Pray That We Will Pray

The wise King Solomon wrote in  the book of Proverbs that,"The king's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord;  He turns it wherever He wishes." {Prov. 21:1} This not only reminds us that ultimate authority is in the person of God Himself, but also that He is sovereign over all things, and guides them according to His eternal purpose. 

At this time, America is in the grip of a spiritual dynamic that has resulted in much fear, discouragement, economic loss, and tensions. One of the most disturbing things we're experiencing is the closure of churches across the nation. It is now the end of May 2020, and many churches thankfully are beginning to open again and people are cautiously returning to gather and worship the Lord.  This is after weeks of Christians being told by the state, that to worship the God of our founding fathers, and our God as well, through faith in Jesus Christ, was non essential and prohibited for the public good.  Bizarre to say the least.

But I wonder if the Sovereign hand of the Almighty is upon us to show us just what we are in danger of losing.  For decades now in our nation church attendance has been in decline. People who do attend often have very weak beliefs about essential christian teachings such as salvation, the authority and inerrancy of scripture, Jesus as the only way of salvation, and church attendance being necessary. People reason I don't need to come to church, I can worship God anywhere. That is true, yet it does not over ride the teachings of scripture for the people of God to gather together as one and worship Him through Jesus Christ. 

My point today is, if people confessing Jesus Christ as Lord are lax in church attendance and do not see it as essential, are they not in practice reinforcing the view of much of the states decision makers? If the heart of the king, {government leaders} are in God's hand is God trying to shake us up and use these decrees as a warning? If Christians take our freedom to attend church for granted and ignore the teachings of scripture and do not attend, is God saying to us in effect,"OK, you don't want to come to church, I'll allow wicked policies so that now you CAN'T come to church.  Now the perspective and dynamic changes.

I have always said that there is a spiritual dynamic at work as the response to this virus was initiated, that events are larger than the illness itself.  But perhaps it isn't against the church, as much as it is a result of a lax, spiritually dull church. Either way, the Lord Jesus has all authority in heaven and Earth, and now is our time to pray.  Lawsuits, protests, voting people in or out of office, petitions and the like are legitimate means of making our voice heard, and we're grateful to live in a nation where we can exercise these privileges. Yet, it is essential is that our voice is heard in heaven, and that our prayers rise like incense to Christ Jesus Who turns the hearts of kings, and raises up or casts down the same.

Maybe this season will stir the hearts of people confessing Jesus. Maybe we will be moved to pray and make our voice heard in heaven. But at this point, perhaps our actions have spoken louder than our words.

It's A Bad News Good News Thing

One of the things most believers express a need for is revival. We have read about revival, that almost magical time when God visits His people in extraordinary ways, bringing conviction of sin, widespread repentance, salvation and fills churches to overflowing as He does miracles, and great works demonstrating His presence in undeniable ways.  I say "magical" because that's how it seems to many of us. We read about revival in years past, and the resultant cultural changes that result, and it seems like it will never happen in our time. We think, "it must have been wonderful to experience God in such a way."

As I've watched the news over the past few days, a strange thought hit me. It looks like there is a scandal brewing that implicates the former president, and most of his administration. It was with a troubled heart that I paid attention to the unsavory events described. I wondered how many people were involved in the scheme, and how many will be exposed and rightly prosecuted and sentenced. Predictably, most of those involved are Democrats and leftist subversives, who have a clear focus of "fundamentally changing" America. But just as predictably, Republicans and those on the right are hesitant to act and bring the perpetrators of these activities to investigations, prosecution and to justice.  It makes me wonder how many of them had a hand in this as well. Corruption is deep in DC.

Regardless, truth is being exposed, and with each day more details are revealed about the depth of corruption. What does this have to do with revival? Revival is not magical. Revival comes when there is a conviction of sin. That is, an awareness that I/we are guilty of deep sins and transgression.  Following is a confession of sin, as a preparation for what God is about to do.  These don't cause revival, they are the harbingers of revival. They are the tokens and tricklings of what the Lord is about to do in and for His people. 

The corruption of the last administration that is now being exposed is ugly, and hard to face. But the fact that it is being exposed is the church's opportunity to pray, intercede, confess our national sins, and repent since God will surely convict us also.  I think that God might be "cleaning house," and giving us an opportunity to see the results of leadership without God, government without accountability, and a weak church with no heart for our Savior or His cause. 

Pray for our leaders to be strong, to recognize the time and the significance of the events unfolding, and to act appropriately. It is the first step in revival. It falls upon us as the church to lament  and intercede for our nation so that justice will be served as a strong warning against these type of crimes in the future. But deeper than corruption, is the action of God's Holy Spirit to convict an entire nation and revive our souls, as we are revived in honoring Him as Lord and Savor, the cornerstone of freedom everywhere. May the exposing of wrongs and crimes, be the token of good news to come.

No Place For The Adversary

I had a quick thought this morning as I was reading in Revelation 12, vs 7-8. There it reads that war took place in heaven, with the result that the dragon and his angels were not strong enough. Vs 8 reads, "and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven."

What stood out to me was an encouraging thought, that as the enemy could not remain in heaven because heaven is filled with the Presence and glory of God, so he can  not remain with us, because we are filled with the Presence of God also, by means of he Holy Spirit. We know that the Lord is holy and no sin, wickedness or evil can be in His Presence. So the dragon and his followers were cast down and away from the dwelling of God and all that is holy. No place was found for them in heaven.

I just want to remind all of us today that when the enemy comes around with temptations, discouragements, or any other means of spiritual warfare, he can not abide when we are filled with the Spirit of God.  Just as he was cast out of heaven, we can cast him out of our thoughts, words, actions and lives. At times, it isn't easy, because he certainly is a mighty foe, but remember he is also a defeated foe. He has been cast down. He has been defeated because of what Jesus did on the cross and His resurrection. Now Jesus is at the right hand of God, with all power and authority acting on our behalf.

Now the enemy may be strong, but he is not strong enough, as the verse reads. If he is powerless over God in heaven, he is powerless over God in us.  But the battle lies in believing that our victory is a real victory, and that in Jesus' name, we more than conquer, and can live victoriously in spite of the spiritual battle that can be fierce at times.

So, be reminded today, that even though it does get tough to follow Christ in this season, and the enemy can come at the most inopportune time, he is not strong enough to defeat us.

Let your heart take courage Jesus said. Make the decision today to appropriate Jesus' triumph as our own.