{"id":28277,"date":"2016-02-09T23:26:14","date_gmt":"2016-02-10T05:26:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/?p=22762"},"modified":"2021-02-17T02:13:01","modified_gmt":"2021-02-17T08:13:01","slug":"breaking-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/breaking-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Breaking History","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

LENTEN RETREAT
\nDay\u00a01
\nASH WEDNESDAY<\/p>\n

\n\"corp2303_Fotor\"by Commander Richard Brehn, NOAA Corps<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Scroll to the bottom to listen to the podcast of each meditation if you wish. Remember, you can find each day here: Prayer Retreat<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

WE\u00a0<\/strong>are living in extraordinary times.<\/p>\n

And in the midst of them, here you<\/em> are. No doubt, you probably feel powerless in the face of the many changes taking place in our world\u2014an insignificant player, a person with little to no impact on the world around you, let alone the course of history. Perhaps you feel as though you are tied to the rope of history and being dragged behind the Great Ship of Time, tossing and turning helplessly in its wake. That, my friend, is precisely what Satan would have you, me, and every Christian believe, and so, lead us into the bondage of fear, anxiety, and self-preservation. Into a spiritually neutered<\/em> existence. But he knows better. He knows that if you truly understand who you are in Christ, and that if you begin to live in a relationship with God that is authentic<\/em>, sincere<\/em>, and total<\/em>, that you will become like the bow of the Ship<\/em>. That your life\u2014even if it is lived cloistered in a convent hidden away from the world\u2014will make history in ways that perhaps can only be understood\u00a0in eternity.<\/p>\n

Stop for a moment and just reflect on this: you are one of billions<\/em> of people who have lived on this earth. But right now, with each breath you take, you are cutting through the waves of time that no one else ever has. You and I are<\/em> the present moment that will define the past.\u00a0How many years do you have left on earth? How many days? Can your remaining time here truly change the course of this world? Understand this: one prayer, uttered in love, spoken in truth, and garnished with tears can change the course of history. How many times did King David cry out in tears of repentance, only for the Lord to delay his judgment for another generation! [1]<\/sup><\/a>cf. 2 Sam 12:13-14<\/span><\/span>