Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem
(2 Thessalonians 1)
5 All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. 6 God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you 7 and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. 8 He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might 10 on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.
11 With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith. 12 We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
In the 2002 movie The Pianist, actor Adrian Brody plays a Polish/Jewish pianist who has a radio program and is considered a premier interpreter of Chopin. When the Nazis take over Warsaw, he is hidden in the ghetto by his beloved fans. Soon, however, when the Nazis deport everyone in the ghetto to concentration camps, he manges to elude them and continue hiding. He soon runs out of food, and facing starvation. He manages to find a large can of tomatoes in a ruined mansion, but he can't find a can opener. He tries everything to open the can, banging it on the counter, hitting it with sticks, dropping it, but fails. He crawls into the attic, clutching the can to his breast in despair. Then...he hears the opening strains of "Moonlight Sonata" being played very poorly on an out-of-tune piano. He crawls downstairs and sees a German Officer plunking on a ruined piano in the bombed-out living room. Starvation has removed any inhibitions and The Pianist asks the German for a can-opener. The officer, who is a big music fan, recognizes the Pianist, but demands that he play the piano for him just to be sure. Playing for his life, the Pianist sits down and plays the Best Interpretation of Chopin he has ever done. Then he crawls back into his attic and falls asleep, resigned to his fate.
The next morning he awakens to find a can-opener, a fresh loaf of bread, and a knife to cut it with.
While the details may be invented, "The Pianist" is based upon a true story. It's been twenty years since I saw that film, but, to this day, I only buy soups and vegetables with "pull-tabs".
The events of the past couple of years have shown us how things can change overnight. Power-shifts, uprisings, invasions, wars, and rumors of wars can change a person's staus overnight. A renowned artist can become a fugitve with the stroke of a pen, and a can of lowly tomatoes can become a life-saver. A friendly neighbor can become a tyrant, and an enemy could end up being a friend. We do not hold the future, but we know who does.
God's Word is like a can-opener. To Believers, who realize that the things of the Spirit are spiritually discerned, the Bible contains life, but to many, it is like a sealed can of food. No amount of banging it on the counter, hitting it with sticks, or dropping it will open it up.
But, through the dark, devastating, despair of the night, there is a faint strain of music calling us. Starvation has caused us to overcome our fear and predudice and crawl to the source of the music.
And so, starving, in rags, with nothing to offer, we approach the One who has all the Power. Although we may have once been a star, we really have nothing to offer in exchange for that can-opener.
Paul is being a "can-opener" to his beloved Thessalonian Church. They had heard some bad rumors about the "End Times" and were strugg;ing with it. Paul tells them not to fear, but to continue in prayer, work with their hands, live a quiet life and to "Don't Stop Believing". (That's a pretty good song but not as good as "Fantasy Impromptu")
Come and Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.
"He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification." (Romans 4:25)
God Bless America.
Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.
Hallelujah and Amen
ML/LTOS
