My Days Are Numbered

 

My Days Are Numbered

 

“All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.”

 

Psalm 139:16

Over Christmas, I was talking to an exceptional person in my life, and the subject of My days are numbered came up.  That person had a very different approach to this verse than I did.  Before you were God number your days, God is omniscient, so yes, He knows if you are going to commit suicide or take care to look to Him and seek to walk in a way that blesses others and is blessed by being His Child.  But I lost an uncle in WW2, and God knew that Chester was His child, and still, His days were cut short by a bomb drop on him and his men.  So, I did what I often do seek, understanding from a site that holds to the truth of Scripture, “Got Question”

Do we have an appointed time of death?

 

The Bible tells us that “all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be” (Psalm 139:16). So, yes, God knows exactly when, where, and how we will die. God knows absolutely everything about us (Psalm 139:1-6). So does this mean our fate is sealed? Does this mean we have absolutely no control over when we will die? The answer is both yes and no, depending on the perspective.

The answer is "yes" from God’s perspective because God is omniscient—He knows everything and knows exactly when, where, and how we will die. Nothing we can do will change what God already knows will happen. The answer is "no" from our perspective because we do have an impact on when, where, and how we die. Obviously, a person who commits suicide causes his own death. A person who commits suicide would have lived longer had he not committed suicide. Similarly, a person who dies because of a foolish decision (e.g., drug use) “expedites” his own death. A person who dies of lung cancer from smoking would not have died in the same way or at the same time if he had not smoked. A person who dies of a heart attack due to a lifetime of extremely unhealthy eating and little exercise would not have died in the same way or at the same time if he had eaten healthier foods and exercised more. Yes, our own decisions have an undeniable impact on the manner, timing, and place of our death.

How does this affect our lives practically? We are to live each day for God. James 4:13-15 teaches us, “Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.'” We are to make wise decisions about how we live our lives and how we take care of ourselves. And ultimately, we trust God that He is sovereign and in control of all things.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

Faith is the Victory

 

Faith is the Victory

 

By Buell H. Kazee

 

My first mentor was Jack Archer, an independent Oil Man.  In the industry, Jack was known as dry hole Jack, in his first 19 wells were dry holes.  But God has a plan for Jack and the 20^thwell was a big one and made Jack a millionaire.

 

Remember I said God had a plan for Jack and it was to be His man, and Jack and 11 more men who were leaders in Corpus Christi, Texas were invited by Howard Butt Jr. to Laity Lodge, near Leakey, Texas.  And all eleven of them came to enter into Christ and Him into them, that weekend.

 

Jack became my mentor and gave me this book I’ve read many times, and it always gives me a new look at what God has planned for my life.  This book first was published in 1951, but you might think it was published in 2023.

 

I woke up very early this morning and only got about 4 hours of sleep it was around four in the morning and I was not able to sleep. I looked for something to read and Jan was reading Faith is the Victory, so I started rereading the introduction, let me share a little with you.

 

“From the day that God opened the gates of Eden, He has been calling men to a life of faith.  Grace is, and ever has been, God’s way of saving all men who come to Him.  Now I'm going to skip a few lines.

 

The Bible teaches, in summary, three great truths: first, God alone is holy; second, man is sinful, depraved, and lost; and third, Jesus is the only Saviour.  Skipping down a bit.

 

There are only two philosophies of Salvation in the world: salvation by works, and salvation by grace.  It matters not in what variety forms they come, nor under what names or heads they are expressed, they are ever the same; and the one is wholly contrary to the other.

 

God creates man in His image, and man creates God in his image.  It depends on who is doing the creating as to what kind of being we have in either case.  Man, left to himself, will always have a god; and that god will always be like himself.  Because man is confused, he will make for himself many gods, but they will all be like himself.  Skipping a little bit.

 

As the ages have moved along, we find it has been easy for those, who have come to know the true God, to lose sight of Him while walking in this world, and to become occupied for periods of time by the gods of this world.  Skipping a good bit, and ending with this, but I will close with the last line in the Introduction.

 

To supplant God in His own territory, to divert energies and devotion of God’s people to a useless end, and, without their knowing it, to make them believe they are working in the Spirit when they are actually working in the energies of the flesh, these are the methods of Satan.  He would counterfeit God and steal our devotion.

