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The Omega Letter Intelligence Digest
Vol: 39 Issue: 14 - Tuesday, December 14, 2004
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------On Fellowship and Prayer
Last night, as I was reading through our message boards and praying over your posted prayer requests, I was struck anew by the depth and breadth of our fellowship.
And even more than that, by the depth and the breadth of the love that exudes from it, for each other, for our lost friends and family, and for our Lord.
Several comments in our member's forum about the recent dustup over the Javier Solana thing really leapt out at me. Particularly when contrasted against the kinds of comments one finds in other Christian discussion forums.
The first is your spirit of forgiveness. In times past, we've had all kinds of folks come into our fellowship forums to try and pick fights, bait members with taunts, or start meaningless debates that start to go around in circles.
But those folks seldom find a pigeon among our fellowship willing to take the bait.
And, on those rare occasions when one of us DOES get blind-sided, the rest of us are right there -- not to jump on the bandwagon -- but to put a stop to it before it infects the whole group.
The Lord really impressed upon me the fact that, while it might be the Omega Letter Daily Intelligence Digest report that draws new subscribers, it is the fellowship of our membership forums that keeps them.
(Lest I grow fat in my own conceits)
Which brings me full circle to my original subject -- which is the Omega Letter membership forum. Some of you remember how the Omega Letter was born in the first place.
We had experimented with a reader's forum at Oracle, and it grew rapidly. Before long, we had more than ten thousand members. And nine thousand combatants.
Our forum moderators burned out like light bulbs. The harder we tried to police the place, the worse it got. Finally, we shut it down altogether before the bickering destroyed our testimony, which left an awful lot of our membership homeless in cyberspace.
We decided to try and create a safe place for fellowshipping on the web. The only way we could see to effectively police it was to charge a membership fee.
While there was no end of people who would join a forum for free, just for the fun of disrupting it, not many people would cough up ten bucks a month to disrupt our fellowship when they could go elsewhere and do it for free.
Only serious Christians who wanted a safe place on the web where they could fellowship in peace with like-minded believers would, and did, and still do.
(Some of you wasted no time making the move. For example, Lou's membership ID number is lower than mine)
We abandoned the concept of having a forum moderator in favor of giving every member the option of 'dusting' innappropriate posts. It is still incredible to me how seldom any of you exercise that power.
Or how seldom you need to.
Assessment:
It's been a bit over three years, now, and in that time, I've watched our fellowship mature and grow and develop into a formidible force of prayer warriors.
Together, our collective prayers have bombarded the Throne Room of God, and the resulting explosions have rattled the very gates of hell.
Our members have prayed for healings, marriages restored, loved ones miraculously come to Christ, the restoration of jobs and finances, and have witnessed amazing and miraculous answers to those prayers.
There is an iron-clad promise of Scripture I'd like to ask you to claim with me. Wylie told me this morning that one of our old comrades from our police service was just diagnosed with terminal cancer.
Ken left the police service to become a UN peacekeeper serving in Bosnia. He came home for a visit and a checkup and was informed he has terminal cancer of the liver and pancreas.
Though I haven't seen Ken in twenty years, Wylie has. He believes that Ken is not saved. Please pray with me for Ken's salvation.
1st John 5:14-15 promises: "And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any thing according to His Will, He heareth us: And if WE KNOW that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we KNOW that we HAVE the petitions that we desired of Him."
There are several elements here. Note first, that John promises that we can have 'confidence' in this promise, but imposes conditions.
First, he tells us we must ask 'according to His will.'
What is God's will? Well, Scripture makes it clear what God's will is NOT.
2nd Peter 3:9 tells us that:
"The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, NOT WILLING that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."
Secondly, John imposes the condition of faith; "And if we KNOW that He hear us, we KNOW we HAVE the petitions we desired of Him."
In my thirty-odd years as a Christian, I can testify that every person for whose salvation I have ever prayed, (to my knowledge) eventually came to know Christ.
In some cases, the Lord granted me the privilege of personally introducing them to His Son, in others, it was someone else, but in no instance (that I am aware of), has the Lord ever failed to keep His promise as John outlined it.
I don't know if it is His will that Ken be healed, although I humbly ask you, my fellow prayer-warriors, to pray that this cup be removed from Ken and Wanda's lips, with the understanding that, as our Lord taught us, nevertheless not as I will, but as Thou wilt." (Matthew 26:39)
Scripture makes it clear that it is certainly God's Will that Ken come to know Jesus, and it is also God's Will that Ken's wife Wanda be saved as well. Please pray with me for them.
There is no prayer that a Christian can offer that is more important to God than the petition for a lost soul.
"Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth." (Luke 15:10)
The value of a single sinner who comes to Christ cannot be overstated: "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" asks the Creator Jesus. (Mark 8:26)
To the enemy, our fellowship is a power to be reckoned with, and is therefore a major target. When the enemy can't obtain permission to attack our members directly, (Job 1:12) he goes after our fellowship, and failing in that effort, he sets his sights on the Omega Letter the way an enemy would try to knock out an advancing tank.
Without getting into specifics, he's been trying to find a bazooka big enough to stop the tank, but so far, all he's been able to do is scratch off some of the paint.
It is unlikely that he is going to give up, especially as we draw closer to that Day.
"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:" (1st Peter 5:8)
Your Omega Letter is vulnerable to attack in many areas; attacks on its reputation, attacks on its funding, attacks on its mission or doctrinal views, and, occasionally, the Lord allows him to take a shot at some of us as individuals, including yours truly.
Please pray for your Omega Letter and for our brothers and sisters among our membership, for a hedge of provision and protection about each of us individually, and all of us collectively, as we approach a new year of battle.
Pray for our loved ones, that they might be saved. Pray that our fellowship will continue to be a force for good, and that our members will be granted the petitions they ask of Him.
Pray for our finances and that God will bring new members to our fellowship.
And, if I may be so bold, please pray for me.
Pray that the Lord will make me an effective witness for Him, and pray that the awesome responsibility He has put before me will honor Him and be effective in enlarging the Kingdom.
Pray that the attacks leveled at us as a fellowship, and at me personally, will be of none effect.
Pray for encouragement, for yourselves, and for me, for Mike and for our families as together, we continue to press forward in battle.
The attacks are wearying, and, like the rest of the signs of our times, they are increasing in both frequency and intensity.
James 5:16 reminds us, "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."
"Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the Word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you:" (2nd Thessalonians 3:1)
As for me, I pray God will richly bless each of you -- as you continue to bless me. (A very powerful blessing, indeed)
Until He comes.
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