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Photo by Ikiwaner
Does anybody here remember President Jimmy Carter? Talk about inflation and high interest---wow, those were the days.
And, considering those days, some comments I have seen recently on blogs make me wonder why so many people seem to have forgotten those days and locked in, instead, on the presidency of George W. Bush and to anything remotely connected with Republicans.
There seems to be a tendency these days to link everything bad that ever has or is now happening in our country to our former President G. W. Bush, giving a number of examples of greedy and uncaring people and leaving us to assume that all of these people were Republicans. Were they? If so, my Republican friends must be unusual--they are loving, caring, giving people.
I have lived a long time and I can assure you that greed is not limited to Republicans or to Democrats.
I meet people all the time who, seem to think that President George W. Bush is to blame for everything that has happened for the last 40 years---except the good things, of course. When I remind them that the Democratic Party has been in charge for several years now, and things have grown steadily worse, they just blink and mumble something about it still being Bush's fault.
Kind of reminds me of a reference in the Bible when someone mentioned where Jesus came from and the reply was, "Can anything good come out of Galilee? An attempt today seems to be underway to get people to ask, "Can anything good come from a Republican?"
I am so tired of people equating Republicans with bad and Democrats with good. It really makes me sad when I see so many people being fed that kind of garbage. Garbage often served by the same people who put down Christianity, (while championing religious rights for Muslins, Buddists, Scientologists, etc.), who put down those who want to see abortion stopped, who put down those who want to see immigration laws strictly enforced, who put down those who don't want homosexuality and same sex marriage promoted in our schools, and who put down those who want to see our leaders stand up for what is right instead of always straddling the fence to avoid offending anyone.
They love to tack names like "Holier than thou, right wing, Bible thumping Christian" onto all Republicans when being a Republican has very little to do with whether you are Christian or not. In fact, many Republicans I have met are not Christians nor do they claim to be.
And, while I am still on my soapbox, I would like to say that I am also tired of some of the high ranking Democrats replying to any Republican who dares to express an opinion, "We won!"
What a childish reaction. Last time I looked, our government was supposed to be run by all those in power--not just by the party that happens to have the majority at any given time. (Or did we elect a king when I wasn't looking?)
God Has A Plan For Us.
"If my people, who 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." (II Chronicles 7:14)KJV
Is the answer to all our problems really that simple? That is what the Bible says. If God's people," He's talking to us, folks, "humble themselves, and pray, and stop doing wicked things," they can count on His promise to not only hear their prayers, but to forgive their sin, and to heal their land.
Unfortunately, the solution sounds simple, but, in reality, it will take more than just a brief acknowledgement of sin. It will require a total commitment of Christians to bring about the healing the Lord promises in that verse.
First, we have to humble ourselves. Ouch. Most people, Americans especially, have been raised with the admonition not to let anyone push them around. Real humility is not a quick bowing of the head to pray, but an earnest delving into ourselves to find and weed out things that keep us from being humble. Things like pride, greed, and arrogance.
There is a big difference between pride and being proud of an accomplishment. Pride, according to Webster, is an inordinate self-esteem which often leads to conceit. Those who are filled with pride are unlikely to ever seek God's will in either their own lives, or in world conditions. Being proud of an accomplishment is not such a bad thing, unless we allow it to grow out of proportion until we become proud of ourselves rather than proud of the accomplishment, but self-centeredness and conceit is.
Secondly in God's formula for healing our land, we need to pray. It is so easy, in today's fast-paced society, to relegate prayers to whatever free time, if any, we have left at the end of a busy day. God expects us to make prayer a real priority; to make it a time of letting Him show us sin in our lives that should be eliminated.
That's right, He expects those of us who are serious about receiving healing for our land to turn from our wicked ways. No cutting down on them, or making excuses for them, or explaining them away. We are to TURN AWAY from them.
Most of us start out determined to do what God so plainly tells us to do, until He points out one of our pet sins. Like being addicted to soap operas, or over-eating, or letting anger get the best of us. He may point out different sins to one person than He does to another. What is sin to me might not be sinful for you, or vice versa. Just remember, if God shows either of us that some-thing is sin, that thing needs to go.
Now, after fulfilling God's conditions, and only now, are we in a position to claim the promise found in II Chronicles 7:14. IF we have truly humbled ourselves; IF we have prayed expectantly, and IF we have turned from our wicked ways, it is time for us to sit back and watch a miracle; the forgiveness of our sin and the healing of our land.
