National Day of Prayer
Thomas Paine once said, “these are the times that try men’s souls”.
America is in crisis, inside and out. Protestors are threatening our peace from within, rioting if they don’t get what they want. College age adults, trained in our schools, want limits on free speech. They want to decide what is acceptable and what is not. The PC police have frightened most Americans from speaking their own minds. Outside of our borders we face new threats of terrorism on our shores. Millions of people unhappy with their lot in life have been illegally streaming into our country in order to attain free benefits from our government: education, medical care, welfare, housing without having to work for it. Our own politicians are enabling them in order to gain votes in any election. O yes, they are not citizens, but they can get drivers licenses and they will vote.
Within our country we have seen the corruption of government in every sector, leaders who set up rules for the citizens which they themselves refuse to be a part of. Just look at the degradation in our country due to a loss of proper values and morals. Have your read about North Carolina’s new bathroom laws to protect our families and children, while our own Federal Justice Department is trying to overturn such laws as civil rights violations. What about the rights of descent American’s who don’t want a few people’s perversions flaunted in their face while they try and use public bathroom? Don’t they have rights as well? We have a secular elite who want to remove our foundational freedoms in order to bolster their own power in government. They are systematically tearing down and undermining the great foundations of our country. What ever happened to the “will of the people”?
If there’s ever been a time in our countries history in which we ought to drop to our knees and begin to pray earnestly for our nation, this is it.
We have gone so far off course that it seems impossible to get back to what America used to be, what America needs to be for our sake as well as for the sake of the world. Abraham Lincoln once said, “I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for that day.” We have always had the sense that we could do anything and fix anything, but as I look today we have gone too far. It is going to take a miracle of Biblical proportions to save America for future generations.
In the book “7 Men: And the Secret of Their Greatness,” by Eric Metaxas,
He recounts a story of George Washington’s commitment to prayer during the Revolution. His nephew, George Lewis, told a Washington biographer that “he had accidentally witnessed [the general’s] private devotions in his library both morning and evening: that on these occasions he had seen him in a kneeling position with a Bible open before him and that he believed such to have been his daily practice.”
Would that every Christian in America had that kind of commitment to prayer. It was a miracle that we won the revolutionary war, it was a miracle that gave us success at Midway that opened the door for victory in WW2. Throughout our history the God fearing praying Christians of America have touched the heart of God and kept our country afloat. We must get back to this kind of passionate prayer.
At Chuck Colson’s center they have given us specific focus on how Christ’s church—the people of God—can make a difference in our culture and around the world. We should not hesitate to join them and millions of others throughout our country.
And here’s what we will pray:
- We will praise the Lord that His sovereign goodness is as true today as ever. We will remember that this world ultimately belongs to God,
who created all things and Who, in Christ, is restoring all things.
- We will repent of our sin, and thank God for His promised forgiveness.
We will remind ourselves that all have sinned, and that we are welcomed
by God through repentance. Nehemiah began his work in the world with repentance. So will we.
- We will pray for our current government leaders to fight evil and stand up for truth. We will remember that there is no place where God is not at work.
- We will pray that truth and justice will prevail over “political correctness” and “tolerance,” both in our own lives and in our culture. We will remember that right and wrong do not change according to cultural fashions, nor does legality alter morality.
- We will pray for the upcoming election season, that God would show us mercy and not give us what we deserve. We will remember that God ultimately orchestrates human history and uses whom He will to accomplish His purposes.
- We will pray that God unites His people, using them to bring restoration in this broken culture. We’ll remember that those who have been reconciled to God have been put on mission as agents of reconciliation.
Friends, as we pray, we must remember what is true about God, about the Church, and about the world. History demonstrates that God will not tolerate legally approved immorality & a country that spurns His Word & His Ways. But history also shows us that God will hear our prayers.
Coffee anyone?
The host offered his guests coffee. He went to the kitchen where he had already prepared the coffee. He picked out a number of different cups and mugs, as he had a good collection. Some were porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain-looking, some expensive, and some exquisite. He brought it into the room with sugar and cream telling them to help themselves to the coffee.
After everyone had chosen a cup, and began to drink their coffee, the host remarked to the group. “If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is but normal for us to want only the best for ourselves, that is the source of our problems and stress.
“Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases, it’s just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup. But, subconsciously, we go for the best cups…and then we began eyeing each other’s cups.
“Now consider this: Life is the coffee, and the jobs, money and, the politics, our position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life, and the type of cup we have does not define nor change the quality of life we live. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us.
God brews the coffee, not the cups. Let’s enjoy our coffee.”
When a family suffers a devastating fire in their home a number of things transpire. There is the immediate shock followed by the sense of loss when you start to realize all that was destroyed. The task of sorting through the rubble, is often a very painful task. People often have to move out of the house right away due to health issues or safety problems. That change in itself can be very demoralizing.
At some point you begin to focus on what is really important in life.
It always comes down to loved ones and relationships. You realize that your life was not the house of the things in it. Job, in the Old Testament, experienced this in a major way that. God forbid we will ever have to experience such a nightmare.
The house the clothes, the possessions, were just the cups that hold our lives. God is most concerned about His beloved children.
The cups they come and go. Sometimes in life the cups are beautiful and precious. At other times they are downright disappointments.
But through it all, it is the “coffee” that is important, what God is brewing in our lives.
Faith Promise
A Reflection on the Promises of God & the Faith of His Children
Romans 4:13-16 NASB
13 For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants
that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law,
but through the righteousness of faith.
16 For this reason it is by faith,
in order that it may be in accordance with grace,
so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants,
not only to those who are of the Law, but also
to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all
What was it that Abraham wanted more than anything else? As many men, he wanted a son to carry on his name. In his time and place it was much more critical than in ours. They knew that in order to have a male survivor to carry on the family name, to take over the leadership of the household through inheritance, one would have to have many children. With little understanding of disease and cleanliness, health issues were a huge problem. At one time in history 1/3 of the world’s population was killed by plagues in a matter of a few short years. Most children did not survive to adulthood. Warring tribes were a constant threat to life. Children were killed mercilessly or worse yet, taken into captivity to begin a life of slavery that would surely end in pain and suffering. Abraham wanted someone from his loins to be the great inheritor and carry on the family name and tradition. And then his name would be remembered long after his body had returned to dust from which it was created.
Of course God knew this. He knew that Sara was barren & could not have children. But Abraham was the one who had followed God down into this strange land simply because God wanted him to. Because of his obedience, God told Abraham that if he had faith, if he could trust God to give him a baby boy, it would surely come to pass.
Now poor old Abraham, he had two-fold troubles that were only going to multiply on him. First of all, he had a tough time believing God could do this, but he was willing to give God a shot. But years past, decades, and still no baby. The further the time advanced, the less likely that they could have children. Had God forgotten? Sara surely thought so. She hounded Abraham and made his faith even more shaky. That was his second problem, his wife. She proposed giving Abraham her hand maiden that he might have children through her.
I know it does sound a little odd to us. But back in that day, it was a common practice, (everyone was doing it – that is, those women who could not have children). Just let your husband take another wife of her choosing.
Now Abraham had a bigger problem, a wife and child that was not in God’s plan. And then when Sara did bear a son, Isaak, she didn’t want her hand maiden hanging around. Sara made sure that Hagar & Ismail were kicked out of the clan. Certainly Abraham did not want his son to suffer and die.
But the wives thing was only creating more and more problems for him.
Lack of faith and trust in God can lead to all kinds of messed up lives. And this particular mess up is still with us today. Some of the descendants of Ishmael, Abraham’s son by Hagar, are the Islamic people of today who are literally trying to tear our world apart. If only Abraham and Sara had enough faith to wait for what God had promised.
When we read the story and from our perspective, we can criticize them for their actions. But it is rather an unfair criticism as we have Jesus & the Gospels and the Holy Spirit to fill us and inspire as and increase our faith. Indeed, we know how the story ends. We know about the power of faith. It is easy to be a Monday morning quarterback, especially when you’re sitting next to the Ultimate Pro-Bowl Coach (aka Holy Spirit).
So just how strong is your faith? Let’s not debate other’s faith or lack of faith. What about you? What have you been trusting God for lately?
I’m asking for specifics. Is there something in your life, that God promised to give you, that you are waiting for in good faith.
Let’s begin with the promise. What has God promised you lately?
NASB
3 Trust in the LORD and do good;
Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself in the LORD;
And He will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the LORD,
Trust also in Him, and He will do it.
Pretty incredible isn’t it? So let’s try this out. Let me teach you how to trust God for the desires of your heart. Let’s begin with something that you know is close to God’s heart, reaching those who are lost in the World. God wants us to share the Good News about Jesus and forgiveness & eternal life with them. Not everyone can become a missionary. Chances are that you are not called to go over to the 10/40 window and spend your life witnessing. But others are called. So how can we help them go?
We can help by making it financially possible for them to live over there. That is why we do our Faith Promise Missions conference every year, so we can help those who are going, to live over there. God has called them to go, but God has called us all to be a part of their going by praying for them and then contributing to their cause.
Most of us don’t have a lot of extra cash laying around to give to missionaries, but God does. He has holdings all over the world, so money is not a problem for Him. The problem God has is finding people like Abraham, who are willing to trust Him (by faith) for a promise that He wants to give.
That’s right, God needs people who are willing to trust Him for money that He wants to put in the hands of missionaries.
Some would say, “Well if that is true, why doesn’t God just give it to them directly.” And I would say, yes He can. But God chooses to do things a different way. He knows they need the money. They have followed Him expecting that God would take care of them. But God loves to work through ordinary people like you and me to accomplish this. “Why?”, you ask. Because He wants us to learn how to walk with Him and talk with Him, that we too would be able to trust Him for the provisions of life.
That is what Faith Promise giving does. It provides money for the missionaries. But more importantly, it helps you and me, (who could get along just fine using our own wits and resources) learn to ask God for a Promise and then have enough faith and trust, to wait on Him to provide it.
So I pray, “Lord, I know you want to use me to help support those Believers who have followed you out into the world to do Your work amongst those who are lost. So Lord, just how much money do you want to give through me?” It takes communication with God to discern what it is that God wants to give through you. God wants all of His children to be able to trust Him in this way, not just for missionaries, but indeed for our own daily lives. It is a way of life that is taught and learned in the Christian community.
I Will Follow Him
Many people in the crowd had just witnessed Jesus latest and probably the greatest of His miracles, the raising of Lazarus from a grave where he had been buried for four days. They were telling everyone. The news was spreading like wildfire. For this reason, many people were coming to Jesus, to see and hear the man who had conquered death. The Pharisees and other leaders who had opposed Jesus were beside themselves. Jesus was becoming much too popular. How were they ever going to kill Him if such words continued to spread.
That is when they began to plot seriously about how they were going to destroy Him and His followers. But they were going to need some help. They needed someone who knew where they were going to meet, and where they would be, especially at night when no one would notice their actions. Satan had already chosen the right man for the job, one of Jesus own, one of the inner twelve.
Their plan was to catch Him in the middle of the night, then they could call the right people who did not believe in Jesus, hold a quick trial & be done with Him. Then they could turn Him over to Pilot for the death sentence.
No doubt they were the ones who brought in the crowd before Pilot.
That was the crowd that sided with the Pharisees and shouted “Crucify Him – Crucify Him!” If the Romans were crucifying Him, no one would dare interfere. The masses hated, but feared the power of Rome. The average person would not challenge the soldiers. Jesus would be gone, & the Pharisees could simply say that it was the work of the Romans against a traitor to the Empire. Their hands would be clean in the eyes of the citizens.
It was in the days after Palm Sunday & before Thursday (Passover dinner – the last supper with the Disciples) the night of his arrest & mock trial.
Some non-Jewish folks (Gentiles) were there for the Passover. They were folks who had been converted to Judaism. & they heard all that was being said about the Lazarus miracle. They wanted to meet this Jesus. Philip and Andrew agreed to try and arrange a time when they could meet Jesus.
What they didn’t realize was that time was running out. And so it is with many in the world. They believe in God, and someday they intend to get a little more serious about their faith & belief. But time is of the essence. We all are allotted only so much time in this world & that time passes so quickly.
Most will wait till it’s too late.
Do you want to see Jesus? He speaks of His own death & in doing so He references our death as well.
“Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” John 12:24
For Jesus this means that His death will provide access to Forgiveness, Justification & Glorification with God. The fruit will be enormous. Millions would come to Him over the years to receive this free gift. People all over the world are still coming to Him today.
But our lives, the old lives we used to live before coming to Christ, must die as well. And it is only when the old life dies, that we are given a new life, a life of Righteousness as a free gift from God. And then He begins to work through our lives. After Jesus ascension & glorification He now works through His followers to lead others to Himself. And so it is that our own lives begin to bear fruit for God and His Glory.
Dying to the old life is not easy. You have to reach a point in life where you are fed up with, sick and tired of, the old way of living. You think to yourself, there must be something more, there must be a better way.
Jesus knew what He was talking about when He said “He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.” John 12:25
And then He gives us this incredible command. “If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also.”
That is what salvation is all about, being with Jesus for all eternity. And we don’t have to wait for this body to give up our spirits for this to happen.
He wants us to follow after Him in the here and now. He is working out in the world and He wants us to come alongside Him and join in His work.
The opportunity to work with Jesus won’t be here for very much longer.
“For a little while longer the Light is among you.
Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you;
he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes.
36 “While you have the Light, believe in the Light,
so that you may become sons of Light.” John 12:35-36
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcLF5wopyjo
That all may Know Him, Pastor Mike
Fasting for Lent
Jesus instructed his followers to pray and fast in secret. Chances are you are among the massive majority of Christians who rarely or never fast. It’s not because we haven’t read our Bibles or sat under faithful preaching or heard about the power of fasting, or even that we don’t genuinely want to do it. We just never actually get around to it.
Part of it may be that we live in a society in which consumerism is all encompassing. That’s what we do as Americans. We consume. Even the poorest of Americans consume far more stuff in far greater volume than anyone in the world. The poor of the world look with envy at what American’s call “poor”. By the world’s standards, America’s poor are rich.
Fasting is voluntarily going without something, any regularly enjoyed good gift from God — for the sake of some spiritual purpose. It is markedly counter-cultural in our consumerist society, like abstaining from sex until marriage. If we are to learn the lost art of fasting, and enjoy its fruit, it will not come with watching & listening to our society. It only comes when you are growing close to God by diving deep within His Word (Jesus, or the Bible if you prefer). Then the concern will not be whether we fast, but what & when. Jesus doesn’t say “if,” but “when you fast” (Matthew 6:16).
It is our own cravings and ache for comfort that keep us from the discomfort of fasting. But there are good reasons for fasting. We fast in this life because we believe in the life to come. Fasting is for this world, for stretching our hearts to get fresh air beyond the pain and trouble around us. And it is for the battle against the flesh and weakness inside us.
The Middle Age practice of observing “Lent” was present in many Christian groups. Lent is traditionally described as lasting for forty days in commemoration of the forty days which Jesus spent, before beginning his public ministry. He was fasting in the desert, enduring temptations by Devil, the fallen angel Lucifer. Normally it begins on “Ash Wednesday” – 46 days (40 fasting days, if the six Sundays, which are not days of fast, are excluded) before Easter. The ashes are taken from the ashes of the burned palm branches that were used in the previous year to commemorate the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. As folks begin their Lenten fast, those ashes are used to mark a cross on their forehead. It is a sign and seal that the coming fast is in memory of Jesus, His life & ministry, but especially, His suffering, death and subsequent resurrection. So in a sense, we are dying to ourselves by fasting during this period of time.
Many Christians have abstained from fasting at any time thinking that it is a work and not of faith. And it surely can become a “work” just like attending church. You just do it out of habit, not with any sense of stepping into the presence of Jesus and glorifying Him with your fellow believers. But it doesn’t have to be that way. You can choose to make it something glorious, something powerful, something life changing. And so it is with fasting.
Let me challenge you on today, Ash Wednesday, to begin a fast for the period of Lent that might possibly alter the course of your life. At the very least it will draw you much deeper into to the presence of God. So decide, today, what will you be fasting from as you anticipate the celebration of the life, death and resurrection of our Lord & Savior Jesus? It needs to be something that would truly be a sacrifice to you.
Food is always a good one. Think what a difference it would make in your life if you were to lose 10 or 20 lbs. Maybe if you just gave up sweets.
What about television? Think how much time that would save you. What about some nasty habit that you have longed to be rid of? You can do it.
It is just 40 days. Maybe your language needs sprucing up. How about your attitude towards some certain folks or individual that you can’t stand? Could you show love to them for a month or so? With God’s help, I know you can.
Whatever you give up, it must qualify as a sacrifice to you. For some people giving up ice cream would be piece of cake for others of us it would be monumental. The goal is to use it in order to focus on Jesus. So when you tummy aches, when your just dying to know what happened on your show, you turn your thoughts towards Jesus & thank Him for His goodness, graciousness and sacrifice for you, realizing that your sacrifice during these 40 days, as hard as it may be, is only a fraction of what He sacrificed for you.
Laus Deo – Pastor Mike
A Harvest is ready in Iraq
Let me say first of all that in my 6 days here, I never felt afraid or even had a reason for being afraid, with the exception of driving in Iraq. For centuries the Iraqi people road donkeys on these roads. There was no left or right, no stop signs, no turning lanes. They all just road their donkeys the shortest, easiest way possible. Today they drive their cars as if they were on their donkeys! Sidewalks? Fair game! One thing for sure, it will increase your prayer time and strengthen your faith.
I have spent most of my time with Kurdish refugees from Syria, Iran and some Yazidi folks from Syria. I have been warmly welcomed into their homes with love and kindness. Whether it was in a tent, an abandoned portion of a half destroyed building, or a make shift shelter made of pieces of scrap wood and plastic. It was always spotlessly clean inside, and I ate their food and drank tea with them. It was wonderfully generous of them.
And I never had a bad meal!
A bond of affection was so easily formed. They are a warm and loving people, always ready to share what they have. I don’t think I have been so readily welcomed anywhere else in the world. We laughed, shared stories, and always prayed before I left. I prayed in the name of Isa – Jesus. They are a people who have been victimized and hated by other factions of Islam.
There is not much love loss. They are open to the Gospel. They don’t hesitate in wanting to hear stories from scripture and what they mean.
As I ate and fellowshipped with one particular Yazidi man & his two sons, he told the story of how his wife and his own mother, along with his brothers and many other family members were murdered by ISIS in very cruel ways. They escaped with only the clothes on their backs. He has a Master’s degree in engineering and had a comfortable living with a small ranch home.
But now he is a refugee with no job and no options for the future.
Life has dealt these people a very cruel hand, and yet they are rising above, refusing to let themselves sink into self-pity and despair. They do their very best at whatever opportunity comes their way. They don’t feel like society owes them anything. They are not just sitting waiting for help. They have taken a nightmare scenario, and are trying to make a living for their children and grandchildren. Sometimes that means begging on the streets or selling various household items for someone else, for a small share of the profit.
They are not looking for a hand out, they want a hand up.
May all the Glory go to God. His Spirit is moving mightily in this land where Abraham began his journey, 2000 years before Jesus. Where Jonah came to preach repentance, the Holy Spirit is inspiring a new generation of believers to come and share the Good News of a loving God, contrasted to the cruel god of the Islamists. The one true Living God who wants to forgive, heal and restore. Who will God send? Who will go on His behalf?