Praying for America

I believe the Lord gives us keys that are found in scripture, weapons of warfare, that we can pray and strike the target of the enemy.  As you read scripture, the Lord will give you verses that contain the power to bring down strongholds in situations you find yourself in.  These keys of scripture become an arsenal to come against the powers of darkness, like arrows that will not miss the target.  Ephesians chapter 6 contains a whole quiver of arrows that we can use to pray for America.  Join with me!

Ephesians 6:10-20

Lord, I pray that America will be strong in the Lord, and in the power of your might.  Clothe America with the full armor of God so that she will be able to take her stand against the devil’s schemes.  For her struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms who have come against her.  Therefore, cause America to put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, she will be able to stand her ground, and after she has done everything, may she stand.  Cause her to stand firm then.  

Buckle around her waist the belt of truth once more.  May your truth displace the deceitfulness of sin and the deceitfulness of wealth.  Secure the belt of truth tightly, Lord, and let it penetrate the darkest deceptions.  May the breastplate of righteousness be put back in place.  Lord, our righteousness is as filthy rags.  Clothe us in your holiness, in your power, in your glory and in your might.  You alone are our righteousness, Lord.  May America’s feet be fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  

In addition to all this, may America take up the shield of faith again.  Lord, we have laid down our shield and the enemy has had his way.  May we take it up again in the mighty name of Jesus, so that we may extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  Lord, may her head be covered with the helmet of salvation.  Bring salvation to the masses.  Have mercy and give us eyes to see and ears to hear.   Cause America to take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, and go to war!  May the power of your Word go forth, the weapon of our warfare, that pulls down strongholds and defeats the power of the enemy.  Your Word breaks to pieces the rock of stubborn resistance and Your Word runs swiftly.  

May America pray in the Spirit on ALL OCCASIONS, in every place across this nation - in schools, in homes, in public places, in government - may we shout it from the rooftops with ALL KINDS OF PRAYERS and requests.  Shatter the hold of every tradition and religious way in us that is powerless and lifeless, and bring us back to a relationship with the living God.  

With all this in mind, cause America to be ALERT - may we watch with strong purpose - and ALWAYS keep on praying for all the saints.  Lord, whenever we open our mouths, I pray that Words would be given us so that we would fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which many of our brothers and sisters are ambassadors in chains.  May the power and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ rest upon each one who will lose their lives this very day for the sake of the gospel.  May we ALL declare your Word fearlessly as we should!

Restore and redeem America for your divine purposes.  Raise her up in her weakness and may she be strong in the power of the Lord!  YOUR kingdom come, YOUR WILL be done in America, as it is in heaven!

In the mighty name of Jesus, that is above EVERY name - AMEN!

Rest for your Souls

    Math. 11: 28-29  Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

    Until we surrender to the yoke of the Lord, which is easy and light, we carry a yoke of iron, great burdens that sap our strength and make us weary.  When we learn to yield our ways to the Lord, not pulling and fighting against the yoke, the Lord promises rest for our souls.  Oh, for a greater trust in God!  If only we could grasp how much He loves us.  His yoke is good.  He’s the strong one who is able to carry the load.  He knows which direction to take - we just follow Him.  He knows what will satisfy the longings and cravings of our hearts, and how to keep us from longings that will bring destruction and heartache to our lives.

    Pr. 14:12  There is a way that seems right unto man, but in the end it leads to death. 

    Our Savior knows the path of life.  There are some things worth hanging onto, and others that need to be let go.  Don’t be afraid to bind yourself to the One who cares for you more than any other person ever will.  

    God’s desire is to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke (Is. 58:6) - every yoke that we should not be bound to, that oppresses us and chokes the life out of us.

    Every morning, make a choice to yield to God’s will and His way, and you will find rest for your souls.

    Ps. 23:2-3  He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name's sake.

Our missionary, Janice Griswell, shared with our ladies group on Wednesday night, and this devotional was inspired from her teaching.  Thank you, Jan!

Trials

Life is full of all kinds of trials that discourage us, frustrate us and oftentimes leave us bewildered and devestated.  Yet the Lord tells us not to be so surprised at the fiery trials we face as if something strange were happening to us (1 Pet 4:12).  He encourages us by reminding us if we share in his sufferings, we will also share in His glory.

Have you ever wondered WHY we have to face so many difficulties in this life?  Sometimes we feel gut punched, unable to breathe.  So many times we don't understand WHY, but God gives us some clues to understand what we are going through.

These present trials are for a purpose - they are preparing us for a future glory that Christ promises to those who share in His sufferings.  Trials are never meant to destroy us.  God always brings us THROUGH them, to the other side, victorious.  Is. 43 tells us to fear not, because He is with us, and He has called us by name, we are His.  He promises to be with us when we walk through the fire.  We will not be burned.  When the waters rise, we will not drown, because He is our God.  He has called us to be overcomers, more than conquerors.  If we never go through any trials - the waters and the fire-  we don't have anything to overcome.  And these trials produce faith, which is worth far more than gold.  They are transforming us, molding us, building God's character in us, and preparing us to live in God's presence.  Our life on this earth is one giant trial that is fashioning us into a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God. . .1 Pet 2:9  We are to live our lives as strangers on this earth (1 Pet 1:17).  We have been chosen - chosen to become the people of God, set apart unto Him, His workmanship, His masterpiece - and we are being transformed into His likeness until that day that He calls us unto Himself, the day where we will no longer see through a fog, with glassy eyes, but we will see Him face to face, unveiled.

Know that every trial is producing something good in us. Trials change us.  We are becoming the people of God, and our faith and trust in God is becoming strong.  It has a purpose.  It is not in vain, but is producing for us a future glory.  Remember that He doesn't lead us into the desert and leave us to die, He is leading us through to the Promised Land!

Our Love Story

Three days after graduating from high school, I moved from my small mountain town in Buena Vista, Colorado, for San Marcos, Texas.  My sister and her family lived there, as well as my current boyfriend.  It was the end of May, and Texas was experiencing a heat wave with temperatures soaring into the 100s, something I was definitely not used to!  The two high school friends that traveled with me to San Marcos left after two weeks to go back to cooler weather, and my boyfriend and I broke up shortly thereafter, but for some reason I decided to stay.

I got a job working as a Ward Clerk at Hays Memorial Hospital, but quickly got transferred to Radiology as a medical transcriptionist and receptionist.  It was at this hospital where I saw a really hot, 6’ 2” muscle-bound man wearing his sexy uniform which was a zip-up coverall.  (Wish I had a picture!) He was working in the maintenance department.  He seemed to notice me as well, and would make a point to come by and talk to me, and would come fix my typewriter for me, even though it wasn’t broken.  One day we were punching out at the time clock together and he asked me, “What are you doing for the next 50 years?”  I don’t think I responded . . . the next 50 years?   I found out later he had told his secretary, “I’m going to marry that girl someday”, as he watched me walk down the hallway away from him.

A few weeks later, we were both alone in the elevator together, when he punched the emergency stop button in between floors, pulled me over to him, and planted a big kiss on me.  Wow!  “Where did that come from?” I exclaimed.  Obviously, he was interested in me, but he would never ask me out, which I didn’t quite understand, so I took matters into my own hands.  We were in the break room together one night and I asked him if he wanted to go out sometime.  His response was that he couldn’t, because he had a girlfriend!  Well, he sure didn’t act like it!   Apparently, he had just gotten back together with his old girlfriend that he had previously dated for three years.  A couple weeks later, we were both working late, and he finally asked me if I wanted to go somewhere after work.  He had broken up with his girlfriend!  

From that day on, we went steady, with a few little bumps in the road which I will leave for another story.  After dating for about a year, I decided it was time to get married.  Actually, Mark (that was his name : )) would ask me every day to marry him, but I would never say yes because I didn’t know for sure if he was a Christian. My parents always told me I had to marry a Christian.  He asked me again one day in his truck as we were driving to his trailer if I would marry him, and I told him I couldn’t unless he was a Christian.  He proceeded to tell me the very day and summer during a Baptist youth camp that  he gave his heart to the Lord.  That’s all I needed to hear.  I said yes!

Mark grew up in a broken home.  His mom went though several divorces and his step-dad was abusive.   Needless to say, Mark was really scared to get married.    He thought that since he proposed that would keep me quiet for awhile, without having to actually “tie the knot”.  I thought otherwise.   One day we were shopping at Barton Springs Mall in Austin and walked by a jewelry store.  I wanted to look at rings, so he went along with it.  The salesman helped me pick out a ring that I liked, and asked if we wanted to buy it.  Mark thought that he would never get approved with his credit, so he went along with it.  Much to his chagrin, I walked away with a beautiful marquis solitaire on my left ring finger!  "Maybe that will make her happy for awhile," he thought.

