Heal Our Land

Day 80:  2 Chronicles 7–12; Amos 4–6; 1 Peter 1–3

In the days and months following the 9/11/01 attacks by Arab terrorists a verse from 2 Chronicles kept popping up all around town on signs and floating about the Internet.

"If My people who are called by My name humble themselves, pray and seek My face, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land (2 Chr. 7:14)."

Of course this implies a perspective that this attack on America was in part God's doing.  At very least, in the minds of those who hold this view, God allowed the horror to occur to the USA because we as a nation have turned away from God. 

While it may be true that the USA has fallen away from a former adherence to faith in Christ, I don't believe God's covenant with Israel is His covenant with the USA.  The covenant with Israel is passing away because Christ has fulfilled all its requirements.  Non-Jews can choose to live by the former covenant.  There are synagogues all over our great country to join the people of the Law of Moses.  But we have already seen in Hebrews that a greater salvation is now ours through faith in Christ. What humanity was unable to do through the law, are now enabled to do through grace, the working of God's power through the Holy Spirit in us.

Don't misunderstand me.  I am certainly aware that America is not the nation it once was.  Statistics I remember from studying in American Religious History shows that during the Revolutionary years in the late 18th century church attendance was only observed by 10% of the population.  When America had it's major wars, church attendance went up drastically.  Post WW2 marked America's highest church attendance records at near 70% of the population peaking in 1968.  Since then church attendance has declined steadily until now attendance is as lows as 28% with projections for more depletion.

So in point of fact America has never been fully committed to church. We have always been open to other faiths by nature of our laws protecting religious freedom.  We protect the freedom to practice faith as we each desire or no faith at all.  At what level are we bound to God's promise to Solomon at the consecration of the first temple? Does the formula work?  If we are covenant keepers as a nation and repent and make sacrifices to atone for our sins, will God protect America, bless America? 

As Christians the simple understanding of the covenant in Christ's blood is that if we believe in Jesus ans trust in Him as Lord and Savior, we will go to heaven when we die.  This simple understanding has only the responsibility of belief.  Remember James warned us that "faith without works is dead (Jms. 2:26)."

A mature faith in Christ understands that our faith leads to the transformation of our very nature.  The old person ruled helplessly by sin and destined for destruction is transformed through faith in Christ into a new person empowered by grace to live in righteousness.  But this righteousness is at first passive, like the restored righteousness of a sinner who is made clean after a priest offers a sacrifice for him at the temple.  But when he walks away and sins again he needs to go back to the altar and make another sacrifice.  But in Christ the sacrifice has been made once for all.  No more blood needs to be shed.

But the grace given the Christian believer is the same power that gave Christ victory over sin and raised Him from the grave.  There is a new possibility for Christians that was impossible for humanity before this.  Now through grace we have divine power to resist every sinful passion and temptation.  This takes work to train our minds, hearts and bodies to obey the Spirit and find that He is faithful to deliver us from every entanglement.

Like Paul admits, I have not reached the goal or have already been made perfect (Phil. 3:12).  I know that everyone sins. Everyone falls short of God's glory.  And even under grace we are not free from sin's temptation.  We can fail.  My habits of sin are deeply ingrained in my body/spirit system.  But the possibility to find freedom from these sinful habits and patterns of thinking is something we strive for by cooperating with the Spirit within. 

2 Chronicles continues the story of Solomon and succeeding sons of David, the split with Northern Israel under Jeroboam and the drift away from covenant faithfulness.  We have covered this ground before. Much of the narrative is the same as 1 Kings.

Amos uses a repetitive phrase in his next set of confrontations with Israel: "yet you did not return to Me."  Regardless of famine, drought, pestilence, mildew and blight, sickness, and war...no matter what measures God used to correct Israel in hopes to bring them to repentance...Israel would not return to Yahweh worship.  Baal was a lot more interesting to them. 

Woe to those who are at ease in Zion
    and to those who feel secure on the hill of Samaria—
    the notable people in this first of the nations,
    those the house of Israel comes to.

They drink wine by the bowlful
    and anoint themselves with the finest oils
    but do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph.
Therefore, they will now go into exile...(Amo. 1, 6-7a)

I don't need to spell out the parallels with American luxuries and what our society prizes.  But then again, we aren't truly a Christian nation.


Amos wrote searing words to the wealthy women of Israel.

Listen to this message, you cows of Bashan
    who are on the hill of Samaria,
    women who oppress the poor
    and crush the needy,
    who say to their husbands,
    "Bring us something to drink."  
The Lord GOD has sworn by His holiness:
    Look, the days are coming
    when you will be taken away with hooks,
    every last [one] of you with fishhooks.(Amo. 4:1-2)

The image is of wealthy women growing fat on luxury and ease, the pleasures of drinking wine and becoming a bloated cow.  Their wealth is at the expense of caring for the needs of the poor among them.  The very people blessed with the resources to help the needy, spend it on themselves.  Their destruction is announced, but they do not repent.  They ignore the warnings.

The apostle Peter writes his first letter to Christians in the area of modern day Turkey.  Peter refers to Christians as "temporary residents."  We are those who live here on earth for a short time in the eyes of eternity.  We have an eternal home that is waiting for us that is "imperishable, uncorrupted, and unfading (1 Pet. 1:4)."  This mortal life is only a temporary situation.

But some mortals are "set apart" for "obedience" through the new covenant in the blood of Jesus Christ (1 Pet. 1:1-2).

"Therefore, get your minds ready for action, being self-disciplined, and set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires of your former ignorance but, as the One who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct; for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy (1 Pet. 1:13-16)."

From Peter's perspective, the apostle to the Jews, Christians are called to holiness as the Jews before them.  Peter sees that Christians are purified by obedience to the truth of the gospel.  What the gospel has placed in the hearts of believers is "imperishable (1 Pet. 1:23)."  This imperishable seed planted in us by the gospel enables Christian communities to get rid of " all wickedness, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all slander."  But like any seed, it must grow into a fruit bearing plant, that for which it was created.

The community of Christ is a spiritual house, a new temple, made up of living stones who are following the Messiah, the stone rejected by Israel.  Our conduct before others, under the authority of the government where we live, in our homes and in our workplaces, and especially in the church, is to be the same as Jesus' conduct.  His Spirit dwells in us. His grace is given to all who call upon the Lord.

If you are like me, you realize you need to grow up into salvation.  I need more and more to learn how to live under this new reality as a man filled with the grace of God.  Every sinful error is an opportunity to return to the Lord and seek grace to heal, to learn and grow into the holy man He created me to be.

I don't know what America's covenant with God is, but I know mine.  I am a citizen of a better land, the kingdom of heaven.  While I live as a temporary resident in America I will obey its laws, respect its leaders and pray for them as Peter urged the early Christians to do for the Roman Empire.  For this nation of resident aliens, the church of Jesus Christ, is like yeast in the dough.  If we live holy as God is Holy by obeying the Holy Spirit, our communities will changes lives and bless the nation where we live.  It's a very similar calling as Israel's, but it is through a grace empowered life in Christ, where love it the law.

Perhaps if the church practiced obeying God's call to love, to forgive and to make peace; if we lift the burdens of others, and learn to be happy with what we have in rejoicing praise to the Lord; then we might actually be a source of healing on this land.

Lord God, I join others in praying "God bless America."  Help Your church in America to live holy as loving, forgiving, giving and righteous.  Only through the grace of Christ can we pray in hopeful expectation.  Lord Jesus, make us a blessing to Your name and to America and America to the world.Amen