BE A BONDSERVANT OF CHRIST!

Click here for Verses on Being A Servant of Christ

THE RESURRECTED LIFE: PART 1: RESTORATION, RELATIONSHIP

 TEXT:  HEBREWS 13:20-21

PRAYER FOR FREEDOM FOR ALL

Our Father in Heaven, Oh King of the Universe, You, Oh God are the great Liberator of all time. You, Who sent Your One of a kind Son, The Lord Jesus Christ on the greatest rescue mission of all the ages, stand as the Almighty, with Whom there is no question.

We do not question Your Power, Your Majesty, Your Authority.

We do not question Your Grace, compassion and mercy.

We do not question Your ability to see the End from the Beginning – thereby setting in motion plans and purposes which, if we follow them as You intend, will both glorify You and enrich our brief lives on earth.

 

Father, today,  we see the hearts of people – the oppressed around the world, from Cuba to China, from Cairo to Calcutta, from Russia to Peru and Johannesburg – yearning to be free. In most cases, the freedom for which they yearn is due to the sinful heavy hands of evil men and systems. But Lord, You have said in Your Word, that the people living in darkness have seen a great light.

 

That Light came into the world in Bethlehem Ephrathah as prophesied in Micah 5:2 and it was for freedom that He set us free. While it is not the freedom from the demonic tyranny of this world, it is even more glorious indeed.  

 

We thank You oh Lord, that Jesus freed us from the bondage of oppressive sin.

We thank You, that He not only broke the yoke of sin, but killed death at the Cross.

We thank You, that He rescues us from the domain of darkness, that we can walk freely in His Marvelous Light.

Even as more crucial on this side of Heaven, we thank You, that He – King Jesus – sent the Holy Spirit to be our Counselor, our Guide, Our Protector, our Defender and our Seal of Redemption until the day we die.

We thank You, oh Marvelous Father, that he whom Jesus sets free is indeed free and can walk in that solid truth all the days of our lives here on earth.

 

So today, oh Lord, to those to whose ears have received a call to come unto You, may they respond immediately to the liberating truth and freedom of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Your offer is open to ALL peoples from every single corner of the almost 8 billion alive on earth today. We pray, that even though precious few will accept Your free gift of eternal life, may their number increase daily, as many around the world march and cry out for rescue. We ask all of this, in the Precious, Beautiful, Liberating and the Most Powerful Name of Jesus, the soon coming King, amen and amen.

 

CONSIDER THIS: LIBERTY

 "For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery….Galatians 5:1.

CONSIDER THIS: No matter how many times, or to how many generations the concept of GRACE – the free unmerited favor and Gift of God – is explained, fleshly humans think THEY have not just the answers but the means to acquiring their own redemption or salvation! Because of this, they put themselves back under the bondage of Judgment by the Law!

ACTION: Hence, today, if you hear His Voice, repent and turn from your sins. Then, like a little child would, ask forgiveness….all the while both pleading and praising Him, that He gave you ALL – He gave you complete, unfettered Liberty and Freedom through Christ Jesus, the Lord!

Father thank You, thank You so very much for saving me from the bondage of sin which kept me away from You and my eternal destiny, until I encountered the liberating Truth of the Gospel. Praise the Great Name of the Lord, Who came to set the captives free, of whom I am one. I am eternally grateful that You pursued, rescued and personally grabbed me from the fiery pit, set my feet upon the rock and put a NEW song in my mouth, a hymn of Praise to our God. Bless Your Holy Name and hallelujah, praise You forever, Lord, in Jesus Holy Name, amen.

PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S DECLARATION OF THE FIRST OFFICIAL THANKSGIVING DAY IN AMERICA (1863)

During the Civil War, in October 1863, the greatest American President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of "Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens", to be celebrated on the last Thursday in November.. Thus, began one of the most important observances in western civilization, where citizens of an entire country give thanks to the One and Only True God in Heaven, for the blessings He has bestowed upon us all. President Lincoln knew the power of God, of prayer and of giving thanks where it was due. 

