B2B Concert of Prayer – In Good Hands #657

Posted on September 20, 2009 by ron021950

CONCERT OF PRAYER
Pray Week 657

“In Good Hands”

Isaiah 41:10-13 (NIV) So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. “All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish. Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them. Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all. For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, do not fear; I will help you.

Psalm 31:14-15 (NIV) But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, “You are my God.” My times are in your hands; deliver me from my enemies and from those who pursue me.

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A basketball in my hands is worth about $19. A basketball in Michael Jordan’s hands is worth millions of dollars. A baseball in my hands is worth about $6. A baseball in Chipper Jones’ hands is worth several million dollars. Two fish and 5 loaves of bread in my hands is a couple of fish sandwiches. Two fish and 5 loaves of bread in God’s hands will feed thousands. It all depends upon whose hands it is in.

Many of us are planning a course of action for our lives: a new business venture, a career change, a strategy with long term impact, a new church ministry perhaps. All are not without risk.

With our intellect we have weighed the facts carefully, but there always remains that element of risk. Proverbs 16:9 states that ‘In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.’ This is where the faith rubber meets the road. Do we waiver in our decision to activate our plans out of fear of making a bad decision?

The Word of the Lord says not to fear for He is with us. He is there ready for us to place it all in His hands.

What is it that we fear that paralyzes us and prevents us from moving forward in obedience to the call of God for our lives? Perhaps we fear failure and ridicule. Our pridefulness stops us cold. Some fear rejection. In this case our need for acceptance by our peers outweighs our desire to remain obedient to God. Others fear a loss of security. They have their security in their finances, material possessions, and careers. They have lost sight that the only true security is found in their relationship with Jesus Christ.

Nails and wood in my hands might produce a birdhouse. Nails in Jesus Christ’s hands have produced salvation for all of mankind that will accept Him.

Resolve today to put your concerns, your plans, your fears, your hopes, your visions and dreams, your families and your relationships in God’s hands because success and security do depend upon whose hands we are in. When we abide in Christ and He in us, we are truly in good hands.

Close in prayer, thanksgiving & rededication of your work to the glory of God

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B2B Concert of Prayer – Degrees of Separation #656

Posted on September 13, 2009 by ron021950

CONCERT OF PRAYER
Pray Week 656

“Degrees of Separation”

2 Tim 3:16 (ESV) 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God? may be competent, equipped for every good work

Romans 1:25 (ESV) 24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

John 14:6 (ESV) 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

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The field of Metrology is the science of precision measurement. Every device or instrument used to measure distance, time, frequency, color etc. can trace its calibration back to a primary or secondary standard. The degree of accuracy to which this device can be trusted to tell you the ‘truth’ is based upon its degrees of separation from the official one true primary standard.

It is one thing to be able to calibrate the truth of physical measurements. It is an entirely different matter when one desires to calibrate themselves against the truth about life, death, eternity, God, creation and so forth.

When does human life begin? Are we created by God or did we evolve by chance? Is there a God? Is there more to life than what we experience here on earth? Is there a heaven and a hell? How can I get to heaven? How can I just make it through today?

There are many contradictory voices competing for our attention, all claiming to have the answers and proclaiming to be speaking the truth. Even within the body of believers proclaiming to follow Jesus Christ we can find conflicting versions of what is the truth.

There is only one primary standard for the truth, and that is Jesus Christ who is the Living Word of God. Because of His obedience to the cross and His death and resurrection, we have access to the Father as His children through our acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. We do not have to calibrate ourselves against so called standards of truth that have been corrupted with hidden agendas, greed and selfish ambition. We can calibrate our lives directly against the One who is the way, the truth, and the life.

What ‘distance’ are you from the true standard for human beings, created in God’s own image?

How can one know what is the truth? Read God’s Word. Read the Bible for yourself asking the Holy Spirit to make the words and truths alive to you. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you the discernment to apply these truths in your life. Test what you hear from various preachers and teachers of God’s Word against the standard of God’s Word made dynamic for you by the Holy Spirit of God. Test all other texts that you read the same way. Reject modern day addendums and supplemental new revelations to the accepted Canon of Scripture of the Holy Bible. Become a part of a church body where the pure, whole Word of God is preached. Stay calibrated with the one True standard for living, today and for eternity. Stay calibrated to Jesus Christ.

Close in prayer, thanksgiving & rededication of your work to the glory of God

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B2B Concert of Prayer – The Valley of Weeping #655

Posted on September 6, 2009 by ron021950

CONCERT OF PRAYER
Pray Week 655

“The Valley of Weeping”

Psalm 84:5-7 (ESV) Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion.  As they go through the Valley of Baca they make it a place of springs; the early rain also covers it with pools. They go from strength to strength; each one appears before God in Zion.

