Lord's Day Devotion - Devotional Prayer - Risen Savior

 

Risen Savior, Lord of all, we gladly come to You with our praise and thanksgiving on this Lord's Day.  We rejoice and are glad for the salvation You provided for those of us who are Your followers.  Those of us, who through faith in You and the work You accomplished on our behalf, we can praise You forever.

You are in our midst as we gather by two's and three's even in this time of Covid-19.  We are not daunted.  As we read Your word, obey it, and pray to glorify You and our Heavenly Father, our hearts are warmed and burst with praise and joy.

Jesus, as You appeared to Cleopas and friend along the way to Emmaus, as You opened their understanding and insight and later that of the gathered apostles and disciples when You appeared in their midst, they had gladness of heart and worshiped You, even as they watched You ascend back into Heaven days afterwards.  They praised and worshipped because You are alive.  You are risen.  They were forgiven.

Your love flowed out to them.  Your love flows to us too in our day and age.  Even though we do not see You with our physical eyes, we know Your presence with us.  As our faith increases, so too, inexpressible and glorious joy.  You gave us salvation for our souls (1 Peter 1:8 & 9).

In consequence, we gladly partake of the broken bread and drink of the wine, emblems signifying Your work of salvation for us.  We now serve You, our risen Lord and Savior.

We joyfully joy in You, our God, as we sing of Your love, and  pray and praise in Your Name, Lord Jesus.

Thank-You.

                                                   ~ERC November 2020~

Sing,  I Serve a Risen Savior, acappella, Blue Rock Mennonite Youth.

Prayer - The Righteous Cry Out

 

Lord, at times we get ourselves into predicaments because we needed somewhere to shelter, to hide and/or to rest; a place of refuge.  For example, in David's case as he recorded in Psalm 34, You provided such a place under the wing of King Abimelech who was actually an enemy of the Israelites.

Then how was he to un-entangle himself from this king?  At times, Lord, You turn up the heat, making our situation untenable, converging to compelling us to move on as was David's case.  How, though, was he to get away?

He had to make out that he had finally gone over the edge and become insane.  He made himself, dribble and drool and didn't shave; presenting a very disreputable, unpresentable repulsive sight.

King Abimelech let him go pretty quickly and so David went.

David rejoices.

Perhaps David could have found his escape in some other way but that was the way he chose.

Lord, David boasts in You.  He glorifies You.  He said he sought You and You delivered him from all his fears.

There were many reasons for David to fear.  Real fears from King Saul and King Abimelech, to name a couple.  Nevertheless, Father, when a person looks to You, their faces can shine in trust because You have shone Your face upon them.  Thus, David's cause for relief and rejoicing.

He and we did and do not have to have our faces covered in shame.  No doubt David felt a lot of shame because he was acting the fool, maybe he even felt like he was mocking those who were truly intellectually challenged.  So his face had been covered in shame but You helped him to uncover it and to look radiant; to look up to You with unveiled face.  He had called to You; You heard him, You saved him.  That is heady stuff.  Confidence in you spiked again.  No wonder David was glad and heaps praise upon You.

Father, Your angel encamps around each of us who fear You.  He helps to deliver them.  Thank-You, Father.  You delight to work in tandem with Your people.  

We have to experience this for ourselves as David said, 

"O taste and see, that the LORD is good".

Indeed You are good, Heavenly Father.  When we do these, we will be blessed.  David knew it.  He wanted his readers to know too.

Father, I want to taste and see You.  May I not fear the circumstances I may have to persevere through to do so.  May my fear only be in You.  May my refuge only be in You.

As we gain more understanding and knowledge of You, the greater our insight can be of You and Your ways, Father God.  We can learn to put our faith, hope and trust, in ever increasing measures, in You.  You will not fail us.

In so doing, we will then have a message of Your love and grace and goodness as David had and explains for us in this Psalm 34.  He has documented all this in his "Journey's Journal & Jottings".

David was wise because he feared and revered You, his Refuge.  He wanted others to do the same because when we have fear of You, we will lack nothing.  We will become more wise in Your wisdom as You are the source of all wisdom.  We bow to You.

Again, we will not lack any good thing.  We may lack some things but not good things.  We may think that the things we lack are good things but Lord, we know that You supply all our need abundantly,  Therefore, we cannot find fault.

How do we fear You?  David says You would teach those who love life.  If we love life, Lord yes, we look up to You, we want to go to be with You someday soon.  However, if we love life we won't be thinking of death, causing our own death or someone else's.

Lord, we can have spiritual death, emotional death, besides physical death.  Lord, through life's troubles, even as David's troubles were:  big and great and real, having to flee for his life.  We can see that he loved his life.  He fled so he could retain his life.

If he had feared Abimelech, if he'd feared Saul so much that he was emotionally stymied with paralyzing fear and panic so he could not think wisely,  that would not have been 'life'.  Rather, he put his fear in You; his hope and trust in You.  That gave him life and impetus to flee and preserve his physical life.

So, this is not a vicious a cycle, but a cycle in which he fears You, loves life, so he can fear You some more, to see many good days, and so on.

David did indeed see many good days.  His life was not cut short by mankind.  In fact, he lived to be 70 years old and died of natural causes.  What a worshiper of Yours, he was, Father.  Thank-You, many times over for his example to us.  Indeed he had great wisdom; no wonder his son Solomon valued the character and asked for an extra dose.

David said to keep our tongues from evil and our lips from speaking lies.  He could have said a lot against King Saul who was bent on killing him but he would not slander him.  He could also have said much against Abimelech; we don't read of any.  

Even when David got the news report that King Saul had died in battle, he did not speak evil of the dead.  He chastised the messenger who brought the report of Saul's death.  The messenger had thought he'd be rewarded greatly by this "breaking news flash bulletin".  He was greatly mistaken.

David would not speak evil of the Lord's anointed.  This one that You, Father God had allowed to be placed into a position of power and authority; no matter how good or bad he had been.  So he kept his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking lies.  

This is such a HUGE lesson to us nowadays Father, when news we hear is so very disturbing and perpetrated by those in power acting so very unseemly.  Keep our lips and tongue pure for You, no matter how tempting it is to speak the opposite.

King David turned from evil and did good instead.  He sought peace and pursued it, for all he was a man of war.  You had even told him he was a bloody man and therefore could not build the Temple for You (1 Chronicles 28:3).

Here he was talking about seeking peace and pursuing it.  He was Your man of the hour, to help the Israelites conquer the Promised land more fully after Joshua's conquering.  Yet, in his heart, David was a man of peace.  

Recall his upbringing.  He preferred the backside of the desert with all the sheep; more quiet and tranquil hours.  Here he was in the fray for a great deal of his life after he was anointed king of Israel by Samuel.  His life really did an about turn. Likely, never in his wildest dreams, did he think he'd be Your "man" and "king", Father.  Yet, he had to go through so much torment until then.

These sorts of things happen to us nowadays too.  Therefore, David's wise words are so very wise for us.  He told us that if we want to fear the LORD, we need to love life, keep our tongues from evil and our lips from speaking lies too.  We need to turn from evil and do good, to seek peace and pursue it.

Oh Father, we need Your Holy Spirit's help to convict us, to lead, guide and remind us when we are sorely tempted to lash out especially in the midst of disagreements or when others mistreat us.  I know, we have free will to choose Your way but our hears are deceitful.

Your eyes Father are on the righteous and Your ears are attentive to their cry.  David found this to be so.  He want all to know too.

When a person lives an honorable, pleasing life in Your eyes, Your eyes will be on that righteous person.  From this comes our help.  Your face is against evil, You cut off the memory of them from the earth.

Your eyes are on the righteous.  Sounds like the blessing you asked Aaron to bless over the whole multitude of Israelites every night--like a bedtime prayer.  A benediction.  Continue to,

"Turn Your face towards us and give us peace" (Numbers 26:24-26).

When we do keep our tongues from evil and lips from speaking lies and we turn from evil and do good, seek peace and pursue it, then we can be righteous and we cry out, You hear us and deliver.  David's themes he often wrote about time and again, so all may know and also reveled in and praised You.

He was a man of praise, that's for sure and of worship because of all the wonderful ways You have helped him in his life.  He had been brokenhearted. He had lost son after son--four of them because of his own sin with Bathsheba.  He knew what it was like to be broken hearted.  That he brought on by his own unrighteous acts.  He was crushed in spirit.  Through this he'd learned an immense lesson.

Perhaps he was ever heart broken when one of his best friends and wise counselor turned from him to Absalom his son, who'd stolen the people's hearts away from David, his father.  He knew then, Father, what it must be like to You, when he sinned against You.  Agonizing.

Of course, in the context of this Psalm, the story of David's manipulating Abimelech to let him leave his jurisdiction, this may have also broken David's heart to pretend he was insane.  It would also bring shame to him.

He'd learned that a righteous man has many troubles but that You deliver.  May we all do what is right in Your eyes, being obedient to all Your commands and promises that You gave to Moses.  When people do what is right they will be blessed.  Nevertheless, here David remembered something very curious:  

"...the righteous will have may troubles".

Remember Daniel?  He was a man of prayer yet his praying got him into trouble.  Lord, even Your son Jesus, the Perfect man of God was crucified.  You forsook Him because of our (mankind's) sins.  Yet You did deliver Him, not from death and suffering but he rose again to give life for all mankind--conquering death and sin's degradation and punishment.

You protected all His bones and not one was broken.  You protected David's bones too.  Not one broken.  When he ran for his life, running over precarious terrain, etc, perhaps he tripped and fell injuring himself but not breaking any bone.

Lord, there are times in our deep troubles, that even, we, the righteous (in Your sight), and who do try to live according to Your will, to please You, sometimes we do get into injuries along the way:  health problems; relationship problems, or other things.  These feel like the pain of a broken bone.

Pondering on that phrase leads one to see that it appears to be a prophecy about Your Son Jesus, Father.  The One who died upon the cross for us.  Not a one was broken.  He was pierced for our iniquities; stricken, smitten and afflicted but His bones were not broken.  He was still whole.  He was the most righteous Man who ever walked this earth.  In fact, the only One.  Jesus was, and still is,  fully righteous and holy; 100%.  He endured all that trouble for us on the cross out of love for us.  He brought us life.

Those who follow evil ways, that evil will slay them.  If they do not repent and turn from those evil ways, that is, and come to Jesus, who died for them.  He who took the punishment for their sins upon the cross.

Even one of the criminals who was crucified at the same time as Jesus did repent.  He asked Jesus to remember him when He came into His kingdom.  Jesus told him that that day he'd be with Him in paradise.

Father, we ask, as David did, turn the wicked from their evil ways so they won't be eternally lost.  

We cringe for the wicked who do not turn, those enemies of Your righteous people, Lord, turn them aside.  Stop the harassments, foil their plans.  We know they will be condemned in the end.  All these wicked, evil people.  however, they still have a chance while there is life in their bones.  Where there is life, there is hope for them to repent, and in faith come to Jesus no matter how wretched they may be, or evil their deeds.

May they come to Jesus.  To Jesus, the very One they are tormenting because You redeem Your servants, Lord.  You have redeemed us through Jesus' work on the cross.

Redemption.

"Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it.  His child and for ever, I am."

Jesus, thank-You.  Thank-You for Your love.  That love which conquers all.  It conquered us and made us righteous in your Father, God's sight.  Your Father who was and is satisfied with Your complete work on the cross.

Now none of us can be condemned who have come to You and accepted your gift of salvation.  now we have forgiveness of sins.  It's like You don't ever see those sins anymore.  Therefore, NO ONE can condemn us.  NO ONE can accuse us to Hell.

You, Father, are satisfied when we take Refuge in You and we will not be condemned.

I praise and thank You.

Thank-You for the words David wrote so long ago as he was escaping from Abimelech.  He put his hope, faith and trust in you even as he had to run for his life.

Lord, we too, nowadays, may have to run for our lives to escape evil situations.  However, we can still trust in You; fear You, put our reverence and respect in You through Jesus, Who made it all possible.

I give You thanks and praise You in Jesus' Name.

                                                 ~ERC  November 2020~

Based on Psalm 34.

Sing, Redeemed How I Love To Proclaim It, by the Gaither Homecoming.

Prayer - Joyful Noise of Singing

Jesus, we, Your followers, put our hope in Your unfailing love and trust in Your holy Name.  In You we rest.  In You we sing our "joyful noise" of songs of praise and worship to You and all You have done for us through Your death and resurrection.

We sing our songs joyfully even if not always tunefully.  Accept our praise as God, Your heavenly Father has made us righteous because of the redemption work You accomplished on the cross and our faith, also a gift from Him, to believe it. 

Your Word has brought us what is right and true; has brought us justice; has brought us the breathtaking and intriguing designs of Your creation.

May Your people everywhere fear You in reverence and adoration for the mighty divine power and name above all names You have.  Thank You for being on our side, working for us, "foiling plans of the nations and "thwarting the purposes of the peoples".

You allow democracy.  Yet we are in Your Kingdom and heading for the consummation of Your Kingdom to be set up on Earth some day in the near future and we will reign with You.

Before that, we look forward to spending time with You in Heaven where we can fully worship You without distractions and in full purity of heart and lips, offering up continual sacrifices of praise with or without musical instruments accompanying.

Your plans, LORD, stand firm and so we can put our hope and trust in You.  Blessed are all of us who do so; even nations, who choose You as their inheritance.

How many do though, Father?

You look down from Heaven and see; You consider our the ways of the people of the Earth.  Many of the nations trust in themselves and their own strength of brawn and brain.  They do not realize, or want to believe or admit that,  that deliverance comes from You alone.

Jesus, we are blessed when we focus our trust and hope upon You.  We meet Your eyes as You look upon those of us who fear You and put their hope in You.  Your love warms our hearts and souls and helps us to persevere.

We wait for You to call us up to You to be "with Christ" for ever.  Be our help and shield until then.

While we wait for Your trumpet blast, may we continue to be singing joyful, day-by-day, songs of praise, to You; Jesus our Redeemer, Friend, and Savior.

In You we can certainly place our trust.

Sing, Christians; sing and praise, in Jesus' Name.

                                                   ~ERC  November 2020~

Based on Psalm 33:1-22 NIV

Sing, Since I have Been Redeemed...Islington Baptist Church

Good Book - Lost In the Amazon

 

If you would like some excitement in your life, try reading Lost In the Amazon.*  It is a true story of a professional wildlife photographer named Stephen Kirkpatrick.  He and four others got lost in the jungles of the Amazon but lived to tell the tale.  Or rather, as told by Kirkpatrick's wife, Marlo Carter Kirkpatrick.

Kirkpartrick had been tasked to document never-before-seen wildlife but with faulty maps, decisions and torrential rains, etc, they got hopelessly lost in the amazing maze of Amazon rainforest.

This photographer's faith in God and perseverance, helped him in his wandering in the absolute dark of dark nights, avoid being fatal fodder for insects and other jungle fauna, and being stuck in thick sticky mud, among the other obstacles and challenges that beset them.  

Then there was "the voice" of hope in the midst of their desperate living nightmare,

"You'll get out."

Was it real?  Or just wishful thinking illusion? 

I won't tell you how they did get out; that you will have to explore for yourselves, except to say...oh no, I won't say it.

But how was that to be accomplished?  Did the precious cameras and rolls of film (yes, from that era), full of "captured" exotic flora, as well as fauna, survive the swamping in the river and rivulets of sweat the constantly braised them?  How did these experiences change these men:  for better or for worse?   Could men really be so emotional?

Your hearts will be in your throats as you bushwhack right along with the men in this true expedition experience that went awry.

It is believed that you will find this a very worthwhile read.

                                                     ~ERC  January 2021~

*(This particular chronicle is not to be confused with another of the same name but by a Todd Olson.)

Lord's Day Devotion - Devotional Prayer - Anger Turned to Rejoicing

 

Father, the fire of Your wrath burned so hot.  Yet in Psalm 30, verse 5, David says, Your "anger lasts only for a moment".  How terrible the intensity of that anger it must have been though.

