National Prayer Time

Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for his inheritance. Psalm 33:12

Today in the United States we are observing the National Day of Prayer. As much as atheists and others try to abolish God and prayer from this country we were founded on principles in God's word. This nation cannot survive without God's intervention. When men try to be more powerful than God it is a recipe for disaster. Making up our own rules for what is right and wrong, as is happening now with marriage,  is also not a good thing. The Bible is pretty clear on what is right and what is wrong and evil. 

Each and every day when you get up, in addition to other prayers you offer to God be sure to remember to pray for this nation. Some of those reading may not live in the United States so  pray for your own country and its' leaders. God is the one who gives us our freedom. It is not from mere men. He will only stand for man's arrogance for so long. 

If we continue to 'spit in God's face' so to speak, our blessings will not continue. When people wake up and get so busy they have no time for talking to God or reading their Bible then they are on a slippery slope of not being prepared for the days ahead when things will get rough. 

Today stop where you are and give thanks for this great land and what we have been blessed with, much we take for granted sad to say. Then pray for God to use you in a mighty way to help be a witness for Him. 

PRAYER: Lord I thank you for this country. I thank you for the Founding Fathers who acknowledged you and prayed to you as they founded this great land. We pray for revival in the hearts of men. In Jesus' name. Amen.

ANONYMOUS CALLER

 Many times when our landline phone at our house rings the caller ID will say "Anonymous Caller" and my initial reaction is to avoid the call assuming it is a sales pitch or plea for money. If your phone number at home is unlisted the callers on the receiving end do not know who is calling so they too may avoid picking it up. Even with a mobile phone if the caller is not in your contact list you may hesitate to answer.

When we "call" on God in prayer, if you have received Him as your savior, then He knows your voice and He knows exactly who you are. He listens and He cares. He speaks back to you through scriptures in the Bible as well as convictions of the spirit inside of you.

John 10:27(NIV) says 'My sheep listen to my voice and I know them and they follow me.' If any of you have ever witnessed a shepherd with his sheep, that is true. The sheep know their master and they know instinctively he will guide them to safety.

Have you asked Jesus to be your Lord and savior? Do you talk to Him in prayer? Have you repented or turned away from those sins that you know separate you from God?

In this world we live in today deceptive spirits of Satan are on the warpath and have captured even some believers to believe his lies. Make no mistake about it, Satan is the great deceiver. But we have the power to defeat him. Many may conform too much to the world and not enough to God. It can happen in a subtle way. Be on your guard. If you have a family member being deceived all you can do is pray that deception would stop and their eyes will be opened once again to the truth.

1 Timothy 4:1(NIV) says 'The Spirit clearly says that in the latter times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.' No one knows the day nor hour of Christ's' return but I feel we are in treacherous times. When a President says publicly "We are no longer a Christian nation" and won't stand up for what is right according to the word of God, trouble is coming.

Does God know your voice? Are you living for Him? Are you turning away from evil and trying to do good? Today if you have never asked Jesus into your heart do it right now. Just say "Jesus come into my heart and live in me. I choose to follow you.Thanks for coming into my heart." Next find a church that is excited about Jesus. This may mean changing the denomination you were brought up in. There won't be denominations in heaven, I am pretty sure. Go where they teach the Bible and you can grow in Christ and are excited about being there.

Listen for God's voice and stay on the path that pleases Him.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus you are my strength, my shield, my deliverer, and my comforter. I thank you for being my shepherd as well. You tend to your flock with loving kindness and mercy. I thank you for that. In Jesus' name. Amen.

WHAT ARE YOUR "GIANTS"?

Do you have a situation looming over you in your life that seems like it is way too big and will never go away? There is a saying "this too shall pass" but when you are in the midst of your "battle" it sure does not seem that way. During times like these it is essential you practice focusing on "things above" and to try to not dwell on that which drags you down. Problems can, and will, overwhelm you if all you do is think on them.

I loved the movie "Facing The Giants" which dealt with many issues in life that seemed humanly impossible but with God in the equation nothing was impossible. Matthew 19:26(NIV) clearly lays it out 'Jesus looked at them and said,"With man this is impossible but with God all things are possible"'. Pretty clear wouldn't you say? You have to have faith and you have to believe.

In the Bible it says in Mark 9:23(NIV) 'And Jesus said to him "If you can?All things are possible to Him who believes."' Do you have that kind of "mountain moving" faith? "But my problem is way too big and nothing is going to help." Who puts thoughts like that in your head? Not God, that is for sure.

I heard someone once say "Believe receive, doubt do without." God is way bigger than anything overwhelming we humans here on earth. Don't stop praying or believing your situation can't change.

Right now start having positive thoughts and do not allow the enemy to get you fearful or doubtful. God is a miracle working God! Believe it and keep praying!!

PRAYER: Today Lord I choose to believe and not lose hope. I choose to focus on good and not bad that cam create gloom and doom. I will seek your peace and pursue it .In Jesus' name. Amen.

Click on link for awesome song:

http://youtu.be/68q8y5nkdPo

HAPPY 237th BIRTHDAY AMERICA!

Today is a day here in these United States we are to celebrate when our nation broke away from tyrannical rule of Great Britain and declared their independence. It has been a wonderful time up until people started misinterpreting the Constitution or Declaration of Independence. Presently there are some judges and leaders who forget that they work for us and have taken it upon themselves to make rules and laws, behind our backs at times, that are corrupt and unconstitutional. Our society is slowly leaving God out of the equation. The term separation of church and state has been misused as well. That was intended to keep the state from the church, not the other way around. Keep praying and do not give up on this great nation!

We in America who love our country love to fly the red, white and blue and listen to patriotic music. Service members love their country so much and freedom so much they are willing to die for it. We love fireworks and celebrations. For many these past few years have been hard as we watch freedoms we had, slowly being taken away by those in government authority intent to dominate us. We call, rally, and write but still we are ignored. What happened to "We The People"? Many are so endeared to a political party they are blind to what is actually happening. God is still on the throne, never forget that.

Psalm 47:8(NIV) says 'God reigns over the nations. God is seated on His holy throne.' When we ignore God and His word we are in danger of judgment. We need to each be familiar with the Constitution and Declaration of Independence. If you have never been able to go to the Nations' Capitol plan a trip there and see all the wonderful monuments to this glorious nation. Visit Arlington National Cemetery as well as the Vietnam Veterans Wall, Korean War Monument, World War II memorial and many others. When you see a former service member with a ball cap on that says World War II or something like that on it be sure to go up and say thanks for putting their lives on the line so we could be free.

Continue to pray for America. A great site to do this is www.presidentialprayerteam.com which this week has streaming broadcast about this special day we are celebrating.Check it out.

Psalm 33:11(NIV) says 'Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.' Freedom indeed can be lost when people become complacent and do not do their part in the democratic process to speak out for liberty. Bible teacher Joyce Meyer says 'If freedom is not protected it will be lost.'

Happy Birthday USA! Let Freedom Ring!!

PRAYER: I thank you Lord for freedom. I thank you that this nation was founded on your laws and on the Holy Bible. We pray for those who do not see dangers of tyranny on the doorstep. Father we need you and we need revival to break out from the church house to the White House. Protect those service members serving us in far off lands and here on our soil. Help us not take our freedom for granted. In Jesus' name. Amen!

Click link for an awesome song to help you celebrate.

http://youtu.be/U_5aoptI5j0

 

EVIL AND GOOD/RIGHT AND WRONG

Today in our world many are getting mixed up, to include Christians.
We are to be set apart and stand for righteousness and truth. The
Bible is being twisted to justify blatant sins. Take homosexual
marriage for instance. It is wrong. Marriage is a man and a woman.
That is God's design. But a few states have legalized same sex unions.
The traditional family is the backbone of our society. We are to pray
for deliverance for those persons caught up in this lie from the
enemy. We are not to hate and judge.

Isaiah 5:20(NIV) says 'Woe to those who call evil good and good evil,
who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put butters for
sweet and sweet for bitter."

Have you ever heard the saying " If you are not part of the solution,
you are part of the problem"? Simply put if you see or hear of God's
word being trampled on in the public square it is your moral duty to
speak up in love and say something. Another familiar phrase is "Evil
triumphs when good men do nothing." (Sir Edmund Burke). When you see
something wrong do you just say 'oh well this is the 21st century' or
do you speak out against the immoral evils in our world today?

Irreverent, coarse, vulgar humor is readily accepted and sometimes
even by Christians. The recent blockbuster motion picture release
"Lincoln" did not have crude humor in it but it did have the actor
portraying President Lincoln taking the Lord's name in vain numerous
times. Why? Les Miserables is a wonderful musical but why did they
have to add implied sex scenes? Part of the story you say? Some of
today's most popular comedians make it a practice to "push the
envelope" and perhaps see nothing wrong with some of the things they

say. Prayer is needed for our movie and TV industry and many of its'

personnel. (www.mastermediaintl.org). We as Christians do not need to
run around like a monk or self righteous but we need to be lights in
the darkness around us. Satan is a great deceiver who has tricked
many. He hates the freedom we have here in our United States and has
infiltrated the government to try to eradicate it and any mention of
Jesus. He hates Christian nations.

Our nation and it's people are becoming desensitized to evil and
sinful behavior. What is wrong is being called right and what is right
is being called wrong. Today is your day to make a difference. It is a
new year, a new beginning, and new day to start standing up for what
is in God's word and to set yourself apart from evil. Pray for
discernment and opportunities to be a light for Him.

PRAYER: Lord I choose to be a light for you in the world around me.
Give me a holy boldness to speak the truth in love. I ask for
protection from the tricks of the enemy. I pray for your name to be

lifted high in America and in the entire world. In Jesus name, Amen.

 Reading Assignment: 2 Thessalonians Chapter 2