William Petruzzo

From the Puritan treasury, The Valley of Vision, a prayer in weakness:

“Preserve me from the intoxication that comes from prosperity;
Sober me when I am glad with a joy that comes not from thee.
Lead me safely on to the eternal kingdom,
           not asking whether the road be rough or smooth.
I request only to see the face of him I love,
           to be content with bread to eat,
           with raiment to put on,
if I can be brought to thy house in peace.”

“Lead me safely on to the eternal kingdom, not asking whether the road be rough or smooth”. Beautiful. That is my prayer for myself, and my brothers and sisters in Chris.

I can’t remember where I first saw this video. I imagine I was probably directed to it by a friend. I don’t expect most of you will make all the way it through this video, it’s about 30 minutes long. But, if you will, I think you’ll be moved—probably to emotion, but hopefully to prayer.

Admittedly, this video is not so much contemporary as much as it is kind of cheesy in its production. But, the preachers are speaking of true, God breathed, prayer charged, revival. Something we should all be hoping and praying for.

It’s worth watching.

Much like the Israelites crying for God to give them a king, the American people have spoken, and God has given them Obama. And, there seems little doubt in my mind that in the same way that the Israelites getting their king was a judgment from God, Obama is our judgement. Undoubtedly many unborn lives will be ended because of him. But, this is what the American people begged for, and this is what God has given them. So, I suppose I had a few thought that I wanted to share.

Wow…

This really is profound history—and we’re living to see it. The first black man in the history of our nation to be elected the President of the United States. That is awesome. I’m sure this will mean incredible things for the advancement of a group of people who, at large, have carried an victim-mentality (in many cases, justifiably so). With this historic event, there’s very real tangible hope that these people will be able to move foreword and prosper in very new and fresh ways.

That really is awesome; That is the silver lining of grace from God.

Personal Reform…

Over the past eight years, I quietly grumbled about Democrats complaining and condemning George bush—instead of simply disagreeing with him. Well, the tables have officially turned. It will be a big challenge for me (and most) to follow the biblical command and respect the new president, even in light of our many differences of opinion. However, over many issues, that’s exactly what we all need to do. There are some issues, though that our conscience will not allow us to accept—and if it does, we ought to pray that would be changed.

Abortion…

Many will certainly die because of Obama. Abortion is not a social issue for us to simply disagree about, it is a matter of life and death. It is a discussion of murder (about 4,000 murders every day). We have chosen a president who propones this practice. It is not the time to concede these issues, or move on from them. Perhaps the way we fight them must change, or how much we pray about them, but giving up is absolutely not an option.

Albert Mohler has written an insightful and important exhortation. I would suggest you read it.

Pray…

I must, we must:

… Pray for the lives of the unborn, in a culture that does not value them.
… Pray for the mothers who are taught not to love them.
… Pray for a culture and people who don’t believe in them.
… Pray for a president, indifferent to them.

… Pray for our own hearts, for honest compassion for them.

Remember…

We should remember, that we live under the only true sovereign. He gives and he takes away. He exalts and he humbles. All powers in heaven and on earth are chosen by him. If he has allowed to office a man who may “hurt” us, then perhaps we “ought to be hurt”.

Jonathan Bowers, on the Desiring God Blog, posted the notes he took during a message by Mark Driscoll. His articulation was so clear, concise and poignant that I decided just to direct you that way today.

His words are ones that I, more than most, really need to take to heart.

The post can be found here:
http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/1417_Pray_More_than_You_Criticize/

The past three days, I’ve posted videos from YouTube that deal with the topic of religion (#1, #2, #3). Namely, Christianity. Whether they be funny, convicting or inspiring, I feel they all have something for us to consider.

In the interest of not coming across as judgmental, I won’t say much about this video. As deeply as I agree with with most of their prayers, it does present some serious concerns, in my opinion. What do you think?

I just finished watching the movie Trade for the second time after the 2007 Passion conference in Georgia.

Trade is the story of a young Mexican boy chasing after his sister who’s been kidnapped and placed into the human sex trade. He follows a trail from his home in Mexico into the United States and across the country trying to stay on his sister’s tail.

Trade is an ultra-realistic depiction of the reality that is the human sex trade. It’s not easy to watch. It’s not easy to stomach. Trade is not for entertainment.

Do you ever have trouble reaching far out of your own little space in the universe to consider the things that are really taking place? I usually do. Trade plays dramatic chords, but where the entertainment in most movies usually ends and life returns to normal, Trade’s leaving an upset feeling in my stomach. That’s a good thing.

The reality is that somewhere, even right now, children, women, probably men too, living as products. I mean, not even that far away either. Did you know Baltimore is one of the biggest sex-traffic hubs in the United States? Less than an hour from here.

I’m left feeling inadequate, under-equipped, lost, confused, broken, angry, scared, anxious, guilty. I’m left feeling like there are no other options besides prayer and it’s not enough.

I recommend you sitting down to watch Trade. It’s not a popcorn flick. Just sit and watch, and let yourself be stirred to prayer.