God's Word for Friday, 1/31/2020

Can you believe it's the end of January already? Fun flies when you're doing time ... :^)

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Statement:

For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.

Psalm 86:5 KJV


Commentary:

Bend an ear, God; answer me. I’m one miserable wretch! Keep me safe—haven’t I lived a good life? Help your servant—I’m depending on you! You’re my God; have mercy on me. I count on you from morning to night. Give your servant a happy life; I put myself in your hands! You’re well-known as good and forgiving, bighearted to all who ask for help. Pay attention, God, to my prayer; bend down and listen to my cry for help. Every time I’m in trouble I call on you, confident that you’ll answer.

Psalm 86:5 MSG

God's Word for Thursday, 6/13/19

And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

Luke 11:9-13 KJV

“Don’t bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need. This is not a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we’re in. If your little boy asks for a serving of fish, do you scare him with a live snake on his plate? If your little girl asks for an egg, do you trick her with a spider? As bad as you are, you wouldn’t think of such a thing—you’re at least decent to your own children. And don’t you think the Father who conceived you in love will give the Holy Spirit when you ask him?”

Luke 11:9-13 MSG

God's Word for Thursday, 11/29/18

O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for his mercy endureth for ever.

Psalm 136:1,26 KJV

Thank God! He deserves your thanks. His love never quits. Thank the God of all gods, His love never quits. Thank the Lord of all lords. His love never quits. God remembered us when we were down, His love never quits. Rescued us from the trampling boot, His love never quits. Takes care of everyone in time of need. His love never quits. Thank God, who did it all! His love never quits!

Psalm 136:1,26 MSG

God's Word for Tuesday, 3/20/18

In the same way that nursing infants cry for milk, you must intensely crave the pure spiritual milk of God’s Word. For this “milk” will cause you to grow into maturity, fully nourished and strong for life— especially now that you have had a taste of the goodness of the Lord Jehovah and have experienced his kindness.

1 Peter 2:2-3 (TPT)


If we are to grow, to mature, to become a useful part of the Lord's body of believers here on Earth, we must do so through His Word.

His Word is not just the written scriptures, but also Jesus Himself. Described by the Bible as the Living Word, He is the visible expression and completion of the law and the prophets, and of the Bible itself.

There's an old saying in the church: if you just have the Bible, you dry up. If you just have the Holy Spirit, you blow up. But with the Bible AND the Spirit, you grow up.

In John 12:32-33, Jesus says, 

"And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." This he said, signifying what death he should die.

What does that mean? If you look at the whole chapter, you'll see that He was talking about His impending crucifixion.

To put it in a modern frame of reference, if we preach Jesus, and Him crucified, the Holy Spirit will be there to do His work. Not only salvation, but also the maturation of the saints (that's all of us, folks).

When you talk about Jesus, the Spirit manifests to confirm the Word. (Mark 16:20) And a fully-mature, Spirit-led body of believers is something to see!

God's Word for Tuesday, 1/31/18

Lord, you are so good to me, so kind in every way and ready to forgive, for your grace-fountain keeps overflowing, drenching all your lovers who pray to you.

Psalm 86:5 TPT

A Prayer of Thanksgiving & for the President-elect

Many of you are aware that Christians in the United States, as well as our Israeli friends in their country, have been praying very hard.

We knew that the future of the U.S. depended entirely on the outcome of the Presidential election. We prayed as we have rarely prayed before, that His choice for leadership would be elected, and evil would be turned away.

In the words of King Solomon in 2 Chronicles 6:10, "And now you see the promise completed. God has done what he said he would do."

So now what? 

Now, it's still up to us. We cannot stop praying now. President-elect Trump has asked for prayer for wisdom, to steer this floundering ship of state away from the rocks, and back onto the path the Lord laid out for us.

We pray:
Father God, we humble ourselves before Your throne, and ask You to continue showing us mercy, for we are Your children. We do not behave as You commanded, but we want to. We as a nation have not been obedient for many years, and have allowed evil to sweep across this land. We ask You to forgive us for our lack of faith, our lack of sincerity, and our lack of trust.

But Father, we know this country was dedicated to You, and we want to return to that covenant with You. We repent for the sins of the United States, and ask You to forgive it once more, and heal this land.

Father, You are faithful, and we are wholly dependent on Your grace for everything we do. Let us be always mindful of You and Your commandments. Let us dwell in Your shadow, in that safe hiding place, and seek Your face as never before.

Father, we thank You for exposing the evil and laying bare the fraudulent activities which might have stolen the election. We thank You for seeing Mr. Trump through to victory.

Now, Lord, we ask You to guide and protect Donald Trump, and let him be Your instrument as the head of state. Let the nation remember Your goodness, and return to You.

We ask You to restore that which has been lost or abandoned, and make the United States of American a shining beacon of the strength and goodness which flows from Your throne when the people are obedient to You.

And we ask this in Jesus' most wonderful Name. Amen.

We Got the House :)

I must proclaim that our God is faithful, and does what He says He will do. Sixteen days ago, we contacted a Realtor, but she got hinky and stopped returning our calls. It was exactly 8 days from first contact with the new Realtor until we had a signed contract. Hallelujah!

A Few Thoughts & Some Encouragement

According to an article in this morning's Daily Worker, the government shutdown could be responsible for some 13,000 Alaskans being directed to stay home for the duration.

I bear no ill will toward my fellow Alaskans, but I remind readers that the government doesn't have any money of its own. It has only that money which it first takes away from citizens in the form of taxes and other fees.

But as has been widely noted, that government spends money far faster than it takes it in, leading to a seven trillion dollar increase in the national debt in the last five years. That's faster than at any other time in the nation's history.

So if a small portion of the government is forced to stop for a time, it slows the rate of debt growth. At the risk of seeming insensitive to those whose paychecks will shrink, I'm okay with the slowdown.

It's our money.

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Speaking of federal spending, a regional director of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said that any glitches in Alaska health exchange rollout won't undermine the goal.

The "goal", of course, is to drive most Americans into bankruptcy with huge medical bills. This will force them to rely more and more on government handouts and programs. This will also - eventually - drive private insurance companies out of business, leaving the government as the so-called "single payer" that they've said they want to be.

And that, of course, is "the goal."

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But this is the day the Lord has made; I will rejoice, and be glad in it!

He is in charge, and while there are some things the nation must go through, I trust Him to be waiting on the other side - and to restore the United States to even greater than its former glory.

This nation was devoted to Him by the Pilgrims on the Mayflower, and He doesn't take such things lightly.

So don't be afraid; He's not done with us yet!

An Answer to Prayer

I just got off the phone with my cardiologist. Saturday's stress test/nuclear imaging shows minimal damage to my heart - no further procedures/surgeries required.

Just stay on the meds, and I'm cleared to start exercising again.

Thank you, Lord!!!!!


And thank you to all those of you who were praying for me. I will always be grateful for the outpouring of support.

You folks are the BEST.

Verse for a Tuesday

I will praise You,
For You have answered me,
And have become my salvation.

The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone.
This was the Lord’s doing;
It is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day the Lord has made;
We will rejoice and be glad in it.

(Psalm 118:21-24, NKJV)

Passing Through

How many folks are going through something that they’d rather not be going through?

That would be just about everyone. Everybody’s going through something; don’t think it’s just you. Some things are more serious than others, in the eyes of the world, but how do YOU see it?  Are you looking at it through the eyes of the world, or the eyes of faith?

Some time ago, a very good friend of mine went through an absolutely awful time - he describes it as "probably the worst time I've ever experienced." An employee accused him of something horrible, and four of Anchorage's finest came to pay him a call. In their time-tested tradition, they all but convicted him on the spot, and threatened to haul him in front of a judge right then and there.

In his words, 

"I was floored. I know I must have gone pale, as I could feel the blood drain from my face. By the grace of God, I was so shocked by what they were saying that I didn't say anything at all. (I hadn't yet seen the videos where attorneys and even law enforcement officials tell us to say nothing - I just couldn't believe what I was hearing, and couldn't say anything at all.)

"I've never prayed so hard in my life. My wife and I were on our knees right away, and I contacted other friends in ministry all over the country so that prayers were going up from all angles."

Of course, there was no evidence whatsoever, and it appeared that the employee made it up in order to get his job. At least, that was her plan. It didn't work out for her, because he had no police record & no one could be found to substantiate her wild accusation.

But he still gets cold sweats just thinking about what could have happened. It could have destroyed his family and his life. His accuser turned out to be a complete train-wreck of a person, and her life quickly fell apart thereafter. Much of what she hoped would happen to him, wound up happening to her instead.

Trust God to save you from what you’re going through – believe Him! “Well, I don’t know, brother. I’ve seen Him do things like that for other people, but …” Then He won’t help you.

I didn’t say He CAN’T help, I said He won’t. “Without faith, it is impossible to please God.”  Sound familiar?

Psalm 34:6 says, “This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.”

Psalm 34:19 – “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivers him out of them all.”

In John 16:33, Jesus said, “In the world you have tribulation & trials & distress & frustration, but be of good cheer (take courage: be confident, certain, undaunted)!  For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you & have conquered it for you.] (Amp.)

The apostle Paul wrote that we are “more than conquerors through Christ” – “more than conquerors” through the Anointed One and His anointing.  We must not forget that.

If you're going through problems right now, no matter how bad, first put on the whole armor of God – Ephesians 6:13-18 says, 

"Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests."

Psalm 31:1 - 5 says, 

In you, LORD, I have taken refuge;
   let me never be put to shame;
   deliver me in your righteousness.

Turn your ear to me,
   come quickly to my rescue;
be my rock of refuge,
   a strong fortress to save me.
Since you are my rock and my fortress,
   for the sake of your name lead and guide me.
Keep me free from the trap that is set for me,
   for you are my refuge.
Into your hands I commit my spirit;
   deliver me, LORD, my faithful God. 

Remember, Jesus said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” In other words, “do not allow it to happen.” Why would He say that, unless we had the authority to take control over it?  He never tells us to do anything that we can’t do . . . together with Him.

Remember that the Bible says, "And it came to pass ..."; it doesn't say, "It came to stay." Go on through, holding God's hand, and watch Him as He delivers you.

Wednesday, Part 2

Okay, so I'm not going to try to recap the day .. I've spent enough time in other stuff that I don't care to relive it all (that's not a complaint). I turn everything over to the Lord, anyway. If I go back into it now, I'd be taking it back from Him ... and He's way better able to take care of it than I.

AccuHunch swerved into the truth today, and forecast the current high of 72, correctly. What's that old saying about a broken clock is right twice a day? (Yes, kids, that dates back to analog clocks ... you know, the old-fashionedy ones with hands and stuff.) Digital clocks that don't work are frequently blank.

But I digress.

It's sunny, warm, with blue skies and a nice breeze. Warm enough in the sun that us thick-blooded northerners must run the A/C in the cars. Most of y'all down south (points on the other side of Vancouver from here) probably think 72 is temperate and ... well, let's say we saw native Floridians wearing sweaters in 80-degree weather, last November. We were wearing t-shirts, shorts, flip-flops, and were looking for shady spots to stand in.

But I digress again.

This has been a strange week, so far, and I'm glad that it's more than half over. Again, I don't want to delve into it because it wouldn't be productive. But things could be going more smoothly.

Let's just say I have friends in trying circumstances, at least one in harm's way, and others in the midst of personal tragedies of varying degree.

Having said that (twice ... yeah, I know I'm repeating myself), I've put on some shorts & a T-shirt, got a glass of cold tea, and I'm going to put my feet up & see what the other bloggers have been up to, today.

Have a good one if you can, folks, and if your lives are going smoothly, offer up a prayer of thanks. Life is still good!