1 Kings 12 ~ And they said to him, “If you will be a servant to this people today and serve them, and speak good words to them when you answer them, then they will be your servants forever.”

1 Kings 12

Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king. 2 And as soon as Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it (for he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), then Jeroboam returned from Egypt. 3 And they sent and called him, and Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came and said to Rehoboam, 4 “Your father made our yoke heavy. Now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke on us, and we will serve you.” 5 He said to them, “Go away for three days, then come again to me.” So the people went away.

6 Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, who had stood before Solomon his father while he was yet alive, saying, “How do you advise me to answer this people?” 7 And they said to him, “If you will be a servant to this people today and serve them, and speak good words to them when you answer them, then they will be your servants forever.”

But he abandoned the counsel that the old men gave him and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him and stood before him. 9 And he said to them, “What do you advise that we answer this people who have said to me, ‘Lighten the yoke that your father put on us’?” 10 And the young men who had grown up with him said to him, “Thus shall you speak to this people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you lighten it for us,’ thus shall you say to them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father's thighs. 11 And now, whereas my father laid on you a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.’”

12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king said, “Come to me again the third day.” 13 And the king answered the people harshly, and forsaking the counsel that the old men had given him, 14 he spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.” 15 So the king did not listen to the people, for it was a turn of affairs brought about by the Lord that he might fulfill his word, which the Lord spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.


The Kingdom Divided

16 And when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, “What portion do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, David.” So Israel went to their tents. 17 But Rehoboam reigned over the people of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah. 18 Then King Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was taskmaster over the forced labor, and all Israel stoned him to death with stones. And King Rehoboam hurried to mount his chariot to flee to Jerusalem. 19 So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day. 20 And when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. There was none that followed the house of David but the tribe of Judah only.

21 When Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, 180,000 chosen warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. 22 But the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God: 23 “Say to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, 24 ‘Thus says the Lord, You shall not go up or fight against your relatives the people of Israel. Every man return to his home, for this thing is from me.’” So they listened to the word of the Lord and went home again, according to the word of the Lord.


25 Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. And he went out from there and built Penuel. 26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom will turn back to the house of David. 27 If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the temple of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn again to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.” 28 So the king took counsel and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, “You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” 29 And he set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. 30 Then this thing became a sin, for the people went as far as Dan to be before one. 31 He also made temples on high places and appointed priests from among all the people, who were not of the Levites. 32 And Jeroboam appointed a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month like the feast that was in Judah, and he offered sacrifices on the altar. So he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he made. And he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places that he had made. 33 He went up to the altar that he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, in the month that he had devised from his own heart. And he instituted a feast for the people of Israel and went up to the altar to make offerings.

Altar at Shechem, this altar remains after 2,000 years. The foundation holds.

Steppenwolf Magic Carpet Ride 

Well, you don't know what
We can find
Why don't you come with me little girl
On a magic carpet ride

Well, you don't know what
We can see
Why don't you tell your dreams to me

Circles. Repeat Patterns. Repeating Scripture.

 For

Dreams and aspirations - a Davidic Kingdom?

Rehoboam was given the Children of Israel. Rehoboam was the anointed grandson of David and the Heir of Solomon. Amazing. The Promises of God fell into his anointed hand.


Commandment # 1 -
Solomon broke his house. His legacy was tattered. Rehoboam was 1 of the only 3 children Solomon recognized. The rest were swept from history as concubines delivered his other children from his 700 wives and 300 concubines.

Solomon, in his young years, put his flesh before His God.


Again, Commandment # 1 -
When asked for mercy - Rehoboam, went for show and not substance - abandoned the Covenant to be merciless. Treating God's children with Mercy - God said - is tandem with Commandment #1 - Loving Others.

The repeat circle of Shechem - for many ages - the place of blessings from Abraham, Jacob and others, fell from his anointed hand. Abraham blessed others by talking to God about Mercy.

The anointed of God forsook Wisdom.

Jeroboam took on a Spiritual Battle and used..... to fight the anointed of God  ... Spiritual tools.

Generational cycles.

Ever heard ignorance of the law is no excuse? Dragnet? Law and Order? Apply named...

What was used against the people who would leave the anointed of God? The same temptations their fathers faced for generations.

The purpose of life -  is to test our metal. God asks us what are our priorities when the waters of Life get very white water. Our Priorities are set forth to learn when the waters have gentle eddies of calm. We learn what is important from our parents teaching us the 10 Commandments. Commandment #1 Again.

God is orderly. He sets up the 10 Commandments in an orderly fashion teaching us our priorities.

Exodus 20
The Ten Commandments

20 And God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

1 “You shall have no other gods before me.

2 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

3 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

4“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

5 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

6 “You shall not murder.

7 “You shall not commit adultery.

8“You shall not steal.

9 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

10 “You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.”

Pharaoh's Chair in the 1956 Movie of "Moses"

Our priorities are to God. We listen to Him. We worship Him. Jesus is our Center. We do what God tells us to do.

Not our images. Commandment # 2 -
Rehoboam, biblically not so famous, the anointed grandson of David, the Heir of Solomon - fell like Pharaoh - Pharaoh was a biblical Giant - and fell to his royal image. The Children of Israel fled. They just didn't have the anointed when they left.


Commandment # 2- Again
Jeroboam used the tools he could find -  he used what caused their forefathers to fall. Jeroboam used apparent goodness, at hand, to offer comfort. I bet Jeroboam hoped the people would not stop to ponder their histories of these images.


 Commandment # 3
God's Word was seen as mere vanity. Not substantial to honor Him. Only words. Jesus said we err when we do not know Scripture and the Power of God. In His Word.

 Commandment # 4
Teaching our kids their histories and the applications.
Using the Sabbath to speak to our children about Father God and the promises in Jesus. 

Father God, be our center in Jesus. Our first priority is to You. Help us, Guide us, Lead us in our life applications. In Jesus the Lord. Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

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Matthew 7 ~ Ask

Matthew 7

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 

4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 

5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

6 “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

7 “Ask and it will be given to you;
seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.         

9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! 12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

Wadi Moses

13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

 Olive Tree in the Desert

15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

 
24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 

26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29 because 

He taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.







 

Matthew starts out by saying - Don't Judge. Yet. We all are Guilty.

Don't cast your pearls before swine! ... Om... Isn't that judgement?
Watch out for false prophets. Sounds ominous. Like the reprise of the "Jaws" chorus.
What about what your children ask for? Do we listen well? Ask enterprising and prizing questions?

Don't believe apparent goodness??? Hide the obvious from ourselves.

And some real - solid, easy to understand - instructions. Just like Proverbs.

Proverbs 4:20
My son, give attention to my words;
Incline your ear to my sayings.
21 Do not let them depart from your sight;
Keep them in the midst of your heart.
22 For they are life to those who find them
And health to all their body.
23 Watch over your heart with all diligence,
For from it flow the springs of life.

For - Judgement?
NO! Discernment. We discern every day - almost every second.
Judgement is when your mouth says "you always" and inflicts a label. Judgement is what you don't want the person spoken of to hear. Judgement is final and unbending.

That solid, easy to understand instruction - Yay! 

My Child, Jesus says, give attention to My Words -
Watch what your mouth says.

Jesus would ask you  - Are you that example of perfection?
Why do you allow dogs to have what is sacred - like the television blaring in your house and your radio.

Prayer comes first. If you are thinking - you can add more sentences on that thought - To the One Who Knows and Loves you Best.

Do the storehouses of God's Blessings run out? Are all things Possible with God?
Put your salvation first. Let others do the same. Let your aspersions be handed to Father God first in prayer and kindness.

Your words yoke you to your opinions. In a potato sack race, you want to move forward to God. Run your race to win. Don't fall down and hurt yourself and the ones who love you and don't want you to be hurt.

Watch out for godly advice - generate your desire to Love and Serve God in your talents, gifts, and opportunities. Put your hands out like Isaiah and Paul - Sent Me, Lord! See how it goes with me, give me the opportunities!

Upon His Rock - do you do the Words of God? How are your fruits and talents to Your Abba? 

We ask for Discernment and that is received as mostly Mercy; we want this from God. Go and do likewise.


1 John 4:9
This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.

1 John 4:10
This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Revelation 1:5
and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood,

 


2 Corinthians 1 ~ New American Standard

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
The Father of mercies and God of all comfort,
who comforts us in all our affliction
so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction
with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance,
so also our comfort is abundant through Christ.

Thank You, Father, for Jesus Christ the Messiah. Lord of all.

Amen.



 

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

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Malachi 4 ~ For behold, the day comes

Malachi 4

“For behold, the day comes, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble; the day that comes shall burn them up, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.

But for you who fear my name the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings. You shall go forth leaping like calves from the stall. 3 And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts.

4 “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and ordinances that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel.

5 “Behold, I will send you Eli′jah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. 6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the land with a curse.”

God loves to tell and repeat matters of Faith. Elisha, also, lived seeing this verse.

2 Kings 7

7 But Elisha said, “Hear the word of the Lord: thus says the Lord, Tomorrow about this time a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria.” 2 Then the captain on whose hand the king leaned said to the man of God, “If the Lord himself should make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” But he said, “You shall see it with your own eyes, but you shall not eat of it.”
The Syrians Flee

3 Now there were four men who were lepers at the entrance to the gate. And they said to one another, “Why are we sitting here until we die? 4 If we say, ‘Let us enter the city,’ the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also. So now come, let us go over to the camp of the Syrians. If they spare our lives we shall live, and if they kill us we shall but die.” 5 So they arose at twilight to go to the camp of the Syrians. But when they came to the edge of the camp of the Syrians, behold, there was no one there. 6 For the Lord had made the army of the Syrians hear the sound of chariots and of horses, the sound of a great army, so that they said to one another, “Behold, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Egypt to come against us.” 7 So they fled away in the twilight and abandoned their tents, their horses, and their donkeys, leaving the camp as it was, and fled for their lives. 8 And when these lepers came to the edge of the camp, they went into a tent and ate and drank, and they carried off silver and gold and clothing and went and hid them. Then they came back and entered another tent and carried off things from it and went and hid them.

9 Then they said to one another, “We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news. If we are silent and wait until the morning light, punishment will overtake us. Now therefore come; let us go and tell the king's household.” 10 So they came and called to the gatekeepers of the city and told them, “We came to the camp of the Syrians, and behold, there was no one to be seen or heard there, nothing but the horses tied and the donkeys tied and the tents as they were.”

Then the gatekeepers called out, and it was told within the king's household. 12 And the king rose in the night and said to his servants, “I will tell you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we are hungry. Therefore they have gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the open country, thinking, ‘When they come out of the city, we shall take them alive and get into the city.’”

And one of his servants said, “Let some men take five of the remaining horses, seeing that those who are left here will fare like the whole multitude of Israel who have already perished. Let us send and see.” 14 So they took two horsemen, and the king sent them after the army of the Syrians, saying, “Go and see.”

So they went after them as far as the Jordan, and behold, all the way was littered with garments and equipment that the Syrians had thrown away in their haste. And the messengers returned and told the king.

16 Then the people went out and plundered the camp of the Syrians. So a seah of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the Lord.

Now the king had appointed the captain on whose hand he leaned to have charge of the gate. And the people trampled him in the gate, so that he died, as the man of God had said when the king came down to him. 18 For when the man of God had said to the king, “Two seahs of barley shall be sold for a shekel, and a seah of fine flour for a shekel, about this time tomorrow in the gate of Samaria,” 19 the captain had answered the man of God, “If the Lord himself should make windows in heaven, could such a thing be?” And he had said, “You shall see it with your own eyes, but you shall not eat of it.” 20 And so it happened to him, for the people trampled him in the gate and he died.

Jeremiah 31:31
Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah

God also explained the economic conditions of the time of Jesus.

Isaiah 7

18 In that day the Lord will whistle for the fly that is at the end of the streams of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. 19 And they will all come and settle in the steep ravines, and in the clefts of the rocks, and on all the thornbushes, and on all the pastures.

20 In that day the Lord will shave with a razor that is hired beyond the River—with the king of Assyria—the head and the hair of the feet, and it will sweep away the beard also.

21 In that day a man will keep alive a young cow and two sheep, 22 and because of the abundance of milk that they give, he will eat curds, for everyone who is left in the land will eat curds and honey.

23 In that day every place where there used to be a thousand vines, worth a thousand shekels of silver, will become briers and thorns. 24 With bow and arrows a man will come there, for all the land will be briers and thorns. 25 And as for all the hills that used to be hoed with a hoe, you will not come there for fear of briers and thorns, but they will become a place where cattle are let loose and where sheep tread.

Thank You, Father God. For Your amazing prophetic Word. Bless us to walk in Your paths. In Jesus. Amen



 

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

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Luke 11:5-10 ~ Which of you who has a Friend will go to Him at midnight and say to Him

Luke 11:5-10


5 And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, 6 for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’;

And he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? 8 I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence [or persistence] he will rise and give him whatever he needs.

 And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

Compared this to the verse ~

1 John 5:14
And this is the confidence which we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 

Why sometimes does it seem our prayers are not answered even when God calls us His friend? David prayed for his infant to live. Elijah and Jonah prayed for death. Disciples James and John asked for higher rank in Jesus' Kingdom. Jesus prayed "this cup to be taken from me." Paul prayed for a thorn in the flesh to be taken away.

Yet All of the Them were willing to live God's plan.

The bottom line would be - how to have more prayers answered. But it isn't the bottom line. Our prayers are answered.

Be persistent.

Be expectant.

Listen. To what God's Word speaks within you.

What we usually pray to God is not that His will be done, but that He approves ours.
~Helga Bergold Gross

Gross but true.

One of the articles I read was about a man coming to his prayer group facilitator and saying he was going to quit. The needs of the group were overwhelming and nothing ever happened.

Don't we all get in a prayer rut? This group wasn't spiritually dead, they looked at the question to see - well, seems to be true, now what. They began to ask God, maybe this continuing difficulty IS put in our lives to grow from it. They prayed over arthritis and said, we don't like it. It doesn't seem to be going away - God give me strength to do what You would have me do.

Here is a quote from the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, on tragedy: "The odd thing is that those who are most deeply involved … are most aware of two things: a kind of strength and vision just to go on; and a sense of the imperative for practical service and love. Somehow in all of this, God simply emerges for them as a faithful presence."

Some of the ways we don't ask God, in our asking, would be (taken from an article by Wayne Jacobsen, in blue):

The trivial: "Let's pray I can get over this cold" or "Give us a rain-free day for the church picnic." (I disagree here - the Scriptures say to pray for everything and then thank Him for His answers.)

The self-motivated: "My brother's unit just got called up to go to Iraq. Let's pray he won't have to go." While I can understand the emotion behind the request, it is still misplaced. If he's in the military, why shouldn't he go? God's purposes frequently include hardship and risk. Should we ask him to trump his purposes for our convenience? (Wayne Jacobsen goes on to say, pray the fear of his family and their peace. Pray for safety.)

