prayers
So, my multitasking skills aren't what they used to be! Or maybe as I mature I am preferring to live in the moment more instead of my mind being on several other things. That's certainly true when I have my more than 1 grandkid at a time. Not only do I want to immerse myself in whatever we are doing, it's sort of critical since right now I have one who is 3 yrs old and the other is 19 months. If my sharp eye wanders, no telling what we will end up with. They are the reason for my absence and slacking these last couple of days. It takes me 1-2 days to get into a routine I can count on when they are with me. It's a sweet time but challenging none the less. I think I have a handle on it now :) It's encouraging to know that you've all been praying anyway. So much happening I'm guessing many of you are as confused and bewildered as I am. What is happening to our country? What is God doing? And where do we fit in to His plan? Daily questions with not so many answers right now. I am feeling the daily need to go back to the basics and remember where we always stand with God. A friend shared part of her prayer time this morning and it was from A. W. Tozer, one of my favorite theologians. I found this article and felt it was a pretty important reminder for today. God is always first, and God will surely be last. To say this is not to draw God downward into the stream of time and involve Him in the flux and flow of the world. He stands above His own creation and outside of time; but for the convenience of His creatures, who are children of time, He makes free use of time words when referring to Himself. So He says that He is Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, the first and the last. Man in the plan of God has been granted considerable say; but never is he permitted to utter the first word nor the last. That is the prerogative of the Deity, and one which He will never surrender to His creatures. Man has no say about the time or the place of his birth; God determines that without consulting the man himself. One day the little man finds himself in consciousness and accepts the fact that he is. There his volitional life begins. Before that he had nothing to say about anything. After that he struts and boasts and utters his defiant proclamations of individual freedom, and encouraged by the sound of his own voice he may declare his independence of God and call himself an “atheist” or an “agnostic.” Have your fun, little man; you are only chattering in the interim between first and last; you had no voice at the first and you will have none at the last. God reserves the right to take up at the last where He began at the first, and you are in the hands of God whether you will or not. This knowledge should humble us and encourage us, too. It should humble us when we remember how frail we are, how utterly dependent upon God; and it should encourage us to know that when everything else has passed we may still have God no less surely than before. Adam became a living soul, but that becoming was not of his own volition. It was God who willed it and who executed His will in making Adam a living man. God was there first. And when Adam sinned and wrecked his whole life God was there still. Adam did not know it perhaps, but his whole future peace lay in this – that God was there after he had sinned. The God who was there at Adam’s beginning remained there at his ending. God was there last. It would be great wisdom for us to begin to live in the light of this wonderful and terrible truth: God is the first and the last. The remembrance of this could save nations from many tragic and bloody decisions. Were notes written by statesmen against the background of such knowledge they might be less inflammatory, less arrogant; and were kings and dictators to think soberly of this great truth they might walk more softly and speak less like gods. For after all they are not really important and the sphere of their freedom is constricted more than they dream. Shelley tells of the traveler who saw in the desert two vast and trunkless legs of stone, and near them half-buried in the sand lay a shattered face with a “wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command.” On the pedestal where once the proud image had stood were engraven these words: “My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair.” And, says the poet, “Nothing else remains. Round the decay of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare the lone and level sands stretch far away.” Shelley was right except for one thing: Something else did remain. It was God. He had been there first to look in gentle pity upon the mad king who could boast so shamelessly in the shadow of the tomb; and He was there when the winds of heaven blew down the statue and by the swirling sands covered with a mantle of pity the evidence of human decay. God was there last. from The Root of the Righteous by A. W. Tozer https://sheepfodder.wordpress.com/2010/04/16/god-is-the-first-and-the-last/  PRAY: Merciful and Loving God, You are our Lord and our King and we long for the day when You will receive us into Your Heavenly abode. Until then, we place this nation of America at your feet and ask that You might once again look upon us with favor. May we repent and begin once again to serve You. Yet, for the honor of Your holy name, we pray that Your will be done in this great land. Our confidence is in You. Blessed be Your Name in all the Earth, Amen.
