God’s Issues

"If the poor and sick and widowed and disadvantaged aren't in our sight, they aren't really an issue" ["My Paparazzo Profile", Homiletics, (Sept/Oct 2009)]. That reality is the sad consequence of our virtual reality. We have so much visual input, 24 hours a day, we have little time to think about anything that isn't on our computer, TV, or mobile phone.

Yet, the poor, sick, widowed and disadvantaged are in God's sight – and they remain an issue with him.

"Their evil deeds have no limit; they do not plead the case of the fatherless to win it, they do not defend the rights of the poor. Should I not punish them for this?" declares the LORD. "Should I not avenge myself on such a nation as this?" (Jer 5:28-29)

Keep your head up and your eyes open to see the hurting people around you. Look long enough to allow compassion to be born in your heart. Follow through with genuine help. Make God's issues, your issues. That's Life at Work!

Take Your Stand

Take your stand!

The war is against the evil spiritual forces! The battleground all around you! The enemy's tactics are the devil's schemes! And they can be defeat when you are strong in the Lord and his mighty power!

Get your belt of truth. Straighten up your breastplate of righteousness. Fasten on your gospel sandals. Pick up your shield of faith, put on your helmet of salvation, and take hold of the sword of the Spirit. And stand your ground!

Wait! There's one more very important weapon. One more critical piece of armor!

Pray. Invite prayer. Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. And keep on praying for all the saints in the army of the Lord!

To take our stand against the devil's schemes, we need to be praying and having others pray for us. When the church prays great things happen!

What can we do to be a body that prays more? How can we pray so often that prayer becomes our native language? Can we become a family who trusts God so much that we approach him persistently when we are in our closets or with each other? Imagine group prayers in our foyer for the jobless. What if four or five were huddled together in the auditorium before the assembly praying for the sick? Envision leaders praying for the spiritually wounded with hundreds of us looking on, linked together in prayer!

"Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints" (Eph 6:10-18).

Amen! That's Life at Work!