Author: John Page 31 of 159

Esther 4:14b “and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

II Corinthians 12:9-10 “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.  Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”

Acts 5:40-42 “And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.  And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.  And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.”

Romans 5:3-4 “And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope”

Pastor Henry Crane wrote the following during the dark depths of World War II:

“Rejoice that we are matched with such a supremely significant age as this.  Rejoice that we now have an unusual chance to test the validity of our Christian principles.  Rejoice that we shall discover what we ourselves are actually made of.  Rejoice that we shall be able to discover how tribulations bring patience, patience experience, and experience hope – which means we shall be living deeply, richly, greatly.  Rejoice that we shall have revealed to us the necessity and availability of God.”

In the midst of the dark depths of our age, may we embrace such a powerful perspective that should cause us to rejoice, glorying in our infirmities and motivated by God’s wisdom to place us in our situation for such a time as this.  We should rejoice because we have been matched with such a supremely significant age.  We should rejoice because we now have an unusual chance to test the validity of our Christian principles.  We should rejoice because we shall discover what we ourselves are actually made of.  We should rejoice that we shall be able to witness how tribulations ultimately bring hope.  And, we should rejoice because we shall have revealed to us the necessity and the availability of God.

Indeed, we live in a supremely significant age.  As a result, we must rejoice in our situation, remember God’s calling on our lives, recommit to our Christ-centered principles, resist self-sufficiency or resignation, and respond with bold prayer for our communities, our nation and our leaders.

PLEASE PRAY THAT GOD WOULD USE AMERICAN CHRISTIANS IN THIS SUPREMELY SIGNIFICANT AGE.  And, as we endure the challenges of the day, rejoice that God has counted you worthy to serve Him in such a day as this.

Proverbs 21:1 “The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.”

Matthew 5:43-47 “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans that same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?”

Several years ago, I was publicly and harshly attacked for my PLUS ministry. It wasn’t an easy time, but it was a rewarding season of life filled with ample opportunities for growth, faith, and trust. During that time, the Lord directed my attention to Matthew 5 and impressed upon me to live out my Christianity by faithfully praying for the one who was attacking me. Specifically, I prayed that he would come to know the love, peace and fulfillment of God and accept His amazing grace. It wasn’t easy, but it was impactful. I have prayed daily for him ever since that time; I prayed for him this morning. 

Far more than anything I experienced, we live in a time where pure evil is evident in the actions of others. Frankly, it is a time like many other times throughout history, though today, all it takes is a quick examination of the readily accessible news to see pure evil playing out in places like Eastern Europe. We see the powerful using their authority to harm and kill the weak. We are rightfully anxious, appalled, anguished and angered.  We want to react with heart-felt hate. Yet, there is another option … a uniquely Christian alternative.

We should pray for those who are the most onerous among us – those with names like Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, and Kim Jong-un. Specifically, we should pray that these individuals and others like them would come to know the love, peace, and fulfillment of God and accept His amazing grace. It won’t be easy, but it will be impactful. We should pray for them daily; we should pray for them today.

PLEASE PRAY FOR THE LORD TO POSITIVELY IMPACT OUR STRUGGLING PLANET BY MOLDING THE HEARTS OF THOSE WE WANT TO HATE. As a distinctly Christian response to those whose actions are evil, we must pray for them! 

Acts 16:23-25, 29-32 “And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.  And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them … Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?  And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.  And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.”

Psalm 66:8 “O bless our God, ye people, and make the voice of his praise to be heard”

Psalm 100:1-2 “Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.  Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.”

During the last ten days, humanity has marveled at the strength, courage, and resilience of the Ukrainian people.  Many of these Ukrainian patriots are quick to point out that the invasion didn’t just start a week ago, but eight years ago.  These proud people have been under siege for nearly a decade.  Yet, for them, life goes on.

One of the most encouraging and challenging clips from the last two weeks came from a subway station in Kyiv.  It was there that a group of Ukrainian Christians were recorded singing “Let My Prayer Flow” as they praised God, and called for His protection and provision for them, their families, and their fellow citizens.  It is a powerful clip of God’s people calling for God’s presence in the midst of chaos and conflict.  It is a poignant sign of their faithfulness to an all-loving, all-powerful God as an active and positive response to their challenging circumstances.  The world is listening, we have heard them, we must learn from them, and we must continue to pray for them.  We must similarly draw strength from Him and draw others to His presence.

As we find ourselves in a similar subway station in our own lives, we must follow their example.  While we may never find ourselves in this particular type of conflict, our own circumstances sometimes figuratively cast us into an inner prison with our feet held fast in stocks.  Whenever we find ourselves there, others are listening.  Our active and positive response to challenging circumstances is a sign of our faithfulness to our all-loving, all-powerful God.  Through it all, we can draw strength from Him and draw others to His presence.

PLEASE PRAY FOR THE UKRAINIAN PEOPLE AND UKRAINIAN CHRISTIANS.  May their faithfulness challenge and encourage us to sing in the subway whenever we face challenges in our own lives.

I Timothy 2:1-5 “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.”

Proverbs 21:1 “The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.”

The PLUS ministry is focused on prompting American Christians to pray for our nation and our leaders so that God will change our national direction and bring about revival.  If He were to do so, it would have a massive impact on our nation, but also on a world that looks to us for leadership, protection, and provision.  While the Lord directs us to provide supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks for all men, for kings, and for all those in authority, it is impossible to pray for all people at all times.  Thus, PLUS emphasizes doing so for those here in America, not from a nationalistic perspective, but from a practical perspective based on impact and influence.  Yet, sometimes in addition to looking upwards, we have to look outwards.

Eight years ago, shortly after the Russian annexation of Crimea, Senator John McCain condemned the aggressive actions of Russia and the long-term malign intent of President Vladimir Putin.  He went on to say that the violation of Ukrainian sovereignty was unacceptable “to an America that stands up for the rights of human beings.”  He punctuated his thoughts with these powerful words: “We are all Ukrainians!”  We are!

As a freedom loving people who champion human rights underpinned by the designs of a loving Creator, our hearts should ache for the chaos in Ukraine.  We should mourn for the Ukrainian people.  We should cheer for the strength of the human spirit on display when men and women, with no military training, take up arms to defend their homeland, their freedom, and their way of life.  We should be humbled by those who are paying the ultimate price for liberty.  Such acts of sacrifice should shake us out of our own complacency about the value of our many blessings in America.  We should be bolstered by tales of heroism and courage stemming from tales about Snake Island, The Ghost of Kyiv, and sunflower seeds.  We should praise the bold leadership of President Volodymyr Zelensky and Mayor Vitali Klitschko on the front lines of a bloody conflict.  And, we should be convicted and challenged by the faith of Christian Ukrainians as we watch them powerfully praise God in a subway station in Kyiv while the city is under siege.

And most importantly, we must pray for the Ukrainian people and their leaders.  After all, they are us!  We are all Ukrainians!

PLEASE PRAY FOR THE STRENGTH, SAFETY, AND SUCCESS OF THE UKRAINIAN PEOPLE AND THEIR LEADERS AS THEY DEFEND THEIR HOMELAND. 

Ephesians 4:32 “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”

Galatians 5:13 “For brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.”

Romans 12:21 “Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.”

John 1:3-5 “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.  In him was life; and the life was the light of men.  And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.”

This past week, Colonel (retired) Gail Halvorsen passed away after a rich long life.  He is better known at Lt Gail Halvorsen, and best known as The Candy Bomber.

In June of 1948, the military of the Soviet Union blockaded the city of West Berlin and its 2-million citizens.  This city was placed under siege by Russian forces, with no way to deliver food, fuel, medicine, and other supplies over land.  In the face of this malicious Russian activity, the people were filled with doubt and despair, realizing that they would quickly starve without a creative solution for support.

The United States Air Force, and its allies and partners, quickly provided the needed support via a robust air-bridge that delivered supplies.  During the height of the operation, aircraft landed in West Berlin every three minutes around the clock.  It was known as the Berlin Airlift, and it successfully broke the will of the Soviet forces after nearly a year of persistent and effective airlift activity.  But, there was a young hero that played an oversized role in bringing hope to the citizens of Berlin during this time – the Candy Bomber.

After talking to a group of kids in Berlin between airlift missions, Lt Gail Halvorsen determined that there was something extra he could do to cast light and convey hope to these young citizens under siege – he could drop candy to them from the air.  As a result, Halvorsen and his crew created small parachutes with a candy payload, and after rocking his wings, he would launch these treats to the children waiting below.  Throughout the Berlin Airlift, and through the support of many around the world, The Candy Bomber launched over 250,000 parachutes, piercing the darkness with light and spreading joy, hope, and resilience through kindness in a world that was filled with tyranny, persecution, strife, and uncertainty.

Christians must live our lives providing parachutes of hope.  People all around us are filled with doubt and despair, overwhelmed by a world characterized by tyranny, persecution, strife, and uncertainty.  They are starving for truth.  We can offer them joy, hope and resilience through our kindness and the truth of our message.

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO BE WILLING VESSELS TO OVERCOME THE EVIL OF THIS WORLD WITH GOOD.  May we launch parachutes of hope through our words, our actions, and our message.