I don’t know who needs to hear this, but God is not...an ‘American’; nor a Republican or a Democrat, for that matter.

And I can assure you with 99.99% confidence that a U.S. flag is not flying on a pole outside the gates of heaven. I know this because God is ‘no respecter of persons’, nor does He show partiality (Acts 10:34). Jesus came proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, later reminding us that His kingdom is ‘not of this world’ (John 18:36). Paul said ‘our citizenship is in heaven’ (Phil. 3:20) And Peter advises us as to how we should live and ‘conduct ourselves throughout the ‘time of your stay here’ ... in fear ...’begging us as sojourners and pilgrims’, we are simply people...who are just ‘passing through’. (1 Pet. 1:17; 2:11)

You know we often hear, or like to share, that familiar passage found in 2 Chron. 7:14 – “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 will forgive their sin and heal their land.” Who do you think God is referring to there when He says ‘My people’?

Do you think it is possible at times, that we mistakenly mis-apply certain verses we read in scripture? For example, Rom. 8:28...’all things work together for the good’... is actually a promise to those who ‘love God’, and we know what those who love God do....what?- (John 14:15). Or when folks imply that ‘we are all ‘children of God’ ... that would be a false and misleading statement. (John 8:44; Eph. 2:3; 1 John 3:10)

And yet, how often to we tend to apply that passage from 2 Chronicles where ‘our land’...the good old USA, is the 'land' that’s in need of healing? And I'm sure I don't need to remind any of us that America is NOT...God’s ‘holy nation’ that Peter refers to. (1 Pet. 2:9). Now I understand why we offer up this Biblical promise in a ‘round-about-way’ to our country. It’s a good promise, is it not? So when we think of ‘turning from our wicked ways’...what ‘wicked ways do we tend to consider are on that ‘list’? Things like abortion, maybe (or any number of ‘hot-button-sin topics’’)... all those ‘other bad things that many tend to call good’? (Isa. 5:20)

Yet how often do we even consider...that we ‘believers’... ourselves...are guilty of having ‘wicked ways’? In other words, what is our ‘default setting’ when that verse is read – what are the first things that come to mind that ‘we need to turn from’? Are we looking at it from a ‘national’ perspective...or a personal one? I’ll be honest here...I have thought in times past, about many of those ‘obvious sins’ and practices that are prevalent today...greed, crime, porn, corruption, etc. I mean, ‘I’m a child of God’, right? I may ‘sin’ but I really don’t live ‘wickedly’ anymore, right? (Luke 18:11) But by golly if America would just get their act together...God would bless us once again; why He might even ‘make America great again’, right?

So let’s unpack this often quoted verse ...and for starters, I’d like you to underline three words or phrases embedded in that promise, and maybe take some time to think on them before we resume here tomorrow. The three phrases are: ‘My people’, ‘turn’, and ‘wicked ways’. The questions to consider are

1) Who exactly is ‘My people’ referring to?

2) What does the word ‘turn’ mean?

And 3) What exactly qualifies as ‘wicked ways’?

See you tomorrow. (Lord willing, of course- James 4:15)