Genetic healing, part 4

Colossians 2:13-14 (New International Version)
When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.

Creator God,
At creation, You saw everything You had made, and it was very good. But sin came into the world through Adam and Eve, and death as the result of sin, so death spread to all men, no one being able to stop it or to escape its power because all men sinned. Our behavior was governed by our corrupt nature.
Yet Christ, by His death, nailed the written record of our trespasses to the cross. Yet Christ, by His death, nailed our corrupted genetic code to the cross.
He has bestowed upon us precious promises to enable us to escape the world’s corruption. Help us to grow more and more in the knowledge of God and our Lord Jesus. Help us to grow more and more in grace and peace. Help us to grow more and more in Your divine nature. Help us to grow more and more into the likeness of Christ. Bring into alignment all that is within us, including our DNA code.
We bless You, Lord. All that is within us blesses Your holy name. Our DNA blesses Your holy name. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord.
Genesis 1:31, Romans 5:12, Ephesians 2:1-3, Colossians 2:13-15, 2 Peter 1:2-4, Psalm 103:1

Genetic healing: part 1, part 2, part 3

Matthew 7:21-27

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my father in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21)
      Father, please help us daily do your will. Send your Holy Spirit upon us and help us walk in your ways.

“Many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name, cast out demons in your name, and done many wonders in your name?’” (Matthew 7:22)
      Jesus, please help us live into your name and your ways. Help us desire the more excellent way of love — loving you and loving your people. Help us have your transforming love — otherwise we are only sounding brass or clanging cymbals.

“And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (Matthew 7:23)
      Holy Spirit, please help the leaders and teachers and people of the Episcopal Church recognize the cost of rejecting the teaching and laws of God.

“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:” (Matthew 7:24)
      Jesus, you are the rock and foundation for us. Help us build on you and your ways. Help us contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. Please give us listening ears and hearts that respond to your word.

“and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.” (Matthew 7:25)
      Lord Jesus, we are in such a time as this: when the flood waters have risen up; but we fear not, for you have redeemed us. We have been called by your name; and we are yours. When we pass through the waters, you are with us; and through the rivers, they cannot overflow us. When we pass through the fire, we are not burned, nor does the flame scorch us. For you are the Holy One of Israel, our savior. (See Isaiah 43:1-3)

“But everyone who hears these sayings of mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” (Matthew 7:26-27)
      Jesus, protect our hearts from building on shifting sand. We pray for all those who have done, so that they will relocate on you: you are the rock which does not move or shake. Thank you.

      A word received: Listen to me. Turn to me. Keep me in the center of your attention and your life.

Friday: 91, 92; 1 Sam. 2:1-10; Ephesians 2:1-10; Matthew 7:22-27
Saturday: 136; Num. 11:16-17, 24-29; Ephesians 2:11-22; Matthew 7:28-8:4

      Notes from the Front Line

Check out “Alleluia Sing To Jesus” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-tX-D8rW8E&feature=channel

***** Pray for our Honored Guests at the Diocesan Convention. Retired Archbishop Drexel Gomez (Province of the West Indies) and Bishop Ken Clarke, Diocese of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh are our honored guests this year.

Albany Intercessor

Max MacLean: unleashing the power of God’s Word

A great quote on the power of Scripture from actor and Scripture dramatist Max MacLean:

The Bible is its own evangelist. I came to faith because I was deeply affected by the words of the Bible. The famous British preacher Charles Spurgeon was once asked how he responded to criticisms of the Bible. “Very easy,” he responded. “I defend the Bible the same way I defend a lion. I simply let it out of its cage.” That quote captures our vision for this book and for the growth of ministries that are committed to the passionate, articulate, and powerful reading of Scripture. Isn’t it time to let the Bible out of the cage, or (to borrow from the title of this book) to unleash God’s Word?

When I tell a Bible story, I have a quiet confidence that God is going to do a mighty work by the very act of reading his Word. Therefore, my objective is to engage hearers and draw them into the Word of God. My role is to use my skills and abilities, as best I can, to draw them into an experience with the Word.

