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Our Daily Thread 1-8-24

Good Morning!

I’m not quite back enough to begin everyday postings, but I wanted to update you all on something that needs mentioning.

My time in the hospital resulted in a lot of time for prayer and reflection, as well as some convictions from the Lord. First and foremost on the last one, my treatment of Kizzie, DJ, and Cheryl on the news thread. I acted poorly, let the politics of the day interfere with and harm our friendship and fellowship. This was a grave error on my part, and the Lord has convicted my heart on this. So yesterday I took the time to reach out to all 3 of these ladies privately, to apologize, and beg their forgiveness. All 3 have graciously accepted my apologies and offered forgiveness. For this, I thank them immensely, and the Lord for convicting my heart. Also, Cheryl really touched my heart by sharing some of her husband’s health struggles as well. When struggling as I am, it’s helpful to know that others understand what you’re going thru. She has also graciously accepted my invitation to return to us Wanderers, so you’ll be “seeing” more of her. 🙂

Now that all being said and done, I’ve one last thing to do on this matter here. Since my poor behavior and treatment of these 3 ladies was public, so needs to be my repentance and apologies. I owe you all an apology for my behavior, and I hope you will accept it and forgive me. I’m truly sorry to all of you for having upset our fellowship and relationships in such a way. Please forgive me.

This ongoing ordeal has focused me on the things of most importance, my God, my family, and the brethren and friends who matter most. You all are among the things most important in my life. You have offered up prayers on our behalf, daily in fact. You have lifted my wife, and ministered to her as she struggled, and I can’t thank you enough for that kindness. You have blessed us beyond measure, and we thank the Lord for you all. 

Hopefully, we’ll be back to our regularly scheduled routine very soon.

Again, thank you all, and may God bless you all.

In Christ,

Allen

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Prayer Requests 11-17-22

It’s Thursday, so don’t forget to pray for Jo, her former students, and the people of PNG. 

Anyone else?

Psalm 119

א Aleph

1 Blessed are those whose ways are blameless,
    who walk according to the law of the Lord.
2 Blessed are those who keep his statutes
    and seek him with all their heart—
3 they do no wrong
    but follow his ways.
4 You have laid down precepts
    that are to be fully obeyed.
5 Oh, that my ways were steadfast
    in obeying your decrees!
6 Then I would not be put to shame
    when I consider all your commands.
7 I will praise you with an upright heart
    as I learn your righteous laws.
8 I will obey your decrees;
    do not utterly forsake me.

ב Beth

9 How can a young person stay on the path of purity?
    By living according to your word.
10 I seek you with all my heart;
    do not let me stray from your commands.
11 I have hidden your word in my heart
    that I might not sin against you.
12 Praise be to you, Lord;
    teach me your decrees.
13 With my lips I recount
    all the laws that come from your mouth.
14 I rejoice in following your statutes
    as one rejoices in great riches.
15 I meditate on your precepts
    and consider your ways.
16 I delight in your decrees;
    I will not neglect your word.

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Prayer Requests 11-10-22

It’s Thursday, so don’t forget to pray for Jo, her former students, and the people of PNG. 

Anyone else?

Psalm 113

1 Praise the Lord.

   Praise the Lord, you his servants;
    praise the name of the Lord.
2 Let the name of the Lord be praised,
    both now and forevermore.
3 From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets,
    the name of the Lord is to be praised.

4 The Lord is exalted over all the nations,
    his glory above the heavens.
5 Who is like the Lord our God,
    the One who sits enthroned on high,
6 who stoops down to look
    on the heavens and the earth?

7 He raises the poor from the dust
    and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
8 he seats them with princes,
    with the princes of his people.
9 He settles the childless woman in her home
    as a happy mother of children.

   Praise the Lord.

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Prayer Requests 11-3-22

It’s Thursday, so don’t forget to pray for Jo, her former students, and the people of PNG. 

Anyone else?

Psalm 102

A prayer of an afflicted person who has grown weak and pours out a lament before the Lord.

1 Hear my prayer, Lord;
    let my cry for help come to you.
2 Do not hide your face from me
    when I am in distress.
   Turn your ear to me;
    when I call, answer me quickly.

3 For my days vanish like smoke;
    my bones burn like glowing embers.
4 My heart is blighted and withered like grass;
    I forget to eat my food.
5 In my distress I groan aloud
    and am reduced to skin and bones.
6 I am like a desert owl,
    like an owl among the ruins.
7 I lie awake; I have become
    like a bird alone on a roof.
8 All day long my enemies taunt me;
    those who rail against me use my name as a curse.
9 For I eat ashes as my food
    and mingle my drink with tears
10 because of your great wrath,
    for you have taken me up and thrown me aside.
11 My days are like the evening shadow;
    I wither away like grass.

12 But you, Lord, sit enthroned forever;
    your renown endures through all generations.
13 You will arise and have compassion on Zion,
    for it is time to show favor to her;
    the appointed time has come.
14 For her stones are dear to your servants;
    her very dust moves them to pity.
15 The nations will fear the name of the Lord,
    all the kings of the earth will revere your glory.
16 For the Lord will rebuild Zion
    and appear in his glory.
17 He will respond to the prayer of the destitute;
    he will not despise their plea.

18 Let this be written for a future generation,
    that a people not yet created may praise the Lord:
19 “The Lord looked down from his sanctuary on high,
    from heaven he viewed the earth,
20 to hear the groans of the prisoners
    and release those condemned to death.”
21 So the name of the Lord will be declared in Zion
    and his praise in Jerusalem
22 when the peoples and the kingdoms
    assemble to worship the Lord.

23 In the course of my life he broke my strength;
    he cut short my days.
24 So I said:
   “Do not take me away, my God, in the midst of my days;
    your years go on through all generations.
25 In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth,
    and the heavens are the work of your hands.
26 They will perish, but you remain;
    they will all wear out like a garment.
   Like clothing you will change them
    and they will be discarded.
27 But you remain the same,
    and your years will never end.
28 The children of your servants will live in your presence;
    their descendants will be established before you.”

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Prayer Requests 10-27-22

It’s Thursday, so don’t forget to pray for Jo, her former students, and the people of PNG. 

Anyone else?

Psalm 96

1 Sing to the Lord a new song;
    sing to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Sing to the Lord, praise his name;
    proclaim his salvation day after day.
3 Declare his glory among the nations,
    his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

4 For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
    he is to be feared above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the nations are idols,
    but the Lord made the heavens.
6 Splendor and majesty are before him;
    strength and glory are in his sanctuary.

7 Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations,
    ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
    bring an offering and come into his courts.
9 Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness;
    tremble before him, all the earth.
10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.”
    The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved;
    he will judge the peoples with equity.

11 Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
    let the sea resound, and all that is in it.
12 Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them;
    let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.
13 Let all creation rejoice before the Lord, for he comes,
    he comes to judge the earth.
   He will judge the world in righteousness
    and the peoples in his faithfulness.

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Prayer Requests 10-20-22

It’s Thursday, so don’t forget to pray for Jo, her former students, and the people of PNG. 

Anyone else?

Psalm 90

A prayer of Moses the man of God.

1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place
    throughout all generations.
2 Before the mountains were born
    or you brought forth the whole world,
    from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

3 You turn people back to dust,
    saying, “Return to dust, you mortals.”
4 A thousand years in your sight
    are like a day that has just gone by,
    or like a watch in the night.
5 Yet you sweep people away in the sleep of death—
    they are like the new grass of the morning:
6 In the morning it springs up new,
    but by evening it is dry and withered.

7 We are consumed by your anger
    and terrified by your indignation.
8 You have set our iniquities before you,
    our secret sins in the light of your presence.
9 All our days pass away under your wrath;
    we finish our years with a moan.
10 Our days may come to seventy years,
    or eighty, if our strength endures;
   yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow,
    for they quickly pass, and we fly away.
11 If only we knew the power of your anger!
    Your wrath is as great as the fear that is your due.
12 Teach us to number our days,
    that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

13 Relent, Lord! How long will it be?
    Have compassion on your servants.
14 Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,
    that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.
15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
    for as many years as we have seen trouble.
16 May your deeds be shown to your servants,
    your splendor to their children.

17 May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us;
    establish the work of our hands for us—
    yes, establish the work of our hands.

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Prayer Requests 10-13-22

It’s Thursday, so don’t forget to pray for Jo, her former students, and the people of PNG. 

Anyone else?

Psalm 83

A song. A psalm of Asaph.

1 O God, do not remain silent;
    do not turn a deaf ear,
    do not stand aloof, O God.
2 See how your enemies growl,
    how your foes rear their heads.
3 With cunning they conspire against your people;
    they plot against those you cherish.
4 “Come,” they say, “let us destroy them as a nation,
    so that Israel’s name is remembered no more.”

5 With one mind they plot together;
    they form an alliance against you—
6 the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
    of Moab and the Hagrites,
7 Byblos, Ammon and Amalek,
    Philistia, with the people of Tyre.
8 Even Assyria has joined them
    to reinforce Lot’s descendants.

9 Do to them as you did to Midian,
    as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon,
10 who perished at Endor
    and became like dung on the ground.
11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,
    all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
12 who said, “Let us take possession
    of the pasturelands of God.”

13 Make them like tumbleweed, my God,
    like chaff before the wind.
14 As fire consumes the forest
    or a flame sets the mountains ablaze,
15 so pursue them with your tempest
    and terrify them with your storm.
16 Cover their faces with shame, Lord,
    so that they will seek your name.

17 May they ever be ashamed and dismayed;
    may they perish in disgrace.
18 Let them know that you, whose name is the Lord—
    that you alone are the Most High over all the earth.

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Prayer Requests 10-6-22

It’s Thursday, so don’t forget to pray for Jo, her former students, and the people of PNG. 

Anyone else?

Psalm 76

A psalm of Asaph. A song.

1 God is renowned in Judah;
    in Israel his name is great.
2 His tent is in Salem,
    his dwelling place in Zion.
3 There he broke the flashing arrows,
    the shields and the swords, the weapons of war.

4 You are radiant with light,
    more majestic than mountains rich with game.
5 The valiant lie plundered,
    they sleep their last sleep;
   not one of the warriors
    can lift his hands.
6 At your rebuke, God of Jacob,
    both horse and chariot lie still.

7 It is you alone who are to be feared.
    Who can stand before you when you are angry?
8 From heaven you pronounced judgment,
    and the land feared and was quiet—
9 when you, God, rose up to judge,
    to save all the afflicted of the land.
10 Surely your wrath against mankind brings you praise,
    and the survivors of your wrath are restrained.

11 Make vows to the Lord your God and fulfill them;
    let all the neighboring lands
    bring gifts to the One to be feared.
12 He breaks the spirit of rulers;
    he is feared by the kings of the earth.

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Prayer Requests 9-29-22

It’s Thursday, so don’t forget to pray for Jo, her former students, and the people of PNG. 

Anyone else?

Psalm 70

For the director of music. Of David. A petition.

1 Hasten, O God, to save me;
    come quickly, Lord, to help me.

2 May those who want to take my life
    be put to shame and confusion;
   may all who desire my ruin
    be turned back in disgrace.
3 May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!”
    turn back because of their shame.
4 But may all who seek you
    rejoice and be glad in you;
   may those who long for your saving help always say,
    “The Lord is great!”

5 But as for me, I am poor and needy;
    come quickly to me, O God.
   You are my help and my deliverer;
    Lord, do not delay.

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Prayer Requests 9-22-22

It’s Thursday, so don’t forget to pray for Jo, her former students, and the people of PNG. 

Anyone else?

Psalm 62

A psalm of David.

1 Truly my soul finds rest in God;
    my salvation comes from him.
2 Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
    he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

3 How long will you assault me?
    Would all of you throw me down—
    this leaning wall, this tottering fence?
4 Surely they intend to topple me
    from my lofty place;
    they take delight in lies.
   With their mouths they bless,
    but in their hearts they curse.

5 Yes, my soul, find rest in God;
    my hope comes from him.
6 Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
    he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
7 My salvation and my honor depend on God;
    he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
8 Trust in him at all times, you people;
    pour out your hearts to him,
    for God is our refuge.

9 Surely the lowborn are but a breath,
    the highborn are but a lie.
   If weighed on a balance, they are nothing;
    together they are only a breath.
10 Do not trust in extortion
    or put vain hope in stolen goods;
   though your riches increase,
    do not set your heart on them.

11 One thing God has spoken,
    two things I have heard:
“Power belongs to you, God,
12  and with you, Lord, is unfailing love”;
   and, “You reward everyone
    according to what they have done.”