 2Chronicles 7:14 "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 will I hear from heaven and forgive their sin and will heal their land."
Solomon built a temple for the Lord. He wanted to consecrate it to the glory of God. The Lord wanted to remind him that the responsibility of keeping the presence of the Lord in the temple rested wholly on the obedience and faithfulness of the people. God was not speaking to the secular world around Jerusalem. He was speaking to His own people. He required His people to remain His people. He warned the people of the cost of worshiping other gods and falling away from worshiping the one true God. There is no difference in the conditional promise today. We, God's people have wandered after other gods also. Jehovah is not speaking to the atheists or agnostics. He is speaking to those of us that call on His name. He is talking to the ones that have their name written in the Book of Life. He is calling His people to repentance. He is calling His chosen generation, His royal priesthood, to confess, repent and return to Him. Our nation is ripe for a revival. But that revival must begin with us. We must be willing to stand before our Holy God and ask Him where we have failed. He is compassionate and merciful. If God's people will repent and fast and pray, God will honor our request and heal our land. He will bring a revival, first to His people and then to the whole nation. We are so busy trying to justify the compromises we have made, we have forgotten who is Truth. We have set aside the infallible word of God and now do what is right in our own eyes. That has not changed since the days of Genesis. God will honor our prayers if we are earnest and hunger after His righteousness. He will bring a flood of revival to this land that is thirsting after the Living Water. He is yearning for His people to cry out to Him and then listen for His guidance.
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 Matthew 26:39 Going a little farther, He fell with His face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as You will."
When Jesus and His Father made a plan of redemption before time began, He knew what it would cost Him to pay the cost of our sins, yet He chose to do it. He came face to face with the final hours of His earthly life and now faced the trial ahead of Him head on. He had come to the time of betrayal and arrest. He knew far better than we do what lay ahead of Him. He grew up with the Roman method of crucifixion. Jesus faced the coming hours with deep sorrow and begged His Heavenly Father to take away the cup of sacrifice. He chose to drink of that cup out of love for us. He went a little farther out of love and obedience. Many in the Bible have gone a little farther. Zacchaeus climbed a tree to see the Lord. He went a little farther so that He could see Jesus. The woman with an issue of blood should never been in that crowd. She was ceremonially unclean, yet she went a little farther hoping for healing. Bartimaeus cried out for healing despite many telling him to be quiet. He stood against the crowd hoping for the return of his sight. The woman who anointed the feet of Jesus went a little farther. She faced the criticism and verbal abuse of the crowd so that she could give a love offering to the Lord. She was immortalized for her gift to Jesus. It is very difficult to step out in faith on the path of obedience. When we feel we have hit a wall of frustration and insecurity, Jesus is asking us to go a little farther. He is asking us to take one more step and trust that He is leading us where He wants us to go. When the priests carried the Ark into the promised land, they first had to step into the raging river before the Lord dried up the river before them. The river was in flood stage but they put their feet in the water, trusting God to help them cross safely. (Joshua 3:14-17) God is not asking us to go forth blindly. He is asking us to go forth in faith and in prayer.  Colossians 3:13,14 Hebrews 12:15 Matt 6:14 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love which binds them all together in perfect unity. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly father will also forgive you.
We, as Christians, are required to forgive as we have been forgiven by our Heavenly Father. We are told that when we have been forgiven, God sends our transgressions as far as the east is from the west. We know that He will not remind us of forgiven sins. That is the way of the enemy. Many of us have a habit of saying we forgive but we keep a list in mind to bring up when we need ammunition during an argument. While it is almost impossible to completely forget, we can remind ourselves of the forgiveness given. There is no sin greater than the Lord's ability to forgive. If we look at the larger picture, eternity versus now, the grievances we embrace don't seem quite as bad. I heard a speaker say that someone who holds a grudge is like a man that drinks poison and waits for the other person to die. Holding a grudge causes real physical diseases such as high blood pressure and depression. Forgiveness, however, brings peace. Praying for the one that hurt us and being willing to treat that person with courtesy can bring a deep peace in your spirit. Bearing with one another means not yelling at that driver that cut you off. It means answering the same questions from our kids over and over and over. It means when your spouse forgets something, you don't hold onto the resentment. It means, above all, giving grace to the brother or sister who is less skilled at a task but wants to serve the Lord in that way. Showing them patience leaves them feeling less judged and more loved. Having been on both sides of this scenario, I know the value of patience and compassion. Jesus Christ forgave all of our sins. He doesn't rub our noses in our mistakes. He just holds His arms out to us and offers a place of acceptance and second chances. His love has covered many sins, both hidden and open. He is asking us to do the same in His name.  Ephesians 2:10 1Peter 1:7 2 Peter 3:14 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. These have come so that your faith- of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire- may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. So, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with Him.
When we, God's chosen, begin our walk as children of the Most High God, we begin a journey from infants in the faith to mature Christians. We learn, after much tumbles and landing on our fannies, to being able to walk and even run in faith toward the goal of heaven. We don't know what struggles and trials are before us. We do, however, know the ultimate destination. We are assured of a heavenly home when our training is completed. When soldiers first arrive at boot camp, they are taught to follow orders. They are pushed, sometimes far beyond what they feel they can do. They are taught how to march, stand in line for hours and how to obey commands for the good of the unit. In the beginning, they may not understand the why of the orders but they learn to trust in their leadership and fellow soldiers. As Christians, we also must learn to follow order. We must learn to wait on the Lord and follow Christ even when the path ahead is confusing and hard to understand. The ways of the Lord are far beyond our ability to understand but He has a plan for us. He has a goal for us to achieve. We have been given the task of occupying the war-torn world ruled by Satan. Occupying troops can never let down their guard against the efforts of the enemy to destroy God's anointed. 'For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.' (Eph 6:12) The reference goes on to tell us to put on the full armor of God. All of the armor, except the sword is defensive. As we embrace the difficulties of boot camp, we become more and more like Jesus. We find trusting Him easier with each trial and struggle we endure. We become more than conquers, we become residents of heaven.  1Samuel 16:7b "The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart".
Samuel went to Jesse to anoint one of his sons as king over Israel. Samuel was surprised that the Lord did not choose the oldest or smartest. The Lord chose the one whose heart was for the Lord and His will in his life. We see things through the eyes of flawed human understanding. We can't see the true heart of a person. We look at their family connections or finances or even their charisma. The Lord looks at the motivation behind their actions. We look at ourselves and think God can't use us because of things we have done or not done. We think God can't use someone who isn't pretty or handsome or extra smart. Jesus was noted to have nothing about His appearance to attract people yet He brought salvation to the world. God used a man that was a womanizer and had anger management issues. He called David 'a man after God's own heart.' God used a man whose main goal was to destroy all the early Christians because they followed a Man Who fought against the hypocrisy of the Jewish leadership. Paul became a great evangelist. Jesus changed a man from being impetuous and foolhardy into the leader of the early Church. We have all been given gifts that we are to use to expand the Kingdom and glorify the Lord. God did not make a mistake about the gifts He gave us. He knew us before we were formed in our mother's womb. He had a plan for us from the beginning. Some are gifted to be speakers, teachers, janitors, leaders. No matter what gift we are given, we are expected to use that gift. Some have many gifts and lots of talent. Others of us have small gifts and a little talent. But we are expected to utilize what we have. No matter what the gift, using it the best we can is a gift back to the Lord. It is part of our worship of the Lord. A very old book called "Practicing the Presence of the God" tells of a priest that scrubbed floors and took great delight in offering that to the Lord. He sang and praised God while doing the work. I am sure after his death, God welcomed him with praise and delight. |
AuthorPlease join us as we grow in Christ through our weekly devotions, written by Catherine Donaldson 
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