Sounding the AlarmPosted on February 22, 2012


Blow the trumpet in Zion;
sound the alarm on my holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
for the day of the LORD is coming, it is near–
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and thick darkness!
Like blackness spread upon the mountains
a great and powerful army comes;
their like has never been from of old,
nor will be again after them
in ages to come.
Yet even now, says the LORD,
return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
rend your hearts and not your clothing.
Return to the LORD, your God,
for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love,
and relents from punishing.  (Joel 2:1-2,12-13)

The word to Israel is also a word to America today. As intercessors we need to stand in the gap and repent for our nation. Political leaders will not do it. Not even our church leaders will do it. We are the last defense.

Before our nation can begin to return to God we must turn to God. Now is the time for us to seek God with all our hearts. God says to us:

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.  (Jeremiah 29:13)

We may say that we already know God. We may say that we have sought God and found Him. Let us understand that the Christian faith is a seeking faith. We are the People of the Way. Jesus sought the Father early every day before He began His ministry. America’s arrogance is that we have God in our hip pocket. As intercessors we cannot be arrogant. Job was head and shoulders above the believers of his day. Nevertheless, when he was severely tested he discovered more of God than he ever knew:

Then Job replied to the LORD:

“I know that you can do all things;
no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’
Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me to know.

“You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.’
My ears had heard of you
but now my eyes have seen you.
Therefore I despise myself
and repent in dust and ashes.”  (Job 42:1-6)

It is time to seek God. Let us do so for ourselves, for our nation, for our children and for their children.

copied by Dennis

"What does it mean to seek first the Kingdom of God?"

Jesus said to seek first the kingdom of God in His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:33). The verse’s meaning is as direct as it sounds. We are to seek the things of God as a priority over the things of the world. Primarily, it means we are to seek the salvation that is inherent in the kingdom of God because it is of greater value than all the world’s riches. Does this mean that we should neglect the reasonable and daily duties that help sustain our lives? Certainly not. But for the Christian, there should be a difference in attitude toward them. If we are taking care of God’s business as a priority—seeking His salvation, living in obedience to Him, and sharing the good news of the kingdom with others—then He will take care of our business as He promised—and if that’s the arrangement, where is worrying?

But how do we know if we’re truly seeking God’s kingdom first? There are questions we can ask ourselves. “Where do I primarily spend my energies? Is all my time and money spent on goods and activities that will certainly perish, or in the services of God—the results of which live on for eternity?” Believers who have learned to truly put God first may then rest in this holy dynamic: “…and all these things will be given to you as well.”

God has promised to provide for His own, supplying every need (Philippians 4:19), but His idea of what we need is often different from ours, and His timing will only occasionally meet our expectations. For example, we may see our need as riches or advancement, but perhaps God knows that what truly we need is a time of poverty, loss or solitude. When this happens, we are in good company. God loved both Job and Elijah, but He allowed Satan to absolutely pound Job (all under His watchful eye), and He let that evil woman, Jezebel, break the spirit of His own prophet Elijah (Job 1–2; 1 Kings 18–19). In both cases, God followed these trials with restoration and sustenance.

These “negative” aspects of the kingdom run counter to a heresy which is gaining ground around the world, the so-called "prosperity" gospel. A growing number of false teachers are gathering followers under the message “God wants you to be rich!” But that philosophy is not the counsel of the Bible—and it is certainly not the counsel of Matthew 6:33, which is not a formula for gaining wealth. It is a description of how God works. Jesus taught that our focus should be away from this world—its status and its lying allurements—and placed upon the things of God’s kingdom.

By: Rev. Richard McKirahan, Decatur, IL