Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Heavenly Father,
 You are Our Advocate,
 You Are Our Champion,
 When the Whole World seems to Stand Against us,
 You Stand With us.
 You Alone Are Our Defense,
 Our Ever Present Help in Times of Trouble.
 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

Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

"Thy Kingdom Come."

The radio preacher (I will not use his name in this story) had an amazing baritone voice, but he was extremely harsh to people who called into his program. Perhaps it was his wonderful radio voice that allowed him to get away with his total lack of compassion for his callers. More than once, I would hear the caller reduced to tears of frustration and hurt, because of the preacher's condemnation. And yet, people continued calling, getting lambasted, and donating to the guy's "ministry". The preacher's theology was fairly sound , his delivery was flawless, but there was no love. I realized that listening to the program was actually a form of self-righteous voyeurism, and turned off the program whenever the theme song came on. There were plenty of other radio programs that preached the Gospel in a more loving manner.

Thirty years later, I was driving through Coconut Creek, FL, and saw a huge billboard on Sample Road saying the the World was going to end on May 21, 2011. It was the same preacher, the one with the mellifluous radio voice who was so mean to his callers. I was appalled. As much as I love the study of Eschatology (The End Times), I know for a fact that we are forbidden by Scripture to set dates. Every time somebody does this, it sends a wave of ridicule towards the Christian Community and causes disappointment and shame.

Of course May 21, 2011 came and went. The preacher attempted to cover his butt by saying that he had just been off by five months and changed the date to Oct.21. That date came and went as well. After all this humiliation, the preacher had a massive stroke which led to his death at the age of 92. The most poignant symptom of the stoke was Aphasia, the loss of his magnificent voice.

This sad story fits in so closely with Paul's Letter to the Corinthians: "If I speak with the tongues of angels...and have not love..." It also fits in with the Second Petition in The Lord's Prayer, "Thy Kingdom Come...". The Lord's Prayer, The Book of Revelation, and even the Creeds recited by Christians all over the world, long for the Second Advent of Jesus. Although the interpretation of all the different denominations run the gamut: Amillennial, Pre-Millennial, Post Millennial, Pre-Trib, Mid-Trib, Post-Trib, etc, they ALL pray "Thy Kingdom Come..." All of Creation groans in anticipation of thet Day. We pray for it daily, as part of this prayer, but most of us have just memorized it and use those four syllables as a couplet that rhymes with the next line. But, the next line stands on its own even though it has the same amount of syllables and sort of rhymes (in English, anyway). It is a whole separate petition, which we will discuss tomorrow.

So now, when we pray "Thy Kingdom Come..." realize that we are praying for the Lord to return, but don't you dare set any dates.

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