• We repent of our reactions to injustice against us. Help us get be honest in getting in touch with our real feelings and the time when they originated in us. Let us hear what we say to ourselves about the injustices we have believed and received. We repent of believing that we deserved poor treatment, that no one would help us, that there was no hope. We give our helplessness to you, Lord and seek your mercy and recompense. Give us your forgiveness for our enemies and enable us to release them so they are free to grow and we are free of bitterness and revenge.
• We repent of injustice that we have caused others. We commit to spend the time this week, listening to your conviction of wrongs that need to be corrected. Give us the strength, Lord to set things straight.
• Lord, we repent for denying injustice exists. We repent of being judgmental as an excuse for not addressing the needs of others and for not sharing what we have. Help us see the perspectives of others. Many of us are shielded from much of this world’s injustice by our education, networks and wealth. Soften our hearts to the plight of those who really do not have the choices, opportunities, insurance and cushioning from disaster that we rely on. Remind us who is the true source of our protection and provision.
• We repent also of injustice that we have tolerated. We have turned away our eyes, closed our hearts and purses. We can’t each solve every need in the world but Lord, convict us of injustices that you invite us to address. Show us what we can do locally and internationally.

WEEK 5: Injustice: Scriptures

Friday 23rd Feb.

Leviticus 19:15 – 18 " 'Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly. " 'Do not go about spreading slander among your people." 'Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor's life. I am the LORD. " 'Do not hate your brother in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in his guilt. " 'Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.

Matthew 12:18 – 21 Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations. He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he leads justice to victory. In his name the nations will put their hope."

Saturday 24th Feb.

Hosea 10:1 – 12 Israel was a spreading vine; he brought forth fruit for himself. As his fruit increased, he built more altars; as his land prospered, he adorned his sacred stones. Their heart is deceitful, and now they must bear their guilt. The LORD will demolish their altars and destroy their sacred stones. Then they will say, "We have no king because we did not revere the LORD. But even if we had a king, what could he do for us?" They make many promises, take false oaths and make agreements; therefore lawsuits spring up like poisonous weeds in a plowed field. The people who live in Samaria fear for the calf-idol of Beth Aven. Its people will mourn over it, and so will its idolatrous priests, those who had rejoiced over its splendor, because it is taken from them into exile. It will be carried to Assyria as tribute for the great king. Ephraim will be disgraced; Israel will be ashamed of its wooden idols. Samaria and its king will float away like a twig on the surface of the waters. he high places of wickedness will be destroyed— it is the sin of Israel. Thorns and thistles will grow up and cover their altars. Then they will say to the mountains, "Cover us!" and to the hills, "Fall on us!" "Since the days of Gibeah, you have sinned, O Israel, and there you have remained. Did not war overtake the evildoers in Gibeah? When I please, I will punish them; nations will be gathered against them to put them in bonds for their double sin. Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to thresh; so I will put a yoke on her fair neck. I will drive Ephraim, Judah must plow, and Jacob must break up the ground. Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the LORD until he comes and showers righteousness on you.

Sunday 25th Feb.

Psalm 146:1 – 10 Praise the LORD. Praise the LORD, O my soul. I will praise the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save. When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—the LORD, who remains faithful forever. He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free, the LORD gives sight to the blind, the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous. The LORD watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked. The LORD reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the LORD.

Isaiah 1:21 – 27 See how the faithful city has become a harlot! She once was full of justice; righteousness used to dwell in her—but now murderers! Your silver has become dross, your choice wine is diluted with water. Your rulers are rebels, companions of thieves; they all love bribes and chase after gifts. They do not defend the cause of the fatherless; the widow's case does not come before them. Therefore the Lord, the LORD Almighty, the Mighty One of Israel, declares: "Ah, I will get relief from my foes and avenge myself on my enemies. I will turn my hand against you; I will thoroughly purge away your dross and remove all your impurities. I will restore your judges as in days of old, your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you will be called the City of Righteousness, the Faithful City." Zion will be redeemed with justice, her penitent ones with righteousness.

Monday 26th Feb.

Luke 18:1 – 8 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary.' "For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!' " And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?"

Zechariah 7:8 – 14  And the word of the LORD came again to Zechariah: "This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other.' "But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and stopped up their ears. They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the LORD Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the LORD Almighty was very angry. " 'When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen,' says the LORD Almighty. 'I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations, where they were strangers. The land was left so desolate behind them that no one could come or go. This is how they made the pleasant land desolate.' "

Jeremiah 9:23 – 24 This is what the LORD says: "Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight," declares the LORD.

Tuesday 27th Feb.

Isaiah 58:1 – 14 "Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the house of Jacob their sins. For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them. 'Why have we fasted,' they say, 'and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?' and exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD? "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. "If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings. "If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the LORD's holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the LORD, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob." The mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Wednesday 28th Feb.

Malachi 3:1 – 6 "See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come," says the LORD Almighty. But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer's soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the LORD, as in days gone by, as in former years. "So I will come near to you for judgment. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear me," says the LORD Almighty. "I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.

Malachi 3: 13 – 18 "You have said harsh things against me," says the LORD. "Yet you ask, 'What have we said against you?' "You have said, 'It is futile to serve God. What did we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the LORD Almighty? But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly the evildoers prosper, and even those who challenge God escape.' " Then those who feared the LORD talked with each other, and the LORD listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the LORD and honored his name. "They will be mine," says the LORD Almighty, "in the day when I make up my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him. And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.

Malachi 4:1-6   "Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire," says the LORD Almighty. "Not a root or a branch will be left to them. But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall. Then you will trample down the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I do these things," says the LORD Almighty "Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel. "See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse."

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Supporting article: UNITY by John Alley

(You may wonder at the relevance of this article to the church’s repentance for shedding innocent blood. The article proposes a fresh warning concerning 1 Corinthians 11:27-31 that highlights the critical importance of unity in the Body of Christ. "Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.")

Years ago in a prayer meeting I saw a vision. All of a sudden I could see straight through the brick wall from the prayer meeting into the main auditorium of the church building. It was midweek, and there was nobody in the auditorium at the time, of course, but what I was seeing in the vision was a normal Sunday morning meeting, with all the people worshiping.

And they were really worshiping, standing and singing, arms uplifted, many of them, and banners waving. And our worship was joyful, passionate and heartfelt. And these were good people. I knew them and loved them, they were devoted to the church, were leading good lives, and were people of faith and good works. They were as choice as Christian people anywhere.

But as I watched them in vision, the Lord spoke, and said: "The reason most believers struggle to obtain healing, and many find it difficult to get answers to prayer, is because they do not pray for the unity of the body of Christ."

This was an astounding statement, and like most unusual things when you first hear them, you are taken aback and are not quite sure whether what you have heard is really true. But as I pondered what I heard, I came to see clearly; this was a profound and indelible truth. A truth that should not be avoided by any of us.

There are several issues here. To start with, most Christians only think of the church as the group with which they meet. They might often pray for unity in that group, and they are always concerned about the people they know and see around them, and the degree to which they are in the faith and walking with Christ. But generally, most Christians feel no real concern about the degree to which believers in other congregations in the same town are in unity, submission and love, or truly walking with the Lord. The truth is, they don't usually spare it a thought. So generally there is no concern at all by most people about the health of the body of Christ as it occurs in other people's congregations.

But the real truth is, all the believers of all congregations in any given city are members of one body. In any given locality there is only one church! The believers may meet in varying congregations, and follow somewhat varying practices, yet if they are Christ's, then there is only one fellowship, one body, one baptism and only one table of the Lord in that city.

If we are not praying for the believers of other congregations, we are largely not praying for the church as a whole. If we are not praying for the health of the whole Church of the whole city, we are really not offering prayer for the body of Christ, as such.

Then there is the issue of the health of that body relative to our own. Every member of the body of Christ is spiritually connected to the health and well-being of the whole body of Christ.

In the body of Christ, we are members one of another. Whether we understand this or not, we are connected, jointed with, every other member of the body of Christ. This of course is not to every person who claims to be a Christian, or every person who goes to church, but those who have been genuinely redeemed by the blood of the Lord Jesus. This may in fact be less than half of all people who go to church or claim to be Christian. Nevertheless these believers are scattered throughout congregations and fellowships in the city, and we are spiritually joined to everyone of them. They and we together are in Christ, and form just one body. This means that the health of the body of Christ as a whole is affected by each of us, and each of us is affected by the spiritual state of others and the body as a whole. Therefore this really does need our prayers, and all believers need our love.

It would seem from what the Lord has said that if we carry his burden for His house and His body, that opens the way for us to receive miracle working grace concerning our own body and our own house. It makes sense to say that if we do not care about the body of believers, our carelessness and negligence affects our own health, our own well-being, or that of our families, and of our ability even to believe and understand and see clearly, and thereby obtain answers to prayer.

This raises of course the interesting statements found in first Corinthians chapter 11. There Paul gives the boldest and plainest teaching imaginable. He says "Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognising the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment" (1 Cor 11:27-31 NIV).

Often it is assumed that when the Scripture says a man ought to examine himself, before eating and drinking the sacrament as a means of grace, it is referring to him examining himself for any and every sin. But this passage is referring to one specific sin in particular. That is the sin of failing to ‘recognise’ the body of the Lord. This phrase might mean different things to different people. To some, it might be thought to refer to the presence of Christ in the meal itself. But I think the far more important and critical meaning is that it refers to the body of Christ as the church. It is therefore referring to sins against our fellow believers and the body of Christ as a whole.

We fail to discern the body of Christ when we think only of those few believers around us, and fail to recognise with proper love, honour, and heartfelt desire for unity with, all of the believers in our locality. When we are baptised we are baptised into this body of believers, which is Christ. We are jointed to him and to these believers. And to not love them, to not feel for them at all, and more often than not to think little of them, and think of them as being less than ourselves — this is not only spiritual ignorance, but sin that draws judgement.

Everywhere we go in the body of Christ we find the same problem. The church has been divided into many camps, separated by leaders, by doctrine, by attitudes, by practices, by traditions. And most Christians in any given locality have nothing to do with most other Christians. This would be bad enough, but the carnal nature still at work in most of us sees to it that this is not just division, but also envy, competition and even enmity. Not only division, but despising one another. Not just some hapless separation, it is also wilful sin.

We often hold all kinds of vile sinning attitudes toward others, yet all the while think we are better Christians than they. It is normal in churches everywhere for people to think of themselves as being right and others less right, and to therefore see oneself as superior, and ones congregation as superior, to others. These are vile sins of the flesh. We could take a lot of space here to describe these sins more fully, but you get the idea.

These sins, like every other, are sins for which Christ died, but concerning which most believers do not live in repentance. And it creates a very specific problem.

The problem is as follows: whenever we share in Holy Communion, and take the bread and, having given thanks for it we eat, we are making a proclamation into the spirit realm. We are declaring before God and angels and devils and men a very specific proclamation; we proclaim that "I am one with the body of Christ". This is what eating the bread means.

Christ's body was broken that we might be one, that we might be whole, that we might be one loaf. When you eat the bread you are making this claim before heaven and earth and hell. But if you fail to discern the body of Christ, i.e. if you do not recognise Christ in your brothers and sisters, you do not honour other congregations, other believers, and other leaders of the body of Christ, but rather despise them, and fail to hold them in high regard and love, and fail to pray for them, then you are committing this sin — the failure to recognise the body of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In so doing you have eaten judgment upon yourself. Paul tells us what these judgments are. He says "That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep". The weakness refers to spiritual weakness, the sickness refers to physical sickness, the falling asleep refers to premature death. This was the state of the Corinthian church, and it is the state of many congregations in the body of Christ today.

I have a very high view of the table of the Lord. And every week as I receive the bread and the cup, I pray certain specific prayers. I always ask the Lord to forgive me if I have committed any sin against the body; and I always ask the Lord to make me one with the body of Christ.

My advice to believers in general is to not do that foolish thing that some have done, and abstain from participating in the table of the Lord because they are not right with God. I think that is a foolish sin. Instead, we ought to come to him with a humble heart, and confess our sins, and partake in the table of the Lord. There is no excuse for abstaining, because this just leaves a professing believer in their sins. Instead we need to yield ourselves completely.

Could I ask you to take up the challenge of offering far more heartfelt prayer for the unity of the body of Christ? Let us believe together for the spiritual awakening of our nation, and many nations, in these last days, because the church will be revived in its love, in answer to your prayers.

With love, John Alley.

