"All nations whom You have made shall come and fall down before You, O Lord; and they shall glorify Your name." (Psalm 86:9)
Praying For America
Image courtesy/Pinterest
PSALM 86 A Prayer of David
Incline Your ear, O Lord and answer me, for I am poor, distressed, needy, and desiring.
Preserve my life, for I am godly and dedicated; O my God, save Your servant, for I trust in You, committing all and confidently looking to You without fear or doubt.
Be gracious and merciful to me, O Lord, for to You I do cry all the day.
Make me, Your servant, to rejoice, O Lord, for to You do I lift myself up.
For You, O Lord, are good, and ready to forgive our trespasses, sending them away, letting them go completely and forever; and You are abundant in mercy and loving-kindness to all those who call upon You.
Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; and listen to the cry of my supplications.
In the day of my trouble I will call on You, for You will answer me.
There is none like unto You among the gods, O Lord, neither are their works like unto Yours.
All nations whom You have made shall come and fall down before You, O Lord; and they shall glorify Your name.
For You are great and work wonders! You alone are God.
Teach me Your way, O Lord, that I may walk and live in Your truth; direct and unite my heart, solely, reverently, to fear and honor Your name.
I will confess and praise You, O Lord my God, with my whole united heart; and I will glorify Your name forevermore.
For great is Your mercy and loving-kindness toward me; and You have delivered me from the depths of Sheol, from the exceeding depths of affliction.
O God, the proud and insolent are risen against me; a rabble of violent and ruthless men have sought and demanded my life, and they have not set You before them.
But You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in mercy and loving-kindness and truth.
O turn to me and have mercy and be gracious to me; grant strength, might and inflexibility to temptation to Your servant and save the son of Your handmaiden.
Show me a sign of Your evident goodwill and favor, that those who hate me may see it, and be put to shame, because You, Lord, will show Your approval of me when You help and comfort me.
"For you shall go out from the spiritual exile caused by sin and evil into the homeland with joy and be led forth by your Leader, the Lord Himself and His Word with peace; the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the Lord for a name renown, for an everlasting sign of jubilant exaltation and a memorial to His praise which shall not be cut off." (Isaiah 55:12-13)
"I Shall Not Want"
Yongsung Kim
Korean artist
Picture courtesy/Christ Fine Art
I am tired and weary but I must toil on
Till the Lord come to call me away
Where the morning is bright
and the Lamb is the light
And the night is as fair as the day.
There'll be peace in the valley for me some day
There'll be peace in the valley for me
I pray no more sorrow and sadness
or trouble will be
There'll be peace in the valley for me.
There the flow'rs will be blooming,
the grass will be green
And the skies will be clear and serene
The sun ever shines, giving one endless beam
And the clouds there will ever be seen.
There'll be peace in the valley for me some day
There'll be peace in the valley for me
I pray no more sorrow and sadness
or trouble will be
There'll be peace in the valley for me.
There the bear will be gentle,
the wolf will be tame
And the lion will lay down with the lamb
The host from the wild will be led by a Child
I'll be changed from the creature I am.
There'll be peace in the valley for me some day
There'll be peace in the valley for me
I pray no more sorrow and sadness
or trouble will be
There'll be peace in the valley for me.
No headaches or heartaches or misunderstands
No confusion or trouble won't be
No frowns to defile, just a big endless smile
There'll be peace and contentment for me.
There'll be peace in the valley for me some day
There'll be peace in the valley for me
I pray no more sorrow and sadness
or trouble will be
There'll be peace in the valley for me.
There'll Be Peace In The Valley For Me" (1939) Reverend Thomas Andrew Dorsey (1899-1993) Prolific American hymn writer "The Father of Gospel Music"
"Take no part in and have no fellowship with the fruitless deeds and enterprises of darkness, but instead let your lives be so in contrast as to expose and reprove and convict them." (Ephesians 5:11)
Ouija Board Madness
L.A. Marzulli
(August 26, 2022)
I recently watched the above presentation on YouTube from intrepid Christian researcher/film maker L.A. Marzulli.
His featured guest described her experiences while using a Ouija board when she was a young woman looking for answers in her life.
L.A. suggested that someone should contact the makers of these board games to make them aware of how dangerous they are to people, however, I do not believe this kind of effort would affect any positive change in the modern game industry. It seems to me the makers of games like the Ouija are primarily focused on the financial side of the situation, while dismissing or ignoring any spiritual threat connected to their games.
I feel the same way about the booming video gaming industry, and in particular, the RPG, or "role playing games" which have become increasingly dark and disturbing in recent years.
Take for example a game called "Dead by Daylight". Players can choose to be either a victim or a villain, and in this case, the villain is Michael Myers, the demented killer from the "Halloween" series of horror films.
The player can take on the role of a victim, trying to escape from Myers and his knife. But then, in a bizarre twist, the game allows the player to assume the role of Michael Myers, the heartless maniac in the William Shatner mask who refuses to die! (At least he never did in the movie series.)
I have been criticized for my stance against this game. "It's just a game," someone told me. "A fantasy horror game." While these statements in defense of this game might have a ring of truth to them, the fact remains that people are willingly assuming the role of a cold-blooded killer whose main objective is to stalk and murder innocent people. That bothers me.
The prophet Isaiah spoke of a future time when "Good will be called evil, and evil will be called good." He was absolutely right
And in the case of "Dead by Daylight" evil wins!
But back to the Ouija board. I remember reading a story of a woman and her sister who played with a Ouija board as teenagers. As they were brought up dutiful Roman Catholics and went to Mass every Sunday, one day, to more less appease their guilt over "testing the spirits" on the Ouija, they decided to ask the board the question, "What is church?"
The board spelled out: " People". They later asked their father if this was the truth and he, not knowing where this answer originated from, told them, "Yes. Church is the people." So, now they were hooked on the "reliable" Ouija board to answer their questions, until weird and unexplainable things began to happen to them.
I believe Hollywood shares much of the blame for the promotion of occult practices in America. I remember as a little girl in the late 1960's I would cover my ears every time I heard the eerie theme music of the popular gothic soap opera, "Dark Shadows" which aired every afternoon on ABC-TV beginning in 1966.
The show depicted the everyday tangled lives and loves of the mysterious Collins family of Collinsport on the coast of Maine. In addition to the gloomy atmosphere of the family mansion interspersed with often edge-of-your-seat suspenseful plot twists, the series featured a daily dose of the occult, including witches, ghosts, time-travel, zombies, and the unexpected return of a presumably long dead family ancestor, 175 year old vampire Barnabas Collins, whose portrayed as the show's antihero. Barnabas often lamented over his "undead" status, and yet, was always on the lookout for a fresh victim to satiate his appetite for human blood.
Needless to say, due to the threat of possible nightmares and keeping my parents up all night I was never allowed to watch the show. Although "Dark Shadows" was cancelled in 1971, the show developed a cult following, with two spin-off movies, and a remake of the show in the early 1990's. The latest incarnation of "Dark Shadows" was a big screen version in 2012, described as"an epic mystery dark fantasy black comedy."
In the 1970's stories involving witches and witchcraft, seances, ghosts, reincarnation, and other occult themes were often the subject for a TV network's "Movie-of-the-Week" while TV anthology series like "Night Gallery" and "Ghost Story" as well as the more comical than actually scary weekly adventures of"Kolchak: The Night Stalker" all delved into the spooky world of the supernatural.
Meanwhile, on the big screen, "The Exorcist" and "The Omen" series of horror films became overnight sensations, with crowds of people standing in long lines outside movie theaters across America waiting to be scared out of their wits.
I well remember television commercials advertising the Ouija board game by Parker Brothers. I do not remember any supervising parents in these commercials, just an adolescent boy and girl acting totally engrossed while moving the wooden planchette back and forth over the game board.
The use of a Ouija was even featured in an episode of one of the most wholesome, family-oriented, 1970's television series, "The Waltons". In the second season episode, "The Ghost Story" the Walton children became fascinated with what they called a "spirit board". They continued to play with it even after strange occurrences began to take place in their home.
Picture courtesy/imdb.com
"Good Night, John Boy"
The Waltons is a classic American historical drama loosely
based on the novel, "Spencer's Mountain" by Earl Hamner Jr.
the show's creator, executive producer, and narrator at
the opening and closing of each episode, at which time
the Waltons would say "Good Night" to each other.
Centered around the lives of the closely knit Walton clan
of rural Walton's Mountain, Virginia during the lean times
of the Great Depression, and leading up to WWII and
after, the show premiered on CBS on September 14, 1972 and
ran for nine seasons, with the final episode airing on June 4, 1981.