From Steve Wood’s blog, Treading Grain

Martin Luther: A Christian without prayer is as impossible as living without a pulse

A genuinely Christian prayer must issue from the spirit of grace, which says: “I have lived my best; therefore I implore Thee not to regard my life and my conduct, but Thy mercy and compassion promised me in Christ, and because of this to grant me the fulfillment of my prayer.” Thus our prayer must, in real and sincere humility, take no account of ourselves; it must rely solely and confidently on the promise of grace, in the firm trust that God will hear us, as He has commanded us to pray and has promised to hear us.

Thus you must learn from this text that through Christ alone we possess both grace and the granting of prayer, that we first become children of God, entitled to call upon Him, and then also receive what we need for ourselves and for others. Therefore wherever there is a Christian, there is none other than the Holy Spirit, who does nothing but pray without ceasing. Even though one does not move one’s lips and form words continuously, one’s heart nonetheless does beat incessantly; and, like the pulse and the heart in the body, it beats with sighs such as these: “Oh, dear Father, please let Thy name be hallowed, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done among us and everyone!” And when blows fall, when temptations thicken, and adversity presses harder, then such sighing prayers become more fervent and also find words. A Christian without prayer is just as impossible as a living person without a pulse. The pulse is never motionless; it moves and beats constantly, whether one is asleep or something else keeps one from being aware of it.

–Martin Luther, LW 24:88.

From Eric Swensson’s Awakenings blog

Thanksgiving for that which is yet to come

Romans 11:29 (New International Version)
For God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.

O Lord,
How marvelous You are! You have made everything beautiful in its time. You have set eternity in the hearts of men. The kingdom of God is within our hearts! The kingdom of God surrounds us! How marvelous You are.
We cannot fathom all that You have done from beginning to end. Yet we thank You for all that is yet to come. We thank You for the unfulfilled calls and the unfulfilled prophecies that are stored up for us and for our children. They are all beautiful in their time. We thank You for the promise of victory! We thank You. We thank You. We thank You.
Ecclesiastes 3:11, Luke 17:21

Matthew 28:16-20

Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. (Matthew 28:16)
      Holy Spirit, please help us keep all our appointments with Jesus. Don’t let us miss any of the times he wants to meet with us. Thank you.

When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. (Matthew 28:17)
      Jesus, please help us worship you even when we have doubts. Help us come into your presence and see you.

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.” (Matthew 28:18 )
      Father, please help us live under the authority you have given Jesus — help us to be his true and faithful disciples.

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” (Matthew 28:19)
      Jesus, help us go forth at your bidding and make disciples of those we meet. Help us to be disciples who make disciples.

“teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. (Matthew 28:20)
      Father, please bless the teaching ministry in this diocese. Thank you.

      Jesus, thank you for pouring out your Holy Spirit on us so that you are always with us.

      Holy Spirit, please help us observe all that Jesus commands us. Thank you.

Ascension Day: 24, 96; Daniel 7:9-14; Hebrews 2:5-18; Matthew 28:16-20
Friday: 91, 92; 1 Sam. 2:1-10; Ephesians 2:1-10; Matthew 7:22-27

      Notes from the Front Line

Check out “Beautiful Saviour (Fairest Lord Jesus)” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2r2y3v5LxSI&feature=related

***** Pray for the practical details of the Diocesan Convention:
      Pray for good weather.
      Pray for no black flies, mosquitoes, bears and other wild life.
      Pray for the Lord’s presence and guidance.
      Pray for safe travel for all who are going to the convention.
      Pray for the anointing of the Holy Spirit on all aspects of the convention.

