Discipleship: Judea and Samaria - If My People ...

I finished last day's post talking (and praying) about prayer, and I keep coming back to the 2 Chronicles 7:14 promise “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 will forgive their sin and heal their land.” I saw again from the testimony of the two “Transformations” videos I mentioned the part that prayer and fasting played in the transformation of towns and cities. So this is the “pray and seek” Your fact part of what we need to do. The other things was the unity of the church, and our disunity and empire building are things of which we need to repent. In terms of humbling ourselves, we need to confess the part pride of being right, has played in keeping us separate.

So Father, right here and now I confess my own sin and the sin of Your people in the way we have looked down on others, who don't see things the way that we do. We confess Lord and turn from our wicked ways in allowing doctrinal differences to separate us in areas outside of a reasonable set of non-negotiable essentials (see 22 September). We also confess Father, that we have been more interested in building up our own ministries, than building the Kingdom. And we repent in Jesus Name.

Kris Volloton pointed out recently, what I had not seen before, and that is that the nations as well as individuals, will be judged. In Matthew 25:31-44 Jesus tells that the nations that will be separated into sheep nations and goat nations. It is very clear from Scripture that we will be held accountable for what we do as individuals after we have received salvation (2 Corinthians 5:8-10, 1 Corinthians 3:9-15). But as Kris points out, the Matthew passage makes it clear that we also have a cooperate responsibility for our nation. And so what exactly are the things that the Lord will hold against the goat nations? Well Jesus tells us “I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me,” and “inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me’ (verses 42, 43, 45). We need to ask ourselves how we have dealt with the marginalized in our communities, with the aboriginal people, and with those in prison etc., etc. Not everyone is equipped for prison ministry but we can certainly support prayerfully and financially those who do. And the after care of prisoners is abysmal!

Father, we confess that we have failed to be salt and light in our culture. We have allowed ourselves to be cowed into silence by the fierce opposition to the gospel, and to our values. We have criticized the extreme Left for its dealing with the marginalized, but we have done little  to correct historical injustices. We have condemned abortion, but have done little to help those who are in trouble through unwanted pregnancies. We repent Lord forgive us, show us what to do, and give us the wherewithal to do it. Without Your help and wisdom Lord the problems are intractable, so please Lord heal our land, in Jesus Name Amen.