America

Begging is not Praying

~ Bev Parker ~ Leave a comment

I turned 63 at midnight and have been praying ever since. I can’t stop. Each time I try and think I’ll go to sleep, I start again. But let us back up. I keep using that word, “praying” and I do not think it means what you (maybe) think it means. My friend said it’s time to stop praying and start declaring and decreeing according to the Word, according to the promises, of God.

I thought that was part of prayer. Well, so does she, but in response to the unbelieving begging done by her prayer group, she’s defining prayer as do they: a begging of an unpredictable God. This, my dearest reader, is a mixing of covenants.

Unless and until you believe and receive what Jesus gave/accomplished on the Cross, you will never walk in victory, you will never pray the fervent, effectual prayers of a righteous man. “Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him as righteousness.”

Begging and hoping God might be in a good mood, that you might be “good enough” to get a good outcome, is not righteous behavior. Going around parrotting the evil report that “God is sovereign” as a cop-out, rather than standing fearlessly in faith come Hell or high water, is not righteous behavior. “Sovereign” is another one of those words you (maybe) keep using and which does not mean what you think it means.

Praying a paltry begging prayer from a heart full of pride and unforgiveness rather than from a confident heart–one cleansed via the childlike acceptance of the free gift of Jesus’ shed blood at Calvary–isn’t pious, it isn’t effectual, it isn’t righteous. It is selfish.

It is thinking that it’s so much all about you that you’re going to ignore the gift of the blood of Jesus. So, like my friend’s prayer group ladies, you can meet all day and all night and beg and beg and cry and cry for God to “do something” but until you receive and believe what He’s already done, you’re wasting your time.

Pathetic, paltry, lily-livered Christianity has got to go. It’s time to man-up, trust, and obey. And it’s time to stop believing lies of so-called “spiritual authorities” and just believe God. Jesus said to love and pray for our enemies; He said to trust and obey; over and over and over He said, “Fear not.” He said if we’d humble ourselves He’d heal our land. He said John 10:10. He said we have what we say. But He never said to beg.

Sword at the Ready

~ Bev Parker ~ Leave a comment

” . . . to keep that lifestyle of continual connection with God where the sword is always ready.” – Bill Johnson in following video.

“Anytime there is an absence of sacrifice there is an invitation for the enemy to occupy.” – Bill Johnson in following video.

“Out of surrender to Christ comes discovery of purpose.” – Bill Johnson in following video.

Speaking of one of Satan’s tactics, “Intimidation through mockery . . . causes us to become overly self-conscious, overly sensitive to that mocking spirit . . . concerned with how we appear to someone else.” – Bill Johnson in following video.

We are blessed!

~ Bev Parker ~ Leave a comment

I read the following from Jerry Savelle this morning, this after waking up with the thought: We are not a product of our president, of our “leaders”– if and when our leader is Jesus.

We are children of the Most High, and when we walk with Him we are blessed coming in and going out, the head and not the tail, above and not beneath (Deuteronomy 28:13 and 28:6).

Here’s Jerry:

I truly believe there is nothing more enjoyable to God than blessing His people! That is true with every good father. If you ask my children (even though they’re grown with their own families now), they will tell you, “Our daddy loves us!” I love blessing my children and grandchildren…and now my great-grandchild. I want them to enjoy the best life that they could ever imagine. We can see God’s heart in Genesis 12:2 where He declares, “I will bless you…” to Abraham. But His blessing didn’t stop with Abraham, God also promised to bless Abraham’s seed. The apostle Paul explained that “in Christ” you are Abraham’s seed saying, “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:29 NIV). God always loves blessing you. He is not the one who is withholding good things from you. Don’t ever forget that God enjoys blessing His people.

This 4th of July, let us remember who and Whose we are.

Dastardly Division

~ Bev Parker ~ Leave a comment

Yesterday my daughter and I went to Wyoming where there are fewer mask-querades than in Colorado, and while there joined a coffee shop meeting of Wyoming conservatives. These were fine folks, but there was no mention of God. These were, I thought beforehand, good, salty, no-nonsense Wyoming git-er-done types. Christians.

But, in fact, they are like so many of us, handicapped. In the parking lot I saw anti-Colorado bumper stickers. “Colorado is Wyoming’s Mexico” and a few other uncomplimentary offerings prepared me for the remarks of the man next to me. In a nutshell, he said, “We hate Colorado.”

There was a question about Mark Gaetz’s motives in coming to Wyoming’s “Impeach Liz Cheney” rally, as in, “Why did we get an outsider?” I thought we were all Americans. More division. How does the great evil of socialism win over freedom? With division.

(Socialist “intellectual” Bhaskar Sunkara praises Bernie Sanders and Jeremy Corbyn for promoting “a renewal of class antagonism” which is essential for the thriving of evil in society.)

Back to the meeting in Wyoming: One of the attendees belittled another conservative in attendance (better than behind his back, maybe?) in front of everyone; later the speaker said about Cheyenne (where we were), “I hate this city.” Could it be that in judging the bringers of division and crassness, we become divisive and crass? More divided?

I’m asking these questions in prayer this morning, along with the question, “What is the new song You want us to sing, Father?” I was reading and re-reading Psalm 96: “Sing unto the Lord a new song.” Certainly that precludes the same old, same old, melodies of anger and defensiveness. Of division.

So, let’s think a bit about this. How far have we gotten with division? More to the point, how far have we gotten with disobedience to God? Perhaps we should begin our song with words straight from His Word. Just like David, let us sing Psalms.

Pondering and praying a bit more, I asked, “Do we stop going to fear-filled churches as a means ofprotecting ourselves from fear, even as we stop going to division-filled political gatherings to protect ourselves from division?” Or are these examples of the classic throwing-the-baby-out-with-the-bathwater mistake?

“Father, You promise us wisdom for the asking, and I’m asking for wisdom. Surely there is no other source.”

Some things are so obvious we look right over them. We go to the TV for answers, and politcal gatherings for good company, and when it comes right down to it, if we’re not keeping company with Jesus, if we’re not doing the “Seek ye first” thing, we’re without a hope.

“My hope is in You, Lord. Amen.”

Focus on Freedom

~ Bev Parker ~ Leave a comment

He came to set us free, indeed to make us “free indeed.” Freedom must be the song we sing, the thoughts we think, the air we breathe. We must, as we walk out history, as we’re amid the battle of our lives, understand and know that we’re all here for such a time as this.

This Red Sea moment is about the spiritual taking of Dominion, and we are in the glorious position of seeing manmade solutions fail. Let us not be dismayed or disconcerted about Supreme Court, FBI, Attorney General, and/or any other disappointments.

Let’s wait for the miraculous healing, deliverance and victory that is our promised end, and the outcome that gives God all the glory–ours simply via humbling ourselves, seeking His face, turning from our wicked ways.

Wicked ways–might I suggest that what’s true for me is perhaps true for you? Could it be that there’s a bit of pride still at work, of lacks both in the love and in the humility departments? Could it be that it’s way past time to stop ignoring God’s promises, that it’s time to take Him at His Word?

Let’s focus, press in, pray. Let’s believe that He is Who He says He is.

He’s our only hope, and that’s more than enough.