Day 173 - 22 June 2021 reflections
Day 173, 22 June 2021
1 Kings 12-14
1 Kings 12
Israel Rebels Against Rehoboam
2Ch 10:1-11:4
1 (2Ch 10:1-19) And Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone to
Shechem to make him king.
2 (1Ki 11:40) When Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was still in Egypt, heard
of it (for he had fled from King Solomon and stayed in Egypt),
3 they called and sent for him. And Jeroboam and all the congregation
of Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying,
4 (1Sa 8:11-18; 1Ki 4:7) "Your father made our yoke unbearable. Now,
therefore, make the grievous service to your father and the heavy yoke
he put upon us lighter, and we will serve you."
5 He said to them, "Depart for three days, and then come back to me."
And the people departed.
6 (Job 12:12; 32:7) King Rehoboam consulted with the old men
who advised his father Solomon while he was still alive and asked,
"How do you advise me to answer the people?"
7 (Pr 15:1) And they spoke to him, saying, "If you will be a servant
to this people this day and will serve them and answer them and speak kind
words to them, they will be your servants forever."
8 But he rejected the advice that the old men gave him and consulted
with the young men who grew up with him and who stood before him,
9 and he said to them, "What advice do you give on how we should answer
this people, who have spoken to me saying,
'Make the yoke your father put on us lighter'?"
10 And the young men who grew up with him said, "Thus shall you answer
this people who said to you, 'Your father made our yoke heavy,
but make it lighter for us'; thus shall you say to them, 'My little finger
will be thicker than my father's loins!
11 Whereas my father loaded you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your burden.
My father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions!' "
12 (1Ki 12:5) So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam
on the third day, just as the king had appointed, saying,
"Come to me again the third day."
13 The king answered the people roughly and forsook the counsel the old men
gave him,
14 and instead spoke to them following the advice of the young men.
He said, "My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your burden.
My father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions."
15 (1Ki 12:24; Dt 2:30) Thus the king did not listen to the people,
for the cause was from the Lord, that He might fulfill His saying,
which the Lord spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
16 (2Sa 20:1) So when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them,
the people responded to the king, saying,
"What portion do we have in David?
We also do not have an inheritance in the son of Jesse.
To your tents, O Israel,
and see to your own house, David!"
So the people of Israel departed to their tents.
17 (1Ki 11:13; 11:36) But the people of Israel living in the cities of Judah
were ruled over by Rehoboam.
18 (1Ki 4:6; 5:14) Then King Rehoboam sent Adoniram, who was in charge
of the forced labor, and all Israel stoned him to death. As a result,
King Rehoboam quickly mounted his chariot and fled to Jerusalem.
19 (2Ki 17:21) So Israel rebelled against the house of David,
and it remains so even to this day.
20 (1Ki 11:13; 11:32) When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned,
they sent and called him before the congregation and made him king
over all Israel. Only the tribe of Judah followed the house of David.
21 (2Ch 11:1-3) When Rehoboam arrived at Jerusalem, he assembled
all the house of Judah along with the tribe of Benjamin,
a hundred and eighty thousand chosen men who were warriors,
to fight against the house of Israel and to bring the kingdom back
to Rehoboam the son of Solomon.
22 (2Ch 11:2) But the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God,saying:
23 Speak to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all the house
of Judah and Benjamin and to the remnant of the people, saying,
24 (1Ki 12:15) "Thus says the Lord: You shall not go up, nor fight against
your brothers the children of Israel. Every man is to return to his house,
for this thing is from Me." They listened therefore to the word of the Lord
and turned to depart, according to the word of the Lord.
{ Rehoboam make a ridiculous decision to listen to his peers.
Not only should he have listened to the advisors of Solomon his father,
he should have prayed to the Lord about what to say!}
Jeroboam's Golden Calves
25 (Jdg 8:17; 8:8) Then Jeroboam built Shechem in Mount Ephraim
and lived there and went out from there and built Peniel.
26 Jeroboam said in his heart, "The kingdom will return to the house of David.
27 (Dt 12:5-7; 12:14) If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house
of the Lord at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again to
their lord, even to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me
and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah."
28 (Ex 32:4; 32:8) At that point, the king got some advice and made
two golden calves and said to the people,
"It is too difficult for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods,
O Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt."
{Yet again an irrational Godless political decision . The start
of the end of a Kingdom plagued but rebellious paganism}
29 (Ge 28:19) He set one in Bethel, and he put the other in Dan.
30 (1Ki 13:34; 2Ki 17:21) This was a sin, for the people went to worship
before the one, even all the way in Dan.
31 (1Ki 13:32-33; 2Ki 17:32) He also made houses on high places
and appointed priests from among all the people who were not Levites.
{Yet an irrational Godless political decision}
32 (1Ki 8:2; 8:5) Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month,
on the fifteenth day of the month, like the feast in Judah,
and he offered sacrifice on the altar. He did this in Bethel,
sacrificing to the calves that he had made, and he stationed in Bethel
the priests of the high places he had made.
33 (1Ki 13:1; Nu 15:39) So he made offerings on the altar that he had made
in Bethel on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a holiday he imagined
in his own heart, and ordained a feast for the children of Israel,
and he sacrificed on the altar and burned incense.
{Jeroboam so self-centered that He forget the Lord who placed Him there}
1 Kings 13
The Man of God From Judah
1 (2Ki 23:17; 1Ki 12:22) A man of God came out of Judah to Bethel by the word
of the Lord while Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.
2 He cried against the altar by the word of the Lord and said,
"O altar, altar, thus says the Lord: 'A child named Josiah will be born
in the house of David, and he will sacrifice upon you the priests
of the high places who burn incense on you,
and these men's bones shall be burned upon you.' "
3 (1Co 1:22; Ex 4:3-5) He gave a sign the same day, saying,
"This is the sign that the Lord has spoken:
'The altar will be torn apart, and the ashes that are upon
it will be poured out.' "
4 When King Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God who had cried
against the altar in Bethel, he reached out his hand from the altar, saying,
"Arrest him!" And the hand that he put forth against him dried up so that
he could not pull it back in again.
5 The altar also was torn, and the ashes poured out from the altar,
just as the man of God had said it would as a sign of the Lord.
{Never mock the Word of God nor his messengers}
6 (Ex 8:8; 9:28) The king answered and said to the man of God,
"Seek the face of the Lord your God, and pray for me,
that my hand will be healed." And the man of God interceded with the Lord,
and the king's hand was healed and became as it was before.
7 (2Ki 5:15; 1Sa 9:7-8) The king said to the man of God, "Come home with me
and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward."
8 (Nu 22:18; 24:13) The man of God said to the king, "If you were to give me
half your house, I would not go with you, nor will I eat bread nor drink water
in this place,
9 for so I was commanded by the word of the Lord, saying:
You shall eat no bread, nor drink water nor return by the same way
that you came."
10 So he went another way and did not return
by the same way he came to Bethel.
11 (2Ki 23:18) Now there lived an old prophet in Bethel, and his sons came
and told him all that the man of God had done that day in Bethel.
They also told their father the words that he had spoken to the king.
12 Their father said to them, "What way did he go?" For his sons had seen
the way the man of God who came from Judah had gone.
13 He said to his sons, "Saddle my donkey." So they saddled the donkey
for him, and he rode on it.
14 He went after the man of God and found him sitting under an oak,
and he said to him, "Are you the man of God who came from Judah?"
And he said, "I am."
15 Then he said to him, "Come home with me and eat bread."
16 (1Ki 13:8-9) He said, "I may not return with you or go in with you,
nor will I eat bread nor drink water with you in this place,
17 (1Ki 20:35; 1Th 4:15) for I was commanded by the word of the Lord:
You shall eat no bread and drink no water
there nor return by the way you came.â€
18 (Mt 7:15; 1Jn 4:1) He said to him, "I am a prophet like you,
and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying,
'Bring him back with you into your house so that he may eat bread
and drink water.' " But he had lied to him.
19 So he went back with him to his house and ate bread and drank water.
20 Then as they sat at the table, the word of the Lord came to the prophet
who brought him back,
21 and he cried out to the man of God who came from Judah, saying,
"Thus says the Lord: Since you have disobeyed the mouth of the Lord
and have not kept the commandment that the Lord your God commanded you,
22 but instead came back and have eaten bread and drunk water in the place
of which the Lord told you to eat no bread and drink no water,
your carcass will not be buried in the tomb of your fathers!"
23 After he had eaten bread and had drunk, he saddled the donkey
for the prophet whom he had brought back.
24 (1Ki 20:36) As he was going, a lion met him on the way and killed him,
and his body was thrown in the road, and both the donkey and lion stood by it.
{The Lord love obedience}
25 Some men passed by and saw the body thrown in the road with the lion
standing by the body, and they came and told the story in the city
where the old prophet lived.
26 When the prophet who brought him back from the way heard about it,
he said, "It is the man of God who was disobedient to the word of the Lord,
and thus the Lord has delivered him to the lion, which has torn and slain him,
according to the word of the Lord that He spoke to him."
27 He said to his sons, "Saddle my donkey," and they saddled it.
28 He then went and found his body thrown in the road, and the donkey
and the lion were still standing by the body. The lion had not eaten the body
nor attacked the donkey.
29 The prophet picked up the body of the man of God and laid it on his donkey
and brought it back. The old prophet came to the city to mourn and to bury him.
30 (Jer 22:18) He laid his body in his own tomb, and they mourned over him,
saying, "Alas, my brother!"
31 And after he had buried him, he said to his sons, "When I am dead, bury me
in the grave in which the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones.
32 (1Ki 13:2; 16:24) For the saying that he cried out by the word of the Lord
against the altar in Bethel and against all the houses of the high places
that are in the cities of Samaria shall surely come to pass."
33 (2Ch 11:15; 13:9) After this event Jeroboam did not turn from his evil
ways, but made priests for the high places again from among all the people.
Any who would, he consecrated to be priests of the high places.
34 (1Ki 12:30; 14:10) This matter became sin to the house of Jeroboam,
so as to cut it off and to destroy it from the face of the earth.
{The future consequences will be dreadful for the Kingdom of Israel.}
1 Kings 14
Ahijah Prophesies Against Jeroboam
1 At that time, Jeroboam's son Abijah became sick.
2 (1Sa 28:8; 2Sa 14:2) Jeroboam said to his wife, "Please get up
and disguise yourself, so that you will not be recognized
as the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh. There you will find
Ahijah the prophet, who told me that I would be king over this people.
3 (1Sa 9:7-8; 1Ki 13:7) Take ten loaves, cakes, and a jar of honey,
and go to him. He will tell you what will happen to our child."
4 (1Ki 11:29; 1Sa 3:2) Jeroboam's wife did so and arose and went to Shiloh,
to the house of Ahijah.
But Ahijah could not see, for in his old age he had gone blind.
5 The Lord said to Ahijah, "The wife of Jeroboam has come to ask you about
her son, for he is sick. You shall say thus and thus to her,
for when she comes, she will be disguised as another woman."
6 And so when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet as she came in the door,
he said, "Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why do you disguise yourself as another?
I have been sent to you with bad news.
7 (1Ki 16:2; 2Sa 12:7-8) Go tell Jeroboam, 'Thus says the Lord God of Israel:
I raised you up from among the people and made you prince
over My people Israel,
8 (1Ki 15:5) and took the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it you.
Yet you have not been as My servant David, who kept My commandments
and who followed Me with all his heart to do only that which was right
in My eyes,
9 (1Ki 12:28; 2Ch 11:15) but you have sinned more than all who were before you,
for you have gone and made other gods and molded images and provoked Me
to anger and have cast Me behind your back.
10 (Dt 32:36; 1Ki 21:21)" "Therefore I will bring disaster upon the house
of Jeroboam and will cut off from Jeroboam all males, both slave and free
in Israel, and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam,
as a man takes away refuse until it is all gone.
11 (1Ki 16:4) Descendants of Jeroboam who die in the city will be eaten
by dogs, and those who die in the field will be eaten by the birds of the air,
for the Lord has spoken it.'
{Never be disobedient nor disloyal to the Lord}
12 "Arise therefore and go to your own house. When your feet enter the city,
the child will die.
13 (2Ch 19:3; 12:12) All Israel will mourn for him and bury him, for he alone
from the house of Jeroboam will come to the grave, because in him there
is found some good thing toward the Lord God of Israel.
14 (1Ki 15:27-29) "Moreover the Lord will raise up a king over Israel who will
destroy the house of Jeroboam this day and from now on.
15 (Jos 23:15-16; 2Ki 15:29) For the Lord will smite Israel, as a reed
is shaken in the water, and He will uproot Israel from this good land,
which he gave to their fathers, and will scatter them beyond the river,
because they have made their Asherah poles, provoking the Lord to anger.
16 (1Ki 12:30; 13:34) He shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam
who sinned and who led Israel to sin."
17 (1Ki 15:33; 15:21) Jeroboam's wife arose and departed and came to Tirzah.
As she arrived at the threshold of the door, the child died,
18 and they buried him, and all Israel mourned for him, according
to the word of the Lord, which He spoke by the hand
of His servant Ahijah the prophet.
19 (2Ch 13:2-20) The rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he waged war
and how he reigned, are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
20 Jeroboam reigned 22 years, and then he slept with his fathers,
and Nadab, his son, reigned in his stead.
Rehoboam, King of Judah
2Ch 12:9-16
21 (2Ch 12:13; 1Ki 11:36; 14:31) Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah.
Rehoboam was 41 years old when he began to reign, and he reigned 17 years
in Jerusalem, the city which the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel
to put His name there. And his mother's name was Naamah, an Ammonitess.
{Yes a pagan wife that lead Solomon astray}
22 (2Ch 12:1; Ps 78:58) Judah did evil in the sight of the Lord,
and the people provoked Him to jealousy with the sins they committed,
even worse than their fathers had done.
{A godless rebellion indeed}
23 (Dt 12:2; Isa 57:5; 2Ki 17:9-10) For they also built high places and images
and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree.
24 (Dt 23:17; 1Ki 15:12; 2Ki 23:7) There were also male cult prostitutes
in the land, and they did according to all the abominations of the nations
that the Lord cast out before the children of Israel.
25 (1Ki 11:40) In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt
came up against Jerusalem.
26 (1Ki 15:18; 2Ch 9:15-16) He took away all the treasures of the house
of the Lord and the treasures of the king's house, even all the shields
of gold which Solomon had made.
27 (1Sa 8:11; 22:17) King Rehoboam replaced them with bronze shields
and committed them to the hands of the chief of the guard who guarded
the king's house.
28 And whenever the king entered the house of the Lord,
the guards carried them and brought them back into the guard chamber.
29 Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam and all that he did,
are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
30 (1Ki 12:21; 12:24) There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam
all their days.
31 (2Ch 12:16; Mt 1:7) Rehoboam slept with his fathers
and was buried with his fathers in the City of David.
And his mother's name was Naamah, an Ammonitess.
And Abijah his son reigned in his stead.
2) Our Daily Bread for 22 June 2021
https://odb.org/CA/2021/06/22/know-where-to-run
entitled God Is There
Genesis 28:10-15,20-22
10 Then Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Harran.
11 He came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun
had set. He took one of the stones of that place and put it under his head,
and lay down in that place to sleep.
12 He dreamed and saw a ladder set up on the earth with the top of it reaching
to heaven. The angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
13 The Lord stood above it and said, "I am the Lord God of Abraham
your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie, to you will
I give it and to your descendants.
14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will
spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south,
and in you and in your descendants all the families of the earth will be
blessed.
15 Remember, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever
you go, and I will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until
I have done what I promised you."
20 Jacob vowed a vow, saying, "If God will be with me
and will protect me in this way that I go,
and will give me bread to eat and clothing to put on,
21 so that I return to my father’s house in peace,
then the Lord will be my God.
22 Then this stone, which I have set for a pillar,
will be the house of God, and from all that
You give me I will surely give a tenth to You."
Aubrey bought a fleece-lined coat for her aging father, but he died
before he could wear it. So she tucked a note of encouragement with a $20 bill
into the pocket and donated the jacket to charity.
Ninety miles away, unable to endure his family's dysfunction any longer,
nineteen-year-old Kelly left his house without grabbing a coat.
He knew of only one place to turn-the home of his grandmother who prayed
for him. Hours later he stepped off a bus and into his grandma's arms.
Shielding him from the winter wind, she said, "We’ve got to get you a coat!"
At the mission store, Kelly tried on a coat he liked. Slipping his hands
into the pockets he found an envelope-with a $20 bill and Aubrey's note.
Jacob fled his dysfunctional family in fear for his life (Genesis 27:41-45).
When he stopped for the night, God revealed Himself to Jacob in a dream.
"I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go,"
God told him (28:15). Jacob vowed, "If God will . . . give me food to eat
and clothes to wear . . . , then the Lord will be my God" (vv. 20–21).
Jacob made a rudimentary altar and named the spot "God's house" (v. 22).
Kelly takes Aubrey's note and that $20 wherever he goes.
Each serves as a reminder that no matter where we run, God is there.
By: Tim Gustafson
Reflect & Pray
When you've had to "run," whether literally or metaphorically,
where did you go and to whom did you turn?
How can you remind yourself of God's presence in your life?
Father, You're the One I can always run to. Help me turn to You first.
Read Who's My Neighbor? at https://www.DiscoverySeries.org/Q0308 .
3) Daily verses taken from Billy Graham Evangelical Organisation
Words in Season Scripture Memory Tools
Week 4 - The Blessings of Grace Day 3 - From Darkness to Light
Col 1:13-14
13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and has transferred us
into the kingdom of His dear Son,
14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
Most of us have no real concept of darkness. We live in a world illuminated
not only by sun, moon and start, bit by streetlights and electric lamps and,
when the power goes off, flashlights and candles. We resist the darkness
For the sighted, being in absolute darkness is a frightening experience.
The dark blots out everything; we can see nothing, not even our own bodies,
and we may become disoriented. The dark seems to press in upon us,
with an almost physical weight that oppresses.
Spiritual darkness is like that. Spiritual darkness,
the absence of light in Christ, is oppressive, weighing us down,
distorting our perceptions of realty.
We cannot judge clearly, for we cannot see at all.
