David's prayers' secrets: praying to maturity

Today we read how prayers can lead us to spiritual maturity: David’s prayers. I took the first and last psalms with the phrase “hear my prayer” for our reading here. Note the similarities and differences between the two incidents. (Note: Bold highlights added by me.)
My brief notes: in Psalm 4 David was rather sure of his own effort to remain godly and righteous and ability to carry out God’s laws. In Psalm 143 he humbled himself and declared that no one was righteous before God! Note how David had matured spiritually in his walk with God. It is important to note that he mentioned his spirit fainting and failing and needed God’s Spirit to lead him! In both psalms we see one common factor: David always prayed. He put his hope in God and not in man. A marked change in spiritual maturity is his becoming God-focus (instead of self-focus) in Psalm 143 prayer.
Psalm 4 (ESV) Answer Me When I Call
To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.

1 Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!
    You have given me relief when I was in distress.
    Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!

² O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame?
    How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah
³ But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself;
    the Lord hears when I call to him.

⁴ Be angry, and do not sin;
    ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah
⁵ Offer right sacrifices,
    and put your trust in the Lord.

⁶ There are many who say, “Who will show us some good?
    Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord!”
⁷ You have put more joy in my heart
    than they have when their grain and wine abound.

⁸ In peace I will both lie down and sleep;
    for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

_____________

Psalm 143 (ESV) My Soul Thirsts for You A Psalm of David.

143 Hear my prayer, O Lord;
    give ear to my pleas for mercy!
    In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness!
² Enter not into judgment with your servant,
    for no one living is righteous before you.

³ For the enemy has pursued my soul;
    he has crushed my life to the ground;
    he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.
⁴ Therefore my spirit faints within me;
    my heart within me is appalled.

⁵ I remember the days of old;
    I meditate on all that you have done;
    I ponder the work of your hands.
⁶ I stretch out my hands to you;
    my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah

⁷ Answer me quickly, O Lord!
    My spirit fails!
Hide not your face from me,
    lest I be like those who go down to the pit.
⁸ Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,
    for in you I trust.
Make me know the way I should go,
    for to you I lift up my soul.

⁹ Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord!
    I have fled to you for refuge.
¹⁰ Teach me to do your will,
    for you are my God!
Let your good Spirit lead me
    on level ground!

¹¹ For your name’s sake, O Lord, preserve my life!
    In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble!
¹² And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies,
    and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul,
    for I am your servant.

_________Keys to effective prayers:

1. be Spirit-led
2. be God-focus
   

 

(Revised 11/29/13) Christmas visions and dreams of green trees, my little brother,Isaiah 61

Further notes on 11/29/2013: Times passes. We each have an appointed time. Many of us left home after the first few years of our lives. But the Lord brought back our loved ones to us one in His seasons for each of them. Our paths crossed. Appointed. The Lord’s Visitations too. Don’t miss yours. Lives are too short on earth for us to miss the Lord’s appointments.
Notes on 11/29/2013: This post was originally written on December 27, 2009. Today this emerged as I looked at this website. Yesterday I posted the 1111th of my posts. Today I looked at this compilation of dreams and visions and realized how many of them had come to pass! One event was about my little brother. In the dream he was very young and I had to hold his hand and together we walked through pitched darkness in the open field (like wilderness), crossed the ditch (like the River Jordan), and entered into light (like the promised land). A year after this dream, my brother came back to Jesus, a broken and tired, worn man. He repented and spent one year plus completely restored to fitness in a country home with a group of brethren, living a physically, mentally and spiritually healthy and godly lifestyle, worshiping God, reading the Bible, praying and praising God day and night, doing farm work in the afternoon and eventually resuming his long forsaken profession as a cook. On the day of his sudden journey to go back to his home in heaven he led the morning worship, led the brethren (old and young) singing 8 favorite praise songs all God-Jesus focus. After the worship he listened to the pastor’s preaching God’s words. He then took a rather long nap, during which he spoke to his younger friends who shared the living quarters that he did not need lunch. In the afternoon, he passed on peacefully to be with the Lord. When we looked through his note books we realized how closely he had walked with the Lord Jesus during that last year on earth! Like Enoch he merely walked on with the Lord…
Read on: http://kzlam36.wordpress.com/2009/12/27/chapter-fifty-eight-christmas-visions-and-dreams-of-green-trees-and-isaiah-61/

"Let us" hold fast the promises of God

Today's faith in action is "Let us" align with the perfect purpose of our God.

Hebrews 4:1

[ The Promise of Rest ] Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it.

Hebrews 4:1-3 (in Context)  Hebrews 4 (Whole Chapter)  Other Translations

Hebrews 4:11

[ The Word Discovers Our Condition ] Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.

Hebrews 4:10-12 (in Context)  Hebrews 4 (Whole Chapter)  Other Translations

Hebrews 4:14

[ Our Compassionate High Priest ] Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.

Hebrews 4:13-15 (in Context)  Hebrews 4 (Whole Chapter)  Other Translations

Hebrews 4:16

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Hebrews 4:15-16 (in Context)  Hebrews 4 (Whole Chapter)  Other Translations

Hebrews 6:1

[ The Peril of Not Progressing ] Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,

Hebrews 6:1-3 (in Context)  Hebrews 6 (Whole Chapter)  Other Translations

Hebrews 10:22

let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

Hebrews 10:21-23 (in Context)  Hebrews 10 (Whole Chapter)  Other Translations

Hebrews 10:23

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.

Hebrews 10:22-24 (in Context)  Hebrews 10 (Whole Chapter)  Other Translations

Hebrews 10:24

And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,

Hebrews 10:23-25 (in Context)  Hebrews 10 (Whole Chapter)  Other Translations

Hebrews 12:1

[ The Race of Faith ] Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

Hebrews 12:1-3 (in Context)  Hebrews 12 (Whole Chapter)  Other Translations

Hebrews 12:28

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.

Hebrews 12:27-29 (in Context)  Hebrews 12 (Whole Chapter)  Other Translations

Hebrews 13:13

Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach.

Hebrews 13:12-14 (in Context)  Hebrews 13 (Whole Chapter)  Other Translations

Hebrews 13:15

Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.

Hebrews 13:14-16 (in Context)  Hebrews 13 (Whole Chapter)  Other Translations

Chanukah — the eight-day festival of light

The festival falls on Thursday, November 28 this year of 2013, same day as the Thanksgiving Day to be celebrated in US and Canada.
The following is an excerpt quoted from http://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/article_cdo/aid/102911/jewish/What-is-Hanukkah.htm
Chanukah — the eight-day festival of light that begins on the eve of the 25th of the Jewish month of Kislev — celebrates the triumph of light over darkness, of purity over adulteration, of spirituality over materiality.
More than twenty-one centuries ago, the Holy Land was ruled by the Seleucids (Syrian-Greeks), who sought to forcefully Hellenize the people of Israel. Against all odds, a small band of faithful Jews defeated one of the mightiest armies on earth, drove the Greeks from the land, reclaimed the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and rededicated it to the service of G-d.
When they sought to light the Temple’s menorah (the seven branched candelabrum), they found only a single cruse of olive oil that had escaped contamination by the Greeks; miraculously, the one-day supply burned for eight days, until new oil could be prepared under conditions of ritual purity.
To commemorate and publicize these miracles, the sages instituted the festival of Chanukah. At the heart of the festival is the nightly menorah (candelabrum) lighting: a single flame on the first night, two on the second evening, and so on till the eighth night of Chanukah, when all eight lights are kindled.
On Chanukah we also add the Hallel and Al HaNissim in our daily prayers to offer praise and thanksgiving to G-d for “delivering the strong into the hands of the weak, the many into the hands of the few… the wicked into the hands of the righteous.”
Chanukah customs include eating foods fried in oil — latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiot (doughnuts); playing with the dreidel (a spinning top on which are inscribed the Hebrew letters nun, gimmel, hei and shin, an acronym for Nes Gadol Hayah Sham, “a great miracle happened there”); and the giving of Chanukah gelt, gifts of money, to children. (Click here for the complete story of Chanukah)

Journey to see God: how He treats our tears...

God will wipe away every tear from your eyes

2 Kings 20:5

1. Turn back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of My people, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your [forefather]: I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord.
   2 Kings 20:4-6 (in Context) 2 Kings 20 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
2. Esther 8:3
   And Esther spoke yet again to the king and fell down at his feet and besought him with tears to avert the evil plot of Haman the Agagite and his scheme that he had devised against the Jews.
   Esther 8:2-4 (in Context) Esther 8 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
3. Job 16:20
   My friends scorn me, but my eye pours out tears to God.
   Job 16:19-21 (in Context) Job 16 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
4. Job 31:38
   For if my land has cried out against me and its furrows have complained together with tears [that I have no right to them],
   Job 31:37-39 (in Context) Job 31 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
5. Psalm 6:6
   I am weary with my groaning; all night I soak my pillow with tears, I drench my couch with my weeping.
   Psalm 6:5-7 (in Context) Psalm 6 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
6. Psalm 39:12
   Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry; hold not Your peace at my tears! For I am Your passing guest, a temporary resident, as all my fathers were.
   Psalm 39:11-13 (in Context) Psalm 39 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
7. Psalm 42:3
   My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long, Where is your God?
   Psalm 42:2-4 (in Context) Psalm 42 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
8. Psalm 56:8
   You number and record my wanderings; put my tears into Your bottle—are they not in Your book?
   Psalm 56:7-9 (in Context) Psalm 56 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
9. Psalm 80:5
   You have fed them with the bread of tears, and You have given them tears to drink in large measure.
   Psalm 80:4-6 (in Context) Psalm 80 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
10. Psalm 116:8
    For You have delivered my life from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from stumbling and falling.
    Psalm 116:7-9 (in Context) Psalm 116 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
11. Psalm 126:5
    They who sow in tears shall reap in joy and singing.
    Psalm 126:4-6 (in Context) Psalm 126 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
12. Isaiah 16:9
    Therefore I [Isaiah] will weep with the weeping of Jazer for the vines of Sibmah. I will drench you with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh; for upon your summer fruits and your harvest the shout [of alarm and the cry of the enemy] has fallen.
    Isaiah 16:8-10 (in Context) Isaiah 16 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
13. Isaiah 25:8
    He will swallow up death [in victory; He will abolish death forever]. And the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces; and the reproach of His people He will take away from off all the earth; for the Lord has spoken it.
    Isaiah 25:7-9 (in Context) Isaiah 25 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
14. Isaiah 38:5
    Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will add to your life fifteen years.
    Isaiah 38:4-6 (in Context) Isaiah 38 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
15. Jeremiah 9:1
    Oh, that my head were waters and my eyes a reservoir of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!
    Jeremiah 9:1-3 (in Context) Jeremiah 9 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
16. Jeremiah 9:18
    Let them make haste and raise a wailing over us and for us, that our eyes may run down with tears and our eyelids gush with water.
    Jeremiah 9:17-19 (in Context) Jeremiah 9 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
17. Jeremiah 13:17
    But if you will not hear and obey, I will weep in secret for your pride; my eyes will weep bitterly and run down with tears, because the Lord’s flock has been taken captive.
    Jeremiah 13:16-18 (in Context) Jeremiah 13 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
18. Jeremiah 14:17
    Therefore [Jeremiah] you shall say to them, Let my eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease; for the virgin daughter of my people has been smitten with a great wound, with a very grievous blow.
    Jeremiah 14:16-18 (in Context) Jeremiah 14 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
19. Jeremiah 31:16
    Thus says the Lord: Restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for your work shall be rewarded, says the Lord; and [your children] shall return from the enemy’s land.
    Jeremiah 31:15-17 (in Context) Jeremiah 31 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
20. Lamentations 1:2
    She weeps bitterly in the night, and her tears are [constantly] on her cheeks. Among all her lovers (allies) she has no one to comfort her. All her friends have dealt treacherously with her; they have become her enemies.
    Lamentations 1:1-3 (in Context) Lamentations 1 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
21. Lamentations 1:16
    For these things I weep; my eyes overflow with tears, because a comforter, one who could refresh and restore my soul, is far from me. My children are desolate and perishing, for the enemy has prevailed.
    Lamentations 1:15-17 (in Context) Lamentations 1 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
22. Lamentations 2:18
    The hearts [of the inhabitants of Jerusalem] cried to the Lord. [Then to the congregation, I, Jeremiah, cried, addressing the wall as its symbol] O wall of the Daughter of Zion, let tears run down like a river day and night; give yourself no rest, let not your eyes stop [shedding tears].
    Lamentations 2:17-19 (in Context) Lamentations 2 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
23. Lamentations 3:48
    My eyes overflow with streams of tears because of the destruction of the daughter of my people.
    Lamentations 3:47-49 (in Context) Lamentations 3 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
24. Ezekiel 24:16
    Son of man [Ezekiel], behold, I take away from you the desire of your eyes [your wife] at a single stroke. Yet you shall neither mourn nor weep, neither shall your tears flow.
    Ezekiel 24:15-17 (in Context) Ezekiel 24 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
25. Malachi 2:13
    And this you do with double guilt; you cover the altar of the Lord with tears [shed by your unoffending wives, divorced by you that you might take heathen wives], and with [your own] weeping and crying out because the Lord does not regard your offering any more or accept it with favor at your hand.
    Malachi 2:12-14 (in Context) Malachi 2 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
26. Mark 9:24
    At once the father of the boy gave [an eager, piercing, inarticulate] cry with tears, and he said, Lord, I believe! [Constantly] help my weakness of faith!
    Mark 9:23-25 (in Context) Mark 9 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
27. Luke 7:38
    And standing behind Him at His feet weeping, she began to wet His feet with [her] tears; and she wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed His feet [affectionately] and anointed them with the ointment (perfume).
    Luke 7:37-39 (in Context) Luke 7 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
28. Luke 7:44
    Then turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, Do you see this woman? When I came into your house, you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.
    Luke 7:43-45 (in Context) Luke 7 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
29. Acts 20:19
    Serving the Lord with all humility in tears and in the midst of adversity (affliction and trials) which befell me, due to the plots of the Jews [against me];  Acts 20:18-20 (in Context) Acts 20 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

 

This hope we hold as the utterly reliable anchor for our souls

Hebrews 6:9-20

J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS)

We want you to make God’s promise real through your faith, hope and patience

^9-12 But although we give these words of warning we feel sure that you, whom we love, are capable of better things and will enjoy the full experience of salvation. God is not unfair: he will not lose sight of all that you have done nor of the loving labour which you have shown for his sake in looking after fellow-Christians (as you are still doing). It is our earnest wish that every one of you should show a similar keenness in fully grasping the hope that is within you. We do not want any of you to grow slack, but to follow the example of those who through sheer patient faith came to possess the promises.
^13-15 When God made his promise to Abraham he swore by himself, for there was no one greater by whom he could swear, and he said: ‘Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you’. And then Abraham, after patient endurance, found the promise true.
^16-20 Among men it is customary to swear by something greater than themselves. And if a statement is confirmed by an oath, that is the end of all quibbling. So in this matter, God, wishing to show beyond doubt that his plan was unchangeable, confirmed it with an oath. So that by two utterly immutable things, the word of God and the oath of God, who cannot lie, we who are refugees from this dying world might have a source of strength, and might grasp the hope that he holds out to us. This hope we hold as the utterly reliable anchor for our souls, fixed in the very certainty of God himself in Heaven, where Jesus has already entered on our behalf, having become, as we have seen, “High Priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek”.

J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS) J. B. Phillips, "The New Testament in Modern English", 1962 edition by HarperCollins

I’ll share my heart with you

PROVERBS ONE: verses 20-33

Wisdom Shouts in the Streets

²⁰ Wisdom shouts in the streets.
    She cries out in the public square.
²¹ She calls to the crowds along the main street,
    to those gathered in front of the city gate:
²² “How long, you simpletons,
    will you insist on being simpleminded?
How long will you mockers relish your mocking?
    How long will you fools hate knowledge?
²³ Come and listen to my counsel.
I’ll share my heart with you
    and make you wise.

²⁴ “I called you so often, but you wouldn’t come.
    I reached out to you, but you paid no attention.
²⁵ You ignored my advice
    and rejected the correction I offered.
²⁶ So I will laugh when you are in trouble!
    I will mock you when disaster overtakes you—
²⁷ when calamity overtakes you like a storm,
    when disaster engulfs you like a cyclone,    and anguish and distress overwhelm you.

