Le Seigneur nous protège!

Psaumes 34: 4

4J'ai cherché l'Éternel, et il m'a répondu; il m'a délivré de toutes mes peurs.

Psaumes 34:17

17Les justes crient, et l'Éternel les entend; il les délivre de tous leurs ennuis.

Psaumes 94:19

19 Quand l'anxiété était grande en moi, votre consolation m'a apporté de la joie.

Psaumes 138: 8

8L'Éternel me confirmera; ton amour, SEIGNEUR, dure à jamais - n'abandonne pas les œuvres de tes mains.

Romains 8: 38-39

38 Car je suis convaincu que ni la mort ni la vie, ni les anges ni les démons, ni le présent ni l'avenir, ni aucune puissance, 39 ni la hauteur ni la profondeur, ni rien d'autre dans toute la création, ne pourront nous séparer de l'amour de Dieu qui est en Christ Jésus notre Seigneur.

Proverbes 3: 5-6

5 Ayez confiance en l'Éternel de tout votre cœur et ne vous appuyez pas sur votre propre intelligence; 6 de toutes vos voies, soumettez-vous à lui, et il rendra vos chemins droits.

Jérémie 17: 7-8

7 «Mais béni est celui qui a confiance en l'Éternel, dont la confiance est en lui. 8Ils seront comme un arbre planté par l'eau qui envoie ses racines par le ruisseau. Il n'a pas peur quand la chaleur arrive; ses feuilles sont toujours vertes. Il n’a aucune inquiétude en une année de sécheresse et ne manque jamais de porter ses fruits. »

Luc 1: 35-37

35L'ange répondit: «Le Saint-Esprit viendra sur vous, et la puissance du Très-Haut vous éclipsera. Ainsi, le saint à naître sera appelé le Fils de Dieu. 36 Même Elizabeth, votre parent, va avoir un enfant dans sa vieillesse, et celle dont on dit qu'elle est incapable de concevoir en est à son sixième mois. 37 Car aucune parole de Dieu n’échouera jamais. »

Philippiens 4: 6-7

6 Ne vous inquiétez de rien, mais dans chaque situation, par la prière et la pétition, avec action de grâces, présentez vos demandes à Dieu. 7 Et la paix de Dieu, qui transcende toute compréhension, gardera vos cœurs et vos esprits en Christ Jésus.

Today's psalm: psalm 91

Psalm 91

1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
    will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.[a]
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
    my God, in whom I trust.”

3 Surely he will save you
    from the fowler’s snare
    and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
    and under his wings you will find refuge;
    his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
    nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
    nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
    ten thousand at your right hand,
    but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes
    and see the punishment of the wicked.

9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
    and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm will overtake you,
    no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
    to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
    you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

14 “Because he[b] loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
    I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;
    I will be with him in trouble,
    I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
    and show him my salvation.”

Syria: under bombs and under fire

TO SECRETARY JOHN KERRY AND PRESIDENT OBAMA,

The repeated targeting of healthcare workers and hospitals by the Russian and Syrian governments are war crimes. We call on you to give Syria’s heroic healthcare workers and the communities they serve a zone free from bombing to ensure their protection. The international community has agreed the bombs need to stop. The resolutions are in place. They simply need to be enforced.

SPREAD THE WORD

BOMBS AND UNDER FIRE

We are in an emergency. In July 2016 a medical facility was attacked on average every 17 hours. Many facilities have been attacked multiple times, often changing location for safety. When they started building a hospital in one northern Syrian town, local residents begged them to move -- knowing the hospital would be targeted.

Since Syria’s peaceful uprising was met with brutal force doctors have been systematically targeted by the Syrian government and its allies. For the Syrian government anyone treating people on ‘the other side’ is a valid target, and their elimination part of a deliberate strategy to force people back into areas under its control. 

Of the 750 medical workers killed since the beginning of the conflict, all but 52 have been killed by Syrian or Russian government attacks - this is just what has been documented, the real number is likely much higher. 

Despite being in clear contravention of international humanitarian law, medics have been executed and tortured. One doctor who was interrogated said “the most important thing was not to reveal my medical work,” since it is common knowledge that doctors are tortured worse than other prisoners.

However, the biggest killer of medical workers in Syria is neither torture nor execution. The greatest threat comes from the air - the Syrian government and Russian bombing. At least 750 medical workers have been killed and over 400 hospital attacks have been destroyed by these indiscriminate weapons. 

These attacks are not just killing physicians and damaging hospitals, but destroying entire communities. When you kill a doctor in Syria, you are ensuring that hundreds, if not thousands, of people will die. 

When you destroy a medical facility, you push people out of their communities to seek desperately needed services. In addition to routine aerial attacks targeting hospitals, health workers face a chronic lack of supplies and specialists. This is particularly dire in besieged areas, where treatable diseases and injuries can be a death sentence.

Keep watch over the door of my lips.

This verse, Set a guard. O Lord, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips' reminds us to be careful about what you say; I remember listening to my mum having random conversation with the ladies at the check-out of our Supermarché Casino, being impressed at how she could muster courage and speak to complete strangers, being kind and caring. My mum was not shy and she'd love to say encouraging words to others. Our Lord wants us to pay attention at what we say. And I must confess that it can be very difficult depending on who you talking to or rather depending on the things people say to you. The term 'winding you up' comes to mind. This is when I call on the name of Jesus for help as I have realised I can't do nothing without Him.

What about you my brothers and sisters, do you find taming your tongue hard?

What comes to my mind is this other passage in James. 

4 And a tiny rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot wants it to go, even though the winds are strong.
5 So also, the tongue is a small thing, but what enormous damage it can do. A tiny spark can set a great forest on fire.
6 And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is full of wickedness that can ruin your whole life. It can turn the entire course of your life into a blazing flame of destruction, for it is set on fire by hell itself.
7 People can tame all kinds of animals and birds and reptiles and fish,
8 but no one can tame the tongue. It is an uncontrollable evil, full of deadly poison.
9 Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it breaks out into curses against those who have been made in the image of God.
10 And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! James 3:8

James does not mince his words! Not only what he talks about sums up most of we hear everyday on the news, irate wifes or husbands, politicians, scandals of all sorts, murders and of course deadly wars. As followers of Jesus, we are called to 'guard their mouths  and their tongues' and as a result 'it    keep themselves from calamity.' Proverbs 21:23-24.

One more verse to keep on our heart!

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. Ephesians 4:29

Have a blessed day. In Jesus' name. N.

Powerful verses..

For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways! I say amen to that!