PSALM 103 VERSE 5 - "OUR PROVIDER AND STRENGTH"

Who satisfies your years with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle. (Psalm 103:5)

Let us take an honest look at ourselves. Consider our possessions - what do we have in this life that God did not give to us? Some WILL and DO say, “well, I worked hard for thus and such, so I deserve it!” This is all fine. But where did you get the knowledge, wisdom, and expertise to not just perform that job or service and do it correctly so that someone would reimburse with either a salary or some sort of monetary compensation? Who opened the door for this employer or that one over there, to make a place at his or her organization so that a job can be had? Who put it in the mind of the two or four people interviewing you, that this is the person who should be hired, instead of the other 49 of the 50 who had the same qualifications?

You know who did everything just spoken of above? God did. He is not only the One Who makes these appointments of His Providence but He provides the means for us to have good things. The good things we eat, come from God. The warm home in the winter, and cool in the summer home we live in with our families, comes from God. The vehicle we drive, which takes us safely to our job and back or to visit family for Easter and Thanksgiving, comes from God. Did we work for it? Yes. Did we work hard for it and show up on time and obey the rules? Yes. Did we manage it properly, so bills could be paid, yet still family time be made special? Yes. But it was all because our loving Heavenly Father smiles His Grace, Love, and Goodness upon us! As the half-brother of our Lord Jesus – James says “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow" (James 1:17).

Some will say, doesn’t the evil and wicked or even the non-believer in this world do just as well,  or even better financially than most of God’s people? Yes, this is true. The same sun that shines on us, shines on them. The same rain, and snow etc….also  falls on them.  God loves even them, just as He loved us before we repented, got saved and became Christians. In fact, God leaves the doors open for those who are lost to come to Him and make peace, before it is too late. If we want to be really good Christians, we will pray for the wicked to turn to Christ.

In Psalm 103 verse 5, we have yet another reason for us to “bless the Lord” – because of that delicious chocolate bar you just ate or the running shoes you just put on for gym class. He is generous beyond measure and we cannot outgive God. Speaking of this, the second part of this verse is even more instructive.  We always hear that “youth is wasted on the young”. This is true. A lot of us did things in our youth, which wasted so much time, or channeled our energies into the wrong direction that we all wished we could do it all again. Of course, this is impossible, but the experience of misspent youth can help mold us into even better Christians and witnesses for the Lord. There are many Fourth Quarter Christians like myself, who are in the best years of our lives.  We are living proof of our “youth being renewed….” as the verse says. 

Designed by the Author of Life for those who are seasoned, this is actually more of an exhortation the follower of Christ who has followed Him for a long time to stay the course. We stay the course not just because He gives us the good things we described above, but because He is the Source of Our Strength. Towards that, He reminds us in Isaiah 40:31 of this truth:

Yet those who wait for the LORD

Will gain new strength;

They will mount up with wings like eagles,

They will run and not get tired,

They will walk and not become weary.

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

DAY 2 (JULY 2, 2014):

PRAYER FOCUS: THE AUTHOR OF LIFE

Peter, the man with the "keys to the Kingdom of Heaven" (which is actually the Living Word of God" in the most stirring sermon by any mortal man, in an act of divine revelation, called Jesus "The Author of Life" in Acts 3:15. The man who ran like a coward and denied Jesus three times when the high priest of Israel had Him arrested, was now boldly preaching Christ in the marketplace, as an example for us to proclaim the Word of Life. (Thousands were convicted and saved that very day).

The word Author is translated from the original Greek word "archégos" which the Holy Spirit put in there to designate Jesus as  the Originator, the Founder, the Leader, the Predecessor, the Creator of Everything. We know that He is the Word. We know that Jesus is the Word Who was with God. We know He is the Word Who IS God. We know He is the Creator of ALL things so let's go directly into prayer at this time:

Most Holy and Righteous Father, I thank Thee on this very day for the Life You have breathed into me, which is meant to glorify You in every way. I thank Thee for Thy Grace which thought of me...and everyone around me which brought this entire paradigm into being, for such a time as this. Lord, I thank You for Your Son - Jesus Christ - the Way the Truth and the Life. I have Life today, because of Him. I have breath today because of Him. I have Eternal Life as well as physical Life today, because of Him.

I have Liberty today, because of Him. I have bread today because of Him - not just the bread that temporarily feeds the body, but the living Bread that nourishes and feeds the soul. Oh living Word of Life, the grave could not keep the King and the Universe cannot contain Your Glory. I magnify, glorify and cry out in praise this very day to the Heavens in gratitude for the Life You have given,

Most merciful and compassionate God, Your blessings are for all generations, Your compassion never ceases, they are new every morning. Even when I fall short of Your Glory, Your irresistible Grace aboundeth. Even when I fail to see the Majesty and Splendor around Your throne, because I look around instead of UP, Your Love draws me in. Even when I followed a path You did not set, Your Spirit guided, provided and protected me back into alignment that the very angels of Heaven were sent to watch over me in my failures. In my sin you rescued me. From my Egypt, You delivered me. From my woe, You encouraged me. From my despair, You lifted me. From my own wilderness of Zin, You directed me. From my loneliness, You gave me love. From my hopelessness, You gave me hope....and from my dark night of the soul - YOU GAVE ME JESUS!

Lord, most Holy God, You are the only Way, not just to Heaven, You are the only Way to live daily. You are the only Way to live righteously. You are the only way to live a productive life as a member of the fellowship of the saints...so that while we live in this world, we will not be conformed to this world.

Lord, most Holy God, You are the Truth. Your executor in Jerusalem Pilate asked you "what is Truth"? There is none truer that You. Your Word can be trusted. Your Word can be proven. The perishing world which denies you proves You daily by not just archaeological finds which confirm the Scripture but gives us the Hope that You can be believed. 

Lord, most Holy God, You are the Life - the Giver of Life and the Author of Life. Oh Living Savior, Who sits on the very Throne of Heaven, I worship and adore you and thank You for as the Scripture in Hebrews 12 as I fix my "eyes on Jesus, the Author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God". Thank You Lord, as that Author of Life. Thank You Lord, as the Author and Perfecter of the Faith You have given me, for writing my name in YOUR BOOK OF LIFE. Thank You! I bless and praise Your Holy Name and bow before You in gratitude and awe, in the Strong and Mighty Name of Jesus, Amen.

A FORTNIGHT OF PRAYER

DAY 7

DON'T BELIEVE THE FATHER OF LIES 

But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. (Genesis 3:4 ESV)

Before the woman bought the first-ever deception from the serpent of old - Lucifer - in the Garden of Eden, she had to buy the first-ever lie ever told. Thus began the greatest war of all times - the War between Good and Evil.  That lie has had the biggest impact on the history of mankind and reverberated through History. It is a war which will culminate in the Reappearance of the Creator - Jesus Christ - as He lands on Mount Zion, one day soon, to reclaim that which is lost.


In the mean time "we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12 ESV)  By the way, if you go back to late August-early September 2011 (HERE), you will find a complete explanation of this hierarchy of hell as laid out in the Bible in Ephesians 6:12. This is important as we wind up Week 1 of A Fortnight of Prayer - 14 Days or Prayer and Fasting by both Catholic and Evangelical churches in, and for America, as well as prayer by saints worldwide from Canada to South Africa - for the entire Body of Christ. We have shown, in this site, that our Prayers are for everyone and everything the Spirit leads us to - from Marriages to Salvation of the Lost.


Let us recap briefly what we have done in the past week:
1. Recognize the Calling and Commission to Pray and Fast, from Jesus Christ Himself.
2. Realized our helplessness before the Lord, unless we live a FULLY repentant lifestyle.
3. Revived our walk with our Best Friend - Jesus - as He has rejuvenated and restored us.
As a result of all of this, we are ready now for the hard work of pressing in for Freedom, through Intercession - praying for others; for Christian Liberty, for Religious Freedom and for the Return of the King!


It used to be there were only two things certain in life, according to Mark Twain - death and taxes. Add higher fuel and food prices to that! Add higher costs of education and the American Dream to that! Add anything you can think of, which make our daily lives easier than it had to be for our ancestors, even less than 100 years ago. Now, look at the lie we have bought about this so-called Dream rather than BELIEVE the Word of God "and all these things will be added unto you"!


We are now seeing the House of Cards starting to collapse with no foundation under it. The quiet desperation of many is so obvious it is mind boggling. The hopelessness because of the lies of man and his politicians, who sold multiple generations a bag of fake pearls is palpable. The lie that there is a free lunch, served up on expensive china, while living life in a hammock (under a coconut tree) has not only been sold to Americans, but in Europe, as well, which is collapsing under heavy debt, unemployment and taxes. The lie was that we can have all of this and somebody else would pay for it. The only gift that we really never had to work for and which Someone else paid for, is the Free Gift of Eternal life through Christ's Sacrifice on the Cross!


Yes, my friends, we bought the Big Lie because, as Jesus told His Disciples, we neglected His Words here: "do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember? (Mark 8:17-18 ESV) So, therefore, please pray with me right now:


Father, in Jesus' Holy Name, we are so sorry we have deceived ourselves into something which we may have known deep inside to be questionable. Father, week after week, we sat in Your churches around the country and globe and thought if we followed the formula, we too could have the successful and prosperous life which we see others having or which our forefathers may have had. Lord, with each successive generation, the expectations of more and more people are for big salaries, faster cars, sleeker condos, more high-tech electronic toys and the paid vacation-time off to enjoy all of this in the resort town of our own choosing. Lord, yes, we bought the lie of the inappropriate commercials on TV and the brainwashing of the culture.


As is now obvious, oh God, finally more and more are coming to the realization it was all a pipe dream. As more and more of our young people and children move back home with broken dreams and broken bank accounts due to high college debts, put upon them by a parasitic college system, help us to learn from this deception....and to see through many of the fake solutions now being proposed by those who got us into this horrible estate in the first place! To make it worse, my God and my King, when we need You and Your Word more and more in the marketplace, in our schools, in our combat zones in Afghanistan and in the lonely aircraft carries and army bases, we are being told that YOU - the Creator of the Universe and the Father of ALL things....the Owner of  all the Cattle on 10,000 Hills, the One Who hung the moon and the stars....Lord, we are being told and expected to bow down to, the increasingly harsh philosophy that we not only DO NOT NEED You, oh God my Savior, but that we had better not talk about You or Pray in the Name of Jesus if we are military chaplains or opening a session of the local Town Council! And Lord, to make it worse, many in Your so-called church, are compromising with this Deception to show that they too are tolerant, and "in tune with the times"!!!


Father, I reject that in Jesus' Name. Lord, help us to reject the lies of the enemy that we should keep our "Faith" behind the four walls of our church and not walk it out the other six days of the week. This is the same deception from Genesis 3 because it leads to spiritual death and separation from You. Lord, give us the boldness, courage, fortitude and ability to live through these evil times, when we are constantly told to hide our Bible; not pray in public and to not mention the Name of Jesus...so we can be seen to be "tolerant", when this is PRECISELY what this dying world needs now to get through these trying times, before the man of sin is revealed and events lead to Jesus returning to reclaim His Creation. Father God, I bow down and surrender all my mind, body and soul to Your control that this may be accomplished and that I will see, along with Your saints worldwide, that ALL GOOD THINGS COME FROM THE FATHER OF LIGHTS - YOU, and that nothing eternal or precious comes from following the powers and principalities of darkness, in the Strong and Mighty Name of Jesus the Lord, amen and amen!

(image by google)