A Day of Prayer for the Nation

On April 15, 2010, Federal District Barbara B. Crabb declared that the National Day of Prayer established by act of Congress in 1952 violates the establishment clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. Her injunction takes effect at the conclusion of any appeals filed by the defendants, President Obama and White House Press Secretary Gibbs. The text of the decision may be obtained at http://ffrf.org/uploads/legal/SummaryJudgementGeitner.PDF.

It is understandable that many Christians are upset by this decision, and they see it as a further erosion of our national Christian heritage. They are right. But I, for one, am not so concerned that some judge in some court has again denied the right and prerogative of the Congress to set aside one day as a National Day of Prayer. After all, this government has not been a friend to Christians for a very long time, nor do I expect them to change in short order.

My concern is that we are, again, overly dependent upon the government to take the lead in restoring and protecting our Christian heritage. We receive nothing from government; we receive all good and right things from God. The atheist shares in this blessing only because God is good.

Before anyone gets their shorts in a knot, ask this question of yourself. When was the last time your church called for a day of prayer? If they did, how well was it attended? Did you attend?

We don't need the government to declare a National Day of Prayer. What we need is our churches to declare a National Day of Prayer, Fasting, and Repentance, pleading with God to remove from us our national, ecclesiastic, and personal sin and shame. Once we get serious about that, then the government will follow, as they should.

If you pray, they will follow because Jesus is King, even over the United States of America.

Setting Low Expectations and Failing to Meet Them

"Why is it considered incredible among you people if God does raise the dead? Acts 26:8  

On Sunday morning, faithful Christians will go into their churches for worship (or is it more correct to say “to worship”?). Imagine for a moment that sentries were posted outside the doors of every church asking each individual man, woman or child, “What is your purpose in coming here? What do expect to accomplish? What do you expect to receive? ” What would be your answer? Now, what if these sentries were to ask the preachers the same questions? Would the preachers answer differently than we would?

When we go to worship (the more correct saying; worship is a contact “sport"), preachers should expect that the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life, will move through the preaching of His word in the hearts and minds of His people. And Christians should expect the same! That’s right; we should expect the Holy Spirit to do this. Unfortunately, a spirit of idleness, skepticism, and unbelief has so permeated the church that we expect little of the Holy Spirit. We probably have so little expectation of Him because we pray so little.

Thankfully, Paul and the other apostles did not have such low expectations; nor should we. We should desire and expect that the Holy Spirit will convict us of sin, and righteousness, and judgment. We should desire and expect that the Holy Spirit will comfort us that, indeed, our warfare against God is ended, that we have been reconciled to him through the Cross of Jesus, and that we will receive grace to walk before God in holiness and righteousness all the days of our lives. And we should expect conversions. Not one here or there, but conversions in the hundreds and thousands. However, if we pray little, we will have low expectations.

We desperately need a visitation from the Lord as he did in older days, and we should expect to receive one. So tonight, the evening before worship, and tomorrow morning before worship, pray for your pastor that God would bless the preaching of His word in ways we could not even think imaginable. If God has given us the Spirit which raised Jesus from the dead, shouldn’t we raise our expectations beyond our meager limitations to level of the promises that God has made? Why should we think this incredible?

Hope against Hope

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1 (ESV)

Hope is a fragile human sentiment in which we expect the fulfillment of our desires. We might hope that our desires for a new job or a high score on a test will be fulfilled. We often hope in people; we hope the doctor will tell us what has been troubling us physically, or that our parents may take us on an exciting summer vacation. We also often hope in objects; we hope that new laws will make us more secure in our persons and in our endeavors, or that our cars will last until we can afford to repair or replace it. We also hope in circumstances, such as when we hope that it will not rain during our planned picnic, or that the economy will improve. And we hope that our children’s future, success, and prosperity will be greater than ours. Hope is a powerful motivator that gives us encouragement and comfort in times of trouble, difficulty, and uncertainty.

There are times, and thankfully they are relatively infrequent for most of us, when our hopes are dashed because of circumstances that are beyond our control, or because our resources are too meager to bring about the desired result, or simply because other people let us down, not following through on promises that they have made to us, which gave rise to our hope. The economic events of the past two years have certainly tested the hopes of many people. Many retirees saw their savings accounts, upon which they hoped to live on, significantly reduce in value. Approximately 15 million workers, or 9.7 percent of the population willing and able to work, were unemployed in March 2010, while only 162,000 non-farm jobs were added to the payroll in the same month. Of the jobs added in March, 48,000 were temporary jobs associated with the census. There are many people and families whose hopes for the future have been stretched to the breaking point. It is difficult to offer a word of encouragement or hope to people in this situation because we recognize that we ourselves are powerless and subject to the same limitations as everyone else. It is difficult to offer comfort and hope, but not impossible. God, through his word and Spirit, does give his people abundant hope in the most trying of circumstances. Let me outline just one example.

In his letter to the Romans, Paul tells of the hope that Abraham had in the promise that God had made to him.

For this reason it is by faith, that it might be in accordance with grace, in order that the promise may be certain to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, (as it is written, "A father of many nations have I made you") in the sight of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist. In hope against hope he believed, in order that he might become a father of many nations, according to that which had been spoken, "So shall your descendants be." And without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief, but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what He had promised, He was able also to perform. Therefore also it was reckoned to him as righteousness. Now not for his sake only was it written, that it was reckoned to him, but for our sake also, to whom it will be reckoned, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, He who was delivered up because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification. Romans 4:16-25 (ESV)

God made a promise to Abraham that he would be a father, not just of a son, but of many nations. There was only one small problem. Abraham was almost 100 years old and Sarah was about 90 years old when God chose to fulfill the promise of a son to them. That they were old beyond childbearing years is evidenced when God asked Abraham,

“And the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh, saying, 'Shall I indeed bear a child, when I am so old?' "Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son." Genesis 18:13-14 (ESV)

Now, I specifically cited this example because it describes the impossibility of Abraham’s physical circumstances over and against the promise of God. If a ninety year old woman were to give birth to a child today, we would consider it most extraordinary news. But, the main issue here is the statement “Is anything too difficult for the LORD?” Our knowledge of what is physically impossible is directly contrasted to the promise that God made. Abraham considered the impossibility of his physical situation as well. Abraham certainly knew of the deadness of his own flesh and the deadness of Sarah’s womb, and he hoped against hope! Abraham hoped in the promise of God, even though his physical condition and that of Sarah gave him no hope.

So, what does all this have to do with your children and our students? As Christians, we hope against all the evidence to the contrary that God will fulfill our promises to our children because we do not hope in the innate ability of ourselves or our children, nor do we hope in the circumstances that they will face. We hope against hope because we hope in the God who made these promises and who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead!

We are engaged in a great and abiding work for the future of our children. We cannot coordinate the circumstances which will make them successful, but God has promised them good. We cannot change the hearts of our children, but God has declared that they belong to him. We cannot make everything okay for our children, but we know the God who works all things for our good.

The Christ-centered education your children receive is intended to help them to become self-consciously aware that God created all things in the physical world out of nothing and sustain his creation by word of his power. With that as our starting point, we educate children to ask the really tough questions about the physical world, and not be intimated by those who begin at some philosophical or scientific point other than the Creator God of the Bible. Establishing that God is the Creator, we educate children to see God as the Redeemer in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ, who they must trust for their daily vocation, whether as a student or some other endeavor. Having established God as Creator and Redeemer, we educate children to live their lives, in whatever calling they may walk in, as imitators of Christ.

This is tough work, both as a parent and as an educator. But it is one work which will bear much fruit in the lives of our children. Not because of our ability or accomplishments, but because of the God who has promised us success.

We hope against hope, and God will never put us to shame.

Paradigms of Reality

Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe."

Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe." Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." John 20:24-29 (ESV)

I have been deeply troubled in my heart, asking myself when did my faith in Jesus become cold and distant. I remember days when it was my delight in knowing him, reading of him, talking with him, speaking to others of him. There were the blessed days of witnessing to complete strangers on Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey, California, and the Bible studies with dear brothers and sisters who helped me when I first trusted Jesus. When did my trust in the Person of Jesus Christ lose its lustre? And, more importantly, why?

I have been over the familiar rubrics for asking these questions. Unconfessed sin? Certainly. Ungodly thoughts, words, and actions? Most assuredly. Foolishness? Without a doubt. But, even as I deal with these issues, trusting in the forgiveness that Christ promises me in his Word (1 John 1:9), I find myself yearning for more of Christ. And I doubt I am the only one who feels this way.

