Author: John Page 32 of 159

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. 

Romans 8:38-39 “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Psalm 139:7-12 “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.  If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.  If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.  Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.”

This past week, I spent some time in northwest Greenland.  As I stepped off the airplane, it was -25 degrees Fahrenheit with a wind chill that made it feel 21 degrees colder than that.  From that location, there were no roads that connected to any town.  In fact, there are no roads in Greenland that connect towns together because the distances are too great, the conditions are too harsh, and the terrain is too rugged.  From my location, it was an hour-long helicopter ride to get to the nearest town, a small village of only 100 people.  It was nearly 1,000 miles to a town over 10,000 people (Nuuk), over 1,300 miles to Reykjavik, and over 2,000 miles south to balmy Montreal. 

While it may not be the most isolated and desolate place on the planet, it is pretty close.

My location on that visit is a great metaphor for how we feel sometimes, either as individual Christians or as a Christian movement in America.  The conditions of our lives and in our society make us feel like the distance to revival from our location is too great, the conditions are too harsh and the human terrain is too rugged.  Our conditions feel cold, remote, isolated, lonely, and hopeless. 

But, even then, we are not separated from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord!  Wherever we go, even to northwest Greenland, He is there!

For I am persuaded that neither cold, nor remoteness, nor wind chill, nor loneliness, nor hopelessness … shall separate us from the love of God.  As a result, personal and national revival may be closer than we could ever imagine in the constant presence of a loving God.

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO TRUST FULLY IN A GOD WHO IS ALWAYS THERE!  Regardless of the remoteness of our conditions and our societal situation, we can faithfully and hopefully proclaim: God, thou art there!  With that in mind, hope must dominate our demeanors … even in a metaphorical Greenland.

Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Psalm 37:4 “Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.”

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.”

II Chronicles 7:14 “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

Professional baseball commentator and former Major League Baseball player Doug Glanville wrote a powerful and articulate article this week about inductees into the Hall of Fame in a sport stained by the use of steroids.  In the midst of the article he quotes an ethicist who reminds us of an important truth: “You reward what you value.” 

This poignant statement is true in your life and it is true in leadership.  It is true as a person, as a professional, as a parent, as a pastor, and as a parishioner.  It shapes your personality, your family, your climate, your church, your organization, and your culture.  It shapes a nation!  What is rewarded, and promoted, and recognized becomes who we are.  And, it comes with two equally powerful corollaries:

• What you reward proves what you really value
• What you reward powerfully reinforces your desired personal or organizational values

God’s contingent promises are based on this proverb.  The Lord values faithfulness, focus, trust, humility, prayerfulness, selflessness, righteousness, and repentance.  As a result, he rewards those with these characteristics with joy, peace, grace, direction, motivation, wellness, and revival. 

The world values the antithesis of these characteristics.  And while your Christ-centered lifestyle may not be valued or rewarded by our society, it is God’s rewards that are far more fulfilling than anything offered by a world characterized by turmoil, conflict, contention, rebellion, confusion, depression, and degradation.

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO LIVE IN ACCORDANCE WITH GOD-DIRECTED CHARACTERISTICS THAT THE LORD VALUES AND REWARDS.  You reward what you value; He certainly does!

The article mentioned above can be found at:

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/33181692/doug-glanville-why-glad-barry-bonds-elected-hall-fame

I Thessalonians 5:16-18 “Rejoice evermore.  Pray without ceasing.  In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

Romans 16:19 “For your obedience is come abroad unto all men.  I am glad therefore on your behalf: but yet I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil.”

Numbers 11:1 “And when the people complained, it displeased the LORD: and the LORD heard it; and his anger was kindled; and the fire of the LORD burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp.”

Philippians 2:14-15 “Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.”

Sometimes Christians are master complainers.  From our precious perch on the top of our ivory tower, we complain about the sinfulness of the world around us.  We complain about our fragile society; we complain about our flagging nation; we complain about our fallible leaders.  Often these leaders are the recipients of our strongest condemnation.  While our words of harsh critique may be accurate, our spirit, our priorities, and our hearts are definitely not.

Instead, we must pray for our society, our nation, and our leaders.  It should be the principle and defining characteristic of our interaction with these institutions and individuals.  How can we pray without ceasing if we never cease to complain?  How can we be wise unto the good when we constantly lament the evil?  How can we properly tackle our Christian responsibilities for impact as God-placed and ordained individuals if we only complain, and murmur, and dispute?  How can we shine as lights in a dark world if our witness to a crooked and perverse nation is shrouded in negativity and pessimism?  How can we preach about society’s shortcomings if we don’t pray for its strength and its salvation?  How can we expect successful leadership in the state house, the court house and the school house if we don’t support them through prayer from our church house and from our own homes?

PLEASE PRAY FOR OUR LEADERS AND OUR INSTITUTIONS FAR MORE THAN YOU MURMUR AND COMPLAIN ABOUT THEM.  Though our prayer closets, we can shine as lights in the world far more than we can flaming about the darkness around us.

Acts 2:46-47 “And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart.  Praising God, and having favor with all the people.  And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.”

Hebrews 12:1 “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.”

As a part of my 2022 devotions, I am reading through a 1942 daily devotional entitled “Strength for Service To God and Country”.  It was written by pastors throughout the country during World War II to distribute to American military members fighting for freedom around the world.  Its introductory section shares the following about the purpose and content of this devotion:

“This is your book.  It is for you alone.  Its purpose is to strengthen and sustain you in those troubled hours when you feel a Need that cannot be well put into words.

All over this land you love – in the great cities, in smaller communities, in schools and colleges, and in houses of business – men have put aside the duties of the day to talk in type with you.  They have done this gladly, eagerly – because they want to help – and because their hearts are filled with gratitude to America’s soldiers, sailors, and marines.

They are simple things, these messages.  But then freedom, and righteousness, and love are simple terms, easy to grasp and comforting to cling to in troubled times.  There is no need for fine writing, for big words and labored sentences when hearts talk with one another.”

This devotional book had particular power in its day because of the distributed nature of the message, for both the authors and the readers.  The authors, as mentioned above, published their devotional from all over the land in order to express appreciation and encouragement, and pour themselves into the lives of their readers while uplifting the cause of Christ.  Those words were given to readers who were deployed to face conflict in foreign lands that encircled the globe.  Their dispersed readership provided an amplified message that spoke in personal and profound ways during times of great need.  As a result, the network of authors and readers created a powerful bond of service that knitted the broader community together into one accord that supported, strengthened, and sustained while encouraging likeminded believers everywhere.

There is great power in the nature of the Christian movement in 2022, especially with the tools at our disposal.  Through prayers, posts, and publications, spiritual leaders can pour themselves from across our land into the lives of others around the globe.  As a result, the network can create a powerful bond of service that can knit the community together into one accord that uplifts the cause of Christ, and that supports, strengthens and sustains. 

We should all be encouraged by the faithfulness of likeminded Christians today from all over this land we love – in the great cities, in smaller communities, in schools and colleges, and in houses of business.  If this distributed mass of believers prays as we should, preaches as we should, and participates in our society as we should, then we can have an impact for the cause of Christ that the world has never seen.

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS FROM ACROSS THE NATION TO FAITHFULLY SERVE OUR LORD IN THIS LAND.  Today more than ever, it is critical to support, strengthen, and sustain from all over this land we love.