Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

 Our Father In Heaven,
 Holy and Sanctified is Your Most Wonderful Name!
 You Alone Are Worthy,
 You Alone Are LORD,
 You Alone Are The Most High!
 You Alone Are The One True God Of The Universe,
 You Are The Ancient Of Days,
 LORD of Hosts,
 and Rock of All Ages,
 Our Creator,
 You Have Made Us,
 and All That Is.
 You Are The Same Yesterday,
 Today, and Forever.

  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

Personalities

1 Samuel 29:1-11

Achish Sends David Back to Ziklag

29 The Philistines gathered all their forces at Aphek, and Israel camped by the spring in Jezreel. 2 As the Philistine rulers marched with their units of hundreds and thousands, David and his men were marching at the rear with Achish. 3 The commanders of the Philistines asked, “What about these Hebrews?”

Achish replied, “Is this not David, who was an officer of Saul king of Israel? He has already been with me for over a year, and from the day he left Saul until now, I have found no fault in him.”

4 But the Philistine commanders were angry with Achish and said, “Send the man back, that he may return to the place you assigned him. He must not go with us into battle, or he will turn against us during the fighting. How better could he regain his master's favor than by taking the heads of our own men? 5 Isn't this the David they sang about in their dances:

“‘Saul has slain his thousands,
  and David his tens of thousands’?”

6 So Achish called David and said to him, “As surely as the Lord lives, you have been reliable, and I would be pleased to have you serve with me in the army. From the day you came to me until today, I have found no fault in you, but the rulers don't approve of you. 7 Now turn back and go in peace; do nothing to displease the Philistine rulers.”

8 “But what have I done?” asked David. “What have you found against your servant from the day I came to you until now? Why can't I go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?”

9 Achish answered, “I know that you have been as pleasing in my eyes as an angel of God; nevertheless, the Philistine commanders have said, ‘He must not go up with us into battle.’ 10 Now get up early, along with your master's servants who have come with you, and leave in the morning as soon as it is light.”

11 So David and his men got up early in the morning to go back to the land of the Philistines, and the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

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.

________________________

The following story is a fabrication, but based several real events and people:

A young lawyer in a fairly conservative state decided to go into politics. He was very liberal himself, and had recently made a name for himself defending a Communist Activist in a high-profile murder case, but his state was majority Republican, so he ran for office in that party. He eventually became a senator on the "Right Side of the Aisle", but his voting record and speeches reflected that he really didn't fit in. In nearly every decision, his was a dissenting vote.

As time went on, his own party became more and more annoyed with him, and he eventually changed parties. However, the Democrats weren't happy with him either. They saw him as an outsider, and he never did fit in anywhere.

In more recent times, if a politician changes parties, he or she may go "Independent", and caucus with the opposing party. Even if that person proves himself again and again, there's always the suspicion that his heart is elsewhere. He changed once...he could change again.

David finds himself in the same position as the (not-so) mythical Senator. In serving the Philistines, he committed what we now may call "War Crimes". He shed so much blood that he would be forever tainted before God. He would be denied the glorious task of Building the Temple, in favor of his son Solomon.

The Philistine Generals were right in not trusting him. he changed parties once, why wouldn't he do it again?

Even though Saul is directly involved in this Chapter, it was SAUL who put David in this position in the first place.

I'll not be too quick to judge David though. I can't imagine what I would do if I were playing music for someone and he threw a spear at me, not just once, but TWICE.

How many of us would run to Ziklag?

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

Blessed Is The Nation Whose God Is The LORD (Psalm 33)

God Bless America.

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS