Day 12 - 12 Jan
Day 12 , 11 Jan 2021
Job 35 - 37
Job 35
Elihu Condemns Self-Righteousness
1 Elihu spoke again and said:
2 "Do you think this is right,
that you say, 'My righteousness is before God'?
3 For you said, 'What advantage will it be to me?
What profit will I have if I am cleansed from my sin?’
4 "I will answer you,
and your companions with you.
5 Look unto the heavens and see,
and behold the clouds that are higher than you.
6 If you sin, what do you accomplish against Him?
Or if your transgressions are multiplied, what does it do to Him?
7 If you are righteous, what does it give Him?
Or what does He receive from your hand?
8 Your wickedness may hurt a man like you,
and your righteousness may profit a son of man.
9 "Because of the many oppressions they cry out;
they cry out because of the arm of the mighty.
10 But none says, 'Where is God my Maker,
who gives songs in the night,
11 who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth,
and makes us wiser than the birds of heaven?'
12 There they cry out, but He does not answer
because of the pride of evil men.
13 Surely God will not hear vanity,
nor will the Almighty regard it.
14 Although you say you do not see Him,
yet judgment is before Him,
and you must trust in Him.
15 But now, because He has not punished in His anger,
nor taken much notice of folly,
16 therefore Job opens his mouth in vain;
he multiplies words without knowledge."
Job 36
Elihu Proclaims God's Majesty
1 Elihu continued and said:
2 "Bear with me a little, and I will show you
that I have yet to speak on God's behalf.
3 I will bring my knowledge from afar
and will ascribe righteousness to my Maker.
4 For truly my words will not be false;
He who is perfect in knowledge is with you.
5 "Behold, God is mighty and despises no one;
He is mighty in strength and wisdom.
6 He does not preserve the life of the wicked,
but gives justice to the poor.
7 He does not withdraw His eyes from the righteous;
but they are on the throne with kings,
for He establishes them forever, and they are exalted.
8 If they are bound in chains
and held in cords of affliction,
9 then He shows them their work,
and their transgressions that they have exceeded;
10 and He opens their ear to discipline,
and commands that they turn from iniquity.
11 If they obey and serve Him,
they will spend their days in prosperity
and their years in pleasures.
12 But if they do not obey,
they will perish by the sword,
and they will die without knowledge.
13 "But the hypocrites in heart heap up wrath;
they do not cry out when He binds them.
14 They die in youth,
and their life ends among the unclean.
15 He delivers the poor in their affliction,
and opens their ears in oppression.
16 "Even so He would have removed you out of distress
into a broad place where there is no restraint;
and that which was set on your table would be full of richness.
17 But you are filled with the judgment due the wicked;
judgment and justice take hold of you.
18 Because there is wrath, beware lest He take you away with a blow;
even a great ransom cannot deliver you.
19 Will He esteem your riches?
No, not gold, nor all the force of your strength.
20 Do not desire the night,
when people are cut off in their place.
21 Take heed! Do not turn to iniquity,
for you have chosen this rather than affliction.
22 "Behold, God is exalted in His power;
who teaches like Him?
23 Who has prescribed His way for Him?
Or who can say, 'You have worked iniquity'?
24 Remember to magnify His work,
which men behold.
25 Every man may see it;
man may behold it from afar.
26 Look, God is great, and we do not know Him,
nor can the number of His years be searched out.
27 "For He draws up the drops of water;
they distill rain according to its mist,
28 which the clouds drop down,
and drip upon man abundantly.
29 Indeed, can anyone understand the spreading of clouds,
or the noise of His tent?
30 See, He spreads His light upon it
and covers the bottom of the sea.
31 For by these He judges the people;
He gives food in abundance.
32 With clouds He covers the light,
and commands it to strike the mark.
33 Its thunder declares it,
the cattle also, concerning the rising storm.
Job 37
1 "At this also my heart trembles
and moves out of its place.
2 Hear attentively the thunder of His voice,
and the sound that goes out of His mouth.
3 He lets it loose under the whole heaven,
and His lightning unto the ends of the earth.
4 After it a voice roars; He thunders with His majestic voice,
and He does not restrain them when His voice is heard.
5 God thunders marvelously with His voice;
He does great things that we cannot comprehend.
6 For He says to the snow, 'Come on the earth,'
likewise to the gentle rain and to the heavy rain of His strength.
7 He seals up the hand of every man,
that all men may know His work.
8 Then the beasts go into dens
and remain in their places.
9 Out of the south comes the whirlwind,
and cold out of the north.
10 By the breath of God frost is given,
and the broad waters are frozen.
11 Also He loads the thick clouds with moisture;
He scatters His bright clouds,
12 and they are turned about by His guidance,
that they may do whatever He commands them
upon the face of the inhabited earth.
13 He causes it to come, whether for correction,
or for His land or for mercy.
14 "Listen to this, Job; stand still
and consider the wondrous works of God.
15 Do you know when God dispatches them
and causes the light of His cloud to shine?
16 Do you know how the clouds are balanced,
the wondrous works of Him who is perfect in knowledge?
17 How your garments are warm,
when He quiets the earth by the south wind?
18 Have you, with Him, spread out the sky,
which is strong and is like a molded mirror?
19 "Teach us what we will say to Him,
for we cannot prepare our speech because of the darkness.
20 Will it be told Him that I speak?
If a man speaks, surely he will be swallowed up.
21 Now men do not see the bright light
which is in the clouds,
but the wind passes and cleanses them.
22 Fair weather comes out of the north;
with God is terrible majesty.
23 Concerning the Almighty, we cannot find Him out;
He is excellent in power, and in judgment,
and in much righteousness He will not oppress.
24 Men therefore fear Him;
He shows no partiality to those who are wise in heart."
Seek the Lord and seek his favour
2) Our Daily Bread for 12 Jan 2021 https://odb.org/CA/2021/01/12/breaking-the-cycle Entitled Breaking the Cycle
2 Cor 5:14-21
14 For the love of Christ constrains us, because we thus judge: that if one died for all, then all have died.
15 And He died for all, that those who live should not from now on live for themselves,
but for Him who died for them and rose again.
16 So from now on we do not regard anyone according to the flesh.
Yes, though we have known Christ according to the flesh,
yet we do not regard Him as such from now on.
17 Therefore, if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things have passed away.
Look, all things have become new.
18 All this is from God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ
and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation,
19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their sins against them,
and has entrusted to us the message of reconciliation.
20 So we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us.
We implore you in Christ’s stead: Be reconciled to God.
21 God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
David's first beating came at the hands of his father on his seventh birthday,
after he accidentally broke a window. "He kicked me and punched me," David said.
"Afterward, he apologized. He was an abusive alcoholic, and it’s a cycle I’m doing my best to end now."
But it took a long time for David to get to this point.
Most of his teen years and twenties were spent in jail or on probation,
and in and out of addiction treatment centers.
When it felt like his dreams were entirely dashed,
he found hope in a Christ-centered treatment center through a relationship with Jesus.
"I used to be filled with nothing but despair," David says.
"Now I’m pushing myself in the other direction. When I get up in the morning,
the first thing I tell God is that I’m surrendering my will over to Him."
When we come to God with lives shattered, whether by others' wrongdoing or by our own,
God takes our broken hearts and makes us new:
"If anyone is in Christ, . . . the old has gone, the new is here!" (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Christ’s love and life breaks into the cycles of our past,
giving us a new future (vv. 14–15). And it doesn't end there!
Throughout our lives, we can find hope and strength in what God has done and continues to do in us—each and every moment.
By: Alyson Kieda
Reflect & Pray
Where were you headed when you received Jesus as your Savior?
How does it help to know that God continues to shape your life to increasingly resemble His?
Dear God, thank You for interrupting the downward trajectory of my life and making me a new creation!
Make me ever more like You.
3) Daily verses taken from Billy Graham Evangelical Organisation
Words in Season Scripture Memory Tools
Week 5 Rejoice in Grace – Day 3 The song of Exaltation
Exodus 15:2
2 The Lord is my strength and song,
and He has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise Him;
my father’s God, and I will exalt Him.
The world is full of music that communicates human emotion: love, joy, sadness, separation.
A love song makes us misty-eyed; a song of protest arouses anger; a song
describing loss stimulates feelings of hurt and abandonment. Music is a powerful force to sway
the human spirit.
Exodus 15:2 indicates that God should be the source of the songs in our hearts.
Human emotions vacillate; human relationships disappoint, but God is our "strenght" and our "song".
To exalt the Lord includes many different type of "songs".
"I can't carry a tune in a bucket," one woman complained. "How can I sing to the Lord
anything that will be pleasing to him?" But the Lord does not delight in the
professionalisn of our songs, but in the motivation of our hearts.
We can "sing to the Lord" when we enjoy a Bach organ piece played for his glory.
We can exalt him in the words of Scripture - either remembered or sung.
We can worship him by enjoying the songs of others.
The key to making the Lord our song is exaltation. When our thoughts lift him up in
praise, we are singing a song of exaltation to the Lord.
When God is exlted in our songs, in our hearts, and in our thoughts, that focus gives
strength to our lives. We can face the difficulties that are an inevitable
part of experience, because God is our "strengh and our song".
Application
a) What is the difference between a song that is professionally performed
and opne that exalts the Lord?
b) What practical steps can I take to make my daily life a "song of praise" to God?
4) From Prosperity Promises - Kenneth Copeland
Proverbs 10:22
22 The blessing of the Lord makes rich,
and He adds no sorrow with it.
5) From a Book called God's Promises for you:
When you are Saddened by Loss
1 Cor 15:35-38,51-57
35 But someone will say, "How are the dead raised up? With what body do they come?"
36 You fool! What you sow is not made alive unless it dies.
37 When you sow, you do not sow the body that shall be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain.
38 Then God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body.
51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet,
for the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
53 For this corruptible will put on incorruption, and this mortal will put on immortality.
54 When this corruptible will have put on incorruption,
and this mortal will have put on immortality,
then the saying that is written shall come to pass: "Death is swallowed up in victory."
55 "O death, where is your sting?
O grave, where is your victory?"
56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.
57
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!
6) This come from Praying for Muslims in Canada 2015 (Is there a 2021 edition?)
2015 Population - 4631302 Muslims about 136493
British Columbia - British Columbia's Muslim Population is growing constantly.
Every week there are immigrants ad refugees coming to the Greater Vancouver
and surrounding areas. There are also significant Muslim student populations
in our colleges and universities. Some have even suggested that there are
between 4000 and 5000 Saudi Arabian students alone, without counting all
other nationalities.
Greater Vancouver has an estimated 180000 Muslims, and there are significant
and growing communities in the Fraser Valley such as in Langley, Abbotsford,
Chilliwack, etc. Including these communities the total population for this
region is about 200000.
Of these, there are an estimated 100000 Iranians, 35000 Arabs, 15000 Ismailis,
more than 20000 Afghanis, 10000 South Asian Muslims, 3000 Turks, and small
numbers from other countries such as Sudan, Somalia, Albania, etc.
We are seeing some Muslims coming to Christ and we rejoice in that.
A few people also have some ongoing ministry to Muslims in the area,
for which we also rejoice. Let us agree in that
- the church will catch a vision to pray,
and a burden to train outreach to Muslims
- the church will press in to participate in effective
discipleship of these new Muslim background believers.
Adding further
30 days of prayer for the Muslim World 24 April to 23 May 2020
Under the Keep Praying page
When the new moon is sighted it marks the beginning of t he new Islamic month
and Eid al-Fitr, the "Festival of Breaking the Fast", will start! After 30 days
of fasting, the Eid celebration at the end of Ramadan is a joyful time that
usually lasts about 3 days. Muslims will buy new clothes, exchange gifts and,
of course, enjoy special foods. In Muslim-majority nations, the streets may be
decorated and festivals will be held.
For many Muslims, Eid-al-Fitr begins with communal prayers at daybreak and the
distribution of money (zakat) to the poor, which is one of the 5 pillars of
Islam.
You can greet Muslim friends during this time by saying "Eid Mubarak",
which means Blessed Eid!"
Ramadan is over for this year, but you can continue to pray for Muslims you
know, and Muslims around the world:
- Despite the unsettling developments in our world today that involve actions
in the name of Islam, there is at the same time a largely untold story about
unprecedented movement to Christ among Muslims. There have been more such
movements of thousands or more new disciples among Muslims in the last three
decades or so than in all the previous history of Christian Muslim
relationships! Pray for this momentum to continue.
Acts 2:12-17 : 17 "In the last days it shall be," says God,
"that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh;
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.
18 Even on My menservants and maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days; and they shall prophesy.
19 And I will show wonders in heaven above and signs on the earth below:
blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke. 20 The sun shall be turned into darkness,
and the moon into blood, before that great and glorious day of the Lord comes.
21 And whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."[a]
Footnotes
Acts 2:21 Joel 2:28-32.
- Pray for Christian workers an organisations focused on seeing effective
discipleship movements among Muslim people.
- Ask the Holy Spirit to continue to inspire you to have god's heart for
Muslims, to see them as He does, and to be the light that then to Jesus.
Matthew 5:14-15 : 14 "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a
hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do men light a candle and put it under
a basket, but on a candlestick. And it gives light to all who are in the
house."
Ideas for prayer
- Pray for opportunities to show the love of Christ to Muslims around you
- Pray for, and offer generous hospitality to, those you know who are serving
Christ among Muslim people -
Romans 12:13 "contribute to the needs of the saints, practice hospitality."
- When you gather with fellow believers, remember to pray for Muslims
throughout the year and encourage them to also participate in 30 Days!
My paternal side is of Muslim heritage and will offer this section to further
call for Muslim converts to Christian and any other converts to Christianity
(Hindus, Jews, aboriginals Canadian, ...) .
7) Prayers for the nation (Canada) coming from Prayer map of Canada
http://www.ehc.ca
12th Day of the Month
a) Pray that the Lord will put a desire i nthe hearts of those in business to follow God's principles
and act honourably and ethically
(Proverb 11:1
1 A false balance is abomination to the Lord,
but a just weight is His delight.
)
b) Pray the the Spirit of the Lord will restrain the spirit of
hatred and destruction against humanity acreoss the world.
This month Calvarycommunity.ca is doing 21 days of Fasting and prayer available at
https://calvarycommunity.ca/prayandfast/
https://calvarycommunity.ca/prayandfast/Day9
Day 9: More of God
Verse of the Day: John 15:15
15 I no longer call you servants,
for a servant does not know what his master does.
But I have called you friends, for everything that
I have heard from My Father have I made known to you.
Do you hunger for a greater sense of God's presence in your life?
Do you desire to know God better, in a deeper way.
Building a relationship with God is very similar to building a relationship with any person.
We need to spend time talking with them and listening to them and learning about them.
The difference between knowing God and just knowing ABOUT God makes a huge difference.
Reflection:
What am I doing in my life to know God and not just about him?
It is not just a clean heart; we must have a spirit-filled heart as well.
When we break sin in our life, we must replace it with Godly behaviour.
Like the best way to break bad habits is to replace them with good ones.
The best way to defeat Satan is to put Christ on the throne of our heart,
then there's no room for the devil.
Prayer:
Lord, I look to you for all my needs in my life. Draw me closer Father,
I want to hunger for more of You. Saturate me with the Holy Spirit so I can live in Your power.
Help me to put all my expectations on to you Lord and I will live in Your will, not my own.
I long for Your presence, Lord. Help me turn my eyes and my thoughts all towards You.
In Jesus name, Amen.
Scripture reflection:
Isaiah 54:17,
17 No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper,
and every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment, you shall condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
and their vindication is from Me,
says the Lord.
Micah 2:13,
13 He who breaks through has gone up before them;
they will break through and pass the gate and go out by it.
Then their king will pass on before them,
the Lord at their head.
Revelations 7:17
17 "for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne
will shepherd them
and 'He will lead them to springs of living water.'
'And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.'"
Conclusion:
Pray to you find wisdom and direction in the Lord
Pray to Lord to break the cycle of evil in your life.
Pray to the Lord that you exalt him daily
Pray that you will join the Lord in Heaven.
Pray to be honest in all your dealings.
Pray for forgiveness of sins and repentance.
Pray to accept Jesus in your life
Job 35 - 37
Job 35
Elihu Condemns Self-Righteousness
1 Elihu spoke again and said:
2 "Do you think this is right,
that you say, 'My righteousness is before God'?
3 For you said, 'What advantage will it be to me?
What profit will I have if I am cleansed from my sin?’
4 "I will answer you,
and your companions with you.
5 Look unto the heavens and see,
and behold the clouds that are higher than you.
6 If you sin, what do you accomplish against Him?
Or if your transgressions are multiplied, what does it do to Him?
7 If you are righteous, what does it give Him?
Or what does He receive from your hand?
8 Your wickedness may hurt a man like you,
and your righteousness may profit a son of man.
9 "Because of the many oppressions they cry out;
they cry out because of the arm of the mighty.
10 But none says, 'Where is God my Maker,
who gives songs in the night,
11 who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth,
and makes us wiser than the birds of heaven?'
12 There they cry out, but He does not answer
because of the pride of evil men.
13 Surely God will not hear vanity,
nor will the Almighty regard it.
14 Although you say you do not see Him,
yet judgment is before Him,
and you must trust in Him.
15 But now, because He has not punished in His anger,
nor taken much notice of folly,
16 therefore Job opens his mouth in vain;
he multiplies words without knowledge."
Job 36
Elihu Proclaims God's Majesty
1 Elihu continued and said:
2 "Bear with me a little, and I will show you
that I have yet to speak on God's behalf.
3 I will bring my knowledge from afar
and will ascribe righteousness to my Maker.
4 For truly my words will not be false;
He who is perfect in knowledge is with you.
5 "Behold, God is mighty and despises no one;
He is mighty in strength and wisdom.
6 He does not preserve the life of the wicked,
but gives justice to the poor.
7 He does not withdraw His eyes from the righteous;
but they are on the throne with kings,
for He establishes them forever, and they are exalted.
8 If they are bound in chains
and held in cords of affliction,
9 then He shows them their work,
and their transgressions that they have exceeded;
10 and He opens their ear to discipline,
and commands that they turn from iniquity.
11 If they obey and serve Him,
they will spend their days in prosperity
and their years in pleasures.
12 But if they do not obey,
they will perish by the sword,
and they will die without knowledge.
13 "But the hypocrites in heart heap up wrath;
they do not cry out when He binds them.
14 They die in youth,
and their life ends among the unclean.
15 He delivers the poor in their affliction,
and opens their ears in oppression.
16 "Even so He would have removed you out of distress
into a broad place where there is no restraint;
and that which was set on your table would be full of richness.
17 But you are filled with the judgment due the wicked;
judgment and justice take hold of you.
18 Because there is wrath, beware lest He take you away with a blow;
even a great ransom cannot deliver you.
19 Will He esteem your riches?
No, not gold, nor all the force of your strength.
20 Do not desire the night,
when people are cut off in their place.
21 Take heed! Do not turn to iniquity,
for you have chosen this rather than affliction.
22 "Behold, God is exalted in His power;
who teaches like Him?
23 Who has prescribed His way for Him?
Or who can say, 'You have worked iniquity'?
24 Remember to magnify His work,
which men behold.
25 Every man may see it;
man may behold it from afar.
26 Look, God is great, and we do not know Him,
nor can the number of His years be searched out.
27 "For He draws up the drops of water;
they distill rain according to its mist,
28 which the clouds drop down,
and drip upon man abundantly.
29 Indeed, can anyone understand the spreading of clouds,
or the noise of His tent?
30 See, He spreads His light upon it
and covers the bottom of the sea.
31 For by these He judges the people;
He gives food in abundance.
32 With clouds He covers the light,
and commands it to strike the mark.
33 Its thunder declares it,
the cattle also, concerning the rising storm.
Job 37
1 "At this also my heart trembles
and moves out of its place.
2 Hear attentively the thunder of His voice,
and the sound that goes out of His mouth.
3 He lets it loose under the whole heaven,
and His lightning unto the ends of the earth.
4 After it a voice roars; He thunders with His majestic voice,
and He does not restrain them when His voice is heard.
5 God thunders marvelously with His voice;
He does great things that we cannot comprehend.
6 For He says to the snow, 'Come on the earth,'
likewise to the gentle rain and to the heavy rain of His strength.
7 He seals up the hand of every man,
that all men may know His work.
8 Then the beasts go into dens
and remain in their places.
9 Out of the south comes the whirlwind,
and cold out of the north.
10 By the breath of God frost is given,
and the broad waters are frozen.
11 Also He loads the thick clouds with moisture;
He scatters His bright clouds,
12 and they are turned about by His guidance,
that they may do whatever He commands them
upon the face of the inhabited earth.
13 He causes it to come, whether for correction,
or for His land or for mercy.
14 "Listen to this, Job; stand still
and consider the wondrous works of God.
15 Do you know when God dispatches them
and causes the light of His cloud to shine?
16 Do you know how the clouds are balanced,
the wondrous works of Him who is perfect in knowledge?
17 How your garments are warm,
when He quiets the earth by the south wind?
18 Have you, with Him, spread out the sky,
which is strong and is like a molded mirror?
19 "Teach us what we will say to Him,
for we cannot prepare our speech because of the darkness.
20 Will it be told Him that I speak?
If a man speaks, surely he will be swallowed up.
21 Now men do not see the bright light
which is in the clouds,
but the wind passes and cleanses them.
22 Fair weather comes out of the north;
with God is terrible majesty.
23 Concerning the Almighty, we cannot find Him out;
He is excellent in power, and in judgment,
and in much righteousness He will not oppress.
24 Men therefore fear Him;
He shows no partiality to those who are wise in heart."
Seek the Lord and seek his favour
2) Our Daily Bread for 12 Jan 2021 https://odb.org/CA/2021/01/12/breaking-the-cycle Entitled Breaking the Cycle
2 Cor 5:14-21
14 For the love of Christ constrains us, because we thus judge: that if one died for all, then all have died.
15 And He died for all, that those who live should not from now on live for themselves,
but for Him who died for them and rose again.
16 So from now on we do not regard anyone according to the flesh.
Yes, though we have known Christ according to the flesh,
yet we do not regard Him as such from now on.
17 Therefore, if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things have passed away.
Look, all things have become new.
18 All this is from God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ
and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation,
19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their sins against them,
and has entrusted to us the message of reconciliation.
20 So we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us.
We implore you in Christ’s stead: Be reconciled to God.
21 God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
David's first beating came at the hands of his father on his seventh birthday,
after he accidentally broke a window. "He kicked me and punched me," David said.
"Afterward, he apologized. He was an abusive alcoholic, and it’s a cycle I’m doing my best to end now."
But it took a long time for David to get to this point.
Most of his teen years and twenties were spent in jail or on probation,
and in and out of addiction treatment centers.
When it felt like his dreams were entirely dashed,
he found hope in a Christ-centered treatment center through a relationship with Jesus.
"I used to be filled with nothing but despair," David says.
"Now I’m pushing myself in the other direction. When I get up in the morning,
the first thing I tell God is that I’m surrendering my will over to Him."
When we come to God with lives shattered, whether by others' wrongdoing or by our own,
God takes our broken hearts and makes us new:
"If anyone is in Christ, . . . the old has gone, the new is here!" (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Christ’s love and life breaks into the cycles of our past,
giving us a new future (vv. 14–15). And it doesn't end there!
Throughout our lives, we can find hope and strength in what God has done and continues to do in us—each and every moment.
By: Alyson Kieda
Reflect & Pray
Where were you headed when you received Jesus as your Savior?
How does it help to know that God continues to shape your life to increasingly resemble His?
Dear God, thank You for interrupting the downward trajectory of my life and making me a new creation!
Make me ever more like You.
3) Daily verses taken from Billy Graham Evangelical Organisation
Words in Season Scripture Memory Tools
Week 5 Rejoice in Grace – Day 3 The song of Exaltation
Exodus 15:2
2 The Lord is my strength and song,
and He has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise Him;
my father’s God, and I will exalt Him.
The world is full of music that communicates human emotion: love, joy, sadness, separation.
A love song makes us misty-eyed; a song of protest arouses anger; a song
describing loss stimulates feelings of hurt and abandonment. Music is a powerful force to sway
the human spirit.
Exodus 15:2 indicates that God should be the source of the songs in our hearts.
Human emotions vacillate; human relationships disappoint, but God is our "strenght" and our "song".
To exalt the Lord includes many different type of "songs".
"I can't carry a tune in a bucket," one woman complained. "How can I sing to the Lord
anything that will be pleasing to him?" But the Lord does not delight in the
professionalisn of our songs, but in the motivation of our hearts.
We can "sing to the Lord" when we enjoy a Bach organ piece played for his glory.
We can exalt him in the words of Scripture - either remembered or sung.
We can worship him by enjoying the songs of others.
The key to making the Lord our song is exaltation. When our thoughts lift him up in
praise, we are singing a song of exaltation to the Lord.
When God is exlted in our songs, in our hearts, and in our thoughts, that focus gives
strength to our lives. We can face the difficulties that are an inevitable
part of experience, because God is our "strengh and our song".
Application
a) What is the difference between a song that is professionally performed
and opne that exalts the Lord?
b) What practical steps can I take to make my daily life a "song of praise" to God?
4) From Prosperity Promises - Kenneth Copeland
Proverbs 10:22
22 The blessing of the Lord makes rich,
and He adds no sorrow with it.
5) From a Book called God's Promises for you:
When you are Saddened by Loss
1 Cor 15:35-38,51-57
35 But someone will say, "How are the dead raised up? With what body do they come?"
36 You fool! What you sow is not made alive unless it dies.
37 When you sow, you do not sow the body that shall be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain.
38 Then God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body.
51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet,
for the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
53 For this corruptible will put on incorruption, and this mortal will put on immortality.
54 When this corruptible will have put on incorruption,
and this mortal will have put on immortality,
then the saying that is written shall come to pass: "Death is swallowed up in victory."
55 "O death, where is your sting?
O grave, where is your victory?"
56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.
57
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!
6) This come from Praying for Muslims in Canada 2015 (Is there a 2021 edition?)
2015 Population - 4631302 Muslims about 136493
British Columbia - British Columbia's Muslim Population is growing constantly.
Every week there are immigrants ad refugees coming to the Greater Vancouver
and surrounding areas. There are also significant Muslim student populations
in our colleges and universities. Some have even suggested that there are
between 4000 and 5000 Saudi Arabian students alone, without counting all
other nationalities.
Greater Vancouver has an estimated 180000 Muslims, and there are significant
and growing communities in the Fraser Valley such as in Langley, Abbotsford,
Chilliwack, etc. Including these communities the total population for this
region is about 200000.
Of these, there are an estimated 100000 Iranians, 35000 Arabs, 15000 Ismailis,
more than 20000 Afghanis, 10000 South Asian Muslims, 3000 Turks, and small
numbers from other countries such as Sudan, Somalia, Albania, etc.
We are seeing some Muslims coming to Christ and we rejoice in that.
A few people also have some ongoing ministry to Muslims in the area,
for which we also rejoice. Let us agree in that
- the church will catch a vision to pray,
and a burden to train outreach to Muslims
- the church will press in to participate in effective
discipleship of these new Muslim background believers.
Adding further
30 days of prayer for the Muslim World 24 April to 23 May 2020
Under the Keep Praying page
When the new moon is sighted it marks the beginning of t he new Islamic month
and Eid al-Fitr, the "Festival of Breaking the Fast", will start! After 30 days
of fasting, the Eid celebration at the end of Ramadan is a joyful time that
usually lasts about 3 days. Muslims will buy new clothes, exchange gifts and,
of course, enjoy special foods. In Muslim-majority nations, the streets may be
decorated and festivals will be held.
For many Muslims, Eid-al-Fitr begins with communal prayers at daybreak and the
distribution of money (zakat) to the poor, which is one of the 5 pillars of
Islam.
You can greet Muslim friends during this time by saying "Eid Mubarak",
which means Blessed Eid!"
Ramadan is over for this year, but you can continue to pray for Muslims you
know, and Muslims around the world:
- Despite the unsettling developments in our world today that involve actions
in the name of Islam, there is at the same time a largely untold story about
unprecedented movement to Christ among Muslims. There have been more such
movements of thousands or more new disciples among Muslims in the last three
decades or so than in all the previous history of Christian Muslim
relationships! Pray for this momentum to continue.
Acts 2:12-17 : 17 "In the last days it shall be," says God,
"that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh;
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.
18 Even on My menservants and maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days; and they shall prophesy.
19 And I will show wonders in heaven above and signs on the earth below:
blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke. 20 The sun shall be turned into darkness,
and the moon into blood, before that great and glorious day of the Lord comes.
21 And whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."[a]
Footnotes
Acts 2:21 Joel 2:28-32.
- Pray for Christian workers an organisations focused on seeing effective
discipleship movements among Muslim people.
- Ask the Holy Spirit to continue to inspire you to have god's heart for
Muslims, to see them as He does, and to be the light that then to Jesus.
Matthew 5:14-15 : 14 "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a
hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do men light a candle and put it under
a basket, but on a candlestick. And it gives light to all who are in the
house."
Ideas for prayer
- Pray for opportunities to show the love of Christ to Muslims around you
- Pray for, and offer generous hospitality to, those you know who are serving
Christ among Muslim people -
Romans 12:13 "contribute to the needs of the saints, practice hospitality."
- When you gather with fellow believers, remember to pray for Muslims
throughout the year and encourage them to also participate in 30 Days!
My paternal side is of Muslim heritage and will offer this section to further
call for Muslim converts to Christian and any other converts to Christianity
(Hindus, Jews, aboriginals Canadian, ...) .
7) Prayers for the nation (Canada) coming from Prayer map of Canada
http://www.ehc.ca
12th Day of the Month
a) Pray that the Lord will put a desire i nthe hearts of those in business to follow God's principles
and act honourably and ethically
(Proverb 11:1
1 A false balance is abomination to the Lord,
but a just weight is His delight.
)
b) Pray the the Spirit of the Lord will restrain the spirit of
hatred and destruction against humanity acreoss the world.
This month Calvarycommunity.ca is doing 21 days of Fasting and prayer available at https://calvarycommunity.ca/prayandfast/
https://calvarycommunity.ca/prayandfast/Day9
Day 9: More of God
Verse of the Day: John 15:15
15 I no longer call you servants,
for a servant does not know what his master does.
But I have called you friends, for everything that
I have heard from My Father have I made known to you.
Do you hunger for a greater sense of God's presence in your life?
Do you desire to know God better, in a deeper way.
Building a relationship with God is very similar to building a relationship with any person.
We need to spend time talking with them and listening to them and learning about them.
The difference between knowing God and just knowing ABOUT God makes a huge difference.
Reflection:
What am I doing in my life to know God and not just about him?
It is not just a clean heart; we must have a spirit-filled heart as well.
When we break sin in our life, we must replace it with Godly behaviour.
Like the best way to break bad habits is to replace them with good ones.
The best way to defeat Satan is to put Christ on the throne of our heart,
then there's no room for the devil.
Prayer:
Lord, I look to you for all my needs in my life. Draw me closer Father,
I want to hunger for more of You. Saturate me with the Holy Spirit so I can live in Your power.
Help me to put all my expectations on to you Lord and I will live in Your will, not my own.
I long for Your presence, Lord. Help me turn my eyes and my thoughts all towards You.
In Jesus name, Amen.
Scripture reflection:
Isaiah 54:17,
17 No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper,
and every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment, you shall condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
and their vindication is from Me,
says the Lord.
Micah 2:13,
13 He who breaks through has gone up before them;
they will break through and pass the gate and go out by it.
Then their king will pass on before them,
the Lord at their head.
Revelations 7:17
17 "for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne
will shepherd them
and 'He will lead them to springs of living water.'
'And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.'"
Conclusion:
Pray to you find wisdom and direction in the Lord
Pray to Lord to break the cycle of evil in your life.
Pray to the Lord that you exalt him daily
Pray that you will join the Lord in Heaven.
Pray to be honest in all your dealings.
Pray for forgiveness of sins and repentance.
Pray to accept Jesus in your life
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