The Bulletin Board:(Please SCROLL DOWN this page to find the article titled on this post in LARGE CAPITAL LETTERS. Thank you.)
PRAY FOR AMERICA: THANK GOD for His many blessings on America throughout it's history. May we then ask that AMERICA once again be a blessing TO GOD, by once again submitting to HIS will in our affairs - both personal and national - that He may truly "heal our land." (2 Chron. 7:14)
Here is an example of how a 13-year old can say things much more eloquently than too many adults. In the midst of all the protests over recent decisions regarding officer actions, people are forgetting the daily sacrifices SO MANY make. Especially during this season of the year, you would think people would pause to remember our PEACE officers. [Let's all be in prayer for this teen and the other members of the families grieving as we prepare for Christmas.]
NOW THAT THE ELECTION IS OVER:1) Let's be praying that God showed us grace in giving us representatives who will sincerely work to DO NO HARM to us and future generations. Let's also be praying that should He have chosen to give us those who WILL do us harm, that He extends mercy to us now and for the years ahead. His will is now done as far as the results we have. Now it's up to us to be diligent to hold those elected accountable!, and 2) Let's be praying that the present lame-duck session in Congress will not be allowed to pass legislation that will do harm to our country as they can easily do. (See post #1051 - 'Return of the Zombie).
Here is an example of how a 13-year old can say things much more eloquently than too many adults. In the midst of all the protests over recent decisions regarding officer actions, people are forgetting the daily sacrifices SO MANY make. Especially during this season of the year, you would think people would pause to remember our PEACE officers. [Let's all be in prayer for this teen and the other members of the families grieving as we prepare for Christmas.]
NOW THAT THE ELECTION IS OVER:1) Let's be praying that God showed us grace in giving us representatives who will sincerely work to DO NO HARM to us and future generations. Let's also be praying that should He have chosen to give us those who WILL do us harm, that He extends mercy to us now and for the years ahead. His will is now done as far as the results we have. Now it's up to us to be diligent to hold those elected accountable!, and 2) Let's be praying that the present lame-duck session in Congress will not be allowed to pass legislation that will do harm to our country as they can easily do. (See post #1051 - 'Return of the Zombie).
URGENT PRAYER REQUEST: Save Christian Mom Asia Bibi from Execution - A Christian mom has been sentenced to death in Pakistan for her faith. Asia Bibi was falsely accused of “blasphemy” – speaking against the prophet Muhammad. Now this wife and mother of five will hang for her Christian faith.She would be the first woman executed under Pakistan’s Shariah blasphemy law.This is the ultimate human rights violation. We’re mobilizing our international affiliate – the European Centre for Law and Justice – and its partner in Pakistan to stop this atrocity. Add your name to our letter to the government of Pakistan demanding Asia Bibi’s freedom.Go to http://aclj.org/persecuted-church/save-christian-mom-asia-bibi-from-execution; please add your signature to mine and over 35,000 others AND pray for Asia Bibi.
U.S. Supreme Court has Reconvened: Let's be praying WHENEVER the Court is in session as their decisions can have impact on GENERATIONS to come. The fact that they may have an opportunity this session to actually vote on same-sex "marriage" where it has the same impact on this country that Roe v. Wade did should be motivating enough!
WORLD-WDE PRAYER REQUESTS:
Friday, Sept. 26th - Two Year Anniversary of Pastor Saeed Abedini's Imprisonment in Iran! - [NOTE TODAY'S POST!]
We need to continue to pray for Pastor Saeed - that his health will improve and that he will be re-united with his wife and two young children who live in the United States. [If you have not yet, please sign the petition for his clemency- http://beheardproject.com/saeed#sign] For comfort and .\
"Not Everyone Happy with Religious Ambassador Pick," Caitlin Burke,July 29, 2014;
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2014/July/Obama-Taps-Rabbi-for-Religious-Freedom-Ambassador/ "..An estimated 76 percent of the world's population live in countries where religious freedom is restricted. Secretary of State John Kerry said the United States must take a strong stand against those violations. "Around the world repressive governments and extremists groups have been crystal clear about what they stand against, so we have to be equally clear about what we must stand for," Kerry said. "We stand for greater freedom, for greater tolerance, greater respect, for rights of freedom of expression and freedom of conscience," he said A key development in the 2013 report is the large number of displaced members of religious communities, including entire Christian communities in Syria and Iraq that have been forced to flee their homes because of persecution."
SIGN A PETITION TO THE UN FOR THE PROTECTION OF CHRISTIANS :" The church in Syria has shone brightly for 2,000 years. But today violence and persecution threatens its survival. Thanks to an incredible response, Open Doors is helping 8,000 families in Syria survive each month. We believe the signatures and prayers of 500,000 people will encourage the UN to act and protect the rights and lives of all Syrians, especially the vulnerable Christian community." Go to: http://lp.opendoorsusa.org/emails/nov-13-action/save-syria.html?utm_source=action&utm_medium=email&utm_content=button&utm_campaign=november
Of course, let's CONTINUE PRAYING FOR AN END TO THE EBOLA CRISIS IN WEST AFRICA AND THE HEALING OF ALL THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN INFECTED.
PRAY FOR THE CRISIS HAPPENING NOW IN IRAQ (see post #907) Pray that allied forces will be able to drive the group ISIS back (see post #964)
/PRAYER ALERT- UKRAINE: As the Lord leads, please pray:
*For God to suppress President Putin’s ambitions to "restore" the Soviet empire.
*For the people of Ukrainen [esp. for the church 'to be THE church'] as they wait to see if the Russian troops will advance.
*About President Obama and to use wisdom in crafting our foreign policy, and wisdom for his advisers.
Continue to Pray for EGYPT - Continue to pray for the tense situation in Egypt and especially for the Christian believers who are being targeted with violence by Muslim Brotherhood members.]
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"The Challenge: Seeking God" - Rebecca Hagelin | Dec 24, 2014; http://townhall.com/columnists/rebeccahagelin/2014/12/24/the-challenge-seeking-god-n1935272/page/full
Moses wanted more of God. He wanted to understand him, to know him intimately. So he prayed, “If it is true that you look favorably on me, let me know your ways so I may understand you more fully and continue to enjoy your favor.” And God, pleased by Moses’ request, replied, “I will indeed do what you have asked, for I look favorably upon you, and I know you by name.”
Then Moses, perhaps encouraged by God’s paternal reply, stepped boldly into the depth of his desire and made a wild plea: “Then show me your glorious presence” (Exodus 33:13-18). Moses didn’t yet understand that God’s presence would be too much for him. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Like the stars high in the heavens, God is too powerful, too bright, too glorious for us to handle up close. Moses wouldn’t have been able to survive a face-to-face encounter with the force that created the universe.So like a father providing fire for his children without allowing them to fall headlong into the flames, God met Moses’ need. He hid him safely between the rocks and covered his eyes as his blinding presence passed by. And as the glory faded, Moses looked, and beheld, and believed.
The Hope: Behold, the Manger
If you desire to understand God, to experience him and encounter his glory like Moses did, know that he wants that for you even more than you do. And he won’t make you hide between the rocks on a mountain to catch a terrifying glimpse. He’ll meet you in a manger.
God condensed his character into a living, breathing person. He made himself as approachable as an infant, as relatable as a rejected man. Jesus Christ was “all the fullness of God in a human body” (Colossians 2:9). He was “the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature” (Hebrews 1:3). He showed up defenseless, in a dirty room, in a rough town, as one of us. He came to show us the glory.
We have all sinned and fallen short, tried to satisfy ourselves with destructive addictions and selfish behaviors that have left us fragile and broken. Weak as we are, an encounter with the weight of Godly glory outside of Jesus would kill us. But rather than letting us die in our fallen world without ever knowing the glory, Jesus took the weight of the world on his shoulders and gave up his life. He traded in his strength for our weakness, his glory for our shame.
“For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. This includes you who were once far away from God…He has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault” (Colossians 1:19-22).
With our weaknesses replaced by the strength of Jesus, we can now enter “right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him” (Hebrews 10:22). We can walk right into the glory.
On the night of the first Christmas, an angel appeared to a group of shepherds as they kept watch over their sheep. “Don’t be afraid!’ he said. ‘I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger” (Luke 2:10-12).When the shepherds heard the news, they said, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about” (Luke 2:15). And they hurried to see Jesus, God’s glory covered in skin, and they were filled with great joy.
Like those shepherds, you have been invited; we have all been invited to open the Bible, to see Jesus for ourselves, to decide for ourselves whether or not we will believe him.“If you believe, you will see the glory of God” (John 11:40).
When Moses finally returned to the Israelites he was leading after seeing God’s glory, they were taken aback by his appearance. “He wasn’t aware that his face had become radiant because he had spoken to the Lord” (Exodus 34:29). He was so filled from his encounter with God that he was downright joyful, literally glowing.
“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you...you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy” (Isaiah 60).
Don’t celebrate Christmas this year without running to the manger to see Jesus for yourself. You might just encounter the glory of God.
[bold and italics emphasis mine]
Rebecca Hagelin is a public speaker on the family and culture and the author of the new best seller, 30 Ways in 30 Days to Save Your Family.
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