Albany Intercessor

Francois Fenelon: the importance of listening and doing

God has been getting my attention a lot lately about the importance of making time to truly LISTEN to Him. This quote which Pat Dague posted awhile back caught my eye again recently:

People cannot become perfect by dint of hearing or reading about perfection. The chief thing is not to listen to yourself, but silently to listen to God. Talk little and do much, without caring to be seen. God will teach you more than all the most experienced persons or the most spiritual books can do. You already know a great deal more than you practise. You do not need the acquirement of fresh knowledge half so much as to put in practice that which you already possess.
— Francois Fenelon

From Pat Dague’s blog, Transfigurations

Ephesians 1:1-10

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus: (Ephesians 1:1)
      Lord Jesus, we pray for all the saints who are faithful in Christ Jesus. Help them receive the apostolic ministry you desire for them. Thank you for Bishop Bill and Bishop Harold.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 1:2)
      Holy Spirit, please help us receive the grace and peace that comes from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, (Ephesians 1:3)
      Father, thank you for all your blessings to us; we bless you as well.

just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love, (Ephesians 1:4)
      Father, thank you for choosing us; help us enter into the holiness you have for us.

having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, (Ephesians 1:5)
      Father, thank you for choosing us; thank you for choosing me. Thank you for taking the initiative in my life.

to the praise of the glory of his grace, by which he made us accepted in the Beloved. (Ephesians 1:6)
      Jesus, thank you for doing in me what I could not do for myself.

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, (Ephesians 1:7-8 )
      Jesus, please help me live out my life with wisdom and prudence.

having made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times he might gather together in one all things in christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth–in him. (Ephesians 1:9-10)
      Good Shepherd Jesus, gather us to your bosom and into your flock. Thank you.

Wednesday: 119:97-120; Leviticus 26:27-42; Ephesians 1:1-10; Matthew 22:41-46
Eve of Ascension: 68:1-20; 2 Kings 2:1-15; Revelation 5:1-14
Ascension Day: 24, 96; Daniel 7:9-14; Hebrews 2:5-18; Matthew 28:16-20

      Notes from the Front Line

Check out “Here I am to Worship” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5hN_m55uoM&feature=related

***** Pray for the Diocesan Convention and for this diocese: pray that we will hear the call to holiness and take up our cross and follow Jesus.

Albany Intercessor

Cleansing the land

Zechariah 12:10, 13:1-2 (Amplified Bible)

And I will pour out upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace or unmerited favor and supplication. And they shall look [earnestly] upon Me Whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him as one who is in bitterness for his firstborn.
IN THAT day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem [to cleanse them from] sin and uncleanness.
And in that day, says the Lord of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they shall no more be remembered; and also I will remove from the land the [false] prophets and the unclean spirit.

John 19:34, 37 (Amplified Bible)

But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came (flowed) out.
And again another Scripture says, They shall look on Him Whom they have pierced.

Oh, Jesus,
You are the fountain of life, cleansing us from sin and uncleanness and cleansing the land from idolatry, false prophets, and unclean spirits. Holy is Your Name. Amen.

Johann Arndt: Prayer is a Precious Work

Prayer is a conversation with God, a piece of the inner, spiritual life, the characteristic and mark of a faithful Christian’s heart, a continual movement of the Holy Spirit, a work of divine healing… the Holy Spirit moves through prayer, tears, holy meditation, heartfelt sorrow for human misery, pleas that sins or the punishment of sins be set aside, intercessions for all men and for those in authority, prayers for knowledge and understanding, consolation, relief in tribulation, protection, strengthening of faith, patience, and all needs; and through prayer and thanksgiving for the goodness of God, by which God may be praised, given homage and honored in words and blessings.

Prayer occurs in secret, in a little chamber, in the heart, in all places, in all occupations, or openly in the congregation in the confession of faith to the honor of the name of God and in thanksgiving for all blessings …

All must be done in spirit and on truth, in the depth of the heart, without hypocrisy … Prayer is an indicator of a true faithful Christian, a powerful living witness of the Holy Spirit…

Prayer is a precious work and the highest honor, to be offered to God alone. It must be done in the love of God and the joy of faith with total resignation to God’s will and certain expectation of divine help. Prayer strengthens, unites people with God, and brings them into the community of angels.

-Johann Arndt, True Christianity

From Eric Swensson’s Awakenings blog

1 Timothy 2:1-6

Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, (1 Timothy 2:1)
      Lord, please help us enter into the life of prayer and intercession you are calling us to. Help us join our prayers with yours.

for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. (1 Timothy 2:2)
      A word received 6/4/2009: Pray for this nation. Pray for wise and godly men and women who will lead my people in my ways. Pray for the courts, that they will do true justice. Pray for the Congress and the legislatures, that they will have a spirit of wisdom and discernment. Pray for the President and the Governors, that their hearts will be turned into my ways.

