Devotional: Map of The four sectors of Berlin from 1945 to 1990 | PlanetWare

"The kings of the earth take their places; the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and His Anointed One (the Messiah, the Christ).  They say, Let us break Their bands [of restraint] asunder and cast Their cords [of control] from us." (Psalm 2:2, 3--Amplified Bible)

The first of the month, Psalms 1-5.  God repeats Himself; I receive the blessing. 

Our text speaks of, "bands," and, "cords," i.e., "restraint" and "control."  People don't want "control;" they want "freedom" and "liberty."  This is nothing new, and our text confirms this.  It was Satan's appeal to Eve; and it has been his appeal ever since.  "....Break Their bands [of restraint]... and cast Their cords...from us."  This is the axiom of the human race.  Click on the site below.

http://www.planetware.com/map/the-four-sectors-of-berlin-from-1945-to-1990-map-d-berlsect.htm#.UQvOgqvukvY.aolmail

The map on this site is a symbol of the price of arrogance.  This was a people group who, "t[ook] counsel together against the Lord and His...Christ."  This was a nation which said, "Let us break Their bands of [restraint] asunder and cast Their cords [of control] from us."  They did, and they came under the "bands of restraint" and "cords of control" of the worst government in history.  Why do I say that?  I say that because the German had the strongest military machine in the history of the world, and with the power of that military they conquered and murdered, or caused the death of, nearly 36,000,000 people just in Europe.  But, as the Psalm goes on to say, "The Lord shall hold them in derision."  He did, and judgment came at an awful price.  I shall never forget the first time I stood at Check Point Charlie which was in the center of Berlin, a once "proud city" divided like an animal carcase. 

This can happen again and it can happen to any people group who, "take counsel against...the Lord Jesus Christ"; this includes America.  Evil has been growing in its control over America since the early 1960s.  The battle is raging in the heavenlies and in the earth.  Only they who, "take counsel [in] the Lord Jesus Christ," will emerge victor.  This is true of individuals and nations.  This battle for revival, for transformation will only be won in Jesus Christ and the proclamation of, as one ending of the Book of Mark reads, "the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation."  Only when the Church proclaims the Biblical Gospel, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, will there be revival, transformation and that to which I referred in a devotional a couple of days ago.  The Gospel message, i.e., "that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His Name to all nations...," the Gospel message that, "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God," the call to, "Repent, and...be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit," of this message alone can one truly say, "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes...."  When Christendom starts proclaiming the Ancient and Historic Gospel rather than pop religion, "self-help" seminars, preach-and-say-anything-to-fill-the- pews "gospel," the revival for which so many pray and long for will burst upon the world.

Father, in Jesus' Name, loose, I pray, the Holy Spirit in the earth, in America.  Bring Your Church "back," if need be, to the Gospel I grew up with, "that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His Name to all nations...."  Amen.
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Prayer Chain slots covered so far for upcoming mission, March 26-April 6:  
                                             07:00
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                                             11:00

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2

"Imitate Their Faith"

"God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things by whom also he made the worlds, Who being...the express image of his person...." (From Hebrews 1, KJV)

The sentence does not end until verse 4, but what a declaration of the supremacy of Jesus Christ.
(Just a note here.  As I prayed for today's devotional, I started to say that it would be a blessing to you, but what I actually said was, "I pray it will be what You are saying."  After all, isn't what Jesus is saying the blessing, and not something otherwise?)

For the next almost two weeks, I will be in Hebrews.  The Book of Hebrews was the first Bible passage I ever read, so please excuse the trip down "memory lane."  I was probably not much past, "See Spot run," but I worked through it.  My Grandfather Barnette had given me a zippered KJV Bible.  Hebrews was his "favorite" book of the Bible, and since he "hung the moon," my first reading was in Hebrews; I was six years old.  Imagine a six-year-old reading, "Sundry times and in divers manners."  I know I must have been able to read and pronounce, "times and in," but the rest probably came out phonetically, nothing more, yet I began my "journey."  By the way, I still have his rolled up New Testament bound with a rubber band which my Grandfather used to keep in his lunch box during his railroad engineering days------- a legacy treasure. 

Many of us may feel as though we come woefully short of our predecessors, but we are still a part of the same Church, the same People of God, the same, "household of faith," as they.  The Lord Jesus Christ, of Whom our text says, "made the worlds," Who is, "so much better than the angels," Who, "has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they," this Jesus is our Jesus and we are His. 

