Saturday, March 12, 2011

Pray for Japan


Matthew 24, verses 3-8, 36-44 and verse 35
(New International Version, ©2011)


     As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

     Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.  All these are the beginning of birth pains.

     “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

     “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

     Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

Heavenly Father,
     Our hearts cry out to You for mercy on the people of Japan. May your saving grace preserve and rescue their families and loved ones. May your truth and comfort break through their loss and grief.
     May days like this drive us to bend our knees and lift our hearts to You; not in anger, rage or despair, but rather in humility as we witness these birth pangs of prophecy. Lord, our love is already in heaven, we've nothing to lose here on earth, so fire us with Your passion as You open our eyes and our understanding to these days we live in.

In Jesus name, Amen.

3 comments:

  1. I join with you and millions in prayer Feree.

    Thank you. I keep thinking that those fires burning and those houses and boats and cars we see swept away--we are seeing people dying...even if we can't see their bodies for surely there were people dwelling or driving or sailing in them.

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  2. Amen. I pray that those who are hurting in Japan will be ministered to by organizations like Samaritan's Purse, and that they will receive the Gospel. I heard on the news that only one percent of Japanese are Christians. I wish I could hop on a plane and join an evangelical group in helping these poor people and sharing the love of Christ with them.

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  3. Your scriptures are well-chosen. One does wonder about end-times prophecy at times like these.

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