It's another day in the Kingdom with the landscape of COVID-19 around us all. There is so much going on and so much information, I pray you are taking care of your heart, taking care of your soul, and taking care of your mind. All the faculties and spiritual organs with which we are to love and be loved by God (Deuteronomy 4, Matthew 22).
I was sitting with Jesus this morning, asking him how to engage with you and invite you to pray, and I heard Him say, Resurrection. I smiled and here we are.
The Kingdom drips with Resurrection.
Where there is death, there is a promise of resurrection. Many things are dying these days ... an old way of life, one I “was” so accustomed to, is being put down, and a new one is being offered. A type of life we all are being invited to take up … like Lazarus, we all, including this world, are soon going to be summoned to “Come forth.” I don’t know when and where, but I do know it is coming.
Palm Sunday came and went a few days ago, and it's still reeling in my heart: how quickly the confident cheers and "Hosannah" praises turned to shouts of "Crucify!"
Death.
As we approach Good Friday (very good for us!) and Easter Sunday, I wanted to share that the Cross of Christ was far more than Jesus's death … a way of life died, a religious system of self-reliance, a system of economic classes and race and a system that created distance between God and man was taken down and A WAY was made for all to experience and know a Kingdom Life - Life to the full, abundant … all through death and resurrection!
I want to invite you to pray with us for this extraordinary exchange, that the world would exchange an old life for a new one, put to death religion, self-reliance, classes, prejudice, and bigotry and the distance between us and God. Pray with us that millions would step out of the grave and into the arms of Jesus. Pray with us that this Easter, God will bring Resurrection Life to the world again like He did 2,000 years ago.
Let's pray …
Holy God, blessed Trinity; Father, Son and Holy Spirit … we worship you, praise you and thank you for who you are. You are Love and you are Life. We thank you for these sobering days, heightened days, challenging days and inviting days ... inviting us to move toward your voice and to resurrect again leaving an old life behind and embracing a new life that you are offering.
Thank you for all who have already taken you up on this offer - the Sons and Daughters of God; upgrade them, upgrade us, upgrade your Sons and Daughters in this world that we might encourage every Image Bearer and escort hundreds of thousands of others to freedom.
Jesus, thank you for all you did and all you do even now for us to experience Resurrection. With your help, Holy Spirit, we put to death the false self/flesh and with your help, Father, we put on the armor to combat the spirits of fear, depression and confusion running rampant and powerfully in these days. We claim the truth that "Greater is He who is in us than he that is in the world."
Jesus, show us each one our next step of interdependence on you and how best to wield the power and authority you have shared with us in your Kingdom, through your reign and rule. We are honored and grateful you have brought us into the light and into your Kingdom of Love through your death and Resurrection. We receive the fullness of your work on the cross and the fullness of Life here and now that you afforded us by ransoming us to yourself with and through your Life. You are amazing, Jesus, and you have made us amazing, nothing less than making us new creations … moving us from death to life.
Father, we pray against this virus throughout the world and we pray that as the world looks at it, the veil of it would be torn and nothing else could be seen except you, Father, Son and Spirt. Pour out your Spirit, Father, miraculously eradicate this virus of death like you eradicated the spiritual virus of sin and brought forth Resurrected Life. We declare you are Life and you hold all things and are over all things in your reign and rule of the world. We ask and invite you to bring COVID-19 to an end on Easter morning. Where there is no other explanation, grace the world with your presence that all would see you and worship you like never before.
We pray for our role and part in this story as believers, apprentices in your Kingdom. We pray for wise and discerning hearts that what was true in the oppression and disease of the first century would be true again in these days. Impart and disperse to your apprentices Resurrection power and Abundant Life in the presence of our enemies that all would know, all would experience that you, Jesus, and you alone are worthy to be trusted and worthy to be praised. All of this we pray in your matchless and glorious name, King of kings and Lord of lords, thank you, thank you, Jesus, for where there is death there is Resurrection, where there is death there you are making all things new.
Thank you, BraveHearts. Much is ahead. Our team prays over you and for you, your health and your family's health, and above all, that you would experience the nearness of God in a time that only his nearness could satisfy our hearts' hopes and longing for more.
For the Life, For the Mission,
Michael Thompson