National Day of Repentance

Today is the National Day of Repentance. Please take some time to interced on behalf of our nation and to ask the Lord to search your heart and reveal to you anything that you are in need of repenting.

To learn more about this please visit Days of Repentance

This Declaration of Repentance is a good way to start your prayers. Some of us at my work got together this morning to pray this together and then we walked around our building in prayer.

Nov 15 - Big day for protests against God and His Righteousness

Yesterday I had posted about the Great American God Out that is to be held in San Francisco today. I'm now beginning to think there is something about Nov 15th for those who are in darkness and trying to defy our God.

There are numerous pro-homosexual protests being held across the nation led by a group called Impact. This is to be a nationwide protest against Prop 8 which just passed here in California to make marriage between a man and a woman only.

Please join me in prayer regarding these protests. Pray for repentance and light of God's understanding and wisdom. Some are asking that if there is a protest going on near you that you go to the site AFTER the protest intercede for forgiveness and repentance of those who participated. Please remember:

Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ~ Ephesians 6:12

I'm sitting here trying to put into words the heaviness and sadness I feel in my heart because of what I've been seeing in this nation the past few months. I don't even know how to express it. Please pray, I fear we are at a place where some hearts may be hardened to the point where they will not be able to see the Light of Truth. I'm beginning to agree with someone who recently told me that sides are being drawn up and there is no real "middle ground" anymore. People are either choosing to follow God our Creator or they are choosing to do things their way, the way of the Enemy. We all serve someone and that distinction is becoming more and more apparent. The chasm between the two camps is becoming wider and deeper and as this happens it will be become harder and harder for those in the dark to cross over to the Light.

This may sound a bit depressing, but please realize that part of me is very excited as well, because although I'm saddened for those who have chosen to not follow the Lord, I'm rejoicing for those who have. I see the Lord drawing those who follow Him into an even more intimate and powerful relationship with Him. I'm experiencing this first hand myself. I praise God for His wisdom and truth and pray that He reveal it more and more to those who choose Him. And for anyone who has not totally hardened their hearts to God, I pray that His Light will find those cracks and penetrate their hearts, minds and lives in an amazing way.

Another reason to be on our Knees - Great American God-Out

I had never heard of this before but I checked it out and it is true. Tomorrow in San Francisco they will celebrate the Great Amercian God-Out. Last year on Nov. 15th this event was first held in New York - this will be the first year it will be held in San Francisco.

The Great American God-out

In the very words of the website here is what this is about...

THE GREAT AMERICAN GOD-OUT! is a newly demarcated holiday wherein, like "The Great American Smokeout", individuals are encouraged to combine their supportive efforts to help prevent and cure disease. Even if just for one day--people will live as as if there is no god; people will live as if there only exists the goodness of self and others to sustain healthy living!

The purpose of the the Great American God-Out! (GAGO) is to encourage people to think about the possibility of morality existing independently of theology and to abide by humanistic principles–live as if there is no god–even if only for one day.

The purpose is also to lobby for genuine separation of church and
state and encourage people to acknowledge the proper role of religion in the
private sphere.

Please be in prayer tomorrow regarding this event. We as creations of a Holy and Righteous God, we as a nation can only spit in God's face so many times before He will bring judgment on us (I personally believe it has already started).

I know God's Word tells us what things will end up being like before the end happens and events such as this point to those times. However, that does not mean that we need to sit by and just let it happen. Be on your knees in prayer, repentance and intercession. I pray God uses events like this to open the eyes of His Bride, the church to take a stand for Him and shake off her lethargic attitude.

So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the rest of the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.

~Ephesians 4:17-19

Hatred & Bitterness

It is amazing the things God uses to transform us into His image, things He uses to bring Himself Glory.

Yesterday, one of my posts from a couple weeks back was stumbled upon by someone who took great offense to it. This person posted a comment on a forum linking to my post which resulted in increasing my blog traffic over the past two days from approx. 20 unique hits a day to over 150 a day. This also resulted in what has probably been the most comments on any single post for me. Unfortunately these posts not only disagreed with me - they were quite nasty and hateful about it.

One cool thing about the internet and blogs is all the tools you can use, including one that can tell you where visitors are coming from when they visit your blog. In this way I was able to find the post that was directing all this traffic to me and I read the comments that had been left in response to that posting (7 pages at that time).

My first reaction was to be angry (the comments on my blog were bad, but these were appalling and many involved my daughter) however as I read the Lord impressed something on my heart. I began to feel compassion on these individuals because as I read further I began to see the hatred and bitterness behind the comments. Now don't get me wrong, I don't want anyone to think I'm something I'm not - I was still filled with anger of my own because of the attacks on myself, my family and my beliefs - but I started to see past those feelings.

So last night I chose to shut down my computer and pray for these individuals. God tells us to pray for our enemies, so I chose obedience. I'm not saying it was easy or that I was all that happy about it, but I figured obedience whether I feel it or not was the first step. I prayed for them and asked the Lord to soften my heart as well. He did start to do this -but He did even more.

As I started to pray for them He started to reveal to me that it was not all that long ago that I was filled with hate and bitterness. I was filled with pride - considering that I was correct in all of my beliefs no matter what - so much so that I was not even willing to accept discipline and correction from the Lord. At this point I began to weep and repent for this past sin.

But the Lord was not done. As I began to admit to Him these things from my past, He began to show me that although I don't live a life necessarily filled with hatred and bitterness any longer - I do still have deep dark places in my heart that harbor these feelings. They are buried deep and don't show themselves all the time, but they are still there. And He showed me two people in particular where I have allowed these feelings rule my heart and mind. And in some cases my tongue. I've justified these because these people have hurt me, they have offended me, they have tread on my rights.

But in the Kingdom of God these things do not matter. If God held these things against us, He never would have offered His gift of Love to us. What these individuals have done to me is nothing compared to the offenses I have committed against my Lord. Yet He has forgiven me and asks me to forgive others as He has forgiven me. He has loved me regardless of what I've done and asks me to do the same to others.

This started out as individuals who disagreed with my stand for God's Truth attacking me, but ended with God using it to reveal to me some ugliness in my own life. As much as I hate to see that within myself, I have chosen to follow Jesus and that means He will continue to guide me and show me areas in my life that I need to address in order to become more like Him. Therefore, today I praise Him for His mercy and grace. I praise Him because He loves me just the way I am, yet He wants to transform me into something even better if I am willing. I praise Him because He has turned what others meant for evil into something wonderful and good that will bring Him glory.

My Prayer for Obama as our next President

I must say I was disappointed but not altogether surprised as I watched the election coverage tonight and saw that Obama will be our next president. I believe America is going to be in for a rude awakening and I believe Obama is a very smooth talker who many have unfortunately chosen to put their hope in.

However, that being said - I'm even more confident in the fact that my Lord is still in control. I may not understand it, but He knows what He is doing, He is never wrong and He IS in control! My hope is in Him and Him alone.

In the past couple weeks there have been a couple discussions I've been involved in or been privy to that I believe sum up how I'm feeling today. I'm going to share them with you now.

First, in my daughter’s homeschool co-op they are learning about Daniel. The elections came up because they have been praying about the elections and the US. One of the questions was “What if Obama does win?” One child had an amazing answer for someone her age (maybe even for someone our age!). She replied (my paraphrase, but you get the point) – “Well, God is always in control even when we don’t see it ourselves. In Daniel it says that God chose Nebuchadnezzar and used him to do His will even though Nebuchadnezzar did not know God. So if Obama wins maybe this is the same thing. We just have to trust God.” Amazing insight!!

This has also come up as a topic on the Christan email distribution group at work. One question that came up was if Obama does win, how will you react? Especially considering God’s Word tells us to pray for our leaders and to submit to them.

Here is the answer I sent in reply:

Even if Obama wins I will submit to his leadership and pray for him and all our leaders - however I do add one exception, I will not follow any "rules" under Obama (or any president or other leader) if they are in direct opposition to God's Word. I don't plan to be "in your face" about these things if it comes to that point, I will do it in God's Love, but I will only submit so far as it does not make me walk off the path God has put me on.

In a way I live this same way at home. I have a husband I love dearly however, he is not a Believer. God's Word tells me that I should submit to my husband, and so in many matters I do. I've learned to pray and "pick my battles" with him and then to "fight" those battles in a respectful and loving way. In this way I honor him and in doing so honor my Lord (and hopefully in the process show my husband the love of Jesus for him).

Regardless of who becomes president I will handle things the same way. I will pray for the leaders and honor them as long as honoring them will not quench the Light of God that He has asked me to shine on this world. I will probably mess up along the way as I tend to become very passionate about certain things, but the Lord is slowly teaching me in my own home how to stand for His Truth in a way that draws others to Him instead of repelling them.

So - with that being said I lift up our future president in prayer:

Dear Lord,

I put my trust in you 100% even when I don't understand what is happening around me. I lift up to you all our current leaders and all new leaders who have been elected this day, including our president-elect, Barrack Obama. I pray you give them wisdom and discernment in leading this country and pour your blessings upon them.

I pray that you will whisper to them in your quiet still voice and draw their hearts to you, that they will learn to rely on you in all their decisions. I pray Lord, no matter what is in store for this country, that it be within your Will and that many will come to know you more through the circumstances that arise.

I acknowledge your sovereignty Lord and ask that you lead us to walk with you, I pray for repentance and healing for this country and I'm willing to accept that through whatever means you choose to use. Please change my heart where it is not in alignment with your Will. Please give me the grace to look past my biases and see your hand at work around me.

I praise your holy name, Jesus

~Amen~

In the News and On my Heart

Okay - so there have been quite a few different things that have come to my attention lately that I've wanted to post but not been able to keep up on - so I've decided to consolidate them into one post - these are things that are in the news and on my heart. I'm including a link and a short commentary from me on each one.

3 Arrested for Stealing Political Signs
So I've seen and heard about many poltical signs being stolen, mostly Yes on Prop 8 signs. I know many who have repeatedly had their signs vandalized and/or stolen (so far ours has been left untouched but we live at a dead end and don't get much traffic). Three individuals were caught this morning in the act and with 53 signs in their car. I find it very sad though that it was young adults - these are the youth that are our country's future.

Decriminalizing Prostitution in San Francisco
Now this one (Prop K on the SF ballot next week) seems to be too liberal for even San Francisco (imagine that!). It would not technically make prostitution legal in SF, but it would prevent law enforcement from pursuing prostitutes. Many are protesting this because they believe it will increase problems with human trafficking. Even opposed as it is - I'm concerned that it even made it onto the ballots.

Constitutional Sinners - The Growing Challenge to Freedom of Speech
I am a huge Ted Dekker fan. He is a wonderful fiction writer (one of the best I've ever read, and believe me - I go through books like you would not believe!) and he is able to portray such Truths about God's Word and His Character in his books. It is amazing. I recently read his newest book Sinner, which deals with the future US (2034) in which a National Tolerance Act has been passed that basically makes it hate speech to preach the Good News among other things. Basically saying Jesus is the Way is inflammatory speech. The above link is an article written regarding how themes in the book are showing up in the world today and how the US is on that path as well.

Letter from 2012 in Obama's America
I warn you - this is a long one. It may seem a bit extreme as well. I'm not sure that I agree that this much can happen in just 4 years, but I do believe that this is the path we are walking down as a nation, especially if Obama becomes our next president (or at least at a faster rate if he becomes president). I've said many times in the past weeks now that I believe as individuals and as a nation we must repent and turn back to the Lord. When you realize that everything referenced in this letter prior to Oct 22, 2008 is based on fact you have to stand up and at least pay attention and give it some thought!

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 will heal their land.

(2 Chronicles 7:14)

I'd love your comments and thoughts on any and all of these items.

Pray for our Nation - Jeremiah 19

I don't want my blog to become a doomsayer blog, but my highest priority in life it to follow the Lord. I want to fear Him more than I fear man. As I'm reading through Jeremiah I can't help but think it is timely for our nation, as I've mentioned before.

I will be posting other things on my blog (a review of Fireproof which I watched last night is forthcoming) - but expect that each morning as I read Jeremiah and the Lord points out verses to be applied to our nation at this time - I will be sharing.

Today I read Jeremiah 19 - the Lord brought the following verses to the forefront:

For they have forsaken me and made this a place of foreign gods; they have burned sacrificies in it to gods that neither they nor their fathers nor kings of Judah ever knew, and they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent. They have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as offerings to Baal - something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind. (verses 4-5)

This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel says: "Listen! I am going to bring on this city and the villages around it every disaster I pronounced against them, because they were stiff-necked and would not listen to my words." (verse 15)

I started thinking about this - we don't necessarily worship stone idols anymore and we don't take our children out in the valleys and throw them in the fire. At least not literally. But this nation, this world in many cases - is still doing these things, the gods have just changed their names and the sacrifices have changed faces.

What gods do we serve in this nation right now?

* Tolerance (political - correctness) - God's Word and Will should rule our lives, not the fear of offending someone because we speak the Truth. Truth is often offensive because it brings to light our sins, something we desparately want to keep in the dark. But some day we must account for these. I'd rather repent of them now than have to explain them to my Creater later as I stand before His Throne.

* Convenience - abortion, greed, we only think of ourselves and we want what we want now. If it may hurt others, we justify it in some way. It does not matter what spin we put on sin, Truth is Truth and sin can NOT be justified.

* Self - We may say we are looking out for others, but in the end we only care about one person, us! And deep down we don't even really like that person. We can not show love if we don't know and understand love. God is LOVE. Without Him we are hopeless. The only true and fulfilling way to live is for Him, not for ourselves!

I keep coming back to Jeremiah 2:11-13

"Has a nation ever changed its gods? (Yet they are not gods at all.) But my people have exchanged their Glory for worthless idols. Be appalled at this, O heavens, and shudder with great horror," declares the Lord. My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water."

Please join me in prayer (repentence & intercession) for this nation. Let us turn from our broken cisterns that we have dug and run to the cistern of the Lord, the spring of Living Water!

Pray for our Nation - Jeremiah 18

If you are a Christian who believes with all your heart that the Bible is the inspired Living Word of God, I implore you to join me in praying for this nation. Not just through the elections, although I believe this is a crucial time for our country. This is a turning point.

However, the elections on their own will not be enough to save this country. We need to have our hearts remade. Individually and as a nation. In the beginning of Jeremiah 18, the Lord tells Jeremiah to visit the potter. While there Jeremiah watches the potter reshaping a marred clay pot in his hands, he reshapes it as he sees as being best to him because he is the expert. The clay pot doesn't know what is best - only the potter does. This is us, our nation - we are that marred clay pot. We need to acknowledge this and ask the Potter to reshape us as He knows best because only He is the expert!

Jeremiah 18:7 - 10

If at any time I announce that a nation or or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.

Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA)

This last weekend is the first time I had ever heard of the Freedom of Choice Act. I started doing some research on it an I must confess by the time I was done my blood was boiling and I was overwhelmingly heartbroken.

This is an act that is supported by Planned Parenthood and NARAL-ProChoice America and if passed would prohibit "federal or state governments from interfering with a woman’s fundamental right to choose to bear a child or end a pregnancy." Those are the exact words on Planned Parenthood's website and in the proposed Act itself (you can find a copy of the proposed Act here which was re-introduced to the Senate in April 2007. From the research I've done this came up in 1993 and 1989 as well)

I find the wording very interesting - to bear a child or end a pregnancy - they can't tell it like it is. To bear a child or kill a child! I'm sorry if that is a bit graphic for some, but sugar-coating things does not change the Truth.

Here are some things to keep in mind about the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA):

* Will allow for late term abortions (this "freedom of choice" is to be throughout the entire 9 months of pregnancy)

* Will affect partial birth abortion bans (Per Planned Parenthood FAQ - "Viability, the time at which a fetus is capable of sustained survival outside the womb, is determined on a case by case basis and cannot legally be established as occurring at a particular time for all women") Wonderful, a case by case basis. Forgive me for my pessimism when I question those who will be making those decisions.

* Will affect parental notification for minors (Per Planned Parenthood FAQ - "FOCA prohibits states from enacting laws intended to deny or interfere with a woman's fundamental right to choose an abortion. Minors have long been included within the protections of Roe. Parental consent or notification statutes have been used as a tool to deny access to abortion services for minors. When such laws deny or interfere with the ability of minors to access abortion services, they would violate FOCA.")

Ironic that Planned Parenthood and other Pro-Choice organizations believe a mother of an unborn child has the baby's best interests at heart when deciding on whether to get an abortion, but when they become a teen, all of a sudden we don't know what's best for our children (and potential grandchildren)!

* Obama told a Planned Parenthood audience “The first thing I’d do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act.” If you don't believe me check out the video at the bottom of the post here or search YouTube yourself.

Another quote from Obama (this one is on his website here) - "But we also know that Roe v. Wade is about more than a woman's right to choose; it's about equality. It's about whether our daughters are going to have the same opportunities as our sons."

Let me ask you this - how are we creating a nation of equality when we are killing thousands/millions of our own children and grandchildren?

When I hear the arguments that this is an issue of a womans right to choose - I am infuriated and just sickened. I seriously want to vomit! I don't understand how people can be so blinded and so illogical to not see this for what it is. It is NOT a choice, it is a LIFE!!!

Even my 7yr old daughter is smart enough to be able to see past the lies and justifications. These children are being killed and these women buying into these lies are being scarred for life. Nobody wins!

Jesus, I plead your Blood over my sins and the sins of my nation. God, end abortion and send revival to America.

Bound4Life

Obama and Abortion

About a year ago I learned about a group called Bound4Life. They are a grassroots movement to save millions of baby's lives in America. They plan to do this through prayer and what is called Silent Sieges. I made the promise at that time to not vote for any candidate who is not Pro-Life.

I am finding it disturbing and saddening to hear that there are others who call themselves pro-life (and Christian in some cases) who are believing the claims that Obama is not a threat to the ProLife movement, and in some cases believing that he is actually good for the cause.

Others will tell you that abortion is really not that big of an issue in the election as the President does not really affect things like abortion laws. This is very wrong. The president may not interpret the laws but he does sign them or veto them. More importantly he appoints judges who do interpret the laws.

Regardless of where you stand please read this post - Abortion Reduction by The Freedom of Choice Act?

I had many concerns before regarding what will happen to this country if Obama became president, for more reasons than just abortion. This just increases these concerns more.

I pray the Lord will open eyes and hearts between now and November 4th to the Truth about abortion and the truth about what is in store for this country and thousands of innocent lives if we don't open our eyes to the Truth of abortion and take a stand (and more importantly if we don't repent and ask for mercy).

“Jesus, I plead your Blood over my sins and the sins of my nation.
God, end abortion and send revival to America.”

I've explained to my daughter what abortion is (not in graphic details, of course) and recently she watched video from when Saddleback Church interviewed both candidates. One of the questions asked was when a child's rights begin. The video of Obama was approx. 5 minutes long. He never actually answered the question, he did a lot of dancing around it. McCain came right out and said "at conception".

After the videos both played I asked my daughter what she thought (I had not told her anything yet as to where either of them stood on the issue) - even a 7 yr old could watch these videos and easily determine that Obama is not Pro-Life.

If you ask her right now what she thinks of the presidential candidates she will tell you "Obama is for killing babies in their mommy's tummies, McCain is not."

Jeremiah - Warning to our Nation?

Therefore, say to them, "This is the nation that has not obeyed the Lord its God or responded to correction. Truth has perished; it has vanished from their lips. Cut off your hair and throw it away; take up a lament on the barren heights for the Lord has rejected and abandoned this generation that is under his wrath."

~Jeremiah 7:28-29

I've been reading the book of Jeremiah recently. I've only gotten through Chapter 10 so far, but as I read it I keep feeling a heavy burden on my heart to pray for our nation. I can't help but feel the Lord impressing upon my heart that this message given to Jeremiah thousands of year ago for Israel, has meaning for us today.

Now I don't for one minute believe that the U.S. has taken the place of Israel as God's chosen nation, nor do I believe that God has abandoned Israel. So if that thought has popped into your head with my above statements, please let it pop right back out immediately.

The Lord has been putting a burden on my heart though more and more as the elections come closer. I've never thought of myself as an intercessor in anyway, nor have I ever really prayed for the nation, our government or its leaders much. But now I find myself pleading with the Lord each and every day to spare us. To open our eyes to the repentence and turning from our sins that is needed in this nation.

As I read Jeremiah, I truely feel it is a message to our nation that we need to drop the arrogant ego that we have worn for so long. To realize that we are not "all that" and that we are not in control. Only God is in control. If we don't repent, fall on our faces in prayer to Him and turn from our sinful ways, this nation will fall. It will become only a memory in the pages of some dusty history book. I know this sounds harsh and maybe a bit doomsday-ish, but I'm sure that is what all the other powerful nations throughout history thought too just before they crumbled.

We have let so much sin continue un-checked in our lives in the name of tolerance and politcal correctness. I don't condone going around judging everyone else or hating others. God has instructed us to love one another. But each of us needs to truely examine our hearts. Ask God to reveal where we have let things into our lives which go against His Word in order to "get along" with others.

As a people we have chosen to believe that we are in control and we have chosen to follow our own paths instead of following the path that the Lord has for us. We are beligerant children, thinking we know what is best, following our own paths which only lead to destruction. Only God knows the True Way and lead us in what is best for us.

There are so many verses in the first 10 chapters of Jeremiah that jump out at me as I read and as I start to intercede for our nation. However, the one above is what I feel the Lord prompting me to share at this moment. I encourage you to read Jeremiah if you are able, ask the Lord to open your eyes to the areas in your life where you've compromised His Truth. But be ready, because if you ask He will show it to you. Take it from me, I can personally tell you it is not pretty.

Please intercede on behalf of this nation, please repent for yourself and this nation and ask the Lord for mercy and grace. I'm calling everyone to prayer, repentance and intercession in these next few weeks. Remember, no matter what happens, the Lord is in control!