Exalt

When we see evil at work around us, we can remember the One about whom Scripture0 says is greater than the one who is "in the world." Even though there are spiritual forces that attempt to counter the work of God, He has given each of us in His Church the resources to proclaim Christ's victory. Romans 13 states:
11 And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.
12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.

The armor of light. Paul describes, in Ephesians 6, the full armor of God.  We cannot defeat the power of the devil in our own strength - and we should not even try.  Human beings are no match for his deception, and it is true that many have bought into his scheme.  We need, instead, to turn to the wisdom and power of God, wielding the sword of the Spirit, which Jesus Himself used when He was being tempted.  We recognize that God is exalted over everything.

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After the sound teaching related by Paul in the book of Ephesians, he turns to the subject of spiritual warfare in his closing words. He relates:
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Recently, at First Baptist Church of Atlanta, the Family Research Council presented its Pray Vote Stand Summit, in which a number of speakers encouraged those gathered to continue to be bold to stand on Biblical principles, with a strong emphasis on the life issue.

The Washington Stand, which is the news website of FRC, had extensive coverage of the event, which was live-streamed through the Council's website.  The Christian Post highlighted one particular message from the conference, from one of our Faith Radio programmers, Anne Graham Lotz, the daughter of Billy Graham, which really seemed to get at the crux of what we are facing as a nation - spiritually.

The article reported that Lotz...

...seemingly compared the United States to the nation of Judah in the Bible, a nation that, despite its decades of prosperity, neglected to thank God for its blessings. This prompted the Lord to uplift the prophet Isaiah, who condemned the members of the nation for its sins, as seen in Isaiah 5:8.

She told a story about a gift from her mother, Ruth Graham, that she had thrown away because she didn't like how it was wrapped, relating this to what she fears is happening in the U.S. today. Later, Lotz learned that the tissue paper contained a gold ring that was part of the pavement of the palace where Queen Esther lived.

"I had thrown away a priceless treasure because I didn't like the way it was wrapped," she said.

"Are we in danger of concentrating on the wrapping and the brown paper packages that show up and missing the treasure that's on the inside?" she asked, remarking that nationwide, "we are under attack."

The Christian Post article noted, "Lotz believes the sins Isaiah listed are still relevant to today's society, which she stated condones actions such as abortion, premarital sex and rejects traditional marriage." 

She described the current situation in our nation as a "crisis," and I agree. The article said, "Sharing the message of Isaiah 6, Lotz stated that the most appropriate response in such situations is to follow the prophet's example by looking up to God and asking what He wants." She declared, "And I believe we need, as a Church, people who call ourselves by God's name; we need a fresh vision of Jesus..."

Anne Graham Lotz added, "When we pray, we need to remember that we are appealing to the highest authority that there is in the universe...One who is in charge, one who gives us His attention. And not only was He high, He was exalted."

We can become discouraged when considering what is occurring around us. But, we can be faithful to exalt the Lord.  It will change our point of view and certainly alter our attitude.

We can also be devoted to looking beyond the problems - that can be done in two ways: 1) one is, as Jonathan Cahn outlined on the Tuesday Meeting House, to recognize that there are spiritual forces at play.  Always have been.  The decline in godliness is related to the work of the one who is attempting to disrupt God's Kingdom plan.  Ultimately, we know who wins, but he has a tremendous amount of influence.

Also, as we look beyond the societal problems, acknowledging them, certainly - we can make sure that we are looking toward the solution, which is found in the principles of Scripture and power of the Holy Spirit.  We have access to the greatest source of power in the entirety of the universe - the One who created the universe.  Our prayers do have an impact.  We just have to put on God's armor and cry out to God.