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Will You Pray With Me?

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He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction. Psalm 107:20

I write today from the deep places of my soul.

This world is sick, dear one, ravaged by the dominion of evil. Separation from our Creator has left us deeply wounded. Instead of life flourishing, it withers under sin’s curse.

And that curse has reached into the heart of my family as right now two dear family members fight to see life triumph over stage four cancer. Yes, two of them. Sisters. Two beautiful, God-fearing women who love Jesus, who did not even know they were sick until recent diagnoses revealed an enemy working in secret.

Yet hope stirs within me because I know my God. He is good; that truth never changes. And He has a way of revealing His greatest glory against a backdrop of suffering.

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 1 Peter 4:12-13

Our flesh rejects that command. Rejoice when you participate in suffering? Perhaps we find it so difficult to rejoice because we don’t really believe in the promise.

You may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.

I believe, dear one. I believe with all my heart that glory is about to reveal itself in our midst.

I can’t say how, exactly. I just know that it is. God is stirring my heart with a hope, a vision that slowly takes shape but has not quite come into focus. It remains partially veiled.

Some people believe that leadership is all about showing strength. If that’s true, I’m no leader. I write confessing my need.

Will you join me at the mercy seat, beloved? Will you come with boldness to the throne of grace?

You see, amazing things happen when the people of God unite in prayer—especially in the midst of adversity. The saints uniting over Peter’s arrest made shackles fall from his hands and removed him from a locked prison. United prayer ignited the fires of Pentecost, unleashing the power of the Holy Spirit that birthed the church. And when Nebuchadnezzar ordered every prophet killed if no one could tell him what he had dreamed and interpret it, friends joined Daniel in prayer, releasing unknowable wisdom that saved them all.

So I invite you to pray with me, beloved. But the healing I seek isn’t just for my mother or her sister. Not just for the hearts of my sons who may fear an uncertain future. Not just for supernatural strength to serve those I love with grace.

I seek healing for the body of Christ. My heart longs to see Christ’s glory revealed in the lives of His people. This isn’t merely a desire. It is a deep longing birthed in the Word of God and gaining strength as the Spirit kindles its message within my heart.

For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. Isaiah 61:2

Jesus seeks to reveal the power of His name.

So I ask you to join me in prayer over my mother’s surgery on Friday. But I also ask you to pray for me over the next few weeks as I seek the face of my God to lift the veil on what remains hidden. A new Bible study bursts forth from my heart, one that I believe God will use to awaken His church to the hope of our calling, giving us understanding that will release the power of God in our midst.

Our enemy doesn’t want to see God’s people living in victory. But the One who is in us is greater than the one who is in the world. Will you join me in prayer to see God’s kingdom come?

Thank you, dear one.

I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Psalm 27:13

Fear of the Dark

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If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,”  even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.. Psalm 139:11-12 ESV

Monsters lurk in the dark.

They like the shadows. Deception. Speculation and fear.

Only recently, some of those monsters decided to emerge from the shadows. Their evil in Paris exposed what they seek.

Hatred. Murder. Terror.

They aim to breed fear.

They reflect the heart of the god they serve, “that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world” (Revelation 12:9).

Did you know that’s one of his names, dear one? Deceiver of the whole world.

Yes, beloved. Satan deceives. Everyone. Always.

He’s probably deceiving you. If you’re afraid, it’s working.

For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. 2 Timothy 1:7

Look at what Jesus said about the deceiver and his children in John 8:44.

“You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

Satan lies to get what he wants. And his most deceived followers act just like him. He’s a murderer, and they murder. He deceives, and they deceive. They have set their will on carrying out their father’s desires, convinced the one who speaks to them is an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14).

If only the children of God lived as dedicated to His cause.

But we haven’t set our wills to carry out our Father’s desires. Instead we’ve allowed the deceiver to convince us to stay focused on our own. Instead of uniting in strength against our enemy, we fight one another. And instead of standing on the truth our Father’s Word proclaims, we have allowed the deceiver to fill our hearts with unbelief.

He has convinced us we can do nothing but hide and wait out the darkness. So we sit in our homes and point fingers of blame to justify our sorry state.

Perhaps it’s time for the people of God to open His Word and receive what it says.

Only one thing will prevail against the evil that threatens this earth, dear one. Jesus revealed the answer in Matthew 16:18.

 “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

The deceiver doesn’t want you to know the power you wield, beloved. He’s tricked you into thinking you’re a powerless victim. But God’s Word says you’re anything but powerless.

You are the answer to the darkness.

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. Isaiah 60:1-3

Your Father never deceives, dear one. What He says always proves true.

And His Word tells us that evil will increase. Thick darkness will spread its cloak over the earth to smother all people. But our Father also delivers a glorious promise. The people of God needn’t fear the darkness.

Light has come, beloved. The glory of the Lord has risen. Did you notice where people will see it rising?

Upon you.

You hold the light capable of dispelling the darkness. Jesus gave it to you the moment you put your faith in Him. Now He asks you to believe and fervently join His agenda.

You must become who He is.

Darkness advances as the sons of the evil one more fully reveal their father. Light can only advance as the children of light take on the character of our Father.

Darkness advances as the sons of the evil one more fully reveal their father. We must reveal ours. Click To Tweet

Our Father does not fear the enemy. Our Father rests in truth. Our Father loves.

So must we.

A deceived world is desperate for truth. We must give it to them. Love is the way.

Light is, indeed, greater than the darkness. The One who lives in us is greater than the one who deceives the world.

Let’s show the world who Jesus really is.