Walking With Jesus

The All-In Prayer

“Someone once told the great evangelist Dwight L. Moody, ‘The world has yet to see what God will do through a man fully consecrated to him.’ Moody took that to heart and dedicated his life to taking the Good News to the world. Can you imagine if Christians all around the world took on that challenge of dedicating themselves wholly to God? It starts with just one person making that decision. If you’re ready today to give yourself totally to God and his purposes, pray this prayer. Then consider sharing it with your small group or pastor. – Pastor Rick Warren

*Please let this prayer by Pastor Rick Warren become your prayer, as it has become my prayer. Blessings, Ed

Father, today, I’m stepping across the line. I’m tired of waffling and I’m finished with wavering. I’ve made my choice. The verdict is in, and my decision is irrevocable. I’m going God’s way. There’s no turning back now. I will live the rest of my life serving God’s purposes, with God’s people, on God’s planet, for God’s glory. I will use my life to celebrate his presence, to cultivate his character, to participate in his family, to demonstrate his love, and to communicate his Word.

Since my past has been forgiven and I have a purpose for living and a home awaiting me in heaven, I refuse to waste any more time or energy on shallow living, petty thinking, trivial talking, thoughtless doing, useless regretting, hurtful resenting, or faithless worrying. Instead, I will magnify God, grow to maturity, serve in ministry, and fulfill my mission in the membership of his family.

Because this life is preparation for the next, I will value worship over wealth, “we” over “me,” character over comfort, service over status, and people over possessions, position, and pleasures. I know what matters most, and I’ll give it all I’ve got. I’ll do the best I can with what I have for Jesus Christ today. I won’t be captivated by culture, manipulated by critics, motivated by praise, frustrated by problems, debilitated by temptation, or intimidated by the devil. I’ll keep running my race with my eyes on the goal, not the sidelines or those running with me.

When times get tough and I get tired, I won’t back up, back off, back down, back out, or backslide. I’ll just keep moving forward by God’s grace. I’m Spirit led, purpose driven, and mission focused. So I cannot be bought. I will not be compromised. And I shall not quit until I finish the race. I’m a trophy of God’s amazing grace. I will be gracious to everyone, grateful for every day, and generous with everything that God entrusts to me.

To my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ I say, however, whenever, wherever and whatever you ask me to do, my answer in advance is yes. Wherever you lead and whatever the cost, I’m ready. Anytime, anywhere, any way. Whatever it takes, Lord. Whatever it takes. I want to be used by you in such a way that on that final day I’ll hear you say, “Well done, thou good and faithful one. Come on in and let the eternal party begin.”

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

When Satan Rejoices!

“I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn over what is going to happen to Me, but the world will rejoice. You will grieve, but your grief will suddenly turn to wonderful joy.” (John 16:20 NLT)

Seeking to bring comfort to His disciples as He prepared them for His departure from this world, Jesus mentioned that while they grieved, the world would rejoice. C. S. Lewis picked up on that theme when he wrote: “My prayer is that when I die, all of hell rejoices that I am out of the fight.”

It reminded me of the last words of Kari Jobe’s song, The Cause of Christ, which say: “I pray it’s said about my life that I lived more to build Your name than mine.” May I assure you that if your life is being lived to the Lord’s honor and fame more than to yours, hell will rejoice when your life comes to an end on earth. The happy reality is, even after we’re gone our legacy for the cause of our Savior will continue.

Photo by Oladimeji Ajegbile on Pexels.com

Here’s the truth, living a life devoted to the cause of Christ that will cause Satan to rejoice when we die isn’t something that will happen by accident. Loving Jesus and living for His honor and fame are byproducts of a focused life, they’re the result of a disciplined life lived with intention. What might that look like?

Focus on anything begins in our mind. What we think about comes about, so, if our desire is to change anything in our life, we first need to train our mind to think right thoughts about whatever it is. We’re creatures of habit, so in order to develop a new habit, we’ve got to set reminders in open view to remind us of whatever it is. I write myself notes and leave them in places I know I’ll see them.

Some critical habits for a believer are things like prayer, reading and studying God’s Word, the Bible, listening to the Lord in prayer and reading, not only the Bible but good books that ground our mind in truth. Books written by people like C. S. Lewis, Henry Blackaby, John Piper, Timothy Keller, Lee Strobel, Andrew Murray, Charles Stanley, Erwin Lutzer, Max Lucado, Jim Cymbala, Tony Evans, Charles Swindoll, Rick Warren, and on and on it goes.

Time alone with the Lord is indispensable. Prayer is not only speaking, but listening, as is reading the Bible. Read devotionally for the sheer pleasure of reading God’s words, but also take time to contemplate what those words mean.

For example, John 1:1a says: “In the beginning the Word already existed.” What does “In the beginning” mean? What does that tell you about Jesus? It establishes Jesus’ credentials as God, that He was and is pre-existent, which basically means, before anything else He already was.

John goes on to reveal a lot more about Jesus, but establishing a firm understanding of who Jesus is will go a long way in equipping yourself to handle the questions, doubts, fears, anxieties, hopes, and many other emotions that are raised in the course of any given day.

When my focus is on Jesus, I remember that He’s God in human flesh, so, as God, He’s pre-existent, ever-present, all-knowing, all-powerful, He will never leave or forsake me, and on and on it goes. In short, whatever I need, to be everything He desires me to be – HE IS!

When we find our joy and complete satisfaction in Jesus; when He’s our all in all, our everything, our life, everything we are or ever hope to be, then He will be our motivation to give our all in the fight to make Him known. As a result, hopefully and ideally, we’ll make a dent in the devil’s plan to kill, steal, and destroy, so, he’ll rejoice to see us leave this life.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Racism

“In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free, Christ is all that matters, and He lives in all of us.” (Colossians 3:11 NLT)

As a Caucasian growing up in the 60’s, prejudice was an expected part of our upbringing. We didn’t even think about it, it was just the way it was. There were black kids in our school, but rarely any interaction between us except in sports. I never stopped to ask why it was that way, but just figured the black kids got the same memo as white kids, that we weren’t supposed to like each other.

A few months after I got saved a singing group came to our church from an affiliated college. The kids were to be housed by the families of the church. My mom got a call and was asked if we’d be willing to host a black male student. Amazingly, my mom said “yes,” and that was the beginning of an education that has continued to this day.

Mel was a few years older than me, but one of the kindest, most gentle, most talented men I’d ever met, and was also a very talented musician. We hit it off immediately and, for me, the race barrier was shattered. From then on it became apparent to me that the color of our skin, the one thing with which we’re born and over which we have no decision or control, should never separate us.

It took me a while to realize that unlike many of the pictures I’d seen of Jesus, he wasn’t a white guy, but a man of color who grew up in a land I’d never heard of until I began to read the Bible.

Racism is a belief that some races are by nature superior to others, leading to discrimination based on that belief. Having traveled to other countries and met people whom I instantly loved based on nothing more than our mutual love of Jesus, I found it strange that there was so much turbulence in the 60’s due to race. Why couldn’t we just get to know each other and learn to love one another?

Not understanding the history between white and black people until I was older, I hadn’t understood the basis of the mistrust and hatred. But also, being aware of the rednecks in the backwoods of West Virginia, and realizing I was seen as one, I understood perfectly. I learned when you treat someone as stupid or unwelcome, or “different” in any way, it doesn’t take them long to believe that about you and or themselves.

Garrett Kell made an insightful observation when he wrote: “One of racism’s most deceitful tricks is to assure you that it abides anywhere other than your own heart.” One of the greatest privileges I’ve ever had is to be a part of Hope Church in Las Vegas, Nevada. We have more than 50 language groups represented in our congregation.

Some Sundays we sing familiar songs or choruses and many of the people sing them in their native language. It’s a touch of heaven and never ceases to bring tears to my eyes. I now have many friends of all shapes, sizes, and colors and each one brings a new and much invited dimension to my spirit that enables me to see Jesus a little more clearly.

Regardless of where you live or how long you’ve walked with the Lord, please allow the Lord to open your heart to each of your brothers and sisters regardless of race, color, ethnicity, or anything else that might be different from you. Learn from one another and allow the Lord to build between you an unbreakable bond of loving friendship. When you do, you’ll experience a little bit of heaven on earth.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

When 1 + 1 = ENOUGH!

“When the people saw Him do this miraculous sign, they exclaimed, ‘Surely, He is the Prophet we have been expecting!’ When Jesus saw that they were ready to force Him to be their king, He slipped away into the hills by Himself.” (John 6:14-15 NLT)

The verses above come right after Jesus had miraculously provided food for 5,000 men, plus their wives and children. As you’d expect, the people were overwhelmed with awe and they wanted to declare Jesus their literal king right then and there, but that was never Jesus’ desire or plan, so He “slipped” away.

The word used that is translated “slipped” here means “to withdraw, so as to leave a room; of those who through fear seek some other place.” (Strong’s) Make no mistake, Jesus wasn’t running from the crowd, He was running to His Father, and fear wasn’t His motivation, love was.

Alone time with His Father was a recurring necessity in Jesus’ life, as it must be in ours. To walk with Jesus and not spend time alone with Him is to miss the point of walking with Him. Following Jesus isn’t simply a commitment we keep, it’s a relationship we nurture, so, to miss time alone with Him is to miss the point of our relationship.

Why is our one-on-one time with Jesus so critical? Because, as He said in John 15:5: “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in Me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing.” Alienation leads to ineffectiveness that leads to estrangement. Just as with our family and friends, time with Jesus is a choice, a choice that will lead to intimacy or isolation. At some point we must decide that, as the old hymn says: “if none go with me, still I will follow!”

In that context we can think of our walk with Jesus as Jesus + me = ENOUGH! However, it has much broader implications than just my personal walk with Christ. His design and desire are that we walk together, but the strength of our togetherness grows out of the strength of our oneness with Him, especially in our marriage and family.

I love this story by Jim Mitchell (See I Do Every Day: It’s a No, and It’s Unanimous – 2022) about a very frightening and challenging time in his marriage. He’s applied for what was, in his mind, his “dream” job. It was everything he could have ever hoped or imagined the perfect job would be, but when he got “the call,” the board responsible for hiring voted unanimously to NOT hire him.

As you might expect it was crushing, but Jim writes: “Then something beautiful happened. ‘It’s a no, and it’s unanimous’ became our rallying cry. Words that had wounded also created a defiant us-against-the-world resolve in the face of questions: “Is it true that not a single person sees our value? Has God really abandoned us? Will we put joy on hold and stop dreaming of a bright future together?”

‘It’s a NO!’ We said it together and we meant it. A unanimous vote of two. Looking back, I know God was right alongside us the whole time. So, I would never seek to diminish His presence. But I’ll also tell you, this was a profoundly human moment for us, where we looked each other in the eye and learned beyond any doubt that one plus one does not simply equal two. Sometimes in a marriage, when spouses cling to one another as God intends, one plus one equals enough.”

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Radical or Conservative?

“Timothy, my son, here are my instructions for you, based on the prophetic words spoken about you earlier. May they help you fight well in the Lords’s battles.” (1 Timothy 1:18 NLT)

There is a war going on in our world today, not simply literal wars where human life and property are at risk, but a spiritual war between right and wrong, good and evil, God and Satan, for the souls of men and women, boys and girl. And whether you choose to believe it or not, you’re on one side or the other.

You’re either engaged in battle FOR lost people’s souls or you’re not; you’re either standing up for the King of Kings or you’re not; you’re either holding up the banner of holiness and right living or you’re not. There’s no standing on the side lines. You’re either in the fight or you’re not. Where do you find yourself today?

John Piper wrote: “We cannot know what prayer is for until we know that life is war.” To believe we can stand by and watch while the world is burning is to not realize what it means to be a Jesus follower. To pretend we don’t know the battle lines have been drawn is to be a German blind to the plight of the Jews in Hitler’s regime.

There’s a point where blindness becomes numbness and turning a blind eye becomes idiocy. John Stott wrote: “Every Christian should be both conservative and radical; conservative in preserving the faith and radical in applying it.” We’re in the fight whether we like to think about it or not. If we profess faith in the living God, our life is in the crosshairs of the evil one.

The war is on and has been ever since Jesus took His last breath on the Cross. We’re either being a part of the problem or a part of the solution. We’re either taking seriously our Commission to give our all to Jesus or we’re trying to blend in with the world. But at some point, sooner than we want to realize, we’re going to answer the question: “Who’s really ruling my life?”

It’s either Jesus or someone else. Who is it for you? If it’s Jesus, then live like it. Stand up for what’s right, good, and holy, not just with your words, words are cheap, but with the quality of your life. Does your life shout for all to hear: “I’m God’s child and the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart are going to bear witness to that fact!”

By the world’s standards we’re going to live very conservatively – well within our means, generous with what God has given us, not only monetarily, but with our efforts to forward His eternal Kingdom. And we’re going to be very radical in how we apply our Christian principles in the way we treat others, how we pray, how we give, how we open our lives to the poor, the outcast, the rejected, the lost and lonely.

We’re not about exclusion, but inclusion, when it comes to people. If someone needs Jesus, we’re there for them. We’re not necessarily about waving banners, holding placards, or shouting slogans, but we are about standing up for what is right, good, wholesome, and will benefit those who are willing to put their lives on the line for Jesus.

In the days to come we’re going to be called on, whether we like it or not, to either defend our faith or deny it. We need to be clear in our own hearts and minds, because our choice is going to cost us our life – in this life and/or the next.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Why No Revival?

“The high and lofty One who lives in eternity, the Holy One, says this: ‘I live in the high and holy place with those whose spirits are contrite and humble. I restore the crushed spirit of the humble and revive the courage of those with repentant hearts.’” (Isaiah 57:15 NLT)

The term “Revival” isn’t a word we use or even hear much these days, but it’s needed more now than perhaps any other time in history. Revival, on some levels, is a “neutral” term. It literally means “to restore to life, to cause to grow, or to give life,” but that can have reference to an old photo or to an antique car.

But when God uses it, He has reference to His life in us. In the original language of the Old Testament the term meant “to quicken, revive, refresh, to cause to grow.” Growth is God’s plan for each of us who believe. But growth doesn’t happen accidentally. Growth is VERY intentional. To not be intentional about spiritual growth is to intentionally choose spiritual death.

Being a Jesus follower is a decision that requires action. It’s like saying: “I’m buying a new car; would you like to come with me to pick it out?” It’s a decision that results in practical change that, over time, affects every area of our lives.

Revival has at least two dimensions. Our part and God’s part. Leonard Ravenhill wrote: “The only reason we don’t have revival is because we are willing to live without it.” If we’re honest, most professing believers never give revival a thought, largely because we don’t understand how badly we need it.

Have you ever been a part of a true, Spirit-led move of God? I have and it can’t be faked or falsified. The Spirit speaks, people listen and respond. There’s little or no preaching and very little singing, except as the Spirit leads. People respond to the Spirit, then share what He’s saying. It’s genuine, Spirit-led, Bible-based confession, repentance, restoration of relationships with God and others that can’t be described or explained in any other way than God did it.

The actual “Revival” may only last a few days or a few months, but the launch of God’s Spirit in people’s lives as He awakens and ignites their spirit to love and serve Him will live on throughout eternity. I’m forever changed for having been a part of such a move of God and I long for that in the lives of others today.

The irony is God will not force His Spirit upon us. He’s a gentleman and will only go where invited and welcomed. He will make His presence known and will flood our hearts with Himself where He sees an openness and honesty that genuinely desires and longs for Him alone. And when there is a group of believers longing for that to happen, not for any ulterior motive or desire for personal recognition or gain, He will respond in miraculous ways.

Do you hunger for His presence? Do you long to see your life exude love that is beyond anything you could “muster up” or fake? Are your prayers focused on the salvation of your lost loved ones and friends, or on things that are more centered on your needs? And please understand, I’m not saying it’s either or, but it must be both.

Some who profess Jesus don’t need revival, they need salvation. They have a pretense of spiritual fervor for what it can do for them, when what they need is to be cleansed of their sin and filled with God’s Spirit.

When enough people stop pretending and start begging God for His presence, the Spirit may see fit to bring revival. Until we demonstrate through our lives that we’re longing for the Holy Spirit to do what only He can do in and among us, there will likely be none.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Hope for Change

“He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like His own, using the same power with which He will bring everything under His control.” (Philippians 3:21 NLT)

Weakness isn’t something we work for, it’s a by-product of inactivity. No one crawls out of bed in the morning and says: “Hey, Honey, I’m going to work out for a while, I’m entirely too agile, coordinated, flexible and strong! I’m just feeling too good, I need some exercise!” That’s crazy. We work out to BUILD, GAIN, or minimally, to KEEP those things, not because we have too much of them.

That’s the tragedy, we don’t have to do anything to build or gain weakness, it comes naturally. So does spiritual weakness. Too many would-be very effective Jesus followers have “I wish-itis.” “I wish I knew the Bible better.” “I wish I could share my faith like ________!” “I wish I could pray more effectively.” “I wish I’d started all this Christianity stuff a long time ago.” “I wish _______” and you can fill in the blank.

Hope for change doesn’t begin in the cellar of our regrets or the dusty storeroom filled with “things I can’t do or don’t have.” Hope for change begins in the heart of someone who loves Jesus more than they love themselves and they’re no longer willing to believe the lies that keep them focused on what they DON’T have.

We have a Savior who is our EVERYTHING! He’s EVERYTHING we’ll ever need to be EVERYTHING we could ever dare dream we could be – IN HIM and FOR HIM regardless of our current circumstance!

Change always and only begins in the mind. That’s why repentance is the first step in salvation. A change of mind is the catalyst to every great invention and the building of every great person of God. Our mind is where hope begins, and hope leads to action, resulting in God getting massive glory for all He accomplishes in and through us. Without hope there’s no faith and without faith it’s impossible to please God.

But hope must extend much further than the borders of our own life. Thabiti Anyabwile reminds us “Sometimes we have to have more hope for people’s change than they have for themselves.“ When you think about it, why aren’t all the people for whom we so diligently and fervently pray each day, believers in Jesus? Why do they have no hope for that kind of change?

They may hope for a new refrigerator when theirs breaks down, but they haven’t yet seen the need for the hope of a new life in Jesus, the new-life Giver! We’ve got to allow the Holy Spirit to ignite that hope in their life through OUR life. What if rather than approach a lost friend or neighbor with: “YOU NEED TO COME TO JESUS!” You started with something like: “Hey, ______, how about we grab a bite together? How about breakfast at that new place that just opened?” Or “You look like you’ve got the weight of the world on your shoulders. Let’s grab a cup of coffee and talk for a while.”

People need to know WE’RE real before they’ll ever believe our Jesus is real. Our hope in Jesus has to be translated into how that hope is working in OUR life, because if it’s not working for us, there’s not much hope we’re going to convince anyone else it will work for them.

But this can work the other way, too. Maybe there’s a Christian brother or sister who needs a “hope” boost. Let the Lord use you to share the hope He’s given you, with them. Spend time with them, share Jesus’ joy and favor He’s flooded into your life with them. It’ll be a “win-win” for hope!

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Satan’s Target

“Jesus replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.” (Matthew 22:37-38 NLT)

It’s extremely frightening when you consider you’re losing your memory. How so? Your memories, on some level, constitute the person you are. We operate from day to day based on what we remember. Many things are rote, in the sense we don’t even think about them. We don’t have a checklist on the mirror: did you shower, shave, brush your teeth, etc. UNLESS and until you can’t remember to do those things. (and no, I’m not quite there yet 😊)

But you get the point. Our mind is critical to the function of the “machine” which is us. That’s why Jesus said we should love the Lord our God with ALL our … MIND! Many would-be effective Jesus followers struggle because their mind is spread so thin. We wrongly believe we can face the world, whatever that looks like for you, without bathing our mind with God’s Words and thoughts.

To enter the flow of our day without spending time reading and pondering God’s Word, the Bible; speaking with Him about the details of what’s on HIS (not just our) agenda for our life that day, is like going to your wedding without showering or brushing your teeth.

Greg Locke wrote: “Satan’s target is your mind, and his weapons are lies. So fill your mind with the Word of God.” When we rush into our day without consulting our Savior we run the very real risk of being attacked in ways we’re not prepared to defend ourselves. The world is filled with people who believe lies propagated by Satan that too often begin, just like in the beginning, with: “Did God REALLY say THAT?” or it’s next of kin: “Is THAT what that verse/passage/the Bible as a whole is – REALLY saying?”

And if the Word of God isn’t fresh in our heart and mind, we, no matter how long we’ve had a profession of faith, may be tempted, if only for a second, to question if it’s really true as I’ve believed it. A white undershirt that’s been washed 20 times looks pretty good, until you sit it by a NEW white undershirt. We sometimes live with lies so long they begin to look like the truth, when they’re anything but.

We’ve been inundated by LGBTQ indoctrination for so long we can begin to wonder if what they’re saying may have some “truth” to it. “Maybe some kids are born to be another gender? Maybe I should rethink allowing my child to ___________. “And you can fill in the blank. Questions! That’s often how the enemy will invade our mind.

He will never tempt you to believe Jesus isn’t Lord, he’ll just distract you from listening to Him, then from fully following Him as Lord. The truth is, He’s either Lord or He isn’t! His Word is true, or it isn’t! You’re either following the Jesus of the Bible or you aren’t! There’s no in between. Satan isn’t about Truth or lies, He’s ONLY ABOUT LIES!

That’s all he knows, so, that’s all he can teach. He’s perfect at innuendoes and half-truths that sound credible but are completely false. Are gay people of the devil? Some of them are, just like many non-gay people are. Our sexual persuasion is a personal choice, but God has His view of sexual perversion that has and will never change.

We don’t write off people who sin, regardless of their “brand” of sin, we love them and point them to the Truth whose name is Jesus. But we’ll easily be confused if we let our mind become the devil’s playground. Remember, our mind is his target, and he loves to play there.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

A Believer’s Highest Honor!

“Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves or free.” (Ephesians 6:7-8 NLT)

Service for the Lord comes in all shapes, sizes, and levels of difficulty. For some, serving the Lord is a local matter and may include things like volunteering at church, school, a hospital or Nursing Home, raising kids or other worthwhile causes. But for some, serving the Lord becomes a family adventure that leads them to foreign soil.

Often, we think of “serving the Lord,” as “ministry,” which, in many people’s minds, is for the “pros,” but that’s not the way the Lord views it. “Ministry,” as understood from a Biblical perspective means essentially, we’re to “bloom where we’re planted,” in the sense, God has us exactly where He wants us and expects us to be His “instrument” to do whatever He’s planted us there to do.

“Ministry” in Scripture literally means “service.” And service isn’t reserved for Pastors, Teachers, Evangelists, and Prophets, those are simply areas of service to which some are called. Regardless of who we are as a child of God, at least two things are true: First, we’re God’s blood bought child and, secondly, we’re called and equipped to serve in some capacity.

John Calvin reminds us: “The highest honor in the church is not government but service.” My perspective is, especially in the day in which we live, the highest honor ANYWHERE, not just in the church, is to serve the Lord. But another factor in our service is to whom is the honor deflected? In other words, what is our motive for doing our service to the Lord? Is it truly to point people to Jesus, or to us?

Brother Calvin also wrote: “We never truly glory in God until we have utterly discarded our own glory.” Honor isn’t only received; it’s also given. We honor God when we acknowledge with our attitude and actions that He alone is worthy. We often use glory interchangeably with honor, and that’s fine in the right context. But there is also a sense, especially when used in reference to the Lord, that “glory” can also be understood or is interchangeable with “presence.”

