Please! Please! Please! Do not commit suicide.
You are not alone.
There is hope for you in the days just ahead!
I am telling you something you can pray. This is not a magic chant that you have to email to others. This is not a repetitive chant for you to lift yourself through the great karma... There is a man named Jesus who loves you hears you when you pray. Give him a chance to help you.
Out Loud, right where you are, call Jesus Christ and ask him to hear you and help you. Ask him, "IF YOU ARE REAL - IF YOU CAN HEAR ME - Help ME. JESUS, GIVE ME HOPE.
Find a Bible, look in the index and find the Book of Matthew. It gives the testimony of real people, in real trouble, who needed hope and shows you how God helped them. The whole point is that if God can give these people hope and a reason to live, he can do it for you.
I am not selling anything. The offer here is what Jesus has done and will do for you!
Monday, December 22, 2008
Hello World! How is everybody out there in Radio Land!
We are signing on today to let you know we are back, we are strong, and we are ready to BLOG somebody!
You can safely respond using the comments button, so let's get this thing rolling for the new year.
You can also respond to these posts by email, and I will put key elements of your comments on without using your contact info. pmstrickland@dow.com
Newsflash:
Cara and I are going to visit the Philippines in January. I will be staying one week and she will be staying 2 weeks. Our time will mostly be with Carmelita Ofrecio-Langaoan and her husband, Benny. I have the honor to speak at their church's first year aniversary celebration. This will be in Baguio, about six hours drive, north of Manila. They are working with many college students and are having a great impact on the area.
I have many important friends in the country and hate it that I will not be able to contact them all. I love them all and I treasure their friendships. I just cannot get around to see everyone on this trip. I hope it is not my last trip. Maybe someone else will invite me back in the future?!
I would greatly appreciate your prayers. According Philippians 1.19, we supply the Spirit of Christ to each other through prayer. I need your help and support as I have never felt more INADEQUATE as a speaker and elder, but I am a servant of Jesus and will do as he commands and leads me. I definately believe I am in the perfect will of God in going. So pray for me for wisdom to give and and for me to learn the things God wants me to learn on this trip. Pray for Cara to be blessed and be a blessing. Pray for the safety of my family at home during this time. Actually, we have more support at home than we have ever had since I quit traveling with Kenneth Copeland.
Pray for the Philippines and for me to speak from heaven's authority. Thanks.
Later.
We are signing on today to let you know we are back, we are strong, and we are ready to BLOG somebody!
You can safely respond using the comments button, so let's get this thing rolling for the new year.
You can also respond to these posts by email, and I will put key elements of your comments on without using your contact info. pmstrickland@dow.com
Newsflash:
Cara and I are going to visit the Philippines in January. I will be staying one week and she will be staying 2 weeks. Our time will mostly be with Carmelita Ofrecio-Langaoan and her husband, Benny. I have the honor to speak at their church's first year aniversary celebration. This will be in Baguio, about six hours drive, north of Manila. They are working with many college students and are having a great impact on the area.
I have many important friends in the country and hate it that I will not be able to contact them all. I love them all and I treasure their friendships. I just cannot get around to see everyone on this trip. I hope it is not my last trip. Maybe someone else will invite me back in the future?!
I would greatly appreciate your prayers. According Philippians 1.19, we supply the Spirit of Christ to each other through prayer. I need your help and support as I have never felt more INADEQUATE as a speaker and elder, but I am a servant of Jesus and will do as he commands and leads me. I definately believe I am in the perfect will of God in going. So pray for me for wisdom to give and and for me to learn the things God wants me to learn on this trip. Pray for Cara to be blessed and be a blessing. Pray for the safety of my family at home during this time. Actually, we have more support at home than we have ever had since I quit traveling with Kenneth Copeland.
Pray for the Philippines and for me to speak from heaven's authority. Thanks.
Later.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
A Call to Fast and Pray by Mahesh and Bonnie Chavda
A Call to Fasting and Prayer
On November 4th, 2008, Americans will elect our new president and members of congress. These are crucial elections - our nation stands at a crossroads that will determine the course of America and shape the world we live in for many years to come.
After eight years in leadership, President Bush and Vice President Cheney will pass their duties on to a new administration led by the man America chooses. Whether that be Senator John McCain or Senator Barack Obama, we know that we will not only be electing the leader who will determine the future of the United States, but that our choice will affect the history of many other nations as well.
Electing the right people to serve in the Congress is also of critical importance. Therefore we are sounding the call for serious prayer, fasting and seeking God's face on behalf of ourselves, our children and the destiny of our nation.
From the intercessory headquarters of the Watch of the Lord™ we are calling Believers across America to join us for "40 Days 4 America" - a corporate forty-day fast, from September 2 to October 11, 2008. Whether you can fast with us for one day or several, we invite you to turn a page in history as you join us and many watchmen across America over the next several weeks in this corporate time of fasting. Be assured that history changes when God's people take the call to prayer and fasting seriously.
"Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the right way for us and our little ones and all our possessions...So we fasted and entreated our God for this, and He answered our prayer." Ezra 8:21,23
From Ezra to Esther, Jehoshaphat and Joel, when the future of their nation was at stake, we see God's people respond with prayer and fasting. When the Moabites, Ammonites and others rose up against Judah, Jehoshaphat humbled himself, acknowledged God's greatness and faithfulness and proclaimed a fast for all of Judah (2 Chronicles 20).
As the people worshipped and praised the Lord, He sent ambushes and completely destroyed their enemies. Israel fasted when Haman set about to destroy all the Jews (Esther 4:16). Ezra and several thousand Jews fasted as they embarked on a dangerous journey, and God protected them from assault (Ezra 8:21-23).
Intercession in Our Nation's History
In recent history, we learn from the journal of John Wesley that the king of Great Britain called for a solemn day of prayer and fasting in response to a possible invasion from France. On February 6, 1756, he wrote, "The fast day was a glorious day, such as London has scarce seen since the Restoration. Every church in the city was more than full, and a solemn seriousness sat on every face. Surely God heareth prayer, and there will yet be a lengthening of our tranquility...Humility was turned into national rejoicing for the threatened invasion by the French was averted."
Our spiritual father Derek Prince often related to us that as a newly saved young man serving in the British army in North Africa, he began to regularly fast and pray for the British forces. The British were losing the war in North Africa, and was on the longest retreat in their history, when a series of events transpired that opened the way for Churchill to appoint an as yet unknown commander, General Montgomery.
He was a man who feared God and was instrumental to turn the battle back, eventually leading to the Allied defeat of Rommel and the Nazi forces in North Africa. When Derek heard the appointment of Montgomery to the North African front on his field radio, the Lord spoke to him and said, "This is the answer to your prayer."
The prayer the Holy Spirit had given Derek for this momentous point of history was, "Lord, give us leaders such that it will be for Your glory to give us the victory through them." This is our prayer for America and our leadership for the elections in November.
We are in one of the most critical times of intercession in our nation's history. We can prevail in fasting and prayer for God's hand to shape the course of our nation according to His purpose and destiny. The following are areas we will focus on in this fast:
"40 Days 4 America" Prayer Focus
1. Humility and Repentance: God's heart is moved when He finds humble hearts. Isaiah 66:2 says, "This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at My word." Humility not only moves the heart of God, but it releases God's grace into our situation (James 4:6).
As we fast and pray together, let us humbly repent and seek God's mercy for our nation, our church, our city, our family and our children. "If My people, who called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14
2. Elections: 1 Timothy 2:1-2, "Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority..."
As we seek God's face on behalf of our nation, pray that He will give us a president of His choosing. We ask for leaders from the White House to the Supreme Court to Congress who stand for Judeo-Christian values, the great heritage of American democracy as a nation under God, and for life which begins in the womb. "Lord give us leaders such that it will be for Your glory to give us the victory through them."
3. Children: "Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed, but shall speak with their enemies in the gate." Psalm 127:3-5
The next generation is this generation's greatest treasure. Pray for salvation, breakthrough and blessing for our children. Pray for restoration of Godly principles in our education system. Pray for physical safety. Loose the angels to guard America's children at home and abroad. Pray for restoration to God's covenant for children who have strayed from His commands. As we pray for them we are asking for our future.
4. Armed Forces: "NO WEAPON FORMED against you shall prosper..." Isaiah 54:17. Pray for success in Iraq and Afghanistan. Pray Psalm 91 as a shield of protection. Ask for supernatural courage, vision, discernment and strength. Pray that God will give us military leaders from the top down who are worthy to lead our troops in war and in peace. Pray for the families who send and support our troops. Bind the spirits of terrorism, tyranny, and antichrist that pervade the opposing forces of our mission and our military. Pray MISSION ACCOMPLISHED in every endeavor. Pray that God bring them home in victory and honor.
"I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation." Psalm 91:15b, 16
5. Russia: "The scepter of wickedness shall not rest on the land allotted to the righteous..." Psalm 125:3. Pray for Russia as her leaders move to revive communist domination in their region. Pray for Russia's neighbors as they defend their new democracies against the old "bear" of Marxist communist tyranny. Bind manipulation of the media being used as an agent for evil against freedom.
6. Economy: "Man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord...Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him. For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing; a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper. When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you." Deuteronomy 8:3, 6-10
Give thanks for the economic blessing America has enjoyed. Pray for cleansing and healing where greed, avarice, mismanagement and sloth has affected America's national economy. Pray for a closing of the gaps in our economic strength, including on Wall Street and in big businesses. Pray for fresh fire and success on America's small businesses. Pray for deliverance from dependence on foreign oil for our energy needs.
7. Revival: "You send forth Your Spirit, they are created; and You renew the face of the earth." Psalm 104:30
Pray for personal, church and national revival. Pray for the restoration of our Godly foundations. Pray for restoration in every family, every neighborhood and every city. We are asking the Lord for permanent revival that will sweep across America, sweep across denominational lines and bring in worldwide harvest.
8. Peace of Jerusalem: Our spiritual heritage and prophetic destiny are joined to Jerusalem. The happenings in Jerusalem give us a prophetic pulse of God's hand in the nations. Pray for the peace of an undivided Jerusalem. Bless Israel in your prayers. Pray for leaders in Israel whom God appoints for His glory. Pray for Israel to be protected from her enemies inside and outside of her borders.
"I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they shall never hold their peace day or night. You who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent, and give Him no rest till He establishes and till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth." Isaiah 62:6-7
The nuclear weapon of the Church is the Blood of Jesus. That spiritual arsenal is loosed in the power of His name when His people fast and pray. Jesus told His disciples, "This kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting" (Matthew 17:21).
This authority is amplified as many join together in one accord. Fast with us. Pray with us. Join with us as the Lord gives us leaders such that it will be to His glory to give us the victory through them.
Our request is that if you can even fast for one day during 40 Days 4 America, please contact us so that we can put you on our list and cover you and your family during this season. You may either sign up online by clicking here to register for 40 Days 4 America, or by calling the MCM office at (800) 730-6264. In addition, if there is a special need that you and your family have for breakthrough in healing, finances, marriages, salvation, jobs or businesses, we invite you to send us your prayer request. We have seen testimony after testimony of breakthroughs in impossible situations when we add the power of many people fasting and praying together.
As you, your church or your prayer group join this call to fast and pray for America, register online or call us at our office to let us know you are participating in this historic hour.
"Lord give us leaders such that it will be for Your glory to give us the victory through them."
On November 4th, 2008, Americans will elect our new president and members of congress. These are crucial elections - our nation stands at a crossroads that will determine the course of America and shape the world we live in for many years to come.
After eight years in leadership, President Bush and Vice President Cheney will pass their duties on to a new administration led by the man America chooses. Whether that be Senator John McCain or Senator Barack Obama, we know that we will not only be electing the leader who will determine the future of the United States, but that our choice will affect the history of many other nations as well.
Electing the right people to serve in the Congress is also of critical importance. Therefore we are sounding the call for serious prayer, fasting and seeking God's face on behalf of ourselves, our children and the destiny of our nation.
From the intercessory headquarters of the Watch of the Lord™ we are calling Believers across America to join us for "40 Days 4 America" - a corporate forty-day fast, from September 2 to October 11, 2008. Whether you can fast with us for one day or several, we invite you to turn a page in history as you join us and many watchmen across America over the next several weeks in this corporate time of fasting. Be assured that history changes when God's people take the call to prayer and fasting seriously.
"Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the right way for us and our little ones and all our possessions...So we fasted and entreated our God for this, and He answered our prayer." Ezra 8:21,23
From Ezra to Esther, Jehoshaphat and Joel, when the future of their nation was at stake, we see God's people respond with prayer and fasting. When the Moabites, Ammonites and others rose up against Judah, Jehoshaphat humbled himself, acknowledged God's greatness and faithfulness and proclaimed a fast for all of Judah (2 Chronicles 20).
As the people worshipped and praised the Lord, He sent ambushes and completely destroyed their enemies. Israel fasted when Haman set about to destroy all the Jews (Esther 4:16). Ezra and several thousand Jews fasted as they embarked on a dangerous journey, and God protected them from assault (Ezra 8:21-23).
Intercession in Our Nation's History
In recent history, we learn from the journal of John Wesley that the king of Great Britain called for a solemn day of prayer and fasting in response to a possible invasion from France. On February 6, 1756, he wrote, "The fast day was a glorious day, such as London has scarce seen since the Restoration. Every church in the city was more than full, and a solemn seriousness sat on every face. Surely God heareth prayer, and there will yet be a lengthening of our tranquility...Humility was turned into national rejoicing for the threatened invasion by the French was averted."
Our spiritual father Derek Prince often related to us that as a newly saved young man serving in the British army in North Africa, he began to regularly fast and pray for the British forces. The British were losing the war in North Africa, and was on the longest retreat in their history, when a series of events transpired that opened the way for Churchill to appoint an as yet unknown commander, General Montgomery.
He was a man who feared God and was instrumental to turn the battle back, eventually leading to the Allied defeat of Rommel and the Nazi forces in North Africa. When Derek heard the appointment of Montgomery to the North African front on his field radio, the Lord spoke to him and said, "This is the answer to your prayer."
The prayer the Holy Spirit had given Derek for this momentous point of history was, "Lord, give us leaders such that it will be for Your glory to give us the victory through them." This is our prayer for America and our leadership for the elections in November.
We are in one of the most critical times of intercession in our nation's history. We can prevail in fasting and prayer for God's hand to shape the course of our nation according to His purpose and destiny. The following are areas we will focus on in this fast:
"40 Days 4 America" Prayer Focus
1. Humility and Repentance: God's heart is moved when He finds humble hearts. Isaiah 66:2 says, "This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at My word." Humility not only moves the heart of God, but it releases God's grace into our situation (James 4:6).
As we fast and pray together, let us humbly repent and seek God's mercy for our nation, our church, our city, our family and our children. "If My people, who called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14
2. Elections: 1 Timothy 2:1-2, "Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority..."
As we seek God's face on behalf of our nation, pray that He will give us a president of His choosing. We ask for leaders from the White House to the Supreme Court to Congress who stand for Judeo-Christian values, the great heritage of American democracy as a nation under God, and for life which begins in the womb. "Lord give us leaders such that it will be for Your glory to give us the victory through them."
3. Children: "Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed, but shall speak with their enemies in the gate." Psalm 127:3-5
The next generation is this generation's greatest treasure. Pray for salvation, breakthrough and blessing for our children. Pray for restoration of Godly principles in our education system. Pray for physical safety. Loose the angels to guard America's children at home and abroad. Pray for restoration to God's covenant for children who have strayed from His commands. As we pray for them we are asking for our future.
4. Armed Forces: "NO WEAPON FORMED against you shall prosper..." Isaiah 54:17. Pray for success in Iraq and Afghanistan. Pray Psalm 91 as a shield of protection. Ask for supernatural courage, vision, discernment and strength. Pray that God will give us military leaders from the top down who are worthy to lead our troops in war and in peace. Pray for the families who send and support our troops. Bind the spirits of terrorism, tyranny, and antichrist that pervade the opposing forces of our mission and our military. Pray MISSION ACCOMPLISHED in every endeavor. Pray that God bring them home in victory and honor.
"I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation." Psalm 91:15b, 16
5. Russia: "The scepter of wickedness shall not rest on the land allotted to the righteous..." Psalm 125:3. Pray for Russia as her leaders move to revive communist domination in their region. Pray for Russia's neighbors as they defend their new democracies against the old "bear" of Marxist communist tyranny. Bind manipulation of the media being used as an agent for evil against freedom.
6. Economy: "Man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord...Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him. For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing; a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper. When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you." Deuteronomy 8:3, 6-10
Give thanks for the economic blessing America has enjoyed. Pray for cleansing and healing where greed, avarice, mismanagement and sloth has affected America's national economy. Pray for a closing of the gaps in our economic strength, including on Wall Street and in big businesses. Pray for fresh fire and success on America's small businesses. Pray for deliverance from dependence on foreign oil for our energy needs.
7. Revival: "You send forth Your Spirit, they are created; and You renew the face of the earth." Psalm 104:30
Pray for personal, church and national revival. Pray for the restoration of our Godly foundations. Pray for restoration in every family, every neighborhood and every city. We are asking the Lord for permanent revival that will sweep across America, sweep across denominational lines and bring in worldwide harvest.
8. Peace of Jerusalem: Our spiritual heritage and prophetic destiny are joined to Jerusalem. The happenings in Jerusalem give us a prophetic pulse of God's hand in the nations. Pray for the peace of an undivided Jerusalem. Bless Israel in your prayers. Pray for leaders in Israel whom God appoints for His glory. Pray for Israel to be protected from her enemies inside and outside of her borders.
"I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they shall never hold their peace day or night. You who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent, and give Him no rest till He establishes and till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth." Isaiah 62:6-7
The nuclear weapon of the Church is the Blood of Jesus. That spiritual arsenal is loosed in the power of His name when His people fast and pray. Jesus told His disciples, "This kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting" (Matthew 17:21).
This authority is amplified as many join together in one accord. Fast with us. Pray with us. Join with us as the Lord gives us leaders such that it will be to His glory to give us the victory through them.
Our request is that if you can even fast for one day during 40 Days 4 America, please contact us so that we can put you on our list and cover you and your family during this season. You may either sign up online by clicking here to register for 40 Days 4 America, or by calling the MCM office at (800) 730-6264. In addition, if there is a special need that you and your family have for breakthrough in healing, finances, marriages, salvation, jobs or businesses, we invite you to send us your prayer request. We have seen testimony after testimony of breakthroughs in impossible situations when we add the power of many people fasting and praying together.
As you, your church or your prayer group join this call to fast and pray for America, register online or call us at our office to let us know you are participating in this historic hour.
"Lord give us leaders such that it will be for Your glory to give us the victory through them."
Questions Asked and Answered...
(The question posed here was posted after a fairly good article in the Chicago Sun-Times ... I decided to try to help un confuse the writer by answering below)
Question:
Please address these issues.I'll paraphrase the same question that Hillary Clinton asked her supporters. Is this about Obama being Black or Gov. Palin being a woman, or are there more substantive meat and potato issues here? If you are "pro choice" then Obama is your ticket. If you are "Pro Life" then McCain is your ticket. Now with that out of the way, what about health care, jobs, retirement, college for our children, etc? Whether it is a fetus, or child has been decided in Roe v. Wade. Each side has an opinion on that U.S.Supreme Court Ruling and I am quite sure that whoever wins this race will pack the court to deal with it. But on the meat and potato issues I AM CONFUSED. I am confused because a conservative is supposed to be "fiscally conservative", when out of our last four presidents, only the Democrat left office with a budget surplus. I AM CONFUSED becuase, as Gov. Palin so eloquently said last night, Republicans are for less government. However they just used billions of taxpayer dollars to bail out the private companies of Freddie Mac, Fannie May and Bear Stearns to prevent a recession of their making. I AM CONFUSED when Republicans say they have the answer for Americas problems when they have controlled the White House for the past eight years and Congress for the past seven, but the financial mess that we now have is due to the "Democrats", "welfare" and "the Liberal Press." I AM CONFUSED because Sen. McCain argues that Obama is unfit to be president because "he won't admit that the surge worked, but McCain voted for, what the great majority of Americans feel, was a un-necessary war. Please explain how the surge would have been necessary had we not gone to war?
Answer:
To: MRC ... Don't be confused, madame. I can help you. From the election sweep of 1994, the conservative sweep of congress effectively stopped the Clinton 's plans for making the U.S. a socialist country through the nationalized health care and massive tax increases that they had planned. They (Congress)reformed welfare and after vetoing it 3 times, Bill Clinton finally signed it and then took credit for it and the balanced budgets they produced, even though his whole life and philosophy opposed it.
It was congress that controlled and was responsible for budgets then and it is congress now. It is congress that deserves credit or blame for fiscal performance. Presidents can ask for good or bad policy, but if it gets done, it will be the controlling philosophy of the congress that does the deeds.
When the Republicans took over both houses of congress 2004, both they and the president began acting like Democrats with runaway spending. They are as guilty of poor performance then as the Dem's are now, and some of them even got caught in downright fraud, sex scandals, and corruption. They get thrown out when the Republicans catch them. Unlike the Democrats, we don't ignore corruption in our own house, IF WE KNOW.
Now, I don't know if the war to defend America is unpopular. I think it was necessary. It's not unpopular with me. I believe removing Saddam HELPED good people and HURT/hindered the plans of bad people.
It also staged our troops in the neighborhood where we needed to be able to deal with all the killers and bullies in the region ... you know, like Hezbollah, AlQeda, Hamas, the Government of Iran. They came here and attacked our civillians, our secretaries, and our children. When they decide to mix it up with us again, it won't be our weakest that they get to face. Our guys are now seasoned and ready, and able to protect us as long as they are not given two Democrat woosies as a Commander in chief.
I hope you are not confused any more.
More later!
Question:
Please address these issues.I'll paraphrase the same question that Hillary Clinton asked her supporters. Is this about Obama being Black or Gov. Palin being a woman, or are there more substantive meat and potato issues here? If you are "pro choice" then Obama is your ticket. If you are "Pro Life" then McCain is your ticket. Now with that out of the way, what about health care, jobs, retirement, college for our children, etc? Whether it is a fetus, or child has been decided in Roe v. Wade. Each side has an opinion on that U.S.Supreme Court Ruling and I am quite sure that whoever wins this race will pack the court to deal with it. But on the meat and potato issues I AM CONFUSED. I am confused because a conservative is supposed to be "fiscally conservative", when out of our last four presidents, only the Democrat left office with a budget surplus. I AM CONFUSED becuase, as Gov. Palin so eloquently said last night, Republicans are for less government. However they just used billions of taxpayer dollars to bail out the private companies of Freddie Mac, Fannie May and Bear Stearns to prevent a recession of their making. I AM CONFUSED when Republicans say they have the answer for Americas problems when they have controlled the White House for the past eight years and Congress for the past seven, but the financial mess that we now have is due to the "Democrats", "welfare" and "the Liberal Press." I AM CONFUSED because Sen. McCain argues that Obama is unfit to be president because "he won't admit that the surge worked, but McCain voted for, what the great majority of Americans feel, was a un-necessary war. Please explain how the surge would have been necessary had we not gone to war?
Answer:
To: MRC ... Don't be confused, madame. I can help you. From the election sweep of 1994, the conservative sweep of congress effectively stopped the Clinton 's plans for making the U.S. a socialist country through the nationalized health care and massive tax increases that they had planned. They (Congress)reformed welfare and after vetoing it 3 times, Bill Clinton finally signed it and then took credit for it and the balanced budgets they produced, even though his whole life and philosophy opposed it.
It was congress that controlled and was responsible for budgets then and it is congress now. It is congress that deserves credit or blame for fiscal performance. Presidents can ask for good or bad policy, but if it gets done, it will be the controlling philosophy of the congress that does the deeds.
When the Republicans took over both houses of congress 2004, both they and the president began acting like Democrats with runaway spending. They are as guilty of poor performance then as the Dem's are now, and some of them even got caught in downright fraud, sex scandals, and corruption. They get thrown out when the Republicans catch them. Unlike the Democrats, we don't ignore corruption in our own house, IF WE KNOW.
Now, I don't know if the war to defend America is unpopular. I think it was necessary. It's not unpopular with me. I believe removing Saddam HELPED good people and HURT/hindered the plans of bad people.
It also staged our troops in the neighborhood where we needed to be able to deal with all the killers and bullies in the region ... you know, like Hezbollah, AlQeda, Hamas, the Government of Iran. They came here and attacked our civillians, our secretaries, and our children. When they decide to mix it up with us again, it won't be our weakest that they get to face. Our guys are now seasoned and ready, and able to protect us as long as they are not given two Democrat woosies as a Commander in chief.
I hope you are not confused any more.
More later!
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Finally Some Good News On the Political Front!
Wow!
Pro-Gun Rights!
Pro-Life!
Loves Jesus!
Loves Her Daughter in the Face of Moral Failure!
Media Hates Her!
Go Sarah! Go John!
Worst possible news for Radical Islam, Iran, Russia ... Like Reagan.
Wait and see!
Pro-Gun Rights!
Pro-Life!
Loves Jesus!
Loves Her Daughter in the Face of Moral Failure!
Media Hates Her!
Go Sarah! Go John!
Worst possible news for Radical Islam, Iran, Russia ... Like Reagan.
Wait and see!
Thursday, August 28, 2008
In Human Relations Only Wisdom Connects Cause with Effect
I was reading The Finacial Times of London and found an article about major multinational firms that are leaving England because of the huge corporate taxes that are loaded up on them. They are moving to other, more business friendly locations.
What does "business friendly" mean? It means places that don't make it impossible for the company to make a profit. When they make a profit, everyone who owns their stock is helped. Teachers, preachers, construction workers, and plant maintenance people all get a raise. The companies that supply the company that profits, they get a raise, too. Churches and non-profit charities get a raise because the region is prospering.
There is always someone who, no matter how good things are, seem unable to participate in the goodtimes.
But if someone can get you to focus on the ones unable to participate, and convince you to change the whole system, then you too can do what the British and the French and the Europeans are doing. You too can kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. You can kill the prosperity of the entire region by ignoring how things work and trying to make them work a different way.
You see, the laws a government passes that increase the taxes corporations have to pay, increases their expenses. That, in turn, lessens the profit margin.
If the profit margin shrinks, the owners of the company start looking for ways fix this problem. They can move the company to places outside the authority of the tax raisers or they can vote out the tax raisers and vote in people who understand the effects of their actions have on business. But you can bet your bottom dollar on this one thing. Free people aren't gonna just take that loss and do nothing. I didn't say greedy people. I said free people.
The Democrats keep saying things at their convention that are not compatible.
They are going to raise taxes on the rich oil corporations and other big corporations to more fair levels - and - we need someone in office who will keep good paying jobs in America. What?
When they doraise taxes, the companies move, raise their prices, or both.
What's next?
Are you going to outlaw moving or raising prices?
Where does it stop?
Are you only going to outlaw companies moving or are you going to make it illegal for me to move?
The majority of Americans are enjoying lifestyles that, while they are not perfect, they are both better than their parents enjoyed and far better than the rest of the world.
Can it get better?
Maybe it can, but it won't be by going down the socialist route - where government takes your money and wastes it on social experiments dreamed up by communist professors at The University of Illinois at Chicago.
If it gets better, it will come from free people who observe and learn and apply what they learn without the chains of governmental control sinking them.
It will come from happy people.
It will come from thankful people.
It will come from young men and women with vision of what they can contribute to others by their ideas.
America's promise is not in what government can do for me.
It is what I can do for myself when I am left alone by government.
What does "business friendly" mean? It means places that don't make it impossible for the company to make a profit. When they make a profit, everyone who owns their stock is helped. Teachers, preachers, construction workers, and plant maintenance people all get a raise. The companies that supply the company that profits, they get a raise, too. Churches and non-profit charities get a raise because the region is prospering.
There is always someone who, no matter how good things are, seem unable to participate in the goodtimes.
But if someone can get you to focus on the ones unable to participate, and convince you to change the whole system, then you too can do what the British and the French and the Europeans are doing. You too can kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. You can kill the prosperity of the entire region by ignoring how things work and trying to make them work a different way.
You see, the laws a government passes that increase the taxes corporations have to pay, increases their expenses. That, in turn, lessens the profit margin.
If the profit margin shrinks, the owners of the company start looking for ways fix this problem. They can move the company to places outside the authority of the tax raisers or they can vote out the tax raisers and vote in people who understand the effects of their actions have on business. But you can bet your bottom dollar on this one thing. Free people aren't gonna just take that loss and do nothing. I didn't say greedy people. I said free people.
The Democrats keep saying things at their convention that are not compatible.
They are going to raise taxes on the rich oil corporations and other big corporations to more fair levels - and - we need someone in office who will keep good paying jobs in America. What?
When they doraise taxes, the companies move, raise their prices, or both.
What's next?
Are you going to outlaw moving or raising prices?
Where does it stop?
Are you only going to outlaw companies moving or are you going to make it illegal for me to move?
The majority of Americans are enjoying lifestyles that, while they are not perfect, they are both better than their parents enjoyed and far better than the rest of the world.
Can it get better?
Maybe it can, but it won't be by going down the socialist route - where government takes your money and wastes it on social experiments dreamed up by communist professors at The University of Illinois at Chicago.
If it gets better, it will come from free people who observe and learn and apply what they learn without the chains of governmental control sinking them.
It will come from happy people.
It will come from thankful people.
It will come from young men and women with vision of what they can contribute to others by their ideas.
America's promise is not in what government can do for me.
It is what I can do for myself when I am left alone by government.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
HRC's Speech: "A Marine Begs Take Care of Me?"
During Hillary Clinton's speech at the Democrat National Convention last night, she mentioned a wounded Marine who begged her, "Please, take care of me!" I can't hardly imagine it. Is it possible that a Marine, a real US Marine, begged Hillary to take care of him?
There were people like that in the times of the American Revolutionary War. They were called Tories. They were loyal to the English Crown and they humbled themselves to the King and called themselves his children and begged him to send his troops to them and to take care of them.
We have a growing, leftist, population in America, who pleads and begs the Fed's to pass laws that provide for them. They don't care that the only way to make that work is for the government to take away the hard earned money of the working people. the big money in the US is in the middle class pockets. If you are going to "take care " of everyone, and you promised to only tax the rich, you have to start calling anyone who make more than 40 or 50 thousand dollars a year rich.
That, though, is not what bothers me most. When someone pays your bills, they call the shots. All you have to give up is your freedom. Give up your liberty to think, to go and to say what you want, when and where you want, and we will provide for you. Thanks, but no thanks.
Liberty. Freedom. Justice. NOT FOR SALE! Not even for free health care.
There were people like that in the times of the American Revolutionary War. They were called Tories. They were loyal to the English Crown and they humbled themselves to the King and called themselves his children and begged him to send his troops to them and to take care of them.
We have a growing, leftist, population in America, who pleads and begs the Fed's to pass laws that provide for them. They don't care that the only way to make that work is for the government to take away the hard earned money of the working people. the big money in the US is in the middle class pockets. If you are going to "take care " of everyone, and you promised to only tax the rich, you have to start calling anyone who make more than 40 or 50 thousand dollars a year rich.
That, though, is not what bothers me most. When someone pays your bills, they call the shots. All you have to give up is your freedom. Give up your liberty to think, to go and to say what you want, when and where you want, and we will provide for you. Thanks, but no thanks.
Liberty. Freedom. Justice. NOT FOR SALE! Not even for free health care.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Samuel Adams: Then and Now!
Read what Sam Adams said at the infancy of our country and see if it stirs the courage and resolve to stand up to the world around us! His first paragraph asks a question. The second gives his answer.
“Bid us and our posterity to bow the knee? Supplicate the friendship, and plough, and sow, and reap to glut the avarice of the men who have let loose on us the dogs of war, in order to riot in our blood and hunt us from the face of the earth?
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen!" --Samuel Adams
My interpretation of Sam Adams statement would go like this:
You want what? You want me and my children to bow down to the terrorists and tyrants of the world by electing those who want to negotiate with our enemies rather than defeat them? You want my country to beg for their friendship in hopes that they won’t do to us what they’re already doing to other innocent people?
You want me to work, and make a living, and then pay them protection money?
You want to negotiate with those who torture their own people to satisfy their lust for power - people who bomb and kill people for wanting the kind of liberty you take for granted? And who then warn us and our allies that if we won’t apologize for existing, they will let loose on us the dogs of war? They publicly promise to riot in our blood, to hunt us from the face of the earth?
Let me tell you something.
If you love wealth more than freedom, and the peacefulness of slavery more than the exhilarating fight for freedom, I want you to feel free to leave us. We don’t want anything you have to offer – neither your counsel nor your help in the armed conflict. Crawl over to the politicians who promise to take care of you… and lick the hands that feed you.
I hope the chains they put on you do not chafe you and can be made to blend in with your designer outfit.
And as you go, would you do us one more favor? Don’t tell anyone you used to be an American!
That is what Sam Adams said. He said it in the 1770’s and I still agree!
“Bid us and our posterity to bow the knee? Supplicate the friendship, and plough, and sow, and reap to glut the avarice of the men who have let loose on us the dogs of war, in order to riot in our blood and hunt us from the face of the earth?
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen!" --Samuel Adams
My interpretation of Sam Adams statement would go like this:
You want what? You want me and my children to bow down to the terrorists and tyrants of the world by electing those who want to negotiate with our enemies rather than defeat them? You want my country to beg for their friendship in hopes that they won’t do to us what they’re already doing to other innocent people?
You want me to work, and make a living, and then pay them protection money?
You want to negotiate with those who torture their own people to satisfy their lust for power - people who bomb and kill people for wanting the kind of liberty you take for granted? And who then warn us and our allies that if we won’t apologize for existing, they will let loose on us the dogs of war? They publicly promise to riot in our blood, to hunt us from the face of the earth?
Let me tell you something.
If you love wealth more than freedom, and the peacefulness of slavery more than the exhilarating fight for freedom, I want you to feel free to leave us. We don’t want anything you have to offer – neither your counsel nor your help in the armed conflict. Crawl over to the politicians who promise to take care of you… and lick the hands that feed you.
I hope the chains they put on you do not chafe you and can be made to blend in with your designer outfit.
And as you go, would you do us one more favor? Don’t tell anyone you used to be an American!
That is what Sam Adams said. He said it in the 1770’s and I still agree!
Friday, August 15, 2008
Check This Out!
Go to "Telegraph.co.uk "
Read "After Russia's invasion of Georgia, what now for the West?" by John Bolton
Please God, Give us leaders like this.
Men of courage and wisdom and backbone!
Where are they?
We are going to be crushed by Iran and Russia if we don't show our willingness to stand up to their acts of agression.
Churchill told the world this and Chaimberlain and his party took the path of our current liberals.
The sad thing about what our schools, colleges and univesrities have been pushing for forty years, is that so many of our fellow Americans don't recognize wisdom and manhood and courage when they see it.
I hope there is enough to avoid disaster in November.
Read "After Russia's invasion of Georgia, what now for the West?" by John Bolton
Please God, Give us leaders like this.
Men of courage and wisdom and backbone!
Where are they?
We are going to be crushed by Iran and Russia if we don't show our willingness to stand up to their acts of agression.
Churchill told the world this and Chaimberlain and his party took the path of our current liberals.
The sad thing about what our schools, colleges and univesrities have been pushing for forty years, is that so many of our fellow Americans don't recognize wisdom and manhood and courage when they see it.
I hope there is enough to avoid disaster in November.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
John McCain Speaks to Russia in Real Terms
Wow! Now that is a Reagan-like response.
Check out: http://cameron.blogs.foxnews.com/2008/08/11/mccain-ups-the-ante-on-the-republic-of-georgia/
I remember when R. Reagan was running against Pres. Carter, he refused to say "what" he would do about the hostage situation in Teharan, Iran, but he promised them that they weren't gonna like it if he became the president of the US. Man, the Democrats squalled that he was dangerous and was gonna get us killed. (But words from a proven man of action, who has the capacity, courage and authority to back up those words, have always struck fear into the heart of tyrants and bullys.) The day he took office, the hostages were released. The Iranians decided they couldn't take the chance that he was for real and that he wasn't afraid to use the talents and assets God had put in America's hands.That is what I hear in John McCain's words above.
One of the problems Democrats have with the average American is that when they are in charge of the military and the power of the executive brach of government, they point it in the wrong direction, giving us the "Blackhawk Down" situation in Somalia, where our commanders in the field were begging for heavy armor and Les Aspin and the Clinton administration told them "No, we don't think you need it."
I have had a hard time getting behind John McCain because of his betrayal of the GOP while he was in the Senate, crossing the aisle and straddling the fence on key issues. But this statement is a breath of fresh air.
I may end up actually supporting this guy.
Check out: http://cameron.blogs.foxnews.com/2008/08/11/mccain-ups-the-ante-on-the-republic-of-georgia/
I remember when R. Reagan was running against Pres. Carter, he refused to say "what" he would do about the hostage situation in Teharan, Iran, but he promised them that they weren't gonna like it if he became the president of the US. Man, the Democrats squalled that he was dangerous and was gonna get us killed. (But words from a proven man of action, who has the capacity, courage and authority to back up those words, have always struck fear into the heart of tyrants and bullys.) The day he took office, the hostages were released. The Iranians decided they couldn't take the chance that he was for real and that he wasn't afraid to use the talents and assets God had put in America's hands.That is what I hear in John McCain's words above.
One of the problems Democrats have with the average American is that when they are in charge of the military and the power of the executive brach of government, they point it in the wrong direction, giving us the "Blackhawk Down" situation in Somalia, where our commanders in the field were begging for heavy armor and Les Aspin and the Clinton administration told them "No, we don't think you need it."
I have had a hard time getting behind John McCain because of his betrayal of the GOP while he was in the Senate, crossing the aisle and straddling the fence on key issues. But this statement is a breath of fresh air.
I may end up actually supporting this guy.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
What Happens When There is an Open Heaven
In the Book Genesis, there is a story of a man named Jacob running from his twin brother who had vowed to kill him, as soon as his aged father died. He had to run because he had cheated his brother out of his rightful inheritance. Since Esau was a warrior and a powerfully built outdoorsman, and Jacob was slick dealing salesman, Jacob decided it would be in his best interest to find greener pastures. So he hit the road, thinking he would never come back.
Jacob was convinced from birth that he was the rightful heir of the first-born blessing and was the favorite of his mother. Esau, a man’s man, was his father’s favorite. But his mom knew how to handle that, and she walked Jacob through a plan that used legal maneuvers to achieve their shared goal.
Now on the run, and fairly sure that he had left his father and his father’s God far behind, he stopped in the middle of nowhere and pulled up a rock to prop his head on for a miserable attempt to sleep. But he did go to sleep and he had a dream. In the dream, the God of his father, the “self revealing one,” came to him and begin to talk to him, right there where he was laying beside the road.
God spoke to him and extended the same promise to him that he had extended to his father and his grandfather before him. He offered to be his God based on a blood agreement and that if Jacob would accept the offer and walk with this God alone as his partner, that God would bless him and prosper him and use him and his children to extend God’s blessing to all the families of the world.
Jacob accepted this offer and promised God he would tithe (give God the first tenth of) everything he provided him. While God (JHVH) was speaking to him, the heavens opened up and a ladder began to come down from God. It kept coming until it extended down to the very spot where Jacob was sleeping. Then, beings from God’s dimension, from his place at the top, began to come from God down to Jacob and make deposits into his spirit that his head did not understand.
When Jacob woke up, he considered this a message from God spent the rest of his life attempting to honor that covenant he had made with God.
It wasn’t until some years later, after God had taken him through a character-building training course that he began to be conscious of what was deposited in him that night by God. It was hard times that brought them to the surface and showed him the value of what God had deposited in him that night.
He had ideas and understanding of principles that could not be attributed any schooling or training. He showed an understanding of times and seasons, honesty that he had not possessed before, and a principled character that would keep a covenant with God and others, even at great cost to himself.
When heaven opened up and angels came bearing heaven’s blessings and gifts, something solid and valuable and permanent was deposited in this former weakling that established a people and a family that has lasted for three thousand years. Selah. Wow!
Another time this phenomenon was mentioned was when John the Baptist baptized Jesus in the Jordan River. When Jesus came out of the water, “the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit was dispensed from heaven and came to Jesus to empower him for his approaching ministry. From that time on, Jesus began to be led in new and power-packed ways.
Then again, we see Jesus in John 1.43-51 using this term. He spoke to the disciples he had chosen and told them, “… you shall see heaven opened and God’s angels going up and coming down on the Son of Man.” (John 1.51 - Norlie’s Trans.)
What does that mean? Do they begin to see angels like Jacob did? No, there is no record of it. But the very next story is of a miracle that is much like the miraculous story of the white sheep being kept by Jacob producing spotted and speckled sheep that made Jacob rich.
In John 2.1-11, is the story of the wedding feast of Cana that Jesus mother had responsibility for and apparently because she was going to be embarrassed, she called on his ability by faith and the open heaven he had referred to at the end of chapter one gave them the blessing that they needed. What it means is that heavens abilities and resources become available to the earth any time there is an open heaven and that wherever Christ is, an open heaven is a permanent condition.
Finally, at least for this lesson, the Apostle Paul writes the letter that we have in the Bible, entitled Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians. In it, declares that every single believer and group of believers are “In Christ” and that there are blessings that are part of the package of being in Christ.
Listen to Norlie’s translation of Ephesians 1.3. “Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing that Heaven itself enjoys.” And then he begins listing them. Understand that these blessings are in Christ and when you receive Christ, the blessings and abilities are in him. Thus the glory (credit) is his, too.
