What happened to our faith? No, really. What has happened to the kind of faith that speaks life when those around are speaking death? The kind of faith that believes, truly believes, there is nothing – NOTHING – God cannot do. People sing those words. I’ve heard them sung and many of you have, too. But those same people are wearing a mask in their car. They stay away from things and people they love all for fear. I don’t get it. I really don’t.
Jesus made blind folks see and crippled folks walk. Some of them even jumped and ran! He raised Lazarus from the dead! He doesn’t care what people think. Maybe that’s what the vast majority of us need healing from. Or from a fear exacerbated by arbitrary numbers and rules that defy logic.
Oh I know we’ve all prayed for something that didn’t materialize or for someone who didn’t get well. But allowing a result we don’t fully understand decide our present and future actions is like quitting a baseball game after a strike or remaining sprawled on the racetrack after a fall. And who knows what came of those prayers that didn’t result in answers we sought. Perhaps other things happened because of them, and we just didn’t see it. Some of you might remember a miracle we shared just a few years ago due to faith-filled prayer.
We have many voices claiming many different things. We are looking at a virus. We are looking at an insurgency to take over our country. We are looking at troubles of many kinds in many places. We, my friends, are here to manage things as God instructed in Genesis. There are a lot of things that need changing, help, and God’s intervention. There are millions of people who need to know Jesus. We’re just getting started. Time to lean in.
Dear Heavenly Father,
Our weakness has been exposed to us. As your remnant, we’re supposed to be bold, and we pray for boldness just as those first disciples did. We pray for courage. But we know now that our faith is weaker than we realized and more pitiful than we want to admit – even to ourselves. So we pray for faith.
We pray for good memories. Memories of how You freed the Israelites from captivity in Egypt. Of how you parted the Red Sea and helped them across. And then how you engulfed their captors in the same waters. We pray to remember Jesus’ many miracles. And we pray to recall times in our own lives when You’ve intervened and given us a miracle even if we didn’t call it that.
We know You in part and You know us fully. We pray, oh dear Lord, we pray for faith to move that mountain. We pray for faith in the face of a storm. We pray for faith to heal the sick just as the disciples did and to walk on water – even just a little bit. Strengthen us. We ask for FAITH.
Dear Father in Heaven and our Blessed Savior, Jesus Christ,
We are so grateful to know your power, to know your perfection and holiness and might. We are so very thankful we can come to You and ask. You’ve said “you have not because you ask not”. You’ve said “whoever believes in Me will also do the works that I am doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me for anything in My name, I will do it.“
Okay. We are asking. We are calling on Your name. Our nation needs YOU. We need you to send your mighty warrior angels to fight alongside good men and women against the evil that has descended into our cities and towns. We call on the powers of heaven to COME DOWN and help us. We stand and ask You to stand with us against every Luciferian curse, spell, hex, vex, voodoo, and every other evil word. We don’t know what we’re dong, but You said – You said – whoever believes in Me will also do the works and greater. Okay. We’re here and we’re asking. We might not be ready, but we’re asking. Show us what to do, how to pray, what to say, where to go . . . We might not be ready, but, Lord, we’re here. Do a great work in this world and take us over.
Protect, surround, and guide our righteous leaders. If there are any who would deceive or mislead, we pray they will be exposed and brought low. We pray you will give great, great wisdom to President Trump, to Bill Barr, to Your righteous men and women who work so diligently for our nation. Give wisdom and protection to Your righteous judges. Give wisdom and protection to Your righteous military leaders and the armies they direct. Give wisdom and protection to our first responders whatever uniform they wear. And all the families.
Give wisdom and protection to Your men and women of faith, and especially those who are in positions of leadership. They need You, Lord. Help them. And expose those who wear that cloak, but don’t wear your Spirit. Expose them and bring them low. They harm Your church and Your Name.
Just now Lord, and we’ll keep on praying, but just now, CRUSH the evil in this land. This is one nation under GOD. Satan can’t have it. It is YOURS. We decree and declare in the might Name of Jesus that Your Spirit will pour over our citizens, that eyes will be opened, that hearts and minds will be changed, and that revival will break out so that the United States of America will be bright and holy as You desire.
We asked and we are keeping asking. You said You’d hear. You said You’d act. And this is what we believe in faith and pray mightily.
Warm air ruffled his hair, whispering a thousand battles into his thoughts. There had been an explosion – sudden and so loud he felt it down to the marrow of his bones. Immediately alert, he’d fired back with everything he had. Then silence. His adrenaline decreased and the beat of his heart quieted enough to look around. He moved slightly toward his buddy for a fist bump. They deserved at least that celebration here in the small outpost assigned them. There hadn’t been many of them to begin with and now, down to just two, they had bravely carried on. Duty. Honor. Country.
His battle buddy since the beginning of this military journey was immovable. He gave a low whistle between his teeth.
“Jack! Hey, Jack!”
It was then he noticed the brown stain growing on Jack’s chest. He crawled over and cried out, but it was no use. Jack’s eyes were unblinking and his face expressionless.
The report of machine guns echoed. He was alone. And he would fight on.
I wonder if history has seen a time when II Chronicles 7:14 has been quoted more than it is now. We’re not very good at humility, and social media works against it, but maybe the pandemic urges us more closely toward the “humble themselves” part of the verse. Many of us have spent time giving serious thought to our sin and those of our nation, in order to “turn from our wicked ways”. Now all that’s left is for God to hear and forgive and heal, right?
There’s one more thing for us to do: “seek His face”. Do we think about God’s face? We think about who He is in history or what He gives or can give us or His creation. But seeking His face . . . Hmmm.
Scripture tells us no one can see God and live. I believe it. And to my way of thinking you don’t have to read much more than that to feel a huge amount of humility. And we know that Jesus is God incarnate, so to look on Jesus is to see God’s face. Of course others will say they see the face of God in His creation: nature, people in every walk of life, etc. Still others will say God doesn’t have a face because He is Spirit. I can’t disagree with any of it.
Still, this verse says, “seek My face”. I’ve just been thinking about finding what is beyond the usual answers. Is someone’s face the essence of their feeling and thought? Do we wear our history; our suffering and joy on our face? Can others see what we think of them when they look at our face? Do we fall in love the longer we spend gazing at someone’s face?
I think we will each come to a better conclusion if we work on this individually just now, not read what some blogger writes. If you come up with something by all means share it with the rest of us! For now, enjoy seeking God’s face. Spend time in His presence. Dwell there. See what happens. And I’ll see you when I see you – face and all.
Scripture source: If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
We have honored others before You: music, media, and entertainment stars, politicians, those we admire, pets, special places, those we love and have loved. We have put these things first: jobs, reputation, leisure pursuits, goals, wealth, status, and causes. We’ve loved the earth and animals so much, that they became our focus. We worshiped the creation more than the Creator.
You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
We have erected beautiful cathedrals and church buildings to admire while leaving adoration of You on the threshold. We’ve admired physical fitness until those with great bodies gained attention and acclaim beyond what we give You. We’ve been more concerned with our safety than with proclaiming Your Name. We’ve named a show American Idol and watched it without flinching. We cheered the immunity idol without a thought. We think if we say we idolize someone or something it’s to our credit.
We’ve purchased buddhas we think are cute and toured religious relics the activity of which we thought made us sophisticated. We have tried to fit in to other cultures by covering our face or bowing our head. We’ve exclaimed over these things made of wood and stone, wax and clay, and left little time and energy for admiration of our actual Creator.
You shall not misuse the Name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses His Name.
We’ve carelessly thrown Your Name around like a trinket in speech, or used it in praise without a thought of who You truly are. We barely notice when Your Name is misused. We’ve been more concerned about how the worship team sounds and the songs that we sing than who is being worshiped. We’ve promised to pray and have not prayed. We’ve proclaimed Your power with faithless voices.
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, not your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but He rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
We’ve become lazy about honor. We use the Sabbath as a day to catch up on work we didn’t do earlier. We shop. We take in entertainment or sports without acknowledging that a special day requires attention on Your creation, not our desires. We are undisciplined in reading Your Word; In praying and drawing ever closer to the One who loves us beyond description; In fasting to diminish our appetites for anything other than You.
Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
We give honor when it is convenient and does not wear us out. We dismiss old wisdom because it seems out of date. We make many excuses, but are without one that is legitimate.
You shall not murder.
We speak death with our words. We’re harsh with those we don’t like and who we don’t understand. Our criticism tears their spirit and we admit no fault.
We kill infants who aren’t yet formed or who are tiny enough to be at our mercy. We call it abortion and choice, not murder and child sacrifice. We torture those of any age, finally sacrificing them on the alter of satan, himself. We drink the blood and laugh at the sorrow. And if we hear of such horrors, we dismiss them because we don’t want to admit they exist.
You shall not commit adultery.
We watch television and movies that make sexual promiscuity and deviance common and expected. We let it seep into our thinking. We trade one spouse for another and find a way to claim victimhood. We not only approve perversion, but commend it.
You shall not steal.
We take someone else’s ideas, words, or inventions without giving credit, and say they are ours. We seduce the singular affections of another’s friend or family and keep them for our own. We steal from small businesses who have no protection or big businesses because they can’t track it. We accept money from a government who takes it from someone else. In all the slippery ways there are to misuse another’s earnings, we’ve done it. We have taken money and laundered it to increase our own estates. We’ve stolen children from families who are destitute and claimed we would help them. Instead we have sold them over and over for a pervert’s sexual pleasure. We’ve mismanaged money – our own and in our government – and made excuses for both.
You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
We’ve gossiped. We’ve misled others to make ourselves seem better and our sins seem less. We’ve said someone has done or said something they never did or said. We’ve threatened in order to gain confessions to reach our desired legal result. We’ve plotted and planned and written or leaked or lied or spread information that mislead others. We’ve censored information we didn’t want others to read or know.
You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
We’ve wanted someone’s success or reputation and allowed it to discolor thankfulness for what we have. We’ve thought about their fortune while dismissing our own, we’ve cared about their lives while missing the goodness around us. We’ve lived lives of ingratitude.
God in Heaven, These and so many more are our sins. We don’t know how you can look on our nation without turning away. And we are laying our sin before You right now. It is filthy. It is despicable. It is stomach-churning. It is tarry and awful. We know we are a hardened wasteland that ingests garbage and doesn’t care. We REPENT. We are so sorry. We want to change.
Please heal. Please pour Your Spirit on us. Purify us from our sin. Purify us inside and out. Our thoughts return to You and You alone can heal us. We ask for Your mercy.
There is a small room in my grandparents’ basement, built by two brothers. My mom’s two cousins needed housing while they attended Dunwoody Institute the year of the Armistice Day Blizzard. That November 11th day in 1940 was unseasonably warm, but ended with a two-day snowstorm that caught many off guard, even freezing some to death. As the storm hit, the two brothers walked approximately five and a half miles from school to home. By the time they walked through the back door of the house, the ear of one was frozen and covered with snow.
Later on that little room served various uses, but what I remember about it is that it had a small framed statement, maybe 6 x 8 inches, that said, Stop Worrying. You’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive.
I loved that sign. It brought a wry smile to my face the first time I saw it and every time afterward. From time to time that admonition has returned to me with its whimsical truth. It certainly echos these days in which our country is facing not one, but three (or more) challenges.
As we continue to endure the corona virus pandemic and shut down, some feel great concern over what could happen when folks begin to venture again into normal life. They are worried about catching this virus and what it can do to their health or the health of a loved one. We hear concerns about it mutating, though a highly respected doctor asserts the parts of it that mutate don’t affect the parts that respond to treatment. We have treatment for it, but not everyone agrees whether hydroxochloroquine + azithromycin (+ zinc) is effective. There are even disagreements about why people agree or don’t agree with its effectiveness. We have unanswered questions: do or did I have it and not know it, if people get it and have some or no symptoms how can they avoid giving it to someone else, what if I get it and am one of the few who suffer and die? Scott Kesterson wrote something that gave me pause: Reflect. Our time on earth is finite. When we die is unknown. What is certain is that we will die. Some will die tonight. I hope it’s not a new thing for people to think about their own death, but maybe it is. Some US citizens these days are only for the first time facing a mortal challenge.
Others feel great concern over their rights being taken away. Shouldn’t there have at least been a war before someone dropped the hammer and decided when and where citizens can go, who they can visit, and what they are allowed to purchase? Those with power are revealing who they are: concerned and focused or controlling and oppressive. Even Hollywood stars are getting into the act by parroting whatever script they are given. Not all of them, but some. (Those some, I would add, have probably been bought by someone unseen and powerful. It’s very sad to think someone gained fame and fortune at such a steep price.) Those who know the history of communism and those who only think they do have opposing perspectives.
The majority of us are probably somewhere in between; caring about public health, yet also caring about freedom; caring about the vulnerable, yet also caring about restricting government orders and the destabilizing nature of an economy in its death throes.
Yes, we have a load of trouble on our hands. We have pestilence. We have threats of war. And thirdly, we have the kingdom of darkness right here. We are only now waking up to the widespread practice of satanism among the wealthy and powerful. It walked into our house and poured its black, evil, vile presence all over the place. And whether we’re ready or not, we must fight it. We must banish it from our home and vanquish it as well as we can. And we must do so whether we’re scared or worried or weak.
These are worrisome times, but we have a God whose mighty hand can part seas, heal those who are sick, fight battles, and calm storms. That hand can even raise the dead! Why do we dismiss His power so easily? We are walking through our own Armistice Day blizzard of sorts. It took us by surprise! It’s difficult to see the path in front of us! Yet we know we must persevere in order to get to a place of safety and warmth.
Finally, let’s bring to mind not just worrisome things, but lovely things, too; because they are part of what strengthens us. As we walk this beautiful, weary world, it will do more good to let go of the things that weigh our journey down: hate, past troubles, worry, than to carry their sorry carcasses on our backs. There’s a lot to love and appreciate. Always. Even during troubled times.
Stop worrying. You’ll never get out of this world alive.
Bards of War, Scott Kesterson, https://www.Youtube.com/channel/UCOtB_qcFywPqu0uVwf6RPpw; Image: pexels.com; https://www.facebook.com/TippingPointonOAN/videos/282333452762416/?t=3
Things have already been strange. Very strange. Ever since Moses returned to his hometown in Egypt from his adopted desert home, unbelievable events have taken place. For one thing the Nile turned from water to blood for awhile. No, it wasn’t some weird algae thing. It was blood. You don’t believe me? Ask anyone. The stench was terrible and, of course, no one – not even the animals – could drink from it. Then frogs. Frogs! Really! They were all over the place. They’re slippery when you step on them. Did you know that? Not after they’re dead and dried up under the sun. No. When they’re alive and hopping all over the place and you can’t walk anywhere without stepping on them. I won’t even talk about the gnats that flew up our noses. But we at least got a reprieve from the flies – swarms of them – that were all over the place in Egypt. It was the same with the plague on the livestock. What a loss! Oh, not in Goshen. No, we Israelites were prevented that trouble here. And the boils, hail, locusts, and darkness. I kid you not. I almost, almost, began to feel sorry for the people who had enslaved us for hundreds of years – until I remembered how we were treated by them.
Now this. Moses and Aaron got us all together and said we’re supposed to take a year-old male lamb without any defects into our homes for two weeks. We’re supposed to make sure there are enough lambs to feed every family member. Then – slaughter! Yes. Just when we were starting to like the little thing. My brother even named it. He eats out of my hand, you know; his little tongue licking every last bit. But we can’t make excuses. He has to be slaughtered at twilight. Then my parents are supposed to take some of his blood and smear it on the sides and tops of the door frame. Every family in this town is supposed to do it. We won’t be the only ones crying over our little lamb.
We wonder what will happen at midnight, and everyone in the neighborhood has their own idea. But we all agree the Egyptians won’t do this. Oh! What if we can hear the wailing clear over here when every Egyptian household loses their firstborn: the Egyptians in prison clear up to the Egyptians in the palace. Horror! And Moses says be ready. After everything else that’s happened since he returned, we will do what he says. Don’t take time to let your bread rise. Eat lamb roasted over fire, along with bitter herbs and the bread that didn’t have time to rise. Pack a go bag because the Pharaoh will call for Moses and tell him he will finally grant his request to let us out of slavery. But we must hurry, hurry, hurry! Grab what we can and go! Go fast! And if some Egyptians give us some of their stuff to make us leave, well I won’t stop them. Plunder can be done in a variety of ways, can it not?
It’s twilight. Oh! The lamb! The bleating! The blood spatter! We cry, but we do what we’re told. We follow the instructions. Death will pass because of the lamb’s blood. We shut the door.
