NEW LIFE - A MONTH OF VERSES: JANUARY 13, 2017

VERSE: "Righteous are You, O LORD, that I would plead my case with You; Indeed I would discuss matters of justice with You: Why has the way of the wicked prospered? Why are all those who deal in treachery at ease?" (Jeremiah 12:1)

FORMULA: If God chooses that some prosper, then let it be of no concern to us.

ACTION: Even in a fallen world, the grace of the Good Lord falls on the Just (Christians) AND the unjust (the majority of the Lost and dying world). From the beginning of time, evil men (and women) have prospered and become even wealthier than the people of Yahweh, who most times scratch and claw for a living. Our role - to accept what God has given us, to strive to do better without sinning against Him and our fellow man and finally to TRUST HIM completely for even the parking spot we lose at the top of the line at the grocery store parking lot.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, we know that YOUR ways are not our ways. We know that You work all things to those who love God and follow You, in full trust and obedience. Lord we cannot explain why bad people seem to be the wealthiest, and loudest and even the most obnoxious, but help us to be like the Apostle Paul, our role model. He knew what was like to be hungry, cold, poor and persecuted and at times, he was well fed and warm. In all things, Paul trusted fully in You, seeing the reward ahead and the true riches of Christ which are not of this world.  We know You will deal righteously as Jesus said of the rich man who was in hell while the beggar Lazarus was in paradise. He was not in hell because he was rich, but because he lived his own way all his life, ignoring You. Lord help us to understand this day that the best thing we can do is pay attention to our own souls and those around us, and then let You, our one True God of Heaven and Earth, take care of the rest, in Jesus' Strong Name, amen.

(Clip Art Credit Here)

THE PRAYER OF MOSES - PART 6

7 For we have been consumed by Your anger, and by Your wrath we are terrified.
8 You have set our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your countenance.
9 For all our days have passed away in Your wrath; we finish our years like a sigh (Psalm 90:7-9)
Fortunately, Moses was not speaking of himself personally here, even though his sin in striking the Rock for water, when God told him specifically to SPEAK to the Rock here in Numbers 20. Moses was punished for this and never got to lead the children of Israel into the Promised Land - Joshua did. 

Moses saw firsthand the terrible anger of the Lord. From the Ten Plagues of Egypt, which were directly right at each of the ten pagan demonic gods of the Egyptians to fiery serpents which killed thousands of rebellious Israelites in the desert, and everything in between – Moses knew it was a fearful thing to fall into the Hands of the Living God. Nothing could shake the image in his head of God’s discipline of the grumbling ungrateful elders of Israel who were led out of Egyptian bondage and wanted to go back under it. Moses knew how swift and fierce the Judgment of God against evil doers could be.

Secondly, as the author of the Book  of Genesis, Moses was given the historical record of the early days of mankind directly from God. He knew exactly what he wrote in Genesis 6 which led up to Great Flood of Genesis chapters 6-9. All of corrupt mankind except Noah and his family and two of each kinds of animal, were wiped off the face of the earth, by a God Who said He regretted making man. That scroll he wrote must have stuck in his mind until the day he died at age 120.

So we know the Mighty Power of God to destroy evil. He will do so again. John 3:17 said that ( in the First Coming) Jesus did not come to condemn the world but to save it. This is true.  However later on, Romans 1:18-32 describes the filthy condition of mankind today, from the highest to the lowest level across the entire world. The coming Judgment of Jesus in the Book of Revelation, and as described in detail in Isaiah and Ezekiel 38 and onwards, is not a picnic. The opportunity for humankind to be saved will also be over. The armies of the United Nations and the antichrist will be no match on that day for the Commander in Chief of Heaven’s armies as He reclaims His creation and sets up His 1000 year Throne in Jerusalem. 

Psalm 90:8 mentions our iniquities – the worse of the three levels of sin.  Sin, Transgression and Iniquity are ascending in their offense against Holy God. Romans 1:18-32 contain the indictment against all evil men and women; the corrupt culture, massive pagan religions which destroy people and deny God and a synagogue of Satan which claims the Name of Christ for respectability but is a wolf clothed as one of Jesus’ sheep. Those iniquities of Psalm 90 precipitate the Wrath of the Lamb.

When the Books of all mankind are opened before the Great White Throne of God, all secret sin will be revealed and judged of those who were not sealed as truly born-again Christians. (see Psalm 90:8b).  They – the majority of all human kind- will be eternally separated from God and depart with more than a sigh. However when Moses wrote this part of the prayer in Psalm 90:9b, he did not know of the Redemption plan of Yahweh, His best Friend in the desert for 40 years, to step off the Throne 1500 years later and sacrifice Himself on a Cross for the Hope of all who believed! It was not revealed to Him.

Our takeaway (and/or Action Point) from this portion of the Prayer of Moses (Psalm 90:6-9) is that we do not have to pass from this life to the next with a dissatisfied or scared sigh! We should check out of here with all flags flying, dirty boots and torn jeans from fighting for one more soul with the Gospel of Christ –whether through prayer or evangelism!  At the very least, it is the easiest thing in the world to have all our sins, transgressions and iniquities forgiven so we can march under the Banner of the Christ, with Jesus as our Lord and Master right into eternity, where He has prepared a place for us with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!

                                                                                                              (Photo Credit Here)

TEN DAYS OF PRAYER FOR THE PERSECUTED CHURCH: OCTOBER 24-NOVEMBER 2, 2014, Day 10

My friend, Pastor Mike Henderson said in his upcoming new book "SIFTED

GENERATION" that Hatred is the daughter of Persecution. If you look at the sheer evil and brutality of the forces of darkness - from Pakistan to the Iraqi deserts to Nigeria's Boko Harum - it is just pure out and out hatred for God. We also do have persecution and harassment of Christians in places like North Korea and

Reverend Lleonart Barrosa &
wife, Yoaxis Marcheco Suarez

the latest from Cuba is the wife of a pastor - Yoaxis Suarez - who is under heavy harassment by the communist government of the Castro brothers. These are the same Castro's whom American leftists and atheists deify as their role models for governing.

Several years ago, when Pope John Paul II visited Havana, Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, who owns 32 houses while most of his people starve, promised to reopen a Catholic church in Cuba. However the same compassion does not extend to evangelical Christianity and bible-preaching protestants who see the hopelessness and spiritual vacuum in Cuba. As a result of speaking out, several Cuban pastors are now under the gun and facing worse, on that island.

The following is from iCommitToPray as we lift up the latest incident from this Caribbean island, which is of prime importance to the United States, due to its proximity:
Authorities arrested the wife of a Cuban pastor and religious freedom activist on Oct. 16 and tried to force her to sign a document that could be used as justification for future arrests and criminal charges. Yoaxis Marcheco Suarez, the wife of Reverend Mario Felix Lleonart Barroso, refused to sign the document but was warned that she will face imprisonment if she continues to have contact with "counter-revolutionary" elements. Reverend Lleonart Barroso and his wife have had numerous run-ins with the police because of his activism and interaction with other pastors who have faced persecution from Cuban authorities.

YOU MAY ALSO POST A PRAYER HERE FOR HER AND ALL CHRISTIAN LEADERS IN CUBA (AND WORLDWIDE) WHO STAND NOT JUST FOR THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST, BUT FOR THE RIGHT TO LOVE AND MINISTER TO HIS PEOPLE.
WE MUST ALSO PRAY FOR AMERICAN PREACHERS, WHO ARE THEMSELVES BEING SIFTED, TO STAND APART FROM THE PROSPERITY, WORD FAITH AND THE LIBERAL APOSTATES OF THE MAINLINE PROTESTANT CHURCHES.

LET US PRAY:
FATHER GOD, WE REMEMBER WHEN THE LORD JESUS SAID IN HIS WORD, TO "BE ON THE ALERT" AND STAND AND WATCH BECAUSE OUR REDEMPTION DRAWETH NIGH. LORD, WE KNOWETH NOT THE DAY OR THE HOUR WHEN WE SHALL BE IN THY PRESENCE AND MEET THEE FACE TO FACE, BUT FATHER WE KNOW WE ARE TO USE OUR TIME WISELY TO MINISTER TO THE LOST AND THE HURTING AND THE ABANDONED AS WELL AS THE PERSECUTED WORLDWIDE. HELP US TO STAND IN THAT TRUTH AND CALLING AND EVEN ANOINTING TO BE ALIGNED WITH THE MASTER AND HIS WILL, AS DEMONSTRATED AT THE CROSS AND ALL HIS TEACHINGS.

