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Just a quick note to let you know I've moved my blog to the following address:

http://www.michellebenthamcreates.com

Please visit me at REDEEMED...RESTORED...RELEASED: One Woman's Story of Living Free to read more about what God is doing in my life and how He is working those things to set me free. Thanks so much for following, visiting, reading all about it and supporting me as you have done so many times these last few years. If you follow my other blogs, the posts from all three of my blogs are going to be transferred to the new digs for one big blog about our journey to restoration and freedom in Christ.
Showing posts with label National Prayer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label National Prayer. Show all posts

Monday, November 10, 2008

The Gift of Understanding

I have had a bit of it. During my tense moments watching the results of last week's elections I sensed in my spirit that God said to me, "Get it all out of your system. You will have to respect him as President." OUCH!

Then I remembered a Scripture God had given me last week before the election. It is a snippet out of 1 Chronicles 28:19 "...the Lord made me understand in writing by His hand upon me..." Oh Glory! Eyes fixed on Jesus, Hearts stayed on His Word, and a Nation stayed by the saving grace of God.

I am reading a book called Releasing the Prophetic Destiny of a Nation a book written by Chuck Pierce and Dutch Sheets. A few years ago they received a call to travel to all 50 states of the nation and pray with intercessors to reveal the destiny of each state. They went to each state twice and this book is the result of that journey. By way of introduction, each man writes a chapter telling how they came to the place where they joined the Lord on this call to travel, prophesy, pray and intercede. In Mr. Pierce's chapter (the second) he includes a quote from Mr. Sheets' book Intercessory Prayer which I felt was just too good not to share it with you today!

"Dutch also says in Intercessory Prayer when discussion Ezekiel 22:
...........God's holiness, integrity, and uncompromising truth prevent Him from simply excusing sin. It must be judged. On the other hand, not only is He holy, but He is also love and His love desires to redeem, to restore, and to show mercy... The passage is clearly saying "While my justice demanded judgment, My love wants forgiveness. Had I been able to find a human to ask Me to spare his people, I could have. It would have allowed Me to show mercy."

In other words, if we do not take our stand, then He ahs to release destruction to bring restoration of His purpose in the earth."

Throughout the Old Testament there is the picture of one or two taking a stand for the multitude. Think of it - Moses interceded on behalf of the nation of Israel when God intended to destroy them for their disobedience.

Daniel stood in prayer with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego for the nation in captivity and for the pagan government that had rule over them. Mordecai and Esther stood for their nation in captivity, Nehemiah stood as well. Over and over again is the picture of one or two standing in the gap for the redemption of many. Will we take that stand?

Stay Focused. Stand on His Word. Pray the Heart of God. Declare the Name of Jesus. And Love them like He does. It is our time and place in history to rise above what we see and speak, live and intercede by faith in every way. Will you stand with me?


Thursday, November 6, 2008

A Call to Fast and Pray

My Sisters, My friends.

As I have been consumed with interceding on behalf of our nation through this past election season, I have had one thing float up to the surface of my heart - the heart to see change, real and lasting change come to this great nation again!

You know it is easy to get sidelined by an election that did not work out the way we anticipated, expected or planned, but the truth is - God had it planned all along and He is doing this to bring about our good and His glory! Let's stand on that, shall we?

Did anyone hear about California? Yes, the same state that is just blue, blue, blue for the Democrats and has the Gay Marriage Capital of the world in San Francisco spoke out on Tuesday and voted to define marriage in California as between a Man and a Woman.

Did you hear about South Dakota? They sought to outlaw all abortions with a ballot amendment to their state constitution. That amendment failed by some 39,000 or so votes, but THINK of it. It made it to the polls. The amendment would have made all abortions except those in the case of rape, incest and when the woman's life is at risk illegal.

Did you hear about Colorado? They sought to define a person as being alive from the time of "fertilization" which would effectively outlaw abortion in the state. The measure was defeated handly as approval came out in the tens of thousands, and disapproval of the amendment came out in the hundreds of thousands.

Did you hear that the U. S. Senate did not get a filibuster proof majority? While they did gain more seats and will most likely easily pass their sponsored legislation and block any legislation from the right. The idea of a fully governed United States from the Democratic side of the aisle may be a welcome reality check. Should we be praying for the decisions to come? ABSOLUTELY.

