Archive for September 2013
Old Testament Intercession
Judges 14: 5-6: “Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a young lion roared against him. And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done.”
I Samuel 25: 7: “And now I have heard that thou hast shearers: now thy shepherds which were with us, we hurt them not, neither was there ought missing unto them, all the while they were in Carmel.”
I Samuel 25: 15-16: “But the men were very good unto us, and we were not hurt, neither missed we any thing, as long as we were conversant with them, when we were in the fields. They were a wall unto us both by night and day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep.”
I Samuel 25: 23-26: “And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and lighted off the @#!*% , and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground. And fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be: and let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine audience, and hear the words of thine handmaid. Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even Nabal: for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I thine handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send. Now therefore, my lord, as the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing the LORD hath withholden thee from coming to shed blood, and from avenging thyself with thine own hand, now let thine enemies, and they that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal.”
I Samuel 25: 28: “I pray thee, forgive the trespass of thine handmaid: for the LORD will certainly make my Lord a sure house; because my lord fighteth the battles of the LORD, and evil hath not been found in thee all thy days.”
II Kings 1: 9-10: “Then the king sent unto him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him: and, behold, he sat on the top of an hill. And he spake unto him, Thou man of God, the king hath said, Come down. And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.”
Job 42: 10: “And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends.”
New Testament Intercession
Romans 8: 18-19: “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory [glorification, rapture, Holy Fire] which shall be REVEALED IN US. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.”
Romans 8: 26-27: “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but THE SPIRIT ITSELF MAKETH INTERCESSION FOR US with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”
Matthew 3: 11-12: “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: HE SHALL BAPTIZE YOU WITH THE HOLY GHOST, AND WITH FIRE: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but HE WILL BURN UP THE CHAFF WITH UNQUENCHABLE FIRE.”
John 17: 9-11: “I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.”
John 17: 15-16: “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.”
John 17: 20-22: “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one.”
Ephesians 6: 18: “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.”
II Thessalonians 1: 7-10: “And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.”
II Thessalonians 2: 8: “And then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.”
Hebrews 7: 25: “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.”
James 5: 16: “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”
Revelation 1: 14-16: “His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.”
Revelation 19: 12-15: “His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.”
Revelation 19: 21: “And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.”
__________
“I fear the prayers of John Knox more than all the assembled armies of Europe.”
–Mary Queen of Scots
“A man with God is the majority.”
–Last words of John Knox
“With the jawbone of an @#!*% , heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an @#!*% have I slain a thousand men.”
–Samson at Ramath-lehi
__________
“Identification is the key to intercession, and whenever we stop being identified with God, it is by sympathy, not sin.”
“Vicarious intercession* means that we deliberately substitute God’s interests in others for our natural sympathy with them.”
[*Vicarious: “Performed or suffered by one person as a substitute or to the benefit or advantage of another: SUBSTITUTIONARY: .” —Webster’s Third New International Dictionary]
“Am I fulfilling the ministry of the interior? There is no snare or any danger of infatuation or pride in intercession, it is a hidden ministry that brings forth fruit whereby the Father is glorified . . .The disciple who abides in Jesus is the will of God, and his apparently free choices are God’s fore-ordained decrees. Mysterious? Logically contradictory and absurd? Yes, but a glorious truth to a saint.”
“The circumstances of a saint’s life are ordained of God. In the life of a saint there is no such thing as chance. God by His providence brings you into circumstances that you cannot understand at all, but the Spirit of God understands. God is bringing you into places and among people and into conditions in order that the intercession of the Spirit in you may take a particular line. Never put your hand in front of the circumstances and say–I am going to be my own providence here, I must watch this, and guard that. All your circumstances are in the hand of God, therefore never think it strange concerning the circumstances you are in. Your part in intercessory prayer is not to enter into the agony of intercession, but to utilize the common-sense circumstances God puts you in, and the common-sense people He puts you amongst by His providence, to bring them before God’s throne and give the Spirit in you a chance to intercede for them. In this way God is going to sweep the whole world with His saints.
“Am I making the Holy Spirit’s work difficult by being indefinite, or by trying to do His work for Him? I must do the human side of intercession, and the human side is the circumstances I am in and the people I am in contact with. I have to keep my conscious life as a shrine of the Holy Ghost, then as I bring the different ones before God, the Holy Spirit makes intercession for them.
“Your intercessions can never be mine, and my intercessions can never be yours, but the Holy Ghost makes intercession in our particular lives, without which intercession someone will be impoverished.”
–Oswald Chambers
Two Emails (Intercession)
Paga (Intercession)
Samson: A One-Man Wrecking Crew
Obedience: The Bondage Breaker
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This is from the blog The Value of Sparrows:
God’s Grandeur
The world is charged with the grandeur of God.
It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;
It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil
Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod?
Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;
And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;
And wears man’s smudge and shares man’s smell: the soil
Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.
And for all this, nature is never spent;
There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;
And though the last lights off the black West went
Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs —
Because the Holy Ghost over the bent
World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.
Pied Beauty
Glory be to God for dappled things —
For skies of couple-color as a brindled cow;
For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;
Fresh firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings;
Landscapes plotted and pieced-fold, fallow, and plough;
And all trades, their gear and tackle and trim.
All things counter, original, spare, strange;
Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)
With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;
He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:
Praise him.
Gerard Manley Hopkins
The Value of Sparrows
The Wreck of the Deutschland
Resurrection Sunday
This is from the blog The Value of Sparrows:
Why does this little prayer of one syllable (such as, “Lord!” or “Father!” or “Jesus!”) pierce the heavens? Surely because it is offered with a full spirit, in the height and the depth, in the length and the breadth of the spirit of him who prays.
In the height: that is with the full might of the spirit; in the depth: for in this little syllable all the faculties of the spirit are contained; in the length: because if it could always be experienced as it is in that moment, it would cry as it does then; in the breadth: because it desires for all others all that it desires for itself.
It is in this moment that the soul comprehends with all the saints what is the length and the breadth, the height and the depth of the everlasting, all-loving, almighty and all-wise God, as Saint Paul teaches; not fully, but in some way and to some degree, as is proper to this work.
The eternity of God is his length; his love is his breadth; his power is his height, and his wisdom is his depth. No wonder, then, that the soul which is so nearly conformed by grace to the image and likeness of God his maker is immediately heard by God.
Yes, and even if it were a very sinful soul, one which is, as it were, God’s enemy as long as it should come, through grace, to cry out with such a little syllable from the height and the depth, the length and the breadth of it spirit, it would always be heard and helped by God in the very vehemence of its shriek.
The Value of Sparrows
The Cloud of Unknowing
By Lynda Parham
It would be nice to travel a road high on top of a mountain continuously experiencing God’s presence. We may experience that mountain road at times but our road will also take us through the valley and the desert where no mountain can be seen. The desert is dry, sandy and dusty with no moisture to be found. We dig and dig a little deeper only to find more sand. Are we looking and digging in the right place? We do not sense God’s presence. We may even be praying and reading our Bible during these times but still feel spiritually dry. God is always with us but at times unnoticed. If you are like me, I prefer to have the wind at my back with smooth sailing ahead where everything is going great. Where relationships couldn’t be any better, opportunities in life are endless, work is very satisfying and life is perfect. No boredom or dryness to be found. But let’s face it, life can be drab, boring, routine, or make us feel like we are barely hanging on. We may even feel like everyone else is on that mountain road when we are on the desert road alone. In the desert it can get really dark and cold. We may find no hope, no excitement, stress, a lonely road with nothing in sight and it may be lifeless and dull. No place to stop and rest. The wilderness is lonely and we feel unprepared to be in this place. No sign posts or GPS for directions. Nothing looks familiar, just a vast desert that came upon us gradually because we were cruising through life and we had fallen asleep at the wheel and ended up here.
I was recently talking with a friend about being spiritually dry only to find there are many people who are feeling the same way. I have traveled this road many times in my life. One day being on the mountain road and experiencing God’s presence cruising through life with the wind at my back. I know I do not suddenly appear in the vast desert but come here gradually over a few months. I realize I am never ready for any desert journey but I always find that I must go to God and find out what I am to learn while I travel this road. The one thing I love about being in the desert is coming upon an oasis. Finding that place where I can stop and find nourishment to quench my thirsty soul. It gives me strength to continue the journey in the desert until I can find that mountain road again.
Spiritual dryness is nothing new. Ever since God formed life, there has been times when people experienced dryness spiritually. It takes walking through the desert to transform our lives, to deepen and expand our faith. To strengthen our spiritual walk, it is best done in the quiet, deep and darkest places found, far from any noise and distraction of our daily lives. We will be able to find the mountain road once we have done some work to our soul. This can be the most important time in our spiritual journey with God. In order for God to bring us closer, he needs to strip us of ourselves. He may take away the good things to bring the best in our lives. He strips away our worldly and selfish desires setting us free. He wants to draw us to him alone. He may have to refocus us on something great he wants us to do with our lives. He is the only one that can sustain our spiritual life during this time. We have tried everything we could but only he can take us where we need to be.
Who among you fears the Lord and obeys his servant? If you are walking in darkness, without a ray of light, trust in the Lord and rely on your God. Isaiah 50:10
Desiring and seeking God can draw us closer to him. There can be unseen beauty in the desert. May God bless you while you travel this desert road and quench your thirsty soul.
Blessings, Lynda
Life is an Adventure
This post is from The Trumpet Sound blog:
The title of this article is what I sensed in the dream. Obama has fallen into disgrace and infamy.
In my vivid dream this morning, President Obama was supposed to give a speech before a gathered group of people in what looked like a restaurant; but he was unsure of himself. He was not in the usual coat and tie but was wearing a casual attire with a leather jacket on. Everybody’s eyes were on him, anticipating and waiting for him to speak but he was fidgety and reluctant to say anything. He smiled and looked around as if looking for a nod from anyone to boost him up. A few minutes passed and still he could not say anything. The younger audience which I belonged urged the president to speak up whatever it was he had to say, while the older men began to move around dismissing him. The president finally got the microphone and spoke but it seemed too late for except for the very few, everyone else didn’t pay attention. To make things worse, the people’s chatter especially from the older group drowned his less confident voice. People moved around, some talking, some eating and drinking not minding Obama’s speech. I awoke from this scene. It was around 4:30 a.m.
I went back to sleep and the dream continued. Obama was still talking but no one was paying attention. I thought in the dream that it was because of his earlier inconsistencies in taking a stand on matters of global importance that people no longer believe what he is saying and not even interested to hear him now. I thought that his being uncertain of himself before he began to speak further gave away his unreliability as world leader. Then I saw some prominent men which I knew in the dream were world leaders. They came to him and forcefully sat him down on a wheel barrow; then someone pushed the wheelbarrow over to the trash. End of dream.
This dream today is a confirmation of the vision I wrote in “The Fallen Obama and the Fall of America.” The message in this dream has been consistent with the messages the Father has given me of the imminent fall of America as the nation continues to depart from God and His righteous laws. Obama’s fall will bring America’s fall as well. The world leaders’ act of pushing him to the trash on a wheelbarrow could mean that the day is coming when the world will no longer respect Obama’s leadership which represents America’s leadership of the world. They will shove America’s leadership aside. Moreover, I believe that the wheelbarrow depicts how the world’s leaders regard Obama’s presidency.
When these things come to pass, we know that the world will not be the same anymore, therefore, keep watch and pray, brothers and sisters. But don’t despair for this only means that our redemption is truly nigh.
6 Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
Repent now for time is running short.
Love in Yeshua,
Cynthia
The Trumpet Sound
Federal law says you can opt out of Obamacare
By Tom Vander Well
But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 2 Corinthians 11:14 (NLT)
I am reminded this morning of this simple truth that is so easily forgotten. We think of evil as those things that are obviously dark and deathly. Along the journey I have come to realize that one of the most insidious things about evil is that it often masquerades in such a way so as to appear good and upstanding.
In his book, People of the Lie, M. Scott Peck take a clinical look at the nature of evil in people. He writes:
It is necessary to draw the distinction between evil and ordinary sin. It is not their sins per se that characterize evil people, rather it is the subtlety and persistence and consistency of their sins. This is because the central defect of the evil is not the sin but the refusal to acknowledge it.
…The evil appear to be most ordinary. They live down the street…on any street. They may be rich or poor, educated or uneducated. There is little that is dramatic about them. They are not designated criminals. More often than not they will be “solid citizens”-Sunday school teachers, policemen, or bankers, and active in the PTA.
In todays chapter, Paul is trying to get the believers in Corinth to understand that some men who had come to their town claiming to have authority as men sent by Jesus were actually deceivers. Evil masquerading as servants of the Light. So it is with evil. The real question is how are we to respond to it? Too often in history we have responded with witch hunts and inquisitions to try and root it out evil by human means which quickly turn to evil in and of themselves.
I’ve learned along the way that my responsibility as a follower of Jesus is to be observant, shrewd and on guard so as to recognize evil when I encounter it. I am then called to overcome evil by living out greater measures of grace, love and goodness. I find it interesting that Paul was not obsessed with hunting down these false teachers and punishing them for their deception. His energy was given to writing, loving and investing himself in the believers at Corinth so that the effect of the “people of the lie” might be minimized.
Today, I’m reminded that evil is overcome by greater good. I’m going to do some good today.
Wayfarer
Iowa Blackie
25 May 2013
Just in the past half hour, I was hitchhiking on U.S. 395 several miles south of John Day, Oregon. This jeep pulled over to give me a ride. It was a man and his wife; they lived in Seneca.
I told them that I had been hitchhiking for a number of years and that I was originally from Iowa.
He told me that twenty years ago, he and his wife were living in Britt, Iowa (Britt is close to where I grew up in north central Iowa). They met this old hobo named Iowa Blackie. They let him stay at their place one night. Iowa Blackie was the Hobo King at the Hobo Convention in Britt back in 1993.
When he mentioned Iowa Blackie’s name, I exclaimed, “It’s a small world!”
I told them that I had a pickup for a few months back in 2000. I was driving through Boone, Iowa on U.S. 30. I picked up this hitchhiker; his name was Iowa Blackie. I drove him to Atlantic where he was going to stay with some friends. I bought a copy of his book of poetry. I told them that Iowa Blackie passed away a while back [2011].
The man and his wife dropped me off at this public cabin at the top of this mountain just seven miles north of Seneca. I’ll stay here for the night and continue to head south on U.S. 395 tomorrow.
Iowa Blackie Obituary
Hobo Shoestring–King of the Rails
The Life of a Hobo
Stobe the Hobo
The Road 