Prayer of a Warrior-King

"Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from violent men, who have purposed to make my steps stumble."  (Psalm 140:4)

Knowing the situation in the part of the world to which I will be going, I prayed Psalm 140 yesterday with particular emphasis.  I would suggest, if you will be praying for me on the upcoming mission, that you pray this psalm for me.

I also suggest it as a good prayer for yourself and family, your local church, business, nation.  Yes, it is that powerful.  If this seems like a warrior prayer; it is.  David has been referred to as a "shepherd-king."  Well, he was also a giant-slayer king, a warrior, and, my friend, the Bible tells us explicitly in places and in general throughout that we are at war, "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  For we...wrestle against...principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.  Therefore take up the whole armor of God...."  According to Ephesians 6, "take...the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit," are the attack weapons of those who follow Jesus Christ.  You and I cannot go wrong if we use the, "weapons," which Jesus gives.

Some people in their moral pomposity believe many of the Biblical prayers are just too violent for them.  Apparently their morality is superior to Jesus Christ; theirs is a sick religion.  "Therefore take up," Psalm 140 today.  The Blessed Trinity is not vindictive as man is.  He is Love, Compassion, Just, "Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace," and, as the Bible says, "The Lord is a Man of war."  Now go in His Most Wonderful Name and Power.

Father, in Jesus' Name, "O GOD the Lord, the strength of my salvation, You have covered my head in the day of battle." (Psalm 140:7)

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I will be on Cornerstone Television today at 13:00hrs with a Holocaust survivor.  Appreciate prayers.

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

"Come In From the Rain" (Please Listen to the Song Sent Separately)

"And he arose and came to his father.  But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him." (Luke 15:20)

Some would shallowly say, "this is grace," or "undeserved love."  Don't tell his father that.

In 1985 I bought a new car; the dealership gave me a cassette tape as a complimentary gift.  We were living in the North Hills of Pittsburgh at the time, and not long after we had purchased the car, I was headed to a conference with Brother Charles Simpson in Northwest Ohio.  After playing some Bible tapes for a while, I decided to play the gift tape.   The song I am sending separately was on that tape.  As I listened to the song, I began to think of the "prodigal"------------- then of myself, how some of that song reminded me of me, "someone like you will always choose the long way home," then how Father's love to me is so much of what the song describes.  There in that new car, alone on the highway, I began to weep uncontrollably.

Our text is from one of the most familiar passages in Holy Writ.  It was a favorite of Miss Eckmann, one of my elementary homeroom and English teachers, you know, in the days in America when they were doing such politically incorrect things as actually starting every school day with a passage from the Bible and the Prayer of Jesus.  It is one of the most beautiful expressions of unwarranted, unconditional love and acceptance ever written.  Now lest you think I am saying that sin has no consequences, we must remember that the prodigal, "spent all he had"; it was all gone.  When he came back to his father and the father's provision, he had nothing; he was indeed, "like one of your hired servants."  But his father took him back, cared for him, provided for him.  Have you ever wondered what happened to him after his father died?  The "prodigal who stayed home," as Don Basham once referred to the older brother, had all of the father's estate.  The prodigal lost it all.  Sin has consequences and scars.

But nonetheless, there was the son's father, longingly looking down that lonesome road, day after day, week after week; who really knows how long?  Then one day, there in the distance was a haggard figure of a lost child, probably looking like a vagrant, the consequences of years of rebellion, self-will and greed.  This pathetic looking person had a speech prepared for his father, a sort of "I'm sorry for what I have done; please take me back; please give me another chance."  His father, however, would hear none of it.  His love for his wayward son, overwhelming him with pure joy, burst forth in tears of------------------ "Come In From the Rain"!

Father, in Jesus' Name, there is nothing on earth, yea, the Universe which can express thankfulness to You for such a Heart, such love, such welcoming.  How many times You have said to me, "Come in from the rain."
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* Be sure to visit us on Facebook
* Visas for China and NK both sent, awaiting acceptance
* Prayer times covered: 5:00-09:00, 11:00, 21:00 (9pm), 23:00 (11pm)
* Good up-to-date articles 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

"The Desire of Our Soul Is For Your Name"

"Yes, in the way of Your judgments, O Lord, we have waited for You; the desire of our soul is for Your name and for the remembrance of You." (Isaiah 26:8)

This heart attitude has been the "survivor kit" of the Believer throughout the centuries.  The NIV says, "Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts."  This life style will preserve the person and persons who so walk this pilgrimage. 

I am scheduled to be on Cornerstone Television, Friday, March 1, at 13:00hrs.  I will be on with a Holocaust survivor, a great privilege.  I have also sent to our Blog two great articles which have to do with modern Jew baiting.  They are important reads, especially for Americans in this hour of Cabinet appointees who themselves have done much to marginalize and criminalize the Jewish People; and, I might add, they are closet enemies, not only of the Jews and the Church, but also of the American Nation as a whole.  

The German came perilously close in my life time to doing what, "that wicked Haman," attempted 2500 years earlier, the total annihilation of the Jewish People Group.  But the Persians ran into a very courageous Mordecai.  He instructed Esther to go to the king and present to him the evidence of Haman's plot to annihilate the Jews, which, I might add, the king had signed off on.  Mordecai was a man of our text, "....We have waited for You; the desire of our soul is for Your Name, and for the remembrance of You," and because he was, the Jews in the Persian Empire were saved.  Excuse the "secular" reference here, but I think Mordecai was sort of like Henry Hooker in the film, "Tombstone."  When Wyatt Earp was about to leave his friend, Doc Holliday, sick in bed at Henry Hooker's ranch, Hooker said to Earp, "Don't worry.  They want him, they gotta come over us first."  In all reality, this is what the Living Triune God in Jesus Christ has been saying to all who would trust Him, from the Garden, to Job, to you and me.  "Hallelujah!  What a Savior!"  

There is just no force which can deal with, "the Captain (Author, Originator, Founder, Prince, Leader) of our Salvation," our Great Intercessor/King, Jesus.  I think this is what our Lord Jesus is still saying today to you and me, the Jews, the Church, "Don't worry.  They want you, they gotta come over Us first.  And, my dear loved one, that is just not going to happen."  ("Christus Victor!")

Father, in Jesus' Name, "Yes, in the way of Your judgments, O Lord, [I] have waited for You; the desire of [my] soul is for Your Name and for the remembrance of You."  Amen. 

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* The shots I need are very expensive.  Thanks in advance for helping with this upcoming mission

* Two New Articles Referred to Above at: www.jerusalemberlinwashington.blogspot.com

* Please continue to pray for the upcoming mission, March 26-April 6.

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

A New Perspective on Absolution

"If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?  But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared."  (Psalm 130:2)

The question is rhetorical.  The answer is, No one.  Yet so many of us from time to time, "mark iniquities," of others, some of which have been retained indefinitely.  When church people hold grudges, won't forgive, keep bringing up sin after sin, that sin or those sins stay in the Church.  Instead of "mark[ing] iniquities,.. there is forgiveness with," our Lord Jesus Christ; so it should be with you and me.  And, as with all of God's gracious, miraculous dealings with man, things which are just too awesome for man to comprehend, the only response we can have is, "....that You may be feared." 

Maybe the continual "marking" of iniquities is the reason so many in the Church are not "standing."  Jesus said, "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."  This is not the religious belief of some traditions that a man can absolve a person of their sin, i.e., "absolution."  Rather, I believe it is as Derek Prince once said, that this is how we keep others in their sins, and this is how others are enabled to walk in the freedom of the forgiveness which they have in the Blood of Jesus, "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."  Could it be that much of the sin in the Church and in those around us manifests so much because of our unwillingness to forgive them, and erase the "retainer clause? !"

Today, I am a thankful person for Jesus Christ, Who the Bible says, "is my light and my salvation."  Jesus, our Wonderful Savior, did not ignore the sin of people.  He saw it, pointed it out, offered forgiveness, and wept over a city who would not receive His forgiveness, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!  How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings...."  Rather than, "retain the sins of any,"  choose to, "forgive the sins of any," and, may Our Lord help us to weep over them rather than take glee in their sin as so many do.  This is Jesus Christ's Heart, the One of whom our text said, "But there is forgiveness with You."  As one in whom Jesus Christ lives, as one who thinks he has His Heart, this is who I am supposed to be.

Father, in Jesus' Name, Thank You for, "as far as the East is from the West."  Amen.
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* Still need around $800.00 for the upcoming mission
* One lady has offered to "pray through the night" for th e mission
* Prayer for the NK visa

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

"Traveler's Prayer

"The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore." (Psalm 121:8)

This is obviously a prayer for preservation, and, preservation is included in our Salvation, but something which should never be taken for granted.  It is something we see in Scripture for which we should always pray.  

Some may say, "These are precarious times."  They are, but what "times" in human history have not been precarious for humanity?  You and I may have experienced respites from the precariousness of life from time to time, but there has always been someone, somewhere who is going through great trial and suffering; therefore constant vigilance and prayer for preservation is always in order.  Sarah found the following Jewish "Traveler's Prayer," and I want to pass it on to you as a prayer for yourself, and a prayer for me on the upcoming journey.

In Jesus' Name, "May it be Your will, Eternal One, Beloved of our ancestors, to lead us in peace and direct our steps in peace; to guide us in peace, to support us in peace and to bring us to our destination in life, joy and peace, and return in peace.  Deliver us from the hands of every enemy and lurking foe, and robbers and wild beasts on the journey, and from all kinds of calamities that may come to and afflict the world; and bestow blessing upon all our actions.  Grant me grace, kindness and mercy in Your eyes and in the eyes of all who behold us, and bestow bountiful kindness upon us.  Hear the voice of my prayer, for You hear everyone's prayer.  Blessed are You Lord, who hears prayer."  Here is another version with my name inserted:  "May it be Your will, Lord, our God and the God of our ancestors, that You lead Woody toward peace, and make Woody reach His desired destination for life, gladness, and peace.  May You rescue Woody from the hand of every foe, ambush along the way, and from all manner of punishments that assemble to come to earth.  May You send blessing in Woody's handiwork and grant Woody grace, kindness, and mercy in Your eyes and in the eyes of all who see Woody."   I have read that some traditions also pray Psalm 121 and Exodus 23:20.

Hebrews tells us, "We have such a Great High Priest," Jesus, Word of Father, Incarnate Revelation of The Eternal One.  He is the One Who the Bible tells us "goes" before us, "comes" behind us, Whose hand is upon us, and the One of Whom the Bible says, "The Eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and He shall thrust out the enemy from before thee...."  May you continue to go forth in Father's, "Anointed One," and, "the power of His resurrection."  Rejoice, "The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore."

Father, in Jesus' Name, I repeat an, "Amen," to the prayers we have just prayed.  Amen.
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I am still about $800.00 short for the upcoming mission.  

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