And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?

25 For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own [f]opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And so all Israel will be [g]saved, as it is written:

“The Deliverer will come out of Zion,

And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;

27 For this is My covenant with them,

When I take away their sins.”

28 Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. 29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 30 For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience, 31 even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy. 32 For God has [h]committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all.

33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!

34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord?

Or who has become His counselor?”

35 “Or who has first given to Him

And it shall be repaid to him?”

36 For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.

This section is from Fruit from the root part 1

It takes a long time for  an apple tree to grow and bear fruit. It has to grow a really good root system. That's kind of like spiritual life. Some people have big instant transformation. Everyone has joy even if it takes a while for that to become consistent. But the other things like peace and faithfulness and goodness, sometimes those take longer. It did for me. Think of being born again as the seed of the Word.  If you claim the name of Christ but you don't have any spiritual appetite, you may not be saved.  You could be in deception. As with natural life, so with spiritual. I am beating this drum because somebody reading this needs to consider very carefully why there is no hunger. 

Triumphal Entry

 

This is passion week and I saw something in the triumphal entry passage that I never really gave much thought to but seems really relevant.  I never paid attention to the fact that there were two animals a colt and his mother. In Mark 11:2 we learn that the little colt had never been ridden before. Think about that for a minute. Think about the surroundings and what was going on. All of these arrangements were to fulfill prophecy. (Zechariah 9:9) How long ago was that prophecy written and yet Jesus knew exactly where those animals were and that they would be there to serve His purpose? That's pretty incredible in itself but also Jesus had never come out publicly as Messiah. This time He was making a humble statement but a very important one. And it was a major feast.. the feast of Passover so there were many, many people around. It would have been noisy and very busy.  Jesus could have just taken one animal but He took a young one and his mother. That little colt hadn't been ridden. He wasn't trained to carry anyone.  I've never tried to ride a donkey or a horse that wasn't trained, let alone in a huge, noisy crowd of people. 

It makes me also think about not only Jesus is my savior but He is also the Prince of Peace and I read about that too in Judges  where He is called Jehovah Shalom.  (Judges 7:23)

When we think of peace we may think of the absence of conflict or even a calm serenity and that is true but shalom  has much more meaning. It means whole, sound, complete, perfect peace. 

Jesus was so kind even to that little donkey. But that makes me think of Jesus saying, "Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me for I am meek and lowly and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. (Matthew 11:29-30)

Often times we go through trials and they feel so heavy. They are all filtered by the Father. He allows them not to be mean to us but to shape us into His image. He will also comfort us with the Holy Spirit and people. He doesn't only want to save our souls, though that would have been enough. He wants us to give us rest.

He has comforted me so many times. I hope this blessed you and gave you some comfort too.

Matthew 21:1-11

The Triumphal Entry

21 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus( sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. 3 And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.”

4 All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:

5 “Tell the daughter of Zion,

‘Behold, your King is coming to you,

Lowly, and sitting on a donkey,

A colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ”

6 So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. 8 And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:

“Hosanna to the Son of David!

‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’

Hosanna in the highest!”

10 And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?”

11 So the multitudes said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.”

Do you buy it? Proverbs 23:23

 

Proverbs 23:23 Buy the truth and do not sell it. Also wisdom,  and instruction and understanding.  I just noticed something here. It doesn't say buy the truth for anybody else. My heart beats with a passion that has to be restrained by the Holy Spirit.  I want so badly for others to be in the word of God but I just realized I can't buy it for anybody else and neither can you. 

Think about the old adage,  "You can lead a horse to water but you can not make him drink it."  Today  I am learning that sadly many people today do not want to read the Bible. But I am making the choice to turn that burden over to the Lord.  I can't buy the truth for my family or my friends but I can buy it for myself. So can you. That way when we are asked why we have joy in impossible situations we will have the answer.  

Jesus cautioned us about casting pearls before pigs. Pigs will eat anything and so will goats. Sheep... not so much. They're picky eaters.  They know their shepherd's voice.  He says don't let your heart be troubled, you believe in God believe also in Me.  (John 14:1)  Notice it's your heart He doesn't want troubled because you are the one who believes. Not them. Not the one's you are worried about. Stop fretting. Turn them over to Jesus and leave them alone.  He loves them more than you do. He wants them in His word more than you do. Our fretting will not help.  We can and should pray for our family and friends with thanksgiving because we know He is not willing that any should perish. 

Friends, I think we are living in the Laodicean church age. You can find out more about that church in Revelation chapter 3. That was the compromised church. It was that same church that Jesus counselled to buy gold that was tried in the fire.  We should all ask the Lord this question, " Am I compromising and if so where"? That's intimacy and we can't follow Jesus without it!

We are all spending, spending and spending. We spend our time, our attention and our money. Look what Jesus said:

 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:21)

Father please send the convicting power of the Holy Spirit on us so that we may not be compromised and we will follow You in Spirit and in Truth!

This Fool's Hope Proverbs 26:12

 

Proverbs 26:12 Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him. 

We all have the potential to be a fool. The best prevention is prayer. When we fail to pray it's usually :because we are either in a hurry or because we don't see the need for it. Jeremiah 17:9 tells us that the heart is exceedingly wicked and deceitful above all else. We can't walk in the Spirit without prayer! By asking the Lord's direction in all that we do we are getting ourselves aligned with His will. We are in fellowship with Him.  Jesus said if we would abide in Him we would bear much fruit and apart from Him we could do nothing. What did Jesus mean? Did He mean we would literally turn to stone and be incapable of doing anything? No, but what He did mean is that we would not be in fellowship with Him. 

I don't know about you but I don't want to miss out on that fellowship. In His presence is fullness of joy. He is the Prince of Peace. I need Him every day because His sweetness , kindness and gentleness is the only way I can be kind and gentle.