May the Sons of Issachar Arise! Part 4

So what is my prayer? So what is it about the Tribe of Issachar that makes them so needful? Why is that prayer vital to leadership?

In 1 Chronicles 12 is a listing of the army that gathered to support David’s battle to become king. Tribe by tribe they are listed.

Judah – 6,800 armed for battle
Simeon – 7,100 warriors
Levi – 4,600 troops
Benjamin – 3,000 warriors (relatives of King Saul)
Ephraim – 20,800 brave warriors – each famous in his own clan
half the tribe of Manasseh – 18,000 men
Zebulun – 50,000 skilled warriors
Naphtali – 1,000 officers and 37,000 men with shields and spears
Dan – 28,600 prepared for battle
Asher – 40,000 experienced soldiers
From east of the Jordan came Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh, 120,000 troops armed with every kind of weapon.

Nearly 370,000 warriors gathered with David’s mighty men to make him king.

Whom did the might of Issachar send? Perhaps the greatest contingent of all.

“From the tribe of Issachar there were 200 leaders of the tribe.”

Yes! They sent just 200. But look at what type of men they were..”all these men understood the temper of the times and knew the best course for Israel to take.” 1 Chron 12:23. Men who understood the times and knew how to respond!

May the tribe of Issachar arise!

What does the world need? Men committed to God. Who understand the temper of the times and know how to respond!

May the tribe of Issachar arise!

May the Tribe of Issachar arise! Part 3

From his sons rose
Abimelech – Judge.

Two who would rise to claim the Throne of the Northern Tribes.
Baasha and his son Elan – Their line died off!

Though descendants of Issachar, they were not the sons I pray will arise.

Baasha – meaning “Boldness”. The bloody seizer of a throne, Usurper, murderer.
Elan – meaning oak. 4th King of Israel. Last of his line. Drunk asleep when Zimri, a chamberlain, murders him and his family.

Issarchar whose royal line began in murder and ended in murder. May his tribe arise? No, may a different type of sons of Issachar arise!

Men like those who answered the Call of David.

May those sons of Issachar arise!

May the Tribe of Issachar arise! Part 2

I’m praying this for my church. I’m praying this for our nation as we approach elections.

May the Tribe of Issachar arise!

Issachar –
-9th son of Jacob.
-5th son born to Leah.
-Granted territory on the West Bank of the Jordan close to the Sea of Galilee.

Issachar –
-Whose name meant “hired workman” and who was seeming slighted in the blessings of Jacob at his deathbed.
-a rawboned donkey
-bending his shoulder
-submitting to the labor at hand. (Gen 49:14-15)

May the Tribe of Issachar arise!

May the Tribe of Issachar arise! Part 1

May the Tribe of Issachar arise!

That’s it.

That’s my whole prayer for you as a leader.
It is the most profound prayer I can utter for you or any other leader.

May the Tribe of Issachar arise!

Looking for clue to the blessing?

Seeking understanding of this prayer?

Read 1 Chronicles!

May the Tribe of Issachar arise!

Time Turns

Time Turns
 It’s just mid-October
 The staff has met in detailed planning about Christmas events.
 Monday night a men’s event was planned for January.
 Easter designs and ideas are moving from abstract to concrete.
 A summer mission adventure is forming.

Wow! Time Turns!

 Friday marks 28 years of marriage.
 Sunday begins my 4th year as Lead Pastor.
 In May my son graduates from college!

Wow! Time Turns!

 If I live to be 80 – just 10,950 days left.
 If I live to be 80, in less than 3 years I drop below 10,000
– a 4-digit midget.

Wow! Time Turns!

 What if it’s only 75 – that’s 9,125 days left.
 If it’s 70, then 7,300 days.
 I might already be a 4-digit midget.

Wow! Time Turns!

No wonder Paul said this, “Be very careful, then, how you live-not as unwise but as wise making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Eph 5:15-16

The Power of A Life Lived Well

Fall arrived on Monday morning. It had me thinking of life and leaves. It seems that the power of a life is not lived in the moments for they pass like leaves falling to the ground. The impact of a life is found when those moments are seen together as a meaningful whole, like sitting in the shade of a towering elm. The shade is the result of the composite of each leaf on each branch.

Therefore, while the little choices I make today may seem inconsequential—like a leaf falling to the ground, each choice contributes to the composite, the whole. I hug my wife. I praise my daughter. I listen to the heartache of a friend. I pay a bill. I write a note. I do a chore. I worship the Creator. Little choices—leaves falling, passing, seemingly unnoticed.

I lie to a friend. I cheat on a time card. I lust for another. I entertain the racist joke. I berate my son. I flee from the challenges. I shun my wife. I give up hope. I embrace bitterness. I ignore the Creator. Little choices—leaves falling, passing. Leaves that point to a tree—a life lived well or poorly.

Fall arrived on Monday. It reminded me that a life lived well, tends the leaves.

If only my heart will yield.

2 Corinthians 5:17 -- Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! NIV

Yesterday has no power over me, it was broken at the cross, tomorrow has no power over me, it must yield. It must yield to the new man, the new creation. Nothing now looms over me, no ill fate, no dire circumstance that will not yield to the seed of righteousness sewn in my heart. Alive! Redeemed, bought back from death, bought back to life. Accounted righteous, purged in holiness, reflecting the invisible, image of the Justifier.

Everything will yield. Everything. If only my heart will yield.

If anyone is in Christ, he is new. Let the new come!