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The Cares Of The World
The cares of the world can be many or less,
But the name of the Lord we are to bless.
For such cares can overwhelm,
So follow the wisdom of God’s realm.
There are many who get choked,
Because Jesus’ help they haven’t invoked.
Had they asked the Lord’s grace,
His victory would glow upon their face.
Jesus is the Good Shepherd and the Rock,
And he hears the cry of his flock.
So don’t bear your burdens alone,
But seek help from God on his throne.
Don’t let your mind go weak,
Nor in any depression be asleep.
But surrender all your worries and cares,
Unto Christ Jesus in your prayers.
Rise up for the Lord
Don’t stay down in life,
Nor let laziness get rife.
Like Gideon get all ready,
On God’s Word be steady.
Win that victory first in your heart,
So that towards God’s plan you start.
Don’t fear the future, present nor the past,
But all this unto the Lord you cast.
Be willing to conquer all strongholds,
As God’s will for your life unfolds.
Rescue those weak in faith,
From each insidious scathe.
Rise against sin by true repentance,
Let faith be filled in each sentence.
Be of good cheer and good hope,
And with Christ all challenges cope.
Have confidence by the Holy Spirit
To God’s Divine and Holy Word your heart you fully apply,
And pray that God’s Spirit is poured on you from on high.
Be transformed by the renewing of your mind,
Unto God’s will leave no effort behind.
By the Holy Spirit bear fruits that are good,
That you be peaceful and without falsehood.
When you believe the Lord is your defense,
Then in your soul be without pretense.
Don’t fear demons nor any man,
When you have faith in God’s plan.
Dare to be holy in a world that’s profane,
That by God’s Spirit in life you reign.
May God’s angel protect you
The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. (Psalm 34:7)
Ask the Lord in faith to send his holy angels to protect you. Especially against the evil angels of Satan who at times are called as demons. Do not fear the world but only believe in Christ. Avoid being scared of the powers of darkness but pray unto the Lord to guide and deliver you from all your enemies visible and invisible. Take courage in Christ, O those who believe in him. And by faith you’ll see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Prayer points for France (November-December 2014)
One of Western Europe’s largest countries is France. The people are quite creative and jovial. Though you might hear a lot of jokes about the French they are not dumb but in fact are innovative. For instance they invented canned food, the Braille script for the blind, the pasteurization, parachutes and even Aspirin etc. Despite their great traditions, wisdom and art the French are still beset with low faith in God and increase in immorality of all sorts of evil. The French Revolution brought out both the best and the worst for them in areas of politics, religion, economy etc which manifest even to this day. Nevertheless, we are to pray for their well-being and safety in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh (Jude 1:22-23)
Some people need a rescue from going into the fires of hell because their on their own they are bound to fail. We can at times pull them from getting into the fire in many ways. To this effect we can preach the Gospel to them, encourage them to live a holy life unto Christ and pray for them. Even when you can reach to someone in need of a rescue from spiritual deception, you can still at least pray for them.
For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.” (2 Peter 2:20-22)
Remember that it’s better to never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from it. This can apply to France too. Indeed a nation that once confessed faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is in moral shambles. With people shying away from speaking about their faith in Christ and some declaring themselves at atheists and non religious it’s proving to be an ungodly mix. The rise in migrants from non-christian lands adds more unbelievers to the French demographic. Though looking at this from another angle, I see this as a chance to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to people who otherwise would be difficult to reach out to their native regions which might be hostile towards the Christian faith.
Here are the prayer points that you can pray for France though you can also add in whatever the Holy Spirit brings to your mind when praying:
- Pray that prostitution in France is curtailed and eliminated as this results in the subjugation and oppression of women and children. The illegal manipulation of women needs to stop by stopping prostitution.
- Pray that all forms of human trafficking are strongly stopped by the government and police at all levels.
- That illegal immigrants are not a threat to France in any way or form such as economic, terrorism etc.
- That non-christian immigrants are given a free and clear choice to listen to the Gospel of Jesus and accept the Christian faith.
- Pray that the preachers go on to reach out to people of other religion and offer them salvation which only comes from Jesus Christ.
- Pray that the French Christians experience fullness of the joy of the Lord in their private and public life.
- That the dipping church attendance is put to a hold and more people start liking to participate in the church.
- That the French arts such as paintings, statues, fashion houses, music and literature are used to promote peace, harmony, truth and courage instead of vulgarity and vanity.
- Pray for unity and peace among Christians of various denominations in France.
- Pray that all cults and hate movements are a failure. That the works of the Evil One through them are exposed and brought low.
- That the people of God in France prevail against every form of deception that is used to tempt them and weaken them in their personal walk with Christ.
- That all of France’s infrastructure is kept safe and secure including their nuclear installations.
