PLUS

Matthew 22:37 “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and will all they mind.  This is the first and great commandment.”

II Timothy 3:16-17 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:  That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”

II Corinthians 3:5 “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God”

A few weeks ago, the Washington Post published a letter from an Army Captain during World War II to his infant son (“A World War II Veteran’s Timeless Words For His Son – And His Country”).  This letter was a powerful expression of love, guidance, and direction across the miles, with stunning applicability across the generations.

The solider shares the following thoughts about our great nation:

“I am glad for your sake that you were born an American, and, as you grow older, you will realize how many advantages and limitless opportunities lie before you in the land of your birth.  Our country is not spotless or above reproach, but the precepts upon which it was founded still rule, and the fundamental conception of freedom, justice, equality, rights and religion make it a land of opportunity, and a rich life.  I have seen enough of the world to know what all that means now.  Before this experience, I was taking it for granted and did not realize what it would mean not to have it.”

This Army Captain then goes on to stress the importance of character: “obedience, truthfulness, kindness, sincerity, tolerance, fruitfulness, and respect for other peoples’ rights.”

In the penultimate paragraph, he states these critical spiritual truths:

“Last and most important, learn to know God, and learn to love and appreciate Him for what He is and what He can do for you.  Never let a day go by that you do not read a bit from the bible, and develop a faith that will carry you through any thing, never forget, you certainly need God.”

In this short paragraph, the father provides timeless spiritual advice to his young son:  Love God, Learn His Word, and Rely Upon Him.  Rightfully so, the father highlights these truths as the most important guidance he could offer to his baby boy.  Several decades later, it is true to us today.  The wisdom in these rightfully chosen words is timeless and spans the generations. 

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO TRULY LOVE GOD, LEARN HIS WORD, AND RELY UPON HIM.  In everything we do, we certainly need God!

Hebrews 13:5 “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”

Isaiah 43:2 “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee”

Daniel 3:25 “He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”

For several weeks now, I intended to close out the PLUS series of Impacting Babylon.  Along the way, I detoured into the related topics of Impacting Nineveh and Impacting (a fallen) Eden.  But now, this is the final post from a string of thoughts dating back to August 1^st. 

Impacting our Babylons, Ninevahs and fallen Edens is not easy.  God never told us that it would be.  Yet, He promised us something far greater – His constant presence!  As we live in the midst of a society that denies God and degrades good, the Lord goes with us.  As we pass through the waters, He is with us.  As we traverse the rivers, He stops them from overwhelming us.  As we stroll through the fire, He protects us from the flame.  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego can attest to the latter.

As they faced the heat of a fiery furnace, God Himself walked with them. 

As we face the heat of society that flames against us, God Himself will walk with us.  After all, He is the only One who can eternally and permanently impact lives and transform societies.  His presence with us means everything!

PLEASE PRAY THAT YOU WOULD BE ENCOURAGED AND COMFORTED BY THE LORD’S CONSTANT PRESENCE AS YOU STRIVE TO IMPACT YOUR BABYLON TODAY.  The flames will not kindle upon us as we live for Him!

Genesis 3:1-5 “Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made.  And he said unto the woman, Yea hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?  And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:  But the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.  And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:  For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”

I Peter 5:8 “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour”

I John 4:4 “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them:  because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”

As we strive to impact our fallen Eden, we must always be mindful of one very important thing – we will face determined opposition.  In fact, our adversary is active in attempting to thwart our plans for impact and temper our passion for influence.  He hopes to scuttle our sound testimony and sidetrack our spiritual thirst.  He desires to sever our relationship with our Creator.

He is seriously seeking to devour you and sap your effectiveness.  He will prompt you to question God’s Word, oppose God’s plans, and elevate yourself above God’s position of authority.

If we are to have an impact on this fallen Eden, we must be sober and vigilant in order to avoid the pitfalls cleverly set by our adversary.  We must also realize that our Lord is far greater than the powers of this world, and we must cling to Him for protection, provision, and power. 

PLEASE PRAY FOR VIGILANCE IN THE LIVES OF AMERICAN CHRISTIANS AS WE IMPACT OUR NEEDY WORLD FOR CHRIST.  A roaring lion awaits to devour those who stray from their God-given path of influence and impact here in our fallen Eden.  Greater is He who defends us from being devoured than those who would devour us; we must trust and rely on Him.  The world doesn’t need a bunch of self-proclaimed gods trying to exert our own wisdom, when we already have a real God whose wisdom is supreme.

Genesis 3:6 “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.”

Proverbs 26:12 “Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than of him.”

Isaiah 5:21 “Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!”

Romans 1:21-22 “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.  Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools”

II Corinthians 3:5 “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God”

Before I truly leave the PLUS series on Impacting Babylon, I want to make a related final two-post detour to a similar topic – Impacting (a fallen) Eden.  Many scholars believe that Eden was situated in what is now modern day Iraq, largely because of the mention of specific geography related to rivers in Genesis Chapter 2.  The Euphrates and the Tigris (whose ancient name was Hiddekel) run a large portion of the length of Iraq, and converge into one river in the southern part of the country.  It is well situated to be the home of the original paradise.

Yet, it didn’t remain paradise for long because of the pride of its original inhabitants.  Adam and Even were wise in their own eyes, and were attracted to the things that were prohibited to them by God.  Their folly led to a fall that impacts us today in our sin-soaked world.  Woe unto them, and woe unto us.  If only in their quest for wisdom they realized that their sufficiency was of God.

It is easy in a pull-yourselves-up-by-your-bootstraps culture to trust in our own sufficiency to handle our own problems.  We elevate our wisdom above God’s wisdom, and thus stumble through life facing pitfall after pitfall.  In doing so, we are fools who are worthy of pity instead of proclaim.  Additionally, our ability to impact our fallen Eden is hindered by our conceit. 

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO AVOID THE PITFALLS OF PRIDE AS WE ARE TEMPTED TO SEE OURSELVES AS WISE.  In a desire to prove ourselves as sufficient, we turn our backs on the true source of wisdom that comes only from God.  Woe unto us as we see ourselves prudent and wise; our words and our thoughts cannot make us so!

Nahum 3:1 “Woe to the bloody city!  It is all full of lies and robbery; the prey departeth not”

Jonah 3:3 “So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD.  Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days’ journey.”

Jonah 3:5 “So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.”

Jonah 3:10 “And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.”

As we consider how to impact our Nineveh today, we must consider an important element of God’s perspective about ancient Nineveh – even the bloodiest of cities can turn to the Lord in repentance and revival!  Even a place characterized by lies and robberies can turn from their wicked ways and cling to the safety of eternal salvation!  Our powerful and loving God can change a community whose hearts are hardened and whose sins are wretched.  Even the worst among us can turn from their evil ways.  Jonah arose as God’s man to engage with this great city that was in desperate need of the Lord, and God’s work through him was transformative.

It is sometimes easy to flee from God’s calling to witness to a society that is overcome by the stench of sin.  Yet, we must heed God’s calling to impact Nineveh today.  Even our bloodiest of cities can turn to the Lord in repentance and revival. 

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO FLOCK TO GOD’S CALLING IN TODAY’S SOCIETY INSTEAD OF FLEEING FROM IT.  We need to arise as God’s people to engage with our great communities that are in desperate need of the Lord.  God’s work through us can be transformative!