ARE YOU DAILY PRAYING FOR ISRAEL AND JERUSALEM?“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee”
(Psalm 122:6).
Image: The East Gate of Jerusalem, often called The Golden Gate.
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Above Rubies Daily Encouragement Blogs
Through the weekly and daily devotionals you can be constantly encouraged in your great role of parenting, the highest career in the nation. You can also stay updated on what's happening with the Above Rubies ministry.
ARE YOU DAILY PRAYING FOR ISRAEL AND JERUSALEM?
It’s easy to get discouraged. Our children certainly aren’t perfect and things can get overwhelming. But dear mother, lift up your eyes from the discouragements and fix your eyes upon the Lord.
His word to you is “Do not be discouraged.” He says this because He also says “For I am with you.” Thank God that He is with you. When God is with you, you can overcome whatever you are facing.
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I love this nostalgic picture. It reminds me of the old days when mothers wheeled their big perambulators into town. But I actually took this picture the other day of my friend, Courtney Kelly, a beautiful mother of 10 amazing children. She is wheeling baby Zion.
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Duties are the underlying foundation of our lives and each day. As we are faithful to them, they give us freedom to be creative and do the projects that fill our minds. The end result of faithfulness is delight.
~ Nancy
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Israel Scriptures for today:
The land of Israel is ultimately God’s land, and He has sovereignly given it to His people, Israel.
“This land shall not be sold forever: for the land is MINE” (Leviticus 25:23).
“(God) will be merciful unto HIS land, and to HIS people” (Deuteronomy 32:43; Ezekiel 36:20).
God is called “the God of the land” (2 Kings 17:26-27).
“Then will the Lord be jealous for HIS land, and pity His people” (Joel 2:18).
“They have divided up MY land” (Joel 3:2; 2 Chronicles 7:20; Psalm 85:1).
“The LORD’S land” (Hosea 9:3; Zechariah 9:16).
Go to this link to read many more promises about ISRAEL AND THE LAND.
~ Nancy
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How true. Every ordinary moment can be extraordinary if we have the right attitude.
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God not only promised the land of Israel to Abraham, and to Isaac, and to Jacob, but to their children and their children’s children FOR EVER! “We and our children must know what the Scriptures say!
"And they shall dwell IN THE LAND that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, AND THEIR CHILDREN, AND THEIR CHILDREN’S CHILDREN FOR EVER . . . Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an EVERLASTING COVENEANT with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore” (Ezekiel 37: 25, 26).
~ Nancy
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My husband is wonderful at blessing everyone each morning. At the end of our Family Devotions, he always ends with a positive affirmation such as:
“May you have the greatest day of your life.”
“May this be the best day you have ever lived so far!”
“May you be filled with the joy of the Lord today.”
One time he went through the alphabet and used a different adjective of the alphabet for each day. For example:
“May you all be ANOINTED of the Holy Spirit today.”
“May you be BOLD to speak up for truth today.”
Or at the end of the alphabet, “May you all be ZEALOUS for God today.”
I am blessed to be constantly encouraged by my husband. Then again, I constantly encourage him too. In fact, it may seem strange, but I never call Colin by his name unless I am speaking about him. When talking to him directly I call him Darling, Lovely, or Precious, etc. Because he is closer to me than anyone else and is my dearest husband, it seems far too common to call him the name everyone else calls him. In our 62 years of our marriage, I have always used an endearing name for him.
Every time you open your mouth, remember to speak life. We all know the Scripture: “Life and death are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21). Which words will come out of your mouth today?
Speak hope. Speak encouragement. Speak positive affirmation. Speak wisdom. Speak health. Oh yes, did you know that you can keep sickness out of your home by speaking health and wholeness?
Proverbs 12:18: “The tongue of the wise is health.”
Proverbs 15:4 (HCSB): “The tongue that heals is a tree of life.”
Proverbs 16:24: “Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.” This may seem outlandish but in all the years of raising our children we didn’t rely on or even have a family doctor. Apart from normal children’s sicknesses and ailments which we treated at home we never needed a doctor. Oh yes, we were often at the Emergency Room for broken bones and bodies gashed open through accidents, but otherwise the children lived in wonderful health.
Fill your home with encouraging and healing words.
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
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Our God is a dwelling God. He loves to dwell with His people. He loves to dwell in rest. He especially loves to dwell in the praises of His people.Psalm 22:3 says: “Thou art holy, O Thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.” Think about it. If God loves to dwell in the midst of praises, don’t you think that should be the environment His people should also dwell in? After reading this Scripture, I wrote these words in my journal this morning:
Where does God want to dwell?
In the midst of praises!
Where do people want to dwell?
In the midst of praises!
It is detrimental to a person’s life to live in a home where they hear nothing but negative and discouraging words. It’s a curse upon their life. Conversely, it is a blessing to live in a home where they are constantly praised and affirmed. Therefore, fellow wives and mothers, shouldn’t we make it our passion to create a home that is filled with positive, kind, encouraging, uplifting, and pleasant words?
What environment are you creating? Does your husband bask in the atmosphere of your praises?
What about your children? Are you daily affirming them? I believe that encouragement is the rich soil in which we grow our children to their full potential. It is more necessary and powerful than teaching facts and figures. Children can learn all their lessons but if they are not encouraged, they will find it hard to amount to anything.
The Bible is true when it says in Proverbs 12:25 (TLB) “A word of encouragement does WONDERS.”
Let’s build homes where God loves to dwell, and each one in our family loves to dwell.
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
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“Thou shalt bring them in, and PLANT THEM IN THE MOUNTAIN OF THEIR INHERITANCE, in the place, O LORD which thou hast made for thee to dwell in, in the Sanctuary, O LORD, which thy hands have established” (Exodus 15:17).These words are from Moses’ song of victory which they sang after coming through the Red Sea on dry land. This was well over 3,000 years ago that these words were prophesied. We are living in a day when these words are being fulfilled and God shas been and is planting His people again in the land which He gave to them. The return of the Jews to Israel proves the Bible is true. No wonder Satan wants to eradicate them from the land.
~ Nancy
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Dear mother, as you mother and nurture your children in your home, you are in the perfect will of God. You could not be doing anything more powerful or life-changing.
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It is paramount that we teach our children what God says in His Word, not what the media says.
“That confirms the word of his servant, and performs the counsel of his messengers; that saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the decayed places thereof” (Isaiah 44:26).
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John Knox prayed, and the results caused Queen Mary to say that she feared the prayers of John Knox more than she feared all the armies of Scotland.John Wesley prayed, and revival came to England, sparing that nation the horrors of the French Revolution.
Jonathan Edwards prayed, and revival spread throughout the American colonies.
History has been changed time after time because of prayer. I tell you, history could be changed again if people went to their knees in believing prayer. Even when times are bleak and the world scorns God, He still works through the prayers of His people.
Pray today for revival in your nation, and around the world.
—Billy Graham
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Marriage, ordained by God, is one man and one woman! Perfect design.
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“And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers” (Isaiah 61:5).It is impossible to refute that the Bible is not true when this Scripture, along with others saying the same thing, are being fulfilled in Israel today. Every year hundreds of young people, and families from many different countries of the world travel to Israel to help plant, prune, and harvest the vineyards in the Heartland of Israel. They are fulfilling Bible prophecy that was given so long ago.
And you can be part of it too. If you would like to experience fulfilling Bible prophecy yourself, contact HaYovel.com and you can check out how you can be part of it.
~ Nancy Campbell
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Did you watch the debate last night? It was very sad to see Joe Biden, staring-eyed and in such an incoherent state. His wife and those behind him should be ashamed for allowing him to speak in such a weakened state.But I was also sad to hear Donald Trump state his latest position on abortion. It truly grieved my heart. Although, on the whole, he believes in life, he stated that he also believed in exceptions. But there can be no exceptions when it comes to life. If it’s life and there is a heartbeat, you cannot destroy the baby. It is murder.
I personally know people who were conceived through incest, and they are living a beautiful life today. I personally know people who were conceived through rape and yet are living a happy life today. There are mothers who are happily married and now giving life to their own children who were conceived through rape. Even though it is a dreadful thing to go through, we have no excuse to kill an innocent baby.
What do we do about Donal Trump? We must pray for him. And we must continue to vote for him. We have no alternative. The democrat stance on abortion is horrific. They allow babies to be killed up to the third trimester. Even just before they are born. And even after they are born! Plus, they are destroying this country with their Marxist ideologies. And even not to vote gives a vote for this extreme socialism.
Trump is still the most prolife president. He enabled Roe v. Wade to be revoked and we need to read again the statement he made on January 17, 2021: “Every human life is a gift to the world. Whether born or unborn, young or old, healthy or sick, every person is made in the holy image of God. The Almighty Creator gives unique talents, beautiful dreams, and a great purpose to every person. On National Sanctity of Human Life Day, we celebrate the wonder of human existence and renew our resolve to build a culture of life where every person of every age is protected, valued, and cherished.”
Keep praying for this man. Instead of complaining, pray. God will do mighty things through our prayers.
Nancy Campbell
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How close are you joined together as husband and wife? How close does God want you to be joined together?The word that God uses for marriage closeness is the Hebrew word “dabaq.” It is translated “cleave” in Genesis 2:24 which means “to cling to, to follow close, to stick, to be joined.”
Other English words are used in other passages and each word helps us to understand more of the oneness God desires in the marriage relationship. I love the passage where it is used to describe the leviathan in Job 41:15-17 (HCSB). Let’s read the description: “His pride is in his rows of scales, CLOSELY SEALED TOGETHER (dabaq). One scale is SO CLOSE TO ANOTHER THAT NO AIR CAN PASS BETWEEN THEM.” They are joined so closely that they cannot be separated.
What do you think of that ladies? God wants us to be joined so closely that no air can pass between us! Impossible to separate. What a great description of cleaving!
When Jesus was on earth, He confirmed Genesis 2:24. When answering the Pharisees about marriage, He said in Matthew 19:4, 5 (HCSB): “’Haven’t you read,’ He replied, ‘that He who created them in the beginning made them male and female . . . For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh? So they are no longer two, but one flesh.’”
Jesus not only confirmed God’s original words but elevated them to a greater level: “Therefore, what God has joined together, man must not sperate.’” This means we are to be glued together, never to come apart. We are so stuck together that’s it’s well-nigh impossible for anything or anyone to pull us apart.
My grandson said to me recently, “Nana, they call a husband and wife a couple. But doesn’t God say they are one?
“Yes, you are absolutely correct,” I replied.
Maybe, rather than saying, “Look at that lovely couple walking along,” we should say, “What a lovely “oneness” walking together.”
How close are you making your marriage?
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
Painting by Kin Johnson
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“Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish. Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought”
(Isaiah 41:11-12).
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A modern trend in parenting is to make our children happy. Whatever we can do to make them happy is the aim, even if it’s giving in to their whims and wants.I don’t believe this is the kind of parenting that works. Of course, it’s easy parenting. It takes effort and disciplined parenting to train children to become mature adults who are ready for life and ready for marriage and raising a family.
Our purpose should not just be to make them happy (although of course we want them to be happy) but to train them to be responsible, hard-working, honorable, trustworthy, reliable, unselfish, evil-hating, and God-loving people.
Some parents think that easy parenting is loving parenting. I don’t think this is true love. True love longs for our children to become all that God wants them to be. True love deals with the negative and selfish ways of our children. True love does not want our children to grow up taking bad habits into their adult life. When we allow our children to get into the habits of disobedience, rebellion, and moods, it shows we don’t care about them at all. We are not thinking of what it will be like when they get married one day.
The Bible tells us that God corrects those He loves. Actually, it’s stronger than that. Hebrews 12:6 says: “For whom the Lord LOVETH he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.” That’s because He loves us and longs and yearns for us to be conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29).
Of course there is balance. We ultimately want our children to live in a home of happiness, joy, fun, and laughter! But in reality, this doesn’t work if we constantly face rebellion and moods and disobedience. That’s miserable parenting. No wonder some parents don’t want any more children.
When we train our children, we can then relax, and enjoy the atmosphere of a home of peace.
Proverbs 29:17 states: “Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest; yea, he shall give delight unto thy soul.”
How much do you love your children?
Love from Nancy Campbell
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