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Heal Our Land

Posted in Healing, Jesus, Knowing God, Peace, Prayer, Salvation, Sin, The Father, The Righteous, The Word, Unity on November 9, 2018|

Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; Acts 3:19 NASB

jon-tyson-403392-unsplash

In my last blog, I discussed that when we see pestilence in the land, we are told what we are to do by God.  In 2 Chronicles 7:14 God asks us to do the following:

HUMBLE OURSELVES

As Christians we should not think so highly of ourselves.  We should not look down on others and think we are better than they are. We must remember the only thing that saved us is Jesus Christ.  Our salvation has nothing to do with any work we did.  We have been adopted as God’s children because we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior.  We are able to walk in holiness because of the Holy Spirit.  Salvation is a gift.

We should not put all the blame on the wicked.  We must be willing to have our own hearts examined by God to see if there is any wicked way in us, confess our sins, and received God’s forgiveness.  We must be willing to own up to our own sin and stop pointing the finger at others.

PRAY

We don’t pray the way we should.  We don’t pray corporately and we don’t pray for our nation.  We may throw a prayer up every now and then but we are not strategic in our prayers.  I remember years ago there was an event where men went to Washington DC, repented of their sins, prayed and asked God to help them be better fathers, husbands, sons and men of God.  Today when we see tragedy in our land we look to blame someone or something else.  Now we are beginning to accept these events as a way of life.  We are supposed to pray effective prayers and effective prayers involve us opening our hearts and minds to God’s will and purpose and being ready to obey His word. Often time we use “thoughts and prayers” as an excuse not to really seek the face of God in prayer.

SEEK GOD’S FACE

It takes time to seek God’s face.  In order to come before God we have to deal with our own hearts.  This is not an easy thing to do.  It takes humility and prayer.  We can’t seek God’s face with a spirit of pride or entitlement.  If our land is suffering we are seeking Him to help us and we have to be in a posture of humility and trust.  We don’t seek God’s face to just see if we like His plan, but we seek Him so that we will obey Him.  God knows our heart so if we are to truly seek Him then our heart must be right with God.

REPENT (Turn from Our Wicked Ways)

We are told to turn from our wicked ways.  This is the most profound request in 2 Chronicles 7:14.  We are God’s people and He is asking us to turn from our wicked ways.  Notice God did not say to confess our sins.  He is telling us to turn away from wickedness.  This is what repentance entails.  Repentance is not a feeling of that we are sorry for what we did.  Repentance is a willingness to turn away from the thing that separates us from God.  In this case God is asking us to turn away from wickedness and to turn to Him.  We surrender our will and agree to follow His will for our lives.  All Christians have given their life to Christ and called upon His name for salvation.  Not all Christians have surrendered their will for God’s will.  Many of us still want to live in both the world and be accepted into God’s kingdom.  We cannot serve two masters and to serve God may cause us to lose favor with men.  God promised in Isaiah 1:19 that if we are willing and obedient we will have the best of the land.  So we must turn our will toward Holiness and obey God’s word pertaining to our nation.  The ultimate commission we have been given is to love and to share the good news of the gospel.  If we do this we will see things change in our nation.  First we must repent of our own hatred, fear, the lies we tell and believe.

By meeting these conditions God has promised to heal our land.  We do not fight against people but we fight against the principalities of this world.  People are not our enemy, Satan is the enemy.  We must surrender ourselves to God’s hands to see our land healed.  We have to be the ones to cry out to God and repent of our wicked ways.  Then God will be attentive to our prayers made to Him.

and 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, will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place. 2 Chronicles 7:14-15 NASB

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

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When Pestilence Strikes!

Posted in Healing, Prayer, Satan, The Word on November 8, 2018|

If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, 2 Chronicles 7:13 NASB

Pestilence 1 Man

What a grievous site as we look upon our nation.  The mass shootings, the weather related storms, wild fires burning out of control, murders, death and bloodshed have visited our land.  As we look at the heart of our nation we feel the hatred and division.  We are surrounded by fear and destruction.  Pestilence has struck.  What do we do?

This morning I woke up to the news of another mass shooting in California.  Just a couple of weeks ago 11 people were killed when a gunman entered and started shooting in a synagogue in Pittsburgh.  People were living their lives, enjoying their day when tragedy struck.  People are in despair.  They don’t know what to do or what has become of our land.  They look to the government for some response and protection.  Many have different ideas of how to stymie this destruction of our nation.  What do we do?

As Christians we know that our Lord and Savior is Jesus Christ.  We are the children of God.  So of course we are to turn to God and cry out to Him.  God’s word tells us what to do.  He gives instructions to Solomon, who finished building the temple for God.  Prior to this God’s presence was in the Ark of the Covenant.  It traveled with the children of Israel, and King David desired to build a house for God.  God refused and allowed Solomon to build the House instead.  Here in 2 Chronicles God is accepting the   House and says He will stay there.  God gives a condition to the prayers offered in the House of God.  He tells Solomon that if there is pestilence in the land, this is what you do:

and 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, will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place. 2 Chronicles 7:14-15

This is a very familiar passage to most Christians.  We quote this a lot but we don’t really look at it in its context.  We know that all the destruction is the work of the devil.  God does not destroy, He redeems.         In this passage, God is making a promise to heal the land but it is conditioned on the actions of His people.  Notice that God is not speaking to Kings or nations; He is speaking to His people.  These are the things God is asking of us: Humility, Prayer, Seek God, and Repentance.  It is under these conditions that God promises to heal our land, and that His eyes are open and His ears are attentive to our prayers.

In the next article we will explore these conditions in more detail.

Photo by Candice Picard on Unsplash

 

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What Did God Say?

Posted in The Father, The Word on August 12, 2014|

15 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. 16 Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. Exodus 14: 15-16 NIV

When Moses had led the Israelites out of Egypt, God had instructed Moses to go a certain way. God told Moses that He would harden Pharaoh’s heart and he would pursue the Israelites. God wanted to demonstrate His power and glory so that all of Egypt would know He was God. God had a specific route for the Israelites to travel and had made provision for their journey.

As Israel was being led by Moses they saw the Red Sea before them and the Egyptians pursuing them they cried out to God and then complained to Moses that he brought them to the desert to die. They said Moses should have left them in Egypt to be slaves. All Israel could see was that there was no way out. They didn’t see how they could change their situation. Then God asked Moses “Why are you crying out to me?” God told Moses to tell the Israelites to move on for they were going to cross the Red Sea on dry ground and God would have the Egyptians go in after them and God would be honored through Pharaoh, his army and chariots. That way all of Egypt would know the God of Israel was The Lord.

How many of us find ourselves in a situation where we see our enemy pursuing us on one side and the Red Sea in front of us. It would be very easy to accept our situation and simply resign ourselves to an attitude “It is what it is.” Many times we say that we want God to help us accept situations we cannot change. But what has God said about your situation?

Nothing is impossible for God. Every person, situation and circumstance should be surrendered to God. We should go by what God says, He should have the final say.

Many times when we face impossible situations or circumstance we do not control or cannot change we say things that actually disguise our unbelief. The Israelites didn’t need to cry out to God or stop and pray about the situation because God had already instructed them what to do. They just needed to believe that God would deliver them from the Egyptians and lead them out of the desert to the land of promise. That is what God wanted. God just wanted Israel to believe and follow Him.

So what report have you received? Who has left you or rejected you? What are you facing that seems impossible or incapable of changing? Let God have the final say. Believe and don’t doubt. Whatever you are facing or wHatever is behind you, God will cause it to work out for your best. So next time just ask yourself “What did God say?”

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“It Is What It Is”

Posted in Peace, The Father, The Righteous, The Word, Uncategorized, Wisdom on August 2, 2014|

How blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, Whose hope is in the Lord his God,

Psalms 146:5 (NASB)

People love to say “It is what it is.” Usually I hear people say it when they are referring to a situation they cannot change. It is their way of declaring their acceptance. For me I hate the statement. It has become too commonplace in our speech. It is a statement shrouded in helplessness. We are not helpless.

The bible teaches us that our words have power. We can speak life or death into any situation. What we speak comes from our hearts. We must be careful what we say. The tongue can be dangerous. The tongue can heal. We can change our situation by what we say.

“It is what it is,” speaks something. The phrase has power. I saw a picture of the phrase on Facebook, and the person who posted it said it was wisdom. It is not a wise statement. It can have various meaning such as “who cares” or “things won’t change so deal with it.” It leaves a person feeling helpless. Whenever I hear people say it I hear the defeat in their voice.

We must guard our mouths. When we feel helpless or we find ourselves in a situation we cannot change, we can cry out to The Lord. No situation is impossible for God. He makes all things work for our good. God cares about every detail in our lives. No problem is too small or too big. God can and will work it out.

No matter what life throws our way, God is still God. It is what it is.

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Are We Jonah?

Posted in government, Love, Salvation, The Body, The Righteous, The Word, tagged , , on November 8, 2012|

But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. 2 He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. 3 Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

4 But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?” Jonah 4: 1-4 NIV

God told Jonah to preach to Nineveh about their wickedness and their coming destruction.  At first Jonah did not listen and he fled to Tarshish.  He was on a boat and a storm arose and he was tossed into the sea and swallowed by a giant fish.  Jonah finally obeyed God and went to Nineveh to tell them about their wickedness and their destruction.  But Nineveh decided to turn from their wickedness, and repent of their sins.  Even the King entered a decree that the people give up their evil ways and turn to God.  So when God saw what Nineveh did, He relented and decided not to bring judgment on Nineveh.  This angered Jonah and he went away with that anger still in him.

There are many Christians who are upset at the direction our nation is going and based on this week’s election results many have concluded that are nation is headed to destruction.  We have fasted and prayed yet God has said to us “go and make disciples.”  For decades we have said and done this.  When the nation took out bibles and prayer in schools we said destruction would come we prayed and God told us to disciple the nation.  But we just stayed in our pulpits and pews and pronounced the nation was headed in the wrong direction.  When sexual immorality became the norm in our society; we fasted and we prayed and God told us to disciple the nation but we returned to our churches grumbling and complaining.

As more and more officials were elected and brought more liberal ideas and policies, we griped and complained but we still didn’t heed the voice of God who told us to go and make disciples of this nation.  Instead we seem content to just tell the people because of their wickedness this nation is headed for destruction.

Are we like Jonah?  Do we fear that if we preach the Good news, disciple the people that God will relent and save this nation? Because deep down we know that God is slow to anger and abounding in love. When will we as Christians rise up and repent of our disobedience to the great commission given to us by Jesus to go and make disciples of all nations especially our own; baptizing them, healing them of all their diseases and loving them instead of condemning them to destruction.

Jonah was angry that God relented.  He thought the people of Nineveh deserved to be destroyed because they were so wicked.  He questioned in the bitterness of his soul – Why should they be given another chance for God’s mercy?  Jonah didn’t want to see Nineveh repent.  Are we like Jonah?

God’s response to Jonah was “And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?” Jonah 4:11

God has great concern for the United States of America He wants to heal our land and change it for good.  He has directed His people to go and disciple the people of the nation.  When we do this they will turn to God and desire the things of God.  They will no longer seek those things out that are evil but call upon the Lord for salvation.  If the people change so will our government and their hearts will be turned to God.

The law cannot save.  We cannot expect our government to enact laws that will cause this nation to turn back to God.  Instead we have to humble ourselves and do what God has commissioned us to do.  We must remember that the Holy Spirit will convict men of their sin and turn them to Jesus.  We must be that light and proclaim the word of God in our towns and cities throughout this nation.  One man was able to speak a word from God and the entire city repented and turned to God.  How much more can the people of God do today under the power of the Holy Spirit?

So let’s not focus on the law or grumble about the state of our government.  Instead let’s save the people and heal their broken hearts.  They are longing for the truth and the light of God.  Everything we do we must do out of love and not judgment and pride.  We must deem them higher than we deem ourselves.

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No Slaves in Heaven

Posted in Heaven, Knowing God, Money, The Father, The Word on May 13, 2011| Leave a Comment »

 The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower becomes the lender’s slave. Proverbs 22:7

The average person has some type of financial debt that they owe to a bank, financial institution, company, school, hospital, IRS or person(s).  Many of us owe money on our homes, cars, education, etc.  These lenders have the power to repossess our property, foreclose on our homes, or impose massive financial penalties for late payments and our inability to pay.  In essence we are slaves to these lenders. 

For years our family has been trying to pay down our debts.  We have consulted financial advisors, read books on money management, cut expenses, and worked out a budget.  Yet still we live paycheck to paycheck like most people trying to make ends meet.  In this time when gas and food prices are increasing the looming debts that we owe overshadow our finances.  We have spent years paying our mortgage but when we look at our principle loan amount not much of it has been paid, most of the money goes toward the interest.  I do praise God for the provision but honestly the burden of debt has gotten to be too much.  It seems to only bring stress, worry and doubts about the future.  So I did the only thing I could do and I cried out to God.

I told God we have not robbed Him.  We pay our tithes and offerings.  We have listened to man’s wisdom and strategy.  We have done our best to be good stewards with the money God has entrusted us with, but still we are bound to these lenders where most of our money goes toward paying off debts.

Is God willing to cancel our debts?  I pondered this question as I struggled on how to pray.  I know that God has paid our sin debt through the blood of Jesus.  Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection sin and death no longer have power over us.  What about our financial debts?  Is it our responsibility to get ourselves out of debt since we got ourselves in debt in the first place?  These questions caused me to doubt God’s willingness to get us out of this burdensome situation.  Then I heard God ask “Are there slaves in heaven?”

I thought about it.  There are no slaves in heaven.  Then I remembered Jesus teaching His disciples to pray that God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  It is not the will of God that we be slaves on earth.  He does not want us to be enslaved by lenders.  So what do we do?  We pray that God’s will be done, and we surrender to God’s will for our finances.  We trust God for wisdom and direction in getting ourselves out of these situations.  It may require some tough decisions and a lot of discipline.  With God all things are possible.

So if you are in debt and feel enslaved by your lenders then know that is not the will of God.  There are no slaves in heaven.  You do not have to wait until you get to heaven to be free.  For whom the Son sets free is free indeed.  Be encouraged and believe that God can and will free us from any situation we find ourselves in.   We shouldn’t have to work for money, money should work for us.

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These Signs Shall Follow

Posted in Crucified, God's Glory, Healing, Jesus, Prayer, Salvation, Satan, Sin, Teaching, The Father, The Holy Spirit, The Righteous, The Word on April 22, 2011| Leave a Comment »

19So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.

 20And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed. Mark 16: 19-20

 3how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard,

 4God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.  Hebrews 2: 3-4

Today is Good Friday and Sunday is Easter.  As Christians we celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ during this time.  Usually on Easter weekend, churches have the largest attendance of the year.  So many churches preach the gospel message hoping that many will give their life to Christ.

When Jesus commissioned the disciples after His resurrection, He told them that when they went out to preach the gospel, signs and wonders would follow them.  They would be able to cast out demons, lay hands on the sick and they would be healed.  We are also told in the above scriptures that God confirms the message of salvation by both signs and wonders and various miracles.  We cannot have the gospel preached without evidence of signs, wonders and miracles.  Otherwise we are simply preaching a message with no power behind it.

We should not only anticipate a great soul harvest this weekend, but we should expect to see it all including signs, wonders and miracles.  Their purpose is to confirm the gospel message and point people to Jesus.  So we should expect to see miracles, healings take place, deliverance from demons, etc.  Of course the greatest miracle of all is when a person is saved – that person was once dead in their sin and is made alive in Christ.

So let’s invite the lost, the sick and shut in, the hopeless, the downtrodden, those bound, etc.; and expect God to show up and deliver them all.  Let our prayer be that God will confirm His covenant, made through the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, by the miracles, signs and wonders that will point all men to Jesus.

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And When You Pray

Posted in Healing, Jesus, Knowing God, Love, Prayer, Salvation, The Father, The Word on April 8, 2011| Leave a Comment »

 9“Pray, then, in this way:
  ‘Our Father, who is in heaven,
   Hallowed be Your name.
10’Your kingdom come
   Your will be done,
   On earth as it is in heaven.
 11‘Give us this day our daily bread.
 12‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
 13‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]’  Matthew 6:9-13

Jesus taught the disciples how to pray.  We often pray the Lord’s prayer in church and in our private time.  This prayer is usually memorized by most Christians.  But do we really pray the way Jesus taught us to pray?

Many times when we pray we put a caveat in our prayer “If it be your will…”  But Jesus told us to pray “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”  So when we pray we are to pray that the Father’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  We do not have to guess what the Father wants to do.  So when we pray we should ask ourselves what heaven says.  Then we know what to pray.

When we pray for the salvation of a loved one, we know that everyone in Heaven is saved, so when we pray we pray for God’s will on earth as it is in heaven.  We know it is God’s will to save the lost.  There is no sickness in heaven, so we know we can pray God’s will for healing to be done on earth as it is in heaven.  The bible even says that if we delight ourselves in Him, He will give us the desires of our heart (Psalm 37:4).  So we can pray with confidence that God’s will be done when it comes to our desires.

When we start off a prayer saying “If it be your will…” we put the responsibility on God and remove our responsibility to have faith that God will answer our prayer.  Because if our prayer is not answered, then we can say it was not God’s will.  Instead, we should have enough faith to believe God for the answered prayer; have confidence enough that if it is not in line with His will then He will tell us; and direct us in what His will is in the situation.

It is important to remember that we pray from Heaven to earth.  We are to pray that which is loose in heaven be loosed on earth.  So it is always in line with God’s will to pray for peace, salvation, healing, restoration, joy, love, etc. because all these things are found in heaven.  We never have to worry that God desires anything that is contrary to heaven. 

So the next time you pray know that the will of God will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Pray in faith and with confidence.

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What Are You Meditating On?

Posted in The Word on January 3, 2011| Leave a Comment »

This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.  Joshua 1:8

This scripture encourages us to meditate on the word of God every day.  In today’s society it is especially important.  2011 has just begun and most people do not have a good outlook for the year.  I have been reading stories about how the economy will continue to falter, prices are going up, people are without jobs, more people will lose their homes and things will continue to get worse.  Where is the hope?  The News can be quite depressing.

There is a lot of hope in the bible.  So I encourage you to focus on what God is saying and not the people of the world.  Bless someone with a positive word and make their day.  We do not have to participate in a doom and gloom forecast of life.  We don’t have to meditate on the things that destroy but instead we focus on the Word and we build ourselves and others up.

I am always encouraged when I read the bible.  Just one word from God will change my outlook on my day.  When I begin to feel stress and not sure what to do, I turn to the Word and I have always found a word to change my mood for the better.

I hope this word encourages you today.  Meditate on what God is saying and make sure you do what His word says and you will be successful in all that you do.

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Nothing New Under the Sun

Posted in The Word on December 31, 2010| Leave a Comment »

14I know that everything God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it, for God has so worked that men should fear Him. 15That which is has been already and that which will be has already been, for God seeks what has passed by.   Ecclesiastes 3: 14-15

What a year 2010 has been.  I hope you had a wonderful year.  I have seen God do some amazing things and I expect even more in 2011.  I want to wish you a Happy New Year and I pray that you will be more blessed in 2011.  I want to thank all my readers for your support this year and the encouragement so many have given me.

As I reflect back on this year I think how there is really nothing new under the sun as it pertains to life.  There is nothing we ever encounter that has not been experienced by others or the past.  History does have a way of repeating itself.  We can learn from others, even from our past mistakes.  I believe that God really does use our experiences to minister and bless others – this is my heart’s desire.  I am finding more and more that I minister best out of my own experiences when I share with others how God carried me through.

In 2011, my blog will be changing.  My focus will still be on the word of God but I would like to get more personal and show how the word relates to our everyday experiences.  There is a word for every situation and every problem found in the bible.  Many things we experience today were experienced even in biblical times.  Whatever God does remains forever, so what He did for those in the Old Testament, He still does today.  I have been able to always relate a scripture, a person, or a story from the bible to whatever I am going through in the moment.  So I would like to share with you how we can find answers for many of life situations in the bible.

My blog will still be titled “Reflections” but I will reflect more on my own experience and relate a scripture to what I have experienced.  I also encourage comments and questions, and I have opened up my comment section.  You no longer need me to approve your comments; post what you like, but please no profanity.  At some point I will be moving my blog to its own website but will let you know of all the changes.

As we enter 2011 may we learn from 2010; for many 2010 has been challenging, but 2010 was just a preparation for 2011.  We should always look to go from faith to faith and from glory to glory.  Hopefully, your faith is greater now than it was in 2009 and it will be greater still in 2011.  Our best days are still ahead of us.  Tomorrow is a New Day and a New Year, most important God’s mercies will be New.

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