FLOODS UPON DRY GROUND, CHAPTER 13: TRANSMITTING THE FAITH

(Note: I started this post with a portion of a video of a 4 x 100-meter relay race. You’ll see why later in the post.)

     We're in the final section of the book "Floods upon Dry Ground", written by Pastors Bobby Duncan and James Jones. The section is entitled, "Final Challenge", and Chapter 13 is entitled. “Transmitting the Faith”.  In my opinion, the chapter could also have been aptly named one of the following two titles:

1. “Revival or Irrelevance”. 
2. "Passing the Baton of True Faith to the Next Generation.”

     Pastor Jones is the author of this chapter. He opened with the following fairly long, but I think very important statement:

“If we are to pass the treasure of truth to the next generation, there must be a reviving of spiritual life today, for there is no acceptable alternative. Mass meetings will not suffice; more highly organized programs can only do so much. Applying all the updated leadership principles, although helpful, is not enough; and as beneficial as higher formal religious education is, it cannot address the deep spiritual needs of the church. Only the work of the Holy Spirit will accomplish what the church so desperately needs today, and that is a renewed awareness of God, an awakening to the need for the confession of sin, the need for improved intimacy with Christ, and the need to worship and serve with fervency of spirit. This is revival, and unless the church experiences it, much will be lost. It is either revival or irrelevance.”

     He then wrote emphatically, “The ground is dry and desperately thirsty for refreshing rain.” He said there is a dire need for the transmission of the true faith of the Bible to the next generation and not a watered-down version.
     Jones went on to give the example of a relay race in which his granddaughter ran. The three major keys to any successful relay race team are the following:

1. Having four fast runners.
2. Having three smooth passages of the baton.
3. The anchor leg runner has to have the baton in hand when crossing the finish line.

     Jones said that his granddaughter was the starting runner, and her team was well in the lead throughout the race. The anchor leg runner, however, was so distracted by the runners behind her that she kept looking back. She eventually stumbled and dropped the baton before crossing the finish line. Remember that it's the baton that has to cross the finish line with the anchor leg runner holding it.
     I included in this post a short video by Anne Graham Lotz about the importance of passing the baton of faith to the next generation, and not bobbling or dropping it before we cross the finish line.

     Finally, we as Christians need to do as Paul said in Philippians 3:13-14:

“But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead. I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.”

FLOODS UPON DRY GROUND, CHAPTER 12: SOUNDING THE TRUMPET IN ZION

(Shofar Horn)

     The sound you just heard is a shofar, It’s a ram’s horn, or a trumpet, that Jewish people blow each Jewish New Year and on the Sabbath Day.
     We are in the final section of the book “Floods Upon Dry Ground”, written by Pastors Bobby Duncan and James Jones. The last three chapters are under the heading "Final Challenge"
     In essence, it describes how to make a last-ditch effort to bring about the floods upon dry ground to a dying world before it’s too late.
     In Chapter 12, “Blowing the Trumpet in Zion”, Bobby Duncan talked about a sermon he preached in the ’80s entitled “Two Zions”. He was comparing the real Zion, which was the Israel of the Old Testament—with America, a newer Zion, which has a rich Christian faith history. Duncan said that he struggled with writing and preaching the sermon about the judgment that Israel faced, and the judgment that America is about to face without God’s divine intervention. The authors again used the Old Testament book of Joel, Chapter 2:1. Here it is:

“Blow the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the Day of the Lord is coming, for it is at hand.”

     I’m sure that many of you have heard the song, “Blow the Trumpet in Zion”. Following is a snippet:

Blow the Trumpet in Zion, Zion.
Sound the alarm on My holy mountain,
Blow the Trumpet in Zion, Zion,
Sound the alarm.

     The song is very familiar and upbeat. It depicts men going into battle in which they use the horn or horns to unsettle the enemy enough to lead Israel to victory. This, however, doesn't exactly depict what Joel was talking about in Joel 2. Joel's trumpet blowing was a warning for the Israelites, and America—that the time is short before the Lord intervenes, perhaps In a way that we don’t want. We need to, therefore, sound the alarm and cry out to God, in repentance of our sins—before it’s too late.
     Pastor Duncan wrote that after one sermon on Joel 2:1, a young woman gave him the book entitled “Set the Trumpet to Thy Mouth”, written by David Wilkerson. He finally got around to reading the book, and he said he is not one prone to many tears. But after reading the book he couldn’t hold his tears back. He said he realized after reading Wilkerson’s book, “I had not yet plunged the depths of what God was saying to His people.”
     Pastor Duncan said that he and his wife Sandra were both moved to increase their prayer life and devotional time with their two sons. And that revival in his church “became more of a priority.”

     At the end of Chapter 12, he wrote the following:

“Let us fervently do as the prophet Joel declared: “Blow the trumpet . . . sound an alarm . . .[and] tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming.”

     Duncan continued:

“How true these words are! Jesus is coming, and surely soon. The signs of His return are being fulfilled at a most rapid pace. As the people of God, we must prepare, we must pray once again for God to “pour floods on the dry ground”, we must humble ourselves under His mighty hand, and we must put the trumpet to our mouth and sound the alarm that time is short.”

     Lastly, Duncan punctuated with capital letters the extreme urgency of blowing the trumpet in Zion!

“JESUS IS COMING; PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD!”

(Shofar Horn)

FLOODS UPON DRY GROUND, CHAPTER 11: PROVISION OF POWER

     The last time we discussed Pastors Bobby Duncan’s and James Jones's book “Floods Upon Dry Ground, Chapter 10, titled “Promise of Recovery”. The authors detailed that there is a tried and true formula, a “prescription for a cure” if you will, to begin the process of restoration, revival, and awakening. The formula they wrote, is based on 2 Chronicles 7:14.

“If My people, who are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

     While I am not a formula guy, when the formula comes directly from the Bible you can “bank” it, a term the TV game show contestants use repeatedly on “The Weakest Link” to bank the winnings that make the money banked a done deal that can’t be undone.
     In this post, “Chapter 11: Provision of Power”, authors Duncan and Jones wrote that now that the prescription of the proper medication has been procured, and the “promise of recovery” has been enacted:

“What remains is for the church once again to be freshly empowered to engage in Kingdom service in a Biblical manner. The power to be God’s witnesses is not human in nature; it is none other than the Holy Spirit,”

     Joel explained the wonderful experience of Holy Spirit power in Joel 2:28—and Peter reiterated Joel’s same prophecy on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2:16:

“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and daughters shall prophesy; your old men shall dream dreams; your young men shall see visions.”

     Duncan and Jones wrote the following about how the Holy Spirit’s great power can bring about revival in ourselves and others:

“The power to live godly in this present world, to live an overcoming life, and to influence a people for the sake of Christ’s kingdom will only come through a fresh anointing, or infusion of the Holy Spirit.”

     We need to, according to Duncan and Jones, be “shaken and stirred”, to be "awakened to Biblical reality”, and "awakened to the truth of Christ’s soon return.”
     At the end of the chapter Duncan and Jones left us with solid hope for true revival. They wrote:

“Surely revival will come, and once again, God will provide Holy Spirit power to His church, His people, if we sincerely turn to Him without strings attached—passionately, wholeheartedly, and completely surrendering to the Savior.”

FLOODS UPON DRY GROUND, CHAPTER 10: PROMISE OF RECOVERY

     Last time we discussed Pastors Bobby Duncan’s and James Jones's book “Floods Upon Dry Ground, Chapter 9, titled “Prescription for a Cure”. The authors detailed that pain in a person usually causes a person to go to a doctor to seek a cure—and that is exactly what’s needed in today’s sinful world to bring about floods upon dry ground. People need to fervently seek, and encourage others to fervently seek the Great Physician (God) to find the only cure for sin (Jesus).

     Duncan and Jones in Chapter 10, “Promise of Recovery”, wrote about the hope and the spirit-lifting effect we have when we exit a doctor's office with a medication prescription and directions to help heal our physical pain. In the same way, they wrote, “When the people of God are reminded He (God) answers their sincere and fervent prayers, they are immediately encouraged—”

    They wrote that the problem preventing floods on dry ground today is that we have stopped making Christ “the centerpiece” of our Christian religion, and we substituted man’s philosophy for Biblical truth. To get back on track, we need to ask ourselves the following two questions:

1. “How can the church in America recover from its formalism (superficial worship and lifeless religious observances?”)
2. “How can the church in America recuperate from its inclusiveness (different avenues to reach God other than through Jesus Christ?”)