International Peace Ministry

John Alley Weblog: The Essential Unity of the Body of Christ

http://www.peace.org.au/modules.php?name=News&file=categories&op=newindex&catid=5prophecy – rain

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WEEK 4: Shedding of Innocent Blood: Daily Readings (in full)

Friday 16th Feb. Matthew 27 v 1 – 10  1 Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people came to the decision to put Jesus to death. 2They bound him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate, the governor.  3When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. 4"I have sinned," he said, "for I have betrayed innocent blood."  "What is that to us?" they replied. "That's your responsibility." 5So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself. 6The chief priests picked up the coins and said, "It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money." 7So they decided to use the money to buy the potter's field as a burial place for foreigners. 8That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day. 9Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: "They took the thirty silver coins, the price set on him by the people of Israel, 10and they used them to buy the potter's field, as the Lord commanded me."

Saturday 17th Feb. Isaiah 1 v 2 – 20 A Rebellious Nation  2 Hear, O heavens! Listen, O earth! For the LORD has spoken: "I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me. 3 The ox knows his master, the donkey his owner's manger, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand." 4 Ah, sinful nation, a people loaded with guilt, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption! They have forsaken the LORD; they have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him. 5 Why should you be beaten anymore? Why do you persist in rebellion? Your whole head is injured, your whole heart afflicted. 6 From the sole of your foot to the top of your head there is no soundness—only wounds and welts and open soresnot cleansed or bandaged or soothed with oil. 7 Your country is desolate, your cities burned with fire; your fields are being stripped by foreigners right before you, laid waste as when overthrown by strangers. 8 The Daughter of Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard, like a hut in a field of melons, like a city under siege. 9 Unless the LORD Almighty had left us some survivors, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah. 10 Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the law of our God, our people of Gomorrah! 11 "The multitude of your sacrifices—what are they to me?" says the LORD."I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. 12 When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? 13 Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—I cannot bear your evil assemblies. 14 Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts my soul hates. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. 15 When you spread out your hands in prayer I will hide my eyes from you; if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood; 16 wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, 17 learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow. 18 "Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. 19 If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; 20 but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword." For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Sunday 18th Feb. Jeremiah 7 v 1 – 15 and 30 – 34  1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD : 2 "Stand at the gate of the LORD's house and there proclaim this message: " 'Hear the word of the LORD, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the LORD. 3 This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. 4 Do not trust in deceptive words and say, "This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD!" 5 If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, 6 if you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, 7 then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your forefathers for ever and ever. 8 But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless.  9 " 'Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, 10 and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, "We are safe"-safe to do all these detestable things? 11 Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the LORD. 12 " 'Go now to the place in Shiloh where I first made a dwelling for my Name, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of my people Israel. 13 While you were doing all these things, declares the LORD, I spoke to you again and again, but you did not listen; I called you, but you did not answer. 14 Therefore, what I did to Shiloh I will now do to the house that bears my Name, the temple you trust in, the place I gave to you and your fathers. 15 I will thrust you from my presence, just as I did all your brothers, the people of Ephraim.'

Monday 19th Feb. Joel 3 v 12 – 21 12 "Let the nations be roused; let them advance into the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to judge all the nations on every side. 13 Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full and the vats overflow—so great is their wickedness!" 14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. 15 The sun and moon will be darkened, and the stars no longer shine. 16 The LORD will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem; the earth and the sky will tremble. But the LORD will be a refuge for his people, a stronghold for the people of Israel. Blessings for God's People 17 "Then you will know that I, the LORD your God, dwell in Zion, my holy hill. Jerusalem will be holy; again will foreigners invade her. 18 "In that day the mountains will drip new wine, and the hills will flow with milk; all the ravines of Judah will run with water. A fountain will flow out of the LORD's house and will water the valley of acacias. 19 But Egypt will be desolate, Edom a desert waste, because of violence done to the people of Judah, in whose land they shed innocent blood. 20 Judah will be inhabited forever and Jerusalem through all generations. 21 Their bloodguilt, which I have not pardoned, will pardon." The LORD dwells in Zion!

Tuesday 20th Feb. Habakkuk 2 v 2 – 14 Then the LORD replied: "Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets that a herald may run with it. 3 For the revelation awaits an appointed time; t speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay. 4 "See, he is puffed up; his desires are not upright—but the righteous will live by his faith – indeed, wine betrays him; he is arrogant and never at rest. Because he is as greedy as the grave and like death is never satisfied, he gathers to himself all the nations and takes captive all the peoples. 6 "Will not all of them taunt him with ridicule and scorn, saying, " 'Woe to him who piles up stolen goods and makes himself wealthy by extortion! How long must this go on?' 7 Will not your debtors suddenly arise? Will they not wake up and make you tremble? Then you will become their victim. 8 Because you have plundered many nations, the peoples who are left will plunder you. For you have shed man's blood; you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them. 9 "Woe to him who builds his realm by unjust gain o set his nest on high to escape the clutches of ruin! 10 You have plotted the ruin of many peoples, shaming your own house and forfeiting your life. 11 The stones of the wall will cry out, and the beams of the woodwork will echo it. 12 "Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed and establishes a town by crime! 13 Has not the LORD Almighty determined that the people's labor is only fuel for the fire, that the nations exhaust themselves for nothing? 14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

