Posted on 06/23/2005 7:51:21 PM PDT by kayak
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
We are reeling today with the news of the Supreme Court decision that came down today about private property rights and so we come to You for guidance; we search Your Word for consolation. And, as always, You provide us with the perspective we need and You bring us calm amid our confusion. You are our Rock and our sure Foundation, never changing, always faithful. Lord, we bow before You in humble gratitude for Your goodness and mercy. We thank You for loving us when we are so unlovable. We stand in awe before Your glory and Your might. Hallowed be Your Name forever and ever.
Lord, You inspired our forefathers to write the greatest document of freedom in the history of mankind. You instilled in them a reverence for the liberty that is not borne of man but is Your gift to all of humanity. And today our Supreme Court has tossed all that in the trash bin. Satan seems to be running amok in our nation, O Lord. Our Senators have taken upon themselves powers they do not have; politicians seem to have forgotten that their calling is to serve their constituents and act for the greater good while preserving individual liberties. We cry out to You in our distress, O Father, and Your words remind us that it is not our earthly possessions that matter but our spiritual treasures. As we respond to the outrages by our government leaders, let our first allegiance be to You and Your commandments. Help us to seek Your will and act according to Your standards. Let calm and rationality consistent with Your precepts prevail in our nation even as we seek ways to demand that those in government lead according to the wishes of the people.
We confess the sins of our nation, O Lord, and despair of the depths to which many have sunk. A culture of death and depravity is overtaking us; immorality and licentiousness are rampant; many even seek to remove Your Name from public places. We throw ourselves on Your mercy, O Lord, and plead with You to revive our nation; restore in us a desire to please You and to hallow Your Name. Heal our land, O Father!
Caught up in this turmoil of today's world is a good man who serves us as President. George W. Bush calls Your Name and studies Your Word, spending time in fellowship with You each day. He reaches out to our nation, striving to lead us in the right way. And for this he is reviled and ridiculed and thwarted at his every turn. Lord, place Your wisdom within his heart; fill him with determination to do what is right according to Your will; and give him the strength and courage to follow through regardless of the obstacles that the enemies of truth and justice put before him. Guide his every step, Lord, and keep him safe from all harm. Watch over those whose job it is to protect him for their risks are great. Bless his beloved Laura and let their marriage remain a haven of solace and strength for them both as they honor their vows both to You and to each other.
When we think of those in our military through the ages who have fought and died to preserve the liberty that You have bestowed upon us, we are angered that their sacrifices have been ignored by the Supreme Court decision today. Even today we have tens of thousands of troops in harm's way, defending freedom in other countries while our own freedoms are being chipped away by our own government. Lord, we lift those in our military up to You, asking for Your divine protection for them and for encouragement as they carry out their noble mission. Bless them with bravery and perception to detect the enemy and bring him to justice. Heal those who have suffered injuries and comfort the families of those who have given their lives in the service of our nation. In the blessed Name of Jesus. Amen.
Please give Your servant, George W. Bush, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and power, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. We ask this in the Name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
AMEN DEAR SISTERS!
GRACE TO ALL BRETHREN!
"Waiting for the adoption."
- Romans 8:23
Even in this world saints are God's children, but men cannot discover them
to be so, except by certain moral characteristics. The adoption is not
manifested, the children are not yet openly declared. Among the Romans a
man might adopt a child, and keep it private for a long time: but there
was a second adoption in public; when the child was brought before the
constituted authorities its former garments were taken off, and the father
who took it to be his child gave it raiment suitable to its new condition
of life. "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear
what we shall be." We are not yet arrayed in the apparel which befits the
royal family of heaven; we are wearing in this flesh and blood just what
we wore as the sons of Adam; but we know that "when he shall appear" who
is the "first-born among many brethren," we shall be like him, we shall
see him as he is. Cannot you imagine that a child taken from the lowest
ranks of society, and adopted by a Roman senator, would say to himself, "I
long for the day when I shall be publicly adopted. Then I shall leave off
these plebeian garments, and be robed as becomes my senatorial rank"?
Happy in what he has received, for that very reason he groans to get the
fulness of what is promised him. So it is with us today. We are waiting
till we shall put on our proper garments, and shall be manifested as the
children of God. We are young nobles, and have not yet worn our coronets.
We are young brides, and the marriage day is not yet come, and by the
love our Spouse bears us, we are led to long and sigh for the bridal
morning.
Our very happiness makes us groan after more; our joy, like a swollen
spring, longs to well up like an Iceland geyser, leaping to the skies, and
it heaves and groans within our spirit for want of space and room by which
to manifest itself to men.
C.H.SPURGEON!
The Desperate Desire for Deliverance
Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one.
But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days
without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
Acts 9:8,9
We must pass through dreadful darkness before we are able to enjoy what it means to live in the light. So Saul had to confront the reality of being without God and without hope before he was ready to have his sins washed away (Acts 22:16).
It is through seasons of hunger that God teaches us to relish the feast He has for us. Moses reminded Israel of this when he reviewed the difficult days of their wilderness wandering: "So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord" (Deuteronomy 8:3). Few in Israel, however, learned the lessons that their hunger might have taught them, and we err in just the same way when God withdraws His presence from us and we think no higher thoughts than those of complaint and self-pity.
Darkness is scary. But those who never leave the false light of self-sufficiency doom themselves to a darkness that only grows more dark as eternity stretches on. It is only to those who have learned what reverence means that God says, "The Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings" (Malachi 4:2).
A deepened sense of our own sin is not a thing to be regretted, even though it is attended by terrible pain. The gospel means little to so many because so few have passed through any dark night of the soul that would enable them to appreciate the light. So few love God because so few have any depth of gratitude for forgiveness, and this is simply because they have never known what it is like to desperately desire deliverance. Night is, after all, that which should guide us toward the daylight, and for this night -- this awful, blessed night -- we should give humble thanks.
In that happy night, in secret, seen of none, seeing nought myself, without other light or guide save that which in my heart was burning. That light guided me more surely than the noonday sun to the place where He was waiting for me . . .
O, guiding night;
O, night more lovely than the dawn . .
GODBLESS OUR PRESIDENT,LAND AND TROOPS!
5 SOLAS!
In Agreement with your Petitions Today and Everyday, sister Kayak! Hear our Prayers, our Great King in Heaven!
Yes, Kayak, and amen. Lord, show mercy and great grace. Preserve us for the sake of the righteous remnant.
In our eyes, we don't see how it can be done, but we stand firm and say, "The Lord is my helper. With Him, all things are possible." We pray according to and in accordance with Your will, Lord, for those in authority and receive Your promise of a quiet, godly life.
Thank You for Your Word, Oh King. Amen.
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