They Are Watching the City on the Hill 

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

All of creation is watching and waiting for Reformation.

Jesus said of the Church,

"You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.”

Notice He spoke in the present tense.  We are the light of the world.  We are the city set on a hill that cannot be hidden.  The world is watching us. 

At the same time, we are watching the world.  We are watching the violence, the divisions, the anger, the unforgiveness and the despair. 

And the world, including all of creation, is watching us and waiting for us to step forward and take our places as the sons of God. (Romans 8:19).

The sons of God must stand in unity against the forces of the enemy of our souls.  The turmoil in our culture is manifested in the political, but its roots are in the spiritual.  Only the sons of God can battle in the spiritual realm.

When Jesus went into Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover of His crucifixion, He didn’t chase out the money changers in Caesar’s court.  He cleansed His own house.  He cleansed the Temple.  Today, Christians are the Temple of God.  We must be busy cleansing the Temple.  Before any political reformation came about in history, it began with a cleansing of the hearts of Christians. 

We cannot experience true brotherhood in the world until we experience true brotherhood in the Church.  The Apostle Paul wrote to the church at Epheseus, “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 faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” (Ephesians 4:4-6)

The desire of God’s heart is that Christians come together in unity–harmony within the church and harmony among the churches based on salvation through the blood of Jesus Christ, the virgin-born Son of God. We are not called to be sports teams in competition with one another.  We are called to stand together and to usher in the Kingdom of God—His will done on earth as it is in heaven.

Jesus, in the Garden of Gethsemane, sweat drops of blood as He prayed for the unity of His followers throughout the ages: "I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.  The glory which thou hast given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and thou in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them even as thou hast loved me” John 17:21-23. 

Psalm 133:1-3 declares the blessing in unity.  “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!  It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down on the beard, The beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments. It is like the dew of Hermon, descending upon the mountains of Zion; For there the LORD commanded the blessing: Life forevermore.”

We often preach about loving the sinner and loving our enemies.  We seldom speak of loving other Christians with the agape love that our Father has poured out upon and through us.  The Word tells us that the world will recognize Christians by the love we have for one another: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13: 34-35).

The world is waiting for Christians to love one another.  In that unity is deliverance, freedom and peace. Unbelievers will be drawn to Jesus by the love we have for other believers. (Isaiah 60:1-3).

Oh, Lord God, may the world know us by the love we have for one another, by our unity in the Spirit, by the peace we have within our hearts and with one another.  Amen.

Rise Up O Church of God

By William Pierson Merrill

Rise up O church of God

Have done with lesser things

Give heart and soul

And mind and strength

To serve the King of kings

Rise up O church of God

His kingdom tarries long

Bring in the day of brotherhood

And end the night of wrong

Rise up O church of God

The church for you doth wait

Her strength unequal to her task

Rise up and make her great

Lift high the cross of Christ

Tread where His feet have trod

As brothers of the Son of Man

Rise up O church of God

Prayer for Our Nation

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

As we move on toward the midterm elections and in light of the chaos in our nation and in the world, several major prayer ministries our calling for us to intercede, to stand in the gap for our nation. Remembering that righteousness exalts a nation (Proverbs 14:34), please join together as we declare the word of the Lord over those in authority over us.

We declare that our governmental leaders will love God and obey His directives for a good life because happy is the one who keeps the law of the Lord. (Proverbs 29:18)

Then our land will be blessed because our leaders will noble and not given to partying and drunkenness. (Ecclesiastes 10:17)

Our authorities will judge with truth. (Proverbs 29:14)

Our leaders will make right decisions because true authority is established in righteousness . (Proverbs 16:12b)

Our politicians will walk in the truth because “the king establishes the land by justice, But he who receives bribes overthrows it.” (Proverbs 29:4 (NKJV).

When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice. (Proverbs 29:2 (NKJV) .

Intercede, pray, declare and then vote for truth and righteousness.

 

Rise Up, Decently and in Order

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

Micah 6:1: “Hear now what the Lord says: "Arise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice.”

The Lord is calling His people to rise up and speak truth into the councils of the worldly. However, believers must do more than simply speak against sin and oppression; we must coherently speak for truth, and we must speak for that truth decently and in order. (1 Corinthians 14:40).

In order to plead our case, we must have a case.  It is time for Christians to offer solutions, to make solid, grounded suggestions in writing to influence public policies and to articulate exactly why we stand where we stand.  Every problem that exists is an opportunity to offer a godly solution. We must be proactive in offering solutions.

Our solutions must be presented decently and in order.  Decently and in order means that we must speak and write as the Holy Spirit directs.  (Luke 12:11-12:) "Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.''

The Holy Spirit will not lead us to speak out of fear and anger.  He will not suggest that we resort to vitriol, bigotry and name-calling. While the context of Psalm 45:1 is a song of praise to the King, the example is universal. “My heart is overflowing with a good theme; I recite my composition concerning the King; My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.”

We must have a good theme, a message that God wants people to hear and to understand.  Our theme must be well composed. A ready writer is one who has carefully chosen vocabulary and constructed sentences that will fully articulate the theme.

The biblical book of Romans is often considered one of the greatest legal briefs ever written.   Paul wasn’t just sitting at his desk spewing wrath.  He was listening intently to what the Holy Spirit wanted him to write. 

We must also present our solutions in an orderly manner.  Whether it is a board meeting, an open forum or friends meeting for coffee, we must understand protocol. We must follow the necessary procedure for placement on the agenda.  Then we must follow that agenda.  If we are given only 3 minutes to speak, we must organize our thoughts so that we present our arguments articulately within the allotted time frame.   Frankly, that takes thought and rehearsal.

We, like Esther, were born for such a time as this.  Like Esther, as well, we must prepare to meet those issues God has called us to confront.  Remember we are ambassadors of the Kingdom of God.  Paul wrote, “Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us”  (2 Corinthians 5: 20).

In our zeal, may we truly represent our King and His Kingdom. When we do that, Isaiah 60:1-3 will unfold in our lives:  “Arise, shine; For your light has come! and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the Lord will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you. The Gentiles (unbelievers) shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.”

1 Corinthians 14: 40.  Let all things be done decently and in order. 

 Just had to share this.

Sometimes It Takes a Mountain

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

Sometimes It Takes a Mountain

By Gloria Gaither and Mark Mathes

“Sometimes it takes a mountain

Sometimes a troubled sea

Sometimes it takes a desert

To get a hold of me

Your Love is so much stronger

Then whatever troubles me

Sometimes it takes a mountain

To trust you and believe.”

This song has captivated my heart.  It resonates in my spirit even in my sleep.  It has caused me to meditate on the mountains, the troubled seas and the deserts of life. 

In scripture, mountains often represent difficulties and hardships that must be overcome.  

Jesus assures us, “Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, `Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will come to pass, he will have whatever he says. Therefore, I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them” (Mark 11:22-24.)

Holding onto the promises of God, we discover that those mountains of obstruction in our lives can be removed, most often one layer at a time. 

However, the mountain image is not one-sided.  We often describe those victory moments in our lives as “mountain top” experiences.  Remember the ark rested on Mt. Ararat.  Abraham offered Isaac on Mount Moriah and received the provision of God for salvation.  Later, Solomon built the Temple on that sight.  Moses received the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai.  Elijah called down fire from heaven on Mount Carmel.  Golgotha gave us the ultimate mountain top experience when Jesus cried, “It is finished” and died to pay the price for our sin.

Whether the mountain offers obstruction or deliverance, a mountain top experience opens us to the revelation of God.  God gets a hold of us on the mountain.

On the troubled seas of life, we can either be like Jonah or like the Apostle Paul.  Jonah tried to escape the Lord on the tumultuous sea.    Jonah asked to be thrown overboard in the storm and found himself in an unlikely and uncomfortable place of protection.  God got a hold of him in the belly of the great fish.

God previously had got a hold of Paul on the road to Damascus.  When the tempest arose, Paul prayed and fasted during the storm and received the assurance that though the ship would be lost, all the lives on board would be saved.  When the stormy sea arose, Paul prayed because he knew his Lord.

God's love surrounds us even in the most turbulent times.

Romans 8:38-39:

For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor messengers, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present,

nor things about to be, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, that in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Then we come to the desert times when we feel empty, deserted and spiritually lethargic.  During those times, we must remember the Israelites in the wilderness.  God found his people in that desert: "He found them in a wilderness, a wasteland of howling desert. He shielded them, cared for them, guarded them as the apple of his eye" (Deuteronomy 32:10)

When the people of Judah were exiled in Babylon, God told them to return to their homeland.  The desert wilderness that lay between them and Jerusalem became a pathway back to God: "A voice proclaims: In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord! Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!" (Isaiah 40:3.)

We are not deserted in the desert.

What we must learn in difficult times is that His love is stronger than anything that might trouble us.  It is in those seemingly impossible situations that we learn to trust and believe. Sometimes it takes a mountain for us to accept that.

 

Fulfilling Our Nation’s Destiny–Part 3–Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

 

As we focus on believers as the key to fulfilling the destiny that God has for our nation, we have examined the importance of consecration and regeneration in activating the righteousness that exalts a nation.  As we continue this week in Joshua 5, we see the provision of our Lord in His loving care for His own. 

 

Joshua 5: 10-12: “Now the children of Israel camped in Gilgal, and kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight on the plains of Jericho. And they ate of the produce of the land on the day after the Passover, unleavened bread and parched grain, on the very same day. Then the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten the produce of the land; and the children of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate the food of the land of Canaan that year.” 

 

God had fed the Israelites manna for forty years.  When the wilderness years were over, the manna ceased, but the provision of God continued.  Our God is Jehovah Jirah, the God who provides.  When we forget that, we will act out of our fear rather than out of our faith.  Our nation’s current crises have caused many believers to forget our Lord’s ability to provide.  We panic rather than pray.  The crisis appears to be overwhelming, but “with God nothing will be impossible.” (Luke 1:37)

 

Matthew 6:31-33: ”Do not be over-anxious, therefore, asking ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For all these are questions that Gentiles are always asking; but your Heavenly Father knows that you need these things—all of them. But make His Kingdom and righteousness your chief aim, and then these things shall all be given you in addition.”  The key to divine provision is seeking the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. 

 

We must remember, also, that God’s provision is not limited to food and clothing.  He has provided us with salvation through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.  We usually have a limited concept of what all is involved in salvation.  When we examine the definition of two Greek words translated as “salvation”, we find that the word means deliverance, safety, healing, health and prosperity.  If salvation meant only that we may have eternity with our Lord, it would be enough to cause us to live always in hope.  However, our God is a God of abundance.  Not only does salvation insure our eternity, it insures our today. 

 

We need the total package that salvation provides.  We need deliverance and healing from fear, hopelessness, and despair.  We are conscious of the war of terror that is being waged on the national  and international fronts.  We are not so aware of the war of terror that is being waged in our own hearts.  The news media reports what is happening in the world, but can offer no solution or hope.  Even most believers have resolved to expect the worst. 

 

How can believers reconcile what we see and hear around us with God’s word that He delights in us and has a future and a hope for us?  We must walk in faith in the promises of God.  Philippians 4:19: “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”  Do you need faith?  God will supply it.  Do you need hope?  God will supply it.  Do you need wisdom?  God will supply it.  Is a solution to our nation’s needs available?  Yes, and God has it.

 

As consecrated, regenerated believers, walking in His righteousness, let’s intercede before the throne of God on behalf of our nation.  Let’s declare His promises and walk in His hope.  One of my favorite hymns is “I Don’t Know about Tomorrow” by Ira Stanphill.  Let’s sing with him.

 

“I don’t know about tomorrow, I just live from day to day;

I don’t borrow from its sunshine, For its skies may turn to gray.

I don’t worry over the future, For I know what Jesus said;

And today I’ll walk beside Him, Because He knows what is ahead.

 

Many things about tomorrow

I don’t seem to understand

But I know who holds tomorrow

And I know who holds my hand.”

 

 

Father, we are thankful that when we walk in Your righteousness, we can trust in Your provision.  We receive Your wisdom and Your hope.  We rebuke any spirit of fear that tries to attach itself to us.  We pray for the decision-makers of our nation that they, too, will seek Your wisdom. Amen.

 

Fulfilling Our Nation’s Destiny–Part 2

–by Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

 

            The fulfillment of our nation’s destiny lies within the hearts of our nation’s believers. God’s justice is dispensed based on what is happening in the hearts of His people and not on what is happening in the hearts of others.  Believers are the representatives within America who carry the destiny that God sees for our nation. 

 

Proverbs 14:34 declares, “Righteousness exalts a nation.” However, the righteousness that exalts a nation is not righteousness as determined by man.  Through the sacrifice of Jesus on Calvary, righteousness has been imputed to those who have accepted Him as Lord and Savior. (Romans 4: 22-25): Speaking of Abraham, Paul writes, “And therefore “it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.”  To impute is to assign, to empower, to allot.  When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, God assigns righteous to us and empowers us to live righteously in Him.

 Righteous living is seen in those who honor God by following His ways.  (John 14:15) Jesus said, “if you love me, keep my commandments.”  Through our imputed righteousness in Jesus Christ, we are to live lives that honor Him. Not only does righteous living honor God, but righteous living also brings blessing into our lives. Many blessings come to us because, through the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we are able to make better choices.  God’s Holy Word has given us a road map to attaining the heart attitude for righteous living.  Joshua, Chapter Five, is only one of many passages of scripture that outline that heart attitude

 

In Joshua 5, the Israelites have followed the Ark of the Covenant across the Jordan River near Jericho.  The conquering of the Promised Land is both historical and spiritual.  The battles represent spiritual battles we must all overcome in order to walk fully in the promises of God in this life.  Israel came out of Egypt with a slave mentality, wandered in the wilderness for forty years, and developed into a nation empowered to fulfill God’s destiny for them.  God prepared them spiritually for the battles ahead.  The first step was consecration. 

 

All those who had left Egypt had entered into a covenant with Jehovah through circumcision.  However, all those who had left Egypt, except Joshua and Caleb, had died in the wilderness.  Although they were God’s chosen, the new generation had not yet entered into the covenant and had to be circumcised as a sign of their consecration unto the Lord.  Consecration comes as we embrace what God has prepared for us and choose to walk with Him in covenant.  Consecration goes hand in hand with biblical regeneration. 

 

“Therefore if any man be in Christ he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (II Corinthians 5:17). Regenerated people can testify that things are different now. We have received a new power and pattern for living. Regeneration and consecration bring with them new life, and new desires and new goals. 

 

In the New Covenant, the sign of consecration is baptism. In believer’s baptism, those who have accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior, enter into the baptismal waters to declare their decision to leave the old life behind and enter into a new life consecrated to our heavenly Father.  (Romans 6:4)

 

It is in that new life consecrated to God that we will become more than conquerors in the chaotic world around us. It is there that believers will, through righteous living and intercession, fulfill the destiny that God sees for our nation. When we believers humble ourselves, pray, seek His face and turn from our wicked ways, God will forgive our sin and heal our land. (2 Chronicles 7:14.)

 

Father, we pray for Your guidance to walk in the righteousness that You have imputed to us.  We covenant with You to leave our old lives of defeat and discouragement behind and to walk in victory in Jesus Christ.

 

Amen.