It is always the darkest before the dawn. Imagine an abrupt end to this virus. Instantaneous, miraculous ceasing of COVID-19 around the world. This is a real possibility! Imagine a huge revival sweeping the world where hearts and lives are completely transformed! How awesome would this be? Healing miracles still happen!
Hey, Christian. You. Every one of you – old, young, man, woman. This applies to us all who call ourselves children of God. If these labels don’t apply to you, neither will this message. You can move on to something else!
This is the most incredible opportunity we have been given to make a difference in the world. Yes – right now – in the middle of uncertainty, fear of terrible death and isolation we can make a huge difference. God is a God of miracles, not just in days of old but today, too! Just ask me, I’ll give you a bunch of miracle examples just from my own life!
What miracle could God do for us right now? Heal our Land.
How? How on earth might He do this? What part do we play?
God is giving us a unique opportunity by clearing our plates, if you will. Most of us no longer have the amount of distractions dragging us out of the house like we have had our whole lives. No longer are we distracted by routine.
I give the exception to our servant neighbors and family who are on the front lines of taking care of us. Their work is now a lot scarier than before and they have new sets of distractions to keep up with. PRAY. FOR. THEM.
THIS IS WHAT WE AS CHRISTIANS NEED TO DO TO CHANGE OUR WORLD:
“13 “When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, 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.” 2 Chronicles 7:13-14, NKJV
WE HAVE TO DO 3 THINGS:
1. HUMBLE OURSELVES BY PRAYING AND SEEKING GOD
2. RECOGNIZE OUR SIN AND CONFESS IT TO GOD AND ASK FORGIVENESS
3. STOP LIVING IN OUR SIN
I’m going to make some of us mad. Pointing out truth hurts sometimes.
We all need to do a heart check, a look inside ourselves. A real look inside, not what polished mess we let the world see, or the “we are good enough” mentality we trick ourselves in to believing we are.
What is inside? Are we a saint who occasionally sins or a sinner that occasionally saints? I’m not trying to be sanctimonious here but some of us need to be called out. Living in sin is not Biblical, no matter who says it is. We have to read for ourselves.
1. ARE WE SEEKING GOD?
The way Christians have been putting everything else before God is driving this country into the ground. The lack of true love – truth spoken from a gentle spirit but spoken none-the-less, is obvious. We are people pleasers rather than God pleasers. We seek the world’s approval first and then go to God when it is convenient or we are in a bad situation.
Yes, I said it – our fault. Not the lost world’s fault, ours.
Is God our first love anymore?
Is God who we seek to please above all else? Do we spend time praying and seeking Him?
I’m not saying all of us here – I know some amazing people who truly put God and His ways as the center of their decision making but occasionally mess up because they’re human.
2. ARE WE SINNING WITH ANY PART OF OUR LIFESTYLE? We know what sin we love to do and know we are living against God’s design when we do it. CONFESS it as sin.
Confessing our sins aloud, is a big sign we get what we are doing is wrong, and we are acknowledging to God that we have been living in disobedience. When we live in sin, we put a wedge between us and God. He bought that sin with the blood of Jesus, but we are absolutely not supposed to be just living freely in the sin. Our lives are to reflect a new and changed person. That sin we love so much wreaks havoc on our bodies and our minds. It feels good for a while but it enslaves us. It can be broken – no one is beyond the help and hope of God.
But we must recognize our sin, confess it because we know it’s wrong.
3. REPENT. IT MEANS TO TURN AWAY FROM THE SIN – TO STOP IT. NOW.
No more living in the sin for us.
No more putting all the idols above God. What idols? Americans don’t have idols! Yes, we do. Our children, our jobs, selfish attention, just ourselves in general are a few. NFL, NCAA, NBA, MLB, NHL, travel ball or school ball for our kids are the sport idols.
It’s time to put God back on the top where He belongs.
No more murder – yes, I mean abortions.
No more pornography – stop the lusting.
No more being nasty to people behind their backs or to their faces no matter how much they are asking for it.
No more sleeping around unmarried or married. No more homosexuality.
No more using God or Jesus’s name in flippant and unrespectful ways.
No more lying or seeking our gain above others. No more keeping up with the Jones’s.
No more gluttony. No more being on substances drowning out our abilities to be a responsible adult – drugs, alcohol, etc.
No more being lukewarm and not fighting for just causes. Saying we are against something or for something and doing nothing about it is disgusting. We are all guilty here.
This should not be what marks the average Christian lifestyle. We are all prone to different sin natures but we should not indulge them and justify it because Jesus paid for it or because that’s just who we are. We are conquerors in Christ and not victims – we need to act like it.
Help is out there, friends. Get in a support group, have accountability partners and pray for each other. When we seek God for help with our sin, He is incredibly faithful to strengthen us in our weakness. Talk with Him daily about your struggles, He cares about every detail and wants to help. It’s a journey not a sprint but we have to put ourselves on the path of self-control.
Perfect? Not by a longshot but a people trying to please God who occasionally mess up.
What will God do for our land if we as Christians do this?
“I WILL HEAR FROM HEAVEN, FORGIVE THEIR SIN AND HEAL THEIR LAND.” ~ GOD
We can’t expect the world to stop living like the world, we need Christians to live like Christ.
Let’s all do this for us, for our kids and for our world.
Catherine King
www.pursuingtruenorth.com
