I watched the State of the Union address last night. It bothered me.
It didn't bother me because of Obama. I'm no Obama fan, but the guy has a tough job and I think everyone, myself included, could cut the guy a little slack. I certainly wouldn't want his job.
It didn't bother me because of what he said.
It bothered me in what he didn't say.
This entire month, God has called me with intensity to pray through 2 Chronicles 7:14. This verse calls God's people to humble themselves, pray, seek His face, and turn from their wicked ways. In turn, He will hear us, forgive our sin, and heal our land.
It is apparent to everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, that our country is in trouble. I hear it every day. People know that we are on the wrong track- our economy is stagnant, our moral fabric is being ripped apart, our country is in debt up to its ears, the people are in debt up to their ears, churches are not serious about the Great Commission, divorce is tearing our families apart, drug use is epidemic, and there is truly no fear of God in our culture.
What I heard last night were a bunch of human solutions to spiritual problems.
What I didn't hear was any call to repentance or turning from our wicked ways so that God could heal our land. I didn't hear God mentioned at all until the very end, when he said, "God bless America."
I would love for God to bless America. But God doesn't bless sin.
I believe that God would like nothing more than for 2 Chronicles 7:14 to happen. He wants to forgive our sin and heal our land. He doesn't want to see America go down the tubes, nor does He want our people in bondage to addiction, children growing up fatherless, churches stagnant, people living in sexual promiscuity, etc. He truly wants our land to be healed.
But a doctor can't heal a patient until the patient decides to stop doing what is making him sick. We in America haven't decided to stop doing what is making us sick. In fact, not only do we continue to do the things that destroy us- now we are APPLAUDING the things that destroy us. We are actually in the stage where we are calling evil good and good evil.
The State of the Union bothered me because there was no humility before God. There was no talk of repentance- no talk that we as a nation had forsaken our first love and wandered in defiance away from God. There was no admission that we are a sinful nation deserving of God's judgment. No call to fasting and prayer. In other words, it sounded futile and powerless. It sounded like we were willing to do whatever it would take to heal this land . . . . EXCEPT what it would take to heal this land.
For example, one thing said last night was that he hoped we could, "Eliminate AIDS in one generation." Now, we all know how to do that. We could do that right now without it costing a single penny, without any medical research, without any government program, and without really any effort at all. The solution? Biblical sexuality. Keep the car in the garage until you are married, and stay faithful to that person for life. Oh, and stay off drugs.
That's the solution. God has already presented it to us. It's foolproof and is guaranteed 100% effective. We all know it- it's not rocket science.
However, we would rather spend billions of dollars doing medical research, developing drugs, sponsoring government programs, lobbying, and failing rather than embrace the solution. God can't heal us of the AIDS epidemic because we are continuing to do the very things that bring it on.
The Bible has offered solutions to every single one of the problems we as a nation are facing. None of them were mentioned last night. I wonder why this is?
It is because to embrace what the Bible says takes humility. It takes repentance. And that's not something Americans are willing to do. At least, not many.
Therefore, because of our inability to repent and humble ourselves, two things will happen. One, we will continue to spin our wheels offering human solutions that fail. We will try more stimulus money, more regulations, more government, more laws, more rules, more taxes, more programs, all with the same results. But the second thing is much darker.
Two, we will begin to see God's judgment on this nation in an increasingly intense manner.
I remember a preacher telling me that if God doesn't judge America, He'll have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah. And the Assyrians. And the Babylonians. And the Hittites. And the . . . .
I have never in my life felt such a burden for my country. I have never been driven to my knees in prayer like I have this month. I wonder if this is a critical juncture in America- could this burden on my heart, and on the hearts of so many other Christians, be the last final push of the Holy Spirit to bring us to repentance? Could this be the final warning delivered to us before God's final judgment?
All I know is that last night I saw nothing that would lead me to believe that anyone in Washington is serious about leading us on a path to God. That is the only path that will bring healing to this nation. If the people in Washington won't lead us on a path to healing and blessing, and are instead leading us on a path that leads to judgment and destruction, then it is the job of the people to lead.
Lead where you have influence- your school, your church, your friends, your office, your business, your sports teams, etc. Call people to 2 Chronicles 7:14. Challenge them to do the four things in the first part of the verse. I truly believe that we are running out of time. Pray through these two verses today.
2 Chronicles 7:13-14:
“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 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 will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."
It didn't bother me because of Obama. I'm no Obama fan, but the guy has a tough job and I think everyone, myself included, could cut the guy a little slack. I certainly wouldn't want his job.
It didn't bother me because of what he said.
It bothered me in what he didn't say.
This entire month, God has called me with intensity to pray through 2 Chronicles 7:14. This verse calls God's people to humble themselves, pray, seek His face, and turn from their wicked ways. In turn, He will hear us, forgive our sin, and heal our land.
It is apparent to everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, that our country is in trouble. I hear it every day. People know that we are on the wrong track- our economy is stagnant, our moral fabric is being ripped apart, our country is in debt up to its ears, the people are in debt up to their ears, churches are not serious about the Great Commission, divorce is tearing our families apart, drug use is epidemic, and there is truly no fear of God in our culture.
What I heard last night were a bunch of human solutions to spiritual problems.
What I didn't hear was any call to repentance or turning from our wicked ways so that God could heal our land. I didn't hear God mentioned at all until the very end, when he said, "God bless America."
I would love for God to bless America. But God doesn't bless sin.
I believe that God would like nothing more than for 2 Chronicles 7:14 to happen. He wants to forgive our sin and heal our land. He doesn't want to see America go down the tubes, nor does He want our people in bondage to addiction, children growing up fatherless, churches stagnant, people living in sexual promiscuity, etc. He truly wants our land to be healed.
But a doctor can't heal a patient until the patient decides to stop doing what is making him sick. We in America haven't decided to stop doing what is making us sick. In fact, not only do we continue to do the things that destroy us- now we are APPLAUDING the things that destroy us. We are actually in the stage where we are calling evil good and good evil.
The State of the Union bothered me because there was no humility before God. There was no talk of repentance- no talk that we as a nation had forsaken our first love and wandered in defiance away from God. There was no admission that we are a sinful nation deserving of God's judgment. No call to fasting and prayer. In other words, it sounded futile and powerless. It sounded like we were willing to do whatever it would take to heal this land . . . . EXCEPT what it would take to heal this land.
For example, one thing said last night was that he hoped we could, "Eliminate AIDS in one generation." Now, we all know how to do that. We could do that right now without it costing a single penny, without any medical research, without any government program, and without really any effort at all. The solution? Biblical sexuality. Keep the car in the garage until you are married, and stay faithful to that person for life. Oh, and stay off drugs.
That's the solution. God has already presented it to us. It's foolproof and is guaranteed 100% effective. We all know it- it's not rocket science.
However, we would rather spend billions of dollars doing medical research, developing drugs, sponsoring government programs, lobbying, and failing rather than embrace the solution. God can't heal us of the AIDS epidemic because we are continuing to do the very things that bring it on.
The Bible has offered solutions to every single one of the problems we as a nation are facing. None of them were mentioned last night. I wonder why this is?
It is because to embrace what the Bible says takes humility. It takes repentance. And that's not something Americans are willing to do. At least, not many.
Therefore, because of our inability to repent and humble ourselves, two things will happen. One, we will continue to spin our wheels offering human solutions that fail. We will try more stimulus money, more regulations, more government, more laws, more rules, more taxes, more programs, all with the same results. But the second thing is much darker.
Two, we will begin to see God's judgment on this nation in an increasingly intense manner.
I remember a preacher telling me that if God doesn't judge America, He'll have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah. And the Assyrians. And the Babylonians. And the Hittites. And the . . . .
I have never in my life felt such a burden for my country. I have never been driven to my knees in prayer like I have this month. I wonder if this is a critical juncture in America- could this burden on my heart, and on the hearts of so many other Christians, be the last final push of the Holy Spirit to bring us to repentance? Could this be the final warning delivered to us before God's final judgment?
All I know is that last night I saw nothing that would lead me to believe that anyone in Washington is serious about leading us on a path to God. That is the only path that will bring healing to this nation. If the people in Washington won't lead us on a path to healing and blessing, and are instead leading us on a path that leads to judgment and destruction, then it is the job of the people to lead.
Lead where you have influence- your school, your church, your friends, your office, your business, your sports teams, etc. Call people to 2 Chronicles 7:14. Challenge them to do the four things in the first part of the verse. I truly believe that we are running out of time. Pray through these two verses today.
2 Chronicles 7:13-14:
“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 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 will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."
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