Keep the Spirit - from the best gift ever- going to prosper

It has become almost a cliche to say that we must remember the reason for the season. As this world focuses so much on getting, it makes sense that we would say giving is more important, to the point where we ignore calls to remember what God gave to us. They are drowned out.

So, instead I want to encourage people to pray - which makes sense because that is the title of this blog - for true change in our hearts.

After all, simply remembering the reason for the season during the season doesn't help us after the season. Nor does it help us do anything about it. Sure, I can ask people what they're most anxious to give or what they enjoyed giving the most. That helps a little. But, truly acting on the reason for the season means being  Christ-like long after the season.

Treating others with compassion

One big thing Christmas shows us is how to care about others. Whether it is volunteering to help the poor or just putting something in a Salvation Army kettle, if it is visiting an elderly neighbor or just sharing gifts with your family, there are many things we do at Christmas because there is a spirit of giving. However, these are things we should be doing all year round  if there is truly a spirit of giving in us.

As one example, standing against bullying is a sign of Christmas cheer. Putting an end to taunting and calling others names is something we can do to help. It also goes along with New Year's resolutions if one does these things. However, we can resolve to do better at any time. Christmas and New Year's just happen around the first of the year so it is a logical transition in people's minds.

This is what repentance is - turning from our own fleshly ways and turning our hearts to God's way. We as human beings often struggle with our fleshly nature.

Oh, some people are naturally more compassionate. Some people are naturally sweet and considerate and caring toward others, though even that has to be taught to some extent. They find it easy to follow those models of empathy and kindness, though.

Our culture likes to talk about a general spirit of Christmas causing this. However, we don't truly have the spirit of Christmas unless we have the Spirit living in us that we can because of Christmas.

That is because if we try on our own we might succeed sometimes but we will be doing it for ourselves or for others, rather than to honor the God who gave us that gift.

Think about it. It makes sense. Even if you think Christmas should be more about getting those presents, you need to be thankful for the present. Because, a person chose to give it to you out of kindness.

We don't earn presents; they wouldn't be presents if we did. They would be wages. A gift is something you don't learn - it is given out of the kindness of one's heart.

Just like the kindness of God's heart that gave us Christmas.

Receive the Best Gift Ever

The gift that keeps on giving. It can be used over and over. It changes your life for the better.

These and more describe what would be the perfect Christmas gift as a worldly thing, it would be something different for each person.

God provided us with one gift, however, which is even better. It is so special we need to not only receive it but tell everyone about it. Because it can be received any time, not just at Christmas. It matches all of those above sayings and then some, as it is the best gift ever.

We have all sinned and come short of the glory of God. But, it was while we were still sinners at odds with God that H e chose to come to this world as a baby. Not as a rich King somewhere, not even as a prince in a palace, but as a humble baby in a lowly stable.

We all hear the stories, we love that part of it. But, do you have head knowledge or heart knowledge of Jesus?

A good question to ask others - and yourself - is this. If you were to stand before God and He were to ask "why should I let you into My perfect Heaven," what would you say?

We can only rely on what Jesus did to get us there. You need to have heart knowledge because head knowledge doesn't help. It is like knowing a chair will hold you and standing next to it, claiming all the time that you can sit in it and it will hold you up but never sitting in it.

That faith is as easy as ABC. Admit you are a sinner, that you aren't perfect so don't deserve to be in God's perfect Heaven. Believe that Jesus died on the cross to take the penalty for your sins and rose from the dead. And, Call on him to save you from your sins.

You can pray a simple prayer like this, or lead someone in it. The words are not what saves, what's saves is when you put your whole faith in Jesus to save you. Talk to God and tell Him something like this.

"Lord Jesus, I know I'm a sinner. I know I can't reach your perfect heaven on my own. But I know you died to take the punishment for my sins. And, you rose from the dead. Lord Jesus, I pray trusting you to forgive me and make me new inside and save me from my sins. Lord Jesus, I trust you with all my heart and call on you to come live in me. In Jesus name, amen."

Once you have made that decision, of course, it is a matter of trusting the Lord to help you daily. He will be a constant guide, comforter, helper, friend, and so much more.

That's because it is a relationship with God that is the real gift of Christmas. He wants to guide and direct you through life.

Overcoming obstacles because Jesus knows all about them

We all face so much stress in our lives. We need God's love to get us through. Thankfully, that special gift of God coming to Earth is the key to that.

Remember, this means that Jesus knew what it was like to have homework, to go through the struggles of growing up, to have all sorts of different situations in His life. No, He didn't have video games or other modern things, but Jesus did have different things that could have distracted Him.

That is the key. He had those things in His life. And yet He never sinned. Jesus never had a sinful action, word, or thought. That is how He could be the substitution for our sin.

That also means that He can be our guide when it comes to life's problems. He is the wisdom that we need and with Him living in us through the Holy Spirit, we have access to that. And, if we do sin because of our fleshly nature, He is always there to forgive us.

I work with some inner-city youth. It is very hard for some of them to understand how He can help. One girl in particular has been bullied and realizes it is a spiritual battle to keep from retaliating, but it is hard for her to recognize God's power in her to rejoice and to let God be the strength she needs to get through things. Please pray for her, that she will learn to pray consistently and that she will start to grow in the Lord. She struggles also with pouting when she doesn't get her way, she is working on that but doesn't realize yet just how much power God can give her to overcome that.

There are also a couple boys who struggle with name calling because they don't realize it hurts her even so they talked about how it hurts. Please pray for them to stop bullying also and to behave better in general because they have many problems that have erupted over the last half year or so for some reason. It may be as simple as a spiritual battle but I don't know. Pray for that whole family, please.

 The whole ministry needs prayer in fact, so please pray as the Lord leads you about whatever situations may erupt.

These are the kind of things we need to talk to God about. When we don't, God knows the needs but we act as if we can handle them ourselves.

"Sure, Jesus could handle them when He was a kid," you might say. "But He is God." And, that's true. But when you know Him, He lives in you and you can turn to him for anything. From the biggest to the smallest.

That is what our country needs. For everyone to turn to God for help, because He is an ever-present help in time of need. That's why it's so important to know Him here, not just to be saved from sin but to be guided through this life filled with people who do not know Him.

Sharing his love so others can know

We share Christ's love so others can know Him and have Him living in them. We do it through our words but also our actions, by helping others and being Godly examples. Then, when people see how different we are they will realize there is something to what we say.

In other words, we aren't just saying it, we believe it and show it by living it.

That is showing the spirit of Christmas all year long. That is what this country needs. It is a relationship. It is not religion because religion is all about me and trying to reach up to God. However, none of those work. God had to reach down to our level and we just have to trust and call on Him.

Be part of the solution by dedicating yourself to the Lord. You can share something like this which can be freely printed out and used to lead others, or this where you can talk to volunteers about growing in your faith. you can get little pieces of paper known as tracks from Child evangelism Fellowship or the American tract Society or like the four spiritual laws to give people and use yourself. Posts in this blog cover numerous subjects such as the end of times and avoiding deception, God's justice being better than man's, overcoming obstacles, ending oppression, having victory over things, and much more.

 So, as one of them says, be the role model that many people need. So many need someone to look up to, and while Jesus is the one they should be, they need someone here on Earth to be that example so they can see how it is time.  you may be the only example of Jesus Christ they have ever seen. Don't shirk that responsibility. Many people need someone just like you. People need you to be christ-like and share the gospel.

Don't be distracted: Souls need saved for anything to change

Problems and frustration seem to be everywhere. So many seem angry and ready to tear things down or just overwhelmed and numb.

Whatever you see as the biggest problem today, God has the answer. Imperfect people can't provide perfect solutions like He can, though the devil will try and soon will deceive the world by uniting all against God's perfect love, a time you must prepare for as I show here. I also show how to avoid it (or spread around to help people if it's too late) in this post. Here you can see how to turn to Him, and how turning things over to God will free you.

I know I made that sound very simple. However, you can easily start a Gospel presentation that way.

How to start true change 

It starts with an individual choice. Because let's face it, if you want to go to Florida becasue it's really cold this winter, you have to go the right direction or you'll end up in Alaska, and no road to Alaska will get you to Florida.

 

Many expect protest and rage over a variety of things, but hearts must change through God's love and forgiveness. That means for ourselves first so we can be reconciled to Him, forgiven and saved from sin? The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. We earn spiritual death because of our sin. That is separation from God forever, from His wonderful love and mercy and separation from any goodness or peace. The good things so many truly want.

God promises us that if we receive his free gift by faith, though, we will go to his perfect Heaven someday where there is no pain, no suffering, no sorrow, no sin. And, He'll give His peace to you whenever you turn to Him once you've trusted Jesus personally to save you.

You can make that choice today. Just call on Jesus by faith, believing He died to take the punishment for your sins and rose from the dead.

You can pray a prayer something like this. "Lord Jesus, I know I'm a sinner. I am not perfect and don't deserve your perfect heaven. But I know you died for my sins, you took my punishment for my sins, and you rose from the dead. Lord Jesus, today I call on you to save me, I trust you to forgive me, I ask you to forgive me and come live in me and make me new inside. Lord Jesus, today I believe that you saved me not because of any work I've done, but because of simple faith in calling on you to save me. In Jesus name, amen."

We must choose individually whether to follow God or the devil every day. We can be sure of our Salvation once we are saved, but we lose blessings and rewards when we stray from Him.

God provides a way for us to follow Him which is very simple if we come together as equals before Him. We complicate it so much as people. We also add things that don't need to be there.

Focus on eternal, call on Him to solve here and now

We are easily distracted by things on the outside. But, causes we stand for and  man-made things we love won't last forever. God may or may not want us to support them - it depends on if they line up with the perfect will of our Creator. Some do, but many things people support don't. Also, sometimes there are important causes but we must remember to put God first and let him use us to make things right in  Godly way, not through disruptiveness. Sometimes, like with certain scandals, it is most important to seek the Lord and pray evil be revealed quickly. As hard as it is for some, myself included, t, let go and let God work, it is important to keep giving things over to Him since He handles issues of the heart best and always has a better solution than people can have.

We must look at the heart for God to change things, and give that heart to Jesus, as I have shared when discussing things like the reconciliation needed for Revival.

Jesus loves everybody. He always has. The cross is not political. It is sad that some try to politicize it. But that doesn't mean it is. It only means that people are using it the wrong way - selfishly, not glorifying God.

It's just like if you lift a lawn mower to trim the top of your hedges. That doesn't make it a hedge trimmer, nor is your mower bad.

The true answer to everything is to take it to God who forgives any who come to Him in Repentance becasue He makes them new inside. He can even revive this nation, but it must begin with us.

it must involve talking with each other and coming to an agreement, understanding and not just planning one's own agenda. Imperfect man can't create a perfect system,  so it stands to reason that we all bring different thoughts of what things represent and need to get along.

However, just 'getting along" isn't going to create a perfect world - that won't come till Jesus returns. We still should work as hard as we can to support Godly causes, but followers of God should be known for what they're for - a loving God who forgives sin and makes people new inside and so on - not just what they're against.

Anything else - as much as we may love things like our country - distracts you from the real issue.

Trust God to heal this land - counter-intuitive but logical

I posted numerous times that God's justice is better than man's, and how God will bring peace and justice when He reigns. We need to be careful because, as noted, the Antichrist will come first and try to lure people into his false peace.

 

 God's peace is something you can have now and forever.

It may feel counter-intuitive, because we want to solve things ourselves. However, since we, as imperfect people, can't create something perfect becasue of that heart problem, it makes sense to need to solve that heart problem first, in ourselves and then in others.

God can use us to heal the land, but it must be through cnostructive, not destructive things. If you drop something on your toe, you might soon forget about your headache, but you might also have a broken tow because of it. That might make you forget your headache but it won't heal it. (So, if you wondered if I'd come up with a different analogy for a change, there it is. :-) )

This is why I've posted before about resilience being important, and the importance of teaching it, so we can be constructive in our actions. Of course, rumor has it that some people are siply paid to protest, but I won't get into whether I even believe that.

The important thing is tht it doesn't matter how much we try, how much we clamor for change, true change can only come from heart change, and that can only come because the Holy Spirit is working in hearts. And, the Spirit will only work in hearts when we repent of our sins and turn to God. then, he will hear from heaven and heal this land.

 

 We need people to follow Him and not be distracted by all the mess around them. It's not going to last.

 

What we can take with us if nothing here will last - signs of a healed land

So, if everything here is going to disappear someday anyway, what will those who trust Christ s Saviour take with them?

The rewards they earn for doing Godly things here for Him, and the souls of those they helped.

A healed land would have people helping others - including you, the reader - for God's sake, not angrily acting out for selfish gain in things that won't even last.

It would have everyone working together for good, just as many people seek now anyway.

It would have all of these thigns done for the glory of God because people wouldn't be selfishly thinking only of what they can get out of it, they would not be throwing money at sensual thigns that can only harm relationships.

This nation hasn't been perfect - it has ideals that it hasn't lived up to, but we can take the right kind of action by calling on Jesus to heal us and to change hearts from our own all the way to the White House and everywhere in between.

Rather than taking thigns totally the wrong direction, falling into the hands of the devil, we can and must call on the Lord and turn to Him for salvation and for Godliness to return to this land.

Have peace now and forever

The international day of peace is celebrated September 21st. In fact, the United Nations has declared that this year will be one focused on peace and safety, along with a couple other words. It makes one wonder - with all the other things going on - if God made this to happen becasue He wants our attention. The Bible talks about these specifically in relation to the end of the world. "When they say peace and safety, sudden destruction will come upon them." 1st Thessalonians 5:3

I'm not trying to say when the end will come. I do, however, want to discuss how you can have that perfect peace.

Because, of course, this world has a lot of things that bring fear to people's hearts. All the Hurricanes, earthquakes, and other disasters combined with the increased violence and other problems make many people long for peace.

Here is how to have peace in your life. It's a peace we must share with others so others know how to be free from the burden of fear and sin and shame.

Know the Prince of Peace

Peace comes in a relationship. That can be hard for some people. Sometimes betrayal and bitterness and sadness at things that did not go the way you hoped they would can bring much pain. However, there is hope.

It is not just a hope like the world gives, such as I hope the Indians finally win the World Series. Hey, the Cubs finally did last year so who knows? What's important is that this is more than just a possibility or even a likelihood. The hope that this relationship gives is one where you have a certainty of God's love for you.

Even when things don't go the way you expect them, they will go according to God's perfect plan, which is better than what any of us can hope for. We plan for things thinking we know the perfect solution, but we don't always. We don't know the future, except for what God tells us in general about the world.

That's because we are all sinners. We all say, do, and think things that are not perfect. They hurt ourselves or others or they go against that perfect plan that God has for our lives that will make things so wonderful. Not everything will be pleasant in this world, but that is why the Bible calls it the peace that passes understanding. Philippians 4:7. It is a piece that gives us strength to go on even when things go very badly.

For instance, I know a woman who just had a stillbirth. People may wonder how she gets through it. The answer is she knows Jesus. She really has to rely on him a lot because it is very painful for her. All the world can't give the assurance Jesus can give.

She knows she'll see her little boy again, because she has trusted Jesus Christ, God in flesh, to save her from her sins.

You can do that right now. It's as easy as ABC. Admit you are a sinner and fall short of God's perfection. Believe Jesus Christ, God in flesh, died to take the punishment for your sins and rose from the dead, because you can't get to heaven on your own. And, call on Jesus to save you, choosing to let him forgive you and make you knew inside.

You can pray something like this. "Lord Jesus, I know I'm a sinner. I know I don't deserve your perfect heaven. But I believe you died to take my punishment for my sins and rose from the dead. Lord Jesus, today I calling you with all my heart to save me and make me new inside. I trust you to forgive me and I believe that you have written me in your book of life. Not because of anything I have done but because I have called on you today because this is all because of what you did. In Jesus name, amen."

If you wander from Him of course you will struggle. However, He will always be there working in you lovingly drawing you back to Himself. You can go here to talk to someone about that life forever that begins right now.

Pursue peace with others

I have written several times, like here, about how we must all work together. We are all One race and one people. There have been people who have thought they were superior because of false pride. However, those people are wrong. We are all equal before the cross. And, God made us all equal here too.

The only difference is some of us are Saved Sinners and some of us are still Lost Sinners. Those of us who are saved need to be sharing our love as well as that of Jesus Christ so that those who are lost can be saved. After all, as I said we don't know when the world will end but it could be soon. It has been very recent for a number of people.

See, we need to ask Jesus to help us to love others despite their differences. This can be hard for some. It's easy when you have families who go to the same school and work in the same offices. At least it should be. It's harder when they are from different communities.

We need to work on building common ground. That common ground is that this is a world of sin and we need to be protecting others and helping them.

While it is true that we cannot bring God's Kingdom on our own - the time spoken of in Revelation must come first oh, a horrible time in this world I will mention later - it is also true that we must work to show God's love while we are here. We must not sit back and just wait for others to do things. We should be feeding the hungry and helping the poor and things like that and not relying on government for it, because we can do so much better as God's people helping them to help themselves.

That means getting rid of some of the sin in our own lives. It means getting rid of sensual things and things were we simply consume them for our own lust. It means getting rid of the vulgar language. It means being dedicated to good, clean, wholesome things. There are so many good things and hilarious things that can happen which do not involve vulgarity and meanness and stuff like that.

The world tries to enforce this on its own through things like political correctness. But, again, this is a human creation and therefore imperfect. No imperfect creature can ever create a perfect system. Only God can help us truly be resilient in this world so we can help others to be.

God, on the other hand, has a perfect system where we accept others and where we do work to respect others and not be bullying and treat others with kindness, doing to others what we would have do unto us. the Holy Spirit must be our guide, being filled with the Spirit means being controlled as God leads us to be the people He wants - but that includes standing for the truth of His Word and speaking it in love. This is why the Bible is so important, especially the New Testament. It shows how we should live Godly lives. And, as I mentioned before, the King James version is the one that should be followed. It is from the original Antioch Greek.

This focus on Godly attitudes toward others will eliminate the problems people have caused. It is not the political correctness as much as it is the lack of calm, consider a discussion with each other which has so damaged Society. We must get to the back to the point where we accept and understand each other, talking to understand and not just to respond.

A warning about false peace

If I am not predicting the end of the world, what am I saying?

As I mentioned in the beginning, there is a false peace coming. This is the peace of which I said the Bible warns, when they say peace and safety sudden destruction shall come upon them.

This destruction does not mean the end of the world right away. Of course, as you can see in Revelation, many things will happen eventually that will lead to the Lord needing to return to restore things. When he does, as we see in other passages about the millennial Kingdom as well as Revelation 20, it will be a world of peace that lasts.

The Bible tells of many things that I have warned before, such as the mark of the beast. Nobody can take that Mark and enter God's perfect heaven. Those who do take it will be lied to by the devil into thinking that it will give them some sort of immortality or a connection with the Antichrist that is so pleasing for the moment but will be destructive in the end.

This is the kind of thing God wants us to avoid. He has made a way to avoid it, by knowing Jesus Christ is your personal savior. As mentioned before, if you are reading this after many have disappeared, it may be that there will be a false peace developing that was also prophesized about. It will last three and a half years and will lull many into a false sense of security. This is why it is so important to know God so that he can protect you and guide you away from this.

That false peace we'll begin with some sort of Covenant that is signed or confirmed buy a world leader known as the Antichrist.

There have been many things stated by others and we don't know what is actually going to happen. Will there be some demon coming down claiming to be an alien life form? Will Holograms and artificial intelligence and other things be a major part of the deception which will come? These things we do not know.

We Do know, however, that God will protect us and save us from that terrible Wrath. Because, he is about to come sometime and bring down judgment upon the terrible evil of this world. People who have acted like Monsters doing so many horrific things, but also people who have been so prideful thinking that they can do anything they want without any consequences. Remember, that false Pride is something that I said in the beginning leads to such horrible things as racism and hatred of others and all sorts of things.

People, in their imperfect way, have tried to stamp out those things. They have been unsuccessful because only God can change hearts.

Our own hearts need to change, too, so we'll be reconciled to God and, following Him, to each other. That is the most important thing to remember. It is in our hearts that we have that peace from God. It is in our hearts that God must work to bring that peace, so we can share it with others.

Jesus is near, even if eclipse not a warning, so share the Good News

I've blogged before about whether America would soon be judged. Some feel it already is being judged, of course. The major eclipse on the 21st may not be a sign of doom - but many other things show that we need to return to God, anyway. We must do more, so people know what we're for, not just against, and see God's love in us.

In fact, if you can't do any more, this post should be spread everywhere, in every social media, even if that's all you can do, but there are so many ways to rescue people from evil that we see all around us.

Jesus warns of signs in the Heavens making people very fearful - He doesn't say the signs will *cause* anything, but that the terror will be part of the End Times. We may not have 40 days from the eclipse till judgment as some believe, but we could have only 40 minutes, we don't know when the Lord will return.

How do we prepare?

1. Get Your Heart Right

We must repent, as I've said in various posts, not just what we've done, but what we've failed to do.

Young people can do so much good.You can let the Lord use you even to be the leader of your family, as I wrote in this free blog book and encourage everyone to share.

You are only a single sincere prayer of repentance away from a personal relationship with God who will be that constant guide, comforter, Helper, and friend we all need now, the start of eternal life. 

It is single. Only one time you need to call on Him to save you from your sins, and to make you new inside, then you will be reconciled to him.

It must be sincere. You must truly want Him to save you from the penalty of your sins, which is separation from him forever any horrible place where there is no love or compassion, it is all evil and pain.

And, it must involve repentance. It's as easy as admit, believe, and choose.

Admit you are a sinner, and don't deserve his perfect heaven. Believe Jesus Christ, God in flesh, died to take the punishment for your sins and rose from the dead. And, call on him to save you, choosing to let him forgive you and make you new inside.

You can pray something like this. "Lord Jesus, I know I'm a sinner. I'm not perfect and I don't deserve your perfect Heaven where there is no pain, no suffering. But, I know you died to take the punishment for my sins and rose from the dead. I believe you Lord Jesus are God in flesh and you made a way for me to have that eternal life and peace that passes understanding, with a relationship with you starting now so you can use me to make a difference here. Lord Jesus, I call on you with all my heart to save me and make me new inside. Forgive me Lord, and come work in me so I can be more loving and everything Christ-like. In Jesus name, amen."

You know we can't do it ourselves. This world has too much evil in it. But, we can trust God. You can call and God will answer and move in your situation and community once you know Him. Maybe not exactly the way you want it but according to his perfect plan. And, he is not willing that any should perish but all come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9.

Young people often have hearts more ready to hear of God's love and forgiveness. 

God is personal and wants to help you understand Him. People may have told you different but they have an agenda to control you. They want to make you think like them and feel you're just an animal. However, God gives you freedom to choose Him. We don't do it because we have to. We follow Him and His love and commandments because we want to, out of devotion for what he did for us.

That means letting God the Holy Spirit move in our lives once we have trusted him as Savior. You can go here to learn more but this aloen will help, too.

2. Let the Holy Spirit Move You

Of course, we can't command the Spirit, and we must pray the devil not counterfeit things, as I posted here with a prayer a while back. So, we can't ask God to move ehings for selfish reasons - which connects back to having your heart right above. However, when we step out in faith with our hearts right, the Spirit will lead.  We must beware of the Great Deception, as I posted about a few places.

However, we can trust God the Holy Spirit to work in our lives and in others when we pray and are filled with his guidance and put on the whole armor of God and bear more and more fruit of the Holy Spirit and be filled (controlled by) His Spirit..

God wants to move, but we have quenched the Spirit by ignoring God.  And, we are told we must avoid quenching the Spirit. This quenching is what has caused fires of revival to die, just like throwing water on a fire to quench it.

So, you could say that we have so many problems in this world, with racism growing worse when we are all one (I've posted numerous times, such as this, on how to unite and let God end such evil), with mean people still hurting others, with so many turning away from what is right, because we have quenched the Holy Spirit. We, being the church.

We have refused to be Christ-like. We spend too much time criticizing and complaining and not showing the love that Jesus showed. Yes, we must tell the truth about sin but we must tell it in love, showing that there is a Saviour who can make them new and change them so there "want to," changes, so they desire much better things than they have been chasing after, eternal things, so they want to follow what is right.

We must edify one another  and ensure that we, too, want those better, eternal things so people can't see a difference in us. So we can focus on our home in heaven and not wealth or power or control or this country or anything that will pass away.

The fruit of the spirit, in Galatians chapter 5 verses 22 and 23, show what we should have.

3. Trust the Lord to grow His fruit in you

Love is unconditional love that can only come from the Lord. Family love is very strong but even that is breaking down nowadays. God's unconditional love will give you all that you ever need and fill all the holes in your heart left by people who have disappointed you.

You can find joy and perfect peace in the good things in life, not tear others down. This is why the Bible says to edify one another, we should be building them up so they can know they don't have to turn to the raunchy and mean lifestyle and don't have to follow or heed such awful things.

There cannot be true goodness if we are just animals. And yet, there is good in this world.

There is so much good out there, so many people doing things with altruistic motives that it must be that God created us. He created everything, this world had no sin in it when it was formed.

By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, so that death passed on to all men for that all have sinned. Romans 5:12

God gives us freedom to choose to follow him, as noted before, so that we don't have to do good, we get to do good.

That includes being gentle with others, being slow to anger, not showing the wrath of man because it will never produce the righteousness of God. James 1:20. That is also where meekness comes from. Meekness is power under control, using self control which is temperance, another gift of the Holy Spirit.

That self-control is important because we are also to be long-suffering, that is to be patient. We must not keep jumping at each other's throats, but talk cordially. That friendliness is something that is lost so much nowadays because we have turned away from the Lord and quenched the Spirit.

We must have faith that God can provide. We must turn to Him in faith, because Hebrews 11:6 says He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. He will bring that Revival when His people turn to him and call on Him for help, knowing that we can't do it ourselves.

There are other things, such as Ephesians 4:32. Be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. That is something which comes from the fruit of the Spirit as well, as does thankfulness, grace, mercy, all those other things which God wants to give us freely and where we should not be quenching the Holy Spirit. Only if we stop quenching it can God give us freely.

That means turning away from the idols of this world, things we put ahead of God, and following Him. If we give those things we treasure over to God, He will use that for His glory and could give them back so that we can use them for His glory.

4. Pray without ceasing

We need to not only repent and turn toward the Lord of again but we must pray consistently. I don't know if we have only 40 days, that is what some say but we could have only 40 minutes. We don't know when the Lord will return. We must pray and witness in love and give out Gospel tracts now.

Let us pray now, with a sample prayer like I have done at other times you can read and pray over so that we can turn to the Lord at this time and call on Him to save this land. Remember, of course, that the first prayer He hears is the prayer of Salvation so you must know Him personally and be right with God before turning to Him on behalf of your family, community, and country.

"Dear Lord Jesus, we realize we have quenched the Holy Spirit. We have failed to show the love and kindness and everything else you want us to show, and turned to meanness and tearing others down rather than building them up. We have followed our own ways and not yours.

"Lord, today we turn from our sins, I first repent of all I have done and said and thought wrong and I invite you to change my heart oh Lord and make me new inside.

"Lord Jesus, please come to this community of mine, my home, my family and  friends, my nation,  and revive us, we no longer want to quench the spirit, Lord we want you to flow down with your unending love and change our hearts. Lord, we need you desperately. We know that there is so much wickedness and evil and it will continue to the end, but we also know that you are full of mercy and grace and can still save. Lord, we know that your Holy Spirit still works in this world, the restrainer is still keeping back the full extent of the evil until it is time.

"So, Lord, we pray that you will work wonders first in my heart and then other's hearts, unite us as one people to accept other races especially and not to put one above another. We do not ask for physical healings and all those other things that draw attention to people. We ask for emotional and spiritual healing and change away from idols and toward you; we pray for a revival like none other. Lord, we invite you, we beg you, come to our churches, even if it is just the youth departments because they are not set in their ways yet, with all of the wickedness we have put in this world, but please come to all of us.

"Lord, we especially ask you to bring revival among the young people. May they all turn from the evil and sensualness of this world. May they share their faith and share their testimonies with Incredible boldness. May their kindness and goodness toward others be so much greater than that of the world, so that people can see there is a difference. Oh, may that Christ-like attitude be evident among your people everywhere, young and old. May an attitude of goodness and grace while standing for what is right be apparent in all of us.

"Lord Jesus, change our hearts, move in a mighty way so that true tears of repentance are flowing, so that people will truly want you at the head of their lives and make you that head, change the wicked ways of this nation and turn us toward you. May all of the young people, teenagers and younger, get saved, covered by your blood before your return, for there being led astray by such evil and they're so impressionable now, and may they share their faith and proclaim the gospel and may many souls be saved in whatever time remains. In Jesus name, amen."

Fight Fear by Uniting in Faith in the Right Thing to Avoid Deception

We fear when we fail to have faith. Children, for instance, need Mommy, Daddy, whoever to chase monsters away, cuddle them during a thunderstorm, or whatever. In a pinch, an older sibling might even step up and assume some parental duties, especially in the case of a parent's death. A child will, in fact, run to that comforter for support - sometimes to a familiar comfort object, too, such as a stuffed animal. They know who will comfort them.

Whoever provides it, a need to be comforted from fear exists in all of us, even as adults. Indeed, comfort is so important Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as the Comforter.

This could be taken down one of a myriad of roads when connected to recent events, such as a temporary executive order with full text linked here (for because of fear there is confusion over what it says, too). That is only part of this post, though.

This follows up on the post on how we imperfect people can't create a perfect world, because only God can change hearts. It can be tempting, as humans, to think we can, but we can only change the outward appearance, actions, etc.. This is where we humans look, while God always looks on - and works in - the heart.(1 Sam 16:7)

Fear and emotion and seeing the evil of some - especially in Germany, Sweden, and France, where I won't link because stories disturb me - in everyone are driving a lot of things.

That leads to two important questions. 1. How do we stop it. And, 2. What does this have to do with deception?

Fight Fear With Faith

The way to battle this fear is to go to that Comforter - obviously, most readers aren't going to talk to a stuffed animal, though it can help one verbalize one's thoughts clearly and is surprisingly effective even for older people. We humans often try to solve our own problems and end up sinking into despair with dangerous things like drinking when we'd be much better off admitting we need help, even if that help is just verbalizing things to a stuffed animal.

That illustrates how important trust is. It's as simple as a child's faith that a comfort object can help them - and, it does to the extent that they are verbalizing things and thinking things out, just doing so out loud. It just needs to be in the right thing.But, if that faith children use helps them talk things out, or snuggling with one helps keep nightmares away, how much more can the true Comforter - which is the Holy Spirit/Holy Ghost - help?

I doubt anyone voted for a stuffed animal, though given the choices I'm sure some were tempted. :-) People make choices based on that need to be comforted, showing a general desire to put faith in an outward appearance, rather than in the heart. Franklin Roosevelt, for instance, famously told Americans in his first inaugural address that, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." His words on the surface were comforting, but March 5, 1933 was just as bad as March 4 (the day of inaugurations then); it took a long while for thigns to improve. to avoid arguments over how much he helped, let's say he was like that parent who soothes a crying child who just skinned their knee. What helps at the moment - more than medicine they apply - is that someone is there soothing them.

God provides that Comforter that we need, more so than any person can. FDR or any other person is less powerful than god. Even if people could create a perfect world, only God can change hearts.

Because, you see, God has provided all we need to have faith to make that heart change - including that Comforter which is God living in each of us when we trust Jesus Christ by faith to save us. Once you trust Jesus Christ by faith to save you from your sins, you are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.(Eph.1:13-14) Jesus promised the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost/Spirit, will provide you with the peace you need.

This is very easy, because it's "by grace ye are saved through faith, and that not of yoruselves, it is the gift of God; not of works lest any man shoudl boast."(Eph. 2:8-9) We can't get to heaven and have our sins washed away by our own works, it's only through the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. And, that's as easy as ABC - Admit you're a sinner and you fall short of God's perfection, and thus can't get to heaven on your own; Believe Jesus Christ, god in flesh, died to take the punishment for your sins and rose from the ded; and, Call on Him by faith to forgive and save you and make you new inside. You can talk to God right now and do that.

Once you have trusted Him by faith, you can pray for others, too - especially for our leaders to also be guided int he right way, as the Bible tells us always to pray for those in authority so we can lead peaceful lives, etc.. This is why I've talked so much in this blog about prayer being so important for revival; there are plenty of other pages you can look at, but just know it's important for it to be prayers of repentance, accepting that we have messed up royally trying to solve thigns ourselves and each of us has sinned and come short of the glory of God.

instead of trusting in God, people fight fear with emotions. Emotions lead to people filled with strife because of spiritual warfare, which we'll touch on soon. Look at the destruction which has marked some riots, which are never the answer. contrast the trash left by those at the Million Woman March versus the peacefulness and cleanliness of the march for Life, and you can see the emotion thrown around there, just like in the immigration debate. For instance, government action comes from a combination of fear and only looking at the outside, but some protests do, too, in a way, because major problems are only addressed when it suits them; for instance, dozens of people were shipped back to Cuba days before Trump took office with no complaints, and that doesn't even consider the many Christians beheaded with no hope of entering the U.S. years earlier. There is lots of fear on all sides. Add to this the fact that most of what was done was just a move back to standards of 6-7 years ago that were just done without warning or planning (on emotion), and you get a lot of confusion that comes because there is no comforting being done.

Why? There is no comfort because there is no faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of thigns not seen.(Heb.11:1) Just as someone saying "no monsters in the closet" keeps nightmares away, or being with whomever makes the thunderstorm seem less scary, or whatever, people need to know that they don't have to be afraid. They need faith.

Be Filled With the Spirit - and Truth - For Comfort

Think of what having that faith means. Obviously, a saved person still has that old flesh nature so they will react and not listen to th4 Holy Spirit if they are not careful; the Bible  says peace is one of the fruits of the Spirit(Gal.5:22-23, and to be filled with the Spirit, a verb which means controlled by it.(Eph. 5:16-18) God promises the peace that passes understanding to those who trust Him.(Phi.4:7) And, so on.

You have to have faith in the right thing, though, and that means knowing the truth.  Just like that child learns how far away the lightening is by counting, and gets more used to thunder, they generally aren't as scared, though some adults are terrified of storms and that's fine. However, the point is that we learn facts - truth - to make us less scared. That absolute truth of God's word is so helpful here, as He promises that He won't change,  and therefore His people are not consumed. (Mal. 3:6)

Some truths are very important to know because we can be hurt if we do not know them. For instance, it is good to know if lightning is over a mile away because of the distance between it and the thunderclap. It is wrong to think that lightning can never hurt you because if you stand outside during a storm you could get hit by it and injured or killed. There is a rational and an irrational caution to take around lightning. (Tht healthy respect and caution one has around lightning is the good kind of fear the Bible talks about - God doesn't want us to have the irrational terror kind.) In the same way,  it is irrational to claim all Muslims are moderate since there have been terrorist ttacks by radical ones; and in fact it could be argued that hiding the fact an attacker was a radical Muslim scares people more because they don't know if they'll be told the truth.

Muslims and Christians have very different beliefs, and another falsehood that appears is that they worship the same god. Muslims don't believe Jesus is God in flesh like Christians do, because they misunderstand "Sonship" and think it means physical relations when it doesn't. Sonship is figurative, like the Arabic "ibn," and like the Arabic phrase "The word is the daughter of the lips." Here are some great links to explain more, but suffice it to say that their view of god is totally lacking int he grace and mercy the Bible shows, because the Bible shows God loving all sinners, and tenderly calling them to repent before it is too late. He is personal and wants to reconcile us to Himself. These are not true of the Muslim Allah. This doesn't get into the dangers of radical Muslims views on women.

There is a lot of spiritual warfare going on. A lot of the devil's work is in clouding the truth. Revival won't work without repentant hearts praying. However, as noted many times before, God can change hearts and heal a nation that turns to Him.The devil is going to try to deceive people through their emotions, as well as many other things, though.

Some of that will be through fear. A world leader will come to the fore sometime who will promise peace but who will actually bring destruction; and, that world leader will not like the God of the Bible becasue he will want to have people develop their own system and achieve peace through worldly means, not through trusting God to provide. It is why we must avoid being fooled.

Wait, you ask, how did we get here?

Remember at the  start I mentioned that people are looking for comfort from fear, the fear that is gripping people on all sides? This spiritual warfare happens because the devil, God's enemy - a created being who chose to rebel and try to be like God - wants to draw people away from the truth of God's Word and cause that kind of terror that causes people to panic and put their trust in the wrong kind of thing, in human leaders and laws rather than God's grace.

Avoid Deception - Don't Chase the Wrong Thing In Troubled Times

This makes a lot of sense when connected to that idea of needing to fight fear with faith - as long as it's the right thing. The more chaos the devil can cause, the less we think of how God can comfort us, and the easier we can then be deceived. It's easier to feel safe when things are going well because, well, things are going well, and there is nothign to be scared of. A child playing outside on a calm, summer day wont' be scared of lightning, it's when the thunderstorm comes they need that comfort.

Of course, trauma can lead to one needing a lot more comfort, too - but this is why it's wonderful that God is called the God of all comfort in the Bible.(2 Cor. 1:3) Even minor problems can make one more wary. For a while after escaping a house fire with her parents, a cousin's girl noticed loud noises more becasue they made her think of the sound of the fire engines and crackling of the fire. She perked her ears up more than she did running to them each time, though; had she been injured she would have been more scared. This is why that spiritual warfare happens, so the devil can stir people up and cause them to want to turn to the wrong thigns - the wrong people, the wrong faith, and so on.

Of coruse, God allows it becasue he knows many people can find Him *if* they seek Him - which is why we must not be hating people but rather sharing the love of Christ with them and inviting them to trust that God of love to save them. Sometimes people turn to bad thigns like drugs and drinking and other thigns in times of turmoil instead, though, because they fear there is no hope That's why it's vital to show them there is hope - and that hope is found in Jesus Christ of the Bible, the one who made a way for them to know God personally, for god to live in them through the Holy Spirit.

See, when we fail to look at others as humans, sinners like us in need of the SAviour, we are falling into that age-old trap. We forget that, as one example, many Muslims are afraid of radical Islam, too. That's where, for instance - like the person who has been traumatized - it's important to know the differences and be able to say, "Okay, "Sharia law is awful on women, freedoms, and human rights, and we need to take steps to stop it because it will benefit all of us." this is where honest discussion and not hiding the facts of what radicals have done and are doing is vital, becasue as noted, hiding facts can make one scared of the whole thing.

In the lightning example above, for instance, if you only knew people got killed by lightning and didn't know the lightning was over a mile away and couldn't come into the house, for instance, you'd be more scared.

Avoid Deception by Receiving God's Peace

This looking at the outside and following our fears, rather than putting our trust in Christ, leads to how we can and will be deceived if we're not careful. I want to further discuss what kind of deception might be coming, but current events mean that it's best saved for another day, though in the meantime you can read this and this with good links elsewhere.

It's not just looking at the spiritual realm for concerns, though. We have problems right here that need us to pray to God to intervene and to prevail in this spiritual warfare.

In other words, be careful and don't put trust in world leaders the way you trust in god. that goes for people of all political persuasions. This world is filled with people who are full of emotion and angst, and that means that we don't even know wht's accurate anymore because unless you've been an eyewitness to something, and can then relate it in a calm manner, there is going to be some bias.

WE can trust the Bible, though. It's entirely reliable as God's Word. God loves to communicte with us, and because of that, He is able to comfort us when we call on Him.

It's important to work together to end evil, but more importantly, while we can't bring in God's Kingdom ourselves, someone will try to create a kingdom without allowing Bible believers to proclaim that truth that Jesus Christ is the Saviour of the world, to anyone who receives Him, but that one must trust Him by faith to save them from their sins.

that is because a price had to be paid for my sins, for yours, for everyone's. God Himself paid that pricewhen he chose to die for each and every person on thsi planet. then, the third day, he rose bodily from the dead.

In John 16:33, he says, "My peace i give unto you" - another difference because others want to only give peace to a certain person or people, but the bible shows that Jesus, God in flesh(John 1:1, 14), gives His peace to you and I and everyone who will receive it.

He then goes on. "Not as the world gives; My peace i give unto you. In this world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."

Jesus has already overcome the world. Whatever spiritual battles await you, if you have trusted Jesus Christ to save you then you can know for sure you have Him living in you. You can go to Godlife.com for more, including people who you can talk to to learn more about following the Lord.

Then, you can be free from fear and able to pray for others to also be free from that fear. When we all get together and pray for God to free us from that fear, he will protect us fromt he deception which will come upon this world and try to trick thsoe who remain with epace and safety, when instead sudden destruction will come upon them.(1 thess. 5:1-3)

Call to action - national heart problem needing healed with prayer to give us hope

I've written much about the need for prayer - speaking humbly with God and believing He'll work in a situation. This is a good time, with the incredible turmoil in our nation, to mostly post a prayer and invite others to join, as I did in this one.

I know many feel hopeless after this recent election, and just want someone to bring hope. God looks beyond our differences, He knows there's only one race, the human race, unlike what sinful man tries to do. So, you can skip down to the prayer and pray if you want, but these first couple smaller sections are very helpful to get our hearts in the right mood, as they discuss that relationship with God and the fact intercessory prayer is needed for our country.

 God Desires a Relationship With You - Turn to Him

God loves you and gives everyone - you - the chance to have a personal relationship with Him, so He can give you His perfect love, comfort, peace that passes understanding,and other blessings as we walk in this world. That relationship lets you pray to  Him anywhere, anytime about anything if you trust Him to save you from your sins.

As an example of sin, I've mentioned many times how someone might get cut off in traffic and curse the other driver, when the other driver is rushing to the hospital the bedside of a seriously ill loved one. That need cannot be met by criticizing the person who is hurting; we are sinning then by selfishly putting our desires ahead of others.  This, hopefully, helps show that sin is anything we say, think, or do that displeases that perfect and holy God. We've all sinned and come short of the glory of God.(Rom.3:23)

Repenting is like a U-turn with your heart. It would be like realizing in your heart, "Oh, I'm sorry. I was only going to the store and was inconvenienced a few minutes, while that driver may have been anxious to go see his mother one last time before she died. I'm sorry I judged them, forgive me and help me not do that next time." It's just agreeing with God that sin is sin and God must judge it; and, that He judged it at the cross when He took the punishment for that sin, dying and rising from the dead.

That salvation from your sin must be received with the heart, not just head knwoledge. It is a free gift - we are saved "By grace...through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God."(Eph.2:8) It's the only system that doesn't require people to something they can boast of to reach God - "not of works, lest any man should boast."(Eph.2:9) That boasting by others is annoying to us, but more importantly, it speaks of works and we can't reach up to God because we can't make ourselves perfect. So; God reached down to us.

The way to receive that gift is to - Admit you're a sinner and fall short of God's perfection, Believe that Jesus Christ, God in flesh, died to take your punishment and rose from the dead, and Call on Him to save you from your sin and forgive you and make you new inside. Choose to pray and trust Him to forgive you and save you and turn from your sins, Caling on Him to make you new so He can live in you and make you kinder, more loving, etc. - you can make that heart-mind decision right now, in fact.

So, that repentance when we trust Jesus to save us is what allows that relationship to begin. Once yuou have done that, you'll still sin because of your human nature but a Godly follower of Jesus grows in their faith and becomes more like Jesus in their love, compassion, etc. - Fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23 are one great example of how.

This shows that if it's required for a healthy relationship, then we must turn our hearts toward God when we pray. Prayer won't work if our hearts aren't right. This is because when we are turned away from him there is something between us, just like if people have an argument. and one is in Miami and the other in Atlanta. If the one says they'll go to Miami to make up and drive toward Alaska, they'll never be on the road to Miami. Hence, the "U-turn with your heart."

God wants us to have a relationship with Him, but He must also punish sin. That's why we must come with repentant heart and humbly seek His forgiveness and for Him to work in our lives.  God is holy and just and will punish sin; He can't have any sin in His presence. Heaven will be a wonderful place where nothing bad can happen to you, there'll be no suffering, no pain,(Rev. 21), just great diversity of people where nobody has seen, heard, or even imagined the wonders that await us.(1 Cor.2:9) There can be no sin there, or it would cause suffering. So, God provided that way of salvation so any who are in Christ are new creatures - "old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new."(2 Cor.5:17)

God wants us to enjoy His presence here, too. All are supposed to be equal in Christ Jesus(Gal 3:28). We have failed in that, and must repent of the evils of the last 400 years, not just the last 50; and, we must also repent for things we failed to do as well, such as how we haven't spoken out enough agaisnt violence against women.

How To Repent for a Country? Intercessory Prayer

It's great to share that love with others, and something we must do. Jesus could come at any moment, and each must be ready and share how to get saved now and what to do if millions vanish. However, that's about individuals.

Interceding for a country is like that, in a way, though. Our country is a mess. Many verses speak to things we should have done, such as Micah 6:8,etc. about God requiring mercy, loving everyone as equals no matter what race and treating them as equals, helping the powerless, etc.. But, that country is made up of individuals who can be reached and changed on the inside.

God knows our country has a heart problem, as this shows. It can't be solved by laws, but must be healed by God, because laws or political leaders would only work from the outside and not impact the heart. This is why we still have problems with racism, for instance, after so long. Only God's justice is perfect, as I discuss here.

Even so, individuals should follow God's ways and not mistreat or look down on thsoe of other races or women, and must make sure justice applies equally.

this requires a move of the Holy Spirit. It would mean that god would be interceding for many people, and that takes very fervent prayer. Such a Heaven-sent revival must begin in our own hearts, which is why I went over what I did above; we must seek it for God's glory and not ours because only He knows the perfect thing for our country; also, because he wants us to focus on things of heaven where nothing can happen to them and not things of earth which will pass away. He has our best interests at heart doing that. There is more discussion of intercessory prayer here, too.

There are other posts here, too, which speak of repentance revival, but it all boils down to this - God's people seeking for God to intervene to pour out his Spirit to change those things which displease Him. that, of course, requries our hearts to be right with Him to do that.

Once Jesus saves you He comes to live in you through the Holy Spirit, but you still have a sin nature and so you'll still struggle. There is a lot of bitterness and anger on both sides politically right now, for instance - things that stir up pain and hatred. God allows bad things so we don't become mindless robots - and so cause and effect can continue without some strange cartoon physics. However, He wants to guide us through those hard times with His peace. When things like anger and bitterness are fed they lead to destructiveness. Instead, we need to build the  Fruits of the Spirit in our lives(Gal.5:22-23) which I've mentioned.

We need people like you to be prayer warriors and spread this around so people will intercede on America's behalf.

With that, I ask you to please join in prayer and pass this around, too. Print it out if you want. Just remember, it's not just words you say, it's speaking with God personally for things to be made right. It can be your own words, of course, as long as you are in agreement with god about the sinful ways of this nation and how he can change it. We need Him; we can't do it without Him. But, He also promises that with Him, all things are possible.

A prayer of national repentance 

"Dear Lord Jesus, we have sinned and come short of your perfection. We have seen so much violence and oppression and other mean stuff in our nation, and I know you hate the culture that has developed. Lord, I'm sorry we have been so mean, in many cases since our founding as colonies, and I ask you to please forgive us.

"While we kept important things like honesty, love, and so on which you say are vital we didn't do that with some people, we were sinners who needed to let you change us on the inside. We failed at that Lord, and for that I am sorry.

"Of course, I too am not perfect, and so before I go further I ask your forgiveness for my sins, I know you died to take my punishment for my sin and rose from the dead, and I trust you to forgive me and save me from all my sin. I plead the blood of Jesus over all my sin and invite you to work in me, making me new on the inside, so I can make a difference the lives of others. And, in this nation.

"Lord, today I come to you because our nation is in turmoil. No matter who had won the election, the other side would have been up in arms. Lord, we know we can't make this world perfect because we are all imperfect  people. Lord, we need you to work a mighty work in this nation. We recognize we have no hope unless we turn all of our problems over to you. So, Lord, I plead with you to please heal this broken land.

"I plead with you, Lord,first, to forgive us for relying on people to solve the things only you can solve. Lord, we know you alone are the author of hope, we are not able to create a perfect world, and when we try it ends in selfish boasting and other problems. When we were more dedicated to you, we at least recognized the need for civil discourse and those who truly followed you would proclaim the need for us to be free, and we could look past our faults, but now we have so many people who are so full of faults, and yet they attack each other so vigorously. Lord, we repent of our search for people who just worry about more or fewer laws and instead ask your Holy Spirit to move int he hearts of the people of this country to turn to you.

"Lord, as part of that turning to you, we admit to 400 years of sin in our land, that we have not treated others with respect, we have not established true justice for all, we have created a backward system and despire the revivals you brought centuries ago, we kept trusting in outward appearances and slogans and di not repent of our wicked thoughts toward others. For that, Lord, we repent and turn back to you and trust you to cleanse us from these stains.

"Lord, our actions have brought about spirits of discord, of bitterness, of anger. Our focus on the things of this world have caused us to lose sight of that which unites us, that being the cross at the foot of which all truly are equal. We have fought over jobs and neighborhoods and things instead of acceptign others as equals and being united in a common cause, that of sharing sweet fellowship with you and lovingly leading others to Christ so they, too, can know that forgiveness and love you give to all who put their trust in you.

"Lord, we ask humbly that you would eliminate this spirit of discord and bitterness and anger and violence and rioting, and instead bring a spirit of peace and calm and comfort to all Americans.

