Author: John Page 149 of 166

Psalm 56:4 “In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.”

It is relatively easy to trust in the things we see around us.  Indeed, it is easy to be overwhelmed by the things that plague our lives.  It is simple for the pressures of life to produce anxiety and trepidation.  Yet, we must follow the advice of the Psalmist.  We must focus our attention not on the temporal but on the eternal.  Our lives must be consumed by trust in the Lord, discounting the impact of mere men on our lives.  We must let our thoughts linger on God’s powerful provision.

American Christians need to be empowered in our stand for Christ.  The message we have been given to share is failing because we have been inadequate in our role as messengers.  Our trust in all else, apart from the Lord, has made us weak and passive.  Our fear of man has fostered a population of impotent Christians in America, unable to influence our world.  Other groups have seized the initiative, while wrestling the public dialogue towards a direction that opposes Christ.  All the while, we are too paralyzed to engage.

The antidote to our passivity is a trusting spirit.  Fortunately, we have a God who is ultimately trustworthy and who eagerly anticipates our trust.  PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICAN CHRISTIANS WOULD BE EMBOLDENED BY TRUSTING IN THE LORD.  Setting aside fear of fleshly foes will foster our faithfulness.

Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

In 2014, American Christians need to return to trusting in the Lord.  Not a partial trust; not a trust with contingency plans; not a trust to supplement our own efforts; not an academic trust; not a superficial trust; not a lackluster trust; not a pluralistic trust.  No, we need to trust in the Lord only, doing so with our entire heart.  We must set aside our own understanding and fully acknowledge Him.  Only then does He promise to direct our paths.

We have arrived at the status quo by trusting in a myriad of things.  They, apart from the Lord, have all failed us and will continue to fail us.  In a way that is profound and purposeful, we must set aside those things in which we have errantly trusted.  Instead, we must thrust the totality of our trust towards the Trustworthy One.

PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICAN CHRISTIANS WOULD TRUST IN THE LORD ONLY, AND DO SO WITH OUR ENTIRE HEART.  We desperately need His direction, and must acknowledge Him in all our ways if we expect to get it.

I Kings 2:1-2 “Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying, I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a man”

This verse was one with a special meaning to the Chief Master Sergeant who passed away so suddenly last Monday.  It was one that he carried with him at all times in his wallet.  It was one that he committed to memory and committed to follow.  The results showed in his life.

Chief showed himself a man.  He was strong.  He faithfully served his Lord and Savior, loved and adored his family, and invested his career in serving America and caring for Airmen.  He was a role model in his servant leadership style, his resolute demeanor, and his firm testimony.

America needs men determined to be strong and resolved to show themselves as men.  Our nation needs strong Christian husbands and strong Christian fathers.  It needs strong Christian leaders and strong Christian pastors.  It needs strong Christian businessmen and strong Christian politicians.  It needs strong Christian laborers and strong Christian craftsmen.  It needs strong Christian teachers and strong Christian students.  It needs strong Christian voters and strong Christian jurors.  We need strong Christian men in every facet of our society.  PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIAN MEN TO BE STRONG.  Pray for yourself and pray for others.  In the absence of such men, our society is crumbling.

James 4:14 “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow.  For what is your life?  It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”

This week deviated drastically from the one I had planned.  It was one that I would hope to never repeat.  On Monday evening, I was informed that my Group Superintendent, a seemingly healthy 41 year old Chief Master Sergeant, passed away unexpected from a heart attack while running.  That news kicked off a week that included notification of his wife and young children, sharing the somber news with the members of our organization, rallying support for his family, preparing for a fitting memorial, and welcoming the body back from his off-station location.  It was a horrible week, apart from the comfort of his strong Christian testimony that gave us every indication that he was already in heaven.

As Chief did every day, he had spent his last hours focusing his time, energy, and attention caring for others.  On that day he provided support to a struggling co-worker; visited with the wife of a member of our organization who had recently undergone major surgery; inspired Airmen through group interaction that left them encouraged, challenged, and equipped; and mentored a young Detachment Commander.  He was in the midst of reading a book on being a better Christian father.  He had encouraged me about the PLUS ministry.  He was a wonderful co-worker, confidant, and friend who seized the time he had available to him and used it to improve our nation.

Life is indeed short and unpredictable.  We have no guarantee that we will breathe our next breath.  This truth should motivate us to conduct our lives accordingly, and engage the problems of our land more fervently.  PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICAN CHRISTIANS WOULD REDEEM THE FLEETING TIME WE HAVE AVAILABLE TO MAKE AN IMPACT ON THIS LAND.  Let us do so before our time vanisheth away.

Matthew 25:21 “His lord said unto him, Well done good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of the lord.”

As I do every year, last year I ensured that my 2013 Goals followed the traditional good-goal-metric as described by the SMART acronym:

• S – Specific
• M – Measurable
• A – Attainable
• R – Relevant
• T – Time-bound

One of the more amusing goals in retrospect was the one that stated I was to “pray at least weekly for the United States and its leaders.”  While this is a reasonable goal (and one that meets the SMART criteria) for someone like myself who had never regularly prayed for his country, it is far short of where the Lord would eventually take me through a growing burden in my heart.  Once I was faithful in this small thing, He gave me something far greater for which to be faithful.  Looking back, I am so thankful that I had been faithful in something small so that the Lord could magnify this growing burden and give me the opportunity to be faithful over more.

PLEASE PRAY THAT IN 2014 AMERICAN CHRISTIANS WOULD BE FAITHFUL OVER THE FEW THINGS AND THE MANY THINGS.  We should be as faithful with the small as with the grandiose.  With faithfulness through the things we consider small, the Lord can trust us enough to magnify the minor into the many or the mighty.