The controlling: "Don't let my daughter move in with her boyfriend" As with Kris' request, I think we're spitting into the wind if we ask God to make other people act according to our will. He doesn't even force people to adhere to his will. Why should he make them act according to ours? (Pray for God to be known to the daughter, that she might want to live in His Love and let her actions reflect His holiness.)(Daniel Effectively prayed for hearts to be open to God's Will, His Heart.)

The manipulative: Not all prayer requests are directed at God. We're usually more diplomatic about it than Charissa, who was only four years old, but knew what she wanted. "Jesus, would you help Bob and Laurie learn how to spank their children, so their kids won't hit me when I come over?" I'll admit it worked for Charissa, but I don't think prayer was intended to send subtle (or not so subtle) messages to the faithful.

The blaming: A group in my former church was praying for an infertile woman. They thought she wasn't getting pregnant because her husband wasn't godly enough be a good father. So they asked God to change him. She blamed him and tried to manipulate him to change, and by the time she came to see me, she was incredibly frustrated. I told her I thought they'd missed the point. None of us qualify for God's gifts. If God waited until everyone was ready to have a baby, no one would ever give birth. (Being asked to pray for something we feel is too hard or not God's will. Remember the men willing to bring their paralyzed friend to Jesus by cutting the roof apart.)

The mass-produced: I don't know why we think we have a better chance of getting prayers answered if more people are in on it. Like many of you, I receive prayer requests on the Internet begging me to pray for people I don't know, about needs I'm not involved in. God's answers to prayer are not based on a tally sheet. Prayer was designed for two or three faithful believers to focus on, agree, and fervently intercede, rather than enlisting large numbers of uninvolved people. (I do believe God loves to hear more people like the centurion who had people prevail for him to Jesus. But God knows us. One prayer is all it takes. Jesus heard Zacchaeus and Nathaniel . It isn't a popularity contest.)

I loved this article, even if I didn't agree with every part.

Our prayers are answered.

When we ask. Yes. No. Wait.

Jesus liked the conversation of being asked. He could see what a blind man wanted.

I know my great-aunt Hazel prayed for her only child to come home safely from World War I. And William was killed. I know God heard her prayers. Hazel talked about William a lot She really enjoyed remembering him. My mother told me Aunt Hazel talked of William more than my mom thought she should. Aunt Hazel had William's painting painted. And it went to another cousin, after Aunt Hazel passed on, who became ill and William's painting was thrown to be given away or thrown away. An uncle was asked if he wanted to travel 6 hours to look over everything being put out. There was William's portrait.

My uncle took it and asked our family in Franklinton, LA (where William lived) if there would be a good place for William's painting. And it was given to our cousin, who is the town librarian and she herself lost an infant son. When she passes on, William's painting will hang in the Franklinton, LA Library because William died defending his country.

That is effective prayer. Father God had a plan. Father God was asked for mercy, for safety. How do we know? Hazel lived her life remembering the blessing William was to her. Certainly, she wanted William with her, but she was able to take the blessing of having a son and be glad, grateful. The Fruit of that Spirit is also - my uncle happened to decide to drive the 6 hours to look at what was being put away. He petitioned the family and found someone who would treasure a lost son. A cousin who is a librarian, where William will be remembered for his ultimate sacrifice.

And then there is my mother's friend a psychologist loosing her vision from hereditary weak blood vessels and glaucoma. Determined God would give her a miracle. And He did. Recovered sight without medication or surgery.

A client in crisis at PACN told me that she prays and is constantly astonished each morning as Father God's mercies are renewed. She says she has prayed this way and particularly at night. She believes we rest and our souls are renewed.

Psalm 30
Weeping may tarry for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.

Mark 12:31
The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.

Romans 12:9

This expectant Christian woman says when you ask Father God to connect His soul to the loved one - you pray "Jesus, please." And you let yourself experience the love you feel for them. Sometimes pressing prayer requests are added earnestly, why this is worthy of His consideration. Love in prayer is important.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-28

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies, 21 but test everything; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil.

23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

25 Brothers, pray for us.

28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

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