There are a few verses being used out of context that are circulating around social media right now and it has me a little miffed.
Our God is an awesome God isn’t he! From Genesis to Revelation and now in 2020, we can see him showing up and moving in his way, in his time and revealing that he is the Lord.
In my recent class on C. S. Lewis, I wrote an assignment on God being good all the time. It’s hard to understand sometimes, especially when things are uncertain and hard, that God is good. He is good and we have a few promises we can rely on to get us through hard times.
First, I want to talk about a wrongly used Bible verse that is circulating online right now. There are a lot of people who are using 1 Chronicles 7:13-14, v. 14 “if my people who are called by my name 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”.
This was a promise for a very specific time for the Israelites. It does not apply to now, except for when it calls us to humble ourselves before the Lord. The promises of this passage have been fulfilled already. Because of Jesus dying on the cross, the Old Testament covenants have been fulfilled. “When Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. . . . By a single offering, he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” (Hebrews 10:14) That means that some of the promises of the Old Testament are fulfilled differently now than they were then” (John Piper).
John Piper also says, “my people — “if my people” — the people are no longer merely the Jewish, ethnic people of God, but the blood-bought people of the Messiah united to him by faith. And, secondly, the reference to their land — cleanse their land; “heal their land” — does not apply to the land of the church, how much less the church in America, referring to the land of America. It doesn’t refer to America, because the church bought by the blood of Jesus is a pilgrim people drawn from all the lands, from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. The church has no homeland except heaven and eventually the new earth. Therefore, the application we make of this verse is not that if Christians will repent God will heal America. We have no such promise in the Bible. Rather, if Christians repent, turn from their wicked ways, humble themselves, and pray to God, he will do a mighty work in and through the church however he please.”
It’s so important to know the context of what is being said before it gets shared on social media so we are not passing around promises that are not true for this time. There are many promises in the Old Testament that are relevant to 2020, however, many are not. I’ll talk another time about how to interpret the Bible as I’m very passionate about using the Bible well and not misleading others with false words.
Secondly, God loves it when we turn to him and pray, but that doesn’t mean he’ll keep us from suffering. He allows us to go through those things and he’s there for us through them – PRAISE the Lord!
Third, God is good, all the time and when we call to him, he’s near us. We can hold tight to the promises of God.
Isaiah 55:6 “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.”
Matthew 5-7 has great promises for you. I suggest reading and meditating on these.
Romans 5:9 ” Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!”
Ephesians 1:7 ” In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.”
John 17:13 “But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.”
My prayer is that you spend time meditating on God’s word which is true and sweet and good. Be blessed dear friend!
Danielle
John Piper article https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/which-old-testament-promises-apply-to-me?fbclid=IwAR19C1mvaUEFWO-peLQnlcLVmcMXf6Axmfc6-gEenDRJbbVxcsziuhH-gFA
