PRAYERS

Welcome to this site. My prayer is that you take a look at the site and as you do, let the Holy Spirit speak to your heart and reveal what God wants you to discover. (in Jesus' name)

God tells us that if we see a brother (or sister) in need we should do that which is within our means to help. Prayer is always within our means but we never know what doors Father may open through them. Should you desire prayer for anything (healing, direction, etc.) or if you want supportive prayer along with your own please feel free to e-mail that request to sharbu3@gmail.com and be assured that there are others who will be praying with or for you.


In this blog, I share what the Lord shares with me. I reference scripture a lot in support of what is being said. I realize that what is in each entry is NOT a complete 'word' on what is being said, but is rather enough information to stimulate our spirits to dig deeper (remember the Bereans Acts 17:10-11) thereby gaining a fuller understanding for ourselves.

At the end of each post are the options to share, forward or make a comment. Click 'comment' to respond. Let us know if you like, don't like or are helped by what you read. Comments can be made or read by anyone. All you have to do is select the "comment" at he end of the entry.

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

1-26-2016

                                     A blessing in the Storm

As those of us along the Atlantic Coast are still digging out from our snow storm this past weekend Father started on My little brain again early this AM.

I had posted on Facebook the other day how I tried rebuking the incoming storm where Father quickly rebuked me "it rains on the just and the unjust alike" (Matt. 5:45).  My response was "Okaaaaay".  So then I changed my prayer to protects us from what may happen.  He quickly reminded of where Jesus asked Father to not take us out of this world but rather keep us from evil (John 17:15).  I figured Father wasn't going to stop the storm so the least He could do is protect us from the effects of the storm.

Earlier this AM He had my little pea pickin' brain working again.  He started playing a song in my head.  Now we're a small church and we still use a lot of recorded music (played from our laptop, CDs, Ipad, etc) and a song our pastor bought forth, actually a couple of years ago now, and started playing it in my head - a song by Kirk Franklin "A Blessing in the Storm".

Father started showing me the blessings, at least for me, in this storm.  Yup, I'm gonna mention some. WHAG said Hagerstown got

- 24" of snow this weekend, some local areas got 40"
- By Saturday evening, the street I lived on had a single path plowed down the middle
- I never lost power (they called for the possibility)
- I sill have over 1/4 tank of oil for heating
(I don't have the stamina I had as a youth here in my 'seasoned' years [my season has lasted 70 yrs. so far]) but the young gal from next door helped me shovel my walk Saturday afternoon
- and as I was digging my car out, clearing a path to the plowed strip down our street, the fellow from across the street (a bit older than the gal, but still a whole bunch younger than me) brought his snowblower over and helped me finish so I could gt my car out if necessary.  (I didn't even try until late yesterday)
- a lot of snow fell Saturday but my roof didn't.
- He showed me this AM that even though I wasn't excited over the winds that blew on Saturday they did have a purpose: kept ice off the power lines and kept too much snow from collecting on m roof
- I called the gym to see if they were open, they were, & I actually thought about going.  Even after Father had said 'Stay put until today!  I did start out but after seeing the shape of the main roads quickly made it back home and parked.
- Later as I kept seeing cars go up an down the street (not at the same time, still one lane, I decided to go to the store.  so I did.  Got to the main street at the bottom of my street and started towards I81 and saw flashing yellow light a few blocks up.  I decided to turn up the street I used to live on (a couple of blocks from where I now live), waved at a former neighbor - and got stuck about 2/3 the way up the hill.  He & his oldest son helped dig me out & I decided to back down the hill to the street I had just left BUT as I backed down I was watching the snow bank on my left but didn't realize my car had angled a little to the left.  Yup!  I backed into the snow bank on the opposite side of the street.  Myk former neighbor toted his shovel back down to me and dug me out again and yes I did get backed out and to the store.  You ask where's the blessing?  well,l yes I wasn't exactly obedient by going out to begin with.  Yes I made a bad decision in trying to detour around trouble and, yes, Father still bailed me out.  Oh, by the way by the time I got back onto the 'main drag', those flashing yellow lights were gone.

There's more, but I think You just might be getting t he picture by now.  I thank my Heavenly Father that He is always with all His children.  All we have to do is look, ask, then listen (receive) what He says or does for us.  Oh, yeah.  If we just grab and run, stopping to realize what He does for us, we may never realize the blessings He has in store for us.

As I'm writing this, Father is reminding me of the ten lepers (Luke 17:12-19).  Only one turned to give God the thanksgiving and the glory for being healed.

