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Isaiah 6:8 “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send and who will go for us? Then said I. Here am I; send me.”

My favorite place in the Pentagon is at the foot of this source of massive motivation. I often spend time here praying for our nation and its leaders. Interestingly, this painting is located on the stairway between the 3^rd and 4^th levels of the E-ring between the 8^th and 9^th corridors. For those familiar with the Pentagon, this location is in the immediate vicinity of the world’s most powerful military leaders, only a few paces from the Secretary of Defense’s office. Thus, America’s senior leaders regularly pass under this very painting.

I have no idea how long this painting has been there or who placed it there. Frankly, I am afraid to ask lest someone decide that it is too provocative to keep displayed. Yet, I pass by it almost daily as I go about my business in the area. As I look at the family kneeling in prayer and I read the inscription from Isaiah 6:8, I am challenged and compelled that I am to be an unqualified volunteer for Christ. Where – it doesn’t matter. What – it doesn’t matter. How – it doesn’t matter. Why – it doesn’t matter. When – it doesn’t matter. None of it matters – as long as God is in it and as long as I am faithful to it.

PLEASE PRAY FOR CHRISTIANS IN THIS LAND TO BE UNQUALIFIED VOLUNTEERS FOR CHRIST. We must go! We must stand! We must pray! We must never hesitate to fully follow Him!

NOTE: For similar thoughts, please see: https://prayatlunch.us/send-me/

Hebrews 11:8 “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whiter he went.”

Obeying God isn’t about knowing the direction He is leading. It isn’t about understanding where He would have you to go or what He would have you to do. Instead, it is about trusting that if God is leading then we are to faithfully follow whether or not the end is clear or even whether the end makes sense.

Abraham followed God time and again, without knowing the why, the how, or the where. He was content knowing the what – God’s direction – and the when – God’s timing. The rest is left up to His power and our faith.

American Christians need to spend less time assessing and more time acting. We are to spend less time fretting and more time following. We are to spend less time considering and more time completing. We are to spend less time obfuscating and more time obeying. We are to spend less time studying and more time surrendering.

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO FAITHFULLY FOLLOW GOD NOW! It isn’t about knowing, it is about going. Go now!

II Samuel 11:2-4 “And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house.”

II Samuel 12:5 “And David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die”

Adam Galinsky, a professor at Columbia Business School, is a prolific researcher and writer. Over the course of his career, he has focused on the impact of power upon character. He has found that there is a strong correlation between power and selfishness, diminished empathy, corrupt relationships, and over-confidence. In his 2010 work “Power Increases Hypocrisy: Moralizing in Reasoning, Immorality in Behavior” Dr. Galinsky came to the following conclusions:

• “Across five experiments, irrespective of how power was manipulated or hypocrisy measured, we found strong evidence that the powerful are more likely to engage in moral hypocrisy than those lacking power.”
• “Across these experiments, the powerful judged their own moral transgressions more acceptable but the same transgressions committed by others less acceptable compared to low-power participants.”
• “This means that people with power not only take what they want because they can do so unpunished, but also because they intuitively feel they are entitled to do so.”

As a powerful nation, we have grown selfish. We have grown overconfident. We have grown entitled. We are characterized by diminished empathy, corrupt relationships, and chronic hypocrisy. We take what we want, do what we want and think what we want while growing angry when others do the same. We live unrestrained by morals while holding others to a higher standard. It happened to a “man after God’s own heart” and it is happening to a nation blessed similarly.

PLEASE PRAY THAT OUR NATION WOULD CRY OUT – WE HAVE SINNED AGAINST THE LORD. David did and we will never once again thrive as a nation if we continue in moral hypocrisy.

Isaiah 1:4 “Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.”

A few weeks ago, I published four posts related to the insidious national dangers of power and wealth. This post and the next will punctuate those thoughts in different ways, one historical and one sociological.

Samuel Langdon, former president of Harvard University, said the following in 1775:

“When a government is in its prime, the public good engages the attention of the whole; the strictest regard is paid to the qualifications of those who hold the offices of the state; virtue prevails–every thing is managed with justice, prudence, and frugality; the laws are founded on principles of equity rather than mere policy, and all the people are happy.  But vice will increase with the riches and glory of an empire; and this gradually tends to corrupt the constitution, and in time bring on its dissolution.  This may be considered not only as the natural effect of vice, but a righteous judgment of heaven, especially upon a nation which has been favored with the blessing of religion and liberty, and is guilty of undervaluing them; and eagerly going into the gratification of every lust.”

Langdon was speaking of the British Empire, which had grown corrupt because of its power, prestige, and prosperity.   The same may be said of America today. Our corruption stems from the natural effect of vice and the righteous judgment of heaven. We have undervalued our blessings and gratified our every lust. As a result of God’s particular blessings of religion and liberty, we are held to a higher standard and a greater level of accountability.   We have fallen short of both, and have provoked the Holy One unto anger.

PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICANS WOULD SHED OUR CONFIDENCE AND COMPLACENCY AND RETURN TO A NATION IN ITS PRIME. Otherwise, history books will relegate us to being another cautionary tale – another nation gone away backwards.

Proverbs 29:23 “A man’s pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.”

The humble in spirit shall be upheld in honour. Unfortunately, humility is a rare trait in 21^st Century America. Defiance, pride, and self-centeredness are more characteristic of today’s national character. Rebellion is recurring; restraint is rare. American society elevates everything but godliness. We have steadily progressed into greater pride – from neglecting God, to forgetting God, to ignoring God, to defying God.

The Lord elevates the humble and deflates the proud; He lifts up the humble and brings low the proud. We have not yet experienced the depths of our just deserts, but we will if we fail to reverse the trends of neglect, forgetfulness, ignorance, and defiance.

PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICAN CHRISTIANS WOULD HELP OUR NATION TO REALIZE THE RECKONING WE WILL SOON REAP. We have been elevated for the majority of our national history. As we recklessly remove ourselves from God-given humility and towards self-cultivated pride, we will be brought low.

NOTE: I will take a short summer break from posts next week; my next post will be on August 2^nd. See you then! In the meanwhile, please continue to pray daily and fervently for our nation. We desperately need you to do so, and to encourage others to do the same.