PLUS

Psalm 121 “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.”

Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.”

Psalm 20:7 “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.”

II Corinthians 3:5 “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God”

On the way to church a few weeks ago, we noticed a pickup truck in front of us with an unsecure load. The mattress and box spring in the back were not properly tied down and were dangerously flapping around in the bed of the truck. We kept our distance and eventually diverged to another route as the pickup truck continued on an elevated section of the road. That’s when the cargo took flight, with the box spring falling down onto the exit ramp in front of us and striking a car. As we drove past the struck vehicle we circled back when it was clear that the damage was substantial.

The poor driver was in shock. The corner of the box spring had struck the passenger side of her windshield and shattered the glass such that the shards covered her and the unoccupied passenger seat. We stayed with her until the police arrived and the paramedics were on the scene. All said, she was physically fine but had just been through a traumatic event. A slightly different trajectory by the flying box spring could have caused it to strike her side of the windshield, and at highway speeds the results would have been fatal.

Our lives are always tenuously on the line with factors that are completely out of our control. The world around us is dangerous, at the individual level and the national level. Even when we are striving to be safe, we are at risk.

This doesn’t mean that we should live in fear, but it does mean that our sense of protection must rest squarely on the shoulders of the One who can ultimately provide and protect. In His role, He does not slumber nor sleep. His longevity is evermore.

Thus, we must live confidently in complete reliance on Him, while at the same time being strong and of a good courage. Our trust must remain fully and comfortably on the name of the Lord our God. Our sufficiency must not be in anything else but Him.

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO LIVE CONFIDENTLY AND IN COMPLETE RELIANCE ON THE LORD OUR GOD. Flying boxsprings are all around us, but ever-present, ever-powerful protection and provision are always in the Lord’s hands.

Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”

Ezekiel 33:10-11 “Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live? Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?”

Leviticus 26:39 “And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies’ lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them.”

Matthew 7:24-27 “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rains descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And ever one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.”

Outside our home, chemistry and physics are active and illustrative. Actually, chemistry and physics are ongoing all around us – inside and outside our homes. But, we just recognized a particularly informative manifestation of science happening on the side of our home that’s visible in the picture below. The corrosive effects of environmental conditions had completely rotted away the metal at the base of the railing. As a result, it is no longer attached to the ground, relying on the structure in the non-corroded area to provide support. In Biblical phraseology, the base of the rail had pined away.

Sin is a massively corrosive element in our society and in our lives, and is a prevalent element of our prevailing environment conditions. It rots away our foundation and erodes our support. It causes us to become untethered and insecure. It causes us to pine away.

Jesus Christ is the only sure and steady foundation. He is the same yesterday, and today, and forever. A wise man firmly affixes his life thereon. Yet, the only way to remain attached to this unmoving and unmovable base is to carefully avoid and remove the corrosive elements of sin. Otherwise, you will pine away.

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO FIRMLY AFFIX TO A FOUNDATION OF CHRIST WHILE BEING EVER-MINDFUL OF THE CORROSIVE ELEMENTS OF SIN. We must do all we can to avoid the environmental-driven tendency to pine away.

John 15:1-5 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that is may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”

Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”

Carlsbad Caverns National Park is a natural wonder in the southeast portion of New Mexico. Its complex of nearly 120 caves is mapped to a maximum depth of 1600 feet below the surface. Three of those caves are open to the public.

Elevators can take visitors down to 750 feet below the surface to the public attractions where God’s subterranean beauty is on magnificent display. Yet, visitors are given an important safety warning before they visit – if the power goes out they must not take another step until the power is restored! In this situation, they should freeze in their tracks.

The rationale for this warning stems from a few important factors. First, at 750 feet below the ground and without artificial lighting, it is pitch black. With no ambient light source, the blackness is overwhelming and smothering. Eyes cannot adjust and instincts should not be trusted. Second, the terrain is rough, rugged, and steep. A small errant movement can place a visitor in a dangerous position and a harmful situation. Thus the emphatic warning – don’t take another step until the power is restored!

