When was the last time you prayed for courage?
1 Samuel 23:3,4 But David's men said to him, "Look, we are afraid here in Judah. How much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?" Then David inquired of the LORD once again. And the LORD answered him and said, "Arise, go down to Keilah. For I will deliver the Philistines into your hand."
On a daily basis, I hear about followers of Christ being persecuted simply for sharing Jesus with others. These reports create the impression that it’s getting more difficult to share the gospel with others without intimidation from others.
Yet at the same time, I have never been encouraged more by others to share my faith. At my workplace, I keep a bible out (inconspicuously) and have Christian music softly playing on the radio. And since I have started this policy, I receive positive feedback several times a week, a couple of inquiries as well, and I have yet to hear one complaint or negative comment!
I have come to the conclusion the following:
1. People of the United States of America and Canada are still primarily Christian. At the very least, they are not strongly anti-Christian. If they are not, they are curious enough to ask.
2. The media (regardless of political persuasion) is overplaying an anti Christian message to the point where we believe it, thus sending us and our faith unnecessarily into a prayer closet. Sure, there are atheist groups out there that will give you some grief, but even they can and will be polite about it. And you can always stop.
3. People want to hear about God. If you publicly display your faith, the curious and the inquisitive will ask you questions, for which you should have a ready reply. Even if the reply is, “I can’t explain it, all I know is when I put Christ first in my life, everything goes all right! I know someone who can answer your questions, though”. You can post these questions in the Christian FB groups will surely get you some answers. (Warning: you may get multiple opinions. Three theologians usually means four opinions.)
Fear not! The Lord will be with you whenever you do the Lord’s work. The Holy Spirit will be with you and guide your words. (Mark 13:11) And Christ said he will be with us always, even to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). One thing I have learned is when you are worried about what others will think about you and your faith in Christ, lift up a simple prayer for courage to the Lord
Showing posts with label prayer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label prayer. Show all posts
November 14, 2011
October 24, 2011
Jesus Calls All - 68
2 Samuel 10:11,12 Joab said, "If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you are to come to my rescue; but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come to rescue you. Be strong and let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. The LORD will do what is good in his sight."
They’re ganging up on you. You are surrounded. You can’t run, you can’t hide. You can only fight you way out of this situation.
Well, not exactly. There is one thing; one asset you can also use: your faith. Prayer. God is there with you throughout any mess you find yourself in. He doesn’t care if it’s your fault or not. He is there for you. It can be as trivial as an errant golf shot putting your ball in a bunker or harsh words or actions resulting in a loss of a client or job. It can be as severe as having a neighboring country (or in this case, two neighboring countries) to go to war against you. God is there. Be it the entire Israelite army (as in this case) or only the 300 chosen men that Gideon used (Judges 8), God is there.
So, if God is there for everything, large and small, why don’t we discuss our problems and concerns to Him more often? Because we don’t ask Him. And when we do ask, it’s for the wrong, selfish motives. (James 4:2,3) He wants to hear form us. He wants to guide us as the one who sees all and knows the beginning from the end. Don’t you think he understands the path we are taking may look good from our angle but he knows of something even better for you if you go a different path? His path?
Whatever the challenges you face (and they are only becoming more intense and more severe) remember, The Lord our God will do what is good in His sight. Seek his insight, follow His still small voice. (Proverbs 3) The world is one big minefield…you must go through it…it’s part of life. The Lord our God will do what is good in His sight.
January 1, 2010
Have You Prayed for your Country Today? 9
Prayer Update: Our prayers are being answered. Give glory and thanks to God!
Over the past year, with the apparent public and substantial congressional majority, our government has attempted to impose an anti Christian, pro communist agenda on America. With few faith based supporters remaining in Congress, the only thing left for Christians to do was pray, and peacefully protest. And pray and protest we have done. Praying not just for America, but for our leaders as well.
Right from the start, laws and executive orders were passed that go against our US Constitution, against God, and against what our founding fathers wanted for our country. These politicians have repeatedly exchanged the truth for lies, called evil what has always been right, and declaring right that which always has been evil. (Isaiah 5:20) They turn challenges and mild problems into crisis’s that “we the people cannot handle” and only the government can solve. And they proceed to attempt to finish the destruction of the land of opportunity, and turn the land of the free into the land of the oppressed. But they cannot touch the home of the brave.
The 1000 + page stimulus bill is being exposed for the government control sham that it is. Same goes for the cap and trade legislation. The global warming crisis has just been identified as an international hoax designed to shake down the wealthy for more money and power. And support for the 2000+ page health care bill is grinding to a halt, as more and more Americans take to the streets protesting this government attempt to control the masses via “health care legislation” which has more to do with government control than anything else. Better still, the supporters of this program are now fighting amongst themselves, turning the congressional process into a poor "Three Stooges" movie.
But American citizens have been stepping up, praying, and letting their Lord and God take over. The result? All of this aggressive legislation gets gummed up, the supporters of the health care legislation start arguing amongst themselves so much it may possibly fail, our currency remains strong when it shouldn’t, and our president, as popular as he is, is losing support even among his cabinet, his congress, and the political base that put him in power. Psalm 7:14-16.
Even the terrorists can't blow up a plane right! The attempt to down a plane over Detroit on Christmas day should have been a huge success for Al-Qaida. But the detonator failed. Everything else worked for the terrorists except for this one detail. Call it what you want, but I say this has the hand of God Almighty written all over it!
This is not a Democrat or Republican issue. Both political parties are guilty of this mess. But our God is slow to anger, and abundant in love. He can and will forgive those who repent and turn to Him. He can repair the damage man has created; be it economically, environmentally, emotionally, physically or spiritually. Continue to pray, praising God, give thanks to God; encourage your neighbors who are lost and broken, and it may be possible that God will hear our prayers and heal our land. It's never too late, as long as we don't quit.
And what if we fail, and lose? Don’t worry. The same God we pray to, the same God that saved Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego from Nebuchadnezzar and his fiery furnace has promised to protect us from eternal calamity. We may lose our life on earth, but we’ll gain treasure in heaven. Remain faithful. God is with us, and if God is with us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31; Psalms 118:6)
© 2009 David Etenburn. Non - commercial reproduction permitted
Over the past year, with the apparent public and substantial congressional majority, our government has attempted to impose an anti Christian, pro communist agenda on America. With few faith based supporters remaining in Congress, the only thing left for Christians to do was pray, and peacefully protest. And pray and protest we have done. Praying not just for America, but for our leaders as well.
Right from the start, laws and executive orders were passed that go against our US Constitution, against God, and against what our founding fathers wanted for our country. These politicians have repeatedly exchanged the truth for lies, called evil what has always been right, and declaring right that which always has been evil. (Isaiah 5:20) They turn challenges and mild problems into crisis’s that “we the people cannot handle” and only the government can solve. And they proceed to attempt to finish the destruction of the land of opportunity, and turn the land of the free into the land of the oppressed. But they cannot touch the home of the brave.
The 1000 + page stimulus bill is being exposed for the government control sham that it is. Same goes for the cap and trade legislation. The global warming crisis has just been identified as an international hoax designed to shake down the wealthy for more money and power. And support for the 2000+ page health care bill is grinding to a halt, as more and more Americans take to the streets protesting this government attempt to control the masses via “health care legislation” which has more to do with government control than anything else. Better still, the supporters of this program are now fighting amongst themselves, turning the congressional process into a poor "Three Stooges" movie.
But American citizens have been stepping up, praying, and letting their Lord and God take over. The result? All of this aggressive legislation gets gummed up, the supporters of the health care legislation start arguing amongst themselves so much it may possibly fail, our currency remains strong when it shouldn’t, and our president, as popular as he is, is losing support even among his cabinet, his congress, and the political base that put him in power. Psalm 7:14-16.
Even the terrorists can't blow up a plane right! The attempt to down a plane over Detroit on Christmas day should have been a huge success for Al-Qaida. But the detonator failed. Everything else worked for the terrorists except for this one detail. Call it what you want, but I say this has the hand of God Almighty written all over it!
This is not a Democrat or Republican issue. Both political parties are guilty of this mess. But our God is slow to anger, and abundant in love. He can and will forgive those who repent and turn to Him. He can repair the damage man has created; be it economically, environmentally, emotionally, physically or spiritually. Continue to pray, praising God, give thanks to God; encourage your neighbors who are lost and broken, and it may be possible that God will hear our prayers and heal our land. It's never too late, as long as we don't quit.
And what if we fail, and lose? Don’t worry. The same God we pray to, the same God that saved Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego from Nebuchadnezzar and his fiery furnace has promised to protect us from eternal calamity. We may lose our life on earth, but we’ll gain treasure in heaven. Remain faithful. God is with us, and if God is with us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31; Psalms 118:6)
© 2009 David Etenburn. Non - commercial reproduction permitted
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