I found this episode rather hypocritical when mother Olivia Walton was portrayed as such a strict, God-fearing Baptist woman, who often chided her husband, John, for not attending weekly church services with her and the family, not to mention railed against two elderly neighbors, the spinster Baldwin sisters, for making their "Papa's Recipe" (homemade moonshine). And yet, here she is letting her children play with a Ouija board in her house!
King Solomon is credited for saying, "There is nothing new under the sun."
The origins of the Ouija are said to date back to 1100 AD China. In the historical documents of the Song Dynasty, the use of "automatic writing" with the use of a planchette was practiced by necromancers in their communications with the spirit world. The practice was later forbidden during the Qing Dynasty.
The use of "spirit boards" in America became widely popular during the mid-19th century Spiritualist Movement, as a means of trying to communicate with dead loved ones.
At least two First Ladies of the United States are said to have held seances in the White House. Jane Pierce, the wife of President Franklin Pierce, lost all three of her children, all sons, whom were very young when they died. Her first child died not long after his birth, while her second died during a typhus epidemic. A third son, Benjamin Pierce, was twelve years old when he was involved in a fatal train accident. His grief-stricken mother later employed the services of the infamous Fox sisters to hold a seance in the White House in the hope of contacting her dead son's spirit.
Mary Todd Lincoln, wife of President Abraham Lincoln, was actively involved in spiritualism and often held seances inside the White House. Prior to Lincoln being elected President, their second son, Edward, succumbed to tuberculosis. Then, after President Lincoln took office, their son, William, died of typhoid fever at age 11.
Mary Lincoln began contacting and hosting the leading spiritualists of the day to conduct seances inside the White House. Noted medium Cranston Laurie was among the First Lady's favorites. Many of these "spirit-raising sessions" were held in the famous Red Room of the White House. It is widely believed that President Lincoln himself attended at least one of them.
Mary Lincoln later claimed that her dead sons visited her in the night and stood at the foot of her bed. After her husband was assassinated, Mrs. Lincoln continued to dabble in spiritualism. She even had her picture taken by a "spirit photographer" named William Mumler, in which the ghost of President Lincoln appears to be standing behind his wife. The photograph was later declared fake. Towards the end of her life, Mary Todd Lincoln was committed to an insane asylum by her only surviving son, Robert.
There were many other prominent believers in the spiritualism movement, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of the famous detective Sherlock Holmes, was a big fan, as well as master illusionist/ magician Harry Houdini. A great believer in spiritualism, Houdini became so incensed by the number of phony mediums taking advantage of desperate, grief-stricken people, especially the fathers and mothers who had lost their sons on the battlefields of World War I, that he launched a personal and public crusade to expose the charlatans.
Harry Houdini
(1874-1926)
Picture courtesy/Fine Art America
Meanwhile, Doyle's wife, Jean, claimed to be a medium who specialized in automatic writing, or the process of her hand being "guided" by a spirit being in order to convey messages from "the other side". Her unusual talent would later be responsible for the ending of the friendship between her husband and Houdini, after a fateful seance that took place in Atlantic City in 1922.
Harry Houdini had previously sought contact with his deceased mother through seances, and at this particular one, "automatic writing" was provided by Jean Doyle. But, after her messages appeared written in English, when Houdini's mother had spoken only Yiddish, he declared Doyle a fraud.
Sir Arthur, who once considered Harry Houdini a powerful spiritual medium himself, now viewed this former friend as a potentially dangerous enemy.
We can only imagine what the keen-minded, "consulting detective" Sherlock Holmes would have had to say about his creator being mixed up in the phony seance business.
"Absolute poppycock for the most part, my dear Watson. However, one must be extremely careful, less one be deceived."
Only four years after that fateful seance, Houdini died. His widow, Bess, held special seances on Halloween (the day he died) for ten years after her husband's passing in attempts to contact him. After the last unsuccessful seance, held on the roof top of the Knickerbocker Hotel in Hollywood, she finally put out the candle she had kept burning beside a photograph of her husband since his death. She later stated: "Ten long years is long enough to wait for any man."
As you can clearly see from the accounts above, the powers of darkness are very real and very dangerous. Both the famous and not so famous have been tragically misled by them.
America today is in major political and social upheaval and the main reason for this is that we have forsaken our Judeo-Christian heritage. Our land is languishing in the midst of a cruel spiritual famine.
