Help Us, Lord

The fact that we have awakened to a new day, means that there is hope to be grasped in this day. I pray that we would  all be helped to grab onto it through Jesus the Lord.  Through Him all things were made and FOR Him all things were made.  IN Him all things hold together.  There is no hope or truth outside of Him.

O, Heavenly Father, we present ourselves to You, this morning, for service in Your kingdom.  Lord, we do confess our unworthiness before You to receive anything good.  We do not deserve Your help.  In fact we have sinned against You - our God - and our brothers and sisters in Christ - as well as the world of people who are lost.  We are no better than they, and do not deserve Your mercy or forgiveness.  But in Your kindness, You have made a place for each of us, that is in Your Presence.  In that place, You have provided opportunity to examine ourselves, and allow You to take away from us the sins that we embrace, as well as those we do not even know we have committed.  Keep us today, Lord, in the place of the 23rd Psalm.
Take our hearts and cleanse them and give us clean hands this day.

We pray for our country today, and the men and women who are governing it. Most specifically we lift up to You our president.   Please put Your desires into their hearts and guide them in Your ways.  Just as Abraham asked God to spare Sodom and Gomorrah if there were only 10 righteous people in those cities, we also ask that for the sake of Your people that you spare this country and us with our families.

We also pray for leadership in our cities and towns.  Show them the way of salvation today, and give them wisdom to lead us into Truth.

I pray that You will protect families and communities here.  Save the loved ones in our families who are lost.  Preserve us, Lord and protect us.  We will perish in our sinful ways if You do not help us.  Give us Your desires and increase our love for You.  Forgive our selfishness.  Inhabit these temples - these bodies of ours after we are cleansed and consecrated.

In the Name of Jesus Amen

A Warning

This is a warning.  Don't leave yourself open to the enemy.  He is looking for places that will be a foothold for him so he can scale the wall that separates he and you. Don't think that you are without sin.  If that's what you think you are calling God a liar. Don't be lulled by comfort or quiet.........  If we could see into the spirit world right now, I believe we would be dismayed at the huge increase of activity there.  The enemy is working very hard to deceive the world and everyone in it.  And, believe me, there are many who have fallen, or are at risk of losing all.

Believers are called to finish the race; to throw away everything that encumbers, to not hold dear anything of this world; to not fear man or devil; to overcome;  to be strong in His strength; to judge ourselves and confess our sins, though we have already done so (we must never consider ourselves above sin - as pride has shown us it is no respecter of persons).

We must know how to judge a person's words and actions (but never their heart) so that we are not unaware of the enemy around us.  We are to love radically, forgiving all, but not forsaking all we have learned.  Forgive, but don't throw away caution.  And know that forgiveness is not the same as trust.  Only God can be fully trusted.  Man will disappoint, fall short and fail.  It is God who provides what we need and protects us.

The enemy is very sly, and will attack in ways that you do not even know.  You will think that you imagined your fear and that it was a groundless warning  more due to chance than to God's wisdom imparted to you.  He specializes in attacking you while dressed as an angel of light.  He is a wolf among sheep.  Make no mistake.  He comes to kill, maim and destroy.  There is no middle ground.  Pay attention when the red flags wave in your spirit.

The enemy is the voice that says, "God is great - but I am greater;  God is powerful, but I am more so; God makes things better, but I know best; God can feed you, but with me you will feast..........  The grass that always looks greener is not real.  It is a mirage.  And after you have succumbed to the lie, he will shame you and condemn you.  He will not offer redemption or forgiveness like our God does...........

It is not too late, to agree with God.  He is a merciful God.  He does not merely dispense mercy, but He IS mercy.  If we will humble ourselves, confess our sins and admit our need for a saviour who is Jesus Christ - God's own Son - He will hear from His holy habitation and will come and save.

Do not be deceived.  God is not mocked.  We will all reap what we have sown whether that be condemnation and punishment or mercy and the removal of our sins.  Bow down before Him and repent.  God is coming soon and He has warned and warned and warned.  It should come as no surprise, but to many it will.  Today hear His voice as He calls your name.  While it is still today, receive Him.  To all those who are weary and heavey laden, come to the Son whose burden is light.
Shalom (may we destroy the power that fuels chaos).  

Be Smart

Is there a weariness setting in on you these days?  Does there seem to be more to tend to than you are capable of, and do you ever get to the end of your list?  I think this is a sign of the times we live in.  I believe that we are in the terminal generation.  You may not agree with me, and you may dismiss that idea altogether.  But one thing is for sure.  The world is changing so fast it makes my head spin.  People are redefining good and evil, and they have thrown out the old morality and brought in one to their liking.  Power in the world is shifting.  Relationship is easily replaced with the fascinating electronic play things, and we don't socialize like we once did.  And I think you would agree that there is a certain power that resides in the world and in the heart of man that is evil.  

I want to encourage you to count the minutes you have in each day, and don't waste any of them.  We are running out of time.  Every day brings us closer to the unknown.  All our efforts have only served to complicate things, and leave us bound to what can only be a place of unimagined dangers.  It has become a world where only "useful" people are valued.  The disabled are discarded.  

Here is the good news:  Each one of us has been chosen to live at this time.  We have all been gifted if we are His children.  We have even been given protective gear.  We are called to battle evil.  Whatever time we have left, there is still time to spend it learning to stay alive in this darkness that can be more felt than seen.  

We must learn to discern at a moment's notice what is most important and what is just important.  I believe one of Satan's tactics here at the end, is to get our attention on the wrong things and miss the opportunities that God has given us.  If Satan can keep us from praying about things of God's choosing, and asking for all the wrong things, then he has defeated us.

And don't think that defeat is not a possibility. We must not coddle any sin and we must know how to listen to Him.  Pray! Ask Him to take you where He would have you go, and encounter those people of His choosing, and put the right words on your tongue.  These are the little things that make us victorious and powerful.  Leave no small thing undone, for it is in the small things that you are proved faithful.  

I wish I could write you a book!  There is so much to say..........  But perhaps this will encourage you and help you in your walk.  I hope so.  We must encourage one another!