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Length of Days - Search for Freedom

Monday, May 31, 2010

WE ARE A CHRISTIAN NATION

“Those who stand for nothing fall for anything” (Alexander Hamilton). And I would add, “Those who stand for nothing fall.” If we are not a Christian nation anymore, our country will be hijacked by other philosophies and religions. We may gradually become an Islamic nation or a nation with no heart at all.

The United States of America was forged and molded by patriots whose hearts belonged to the living Lord our God. They fought in sweltering heat with no modern comforts and tromped through icy fields with no shoes. They knew they were on a Holy mission. They knew what they stood for.

Our minds abhor a vacuum. If our thoughts are not full of God, they will be filled by something else. That is the nature of Cognitive/Behavioral Psychology. The mind is taught to dwell on positive thoughts in order to stop the harmful, negative ones. Many people these days choose to dwell on nothing more than hypnotic, digital magic. The battle for our minds has never stopped.

The news has been full of discussions about a mosque to be built near Ground Zero in Manhattan. We know that mosques are always built on conquered ground. Yet, we say, “They are just building a center for tolerance, a center for peace.” Whose peace, based on what philosophy? Whose wording and conditions will be placed on the peace accords? If we are not a Christian nation, we are a ___________ nation. Just fill in the blank with the current politically correct ideology that knows who they are.

Who are we? Do we live we are a Christian nation or one defined by others, other ideologies, other countries, other gods? Let us straighten our backs and fix our eyes like flint on the continuing prize before us, the security, maintenance, and growth of the beautiful, shining city on the hill (Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount), given to us by those who went before. They are a great cloud of witnesses to our efforts, strong or weak, to keeping it going. All we have to do is believe in who we are and whose we are, a Christian nation, dedicated to the principles that all people are created equal and each has the opportunity to pursue their own happiness within a country of God’s peace and grace. If we are not God’s, under the lordship of Jesus Christ, then we have chosen a different god by default. Let us pray:

“God of our fathers and Lord of our lives, we come before you, remembering all those who fell that we might stand. Holy is your name. Holy was their cause. And, Holy is the mission that is still before us. Give us your strength, your focus, and your grace to continue the vigilance for it is our privilege to be in your service. Forgive us when we have been lazy and turned our eyes to the newest, flashiest ideas that have been allowed to steal our hearts. We confess that we may have surrendered already. We seem to have abdicated our royal task of preserving the nation given to us and dedicated in your name. We humbly ask for your protection again. Together we pray, rededicating ourselves to the preservation of the Christian nation you formed in the hearts of patriots over two-hundred years ago. We cannot put our country back on track by ourselves, but you, oh mighty God, can. You can, and only then and therefore, we can. With one voice we pray, ‘Glory to God in the highest for giving us this Christian nation. We believe we belong to you. We rededicate ourselves to the Holy mission of this great Christian nation and we stand in the gap between our beloved country and those who would deny that we are yours.’ In the name of Jesus Christ, your son, our Lord and Savior we pray. Amen”
Doris
Copyright 2010 Doris Gaines Rapp, Ph.D.
“God gives us stories that testify to His love. Let me tell you mine.”

Sunday, May 23, 2010

THE KING'S ENGLISH

Have you ever heard warnings that sound like this? “You can’t talk about rainbows anymore because they are now New Age symbols.” My friends, the rainbow was a gift from God. He placed His rainbow in the sky as a reminder that He will not destroy the earth by flood again.”

Then there is the uncomfortable conversation in which something you have just said is snickered at because it now has an alternative or double meaning. They insist you just said something you did not intend to say or imply. Perhaps you don’t even speak in the slang they attributed your words to.

My friends, the world has tried to take over every aspect of the life God has given us, from “do whatever makes you feel good” to hijacking the King’s English and placing new and unintended meanings on words we use every day. Do not allow the world to pollute your meaning.

The King, our Lord, has blessed us with beautiful words with which to express ourselves in spoken words, poetry, prose, and music. Do not let the world rob you of even one syllable of His precious words. I told a friend, “The world did not give me the rainbow, my Lord did.” You do not have to apologize for what someone else has twisted your words into saying. Listen to how the world uses His words and do not deliberately use them in ways that would not be understood, but use them in a clear articulation of your meaning. Do not let the world take anything from you with which God has blessed you. Let the words of your mouth and the meditations of your heart be acceptable in His sight. If someone laughs and twists your meaning, bless them and left them up in prayer to God that they will be blessed abundantly, so that they may see the beauty in words, not the taint of their own hearts. Let us pray:

“Oh Father God, author of all that is created, all that is spoken, your words brought forth life into the void. Blessed are your whispers and your songs. May your kingdom come in which words are spoken on the strains of music as they are in heaven. Forgive us when we become angry and raise our voices to those around us, when we lash out in retaliation to others. Your words have created and continue to bring life. Your word tells us, whom we bless you will bless. There is nothing more powerful from us than our words. With our voices we lift up our prayers on behalf of others, the man who cut us off in traffic or the woman who snatched our parking space. How very sad they must be. May your joy flood their souls that they too may shout praises to your Holy name. In the name of Jesus Christ, your son, we pray. Amen”
Doris
Copyright 2010 Doris Gaines Rapp, Ph.D.
“God gives us stories that testify to His love. Let me tell you mine.”

