Where Nine Have Fallen, Let Nine Hundred Rise
How to honor the fallen – that is the challenge for those who survive this violent planet that rages against those who love the Lord.
These nine who have fallen were my brothers and sisters in Christ. Scott Pelley of CBS news referred to the victims of the Charleston shooting as “mid-week” Christians. He said words to the effect that they were the backbone of the church, people who find the distance between Sundays too long to go without stopping for worship. What a beautiful testimony to these faithful souls who understood the power of God’s Word and of prayer.
Any of us in the Body of Christ would have welcomed this young man to our prayer table. We would have been loving him in the name of Jesus. We would have been praying for God to work in his life and in his heart. To have him stand and gun us down as our hearts interceded for him before the throne of the Almighty God would have been the ultimate of betrayals.
And yet, our Lord, too, was betrayed by those He came to serve. These nine were ushered before the throne of grace because they lived and died in the presence of Jesus Christ. They are home. For them, the battle is done.
Let us honor them by picking up the baton of their prayers – interceding for their families, their community,
CHARLESTON, SC – JUNE 18: The Rev. Sidney Davis leads mourners during a community prayer service for the nine victims of last night’s shooting at the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, at Second Presbyterian Church June 18, 2015 in Charleston, South Carolina. Dylann Storm Roof, 21, of Lexington, South Carolina, who allegedly attended a prayer meeting at the church for an hour before opening fire and killing three men and six women last night, was arrested today. Among the dead is the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, a state senator and a pastor at Emanuel AME, the oldest black congregation in America south of Baltimore, according to the National Park Service. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) ***BESTPIX***
and our country.
This young man’s desire was to start of race war. Let this be, instead, the moment the church of Jesus Christ rises up and says no to hatred. No to division. No to conflict based on skin color, national boundaries, or geography.
When others speak of war, we shall stand for peace. When others fire hatred from loaded weapons, we will speak love, forgiveness, and grace. Where others tear down, we will build up. Where others separate, we will unite.
Let us honor these “mid-week Christians” by worshiping the Lord on weekdays with our prayers, our service, and our very lives. Ours is not a Sunday God, He is a God for every day, for every people, for every sorrow, for every need.
Where these nine have fallen, let nine hundred rise up to take their place in prayer.
They loved the Lord and desired that their community would come to know Him. Let nine hundred of us commit to intercede next Wednesday for the people of Charleston. Let nine hundred of us commit to pray next Wednesday for the families of these nine. Let nine hundred of us commit to intercede for our nation, for racial reconciliation, for the furthering of the kingdom of Jesus Christ mid-week next week, June 24th, 2015.
Let it be known everywhere that if you take out one of our prayer warriors, one hundred will rise in their place. If you shoot down one who loves God’s Word, one hundred will pick it up and begin to read. If you murder nine, nine hundred will rise in the name of Jesus Christ.
Let us take up the prayer baton of these nine. Who will join me in prayer on the evening of June 24th? Gather in your churches for mid-week service. If your church is locked that day, gather outside. Gather in your homes. Gather in the center of town. Demonstrate to all who choose hatred and violence that the church of Christ will not be bowed down by bullets.
We do not bow our knees to those who bear weapons but only to the One who bears nail marks in His hands.
Who will commit to pray? Comment below if you will commit to be one of the nine hundred who will intercede on June 24th for Charleston, SC, for the families of these nine, and for our nation. Intercede, too, that this one who chose hatred will repent of his evil doing and bow his knee to Jesus Christ alone. Will you be one of the nine hundred who rise? Encourage others by sharing this and by adding your name to the comments below.
On the evening of June 24th, I will find other believers and gather to read Psalm 37 and to pick up the prayer baton of my fallen brothers and sisters of Charleston, SC. Who else will take up this prayer?
Please share this post with everyone you know so the families and loved ones of those who have been cut down will know they are loved and their deaths will not be in vain. Maranatha, Lord Jesus, Come.
Where nine have fallen, let nine hundred rise http://t.co/NSKLVvirkQ #CharlestonShooting #AMEShooting #amwriting #ampraying
— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) June 19, 2015
