La Danse - A Victory for the Gospel!
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Mid-Month Notes - August 2003 |
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DEAR READERS When praying for Canada I am often guided by what I see on the CBC news or by what I read in the Globe and Mail, but I do prefer to see these events in the context of a sovereign God who watches over the nations and knows the heart motives of all men and women. I also believe that Jerusalem is the city of the great King (Matthew 5:35) and that despite the apparent chaos of the Middle East it will result in Jesus being glorified both as Lord and Messiah. Claim the truth of Isaiah 19:24-25 and Romans 11:11-12 ; 25-28 LA DANSE - A VICTORY FOR THE GOSPEL! This was a remarkable national pilgrimage of about 300 French and English speaking Canadians that started in Montreal and ended a week ago in Vancouver and Victoria. We hosted the team here in Vancouver for two days and tried to express tokens of our love and affection especially toward the Francophones from Quebec. We wanted them to know our love, however imperfectly, and that they were welcome in Western Canada. The profound thought is that the Lord actually wants the French and English speaking Canadians to love one another - so praise God that through the Gospel this is possible. May the power of God continue to break down the dividing walls right across this country through a Gospel of reconciliation. Pray that God would continue to do a remarkable thing in this Nation. HAS THE RESTRAINER MOVED AWAY? We are living in a time of accelerated change. The power of national and international networking means that good things and bad things can happen so much faster. Something happening in one part of the world or a nation can now cause a cascade effect that is unexpected in its intensity. A recent natural example was the black out of the electrical grid in Ontario and the NE States affecting fifty million people. Another recent breathtaking moral example is the rapid development of the acceptance of the homosexual agenda. In Canada what happened with a group of three judges in Ontario has influenced the Federal Government to change the law concerning marriage itself. This in turn could affect other nations’ attitudes. In the States over sixty percent of the Episcopal Bishops recently voted in an openly gay Bishop. But what about the scriptures? In biblical terms this is equivalent to apostasy and I have been studying Thessalonians in depth to consider how apostasy (the rebellion, the falling away etc) manifests. In 2 Thess 2:7, Paul uniquely describes the Lord as ‘The Restrainer’, the one who restrains lawlessness until He removes Himself from the midst of it, thus giving evil the freedom it craves. God’s judgment on a people who resist the truth of the Gospel is to give them what they want, the operation of error or the strong delusion, and I am chastened to consider that God’s righteous judgments may be in our midst. If the restraining hand of God is being lifted away from Canada, then we could expect other things to happen very quickly that challenge the Word of God. This is a very serious time, and the time may be shorter than we think before the Lord’s glorious return. Romans 13 in the Message says: "The night is about over, dawn is about to break. Be up and awake to what God is doing! ... Get out of bed and get dressed! MERCY SAILS INTO VANCOUVER At about the same time as the Premier of BC was declaring a province wide state of emergency due to the terrible forest fires, the US Navy Hospital Ship 'Mercy' sailed into Vancouver’s harbour. We thank God that according to James 2:13, mercy triumphs over judgment. Despite our national rejection of the Living God and the blood guilt of a million children aborted in the last 10 years, the mercy of God is still patiently calling us to repentance. Should we not seek Him with all our hearts before the voice of the innocents is heeded? Canada is a nation in the valley of decision. Intercede powerfully that we will not despise His mercy. |
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