We are not able in ourselves to win this battle.
We are not able to change hearts or minds.
We are not able to change worldviews and transform culture and save 1.6 million children.
We are not able to reform the judiciary or embolden the legislature or mobilize the slumbering population.
We are not able to heal the endless wounds of godless ideologies and their bloody deeds.
But, O God, you are able!
And we turn from reliance on ourselves to you.
And we cry out to you and plead that for the sake of your name, and
for the sake of your glory, and for the advancement of your saving
purpose in the world, and for the demonstration of your wisdom and your
power and your authority over all things, and for the sway of your Truth
and the relief of the poor and the helpless, act, O God.
This much we hunger for the revelation of your power.
With all our thinking and all our writing and all our doing, we pray and we fast.
Come. Manifest your glory.
I appeal to you to seek the Lord with me concerning the
place of fasting and prayer in breaking through the darkened mind that
engulfs the modern world, in regard to abortion and a hundred other
ills.
This is not a call for a collective tantrum that screams at the bad people, “Give me back my country.”
It is a call to aliens and exiles in the earth, whose citizenship is
in heaven and who await the appearance of their King, to “do business”
until he comes (Luke 19:13).
And the great business of the Christian is to “do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31), and to pray that God’s name be hallowed and his kingdom come and his will be done in the earth (Matthew 6:9-10).
And to yearn and work and pray and fast not only for the final
revelation of the Son of Man, but in the meantime, for the demonstration
of his Spirit and power in the reaching of every people, and the
rescuing of the perishing, and the purifying of the church, and the
putting right of as many wrongs as God will grant.
The following is a repost from one of my friends, Suzanne Gowin. She has over the years borne 9 children, 3 of her flesh and 6 of her heart through adoption. Check out her blog at www.gowinfamily.comwww.gowinfamily.com. She's an amazing woman of God and lives what she preaches.
Is God Angry With Us?
Because of an interview this past weekend, I was reflecting on my
personal discovery of Isaiah, back in the spring of 2010. I remember
with fondness a short season I had with all the kids in school (before
the new ones came), chores caught up at home, and available time to
spend hours in the Word. It was a season where I eagerly and
purposefully pleaded, “Lord, please reveal to me your heart, so I can be
more like you.” I will honestly admit that this is often not how I come
to Scripture, but it truly was during that season.
My journey began with Isaiah 1, where I was blown away. I had never seen language like this to describe God.
God is ANGRY with his people! He calls them “a brood of evildoers.”
They have rebelled against him so much that their whole bodies are beat
up, from the bottoms of their feet to the tops of their heads. They are
covered in welts and nasty unbandaged open sores because foreigners have
come and desolated their people and their land. If God had not saved a
remnant, they would have been totally demolished like Sodom and
Gomorrah.
Even more than their land and their bodies, their hearts are as far
away from God as they could possibly be. So much so that God says, “What
are your sacrifices to me?” When they come to their place of worship,
he tells them to “Stop bringing meaningless offerings!” They are
“trampling his courts.” He “cannot bear their worthless assemblies.”
Their prescribed festivals “I hate with all my being!”
God is so tired and “weary of bearing them.” When they lift up their
hands in prayer, he “hides his eyes” from them. He says, “I am not
listening”–those hands are “full of blood!” Their incense is “detestable” to Him! He even goes on to say that the “faithful city has become a prostitute!”
My heart is racing even now as I read those words in Isaiah. Have you ever heard words like these from God??
Now, before you want to jump to conclusions like: “Well, that was the
Old Testament God… He was authoritarian and domineering and far away
from His creation… That was before Jesus”– look back at the beginning of
the chapter.
Hear me, you heavens! Listen, earth! For the Lord has spoken: I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me.
This Old Testament God calls his people his “children” and he raised
them and cared for their needs as any loving father would. But he is so sad that they have rebelled against him anyway. He says that even the donkey and ox know their master and their home, but his own children are far from him. They do not know or understand him at all.
This makes me want to cry. I think any mom or dad would want to cry
after their beloved children have turned their backs on the ones who
love them the most.
So here is the clincher in verses 16-17. The part that stopped me in
my tracks. God tells them to clean themselves up. “Stop doing wrong,
learn to do right.” This is the part where I expected to read about how
God wants us to worship the right way. Change our hearts when we go to
the house of worship. Pray more. Do our sacrifices better. Don’t do
things for show. But this is where I was blown away.
Here is the equation. How do we “learn to do right”?
Seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.
What?!? This doesn’t sound like worship? What about church? What about Bible studies? What about my quiet time??
What God wants from us in worship is much more practical and doesn’t just happen on Sunday morning: Take care of those who cannot take care of themselves.
Look after the most vulnerable, the ones who are taken advantage of by
others, the ones most avoided and forgotten by the rest of the world. THIS is what “religion” is supposed to be. This is true “worship!”
Sound familiar? We have read it so many times in the New Testament it has become old news. But read the equation again:
Religion
that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look
after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from
being polluted by the world. (James 1: 27)
Our New Testament God and our Old Testament God are one and the same.