According to Paul, the deposits God the Father has made in us include:
· Blessed
· Chosen
· Made holy
· Made blameless
· Loved
· Adopted
· Received Mercy
· Made us the objects of His Favor
· Redemption through his Blood
· Forgiveness for our sins
· The Riches of His Grace
· Grace is lavished on us in all Wisdom and Intelligence
· Insight into the Mysteries of His Will
· Unified in Christ with the Apostles, so that the church alive on the earth is not separated from the church in Heaven
· An Inheritance
· Manifested Glory
· The same rules apply to all the Believers
· The same Holy Spirit
· Sealed and Certified as belonging to God
· Holy Spirit as the Guarantee of the Full Inheritance as they experienced in Acts
Jacob was convinced from birth that he was the rightful heir of the first-born blessing and was the favorite of his mother. Esau, a man’s man, was his father’s favorite. But his mom knew how to handle that, and she walked Jacob through a plan that used legal maneuvers to achieve their shared goal.
Now on the run, and fairly sure that he had left his father and his father’s God far behind, he stopped in the middle of nowhere and pulled up a rock to prop his head on for a miserable attempt to sleep. But he did go to sleep and he had a dream. In the dream, the God of his father, the “self revealing one,” came to him and begin to talk to him, right there where he was laying beside the road.
God spoke to him and extended the same promise to him that he had extended to his father and his grandfather before him. He offered to be his God based on a blood agreement and that if Jacob would accept the offer and walk with this God alone as his partner, that God would bless him and prosper him and use him and his children to extend God’s blessing to all the families of the world.
Jacob accepted this offer and promised God he would tithe (give God the first tenth of) everything he provided him. While God (JHVH) was speaking to him, the heavens opened up and a ladder began to come down from God. It kept coming until it extended down to the very spot where Jacob was sleeping. Then, beings from God’s dimension, from his place at the top, began to come from God down to Jacob and make deposits into his spirit that his head did not understand.
When Jacob woke up, he considered this a message from God spent the rest of his life attempting to honor that covenant he had made with God.
It wasn’t until some years later, after God had taken him through a character-building training course that he began to be conscious of what was deposited in him that night by God. It was hard times that brought them to the surface and showed him the value of what God had deposited in him that night.
He had ideas and understanding of principles that could not be attributed any schooling or training. He showed an understanding of times and seasons, honesty that he had not possessed before, and a principled character that would keep a covenant with God and others, even at great cost to himself.
When heaven opened up and angels came bearing heaven’s blessings and gifts, something solid and valuable and permanent was deposited in this former weakling that established a people and a family that has lasted for three thousand years. Selah. Wow!
Another time this phenomenon was mentioned was when John the Baptist baptized Jesus in the Jordan River. When Jesus came out of the water, “the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit was dispensed from heaven and came to Jesus to empower him for his approaching ministry. From that time on, Jesus began to be led in new and power-packed ways.
Then again, we see Jesus in John 1.43-51 using this term. He spoke to the disciples he had chosen and told them, “… you shall see heaven opened and God’s angels going up and coming down on the Son of Man.” (John 1.51 - Norlie’s Trans.)
What does that mean? Do they begin to see angels like Jacob did? No, there is no record of it. But the very next story is of a miracle that is much like the miraculous story of the white sheep being kept by Jacob producing spotted and speckled sheep that made Jacob rich.
In John 2.1-11, is the story of the wedding feast of Cana that Jesus mother had responsibility for and apparently because she was going to be embarrassed, she called on his ability by faith and the open heaven he had referred to at the end of chapter one gave them the blessing that they needed. What it means is that heavens abilities and resources become available to the earth any time there is an open heaven and that wherever Christ is, an open heaven is a permanent condition.
Finally, at least for this lesson, the Apostle Paul writes the letter that we have in the Bible, entitled Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians. In it, declares that every single believer and group of believers are “In Christ” and that there are blessings that are part of the package of being in Christ.
Listen to Norlie’s translation of Ephesians 1.3. “Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing that Heaven itself enjoys.” And then he begins listing them. Understand that these blessings are in Christ and when you receive Christ, the blessings and abilities are in him. Thus the glory (credit) is his, too.
According to Paul, the deposits God the Father has made in us include:
· Blessed
· Chosen
· Made holy
· Made blameless
· Loved
· Adopted
· Received Mercy
· Made us the objects of His Favor
· Redemption through his Blood
· Forgiveness for our sins
· The Riches of His Grace
· Grace is lavished on us in all Wisdom and Intelligence
· Insight into the Mysteries of His Will
· Unified in Christ with the Apostles, so that the church alive on the earth is not separated from the church in Heaven
· An Inheritance
· Manifested Glory
· The same rules apply to all the Believers
· The same Holy Spirit
· Sealed and Certified as belonging to God
· Holy Spirit as the Guarantee of the Full Inheritance as they experienced in Acts
Friday, April 25, 2008
Well, I went to Tulsa in Februray to be with my family at the passing of my Dad's brother. His name is Gerry Strickland. Gerry Lee Strickland. Our family is confident in the promises of God's word that we will see him again. We will be missing Gerry for a while. A least until we get to join him.
He and his wife Paulette, were/are encouragers. They loved Jesus together and she is going on fine, surrounded by gobs of kids and grandkids. We love you, Paulette and we thank God for a great partner and friend for Gerry all these years.
more later
He and his wife Paulette, were/are encouragers. They loved Jesus together and she is going on fine, surrounded by gobs of kids and grandkids. We love you, Paulette and we thank God for a great partner and friend for Gerry all these years.
more later
Saturday, April 12, 2008
The Real power lies with in the Grasp of the Believer
Have you ever experienced a supernatural sense of spiritual unity with Christ and with others in Christ that was so valuable that you wouldn't trade it, or dream of doing anything to disrupt it. That kind of unity only comes by the working and moving of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.
My pastor used to say, the Holy Spirit is the most gentle being in the universe. He was right, too. He has to be gentle and careful and must quickly withdraw His Presence when things are done that are offensive to Him. Why? Because of His power, which is staggering in it's scope and intensity.
My pastor used to say, the Holy Spirit is the most gentle being in the universe. He was right, too. He has to be gentle and careful and must quickly withdraw His Presence when things are done that are offensive to Him. Why? Because of His power, which is staggering in it's scope and intensity.
- Genesis 1.2... "And the Spirit of God hovered or brooded over the face of the deep, ... and God said ..." And everything He said, was done. Why? because when the spirit of God discovers the Word of God, in a place of spiritual unity, the lightnings of His soul strike with stunning creative and destructive force and intesity.
- He creates light, love, life, joy, liberty, peace, ability to forgive and unity of heart between an individual and God and with our fellow man... (see
- He destroys darkness, disease, sin, and it's foul offspring disease and death.
- He searches to and fro, throughout the whole earth, hoping to find a single person on the planet who has "booted up" in faith with a request, based on God's Word.
- He is the "Promise of the Father, based on the preaching of the evangelists in John and Luke, and is promised to as many as the Lord our God shall call.
He is availabe to you. "Call me and I will answer you and show you great and powerful things that you do not know. To you who are reading this now, the Holy Spirit and his presence fills the universe with His presence.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Effective Praying
Read Luke 11.1-13.
In Luke 11.1, Jesus is praying. It is his habit. His disciples, over time, begin to put together the large amount of time he spends praying and how that immediately afterward, rivers of healing and saving and life-changing power flow out of him. One day, as he finished and began to stir around, one of them asks him to teach them how to pray.
Finally.
He didn't try to teach this until they asked.
It is hard to teach people how to pray, who don't see it's value.
It’s still that way.
You can live and die, and never learn how to pray effectively.
You can go to church where others pray and get results.
You can be in the ministry and hope that others will do your praying for you.
You can live and die, so close to victory, and never experience it.
Don't do it!
Ask Jesus to teach you how to pray.
I. The Lord Jesus Teaches His Disciples (Trainees) His Pattern for Prayer. (11.1-4) This pattern is the Master Plan and the other kinds of prayer are absorbed into this pattern. (See 1 Timothy 1.18-2.8)
II. He Teaches Intercession for the People You Meet, Who Do not Yet Know the Father for Themselves. (11.5-13) This is His secret to the prayer of Intercession. This is the WORLD”S BEST KEPT OPEN SECRET FOR EVANGELISM and to the advance of the Kingdom of God in your family, neighborhood, workplace
a. Our Biggest failure in following Christ in America is a prayer failure! We start praying when we should be commanding. We start commanding when we haven’t prepared in prayer (“A man has come to me in his journey and I have nothing to set before him.” And Matthew 17.14-21) We run to Lazarus when we first get word of his need, instead of waiting two more days and then going to Lazarus following God’s Pillar of Fire and Pillar of Cloud. We speak for him without hearing from him. Read John 15.1-8 and take his advice.
b. Notice the details of this story
i. You are the person who has had a friend that came to him in his journey
ii. You go to the Source of Bread; that is the Father in Verses 2 and 4.
iii. You can go at midnight.
iv. The Father knows you and he knows his own children, who are with him … But he doesn’t know your friend!
v. He says, I cannot rise and give you bread for that man, because the door is locked. In the case of sinners, the door is locked by them, and the father will never force himself on them.
vi. The only hope for lost humanity is that someone who has access to God enter His presence for them and persist until he gives them enough bread (miracles, signs, wonders, Holy Spirit convincing of their sin, Jesus salvation, and fast approaching judgment unless they turn, healing power, etc.)
vi. Is this not what Jesus did immediately after being filled with the Holy Spirit? He prayed and fasted 40 days and nights, and immediately after that, the miracles and healings began accompanying his preaching. He continued that pattern up until his death (See Mark 1.35-38)
viii. What if it is hard to pray like that? You had better do it anyway.
ix. “I don’t know how!” Here’s how: Refuse to take NO for an answer. Decide it is the will of God before you start, based on his word and your fellowship with him. Then:
1. Ask and keep on asking
2. Seek and keep on seeking
3. Knock and keep on knocking
x. The Father says, “Don’t bother me. (Often, when you start intercession, this is how it seems. The situation seems dark and hopeless. But you can go at midnight! You can pray it through! You can get heaven’s bread for the one you love and care about!) The door is locked…and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you. But I tell you this ─ though he won’t do it for friendship sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.” (11.7, 8 in the New Living Translation)
Let’s close this discussion out by saying that Paul and all the early church put prayer first, before any attempt at ministry or outreach. And I don’t mean like we say, “Let’s have a word of prayer before we go.” I mean Acts 13.1-3. I mean Acts 4.29-31.
God is calling us to pray for those He does not know as his own, just as Jesus came to earth for those He did not know. The results will be huge!!!!!!!!!!!!
Who have you met at work, at the store, in your neighborhood? How far can you believe God? Ephesians 3.22 (NLT) “Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.”
Don’t fall for the devil’s lie, that you can’t pray.
Just go get on your knees with an open Bible and this outline … and set an alarm, and refuse to leave his presence for an hour. Do it again tomorrow. You’ll be shocked at what he can teach you if you ask, and then don’t get right up and walk away.