     We need to consider the following two things before spiritual healing can occur:

1. “Restoration is God’s work. When disaster befalls us, when creature comforts are gone, our only hope is in Him. We do not have the power to recover our spiritual health any more than we can heal a terminal illness.”
2. “Truly walking in the Spirit is a lifestyle that has long since slipped away from America’s “Christian” movement, and consequently from the nation itself.” And “true spiritual revival, call it what you will—renewal, restoration, recovery, or awakening—can only come through the sovereign movement of the Holy Spirit. That is God’s part. We have no power to save ourselves, or to restore spiritual life once it has ebbed away. Our part is to turn to God with all of our hearts.”

     So what IS our part for God to enact his promise of recovery, and bring floods upon our dry ground? According to Duncan and Jones 2 Chronicles 7:14 has the answer:

“If My people, who are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

 

MISSION CRITICAL!

  The alarm lights are flashing—the warning bells are sounding. They pierce our ears. We want them to stop—but there is no stopping them.

     God warned us of these days. We were sent on a mission and can’t stop until the mission is completed. The mission isn’t about us—it’s about Him and what he wants to do in our lives to bring about His purpose. The task I call “MISSION CRITICAL!”

     Do you see them on the streets—in our workplaces—in stores—even in our own homes? Lost souls are going about life without anyone telling them the truth.

       What is that critical truth that God wants desperately for us to tell them—to tell lost souls? It’s there for everyone to see—but no one will see it unless we tell them!

      “Mission Critical!” is found in John 14:6. It’s to tell everyone we meet what Jesus said about Himself:

“I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.”

     In other words, everyone is going to one of two places when they die. 

1. Hell to be with Satan. OR
2. Heaven to be with God and His Son Jesus.

     In these last days each of us who know Christ are—or should be—engaged in MISSION CRITICAL!

FLOODS UPON DRY GROUND, CHAPTER 9: PRESCRIPTION FOR A CURE

 

     I’m very behind in posts to share the important information written by Pastors Bobby Duncan and James Jones on how to bring about “Floods Upon Dry Ground”. I got a new video editing program that I’m excited about. So I'm hoping that will motivate me to post more steadily.

     In Chapter 8 Duncan and Jones wrote that no one likes corrective judgment, but it is sometimes the very thing that turns people back toward God.

     Chapter 9 is titled “Prescription for a Cure” which details that pain in a person usually causes the person to go to a doctor to seek a cure—and that is exactly what’s needed in today’s sinful world. People need to seek The Great Physician (God) to find the only cure for sin (Jesus).

     They told the story of the people of Israel in Joel 1 and 2, and the suffering they endured by a plague of locusts sent by God as punishment for their many sins. But that wasn’t the end of the story. Joel stated in chapter 2, verse 13:

“Tear your hearts, not just your clothes, and return to the Lord your God.

For he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in faithful love, and he relents from sending disaster.”

     So just as the Israelites repented and sought God for a remedy to cure the plague of locusts, Duncan and Jones wrote:

“Right now the church needs spiritual healing—the sovereign movement of the Holy Spirit that will reestablish His people as a force to be reckoned with.”

     If we as Christians really want revival, if we want Floods Upon Dry Ground, Duncan and Jones wrote:

“If we truly long for personal and corporate revival, we will forgo our own agendas and accept his prescription for healing, with the assurance that the balm He offers is more than enough for all the ills we suffer.”

THE ORCHESTRA CONDUCTOR

     Years go by with prayers seemingly unanswered. There seems to be no chance of revival in our day. Our loved ones remained unsaved, despite our desire, and sometimes promises that they will give their hearts to Jesus.

     Many factors may play a role in whether there is a revival or not. God assuredly is what I call "The Orchestra Conductor”, if you will. We as Christians only play our small bit part, leading to the beautiful music that will be the result of His direction. And, He will be the one to determine when the crescendo happens—meaning He will be the one to determine who, when, where, and how revival occurs.

     Jesus predicted in Matthew 24 that suffering and problems would occur in the end times—that men’s hearts would “grow cold” toward Him. Many think we are now in the end times.