When we look up to the cross where our Savior bore the full brunt of Your wrath for our sins, we can only praise Your holy Name in deep, deep gratitude and thanksgiving.

There were those three dark hours where Jesus suffered for our sakes.  Those hours must have felt like an eternity to Him, not "a moment" for He was separated from You, oh Holy God!  You had to hide Your face from Your one and only begotten Son, whom You loved more than tongue or pen can tell.

We are dismayed at this.  Nevertheless we know You were satisfied with Jesus and His work of buying our pardon on the cross.  Indeed, You have turned "weeping...into...rejoicing" and this we know will last a lifetime.

Any who have accepted this sacrifice, this gift of salvation, feel the solace in what Jesus has done for us.  He went down into that pit but He did not see decay.  You did not give Him the mercy on the cross. He gained only the answer of silence from these heart - piercing cries,

"My God, My God why have You forsaken Me" (Matthew 27:46; Psalm 22:1; and Psalm 24:9)?

Yet this non-mercy supplied the mercy You now show us.  We can cry for mercy and You hear our cry.  You help us and turn our sorrow into joy.  May our hearts ever sing Your praises and NOT be silent.   We will exalt You, oh Lord God, above the heavens.  We praise You and look forward to praising You for all eternity to come; our God, our Savior, our Redeemer and Friend.  In You we certainly can trust and never be shaken.

Keenly, we meditate upon this work You have accomplished for us, as it is so profound.  Humbly then, we partake of the broken bread, and drink of the cup of wine, and pass these emblems of Your suffering, Jesus, one to another.  We thank You too, from the bottom of our hearts and souls, as Your Holy Spirit teaches us and guides us in Your will and ways for our lives of service and good deeds for You.  We are so relieved we will not have to ever face Your Father's anger, ever again.  Joy and rejoicing has been brought to us and this we have for ever and ever.  How great You are, our Savior God!  It is well with our souls!

In Jesus Name we pray and thankfully praise.

                                                   ~ERC  November 2020~ 

Based on Psalm 30

Sing I Exalt Thee, Integrity's Hosanna

Prayer - Fathomless Love

 

Heavenly Father, Your love is so vast and deep.  We love You but of course You first loved us.  Your love is so fathomless; bottomless; deeper than any mighty ocean; higher than any of the highest mountains we have here on Earth.  It is wider than, and goes farther round, than the East is from the West.

Yet, the globe of Your immeasurable design and how it fits into the great expanse of its universe, is so COLASSAL to us that even with the most powerful of telescopes, we human beings can see no end of it all, in its cosmic sights.  By stark contrast, it is but a drop of water in a bucket to You; insignificant, in some ways.

Your love Father is so much bigger than all of that; Your thoughts, too!  It is astounding to cogitate upon.  Our human minds get blown and cannot comprehend it all. That's why, when You do things for us, out of love, we often  cannot understand.

However, You had (& still have) such great love that You sent Your Son to this earth, making it Your focal point.  All this out of Your love for Your human creatures with whom You wished (& still wish) to find relationship and companionship.

When Jesus came to us, the power of evil and hate against Him was a force to reckon with but yet, Father, You conquered all, through Jesus' death and resurrection.  What a mighty power that was!  And still is!  Satan could not stand against the force and purity of it!  Neither could all his minions, even though they had "set a trap" for Him.

All those Sanhedrin members who were so bent on getting rid of Jesus with the aid of Judas Iscariot and along with the Romans, nailed Jesus to the cross.  Your love, not the nails, kept Jesus up there.  It was Your love for us, that even the boundless expanse of the oceans of Earth could not (& still cannot) measure up to it.

Then Jesus committed His Spirit to You; into Your hands.  He trusted You.  His whole life was that of submitting to You and Your will, perfectly.  In life and in death, He submitted to You.

This so You could redeem the incorrigible souls of the human creatures You had made and who had made a mess of this by their disobedience to Your will and commands.

Now, Father, we can claim You as our Rock and Fortress, as David did in Psalm 31.  He went to You again and again and tested Your love, tested Your promises, and tested Your protection, and concluded You are a "strong fortress".  You stood the tests.

