When Women Pray

We have a tremendous opportunity as the women of College Church of Christ! Beginning the first Sunday in March (March 6), we will have a Women's Prayer Group meeting in the Ocheltree Group Room (700) before church at 8 a.m. All women are invited. Helen Gonzales will lead us in seeking God's face on behalf of ourselves, our families, our church, our city, our state, our nation and the world.

Some of the most powerful prayers in the Bible were prayed by women. For instance, one prayer even has its own name: "The Magnificat". It is the prayer of praise that Mary prayed when she learned that she would be the mother of Jesus. We often sing part of this prayer in church. Perhaps you recognize it:

"My soul glorifies the Lord
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
for the Mighty One has done great things for me--
holy is his name."
Luke 1:46-49 (NIV)

Hannah prayed a similarly powerful prayer when she learned that she would give birth to the mighty prophet, Samuel:

"For the foundations of the earth are the Lord's
upon them he has set the world.
He will guard the feet of his saints,
but the wicked will be silenced in darkness.
It is not by strength that one prevails;
those who oppose the Lord will be shattered.
He will thunder against them from heaven;
the Lord will judge the ends of the earth.
He will give strength to his king
and exalt the horn of his anointed."
1 Samuel 2:8-10 (NIV)

Miriam, the sister of the great prophet Moses, led the congregation in praise after they crossed the Red Sea safely, but their Egyptian pursuers were drowned in the waves:

"I will sing to the Lord,
for he is highly exalted.
The horse and its rider
he has hurled into the sea.
The Lord is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise him,
my father's God, and I will exalt him."
Exodus 15:1,2 (NIV)

In heaven, those men and women who have suffered greatly under the evil world rulers of the End Times, but who have remained faithful to God, even unto death, will repeat the chorus led by Miriam and Moses at the Red Sea:

"And I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fie and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and over the number of his name. They held harps given them by God and sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb:

'Great and marvelous are your deeds,
Lord God Almighty.
Just and true are your ways,
King of the ages.
Who will not fear you, O Lord,
and bring glory to your name?
For you alone are holy
All nations will come
and worship before you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.'"
Revelation 15:2-4 (NIV)

Let's come together as the women of College Church of Christ and make history with our prayers! We can do it! Our sisters Mary and Hannah and Miriam did long ago. We can do so today!

Women's Prayer Group meeting will take place on the first Sunday of each month at 8 am in the Ocheltree Shepherding Group Room (700).

--Posted by Mama O

The Lord's Prayer

My dad, Dr. Bob Morrow, and me, with the shofar, or ram's horn he and my mom got in Israel. The ram's horn is blown to announce the Year of Jubilee: freedom from debt and slavery, restoration of property and reunification of families.

My dad, Dr. Bob Morrow, woke up with this version of "The Lord's Prayer" in his head one morning, shortly before our reconciliation in late January, 2016, during this Year of Jubilee (Leviticus 25). I shared the story in my January 28, 2016 blog:

http://newmerciesocheltree.blogspot.com/2016/01/today-this-scripture-is-fulfilled-in.html

 He sang it to Steve and me on the evening of our reunion after nearly 13 years of separation. I am sharing the link. Unfortunately, these links do not work with a click from this blog, so you will need to type these links into your internet browser. Or, copy and paste the links into a text or an email to yourself, then they should function as live links.

https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=58F17E83E32202D4!22384&authkey=!AHnwhakw6G3JxQw&ithint=video%2cMOV

--Posted by Mama O

Deceiving the elect(orate)

"to deceive the very elect(orate)--if that were possible." Mark 13:22b (NIV)

I am currently studying the book of Revelation in Bible Study Fellowship. We were asked this question, based on Revelation 13:11-18 and Mark 13:22:
"What was the purpose of the power given to the second beast?"
Here are the Scriptures:
"Then I saw another beast, coming out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon. He exercised all the authority of the first beast on his behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. And he performed great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men. Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth. He ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. He was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that it could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name. This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for i is man's number. His number is 666." Revelation 13:11-18 (NIV)
"Jesus said to them, 'Watch out that no one deceives you. Many will come in my name, claiming, I am he,' and will deceive many. You must be on your guard. Because those will be days of distress unequaled from the beginning, when God created the world, until now--ad never to be equaled again. If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them. At that time if anyone says to you, 'Look here is the Christ!' or 'Look, there he is!' do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and miracles to deceive the elect-if that were possible. So be on your guard. I have told you everything ahead of time.'" Mark 13:7,9,19-23 (NIV)
False christs and false messiahs promise hope and change and freedom and greatness without the power of God to make it real. False prophets and false messiahs can be religious, political, pop culture or media icons.
Friends, we are in the middle of the most divisive and least civilized presidential election I have observed in my (nearly) 56 years as an American citizen. I am issuing a warning, "Be on your guard! Don't be deceived!"
God's love and forgiveness are the only true and lasting agents of transformation and change in society. Beware of political promises. Pull out your Bibles and go to prayer. Ask yourself, "Does this promise accurately reflect God's heart for our society?"
And, I will pose the question, do personal insults and name-calling match our calling as Christians, and do we want to purposely elect leaders who will model and lead with such behavior?
"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each others just as in Christ God forgave you." Ephesians 4:29-32 (NIV)

--Posted by Mama O