That summer, we drove down to Corpus Christi to spend a weekend with his mom.  I don’t remember why now, but Mark had gone off with his friends to the beach, so his mom and I were at her house.  By the time he returned, we had a wedding date and the colors of the wedding chosen!  I think he almost fainted!

Mark still had one last loophole.  He was finishing his degree at San Marcos State University (now called Texas State), and wasn’t going to get married before he graduated.  Well, that wasn’t a problem for me!  We signed him up for 17 hours that semester, while he continued to work at the hospital.  He had to take two on-line courses, and I had to do some of his homework for him, but he finished by June, just in time for our July 19^th date!

Mark just knew his life was going to end the day he got married, as his friends had so graciously warned him, but he was able to sweat out his vows, and we were married two years after we first started dating, on a very hot Texas day.  We were married by Sam Cooksey, our pastor at the time, in a Presbyterian church, and had a BBQ reception down by the San Marcos River.  

Almost 27 years have passed since that day, and Mark and I have shared many joys and sorrows along the way, but our marriage has truly been blessed by the Lord.  Mark’s fears have long since vanquished because God has kept us together and given us many happy days together.

Marked by God

We've been studying the book of Revelation with Beth Moore in our Thursday morning group, and this week one thing really stood out to me that I wanted to share with you.

We have been marked by God, and He knows those who belong to Him!

In Rev. 7:3, a seal was placed on the foreheads of the servants of God, marking those who belong to the remnant nation of Israel, the 144,000 from the 12 tribes of Israel.  In the Old Testament times, the priests wore turbans on their heads with plates of pure gold that had inscriptions on them that said "Holy to the Lord".  These plates were attached to the front of their turbans, across their foreheads (Ex. 28:36).

In the New Testament, WE have become a royal priesthood, a people belonging to the Lord (1 Pet. 2:9).  And WE have been marked by God!  Look at these scriptures:

Eph. 1:13-14  And you also were included in Christ when you head the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.  Having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance, until the redemption of those who are God's possession!

Eph. 4:30  And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

2 Cor. 1:22  He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

2 Tim. 2:19  Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription:  "The Lord knows those who are His," and, "Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness."

We don't see this "mark" in the natural realm, but you can bet that every angel and demon in the unseen world sees that mark of God on His people, and certainly God Himself sees it!  We are His children, marked by Him and sealed with His Holy Spirit until that day when we  will receive the final payment of our salvation, when the Lord returns to claim His Holy bride!

It Rains on the Just and the Unjust

Gary shared this with me, and I was so touched, I decided to share it with you : )  Be encouraged!

IT RAINS ON THE JUST AND THE UNJUST
by David Wilkerson
[May 19, 1931 - April 27, 2011]

I would be lying if I told you that Christians will observe sorrow, trouble,
unemployment and depression on all sides while they themselves remain safe
within a cozy cocoon of health and wealth. The Bible says God causes the rain
to fall on both the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:45). Job was holy—yet he
suffered! But just as God brought Job out of his affliction, so He will bring
us out even though we, too, will go through the fire.
















Hundreds of ministers are meeting to pray in different cities, and the same
confession is heard: "Never have so many been so deeply tested. Satan has come
like a flood, with trouble, hardship, deep sorrow and pain befalling the
godly."

Satan was Job's troubler and he is your troubler. Could it be that he has stood
again before God and issued a great accusation against the last-days church? He
might have challenged God, "It is the last hour, but You have no true church.
You have no spotless bride. There are no wise virgins; in fact, most of them
are asleep. Look at them—materialistic, self-centered, grasping for riches
and the good life. Listen to their teachers telling them they need not suffer,
that all things are theirs for the asking.

"Take down Your wall of protection, God! Let me put them to the test. You won't
even have a holy remnant left. I'll take away their employment. I'll smite them
with sorrows. I'll pour out a spirit of fear and despondency, and flood them
with temptations. You will see this last, pampered generation fold. There are
no Jobs in this church. They are spiritual wimps!"

Beloved, this is why the Scripture says, "Woe to the inhabiters of the earth
and of the sea! For the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath,
because he knoweth that he hath but a short time" (Revelation 12:12).