In our lives, we must heed this important warning apart from our enduring connection to God. When we are severed from the connection to the source of our power – the Lord Himself – we should not take another step until the connection is reestablished and power is restored. Without His lighting, the blackness is overwhelming and smothering. Our senses cannot adjust and our instincts should not be trusted. Furthermore, the terrain is rough, rugged, and steep. A small errant movement can place us in a dangerous position and a harmful situation. Don’t take another step until power is restored!

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO MAINTAIN A STEADY CONNECTION TO THE SOURCE OF TRUE POWER. God offers an emphatic warning for when we disconnect from Him – don’t take another step until power is restored.

I Timothy 2:1-6 “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.”

On April 23^rd, 1789 President-elect George Washington arrived in New York City in preparation for his inauguration as our nation’s first President under the U.S. Constitution a week later. On that same day, the New York Daily Advertiser published the following announcement:

“On the morning of the day on which our illustrious President will be invested with his office, the bells will ring at nine o’clock, when the people may go up to the house of God and in a solemn manner commit the new government, with its important train of consequences, to the holy protection and blessing of the Most High.”

In 1789, America stood on the brink of history. As the Constitutional-based government was forming, the world was watching their experiment in liberty. After a long-fought battle against the world’s superpower, the new nation had stumbled under the Articles of Confederation.

Much was riding on the outcome, and the subsequent train of consequences demanded an inauguration and a new government that was bathed in prayer. The population recognized the critical need to commit their leaders, their government, and their nation to the holy protection and blessings of the Most High.

We should consider this year no less important. We stand on the brink of history and the world is watching to determine whether this continued experiment in liberty will survive. We have recently stumbled, and much rides on the success of our way forward. The subsequent train of consequences demands that every day be bathed in prayer. We must recognize the critical need to commit our leaders, our government and our nation to the holy protection and blessing of the Most High.

PLEASE BATHE OUR LEADERS, OUR GOVERNMENT, AND OUR NATION IN DAILY PRAYER. An important train of consequences follows each decision, and our solemn prayers stand as the preeminent thing that can truly make a difference.

John 15:1-4 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abdie in me.

John 15:5 “I am the vine, ye are the branches; He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”

President-elect Abraham Lincoln provides us a powerful perspective through his farewell remarks in his hometown of Springfield, Illinois in 1861 as he departed to become our nation’s sixteenth president:

“My friends — No one, not in my situation, can appreciate my feeling of sadness at this parting. To this place, and the kindness of these people, I owe every thing. Here I have lived a quarter of a century, and have passed from a young to an old man. Here my children have been born, and one is buried. I now leave, not knowing when, or whether ever, I may return, with a task before me greater than that which rested upon Washington. Without the assistance of the Divine Being who ever attended him, I cannot succeed. With that assistance I cannot fail. Trusting in Him who can go with me, and remain with you and be every where for good, let us confidently hope that all will yet be well. To His care commending you, as I hope in your prayers you will commend me, I bid you an affectionate farewell.”

From the Springfield Great Western Railroad Depot, Lincoln’s carefully-selected and Biblically-informed words directly mirror John 15:5. This perspective was true for him in 1861, and the same is also true for us and for our leaders today. Jesus reveals the ultimate dichotomy of impact – bearing much fruit or doing nothing: “He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”

Specially, the same is true for President-elect Donald J. Trump who begins his next term in the coming days. As the members of President Trump’s leadership team leave their hometowns to converge upon Washington, D.C., they must heed the Biblical wisdom recited by Lincoln as he began his first term. In order to thrive, they must develop and maintain a constant connection to Christ, while being constantly commended through our prayers.

PLEASE PRAY FOR OUR NEW GOVERNMENT TO ABIDE IN CHRIST AS WE FAITHFULLY COMMEND THEM THROUGH OUR PRAYERS TO OUR ALMIGHTY GOD. Our nation desperately needs our leaders to bear much fruit.