Fulfilling Our Nation's Destiny

Fulfilling Our Nation's Destiny
 by Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

As Christians and concerned citizens, we can easily be overcome by the barrage of discouraging reports that fill our newspapers and television and computer screens.  Our economy is not what we want it to be.  Our family structure is threatened.  Sensuality seems to have become our god.  Devastating tornadoes and floods have left many Americans homeless, frightened and in despair. Many feel that God has abandoned us or has, at least, withdrawn His blessing from us.   If God has turned His back on us, where, then, is our hope? 

Whenever we have questions about our heavenly Father, the first place to look is in the Book He has written for us. In Jeremiah 17:7-8, we read, "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, And whose hope is the LORD. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit."  

According to His Word, if our hope is in the Lord, we can prosper in the midst of and in spite of the circumstances around us. A nation's destiny lies not within the halls of the Congress in Washington or the Knesset in Israel, but within the hearts of believers. To understand the destiny and purpose of God for a nation, we must look with spiritual discernment at the believing remnant within that nation.  More simply put, God's justice is based more on what is happening in the hearts of His people than on what is happening in the hearts of others. Believers are the representatives within America and every other nation who carry the destiny that God sees for that nation.  

We often quote 2 Chronicles 7:14: "If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land."  We quote this passage and point our fingers at non-believers and declare their need to repent.  We often choose to overlook the fact that God is calling His people, believers, into repentance and holiness
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In Genesis 18:17-23, God agrees to spare Sodom from destruction if only 10 righteous men can be found within the city walls.  In Ezekiel 22:30, God says that He will spare Jerusalem if only one righteous person is willing to stand in the gap and intercede for the city. It is a righteous remnant who can, through the power of the Holy Spirit, bring into fulfillment the destiny of a people.

How can we, as individuals, join the righteous remnant whose intercession can determine the destiny of our nation?   Through righteous and holiness.  Today, via the internet, many of God's people are praying what we have come to call "The Harp" prayer based on 2 Chronicles 7:14:

H: humble ourselves
A: Acknowledge God
R: Repent of our sins
P: Pray for our land

"Lord, I humble myself before you and acknowledge that You alone are my God and my Savior.  I repent, first of all, for my own sins, and then for the sins of my nation.  I pray that You, in Your mercy, will heal our land.  In Jesus' Name, Amen."

Let Justice Run Down Like Water

Let Justice Run Down Like Water

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

Take away from Me the noise of your songs, for I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments. But let justice run down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream. - Amos 5:23, 24 (NKJV)

God is just; therefore, He desires justice for and from His church. Influenced by the world’s system, we often equate justice with punishment alone, demanding to see the perpetrator suffer, and once that suffering is exacted, we walk away.

There is a passage in Matthew that is often used to justify this harsh way of dealing with people, but the overall context and purpose of these words gets lost. God wants us to have His perspective regarding the compassionate justice and reconciliation He desires. Let’s look at the larger context:

Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven. For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost. What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish. Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that “by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.” And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector. (Matthew 18:10-17; NKJV)

Several points are worthy of examination:

1. “The little ones” are not necessarily children. The Greek word translated “little” could also be translated “least.”  The little ones, therefore, can be those who are new or immature in their faith; it could also be those who are weakest or most vulnerable. In some respects, we are all “little ones.”

If one of us goes astray, the heart of Father God is for that one to be rescued from the rocky perils of worldliness and to be restored to His flock.

2. In this passage, God gives us the process for reconciliation. We are just as accountable for following this progression as the wayward sheep is for his actions in leaving the fold of the Shepherd.

Unfortunately, we frequently follow another path: we gossip over coffee, take one or two others with us to “ambush” the offender, which humiliates the “lost sheep.” Then we quickly spread the word that God will remove blessing from the church if that wayward one remains. This is neither compassionate nor just.

3. God tells us that, if the offenders do not repent, we are to treat them as we would treat unbelievers or the tax collectors. We have generally taken that to mean cutting them off or dismissing them, but what if we were to consider what that means in the context of how God Himself treated the heathen or tax collector in Scripture?

Remember, Abraham came from a family that worshipped false gods (Joshua 24:2), but God revealed Himself to this heathen and made a profound covenant with him.

In the New Testament, Matthew, who is sometimes called Levi, was a tax collector, yet he was called out to be one of Jesus’ disciples. Zaccheus—another tax collector—was sought out by Jesus and invited into a life-changing encounter.

The heathen and the tax collector represent those regarded with great disdain in the Hebrew culture, yet the Lord pursued them, loved them, and discipled them.

4. Godly justice requires not only that we are held accountable for our decisions and our actions, but we are also to be loved, counseled, discipled, and brought back into the fold. And while it is true that sometimes people resist this process, still God’s unfailing love never writes anyone off.

Since the Fall, God’s plan has been to redeem and to reconcile a people for Himself.  True justice—compassionate justice—requires making a pathway to repentance and restoration. Reconciliation, rather than ostracism, will create an atmosphere where justice can run down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.

The Church: God’s Voice in Media

The Church:  God’s Voice in Media

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

“Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.”  (Ephesians 4:29; NKJV)

We are weary of falsehoods, misrepresentation, half-truths, name calling, etc. that have become part of worldly media.  However, one reason that the Church has had so little effect in bringing change in the media, is that we are too often guilty of the same shortcomings.  The sinful practices we engage in have power over us rather than vice versa.

Each Sunday, our church makes declarations over the seven mountains of cultural influence.

Over the media particularly, we declare that this industry will be the result of truth and integrity in the lives of those who produce it. Through these words, the Holy Spirit has convicted us with the truth that we, too, are a form of media. God’s people are His voice crying in the desert, “Prepare ye the way of the Lord.” Therefore, we must guard our words, and we must live and speak with integrity.

There are many Scriptures that have significant implications for the concept of the body of Christ’s role as media to the world:

·         We are instructed on what things we should definitely speak up about: “Open your mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy” (Proverbs 31:9).

·         We are reminded to be guarded in how we speak: “He who guards his mouth preserves his life, But he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction” (Prov. 13:3). We must do all things—even speaking up for truth—in love, with gentleness and forbearance.  

·         Perhaps most significantly for us these days, Paul even extends caution about engaging in the divisive language we’re so used to in the media:

But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will. (2 Timothy 2:23-26)

Our purpose as God's media representatives is to display the loving nature of our God so that those in opposition may be drawn to Him, especially through the words of life we speak.

Consider Proverbs 18:21: “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” Our words, both positive and negative, both truth and fabrication, bear eternal consequences. They also expose our inner nature; they flow from our hearts and reveal what is actually there. (See Luke 6:45; Eph. 4:29)

Too often, our conversation sounds more like the gossip columns that appear on the back pages of the newspaper or those celebrity gossip shows. This even spills into our prayer groups sometimes. We do not have to know all the “down and dirty” details in order to pray. Some prayer requests should not go public. Just because we heard it in the beauty salon does not mean that it should go on the church prayer chain or be discussed in the coffee shop. We must respect the privacy of those in need. The private, fervent prayer of the righteous still avails much.

The gospel is good news—and our world is hungry for good news, for the knowledge that God thinks good thoughts toward us, that His desire is to give us a future and a hope. We are to broadcast that good news not only by our words, but also by our lifestyle, by our joyful countenance, and by our work ethic.

We are the newspaper that our friends and neighbors read daily. We are the social network that joins together a disjointed community. We are the news commentators who bring hope in the midst of despair.

As with all renewal, revitalization of the media must begin in the House of God. When individual members of the Body of Christ step out of the pews and become the media of God in our daily lives—when we speak truth and life—we will eventually see that change reflected in the worldly media as well.

(Originally published at https://www.generals.org/articles/)

They're Watching the City on the Hill

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

Scriptures That Have Gripped My Heart: Amos 5:24

Scriptures That Have Gripped My Heart:  Amos 5:24

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

As we read or hear the Word of God, many times the Holy Spirit will quicken a particular passage and cause it to become powerful in our lives.  In this series, I have the joy of sharing some of those scriptures that have gripped my heart and transformed me by the renewing my mind (Romans 12:2).

In our troubled world, it seems that righteousness and justice have no voice, no place in a culture teeming with lies, deceptions and legislation determined by self-protecting cabals rather than the good of the people.  

To understand that this situation is not new in our time, we need only look into the Word of God.  The prophet Amos delivered a message calling out for the repentance the nation of Israel.  The Lord, speaking through the prophet, expressed His despair over offerings and meaningless religious rituals from a people steeped in sin.  He declared, “But let justice run down like water, And righteousness like a mighty stream.” - Amos 5:24 (NKJV)

God cries out for justice and righteousness, but not vengeance. 

Justice and self-styled vengeance do not go hand-in-hand. Our hearts are stirred to vengeance when even we, as citizens of the Kingdom of God, do not wholly understand either godly vengeance or godly justice.

“‘Vengeance is mine,’ says the Lord” appears twice in scripture—first in Deuteronomy 32:35 and again in Romans 12:19. But when we quote scripture partially or out of context, we miss the message. Note the complete verse:

Vengeance is Mine, and recompense, for the time when their foot shall slip; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and their doom comes swiftly. - Deut. 32:35 (ESV)

When God says that vengeance is His, He is not saying that He will always heap punishment, pain and shame upon those who have come against us. He is saying that, if people continue in their evil, the natural consequences of their actions will overtake them. Evil brings about its own downfall. Vengeance is often the natural consequence of evil. We must, in faith, leave vengeance and recompense in the hand of God.

It is by faith that we can forego vengeance and embrace justice as we find it in the nature of our God. Proverbs 28:5 reminds us that, “Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the LORD understand all.”

The fullness of justice is seen in Micah 6:8: “He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” Justice flows in mercy and humility.

We must be fully cognizant that mercy does not enable the sinner to remain in sin. Mercy also does not deliver us from the consequences of our actions. God, in His mercy, has paid the wages of sin for us, but also, in His mercy, we must face the consequences of our decisions and of our behaviors. We grow when we accept the responsibility for what we have done.

Remembering that the mercy of God has redeemed us, we must pray for the salvation of those facing justice both in the worldly and heavenly courts. That is mercy. That is humility. It is not God’s desire that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9).  It is also not our place to wish the tortures of hell upon anyone.

Justice, in itself, will not satisfy the anguish of our hearts while we walk in unforgiveness. It is an unforgiving spirit that cries out for self-styled vengeance.

As Christians, we often struggle with forgiving others and ourselves because we operate under a false perception of forgiveness. To forgive does not mean that we deny the hurt and anguish that other people or circumstances have brought into our lives. To forgive does not mean that we do not want others to face justice. To forgive does not necessarily mean that we put ourselves back into the line of fire.

According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, to forgive is “to stop feeling anger toward someone who has done something wrong; to stop blaming someone; to stop feeling anger about something.” Forgiveness—especially for the deeply wounded—is a process, not a single event. When we are wounded, whether physically, emotionally or spiritually, we cannot heal without experiencing a grieving process.  Progressive forgiveness, whether we are forgiving ourselves or others, will expedite that process.  

An everpresent prayer in my own life is, “I forgive. Father God, please help my unforgiveness.”

Many of us have recited the Lord’s Prayer so many times that we pay little attention to the words we are speaking. Whether we say, “forgive us our trespasses,” “forgive us our sins,” or “forgive us our debts,” we are asking to be forgiven to the extent we forgive others. I cannot receive forgiveness from my Heavenly Father if I do not extend it to others. This forgiveness is not the same as what Jesus accomplished on the cross, allowing me into eternal covenant with God, but it is the forgiveness necessary as we confront the difficulties, obstacles and angst of living in a fallen world.

If we do not forgive, the wounds put down deep roots and infect every area of our lives.  Our desire for vengeance does not heal. Forgiveness does, enabling us to accept the justice of both the heavenly court and the worldly court.

In the spirit of justice—with mercy, humility and forgiveness—I cry out for my community, for my nation, for all communities and all nations, “Oh, God, we repent for our sins in order for justice to run down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

And as we are reminded in the Psalms, “Blessed are those who keep justice, and he who does righteousness at all times” (Psalm 106:3). Let’s do the right thing.

Freedom to Know Your Identity

Freedom to Know Your Identity

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

At a trying time in my life, when I was breaking free from the bondage of “brotherly” oppression and a religious spirit, the Lord gave me this verse: “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage” (Galatians 5:1). I grew to understand that the freedom to be who God created me to be was an integral part of my identity in Him.  In that understanding, I reveled in His freedom. Freedom is autonomy, independence, and the power and authority to make wise choices, which will lead us into an abundant life in Jesus Christ. True freedom comes from knowing who God is and knowing who we are in Christ.

God’s freedom and grace are not license for me to continue in the habits that led me to bondage in the first place. Jesus suffered the agony of Calvary to set us free from those practices–all of which are rooted in our worldly mindsets. In Him, I am continually being transformed by the renewing of my mind (Romans 12:2). That transformation involves stepping into His freedom.

In His freedom I have come to understand my identity. I am radically loved by God, gifted by God, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and destined to be like Jesus. When those truths became rhema word (Holy Spirit-breathed revelation) to me, I realized I had value in the Kingdom. In that light, I stepped into the freedom to exercise my spiritual gifts. Even when I wasn’t one of the chosen leaders in my church, I came to understand I had the freedom to hear from the Holy Spirit and to apply revelation to my life. I had the freedom to raise my hands and dance in the Spirit as I worshiped my King. Then God led me into ministries where I could move even more effectively in His freedom.

As I accepted my identity, many changes came into my spiritual life and into my relationships. I was moving into unfamiliar--yet welcome--territory, moving away from what had become my “uncomfortable zone.” To allay any confusion on my part, God intervened and confirmed His plan and purpose for my life. One December, I was driving across the Wyoming prairies on a sunlit day with the wind seemingly blowing 108 mph from all four directions. In the midst of that wind, I looked to my left to see a coyote running, running, running. Nothing was after him. Nothing was before him. He appeared to be running simply out of the sheer joy of being a coyote.

Then the Lord spoke to my spirit and said, “My daughter, you are running free, free as that coyote.”  Praise God, through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, we can run free even with the winds of adversity coming at us from all directions.

When we sense the loss of freedom, we must remember the admonition of Galatians 5:7-8: “You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion does not come from Him who calls you.” God does not desire shackles for His children. He will never hinder us from obeying the truth. In fact, He has set us free to walk in obedience to the truth. Our God is an awesome God!  
   
The truth of our identity in Him will set us free to live and move and have our being. That truth will empower us to fulfill our destiny in the Lord. That truth will motivate us to become Christ’s ambassadors of the Kingdom. That truth will move us off the pews and into the harvest field.  
  
Let’s not be coyotes who sit and howl at the moon in discontent. Let’s be coyotes on the run enjoying the freedom of who we are in Jesus Christ.

Coyote
By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe 

Run, coyote, run
Over the wind-swept prairies
Through grasses browned by time.
Run in the freedom of you,
Snapping, snarling, laughing.
Propelled by the gust,
The color of dust,
Run, coyote, run.

Scriptures That Have Gripped My Heart: Psalm 16:5-6

Scriptures That Have Gripped My Heart

Psalm 16:5-6

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

 As we read or hear the Word of God, many times the Holy Spirit will quicken a particular passage and cause it to become powerful in our lives.  In this series, I have the joy of sharing some of those scriptures that have gripped my heart and transformed me by the renewing my mind (Romans 12:2).

Psalm 16:5-6 (NKJV)
⁵  O LORD, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You maintain my lot.
⁶  The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Yes, I have a good inheritance.

Most of us have dreamed, at some time or another, of having a wealthy relative or benefactor from whom we will inherit great riches.  Many try to find wealth in the lottery or from mining gold in Alaska or diamonds in Arkansas.  Yet, King David understood that his well being (his inheritance) came from his relationship with the Lord.

Because God is our inheritance, “want” does not have to be a part of our lives. The word translated as “cup” in the passage comes from a root word that means “to hold together” or “a container”.  Our lives are held together in the container of His hands.   

We share the inheritance of heaven with Jesus.  We are the children of God.  We will, at times, suffer with Him because we live in a fallen world where sin abounds.  Yet, when we endure, He will exalt us, glorify us, care for us and provide for us. 

Consider the following supporting passages:

▪Romans 8:16-17 (NKJV)
¹⁶  The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
¹⁷  and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

▪1 Peter 5:6-7 (NKJV)
⁶  Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,
⁷  casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

▪Philippians 4:19 (NKJV)
¹⁹  And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

In spite of the adverse circumstances in my life, God has established still waters where I can rest in Him and be strengthened and refreshed.  His provision, His love, His care have caused the journey of my life to be a pleasant one because His presence transcends my grief and loneliness.  At times, life can be difficult.  In spite of the difficulty, I truly have a good inheritance in my God.  Therefore, I worship.

Lord, You Are (1996)

You’re listening—

I know.

You are caring—

I heal.

You are empowering—

I’m strong.

You are speaking—

I am listening.

You are peace—

I rest.

You are redemption.

I am free.

You are song.

I sing.

You are worthy—

I praise.

You are forgiving.

I am forgiven.

You are glory—

You are mercy—

You are Holy,

Holy, Holy God.

I am Your child.

You are my King.