Dear Heavenly Father, we praise you. You, Lord, are our Rock, and on you we stand. We declare that as we stand upon You, the Rock of our salvation, we will not be shaken; we will not be moved. You are our Mighty Fortress, our Protector, and we will not fear.
You are our Strength, our Courage, our sure Hope. No matter what storms rage around us, you are our Peace, and our Light in the darkness.
You are our Sustenance, our Fountain of living water.
As we stand upon you and walk in faith, may our lives be a reflection of your great love and grace, and may all we go through magnify and glorify the holy and precious name of Jesus Christ.
In His name we pray, amen.
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If you would like prayer, please feel free to contact me.
Our minds may be spinning right about now because of all that’s going on in the world.
God’s word tells us that we “must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.They will say, ‘Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.'” 2 Peter 3:3-4
The word for “scoffers” translates as false teachers. They can be within a church, or outside it, but the Bible says they’ll follow their own evil desires, and they’ll try to get as many to follow them as they can.
Even now there are voices trying to instill despair and fear, moving our attention away from the LORD, away from our hope, away from abiding in Christ and walking in the Spirit, away from growing in spiritual maturity, from praying in faith, from our calling to be a light, to spread the good news of Jesus Christ and make disciples.
But we must remain steadfast and true in our purpose as the sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father.
“But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.
Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly livesas you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.
That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.
So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.
Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him.He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.
Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position.
But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever! Amen.” 2 Peter 3:10-18
As long as this life might seem, it is short. Let us use the time we have for the glory of the Lord, living in faith, receiving His peace, and looking forward to the joy set before us.
As I read the news about what’s going on in Afghanistan, I’m repeatedly being reminded of prophetic scripture.
“And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” Revelation 20:4
“So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.” Matthew 24:15-16
Not that what we see happening is the specific fulfillment of these scriptures, but we can see it coming. The birth pains are getting more frequent and more painful.
As we lift up in prayer those in danger in Afghanistan, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ who are a particular target, let’s remember we cannot give way to fear. Fear leads to weakness and that’s exactly what the enemy wants.
We must set aside our fear, remember whose we are – the chosen children of our Heavenly Father, redeemed by Christ, filled with His Holy Spirit, and given an eternal promise.
Let’s pray, believing. Believing in His love, in His strength, in His power, we can pray with confidence, knowing that He hears us, He is on the throne, and in full control.
I believe the events we see happening should be a wake up call to waste no more time. Now is the time to make sure we are right with the Lord, to “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.” Hebrews 12:1b-2a
“Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.” 1 Cor. 3:16-17
“Therefore, ‘Come out from among them (unbelievers) and be separated’ says the Lord, ‘and do not touch the unclean thing. And I will receive you and I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters,’ says the Lord Almighty.” 2 Cor. 6:17
“I am the LORD who sanctifies you.” Lev 20:8
Heavenly Father, we come to you in the name of Jesus Christ, your only begotten Son, and the only name under heaven given by which anyone can be saved.
We pray for the pouring out of your Holy Spirit for the revival of hearts that are cold or lukewarm, and for the salvation of countless more souls.
We pray you would strengthen the love and faith of your Church, that you would “strengthen the feeble hands,steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, He will come with vengeance; with divine retribution He will come to save you.” (Isaiah 35:3-4)
We pray we would be found being about your business, walking in your Spirit, serving boldly in the gifts you have so graciously given to us, building up one another and making disciples, that you might be glorified and magnified through us.
We pray you would fill our brothers and sisters in Afghanistan with your peace that surpasses all understanding and with a fresh boldness to continue in hopeful, faithful prayer and to stand firm in their faith. We pray their witness would lead many to Christ. May they feel our prayers through the powerful presence of your Holy Spirit.
We pray you would be with our soldiers and with all those they are charged with bringing home, that every one would arrive safely. We pray our president and all those who oversee our country would turn to you in humble reverence and repentance, receive you as Lord, and be filled with your wisdom, praying that you would intervene. Please bind the the work of the enemy, Almighty God.