After all, what will the 44th President's legacy be if he cannot bring the likes of Pelosi and Reed in off the left fringe wall. I am not being critical here. But in the summer I was watching C-Span as a session of the House of Representatives was under way. (I know, I know. I am a bit of a political junkie.) And these members who get paid 100s of thousands of our hard earned tax dollars per year were - and I'm not even kidding - refusing to have open debate on off shore drilling.

As a matter of fact, the vote was to renew some bill having to do with the Chesapeake Bay Waterway and somehow that tied into off shore drilling and renewable energy resources. A distinguished congresswoman from Michigan got up in the middle of her colleagues on the left refusing to talk about off shore drilling and her colleagues on the right demanding a vote be brought to the floor on the issue to bring relief to the voters and taxpayers in this country... and all she had to say was, "Congratulations, Detroit Red Wings on wining the Stanley Cup...." This congratulatory remark went on for at least five and maybe up to ten minutes. The entire remark about THE DETROIT REDWINGS. I mean, nothing wrong with giving a shout out to you home team, but come on... She did nothing to add to the issues brought to the floor.

Nancy Pelosi, the distinguished speaker from California, stood to say that this country was doing something about the energy crisis. The Democratic Legislators in Congress had gotten a measure approved that allowed them to "file suit" against the members of OPEC. In what court would this suit be enforcable? And, these people already don't like us much, they just tolerate us because we tend to fight their wars without charging them for it. Think of it. What is going on up there on Capital Hill anyway?

The most interesting thing said during the entire two hours or so of debate was from a Republican Congressman (whose name escapes me) he went a detailed explanation of why we should teach "Mother Nature" a lesson and go drill up the millions of gallons of oil that seeps up through the ocean floor each year and put an end to the pollution she is causing with her natural phenomenon. I had to laugh out loud. But to be honest - the Republicans were begging the Democrats to do something for the people of this country and the Democrats would only say, not now. If there is truly to be a healing in the body politic it must start with getting rid of the ridiculous and breaching the great divide of "Us vs. Them." Bi-Partisan? We can only pray.

I am praying that the number of new Washington faces is a trend and this nation learns to vote based on job approval and not based on the side of the aisle their candidate sits on. If they are not working for us, they are not working. If you or I showed up at work and did nothing but argue with our co-workers and produce little... We'd be fired. But, these people are living quite well and doing just that. Let's pray that God would give us wisdom to know who is working to make this country a more perfect union and who seeks His will... and Let's pray for the church to rise up and take her place as her voice is heard among the nations.

Can somebody please explain how they decide who gets what electoral votes? People are moving to Texas in droves, but our votes stay the same? How does that work? Okay... I did some research - the votes are assigned to the states based on the census numbers from the most recent census results. IOW: The 2004 and 2008 elections were assigned based on the 2000 census. There is a great website about the electoral college if you are interested that explains the role of the electoral college and the states who require their electors to vote based on the popular vote and those who have no such requirement. May I just say, Texas, New York and Pennsylvania have no law requiring their electors to vote based on the popular vote, but California, Washington and Oregon do. There is no federal mandate requiring electoral voters to vote based on the popular vote it is left to the states to decide how they want their votes counted.

Now that we have had our civics lesson - are you more enlightened as to how someone could win the popular vote and not the electoral vote? I did not understand it until today, but I knew it would be true. For instance, President Elect Obama beat John McCain by more than double the electoral college votes but he did not have double the number of popular votes. I didn't get that until today. President Elect Obama decidely won both the popular and the electoral vote - but that has not always been the case. Anyway... I'm rambling about the political machine.

Just remember, you must vote - it is a responsibility no matter how the electoral votes sort out. We must be heard - and I believe in respectively two and four years, we will have that very opportunity to approve or disapprove of the job that the new administration and congress will do.

Let's agree to pray, and fast as God directs for this nation and stand for what God's Word says as we turn our hearts and our eyes toward Him in the days ahead. God's speed and blessing to you all.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Marching in the tops of the trees...

