Four Years From Right Now

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 I will forgive their sin and I will heal their land. — 2 Chronicles 7:14

So, here it is…4 in the morning.  I couldn’t help but reach for the iPad.  I knew that America had already chosen their president for the next 4 years.  I found out…my heart sank.  For the first time I think ever, I am afraid to live in the land of the free and the home of the brave.  I don’t know if I’m afraid for me, my kids, or their kids.  I’m not even sure I’m afraid simply because of the leader that we chose for the next four years.  Who is to say that WHOEVER got into the White House that the 16 TRILLION now would not become 32 TRILLION by 2016? Maybe I’m afraid because Americans are so perfectly divided…just look at the popular vote. I wonder how perfectly divided we were 151 years ago when the first shots of the Civil War were fired?  I don’t know.  All I know is that CHANGE is definitely here!  Half of America seems to like it…the other half does not.  Where will we be four years from right now?    I don’t know that either…but I do know the solution.

Check out the main verse for today.  Who has to humble themselves, pray, seek God’s face and turn from their wicked ways?  God’s people!  The only people who have to do these things are the people who call themselves Christians.  The atheists, agnostics, other religions and flat out God-haters can keep on doing and believing exactly as they want.  However, if you take the name of Christ and call yourself a CHRISTian, there are some things we must do and do immediately.  Let’s look at them.

Humble yourself:  When is the last time you knelt before God and thanked Him for the cross?  Forgiveness of sin is impossible without the cross.  Heaven is a place that nobody can enter without the cross.  Sin is impossible to overcome without the cross.  This morning, I just want to humble myself and increase the size of God, and decrease the size of myself.  Probably the worst thing sin does is make us look big, and Him small.  Humble yourself and see Him as the holy, majestic, mighty God that He is, but make sure you see yourself as the “vapor that appears for a little while, then vanishes away.” (James 4:14)

Pray and seek His face:  When is the last time that you went before God?  Just you and Him.  Nobody around.  When is the last time you poured your heart out to Him?  When is the last time you felt His mighty presence and just sat there and cried because you feel that gap  being bridged between your sinfulness and His Holiness?  When is the last time that you just listened for His still soft whisper in silence on your knees?  When is the last time that you examined your heart and mind to see if there is anything in there that displeases Him?  I don’t know.  But, if you call yourself a Christian, today would be a perfect day.

Turn from their wicked ways:  What do you do that displeases God?  What do you listen to?  What do you watch?  What are you constantly pumping your mind with?  Please understand…if you don’t say you are a Christian, watch what you want and by all means, DO what you want!  But we as Christians are to worship the Lord our God with ALL our hearts, ALL our soul, ALL our MINDS, and all our strength.  If you honestly don’t know where to start…start here:

Search me O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.  — Psalm 139:24

Why do all this?

Do this because of the PROMISE!

Then, I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and I will heal their land.  — 2 Chronicles 7:14

I have seen this happen on a much smaller scale.  Four years ago, 3 other teachers and myself went into a classroom early in the morning on a Wednesday.  Our school was in about as bad of shape as possible.  Test scores were horrendous, attitudes were horrible, teachers were leaving after 1 year, and people from the state were evaluating us to see what our problems were.  The four of us in that room decided that since we called ourselves Christians, that we would work like we are working for the Lord.  We decided that it didn’t matter what other teachers did.  It only mattered what we as people who called ourselves Christians did.  I can honestly say that whereas I used to HATE going into work, there is no place I’d rather go to work this morning than my little tiny school in Salem, SC.  God did hear from heaven, He did forgive our sin, and He did start this beautiful process of healing our school.

If you say you are a Christian, will you do your part to make sure the same thing happens in The United States of America?

Later

Adam