08/28/2021
There are many challenges that face the Church today, but none so great as those that have risen up within it. Pastors that are not called by God, but are thieves who see the Church as vulnerable, and its children to be easily abused and taken advantage of. False prophets who desire notoriety, and serve only themselves. Men of God who fall victim to their own lusts; having forgotten God, and how to pray. These, and others, have breached the Holy walls of the Church, put God’s people to shame, have dishonored Him, and stand as obstacles to the salvation of many.
“O God, you know my folly; the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you. Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me, O Lord God of hosts; let not those who seek you be brought to dishonor through me, O God of Israel.”
Psalm 69:5-6 ESV
Dark forces such as these have caused the loss of many souls, and they will certainly face the fires of judgement unless they come to the light. Turn inward Church, and pray fervently for God to purify, and restore honor to the bride of His Son Jesus Christ. Open the eyes of the sinners within, and pierce their hearts with arrows of guilt, remorse, and contrition. God hear the prayers of the Saints, as we pray for them to fall weeping at your feet, repent, and be truly saved by your grace through Jesus… thus bridging their separation from you.
“but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies; your tongue mutters wickedness.”
Isaiah 59:2-3 ESV
When believers who are seeking to follow Jesus Christ see corruption in the Church, especially from those proclaiming to be leaders, it presents them with a stumbling block. Mature Christians are typically able to fend off such adversity because they can separate the lesser character of men from the greater perfection of the divine, but many new believers, and those who are just beginning to feel their way towards Christ, are often struck a mortal spiritual blow by such behavior, one that their infant faith is unable to recover from… one that the perpetrators of such darkness will one day be judged for… murderers of the soul.
“But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.”
2 Peter 2:1-3 ESV
These are not uncommon occurrences because we are surrounded by a fallen world, and we read about them in the news, or hear about them in the circles of our faith, nearly every day. As believers we must stay alert, and pray for discernment so that we won’t fall victim to such men, women, and thoughts. Our souls hang in the balance, so our prayers should be raised up like shields to protect us when dark shadows are cast across our faith. In this way our prayers should be lifted up for our discernment, protection, the souls that are on the brink of being lost, and yes… those lost souls that are enslaved to the very darkness that is accosting us.
“to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’”
Acts 26:18 ESV
Prayer:
Father, we thank you for your Son Jesus who teaches us to stand firm in our faith, and to seek strength, and light, from you as we are confronted by the darkness that is in the world. We pray that you will pull the weeds of discord, false teaching, and the other forms of sin and abomination from within the garden that is your Church. Where possible Lord lead those who have fallen away from you back into your eternal light, and have mercy on them as they pray for forgiveness. Give strength to all your Saints so that we will remain Christ-like in the face of ridicule as Satan uses the actions of His minions that have lived within our midst to fuel the attacks of the world on us. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who helps your children to weather every storm, and covers us with the blood of Jesus. Praised be your name for every word of false teaching that is overcome, and for each of Satan’s cohorts that have been revealed by your light. You are wise beyond description, and your patience knows no bounds. Give us the grace to pray for our enemies Father, and your love that can comfort us as we await their contrition, repentance, forgiveness, and transformation. Open our hearts in the knowledge that you do not wish that any should be lost, but all saved in Christ. Wash away even the most stubborn stain with the blood of Jesus.
“if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones, whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord. But these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant, will also be destroyed in their destruction, suffering wrong as the wage for their wrongdoing. They count it pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, while they feast with you. They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children!”
2 Peter 2:6-14 ESV
“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”
2 Peter 3:9 ESV
Rich Forbes