With deep gratitude to the weekly preaching of my pastor, I have been forced into a much more careful consideration of the physical resurrection of the Lord Jesus from the dead, than I have ever considered it before this time. What has become a commonplace tenet of orthodox Christianity, has become too commonplace for me. It is too familiar to me; too much is taken for granted. The physical resurrection of Jesus from the dead is much more than a tenet, it is the vindication of all that the Father says of the Son, of all the Son says of himself, and all that the Holy Spirit has to say of the Son (1 Corinthians 15:14). If I have taken the resurrection of Jesus from the dead for granted, then I have taken Jesus himself for granted.

When confronted by the resurrected Jesus, Thomas's confession is, at least in my opinion,  the most profound confession of Jesus as the Christ in all of Scripture, easily exceeding the confessions of Peter and of Paul. Thomas's (my namesake by the way; the older I become, the more apt I think my parents named me) entire worldview was overthrown when Jesus says to him, "Put your finger here." Thomas knew that the Romans were experts at killing people, and in the Roman world, life was cheap. But, standing before him is the resurrected Jesus. Thomas can only reply, "My Lord and my God!"

The grinding of gears that you hear is the shifting of another paradigm of reality. Now, it's time to examine more closely the paradigm of reality that Jesus established by his resurrection from the dead.

And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.   Luke 24:5-7(ESV)

Living in the Shadows

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 1 Corinthians 15:20 (ESV)

Over the last several days I have read comments by several well intentioned Christians that the Church should not celebrate Easter. They claim, as the basis of authority for their opinion, that Scripture does not expressly commend the observance of Easter, and that to do so is a regression into Romish superstition. To this argument I have only one word; bunk. If this appears too blunt of a response, I apologize. I did refine it quite a bit, however.

Perhaps these people have forgotten that the people of God are to celebrate and declare to the world the mighty works of God, as in Psalm 92 or in Psalm 106; or as in Psalms 115 to 118. Or perhaps we have forgotten the greatness of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Perhaps we have personalized the Cross so much that we limit Christ's work to merely getting ourselves into heaven. If so, shame on us, for we are living in the shadows.

I look forward to the day when we will put aside our petty squabbles, and begin again to ponder anew and share the great hope of God making all things new, as he has adequately and sufficiently demonstrated to the world through the death and resurrection of His Anointed Christ, the Lord Jesus. With the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, God has declared Jesus his Son with power, that we might walk in newness of life. Instead of hiding in the shadows, we should walk in the open glory of the Risen Christ, declaring to men that their greatest enemy, death, has been put to death.

John Donne, better than most of our contemporaries, got it right when he wrote,

DEATH be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not so,
For, those, whom thou think'st, thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures bee,
Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee doe goe,
Rest of their bones, and soules deliverie.
Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poyson, warre, and sicknesse dwell,
And poppie, or charmes can make us sleepe as well,
And better then thy stroake; why swell'st thou then;
One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.

Our rallying cry to all men tomorrow, and everyday, must be and needs to be, "The LORD's Anointed Christ, Jesus, has put to death death itself. Now, come to Jesus and live."

Health Care Reform

"Nothing has contributed to the progress of the superstition of the Christians as their charity to strangers...The Galileans provide not only for their own poor, but for ours as well."  
                                                                                            Julian the Apostate, Epistles 84

Well, son of a gun, they did it. On Sunday night, the House of Representatives passed the Health Care Reform  Act and the President signed it into law today. If you think this fight is over, think again. The reconciliation bill is on its way to the Senate (how the House can pass a Senate bill, send it to the President for signature, and then have the Senate vote on a reconciliation bill to fix the previous bill is beyond me. Seems bass ackwards, if you ask me. But, hey. What do I know from nothin'?) Republicans  hope to derail this legislation by sending the reconciliation bill back to the House for another vote. I think they're dreaming. Several states' attorneys generals have filed suit in federal court to block implementation of this law. This thing is going to be tied up in litigation for years. The only clear winners I can see in this entire mess are the lawyers.

