IDOK DEVOTION FOR MONDAY, AUGUST 2, 2010

FOR PRAYER AND PRAISE:

To review the list of names for prayer, please click here.

If you follow the recipe below, the results is a delicious cake.

Honey Bun Cake

cake
Pillsbury yellow cake mix (1 box)
1 Egg
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup water
8 oz sour cream
1/2 cup dark brown sugar (packed)
1 tsp. cinnamon

Glaze
1 cup confectioner sugar
2 tbsp. milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla

combine 1st five ingredients in mixing bowl. Beat at medium speed 1 to 1 1/2 minutes.  Set aside. Combine brown sugar and cinnamon.
Pour 1/2 batter into greased 13 by 9 pan
Sprinkle 1/2 sugar mixture over batter.
Repeat process and gently swirl with knife

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes or until done.

Make glaze by blending sugar, milk and vanilla with mixer.
Drizzle glaze over hot cake.

ENJOY!

Similarly for a ‘delicious’ life there is a recipe.  Follow this ‘Baker’s Dozen’ closely and you and all those who partake life with you will be nourished and blessed.  Measure, stir, pour, and serve as instructed by the Holy Spirit and your family, friends and associates will not tire of this recipe nor will they complain especially if you serve it daily.

1.         Appreciate/esteem your elders – spiritual leaders, expressing same to them in word and deed – often.

2.         Live in peace with one another

3.         Admonish the unruly – in love and under the leadership of the Holy Spirit; otherwise hold your peace.

4.         Encourage the fainthearted

5.         Help the weak

6.         Be patient with everyone

7.         See to it that you do not  render evil for evil but rather good

8.         Rejoice always in all things, not for all things but that in ALL things GOD is with you and is working for His glory and your good

9.         Pray without ceasing – keep the communication lines open between you and ABBA; let no sin short circuit your fellowship

10.        In everything, give thanks – again not for all things but that in All things GOD is with you and is working for His glory and your good

11.        Do not quench the Holy Spirit – When He speaks, listen.  Do not turn a deaf ear to Him, refusing to obey Him.

12.        Do not despise prophetic utterances (do not hastily reject what you have no knowledge of) … BUT examine everything carefully and out of that which you have examined …  Hold fast to what which is good

13.        Abstain from every form of evil.

1 Thessalonians 5: (New American Standard Bible) ¹²But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction,  ¹³and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Live in peace with one another.  ¹⁴We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone.  ¹⁵See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people.  ¹⁶Rejoice always;  ¹⁷pray without ceasing;  ¹⁸in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.  ¹⁹Do not quench the Spirit;  ²⁰do not despise prophetic utterances.  ²¹But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good;  ²²abstain from every form of evil.

Thank You, ABBA, for recipes; for food to nourish and balance us. I pray You will minister this devotion in proportion to each of us as needed.

Thank You for the privilege of prayer and we pray now for each name on our List for Prayer asking for that precious and specific recipe You have for each life to be measured and presented to and through each of them.  We pray too for our IDOK Troops for a portion of safety and protection for each of them that will bring them all home safe and sound.   We pray for Israel for peace and safety and for America we continue to pray for repentance salvation, all in the Name and Merits of our Savior JESUS THE RIGHTEOUS ONE.  Amen and amen.

IDOK DEVOTION FOR FRIDAY, JULY 30, 2010

FOR PRAYER AND PRAISE:

To review the list of names for prayer, please click here.

Feelings.  Nothing more than feelings says the song.  But is there more to our feelings than just feelings?

Matthew 14:14 When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick.

JESUS.  JESUS has feelings!

How many times have we given feelings a bad rap?  As if feelings were somehow imperfect.  Somehow something we were not supposed to have.  Something that we were suppose to suppress and pretend we did not have.  Especially certain ones.

Here’s one we know JESUS had/has — compassion. We also know He felt (feels) anger too. See John 2:13-17 for the account of JESUS driving out the money changers.  It says He was consumed with zeal.  I believe that means He was really into it … His feelings were strong and active.

And then when Stephen was stoned to death, JESUS stood up.  I see Him so moved with feelings about what was happening to Stephen that He stood up.  Stood up in empathy.  Stood up in honor even.  Stood up to welcome Stephen home.  For whatever the reason or reasons,  JESUS had feelings in the matter and He did something!  See Acts 7:55.

Feelings.  We all have them.  Question is what do we do with them.   Do they move us?  That IS the reason we have them, you know.  To move us.  In our opening Text the compassion that JESUS felt moved Him to heal.  In John 2 the anger JESUS felt moved Him to clean ABBA’s house.  Hmmm.  Perhaps some of us need to be moved with anger or some kind of feeling to clean our houses. I’m talking to the ‘preacher’ now.

It’s just a feeling — it will pass, we say.   Yes it will.  But should it?  Should it pass, leaving us unmoved, unchanged? Will it pass and leave us unchanged?  I think not. Perhaps each feeling we experience when it passes, leaves something behind.  Perhaps it moves us to do good and when the good is done we are more like JESUS, more loving, more tender, kinder.  Perhaps we are moved to do evil and when the evil is done we are more like the Evil One, more bitter, colder, harder, more in a ‘protective’ shell than before.  Perhaps the feeling passes and we did nothing with it.  We ignored it.  We denied it. We took no action.  Or was it no action?  Deciding to do nothing, is still a decision and it still has consequences.  What will those consequences of no action be when a feeling demands an action?  A more calloused heart, maybe?

Hmmm. Feelings. Nothing more than feelings.  We know better, don’t we?

ABBA, I’m having some feelings here.  Been having them all morning.  I pray I have and am taking the right actions with them.  I pray the actions I have taken will bless others and not cause them grief or worry.  I pray that more and more I will practice actions that bless others rather than harm them.  I thank You for this lesson.  I thank You for the privilege of sharing it with others.  I thank You for each one who will read it.  I pray it will encourage them to consider their feelings, all of them and take all of them to You before acting upon any of them.  Me too, ABBA. Me too.

And I pray now for our List for Prayer.  I pray each of them will acknowledge their feelings and will seek Your help in sorting them out and determining what course of action to take.

Thank You for Bridgette’s recent report that bone scans and blood tests are fine.  To us that means the cancer is contained. I am delighted with that and I still ask You to remove it and heal Bridgette and in the meantime I pray for peace and strength for her and her family.

And there are others, ABBA, in need; serious need and not all of it is physical health related but rather emotional and spiritual health related; perhaps that is the most serious kind of help needed.  Spiritual health I know for sure is the most important.  Should be our most watched after health and I pray it will become that for every IDOK; for ourselves and our families, friends and others.

And now as I ready myself to schedule this for posting, I dare not forget to pray for our IDOK Troops; for their safety in spirit, soul and body; and for Israel, for peace and protection; and for America, repentance and salvation; and all of it I ask in JESUS NAME. Amen and amen.

IDOK DEVOTION FOR THURSDAY, JULY 29, 2010

I want to tell you (like you don’t know it already) that GOD is AWESOME.  He CONTROLS everything!!! Even my itty bitty life.

Psalm 37: (New Living Translation) ²³ The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.

Acts 8:1-13 And the persecution of the Early Church was on! JESUS told the Church in Acts 1:8 that they would be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the remotest part of the earth.  It took persecution to move them out.

What will it take to move us out?  The command was to the remotest part of the earth … we still have not done that.  And now would you not agree that to the remotest parts of the United States of America the Gospel of JESUS CHRIST is needed?  What will it take to get you and me to proclaim the GOOD NEWS to America? Persecution?

So how is today Acts 8:1-13 a testimony to me that FATHER GOD is so in control?  Because the book that led me to Acts 8:1-13 is a book that I had been out of for well over a month and yet when I picked it up again, it was right on target, dovetailing and confirming that getting involved in the rescue of America is the right track for me.  And I dare say for IDOKs everywhere.

I’m telling you!  HE IS AWESOME!  He is in CONTROL of it all!!

So! What’s He speaking to you?  Do you have some ideas birthing in your heads as to what you can do?  If you do and if you will please share them with us.

See if you agree with Beth’s (Moore) Praying of God’s Word Today (page 130 of John 90 Days With The Beloved Disciple): “Like Paul–whom You used, oddly enough, to be a leading cause of scattering the early believers–I want to be able to say that I am grateful for difficult times, knowing that they actually result in the advancement of the gospel (Phil. 1:12) and a fresh sense of dependence upon You.  Therefore, I will not be ashamed when trouble comes, hoping that now as always, with all boldness, You will be highly honored in my body, whether by life or by death (Phil. 1:20). “

Philippians 1: ¹²Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.

Philippians 1: ²⁰I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.

And ending for today with a question Beth asked me on page 128. “In fact, when has ease and comfort ever drawn you closer to JESUS? Describe your walk with God when things are going smoothly. “

I’m not asking you to share your answer with me, but please do answer to the Holy Spirit.   A world of people are depending on our answers.

Again, we have come to that time we pray.  I’m here and they are there on the other side of their screens in various places, each of us with a calling on us from You.  And perhaps they like me have been talking this for a long time and wondering just when the talking will become walking.  Preparation is important and You are the King of it for this time was prepared by You before the foundation of the world so we trust You to rally us in our respective places to this Call upon us.  To whatever degree we are today prepared we are here and now reporting for service.  Today. Right now in JESUS NAME.  Today right now we invite You to display Your Glory through us in the NAME OF JESUS CHRIST.

And today right now in accordance with Your command we pray.  We pray for people.  People on our List for Prayer.  Our IDOK Soldiers. Our local churches.  Our Pastors and Leaders. Our children. Our grandchildren. Our friends and neighbors. Our spouses, sisters, brothers, cousins, nieces, and nephews.  Every living soul still on this planet that we have ever encountered however long ago.  For all of them and for ourselves we pray for a broken and contrite heart, a heart broken over our own sins and the sins of this Nation and the world; so broken that we will repent ourselves and for them and that You, Holy Spirit, will blow fresh wind and fire on us like we have never experienced before. Do not, LORD, do not allow us to say these words and get up from this screen and go on our comfortable ways and refuse to let You change us. Do Not do not let that happen to us.  I implore You, Holy Spirit, to come in Your Glory and breathe on us until we are consumed by You.  Come, LORD JESUS, Come.  Amen and amen.