My prayer is that this has or may help someone who reads it.
In Jesus' name


Saturday, January 23, 2016

                                                            Valley of Dry Bones


The only time I remember ever hearing a sermon on "Dry Bones" was back when I was a young Christian in the Southern Baptist Church in Prince George' county, Md.  Then it was a call for people to repent and turn back to doing what the bible says.  This is still true even for today but now I am persuaded that there is a deeper twist to this than what 'used to be' preached.

Ezekiel 37:1-14

Today’s Application of Ezekiel’s dry bones.

V1
The hand of the Lord was upon me and carried me out, in His Spirit, and set me down in the middle of a valley which was full of bones


V2
He caused me to pass by them and all around (them) and there were many bones in this open valley and they were very dry.


Imagine being in a valley full of dead men’s bones?
Envision stepping over leg bones, arm bones, skulls
With only a small open spots to place your foot.
And these bones extended as far as the eye could see

V3
And He said to me “Son of man, can these bones live?”
And I answered “Oh, Lord God, You know.”


Ezekiel knows God can do anything.
Bones can’t live by their own power
But God created by speaking things into existence from nothing.
So he knows God can do anything He desires

V4-6
And He said to me again “prophecy unto these bones and say
“O dry bones, hear the Word of the Lord.
Thus says the Lord God to these bones I will cause breath to enter you and you shall live.
I will lay sinews upon you and flesh upon you and I will cover you with skin and put breath in you and you shall live and you will know that I am the Lord.


Father evaluates a situation, determines what He wants done, then speaks it into existence.
But here He tells Ezekiel to do it.
God is giving authority to a man to speak something into existence even though it is not yet visible (Romans 4:17).
Ezekiel was hoping for something he was not yet seeing (Heb. 11:1)

V7
So I prophesied as I was commanded


Ezekiel was no dummy so he did as God commanded.
He was demonstrating faith through works (James 2:18) by showing his love for the Father by being obedient (2John 6).

V8
And as I prophesied there was a noise
And there was a shaking and the bones came together, bone upon bone.
Then I watched as sinews and flesh came upon the bones and they were covered with skin, but there was no breath in them.

Ezekiel saw the results of his prayer before his very own eyes. The bones coming together
So as he asked, he believed and he saw (Matt.21:22), but there was no life in these bones.

V9-10
Then He said to me “Prophecy to the wind, prophecy, son of man and tell the wind
Thus says the Lord God, come from the four winds, O breath, upon these slain that they might live.”
So I prophesied as He commanded me
and breath came into them
and they lived
and stood up on their feet
and exceedingly great army.


Our Lord is the giver of life
God gives to all life, breath and the things they need (Acts 17:25)
Just as He breathed into Adam’s (man’s) nostrils giving him life (Gen.2:7)

V11
Then He said to me “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel
and behold they say
Our bones are dried
And our hope is lost
We are cut off from our parts.


These bones are Israel
And Israel is hopeless
Because they realize that they are cut off from God – having no real fellowship)

V12
Therefore prophecy and say to them ‘Thus says the Lord God behold
O my people, I will open up your graves and cause you to come up out of them
And bring you into the land of Israel


By using His own hand God can revive His church using obedient servants.
As He brings the church back from death (spiritual apathy) into life (being 'on fire' for Jesus).

V13-14
And you will know that I am the Lord
When I have opened your graves, oh my people
And brought you up out of your graves
And I will put My Spirit in you and you shall live
I will place you in your own land
Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it
Says the Lord”


We will know that God is God
And it is indeed He who done this miraculous thing
(given life back into our dead bodies/brought the church back to life)
And we will honor and glorify Him as God
For it is indeed HE who has done this miraculous thing in our lives
Not only will He bring us into His kingdom on 'that' day but here and now, in this world He gives us authority in a realm unique to each individual.


 Our pastor had asked me to bring a word to our fellowship tomorrow (Sunday) and I was going to use this using a character God had given me.  
My character's name was 'Zeke' and he was from New Orleans.  Yep, the 'Big Easy'.  As we go into this next segment, imagine Zeke talking with a southern, I mean s o u t h e r n drawl.  And yes, I had a costume set aside for this character. I had a dark blue bathrobe (two stripes on each sleeve) with a red belt.  Oh, and a wig which looked like I had just stuck my finger into a light socket and because I planned on reading a bit i still would've ha my glasses on.  Envision Zeke giving the responses ('B').

He was Zeke from New Orleans but we could call him 'Big Easy Zeke, y'all'.

Through Ezekiel, God shows us His plans to transform dead bones into vibrant, living creatures
From a spiritually dead foundation to vibrantly alive souls
Giving Father praise, glory and honor
For who He is and what He does for us

1. (v1-2) The stage is set
A Passage says
Ezekiel standing in the midst of a valley of dry bones

B For today
The church is all but dead,
It has lost most actions of what started the church 2000 yrs ago
And though some areas it looks good (the church does a lot of good and right things)
It has not operated as Father originally equipped us - for a long time

2. (v3) The question
A Passage says
Can these dry bones live again?

B For today
Can the church be revived and operate under the full power and authority under which it was originally established?

3. (v4-6) Request to man
A Passage says
Speak to the bones & say “hear the Word of the Lord, I will give you breath, sinew, muscle & skin

B For today
I will give you life so you can breathe once again and be alive, vibrant
I will give you sinews to connect your various parts so they can
function as a single unit once again
I will give you muscle to empower your bones to move and do what they need to do – and in concert because of the sinews.
I will cover you with skin so you will ‘look’ like the church I originally created via Jesus.

4. (v7) Our obedience
A Passage says
Ezekiel prophesied as God commanded him

B For today
Do as Father commands us. Carry His Word where and to whomsoever He says. Do what He says to do as He describes.

5. (v8) What happens – substance on the bones
A Passage says
There was a noise as each bone came into its proper place in each body

B For today
Father orchestrates how His body functions as a whole and how each fellowship functions within that body (Eph. 4:11-12), each with its own individualized task or performance of the task.  Everybody has a job in the body of Jesus Christ.

6. (v9-10) Breath of life into bodies
A Passage says
Ezekiel prophesied to the wind and it came and entered each of the bodies who once were dead but now are alive and they stood up.

B For today
Father breathes the Holy Ghost into our lives so we can be equipped and prepared to ‘do’ for Him because we now live for Him and are obedient to His Word and His will. Father is raising a mighty army of witnesses & workers.

7. (v11) Complaint of living bones
A Passage says
The bones are Israel but they complain because they are feeble and don’t have direction and are ‘cut off’ from our parts

B For today
All the ‘different’ denominations have created an air of being ‘disjointed’, disconnected from each other with little or no real communication between the denominations.  Each denomination acting separately, not interacting with other parts so naturally though they may feel like something is missing.  It is. Fellowship in community. not one big humongous church.  We need eyes, ears, mouth, hands, feet, etc. to fully function as God intended.  Too many churches have thought they 'had it all' and missed out on some wonderful growth.

8. (12) No longer dead/return to Israel
A Passage says
I will bring you up out of your graves and bring you back into the land of Israel.

B For today
Father will heal the silly arguments that separate His true church and bring His true church back under one banner – Jesus Christ, our Lord.  Jesus is till OUR HEAD but we are still hands, feet, eyes ears and mouth, etc.  
Not only does each fellowship have a function but each soul within each fellowship has a function within that fellowship.

9. (13) God is God
A Passage says
You will know that I AM God because I have raised you from your graves.

B For today
True Christians will acknowledge God as the only true and living God because He has brought real life back into our lives as we now live for Him, in His will.  We will acknowledge Him, thanking Him for what He has done for each of us giving Him the praise and glory He so richly deserves for loving us so much.

10. (14) God’s Spirit in us/restoration
A Passage says
I will put My Spirit in you and you shall live
And I will place you in your own land
And you will know that I have done this.

B For today
Father gives us His Holy Spirit for guidance, direction, power and authority to live the life He gives us
And to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the world.
Because He has re-established us, we will gladly acknowledge Him as our God and magnify and glorify Him in all that we say and do
Because He has given us new life.

Today’s church are largely these dry bones.

Father has been trying to reconstruct His church for centuries
 By the fourth century (could have been sooner) the church was a mere shell of how it started

Protestant Reformation (1500/1600 AD ) added sinew, pushed those old bones in the right direction
All parts starting to connect - the basis for what God wanted to build was forming, the structure
Realization of that God is personal (humanism was good for something)

Holiness movements @1700/1800's) added a little muscle
Back to basics
Do what God has called us to do
Live according to God’s will
focus on God

Pentecostal movement added covering (skin) of the Holy Ghost
Pulling things together into one package
So we could truly start functioning under God’s will
We looked like what we were supposed to
We acted (somewhat) how we were supposed to act
But through all this, the fullness was still incomplete

