In the midst of a stressful week, we received comfort and blessing from a word of wisdom delivered by our dear sister in Christ, Judypie. Her words give us assurance of God’s purpose to not only heal our lives... but also to heal the nations. What was so significant that she had to say?
Take a look at this:
Father, we are your children... heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ who share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory. We ask You, Father, to make the nations our inheritance, the ends of the earth our possession for Your glory and Your purposes. In the name of Jesus, we pray for the healing of the nations. Praise God! It is our Lord Jesus who will bring true justice and peace to all the nations of the world. Amen
And if we are [His] children, then we are [His] heirs also: heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ [sharing His inheritance with Him]; only we must share His suffering if we are to share His glory.
Romans 8:17 [AMP]
I will declare the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, You are My Son; this day [I declare] I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations as Your inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth as Your possession.
Psalm 2:7-8 [AMP]
His government and its peace
will never end.
He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David
for all eternity.
The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
will make this happen!Isaiah 9:7 [NLT]
THEN HE showed me the river whose waters give life, sparkling like crystal, flowing out from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the broadway of the city; also, on either side of the river was the tree of life with its twelve varieties of fruit, yielding each month its fresh crop; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing and the restoration of the nations.
Revelation 22:1-2 [AMP]
..the Lord is all I need. He takes care of me. My share in life has been pleasant; my part has been beautiful (Psalm 16:5&6).
This is a wonderful meditation... given the bad news that seems to face us every day. There are problems here at home... and problems overseas. Still, as we put our faith and trust in the Lord, we have peace and comfort regardless of what the world throws at us.
But what about the bad news that comes as relentlessly as the tides that roll up on the beaches and crash against the breakers? For example, Joel Rosenberg recently hosted a dinner with Dr. Dore Gold (advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu) and a number of other dignitaries. Some of what Dr. Gold shared with Joel and his dinner guests probably affected their appetites. Here is a brief quote from Joel’s recent flash traffic:
Gold told the group -- which included former Senator Rick Santorum, former. Rep. Steve Largent, radio host Janet Parshall, and journalists from CBN, National Review and World magazine -- that he is deeply skeptical of the West’s efforts to engage Iran diplomatically, arguing that the evidence clearly indicates Tehran has used previous negotiations to buy time to aggressively advance the country’s nuclear program.
He noted that Hassan Rowhani, who served as Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator from 2003 to 2005, once bragged to hardliners in a closed-door speech in Tehran: “When we were negotiating with the Europeans in Tehran, we were installing equipment in parts of the facility in Isfahan.” It is the opening anecdote Gold uses in his fascinating new book as he documents how Iranian leaders are engaged in a systematic campaign of “strategic deception” with the West to hide the enormity of its efforts to acquire nuclear weapons.
You can read the full story in Joel’s blog.
So how should you react to threats of nuclear disaster... terrorism... economic downturns... cash for clunkers... and etcetera?
Our advice would be to follow Judypie’s advice and pray for the healing of the nations. It is not impossible for God to move a mighty revival through Iran. In fact, we have heard other reports of the Spirit of God moving in that part of the world, but there is persecutiion of Christians in Iran.
Dedicate some time this week to pray for the healing of the nations. As Judypie advised us a couple months ago, God is the Great Reconciler.
Father, in Jesus’ name, You are the Great Reconciler! Of marriages! Of children! Of families! Of brothers and sisters in You! Of all relationships! It is in Your strength, and by Your grace that I will go to the person with whom I have had conflict. You have planted the Seed of Love in my heart, and I will humble myself by asking forgiveness regardless of who was at fault. I pray that the relationship will be healed and the breach mended. I purpose to do this in obedience to Your Word and for Your glory, Lord Jesus. The Repairer of Breaches in relationships is working on my behalf! Amen.
For if we are beside ourselves [mad, as some say], it is for God and concerns Him; if we are in our right mind, it is for your benefit, For the love of Christ controls and urges and impels us, because we are of the opinion and conviction that [if] One died for all, then all died; And He died for all, so that all those who live might live no longer to and for themselves, but to and for Him Who died and was raised again for their sake. Consequently, from now on we estimate and regard no one from a [purely] human point of view [in terms of natural standards of value]. [No] even though we once did estimate Christ from a human viewpoint and as a man, yet now [we have such knowledge of Him that] we know Him no longer [in terms of the flesh]. Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come! But all things are from God, Who through Jesus Christ reconciled us to Himself [received us into favor, brought us into harmony with Himself] and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation [that by word and deed we might aim to bring others into harmony with Him]. It was God [personally present] in Christ, reconciling and restoring the world to favor with Himself, not counting up and holding against [men] their trespasses [but cancelling them], and committing to us the message of reconciliation (of the restoration to favor). So we are Christ's ambassadors, God making His appeal as it were through us. We [as Christ's personal representatives] beg you for His sake to lay hold of the divine favor [now offered you] and be reconciled to God. For our sake He made Christ [virtually] to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in and through Him we might become [endued with, viewed as being in, and examples of] the righteousness of God [what we ought to be, approved and acceptable and in right relationship with Him, by His goodness].
2nd Corinthians 5:13-21 [AMP]
And [He designed] to reconcile to God both [Jew and Gentile, united] in a single body by means of His cross, thereby killing the mutual enmity and bringing the feud to an end.
Ephesians. 2:16 [AMP]
And God purposed that through (by the service, the intervention of) Him [the Son] all things should be completely reconciled back to Himself, whether on earth or in heaven, as through Him, [the Father] made peace by means of the blood of His cross.
Colossians 1:20 [AMP]
One final note...
While we look at the turmoil overseas... things aren’t exactly holding hands and singing love songs here. Yes, we have political differences. Some people love our current President... others may feel otherwise. Still, God tells us scripturally what we should do... regarless of who is in the Oval Office:
FIRST OF all, then, I admonish and urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be offered on behalf of all men, For kings and all who are in positions of authority or high responsibility, that [outwardly] we may pass a quiet and undisturbed life [and inwardly] a peaceable one in all godliness and reverence and seriousness in every way.
1st Timothy 2: 1-2 [AMP]
You want to live the good life? Then follow what the Lord commands of you.
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