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I say it every year when the conference concludes that is was our best yet and I am saying it again this year and I mean it. And if the LORD is willing when next year’s conference concludes I will say the same and again I will mean it. But this conference I will remember more than any other. Today as I was worshipping and hearing messages of strength and hope and love and peace and courage my Momma quietly and gently in her sleep got to see what all the shouting is about. I was not prepared for her to slip away from earth this soon but ABBA knows His timing and I can only trust Him and love Him more. Services will most likely be Monday in my home town, so we will be away for a few days. I know you will be praying for us and that will be the best gift you can give us. Thank you for being there just across this screen with your love.

IDOK DEVOTION FOR FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2009

I have two words as I begin this devotion. I do not know where we are going with it so lets get started. First, go with me to Romans 15:4. For whatever was thus written in former days was written for our instruction, that by [our steadfast and patient] endurance and the encouragement [drawn] from the Scriptures we might hold fast to and cherish hope. Okay. As I typed that I got one more word. So now we have three: cherish, hope and drawn.

Cherish. First, cherish is a verb. Remember those English courses that taught us a verb is an action word, a doing word, something the subject is doing? And the subject here is ‘we’, you and me. So from this text we are expected to do something with hope. Cherish it. We know what cherish means, don’t we? Hold dear. Treat with affection. Keep fondly in mind. Entertain. To cling to. Care for.

But do we? I confess often I have not. Imagine this with me. An unexpected letter comes and in this letter you are made aware an old debt that refuses to lie quietly in prior years. Instead it is screaming and kicking and tearing its way into not only your today but tomorrow and many tomorrows to come it seems. What do you do? Do you cherish hope? Do you cling to it or do you sling it away from you and in the slinging away reach for and begin to clutch fear and unbelief to your bosom? Can you see yourself? I sure can see me! This picture is NOT given to us to condemn us. So don’t even go there. It is given to us to give us something vivid, something startling to give us strength to keep on holding on, to keep on cherishing HOPE when the event that has occurred says ‘you have no hope’. ‘God doesn’t care; if He did He would not let this happen to you.’ Or when the event says ‘this is too big, this is too hard; you cannot get to the other side of this.’ BUT HOPE says: . . .for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!] Hebrews 13:5. HOPE says: 10 Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness; 11 you will be enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God. 2 Corinthians 9 . And HOPE says: 19 And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. 20 Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen. Philippians 3

And now we come to the last word: Drawn. Drawn from the Scripture. In this case, drawn is also a verb, a past participle of the verb ‘draw’. So in this verse, it is not so much something for us to do but something we HAVE already DONE (however, we must continue to do too). Here, we have already extracted, taken for our own use, received on a regular basis from the SCRIPTURES. And because we have; you got it, we have strength to CHERISH OUR HOPE when the event says sling it away and clutch fear and unbelief instead. One more thing. I love it! Another definition for ‘draw’: to pull out a weapon for use. YES! That is what the SCRIPTURE is to us, a weapon for us to draw, aim and fire at the enemy of our soul and all the events he brings into our everyday comings and goings. I hope you like this as much as I do. I am smiling big!! Our ABBA is AWESOME!!

One more thought from Beth Moore’s book Breaking Free Day by Day, page 30: “In gracious contrast, God stands by us until we are free, never forsaking us. He is the only one who is not repelled by the depth and length of our needs.” Oh, that is GOOOOOD!!

 Psalm 145:

17 The Lord is [rigidly] righteous in all His ways and gracious and merciful in all His works.

18 The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him sincerely and in truth. 

Thank You ABBA for big smiles. Thank You for speaking to us. Thank You for illuminating Your Word to us. Thank You for encouraging us to cherish hope based and drawn from Your Very Own Word to us. This is good LORD. You are GOOD. So good to take care of us, so good to speak to us and give us strength and encouragement. And because we know You are Good, because we know You love us and hear us we now pray for each of these listed here and we speak life and health and provisions and faith and hope into each of them and their varied and multiple situations. We pray for each other, each and every IDOK along with our sons and daughters and sons and daughters in law and grandchildren; we pray for Holy Spirit assistance with each one. Continue to keep our IDOK Troops safe please. And we pray for them to be strong in mind and body and spirit. We so much want them to make right decisions, we want them to know You well. We pray for family and friends, they have needs too LORD and we pray they will have the will and encouragement to find You faithful to them. We pray for Israel for Peace and Protection and for the subduing of enemies. We pray for the President and his family for their protection and for their repentance. We pray You will set up safeguards and prevent this Administration from undoing what has been done for pre-born babies. We pray You will put up roadblocks too strong, too difficult to overcome and so prevent this Administration from legalizing what You have condemned and if You will ABBA please rescue America from destruction. And bring revival to THE CHURCH. And especially bring repentance and revival to the conference. The women have said they are coming, please protect and don’t let Satan or their own flesh or the flesh of any other keep any one of them from attending. We are delighted with You ABBA, delighted that You speak to us. Delighted that You love us and You want to fellowship with us. It is beyond our comprehension but not beyond the faith You have given us. Thank You. We love You LORD Father. Amen and amen.