The fourth Thursday of every November is now the official day of Thanksgiving in America. For us Christians, every moment of every hour of every day of our lives, is the opportunity to give thanks unto the Lord for He is good, and His mercy, kindness and long-suffering, endure and last a lifetime to us! Amen. We also give thanks, on this glorious day (and each day) to our Great God in Heaven who saves us by His Grace, through His Son and His Sacrifice on the Cross of Calvary - Jesus Christ. To Him we declare "Oh, give thanks to the Lord! Call upon His name; make known His deeds among the peoples!  Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; talk of all His wondrous works! Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord! (1 Chronicles 16:8-10)

Here is the official proclamation from President Lincoln, on the day he declared as our first Thanksgiving:

Washington, D.C.
October 3, 1863
By the President of the United States of America.

Proclamation by President Lincoln.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of

fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. 

They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States the Eighty-eighth.
By the President: Abraham Lincoln

William H. Seward,
Secretary of State

Credits:
Thanksgiving Photo: "Thanksgiving-Brownscombe" by Jennie Augusta Brownscombe - Stedelijk Museum De Lakenhal 
Thanksgiving Meal: "TraditionalThanksgiving" by Ben Franske - Own work. Licensed under GFDL via Commons - 
President Lincoln Photo: Public Domain (over 100 years old)

DEEP SEA PRAYING - FINAL SESSION

JONAH'S GETS 2ND CHANCE

“Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love. But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to You; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the LORD” (Jonah 2:8-9)

This great prophet/evangelist knows first- hand that of which he speaks.  He now has an intimate knowledge of Holy God, never mind the fact that he was prophesying in the pagan Northern Kingdom of Israel about this same God, to Jeroboam II. Jonah was in a place where the majority of mankind goes and never returns and saw the Temple of the LORD, Who restores Jonah due to his own kind grace, mercy, compassion and long-suffering! He has seen the Holiness of God and knows that those who practice idolatry…those who bow down to the 300 million pagan idols of Eastern religion… those who idolize culture or celebrity or self – they have ALL traded in Faith in the one true God for the vile and perishing things of this temporary world.  They have abandoned not just the font of all true knowledge but the Only One Whose love is strong and never changes.

This is a major condemnation from someone who was in the abode of the lost with this spiritual eyes wide open! All the lost of this world (which is the majority) and even those who profess to be Christians are stunningly unaware of the true nature of Holy God and His Righteousness. The Lord is disrespected all over western celebrity culture and then paid lip service as if He is somebody’s crazy uncle or kind grandfather to be acknowledged occasionally on Sunday morning or at the end of a political speech. Only those who have had a major life-changing and transformative encounter with the Father or more likely – the Son Jesus Christ – can grasp the power and presence of the Almighty to the point we cannot help but stand in awe, bow down and just live a life of repentance and ingrained worship.

This is the kind of sacrifice that Jonah speaks of here where his attitude of gratitude is in the metaphorical stratosphere. He is so much in debt at the mercy and goodness of God that he is offering to do whatever it takes. This is the true meaning of discipleship, following on Jesus’ command that you and I cannot be His disciple unless we are willing to “take up our own crosses daily” and follow Him…(or we must decrease that He might increase).  Jonah vowed to pay or repay the Lord for saving and rescuing Him but like us, we can never BEGIN to repay God for what He hath done for us.  We can make as many vows as we wish and not fulfill a third of them. Therefore we should not swear any oath before God unless we intend to follow up with it one hundred percent of the time.  Now Jonah did do what he set out to do – he evangelized Nineveh and spent his life teaching them. But it took a lot for him to love those people. Just read Jonah Chapter 4.

Finally, the hero of this prayer, one of the most revelatory and power in the entire Bible, declares “Salvation belongs to the Lord”! He knew this first hand. We can do nothing – He can do everything. Jonah also knows he has been given a second chance. He proclaims Salvation while showing the proper gratitude because of the Radical Grace God has shown and given to him. This same Grace is available today for anyone and everyone. All we have to do is ask. We ask with humility and faith and with a repentant heart. This way, we too will be able to proclaim "SALVATION BELONGS TO THE LORD"!

