“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 I will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).

This past week has been tumultuous and historic for all the wrong reasons.

It is perfectly normal to feel frustrated, angry, fearful. These are natural reactions. However, I want to encourage you to move on from frustration, anger, and fear. Frustration, anger, and fear wants to paralyze you into passivity. What is needed in our country is not just passivity, but productive actions; actions that will lead to a better and mutually desired future.

I encourage you to channel your emotions to courageously fight against and make your stand against violence, bias, and lies.

The scriptures give us a three step plan how we can channel our frustrations, anger, and fear into action. God tells us, “If my people who are called by my name…” That’s you. That’s me. That’s the church.

“If my people who are called by my name…”
1. Will humble themselves
2. Pray and seek my face
3. Turn from our wicked ways

When we do these three things, God promises, “to hear from heaven, forgive our sins, and bring healing to our land.” What a fantastic promise. We desperately need healing.

• But too often, we are a nation that wants God’s heaven without humbling ourselves.
• Too often, we are a nation that wants God’s blessings without praying and seeking God’s ways.
• Too often, we are a nation that wants God’s healing and forgiveness without turning from our wicked ways.

God, forgive us. Lord, have mercy.

I invite you to join with me in praying for our nation this week. Pray for the President. Pray for Vice President Pence. Pray for our congressional and senate leaders. Pray for the President and Vice President elect.

Pray that our nation would humble ourselves, pray and seek God’s ways, and turn from our wicked ways. Pray that God will bring healing to our land. Pray for wisdom as our leaders gather to discern best ways to bring healing to our land.

“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you” (Psalm 56:3).

Life sometimes isn’t fair:
– We’re downsizing. We’re going to have to let you go.

Life sometimes punches us in the guts:
– I want a divorce.
– It’s cancer.

Life is sometimes hard:
– It’s the landlord again. How are we going to pay the rent?

In these moments where we can hardly breath, where our hands start sweating, the moments where our hearts begin racing…we’ve all been there. And, if you haven’t yet faced hard times, it’s not a matter of if you will face hard times but when. They will come. Because that is life.

2020 was a doozey. 2021 is off to an “interesting” start.

These things are all true. But these things don’t tell the whole story.

God is still in control. God still loves us. God is still sovereign. God is still Lord.

When Satan took everything from Job he thought he had won. But, to Job, God was his everything. Satan hadn’t done anything to shake Job’s faith and trust in God. 

I get it. It’s been a hard season. But also know this – God didn’t bring you this far, to only bring you this far. There is so much more. God is preparing us, training us for a brighter future.

“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and future'” (Jeremiah 29:11). As Pastor Brad constantly reminds us, “The best is yet to come!”

It’s okay to be frustrated. It’s okay to be afraid. Just as long as you remember God is our everything.

“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.” So keep trusting. Keep holding His hand. He’s got this.

“But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord'” (Luke 2:10-11).

The events that took place at the capital of the United States yesterday is heartbreaking, unacceptable, and inexcusable.

I am not quite sure what to say. I have been in countries where the freedom and the democracy of those nations were squashed. I was in Syria under the Assad regime. I was in South Africa during Apartheid when Mandela was still in jail. I’ve spent time in Uganda when the country was just coming out of its civil war and there were still piles of human bones by the side of the roads.

Things like what took place at the capital happen in those places. They don’t take place in the United States of America!!! Yet they did.

Americans have the right to protest.

Americans have the right to believe that the election is stolen.

But no American has the right to violate laws and disrupt the constitutional processes of validating the electoral votes that was being conducted by our duly elected leaders.

No American has the right to enter illegally into the very halls of democracy in our capital.

There was nothing right about what happened in storming the capital.

And then it hit me.

Our world doesn’t need the church to believe in Jesus. Our world needs a church to start living like Jesus.

I’ve been lamenting the events in our nation’s capital and was reminded that today is Epiphany – the day the church celebrates the manifestation of Jesus.

How apt.

I can’t think of anything more needed today than for God’s manifestation of his love for the world. And it dawns on me that, perhaps, God has always wanted his church to be the vehicle of showing the world how much he loves them.

Let’s get to work church.