His love for us is the same, and the worship he expects back from us is
the same. He is the same loving and intimate Father.
Similarly, in Hosea 11 (another prophet like Isaiah who is called to
preach repentance to a rebellious people), God talks about his love for
his children, how he “taught them to walk.”
I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love. To them I was like one who lifts a little child to the cheek, and I bent down to feed them.
Does that sound like a harsh, overbearing, distant father? No, this
is a beautiful picture of a Daddy bending down to scoop up his beloved
child and swing her around like a princess!
Many times in the Old Testament, God is shown to have an intimate relationship with his children. And he yearns for relationship with them.
I long to redeem them(Hos 7:13)
So here is the answer to my question when I asked God to show me his heart: Take care of the vulnerable, those without someone to provide for and protect them. Period.
We all can relate because that is what we all were before He adopted
us into his family. We were fatherless, far from our Heavenly Father.
Since we understand what it means to be redeemed, to be a part of a
family, shouldn’t we do everything we can to help others have that kind
of relationship, to not be alone and destitute? God even calls himself
the “Father to the fatherless” in Psalms 68:5. Should we not do the
same, in whatever way He has called us?
Or is God angry with us? Are we doing all the “church things,” and
avoiding the mess and inconvenience of taking care of others? I want to
ask myself this question every day. Is my worship selfish, for me to
feel good? Or does it honor God, and in doing so sometimes not “feel
good” at all? Is my life a sweet incense to the Creator, or do I just
stink?
"Therefore, I urge you,
brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a
living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper
worship.(Rom 12:1)"
I was continuing to get agitated at a person/situation. Then I realized that I needed to stop looking to the source of the problem for the solution, and to the Source of the solution for the problem. It changed everything. Peace and joy returned.
When someone sees a problem and tries to bring about change and that change is blocked, at first there's discouragement. Repeated efforts that don't meet fruition sour hope. This soured hope
can express itself in anger towards God, others or even at oneself causing a bitter root. It's called cynicism and it grows like a spreading cancer.
"Hope deferred makes the heart sick" says Solomon (Prov 13:12).
I have struggled with cynicism.
I have tried to make changes in organizations I've been a part of where there is glaring holes. "If it ain't broke don't fix it" was a reply I once heard. On the contrary I believed that the one who said this was so settled into tradition that they didn't see that it had broken long ago.
I have tried to make changes in my life. Personal ambitions to fulfill dreams. I have yet to see them fully fulfilled. I was turned away as I wasn't __________ enough. Or because I was too __________. And I grew angry at the Lord and at myself. A critical spirit grew.
I've tried to suggest changes to people that I am in constant contact with and met only with fierce stubbornness. Cynicism birthed evil children.
But thankfully I'm in process of being delivered. Because what I've discovered is that cynicism has another root--idolatry. Focusing on anything other than God himself to bring about change is idolatry. When I look to an organization or a group or a person to change my situation, I'm setting them up as an idol. It is an idol that I repeatedly bang my head against and then wonder why I am bloodied. I can definitely voice my concerns and suggest changes, but if those changes aren't received, my spirit does not sour if my hope is in the Lord. Hope, even if what I hope for doesn't go my way, does not go bad. It's because I trust His wisdom.
The fruit in casting my cares upon Him is that I pray more. I am seeking Him and His wisdom, seeking change through prayer (and maybe it's me that gets changed). I'm less in control and that's uncomfortable but I am more submitted. It also means that I release the person from the sights of my angry gun because I'm not looking to them. I'm looking to the Lord. And when I trust the Lord, I get peace. It's a much better place for my spirit to reside.
Several centuries ago I attended driver’s Ed where we were taught to
avoid looking too intently at oncoming headlights. Apparently if you
stare at something long enough you
unconsciously go that direction. This little tidbit of advice grabbed
my attention. As I continued to mature I noticed this strange
phenomenon occurred in many spheres. It explained to me why some
friends, who desperately hated certain characteristics of their parents,
tended to grow up and produce the same fruit. They put so much energy
into staring at what they hated that they collided with it. I find it
can take enormous amounts of effort to avoid those tempting headlights;
they seem to irresistibly beckon us to stare and mindlessly drive their
direction. Anger, fear, perfectionism, unbelief, pride- these are semi
trucks I care not to meet fender to fender on a highway. Today I
was wondering if I could apply this truth the other direction.
Currently the GPS in my car has been high jacked by Jesus. It’s a
high-speed chase of trust these days and I don’t exactly know where I am
going. But I know who I want to follow. And He seems to enjoy testing
my ability to track Him. Instead of panicking that I can’t name the
roads we are zooming past or even recognize the scenery, I will just
keep staring at Jesus. Some sweet day at the end of this race we’re
going to have an amazing collision!!
What seemed impossible 6 months ago is today a reality. God honors and hears the prayers of his people. Thank you Lord. Just one week in and already a gift is given.
I believe God answers ALL prayer. Just because his answer may be 'no' or 'not yet,' does that mean he didn't answer? NO! It just means we didn't get our way.
It is sometimes a gift when we don't see the Lord's answer to prayer. The reason is because it reveals what is in our hearts. Do we get angry? Do we try to manipulate? Do we go to the place of rejection believing that 'God answers others' prayers but not really mine'? Do we have an idol? Do we trust the Lord even if we don't get what we're praying for?
For about 5 years it seemed like the Word of the Lord to the body of Christ was to get out of debt. It seemed like every message was preached on this, multiple people were working towards this goal, and as God was speaking his people were responding.
But now I am sensing a new move of the body of Christ. It seems like everywhere I go people are talking about how the Lord is asking them to get healthy. It's a gentle word from the Father but one I think we all need to hear.
As some of you know my health was compromised at the beginning of this year and I'm still working to get out of it. But in some ways it is a good as I need to be more serious about my health. So this year I have spent untold hours researching. Not that it isn't rocket science but I needed to find something that was beneficial for where I was at. There are two things that I implemented that when I look back, that's when I can say I began to round a corner (passing second base right now).
The one thing that has made a big difference for me and my family is oddly enough, green smoothies. It was a pretty painful beginning as I spit out more than one smoothie. Also it was a discipline of will until I found out a way to make it palatable. But the final result has been improved stamina and the biggest difference for me, improved recovery. Before smoothies when I pushed it too hard for a day, my health problems would take me out for a week. It was annoying/frustrating/angering. But now a hard day doesn't take me out the next day. For my family it has been increased energy and stamina. Each person is being helped but in different ways.
Anyway the long and short of it is that mom kept asking me to write down what I was learning. In the end that began to look like an e-book.
So hopefully it can help others, maybe even you to get healthier. Sorry for the cheesy titles and subtitles but I want to help others and these are the only buzz words that sell. What you doesn't sell doesn't help people.
And if you want to help, right now this e-book is lost in the Amazon.com jungle. The only way it is ever found is if you have people review your book. If you are able to afford the $.99 book, I would so appreciate some reviews. And even some who take the challenge.
Grace is the invitation to take great risks and make even greater mistakes without loss or change of relationship. If we're not being bold in the Lord, perhaps we're not fully understanding grace.
When you're a leader, you feel it more deeply. We had been teaching team building for 2 days to a group of about 30-40 youth doing all sorts of fun and crazy activities. We told everyone to invite all their friends for the final last night. We were guests in another church in a foreign country.
In our prayer time for the evening's session, we felt the Lord told us to do nothing. That's right, nothing. No message. No games. Nothing. It was a risk. And of course they all did what we had told them and 100 people showed up that night. One of my students said a few words and then we just sat there. Silently. Completely silent. From 100 people who came expecting games. For an hour. I have to confess I was squirming. And it was hard.
I wish I could say there was an outbreak of the move of the Lord. There wasn't. Thankfully no one left. At the end of the hour we told them thank-you and released them. One participant came later and said, "You did the right thing." Not sure what he meant but I've remembered him for almost a decade now because of his kind words. As the leader though, it was tough. And yet, there was joy in my spirit and in my teammates as well. I felt the Lord's pleasure that we did the right thing.
It would happen again although this one was easier. We had an outreach where we went into this demonic celebration that had a crowd of 10,000. Our crowd of 200 infiltrated the crowd and we prayed. Then we started chanting in Hebrew "Breath of God!" The whole crowd joined us not even knowing what they were saying. All of a sudden all 200 of us scattered throughout the crushing crowd felt the victory. We slipped back together as a group and began to celebrate. It was incredible! We had no visual, tangible victory but we had won something in the Lord and we corporately knew it.
Again it happened recently, another one on the harder scale. Those of us on support-basis have the joy/trepidation of seeking support through asking those we know. Sending out a newsletter is relatively safe. But I felt the Lord asking me to ask a few friends directly. It was hard. I didn't hear back from them. If they didn't feel led to give that's fine. Just hate awkwardness in a relationship. But it was hard to ask them. At the same time, I feel the Lord's pleasure in my obedience.
Obedience doesn't always mean success as we see it. No mass droves coming to the Lord, no demon celebrations stopped abruptly, and no finances from those I felt the Lord led me to ask directly. (Four people did give but these were ones from my newsletter.) It's a good lesson. He loves obedience more than anything. And at the end of the day, his pleasure is ours. And the results are up him.
Today I met one of my classmates from childhood that I hadn't seen in years. Barely recognized her. She has more diseases in her body, is on 19 medications and is significantly overweight and a smoker. She also told me about someone we know who had killed himself (or so it was thought).
When I looked at her I realize so much of where she is at is because of life choices. Some were hereditary. And then I thought to myself, prolonged sinfulness does not lead people to joy-filled lives. It just doesn't.
Thanking God tonight that he has kept me on the path of righteousness (probably at the expense of more than a few angelic, glorious interventions).
Humility is honoring the value and contribution of other (including ourselves).
Or said another way,
"In fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one them, just as he wanted the to be...those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable...while our presentable parts need no special treatment."
