Category: Prayer for Military Personnel

Pray for our military personnel

“I Am the Lord”

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I Am the Lord.
I believe it is true that the God of the Israelites, the God of Abraham, Jacob, and Isaac, is the Lord over all creation and created beings. Is it not foolish not to recognize, love, worship, honor, and obey Him as such after all He has done for me in because of trusting only in Christ’s sacrificial death for my sin? The result of that faith which He has given me is my own resurrection to eternal life because of His payment for my sin.

Exodus 6:6-7
Amplified Bible (AMP)6
Accordingly, say to the Israelites, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will free you from their bondage, and I will rescue you with an outstretched arm [with special and vigorous action] and by mighty acts of judgment. 7 And I will take you to Me for a people, and I will be to you a God; and you shall know that it is I, the Lord your God, Who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

Psalm 2:11-12
Amplified Bible (AMP)
11 Serve the Lord with reverent awe and worshipful fear; rejoice and be in high spirits with trembling [lest you displease Him].12 Kiss the Son [pay homage to Him in purity], lest He be angry and you perish in the way, for soon shall His wrath be kindled. O blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied) are all those who seek refuge and put their trust in Him!

Proverbs 1:23
Amplified Bible (AMP)
23 If you will turn (repent) and give heed to my reproof, behold, I [[a]Wisdom] will pour out my spirit upon you, I will make my words known to you.

(Scriptures were copied and pasted through BibleGateway.com.)

God Meant It For Good

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God intended it for good. In another perspective, Babbie Mason, in the song, “Trust His Heart,” wrote and sang, “When you can’t trace His hand, trust His heart.”

Many times I have had to learn and relearn to keep on trusting, even as Joseph did.
(The cross references below have more of Joseph’s history as well as God’s intentions. They are a breeze to find quickly in Bible Gateway by clicking the references links in my blog.)

Genesis 50:20
New International Version (NIV)
20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
Cross references:
Genesis 37:20; Genesis 45:5; Isaiah 10:7; Micah 4:11-12;Romans 8:28; Esther 4:14

Ephesians 4:2
Amplified Bible (AMP)
2 Living as becomes you] with complete lowliness of mind (humility) and meekness (unselfishness, gentleness, mildness), with patience, bearing with one another and making allowances because you love one another.

Ephesians 4:2-3
The Message (MSG)
And mark that you do this with humility and discipline—not in fits and starts, but steadily, pouring yourselves out for each other in acts of love, alert at noticing differences and quick at mending fences.

Psalm 146:5
New International Version (NIV)
5 Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord their God.

Proverbs 30:5
Amplified Bible (AMP)
5 Every word of God is tried and purified; He is a shield to those who trust and take refuge in Him.

Jesus Prophesied Events Like This

Matthew 16:19
Amplified Bible (AMP)
19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind (declare to be improper and unlawful) on earth [a]must be what is already bound in heaven; and whatever you loose (declare lawful) on earth [b]must be what is already loosed in heaven.

Acts 9:40-41
Amplified Bible (AMP)
40 But Peter put them all out [of the room] and knelt down and prayed; then turning to the body he said, Tabitha, get up! And she opened her eyes; and when she saw Peter, she raised herself and sat upright.
41 And he gave her his hand and lifted her up. Then calling in God’s people and the widows, he presented her to them alive.

(Scriptures and references were copied and posted through BibleGateway.com)

God Sent Me

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Joseph knew “God sent me…” It makes a huge difference in my actions when I

    know

God has told me to do something. God promises I will find Him if I seek Him diligently (Proverbs 8:17 NAS), and that the Holy Spirit “will guide me into all the truth.” (John 16:13 AMP). Is there anything besides sin in my life which can prevent me from knowing God’s purpose and will in my life? (cf. Isaiah 59:1-2)

Genesis 45:7-8
Amplified Bible (AMP)
7 God sent me before you to preserve for you a posterity and to continue a remnant on the earth, to save your lives by a great escape and save for you many survivors.
8 So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.

Psalm 143:10
Amplified Bible (AMP)
10 Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; let Your good Spirit lead me into a level country and into the land of uprightness.

Proverbs 28:25
Amplified Bible (AMP)
25 He who is of a greedy spirit stirs up strife, but he who puts his trust in the Lord shall be enriched and blessed.

Jesus Prophesied Peter’s Martyrdom

John 21:18
Amplified Bible (AMP)
18 I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, when you were young you girded yourself [put on your own belt or girdle] and you walked about wherever you pleased to go. But when you grow old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will put a girdle around you and carry you where you do not wish to go.

Hebrews 12:1-2
Amplified Bible (AMP)
12 Therefore then, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses [who have borne testimony to the Truth], let us strip off and throw aside every encumbrance (unnecessary weight) and that sin which so readily (deftly and cleverly) clings to and entangles us, and let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us,
2 Looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith [giving the first incentive for our belief] and is also its Finisher [bringing it to maturity and perfection]. He, for the joy [of obtaining the prize] that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising and ignoring the shame, and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

(Scriptures and references were copied and posted from BibleGateway.com.)

Did God Say That Again?

How many times does God have to tell me something? He reminded Jacob he was to be known as Israel. I think God wanted him to remember where he was going, not particularly where he had been.
Sometimes I get so wrapped up in the past or the present I fail to prepare for the future, even just minutes away!

Maranatha! Jesus is coming again! What am I doing about it?

Genesis 35:10-12
Amplified Bible (AMP)
10 Again God said to him, Your name is Jacob [supplanter]; you shall not be called Jacob any longer, but Israel shall be your name. So He called him Israel [contender with God].
11 And God said to him, I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall come from you and kings shall be born of your stock;
12 The land which I gave Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and to your descendants after you I will give the land.

1 Peter 5:8-9
Amplified Bible (AMP)
8 Be well balanced (temperate, sober of mind), be vigilant and cautious at all times; for that enemy of yours, the devil, roams around like a lion roaring [[a]in fierce hunger], seeking someone to seize upon and devour.
9 Withstand him; be firm in faith [against his onset—rooted, established, strong, immovable, and determined], knowing that the same ([b]identical) sufferings are appointed to your brotherhood (the whole body of Christians) throughout the world.

Psalm 130:3-4
Amplified Bible (AMP)
3 If You, Lord, should keep account of and treat [us according to our] sins, O Lord, who could stand?
4 But there is forgiveness with You [just what man needs], that You may be reverently feared and worshiped.

Proverbs 26:20
Amplified Bible (AMP)
20 For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, contention ceases.

Jesus Prophesied He Is Coming Again

John 14:3
Amplified Bible (AMP)
3 And when (if) I go and make ready a place for you, I will come back again and will take you to Myself, that where I am you may be also.

“Oh what a glorious day that will be. Jesus is coming again.”

“Jesus Is Coming Again” lyrics: http://hymnal.calvarybaptistsv.org/125.html
Piano Music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LkggzjnZ4w

“Maranatha – Jesus is Coming Again” song and lyrics loads faster when www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eczdk4qK3kM is copied and pasted into your search engine

“Scriptures were copied and posted from BibleGateway.com”
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Under the Circumstances

“Pretty good, under the circumstances,” is often our reply, or at least our thinking, when someone asks how we are doing. I remember what a psychologist often asked, “

What in the world are you doing

under the circumstances>?”

What in the world am I doing?

Am I under the circumstances?

Jacob had been with Laban for 20 years. God reminded him of His blessing, which God had promised Jacob. Then God told Jacob, “Now arise, get out…return to your family.” God has been visiting me in my comfort zone and putting a burr in my saddle, too. I’m not sure what I’ll do about a sudden car transmission failure. Fix it? Trade it? Give it away? It is time for me to trust and follow God in in at least one other area again. I am definitely praying about it.*

Genesis 31:12-13
Amplified Bible (AMP)
12 And He said, Look up and see, all the rams which mate with the flock are streaked, speckled, and mottled; for I have seen all that Laban does to you.
13 I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar and where you vowed a vow to Me. Now arise, get out from this land and return to your native land.Psalm 119:18

Amplified Bible (AMP)
18 Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of Your law.

Proverbs 24:11-12
Amplified Bible (AMP)
11 Deliver those who are drawn away to death, and those who totter to the slaughter, hold them back [from their doom].
12 If you [profess ignorance and] say, Behold, we did not know this, does not He Who weighs and ponders the heart perceive and consider it? And He Who guards your life, does not He know it? And shall not He render to [you and] every man according to his works?

Verse of the Day from Bible Gateway:
Living as becomes you] with complete lowliness of mind (humility) and meekness (unselfishness, gentleness, mildness), with patience, bearing with one another and making allowances because you love one another. Ephesians 4:2 AMP

Prophecy by Christ and Fullfillment

Matthew 26:32
Amplified Bible (AMP)
32 But after I am raised up [to life again], I will go ahead of you to Galilee.

Matthew 28:16-17
Amplified Bible (AMP)
16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed and made appointment with them.
17 And when they saw Him, they fell down and worshiped Him; but some doubted.

(Scriptures were copied and posted through BibleGateway.com)
*The first three Scriptures were selected last Friday. The others were selected since then. I am amazed at how they tell me to trust, change, and execute God’s plan. The car failure was today and God is definitely using them in my life.
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Jacob at Bethel, the House of God

God met with Jacob and gave him a greater blessing than his father, Isaac, had given him.
I cannot recall a time when I did not receive a blessing when I meet with God? After all,
“Every good gift and every perfect (free, large, full) gift is from above; it comes down from the Father of all [that gives] light, in [the shining of] Whom there can be no variation [rising or setting] or shadow cast by His turning [as in an eclipse]. He is the author of all good and perfect gifts.” James 1:17 Amplified Bible (AMP)

Genesis 28:13-15
Amplified Bible (AMP)
13 And behold, the Lord stood over and beside him and said, I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father [forefather] and the God of Isaac; I will give to you and to your descendants the land on which you are lying.
14 And your offspring shall be as [countless as] the dust or sand of the ground, and you shall spread abroad to the west and the east and the north and the south; and by you and your Offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed and bless themselves.
15 And behold, I am with you and will keep (watch over you with care, take notice of) you wherever you may go, and I will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done all of which I have told you.

Psalm 113:5-8
Amplified Bible (AMP)
5 Who is like the Lord our God, Who has His seat on high,
6 Who humbles Himself to regard the heavens and the earth!
7 [The Lord] raises the poor out of the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap and the dung hill,
8 That He may seat them with princes, even with the princes of His people.

Proverbs 23:17-18
Amplified Bible (AMP)
17 Let not your heart envy sinners, but continue in the reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord all the day long.
18 For surely there is a latter end [a future and a reward], and your hope and expectation shall not be cut off.

Prophecy of Christ and Fulfillment

Zechariah 11:12
Amplified Bible (AMP)
12 And I said to them, If it seems just and right to you, give me my wages; but if not, withhold them. So they weighed out for my price thirty pieces of silver.

Matthew 26:14-15
Amplified Bible (AMP)
14 Then one of the Twelve [apostles], who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests
15 And said, What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you? And they weighed out for and paid to him thirty pieces of silver [about twenty-one dollars and sixty cents.]

(Scriptures were copied and posted through http://www.biblegateway.com)

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Can God Bless Our Families Through Us?

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Please suggest how to bless our family members as God used Isaac blessed Jacob.

And may God give you of the dew of the heavens and of the fatness of the earth and abundance of grain and [new] wine; Let peoples serve you and nations bow down to you; be master over your brothers, and let your mother’s sons bow down to you. Let everyone be cursed who curses you and favored with blessings who blesses you. (Genesis 27:28, 29 AMP)

But immorality (sexual vice) and all impurity [of lustful, rich, wasteful living] or greediness must not even be named among you, as is fitting and proper among saints (God’s consecrated people). Let there be no filthiness (obscenity, indecency) nor foolish and sinful (silly and corrupt) talk, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting or becoming; but instead voice your thankfulness [to God]. (Ephesians 5:3, 4 AMP)

Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He has delivered from the hand of the adversary, (Psalm 107:2 AMP)

The rich and poor meet together; the Lord is the Maker of them all. [Job 31:15; Prov. 14:31.] (Proverbs 22:2 AMP)

And He shall be a sanctuary [a sacred and indestructible asylum to those who reverently fear and trust in Him]; but He shall be a Stone of stumbling and a Rock of offense to both the houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. [Isa. 28:6; Rom. 9:33; I Pet. 2:6-8.] (Isaiah 8:14 AMP)

Prophecy of Jesus and Fulfillment
But [Jesus] looked at them and said, What then is [the meaning of] this that is written: The [very] Stone which the builders rejected has become the chief Stone of the corner [Cornerstone]? [Ps. 118:22, 23.]
Everyone who falls on that Stone will be broken [in pieces]; but upon whomever It falls, It will crush him [winnow him and scatter him as dust]. [Isa. 8:14, 15; Dan. 2:34, 35.] (Luke 20:17, 18 AMP)

As it is written, Behold I am laying in Zion a Stone that will make men stumble, a Rock that will make them fall; but he who believes in Him [who adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Him] shall not be put to shame nor be disappointed in his expectations. [Isa. 28:16.] (Romans 9:33 AMP)

(Scriptures were copied and posted through the YouVersion app.)

I Am Blessed

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I Am Blessed

I am blessed. Others are blessed. The whole world is blessed because of Christ, the Messiah, the greatest promised blessing through Abraham’s obedience. Is there a limit to God’s blessing for faith and obedience?

And in your Seed [Christ] shall all the nations of the earth be blessed and [by Him] bless themselves, because you have heard and obeyed My voice. [Gen. 12:2-3; 13:16; 22:18; 26:4; 28:14; Acts 3:25, 26; Gal. 3:16.] (Genesis 22:18 AMP)

For He remembered His holy word With Abraham His servant; And He brought forth His people with joy, His chosen ones with a joyful shout. (Psalms 105:42, 43 NASB)

The exercise of justice is joy for the righteous, But is terror to the workers of iniquity. (Proverbs 21:15 NASB)

Another prophecy of Jesus was fulfilled.

And He said to them, Cast the net on the
right side of the boat and you will find [some]. So they cast the net, and now they were not able to haul it in for such a big catch (mass, quantity) of fish [was in it]. (John 21:6 AMP)

(Scriptures were copied and posted through the YouVersion app.)

Wisdom Has Greatest Value

Prefer my life-disciplines over chasing after money, and God-knowledge over a lucrative career.11 For Wisdom is better than all the trappings of wealth; nothing you could wish for holds a candle to her.

Proverbs 8:9-10 (The Message)

Ask and trust God for His wisdom. (cf. James 1:5-8)
If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who “worry their prayers” are like wind-whipped waves. Don’t think you’re going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open. (James 1:5-8 MSG)

It is good to give thanks…

 
 
This morning I read and was blessed again by Psalm 92.  (Verses 12-16 are similar to Psalm 1:3 and Jeremiah 17:7-8.

1 “It is good R2932 to give thanks to the LORD And to sing R2933 praises to Your name, O Most High; 2 To declare R2934 Your lovingkindness in the morning And Your faithfulness R2935 by F999 night, 3 With F1000 the ten-stringed R2936 lute and with F1000 the harp, R2937 With F1000 resounding music upon F1001 the lyre. R2938 4 For You, O LORD, have made me glad by what F1002 You have R2939 done, I will sing R2940 for joy at the works R2941 of Your hands. 5 How great R2942 are Your works, O LORD! Your thoughts F1003 R2943 are very deep. R2944 6 A senseless R2945 man has no knowledge, Nor does a stupid R2946 man understand this: 7 That when the wicked sprouted R2947 up like grass And all who R2948 did iniquity flourished, It {was only} that they might be destroyed R2949 forevermore. 8 But You, O LORD, are on R2950 high forever. 9 For, behold, Your enemies, O LORD, For, behold, Your R2951 enemies will perish; All who do iniquity will be scattered. R2952 10 But You have exalted my horn R2953 like {that of} the wild ox; I have been F1004 anointed R2954 with fresh oil. 11 And my eye has looked R2955 {exultantly} upon my F1005 foes, My ears hear of the evildoers who rise up against me. 12 The righteous R2956 man will flourish F1006 like the palm tree, He will grow like a cedar R2957 in Lebanon. 13 Planted R2958 in the house of the LORD, They will flourish in R2959 the courts of our God. 14 They will still yield F1007 R2960 fruit in old age; They shall be full F1008 of sap and very green, 15 To declare F1009 that the R2961 LORD is upright; {He is} my rock, R2962 and there is no R2963 unrighteousness in Him.”  [Psalm 92:1-16, NAS, from http://bible1.crosswalk.com/OnlineStudyBible/bible.cgi.  (The superscript numbers are Bible study helps which take you to related references from the Holman Study Bible if you “right click. on them on the crosswalk website.)]

  
For a joyful time of praise, sing most of the first four verses to the tune of “The Fiddler on the Roof” and repeat verses one and two at the end.“1 It is good to give thanks to the LORD And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; 2 To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning And Your faithfulness by night, 3 With the ten-stringed flute and with the harp, With resounding music upon the lyre. 4 For You, O LORD, have made me glad… (Repeat)1 It is good to give thanks to the LORD And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High.2 To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning And Your faithfulness by night..” Today is the five year anniversary of my father’s promotion into glorious eternal life with God our Father.  I rejoiced last night as I sang some of his favorite hymns and I rejoiced again today as we sang “How Great Thou Art” in church.  On Father’s Day, 2001, I asked Dad if he remembered the particular day on which he trusted Christ to forgive his sins, take control of his life, and received an eternal new life as a free gift from our Heavenly Father.  He said he did not remember the exact day, but that it was when I was quite small, because he was carrying me in his arms.  That decision was made in the Nebraska rural school near where Open Door, the “Little White Church ‘Mong the Pines,’ was founded at about that time by a group of farmers and ranchers led by an American Sunday School Union missionary.  We attended that church all of my life in Nebraska and Dad and Mom attended it all the years they lived on our farm about seven miles away from it.  Dad’s decision made a definite impact on our family’s life because Mom was the only Christian in our immediate family until then.  Since then, both of my sisters, my brother, myself and all of our children have ade professions of faith in Christ.  Most of our mature children who have married have married Christian spouses as well.  We know we are each a long way from perfect. We also know we have found forgiveness for our sins and strength and faith to trust Christ at all times, although each and all of us often fail to trust our wonderful Savior in numerous ways and still fall into sin.  “Hallelujah!  What a Savior who can take a poor lost sinner, lift him from the miry clay, and set him free.”  is the first line of one those hymns we used to sing at Open Door Church and have often sung since then.