Apostolic/prophetic brings breath from the ‘four winds’ (life)
Full power from our heavenly Father
That is even a deeper understanding
There is ‘true’ life
Fuller life
More complete understanding of authority God has given us
So we can magnify His Holy Name
Draw souls into His kingdom

Through Protestant Reformation, Holiness movement, Pentecostalism and the Apostolic/Prophetic movements

Father has been bringing His body from a bunch of ‘dead bones’ to a vibrant church which praises Him
Glorifies Him
Which acknowledges Him for who He is
And what He has done.
And is obedient to His Word and Will

We are a part of that church





Saturday, January 9, 2016













The formation of planets around a young star

1-9-2016

New beginnings

I had prepared the prophecies concerning ‘birds’ for today, but Father told me to write about what He put on my heart this AM (while my head was still resting on my pillow).

Father started sharing with me ‘New Beginnings’.

January is the first month of our year. To the Christian, ‘one’ means our God is One God, it also means that on the first day God started His creative process, the essence of life and existence – new beginnings. We are in a time of ‘new beginnings’. Father is restoring and refreshing things in our lives and blessing us so we can get a fresh start, a new beginning, on/in our walk with Him so we can serve Him as He has called us.

Father started, this morning, with some tidbits about where He was headed with His church over the next several years and in so doing so He reminded me of a book He had me read within the past couple of years – “History of Christianity” by Johnathan Hill. The biggest thing Father showed me in this book is that from Peter and Paul, through the church’s history and until today and continuing until the day Jesus calls us home, the problems the church has, is and will face have not changed. The approaches may be a little different but the concepts have remained the same. We have never wrestled against flesh and blood (the things in this world) but always against powers, principalities, the rulers of darkness in this world and spiritual wickedness in high places (Eph. 6:11-18). If we’ve lived in Christ Jesus for any length of time we’ve come to realize our true enemy is the devil, Satan, and his cohorts (demons). Not the people and situations around us but rather those spirits that motivate them.

In “History of Christianity” Father showed me that not all Christians confess Jesus out of their love and appreciation for Him. As an example, the book mentioned that at times when a king heard and believed the gospel, because he was king he decided that all his subjects should be Christian, whether they wanted to or not (king’s decree) or, (sometimes) under the penalties including death if they didn’t convert (and I don’t mean spiritual/eternal death, I mean physical/immediate). Some choice? What kind of commitment is there to our Lord under those conditions?

In the Old Testament, the priests stood the gap between the people and God. Unfortunately, over the centuries many Christian churches operated under the same guideline. Oft times people weren’t ‘educated’ and had no reading skills so they were dependent upon the priests and ministers to tell them what God’s Word said.

Education and the Renaissance changed this (a bit) as people were becoming more educated being able to read for themselves. Understand that reading is not a modern concept. The Greeks could read. Every; civilization which had a written language could read and we know (at least) some Christians could read as the Bereans checked their scriptures to see if what Paul was telling them was true (Acts 17). The bible calls us ‘sheep’ and unfortunately too many people (not limited to Christians) would rather be told what to do and think than figure it out for themselves. It’s okay to seek guidance and direction but some folks just don’t want to have to think. Period. What the Renaissance did for us is reawaken our thinking processes but it also reintroduced ‘humanism’ into our thinking. Now humanism isn’t new. Thinking that “I’m the center of everything” is as old as time but a novel idea was reborn “God really cares about me and wants to interact with ‘me’! This thinking brought about the Protestant Reformation. Unfortunately, come churches still have clung to the idea that the masses aren’t smart enough to understand God’s Word for themselves. Praise the Lord that we find out that when we talk (pray) with (not to) Father and read His written Word, we discover that He will and does open up our understanding so we can grow closer to Him. We can know what He’s talking about (even if it’s in ‘King James’ English – try reading the bible in 1611 English).

Father’s desire is that each one of us learns to walk with Him as Jesus walks with Him (No the ‘s’ is not a misprint). Jesus walked with the Father when He was with us on this earth over 2000 years ago and because the Father and Son are one, He (Jesus) continues to walk with Father and will do so throughout all eternity.