Monday, May 17, 2010

THE GLORIOUS DAT IT RAINED

It had been misting all morning. It didn’t seem like the kind of happy-rain that makes you feel cozy to be inside. It was the grey, achy kind that penetrates the bones. Or was it? Could it be that my pressured morning had interpreted the rain as problematic rather than a gentleness with the power to sooth? I will choose this moment to re-label it. Like Shakespear’s Merchant of Venus, I choose to think of today’s misty rain as mercy falling from heaven. The quality of mercy is not strained, It falleth as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath: it is twice blessed; It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.

We jump to many conclusions and even attempt to self-interpret attributes of God. We ask for God’s mercy but, unlike Shakespear’s understanding hundreds of years ago, we don’t really want it to be twice blessed, falling around us and splashing out on others around us. We are one of two kinds of believers: we either embrace the thought of mercy for others but refuse to accept God’s blessing for ourselves since, knowing us as we do, we believe we are unworthy. Or, we pray for mercy for ourselves but begrudge evidence that another is blessed, since we judge them as unworthy. Let us accept all of the blessings God has for us, including mercy, with no qualifiers attached. Every time it rains, let us lift our eyes to Heaven and praise God for all His mercies. Then, bathe in that mercy like a fresh baptism and the achy rain will be transformed into a blessing. Let us pray:

“Loving Father, God, how precious is your name and amazing are your mercies. Holy is your name and yet we use it to curse others. Forgive us for our worldly ways. We pray that your kingdom may come quickly in a place where every knee will bow and every tongue will confess your glory. Today, we pray for mercy, Father. We have offended you and have harmed others. For this we are deeply sorry and ask for your forgiveness and mercy. We also lift up the one who we love the least and ask that you love them more, for they are your children as well. Remove all pain from their lives and heal them with your mercy. Let them have a measure of the mercy you offer to us, for we know your love has no bounds. And for these blessings we say, Hallelujah in the highest, may peace and mercy be finally recognized on this earth. For these blessings we give you all praise and glory, Father. In the precious name of Jesus, your son, we pray. Amen”
Doris
Copyright 2010 Doris Gaines Rapp, Ph.D.
“God gives us stories that testify to His love. Let me tell you mine.”

Monday, May 10, 2010

WORLD LIFE OF PRAYER

May 6 was the World Day of Prayer. We must be a world that lives a life of prayer. Calling on His name one day out of the year, then setting Him aside, is what has gotten us to this desperate point. We must live a life of prayer if we want to see real change, if we want to be people of prayer, people of God. There are two expressions of prayer, openly and quietly.

At UMW Assembly 2010, we sang a song using the words and music from the South-Sudan, Africa, Shu-ku-ru Al-lah, nih-na-kul-lu moras-sa-lat - “Let the people know: witnesses are present here,” based on Hebrews 12:1-2. We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses and we ARE witnesses to the work of Jesus Christ in our lives. If we do not bear witness in the court of the world, to all the wonders of God we have experienced, no one will speak for God in us. We must speak His name through prayer and witness. My witness is, during this present day economy of need, the Lord has blessed me with two opportunities I had not expected. My April experience as Lead Psychologist at the New Castle Correctional Facility followed immediately by an opportunity to work as a visiting psychologist in a nursing home, one for now with the potential of others. I had not planned nor sought either opportunity for work and service. The Lord simply called me there. Praise be to God for His gifts, grace, mercy, and love!

Today, let us also commit ourselves to a wonderful adventure, the life of an intercessor. Our talk with the Lord must not only be an annual event. We must lead a daily life of prayer, for our families, others, our country, the world, and yes, for ourselves, for guidance that we may live our lives for Him. Both expressions of praise and prayer, Witness and Intercession, are our only reasons for being and the secret for living that has been sought! Let us pray:

“Father God, how precious is your name above all names. May Your kingdom blossom in my life that I may live and move in You and You in me. For this very day, oh Father, I pray to step outside my place of comfort and speak up for you, to witness truthfully to all you have done for me because my experience is the only non-hearsay testimony I have to offer. I also lift up in intercession, our country and our world. Forces have been boiling beneath the surface of this freedom loving land you gave us to erode the strong foundation it was built on, Your Word. Your name has nearly disappeared from conversation in Europe but You are still there and Your people still pray in Your name. We lift them up to the bosom of Your loving arms. Forgive us all when we have neglected to honor You. For this we are utterly ashamed and re-pledge our oath of loyalty and love to you. To You we attribute all honor and praise, Father God. We can do nothing of Kingdom-value on our own, for we do not hold the key to the door of Heaven, Your son Jesus Christ does. Through his name and by the power of his son-ship to you we pray. Amen”
Doris
Copyright 2010 Doris Gaines Rapp, Ph.D.
“God gives us stories that testify to His love. Let me tell you mine.”