 

His whole purpose is to reshape God in our minds, and by this subtle method make of Him a God who must be served rather than a God who can serve us.

 

Our device for teaching these great truths is the pilgrimage of God’s chosen people, the Israelites, from Egypt to Canaan.  He closes with these words: “Victory That Overcomes The World Even Our Faith.”

 

This book is still in print, and I ordered them from Amazon, for my grandsons.

 

Bob Rice

My Soul Waits for the Lord

 

Psalm 130:1-8

 

November 21, 2022

 

My Soul Waits for the Lord

A Song of Ascents.

Out of the depths, I cry to you, O Lord!  O Lord, hear my voice!  Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy!  If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?  But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.  I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word, I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.  O Israel, hope in the Lord!  For with the Lord, there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption.  And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

 

 

Have you been in a holding mode with God, you cried out but you wondered does He understands your situation.  I understand fully where you are coming from, but look to the Scriptures, in Psalm 147:5, Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.  The Lord not only hears but often we do not understand, the why, I often cry out Lord I do not know what to do.  And I always knew that He heard me but it was the night I was not able to sleep, and the third-shift nurses, were not the kindest.  But I learned the Lord was teaching me to wait on Him, to look to Him, and to remember that He also understood what it was like to suffer. Hebrews 4:15, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”  The Prophet Isaiah told us about what Jesus did 100 years before it happened, it is recorded in Isaiah 53:5, But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.  The apostle Peter gives us this insight, in 1 Peter 2:24,  He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds, you have been healed.

 

 If you find yourself in a state of fear, hurting, and wanting to hear from God about your pain and suffering, share it with someone who will pray for you.  And never allow the enemy of your soul to take you captive, for we have this promise; For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption.   You have great value and are deeply loved by God, and many others.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

Blessed Is Everyone Who Fears the Lord

 

Psalm 128:1-5

 

November 20, 2022

 

Blessed Is Everyone Who Fears the Lord

A Song of Ascents.

Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways!
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;  you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.  Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table.

Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord.  The Lord bless you from Zion!  May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life!   May you see your children's children!
Peace be upon Israel!

 

Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways!  After reading that one has to wonder, why would a people who were blessed in so many ways not have a healthy fear of God?  And once more it comes down to they must be ignorant of how much God loves them. Or they are fools, in that it is recorded in Psalm 14:1, “The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”  They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good.”  Jesus tells us they are of their father the devil, in John 8:44.  “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

 

But what about you are you one of the blessed, have you bowed your will to God’s only Son, have you received Him as your Creator and Redeemer?  If so how are you doing in this darkness?  Are you being a light to those who want the freedom we have in Christ, peace, and contentment?  We find in Philippians 3:8, “What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ”  My prayer this morning is that you and I grasp the fullness of that verse, and abide in the Lord.  For in Him, we find the peace, the joy to see the blessing that comes from a healthy fear of the Lord.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Psalm 127:1-5

 

November 19, 2022

 

Unless the Lord Builds the House

A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon.

Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.  It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil, for he gives to his beloved sleep.  

 

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.  Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth.  Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!  He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

 

Often the word picture in the Scriptures can make one who does not have or depend on the Holy Spirit to guide them come up with the wrong concept.   “Unless the Lord builds the house,” envision God with a hammer and nails, building the house, but that is not what is being said.  For most of us, a house; we are going to live in and raise a family is a great endeavor.  The Psalmist explains that in any endeavor, regardless of its cost or size, the key to success is God’s involvement.  My son-in-law and daughter, never get in the car for a trip without asking the Lord to protect them and bless their trip.  Jan and I and the grandson do likewise,  It comes from an understanding that God’s absolute sovereignty over every person and endeavor.  The same is true with your investments, are you making eternal investments in your family and the people you love or just building more wealth, that has no eternal value unless it is of no value to the eternal unless we understand, that it all comes from the Lord, and He will give you the guldens needed to manage it.  It is the Lord that gives success, and when we try to do it without Him it is in vain.

 

Unless the Lord the Lord watches over a Nation, its army and military are in vain.  So let me ask this question; Why would God watch over a nation that has told him to stay out of its school, its government, and the business world?  A nation and a people that would do so have no understanding of God’s absolute sovereignty, All we have to do is look at the nation of Israel in the Bible to see God withdrawing His hand of protection from them.

 

Many people act as if the success of their careers and business life deepens on them, so they work longer hours and forget that their children and family are being ignored.  God has stated it is in vain to rise early and go to bed late if your source is self.  Being a parent and married both take an investment, of time and resources.  It also requires one to understand that parenting is not about being the child's source but to train them in righteous living and being grateful for all the blessings God has given them.  One of the greatest needs of our time and nation is for parents to train their children on the values of work, the blessing of doing a job right, and looking to God as your source.

 

I believe we do not have bad children we have people who do not understand, how to parent.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

Restore Our Fortunes, O Lord

 

Psalm 126:1-6

February 18, 2022

 Restore Our Fortunes, O Lord

A Song of Ascents.

 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream.  Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.”  The Lord has done great things for us;
we are glad. Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like streams in the Negeb!
Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy!   He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.

 

I’ve entered the wonderful eighties where you get less done, but you understand there may be tomorrow to accomplish the task.  Yes, we move slower and we often think of a life that was much different than it is today.  We did not have to worry about some goofball using the Lord’s name in vain, or the F word on our T.V.  

 

We were safe in our school and did not need to have security teams to protect us at school are the church.  We did not have social media for people to expose their ignorance and lies and our New papers reported the news without editorializing they had an editorial page for that. 

 

Some of us had parents that taught us at a very young age the value of work, and of doing the job right the first time.  Most of us went to Church on Sundays and learned Bible verses that have given us guidance in our lives.

 

We were taught the value of family and friends and we still put great value on those areas.  So as I read this Song in Psalm 126, I ponder on this line; ”The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad. Restore our fortunes,”  Now I’m not referring to my bank account, no, something of much great value.  All the things I shared above, but yet something of even greater value, the Truth.  Jesus tells us in John 14:1-7, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.  In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”  Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.  If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

God gift to me was Jesus

 

Blood Pressure

 

I'm not sure what taking place with my body, but my blood pressure is doing its thing with no regard for what Dr. Bose is giving me.   At, 8:32  p.m. it was 153-77-70  I went to bed but at 9:40 look at the clock and did not sleep, I had a slight headache, got up and took my BP and it was 185-90--77 took a Clonidine, and went back to bed ask Jan to pray for me.  At 10:10 got up to take my BP and it was 190-95-78. I took 2nd Clonidine.  It is now 10:35 and I'm waiting to check it to see if I need to go to the Hospital, I pray that it has responded to the med.

 

It is now 10:41 and it has not changed, I'm going to wait a few more minutes and get ready to go to the hospital.  I was hoping to have this blood pressure behind me and am looking forward to Christmas with my daughter, son-in-law, and grandsons.  Jan and I have wanted this Christmas to be a very special memory.  

 

Many of my dear close friends have told me to chill and I know what they are saying but I also know that I have a wife who needs me, and I do not believe I'm worrying about my blood pressure, I am praying a lot and asking the Lord to show us the reason and the fix.

 

As a kid, we did not have much of a Christmas, maybe an orange are something like that and after I entered into Christ, I understood that it was not about me, it was about Him.  We never told our daughter about Santa but about Jesus, and when it was our birthday, we made it a big deal.  

 

But for reasons I'm not sure of this Christmas I looking to share a story about a 12 -15 year old girl that God chose to be the mother of His Son, His only Son.  It is now 11:03 and the blood pressure is 152-68-75, and I'm going to bed, not the hospital.

 

God bless each of you,

 

Bob

The Lord Surrounds His People

 

Psalm 125: 1-5

 

November 16, 2022

 

The Lord Surrounds His People

A Song of Ascents.

Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved but abides forever.  As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so the Lord surrounds his people, from this time forth and forevermore.   For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest on the land allotted to the righteous, lest the righteous stretch out their hands to do wrong.   Do good, O Lord, to those who are good, and to those who are upright in their hearts!  But those who turn aside to their crooked ways the Lord will lead away with evildoers! Peace be upon Israel!

 

The Church of our Lord Jesus Christ cannot be moved, it is not as big as the numbers reported show, but it is powerful, and it does abide forever.  Now you understand I’m not referring to members of a local Church, I'm not referring to all who have been baptized at some time in their lives, no, only those who by grace through faith have put their total trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest on the land allotted to the righteous, lest the righteous stretch out their hands to do wrong.   The Church and many pastors do not bring up the subject of Judgment, yet the Scriptures are clear that all will stand in judgment.  One judgment is for those who received Jesus as the Lord, and the other is for those referred often as the wicked.  

Now let me ask a question; If you had the power and authority to send your only son to die for a lost world and people rejected your gift of redemption and said we don’t need him, what would you call them?  But what about those who have bought the lie that God is good and will never judge those who try to bypass Jesus and think they will get to heaven?  I ask the “Got Question” question, which is the answer.  “The first thing to understand about the final judgment is that it cannot be avoided. Regardless of how we may choose to interpret prophecy at the end times, we are told that “it is appointed to men once to die, but after this, the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). We all have a divine appointment with our Creator. The apostle John recorded some details of the final judgment:”

This is all about the choice you and I make while in our earth suite, after death, you waiting for eternal judgment.

“And I saw a great white throne, and Him sitting on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And a place was not found for them. And I saw the dead, the small and the great, stand before God. And books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead in it. And death and hell delivered up the dead in them. And each one of them was judged according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the Lake of Fire. This is the second death. And if anyone was not found having been written in the Book of Life, he was cast into the Lake of Fire”   (Revelation 20: 11-15).

 

This remarkable passage introduces to us the final judgment—the end of human history and the beginning of the eternal state. We can be sure of this: no mistakes will be made in our hearings because we will be judged by a perfect God (Matthew 5:48; 1 John 1:5). This will manifest itself in many undeniable proofs. First, God will be perfectly just and fair (Acts 10:34; Galatians 3:28). Second, God cannot be deceived (Galatians 6:7). Third, God cannot be swayed by any prejudices, excuses, or lies (Luke 14:16-24).

 

Now let us end with these words from Jesus;  ^“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.  This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.”  (John 3:16-19)

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

 

Our Help Is in the Name of the Lord

 

Psalm 124:1-7

 

November 15, 2022

 

Our Help Is in the Name of the Lord

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

If it had not been the Lord who was on our side—let Israel now say— if it had not been the Lord who was on our side when people rose up against us,  then they would have swallowed us up alive,
when their anger was kindled against us; then the flood would have swept us away, the torrent would have gone over us; then over us would have gone the raging waters.

 

^\Blessed be the Lord, who has not given us as prey to their teeth!
We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowlers;
the snare is broken, and we have escaped!

 

Jan and I grew up in Corpus Christi, Texas, and I was blessed to have parents that had a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and taught us the things of God, to the best they knew how.  But many of my friends did not have that and came to know God personally, most after they were married.  And I and them can say if it had not been for the Lord who loves us and sent people into our lives to speak truth, in a world that often now does not like truth.

 

The world has a lot to offer a young kid who wants to be somebody that others will look up to, but it always has a price tag that more than anyone who knew the truth, would never agree to pay.  Let me share about a Vice President over procurement in the Dallas area I took to lunch and I asked him to bring three or four of the men who worked under him who did not get lunch invitations.  After some small talk, I asked him what advice he would give to the young men with us regarding their careers.  I had never done this with a man I did not know, and I understood later it was all God’s doing.  He looked at his employees and said men, many of you are at work before I get there and are there after I leave, You not impressing me.  I did the same thing to get this job, and I lost my wife and two sons.  They are now in their late twenties and will have nothing to do with me.  I’ve remarried to a younger lady and we have a four-year-old, at 54, I come home often wanting to rest, but the little guys want to play ball, so we play ball. I resolved to leave when I had my work done to spend time with my wife and child, and it matters not if that 2:00 p.m. and you are stupid if you do not do the same.  I thank him for sharing and I feel those young men were also grateful.  Yes, the price tag of the world is very high, and this VP made it clear he had no clue of the price he was going to pay.

