On Guard *

I am warning you ahead of time, dear friends. Be on guard so that you will not be carried away by the errors of these wicked people and lose your own secure footing. Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All glory to him, both now and forever! Amen. 
2nd Peter 3:17-18 NLT

There is always someone, somewhere, who is somehow trying to ensure that the Name of Jesus will not be heard. That being said, I want to go on record and to be held accountable that the Promise for Today will never be a political statement as the world sees politics, but it WILL always be about the Word of God and taking a stand for what is holy and righteous, in spite of public opinion, and that in and of itself, may cause it to appear politically inclined. When events take place that challenge or defy Scripture, or even reinforce the prophetic,  I pray God will show us His Word for that time. If I have to worry about who is going to be offended by what I write, you can best believe the only One I will worry about offending is Christ.

And so...be on guard.

I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires. They will say, “What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created.” They deliberately forget that God made the heavens by the word of his command, and he brought the earth out from the water and surrounded it with water. Then he used the water to destroy the ancient world with a mighty flood. And by the same word, the present heavens and earth have been stored up for fire. They are being kept for the day of judgment, when ungodly people will be destroyed.

But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment.

Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames. But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness.

And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight. And remember, the Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved. This is what our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom God gave him—speaking of these things in all of his letters. Some of his comments are hard to understand, and those who are ignorant and unstable have twisted his letters to mean something quite different, just as they do with other parts of Scripture. And this will result in their destruction.

I am warning you ahead of time, dear friends. Be on guard so that you will not be carried away by the errors of these wicked people and lose your own secure footing. Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All glory to him, both now and forever! Amen. 2nd Peter 3:5-18 New Living Translation

Prayer:

Father,

         Keep us alert, ever mindful of You and what You want. Father, we choose to become less, so that You become MORE in our lives. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Where Two or Three Agree *

“I can guarantee again that if two of you agree on anything here on earth, my Father in heaven will accept it. Where two or three have come together in my name, I am there among them.”

Matthew 18:19-20 God's Word Translation

     This is one of the many promises in God's Word and I ask you to come into agreement with those who are already praying. Tonight, I'm asking everyone who reads this post to please pray for a baby boy named Asa. In case this is the first time you have heard about this, Asa is the 8-month-old son of a man who works for the same company as me. On February 11th, Asa was diagnosed with a hepatoblastoma (liver cancer tumor) in the left lobe of his liver. 
     The tumor is approximately 6in x 5in x 4in. They started chemo on Feb 19.  Asa started running fever on Feb 23.  He tested positive for adenovirus the week of Feb 25.  He has had hemoglobin count issues and has had to have 4 blood transfusions.  He needed plasma (platelets) after throwing up mucous that had blood in it.

Asa is a special little guy. His name means 'physician/healer' and Josiah (his middle name) means 'Yahweh heals.'  His Dad writes, "I know that God will use this for His glory."

Sunday, March 9th update from his Dad:
     Asa is still in ICU.  His blood work is looking better.  His immune system is starting to recover after his first round off chemotherapy.  
     His adenovirus symptoms are getting worse.  His breathing and heart rate are too fast.  He continues to have fever every 4 to 6 hrs.
     Please pray for an improvement before his 2nd round of chemo which is scheduled this week.
     Every day something new happens.  It is hard to understand what God is doing in all this.  We are trying hard to not be afraid and just believe.

Monday, March 10th - afternoon update:
     Thank you for your prayers.  They are a sweet fragrance to our Creator. God has given me a peace that passes understanding.  I almost feel bad that I am not an emotional wreck right now.
     God has chosen a path for Asa and that involves a ventilator and sedation, because he is a fighter-they even have his little arms strapped down, it will be a fun story to share with him when he is older.
     All this can be scary but right now he is not struggling to breathe and his body can focus on fighting the virus.  He has gone 10 hrs without fever, praise the Lord!   His white blood cell count and ANC numbers have returned and his body is now doing what it is supposed to...all answers to prayers.
     Bless all of you for your prayers and kind, encouraging emails.

Wednesday, March 12th update from his dad:

Each day has its challenges.
     Please continue to pray for Asa.  He is critically ill.  Fluid retention is big problem right now. He needs to get fluid out of tissues into his blood vessels and let his kidneys do the rest.
     The adenovirus is the primary cause for his current problems.  Please pray that God will remove the virus and restore his vessels’ ability to retain fluid.

Today's update:

This picture and prayer were done by Asa's 8-year old sister. (Asa has to be free of fever for 48 hours before being released from ICU)  

Prayer Copyright © 2012 Beth McLendon of Inspirational-Prayers.com

(sent by Coppelia Rivera, KSBJ Morning Show host for Dad)

Lord God,

I praise You for Your compassion and Your goodness. Marvelous are Your healing mercies. Lord, as sickness has invaded my little one's world, I stand by watching and feeling helpless. But Lord, I am reminded that I am not helpless, but powerful in prayer.