     So we, now more than ever, desperately need the beautiful music, led by The Orchestra Conductor, to crescendo and warm the hearts of our loved ones, friends, and many others, before it’s too late.

FLOODS UPON DRY GROUND, CHAPTER 8: PAIN OF CORRECTIVE JUDGMENT

     I haven’t posted anything in just over one month. We have a lot of things going on lately—house repairs, health issues, etc. My basketball team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, has even stopped winning as much after the All-Star break. What else might go wrong?
     My question is—does my contentment and happiness depend on things going right—upon my favorite team winning? Or does my contentment and happiness depend on something much, much deeper?
     Last time about a month ago in my post based on “Floods Upon Dry Ground, Chapter 7: Fiddling While Rome Burns”, Pastors Bobby Duncan and James Jones wrote about the well-known metaphor of what happened in 64 A.D. when during Emperor Nero’s reign, literally 70% of Rome burned to the ground. They compared it to today’s church, many of whom are asleep at the wheel—while family, friends, and others perish in a burning hell.
     Now Duncan and Jones pose some questions about the fact that sometimes difficulties in life, such as those my family is facing now, literally bring us to our knees in depending more on God than anything else for our contentment and happiness. The title of Chapter 8 in “Floods On Dry Ground” is “Pain of Corrective Judgement”.
     I don’t know about you, but I cringe a little to think that we as a family, as a community, as a state, as a country, and even as a world might experience more hardship than we already are experiencing. I sometimes think of people who have suffered the devastation of a storm ripping apart their homes, perhaps flooding them away, or even being in the center of a war with military tanks going down their streets. And, here I am, almost panicking when we have an electric outage, a small trickle of water in our basement, or a home appliance or car part failure.
     Duncan and Jones wrote that physical afflictions can cause us to call the doctor to diagnose our condition, and offer us medicine to bring about healing. We appreciate it so much when we feel well again. They compared it to the plague of locusts that God brought on the Israelite people in Joel 2. The Israelites were called by God to weep and repent of their sinfulness and failure to seek God—to earnestly call on Him to provide healing. They obeyed His command. He then heard their cries and He provided a spiritual awakening and restored blessings in the land.
     Duncan and Jones said that America is in “deep trouble”: They wrote, “Our government increasingly controls more of our private lives, as liberal policies fan the flames of class warfare, and godless socialism swallows up more of our institutions.” Our growing divide is a consequence of a church that has been asleep and ineffective.
     After 911 America had a concerted, but too brief attempt to seek the true God. Duncan and Jones wrote, “Quite possibly, God, in His mercy, will send a disturbance upon this land that will cause 911 to pale in comparison to it.” 

     They wrote that “the pain of God’s chastisement” might be “the very thing that prompts His people to seek Him for help and healing” and to bring about His promise of restoration, blessings, and spiritual awakening—just like in the time of Joel.

FLOODS UPON DRY GROUND, CHAPTER 7: FIDDLING WHILE ROME BURNS

 

     Last time in "Floods Upon Dry Ground, Chapter 6, Why No Revival", Pastors Bobby Duncan and James Jones cited reasons why there is no revival in today’s world, and they gave three actions Christians must do for God to work.
     In today's post “Floods Upon Dry Ground, Chapter 7: Fiddling While Rome Burns”, the authors used the well-known metaphor of what happened in 64 A.D. when during Emperor Nero’s reign, literally 70% of Rome burned to the ground.
     Duncan and Jones clarified that there were actually no violins back then, but some creative soul initiated the term anyway to decry Nero’s inaction to save Rome. They compared it to today’s world that is falling apart, and the church for the large part being concerned with what the authors deemed, “petty, unimportant matters.”
     The authors asked the question, “Where Are the Shepherds?” I recognized that question because back in 2019 I asked Bobby Duncan that same question. I was concerned that before I had him as a pastor I had 40-plus years of ineffective shepherds. Ones who seemed to have agendas other than to find and save lost sheep from peril. Pastor Duncan confirmed that he included my question in the book.
     Duncan and Jones quoted Ezekiel 34:1-6. I’ll read only verses 4 through 6:

“The weak you have not strengthened, nor have you healed those who were sick, nor bound up the broken, nor brought back what was driven away, nor sought what was lost. So they were scattered because there was no shepherd; they became food for all the beasts of the field when they were scattered. My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and on every high hill; yes, My flock was scattered over the whole face of the earth, and no one was seeking or searching for them.”

     The authors wrote about modern-day shepherds—that “position, acceptance, and money often trump the high calling of God in Jesus Christ and the sacrifices He calls on His ministers to make.”
     Duncan and Jones then talked about “The True Presence of God”. Along with the “self-serving nature of its shepherds.” They wrote, “forgiveness, cleansing, godly living, and sacrificial service have been pushed to the background in favor of seeker-sensitivity, entertainment, feel-good music, and a man-orchestrated worship experience”. They qualified their expressed thoughts by saying, “God’s presence doesn’t necessarily leave because the lights are turned down and a theatre atmosphere is created”—BUT—does it "offer the best environment for corporate worship?”
     James Jones lamented the following found on page 85 of the book:

“For me, growing up in a full-gospel church and seeing true saints of God pray and worship with uplifted hands and, at times, tears coursing down their cheeks, had a powerful impact on me, and still does. Many times worshippers, such as I, have looked over to see a blessed saint of God with a bony, arthritic hand stretched toward God and eyes filled with tears expressing love to the Savior in complete surrender. And to see that deeply spiritual action has always brought its own blessings and encouragement. Yet, in today’s theater-like worship environment in many churches, it’s difficult to observe that. The observations and personal interaction seem to be missing.”

     Duncan and Jones said there's a great need for the “true presence of God to fill our hearts and our worship centers” when we come together. They encouraged pastors to “sincerely seek God for the direction that will best serve that particular body of believers.”
     The authors strongly encouraged that the real truth of the Gospel be “reaffirmed”, and that “a deeply divided nation needs truth more than ever.” They shared the sobering fact, however, that if the church shares the real truth, it will be met with strong opposition.
     But not doing so will lead the church to continue—“fiddling while Rome burns.”

FLOODS UPON DRY GROUND, CHAPTER 6: WHY NO REVIVAL?

     

 

     Last time in "Floods Upon Dry Ground", Chapter 5, Praying For A Nation", Pastors Bobby Duncan and James Jones reminded us that the church needs to be revived before America can be revived. Only then will “God Bless America” as the song states.
     In today's post “Floods Upon Dry Ground, Chapter 6: Why No Revival?” the authors cited reasons why there is no revival in today’s world. They gave examples of the past, such as Jesus' words to John the Revelator about the Church of Laodicea—and also Leonard Ravenhill’s 60-year-old book, “Why Revival Tarries".
     Jesus said about the Church of Laodicea that they thought they were "rich and in need of nothing". He corrected them, however, and said they were “neither cold nor hot”—that they were instead, “lukewarm”. He said about their lukewarmness—that they were “wretched, miserable, poor, and blind”. Jesus was very descriptive about what would happen if they didn’t change their ways. He said He would “vomit” them from his mouth.
     Ravenhill, in the 1959 book, “Why Revival Tarries”, told his opinion of the reasons for no revival back then. I was five years old at that time. Authors Duncan and Jones hold that the reasons are still true today.
     Ravenhill said that evangelism was at that time “highly commercialized”, and therefore “cheapened”. Also, the church was “careless” and “fearful” to share the truth of the Gospel. They lacked, way back in 1959, “an urgency to pray”, and also they were “stealing the glory that belongs to God”.
     Authors Duncan and Jones concurred with Ravenhill that some of those points are true today. They also said revival can’t come under the following conditions:

1. If we worry about what people think about us if we share the truth of the gospel. We are sometimes afraid people will think we are “intolerant” if we point to Jesus as being the only way to reach God.
2. If Jesus isn’t “returned to the absolute center of the body of believers we call the church.” Failure to do so will result in no revival.
3. If we don’t become broken before God and repent for our sinful condition of “self-centeredness”.
4. If we don’t “hunger and thirst for the righteousness of Christ".

     They gave the example of a prospector in the desert who forsook his pack of precious gold that was too heavy to carry in the desert heat. All he cared about was getting some “cool, refreshing water”. Duncan and Jones said if we want revival we need to be like that prospector—to be so desperate that we forsake everything else to thirst after righteousness.
     Duncan and Jones wrote that most of us as Christians would welcome a revival. But they wrote, “the voracious hunger to experience it is almost non-existent.” They said we need to do the following for revival to come:

1. "Thirst so much for the righteousness of God that we feel we simply cannot survive without it.”
2. “Are driven into His (God’s) loving arms through intense prayer and supplications, and through casting aside all obstacles that stand in our way.”
3. “Genuinely hunger and thirst for His presence and obey His Word.”

     They compared today’s church to “untempered mortar”, or stucco that is so prevalent in making buildings look nice. However, stucco doesn’t increase the structural integrity of the building. They compared our church practices and programs, including what they titled “misguided worship”, to stucco. All these practices and programs might look and feel nice, but they don’t lead people to repent, to sincerely seek God alone above all other things, and to make Him once again “the epicenter of all we are and do.”
     Now, I want to qualify where I'm at in hungering and thirsting for the righteousness of Christ--and revival. I confess that I'm sorely lacking. I turned 70 years old this week, and in my five years of retirement, I have become distracted by many things, as I'm sure most of you do.
     Charles Spurgeon, at the end of his book "The Soul Winner", quoted the following verse in Luke 15:10: “There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” He reiterated over and over again that Jesus has "boundless joy" over sinners who repent and turn to Him, Jesus, for eternal life!
     Spurgeon concluded the book with the following statement:

 

“With this in mind, go and seek to bring your children, your neighbors, your friends, and your kinfolk to the Savior’s feet, because nothing will give Him more pleasure than to see them turn to Him and live. By your love to Jesus, I implore you, become fishers of men.”

FLOODS UPON DRY, GROUND CHAPTER 5: PRAYING FOR A NATION

 

     Last time Chapter 4, entitled "Crumbling Foundations", reminded us that amid crumbling foundations around us—“God remains in complete control over His creation.”
     So now, in Chapter 5, "Praying For A Nation"Duncan and Jones wrote that we are right in praying, “God bless America”. But, perhaps “God is saying to His church, ‘I have placed YOU there to bless America’ ” They wrote, “The most pressing prayer need in the church is to pray for revival in its ranks, because the way God blesses a nation is through His people.”
     They indicated liberalism, socialism, and communism are not “the main problem with America.” Even “radical professors” in our colleges are also not the main problem. “It is rather a Christian movement that has lost its Biblical integrity.”
     They cited researcher George Barna, who in a poll reported “41% of Evangelicals and 77% of Catholics do not believe someone has to have a personal relationship with Jesus to go to heaven.” They said that many Evangelical leaders now see Jesus as “an optional way to God but not the only way. By this, we know “a shaking is near.” They wrote, “America needs a bible-believing church and bible-practicing church to show it the way.”
     The authors likened today's churches to what Isaiah said to the Israelites in Isaiah 1:13-14. “The lifeless rituals, vain ceremonies, and empty worship experiences are a stench in His nostrils.” They said church rituals become “hollow expressions of piety” without “(1) A deep devotion to the Creator and (2) a sincere pursuit of true holiness.”
     Duncan and Jones described many churches today as being “institutional”, “consumer-driven”, and “narcissistic”. They said to depend on these churches, “It is like a drowning person throwing a life rope to another drowning person. Ultimately, both will be lost.”
     They said our hope doesn’t rest in “Republicans, Democrats, independents, socialists, capitalists”, or even “religious leaders, however spiritual they might be”, and that “sustained favorability in society is not what leads to a genuine spiritual awakening.”
     As English Baptist minister Edward Mote wrote in 1834, “On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.” The authors wrote that our hope rests only in Jesus Christ.
     What might disappoint many Christians in America is that “the church is aroused when persecution comes”. Many Christians, however, dispute that fact. Bobby Duncan told the story of some ministers slipping into a Middle Eastern country to support former Taliban and al-Qaeda members in their switch to the Christian faith. These men remained steadfast in their faith in Jesus, even though most now face death sentences in a Muslim country.
     Bobby Duncan wrote, “Increased persecution, along with spiritual drought and coldness, are elements that often prompt people to turn to God in fervent prayer and mourning over personal and national sins.”
     The bottom line is that the natural desire of the church is for our nation to be blessed. But, may we understand that more important is the statement, “God, revive Your church!” 

     Only then can, “God Bless America”!