We Confess, We Pray!

Prayer and Suppliction-

Praying unto the LORD our God- making our confession.

Dan 9:3 And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: 

Dan 9:4 And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession

Daniel prayed and made his CONFESSION- the following is His confession:

'…and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God'

Dreadful NOT in the way we imagine- read this from Bible Commentator Albert Barnes-

'O Lord, the great and dreadful God - A God great, and to be feared or venerated - הנורא hanôrâ'. This does not mean “dreadful” in the sense that there is anything stern or unamiable in his character, but mainly that he is to be regarded with veneration.'

'…keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments'

This seems to be point noted more than once and even confirmed in the New Testament by Jesus Himself.

Joh_15:10  If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.

1Jn_2:3  And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.

1Jn_3:22  And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.

1Jn_5:2  By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.

1Jn_5:3  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

Dan 9:5,6 We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments. Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. 

Do we sin? Do we commit iniquity? Do we do wickedly? Have we rebelled? Have we departed from God's word? Do we listen to all the word of God given to us by the Holy Spirit as He dictated to men of God in the Bible?

2Pe_1:21  For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

We are guilty. We need to confess just as Daniel is confessing.

 Dan 9:7-13 O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee.  O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him; Neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets. Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him. And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem. As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth. 

We need to TURN from our iniquities so we may understand God's TRUTH.

Dan 9:14-19 Therefore hath the LORD watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice. And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly. O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us. Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake. O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies. 

We do NOT come before God for OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. We do not petition God because we have any righteousness in us at all! We do NOT have any righteousness of our own, none! We petition God for HIS mercies!

Dan 9:19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.

Hear LORD. Forgive LORD. Harken LORD. Defer not LORD.

Please LORD, please. Satan would have us all to sift us all as wheat! Please pray for us even as we pray prayers that are so inferior, so inadequate. Please! As Daniel prayed to YOU we pray! WE PRAY!

Praying Earnestly

Do we set our faces unto the Lord our God when we seek Him by prayer and supplication- all the while denying any self-pursuits?

Dan 9:3 And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: 

Dan 9:4 And I prayed unto the LORD my God…

Do we end our prayers this way--

Dan 9:17 Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake. 

Dan 9:18 O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies. 

Dan 9:19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.

Daniel prayed earnestly to God recognizing not only his own failings but those of God's chosen people as well. 

We need to pray earnestly right now. We need our Savior to return, we really, really do.  Maybe the craziness of this world is typical to each generation believing their world is crazy, but honestly if each successive generation has acknowledged their declining generation where does that place us now?  Then again, we look back through history and read of some really awful times - dark ages, crusades, holocaust, so many awful things in the past we wouldn't even consider in our supposed enlightened, modern times. Our evil has become more individualized on some levels perhaps. Still, we are in the age of 'knowledge being increased', we know that heralds the coming of Christ. Our level of increasing knowledge only accelerates without any plateauing and I believe that it will continue on that way until Christ returns. With that increase in secular knowledge as well as Biblical comprehension, we can only imagine the things mankind will use that knowledge for, and is using it for.

Truly we need to pray in earnest right now because we need the our SAVIOR to return, we need all the evil to end, to just end.

More on this tomorrow by the grace and will of our God, now and forever!

Dan 9:3 And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: 

Dan 9:4 And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; 

Dan 9:5 We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments: 

Dan 9:6 Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. 

Dan 9:7 O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee. 

Dan 9:8 O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. 

Dan 9:9 To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him; 

Dan 9:10 Neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets. 

Dan 9:11 Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him. 

Dan 9:12 And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem. 

Dan 9:13 As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth. 

Dan 9:14 Therefore hath the LORD watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice. 

Dan 9:15 And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly. 

Dan 9:16 O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us. 

Dan 9:17 Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake. 

Dan 9:18 O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies. 

Dan 9:19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.

Committed to God

Commended to God and to the word of his grace.

God and His word of grace are able to build us up, are able to give us an inheritance among all who are sanctified.

Act 20:32 And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. 

Commended to God- committed to God.

Act 14:23  And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed. 

Committed to the Lord.

Given to God for safe keeping.  Can we commit others to God, can we commend them to God? In a world with so much deception we have to give over to God their spiritual wellbeing. The world will rip apart any and all it can in its effort to keep us from God. And by the world I mean the Prince of this world- Satan.  There are forces at work all around us fighting to keep us from being committed to God, from being committed to our Lord and Savior.

To be committed to God, to be committed to the word of God's grace is something truly amazing.

We NEED to be built up in Christ because only if we are built up in Christ will we receive the inheritance we need to receive among all who are sanctified.

Jesus in His prayer to God the Father-

Joh 17:17  Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. 

Joh 17:18  As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. 

Joh 17:19  And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. 

The Word of God- the Word of Truth.

We NEED to know God's word! Why do we ever imagine it's not important to know God's word? Why?

Let us be commended to God and to the word of God's grace. Let us be commended to the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.

Let us NOT go a single day without the word of God!

Every day, every single day we need the word of God! There doesn't exist one day that we do not need to be committed to God, not one!

Believe and Love.

Believe on the name of Jesus Christ, God's Son.

Love one another.

Believe and love.

Sounds simple because it really is simple. We complicate it so much. I'm not saying we won't have a bunch of problems thrown at us, we will. But it is simple to know the truth- believe and love. I know it and now through the Spirit I am able to believe and to love.

Believe and love.

Can we keep these two things fore front in our minds? When they are no longer fore front it's because SELF has emerged in the fore front and pushed them aside.

Jn 3:20  For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. 

1Jn 3:21  Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. 

1Jn 3:22  And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. 

1Jn 3:23  And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.

Greater Than Our Heart.

1Jn 3:20  For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. 

1Jn 3:21  Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. 

1Jn 3:22  And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. 

1Jn 3:23  And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. 

God is greater than our hearts.

We think we are everything, we do. Even a lot of people who think they are nothing, nobodies, no good, worthless they are judging themselves to be that way because they are under the misconception that they should be something special to themselves and the world. We have standards the world has set and when we don't meet those standards we consider ourselves substandard. The idyllic life, we see it all the time as we look at other's lives and hear their amazing stories about how wonderful they are. Giving, kind, wonderful, lovely, charitable, ….  the list goes on. We see these people all the time and we hold ourselves up against their achievements and in their light we feel so dark.

Our hearts do condemn us and God is greater than our heart! God knows all things.

What light are we to measure ourselves against? The light of our Savior and in that light we KNOW we are revealed as wretched, spiritually poor, blind, naked sinners. And when our eyes are opened to the truth of ourselves- every single one of us -from those we consider the greatest to the least, we know there is only one true standard and that is Christ! He will stand in OUR PLACE for us! We aren't supposed to shine on our own. We are supposed to live in the light of Christ!

More on this tomorrow by the GRACE and MERCY, the WILL of our LORD and SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST!!!

NOW and FOREVER!

Of God.

The truth is hard to hear. How often is this true in our lives? Someone wants to tell you the truth about something and it's prefaced with a pit of fear in our bellies. Why? Because we live in a world filled with so many facades people put on that it's unbelievable. We say what we think people want to hear. We act how we believe others expect us to act. We do all this and we think we're doing a good job of it and then someone says- Can I tell you the truth?  We want the truth, we do, but at the same time we want whatever that truth is to be something good to hear. We don't want truth that will cut us to the quick. We don't want truth that will hurt our feelings. We don't want truth that reveals our flaws.  If you're sitting there reading this and saying that, yes, you do want to hear all that then maybe it's just me, I don't know. We spend so much time putting on the different faces we want people to see, somehow saying we want truth seems at odds with that very real truth.  We wear different faces in different public settings. The faces we wear depends on the people we are exposed to. You go to the grocery store and the interaction you have there is different than when you go to a restaurant setting. You go to a party for a corporate event and then a private party, two different faces. You get home and hang up all the faces you wore through the day and then you put on your family face- and even then you may have a face you wear for spouse and children, and then another when you're just with your spouse and so on. Of course, again this could be just me.  I'm not saying I turn into a whole different person, I'm saying we have interactions with different people and situations and we adapt to them appropriately. 

Getting back to the truth and hearing the truth, we shy away from a lot of truth because it interferes with the lies we have accepted as our own personal truth. We have our own truth and it's a good truth, a truth that a lot of people believe in so it must be a good truth, a real truth, yet isn't that this same situation….

Joh 8:45  And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not. 

Jesus said that. Jesus was telling THE TRUTH, but not everyone wanted to hear the truth- they refused to believe the truth He had to tell. Why?

Joh 8:46  Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me? 

Joh 8:47  He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God. 

They didn't want to hear the truth because they were NOT of God and yet they claimed to be God's chosen, they claimed they had all the truth, the REAL truth, the ONLY truth and yet there was God's only begotten Son telling them they weren't of God at all!

Those who do NOT want to hear truth truly are NOT OF GOD.

How many millions of people out there believe they are of God only they aren't?  We can't judge another's eternal life we just can't! We can know truth though. I'm not going to tell ANYONE they are not of God. Jesus can tell people they are not of God, but I cannot, I wouldn't dare. I can only pray and hope I am following all the truth that Jesus has for me and that others are too. 

The Biblical truth is that so many will not be of God, and many will believe they are- just like those in the days Jesus walked the earth.

May we be OF GOD.

All through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior now and forever!

Money and Sorrow.

1Ti 6:10  For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 

1Ti 6:11  But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. 

1Ti 6:12  Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. 

Money and sorrow. How often does money bring sorrow to us? Seriously. Of course you'll get those who like to tease saying as long as they have money they have no sorrow, but that's not true either.  There are many who do have money and along with that money they have a lot of heartache as well. Money brings sorrow it just does. Just this past week I saw someone cry because they wouldn't have money to do something they promised someone they'd do. Money, brings tears so often whether it's a lack of it or problems with having it in excess.

When we covet money we can err from the faith. 

It's not easy not to covet money when we lack it. Yet coveting money even to meet our most basic needs takes our faith from us. We need to trust that God will provide for the things He desires we have. It's NOT our desires that matter, truly, and this is something we really need to comprehend and in comprehending make a real part of our lives.

Loving money- putting money before God, before our fellowman, this is evil.

Knowing we are told that loving money is the ROOT of all evil…. Shouldn't we be very, very careful where money is concerned?

We need to examine ourselves- we are told to, and surely we need to examine ourselves in connection with our relationship to the money we deal with in our lives.

Please, LORD, please help us to NOT love money! Please! Teach us to love YOU first above all things, and our fellowman next- NOT MONEY!

Please, LORD, please…. Help me.

All through Jesus Christ our LORD our SAVIOR now and forever!!!!!!!