It’s the middle of summer already! Must say it certainly is hot enough and there’s plenty of traffic on these Colorado mountain roads to know it really is summer. But it always goes too fast. Time continues to march on and there seems to be no relief or end in sight of our disrupted lifestyles. It’s not the way life is to be but we that know Him know the Lord has already won and we have the victory! Not sure life will ever look like we expect or imagine but we know this: “Never doubt God’s mighty power to work in you and accomplish all this. He will achieve infinitely more than your greatest request, your most unbelievable dream, and exceed your wildest imagination! He will outdo them all, for his miraculous power constantly energizes you.” Ephesians 3:20 His ways are so far beyond our thoughts, expectations and imaginations that is exciting to see what He has for us next!
There’s not a day goes by that our lives are not affected with the virus, the mandates and the political situations. It’s frustrating to many people, unnerving, confusing and unpredictable. There’s no way to know what tomorrow will bring in the natural world. There’s division, strife, anger and confusion which in themselves creates sickness. There’s the news media, the mandates, the rules and what about school?! There is no coin change from a purchase given or accepted and sometimes no bills. Then again – school? These young kids are getting the bad end of this deal especially if their parents don’t know the Lord. Working parents are trying to educate their children and make a living in this economy. Each day brings new challenges - challenges that can only be won as we trust the Lord to lead and guide us. Daily I know that I must come to Him for guidance. Almost daily I put spending a few minutes in the Word with Him my priority. I don’t know how to go on without Him. At times I’m seeking Him hourly to know how to handle situations, my feelings, my fears, my frustrations and my confusions. So many unknowns but we praise Him always because His mercies are new every morning and everyday He leads, guides, protects, provides, answers and gives me signs of His amazing love. How many absolutely beautiful, full of color and complete rainbows have there been lately? And double rainbows to boot! Always brings a tear to my eyes. He is faithful and always with us.
Yet, we can’t sit down, rest on our laurels as they say. There is a battle raging and it’s already won in the spiritual realm. But as Believers we must stand on His Word, connect to that spiritual realm and believe without doubt that what looks so uncertain and almost impossible is His Word and His will. One of the missionary families we support at Mtn High wrote an excellent word from Nehemiah. Things were even worse at that time. People were in fear and hiding but God told Nehemiah to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. It wasn’t easy, it wasn’t without much ridicule and discouragement but they did it. The Book of Nehemiah and God’s plan for coming together in unity is some of my favorite parts of the Word and always gives me hope. They came together and they did it in 52 days! We are to come together and rebuild some broken walls of America. How do we do this?
The Lord has already given us His plan in the Word. We don’t have to look beyond that to see His wisdom for us. One part of His wisdom is He tells us to pray for the leaders of our country. Pray the eyes of people’s hearts will be open so that they can see the hope of His calling. It’s not impossible for any person alive to not come to know the Lord if they seek and accept Him. God is still the same God Who created the world, Who gave us the rainbow, fed the 5000 and loves the world so much He gave His Son to die for us. Jesus is ready with open arms to receive all who come to Him. We can be praying for that. I believe prayer is of upmost importance right now. Individual prayer and cooperate prayer – coming together and believing together.
“Most of all, I’m writing to encourage you to pray with gratitude to God. Pray for all men with all forms of prayers and requests as you intercede with intense passion. And pray for every political leader and representative, so that we would be able to live tranquil, undisturbed lives, as we worship the awe-inspiring God with pure hearts. It is pleasing to our Savior-God to pray for them. He longs for everyone to embrace his life and return to the full knowledge of the truth. 1 Timothy 2:1-4
“Every believer was faithfully devoted to following the teachings of the apostles. Their hearts were mutually linked to one another, sharing communion and coming together regularly for prayer.” Acts 2:42 We are to come together and pray.
“For wherever two or three come together in honor of my name, I am right there with them!” Matthew 18:20
We are to pray for each other. “Because of this, since I first heard about your strong faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and your tender love toward all his devoted ones, my heart is always full and overflowing with thanks to God for you as I constantly remember you in my prayers. I pray that the Father of glory, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, would impart to you the riches of the Spirit of wisdom and the Spirit of revelation to know him through your deepening intimacy with him. I pray that the light of God will illuminate the eyes of your imagination, flooding you with light, until you experience the full revelation of the hope of his calling—that is, the wealth of God’s glorious inheritances that he finds in us, his holy ones! I pray that you will continually experience the immeasurable greatness of God’s power made available to you through faith. Then your lives will be an advertisement of this immense power as it works through you! This is the mighty power that was released when God raised Christ from the dead and exalted him to the place of highest honor and supreme authority in the heavenly realm! And now he is exalted as first above every ruler, authority, government, and realm of power in existence! He is gloriously enthroned over every name that is ever praised, not only in this age, but in the age that is coming! And he alone is the leader and source of everything needed in the church. God has put everything beneath the authority of Jesus Christ and has given him the highest rank above all others. And now we, his church, are his body on the earth and that which fills him who is being filled by it!” Ephesians 1:15-23
Pray life and light to the lost and blinded world: “for their minds have been blinded by the god of this age, leaving them in unbelief. Their blindness keeps them from seeing the dayspring light of the wonderful news of the glory of Jesus Christ, who is the divine image of God.” 2 Corinthians 4:4
We can’t cower down and think things will change or go back to normal. I don’t imagine we will see a somewhat normal until sometime next year. We’re into this 5 months and it will take more than 5 months to see things settle down but we’ll never have what we had pre March 2020 again. That’s not a negative word it’s a reality. On the bright side some things needed changed. As Believer’s we can know that no matter what is happening in the natural there’s glorious things in the Spiritual realm that are taken place that are beyond our belief. We can always know this is the day He has made and we can rejoice in all He has given us!! This morning as I was crying out in prayer He gave me the most spectacular sunrise to remind me of His goodness and love.
Here’s some more Word He has given me lately. “Our forefathers didn’t win these battles by their own strength or their own skill or strategy. But it was through the shining forth of your radiant presence and the display of your mighty power. You loved to give them victory, for you took great delight in them.” Psalm 44:3
“In your glory and grandeur go forth in victory! Through your faithfulness and meekness the cause of truth and justice will stand. Awe-inspiring miracles are accomplished by your power, leaving everyone dazed and astonished!” Psalm 45:4
“God, you’re such a safe and powerful place to find refuge! You’re a proven help in time of trouble--more than enough and always available whenever I need you. So we will never fear even if every structure of support were to crumble away. We will not fear even when the earth quakes and shakes, moving mountains and casting them into the sea. For the raging roar of stormy winds and crashing waves cannot erode our faith in you. Surrender your anxiety! Be silent and stop your striving and you will see that I am God. I am the God above all the nations, and I will be exalted throughout the whole earth.” Psalm 46:1-3, 10
I was reminded of our declarations we have spoken and believed the last couple years. This is the declaration for 2020:“Don’t stop! Keep on singing! Make his name famous! Tell everyone every day how wonderful he is. Give them the good news of our great Savior. Take the message of his glory and miracles to every nation. Tell them about all the amazing things he has done.” Psalms 96:2-3 How important it is to keep on singing and telling others about Him. I like “Make His name famous!” Tell the world about His love!
This is the declaration for 2019: “I am doing something brand new, something unheard of. Even now it sprouts and grows and matures. Don’t you perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and open up flowing streams in the desert.” Isaiah 43:19. Wow, this is a powerful verse from last year. He says “Even now”. Right now He is doing something unheard of! I can stand on this truth! All I have to do is grab a hold of some Word and my hope is renewed. We will be starting some weekly prayer meetings and hope you can be a part of one! We are to come together to pray, believe and speak His Word forth into this world. We are also praying for you!!!