11/25/2018
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As Christians, we are to live in
a fine balance; standing for that which is true while seeking unity amongst
ourselves whenever possible, standing firm in the faith while showing
grace to those who do not, holding our leaders accountable while praying
for their wisdom and well-being.
We are to learn from the
words of Ezekiel
22:23-30, "And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Son of man, say to her, ‘You [Israel] are a
land that is not pronounced clean or rained on in the day of indignation.’
There is a conspiracy of her [false] prophets in her midst, like a roaring lion
tearing the prey. They have devoured [human] life; they have taken [in their
greed] treasure and precious things; they have made many widows among her. Her
priests have done violence to My law and have profaned My holy things. They
have made no distinction between the holy (sacred) and the profane (secular),
they have not taught [people] the difference between the unclean and the clean;
and they hide their eyes from My Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. Her
princes within her are like wolves tearing and devouring the prey,
shedding blood and destroying lives in order to get dishonest gain. Her
prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining
lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord God’—when the Lord has not spoken. The people of the land have practiced oppression and
extortion and have committed robbery; they have wronged the poor and needy and
they have oppressed the stranger without justice. I searched for a man among
them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for [the sake
of] the land, that I would not destroy it, but I found no one [not even one]."
We are to be those who stand in the gap, which lift up our nation with all it favors and faults before the throne of God, and pray that He continues to work in our midst.
II
Chronicles 7:13-14 - If I shut up
the heavens so that no rain falls, or if I command locusts to devour the land,
or if I send pestilence and plague among My people, and My people, who
are called by My Name, humble themselves, and pray and seek (crave, require as
a necessity) My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear [them]
from heaven, and forgive their sin and heal their land.
Scriptures
to Pray For Ourselves:
I
Timothy 2:1-2 - First of all,
then, I urge that petitions (specific requests), prayers, intercessions
(prayers for others) and thanksgivings be offered on behalf of all people, for
kings and all who are in [positions of] high authority, so that we may live a peaceful
and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.
I
Peter 2:17 - Show
respect for all people [treat them honorably], love the brotherhood [of
believers], fear God, honor the king.
Romans 13:1 - Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there
is no authority except from God [granted by His permission and sanction], and
those which exist have been put in place by God.
Jeremiah
29:7 - Seek peace and
well-being for the city where I have sent you into exile and pray to the Lord on its behalf; for in its peace (well-being) you will have peace.
As hard as it may seem to show respect towards a leader who is ungodly, evil of heart and everything that represents the god of this world Satan; as believers we are commanded by God to respect them because only God allows such rulers to exist. It is God who will use the leaders to do His will, which may be to bring destruction and devastation to a people who refuse to submit to the will of God. I have been guilty myself of showing disrespect for our current leader and for that I repent. We still do not have to LIKE the people in charge, we only have to pray for them and respect their position. We must let God do what He will with those in authority and cause them to do His will by lifting them up in prayer.
We must realize that God is in control so
we must trust His judgment even if it hurts. When we do as we should and pray
for our leaders and our nation we can actually witness the hand of God move to
turn our nation around and give us a leader who will bring peace and prosperity
to our land instead of all this hate and poverty we now see.
If you listen to the “EVANGELICAL”
Christian community, especially in AMERICA, you will hear a lot of complaining
about how horrible the “CHURCH” and those in it are being treated or how they
are being persecuted. Instead of complaining and crying like a bunch of babies,
they need to grow up and face REALITY. The “CHURCH” is NOT of this WORLD, well
IT SHOULD NOT BE of this world, therefore this WORLD will NOT every like the
“CHURCH”. The TRUE CHURCH {body of believers} stand for everything this WORLD
DOES NOT RESPRESENT so of course this world is going to HATE and persecute the
“CHURCH”. Satan HATES YOU PERIOD!!! Satan will you anyone he can NOT IN THE
CHURCH, even those in the church who are FAKE, to come against you.
From the words of JESUS CHRIST in John 15:18-25 we learn that the people who GENUINELY FOLLOW HIM will be HATED just like they HATED HIM. And remember this, even the “CHURCH” HATED JESUS CHRIST because HE taught them the ERROR of their ways and the exposed the WICKEDNESS in the “CHURCH”.
“If the world hates
you [and it does], know that it has
hated Me before it hated you. If you belonged to the
world, the world would love [you as] its own and
would treat you with affection. But you are not of the world [you no
longer belong to it], but I have chosen you out of the world.
And because of this the world hates you. Remember [and
continue to remember] that I told you, ‘A servant is not greater
than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they
kept My word, they will keep yours also. But they
will do all these [hurtful] things to
you for My name’s sake [because you bear My name and are
identified with Me], for they do not know the One who sent Me. If I had
not come and spoken to them, they would not have [the guilt
of their] sin; but now they have no excuse for their
sin. The one who hates
Me also hates My Father. If I had not done
among them the works (attesting miracles) which no one else [ever] did, they
would not have [the guilt of their] sin; but
now [the fact is that] they have both seen [these
works] and have hated Me [and continue to
hate Me] and My Father as well. But [this is
so] that the word which has been written in their Law
would be fulfilled, ‘They hated Me without a cause.’
With all the
grumbling and complaining coming from the “Evangelical Church” one can conclude
they do not genuinely trust in the God they say they serve. If they were truly
doing the WILL and PURPOSE of God they would be obedient to His Word and QUIT
ALL THE WHINING.
Philippians 2:14-16 Amplified Bible (AMP)
Do everything without murmuring or questioning [the providence of God], so that you may prove yourselves to be blameless and guileless, innocent and uncontaminated, children of God without blemish in the midst of a [morally] crooked and [spiritually] perverted generation, among whom you are seen as bright lights [beacons shining out clearly] in the world [of darkness], holding out and offering to everyone the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to rejoice greatly because I did not run [my race] in vain nor labor without result .
Scriptures to Pray for our Leaders:
In these next scriptures we learn
that God has commandment for those in authority or government positions to
follow because He has allowed them to be in those positions. If they chose NOT
to follow these commandments God will still use them to carry out His will and
then do away with them. It is our responsibility as believers to do our part
and pray for them.
Psalms
2:10-11 - Now therefore, O kings act wisely;
Be instructed and take warning, O leaders (judges,
rulers) of the earth. Worship the Lord and serve Him with reverence [with awe-inspired fear and
submissive wonder]; Rejoice [yet do so] with trembling.
As a nation we are currently
experiencing a government where there is NO wise and intelligent guidance,
therefore we must pray even more that God will guide this administration to do
His will. We must also be praying for the leaders of the Church that they will
repent from their lack of direction from God’s Word to lead the Church in the
right direction when it comes to our government.
Proverbs
11:14 - Where there is no [wise, intelligent]
guidance, the people fall [and go off course like a ship without a helm],
But in the abundance of [wise and godly] counselors there is
victory.
Proverbs
21:1-5 - The king’s heart is like channels of
water in the hand of the Lord; He
turns it whichever way He wishes. Every man’s way is
right in his own eyes, But the Lord weighs and examines the hearts [of people and their
motives]. To do righteousness and justice Is more acceptable to the Lord than
sacrifice [for wrongs repeatedly committed]. Haughty and
arrogant eyes and a proud heart, The lamp of the wicked
[their self-centered pride], is sin [in the eyes of God]. The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance and
advantage, But everyone who acts in haste comes surely
to poverty.
Job
12:13-25 - But [only] with God are [perfect]
wisdom and might; He [alone] has [true] counsel and
understanding. Behold, He tears down, and it cannot be
rebuilt; He imprisons a man, and there can be no
release. Behold, He restrains the waters, and they dry
up;
Again, He sends the waters out, and they overwhelm and
devastate the earth. With Him are might and sound
wisdom, The misled and the misleader are His [and in
His power]. He makes [great and scheming] counselors
walk barefoot And makes fools of judges. He loosens the bond of kings and binds their
loins with a loincloth. He makes priests walk barefoot,
And He overturns men firmly seated and secure.He
deprives the trusted ones of speech and takes away the
discernment and discretion of the aged. He pours
contempt on princes and nobles and loosens the
belt of the strong [disabling them]. He uncovers
mysteries [that are difficult to grasp and understand] out of the darkness
and brings black gloom and the shadow of death into
light. He makes nations great, and He destroys them; He
enlarges nations, and leads them away [captive]. He
removes intelligence and understanding from the leaders of the people of
the earth and makes them wander and move blindly
in a pathless waste. They grope in darkness without
light, And He makes them stagger like a drunken man.
Proverbs
2 - My son, if you will receive my words And treasure my
commandments within you, So that your ear is attentive to [skillful and godly]
wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding [seeking it conscientiously and
striving for it eagerly]; Yes, if you cry out for insight, And lift up your
voice for understanding; If you seek skillful and godly wisdom as you
would silver And search for her as you would hidden treasures; Then you will
understand the [reverent] fear of the Lord [that is,
worshiping Him and regarding Him as truly awesome] And discover the knowledge
of God. For the Lord gives
[skillful and godly] wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.
He stores away sound wisdom for the righteous [those who are in right standing
with Him]; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity [those of
honorable character and moral courage], He guards the paths of justice; And He
preserves the way of His saints (believers). Then you will understand
righteousness and justice [in every circumstance] And integrity and every good
path. For [skillful and godly] wisdom will enter your heart And knowledge will
be pleasant to your soul. Discretion will watch over you, Understanding and
discernment will guard you, To keep you from the way of evil and the
evil man, From the man who speaks perverse things; From those
who leave the paths of uprightness To walk in the ways of darkness; Who find
joy in doing evil And delight in the perversity of evil, Whose paths are
crooked, And who are devious in their ways; To keep you from the immoral woman;
From the seductress with her flattering words, Who leaves the companion
(husband) of her youth, And forgets the covenant of her God. For her house
leads down to death And her paths lead to the dead; None who go to her return
again, Nor do they regain the paths of life—So you will walk in the way of good
men [that is, those of personal integrity, moral courage and honorable
character], And keep to the paths of the righteous. For the upright [those who
are in right standing with God] will live in the land And those [of integrity]
who are blameless [in God’s sight] will remain in it; But the
wicked will be cut off from the land
And the treacherous shall be [forcibly] uprooted and
removed from it.
May we be faithful, informed and
thoughtful when praying and talking to others about our politics, and as we ask
for God's wisdom and righteousness to be evident in our nation's policies and
leaders.
For many, the ways of God seem impossible
or that there are too many rules to follow. I am here today to tell you that
living for God is so much better than living like the world. In God you have
peace and security. In the world you have heart ache and misery. Once you give
your life to God and start following Him you will find that path gets easier
the more you focus on HIM and less on yourself. You will find that living for
God is more fulfilling than anything this world has to offer. You will also find
that the “rules or commandments” are there to protect you from the harm of this
world and you will want to follow them and live in the goodness of God.
Therefore there will be no more thought of how many rules there may or may not
be and how wonderful it is to live under God’s protection.
I pray that I have given you enough today
to give you hope. The road will not be easy; it wasn’t easy for Jesus so you
know it will not be easy for us. However, if you continue to look to God He
will always make a way for you in the dark times. I will leave you with this
final thought:
So submit to [the
authority of] God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him] and he will flee
from you. Come close to God [with a contrite heart] and He will come close to
you. Wash your hands, you sinners; and purify your [unfaithful] hearts, you
double-minded [people]. James
4:7-8 {AMP}
Blessings and Peace,
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