Tuesday, March 24, 2020

The Power of God's Mercy ~ Guest Post by Shaz in Oz

"See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; in that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it."
Deuteronomy 30:15,16

Source

Hi there 😊 I’ve been asked to write a guest post for a very dear sister in Christ, Cheryl of Homespun Devotions.

My name is Shaz in Oz, my Christian blog is HERE, my craft one HERE. I live on east coast of Aust. in NSW, I asked the LORD Jesus to be my Saviour, down by the beach here at Beach Mission, over 50 years ago as a child (full testimony is HERE). 

In Australia we are protected from things a bit, but we also have Covid-19. Not a lot, but it’s gaining. Government like others has restricted entry, number of public gatherings, more restrictions as the days pass. Yes, there are deaths.. what I write now, will be out of date tomorrow.

As I’ve multiple chronic conditions, I’m isolating as much as possible. 

This below is what the Lord laid on my heart to share.
I pray it blesses you, too!

*****

Just yesterday I wrote these words to a friend: 

“Take care sis, praying much you’ll all be kept well. Not looking good for Italy. 
Praying for them and for many nations especially third world nations, pleading the LORD will prove all wrong on duration and severity!
In His great mercy, put a stop as He did in answer to David’s intercession, with the angel of death poised over Jerusalem, when David sinned by numbering the people.
God’s mercy is there for our asking - if we but ask. 
Mind you, we deserve so much worse than He gives us. 
Our sin is so very great. 
Fail so often, fall so far short.”

As I wrote them, I thought upon why we are here as believers! 
Why? 
To be LIGHT and to be INTERCESSORS!
Yes! We are not here for our own good pleasure, but that of our LORD’s.


“... for thou hast created all things, 
and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” Rev. 4:11b 

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Let’s look at that story (whole passage look here), sharing key verses.

1 Chronicles 21:2,7-8,13-17,26-27 (also 2 Sam. 24)

"And David said to Joab and to the rulers of the people, Go, number Israel from Beer-sheba even to Dan; and bring the number of them to me, that I may know it.  And God was displeased with this thing; therefore he smote Israel.  And David said unto God, I have sinned greatly, because I have done this thing: but now, I beseech thee, do away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly.  And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let me fall now into the hand of the Lord ; for very great are his mercies: but let me not fall into the hand of man.  So the Lord sent pestilence upon Israel: and there fell of Israel seventy thousand men.  And God sent an angel unto Jerusalem to destroy it: and as he was destroying, the Lord beheld, and he repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed, It is enough, stay now thine hand. And the angel of the Lord stood by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.  And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of the Lord stand between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem.


Then David and the elders of Israel, who were clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces.
And David said unto God, Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned and done evil indeed; but as for these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, O Lord my God, be on me, and on my father's house; but not on thy people, that they should be plagued.  And David built there an altar unto the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and called upon the Lord ; and He answered him from heaven by fire upon the altar of burnt offering.  And the Lord commanded the angel; and he put up his sword again into the sheath thereof."

****
How great is God’s mercy?
The door of forgiveness and grace is opened by confession and turning from our sin. 
We read of the pleading by David for his poor sheep, he and elders were clothed in sackcloth! 
Repentance.
 David was sorry, truly pleading for mercy. 
As David said:
"Let me fall now into the hand of the Lord; for very great are His mercies."  I Chronicles 21:13
So God’s mercy was AND is mighty indeed.
When we pray we don’t know what a mighty power we are wielding!


Prayer is a weapon that Satan cowers before!!
Dear friends, we are in such a time as this "pestilence", as David was, it's for a reason. 
God wants our attention!
Does He have it?
Now we can either:
*worry, fret, stress OR
* rest, trust, pray!!

We need to pray much.. for near and dear ones, to plead for those we love further away. Our great Father God can reach through His power and Spirit, where we never can.


We can pray for  poor nations. I pray over "Maps app" on my phone. As I look close up at locations, where dear ones are my heart is cheered.. 

God is here, AND He is there! 

He is omnipotent,  omnipresent, omniscient!

How often I limit God!

Pray please for poor nations... where if this virus hit the population would be decimated. 😥

Pray primarily for souls there to be saved, for God's pure Light of the Gospel to shine in these dark places, pray that as the Angel of death was stayed over Jerusalem, that the LORD in His great mercy would stay the hand of death upon these poor peoples!

Pray man's predictions in all this will be wrong, and it will be stopped, or weakened in its onslaught: and for medical staff and supplies to be strengthened and extended in God's mercy. 

Pray for our nations, our states, our churches, our leaders to be guided of God, that Satan's power will be bound in Jesus' name.
That there would truly be an awakening of the Spirit of God as there has never been before..
.. a real revival!


Let us fulfill our purpose as servants of the Living God, to be lights brightly burning, and people of the Word and Prayer!

*****

And dear precious ones, as you pray and plead over your burdens, I pray and agree with you. By faith, we may meet and agree together at "the Throne of Grace, where we find grace to help in time of need."  Hebrews 4:12

"Prayer is power.
It brings about the Power of the Almighty."

"Fear looks back,
Worry looks around,
FAITH looks up!"

Prayer hugs, 🙏🤗
 Shaz in Oz.x 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear friends, please visit Shaz's blog at Wonderful Words of Life!
She has been such a blessing and encourager to so many, and I know you will find much truth in her heartfelt, anointed posts.
God bless you all and keep you safe and healthy, in Jesus' name!

17 comments:

  1. Thank you, Shaz of Oz, for your inspiring and uplifting words and Bible verses here today. Yes, repentance and prayer are key! Know there are millions of us all over the globe praying with you.
    Blessings to you and to Cheryl!

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    1. Amen! We surely are praying here, too. God, please help us all. Blessings to you, too, Martha!

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  2. Shaz, it was so good to read your words here today on Cheryl's blog. I'm always encouraged and uplifted by your posts and just knowing that you are praying for me and my family gives my heart peace and joy even in these troubled times.

    I know that both you and Cheryl will be interested in knowing that our youngest son flew yesterday from London, with a stop in Qatar and finally to Tokyo. He is in quarantine again for 14 days. The third quarantine in 7 weeks! But he's safely back in Japan for the time being. Prayer. It's the only thing that gives my mothers heart any peace in these days. Everyone in the family except Mandy who is a nurse and my dear Husband is working from home. Please keep them both in your prayers.

    I'm praying for both of you dear sisters of mine. May the God of all mercy keep your hearts in peace and thanksgiving unto Him.
    Blessings,
    Betsy

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    1. Oh, Betsy! How I praise God along with you that your dear son is safely back home! I am SO thankful to hear this wonderful news! Thank you so much for letting me know. YES! The power of prayer! Praise the dear Lord in Heaven! I am praying for Mandy and Dennis and YOU and your whole family, too, and ask that you please continue to pray for us here, too, dear friend. I know you are and appreciate your prayers more than I could ever put into words. Much love and gratitude to you.

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  3. Such a fitting post you have shared with us Shaz and certainly head on!
    Thank you for sharing the Truth of the Gospel.
    Prayer...God wants to hear from us and there is much that we can all be praying for.
    He is still on the throne and He longs to hear from us just as much as He wants to talk with us from the Scriptures.
    May this be a time when people humble themselves, open up the Scriptures and listen to the voice of God.
    May we be on our knees crying out to our Great God who hears and answers in accordance to His will.

    Looking to the One who holds the world in His hands~

    God bless you Shaz, and thank you Cheryl for these comforting posts you have allowed orhers to share.

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    1. Thank you so much for sharing yours and for your encouraging comments, Debbie. Many blessings to you!

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  4. Thank you Shad! Your words just encouraged me more than you can ever know.

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  5. Auto correct changed Shaz to Shad. Silly auto-correct!

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    1. Thank you for your visit and encouragement, Regina!

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  6. Well said. And David, in his humility, is the perfect example provided by God Himself. May we confess our sins and may He heal our nation and the world, spiritually and physically.

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    1. Yes, amen! There is so much to repent over. God, help us all. He is our only hope.

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  7. What a beautiful reminder that we are to be intercessors for the world around us! Thank you so much Shaz for these words of encouragement!

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    1. Thank you for visiting and your kind words, Annie!

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  8. That was beautiful from Shaz! Yes indeed, we must “rest, trust, pray”! Thank you for your encouraging post. God bless you.

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  9. I so appreciate your tender heart for those who are sick, for those who don't know our Savior. You chose strong Scriptures to encourage us to repent and be ready and I so agree. Lots to pray for; thank you for every word.

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    1. Oh, there surely is so much to pray for! Dear Lord, help us all. God bless you, Mary!

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