Encouragement for Life

By Dion Elmore, Prayers for America with Dr. Dave Butts

With just a few days until we observe the 66th Annual National Day of Prayer, the chairman of the board of The National Day of Prayer task Force, Dr. Dave Butts shares a few thoughts on …Prayers for America     

1. Protection

“Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him. You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance” (Ps. 32:6-7).

Pray for the Lord’s protection throughout the new administration’s term of office. Physical and spiritual protection is needed for President Trump and Vice President Pence and their families as well as for all of the administration.

Lord, be our Defender!

2. Presence

“I will put my dwelling place among you, and I will not abhor you. I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people” (Lev. 26:11-12).

Nothing is more important than the Presence of the Lord Himself in the halls of government. Far too many in our nation would isolate our faith to a private personal one or to a house of worship. The Presence of God changes lives and meets the deepest needs—not just those of individuals, but also the needs of our nation and its culture. Welcoming the Presence of the Lord into government can open the door for a longing for His Presence in all of society.

Make Your Presence known Lord!

3. Peace

“I will grant peace in the land, and you will lie down and not one will make you afraid. I will remove savage beasts from the land, and the sword will not pass through your country” (Lev. 26:6).

In the midst of a badly divided nation from top to bottom, we desperately need God’s peace. Pray for the Lord’s peace to come into the Congress of the United States and into the Supreme Court of the land. May this new administration, that during the campaign often stirred up controversies, become known as an administration that unites and brings peace. Pray also that God’s peace would touch the church in this nation that found itself badly divided over this election.

We long for Your peace to come to our nation, Lord!

4. Provision

“He provides food for those who fear him; he remembers his covenant forever. He has shown his people the power of his works, giving them the lands of other nations” (Ps.111:5-6).

We need to humbly come before the Lord and confess our need for His great provision to be poured out upon our nation. We need wisdom from above. We need the provision that meets healthcare needs in just ways. We need the provision of a robust economy that allows us to provide good jobs to those who are able to work. We especially need to be a nation that realizes that what we have comes from the Lord’s hand.

Thank You for being our Provider, O Lord!

5. Proficiency

“Now obey my voice; I will give you advice, and God be with you! You shall represent the people before God and bring their cases to God, and you shall warn them about the statutes and the laws, and make them know the way in which they must walk and what they must do. Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.   And let them judge the people at all times. Every great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you. If you do this, God will direct you, you will be able to endure, and all this people also will go to their place in peace” (Ex. 18:19-23). 

We need a government that is proficient in all its ways. The people of our nation too often look to government as an example of that which doesn’t work well. Inept and inefficient is often our basic view of the government. We need the new administration to begin to function well. We need this administration regularly to ask for the Lord’s help to make it proficient in government. That includes understanding what is and what is not the proper role of government.

Lord God, would You empower our government to properly use its power for efficient and just government!

David is a much sought after conference speaker both nationally and internationally. He serves on several Boards of Directors and committees focused on prayer, revival and evangelism. Dave received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Lincoln Christian College (1975), and Bachelors (1978) and Masters (1982) from Indiana State University. In 2014 he received the Doctor of Philosophy in Theology (PhD) from Atlantic Coast Theological Seminary. From 1974-1992, Dave served in various pastoral roles in local churches. In 1993 Dave and his wife, Kim, launched Harvest Prayer Ministries.

Besides authoring numerous magazine articles on prayer and missions for various publications, Dave is the author of With One Cry, Vertical with Jesus, Forgotten Power, When God Shows Up, Desperate for Change, The Devil Goes to Church, Prayer and the End of Days, Asleep in the Land of Nod,  Revolution on Our Knees and Pray Like the King, which he wrote jointly with his wife, Kim.

Original Article is found here.  It was posted by: http://www.nationaldayofprayer.org

By Darrel Geis, Who was Saint Patrick and why do we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day?

Q: Who was Saint Patrick and why do we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day?

A:  Patrick, whom almost everyone calls “Saint Patrick,” although he was never canonized by the Catholic Church, was born to a wealthy family in AD 387 in Kilpatrick, Scotland. His real name was Maewyn Succat. It was his extensive missionary work in Ireland for which Patrick is famous. During the thirty years of work there, he supposedly converted over 135,000 people, established 300 churches, and consecrated 350 bishops. Patrick died on March 17, 461. For over a millennium, the Irish have celebrated St. Patrick’s Day on March 17.

History records that Saint Patrick, at age sixteen, was captured by Irish raiders and spent several years as a slave in Ireland. It was during this time that he learned the various rituals, customs, and language of Druids, and it was these people that he eventually evangelized. Patrick apparently had a dream in which God spoke to him, saying, “Your ship is ready.” Patrick was then able to escape Ireland by ship. Shortly thereafter, he experienced another dream in which he received a letter that was labeled the “voice of the Irish.” When he opened it, he heard the voices of all those whom he had met in Ireland begging him to return.

Saint Patrick then returned to Ireland to tell people about Christ. Though the task was difficult and dangerous, he persisted and was able to build a strong foundation for Christianity. The Irish people were receptive to his teachings, especially in light of the fact that he was able to take several of their Celtic symbols and “Christianize” them. The most well-known of Patrick’s illustrations is the shamrock, a certain type of clover sacred to the Druids, which he used as a symbol of the Trinity.

Each year millions of people celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. It is a national holiday in Ireland when people do not work but worship and gather with family. In the United States, the first St. Patrick’s Day parade was held in New York on March 17, 1762. It consisted largely of Irish soldiers. Today, St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated by wearing green, which symbolizes spring as well as Irish culture.

What started as a religious holiday has become a secular celebration of all things Irish. Neither Saint Patrick nor St. Patrick’s Day is mentioned in Scripture. While we would strongly disagree of some aspects of theology that St. Patrick taught, the fact that around 1,600 years ago a man dedicated his life to proclaiming the gospel, resulting in tens of thousands coming to faith in Christ, is most definitely worth celebrating (Luke 15:7-10).

*taken from www.gotquestions.org

By Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts, How Lent Can Make a Difference in Your Relationship with God

Growing up as an evangelical Christian, I experienced Lent as little more than a joke. “What are you giving up for Lent?” my friends would ask. “Homework,” I’d say with a smirk, or “Obeying my parents.” Lent was one of those peculiar practices demanded of Roman Catholics – another great reason to be Protestant, I figured. It never even occurred to me that Lent was something I might actually be interested in, or benefit from, or decide to keep, or come to value as a way of getting to know God better. In the last fifteen years I’ve discovered that Lent is in fact recognized by millions of Protestant Christians, in addition to Catholic and Orthodox believers. (The Eastern Orthodox Lent is longer than the Catholic or Protestant Lent, and it begins before Ash Wednesday.) Lent (the word comes from the Middle English word for “spring”) is a six-week season in the Christian year prior to Easter. (Technically, Lent comprises the 40 days before Easter, not counting the Sundays, or 46 days in total.)
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By Darrel Geis, Game Day

With my alma mater Ohio State having recently competed in the College Football Playoff, I was reminded of a memory from my college days in the 1980s that God used to plant seeds in my heart and draw me to Christ.

Before every home football game outside of Ohio Stadium, students involved with OSU Bible Studies would pass out Game Day rosters featuring Buckeyes players and their opponents. I was always eager to get a copy to follow the players by their number on the field.
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By John Hartz, The Pair of Shoes

As a small business owner I am constantly caught in the battle between the things I would like to be doing and the things my business makes me do. There have been so many books written on the struggle of the small businessman to move from working for his business to working on his business. Because we are constantly doing the work itself we have little time to do that higher order, higher priority “stuff” that will actually grow our business. And that, my dear friend, is aggravating. Really, whether you are a business owner or an employee, there is little that can bring more frustration to your soul than doing “menial” things while more “valuable” work goes undone.

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By Pastor Dax Welsheimer, God Desires Mercy Over Sacrifice

When I introduced myself in the last blog, I mentioned I try to live my life through three different filters. I wanted to share with you in the coming weeks what each of those actually mean, starting with the first filter –“God desires mercy over sacrifice.”

What does God desiring mercy over sacrifice actually mean?

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By Darrel Geis, Jesus Loves Me This I Know

Last fall I had the opportunity once again to serve as meals coordinator for Interfaith Hospitality Network, where we house, feed and provide clothing for homeless families displaced from their homes due to financial duress, usually caused by a significant illness, breakup of parents, or loss of the family’s main income source.

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By Darrel Geis, What Was Your Big Rock in 2015?

As we begin the New Year, it’s always appropriate to take a moment to reflect back on the previous twelve months, and thank God for his provisions and protection. What’s even better, though, is to intentionally “mark” a moment (or moments) where God made clear His purposes (i.e. through answered prayer or God-incidence), so that you never forget the lesson for the rest of your life.

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By Larry Burkett, Crown Financial Ministries

During a recent Sunday night service at a local church, a young minister shared a guideline for prayer handed down to him by an elder believer.

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By Darrel Geis, Christian Character and Competence – Our Unique New “Trust” Filter

I often hear advertisements from businesses that claim “we are a business you can trust”. Many say this, and, ideally, their claims are proven to be true. Everyone – Christian or not – prefers to work with businesses they can trust, but what “filter” can consumers use beforehand to help assure trustworthiness?

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By Darrel Geis, It Was for Freedom

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. ” Galatians 5:1

If you plan on attending a sporting event or 4th of July festivities this summer, no doubt you will be asked to join in the singing of our national anthem….

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By Darrel Geis, Have Compassion

It was 1996, and a few Christian Blue Pages staff members and I attended the Promise Keepers men’s conference in Indianapolis, which was held in the Hoosier Dome, which was, at the time, the 60,000 seat home of the Indianapolis Colts.  The Blue Pages had secured exhibit space for the event as well in the Indianapolis Convention Center, located adjacent to the dome

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By Darrel Geis, Follow Me

And He said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19

These are two of the most simple, yet profound, words that Jesus Christ spoke during his life here on earth. He spoke them to twelve men he chose as his closest companions, the people that would take the message of God’s amazing grace and love to the world. They were average, ordinary people.
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By Darrel Geis, Righteousness vs. Compromise

Over my 23 years the Christian Blue Pages, I’ve had the opportunity to observe Christians – in hundreds of situations – taking a stand for righteousness in their businesses. In situations where compromising one’s values might be expedient and beneficial to the “bottom line”, or unnoticeable to a watching world, it is critical that we as Christians in business do what’s right in the eyes of God.

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By Darrel Geis, Bloom Where You are Planted

I love sports, and earned a degree in Broadcast Journalism from Ohio State in order to direct that passion towards my ultimate goal — to be a sports anchor for a major network by 1999. But after two years working at a TV station at night and selling advertising for the Christian Blue Pages during the day, I was offered the position as Blue Pages sales manager. After much prayer, I sensed I was being “called” by God into leadership in this organization, and that gave me great peace.

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