Habakkuk 3:17-19

I’ve been away from the computer some this week, tending to my mother. I give thanks for Torre’s posts. They really have spoken to me.
No matter how bad General Convention was, God’s goodness is bigger. Healing can only come through God’s presence. I encourage you all to listen to praise music during the General Convention aftermath. Thank Him for calling you for such a time as this. I don’t know what the future holds. My hunch is that if we will just “kill time” with Jesus–talk to Him, rest in His presence, seek Him in Holy Scripture, make Him our first priority–that the next right step will come to each of us, as effortlessly as finding a forgotten treasure in our pocket.–Jill Woodliff

Habakkuk 3:17-19 (New International Version)

17 Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,

18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.

19 The Sovereign LORD is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to go on the heights.
For the director of music. On my stringed instruments.

How long?

How long, Lord? How long? How long will we be indebted to spiritual forces of darkness? How long will we be under bondage to false mindsets? We have mortgaged our children and our children’s children and assured their slavery.
Is there no year of jubilee? Is there no annulment of the bonds of enslavement? No forgiveness of debt? No liberty for Your children? We cry out for Your children. Your kingdom come and Your will be done for them. We declare jubilee through our Redeemer. We declare forgiveness through His blood. We declare liberty in His name–Jesus.
Leviticus 25

Great perspective on General Convention: Reality vs. Truth

South Carolina blogger the Rev. John Burwell has some fantastic perspective about General Convention yesterday. He compares what is happening in Anaheim to REALITY, and there is lots of Scripture and encouragement.

Do go read it.

It was particularly striking to me because here in Africa, the sermon I heard preached this past weekend contrasted the daily reality of our lives with God’s reality and TRUTH. Don’t let the reality of our daily lives cloud the TRUTH (in French: verité) of who God is.

Amen

Pray for Stand Firm & Titusonenine

Greg Griffith and all the Stand Firm bloggers, as well as Kendall Harmon and his elves need our prayers. The huge traffic surge crashed Stand Firm and Greg is trying to move the blog(s) to a new server.

In the meantime, both SF & T19 have backup sites running

http://standfirmlive.blogspot.com/

http://t19backup.blogspot.com/

Father, please grant your mercy and peace to all those blogging from General Convention, especially Greg and the SF Team, that they could still record and publish a truthful and timely record of events in Anaheim. Give Greg wisdom and success in overcoming the technical challenges that have disrupted the blogging at such a critical time. In Jesus name, Amen.

Stir their hearts

O Lord,
We exalt Your holy name. You are mighty, the Lord of hosts. We beseech You to stir a spirit of praise in the hearts of the Christians in Anaheim, especially at the convention center. You inhabit the praises of Your people. May Your praise be on their lips and the atmosphere surrounding the convention center be filled with Your presence. May Your people have one mind and one heart, in the name of Jesus and through the Holy Spirit, for one God. That is our desire. Amen.
1 Chronicles 12:33, Psalm 22:3

A sacrificial offering

God instructed Gideon to pull down the altar of Baal with his father’s bullock and then to sacrifice a second bullock as a burnt offering. Perhaps the first bullock had been dedicated to Baal.

O Lord,
So many of our seminaries are dedicated to a false gospel. So many of our clergy have been blinded, and our governing authorities misled. What shall we offer as a sacrifice to You?
Take pity. Create in us a clean heart and renew a right spirit within us. We acknowledge our transgression. Cleanse us from our sin.
We have no second bullock, but You do not desire sacrifices of burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. Amen.
Judges 6:26, Psalm 51

Gideon

Judges 6:34-35 (New International Version)
Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, summoning the Abiezrites to follow him. He sent messengers throughout Manasseh, calling them to arms, and also into Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali, so that they too went up to meet them.
Holy Spirit, come upon a Gideon in the House of Bishops.
Judges 7:13 (New International Version)
Gideon arrived just as a man was telling a friend his dream. “I had a dream,” he was saying. “A round loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent with such force that the tent overturned and collapsed.”
Jesus, You are the Bread of Life. Strike the tents of Your enemies in the House of Bishops and overturn them.
Judges 7:22 (New International Version)
When the three hundred trumpets sounded, the LORD caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords. The army fled to Beth Shittah toward Zererah as far as the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath.
Father, release the sound that is needed to cause Your enemies in the House of Bishops to turn on each other.

Petition to Jesus

O Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, set on the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens, peace be unto You. Peace be unto Your helpers. We give thanks for Your eternal ministry. You live forever and have a permanent priesthood. You are able to save completely those who come to God through You because You live to intercede for them. Intercede for Your children at Anaheim, we pray. Amen.
1 Chronicles 12:16-18, Hebrews 7:24-25, 8:1

I will be with you

“But Lord , ” Gideon asked, “how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”
The LORD answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together.” Judges 6:15-16

O Lord, be with Your children at Anaheim, we pray. Amen.

