Friday, October 17, 2008

Jeremiah - Warning to our Nation?

Therefore, say to them, "This is the nation that has not obeyed the Lord its God or responded to correction. Truth has perished; it has vanished from their lips. Cut off your hair and throw it away; take up a lament on the barren heights for the Lord has rejected and abandoned this generation that is under his wrath."
~Jeremiah 7:28-29

I've been reading the book of Jeremiah recently. I've only gotten through Chapter 10 so far, but as I read it I keep feeling a heavy burden on my heart to pray for our nation. I can't help but feel the Lord impressing upon my heart that this message given to Jeremiah thousands of year ago for Israel, has meaning for us today.

Now I don't for one minute believe that the U.S. has taken the place of Israel as God's chosen nation, nor do I believe that God has abandoned Israel. So if that thought has popped into your head with my above statements, please let it pop right back out immediately.

The Lord has been putting a burden on my heart though more and more as the elections come closer. I've never thought of myself as an intercessor in anyway, nor have I ever really prayed for the nation, our government or its leaders much. But now I find myself pleading with the Lord each and every day to spare us. To open our eyes to the repentence and turning from our sins that is needed in this nation.

As I read Jeremiah, I truely feel it is a message to our nation that we need to drop the arrogant ego that we have worn for so long. To realize that we are not "all that" and that we are not in control. Only God is in control. If we don't repent, fall on our faces in prayer to Him and turn from our sinful ways, this nation will fall. It will become only a memory in the pages of some dusty history book. I know this sounds harsh and maybe a bit doomsday-ish, but I'm sure that is what all the other powerful nations throughout history thought too just before they crumbled.

We have let so much sin continue un-checked in our lives in the name of tolerance and politcal correctness. I don't condone going around judging everyone else or hating others. God has instructed us to love one another. But each of us needs to truely examine our hearts. Ask God to reveal where we have let things into our lives which go against His Word in order to "get along" with others.

As a people we have chosen to believe that we are in control and we have chosen to follow our own paths instead of following the path that the Lord has for us. We are beligerant children, thinking we know what is best, following our own paths which only lead to destruction. Only God knows the True Way and lead us in what is best for us.

There are so many verses in the first 10 chapters of Jeremiah that jump out at me as I read and as I start to intercede for our nation. However, the one above is what I feel the Lord prompting me to share at this moment. I encourage you to read Jeremiah if you are able, ask the Lord to open your eyes to the areas in your life where you've compromised His Truth. But be ready, because if you ask He will show it to you. Take it from me, I can personally tell you it is not pretty.

Please intercede on behalf of this nation, please repent for yourself and this nation and ask the Lord for mercy and grace. I'm calling everyone to prayer, repentance and intercession in these next few weeks. Remember, no matter what happens, the Lord is in control!

1 comment:

Carla said...

Praying with you for our nation, our leaders and this election.