Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem(6/18/17)[Prayer]

The Holy Scriptures | 6/18/17 | left that other site

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Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem

Isaiah

Isaiah 58

True Fasting

58 “Shout it aloud, do not hold back.
    Raise your voice like a trumpet.
Declare to my people their rebellion
    and to the descendants of Jacob their sins.
2 For day after day they seek me out;
    they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
    and has not forsaken the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions
    and seem eager for God to come near them.
3 ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say,
    ‘and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves,
    and you have not noticed?’

“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
    and exploit all your workers.
4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,
    and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
    and expect your voice to be heard on high.
5 Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,
    only a day for people to humble themselves?
Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed
    and for lying in sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast,
    a day acceptable to the Lord?

6 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
    and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
    and break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
    and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
    and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
    and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness[a] will go before you,
    and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
    you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
    with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
    and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
    and your night will become like the noonday.
11 The Lord will guide you always;
    he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
    and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
    like a spring whose waters never fail.
12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
    and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
    Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

13 “If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath
    and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight
    and the Lord’s holy day honorable,
and if you honor it by not going your own way
    and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,
14 then you will find your joy in the Lord,
    and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land
    and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

Footnotes:

1. Isaiah 58:8 Or your righteous One

New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem

Oh LORD, Our God,
How Excellent is Your Name over All The Earth!
The Heavens Declare Your Glory,
And All of Your Creation Sings Your Praises!
Holy, Righteous, Just, and True,
Who is Like You?
There is No Other.
For You Alone Are Worthy,
You Alone Are LORD,
You Alone Are The One True God of Abraham!
Help Us To Worship You in Spirit and In Truth,
And not just "go through the motions",
risking Your Great Wrath.
For We Know You Would Rather us to Be COLD than to be "lukewarm hypocrites".
But You WANT us to be "on FIRE for You!

We Pray For the Leaders of Our own Beloved USA
May They Receive Wisdom from You
to do the Right Thing.

We Pray For The Swift and Sure Coming of Messiah,
Blessed Be He,
To Establish His Kingdom,
and Make All Things Right.

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.



Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

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Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem

Lots of religions , as well as dietary programs, include fasting. There are different reasons for fasting, and not all of them noble. Isaiah, speaking as a Prophet, admonishes the people for fasting for the wrong reasons.

There is something about the act of choosing to go without food for a prolonged period of time that is counter-intuitive, and is therefore a form of self-control. Self-Control is a good thing, but self-righteousness is not! Neither is self-hatred, which is the root of many eating disorders, and the struggle for control over what one puts in one's mouth becomes an obsession.

Marketers have quickly grasped onto this and label their products in such a way as to give the consumer a false sense of righteousness by purchasing the product. New fads arise all the time with a new ingredient that is loudly avoided because it has become the new food "boogieman", until it is replaced by another. The glorious proclamation of what we will and will not eat (excluding, of course, actual allergies) is a form of what we now call "Virtue Signalling", and has been going on since the time of the Prophet Isaiah!

As I write this, Bombings, killings, stabbings, and murders have been taking place all over the world in "honor" of a religious fasting period called "Ramadan". This is the exact opposite of Isaiah's admonitions of fasting, and very much in opposition to Jesus of Nazareth's commentary on fasting in Matthew:

Matthew 6:16-18 (ESV)

16 “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

So, it is not fasting that is the problem, but the attitude!

Come and Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.

God Bless America!

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.



This Symbol Represents Christians in The Middle East, who desperately need our Prayers.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

[blueyon]

Joining in prayer

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Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem

Thank You, blueyon, For Your Prayers For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.

God Bless America!

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.



This Symbol Represents Christians in The Middle East, who desperately need our Prayers.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

[trisham]

Thank you, left that other site!

[etabeta]

Amen and God bless.

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Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem

Thank You, trisham, For Your Prayers For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.

God Bless America!

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.



This Symbol Represents Christians in The Middle East, who desperately need our Prayers.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

[left that other site]

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem

Thank You, Etabeta, For Your Prayers For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.

God Bless America!

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.



This Symbol Represents Christians in The Middle East, who desperately need our Prayers.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

[NEWwoman]

Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
    and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
    and break every yoke?

Amen, left that other site

Great points about fasting.

Joining in prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem as well as the world.

[left that other site]

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem

Thank You, NEWwoman, For Your Prayers For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.

God Bless America!

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.



This Symbol Represents Christians in The Middle East, who desperately need our Prayers.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

[Hiskid]

Amen. Great commentary. I can’t post this with my tablet, but I’ve been singing Liberated Wailing Wall song today. In Yeshua’s Name

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Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem

Thank You, Hiskid, For Your Prayers For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.

Great Music! :-)

God Bless America!

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.



This Symbol Represents Christians in The Middle East, who desperately need our Prayers.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

[Maudeen]

Help Us To Worship You in Spirit and In Truth, And not just "go through the motions", risking Your Great Wrath. For We Know You Would Rather us to Be COLD than to be "lukewarm hypocrites". But You WANT us to be "on FIRE for You!

Amen!

[left that other site]

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem

Thank You, Maudeen, For Your Prayers For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.

God Bless America!

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.



This Symbol Represents Christians in The Middle East, who desperately need our Prayers.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS