Posted on 12/18/2004 10:13:05 AM PST by Faith
1 Peter 3: 10-12
Whoever would love life and see good days
must keep his tongue from evil
and his lips from deceitful speech.
He must turn from evil and do good;
he must seek peace and pursue it.
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
and His ears are attentive to their prayer,
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.
May Your Holy Eyes be upon those who gather here today, Lord, and may Your Ears be attentive to our prayers. We bow before You in praise and adoration for being our Creator, and for sending Your Son, Jesus Christ to be born of a virgin in lowly humbleness, to live among us, and to die in payment for our sins so that our fellowship with You might be restored. Father, help us to never turn away from that fellowship or allow our lives to be used by satan. Impart to us the urgency of sharing Your love with others, so that more may come to know You and accept Your gift of eternal life.
Faithful God, we ask that You would give our President a love for life and a desire to see Your goodness around him. Help him always to keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. Grant him the continued desire to use words that build up, edifying others and encouraging them in their work for the Lord. Fill him with everything he needs to lead the pursuit of peace, not only in this nation, but in the world. Thank you for the courage You have given him to confront the obstacles of peace---terrorist regimes led by those who hate You and power-thirsty despots who seek personal gain with no regard for the people whom they lead. In the face of tremendous criticism by the noisy minority of this world, You have caused our President to stand tall and strong, knowing that You have made him an instrument of Your peace. We ask You, Father, to prepare a beautiful day of inaguration for him in January, and we pray for the joy of America to swell in grateful remembrance of Your answer to our prayers for his re-election.
Holy Father, hold fast our military men and women, and provide comfort for them and their families as they spend the Holy Day apart from their loved ones. Lord, please comfort and strengthen those in Iraq as they endure tremendous trials and help them to be victorious in every venture. We ask for stability and peace during the upcoming elections, and we pray that the door would be open for the sharing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in their land. Prepare the hearts of the Iraqi people, Lord, that the truth of Your Word may be received and accepted.
Father, we thank You for bringing joy to this world through Your Sons birth. May all people receive the gift of our King and the salvation that He was sent to bring us. Let every heart make room for Him, and may the glories of His righteousness and the wonders of His love be the source of joy for us all. In the Name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and King. Amen.
AMEN FAITH AND AMEN ALL!
GRACE AND BLESSINGS TO YOU BRETHREN!
WISHING ALL A BLESSED MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
1:1 In (1) the (a) beginning (b) was (c) the Word, and the Word was (d) with God, and the (e) Word was God.
(1) The Son of God is of one and the selfsame eternity or everlastingness, and of one and the selfsame essence or nature with the Father. (a) From the beginning, as the evangelist says in 1Jo 1:1; it is as though he said that the Word did not begin to have his being when God began to make all that was made: for the Word was even then when all things that were made began to be made, and therefore he was before the beginning of all things. (b) Had his being. (c) This word "the" points out to us a peculiar and choice thing above all others, and puts a difference between this "Word", which is the Son of God, and the laws of God, which are also called the word of God. (d) This word "with" points out that there is a distinction of persons here. (e) This word "Word" is the first in order in the sentence, and is the subject of the sentence, and this word "God" is the latter in order, and is the predicate of the sentence.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
1:3 (2) All (f) things were made by him; and (g) without him (h) was not any thing made that was made.
(2) The Son of God declares that his everlasting Godhead is the same as the Father's, both by the creating of all things, and also by preserving them, and especially by the excellent gifts of reason and understanding with which he has beautified man above all other creatures. (f) Paul expounds on this in Col 1:15-16. (g) That is, as the Father did work, so did the Son work with him: for the Son was a fellow worker with him. (h) Of all those things which were made, nothing was made without him.
4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
1:4 (i) In him (k) was life; and the life was (l) the light of men.
(i) That is, by him: and this is spoken after the manner of the Hebrews, meaning by this that by his force and working power all life comes to the world. (k) That is, even at that time when all things were made by him, for otherwise he would have said, "Life in him", and not "life was". (l) That force of reason and understanding which is kindled in our minds to acknowledge him, the author of so great a benefit.
5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
1:5 (3) And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness (m) comprehended it not.
(3) The light of men is turned into darkness, but yet there is enough clearness so that they are without excuse. (m) They could not perceive nor reach it to receive any light from it, no, they did not so much as acknowledge him.
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
1:6 (4) There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
(4) There is another more full manifestation of the Son of God, by the consideration of which men are in good time stirred up, even to John's voice, who is as it were the herald of Christ.
7 This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe.
1:7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men (n) through him might believe.
(n) Through John.
8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
1:8 He was not (o) that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
(o) That light which we spoke of, that is, Christ, who alone can enlighten our darkness.
9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.
1:9 (5) That was (p) the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
(5) When the Son of God saw that men did not acknowledge him by his works, although they were endued with understanding (which he had given to all of them), he exhibited himself unto his people to be seen by them with their physical eyes: yet not even then did they acknowledge him or receive him. (p) Who alone and properly deserves to be called the light, for he shines by his own accord and borrows light from no one.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.
1:10 (q) He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
(q) The person of the Word was made manifest even at that time when the world was made.
11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.
1:11 He came (r) unto his own, and his own received him not.
(r) The Word showed himself again when he came in the flesh.
(NKJV)
JOHN 1 1-11 [WITH GENEVA BIBLE NOTES]
"Intercessory Prayer"
"...men always ought to pray and not lose heart."
Luke 18:1
You cannot truly intercede through prayer if you do not believe in the reality of redemption. Instead, you will simply be turning intercession into useless sympathy for others, which will serve only to increase the contentment they have for remaining out of touch with God. True intercession involves bringing the person, or the circumstance that seems to be crashing in on you, before God, until you are changed by His attitude toward that person or circumstance. Intercession means to "fill up ... [with] what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ" (Colossians 1:24), and this is precisely why there are so few intercessors. People describe intercession by saying, "It is putting yourself in someone else's place." That is not true! Intercession is putting yourself in God's place; it is having His mind and His perspective.
As an intercessor, be careful not to seek too much information from God regarding the situation you are praying about, because you may be overwhelmed. If you know too much, more than God has ordained for you to know, you can't pray; the circumstances of the people become so overpowering that you are no longer able to get to the underlying truth.
Our work is to be in such close contact with God that we may have His mind about everything, but we shirk that responsibility by substituting doing for interceding. And yet intercession is the only thing that has no drawbacks, because it keeps our relationship completely open with God.
What we must avoid in intercession is praying for someone to be simply "patched up". We must pray that person completely through into contact with the very life of God. Think of the number of people God has brought across our path, only to see us drop them! When we pray on the basis of redemption, God creates something He can create in no other way than through intercessory prayer.
CHAMBERS
BONNA NATALE!
SOLI DEO GLORIA!
You give us so much to think about. May the Lord open our hearts to receive fresh revelations of His Word and His love. God bless you, alpha.
THANKYOU DEAR SISTER!
SOLA FIDE!
A Christmas Prayer
by Robert Louis Stevenson
Loving Father,
Help us remember the birth of Jesus,
that we may share in the song of the angels,
the gladness of the shepherds,
and worship of the wise men.
Close the door of hate
and open the door of love all over the world.
Let kindness come with every gift
and good desires with every greeting.
Deliver us from evil by the blessing
which Christ brings,
and teach us to be merry with clear hearts.
May the Christmas morning
make us happy to be thy children,
and Christmas evening bring us to our beds
with grateful thoughts,
forgiving and forgiven,
for Jesus' sake.
Amen.
Beautiful prayer, annie. Thank you for sharing it. God bless you.
We pray for our President Bush, his beloved and the entire family. May they forever be guided by Your laws, strenghtened in their faith, and be a light unto all others.....Our troops serving in the Middle East area may they be blessed. Dear Jesus, the hopes and aspirations of the citizenry living there should not be confounded by the evil one. We pray many will turn to You in these moments, and acknowledge You are the Savior. This our greatest wish would come to pass, on Christmas Day.......In Jesus' name we pray
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