Do you hear it?
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That rustling in the leaves. (I'll get to that in a minute.)
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Can I just tell you that we had several small earthquakes in North Texas over the weekend? Okay, I know there is a fault line that runs through Texas and I think into the central plains, but the geologists and seismologists have long said there is no reason to worry about the earth shaking that has taken place in other parts of the world because the fissure was minor in comparison to faults in the western coastal regions of North America. I guess they, like the weatherman, have been wrong. Earthquakes. Seriously 911 got calls about people's pictures falling off the walls and no one realized it was an earthquake.
I hear it.
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In 1 Samuel 5 and 1 Chronicles 14... God told King David when the Philistines came against him the first time in this account that he should go out and fight because the Lord was with them. So they went out and fought and the battle was won. The Philistines even left their idols in the valley in their hasty retreat.
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However, the Philistines obviously decided that the Israelites were definitely not going to have the last word. Even though their idols were burning in the valley with the Israelites. I sort of see the camps of David's fighting men warming their hands as those idols burned in their campfires.
So the Philistines amassed another strategy of attack. David again asked the Lord if they should go out and fight... God said, No. Go AROUND the MOUNTAIN and suprise them from behind. So David did, and again the battle was won.
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The one thing God told David is to wait for the marching to be heard in the tops of the trees. WHAT?
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Marching in the tops of trees. Birds on Parade? NO! It was the angels, assembling to do battle. The archangels went out against the fallen angels and preceded David's army in the victory.
As this election season draws to a climax tomorrow - remember one thing. This battle belongs to God - He usually does not fight conventionally. He usually sends out a choir and a trumpet section rather than an army to fight. Tonight, as you go to bed - listen for the angels in heaven asking, "Do we have enough Prayer Coverage?" (From one of Frank Perretti's books, "Piercing the Darkness" or "This Present Darkness.") Pray throughout this night and tomorrow. Don't pray a candidate's name, pray a repentant heart for the condition of this nation, pray for honor, integrity, truth and stewardship to be the heart of the next President of this United States and pray most of all for the man who takes office on January 20th (I am praying until that day) to have a heart devoted and pure before the Lord.
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Do you hear the marching in the tops of the trees? There is a great battle in the heavenlies this night for the future of this nation... PRAY. Do not lose heart my friends. If God be for us, who can be against us? His promises are true. He always preserves a remnant of the faithful and He will never let His people be put to shame. He will restore His favor to this land and no longer allow us to be a reproach to the nations. I'm praying the book of Joel for the elections. God is doing something mighty and it will result in revival. I believe it is true.
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Lord God, be with the hearts of Your people tonight and through the next 24 hours as we watch Your plans and will unfold in this election. I pray for peace, for truth and for most of all Your presence to be felt in every heart. We come before You asking for Clean Hands and a Pure Heart. God let us not turn our hearts to idols, let us not get our eyes fixed on circumstances or people, but seek first Your kingdom and righteousness.
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Lord, over and over I have heard you say - "Trust in Me, My daughter, with all Your heart. Lean not to Your own understanding because My ways are truly higher than your ways and My thoughts are higher than your thoughts... Commit your path to Me and I will make the way straight for you. I love you my child, the righteous have never been forsaken and I will preserve even Your life if You will serve me with all Your heart."
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I hear You saying this to our nation tonight, Lord. I hear You saying the time is coming when You will put the sickle to the harvest of wickedness as the multitudes come before You in the valley of decision. You will then restore and resurrect Your church and Your people. You will pour out Your Spirit on all peoples and the gifts of the Spirit will be made manifest in every life. You did it before Lord, and I believe You will do it again. A double portion restoration will come as You bring in the harvest sewn by our ForeFathers when they included You in every detail of planning this country and every aspect of governing her future. You are bringing in the sheaves for us by sending us the blessing for Latter Rain. I believe in You. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayers tonight. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Monday, September 22, 2008

40 Days of Prayer

Click on the picture above to go to the "I Live Values" website.


"Now, my God, may your eyes be open and your ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place."

2 Chronicles 6:40 (NIV)

Solomon's heart cry to God during his reign as King of Israel.


If you carefully read the Old Testament you will find that most of the times the great movement of God among His people occurred because someone went face down or kneeling before Him in prayer. Read on...


God's response to Solomon's heart cry...

"14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place."

2 Chronicles 7:14-15 (NIV)



The book of James tells us that the prayers of the righteous are prevailing - they avail much - and are effective. We must be faithful to the call upon our nation right now to go face down before God and seek Him in national repentance, national fervor, a national heart cry.


George Barna, founder of the Barna Group, who does extensive research in religious trending both nationally and internationally has the following report posted at his website.


Here are the statistical reports from the Barna Group on Born Again Christians:


In Barna Research Group studies, born again Christians are not defined on the basis of characterizing themselves as "born again" but based upon their answers to two questions. The first is "have you ever made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in your life today?" If the respondent says "yes," then they are asked a follow-up question about life after death. One of the seven perspectives a respondent may choose is "when I die, I will go to Heaven because I have confessed my sins and have accepted Jesus Christ as my savior." Individuals who answer "yes" to the first question and select this statement as their belief about their own salvation are then categorized as "born again."


Beliefs

Compared to 72% of all adults, 92% of born again Christians believe "the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches." (2007)

Three-quarters of born again Christians (74%) believe they "personally have a responsibility to tell other people their religious beliefs" compared to 52% of all adults. (2007)

Nearly all born again Christians (99%) say their religious faith is very important in their life, compared to 87% of all adults. (2007)

Half of born again Christians (46%) agree that Satan is "not a living being but is a symbol of evil." (2007)

37% of born agains believe that if a person is good enough they can earn a place in Heaven. (2007)

26% of born agains agree that "while he lived on earth, Jesus committed sins, like other people," compared to 41% of all adults. (2007)

Born again Christians are more likely than non-born again individuals to accept moral absolutes. Specifically, 36% of born agains said they believe in moral absolutes, compared to just 16% among non-born agains. (2006)


How Many

Looking across the past decade we find the following percentages of born again Christians:

2007 - 42% 2006 - 45% 2005- 40% 2004-38% 2002-40% 2001- 41% 2000- 41% 1999- 40% 1998- 39% 1997- 43% 1996-39% 1995-35% 1994- 36% 1993-36% 1992- 40% 1991- 35%

There are approximately 101 million born again Christians. (2006)

Who

Residents of the South are more likely than average to be classified as born again Christians. More than half of those living in the South (53%) are classified as born agains, compared to 45% of individuals who live in the Midwest, 34% of those living in the West, and 29% of individuals who live in the Northeast. (2007)

Half of all born again adults (50%) are married. (2007)

Protestant church attenders are more than twice as likely than are Catholic church attenders to be born again Christians (61% to 26%, respectively). (2007)

Religious Activities

More than three out of five born agains (62%) have read from the Bible in the past week compared with 42% of all adults. (2007)

59% of born agains attended church in the last week, compared to 43% of all adults. (2007)

Born agains are more likely than the average adult to have volunteered their time to help their church in the past week (32% to 22%, respectively). (2007)

Non-evangelical Born Agains

35% of the adult population is born again, but not evangelical. (2007)

86% are registered to vote. (2007)

65% likelihood of voting, compared to the national average of 67% among registered voters. (2004)

36% are politically conservative. (2007)

35% is associated with the Republican Party, while an even greater percentage is aligned with the Democratic Party 42%. (2007)


So what exactly does this mean? We need to be in prayer. Here's why:


George Barna also reports the following about the Generational Differences that exist in the lives of born again Christians:


The statistics and analysis in this archive come from national surveys conducted by Barna Research.


For more information about generational differences, be sure to check out the related resources and news releases featured on this page. Also, watch for new information to be added to this archive in the months to come.


Definition

Mosaics - those born between 1984 and 2002

Buster - those born between 1965 and 1983

Boomer - those born between 1946 and 1964

Builders - those born between 1927 and 1945

Senior - those born in 1926 and earlier

Activities

Mosaics are less likely than any other generation to volunteer time to their church (12% of Mosaics report volunteering). Conversely, 23% of Busters, 29% of Boomers, 34% of Elders


(Builders and Seniors) have volunteered at a church in the past week. (2006)
Small group participation appears to be positively correlated with age, with 26% of Elders, 24% of Boomers, 19% of Busters and 20% of Mosaics reporting that they participated in a small group in the past week. (2006)

Compared to 60% of Elders who have a "quiet time" during the week, 54% of Boomers, 39% of Busters and 35% of Mosaics do the same. (2006)

33% Mosaics, 43% of Busters, 49% of Boomers, 53% of Elders attend church on a given Sunday. (2006)

In a typical week, 32% of Mosaics, 42% of Busters, 47% of Boomers, 58% of Elders (Builders and Seniors combined) read the Bible. (2006)

Mosaics are the age group least likely than any other age group to pray to God. In a given week, we found that 65% of Mosaics, 82% of Busters, 90% of Boomers, 88% of Elders (Builders and Seniors) report praying to God. (2006)

Faith

Boomers emerge as more likely and Mosaics as less likely than any other generation to be born again (33% of Mosacis, 38% of Busters, 53% of Boomers are born again, compared to 48% of Elders). (2006)

Mosaics are the least likely age group to indicate that faith is a very important part of their life. Only 51% of Mosaics say their faith is very important in their life, compared with 62% of Busters, 73% of Boomers and 79% of Elders. (2006)

61% of Mosaics, 67% of Busters, 77% of Boomers, 74% of Elders believe that God is the all-powerful, all-knowing, perfect creator that rules the world today. (2006)

Self-Descriptions

Busters are more likely than the other generations to be searching for meaning in life: 44% of


Busters compared to 32% of all others are searching for their purpose in life. (2001)

Busters are the generation most likely to feel "too busy." Compared to 53% of Busters who maintain that they are too busy, 49% of Boomers, 32% of Builders and 27% of Seniors feel the same. (2001)

Older individuals are also more likely than younger individuals to describe themselves as a "born again Christian." 49% Seniors and 47% of Builders call themselves born again, compared to 42% of Boomers and 31% of Busters. (2001)

Financial comfort appears to come with age. We found that 38% of Busters say they are personally struggling with finances, compared to the 32% of Boomers, 23% of Builders, and 20% of Seniors. (2001)

Busters are almost twice as likely as are Seniors to indicate that they are stressed out (41% to 22%, respectively). Likewise, 32% of Boomers and 27% of Builders said that "stressed out" is an accurate description of them. (2001)



And when it comes to Goals and Priorities, George Barna's Group found the following information to be the trend:


The statistics and analysis in this archive come from national surveys conducted by Barna Research.


For more information about Americans’ goals and priorities, be sure to check out the related resources and news releases featured on this page. Also, watch for new information to be added to this archive in the months to come.
U.S. adults

44% of adults say that having a satisfying family life is their highest priority in life. (2005)

18% of people said that completely understanding and carrying out the principles of their faith was the highest priority in their lives. (14% of men versus 18% of women) (2005)


We have become a society driven by our wants and desires rather than our faith in the One True God - Yahweh Elohim. The God of the Bible, Maker of heaven and earth. We have traded our status as the most prosperous, God-honoring, free nation in the world to one of a bankrupt (financially and morally), dishonorable, mentally enslaved nation in the free world. We sell our soul for the things of this world - the "American Dream" they call it - of the bigger better house, the bigger better car, the bigger better job, the bigger better education, and more importantly for the Washington D. C. crowd the "Bigger is Better Government." The church has settled for the role of secondary, crisis intervention mode and has been neutralized by new age relativism and the imploding of the American Church as it is denominationally at war with itself. Political talking heads know how to speak our language.


They memorize Scriptures and shake hands with preachers.


They speak from pulpits about humanitarian issues without recognizing that God through His Son, Jesus Christ is the true solution to the human condition. We give them that role, we applaud them for it and then we wonder why it is that when they get into office they don't do what they say they will do from the pulpits of our churches.
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American politicians have sought to be the "Savior" of the world and have failed miserably at honoring the values - JUDEO-CHRISTIAN values - that this nation was founded on - so founded on that the founding fathers wrote it into every document, opened every governmental session by ininvoking not only the name of Jesus but the Name of Jehovah as well. Most of the founding fathers were Bible scholars and teachers and developed a Bible institute to perpetuate these values. As recently as the 1950s the Supreme Court ruled that taking prayer out of our schools would not only be unthinkable, but it would be detrimental to the core values and nature of our society.

Since prayer was taken out of schools, and has been challenged as "Constitutional" - a Constitution which would by the new definitions rendered by the Supreme Court be unconstitutional. The First Amendment says nothing of Separation of Church and State, and was intended to ensure that the government did not establish a "state religion" as was observed in England and many European countries at the time. (Check your history - there was a great war between Church of England and the Catholic Church that ended in a power struggle before the Golden Age of Queen Elizabeth) This amendment has been redefined to mean "Freedom from Religion" and it inherently means "separation of church and state." Okay, so the "Freedom from Religion" connotation comes from agnostics and atheists who are a small portion of our society with an apparent big voice in Washington via our Supreme Court and liberal politicians. Separation of church and state is found no where in the Constitution... as the first Amendment reads:
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"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."
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So why are we as Christians laying down our rights --- our Constitutional, first amendment right. Children in this country are being persecuted for their Christian beliefs by being labelled offensive for wearing t-shirts proclaiming the name of Christ, for praying over their meals before they eat or talking or displaying their religious faith in classroom assignments. WHY? Because someone said that their "free exercise" of their religion infringes on someone elses right to be "free of it." WHAT? Where does the Constitution read that way?
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As a nation, we have stopped calling on God individually and corporately. We have told God to butt out of our government, our schools, our finances, our national security and most of us have told God to butt out of the lives of the unborn and our personal relationships. We tip Him at church on Sunday, we live like the devil the rest of the week and we wonder where He was when the Terrorists set their sites on our nation as their next target! Why? Because we told God we didn't need Him that's why. Our family values have disintegrated into broken families with fatherless homes and our children shooting each other in the streets. They are free to dress, live, have sex and abort their babies if they so choose and all sacrificed on the altar of freedom.
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What has happened to America? We bought it - hook line and sinker - so much so, some evangelical churches in this nation are selling it, too. A watered down, feel good "Gospel" about prosperity and problem free living without an emphasis on personal relationship and responsibility through our faith. The "American Dream" rooted in foundational faith, family values and a legacy we can be proud of has been traded for the "bigger is better" Spirit of Mammon and it robs God of His glory, robs God of His praise and it robs God of the opportunity to show Himself mighty among us.
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Dr. Richard Land and the International Mission Board is calling for Forty Days of Prayer from September 24th (Tomorrow) through November 2nd. They have a prayer guide - so we can pray in agreement, Scriptural support and they are asking for an even bigger committment of hourly prayer the last forty hours. We are on the cusp of history, my friends. A time when God is calling us to stand for what we believe, seek Him in humility and confess nationally the way we have allowed the voices of a few to cloud our judgement as His people and to shake things up in our federal government like it has not been done before the Revolutionary War.
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Dr. Land says that Washington will not change until we do. Praying for our nation, voting our religious and moral convictions based on the position of our faith and living up to being a good steward of the free-est society in the world is a place to start. A nation on its knees for forty days, wonder what God would do with that?
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I know what He did when the nation of Israel went "fly in God's face" for hundreds of years (sound familiar?)... He set up a pagan king to rule the world, and they lived in captivity for more than 400 years, with God being silent most of that time. By the time He showed back up in the person of Jesus Christ the nation of Israel and its leaders barely recognized their Messiah - why?
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Because they could not recognize the voice of God when they heard it.
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Because they were so sold on their own ideas of what being blessed looked like they missed the blessings of God all together.
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Because they had lived in "relative freedom" in their captivity for so long that they said to Jesus, "Why do we need to be set free? We've never been held captive."
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And, when they said that - they had been in foreign exile twice for more than 400 years AND were under the oppression of foreign government by way of the Roman Empire even while in their own country.
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What does that look like these days? Hollywood? Washington? The United Nations?
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The Roman Empire? What happened to the greatest world government system that ever existed? Well, you see they started feeding Christians to the Lions and they destroyed the Temple after persecuting and dispersing the Jews. They worshipped foreign gods and guess what - they were no more. Now, there is only the Roman Catholic Church, a city in Italy bearing the name Rome and the all encompassing catch phrase... "When in Rome..."
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Let's not do as the Romans did. Let's live above ourselves, beyond our limits and trust God to show Himself through our prayers.
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"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding. Acknowledge Him in all your ways and He will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6 (My memory)
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"Seek first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you." Matthew 6:33 (My memory)
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"Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and all your strength." ~Jesus (Deuteronomy 6:5, Deuteronomy 13:3, Matthew 22:37, Mark 12:30, Luke 10:27) All of these Scriptures sum up in their entirety the first four of the ten commandments... and "Love your neighbor as yourself" the other six.
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Finally, remember that no matter what happens, God is our source, His is our provider and protector and He will look after the faithful remnant no matter the outcome of any election or war.
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"The LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV)
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And, He requires something of us...
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"The Lord has told you, human, what is good;
he has told you what he wants from you:
to do what is right to other people (do or act justice/justly),
love being kind to others (love mercy),
and live humbly, obeying your God." Micah 6:8 (NCV)
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Is forty days for the future of our children to much to ask... forty days for the future of our nation and our faith. Forty days for God. Please pray.