If My People

If my people, which are called by my name, shall 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.

We have had a very long dry spell, with no rain or snow to speak of for a couple of months at least, so I was happy to hear the forecast of snow. I had prayed for rain or snow a few times but not desperately, but I was thinking of how God shows Himself through such things. Into my head popped 11 Chronicles 7:14, so I read it and the verse before and the one after.

I thought, "There's more to it than this one verse!" The verse just before says, "If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people"

I'm pretty sure that was no coincidence, since I had just been contemplating the dry weather.

Good lesson, right? Except that I hadn't quite got what God wanted to show me.

The next time I picked up my Bible, I turned to that scripture again and this time I read the entire chapter. This word came from God after the dedication of Solomon's Temple. It dawned on me that we need to take this in the context that we are now the Temple (1 Corinthians 3:16). What he promised and warned Israel at the dedication of Solomon's Temple holds true to His temple today.

Interesting! Good revelation.

I went to bed early and woke up about an hour later with that verse on my mind. As I went through it in my mind, God emphasized "WHICH ARE CALLED BY MY NAME." That means us, fellow Christians. Of course. Don't we always think that, preach that, pray that? We, who are called by His name should humble ourselves and pray... oh, wait.

Yes, we get that far. And then we go off into this "Pray for our nation" thing, which is not at all what the verse says. It says that if we will humble ourselves and pray, and take the time to really seek God's face AND turn from our wicked ways, then He will forgive our sin and heal our land.

There is sin in the church today. There is sin in the body of Christ, in His temple. This is what must be dealt with. This is what God is saying. First, we must examine ourselves and we must allow God to examine us and then we must sincerely repent of our sins.

That doesn't happen overnight. Some things we have to struggle with, but when we have truly repented (turned completely away from our sin), then God will heal our land and not from a lack of rain. We know what needs to be healed. 

It's a promise. So while you're praying for yourself, pray sincerely for others in the body of Christ, not with an arrogant spirit, but humbly with a heart willing to bear another's burdens.

Prophets of God

Something has been bothering me lately. I've been reading a little in  the minor prophets and noticing a distinct difference between that time and now.

There have been no definitive prophetic voices lately; at least any that I have heard.

I remember reading David Wilkerson's "The Vision" many years ago. The things he described seemed so impossible that they would take a very long time to come to pass, but now... most of them have come to pass.

It can easily been seen in our society and it's disturbing. God gave us a word that we don't seem to have been impressed with.

If you haven't read "The Vision," or if it's been a long time, read it. It's out of print, but it's still easy to find second hand copies on Amazon.com and other places.

God doesn't do anything without telling his prophets first, so I wonder where they are and why I am not hearing them.

The other world

There is a whole world we do not know
A world not chained to time and earth.

How easily we forget.

The hour is coming

I am only just now realizing the extent of the ugly world we live in. Ugly, as in filled with hatred, retaliation, selfishness and narrow mindedness.

Politics has become even dirtier, even more controlling. People are manipulated and don't seem to realize it. There are those who are not content to disagree, but have to disagree violently and hurtfully.

There was a time when the United States was, while not perfect, still in a time of innocense. Yes, government personas lied to us, but not wholesale. Yes, there were racial problems, but not brash calls for murder. Yes, there have always been those who call good evil and evil, good, but it has never been pushed down the throats of the citizenry the way it is now.

Should I have known? Yes. I should have seen it before now, but it's worse now than ever. Not only are anger, frustration and violence every day facts of life, we are becoming numb to crudity. That's putting it mildly, as they say.

Not long ago, we were asking, "Whatever happened to being polite?" That seems trite now. We have advanced long past the "not being polite" stage.

The "evolution" of a society, if you will.

Maybe it's due to our poisoned food and water or maybe it's due to a lack of real challenge or maybe it's because we have denied God in our daily public life.

Sure, we allowed prayer to be taken from schoools, but that's just a small part of it. Now, although it's supposedly not against the law, kids are kicked out of school for wearing symbols of Christianity. Papers that speak of Jesus get a failing grade. Professors speak brashly against Jesus. The Ten Commandments have been removed from many places.

And what have we got? Angry people chanting death to police, bombs blowing up homes and businesses, media lies and insinuations, the disappearance of journalism, a hacker's group trying to destroy a politician because they disagree with him, name calling from "professional" people.

Hate speech is okay as long as it's not directed toward gays, blacks or Muslims.

The hour is coming, world. You will cash in on everything you have said and done, bad or good. It's coming sooner than you think.

This is freedom

When we wholeheartedly give ourselves to Jesus, when we are ready to do whatever He asks no matter the cost, when we let go of our own wants and wishes and "needs" then we are free.

We are not part of this world. We have been taught by our societies that to want more, to do more, to work harder, to get more is what it's all about. It isn't.

When we are completely immersed in Christ, our more is guaranteed, without anxiety and worry and fear. We are free from all of that.

And what freedom that is! Not that I am there, but every step takes me closer.

Facing Temptation

First, realize that nothing that tempts you is anything new. People have always been tempted by that same thing.

God is always available to help you, though. Always.

And He won't allow any temptation to be stronger than you can resist. He says so. It may not seem like it, but He says it's true. There may be times when it seems impossible to resist, but it's not.

When we are tempted God will give us a way out of it so that we don't have to give in to it. He promised!

1 Corinthians 10:13

Be careful of what you think

Every time I come across something like this, I can't help but stop and thank God for His wisdom. He told us first, but finally, scientists are figuring it out. We are what we think.

Imagination itself can produce brain changes. Be careful about what you think, because the mere act of thinking about an action has been shown to produce the same brain changes as actually performing it. 
- Neuroplasticity Redefines Our Understanding of the Brain

Does that strike you the way it did me?

But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. Matthew 5:28 KJV

For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he
Proverbs 23:7 KJV