The Bible tells us, "Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith."  Find people whose sole life is Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ alone, whose every utterance and deed point to Jesus, His Church, His Kingdom, who live only, "Thy Kingdom come.  Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven."  Then, "imitate their faith." 

Father, in Jesus' Name, I praise and worship You, Living Triune God, "maker of Heaven and Earth.
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Read the latest about the IDF airstrike in Syria at: www.jerusalemberlinwashington.blogspot.com

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2

I Share An "Encounter" Today

"Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness; in hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;...To Titus...." (Titus 1:1-4a)

In my recent reading in Titus I experienced an "anointing" which I have not experienced for some time.  I had flashbacks, "remember the former things of old..., days in which the awareness of the "presence of God" and His power was so powerful in my life.  This, "remember the former things of old," process has kept the Jewish People going as a People and Nation in the midst of unimaginable horror over the centuries.  It is the essence of testimony, Jesus' faithfulness to His Followers over the centuries as the Church, and over the years to you and me.

In Isaiah 43, the prophet says, "Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old," and in Isaiah 46:9 he says, "Remember the former things of old...."  Now is this contradiction?  No.  There is always a sense in which we must, "remember...the things of old," but also "forget" the past.  Remembering what God did is a constant call of Scripture.  But the call to, "Do not remember," is a call to move on in what God is now doing and going to do.  In non-theological terms, In Jesus Christ life gets better, not just personally, but Church and Kingdom wide.  Remembering should be a building process, "line upon line," as in what our Lord Jesus Christ said, "I will build My Church."  He still is.

I have been praying for myself from time to time, and for quite a while now that I would experience "renewal;" could call it "revival," or whatever.  The Bible says at one point that we should, "call to remembrance the former days."  There is something good in this, especially when, "the former days," were good, a time of "anointing," when, "the common faith," was strong, not only in me, but in the Church around me.  Well I can tell you that reading in Titus in recent days has been sparking, "former times," anointing, when a spiritual strength was in me which I have not known for some time.  I only pray that this is not just something personal, but Church wide.  I don't claim to be an expert on revivals, what the Catholics call "renewal," but I have lived through at least one in my lifetime. 

Now some would say that we shouldn't talk about, "the former days," because that is living in the past.  Well, if the Church was living in greater anointing in the "past" than the "present," then I highly suggest remembering, "the former days."  I lived through one of the greatest renewal times in the modern Church history, the early sixties to the early eighties.  Anyone who "experienced" those years knows what I am talking about.  The Church today is in what the Church has experienced over the centuries, a sort of holding pattern.  Now I know that some will disagree with me vigorously, but I don't think I am that wrong.  There was a book published back in 1969, right in the midst of one of the greatest revival times in Church History, entitled, Another Wave Rolls In.  It was about the Azuza Street Revival.  Maybe Church History is like that, wave after wave of revivals, renewals, whatevers.  Personally, I think we are ready for another "wave."  During the last few days something has been going on in me which I have not experienced for quite a while.  I sang a solo an number of times some years ago which has the words, "Holy Ghost power, come do it again."  There are those reading this who know what I'm talking about.  Whatever it is, I'm attempting to allow the Holy Spirit to "come do it again"!

Too long again, sorry.  But I believe another "wave" is coming, not just to me, but to the Church.  It will take an openness to the Holy Spirit, "eyes to see and ears to hear."  Derek Prince once said that in the last days there will be a revival which will reap many millions of souls.  This will be right before the "Second Appearing" of our Lord Jesus Christ.  While neither you nor I nor anyone else knows, "the day nor the hour," if the Bible teaches anything, it teaches that any who are running, "with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus," will recognize what our Lord Jesus Christ is doing in the Earth.  I ask you to pray with me,

Father, in Jesus' Name, if this is just my request, I still pray for it.  But I pray that we might see and "test" whether this is really of You, that You will ignite the "spark" of the Holy Spirit in Your Church, as Paul told Timothy, "Fan into flame...."  Show us the "how" of this, reveal Yourself anew to Your Church, that what was and is only of You will spread again throughout the Covenant Community, the Church, "the Household of Faith."  I pray this, Father, for Your Glory and Your Glory alone, Your purposes, "Thy Kingdom come.  Thy will be done in earth as it is in Heaven."  Amen.