Stay there and PRAY!
In Luke 11.1, Jesus is praying. It is his habit. His disciples, over time, begin to put together the large amount of time he spends praying and how that immediately afterward, rivers of healing and saving and life-changing power flow out of him. One day, as he finished and began to stir around, one of them asks him to teach them how to pray.
Finally.
He didn't try to teach this until they asked.
It is hard to teach people how to pray, who don't see it's value.
It’s still that way.
You can live and die, and never learn how to pray effectively.
You can go to church where others pray and get results.
You can be in the ministry and hope that others will do your praying for you.
You can live and die, so close to victory, and never experience it.
Don't do it!
Ask Jesus to teach you how to pray.
I. The Lord Jesus Teaches His Disciples (Trainees) His Pattern for Prayer. (11.1-4) This pattern is the Master Plan and the other kinds of prayer are absorbed into this pattern. (See 1 Timothy 1.18-2.8)
II. He Teaches Intercession for the People You Meet, Who Do not Yet Know the Father for Themselves. (11.5-13) This is His secret to the prayer of Intercession. This is the WORLD”S BEST KEPT OPEN SECRET FOR EVANGELISM and to the advance of the Kingdom of God in your family, neighborhood, workplace
a. Our Biggest failure in following Christ in America is a prayer failure! We start praying when we should be commanding. We start commanding when we haven’t prepared in prayer (“A man has come to me in his journey and I have nothing to set before him.” And Matthew 17.14-21) We run to Lazarus when we first get word of his need, instead of waiting two more days and then going to Lazarus following God’s Pillar of Fire and Pillar of Cloud. We speak for him without hearing from him. Read John 15.1-8 and take his advice.
b. Notice the details of this story
i. You are the person who has had a friend that came to him in his journey
ii. You go to the Source of Bread; that is the Father in Verses 2 and 4.
iii. You can go at midnight.
iv. The Father knows you and he knows his own children, who are with him … But he doesn’t know your friend!
v. He says, I cannot rise and give you bread for that man, because the door is locked. In the case of sinners, the door is locked by them, and the father will never force himself on them.
vi. The only hope for lost humanity is that someone who has access to God enter His presence for them and persist until he gives them enough bread (miracles, signs, wonders, Holy Spirit convincing of their sin, Jesus salvation, and fast approaching judgment unless they turn, healing power, etc.)
vi. Is this not what Jesus did immediately after being filled with the Holy Spirit? He prayed and fasted 40 days and nights, and immediately after that, the miracles and healings began accompanying his preaching. He continued that pattern up until his death (See Mark 1.35-38)
viii. What if it is hard to pray like that? You had better do it anyway.
ix. “I don’t know how!” Here’s how: Refuse to take NO for an answer. Decide it is the will of God before you start, based on his word and your fellowship with him. Then:
1. Ask and keep on asking
2. Seek and keep on seeking
3. Knock and keep on knocking
x. The Father says, “Don’t bother me. (Often, when you start intercession, this is how it seems. The situation seems dark and hopeless. But you can go at midnight! You can pray it through! You can get heaven’s bread for the one you love and care about!) The door is locked…and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you. But I tell you this ─ though he won’t do it for friendship sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.” (11.7, 8 in the New Living Translation)
Let’s close this discussion out by saying that Paul and all the early church put prayer first, before any attempt at ministry or outreach. And I don’t mean like we say, “Let’s have a word of prayer before we go.” I mean Acts 13.1-3. I mean Acts 4.29-31.
God is calling us to pray for those He does not know as his own, just as Jesus came to earth for those He did not know. The results will be huge!!!!!!!!!!!!
Who have you met at work, at the store, in your neighborhood? How far can you believe God? Ephesians 3.22 (NLT) “Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.”
Don’t fall for the devil’s lie, that you can’t pray.
Just go get on your knees with an open Bible and this outline … and set an alarm, and refuse to leave his presence for an hour. Do it again tomorrow. You’ll be shocked at what he can teach you if you ask, and then don’t get right up and walk away.
Stay there and PRAY!
Monday, February 4, 2008
Check Out Dr. Mike Adams @ dradams.com
There is a news/current events commentator from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington who has consistently, and in a succinct manner, addressed many of the social insanities of this present pop culture in ways that I agree with. He addresses liberty, gun control and the constitutional freedom to keep and bear arms, feminism and gay rights.
He addresses these issues in a humorous way and with such basic logic, that when people of the opposite views respond to his articles, they do not take him on in a logical response to his arguments. They just curse him and call him names and say how he should never have been allowed to be a professor on a US university. Why? Because at our universities, (where they claim diversity is god and that we should welcome all ideas and give them a chance to be heard, no matter how stupid and unworkable they are) Christian ideas and time-proven principles that work in real life, are not celebrated nor are they in any way welcome.
I can't say that I blame them. Their silly ideas look so pitiful in the light of real solid wisdom, it is better for them to make rules saying you can't use it in your college papers or in their class discussions.
It is probably embarrassing when someone with common sense listens to their drivel and laughs. That can never be allowed!
Look him up on the internet at two places.
He addresses these issues in a humorous way and with such basic logic, that when people of the opposite views respond to his articles, they do not take him on in a logical response to his arguments. They just curse him and call him names and say how he should never have been allowed to be a professor on a US university. Why? Because at our universities, (where they claim diversity is god and that we should welcome all ideas and give them a chance to be heard, no matter how stupid and unworkable they are) Christian ideas and time-proven principles that work in real life, are not celebrated nor are they in any way welcome.
I can't say that I blame them. Their silly ideas look so pitiful in the light of real solid wisdom, it is better for them to make rules saying you can't use it in your college papers or in their class discussions.
It is probably embarrassing when someone with common sense listens to their drivel and laughs. That can never be allowed!
Look him up on the internet at two places.
- dradams.com
- townhall.com (go to columnists and look for Mike Adams)
Enjoy. It's extra good today.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Prayer Victories Originate from Our Relationship with God - Part 1
When a man or woman receives Christ by making Jesus Lord of their life, a supernatural power enters their heart and begins to change them from the inside out. Jesus said, "As many as recieved him, to them he gave the power to become a child of God.
The very first thing that changes on the inside of anyone who receives Christ is this - you gain a deep sense of acceptance and adoption. There comes a knowing that "God is my Father... I am not a fatherless person any more. I belong. I belong to God. God is my father, my papa, who deeply loves me in a good and holy and pure way, and that looks out for my benefit and protects me from hurt and harm. This is not a theory, it is a fact. Read Romans 8.14-16.
When you are a newborn son or daughter of God, prayer is so easy and exiting and organic. You don't have to try to pray. God watches over you and you have a sense of his closeness and of your new relationship to him and with him. It seems he answers every prayer almost before you get it out of your mouth.
Soon, though, your father begins to teach you through that sense of closeness, which is called the presence of God, the Glory of God, and in John's writings, it is called the Anointing.
As you grow in Christ, or when enough time has passed that you should have grown in Christ, it takes more obedience, more yielding of yourself to your father-God to have that sense of his nearness and favor.
That is absolutely right and fair and is not a gospel of works. You would have no relationship with God at all, if it were not by grace alone that you enter in to his kingdom and even to enter his presence today to pray and/or fellowship with him. But by using a Binary System of "off and on," he trains you, he guides you, to do those things that please him.
If you have lost the "sense of His presence" or "the anointing," don't blame him. Realize that he hasn't moved. You moved. You missed it, somewhere, if your peace and the testimony of His voice in your heart, has decreased.
Don't despair, kids!
He pulled back a little to let you know you missed it. He didn't leave.
Take the time, right now, to open your Bible and read 1 John 1, the entire 10 sentences.
In verse 8, he is saying that if we are living without an assurance in our heart, deep and strong, of God's presence, and of our sonship (relationship) through Jesus, then we are fooling ourselves or lying if we say we haven't sinned. That does't mean you are rejected ... it means you need to follow the directions found in verse 9. "But if we confess our sins to him, he can be trusted to forgive our sins and it is justice to do so since he paid the price for all our sins with the shedding of his own blood."
Confessing your sin is like spitting it out. It is seperating yourself from it. You stop doing it. That confession and seperation ... RESTORES US TO FULL FELLOWSHIP AND SONSHIP AND RIGHTSTANDING WITH GOD!
Once again, God draws near and we sense His presence. Our hearts are assured in His presence. In that place, in that atmosphere, faith and prayer become organic. This is the foundation of the prayer of faith.
This is the ground where the seeds of the promises of God's Word can grow until our faith is strong and can be harvested through the prayer of faith. More Later!
The very first thing that changes on the inside of anyone who receives Christ is this - you gain a deep sense of acceptance and adoption. There comes a knowing that "God is my Father... I am not a fatherless person any more. I belong. I belong to God. God is my father, my papa, who deeply loves me in a good and holy and pure way, and that looks out for my benefit and protects me from hurt and harm. This is not a theory, it is a fact. Read Romans 8.14-16.
When you are a newborn son or daughter of God, prayer is so easy and exiting and organic. You don't have to try to pray. God watches over you and you have a sense of his closeness and of your new relationship to him and with him. It seems he answers every prayer almost before you get it out of your mouth.
Soon, though, your father begins to teach you through that sense of closeness, which is called the presence of God, the Glory of God, and in John's writings, it is called the Anointing.
As you grow in Christ, or when enough time has passed that you should have grown in Christ, it takes more obedience, more yielding of yourself to your father-God to have that sense of his nearness and favor.
That is absolutely right and fair and is not a gospel of works. You would have no relationship with God at all, if it were not by grace alone that you enter in to his kingdom and even to enter his presence today to pray and/or fellowship with him. But by using a Binary System of "off and on," he trains you, he guides you, to do those things that please him.
If you have lost the "sense of His presence" or "the anointing," don't blame him. Realize that he hasn't moved. You moved. You missed it, somewhere, if your peace and the testimony of His voice in your heart, has decreased.
Don't despair, kids!
He pulled back a little to let you know you missed it. He didn't leave.
Take the time, right now, to open your Bible and read 1 John 1, the entire 10 sentences.
In verse 8, he is saying that if we are living without an assurance in our heart, deep and strong, of God's presence, and of our sonship (relationship) through Jesus, then we are fooling ourselves or lying if we say we haven't sinned. That does't mean you are rejected ... it means you need to follow the directions found in verse 9. "But if we confess our sins to him, he can be trusted to forgive our sins and it is justice to do so since he paid the price for all our sins with the shedding of his own blood."
Confessing your sin is like spitting it out. It is seperating yourself from it. You stop doing it. That confession and seperation ... RESTORES US TO FULL FELLOWSHIP AND SONSHIP AND RIGHTSTANDING WITH GOD!
Once again, God draws near and we sense His presence. Our hearts are assured in His presence. In that place, in that atmosphere, faith and prayer become organic. This is the foundation of the prayer of faith.
This is the ground where the seeds of the promises of God's Word can grow until our faith is strong and can be harvested through the prayer of faith. More Later!
Friday, January 25, 2008
I Am the God of Abraham and of You
Just a quick note to remind you...
When you are feeling like nothing is working like it should;
And the prayers you prayed to change them
Didn't feel particularly anointed;
...It is time for you to begin to talk!
Not to others, but to your own soul.
Ask your soul, "What is your problem?"
Tell your soul to quiet down and listen!
Then say:
"I serve the God of Abraham!"
What does that mean?
The God who led Abraham and kept his promise to Abraham,
Even though there was no book to read or map to follow.
That is the God who makes His promises to you!
Now say:
"I serve the God of Isaac."
God kept his promise to Isaac,
Even though he Isaac was not as bold and forceful as his father had been.
Isaac did not treat his sons fairly.
He was not a great father to his boys.
But God remembered his promise to Abraham and revealed himself to Isaac in a way Isaac could grasp.
And Isaac believed.
God will reveal Himself to your kids in a way they can grasp and believe ...
If you will seek Him yourself, with all your heart.
If you to will believe His promises as Isaac did -
Not based on your temperment -
And join His covenant with Jesus.
Now say:
"I serve the God of Jacob."
He kept his word to Abraham and blessed Jacob...
Even though he shouldn't because,
Jacob was not the firstborn son.
Jacob was not his father's favorite.
Jacob was not as strong as strong as the brother who was.
Jacob was a weasel and a cheat.
But somehow, by letting Jacob be the victim
Of the same kind of schemes he pulled on others,
God changed Jacob from a schemer to a Man of Trust
And a praying man who prevails over his circumstances,
And a Prince with God, who He renamed Israel!
Wow!
Now, memorize this passage from Hebrews 13.7,8.
"Never forget the leaders,
Who first spoke to you the Word of God.
Remember how they lived and imitate their faith.
Jesus Christ is always the same (to you, as he was to them)
Yesterday, today, and for ever."
Then, remind your own soul, by speaking to yourself,
of all the times
That things seemed dire, dark and,
And the circumstances seemed impossible to change
And you felt completely alone.
And you prayed then; and God came through.
Came through for you
Walk through it all again in your mind,
And quietly begin to give thanks.
Thank you, Lord!
Thank you for what you did.
Thank you for bringing me through.
Thank you for breaking the habits of sin,
That used to seem would never be broken.
Wow.
Wow.
Amazing!
I worship you for who that situation in my life revealed you to be.
Now, remember and worship His Name.
He told Moses, years later, "My name is, 'I Am.'
"Tell them 'I Am' sent me.
"I am the God of Abraham.
"I am the God of Isaac.
"I am the God of Jacob.
"I am the God of Jesus.
"And through him, 'I am' the God of you."
"My name is known by what I do!
"By what I've done for men like you,
"And what I'll do today for you."
Ephesians One and Ephesians two,
Brings all this to Light
The God of Jesus, through the cross;
Brings hope when there was none!
Now go do what you must today,
He'll keep His Word to you.
Praise... the... Lord!
When you are feeling like nothing is working like it should;
And the prayers you prayed to change them
Didn't feel particularly anointed;
...It is time for you to begin to talk!
Not to others, but to your own soul.
Ask your soul, "What is your problem?"
Tell your soul to quiet down and listen!
Then say:
"I serve the God of Abraham!"
What does that mean?
The God who led Abraham and kept his promise to Abraham,
Even though there was no book to read or map to follow.
That is the God who makes His promises to you!
Now say:
"I serve the God of Isaac."
God kept his promise to Isaac,
Even though he Isaac was not as bold and forceful as his father had been.
Isaac did not treat his sons fairly.
He was not a great father to his boys.
But God remembered his promise to Abraham and revealed himself to Isaac in a way Isaac could grasp.
And Isaac believed.
God will reveal Himself to your kids in a way they can grasp and believe ...
If you will seek Him yourself, with all your heart.
If you to will believe His promises as Isaac did -
Not based on your temperment -
And join His covenant with Jesus.
Now say:
"I serve the God of Jacob."
He kept his word to Abraham and blessed Jacob...
Even though he shouldn't because,
Jacob was not the firstborn son.
Jacob was not his father's favorite.
Jacob was not as strong as strong as the brother who was.
Jacob was a weasel and a cheat.
But somehow, by letting Jacob be the victim
Of the same kind of schemes he pulled on others,
God changed Jacob from a schemer to a Man of Trust
And a praying man who prevails over his circumstances,
And a Prince with God, who He renamed Israel!
Wow!
Now, memorize this passage from Hebrews 13.7,8.
"Never forget the leaders,
Who first spoke to you the Word of God.
Remember how they lived and imitate their faith.
Jesus Christ is always the same (to you, as he was to them)
Yesterday, today, and for ever."
Then, remind your own soul, by speaking to yourself,
of all the times
That things seemed dire, dark and,
And the circumstances seemed impossible to change
And you felt completely alone.
And you prayed then; and God came through.
Came through for you
Walk through it all again in your mind,
And quietly begin to give thanks.
Thank you, Lord!
Thank you for what you did.
Thank you for bringing me through.
Thank you for breaking the habits of sin,
That used to seem would never be broken.
Wow.
Wow.
Amazing!
I worship you for who that situation in my life revealed you to be.
Now, remember and worship His Name.
He told Moses, years later, "My name is, 'I Am.'
"Tell them 'I Am' sent me.
"I am the God of Abraham.
"I am the God of Isaac.
"I am the God of Jacob.
"I am the God of Jesus.
"And through him, 'I am' the God of you."
"My name is known by what I do!
"By what I've done for men like you,
"And what I'll do today for you."
Ephesians One and Ephesians two,
Brings all this to Light
The God of Jesus, through the cross;
Brings hope when there was none!
Now go do what you must today,
He'll keep His Word to you.
Praise... the... Lord!
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Prayer Seminar
With Phil Strickland
Materials:
· Notebook to keep my handouts in to review at home each week, and to bring back each week
· Spiral-Bound Index Cards – to hand-write the scriptures we cover in the class, because the Word of God is THE greatest key to a successful prayer life.
Preparation for the Class:
· Pray James 1.5 -8
· Pray Colossians 1.9-13
· Pray Ephesians 1.16-23 and 3.14-21.
If you want to review the last lesson, and sometimes even catch the new notes, go to
Week One – Lord Teach Us to Pray (Foundation Scriptures: Luke 11.1-13;
Week Two – What is Prayer? (Ezekiel 22.30, 31)
Week Three - Why Pray? (1 Timothy 1.18-2.4; Mark 1.35-38; Matthew 6.1-6 )
Week Four – The Purpose of Prayer
Week Five - To Whom Should We Pray?
Week Six – A Guide to Effective Daily Prayer
Week Seven – How to Pray with Power
Week Eight – God’s Promises About Prayer
Week Nine – Planning Your Daily Devotional Time
Week Ten – The Prayer of Faith
Week Eleven – The Prayer of Praise and Worship
Week Twelve – The Prayer if Intercession
Prayer is more than “saying your prayers.” It is more than a religious exercise or duty. It is communication with your Heavenly Father. Learning to pray is deciding to make Jesus Lord of your life and to really follow him. A follower of Christ who doesn’t spend time in prayer beyond church, meals, and “bedtime prayers,” is not doing much following and should be asking themselves some hard questions.
Prayer is joining forces with your Heavenly Father to see his will carried out on earth. It is entering in to living, current contact with Father God at his throne to talk about everything and anything. It is asking to get something changed in my own life or possibly in someone else’s life.
Learning how to pray is learning how to enter the Father’s presence to visit or to transact business.
Prayer is designed by God to be answered, to result in fellowship/friendship, and to be a way for you and God to share in the benefits of each other’s lives. Answered prayer and holy living glorifies God. It brings his abilities and resources to bear on human needs and desires, whether they are your basic needs of life or the broader supply of spiritual benefit, power, and grace needed to meet the needs of the world that Jesus died to save.
Through prayer, we refocus on the reality of his authority and power and in his presence we lose our fear of man. We find forgiveness and then peace for our weaknesses and failings. And we find courage to go on. Some people have never experienced this kind of peace … That’s why you are here!
Now – make this determination:
I will not study and learn about prayer, and then just “hang the diploma on my wall.” I will use what I learn in my own prayer life. I am ready to improve/increase my prayer life. I am ready to give myself to God and:
· even if it is hard for me at first, I will set aside the time necessary and do it.
· Even if I fail at first, I will not quit setting aside the time to pray and
· I will stay with it until praying is an ingrained habit in my life.
Some people say they don’t have time to pray. I don’t have time not to pray, everyday! So:
I ask you, Father, to give me wisdom and understanding in the area of prayer. Jesus, give me grace to pray like you did and to recognize I cannot make it in life without abiding in fellowship with you every day. Holy Spirit, help me, guide me, fill me, strengthen me, and make me a person of prayer.
I ask all this in Jesus mighty name, Amen!
Name:
Date
Witness:
Daily Target Prayer Time:
Psalm 145:18-20 The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. The LORD watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy. NAS
Week One
Lord Teach Us to Pray
Foundation Scriptures: Luke 11.1-13; Ephesians 6.18; James 5.16-18
With Phil Strickland
Materials:
· Notebook to keep my handouts in to review at home each week, and to bring back each week
· Spiral-Bound Index Cards – to hand-write the scriptures we cover in the class, because the Word of God is THE greatest key to a successful prayer life.
Preparation for the Class:
· Pray James 1.5 -8
· Pray Colossians 1.9-13
· Pray Ephesians 1.16-23 and 3.14-21.
If you want to review the last lesson, and sometimes even catch the new notes, go to
Week One – Lord Teach Us to Pray (Foundation Scriptures: Luke 11.1-13;
Week Two – What is Prayer? (Ezekiel 22.30, 31)
Week Three - Why Pray? (1 Timothy 1.18-2.4; Mark 1.35-38; Matthew 6.1-6 )
Week Four – The Purpose of Prayer
Week Five - To Whom Should We Pray?
Week Six – A Guide to Effective Daily Prayer
Week Seven – How to Pray with Power
Week Eight – God’s Promises About Prayer
Week Nine – Planning Your Daily Devotional Time
Week Ten – The Prayer of Faith
Week Eleven – The Prayer of Praise and Worship
Week Twelve – The Prayer if Intercession
Prayer is more than “saying your prayers.” It is more than a religious exercise or duty. It is communication with your Heavenly Father. Learning to pray is deciding to make Jesus Lord of your life and to really follow him. A follower of Christ who doesn’t spend time in prayer beyond church, meals, and “bedtime prayers,” is not doing much following and should be asking themselves some hard questions.
Prayer is joining forces with your Heavenly Father to see his will carried out on earth. It is entering in to living, current contact with Father God at his throne to talk about everything and anything. It is asking to get something changed in my own life or possibly in someone else’s life.
Learning how to pray is learning how to enter the Father’s presence to visit or to transact business.
Prayer is designed by God to be answered, to result in fellowship/friendship, and to be a way for you and God to share in the benefits of each other’s lives. Answered prayer and holy living glorifies God. It brings his abilities and resources to bear on human needs and desires, whether they are your basic needs of life or the broader supply of spiritual benefit, power, and grace needed to meet the needs of the world that Jesus died to save.
Through prayer, we refocus on the reality of his authority and power and in his presence we lose our fear of man. We find forgiveness and then peace for our weaknesses and failings. And we find courage to go on. Some people have never experienced this kind of peace … That’s why you are here!
Now – make this determination:
I will not study and learn about prayer, and then just “hang the diploma on my wall.” I will use what I learn in my own prayer life. I am ready to improve/increase my prayer life. I am ready to give myself to God and:
· even if it is hard for me at first, I will set aside the time necessary and do it.
· Even if I fail at first, I will not quit setting aside the time to pray and
· I will stay with it until praying is an ingrained habit in my life.
Some people say they don’t have time to pray. I don’t have time not to pray, everyday! So:
I ask you, Father, to give me wisdom and understanding in the area of prayer. Jesus, give me grace to pray like you did and to recognize I cannot make it in life without abiding in fellowship with you every day. Holy Spirit, help me, guide me, fill me, strengthen me, and make me a person of prayer.
I ask all this in Jesus mighty name, Amen!
Name:
Date
Witness:
Daily Target Prayer Time:
Psalm 145:18-20 The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. The LORD watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy. NAS
Week One
Lord Teach Us to Pray
Foundation Scriptures: Luke 11.1-13; Ephesians 6.18; James 5.16-18
Introduction:
Luke 11.1-13 The disciples began to see the fruit of Jesus life was connected to his prayer life. He was telling them that they were chosen to be with him, follow him and do the works he was doing. So, one of them finally asked, "Lord, teach us to pray..." And that is what he did. You will not learn to pray until you start noticing some of the things they noticed and then, start asking some of the same questions.
Answered prayer is the fruit of every believer's life, if they are abiding in Christ. Any Questions?
1. Have you decided to follow Jesus? Learning to pray is a practical way you can begin in your quest to follow Jesus. Here (Luke 11.1-4) is the simple outline that you can follow to remember the things you need to pray about. If you follow it, you will grow in your prayer life. Why an outline?
a. If you were going to talk to someone important, and you wanted to be sure that you didn’t get tongue-tied and forget the important things, what would you do? … The outline is like having that list …
b. Check out the Matthew version of the same prayer
2. Kinds of Prayer (Ephesians 6.18). There are different kinds of prayer and each one has its own set of rules or principles that make it effective. Suppose you were to announce that after church on Sunday, we are going to have a picnic and play sports out in the field. There will be baseball, volley ball, soccer, and American football. Only this time, we are going to use the same rules for all the sports. You would have mass confusion ... We need to learn that different needs imply the use of different kinds of prayer and learn to use the correct tool for the need.
That’s what I want to teach you in this class. And I want to see you begin, here and now, a lifetime of friendship with God, through His Word and prayer of all kinds.
3. Some of the “Kinds of Prayer” are laid out in 1Timothy 1.18 - 2.4. Some rules of prayer apply to all the kinds of prayer and some of them only apply to one kind of prayer. When you read a scripture or a story about prayer, see if you can:
a. Discover what type or kind of prayer is called for by the situation,
b. Did they pray the right thing?
c. Did they get what they were asking for?
d. Are there any principles or learnings I/we can take from the story?
4. What are the limits of prayer? (James 5.16-18, Jeremiah 32.17)
a. What are the limits of God? The power is not in the prayer, the power is in the God you to whom you are praying.
b. The limits of prayer are on the man side not on the God side. Look at James 4.1-4 and Matthew 17.19-21.
5. What can you do, right now, to start your life of prayer, or jump-start it?
1. Get serious about this class. Put the strategies we discuss into action in your life.
2. Set a time for prayer every morning and give it to God, even if you just sit quietly in His presence. Do whatever is necessary to make your body comply with the desire of your heart to pray.
3. If you lack desire for a strong prayer life, apply for (ask) Grace and Mercy - Hebrews 4.16. God's grace can create the desire you lack ... "Remember your creator ..." Ecclesiastes 12.1
4. Recognize the weakness of your flesh and adopt strategies and attitudes that help will help you succeed. This is no different than what a young person has to do when he/she gets their first job and has to start getting up at 4:00AM in order to make it to work on time. Problem is, they have never seen 4:00AM except in college when they stayed up till 4:00, partying. Their body is not conditioned for a real job. They have to make it hard on themselves, do things they are not accustomed to, in order to keep this new job. That’s how serious you have to take following Jesus as Lord and learning to pray. (See Psalm 5 and Mark 1.35)
5. Learn daily devotional praying and the difference between it and deep intercession and waiting on God … Many years ago, I had faced a serious career setback in my ministry and calling and I had become a grumpy person that my wife no longer liked very much. So I started asking God to fix my wife! I felt she needed help to become a more understanding person. (That was pretty dumb, but I didn’t know that back then!)
One day, as I was working outdoors, the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart (just a series of thoughts accompanied by his presence) about the answer to my prayer. He led me to stop doing my daily prayer and Bible reading alone and separate from my wife. He spoke to my heart that if we would read and pray together, his presence would begin to solve some of the problems we were having in our communication with each other.
I presented that to her, and we began to read a portion of scripture together every day, and then pray. We followed the outline of the Lord’s Prayer in a loose and fairly short manner. We opened by giving God credit for who he is, Our Father, Our Provider, Our Healer, Our Righteousness, etc., as he has been revealed to us through the scriptures.
We would not try to cover the whole Bible but just one of His names for today. Then, we would take turns expressing our shared needs, and ask our heavenly Father for the things we knew we needed for the day, such as safety, provision, healing for our family and acquaintances, and then thank him for answering our prayer today, even though the day was yet to be played out.
Sometimes we would have to stop and apologize to each other or to God for grudges and arguments. (1 Peter 3.7) This often happened while the feelings were still raw, but we wanted our prayers to work and to close the door to the devil, so … It worked. God did all that He promised and much, much more.
The benefits of learning to pray like Jesus did are astronomical. Please give this study the attention and the honor that it deserves. According to Ezekiel 22.30, 31, eternity alone will reveal what a difference it made … or didn’t!
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
I stumbled across a discussion forum @ Commentary Magazine. com, of whether or not the US or Israel would respond with nuclear weapons if Iran were to nuke a population center in Israel and whether or not the leaders (mullahs) of Iran are convinced that we would respond, right now. I joined the discussion and my comment was along the lines of the following:
In the comment above, "Sean" states that there is a question as to whether the US or Israel would respond to the use of a nuclear weapon against one of Israel's population centers by "nuking" them back. So far, the mullah's have a pretty good record on their judgment along those lines.
For example, they had NO FEAR of President Jimmy Carter, and they acted accordingly to rub our face in the dirt for every minute of his presidency that they felt safe doing so. Then, they stopped and released our hostages only hours before Ronald Reagan took office, also rightly judging that he was going to kick #@* and take names later. All through the election process, Ronald Reagan refused to speculate what he might do to Iran if he was elected. So the Mullahs had to look at his record of dealing with riots as the Governor of California. That was enough for them. (I have watched to see if anyone would comment along these lines in the current electoral process. The answer is "No." The "drive-by" media has no time for research and real thought in these matters. They form an opinion, drive by the site of anything happening and conclude that it confirms what they already thought and then they present it as news. They have a political agenda and it's so clear, it makes you want to gag.)
When we invaded Iraq, the Iranians (if you believe the latest estimate from the CIA) halted their pursuit of nuclear weapons (as did Libya), rightly judging that the then and current occupant of the US Presidency would react with real action to their program, and not just whining and talking as the Democrats BRAG THAT THEY WOULD DO!
Keep it up, Dems. You never have understood what bad men fear and what they laugh at. If a Democrat wins the Presidency, it will be open season on the good guys around the world.
That doesn't translate into total safety if a Republican wins, either. Just a better chance that the Islamists and the tyrants will have to weigh the consequences of their choices and maybe back off of the nuclear options.
The Democrats, Ron Paul, and Mike Huckabee have already told them that if they win, the Hamas's, the Hezbollah's, and the nations like Iran and North Korea have nothing to worry about.
In the comment above, "Sean" states that there is a question as to whether the US or Israel would respond to the use of a nuclear weapon against one of Israel's population centers by "nuking" them back. So far, the mullah's have a pretty good record on their judgment along those lines.
For example, they had NO FEAR of President Jimmy Carter, and they acted accordingly to rub our face in the dirt for every minute of his presidency that they felt safe doing so. Then, they stopped and released our hostages only hours before Ronald Reagan took office, also rightly judging that he was going to kick #@* and take names later. All through the election process, Ronald Reagan refused to speculate what he might do to Iran if he was elected. So the Mullahs had to look at his record of dealing with riots as the Governor of California. That was enough for them. (I have watched to see if anyone would comment along these lines in the current electoral process. The answer is "No." The "drive-by" media has no time for research and real thought in these matters. They form an opinion, drive by the site of anything happening and conclude that it confirms what they already thought and then they present it as news. They have a political agenda and it's so clear, it makes you want to gag.)
When we invaded Iraq, the Iranians (if you believe the latest estimate from the CIA) halted their pursuit of nuclear weapons (as did Libya), rightly judging that the then and current occupant of the US Presidency would react with real action to their program, and not just whining and talking as the Democrats BRAG THAT THEY WOULD DO!
Keep it up, Dems. You never have understood what bad men fear and what they laugh at. If a Democrat wins the Presidency, it will be open season on the good guys around the world.
That doesn't translate into total safety if a Republican wins, either. Just a better chance that the Islamists and the tyrants will have to weigh the consequences of their choices and maybe back off of the nuclear options.
The Democrats, Ron Paul, and Mike Huckabee have already told them that if they win, the Hamas's, the Hezbollah's, and the nations like Iran and North Korea have nothing to worry about.
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