COLLEGIATE DAY OF PRAYER: THIS THURSDAY

This Thursday February 28 is the Annual Collegiate Day of Prayer across America. Many of us have signed up to pray for more than one college. As men and women of prayer, we encourage every praying Christian to take this challenge up to really pray hard for our young people in college.

  

If there ever was a time to pray for our kids in college and high school it is now. Everything ungodly and unwholesome is aligned against them. From indoctrination into the denying the existence of Creator God through Evolution, to deny the Commands of God for specific roles and functions of the human body in holiness, sexuality, daily and contented living, our next generation are being confused on purpose, while being taught that there is no such thing as absolute truth or one true God.

ADOPT A CAMPUS TO PRAY FOR 

Facts:

• 70% of college age kids who grew up in church, and/or Christian homes lose their faith in college (Campus Renewal 2017)
• 47% of young people/millennials and college kids, think that sharing their faith is wrong! (Barna February 2019)
• Only 33% of so-called “evangelical” young people (high school and college)  believe Jesus is the only way to Heaven! (Christian Post 2013)

What to pray for on the Collegiate Day of Prayer:

• The salvation of the souls of these young people in our college. The majority are oblivious to the facts of the brevity of life or heaven and a literal hell, which will be overpopulated if they ignore the facts.
• That campus ministries be allowed to flourish, even in some of the Midwest and friendly western states which still believed in the US Constitution of freedom of Assembly and Religious Liberty.
• That churches around our campuses will invest time and effort and outreach to college age young people as is done in North West Arkansas.  Cross Church, formerly First Baptist Church of Springdale, invested in a campus pastor – Brian Mills – who has devoted his  home and his life to the current and next generations of college kids, not just from America but from ALL nations, at the University of Arkansas. Pray for more men like Pastor Mills.
• Pray for mentors to step up and reach out to these young people - men and women, mentoring young men and young women respectively.
• Pray for a renewed love of the Savior by those who grew up in church but walked away, as well as those who are yet to encounter Christ.
• Pray for the Word of God - the Bible - to be distributed into the hands of every college student in America, and that they will read, comprehend and find comfort and salvation in God's Word

THE COLLEGIATE DAY OF PRAYER STARTED IN 1823, WHEN COLLEGES LIKE YALE, BROWN AND OTHER AMERICAN COLLEGES WHICH WERE CHRISTIAN AT THE TIME, SET ASIDE THE LAST THURSDAY IN FEBRUARY AS A DAY OF PRAYER FOR ALL COLLEGES IN THE NEW AMERICAN COUNTRY. IT HAS CONTINUED SINCE THEN.

THE 3:16 VERSES OF THE BIBLE, PART 9: "SPLITTING THE DIFFERENCE"

"....Then two women who were harlots came to the king and stood before him." (1 Kings 3:16)
Some of the most popular everyday sayings around the world came directly from the Bible - believe it or not! Here are just a very few examples out of many:
1. At my "wits end" (from Psalm 107:27)
2. "Drop in the bucket" (from Isaiah 40:15)
3. "Eat, drink and be merry" (from Ecclesiastes 8:15)
4. "Give up the ghost" (from Luke 23:46)
5. "Labor of Love" (from 1 Thessalonians 1:3)
6. "Out of the mouths of babes" (from Psalm 8:2)
7. "Salt of the earth" (from Matthew 5:13)

These are just a few of over thirty well known and universally used phrases and words. The one we are about to take a look at - 1 Kings 3:16 - gave us another popular phrase "split the baby" or if that truth is too stark, then how about "split the difference"?

Here is the story from 1 Kings 3:16-28: two prostitutes appeared before King Solomon, the wisest man in the world to have a matter judged. Both of them lived in the same house and both had a son within three days of each other. For some reason, the son of one of the women died unexpectedly.  Not wanting to accept the unfortunate, untimely death of the poor child, both women claimed the only living son now as their own. The argument went on and the matter ended up before the wise King of Israel to be resolved.

Using Godly wisdom, King Solomon came up with a plan to basically, smoke out the true mother of the only living son. He called for an attendant to get a sword and divide the baby in two and thus, "share the child"! From here, the Bible picks up the account: "26 Then the woman whose son was alive said to the king, because her heart yearned for her son, “Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and by no means put him to death.” But the other said, “He shall be neither mine nor yours; divide him.” 27 Then the king answered and said, “Give the living child to the first woman, and by no means put him to death; she is his mother.” 

Solomon discovered many powerful truths here which are still applicable to use today, almost 3000 years later: 
1. Wisdom to discern and make proper judgment can only come from God. (Read earlier in the chapter 3)
2. Always pray (as Solomon did earlier in the chapter) for Godly direction in our lives.
3. Even in a dark, corrupt and greedy world, natural law kicks which allow the instincts of a person seeking truth, to always do the right thing.
4. A parent would sacrifice anything to protect the life of his or her child...including give up the child. We see this in many who choose to carry a child through pregnancy and give that child up through adoption rather than commit abortion.

