God made each of us special. As Tony Evans said recently, we have too much division, and God's people must lead the way in showing how to heal the many rifts we face. And, that fact is one of those major Biblical facets we must unite in. While each of us is special, we must also realize that means, logically, that others are, too.
Accepting that others are important as living human beings is a big part of starting the healing process, as I've stated numerous times like here, and someone else mentioned in this blog post I found on the importance of teaching kids God made them special. Instead of doing that, though, we tear others down more and more. About the only thing Americans agree on is they are tired of the election, even if Google searches find things better if they contain Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump - or Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton if you want them in that order. :-)
Don't worry. This is the last you will hear in this post of the name Trump or Clinton (or Clinton or Trump) or any world leaders. That's because imperfect people can't create a perfect world the way God can. Although, the Cubs and Indians making the World Series, the Cubs for the first time since 1945 and the Billy Goat game, may have made some feel a lot better.
We can, however, start the healing process by valuing others the way God does. Only by following God's ways can we truly be victorious, as we trust Him for a Repentance Revival.
Repentance means turning from sin. While people have trouble agreeing on anything, I imagine most would agree that the very destructive climate in our world is sinful. Reconciliation - with repentance both personal and national - needs to take place, because our prayers for revival won't work without us repenting not just for 50 years of sin but for the 400 our nation has done since the colonies were founded. As the last link mentioned, we've all sinned. That leads to things like that example I often used early in this blog, the person who hates and screams at someone for cutting them off in traffic, not bothering to think that the person may have only done so because they were rushing to see a loved one in the hospital - something many of us would do ourselves.
We each struggle with that sin nature, so the world won't be perfect till Jesus returns. However, we e
can each begin with ourselves by following the Lord with all
our hearts, turning to Him for renewal.
Here are things we can do to unite and end this horrible division.
Why Are We Here? Uniting in God's love
We are here, fearfully and wonderfully made by God, for a reason. No, you are not an accident - in fact, many have said DNA is so complex it proves there was an intelligent designer.
God is many things. He is Holy, He cannot come in contact with sin. He is just. That means he must punish sin. However, He is also mercy and grace. That means that He doesn't want to punish the wicked but wants to offer them that grace and mercy. He has no joy at the punishment of the wicked.(Ezekiel 33-11.) So, God had to make a way to punish our sin that didn't cause us to also be condemned.
God is many things. He is Holy, He cannot come in contact with sin. He is just. That means he must punish sin. However, He is also mercy and grace. That means that He doesn't want to punish the wicked but wants to offer them that grace and mercy. He has no joy at the punishment of the wicked.(Ezekiel 33-11.) So, God had to make a way to punish our sin that didn't cause us to also be condemned.
So, because of the above, God chose to come Himself. Jesus was fully God and fully man. Because He was fully man, He
could die for the punishment of each of our sins. Because He was fully
God, He was perfectly sinless and therefore didn't have to suffer for
His own sins. He could suffer for each of our sins. Also because he was God, after He died on the cross for your sins He rose from the dead.
Knowing the facts isn't enough of course if you don't trust Him to do anything for you.
That trust is all you need, though, just calling on Him by true faith to forgive you and save you from your sins: Admitting that you're a sinner in need of His salvation, Believing when he bled and died He took the punishment for your sins and then he rose from the dead, and Calling on Him by faith to save you and forgive you, choosing to turn from your sins and let Him make you new inside. You are only a single, sincere prayer of repentance away from eternal life. You can even go here and talk to an Online Mentor who will help you grow in faith or answer any questions.
That trust is all you need, though, just calling on Him by true faith to forgive you and save you from your sins: Admitting that you're a sinner in need of His salvation, Believing when he bled and died He took the punishment for your sins and then he rose from the dead, and Calling on Him by faith to save you and forgive you, choosing to turn from your sins and let Him make you new inside. You are only a single, sincere prayer of repentance away from eternal life. You can even go here and talk to an Online Mentor who will help you grow in faith or answer any questions.
Once we trust Him by faith and are reconciled to Him, we need to show others that love so they can see there is that unconditional love out there.
Repenting and Returning in Our Hearts
Of course, we've had major problems in our history. I have said numerous times that we must repent not just for 50 years but for 400 years of evil. We have problems with priorities even now, problems which can be corrected by looking at what the Bible, which can be shown easily to be the Word of God - says is important. Sure, we failed int he past because people selfishly wanted to see themselves as superior (still the main problem today in many places) but that doesn't excuse us from our need to avoid that problem now.