I lift up to You my precious child, and I ask for Your healing power to fully permeate every part of my child's body. Lord, I ask that my child's body be quickly transformed into radiant health as You respond to prayer and Your healing promises in Your Word.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

Proclamation:

"I will not stop praying. 

I will not stop standing in faith until my child is healed!"

* Blessed Assurance

[Moses speaking to Joshua] Be strong and courageous. Don’t tremble! Don’t be afraid of them! The Lord your God is the one who is going with you. He won’t abandon you or leave you.”

Deuteronomy 31:6 GWT

The Lord gave this command to Joshua, son of Nun: “Be strong and courageous, because you will bring the Israelites into the land that I swore to give them, and I will be with you.”

Deuteronomy 31:23 GWT

I think back to Deuteronomy when Moses first told Joshua to be strong, to be courageous. Moses said the Lord would be with Joshua as he took the Israelites into the Promised land, that He would never abandon or leave him. Okay, that's one thing, but immediately following that is a list of all the rotten, disbelieving things the people would do...and it was not good. In fact, it was very bad! Why would anyone want to sign up to walk through all that? Oh, hey, I'm gonna promote you, but this, this and that is going to happen, and the people you're in charge of are going to rebel against you.  Doesn't that sound like a great career move? Doesn't that make you just want to jump right in and run to the battle? And yet, that's just what Joshua did... Why? He had all the facts of what would happen, but Joshua chose to believe the Truth of God's promise. I will be with you... Selah (stop and meditate on that for a moment)...

Sometimes we're faced with overwhelming facts in our lives - whether they're situations we're facing at work or at home. Or the doctor's office just called with the results of the tests... and they're not good. Be strong and courageous. 

How? How can we be strong? How can we not meltdown in the face of great adversity to ourselves or to our loved ones? The Lord your God is the one who is going with you. He won’t abandon you or leave you.  Let me point out a big truth to you. We live in a fallen world, but we do not serve a fallen God. He will never fail you. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is a God who cannot lie. So, if you are in or if you're walking into the biggest battle of your life, KNOW this TRUTH - know HIS Truth...  I will never leave you, nor forsake you. Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world.  Blessed Assurance...

Prayer:

Father,
        Thank You for Your Truth. Thank You for the times You give us a heads up about what's going to happen. And for those times that we're blindsided, thank You, Father, that we can have peace in knowing that You are not blindsided. Nothing takes You by surprise. Thank You for Your promise to be with us always. Help us to walk in that blessed assurance. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Kingdom Living +

Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Matthew 6:10 NKJV

Right from here, let me assure you this is NOT a political statement. However, to properly reveal how I have been corrected, I have to provide a little America history background.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. This sentence - from the Declaration of Independence - is one of the best-known sentences in the English language and has been called "the most potent and consequential words in American history" according to a book titled American Creation. The Declaration justified the independence of the United States by listing grievances against the crown, asserting certain so-called “natural rights,” including the right of revolution.

People who are born and raised in the U.S. usually have a different view than most everyone else with regard to the world and the way they think it should be. Unless one has traveled or lived outside of the continental United States, the prevailing mindset is we have our rights - certain unalienable Rights – and that’s all there is to it. (And if you are blessed and highly favored of God enough so that you get to live in Texas – well, I’d say that statement alone is proof that there is a certain – shall we say – convinced attitude – of what rights are natural and unalienable…) And as Americans (whether Texan or not), if anything goes against our grain or “violates” our rights, we’re going to do something about it. (And right up to this point, I’m amen-ing and nodding approval and in 100% agreement with myself…)

But a few years back, my very Texan, very American pastor poked a great gaping hole in my Texas/American attitude and made me look at myself in the Light of Truth. What am I FIRST– a Lover of Texas? An American? Or a Christian? Where do I pledge my allegiance and faith? By what rules do I live? Where is my heart?!? 

Well, I’m a Christian Texas-loving American…  However, the Word reads, Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. As Christians, we’re no longer in a democracy, we’re in a kingdom. God’s kingdom. He rules… with HIS rules.

Prayer:

Father,

            Forgive me for every time I try to bend the rules to accommodate myself – to try to justify my own wants and my own desires. I want to follow You. I want to live the way You want me to live. Help me, Father. In Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen

* Looking for Answers

Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words? Brace yourself like a man, because I have some questions for you, and you must answer them. Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much. Who determined its dimensions and stretched out the surveying line? What supports its foundations, and who laid its cornerstone as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?

Job 38:2-7 NLT

Looking for answers? How many search engines can you name off the top of your head? 

We’re a world of people who want answers. We always want to know why. We always try to find the reason or the cause of why something happened. Bible colleges even teach courses in apologetics to try to help us explain or defend our beliefs. 

However, there are horrific events that take place for which we have no answers and we cannot ignore the proverbial elephant sitting in the room and say nothing and carry on as though it is life as usual with a cavalier attitude of “today's another day.” So what I do have, I offer to you.

