Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

 Oh LORD, Our God!
 How Wonderful and Excellent is Your Holy Name!
 And How Present and Eternal Your Word,
 Even To This Day!
 Abba Father,
 You Alone Are Worthy,
 You Alone Are Lord,
 The One True God of Abraham,
 The Eternal Rock of Ages,
 The Ancient of Days!

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

Psalm 52[a]

For the director of music. A maskil[b] of David. When Doeg the Edomite had gone to Saul and told him: “David has gone to the house of Ahimelek.”

1 Why do you boast of evil, you mighty hero?
     Why do you boast all day long,
     you who are a disgrace in the eyes of God?

2 You who practice deceit,
     your tongue plots destruction;
     it is like a sharpened razor.

3 You love evil rather than good,
     falsehood rather than speaking the truth.[c]

4 You love every harmful word,
     you deceitful tongue!

5 Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin:
     He will snatch you up and pluck you from your tent;
     he will uproot you from the land of the living.

6 The righteous will see and fear;
     they will laugh at you, saying,

7 “Here now is the man
     who did not make God his stronghold
 but trusted in his great wealth
     and grew strong by destroying others!”

8 But I am like an olive tree
     flourishing in the house of God;
 I trust in God's unfailing love
     for ever and ever.

9 For what you have done I will always praise you
     in the presence of your faithful people.
 And I will hope in your name,
     for your name is good.

Footnotes:

* Psalm 52:1 In Hebrew texts 52:1-9 is numbered 52:3-11.
* Psalm 52:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
Psalm 52:3 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verse 5.

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

________________________

Since I don't follow Culinary Trends (my favorite thing to make for dinner is "Reservations"), I found myself mystified by the acronym "EVOO". A quick Internet Search revealed that "EVOO" stood for "Extra Virgin Olive Oil". OK...that was easy. I've been using that stuff for years. I abandoned Hydrogenated Fats way back in the 1960s, and Seed Oils shortly thereafter. Olive Oil was VERY expensive, but it was cheaper at the Greek Market, and still smelled of the olives from which it had been pressed. This unrefined, hearty oil turned off a lot of chefs at the time because it had its own flavor and aroma, which could have clashed with lighter flavored ingredients. But, having grown up in a Greek and Lebanese neighborhood, I was very familiar with EVOO. I just didn't know that it had a trendy new name.

The local corner grocery store where I grew up was called "The Home Market." It was 100% Greek, and entering it was like being instantly transported to the Mediterranean. Trays of Honey Dripping Pastries, Tubs of Feta Cheese sitting in Brine, Veggies that weren't wrapped in Plastic, and Five-Gallon Crocks filled with many varieties of Olives were lined up around the store. The labels, signs, ambient music, and personnel were ALL Greek. Since I didn't speak Greek, I would just point to a product, hold up a couple of fingers for the quantity, and hand over the cash. It's a precious memory of my childhood, and I was eating Greek and Lebanese Food long before it became fashionable.

The next time I felt the allure of Olives in Crocks and Spices in Burlap sacks was in the back streets of the Old City in Jerusalem. It was funny that Jerusalem brought back memories of Roslindale! In Hebron, an Arab boy asked me where I was from. When I said "Roslindale" he said he had a cousin there. I'll bet he loved "The Home Market".

Olives are so much a part of the Mediterranean that the trees are treasured. There are some on the Mount of Olives that are rumored to be 2000 years old. Here's something I wrote about the Olive Trees:

In Ayn Rand's novel "Atlas Shrugged" there is a strange chapter about an Oak Tree that gets struck by lightening:

The great oak tree had stood on a hill over the Hudson, in a lonely spot of the Taggart estate. Eddie Willers, aged seven, liked to come and look at that tree. It had stood there for hundreds of years, and he thought it would always stand there.

The stately Oak is struck and split open, revealing nothing but rot inside. It symbolizes huge government bureaucracies that seem "too big to fail". All things pass away, even giant trees that seem like they will live forever. Like the Oak in the novel, some things appear huge, powerful, and indestructible, but are so rotten inside that the slightest stress can cause it to crumble.

Ironically, the Olive Tree, growing in the harsh climate of the Middle East, is not a particularly attractive tree. Its branches are gnarly and twisted, and its bark is rough and mottled grey. It is not stately or powerful like the Oak, nor does it grow very tall. And yet, I have seen Olive Trees in Jerusalem that some claim are thousands of years old.That may be an exaggeration, but there is no question that these trees are VERY old.

The Psalmist uses the Olive Tree, rather than the Oak, to describe the Righteous Person who is firmly rooted in God's Word. He may seem weak and unattractive to the World, but he will have staying power that will long outlive a haughty "oak" full of rot inside.

Ayn Rand was not a Believer, but she did get some things right. Her prediction of a collectivist "Deep State" that stifles creativity and initiative with government control, was prescient!

God uses the Olive Tree to teach us and be a Witness to Him. The Dove brought an Olive Branch back to Noah. The Two Witnesses in both Zechariah and Revelation are described as "Olive Trees". David is using a familiar and powerful metaphor for strength, resilience, and stamina that can come only fro He Who Created those Olive Trees in the Beginning.

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

My prayers always. God bless.

(I also use only olive oil, always look for one Country provenance as there is a lot of fraud in the oil business. Some mix the oil with cheaper blends etc.and then sell for premium)

Amen to your word, prayer and pictures, especially the first one. The Church of all Nations at the bottom of the Mount of Olives has that very old olive tree which some say Jesus was crucified on. So it sits in the center court of that spot. Can’t wait till some of us old olive trees get a new body!

🇺🇸Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem🇮🇱 (10/14/26)[Prayer]

Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem