| Good Morning Everyone, Our theme for this month: “Stay strong” Our Bible verse for today: “Then Asa cried out to the Lord his God: “Lord, there is no one besides you to help the mighty and those without strength. Help us, Lord our God, for we depend on you, and in your name we have come against this large army. Lord, you are our God. Do not let a mere mortal hinder you.” 2 Chronicles 14:11-12 (CSB) Our thought for today: “This must be our cry” Good King Asa and the army of Israel were vastly outnumbered by their enemies. The Cushite army was three times their size and they had better weapons. The situation looked pretty bleak and so Asa cried out to the Lord in prayer, “Help us, Lord our God, for we depend on you …” And God did help them. We read in verse 12, “So the Lord routed the Cushites before Asa and before Judah, and the Cushites fled.” The situation for God’s people here in the USA in our day is not too different. We are vastly outnumbered. And powerful forces are arrayed against us as we try to honor the Lord, promote Biblical principles, and advance the kingdom of God on earth in our land. The situation looks bleak and so our cry needs to be the same – “Help us, Lord, for we depend on you …” Unfortunately, listening to many Christians today you would think our salvation lies in politicians and political parties, or in a stronger economy, or in the appropriate appointments to the Supreme Court. Of course, we would never actually say that out loud. Instead, we proclaim that our faith is in God and we declare that we do look to Him for our deliverance. But is it true? Are we really looking first, foremost, and only to God? Let’s test it. As your average day unfolds and as you interact with the people who make-up your world, do you talk more about God, Biblical principles, church life, and Christianity, or about politics, the economy, and the latest social unrest? Each day do you spend more time in prayer and reading the Bible, or reading newspapers, watching television news, and scrolling through internet sites? As Christians we should pay attention to the world around us, and we should be engaged in politics and social issues. But I believe the Church would be much more effective in society if Christians were more focused on God and more involved in His business, rather than on all the other stuff going on around us. Perhaps if we would all spend more time focused on the things of God (by means of personal prayer and Bible study, group worship and study, acts of service in the name of Jesus, and actively leading others to faith in Christ), instead of committing so much of our time and attention to worldly issues and to seeking worldly answers – perhaps then we would be making more of a difference in our land. In actual practice are we really, truly crying out to God and looking to Him for our help and deliverance? I encourage all of us to make Asa’s prayer our prayer. Let’s look to the Lord; let’s work to strengthen our churches; let’s be on-mission with Jesus out in the world. Asa’s cry must be our cry, “Help us, Lord, for we depend on you.” God Bless, Pastor Jim |
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