Good Morning!
Just a bit of clarification to yesterday’s post. By no means do I want to give the impression that the current vote for Supreme Court Justice is unimportant because it reeks of the phoniness of our politicians. The way I see it, there are two big issues at stake – abortion and religious freedom. I believe that abortion far outweighs the other, even though the latter is no small-potato issue. Sixty million dead babies in the USA since the passage of Roe vs. Wade is almost hard to imagine. How can something like this even be true? Yet, it is. Besides all the other reasons, I believe this is proof positive of our nation’s rejection of Jesus as Lord and the open embrace of other gods. “Self” would be the supreme in our collective mind.
I don’t see how we can escape the verse I used yesterday:
Jeremiah 9:9 Shall I not punish them for these things? declares the Lord, and shall I not avenge myself on a nation such as this?
Well, we do have instructions:
2 Chronicles 7:14 if my people who are called by my name 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.
Our recent examination of dealing with sin shows us that we have much to work on as a church. As a church, are we in a position, today, that God may grant his end of his promise? I don’t know.
At the same time, we see in Jeremiah that God won’t even hear some prayer. Check this out:
Jeremiah 7:16-17 “As for you, do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer for them, and do not intercede with me, for I will not hear you. Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?
Jeremiah 11:14-15a “Therefore do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer on their behalf, for I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their trouble. What right has my beloved in my house, when she has done many vile deeds?
Jeremiah 14:11-12 The Lord said to me: “Do not pray for the welfare of this people. Though they fast, I will not hear their cry, and though they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence.”
Psalm 66:18 If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened;
Am I saying that we should not pray? Let’s put it this way, God told Jeremiah directly, not once but three times, not to pray. Should we be surprised if one day the Holy Spirit reveals to his church that we have reached a tipping point? Until then, I believe we need to work on the premise of 2 Chronicles 7:14. How might we humble ourselves and turn from our wicked ways so that our prayer might be heard? Do we even have any wicked ways, as a church? Are we willing to examine ourselves closely? I gave us some ideas in the last three weeks.
As a wrap-up today, we must rest in the knowledge that, ultimately, God will glorify his name in his way in his time. Yes, we see petition influence God throughout the bible. At the same time, we see stuff like this:
Daniel 2:21 He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding;
Our country may very well be headed down the road of justice that we will not turn back from. That is to the glory of God in which we must be willing to praise him for. At the same time, we must proclaim his name and live like he is coming back for us yet even this morning.
Matthew 24:42 Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.
Father, awaken your church. Amen.
Copyright © 2018 Scott Powers