Episodes
Sunday Jul 04, 2021
Sunday Jul 04, 2021
God Says: “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I . . . will forgive their sin and heal their land."
MESSAGE SUMMARY: As we prepare to celebrate our nations independence today, Archbishop Beach confesses that: “I come this day with a heavy heart for our nation; for our people; for our children; for our grandchildren; and people of faith.”. Over the past months, we have seen an unprecedented removal of ethical, moral, and spiritual foundations. These foundations have allowed this country, in the past, to be blessed by God; to be civil; to be protected; and to be successful. John Adams, signor of the Declarations of Independence and second President of the US said: “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It {the US Constitution} is wholly inadequate to the government of any other {people}.”.
St. Paul referenced this “moral and religious” point of John Adams, succinctly, in 1 Corinthians 9:21: “to those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law.”. St. Paul referred, again, to the “Law of Christ” in Galatians 6:2,9-10a: “Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ . . . And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone.”. Clearly, St. Paul’s “Law of Christ” was referencing Jesus’ admonition to us in John 15:12: “This is my commandment is that you love one another as I have loved you.”. “Doing good”, “love one another”, “Law of Christ” were the “moral and religious” concepts that John Adams, when he referred to the Constitution being made “only for moral and religious people”, believed that, in their absence, the Constitution would fail. Is America there yet?
In the times of Jeremiah, the nations of Israel and Judah were having their problems. The people were neglecting God; abandoning God’s commandments; and doing things God considered abominable – in summary, Jeremiah’s people had no fear of God. Given this situation, God says, in Jeremiah 5:29, “’Shall I not punish them for these things?’ declares the LORD, ‘and shall I not avenge myself on a nation such as this?’”. Given these situations in Scripture as a comparative context, we are now, like in the times of Jeremiah, pushing God’s patience. Therefore, we cannot expect for things to continue to go well. God’s laws are meant for blessing and protecting us, and our actions now are mocking God. Again, we can refer to St. Paul and Galatians 6 when St. Paul instructs us, in Galatians 6:7, that God cannot be mocked: “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.”.
Great Britain declared that February 21, 1781 would be a day of prayer and fasting. On this day, the Anglican pastor John Newton, who wrote Amazing Grace, preached a sermon on Jeremiah 5:29. Several comments from Newton’s sermon enlighten us on God and the affairs of nations.
Since we have had a public covenant with God through Jesus’ Great Commandment, do you thank that God will not take notice of our public divorce from Him through our actions and the turning of our backs on Him?
God tells us, in 2 Chronicles 7:14, that “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.". Following God’s command for prayer when a nation has gone away from his blessings, Paul’s instructions to Timothy, in 1 Timothy 2:1-6, are valid for everybody today as we now live in what some, who are not Jesus Followers, are referring to these times in our country as a “post-Christian culture”: 1) we should remain diligent in our prayers, and our prayers should concern and consider everyone, including all those in authority (e.g., presidents, cabinet members, legislators, governors, mayors, judges); 2) our hearts should be concerned for everyone’s Salvation; and 3) our message (i.e. there is one mediator between God and mankind – Jesus the Christ) should concern everyone.
Nations come and go; civilizations come and go; and institutions come and go; but God and His Word abide forever. Therefore, we all should throw ourselves on the mercy of God because it is only by God’s mercy that His hand will be stayed. Remember, God’s justice is getting what we deserve, but God’s mercy is not getting what we deserve.
Are we praying? Are our churches houses of prayer, are we repenting for ourselves and our nation; and are we praying for a spiritual awakening in our nation and in the world, which will turn this nation and world back to God, before there is no more mercy?
As in Isaiah 6:8, “And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ Then I said, ‘Here I am! Send me.’” – YOU CAN do something in the name of Jesus the Christ as He calls and leads you; and if not you then who?
TODAY’S PRAYER: Lord, everything in me resists following you into the garden of Gethsemane to fall on my face to the ground before you. Grant me the courage to follow you all the way to the cross, whatever that might mean for my life. And then, by your grace, lead me to resurrection life and power. In Jesus’ name, amen. Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 100). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT. If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! (Luke 11:13).
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Jeremiah 5:11-31; Galatians 6:1-18; Matthew 11:21-24; Romans 1:18-32; 1 Timothy 2:1-6; 2 Chronicles 7:14; Isaiah 6:8; 1 Corinthians 9:21.
A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org.
WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S DAILY DEVOTIONAL – “Jesus Followers Have a Personal Relationship with the Creator of the Universe So Pray, Listen, and Be Patient for God’s Call”: https://awordfromthelord.org/devotional/
DONATE TO AWFTL:https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB
Sunday Jun 27, 2021
Sunday Jun 27, 2021
Today’s World Is Fertile Ground for a Spiritual Awakening that Calls Jesus Followers to Obey and be “Strong and Courageous” – God Is with Us and In Us
MESSAGE SUMMARY: We have been equipped, as God told Jeremiah in Jeremiah 29:11-12, for God’s purposes in our lives: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.". In Joshua 1:9, God commands us to be strong and courageous because He is with us. Also, God gave Joshua truths that would confirm God’s support in His command of Joshua: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”.
Often the Lord has called or commanded us to do something in His service, but tough decisions for us arise for us when we are not fully committed to obey God; and we fall into disobedience. When we obey God’s commands, He steps into lives with support for us to achieve His command. Also, God instructed Joshua, in Joshua 1:6, to be “strong and courageous”: “Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.". We must be “strong and courageous” to do the will of God when we are called. Additionally, God commanded Joshua to be committed to the Word of God.
Courage is acting and speaking even though you are afraid. If you follow God’s call and seek His will to live and act in His Word, there is no reason to be overcome by fear because “your God is with you wherever you go”. After God’s grace through Jesus, God is in us through His gift to us of the Holy Spirit. You get strong by exercising the “muscles” of your faith and commitment to God’s will and His word – often pushing your “commitment to God” beyond levels you thought possible. Spiritual strength comes from having God with you and in you.
TODAY’S PRAYER: Lord, grant me wisdom and prudence to see the larger picture, to wait, and to discern the seasons in my life with you. Forgive me for fighting the “deaths” you send into my life in order to plant something new. In Jesus’ name, amen. Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 107). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM FORGIVEN. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9).
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Jeremiah 29:11-12; Joshua 1:9; Joshua 1:6; Joshua 1:7; James 1:22; Hebrews 10:23; Joshua 1:8: 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Matthew 28:16-20. Ephesians 6:10-12.
A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org.
WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S DAILY DEVOTIONAL – “To Be a Jesus Follower, You Must First Enter the Only Door to God’s Kingdom and that Door is Jesus – the Door to Eternal Life”: https://awordfromthelord.org/devotional/
DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB