Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Oh LORD, Our God,
How Excellent is Your Name over All The Earth!
The Heavens Declare Your Glory,
And All of Your Creation Sings Your Praises!
Holy, Righteous, Just, and True,
Who is Like You?
There is No Other.
For You Alone Are Worthy,
You Alone Are LORD,
You Alone Are The One True God.
Help Us To Worship You in Spirit and In Truth,
Open Our Eyes and Our Ears, We Pray.

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

Mark 1
The Baptism and Testing of Jesus

9 At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

12 At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, 13 and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted[g] by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.

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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.

1. The King of Horror: A few years ago, I read a book by Stephen King about writing. While I am not a big fan of King, the man has had more Best Sellers than I can count, so a book about writing by him would probably contain some valuable lessons. It DID. One of his primary bits of advice was this:

"Never use four words when one will do the job."

King was particularly adamant about adverbs. He doesn't like them and thinks that they interrupt the flow of the narrative.

2. Testimony of More Than One Witness: Although the Old Testament allowed Capital Punishment for certain crimes, it was not to be applied without the "testimony of two or three witnesses. Here is a verse that mandates that rule:

Deuteronomy 19:15 - The Testimony of Two or Three Witnesses

A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. (New American Bible)

One witness alone shall not stand against someone in regard to any crime or any offense that may have been committed; a charge shall stand only on the testimony of two or three witnesses. (NET Bible)

That is clear. One accusation from one alleged victim is NOT enough to put a man to death, according to Scripture.

3. Collusion: Mom's favorite TV Show was Law & Order. She only started liking it after Jerry Orbach entered the cast in the third season. After the actor (whom Mom called "My Jerry") left the cast in 2004 due to cancer, Mom drifted away from the series. It just wasn't the same without the wisecracking, cynical, but upright, Lt. Lenny Briscoe.

Lt. Briscoe had a method of interrogating suspects, especially if he suspected them of being in collusion with one another. He would question the individuals separately, and then compare their stories. If the stories matched TOO perfectly, Lt. Briscoe would know that the suspects had agreed beforehand what they would say, if questioned. By the mere fact that the group had "colluded", it meant that they were hiding something.

On the other hand, if the individuals told what was basically the same story, but with different emphasis and different perspectives, than it was probable that they had not colluded. Thus, Lt. Briscoe could get the true story from three or four witnesses, each one with details that the other may have omitted.

Today's Reading shows us Mark at his most concise. He speaks of two momentous events in one tiny paragraph, and yet, he gives us the essence of exactly what happened. The same incidents in this brief paragraph are also related in the other three Gospels:

Matthew 3:13 to 4:11 (the longest)
Luke 4:1-13 (The Temptation only. No mention of the Baptism)
John 1:29-34.

Matthew's account is the longest and includes the most details, and Mark's account is the shortest but still contains the facts. This is a classic example of four accounts from four different perspectives without collusion, which proves its authenticity.

Who knew that we could look at the writing styles of the Four Evangelists with the perspective of a Lt. Briscoe, or even a Stephen King!

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