Monthly Archives: April 2010

Forgiveness

Should’a, Could’a, But Didn’t.

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IDOK Devotion for Friday, April 9, 2010

Praise Reports and Prayer Requests

Updates and Requests:  Amy and Kevin. Recently Kevin had heart surgery and got a stern warning by his physician to make some radical health changes – eat right, exercise – you know the drill, and you know it is hard on the WHOLE family.  They need our prayers.

Should’a, Could’a, But Didn’t.

When the fog of ‘can’t (no, make that) won’t let it go’ clears and you lift your head and see all that other really important stuff you left undone fretting with what you should and could have temporarily laid aside, Scripture is the only cure for the ache in your heart.  Got a spirit of heaviness because you didn’t do all things well today or yesterday? Then we need this:

. . . Hope returns when I remember this one thing: The Lord’s unfailing love and mercy still continue, fresh as the morning, as sure as the sunrise. Lamentations 3:21-23, GNB.

And allow me to share a prayer with you written by Marion Stroud, published in her book, Dr. God, It’s Me and It’s Urgent.  Discovery House Publishers. http://www.rbc.org/index.aspx

Dear Lord, will you renew my vision? Not of the work that you are calling me to do for you, but a vision of yourself—the one who does the calling.

Sometimes, Lord, I feel afraid of what might happen if I were to see you in the revelation fullness of your all-consuming power and glory.  For surely I could not look at you like that and live. But I dare to ask, Lord, to see you more clearly as loving, tireless Father, patient, seeking shepherd, wise and ever-available counselor, radical leader, inspiring teacher, committed friend, and utterly forgiving Savior.

Help me to seek you for yourself, not for any benefits that I might gain from finding you. And as I see you with ever greater clarity, may I love you more dearly, and follow you more nearly, so that any work that I may do for you will simply be an overflow of gratitude and praise.

All I can add to that is amen and amen!

To review the list of names for prayer, please click here.   ABBA, LORD, we can only say thank You, thank You for Your mercy, for being our utterly forgiving Savior; for being our committed friend who sticks closer than a brother.  Thank You.  And thank You for loving on our IDOKs and Readers today because I know You are.  And we come now with Amy and Kevin; asking that he heal up nicely from the surgery and that he receive from You the courage to make those radical changes the doctor said he should and we pray for Amy that she will have a spirit of calm assurance in this.  And Grand comes to mind, asking that You continue to bless and give strength and healing to both of them and that Grand’s rehab and this new kind of normal settle in and that he become an even greater asset to Your Kingdom than before.  Thank You for taking care of all our IDOK Troops like You have; and with boldness we ask You to continue to protect them from all harm – spirit, soul and body.  And we collectively bring our list of names for Your individual attention; asking You to meet every need.  We continue to pray too for Israel, for peace and protection and fulfilling of prophecy.  We continue to pray for grace and space for America to repent.  We pray You will be gracious and give us back our Country from the hands of evil men.  We continue to pray that You raise up churches to be Houses of Prayer.  I ask You to meet with us at the Ewomen Conference. Holy Spirit, get serious with us and us with You I pray.  Don’t let us come away from that conference unchanged.  Amen and amen in Jesus Name.

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Three Times

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IDOK Devotion for Thursday, April 8, 2010

Praise Reports and Prayer Requests

Updates and Requests: You may recall last year we prayed for Lisa Jeffers.  At the time, she and her family were vacationing in Tennessee when their truck was swept away in a flash flood. The quick thinking and action of their 18 year old son saved their lives.  However, Lisa was badly injured and not expected to live. She was in the hospital in Tennessee for a couple months, I think, before coming back to Bay Minette.  Today, (Wednesday) she visited with my Baby Girl at a store in Bay Minette.  Lisa is not without medical problems and must take a lot of medication BUT she is alive and even shopping!! Is our God good or what?!

Psalm 46 (NKJV)

1 God is our refuge and strength,

A very present help in trouble.

2 Therefore we will not fear,

Even though the earth be removed,

And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;

3 Though its waters roar and be troubled,

Though the mountains shake with its swelling.

Selah

4 There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God,

The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High.

5 God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved;

God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.

6 The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved;

He uttered His voice, the earth melted.

7 The LORD of hosts is with us;

The God of Jacob is our refuge.

Selah

8 Come, behold the works of the LORD,

Who has made desolations in the earth.

9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;

He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two;

He burns the chariot in the fire.

10 Be still, and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth!

11 The LORD of hosts is with us;

The God of Jacob is our refuge.

Selah

Did you notice that three times in eleven verses God said He is our refuge?  Do you think He wants us to get it? I am reaching way back this morning, all the way to high school English grammar classes, or was the junior high?  Whatever — bear with me here.  Do you remember learning about superlatives?  Good, better, best. Crabby, crabbier, crabbiest. Cuddly cuddlier cuddliest.  deep deeper deepest.  zippy zippier zippiest.  holy holier holiest.  However, I am told the Hebrew and Greek languages do not have such superlatives, so when ABBA wants to say something to the greatest degree of emphasis, He says it three times: holy, holy, holy.  Get it?  HE IS OUR REFUGE!  Selah.

You will also note the word Selah is used three times in these eleven verses.  Perhaps we should take note of that too.  I have been told for years that Selah means ‘pause and calmly think about that’.  I have also been told that in poetry it denotes an interlude, a pause.  But I like what I found this morning.  Selah, [celah], is from the primary Hebrew root word [calah] which literally means ‘to hang,’ and by implication to measure (weigh). This is readily understood because in Biblical history, money, food and other valuables were ‘weighed’ by hanging or suspending them on a type of balance (the equivalent of our measuring scale) to determine their value.

So seeing that this Hebrew word [calah] means to ‘measure,’ as in weighing something in the balances, we better understand how the word Selah [celah], which is derived from it, is illustrating that we should measure or value what has been said.  Taken from URL address:

http://www.mountainretreatorg.net/faq/selah.html

So this is what I think.  To the highest degree of emphasis ABBA has said: ‘I AM your refuge and I want you to weigh this.  I want you to see how heavy I am with this toward you.’  Do we see here that He is serious?  And that we are to NOT take it lightly – HE IS OUR REFUGE.  ACT LIKE IT!  So what would acting like it, look like in you (and me) today? Selah!

To review the list of names for prayer, please click here.   Again, I like this, ABBA.  And I like that it is not yet 8:30 Wednesday morning and Thursday’s devotion has come.  I am so delighted!  Let me not be so delighted that it has come that I do not see what it is that has come! You are my refuge – complete – none higher, none stronger, none wiser, none better.  This is important.  Holy Spirit, apply it, plant it, grow it in us I pray.  And I pray now for our IDOKs; I want them to be protected today; protected from the evil one, the world and particularly their own flesh.  I want them to make right decisions today.  I want me to KNOW that You can be trusted today.  I want them to KNOW they CAN believe You.  They can be victorious today.  They can make right decisions today.  They can overcome their own fleshly desires today.  They don’t have to give in to themselves.  They can give themselves to You to experience Your Strength, Your Brilliance, Your Glory and Goodness.  Me too, ABBA.  Me too.  Protect too our IDOK Troops; keep them safe from stray and intended hostile or friendly fire; surround them.  Cause it to be that they receive You as their complete refuge today.  And their families too.  And all the Body of Christ, not only in America but around the world today.  Tend the ill, the dying, the living, the wayward, the rebellious, the undecided.  Thank You, ABBA, in Jesus Name and for His Sake. Amen and amen.