Our Life and Times : Biblical Reasoning for a Modern Age
BLOGGER · THEOLOGIAN · APOLOGIST
Norman Harold Patterson Jr.
A Pastoral Prayer 7/22/2020
A Pastoral Prayer for our nation and our world
Heavenly Father, I come before You in humble prayer and adoration. To You alone belongs honor and praise and fear and worship.
And yet, I live among people who honor the military over Your holiness, who praise politicians over Jesus Christ, who fear COVID-19 more than You, and who worship the unholy trinity of money, sex, and power over the Holy Trinity of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Just as Your judgment has fallen upon all nations of the past who forsook You and Your holy Law, Your divine judgment has fallen upon my country. You have sent the fear of a deadly pestilence. Instead of repenting and crying out to You, we turn to unholy and ungodly leaders to save us. I know this furthers Your anger towards us, and it is well deserved.
We seek cleansing through the washing of hands, the wearing of masks, and by distancing ourselves from our neighbor rather than through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ. We trust more in what experts say more than what Your word says. We turn to humanistic solutions rather than to the means of grace You have given us. We seek to force, shame, and manipulation to control others rather than practice self-governance.
Even those who are called by Your name have fallen prey to fear. Your holy Bride has prostituted herself to the state by becoming a corporation rather than the Body of Christ. Even Your shepherds have bent their knee to the god of this world. Your shepherds shut the doors of Your Church without a fight. Now they defy Your standards of worship by demanding people cover their faces in fear, by forbidding them to greet one another with a holy kiss or by extending their right hand of fellowship. Your pastors forbid the signing of psalms, hymns, and songs of the Spirit. We have broken covenant with You by banning baptism. We have withheld bread and wine and fed Your people individually wrapped pellets and watered down grape juice. Our sermons comfort and coddle rather than call Your people to repentance for wrapping ourselves in our flags rather than Christ's righteousness.
Forgive us for our hypocrisy of trying to protect those who might get sick while turning a blind eye and a deaf ear to the silent screams of millions of innocent babies who have been sacrificed on the altar of ease and convenience.
Forgive us for our militaristic society that honors soldiers over missionaries that weeps at the national anthem over Amazing Grace, that evangelizes our youth to thinking that dying for their country is the same as dying for the sake of the gospel, that love is ministered through might rather than the preaching of the gospel and feeding the hungry.
LORD, pour out Your Spirit upon our broken, sinful, and rebellious world. Pour out the Spirit of repentance first upon Your Church. Pour out the Spirit of Truth and write Your Law upon our hearts so that Your justice will prevail rather than the arbitrary and anemic humanistic justice of disobedient rebels who fear no one, including You.
My country is burning out.
I pray You would wake up the remnant from their sleep and from their sin. I pray for a mighty move of Your Spirit.
And finally, I pray for the wisdom of how I can preach and proclaim Your message in love.
I confess I often react out of my flesh and pride more than out of love. But You know my heart and my passion for truth. I pray for more brothers and sisters to come alongside me, who will pray and proclaim Your message.
In the Holy Name of Jesus I pray,
Amen
A Call to Prayer
April 10, 2020
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14
If God’s own People aren’t willing to do this, then what hope is there for our State, our Nation, or our World.
Wake Up Believers and Pray!
A Call to Prayer
God is calling His people to pray. Whether you are worried about COVID-19, the economy, the expansion of government, how you’re going to pay the rent, or for the safety of your friends and family, the best thing we can do is pray. Prayer is not just something we can do to pass the time. It is the work that Christians are called to do especially during times of crisis.
I invite you to join me in prayer for all that is happening in our world right now. You can pray at any time, but I am inviting you to pray particularly when you wake up in the middle of the night or during a time when you are quiet and free from distraction.
For those of you who like some help in how to pray, I came up with a way to have Christ-centered prayer. Each letter in the name of C.H.R.I.S.T. stands for an important aspect of prayer. Whether you use this Christ-centered guideline or something else, the most important thing is that you pray.
Here is a brief explanation of each letter with one supporting Bible verse. I plan on expanding and explaining each aspect of prayer on my blog on the www.the100thsheepministries.com website. Check there in the next coming days if you want a deeper explanation of each letter.
C - Confession
Start with confessing your own personal sins. (1 John 1:9)
Continue with confessing our corporate sins as a nation. There are plenty of sins we can confess such as the sin of pornography, sex trafficking, child abuse, racism, greed, etc. The list is long. (Nehemiah 1:4-11)
H - Hallejuja (Praise)
Take time to worship God and realize who He is and how great He is. (Psalm 103:1)
R - Requests
It’s important to ask God for what you want and what you need. (Philippians 4:6)
I - Intersession
Take time to intercede for our world, for our nation, for our government, doctors, for the sick, for friends and family, for God to have mercy on us, for God to move on those who don’t know Jesus Christ. This is the heart of the work of prayer.(1 Timothy 2:1-2)
S - Scripture
Take some time and meditate on a verse or passage of Scripture. (Joshua 1:8)
T - Thanksgiving
Finally, take time to give God thanks for the many blessings He has given you. It is vitally important that you have a grateful heart. 1 Thessalonians 5:18)
Please share this with fellow believers and ask them to share it as well. Together we can and will make a difference. Our prayers will turn things around.
The Illusion of Control
March 17, 2020
I've been thinking a lot about “control.” Too often I believe I have control but soon realize that this is just an illusion. In the end, what real control do we really have? Perhaps we have some micro-control, but even then, our bodies can get sick enough where we have little to no say in what happens.
I suppose the only control we have is in our "will", in how we respond to what is happening around us or to us. Even that is difficult because our emotions can batter our intent to stay steady. In the end, my hope is in the God revealed through Scripture and ultimately through Jesus Christ.
The Bible reveals that God is in control, “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.” (Proverbs 19:21) And peace comes as our minds stay fixed on Him, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.” (Isaiah 26:3+4)
Quite frankly, I’m conflicted about coming back into the US during this time. Frightened herds begging for government control is, and always has been, a recipe for disaster. Governmental control once gained is not easily relinquished once the crisis is over. The virus is just starting to manifest in Mexico along with the accompanying panicky fear. Who knows what it will be like down here if either or both take hold?
In the end, I will do what I can to fight the spread of both crises by praying, staying vigilant, and being there for friends and family alike.
We find the Dominion Mandate for Bible-believing Christians in Genesis 1:26-28:
Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
For Christians, this means that God has given us the responsibility to take dominion over the entire world. We have God's approval and authority to "fill the earth and subdue it." Add to this Christ's call in Matthew 28:19+20 to:
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
And 2 Corinthians 10:3-6:
For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.
While God called Christians to be separate from the world in holiness, He doesn't give us the option to isolate ourselves from the world physically. As Jesus said:
I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. John 17:14-15
Because of false piety and a lack of understanding of these and other Dominion affirming Biblical texts, Christians far too often vacate the world, leaving an "influence vacuum." As the old saying goes, "nature abhors a vacuum." Because of this, instead of taking Dominion over the arts, sciences, court systems, political offices, universities, and so on, Christians withdraw into isolated communities only to leave the world unoccupied.
As a result, anti-Christ people and philosophies have readily taken over virtually every facet of life. The greatest antithesis to Biblical Christianity has understood and intentionally implemented the Dominion Mandate for their own sinister ends.
The most dangerous of all are those espousing Cultural Marxism. Briefly, Cultural Marxism is an expansion of Classical Marxism, which focuses primarily on the economic philosophy of Karl Marx. Cultural Marxism is much more all-encompassing than Classical Marxism.
Ultimately, Cultural Marxism is about liberating humanity from the moral constraints of Biblical Christianity. The Bible prohibits same-sex intimacy, adultery in all forms, polygamy, bigamy, bestiality, pedophilia, and so on. God created man and woman in His image and commanded them to be fruitful and multiply; the Dominion Mandate!
The method Cultural Marxism employs to propagate its insidious agenda is through applying the Biblical Mandate. The plan has been and continues to be for those who oppose Biblical Christianity to infiltrate and dominate every known sphere of influence. As Voddie Bachem pointed out, their strategy is to take over the "robes" of society; professors, pastors, and judges, for example.
R.J. Rushdoony and the Christian Reconstructionists proposed the same tactic, taking over the "robes" of society. However, instead of a great "Amen" from the rest of the Church, Christian Reconstructionism has been vilified as patriarchal, extreme, and misguided.
In the meantime, Cultural Marxism is dominating the universities, media, churches, courts, arts, etc. They are putting Christians and Christianity to shame by their ardent intentionality to dominate the world for Self.
As the degeneration of our culture continues, so will the hostility toward Biblical Christianity. And just as Marxism tried to destroy Biblical Christianity through the reign of terror in anti-Christ regimes like the Soviet Union and Communist China, modern Marxists will not rest until Biblical Christianity is destroyed.
The good news, however, is the promise of Jesus Christ. He said that the "gates of hell" will not prevail against the Church. (Matthew 16:18) The image Christ was giving was not a Church that was cowering in the corner, battening down the hatches until the storm of hell subsided. Just the opposite. Hell is under attack, and its filthy gates are no match for the power and glory of the Risen Christ and His Bride.
Christians can no longer cower in corners. It is time for us to take up the battle cry and assault Cultural Marxism and any other "high place" (2 Corinthians 10:3-6) that dares to raise itself against the knowledge of God. Our weapons are not of the flesh (Ephesians 6), but they are weapons nonetheless and are worthless if left unused.
It is time for Christians to take back our country, our world for Christ. We must do it according to the means and methods of Jesus Christ and His Kingdom, which means we must take Dominion and occupy all walks of life for the glory of the crown rights of Jesus Christ.
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