666

This is a message I got yesterday morning and thought I would add my two cents whether or not it is worth two cents.

Good Friday Morning,
Wanted to get your opinion on something I heard and was hoping you would comment either by blog or by email.
I checked this and its true. The day after Barack Obama got elected the lottery numbers that were picked were
666 don't you find this eerily weird. Whats your take on this very, very strange happening.



This was a new one on me. I hadn't heard this story. I know that many well known Christian leaders had given many warnings and predicted doomsday regarding our president elect even before the election. Many of those things got to me before the election. After the election, I resigned myself to the following. Nothing happens without the will of our Sovereign God, including this man becoming president of our nation. If we are really quite honest with ourselves, I think we have to admit that our nation has been failing for some time. I think it can all be traced back to our sin nature which in our neck of the world seems to have been nurturing materialism and greed. In addition to those cancers we have the deterioration of morality on all sides of the issues. Our people have not gone to the Comforter and Guide but have run away from Him causing Him to lift His blessings in some areas. We still have freedoms the rest of the world envies. Are those freedoms in jeopardy? It is certainly not out of the realm of possibility.

Now the issue of the 666. Much war goes on without our notice in the spirit world. Who knows what all that is about. If I were you, I would lift it to the Father, tuck it in my memory bank and trust Him with it.....after all, He is the victor. When we have surrendered all these things to Him, we can sit back and watch God's plan unfold. I know that some Christians have questioned whether there may be an anti Christ rising. I have a very good friend who is Biblically sound as far as I can discern and I've known him for many years. I have asked him what he thinks of that notion and his answer was that the anti Christ is not going to come out of America. The anti Christ will come out of Europe. He noted that the world is on an end times course. (I guess we all know that but it comes as a shock to hear it voiced) The Word talks about there being a world recognized currency. My friend pointed to the Euro as the beginning of that trend. He says that the US is not a player in the end powers at all. He comforted me with the truth that as God's people we are tucked under the shadow of His wings so we have nothing to fear.

The denomination of my birth and life does not interpret prophecy like some other brandname churches do. I am far from any kind of know it all about that stuff. I do find it interesting to listen to those among us who take these things seriously. My friend pointed me to the book of Daniel.
I read it with different eyes this time. One of the most moving parts of Daniel is his prayer which I think we as God's people could humbly pray for our own nation. Listen to Daniel's heart and then consider your own;
Daniel 9
Daniel's Prayer 1 In the first year of Darius son of Ahasuerus [a] (a Mede by descent), who was made ruler over the Babylonian [b] kingdom- 2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the LORD given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. 3 So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.
4 I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed: "O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with all who love him and obey his commands, 5 we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. 6 We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.
7 "Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame—the men of Judah and people of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you. 8 O LORD, we and our kings, our princes and our fathers are covered with shame because we have sinned against you. 9 The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him; 10 we have not obeyed the LORD our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets. 11 All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey you. "Therefore the curses and sworn judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against you. 12 You have fulfilled the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing upon us great disaster. Under the whole heaven nothing has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem. 13 Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us, yet we have not sought the favor of the LORD our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth. 14 The LORD did not hesitate to bring the disaster upon us, for the LORD our God is righteous in everything he does; yet we have not obeyed him.
15 "Now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of Egypt with a mighty hand and who made for yourself a name that endures to this day, we have sinned, we have done wrong. 16 O Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn away your anger and your wrath from Jerusalem, your city, your holy hill. Our sins and the iniquities of our fathers have made Jerusalem and your people an object of scorn to all those around us.
17 "Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, O Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary. 18 Give ear, O God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. 19 O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For your sake, O my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name."

So what have I said in response to your question......not much I guess. I am more and more convinced that it is not the fault of the people of "America" that we are in the mess we are in but it is the fault of the church and God's people in America for lack of humility, holiness and purity. I, for one, am guilty. God forgive me. Just this week one of my younger church friends was lamenting that some people within our own church don't want to hear truth. They want to wallow in their human struggle and not take God at His Word. Oh Church of Christ, rise up and make the Lord known by allowing Him to show himself through you to a world of people just looking for the comfort that you have as a child of His.

I should have stopped before this but I have one more thing to say on the subject. God still gives us the promise that if we as HIS people will confess our sins and TURN from our wicked ways, He will save our land. I take Him at His word and ask you to pray that you and I will continue to confess our sins and implore Him on behalf of this nation that was at one time a God honoring country. Just ask my grandmother who wrote as an assignment, verses from the Psalms on the chalkboard, in the public school she attended. Have things changed??????