Prayer Is Warfare!

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

"And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it:  but I found none - (Eze. 22:30).

 Hey gang, This past year has been a time of testing with some ‘slight afflictions' licking at my heels.  At eighty, one expects to see some slow-down in their vim and vigor, but on some days it just plain ‘gets up and goes’!  A good friend once said the first thing she does in the morning is check the obits and, if her name is not there, she gets out her vitamin case and takes on fuel for the day.

 I spend a lot of time in the Book of James, during times of testing, just seeking assurance that there is a purpose for battling alligators on a very regular basis.  I have learned that when we are confronted with wilderness experiences, we have to make a decision in whom we will put our trust.  James gave us the key to victory when he said, "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance" (1:2-3).

 James continues and gives us the reason for staying the course, even in the midst of adversity, "Let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing" (vs. 3).  

 Years ago, in my tenure of working with young folks who had made some bad decisions, God taught me a lesson that has been the foundation of my efforts to help these young folks.  It seemed I was to be willing to share the mistakes I have made in my lifetime and how God bailed me out from those mistakes.  I learned that hurting-people crave to hear someone sit down with them and as the saying goes: "Been there, done that"  BUT I serve a living Savior who collects those things from anyone willing to lay them at His feet and take them to the cross daily.

 Our God is an awesome God! Isaiah 1:18 gives me the assurance that "Though my sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow, though they are crimson, they will be like wool, if you consent and obey."   Notice the "if". 

 Soooo, young warriors, reread the Scripture today and note –“He sought for a man so stand in the gap but He found none".   Wow, is that not tragic.  Jesus said, "Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest" (John 4:35b).  What are your goals for today?  Do they include keeping your antenna's up, asking God to use you to come along side someone and say, "been there, done that" but there is a God who loves you, who is willing to take your burden to the cross. 

Prayer changes us.  

 Blessings,

 Gramps 

Don't forget to pray for our country and Israel1

If The Foundations Are Destroyed, What Can the Righteous Do?

 Friday, June 27, 2014

"Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.” I Peter 4:12-13.

Hey Gang:  Would you like to know something that I have discovered in my eighty years of listening to sermons?  Very few are focused on what is to come in these last days.  I wonder why?  Jesus said, ‘I do not want you to be unaware of what is coming " Matthew 24.  Paul also said, "For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and all ate the same spiritual food" (I Corinthians. 10:1-3).

Paul also wrote, "In addition to all, taking up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one" (Ephesians 6:16. What is the shield of faith? The Word, time in your prayer closet, and following in the steps of our Lord.

How many out there believe that God cannot pull anything out of you that you do not put in?  In our parenting classes one of the first principles we taught was: All believers need to develop knobs in our head on which to hang knowledge.  I have learned, in my tenure as teacher and counselor, that most folks who come to me have only smooth spots inside of their heads, therefore, nothing sticks.  You know, like reading a portion of Scripture and can't remember what you just read.  Probably no knob to hang it on.   

So, why do we need knobs filled with the Word and experiences of when we have been overcomers? Because when the enemy comes in like a flood or a fury of flaming rage, there may not be time to be like the foolish virgins and go try to fill your lamp.  Again, we turn to our friend Isaiah for a promise, "No weapon that is formed against you will prosper; And every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn, This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, And their vindication is from Me," declares the Lord" (Isaiah. 54:17.)

Sooooo,  One does not have to be a brain surgeon or rocket scientist to know we are in very perilous times.  The prophecies given to Daniel to lock up until latter times are suddenly become very visible.  We find many warnings throughout the Word that in the last times people are going to buy into some real garbage!  Jesus said, “Careful, don't be deceived." Matthew 24:4

Paul's insurance against being led down the Prime Rose Path - "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might" (Ephesians. 6:10). James put the dot at the end of the sentence: "Submit therefore to God.  Resist the devil and he will flee from you." (James 4:7).  Keep in mind we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but again slue foot and all his buddies.  So, Paul says -keep the armor in place! 

Blessings,

Gramps

 

Have You Thought About Tomorrow?

 

Monday, June 16, 2014     We are now 10 years later: deeper in debt, less neighborly, more anger, rage, crime and unrest..... 

 

"Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.  And the rain fell, the floods came, the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.  "Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slamm- ed against that house; and it fell - and great was the fall." (Matthew 7:24-27).

 Hey Gang:  Solomon, the second wisest man to walk this earth, wrote this warning to us: "The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty" (Proverbs 22:3).  This is not designed to give you the hebby-jebees, but to remind you that we have always had economic booms, busts, panics, bubbles and crises with us and there are predictions coming from all fronts that we are nearing a major catastrophic breakdown in our economy.

 One does not have to be a rocket scientist to know, if you spend hundreds and thousands of dollars that you do not have, it will not be long until the bill collectors and long strong arm of the law will be standing on your doorstep.  Now multiply that by an entity the size of our government and you come up with a seventeen-trillion dollar-debt that is climbing by billions each day. 

 Now add to that seven to twelve or as many are saying, fifteen to seventeen percent unemployment, and more than half of the citizens of this once great and very solvent country on food stamps and, if you are objective in even a small way, you must realize "we are spending more time rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic than trying to fix the problem.    

 If I were sitting in the oval office the first thing I would do is draft an order to the people of this country, as Ronald Reagan did in his two inaugural speeches and challenge them with God's words found in 2 Chronicles 7:14, "If My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land". 

 I would then do some research to find out what some of the Presidents, who were blessed with good common sense, did when confronted with such dilemmas.  I would than carefully choose people from the nation who were successful, who had what God required in His servant-leaders: "First he must be beyond reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, and free from the love of money, and power (Hainley addition)" (I Timothy. 2:2). I wonder how many who sit in the nation’s power seats can pass this muster.

  Soooo, my fine young friends and neighbors, In the morning Scripture we see two very diverse attitudes - the build-on sand folks, and the build on solid ground folks.  Due to the many ways we can hide our problems, in most cases they all look alike. But when the rubber-hits-the-road, the rock and sand builders suddenly come to the surface.

 I believe the parable of the ten virgins is a warning to the rock builders - our government has been our worst enemy, for we have subsidized the sand builders these many years and they are totally unprepared for the crisis that is to come. You can take it to the bank, if there are any banks open, they, the sand builders, will be on your doorstep asking you to do as the government has done for them and give them your oil for their lamps.

 Blessings,

 Gramps 

Are You A New Creature In Christ Jesus?

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

"Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; all things are become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17).

 Hey Gang:  As a young lad growing up in the hills of Pennsylvania, we were challenged to do something to aid in the war effort.  World War II was the focus of everyone in those days and we wanted to do our part.  So, we spent a day a month searching throughout the hillsides and along the roadways for milkweeds that could be used to make rubber.

 Now, if you know anything about milkweeds, you probably know that caterpillars love milkweeds and often attach their chrysalis (cocoon) to it.   We often collected one and put in a glass jar that had a lid with air holes and with a short stick and milkweed leaves for food. The stage was set and each day we would watch one of the wonders of God's creation - metamorphosis take place.

 Watching the caterpillar was like watching a tug of war between two great warriors but the tug of war was God's design to place strength in the wings of the butterfly that would enable it to fly.  I recall one time, when we made the mistake of helping the caterpillar escape, only to see it lamely fly for a moment or two, then drop to the ground and die.

 In our work with human caterpillars who are struggling to escape the cocoon that holds them captive, we learned there is a time to help them, but there is a time to make them fight their way out of the cocoon that holds them captive.

 As I thought about this story, a sad memory surfaced in my heart and mind.  I had a very good friend who was blessed with a wonderful mom, but she was his own worst enemy.  I remember one morning when I arrived at his house a little early and his mom had him standing on chair while she washed his face, put his clothes on, tied his shoes, combed his hair and lifted him down from the chair as she would handle a dozen eggs.  He was never allowed to fall and feel the victory of getting up and putting one foot in front of the other.  And, on the day he went off to college he was totally unprepared for living in the real world; he came apart mentally.

 The point, the caterpillar has no choice in metamorphosis, but man must choose to be changed.  To become a Christian, we must experience death to the carnal man, so that "Like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:4).

 When the new creature crawls out of the cocoon it has been transformed into something beautiful not at all resembling its former self.  The butterfly uses its lovely wings to fly from flower to flower, drinking and adding beauty to the environment.  It is no longer attracted to the milkweed leaves for feeding.

 In the same way, our spiritual feeding habits should clearly change when we become Christians.  Instead of filling ourselves with 'weeds' we should feast on the 'nectar' of God's Word.

 Soooo, what does your diet consist of?  Are you feeding on milkweed or nectar?  Isaiah 55:2 gives us the key to success for breaking free from the cocoons of life that hold us in bondage: "Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread?  And your labor for that which satisfies not?  Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good." 

Blessings,

Gramps