Samuel was frustrated. He had put up with Israel's disobedience and hard-hearted attitude for years. He had every reason under heaven to throw up his hands and walk away from the stubborn, rebellious nation.
Sam asked Israel for a list of all the ways he had mistreated them as a nation. They couldn't think of one. In 1st Samuel 12, Sam gave Israel a verbal highlight film of the many ways Israel had been unfaithful to God.
Score? Israel plenty, Samuel zero. Israel skunked Samuel in the game of disbodience. No one could blame Sam for his frustration with Israel. He could never be bad-mouthed if he chose to quit praying and interceding for the disobedient nation.
Hmmm... How are you doing when it comes to YOUR homeland? Do you get a wee bit frustrated with the direction and disobedience of this nation? America is racking up the points on the scoreboard of disobedience. Do I hear a collective sigh from the saints (not the fans in New Orleans, but the fans of the new covenant)?
Samuel did not give up on Israel. You and I shouldn't give up on America, either. Notice Sam's attitude, "As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right" (1st Samuel 12:23, NIV).
Sam considered it a personal sin to stop praying for Israel. Though he had every reason under heaven to stop, Samuel's allegiance did not stop short of heaven. He was committed to obeying God, praying for his homeland, and spreading the truth of God's way.
Praying for others is a privilege and a responsibility God has granted us. To not pray for others, according to Samuel, is to fail God. Sounds like a good reason to pray!
The list is long of those who need our prayers. From the leaders to the laborers, the entire country needs the entire body of Christ praying fervently and consistently on behalf of this nation. We are off course. We have drifted into dangerous waters. We're trying to have a pool party in a cesspool. We need to plead before the throne of heaven for forgiveness of the mess we've made on earth.
The good news is, you will never run out of reasons to pray and heaven will never run out of resources to answer. When you put those two things together, a miraculous moving of the entire nation back to its foundations of faith is more than a possibility.
"Father, here we come to ask Your forgiveness for where we've been..." Ok. I've started the prayer.
You finish it...
Showing posts with label America. Show all posts
Showing posts with label America. Show all posts
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Set Free for Freedom
The 4th of July is a blank box on my calendar. No plans. Yet, even that is symbolic of Independence Day. Freedom means we can make our own plans. We can even make our own un-plans. I love the 4th of July!
What bothers me is the health of all that the 4th of July symbolizes in this country. Independence Day used to shine like chrome at a Barrett-Jackson auction. Maybe it's just me, but there's a dimness to this date that wasn't there before. Do you sense a slight absence of some of the majesty of it's former glory? Has a layer of neglect covered our nation's holiday of freedom?
Soldiers are on their way back home to this fertile soil of freedom having handed freedom to the citizens of another country at a great personal cost. Shouldn't there be more people at the airports welcoming THEM home than people at Never Never Land saying "good-bye" to a bizarre and deeply-troubled soul?
The story of substance in this country will be the men and women in fatigues laying down their duffel bags to hug their spouses, children, parents, and siblings. But that's not where the helicopters, cameras, and reporters will be. They will be focused on a lifeless being who used to dance and sing.
Freedom should be celebrated with gratitude for those who purchased it and defended it, and a commitment to keep freedom intact.
Have we yet realized how much freedom we've forfeited to people we know nothing about in Washington? People who've never fought FOR our nation's freedom continue to grab more and more freedom FROM us.
We let them take from us rather easily what has been purchased for us with great difficulty.
I'm proud to be an American and grateful to live in this great country. I am grieved by what I see happening to it. But my true permanent citizenship is in a country not found on any map or planet. Heaven is my home. God is my Father. Jesus is my Savior and Supplier of my eternal freedom.
The joy and hope of being a believer in Christ can be found in the security of our soul's freedom. It's an eternal joy and an un-iffy hope. The same One who purchased our spiritual freedom by His sacrificial death on the cross of Calvary came back to life to guarantee that our freedom remain untarnished and eternally secure against all enemies.
No one can snatch me (nor the freedom Christ purchased for me) out of my Father's hands.
The freedom purchased by Christ cannot erode, wane, dissolve, or be diluted in any way. It's a forever freedom that never needs polishing.
Because I am an American, freedom runs through my veins. But because I am a Christian, freedom goes deeper than my flesh. It's in my soul. As much as I love the Constitution of the United States and the Declaration of Independence, my passion for freedom runs deeper than the documents of man. I stand and stake my life and eternity on the Bible, which is the Word of God.
In fact, I don't think the tenets contained within the documents of American freedom would have ever been written without the truths found in the Word of God.
Arguments can be made back and forth as to whether we are or are not a "Christian nation." But one thing is undeniable. The content and character of these United States of America and her place in history would have never been what they've been apart from the truths of Christianity or the Christians who founded this nation.
It was that freedom of the soul purchased for them by the blood of Christ that drove them to forge a free land. A freedom so valuable they were willing to purchase it with their own blood.
Celebrating Independence Inside and Out,
Perry Crisp
What bothers me is the health of all that the 4th of July symbolizes in this country. Independence Day used to shine like chrome at a Barrett-Jackson auction. Maybe it's just me, but there's a dimness to this date that wasn't there before. Do you sense a slight absence of some of the majesty of it's former glory? Has a layer of neglect covered our nation's holiday of freedom?
Soldiers are on their way back home to this fertile soil of freedom having handed freedom to the citizens of another country at a great personal cost. Shouldn't there be more people at the airports welcoming THEM home than people at Never Never Land saying "good-bye" to a bizarre and deeply-troubled soul?
The story of substance in this country will be the men and women in fatigues laying down their duffel bags to hug their spouses, children, parents, and siblings. But that's not where the helicopters, cameras, and reporters will be. They will be focused on a lifeless being who used to dance and sing.
Freedom should be celebrated with gratitude for those who purchased it and defended it, and a commitment to keep freedom intact.
Have we yet realized how much freedom we've forfeited to people we know nothing about in Washington? People who've never fought FOR our nation's freedom continue to grab more and more freedom FROM us.
We let them take from us rather easily what has been purchased for us with great difficulty.
I'm proud to be an American and grateful to live in this great country. I am grieved by what I see happening to it. But my true permanent citizenship is in a country not found on any map or planet. Heaven is my home. God is my Father. Jesus is my Savior and Supplier of my eternal freedom.
The joy and hope of being a believer in Christ can be found in the security of our soul's freedom. It's an eternal joy and an un-iffy hope. The same One who purchased our spiritual freedom by His sacrificial death on the cross of Calvary came back to life to guarantee that our freedom remain untarnished and eternally secure against all enemies.
No one can snatch me (nor the freedom Christ purchased for me) out of my Father's hands.
The freedom purchased by Christ cannot erode, wane, dissolve, or be diluted in any way. It's a forever freedom that never needs polishing.
Because I am an American, freedom runs through my veins. But because I am a Christian, freedom goes deeper than my flesh. It's in my soul. As much as I love the Constitution of the United States and the Declaration of Independence, my passion for freedom runs deeper than the documents of man. I stand and stake my life and eternity on the Bible, which is the Word of God.
In fact, I don't think the tenets contained within the documents of American freedom would have ever been written without the truths found in the Word of God.
Arguments can be made back and forth as to whether we are or are not a "Christian nation." But one thing is undeniable. The content and character of these United States of America and her place in history would have never been what they've been apart from the truths of Christianity or the Christians who founded this nation.
It was that freedom of the soul purchased for them by the blood of Christ that drove them to forge a free land. A freedom so valuable they were willing to purchase it with their own blood.
Celebrating Independence Inside and Out,
Perry Crisp
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Old Penny
In Judah God is known; His name is great in Israel" (Psalm 76:1).
Then there's the good ole USA: In America, God is forgotten; His name is a distant memory in the land of the free.
An old penny now symbolizes where we are as a nation. Lincoln's profile is worn down so that it is indiscernible. "In God We Trust" is a faded and illegible inscription. The value of the penny is a mere fraction of its former self. Oh, how we resemble that penny.
Our nation is crippled with ancestral alzheimers. We don't remember what our forefathers once taught, believed, and practiced. They forged the framework of this nation on the basis of faith and freedom under God.
Efforts are now under way to remove "In God We Trust" from our currency. If those four words were there to describe our current condition, then they should be removed. We don't trust in God. Yet they should stay on our currency as a constant reminder of the course to which this nation should humbly return.
Like the penny, we are but a fraction of our former greatness. This, of course, depends on your definition of greatness. My definition of greatness places integrity at the top. I get the feeling I'm in the minority.
Anything goes today. And integrity seems to be the first thing to go in every relationship, every transaction, and every decision.
We have placed too much emphasis on the first two letters of USA. In us we trust. But God is not an ancient penny nor an ancient memory. What we think of God doesn't change the reality or magnanimous essence of His existence and authority. You can be on an airplane and choose not to believe there's a pilot, but it doesn't change the reality inside the cockpit.
Whether we live it or not -- whether we like it or not -- God "ought to be feared" (v. 11).
The lit match shouldn't brag of it's flame to the sun. The minnow best be careful challenging the whale.
Penny full of thoughts,
Perry Crisp
Then there's the good ole USA: In America, God is forgotten; His name is a distant memory in the land of the free.
An old penny now symbolizes where we are as a nation. Lincoln's profile is worn down so that it is indiscernible. "In God We Trust" is a faded and illegible inscription. The value of the penny is a mere fraction of its former self. Oh, how we resemble that penny.
Our nation is crippled with ancestral alzheimers. We don't remember what our forefathers once taught, believed, and practiced. They forged the framework of this nation on the basis of faith and freedom under God.
Efforts are now under way to remove "In God We Trust" from our currency. If those four words were there to describe our current condition, then they should be removed. We don't trust in God. Yet they should stay on our currency as a constant reminder of the course to which this nation should humbly return.
Like the penny, we are but a fraction of our former greatness. This, of course, depends on your definition of greatness. My definition of greatness places integrity at the top. I get the feeling I'm in the minority.
Anything goes today. And integrity seems to be the first thing to go in every relationship, every transaction, and every decision.
We have placed too much emphasis on the first two letters of USA. In us we trust. But God is not an ancient penny nor an ancient memory. What we think of God doesn't change the reality or magnanimous essence of His existence and authority. You can be on an airplane and choose not to believe there's a pilot, but it doesn't change the reality inside the cockpit.
Whether we live it or not -- whether we like it or not -- God "ought to be feared" (v. 11).
The lit match shouldn't brag of it's flame to the sun. The minnow best be careful challenging the whale.
Penny full of thoughts,
Perry Crisp
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