“Their tongue is an arrow shot out; It speaks deceit; One speaks peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth, But in his heart he lies in wait. Shall I not punish them for these things? says the Lord. Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this? ”
~ Jeremiah 9:8-9
Dear Christian Warriors:
In the last few weeks our nation has reeled from deadly disasters: massive hurricanes in Houston, Florida and Puerto Rico; record flooding; devastating wildfires in California burning 6,000 homes, the worst mass shooting in American history and now an ISIS terrorist attack in New York City.
Adding to the shock, calls are now out for “chaos” in 19 cities on November 4th in anticipation of the upcoming Nov 8th anniversary of Election Day 2016.
These national shocks are allowed by the Lord as His Warnings; His Providential Hand has been removed. We are now NOT in right standing with God. He either blesses or curses a person and a nation.
Is there an answer? Yes: personal and national repentance, a “rending of our hearts” starting with you and me. You and I are His People called by His Name, and Judgment begins in the house of God. It’s time for a sacred assembly in our prayer closets, churches AND our public square:
“Now, therefore,” says the Lord, “Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning. So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm. Who knows if He will turn and relent, And leave a blessing behind Him…”
~Joel 2: 12-14
The Risen Christ sees us as His Bride, calling us to be without spot or wrinkle, holy and without blemish (Ephesians 5:27).
He calls us in love to be zealous to repent, to spend time “dining” with Him, to be overcomers and eventually sit with Him on His throne as He overcame and sat down with His Father on His throne (Revelation 3: 19-21).
Like Daniel and Nehemiah it’s time to confess our own sins, the sins of our families and our nation. We all have a long list where we may have been in some way apathetic, tolerant or participants in allowing:
Racism
Pride
Mammon, idolatry
Killing of innocents
Approving of sexual perversions
Competition in the church instead of love and unity
Fear of man instead of fear of God
Removal of God from our public square
Failure to stand by Israel
The good news: Joy and Freedom follow repentance, and none of these sins is a match for the Holy Spirit of Jesus. Each of these sin strongholds can be taken down by His Blood and His Word and His Name. All we have to do is sincerely renounce them, one by one, in our prayer closets, turning away from them forever, thereby blessing the Lord and witnessing to our neighbors by now displaying His fruits of the Holy Spirit. Joy and Freedom!
America’s last official national day of “prayer, fasting and humiliation” was in 1918…99 years ago. No need to wait; He calls us today to humble ourselves before Him, our Covenant God Whose Hand birthed this nation for His glorious eternal plan of Liberty. We have to “turn from our wicked ways” before He will hear from heaven, forgive our sins and heal our land (2 Chronicles 7:14).
Having confessed sin, you and I can then sincerely repent and turn to His Purity, away from the old sin patterns, sometimes there for three or four generations. If we can repent like a David, a Daniel or a Nehemiah the Lord will see clean hands and a contrite heart.
It’s at that point that our prayers—including prayers for confusion in the enemy camp seeking chaos in our nation; and prayers for the Lord to make the battle His own— will be clearly heard in heaven:
“Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
~Luke 21: 36.
Repentance. Praying always. Reading the Bible over the nation. These are key spiritual weapons given lovingly by the Lord for us to use this very day against the enemy.
Join me today in daily repentance, even a simple 5 minutes in your prayer time. Join the Bible Marathon. Let God arise and the enemy be scattered, including these coming days of November where wickedness is being planned throughout this nation.
As we use these weapons He will protect us. The name of the city, the name of this nation will again be “THE LORD IS THERE” (Ezekiel 48: 35).
P.S. The number for the Bible Marathon (now in its 12th month nonstop!) is (712) 770-4340 access code 350430#—every day from midnight to 6 AM EST. Praise God! Join to listen or to read.
PRAYER:
Heavenly Father, in Jesus’ Holy Name:
Abba, please open minds and hearts to Your gift of repentance. Help us to remember Your instructions to repent and to obey You.
Remind us of our Godly roots in this nation and how our Pilgrim forefathers knew how to handle disasters. Needing food, in the midst of a drought, they followed Your Word. On their knees they prayed, they fasted, they repented. With no cloud in the sky they continued to pray and confess their sins to You, repenting. Later that day You sent a single cloud. A soft rain followed. The drought was broken. Your watched Bride now blessed and cleansed.
Today, You see the wickedness in our many churches. There is division; there is pride; there is apostasy, sin is in the camp. Help us, Lord, to confess our sins and then renounce them, sincerely repenting.
Help us to see that often we are blind to our own sins. Give us the courage to confess our sins to each other and to forgive each other, asking You for forgiveness.
Thank You for Your unending Love, calling us to become overcomers.
Unleash a wave of understanding, Lord, as to Your Love of Repentance. Help each of us to seek every day to be holy as You are holy, to be full members of Your Royal Priesthood. We love You, Lord God Almighty.
As we repent and pray, Lord, cause the plans of the enemy to fail. Turn what the enemy sought for evil for Your Good, awakening Your church and strengthening the call for repentance.
In Jesus’ Holy Name, Amen.
