PLUS

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.

Esther 4:14 “For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

In addition to Luke 2:49, the Lord placed Esther 4:14 on my heart during my time of assessment and reflection at the end of 2012.  It guided me throughout 2013.  It also became the theme verse for the PLUS ministry though I didn’t know exactly how the Lord would use it in my life at the time I made it a personal theme verse for the year.  Yet, this verse did immediately impact my priorities.

Up to that point, I had never made my COUNTRY an explicit priority in my life.  I structure my daily prayer life around my priorities (with FAITH being the highest), and would lump prayers for America into my CAREER category.  I reasoned up to that point that because my career focused on serving my country through the military, that CAREER and COUNTRY were one and the same.  The Lord impressed upon me that this was not the case and that COUNTRY deserved a separate and preeminent priority over CAREER.  After all, without separate priorities what would take precedence if career progression and country advancement came into conflict?

Esther’s career as the queen did come into conflict with the betterment of her nation and her people.  Indeed, as described in Esther 4:14 the option to risk her career for the advancement of her people may have been the reason the Lord brought her to that position, place, and time.  She had to choose which priority took precedence, and she chose wisely.

I have yet needed to make such a stark choice between priorities as did Esther.  Maybe you have; maybe you haven’t.  Yet, it is important to know where our priorities would guide us if faced with such a situation.

PLEASE PRAY THAT WE WOULD PRIORITIZE OUR NATION ABOVE OUR POSITION, COME WHAT MAY.  In an America where institutions are diverging from our principles, such a choice may be closer than we imagine.  As I wrote as a part of my 2013 Goals, we each should be willing to “see my country improve in its spiritual and practical condition, even if at my expense.”

As the New Year approached at the end of 1776, the hopes of the Continental Army were indeed bleak.  For much of the year, they had been on the losing end of the battles they fought, and the enemy seemed to have the upper hand in all respects.  To compound their problems, the revolutionary forces were out-gunned and out-resourced.  As winter closed in on them, they were low on supplies, equipment, and uniforms.  Though they had recently won a Christmastime victory at Trenton a few days before that could have boosted morale, the entire army was afforded the opportunity to permanently leave their spots on the battlefront when the terms of their enlistment ended as the calendar turned to 1777.  The only hope of an independent America was men who would step forward and volunteer to remain in the battle.  In the waning hours of 1776, General Washington addressed his troops with the following words:

“My brave fellows, you have done all I asked you to do, and more than could be reasonably expected, but your country is at stake, your wives, your houses, and all that you hold dear.  You have worn yourselves out with fatigues and hardships, but we know not how to spare you.  If you will consent to stay one month longer, you will render that service to the cause of liberty, and to your country, which you can probably never do under any other circumstance.”

Nathanael Greene wrote the about the men’s response.  “God Almighty inclined their hearts to listen to the proposal and they engaged anew.”  One-by-one, men stepped forward to renew their commitment to the cause and reaffirm their dedication through reenlistment.

As you prayerfully consider how you will be about your Father’s business in 2014, do not be deterred by an enemy that seems to have the upper hand.  Do not be concerned that American Christians seem out-gunned and out-resourced.  Do not be tempted to walk away from the battle with our country at stake.  Though we are worn out, our nation’s only hope is Christians who would step forward to remain in the battle and reenlist in the fight.  All we hold dear is at stake.

PLEASE PRAY THAT GOD ALMIGHTY WOULD INCLINE OUR HEARTS TO LISTEN TO HIS CALLING FOR US IN 2014.  He would have us engage anew

Luke 2:49 “And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me?  wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?”

It was a year ago during my annual time of reflection, assessment, priority adjustment, and goal setting between Christmas and New Years that the PLUS ministry was conceived, to be born a few months later at the end of March.  This yearly time is invaluable to me in that it provides an opportunity to make fundamental adjustments to my prevailing direction, attitude, and priorities.  This past week, as I started this annual process that will shape my entire next year, I reflected on the journey that the Lord has brought me on throughout 2013.  The next four PLUS posts will describe how the Lord created the PLUS embryo in late 2012, and how a reflection upon these same truths should challenge all of us to better serve the Lord as Christian citizens in America in 2014.

Typically during this period of reflection, the Lord places a few Bible verses on my heart as my personal annual verses.  One of the two verses for 2013 was Luke 2:49.  The truth the Lord wanted me to focus on through this verse is that it is my responsibility to regularly be about my Father’s business.  Pondering this thought led to me recognize the need to regularly pray for our nation and better serve it as a Christian citizen.  Little did I know at that point that the extension of that service would begin PLUS, and little do I know now what else the Lord would have me to do as I am about His business in 2014.

After a period of reflection, how do you think the Lord is leading you to be about His business?  Regardless of where that business will take you, it will benefit the cause of Christ because it is from the Lord.  If American Christians were truly serious about being about God’s business in 2014, then the impact the Lord could make through us would be miraculous.  PLEASE PRAYERFULLY CONSIDER HOW THE LORD WOULD LEAD YOU TO BE ABOUT HIS BUSINESS IN THIS NATION IN 2014.

Philippians 2:5-7 “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:  Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:  But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men”

For us, our Lord took upon Himself the likeness of men.  In the ultimate demonstration of humility and obedience, Christ came to earth in the form of a servant.  Philippians 2:8 reinforces this message in a poignant way: “and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”

As we celebrate Christmas tomorrow, let our minds be molded into the perspective of Christ.  If American Christians would truly embrace such humility and obedience as we consider Christ’s birth, then a revival of unrivaled scope would sweep across this land.  To be part of such a nation-changing transformation would be a wonderful gift, both for us and for our future generations.

PLEASE PRAY THAT WE WOULD LET THE TRUTHS OF CHRISTMAS TRANSFORM OUR MINDS AND DIRECT OUR PATHS.  Have a blessed Christmas!