"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. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him."
Hosea 6:1-2
Today is September 11th. We mark nineteen years since the day many of us lost friends and loved ones in a cowardly terrorist attack. It was truly terrible.
We knew that 9/11 was a wake-up call, but it didn’t stick. In the nineteen years since that day we have seen behavior that God calls sinful abomination go from tolerated to promoted, encouraged, and celebrated. Godly people who object to perversion are no longer allowed to speak. People who fail to get on board with the sinful agenda are in danger of losing everything they own to punitive lawsuits and even criminal prosecution. Companies shake in fear of retaliation by those who don’t see them as sufficiently compliant, and rush to prove their enthusiasm. Even some churches, while still claiming to speak on God’s behalf, promote moral confusion and call it love; and all of this is just the tip of the iceberg of a culture that has turned its back on God.
What will it take to turn our hearts back to God? Dear friends, let’s not wait to find out!
Let us return to the Lord, Who is waiting with tears in His eyes to heal us, bandage our wounds, revive us, and raise us up, so that we may live before Him.
Lord God, we have sinned by turning our back on You, rejecting Your Word, and substituting human opinion in its place. Our thoughts, words and deeds are full of rebellion against You. We know that Jesus has paid for all our sin and “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Lord, turn our hearts and the heart of our nation back to You in true repentance and faith. Have mercy on us, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Pastor Dan Giles