Author: John Page 105 of 166

Luke 12:48 “But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.”

General Washington maintained his reliance on the Lord’s intervention and eyewitness of God’s power throughout the Revolutionary War. In 1781, he wrote:

“We have, as you very justly observe, abundant reason to thank Providence for its many favorable interpositions in our behalf. It has at times been my only dependence, for all other resources seemed to have failed us.”

Based on this testimony, President Washington wrote the following in 1789:

“The man must be bad indeed who can look upon the events of the American Revolution without feeling the warmest gratitude towards the great Author of the Universe whose divine interposition was so frequently manifested in our behalf. And it is my earnest prayer that we may so conduct ourselves as to merit a continuance of those blessings with which we have hitherto been favored.”

Washington recognized the important truth that America owed much to God. We had been given much, and much was required from us. Yet, this attitude of appreciation and devotion has escaped us, along with the duty that should be derived from our blessings. We never deserved God’s rich blessings, but our current conduct no longer merits even a brief favorable glance from the Lord.

PLEASE PRAY THAT WE WOULD RECOGNIZE THAT MUCH IS REQUIRED OF US BECAUSE MUCH HAS BEEN GIVEN. We have been hitherto favored, and must conduct ourselves in a way as would merit a continuance of God’s blessings.

Thought provoking 1997 quote from Justice Scalia (true about the Constitution and the Bible):

“The American people have been converted to belief in The Living Constitution, a ‘morphing’ document that means, from age to age, what it ought to mean. And with that conversion has inevitably come the new phenomenon of electing and confirming federal judges, at all levels, on the basis of their views concerning a whole series of proposals for constitutional evolution. If the courts are free to write the Constitution anew, they will … write it the way the majority wants; the appointment and confirmation process will see to that. This, of course, is the end of the Bill of Rights, whose meaning will be committed to the very body it was meant to protect against: the majority. By trying to make the Constitution do everything that needs to be done from age to age, we shall have caused it to do nothing at all.”

II Corinthians 12:8-9 “For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

As we celebrate President’s Day, the next four posts will focus on the faithfulness of our first president. In 1776, General Washington wrote:

“I have often thought how much happier I should have been, if, instead of accepting of a command under such circumstances, I had taken my musket on my shoulder and entered the ranks, or, if I could have justified the measure to posterity and my own conscience, had retired to the back country, and lived in a wigwam. If I shall be able to rise superior to these and many other difficulties, which might be enumerated, I shall most religiously believe, that the finger of Providence is in it, to blind the eyes of our enemies.”

General Washington recognized his limitations. In fact, he boldly gave Christ credit in advance for his successes and the successes of the colonists. Washington wanted to make clear that, in spite of his own infirmities, God’s strength was sufficient. His willingness to give God credit in advance of the victory was a strong testimony to Washington’s desire to never detract from the glory rightfully due to Christ.

Christian citizen, let us boldly give God credit in advance for a nationwide revival in this land. While it might be nice if we could avoid our leadership responsibilities or escape from the coming battles, we are to rise superior to our difficulties through Christ’s power. When we see the victory come, there should be no doubt that the finger of Providence will have been in it, blinding the eyes of our enemies.

PLEASE THANK GOD IN ADVANCE FOR THE CHRISTIAN VICTORY IN AMERICA. His grace is sufficient for us and His strength is made perfect in our weakness.

SET YOUR ALARM: If you’re alarmed (that the 2016 election is as much of a spiritual battle as it is a political battle), set your alarm (to pray for our nation)!

SET YOUR ALARM: If you’re alarmed (that we lost a brilliant legal mind with a true respect for the Constitution), set your alarm (to pray for our nation)!

Ecclesiastes 7:8 “Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.”

With Ecclesiastes 7:8 in mind, I published the following in Air Force Times this past week (February 8^th, 2016):

In a recent New Republic article, ethicist Edward Queen rails against Volkswagen for its “unmistakable malfeasance.” He describes their actions as “an intentionally designed and executed violation of the law” and “an ethical violation of the highest level.”

Interestingly, Dr. Queen traces the VW scandal back to a culture that breeds “moral midgets” who focus on short-term greed and promote an attitude of immediate gratification. Dr. Queen contends that this abhorrent culture stems from one primary and repeated business school lesson: “the only duty of a corporation is return on investment.” According to Dr. Queen, this lesson has been “drilled into generations of business school graduates” driving “tsunamis of corporate malfeasance.” How shameful!

But wait … is it possible that military leaders are following the same path? Each time we encourage short-term successes without regard to long-term consequences we are effectively saying “the only duty of our corporation is return on investment.” Each time we praise, reward, or promote those whose immediate accomplishments are magnificent though they hinder long-term sustainability we are doing the same thing. Each time we create a myopic strategy that solves immediate problems without due regard to enduring results we are following the same path. Each time we fail to equip, encourage, challenge, and compel (and correct) people who are the core of long-term mission success we are delivering the same message.

May American military leaders never be labeled “moral midgets” who create “tsunamis of malfeasance.” A long-term perspective that rewards, promotes, and emphasizes sustainable performance and long-term mission success is the real lesson that should be drilled into generations of military professionals.

This lesson also applies to Christians in all walks of life. In order to avoid tsunamis of malfeasance, Christians in particular must live with a long-term perspective that permeates our lives. Otherwise, we may act like moral midgets instead of moral giants. PLEASE PRAY FOR A LONG-TERM PERSEPCTIVE THAT IS REFLECTED IN OUR ACTIONS AND OUR ATTITUDES.

Ecclesiastes 7:8 “Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.”

God has convicted me to focus on “the end of a thing” in 2016. We are so often consumed with our present challenges that we fail to consider the preeminence of the long term over the immediate. Politicians, military leaders, and businessmen fall into the same trap as tactical demands overwhelm strategic forethought. With Christians, it should never be so.

God reminds us that the end of a thing is better than the beginning. In the same breath, He also reminds us to be patient. Humility and the long-view of life are valuable tools to avoid the pitfalls of being consumed by the immediate to the peril of the permanent. God directs us to be tactically content, but strategically restless. As Job learned, latter end blessings are more wonderful than those in the beginning:

• https://prayatlunch.us/the-end-more-than-the-beginning/
• https://prayatlunch.us/twice-as-much/

There is nothing more strategic than prayer, and praying for our nation and her leaders is critical to our long term well-being. It is the least we should do and the most we can do to make an impact. We should do so with a prevailing patience about the present and a holistic humility about our position. We should bathe everything in prayer as we keep our eyes on the end of the thing.

PLEASE PRAY STRATEGICALLY, PERSISTENTLY, AND PATIENTLY FOR OUR NATION. “Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof.”

SET YOUR ALARM: If you’re alarmed (that Christians haven’t redeemed the time today to impact America’s future), set your alarm (to pray for our nation)!

James 5:16 “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”

The author of the “God Isn’t Fixing This” article in the New York Daily News (see the previous post) stated that offering prayer condolences to victims (e.g. ‘my thoughts and prayers are with you’) are “meaningless platitudes.” Yet again, this misguided author is partly right.

When we say we will pray about something or for someone, and then fail to do so, then we are indeed offering meaningless platitudes. When our prayers are dull, insipid, banal, trite, or stale, then our claims are meaningless platitudes. When we express concern about our country and then fail to pray daily and fervently about it, then we are being trapped by meaningless platitudes.

The Daily News article directs the reader to a subsequent editorial about gun violence subtitled “when will America wake up?” Indeed, when will Christian Americans wake up? When will we move beyond meaningless platitudes and employ the power of meaningful prayer? When will we get serious about our prayer obligations? When will we faithfully and fervently pray for the things for which we express concern? Until we do, we are rightfully called out as ineffectual.

PLEASE EMPLOY MEANINGFUL PRAYER INSTEAD OF MEANINGLESS PLATITUDES. Our nation needs us to do so.