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

DAY 4 (JULY 4, 2014):

FREEDOM AND DELIVERANCE

One cannot truly understand any type of freedom without grasping the concept of Deliverance. All peoples everywhere yearn to be "free" - free to live their lives; free to walk their streets; free to raise their kids; free to move from place to place....and just free to conduct themselves in the manner which seems appropriate.

The purposes of man sometimes work against this kind of universal freedom because the worldly, who seek power, also seek to oppress and dominate others, in order to exercise that power. We see this in the godless (and deadly) centuries of oppression of Communism, socialism, national socialism (Nazis), and other forms of pagan idolatry and tyranny. These godless philosophies of the god of this world - Sin, the Flesh and the devil - have nothing to do with the purity and passion of the Freedom which comes from Christ, the Son of God.

God's Freedom and "freedom" given by men are two completely different entities. The difference could not be more obvious. 

God's Freedom is called Deliverance. Man's "freedom" is called dependency. 

God's Freedom is about "setting the captives" free. Man's "freedom" is control and confiscate. 

God's Freedom allows the person to soar to be the best they can be. Man's freedom gives just enough largesse to captivate the individual into conformity to the corruption of this world. 

God's Will and Freedom is about transforming by the "renewing" of the mind (Romans 12:2). Man's Freedom is mind control and ultimate destruction of the human soul. 

Which would you rather possess?

Scriptures says "he whom the Son sets free, is free indeed" (John 8:36), because it was "for Freedom, that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1). Jesus Christ, the Son of God has set us free by this single act 2000 plus years ago when an event happened in Bethlehem where the Majesty of Heaven was revealed in the little baby Who grew up to give us the blueprints of Freedom. He gave us those blueprints in the Gospel of the Kingdom, that if we repent, and believe it and accept His sacrifice on the Cross, we too will be saved, by putting our complete Faith alone in Him for our deliverance.

So Father, in the Mighty Name of that Jesus, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, of Whom the Scriptures spoke from Genesis to Revelation, I thank You for setting this captive free! I thank You for the saving power of the Cross which offers the only true Hope for all mankind for all time, that if we would just see beyond our own myopic vision, we can see Your wonderful plan to rescue humanity.

I thank You for that same rescue from the bondage of sin....from the bondage of the cycle of despair....from the bondage of the circle of corruption and the vortex of fleshy desires, dependency and degradation. I think You for setting me from my inaccurate notions about the true nature of You, Heavenly Father. 

You set me from the misleading interpretations of those who do not have Your interests at heart and who therefore, seek to give glory to themselves...a glory they seek for their own goodness and profit and not the Glory and Power of the Kingdom. I thank You for therefore setting me on the right track of truly understanding your character and amazing attributes that I can more accurately interpret Your Word; more correctly seek You in Prayer and more purposefully WORSHIP You in Spirit and in Truth.

Thank You, Father, oh most Righteous and Holy God, for the covering You have provided, through the Full Armor of God in Ephesians 6, where You have equipped us to stand against the pagan gods of this world in high offices, from academia, all the way down to politics, whose plans do not ever line up with Yours. 

Thank You for the Helmet of Salvation. Thank You for the Breastplate of Righteousness. Thank You for the Belt of Truth and the Shoes of the Gospel. Thank You for the Shield of Faith and the Sword of the Spirit because those Supernatural life-giving/freedom-believing resources enable us to continue to be free from sin, the flesh and the devil while living in this perishing world, so that we may share that good news with those who see the same deliverance You have given to us.

We thank You, oh most Gracious and Loving God, that You have allowed the great country of America to be the beacon of human freedom it has been for 200 plus years and the example, until recent decades, of Christian virtue and ethics. 

We thank You for the fruited plains; the magnificent mountains; the spectacular oceans and lakes; the lush food baskets which feed the world and the bustling industries, shipyards and freight trains which move the engine of economic freedom. 

We thank You for the men and women who toil in the financial sectors; the hospitals; the services industries; the over the road trucking outfits and the schools' and colleges. Most of all we thank You for the homes You have so freely provided if we work hard and play by the rules of God and man. All of this was only possible because of Your Grace, oh God, Your Grace. 

