 |
| There will be lots of American flags and patriotic speeches at these upcoming D.C. gatherings. |
One of the key planners, Messianic believer Jonathan Cahn, is calling for a ten-day period of fasting and penitence from the day of the Jewish Feast of Trumpets, September 18, to the Day of Atonement, September 28, and culminating in mass meetings at the National Mall Friday evening and Saturday September 25-26.
Franklin Graham will address the crowd gathered for the 2020 Prayer March occurring during the 12-2 pm time period on Saturday.
Judging by the content of their respective websites, one clear message will be that voting for Republicans this November may be our last and best hope for saving the nation from God's certain judgment.
I share everyone's deep concerns for the repentance and healing of the nation, but rather than an appeal to patriotism and a call to return to a greatness of the past, what if we had an event that would call us to celebrate and demonstrate the greatness of God's future reign? After all, this international, eternal and heaven-governed kingdom, announced by Jesus, is already present wherever people pledge their allegiance to Jesus as Lord.
So here is what I wish could be affirmed at a national gathering like this:
We are here to pray not only for our own governmental leaders, but for "all in positions of authority" around the globe, so that all believers and people of goodwill everywhere can "live peaceable lives in all godliness and holiness." *
While we acknowledge the references to "divine providence" and to the "Laws of Nature and of Nature's God" in our nation's founding documents, we continue to pledge our ultimate allegiance to Jesus as the Way, the Truth and the Life, and as the bedrock foundation of our faith, not to Caesar or to any secular state. And while we note the lack of any reference to Jesus in the nation's founding documents, we will continue to appeal to the nation to welcome and respect people of all races, languages and creeds in the spirit of Jesus, the ultimate redeemer and judge of all. And we will base our appeal not only on passages from the Hebrew Bible, but on New Testament texts and on teachings of Jesus such as those found in his Sermon on the Mount.
We appreciate the precious liberties and protections afforded by our nation, but also recognize the sins of our founders and ancestors in causing the deaths of millions of native Americans through cruel conquest and through the spread of deadly diseases, sometimes deliberately. We also repent of centuries of racism and of the evils of chattel slavery, segregation, lynchings and other grave injustices experienced by African Americans and other minority groups.
 |
| This is the image used on the Return website (though abortions at this stage are clearly banned). |
Meanwhile, we will support public policies that provide good prenatal care and adequate healthcare for all mothers, and will insist that men take full and equal responsibility for being hands-on fathers for their children. We will also acknowledge that it is immoral for pro-life Christians and all citizens to support a bloated US military budget that is already ten times higher than that of the next ten most heavily armed nations combined, and that maintains the nuclear capability of cruelly annihilating all human beings on earth (including all of the unborn ones) many times over.
And finally, we confess that we have neglected God's very first mandate, to cultivate and care for the earth paradise God created for us. We have been guilty of greedily exploiting the earth's resources for our short term gain, thus contributing to the devastating warming of the planet, the pollution of its air, land and oceans, and the resulting severe weather events that are causing unimaginable destruction and loss.
Above all, we recognize that we are all under God's judgment, and we will be judged not merely by our words, by how earnestly we say "Lord, Lord," but by our deeds, whether we have acted justly, demonstrated mercy and compassion, and have walked humbly with our God. Likewise by whether we have fed the hungry, offered hospitality to immigrants and refugees, provided shelter and warmth for the homeless and provided compassionate healthcare for all who need it.
In that spirit of humilty, we pray God will truly bless all people, and may God bless a repentant America.
* I Timothy 2:1
5 comments:
...if Franklin Graham will be there, I'll pass!
Maybe he could come to Jesus in the meantime. đŸ˜‰ Seriously, I'm puzzled by the lack of any reference to Jesus in his publicizing of the event.
No political or social movement, no march on Washington or Paris or Rome, can solve the human condition. The real problem lies in the mind and heart of each of us. Since the core problem is inside the human heart, only God can supply the solution. This means that the solutions to society's problems begin with God. Each person must allow God to actively work in his or her life and bring about a fundamental change in the inner person.
We can keep trying to change other people, or change the government, or change the culture, but until we submit to God and his power to change our inner person, we will always end up with the same problems. You can't change someone else, but God can change each of us. We must all realize that as long as Satan is the God of this age, no human effort will free humanity from its spiritual blindness.
We can blame each other and blame our ancestors, but no solution lies in that. I believe that God is seeking those who wish to come out of the darkness and participate in the only real hope for humanity. God is seeking those who will submit to His rule while living in an age of spiritual darkness. When one embraces God, he or she is called the citizenship in his higher Kingdom. Only that brings about a fundamental change in one’s allegiance. This is no easy calling. It means a lot more than accepting Jesus, , singing hymns and going to church to become a citizen of the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom the Prophet Daniel foretold many many, many centuries ago would destroy all human governments. It would mean accepting the values and laws of God's Kingdom in our lives right now. That means we must become, in a real sense, spiritual strangers in a strange land. The reality of true Christianity is to be a stranger and a Pilgrim in the earth. It is to seek a different Homeland and to understand that all human attempts to create utopia are doomed to failure.
No one can cure the ills of this time without becoming part of the solution. Loving one’s enemies is decidedly difficult and impossible without first seeing the need to change one’s self. Instead of asking—who was or is to blame for the condition of society, we need to ask, “how can I be a change for good?”
Beautiful reply, Elly
Elly, Excellent words!
Post a Comment