Prayers for a friend in a spiritual battle

Joe and I have a very close friend (and his wife) who is (are) going through a very intense spiritual battle right now. It is manifesting itself in serious health issues, but as I was praying for them a couple of days ago, God impressed upon my spirit (as I was studying Matthew 17:21) that this was not a health problem, but a spiritual battle. And so I have been texting prayers to him every morning. I thought that maybe, they may encourage you as well.

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For you this morning: Father, I lift up [my friend] today and ask that whatever spiritual attack that You are allowing will serve to strengthen his walk with You. May his shield of faith quench the fiery darts that are coming relentlessly.

Sharpen his “Sword” that he may attack, and give him peace in the battle. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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I kept thinking about a prayer this morning, but what kept coming to my mind was, “May God wrap His arms around you today”. I’m praying for you in this battle. God will not let go. No matter what it looks like, He has you firmly in His grip as you are being tested. Love you!

This has got me through more than one battle: “When the storms of life are raging, stand by me. When the wind is tossing me, like a ship upon the sea, Thou who rulest wind and water – stand by me…”

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Today’s prayer for my friend:
May the night bring peace and not panic.
May the day bring delight and not dread.
May you feel God’s presence in your spirit,
May you feast on His Word and be fed.

Wrap yourself in His promises.
Wrap yourself in His love.
Keep your eye on His goodness,
Your strength only comes from above.
Amen.

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Looking Ahead – 2018

Things happened in my teaching ministry in 2017 that, previously, were only dreams – and wild dreams at that! If anyone had told me this time last year that I would be teaching Bible studies on cable tv, I would have said, “Yeah, right…” and added a huge “eyeroll”! But, here I am – with a program that airs several times a week on iHopetv. (Comcast channel 241 Knoxville, TN viewing area. Sunday nights 9:00 pm and Monday mornings 5:30 am to list a couple.) But it was God Who did that.

Now, God has laid another “yeah right” desire on my heart for 2018. Will you pray with me, and for me, that, first of all, God will be praised and glorified in all that I say and do – and that His will, will be done in this teaching ministry – touching those whom He would have touched.

E. Stanley Jones said, “Prayer is not bending God to my will, but it is a bringing of my will into conformity with God’s will, so that His will may be done in and through me.”

As a friend of mine posted on Facebook recently – “Let’s set goals that cannot be reached without Divine intervention!” And this one surely is!

If you’d like to know more about it, or would like to support this teaching ministry – please e-mail me for more details. May God bless you in your service to Him this year!

 

 

 

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Four AM Prayer

For the past several mornings I have woke up at 4:00 am – wide awake. When that happens, I usually pray for different folks’ needs that I know (and my kids, of course). This morning, after posting a short teaching video on “Ask, seek and knock” last night on Facebook, I prayed, “Lord, what do you want me to pray?”

I immediately began thinking about our country and I said, “Lord, what’s happening to our country? This country used to honor and serve You. There used to be a church on every corner…” Then the thought flitted through my mind, “Yeah – there are still churches on every corner – but they are empty…” and I thought, “Why is that, Lord?”

Then the image came to mind of masses of people headed to “church” in warehouses and store buildings and theaters, and I said, “Why is it Lord, that no one seems to want to worship in a church building anymore? And we ‘old foggies’ are looked at as ‘out of touch’ if we even question the music or the lights or the ‘come as you are’ way they dress…”

And I heard in my spirit – “They are fleeing from My Holiness… A church building has been consecrated and prayed over and is a Holy Place. Many say they want to worship, but few are willing to live Holy lives…”

The way is, indeed, narrow…

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New Ministry Announcement!

I am extremely excited to announce a new ministry opportunity that has opened up for me beginning this summer. As many of you know writing and teaching Bible Studies is my passion. Just this past year we started uploading the audio of our Bible study lessons to SoundCloud. You can learn more about these on our Audio Bible Study page 

Now we are taking Bible studies to a whole new level – video Bible Studies! This has been a dream of mine for years, but due to costs, it was only a dream. Earlier this year a lady (whom I have never met) donated enough money to Ark Studio (a Christian recording studio located in Knoxville, TN) to  cover the filming of an initial series of Bible Study lessons. These studies will be 30 minutes in length and available to watch on youtube.

The title of the program will be “Hand to the Plow”

Those of you who know me, know that we live on a 225 year old family farm and our rich Appalachian heritage is very important to us. I am just a farm wife, mother, grandmother and writer whose passion is Bible studies. I have a definite Appalachian accent and make no apologies for it – it’s just me. I have been studying and writing for more than 40 years and now I have an opportunity to share that with you.

We will begin recording very soon and I will share those videos with you and information how you can subscribe to get a notice every time a new one is uploaded. This first series will be titled “Our Blessed Hope”. It is based on the last four chapters of the Book of Revelation. Every believer needs to know these facts. We do, my friends, have a “Blessed Hope” promised to us – and we need to learn how to share it with others! I hope you will pray for me and this new ministry!

And… (more exciting news) these videos are being designed with the format to be televised if a sponsor can be found. If you would like to support this ministry no donation is too small. We hope to raise enough to keep recording studies until God opens the door for television ministry. Please share this with anyone you know who would enjoy serious, verse-by-verse Bible studies!

We will soon offer PayPal for your online donations, but for now you can send donations to:

Betty Newman

P.O. Box 6675

Knoxville, TN 37914

I am not (yet) a non-profit ministry, so your donations will not be tax deductible (I assure you every penny will go toward the ministry) – but if you’d prefer to donate to a non-profit, send donations to:

Ark Studio

P.O. Box 6095

Knoxville, TN 37914

and designate that it is for Betty Newman.

Above all, I ask for your prayers, that God would direct me in His service! Amen!

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Exciting News!

Check out our new Blog Page – Audio Bible Studies. I will continue to add links as I am able to record lessons and get them uploaded. Bookmark the page and check back often, or follow us on SoundCloud

I’ll warn you – I have a “Southern Appalachian” accent and I make no apologies for it 🙂 But I hope you enjoy them and learn from them.

And hey – let me know what you think!

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Hand to the Plow / How to Pray / How do you stand?

How do you stand?

 

In the midst of your occupation – how do you stand?

How do you stand in your walk?

How do you stand in your talk? – How do you stand?

We’ve heard the cliché (and I think even a song or two) that says, “If you were on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?”

Perhaps a better way to put it would be, “You ARE on trial for your soul – is there any salvation to save you?”

In other words, do you really believe what you say you believe? Do you believe it enough to live it?

I’m not talking about “in your face, hit you over the head with it, woe is me, martyr -complex” Christianity.

I’m talking about, “they will know we are Christians by our love” and “”For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory.”

If you’re in a situation where Christians are being made fun of, do you stand, or do you just keep silent? If sinful behavior or demeaning language, or crude joking is taking place around you, do you speak up, or “let them have their fun”?

Do your friends and colleagues know you are a Christian, or do you only speak of it when you’re around other “known” Christians?

There is a way to stand, and still love – they are not mutually exclusive behaviors. We have only to look to the example of our Savior. He loved, but He was intolerant of injustice, and He was intolerant of sin – in any shape, form, or fashion.

Paul said that we are to “believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths” that Jesus Christ is Lord. He did not say, “Believe in our hearts (all the time) and confess with our mouths (when it is safe and doesn’t affect our jobs, our friendships, or our social standings) that Jesus Christ is Lord.”

He must be Lord all the time, or He is not Lord at all!

How do you stand?

Prayer:

Father, I lift up those who are having a hard time standing. It is difficult. In the midst of our professional lives, where we must “make our living” where we must not “rock the boat” where we must “maintain our professional edge” we often fear ridicule and being ostracized. We fear the consequence of being “one of those…”

In the midst of our social lives, where we “let our hair down” where we “go to have fun” where we want to be “one of the gang” we fear laughter and mockery. We fear being “left out…”

And in the midst of our family lives – Oh God! – In our family lives, it is sometimes so difficult. These are the folks who know us best – the ones who knew us “before” and know us “during.” These are the ones who see us when we’re tired, and hurting, and vulnerable.  These are the ones who see how we react ALL the time.

Father, may we just wrap ourselves in the mantle of Your Grace and Love and wear that wherever we go, whoever we’re with. May we not be afraid, or ashamed to Stand. “And having done all – to stand…”

In the Name of the One who never wavered – our Lord and our God… Amen.

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Book Journey Intro

I’ve added a new page to my blog. It’s called “Book Journey”. You can read about it here. I will be sharing writings that I hope to incorporate into a series of books. Some will be duplicates of previous blog posts – some are brand new. I hope to share these devotionals daily – if you haven’t signed up to receive Prayerlogue posts, please do so – and please share them.

Also I’d appreciate your feedback (especially encouraging words! Ha!) But, actually anything that you think will help me. Either comment or e-mail me (e-mail info can be found here.

So – for today let me share this…

How do I worship Thee? Let me count the ways – from the depth of my soul to the height of my dreams; from the length and breath and girth of my being; from my conception to my demise; from my insides to my outsides – O LORD, I will worship Thee.

I will call upon You in the night, and sing to You in the morning, and remember You in season and out of season, in darkness and light, in sorrow and in joy; in pain and in pleasure – You, O LORD, will I praise. Amen.

The first segment is titled:

Why Pray?

God said, “Pour out your heart to Me and I will hear and answer, and show you things you do not know.” (Paraphrase Jeremiah 33:3)

Save Me From Despair

In checking the search terms that bring people to my blog, those having to do with “despair” always touch my heart. Today one simply said, “Save me from despair”.

Oh God! What must they be feeling to type these words into an internet search engine? Are they searching for You? Have they given up on You? Do they even know You?

What is despair? Have you ever felt what you would call “despair”?

When we are children, despair is getting our ball stuck on the roof or losing the ice cream from our ice cream cone. A little later it’s not having a date for the dance or not making the team.

Then despair is not getting the job or wrecking our car – our only mode of transportation. Things change as we age and it’s the phone call in the middle of the night – or no phone call at all. It becomes the doctor’s report or the sound of sirens, coming closer. It’s the look in a loved one’s eyes, and the news that follows. It’s another bill that’s due, or two, when there is no work and no money.

For others around the world, it’s the sound of gunfire and airplanes or a knock on the door.

Despair changes as we age and our circumstances change, but the knot in the pit of your stomach remains the same. If you are in that spot today – I am praying for you.

Will you pray for me?

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In Times of Despair

Questions Along the Way

Do you ever have times when you feel like the ground is completely giving away beneath you? Perhaps this message, taken from the series “From Supper to Sunrise” will encourage you.

Jesus and the disciples have just left the Upper Room and are headed to the Garden of Gethsamane – and they are feeling the weight of the moment… and they have questions.

Do you also have questions when times are troubling. May God use these words to encourage you. Amen.

 

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Sin in the Camp (2)

Our Wednesday night women’s Bible study group continued our study through the book of Joshua this week. We were on chapter 7 which I titled “The Battle at Ai – Part One”. The subtitle was “Sin in the Camp”. (Note: I have another blog post titled “Sin in the Camp” therefore this one is #2).

Looking back at the battle of Jericho we said that Jericho represented that type of battle where we are facing something we’ve never faced before. The Israelites had fought a few battles through the wilderness wanderings – but those were “normal” types of battles – hand to hand combat. Jericho, on the other hand, was a “walled city”. They’d never battled an enemy in a walled city before.

And sometimes we face battles and circumstances that we’ve never faced before either. We saw in chapter 6 how to fight such a battle as this.

Ai, however, represented a completely different type of battle. This represents a battle of the flesh. This is a picture of those types of battles that we go into thinking, “I can handle this… This will be ‘a piece of cake…’ There’s no need to pray about it or  bother God with this dinky battle. I’ll just take care of it…” And then we get routed and are forced to run from the enemy with our tails between our legs.

I shared a poem (of sorts) with the class titled “I saw a little worry” which describes how we can get caught up in thinking “I can handle this”. (To read “I Saw a Little Worry go to https://prayerlogue.wordpress.com/2015/02/22/i-saw-a-little-worry

The battle at Ai also shows us what happens when there is “sin in the camp” – and that is – we’re defeated before we even begin!

Read the last verse in Joshua 6, and then chapter 7 to discover what sin caused Israel’s defeat, and what God’s response was.

Is there sin in your life that is causing your defeat?

To read more on “Sin in the Camp” go to https://prayerlogue.wordpress.com/2012/11/08/sin-in-the-camp

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Plow Points:

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