Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem(2/14/23)[Prayer]

The Holy Scriptures | 2/14/23 | left that other site

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Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Mark 4
The Parable of the Sower

4 Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. 2 He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: 3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”

9 Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

10 When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11 He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12 so that,

“‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,

    and ever hearing but never understanding;

otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’[a]”

13 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14 The farmer sows the word. 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”

_______________________________________________________

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.

God Bless America.

ML/LTOS

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Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Oh LORD, Our God!
Sanctified and Holy is Your Name.
How Excellent,
How Wonderful,
How Perfect You Are!
My Heart is Overwhelmed With Your Glory,
Your Magnificence,
and Your Power!
When I think of how Awesome You Are,
Of How You Transcend Time and Space,
Of How You Created Everything That Is and Ever Was,
Of How You Tell History From the Beginning to The End
and the End to The Beginning,
Of How You Give us a Glimpse into Your Infinite Mind
Through Your Holy and Unchanging Word,
How You Are Faithful To Your Promises Even When We Fall Away,
And How You Fulfill Every Jot and Tittle of Your Precepts,
When we ourselves fall so short of the target,
I just have to stop everything,
And say, "How Great and AWESOME YOU ARE!"

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

[left that other site]

Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Mark 4
The Parable of the Sower

4 Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water's edge. 2 He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: 3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”

9 Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

10 When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11 He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12 so that,

“‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,

    and ever hearing but never understanding;

otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’[a]”

13 Then Jesus said to them, “Don't you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14 The farmer sows the word. 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”

_______________________________________________________

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.

For some arcane reason which has been lost to the ages, The Boston Public Schools made a huge deal out of Valentine's Day. For weeks the children would prepare for the festivities. As a project in school, we were instructed to bring in a medium-sized box, which we would decorate with tissue paper, big red hearts, cupids, bows-and-arrows, and other lovey-dovey motifs. Then we would put a mail slot in the top and prominently write our names on the boxes, to identify them. The teacher mimeographed a classroom list and a letter to the parents that EVERY CHILD on the list had to have a Valentine addressed to him or her, and that no child was to be left out. This meant I had to write a Valentine even to the kids who had bullied me, but, of course, they had to write one to ME too.

With the mimeographed list and the Letter the to Parents in hand, Mom took me to the Five and Ten and we bought a bag of Valentines: goofy little cards with execrable puns (A kitty saying, "You're PURRRRR-fect! BE MINE", etc) and them Mom and I would address each one according to the list, seal the envelopes. I would bring the whole package to school, greatly annoyed that the dreamboat boy that I had a crush on and the BULLIES would get the exact same Valentine from me. In a just world, the BULLIES would end up with empty Valentine Boxes!

Just last Wednesday, I was at a student's house and I saw, on the dining room table, a box that had been rescued from the recycling bin. It was covered in pink tissue paper, and decorated with Red Hearts, Cupids, and Bows-and-Arrows.

"Is That a VALENTINE BOX?" I asked.

"Yeah. They make us do this," my student replied,"but I got in trouble for writing a LOVE SONG!"

I explained that the Love Song had been addressed to one individual, while the Valentine Box was just a general custom. He sighed and said, "I wouldn't mind, but I have to send a Valentine to people who don't even LIKE me!"

Jesus uses the Parable of the Sower to illustrate Evangelism. The word "Evangelism" comes from a Greek word meaning "GOOD NEWS". The seed is The Word of God. The Landing Place of the Seed is what determines whether it will grow or not. The Sower doesn't vary his seed according to the place where it will eventually land. It all comes from the same container that he is carrying around. It is all good seed, without impurities that will hamper its growth. As the Parable continues, we see that there are four destinations for the same seed coming from the hand of the Sower. (I love how Jesus immediately interprets His own stories.)

The Hard Path, the Rocky Place, The Thorns, and The Good Soil all represent the recipients of The Word, and how they respond to it. I am sure everybody has known people in all four categories.

God is no respecter of persons. He sends His "Valentine" to bullies and dreamboats alike. He even sends it to people who don't LIKE Him. The difference, of course, is in the heart of the receiver.

Happy Valentine's Day.

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

[etabeta]

My prayers always. God bless.

[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.

"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

[TianaHighrider]

Good morning and Happy Valentines Day 💝

Blessings and Prayers up 🙏

[NEWwoman]

Amen, left that other site

Happy Valentines Day!

A kitty saying, “You’re PURRRRR-fect! BE MINE” - as a cat lover, I love it!

Joining in prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem and for our beloved America.

[left that other site]

Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Thank You, TianaHighrider, For Your Prayers 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

[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.

"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

[DarthVader]

Amen !!! <><

Psalm 53

To the leader: according to Mahalath. A Maskil of David.

1 Fools say in their hearts, ‘There is no God.’
They are corrupt, they commit abominable acts;
there is no one who does good.

2 God looks down from heaven on humankind
to see if there are any who are wise,
who seek after God.

3 They have all fallen away, they are all alike perverse;
there is no one who does good,
no, not one.

4 Have they no knowledge, those evildoers,
who eat up my people as they eat bread,
and do not call upon God?

5 There they shall be in great terror,
in terror such as has not been.
For God will scatter the bones of the ungodly;*
they will be put to shame,* for God has rejected them.

6 O that deliverance for Israel would come from Zion!
When God restores the fortunes of his people,
Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be glad.

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Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Thank You, DarthVader, For Your Prayers and Wonderful Psalm 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

[Hebrews 11:6]

Lovely, fitting message. Especially liked your point about the unchanging good seed, which I had always understood implicitly without ever paying any attention to it. Now, I shan’t forget it.

AMEN!

[redryder_90]

Amen

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Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Thank You, Hebrews 11:6, For Your Prayers 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

[left that other site]

Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Thank You, redryder_90, For Your Prayers 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

[Hiskid]

Amen to your love letter to God today.

[Jeanbl]

Thank you, AMEN. Joining together in prayer, praise, thanksgiving, seeking blessing upon those in need of the Love of God, the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the sweet Fellowship of the Holy Spirit.

[left that other site]

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.

"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

[left that other site]

Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Thank You, Jeanbl, For Your Prayers 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