Prayer Warrior's Journal January 2017

A mountain church

 near Sellrain, Austria

Where Are The Lamps?

By June Masters Bacher

In a certain mountain village in Europe several centuries ago

(so the story goes), a nobleman wondered what

 legacy to leave his townspeople. 

At last he decided to build them a church.

Nobody saw the complete plans until the church was finished.

When the people gathered, they marveled at its beauty.

But one noticed the incompleteness.

"Where are the lamps?" he asked. 
"How will the church be lighted?"

The nobleman smiled. Then he gave each family a lamp.

"Each time you are here, the area in which you sit will be lighted.

But when you are not here, some part of God's house will be dark."

Today we live in a world of darkness, a darkness in which even

our secular problem-solvers are beginning to stumble.

In spite of our "social conscience" all around us is evidence

of ignorance, illiteracy, and dark imaginings.

Romans 2:19 tells us that we, as Christians, are

"a light for those who are in the dark."

But the world is so big.

And our lamp is so small.

Yes, but we can light some small part of each day.

Look to the star-struck heavens. How small each

star looks in the distance. Not one of those

little lamps of heaven is missing-else the heavens

would be less bright.

Each of us is a star (or a lamp, if you will).

And yes, we can make this world a brighter place.

It all begins with the desire expressed in

Michelangelo's prayer:

"God give me the desire always to desire more

than I can ever accomplish."

The Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel

By Michelangelo

To think and pray about:

Light your lamps.

Let God send you in a new direction today.

Meet someone at the crossroads of his or her life.

Put on a bright face whether you feel like it or not.

Gladness will come.

-J.M.B.

" We pray Thee, O Christ,
 to keep us under the spell of immortality.

 May we never again think and act
 as if Thou were dead.

 Let us more and more come to know
 Thee as a living Lord 

Who hath promised to them that believe:

 "Because I live, ye shall live also."

 Help us to remember that we are praying

 to the Conqueror of Death,

 that we may no longer be
 afraid nor dismayed

 by the world's problems and threats, 

since Thou hast overcome the world. 

In Thy strong name,

 we ask for Thy living presence

 and Thy victorious power. "

 Amen

Reverend Peter Marshall Sr.

1902-1949

Twice-elected Chaplain of the United States Senate 

Mary Magdalene at the Sepulchre 

By Harold Copping





"Be joyful always; pray continually,
give thanks in all circumstances, for this
is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
Test everything.
Hold on to the good.
Avoid every kind of evil.
May God Himself,
the God of peace,
sanctify you through and through.
May your whole spirit,
soul and body,
be kept blameless at the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The One who calls you is faithful
and He will do it."
1 Thessalonians 4:16-24
  

 A Child's Prayer
Jessie Wilcox Smith





"Grace is flowing from Calvary,
Grace as fathomless as the sea,
Grace for time and eternity,
Grace, enough for me."
-Edwin O. Excel
(1905) 

The Christ of Calvary

Christ does not save men by His life,
Though that was holy, sinless, pure;
Nor even by His tender love,
Though that forever shall endure.
He does not save them by His throne,
Though it shall never pass away;
Nor by His vast creative power
That holds the elements in sway.
He does not save them by His works,
Though He was ever doing good;---
The awful need was greater still,
It took His death, His cross, His blood. 
Annie Johnson Flint




"There is more power in one drop
of the blood of Jesus
than in all parts of the kingdom
of Satan put together."
-Derek Prince








"The Christian life is a battle.
It is warfare on a grand scale."
-John MacArthur

The Armor of God