Today in the morning worship service we welcome a representative of Gideons International. The ministry of the Gideons is solely dedicated to the distribution of God’s word throughout the earth. There is no other organization other than the local church that is so singularly focused on the power of the Bible to bring lost people to faith in Christ, and to make a difference in the affairs of nations throughout the world. I always think of what king David said in Psalm 119, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105), when I think about the Gideons.
 
When I was a teenager back in the dark ages of the 60’s, my Sunday School teacher was the president of the Gideons International organization headquartered in Donelson, Tennessee where I grew up.  Dr. Wendall McClendon would take me with him some Sundays when he was scheduled to preach somewhere. I learned from him to love the Bible. I listened to him preach about the truth and power of the Bible. Between my parents first and their love for God’s word, my Sunday School teachers and their teaching of God’s word, my pastor, W. L. Baker, and his preaching of God’s word, I did not have a chance to develop anything other than respect for, devotion to, and love of God’s Holy Word. I cannot imagine my life without God’s word in it.
 
We will be taking a love offering at the end of the service this morning dedicated to the work and ministry of the Gideons. Pray about what you will give and give generously. God may use your gift this morning through the Gideons International to place the very Bible somewhere in the world that will lead some lost person that you will never meet this side of heaven to receive Jesus as their Savior.

PLAN NOW TO PARTICIPATE
 
IN EVERY PART OF EASTER AT GRACE
 
Holy Week Prayer Meetings – April 11 – 13
Good Friday Service – April 15
Children’s Easter Egg Hunt – April 16
Sunrise Service, 7:00 am – April 17
HE IS RISEN, Hallelujah Worship – 10:45 am
 

I can’t wait to worship the Lord together with you during Resurrection Week at Grace. I know God is going to fill us with the joy of His glory as we praise Him and rejoice in the truth of the empty tomb.

Praise God through Whom All Blessings Flow!

We are seeing terrible pictures these days from the battlefield in Ukraine. War seems always to inflict its worst impact on the innocent. The horrible toll cast upon the children, mothers, elderly, and residents within the cities is a constant stream of suffering and carnage. The refugee total is now approaching 4 million. Those left within the country are facing shortages of food, medical care, and water. We do not see much of the actual fighting between the two armies. What we see constantly is the siege constantly waged upon the civilian population.
 
I have been thinking a lot about what the Bible says the final battle between good and evil in the world will look like. It is known as the Bible between Gog and Magog, “When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore. And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” (Revelation 20:7-10)
 
The good news about this apocalyptic battle is that evil loses and good wins. It will be the battle to end all battles. The devil, who is the author of war, will be overthrown again and the forces of evil will be cast into the pit where they belong.
 
Gog in the Bible is a descendant of Joel of the tribe of Reuben, “The sons of Joel were Shemiaiah his son, Gog his son, Shimei his son” (2 Chronicles 5:4). Gog became a rebel who attacked his own people Israel according to Ezekiel, “Son of Man, set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal and prophesy against him and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God, Behold, I am against you, O Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal. I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them splendidly attired, a great company with buckler and shield, all of them wielding swords.” (Ezekiel 38:2-4)
 
Magog, on the other hand is a reference to people who lived in northern Asia and Europe. They were known as skilled horsemen and experts in the use of bow and arrow, “You will come from your place out of the remote parts of the north, you and many people with you, all of them riding on horses, a great assembly and a mighty army.” (Ezekiel 38:15)
 
These destructive people rose up against the people of God only to be destroyed by the fury of the Lord of hosts, “…you will come up against My people Israel like a cloud to cover the land. It shall come about in the last days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me when I am sanctified through you before their eyes, O Gog…It will come about on that day, when Gog comes against the land of Israel, declares the Lord God, that My fury will mount up in My anger.” (Ezekiel 38:17-18)
 
Do I think that the war in Ukraine is the final battle, the Battle of Armageddon?
 
Not really. I do believe that all war is the work of the devil who seeks to ravage the innocent and destroy all that is decent and good. War itself is evil. The war in Ukraine is simply another terrible unnecessary tragedy that kills children along with people who are innocent. One country beating up on another one simply because they can is a grievous sin. What I do know is that God takes care of His own. God wins in the end and all those who perpetuate the sins of Gog and Magog wind up taking a long hot bath in the lake of fire.

We have temporarily suspended our in-person Wednesday night prayer service until the time changes back on Sunday March 16. While we have not been able to prayer together at church, God has raised up a fellowship of prayer taking place on email, Facebook, and text messaging among our deacons, praise team members, and other church members who have joined with the group. Ongoing prayers and conversations linked to our prayers have been initiated by people who have had surgeries, requests for family members with special needs, along with folks who have called in various prayer concerns. This has been a spontaneous movement of the Holy Spirit. It has grown in numbers of people praying. It has been a blessing to see how God is working among us to both encourage and empower our praying for each another.
 
The Bible tells us that the children of God express their faith through the prayers we pray for each other, “For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have receive a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba Father!’ The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.” (Romans 8:15-17)
 
The fellowship of God’s people is identified by our praying together. The fellowship of the Holy Spirit prompts us to pray for one another, and when we pray for each other, Jesus Himself joins with us. I’ve heard a lot of “Abba Father!” being raised recently from people within our church as we have shared together in a profound prayer movement given to us by the Holy Spirit.
 
Lives have been blessed because the people of Grace are praying. Folks are recovering from surgeries and medical treatments. Family members are getting the medical care they have asked for and those who grieve over the loss of loved ones are encouraged. This praying fellowship is making a difference as we talk to each other about the deepest needs of our hearts.
 
Think about the potential of this kind of prayer circle. What if we added to our praying for the physical needs among us, prayers for the spiritual needs of people.
 
     What if we added to this fellowship of prayer petitions for lost people we know?
     What might God do if we added to the prayers we direct toward God the struggles people are experiencing with things like depression, heartache, brokenness, and other matters of the soul?
 
Listen again to God’s word, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of the righteous accomplishes much” (James 5:16).
 
     What if we loved one another to the degree that we became honest with each other about the pain and suffering taking place inside our souls?
     What if God raised the level of love and trust between us so that we could pray about the private matters of the heart?
     Is it possible for the fellowship of God’s people to become so strong and so trusting that secrets are absorbed into a cloud of prayer and trust that cleanses, renews, and forgives?
 
I praise God that a fellowship of prayer has emerged at Grace. I pray that Jesus will keep it going and make our prayers everything He wants them to be.