Thoughts for another day

January 5, 2007

Today's verse: Jer. 2:8. The priests said not, Where is the LORD? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit. (KJV)

While in prayer today having already decided upon a verse, God through a series of information changed it and gave me rather the above verse to reflect on. In today’s context I believe, it is very essential.

We belong to a church, it matters not which one as long as Jesus Christ is proclaimed and which nurtures our belief in Him as well as builds us up to be His body and care and love the community. Now, any church has a leader, set apart to minister and through whom, people are able to partake in the worship of God. It is this minister, we are going to be looking at, not to criticize, for then we will be called to account, but look at them with love and pray for them.

Beloved in Christ, a couple of months ago, I read about a great leader and pastor Ted Haggard, the pillar of the New Life movement and about his sin and his downfall. Also, we read and hear so much about the unholy acts of priests and other religious people everyday. And as a good Christian we seethe deep inside upon learning of the sacrilegious acts of these people. Today, God is asking us to pray for them.

Pray for your priest or pastor and for all those foot soldiers of the army of Jesus Christ armed with the Sword of the Holy Spirit and going about the world spreading the sweet aroma of the Gospel. These are the people most targeted by satan and his denizens. They are under constant attack. You may never experience that kind of attack but if you were to do then you would understand how strong it is. I myself am attacked so often that many times I cry out to the Lord to grant me redemption even as I stress the last portion of the ‘Our Father’ …lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil…

It is extremely defeating to fall into sin and these men of God do so often and are indicted by God too as in the verse above. It is only our prayer that will keep their hands holy and make the ground they walk on holy. Will you set aside a few moments today to pray for them?