Monthly Archives: January 2008

A Word Picture!

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IDOK DEVOTION FOR TUESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2008

I think I should have known years ago and if I did I had forgotten. My Pastor gave me a nugget Sunday that is making a difference. I am delighted with the word picture he gave me.
Presently, I am participating in Beth Moore’s new Bible Study – Stepping Up — it’s real timely for me. And one of the exercises she strongly encourages us to do every day is to prostrate ourselves before The Lord in prayer before we begin our daily study time and I have been doing that. But today it was different. This is my Pastor’s word picture: when we are prostrate before another we are saying I have no defenses; it means I am at your mercy – you can do whatever you will with me, there is no way for me to get up and defend myself against any action you may choose to take.
Let me give you an example from Scripture that well describes this word picture:
2 Samuel 19:
18… When Shimei son of Gera crossed the Jordan, he fell prostrate before the king
19 and said to him, “May my lord not hold me guilty. Do not remember how your servant did wrong on the day my lord the king left Jerusalem. May the king put it out of his mind.
If we take that word picture and prostrate ourselves before The Lord, face down on the carpet, we are saying with our physical frame what our will is saying: Lord, I am here before You, I have laid down my defenses, I will not fight You on this, I am surrendered to Your Will in this situation.
I am without words to express to you how much this means to me! This is a physical expression that I believe if we do it enough, even if our wills are not exactly sold on it, I believe our Wills will eventually line up with Father’s Will for us in whatever that situation is. So IF you are physically able, that is you are of an age and physical capabilities that you can get down there, face down on the floor, and then get up again without damage, I urge you to try it. In time, you may find a new you down there on the floor.
Moses took this prostrate business seriously, especially on behalf of his people.
Deuteronomy 9:
18 Then once again I fell prostrate before the LORD for forty days and forty nights; I ate no bread and drank no water, because of all the sin you had committed, doing what was evil in the LORD’s sight and so provoking him to anger.
19 I feared the anger and wrath of the LORD, for he was angry enough with you to destroy you. But again the LORD listened to me.
And look what Father did when Moses prostrated himself on behalf of others: But again the LORD listened to me.
Father, thank You for giving this word picture to me; thank You for my Pastor who articulated it. And I pray that in all situations I will prostrate myself before You even when I am up walking around. I pray that each of us will surrender, that we will not fight against You but will gladly accept Your Will. You know the things that are pressing on our minds and the loads that burden our souls, we pray for relief; we pray for deliverance; we pray for wisdom and guidance; we pray for Your Will to be done in each. And we pray the same for these listed here. We pray the same for our IDOK Troops; we pray for their safety in mind and body and spirit; we pray for their safe return home; we pray their families will also be protected and their needs will be met. We pray for a speedy and successful conclusion to this war; we pray for the Peace of Israel; we pray for the repentance of America and the election of Your Choice for President. And above all Father we pray for a moving of You Holy Spirit in the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, we pray You will pour out conviction and grace and birth a revival in us for His sake. Amen and amen.
Tonya and family. Rick Burgess and family. Lawson Family. Mrs. Dobbs. Charles and Renee’. Dall T. Dylan. Mark, Margie & Duncan. Marsha’s grand-baby. Kathy MN. Kyle A. Jason, Vicki. Joseph Toomey and Family. DeLois. Terri. Patsy B. Kim T. Rachel B. Kevin and the children. Lisa’s Mother. Katelyn (B). Janie B. Vickie. Lisa W. Anita. J Lloyd and family. Janet and Steve. Cathy. Toy and family. Caleb and family. Bay and family. Jennifer B. John and Carolyn. Larry and Claudia and family. Taylor & family. Jeanette and Earl and family. Libby and family. Callie. Madie. Ruth. Cynthia. Martha F and Bob. Allyson and Glen and family. Brittney and Kersten and family. Sharron and girls. Frankie and girls. Sheila and Andy. Carrie and Rachel and Jacob and family. Billy and Gina and boys. Lance and family. Grace and family. Tressa. Brad, Lindsay, Karah and Haley. Cindy K and family. Chuck. Jessie L. Windy and Jared and families. Helen and Dan and family. Jen and Larry and family. Chad and Brittany and family. Mollie and family. Julia. Bobbie. Tj. Zack. Phillip. Jessica. Larry. Kayla. Trey. Jacob. Ashely. Lance. Candance. Laura and family. John and Sandy. Bill and Judy. Adam & Family. Tiffany & Makayla. Andrew.
Every IDOK and every IDOK son and daughter and grandchild.
Every IDOK Pastor and Family.
Every IDOK church.
The Peace of Israel
Revival in America.
IDOKs Military Families.
IDOKs Troops (foreign soil) – Ethan. Christopher. Raul. Robert. Billy. Josh. Buddy. Mark. Josh W. James. Bryan. Nick. Hawk. Brant W. Lyndon A. Christopher R. Travis N. Joshua M. Brent. Drew. Justin G. (Hawk and Lyndon A – home for R&R)
IDOK Troops leaving shortly for foreign soil: Albert R III.
Serving Stateside: Jonathan. Jasmine B. Tommy T. Shaun. Bay. Danny. Tim. Lee. George.
Injured and brought State side: Anthony. Hector
Injured Stateside: Edward J.
Hospitalized outside USA: Corpl. Light
Military at home adjusting – Mack. The 226. Troy. Brad. Tommy. Desi.
Civilian in Country – Mike. Lee.

As I post this it is 45°F and partly cloudy in Balad, Iraq & the time there is 7:28 AM AST – on January 29, 2008

His Ministry to You

What Am I Thinking?