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2

For Some, Blessings Come In "Little Packages"

"To Titus, mine own son after the common faith...."  (Titus 1:4, KJV)

I was listening to and reading our text this morning.  Some people don't need much to be blessed; I'm one of them.  Maybe that's why I was never "successful" as a local pastor, you know, large church, attracting large crowds.  There may have been other reasons, but one I think was my "simple" approach to the Bible.  I remember in one of our parishes years ago I was preaching through the Book of Hebrews.  One particular Sunday as we were in Hebrews 11, I was reading the chapter in the NIV and came to verse 5, "For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God."  I stopped; I could not go on.  That phrase hit me with such impact that the thought went through me, right there before the congregation, "This is all I want."  The thought also ran through me, "But do I have this?"  I remember continuing the message somehow.  This is the glorious life in Jesus, no agenda, no searching for texts to promote my pastoral concerns, no "I've-gotta-find-something-to-keep-people-coming," just, "Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth," and then whatever that may be, to pass it on.  I'm not attempting to "out spiritualize" anyone.  This is life in Jesus Christ, "life eternal."  This, I believe, is what is so wonderful about our walk in Jesus Christ.  In His Words is a continual flow of His Life, "God-Breathed," impartation, fellowship of an indescribable nature.

The same happened to me today with the phrase, "....the common faith."  I am a partaker in, "the common faith," of the Living Triune God, Father, Son Jesus, Holy Spirit.  And, I am a fellow partaker in, "the common faith," with Paul and Titus, Polycarp, the Celtic Gaul, Ireneaus, and The North Africans, Tertullian and Augustine, the Frenchman, Bernard of Clairveaux, the Czech, Jan Huss, the Germans, August Francke and Count Nicolaus von Zinzendorf, the Englishmen, Wesley and Whitefield, the man from Connecticut, John Edwards, as well as Finney, Moody, Earl Sherwood, Tom Barnette and Kenneth Barnette, and with you, my Fellow Follower of Jesus Christ, wherever you live, your background, ethnicity, race, gender, etc.  We are a part of the Glorious Body of Christ, The Historic Church, "and upon this rock I will build My Church."  In the great, "common faith," not in any "declaration" or "constitution," hopes and dreams of earthly powers, but in, "the common faith," which the Bible describes as, "the faith of Jesus," we share our common life.  The Church, the People of, "the common faith," He is still "building," still expanding.  We are the People called to continue the tradition of those whom the Bible speaks, "their sound went out into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world."

Father, in Jesus' Name, I pray that as a partaker of, "the common faith," I will continue in the great tradition.  Amen.
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We have two slots filled for the 24/7 prayer chain: 11:00 & 07:00

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2

"....We Sat and Wept When We Remembered...."

"By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion."  (Psalm 137:1, NIV)

I got waylaid today reading a list of missing children; they were all from the New York City area and some of the abductions date back to the late 60's--- heartbreaking.  Some of the parents have not heard from and know nothing about their children who were taken from them, no "closure" (not sure always what that means), just endless heartache, endless wondering, remembering happier times. 

Our text said the Jews, "....sat and wept when [they] remembered...."  Remembering can do that.  They remembered happier times.  They also remembered the many promises of God; now------- no answers, no "closure," nothing, it seemed, was "working." 

"Where" are you sitting and weeping?  What situation in your life is unsettled, unanswered, uncertain.  What causes you to sit and weep when you remember?  Even though there were many great promises from The Word of God about Israel's destiny, the Jews knew that in the process of fulfillment many died, e.g., the people born in the second century of the Egyptian slavery; they never saw the exodus.  All the promises seemed to always be "out there," just beyond their reach, source of hope and frustration at the same time. 

There is a very real sense that all of life is like this, like missing children, unresolved, no answers, no comfort, just endless, over and over, "when we remembered...."  I would love to have an answer for this, but I am not like those religious "answer" people who always seem to have some "comforting" answer.

I received a note today from someone who recently experienced a tragic loss.  "Hopefully now we can have some closure to the sadness.  One day at a time, we'll get there, God willing."  I responded with, "Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man.  'I am willing,' He said." (Matthew 8:3a)  The "God is able" is not the problem.  That God will, is.  I want for you and me today that we hear the comforting, powerful, life-sustaining Words of Jesus, The Good Shepherd, as J. B. Phillips states the text, "Of course I want to."

Father, In Jesus' Name, I think I have "faith."  But I need the faith which hears you say to me, "Of course I want to."  Amen.
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Progress on the 2013 Missions upon request

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2