Written January 17, 2021
I wanted to share a few thoughts with you today beginning with two verses from the Scripture.
"There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." Proverbs 14:12
"Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'" John 14:6
My normal schedule for the last 20+ years is that when Congress is in session I spend at least Tuesday thru Thursday focused on Capitol Hill. I pray as I walk all around Capitol Hill. I pray for the nation. I pray for all of the Members of the Senate and House and for all of those who help them do their jobs. I pray for the President and Vice President, for the Members of the Cabinet, for the heads of the various agencies, for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Supreme Court Justices and for all those who serve the people in those positions and carry out the daily work of governments. I pray for the soldiers and police on the front lines of keeping our nation and the world safe. I pray for wisdom and discernment and compassion and boldness and strength and character for all of those people in all of their decisions and actions. I pray for their families and their personal lives which have so much impact on what they do in carrying out their responsibilities in their jobs. I pray for the development of future leaders to grow in integrity, wisdom and courage.
I don't claim that I pray this every day or even most days, but I do it often. I pray that God will give me favor with some of those people so that I might have opportunity to bring His Spirit into their hearts and lives. I am a simple person with few gifts, but I can be faithful. I can keep showing up and keep mentioning Jesus and His amazing love. I can be kind and I can be available. I can't solve problems, but I can weep with people in pain. I can't always lead people to the verse they need to hear, but I can let them know that God loves them and knows their pain and will be their comfort and refuge.
Last week, for the first time in several months, I was in Washington, DC. I watched as each day Capitol Hill became more and more a fortified city. I have to admit that I teared up more than once as I watched the soldiers turning this beautiful, peaceful place into an armed city! I didn't encounter any of the Capitol Police that I knew and recognized, but rather soldiers from some other part of the country who had to assume that I was a potential threat and a person to be turned away.
Here is the message to me/you today. I/We need to pray for healing. We need to humble ourselves and pray as humble and needy citizens. We need to repent of our sins and stop talking about everyone else's sin. We need to cry out to God to forgive us and heal our land! We need to stop pounding the table about how right we are and repent of how wrong we have been. God knows who is right and who is wrong. He knows what is true and what is false. He will lift up and He will tear down. He sees and knows and He wants us to get into His way of seeing and doing, not try to get Him to join us.
Father, forgive me for my anger and judgement of others. Forgive me for harsh words spoken about many public figures. Forgive me for my arrogance in thinking that I know what is right and true and who is good and who is evil. Forgive me and purify my heart so that I might hear Your quiet counsel. Use me as an instrument of healing and hope. Help me to trust You and follow You and not trust in man and man's solutions. Let people see less of me and more of You. In the name of our Lord Jesus.
Stan