Author: Deo Padgett

In Ray Ortland’s commentary on the Book of Isaiah, He shared a portion from C.S. Lewis’ book, The Silver Chair, to illustrate a point the prophet Isaiah was making to the nation of Judah.

I am going to use the material that Ortland used and apply it to the meeting that Jesus had with the woman at the well recorded in John 4.

First, I want to expand and paraphrase Ortland’s entry and incorporate quotes from both Ortland (O) and Lewis (L).

Picture a young girl, named Jill, coming into a clearing in a forest. In this clearing, there is clear, stream of water flowing with a ‘refreshing current’ (O). Jill sees the stream and wants to desperately get a drink of water. Jill is thirsty. She starts to rush forward and quench her thirst; but her progress is brought to an abrupt halt, …”she freezes in fear because a lion is resting in the sun right beside the stream.” (L)

Those familiar with Lewis’ series, The Chronicles of Narnia , know that the Lion’s name is Aslan and he represents Jesus Christ, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.

The Lion engages Jill with a question. “Are you thirsty?” Jill replies, “I’m dying of thirst.” To emphasize the point, she repeats her words. “I’m dying of thirst.” ( L)

The Lion calmly replies, “then drink.” (L)

Jill wants too; but her fear immobilizes her. She hesitantly asks the Lion to leave. The Lion doesn’t budge.

“The Lion answered this only by a look and a very low growl.” (L)

She engages the Lion again and says, “will you promise not to – do anything to me, if I do come? (L)

The Lion answers resolutely, ” I make no promise.” (L)

Jill, then asks the Lion, “do you eat little girls ?” (L)

The Lion responds, “I have swallowed up girls and boys, women and men, kings and emperors, cities and realms.” (L)

Lewis interjects, the Lion “didn’t say this as if he were boasting, nor as if it were sorry, nor as if it were angry. It just said it.”

The Lion’s answer frightened Jill.

Jill responds, “I daren’t come and drink.” (L)

“Then you will die of thirst”, said the Lion. (L)

“Oh, dear!”, said Jill, coming another step closer. I suppose I must go and look for another stream then.” (L)

“THERE IS NO OTHER STREAM,” said the Lion (emphasis mine) (L)

We live in a world that is dying of thirst. Humanity seeks to quench its thirst from the many different streams that exist in this world. As the Lion said to Jill, there is only ONE (emphasis mine) stream that will quench her thirst.

Please read John 4:1-26.

Today (October 26,2019), I read that Kamala Harris made the statement “President Trump is a lawless President”. She continued, “Not only does he circumvent the laws of our country and the principles of our Constitution, but there is nothing in his career that is about justice, or in celebration of justice.” She was critical of President Trump receiving a “reward Friday for his work on criminal justice reform with the First Step Act, which allowed thousands of nonviolent offenders to gain early release from federal prison.”

I choose not to pursue the political right or wrong of her assessment. However, what perked my attention was the word that she used to characterize him. The word that she chose was ‘lawless’. That is a very strong word. Her choice to use this word activated my thinking to reflect on just how much ‘lawlessness’ there is in politics. Politically, acts of lawlessness, both in word and deed, are found in both political parties.

The definition of the word lawless says, “not regulated by or based on law”; “not restrained or controlled by law”; “unruly”; “illegal”.

It seems to me that much of what is done in our political system seeks to circumvent the law, ignore the Constitution, or pursue one’s own personal agenda. Therefore, any such action, that is not in keeping with a political party’s philosophical agenda is characterized as an act of lawlessness.

Is that rational? Is it tolerant? What kind of political atmosphere is set by such thinking?

I find it also interesting how selective individuals are with their word choices to imply the characteristic of ‘lawlessness’ regarding other people’s words and actions. They might not use the word ‘lawless’; but they certainly suggest it by their rhetoric.

However, ‘lawlessness’ implies recognizable moral standards, absolutes, and/or accepted guidelines for conduct. To imply one is lawless means that the person making an accusation of ‘lawlessness’ recognizes the conduct of another individual being in violation of, or is not measuring up to, an agreed upon standard.

The irony, that I perceive, is that one’s conduct or behavior that has been labeled as’ lawless’ may be, in reality, in keeping with an accepted standard; but has been judged as ‘lawless’ because the person making the claim of ‘lawlessness’ has no moral standard of their own. They have ignored the accepted standard, or they have misinterpreted the accepted standard to benefit themselves so that when comparing their personal interpretation to another’s ethical behavior, they view the other individual as ‘lawless’ to their own way of thinking.

Do you realize that Christianity is a ‘lawless’ lifestyle in the eyes of the world when it is compared to the standards of the world?

Christ is Christianity’s standard. We are being conformed to the image of Christ. Apart from Christ, we are a ‘lawless’ people.

The Church living like the world is ‘lawless’ when compared to the standard of Jesus Christ, who is God’s Word.

None of us are exempt from ‘lawlessness’. I John 3:4 says, “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.”

Because of Adam’s original sin, all mankind has a sin nature; and the fruit of our sin nature is to commit sin, which is ‘lawlessness’. Romans 3:23, says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”.

The notes in my New Spirit Filled Life Study Bible says regarding I John 3:4, “Sin is the spirit of rebellion against God’s law.

That was Adam’s choice when he chose to disobey the commandment given to him by God. His disobedience was rebellion against God’s Word. God had given to him a standard. God spoke it to Adam. Adam disobeyed the standard; therefore he was ‘lawless’ in God’s eyes (sin is lawlessness).

I will say it again,’ lawlessness’ implies there is a standard to obey.

The standard is Jesus Christ who is the Word of God.

Our disobedience is against God’s Word. We disobey because our sin nature can only choose to disobey. We are incapable of obeying God’s commands.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ, however, is good news.

G.R.A.C.E. says, God’s Redemptive Activity Changes Everything.

For He (God the Father) made Him (Jesus the Son) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (emphasis mine) 2 Corinthians 5:21

The incarnate Son of God (Jesus) is the Lamb of God (John 1:29) who takes away the sin of the world. It is because of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection that we can be born again (John 3:3-21) and receive new life in Christ. Christ’s shed His blood for the forgiveness of our sins, His death broke the power of death that governed our lives, and His resurrection assures us of our heavenly hope of living eternally in the presence of God.

Jesus committed no ‘lawlessness’. He lived a perfect life of obedience as the Son of Man. Acts 4:12 tells us, “Nor is there salvation in any other for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” – [And that name is JESUS. (emphasis mine)]

Romans 5: 12-21, compares the first Adam to the Second Adam, Jesus Christ. Romans 5; 17, says, “For if by the one man’s (Adam) offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.”

The issue of the universe is obedience. Unregenerate mankind is ‘lawless’. By the grace of God, a man can accept the Lord Jesus Christ, and be freed from the bondage of ‘lawlessness’. A regenerate man/woman is a new creature in Christ Jesus. The Lord Jesus Christ lives in that person by the Spirit of the Living God. That person is redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, and a citizen of the Kingdom of God. Christ is the King of the Kingdom, now. Our life is governed by the Word of God and guided by the Spirit of God.

I made the statement earlier, that the Church is ‘lawless’ in the eyes of the world when compared to the standards of the world. Let me say, too, that Jesus, because He lived to obey and please His Father, was a ‘lawless’ person in the eyes of the Jewish religious leaders [read that statement carefully again]. He did not abide by their standards of religion. The Jewish religious leaders believed that they set the standards regarding the keeping of the law. Therefore, Jesus was ‘lawless’ in their eyes because He did not live according to their interpretation of the law and their traditions. But He did come to fulfill the law; and He fulfilled the Law perfectly. In short, that infuriated them because He didn’t do it their way.

Let me remind you, if you are going to be a follower of Jesus Christ, and walk uprightly before Him, and seek to obey His Word, then you will be a ‘lawless’ person in the sight of the world. Your obedience to the Lord is in direct conflict with the’ lawlessness’ of the world. That will get you into trouble. Jesus said. in John 16:33, “These things I have spoken to you, that you may have peace (what things? John 13,14,15,16). In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (Amen)

Why the conflict? The world is made up of unregenerate sinners; we are born sinners; we are unregenerate; however, in Christ, we are saved by grace (Ephesians 2:8-10). Romans 12: 1,2 exhorts us, “I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service, And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

Do you see that as you put off conformity to this world and put on Christ your personal standards change. You are conformed to the person of Jesus Christ according to the Word of God. Therefore, I submit, your lifestyle, conduct, behavior and thinking that is ‘lawless’ in the eyes of the world by contrast is ‘obedience’ to your Heavenly Father because you are in Christ.

As Paul explained in 2 Corinthians 6:11-7:1, “O Corinthians! We have spoken openly to you, our heart is wide open. You are not restricted by us, you are restricted by your own affections. Now in return for the same (I speak as to children), you also be open . Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said, I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God and they shall be My people. Therefore, “Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the Lord Almighty.”

Remember the world is ‘lawless’ to God’s standard. Unregenerate mankind can only be ‘lawless’ before God. It is impossible for them to be obedient to God (See Romans 8:1-11). That is why God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever would believe in Him would not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

Question: How much of the world’s standard is found in the church today? I will put forth another question. How far removed from God’s standard of the Word has the church digressed? Or maybe, it would be better to ask, how much of the world’s standard do I struggle with in my own personal lifestyle?

I would like to close reflecting on Jesus’ words to His disciples found in Matthew 24.

Jesus said in Matthew 24 three things that stand out to me; and these three things I believe are extremely important in the hour in which we live and relative to what I have been sharing. The first is His response to the disciples question about when the end time events will occur. The first thing He said was, (vs.4), “Take heed that no one deceives you.” The second is found in verse 12, “And because lawlessness will abound, the love (agape) of many will grow cold.” And the third is found in verses 13,14, “But he who endures to end shall be saved, and this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations and then the end will come.”

Three important words, ‘deception’; ‘lawlessness’; ‘endures’.

The importance of understanding these three words impact the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom. That is what Jesus said.

Think about it, in the midst of increasing deception and lawlessness, we are told to endure. Endure to do what? Preach the gospel; how? by how we live our lives.

This is the task of the true Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

What standards do you live by? Are you a ‘lawless’ person in the sight of the world? Sending out His disciples to minister, Jesus pointed this out in Matthew 10:22, “And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.” By the grace of God, we shall endure and overcome.

May our love (agape) for one another, and shown to the world, not grow cold as ‘lawlessness’ abounds. (Matthew 24:12)

a brother in Christ, deo

There is an active agenda that has been unleashed on the general public of this nation. At Dictionary.com, POP CULTURE is defined as “cultural activities or commercial products reflecting or suited to, or aimed at the general public.” That agenda is personally bashing another person. This seems to be the norm when one disagrees with another person. With that said, I would like to suggest that many in our nation are participating in a POP CULTURE that is engaged in bashing one person in particular. They are bent on Pressuring Our President.
This has almost become a national pastime. I find it ironic that the origin of this ‘POP CULTURE’ phenomena is Washington D.C., home to the Washington Nationals baseball team who won our nation’s national pastime championship.
So, what is the point that I am thinking about? Our nation is reveling in a P.O.P. culture (Pressuring Our President) that seeks to undermine him as a person, and consequently as the President of the United States. How? Let me made this P.O.I.N.T. They are doing this by the Pursuit Of Impeachment Nullifying Trump’s Presidency. This has become the national pastime of many politicians in our nation’s capitol. This is the game that they are playing.

Turning our attention away from this national pastime in Washington, I ask, what can I do as an individual? Or better yet, what should the Church be doing? How about if we make our own P.O.I.N.T.? Can I, can the Church make a counter-cultural point? Yes, How? pray. The P.O.I.N.T. of our prayers is to offer, Prayers Of Intercession Negating Turmoil. Remember, we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, powers, and rulers of darkness in heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12) We are in a battle of words.
We need to empower our own P.O.P culture, the Power Of Prayer. The Church is called to intercede for its leaders.( I Timothy 2:1-3) Prayer does change things. The Church needs to make its voice heard. The Church needs to make its petition to Our Lord Jesus Christ, The King of Kings, and The Lord of Lords. Let us beseech the Lord to make His will known and done on earth as it is in heaven.

Hebrews 4:16, instructs us and encourages us saying, “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and grace to help in time of need.” (NKJV)
be blessed, a brother in Christ, deo

My premise is that this nation is a POW. By that I mean that we are Prisoners of Words. Just this past night (November 15, 2019) I reacted to an article that I was reading that I definitely opposed and found my self concerned over what I was reading strongly taking the opposite view. The next day, it occurred to me that I had fallen into the mental trap that I had been talking about in my posts. Duh! I had not separated myself from the verbal political assessment that was being espoused and assessing what I was reading in a rational manner. I had overreacted. I needed to back off, quiet myself, and pray.

As I have mentioned repeatedly, this nation is bombarded daily with words seeking to persuade us through constant repetition to conform us to a certain way of thinking that they purport to be the truth.

Have these words made us ‘whiners’ or ‘warriors’?

Do we have a voice? How do we respond? Do we even have a response?

I remind us again of 1 Timothy 2:1. This is a Biblical imperative. We are instructed to pray for our leaders so “that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.”

This nation is not at peace, nor quiet, godly or dignified. this nation is in constant turmoil because of the clamorous words spewed forth, for and against, everything and everybody.

This is no surprise. 2 Timothy 3:1-5 (ESV) says, “But know this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, unappeasable, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power, avoid such people.” All those words speak volumes about our national condition and they only scratch the surface of our problems.

Why? We are at WAR. What kind of war? A verbal war.

I want to focus our attention on this significant battle that we are engaged in and one that many in our nation are not even aware of that is being waged. We are in a titanic spiritual battle.

The Apostle Paul (Ephesians 6:10-12 ESV) writes, “Finally be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of god, that you may be able to stand against schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against rulers, against authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”

Using an acronym for the word, W.A.R., we are Wrestling Against Rulers.

The Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (ESV) “though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and bring every thought captive to obey Christ…”

How do we accomplish this? With words, not whiney words, but with the words of a warrior.

What are the words of a warrior? Words of Prayer.

{In the remainder of the post, comments in [ ] are my inserts}

The September edition of the Decision Magazine (September 2019, BGEA) is about prayer [how timely]. If you can obtain a copy, I recommend that you read it. There are three articles in this edition from which I would like to quote to help us understand the importance of prayer at this time for our nation. They are:

1. Franklin Graham, The Mighty Weapon of Prayer

2. Erwin W. Lutzer, Praying in a Pagan Land

3. John Piper, Life is War-Why So Many Christians do Not Pray As They Ought

I would like to begin quoting Lutzer. “Let us not be intimidated by a culture that wants to prohibit our obedience to God and worshipping Him.” “Let us not back off when laws are made that compel us to compromise our conscience or SILENCE [emphasis mine] our witness.” Lutzer writes in the headline of his article, Praying in a Pagan Land, “behind enemy lines, our mightiest weapon is wielded from a position of fervent prayer.”

The emphasis of Lutzer’s article is, “This is not a time for us to pray prayers of blessing without prayers of deep repentance. We have to call on God on behalf of His church, and yes, our nation and God’s witness in the world.”

Lutzer directs our attention to Daniel in the Old Testament (Daniel 10:1-21). Lutzer writes, “Daniel learned that earnest prayer also attracts the opposition of the spirit world. For weeks, he mourned, fasted and prayed without visible results.” [then Daniel received a visible result he wasn’t expecting] “…then in a terrifying vision, he heard a voice that assured him that his prayer had been heard as soon as it had been uttered [how many of us believe that about our prayers?], but the answer was delayed because “the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood the messenger until the angel Michael came to rescue him (Daniel 10:13).”

‘Words of Prayer’ bring spiritual opposition, Count on that! Let us not try to analyze why there was the delay, but let us concentrate on the fact that Daniel persevered in prayer. That is what is of foremost importance. What we learn from this episode in Daniel’s life is that he was in a spiritual battle for his nation. Daniel was a warrior with his words and his battle was real, difficult, and exhausting. That is what warrior/soldiers face in battle. This is what we will face going to prayer for our nation. And remember, Daniel’s battle was not against flesh and blood but against principalities, powers, and rulers of darkness in heavenly places.

John Piper writes, “The No. 1 reason why prayer malfunctions in the hands of believers is that they try to turn a wartime walkie-talkie into a domestic intercom.” He continues, “until you believe that life is war, you cannot know what prayer is for. Prayer is for the accomplishment of a wartime mission…we have so domesticated prayer that is no longer in many of our lives and churches, what is was created to be-a wartime walkie-talkie for the accomplishment of mission commands.”

Piper asks the question, “What have millions of Christians done? They have stopped believing that we are in a war. No urgency, not watching, no vigilance, no strategic planning. Just easy peace time prosperity.” [this sounds like what I am told many believers hear across our nation every week from the pulpit].

In his article, The Mighty Weapon of Prayer, Franklin Graham related that this past summer [ 2019], he “called on believers across our country to unite in prayer for President Donald Trump.” He shares that “It wasn’t really a remarkable request. The Bible specifically commands-not suggests-us to pray for our leaders.” (1 Timothy 2:1-3). Graham continues, “Prayer is most definitely a weapon-a mighty weapon wielded by believers in Jesus Christ against our most powerful adversary, the Devil.”

Such statements found in these three articles do not sound like words for whiners but words for warriors. Words for believers who are willing to go into spiritual battle for our nation. Read Daniel’s prayer in Daniel 9 petitioning the Lord for His people. Two years latter, Daniel found himself engulfed in a spiritual battle for nation recorded in Daniel 10. I believe the Lord is looking for people who will ‘stand in the gap’ and pray for this nation.

Let’s connect the dots:

1. Lutzer: Praying in a Pagan Land, our mightiest weapon is fervent prayer.

2. Piper: Life is War, until you believe that Life is War, you cannot know what prayer is for.

3. Graham: Prayer is most definitely a weapon-a mighty weapon wielded by believers.

I ask you [me included] to examine our prayer life. Are you a whiner or a warrior?

Are you, am I, willing to be serious with the Lord, regarding prayer at this hour in our nation?

The Body of Christ needs to Awaken to Pray.

a brother in Christ, deo

There is something stirring in me that needs to be said before I bring to conclusion my topic- A Nation of POW’s. Matthew 24:37 (ESV), “But as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” What was it like in the days of Noah? What did God see? Genesis 6:5 (ESV), “The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil [my emphasis] continually.” Can that be an accurate description of what we are witnessing in our nation today? Almost daily, an act of evil makes headline news locally, nationally, or internationally. Atrocities have always been a part of the history of mankind; however, in our day, we are seeing and witnessing repeatedly atrocious incidents of murder, terrorism, and brutalities throughout the world. Let us stop dodging the source of the problem. The issue is the heart of man. Jesus said that prior to his return conditions will be like the days of Noah when God saw “…that every intention of the thoughts [of man] of his heart was only evil continually. What can we expect? This will continue until the return of the Lord. I guess that means we must just bury our heads in the sand, suck it up, and whine, right? WRONG! What is the elephant in the room that no one [most people] do not want to admit is there? The elephant in the room is SIN. As an evangelist would say, that is the bad news, but the good news is the preaching of the GOSPEL. God’s intent of the gospel is summarized in John 3:16,17. John 3:16,17 (ESV) “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” The glorious gospel of grace is true, and it needs to be preached; but the church needs to be awakened to a need in the hour in which we live, NOW. I encourage you to read Ephesians 5:1-21. The admonition is clear. Ephesians 5;8 (ESV), “…for at one time you were darkness, but now, you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light”…(vs.11,12) “take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things they do in secret. “ (vs 14) “,Therefore it says, “Awake O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.[give you light, NKJV]” Get up church and live as the church; you are on resurrection ground in Christ; you are on the other side of the cross, Continuing with Ephesians 5:15 (ESV), “ Look carefully[intentionally, purposively, accurately], not as unwise but as wise…” Look for what? Why? Ephesians 5:16 (ESV), “…making the best use of the time[redeeming the time, NKJV], because the days are evil.”

Let me regroup. The days are evil. The thoughts and intents of man’s heart are only evil. Jesus said that this is what it was going to be like prior to His personal return. We are witnessing the manifestation of the intents of the evil intentions in man’s heart. These are evil the acts we are witnessing being committed in our nation and throughout the world. Added to this is the daily bombardment of words that are being spewed forth from evil hearts. Jesus said in Matthew 15:18,19 (ESV), “But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart and this defiles the person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.” We have identified the source of our evil. It is an evil heart. It is a sinful heart. This is our elephant in the room [in each one of us]. An evil heart, that is the condition of all mankind. That is why God sent His Son into the world. 2 Corinthians 5:21 (ESV), “For our sake he[God] made him[Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him[Jesus] we might become the righteous of God.” This is the GRACE of God-God’s Redemptive Activity Changed Everything.

As we get closer to the return of Christ, believers find themselves grappling with a serious spiritual battle that is being perpetrated by the evil spiritual forces of darkness. Until Christ returns, the two kingdoms: the kingdom of darkness, and the kingdom of light[Kingdom of God] will each be maturing and at war against one another. This war will continue to escalate. Do you understand that? Do you believe that? This is what needs to awaken in the Body of Christ. We are at WAR. This is the mindset that Paul sets forth in Ephesians 6. This is the conflict that Jesus presented to His disciples and taught during His earthly ministry. We need to grasp this and understand its implications in our lives and the life of the church. Please do think that I personally understand all the implications of what this means for individual believers and the universal church. I do not. Like you, I need to go before the Lord, seek His face, and ask Him to prepare me for the battle that we are facing, and will continue to face until He returns; in the conjunction with this, I believe that the Lord is asking us to come before Him and pray for this nation. Our prayers can be a restraining force against the onslaught of destructive words that are incarcerating God’s people making them POWs-Prisoners of Words. This said, now I can return to concluding my posts.

I Timothy 2:1-4 (ESV) reads, “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and for all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good and it is pleasing in the sight of God, our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

What can be more appropriate than to do what God’s Word instructs us to do?

At this time, I would like for you think back to my previous two blogs and reflect upon my premise stating that this nation is a ‘prisoner of words’. I also shared about my own experience about bad-mouthing the President and those in high positions. I, too, found myself incarcerated as a ‘prisoner of words’.

Many of you are probably thinking that I am discussing a personal experience that centers in our current presidency and administration. Actually, what I am sharing happened to me during the Clinton presidency.

As I was living through the Clinton presidency, I was confronted with the reality that I was not a righteous man praying for this nation and its leadership. I was an unrighteous man praying like a Pharisee.

How so? How can one come before the Lord requesting prayer for his country and its leadership when his heart and mind are constantly criticizing the President and other leaders in our nation?

I was bad-mouthing the President and the Administration; and it was wrong. In fact, it was sin. The words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart was NOT right in the sight of the Lord.

I was behaving like the Pharisee that Jesus talked about in a parable in Luke 18:11 (ESV), “The Pharisee, standing by himself prayed thus. God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers or even this tax collector.”

The Pharisee was BRASH. (self-assertive, cocksure, full of oneself, self-confident, arrogant, thrusting, bold, audacious, brazen, impudent, insolent, impertinent, rude, pushy–all these words appeared when I googled, brash.

Here I was, seeking to pray, and the Lord confronted me about ‘the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart’. It is always easier to see the speck in the other person’s eye and not see the log in your own eye. Jesus taught that in Matthew 7:1-4. So, the Lord dealt with me about the log in my eye. or should I say the log in my mouth.

Now what? Continuing the parable found in Luke 18, the other person standing apart from the Pharisee said, “God be merciful to me a sinner.” Jesus said, “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

I needed to recognize the truth; repent of my sin; receive the Lord’s forgiveness; reform my choices; renew my mind; and return to the Lord.

For me, this meant that I needed to refocus my attention on the Lord; turn off the other voices; concentrate on His words; and not give ascent to the other words that were producing anxiety, confusion and unrest. The issue was not about the President and the nation; the issue was me.

I needed to sit down; shut up, and ‘be still and know’ that He was God.

The Lord used His word to unlock the door of the cell imprisoning me, delivering me from my mental incarceration. Jesus said, John 8:31-32 (ESV), “…if you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

It was only when I shut out the other ‘words’ that were captivating my heart and attention and refocusing on the scriptures that I could begin to pray as the word instructs us to pray. It was then that my body, soul, and spirit began to return to rest. God’s Word unshackled me from my incarceration, and I found that my attitude changed I was. not anxious, nor was I uptight, nor, not at rest. This does not mean that all is perfect. I need to discipline myself concerning what I listen too, how much I listen to it, and extremely careful in how I process it.

However, it does mean that I am freer to pray and not be encumbered by ‘words’ that have previously incarcerated my thinking.

Let me share with you an acronym for the word focus:

Focus On Christ Using Scripture

I would also like to share two short portions of scripture that have become real to me in my walk with the Lord and the Holy Spirit’s help.

Philippians 4:5b-6a, (ESV) “The Lord is at hand; be anxious for nothing…”

Isaiah 26:3, (ESV), “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”

I am so thankful that Lord dealt with me regarding this issue in my life during the Clinton presidency. It has allowed me to live through subsequent presidencies with a quieter mind, a peaceful spirit, and a relaxed body; thereby allowing me the ability to pray for our leaders and our nation in a more meaningful way.

Praying for our nation has nothing to do with being Republican or Democrat. It has everything to do with being a responsible citizen of the Kingdom of God. The Lord is on the throne.

To Be Continued

This is a continuation of my previous thoughts about our nation being POW’s-Prisoners of Words.

Because of the tumultuous atmosphere that has been created in our nation by words that are divisive, we live in an environment of unrest.

A short while ago, I posted on Facebook the thought that I believe that the Body of Christ does not fully realize that it MUST intercede at this time for this nation. If you are a true believer in Jesus Christ, then you should understand the necessity of prayerfully interceding for this nation and its leadership.

However, I fear, that many believers are POW’s in this nation. They are prisoners of words. They have been incarcerated mentally making it difficult, if not impossible, for them, and/or the Body of Christ to focus on meaningful intercessory prayer because they are mentally distracted by the words that they are repeatedly exposed too, especially the excessive political rhetoric.

How is an individual freed from this mental incarceration? The simple answer is to focus on Christ; but the rehabilitation can be difficult. I know from personal experience. I have been deeply involved in listening to the daily diatribe against our administration and our government avidly participating in voicing verbal criticisms. To be blunt, I have ‘bad-mouthed’ the President and our elected officials criticizing their conduct and behavior. Over a period of time, I discovered that what I was doing was affecting me negatively, and I was becoming a POW (Prisoner of Words). I listened to the talk show hosts, watched the news, and sporadically read the print media.

I really believed that I had a rational grip on what I was absorbing and understood the truth and error of the issues. Little did I realize the imprisoning effect that it was having on me.

Graciously, the Lord confronted me with my sin of speaking against those in authority over me. Having been forgiven, He freed me from my mental state of incarceration. The first thing that I had to do was to ‘turn off’ the numerous voices that I was listening too, and listen to one voice, His.

Listening to multiple voices brought me into confusion. Confusion was what the Lord allowed to awaken me to the fact that something was wrong. God is not the author of confusion. I despaired over knowing who was telling the truth. I was constantly agitated mentally and on edge listening to the daily rhetoric, rationalizing the spin I was hearing and putting my own spin on things. I found myself in pursuit of only listening to ‘words’ that conformed to my personal biases and listening solely to oppositional words to gain verbal ammunition to fortify my mental resolve.

This all came to a head while trying to prepare a teaching sermon for the home church that was being held in our home. The thrust of the teaching was to confess the error of my way. In doing do so, I was free to pray for this nation’s leadership in the right spirit.

To Be Continued

I am adding to my blog several articles that I typed directly into Facebook when the website was incapacitated. These articles can be found on Facebook in my timeline. These articles were originally posted in the summer of 2019.

As a teacher, there were times when I wanted to tell a student to sit down, shut up and be a student. Recently there have been several occasions when I have wanted to say the exact same thing to a person who was piously pontificating their personal rhetoric on television or the radio assuming that their audience was hanging breathlessly onto their every word with great expectation. ( I am sure that there have been many who have probably wished to say the same thing to my face when I have been waxing eloquently.)

So what is really on my mind?

We are a nation of POW’s. What do I mean?

We are ‘Prisoners of Words’.

Today (summer of 2019), I heard an advertisement to attend a conference entitled, ‘The War For the Soul of America’. I must admit that I believe that this accurately states what were are facing as a nation.

This nation is bombarded daily with words that coerce and challenge our thinking, seeking to persuade us by constant repetition to adopt a certain position deemed to be the truth. It is interesting how the wording is communicated massaging our mentality claiming clarity, rationality, and completely in the best interest of the nation, while at the same time verbalizing vehemently against their opposition.

The intent of these words are to conform us to a thought process that provides a progressive way of thinking that frees us from the shackles of the past, enlightens our future with their ideology, and completely refutes any opposing thought that stands in stark contrast to their beliefs.

My concern is that many in our nation have embraced this dialogue of words and thought to heighten their political persuasion to a place where they have incarcerated themselves in a political prison resulting in becoming POW’s-‘Prisoners of Words’.

How many voters will cast their ballots having been mesmerized by the words that they have been exposed too for the past several years? Are we as a nation losing our ability to think on our own two feet relying completely on someone else to dictate our thinking?

For me it becomes an easy transition to understand why some people see a battle for the ‘Soul of America’ is at risk. It is, as if, we are being so programmed that we are losing our ability to think for ourselves. Is it possible that there are forces at work that do not want us to be able to think for our self?

Do words matter? Absolutely. They have the power of life and death; they can build up or tare down; they communicate good or evil; they influence positively or negatively. They are like leaven. They have an energizing influence.

Student’s of the Word of God know that much is taught in scripture about how we use our tongue; our choice of the words; and how we control our speech.

Are you free from the tyranny of the words that dominate our society? Or are you incarcerated by the overwhelming influence of the negativity that assails this nation?

I have a major concern for the Body of Christ. How immersed are you in listening to the volatile rhetoric that is spewed out daily? Are you free in your spirit? Or are you anxious, distressed, disturbed, discouraged, and/or angry by listening to what fill the air ways, is shared over social media, or reported in the print media?

In short, what is your outlook on life, at this time, for yourself, your family, this nation, this world? The fact is that we must recognize that what we are watching and listening too is no surprise. It is all part of what it means to live in the ‘end times’.

Maybe, a more penetrating question might be, what is the mental health of the Body of Christ? I am not a psychologist; and I certainly do not have any knowledgeable insight into psychology; but I am concerned for the Lord’s people.

Let me encourage you to read and meditate on the following:

Philippians 2:1-11; 4:4-9; James 3:13-4:12; Romans 12:1-2.

I would like to close with Hebrews 1:1-3b, 2:1

“Long ago, at many time and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by His Son, whom he appointed heir of all things through whom also he create the world…and he upholds the universe by the word of his power…Therefore, we must pay closer attention to shat we have heard, lest we drift away from it.”

To Be Continued.