To “Glorify” and “Honor” the Lord, regardless of setting or circumstance, is to work or serve as in His presence. We serve an audience of ONE. We seek no one’s attention or recognition, save His. To brag or even mention that we’ve done something for the Lord, in my mind, is to distract from His honor, glory, and recognition.

He rewards things done for Him in secret (Matthew 6:3-4), but, admittedly, there are things like preaching a sermon, greeting, caring for children, teaching a class, and many other ways we seek to serve where we can’t be “unseen.” In those instances, we just don’t draw undue attention to ourselves. And, by the way, you and I both know when we do that! 😊

Humility isn’t a performance to be rewarded, it’s an attitude of our heart to be privately, but passionately pursued. It’s a gift from God for those who treasure Him more than they treasure themselves.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Prayer for Our Nation

“For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on His shoulders. And He will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end.” (Isaiah 9:6-7a NLT)

*I first saw this prayer by Dr. Glenn Sunshine in a Breakpoint article co-authored by John Stonestreet and Dr. Sunshine. You can see the full article at Colson Center for Christian Worldview colsoncenter@colsoncenter.org or breakpoint.org.

Lord, these are dark and dangerous times for our country. Our politics is full of hate, and it’s spilling over in how we think of and treat each other. And like any nation, we have guilt for the evil that we have done and permitted.
We have the blood of over 65 million unborn children on our hands. How do you even begin to atone for this? No political party is willing to defend the unborn, and some of those who speak up for them have even been imprisoned. We can only appeal to your mercy and pray for an end to the slaughter of innocents.
We have dismantled your design for marriage and sexuality and given in to a spirit of confusion over simple biological facts. We are engaged in a destructive project to do the impossible and transition people from one sex to another, and more victims will pay the price for our folly.
We have deep injustices in our criminal justice system against the marginalized and politically disfavored, resulting in many false convictions and plea deals done by the innocent to end their ordeal. In this way we have corrupted justice in violation of your commands to judge with truth.
We have made idols out of our possessions, out of sex, out of ourselves, out of politics, out of our nation, and out of the government, and we have viciously attacked anyone who questions our false gods. We treat them as heretics to be despised and hated.

We hate and malign our political opponents, forgetting that they too are made in your image and forgetting Jesus’ teaching that to hold another in contempt is the equivalent of murder, an attack on the image of God and thus on God himself.
May we as your people resist the temptation to hate, to insult, to lash out. May we love our enemies and pray for those who insult or persecute us. May we be peacemakers.
May our allegiance be first and foremost to your Kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. May we live by Jesus’ teachings and the values of the Kingdom as agents of reconciliation and shalom in a world that desperately needs them. May your priorities be our priorities over party, tribe, or faction. May we seek first your Kingdom and your righteousness, working for your justice in the world but especially for your rule over all areas of life. May we be disciple-makers in accordance with your final command to us.
May we live by the law of love—not the kind of sentimental love our culture promotes—but love that seeks the ultimate good of all persons, not their temporary satisfaction. May we love people enough to speak the truth with compassion and gentleness. May we care more about their wellbeing here and in eternity than about what they think of us.
Politically, the issues we are facing are many and complicated, and no party stands for your Kingdom in all areas. May we affirm and support what is good: the right to life, liberty of conscience, our fundamental freedoms, equal justice under law, government that carries out its responsibilities before you but stays out of things beyond its legitimate authority. May we oppose what is evil: infanticide, abuse of all sorts, injustice, and dehumanizing rhetoric from all sides. And above all, may we put our hope in you, not in the election or defeat of candidates or parties.
We pray against the demonic forces driving these and other evils in our society and the increasingly overt embrace of the occult among cultural elites.
Lord, you and you alone determine the rise and fall of nations. Only your Kingdom lasts forever. If this is the time when we will see the decline of our nation, keep us from despair, remembering that our citizenship is in Heaven from which we await our Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord. Your promises remain unchanged, and whatever happens, we know you are true. Our hope is in you, not in politicians, parties, laws, or constitutions. We commit our nation into your hands, and by your grace we will live in faith, hope, and love, whatever happens.
We ask all this in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.