"The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointedme to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me tobind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedomfor the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaimthe year of the LORD's favorand the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion — to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair."~fromISAIAH 61 Bible verse for this Blog
APOLOGY to READERS who followed a SEARCH to HERE & didn't find it
On July 18, 2017, I drafted almost 3000 blog posts that I had published since 2008 when I began blogging, rather than edit each one. So if you clicked here from somewhere else and ended up with the post unavailable or error, I am sorry but this is why. It'd be too much work for me to go back and fix them. There's an explanation on7/19/17as I'm still learning.
"His ETERNAL reign in our lives is just the beginning."
Luke 23:44-49
Luke 24:13-35
2 Corinthians 5:17
"Jesus, You are powerful, loving, and faithful. I surrender my life to the daily process of following Your purposes. Take me from my old ways, bless me with Your grace, break me of anything holding me back from You, and give me to the world so that I may glorify Your name. You are the Resurrection, Jesus, and I am forever grateful for the life You have given me. I love You, Jesus. In Your name, Amen."
So many great insights in the devotional today linked to YV (You Version)
I've selected just two parts that stand out to me:
"... But what the enemy intended to be a cry of defeat, Jesus used to speak eternal victory over death. Once and for all, Jesus used His final words to issue us the victory of saying, "It's not what I can do; It's what He's already done."
"When you make this daily decision to surrender to God's greatest triumph, you enable yourself to experience His victory in every area of your life.
Surrender your un-forgiveness. Resurrect love.
Surrender your disobedience. Resurrect the purpose God has for you.
Surrender your insecurities. Resurrect the security of your identity in Him.
Open your eyes today to the obedience and victory of surrender. "
won't you pray this and surrender today?
"Jesus, I surrender to You. I know that You have overcome the world. The grave could not hold You down, Lord. You may have died on the cross, but You rose again. And today, Jesus, I receive the life You have made available to me through Your victory over death. Change me, Lord, and shape me into the person You died for me to be. In Jesus' name, Amen."
"God's not waiting for you to find another way to fill a void in your life. He's waiting for you to receive the fulfillment He's already made available to you. Embrace the unending satisfaction of His love." Steven Furtick that's the "E"zy answer
"Jesus, I praise You for Your unending love. Even in Your greatest moment of distress, You fulfilled a purpose greater than anything I can ever imagine. Lord, I surrender every area of distress in my life to You. I receive the fulfillment that only Your love can bring. Everywhere I go today, give me the peace of knowing that I am complete in You. In Jesus' name, Amen. "
I thought long and hard about "ABANDONMENT" for Jesus and for me (what it means or how it feels?) Because a long-time ago in my own life, it was stated that I had fear of "abandonment" (which to me, didn't make sense, back then) yet the first words that came to mind for me were words that start with "I" ...
INSECURITY
ISOLATION
Sad to say, I now know how both of these words occur in my life and I have to battle against feeling insecure and isolated but not like Jesus, from His Father ... I can't even imagine that empty feeling of separation. Back then, I could not think at all how I might have issues with abandonment ... I have a better picture of that now. Back then, I clearly knew that I had not experienced childhood losses or trauma that I associate with "abandonment". Thankfully, I have a strong belief that my Heavenly Father has not and will not abandon me, and this is what I cling to as I face any earthly moments that bring up fears related to this. Fortunately, I had not experienced divorce or a death of a parent as a child, as I have since then however. I still had fears, issues and perhaps even identity crisis based on my insecurities and in these aging years with hearing loss now, a real sense of isolation like never before. As you can tell, this MILE strikes too close to home ... the blessing for me, is I have never felt abandoned by God, even when I might have deserved it. He has been ever so faithful to me every MILE of my journey.
"Lord, I confess there are times in my life when I feel like everyone, even You, has abandoned me. Give me the faith to see that You have never left me. Help me to see that You were abandoned so I would never have to be. Let me focus on Your presence today. In Jesus' name, Amen."
(although not all relationships are "love" or linked to "love")
yet somehow we humans are linked by love
Our Link with God is
LOVE
and
Jesus' sacrifice for us is an expression of His aMazing
LOVE
for us
and
He calls us
yeah, woos us
into a LOVE RELATIONSHIP with Him
"Embrace the unconditional LOVE Christ wants to show you today"
"Jesus, thank You for acknowledging our need for care and relationship in Your final moments on the cross. Thank You for always looking upon me with love and favor, no matter what my sins deserve. Give me the perspective to prioritize my relationship with You today, and guide me as I learn how to follow You. In Jesus' name, Amen."
"Jesus, I praise You for the grace You showed to the man hanging next to You on the cross. Your mercies are greater than anything I can comprehend. Thank You for remembering me specifically, although I deserved the punishment You received. Open my eyes, Lord, to receive the mercy You make available to me so that I may remember You in everything I do. In Jesus' name, Amen."
... because of our SALVATION made possible by Jesus Christ, we will have an ETERNITY with God and all BELIEVERS, as iBELIEVE
{okay, I searched for a"B"word dealing with "forgiveness" and had to resort to this}
Luke 23:32-34
Matthew 21:6-11
Matthew 18:21-22
"Jesus, give me the perspective today to see the full extent of your forgiveness. Forgive me for the times that I have unknowingly, and knowingly, sinned against you. I pray the same forgiveness I receive from you may overflow into the forgiveness I extend to others. In Jesus' name, Amen." YV day 1
I also came across 7@7 with 47 days of great daily devotionals
...“So they took palm branches and went out to meet Him. Everyone was shouting, “Lord, be our Savior! Blessed is the one who comes to us sent from Jehovah-God, the King of Israel!”” John 12:13 TPT
Yes, this is Holy Week (already) and yes, there are still 5 days left in "Draw the Circle" (Lent - "Cuaresma" in Spanish, officially ends this Thurs. March 29th, this year){I actually thought it ended before Palm Sunday, which we celebrate today} Palms up - give Jesus all praise, glory and honor with your thanks outpouring for what He accomplishes this Holy Week that we commerate as Christians every year and rightly so! Since I ended last week with days 29-35, clearly there are 5 more to make 40 days on this journey of prayer, but as we have learned along the way, this is just the impetus to get us continuing to draw circles and pray through ... and we're going to "pray through Holy Week"
Day 36 "Senior Partner" Matthew 6:20 "What we keep we ultimately loose; what we give away we ultimately get back."
Day 37 "Prayer Contracts" Matthew 16:18-19 "Agreeing with someone in prayer is like getting your prayers notarized."
Day 38 "Climb the Watchtower" Habakkuk 2:1 "Going back to places of spiritual significance can help us find our way forward again."
Day 39 "Holy Ground" Exodus 3:1-5 "The purpose of prayer is not to give orders to God; the purpose is to get orders from God."
Day 40 "Prayer Alphabet" Romans 8:26-27 "Prayer is the difference between the best we can do and the best God can do."
I will keep on
PRAYING the PROMISES
of God's Word
... while I am preparing my heart this week "remembering" Holy Week and Jesus Christ! I will reflect on the lowest points of my sin, the price it cost Jesus, and the highest peak of what God allowed to show His incredible love for us and has done through Jesus ... I will go back and reflect on Jesus' Last 7 phrases not just words spoken from the Cross (shared on this blog and through various pastors and sermon/studies, but mine are most likely drafted) and ponder what would be the 7 last thoughts I might want to leave as part of my own legacy ...