We have seen that the enemy seeks to trip us up when our life journey takes us through valley experiences. In the Valley of Kings, after we have had a victory, he is there appealing to our pride and greed. In the Valley of Giants, when we are faced with seemingly impossible challenges, he seeks to trip us up by getting us to take our eyes off of Jesus. In the Valley of Dry Bones, when all we see are our dead and abandoned dreams, hopes and visions, the enemy once again seeks to destroy what remains of our hope through negativity and by hindering our prayer life and ability to hear God. Now, in yet another of life’s valleys, the Valley of Baca, the enemy seeks to get us to prevent us from reaching our destination as we ‘go up to Zion’.

The Valley of Baca was believed to be in Palestine and part of the route traveled by those making the pilgrimage to Jerusalem. It is said that it was lined with gum-exuding (weeping) Balsam trees. The valley is also said to have been lined with burial tombs. The name ‘Baca’ is a variant derivative of a root word meaning ‘to weep’. The imagery of the Psalm is that as we seek to have a closer, more intimate relationship with our God and Lord, we sometimes have to endure a valley experience of weeping and sorrow. Indeed, Jesus taught that His followers would suffer weeping and lamentations while the worldly rejoiced.

Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. …. John 16:20-23

Following justification by faith and salvation through Jesus Christ, God expects us to yield to ‘the potter’s hand’ as He shapes us and molds us to be more like Christ. This is the sanctification process where we are being set apart for God’s purpose and plan. During sanctification some of the desires of this world that we would place ahead of God, the “idols” in our life, have to be purged and cleansed. Going through sanctification is like traveling through the Valley of Baca on our way up to Jerusalem. Here there will be weeping. Here we will bury our worldly desires that hinder our service to God. Here the enemy will come and seek to turn us back, to make us less effective in serving God during our life on earth.

Jesus, when He walked among us was called a ‘man of sorrows’. However, He never lost sight of the vision and plan and purpose of God and so He endured and persevered.

He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief …for the joy that was set before him endured the cross — Isaiah 53:3; Hebrews 12:2

God’s Word says you are blessed when your heart seeks to ‘go up to Zion’. God’s Word says that as you travel through your Valley of Tears, He will renew your strength. Not all at once, but one day at a time, one sanctifying change at a time, one temptation at a time. You will go from strength to strength in His power as you remain steadfast in seeking to follow Jesus.

Know that the joy of the Lord is set before you. Know that life in this world is temporary and the life to come with Him is eternal. Seek to serve Him and fulfill your God-given purpose in the present.   Endure your Valley of Tears for:

Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning -Psalm 30:5b   

Enjoy the journey to Zion in the power and strength and joy of the Lord.

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B2B Concert of Prayer – Valley of Dry Bones #654

Posted on August 31, 2009 by ron021950

CONCERT OF PRAYER Pray Week 654
“The Valley of Dry Bones”

Ezekiel 37:1-6 (ESV) The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley;? it was full of bones. 2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord GOD, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD … and you shall know that I am the LORD.”

Our spoken words have power. By our words we can destroy a person’s self-esteem or we can build them up. “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” – Proverbs 18:21

Satan has sought to use this power to counterfeit the power of the Living Word of God. In various cults and New Age circles people are taught that they can create their own reality by speaking positive words. This corruption of God’s Word has even permeated the Church with the Word-Faith, Name-it, and Claim-It doctrines. The problem with these counterfeit doctrines is that they place us in the position that rightfully belongs to God. Who do we think we are that we can demand that God act a certain way, do certain things, and perform on our time schedule? However, we must not throw out the baby with the bathwater. There is a place for the speaking out the Word of God over situations in our life. “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart”. Hebrews 4:12 (ESV)

Do you have a valley of dry bones – abandoned dreams and visions – things you have given up hope on? Have you prayed to God for something and finally gave up thinking that God did not hear you? Perhaps there are dry bones in your valley for a career direction or dry bones of prayers for understanding your life purpose? Speak God’s Word over the dry bones. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 (ESV)

Does your valley contain the dry bones of loved ones who need healing or salvation? Speak God’s Word over these dry bones. “Therefore … pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” James 5:16

The bible tells us that David ‘encouraged himself in the Lord’. We too can strengthen ourselves by speaking aloud the Word of God. We do not have to continue to populate a valley with the dry bones of abandoned dreams, desires and visions. Note that this is not some New Age mysticism. The spoken words from the Bible are not founded and rooted in us or in the created things of this world. The spoken Words are the Words of God and they discern the thoughts and intentions of our hearts. God remains Sovereign and on His throne. When we speak God’s Word its living truth will convict us of wrong motives and attitudes. They will also encourage and strengthen us.

There is much negative noise out there that will seek to discourage you and get you off task and purpose that God has called you to. The cacophony of noise seeks to interfere and disrupt our ability to hear God speak. Speaking aloud the Word of God fine tunes our ability to squelch the noise of the enemy and hear God more clearly. Be encouraged and strengthened by God’s Love for you and speak aloud the life of His Word over the dry bones in your valley.

Close in prayer, thanksgiving & rededication of your work to the glory of God

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