Yet God breaks into our darkness, bringing his light - Jesus Christ,
The Light of the World. When the awareness of Christ invades our lives,
our eyes are opened and we can see for the first time. We see our sin,
God's grace, and the Way he has provided for escape from the dark.
And as we continue to walk in his light, we see even more - the need
for changes in our lives, and God's power to work those changes.
Discernment and wisdom come through his light,
and we understand spiritual truths we could never see before.
Paul says that God has 'rescued' us from darkness and brought us
into the light. We cannot, on our own, accomplish this rescue,
but god through Christ's sacrifice brings it about in us.
He is the light who illuminates our darkness.
Application
a) Many different kinds of spiritual darkness invade our lives
and keep us blind to the truth - sin, lack of understanding,
resistance to the Holy Spirit. What kinds of spiritual darkness
have I experienced?
b) What changes took place in me when I first 'came into the light'?
c) What spiritual truths can I see now that I could not see
when I lived in darkness?
4) Prosperity verses from Kenneth Copeland
Joshua 1:8
8 (Ps 19:14; 119:15) This Book of the Law must not depart from your mouth.
Meditate on it day and night so that you may act carefully according to all
that is written in it. For then you will make your way successful,
and you will be wise.
5) From a Book called God's Promises for you:
When you are discouraged or Depressed
Matthew 11: 25-30
25 (Ps 8:2; Jn 11:41) At that time Jesus said, "I thank You, O Father,
Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things
from the wise and prudent and revealed them to infants.
26 Even so, Father, for it seemed good in Your sight.
27 (Jn 10:15; Mt 28:18; Jn 1:18) "All things are delivered to Me
by My Father, and no one knows the Son, except the Father.
And no one knows the Father, except the Son and he to whom
the Son will reveal Him.
28 (Jn 7:37; 6:37) "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavily
burdened, and I will give you rest.
29 (Jer 6:16; Jn 13:15) Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me.
For I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.(Jer 6:16).
30 (1Jn 5:3) For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light."
Remember God's promises when You pray
The Lord's prayer
Matthew 6:9-13
9 "Therefore pray in this manner:
Our Father who is in heaven,
hallowed be Your name.
10 (Mt 3:2; 4:17) Your kingdom come;
Your will be done
on earth, as it is in heaven.
11 (Pr 30:8; Isa 33:16) Give us this day our daily bread.
12 (Ex 34:7; Ps 32:1) And forgive us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors.
13 (1Co 10:13; Jn 17:15) And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen."
6) This come from Praying for Muslims in Canada 2015 (Is there a 2021 edition?)
Quebec
Quick facts on Muslims in Quebec
Quebec 2015 population 8214 000
est Muslim Population 418946
CNMM Networks: Montreal
There is a growing Muslim population in Quebec City and a smattering
of Muslims scattered around the rest of the province, yet the vast majority
of Muslims live in the greater Montreal area. n fact, 23% of Canada's Muslim
population live in Quebec. Why is that? It is largely because Francophone
African Muslims are attracted to La Belle Provence.
And here's an interesting, perhaps even shocking fact: There are more
Muslims in Montreal than there are evangelical Christians.
This is one demographic factor creates a challenging environment for churches
and believers here: The size of the available 'workforce' is small
by comparison to begin with. Believers are already is a host culture that
is often either indifferent to religion or resistant to it. And now
this 'new' religious community of Muslims - many of whom do not visibly
or socially conform to Quebec society - are a growing population. It might br
easy for Christians to feel overwhelm by this cultural double-whammy,
yet God has always worked miracles through the small, the few.
Agree in prayer for :
- The people of Quebec, Muslim or otherwise, to be open to the Gospel
- for Muslims who are encountering believers and responding
-for a new group of Muslim background believers who are meeting
together for worship!
- For pastors and believers to be full of passion, faith and vision for
reaching Muslims in Quebec.
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 12 They were all amazed and perplexed, saying to each other,
"What does this mean?"
13 (1Co 14:23) Others mocking said, "These men are full of new wine."
Peter's Speech at Pentecost
14 (Ac 1:26) But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice
and said to them, "Men of Judea and all you who dwell in Jerusalem,
let this be known to you, and listen to my words.
15 For these are not drunk, as you suppose,
since it is the third hour of the day.
16 But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
17 (Isa 44:3; Ac 10:45) '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.'
- 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, atheists, secular humanists, ...) .
7) Prayers for the nation (Canada) coming from Prayer map of Canada
http://www.ehc.ca
22nd Day of the Month
a) Pray for the Province of Quebec
I) Pray for the leaders of Quebec,
that God's Spirit would influence
then to act justly,
serve with integrity
and honour high moral standards. ( 1 Tim 2:1 - 4
1 Therefore I exhort first of all that you make supplications,
prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings for everyone,
2 (Ezr 6:10) for kings and for all who are in authority,
that we may lead a quiet and peaceful life in all godliness and honesty,
3(1Ti 1:1; Lk 1:47) for this is good
and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,
4 (Eze 18:23; 18:32)who desires all men to be saved
and to come to the knowledge of the truth. )
II) Pray for the churches of the province,
that they would be lighthouses
beaming forth the illuminating truth of God's Word.
III) Pray that the Lord would use
the Finding the Hope Campaign
and booklet to turn many hearts to Jesus
b) Pray that the influence of the Holy Spirit would dissolve
every argument and pretension exalted against the knowledge
of God.
(
2 Cor 10: 3 - 5
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God
to the pulling down of strongholds, 5 casting down imaginations and every
high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every
thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,
)
Conclusion:
Pray to the Lord to make righteousness and God Honouring decisions.
Pray to the Lord "Father, You're the One I can always run to.
Help me turn to You first."
Pray to the Lord and thank Him for get you out of Spiritual Darkness.
Pray to the Lord be successful as the World of the Lord will not depart
from you.
Pray to the Lord and give Him your burdens.
Pray for Muslims in Quebec to receive Christ as Saviour
and that Christian outreach will increase in Quebec.
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.
Pray that the influence of the Holy Spirit would dissolve
every argument and pretension exalted against the knowledge
of God.
Pray for the ongoing translation of Christian literature
used throughout the region in Lebanon.
Pray to the Lord that to know the Holy Spirit.
and Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness
Remember eternity starts now -
Pray for the direction you take to the Ever lasting loving God.
1 Kings 12-14
1 Kings 12
Israel Rebels Against Rehoboam
2Ch 10:1-11:4
1 (2Ch 10:1-19) And Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone to
Shechem to make him king.
2 (1Ki 11:40) When Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was still in Egypt, heard
of it (for he had fled from King Solomon and stayed in Egypt),
3 they called and sent for him. And Jeroboam and all the congregation
of Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying,
4 (1Sa 8:11-18; 1Ki 4:7) "Your father made our yoke unbearable. Now,
therefore, make the grievous service to your father and the heavy yoke
he put upon us lighter, and we will serve you."
5 He said to them, "Depart for three days, and then come back to me."
And the people departed.
6 (Job 12:12; 32:7) King Rehoboam consulted with the old men
who advised his father Solomon while he was still alive and asked,
"How do you advise me to answer the people?"
7 (Pr 15:1) And they spoke to him, saying, "If you will be a servant
to this people this day and will serve them and answer them and speak kind
words to them, they will be your servants forever."
8 But he rejected the advice that the old men gave him and consulted
with the young men who grew up with him and who stood before him,
9 and he said to them, "What advice do you give on how we should answer
this people, who have spoken to me saying,
'Make the yoke your father put on us lighter'?"
10 And the young men who grew up with him said, "Thus shall you answer
this people who said to you, 'Your father made our yoke heavy,
but make it lighter for us'; thus shall you say to them, 'My little finger
will be thicker than my father's loins!
11 Whereas my father loaded you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your burden.
My father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions!' "
12 (1Ki 12:5) So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam
on the third day, just as the king had appointed, saying,
"Come to me again the third day."
13 The king answered the people roughly and forsook the counsel the old men
gave him,
14 and instead spoke to them following the advice of the young men.
He said, "My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your burden.
My father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions."
15 (1Ki 12:24; Dt 2:30) Thus the king did not listen to the people,
for the cause was from the Lord, that He might fulfill His saying,
which the Lord spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
16 (2Sa 20:1) So when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them,
the people responded to the king, saying,
"What portion do we have in David?
We also do not have an inheritance in the son of Jesse.
To your tents, O Israel,
and see to your own house, David!"
So the people of Israel departed to their tents.
17 (1Ki 11:13; 11:36) But the people of Israel living in the cities of Judah
were ruled over by Rehoboam.
18 (1Ki 4:6; 5:14) Then King Rehoboam sent Adoniram, who was in charge
of the forced labor, and all Israel stoned him to death. As a result,
King Rehoboam quickly mounted his chariot and fled to Jerusalem.
19 (2Ki 17:21) So Israel rebelled against the house of David,
and it remains so even to this day.
20 (1Ki 11:13; 11:32) When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned,
they sent and called him before the congregation and made him king
over all Israel. Only the tribe of Judah followed the house of David.
21 (2Ch 11:1-3) When Rehoboam arrived at Jerusalem, he assembled
all the house of Judah along with the tribe of Benjamin,
a hundred and eighty thousand chosen men who were warriors,
to fight against the house of Israel and to bring the kingdom back
to Rehoboam the son of Solomon.
22 (2Ch 11:2) But the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God,saying:
23 Speak to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all the house
of Judah and Benjamin and to the remnant of the people, saying,
24 (1Ki 12:15) "Thus says the Lord: You shall not go up, nor fight against
your brothers the children of Israel. Every man is to return to his house,
for this thing is from Me." They listened therefore to the word of the Lord
and turned to depart, according to the word of the Lord.
{ Rehoboam make a ridiculous decision to listen to his peers.
Not only should he have listened to the advisors of Solomon his father,
he should have prayed to the Lord about what to say!}
Jeroboam's Golden Calves
25 (Jdg 8:17; 8:8) Then Jeroboam built Shechem in Mount Ephraim
and lived there and went out from there and built Peniel.
26 Jeroboam said in his heart, "The kingdom will return to the house of David.
27 (Dt 12:5-7; 12:14) If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house
of the Lord at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again to
their lord, even to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me
and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah."
28 (Ex 32:4; 32:8) At that point, the king got some advice and made
two golden calves and said to the people,
"It is too difficult for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods,
O Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt."
{Yet again an irrational Godless political decision . The start
of the end of a Kingdom plagued but rebellious paganism}
29 (Ge 28:19) He set one in Bethel, and he put the other in Dan.
30 (1Ki 13:34; 2Ki 17:21) This was a sin, for the people went to worship
before the one, even all the way in Dan.
31 (1Ki 13:32-33; 2Ki 17:32) He also made houses on high places
and appointed priests from among all the people who were not Levites.
{Yet an irrational Godless political decision}
32 (1Ki 8:2; 8:5) Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month,
on the fifteenth day of the month, like the feast in Judah,
and he offered sacrifice on the altar. He did this in Bethel,
sacrificing to the calves that he had made, and he stationed in Bethel
the priests of the high places he had made.
33 (1Ki 13:1; Nu 15:39) So he made offerings on the altar that he had made
in Bethel on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a holiday he imagined
in his own heart, and ordained a feast for the children of Israel,
and he sacrificed on the altar and burned incense.
{Jeroboam so self-centered that He forget the Lord who placed Him there}
1 Kings 13
The Man of God From Judah
1 (2Ki 23:17; 1Ki 12:22) A man of God came out of Judah to Bethel by the word
of the Lord while Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.
2 He cried against the altar by the word of the Lord and said,
"O altar, altar, thus says the Lord: 'A child named Josiah will be born
in the house of David, and he will sacrifice upon you the priests
of the high places who burn incense on you,
and these men's bones shall be burned upon you.' "
3 (1Co 1:22; Ex 4:3-5) He gave a sign the same day, saying,
"This is the sign that the Lord has spoken:
'The altar will be torn apart, and the ashes that are upon
it will be poured out.' "
4 When King Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God who had cried
against the altar in Bethel, he reached out his hand from the altar, saying,
"Arrest him!" And the hand that he put forth against him dried up so that
he could not pull it back in again.
5 The altar also was torn, and the ashes poured out from the altar,
just as the man of God had said it would as a sign of the Lord.
{Never mock the Word of God nor his messengers}
6 (Ex 8:8; 9:28) The king answered and said to the man of God,
"Seek the face of the Lord your God, and pray for me,
that my hand will be healed." And the man of God interceded with the Lord,
and the king's hand was healed and became as it was before.
7 (2Ki 5:15; 1Sa 9:7-8) The king said to the man of God, "Come home with me
and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward."
8 (Nu 22:18; 24:13) The man of God said to the king, "If you were to give me
half your house, I would not go with you, nor will I eat bread nor drink water
in this place,
9 for so I was commanded by the word of the Lord, saying:
You shall eat no bread, nor drink water nor return by the same way
that you came."
10 So he went another way and did not return
by the same way he came to Bethel.
11 (2Ki 23:18) Now there lived an old prophet in Bethel, and his sons came
and told him all that the man of God had done that day in Bethel.
They also told their father the words that he had spoken to the king.
12 Their father said to them, "What way did he go?" For his sons had seen
the way the man of God who came from Judah had gone.
13 He said to his sons, "Saddle my donkey." So they saddled the donkey
for him, and he rode on it.
14 He went after the man of God and found him sitting under an oak,
and he said to him, "Are you the man of God who came from Judah?"
And he said, "I am."
15 Then he said to him, "Come home with me and eat bread."
16 (1Ki 13:8-9) He said, "I may not return with you or go in with you,
nor will I eat bread nor drink water with you in this place,
17 (1Ki 20:35; 1Th 4:15) for I was commanded by the word of the Lord:
You shall eat no bread and drink no water
there nor return by the way you came.â€
18 (Mt 7:15; 1Jn 4:1) He said to him, "I am a prophet like you,
and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying,
'Bring him back with you into your house so that he may eat bread
and drink water.' " But he had lied to him.
19 So he went back with him to his house and ate bread and drank water.
20 Then as they sat at the table, the word of the Lord came to the prophet
who brought him back,
21 and he cried out to the man of God who came from Judah, saying,
"Thus says the Lord: Since you have disobeyed the mouth of the Lord
and have not kept the commandment that the Lord your God commanded you,
22 but instead came back and have eaten bread and drunk water in the place
of which the Lord told you to eat no bread and drink no water,
your carcass will not be buried in the tomb of your fathers!"
23 After he had eaten bread and had drunk, he saddled the donkey
for the prophet whom he had brought back.
24 (1Ki 20:36) As he was going, a lion met him on the way and killed him,
and his body was thrown in the road, and both the donkey and lion stood by it.
{The Lord love obedience}
25 Some men passed by and saw the body thrown in the road with the lion
standing by the body, and they came and told the story in the city
where the old prophet lived.
26 When the prophet who brought him back from the way heard about it,
he said, "It is the man of God who was disobedient to the word of the Lord,
and thus the Lord has delivered him to the lion, which has torn and slain him,
according to the word of the Lord that He spoke to him."
27 He said to his sons, "Saddle my donkey," and they saddled it.
28 He then went and found his body thrown in the road, and the donkey
and the lion were still standing by the body. The lion had not eaten the body
nor attacked the donkey.
29 The prophet picked up the body of the man of God and laid it on his donkey
and brought it back. The old prophet came to the city to mourn and to bury him.
30 (Jer 22:18) He laid his body in his own tomb, and they mourned over him,
saying, "Alas, my brother!"
31 And after he had buried him, he said to his sons, "When I am dead, bury me
in the grave in which the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones.
32 (1Ki 13:2; 16:24) For the saying that he cried out by the word of the Lord
against the altar in Bethel and against all the houses of the high places
that are in the cities of Samaria shall surely come to pass."
33 (2Ch 11:15; 13:9) After this event Jeroboam did not turn from his evil
ways, but made priests for the high places again from among all the people.
Any who would, he consecrated to be priests of the high places.
34 (1Ki 12:30; 14:10) This matter became sin to the house of Jeroboam,
so as to cut it off and to destroy it from the face of the earth.
{The future consequences will be dreadful for the Kingdom of Israel.}
1 Kings 14
Ahijah Prophesies Against Jeroboam
1 At that time, Jeroboam's son Abijah became sick.
2 (1Sa 28:8; 2Sa 14:2) Jeroboam said to his wife, "Please get up
and disguise yourself, so that you will not be recognized
as the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh. There you will find
Ahijah the prophet, who told me that I would be king over this people.
3 (1Sa 9:7-8; 1Ki 13:7) Take ten loaves, cakes, and a jar of honey,
and go to him. He will tell you what will happen to our child."
4 (1Ki 11:29; 1Sa 3:2) Jeroboam's wife did so and arose and went to Shiloh,
to the house of Ahijah.
But Ahijah could not see, for in his old age he had gone blind.
5 The Lord said to Ahijah, "The wife of Jeroboam has come to ask you about
her son, for he is sick. You shall say thus and thus to her,
for when she comes, she will be disguised as another woman."
6 And so when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet as she came in the door,
he said, "Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why do you disguise yourself as another?
I have been sent to you with bad news.
7 (1Ki 16:2; 2Sa 12:7-8) Go tell Jeroboam, 'Thus says the Lord God of Israel:
I raised you up from among the people and made you prince
over My people Israel,
8 (1Ki 15:5) and took the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it you.
Yet you have not been as My servant David, who kept My commandments
and who followed Me with all his heart to do only that which was right
in My eyes,
9 (1Ki 12:28; 2Ch 11:15) but you have sinned more than all who were before you,
for you have gone and made other gods and molded images and provoked Me
to anger and have cast Me behind your back.
10 (Dt 32:36; 1Ki 21:21)" "Therefore I will bring disaster upon the house
of Jeroboam and will cut off from Jeroboam all males, both slave and free
in Israel, and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam,
as a man takes away refuse until it is all gone.
11 (1Ki 16:4) Descendants of Jeroboam who die in the city will be eaten
by dogs, and those who die in the field will be eaten by the birds of the air,
for the Lord has spoken it.'
{Never be disobedient nor disloyal to the Lord}
12 "Arise therefore and go to your own house. When your feet enter the city,
the child will die.
13 (2Ch 19:3; 12:12) All Israel will mourn for him and bury him, for he alone
from the house of Jeroboam will come to the grave, because in him there
is found some good thing toward the Lord God of Israel.
14 (1Ki 15:27-29) "Moreover the Lord will raise up a king over Israel who will
destroy the house of Jeroboam this day and from now on.
15 (Jos 23:15-16; 2Ki 15:29) For the Lord will smite Israel, as a reed
is shaken in the water, and He will uproot Israel from this good land,
which he gave to their fathers, and will scatter them beyond the river,
because they have made their Asherah poles, provoking the Lord to anger.
16 (1Ki 12:30; 13:34) He shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam
who sinned and who led Israel to sin."
17 (1Ki 15:33; 15:21) Jeroboam's wife arose and departed and came to Tirzah.
As she arrived at the threshold of the door, the child died,
18 and they buried him, and all Israel mourned for him, according
to the word of the Lord, which He spoke by the hand
of His servant Ahijah the prophet.
19 (2Ch 13:2-20) The rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he waged war
and how he reigned, are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
20 Jeroboam reigned 22 years, and then he slept with his fathers,
and Nadab, his son, reigned in his stead.
Rehoboam, King of Judah
2Ch 12:9-16
21 (2Ch 12:13; 1Ki 11:36; 14:31) Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah.
Rehoboam was 41 years old when he began to reign, and he reigned 17 years
in Jerusalem, the city which the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel
to put His name there. And his mother's name was Naamah, an Ammonitess.
{Yes a pagan wife that lead Solomon astray}
22 (2Ch 12:1; Ps 78:58) Judah did evil in the sight of the Lord,
and the people provoked Him to jealousy with the sins they committed,
even worse than their fathers had done.
{A godless rebellion indeed}
23 (Dt 12:2; Isa 57:5; 2Ki 17:9-10) For they also built high places and images
and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree.
24 (Dt 23:17; 1Ki 15:12; 2Ki 23:7) There were also male cult prostitutes
in the land, and they did according to all the abominations of the nations
that the Lord cast out before the children of Israel.
25 (1Ki 11:40) In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt
came up against Jerusalem.
26 (1Ki 15:18; 2Ch 9:15-16) He took away all the treasures of the house
of the Lord and the treasures of the king's house, even all the shields
of gold which Solomon had made.
27 (1Sa 8:11; 22:17) King Rehoboam replaced them with bronze shields
and committed them to the hands of the chief of the guard who guarded
the king's house.
28 And whenever the king entered the house of the Lord,
the guards carried them and brought them back into the guard chamber.
29 Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam and all that he did,
are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
30 (1Ki 12:21; 12:24) There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam
all their days.
31 (2Ch 12:16; Mt 1:7) Rehoboam slept with his fathers
and was buried with his fathers in the City of David.
And his mother's name was Naamah, an Ammonitess.
And Abijah his son reigned in his stead.
2) Our Daily Bread for 22 June 2021
https://odb.org/CA/2021/06/22/know-where-to-run
entitled God Is There
Genesis 28:10-15,20-22
10 Then Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Harran.
11 He came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun
had set. He took one of the stones of that place and put it under his head,
and lay down in that place to sleep.
12 He dreamed and saw a ladder set up on the earth with the top of it reaching
to heaven. The angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
13 The Lord stood above it and said, "I am the Lord God of Abraham
your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie, to you will
I give it and to your descendants.
14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will
spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south,
and in you and in your descendants all the families of the earth will be
blessed.
15 Remember, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever
you go, and I will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until
I have done what I promised you."
20 Jacob vowed a vow, saying, "If God will be with me
and will protect me in this way that I go,
and will give me bread to eat and clothing to put on,
21 so that I return to my father’s house in peace,
then the Lord will be my God.
22 Then this stone, which I have set for a pillar,
will be the house of God, and from all that
You give me I will surely give a tenth to You."
Aubrey bought a fleece-lined coat for her aging father, but he died
before he could wear it. So she tucked a note of encouragement with a $20 bill
into the pocket and donated the jacket to charity.
Ninety miles away, unable to endure his family's dysfunction any longer,
nineteen-year-old Kelly left his house without grabbing a coat.
He knew of only one place to turn-the home of his grandmother who prayed
for him. Hours later he stepped off a bus and into his grandma's arms.
Shielding him from the winter wind, she said, "We’ve got to get you a coat!"
At the mission store, Kelly tried on a coat he liked. Slipping his hands
into the pockets he found an envelope-with a $20 bill and Aubrey's note.
Jacob fled his dysfunctional family in fear for his life (Genesis 27:41-45).
When he stopped for the night, God revealed Himself to Jacob in a dream.
"I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go,"
God told him (28:15). Jacob vowed, "If God will . . . give me food to eat
and clothes to wear . . . , then the Lord will be my God" (vv. 20–21).
Jacob made a rudimentary altar and named the spot "God's house" (v. 22).
Kelly takes Aubrey's note and that $20 wherever he goes.
Each serves as a reminder that no matter where we run, God is there.
By: Tim Gustafson
Reflect & Pray
When you've had to "run," whether literally or metaphorically,
where did you go and to whom did you turn?
How can you remind yourself of God's presence in your life?
Father, You're the One I can always run to. Help me turn to You first.
Read Who's My Neighbor? at https://www.DiscoverySeries.org/Q0308 .
3) Daily verses taken from Billy Graham Evangelical Organisation
Words in Season Scripture Memory Tools
Week 4 - The Blessings of Grace Day 3 - From Darkness to Light
Col 1:13-14
13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and has transferred us
into the kingdom of His dear Son,
14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
Most of us have no real concept of darkness. We live in a world illuminated
not only by sun, moon and start, bit by streetlights and electric lamps and,
when the power goes off, flashlights and candles. We resist the darkness
For the sighted, being in absolute darkness is a frightening experience.
The dark blots out everything; we can see nothing, not even our own bodies,
and we may become disoriented. The dark seems to press in upon us,
with an almost physical weight that oppresses.
Spiritual darkness is like that. Spiritual darkness,
the absence of light in Christ, is oppressive, weighing us down,
distorting our perceptions of realty.
We cannot judge clearly, for we cannot see at all.
Yet God breaks into our darkness, bringing his light - Jesus Christ,
The Light of the World. When the awareness of Christ invades our lives,
our eyes are opened and we can see for the first time. We see our sin,
God's grace, and the Way he has provided for escape from the dark.
And as we continue to walk in his light, we see even more - the need
for changes in our lives, and God's power to work those changes.
Discernment and wisdom come through his light,
and we understand spiritual truths we could never see before.
Paul says that God has 'rescued' us from darkness and brought us
into the light. We cannot, on our own, accomplish this rescue,
but god through Christ's sacrifice brings it about in us.
He is the light who illuminates our darkness.
Application
a) Many different kinds of spiritual darkness invade our lives
and keep us blind to the truth - sin, lack of understanding,
resistance to the Holy Spirit. What kinds of spiritual darkness
have I experienced?
b) What changes took place in me when I first 'came into the light'?
c) What spiritual truths can I see now that I could not see
when I lived in darkness?
4) Prosperity verses from Kenneth Copeland
Joshua 1:8
8 (Ps 19:14; 119:15) This Book of the Law must not depart from your mouth.
Meditate on it day and night so that you may act carefully according to all
that is written in it. For then you will make your way successful,
and you will be wise.
5) From a Book called God's Promises for you:
When you are discouraged or Depressed
Matthew 11: 25-30
25 (Ps 8:2; Jn 11:41) At that time Jesus said, "I thank You, O Father,
Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things
from the wise and prudent and revealed them to infants.
26 Even so, Father, for it seemed good in Your sight.
27 (Jn 10:15; Mt 28:18; Jn 1:18) "All things are delivered to Me
by My Father, and no one knows the Son, except the Father.
And no one knows the Father, except the Son and he to whom
the Son will reveal Him.
28 (Jn 7:37; 6:37) "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavily
burdened, and I will give you rest.
29 (Jer 6:16; Jn 13:15) Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me.
For I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.(Jer 6:16).
30 (1Jn 5:3) For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light."
Remember God's promises when You pray
The Lord's prayer
Matthew 6:9-13
9 "Therefore pray in this manner:
Our Father who is in heaven,
hallowed be Your name.
10 (Mt 3:2; 4:17) Your kingdom come;
Your will be done
on earth, as it is in heaven.
11 (Pr 30:8; Isa 33:16) Give us this day our daily bread.
12 (Ex 34:7; Ps 32:1) And forgive us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors.
13 (1Co 10:13; Jn 17:15) And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen."
6) This come from Praying for Muslims in Canada 2015 (Is there a 2021 edition?)
Quebec
Quick facts on Muslims in Quebec
Quebec 2015 population 8214 000
est Muslim Population 418946
CNMM Networks: Montreal
There is a growing Muslim population in Quebec City and a smattering
of Muslims scattered around the rest of the province, yet the vast majority
of Muslims live in the greater Montreal area. n fact, 23% of Canada's Muslim
population live in Quebec. Why is that? It is largely because Francophone
African Muslims are attracted to La Belle Provence.
And here's an interesting, perhaps even shocking fact: There are more
Muslims in Montreal than there are evangelical Christians.
This is one demographic factor creates a challenging environment for churches
and believers here: The size of the available 'workforce' is small
by comparison to begin with. Believers are already is a host culture that
is often either indifferent to religion or resistant to it. And now
this 'new' religious community of Muslims - many of whom do not visibly
or socially conform to Quebec society - are a growing population. It might br
easy for Christians to feel overwhelm by this cultural double-whammy,
yet God has always worked miracles through the small, the few.
Agree in prayer for :
- The people of Quebec, Muslim or otherwise, to be open to the Gospel
- for Muslims who are encountering believers and responding
-for a new group of Muslim background believers who are meeting
together for worship!
- For pastors and believers to be full of passion, faith and vision for
reaching Muslims in Quebec.
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 12 They were all amazed and perplexed, saying to each other,
"What does this mean?"
13 (1Co 14:23) Others mocking said, "These men are full of new wine."
Peter's Speech at Pentecost
14 (Ac 1:26) But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice
and said to them, "Men of Judea and all you who dwell in Jerusalem,
let this be known to you, and listen to my words.
15 For these are not drunk, as you suppose,
since it is the third hour of the day.
16 But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
17 (Isa 44:3; Ac 10:45) '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.'
- 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, atheists, secular humanists, ...) .
7) Prayers for the nation (Canada) coming from Prayer map of Canada
http://www.ehc.ca
22nd Day of the Month
a) Pray for the Province of Quebec
I) Pray for the leaders of Quebec,
that God's Spirit would influence
then to act justly,
serve with integrity
and honour high moral standards. ( 1 Tim 2:1 - 4
1 Therefore I exhort first of all that you make supplications,
prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings for everyone,
2 (Ezr 6:10) for kings and for all who are in authority,
that we may lead a quiet and peaceful life in all godliness and honesty,
3(1Ti 1:1; Lk 1:47) for this is good
and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,
4 (Eze 18:23; 18:32)who desires all men to be saved
and to come to the knowledge of the truth. )
II) Pray for the churches of the province,
that they would be lighthouses
beaming forth the illuminating truth of God's Word.
III) Pray that the Lord would use
the Finding the Hope Campaign
and booklet to turn many hearts to Jesus
b) Pray that the influence of the Holy Spirit would dissolve
every argument and pretension exalted against the knowledge
of God.
(
2 Cor 10: 3 - 5
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God
to the pulling down of strongholds, 5 casting down imaginations and every
high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every
thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,
)
Conclusion:
Pray to the Lord to make righteousness and God Honouring decisions.
Pray to the Lord "Father, You're the One I can always run to.
Help me turn to You first."
Pray to the Lord and thank Him for get you out of Spiritual Darkness.
Pray to the Lord be successful as the World of the Lord will not depart
from you.
Pray to the Lord and give Him your burdens.
Pray for Muslims in Quebec to receive Christ as Saviour
and that Christian outreach will increase in Quebec.
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.
Pray that the influence of the Holy Spirit would dissolve
every argument and pretension exalted against the knowledge
of God.
Pray for the ongoing translation of Christian literature
used throughout the region in Lebanon.
Pray to the Lord that to know the Holy Spirit.
and Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness
Remember eternity starts now -
Pray for the direction you take to the Ever lasting loving God.
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