Always Reforming

The Church of Jesus Christ is under attack!  From Kenya to Nigeria to  China , the enemies of Jesus Christ are aggressively persecuting His people.  The mainstream media, while highlighting terror perpetrated against Muslims , has largely failed to publicize the systematic persecution of Christians throughout the world.  While American Christians like to think of themselves as persecuted, we haven't yet experienced anything approaching this level of hostility.  We are certainly not as popular or influential as in past centuries, but we have not yet shed our blood for our faith. Recently emerging in the news is the story of a large church building being  destroyed in China by the Chine government.  Something about this story feels symbolic.  Not only is the Chinese government trying to regulate and physically intimidate the Church out of existence, but it's literally destroying the buildings where Christians gather.  Nor is this by any m...

    American Christians continually get caught up in the talk radio/Fox News cycle of worry and doubt.  What if Hillary gets elected?  What if the Supreme Court is irrevocably liberalized?  What if Obama parks his rear in the oval office and refuses to abdicate?     You know what, worse injustices have happened in the history of the world.     But, they continue, the liberals are and will continue to target Christians!  We will have to bake cakes and hire people we don't want to!  We will, Heaven forbid, lose of 501c3 status!     Oh, the humanity!     Now, don't get me wrong.  Christianity is losing favor increasingly in this country.  As that favor goes, so our religious freedoms will go.  Christianity is really an exclusive religion, meaning that those who don't like us usually hate us.  The abuses of our religious freedom are injustices and we are right to combat them.  However...

Psalm 4:1-8     Very briefly, I would like to look through these verses to learn a few lessons about prayer, persecution, and peace.  Beginning with verse 1: Read verse 1.   David begins his psalm with a request.  He asks God to hear his prayer.  He begs God to acknowledge him and to answer him.      David does not take for granted God’s willingness to hear and answer prayer, and yet, he knows that His God will hear and respond.  He knows this from past experience.  “You have given me relief when I was in distress,” he says.  When seeking deliverance and provision from God, David often meditated on previous answers to prayer.  You could even say that he reminded God of them.      Many times towards the end of his psalms he reassures himself that his prayer will be heard and his petitions granted.  Sometimes he thanks God for answering his prayer before he’s even finished praying i...