Have you noticed the head-spinning political activity of recent weeks leading up to the election in November? The failed assassination attempt of Donald Trump, a strategic dropping out of the election by President Biden, the swift support of Kamala Harris to run in his place…
Both candidates have hit the campaign trail. Name calling, attack ads, lots of fake news - it’s politics “normale.” It has left voters bewildered, emboldened, confused or disengaged. Both parties have made bold promises and have begun to lay out their grandiose policies. But will either candidate bring about the unity or healing that this nation so desperately needs? No…what will?
One word: teshuvah It is the Hebrew word for repentance, which means a 180 degree turn. In the New Testament the word is metanoia, which means “a change of mind.” Teshuvah is a major theme of the Hebrew Scriptures. It is the clarion call of Jesus. Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand. But teshuvah is not a requisite for the unredeemed. It is squarely aimed at the people of God.
Immediately following the dedication of the Temple, and with it the promise of prosperity, God says to Solomon:
14 if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn (teshuvah) from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)
There has been lots of prayer for our nation. But have we turned?
19 “…if you people ever turn away from me, fail to obey the regulations and rules I instructed you to keep, and decide to serve and worship other gods, 20 then I will remove you from my land I have given you…and I will make you an object of mockery and ridicule among all the nations.”
I have heard people say: This is not the America I grew up in. No, it isn’t. America has turned away from God. This is the consequence. Oh God, forgive us…a great place to start. But transformation is in the turning. We must acknowledge our sin and turn from our wicked ways. The solution to the fracking of our nation’s soul is not political. It is spiritual. When God’s people U-turn, God will heal and restore our land.
“Come, let us return to the LORD; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up. (Micah 6:1)
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