A MEETING FOR RECONCILIATION: Prayer Note # 22

    

“…Psalm 85:10 states, ‘Lovingkindness and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other...  God had a dilemma seen through four words in this verse. 

He not only is a God of lovingkindness (which represents His mercy, kindness, love and forgiveness), but He is also a God of truth (which represents His integrity and justice). 

He does not merely represent peace (safety, wholeness and rest), but also righteousness (holiness and purity) without which there can be no peace.

     The dilemma is this: A truly holy, righteous, just and true God cannot simply forgive, grant mercy to or bestow peace on a fallen humanity without compromising His character. 

Sin cannot be excused. It must be judged and with it the sinner. So how can this holy, yet loving, God marry the two? 

THE CROSS!

      On the Cross lovingkindness and truth met. Righteousness and peace kissed each other. And when they did, so did God and humanity! 

We kissed the Father through the Son! We met Him through the blood of Christ!...In one sovereign, unsearchable act of wisdom, God satisfied both His love and His justice… 

When this took place Christ’s ministry of reconciliation was being accomplished: ‘Who reconciled us to Himself through Christ…namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself.” (2 Cor. 5:18, 19)

Prayer Note # 22 A MEETING FOR RECONCILIATION - Taken from Dutch Sheets’ book, Intercessory Prayer  (pgs 50, 51)

Next Prayer Note March 20^th - MEETINGS THAT HEAL

jowildflowers@gmail.com   jean-oathout.blogspot.com  

Tomorrow’s post: 

THE FIRST STEP IS A BIG ONE  from The Pocket Testament League

INTERCESSION CREATES A MEETING: Prayer Note # 21

     “The Hebrew word for intercession, paga, means ‘to meet.’ As we have already seen by studying the English word, intercession is not primarily a prayer a person prays, but something a person does that can be done through prayer. this is also true in the Hebrew language. Although the word intercession has come to mean prayer in our minds, its Hebrew word does not necessarily mean prayer at all. It has many shades of meaning, all of which can be done in prayer.

     Throughout the remainder of the book, {Intercessory Prayer}, we will look at several of these meanings, then put them into the context of prayer. As we do, our understanding will increase of what Christ did for us through His intercession and what our re-presenting of it on the earth through prayer really entails.

     Intercession creates a meeting. Intercessors meet with God; they also meet the powers of darkness. ‘Prayer meetings’ are aptly named!”

Prayer Note # 14 INTERCESSION CREATE A MEETING - Taken from Dutch Sheets’ Intercessory Prayer   (pg 50)

“God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God…”  (Ro. 11:2 NKJV)

Next Prayer Note March 15^th - A MEETING FOR RECONCILIATION

jowildflowers@gmail.com  jean-oathout.blogspot.com   Tomorrow’s post:

 A TIME FOR GOOD COUNSEL from Our Daily Bread

#105 Communicate Regularly

C. Peter Wagner shares 
on the importance of our
communicating with prayer
partners:

"Communicating is the part
that takes time. 

One of the best known 
cases of missionary 
history where evangelism 
was stimulated through prayer occurred when J. O. Fraser recruited prayer partners for his evangelistic work among the Lisu of Burma.

For years nothing happened outwardly as he preached the gospel, but inwardly he learned that the real battle he faced was a spiritual battle.

He said, 

   'I know enough about Satan to realize that he will have 
   all his    weapons ready for determined opposition. He 
   would be a missionary simpleton who expected plain 
   sailing in any work of God. I will not.'

Fraser then wrote home his mother who for years had ministered as what we would call his I-1 intercessor.

He asked his mother to recruit 'a group of like-minded friends, whether few or many, whether in one place or scattered' to join with her in prayer for the Lisu.

The results were dramatic. Hundreds of Lisu families came to Christ in a short period of time. But that is not the immediate point.

The point is that when James Fraser requested her to find prayer partners he was wise enough also to say to his mother,

   'If you could form a small prayer circle, I would write
   regularly to the members.'

Fraser was very serious. He said,

   'I am not asking you just to give 'help' in prayer 
   as a sort of sideline, but I am trying to roll the main
   responsibility of this prayer warfare on you. I want
   you to take the burden of these people on your 
   shoulders. I want you to wrestle with God for them.'

And his role? He saw himself as an intelligence officer. 

   'I shall feel more and more that a big responsibility 
   rests on me to keep you well informed.'

He was prepared to invest the time necessary to communicate with his prayer partners.

John Maxwell, from whom I 
learned most about personal 
prayer partners, gives 
communication with 
intercessors a high priority.

The 100 men who pray for him 
have privileges that other church
members do not have, particularly 
to accessibility to the senior pastor.

