Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. Jeremiah 17:7-8
Though I normally am very much a home body and somewhat of a loner most of the time; last night I had several choices of where to go. I could go to a very fine restaurant as a guest while being wined and dined about new research. Or as my original plan had been, I could drive 2 hours to hear one of my favorite pastors speak for which I had reserved my place. The third choice I learned of late in the course of things was to go to the local theatre to join with millions of Christians across the nation in one large prayer and worship service called “Revive Us”. In the end, I chose the third. As I entered all alone: well I not really alone for God is always with me. The theater began to fill with people; yet, for quite some time no one had sat down beside me. Then, suddenly three women sat to my right. The service was inspiring, uplifting and beautiful. Little did I know all of what God was doing until the end. At that time, these dear Christian ladies and I began to talk. We were the last to leave and I knew “God had done it again.” I had just met three beautiful sisters in Christ and our bond was quick, sudden as though; we had known each other for a lifetime. They all were writers.
God is like that. He reminds us of His Sovereignty, His Grace and His Love toward us. He is a God of righteousness, justice and mercy; which is a dichotomous Glorious Magnificent Truth that too often our finite minds cannot fully comprehend. He cannot give Grace, were He not also Just. God hates the sin of this world; yet, for the moment steadies His Hand of justice while awaiting one more soul to accept His precious gift of salvation. He bids us to be His Light to a darkened world.
Those of my readers from around the world; bear with me as for the next three weeks, I feel I must spend some time focusing upon our upcoming election here in the United States of America. The results here determine in many cases the direction of the world. We, the Christians of this nation, are a very generous people when we have the resources. Right now, we are going through a draught. Our fruits still pour out to other nations and to the poor; yet, how much more would that be the case if we were prosperous and strong again.
Right now, our nation is divided. We are wounded deeply. Our hearts and souls have been poisoned by so much oppression.
[bctt tweet=”We, the Christians; have been accused of being the hate mongers & told we must be silent.” username=”effiedarlene”]
Compliant, not wanting to speak for fear we would sound guilty of that which we are accused; we have grown complacent.
[bctt tweet=”The ones truly filled with hate are those who are trying to silence the voice of the Christians” username=”effiedarlene”]
[tweetthis]For we, the true followers of Christ; are the voice of love, hope, & Grace[/tweetthis]
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Matthew 27:37-40
This is who we are!! We must not allow the left wing media and the politicians to cause our hearts to feel otherwise. We must not become silenced. We risk our light of truth being dimmed forever if we begin to doubt who we have been called to be–the light and salt of the world. We must begin through prayer, repentance, and bible study. WE must each and every one of us become Prayer Warriors for our nation and for each other. Then we must join hands and together heal this wounded nation.
For they (those who try to silence us) eat the bread of wickedness,
And drink the wine of violence.But the path of the just is like the shining sun, That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day. Proverbs 4:17-18 (NKJV
And now, we must choose who will lead us into the future. On one side we have a man who will tell you, he is not the man he use to be. A little outspoken at times. All the forces of evil have lined up against him; yet, he battles on because he has recognized the great nation we could be if we return to the very constitutional principles that we were founded on: One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.
Note that indivisible. WE cannot continue as a divided nation. We must seek to heal this land with God’s love, grace and mercy. We, the people of faith, must stand in the gap and join hands with every hurting, wounded soul through kindness and love.
God often down through the ages chose leaders quite different than we would have chosen. He did not choose the most eloquent of speech, the shiniest stones. Remember David’s sins, Jacob’s deceit, Samson’s weaknesses, Rahab the Harlot, Solomon’s failures, Jonah’s reluctance, Peter’s temper, and the list goes on. Yet, God chose each to fulfill His Glorious purpose. I, too; must always remember the Grace by which I was saved. For if I look at my life; I certainly would not have chosen me if I were a righteous God. Yet, God chose me to be His beloved Child.
So, it is today, as Mr Trump prepares for his debate; my prayer for him is this:
For I (God) will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist. Luke 21:15
God has proclaimed:
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14
It begins with me, today and each morning before the dawn breaks, I must be on my knees. Will you join me?
Photo courtesy of: https://unsplash.com/@benwhitephotography
New King James Version (NKJV)Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
©Effie Darlene Barba, 2016
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.