You lead and guide us, Your chosen sons and daughters through Jesus', guiding us through Your Holy Spirit.

Father, "worthless idols"...many of us do "cling to worthless idols".  Whether it is the actual idol, statue, replica of various gods or goddesses; or whether its the idol of money or pornography, gambling or fornication and adultery; or other types of sexual immortality; or of placing a loved one, live or deceased, on a pedestal; or of a dog, or cat, even; these are worthless idols that we should never allow to be worshiped or to govern our lives. 

Sometimes, even our parents, who always seemed to have been there and are now, NOT.  We realize how much we relied on them.  How much we turned to them with every little thing.  Father, that's what You want from us.  You strongly desire we turn to You "with every little thing".  David seemed to have learned that.

He was always talking about You and writing songs about You that read like prayers to You.  He doesn't mind asking You for things like, Your being merciful to him in his distress.

Father, there is so much in this world that distresses, so I thank You for David's example that we too can cry out to You to be merciful and in our anguish that might, at times, threaten to consume us.  That anguish and even years of groaning, so that the strikes of it almost make our hearts fail.

Nevertheless, we beseech You to raise us up.  As a song says, "You raise me up, to stand on mountains, through all the vast and stormy seas.  Then we can stand tall on Your shoulders above it all."  We can be like that lamb, that one out of one hundred sheep still precious to it's shepherd.  It had gone astray and been lost but the shepherd found it and put it on his shoulders to carry home.

Father, You made Jesus to be our Good Shepherd and we are precious to Him.  He sought us until He found us.  We praise You.

We too have enemies as Jesus did and still has.  Those who hold us in contempt.  Sometimes even our friends will leave and forsake us, but we know that You will never ever do so.

David said he'd become like "broken pottery" in verse 12.  People throw broken pottery away.  We may be "like broken pottery" but Father, You are the Potter and we the clay.  Clay with You molding and making us according to Your will.  Don't let us be broken Lord by our stubborn will resisting Your shaping.  Don't let us go off in our own way as that "lost" sheep did cuz then we may become broken and wander away in loss of faith.  However, if it comes to our brokenness, come and seek us.

Now all the contempt, all the slander, all the terror that evil doers conspire and plot against Your people just as they did against Your Son, Jesus Christ.  Don't let it break any of us but bring growth; flourishing life.  We do not want to be shaken so violently that we lose faith.  Have mercy on us oh LORD.  Keep us.  Give us courage to stand on Your promises, on Your Word and on You, Yourself.

We will trust in You because You are our God.  All our times are in Your hands.  Father, You know the number of our days and You know what each of Your "sheep" are going through.  Our times are in Your hands.

Help us to submit and rest in You and in Your LOVE that knows no bounds.  This, especially when people pursue us.  May our faces still shine and reflect Your love and care for us.

May we experience the satisfaction of knowing that with You, all things are possible.  That Your unfailing love will save.  That You won't let us be put to shame because of Your Name but You will shame the wicked, the enemy.  You will silence their lips.

Lord, I don't necessarily mean, silence them in death, as even in life You have Your ways of silencing folks.  You can stop them from assaulting Your people with their nasty verbal garbage; missiles aimed at pulling down and/or destroying Your child.

May their pride, contempt and arrogance against the righteous all over the world, be stopped.  May there no longer be attempts to undermine You, Your Name nor Your people.

Even Your people, at least those who claim to belong to You, are sometimes seen on the news praying battle prayers against the wickedness of one political party or another, or even against individuals You have placed in authority, praying prayers that besmirch You and Your people.  Or, how about are seen laughing like a fool and attempting to instigate their congregations to follow suit.  Seems more like mockery.  Why must they flaunt You in this way?  They seem to be putting You to the test.

OH Father, help us.  Help us!  Have mercy on us, I cry out to You.  Everything is in such a muddle.  We NEED Your intervention!

May we be less like the Pharisee who flaunted his prayers and more like the Publican who prayed in humility.  No, I did NOT, say, "republican," Father.  I said, "Publican," the tax collector fellow.  The one others had looked down upon back in Jesus' time on Earth.

May we humbly repent as the tax collector did.  May we humbly go home satisfied that You have heard us, that You care about us and that we have repented and You have forgiven.