 

If you understood how much God loved you and wanted you to live a life of peace and joy, you and I would count the cost before going after the gods of this world.  Jeremiah 29:11 gives us this truth; “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”  The Christian life is impossible to live only Jesus Christ has lived it and He wants to live it in and through you.  But it requires you to abide in Him.  Jesus made that very clear in John 15:4, Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Our Eyes Look to the Lord Our God

 

Psalm 123:1-4

 

November 14, 2022

 

Our Eyes Look to the Lord Our God

A Song of Ascents.

To you, I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens!
Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maidservant to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, till he has mercy upon us.   Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us, for we have had more than enough of contempt.  Our soul has had more than enough of the scorn of those who are at ease, of the contempt of the proud.

 

In the Church, I not talking about a building, but those who are in the Church, who have by grace and faith inter into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  Where are your eyes fixed on?  Are you doing as the Psalmist, looking as a servant to the Master?  It seems many have no understanding of Master & servant.  I looked up this in a search on Google, titled a servant of God; God's servants were those who worshiped him and carried out his will, often in important leadership roles. Individuals such as Abraham ( Gen 26:24 ), Moses ( Exodus 14:31;  Deut 34:5 ), David ( 2 Samuel 7:5  2 Samuel 7:8), and Isaiah (20:3) were called God's "servants" as they obediently walked with the Lord.  I also went to the website of “Got Question” and looked at their definition of a servant; “A servant is someone who carries out the will of another. The Servant of the Lord fulfills God’s will and is often presented in Scripture as someone chosen by God to hold a leadership position, to represent Him, and to accomplish a certain divine work. In the Bible, the term Servant of the Lord has been applied to individual people, certain groups of people, the nation of Israel, and the Messiah, who is identified as Jesus Christ in the New Testament. “   

 

The dictionary gives us what many believe is below them, a servant serves others.   Mark 10:45, gives us a clear understanding of why Jesus came to planet Earth.  “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”   You and I have this reminder from our Master, “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.  It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.”

Sometimes we need as the Church to be reminded of what our purpose is in The Kingdom of God on planet Earth, Psalm 123 is our reminder.  Will you do as the Psalmist and call to the Lord for mercy?

In the United States of America, our President goes by the title of Christian, and many who fill the building they call the Church, and yes they have a form of godliness but deny it power.  They will not submit to any authority over them, and that includes God.  They are proud, arrogant, and foolish, they have no real understanding of God, and this is clear by their words and deeds.  

 

Now I want each of you to understand, that God has put the leaders we have over us, but in this case, it is to bring judgment on a people who have gone the way of Sodom and Gomorrah, our nation is like them, sexually immoral as a nation, with no fear of God’s judgment.  Our people know the names of sports players and movie stars but do not know the books of the Bible, much less study to show themselves approved as a servant of the Live God.

 

As a people and yes even the people of God have bought into the lie that wealth and social status are more important than anything.  So we are now getting to experience, good is evil, and evil is good.  Folks, it is time to look to our Master, and not to put faith in man.  And if your master is not God, is your master, giving you peace, joy, and hope?

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Let Us Go to the House of the Lord

 

Psalms 122:1-9

 

November 12, 2022

 

Let Us Go to the House of the Lord

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

I was glad when they said to me,  “Let us go to the house of the Lord!.”  Our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem!  Jerusalem—built as a city that is bound firmly together,
to which the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, as was decreed for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the Lord.  There thrones for judgment were set, the thrones of the house of David.  Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!  “May they be secure who love you!  Peace be within your walls and security within your towers!”  For my brothers and companions' sake, I will say, “Peace be within you!  For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good.

 

In the days of David’s life it was a tabernacle not the temple for his son Solomon was the one that did that after David died.  Today what is the Church, it is not a building, in fact, many of the buildings that are called Churches, do not have the Church come into them.  So what is the Church, Jesus gives us a clear understanding in Matthew 18:20,  ^“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”    Christ says John 8, 31. 32: "If ye continue in My Word, then are ye My disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

I have highlighted in yellow a great prayer for both Jerusalem and all nations that seek the Lord. Praying for peace, asking the Lord to forgive our people who have turned to pagan gods of this world, gods that cannot give life, nor can they bring peace into anyone's life.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice