Standing in the Gap for Oregon

Mount Hood, Oregon Your mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Your righteousness is like the great mountains; Your judgments are a great deep;  Psalm 36: 5-6   We turn our attention to Multnomah County, but most eyes, and news cameras, are fixed there already. Multnomah County is the smallest in land - 466 square miles - and the largest in population…and influence. Compare Multnomah with 1705 people per square mile, to Malheur County with three. This is, of course, due to Portland, the largest city in the state, which is also the county seat. In fact, since 1968 the county government has had a consolidated city-county government and there have been some attempts to merge the city-county government into one unit.  Multnomah was created in 1854 out of the eastern edge of Washington County and a northern strip of Clackamas County. Its northern border is the Columbia Ri...

Eagle Cap Wilderness, Wallowa County Oregon And there is no creature  hidden  from His sight, but all  things are  naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we  must give  account.  Hebrews 4:13 Wallowa County, in the northeast corner of Oregon, is one of those places on my Wish List, along with Crater Lake. Nope, never been there, but hope to visit someday. The geology is fascinating, and unusual, like a little piece of the Swiss Alps stuck up in the corner of the state. The Snake River and Hells Canyon run along the eastern edge between parts of Idaho and Washington. To the west is Union and Umatilla Counties with Baker County to the south. It was established in 1887, carved out of the eastern section of Union County. This is Nez Perce country, the home of Chief Joseph, one of our most well-known Native Americans. The Nez Perce were forced to leave their homeland, the Wallowa Valley, in 1877. Instead of going to the reservation in Idaho,...

Image by  272447  from  Pixabay   I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.  I Timothy 2: 1-2 What is on your prayer list for Oregon? We are instructed in I Timothy to pray for our leaders. Many are praying for the 2020 election, our economy, and an end to the covid-19 virus - all vital concerns.   One way to organize a prayer list is to pray over the state county by county. If I do the easy thing and just start where I am, I begin with Clackamas county. Actually, this might be a good choice since Clackamas is one of the original four counties established by the Provisional Legislature on July 5, 1843. We are going deep here and touching the foundation of Oregon as a territory and state. At that time Clackamas county was huge and covered...

Image by  Pexels  from  Pixabay   O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For your sake, O my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.  Daniel 9:19 What does it mean to “stand in the gap?”  The basic meaning is one of “intercession,” or the act of intervening for another. Very quickly, when we begin to unpack the details of interceding for our state or “our people,” we find ourselves face to face with one of the most difficult concepts for all people on the planet: repentance. Repentance means more than sorrow and regret; it means a complete turn around, a change of direction away from our own ways and toward God. However, as difficult, as humbling, as repentance is, there is no escaping it. II Chronicles 7:14 says if we turn from our  wicked ways , He will  forgive our sins , and then – only then – will He heal our land. The truth is, genuine repentance is a bitter pill. We try ...