Household Prayer: courage in the face of wickedness

“There certainly is a reward for the righteous; There certainly is a God who judges on the earth!”” Psalm 58:6, 10-11 NASB2020 https://bible.com/bible/2692/psa.58.6.NASB2020

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 Brothers, was meditating on the increasing public shows of Islamic conquest in America. Most recently traffic blocked in NY for Muslim prayer and reciting Surah Muhammad 47:4 “So, when you meet (in fight) those who disbelieve, strike at their necks till you have killed and wounded many of them, then bind a bond firmly (and take them as captives)…” How do we lead our families in these days?

My meditation this morning was this 1) praying to God for protection from the wicked that would do us harm, prayed Psalm 58, “God, shatter their teeth in their mouth; Break out the fangs of the young lions, Lord…”

2) praying we would be bold to tell that and they would hear that they are destined for hell and turn to Jesus for salvation, prayed over Acts 3-4, “Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away… that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene,… whom God raised from the dead… there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among mankind by which we must be saved.”

3) knowing the growing threat of violence praying we prepare and train, Nehemiah 4, “But we prayed to our God, and because of them we set up a guard against them day and night…”

4) prayed that we not have a spirit of fear but of courage, “‘Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not be afraid, for I am your God…’” Isaiah 41:10. I pray we walk in this faith and encourage and disciple age appropriately. 

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“But, despite all these apparent strengths, the foundations for [Christian] Byzantine security had over time shown evidence of innumerable hidden weaknesses. Most significantly, the long-lived stability of the imperial order had encouraged a lax estimation of the importance of military preparedness. When the first few ragged Islamic armies began to venture out of the Arabian desert, their shrewd commanders quickly saw and exploited those weaknesses.” The Last Crusader: The Untold Story of Christopher Columbus by George Grant https://a.co/6rpxm4P 

“Take Jesus’s talk of swords. He tells his disciples that “he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one.” They respond, “Lord, behold, here are two swords,” to which Christ concludes, “It is enough” (Luke 22: 36, 38 KJV). Whereas most modern-day Christians allegorize this verse into meaninglessness, for most premodern and especially medieval Christians, its meaning was clear: Christians are to fight two sorts of evils with two sorts of swords—a spiritual sword against spiritual enemies, and a physical sword against physical enemies. Taken together, these two swords were, and are, “enough.”” The Two Swords of Christ: Five Centuries of War between Islam and the Warrior Monks of Christendom by Raymond Ibrahim https://a.co/0hijsvZt

“¶God, shatter their teeth in their mouth; Break out the fangs of the young lions, Lord… The righteous will rejoice when he sees vengeance; He will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. And people will say, “There certainly is a reward for the righteous; There certainly is a God who judges on the earth!”” Psalm 58:6, 10-11 NASB2020 https://bible.com/bible/2692/psa.58.6.NASB2020

“Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you,” Acts 3:19-20 NASB2020 https://bible.com/bible/2692/act.3.19-20.NASB2020

“let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead… there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among mankind by which we must be saved.”” Acts 4:10, 12 NASB2020 https://bible.com/bible/2692/act.4.10.NASB2020

“But we prayed to our God, and because of them we set up a guard against them day and night… then I stationed men in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, the exposed places, and I stationed the people in families with their swords, spears, and bows. When I saw their fear, I stood and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people: “Do not be afraid of them; remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”” Nehemiah 4:9, 13-14 NASB2020 https://bible.com/bible/2692/neh.4.9.NASB2020 

“‘Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will also help you, I will also uphold you with My righteous right hand.’” Isaiah 41:10 NASB2020 https://bible.com/bible/2692/isa.41.10.NASB2020

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THE GOOD NEWS

There is a God that created the heavens and the earth. We humans are created in His image.

We are sinners, we have rebelled against Him, our Creator. Our rebellion has brought “all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice… envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness” to the world. Romans 1:29-31 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/rom.1.29-31.ESV

Therefore we justly deserve our due punishment of death and damnation, “as it is written: ‘None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.’” Romans 3:10-12 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/rom.3.10-12.ESV

But good news! God is merciful and loving. Jesus is God the only begotten Son and He took our punishment upon Himself in our place. Jesus rose from the dead, defeating death and securing the hope of our salvation. 

“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.” 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/1co.15.3-8.ESV

““Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”” Acts 2:36-38 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/act.2.36-38.ESV

We need only repent and believe it. Repent: turn away from our sins, proclaim Jesus is lord and savior, and we will be forgiven our sins and have life ever after! “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”” Romans 10:9-11 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/rom.10.9-11.ESV

There is hope. Believe in Jesus! ““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/jhn.3.16.ESV 

It doesn’t matter who you’ve been or what you’ve done, God stands with arms wide open, ready to forgive you. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/1jn.1.9.ESV