A gentle breeze ruffled the massive oaks on the sprawling spring-green lawn of the Texas Capital in Austin this past week. Eight-thousand-plus people were gathered to pray. The sights and sounds of…
Source: WHEN PEOPLE PRAY
Posted in A Nation Divided on April 29, 2016| 4 Comments »
A gentle breeze ruffled the massive oaks on the sprawling spring-green lawn of the Texas Capital in Austin this past week. Eight-thousand-plus people were gathered to pray. The sights and sounds of…
Source: WHEN PEOPLE PRAY
Posted in A Nation Divided, tagged Chosing Righteousness, Confess sin, Decision America, El Shaddai, forgiveness, Franklin Graham, God bless Texas, God of our Fathers, God please restore America, Grace, mercy, Only God can restore, Prayer, Restoration, United-together on April 29, 2016| 9 Comments »
A gentle breeze ruffled the massive oaks on the sprawling spring-green lawn of the Texas Capital in Austin this past week. Eight-thousand-plus people were gathered to pray.
The sights and sounds of people of like mind and faith—some kneeling, some with hands lifted, some standing—all with heads and hearts bowed, humbled before the Sovereign God of the Universe, confessing the sins of our fathers, the sins of our nation, and our own sins.
How sweet was the sound of those voices lifted to Heaven, recognizing the only hope for our nation comes from The Lord God Almighty and His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. As we held hands and prayed with people of many races, nations, and ages, I felt the presence of the Lord and His peace and knew we were standing on holy ground.
At the close of the hour of prayer, we sang God Bless America, and my eyes could no longer hold back the tears.
And this scene is being repeated in State after State, as Franklin Graham, Billy Graham’s son, calls Americans to prayer. Praying not to a god of our imagination, or an idol of wood or stone, but to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—The God of all creation—El Shaddai, The Lord God Almighty.
The only God. The God of our forefathers. And the God upon whose principles America was founded and has prospered–until we chose to turn our backs in ridicule of His holiness and righteousness and march to the tune of our own drum beat.
But our God is a God of mercy, forgiveness, grace, and a love so deep our tiny hearts and minds do not have the ability to comprehend, unless we choose to come to the cross, and allow His Spirit to teach us His way.
In II Chronicles 7:14 God gave His people the following instructions:
“If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, forgive their sins and heal their land.”
Almost 2,700 years ago a young Jewish teen was captured and carried to Babylon with thousands of other Jews. Jews who were given over to judgment by this same righteous, holy God for many of the same offenses Americans are participating in today. Their priests were corrupt. Their kings were evil. The people had forsaken the Lord God Almighty and perverted their worship and their ways.
According to His Word, God had to judge them, just as He will have to judge us. Scripture tells us, “God is the same today, yesterday, and forever.”
This Jewish teen, Daniel, spent seventy years in Babylon, just as God had told them through the prophet Jeremiah, and Daniel realized because of the books—God’s Word recorded by the prophets from the beginning—the time of their desolation was almost completed. So Daniel “…set his face before the Lord God to make requests by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sack cloth and ashes” (Daniel 9:3 NKJV). “Oh Lord, to us belongs shame of face to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You” (Daniel 9:8 NKJV).
Daniel’s prayer is recorded in the 9th Chapter of Daniel, and I plead with you—take time to study this prayer and use it as a model, a template, for your prayer time.
If you are concerned about the state of our nation, the condition of our homes and churches, and the peril facing our children, I ask you to set aside time every day to come apart from the chaos of your life and earnestly seek God—confessing your sins, seeking His forgiveness, asking His directions, and pleading for Him to create in you an insatiable appetite for His Word.
We are in trouble, folks. Trouble no political party or candidate can fix. Trouble no stable economy or being great again can mend. If we are to survive as a nation and a people, we must seek God. Now. If like Daniel, we look at the Book, we will know there’s little time left to seek God’s mercy and grace and forgiveness. Little time left for our generation to repent and return to the God of our Fathers.
GOD, PLEASE RESTORE AND BLESS AMERICA
Posted in A Nation Divided, tagged My hope, My Refuge, My Stronghold, Peace through the storm, Practicing peace, Quietness in the chaos, Security in the storm, Shelter from the Storms, The lull before the storm, Where is your place of security?, Who is your designated shelter? on April 22, 2016| 13 Comments »
Shelters, refuges, and tornadoes are all synonymous during springtime in Texas. While not all hail storms and tornadoes damage homes, nor are they all deadly; we never know which one will be the funnel or storm that drops out of the sky to decimate our dwelling and our life. But we understand—prepare before the storm exists, lest you be caught unprepared.
Very early each year news reports warn folks to designate a place in our houses as a safe place, where the family knows to run and remain during one of these treacherous-devil-twisters.
Inevitably these warnings come after dark; and during the early years of writing my now published YA novel Roped, I would gather everything Roped (as well as the other four books I’m working on) and head for our designated shelter—the laundry room.
But one evening, while the grandchildren were with us, the storm was upon us before we realized the need to dash for cover, and we couldn’t make it to the laundry room. While I huddled in the bathtub with my precious little ones and all their stuffed animals and pillows, husband stood with neighbors on the back patio watching the clouds rotate overhead, striking less than ten miles north of us.
It’s prudent to pick out a designated shelter, wait for the weather radio, or TV, or upside-down-ant-hill clouds to shriek a warning the funnel is on the ground near you, then dash inside—when you’re home. But where do you flee for shelter when there is no storm alert? When there’s no storm shelter, only the screaming freight-train of wreck and ruin gaining on you?
Loss of a loved one, terminal illnesses, financial ruin, rebellious teens in trouble again, a mate who demands freedom, job loss—the list is endless. Storms of adversity whip around us each day. Where is your designated shelter, and how do you find your way inside, out of harm’s way? To peace and security?
David tells us: “For Thou hast been my stronghold. And a refuge in the day of my distress…for God is my stronghold, the God who shows me lovingkindness” (Psalm 59:16-16 NAS).
Yes, Jesus is our refuge, but you have to know the way into that place of comfort and peace. And it is much better to practice running to Him during peaceful times, rather than waiting until you’re swirling, injured in the chaos.
So in the quietness, before the storm, take advantage of the lull. David also instructs us:
“My soul wait in silence for God only, for my hope is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I shall not be shaken. On God my salvation and my glory rest; the rock of my strength, my refuge is in God. Trust Him at all times, O people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us” (Psalm 62:5-8 NAS).
The key to peace and comfort through the storm, is learning to practice peace and comfort before the storm strikes.
I have two quiet places. Places I meet the Lord. My chair in our family room, with my Bible and a cup of tea, before the turmoil of the day begins. And (weather permitting) the swing in my backyard.
Where do you meet the Lord? Have you designated an everyday shelter from the threatening storms?
My personality screams of my need to learn to be still and quiet before Him. And I can tell you I don’t always make it to the shelter before the storm breaks. It takes lots of discipline and determination and I’m easily distracted. Because the wind in this Texas home whips from the time my feet hit the floor. And if I am truthful, probably before that, like when I open my eyes. Winds of urgency and pride, deceptive winds whispering, I’ve got to…
Rather than sitting in quietness, listening to the day’s weather report and warnings from my Sovereign God, letting Him order my day.
It’s not enough to know where your place of safety is, you’ve got to have traveled to that designated shelter over and over again, so even in the darkness of a storm you instinctively listen—
“And your ears will hear a word behind you, ‘This is the way, walk in it’ “(Isaiah 30:21 NAS). “ ‘I will never dessert you, nor will I ever forsake you,’ so that we confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What shall man do to me?’ “(Hebrews 13:5-6 NAS).
Posted in A Nation Divided, tagged Absolute truth, Born to belong, Come home!, No caution. No rules. No stops., Parents or Friends, Racing through life, Reaping what you've sowed, Smokey and The Bandit, thatha, The prize on April 15, 2016| 6 Comments »
Do the words Smokey and the Bandit ring any bells for you? How about “East bound and down, loaded up and truckin’?” The tune plays in my head as I pound the keyboard. For those of you too young to remember, thirty-five years ago today a maverick race car driver by the name of Bandit, played by Burt Reynolds, drove a hot, black Trans-Am across the movie screens of America. Bandit and the local Smokey, Buford T. Justice, played by Jackie Gleason, had a love-hate relationship. More hate than love.
And then there was that shiny eighteen-wheeler and Fred and Cledus. Cledus was Bandit’s truck drivin’ buddy and Fred, his dog. To add a little romance, run-a-way bride, Carrie, played by Sally Fields, alias Frog, jumped in Bandit’s car, unaware they were racing the clock, nothing stoppin’ ‘em—Texas to Atlanta in twenty-eight hours, to deliver a truck load of illegal beer— $80,000 bucks was the prize.
Critics panned the movie, but it’s popularity brought in $126 million plus two more Smokey and The Bandit sequels. And Americans entered Bandit’s chase, throwing God’s Word, principles, and morality to the wind, stopping at nothing to obtain the prize of their own choosing. But what’s that prize worth? And what does it cost?
One of the phrases in the theme song “…lean back and watch ole Bandit run,” captured the hearts and minds of a generation. A generation gearing up to run with The Bandit—living life on the raw edge, traveling at Mach speed, gambling with love, life, and legacy. No caution. No rules. No stops. Just hammer down and win this game called doing what’s right in our own eyes.
And we have watched several generations mobilize and run to win—but what are they winning? Contentment? Satisfaction? Peace? Judging from divorce courts and crime stats, I don’t think so.
Cars are faster, highways are streamlined, speed limits are accelerated, and the words Stop, Caution, or Danger Ahead, have been cast aside like old Model T’s. Laws are meant to be broken, relationships redefined and marriage made a mockery. There is no such thing as absolute truth—at least that’s what our children are learning in public school and on social media.
The behavioral stop sign has been tossed on the garbage heap and the sky’s the limit—for everything. This generation hears with their eyes. So why aren’t we showing them things of value? Or are we still trying to be their friend, rather than their parent?
Before our days came into being, God numbered each one of them. He knows the beginning and the end. And we only have a sequence of twenty-four hour days allotted to our lifetime before we must give account of our stewardship to the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe—whether you believe it or not.
I cannot sit silent while the truths of God’s Word are no longer allowed to be part of our schools, our government, public conversation, and even some churches. For many there won’t be a second chance, because they’ve bought his lie, and that great enemy of old, the devil, is daily blinding and dragging them into bottomless darkness and snuffing out their lives. The evening news recites the fatality stats in HD.
But in spite of what this postmodern culture says, we are born to belong. God doesn’t want you out there alone, running as fast as you can toward a disastrous-dead-end. You were made to be part of a family and you can have a place called home.
But ask yourself: Whose child are you? Who is your Father? Are you part of God’s family?
You don’t have to run races to prove your worth to God. He loves you so much even while you were a willing sinner, He gave His Son to die so you could live with Him forever. There’s a place at His table—just for you. Won’t you please come home?
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1 NAS). “And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book” (Revelation 22:7 NAS).
Posted in A Nation Divided on April 1, 2016| Leave a Comment »
“Look at those people, honey!” I pointed out the kitchen window. “Are they silly, stupid, or just not paying attention?” My husband peered out the kitchen window. “Can’t they see the r…
Source: BOLTING THROUGH THE BARRICADE