The National Day of Reconciliation

On December 3, 2007 American Intelligence reported that Iran ceased its nuclear weapons development program in 2003. President Bush responded by saying that Iran was dangerous in the past, are still dangerous today, and will continue to be dangerous as long as they continue to seek nuclear knowledge.

So once again the rules have changed. Now we are saying that they cannot even possess the KNOWLEDGE of nuclear weaponry. The odds are remote that we can ban all nuclear knowledge, since most of it can be acquired on the internet. So that means the President means to consider Iran an enemy regardless of what it does. If he were doing his best to avoid a war, he would reward Iran for abandoning its weapons program, instead of continuing to beat them.

So the beating continues, though now for another reason. The reason is for a "thought crime." We are judging Iran for possible intent, rather than for its actual actions. I recall my childhood years and how my dad once disciplined me with the belt for doing something that I had not done. When he learned the truth, he said, "Well, then, that's for all the times you got away with it in the past." Rather than admit that he was wrong, he justified himself. This is what the carnal mind does. We are all afflicted with it and must watch lest we succomb to it.

When we judge others from a position of pride (whether personal or national), we inevitably start down the road toward hypocrisy. Such pride can be measured by one's inability to admit being wrong when proven wrong. Hypocrisy is the one sin that will prevent God's grace. That simply means that God will judge until hypocrisy is eliminated. Only then will He extend grace.

Six years ago, on Dec. 4, 2001, President Bush declared a day of prayer called "Day of Reconciliation." Six years later (this past week) it would have been an appropriate time for that prayer to be answered--if the 2001 prayer had been done by a proper spirit of reconciliation. The President was given an unprecedented opportunity this week to be reconciled to Iran on the day after the U.S. Intelligence report. This would have been precisely six years after the prayer on Dec. 4, 2001. This past year I have watched many things come to fruition from the events of 2001. Many events have developed on a six-year cycle. This was certainly one of them.

I recall that national day of prayer in 2001, because the Word of the Lord came to me at the time, telling me that it was unacceptable to God because it was not accompanied by any form of repentance. The day came and went, and there was no noticeable change of thinking on the part of America's people or government. God had deliberately removed His hand of protection from America a few months earlier on Sept. 11, 2001 because of a long-term problem. America's response was to appeal to God to give us His protecting hand once again. But the reasons for divine judgment had not changed in the least, and we had already passed the point where intercessory prayers might have prevented this judgment from coming upon us.

The fact is, the purpose of that national day of prayer was to change God's mind to conform to our way of thinking--not the other way around. We wanted God to bless us and our actions and our way of life. We did not want to change our course. In effect, we were saying, "God, we recognize that You have removed Your blessings from us for turning away from You; so we are appealing to You to change Your mind and bless us so that we can continue in sin that grace may abound."

On April 26, 2008 another national day of prayer is scheduled. I wonder if this one might actually be effective. It is a day of prayer organized by Shawn-Marie Cole, who woke up in July 2005 hearing the Lord speak her name. Out of that revelation and vision, she saw President Bush falling to his knees and repenting and asking God to forgive. You can hear and read about this at:

http://www.reigndownusa.com/

Go to this site and click on "The Vision" at the top of the home page to get the origin of this national day of repentance and reconciliation.

President Bush has agreed to participate in this national day of prayer on April 26, 2008. This makes me wonder what events may transpire between now and then which would cause him and the people to repent. We may be heading into difficult times, but I pray that God will do whatever is necessary to open our eyes so that we can genuinely discover what we have done wrong. We need to stop asking ourselves what the Iranians are doing wrong and begin to ask ourselves what WE have done wrong. More than that, Christians ought to stop blaming the non-Christians for the sins of America and start asking themselves what the Christians have done to bring divine judgment upon America. Only then can we truly change our ways in true humility. Only then can God bless us without simply condoning another cycle of disobedience.

Remember that 2 Chron. 7:14 does not lay the responsibility of repentance upon the non-believers, but upon "My people who are called by My name." The battleground, then, is in the hearts and minds of God's people, not the atheists. Therefore, only a genuine change of heart and mind on the part of the Christians will change the course of American history and bring divine blessings and protection to us once again.