I have a few devotional topics below (and a song link) that hit the nail on the head with where our country is right now. I am thankful to the Lord that He led me to these particular ones. They are perfect and I pray it will help us to look at the issues at hand from a Biblical perspective, which will bring clarity and reason to the situation.
As I look at our country, here are some of the things I am praying for:
~Common sense in all regards
~Folks to think of one another's interest ahead of their own (i.e. practicing social distancing and still wearing those masks out of consideration for the health of others, esp. the elderly or those w/ compromised health),
~Conviction for those who are doing wrong (destroying property or protesters who are hurting others)
~Protection on those who are protecting the lives of others (i.e. the law enforcement officers who are respectful of their badge, and whose only desire is to protect lives, even those who are rioting, to the point of sacrificing their own lives. ('One bad apple' does not mean the whole bunch has gone bad!!! That applies to any profession-you can have 'one bad apple', but that should not reflect on others of the same profession. War on law enforcement is actually going against God given authority as we will see below.)
~The Lord's peace to settle on our land.
(I have a petition below that was passed onto me. It is a call to pray for peace in our land. Pray you will sign and not be afraid to pass along!)
I pray the resources below, whether you pick one today, or look at one each day for the next week, will bring some clarity to your week. I have included a link for some comforting Scriptures and a song that is very timely as well. Lord bless and keep you and yours this week!
The Righteousness in Authority: (Very timely)
The Ordinances of Men: (Very good as well!!)
What Mean These Stones (Topic of Monuments-since so many of our monuments are coming down these days...):
Live for Today: (How can we 'light a candle' this week, make a difference, rather than contributing to the darkness in our world even more?)
Prayer/Petition for Peace:
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As our nation struggles with fear and civil unrest over the horrific killing of an unarmed black man by a Minneapolis police officer, I am asking you to sign the petition joining with me and AFA in a season of prevailing prayer for our country. I'm convinced that only prayer and repentance will truly heal our land. The Bible says in Hebrews 4:16 (ESV), "Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."
Just as Coach Tony Dungy so wisely tweeted this past weekend, those of us who call ourselves Christians must "demonstrate the qualities of the One we claim to follow, Jesus Christ." Coach Dungy has said he prayed about his response and offers some very sound biblical advice for us to "overcome evil with good." You can read his entire tweet here.
America is in a very sad place today. We have seen a man die senselessly, at the hands of the very people who are supposed to be protecting our citizens. We have seen people protest this death by destroying property and dreams of people in their own community, the very people they are protesting for. We have many people pointing fingers of blame, painting the opposite side with a broad brush. We have anger and bitterness winning out over logic and reason. We have distrust and prejudice winning out over love and respect.
What happened to George Floyd was inexcusable and it should never happen. Justice needs to be served, but in seeking justice we can't fall into the trap of prejudging every police officer we see. What started out as peaceful protests have devolved into arson and looting and that should never happen, either. Yes there should be protest. But we do not have license to perform criminal acts because we're angry.
Today we are a divided country. We're divided racially, politically, and socio-economically. And Satan is laughing at us because that is exactly what he wants. Dysfunction, mistrust, and hatred help his kingdom flourish.
Well, what is the answer then? I believe it has to start with those of us who claim to be Christians. We have to come to the forefront and demonstrate the qualities of the One we claim to follow, Jesus Christ. We can't be silent. As Dr. King said many years ago, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere!" But we can’t go forward with judgmental, bitter spirits. We need to be proactive, but do it in the spirit of trying to help make things better. And it can’t be just the African American churches. It has to be ALL churches taking a stand and saying "We are going to be on the forefront of meaningful dialogue and meaningful change." We have to be willing to speak the truth in love but we have to recognize that we are not fighting against other people. We are fighting against Satan and his kingdom of spiritual darkness.
In the words of the Apostle Paul, "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (Roman 12:21, NIV).
Sincerely,
Tim Wildmon, President
American Family Association
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