Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Dear Father In Heaven,
How Hallowed is Your Most Wonderful Name!
We Love You With Our Whole Heart
With Our Whole Soul
With Our Whole Strength
And With Our Whole Being.
You Alone Are Worthy of Worship
You Alone Are The One true Holy and Righteous God.
Rock of All Ages,
Our Creator,
You Have Made Us,
and All That Is.
Your are the One Who Stands With Us in Battle.

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

The Names and Titles of God (The Good Shepherd) John 10:11

11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

King James Version

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In Southeast Florida, the Music Business was totally tied up by Theatrical Agents. It was nearly impossible to get a gig at any of the Condo Complexes, or even a Wedding or Bar Mitzvah without going through an Agent. The Agent didn't work for the Artist or even for the Client. He worked for HIMSELF. It was the Agent who set the price, kept whatever he wanted for the commission, received the deposit, and then had the Artist sign a contract for the job. The Artist had no contact with the Client, and had no idea what the client had paid. It was a dismal situation, and probably not even legal, but once you signed your name to something, you were stuck with it. There was no union, and the Artists were all in vicious competition for the same jobs. All the Agent did was make phone calls. I don't know if this was the case in other counties, but in Broward and Miami-Dade about twenty years ago, that was the situation. Now I'm in Massachusetts, where Artists mostly book their own gigs, with an occasional boost from a Booking Agent who gets 15%.

The kind of Agent depicted in the movie Broadway Danny Rose is a character whose clients are the Artists themselves, and for whom he would do anything to get them gigs. This leads to dangerous, life-threatening situations as he inadvertently gets involved with gangsters in his attempts to help his client.

It was a funny movie, but I can't imagine a Theatrical Agent "laying down his life" for a Musician!

Wealth in Biblical Times was often measured in Livestock, most commonly Sheep and Goats. The area was too rugged for large herds of cattle, but Sheep and Goats did fine on the rocky, mountainous land.

Sheep, however, have a tendency to stray, and are much more vulnerable to predators than Cattle. If a prosperous man couldn't handle all the herds himself, he would have to hire people.

That's where things could get bad for the sheep. A man who was just a hireling didn't care about the Sheep, or about his Boss who owned the Sheep. He just was working for money, Even if the Owner had named each and every one of his flock, had been present at their birth, and loved each one individually, the hireling neither knew nor cared. Can you imagine the Owner, sitting down with the hireling, and saying:

"Now look here, mister. I know all my sheep and they know me. They all have names. This one is Daisy, and this one is Blossom. Blossom's Mom Thelma had a hard time giving birth to her, and I had to assist. Riffy over here is afraid of thunder, so you have to hug her if there is a storm. Betty likes to wander off so you gotta keep an eye on her. AND, if a pack of wolves comes by, you have to FIGHT THEM TO THE DEATH. You need to be ready to lay down your life for them. Oh, and by the way, they know my voice, so it would help if you learned to sound just like me when you call them."

"Yeah, yeah," says the hireling "I got it. When do I get paid?"

Unfortunately the same can be said for a lot of people in the "Religious Profession". After all, they have degrees in ministry, and college is expensive, so they should get paid. The Bible even says that

For Scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,” and “The worker deserves his wages.” (1 Timothy 5:18).

Of course, a Shepherd who tends the Flock of God should be able to support his family, but money should not be the prime motivation.

There's a big difference!

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

For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. (Mark 4:22)

God Bless America.

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS