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Quote of The Day
Faith in a prayer-hearing God will make a prayer-living believer!
(Andrew Murray)
Who or what do you have faith in?
- The government?
- Yourself and your abilities?
- Your bank account?
- ….?
- Or God?
Only one of the above is the correct answer. No matter how many options you add to the list, there is still only one answer. That answer is God! And, if your faith is in Him, through His Son, the Jewish Messiah, you will believe in prayer. In fact, you will actually pray! You will be a prayer-living believer! And we do not pray to get what we want; we pray to activate God’s will on earth!
Have you been praying that His will be done and His kingdom will come on earth?
Until next time…May He bless you and keep you. May He look upon you and give you His peace in Yeshua!
Bill
Quote & Question of The Day
Prayer without a Biblical foundation can become wishful thinking. Michael Catt
Are you praying according to God’s Word or according to your own desires, thus treating Him as a servant there to do your bidding?
Until next time…May the Lord bless and keep you in His care.
Bill
National Day of Prayer is 5.7.2020
National Day of Prayer
This Thursday, 5/7, is the annual National Day of Prayer. Your congregation may be holding an online prayer meeting in lieu of a public gathering. However, in the event that they are not the following are some online prayer/worship events being held this week as well as a couple from Israel. This is a time for us to be praying for our Nation, the Nation of Israel, and other nations around the world, not just regarding the COVID-19 coronavirus, but for the salvation of mankind.
Tonight, 5/5, at 8 pm ET, the National Day of Prayer organization is sponsoring an online worship and prayer event. It will be streamed on Facebook Live at https://www.facebook.com/natlprayer/
Wednesday 5/6, at 9 am ET, ICEJ (International Christian Embassy Jerusalem) is holding an online prayer event to pray regarding the coronavirus crisis and its impact on Israel and the nations. Prayer will be led by key ministry leaders from Israel and other countries. Prayer will be offered in a number of languages, with translation into several languages. To receive an invitation to the Zoom meeting, you must subscribe to their email list at Join the Isaiah 62 Prayer Campaign for Call-in Details. (This link is a pledge to pray, not a request for a donation, but you will start receiving their emails, not just the links to these Zoom meetings.)
Thursday has 3 events:
- 9 am ET, ICEJ will be hosting a Zoom meeting “Calling to God Together” [which] will unite Jews and Christians around the globe in prayer together – with Christian and Jewish community leaders reading through the Book of Psalms in the original Hebrew and in various other national languages, and in an attitude of reverence and faith that Adonai (the Lord) will hear our prayers and answer from heaven. To receive an invitation to the Zoom meeting, you must subscribe to their email list Join the Isaiah 62 Prayer Campaign for Call-in Details. (You only need to subscribe once and you’ll receive an invitation to both the 5/6 meeting and this one.)
- 12 noon to 2 pm: Intercessors for America and the One Voice Prayer Movement will be hosting a special National Day of Prayer edition webcast on Thursday, May 7th from 12-2:00 pm ET. Prayer leaders from around the nation will be sharing prayer points, insight on national prayer topics, and leading us in prayer as we honor the President’s declaration of a National Day of Prayer. Join the LIVE webcast on Thursday by visiting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbsB3XlfHkE or watch on the One Voice Prayer Movement website.
- 8-10 pm: The annual National Day of Prayer broadcast will be streamed online as well as on GodTV, Daystar TV, and others. I don’t have the streaming link, but it should be available on their website, https://www.nationaldayofprayer.org/. I suspect that it will be streamed on their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/natlprayer/ You can learn more about these events at their respective websites. If you have any problems connecting, you should be able to find the latest information
Until next time…”May the LORD bless and protect you…May He give you Shalom.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
Bill
Sabbath Eve Prayer
Erev Shabbat Prayer
I noticed the following in my notes and thought that it made a good prayer for Erev Shabbat. (Sabbath Evening – the evening before Shabbath)
“Father, I thank You for never ceasing to communicate with me. But so often I let Your voice be drowned out by other noises and let other lovers steal from my time with You. I must get back to that which is most important. You are worthy of the highest affections of my heart. Yeshua, I thank You for responding to my repentant heart and drawing near to me. I desire to live wholly yielded with a pure heart that honors You in all things. May my heart be captivated by Your heart and mesmerized by Your words, over and over again. The harsh yoke of frustration, concern, and even worry, I take off now and lay down at Your cross.
“I can never let my health, disposition, or relationships suffer again at the mercy of life’s disturbances–balance is what I need. Holy Spirit, help me to continually break away from the bustle and shut out all the noise. Today I choose to cease from striving, so that with singleness of heart, I can rest at Your Feet, Yeshua, and be washed in Your Words and Your Love. May frustration and worry never crowd out of my life precious opportunities to enjoy the pleasure of Your company.”
Adopted from “The Pleasure of His Company: A Journey to Intimate Friendship with God” by Dutch Sheets. See Luke 10:38-42; James 1:7-8; James 4:8; Ps 86:11; Matt 11:29-30; Ps 46:10; Ps 23:1-3
Until the next time…May the LORD bless and protect you…May He give you Shalom. (Numbers 6:24-26)
BillShabbat Shalom
S
habbat Shalom on this beautiful Sat., April 4. Even if your sky where you are is gray and/or it’s raining, it’s still beautiful because it is the Lord’s Day!
Shabbat comes from the Hebrew root Shin-Beit-Tav, meaning to cease, to end, or to rest.
Shalom means “peace”, but not just the absence of strife, it means complete peace. It means peace, safety, harmony, wholeness, completeness, prosperity, welfare and tranquility and it can refer to either peace between two entities, or the well-being, welfare or safety of an individual or a group of individuals.
Shabbat Shalom, literally, “Sabbath peace” or “peaceful Sabbath”, means something to the effect of “Have a Sabbath full of peace, safety, harmony, wholeness, completeness, prosperity, welfare and tranquility.” Wow, that is a mouthful! So, where does that all-encompassing peace come from? The only source of such all-encompassing peace is your Father, God, the creator of the universe. Nothing else gives the peace that He does and He does it now and forever, as it says in Ps 121:
I look up toward the hills.
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
He will not allow my foot to slip;
He who keeps me will not sleep!
Behold, He who keeps me [His child, a follower of Yeshua]
will neither slumber nor sleep.The Lord is my protector;
the Lord is my shade on my right hand.
The sun shall not strike me by day,
nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep me from all harm;
He will protect my life.
The Lord will protect me in all that I do
from this time forth and forevermore.
(Ps 121. ESV, NET, emphasis mine)
Then why are we experiencing a worldwide pandemic? Nowhere in Scripture does God promise that we will be free from trials, from problems. But He does promise to give us His peace in the midst of them and, if we are truly His follower, to use them for our good, to teach us to rely on Him in all circumstances. (1 Pet 1:6; James 1:2-4; Rom 8:28)
Until the next time…May the LORD bless and protect you…May He give you Shalom. (Numbers 6:24-26)
BillExodus 15 for COVID-19
I was reading Exodus 15, Moses’ Song of Triumph and Praise to HaShem following their miraculous escape from Pharaoh and his army. I noticed that it could be applied to our current situation. Although Moses was praising HaShem after their escape, I think the prayer can be applied as petition and praise for what Adonai will do, is doing, and, will have done—in the near future. Praying Exodus 15 is especially appropriate at this time and as we enter the Passover and Ressurection Sunday season.
I like praying Scripture, personalizing it as appropriate and making it my own prayer, applying it to current situations as a covering for my family and friends. But whether we adopt Scripture, praying it in the first person singular or in the plural tense, modifying the wording to do so, or pray it exactly as written, Scripture can inform our prayers mightily.
So, here is my take on what Moses might have sung if they had escaped COVID-19.
Then all followers of Yeshua HaMashiach sang this song to the Lord, saying,
“I will sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously; the COVID-19 virus He has thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation; He is my God, and I will praise Him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. The Lord is a man of war; the Lord is His name!
“COVID-19 and its virion*, He cast into the sea, and this spreading virus’ droplets were sunk never to be seen. The floods of soap engulfed them; they went down into the depths like a stone. Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power, Your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy—COVID-19! In the greatness of your majesty You overthrow COVID-19; You send out your fury; it consumes the virus like stubble. At the blast of Your nostrils, the protective virion bubble breaks; the DNA and RNA are destroyed. COVID-19 said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them. I will multiply; my infectious agent shall destroy them.’ You blew with Your wind; the Blood of Yeshua engulfed it; it sank like lead never to be seen again.
“Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders? You stretched out your right hand; the earth swallowed COVID-19.
“You have led in your steadfast love the people whom You have redeemed You have guided us by your strength to your holy abode. The peoples have heard; they tremble; pangs have seized the inhabitants of the World. Now are the chiefs of countries dismayed; trembling seizes the leaders who don’t believe; Terror and dread fall upon them; because of the greatness of Your arm, they are still as a stone, ‘ till your people, O Lord, pass by, ‘till the people pass by whom You have purchased. You will bring them in and plant them on Your own mountain, the place, O Lord, which you have made for Your abode, the sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established. The Lord will reign forever and ever.”
Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing. And Miriam sang to them: “Sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously; the COVID-19 virus He has thrown into the sea.”
(Based on Exodus 15:1–21)
* Virion are the individual virus particles that contain the RNA and DNA core
Until the next time…“May the LORD bless you and watch, guard, and keep you; May the LORD make His face to shine upon and enlighten you and be gracious (kind, merciful, and giving favor) to you; May the LORD lift up His face toward you and give you peace (tranquility of heart and life continually).” (Numbers 6:24-26)
Bill
Prayer Focus 03.30.2020
Around 8 am yesterday, as I was having my coffee, I heard fire engines and ambulances flying down a major road a few blocks from my home. How could I tell they were flying, you ask? I’m glad you asked :-). They were sounding every siren and horn possible. Now, remember, this was a COVID-19 Sunday morning. Traffic is very light on this part of that road most Sunday mornings, so I’m sure it was extra light yesterday. They wouldn’t have needed to make all that noise if they weren’t in one big hurry and needed to ensure no one accidentally got in the way.
When I realized what was going on, I listened in on the Broadcastify app and from what I could tell after they arrived at the scene, the emergency involved a hemorrhage. Definitely a serious emergency, so there were probably multiple engines and ambulances involved, hence all the noise. Whenever there is a serious medical 911 call (they probably didn’t know it involved someone hemorrhaging), our city dispatches multiple crews to ensure sufficient resources are at the scene. Our emergency responders were definitely on-the-job yesterday! While I’m sure they are taking extra precautions at this time, their first priority was to attend to a fellow citizen in distress regardless of the risk involved.
We often take our first responders for granted. They are always there when needed, safely taking whatever risks are required to meet the situation. We talk about them putting their lives on the line daily, especially the police, but during this COVID-19 plague they are putting themselves at greater risk. It may “be their job”, but if a first responder contracts the virus, their teammates could be exposed as well as family members.
L
et’s pray Adonai’s protection over our police, firemen, EMS personnel, and military. Give Adonai praise for their dedication and the skills that He has given them to help us.
“If life was too easy, would it be worth living? My answer is no; the tough times are what makes life worth living.” Rick Hoyt, in One Letter at a Time (an inspiring book you should read)
Rick Hoyt in “One Letter at a Time” (an inspiring book to read)
Until the next time…May the LORD bless and protect you…May He give you Shalom. (Numbers 6:24-26)
Bill
Prayer Regarding COVID-19
Good morning, all. I haven’t posted in some time — way too long. Given that most of us have restricted our lives due to COVID-19, I thought I’d send out some prayer points and encouragement. First, I’d like to invite you to join me and others at 7 PM tonight in “long-distance, virtual” prayer by joining my wife and me in prayer at 7 pm tonight. Wherever you are (hopefully not in a crowd), take a few minutes to pray regarding an end to this plague worldwide, for the health of your family and your friends around the world.
Pray for “calm in the midst of the storm” This thing has disrupted our lives, our plans. Notice I said “our lives, our plans.” Some of those plans were our own; some were HaShem’s. This is an opportunity to look to Him to see, to watch, how He is going to carry each of us through, allowing Him to handle our lives. Remain vigilant for ways that He can use you to help and encourage others, even as you look for toilet paper😉.
Pray for all those who are affected economically by the temporary loss of jobs or loss of business. Hopefully, none of you are in that situation, but if you are, HaShem will provide. Do not, for any reason, remove your eyes, your trust, from Him.
Pray for students, pre-K through college. It isn’t just their mode of education that has changed. The plans of seniors are being disrupted. We have two granddaughters who are graduating in May, one from high school, and one from college. To the best of my knowledge, neither ceremony has been canceled. For all seniors, the impact of the virus on the completion of this stage of their education can have a big impact on future plans. However, through this, HaShem may show them something better than they thought was in plan. Pray that they will turn to the LORD for comfort and direction.
Many other plans have been disrupted. Another of our granddaughters has a wedding planned in May. Though she is trusting in her Savior, she is still very concerned how this will all work out. Besides the possibility that they will not be able to hold the wedding as planned, most of her fiancée’s family must be able to travel from England.
Pray that the community support that we are seeing all around us will continue throughout this event and beyond. Pray also that many will come to salvation in their Messiah, Yeshua.
I share these items to ask for prayer, of course, but also in hope that they will bring to mind situations that you are aware of so that you can pray for them as well.
As Ps 91: 1-4 says:
As for you, the one who lives in the shelter [the secret place] of the Sovereign One [the Most High], and resides in [shall remain stable and fixed under] the protective shadow of the Mighty King [El Shaddai, whose power no foe can withstand]—
I say this about our Lord, our shelter and our stronghold,
Our God in whom we confidently trust!
He will certainly rescue us from the snare of the hunter and from the destructive plague.
He will cover us with His wings; we will find safety under His wings. His truth and faithfulness are like a shield or a protective wall.
{Bill’s paraphrase from the NET and Amplified Bibles}
May HaShem bless and encourage all of us as we walk through this time together.
Until the next time…”May the LORD bless you and watch, guard, and keep you; May the LORD make His face to shine upon and enlighten you and be gracious (kind, merciful, and giving favor) to you; May the LORD lift up His face toward you and give you peace (tranquility of heart and life continually).” (Numbers 6:24-26)
Bill
Its the Little Things
I had to share this as a word of encouragement. So often, when we experience life’s struggles or are praying for someone and not seeing the ultimate solutions we so desire, we get discouraged and miss the “little” ways in which Adonai is operating.
(I am not sure, but it appears that the Cressman’s may be missionaries in Africa. Please pray for them. I know the story is accurate because of how I received it.)
Today’s update on Isaiah Cressman
It’s the little things!!
Sometimes the big, huge, earth-shattering, Faith-testing crisis hit us and we look for the huge, instant, spontaneous act that answers our prayers. At times, God chooses to act that way, but more often (especially in my life) God loves us so much that we are shown His love, providence and intervention in a million different ‘little things’ that add up to something so much bigger.
That sums up the journey we are currently on!
- It was the ‘littlest’ of things that started this journey—a teeny tiny mosquito (and believe me–African mosquitoes are small).
- It was little symptoms over a course of only 2 days (headache, small fever, no energy) that led us to take him in.
- It was one doctor intervening and taking control of his case and giving us solid medical advice, ‘just in time’. She stayed with us, prayed with us, and basically ‘lived at the hospital’ for two days helping us make the medical decisions necessary to save him.
- It was our ‘little’ band of believers who took over the waiting room praying, singing and interceding.
- It was the ‘over and above’ care of two doctors We had only briefly met at Flood church who monitored Isaiah ALL DAY Wednesday on top of their already impossible schedules, as well as a team of visiting doctors who all gave us the life saving advice to transport.
- It was God putting on the medivac plane a doctor who wouldn’t quit on us or Isaiah until he was at the ‘right’ hospital (even tho it extended their already long day until 3 am)
- It is the OUTSTANDING care Isaiah has received ever since stepping foot in Sunninghill Hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa; from registration and check in to emergency care, stabilization, Intensive Care, the BEST doctors and nurses—the whole ball of wax!!!
- It is the first sleep we have gotten following 3 consecutive sleepless nights.
- It is Isaiah’s ICU nurse who spent an hour this morning explaining everything entailed in Isaiah’s condition and just sympathizing with us and loving on us.
- It is the hundreds and hundreds of little notes, encouragements, Bible verses, comments on FB and texts telling us that 1000’s of you are lifting Isaiah and us to the throne. (Sorry it is impossible to respond to each and every one….updates will have to do for
- now.) But believe me…each one is read and cried over as we realize how huge and connected the family of God is. All us ‘littles’ make one huge ‘big’ !!!!
- It is the fact that Isaiah’s fever is gone and his blood pressure medicine has been reduced!!
- It is that his kidneys have produced 2 cc’s of urine—not a lot , but we are praising Him for the ‘little ‘ things, remember?!?
- It is the fact that, although still on a ventilator and sedated, the medical staff has been able to decrease the amount of oxygen being given so the lungs are showing the beginning stages of improvement.
- It is standing at the foot of his bed touching and massaging his feet and feeling and seeing a physical response from him, although he is sedated.
It is the ‘little things’ friends. The little things that bind us together, hold us together, and bring us encouragement on the darkest days.
Praising Him today for The ‘Little things’ and the ‘big’ difference they all make!!!
Isaiah continues to show small signs of improvement and healing. Keep praying and know that your prayers, no matter how ‘little’, are making a huge difference in his healing and strengthen our faith daily!!!
Blessings and love to you all️
🏻
️
Cindy Cressman
Until next time…“May the LORD bless and protect you…May He give you Shalom.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
Bill
Important Prayer for President Trump
We received a prayer alert from a credible source that we need to be praying for President Trump’s safety. According to Pastor Rodney Howard Brown, there is an all out effort to remove President Trump, including via assassination. He received this information during a meeting with an unnamed high ranking congressman. You can view his statement at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-V0ZV2glhJk. (I don’t like unnamed sources, but in this case, I understand why the congressman would not want to be named.)
We should always include the President and Congress in our prayers, but I agree that an extra focus is necessary at this time. Regardless of how we may feel about our current President, Scripture directs us to pray for those in authority. Please pray for his protection and for a restoration of the centrality of Adonai in our nation.
Until next time…“May the LORD bless and protect you…May He give you Shalom.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
Bill
WJB's Turn 