Daily Devotional for Sunday January 20, 2002

Never Fear - God Is in Control

(Acts 24:27)

In the midst of all that has happened the last several months, the one hope that we can all hang onto is the fact that through it all, GOD IS IN CONTROL. Nothing that has happened has been an accident or coincidence. Evil men with blackened hearts rage acts of terror all over this planet every day. To witness evil in such a visible way here at home has awakened many to the fact that there must be a greater purpose to this life than the hustle and bustle most of us fall into. We get so busy with our lives, our goals, our dreams, pursuing the things we want to do, and simply doing what most people do in the course of their daily lives, we forget that in this life we have a higher purpose, much higher than the activities and accomplishments that we are focused on during this brief journey here. God gave us this gift of life to serve and glorify Him with it. He is our Father, and we are His children. That connection is never so clear than in times of trouble. The things that took priority over that relationship with Him don't seem quite so important any longer. We realize, in those darkest of days, that God is our only source of hope and comfort. We go on knowing that He is in control.

I have been overjoyed the last months as I have watched the networks cover these events. On most of the major networks, Dr. Billy Graham preached of the hope and love we find in Christ. President Bush stood in the pulpit of the National Cathedral in our nation's capital and shared a message of hope most preachers would have been proud to deliver. There has been extensive coverage of various prayer vigils. Prayer seems to be a good thing again. Sadly, just a short time ago,you would have been laughed at for trying to pray in a school or talk about prayer in a national forum. The media would never have allowed you to express the importance of prayer in such a prominent way. But as the events unfolded before our eyes since 9-11, as people had a sense of real fear about the future, prayer, once again, has become part of the national fabric. It is now OK to pray. It is now OK to ask others to pray. We are encouraged to do it by our leaders. Most have realized that it is often our only real weapon.

Many of the emails I have been receiving have asked "what can I do?". As I have been sharing with you, this is a time of incredible opportunity to reach the lost for Christ. You can pray, and you can share your faith. Don't worry that you don't have all the answers to the tough questions, nobody does. Don't worry that you aren't a Bible scholar and can't handle all the tough questions people pose from the Word, most aren't. However, if you have accepted Christ by faith, then you have a personal relationship with Him. The best witness is simply sharing what Jesus has done in your life. Ultimately, each person must make this decision for themselves. You can't force a person to have faith. God gave each of us the free will to choose to accept Him or reject Him. Our job is to be obedient and plant the seeds. Share what Christ means to us, live a Godly life each day, since how you live will always speak louder than your words, and pray. God will do the rest.

I am so excited and want to give God the glory for over 3,000 now that have contacted Liveprayer in just the last few months, letting us know that they have made a commitment to accept Jesus Christ as their personal savior. AMEN!!! In the first 2 years of this on-line ministry, we had a little over 5,000 contact us and let us know they had accepted Christ. The funny thing to me is that the news has come out that these horrific attacks of 9-11 were planned over 2 years ago. At the same time that satan was working in the hearts of evil men to plan these horrible acts, God was raising up Liveprayer to be a beacon of light to many during this time of trouble. Accident? Coincidence? There are no accidents or coincidences with God! This is a time of great opportunity for Christians to stand up and let people know that in these times of trouble, there is only one true answer, and that is faith in Christ! Trust me, people are afraid, they realize there has to be more to life, and their hearts are open to the Gospel. I pray today that you seize this wonderful opportunity to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with the lost and hurting. Now is the time to bring in a great harvest of souls!

I love you and care about you so much. Have no fear, God is still on his throne, still in 100% control. This is a time when we as Christians can play a big role in the healing process our nation will undergo in the coming weeks and months. God has given us a great role to play, and this is our opportunity to further the Kingdom of God. Let each of us be up to the task as we go forward in the strength and wisdom only He can provide. May you and your family be richly blessed this day as we serve our King!