Sunday, March 28 – Day 40

Seeking His Peace Among All Peoples

Seek God…for Christ to visit our communities

                …with His presence and transforming power

Today is the last day, sort of, and since we only have one entry; it is a little lengthy but it is all good.

Part One of Three

Silence or Praise – the choice is ours – stones or living stones?

It’s a parade!  Jesus entered the city to large crowds of people!  Hosanna!  Palm branches on the ground in front of Him! (Thus the name.)  Shouts!  Jumping up and down, climbing trees – what a day!  The rulers spoke to Jesus – “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”  His reply, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”  The stones…

(We are reminded of John The Baptist confronting some Jewish leaders;  “and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ' We have Abraham for our father'; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham.  From these stones…  Matthew 3:8-10)

On Good Friday the stones did cry out.  “And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up His spirit. And behold the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and the earth shook, and the rocks (stones) were split.” Matthew 27:50-51 

Let us ponder one sentence in the children’s prayer for today, Day 40.  Lord “As interesting as it would be to watch the stones worship You – we’d like for the crowd of worshipping people to be so loud that they don’t need to cry out.”  A worshipping people or shall we say…living stones? Yes! living stones that have died to themselves (split open, yielded the throne of their life) and found their true calling as sons and daughters of God.

Part Two of Three

Will a Zeal and a Passion for HIS House consume us?

No paragraph, just the question and a scripture for us all to ponder. John 2:13-17

Part Three of Three

Seek God On Behalf Of The Coming Generation

On Day 39, I wrote about the elder Caleb taking the high country.  Today, we stand with the Joshua’s and those even younger!  An entire generation died in the wilderness because they believed a bad report from 10 of the 12 spies.  After 40 years in the wilderness, those that ‘crossed over’ into the Promised Land had been taught the ways of God by Moses, Caleb and Joshua.  They believed.  They obeyed.  The put their faith into action and took the land.

Oh God – may those of us who are “older” have a heart for and to teach the coming generation so that someday we will have mighty men and women to hand the baton to!  May the younger generation find a way to listen and learn from us so that they are equipped to do war!  May we serve in this hour and this day with passion and a “Zeal for Your House” that will consume us!  Amen.

Brother Charles

Serve The City

Saturday, March 27 – Day 39

Seeking His Peace Among All Peoples

Seek God…for Christ’s Lordship to be welcomed by the nations

Seek God On Behalf Elderly People

The prayer walking suggestion for today is to pray at a retirement community or an extended care facility.

I may be going out of a limb here a little, but “elderly” is sometimes a perception. When I was 20 I thought 60 was really old. Come to think of it, when I was 43 I had no idea that I would be able to do the things I am now doing. Amazing! Perception! Now, I’m almost 64 and it doesn’t seem old at all….well, most days anyway.

Where am I going with this? The label ‘retirement community’ does not necessarily mean a lack of ability or a sound mind or a lack of willingness to be involved; nor should it.

At our combined annual meeting for the Mission America Coalition and CityReachers we were all challenged by a ‘young man’ in his mid-twenties. The moderator was thanking this ‘young man’ for being with the 250 of us, asking God for more young men and women to join us (kind of carrying on about us being, well, ‘old.’) when the young man was asked to share with all of us his thoughts on the week.

He challenged us to stop thinking as though we were about to become useless! Wasn’t Caleb over 80 when he took the high country?! Wasn’t this person over 70 when he….?! Wasn’t this person…??? He continued with sentences like “we all need each other…” I say like as I really can’t tell you what he said but I can tell you the impression it made on me.

The Holy Spirit brought scriptures to me like “he who endures to the end.” I am often tired of the battle, struggle, fight, and warfare (all scriptural words). I don’t think 64 but most often my daily capacity to work betrays my chronological age and the 37 years of enduring and fighting the good fight. However, we who are over 60 or 70 or 80 have an important part in this fight!

We are closer to the return of Christ that we all know. As we prepare to celebrate Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and RESURRECTION DAY, Easter, I have an idea for us all.

Let’s take the high country!

Brother Charles

Serve The City