Unspoken Requests – situations so close you can only speak to Father about. Joy and Evan. Gina. Francis T. Cathy T. Cathie R and family. Emily. Walt. Phillip. Margie and Craig. Sandra. Terry and family. Dot B. Julia O. Ann C. Stan and Jowanna and Family. Carolyn. Mary. Mabel. Joan. David T’s Family. Kimberly. Shay and Emma’s Kids (orphanage in Zambia) Ministry. Susan D. Jason A and his mother. Wayne B. Melinda H. Trisha. Patti’s Family. Brennan and his family. Joshua. Branson. The O’Brien family. Kim and her Fiancee. Jonathan. Mabel’s Aunt Lou. Heather and Brandon. Bernie. Darlene and Torkel. Edie G. Rachel. W C and family. Maggie and Family. Dylan. Joseph Toomey and Family. DeLois. Terri. Kim T. Kevin and the children. Katelyn (B). Janie B. Vickie. J Lloyd and family. Janet and Steve. Cathy. Caleb and family. Bay and family. Jennifer B. John and Carolyn and Family. Larry and Claudia and family. Taylor & family. David & Allison. Jeanette and Earl and family. Callie. Madie. Ruth. Cynthia. Martha F and Bob. Allyson and Glyn and family. Brittney and Kersten and family. 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. Chuck. Windy and Jared and families. Helen and Dan and family. Jen and Larry and family. Mollie and family. Julia. Bobbie. Erin. Alan. Tj. Zack. Phillip. Jessica. Larry. Lance. Candance and Family. Laura and family. John and Sandy. Bill and Judy. Andrew and Daughters. Lee. Sharron and family, Linda and family, Bev and Family, Mollie B. Friends at work.

Public and Private School Teachers.

Every IDOK and every IDOK son and daughter and grandchild.

Every IDOK Pastor and Family. Every IDOK church.

IDOKs Military Families.

IDOKs Troops (foreign soil) – Ethan. Christopher. Raul. Robert. Billy. Buddy. Mark. Josh W. James. Bryan. Nick. Brant W. Christopher R. Joshua M. Brent. Drew. Justin G. Kyle N. Michael K. Sgt. Bozicevich. Bay N. T. Palin. John L. Richard M. Adam M. Bobby G. (added 12/16/08) Tommy T.

IDOK Troops leaving shortly for foreign soil: Brandon B.

Serving Stateside: Jonathan. Jasmine B. Shaun. Bay. Danny. Lee. George. Travis N. Hawk. Justin G.

Injured: Lukas S. (11/30/08) http://www.strafford1st.com/page25/page26/page26.html

Military at home – Tim. Mack. The 226. Troy. Brad. Tommy. Desi. Edward J. Lyndon A. Jason G. Captain Tran Josh.

The Peace of Israel.

Revival in America.

As I post this it is 47°F and haze in Al Asad, IQ & the time there is 7:00 AM AST on January 30, 2009.

IDOK DEVOTION FOR THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2009

There’s a song with the line: ‘Freedom is the Power to do Right!’ And pondering that brings on some reverse thinking: if freedom is the power to do right, then if I am doing wrong I must not be FREE. And If I am not FREE, what am I? Does doing wrong rob me of FREEDOM? But what is right and what is wrong? Don’t we essentially know innately what is right and what is wrong? Don’t we have a sense of “weight”, heaviness and just can’t feel at ease, just can’t breathe comfortably when we do wrong? Don’t we have that? Praise God we do! If we do not, our hearts have been seared. And that’s a whole other devotion. Bottom line is, doing wrong is bondage. Doing our own thing, if that thing is contrary to ‘Thus Saith The Lord’, is NOT Freedom. Freedom is the Power to do what is Right! I like that! So how free am I? How free are you? We are free to the degree we do the right thing, right?

Romans 7: 18 For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot perform it. [I have the intention and urge to do what is right, but no power to carry it out.] 19 For I fail to practice the good deeds I desire to do, but the evil deeds that I do not desire to do are what I am [ever] doing.