John does not send a Tychicus to them, but he meets with them personally four times a year, three times for breakfast and once on an all-day partner retreat where they eat together, play together, learn together and above all pray together.

He meets with one-forth of them every Sunday morning 
before the service on a rotating basis. He shares his needs,
and they lay on hands and pray God's anointing on their 
leader. John has lunch once a month with this I-1 intercessor, 
Bill Klassen.

Because my intercessors are scattered around the country, I do not find it as easy to keep in contact with them as I might if they were in the same church.

Doris and I were frustrated about how to communicate with the I-3 intercessors until Jane Rumph, who is one of our original I-2 prayer partners, agreed to become the prayer coordinator for our ministry. 

Jane keeps the mailing list of more that 100 up to date and is in personal contact with several of them.

When we put off writing for too long, Jane gets on our case, as we have instructed her to to."

#105 Communicate Regularly,

in the series taken from C. Peter 

Wagner’s book, PRAYER SHIELD, 

How to intercede for pastors,

Christian  leaders and others 

on the spiritual  frontlines.

(pgs. 181-183) by Regal Books

Let’s pray:

   Father, I see the importance

of communication, now.

   May I write, call, text, or see

personally, those who pray for me.

  If I can be of service to my pastor

in writing to his prayer partners, I

ask that I be willing to do so.

   I ask this in the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Today’s Bible verse: Is. 40:31a "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength."

Today’s quote: Fran Pasch – “God has given us a gift, the greatest gift of all—His Son, Jesus Christ. Sometimes in the hustle and bustle of everyday activities, we forget Him, burying Him in the attic of our minds. But unlike the world, Jesus offers us a second chance. He forgets the past and wipes our slates clean when we put aside those things we’ve kept hidden from Him and begin anew by making Him the center of our lives.”devotions and poetry  

Some thoughts today: When the devil keeps coming against your efforts for the Kingdom, keep on "digg'n" and try the next "well" of opportunity God gives you.

- You need to get up and take some risks and do what God has instructed you to do. Don't talk too much about any success, as it hinders what God's doing.

- Whatever you've imagined is far less than the huge opportunity before you. Don't despise small beginnings, as God's the One with great ideas for you, as you learn to walk in obedience to His leading.

31st- Thursday’s post:  #106  Letters to Intercessors C. Peter Wagner

8/2- Saturday's post:  Discernment vs. Criticism Part 2 Jean Oathout

3rd- Sunday's post:  Walking Through Dark Valleys Dr. Charles F. Stanley

3rd- evening's post:  Tenderhearted Ginny Merritt

A popular post:  A Meeting for Reconciliation  Dutch 
Sheets - “…Psalm 85:10 states, ‘Lovingkindness and 
truth have met  together; righteousness and peace 
have kissed each other...  God had a dilemma seen 
through four words in this verse. He not only is a God 
of lovingkindness..."

jowildflowers@gmail.com

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Granny's Guide to Marriage in Verse  
Kindle $2.99 a review would be
appreciated.

Bridal Shower Devotional: Bridal

Wisdom for Women

Granny's Guide to Marriage in Verse 

My book in paperback $7.95

(Check out the Reviews on the

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Wisdom for Brides (Christian
Marriage, Counseling, & Help)

(Volume 1)

Get Busy With Hope

Marcia Gaddis shares with us, "My husband and I recently enjoyed watching the powerful movie, The Shawshank Redemption.

I keep thinking about what Andy Dufresne said to one of his fellow prisoners:

'Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies … so get busy living, or get busy dying.'

And so I ask the question: What are you busy doing today? Living? Dying?

It’s a pointed question and one that merits asking yourself every morning when you get up.

The directness of the question sorts things out pretty quickly and should make the daily choices we make clear.

This week I have watched people busy with living.

One is busy holding her head up as she waits and watches for reconciliation.

One is busy recovering from cancer, while another is finding her way after the sudden death of her husband.

Someone helping less fortunate children finds hope for the first time.

A friend just called to say she was sending me a picture of a praying mantis on her moonflower—all ordinary tasks, all living with hope.




There are some days for all of us that are spent simply dying. We lose direction and hope.

We move through the day, respond to calls, think about what we should or could be doing and before we know it, we’ve managed not to find the productivity we longed for—the accomplishment of a well-ordered day of living, the article written, the meeting set, the fall garden planted.

Romans tells us "… as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

The overflow from our trusting will fill us with hope—not by our power, but by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Something is required of us … to trust in the God of hope so we will overflow with hope and spill out into the lives around us, lifting and offering hope to those who might be busy dying.

So what will it be today? Living or dying?

Some days might be really dark, but I love what author Anne Lamott says:

   'Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up
    and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come.'

Just showing up and trying to do the right thing is the most courageous thing I have ever done.

And I imagine we sleep better at night when we have trusted in a greater source than ourselves, being filled with hope, overflowing to others.

It never gets old or stagnant, but a constant flow of movement through our lives.

Get busy now with your choice."

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13

Get Busy with Hope – Marcia Gaddis  January 27, 2013

[image of praying mantis added]

Photo courtesy 10000birds.com

 Marcia Gaddis is a speaker and author of the award-winning book When God Comes Near, published in 2010. 

She writes a weekly column for her two blogs, The Olive Branch and Marcia Gaddis … On The Grief Journey.

She began writing an online journal when her twenty-six-year-old daughter was diagnosed with the rare and fatal Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.


The journal became a book of hope and healing to those who experience tragedy.

At the 2011 Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference in Asheville, North Carolina, her book was awarded three distinguished awards: First Place for Inspiration, The Selah Book of the Year Award, and the Director’s Choice Award for 2011.

She is a graduate of the Christian Communicators Conference and a member of the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia.
Read Marcia’s devotions.

When God Comes Near


Receive a daily devotion on your Kindle!





Used by permission www.christiandevotions.us

 [Google image added]

Biblical Virtues to pray for your kids: #1 Salvation. "Lord, let salvation spring up within my children, that they may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus,
with eternal glory." Is. 45:8; 2 Tim. 2:10 [A series by Bod Hostetler]

Our Scripture for today: Ps. 139:23,24 "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."

Today’s quote: Marvin Williams “Remember, Jesus Has given you a significant part to play and will use you to build up His people.” “As a member of the body of Christ, You are a necessary part of the whole.” (OUR DAILY BREAD 1/18/13)

Tomorrow’s post: Breaking Strongholds in Cities: Prayer Note #129 Dutch Sheets

Elaine W. Miller updated her status: "Thanks, Steve Walker, for this endorsement of We All Married Idiots: "I bought several copies and have given them away with a prayer that the Lord will use it to help rescue failing marriages, put life into stale ones and strengthen good ones. I like the nice blend of honest stories of marital successes and failures, reflection questions, prayers and lots of Scripture. The Lord will honor His Word!"

We All Married Idiots | Facebook

[That's an idea for us, too!]

A popular post:   WHY DO WE PROCRASTINATE?

My book is to be given a new title and cover. Please pray for that to cause more folks to see and purchase it for the ladies it has been written for. Thanks!

Samples of Jean's crafts

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Crossing the Bridge

 William Brooks Hull shares his poem with us today:

In years gone by, there were a few who didn’t like The Bridge:
they called it cold, a ribbon of steel, arching to a ridge;
perhaps the final capstone, the very finishing touch,
of the wanton progress, which had destroyed so much.

But at the end of Spring's last day, I find it sweet and gent’
as I depart from Canada, and start on my ascent;
up the grated highway, toward the near ­full moon,
which hovers in the evening sky, the 20th of June.

Round a bend, the moon veers left, the main span now intrudes,
’tis the perfect place to see St. Lawrence in her moods.
Tonight her water shimmers, light blue against the sky:
a rose quartz vein above the shore, limestone dusk on high.

Many other moods has she, from Blue! to blackest night.
Winter finds her special heart, a sapphire laced with white.
Imagine Franz von Werra, trekking ’cross the ice,
twenty years before The Bridge, howling wind the price.

Past the crest, and all these thoughts have entertained my mind;
Ontario, and Canada, and Springtime lay behind.
What lies ahead, who really knows? St. Lawrence gives no clue:
if only she would speak to me, she’d make my dreams come true.

 Crossing the Bridge by 
Bill Brooks Hull

June 21st , 2005 Copyright 2005 

Bill says: The bridge in the poem 
is the Ogdensburg-Prescott 
International Bridge, which opened in 1960.  

The first two lines in my poem refer to another poem about the St. Lawrence written by the late Lee McKnight, a former mayor of Prescott, who lamented the passing of the ferry and replacement by the shiny new bridge.  

I read that poem years ago, but cannot find a copy today.  Lee McKnight was my grandmother's 1st cousin, and he and I shared the date of our birthdays.  

Lee wrote the soliloquy on the St. Lawrence that I read a couple months ago at the writers' group.  Several of his writings had the theme of the St. Lawrence as that which joins us, rather than divides us.

The next two lines of my poem comment on the construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway and the loss of so much of our heritage.  

My second and third stanzas describe how the moon seemed to be directly in line with the bridge as I started across, giving the impression I could just drive right to it, but then I rounded a bend and crossed the river instead.  