LORD, WE PRAY FOR NEW VIGOR, NEW VISION, NEW VICTORIES FOR THE KINGDOM DAILY....NOT THE KIND OF VICTORIES WHICH THE PERISHING WORLD COVETS BUT THOSE WHICH WILL SHINE THROUGH THE REFINING FIRE OF THE JUDGMENT WHEN WE, THE ELECT, STAND BEFORE THEE TO GIVE AN ACCOUNT OF OUR STEWARDSHIP. THE CORRUPT AND EVIL WHO RULE THIS CURRENT WORLD DECEIVE THEMSELVES AND THEIR FOLLOWERS THAT THERE IS NO JUDGMENT, THERE IS NO SIN AND THERE IS NO WRATH WHICH IS TO COME. THEY BLASPHEME YOUR WORD, YOUR DEEDS THROUGHOUT 6000 YEARS OF RECORDED HISTORY AND YOUR POWER, BECAUSE THEIR JUNK SCIENCE AND SCIENTISTS DO NOT KNOW YOU.

BUT WE KNOW YOU FATHER, THE MASTER PRAYED FOR US IN THE GARDEN IN JOHN 17 THAT WE MAY BE ONE AS YOU AND HIM, ADONAI, ARE ONE. THROUGH YOUR SPIRIT, OH ELOHIM, MASTER OF ALL THINGS, WE ARE NOW ONE WITH THEE AND THY PRECEPTS. WE ALSO ARE ONE WITH EACH OTHER AND THAT INCLUDES OUR BROTHERS WHO ARE PERSECUTED -WHETHER IT IS PASTORS AND THEIR WIVES RIGHT NEXT DOOR IN CUBA...OR ANYONE UNDER THE PERSECUTION OF ISLAM OR OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS HERE IN OREGON, COLORADO, NEW MEXICO OR THE SCHOOL CHILD WHO IS TOLD HE CAN'T READ HIS OWN BIBLE IN HIS OWN FREE TIME AT SCHOOL. LORD WE PUT THE ENEMIES OF CHRIST INTO THY HANDS AND PRAY THEM THERE FOR YOU ATTENTION, WHILE WE PRAY FOR THEIR SALVATION AND THE SOULS THEY ARE AFFECTING. BY DOING THAT, WE FULFILL THE SCRIPTURES TO PRAY FOR THE ENEMIES OF THE BRETHREN WILL LOVING ON OUR OWN PEOPLE - YOUR ELECT. FATHER GOD, YOU ARE OUR DEFENSE AND WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED. WE LOVE YOU, WE PRAISE YOU, WE MAGNIFY AND GLORIFY YOUR NAME, THROUGH CHRIST OUR KING AND COMMANDER, AMEN AND AMEN.

(Information and photos from Cuba, courtesy iCommitToPray.com)

THE FINAL PRAYERS OF JESUS: PART 1 - FOR HIS DISCIPLES

THE HIGH PRIESTLY PRAYER

John 17:1-19New American Standard Bible (NASB)

17 Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, 2 even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to [a]all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life. 3 This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. 4 I glorified You on the earth,[b]having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. 5 Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

6 “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. 7 Now they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You; 8 for the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me.9 I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours;10 and all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them....

CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE PASSAGE 

THE WILL OF THE FATHER

(Credit: East Balsam Baptist Church, Wisconsin)

As earthly fathers, I know that nothing pleases us more than when our children do what we ask them to do. In all cases I know of, we always ask them to do something that will be beneficial to their health, safety and future.  I know of no father in my circles of influence, who does not wish the best for his son or daughter - none. Jesus Himself confirmed that truth when He said which of you fathers, if your son asks you for bread, you will give him a stone? (Matthew 7:9)

Well, the answer is not one of us would do such a thing.  We sacrifice (well most of us do) and live way within our means so our kids can have the best of clothes, food and education. We have no control over what corrupt politicians do to destroy their futures with crushing long term debt (now over $100,000 for each of our unborn grand-children), but in our own way, we can teach and set them on the same course the ant took.

Proverbs 6:6-8 (NLT) says Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise! Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work, they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter. This is a philosophy we can pass on to our children that, unless they're the small minority of honor students with large scholarships to fine university, they should break into life gradually. The ant is an industrious little creature who goes about his work like nobody's business. He is not proud nor does he make waves. He just does what he does and builds, provides and stores up.

Our Heavenly Father created that ant.
Father God also created us to work like that ant, but with His Law written in our hearts, so that even the pagan in remotest Papua, New Guinea, will know right from wrong. 
Father God created us and the creation around us. ALL Creation testifies to His Majesty, Power and great attention to detail. God is in the details - not the devil.
Father God also created us with a conscience to know when we violate that law which He has written on our hearts. This conscience testifies to the existence of the power of sin to move us away from Father God, even while we perform the great work of earthly fathers and industrious ants.

Yielding to the Power of Sin is NOT the Will of Father God, our Heavenly Father and Daddy - Abba! Yielding is not - but OBEYING is! There is no more perfect example than the Lord Jesus "Who offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to Him who was able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of his reverence.  Although He was a son, He learned obedience through what He suffered. And being made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him!" (Hebrews 5:7-9)

There it is! This is Father's Son - God Who became man, OBEYING GOD the Father...how much more is it demanded of us that WE obey seeing that there is a coming Day when all will stand in the Judgment. Even pagan leaders are good providers and fathers to their daughters and sons, but that does not mean they are in the Will of the Father. If a man, no matter how high up or low down he is, claims he is doing what God put him on this earth to do - he is both a liar and in the end, he is not a good example of God's representative to his family.

What every man who calls himself a christian is not just supposed to, but commanded to do (by Scripture) is to teach his family to listen to, love and trust and obey God. To bring it down to the nitty gritty, the destination in our internal GPS should always be Heaven. This is what real men of God do - prepare to lead everyone in their household to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. This is the only purpose in life - to know God and enjoy Him forever.

The true success we have in life, is to see ALL of our children TRULY saved, TRULY KNOW WHO the Savior is and that they TRULY have a REAL relationship with Christ. We can know this for sure, on this side of eternity if we ourselves walk in righteousness all the days of our lives.

My wife once told me that we have to be 150% more righteous so that our kids can be 75%. There is some truth in that because they will have to find their own level of living in Christ once we lead them there and show them the road map. This is important for them and their children to get into the Kingdom of Heaven. We do NOT want to be part of the majority who did not heed this warning from Jesus for either our children or us, on that Day -  “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven...Matthew 7:21

There will be no excuse then, but there is still time now. We have the Scriptures NOW to instruct us. If we really want to have a truly great Father's Day which will last beyond this one day every year, we will both do the "Will of the Father" as Jesus said in this verse and then ensure our kids live by it!

So what is "The Will of the Father" you ask? Scripture has the full answer - "For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:40).

The words "looks on" as in "who looks on the Son (Jesus)" literally means everyone who "partakes of, experiences, gazes on, beholds, walks, talks, lives and has a relationship with (theoron in the Greek)....will live forever in Heaven! This is should be our standard as earthly Fathers. Is it yours?

All Scriptures except where noted are from English Standard Version (ESV)

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. 

THINK ON THESE THINGS - HAPPY FRIDAY

JUST DO IT!

Would you, under threats of...or actual scorn, derision or worse continue in solid faith to the accomplish the easy task, which the Son of God called you to?

Would you spend years and years building, for instance, a boat so huge and detailed and safety specific thousands of miles from the nearest ocean?

Would you, could you have this kind of Faith?

Would you, in an age of instant gratification, painstakingly build a massive boat  with primitive tools and limited resources, BY HAND...day after day for 120 years?
It was by faith that Noah built a large boat to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about things that had never happened before. By his faith Noah condemned the rest of the world, and he received the righteousness that comes by faith....Hebrews 11:7
There had to be days when this man and his family scratched their heads....in the middle of landlocked (what is now Iraq/Iran) and wonder "what flood"?!



Yet they pressed on. 


This is a great lesson for us. Whether it is to pray for an unsaved child, relative or friend for years....something we may not see in our lifetime....or to reconcile with a former friend who has wronged you....or to give your last $20 to a single mom at the grocery counter and put back that ice cream and case of Coca Cola on the shelves....when God calls us to do so something unusual or that does not make sense at the time - JUST DO IT!


JUST DO IT!

You may not see the rewards or the results in your own lifetime....but one day in heaven, when that kid or friend comes up to you and says "Thank you, because you humbled yourself and apologized to me, even though I was the one that wronged you - I got convicted of my sins and got saved...I want to thank you for that!"


This is worth more than anything in this filthy world!
This is WHAT FAITH IS ALL ABOUT!