How great is Your goodness!  Your goodness, just as vast and fathomless as your love, because You are Good.  Your love, mercy and goodness endure forever.

I like the picture painted in the words "Your goodness is stored up".  The vast store of it, kept for those who love You; doled out in never-ending portions, as needed.  Stores of provision for those for whom You have made righteous through Jesus and who have taken refuge and shelter in You.  Now we can also hide in Your presence (vs 20).  In Your dwelling You will keep us safe from accusing tongues.

Father, there have been and still are, so many of Your people who have been falsely accused, especially in lands where they are blatantly persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ.  Lord, may they sense Your presence there with them and working on their behalf.  Your presence available for them to hide in the shadow of Your wings.

All praise be to You our God and Father for showing us Your wonderful, proven love by sending Jesus.  Thank-You!

Let us never be cut off from Your sight, out of Your sight range.  We know we never could be.  We praise You for this.

Howbeit, sometimes we do feel like we are cut off when we pray and ask for certain things that are even Your desire, like salvation of our loved ones and relatives, who for years have been holding out against Your love, goodness and relationship with You through Jesus, and do not wish to come to Christ; at least, yet, and as far as we know.

Father, what is the "ice-breaker" for that?  Give us ideas, we plead.  We need the "ice-breaker".  May Your Holy Spirit convict and work actively with our family members.  Convict them of Your goodness and righteousness and great love for them; of their sins and their need of Jesus and relationship with You.  This, before it is forever, too late.

We call to You, LORD.  Help us.  May your love permeate through us to our unsaved relatives, so that we can say, that they have become followers of Jesus Christ; Your sons and daughters; saints, "sheep" grazing in Your pastures.

Additionally, that Your love is a holy aura upon them, anointing them and like precious incense wafting back up to You in gratitude. 

May they be more faithful to You than they are to their worthless idols now.  Change their alliances, cut off the useless soul ties that bind, and preserve their souls so they can be strong in You; to have blessed ties with You.  May they take heart and hope in You. 

What a Happy New Year that would be for us all!

Father, may all your children be like this!  May our hope be in You and Your fathomless love for it is in You we can trust and hope; our ever Faithful One.  You never fail (Zephaniah 3:5).  Your grace and goodness, never fail.

You are good.

I thank-You and praise You in the precious Name of Jesus. 

                                                   ~ERC  November 2020~

Based on Psalm 31:1-24 NIV

Sing, How Deep the Father's Love For Us, as sung by Selah

Good Books - The Dave & Neta Jackson - Missionary Stories

I have always loved missionary stories and was introduced to them at an early age by my parents.  So to find these delightful, thrilling adventures written for the 8-12 year old range of children was a great blessing.  Of course, these can be interesting for adult readers too.  Historic fiction, I believe the genre would be.

Each book highlights one missionary journey, telling his or her story which, does involve some "salt and pepper".  That is, a child usually around the age of 8-12, becomes attached in some way to the missionary, which likely did not actually happen in real life. 

For example, from the book Shanghaied to China, a young boy is, well, shanghaied aboard a ship bound for China.  He'd been observing the fascinating activity down at the docks early one morning, where he had had no business being without a chaperone, and got abducted.  Then he was in a tight spot.  Hudson Taylor (a missionary of renowned), just so happened to be on board and so he and the lad cross paths and a friendship of worth develops.

As these are Christian books, the faith aspect comes in to play as well.  The young character learns valuable life lessons and of life in Christ.  Additionally, the reader gets glimpses into the life of a missionary, in general.  The joys, heartbreaks, the culture shock, and the living "by faith", that serving the Lord encompasses.

These few books shown in the picture above, are among about 30 others, also written by Dave & Neta Jackson and published by Bethany House Publishers.

They are an excellent way to introduce a child to the workings of a man or woman of God, working in tandem with the Lord for the extension of His Kingdom.  One will never know what sparks could be ignited in the young ones' hearts that will stay with him or her for life and foster their relationship with their Lord and Savior, and into service for Him, by reading even one of them.

Invest.

                                                   ~ERC  December 2020~