2 Chronicles 7:14 “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
Ultimately, political leaders and secular authorities are not responsible for the rise or fall of their nation. Our presidents and representatives don’t have the kind of power it takes to ruin and restore our country. That kind of responsibility rests squarely on the shoulders of God’s people! God declared that all it would take to heal a nation is for His people to truly seek Him and turn from their wicked ways!
Is our nation being healed? Can we see the restoration of American morality and culture? If we are still in a downward spiral, doesn’t that indicate that the American church needs to do something different? If this nation rises and falls because of the spiritual health of the American believer - isn’t it about time we pay attention to what God told us to do?
If we want this nation to be healed, the first thing we’re told to do is humble ourselves. We need to come to the realization that our ways haven’t worked! Church-growth programs, seeker sensitive churches, secular lifestyles, and wishy-washy faith is not going to save this nation. Church invites aren’t going to cut it! If we want a real revival, we have to understand that our own ways of running the church, of running our families, and of running our lives haven’t worked! Are you willing to admit this?
Once we humble ourselves, the next step is to seek His face. We simply don’t do this anymore! Do you want proof? How many believers do you think spend time every day in prayer? How many believers do you think read their bible daily - let alone “study to show themselves approved”? Yet, this is the only answer for our country! Why are we so quick to blame President Obama and our congress for the state of our nation, and yet so slow to do the one thing that brings healing?
If I were you, I wouldn’t let anything stop me from seeking God! I would make it my first priority in my life! And then, whenever someone starts to complain about the way this country is heading, I would ask them if they’ve humbled themselves and are seeking God. After all, this is the only answer!
Finally (you knew this was coming!), we have to turn from our wicked ways! This is why we need to humble ourselves. If we stay in our pride, we’d be quick to say, “I’m a Christian! I don’t have any wicked ways!” But this is God speaking to His people! We need to turn from our wickedness, Christians! It’s time to clean house in our own lives, in our families, and in our churches.
It’s the wickedness of God’s people that’s hurting this nation! And it’s only the repentance of God’s people that will heal it!
We need to learn what wickedness is!
In Numbers 16:25-26, Dathan and Abiram were called wicked for conspiring against the men that God put in authority. It is wicked to rebel against the authority that God delegated to certain men. I go a little more in depth on that here.
Psalm 37:21 says that the wicked man borrows and doesn’t pay back. Did you know that it is wicked to owe money to someone and then go spend it on something else?
Psalm 52:7 says that it is wickedness to trust in your money. Whether you have a little or a lot, we are required to look to God, not our possessions, for life!
Proverbs 6:12-14 speaks of a wicked man that “sows discord among brothers.” Gossip - even when it’s true - is wickedness! Love will cover a multitude of sins!
Jesus said in Matthew 16:4 that it is a wicked thing to look for signs instead of simply believing what God has already said!
According to Matthew 18:32-33, it is wicked to harbor unforgiveness toward anyone. Jesus forgave us of more than we will ever realize! We are required to sincerely forgive our brothers and sisters!
When we do these things - humble ourselves, seek God’s face, and turn from the wickedness we’ve been doing - God’s promise is forgiveness and healing for this nation. Do you realize that millions of people in this country are counting on us to get it right?
Showing posts with label priorities. Show all posts
Showing posts with label priorities. Show all posts
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
The Most Valuable Thing You'll Ever Own
I
love my Bible! I take it everywhere I go. I love the way it looks and
feels. I know it’s a book. I know I could get dozens more just like it.
But to me, that book is the most important thing I own. It’s where I
find God’s Word to me. It’s where I find His revelation to me! It’s more
than just ink and paper, it’s my life!
We’ve lost something in the church. We’ve lost the passion we once had for God’s Word. We in western countries have forgotten what it’s like to give up everything for this book!
There was a time when the Bible was only written in Latin. Corrupt and domineering priests declared it was “too sacred” for the common language. As a result, the church was forced into ignorance of God’s Word and His will. Many of God’s men and woman were killed by “the church” because they owned and were reading God’s Word in English. They died for that book - the same book most people just throw on the table from Sunday to Sunday.
How many of those pilgrims died in this new world because that book was more important to them than the word of the king? How many American soldiers died in the Revolution, knowingly giving their lives for the right to read and study that book?
Even today, how many people around the world would give up everything to have God’s entire Word? How many people risk their lives to own, read and carry this book? They’re dying just because they’re meeting together to read that book! All this while western Christians loose focus when the pastor reads more than one verse in church!
We need to fall in love with God’s Word again! We need to understand what it is - this is the very heart and nature of God, written down for us! John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” I know it’s talking about Jesus, the Word made flesh - but you can’t miss the fact that it’s talking about God’s Word!
Everything you can ever learn about God’s nature, everything you can learn about His plan, everything you’ll ever find out about His will and His power - it has all been written down for you in that book! 2 Peter 1:3 declares that we find everything we need for life and godliness when we find the knowledge of God. We find that in His word!
We need to recognize that it’s impossible for God to lie - that His Word is truth! Stop focusing so much on “what He meant” and just read what He said! We’ve done God’s word a disservice by using the world around us to interpret it. Instead, we should allow His Word to interpret the world around us!
I don’t know about you, but my Bible goes with me everywhere! Work, shopping, to family or friends; my Bible is usually tucked under my arm! I feel absolutely naked if I go somewhere and leave it at home. After all, what if I need to dig into it to answer a question? And if I find myself waiting somewhere - of course I’m going to dive into it!
It is definitely noticeable to me when I have a day without reading that book! My entire attitude changes. I become irritable, selfish, and lazy...but reading God’s Word daily keeps me on the right track! I crave those words! I know now why the Psalmist said God’s Word was sweeter to him than honey!
Have you lost your fire for God’s Word? Has it been days since you opened it just to read? Do you find it rather monotonous and boring? Then it’s time you fall in love with it again!
How do you do that? How can you start to love the Bible again?
First, you need to pray. Ask God to stir up your spiritual hunger again. If you’re going to grow spiritually, you have to “desire the sincere milk of the word, that you may grow by it.” So ask God for that hunger again!
Second, you need to act on that hunger! Read it! Whether you feel like it or not, whether you understand it or not - get your nose in there! The more you read, you begin to develop a taste for it! You start making connections from what you’re reading to what you’ve read before! When you read the Bible daily, your pastor’s messages start to resonate with what you’ve read! It becomes exciting - you just have to start the process!
Finally, if you find yourself struggling to pick up the Bible and read it, find Psalm 119. Most people know this only as the longest chapter in the Bible. But it’s so much more than it’s length! This beautiful Psalm shows the importance of God’s Word in every one of its 176 verses! When you read it, read it like a prayer. If there’s one thing that will light you passion for the Bible, it’s that!
In fact, let me close with one of my favorite verses from Psalm 119 - verse 18. I pray this every time I open my Bible. “Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law.”
We’ve lost something in the church. We’ve lost the passion we once had for God’s Word. We in western countries have forgotten what it’s like to give up everything for this book!
There was a time when the Bible was only written in Latin. Corrupt and domineering priests declared it was “too sacred” for the common language. As a result, the church was forced into ignorance of God’s Word and His will. Many of God’s men and woman were killed by “the church” because they owned and were reading God’s Word in English. They died for that book - the same book most people just throw on the table from Sunday to Sunday.
How many of those pilgrims died in this new world because that book was more important to them than the word of the king? How many American soldiers died in the Revolution, knowingly giving their lives for the right to read and study that book?
Even today, how many people around the world would give up everything to have God’s entire Word? How many people risk their lives to own, read and carry this book? They’re dying just because they’re meeting together to read that book! All this while western Christians loose focus when the pastor reads more than one verse in church!
We need to fall in love with God’s Word again! We need to understand what it is - this is the very heart and nature of God, written down for us! John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” I know it’s talking about Jesus, the Word made flesh - but you can’t miss the fact that it’s talking about God’s Word!
Everything you can ever learn about God’s nature, everything you can learn about His plan, everything you’ll ever find out about His will and His power - it has all been written down for you in that book! 2 Peter 1:3 declares that we find everything we need for life and godliness when we find the knowledge of God. We find that in His word!
We need to recognize that it’s impossible for God to lie - that His Word is truth! Stop focusing so much on “what He meant” and just read what He said! We’ve done God’s word a disservice by using the world around us to interpret it. Instead, we should allow His Word to interpret the world around us!
I don’t know about you, but my Bible goes with me everywhere! Work, shopping, to family or friends; my Bible is usually tucked under my arm! I feel absolutely naked if I go somewhere and leave it at home. After all, what if I need to dig into it to answer a question? And if I find myself waiting somewhere - of course I’m going to dive into it!
It is definitely noticeable to me when I have a day without reading that book! My entire attitude changes. I become irritable, selfish, and lazy...but reading God’s Word daily keeps me on the right track! I crave those words! I know now why the Psalmist said God’s Word was sweeter to him than honey!
Have you lost your fire for God’s Word? Has it been days since you opened it just to read? Do you find it rather monotonous and boring? Then it’s time you fall in love with it again!
How do you do that? How can you start to love the Bible again?
First, you need to pray. Ask God to stir up your spiritual hunger again. If you’re going to grow spiritually, you have to “desire the sincere milk of the word, that you may grow by it.” So ask God for that hunger again!
Second, you need to act on that hunger! Read it! Whether you feel like it or not, whether you understand it or not - get your nose in there! The more you read, you begin to develop a taste for it! You start making connections from what you’re reading to what you’ve read before! When you read the Bible daily, your pastor’s messages start to resonate with what you’ve read! It becomes exciting - you just have to start the process!
Finally, if you find yourself struggling to pick up the Bible and read it, find Psalm 119. Most people know this only as the longest chapter in the Bible. But it’s so much more than it’s length! This beautiful Psalm shows the importance of God’s Word in every one of its 176 verses! When you read it, read it like a prayer. If there’s one thing that will light you passion for the Bible, it’s that!
In fact, let me close with one of my favorite verses from Psalm 119 - verse 18. I pray this every time I open my Bible. “Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law.”
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