      A word received 6/25/2009: Pray for the President.
      Pray for my work in his heart and mind.
      Pray for wise and godly counselors for him.
      Pray for wisdom in the storm.
      Pray that he will look to me rather than opinion polls.
      Pray for my word to lodge in his heart.

      Holy Spirit, infuse our lives with prayer rather than condemnation. Help us intercede for Barack and all others in authority.

The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, like the rivers of water; he turns it wherever he wishes. (Proverbs 21:1)
      Jesus, turn the hearts of our leaders into your ways.

For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, (1 Timothy 2:3)
      Jesus, please help us choose to do what is good and acceptable in your sight.

who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy 2:4)
      Father, please help us desire what you desire — give us a heart’s desire to share the gospel.

For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, (1 Timothy 2:5)
      Jesus, intercede for us!

who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time, (1 Timothy 2:6)
      Jesus, please help us daily acknowledge that is you who paid the ransom for us: help us acknowledge that there was nothing we could do to rescue ourselves from sin and death. Thank you for paying the cost of my sin.

      A word received: Don’t be afraid.

Tuesday: 78:40-72; Leviticus 26:1-20; 1 Timothy 2:1-6; Matthew 13:18-23
Wednesday: 119:97-120; Leviticus 26:27-42; Ephesians 1:1-10; Matthew 22:41-46

      Notes from the Front Line

Check out “this is the air i breathe” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjkBVn_eUec

***** Pray for the Diocesan Convention and for this diocese: pray for the gifts of the Holy Spirit to be manifest in our common life together..

***** Words Received for Sunday School Lesson 18, January 28, 2007
      Jesus is Tested and Prepared to Share the Good News
      Matthew 4:1-17, Deuteronomy 8:1-5

I AM preparing you for what lies ahead — don’t be afraid.
      ”Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17) Repent means “turn to me.” I want each of you to repent. I want each of you to turn to me. I AM coming, be ready by being turned to me.
      I want to go into the wilderness places in your lives. I want to go into those parts of your lives where you are tempted by the devil.
      Sometimes you will be led into difficult times by My Spirit. Always remember that I, your Father, will be there with you. You are never alone, and you always have My word.
      I prepared myself by fasting. Ask for more of Me in your life so that you can subdue your body.
      You must learn to distinguish My speech from the tempter’s. Let Me teach you to hear Me and recognize My voice. Ask Me to help you do this.
      What is in your heart? Are you keeping My commands?
      Both are necessary nourishment, bread for the body and My word for the soul
      In resisting the devil you are leaning on Me for strength. Lean on Me, look to Me, cry out to Me. As you decrease, I can increase in your life. Then I can use you
      The leaders despised Galilee and what came out of it, but I made it a place of blessing.
      I want everyone to be in my light. I want everyone to see by My light. Do not sit in darkness any longer. Cry out for My light to dawn on you.
      That is still My word to My people today. Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Albany Intercessor

Alexander Maclaren on Prayer

“Prayer is not to inform God or to move Him unwillingly to have mercy, as if, like some proud prince, He requires a certain amount of recognition of His greatness as the price of His favor; prayer fits our hearts by conscious need and true desire and dependence to receive the gift which He is ever willing to give, but we are not always ready to receive.” Alexander Maclaren

From Lutheran pastor & blogger Eric Swensson’s Awakenings blog.

