Have You Prayed for your Country Today? 10

…Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." - Matthew 6:10

I was reminded of this phrase earlier this week. Imagine: God’s will, being done on earth, as it already has been done in heaven.

No pain or suffering, no scarcity, no difficulties, no ugliness. Not just the good things in life, but only the better than the best things in life. In great abundance, as well.

That’s heaven. That’s God’s kingdom, God’s will. That eternal place where most of us reading this will enter. The eternal place where God wants all to enter, but He understands that’s our individual choice, not His to make.

There will come a day when America will become irrelevant, and a new world order will replace it. That may be this year, 100 years from now, or some other time.  It's not for any of us to know, except it will happen in God’s perfect time.  We can pray all we want for God to heal our land – and pray we should – but we all must understand God’s answer may be “No, not this time, I have something bigger and better for you”.

When we pray for America, let’s also pray for our Lord’s return, and His will be done, under His terms, not ours. The latter is greater than the former.

© 2009 David Etenburn. Non - commercial reproduction permitted

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

It's God's Money - 4

Stay away from the love of money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, "I will never fail you. I will never forsake you. "Hebrews 13:5; New Living Translation

One of the things I have learned about many “self made millionaires” is that their motivation has been more about serving others, and less about earning money. Not only are they passionate in their pursuits in life, making their ability to earn money seem like child’s play; they are gracious; appreciative for others that serve them, and are positive and encouraging to one another; be they peers, mentors, servants or the indigent. They give willingly and freely to their church and/ or charities, open their homes to friends, colleagues and business associates, and often get involved in community service projects. Money and wealth is not the issue with them, and yet this money seems to attach itself to them.

How many of us have jobs that make us a good sum of money, yet we hate the job? How many of us have poor paying jobs that we like? Guess what? The worker with poor earnings is usually happier than the rich fat cat! Furthermore, if you are happy and passionate with your work; if you are content with your earnings and your lifestyle, and you appreciate what you do have, God will lift you up to a higher position, you will have more of everything you want or need (whether you like it or not!); and you too will be more appreciative of those around you, you will give more to God and your community, and share your home more often with others. And then, you will be truly blessed – not necessarily financially – but you will be blessed, and in ways greater than expected or even originally thought of.

It’s not about the money…it’s about serving God and mankind with a joyful heart, the best you can.

Have You Prayed for your Country Today? 8

Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins. James 5:19,20; New King James Version

What are you doing to turn this country from its sinful ways? Are you confessing your sins, asking others to pray for you? Do you challenge those believers who are sinning with love and compassion, and pray for them?

There are plenty of people in the world who not only disbelieve the existence of a god, but they also deny Him. Others believe, but also believe they are “not good enough” or they simply refuse to humble themselves. These people need all of us to help them correct their “stinking thinking” so they too, may walk with the Lord.

No one can buy, borrow or steal their way into heaven. We can only beg. We must choose to beg. And the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ will give His grace to the humble. Then, while in faith and with the power of the Holy Spirit, we will repent and bear fruit.

Continue to pray for our neighbors, our politicians, and our land. Confront one another when we fall short, encourage one another, and love one another. God’s will be done.

© 2009 David Etenburn.

Have You Prayed for your Country Today? 7

"Go and tell Hezekiah, 'Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: "I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will add to your days fifteen years. Isaiah 38:5; New King James Version.

King Hezekiah was just told by the Lord he was to die and not recover from a serious illness. Hezekiah prayed to the Lord, humbling himself and the Lord rewarded Hezekiah with healing.

This is an example of the Lord’s mercy. Today, it appears that the world is doomed, the rise of the anti-christ is near, and the only thing we have to live for is to patiently wait for our Lord to return.

These are without a doubt the most troubling times the world has ever seen, and we, who have read God’s word, know they will get much worse. But I also see evidence that God is being merciful to those that honor Him.

Dubai, with all of its oil wealth, is having a serious cash flow crisis, which could topple it. The Greek economy is on the verge of collapse and could take the Euro with it. South Africa’s woes are just beginning. Zimbabwe has a currency that requires 10,000,000,000 to one US dollar…we can’t even buy paper napkins that cheap! And Somalia doesn’t even have a functioning government anymore.  Good heavens, we're doomed!

But wait. Through all of this, it appears in spite of all the debt America owes to the rest of the world, the very IOUs America owes to the world are not being called in as would be expected, and they should be. The value of the dollar continues to fall, but nowhere on the verge of collapse…for the moment.  In fact, it appears the rest of the world is starting to place their faith and trust in the dollar again!  If so, we could see commodity prices fall, interest rates remain low, and the economy recover beyond anything we could have imagined!  This would clearly be the hand of God on us all.

The Lord may be merciful, but He is also just. During this holiday season; from Thanksgiving through Chanukah and Christmas; give praises to the Lord for His mercy on us. Pray for and give to those in need. We may know our fate, but we don’t know when it will happen. We still have the Lord’s ear, and His mercy. We too can get a delay in the Lord’s execution.

© 2009 David Etenburn.