...however I must share my little ranting ramble for this week:
"I often wonder when the Christian world will stand up and change the name of this upcoming SONday to something with RESURRECTION or REDEEMING LOVE SONday; instead of the customary pagan origin name that in no way exalts Our King of kings and Lord of Lords - Jesus Christ ... all the ecards and real cards and everything to our salutation for blessing everyone with a Happy ... should point to Jesus Christ's RESURRECTION, which is what we celebrate, not some goddess of spring. I want to send cards or even post an image here ... but all of the ones I have seen end with Happy E. ... not Glorious Resurrection or even Happy Resurrection of Jesus!!! (although this link makes the best connection I've found to why we use this Saxon word and clarifies better this misconception, if you're interested) yet I still don't like it or think saying "Happy Passover" is good either, although in Spanish they do use "Pascua" (for Jewish Passover) "Feliz Pascua" ... this is why "HE is Risen" and "He's Alive" express better what we are celebrating and that we are indeed alive and will rise with Him ... glory, hallelujah! {but I'm a little ahead of myself with this} but just in case ...
John 11:25
I serve and believe in a
RISEN SAVIOR
crucified in my place
my Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ
YOU ARE
the RESURRECTION and the LIFE
YOU ARE
my
REDEEMER
YOU
ARE
THE
ONE
WHO
SAVES
so Lord, I draw the circle another week and ask You with this:
Perhaps you thought my absence here daily meant I had given in to giving up, which is far from the truth as I indicated last SONday while I contemplated all that rambles around in my head (as I pray) and when I'm awakened from trying to sleep at night, throughout the night (and I pray) but also last week's theme to "think long" ending with "quit praying" but only because the reasoning was "to do something about it" not only "pray about it" (which I also made efforts subtly, that perhaps God quietly is at work in me, too). So, by now, after so many bungled and failed attempts to pray and see prodigals surrender to Jesus Christ for centuries of praying for them with no redeeming change noticed ... I really do wonder about the seed(s) planted and like this week's, a stone thrown that causes a ripple effect. Skipping stones on the lake, not when it's frozen or even thawing out ... I love to watch the ripple effects and I'll just have to trust God that this "circle" I've drawn will also have a ripple effect around these precious souls that the Holy Spirit is at work in them as He is in me (sigh) and I truly would love any sign of some "ripple" or any effect rather than further distance as it seems. So I lean in and listen harder as I think longer. What came to me, once again, as it has other times when I pursue praying for salvation of loved ones, is to "pray" and consider it done in Jesus' name, as we draw near to Holy Week and remember that one of His final declarations from the Cross, was "It is finished" ... profound ... so rather than grow weary in my prayers, I must be more bold and confident, that it will be completed, God's will over human will, so I need to trust, let go and let God with no questioning myself of what am I doing wrong, or how can I be more fervent, or what is needed for this or that person to surrender and accept, then I reflect on the ripple effect in my own spiritual growth - thankfully, I have never denied Jesus as Christ, the Son of God, the Father, the Living One, who died for me and my sin, knowing my need for a personal Savior, so that I may live eternally with Him ... so I pause and consider "what might it take to break or bring someone to the Cross rather than further from it?", "why would anyone deny? or refuse?" and I remember the events and the individuals with Jesus Christ, in His last week on this earth, their reaction or response, given to us as examples, knowing that God knows exactly what it takes. I'm so thankful for Jesus and the privilege I have for an intimate relationship with Him! Hoping to see some 'stones' make some ripples from hardened hearts and minds set in a different direction - very soon. Believing God will ... as I keep steady, pray and persevere to ...
"Over the past few weeks, we've been dreaming big, praying hard, and thinking long. We've been circling people and problems and promises. But the goal wasn't circling for forty days - it was also to be praying on day forty-one. There is no expiration date on prayer! Every prayer you pray has a chain reaction, and those chain reactions. *Every prayer you pray ripples all the way into eternity.*"Mark Batterson, Draw the Circle
I don't have a problem with what Mark Batterson writes, but I do have a problem with my 'stinking thinking'. Because when you pray and continue praying for the same person, for the same result of hopeful salvation for forever long ... to me, it's like when you personally tell God, or leave something you're dealing with 'on that altar' (or 'at the altar') claiming you're done with this ... "no more" ... and you think you've left it there totally, only to find out, that it resurfaces again, like you didn't let your fist open long enough or completely, and somehow you held on to some thread and dragged it right back into your life and your life struggles (you know, you've done this ... we all wrestle with this) that it's like somehow, we pray or say to God "take it" but we "take it back" and when or as we do, we are actually saying to God, that we don't believe He's got it ... or He cares ... or that He'll do it or He's done it or will, as if we don't believe it's finished and He's going to come through ...so we gotta keep 'asking', keep 'praying', keep putting it before Him or worse yet, we think we got a better plan than the one He ordained from the very beginning. For me, my problem isn't with God (though some may argue, that's what I'm saying) - my problem is with the human that is so strong-willed or hardened that it doesn't seem or look like God is getting through, nor that this person is willing to open up, surrender their pride or whatever is keeping them from Jesus, and that perhaps if I step away (as I did for some 20 years) just maybe God will make a way finally ... well, it didn't happen, I continued to pray that God would send others until I thought I heard God telling me to come back, but still, the situation seems worse ... the ripple, at times, feels like an endless circle of doom rather than one of God's best 'circle'. So I go on praying, believing that as I claim God's Promises that not one will return void and that God is God, God's Word is true and God is so good to me and every prodigal ...His Will will be done! I will cling to BELIEVE what Mark wrote in that last line above.* I have to ... for
(I'll try to be back to add what I'm missing, having troubles with Blogger)
in case they mess it up (lol) still
Day 29 "A New Prayer" Ps. 96:1; Mat.6:7 "If you want God to do something new, you cannot keep doing the same old thing." Ps. 96:1
Day 30 "Abide in Me" John 15:5-8 "Reading without meditating is like eating without digesting." John 15:7
Day 31 "Spell it Out" Mark 10:46-52 "Most of us don't get what we want because we don't know what we want." Matthew 20:32
Day 32 "Get a Testimony" John 4:28-30, 39-42 "Most of us are educated way beyond the level of our obedience." Revelation 12:11
Day 33 "Prayer Covering" Matthew 18:19-20 "If you intercede for others, make sure others are interceding for you." Exodus 17:12
Day 34 "Raise up a Remnant" 2 Kings 19:30-31 "When the prayer meeting becomes the most important meeting, revival is around the corner." {let it begin with me} 2 Kings 19:30 KJV
Day 35 "The Longest Lever" Luke 21:1-4 "If we do the ordinary, God will add an extra to it"Zechariah 4:10 NLT
Hopefully
when I complete this week
I will begin to see a
(had a problem with the image I had with the drop like a heart)
Another link I have been meaning to share since I began this 40 day prayer journey is a daily podcast from Mary DeMuth "PRAY EVERY DAY" (she actually has two, the other is a weekly one). Currently, she has been doing the book of Philippians. She is praying through as she reads through the Philippians. Also I want to mention that First 5 started reading the minor prophets daily (March 12-May 5) starting with Hosea (with their series "Prone to Wander") and Lifeway's doing Hosea by Jennifer Rothschild. Lots of great stuff available for us
{all my posts are done on SONday, but posted on their scheduled day}
... so that is where we are on Monday, starting Session Four, in "Draw the Circle" (at least that's where I am, and think we are, if I'm on track with the Online Study emails) ... "Think(ing) Long" which is exactly what I'm doing as I'm praying, I'm also prone to more long thoughts ... (or is that different?) because actually I'm probably thinking too long (and not enough praying, if that makes sense). As Mark Batterson writes in the intro to this:
"We can't dream big without thinking long. We often want God to do things at the speed of light, but in God's Kingdom, things happen at the speed of a seed planted in the ground that has to take root before it can bear fruit." ...Mark Batterson, Draw the Circle
[Personally, I think I'm way past "dreaming big" anymore, yet it does not stop me from thinking long and hard, especially about those hard hearted souls. (sigh) However, I love the image of speed with the seed being planted ... then of course, nourished and watered to grow but that part about taking root ... well, let's just say I don't see that root happening (read Parable of the Sower, which explains about seeds and this root effect - has been a long time favorite of mine from Jesus' parables) and so as far as bearing fruit ... that will take a big miracle (as I've watched this in my own life and how long this takes to cultivate to bear fruit and I am a willing, thirsting soul that wants Jesus' Living Water) ... so I'm thinking really long ... and some souls don't have that long to get sprouting even nor do they even think that they need to believe in Jesus (double heavy sigh) and round and round it goes. The seed(s) get more hardened and seemingly impenetrable, so then I think even harder and longer and deeper as I truly wonder as I release it to God and His perfect timing (or do I?) That's what all of this is about: trusting God to be God and be good, even with the hardened one(s) that I find impossible just to live with so my prayers turn back to me and my heart, my need to change, my changes that need to take root and what I need to concentrate on, in my own life, because this is all I really am accountable for when I stand before Him - and boy, do I have a lot of growth to do, although I'm thinking my roots go down pretty deep by now, almost like a sequoia, just not as firm and strong ... so back to working on me, His seed in me and what iBelieve.]