Like ancient Israel in the Bible, America has turned away from the protection and providence of Almighty God to follow after the corruptive influences of money and power, lust, and the occult.
Another problem is the derailing of mainstream Christianity. For years, prominent evangelicals have led their massive followings of gullible and greedy sheep off the proverbial cliff by eschewing the Gospel, while allowing too much of the world into the church.
People want their "ears tickled" with a feel good message, not a serious, thought-provoking admonishment concerning sin, and how it destroys people. As a result of this "ear tickling" the doctrines that demons teach are flourishing from the pulpit or the stage in many churches in America today.
Many prominent leaders in the church have maintained a deafening silence when they should have banded together and spoke out against the evils which have now permeated our society. They were too worried about losing their church's tax exempt status with the government.
Jesus never said believers should not pay their taxes. "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's," He said. (Mark 12:17)
I wonder how long they will remain silent if and when our increasingly hostile, anti-Christian government takes their churches away from them.
The Lord also told us in no uncertain terms that if we are part of the world (system) the world will love us and claim us as one of their own. However, because we, as believers, have been called out from the world, ( are no longer one with it) the world will hate us like it hates Him. Unfortunately, many "celebrity preachers" today remain in love with the world.
Personally, I feel nothing this world has to offer can even come close to my future life in glory with my Lord Jesus!
I pray that everyone reading this post will invest in a Bible ( I love my Amplified Bible) and will commit time each day for reading and studying the Word of God. If you cannot find a good Bible study near you, I would like to recommend watching, "Through The Bible With Les Feldick".
Les has been a Bible teacher for many years. He is now retired, but his programs can still be found airing daily on television and on the Internet. I began watching him several years ago. Les's teachings confirmed for me a lot of what I already knew concerning God's Word, while refuting many of the false and heretical teachings which are being taught in some Christian churches today.
His easy to understand, down-to-earth teaching style will hopefully encourage your own study of the Bible, but more importantly, will provide you with a fresh and unique perspective of the Word of God.
In this 8th episode in the series," House of David" archaeologist Danny Bahat explores the ruins of "The City of David" just south of the Temple Mount. A member of Zola's staff interviews Aaron and Ester Orowitz, modern day Jewish settlers living at the same site today, who give their reasons for calling it "home".
*"Twenty bridges from Tower to Kew Wanted to know what the River knew; Twenty Bridges or twenty-two, For they were young, and the Thames was old And this is the tale that River told.
I walk my beat before London Town. Five hours up and seven down. Up I go till I end my run At Tide-end-Town, which is Teddington."
Big Ben
Westminster, London, England Image courtesy/Wikipedia
An armchair traveler's tour of the city of London compliments of the gracious host of "Reading The Past" Dr. Katrina Marchant.
Thank you Dr. Kat for this fascinating look at the historical significance of one of the world's greatest cities!
What's So Special About The City Of London Historically?
Reading The Past
(August 26, 2022)
*"The River's Tale" (1911) -Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) English novelist and poet
"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (Psalm 23:6)
*Lander's Peak
Rocky Mountains
(1863)
Albert Bierstadt
(1830-1902)
German American Landscape painter of the American West Picture courtesy/Wikimedia Commons
"I shall dwell forever"; amid this world of change,
Where our homesick spirits oft' feel sad and strange,
Where the vacant places shall never more be filled,
Where the ache of memory can never quite be stilled,
Where the silent voices echo through life's empty room,
Where the brightest skies of earth must know
grief's cloud of gloom;
Is any promise sweeter in our Father's blessed Word?
"I shall dwell forever in the house of the Lord."
We shall dwell forever; we shall never more go out,
Never more be weary with wandering about;
Never more be seeking for a place in which to rest,
Never more be dreading "the stirring of the nest".
How our hearts are turning, turning ever as we roam
Toward the shining portals of our everlasting home!
Is any promise sweeter in our Father's steadfast word?
"I shall dwell forever in the house of the Lord."
We shall dwell forever where warfare never comes,
Shrilling of the trumpets or boding roll of drums;
In a quiet resting place and in a land of peace,
Where all pain and sorrows forevermore shall cease,
In that abiding city of the rainbow-jeweled wall,
Set on sure foundations that shall never shake or fall.
Oh, the joy of looking past the things that pass away
To a habitation where our tired feet may stay!
Is any promise sweeter in all our Father's Word?
"I shall dwell forever in the house of the Lord."
"For here we have no permanent city, but we are looking for the one which is to come." (Hebrews 13:14)
"I Shall Dwell Forever" Annie Johnson Flint (1866-1932) Prolific Christian poetess and writer
*In 1859, Albert Bierstadt accompanied explorer and future Civil War General Frederick W. Lander on a western expedition to what is now present day Wyoming. After his return, the artist painted a sweeping landscape of the ruggedly beautiful Rocky Mountains there.
Following the war time death of Union General Lander from complications of pneumonia, the artist named the mountain in the painting "Lander's Peak" in memory of his friend.
"Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live and walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit." (Romans 8:1)
"As we pursue Jesus' definition for His disciples, we learn it was essential for them to take up their crosses daily and follow Him. True discipleship is a life of sacrifice. It is a daily sacrifice of our own desires to serve Him. Still, to live for Him this way is the greatest, most fulfilling life we can live, regardless of how difficult. And rest assured, this will be the most difficult life we can live. It is a life contrary to all the ways of this world and all the people of this world, as well as of most professing Christians. It is not meant to be easy. It is not easy,but it is worth it." Pastor Rick Joyner MorningStar Ministries
My Time
Laura Lee Zanghetti
Image courtesy/Pinterest
When you feel cast down and despondently sad
And you long to be happy, and carefree and glad.
Do you ask yourself, as I often do,
Why must there be days that are cheerless and blue?
Why is the song silenced in the heart that was gay?
And then I ask God what makes life this way,
And His explanation makes everything clear-
The soul has its seasons the same as the year.
Man, too, must pass through life's autumn of death
And have his heart frozen by winter's cold breath,
But spring always comes with new life and birth,
Followed by summer to warm the soft earth...
And oh, what a comfort to know there are reasons
That souls, like nature, must too have their seasons-
Bounteous seasons and barren ones, too,
Times for rejoicing and times to be blue...
For with nothing but sameness how dull life would be,
For only life's challenge can set the soul free...
And it takes a mixture of both bitter and sweet
To season our lives and make them complete.
"The Soul, Like Nature, Has Seasons, Too" From the book, "A Collection Of Joy" Helen Steiner Rice (1900-1981) American Christian poetess and writer She is known as the "Poet Laureate of Inspirational Verse"
"As for me, I will continue beholding Your face in righteousness, rightness, justice, and right standing with You; I shall be fully satisfied, when I awake to find myself beholding Your form and having sweet communion with You." (Psalm 17:15)
"But grow in grace, undeserved favor, spiritual strength, and recognition and knowledge and understanding of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ the Messiah. To Him be glory, honor, majesty both now and to the day of eternity! Amen!" (11 Peter 3:18)
Bind Up The Broken Hearted Sandy Freckleton Gagon Image courtesy/Christ Fine Art
Joy is a fruit that will not grow
In nature's barren soil;
All we can boast, till Christ we know,
Is vanity and toil.
But where the Lord has planted grace,
And made His glories known,
There fruits of heavenly joy and peace
Are found and there a-lone.
A bleeding Saviour seen by faith,
A sense of pard'ning love,
A hope that triumphs o-ver death
Give joys like those a-bove.
To take a glimpse with-in the veil,
To know that God is mine-
Are springs of joy that never fail
Un-speak-a-ble, divine!
These are the joys which sat-is-fy
And sanc-ti-fy the mind;
Which make the spirit mount on high,
And leave the world behind.
"Joy Is A Fruit Which Will Not Grow In Nature's Barren Soil" (1779) John Newton (1725-1807) English Anglican clergyman and hymn writer. He wrote one of Christianity's most beloved hymns, "Amazing Grace"
On location at David's Tower in Jerusalem, Zola Levitt continues his series on the life of King David of Israel. From Ein Gedi, Zola's guest Steve Ger speaks about Saul's jealousy of David and his success as a warrior. This episode also features Scroll translator Steve Pfann who talks about a unique book of Psalms found with the Dead Sea Scrolls.
House of David/His Ten Thousand/Part 6
(1994)
Zola Levitt Presents
Our Jewish Roots
In this episode, speaking on location at Ein Gedi, Steve Ger tells the story of the Neval (the Fool) and David's pledge to honor "the Lord's anointed." Also, Messianic believer Jacob Damkani shares what it means to be a disciple in modern-day Israel.
House of David/David The Hunted/Part 7 (1994) Zola Levitt Presents Our Jewish Roots
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