Wednesday 21st Feb. Deuteronomy 18 v 9 – 13  9 When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. 10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, 11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD, and because of these detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you. 13 You must be blameless before the LORD your God.

Jeremiah 32 v 32 – 41 32 The people of Israel and Judah have provoked me by all the evil they have done—they, their kings and officials, their priests and prophets, the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem. 33 They turned their backs to me and not their faces; though I taught them again and again, they would not listen or respond to discipline. 34 They set up their abominable idols in the house that bears my Name and defiled it. 35 They built high places for Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molech, though I never commanded, nor did it enter my mind, that they should do such a detestable thing and so make Judah sin.36 "You are saying about this city, 'By the sword, famine and plague it will be handed over to the king of Babylon'; but this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 37 I will surely gather them from all the lands where I banish them in my furious anger and great wrath; I will bring them back to this place and let them live in safety. 38 They will be my people, and I will be their God. 39 I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me for their own good and the good of their children after them. 40 I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me. 41 I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul.

Thursday 22nd Feb. 1 Corinthians 10 v 1 – 13  1For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. 2They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3They all ate the same spiritual food 4and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. 5Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert. 6Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. 7Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: "The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry." 8We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. 9We should not test the Lord, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. 10And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel. 11These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. 12So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! 13No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

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NATIONAL 40 DAYS OF PRAYER & FASTING

Friday 26^th January to Tuesday 6^th March

Humbling ourselves in surrender and repentance before the Lord 

WEEK 6: Broken Covenants

Friday 2nd March:      Ecclesiastes 5 v 1 – 6 Acts 5 v 1 – 11

Saturday 3rd March:   Nehemiah 1 v 1 – 11

Sunday 4th March:       Proverbs 2 v 1 – 22

Monday 5th March:      Jeremiah 31 v 31 – 34 2 Peter 3 v 1 – 18

Tuesday 6th March:      Psalm 116 v 1 – 19

31 MEETINGS HELD IN LOCAL CITIES: 

31 local cities across Melbourne hosted and brought together Christians and Churches within their communities to pray. It was a time of reflection on what God is saying to us and the Church in the light of the drought and other issues facing our nation.   These meetings were listed on the 40 days brochure.  The aim of these meetings was to begin or support local networks of united prayer through-out the 31 municipalities. 

Prepared by the APN for your reflection during the 40 days. Each week will have a different theme that corresponds with one of the six major areas of sin, which God identified during the prayer season of late 2006. Scriptures have been prepared that will invite prayerful contemplation on what God revealed during that time. Their purpose is to stimulate your heart to aspire to a closer walk with God and a turning from patterns of past behaviour that have resulted in a less than radically obedient response to His commands. Specific prayer points are not included because this is not a time of praying for the nation, nor even for the Solemn Assembly itself, although both are not excluded should the Lord lead you that way.  

SEE THE INTRODUCTION TO THE 40 DAYS AND EXTRA READINGS AND REFLECTIONS FOR EVERY DAY ON THIS WEBSITE See: Daily Readings Intro , DOWNLOAD BROCHURE PDF HERE Page One Page Two 

Week 1 Extra Readings,

Week 2 Extra Readings

WEEK 4: Shedding of Innocent Blood 

WEEk 5: Injustice

Transformation begins with our personal transformation We invite you to let the transformation begin with you. When we let God change us, He will be able to unify His Body in functional relationships and united prayer and serving in local areas. Then we will see God’s impact in our local cities and then across the City of Melbourne and Australia progressively. 92627444Transforming Melbourne's role. The Transforming Melbourne movement is coordinating Melbourne’s local city networks, churches and ministries so that we engage with the national prayer focus in the local areas of Melbourne. We will be able to help you focus on local Melbourne issues that relate to the weekly focus outlined in the national schedule.    

FASTING: As a means of entering into a deeper expression of humility before God those participating in the 40 Days of Preparation are encouraged to consider some form of fasting for the period from 26th January until 6th March. Fasting can take many forms. These are some you may wish to consider.A 'Daniel' fast – vegetables only (see Daniel 1:12), Fast one meal a day, Fast one day a week Or simply give up something that would be a personal sacrifice for you. The challenge is that we seek to do something to humble ourselves before God (on behalf of this nation during this period of 40 days as we prepare ourselves)(See: www.ccci.org/howtofast  for more on fasting) 

INTRODUCTION

– We repent of our responsibility for the innocent death of Christ.

– We repent for the innocent blood that was shed in the formation of our nation and for our lack of formal apology and reconciliation with the indigenous people of this land.

– We repent for the innocent blood that our nation is shedding as one of horrific consequences of being at war in other people’s countries.

– We repent of our own nation’s children who are slain through abortion. We grieve these lost children – the richness their lives would have brought to our families and nation. We mourn the impact of these decisions on the mothers and fathers of these children – so much emptiness! Empty wombs, empty arms, empty hearts filled with counterfeit comforts.

– Forgive us for choosing secret sin over the relief of truthful confession. In hiding from the consequences of our sin we have bred deceit and festering guilt and worthlessness that has alienated us from each other and from you, Lord.

– We repent of the judgments of religious culture that have influenced unmarried mothers to abort children, fearing more the judgment of the church against them as unwed mothers. Lord, have mercy on us. Forgive us for judgments we held in revenge and bitterness against others. Identify to us the times when we have taken and held offense against another and thereby cast our condemnation on them. We lay down our judgments and seek your mercy for us and them.

– We repent of the murderous impact of our anger towards others. (Matthew 5:21-24) We repent of the condemnation poured on our families through anger. We repent of the damage caused in the Body of Christ by our unrighteous pride, indignations and divisions and pray for the unity of the Body. [There is an article on this at the end of the daily readings.]

– We repent of the ways we as the Church have misrepresented the love of the Father in our unholy condemnations of the world that God loves so much.

– We seek the cleansing of the blood of Christ for our sin.

Read More – Daily Reading

Supporting Article: UNITY by John Alley

TRANSFORMING MELBOURNE JOINED THE NATIONAL 40 DAYS Transforming Melbourne put aside their planned 40 Days of Prayer & Fasting for this year (was to begin on Wed 21 Feb.) to join the National "40 Days of Heart Preparation" in Prayer 26th Jan. – 6th March in unity with the Australian Prayer Network 

WHY CHANGE THE DATES OF THE 40 DAYS OF PRAYER?We believe Unity, Servanthood and Prayer are essential to enable God to move. So put aside our preparation for the scheduled Transforming Melbourne 40 days of Prayer and Fasting (previously to be from 21st February – 1st April). We unite instead with the national 40 days of prayer recently initiated by The Australian Prayer Network. We do this so we can stand as one across Australia before our God in repentance and preparation for God’s transformation of our nation. We apologise for the short notice of this change in dates (but not for the move to unity!).Please do not let our change, or your starting the 40 Days a bit late deter you from participation!

WHY ANOTHER NATIONAL CALL TO PRAYER? In late 2006 the Australian Prayer Network coordinated 40 days seeking God’s face about the DROUGHT. Responses words and scriptures received from across the nation made it abundantly clear that God is very serious about the state of His Body and the resultant negative impact it is having on our Nation. Unless there is REPENTANCE and a spiritual turning back to Him by those who are called by his Name then the physical conditions currently being experienced across our Nation will only continue to deteriorate. This second national season of 40 days of prayer has been called to prepare our hearts to bring God’s Church in Australia into united repentance. 

NATIONAL SOLEMN ASSEMBLY: To Come Before God in RepentanceFriday 9th to Monday 12th March in CanberraThe 40 days of heart preparation from 26th January-6th March, will culminate in the NATIONAL SOLEMN ASSEMBLY in Canberra 9th-11th March. We invite you to be part of this historic event by representing your church and district in Canberra. Information: http://www.ausprayernet.org.au/

If you can’t be in Canberra you can share locally. Meet in small groups during the Solemn Assembly, and Local churches will be asked to include the theme of the repentance and forgiveness in their services on that Sunday (11th March) and to have a focused time of repentance and prayer from 12 to 3pm that day.   

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