What I have found most interesting during this year long debate (NOT the most interesting aspect, however) has been the rhetoric used by both sides of this issue. If you strip away the most objectionable speech, it seems to me that progressives and liberals believe opponents to health care reform do not care about the health and welfare of everyday, common American citizens. Representative Alan Grayson (D-FL) epitomizes this attitude best. He's the one who stated that the Republican Health Care Plan to America was, "Don't get sick. And if you do get sick America, die quickly."

On the other hand, conservatives seem to believe that  liberals and progressives are intent on establishing a socialist economic system and spend and tax (which seems to be the historical order). Not to mention, conservatives believe that progressives and liberals seek a universal payer health care system and are determined to fund abortion on demand with taxpayer money. Representative Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) stated that freedom died a little bit on Sunday night. Representative Randy Neugebauer (R-TX) shouted "baby killer" during Representative Bart Stupak's (D-MI) floor speech  during the last hour of the debate.  On Monday, nobody remembered either Joe Wilson or what he said during the President's State of the Union speech.

If you thought the rhetoric on the floor of the House was abysmal, then I hope you haven't tuned into the cable news shows. Unabashed support or unflinching opposition have been offered by everyone who could get his or her face before a microphone. The day after afterglow or hangover, depending upon your perspective, was all the rage from Hannity, O'Reilly, Matthews, Olbermann (whose father passed away in the week before the House floor vote), Maddow, and others. And don't even get started looking at the internet. If you are a conservative, today was the day the four horsemen of the Apocalypse rode into town.

Civility in public discourse is dead. But no one has seriously asked the question, "What if they (choose a side) are fundamentally right in their criticism?" Perhaps it is too close to the vote and emotions are too strong to ask that question and answer it with anything approaching rationality. Perhaps the real implications of this law will come out during the litigation.

Someone made the comment to me that this particular bill was God's judgment against the United States, and we were doomed. Freedom is dead. I try not to take comments like this too seriously, but I have found myself wondering what if this is God's chastisement of the Church for not caring for the poor? I see a limited role for government in providing basic needs to its citizens. But, what about the role of the Church? I think that before we seek to remove the speck from the government's eye (or the Democrat's or Republican's eye) in this matter, we should examine our testimony to the country.

"But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne.  And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats;  and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.  Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 'For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.' Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You drink? 'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' And the King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'  Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink;  I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.' Then they themselves also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?'  Then He will answer them, saying, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.'  And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."                                              Matthew 25:31-46

I have seen a lot of statements on the Internet from Christians proclaiming the sovereignty of God  (the passage of this bill is in the sovereignty of God, no?) and the expansion of the Kingdom of his Christ, the Lord Jesus. I have also seen a lot of comments from others that the President ought to read this and that Scripture. While all these statements are true, they are arrows that fly past the target. What do the Scriptures say about the role of the Church in caring for the poor? What examples do we have from the Reformers and their descendants in caring for the poor? What of the diaconal ministries of John Calvin, Thomas Chalmers, George Grant, and others?

We can sit back and lament the current and future state of our nation (quite frankly, I think it is going to get worse, much worse. Don't forget who holds most of our public debt. Oh, and  then there are those other guys who are busy enriching uranium in an underground facility.) and wait for Jesus to return, comforting ourselves in our indolence with Scripture. Or, we can quit ourselves like men, pleading with God to rule in the affairs of men and nations, prospering his people so that they may give sacrificially to the poor. We can adopt the mind of Jesus, who though he was rich, yet for our sake became poor, that we through his poverty might become rich.

Look, if Galilean Christians (Gee, I wonder how many seminary grads they had?) could so impress Julian the Apostate during his reign in the fourth century A.D. that he complained (in writing, no less) about the means by which the early Church grew, is it not possible for the present day Church, by God's grace, to do the same? Wow! Now wouldn't that be something?

"Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."                     Matthew 5:16

Fred Phelps, Westboro Baptist Church, and the US Supreme Court

On Monday, March 8, 2010, the US Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal from the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth District in Baltimore, Maryland. The Appeals Court had overturned a lower federal district court judgment in favor of Albert Snyder of York, Pennsylvania. Mr. York's son, Marine Lance Corporal Matthew A. Snyder, was killed in the line of duty in Iraq on March 6, 2006. On March 10, 2006, Mr. Phelps, his two daughters, and four of his grandchildren protested at Lance Corporal Snyder's funeral in order to publicize their message of God's hatred for America because of its tolerance of homosexuality. Mr. Snyder successfully sued Mr. Phelps, Westboro Baptist Church, and others in US Federal District Court for invasion of privacy and causing emotional distress to the Snyder family; he was awarded $5 million. On appeal from Mr. Phelps, et. al., The Fourth US District Court reversed the judgment of the lower court, citing that the judgment contravenes the First Amendment of the Constitution.

The constitutional question raised here does not seem as clear as one might expect. The First Amendment of the Constitution is not universal. I do not have the right to shout, "Fire!" in a crowded movie theater. It was undisputed at trial that Mr. Phelps and others with him complied with local ordinances and police instructions while protesting at the church where the funeral was held. It was also established at trial that Mr. Snyder did not see the signs (God Hates You, Thank God for dead soldiers, God Hates the USA, among others) until he saw video footage later that day of the Phelps' protest at his son's funeral.

I am not a lawyer, and my interest in this case has nothing to do with a constitutional issue of First Amendment rights. I am more interested with Mr. Phelps and his perversion of the Gospel message.  As long as the Church remains silent in the public square, refusing to speak about the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ and man's dangerous condition, the gospel of Fred Phelps IS the face of the Church. Do we really want Fred Phelps speaking for Christ and his Church? Would you hire Bernie Madoff to sell your retirement and  investment portfolio?

How we got to this point could be a book in itself. Society has told the Church for so long that biblical faith is a private matter belonging to the realm of ideas, and therefore unverifiable as truth. Since it is unverifiable, discussion of the biblical faith in the public square is irrelevant. In response, the Church has countered that the physical world, including man, is such a chaotic and screwed up state, that the best thing we can do is just wait for Jesus to return, and then sinful man will finally get his. As Shirley Phelps-Roper, daughter of Mr. Phelps, said, "Her [America's] destruction is imminent, and it's going to be marvelous." Well, she is one person who has no comprehension of the severity of the judgment of God.

How different is the message of Fred from the message of Paul. Does anyone really think that Corinth or Rome in the time of Paul was a paragon of virtue? 

And to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law, though not being myself under the Law, that I might win those who are under the Law; to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, that I might win those who are without law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, that I may by all means save some. And I do all things for the sake of the gospel, that I may become a fellow partaker of it.

1 Corinthians 9:20-23

When was the last time we thought of the lost, those who are without Christ and any hope in the world, as people who have to be won over? When did we begin to think of lost souls as a mere commodity that we could ignore at our convenience? When are we going to wake up and warn the lost to flee the wrath to come and flee to Jesus, who will never turn away a penitent sinner? 

Phelps reminds me of Simon the Pharisee in Luke7. You know the guy who loves little because he has been forgiven little.

Now one of the Pharisees was requesting Him to dine with him. And He entered the Pharisee's house, and reclined at the table. And behold, there was a woman in the city who was a sinner; and when she learned that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume, and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and kept wiping them with the hair of her head, and kissing His feet, and anointing them with the perfume. Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet He would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a sinner." And Jesus answered and said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." And he replied, "Say it, Teacher." "A certain moneylender had two debtors: one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty."When they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both. Which of them therefore will love him more?" Simon answered and said, "I suppose the one whom he forgave more." And He said to him, "You have judged correctly." And turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears, and wiped them with her hair. "You gave Me no kiss; but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet. "You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume. "For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little." And He said to her, "Your sins have been forgiven." And those who were reclining at the table with Him began to say to themselves, "Who is this man who even forgives sins?" And He said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace.

                           Luke 7:38-50 

The Church of the Lord Jesus Christ is marginalized and caricatured enough these days. Hardly a day goes by when one doesn't hear of a bit of mockery towards the Church. In fairness, sometimes it's because of the stupidity or sin of some church leader. But, when the Church sits back and acts disinterestedly, allowing men like Fred Phelps do their "branding" for them, our estate has reached an all time low. We need to change, and we need to change right now.

We do not need any new programs, classes, or seasons to get us moving in the right direction. What we do need is to pray, and to take an interest in our neighbor just as we would like him to take an interest in us. Treat others as you would have them treat you. Love one another as Jesus has loved you. Ask God to give you one opportunity each day to ask someone you know, "What difference does Jesus Christ make in your life?" Then listen carefully, very carefully.

Sound too simplistic? Well, come up with something better and let me know.

The Decade from Hell and the Sovereignty of God

"Bookended by 9/11 at the start and a financial wipeout at the end, the first 10 years of this century will very likely go down as the most dispiriting and disillusioning decade Americans have lived through in the post–World War II era. We're still weeks away from the end of '09, but it's not too early to pass judgment. Call it the Decade from Hell, or the Reckoning, or the Decade of Broken Dreams, or the Lost Decade. Call it whatever you want — just give thanks that it is nearly over."

Andy Serwer

Let's face it, the past ten years have been pretty tumultuous for our nation. From the 9/11 attacks, to Hurricane Katrina, to the near economic collapse, to health care reform. Mr. Serwer, writing in the November 24, 2009, issue of Time magazine, recounts all the gruesome details of the worst of the worst people and events of the last decade. (I don't wish to make an issue of the question of when the first decade of the twenty-first century ends; it really is not important to me.) You can read his article for yourself at http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1942834,00.html. As I read it, I was thinking, "I remember that, and that, and that." But, I also remember how kind and gracious God has been to me and my family during the past decade.

For about two years now, I have been meeting with a dear friend once a week for an hour specifically to pray. Recently, a third gentleman has joined us, for which I am thankful, both to God and to him for the encouragement that the expanded circle has brought to me. Since January 2009, our prayer meeting has grown 50 percent! More importantly, I think we have matured in our faith since we have begun praying together. We are now praying more boldly, more confidently, and more humbly that God would manifest his sovereignty over all of his creation and church.

Mr. Serwer and others view the events of the last decade as the result of man's shortcomings. It is easy to evaluate an event, whether good or ill, in terms of secondary causes. We are bogged down in Iraq because of the last administration's failure to fully appreciate the strategic consequences of the invasion. The financial industry imploded because of greed and the lack of proper government regulation and oversight. Hurricane Katrina caused such damage and loss of life because the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was negligent in the construction, improvement, and maintenance of the levee system surrounding New Orleans. These causes and effects may be true enough, but it doesn't tell the full story. The events of the past decade were not random chance events, nor were they cyclical historical events. All of these events, good and ill, occurred because God sovereignly decreed that these events would occur to the end that his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, would be glorified in the sight of all men. The blessings of this life, as well as the calamities, are wrought by God to drive men to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.

"Do we not rest in our day too much on the arm of flesh! Cannot the same wonders be done now as of old? Do not the eyes of the Lord run to and from throughout the whole earth still to show himself strong on behalf of those who put their trust in him? Oh that God would give me more practical faith in him! Where is now the Lord God of Elijah? He is waiting for Elijah to call on him."

James Gilmour, missionary to Mongolia

As we begin a new year and a new decade, not one of us knows what events God will bring to pass so that his Son will be glorified. But, we know this. In the words of E. M. Bounds, "The more praying there is in the world, the better the world will be, the mightier the forces against evil everywhere." We often forget (or perhaps don't believe) that the welfare of our neighbor depends upon our seeking the ear of God in prayer. I do not mean intermittent, spasmodic, short-lived prayer. The type of prayer I mean is that type in which we plead with God upon our knees that he would fulfill the promises he has made in his Word. That the kingdom of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, would cover the earth as the seas. That his will would be done in earth as it is done in Heaven. That he would magnify his Name among men, converting them (and yes, even Osama bin Laden) to repentance and faith in Jesus.

As the missionary Adoniram Judson has said, "The prospects are as bright as the promises of God." Beginning today, let us close together in concerted prayer for the spiritual and temporal welfare of our neighbor. Let us close together in concerted prayer as if our neighbor's life, and ours, depends on it. For it surely does.

For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, And for Jerusalem's sake I will not keep quiet, Until her righteousness goes forth like brightness, And her salvation like a torch that is burning. And the nations will see your righteousness, And all kings your glory; And you will be called by a new name, Which the mouth of the LORD will designate. You will also be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD, And a royal diadem in the hand of your God. It will no longer be said to you, "Forsaken," Nor to your land will it any longer be said, "Desolate"; But you will be called, "My delight is in her," And your land, "Married"; For the LORD delights in you, And to Him your land will be married.

Isaiah 62:1-4