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Empty Altars – Why?

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This one is still sobering to me and tonight is not the first night I’ve looked at it for a ‘chew-again’. So, tonight/today here it is.

Empty Altars – Why?

It’s winding down, a day for remembering the greatest day in all of history – the Resurrection of Jesus Christ!   This was a high attendance Sunday.  Sitting in the choir gave me an advantage. I could see that the House was full, not packed out but full enough late comers needed help to find a seat.  Which said to me with 477 people in attendance the likelihood that ALL 477 of them are saved is slim indeed.  In fact I’d say the likelihood of it is between nil and none. And when we prayed and we sang and we prayed and the altar was not flooded with folks confessing their sins and pleading to be saved, I was sad – still am.  The nearly vacant altar proclaims that many walked in this Easter Sunday morning as Christ rejecters and walked out as Christ rejecters.How can that be?  There is nothing sadder or more tragic than being a Christ Rejecter.  To have heard that we are all sinners in need of a Savior and the Savior has come and the invitation is open to all to come, taste and see The LORD is good; come, taste and see that you can be forgiven, you can miss hell and gain heaven; yet they said no.  No thank You to Jesus Christ.  Did they hold the pew until their knuckles turned white?  Why?  Why did they say No?  And one might say how do you know they said no?  Because they didn’t say yes.  Anything but a yes is a no – not today is still NO. And NO equals Christ Rejecter, however it’s dressed.

Acts 26:
27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you do believe.”
28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.” 29 And Paul said, “I would to God that not only you, but also all who hear me today, might become both almost and altogether such as I am, except for these chains.” 

I’m sad.  I’m wondering.  I’m longing to say something, do something.  Something so they will see.  Where did they all go after service? Are they remembering the words of the Pastor? Is the song It Is Finished still playing in their heads? Will there be another chance for them?  Why are the altars in the churches so vacant?  Do you know?
And what of IDOK – I have to ask.  Are we all saved? I wonder if on the receiving end of every IDOK email address if there is attached thereto a soul who has been wondrously saved.  If yes, please pray with me and for me and for yourself that the Holy Spirit will revive us, that our altars will no longer be empty. And if no (you’re not saved), why? Why would you continue to be a Christ rejecter?  Why would you say no to Him?  Why would you choose hell over heaven? Why?
Mark 8:
36 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
37 Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 

Anybody else out there feeling the same as me?  Anybody else wondering why?  Anybody else wanting to see some people saved?  What’s DADDY telling you?  What are we to do?

ABBA, talk to us.  What is required of us to see people saved?  Why are so few people coming to be saved these days in American churches? Why are altars so bare of people accepting Your Gift of Eternal Life?  What are we doing wrong?  What are we lacking?  What are we missing?  We need to know and we need to change.  We need to line up with Your Word, LORD.  Holy Spirit, please show us in practical step by steps what we are doing wrong and what You require of us and give us the courage and the will to let you change us for Jesus’ Name Sake. Amen and amen.
*****
Revelation 2:17 — His Ministry to you,
Kathie

Click HERE and pray for our today list of people and their needs. Dori and Diana still, please. And Lily.

Copy Paste Chew Again

Random Cleaning Thoughts

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I scanned post titles and this one seems to be the right one for chewing-again.

I’m working on my groove today and am stopping by our screen for a moment to put down some thoughts occurring as I’ve been cleaning that, of course, bring spiritual application to me.   You ready?  The place of cleaning shall remain nameless but let it suffice to say it was my arm’s length back into semidarkness and I was concerned about just what might jump out at me. And as soon as that thought was splashed on my brain-screen I wondered if we are like that with ABBA.  I wondered if maybe we are hesitant to probe and do spiritual cleaning because we are afraid of what He might show us.
And then while on my hands and knees in another room, I was wondering if this cleaning would be noticed. So then and there, I firmly claimed a spiritual application for us.  When we wipe down baseboards for Jesus it does not matter if Mr. Wonderful or Little Wonderfuls notice or not, because Jesus notices!  I might add HE is really good company for cleaning baseboards.   Just some thoughts.  Catch you later.I am using The Message Bible today because it was the first Translation I came to with the word ‘cleaning’.  Take a look.

Acts 15 (The Message Bible): 6-9 The apostles and leaders called a special meeting to consider the matter. The arguments went on and on, back and forth, getting more and more heated. Then Peter took the floor: “Friends, you well know that from early on God made it quite plain that He wanted the pagans to hear the Message of this good news and embrace it—and not in any secondhand or roundabout way, but firsthand, straight from my mouth. And God, who can’t be fooled by any pretense on our part but always knows a person’s thoughts, gave them the Holy Spirit exactly as He gave Him to us. He treated the outsiders exactly as He treated us, beginning at the very center of who they were and working from that center outward, cleaning up their lives as they trusted and believed Him. 

The procedure has not changed – He cleans our lives as we trust and believe Him.  Cleaning is a good thing.  It’s a God thing, within the Temple and the house wherein the ‘Temple’ resides.

Just for fun I am providing you with a link to read the other Passages in The Message Bible wherein I found the word cleaning – pretty interesting reading.
ABBA, this has been a fun one to write and yet the message is so very serious.  I pray we all take it to heart and cooperate with You in getting our ‘temples’ and our homes clean.  I pray we will de-clutter our lives; that we will learn from You to rid ourselves of the chaos.  Somehow I suspect Heaven has clean attics and closets – help us do the same here.
Thank You for other opportunities to pray.  . . .  And our IDOK Troops, we pray again for their safety and protection of spirit, soul and body and for each a safe and sound return home.  For their families to be helped in practical ways and for them to experience You close and caring for them.   I pray for Israel; for Her protection, peace and prosperity and for the defeat of all Her enemies.  . . .  ABBA, I pray You will have mercy on America . . ..  And now as this day is winding down I pray for all our IDOKs and Readers, and I ask that You grant sleep and rest to each.  I also ask that You raise up that praying army and please let me be one of the warriors to bring local bodies of Christian Believers back to being first and foremost Houses of Prayer.  Take this devotion, Your Word and our prayers and be exalted LORD. Amen and amen.
*****
Revelation 2:17 — His Ministry to you,
Kathie
Click HERE and pray for our present requests.  Please continue to pray for Dori.
Copy Paste Chew Again

SOS Praising

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I hope you all have experienced the Presence and Power of JESUS this weekend.  Today’s re-post is just as right on now as it was then. It is just what I need in this moment to ‘chew again’. And I am believing it is for some of you too.

Please be in prayer for Dori. The graft is dying; we need some tissue with life to take hold and grow. LaJuanna’s Aunt Sandra is having surgery Monday morning (8/15/11) – prayer needed.

Click HERE to read original post
I am anticipating that what I will be putting on this screen in the next several minutes is going to be way out there for some of you.  In fact it may be so out there that some of you may click out shortly; but I’m pressing on.  If my radical nuttiness will help just one, I’m all for it.  It works for me and perhaps there is one other out there it will work for too.  It takes practice and today’s success was not an overnight one.  It’s been years in the making. The practice is so versatile; it can be adapted to many, if not all, situations.  Here’s the deal.  In the natural, I am a so seriously messed up human that dropping an item of clothing on the floor while making my way from the dryer to the bedroom to fold the clothes has in the past resulted in some negative emotions and some unhealthy self soul talk. But today, I caught myself doing some SOS Praising instead. What’s even better, it was spontaneous!  I didn’t, this time, have to consciously will myself to do it!  It went something like this: ‘LORD, thank You for the opportunity to bend over and pick this up.  What a blessing it is to use these muscles.  Thank You. I feel that; it feels good.  Thank You.’
That’s it … that’s my message for today. Hope it’s helpful. And here’s our Biblical Support Text (I like that too – Biblical Support Text, BST):
2 Corinthians 10:4-6 (New Century Version) 4 We fight with weapons that are different from those the world uses. Our weapons have power from God that can destroy the enemy’s strong places. We destroy people’s arguments 5 and every proud thing that raises itself against the knowledge of God. We capture every thought and make it give up and obey Christ.
Radical nuttiness or not, I’m sold on SOS Praising.  It works for me and y’all are welcome to try it on and give it a test run anytime.

This was fun, ABBA, and best of all it works.  Thank You.  Somehow I just believe You are pleased with my radical nuttiness.  I sure am.  And amid this radical nuttiness and SOS Praising, I have some SOS praying to do too. You know there are some hurting souls, close to my heart.  Ones that are in real need of help with stuff they can’t fix, can’t control, can’t solve, can’t make others behave, can’t make others listen to sound doctrine or wisdom, can’t make others love the way they should; so I am asking You, LORD, to intervene with courage and peace to the hurting ones and with correction and arresting of bad and hurtful behavior to offenders everywhere. Have mercy on them, LORD, and grant them grace to repent and give them reasons to see that repentance is desirable I pray.  Have mercy, DADDY, have mercy.

Please continue to protect our IDOK Troops in every place they are, hostile places abroad and here at home. It is our petition that they be safe and sound in spirit, soul and body.  It is our desire that each of them come home safe and sound, that none be lost in their fields of service.  Our list remains the same for the moment; hearts still waiting for relief, souls still needing to be made whole; folks waiting to know what to do and that’s just the general stuff; so glad You know all the specifics too and we know You are attending to each one.  Thank You, ABBA.  And I’m still thinking about what is required of us to see people saved and still asking You to bring me to the place of readiness to do what You require in Jesus Name and for His sake.  And I’m still praying for Israel; still praying for America; still praying for churches to be Houses of Prayer; still praying for American Leaders to repent; . . .    Amen and amen.

******
Revelation 2:17 – His Ministry to you,
Kathie

Click HERE and pray for today’s list.   Lily still needs much prayer too. No word on Carson – any of y’all know about him, please let me know.

Copy Paste Chew Again

Chop, Chop, Pull

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Click HERE to read original post.
I did a little gardening yesterday; no, my back, my hands and my knees are correcting me – I did a lot of gardening yesterday, at least for me.  Did you know, you really have to dig and pull to get monkey grass up?  And call me crazy, but after awhile of that a comparison settled in on me. It did not take too many times of chop, chop, pull for me to begin to enjoythe sound of roots breaking loose from the soil.  And with that sound I wondered aloud if ABBA enjoys that sound too.Shall I explain?  Sometimes we have roots – weed roots.  Roots like bitterness, un-forgiveness, unbelief, to just name a few, growing in our hearts.  And being daughters and sons He loves ABBA has no choice, He has to chop, chop, pull to get those things out of us.  So in my ‘sanctified imagination’ I compared my enjoyment of my ‘monkey grass sounds’ to what He may ‘hear’ when as we read His Word and pray, and our weed roots start breaking loose from the soil of our hearts and our habits; does He enjoy that sound? I think He does.  I think it is music to His ears.  It sure was to mine yesterday because I knew when I heard those sounds that it would not be but a few more pulls and that monkey grass would be out of my garden!  Yep!  Yesterday I was rejoicing to monkey grass sounds.  Will ABBA be rejoicing today to similar sounds?  Dare any of us think we have no weeds growing?  How about we make some noise today?  Chop, Chop, Pull!

Hebrews 12:
7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?
8 But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.
9 Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?
10 For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness.
11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
14 Pursue peace with all people,  and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:
15 looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled;
28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.
Some may call me crazy, ABBA, but I don’t care, I enjoyed writing this message today – it’s cute to me but at the same time a really good message I think. And You know as I was pulling that monkey grass yesterday I really did wonder with You if You enjoy the sound of entrenched roots coming loose and letting go from our hearts and our habits.  Even if there is no real sound other than our praise and Your delight, I still enjoyed thinking of it and writing about it this morning.  I am grateful for the fun we have together. I am grateful for You LORD JESUS and the Event of all events we are about to celebrate – Your Sacrificial Death and Glorious Resurrection – so I can even have such a relationship with You to wonder and enjoy You.  Thank You.  I am so looking forward to seeing You Face to face.
And this morning we know we are so privileged and we are honored to bring this list of names to You in prayer.  It is so good that we can time after time come and each time You will hear us and You are all the while responding, tending and healing us.  Thank You. Thank You for what You are doing and shall yet do for each one of these.  Thank You for tending and protecting our IDOK Troops.  I am so very grateful for the safety You have given each one on our list here.  You are so good to us and we love You so much, ABBA.  In You, loving You, obeying You, fellowshipping with You, life is good even when hard stuff comes.  You make it all worthwhile.  You are Awesome.  As we sum this up, I pray for our IDOKs and our Readers today, for peace, for safety, and for some chop, chop, pull today. I pray we will make some noise with roots letting go that are growing some pretty nasty stuff. We want to have hearts like lovely gardens, beautiful fruit that feeds all You send our way.  You are so good to let us be co-laborers with You.  And yet I must say, please forgive me for growing the weeds of laziness and procrastination that so hinders me from helping people.  Make some noise in me today, ABBA, in Jesus name. Amen and amen.
*****
Revelation 2:17– His Ministry to you,
Kathie
Click HERE and pray for today’s needs — Dori for sure.