²⁸ “When they cry for help, I will not answer.
    Though they anxiously search for me, they will not find me.
²⁹ For they hated knowledge
    and chose not to fear the Lord.³⁰ They rejected my advice    and paid no attention when I corrected them.
³¹ Therefore, they must eat the bitter fruit of living their own way,
    choking on their own schemes.
³² For simpletons turn away from me—to death.
    Fools are destroyed by their own complacency.
³³ But all who listen to me will live in peace,
    untroubled by fear of harm.”

 

Footnotes:

1. 1:8 Hebrew My son; also in 1:10, 15.
2. 1:12 Hebrew like Sheol.

Psalm 91: positive voice amidst confusion and fear

 This psalm speaks of four positions. I have divided the verses according to these positions with my notes in brackets. This is for today and all the days when you see the descriptions of this psalm around you. You will not be afraid when you know what happens in the spiritual realm and that our God has made a provision for such days for His people, those who are called by His name.

The four positions are: God; the psalmist witness; you and I (those who have believed in Jesus and are now in God's Kingdom); the wicked (those who are still outside God's Kingdom) in God's eyes. 

___________________

Psalm 91

New King James Version (NKJV)

Safety of Abiding in the Presence of God

(the witness speaks and testifies of what God shall do for His own children in His Kingdom)

91 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

(God has a place called 'secret place' under His protection. He wants you to live in that place. Where is it? It is right under His shadow, in His presence.)
² I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.”

(We have absolute security there. But we need to say to ourselves, and proclaim this truth. This spoken word shall be our shield and buckler, the armor that we must put on at all times.)

_______________________

³ Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler
And from the perilous pestilence.
⁴ He shall cover you with His feathers,
And under His wings you shall take refuge;
His truth shall be your shield and buckler.

(The dangers are real. But God is real and can be trusted. Surely He shall do as He has said. These words of deliverance from actual trap and potential harm are real. God has spoken through the psalmist witness, who knows God and has experienced God. God will do just as He has promised. How shall we receive the protection?  By believing in and proclaiming His words, which are truth. The truth will set us free from any dangerous situations we may be in.)

_______________________
⁵ You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
⁶ Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

⁷ A thousand may fall at your side,
And ten thousand at your right hand;
But it shall not come near you.
⁸ Only with your eyes shall you look,
And see the reward of the wicked.

(The threats and attacks are real. They can come in any forms, intensities, impacts, times. They cause massive destruction, fears and even death. But our position in Christ is secure. We can even witness the physical damages to people around us.) 

_______________________

⁹ Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place,
¹⁰ No evil shall befall you,
Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
¹¹ For He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you in all your ways.
¹² In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.
¹³ You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra,
The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.

(How do we receive such supernatural protection? The psalmist witness spoke again. Only one condition is needed; that we make God our dwelling place. In God's presence, no evil spiritual forces or the use of any forms of physical attacks can come near our location, because we live and position ourselves before God in Christ. Our daily movements will be guarded by God's mighty angels, spiritual guards. We have our protection in the spiritual realm. Who are the enemies? a 'stone', something to stumble us and make us fall. 'Serpents and lions'. Spiritual beings. 

 There are two scenario here: when we rest, we are safe in God's presence. When we need to move and carry out our assignments in life, mighty angels will assist us in the spiritual realm.)

 _______________________

¹⁴ “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him on high, because he has known My name.
¹⁵ He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will deliver him and honor him.
¹⁶ With long life I will satisfy him,
And show him My salvation.”

(God has spoken here. He tells us why He is pleased to deliver and even honor us. he expects us to love Him and know His name, having a close relationship with Him. He has assured again He is pleased to give long life and salvation to us.)

___________In conclusion:

Psalm 92:1-2

New King James Version (NKJV)

Praise to the Lord for His Love and Faithfulness

A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath day.

92 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 every night...

The Lord says: I will make...the outcast a strong nation

Micah 4

New King James Version (NKJV)

The Lord’s Reign in Zion

4 Now it shall come to pass in the latter days
That the mountain of the Lord’s house
Shall be established on the top of the mountains,
And shall be exalted above the hills;
And peoples shall flow to it.² Many nations shall come and say,
“Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
He will teach us His ways,
And we shall walk in His paths.”
For out of Zion the law shall go forth,
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
³ He shall judge between many peoples,
And rebuke strong nations afar off;
They shall beat their swords into plowshares,
And their spears into pruning hooks;
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
Neither shall they learn war anymore.

⁴ But everyone shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree,
And no one shall make them afraid;
For the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.
⁵ For all people walk each in the name of his god,
But we will walk in the name of the Lord our God
Forever and ever.

Zion’s Future Triumph

⁶ “In that day,” says the Lord,
“I will assemble the lame,
I will gather the outcast
And those whom I have afflicted;
⁷ I will make the lame a remnant,
And the outcast a strong nation;So the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion
From now on, even forever.
⁸ And you, O tower of the flock,
The stronghold of the daughter of Zion,To you shall it come,
Even the former dominion shall come,
The kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.”

⁹ Now why do you cry aloud?
Is there no king in your midst?
Has your counselor perished?
For pangs have seized you like a woman in labor.
¹⁰ Be in pain, and labor to bring forth,
O daughter of Zion,Like a woman in birth pangs.
For now you shall go forth from the city,
You shall dwell in the field,And to Babylon you shall go.
There you shall be delivered;
There the Lord will redeem you
From the hand of your enemies.

¹¹ Now also many nations have gathered against you,
Who say, “Let her be defiled,
And let our eye look upon Zion.”
¹² But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord,
Nor do they understand His counsel;
For He will gather them like sheaves to the threshing floor.

¹³ “Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion;For I will make your horn iron,
And I will make your hooves bronze;
You shall beat in pieces many peoples;
I will consecrate their gain to the Lord,
And their substance to the Lord of the whole earth.”

 

 

Calling all watchmen/intercessors: The Sword and praying in the Spirit

Today we read and follow instructions as soldiers do. Put on the whole armor of God. Lift up the Sword of the Spirit. Pray in the Spirit. Continue. Press on.

Ephesians 6 (NKJV) The Whole Armor of God

¹⁰ Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. ¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. ¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. ¹³ Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
¹⁴ Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; ¹⁶ above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. ¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; ¹⁸ praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— ¹⁹ and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel,²⁰ for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,

Romans 8:25-27 (NKJV)

²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.
²⁶ Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. ²⁷ Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

Jude 1 (NKJV)

²⁰ But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, ²¹ keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
²² And on some have compassion, making a distinction; ²³ but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.   

2013 Thanksgiving and Hanukkah converge on “Thanksgivukkah”

Thanksgiving and Hanukkah converge on “Thanksgivukkah” for the first time since 1888
It last happened in 1888 and, according to one calculation, won’t happen again for another 77,798 years: the convergence of Thanksgiving and Hanukkah.
This year, Nov. 28 is Thanksgiving and the first full day of the eight-day Jewish festival of lights, which begins at sundown the previous night.

Hanukkah 2013:   November 27-December 5
What is Hanukkah?

the eight-day festival of light that begins on the eve of the 25th of the Jewish month of Kislev -- celebrates the triumph of light over darkness, of purity over adulteration, of spirituality over materiality.
More than twenty-one centuries ago, the Holy Land was ruled by the Seleucids (Syrian-Greeks), who sought to forcefully Hellenize the people of Israel. Against all odds, a small band of faithful Jews defeated one of the mightiest armies on earth, drove the Greeks from the land, reclaimed the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and rededicated it to the service of G-d.
When they sought to light the Temple's menorah (the seven branched candelabrum), they found only a single cruse of olive oil that had escaped contamination by the Greeks; miraculously, the one-day supply burned for eight days, until new oil could be prepared under conditions of ritual purity.
To commemorate and publicize these miracles, the sages instituted the festival of Chanukah. At the heart of the festival is the nightly menorah (candelabrum) lighting: a single flame on the first night, two on the second evening, and so on till the eighth night of Chanukah, when all eight lights are kindled.
On Chanukah we also add the Hallel and Al HaNissim in our daily prayers to offer praise and thanksgiving to G-d for "delivering the strong into the hands of the weak, the many into the hands of the few... the wicked into the hands of the righteous."
Chanukah customs include eating foods fried in oil -- latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiot (doughnuts); playing with the dreidel (a spinning top on which are inscribed the Hebrew letters nun, gimmel, hei and shin, an acronym for Nes Gadol Hayah Sham, "a great miracle happened there"); and the giving of Chanukah gelt, gifts of money, to children.

