We like the idea of being blessed, but we are repelled by the concept of being cursed. Esau’s insistence on receiving the family blessing from Isaac was maddening elusive to him though he sought the blessing “carefully with tears” (Hebrews 12:17 KJV). What’s so special about blessings and curses, since we bless our food every day before we eat? “I know that whoever you bless is blessed, and whoever you curse is cursed” (Numbers 22:6 NET). Do we possess such power with God? The weight of our pronouncements before God may wither in light of our confidence of receiving our own daily blessings, but shouldn’t we aspire great things before Yahweh? LORD, may we be emboldened to bless those who love You and cause curses to come down upon those who oppose You that there may be diamonds in the rough like Saul of Tarsus enlisted in Your cause. Amen.
National Day of Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer
Advice to Married Couples (Part 2)
Paul the Apostle gave marriage counsel to all NT readers. Specifically, he advised Christian couples about their together walk. Each belongs to the other, granting rights to the other over their own body. 1Corinthians 7:1-5, especially verse 5, encapsulates his advice. “Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency [lack of self-control]” (1Corinthians 7:5 KJV). Fasting and prayer protect our relationship with God, while a couple’s together walk or agreement is both manifested and strengthened by their intimacy. LORD, strengthen the marriages of our brothers and sisters that Satan would not cleave them apart in dissension and divorce. Amen and amen.
How Any Nation Can Win Their War
During the American Civil War (1861-1865) fought over the issue of slavery, President Abraham Lincoln declared a National Day of Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer for April 30, 1863. “Nations like individuals are subject to punishments and chastisements in this world… We have forgotten God… too proud to pray to the God that made us.” On July 4, 1863, the Confederate forces surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant, ending the Siege and Battle of Vicksburg and giving control of the Mississippi River and the West to the Union. Likewise, the Confederate invasion of the North was halted at the Battle of Gettysburg, where General Robert E. Lee was forced to withdraw on July 4, 1863. Understandably, military historians view this as the turning point of the war. “If My people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2Chronicles 7:14 KJV).
We Need A Miracle 