In the midst of your trial, some of you already have adopted the despairing
language of Job. Your heart cries out, "God, what did I do wrong? I don't
understand why this calamity has fallen on me when I loved You most, my walk
was holy, my heart pure, and my spirit was longing after You. It seems like the
closer I draw to You, the deeper I fall into trouble and the more sorrows
come.”

We do not realize how important it is to God that we trust Him through all the
floods of trouble that come upon us from hell. You see, the devil cannot touch
you or test you unless God first lets down the wall and allows it.

A Personal Story

MOVING TO EL PASO

I didn’t realize how attached I had become to our property and home on Nameless Road.  Yes, we had raised our children there, so it was home to them.  For 3 1/2 years, all six of us lived in a small, two bedroom trailer that was located on the back side of the ranch, while we completely restored the 50 year old small farm house we had fallen in love with.  Of course, we didn’t realize it would take us 3 1/2 years to complete that project!  It all started with three coats of stark white paint on the walls, until Mark decided that the house needed to be leveled.  The problem was, when we replaced the rotted cedar posts and raised the house, all of the sheetrock I had so carefully painted, cracked!  Once we realized that the sheetrock would have to be replaced, Mark suggested that we replace the dangerously old wiring and plumbing that was now exposed.  We had decided before all of this that one day we would add on to the house, since it was really too small for our growing family.  Well, now was our chance!  So off to the drawing board I went.  I spent the next 6 months or so sketching up floor plans and elevations,  trying to figure out how to work with the existing structure.  I even put it on autoCAD!  Meanwhile, we had succeeded in completely tearing out anything that could be torn down - the kitchen cabinets, the old carpet, the bathtub - until everything was stripped.  The chain saw and sawz-all became our best friends!  Then all the fun began.

 The End Result

Our Beautiful Creek provided hours of entertainment!

During this time, Mark’s sister, Kathy, had moved in with us in the trailer.  She shared a room with Jacob, Michael, and Hannah.  Mark and I had the smaller bedroom with newly born Christi.  We didn’t mind being a little squished - we had 15 beautiful acres to roam on, with an enchanting creek that stretched across the length of our property.  A cliff rose sharply above the creek, and white-barked sycamores decorated its edges.  We loved being on “the ranch”.  The kids could ride their bikes and shoot their BB guns without worrying about being hit by a car, or shooting out the neighbors windows!

About the same time we had moved to “Nameless”, Mark launched a new business in Cedar Park, an extension of PEECO, his step-dad’s engineering firm.  He had also gone back to school at the University of Texas to obtain his second degree, this time in Civil Engineering.  We had also decided to home school the kids, since we could not afford private school at the time, and didn’t want to send them to public school.  So between Mark’s new business, building our house, teaching kids, and studying for hours, we were a very active family!  Mark would stay up into the wee hours of the morning just to have some quiet time to study.  Right after dinner, we would all go down to the house where Mark and I would try to figure out how to build a house!  Christi would sit in her little swing on the front porch for hours, and Jacob was left in charge of his siblings.  He would walk by every now and then and give her a push to keep the swing going.  They would ride their trikes or skates, and race each other through the house while Mark and I sawed and hammered away.  What we didn’t know how to do, we would figure out by driving to a new construction site to see how they were doing it!  I must say, those were some of the happiest times, raising a family and tending to our myriad of animals we had soon collected.  Over time, we accumulated five horses, a couple cows, a sow and her 13 piglets, a billy goat, chickens, dogs and cats, not to mention the indoor pets!  Whew!  

In 2003, my mom came down with uterine cancer, and six short months later, went home to be with the Lord.  It was such a shock for all of us, as she was the epitome of health, and took good care of herself.  She was a beautiful Christian woman, who had a heart to serve and love other people.  When she died, we got permission to bury her in the small community cemetery that sits in the middle of our  property.  It was nice to have her close to us.  Her and Dad had moved to Cedar Park three years earlier from Indiana, so it was a treasure to have her nearby where the grandkids could get to know her before she left.  She would cook and paint with the girls, while Dad would teach the boys how to build their own cars in his “wood shop”. Her and Dad even lived in the trailer for  six months or so, while searching for a house.  It seemed fitting that she would be buried on the property that we felt so attached to.  We had poured our “blood, sweat, and tears” into fixing up the place.

When we had first purchased the property in 1995, it had not been lived in for a year and a half, so it was very run down and grown over.  It was a big risk to move onto this land.  There were no guarantees if the well or the septic worked, and we had to buy it “as is, where is”.  The old pole barn was full of junk that had to be hauled off, and the weeds were four feet deep everywhere, making it difficult to see how engaging the property really was.  But somehow, when we saw the “For Sale” sign many years ago, we were instantly drawn to the beauty of the land, and felt God calling us to this place.  Our pastors and dear friends from Atlanta gave us a scripture from Isaiah the first time they came to visit us.  It was from the 62nd chapter, and its promises were amazingly fitting for our new life on this land.  We found out later how spiritually rich this property really was.  Settlers in the early 1850’s had begun their lives in this exact spot because of the deep topsoil that was so rare to find in the hill country, as well as the water nearby.  They built a one-room school house, where their children would learn, and on Sundays it was used as their church.  It still stands on the property today.  The creek was used to baptize many a folk, and we learned that the very spot where our little farm house was built, was where they would have “brush-arbor” revivals.  We heard testimonies of powerful moves of the Holy Spirit as people worshiped and prayed.  Miracles and changed lives took place on this land, and it seemed Holy to the Lord.  Indeed, the Lord gave us this property for His purposes.

So one might understand the confusion when Mark announced one day that he was accepting a new job in El Paso!  For six months we wrestled with the idea of leaving our church, our friends, our house, our ranch - everything we had worked so hard for.  However, we finally conceded and put the property up for sale.  I remember walking the land one day and having it out with the Lord.  I could not understand why He would ask us to give up something that He had completely orchestrated to begin with.  I was very happy where I was.  We had worked so hard to make the property look beautiful.  I argued with God as tears streamed down my face.  Before long, we had a contract on the property, but oddly enough, two days before closing, the buyer backed out.  We had already signed for a house in El Paso, thinking we had the property sold.  By this time, we were praying the ranch would sell so we wouldn’t have two mortgages!  Another offer came through that was a lease to purchase agreement.  We gave him a couple years to decide if he wanted to buy the land, but we had no doubt he would.  We would always here how much he loved the property and how he would be closing as soon as he got the funding secured.  This went on for five years.  He tried so hard to buy our property, but somehow never was able to go through with it.  We know now why he never could!

When Mark took the job in El Paso, we knew that this would be the job he would retire from.  It was an amazing opportunity for him, and God restored to him what had been lost.  After living in El Paso for five years, we had to make a decision about the kids schooling.  It had been very difficult on the kids because of the cultural differences and the strong demonic influences in that area.  The small Christian school they were attending closed down for lack of interest, and after attending the public schools, we knew they were not an option.  There was no support there for home schoolers needing upper level classes.  So Mark made one of the hardest decisions we’ve had to make in our marriage so far.  The kids and I would move back to Nameless Ranch where the girls would finish school, and Mark would continue to work in El Paso, while commuting back and forth every other weekend.  I felt like I had been abandoned.  Surely the Lord would not split a family up like that.  It was hard to see that this was the only option.  My sole comfort was that perhaps Mark would begin his own company in Cedar Park one day.  However, that day has long come and gone.  Who knows the plans of God, or who can understand His ways?  I cannot.  But I do know that He has taken great care over me and my family through every decision and trial, and I can trust Him.  I have learned that He directs our path, even though we don’t understand the direction He takes us.  He knows our needs and our heart’s desires and will surely bring about good for us.  

It’s amazing to me that after trying to sell our property for five years, it never sold.  We were able to move back into our home, and settle back in to the life we had grown to love through the years.  God gave it all back to us, and has blessed us in every way - financially and spiritually.  We are all better and stronger because of the experiences we have been through.

I am reminded of a scripture in Isaiah 61:7 that says, 

“Instead of their shame, my people will receive a double portion,
and instead of disgrace, they will rejoice in their inheritance;
and so they will inherit a double portion in their land, and ever-
lasting joy will be theirs.”

Just as the latter part of Job’s life was blessed by God more than the first, so our lives have also been blessed more than the first.  God is the only one who knows the end from the beginning.  He knows how everything will turn out.  “And for every single person who belongs to Him, it turns out well.  We are not the exceptions.  Neither our sins nor our sufferings are big enough to offset the ordered outcome.” (Beth Moore)

It appears that God has given us this land as our inheritance - at least it is a portion of our inheritance!  The best is yet to come!