Good Morning Family!
This past week or so, we have seen a tremendous upheaval in our world. We are a nation at war and that means that we must be a nation seriously at prayer… prayer for those serving for our national defense, prayer for those directing those efforts, and prayer for the enemies of freedom that they would see their need to turn to the One True God through Jesus, and if they do not, pray for their ultimate defeat.
I especially want to pray for those families of our fighting men and women whose loved ones recently paid “the supreme sacrifice”. Their loss must seem too great to bear certainly. We also do pray for those specifically going into harm’s way. And in this present conflict, you can be thousands of miles away and be in great danger. There is no getting around the fact that there are times when nations must reluctantly tend to business to defend and protect their own people and along with that fact is the reality that casualties will come.
I recently listened to a sermon by the late Dr. Peter Marshall that he preached in 1943. Dr. Marshall was pastor at New York Presbyterian Church in Washington D.C. from 1937 until his death in early 1949 at the age of 46. For the last two years of his life, he was the Chaplain of the U.S. Senate. In this sermon entitled “Trial By Fire” he questioned whether Christians in the United States were up to the challenge of their time in the midst of World War 2.
It challenged me to evaluate my priorities in this life and in ministry. Am I up to the challenge to continue on as a faithful husband, father, friend, minister, and ambassador for Christ when the heat is turned up in my life, ministry, and world? Are we and our children who name the Name of Jesus in America, as those who are not on the frontlines, up to the challenge to live lives worthy of our calling to the Lord and be on the frontlines of prayer for the Kingdom of God first and then our nation as well? That question can only be answered by us as individuals.
As always, my prayer is that we would all, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth.” II Timothy 2:15
Your Shepherd of the Hills,
Bro. Steven
Dr. Steven Gann