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IDOK DEVOTION FOR MONDAY, JANUARY 28, 2008

A quote for D. De Haan:
Though fierce the hatred of our foe
Whose legions seek to work us woe,
He can’t destroy the Living Word
Nor those who own Him as their Lord.

None of us know exactly what we will encounter today. Some of us may have uncomfortable matters to attend. It is likely all of us will have some un-pleasantries confront us; if not today, then tomorrow. What will we do? How we THINK about it NOW will determine what we do THEN.
Some thought processes we perform will help us, some would harm us. We may not have control over the un-pleasantries or the uncomfortable moments, but we DO have control of our own minds. We can choose what we THINK. Praise the Lord! We don’t have to be a victim of ‘thought abuse’. We don’t have to allow ourselves to be abused by our own fears or Satan and his cohorts with their fiery darts. There is a rebuttal in Scripture to all our fears and any lie or half-truth whispered (or screamed) in our ears by the Devil. There is a condition though, we have to be WILLING to apply the Scripture. It’s like any other prescription, we have to be willing to open the bottle, take out the pill and swallow it — We have to be willing to open the Word of God, read that verse that addresses the situation and ‘swallow’ it – that is ingest it. We have to be willing to trust our situations to Father’s Word. A prescription from the pharmacy may not always work BUT a Word from our Father in due season works every time!
So what are some of His Words to help us?
Philippians 4:
13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Hebrews 13:
5 Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
6 So we may boldly say:
“ The LORD is my helper;
I will not fear.
What can man do to me?”
Romans 8:
36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.
38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
2 Corinthians 10:
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,
5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,
6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.
So what is the Word of God good for? For pulling down strongholds. For casting down – shutting up arguments. For silencing EVERY thought that is against what God has already said to you. For giving you the power to CONTROL your thoughts – the power to make your thoughts OBEY Christ Jesus. And look at this! The Word of God is ready to PUNISH all disobedience WHEN we are obedient to Him in What We Are Thinking!
Father, I am thinking this is a very good word today. Thank You. And thank You that we CAN apply it, Your Word guarantees we can apply it – Your Grace is sufficient for us to apply Your Word to all our uncomfortable, unpleasant, hard, trying, hurtful, mean, unfair – whatever situations today. Thank You that You have not left us alone in any of these things. Lord God, You ARE AWESOME. And we love You. Thank You for being You.
And because of the Who You Are we bring these folks today. Just as people of Scripture brought others to You Jesus, we bring these and by our very brining them we are exercising faith in You that You will hear and You will take care of all these and all that is troubling them. You will even help them submit their troubles to You. Thank You Lord. Thank You.
And we ask You again today to protect our IDOK Troops. To keep them safe in mind and body and spirit and to lift up and protect their families back home. We pray for a successful conclusion to this war. We pray for America to repent. We pray for Israel to be at Peace. We pray for the Presidential Election that Your Choice will be elected. And we pray for Your Church, that She will PRAY for Her own Revival. And we ask all this Father based solely upon the Righteousness of Jesus our Christ. Amen and amen.
Tonya and family. Rick Burgess and family. Lawson Family. Mrs. Dobbs. Charles and Renee’. Dall T. Dylan. Mark, Margie & Duncan. Marsha’s grand-baby. Kathy N. Kyle A. Jason, Vicki. Joseph Toomey and Family. DeLois. Terri. Patsy B. Kim T. Rachel B. Kevin and the children. Lisa’s Mother. Katelyn (B). Janie B. Vickie. Lisa W. Anita. J Lloyd and family. Janet and Steve. Cathy. Toy and family. Caleb and family. Bay and family. Jennifer B. John and Carolyn. Larry and Claudia and family. Taylor & family. Jeanette and Earl and family. Libby and family. Callie. Madie. Ruth. Cynthia. Martha F and Bob. Allyson and Glen and family. Brittney and Kersten and family. Sharron and girls. Frankie and girls. Sheila and Andy. Carrie and Rachel and Jacob and family. Billy and Gina and boys. Lance and family. Grace and family. Tressa. Brad, Lindsay, Karah and Haley. Cindy K and family. Chuck. Jessie L. Windy and Jared and families. Helen and Dan and family. Jen and Larry and family. Chad and Brittany and family. Mollie and family. Julia. Bobbie. Tj. Zack. Phillip. Jessica. Larry. Kayla. Trey. Jacob. Ashely. Lance. Candance. Laura and family. John and Sandy. Bill and Judy. Adam & Family. Tiffany & Makayla. Andrew.
Every IDOK and every IDOK son and daughter and grandchild.
Every IDOK Pastor and Family.
Every IDOK church.
The Peace of Israel
Revival in America.
IDOKs Military Families.
IDOKs Troops (foreign soil) – Ethan. Christopher. Raul. Robert. Billy. Josh. Buddy. Mark. Josh W. James. Bryan. Nick. Hawk. Brant W. Lyndon A. Christopher R. Travis N. Joshua M. Brent. Drew. Justin G. (Hawk and Lyndon A – home for R&R)
IDOK Troops leaving shortly for foreign soil: Albert R III.
Serving Stateside: Jonathan. Jasmine B. Tommy T. Shaun. Bay. Danny. Tim. Lee. George.
Injured and brought State side: Anthony. Hector
Injured Stateside: Edward J.
Hospitalized outside USA: Corpl. Light
Military at home adjusting – Mack. The 226. Troy. Brad. Tommy. Desi.
Civilian in Country – Mike. Lee.

As I post this it is 58°F and mostly cloudy in Al Asad, Iraq & the time there is 4:46 PM AST – on January 28, 2008

HIS MINISTRY TO YOU