Israel is a model of success…
… and failure.
As long as the people followed the directives from God they prospered. When they turned away from God, they found themselves in bondage, famine and destruction.
This morning, I was reminded of a Scripture from Lamentations 5:14:
“The elders have ceased from the gate”
If you take time to read the book of Lamentations you will see many similarities between the conditions described there and those of our world today.
You could say that in America, “the elders have ceased from the gate”. Pastors should be leading their congregations in righteousness, warning them of impending disasters and calling them to action. Thankfully, some are meeting that challenge. Unfortunately, many… most… are not.
I see a picture of the Pastors in communities gathering together to pray. They are determined to REPLACE the failed spiritual community leadership of Pastors who have abandoned (or may have never known) the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This group of women and men are sold out to the purposes of God. They are preparing, once again, to occupy their positions at the city gate. It’s an encouraging picture.
I hope and pray that it is a snapshot of the very near future.
***Gordon Howie is an author and CEO of Life and Liberty Media***
“It’s not about right or left, it’s about Right or Wrong.”
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Good Sunday Morning Gordon, I hope all is well with you, yours and the work to which He has called you to. I read with great interest this morning your Blog on “Pastors In Their Place”. I could not agree with you more my friend. It was the late Chuck Colson who rightly said “As leaders in the local church it is our responsibility to bring a moral dimension to public life.” I work hard, with the FHA, to encourage Pastors across our state to speak up boldly and clearly, beyond the four walls of their churches, on what the Bible has to say about the issues facing our families, communities and Nation today. I want you to be encouraged by the fact that not just a few Pastors are stepping up to the plate in this regard. Every month the Rapid City Ministerial meets and our numbers are growing as we center on building community and relationships between us. Small group prayer has become a BIG part of our coming together each month. Then this past Thursday approximately 150 folks gathered at RCCS for the annual ‘National Day of Prayer’. You would have been encouraged by the heart and prayers of some 8 Pastors on stage as they prayed anointed prayers which each moved my heart that evening. In other words my friend….there is some ‘good news’ to report on this front 🙂 Have a good week and maybe we can have coffee down the line. – Dale B.