#change #truestory #prayer
Friday, September 1st 2023
God’s Eagle Ministries ( GEMS 💎)
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Quarter Theme – Change
Theme scriptures :
Romans 12:1-2
Amplified Bible
Dedicated Service
12 Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies [dedicating all of yourselves, set apart] as a living sacrifice, holy and well-pleasing to God, which is your rational (logical, intelligent) act of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs], but be transformed and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His plan and purpose for you].
Isaiah 43:19
Amplified Bible
“Listen carefully, I am about to do a new thing,
Now it will spring forth;
Will you not be aware of it?
I will even put a road in the wilderness,
Rivers in the desert.
Series – Prayer
Series Scriptures:
Luke 18:1-2
Contemporary English Version
A Widow and a Judge
18 Jesus told his disciples a story about how they should keep on praying and never give up:
2 In a town there was once a judge who didn’t fear God or care about people.
Ezekiel 22:29-31
Amplified Bible
29 The people of the land have practiced oppression and extortion and have committed robbery; they have wronged the poor and needy and they have oppressed the stranger without justice. 30 I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for [the sake of] the land, that I would not destroy it, but I found no one [not even one]. 31 Therefore I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; I have repaid their way [by bringing it] upon their own heads,” says the Lord God.
Briscoe Bulletin: United
Flight 929 – by Jill Briscoe – True Story of How Change Changes Us
Happy New Months Friends, we pray for you and with you for a successful and safe last quarter of 2023.
“Change, they say, is the only constant thing in life – we must adapt to change”
Update on the season we are in worldwide – In 2020, the Lord commanded us to pray and fast for church and leadership for 90 days from October 1 to December 29th. Church and leadership is primarily constituency, we covered self, Family, Community, state, Church, Nation and Nations of the earth committing 7 years in prayers but especially 2021, 2022 and 2023 so that the hearts of His people will not fail as the worldwide shaking will be intense and that His purpose will prevail on all the earth. It is important we know the season we are in. This is the season of purification of the saints so that what cannot be shaken will remain – Haggai 2;6 Hebrews 12:26. Mark 9:49; Revelation 21: 7-9 Take heart, stay strong and stay to the very end. It is a season of change and those who refuse to change will be changed by the change. May your change be a positive change and not a negative one in Jesus name. Amen
If you follow the link below, you will access all the 90 post that went out during those 90 days of waiting. Meditate on them. https://www.otakada.org/?s=90+day+prayer+and+fasting+
From the story below, Take note of the following:
As you read through this true story of United flight 929, I urge you to look out for impact of change to the characters. Take note of the role of prayer and the resultant outcomes. Finally, make a commitment to practically change one or two areas in your own life in the place of prayer.
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Shalom!
Ambassador Monday O. Ogbe
God’s Eagle Ministries ( GEMS 💎)
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The Story – It was September 11, 2001 and I was on United Flight 929 heading for Chicago and home. As the began to dump fuel into the Atlantic, rudely waking the unsuspecting passengers in the cabin from a snooze, I looked over at my neighbour. We both raised our eyebrows.
‘Now then’, the captain announced over the intercom, ‘we have a healthy aircraft.’ ‘Well, that’s good!’ I said.
But the cabin crew was suddenly far too busy for my liking. What were they doing? If the plane was healthy and the weather fine, why were we dumping fuel, and why were we unmistakably hearing the wheels being lowered? I looked at my watch. We were approximately three-and-a-half hours out of London’s Heathrow airport. My husband had seen me off and stayed to minister in Northern Ireland, after four wonderful weeks of ministry
together in Siberia and Russia.
‘All airspace and borders have been closed in and out of the United States, the pilot continued. We have been informed we have a national emergency on our hands and will be landing in 20 minutes at Gander airport in Newfoundland. I can’t tell you any more until we are on the ground. Crew, prepare the cabin for landing.
My seat companion was a young heart surgeon.
I hope we aren’t going to need you,’ I said.
‘So do I,’ he replied with feeling.
‘So, what do you think?” I asked him after a few stunned moments.
He shook his head, puzzled.
Maybe a nuclear reactor?” he suggested.
Taliban’, I said.
I had just been in Russia, where the Taliban had featured heavily in the news and they came readily to mind as we debated what on earth could have caused such drastic measures. We couldn’t figure out though why all the airspace and borders in the USA would have been closed if indeed the Taliban were terrorising people half a world away.
We and the 6,000 others in the 27 planes
busily landing in Gander, Newfoundland (doubling the population), were left wondering and not a little apprehensive. Psalm 139:16 came readily to mind: ‘All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.’ ‘Even September 11 2001 Lord’, I murmured.
Along with the other 200 people on the
plane, I began reading hastily the emergency landing instructions in the pocket in front of me. I experienced two things. First, a settled certainty that there was nowhere else in the whole wide world where I should be at this moment other than in this airplane seat, firmly buckled into the ordained will of God for me.
“”Everyday”, it says Lord. “Everyday”. That includes September 11 as surely as it means all my yesterdays and all my tomorrows doesn’t it?’ Yes, said that still small voice in my soul. I recognised the whisper of his grace. Second, I knew a heady sense of anticipation for whatever was ahead. Of course, none of us in the
skies had an inkling of the size and shape of the that had unfolded horrific events in Washington and Manhattan an hour or so after we were airborne. But God was good to give me 30 saving minutes before landing to check my theology and make sure it was securely in place before we were informed of the horrific things that had happened.
What did I believe? That God was in control even when I wasn’t? Yes! That nothing could happen to his children apart from his permissive will? Yes! That God was good-all the time, even when things were bad? Yes! That I and other Jesus lovers and glory givers on that plane had a colossal advantage over those who had no high tower for their soul to run into; no good shepherd to calm their beating hearts, hush their fears and remind them that if the very worst was to happen, the very best was yet to come? Yes!