(quoted from :
http://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/article_cdo/aid/102911/jewish/What-is-Hanukkah.htm)

latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiot (doughnuts)

 

Genesis 1:3

Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.

Exodus 13:21

Adonai went ahead of them in a column of cloud during the daytime to lead them on their way, and at night in a column of fire to give them light; thus they could travel both by day and by night.

Leviticus 24:3

Outside the curtain of the testimony in the tent of meeting, Aharon is to arrange for the light to be kept burning always from evening until morning before Adonai ; this is to be a permanent regulation through all your generations.

Isaiah 9:1

The people living in darkness have seen a great light; upon those living in the land that lies in the shadow of death, light has dawned.

Isaiah 60:1

“Arise, shine [Yerushalayim], for your light has come, the glory of Adonai has risen over you.

Revelation 21:23

The city has no need for the sun or the moon to shine on it, because God’s Sh’khinah gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.

Yochanan 1:4-5

Orthodox Jewish Bible (OJB)

⁴ In him was Chayyim (Life) and the Chayyim (Life) was the Ohr (Light) of Bnei Adam. [TEHILLIM 36:10 (9)]

⁵ And the Ohr shines in the choshech [TEHILLIM 18:28], and the choshech did not grasp it. [YESHAYAH 9:1]

Living by the Spirit’s Power

Galatians 5

New Living Translation (NLT)

 

Living by the Spirit’s Power

¹⁶ So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. ¹⁷ The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. ¹⁸ But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.

¹⁹ When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, ²¹ envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
²² But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. ²⁵ Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. ²⁶ Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God! (Romans 8:14)

Journey in the Holy Spirit: being spiritual

Because this blog is all about God, I am reluctant to say much about my own thoughts or sharing my life. But I have been witnessing the increasing chasm between the spiritual and carnal Christians (those who are more accustomed to use their five senses) all over the world. So I have decided to share a bit here, despite the limitation of my words.
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I have lived in different parts of the world and have encountered different customs and cultures for the bulk of my life.
In the last ten years I have gradually encountered the reality of the holy God in the Spirit, in the Bible and in life. I realized what it means to have the reverent fear of the Lord (Isaiah 11:2). This means agreeing the spiritual existence of absolute good and evil and the final accountability everyone must give to the holy God, who abhors things done not of the Spirit, but out of man’s flesh or carnality.
Jesus has Himself declared, the ruler of this world has nothing in Him. His disciples followed the same principle.

When one aligns with God, one does not yearn to be the same as the Jones. What do Christians have to do with evil? Why bring in their customs and cultures which are abominations in the eyes of the holy God? God wants us set apart for Him, away from the world and its customs, just as He had warned the Israel people. 
Being spiritual means we live in awareness of two realms: the physical and the spiritual. The spiritual reality governs the physical. All customs and cultures have a spiritual realm where the spiritual rulers rule and direct their adherents’ lives. Apostle Paul had revealed this truth in Ephesians 6:12.
Our Lord Jesus warned the disciples to be spiritually discerning when sending them into the world! “Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrew as snakes and harmless as doves.” (Matthew 10:16) Jesus was talking about the physical as well as spiritual enemies. Why? Because they were stepping into spiritual enemy’s territory as they go out and witness for Jesus!

The pagans know better about the spiritual. They are wise on what to avoid and when. For example, different cultures round the world have their own ‘ghost’ festivals. The Chinese called the Halloween in the West, the Westerners’ ‘ghost’ night, the night when the evil spirits paraded, (like the Chinese July month when hell opened its gates and let the hungry demons come out) and they avoid going out that night! Other pagan religions too have their own ghost periods and festivals.
A spiritually discerning person can see spirits. They see spirits in unclean houses, the streets, schools, offices, hospitals, shopping malls, movie theaters, and funeral parlors. A normally fit and healthy rational German Christian man recently testified that he walked under the air vent of a shopping mall, and saw this huge black thing coming at him, entered and went through him. He was instantly hit with severe pain and collapsed on the floor. His wife and daughter who regularly attend a Spirit-filled, Bible believing and adhering church, took authority using the name of Jesus, prayed fervently, as he lied there near dead, gasping for breath. he finally survived. The experience was traumatic.
When Christians stay away from certain locations during certain time, they merely obey the leading of the Spirit of the Lord, who is holy. The evil spirits know too whether you are walking in the Holy Spirit or not. The seven sons of the priest were attacked by the evil spirit because they knew Jesus and apostle Paul walked in the power of the Holy Spirit, but this group of exorcists did not. This group of believers were trying to do the right thing, casting demon, using the mighty name of the Lord Jesus. But they were not sent by the Lord. They went on their own flesh and of course they suffered the terrible consequences.
When God sent Moses to Egypt to confront Pharaoh, the Lord gave him spiritual power to overcome the territorial evil spirits controlling the land there. When the prophet Samuel patrolled the Israel land he was just one man, but the territorial spirit of the Philistines feared him, because he walked in the Spirit of the Lord. None of his words fell to the ground. He merely spoke and the words took effect.
Unless we are sent by the Lord and walk in discernment of the spiritual realm and in the power of the Holy Spirit, we do not do exploits. This is what I have learned over thirty years being a born again Christian, after having suffered immense loss.
So what shall an ordinary Christian do? Find out more about the reality of God and His words, the Bible. The Bible cannot be read as a knowledge book. Do not rationalize away the real meaning and purpose of the holy words. Jesus has warned clearly, as the pharisees and other religious leaders, even His own followers/disciples did not believe in the spiritual reality of Jesus and what Jesus has represented. Read the four Gospels again. Ask the Lord Holy Spirit to guide you. Daily pray the prayers of apostle Paul in his letter to the Ephesians (1:16-23; 3:14-21).
What happens if some still cannot hear the Holy Spirit? I believe in the grace and mercy of God. Keep seeking to know God, keep asking His Spirit to reveal to you. For a start, daily praying the Lord’s Prayer can help you a lot, if you believe!
John 6:61-65 (NKJV)
⁶¹ When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, “Does this offend you? ⁶² What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? ⁶³ It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. ⁶⁴ But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. ⁶⁵ And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”

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Hell is real!

hear and obey His voice today! do not go after other 'gods'

1. ¹³ You shall fear the Lord your God and serve Him, and shall take oaths in His name. ¹⁴ You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are all around you ¹⁵ (for the Lord your God is a jealous God among you), lest the anger of the Lord your God be aroused against you and destroy you from the face of the earth.
   Deuteronomy 6:13-15 Deuteronomy 6 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
2. ²⁷ the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you today; ²⁸ and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way which I command you today, to go after other gods which you have not known.
   Deuteronomy 11:27-29 (in Context) Deuteronomy 11 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
3. “If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, ² and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’—which you have not known—‘and let us serve them,’ ³ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. ⁴ You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him. ⁵ But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken in order to turn you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of bondage, to entice you from the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. So you shall put away the evil from your midst. Deuteronomy 13 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
4. ¹³ And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them. ¹⁴ So you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right or the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
   Curses on Disobedience¹⁵ “But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
   Deuteronomy 28:13-15 (in Context) Deuteronomy 28 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
5. ⁹ So the Lord became angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned from the Lord God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, ¹⁰ and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not keep what the Lord had commanded. ¹¹ Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, “Because you have done this, and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant.
   1 Kings 11:9-11 (in Context) 1 Kings 11 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
6. ⁵ They said, ‘Repent now everyone of his evil way and his evil doings, and dwell in the land that the Lord has given to you and your fathers forever and ever. ⁶ Do not go after other gods to serve them and worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands; and I will not harm you.’ ⁷ Yet you have not listened to Me,” says the Lord, “that you might provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt.
   Jeremiah 25:5-7 (in Context) Jeremiah 25 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
7. ¹⁴ “The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, which he commanded his sons, not to drink wine, are performed; for to this day they drink none, and obey their father’s commandment. But although I have spoken to you, rising early and speaking, you did not obey Me. ¹⁵ I have also sent to you all My servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, ‘Turn now everyone from his evil way, amend your doings, and do not go after other gods to serve them; then you will dwell in the land which I have given you and your fathers.’ But you have not inclined your ear, nor obeyed Me.  
   ¹⁶ Surely the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have performed the commandment of their father, which he commanded them, but this people has not obeyed Me.”’
   Jeremiah 35:14-16 (in Context) Jeremiah 35 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations