MIRACLES STILL DO HAPPEN...BECAUSE OF THE CHRISTMAS MIRACLE - PART 3

The definition of a miracle is “an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs, (such as) the healing miracles described in the Gospels of the New Testament (Webster’s Dictionary).  A miracle is also a surprising (or expected due to prayer/fasting) event which is NOT explicable by natural, medical, scientific or any kind of physical matter which we can see and study with our eyes, in laboratories or classrooms. In short, a miracle is from God.

Is God still in the miracle business? Yes, He is. I have seen miracles personally, in the lives of loved ones and friends and even people who do not trust in the Lord. Each time, those miracles were preceded by prayer and in many cases, fasting as well.

A close friend of our family was healed of Stage 4 colon cancer as the man of God prayed, at a prayer meeting/dinner, which I attended. A close loved one had a lump in her chest disappear because we prayed and fasted. Then a woman with serious heart condition, with back-up x-rays and tests to prove it, was released by doctors almost as immediately as they got in to determine if to put a stent in her heart and found nothing as seen in the x-rays, we know for a guaranteed fact – God is on the move, hallelujah.

Miracles are nothing new to our miracle working God, Whose timing is not just impeccable, but means something. There is another Christmas related miracle which appears immediately after the one with Simeon, who we had examined in Part 2 of this series.

Luke 2:36-38 tells us the story of the prophetess Anna. We read here:

And there was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years and had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers. At that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

We key in like a laser beam on one phrase in this passage and note that Anna “never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers”!

Note the progression of the walk with the Lord of this righteous-living octegenarian:

- Anna never left the temple. In other words, she was constantly around God's people seeking fellowship with other believers, in the Holy Presence of the Almighty. For us, under the dispensation of Grace in the Church Age, we are to be like her in following Scripture's command in Hebrews 10:25. Here the Holy Spirit commands us to NOT forsake "our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near". Do not be like a growing number of professing Christians who say they are "spiritual" and "do not need to go to Church to believe in God"....or whatever other excuses they have. Church attendance for the Christian is not just recommended, it should be second nature.

- Anna "served night and day". This literally means worship in both praise and worship (prayer and singing) as well as being QUALIFIED to be doing this! How was she qualified? Just as you and I are approved by God when He saved us, Anna's heart was made right or she was justified by Faith, just as Abraham was. She was qualified by her Faith to be an authentic worshiper in God's House by obedience and trusting the God of Israel, even though Christ had not yet gone to the Cross to die for her sins, and those of all Old Testament saints. How about that, huh?! Amen.

- Anna fasted and prayed. A fast is not giving up social media or quitting Netflix for a week. A fast is literally, as the Bible teaches - giving up food. A fast does several things spiritually when it is done with the proper attitude. The best way for the Christian to fast is to try it for one day only, after checking with your doctor, and then, not eating anything after supper that night. Then when you wake up next morning, you will not be hungry. Then set your mind to READING a Psalm like say, Psalm 51- the Psalm of Repentance, first and then moving on to Psalm 1 and Psalm 37 to being praise of the Lord. After reading the Scriptures, adopt an attitude of prayer for as long as you wish, or as short as you are able, and then stay in that attitude of prayer all day long. Drink water or coffee and do not think about food until supper later on that same day. This is a 24 hour fast and prayer day which will benefit you so much, it will be incredible! Do this once, twice or more per month and watch not just your spiritual life grow, but your ability to pray like Anna - interceding for others, bringing requests before God and just praising Him, will grow by leaps and bounds.

This is YET another miracle of Christmas, via the example of Anna, who saw the entire incident go down between Jesus, Mary, Joseph and Simeon. God gave her this incredible one time experience, as a reward for her faithfulness and then she responded magnificently. What a Christmas gift!. 

How can we use a supernatural Christmas gift similar to Anna's? We respond like she did. Again, we read in Luke 2:38 that Anna "continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem". The Bible says that Anna went around speaking about Jesus to anyone who would listen, about His saving and chain-breaking power!! Let us therefore, go forth and do likewise, in constant praise and thanksgiving for our own Christmas gift of Salvation!

PART 2 - ENOCH'S WALK PLEASED GOD

There is “Walking with the Lord”….and then there is the PLEASING Walk with the Lord, which most westerners in the Body of Christ fall short on. Too many are using the Lord as a crutch, while pleasing themselves in hot pursuit of the American Dream. 

We are called to be humble disciples and followers of Jesus Christ. We are not called to be in an all-out,  full-fledged Pursuit of the now elusive formula of high school, license at age 16; college; big job;  big suburban home, iPad and iPhone and a BMW or Ford Explorer. We are called to something less frustrating and more fulfilling than this pipe dream! The  fruits of this are becoming more and more evident, as more and more families are seeing their kids’ and grandkids’ dreams disappear before our eyes.  Due to  liberals and their politicians/academics and even lax parenting, many expect their children to be worse off in their adult lives, than they were. 

The Church has been no help, in the west. Like all entitlement societies, the Lord’s so-called “under-shepherds” have found the formula to their own cushy lifestyles and it is not by preparing their flocks (or congregations) for trials, tribulations and “he who perseveres to the end, will be saved”. As a result, very few….a very small fraction of the actual 9% of Americans who are born-again Christians, find the secret of that “pleasing walk with the Lord”.

Hebrews 11:5 says “By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death,  “and was not found, because God had taken him” (a direct quote from Genesis 6: ); for  before he was taken, he had this testimony, THAT HE PLEASED GOD (emphasis mine).

Oh that would be said that our testimony “pleased God”!  First we would have to know what a testimony really was and secondly, do we have one of those!  According to Webster’s Dictionary, a testimony is “proof or evidence that something exists or is true”. It is also an “open acknowledgment”  in terms of Faith – of what the Lord has done for and to us in our spiritual lives. The key words here are “proof”, “evidence”, “true and “open acknowledgement”.  Ten times out of ten, a person’s general testimony describes the conversion story of the person giving the Testimony and the road which that same person is now on, in his Faith Journey. I once asked a person to give his testimony at a certain meeting, and he basically got up and said he had none. 

Enoch did not have that problem. The Great Faith Chapter of Hebrews 11 said he HAD this testimony – “THAT HE PLEASED GOD”! How did a man four thousand years ago, with no church building; no ministry website or 501 C(3); books and DVDs “please God” when we today have everything and know our conduct is nowhere near this kind of Faith. Simple - Enoch was a simple man but he also had the benefit of direct knowledge of the sin of his literal ancestor - Adam!

Enoch saw the filth and degradation all around him as his corrupt world headed for the Great Flood...and obviously stayed away from it. He and his family, which included Methuselah, remained faithful in their pro-active Faith in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation. Like Job and Abraham, they believed God and He reckoned it to them as righteousness. These men, especially Enoch and Job, pleased God with their upright lifestyle. Hebrews 11:6 confirms that it was Enoch's strong Faith which led the Lord to rapture him out alive.

The verse said "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." There it is right there - if you wish to please God, if you wish to have a pleasing Journey through Life with our Creator - Faith is all it takes. 

To the unbeliever and those who follow pagan religions, this Truth is difficult to comprehend due to its simplicity.  This kind of pleasing Faith has a component which is not a general characteristic of the modern Christian: "diligently seeking the Lord". This implies active pursuit of the Truth and thus, the Favor of the Lord.

How do we do that? Is there a famous "seven point plan for that"? Is there a self help book by some famous author for that? Yes! A Famous Author told us - the Holy Spirit gave us the Scriptures to know God and therefore, love, trust and obey. With obedience, comes the "drawing near" or coming to God, as Hebrews 11:6 tells us. We come near through prayer, intercession, fasting and walking in His Marvelous Light. We come near through seeing His Hand in every single thing around us and then allowing Him to be Lord of your life, but submitting to His Will. 

My recommendation is to understand that He is the "rewarder" of all things, but to stay away from focusing too heavily on the rewards, and more on the relationship side of the ledger.  You and I cannot out-give God, but we can do our best to live out our lives for Him. 

MIRACLES LINKED TO PRAYER AND FASTING

The following insight and blessing was written by frequent blog contributor CHERI MAJORS M.S., a former (and occasional) movie actress, model and more:

God Hears the Devoted Prayers of His People 

The Bible declares that any need or insurmountable problem, requiring quick resolution, should begin with prayer and fasting. Miracles always followed these events in Biblical days of old, and can still happen today.

I was not raised with fasting and prayer, as it was even a foreign concept to my Christian Sunday-School-teaching grandmother. Fasting or any other means of self-control was certainly never followed in my immediate non-practicing Christian home, so the very concept of starving myself seemed extremely uncomfortable at first.

I had even questioned whether fasting was Biblical, because my family dismissed it as a spiritual concept (not literal starving) but I had my doubts. I did however fast faithfully during my modeling years, without employing Christian or other religious doctrines as the basis for my exercises in restraint.

Practicing Restraint

Every Monday I would fast, in an effort to clear out the damaging effects of weekend dating, drinking, and dining (the Devil's playground) and although I tried, I was not very good at throwing-up the excesses. God did however patiently allow me to continue my wildly-excessive weekends, without losing my modeling face or figure, as I enjoyed the abundance of His undeserved, yet unending grace.

Miracle Fasting

As idiotic as my "Barbie" logic was, fasting once a week to continue living wild on the weekends, God blessed me anyway. For my simple, 1-day-a-week fast and show-of-restraint, He kept me thin and semi-flawless through many years of self-inflicted misery-filled weekends.

As I got older I began hearing more about Biblical fasting through various televangelists, and the whole concept started making more sense. God didn't want to deprive us (He was the One providing for us) but He did want us to show restraint, and dedication, along with prayers to get us past any roadblocks.

Biblical Miracles

There are 25 passages in the Bible (New International Version) about fasting, as well as the book of Esther. A short story in the Old Testament, turned into a novel, inspiring the movie "One Night with the King" (2006) explaining how an orphan girl "found favor" with King Xerxes and with God.

Queen Esther uncovered an insidious plot, intended to destroy her heritage along with the entire Jewish nation, so she called her people to prayer and fasting, in an effort to save them from extinction (mass genocide) at the hand of the King's adviser. The nation of Israel needed a miracle, and God not only granted their prayer requests, by allowing the survival of the Jewish race, but turned the extinction plot around on those who would harm the "apple of His eye".

Other Biblical miracles can be found in the book of Daniel, showing how his refusal to bow down to a foreign King (in place of God) or even eat the King's food (not ordained by God) got him, and his friends, thrown into a furnace, and a lion's den. However Daniel's devotion to God, coupled with his restraint, brought God's angels to ensure that no one was harmed in the fiery furnace, or in the lion's den. 

Following Biblical Instruction

Isaiah 58 gives us the Lord's instructions and guidelines for fasting and praying, and offers us miracle solutions for our problems. Although God is not specific about the food and liquid intake (or lack thereof) he does tell us how we should be acting toward one another while fasting, in order to experience the fullness of our miracles, and blessings from Him.

The "Esther Fast" is an extreme 3-day liquids-only fast. We learn through the book of Esther that the Jewish people prayed and fasted while only drinking water for 3 days. The first day begins after eating dinner, and after the sun sets. Only healthy liquids are consumed until the sun sets on the 3^rdnight, when you can once again eat dinner.

The "Daniel Fast" is a much longer 40-day fast, without eating meat, sweets, or bread, but those are the only restrictions. Vegetables, grains, nuts, pasta, beans, fruit, dairy, (some say fish is allowed) along with healthy liquids, such as water, milk, and juices. If you are already a healthy eater this extended fast is not as difficult as you think. 

Remember to pray along with the fast of your choice, to bring miracles, even if there doesn't seem to be any hope left. Today we can stand on the same miraculous promises as provided by God, and documented in the Bible, whether personal, national, or world-wide. But don't take my word for it, try it for yourself, and wait for your promised miracles to happen.

by Cheri Majors, M.S.

A former model & actress who cared for more than 70 special-needs foster children, while earning a Masters degree in Human Sciences & Early Childhood Education. Authored 5 books (including childrens bilingua...  View profile

777 - SEVEN DAYS OF PRAYER (JULY 1-7, 2014)

DAY 7 - RESTORATION

Come, and let us return to the Lord;
For He has torn, but He will heal us;
He has stricken, but He will bind us up.
2 After two days He will revive us;
On the third day He will raise us up,
That we may live in His sight.
3 Let us know,
Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord.
His going forth is established as the morning;
He will come to us like the rain,Like the latter and former rain to the earth....(Hosea 6:1-3)

Our rebellion against God is breathtaking. As a people we are more broken, more corrupt and more in desperation than anyone can imagine. The people meet in high places and bow down to strange gods. They dance around every green tree and burn incense to foreign gods, then come before the Holy One of Israel and think He will be there for them. We take His changing the weather patterns, because He can, and call it "climate change" or "global warming", when all we are doing is what Lucifer did when he tried to mount a mutiny with 1/3 of the angels in heaven and got tossed out - as recorded in Isaiah 14.

Decades and decades of turning away from the God of the Bible is now coming home to roost.  America and the world are facing a future and a judgment of horror while they - we - bury our heads in our respective sand castles. We pretend this is not happening and it will all go away. We pretend God is okay with all our sin. We are people broken by sin and torn apart at the seams. But there is hope!

God showed His Prophet Hosea how he should pray as an example for us, on a day of fasting and prayer, how we should go about doing what 2 Chronicles 7:14 says "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 I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land".

So Come Let us return to the Lord - Father God, most Holy One in Heaven, we repent in the middle of our sin for all we have done to cause You pain. We cry out as individuals and a people and plea that as we repent, You will accept our confession and bring us back from the precipice of hell as a people. Though we in the remnant may be personally saved, too many of our brethren and our entire country are being led off the cliff by those who should know better. So we pray that as we cry out, many will hear this call and want to turn back to you at this very hour in Jesus Holy Name, amen

He has torn us, but He will heal us - Father God, I believe that with all my heart as we approach you in the spirit of Brokenness. Break us now, bend us now that we may be remade, remolded and restored in Your Image, for Your Glory, forever and ever, amen.

He has stricken, but He will bind us up - Lord we are a people under the Judgment of Heaven and are too blind to see it. Open the eyes of our heart Lord, that we may see You the One True God of the Universe, and surrender to YOUR Will for our Lives, in Jesus Holy Name.

On the third day He will raise us up, That we may live in His sight - Holy Father, just as You raised the King from the grave, three days after He was crucified,  You will revive, resurrect and restore if we seek you NOW...if we see Your Restoration NOW and as we do that Lord, may You accept our sacrifice of praise and let us live in Your Sight once more. We beg and beseech You, oh Most Glorious God in Heaven to the Praise and Glory of Your Name, oh God Who revives and restores, amen and amen.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO ANNE GRAHAM LOTZ FOR HER LEADERSHIP IN THIS POWERFUL AND INSPIRATION PRAYER MOVEMENT ACROSS THE FRUITED PLAIN!

777 - SEVEN DAYS OF PRAYER (JULY 1-7, 2014)

DAY 6 (JULY 6, 2014):

TODAY: WHAT IS BIBLICAL FASTING?
TOMORROW (DAY 7 - RESTORATION)
As all students of Scripture know, Fasting is a biblical discipline, recognized in both Old and Testaments.  The old Bible heroes - from Moses, to Daniel to Ezra the Scribe to the Messiah Jesus Himself - fasted. Daniel fasted from the corrupt food of the pagans to show himself approved of the Lord. Though he ate a diet full of vegetables and water, the Lord allowed him to gain weight (for this purpose only). 

Ezra, the spiritual leader of the Return from the Babylonian Exile, found that things were needed to correct the direction his people were going in and he said in Ezra 8:21 "Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods." We see a specific reason for his corporate fast in this verse and it should serve as the guiding post for us, on this day as we prepare to fast across America and the world for Seven (7) hours on July 7, 2014 or 7/7/14.

Here is why Ezra proclaimed his fast for the returning Hebrews (from Ezra 8:21):
- To seek a safe journey for the people and their possessions
- To seek the protection of God rather than that of man (read verse 22 here)-
- To show his humility.

This is a solid reason to fast. Christians today are under increasing bondage and persecution around the world and here at home in the US. Now is the time to humble ourselves and seek God's Hand of Protection rather than the promises of politicians, and quite frankly - even those of the majority of preachers. Fasting is the best first step in humility before the Lord as by doing so, we are willingly telling Him we love Him more than that meal(s) or thing or distraction which sometimes put Him in second place in our daily lives.

Fasting is for our benefit because it is by fasting, after we have temporarily surrendered that portion of our lives which we love the most, we are then reprogrammed to be tuned into the high frequency transmission from Heaven. In my own life, I know that Fasting has brought revelation of Spiritual things and events, which I do not speak about publicly. Fasting brings healing from past hurts.
Fasting brings restoration of our relationship with God, through Christ, as fasting also brings Repentance to the fore, more prominently that in normal times. The reason for this is Fasting lays our spiritual condition bare, so that the Holy Spirit now has free and unfettered access to minister to us, in correction and revelation, BECAUSE we are now open to the discipline and direction of the Lord.

So how does one fast when you have never done so and how do we answer folks who said "the Bible never told me to fast"..."that was old Testament" etc. Well, Jesus did say “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you (Matthew 6:16-18).

Therefore, the first thing we do in fasting is not to post in on Facebook and Twitter or boast to your friends. 
The second thing is - clean up - physically and if you need to, throw out all questionable books, movies, music etc from your home. 
Third - prepare to meet the Lord in a special way, but anointing your own head with oil, as some of us do and then begin praise and worship and preferably - getting on your face for as long as it takes or as long as you can. Then pray the Scriptures back to Abba Father.

Father in the Strong Name of Jesus I thank You for the discipline of Fasting, which though not commanded in the Law and the Book of the Law, is necessary for Your people to get even closer to you than before! I thank You that You have strengthened us in the inner man to be able to turn aside from the ways and wiles of the world to the Wonder and Wisdom of Jesus Christ 

Lord, when we think of Jesus in the Wilderness being tempted by the evil one and going without for forty days and nights...when we think of Moses on Sinai getting the Law from You for those long periods of time, we realize that You are our Bread, You are our Life, You are our Food. There is no other. This body may need sustenance in the natural, but in the Supernatural, all we need is You!

Father, as we fast together for 7 hours on 7/7/2014, may our prayers of repentance and pleas of Restoration for first,  our fellow Christians worldwide and secondly, our country, rise up to You as an aroma, pleasing to the Lord. Help us to prepare our hearts, minds, bodies and souls for a powerful divine encounter that we may be empowered to then proceed and do the Work of the Kingdom, with urgency and power, in Jesus' Strong and Holy Name, amen.

THE MEANING OF LIFE: PART 3 OF 12

                            A CHAPTER BY CHAPTER STUDY OF THE BOOK OF
                                           ECCLESIASTES......CHAPTER 3
                                                   "The God of Timing"
You hear this all the, well, time that "Timing is Everything"! Well, it really is and our Great God is a God of Timing.  He has chronological time in His Hands. He has time and season planned perfectly, also and if we walk in that obedience and under that Authority He has given the Son, we can never fail in this life. I did not say we will never have trials and tribulation. What we mean is, if you are so tuned into and seeking for what God has in store for your life, you would desire to press into what He said in 66 books of the Bible, from cover to cover, then obey what the Spirit is saying between every one of those pages.

Timing IS everything. Timing is crucial is you're a musician. My eldest son, who bears my name, was a percussionist for the Youth Symphony which was the high school division of the Illinois Symphony for five years. When he first started, he needed to not just show up for every practice to come in at the right time with the cymbals or cowbell or chimes or timpany but he had to LISTEN to the discipline of the Conductor, who is literally the head coach of the Symphony. After months of this, when they performed at a concert etc, it flowed beautifully. The timing was spot on! God is our conductor. He wants the best for us and at best, the least we can do is recognize HOW He works, and to do so, we must be tuned into the Holy Spirit and how HE, the SPIRIT OF GOD, wants us to fulfill our destiny, walking in His marvelous light. We do this through prayer, study and fasting when He calls you to it.

The teaching on the video below, is primarily on the major theme of chapter 3 - the God of Timing. Please read this portion, watch the video and then read the rest of Ecclesiastes 3. Amen.

Ecclesiastes 3

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

A Time for Everything

3 There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every [a]event under heaven—

2 A time to give birth and a time to die;
A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.
3 A time to kill and a time to heal;
A time to tear down and a time to build up.
4 A time to weep and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn and a time to dance.
5 A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.
6 A time to search and a time to give up as lost;
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
7 A time to tear apart and a time to sew together;
A time to be silent and a time to speak.
8 A time to love and a time to hate;
A time for war and a time for peace.

9 What profit is there to the worker from that in which he toils? 10 I have seen the task which God has given the sons of men with which to occupy themselves.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF ECCLESIASTES 3 (BIBLE GATEWAY)

A FORTNIGHT OF PRAYER

        DAY 2 -TREMBLE IN HIS PRESENCE/REPENT

I have chosen the prayerful man of God - Old Testament Prophet Ezra - as our example and template for the kind of Prayer which the Lord listens to...for such an evil time as this. Just like America in 2012, the people of God had sided with the culture and pagan world around them. They had chosen to turn their backs on the specific Word and INTENT of the Lord while paying Lip Service to Him on Temple days (eg.Sundays @ church). They had intermarried with non-believers and had one foot on a banana peel and another in the grave.


Just like America in 2012, because of the disobedience to the Word and Call of God, religious freedom was curtailed severely. During the exile in Babylon, which preceded this book of Ezra, the Jews were told they could not worship the One True God. In America, due to the political ill-winds, military chaplains cannot pray in the Name of the Messiah - Jesus...and more. In Babylon, the Jews were being made to eat food sacrificed to disgusting pagan gods. In America, the church let those who walk/vote/support and participate in idolatry six days of the week, eat communion with the Lord on Sunday, in open rebellion against God.


It was against this cultural and religious corruption, which perverted the Church, that Ezra - the new Spiritual Leader of the Remnant returning to Jerusalem cried out as the example for us "For they have taken some of their daughters to be wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy race has mixed itself with the peoples of the lands. And in this faithlessness the hand of the officials and chief men has been foremost.” As soon as I heard this, I tore my garment and my cloak and pulled hair from my head and beard and sat appalled. Then all who trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the faithlessness of the returned exiles, gathered around me while I sat appalled until the evening sacrifice."(Ezra 9:2-4 ESV)


As we pray and fast and turn our hearts towards the Throne room of the REAL King of the Universe, not some mortal man, we need to catch three things in our meditation and supplication before the Lord this day:
1. Remember our Faithlessness before the Lord.
2. Tremble at the mention of His Name and the Holy Scriptures.
3. Render (rip open) our hearts and be completely open before Him.


