Living with Thanksgiving

"If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, 'thank you,' that would suffice." ~ Meister Eckhart
 

Once again the holiday season is upon us. The stores are filled with Christmas decorations, children are wondering what they will find under the tree, and Mom and Dad are wondering how they will pay for it. These days Thanksgiving is basically a pre-season holiday, something you do to get in shape for Christmas. We eat, we sleep, we watch football, and we don’t stop until January.

That’s a shame because the art of giving thanks is one thing that separates man from the animals. To receive a gift and say, “Thank you,” is one of the noblest things a man can do. There is nothing small or trivial about it.

To say “Thank you” is to acknowledge that we have been given something we did not earn and do not deserve. Happy is the man who understands that all of life is a gift of God and that life itself is the ultimate gift. Which is why the Bible says, “In everything give thanks” (I Thessalonians 5:18). When we can’t do anything else, we can always be grateful. As someone has said, “If you can’t be thankful for what you have received, be thankful for what you have escaped.”

As Americans, our hearts should continually overflow with thanksgiving. Author and Bible teacher Beth Moore, in her DVD study series on the Book of Daniel, acutely captured what it means to be "rich" when she contrasted resources and education in America with the rest of the world. She said that if a person has the resources to buy a book and the education to read it then that person is rich compared to 80 percent of the world who live in extreme poverty with no access to books or the ability to read them. That is a staggering thought as I own hundreds of books and have read thousands since I first learned how to read in first grade.

But as Christians, our thanksgiving should never cease because of the One who gave everything for us. We understand that happiness does not "consist in the substance of things possessed" ... but by "every word that proceeds from the mouth of God."

And this really is the key to sustained happiness and thanksgiving - a relationship with the Living God. While we need to be thankful for the material things we possess and our family our friends - true thanksgiving flows from a heart knitted together with the God of the universe.

The Apostle Paul tells us in his letter to the Romans that "while we yet sinners, Christ died for us" and that "whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." This is the greatest love story ever told - the God of the heavens becoming a man, suffering and dying on the cross of Calvary to pay for men's sins and then rising on the third day. For those that put their faith in Him and His sacrifice for sin, He promises that they too will rise one day from the grave as He did.

When one begins a relationship with Jesus Christ, God takes out his stony heart and replaces it with a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26 ). The happiness that results from this miracle of God does not fade when life takes a sharp turn and leaves us homeless, jobless, or parentless. No, this joy is rooted in a God who promises His followers "a future and a hope." A God who tenderly whispers that "He will never leave us or forsake us." And a God that comforts us with the reality that "all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose." 

This Thanksgiving season, let's do what the psalmist says in Psalm 100 and "enter into His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise." There is much to be thankful for and a God who awaits our presence.

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"Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed.  Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude." ~ D. Waitley 

The War Against God’s Word Continues…

This past week, a friend of mine forwarded me a link to a CNN article entitled, “New Bible Translation Omits 'Christ,' 'Apostle'.”

The story is about a new Bible translation that has been compiled by Professor David Capes, a New Testament teacher at Houston Baptist University. The translation is called “The Voice” which according to Capes is marketed toward people who own a Bible but have never read it because they feel it is too difficult to understand. His goal was to emphasize the “meaning” behind the words. To this end, The Voice does not include the words “angel”, “apostle”, or “Christ.” Capes goes on to say that “We ... made that strategic decision, not to transliterate, but to translate everything, to give them the meaning of the text, and to give them the sense of where the story ... is going.”

As I read this article, I could not help but think some things never change. In Genesis 3:1, Satan disguised as a serpent tells Eve, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”  Since man has been created, Satan has been attacking God’s Word to keep man in darkness.

Why Capes and his editing team felt people could not understand the words “angel”, “apostle,” or “Christ” is stunning. To then state that the impetus behind his translation was the fact that people who own a Bible do not read it because it is apparently too hard to understand is ludicrous. The Bible itself tells us in 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 that the gospel is veiled to the unbelieving world because Satan has blinded them, “But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.”

Christianity is not a numbers game. Our goal as followers of Christ, especially a teacher of the New Testament like Capes should never be to water down the Word of God in an effort to attract people to the gospel message. Shortly before his death, the Marxist leader Lenin said, “Give me ten men like Francis of Assisi and I will rule the world.” It is the power of the life transformed by Jesus Christ that makes the world sit up and take notice not massaging God’s Word to make it more palatable.

Jesus never compromised on doctrine. Never. He knew the result would mean more souls would perish. The Apostle Paul emphasized this exact point to his young protégé Timothy, “Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine…Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you” (1 Timothy 4:12-13; 16).

The greatest need in the church today is not increased membership and certainly not at the expense of altering God’s Word. We need to come to the place where our lives mirror what the Apostle Paul said in Philippians 3:10, “that I may know Him [Jesus] and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.” This is our charter as believers. We are not called to be marketers of Jesus Christ, we are called to become like Jesus Christ. A tall order indeed but this is the narrow road that leads to eternal life.

Date Setters

It has been hard the last couple of weeks to avoid all the hoopla surrounding May 21, the supposed date for the end of the world to take place according to Christian radio broadcaster Harold Camping. If you are not aware, Camping is the president of Family Radio, a California-based religious broadcasting network that spans more than 150 outlets in the United States as well as a website. Camping uses Bible-based numerology to predict dates for the end of the world. His current end times prediction is that the Rapture will be on May 21, 2011 and that God will completely destroy the Earth and the universe five months later on October 21. He had previously predicted that the Rapture would occur in September 1994.

I am not sure if Camping actually believes what he is propagating or if he is just looking for 15 minutes of fame but the Bible clearly states in Mark 13:32 that no man, not the angels, and not even the Lord Jesus Himself knows the return of God to Earth. Only the Father knows the date.

Of course date setting is nothing new. Many people over the course of history have predicted the Lord’s return to the earth and all of them have been wrong. This is not surprising in lieu of the fact that the Apostle Paul told the Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3 that the Lord’s return would be sudden, “For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman.” When I read this verse I often think of 9/11 and how that event happened on a random Tuesday morning with no one expecting it or ever thinking it would happen. I believe that is how the Lord’s return will take place.

But I think when people, or more importantly Christians, get caught up with date setting and begin spending hours trying to decipher Bible numerology, they miss the true message of Christianity. The Lord Jesus told us when He departed to preach the gospel to every creature. This is the great commission. The message of the cross has always been and will always be the most important message we ever proclaim. It is the cross that saves, it is the cross that forgives, and it is at the cross that we find mercy and grace.

One day the Lord will indeed judge the earth but right now He is in the business of saving the world. When the Lord does return we do not want to be like the Jews during the period of the great prophet Jeremiah and say, “The harvest is past, The summer is ended, And we are not saved!”

Jesus told us in the Gospel of John to not delay in bringing people to the knowledge of the gospel, “Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest?’ Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!”

This is our mission. This is our only mission. As the Lord continues to tarry there is still time to share the gospel with others and affect eternal destinies. While I do long for the appearing of the Lord and look forward with hope toward that day when I will see Him face to face, I cannot let that thought distract me from my true purpose as His child.

In many ways, I hope Camping is right and the Lord does appear tomorrow and if He should that still leaves us with 24 hours to proclaim the gospel to others. Live today like the Lord will return tomorrow and share the gospel with others in love. Time is short and the Lord could return at any moment.

"If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." (Romans 10:9-10)

The Christmas Story….Completed

In just a few days we will celebrate Easter Sunday, more than 2,000 years since the first Easter Sunday was observed by the disciples and more than 500 other witnesses. It is this event, the resurrection of our Lord and Savior that is the pinnacle of the Christian faith. It is also this event that makes the birth of the Savior significant for without the resurrection His birth, life, ministry, and death are all rendered meaningless. In fact, the Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 that “if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty…we are of all men the most pitiable.”

Perhaps no truer words of the significance of the resurrection were ever spoken. Even the harshest critics of the resurrection of Christ have to admit that if He did indeed rise than death truly holds no power for those that put their faith and trust in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins. In fact, no other world religion offers a Living God. All of their gods are dead in their graves with no power to help their followers either here on earth or in the life to come.

Not too long ago I saw a television program on the rise of the Muslim religion across the world. At one point, they interviewed a Muslim man about the difference between his religion and Christianity. The man said that the two religions are very different not so much in their practice but in their belief regarding salvation. He said that Islam does not offer a personal Savior like Christianity that forgives men for their sins with no effort on their part. He said it is on this basis alone (human achievement vs. grace of God) that the two religions differ greatly. And I would also add that it is this fact that elevates the work of Christ above everyone else.

The Bible tells us the God loved us and died for us, “while we were yet sinners.” (Romans 5:8) Did you catch that? God loved us while we were sinners and at enmity toward Him. I often think that the first question I will ask God when I see Him is, “Why did you love us so much?” It is this very love that compelled him to take off His God-hood (Philippians 2:5-8) and become man in order to provide redemption for mankind – something we could not do on our own.

So, as we approach Easter Sunday and contemplate the resurrection of Jesus, let’s make it a point to share this Good News with others. I just heard the other day that there is talk of changing the name of “Easter” to something else because it is too Christian sounding. Very sad indeed, but not surprising given the state of our nation these days. But no matter the name, we as believers in the One who resurrected know its significance, so go out and proclaim it boldly, always sharing it with others in love.

Cultivating a Heart of Thanksgiving

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I must admit that as a child I kind of glossed over Thanksgiving in anticipation of Christmas. I never really liked turkey as a child which may also have contributed to my blasé feeling toward it. But as an adult, it is by far my favorite holiday. I love getting together with my family (I am one of seven children) and eating all the delicious food and watching football. Of course, the Patriots are playing as well this year which makes it even more special.

In contemplating Thanksgiving and God’s command for us to be thankful in all things (Ephesians 5:20), I am reminded of God’s most important gift to all of us who know Him as our Savior – Himself. For you see, God could have given us temporal riches to enjoy in this world but He has always had in view our number one need – redemption. John Piper once said that “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” And this really is the key to the abundant life that Jesus promised would be ours in Him. So often in today’s world where gain is mistakenly for godliness as Paul said it would be (1 Timothy 6), we look toward temporal blessings as an indication of God’s favor and miss the fact that Jesus reminded us often that life does not consist in the abundance of things but IN Him alone (Luke 12:13-21).

Nancy Leigh DeMoss has written a wonderful book called Choosing Gratitude: Your Journey to Joy, which I highly recommend reading as it has helped me to think about the importance of gratitude in my walk. She states that gratitude is a choice and if we fail to chose it, by default we choose ingratitude. And when we do choose a lifestyle of heartfelt, humble gratitude, we are mindful of the benefits received from our gracious Savior and those He has placed around us. By intentionally thanking God and others, bitterness and entitlement are replaced with joy and the humble realization of just how undeserving we really are.

DeMoss also challenges us to give thanks not only to God but to other people. She deftly points out that the Apostle Paul thanks people in all but four of his epistles. She also includes a 30-day devotional guide to help readers practically implement gratitude into their daily walk.

I hope this Thanksgiving you will take some time to think about gratitude beyond just the one day that it is celebrated in this country and look toward developing a heart attitude of thanksgiving throughout the year. I am currently on this journey, which I must confess has not been easy at times, especially when I am hurt by others or suffer injustices, but it is at these times that God is urging me to be most thankful. I realize this seems like a paradox, but much of Christianity is the polar opposite of human reasoning because humanism at its core leads us away from God and from the precepts of His kingdom which bring true joy and contentment. I think one of the keys to living victoriously in this area is to never forget your own salvation. It is at the cross that we find all we truly need to be thankful for, and with that perspective, anything we suffer in this life can be counted as all joy.

I hope everyone has a blessed and peaceful Thanksgiving.

“Thanksgiving Day comes, by statute, once a year; to the honest man it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow.” - Edward Sandford Martin

Prayer: Our Secret Weapon

Last week I had discussed the importance of prayer and its power to transform our lives and bring about revival. Incidentally, no revival ever took place that was not ignited first through persistent and heartfelt prayer. This week I wanted to take a look at what prayer accomplishes in the life of the believer.

As I had mentioned last week, prayer is our opportunity to commune directly with God. This relationship was made by possible by the birth, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Ephesians chapter six tells us that we war against principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world and spiritual wickedness in high places and urges us to put on the whole armor of God daily. The armor has five pieces for defense and the Sword of the Spirit (the Word of God) as our only offensive weapon but I would also suggest that prayer is our secret weapon.

In his profound but little known work, The Weapon of Prayer, E.M. Bounds says, “The most efficient agents in disseminating the knowledge of God, in prosecuting His work upon the earth, and in standing as a breakwater against the billows of evil, have been praying church leaders. God depends upon them, employs them, and blesses them.”

Leonard Ravenhill argues that even Satan “would rather have us increase in Bible knowledge as long as we keep from prayer, which is the exercise of the instruction we have received through the Word. What use is deeper knowledge if we have shallower hearts? What use is greater standing with men if we have less standing with God? … What use is religious piety if we have soul carnality? ... Who can take comfort in social popularity if he is unknown in hell? Prayer takes care of all these spiritual maladjustments.”

I believe that prayer is as vital to the spiritual man as breathing is to the physical man. Prayer is the great divider of those that claim to be spiritual versus those whose hearts beat in unison with the Living God.

Prayer also safeguards us against our two worst enemies – pride and pity. God is always trying to get us to a place where we are balanced right between pride and pity. He wants us to recognize our self worth in Him and boast as the Apostle Paul did in Him alone. But He also wants us to acknowledge our sin before Him with a broken and contrite heart so in our humility He can exalt us.

It is unfeasible to strike this balance without a consistent prayer life. I would also suggest that it is impossible to have a successful prayer life if we are not committed to the Word as it is through God’s Word that we know His mind and are able to have confidence in Him that “if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”

I think for many Christians our prayer life is lacking because we simply do not believe God. We have lost confidence that our prayers are moving angels into action. Perhaps part of the reason is because God does not allow us to see everything He is doing when we pray. I heard a preacher say once that if he had been Daniel praying for God’s revelation, the answer would have been delayed three years instead of three weeks. That is a very depressing statement, but alas, it may be a reality for many of us.

It is within our power to change. If we are dry spiritually than let us pray for the living water that Jesus promised is ours in Him; if we are feeling like we are just going through the motions of our faith than let us pray for renewed passion; if we no longer witness to others because we are fearful of their reaction than let us pray for boldness. God is still faithful. His chief desire is it to revive His people. He is at the door knocking. Prayer is the key.

To make my weak heart strong and brave,
Send the fire.
To live a dying world to save, send the fire.
Oh, see me on thy altar lay
My life, my all, this very day;
To crown the offering now I pray:
Send the fire!

-F. de L. Booth-Tucker

The Throne Room Awaits

No man or woman is greater than his/her prayer life. The dictionary defines prayer as a reverent petition made to God or another object of worship. When Jesus Christ died on Calvary the veil of the temple was torn in two which represented the fact that now man could come into the presence of God himself instead of going through the temple priest. In is through Jesus Christ and His life, ministry, death, and resurrection that we can now commune with God directly. But how many of us take full advantage of this unlimited access to the throne room of God?

The Bible exhorts us to pray unceasingly, fervently, and earnestly but for most of us the fulfillment of this command is not a reality. Leonard Ravenhill in his classic Christian book, Why Revival Tarries says the church is most poverty-stricken in the area of prayer, “We have many organizers, but few agonizers; many players and payers, few prayer-ers; many singers, few clingers; lots of pastors, few wrestlers; many fears, few tears; much fashion, little passion; many interferers, few intercessors; many writers, but few fighters. Failing here, we fail everywhere.”

I believe the Christian life can be counterfeited in just about every area except for prayer. A true prayer warrior brings the presence of the Holy Spirit. In Ephesians chapter six, the Apostle Paul states that “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” As we beseech the throne room of God, spiritual forces are battling either on our behalf or against us. Given this spiritual truth, it is possible that one man or woman praying on earth can move angels into action.

Earlier in my Christian life, I was very ministry focused. I saw the doing of God’s work as the top priority but in actuality, without prayer, even our good intentions on God’s behalf are futile. Prayer is the time when the Lord is able to cleanse us, teach us His mind and will, and make the impossible possible.

A church is truly set on fire by its commitment to prayer. The world is not waiting for a new definition of the gospel; they are waiting for a new demonstration of the power of the gospel. It is the life that is transformed that makes the world sit up and take notice. That is why the Apostle Paul in Romans chapter 12 exhorts us to “present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” It is only as our mind is renewed that we are able to prove and do God’s will.

I think for many Christians we view the reading of God’s Word and prayer as separate, but I believe they are intimately connected. The Word allows us to know the mind of God; prayer enables us to commune with God. What a marvelous privilege - to commune directly with the Living God!

I often find that when I am reading the Word of God, I will stop frequently and begin praying. It is as if God is teaching me His Word and at the same time prompting me to pray for the things that are His will for my life. Of course, I John 5:14-15 underscores this symbiotic relationship between God’s will and prayer, “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.”

I don’t think anyone of us is ever truly satisfied with our prayer life but if we want to experience the power of God and see our churches and ourselves revived, we need to begin with prayer. God will answer if we are faithful.

“In the spiritual sphere, the riches garments of the soul are spun on the looms of prayer and dyed in the travail that fills up the sufferings of Christ.” – Leonard Ravenhill

The Valley of Transformation

A dear friend of mine recently gave me a book entitled, Hinds Feet on High Places. It is an allegorical novel by English author Hannah Hurnard, which she wrote in 1955. The story is about a young woman named Much-Afraid, and her journey away from her Fearing family and into the High Places of the Shepherd, guided by her two companions Sorrow and Suffering. It is an allegory of a Christian devotional life. The book takes its title from Habakkuk 3:19, "The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places."

I have only read about half of the book thus far, but it has already enraptured my soul. The main theme that keeps repeating is how the Lord uses suffering to bring us to the mountain top. I have come to realize in my own walk that I spend much more time in the valley than I do on the mountain top, and that is not because the Lord is some type of sadist that enjoys watching us suffer, but because it is only in the valley that He can transform us into the image of His Son.

C.S. Lewis, the great Christian apologist, once said, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, but shouts to us in our pain.” Perhaps it is just human nature but for whatever reason we seem to listen more intently when we are suffering. Our Savior, of course, is not a stranger to suffering either as the the prophet Isaiah describes Him as, “A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” (Isaiah 53:3) It is also within the realm of suffering that God comes into full view. It seems to be most often His modus operandi for revealing Himself to us. 

When the Apostle Paul was knocked off his horse and blinded on the road to Damascus, the Spirit of the Lord appeared to Ananias and told him that he was to put his hands on Paul to restore his sight. Ananias was confused, of course, given Paul had been persecuting Christians during this time, prompting Ananias to ask the Lord why He would use such a man for His work. Now listen to the Lord’s reply, “Go [go and find Paul], for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake” (Acts 9:15-16, italics are mine). The great Apostle Paul, who has written one third of our New Testament canon, was commissioned by God to suffer. Why? Because it was through his suffering that the gospel was going to move forward to the outermost parts of the world and in the process, Paul was going to become more like Christ.

So, what effect did this have on Paul? Look at his summation of his sufferings in Philippians 3:7-8, “But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ.” Pretty powerful, I know. Paul looks at all the he has lost and suffered and sees it all as rubbish because he has gained Christ.

God’s number one purpose in our lives as Christians is for us to be completely satisfied with Him ... just Him. It is in this realm of complete abandonment that we reach the mountain top for Jesus Christ IS the mountain top. Even when we are deep in the valley, when we are abiding in Him, He “shall renew our strength and mount us up with the wings like an eagle and we will run and not be weary and walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4)

A Glimpse Behind The Prayer Veil

During the past couple of weeks the Lord has been teaching me much about prayer. Not only the power of prayer but how it works in the physical world as well as the spiritual realm. I wanted to share a fascinating truth from Scripture that I hope will bless your heart.

In the Book of Daniel, chapter 10, the Lord provides an in-depth look into prayer that is riveting and unlike any other passage in the Bible. At the start of this chapter, the prophet Daniel receives a disturbing message which prompts him to begin praying to understand its meaning. The text says he prays for three weeks and then is visited by an angel, who most scholars believe is Gabriel. It is at this point that Gabriel reveals to Daniel what has been happening in the spiritual world during the time he has been praying, “Then he said to me, 'Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia. Now I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision refers to many days yet to come.'” (10:12-14)

I have read several commentaries on these verses and they all agree that the prince of the kingdom of Persia who resisted Gabriel was an angel of Satan. Bearing this in mind, it is interesting to notice that as soon as Daniel began praying his prayer was heard and answered immediately by God who sent Gabriel. It is at this point that an intercepting agent of Satan (the prince of Persia) sought to detain Gabriel and perhaps would have restrained him even longer than 21 days if the Archangel Michael did not get involved in the battle. It is also worth mentioning that perhaps the answer may have been postponed even longer had Daniel grown weary of praying every day for three weeks.

This entire scenario that is revealed in Daniel perfectly pictures Ephesians chapter six where the Apostle Paul states that “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (6:12) This is a powerful truth, isn’t it? As we beseech the throne room of God, spiritual forces are battling either on our behalf or against us. Given this reality, it is possible that one man or woman praying on earth can move angels into action.

Pastor David Jeremiah said on this subject of prayer that when Christ died on Calvary he sealed the fate of Satan once and for all. But the final execution of Satan’s judgment when he is bound and thrown in to the lake fire will not take place until the end of the world. In the meantime, it is up to the Church of Jesus Christ to enforce Satan’s judgment. But how do we do this? It is through the power of Christ’s death and resurrection that we have the power to thwart Satan’s plans by humbling ourselves, as Daniel did, before the throne room of God. Pastor Jeremiah went on to say that we should not pray deliver us from evil but deliver us from the evil one. So often, we pray for things and never pray against the powers of darkness. We are engaged in a battle, and if we are indeed wrestling against the powers of darkness as Paul states, than we need to engage in the conflict by praying against the forces that are seeking to destroy our churches, our families, and our young people.

I think often as Christians we feel defeated in prayer and do not realize the power we have to change our world. It is the prayers not the mayors that make the world go around.

So, let us approach the throne room of God boldly and execute what Paul tells us we have the power to do in 2 Corinthians, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (10: 3-5).

No one is a firmer believer in the power of prayer than the devil; not that he practices it, but he suffers from it." - Guy H. King

Even So, Come, Lord Jesus

Over the past few months the pastor of my church has been preaching through the book of I Thessalonians. If you are not familiar with this book, it is believed to be one of the Apostle Paul’s earliest letters and the Thessalonians, to whom the letter is addressed, are believed to have been almost exclusively Gentiles. The Book of Acts, however, does record that there were Jews converted during Paul's initial preaching in Thessalonica. Paul was concerned because of the infancy of the church given he had only spent a few weeks with them before leaving for Athens. His purpose in writing the letter was threefold in nature. First, he praises them for their steadfastness under persecution. Second, he instructs them concerning holy loving, and lastly he corrects their misunderstanding regarding the second coming of Christ.

It is this last point regarding the coming of the Lord that I wanted to spend some time discussing. I have always found it amazing that the people of Thessalonica, who were experiencing intense persecution from both Jewish and heathen adversaries, tied their afflictions to the coming of the Lord. In fact, they actually believed they were living in the Day of the Lord as detailed in the book of Revelation (chapters 4-19). Their eyes were squarely fixed on the Lord amidst intense suffering.

As I look at the world today, it amazes me even more that society at large attributes, so little, if anything, to the hand of God. We are entering a watershed moment in the history of our nation as we move toward a more socialist mindset, and even further toward a one world government and no one seems to give God a second thought. I was actually chuckling to myself as I imagined the Thessalonians living in our world today and their thought process. I am certain that the uproar about the Lord’s return would be so great that Paul would be busy right now penning a third letter to placate their anxieties.

In all seriousness though, heaven is real and Christ is coming. I don’t want to get into an eschatological discussion in this blog post but if you were to study the book of Revelation and prophecy as a whole, there is nothing impeding the Lord from coming today. What a marvelous truth to contemplate and allow to shape our lives. If we genuinely believe He is coming, we should discipline our thoughts accordingly. If we are pilgrims eager for an eternal city, we will be happier, harder-working, more forward-thinking people on earth, whatever our age or circumstance in life. As the thought of the Lord’s return captivates our mind, we begin to realize our permanence isn't on earth as we long for the city whose builder and maker is God (Hebrews 11:10).

I heard a preacher once say that the entire Bible could be summarized into three simple statements: Chris is coming, Christ has come, Christ will come again. And therein lies the marvelous hope for the believer. Christ is coming again!

Alas! How we forget that we are but strangers and pilgrims on the earth; that we are journeying to our eternal home, and will soon be there! - Octavius Winslow