NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER

 

 

SHEPHERD TO SHEEP

 

NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER 

(1 Timothy 2:1‑2) Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, {2} for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. 

Thursday, May 1st is the National Day of Prayer.  It is a time of national repentance and prayer for our great country.  Here is some history about the National Day of Prayer: 

1775 - The first Continental Congress called for a National Day of Prayer. 1863 - Abraham Lincoln called for such a day. 1952 - Congress established the NDP as an annual event by a joint resolution, signed into law by President Truman. 1988 - The law was amended and signed by President Reagan, designating the NDP as the first Thursday in May. 

In the Bible we see the nation of Israel calling upon the Lord in times of great need: 

- King Hezekiah when the Assyrian’s came to conquer the land (2 Kings 18-19) 

- King Jehoshaphat when the people of Moab and Ammon came against Israel (2 Chronicles 20) 

- Queen Esther calls for prayer when Haman the Agagite tried to exterminate the Jews (Esther 4:15-17). 

Each time God graciously delivered His people.  Even outside Israel, nations were able to call upon the Lord in repentance.  Jonah preached to Nineveh and they repented at his message and the Lord relented from the disaster He said He would bring upon the people (Jonah 3).   

President George W. Bush held a special national day of prayer just three days after the 9-11 terrorist attacks on our country.  God honors prayer.  We have risen from the ashes.  Our economy has recovered and America is back in business even after the Great Recession.  That’s the mercy of God.  It sure hasn’t been because of our ongoing repentance or moral uprightness.  But now we have another opportunity to seek God on this upcoming National Day of Prayer.   

Wherever you are this Thursday, say a prayer for our nation.  Let’s claim the great promise of the Bible:  (2 Chronicles 7:14) if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.    

The greatest and most effective thing we can do for your country is to pray.  God loves America.  Let’s fight for her on our knees!  

(Psalm 144:15) Happy are the people who are in such a state; Happy are the people whose God is the LORD! 

Louie

REJOICE!

SHEPHERD TO SHEEP 

REJOICE! 

(Mat 28:9) And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him. 

The word rejoice isn’t very popular in our vocabulary these days.  It means to be glad and to enjoy life.  Nowadays we just say let’s party!  But do we have to wait for the weekend to have a good time?  Is it just that one vacation a year that we can really live it up?  Do we have to drudge through life and only wait for certain times before we can get that lift and forget all about our problems?   

It was the women who were the last at the cross and the first at the tomb.  The disciples had fled and were sequestered for fear of their lives.  Leave it to the ladies to be so devoted and the men to be so spiritually timid.  It ought not to be but the reality is that women have such a beautiful sensitivity to spiritual things and sometimes men just don’t get it.  But be that as it may, the Lord rewards faithfulness and dedication and that is why Jesus appeared to the women first before the men.  And what was the first word He said to them?  Rejoice!   

What a wonderful surprise for the women.  Their sorrow was over and Jesus said it was time for them to be glad and joyful.  They dropped to their knees and held Jesus’ feet and worshipped Him.  Jesus said to go and tell His disciples that He had risen and that He would meet up with them in Galilee.  So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.  Jesus was alive and it was time to celebrate!   

But is it possible to celebrate and be happy even when the chips are down?  Or do you have to wait until you aren’t beat anymore to be upbeat?  The Bible says you can be glad and enjoy life no matter what the circumstances.  In fact you can be in the pits and still praise!  Paul said from prison:  Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! (Phil 4:4)  When he and Silas were arrested in Philippi they were thrown into prison where they were singing praises at midnight and the other prisoners were listening.  The Bible says there was a great earthquake and the chains were loosed from the prisoners.   Through this the jailer and his family got saved and were baptized! (Acts 16:25-34) 

Knowing Jesus is risen gives hope to the believer!  (1 Pet 1:3) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.   We have a living hope because we have a living Savior.  Happiness depends on circumstances but joy is a fruit of the Spirit that is available for us no matter what we’re going through. (Gal 5:22-23) 

Rejoice Christian!  Jesus is alive!!  Tomorrow is going to be a better day because He lives!!!  