Therefore, for as long as it takes, let us now draw our hands towards heaven and pray with Ezra "And at the evening sacrifice I rose from my fasting, with my garment and my cloak torn, and fell upon my knees and spread out my hands to the LORD my God, saying: “O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens. From the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great guilt. And for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been given into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plundering, and to utter shame, as it is today. (Ezra 9:5-7 ESV)


Father God, in Jesus' Mighty Name, I confess all my sins before You right now - for sins of commission, I repent of them. For sins of omission - I repent of them. For sins of the flesh - I repent of them. For sins of the mind - I repent of them....and more. Lord, I realize that I have been unfaithful to Your Words and Your Precepts as laid out in bold simplicity before me. Therefore, by my disobedience and the corporate disobedience of Your church across the Land, with many others like me, we have allowed the majesty and power of Your Holy Church to be corrupted and now dictated to, by the whims and decrees of men and women who do not have Your heart or the furtherance of Your Kingdom in mind.
Forgive us, oh Lord. We are truly ashamed as our brother Ezra here, prayed over 2500 years ago. Our sins here in America have risen before You like a foul odor in the Presence of a Holy God and our churches and ministries are being rendered powerless with no fruit for the Kingdom of Christ.
Forgive us, oh Lord. We are so guilty, we cannot raise our faces up to You to view on Your Marvelous Face, because our kingdom authority is being held captive to our own sin and complacency. Release us from this bondage this day, Oh God. Yes, oh God. Look down upon us this day, as we press into our destiny to pray for the restoration of Your people these next two weeks...and beyond, in Jesus' Holy Name, amen.

(image courtesy google)

THINK ON THESE THINGS - FRIDAY

11-11-11

WEEKEND OF PRAYER BEGINS

A CITY ON OUR KNEES

If My people who are called by My name humble themselves, and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land...2 Chronicles 7:14 (NASB).


November 11, 2011 is Veterans Day as America celebrates those who wear the uniform as well as past service members. Just yesterday, we celebrated the 236nd Birthday of the United States Marine Corps (USMC)! All Veterans are revered in this great country and Marines hold a special place, in this Land of Free and the Home of the Brave.


God bless America and LONG may its flag wave.


Our citizenship however, is not of this world, but we are actually in transit to our future and eternal home - with the Father in Heaven. We do thank God for this great country which has given so much to the world - all in the cause of Liberty.


As in the case of July 7, 2007 or 7-7-7, these kinds of numbers like today: 11-11-11 carry significance. Over four years ago, THE CALL, a national prayer movement had a major prayer event in Nashville at the Tennessee Titan stadium, replete with shofars, intercession and worship.


Today, the THE CALL moves North to one of the most blighted and evil cities in America - Detroit! Together with local pastors of all races and backgrounds,THE CALL (led by Kansas City-based prayer leader Lou Engle) will be calling for fasting and prayer for not just Detroit but for the nation to return to its root - The Lord; righteous living; holiness and more (see video in this article) here:



Two days later, on Sunday November 13, we have the Annual International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. The Lord Jesus said ""Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. (Matthew 5:11) NASB.

Many in the secular world do not understand Christ, the Word of God and the Holiness of God. They have no idea what Repentance is. They mock and deride and scorn the People of God.


This Call to Prayer and Fasting, a constant command in the Bible, is being called hate speech, anti-American and unChristian by liberal social justice clergy and their moslem allies, none of whom follow Christ. But God has call us to a different thing in this new season....and it is actually an old thing - a Sacred Assembly.

In your own way, in the next several days, join in the Call for Prayer for the nation of America and then remember the saints who are persecuted for believing and boldly proclaiming the Name of Christ, across the globe, in the Name of Jesus, amen.

JOEL 2:15-17

¹⁵ Blow the trumpet in Zion, 

   declare a holy fast, 

   call a sacred assembly. 

¹⁶ Gather the people, 

   consecrate the assembly; 

bring together the elders, 

   gather the children, 

   those nursing at the breast. 

Let the bridegroom leave his room 

   and the bride her chamber. 

¹⁷ Let the priests, who minister before the LORD, 

   weep between the portico and the altar. 

Let them say, “Spare your people, LORD. 

   Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn, 

   a byword among the nations. 

Why should they say among the peoples, 

   ‘Where is their God?’”