Kingdom Prayer for the Nation #1

Posted on FaceBook Jan 8, 2021

NOTE: I wrote this, then tried to find a way to make it into 2 posts, but it would be confusing. So this may be long. Just one more problem with today’s culture, with short attention spans, desiring short articles, etc. Thus, here is this post in its entirety.

KINGDOM PRAYER FOR THE NATION

Not sure where this one is going, but I pray God gives me wisdom, knowledge, insight and kindness as I type.

Wednesday night our Pastor Donald Leavell, Corpus Christi Christian Fellowship, made the service a call of Prayer for the Nation, saying we cannot stand around and pretend nothing happened that day. Like burying our head in the sand. Several of our brothers and sisters rose up and prayed. Everyone delivered a heartfelt plea from down deep. One shy young lady who got up told me over a year ago that she was not ready to stand behind the pulpit and preach God’s Word. She was right! She needed to be in front of the pulpit, as she was Wednesday night. There could be no denying the raw emotion, passion and call to action. Not to be confused with the younger young lady, who prayed well too. Way to go, Liz!

The US is in serious trouble. All one need do is take a short drive, or walk around, and observe what is happening around you. Take the traffic as an example. Everhart has been under roadwork construction for a year now. During that entire time left turns onto Holly from southbound Everhart have not been allowed. A portable digital sign has been in place at the beginning of the construction stating that. “No left turn” arrows have been placed at the intersection, both at the stop line and adjacent the traffic lights (impossible to miss). Yet people continue to ignore those signs and wait for traffic to clear so they can turn. Meanwhile traffic backs up behind them sometimes over a block, usually at least half a block.

You may think, “what’s the big deal?” Let’s start simple and build from there. Your need to not be inconvenienced by a traffic ordinance in place to keep traffic flowing smoothly and prevent accidents, has just inconvenienced 10 – 15 other people behind you wanting to travel straight. If you feel there is no problem with disobeying that sign, what’s to stop you from obeying other traffic signs or ordinances, like wearing seat belts, texting while driving, speeding, etc? All of which happens everywhere. Then these same people, desensitized to obeying traffic laws, begin to think they don’t have to obey other laws, and before long, anarchy reigns. People feel they don’t have to wear masks in public, for whatever reason, so don’t. It’s OK to riot and destroy property, again for whatever reason they choose to justify their position.

Unfortunately, these people aren’t just those who belong TO the world. There are many who supposedly profess to belong to the Kingdom. Many Christians, including pastors and leaders, are following the path of least resistance and watering down the Word, turning a blind eye or in some cases advocating or at least condoning these worldly actions. NO MORE!

Mr Floyd’s death sparked protests, turned to riots, turned to violent upheaval. Every few days a new atrocity raised its ugly head and violence increased to the point Federal buildings were put under siege and attacked. One side stayed noncommittal or leaned towards supporting the violence. Now that that same side has apparently succeeded in being placed in power, they are now crying “Foul” with the events at the Capitol building on Tuesday. Federal property needs the full protection of the government now. It appears, however that the same elements who fanned the embers of the protests last spring and summer, into full blown fires of violence may have been at work on Tuesday. Those advocating impeachment during the past 4 years now tell the other side to “get over it” and accept the results.

There are very few unbiased, fact reporting outlets out there. “Alleged” has been stricken from the dictionaries, replaced by comments like “false claims of widespread voter fraud.” These comments are not being presented as quotes from people being interviewed, but as facts stated by the reporter. The articles read like opinion pieces and not fact reporting.

Not long ago, I wrote a series on “Truth in Love,” calling on Christians to speak God’s Word (truth) with kindness and compassion (love.) Now more than ever Christians need to lean into that Truth and speak out in love, not anger or condemnation. We must not be caught up in the worldly responses but be “doers of the word” as James 1:21-27 tells us.

“Therefore, lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. for if anyone is a hear of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. If anyone among you thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” (James 1:21-27)

And in the next chapter (James 2:14-26,) he tells us that faith without works is dead.

“But what does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,’ but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus, also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, ‘You have faith, and I have works.’ Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe – and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ And he was called the friend of God. You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” (James 2:14-26)

We cannot simply go to church on Sunday, worship God, then pretend nothing is wrong and bury our heads in the sand the rest of the week, or even worse, actually act like the rest of the world. We must be the Light, setting the example of a Christ-centered life, and share His Word. We must fulfill the destiny God has intended for us. Jesus Christ is THE ANSWER!

Be Blessed.