Friday, October 7, 2011

YOM KIPPUR

Yom Kippur in Hebrew: יוֹם כִּפּוּר or יום הכיפורים‎ is also known as Day of Atonement. Fasting will begin after lunch on Friday October 7, 2011 and last until sundown Saturday Oct 8th. Jews observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer. Yom Kippur completes the annual period known in Judaism as the High Holy Days or Yamim Nora'im ~ "Days of Awe". THe Jewish calendar ensures that Yom Kippur never falls on a Friday, Sunday or a Tuesday. The Torah calls the day Yom HaKippurim. Leviticus 23:27 decrees strict prohibition of work and affliction of the soul. A variety of liturgical poems are spoken, including a poem recounting the radiance of the countenance of the Kohen Gadol after exiting the Holy of Holies. In a solemn manner to echo the Light seen in the countenance of Moses after descending from Mount Sinai. According to Jewish tradition the Torah was dictated to Moses by God. On Friday 10-7-11 as I listened to the bible being read, I was stilled by His voice, then moved to extend His generosity and provision to others. An email from my mother covered what gloom is predicted as our dollar dives. TRUTH: God's word shall never collapse. As the world economy shakes, as rulers come and go, God's word is what we can cling to! FROM THE MESSAGE Nathan tells King David in 2 Samuel 7:11-30 "So here is what you are to tell my servant David: The God-of-the-Angel-Armies has this word for you: I took you from the pasture, tagging along after sheep, and made you prince over my people Israel. I was with you everywhere you went and mowed your enemies down before you. Now I'm making you famous, to be ranked with the great names on earth. And I'm going to set aside a place for my people Israel and plant them there so they'll have their own home and not be knocked around any more. Nor will evil men afflict you as they always have, even during the days I set judges over my people Israel. Finally, I'm going to give you peace from all your enemies. "Furthermore, God has this message for you: God himself will build you a house! When your life is complete and you're buried with your ancestors, then I'll raise up your child, your own flesh and blood, to succeed you, and I'll firmly establish his rule. He will build a house to honor me, and I will guarantee his kingdom's rule permanently. I'll be a Father to Him, and he'll be a Son to Me. When he does wrong, I'll discipline him in the usual ways, the pitfalls and obstacles of this mortal life. But I'll never remove my gracious love from Him, as I removed it from Saul, who preceded you and whom I most certainly did remove. Your family and your kingdom are permanently secured. I'm keeping my eye on them! And your royal throne will always be there, rock solid." Nathan gave David a complete and accurate account of everything he heard and saw in the vision. King David went in, took his place before God, and prayed: "Who am I, my Master God, and what is my family, that you have brought me to this place in life? But that's nothing compared to what's coming, for you've also spoken of my family far into the future, given me a glimpse into tomorrow, my Master God! What can I possibly say in the face of all this? You know me, Master God, just as I am. You've done all this not because of who I am but because of who you are—out of your very heart!—but you've let me in on it. "This is what makes you so great, Master God! There is none like you, no God but you, nothing to compare with what we've heard with our own ears. And who is like your people, like Israel, a nation unique in the earth, whom God set out to redeem for himself, performing great and fearsome acts, throwing out nations and their gods left and right as you saved your people from Egypt? You established for yourself a people—your very own Israel!—your people permanently. And you, God, became their God. "So now, great God, this word that you have spoken to me and my family, guarantee it permanently! Do exactly what you've promised! Then your reputation will flourish always as people exclaim, 'The God-of-the-Angel-Armies is God over Israel!' And the house of your servant David will remain sure and solid in your watchful presence. For you, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, Israel's God, told me plainly, 'I will build you a house.' That's how I was able to find the courage to pray this prayer to you. "And now, Master God, being the God you are, speaking sure words as you do, and having just said this wonderful thing to me, please, just one more thing: Bless my family; keep your eye on them always. You've already as much as said that you would, Master God! Oh, may your blessing be on my family permanently!" AMEN and HALLELUIAH!

Thursday, October 6, 2011

SOWN SEED

Lord I PRAY for the wisdom to be able to discern difference. That I RECOGNIZE Who makes me different, set apart from everyone else. I PRAY for focus of my mind, that God enables me to rule my mind, that the Holy Spirit bring to mind scripture that guides and affirms "walk this way". Lord Jesus help me to concentrate, that I may SEE what You SEE. Give me a vision, a picture in my mind of living debt free, worry free, as I walk in the Spirit trusting You and Your living word. I PRAY Lord Jesus that You allow me to RECOGNIZE Your strength in my weakness. Help me RECOGNIZE that I am not alone, that You are here with me, in me, and that as I depend on the Spirit of God, that nothing is missing, that all I need is here right NOW. Lord increase my willingness to be faithful to walk in the Spirit, to make choices that honor God. I honor Your covenant, Your promise that as I am enabled by Your Spirit, that I walk in victory in Your will for my life. Thank You for my health, my position in Christ Jesus and Your plan to bless me, and expand my borders. Thank You Lord for Your generous grace, Your annointing, Your favor! Thank You Lord for the Holy Spirit Who enables me to see, move, trust and obey God's word in me. I PRAY for the power of the covenant God gave in my relationship with Doyle King. I trust that the difference in the coming season is that Doyle affirms my faith in Jesus. The Truth in me is the only thing that marks me as His and I accept His Seal, the promised Holy Spirit within me! As Doyle King mentors me, his prayers for me are heard by the God of the universe. Thank You Lord for bringing Doyle into my life. Our covenant relationship blesses me as his faith in You, in Your living Word is what we hold onto. LORD JESUS I am here, use me here and take me to where You want me to minister. Jesus left His hometown to touch and change lives. Lord when You take me to where I belong, the genius You placed in me shall emerge. For today, I ask that You use me where I am. My PRAYER is that my life, my choices, my words will honor Jesus Christ. On my own, I cannot, so Lord I pray that the Holy Spirit within me will enable me to live surrendered and obedient to the slightest nudge within me. My code of honor, is to honor His seed that is growing inside me. My prayer is that my SEED of FAITH be sown in the fertile soil of God's plan. Lord I am willing to reap the harvest You intend. As I honor You, as I come to You, depend on You, and access Your power, my love, time, patience, kindness, words, finances, giving and teaching are seeds that I trust God will use to grow and prosper me. Lord Jesus You are faithful in Your provision and as I walk in the Spirit, I reap what I sow. My expectation is that You will gain all the glory for all that has been set into motion by the seeds I sow. PRAYING and BELIEVING that Your blessing is sure! My faith in God is confidence in God, and God rejoices in my confidence in Him. Jesus the Master Teacher, in His three year life on earth, He planted many seeds in many students, but not all took root and grew fruit. Sowing a money seed takes wisdom and discernment. Lord give me wisdom and discernment of where and how much seed to plant that will bear the greatest harvest for Your honor and glory. AMEN

Monday, October 3, 2011

PRAY FOR JERUSALEM

The Honorable Benjamin Netanyahu ~ Prime Minister of Israel. "Mike Evans is a fighter for freedom in a world of darkening and narrowing horizons. In his devotion to Israel, Mike has consistently demonstrated the moral clarity that is necessary to defend Israel against the lies and distortions of its enemies, and championed the Jewish people's claim to the Land of Israel." Give all the glory to God, for His hand on Israel. Mike's testimony, a son of a non-practing Jewish mother and a Christian alcoholic father - who suffered physical abuse, who hated Jesus ~ restored the home of Corrie ten Boom and turned it into a museum. He authored 32 books that honor God. Listen to what the Spirit is saying. Hear the Truth, Click CORRIE ten BOOM link."God does not have problems. Only plans," proclaimed Corrie ten Boom when a clerical error allowed her to be released from a Nazi concentration camp one week before all women prisoners her age were executed. Though she was released from the horror of Ravensbruck concentration camp, Corrie continued to live with a remarkable reliance on God, just as her family had as they hid Jews from Nazi terror. Generations of ten Booms held Christian prayer meetings for Israel for 100 years prior to World War II. In 1837, Willem ten Boom opened a clock shop. As dedicated Christians, the family home above the shop was always an "open house" for anyone in need. After an inspiring Dutch Reformed worship service in 1844, Willem started a weekly prayer service to pray for the Jewish people and the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6). His son Casper continued the tradition of prayer with his own family. These prayer meetings continued for 100 years—until February 28, 1944, when Nazi soldiers arrested Casper and his entire family for harboring Jews. During World War II, the ten Booms lived out their Christian faith by making their home a refuge—a hiding place—for Jews and members of the Dutch underground who were being hunted by the Nazis. Casper's daughter Corrie in this photo taken in 1907. Corrie was imprisoned for praying for Jews. During 1943 - 1944, the ten Boom family hid transiet refugees illegally. Refugees stayed with the ten Booms for a few hours or a few days until another "safe house" could be located for them. Corrie was a ringleader within the network of the Haarlem underground people caring about God's call to "Let my people go". The ten Boom family saved the lives of an estimated 800 Jews. Let us PRAY for Jerusalem and plant a seed of faith in God's plan to bless those who bless His people. I PRAY that the SEED I SOW to FREE God's PEOPLE, that this seed will flourish and bring about a season of prosperity for all who live and long to return to Jeruasalem. Cover them with Your unlimited grace!

Saturday, October 1, 2011

PASSOVER SEDER

The Passover Seder is a Jewish ritual feast that marks the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. It is conducted on the evenings of the 14-15th day of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar, which is late March, early April. The Seder is a ritual meal held for the purpose of retelling the story of slavery and liberation of the Jews in ancient Egypt. The Book of Exodus or Shemot in the Hebrew Bible commands the Jews to retell the story of the Exodus from Egypt: "You shall tell your child on that day, saying, 'It is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.'" (Exodus 13:8) Traditionally, families and friends gather in the evening to read the text of the Haggadah, an ancient work that contains the narrative of the Israelite exodus from Egypt, special blessings and rituals, commentaries from the Talmud, and special Passover songs. The Bible tells that God helped the Children of Israel escape slavery in Egypt by inflicting ten plagues upon the Egyptians before Pharaoh would release his Israelite slaves. The Jews were instructed to mark the doorposts of their homes with the blood of a spring lamb and, upon seeing this, the spirit of the Lord passed over these homes, PASSOVER celebrates the mercy of God through the blood of His lamb. When Pharaoh freed the Israelites, it is said that they left in such a hurry that they could not wait for bread dough to rise (leaven). In commemoration, for the duration of Passover no leavened bread is eaten, for which reason it is called "The Festival of the Unleavened Bread". Seder customs include drinking four cups of wine, eating matza, partaking of symbolic foods placed on the Passover Seder Plate, and reclining in celebration of freedom. There is an obligation to drink four cups of wine during the Seder. Even the poor are obliged to drink the four cups. Each cup is imbibed at a specific point in the Seder. The Four Cups represent the four expressions of deliverance promised by God Exodus 6:6-7"I will bring out," "I will deliver," "I will redeem," and "I will take." Also the Four Cups represent the four worlds: 1) this world 2)the Messianic age 3)the world at the revival of the dead 4)the world to come. This also connects them to the four Matriarchs: Sarah, Rebeccah, Rachel, and Leah and the three Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The four historical redemptions of the Jewish people: 1)the choosing of Abraham 2) the Exodus from Egypt 3)the survival of the Jewish people through the exile 4) to happen at the end of days. Therefore partaking in the four cups is very important for all Jews. THEMES for the Seder meal is slavery and freedom. The day begins at sunset and ends at sunset. The Jewish people were enslaved to Pharaoh and after the 10th plague struck Egypt at midnight, which killed all the first-born of Pharaoh to the first born of the slaves in the dungeon, and all the first born of livestock, Pharaoh let the Hebrew nation go. Effectively making them free people for the second half of the night. Thus, Seder participants recall the slavery that reigned during the first half of the night by eating matzo (the "poor person's bread"), maror (bitter herbs which symbolize the bitterness of slavery), and charoset (a sweet paste representing the mortar which the Jewish slaves used to cement bricks). Recalling the freedom of the second half of the night, they eat the matzo the "bread of freedom"and also the "bread of affliction" and then drink the four cups of wine. As they dip vegetables into salt water, the dipping is a sign of royalty and freedom, and the salt recalls the tears the Jews shed during their slavery. Since the retelling of the Exodus to one's child is the object of the Seder experience, much effort is made to arouse the interest and curiosity of the children and keep them awake during the meal. To that end, questions and answers are a central device in the Seder ritual. By encouraging children to ask questions, they will be more open to hearing the answers. The most famous question which the youngest child asks - "Why is this night different from all other nights?" After the asking of these questions, the main portion of the Seder, Magid, gives over the answers in the form of a historical review. Also, at different points in the Seder, the leader of the Seder will cover the matzot and lift their cup of wine; then put down the cup of wine and uncover the matzot—all to elicit questions from the children. The questions are asked by the assembled company in chorus rather than by a child, and are put to the leader of the seder, who answers the question. Originally, Jewish scholarship was all oral. Rabbis expounded and debated the written law expressed in the Hebrew Bible and discussed the Tanakh without the benefit of written works. Some Rabbis may have made private notes (megillot setarim) of court decisions. This situation changed drastically mainly as the result of the destruction of the Jewish commonwealth and the Second Temple in the year 70 CE and the consequent upheaval of Jewish social and legal norms. The Bible tells us to celebrate our freedom ~ PASSOVER from guilt to God with His truth: "There is no condemnation in Christ Jesus" for the blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ takes away the sins of those who claim Him as their Lord and Savior. Click into the SIMPLE WAY TO GOD and REJOICE in the One who came to give you Eternal Life. AMEN