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LONG WALK 2011 Stories
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7-7-11
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I had attached 3 photos from the longwalk this year in my email. Only the third one made it to flicker, but that's OK. This is the story of God's hand on me that day.
God impressed upon me the meaning of our first 7-7-07 gathering for the Call, and He told me to return to that purpose this year. We were all united together, praying for our country, for our world, for revival, for a turning back to Him, for repentance, for forgiveness, and for renewal. As I sought guidance over time for a place of beauty to unite with Him in prayer, He gently but firmly began to point me to where I must go and what I must do on the 7th.
My original plan was to travel to the Smoky Mountains for a week, but that was not His plan for me. Instead, I found myself with a week off in Corpus Christi, TX, my home town, and as the 7th grew closer, His intent became clear. How could I focus on a place of beauty first when our country is spiraling deeper into darkness and further away from Jesus? How can I put beauty first when death surrounds us? How can I, living in "The Body of Christ," be an example? It was clear - must return to the original mission of The Call given on 7-7-07: to repent and pray for this nation, its leaders, its people, and its church. Seeking relationship with Jesus is first and foremost of course. We must connect with Him for guidance and purpose daily. It is that very connection that lead me, over a period of several days, to what I must do to live 7-7 The Call, to carry that torch forward. He revealed to me where and how.
The first photo I sent in was my first and primary stop. It was a front shot over the tall fence at the most prominent, privately owned abortion clinic in my city. I was to walk around the clinic, read scripture, and pray. God had given me specific scriptures to read. So I read out loud as I walked and proclaimed God's judgement on this place, as I prayed for the souls of the children being murdered that day in front of me, as I cried out in love for redemption and forgiveness for the women choosing this path and for a nation that would allow this to become a legal part of everyday life. I then drove around the clinic several times, proclaiming Scripture as I went, then I left. These are the scriptures I read aloud, repeatedly:
Psalm 106:37-42
37 They even sacrificed their sons
and their daughters to the demons.
38 They shed innocent blood,
the blood of their sons and daughters.
By sacrificing them to the idols of Canaan,
they polluted the land with murder.
39 They defiled themselves by their evil deeds,
and their love of idols was adultery in the Lord’s sight.
40 That is why the Lord’s anger burned against his people,
and he abhorred his own special possession.
41 He handed them over to pagan nations,
and they were ruled by those who hated them.
42 Their enemies crushed them
and brought them under their cruel power."
Jeremiah 1:5
5 “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb.
Before you were born I set you apart
and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.”
Exodus 21:22-25
22 “Now suppose two men are fighting, and in the process they accidentally strike a pregnant woman so she gives birth prematurely.[a] (Or so she has a miscarriage; Hebrew reads so her children come out.) If no further injury results, the man who struck the woman must pay the amount of compensation the woman’s husband demands and the judges approve. 23 But if there is further injury, the punishment must match the injury: a life for a life, 24 an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot, 25 a burn for a burn, a wound for a wound, a bruise for a bruise."
Psalm 139:15-16
15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
16 You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.
Amos 1:13-15
13 Thus says the LORD:
“ For three transgressions of the people of Ammon, and for four,
I will not turn away its punishment,
Because they ripped open the women with child in Gilead,
That they might enlarge their territory.
14 But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah,
And it shall devour its palaces,
Amid shouting in the day of battle,
And a tempest in the day of the whirlwind.
15 Their king shall go into captivity,
He and his princes together,”
Says the LORD. "
As I drove away, I thought of Brian in August of 2008 reading Ezekiel in Washington the day after the Call ended that year, and I understood why God had told me for a year, beginning on 7-7-07, to pray for 8-08. I also understood why I had to do what I had just done. We have been commanded to STAND. Now, it is not just the time to stand, but the time to stand UP. Stand UP for the faith, stand UP for Christ, stand UP for the truth, stand UP for this nation. We are being inundated on all sides, both physically and spiritually, by false teachings and spiritual darkness. If we stand BY and do nothing, then WE will be to blame for the final fall from grace for this nation. Stand yes, but we must STAND UP where we live. I don't mean in huge protest marches or in violent acts, but where we live - in our communities, our work places, our churches, with our friends and neighbors - where it hurts most to STAND UP. It's easy to be an anonymous part of a large group when we stand, but to stand up one on one where we live, where people know us, where their opinions of us matter - that is where the heart is revealed. That is where the stand truly tales place and changes lives. That was and remains the Call. Repentance, intercession, prayer. Praise God.
The second stop and photo, totally unplanned, was the cemetery where my parents are buried. God has revealed a flood of deplorable acts and tremendous pain in my past and has been working forgiveness here over time. He did more work that day. He is setting me free. When I left, I listened to Fighting for Life I. how timely.
As I drove around looking for a place to stop and pray, God showed me the depth of beauty right where I am. I couldn't capture the beauty on camera - it didn't come through - but it was there non-the-less. This is the third photo, the one on Flicker - the seagull staring me straight in the eye - suspended in mid-air right next to me. He surrounds us with His majesty at all times. His love for His chosen ones oozes out of His creation. We just need to take the time to see it. The third picture is beauty at home, right in front of my face. I need to take time to stop and see it daily, to revitalize my soul, to worship our Creator simply because He IS, to nurture my relationship with my Savior, Jesus. I must seek His heart at all costs.
Community, this was the "longwalk" for me this year: a returning to the purpose of The Call 7-7-07, to stand UP, not simply stand BY, to forgive the past and claim my place as a daughter of the King, and to devote my earthly life to seeking His heart.
God Bless you all,
deborah (mod deb)
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deborah 07/10/2011 12:38 |
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Tammy
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07/10/2011 16:57 |
Thanks for your story. Continuing to pray in agreement with you on these things.
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Millynne Brown
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07/10/2011 22:08 |
Thanks so much for sharing. It helps to be reminded of the things God has spoken in the past -- whether the distant past, such as reading from the Bible -- or the near past, such as what you shared. thanks for reminding us that just standing isn't enough -- we do have to STAND UP ... may the Lord help us all to know when and where each of us need to apply that in our lives.
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