MEM

1Sam 12:23 "Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you… (NAS unless indicated - highlighting by MEM)

Job 10:14 If I sin, then Thou wouldst take note of me, And wouldst not acquit me of my guilt.

Ps 66:18 If I regard wickedness in my heart, The Lord will not hear;

Ps 38:3 … There is no health in my bones because of my sin.

Matt 6:14 "For if you forgive men for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

Ps 51:2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin.

Ps 119:11 Thy word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against Thee.

1Thess 5:17 pray without ceasing;

Phil 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Col 4:2 Devote yourselves to prayer…

Joshua 7:1 But the sons of Israel acted unfaithfully in regard to the things under the ban, for Achan, the son of Carmi… took some of the things under the ban, therefore the anger of the LORD burned against the sons of Israel.

Josh 7: 4 So about three thousand men from the people went up there, but they fled from the men of Ai. 5 And the men of Ai struck down about thirty-six of their men, …so the hearts of the people melted and became as water.

Josh 7:6 Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the LORD until the evening, …

Josh 7:10 So the LORD said to Joshua, "Rise up! Why is it that you have fallen on your face? 11 Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them… 12 Therefore the sons of Israel cannot stand before their enemies… I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy the things under the ban from your midst. …'"

Josh 7: 18 And he brought his household near man by man; and Achan, son of Carmi…was taken.

Josh 7:24 Then Joshua and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the mantle, the bar of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent and all that belonged to him; and they brought them up to the valley of Achor. 25 And Joshua said, "Why have you troubled us? The LORD will trouble you this day." And all Israel stoned them with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones. 26 And they raised over him a great heap of stones that stands to this day, and the LORD turned from the fierceness of His anger. Therefore the name of that place has been called the valley of Achor to this day.

"On June 16. 1775, a significant prayer meeting took place in Boston. The day before, the patriots had learned of the English general Gage’s plan to occupy the southern projection of Bunker Hill on the Charleston peninsula across the Charles River from Boston. In the twilight of June 16. twelve hundred patriot troops gathered on the Cambridge Common. There Samuel Langdon, the gray-haired president of Harvard College, led them in prayer concerning the awesome task before them. He prayed, "O may our camp be free from every accursed thing! May our land be purged from all its sins! May we truly be a holy people and all our towns cities of righteousness!"

(* editing is done to shorten length - you are encouraged to read the full commentary where applicable)

Proverbs 1:24 "Because I called, and you refused; I stretched out my hand, and no one paid attention; 25 And you neglected all my counsel, And did not want my reproof; 26 I will even laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your dread comes, 27 When your dread comes like a storm, And your calamity comes on like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come on you.

Proverbs 1:28 "Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently, but they shall not find me, 29 Because they hated knowledge, And did not choose the fear of the LORD. 30 They would not accept my counsel, They spurned all my reproof. 31 So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way, And be satiated with their own devices. 32 For the waywardness of the naive shall kill them, And the complacency of fools shall destroy them.

Proverbs 1:23 "Turn to my reproof, Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.

Proverbs 1:33 …he who listens to me shall live securely, And shall be at ease from the dread of evil."

Merciful YHVH, forgive our waywardness-pour out Your Spirit-make Your ways known to us.

Hosea 5:15 I will go away and return to My place Until they acknowledge their guilt and seek My face; In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.

Ps 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; 24 And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.

Almighty One - surely our prayerlessness is sin-let us not be lead astray.

1. What did Yeshua (Jesus) teach regarding entering the gate?
2. Which book states: "Meaningless ...Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless"?
3. In which city did Paul and Silas sing in jail at midnight?
4. Who must be above reproach, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, and able to teach?
5. What did God promise to give Solomon if he would keep God’s commands?
6. Who was the third son of Adam and Eve?
7. Who said, "Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets"?

(Lessons from humility and faith.)

2Chr 7:14 and If My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Isa 66:2 "…But to this one I will look, To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.

Zeph 2:3 Seek the LORD, All you humble of the earth Who have carried out His ordinances; Seek righteousness, seek humility. Perhaps you will be hidden In the day of the LORD's anger.

Yeshua, may we humbly seek and pray for Your will in our lives.

