Reflections From Sunday Evening

Today we shared that 7:14 was a reference to 2 Chronicles 7:14. "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 forgive their sin and heal their land." Our emphasis between now and "election day" will be praying. We are praying for our nation. The insight today focused on something to consider when we read the Bible. We were encouraged to search for "timeless principles" as opposed to "contextual promises." The "if my people" text is a contextual promise. Israel was promised that when times went bad and they prayed in repentance God would hear, forgive and heal their land. We should not try to emulate Israel. Rather we search for the timeless principle in the message. It is a timeless truth that when we pray God always Hears. When we seek forgiveness God always Forgives. When we ask God always Restores or Heals relationships. This is our prayer for our nation. We are putting this to practice this week. Between now and election day we will be gathering in our sancturay each morning at 7:14 A.M. to pray for our country. If you can't be physically present please join us to pray. On election day we will have a 13 hour pray vigil. (Polls open from 6:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M.) People will sign up to take a 30 minute slot through the day. When the polls close we will gather for a Praise service. We do this because frankly we are not praying for our candidate, party or cause but rather we are seeking the Lord. So we focus on God rather than the outcome of an election. As people pray we become part of something larger than ourselves. When we pray and commit ourselves to a Christ honoring, Spirit-filled life we contribute to greater matters. You contribute to renewal in your family, community, church and nation. I encourage you to join in prayer. God will hear, forgive and heal. It's been a good day. I hope you've had a good day too. steve