We thank You for our families and spouses and children and grand-children and extended families that grew this country from day one. We know oh Lord, that men and women, who are not of You, have these God-ordained institutions targeted for destruction, for the glory of themselves and their father - the god of this world. But You, Oh God of all Heaven and Earth and the Universe, are a patient and long-suffering God. Therefore, we surrender this now into Your Mighty Hands.

We repent of our part in any of this and turn back to You right now, humbling ourselves; seeking Your Holy Face and praying that You would hear from Heaven. Keep us Free oh God, in this world, as You already have ordained, by bringing us into the Eternal Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, to Whom all Power and Glory now belong - now and forever more, amen.

DAY 37/40 DAYS OF PRAYER FOR AMERICA

PRAYER FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

(Already Constitutionally & Biblically guaranteed)

"So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed"...John 8:36
"It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery"....Galatians 5:1
Fast forward to the Constitution of the United States: "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" (FIRST AMENDMENT")

We have absolute proof that 1. Absolute Freedom comes from the One True God of Heaven and 2. It is guaranteed by the highest Law in the Land.

Since the dawn of time, man has tried to oppress other men...to take away freedoms endowed and bestowed by God, in order to promote selfish agendas. Today is not different. While these people come and go, in the course of 5773 years of creation, their evil legacies live on and will only be resolved when Messiah - the true Commander in Chief  of the World - Jesus, returns.

Jesus set us free from the yoke and bondage of sin, if we repent and put our trust and faith in the Lord and Savior. He did this on Calvary. No human (or demon) can take that away. The Founding Fathers gave all, along with the Continental Army, and guaranteed that Freedom, not just in the Bill of Rights of the Constitution, but here in the Declaration of Independence "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness".

Yet in the pursuit of death - abortion on demand, we have an American government mandate that the people of God violate their God-given freedom to "free exercise thereof" and pay for readily available contraceptives, if they are employers. This includes ANY religious and christian- based hospital; university; bookstore; hotel; BIBLE Publisher  and more! Included in these contraceptives mandated by the secular, increasingly anti-Christian government, are abortion pills or pills that induce abortion immediately after sex (aka...the "morning after" pill). This is not the act of Christian people, or followers of Christ. This is power gone mad and an stunning acknowledgment to the abortion industry led by Planned Parenthood and others.  If this is not stopped by the Courts and/or Congress, which has a duty under the First Amendment to protect Religious Liberty, next will be the ability to preach from pulpits from Bible! There are already politicians and liberal "christian" theologians, who in their support of gay "Marriage", want to ban Romans 1 from being preached. Already in Canada, priests have gone to jail for that. In Canada, pastors and priests are being told by secular authorities they MUST perform "marriages" of gay couples, regardless of what the Bible says or conscience. This is the slippery slope on which the United States is heading, if personal and religious freedoms, guaranteed by the US Constitution and underlined by the Word of God, are not protected NOW!

So Father in the Name of Jesus, we know You said that in this world, we will have many troubles, trials and tribulations and that You have overcome the world, but for the first time ever in America, we see its own government violating not just the Founding document of the Constitution, but we see them spitting in the Eye of Christ and all that is holy, but demanding YOUR people pay for the furtherance of the evils of Abortion and an immoral lifestyle. Father, first of all, we pray this evil policy into Your Hands knowing that once the solution comes from You, there is no appeal! We pray for the protection of innocent life from the purveyors of abortion who are Planned Parenthood and Marie Stopes and from those who are promoting it in the public square. We pray for Your people who run bed and breakfasts or photography services etc and refuse, on Biblical grounds, to do so-called gay "marriages" then get persecuted by society and local courts and governments. Lord we know their reward is in heaven, while those who persecute them will be sent to eternal judgment away from You, but we pray that they will continue to do as the Bible says that they will continue to "keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery" of those who support evil and call it good.

We pray for leaders of government, the social compact and even those so-called religious leaders in liberal "christianity" who are not different from Caiaphas and those who persecuted the Lord Jesus, because every act done against Your Word and Your unborn babies - now up to 54 million since 1973 - is an act against You. We pray that even though they know they are violating Your commands and decrees, that they will cease this, repent and be saved. Lord, we also pray for those church leaders like the Roman Catholic bishops who are out there this morning proclaiming the Gospel of Life and liberty across America, while Your protestant preachers stay silent ....and especially those who command popular acclaim. Father, bless those bishops and priests who speak Your Word from pulpits this day as well as men like Billy and Franklin Graham and the few solid local preachers around the country, who are putting those big name preachers to shame, by their bold stands for Biblical integrity and life. We pray for men who will stand on Romans 1:16 and really mean it, when they say "I am not ashamed of the Gospel", Lord. We pray You gave them courage and boldness but most of all, You give Your elect and those who stand for righteousness a double portion of Grace, Power, Hope, Love, Protection and Covering in the Shadow of Your Wings, in these evil times...until such time, as the Lord returns, in Jesus' Holy Name, amen.

"For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline"...2 Timothy 1:7

DAY 19/40 DAYS OF PRAYER FOR AMERICA

TYNDALE PERSECUTED AGAIN - 500 YEARS LATER!

PART 2

Jesus said in John 16:33 "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

The word Tribulation comes from the Latin word "tribulare" which means to face distress,  suffering and/or persecution. Jesus knew all about persecution and hate, affliction and evil from the evil religious men of Jerusalem, 2000 years ago. Since they executed Him on the Cross and everyone of His Disciples, except John, all true disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ have faced some form of persecution over the almost 2000 years since Calvary. 

What happened to William Tyndale is not unique. The governing authorities wanted to keep the hoi-polloi in the dark about just how liberating and full of Grace the True Gospel of Christ was and is. To maintain their wrongfully acquired stranglehold over the souls of millions, they had to force their will and withhold the Scriptures from the people by adding rule on rule, rule on rule, a little here, a lot over there, a tradition here, a ritual over there....until church became what Christ IS NOT! Church became a burden and a force as oppressing as the state. William Tyndale was executed and burnt at the stake in 1536 and the only crime he committed was to translate the Bible from its original Hebrew and Greek, so that anyone could read it!

Fast forward to 2012. Tyndale House are the great worldwide publishers of the Bible from Carol Stream, Illinois. They publish the popular New Living Translation of the Bible, which is quoted as much as Crossway's English Standard Version in this blog, almost daily. Tyndale also publishes numerous well known Christian books and authors like Randy Alcorn and Coach Tony Dungy.

This past year, the publishers of the Bible - Tyndale - the Word of God - has been ordered by the state, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to start paying for the contraceptives of its employees as part of their health insurance package. What is even more ungodly in this mandate, is the order to cover pre-abortion pills in this contraception package! This is not some third world country doing this - this is the United States of America, which was founded on Religious Liberty! Caesar is now telling Christian employers to obey Caesar rather than God, according to the brief being filed in court by the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ).

The ACLJ said “Thus, the Mandate presents all Christian employers with a stark choice: obey Caesar, or obey Christ.”....The HHS Mandate, by requiring people of faith to provide abortion-pill coverage, “imposes a substantial burden on [their] free exercise of religion by coercing [them] to choose between conducting their business in accordance with their religious beliefs or paying substantial penalties to the government." They also said "Both the Constitution and federal law, through the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), prohibit the government from infringing upon that most sacred right of religious liberty that we have all been endowed with by our Creator".

More will be written and discussed about this as more and more Christian leaders speak up against this unconstitutional mandate, from a government which claims to be run by Christians. Tomorrow we will examine what a real Christian is and how we should pray for leaders of any country, including those who violate God's Word, His Statutes and commands. 

Father in the Strong and Mighty Name of Jesus, we thank You that YOU and YOU alone oh God, are the Judge of all the earth. You run the only Supreme Court in Heaven, which will have the final say on all the affairs of man, from creation to the end of time. I thank You that You gave us Grace and Mercy and Compassion, which never falls because Great is Thy Faithfulness to us, from everlasting to everlasting. Thou and Thou alone are worthy of all praise, not Caesar or any system of man devised as corruptly as the institutions of man - from the church that killed all the prophets and saints to those who persecute Your saints in countries around the world, in these last days. We pray for those who are telling publishers of Your Word, that they must pay for pills that could potentially end the precious life You create or else, in direct violation of Religious Conscience and the Word of God. We pray for their salvation and for a change of heart, at higher levels,  knowing that You judge righteously and mercifully, according to our deeds and our standing in Christ. Thank You, and bless Your Holy Name, oh Commander of God's Courtroom, in Jesus' Name, amen.

SO, FATHER, JUST WHO IS HE?

FIRST COMMANDMENT (Part 2)

Yesterday, we examined the First of Ten Commandments of the Moral Law, which is written on every human heart who ever lived. Today, just briefly, I wish to take a look at just WHO was it who gave that Law to Moses on Mt. Sinai...and WHO was it Who led up to four million Israelites out of Egypt in the Great Exodus! The reason that THIS is important is we MUST know WHO this God is that says He is to be God above all those other things man call god!

The Lord said in Exodus 20:2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery" The word for LORD here is Adonai. This is Hebrew for Master...or as in "my Lord and Master". Who is this? JESUS CHRIST!  It was Jesus Who was in the Pillar of Fire that led by night and the Cloud by day. It was Jesus Who then appeared to Moses and gave Him the Law. It was Jesus Who was in the Rock that Moses struck for water, when Moses was only told to SPEAK to it (this led to Moses' death). It was Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!

They missed it! THEY MISSED IT! The Jews not just missed it in the Wilderness for forty years and were destroyed except for their children, Joshua and Caleb, but they missed it 3500 years later when Messiah showed up in Jerusalem for His three years of ministry! He was prophesied about throughout the entire Old Testament and especially in this verse below....but they missed Him!

Who has ascended to heaven and come down?

Who has gathered the wind in His fists?

Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment?

Who has established all the ends of the earth?

What is His name, and what is His Son's Name?

Surely you know!

                                                     (Proverbs 30:4 ESV)

How can a seemingly religious people miss the fact that the God of this Universe has a Son - whose Name is Adonai? Well, do we miss it too? We can talk as much as we want about them, and we KNOW WHO HE IS, and we too miss it! We sing about Him, write about Him, call on His Name, PRAY in His Name....some pagans even cuss in His Name, liberals and heathens are trying to stamp out His Name in the public square....but friends, as His followers, do we miss just Who He really is and what He should mean to us?

My dear brother Doc, a spiritual mentor to me as an older man in the faith, was talking to me yesterday about the Gospel of the Kingdom. I exhort you, as well, to read Matthew Chapter numbers 23-25 and ask the Lord, I mean Adonai, to not just reveal to your own spirit (who is indwelled by HIS Spirit if you are saved) not just what those 3 chapters mean...BUT AS YOU READ ASK "SO, FATHER, JUST WHO IS HE?!!!"

(image by google)

A FORTNIGHT OF PRAYER

DAY 14

FOR FREEDOM - HE SET US FREE

The following are the dictionary definitions of FREEDOM:

1. The state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement or under physical restraint.
2. Exemption from external control, interference, regulation, etc.
3. The power to determine action without restraint.
4. Political or national independence.
5. Personal liberty, as opposed to bondage or slavery: a slave who bought his freedom. (Source)


On the day we celebrate the biggest Birth of Freedom the world has ever seen, it would serve us well to take another look at what Freedom really means. It was more than just the removal of crazy King George III by the Continental Army, General George Washington and some rag-tag peasants. It was a dawn of a new day where the governed would govern themselves according to a set of Principles and not under some "divine right" of corrupt kings and queens. These principles were all based on the Bible.

Patriot  Preacher Rev. Sam Cooper

It was a novel concept, a new paradigm. It was not to create another theocracy like Rome, but a land where non-believers in God would not just have the same rights and freedom to live peacefully, but could prosper as well. After all, the rain does really fall equally on the righteous and the unrighteous.  During the American Revolution, it was America's pastors who were the conscience of the burst of Freedom and I would even venture to say that the First Great Awakening - the biggest Revival in the world at the time, had something to do with it. This Awakening was spurred by men like Jonathan Edwards - who preached the greatest sermon still in this country (Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, July 1741). George Whitefield and John Wesley fired up America for the Gospel and people saw that there was Freedom in the Gospel, through Christ our Lord, for the first time in their lives.


Edwards and Whitefield, two great Calvinists, preached and preached and preached until hundreds of thousands came to real salvation in their souls. They showed that it was Christ Jesus Who had the way to TRUE personal freedom and once their own souls were delivered from bondage, these new converts were so emboldened and passionate about spreading the Gospel, they mentored other men to do the same. This preaching and fiery evangelism took place for decades before the War of Independence actually happened. 

George Whitefield Preached Freedom in Christ

I think the colonists, through learning about the True Gospel for the first time in their churches discovered the definition of Freedom, similar to Item 1 above (The state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement or under physical restraint). They discovered what you and I already know in our own souls, and that is - Men who are in the grips and chains of sin and depravity are not free because Sin is crouching at their doors and will devour them in their bondage.


But Jesus Christ came to show us the only way, a better way, where we could defeat those personal transgressions and live in true victory. It is the Way of the Cross - the Way, the Truth and the Life. 


It requires men, women and children to realize that we cannot save and make ourselves free, but God can. It requires us to come to the realization that we MUST change course (REPENT), agree with God we're going down the wrong path to destruction, and ask forgiveness for our sins. Then we accept the work, the finished work on the Cross, and turn to the Savior, trusting and obeying Him as LORD and Savior. Don't believe those guys coming out of seminaries like Dallas Theological, Fuller, Hartford or other free grace schools of higher learning, where they say all a person has to do to be saved is "TRUST" in the Jesus and say a prayer! This is a recipe for a false decision and convert. Salvation is an orderly process which requires  Repentance. Jesus wants us to be truly free, and know that we are free so that we can show others how to live free!

Galatians 5:1 says "For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery". This yoke of slavery is not just going back and committing the same sin which we were forgiven of, but not allowing ourselves to have our freedoms and liberties chipped and chopped away by men who do not serve the same God as we do. In the modern era, whenever  tyrants wanted to lord it over a people, the first thing to go was religious liberty. The French Revolution was  a good example where pagans like the Jacobins backed by the philosophies, from another world in the Illuminati, and men who hated God like Voltaire and Tom Paine, tried to wipe out Christianity from France. Karl Marx said that "religion was the opium of the masses". His spiritual children - the socialists and communist still have their heathen societies in place in Cuba, China and parts of the old Soviet Union. Even there, God has a small remnant who can still bring hope to the few they are allowed to.


So my friends, on the last day - Day 14 of 14 Days of Prayer and Fasting for America and religious freedom, we should remember a couple things:
1. Religious Freedom came at a price when ordinary men did extraordinary things in the late 1700's, so that they could have a chance to govern themselves, according to a unique system set up by the foundations of Godly principles.
2. Religious Freedom first begins with personal freedom - freedom from your own past and sins, into a life of true peace, joy, happiness and contentment. 


Sure there are many of our citizens, then and now, who did not believe as we do. These men and women did, and some still do, contribute to the Great Experiment called America. However, as time and events move closer to the end of all things, we will see increasing evidence of them versus us. It is only by usurping our God-given and Christ-bought-at-the-Cross Freedom they can achieve whatever plans they have to serve themselves. Always remember, the power of men to lord it over others is only temporary and here for a brief time on this earth. But we, our calling, our destination, our Salvation, is permanent. We are set free for eternity and while we may have troubles and tribulation, hold fast - help is not only on the Way, but He is with us always, my fellow Christians! Greater is He Who is in us, than he who rules the current world, for a short time. Sure pray for those who are lost and who oppress other, and pray them into His capable Hands, but always keep our eyes on the Greater Prize - Christ, our Hope and the Glorious Day coming when we see Him Face to face! WHAT A DAY THAT WOULD BE!


Thank you to the wonderful saints in the United States, Canada and South Africa who stayed and prayed these past fourteen days as we purposed on this mission for Religious Freedom and Personal Freedom in Christ! The Lord heard our cries of repentance, submission and intercession for the lost, hurting and the oppressed. If you wish to join a group of prayer warriors on Twitter sometime, usually every Wednesday morning, you can pray with some mighty prayer warriors from the US, UK and South Africa there, by using the hash tag #EuropeAfricaUS.


May God bless and keep us all and may God continue to shine His Mighty Face on the United States of America! Father, in the Mighty Name of Jesus, thank You so much for the privilege of being in Your Presence and for the honor and duty You gave us to pray for Your Grace, Mercy, Righteousness and forgiveness, not just these past two weeks, but each and every day of our lives. Thank You for the Freedom to do this, and for the country You allowed me to set up over 230 years ago, which has allowed Your saints not just to flourish here in the US, but to spread that love and the bountiful goodness of this land around the world to others in need!

Thank You for Your Awesome Son - the Savior - the Lord Jesus - the God Who became a man that He may see and live like we did, so He would be our High Priest, Intercessor, Prophet and King before the Throne daily, as we pray to You, through Him. It is He - the Lord - Who has set us free. It is He - the Lord- who has given us Eternity.  It is He - and He only - to Whom we bow the knee, in reverence, submission and hope to live a life free from the flesh, and one full of the Spirit of the Living God Who has sealed us until the Day of Redemption.


Father, make Your Face to shine once again upon America, remove the dross and let the true jewel shine. Cleanse us from all unrighteousness and forgive us for participating in the sinful evil culture of not just Hollywood, but the filth of an MTV generation through music, books, films and theologies which have now corrupted churches and millions of people who have deceived themselves into thinking You are pleased with this Laodecian-like behavior. 


We pray today for the return of Preachers, Evangelists and prophets like Whitefield and Edwards and Moody who would stand on the Gospel and not run megachurches like businesses with their private jets and million dollar houses and clothes. 


We pray for a rising up of the Body in a movement of prayer, sacred assembly and revival like Ezra did as the remnant returned to rebuild Jerusalem 2600 years ago.


We pray for leaders now and in the future who will follow Your will and conduct themselves accordingly...and Lord leaders who not just appear in churches during election season with a christian mask on, but men and women who live and govern, in they forget, is their temporary stewardship, according to the Word of God. Even if they do not believe as we do, Lord, You have already written Your Law in their hearts and they are doubly accountable because of their higher position of authority and their consciences should dictate their conduct. Lord, show those, who follow the broad road and lead others into things You did NOT ordain in Your Word, show them their works will be judged accordingly, if they do not repent and turn to the Savior.


We pray finally Lord for this country, that it will return to You before it is too late. You have given us ample warnings in these natural disasters, which the lost have taken to calling "Global Warming". 

We pray most of all for our children - that they may be protected from a corrupt society which seeks to educate them in every manner of depravity and ungodly conduct dressed up in the sheep's clothing of tolerance and alternate lifestyles. Bring Godly intervention to the sleeping church, which has allowed this to happen and not say a word about it.


Father God, bless this day, give us strength and hope, most of all give us the Perseverance of the saints of God to make it through these days so we can not only flourish as a Body spiritually, to the end, but we can lead many to a saving knowledge of Christ, in Whose Name I pray, amen.

(images by google & ndptf, co springs)

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO OUR TROOPS WORLDWIDE!

To celebrate the end of the war in Iraq, I offer this video as a tribute to our men and women, who are still stuck on a base, outpost or aircraft carrier out there - in the defense of Freedom.


Two years ago, I made this video for an original song by my wife, Vicki. She is singing here and is accompanied by my nephew Brian Morgan. This was recorded in an old Baptist church in northern Illinois. 


Historians can debate the merits of this war and others, in the fight of terrorism. All we know is these long and drawn out wars, have taken a huge toll on the lives of our servicemen and women and their immediate families. Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome has risen to over 50% of returning Gulf and Afghan US Veterans.


These same veterans are suffering from alcoholism; broken marriages; depression; physical disability from combat. However their biggest issue was despair with life, due to an inability to cope away from the horrendous battlefield. 


These men and women need our prayers and support, now more than ever! They especially need it at this time of year!

Merry Christmas to all servicemen in the United States Armed Forces!


Here is the Word of God to comfort them:
Psalms 18:31-36 For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God?—the God who equipped me with strength and made my way blameless. He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights. He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your right hand supported me, and your gentleness made me great. You gave a wide place for my steps under me, and my feet did not slip.