In the fourth stanza, I mention Franz von Werra, a German flying ace and British prisoner of war during World War II, who escaped from a train traveling across Canada, and made his way across the ice to the United States, still a neutral country in 1940.  

He was the subject of a book, One That Got Away, and a movie, The One That Got Away.


(This is not my son, Bill Hull. This Bill goes to my writers group.)

Let’s pray:

   Father, there are many 
times in life, we are given 
interesting lessons from 
others to examine.

   Help me to read and hear stories of men and women of 
faith, so my own faith is strengthened and will stand the 
challenges that come.

   I ask for guidance in my taking from them what I
am in need of, to develop my love for You.

   In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Today’s Bible verse: 1 Sam. 30:6c "But David encouraged himself in the LORD his God."

Today’s quote:  Phyllis Freeman – “God can help us overcome the enemies—sin, fear, anger, and doubt. At the point of need we’re given enablement beyond the powers of our enemy as we trust in a faithful God.”

Some thoughts today: There's a true gospel and a false one. There are many churches with many differences, but is their core Jesus Christ?

- The Holy spirit desires us to hold onto the Truth with tenacity. 

- There are groups who say we have to do certain things to be saved. Jesus did what was necessary, my friend. We're to believe in His sacrificial work of redemption, and obey. (see Acts 2:38)

Sept. 23rd- Tuesday's post:  #1 WARFARE PRAYER
Introduction  C. Peter Wagner

25th- Thursday's post:  #2 WARFARE PRAYER
Intro con't  C. Peter Wagner

27th- Saturday's post:  The Jungle
Max Lucado

28th- Sunday's post:  The Power of a Single Act
James Cagle

A popular post:  A Meeting for Reconciliation    Dutch Sheets -  “…Psalm 85:10 states, ‘Lovingkindness and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other...  God had a dilemma seen through four words in this verse. He not only is a God of lovingkindness (which represents His mercy, kindness, love and forgiveness), but He is also a God of truth..." 

jowildflowers@gmail.com

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AuthorsDen.com
Where authors and readers come together!

Granny's Guide to Marriage in Verse  
Kindle $2.99

Bridal Shower Devotional: Bridal

Wisdom for Women

Granny's Guide to Marriage in Verse 

My book in paperback $7.16

Wisdom for Brides (Christian Marriage,
Counseling, & Help) 

Why I am a Christian

Jean Oathout tells us of her reasons for being a Christian:

When I think back to being a small girl, I have the vision of being in a Sunday School room with Jesus standing beside me, holding my hand.

That image has remained with me all my 70+ years.

With that image, I've known that Christ was by my side, and it helped me to become the woman I am today.

When a teen, I was impressed during a youth meeting, to go upstairs with others to give my heart and life to Jesus.

Jesus then became dear to me, and I believe He helped me make decisions to seek Him in all that I did.

The 8 Benefits of Salvation (Michael Brooks, of The New
 Pocket Testament League, www.ptl.org) 

Benefit #1: We now have peace with God.
Benefit #2: Through Jesus we gain access to God.
Benefit #3: Our hope of glory is in Jesus.
Benefit #4: We achieve victory through suffering (suffering
leads to perseverance, perseverance to character,
and character results in hope).
Benefit #5: We experience the love of God.
Benefit #6: The Holy Spirit guides us.
Benefit #7: We are saved from God's wrath.
Benefit #8: We have Joy in God.

(From the list of 8 Benefits of Salvation by Michael Brooks, I will place each appropriate one throughout my message today.)
   
   Benefit #1: (I) now have peace with God.
      
   Benefit #2: Through Jesus (I) gain access to God.
         
   Benefit #3: (My) hope of glory is in Jesus.

I was married to a handsome Air Force man in '55, and moved to Charleston, SC. We had a son named Bill, and the following year, were stationed at Ramey Air Force Base in Puerto Rico.

We had a set of twin boys, Dave and Steve, while in Puerto Rico. When they were 6 months old, we moved to Austin, TX, where we lived for 1 year. From there we moved on to Fort Walton Beach, FL. and then, to Hummelstown, PA.

As I had been seeking to know God more over the years, I had gone to several churches thinking, "There has to be more than this!"

Sometime after I found a Pentecostal church that drew my interest, my husband left me and our 8 yr. old twins, and Bill, who was 10.

Unfortunately, I hadn't receive biblical advice, or things may well
have been quite different.

My faith was tested through these trying times, for sure, but the
Lord became more and more Real to me, as I desperately sought
Him and His will for us.

