Category Archives: Prayer

Blessed, Curse, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Grace / Forgiveness, Interceding for Others, Obeying God, Repenting from Sin, Seeking God

Pray for the USA to Turn Back to God and Become Again a Light to the Nations

The United States of America was founded based on Christian ideals and beliefs and a population by and large that accepted Christ as God. Unfortunately, over the past few hundred years we, as a nation, have largely turned their back on God and now embrace worship of self, worship of money, and many other sins. The word of God is tossed aside in favor of the wicked desires of men. God’s word shows us that when the people turn away from God, He removes His blessing. That does not mean He gives up on His people there, but rather that the country will suffer. There are consequences. The USA has great potential to serve God across the world if even those who already profess Yeshua with their lips would genuinely turn toward Him and change their behaviors and change what they accept from government policy. If the people demanded it from their politicians and leaders, our nation could once again be a light to the nation and the world. It starts with the people, not the politicians. It starts with you and me.

2 Chronicles 7:12-22

     12Then the LORD appeared to Solomon at night and said to him, “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. 13“If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, 14and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15“Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place. 16“For now I have chosen and consecrated this house that My name may be there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually. 17“As for you, if you walk before Me as your father David walked, even to do according to all that I have commanded you, and will keep My statutes and My ordinances, 18then I will establish your royal throne as I covenanted with your father David, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man to be ruler in Israel.’

      19“But if you turn away and forsake My statutes and My commandments which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, 20then I will uproot you from My land which I have given you, and this house which I have consecrated for My name I will cast out of My sight and I will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples. 21“As for this house, which was exalted, everyone who passes by it will be astonished and say, ‘Why has the LORD done thus to this land and to this house?’ 22“And they will say, ‘Because they forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers who brought them from the land of Egypt, and they adopted other gods and worshiped them and served them; therefore He has brought all this adversity on them.’”

Please take some time to pray for repentance and mercy for the USA as leader of the free world but also for other nations globally in which there still remains a remnant of true disciples seeking to follow the Lord’s will.

Psalm 85

Prayer for God’s Mercy upon the Nation.

For the choir director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

     1O LORD, You showed favor to Your land;
You restored the captivity of Jacob.

      2You forgave the iniquity of Your people;
You covered all their sin.

Selah.

      3You withdrew all Your fury;
You turned away from Your burning anger.

      4Restore us, O God of our salvation,
And cause Your indignation toward us to cease.

      5Will You be angry with us forever?
Will You prolong Your anger to all generations?

      6Will You not Yourself revive us again,
That Your people may rejoice in You?

      7Show us Your lovingkindness, O LORD,
And grant us Your salvation.

      8I will hear what God the LORD will say;
For He will speak peace to His people, to His godly ones;
But let them not turn back to folly.

      9Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him,
That glory may dwell in our land.

      10Lovingkindness and truth have met together;
Righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

      11Truth springs from the earth,
And righteousness looks down from heaven.

      12Indeed, the LORD will give what is good,
And our land will yield its produce.

      13Righteousness will go before Him
And will make His footsteps into a way.

Grace and peace of Yeshua be with you.
For more Biblical examples of prayer, and for personal prayer requests, please visit our Prayer Requests page.
Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.
Interceding for Others, Money / Finances / Wealth, Peace / Rest, Protector / Deliverer, Provider, Thankfulness

A Psalm for Peace and Prosperity

Psalm 122 is a reminder and example for us to come before YHWH and ask for peace and prosperity and to give Him thanks. We can ask him for peace in our nation, our community, or even in our personal lives. Yes, it is also acceptable to ask him personally for prosperity. Let us be joyful, humble, and thankful in coming before the LORD while we do so.

Psalm 122

Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem.

A Song of Ascents, of David.

     1I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the LORD.”

      2Our feet are standing
Within your gates, O Jerusalem,

      3Jerusalem, that is built
As a city that is compact together;

      4To which the tribes go up, even the tribes of the LORD—
An ordinance for Israel—
To give thanks to the name of the LORD.

      5For there thrones were set for judgment,
The thrones of the house of David.

      6Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May they prosper who love you.

      7“May peace be within your walls,
And prosperity within your palaces.”

      8For the sake of my brothers and my friends,
I will now say, “May peace be within you.”

      9For the sake of the house of the LORD our God,
I will seek your good.

I invite you to also pray through the psalm above. Do not simply read it as if it is an historical account, but pray through it, adapting it to apply to your life and your nation today.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Joy / Happiness / Rejoicing, Learning To Pray Effectively, Loving / Kind, Praise / Worship / Glorify God, Thankfulness

Give Thanks to the LORD, for He Is Good; for His Lovingkindness Is Everlasting

Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; for His lovingkindness is everlasting.  Let there be sounds of joyful shouting and salvation in the tents of the righteous!

Psalm 118

Thanksgiving for the LORD’S Saving Goodness.

1Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

2Oh let Israel say,
“His lovingkindness is everlasting.”

3Oh let the house of Aaron say,
“His lovingkindness is everlasting.”

4Oh let those who fear the LORD say,
“His lovingkindness is everlasting.”

5From my distress I called upon the LORD;
The LORD answered me and set me in a large place.

6The LORD is for me; I will not fear;
What can man do to me?

7The LORD is for me among those who help me;
Therefore I will look with satisfaction on those who hate me.

8It is better to take refuge in the LORD
Than to trust in man.

9It is better to take refuge in the LORD
Than to trust in princes.

10All nations surrounded me;
In the name of the LORD I will surely cut them off.

11They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me;
In the name of the LORD I will surely cut them off.

12They surrounded me like bees;
They were extinguished as a fire of thorns;
In the name of the LORD I will surely cut them off.

13You pushed me violently so that I was falling,
But the LORD helped me.

14The LORD is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation.

15The sound of joyful shouting and salvation is in the tents of the righteous;
The right hand of the LORD does valiantly.

16The right hand of the LORD is exalted;
The right hand of the LORD does valiantly.

17I will not die, but live,
And tell of the works of the LORD.

18The LORD has disciplined me severely,
But He has not given me over to death.

19Open to me the gates of righteousness;
I shall enter through them, I shall give thanks to the LORD.

20This is the gate of the LORD;
The righteous will enter through it.

21I shall give thanks to You, for You have answered me,
And You have become my salvation.

22The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief corner stone.

23This is the LORD’S doing;
It is marvelous in our eyes.

24This is the day which the LORD has made;
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

25O LORD, do save, we beseech You;
O LORD, we beseech You, do send prosperity!

26Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD;
We have blessed you from the house of the LORD.

27The LORD is God, and He has given us light;
Bind the festival sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.

28You are my God, and I give thanks to You;
You are my God, I extol You.

29Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Interceding for Others

Please Pray for Hearing From Jesus Ministry

As brothers and sisters in Christ, we invite you to pray with us and for us. We would greatly appreciate your prayer for our ministry to share the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ to lead people to submit to Jesus as Lord of their lives and then to help them become disciples, who in turn disciple others.

  • Pray for our leadership and staff to be pure and to maintain personal holiness so that our sin does not obstruct the ministry of the Holy Spirit to those receiving our teaching and support.
  • Pray for our leadership and staff to understand clearly the truth of the scriptures, apply them in our own lives, and organize it in such a way that we can communicate clearly to those receiving our teaching and support.
  • Pray the Holy Spirit will prepare people to hear the gospel and choose Christ and then lead them to our ministry to hear the truth of the gospel proclaimed.
  • Pray that those receiving our teaching will be moved by the Holy Spirit to a personal response to accept the word and commit their lives to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, repenting from sin.
  • Pray that those receiving our teaching will have strong interest in returning to study and learn with us. Pray their attention will not wander or be distracted and that they would set aside dedicated time to study the scriptures with us and to pray to God.  Pray they would not be satisfied to just accept Jesus’ offer of salvation, but rather be led by the Holy Spirit to become disciples and then make disciples of others.

Shalom. May the grace and peace of our Lord, Yeshua, be with you. Prayer request by John in service to Christ.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Consequences of Sin, Discipline / Guidance From God, Interceding for Others, Parables

Parable of the Vineyard (Isaiah 5)

We should pay attention to the parable of the vineyard from Isaiah5. Once again, it reveals to us about the nature of our Creator. Of course, we can identify in this parable personally as well if we imagine that we built a vineyard and it produced only bad fruit. This is how the LORD feels when His people, whom He has chosen, produce bad fruit instead of good fruit.

Isaiah 5:1-7

Parable of the Vineyard

1Let me sing now for my well-beloved
A song of my beloved concerning His vineyard.
My well-beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hill.

      2He dug it all around, removed its stones,
And planted it with the choicest vine.
And He built a tower in the middle of it
And also hewed out a wine vat in it;
Then He expected it to produce good grapes,
But it produced only worthless ones.

      3“And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah,
Judge between Me and My vineyard.

      4“What more was there to do for My vineyard that I have not done in it?
Why, when I expected it to produce good grapes did it produce worthless ones?

      5“So now let Me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard:
I will remove its hedge and it will be consumed;
I will break down its wall and it will become trampled ground.

      6“I will lay it waste;
It will not be pruned or hoed,
But briars and thorns will come up.
I will also charge the clouds to rain no rain on it.”

      7For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel
And the men of Judah His delightful plant.
Thus He looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed;
For righteousness, but behold, a cry of distress.

I can identify fairly directly with this parable. I established a planting area for a small garden. I could not grow anything there successfully and it was overrun with weeds and grass. I gave up and plowed it over and restarted somewhere else. I do not have endless patience for putting in time and effort and focus just to harvest nothing.

If our nation is the vineyard producing bad fruit, we should start by personally repenting and changing our ways to obedience and being set apart and holy. We should pray for the communities and states and nation that they would have a revival sweep through by God’s hand returning many to Him and His ways.

Take a few minutes and pray for yourself, your family, your friends, your community, your state and your nation. Pray for repentance and revival. Pray for the righteous to be lifted up and the wicked to be changed or removed from power. Consider doing this at least once a week in your prayer time.

Shalom. May the grace and peace of our Lord, Yeshua, be with you. Devotion by John in service to Christ

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Church / Body of Christ, Encouragement, Interceding for Others, Joy / Happiness / Rejoicing, Kindness / Gentleness, Learning To Pray Effectively

Pray for One Another and Come Together as One Body

Paul set a good example for all teachers of the gospel to follow. He not only taught the truth of the word, he truly cared about those who were in the body of Christ. He longed to see them and minister to them. He prayed for them and asked them to pray for him. He found great refreshment in experiencing their company. He connected and brought together people from different cities and churches as part of the body of Christ.

Romans 15:22-33

    22For this reason I have often been prevented from coming to you; 23but now, with no further place for me in these regions, and since I have had for many years a longing to come to you 24whenever I go to Spain—for I hope to see you in passing, and to be helped on my way there by you, when I have first enjoyed your company for a while— 25but now, I am going to Jerusalem serving the saints. 26For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. 27Yes, they were pleased to do so, and they are indebted to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual things, they are indebted to minister to them also in material things. 28Therefore, when I have finished this, and have put my seal on this fruit of theirs, I will go on by way of you to Spain. 29I know that when I come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ.

      30Now I urge you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God for me, 31that I may be rescued from those who are disobedient in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may prove acceptable to the saints; 32so that I may come to you in joy by the will of God and find refreshing rest in your company. 33Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

Take time to reflect and pray… “Does my behavior separate the body of Christ? or bring it together? How can I change my behavior and attitude to bring together true believers and disciples of Yeshua to work together as one body.”

Shalom. May the grace and peace of our Lord, Yeshua, be with you. Devotion by John in service to Christ

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Interceding for Others, Learning To Pray Effectively

Please Pray for Hearing From Jesus Ministry

As brothers and sisters in Christ, we ask you to pray with us and for us. We would greatly appreciate your prayer for our ministry to share the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ to lead people to  submit to Jesus as Lord of their lives and then to help them become disciples, who in turn disciple others. We encourage you to pray this for your family and also for other ministries that are striving to serve the LORD.

  • Pray for our leadership and staff to be pure and to maintain personal holiness so that our sin does not obstruct the ministry of the Holy Spirit to those receiving our teaching and support.
  • Pray for our leadership and staff to understand clearly the truth of the scriptures, apply them in our own lives, and organize it in such a way that we can communicate clearly to those receiving our teaching and support.
  • Pray the Holy Spirit will prepare people to hear the gospel and choose Christ and then lead them to our ministry to hear the truth of the gospel proclaimed.
  • Pray that those receiving our teaching will be moved by the Holy Spirit to a personal response to accept the word and commit their lives to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, repenting from sin.
  • Pray that those receiving our teaching will have strong interest in returning to study and learn with us. Pray their attention will not wander or be distracted and that they would set aside dedicated time to study the scriptures with us and to pray to God.  Pray they would not be satisfied to just accept Jesus’ offer of salvation, but rather be led by the Holy Spirit to become disciples and then make disciples of others.

Thank you. May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

Shalom

Prayer request by John in service to Christ

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Consequences of Sin, Hope, Learning To Pray Effectively, Money / Finances / Wealth, Wise

My Entire Lifetime Is but a Moment to You

It is very easy to get wrapped up in our own earthly lives and put more importance in them than is due. Our lives on this earth are brief, our days numbered… our entire lifetime is but a moment to Yahweh. We should take care to keep in mind our significance is best appreciated in the eternal impact we can have by helping others to find Christ rather than the worldly accomplishments we value so much and work so hard for.

Psalm 39

For Jeduthun, the choir director: A psalm of David.

1I said to myself, “I will watch what I do

and not sin in what I say.

I will hold my tongue

when the ungodly are around me.”

2But as I stood there in silence—

not even speaking of good things—

the turmoil within me grew worse.

3The more I thought about it,

the hotter I got,

igniting a fire of words:

4“Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be.

Remind me that my days are numbered—

how fleeting my life is.

5You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand.

My entire lifetime is just a moment to you;

at best, each of us is but a breath.”

Interlude

6We are merely moving shadows,

and all our busy rushing ends in nothing.

We heap up wealth,

not knowing who will spend it.

7And so, Lord, where do I put my hope?

My only hope is in you.

8Rescue me from my rebellion.

Do not let fools mock me.

9I am silent before you; I won’t say a word,

for my punishment is from you.

10But please stop striking me!

I am exhausted by the blows from your hand.

11When you discipline us for our sins,

you consume like a moth what is precious to us.

Each of us is but a breath.

Interlude

12Hear my prayer, O Lord!

Listen to my cries for help!

Don’t ignore my tears.

For I am your guest—

a traveler passing through,

as my ancestors were before me.

13Leave me alone so I can smile again

before I am gone and exist no more.

Take time to prayerfully consider your priorities. Do not just list what you say is important and a priority. It is easy to say that God is number one. Instead, write down how you spend your time, energy, money, and talent. Is most of it spent honoring God and furthering His kingdom? or building your own through work or even family in which you place your value? Do you stand up for the values God reveals to us in the Bible? They are unchanging over time regardless of public opinion. Or do you change your view of what is right and wrong based on what people think today… and then change it again with them tomorrow to “get along” or “be tolerant”. God is not tolerant of rebellion to do things our own way! God calls out right and wrong clearly and it does not change over time.

If God is truly our priority than our lives should reflect it… as brief as they are. Do not put off to tomorrow submitting to and obeying God, but rather get started right away. The only things that will really matter at the end of our lives is whether or not we submitted to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior personally and the impact we had to further God’s kingdom while we were on earth.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Encouragement, Faith / Trusting God, Help / Serve Others, Humility, Interceding for Others, Jesus Christ / Yeshua, Kindness / Gentleness, Learning To Pray Effectively, Salvation, Thankfulness

For I Am Not Ashamed of the Gospel

Paul is a great example. Consider how he engages fellow believers and how he intercedes on their behalf in prayer. He is enthusiastic, encouraging, thankful, and he prays for them often. He seeks fellowship with them. He is not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation for those who believe.

Romans 1:8-17

      8First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world. 9For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you, 10always in my prayers making request, if perhaps now at last by the will of God I may succeed in coming to you. 11For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established; 12that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine. 13I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that often I have planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far) so that I may obtain some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles. 14I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. 15So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

      16For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.”

I ask God that I would be able to be more like Paul in his attitude toward other believers. I pray that believers everywhere would be as well. Imagine if we all were more enthusiastic, encouraging, and thankful and that we prayed often for each other and seek fellowship with one another. This attitude remained while Paul experienced much hardship.

Let us also not overlook verse 16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” It is the death and resurrection of Yeshua, our Messiah, that makes a way for us to be saved, to be reconciled with God. It is not through good works or our own righteousness. Let us remember that with humility and thankfulness.

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, please help me and other believers to maintain the attitude of Paul in Romans 1. Help us enthusiastically pray for one another, give thanks for one another, seek fellowship with one another, and maintain humility in remembering that it is You who made a way for our salvation through Yeshua. Thank You! Amen.

I would encourage you also to take a few additional minutes to start praying for others today and to give thanks to God for other believers in Your life or even those you don’t know personally. This is a good practice to do regularly.

Shalom. Devotion by John in service to Christ

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Courage / Fear, Faith / Trusting God, Holy / Set Apart, Learning To Pray Effectively, Persecution / Glorifying God, Protector / Deliverer, Purposeful / Intentional, Seeking God, Strong in Our Weakness

Let Your Light Shine For Christ

Many in our society try to compartmentalize their faith. Satan has convinced people that it is ok to keep your faith not only private, but invisible. In this way our faith will not hinder our careers or other pursuits where people may persecute or harass us for our faith. This is in direct contradiction to Christ calling us to be a light to others to shine and draw them to Him. We must not keep our faith invisible or entirely private.

Matthew 5:14-16

    14“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

For the most part, in the US, we don’t see the levels of life threatening persecution that are common in some majority Muslim countries in the Middle East or in atheist countries like China. Our brothers and sisters in Christ certainly need our prayers. They face true difficulty for their faith. They stand strong. If someone claims to be Christian there, you know they mean it. There are few lukewarm Christians there, because it is not worth the cost unless you really believe.

However, even here in the US we face some level of cultural backlash against openly living out our faith in business. There are law suits or rebukes that we may offend someone. People will come against us on social media and try to silence us. We each must decide what we are willing to do for Christ. What are we willing to risk to honor and obey Him? It is better to decide ahead of time, before the persecution comes to avoid rationalizing why we can accept a little more private faith… really an invisible faith… because we want to protect our “success” or comfort.

Daniel stands as an excellent example. He was successful at his job. He was liked by the king. He not only stood to lose these things, but also he knew he faced the lion’s den. He prayed anyway. He could have closed his window perhaps or blocked it. He could have prayed when he knew no one would be around. He refused to change his prayer behavior because of outside pressure. He did not let “it’s illegal” become an excuse to stop praying to God or to hiding his relationship with God. Daniel was a man of great faith, whom I admire.

How many of us avoid praying or have almost no prayer time even with no persecution? How many of us just allow ourselves to get “too busy” for prayer? We let the daily concerns and activities of the world choke out our prayer life with YHWH.

I hope and pray I would do like Daniel, while admittedly hoping I never have to face a situation like that one. I have, however, made conscious choices to not hide my faith at work, even if that would be more easily accepted. I am increasing my prayer time and asking YHWH to help me truly enjoy and look forward to prayer time. I pray YHWH gives me courage and boldness to live for Him and I encourage you to do the same.

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, please help me to enjoy and look forward to prayer time , worship, and quiet time with You. Grant me courage and boldness to live publicly for You and help me be a light to others to lead them to You. Please also help my family, and my brothers and sisters in Christ around the globe that they would be bold for Christ and let their light shine, even if it results in persecution. Please raise up the righteous and defend them. Please defeat the plans of the wicked and remove them from power. Amen.

Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.