A careful reading of these passages will reveal Israel’s repentant heart, their actions, the assisting of the Levites for those not yet purified; the intercessory prayer of Hezekiah; the priests blessing the people; how their prayer was heard, resulting in the great compassion of YHVH.

2Chr 30:13 Now many people were gathered at Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month, a very large assembly. 14 And they arose and removed the (pagan) altars which were in Jerusalem; they also removed all the incense altars and cast them into the brook Kidron.

2Chr 30:15 Then they slaughtered the Passover lambs on the fourteenth of the second month. And the priests and Levites were ashamed of themselves and consecrated themselves, and brought burnt offerings to the house of the LORD. 16 And they stood at their stations after their custom, according to the law of Moses the man of God; the priests sprinkled the blood which they received from the hand of the Levites. 17 For there were many in the assembly who had not consecrated themselves; therefore, the Levites were over the slaughter of the Passover lambs for everyone who was unclean, in order to consecrate them to the LORD.

2Chr 30:18 For a multitude of the people… had not purified themselves, yet they ate the Passover otherwise than prescribed. For Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, "May the good LORD pardon 19 everyone who prepares his heart to seek God, the LORD God of his fathers, though not according to the purification rules of the sanctuary."

2Chr 30:20 So the LORD heard Hezekiah and healed the people.

2Chr 30:21 And the sons of Israel present in Jerusalem celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great joy, and the Levites and the priests praised the LORD day after day with loud instruments to the LORD. 22 Then Hezekiah spoke encouragingly to all the Levites who showed good insight in the things of the LORD…

2Chr 30:27 Then the Levitical priests arose and blessed the people; and their voice was heard and their prayer came to His holy dwelling place, to heaven.

Great YHVH You hear when a prayer of the heart is offered, with a desire to seek You.

Matt 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Material in this section is based on various prayer diaries.

In The 1500's

The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperature isn't just how you like it, think about how things used to be. Here are some facts about the 1500s:

Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, Don't throw the baby out with the Bath water…

Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying It's raining cats and dogs.

There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house… This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.

The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying, Dirt poor. The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door, it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entrance way. Hence the saying a thresh hold.

In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme, Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old…

Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could, bring home the bacon. They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and chew the fat…

Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.

Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and the lord of the manor got the top, or the upper crust.

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whiskey. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a wake.

England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift.) to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be saved by the bell or was considered a dead ringer.

It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, girls, career, and life itself got in the way… In fact, Jack moved clear across the country in pursuit of his dreams.
 
There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend with his wife and son. He was working on his future, and nothing could stop him. 

Over the phone, his mother told him, "Mr. Belser died last night. The funeral is Wednesday." Memories flashed through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days. 

"Jack, did you hear me?" 

"Oh, sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you… It's been so long since I thought of him. I'm sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago," Jack said. 

"Well, he didn't forget you. Every time I saw him he'd ask how you were doing. He'd reminisce about the many days you spent over 'his side of the fence' as he put it," Mom told him. 

"I loved that old house he lived in," Jack said. 

"You know, Jack, after your father died, Mr. Belser stepped in to make sure you had a man's influence in your life," she said 

"He's the one who taught me carpentry," he said. "I wouldn't be in this business if it weren't for him. He spent a lot of time teaching me things he thought were important...Mom, I'll be there for the funeral," Jack said. 

As busy as he was, he kept his word. Jack caught the next flight to his hometown. Mr. Belser's funeral was small and uneventful. He had no children of his own, and most of his relatives had passed away. 

The night before he had to return home, Jack and his Mom stopped by to see the old house next door one more time. 

Standing in the doorway, Jack paused for a moment. It was like crossing over into another dimension, a leap through space and time The house was exactly as he remembered. Every step held memories. Every picture, every piece of furniture...Jack stopped suddenly… 

"What's wrong, Jack?" his Mom asked. 

"The box is gone," he said 

"What box?" Mom asked. 

"There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he'd ever tell me was 'the thing I value most,'" Jack said. 

It was gone. Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remembered it, except for the box. He figured someone from the Belser family had taken it. 

"Now I'll never know what was so valuable to him," Jack said. "I better get some sleep. I have an early flight home, Mom." 

It had been about two weeks since Mr. Belser died. Returning home from work one day Jack discovered a note in his mailbox. "Signature required on a package. No one at home. Please stop by the main post office within the next three days," the note read.
Early the next day Jack retrieved the package. The small box was old and looked like it had been mailed a hundred years ago. The handwriting was difficult to read, but the return address caught his attention. "Mr. Harold Belser" it read… Jack took the box out to his car and ripped open the package. There inside was the gold box and an envelope. Jack's hands shook as he read the note inside. 

"Upon my death, please forward this box and its contents to Jack Bennett. It's the thing I valued most in my life." A small key was taped to the letter. His heart racing, as tears filling his eyes, Jack carefully unlocked the box. There inside he found a beautiful gold pocket watch. 

Running his fingers slowly over the finely etched casing, he unlatched the cover. Inside he found these words engraved: 

"Jack Thanks for your time! -Harold Belser." 

"The thing he valued most was...my time" 

Jack held the watch for a few minutes, then called his office and cleared his appointments for the next two days. "Why?" Janet, his assistant asked. 

"I need some time to spend with my son," he said. 

"Oh, by the way, Janet, thanks for your time!" 

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away," 

Think about this. You may not realize it, but it's true. 

1. At least 15 people in this world love you in some way. 

2 A smile from you can bring happiness to anyone, even if they don't like you. 

3 Every night, SOMEONE thinks about you before they go to sleep. 

4. You mean the world to someone.

5. If not for you, someone may not be living. 

6. You are special and unique. 

7. When you think you have no chance of getting what you want, you probably won't get it, but if you trust God to do what's best, and wait on His time, sooner or later, you will get it or something better. 

8. When you make the biggest mistake ever, something good can still come from it. 

9. When you think the world has turned its back on you, take a look: you most likely turned your back on the world. 

10. Someone that you don't even know exists loves you. 

11. Always remember the compliments you received... Forget about the rude remarks. 

12. Always tell someone how you feel about them; you will feel much better when they know and you'll both be happy. 

13. If you have a great friend, take the time to let them know that they are great. 

"Thanks for your time"

To the optimist, the glass is half full.
To the pessimist, the glass is half empty.
To the engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

Have a good day!

Hebrews 10:37 "For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry."

A life without love is like a rose without scent.

Smile when you pick up the phone; the caller will hear it in your voice.

The more you count the blessings you have, the less you crave the luxuries you haven’t.

Seek to find the best in the worst, to discover the great in the small, to see beauty in the plain

and to detect the elegant in the simple.

Anyone who thinks there’s plenty of room at the top has a lot to learn about pyramids.

A perfectionist is one who takes great pains - and gives them to other people.

A bargain is something you can’t use at a price you can’t resist.

 
God's sovereignty; this has to do with the issue of how much God is in control of life. From my study of the Scriptures throughout the years I have discovered that God reveals his many-faceted truth without necessarily providing how its complexities work together. Rather he has graciously provided us in the Scriptures everything we need in order to live life the way he intended. This includes the command to seek him as to how we are to apply his Word to our lives. This is why we need to work hard at understanding what the Scriptures say and grow in the wisdom of how to live lives firmly based on its teaching.
 
Therefore struggling over what the Scriptures teach about God's sovereignty and what it means for our lives is not a waste of time. It is easy to claim to believe the Bible, but if we don't take the time to grapple with what it is saying, it is doubtful whether or not we have really allowed its teaching to have access to our hearts and minds.
 
If God is truly sovereign then he is ultimately responsible for everything that happens.
 
What we can surmise from what the Bible does teach on this is that while life doesn't always seem to be in God's control, it is. To believe anything less is to reject God as he is revealed in the Scriptures.
 
On the other hand, if we could accept God's own statement as spoken through Moses that life, death, danger and restoration are exclusively in his control, then our focus can be fixed firmly on God, the primary cause of everything that happens to us. Once we accept that God is ultimately in control of all of life, then not only can we learn to relate to him as we ought, but how we relate to others will begin to fall into place.

*(This document was edited for length)

Blessed be YHVH (Genesis 14:20 And blessed be God Most High…)

1Thess 5:17 pray without ceasing;

1. Enter through the narrow gate Matthew 7:13

2. Ecclesiastes Ecclesiastes 1:2

3. Philippi Acts 16:12, 24-25

4. An elder 1 Timothy 3:2

5. Long life 1 Kings 3:14

6. Seth Genesis 4:25

7. Simon Peter Luke 5:5