Think About It
Recently, I saw a political commercial. It was titled, “Blast Em!” The candidate said,“I’m not going to let the [opposing party] turn Birmingham into Baghdad or Mobile into Mexico. If an illegal alien is caught committing sick, violent crimes, here’s my plan: strap ’em in a chair, and blast ’em outta here. Rather, we send them to Mexico, Mars, or the undertaker, they’re going to be gone.”
This commercial disturbed me on so many levels. This is my fifth draft! What I wanted to say, the Holy Spirit would not allow me to say. I had to get off my spiritual high horse and accept my assignment. My assignment is to pray for hearts to be changed and minds to be renewed in the name of Jesus.
While I wanted to begin with politicians, I was led to begin with people who actually commit sick, violent crimes in the world. This is not specific to someone’s race, creed, or nationality, like the commercial implied. This is a heart issue, so they need our prayers. As I wrestled with this, I thought about Saul.
Go to the Father: “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
Saul was a sick individual. He persecuted the early church violently. He dragged women and men out of their homes and put them in prison. He was actively pursuing Christians on the road to Damascus when he had an encounter with Jesus. He went from Saul to Paul; he went from persecuting the church to planting churches. Saul went from inflicting pain to suffering for the gospel. As I think about Saul, I am humbled. Despite his actions, our Savior revealed Himself to Saul, and welcomed him into the kingdom. It’s hard to put it into words, so let’s pray about it.
Pray About It
Isaiah 55 describes the compassion of God. I won’t pretend to understand it, but I will spend my whole life being thankful for it. The word says, “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For his thoughts are not our thoughts, neither his ways our ways. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are his ways higher than our ways and his thoughts than our thoughts.”
I surrender my opinions, judgements, and lack of understanding to the Father. I apologize for the times I condemned sick, violent people to hell as if I had a heaven or hell to place them in. I want to stand in the gap and intercede for individuals who seek to harm others. Furthermore, I want to stand in the gap and intercede for people who love God, but don’t know Jesus. I want you to meet them on the road to Damascus, and change them like you changed Saul.
Soul Searching with Our Father
On this soul searching journey, we have to come to terms with the fact that our Father’s ways are not our ways. The Lord asked Ananias to go to Saul, and lay hands on him (Acts 9). Ananias did not want to go because he’d heard about all the evil things Saul did to the Lord’s saints at Jerusalem, but the Lord explained to him that Saul was chosen by him to carry his name before the Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. So, in spite of what he heard, he had to go to Saul. Let it be said that we would do the same if given the opportunity. Prepare our hearts Lord to do what seems impossible.
In the same vein, our Father asked Jonah to go to Nineveh, and tell the people that their city would be overthrown in 40 days because of their wickedness. The fact is Nineveh wasn’t just “some” city. It was a city filled with Jonah’s enemies. They were sick, violent people. He did not want them to receive grace and mercy after everything they’d done. He didn’t understand that the same grace and mercy offered to him when he ran away from God and ended up in a big fish was the same grace and mercy being extended to the people of Nineveh. One sin wasn’t greater than the other in God’s eyes, so we can’t exclude people based on their sinful nature. Think about it. Then, go to the Father, and pray about it.
#Soul Searching with Our Father#
