Lord, I confess that I am often mad at You,
When I can't see what it is You are up to,
I get angry when I see others gripped in pain,
That no words of a preacher can really explain,
I get mad when the cancer disease takes away,
Those we love and can't hold for another day,
I get mad when things get obscured from view,
When I wonder what next You are going to do,
I get mad when death steals away too premature,
When doubts arise and Your word seems unsure,
I get mad when good people suffer in such sorrow,
When weeping endures with each and every tomorrow,
I know the enemy sows these seeds of anger inside me,
Blinding me in rage until Your goodness I cannot see,
I know this anger is self destructive to my weary soul,
That You alone can heal the hurts and make me whole,
I know that You are good - Your ways are faithful and true,
Why have these things become so clouded from my view,
Yes, I am angry because I am frail and can't understand,
What You have proposed and what all You have planned,
So I lay my anger down completely at Your glorious feet,
Believing You to sanctify and make me wholly complete,
I no longer will live mad, angry, and bitter toward You,
When Your last chapter is not done -You are not through.
This poem was inspired by a conversation I recently had with a suffering saint that loves God but cannot understand the sorrows of life. I think we have all been at this same place at one point or another. I do not throw stones for I know I have been in this place myself from time to time. Even in these seasons I believe God's grace is sufficient and He brings us through to victory. Press on dear ones. Press on until the light of God's glory breaks the dreadful clouds that hang over your life right now.
Thursday, September 10, 2015
Abounding Trials - Triumphant Peace
Like few times ever in my life the trials are abounding. They come in various sizes and shapes. Some are personal. Some are family health related. Some are related to Faith Community Church. Some are related to the Paradise community and especially our athletic programs plagued with a rash of injuries. What is of greater importance is the number of other people I see suffering.
Cancer abounds. Often the doctors say it is incurable. In the small community of Paradise it is astounding the number of people fighting cancer. I have never seen anything like it. On top of this, I see so many of our athletes suffering injury. In all my years of playing sports and supporting my kids I have never seen anything like it. Knee injuries. Concussions. Heart problems. Ankle injuries. Pulled muscles. Broken bones. All for a team trying hard to play for the glory of God.
No family I know has suffered more than the Jones and Fisher families from West Texas. Watching them face trial after trial, grief on top of grief, sorrow multiplied with other sorrows has left me bewildered and asking God why. Why has one family been forced to endure so much suffering? I hurt for them and find myself at a loss for words. Nothing I can say or write will take away the pain. Only God can heal and comfort their broken hearts. Only God can answer their probing questions of why and why He did not intervene to stop the cycle of disease, accidents, and deaths in such a short span. All I know to do is to love them and lift them before the Father.
I am thinking of a single mother fighting breast cancer. She lost her job and insurance because she missed work so much getting treatments. She had to move back home with her parents. The trials were already abounding enough in her life just being a single mother without dealing with cancer and the loss of her job and insurance.
I am thinking of the many people I know facing financial trials because of the down turn in the economy especially related to the oil field and farmers. The trials abound for these families. Many have felt the pinch at work and others fear the loss of their jobs.
Where do I look for hope? I look to God's word. I find strength and hope from Phil 4:6-7, "Don't worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." HCS
The only hope any of us has is to keep praying, keep pleading, keep interceding, and to keep trusting God to help in the trials. For the grieving that means asking God to comfort and heal broken hearts. For the financially strained that means trusting God for provision. For the ones fighting cancer that means trusting God for healing and to take care of loved ones.
I am writing this at a time when Faith Community Church has less than $150 in the bank. Yet ,I have never had more peace that I am supposed to be here. I have more peace that God will come through for us again. Over the past two decades I have seen Good do numerous financial miracles many of which I have recorded on these blogs. At a time when things look bleak I have more peace that God is doing a great work in this church. I am excited for our future and the vision God keeps unfolding to me. Even with less than $150 in the bank I am able to sleep soundly at night. Thoughts of panic do not grip my heart. The peace of God triumphs. No matter what happens I know God will not forsake me. That does not mean that things at times cannot go from bad to worse. Many of you can testify of this fact in our own lives. I still choose to trust God and His peace literally is sitting guard over my heart and mind.
That is where Satan love to attack. Seeds of doubt creep into our thoughts. Our emotions deceive us. But when we lay it all before the throne of God and leave it with Him, His peace triumphs in us even when the trials are abounding.
As I stand in the gap for many people fighting cancer I have God's peace. As I watch people in my flock suffering from various things, I trust God on their behalves to intervene. I trust God to help, comfort, provide, rescue, deliver, heal, and protect.
Everywhere you look trials are abounding, but if you walk with God and trust Him, peace can triumph all the more. Jesus, please flood the hearts of the suffering with your peace that no man can manufacture, no self-help philosophy can create, and nobody can explain. I ask for Your peace to triumph over every single trial. In Jesus name, amen.
Cancer abounds. Often the doctors say it is incurable. In the small community of Paradise it is astounding the number of people fighting cancer. I have never seen anything like it. On top of this, I see so many of our athletes suffering injury. In all my years of playing sports and supporting my kids I have never seen anything like it. Knee injuries. Concussions. Heart problems. Ankle injuries. Pulled muscles. Broken bones. All for a team trying hard to play for the glory of God.
No family I know has suffered more than the Jones and Fisher families from West Texas. Watching them face trial after trial, grief on top of grief, sorrow multiplied with other sorrows has left me bewildered and asking God why. Why has one family been forced to endure so much suffering? I hurt for them and find myself at a loss for words. Nothing I can say or write will take away the pain. Only God can heal and comfort their broken hearts. Only God can answer their probing questions of why and why He did not intervene to stop the cycle of disease, accidents, and deaths in such a short span. All I know to do is to love them and lift them before the Father.
I am thinking of a single mother fighting breast cancer. She lost her job and insurance because she missed work so much getting treatments. She had to move back home with her parents. The trials were already abounding enough in her life just being a single mother without dealing with cancer and the loss of her job and insurance.
I am thinking of the many people I know facing financial trials because of the down turn in the economy especially related to the oil field and farmers. The trials abound for these families. Many have felt the pinch at work and others fear the loss of their jobs.
Where do I look for hope? I look to God's word. I find strength and hope from Phil 4:6-7, "Don't worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." HCS
The only hope any of us has is to keep praying, keep pleading, keep interceding, and to keep trusting God to help in the trials. For the grieving that means asking God to comfort and heal broken hearts. For the financially strained that means trusting God for provision. For the ones fighting cancer that means trusting God for healing and to take care of loved ones.
I am writing this at a time when Faith Community Church has less than $150 in the bank. Yet ,I have never had more peace that I am supposed to be here. I have more peace that God will come through for us again. Over the past two decades I have seen Good do numerous financial miracles many of which I have recorded on these blogs. At a time when things look bleak I have more peace that God is doing a great work in this church. I am excited for our future and the vision God keeps unfolding to me. Even with less than $150 in the bank I am able to sleep soundly at night. Thoughts of panic do not grip my heart. The peace of God triumphs. No matter what happens I know God will not forsake me. That does not mean that things at times cannot go from bad to worse. Many of you can testify of this fact in our own lives. I still choose to trust God and His peace literally is sitting guard over my heart and mind.
That is where Satan love to attack. Seeds of doubt creep into our thoughts. Our emotions deceive us. But when we lay it all before the throne of God and leave it with Him, His peace triumphs in us even when the trials are abounding.
As I stand in the gap for many people fighting cancer I have God's peace. As I watch people in my flock suffering from various things, I trust God on their behalves to intervene. I trust God to help, comfort, provide, rescue, deliver, heal, and protect.
Everywhere you look trials are abounding, but if you walk with God and trust Him, peace can triumph all the more. Jesus, please flood the hearts of the suffering with your peace that no man can manufacture, no self-help philosophy can create, and nobody can explain. I ask for Your peace to triumph over every single trial. In Jesus name, amen.
Wednesday, September 9, 2015
Lord, Send Revival
Lord, we cry and plead for You to send revival,
It is a matter of our local and national survival,
Please send waves of Your Holy Ghost revival fire,
Please strengthen Your church to pray and not tire,
Please convict of sin and rend our sin stained hearts,
Bringing us back to repentance and a brand new start,
We need an old fashioned revival spread across the nation,
That re-energizes the church with Your unbridled elation,
Please return holiness from every house back to the pews,
Also filling local streets with the pure gospel good news,
We plead for You to push back the darkness with Light,
As we stand firm against Satan fighting the good fight,
This is the day, this is the hour, this is the generation,
To believe You for a revival that engulfs all the nations.
It is a matter of our local and national survival,
Please send waves of Your Holy Ghost revival fire,
Please strengthen Your church to pray and not tire,
Please convict of sin and rend our sin stained hearts,
Bringing us back to repentance and a brand new start,
We need an old fashioned revival spread across the nation,
That re-energizes the church with Your unbridled elation,
Please return holiness from every house back to the pews,
Also filling local streets with the pure gospel good news,
We plead for You to push back the darkness with Light,
As we stand firm against Satan fighting the good fight,
This is the day, this is the hour, this is the generation,
To believe You for a revival that engulfs all the nations.
Why Did You Enter The Pulpit Today
Preacher, why did you enter the pulpit today,
When you had no "thus says the Lord," to say,
Why do you go through the religious motions,
Devoid of real pathos or passionate emotions,
Why do you pass on empty religious cliches,
When we need to hear what God has to say,
To a hell bent world deeply entrenched in sin,
Ignoring God's call to repent again and again,
Preacher why do you preach the words of men,
That tickle the ears but rarely, if ever, offend,
Why do you preach to hear men's mass applause,
Instead of staying true to the Bible gospel cause,
Is it not time to go back to secluded secret places,
To pray with tears while prostrate on our faces,
Can we afford another dry sermon covered in ice,
That caters to the crowd in eloquence sounding nice,
Where are the sermons birthed in Holy Ghost fire,
Preaching a holy God and the holiness He desires,
Is it not time preacher to stop the religious charade,
To refuse marching in this unbiblical fanciful parade,
Preacher, will you once again enter your pulpit today,
When you know you have nothing from God to say!
When you had no "thus says the Lord," to say,
Why do you go through the religious motions,
Devoid of real pathos or passionate emotions,
Why do you pass on empty religious cliches,
When we need to hear what God has to say,
To a hell bent world deeply entrenched in sin,
Ignoring God's call to repent again and again,
Preacher why do you preach the words of men,
That tickle the ears but rarely, if ever, offend,
Why do you preach to hear men's mass applause,
Instead of staying true to the Bible gospel cause,
Is it not time to go back to secluded secret places,
To pray with tears while prostrate on our faces,
Can we afford another dry sermon covered in ice,
That caters to the crowd in eloquence sounding nice,
Where are the sermons birthed in Holy Ghost fire,
Preaching a holy God and the holiness He desires,
Is it not time preacher to stop the religious charade,
To refuse marching in this unbiblical fanciful parade,
Preacher, will you once again enter your pulpit today,
When you know you have nothing from God to say!
Friday, September 4, 2015
Night Watch
Jesus,
You will not allow me to sleep and it is my turn to take my watch on the wall. I lift up my friend to You. With all my heart I ask You to penetrate his heart and mind with Your truth. I ask You to minister to Him even now while he sleeps. You love him. You pursue him. I ask You to penetrate his heart with You reviving Holy Spirit. I ask You to call Him to repentance and break through like a jack hammer on his heart. I ask You to relentlessly pursue him like a man being chased by rabid dogs nipping at his heels. I pray for this one You love to have no peace until he is fully aligned with You and Your purposes for his life. Until that day, I ask You to keep me up during the night watches to keep watch over his soul. May the burden You have given me for him never lighten or lessen. I pray it will only intensify until You win the victory.