Father reminded me of what Jesus did for us: He was born into this world to redeem us from this world (sin and the curse of the law (death)). He walked as we walked for thirty years then He ministered to us for about 3 ½ more years. Then He allowed Himself to be arrested by the Gentiles. He suffered a scourging (a beating with a whip which was studded with bone and metal chips) for our healing; He suffered the indignation and humiliation of the thorny crown and purple robe – silently, for us; He shed the last drops of His blood as atonement for our sins so we wouldn’t have to bear that burden; as He died, water poured forth from His pierced side cleansing us from the same; and He was dead on the cross so they buried Him. The bible says (Jesus said John 15:13) that there is no greater display of love than when a man gives his life for another. But this love didn’t stop at the grave for in order to keep His promise of eternal fellowship with the Father through Him Jesus rose from the grave –alive and well, in the flesh (Luke 24:39). He walked and talked with His disciples for forty days (Acts 1:3) then ascended back into heaven (Acts 1:9) so He could prepare a place for us so we can be with Him throughout eternity (John 14:1-3).

This is our hope, no, our promise that as we live for Jesus we will be with Him forever (John 14 & 15 –yes, both chapters). We die to ourselves by living for Christ and we do that by keeping His commandment – which is to love (Matt. 22:36-40).

So this is a time of ‘new beginnings’. As we listen to Father’s voice and abide in His leading He can take us to new heights, new accomplishments. As we allow Him to work in and through our lives, He can shape us into the servants He desires us to be. He has given each one of us a talent or talents and He desires that we use those gifts to glorify and magnify Him –in this world – so that others might see and desire to come into His kingdom (as well as we), thereby saving their souls from eternal hell. As we use our gifts to serve Him, we find our own souls being satisfied, not to mention that the blessings that will come from the Father because of our obedience.

I rented and watched the DVD ‘War Room’ a week ago. Take a look around and see how Father is already raising up servants (soldiers) to do His will. Will the Kendricks take over Hollywood? I don’t know, the book of Revelation implies that when Jesus returns there are going to be a whole lot of wicked people still in this world. But I will say this that they are and will continue to have an impact on the industry. Maybe, just maybe, through their efforts and the efforts of others in their respective fields (as God has blessed) there will be a positive impact giving people a choice of what to watch, read or do.

Our goal should be ‘to be an impact on whatever God gives us to do, wherever He leads, speaking whatever He tells us’. When we come and/or go people should know that something has changed and that change has been created by our Lord, Jesus Christ. They may not remember us but they should remember the impact Jesus has made – whether they accept it or not.

So whatever we do, we should do as unto the Lord (Colossians 3:23). God is our supervisor watching all that we do.

This is a time of new beginnings. If we have been stale, let’s refresh our relationship with Father through Jesus Christ our Lord remembering that the Holy Spirit (Holy Ghost) dwells within our hearts and He will guide us and lead us into all truth (John 16:13-14). He will empower us and enable us to be true witnesses for Jesus (Acts 1:8). “Empower us?” HE gives us the ability, strength and durability to that whatever He has called us.

As I continue to grow in Christ Jesus I come to realize more and more that I want ALL the ammunition available to me to fight this fight so I can do the things Father has requested of me and to be able to stand against any and all the wiles and assaults from the enemy.

It’s only been in recent years that I’ve come to understand Father’s calling for my life and this blog is part of how I am pursuing that calling.

Each one of us has a calling on our life no matter how great or how small. God has a plan for each and every one of us. He has a task for each of us to perform – for Him – that only we can do in the way God has prescribed. That calling may be ‘only’ (I use quotation marks because with Father nothing is just ‘only’) to our family and friends. That calling may be to our church, the community or perhaps a bigger platform even up to the entire world. He has given each of us a gift that is unique to each one of us and though many others may have a similar talent, God wants us to use that talent in only the way He has designed for us. We don’t know how God intends to use that talent/gift so we do what He asks to the best of our ability. I mentioned the Kendricks having an impact on Hollywood but Father wants us (each one of us) to have an impact on the people and/or situations around us.

This is a time of New Beginnings when God is desiring to use each one of us in the way He intended. We don’t worry about how small we are or how great we may become. We just look for God’s calling in our lives and then do it t as best as we are able. If we need more understanding, more strength, more ‘whatever’ all we have to do is ask and God will give it to us. He will show us, reveal, and as we seek Him He will grow us to be all that we can be. When we ask, look for and try the ‘doors’ it will be given to us (Matt. 7:7. When we ask in prayer, believing we shall receive it, God will give it to us (Matt. 21:22). Sometimes we don’t receive simply because we haven’t asked or asked for the wrong reason (James 4:1-3)

(added 1/11)     New Beginnings means a fresh start for the rest of our lives.  A chance for new growth, new opportunities and new experiences.  We have dreams.  God has dreams (intents) for us.  May our dreams match up with Gods dreams so our lives may be richer and fuller.

In Jesus’ name.