"Deliver Us, LORD!"

LORD, deliver us from the wicked, man-made ‘boxes of control’. The abusive systems of men that operate apart from Your Spirit of True Love. We call forth legions of angels to CUT DOWN demonic spirits of greed, power and abusive control. Prayer is our weapon as we look to You. Holy is Your Name. Thy Kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 

We command angels to CUT DOWN demonic spirits of fear, hate, witchcraft and rebellion. OPEN BLIND EYES across this nation and around the world. EXPOSE the plans and schemes of those motivated by evil, and REMOVE THE FALSE PROPHETS OF BAAL, those that sacrifice Your Children. Even as you did in the time of Elijah and Jehu. 

Deliver Your Children from this evil. OVERTHROW THE WICKED. Cause them to hang on their own devices. We call forth a MASSIVE WAVE of Your Spirit, and of Holy Fear and Repentance. May all these plans for evil, work together for good. May the hearts of a million of souls SEE the rising of Your glory and presence in their own lives. LIGHT OUR PATH and give us courage, like never before. Have mercy on us. Cause Your people to turn to You in REPENTANCE, that you may heal our land, according to Your Word. 

We pray with confidence that our prayers have POWER to transform the landscape of darkness and oppression because of Your Righteous blood and sacrifice. BE MAGNIFIED IN THIS HOUR LORD. RISE UP IN THIS HOUR. For THINE is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory, forever and ever, 

 in Jesus Mighty Name! 

[Troi Nelson Cockayne]

2 Kings 17:39 ... But the Lord your God ye shall fear; and he shall deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies.

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He Was a Leper!!

Naaman was a great man, but he was a leper! (2 Kings 5:1) He was the victim of a loathsome and incurable disease. He was a pitiful and repulsive object, with no prospect whatever of any improvement in his condition. Yes, my reader, the highly privileged and honored Naaman was a leper and as such he portrays what you are and what I am by nature. 

God's Word does not flatter man. It lays him in the dust, which is one reason why it is so unpalatable to the great majority of people. It is the Word of truth, and therefore instead of painting flattering pictures of human nature it represents things as they actually are. Instead of lauding man it abases him.   Instead of speaking of the dignity and nobility of human nature, it declares it to be leprous, sinful, corrupt, depraved, defiled! Instead of eulogizing human progress, it insists that "every man at his best state is altogether vanity!" (Psalm 39:5) 

And when the Holy Scriptures define man's attitude toward, and relationship with God, they insist that "There is none righteous, no, not one. There is none that understands, there is none that seeks after God." (Romans 3:10-11) They declare that we are His enemies by our wicked works (Colossians 1:21), and that consequently we are under the condemnation and curse of God's law, and that His holy wrath abides on us! (John 3:36) 

The Word of truth declares that by nature all of us are spiritual lepers, foul and filthy, unfit for the divine presence, "being alienated from the life of God." (Ephesians 4:18) You may occupy a good position in this world, even an eminent station in the affairs of this life. You may have made good in your vocation, and wrought praiseworthy achievements by human standards. You may be honorable in the sight of your fellows but how do you appear in the eyes of God? You are a leper, one whom His law pronounces unclean, one who is utterly unfit for His holy presence! As it was with Naaman, so it is with you: "He was a great man but a leper!" 

We would not be faithful to our calling were we to glide over that in God's Word which is distasteful to proud flesh and blood. Nor would we be faithful to our readers if we glossed over their frightful and fatal natural condition. It is in their souls' interests that they should face this humiliating and unpleasant fact: that in God's sight, they are spiritual lepers! But we must personalize it. Have you, my reader, realized this fact in your own case? Have you seen yourself as you are in God's sight? Are you aware that your soul is suffering from a disease that neither you nor any human being can cure? It is so, whether you realize it or not. The Scriptures declare that from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head, there is no soundness in you. 

Yes, that in the sight of the holy God, you are a mass of "wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores!" (Isaiah 1:6) Only as you penitently accept that divine verdict, is there any hope for you. 

[A. W. Pink]

1 Timothy 1:15 ... This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

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The Great Day of His Wrath!!

"The great day of His wrath has come and who shall be able to stand!" (Revelation 6:17) 

Who may abide the day of His coming? Who shall stand when He appears? Oh, beloved! this is not the day of man's wrath! Men have had their day of reigning and raging, and despising God but that day is over and gone, and now God's day has come! This is the day of His wrath and woe to wicked, and woe to the whore of Babylon, for the hour of her judgment has come! This will be a day of great ASTONISHMENT to the wicked and ungodly, "The Lord shall smite them with madness and blindness, and astonishment of heart!" (Deuteronomy 28:28) 

 This will be a day of great TERROR to those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus! Therefore, says the apostle, "Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men." (2 Corinthians 5:11)  This day of God's wrath will be a day of great DISTRESS to the wicked, "I in turn will laugh at your disaster! I will mock when calamity overtakes you when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm you!" (Proverbs 1:26-27)  This day of God's wrath will be a day of great CONTEMPT to the ungodly, "The Lord Almighty has purposed it, to stain the pride of all glory, and to bring into contempt all the honorable of the earth!" (Isaiah 23:9)  This day of God's wrath will be a day of great DESTRUCTION, "The wicked are reserved to the day of destruction; they shall be brought forth to the day of wrath!" (Job 21:30) 

 Oh, beloved! God's GREAT wrath will be very terrible to the wicked! 

1. God's great wrath will tear them in pieces like a lion! "I will be like a lion to Israel, like a strong young lion to Judah. I will tear them to pieces! I will carry them off, and no one will be left to rescue them!" (Hosea 5:14.) "Consider this, all you who forget God, or I will tear you to pieces, with none to rescue you!" (Psalm 50:22)  

2. God's great wrath will consume them like fire! "The Lord Almighty says, The day of judgment is coming, burning like a furnace. On that day the arrogant and the wicked will be burned up like straw. They will be consumed, roots, branches, and all." (Malachi 4:1)  

3. God's great wrath will swallow up all His enemies! "You will capture all your enemies. Your strong right hand will seize all who hate You. You will throw them in a fiery furnace when You appear. In His wrath the Lord will swallow them up, and His fire will consume them!" (Psalm 21:8-9)

 Oh! the wrath of the Almighty is called in the Scripture: "The fierceness of His great wrath!" (2 Kings 23:26)   "The fierceness of His anger, wrath, and indignation!" (Psalm 78:49)   "The fury of His wrath!" (Revelation 16:19)

 [Willian Dyer]

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This is The Finger of God

Look at the words which form the title of this article, and consider them well. They were spoken by heathen men more than three thousand years ago. They fell from the lips of Egyptian magicians when God sent one of the famous plagues on the land of Egypt. "Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh: This is the finger of God!" (Exodus 8:19.) 

It would be well if we all were as wise as these Egyptians!

From WHENCE does the cattle plague come?

I answer, unhesitatingly, that it comes from God! He who orders all things in Heaven and earth, He by whose wise providence everything is directed, and without whom nothing can happen.  He it is who has sent this scourge upon us! It is the finger of God!

I shall not spend time in proving this point. I refer anyone who asks for proof, to the whole tenor of God's Word. I ask him to mark how God is always spoken of as the governor and manager of all things, from the very least to the very greatest.

Who sent the flood on the world in the days of Noah? It was God! (Genesis 6:17)

Who sent the famine in the days of Joseph? It was God! (Genesis 41:25)

Who sent the plague on the livestock of Egypt in the reign of Pharaoh It was God! (Exodus 9:3)

Who sent disease on the Philistines when the ark was among them? It was God! (1 Samuel 5:7; 6:3-7)

Who sent the pestilence in the days of David? It was God! (2 Samuel 24:15)

Who sent the famine in the days of Elisha? It was God! (2 Kings 8:1)

Who sent the stormy wind and tempest in the days of Jonah? It was God! (Jonah 1:4)

I cannot understand how anyone can be called a believer of the Bible, who denies God's providence over His world. For my own part, I thoroughly believe that God has not changed. I believe that He is governing all things as much now, as He was in the Old Testament days. I believe that wars, famines, pestilences, and cattle plagues are all His instruments for carrying on the government of this world. And therefore when I see a scourge like the cattle plague, I have no doubt as to the hand that sends it. It is the finger of God!

Can anyone give a better account of the cattle plague? I believe that the only cause that we must come to as last is: This is the finger of God!

Does anyone regard my assertion as absurd and unreasonable? I have no doubt that many do so. Many, I suspect, think that God never interferes with the affairs of this world, and that pestilences and cattle plagues are only the result of certain natural laws which are always producing certain effects. I pity the man who thinks so.

Is he an atheist? Does he believe that this wonderfully designed world came together by chance, and had no Creator? If so, he is a very gullible person.

But if he does believe that God made the world where, I ask, is the absurdity of believing that God governs the world? If he allows that God framed the universe then why not allow that God manages it?

Away with this modern skepticism! It is offensive and revolting to common sense. They are not to be heard, who would shut out the Creator from His own creation. He who made the world at the beginning by the finger of creating wisdom will never cease to govern the world by the finger of His providence. This cattle plague is the finger of God!

[J. C. Ryle]

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Be Content With His Daily Allowance

Jehoiachin was not sent away from the king's palace with a 'supply' to last him for months, but his provision was given to him as a daily pension.  Herein he well pictures the happy position of all the Lord's people. A daily portion is all that a man really needs. We do not need tomorrow's supplies; for that day has not yet dawned, and its needs are as yet unborn. The thirst which we may suffer in the month of June does not need to be quenched in February, for we do not feel it yet. If we have enough for each day as the days arrive, we shall never know want. Sufficient for the day is all that we can enjoy.

We cannot eat or drink or wear more than the day's supply of food and clothing; a surplus gives us the care of storing it, and the anxiety of watching against a thief. "So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them!" (Matthew 6:31-32) 

One staff aids a traveler but a bundle of staffs is a heavy burden.  Enough is not only as good as a feast but is all that the greatest glutton can truly enjoy. Enough is all that we should expect, a craving for more than this is ungrateful. When our Father does not give us more, we should be content with His daily allowance.

Jehoiachin's case is ours, we have a sure portion; a portion given to us by the King; a gracious portion; and a perpetual portion. Surely here is ground for thankfulness.

Beloved Christian reader, in matters of grace you need a daily supply. You have no store of grace. Day by day you must seek help from above. It is a very sweet assurance that a daily portion is provided for you. In the Word, through the ministry, by meditation, in prayer, and waiting upon God, you shall receive renewed strength. In Jesus, all needful things are laid up for you. Then enjoy your continual allowance!

Never go hungry while the daily bread of grace is on the table of mercy!

[Charles H. Spurgeon]

2 Kings 25:29-30 … And changed his prison garments: and he did eat bread continually before him all the days of his life. And his allowance was a continual allowance given him of the king, a daily rate for every day, all the days of his life.

Luke 11:3 ...  Give us day by day our daily bread.

Deuteronomy 33:25 … Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be.❤

Living in God's Will

Some make a high profession, but live idly. It is an evil thing not to do all of God's will!  Let us examine all of our actions, to see whether they are according to God's will or not. The will of God is our rule and standard. It is the sundial by which we must regulate all our actions. Are our speech, words, and apparel according to God's will? Would Jesus do this?

Misery always attends doing our own will. A proud man thinks it below him to stoop to God's will. The humble says, 'Lord, what would You have me to do?'"

[Thomas Watson]

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2 Kings 10:28-29 … Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel.  Howbeit from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, Jehu departed not from after them, to wit, the golden calves that were in Bethel, and that were in Dan.

James 4:6-7 … But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.  Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.



Proverbs 22:4 … By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, and honour, and life.❤

What a Comfort is This!

Christ knows all of His sheep.  His knowing His sheep is His loving them. This is a great consolation.

He knows every one of their names.  "He calls His own sheep by name." John 10:3

He knows all the sighs and groans they make. "My groaning is not hidden from You." Psalm 38:9

Christ knows every tear they shed. "I have seen your tears!" 2 Kings 20:5

He bottles their tears as precious wine! "You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in Your bottle. You have recorded each one in Your book." Psalm 56:8

He knows all their sufferings. "I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them." Exodus 3:9  "The Lord saw the bitter suffering of everyone in Israel." 2 Kings 14:26

Christ knows all their good works, all their works of piety and charity.  "I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance." Revelation 2:2

[Thomas Watson]

John 10:14 ... I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.

John 10:11 ... I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

Matthew 25:33-34 ... And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.  Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:❤

Abana

Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.  2 Kings 5:12

Abana [Hebrew] ~ Stony; made of stone. ✿

Follow The Lamb

A believer follows the Lamb TRULY, without hypocrisy. Many follow the Lamb, as beggars follow a rich man only for his money. They prize the wages of religion above the works of religion! "I tell you the truth, you are looking for Me because you ate the loaves and had your fill!" John 6:26. Oh, beloved, God abhors a hypocrite more than a Sodomite! Hell is provided on purpose for hypocrites, "He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!" Matthew 24:51

My beloved, following the Lamb fully, is to have the heart fixed and resolved for God. "My soul clings to You," says David in Psalm 63:8. "As a deer longs for streams of water, so I long for You, O God. I thirst for God for the living God!" Psalm 42:1-2

A believer follows the Lamb CONSTANTLY, without apostasy. A true believer never stops following the Lamb.

He does not follow the Lamb wherever He goes who follows the Lamb earnestly for a while but afterwards forsakes Him, when the storm arises! "Since he has no root he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the Word he quickly falls away!" Matthew 13:21

He does not follow the Lamb wherever He goes, who follows the Lamb in some things and the beast in other things! "They worshiped the Lord but they also served their own gods in accordance with the customs of the nations from which they had been brought." 2 Kings 17:33

He does not follow the Lamb wherever He goes who follows the Lord in a dull heavy manner, and lukewarm temper. "I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold I am going to vomit you out of My mouth!" Revelation 3:15-16

Oh! this is not following the Lamb!

Those who follow the Lamb abide in the Lamb, and cleave to the Lamb, and continue constantly in the Lamb's ways, unto the end of their days. "The righteous person will hold to his way!" Job 17:9. The righteous man follows the Lamb wherever He goes.

[William Dyer]

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The Sin of Idolatry

There is much danger lest I should fall into the same sin of idolatry.  Idolatry is as prevalent today as well as yesterday.  It is as prevalent in Christendom, no less than in heathendom.

There are the idols of wood and stone. Lurking in my heart I find too strong a sympathy with the grosser forms of evil; untold possibilities of heinous sin are within me still. But these impure gods must go!

There are the idols of silver and gold. I pay an undue deference to fashion and wealth. I covet a high position and a place among the prominent ones of the earth. But these gods too must be dethroned!

There are the carved images. I may easily be beguiled by my regard for the culture and arts of the world. Contagion and poison haunt its literature, its arts, its amusement. At whatever cost, these deities must be cast out!

There are the molten images. Sudden fires of appetite, swift flames of temptation, leap up within me; and before I know, I may be overcome by them. These powers of darkness must be conquered in a heavenlier strength than my own!

There are the teraphim, the idols made in the likeness of men. I am in peril of exalting friends, wife, children, to the seat which Jesus Christ alone should occupy. My dearest idol must be thrown down, and He must be Lord of all.

May Zinzendorf s motto be mine: "I have one passion, and it is Jesus, Jesus only!"

[Alexander Smellie]

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2 Kings 17:12 ... For they served idols, whereof the Lord had said unto them, Ye shall not do this thing.

Ezekiel 14:4 ...  Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the Lord will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols;

Ezekiel 20:16 ...  Because they despised my judgments, and walked not in my statutes, but polluted my sabbaths: for their heart went after their idols.


1 Corinthians 10:14 ...  Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.❤

Elijah

And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.  2 Kings 2:11

Elijah [Hebrew] ~ My God is Jehovah. ♛

The Heart

Do not judge by appearances; A rich heart may be under a poor coat.

[Scottish Proverb]

1 Samuel 16:7 ... But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.

2 Kings 22:19 ... Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the Lord, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before me; I also have heard thee, saith the Lord.

Matthew 5:8 ... Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.❤

Open Our Eyes

When our eyes are truly opened to the Lord God, nothing else really matters. ℛℒ

Acts 26:18 … To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.

2 Kings 6:17 … And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.

Psalm 146:8 … The LORD openeth the eyes of the blind: the LORD raiseth them that are bowed down: the LORD loveth the righteous:

Ephesians 1:18 … The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

Hebrews 12:2 … Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. ♥