(July 3, 2009)

Prayer House News!

The True Freedom fest is happening tonight at 6:00pm.

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Culture!

We are in a cultural battle today. It's not new for the people of God to be in a battle. The Bible is replete with battles. One of those battles involved the great leader Joshua.

Joshua and his men had come upon the city of Jericho with its mighty walls. They wanted to take the city but they were not sure how to go about it. Remember this was in a day where weaponry was not as sophisticated as it is today. Little arrows could do very little damage to a stone wall. If you rush a stone wall with your swords it's gonna take a long time to get through.

One night Joshua and his men were camped out at Gilgal. They were just outside of Jericho trying to figure out their strategy for battle. They had been observing the passover. Then they ate their evening meal. As this was going on Joshua decides to go for a walk.

I can just imagine Joshua walking around looking at the great wall before them that they were to conquer. He is an army man. He needs to survey his surroundings. I can just see him walking around with only the light of the moon to guide him. Suddenly he sees a man. This was no ordinary man. This was a man ready for battle. This was a man with his sword drawn.

Josh 5:13 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, "Are you for us or for our enemies?"

This would be a pretty normal reaction. Who's side are you on? They are in a battle situation. He sees a man with a drawn sword and so the most natural thing to do is say - who's side are you on? Look at his response in the next verse.

(14) "Neither," he replied, "but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come." Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, "What message does my Lord have for his servant?"

He said "Neither." This was the commander of the army of the LORD. Most theologians agree that this was a theophany; a visible manifestation of Jesus Himself. Jesus is the commander of the army of the Lord. Joshua says, "Who's side are you on? Are you with us or with them?"

Neither Joshua! God is neither a Democrat or Republican. God does not join our sides. When he says, "Neither!" he is in essence saying, "Joshua it's not a matter of whose side I'm on, it's a matter of whose side you are on. You are either for me or you are against me."

I heard John Cronce once make reference to a comment by Abraham Lincoln concerning the Civil War. When asked, in essence, which side started the war he said, "My concern is not whose side was right and whose side was wrong. My concern was whether or not I was on God's side."

(15) The commander of the LORD's army replied, "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so.

We tend to believe that God is on our side and therefore we think what we are doing is holy. Jesus comes along and says - Joshua what you are doing is not holy, being a Republican is not holy, being a Democrat is not holy, only what I do is holy, now take off your shoes because my presence makes this place holy not your position on an issue.

When it comes to sides there is only one situation we need to be concerned with; God's side. When you are on God's side you are on holy ground. Before I met Jesus I was on the wrong side of salvation. However, God loved me even in my sinful state. He did not love my sin and if I had died in my sin I would have been forever separated from him. My sin is what separated me from God, but as far as God Himself is concerned - he loved me though I was lost.

God - the one who knows the end from the beginning says, Pray for the prosperity of Babylon because there are people in this city that are one day going to repent of their ways and I don't desire to destroy them at all. Get involved in their lives, they're going to repent. Become faithful in the ordinary things of life so they can actually see what being a Christian means because one day they are going to repent.

END

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Medication: A Merry Heart

Do Not Touch!

Our supply clerk at the factory was in a dither. A box had been left on the loading dock with this warning printed onit:

"Danger! Do Not Touch!"

Management was called, and we were told to stay clear of thebox until it could be analyzed. When the foreman arrived, he donned safety goggles and gloves, and then he carefully opened the box.

Inside were 25 signs that read: Danger! Do Not Touch!