A Prayer for You

Dear friends,
Another year is coming to an end. It has been a somewhat challenging year for many of us. There are many who are hurting and discouraged. Looking ahead to the new year there are so many negative possibilities that it is easy to get under the circumstances. The psalmist asked the question, "If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?" The next verse says,"The Lord is in His holy temple, the Lord's throne is in heaven." God has not moved; He has not abdicated. He is not wringing His hands or fretting over the condition of our economy. He is perfectly secure in who He is. Yes, there is a great shaking going on and it appears the foundations of those things we have held fast are being shaken. Remember, we are citizens, not of this world, but of a kingdom which cannot be shaken. The King of this unshakeable kingdom has said that it is the Father's good pleasure to give us this kingdom. Be encouraged today, the Lord is on His throne and nothing escapes His notice. He loves you and His plans have not changed. He is not making it up as we go along. He knows the beginning and the end.

Do not give up! It is a time for war. The Kingdom is an ever advancing kingdom, but it does not advance without resistance. May your resolve be strengthened to push through, though the pressure may seem unrelenting at times. It is a kingdom that is worth everything. The most important thing you can do in preparing yourself for the battle is to spend time with the King. Refreshing comes from the presence of the King.

Know this, God loves you. There is nothing that can separate you from His love. We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. You are not forsaken. The Lord is near.

I wanted to send out a Merry Christmas to you, but as I wrote I felt impressed to pray this prayer for you:

I pray that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height--to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. In the Name of Jesus.
Amen prayer taken from Ephesians 3:16-21

Thank you for your friendship. May you have a Christ-filled Christmas and may the ever advancing kingdom be revealed in you and in this earth as it is in heaven in the year of our Lord 2011.

In His love,
Herb Dean