I lift up the one overwhelmed this morning. As they battle despair, grief, sorrow, and doubt today I ask You to show up in their situations and manifest Your power and Your glory. I ask You to lift the heavy loads they bear and press them down. I ask You to come to their rescue and give them some relief, hope, and brighten their day with some good news for a change. I ask You to hold them firmly in Your hand and reassure them You have not forgotten them nor forsaken them in these painful days. I ask You to show Yourself to them as they struggle through the miry clay of confusion. You are the Lord of the universe. Nothing is impossible with You. I ask You to prove that today. Not that You have to or that we deserve for You to. You know we are frail. You know how often our faith is fragile. For everyone suffering today through overwhelming circumstances I ask You to step in and help. I ask You to turn the tide from bad to good, from loss to gain, from sorrow to rejoicing, and from doubt to faith. As if You personally came in the flesh to comfort and reassure, Holy Spirit, I ask You to come comfort, to console, and to encourage Your broken ones.
I lift up those battling cancer today. Jesus, I still believe You are healer.Not just You were healer or You will be healer in the future. You are healer today and in this hour. Cancer is not bigger than You. Cancer is not an immovable mountain. You know the ones who need Your healing touch. I ask You to drive out every single cell of cancer from their bodies for the glory of Your name. I ask You to minister to these in their excruciating pain. I ask You to supply hope to those facing hopeless diagnosis. I ask You to help those who have no other place to turn to for help but You because they have exhausted every other resource to no avail.
I lift up ailing churches. I lift up weary members who are tired of pleading for You to turn their church around but see conditions worsen. I lift up those who serve, give, labor, and plan but none of it has turned their church around. I lift up broken hearted people who recall the former glory days of their church home. I lift up those who sit in the pews brokenhearted over the spirit of apathy among members and the irreverence among worshipers. I lift up those who've devoted their lives to serving You in their local church but have seen the church fall on some hard and lean times. Jesus, I ask You to call the dead bones back to life. I ask You to breathe life into these daed churches again.
I lift up our sin sick nation. We continue to defy You and Your laws. We flaunt sin publicly. People openly mock You. We have legalized sin and called it a right. We have glorified Satan and the occult. We have murdered close to 200 million babies denying them the right to live and serve Your purposes in their generation. We have become obsessed with pleasure no matter how obscene or immoral it might be. We have defiantly ignored Your warnings and rejected the gospel in large part as a nation. I plead with You to send a tsunami wave of conviction all across this land. I ask You to bring this nation to our knees in repentance and submission to You. I ask You to start with pastors. I ask You to convict those going through the motions mechanically just to get a paycheck. I ask You to stir fresh fire in their souls and call them into account with You. I ask You to call them back to the prayer closet as they intercede for their congregations and communities. I ask You to rebuke the hypocrites in the pews and call them to repentance and holiness. I ask You to break the silence with the sounds of weeping and wailing of church members repenting of sin and getting right with You. I ask You to send another Great Awakening. I ask You to start pockets of revival fire in every corner of this nation and let the flames spread until the entire nation has been engulfed in revival flames.
None of us truly know what You will do today. Whether today is a day of blessing and rejoicing or a day of sorrow and trials, we want to trust You. We have nowhere else to turn. We have nobody else who can help us. YOU are our only hope as people, as families, as churches, and as a country. We know politicians will never save us. We know scholars will never solve all the problems. We know doctors and researchers cannot cure every disease. We know financial planners cannot save us from every financial disaster. In all these situations we only have You. And we sate that You are sufficient. You are enough. You are all we need.
So with all our hearts we turn to You. We cry out to You. We seek You. We submit to You. This is the day You have made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. We declare great is Your faithfulness and Your mercies are new every morning including this one. In Jesus name I pray, amen and amen.
You will not allow me to sleep and it is my turn to take my watch on the wall. I lift up my friend to You. With all my heart I ask You to penetrate his heart and mind with Your truth. I ask You to minister to Him even now while he sleeps. You love him. You pursue him. I ask You to penetrate his heart with You reviving Holy Spirit. I ask You to call Him to repentance and break through like a jack hammer on his heart. I ask You to relentlessly pursue him like a man being chased by rabid dogs nipping at his heels. I pray for this one You love to have no peace until he is fully aligned with You and Your purposes for his life. Until that day, I ask You to keep me up during the night watches to keep watch over his soul. May the burden You have given me for him never lighten or lessen. I pray it will only intensify until You win the victory.
I lift up the one overwhelmed this morning. As they battle despair, grief, sorrow, and doubt today I ask You to show up in their situations and manifest Your power and Your glory. I ask You to lift the heavy loads they bear and press them down. I ask You to come to their rescue and give them some relief, hope, and brighten their day with some good news for a change. I ask You to hold them firmly in Your hand and reassure them You have not forgotten them nor forsaken them in these painful days. I ask You to show Yourself to them as they struggle through the miry clay of confusion. You are the Lord of the universe. Nothing is impossible with You. I ask You to prove that today. Not that You have to or that we deserve for You to. You know we are frail. You know how often our faith is fragile. For everyone suffering today through overwhelming circumstances I ask You to step in and help. I ask You to turn the tide from bad to good, from loss to gain, from sorrow to rejoicing, and from doubt to faith. As if You personally came in the flesh to comfort and reassure, Holy Spirit, I ask You to come comfort, to console, and to encourage Your broken ones.
I lift up those battling cancer today. Jesus, I still believe You are healer.Not just You were healer or You will be healer in the future. You are healer today and in this hour. Cancer is not bigger than You. Cancer is not an immovable mountain. You know the ones who need Your healing touch. I ask You to drive out every single cell of cancer from their bodies for the glory of Your name. I ask You to minister to these in their excruciating pain. I ask You to supply hope to those facing hopeless diagnosis. I ask You to help those who have no other place to turn to for help but You because they have exhausted every other resource to no avail.
I lift up ailing churches. I lift up weary members who are tired of pleading for You to turn their church around but see conditions worsen. I lift up those who serve, give, labor, and plan but none of it has turned their church around. I lift up broken hearted people who recall the former glory days of their church home. I lift up those who sit in the pews brokenhearted over the spirit of apathy among members and the irreverence among worshipers. I lift up those who've devoted their lives to serving You in their local church but have seen the church fall on some hard and lean times. Jesus, I ask You to call the dead bones back to life. I ask You to breathe life into these daed churches again.
I lift up our sin sick nation. We continue to defy You and Your laws. We flaunt sin publicly. People openly mock You. We have legalized sin and called it a right. We have glorified Satan and the occult. We have murdered close to 200 million babies denying them the right to live and serve Your purposes in their generation. We have become obsessed with pleasure no matter how obscene or immoral it might be. We have defiantly ignored Your warnings and rejected the gospel in large part as a nation. I plead with You to send a tsunami wave of conviction all across this land. I ask You to bring this nation to our knees in repentance and submission to You. I ask You to start with pastors. I ask You to convict those going through the motions mechanically just to get a paycheck. I ask You to stir fresh fire in their souls and call them into account with You. I ask You to call them back to the prayer closet as they intercede for their congregations and communities. I ask You to rebuke the hypocrites in the pews and call them to repentance and holiness. I ask You to break the silence with the sounds of weeping and wailing of church members repenting of sin and getting right with You. I ask You to send another Great Awakening. I ask You to start pockets of revival fire in every corner of this nation and let the flames spread until the entire nation has been engulfed in revival flames.
None of us truly know what You will do today. Whether today is a day of blessing and rejoicing or a day of sorrow and trials, we want to trust You. We have nowhere else to turn. We have nobody else who can help us. YOU are our only hope as people, as families, as churches, and as a country. We know politicians will never save us. We know scholars will never solve all the problems. We know doctors and researchers cannot cure every disease. We know financial planners cannot save us from every financial disaster. In all these situations we only have You. And we sate that You are sufficient. You are enough. You are all we need.
So with all our hearts we turn to You. We cry out to You. We seek You. We submit to You. This is the day You have made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. We declare great is Your faithfulness and Your mercies are new every morning including this one. In Jesus name I pray, amen and amen.
Dying Wish
I recently sat in the living room with a woman diagnosed with a terminal disease. Before we had prayer I asked her what the desires of her heart were. I expected her to say she wanted to be healed, she wanted more time with her family, or she wanted to prove the doctors wrong.
Her answer stunned me. She wanted to see more souls saved. She went on to explain that she worried many people who sit in church and think they have come to a saving knowledge of the Lord have not truly been saved. She went on to explain many church goers have only made a decision mentally to become a Christian. They never came to genuine repentance over sin and truly turned to Jesus Christ as their only hope and deliverer from sin and the wrath of God.
What would your dying wish be? Would it be for more things, more memories with family, or more entertainment? How many of us could honestly say our dying wish would be for more souls to be saved?
I have been around several people over the years who knew they were dying. In almost every case facing their own mortality brought them to a clear sense of things. One man I ministered to years ago battling cancer sat down in his living room with a video recorder and taped a message for his family and closest friends challenging them to get right with God. In his last days he increasingly turned his heart toward spiritual matters. He truly wanted those closest to him to be right in their relationships with the Lord.
Another woman I knew, dying of breast cancer in east Texas, shared the love of Christ and the good news of His salvation with doctors, nurses, and anyone who visited her room. She died pointing others to Jesus her Savior.
The sobering truth is that we are all terminal. Some of us are more aware of it than others. Millions of people will enter eternity alienated from God. If you believe your Bible at this point, eternal suffering and agony of soul will be afflicted on them forever and ever. The anguish will never end. The suffering will never lighten. The torment will never lessen. Only Jesus can rescue people from such a terrible plight.
We don not have to wait until our last days to share this good news with people. Yesterday I had the opportunity to share this truth with a young man. Sadly, we were interrupted before I could finish and the young man left afterward. I trust God for another chance to talk to this guy about what really matters.
If you really care about people you cannot help but want to share the good news of Jesus Christ with others. IT TRULY IS GOOD NEWS! So what is your dying wish? I don't know who penned these words but I know they have left a deep mark on me. "Tis only one life to live and t'will soon be past, only what is done for Christ will last."
Her answer stunned me. She wanted to see more souls saved. She went on to explain that she worried many people who sit in church and think they have come to a saving knowledge of the Lord have not truly been saved. She went on to explain many church goers have only made a decision mentally to become a Christian. They never came to genuine repentance over sin and truly turned to Jesus Christ as their only hope and deliverer from sin and the wrath of God.
What would your dying wish be? Would it be for more things, more memories with family, or more entertainment? How many of us could honestly say our dying wish would be for more souls to be saved?
I have been around several people over the years who knew they were dying. In almost every case facing their own mortality brought them to a clear sense of things. One man I ministered to years ago battling cancer sat down in his living room with a video recorder and taped a message for his family and closest friends challenging them to get right with God. In his last days he increasingly turned his heart toward spiritual matters. He truly wanted those closest to him to be right in their relationships with the Lord.
Another woman I knew, dying of breast cancer in east Texas, shared the love of Christ and the good news of His salvation with doctors, nurses, and anyone who visited her room. She died pointing others to Jesus her Savior.
The sobering truth is that we are all terminal. Some of us are more aware of it than others. Millions of people will enter eternity alienated from God. If you believe your Bible at this point, eternal suffering and agony of soul will be afflicted on them forever and ever. The anguish will never end. The suffering will never lighten. The torment will never lessen. Only Jesus can rescue people from such a terrible plight.
We don not have to wait until our last days to share this good news with people. Yesterday I had the opportunity to share this truth with a young man. Sadly, we were interrupted before I could finish and the young man left afterward. I trust God for another chance to talk to this guy about what really matters.
If you really care about people you cannot help but want to share the good news of Jesus Christ with others. IT TRULY IS GOOD NEWS! So what is your dying wish? I don't know who penned these words but I know they have left a deep mark on me. "Tis only one life to live and t'will soon be past, only what is done for Christ will last."
Thursday, September 3, 2015
Storm Brewing
This past Saturday Brenda and I were driving home from Howard Payne University watching Taylor play in a football scrimmage. As Brenda slept and I drove, I saw dark clouds brewing to the west. In the distance I saw several lightening strikes and could make out the dark silhouette of rain falling.
Not long afterward we drove through a few sprinkles. The noise woke Brenda just in time to see a couple of flashes of lightening. Suddenly the winds heightened blowing debris all over the highway. The dirt began blowing so hard along with the rain I could barely make out the road. Brenda grew increasingly nervous but I could tell the thunderstorm would not last long. Within five minutes we drove through it and made it home the rest of the way without further incident.
Later that evening the same storm hit with a vengeance about half an hour from our home. People suffered minor damage from the storm.
Likewise, I see storm clouds brewing over America in every direction. It seems like our society is coming unravelled at the seams . Racism is escalating back to pre-civil rights days. The economy is volatile. Lawmakers are making deals that do not have America's best interest at heart. Presidential candidates have been caught in lies as well as the typical mud slinging that accompanies political campaigns. Cultural elitist have tried to redefine marriage. Occult activity is flaunted in public more and more by performers on stage. Vulgar and profane performances defy God and His law.
The storm clouds are brewing. Ominous days appear to be ahead. While all of this is happening what should the children of God do? Panic? Live in fear and anxiety? Give up? NO. We should pray for America to repent and return to God. [II Chron 7:14] We should share the love of Christ as I did with a high school athlete in the weight room today. [Rom 1:14-16] We should stand firm against the wicked schemes of the devil. [Eph 6:12] We should look at the scriptures to help us discern the times we live in.
Yes, I believe a storm in coming but I also know who holds storms in the palm of His hands. We can face the storm with His peace guarding our hearts and minds. [Phil 4:6-7].
Not long afterward we drove through a few sprinkles. The noise woke Brenda just in time to see a couple of flashes of lightening. Suddenly the winds heightened blowing debris all over the highway. The dirt began blowing so hard along with the rain I could barely make out the road. Brenda grew increasingly nervous but I could tell the thunderstorm would not last long. Within five minutes we drove through it and made it home the rest of the way without further incident.
Later that evening the same storm hit with a vengeance about half an hour from our home. People suffered minor damage from the storm.
Likewise, I see storm clouds brewing over America in every direction. It seems like our society is coming unravelled at the seams . Racism is escalating back to pre-civil rights days. The economy is volatile. Lawmakers are making deals that do not have America's best interest at heart. Presidential candidates have been caught in lies as well as the typical mud slinging that accompanies political campaigns. Cultural elitist have tried to redefine marriage. Occult activity is flaunted in public more and more by performers on stage. Vulgar and profane performances defy God and His law.
The storm clouds are brewing. Ominous days appear to be ahead. While all of this is happening what should the children of God do? Panic? Live in fear and anxiety? Give up? NO. We should pray for America to repent and return to God. [II Chron 7:14] We should share the love of Christ as I did with a high school athlete in the weight room today. [Rom 1:14-16] We should stand firm against the wicked schemes of the devil. [Eph 6:12] We should look at the scriptures to help us discern the times we live in.
Yes, I believe a storm in coming but I also know who holds storms in the palm of His hands. We can face the storm with His peace guarding our hearts and minds. [Phil 4:6-7].
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