Still in our seats 12 hours later, waiting for processing by the Canadian authorities before leaving our luggage on the plane and being driven 30 miles to the Salvation Army church in Gambo, Newfoundland (I’d always wanted to
go to Gambo!), I had reason enough to settle into 6 days of ‘God experiences’. If I really believed what I believed, this would be an unprecedented opportunity to do what Stuart and I had just been training pastors, leaders and missionaries all over Russia to do: establish a presence, gain credibility, and speak for Christ in the situation, to anyone who would listen.
Well, I had established a presence by getting on my flight at Heathrow! There was no need to take the risks of countless missionaries worldwide, putting themselves intentionally into harm’s way for the sake of Christ and his Kingdom. My ‘village’ or ‘people group’ was
composed of 200 passengers and crew from many different cultures and countries, and I was firmly established among them.
I needed to gain credibility. How? I knew the answer to that one – by my reactions to the situations we found ourselves in and my loving response to those around me. Immediately, I faced my first test. All meals, save breakfast and emergency rations, had been eaten, so the crew announced they would wait for four hours before feeding us the food they had left as they had no idea how long we would be shut up on the plane. My mind flew to my purse, where I had a packet of biscuits (read’ cookies’). A struggle ensued. I’ll wait till everyone’s asleep, I thought, and then nibble thems crumptiously! I was immediately horrified at myself. Well, that’s a great way to begin to gain credibility, I lectured my soul. Any fancy ideas I had had of rising to the occasion for Jesus disappeared!
God helped me to do a little bit better as the days went by. Sleeping on a pew or an army cot may sound like fun for a night, but it gets old after six – even though I had the joy of a mattress for three nights! Sitting around on church
chairs for 12 hours a day, or queuing up for one of the 3 phones shared among some 200 people for far too long, only to hear the engaged signal, adds up to a lot of frustration! It was time to take spiritual advantage of the situation and
seize the day. I set about my unexpected task to gain quick access to the hearts and minds of the people God had brought into my life for this
short time. How to start?
I prayed – all the time. I smiled – all the time at everybody! I began touching an arm or a shoulder day by daily day and asking simply, ‘How are you doing?’ From the very first day people responded. In fact, one girl asked me
What on earth have you got to smile about?’ I told her!
I found myself more excited than I could
imagine, with a growing consciousness of the importance of every hour and especially meal times at the long Salvation Army tables.
We were served by Salvation Army staff
whose mercy gift shouted louder than words to all of us. We lucked out being here,’ a passenger commented. I don’t know why they have been so giving and kind to us.’ I told him!
Which people should I sit with Lord? I prayed as breakfast, lunch and dinner came along. Meal after meal I found God had prepared hearts around me. Some needed a challenge or a provoking thought, others assurance or comfort, a
child a story or a game of cards. I was stretched as others debated deep and difficult things. I tried to put as many links on the chain of salvation as I could, believing others would add theirs in the days ahead. It turned out to be one
of the most challenging, frustrating, self-revealing, exciting, productive, God-shadowed weeks of my life!
I certainly didn’t win every argument about the character of God (How could a good God let this happen?) or the wisdom of God (Why did he make hunger in the first place?).
Neither were there necessarily receptive ears to my biblical perspectives (this is God’s world and he wants it back). But I got agreement that we were a thankful planeload of people.
Thankful to be alive and safe, and, that as far as the authorities could tell, there were no known terrorists or their associates aboard as some feared. They were a great bunch of people too.
had a wonderful captain and crew and lots of passengers who rose to the occasion to keep our spirits up or calm things down when people’s patience frayed.
We even had a musician who had been heading to Nashville sing for us (and with us) for six days. I discovered the best and worst- of people comes out in such times. But I was also thankful for the chance to put some of the faith I talk and write about so easily to work in a difficult setting.
I thought a lot about the prayer I had
requested from the pulpit of our church on the eve of this trip to England, Siberia, Russia and as it turned out -Newfoundland! I had asked specially for prayers for our travelling safely on the roads and in the car. We had learned the previous month that the flight we would be taking into Irkutsk had crashed, killing all on board. The captain could not get landing permission from the drunken air traffic controller and, after circling the airport for a while, ran out of fuel and crashed. I thought about the four-hour trip on Russian roads that should have been easy, but took twelve hours, with many adventures along the way. I had no doubt whatsoever that our loving friends and family had done sterling battle on their knees, for the devil, as we know, is a murderer from the beginning.
As we recover from the incredible events of September 11 and regroup spiritually for what is around the corner of tomorrow, I am encouraged by my own small experience. He waits with our future in his hands and it will be all right. Whatever the whatever and
whenever the whenever, God is God enough.
Sadder and wiser may we Americans return to our God and give ourselves with greater urgency to the most important and necessary
things in life.
Jesus said, ‘As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work’ (John 9:4). The sun is still in the sky, but perhaps it is setting and we must be about our father’s business. This is
not a ‘may be’, but a ‘must be’. Paul catches the urgency in Romans 10 and 1 Corinthians
7:29.
The time is short (the days are evil). From now on:
* Those who have wives should live as if they had none;
* Those who mourn as if they did not;
* Those who are happy as if they were not;
* Those who use the things of the world as if not engrossed in them.
This world in its present form is passing away. And the writer to the Hebrews says, ‘Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the
heavens’ (12:26). The words ‘once more’ indicate the removing of what can be shaken – that is, created things. So that what cannot be shaken may remain.
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our ‘God is a consuming fire’ (Hebrews 12:28).
So let’s be thankful and worship God.
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