A Nation in Crisis

 

             

If my people, which 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

 Sometimes choices are hard. Sometimes we make the wrong choice. Sometimes we don't fully understand the choice until it's too late to change the choice. But God is the Great Forgiver and Lover of our souls. 

When I began to keep chickens, I wanted to raise my own flock. I didn't know how to keep my hens from laying with my setting hen. I hated wasting eggs, so I attempted to sort them without candling them (looking inside with a light through the shell.) One day I cracked an egg into a bowl and there lay a yolk with a few arteries stretching across it with a tiny heart beating.

Oh no. What had I done? I couldn't put it back in the shell. I couldn't keep it warm, and I couldn't throw it in the trash. It was alive and dying before my eyes. Over the next 20 minutes, I watched the heartbeat slow as the egg cooled down to room temperature. I tried to walk away but I always returned to check on it, wishing it to live, knowing it would die. I had made the wrong choice. Finally, the little heart beat no longer. I slid it into the trash, my heart broken.

Read the verse again, please. If my people, that's Christians. Aren't we God's people?

Shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face. Why? 

It sounds like there must be something there that needs repentance. What have we done? What are we allowing? Are we sitting idly by while children are being murdered in the womb? Maybe they are being murdered before they even make it to their mother's womb.

When does life begin? My friend had trouble conceiving so she and her husband turned to in-vitro fertilization. The fertilized egg was implanted in her womb. Was the fertilized egg alive? Sure, or it would not have embedded itself in the womb. It would not have grown into a beautiful little girl. There had to have been life there. How many people today would never think of going to an abortion clinic but they prevent the embedding of a fertilized live baby from implanting itself in his/her mother's womb? 

Brothers and Sisters in Christ, this is hard to write but it is necessary if we want to see our families, our churches, and our nation healed. We can't pretend this is not happening even in our own churches. I know it is. But what does the Lord say?

and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

 We are not without hope only if we choose to be.

This Sunday our local crisis pregnancy center is sponsoring a Life Chain on Reidville Rd. 

Would you be willing to research your Crisis Pregnancy Center to find out what you can do to help families? 

Heavenly Father, help us see the opportunities to serve others in crisis and find ways to serve. Help us see the opportunities to share the gospel with others and seize those opportunities to plant the seeds of salvation. In Jesus's name. Amen.

Hey Kids:

Are you looking for ways to serve others? 

It really isn't that hard if our eyes and ears are open. 

Many schools have a special friend bench on their playground. When a student doesn't have someone to play with, they sit on the bench. Then someone can invite them to play. 

Learning to see the needs of others is important in our walk with the Lord. 

How can you watch for opportunities to serve others and make them feel welcomed and wanted?