Wading through life

Cocoa and Francis

Yours for free: Two great cattins: they’re not kittens any more, but not fully grown cats either. Cocoa (left) and Francis (right) need a home where someone can actually enjoy and love on them. I mostly just find myself feeding them and changing their litter… but not interacting with them very much. They deserve a better daddy

And when you have a wedding and honeymoon coming up, it’s understandable that I not want to pay a fee to have animals in my apartment… or by food and litter and the occasional treat, right? Kinda have more important things to devote my money to.

I got coaxed into “fostering” them until the original owners found a permanent home. But almost three months later, that hasn’t happened yet. So… time for me to put the feelers out there as well.

Any takers?

I didn’t watch today’s inauguration of President Obama, but I was praying for him and our nation during it. And I started going a direction I wasn’t expecting, so I thought I’d share my impression.

I felt God said: “Have faith in what I’m doing.” Okay. Well, that’s generic enough. Of course we should have faith in what God is doing. Though, it can be a little challenging to completely trust President Obama to make headway on things like abortion and the protection of the institution of marriage. But anyway, as I started praying some more, I found myself praying not so much that President Obama would walk out the tenants of the Lord, receive God’s wisdom, etc. I was praying that individual men and women across the country would rise up with new zeal and commitment to the purposes for which God created them. That we as individuals would occupy those personal “oval office” spheres of influence for which we were created to rule over and reign within. I feel like this new term is much more about the people of the United States of American than it is about the President of the United States of America.

During the campaigns, when things had clearly started shifting the direction of Obama, I remember thinking: I can see how God might want it to turn out this way (with Obama winning). Without going into whether it was God’s perfect will vs. God’s permissible will, or whether it wasn’t His will at all but is something He’ll leverage to bring about His will, I’ll share a bit of what I mean by “God might want it to turn out this way.”

In a lot of ways, if not most ways, the American church is asleep. Many individuals and local congregations are unaware of how dire the times truly are and are not accepting their God-mandated roles as agents of change and influence. (I include myself in this statement; I know I need to have my eyes opened up much more.) As much of a blessing it has been having a president in GW who stood for traditional family values and made progress in protecting the unborn, I feel like having a “Christian” president also gave many permission to become lax in their prayers for America, trusting that our Christian president would take care of protecting our values and ensuring the moral integrity of our country. I have no quantitative research, or even qualitative for that matter, to support this theory of mine. It’s just a sense I felt back when I was praying about the election.

All that being said, now that we are officially under the leadership of the candidate many Christians did not want to see take office, we no longer can continue in our slumber. It is time to wake up. Actually, it is way past wake-up time. We’re already late for workand we haven’t even showered yet. And that is why I said “God might want it to turn out this way” — because He’d rather see a prophetic, praying church of millions rise up and assume their identity in Christ rather than pinning their hopes on a single man or woman, even if he or she is the most powerful person on the planet.

Obviously, leadership is hugely important. I understand this and will be praying for President Obama and the rest of our leaders with huge respect for the weighty mantle of responsibility they have willfully pursued and accepted. But, individuals are hugely important as well. Probably more important, actually. The Power of One Christ-like Life, as Francis Frangipane refers to it, cannot be denied.

And so, in addition to prayers for President Obama, Vice President Biden, the cabinet and our elected officials, I’m going to be petitioning heaven to invade the hearts of men and women, adults and children, with a lovesickness for Jesus and a grace to rise up in new glory for such a time as this. Let us be the very change this country is looking for.

Even amidst perilous times, when things seems so uncertain, we can surely still be certain of much. Because all the promises of God are still “Yes” and “Amen” in Christ Jesus (2 Cor. 1:20). Maybe our economy has changed, but God and His Eternal Word have not.

In Luke 6:47-49, Jesus says:

Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like:  He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.

Jesus is saying we have a choice to make: We can hear His words and apply them to our lives, ensuring that when floods arise we remain unshaken, or we can hear His words and ignore them and ensure that our ruin is great. There are many, many that have seen great ruin these past several months as the markets have plummeted, jobs have been slashed and credit has dried up. One German billionaire committed suicide because his business ran into severe trouble.

Were are flooded by the media with so many reasons to worry, fear and be anxious — all of which Jesus exhorts us not to do because they are anti-faith (and when we do what he tells us not to, it’s sin). To combat the negative influence, we must all the more so look to Him Who Defines Reality. We must gorge ourselves on The Word and His presence.

As a starting point, check out this good word from Dennis Cramer and stand upon these truths as we venture further into these shaky times:

The word of the Lord for 2009 is “STILL.” That’s all – just the word “STILL.” However, as you will read, it’s a very, very powerful word. It is a “now” word that will empower you throughout 2009 and beyond!

I personally guarantee each and every one of these “predictions” for 2009! I predict that:

1. The Bible will STILL be the eternal Word of God – forever settled in Heaven!
2. Prayer will STILL always work!
3. The Father will STILL be sitting confidently on His indomitable throne!
4. Jesus will STILL be the Way, the Truth, and the Life – the only means by which you may access the Father!
5. The Holy Spirit will STILL be our Comforter – comforting you from the inside, out!
6. The Church will STILL be “the pillar and ground of the truth” manifesting the wisdom of God!
7. Healing (for spirit, soul, and body) will STILL be in His wings!
8. The Gospel will STILL be the answer – whatever the question!
9. His grace will STILL be all-sufficient and our strength, whatever the task!
10. The gifts of the Spirit will STILL change lives – instantly, radically, and permanently!
11. You will STILL be God’s most prized possession – His cherished son or daughter!
12. Heaven will STILL be wonderful, hell will STILL be horrible!
13. “By faith” will STILL be the only way for you to live.
14. You will STILL be “more than a conqueror in Christ” – victory is imminent!
15. Sowing will STILL result in reaping! So keep sowing!
16. God will STILL “always cause you to triumph in Christ!”
17. The love of God will STILL be in your heart – and nothing can separate you from it!
18. “All things will STILL work together for your good” – as you do His will!
19. You will STILL “be the head and not the tail” – blessed when you go out, blessed when you come in!
20. The devil will still, still, STILL, be a big-time loser!