Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.
The power of prayer is an amazing phenomenon. Most of the time, we look at prayer as strictly a communication between us and God. I don’t think we really take the time to witness how powerful prayer can be in many situations.
Prayer has the capacity to do many things for an individual. First, it provides the opportunity for us to experience a peaceful setting between us and the divine. Second, we are given the opportunity to express our joy, pain, happiness, or sadness to a power greater than ourselves. Third, prayer grants us access to power that can literally move the impossible.
In this season, prayer should not be used strictly as a communication tool. Prayer is a multifaceted element that can lift us from various places in our spirit and even our emotions. I can no longer pray. Prayers with shallow intentions. My prayer life should be such that it can move all types of mountains pertaining to my life. No matter the obstacle, no matter the difficulty, prayer is my method of choice to alter my atmosphere.
But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” And they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.
It’s a interesting thing to sit in the sanctuary on the first day of the year. Total silence. Extreme quiet. Having time to reflect. This is the only way I knew to begin this year. 2024 felt like the biggest blur and environment of chaos. Every month was filled with some obstruction or challenge. That year, tested, my faith, my commitment, and my will to fight.
I can’t take away any of the pain, suffering, or hurt from all that was revealed to me. Yet, I begin this year living into the hope of the resurrection. It feels slightly odd to be on the tail end of the advent season looking towards the empty to.
I think I understand why the Lord led me to this particular scripture. Sometimes, we place so much emphasis on being crucified That we do not take the time to recognize the magnitude of what Resurrection means for our lives. The Resurrection provides many things. It presents shock to those who witnessed your death. It presents disbelief when you witnessed the object of your love die. It provides hope and recall to things said and done before.
2024 was a three day grave for old things. It was the final resting place for old mentalities, old methods, unwanted attitudes, and entities that are no longer useful. I cannot treat 2025 or any year going forward as a rebound from the previous year. This time must be handled as his own separate entity. It must be the season where I personally lean into the resurrection power of my Christ. To rise from the dead, not with perfect skin or lack of blemish. However, I must stand in this season as healed from the wounds of the cross and the indignity of the whipping. I must rise and sand as the evidence that one can endure and overcome.
We are almost at the end of this 2023. Lord, it’s been the epitome of a rollercoaster ride. The elders might say, “Sometimes up, sometimes down, sometimes almost level with the ground.” I could not have ever imagined a year finishing the way that it is. I know. Everyone might have the same statement every year. However, I feel that this year has put a little more stank on it.
Growing up, I learned that the day would come that we would hear of wars and rumors of wars. I heard the statements emphasized regularly that people would be lovers of self and reject sound doctrine. I was constantly confronted with individuals who lived into rejected the world and being defenders of the faith. This year has taught me that most people had no idea what in the world they were truly talking about.
My greatest discovery is that many things that people have leaned into for years have possessed many flaws. The theories and statements may not have been completely wrong. The ideas have been in the wrong hands for way too long. Like I said, I think I have something to say. Please stay with me.
Warmongering
I believe that we live in a society full of warmongers. It would be easy to say that people love tangible warfare. Yet, time has proven many individuals desire to engage in warfare on all levels. Most of that sentiment begins in the spirit and hearts of people. People are always looking for something to fight about.
Some places called churches have pastors and leaders that present the idea of being defenders of the faith more than disciples of Jesus Christ. People are taking the Gospel and manipulating it to fit a supremacist, nationalist, empire driven ideology. Individuals are taking the time to create an image of Jesus that never existed. People have given themselves the license to fight without cause, bomb without prejudice, and murder without defense in the name of defending a cause. But why?
Most individuals have no longer committed themselves to being good citizens of the world. Most people are content with maintaining their corner of the world at the expense of the uniqueness of others. Therefore, they will attempt to withhold resources, love, respect, and care in order to prove an unjustifiable point.
This warmongering spirit is part of the reason that people can speak well of the dead while never asking God to forgive their nasty disposition toward the deceased. It is that same spirit that creates self-justification for being mean toward those who are different. It is that spirit that makes us feel the need to defend God (p.s.-If God needs our defense, that means that God is not almighty).
Warmongers don’t care about the collateral damage that is done. They are only concerned about from the river to the sea, this flag is all you’ll see. Warmongers are only concerned about preserving the benefits of supremacy while vetoing the human care of others. Warmongers will perpetuate the lies of many communities in the name of fostering greater fear. Warmongers will financing and contribute to the demolishing of a community near or far to maintain a witness of a bastardized spirituality. That cannot continue.
When Will Jubilee Come?
Multiple places in scripture, we learn about the impact and necessity of a season of Jubilee. Most people have heard of this time in the context of reaping a greater harvest. Some individuals only know of it in a materialistic context. The interesting element to the Jubilee year is that it is not strictly about material advancement. It is about the restoration and reset for all people. Jubilee was about the restoration of humanity across all sectors of life.
The focus of Jubilee was to renew connection with God and one another. Debts were cancelled. Prisoners were set free. Crops grew in a manner that no lack was experienced while the ground rested. Jubilee celebrated what God intended the world to look like–free, prosperous, and just.
Imagine serving a God like this with an empire mentality. Doesn’t make much sense. Of course not. These type of factors are never considered. It means that we must adjust our ways and become better as people and society. Imagine that. We actually would care about the sacredness of our humanity on purpose. Wow! We would actually make decisions based not on preserving our interests, but recognizing that all prospering actually aides our overall well being. Hmmm.
But will this day ever come?
The Battle Continues…
Unfortunately, we are currently stuck in a cycle where justice will be in an ongoing conflict with selfishness. The battles will continue to go forward. We recognize that we are called to fight the good fight of faith. We are to continue to engage in a righteous struggle to show the world that being like Jesus is not rhetoric. Engaging the teachings and practices of Christ call us to be radical. We must not shy from horrible presentation of our world. We must be intentional in identifying right and wrong. We must continue to expose the warmongering spirit that others may not fall prey to becoming a casualty.
It is my responsibility to represent what it means to love like Christ. I am not here to defend God. My goal is to demonstrate the grace of God in my living, the love of through my actions, and the power through my words. I will never bow down to the tenant of an ideology riddled with misinformation, misnomers, and missing intellect. We must stand for what God delights in most.
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified. –Isaiah 61:1-3, ESV
Dr. Charles W. Ferguson 