CONCERT OF PRAYER

Pray Week 779

“Vultures”

Matthew 24:28 (NCV)  Wherever the dead body is, there the vultures will gather.

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I gazed out the window while eating lunch the other day and noticed a lone vulture circling off in the distance.  Soon, another vulture joined in the circle pattern.  In short order there were many vultures all circling like a slow tornado swirl indicating the general location of a dead or dying body.  Road kill does not remain very long on the roads here in Florida.

As I watched the vultures swirl, the words of Jesus came to mind as recorded in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke when He was teaching them about His second coming and how to recognize the signs of the end times.  There is much debate among Biblical scholars as to why Jesus chose this metaphor to answer His disciples’ question and there are various interpretations of it.  The fact remains that when we see vultures gather we can conclude that there is death in the vicinity.  So how do we apply this to our lives?

I live and work in the vicinity of one of our Nation’s wealthiest and fastest growing retirement communities.  People are drawn here for the ‘good life’ and they are actively seeking to grab all that they can during their remaining years in this life.  Sometimes it seems that, like Lot, I have pitched my tent near Sodom and Gomorrah.

One does not have to look far to see the vultures gather and swirl around the spiritually dead and dying.  Numerous vice peddlers, from tobacco and alcohol to gambling and sex clubs, have set up shop in the vicinity.  It has been reported that the rate of sexually transmitted disease is running rampant in this particular community.  One doctor is quoted as stating that she treats more cases of herpes and HPV in this community than she did when she practiced medicine in Miami.

The vultures also gather to take advantage of the physically and mentally infirm of this population.  Home improvement ‘handymen’ make promises, take cash, and then disappear or at best do a partial and shoddy job.  Insurance salesmen cold call door-to-door and entice the vulnerable to buy inferior products for which these salesmen are paid a hefty commission.

Some medical practitioners seem to be no better than the ‘snake oil’ salesmen of the 1800’s.  Medicare billing fraud, over prescribing pain medicines and the lack of depth during doctor visits essentially takes the ‘care’ out of the term ‘medical care’.

Do you see the vultures gathering anywhere near your circle of influence?  The call of God is for you to bring His life to that area.

In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. – John 1:4

God wants us to be salt and light in this dead, dying, and dark world.

“You are the salt of the earth … “You are the light that gives light to the world … Live so that they will see the good things you do and will praise your Father in heaven. – Matthew 5:13

May you know the power and strength of the indwelling Holy Spirit as you put on the full armor of God in order to do battle in the power of the Name of Jesus. Bring the living water of Christ to those who are dying of thirst.  You will know where they are by the sign of the vultures circling overhead.