- Pray that there is no misuse of the nation’s resources by any form of corruption in the government, military etc in France
- Pray for good, moral and effective leaders for France.
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Show courage on time
Courage is rightly considered the foremost of the virtues, for upon it, all others depend. – Winston Churchill.
Do you have feelings to do great things for God yet somehow don’t even start on it? Does a sermon for witnessing about Christ Jesus inspire you but you don’t end up talking about Christ to others? Do you keep quiet when its time for taking a righteous stand when there’s a moral crisis in the church? Do you find it difficult to say a strong NO when your friends incite you to sin? When its time for prayers do you feel shy because of what the not so spiritual people will say?
If you have answered YES to even one of these questions then you might be facing a courage issue. Not that you lack courage but that you need to exhibit courage at the right time. There’s an English proverb that says, ‘It is easy to be wise after the event’. Sometimes after you have faced a moral crisis or personal temptation you feel you should have been more assertive or less politically correct to shun out evil. Yet you know that the next time you want to set things right you may have to wait for your chance or use even more force. Here’s where you make up your mind that in the future you will be able to clearly recognize situations where you need to show courage. After which you will then be courageous right away.
You are still fortunate if you have chances to make amends. Sometimes all you can do is say “I’m sorry Lord Jesus” when you have failed the Lord. Not everyone gets that option. Because some people die in their sins due to being too cowardly to admit and confess their sins to God. They are more concerned about the ridicule of the world when its time to repent. They should realize that more important than the worlds opinions is reconciliation back to God.
Faith and courage
Your walk with Christ will need both faith and courage at the same time. You can’t say you have faith in Christ if you don’t find courage through him. The Lord is triumphant over the Evil One, so you have nothing to fear.
But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” (Mark 5:36)
If you read the context in which Jesus said “Do not fear, only believe” for which you can refer to Mark 5:35-43. The Lord Jesus had just healed a woman with the issue of blood. Then immediately he was asked for help on behalf of Jairus the ruler of the synagogue. The need was urgent as Jairus’ daughter had died. They didn’t want Jesus to bother as they had given up due to her death. Yet Jesus went on to Jairus’ house and raised the daughter of Jairus back from the dead. So if you notice Jesus said “Do not fear, only believe.” in face of death! Be fearless because you believe in Jesus for resurrection from the dead.
It is vanity to live in fear of people’s opinion who do not like your love of God. You need not be fearful of man or anything when you put your trust in the Lord God. Rather one must always remember that salvation only comes from the Lord Jesus who gives hope that never ends.
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Take courage in the Lord
A person who believes in Christ is called to be courageous. Courage is a very important attribute for the Christian soul for with it using other attributes like love, honor etc become much easy and practical.
Right from the times when God manifested himself to Moses we keep hearing that the Lord God encouraging his people to have courage. You need courage to do the will of God.
Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you.”
Courage is not entirely an emotion only but it more of a decision too. Decisions are invariably related to actions. When you are called do something for Christ you need to do it courageously.
Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Even in the New Testament when we read the Gospel we notice that Jesus asked people to take courage not just for doing works but other things as well. Sometimes it’s been about receiving healing, receiving forgiveness and even about overcoming the world. Let’s read the Holy Scriptures about that as well:
John 16:33 These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.
Matthew 9:2 And they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, “ Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.”
Matthew 9:22 But Jesus turning and seeing her said, “Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well.” At once the woman was made well.
Picture this, courage is like keeping your hands up for a fight. A soldier can easily block blows against him if he were to keep his guard with his hands up. If he were to keep his hands all the way down, the enemy would be able to easily hurt him. When you are called to be courageous don’t give up instead keep your hope up and not at all down. This will help you to live truly victorious in the Lord.
2 Chronicles 15:7 But you, be strong and do not lose courage, for there is reward for your work.
When you are faced with anxiety you are called to wait up on the Lord with courage. To know more about waiting on the Lord click here. Courage is highly important when waiting for the Lord, especially in hardships that are very much long drawn and you need help from God.
Isaiah 35:4 Say to those with anxious heart, “Take courage, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance; The recompense of God will come, But He will save you.”
There is a good reason for those believe in God not to lose courage nor to fear. This is because Jesus is both the light and savior of the world. So those who follow him are called to be courageous.
Psalm 27:1 The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?
John 8:14 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
There is great wisdom in the Bible that can help you to live courageously. You can mediate on the scriptures mentioned about and the following for this purpose. Pay special attention to the last verse as well as it means a lot. Here are the scriptures for you:
1 Corinthians 16:13 Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong.
2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.
Hebrews 13:5-6 For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we may boldly say: “The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”
1 Peter 3:13-14 Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.”
1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
It’s my prayer and desire that you grow more courageous in the Lord. Go on forward and take bold steps for the glory of God. Amen.
Disciples of hope 