More Direction from God's Word

Interestingly, while I was having my quiet time yesterday, the Lord showed me some guidance on our subject of yesterday. I was not searching out this subject but one that was unrelated. I couldn't believe the directness of His word to me. Check out these words from

Jeremiah 18;
5 Then the word of the LORD came to me: 6 "O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?" declares the LORD. "Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. 7 If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, 8 and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. 9 And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, 10 and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.

I thought, Wow, God....you are telling me we are not without hope. Then somehow I tripped over Joel 2. Read these words:

13 Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.
14 Who knows? He may turn and have pity and leave behind a blessing— grain offerings and drink offerings for the LORD your God.
15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly.
16 Gather the people, consecrate the assembly; bring together the elders, gather the children, those nursing at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her chamber.
17 Let the priests, who minister before the LORD, weep between the temple porch and the altar. Let them say, "Spare your people, O LORD. Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, 'Where is their God?' "

Interesting, uh? In the piece from Joel I am struck with the responsibility God gives to the ministers of the Word. It sounds to me as if the ministers of the Word should be calling the people to humble and pray and fast and gather as an assembly. Then in 17 God calls the ministers of the Word to weep before him in repentence asking for God's mercy. Instead, I get troubled when I sense a desire to distance ourselves from the troubles of our nation as if there can be a seperation to one's relationship with God and one's relationship to their citizenship in an earthly nation. The Bible is a book that gives directives about our relationship with God regardless of the country we live in but always with a country of inhabitation in mind. Nations are God's idea. If it was approved by God that Abraham pleaded on behalf of Sodom and Gommorah, then where are the "Priests" that are pleading on behalf of this nation for the sake of God's children? I know there are some. God grant a desire on the part of all that have the call to get involved in protecting freedoms so that the people of God and their children and children's children may enjoy an uninterupted relationship with our God.

Notice how urgent the message was. Those in the middle of a wedding ceremony were told to leave it and beseech the Lord.

Two days of heavy burden....enough all right already. Time to move on but lets ponder the warnings and act in obedience.