When I received the Holy Ghost in '66, it drastically changed me,
and I began to realize that God was enabling me to grow in grace
and faith in Him daily, more than ever before. 

The Baptism with the Holy Ghost  (My blog post on the Holy Ghost)

    Benefit #4: We achieve victory through suffering (suffering
                   leads to perseverance, perseverance to character,
                   and character results in hope).

    Benefit #5: We experience(d) the love of God.

    Benefit #6: The Holy Spirit guides (me).

    Benefit #8: We have Joy in God.

I married again, and about a year and a half later, my husband left to go back to NY to live, so I became a "single mom" again. I had our son, John, after he left.

Sometime after my three older sons had left home, our marriage 

was restored, and we eventually moved to Vermont, where we 

lived on 3 different homestead locations over 17 years. 

Times were hard, interesting, and challenging. We have many 

good memories there, growing gardens, canning, and scavenging 

wild foods, like milk weed, (top tender leaves for canning), and 

raised rabbits, chickens, goats, pigs, and a steer. 

We had two cows too, which had to be milked, (by hand, until we 
got a milking machine), even after evening working hours at the 
Jay Peak Ski Resort! A generator became a large blessing, for sure!

There came a time that I left Vermont, after John left, and lived with another son. As I walk now in obedience to our Heavenly Father, I'm assured that He guides me daily, and that He is pleased with me. I fully expect to meet Christ in glory someday, when I'm called home! 

Benefit #7: We are saved from God's wrath.

My husband and I are becoming friends, so only the Lord knows what our future holds...

What Do People See, Lord?

Even if I face a crisis

Can my friends and family see

Your peace and joy and gentleness

Flowing out of me?

Do they notice that I trust in You
To guide and pull me through...

That no matter what is happening

I keep my eyes on You?

I hope my life will always be 

A beacon of Your light,

So others, too, will trust in You

 And walk by faith, not sight.

Frances Gregory Pasch

From Double Vision: Seeing God in Everyday Life through Devotions and Poetry by Frances Gregory Pasch published by Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas. (pg. 52)

Used by permission.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cc8bXQ0ytD8  Sacrifice by Bob Fitts

This song/video, my friend, will touch your heart, as maybe nothing else will...

Let’s pray:

   Father, we admit our need of Your guidance and help.
   It is my desire to please You in all that I choose to do, so I'm asking for Your wisdom in the various decisions that are coming up, which involve me.
   Open my eyes to what Your will and plan for me is, so I can be attentive to Your Voice within me, directing my life..
   Fill me with Your Holy Spirit now, and baptize me with divine strength to live my life daily to Your honor and glory.
   I ask this in the Holy Name of Your Son, Jesus. Amen.

Today’s Bible verse: Romans 5:11 "Not only is this so, but 
we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through 
whom we have now received reconciliation."

Today’s quotes: Lysa Terkeurst “Being a woman who says
yes to God means making the choice to trust Him even when
you can’t understand why He requires some of the things He
does. It also means that once you’ve said yes to God, you
refuse to turn back even when things get hard.”

Paulo Coelho – “Be brave. Take risks. Nothing can substitute 
experience.

Billy Graham – “In my own life I have been privileged to know what some of the dying saints said before they went to heaven. My grandmother sat up in her bed, smiled, and said, “I see Jesus, and He has His hand outstretched to me. And there is Ben, and he has both of his eyes and both of his legs.” (Ben, my grandfather, had lost a leg and an eye at Gettysburg.) (This is taken from Billy Graham’s devotional, UNTO THE HILLS, for Jan. 26th, 2014).

Some thoughts today: As Jesus is entirely irrelevant to the 
world in general, we must help them know their need of a 
Savior, namely, Jesus Christ.

- We need to share the Word of God, so we can speak to 
the issues of our day.

- The book of Ephesians, found in the New Testament in the Bible, 
is called "The Grand Canyon of Scripture". The first three chapters 
reveal who we are, once saved, and the last three tell us how to 
walk the Christian life successfully.

4th- Tuesday’s post: #59  Three Types of Personal 
Intercessors  C. Peter Wagner

6th- Thursday's post:  #60  Gary Greenwald's Team C. Peter Wagner

8th- Saturday's post:  Are You Afraid of Losing Your Salvation?  Michael Brooks

9th- Sunday's post:  When God is Silent  Dr. Charles Stanley

A popular post:   No Need to Fear  Robert Farmer - "If we 
smile in the face of the unknown and trust Him, follow Him 
faithfully, we will honor our Father and give Him a moment of 
joy and happiness. 

Me, with my local family,
Bill, Nancy, Ana, and Ben.

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Would you please check it out on Amazon to leave 
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