Famine In The Land

Dr. Joseph Peck — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 10:55:59 +0000

Fear of the Lord and hunger for the things of God go hand in hand!

“The thief (Satan) does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10)

How do we overcome the spiritual famine?
What is fear of the LORD?

There is a great famine in the land (America) for the Word of God, prayer, and faith. Many people who profess to be followers of Jesus are starving spiritually. For some, their flames have stopped burning entirely. The following content from Chapter 9 of the Power of a Praying Parent is an outstanding description of fear of the LORD.

When we read in the newspaper about young people stealing, killing, destroying property, or being sexually promiscuous, we can be sure that those individuals do not have a healthy fear of the Lord, nor a good understanding of His ways, nor a hunger for the things of God. Some of these young people may even be from Christian families and have received Jesus, but because they haven’t been taught to fear God and desire His presence they are controlled by their flesh.

Fearing God means having a deeply committed respect, love, and reverence for God’s authority and power. It means being afraid of what life would be like without Him and being grateful that because of His love we’ll never have to experience such despair. It means hungering for all that God is and all that He has for us.

There is so much in the world to divert our children’s attention away from the things of God, and the devil will come to each child with his agenda and plan to see if they will buy into it. But when we do our part to teach, instruct, discipline, and train our children in the ways of God…

when we read them stories from God’s Word,

when we teach them how to pray and have faith that God is who He says He is and will do what He says He’ll do,

when we help them get plugged in with godly friends,

when we show them that walking with God brings joy and fulfillment, not boredom and restrictions,

when we pray with and for them about everything,

Have your children developed a hunger for the things of God?

Prayer Power
Heavenly Father, we can only give away what we already have. Thank You for instilling in me a hunger for the things of God. Thank You for Pastor Mark Jarvis and Pastor Matt Gregory, who have coached me spiritually on a weekly basis for more than five years. Bless them and their families with Your uncommon favor. Thank You that both of my children are born-again. I pray that they will develop a deeper hunger for the things of God. Thank You Jesus. Amen.

Blessing of the Day

1) The Spiritual Famine in America – YouTube video

Blessings to you and your family to develop a hunger for the things of God!

Joseph

Joseph Peck, M.D.
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The Legacy of E. M. Bounds

Dr. Joseph Peck — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 10:55:49 +0000

“Since the time of the apostles, no man besides Edward McKendree Bounds has left such a rich inheritance of research into the life of prayer.” – Introduction to “E.M. Bounds On Prayer” book

“Ask of Me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for your possession.” (Psalm 2:8)

What can you do to most effectively grow your prayer life and faith in 2009?

Welcome to our series of message for Christmas week! What is Christmas about? For Christians, Jesus is the reason for the season. For me, the Christmas season is a time to give extravagantly – to pour myself into the lives of others – giving the best I have to those who are struggling and those less fortunate. After all, God gave His only begotten Son to us to pay a debt I could never pay.

I think it’s appropriate to start off my messages of Christmas week sharing about prayer and faith since Jesus’ purpose in coming was to “seek and save that which was lost” and faith in Jesus is crucial both for salvation and to live an abundant life. According to E.M. Bounds, “when faith ceases to pray, it ceases to live.”

On November 18 Virginia Morton posted a blog (and sent a bulk email) for her Marching Through Culpeper followers titled “The Legacy of E. M. Bounds.” In that highly inspirational message, Virginia relates how it took three times for her to finally hear God’s voice to purchase and read the book “E.M. Bounds on Prayer.”

Virginia wrote, “This book changed my life and grew my faith and prayer life exponentially. The book’s introduction says; ‘Since the time of the apostles, no man besides Edward McKendree Bounds has left such a rich inheritance of research into the life of prayer.’”

Now that’s a very, very powerful statement. So when Virginia later thanked God that “Randy is the E.M. Bounds of Culpeper” during two different intense group prayer times in a single week, that really caught my attention.

As I was journaling early in the morning on December 3, I began writing down highlights and low points for 2008. The very first highlight I wrote down was “I’m seeing people’s lives changes all around me.” I then proceeded to write down some of the phenomenal testimonies that people have shared with me this year of how I have impacted them.

One of the highlights I wrote down was Virginia’s recent statement that I am the E.M. Bounds of Culpeper. As I was reflecting on that statement coming from one of the pillars of our community, a very godly woman who prays faithfully and understands the power of prayer, and one of God’s generals of intercession, I felt extremely humbled.

The Holy Spirit then commanded me to send Virginia a very specific email, which turned out to be so inspirational that Virginia sent me three emails later that day. Two of those emails contained links to these web references

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_McKendree_Bounds
http://www.whatsaiththescripture.com/Fellowship/E.M.Bounds.html

Those references so inspired me that I searched my basement bookshelf for the book “E.M. Bounds On Prayer” and spent hours that evening reading it. That book is the best one I have ever read about prayer.

Prayer Power
Heavenly Father, we praise You as the God of prayer! Thank You for leading Virginia Morton to read “E.M. Bounds On Prayer” and then to write her blog post about that. Thank You for using Virginia’s blog post and subsequent prayers and personal emails to lead me to begin reading that book. Thank You for inspiring me to spend much more time interceding for others in the past 7 weeks. Thank You for the fruit of prayer I am seeing in many people I am praying for. May today’s message inspire several of my readers to buy and read the book “E.M. Bounds On Prayer.” Thank You Jesus. Amen and hallelujah!

Blessing of the Day

1) The Legacy of E. M. Bounds – complete blog post by Virginia Morton

2) Power through Prayer – E.M. Bounds

3) E.M. Bounds – Weapon of Prayer

4) Prayer and Obedience – E.M. Bounds

Blessings to intentionally grow in your prayer life and faith in 2009!