May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Seventeen years ago this month my life turned upside down. Or more accurately, I was already upside down and God was turning me right side up.
A lot has happened in that time. A lot of mistakes, a lot of learning, a lot of growing, and a lot of healing.
Not the kind of healing I originally wanted, but certainly the kind I needed. The kind a good and loving Father knows His child needs, and ultimately wants.
In January 2004 I had some symptoms, but nothing too concerning yet. What did concern me is that I kept hearing one phrase from the Lord – “Be strong and courageous.” I heard it at church, on the radio, and in my own studies. Four times that month I heard “Be strong and courageous.”
The first time: Yes, that’s an encouraging word. The second time: Yep, I want to be strong and courageous. The third time: Hmm… “Lord, what are you trying to say?” The fourth time: A friend at church who I’d talked to about these repeated commands from the Lord turned around during the teaching and we just looked at each other. What could this mean?
Then, long story short, one Sunday afternoon in February, I found myself at the hospital being evaluated.
“Be strong and courageous.”
I have meditated on and prayed about these words ever since. And little by little, the Lord’s helped me understand them. The funny thing is, its meaning is so simple, yet the application can be so difficult.
The phrase can be found eleven times in the Old Testament (and one time in the New, but that’s a slightly different story for a different day), most of them as Joshua was about to lead Israel into the Promised Land.
Moses had just died, and God had called Joshua to lead His people. God speaks to Joshua, letting him know that without a doubt, through every obstacle they would face, He would lead them there.
Joshua 1:6 – “Be strong and courageous…” Joshua 1:7 – “Be strong and very courageous…” Joshua 1:9 – “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”
In each of these verses, the word “strong,” in part, means “to fasten upon; to seize…”
The dictionary says fasten means “to attach firmly or securely in place; fix securely to something else.”
Now, fast forward to Jesus talking to His disciples.
“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears muchfruit; for without Me you can donothing..” John 15:5
During this conversation, Jesus uses the word abide, or remain, seven times.
The word “abide” means “to stay (in a given place, state, relation or expectancy): – abide, continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain…”
He’s driving home the fact that, just as a branch must remain attached to the vine so the branch can receive life, grow, and produce fruit, we must remain in Him. Our growth and ability to produce spiritual fruit hinges on us continually abiding, remaining, making our home in Him.
God told Joshua over and over to be strong, to fasten himself, to hold onto God who would do everything needed to ensure their victory as they crossed into the Promised Land.
Jesus reiterated His Father’s words, telling His disciples, and us, to abide in Him, to remain in Him continually.
Don’t break off from Him out of fear, anger, anxiety, or just being plain confused and not knowing what to do. Remain in Him. Obey Him. Trust Him. Join with Him in prayer. Abide in Him as a branch abides in a vine, so we can grow and bear much fruit.
The word courageous means “to be alert, physically and mentally, to be steadfastly minded, establish, make strong…”
The Israelites would meet enemies along the way, and so will we. As we abide in Christ, we must also remain alert and steadfast, remembering that though we have an enemy who will try to trip us up, the Lord has gone before us, and if we’ll remain in Him, He will make us more than conquerors.
And one more note.
I’ve been going through a group study with a book called Abide In Christ by Andrew Murray. I highly recommend it. It was what drove home the truth of what God was saying to me seventeen years ago, and how He enlightened and assured me further. As I was praying during one of my study times, the Lord spoke to my heart and said, “I will sustain you.”
You might guess what I did. Yep, went to look up the word sustain. I found it in Psalm 55:22:
“Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken.”
Sustain means “to keep in; to maintain, be able to abide…”
Jesus said “Abide in Me, and I in you.”
The Lord’s promise to all of us who abide in Him is that not only will He abide in us, He will enable us to continue abiding in Him. He will maintain us, support us, bear us up under trial or affliction, just like He’s done for me the last seventeen years.
So be strong and courageous. The world doesn’t seem to be letting up on the crazy, and I suspect it won’t. But as we abide in Him, God Himself will abide in us and take us victoriously into the Promised Land.
I recently watched Behind Enemy Lines again, and there were so many spiritual parallels I had to share what God showed me.
Even though it’s a 20-year-old movie and surely the statute of limitations for spoilers must have run out by now, I’ll try not to give away anything too important in case you haven’t seen it.
Owen Wilson plays Lt. Chris Burnett, an American naval flight officer stationed on an aircraft carrier in the Adriatic sea during the Bosnian War.
For Lt. Burnett, being a soldier, so far, has been a lot of drills, training, exercises, and routine assignments and he resents it. It hasn’t been the thrill ride he thought it would be, so he’s handed in a letter of intent to leave the Navy to his commanding officer, Admiral Reigart, played by Gene Hackman.
The admiral tries to make him understand the importance of his training, but Burnett’s not impressed. He’s done.
Admiral Reigart decides the lieutenant needs a little discipline, so he assigns him, along with another pilot, to a routine mission on Christmas day, but the situation soon turns into far more than anyone expected.
The title says it all: behind enemy lines.
When we look out at our world today we may feel like we’re behind enemy lines. There is warring all around us, fighting, hatred, violence, attacks on the Christian faith. The whole world seems out of control and we feel like we’re in a place we don’t understand and don’t belong.
And the truth is we are behind enemy lines and we always have been. Much of the world has been experiencing it, and lately it’s become far more apparent to us than it was before. The curtain’s been drawn back a bit and we’re seeing the havoc wreaked by the enemy in the ugliness of the sin in the world on display in our own backyard.
We’re seeing the spiritual warfare Paul talked about in his second letter to the church in Corinth.
“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds…” (2 Cor. 10:3-4)
And because we’re in the midst of spiritual warfare, an object of the enemy of God, we are soldiers in that war. Paul reiterated that in 2 Timothy and in Philemon:
“You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please Him who enlisted him as a soldier.” (2 Tim 2:3-4)
“…to the beloved Apphia, Archippus our fellow soldier…” (Philemon 1-2a)
If God has called us into faith through Christ, we are soldiers in a spiritual war that’s been going on since the Garden of Eden.
As soldiers, God’s been training us, preparing us to be strong in the faith, to have courage to weather the battles. We grow from discipline to discipline until we are changed into the likeness of His Son, the perfect soldier, who was our example of enduring warfare.
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (James 1:2-4)
We’ve all read that and maybe, like Lt. Burnett, we haven’t seen how we can have joy in our training, how there could possibly be any purpose in our suffering. We haven’t fully understood that our trials are our testing, our discipline, teaching and training us to be mature in the faith, to persevere in trials, to trust God more and more to give us wisdom and understanding as we face the next hardship, and the next one, and the next… We don’t know what we’ll face, but God does, and He knows what He’s training us for.
“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees.” (Hebrews 12:11-12)
Whatever trials we’ve gone through or are going through right now or will go through tomorrow, don’t let them be for nothing. Let them train us. Let us humble ourselves under our Father’s mighty and wise hand to make us disciplined soldiers in His army, fighting His way with the spiritual armor God’s equipped us with.
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Ephesians 6:12-13
Let us then, in Christ, strengthen our feeble arms and weak knees. In other words, let us put aside our complacency, any weakness of faith, any unbelief or fear, put on our armor and be strong and courageous as we stand to face our spiritual enemy, knowing we’ve been trained and we are equipped, and in Christ we have the victory.
Dear Heavenly Father, we praise you. You are the omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent God. You are faithful to hear our prayers, and we thank you for hearing our prayer today.
Father, we lift up to you those who are facing life-altering and life-threatening illnesses.
For those who know you, we ask that you would renew their strength and hope. We pray you would comfort them and fill them with your peace that passes all understanding. We pray you would surround them with people who support them with love and friendship. We ask that you would also give strength and hope for their loved ones and caregivers.
For those who don’t yet know you, we pray you would reveal yourself to them in a very personal way. Maybe they’ve blamed you for what they’re going through. Maybe they’re angry, or lost and just don’t know where to turn. We pray you would not allow the enemy to fill their minds with lies.
Father, we know what a personal and compassionate God you are, and we ask that you would show them that you know them and you love them.
We pray you would open their eyes and turn their hearts toward you, that they would receive you as their Lord, their Savior, their Hope to walk with them through this time, giving them all they need and more.
We pray you would remove all fear and help them keep their focus on You, the God Who is bigger than anything they’ll face here on earth. We pray you would give them strength and courage to walk in confidence with you each day.
Father, you are also the Great Physician. You created our bodies and you can heal them. If it be your will, Lord, we ask that you would do miracles and grant healing and restoration. We pray you would open doors and move mountains to do those things that need to be done.
We pray you would give the doctors and nurses your wisdom, your skill, and your compassion.
We pray, Lord, that you would also open doors to provide financially, and that all debt is paid.
Father, we pray you would be glorified in all these circumstances. What the enemy has meant for evil, we pray you would use for your good. We lay it all at your feet, trusting you, and we thank you ahead of time for what you’re going to do.
“Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him.It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts.” Luke 2:25-27a
We don’t always hear a lot about Simeon, and there’s only a small paragraph about him, but there’s a lot behind those few words.
His name was Simeon, and names held a lot of meaning in the Hebrew culture.
The name Simeon was first used in Genesis as the name Leah gave the second son she conceived with Jacob.
“She (Leah) conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, ‘Because the Lord heard that I am not loved, He gave me this one too.’ So she named him Simeon.” Genesis 29:33
So, why did Leah name him Simeon? Because in the Hebrew Simeon means “hearing.”
The Lord heard (same root word) that Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah. He heard Leah’s heart grieve and groan, had mercy on her, and gave her another son.
Jesus’ birth was the end of 400 years of silence from the God of the Israelites.
The Israelites had largely turned away from God and His ways, and they endured much persecution, the desecration of the Holy of Holies, and the capture and recapture of Israel by multiple peoples.
God might have been silent, but He was not unseeing or unhearing.
So “when the set time had fully come, God sent His Son…” Galatians 4:4
God had heard the grieving and groaning of His people and gave the world a Son.
As Joseph and Mary took the baby Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem to consecrate Him to the Lord, the Holy Spirit led Simeon, whose name means “to hear,” to see the Savior of the world.
God hears. He is attentive to our cries. He is ever discerning and perceiving of the needs and concerns and trials and tribulations of one person as well as an entire people.
We need to remember that. Deep down in our hearts we need to believe that because if we don’t we won’t pray. If we think all is lost, if we think it’s useless, that God isn’t hearing us, we’ll give up hope and we’ll stop praying.
Have hope, take courage, we have a God who hears.
God’s Word shows us, through Leah and through Simeon, that God is a hearing, compassionate, and loving God.
So as we start this year, let’s remember that God hears our prayers and continue to pour out our hearts to Him who hears us and will answer when the set time has fully come.
“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of Him.” 1 John 5:14-15
“Therefore we also,
since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,
let us lay aside every weight,
and the sin which so easily ensnares us,
and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith,
who for the joy that was set before Him
endured the cross,
despising the shame,
and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:2
I love books. While I haven’t taken nearly as much time lately to read as I’d like, I have been living out the chapters of my own book.
We all are.
Just like the countless stories we read in the Bible, we each have our own story. Some are more dramatic, some tragic, some adventurous, some joyful, and thankfully, all with a little comedic relief.
All our stories look different, but all have one Author and one Finisher: Jesus.
Long before we were born He knew the story that would be written with our lives. He knew how each chapter would unfold and what would need to take place to propel the story forward, to complete our faith, until our story was finished, our faith perfected.
Sometimes we don’t understand what’s going on.
Why is this happening in my life, and why is it happening now?
And sometimes we can start looking at other people’s stories, comparing ours with theirs, wishing our story had a chapter or two out of their book.
But our God is a personal God, and our story is unique. Our Author takes into account its characters and how and what they need in order to develop, bit by bit, until fully grown.
So while our story may be at times full of pain and questions, we never walk through it alone. Our Author walks with us.
The choice we have is whether or not to walk with Him. To accept the story He’s given us, and even receive it with thanksgiving, knowing that He’s using it all, the good, the bad, and the ugly, to change us, grow us, and mature us until our faith is complete.
And somehow, someway, He is making all our stories work together into one grand narrative that ultimately tell one story, His story. A story of grace and mercy, love and beauty. A story of redemption, faith, forgiveness, strength, and hope.
A story of the gospel, lived out in our very own lives.
One day we’ll see that more fully than we ever can now. Because when the book closes on the story of our lives here, the exciting sequel begins, the likes of which the world has never seen.
So let’s rejoice that we play a part in the grandest of stories, and that our Author and Finisher is with us and loves us to the end.
I don’t have to tell you we’ve all had a rough year. And for a lot of us that’s on top of a rough decade…life…you get the idea.
And the trials of this life don’t show any signs of letting up.
But this life is not all there is.
For those who have chosen Christ as our Savior, this world is just a temporary place where we grow closer to the Lord, let His character replace our own, where we let the Author and Finisher of our faith mature us and prepare us for the life He has planned for us – the real life – the life after this, where we’re more alive than ever.
Right now, we live with our eyes on that prize. We live with a hope and a steadfast faith that seeks to be about our Father’s business, loving and drawing the people He’s given us into that most sacred of relationships so they, too, can live with hope, knowing this life is only temporary, and we’re almost home.
Almost Home by MercyMe
Are you disappointed Are you desperate for help You know what it’s like to be tired And only a shell of yourself Well you start to believe You don’t have what it takes ‘Cause it’s all you can do Just to move much less finish the race But don’t forget what lies ahead
Almost home Brother it won’t be long Soon all your burdens will be gone With all your strength Sister run wild, run free Hold up your head Keep pressing on We are almost home
Well this road will be hard But we win in the end Simply because of Jesus in us It’s not if but when So take joy in the journey Even when it feels long Oh find strength in each step Knowing heaven is cheering you on
We are almost home Brother it won’t be long Soon all your burdens will be gone With all your strength Sister run wild, run free Hold up your head Keep pressing on We are almost home Almost home Almost home
I know that the cross has brought heaven to us But make no mistake there’s still more to come When our flesh and our bone are no longer between Where we are right now and where we’re meant to be When all that’s been lost has been made whole again When these tears and this pain no longer exist No more walking we’re running as fast as we can Consider this our second wind
Almost home Brother it won’t be long Soon all your burdens will be gone With all your strength Sister run wild, run free Hold up your head Keep pressing on We are almost home Almost home Almost home We are almost home Almost home Almost home We are almost home
There are days, months, years, when I feel like I’ve been on a 1000-mile march, uphill, carrying 500 pounds on my back. Maybe the apostle Paul knew that feeling, too, and guessed Timothy might also, and why Paul wrote to him:
“You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please Him who enlisted him as a soldier.” 2 Timothy 2:3-4
That word “good” means beautiful, honest, worthy, valuable, virtuous (for appearance or use.)
Be sure we’re in a war, and maybe now more than ever. But we don’t walk alone. God is with us, strengthening us, empowering us, enabling us to finish in victory.
So keep walking. And look up. Cause things may seem bleak right now, but it ain’t over yet. (Spoiler Alert – God wins, and if we’re with Him, so do we.)
Heavenly Father, help us keep moving and to endure the hardship we encounter in this life, not as those who is endure alone or needlessly, but as a people who, in Christ Jesus, oppose your enemy who prowls around looking for someone to devour, and to be witnesses of your great grace and mercy and proclaimers of the power of the gospel to save. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
Dear Heavenly Father, we praise you. You, Lord, are our Rock, and on you we stand. We declare that as we stand upon You, the Rock of our salvation, we will not be shaken; we will not be moved. You are our Mighty Fortress, our Protector, and we will not fear. 
