Fear of death conquered
Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. Hebrews 2:14-15
Death. It’s an uncomfortable topic for most of us, and for many, it stirs unspeakable fear. For generations before Christ, death was an unpredictable tyrant lurking menacingly in the background of life, only to pounce, steal, kill, and destroy when least expected.
Folks have spoken of the “great unknown” of death; speculations abound concerning the experience awaiting the soul who enters through its gates. And yet the shadowy, mystical quality of death remains a fearful, morbid mystery to a large portion of mankind.
Many believers in our hour believe that we are in the generation that will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, thereby allowing a whole host of souls to evade death altogether (see 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17). Nevertheless, you and I have flesh and blood bodies which are naturally fragile and will wear out over time. It is what it is.
For a large portion of history, Satan was captain over death; his fingerprints can still be found on the deaths of many as his stealing, killing, and destroying invades lives and families around the globe. But he didn’t count on one thing: that he would be rendered powerless through the death of the One he despised more than all other men. The devil never imagined that his murderous strategy against the Son of God would in reality strip him of the power to enslave men and women washed in the very blood he had worked so hard to spill. No longer would he be able to control or constrain those whose faith rested firmly in the One he had crucified. For them, the fear of death would cease as they entrusted their souls to the One who died for them.
Because the race of man lived out their lives in fragile flesh and blood, Jesus took on a vulnerable human body as well and entered the world to save men and women from its cruel taskmaster, the devil. While the Lord walked the earth, He faced every temptation and vulnerability that weighs upon the rest of us, yet He never sinned—not even once. And at the right time, He offered Himself as a spotless sacrifice, dying on the cross in our place, bearing our punishment. In this great, horrible, awesome act, Jesus not only opened the way for you and me to receive eternal life through faith in Him, but He also rendered the tyrant of death—the devil—absolutely powerless over all of us who put our trust in Christ.
Yes, believers die; nonetheless, even in death they overwhelmingly triumph. They simply step out of this life into eternal life; their last breath here is quickly followed by their first breath in the presence of God. For the woman or man who has walked with Jesus, death is but a transition; she steps out of her body in the same manner that she stepped out of her bathrobe or PJs every morning to dress for the day; he launches out of his body the same way he kicked off his dirty work clothes after a hard day’s work. He doesn’t mourn his sweaty pile of denim and tees; she doesn’t weep over her abandoned robe hanging in the closet; in the same way, the discarded body left behind is nothing to the child of God but a distant memory when they enter eternal life in the presence of the very One they lived to worship, serve, and adore.
Certainly death has a sting—but that sting is sin. And because of Jesus’ death—the death on the cross—your sins have been washed away. Therefore, you can count on it—for you, death will have no sting; for you, death will be swallowed up in victory. Your God, who has loved you with an everlasting love, will continue to be your God, never failing, never forsaking you, every day of your life. And when you step out of your body on that last day of this life, He will be right there with you, loving and guarding you all the way through.
And then…the real adventure begins!
Dorothy
But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:54-57
Read MoreLike lambs led to slaughter
I returned to Grenada the summer of ’88, thrilled to be back on the exotic Isle of Spice. This time I stayed in the in-town house with several of the young missionaries I had worked with the summer before. The house was on a major thoroughfare, and early every morning when I awoke to roosters crowing, I rolled over in bed and watched out the window as folks walked on the road below me, carrying huge bundles on their heads and leading goats and cows through the town.
The kids were all still there and ready to greet me for another summer of smiles, adventure, and stories about Jesus.
My favorite Rastafarian, Michael, was there, too, with dreadlocks grown one year longer. He spent some of his time in the jungles behind his home, cutting down coconuts, almonds, and other free foodstuffs, but the rest of the time he was eager to discuss anything that crossed his mind. Of course, our conversation always turned to Jesus and Michael’s own spiritual quest. But not too long after I arrived in Grenada, he grew increasingly concerned.
You see, I landed in Grenada during the fever heat of preparation for the biggest event of the year, Carnival. It happens all over Latin America and the Caribbean and is somewhat similar to Mardi gras. In Grenada, it is held in August and when I arrived, the big day was almost here.
Michael told the YWAMers that he’d heard scuttlebutt that some of the men in the village resented the Christians’ involvement in the Carnival parade. They didn’t appreciate the large cross and banners about Jesus that the team would be bearing through the streets of Sauteurs on their special day. And talk of trouble was brewing.
After discussion and prayer back at the house, the team decided to participate nonetheless, but the visitors would remain back at the base. I breathed a sigh of relief, not wanting to deal with potential danger. However, my relief was short-lived; Kim, one of the young leaders there, pulled me aside and told me that she wanted me to join them because I knew how to pray. Here we go, I thought.
Carnival morning arrived; our banners were ready, the cross was waiting, and its bearer was poised for action. We gathered for prayer before we joined the parade.
Filtering up from my spirit were words from Isaiah 53:7. “Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth.”
I froze. I’m not saying that, I told myself. That can’t be God! I couldn’t shake the words, though, and quietly prayed against them, hoping they weren’t from God. And then one of the YWAMers spoke. He said, “Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth.”
Great, I thought. Now I’ll be going home to my dad in a casket! I’d better start praying. NOW!
We joined the parade and our banners rippled in the breeze while the cross-bearer took up the rear. We were singing from Psalm 149. The lyrics were:
“With the high praises of God in our mouths and a two-edged sword in our hands,
“We shall launch an assault on the portals of hell and against us they shall not stand.”
To my left in the crowd was a man covered from head to toe in tar and black grease, a jab-jab costume—one of the main get-ups for Grenadian men during Carnival, meant to represent devils from hell. Glaring at the band of believers, he grabbed up a boulder from the ground and with a roar, ran straight for the team with the boulder hoisted high. I started praying fast and furiously in tongues, bypassing the courtesy of asking if such prayer might offend anyone who believed the gift had ceased to exist with the Apostles. (Something about getting attacked by a man in grease and tar makes one forget her manners.)
Next thing I knew, the man threw himself into the banner right in front of me, boulder gone from his hands, as the Grenadian women carrying the sign lowered it and then lifted it back up, greasy but intact. We continued with our song:
“Singing praise, praise, praise to the Lord; praise, praise, praise to the Lord.
“Praise, praise, praise to the Lord, for the battle is in God’s hands.”
The next day, we walked to the spot where the jab-jab went berserk. There was the boulder, smudged with his tar and grease. When I stooped to pick it up, I was amazed at how heavy it was—I couldn’t budge it. I knew that if jab-jab had had his way that stone would have visited a whole heap of hurt on some of us. But it didn’t—that muscular jab-jab dropped it. Why?
We didn’t have to wait long for the answer. Later that afternoon one of the village women stopped by, and in her beautiful Caribbean accent told us quite a tale. She had just returned from the beach where she encountered the jab-jab lying on the shore at the edge of the waves, letting the surf break over his shoulders. She laughed at him, reminding him of his outrage the day before.
He said to her, “Those Christians made me so mad! They were ruining Carnival! So I took a big rock to hit them, but when I picked it up and ran, my shoulders, back, and neck went into cramps. I could not hold the rock! I had to drop it, and here I am, still in pain, hoping the salt water will help me.”
Like lambs we were led to slaughter, but the Lamb of God, that great Shepherd of the sheep, protected us from all harm.
“Now the God of peace, who brought back from the dead that great shepherd of the sheep, our Lord Jesus, by the blood of the everlasting agreement, equip you thoroughly for the doing of his will! May he effect in you everything that pleases him through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever.” (Hebrews 13:20-21, Phillips).
God is good!
Dorothy
Read MoreWhy I pray for America
I have been fortunate in my life to be surrounded by believers who take the call to pray very seriously. When I got saved in college, my first church was a Tuesday/Thursday night dorm Bible study led by young Christians who had a deep relationship with Jesus. These firebrands freely and openly spilled out their hearts in prayer and worship to God every time we gathered together.
The church I attended as a young career woman was birthed in prayer, and they even held regular 10 pm to 3 am prayer meetings on Friday nights for a while. Those meetings added fuel to the fire that burned within me and nothing less than seeking God fully satisfied me.
After I left that church, I attended another church while I sought God for direction. I even traveled to the Soviet Union with 6 other folks from that church to preach and win souls. What a time we had, praying in Red Square by the direction of the Holy Spirit the words of Psalm 2, “Why are the nations in an uproar? Why do the peoples devise a vain thing?” Little did we know when we flew out of Moscow on Saturday to return to the US, that on Monday morning tanks would roll into Red Square and the Soviet Union would quickly become the former Soviet Union, within days. Indeed, the nations were in an uproar, and we were in on the secret before it hit the press.
Then God planted me in my current church, one which was also birthed in prayer. The leadership and people surrounding me in this church value prayer, pray readily and regularly, and have amazing testimonies bearing witness to the fruitfulness of prayer.
Therefore, as I look at my nation, I must pray. It’s in my DNA; it is built into the very fabric of my relationship with God. When I see obstacles in my nation, I am challenged by my rich heritage to stand my ground and trust God. I feel I owe it to the Founders who pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to guard, nurture, protect, and defend the fledgling nation. I owe it to Charles Finney, D. L. Moody, William J. Seymour, Billy Sunday, Aimee Semple McPherson, and all the rest, both known and unknown, who took advantage of their American liberty to pour out their lives for the cause of Christ. I owe it to my dad, who although he never claimed to know God intimately, was willing as a young man to risk his life in the service of a country which guaranteed that his daughter, yet to be born, would bear the sacred right to lead her own life, speak openly, and worship God freely without fear.
I must pray. I must pray the Word of God over my nation. I must seek her deliverance when evil threatens her. I must stand my ground even if it takes the rest of my life. I can do no less, so help me God.
Dorothy
Read MorePraying for America on her birthday
A decade or so ago, I started a personal tradition—every 4th of July I put aside some time to pray for America.
Each year is different. Some years I pray about issues. Other years I pray for various government leaders. One year, I was joined by a group of ladies and we interceded primarily for the American church.
With so many different national concerns clamoring for attention, you may wonder where to begin. A good place to start is to just ask God. I’ve noticed that as I spend time thanking, praising, or worshiping Him, a direction typically bubbles up from my spirit, and I pray over that however I sense the Lord is leading.
On the morning of July 4th, 2009, something a little different happened. I began like I usually do by praising God and seeking Him about how He wanted me to pray; I expected to pray for the president or one of the many issues facing the country.
Instead, I couldn’t get the Scripture I had read earlier that morning out of my mind. It was Luke 2:41-51, about Jesus’ adventure in Jerusalem when He was twelve. Verse 43 haunted me. “…the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. But His parents were unaware of it.” I noticed a sense of panic gripping me—evidently I was relating on a very deep level to what Mary and Joseph must have felt when it dawned on them that their Son had been missing for an entire day.
I reread verses 44-46. “[They] went a day’s journey; and they began looking for Him among their relatives and acquaintances. When they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem looking for Him. Then, after three days they found Him...” I was fixated upon the horror of discovering that your child was missing and not knowing whether he was alive or dead. Since I could not shake the sense of heaviness, I yielded to it as I began praying for the children and teens of the nation.
July 4th was on a Saturday that year. I found myself praying for every one of the nation’s children to be safe in their activities for the entire holiday weekend. I prayed against two main scenarios—little ones getting separated from their parents and teens losing their friends in a crowd. I also prayed in the name of Jesus against abduction attempts of all sorts—that they would be thwarted and for adults in charge of kids to be on high alert.
When I realized that I had prayed along this line for most of the morning, I honestly felt disappointed. I had wanted to pray for the nation, not kids, but I ran out of time and needed to leave for a barbeque. In my spirit, however, I sensed God correcting me: “You did pray for the nation.”
Monday evening, July 6th, I was in the kitchen making dinner as one of the local TV newscasts started. I could hear the teasers opening the broadcast from the set in the living room. “Tonight we will take you to a local church where an alert volunteer stopped a child abduction Sunday morning.” I dropped what I was doing and raced to the living room, waiting for the opening story. And this is what I learned:
A 10-year old girl was attending children’s church Sunday morning at the church I used to attend. A registered sex offender—a pedophile—had been skulking outside her classroom, unobserved. He caught her attention and motioned for her to step outside. When she walked into the hall to see what he wanted, he put his arm around her and started escorting her out of the building. However, just in time an alert volunteer noticed what was going on, and he abruptly demanded the man to stop. The girl was led to safety by another volunteer and the would-be abductor was arrested.
I sat in awe, taking it all in, and wept as I recalled my intense time of prayer two days earlier on the 4th, interceding against child abductions that holiday weekend. And I thought about how disappointed I had been with the prayer direction God had given me that morning—and how grateful I was that I had obeyed His prompting.
God’s desire is for every one of us to yield to His leading—however He prompts—resulting in prayers that hit the target. As more and more of us make ourselves available for Him to lead us as we pray, more and more bull’s eyes will be hit.
How can America be saved? First of all, PRAY—and that by the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Have a happy and safe Fourth of July!
Dorothy
Read MoreJugglers
But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 2 Timothy 3:13, NASB
But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. 2 Timothy 3:13, KJV
In the King James Version of 2 Timothy 3:13, impostors are called “seducers”. According to the Encarta Dictionary, a seducer is a persuader who uses deception to get what he or she wants sexually. However, the same reference further reveals that the term isn’t limited to sexual enticement; a seducer also tries to talk someone into doing other things they wouldn’t normally do by painting a picture of how “amazing” or “truly noble” those things are. Lastly, the same source states that the term “seducer” can be used to describe a person who manipulates others into giving them their support or agreement.
The term “impostor” used in the NASB indicates the false, illegitimate character of this type of person, whereas the word “seducer” further reveals the manipulative, self-serving motivation by which they are driven.
In Greek, “impostor” is the word goēs and indicates not only a deceiver and an impostor, but also reveals some other very interesting peculiarities (see < http:// www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G1114&t=KJV >).
The first definition right out of the box for this Greek word is “a wailer” and “a howler”. Remember, impostors lie and manipulate, so this wailing and howling is not the genuine cry of pain, remorse, or compassion—no, the wail and howl of the impostor is a grand charade to further his agenda of conning and deceiving. Would you be surprised to learn that one of the strategies which activist Saul Alinsky included in his book, Rules for Radicals (© 1971), to force societal change was to loudly, disruptively, and continuously complain—to howl and wail—against the status quo? (Incidentally, Alinsky dedicated this book to “…the first radical known to man…Lucifer”.)
Another definition of goēs is “enchanter”—a person, according to the source, who would utter incantations in a sort of a howl.
But to me, the most intriguing definition of all is included in the second meaning along with “enchanter”—a “juggler”. You may wonder how this word “juggler” could possibly be related to “impostor” or “seducer”. Well, this is where it gets very interesting.
These days, information—extremely important information—gets thrown at all of us constantly. Any attempt to make sense of current events is dizzying and can make you feel as if you are watching a multi-object juggling routine in hyper-speed! You start to learn about one thing going on and before you know it, a second, and then a third, and then a fourth—all breaking news—all “just in”—slap you, one after the other, in the face. Changes and crises abound—whether in health care law, the resulting sweeping loss of hours, wages, and jobs, invasive privacy concerns, military changes and new crises in the middle-east and the Ukraine, growing concerns about the integrity of the IRS, skyrocketing prices, changes in the genetic makeup of food, gun laws, voting laws, immigration and the influx of non-citizens and unaccompanied minors crossing our borders, changes in the age-old definition of marriage and growing antagonism toward those who hold to traditional views, environmental regulations undermining the use of trusted energy sources while eliminating whole sectors of jobs, changes in the US relationship with China, Russia, Iran and the rest of middle-east, chilly relations on the part of the administration with Israel, predicted decline in America’s status as the world’s economic leader and super-power, changes in what is commonly accepted as right and wrong—all these things and so much more fly at us from every direction at the speed of light.
Most of us do not have the reading capacity of President Kennedy who was reported to read four newspapers in 15 minutes every day. And yet the daily, perpetual juggling of volumes of highly detailed information about ever-changing, significant events intensifies all the more, mocking our inability to comprehend even one piece, let alone grasp the entire scope of information.
Most folks just throw their hands up in the air, let the info fall to the ground, and walk away. Who can keep up with it all?
I propose that this “juggling routine” is by design to keep men and women of good will and honest heart off-balance as they attempt to bring order to chaos.
But I also believe with all my heart that there is a strategy from the Throne Room of God to empower His people to deal effectively in the face of this constant juggling of disastrous, poisonous events and information.
Consider this: It was rumored that baseball legend Ted Williams was able to see—as if frozen in space—the seams on any fastball hurled his way. Could it be that God might be “magnifying your vision” with one or two of the very serious issues facing our nation? Are you passionate about any of the crises or changes gripping our culture? What angers you? What makes you uneasy? What is attempting to rob your peace? Take note. Could it be that the issues that bother you the most are the “seams on the baseball” flying at you? Could it be that the Living God has prompted your ire and is coaching and preparing you to hit that issue out of the park in consecrated, heartfelt prayer?
It is my belief that God’s will in these difficult days is to send assignments to His men and women, boys and girls, “freezing in space” for each one of us the details concerning those things about which He is prompting us to pray. Look. He’s so much greater than any impostor, seducer, or juggler of oppression and folly that ever existed.
So when you see alarming information being juggled at warp-speed before your eyes, thank God that He has His “Ted Williams” prayer people stepping up to the plate all over the nation and around the world. They are poised, ready, waiting, bats in hand, anticipating those fastballs, and, seeing the seams, with their prayer muscles bulging, they swing with a force that could only come from God and connect—sending those balls way out of the park.
Get ready to play ball, Ted Williams—you!
Dorothy
Read MoreA message from Anne Graham-Lotz
I am posting this message from Billy Graham’s daughter. I received a copy of it on June 23rd, and I believe that it is an important one involving prayer for the nation for the first seven days of July 2014. Here is the email I received:
URGENT PRAYER REQUEST FROM ANNE GRAHAM-LOTZ:
Blow the trumpet…sound the alarm…for the day of the Lord is coming. It is close at hand– Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God… Joel 2:1, 13
As you may know, my husband is in declining health. I am no longer traveling and speaking as much as I have for the last 26 years since I am staying home to care for him. As a result, I have had time to be quiet and listen more to the whispers of the Spirit. He has revealed things to me in the stillness that I’m not sure I would have heard in my former busyness.
One of the things He has impressed on me is that we are living at the end of human history as we know it. In light of this, He has given me some practical assignments. One was to be the Honorary Chair for the National Day of Prayer 2014 this past May. He gave me the message I was to deliver, which was from Joel 1…the Day of the Lord is at hand. It was a message warning that judgment is coming.
Just recently, He has given me another assignment, which is to call His people in our nation to prayer. This assignment came indirectly from a Syrian pastor through a National Day of Prayer attendee. In obedience, I am blowing the trumpet…sounding the alarm…issuing a national prayer initiative entitled
7 7 7: An Urgent Call to Prayer.
The Call is for God’s people to pray for each of the first seven days in the seventh month-July 1-7. Then on the 7th day, July 7, we are to pray and fast for 7 hours. The purpose is…
-For God the Father to restrain, protect, and deliver His people from the evil that has come into our world.
-For God the Son to be exalted, magnified, and glorified in His church, in our nation, and in our lives.
-For God the Holy Spirit to fall on us in a fresh way, compelling the church to repent of sin and our nation to return to faith in the living God, resulting in a great national spiritual awakening.
I intend to join in and pray with Mrs. Lotz and others around the nation. Hope you will be able to as well!
Dorothy
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