This year as our church approaches its annual 21 days of fasting and prayer God has given us direction that we are to fast and pray that we would be prepared. We have been given a congregational sentence that comes through the many prophetic words which have been spoken to us over the last year or so. That sentence says: “Prepare! Prepare! Prepare! Prepare you Spirit (come out of the decay of your strongholds). Prepare your Souls(Prepare to practice and feel compassion). Prepare your facility (your structures, infrastructures and plans). Prepare for the storm (Pray for action plan, Pray for a spirit of perseverance). Prepare your witness (know your gifts, earn the right to speak, build your relationships with those outside the church, build your example). Prepare your hope and faith (think hope, speak hope, act in hope). Prepare your love (love each other, love the people in your towns, love those who disagree with you, love through the doors that open).“

seven prepare statements will be broken down into three days each of brief devotionals we will pray into over the next 21days.

DAY 11: PREPARE FOR THE STORM (PRAY FOR ACTION PLANS, PRAY FOR A SPIRIT OF PERSEVERANCE)

What else do we know for sure about the coming storm that will help us prepare?

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?”

⁴ Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. ⁵ For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. ⁶ 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. ⁷ Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. ⁸ All these are the beginning of birth pains.

⁹ “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. ¹⁰ At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, ¹¹ and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. ¹² Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, ¹³ but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. ¹⁴ And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.Ma. 24:3-14

The storm ahead will bring many false belief systems and false hopes of salvation outside of Jesus Christ. We must be prepared for this, and hold onto the truth that Jesus is the only way, the only truth the only life. No one will come to the Father or eternal life, but through Him.

The storm ahead will be a time of large scale ware and conflict across the Earth. Mankind cannot establish peace. Only God can do that. As mankind allows less and less room for God in the public arena conflict can only escalate. We must in the midst of this storm become what Jesus called, in Matthew 5, a peacemaker.

PRAY THAT IN THE DAYS AHEAD GOD WOULD HELP US AS A CHURCH TO BE A COMMUNITY THAT KEEPS THE GOSPEL MESSAGE AT ITS CENTER AND A COMMUNITY THAT CREATES PEACE IN THE MIDST OF GROWING CONFLICT.