"Lord, we pray that you would foster a spirit of communication between all Americans, that we would learn learn to get along with one another int he way you proclaim it, for we are not "us" and "the other" but we truly are to be "one another," united in hope for each other and sharing that wonderful fruit of the Spirit, bestowing love, joy, peace, gentleness, and so on to all and learn about each other and coming to treat one another in a civil manner the way we should.

"Lord, we also see much oppression in certain specific areas, too, and it is for those things we pray an end, also, for you say to go boldly - not brashly but with confidence you will hear and heal our land, because your people pray. And, Lord, with these specifics, please help us to remember to pray consistently as these will be spiritual battles which will take time.

"Lord we pray for an end to racism in our police, we pray for those who have betrayed the people by harming innocents to be brought to justice, and we will trust in your perfect justice, but we also ask you to end the violence against blacks and others who don't pose a threat, Lord, work in the police departments and give them the desire to constantly work to ensure that they don't have police who will do these things. Lord, please protect all those blacks and African-Americans and turn Black lives Matter into a cause that is moved by the Holy Spirit to cry out to you and to invite white people to join just as was done in the 1960s and which will help the police who are doing their jobs. Lord, we also pray for the protection of the police and an end to the slaying of all innocent people.

"Lord, please heal our inner cities, rebuild families and give women and youth encouragement to be the leaders where needed, as you did the Shunemmite in 2 Kings 4:8 onward, that our youth may have good role models who are Godly people, and turn our culture away from the terrible pain, heal that pain and agony, Lord, so we may not be hurting each other so much, we cry out to you for an end to all of the inner city problems through jobs that matter, that can give us hope, so we can truly make a difference and be free from the scourge of drugs and such. Lord, please trn hearts to end the violence gaisnt women and minorities and children and everyone.

"Lord we really pray for an end to all of this violence and rioting and destructiveness. Lord, we beg you in Jesus' name, do not allow the devil to have his way in this land, please prevent the forces of darkness from increasing the pain, but instead bring an end to those organiers who have agendas of destruction and instead raise up people who have agendas of conscientious dialogue who can and will truly accomplish things to heal this divide.

 Lord, we have focused so much on worldly goods, and we repent of that focus on that and ignoring the thigns of God, family and kindness and peace, help us to be content with such things as we have, but at the same time cause the rich to also be content and not be demanding more than they should; Lord you know the role you have for each of us and we pray you will help each of us to have that peace and not ignore the fact you do call us to be able to own thigns - hence the admonition never to steal or covet - but you also call on us to not oppress the poor, so please, Lord, end the oppression that occurs so much. please heal the divide between rich and poor and cause people to all focus on building treasures in Heaven by giving to those causes which will help those that are in need.

"Lord, we further pray for a healing of the divide which has occurred because of gender inequality, Lord help us to recognize that you have a specific plan for each of our lives, and that is to be treated lovingly and with compassion and never to be seen as objects, which is true for all, male and female. Lord, we ask you to end porn and all devient sexual stuff, send your Holy Spiritt to convict our hearts and set them right. Lord, we pray that you will send a calming spirit to those who feel agitated and stirred up by the harsh and even evil words of some leaders, and at the same time that those leaders would repent and no longer say or do evil but will instead humbly allow you to work int heir hearts and make them more loving and compassionate toward others.

"Indeed, Lord, increase the compassion of all of us, but at the same time help us to realize that you do call sin as sin for a reason, and please help us to remain steadfast against the sin in this land, that it may be stopped and that your ways would be established as right in our hearts, and that you would see to it that people are protected no matter what they believe and that our freedom to worship you and practice our faith not be curtailed, as you say in Your Word and as our Constitution says, too.

"Lord, please also send a spirit of calm over all those who protest the most recent election, that instead of worrying about who is in power we instead work to make this world better, because with all of this bitterness and anger there is so little hope, but when we have effective communication where we know things will be better we do hve hope, and so I pray that a spirit of peace and a willingness to discuss solutions instead of complaining about problems be evident in each and every person. Lord, change the hearts of our leaders where they need changed to fully come along what you will for us, those who do not know You may they truly come to know youpersonally as their Saviour, and may all who know you be drawn closer to you. may they be torn away from false gods and realize that you are the God of love, and may they be drawn to you and receive you by faith alone for perfect peace and stability int hese troubled times. May those who are on the fence renounce their ties to the New Age stuff and the worldly system some have and instead may they lean wholly on you, knowing you will win in the end; indeed you have already wont he victory.

"We also pray that if there are any scandals that justice would be done and that you would be glorified in showing that actions have consequences. Indeed, Lord, we pray for the hearts of all those in power be brought to you.

"Lord, you provided a great revival to break out int he late 1850s because 2 businessmen began to meet to pray at lunch in New York City and it spread; Lord, may we see the same attitude in business today, that people would stop beign greedy and that they would stop mistreating any employees.

"Lord, may people further grow those fruits of the Spirit and be honest, gentle, considerate, not backbiting, and in general may we all become more Christlike instead.

"Indeed, Lord, we pray for an end to all the terrible abuse and misuse of people, especially sexually, may you protect all those who can't protect themselves, and may you work in every situation to ensure that our children are safe fromt he effects of demonic forces which are out to seduce them into thinking they hve no hope; provide them with hope, Lord, may they see you at work and sense ou are real, may they all call on you to save them nd if the Rapture is close then I pray they will all be saved, because there are so many who have not been able to hear clearly to make a decision because of the terrible exploitation which goes on, the wful stealing of their innocence by a cruel and wicked world bent on making them think they are accidents when in fact each of us is created by God for a very special purpose, each of us is special to You, Lord. Indeed, we pray for an end to all the harm being done by our education system and for you to end the problems of bullying there, too, by teaching young people to value others as you, Lord, value them.

"Lord I'm sorry for all the evil that has come before, which we ask you to heal in humble repentance today. Lord, there are countless other sins I have not mentioned, so while a calming spirit int he crowds surrounding this electionand its aftermath are the main focus of this prayer, along with some other things, I ask you too, Lord, to please work in our hearts for other things in this revival, that many people will turn their hearts toward you and away fromt he many sins that have befallen our nation. May you bring us a great repentance revival and help me to accept if there are things that maybe aren't in your timetable or that maybe I'm wrong about, kindly help me to understand and at least accept your ways are higher than my ways, as the sky is higher than the seas.

"Lord, please give us that great repentance revival we need, not because we deserve it, not because we hve earned it, not because of our history, but only because of who You are, the God of grace and mercy who is slow to anger and whose mercies are new every morning, who is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

"Lord, please bring many individuals to repentance and to salvation in you, please end this spirit of fear and terror and discord and bring to us a spirit of love, of peace, of unity in you, and end the terrible protests and riots and instead bring us to all want to follow and praise you for your ultimate victory over evil. Lord, please bring us a spirit of acceptance of others not becasue of some political correctness but becuase of the civility you call us to have in loving others, so we can be more like you. Lord, please tear down the walls of hostility and fear but isntead help us to share with others how to work within the existing law to have civil discourse, and give us the freedom to be able to share Christ's love with others and may be receive gldly. Please, oh Lord, forgive us for our sins. For today, Lord, we turn from our sins as a nation, and trust you to forgive us and save us and heal our land. In Jesus' precious name, Amen."