Tag: repentence

Sometimes an old speech for the nation needs to be heard again:

This man was flown in to speak words to a nation of broken and bleeding hearts, Sept 14, 2001. In light of terror in a Florida High School, Feb. 14, 2018, and many other tragedies since that event in 2001—in honor of Billy Graham, in remembrance of his simple, yet courageous messages, I pray his words bring comfort and hope.
I am comforted, and am thankful for they words of the hymn he encouraged us with: Fear not, I am with thee; O be not dismayed, For I am thy God, and will give thee aid; I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand, Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.

After our nation was attacked with horrific terror, with many innocent lives lost, the choice was made to have Rev. Billy Graham speak on Sept. 14, 2001.
Allowance was made that a sole aircraft fly that day.

Today, I look back at the words Billy Graham had to say, in that, still today, hearts continue to be shattered with news of terror and loss. How do we continue? How do we find a way?

Billy Graham stood before the nation,
“We come together today to affirm our conviction that God cares for us, whatever our ethnic, religious or political background may be. The Bible says that He is ‘the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles.’
No matter how hard we try, words cannot express the horror, the shock and the revulsion we all feel over what took place in this nation on Tuesday  morning . . .
But today we come together in this service to confess our need of God. We’ve always needed God from the very beginning of this nation. But today we need Him especially. We’re involved in a new kind of warfare. And we need the help of the Spirit of God.

The Bible says, ‘God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and mountains fall into the heart of the sea.’
But how do we understand something like this? Why does God allow evil like this to take place? Perhaps that is what you are asking. You may even be angry at God. I want to assure you that God understands these feelings that you may have.

We’ve seen so much that brings tears to our eyes and makes us feel a sense of anger. But God can be trusted, even when life seems at its darkest.
What are the lessons we can learn?
First, we are reminded of the mystery and reality of evil. I have been asked hundreds of times why God allows tragedy and suffering. I have to confess that I do not know the answer.  I have to accept, by faith, that God is sovereign, and that He is a God of love and mercy and compassion in the midst of suffering.
The Bible says God is not the Author of evil. In 1 Thessalonians 2:7 the Bible talks about the mystery of iniquity. the Old Testament Prophet Jeremiah said, ‘The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.’

The lesson of this even is not only about the mystery of iniquity and evil, but second, it’s about our need for each other.
What an example New York and Washington have been to the world these past few days! None of us will forget the pictures of our courageous firefighters and police, or the hundreds of people standing patiently in line to donate blood . . .
Finally, difficult as it may be for us to see right now, this event can give a message of hope—hope for the present and hope for the future.
Yes, there is hope. There is hope for the present because the stage, I believe, has already been set for a new spirit in our nation.

We desperately need a spiritual renewal in this country, and God has told us in His Word, time and time that we need to repent of our sins and return to Him, and He will bless us in a new way.
There also is hope for the future because of God’s promises. As a Christian, I have hope, not just for this life, but for heaven and the life to come. And many of those people who died this past week are in heaven now. And they wouldn’t want to come back. It’s so glorious and so wonderful. That is the hope for all of us who put our faith in God. I pray that you will have this hope in your heart.

This event reminds us of the brevity and uncertainty of life. We never know when we too will be called into eternity. I doubt if those people who got on those planes or who walked into the world Trace Center or the Pentagon on Tuesday thought that it would be the last day of their lives. And that’s why we each must face our own spiritual need and commit ourselves to God and His will.

Here in this majestic National Cathedral we see all around us the symbol of the cross. For the Christian, the cross tells us that God understands our sin and our suffering, for He took them upon Himself in the Person of Jesus Christ. From the cross God declares, ‘I love you. I know the heartaches and the sorrows and the pain that you feel. But I love you.’

The story does not end with the cross, for Easter points us beyond the tragedy of the cross to the empty tomb. It tells us that there is hope for eternal life, for Christ conquered evil and death and hell. Yes, there is hope.
I’ve become an old man now, and I’ve preached all over the world. And the older I get, the more I cling to that hope that I started with many years ago.
Several years ago at the National Prayer Breakfast here in Washington, Ambassador Andrew Young closed his talk with a quotation from the old hymn, ‘How Firm a Foundation.’

This week we watched in horror as planes crashed into the steel and glass and the World Trade Center. Those majestic towers, built on solid foundations, were examples of prosperity and creativity. When damaged, those building plummeted to the ground, imploding in upon themselves. Yet, underneath the debris, is a foundation that was not destroyed. Therein lies the truth of that hymn, ‘How Firm a Foundation.’

Yes, our nation has been attacked, buildings destroyed, lives lost. But now we have a choice: whether to implode and disintegrate emotionally and spiritually as a people and a nation; or to choose to become stronger through all of this struggle, to rebuild a solid foundation.

And I believe that we are starting to rebuild on that foundation. That foundation is our trust in God. And in that faith, we have the strength to endure something as difficult and horrendous as what we have experienced this week. This has been a terrible week with many tears.

But it also has been a week of great faith. In that hymn, ‘How Firm a Foundation,’ the words say, ‘Fear not, I am with thee; O be not dismayed, For I am thy God, and will give thee aid; I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand, Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.’

My prayer today is that we will feel the loving arms of God wrapped around us and that as we trust in Him we will know in our hearts that He will never forsake us.
We know also that God will give wisdom and courage and strength to the President and those around him. And this will be a day that we will remember as a day of Victory.
May God bless you all.”

(2 Cor. 1:3-4, Ps. 46: 1-2, Jeremiah 17:9)
This man was flown in to speak words to a nation of broken and bleeding hearts, Sept 14, 2001. In light of terror in a Florida High School, Feb. 14, 2018, and many other tragedies since that event in 2001—in honor of Billy Graham, in remembrance of his simple, yet courageous messages, I pray his words bring comfort and hope.
I am comforted, and am thankful for they words of the hymn he encouraged us with: Fear not, I am with thee; O be not dismayed, For I am thy God, and will give thee aid; I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand, Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.
He’s got a hold on us. In Him, we must trust. Amen.

Yes, I make mention of the enemy of mankind. His days are numbered. We must keep that in mind . . .

We believer’s in God are instructed to “pray in Jesus’ name.” And we do to bind the work of the enemy  each and every day.

We pray for God who is greatest to bind this enemy—the deceiver, the lier, the father of lies, the hater, the stealer, the destroyer of mankind.

Lucifer by name, was cast out of heaven. This story is not made up in some fairy-tale book. It’s found in Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Chapter 12 in the Revelation’s Book. Ask, seek, and knock as you search . . .
and look.

He was cast out by God and sent to earth. He is on earth twisting words, bringing pain, destroying. In lives, deceptions . . .
he births.

He wants everyone to believe he doesn’t exist. His name can’t even be mentioned. He’s deceived the world that God is to blame for all of this!

But God so loved the word that He sent down His Son. Jesus told us in this world we would have tribulation. Satan is working to deceive the whole world, . . .
but Jesus came.

The very Word.
To lay down His life.
Whoever believes—receives . . . eternal life. He is Lord.

Heaven is the place we will call home.

We are simply passing through.

Created by God in this broken world to do one great thing—and that . . . to proclaim His name.

So, the deceiver, the hater of all of mankind has done his job to make sure the Book is closed. He paints his pictures throughout the earth with pointing fingers, brining guilt, or prideful poses.

But God is not anxious. God does not pace. From the Beginning in Genesis to the End in His Word, God’s Rescue Plan is proclaimed. Yes, Satan will bruise the heal of the Lord, . . .

But God has crushed the serpent’s head, and his numbered days have been told.
Warning, warning! The alarm must no longer be on snooze. ARISE, the Gospel message was sent. We need this Good News.

Everyone on this earth is loved by God. Get your eyes up, and your heart humbled, and soft. Stop pointing fingers. Let your focus be Him.

Read His word. Satan’s days are about to come to an end.

Satan is cast out of heaven. Sent down to earth to deceive. But God . . .

is on the throne.

His arms are opened wide. He gives wisdom, and healing, and power, to all who receive.

Receive. Him. Receive Truth.
Read God’s Word. It is time to stop weeping. It is time to . . . Believe:

“A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. 

She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. 

 Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. 

 Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born. 

 She gave birth to a son, a male child, who “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.”

 And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. 

 The woman fled into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.

 Then war broke out in heaven.

Michael and his angels fought against the dragon,

 and the dragon and his angels fought back. 

 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 

 The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:

“Now have come the salvation and the power
    and the kingdom of our God,

    and the authority of his Messiah.

For the accuser of our brothers and sisters,
    who accuses them before our God day and night,
    has been hurled down.

11 They triumphed over him
    by the blood of the Lamb

    and by the word of their testimony;

they did not love their lives so much
    as to shrink from death.

 Therefore rejoice, you heavens
    and you who dwell in them!

But woe to the earth and the sea,
    because the devil has gone down to you!

He is filled with fury,
    because he knows that his time is short.”

 When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 

 The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach. 

 Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. 

 But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 

 Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus,” Revelation 12:1-17.

 Where can we find the fall of Satan?

Isaiah 14:12-14. Ezekiel 28:14-18. Luke 10:18. Revelation 12:3-4. Revelation 12:9.

Read. Read God’s Word—that you might have ability to see and understand.

Pray without ceasing at this time, in our dark day.

The Light is coming. Our King is on His way.

a prayer for the morning

Today, Lord God, give me a teachable heart. Let my mind bend and not be fixed and stubborn.
Give me willingness, that I might listen.

Teach me honor. What it means to honor You, my Father in heaven. What is honor to mother and father and family, or those who most closely watch over me?

Your Book is not all honey, it brings light to my faults. May I make changes toward harmony. Search me and show me where to start.

Take the critical and bitterness out. Season the words from my mouth . . . with salt.
Teach me to put other’s interests and ideas above my own. Minute by minute, I can’t do this alone.

Make me to lie down, and discover Your pastures, they are sufficient for me. To Be still and know “true love.” Give me sight that I might “see”
that perhaps, I need to make things right.

To turn around in my ways and consider Your broken heart. Today. Today, let me walk in a new light.

Create in me a clean heart, O God.

Mold me into a vessel for Your glory and not mine. As well watered clay, transform me . . . by Your love.

Help me live this day, as if it were my last day in earthly time . . .

In Jesus name, Amen. Hear my morning prayer, again, and again.

Psalm 51: 1-15, to be read aloud, that we might hear with our ears, the sounds, and let God’s love abound:

Have mercy on me, O God,
    according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
    blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity
    and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I know my transgressions,
    and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
    and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
    and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
    sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
    you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
    wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
    let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins
    and blot out all my iniquity.

10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
    and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence
    or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
    and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
    so that sinners will turn back to you.
14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
    you who are God my Savior,
    and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
15 Open my lips, Lord,
    and my mouth will declare your praise.

Finally, joy has come to this world of mine …

Joy to the world! The Lord is come.
Let earth receive her King
Let every heart
Prepare Him room
And heaven and nature sing. O how the familiar words of Isaac Watts play over again in our minds, but it’s on a glorious moment –
when the dust of our own personal world, and the North wind has blown to make us cold, but we are tired of being broken and alone –
that we invite the King in. That we finally make room for Him.
And the angels in heaven sing. And our eyes suddenly see all of nature, with exotic colors, form and  beauty, form a symphony of song as we walk on our journeys.
Joy to the world, the Savior reigns
Let men their songs employ
While fields and floods
Rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy
Repeat the sounding joy
Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy
Finally, when our flesh, says, to the LORD, “Yes.” The words of the hymn come alive. And the word ‘joy’ has meaning for the very first time. Deliverance comes when the fight finally ends. When the Savior at last, has the reins of our soul, and a miracle I witness, as I feel my world – whole.
Joy has finally come into my world, because room as been made, that the Great Surgeon can cut away, the hardness of heart, the criticalness:
He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love;
And wonders of His love;
And wonders, …
the wonder of His love for me, who, for so long refused to see – His truth, His grace, … His beautiful life He gave.  Joy to my world has come, with each new day, with each new breath.
Will you join my joyful chorus as well, and of the King and His greatness tell? We would sing together a joyful song:  “Joy has come to this world of mine. I will sing of my King for all – of  – time.”