This is an amazing account and example for us to pick up on being able to make good and wise decisions in life. Let us always strive to attain such wisdom.

(Photo Credit Here)

THIRTY ONE DAYS OF PRAYER AND THE WORD:JANUARY 1-31, 2015 THEME: "ABIDE"

DAY TWENTY ONE:
VERSES:

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."...

Philippians 4:6

PRAYER: (Against Anxiety, Day 3

Father, most Heavenly Father, the Scripture once asked the question "how long shall the wicked reign" when the question should be "why do I keep doing the things which drive me insane"? You, oh God, have the future of the wicked in Your Hands and that is sure, but You also told us not to be anxious, not be torn up in side, not to be distracted, beat up, beat down, flounder around or just let fear abound, when YOU TOLD US to come to You about everything.

Lord, Your Word says EVERYTHING, which means every single thing and we approach the Throne of Grace right now, in the strong Name of Jehovah Shammah, Jesus Who is there for us, in prayer and supplication in humble submission....as a beggar begging bread but with the authority and sense of belonging to You, as an adopted son and/or daughter, an adopted child, such as we are. Lord, You said in this Word to not just come to You, but oh, what an incredible thing that the Living God Whose Son, the Savior of the World intercedes for us, actually listens as the Holy Spirit interprets with groanings too strong for words!

Lord, may our petitions and intercession rise up like the incense which permeate the Throne Room of Heaven, where the Seraphim sing day and night, non-stop since days of old, "Holy Holy Holy, Holy Holy Holy"....oh How Holy are You Lord, that Your Spirit has to make our petitions filter through Your template to be worthy of even being brought before You in this manner! Praise Your Great Name! Such a thing is unfathomable as we ponder what is happening, the worship in Heaven at this time, the non-stop praise and power of the Almighty as He sits in Spirit and in Magnificent Light. Lord, we can be nothing but grateful and giving thanks to You is not even enough.

It is in this spirit of gratitude, an attitude of thanksgiving that we cry out to You on behalf of our souls, our families, our lost loved ones, our neighbors and co-workers and the gas station clerk down the street. We lift up prayerfully our towns and businesses, our community and political leaders, most of whom only give You lip service, while doing their own thing. We pray for babies are are taken in the womb, ordained by American judges who are also now about to blaspheme You and Your Holy Word, as regards Biblical marriage. We pray You intervene and if we are fully under the Romans 1 Judgment, we pray for our Christian brethren persecuted in their bakeries, wedding shops and more for taking a stand for the True Faith of Christ, not what man has appropriated and twisted to modern culture. We pray for those who hunger in lands of famine and want. We pray for those who are in war zones and especially the United States military and other allied troops.  Lord, protect us this day. Keep us from evil and temptation and help us walk in the path of righteousness as we obey and function under the Authority of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, in Whose Name I pray, amen.

THIRTY ONE DAYS OF PRAYER AND THE WORD:JANUARY 1-31, 2015 THEME: "ABIDE"

DAY EIGHT:

VERSE:
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come....2 Corinthians 5:17 
PRAYER:
Most Holy and Gracious God, You are a good of new things. In the beginning You created something out of nothing and You made all things new. Most Holy Father in Heaven, You molded man out of the dust, breathed life into Him and gave Adamah his own work to do and food to eat in the Garden.  Since the corruption and the Fall of Genesis 3, You gave Your prophets and Your Word for 3500 years, very specifically of when Maschiach would be born, live, minister and cut off and Jesus paid it all on the instrument of death almost 2000 years ago.

Because of that historic act, ordained in the Heavens and flawlessly executed by the Only One Who is flawless as both man and the Son of God, we can now be new creations, remade even while we are standing in perishing mortal flesh and be made new by simply seeking His Forgiveness and repenting of our sins, crying out to Him to save us because we understand His sacrifice and the amazing thing is He sees our heart longing for transformation and accepts us so that we can be regenerated by the Holy Spirit and made new, born again and saved as a new adopted child of God!

Father, we know You have absolutely no grandchildren but call all women and men to repentance to become adopted daughters and sons, that we may not be thrown into outer darkness with unforgiven sin, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. But because You are such a God and Creator of Love, as the Scriptures testifies from cover to cover, as You are such the Supreme mechanical engineer of all time, as You are such the most amazing Architect ever, You take our foul Adamic nature, corrupted as it is and use the same process You used to make Adamah in the Garden, at the dawn of time! You take the spiritual dust and clay we are, You morphe us into the image of Christ at the point of Salvation where we immediately turn from a confirmed resident of Hell, breathe Your Spirit into us, exactly as You did in the beginning and flip our spirit man around in an instant into a whole new creature! This salvific process will never be appreciated and understood by even those who come to Faith until we see His nailed-pierced Hands in Glory, heavenly Father, but oh what an amazing RE-CREATION You have made!