A perfect description of Bondage, isn’t it? So where and how the FREEDOM? Where the POWER? Romans 7: 25 O thank God! [He will!] through Jesus Christ (the Anointed One) our Lord! So then indeed I, of myself with the mind and heart, serve the Law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.

There is POWER IN THE BLOOD. Not just in any blood; but just in the Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ do we have the POWER to be free; the power to do the Right thing! And unless we are doing the right thing, we are not FREE. Are we?

Luke 24: 48 And ye are witnesses of these things.

49 And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

50 And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them.

Acts 1: 8 But you shall receive power (ability, efficiency, and might) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the ends (the very bounds) of the earth.

And the Power of doing the Right Thing will witness in Jerusalem (in our homes), in Judea (in our community) and Samaria (the world even beyond us). Are we free? How free are we? How free do we WANT to be? That is the question!

 Psalm 145:

17 The Lord is [rigidly] righteous in all His ways and gracious and merciful in all His works.

18 The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him sincerely and in truth. 

Father, thank You. Thank You that You have already made us Free; help us embrace that freedom; help us submit to the HOLY SPIRIT that You are in us and we will KNOW Freedom not just think about it but experience it. Thank You. Today is a new day; thank You. Thank You for new mercies today and Full Power to do the right thing all day this day; help each of us believe today. And Father, renew us all in mind and body and spirit and those who are ill and sick, restore them for Jesus sake. And comfort, guard, protect and empower our IDOK Troops to live and do right today. Bring a sense of urgency to the Body of Christ to do the right thing in all our comings and goings. Bring Your Blessed conviction upon every sinner and give grace and faith to repent for Jesus sake. Comfort, heal, encourage, correct, exhort, bring need provision to each one listed here. Amen and amen. Unspoken Requests – situations so close you can only speak to Father about. Gina. Francis T. Cathy T. Cathie R and family. Emily. Walt. Phillip. Margie and Craig. Sandra. Terry and family. Dot B. Julia O. Ann C. Stan and Jowanna and Family. Carolyn. Mary. Mabel. Joan. David T’s Family. Kimberly. Shay and Emma’s Kids (orphanage in Zambia) Ministry. Susan D. Jason A and his mother. Wayne B. Melinda H. Trisha. Patti’s Family. Brennan and his family. Joshua. Branson. The O’Brien family. Kim and her Fiancee. Jonathan. Mabel’s Aunt Lou. Heather and Brandon. Bernie. Darlene and Torkel. Edie G. Rachel. W C and family. Maggie and Family. Dylan. Joseph Toomey and Family. DeLois. Terri. Kim T. Kevin and the children. Katelyn (B). Janie B. Vickie. J Lloyd and family. Janet and Steve. Cathy. Caleb and family. Bay and family. Jennifer B. John and Carolyn and Family. Larry and Claudia and family. Taylor & family. David & Allison. Jeanette and Earl and family. Callie. Madie. Ruth. Cynthia. Martha F and Bob. Allyson and Glyn and family. Brittney and Kersten and family. 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. Chuck. Windy and Jared and families. Helen and Dan and family. Jen and Larry and family. Mollie and family. Julia. Bobbie. Erin. Alan. Tj. Zack. Phillip. Jessica. Larry. Lance. Candance and Family. Laura and family. John and Sandy. Bill and Judy. Andrew and Daughters. Lee. Sharron and family, Linda and family, Bev and Family, Mollie B. Friends at work.

Public and Private School Teachers.

Every IDOK and every IDOK son and daughter and grandchild.

Every IDOK Pastor and Family. Every IDOK church.

IDOKs Military Families.

IDOKs Troops (foreign soil) – Ethan. Christopher. Raul. Robert. Billy. Buddy. Mark. Josh W. James. Bryan. Nick. Brant W. Christopher R. Joshua M. Brent. Drew. Justin G. Kyle N. Michael K. Sgt. Bozicevich. Bay N. T. Palin. John L. Richard M. Adam M. Bobby G. (added 12/16/08) Tommy T.

IDOK Troops leaving shortly for foreign soil: Brandon B.

Serving Stateside: Jonathan. Jasmine B. Shaun. Bay. Danny. Lee. George. Travis N. Hawk. Justin G.

Injured: Lukas S. (11/30/08) http://www.strafford1st.com/page25/page26/page26.html

Military at home – Tim. Mack. The 226. Troy. Brad. Tommy. Desi. Edward J. Lyndon A. Jason G. Captain Tran Josh.

The Peace of Israel.

Revival in America.

As I post this it is 46°F and smoke haze in Balad, IQ & the time there is 8:08 AM AST on January 29, 2009.