I digressed but continue with what Mark Batterson writes:
..."This is about trusting His timing - and with the Lord, "A day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day" (2 Peter 3:8) ...
[my interruption again]
that's exactly right
because these more than 40 years
seem like a century to me
of praying for at least one of the lost souls
who just seems more set and comfortable with his own
beliefs
as
my heart grows weary with deep concern
multiplied by others that don't want
to accept or believe in Jesus
and my heart grieves as
the spirit groans
my flesh
cries out for an urgent fix
as I grieve yet another loss
which I can't grasp
as I wonder
how long?
how Our Heavenly Father
must ache as He watches and waits
for each of us to repent, to come
to seek, to be saved
from our selves
but
an eternity?
God
that's forever
(much more than a thousand or 40 days or years)
"... We need more patience and more persistence ... and that's a by product of time and experience." Mark Batterson, Draw the Circle
I just can't
"Draw a Circle"
larger enough to encompass
all that
my, how the enemy is working hard and overtime
so we must
PRAY
even
harder and longer
(that takes no thinking, just much faith and trust)
as long as it takes
("alat" instead of "asap")
which brings me back to
THINKing LONG
because I've been thinking long about this too
as you probably know from the way I wrote last week, perhaps you already sense what I'm going to say and do (yet we're so close to the finish - just one more session) no, it's not give up, not stop thinking, never stop believing, nor praying ... however, I've decided to not post daily, but put them all here - for the whole week (since I do them all on SONday anyways, it's the same for me), it'll just mean one long blog post for y'all to visit, however, and whenever, you'd like ...
Session 4
Days 22 - 28 Joshua 14:6-12
Day 22 "Pray Fleece" Judges 6:33-40 "When God gives a vision, He always makes provision." Judges 6:37
Day 23 "Not Now" Acts 1:4-5 "Sometimes God's no simply means not yet." Acts 1:4
Day 24 "Find Your Voice" 2 Timothy 3:14-17 "If you want to find your voice, you need to hear the voice of God." Jeremiah 1:4
Day 25 "A Prophetic Voice" 1 Corinthians 14:3-4 "Prayer is the way we recognize potential in others." Numbers 11:29
Day 26 "Game with Minutes" 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 "Change of pace + change of place=change of perspective" 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NASB)
Day 27 "Double Circle" Matthew 17:18-21 "If you want to break the sin habit, you've got to establish a prayer habit." Matthew 17:21 (NKJ)
Day 28 "Quit Praying" James 2:14-17 "Don't just pray about it, do something about it." Matthew 25:23
No, I'm really not aware of your situation or circumstances,
nor have I clearly stated mine, yet we can still pray for one another
as we are prompted, because I know and definitely believe that
God does know, and has known, long before we ask, think and pray:
so without a doubt, He's got this taken care of, He is God (and we are not)
He is in control, He is far more patient and persistent than we are,
He loves every one of His creation and is waiting ...
and longing to draw each one to Him,
so He really does care, and about what we pray
He's listening, so keep on drawing the circle and pray
