Sunday, June 28, 2015

A Tremendous Responsibility

The Lord re-impressed upon my yesterday the tremendous responsibility we have to our friends and loved ones who might not (yet ) be in Christ.  Our right standing (righteousness) with the Lord can be the difference between eternal life and eternal death for those we care about. What does the Word say?

Job 22:21“Submit to God and be at peace with him;in this way prosperity will come to you.22Accept instruction from his mouth and lay up his words in your heart. 23If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored: If you remove wickedness far from your tent
24and assign your nuggets to the dust, your gold of Ophir to the rocks in the ravines, 25then the Almighty will be your gold, the choicest silver for you. 26Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty and will lift up your face to God.
27You will pray to him, and he will hear you,and you will fulfill your vows. 28What you decide on will be done, and light will shine on your ways. 29When people are brought low and you say, ‘Lift them up!’ then he will save the downcast. 30He will deliver even one who is not innocent, who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.”

One of my friends was helping me yesterday and he does not know the Lord.  The Lord brought to my mind that whether my friend knows it or not, the weight of his eternal destination could be on my shoulders because of my relationship with the Most High.  The same goes for all of us who are in Christ.  What we decide on will be done (Job 22:28) and our friends and family who are not right with the Lord can be delivered through the cleanness of our hands.

We do not live by sight, we live by faith.  What we believe and what we pray for, that is what matters.  How and when our prayers are answered are the Lord's exclusive domain.  We may pray for something for years and see zero movement then in one second of one hour of one day, boom it shows up.  Always at the perfect time according to the Lord's timing.

What a tremendous burden we carry on our shoulders.  Our friends and family who are not in Christ, they are on our shoulders.  Life and death, heaven and hell hang in the balance.  If we love those around us we must not forget to pray for them.  We must not forget what prayer actually is.  It is request for transference of spiritual power from what is unseen to what is seen.  Prayer is power.

Ask any U.S. infantryman how much power he can bring to bear on the battlefield with a small radio.  The entire arsenal of military power can be brought to bear with a couple words spoken over a radio.  The same is more true for us who believe.  The infinite power that is stored up for us in heaven in Christ is accessible and available at all times by faith through prayer.

It appears that time is short.  We have no idea how short but we know it is short enough to pray for the things that matter right now today.  The friends and family you love need to be lifted up in prayer to our Father through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.  We must bring Him our faith and His Word while there is still time to do the things that should be done.

Glory to God, He has given us the ability to move heaven and earth with a few simple words offered in faith.  The time to speak those faith filled words and request what we are going to request is today.

Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.