This nation must return to the great love God has for each of us. This is the Love which allowed us to disagree without hating each other. It allowed us to overcome barriers and triumph over anything.
This is why in 2 Chronicles 7:14 (and, if you think that only applies to Israel, Jeremiah 18:5-10) talks of the people repenting (turning from their wicked ways) and then God healing their land. Think about it: You can't just say, "Give me a cure for this disease if you are running away from the doctor at the time. You have to actually go up to that doctor and receive treatment.
Of course, that doesn't mean we have to do everything right and then God blesses us. That return means a change in our hearts and actionst hat show a genuine willingness to change will follow as God gives us strength to do so.
As an example, a person who has been an alcoholic might go to Reformer's Unanimous and make Christ (not just a generic deity but the One who has the Power) the center of their lives. They still have to work day by day to trust God to keep them free those problems, but he gives them strength to avoid the peoplew ho dragged them down, the places that tempted them, etc.. One woman in our churchw as saved out of that and for the last 44 years of her life never entered a restaurant with a bar in it for fear she would return. her friends could but they knew not to do it with her since that would tempt her more. (The mark of a true friend, understanding the other's needs and taking action.)
She trusted God to be her victory. He knew the way she was built and what alcohol had done to her - a logical consequence. There, by the way, is something else we must return to, accepting as common sense that our actions have consequences we can't avoid, something that was easily understood before.) He gave her a way to overcome it that may be more drastic than others saved out of that, but that is something that can ruin the body and casue such problems it is best never to start.
Repenting and Returning in Our Hearts
Of course, we've had major problems in our history. I have said numerous times that we must repent not just for 50 years but for 400 years of evil. We have problems with priorities even now, problems which can be corrected by looking at what the Bible, which can be shown easily to be the Word of God - says is important. Sure, we failed int he past because people selfishly wanted to see themselves as superior (still the main problem today in many places) but that doesn't excuse us from our need to avoid that problem now.
This nation must return to the great love God has for each of us. This is the Love which allowed us to disagree without hating each other. It allowed us to overcome barriers and triumph over anything.
This is why in 2 Chronicles 7:14 (and, if you think that only applies to Israel, Jeremiah 18:5-10) talks of the people repenting (turning from their wicked ways) and then God healing their land. Think about it: You can't just say, "Give me a cure for this disease if you are running away from the doctor at the time. You have to actually go up to that doctor and receive treatment.
Of course, that doesn't mean we have to do everything right and then God blesses us. That return means a change in our hearts and actionst hat show a genuine willingness to change will follow as God gives us strength to do so.
As an example, a person who has been an alcoholic might go to Reformer's Unanimous and make Christ (not just a generic deity but the One who has the Power) the center of their lives. They still have to work day by day to trust God to keep them free those problems, but he gives them strength to avoid the peoplew ho dragged them down, the places that tempted them, etc.. One woman in our churchw as saved out of that and for the last 44 years of her life never entered a restaurant with a bar in it for fear she would return. her friends could but they knew not to do it with her since that would tempt her more. (The mark of a true friend, understanding the other's needs and taking action.)
She trusted God to be her victory. He knew the way she was built and what alcohol had done to her - a logical consequence. There, by the way, is something else we must return to, accepting as common sense that our actions have consequences we can't avoid, something that was easily understood before.) He gave her a way to overcome it that may be more drastic than others saved out of that, but that is something that can ruin the body and casue such problems it is best never to start.
Anyway, the point is that we must trust the Lord to bring us victory by being our victory. We can't bring Victory ourselves because there is a
spiritual battle here, and it must be won with spiritual weapons.
Ironically, at times we seem to recognize that it is a
spiritual battle. However we are actually on the opposite side of what
we should be.
How to fight the enemy, and not fight ourselves
You may guess that forgiveness is a big part of it. That is certainly true. We must fight the enemy by not opposing
each other so fiercely, and one reason we do is we don't have that forgiving attitude. It's true that the vicious nature of society
today is one of the problems. However, we must also not be united in the
wrong things, as mentioned before, such as here and here.
Forgiveness isn't saying something is right. Forgiveness is saying "I love you anyway." Remember, God forgives us by saving us from our sins, but he is also just in that He had to punish sin and took it upon Himself. He still allows us to face the consequences of our sin on Earth, though, it's just that His mercy nd grace give us more chances.
Not only that, but His justice, like anything else, is better than ours because he knows the priorities which matter most, such as described above. the terrible injustice of this world comes about becasue people don't hold to those priorities.
So, you can see how that heart-mind decision to trust Jesus to forgive and sve us and then turning to Him with the intent of correcting such things - and letting Him be our strength in doing so - is cricual.
Ephesians 6:12 says, "We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but agaisnt powers, against principalities, gaainst the rulers of the darkness of thhis world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." So, when someone opposes us, we should - instead of reacting harshly - say, "We're on the same side against this evil." And, of course, be willing also to work with that person to help them.
Communication with each other, then, is vital, but of course, as noted and linked before, it's still vital to stand for the absolute truth of God's Word. That same devil who tempts us so much 9though we also have our own sin nature) can also mislead us by getting us to unite in the wrong things. There is great deception coming, according to the Bible; here is how to be prepared not to fall for it. The only way to do that is to know Him personally now, though there may be a chance during the Tribulation it's not safe to presume one will make it alive, so many bad thigns will happen. This discusses that Tribulation and gives other links about it in more detail which you can copy for others.
AS for now, though, we are still here and have a chance to unite in God's perfect love and peace. So, after doing that, what else can we do?
Further Healing the Divide
What are some other things we can do to heal this divide?
1. Proper priorities are needed. As noted above, God sees each person as important. Those priorities, then, should include valuing human life and having a concern for everyone.
2. Build the fruits of the Spirit. Gentleness is mandatory, for instance, God wants us to have it. That's why it's one of the Fruits of the spirit of Galatians 5:22-23. Our treatment of others, especially those who are weaker, must be with the Godly compassion we are called to have. Of course, the fruits of the Spirit can only come if the Holy Spirit lives in you, which he will if you have trusted Jesus to save you. People can have such a deliverate attitude without it, but only God can perfect it, and the Spirit will increase it and will give it to those who don't have it. Especially in families, it's vital to have these fruits. (Note that I've mentioned in other posts about the King James Version's superiority - here is a good show discussing the fruits in depth.)
3. Have meaningful conversations. Try to understand each other's perspectives; when they don't conflict with sound Biblical doctrine, like the Bible says in Philippians 4:2-3, we should be of one mind in the Lord. Some people have been through horrible thigns, and need others to show understanding and compassion.
4. Commit to building meaningful relationships. instead of focusing on social media, we should be trying to talk with each other and not using sound bytes all the time. Our society has a short attention span and we may need to work to lengthen it, but God can do that when we trust Him and turn our hearts toward Him.
5. Give of yourself. Don't just talk about how others matter and pray for others, but be willing to put feet to those prayers and get out and work with others. This isn't just protesting and letting words be heard, this is actively trying to find solutions to problems.
6. Have patience. It will take a long timeand the Bible says things won't be perfect till the lord's return. But, we can improve things for some, at least.
7. Keep the Gospel at the center. Remember that being nice and friendly and all the other thigns are good, but we must ensure that the saving of souls is our top priority.
After all, each of us will some one day, and go to either heaven or Hell. The Lord will return for His people. It's why I've done posts sharing about how to reach Muslims, for one thing, and indeed witnessing to them and anyone.
We must start by uniting, as noted above, in sound doctrine and turning toward the Lord and away from the bitterness which has plagued us int he past as we've let our free will make us think we can do anything. In reality, though, common sense xisted for so long because people knew that with freedom came responsibility.
So, let's all take more responsibility for our own actions and establish that right and wrong as fundamental to our society once more, united as one nation and not a bunch of individuals who don't have any common goal. After all, we were never meant to be just a great big mess of individuals. We were meant to be a melting pot of peoplew ho worked together with a respect for liberty and expected others to respect that absolute right and wrong which we knew had been established since the foundation of the world by the Lord Himself in His Word, including the freedom to accept or reject HIm and the freedom to follow Him and the importance of respecting thsoe who do; something in past times that nonChristians consistnetly did.
In this day and age, we face spiritual battles which are increasingly fighting believers in Christ (but, note, not other religions, because the devil only has to fight the truth). However, God will prevail in this. We just have to make sure we're on the winnings ide.
Forgiveness isn't saying something is right. Forgiveness is saying "I love you anyway." Remember, God forgives us by saving us from our sins, but he is also just in that He had to punish sin and took it upon Himself. He still allows us to face the consequences of our sin on Earth, though, it's just that His mercy nd grace give us more chances.
Not only that, but His justice, like anything else, is better than ours because he knows the priorities which matter most, such as described above. the terrible injustice of this world comes about becasue people don't hold to those priorities.
So, you can see how that heart-mind decision to trust Jesus to forgive and sve us and then turning to Him with the intent of correcting such things - and letting Him be our strength in doing so - is cricual.
Ephesians 6:12 says, "We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but agaisnt powers, against principalities, gaainst the rulers of the darkness of thhis world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." So, when someone opposes us, we should - instead of reacting harshly - say, "We're on the same side against this evil." And, of course, be willing also to work with that person to help them.
Communication with each other, then, is vital, but of course, as noted and linked before, it's still vital to stand for the absolute truth of God's Word. That same devil who tempts us so much 9though we also have our own sin nature) can also mislead us by getting us to unite in the wrong things. There is great deception coming, according to the Bible; here is how to be prepared not to fall for it. The only way to do that is to know Him personally now, though there may be a chance during the Tribulation it's not safe to presume one will make it alive, so many bad thigns will happen. This discusses that Tribulation and gives other links about it in more detail which you can copy for others.
AS for now, though, we are still here and have a chance to unite in God's perfect love and peace. So, after doing that, what else can we do?
Further Healing the Divide
What are some other things we can do to heal this divide?
1. Proper priorities are needed. As noted above, God sees each person as important. Those priorities, then, should include valuing human life and having a concern for everyone.
2. Build the fruits of the Spirit. Gentleness is mandatory, for instance, God wants us to have it. That's why it's one of the Fruits of the spirit of Galatians 5:22-23. Our treatment of others, especially those who are weaker, must be with the Godly compassion we are called to have. Of course, the fruits of the Spirit can only come if the Holy Spirit lives in you, which he will if you have trusted Jesus to save you. People can have such a deliverate attitude without it, but only God can perfect it, and the Spirit will increase it and will give it to those who don't have it. Especially in families, it's vital to have these fruits. (Note that I've mentioned in other posts about the King James Version's superiority - here is a good show discussing the fruits in depth.)
3. Have meaningful conversations. Try to understand each other's perspectives; when they don't conflict with sound Biblical doctrine, like the Bible says in Philippians 4:2-3, we should be of one mind in the Lord. Some people have been through horrible thigns, and need others to show understanding and compassion.
4. Commit to building meaningful relationships. instead of focusing on social media, we should be trying to talk with each other and not using sound bytes all the time. Our society has a short attention span and we may need to work to lengthen it, but God can do that when we trust Him and turn our hearts toward Him.
5. Give of yourself. Don't just talk about how others matter and pray for others, but be willing to put feet to those prayers and get out and work with others. This isn't just protesting and letting words be heard, this is actively trying to find solutions to problems.
6. Have patience. It will take a long timeand the Bible says things won't be perfect till the lord's return. But, we can improve things for some, at least.
7. Keep the Gospel at the center. Remember that being nice and friendly and all the other thigns are good, but we must ensure that the saving of souls is our top priority.
After all, each of us will some one day, and go to either heaven or Hell. The Lord will return for His people. It's why I've done posts sharing about how to reach Muslims, for one thing, and indeed witnessing to them and anyone.
We must start by uniting, as noted above, in sound doctrine and turning toward the Lord and away from the bitterness which has plagued us int he past as we've let our free will make us think we can do anything. In reality, though, common sense xisted for so long because people knew that with freedom came responsibility.
So, let's all take more responsibility for our own actions and establish that right and wrong as fundamental to our society once more, united as one nation and not a bunch of individuals who don't have any common goal. After all, we were never meant to be just a great big mess of individuals. We were meant to be a melting pot of peoplew ho worked together with a respect for liberty and expected others to respect that absolute right and wrong which we knew had been established since the foundation of the world by the Lord Himself in His Word, including the freedom to accept or reject HIm and the freedom to follow Him and the importance of respecting thsoe who do; something in past times that nonChristians consistnetly did.
In this day and age, we face spiritual battles which are increasingly fighting believers in Christ (but, note, not other religions, because the devil only has to fight the truth). However, God will prevail in this. We just have to make sure we're on the winnings ide.