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 This is our 40th day of prayers for this President and this election. I will continue to post and pray until we have a final conclusion to our presidential race. I hope you are continuing to pray with me. 2 Chronicles 6:40 “Now, my God, may your eyes be open and your ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place." God is on board Habakkuk 1:5 – Look among the nations and see, wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told. Those who “go down to the sea in ships” know that the time to plan for a storm is before it hits. They know it is good to have a written plan to rely on when it is time to start locking the hatches, securing the port holes and setting the anchor. When the severe weather is at hand, the checklist keeps the sailor calm as he prepares. An unprepared boat will likely break free. Corrie Ten Boom once wrote, “In order to realize the worth of the anchor, we need to feel the stress of the storm.” The American ship of state is being tossed about on very stormy political seas. In his book, God’s Chaos Code, Dr. Lance Walnau, author and professor, writes: “The American storm is larger than racial, gender, and political division. When the disciples feared that the storm would sink the boat, they cried out and awakened Jesus who arose to rebuke the storm. The challenge for us is that there is no physical Jesus to awaken—it is the sleeping body of Christ that must awaken and speak to the storm. Angry waves have overtaken the ship, and demonic winds may lash the vessel violently, but God is on board this boat. To quell the ferocity of the storm, it’s going to take all of us finding our place in the midst of the crisis, the chaos, and the call of God.” O Mighty and Righteous God, the condition of America is no surprise to you. To have watched us build to the position we are in through years of setting You aside from national discourse to now when You and we are mocked, ridiculed, and, in some cases, persecuted. Jesus said that in this world we would have troubles, but we need not fear, for He has overcome the world. We place our reliance on You today to guide us in overcoming. Help us stand strong for You, to contend for the faith, not to give in to the “demonic winds that lash the vessel violently,” but to maintain our reliance on You and the work You are doing. We await in anticipation of what You are performing. Guide us into the part You desire us to have, we pray. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
 The Great I Am - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgpoOhoc4Hs The mountains shake before him The demons run and flee At the mention of the name King Of Majesty There is no power in Hell Or any who can stand Before the power and the presence of the Great I Am! AND REMEMBER HE HAS A BRIGHTER DAY PLANNED FOR US! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itbi6V9oFIk "What you did on Calvary makes me wanna love you more" What is your strategy? Psalm 5:11 – But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy. Every professional golfer, and many amateurs, know that the best strategy when it comes to sand traps is to avoid them completely. But that doesn’t happen. Getting out of a sand trap can be one of the hardest shots to master in golf. The right loft, spin, and impact are tricky. The golfer’s number one decision when he finds himself in that situation is to choose the right club. Then take the right set-up, find the right grip, make the right shot, and follow through. Another seldom considered strength is for the golfer to keep the right mindset. And consistent practice is essential. For many Christ-followers, they prefer living the life of faith as one smooth fairway shot after another, and an easy putt into the cup time after time. Just one blessing after another! Even as you talk about being thankful for the blessings that God gives, when you are honest, you will admit that the spiritual sand traps are out there, and they can sometimes be hard to avoid. James says, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds” (James 1:2), when you fall into those sand traps. Using the golfing metaphor, then, to extract yourself from those things that interrupt the flow of joy in your life, use the right tool—your Bible is the first place to go for answers. Then take the right stand…don’t shift about from one foot to the other but find your balance in the wisdom of God. Get a grip! Pray. Seek the Lord in all things. Having the right mindset means putting your thoughts on things above, not on earthly things (Colossians 3:2). Keep at it. Then look for the joy and put a smile in your heart, for God is continuing to bless you, to teach you, to comfort you, and to protect you. Holy God, today’s verse from Psalms says to sing for joy. Makes me think of an old hymn: “What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear. What a privilege to carry everything to Him in prayer.” And “Have you trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere? You should never be discouraged. Take it to the Lord in prayer.” Coming to Your very throne room and placing ourselves at Your feet is certain joy. Knowing You hear us because You love us and You care about what concerns us, brings us joy. Thank You for giving us that joy which is unspeakable and full of glory. You are a good and loving Father, and we love you. Amen.
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Why pray?Lifting our elections up to the Lord helps all of us keep the focus on the most important topics as well as softens our hearts to love everyone, even those with whom we may disagree. Believing differently shouldn't stop us from sharing God's love and His Word with others. Archives
May 2022
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