Thursday, May 18, 2023

OSKAR

Today’s Reading: 2 Kings 11-12

Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).

 

The Grave of Oskar Schindler is in Jerusalem just south of the Zion Gate on the south side of the Old City wall. Stones are placed on the graves by visitors and loved ones.

GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.

 

Key Verse: 2 Kings 12:2

Jehoash did what was right in the sight of the Lord all the days in which Jehoiada the priest instructed him.

There are two spellings for the seven-year-old king’s name, Jehoash and Joash. What an amazing story! The boy king, under the tutelage of a priest of the God of Israel, began a reign of 40 years in Judah. Both Judah and Israel had fallen from the unity and prosperity they had experienced under David and Solomon. Since the death of Solomon, the ten tribes to the north had no righteous kings. In the tribes to the south (Judah, which included Benjamin), there were some rulers like Joash who served the Lord. Because of those few good rulers, Judah was able to maintain its sovereignty for 150 years longer than Israel.
Leaders today who are right before God and their people can have the same impact. Our intercessory prayers on behalf of our families, our neighbours, and our leaders are absolutely essential to peace, security, prosperity, and a place of positive influence in the world. Here’s a New Testament reading – 1 Timothy 2:1-8.

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Lord Jesus, Your servant and apostle tells us, “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence” (1 Timothy 2:1-2). That’s a tall order, Lord. It’s easy to pray every day for those I like, but I have a problem with some leaders. I know that these instructions are not optional. I am to love everyone! Therefore, I pray for a large dose of Your love and grace to fill my life 24/7. In Your all loving Name, Amen!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

A number of years back, my granddaughter, Sarah Shaheen Stowell, who is on her father’s side Arab Israeli, called in to the Michael Coren show live prime time on CTS. She was 17 at the time and had just moved from Jerusalem to Canada. She told Michael, his guests and viewers that as a Christian she had just moved to Canada from Israel and that she knew that she should love all people, Jews included, but that it was hard to do that. She shared her views on the Israeli-Palestinian situation, and Michael said that hers was the most intelligent call he received throughout the show.

Today’s pictures tell the unusual story of Oskar Schindler, who saved the lives of many Jews during the Nazi reign of terror. His body was brought to Jerusalem and buried in a non-Jewish graveyard on the side of Mt. Zion. Every year, on the anniversary of his death, the children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren of those whose lives he saved gather at his grave for a memorial service to honour Oskar. As is the Jewish custom, they each place a stone in his memory. I’ve stood at his graveside several times and thanked God for people who are willing to risk their lives for others.

Yours for loving others, even if it’s extremely hard to do that with some. Why? Because Jesus told us that if we are to please God, we must do this, whether we like it or not! Check out Mark 12:28-34.

David

The entrance to the Christian graveyard where Oskar Schindler’s body lies.

 

10 thoughts on “Thursday, May 18, 2023

  1. Father, we ask for Your strength for this day. Fill us again with Your Holy Spirit, and help us put on the armour You provide. Use us as the arrows in the hands of the skilled King of Heaven’s armies. Thank You for Your help each day and for all You provide, in Jesus’s name, amen

  2. Our Father

    Oh God our Father you love us so,
    We are blind and can not know
    Just how great and kind you are,
    You do not love us from afar.

    We turn our backs and still you care;
    We close our eyes but you are there,
    But it’s You we rely on
    To lead us on back to Zion.

    We hurt you daily by endless sin
    But still your light guides us in.
    You could not know how weak we are
    So you sent us Jesus to bear our scars.

    We are a mixture of sin and praise,
    But still you lift our spirits to raise
    The love that you see in us still,
    A desire to follow your holy will.
    G W (Bill) Marshall /Oct 10,2011
    Both of these poems seemed relevant for today’s blog.I couldn’t choose between them.May God bless
    Seeds Of Peace

    May seeds of peace find a home in your heart,
    May forgiveness help mend each broken part,
    For you are worthy when the last sunset falls
    To cross that bridge when the trumpet calls.
    So be not of sorrow for those gone ahead,
    They are more happy than we who are dead,
    For most of us fail to learn how to live,
    The secret is to open your heart and just give,
    For this is the way our Savior had taught,
    But through Satan’s lies,His words we forgot,
    So as time grows shorter we must reawaken,
    To remind the world of His love forsaken.
    G W (Bill) Marshall/2011

  3. Thanks for the poems, William. They are right on. Please continue to pray for the wildfires out west. An extremely difficult time for the residents and, for those fighting the fires. Thank you. In Jesus Name, Father, I pray for Your intervention. Amen.

    • Amen Doreen.
      I pray that the wildfires out West and in BC will end
      soon and God would protect the people involved,
      in Jesus’ Name, Amen. To God be the Glory.

  4. Thanks for sharing your poems William, there so much truth and hope in them
    Amen to the prayers, may God pour out a blessing of rain in the west and end the fires . May he turn the devastation of the people affected into a blessing.
    Prayers for Beverlee and all bloggers. May you feel the presence of God’s healing hands

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