|
Listen to this devotional: |
Listen while you read: "Lord Dismiss Us With Your Blessing"1 (Lyrics) |
The summer of 2018 is bringing a severe drought to southern Ontario, Canada. Farmers are expressing their concerns about the possibility that there is going to be a partial, if not total crop failure of the various types of grains which are grown in this area: corn, soybeans, and wheat. Their growth is stunted, and even with a good rainfall, there is the general feeling that they will not recover. Commercial vegetable growers have the same worry. Almost everywhere, the grass in the lawns is brown from the lack of moisture. News reports tell us about really high temperatures all across the northern hemisphere.
In northern Ontario and British Columbia, Canada, and in the USA, Greece, and Sweden, as well as in other places, there are immense forest fires burning thousand of square kilometres of forests. Homes are being threatened or have been consumed by these fires. There is loss of life in various places. All of this is because of a severe drought.
But in many places, there is also a drought when it comes to hearing the Word of God. Many churches and denominations are becoming focussed on social justice issues and God's love for everyone, to the exclusion of preaching the gospel of Jesus crucified for the forgiveness of our sins. What bothers me as much as anything is that so many people appear to be satisfied with this.
The prophet Amos told us that this was going to happen:
Amos 8:11 – "The days are coming," declares the Sovereign Lord, "when I will send a famine through the land — not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord." (NIV)
Paul also mentioned it:
2 Timothy 4:3-4 – For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. (NIV)
There is the danger that the drought of the Word of God in so many places is stunting the growth of the Christian church and is causing it to decline and lose its effectiveness. We need to pray fervently that the Word of God will be brought to all who want to hear. Just as we know that the rains will come some day, so we also know that Jesus Himself gave the promise that the gospel eventually must be preached to everyone.
Matthew 24:14 – 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. (NIV)
Prayer: Our Father in heaven, we pray that there will be a change in people's hearts, that the true gospel of Jesus will be preached, and that many will hear, understand, and believe. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.
Forward this devotional Share this devotional on Facebook Like PresbyCan on Facebook
Although PresbyCan doesn't have a mobile app, you can still have a PresbyCan icon on your mobile phone home screen. 
Thursday, April 18, 2024 – In East Asia — Pray for more partners who become trainers in our house church planting network in East Asia. We are asking God for around ten of these trainers for each district in our region. May the Lord grant them courage in their next step of faith.
stressful travel ahead: "April 17, 2024: Please pray that our upcoming travel will be okay. A few problems have arisen with..." 
Amen, Joel!
Did you see this? Made me think!
Well said. I agree totally. God bless.
Souls drown beneath the flood of secularism. Blessings.
Just want to say how much I’ve enjoyed your devotions, thank you.
Amen, Joel. Thank you.
(BC)
Amen Joel, well spoken!
Blessings.
Dear Pastor Joel, thank you for teaching and blessing us today with your meaningful devotional
Two Kinds Of Drought.
Not something we think about but we need to.
The scripture references are fascinating.
Thanks for this reminder.
Praying for your drought conditions to cease. Would love to share our abundance of rain. There’s been flooding downstream along the river basins. Crop fields are flooded. People parked their cars in favor of boats. Blessings.
Joel, This is so true, if we believed it was any moment Jesus will return, as individuals we would not be so silent as this is happening to our community. Thank you for writing such true and powerful devotionals. Let us all learn to tell the true meaning of being a Christian.
Dear Joel,
I just want to let you know that I fully agree with your message of today and know that others of our church do too.
May God bless those who listen
Hello Joel,
I am writing to let you know that I found today’s devotional very meaningful – thank you. I confess that I am not familiar enough with the minor prophets, and Amos is one of them. Yes, we must pray for the end of the world’s spiritual drought. Bless you.
Amen to that brother. We need more preaching straight from the Word of God. People need to hear the Word of God, not the word of man or man’s wisdom or lack of it. We have left churches before for lack of it, and will again, if necessary.
(Ontario)
Good writing. Do you think the teaching has to be “either” “or”? Could a church not have a balance of both trains of thought? I feel another example of this is in piano lessons in our small part of Manitoba. No one wants the discipline of learning classical any more. They want to play the fun songs without the theory. Thank you for a writing that makes me think.
Hi Joel
I’m going through a kind of drought myself. Looking after a husband with dementia, trying to understand him and repeating myself constantly is slowly wearing me down. Life becomes quite busy and my time with God has suffered. Just recently, I forced myself to read “Our Daily Bread” booklet, along with the daily readings of the bible.
Dear Joel:
Thank you for the many devotionals you have written.
I am writing to you now to ask you to explain to me what you mean. I have been a devout Christian for 15 years. I only know two kinds of sermons. Very short ones from when I was a Catholic many years ago and now in my Reformed church. I have heard many times over the last 15 years just what you have said and I just do not understand what I am missing.
Please help me understand.
God bless you.
Greetings Joel, and Blessings,
Yes, as you point out, there is much drought in the world today, and one of the worst is the drought of wisdom. Greed has taken the place of wisdom and contentment. We don’t need million dollar Mansions with in-ground heated pools, hot tubs, whirlpools, and ensuite jacussi baths in every bedroom, but that is what many want! The food we eat has, in many cases, been genetically altered or chemically treated, so the Producers make more money. But, in the process, we are destroying the bees that pollinate the trees. The earth will certainly become a wasteland, possibly in our lifetime.
I pray that the wisdom of God will replace the Satanic greed for affluence before it is too late.
Good Morning, Joel,
Once more your devotional hit a chord with me. In the State of Texas there is a tremendous drought. My husband, who was a meteorologist and is now as a cattle rancher, said this morning…”This high pressure is going nowhere; hence, more dry weather.” In the United States generally there is also what you mention…an attitude of such great tolerance that anything is accepted “as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else.” And I grit my teeth because of the definition of “hurt.”
Our President annoys so many people, including me, but he has struck a chord because he says what he thinks! Saying what one thinks is not always a politic thing to do.
We, as you say, must pray.
(Texas)
Very good points, and I agree with much of what you write. We have appreciated your many previous devotionals.
However, I would argue that what is now wrong with the evangelical church, at least in some places, is that it seems to have totally forgotten that God’s love for all is what it is all about, At that “social justice“, at least in my reading of Matthew 25, is the essence of Christianity and is how we all will ultimately be judged. As one old preacher I love said “Matthew 25 is a peek at the final exam”.
So often we think being “saved” is what it’s all about. And all we need to preach.