“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.”
2 Chronicles 7:14 KJV
This verse is a promise from our Heavenly Father. However like so many of His promises, it comes with conditions.
The Promise
Father God will hear us, forgive us, and heal our land.
The Conditions
We must humble ourselves.
We must pray.
We must seek His face.
We must turn from our wicked ways.
Bottom line, we must repent. We need to repent as both individuals and as a country.
Individually, are we guilty of pride and arrogance? Are we guilty of fear and worry? Are we holding a grudge or grudges, making us guilty of unforgiveness? What about greed or gluttony? Are we apathetic? Have our hearts grown cold while our minds and bodies are weary? Each of us must search our own hearts and ask for forgiveness for the faults we find there.
As a country, we are guilty of so many sins against God. Even if we don’t agree or support the sinful policies, we are citizens of this country and will reap the deadly harvest from the poisonous seeds planted over the years. We will reap this harvest unless our country repents.
One of the clearest mandates from God is to bless His chosen people, Israel. God will bless those who bless Israel and curse those who don’t. Depending on its leaders, America has gone both ways. Currently, her president and his administration are supported by those who not only don’t want to bless Israel, they want to see Israel destroyed.
Genesis 12:3 NLT
“I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”
Satan is sneaky. He has had thousands of years to perfect his lies since he first deceived Eve in the Garden of Eden. The devil even turns “welfare” and “benefit” programs against God. Our country has been guilty of destroying families for many years, especially in the Black community through programs disguised as “assistance”.
Christians must stand up and speak out against the policies of our country that do not line up in agreement with God’s Word. For many Christians, this is extremely hard to do. We love people and hesitate to speak out against sin for fear of hurting others’ feelings. We also do not want people to turn on us with anger for what we believe. In the long run, we are putting ourselves first when we fail to speak out and it’s sad that we hesitate. In other countries, people standing up for God and the Bible are paying with their lives and the lives of their loved ones. In the United States, we only need be concerned with our reputations.
What are some of our national sins?
We began a dangerous journey when, as a country, we allowed God to be removed from our educational system, our courthouse, statehouses, capitol, and public squares. This led to failing to give God credit for America’s growth and success and now to teaching our children that, from the beginning, America and her people are bad.
Devaluing God’s gift to us – our very lives and those of our children, is also a national sin that has led to so many more. Abortion is probably the biggest example of this. There are many verses expressing God’s views on this. Perhaps the most explicit is in Proverbs where it is included among the things God hates.
Proverbs 6:16-19 KJV
“There are six things doth the Lord hate: Yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, a false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth disclord among brethren.”
Proverbs 6:16-19 NLT
“There are six things the Lord hates – no, seven things He detests: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent, a heart that plots evil, feet that race to do wrong, a false witness who pours out lies, a person who sows discord in a family.”
There is saying that what one generation tolerates, the next will glorify. Our country is proving that now with the LGBTQ agenda. God is very clear about His stance on this subject. All you have to do to know this is read the first chapter of Romans. This is a hard subject for many Christians on which to be vocal. Many hesitate to speak out because they don’t want to hurt feelings of people they care about. This is truly one of those times where it can be said the sin is hated, but not those living in the sin.
Beginning in Romans 1:18, the anger of God at the wickedness of people is discussed. Homosexuality is brought to the forefront starting in the 26th verse.
Romans 1:18-20 NLT
“But God shows His anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. They know the truth about God because He has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see His invisible qualities – His eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.”
Romans 1:21-23 NLT
“Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship Him as God or even give Him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead because utter fools. And instead of worshiping the glorious everliving God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.”
Romans 1:24-27 NLT
“So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved.”
Romans 1:28-32 NLT
“Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, He abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. Their lives because full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.”
The above scripture talks about time where evil reigns. Christians are once again warned about this period of time in 2 Timothy.
2 Timothy 3: 1-5 NLT
“You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make the godly. Stay away from people like that!”
2 Timothy 3: 6-9 NLT
“They are the kind who work their way into people’s homes and win the confidence of vulnerable women who are burdened with the guilt of sin and controlled by various desires. (Such women are forever following new teachings, but they are never able to understand the truth.) These teachers oppose the truth just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses. They have depraved minds and a counterfeit faith. But they won’t get away with this for long. Someday everyone will recognize what fools they are, just as with Jannes and Jambres.”
Does any of this sound familiar? From the passages in Romans to Paul’s letter to Timothy, these scriptures are describing what is currently happening today in the United States of America.
We, as a country, have turned away from the foundations that have always kept America strong – God and His Word, the Bible; and our Constitution. Christians can’t force our beliefs on others, but we must stand strong against the devil and what he has brought to our nation. If God hates sin, we must also hate sin and turn from it and our acceptance of sin in our society. We are told what to do in Ephesians.
Ephesians 5:1-20 NLT
“Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are His dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God. Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people. Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes – these are not for you. Instead, let there be thankfulness to God. You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God. For a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. Don’t be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the anger of God will fall on all who disobey Him. Don’t participate in the things these people do. For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true. Carefully determine what pleases the Lord. Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them. It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret. But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on the, for the light makes everything visible. This is why it is said, ‘Awake, o sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light.’ So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
