Author: John Page 158 of 166

Joshua 1:5b “I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.”

The PLUS ministry has been an interesting journey of faith for me.  Probably like most ministries, it is difficult to tell if it is making a difference and impossible to determine if the time invested is paying proportional dividends.  Yet, in ministry we are not responsible for the results, just for the faithfulness.  The input is ours, and the output is Gods.  Fortunately, the outcome is left up to a God who will not fail us nor forsake us.

You may be wondering if your daily, faithful and fervent prayers for our country are making a difference.  I cannot give you an honest answer other than ‘I don’t know.’  Yet, I can tell you that God is far more interested in a humble believer who turns over the results of faithfulness to Him than He is in proud self-sufficiency.  I can also tell you stories of the power of encouragement that have impacted me in the last ten days:

• My Pastor’s daughter shared with me a story of her distant friend who was encouraging others to PLUS
• I received a book in the mail from a friend who thought it would provide material to use in a future PLUS post
• I received an email from another friend who had just spent some time in prayer for our country
• I ran into a strong Christian influence from my past who fully supported the concepts of PLUS that I shared with him on that day
• I spent some time with a Pastor from a past assignment who had been challenged by PLUS posts
• I received a phone call from a friend from another past assignment who had used PLUS posts as part of a devotional series he was teaching

These stories, and many others from the last six months, have encouraged me greatly in exactly the right way and at exactly the right time.   They have also demonstrated the Lord’s promise to never fail us nor forsake us.  While I don’t know where the PLUS concept will lead, I do know that I have been directed to minister in this way and so I will continue.

This journey has also helped me to better understand the challenges of potential discouragement for the pastors, missionaries, and evangelists among us.  PLEASE PRAY THAT YOU CAN PROPERLY ENCOURAGE LEADERS IN CHRIST-HONORING MINISTRIES.  Their ability to endure is vital to the cause of Christ in America.  While the Lord has promised to never fail them nor forsake them, He may intend to use you to put encouragement into action.

Joshua 1:9 “Have not I commanded thee?  Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.”

This verse closes God’s charge to Joshua as he was assigned the mantle of leadership following Moses’ death.  It was the third time in the short eight verses of this charge where the Lord directed strength and courage.  The context of this direction was Joshua’s role in bringing God’s people into the promised land, a task that the great leader Moses was never able to accomplish.  It is no wonder that Joshua needed an extra dose of courage.

Joshua needed courage, especially based on the nature of the task at hand, so God encouraged him.  By definition encouragement engenders courage, and encouragement is at its best when it is accompanied by a reminder of the Lord’s all-powerful presence.

American Christians need courage too, based on the nature of the task at hand.  We need courage to stand up to a culture that increasingly opposes Christ.  We need courage to remain faithful when faithfulness is often mocked.  We need courage to oppose ungodliness.  We need courage to stand up for the Lord and His institutions.  We need courage to demand selfless leadership.  We need courage to stand for the values of our Christian forefathers.  We need courage to take back our land.

If we want American Christians to act with courage, then we must encourage one another.  PLEASE PRAY THAT YOU CAN ENCOURAGE AMERICAN CHRISTIANS IN ORDER TO MAGNIFY COURAGE AMONG US.  Do so with the ready reminder that “the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.”

John Stuart Mill, 19^th Century British political philosopher, said something similar to Burke (referenced in the previous post) in an address to the University of St. Andrews: “Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing.”  Six months ago, I decided that I could no longer look on and do nothing.  Every day since February 1^st, I have had a specific period of prayer at a time and place separate from my workplace.

Often, I have gone to my base chapel at lunchtime to pray.  Several times while traveling I have prayed in chapels of other bases.  I have prayed in airports; I have prayed on airplanes; I have prayed while parked in my car.

Frequently my prayer time has been at lunchtime, but often it has not.  At times, I have prayed nearer to breakfast; at times, I have prayed nearer to dinner; after particularly long and demanding days at work, I have prayed at night before going home.

PLEASE PRAYERFULLY CONSIDER HOW YOU WILL PLUS.  Maybe it is starting a period of prayer with students at your Christian school.  Maybe it is at home during naptime.  Maybe it is with some colleagues in a conference room at work.  Maybe it is in the cafeteria at your Bible college.  Maybe it is on the road while driving your tractor-trailer.  Maybe it is by yourself when your busy schedule allows.  Regardless of the when and the how, please do it.  Otherwise, we are compassing the ends of bad men rather than those of good men.

James 4:17 “Therefore, to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”

Edmund Burke, 18^th Century Irish statesman and supporter of the American Revolutionary cause, is credited with proclaiming the following:  “the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”  It was several months ago when I realized that I was failing to uphold my responsibilities as a Christian American citizen.  In doing nothing to wrestle back our nation towards Christ-centeredness, I was regularly committing sins of omission.  Furthermore, I was letting evil triumph because this “good man” was doing nothing about it.  While my 19-years of military service were commendable, they were not sufficient to solve the problems of our nation.  These convicting thoughts prompted the creation of PLUS, both as an individual responsibility and a call to ministry.

Evil is triumphing in our nation because the good are doing nothing.  The following sins of omission are evident among us (as written about previously):

• Failing to uphold the formula for revival (March 24)
• Failing to be salt and light (March 31)
• Failing to be peculiar (April 3)
• Failing to resist the tug towards worldliness (April 10)
• Failing to properly teach the next generation (April 14)
• Failing to adequately pray (May 1)
• Failing to seek servant leadership (May 19)
• Failing to stand on the solid foundation of Biblical faith (June 2)
• Failing to put our concerns into action (June 9)
• Failing to shoulder our responsibilities (June 23)
• Failing to demonstrate passion for our situation (July 21 and 24)

If we continue to shirk our responsibilities, then our sins of omission will allow evil to triumph in our land.  PLEASE PRAY THAT CHRISTIAN AMERICANS WOULD SEE OUR INACTION AS SINFULNESS THAT WILL DESTROY OUR NATION.  We must immediately arrest our sins of omission.  Otherwise, we are as guilty for the downfall of America as those who we would label evil.  They will triumph because of us.

Colonel BP McCoy, USMC, wrote a short leadership book entitled “The Passion of Command:  The Moral Imperative of Leadership.”  In the beginning of this book, he begins with this warning: “Without genuine concern, this is all worthless.”  In doing so, I think he had two points.  The first is that the rest of the leadership advice he offers will be worthless if you don’t have a genuine concern about your people and the mission.  The second is that you will be a worthless leader if you don’t have genuine concern about your people and the mission.  The same is true among Christian Americans.

If you don’t have genuine concern about the ungodly direction of our nation, then you probably won’t bother taking a meaningful leadership role to begin with.  If you don’t have genuine concern about the ungodly direction of our nation, then any leadership role you do decide upon will be ineffectual.  Either way, your leadership will be worthless and the cause of Christ will suffer in America.

America needs worthwhile Christian citizens.  America needs worthwhile Christian leaders.  America needs worthwhile Christ-like leadership.  America needs worthwhile change.  America needs Christians who would demonstrate genuine concern for our land.  PLEASE PRAY THAT YOUR GENUINE CONCERN FOR OUR NATION WOULD TRANSLATE INTO WORTHWHILE CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP.  America will suffer if its Christian citizens are worthless.