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Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Our Lord and Heavenly Father

LORD Strong and Mighty

You are The Sword

You Are Our Defense

You Stand With us and Fight for us.

Mighty in Battle,

And Standing For Righteousness.

You Alone are the One True God Over All!




Let all that has been Concealed
Be Revealed.

Father, We Pray For The Peace Of Jerusalem,
According To Your Will and Promise.
We Pray That You Will Forgive The Sins
of Our Own Nation,
and Lead us all to Godly Repentance.
Create in Us Clean Hearts, Oh LORD,
and Renew a Right Spirit Within Us.

This we Pray Together,
As We Await Your Messiah,
Blessed Be He,
To Set Up His Kingdom,
And Make All Things Right.

God Bless America.

ML/LTOS

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Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Matthew 5

Love for Enemies

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor[i] and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

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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.

Just yesterday, I connected to a almost complete list of Bach cantatas for my listening pleasure as I worked on the computer. I tuned into the Netherlands Bach Society's Playlist and listened for hours. It was not a perfect list, as much has been lost over the centuries. However, the NBS made every effort to reproduce the original sound, with a small choir and an ensemble of period instruments. It was lovely. However, even though the comments were mostly positive, there were the usual remarks of "The Tempo was too fast", "I don't like the tone of the contratenor", "They didn't give enough credit to the oboe player", etc. In other words, it was NOT perfect. It reminded me of the old Alan Sherman Comedy Song No One's Perfect.

Today's lesson from The Sermon on the Mount is that no one is "perfect". And yet, Jesus is telling us to BE perfect, just as our Father in Heaven is.

There is no way we can do this on our own. But Jesus IS perfect, and when our lives are hidden in Christ, we are robed in HIS Righteousness.

This section of the Sermon on the Mount is perhaps the hardest to understand. It seems that impossible demands are being made of us. Turning the Other Cheek, Walking the Extra Mile, and Loving our Enemies are not humanly possible. If we strive to do those things in our own power, we become legalistic and self-righteous, which are the very things the Gospel warns against.

In the next Chapter, Jesus will give us insight on how to give, pray, and live so that we can be clothed in HIS Perfection.

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

"He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification." (Romans 4:25)

God Bless America.

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS