Day 28

Forty Days of Prayer for Our Country- Day 28

Our task today is simple, take a moment to go this link and pray for the troops that are serving our country and have Northside family connections.  Pray for their safety, courage and strength.  Ask the Father to help them and all of our service men and women as they cast their votes.

http://youtu.be/0CeVAigse4s

 

Memory Verse for the Week:
"Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know."  Jeremiah 33:3

Challenge for Today:
Look up and read Psalm 91 in your Bible and use it to lift those serving our country in the armed forces to the Father.
Do you know of an update we need to make to our "serving in the military"list?  We will be glad to pray for any service member with a family connection to Northside.  Call the church office at 361-578-1568.

Day 27

Forty Days of Prayer for Our Country- Day 27

Scripture:
 I have given them your message. But the world has hated them because they don’t belong to the world any more than I belong to the world.   I’m not asking you to take them out of the world but to protect them from the evil one.  They don’t belong to the world any more than I belong to the world.  “Use the truth to make them holy. Your words are truth.  I have sent them into the world the same way you sent me into the world.  John 17:14-18 (GWT)

Thought for the day:
Here are some more states and moral issues on ballots before them:

The definition of marriage is on the ballot in four states—Maine, Maryland, Minnesota and Washington State. Measures in Washington and Maryland attempt to repeal same-sex marriage statutes passed by the legislature. In Maine, voters will be asked to allow same-sex marriage, while in Minnesota a measure would amend the state constitution to only permit one-man, one-woman marriage. To date, all 32 times the question of defining marriage has been on a state ballot, voters have affirmed it as the union of one man and one woman.

Colorado voters will decide whether to legalize marijuana as a "recreational" drug, allowing adults to possess an ounce or less of it without penalty. Centennial State voters rejected a similar measure in 2006. Opponents say the ballot question is the latest push to legalize marijuana across the nation.

Prayer: 
Heavenly Father, you have called us to be salt and to be light to this world.  You have given us great freedom, help us not to use our freedom to enter into spiritual bondage.  Helpus to live in this world as light.  Lead us to be in the world but not of it.  In Jesus' name, Amen.

Prayer Points for Today:

 - Pray for the voters in the above states to follow God's word as they vote on those issues.
- Ask the Father to help us as a nation as we make decisions on what things are legal and what are not.
- Pray that God's truth will be known through his people to bring spiritual light in a growing spiritual darkness in our country. 

Memory Verse for the Week:

"Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know."  Jeremiah 33:3

Challenge for Today:
Do you know any one who lives in the states mentioned above?  Pray for them.

Day 26

Forty Days of Prayer for Our Country- Day 26

The last few days we have read some of the daily essays that Dr. Jim Denison publishes.  You can read more and subscribe to his daily email about faith and culture at  http://www.denisonforum.org/  I read it daily and can recommend it.

Our challenge at the bottom of today's post involves reading something else he wrote about the presidential candidate's faith.

Scripture:

I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.  

 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.  As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.  John 17:14-18

Thought for the day:

Across our country, people will not just be voting on candidates.  Several states have key moral issues before them.  Today and tomorrow, we will focus on them.  Here are today's issues to pray over:

The question of whether doctors can participate in a patient's suicide is on the ballot in Massachusetts.  Oregon and Washington State are the only two places where this is currently legal.

Voters in Montana will consider a measure to require that parents be notified before their minor daughter has an abortion. In Florida, efforts to ban public funding for abortion and clear the legal path for the enactment of parental-consent and notification laws for minor abortions are on the ballot.

Protection from religious discrimination for churches and religious groups that provide social services, such as adoption agencies, is before voters in Florida.

Prayer: 

Father, so often we do not understand why people in the world want to do the things they do.  Your son asked that we not be taken from this world but instead he prayed for us to be sent to the world.  Help us to accomplish your purposes of righteousness in our country, in our day.  In Jesus name, Amen.

Prayer Points for Today:

- Use the information in today's "Thought" above to pray for the states with key moral issues on their ballots.

- Pray that we, as God's people, would take the stands we need to but also show love of Christ to the "world."

Memory Verse for the Week:

"Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know."  Jeremiah 33:3

Challenge:

The link below is to a 30 page guide to the candidate's faith written by Dr. Jim Denison.  It is neither a condemnation nor an endorsement of either candidate.  Dr. Denison often uses the candidates own words to help us see where each of them stand.

http://assets.denisonforum.org/pdf/denison-forum-faith-of-the-candidates.pdf

Day 25

Forty Days of Prayer for Our Country- Day 25

We have been reading some of the daily essays that Dr. Jim Denison publishes.  You can read more and subscribe to his daily email about faith and culture at  http://www.denisonforum.org/  .  Although voter turnout in early voting has been very strong, read this portion of Dr. Denison's rescent essay in our Thought for the day below.

Scripture:

Then he said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's."  Matthew 22:21

Thought for the day:

Voter apathy among young people was a major concern after the last presidential election, and is shaping up to be a significant issue again this year.  But this problem is not confined to young adults.  In the most recent election, the U.S. had the second-lowest voter turnout rate in the developed world.  At 47 percent, we were a point higher than South Korea.  By contrast, Belgium's rate was above 90 percent;  Greece, much maligned in recent years, votes at above 70 percent.  Russia exceeds us by 17 percentage points, Canada by 13.  Since our elections have been evenly divided in recent years, around 25 percent of the public elects our president.

Why such voter apathy?  One reason is that many Americans don't believe elected leaders can solve our problems.  According to a recent survey, 86 percent of us believe one person can make a difference in the world.  Apparently, many of us don't think that person is a politician.

It's time to reverse this trend.  God is calling more Christians into public service than are answering his call.  His word instructs all believers to "honor the king" (1 Peter 2:17), to support the governing authorities (Romans 13:1), and to pray for our leaders (1 Timothy 2:1-2).  While churches should not become political organizations, Christians should be extremely engaged in the political process.  Otherwise we leave our salt in the saltshaker, our light under a basket (Matthew 5:13-16).       Dr. Jim Denison

Prayer: 

Lord, help us to submit to your sovereign authority over us - to give to you what is yours.  Help us as a country to do our duty in voting - to give to Caesar what is Caesar's as our Lord commanded.  Teach us what that means, not just here and now in an election year, but all through life.  In Jesus' name, Amen.

Prayer Points for Today:

- Prayer for voter turnout but also for voter discernment.
- Ask that God's people would be good witnesses even as they go to the polling places.
- Pray that God would call out Christians to public service and to witness in the political area.

Memory Verse for the Week:

"Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know."  Jeremiah 33:3

Day 24

Forty Days of Prayer for Our Country- Day 24

Today another challenging essay from Dr. Jim Denison about the state of our country spiritually.

Scripture:

"Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.  There is one body and one Spirit - just as you were called to one hope when you were called - one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all."  Ephesians 3:4-6

Thought for the day:

Spiritual but not religious

Have you heard of the "spiritual but not religious" movement?  The name describes it well—people who say they are spiritual but have no commitment to any particular religion or institution.

Their movement is generating national attention after a recent editorial on CNN's website claimed that it "represents some of the most retrogressive aspects of contemporary society."  Why?  Because those who are SBNR are not required to do anything with their beliefs.  They can feel connected to their higher power without grappling with sin or applying their spirituality to the world.  The editorial concludes: "Theirs is a world of fence-sitting, not-knowingness, but not-trying-ness either.  Take a stand, I say."

I'd go further.  In my view, the SBNR movement is the greatest spiritual threat America faces today.  Consider first its size.  According to Gallup, one in three Americans say they're "spiritual but not religious."  That's more than 100 million people, equivalent to the number of Protestants and Catholics in our nation combined.  If SBNR was a denomination, it would be the largest in America by far.

Next, think about its appeal.  You can dine at a spiritual buffet where you choose what you eat.  If you like the idea of meditating to alleviate stress, put some Buddhism on your plate.  If you want to be one with the universe, add some Hinduism.  Select Jesus' "love your enemies" teachings alongside Islam's disciplined prayer schedule and Judaism's embrace of family and ritual.  Why not take the best of each, eating the fish but leaving the bones?

What's wrong with SBNR?  First, it violates the religions it claims to embrace.  Buddhism is more than meditation; Islam is more than its prayer schedule; Christianity is more than Jesus' ethic toward our enemies.  Second, it keeps its followers from knowing the God they claim to accept.  Jesus was blunt: "No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6).  Peter agreed: "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which they must be saved" (Acts 4:12).

I understand the disconnect many feel with religious institutions today.  At the same time, I'm convinced that SBNR is not the answer.  It is spiritual inoculation, giving us enough of the "disease" to keep us from contracting the real thing.  Who is behind it?  "The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God" (2 Corinthians 4:4).

Every image of the church in the New Testament is collective—a body with many members, a vine with many branches.  There are no solos in the Book of Revelation.  We were built for community and accountability.  And we need a personal, daily, intimate relationship with the One who made us.  You may be spiritual and you may be religious, but here's the question: are you his?  If you don't feel close to God, guess who moved?          Dr. Jim Denison

Prayer: 

O Lord, we are far from being the body of Christ in our country, yet you have no other plan than for your church to reach the world.  Show us how to reach those that seem so unreachable.  Help us not to get caught up in the spirit of our day but in the Spirit you gave your church to make it alive.  Let us not just be those who are alive but those you use to bring life and truth to  our country.  In Jesus name, Amen

Prayer Points for Today:

- Do you know someone who is spiritual but not religious?  Pray for them today, that they would turn to God through Jesus Christ.

- Would you pray for your witness to those who are spiritual but not religious - even in this time of election.

- Pray for the church in our country and for our church in particular, to bring light to those in spiritual darkness. Our nation needs the church to be alive and strong.

Memory Verse for the Week:

"Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know."  Jeremiah 33:3

Day 23

Forty Days of Prayer for Our Country- Day 23

Today we go back to Dr. Jim Denison and one of his recent essays on culture and truth.  This is an exerpt.

Scripture:
"...and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it."  Matthew 16:18b

Thought for the day:
Are we witnessing the demise of America's church?
Will the American church exist in 100 years?  You know about our nation's atheists and agnostics.  Now we have "ignostics," people who are ignorant of basic biblical truths.  Fewer than half of Americans can identify Genesis as the first book of the Bible; only one third know that Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount; only one half can name even one of the Gospels.

We have "apatheists," those who are apathetic about spirituality.  Some 46 percent of Americans say they never wonder whether they will go to heaven; 44 percent spend no time seeking "eternal wisdom."  And we have "exitists"—almost 60 percent of young people ages 15-29 have left active church involvement.  If their children follow their example, what will happen to American Christianity?  This decline is not only among mainline denominations: Southern Baptist Convention membership will fall nearly 50 percent by 2050 if current trends continue.

Will [this come] true in America?  It will if we don't think it can.  It will if we trust our buildings and clergy more than our Lord.  It will if we don't pray passionately for the spiritual awakening we so desperately need.  How can the Holy Spirit use unholy vessels?  How can a holy God bless an unholy people?
 What is the Spirit saying to your heart?
                                                                                                                               Dr. Jim Denison

Prayer: 
Lord, you have told us that you will build your church.  What has happened to us that we are not seeing that truth in our country?  Show us how we can be a church that you bless and that you grow.  A church that is truly yours and one that will advance upon the gates of hell.  In Jesus name, Amen.

 

Prayer Points for Today:

- Pray for the church in America, that there would be a spiritual awakening in our day, amoung us.
- Pray for our church, that we would grow and reach more and more with the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
- Ask God to use us to change our community, our state and our country.

Memory Verse for the Week:

"Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know."  Jeremiah 33:3

Challenge for Today:
Continue to pray for early voting - voters and poll workers.

Day 22

Forty Days of Prayer for Our Country- Day 22

We have prayed much for the upcoming election.  When we do that we usually pray for the candidates and we should.  But we should also pray for the electorate, the people who will be voting.  This week I will be sharing some essays and exerpts from essays by Dr. Jim Denison.  They will be longer than previous days but they will also tell us much more.

 

Scripture:

"Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know."  Jeremiah 33:3

Thought for the day:

Protestants no longer the majority in U.S. For the first time in our history, America does not have a Protestant majority.  The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life has released a new study indicating that only 48 percent of adults in the U.S. are Protestants, the first time their numbers have fallen below 50 percent. Is this because Catholics are growing or Protestants are declining?  Partially: Catholics were up 0.57 percent last year, while most Protestant denominations declined one to three percent.  And it is true that a growing number of Americans consider themselves nondenominational and thus do not count as Protestants.  But the real issue is the number of "nones"—those who say they have no religious commitment of any kind.  Their numbers have risen from 15 percent to 20 percent in the last five years; they constitute the fastest-growing religious demographic in America. Two factors explain their growth.  First, fewer people who drop out of church are continuing to identify with their denomination.  It seems the stigma associated with not being part of a religious community has declined, making it easier for people to tell researchers that they're no longer religious. Second, and far more significantly, the number of young adults who affiliate with a religion is at an all-time low.  While only nine percent of people 65 and older claim no religion, one-third of adults under 30 have no religious affiliation.  Researchers don't expect them to become more religious as they age, indicating that religious commitment in our nation will continue to decline in the years ahead. This precipitous fall in church attendance among young people coincides with an unprecedented emphasis on "user-friendly" churches, contemporary music, and market-driven growth strategies.  We have more media-savvy ministers and churches than ever, but we're reaching fewer media-savvy Americans than ever. A deeper problem is at work here.  For reasons that would take much longer than this essay to explain, our culture has bought the lie that truth is subjective and ethics are relative.  Today there's "your truth" and "my truth."  It's conventional wisdom that you can be spiritual but not religious, that denominational creeds and traditions are outdated and irrelevant.  The vast majority of Americans still say they believe in God, but for many, God is whatever they believe in.  To paraphrase Voltaire, God made us in his image, then we returned the favor.  What is the one true God doing to reach our post-Christian society?  He is raising up ministries among them, which seek to demonstrate the relevance of his word by speaking biblical truth to contemporary issues.  He is using news such as the Pew report to warn his people that business as usual will not reach our culture.  And he is burdening more Christians to pray fervently for spiritual awakening in our nation.  Will you join us?                                                                                                                                                          Dr. Jim Denison

Prayer: 
Lord, revive your church in America.  Draw people back, bring new people in that you may be worshipped and glorified. Show us things that we do not know and truths we do not understand.  In Jesus name, Amen.

Prayer Points for Today:

- Pray for the church in America, that we would be relevant, biblical, filled with God's spirit and his truth.
- Prayer that our church would be able to reach those that God is reaching out to - to fulfill his plan to build his church.
- Ask God to make you salt and light for your world today.

Memory Verse for the Week:

"Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know."  Jeremiah 33:3

Challenge for Today:
Pray for tonight's final Presidential Debate - that each candidate would be able to speak clearly and to make clear to the voters where he stands on the issue.

Early voting also begins today, so in a way the election begins today.  Pray for those who will be casting their ballots and for those who will be manning the polls today and all the way through election night.