Louie

THIS IS THE DAY

SHEPHERD TO SHEEP 

THIS IS THE DAY 

(Psa 118:24) This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. 

I don’t know about you but mornings are not the easiest time of day for me.  I usually wake up groggy and it takes me a good cup of joe and a little time to ease into my day.  My brain will then finally begin to fire on all cylinders and I’ll be good to go.  All the while my prayer will rise to the Lord as I claim the day for Him and choose to rejoice and be glad in it.   

There was one special day when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and the people greeted Him with shouts of hosannas (Mat 21:1-11).  We call this the Triumphal entry or Palm Sunday and we count it as a week before Easter Resurrection Sunday.  But did you know that Psalm 118:24 has special significance to this day and is a fulfillment of Daniel 9:25?:  “Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince, There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times.    

Sir Robert Anderson in his book, The Coming Prince, has worked out the time schedule. Using a 360-day year (which Israel used in Daniel's day), he calculated 173,880 days (69 weeks) from the decree of Cyrus to restore and build Jerusalem to the triumphal entry, fulfilling the prophecy to the day.  On this day Jesus rode into Jerusalem, offering Himself for the first time, publicly and officially, as the Messiah.  What an amazing prophecy fulfilled in the Bible!  This was the day the Lord has made…the day Jesus rode in on that donkey as predicted by the prophet Zechariah: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey. (Zech 9:9) 

When we wake up it’s time to give the Lord the day and say This is the day the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it.  No matter what lies ahead you know the Lord has gone before you and you can face the day confidently.  (Joshua 1:9)  Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”  We can then yield our bodies as a living sacrifice to serve the Lord throughout the day: (Rom 12:1) I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 

All we have is today.  We can grunt it out or we can praise it through.  (Heb 3:15)…“Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.  (Deu 30:19)…choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.  (Heb 13:8) Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, TODAY, and forever.  Let’s say it together:  This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it! (Psa 118:24)  I’m ready for a good day, aren’t you?   

Louie

A CONSCIENCE WITHOUT OFFENSE

SHEPHERD TO SHEEP 

A CONSCIENCE WITHOUT OFFENSE 

(Acts 24:16)…I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men. 

Conscience.  That sense of right or wrong when an action is performed.  Inside us is a moral consciousness that is God-given so we may always do the right thing and not have to be nagged with a guilty feeling.   We’ve all felt it from our first lie to modern day.  Our conscience will accuse us or excuse us.  It’s a gift and makes for a soft pillow to sleep on at night.   

Paul put it this way:  (Rom 2:14-15)  for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, 15 who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them).   Well said Paul!  Man is morally responsible because of his capacity of choice.  A conscience is like a judge and it’s better to pay this lower court judge now than to have to answer to God’s higher court when each of us stands before Him.   

The Bible speaks of three types of conscience: 

A GOOD CONSCIENCE:  (1 Tim 1:19) having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck.  Paul was guided by this internal moral compass and it did him well as he strove to be righteous before God and men.      

A BAD CONSCIENCE:  (1 Sam 24:5) Now it happened afterward that David's heart troubled him because he had cut Saul's robe.  The Holy Spirit works with our conscience so we may always do those things that please God.  (Rom 9:1) I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit.   

A SEARED CONSCIENCE:  (1 Tim 4:1 2) Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron.  Seared to means to brand or to cauterize.  A person may deny their conscience repeatedly to the point of not being able to listen to it anymore.   

A man consulted a psychiatrist. He complained, "I've been misbehaving, Doc, and my conscience is troubling me." The doctor asked, "And you want something that will strengthen your willpower?" The fellow replied, "Well, no, I was thinking of something that would weaken my conscience." 

A good conscience is a continual Christmas.  (Benjamin Franklin)  

Louie