Our hearts are parched

I am grieving the passage of A095 in the House of Bishops without discussion or dissent. The resolution dealt with adding names for commemoration to our liturgical calendar. The names included a lesbian Socialist who supported a political regime that murdered an estimated 60 million persons, a missionary to the Seminoles who did not work for their religious conversion, and a Freemason. They all did many good deeds, but I question the wisdom of holding them up as exemplars of the faith.–JW
A Lenten prayer:

God, all-loving and all-caring,
We come before you with hesitant steps and uncertain motives
Our hearts are parched from wandering in a desert of sin.

We want to sweep out the corners where sin has accumulated
And uncover the places where we have strayed from your truth
Our hearts are parched from wandering in a desert of sin.

We ask for courage to open our eyes and unstop our ears
That we may be aware of all that distracts us from a whole-hearted commitment to Christ
Our hearts are parched from wandering in a desert of sin.

We want to see ourselves as you do and live our lives as you intended
Expose in us the empty and barren places where we have not allowed you to enter
Our hearts are parched from wandering in a desert of sin.

Reveal to us our half-hearted struggles,
Where we have been indifferent to the pain and suffering of others
Our hearts are parched from wandering in a desert of sin.

Create in us a clean heart, O God, and put a right Spirit within us
Nurture the faint stirrings of new life where your spirit has taken root and begun to grow
Our hearts are parched from wandering in a desert of sin.

We long for your healing light to transform us into the image of your Son,
For you alone can bring new life and make us whole
In your mercy, shine upon us, O God, and make our path clear before us.

[Pause to remind yourself of your own brokenness and need for repentance.]

God of mercy, come
Into the hidden places of our hearts.
Christ of compassion, come
Into the broken places of our world.
Spirit of life, come
Into the polluted places of our lives.
Forgive us, heal us, redeem us,
Lead us from death to eternal life.

Petition for intercessors

O Lord,
Raise up intercessors for Your children in the Epsicopal Church, especially those in Anaheim. May they have the faces of lions and the feet of deer. Make them confident in Your might and swift to obey. May they put to flight the principalities, powers, and rulers of darkness in the valley of despair. Amen.
1 Chronicles 12:8-15, Ephesians 5:12

Petition for godly deputies and bishops

Dear Heavenly Father,
Your hand was upon King David, and You gave him understanding of all the details in the building of the temple, to the glory of Your name. He instructed his son Solomon to be careful to follow all Your commands that he may possess the land and pass it on as an inheritance.
Lord, You search every heart and understand every motive behind the thoughts. We cry out for bishops and deputies that seek You and follow Your commands. May they gain understanding of what You would have them do in this time in Anaheim to bring Your kingdom in, all to the glory of Your name. Keep Your hand upon them. Amen.
1 Chronicles 28:8, 9, 19

Deliver us from our enemies

Ephesians 6:12 (New Living Translation)
For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

Father,
The Anglican Communion is part of the Body of Christ. It is under the protection of the blood of Jesus. We stand in agreement and make this claim against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against the mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Deliver us from our enemies at Anaheim, we pray. Amen.

Release

“Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.
Mark 1:25-26

O Jesus, speak to the evil in our hearts, we pray. Release into the atmosphere that sound which will break through the strongholds of Satan. Amen.

The name of the Lord

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. Psalm 20:7

Elohim, the Creator, worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will, they were created and have their being. (Rev 4:11)
El Elyon, the God Most High, there is no God like You. Your purpose will be established, and You will accomplish all Your good pleasure. (Isa 46:9-10)
El Roi, the God Who Sees, the ways of man are before Your eyes, and You watch all his paths. (Prov 5:21)
El Shaddai, the All-Sufficient One, the water that You give shall become a well of water springing up to eternal life, and whoever drinks of it shall never thirst. (Jn 4:14)
Adonai, the Lord, to follow You is to find righteousness. (Rom 6:16)
Jehovah, the Self-Existent One, there is no God formed before You and there will be none after You. There is no savior besides You. (Isa 43:10-11)
Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord Will Provide, You shall supply all our needs according to Your riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (Phil 4:19)
Jehovah-Rapha, the Lord Who Heals, the surpassing greatness of Your power renews us day by day. (2 Cor 4:7, 16)
Jehovah-Nissi, the Lord My Banner, You give a banner to those who fear You, that it may be displayed because of the truth. Save and deliver Your beloved, we pray. (Psalm 60:4-5)
Jehovah-Mekoddishkem, the Lord Who Sanctifies You, You bear us on eagles’ wings and bring us to Yourself. (Exo 19:4)
Jehovah-Shalom, the Lord Is Peace, You have overcome the world and in You we have peace. (Jn 16:33)
Jehovah-Sabaoth, the Lord of Hosts, what You intend will happen, and what You plan will stand. (Isa 14:24)
Jehovah-Raah, the Lord My Shepherd, we worship You and bow down, for You are our God, and we are the people of Your pasture, and the sheep of Your hand. (Ps 95:6-7)
Jehovah-Tsidkenu, the Lord Our Righteousness, though we dwell in darkness, You will bring us out to the light, and we will see Your righteousness. (Micah 7:8-9)
Jehovah-Shammah, the Lord is There, You are the strength of our heart and our portion forever. (Ps 73:25-26)

Reference: The Peace & Power of Knowing God’s Name by Kay Arthur