ARE YOU WATCHING THE NEWS?

 

Have you been watching the news? Most of us have been. And this is indeed a time for God's people to be aware of what is going on around us. I have been concerned about Ukraine for a long time. And I was tempted to put off my devotional time one morning to hear the details of the Russian invasion. That is the worst thing I could have done.

My confidence and peace depend on my closeness to God. My close friend Thame Fuller, pastor of Meadowdale Community Church in the Seattle area, posted this verse on Facebook that day.

"Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, 

even then I will be confident…

For in the day of trouble He will keep me safe in His dwelling."

 - Psalm 27:3 & 5

I can trust God even for Christian brothers and sisters in a country that I love. And the most important thing I can do for them is pray. 

This will still be true when our own neighbors, our own country, our own families and lives are under seige in events prophesied about these last days. The secret of faithfully enduring them will be our consistent nearness to God.

My devotional time today was in Acts 6 and 7. Stephen was dragged before the Sanhedrin by the people who would stone him before he finished his defense. In Acts 6:15 we read,

“And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel.”

Earlier in Acts Peter declared to the Sanhedrin that there was no name but Jesus whereby we must be saved. When the council saw the boldness of these ordinary fishermen, they were amazed and recognized that they had been with Jesus. 

Extraordinary bible-focused prayer is the most important thing we can do for our world and for our witness in it. I pray that people around us will see the difference Jesus makes in us. Having said this, let me include two specific requests from people asking prayer for Ukraine.

First, from Sammy Tippit:

I spoke this morning with Vasie Bynzar, who directed STM during the days of the collapse of the Soviet Union. He is from Moldova and his brother is now in Krivoy Rog, Ukraine. Vasile said that his brother could hear fighting at the nearby military base. When I ministered in Ukraine, I preached in Krivoy Rog, Nikolayev, Odessa, Kherson, Zaparhozhia, and Kiev.  

I tried to contact my friends in Kiev. However, it appears that the Internet has been knocked out by Cyber warfare. We need to pray for our brothers and sisters there. Please ask all the prayer warriors to lift up the people of Ukraine. There are followers of Jesus who came to Christ in all the cities that I mentioned. In the photo below, I have circled the cities where there are people who came to Christ through our ministry. I have also circled Moldova to see the location of Moldova to Ukraine. Many Christians in Moldova are concerned that the Russian military will also try to take Moldova. 

Thanks.

And Kathleen Cliver posted something from a Missionary on the field in Ukraine:

“For us this is no surprise. We all knew it was coming.

Still, to officially announce you are in a full-scale war with a delusional dictator in 2022 is a horrific thing. So many people are going to die. And for what?

Please don't forget us, dear brothers and sisters in Christ. Don't despair and don't grieve like those who

have no hope. Instead stand firm on the promises of the Lord.

Reading and praying over Psalms is really getting me through right now. It's good to remember that God

always gets justice in the end. Eternity is waiting.

Fellow believers, I beg of you, cry out to God to save the Ukrainian people! Open a map of Ukraine on

Google and pray over it. Ask the Lord to put His hand

of protection on Mariupol, on Kharkiv, on Sumy, on

Dnipro, on Kherson, and on and on and on. If you hear a news report please pray for the city mentioned.

There is no greater weapon you have to help us than your prayers.

"For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not

the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds."

Cry out to God for a spiritual awakening among the Russian and Belarussian people. Pray that God would do a miracle in the Slavic nations who call themselves our brothers and that they would cast off their chains. Pray that evil will be defeated.

May God bless and keep Ukraine!”

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A POEM PENNED BY GOD

 Ephesians 2:10 N.I.V.

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

The word translated “handiwork” here is “ποίημα” (POEMA) which is also the Greek word for poem.

A POEM PENNED BY GOD

Are you no more than molecules?

Protein cells with mitochondria?

Impulse glands sending chemicals

With merely random respondia?

 

A hundred million coded plans

Writ in chromosomal couplets,

Determine eyes and hair and hands,

And the chance to bear quintuplets. 

Your genes are not an accident.

Detailed instructions never are. 

These all demonstrate intent

By the Creator of the stars.

Now yielding to the Spirit's plans,

While upon the earth we trod,

Heaven and Earth will understand,

You are a poem penned by God.

This poem was published in the book Take Me To The Garden.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07YSVLW24/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i10

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CONSIDERING

What sort of things do you contemplate? Do you think seriously about anything? An interesting word is used in Acts 7:31-32. The word is κατανοέω (kataneo). Literally the word would be “according to the mind.” The common meaning is to consider or contemplate. The ESV and most other translations render the word “look” or “behold”' in these verses. I have highlighted the English translation of kataneo in the ESV.

“When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord: ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and did not dare to look.”

However, the NASB, like a handful of other translations, render the word more literally, to look more closely, or to consider. I agree that Moses went to look at the burning bush and when he realized it was God, he was afraid to look anymore. But by using the word for consider or contemplate here, Stephen, and Luke who recorded it, were leading us to deeper insight. Have you taken the trouble to contemplate the reality of God all around you?

 

THE CLOUD OF UNTHINKING 

His ways at last are beyond our grasp, 

The breadth of His Being beyond all showing.

His truth so vast from our reach is past, 

Hiding Himself in the cloud of unknowing. 

But must He bind Himself from the minds 

Of those who would not seek His inkling?

His truth could they find with hearts so blind

Who hide from Him in the cloud of unthinking?

If our hearts are filled with selfish will 

Can we ever know His presence within,

Souls compelled by lust unfulfilled 

Until we die in unbelief and sin?

Yet the gospel's grace can be embraced 

To open the hearts of the sons of men.

He died in the place of Adam’s race

To redeem His own from the fate of sin.

Meditating on the word of God opens our hearts and minds to understand things we would never have grasped had we not exposed ourselves to Him.

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OUR WORDS MATTER

This week on Facebook I read a couple of things that many of us have come to ignore. One word came from someone whom I do not not know, but I suspect we agree on some things because of the page where he posted it. He called liberal supreme court nominees, “marxists.” The other was written by a friend for whom I have great respect. He called Democrats, “fascists.” These are serious mistakes, however much we disagree with others.

First, this is intellectually wrong. Calling most American politicians Marxists or Fascists ignores the seriousness of those ungodly doctrines. It also fails to explain why we do not agree with what our political opponents do believe. Some of those who hear us say such things will listen to what they say and conclude that whatever we say comes out of ignorance.

This is also a strategic mistake. If we would approach people with whom we disagree with intellectual consideration, we would persuade them on many issues. We are still a democracy where we can talk and persuade others. If we do not respectfully seek to persuade one another, we will lose our country.

And this is morally wrong. I am most concerned about this behavior among those I agree with, but I recognize that it is two sided. I regularly heard Republicans defend their actions by saying, “The Democrats did it when they were in power.” It baffles me when I hear people defend mimicking the behavior of those who hold political position they believe to be evil. Wouldn't it be better in the long run to say, “Our integrity keeps us from doing that.” Even if hateful speech increases our political power, it displeases God. In Matthew 12:34 Jesus said, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” When we use vile language about our enemies we cultivate the evil in our hearts. When evil is allowed to grow in our hearts it will inevitably turn into violent action. Eventually we will cease to object to violence against those we hate.

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WORTH A THOUSAND PICTURES

WORTH A THOUSAND PICTURES

Every poet looks for . . .

Words that cry, words that sing 

Words that shine, words that ring

Words that fly, words that words that sting, 

Words that say the Many Splendored Thing.

Every Storyteller Longs for . . .

 

Words that fret, words that bite 

Words that whet the appetite, 

Words that let, words that fight

Words that shake the Earth with all their might.

Every preacher prays for words 

Words that fill the heart with laughter,

And re-apply the ancient scriptures. 

Words that cast a stage with actors,

Words that paint a thousand pictures.

An earlier version of this poem was published in the book Take Me To The Garden.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07YSVLW24/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i10

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IN THE SPIRIT'S POWER

I recently saw some glaring evidence that our world is getting more and more ungodly. I saw a TV show that justified all kinds of sexual behavior. This cultural statement was irrelevant to the plot of the relatively clean detective show. This is not new, of course, but I fear the outcome of these notions. I am sick to death of profanity and vulgar speech not just in the media but everywhere we go. I am also bothered by things like the severing of conservatism from morality. Spiritual leaders ignore profanity, deceit, or calls to violence on the part of candidates that they agree with politically. It amazes me to hear people who claim to be Christians say hateful things about their political and cultural opposition. Jesus calls us to love our enemies. They are our mission field. There seems to be no difference between us and the world.  

When I get discouraged about such things I need to remember that our God is in the business of forgiveness. I am convinced that He is setting the stage to show a clear difference between His children and the world around us to draw many into His embrace. God empowers His own to demonstrate grace and holiness even as a minority. Of course, the world tells us that sinful behavior is fulfilling, that hatred and deceit are the way to power, that our politics will save the world, and godliness will not lead to success. But especially in these days, we can trust the Spirit’s power in the faithful witness of our lives.

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