Psalm 42:3, Day and night I have only tears for food, while my enemies continually taunt me, saying, “Where is this God of yours?”

Matthew 5:4, Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

  

Romans 8:26-27, And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.

2 Timothy 1:7, For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

Revelation 21:8,  But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

1st Thessalonians 4:13-18, And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words.

Revelation 21:4, And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.

If you’re looking for answers, I only know one place that won’t give you the wrong answer… and only one place where you can find the answer to every question. God’s Word.

Prayer:

Father,

            There are situations where we can’t even begin to know how to pray without Your direction. According to Your Word, Holy Spirit, help us in our weakness. Pray for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And Father, hear our hearts as the Spirit pleads for us in harmony with Your own will. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen

* Yes! You Can!!

Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone. He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last—dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip.

Matthew 25:14-15 NLT

Have you ever blown something out of proportion or been around someone who has? It's shocking to me how quickly some small, insignificant something can be so distorted. However, I guess it shouldn't be when you stop to consider the snake behind it all spewing slander, self-righteousness and false pride to fuel the flame - in his effort to divide and conquer. 

And that same devil sure has a heyday with this Scripture. Can't you just hear him back then - in the ear of the servant who only got one bag of silver (in the KJV - one talent - which refers to a weight measurement of approximately 75lbs - not a talent as we define it today - musician, singer, preacher, etc). Can't you just imagine the thoughts going through that "one talent" servant's head? What about today?

     Oh, he got five!

     Oh, he got two!

     I only got one! What's up with that? That's not fair. He obviously doesn't think I can handle more than that. Well, I know how he thinks. I'll show him. I'll hide it someplace safe so when he comes back, I'll give every bit of it right back to him."

But the Truth is, we don't know how He thinks... Isaiah 55:8-9 tells us, For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.  

I cannot possibly tell you how many times I've read this portion of Scripture. And every time I've read it, I missed the part about dividing it in proportion to their abilities. God, in His infinite love and mercy, gives each of us what He knows we can do using what He Himself gives us. 

Yes, there are people who know how to make money. They're good at it - because it's a God-given ability, but those same people are generally not the same people who can sit with a hurting soul and pour in loving comfort. Is one more important than the other? I guess it depends on what your need is. That could be why one gets 5 and the other 2 and the other only 1. It could just be a matter of how much time is needed to extend or expend the gift(s). Does that put it back into proportion for you?

Can you take what God has gifted you with and multiply it to those made in His image (every living human being)? Yes, you can! Remember what He said...dividing it in proportion to their abilities.  Discover the Truth about the verse. 

One more time - God, in His infinite love and mercy, gives each of us what He knows we CAN do using what He Himself gives us. 

Go on! Do it! Yes! You can!!

Prayer:

Father,

        You are the Author and the Finisher of our faith and our ability and our very lives. Help us to see You in all that we've been given as a blessing or given to BE a blessing. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

25% or 75% Off? *

And the seed that fell on good soil represents those who hear and accept God's word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!

Mark 4:20

Shopping is NOT my favorite leisure sport. I have friends who think it is an Olympic event - summer and winter - but I'm not vying for position on Team Shop-till-you-drop. However - show me a REAL sale or a great coupon and I can quickly become the first round draft pick! I like it any place and any time I think I'm getting way more value added for the money spent. It just makes sense, right? Who wouldn’t choose a 75% off sale over a 25%?

I like to get a deal. My friends tease me about being part Jewish when it comes to getting a deal. I like big returns for my money and the larger the percentage off, the better I like it. But buyer, beware! You have to know the value and what something really costs in order to be able to determine if it's truly a sale or worth the percentage off.  I've learned over the years to not invest in something unless it's a sure thing. Wall Street is not a sure thing. The Word of God is. And our text reads that if we hear and accept God's Word, we're going to get a great return.

In his book, Unlocking the Prophecy Code, Dr. Bryan Cutshall walks his readers through the Parable of the Sower. I highly recommend his book as an aid in understanding parables. You might ask how important is it to be able to understand or interpret the parables? Well, since Christ taught in parables, I'd say it's very important. In verse 13, it reads, Then Jesus said to them, If you can't understand the meaning of this parable, how will you understand all the other parables? 

Mark 4 is a chapter full of a phenomenal wealth of knowledge from Jesus. There are 4 different examples in this chapter regarding those who hear the Word of God and what they do with it. They ALL heard but they didn't accept. They ALL had the opportunity to reap the reward of the spiritual riches, but only some took it to heart. If you were to assume percentages of 100%, they all heard - 100%, but only 25% accepted. That leaves 75% off the mark. That's not a bargain. In this case, I'd stay with the 25%.

Prayer:

Father,

        Forgive us for following after the world. Help us to hear and accept Your Word and all its worth. Let us never try to cut a deal or trade or shortchange our relationship with You. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen