AN ERA OF SPIRITUAL FAMINE

January 26, 2013

     Father, with so many people who profess to believe in you and your commandments, where is all the darkness coming from?  We are living in an era of spiritual famine.  The moral decay of society is felt world-wide.  Why has it spread so rapidly and gotten so out of control that it is seemingly inescapable?  Is there a lack of fertile ground for your word to take root?  Is there a drought that has dried up the land? 

     The world has a great number of places to worship, Father. Your word is broadcast on television and radio.  Satellites and internet carry your message to computers and wireless devices. There is no shortage of sermons and there are a plethora of books to lead people to you.  Billions of people have had an encounter with your word. 

      Nonetheless, the darkness in the world reflects an attitude of indifference to you and rejection of you, dear Lord.  Despite zealous practices of various religions and groups, claiming to uphold God's will, we find that they, too, are covered in darkness.  War, economic greed and hardship, along with social unrest have hardened people's hearts,  They wrestle with doctrine and legalism that keeps them divided.  They seek to limit the power of God, placing their faith in man and the world.  We  have built our Tower of Babel through globalization and the internet and now there is more confusion then ever before. 

     Jesus, the world has seen without believing and heard without understanding.  Many churches do not preach your Gospel because they can not resist the pleasures and ways of the world.  Many have not and will not understand your Gospel; that you came that we might conquer the world and enter the Kingdom here on earth.  Our salvation does not end with your crucifixion and resurrection. Nor do we have to wait for you to come back and make us perfect, then, take us  to heaven to live holy.  We are made perfect by abiding in you.  Through you, we conquer the world and live in holiness.  This is the Gospel that you have left us and we thank you, Lord.  We await the day of your return and prepare the way.  We thank you for providing a way for us to have abundant life in your Kingdom.  Help us to abide in you, as you abide in us. 

     If we do not abide in you, Jesus, we have no armor to conquer the world.  We have no anchor to weather the storms of life.  Although we fill ourselves with  food, wine, lust and material things, still, we remain spiritually starved.   

     Speak to us Lord. Open our hearts and minds that we may pour your Word upon the earth.  Speak to us Lord.  So that we may create fertile ground and your seed will not be scattered.  Fill us with your love, Father, so that when  we look upon someone, anyone, today, we will ask ourselves, "Do we really want them to die and go to hell...to suffer eternal damnation?"  

     Help us lift You up.  Help us to keep our lamp burning.  Help us to be vigilant watchmen and strong gatekeepers.  Let us not fall asleep when the hour has come for prayer.

 

     Many boast and say, "We have Jesus, what do we have to worry about?  Jesus paid it all.  All is forgiven.  He will always take care of us. "  

     Yes, Jesus, you did pay it all, but all to you I owe.  It is time to pay back. 

     Let this prayer be a light to stand against the darkness.  Let it be a sword of truth  and a shield of righteousness.  Let it be a trumpet to awaken those who are asleep in darkness.  Let it be a call to the righteous to put their hands to the plow, sow the seed and prepare for the increase.  Let it be a beacon to bring your sheep home.  

     Forgive us of our transgressions against you, oh Lord.  Help us to acknowledge you in all we say and do.  Increase our measure of faith, so that you may open up the doors of heaven, pour out blessings that fill up our cup and make it overflow.  Help us to love as you love and to forgive as you forgive. We bless you, Lord. We praise you, Lord.  We give you honor and glory.   In Jesus' name. Amen

 If no one is accountable, then who is to blame?

Who and what is to blame for the spiritual famine we are experiencing? Surely someone or something deserves the blame.  Man always looks for blame and finds it somewhere.  It is an old tactic man has used for ages. 

Like Cain, who slew his brother Abel, we continue to eschew responsibility for our actions and bestow blame on one another.  Where lies the blame? 

Cain answered God,  “Am I my brother's keeper?” (see Genesis 4:8-10).  

Adam blamed Eve, “...“The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.” ( see Genesis 3:9-12). 

I wonder what would have happened if Adam would have sought God, confessed his sin, asked for forgiveness and repented?  Instead, knowing they had done wrong, Adam and Eve chose to hide.  Adam chose to hide in blame...blaming Eve for corrupting him.  Their choices became an important lesson in man's history, for we continue to hide in the darkness of blame.

Blame continues to be more of an answer and solution to the problems we face, while accountability to God is quickly being replaced by the popular ideology of Secularism, Humanism and religions based on prosperity and self-satisfaction. Diverting blame stems from man's pride and is the refuge to which he runs to escape truth and responsibility. This is where we find the world today, running from the light of the truth, and hiding in the darkness of blame. The darkness was always there, but accountability held it back.

"The watchmen have stopped watching and the gatekeepers are overcome, as the darkness attacks."

We can not remove the cornerstone that holds us up or forget our responsibility first and foremost to God.  In doing so, we forsake true worship and worship Him only with our lips.  While we place blame on others, God's children lay under siege and in bondage.  The watchmen have stopped watching and the gatekeepers are overcome as the darkness attacks.   Shrouds of darkness have blocked out the light, lulling people to sleep and many have never awakened.  When did this happen, you ask?  Why didn't I notice?  Aren't you exaggerating, panicking  and being too critical?  If these are the questions you are asking, then perhaps you too are asleep and while you sleep, the darkness continues to feed.  If you are blaming a political party, a group of people, drugs, alcohol, violence, pornography or anything else for the darkness, then perhaps, you too are trying to escape accountability.  There is one body and together we stand accountable.

We look to those in darkness to decide what is right and wrong for us and the world.  But, how can lovers of the world and darkness distinguish right from wrong?   They do good but know not from where it comes.  Their good is self-serving.  They lean back and say, "Look what I have done.  Why do I need God?"

Sowing and Expanding Fertile Ground

As the Body of Christ, we function together as a whole.  Blame is counterproductive, as it will effect the unity of the body.  Each member must support the other members and is accountable for the fortification and increase of the body.  If we walk in the light, as God walks in the light, we will fellowship, one with another.  We must act as a unified body, if we are to overcome the darkness.  God said, if we repent He will heal the land.  We can break the chains of blame through repentance and begin to spread light to create fertile and holy ground that produces righteousness. Darkness will not be able to withstand the Light of Truth.

 Many have become apathetic and stand idly by, thinking, " What will be, will be.  These are the end times and there is nothing we can do.  We must let things happen as they will happen."  Jesus said that those who stand firm till the end will be in His Kingdom.  Therefore, we must keep oil in our lamps and keep our lamps burning, awaiting the return of the Bridegroom.  We must continue to till the soil, remove the stumbling blocks and sow the seed (the Word of God and the Gospel of Jesus) to bring repentance and turn the children to the Father.   The road to repentance is paved with adversity but leads to increase and blessings.  To understand increase, is to know that through His grace and mercy, we have already been blessed.  Stand fast, my brothers and sisters--stand fast, immovable and unshakeable.

 By the grace and mercy of God
Your Servant
Mishael