Now, the old man is gone, the old man is dead and the new man lives. You have no just taken our sins and removed them, to forget them from Your Sight, but going one step amazingly better, You destroyed the work of Satan in our lives, and renew everything to such an extent, if we just stay in, abide in, walk in Your Ways and live daily in Your Presence as you want us to, You will reveal more and more new things which we could never imagine in our puny little minds! So, Father and Maker of All Things, thank You for that. Thank You for returning us to the old paradigm of Creation at the Point of Salvation, which sets us on the road to return to the Glory of the Garden one day in Paradise, when You have restored all, defeated all evil and brought back Your Intended and Your Anointed to rule forever more, and it is in His Name - YaHWeH - Commander in Chief all all Heaven - Jesus I pray, amen. 

THIRTY DAY PRAYER CHALLENGE - DAY 27

PRAY THE NAMES OF GOD

DAY 27
GOD IS ABBA (FATHER)



A childless couple adopts a baby, let us say, around 1960. Then the baby grows up to be a great kid, with straight A's in school and plays shortstop on the Varsity baseball team. His name is Scott.


After graduating, he goes to the local Junior college where he excels both in math, chemistry and still plays baseball for their team. After transferring his credits to the big four year state college, he graduates Magna Cum Laude and decides to accept a job offer with a local bank, whose manager has seen his name in the town weekly, ever since he played High School baseball. 


This young man then falls in love and marries the boss' daughter, around say 1985. They have three kids, buy a home in a new subdivision and live happily ever after!


Now, Scott was adopted. The first thing his permanently new parents did was give Scott THEIR last name, because he belongs to them as a member of their family. Scott has all the rights, privileges and yes, responsibilities of being a legitimate member of that family. He is no less loved by Jack and Diane Smith, than if they had their own biological twins. 


Scott is no less a member of the Smith family than Kristen, their miracle daughter who was born five years after Scott was adopted. In fact, no one would have ever known Scott was adopted until he himself mentioned it, when he became Mayor of his little town in 2010 and was honoring his dear parents!


Scott is us. His natural born sister, Kristen, is the Jewish people whom God called His chosen people. We are now all the same family in God. When God sent Jesus Christ to be the Jewish Messiah and they rejected Him, the second part of God's plan was revealed - save the rest of the world.  Jesus sent one of His disciples biggest persecutors - Saul - to accomplish that job. Christ did that when He knocked him blind, off his horse when Saul was heading to Damascus to kill more Christians.


Saul met the Living Jesus in the Third Heaven, as he said, and promptly became Paul - the greatest evangelist the world has ever seen. Here is what Paul wrote about his OWN adoption (and ours) into God's family, as a result of his Conversion on the Road to Damascus:
"For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. (Romans 8:15-17 ESV)


That is correct - we are adopted sons and daughters of God and He is our Abba - our Daddy! The word Abba represents the father side of the equation of the father-child relationship in a family. It literally means just that - Dad! This Spirit of adoption which Paul talks about is the Holy Spirit - the Comforter - Who descends into us. The Spirit does that once we are saved and moved from a child of hell, to being a child of the Real God, sealed with the Blood of Christ, Which washed us clean!


Only the Christian, born-again through the Lord Jesus Christ, can legitimately claim to be an Adopted Daughter or Son of the Living God! Only we have the right to cry out to Him "Abba, Father"...and know He will hear us! Now, aren't you glad you are His?!


So Father, in the Name of Jesus, YOU are my Father in Heaven! You are my Daddy! You are my Creator; Provider; Protector; Nourisher; Healer; Banner...in fact I can go on and on until the end of time and still find amazing names to call You! You, oh God, are my All in All!


My Father in Heaven, hallowed, holy, righteous, pure and GREAT is Your Name! I thank You Lord for calling me out of the darkness which the Power of Sin had me living in, into the Kingdom of Your Marvelous Light.

I thank You, Lord, that You sent that Light, Jesus Christ, to be Savior of the World, because YOU, Oh God, are the Father of Lights Who giveth all good things to all Your people.


I thank You, Lord, that You sent the Spirit of that significant event of my salvation through the Cross. That Spirit is not only purely God, but wholly and Holy You! He not only testifies to the Truth of the Gospel and the Full Counsel of Your Word, He has sealed me until the Day of Redemption, when Jesus my Advocate stands before You as my Kinsman Redeemer and says "this one's Mine"! WOW!! PRAISE YOU, PRAISE YOUR HOLY NAME!! WOOHOO!! AMEN!


I thank You, Lord, that this same Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Adoption as well as my Teacher and Guide because He testifies daily that I am truly a member of YOUR family...of YOUR Kingdom...and that I  am truly saved by YOUR Son - Jesus, the King!


I thank You, Lord, that because of that Adoption, You have made me a joint Heir with Christ in the Eternal Kingdom where we will live together, learning and rejoicing and worshiping and thanking You forever and ever!  Amen!

Thank You, Father, for just being You and loving me, even when I am at my most unlovable as Your adopted son, according to the Love and Works and Sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ, in Whom all perfection and glory resides...and it is in His Name I pray, amen.

TOMORROW: GOD IS, WELL, EVERYTHING!

(image by google images)