A Church with a Heart for our Community

November 20th Thursday

Greetings in the name of the One who is greater in me than he that is in the world, Jesus Christ – THE Crucified and Risen Saviour! Wow! what a change in the landscape of our world and it reveals so much of the beauty of the Creator. I trust that you are safe and warm and able to come and go as you need to. I will be praying for you today, asking Father to touch your body-mind-spirit with his healing/restoring touch.

“Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool…”  Isaiah 1:18  NIV. As I looked out the window this morning that was the verse that came into my thoughts. This verse is often used on a personal, individualistic way, but the context is that the LORD is addressing the nations – all the people. So, with all the snow that has fallen…there must be much ‘red as scarlet’ to cover-up and be transformed into ‘white as now/wool.’ Of course, there is…terrorist attacks, war crimes, human trafficking, oppression of morality, corrupt leaders, gossip, slander, cheating, lying, manipulating, and the list goes on. Our world, our country-province-city-community, our churches, our families, and ourselves are in much trouble. It is no small or insignificant thing that there are within the Christian community that are crying out for – “REVIVAL!”

So the instruction of the LORD is timeless: “…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…”  2 Chronicles 7:14  NIV. Again, this is directed at the nations, but the initial charge is to the people who call themselves believers in God…I suppose that God is suggesting that He can change the world through his people. His people who would humble themselves and give up the attitudes of judgementalism and pride and self-centredness and self-promotion. His people who would pray and not gossip, slander, give advice, and wonder what they can do. His people who would seek His face and not live behind their masks, looking in the mirror, caught up in their own image. His people who would turn from their wicked ways and thought patterns and attitudes and words…and REPENT!

I think that it is important that this verse – this direction from God is written in the “now”, the present tense. It wasn’t about a history lesson from the past or a promissory note for a future redemption. This all can happen…and is in many corners of our world…right now. In the context of the passage, God is calling Solomon to a recently completed temple. I believe God wants the “healing of our land” to begin within the faith gathering-places…it could be Tim Horton’s or a local eatery. However, there is still a temple on earth where God wants to reveal His face…“…don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and God’s Spirit lives in you?…”  1 Corinthians 3:16  NIV – I am reminded this morning that God wants to come to me, His temple, to reason with me and to cover my repented-of sins with Himself.

Be blessed!