Colossians 1:9-14

For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; (Colossians 1:9)
      Holy Spirit, please move in our hearts and minds and wills and give us steadiness in praying for one another. Please bring us all to a knowledge of Jesus’ will and grant to us wisdom and spiritual understanding.

that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; (Colossians 1:10)
      Father, please help us come to know you better and walk in the manner of true disciples of Jesus. Help us please him and bear good fruit for your kingdom.

strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; (Colossians 1:11)
      Jesus, let the fruit of your Holy Spirit grow in us: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, self-control. (See Galatians 5:22-23)

giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. (Colossians 1:12)
      Holy Spirit, thank you for bearing witness with our spirits that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs–heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified together with him. (See Romans 8:16-17)

He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of his love, (Colossians 1:13)
      Jesus, thank you for being the light to bring us through this time of darkness in the church and in the nation. Please help us take each step by your light. Thank you.

in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:14)
      Father, please let every parish in the Diocese of Albany and the Diocese of Down and Dromore be a redemption center where old sins are turned in and left behind and people go forward in a new life with your son Jesus.

Monday: 77, [79]; Leviticus 25:35-55; Colossians 1:9-14; Matthew 13:1-16
Tuesday: 78:40-72; Leviticus 26:1-20; 1 Timothy 2:1-6; Matthew 13:18-23

      Notes from the Front Line

Check out “Before The Throne Of God Above” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVuetSYQ0qI&feature=related

***** Louise Popa gives her testimony about the work of the Holy Spirit in her http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNRxepV_UD4life:

***** Pray for the Diocesan Convention and for this diocese: pray for the fruit of the Holy Spirit to be manifest in our common life together..

Albany Intercessor

Yahweh calls me by name!

A lovely and powerful reflection on Isaiah 45 from David at a Ruach journey:

Reading in Isaiah 45:1-8, I am impressed as God dominates this passage. The great king Cyrus is like a puppet in his hands. God is unlike any other–Yahweh, the God of Israel–there is no other, there is no other God v5, v6.

v5 I am Yahweh, there is no other
v6 I am Yahweh, there is no other
v7 I am Yahweh, who does all these things
v8 I Yahweh have created.

Only one actor is on the stage and that actor is God! The only appropriate action is to bow down and worship Him. Yes, yes, yes!

And yet, this OTHER one, calls me by name–He personally knows me.

v3 it is I, Yahweh who calls you by your name
v4 I call you by your name
v4 I name you
v5 I equip you
Such tenderness, such care, such love for me. Thank you Lord.

John 14:23-27, Revelation 22:1, and Joel 2:23-24

Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word; and my father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” (John 14:23)
      Jesus, we pray that we will hear and keep the word that you speak to us: write it on our hearts and come with your father and make your home in us.

“He who does not love me does not keep my words; and the word which you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.” (John 14:24)
      Father, please help us hear the word you are speaking to us: Pour out your word and your Spirit on this diocese and its Diocesan Convention.

“These things I have spoken to you while being present with you.” (John 14:25)
      Jesus, come be present to us today and at the Diocesan Convention.

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” (John 14:26)
      Holy Spirit, the church has forgotten so much of what Jesus said, restore our memory!

      Father, send your Holy Spirit upon us throughout this diocese and the Diocese of Down and Dromore.

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27)
      Jesus, please help me stop what I am doing and be quiet before you and receive your peace.

And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. (Revelation 22:1)
      Holy Spirit, bathe us in that river and wash away all our sins. Thank you.

Be glad then, you children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God; for he has given you the former rain faithfully, and he will cause the rain to come down for you–the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. (Joel 2:23)
      Father, you have caused the rain of your Holy Spirit to come down on us in former times, and we trust that the latter rain will come down on us as well. Thank you.

The threshing floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil. (Joel 2:24)
      Jesus, let each parish of this diocese and the Diocesan Convention be a threshing floor where you bring in the full crop of wheat. Let the wine and oil of your Holy Spirit flow among us and through us. Thank you.

      LORD, I want to be a threshing floor where your Holy Spirit removes the chaff of sin in my life. Thank you.

Sunday: 34; Leviticus 25:1-17; James 1:2-8,16-18; Luke 12:13-21
Monday: 77, [79]; Leviticus 25:35-55; Colossians 1:9-14; Matthew 13:1-16

      Notes from the Front Line

Check out “Lift Up Your Heads” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WkyTwXa4Tw

***** Pray for the Diocesan Convention and for this diocese: pray for a refreshing and rebuilding of friendships at the Convention to strengthen this diocese.

Albany Intercessor