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About Jesus Steve Sweetman Listen
To Your Leaders It's
important to pay attention to what our government leaders say,
legislate, or decree. Why?
Because our Lord listens to them.
For example, He listened to every word the king of In
today's vernacular, the king's decree was one serious piece of
legislation. Both man and
animal were to fast and wear sackcloth to show that they were serious
about changing their ways. "Everyone
was to call urgently on God". The
word "call" is translated from a Hebrew word meaning "a
cry out in desperation". The
word "urgently" suggests there was no time to waste in the
process of repenting. Repentance
must be meaningful, and it must be immediate. The
words "who knows, God may …" are words of hope based on the
king's new found humility. They
aren't words of arrogance and pride of his political position.
The king understood his worthlessness before a holy God.
The word "relent" is translated from a Hebrew word
meaning "to sigh". In
other words, the king fell to his knees and was hoping the Lord would
let out a huge sigh and say, "okay, I'll have compassion on
you". Note
the words "fierce anger" and "perish".
A gentile king understood something God's people So
what does all of this mean for us today?
If our Lord takes seriously what our governments say, legislate,
or decrees, so should we, because He will respond accordingly.
We certainly do not want to be ignorant of His response, or
caught off guard when He does respond. I
think you would agree, present legislation concerning abortion,
redefining of marriage, separation of God from state, among others,
doesn't sit well with the Lord. These
things aren't likely to change any time soon, so I suggest that we can't
expect God to respond with compassion to us as He did with Nineveh. Can
you imagine anyone running for political office with a platform similar
to the king of Nineveh's decree. A platform based
on national repentance and a turn to the God of the Bible would be
ridiculed on all fronts. The press would have a field day. They'd
turn the truths of Scripture into a comedy show.
The world is in no position to accept such a political platform. We
as Christians need to be aware of what our governments legislate so we
can recognize our Lord's response when it comes.
I believe His response is already underway, as seen in some of the
economic, political, social, and natural upheavals in recent years.
I also believe that many Christians don't see these events as
being warnings of judgment from the Lord they claim to serve.
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