Day 1: Where do we begin? If My people who are called by My name will 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. 2 Chronicles 7:14, NKJV The books of 1 and 2 Chronicles give us a wide sweep of Israel s history. together, they take us from the first human, Adam, all the way to the return of God s chosen people from exile in Babylon. These stories are filled with action, battle scenes, and political intrigue. Yet interestingly, the books of Chronicles don t focus on the political details. Instead, they tell the story in terms of what it means to worship God and what it looks like to live obedient lives as God s people. This is the heart of their history. Within these books, we arrive at a powerful verse: 2 Chronicles 7:14. God promises King Solomon despite his political blunders and the people s ongoing disobedience that they can always return to Him. They are God s people. If they will humble themselves, pray and seek God s face, and turn from their wicked ways, God will always be faithful to hear, forgive, and restore. This biblical principle is true for all people who humbly turn to Him today in every tribe and nation, to the ends of the earth. It is tempting to think that events, leaders, and political activity define our history and determine our future. But God invites us to stay closer to the heart of the story. What does true worship look like? How do we boldly live out our faith as God s people? As we explore this together in the following days through humility, prayer, and repentance, we have a promise from God s Word that He will listen and respond. It is never too late to return and be forgiven and restored. Our world is always changing, but Your promises remain the same. Thank You for Your constant love. We re grateful that no matter how far we wander, when we turn from our sin back to You, You are faithful to receive us back. Teach us how to worship You and live in faithful obedience as Your beloved people. In Jesus Name, amen.
Day 2: My people who are called by My Name You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:13 16, NKJV Have you ever woken up early to see the sun rise? It inches above the horizon and then illuminates the whole sky. Your surroundings are immediately brought to life no longer under shadow, but full of color and depth. Jesus says we serve a similar purpose in the world. As followers of Christ, we hold inside us the joy of our salvation and the power of a life lived in union with God. As Jesus taught in the verses just prior to this passage from His Sermon on the Mount (beginning in verse 3), we share in God s eternal kingdom. This allows us to experience true contentment in God, even in times of suffering. We are bearers of God s light, shining as His children in the midst of a crooked generation (Philippians 2:15). This light is too wonderful to hide or put out! In fact, shining brightly is part of living as God s people. We see this in the Old Testament as well. God formed Israel as a nation set apart by divine covenant to draw all nations to the one true God (Genesis 26:4; Isaiah 49:6; Isaiah 60:3). Through Jesus, this covenant was extended to everyone Jews and Gentiles, slave and free, men and women (Galatians 3:28). As His disciples, we are called to carry His message, to Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15, NKJV). We are filled with God s love in order to draw others to Him. We must let our light shine out so that others will turn to the Lord and give Him glory in our community, our state, our nation, and the whole world. Thank You for saving me and including me in the life-giving work of Your kingdom. Let me be faithful to Your call to live as a child of God shining as a light so that all people may see the good things You do and turn to You. Let my life reflect my union with You, even within my times of suffering. Make me a bearer of Your light and a joyful participant in Your kingdom. In Jesus Name, amen.
Day 3: Humble themselves Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, in sackcloth, and with dust on their heads. Then those of Israelite lineage separated themselves from all foreigners; and they stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for one-fourth of the day; and for another fourth they confessed and worshiped the Lord their God. Nehemiah 9:1 3, NKJV These verses come at a pivotal point in Israel s history. After years of living in exile in Babylon, away from the land God promised them and the home of their ancestors, the Israelites returned to Jerusalem only to find a whole new set of difficulties and suffering. Their beloved Temple had been destroyed, the city gates burned, and the city walls left in ruins. They returned home, but it was a pale comparison to the home they had left. In the midst of this turmoil, Nehemiah, a court official to the king of Persia, was granted permission to go to Jerusalem and help restore the city. Against great obstacles, he led the people in rebuilding the city and the wall protecting it brick by brick. But this didn t only mean bringing the city s outward appearance back to life. It meant redirecting the hearts of the people back to God. Their process gives us a powerful example of what it looks like to turn back humbly to God. For three hours Ezra the priest read the Law of the Lord, and for three hours the people confessed their sins and worshiped God. They acknowledged the ways they had turned away from God, leading to their exile. They listened to God s life-giving Law that had formed them as a people. And they returned to God, knowing He was the only one who could restore what had been lost. What would it look like for us individually and as a nation to turn to God? For the people of Israel it began with deep humility: grieving, confessing, and worshiping their Creator. They had a long, hard road before them, but through these first steps, God was faithfully receiving them home and forming them anew. As we humbly turn to God, He can restore even the most desolate situations. God is always faithful to receive us back.
I know that change in our nation must begin with Your people, including me. I confess that I am often led astray by my own desires. I do not always follow You in thought, word, and deed. Cleanse me with Your life-giving words and realign my heart to worship You in spirit and in truth. I humbly ask this in Jesus Name. Amen.
Day 4: Pray and seek My face I was sought by those who did not ask for Me; I was found by those who did not seek Me. I said, Here I am, here I am, To a nation that was not called by My name. I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, Who walk in a way that is not good, According to their own thoughts. Isaiah 65:1 2, NKJV When was the last time you needed help? You may have needed support in a decision you were making. Or you may have needed insight about a challenge your family was facing. In these moments, we often turn to counselors, friends, or family members. Our first instinct may be to pick up the phone or set our minds spinning. Many times we forget to turn our attention to God s still small voice that says, Here I am; I will help you. In these verses, God tells the Prophet Isaiah that He was always ready to hear and answer Israel s prayers. But the people were too caught up in their own ways worshiping other gods, consulting other spirits, and making pagan sacrifices instead of praying to God (Isaiah 65:3 7). It seems like they turned to every possible source of help except the One who could truly help them. As we learn to turn to God first in each of our decisions and needs, we discover that He has always been present, waiting for us to call for help. We are freed from stubbornly pursuing our own solutions. We find God an ever-present help in our times of trouble and the One who readily welcomes us home (Psalm 46:1). Help me turn to You first. In each moment of my day, tune my ear to Your still small voice, so I can hear You say, I am here; I will help you. Teach me to rely on Your help more readily than my own solutions. Thank You for always being ready to welcome me as Your own and work powerfully on my behalf. In Jesus Name, amen.
Day 5: Turn from their wicked ways O Israel, return to the Lord your God, For you have stumbled because of your iniquity; Take words with you, And return to the Lord. Say to Him, Take away all iniquity; Receive us graciously, For we will offer the sacrifices of our lips. Assyria shall not save us, We will not ride on horses, Nor will we say anymore to the work of our hands, You are our gods. For in You the fatherless finds mercy. Hosea 14:1 3, NKJV It is tempting to put our faith in things or people rather than God. We build tall buildings that provide us with safety. We create economic systems that offer us security. We develop medicines that sustain our health and hope. We can lose sight of how God works in our world and then grow to depend on those things rather than on Him. We see the nation of Israel struggle with this throughout the Old Testament. Even as Moses spoke with God on Mount Sinai, the people crafted a golden calf to worship in place of God. Once settled in the Promised Land, they pleaded with Him to give them political leaders like the other nations. They looked to kings to guide them and neighboring political powers to give them security. They put their faith in people and governments and lost sight of their one true King. But God told them through the Prophet Hosea, Assyria can never save you! and War horses cannot protect you! Created things are weak substitutes for the all-powerful, loving Creator Himself. In turning from their wicked ways, the people of Israel recognized that they had been seeking sources other than God to protect and sustain them. In returning to Him, they came back to their fortress, their mighty rock and refuge (Psalm 62:5 7). They returned to the author and finisher of their faith, the One in whom we live and move and have our being (Hebrews 12:2; Acts 17:28).
What would it take for each of us to turn away from relying on lesser things and return to God, our true source of life? What does it look like to recognize our dependence on God thankfully acknowledging where our strength and protection can be found? What kind of praise would flow from our lips? What would it take for us to pray, as Hosea did, to the Lord who shows mercy to those who have no one else to turn to? You are my one true source of life. You are my fortress, my mighty rock and refuge. I confess that I have looked to outside sources to sustain me. As a nation, we have relied on people, systems, and our own creations to protect us. Take Your rightful place as our one true King. Show us mercy; no one else can save us. We have nowhere else to turn but to Your loving arms. In Jesus Name, amen.
Day 6: I will hear from heaven Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:12 13, NKJV Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, Here I am. Isaiah 58:8 9, NKJV Before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear. Isaiah 65:24, NKJV Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 1 John 5:14, NKJV Do you believe God hears you when you pray? Sometimes our prayer life can feel like a long list of requests that go unanswered. Day after day we call out to God on behalf of the needs around us the family member with cancer, countries at war, or our own struggles with anxiety. Day after day, things seem to remain the same. Is God really hearing our pleas? The people of Israel expressed a similar frustration during their times of fasting. Why have we fasted, they say, and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice? (Isaiah 58:3, NKJV). But through the Prophet Isaiah, God told them that true and acceptable prayer and fasting is not about simply going through the motions. It comes from sincere hearts and lives marked by faithful living (Isaiah 58:4 12). God s Word lists many ways our sin can hinder our prayers.
But even when we re walking faithfully with God, it may sometimes seem like our prayers are going unanswered. Don t be mistaken, though, because the very act of praying is changing us in profound ways. Prayer joins us with something much bigger than ourselves. It lets us courageously spend time in God s presence shaping our thoughts into His thoughts and our desires into His desires. Prayer aligns us with God s vision for the world. It teaches us how to live with suffering, unrest, and turmoil. It empowers us to work toward peace, actively participating in the work He is already doing. Prayer lovingly unites us with God so that we can be convicted of sin and empowered to change. When we sincerely pray according to His will, the Bible says He hears us and if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him (1 John 5:15, NKJV). Thank You for being at work in the world in ways that are beyond my wildest comprehension. I want to see with Your vision and participate in the work You are doing. Give me a hunger to spend time in Your presence through prayer. Shape my desires into Your desires and my thoughts into Your thoughts. Unite me with Your Spirit, so that I will know and do Your will. In Jesus Name, amen.
Day 7: Forgive their sins The Lord is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father pities his children, So the Lord pities those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust. Psalm 103:8 14, NKJV Our God is a merciful and gracious God. When we come to Him in true repentance, He is always ready to receive us, restore us, and revive our hearts. First John 1:9 reminds us: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (NKJV). Notice it says if. Forgiveness begins when we admit our need. God s forgiveness is available to us because He is merciful. Mercy means that God does not give us what we deserve: judgment. God s forgiveness is characterized by grace, giving us what we don t deserve. We don t deserve forgiveness, but because of His grace, God sent His only Son to this earth to die on a cross for our sins. Three days later He rose again. God s grace reaches out to us and invites us to turn from our sin and follow Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.
God s forgiveness is unlimited in its measure. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him (v.11). His mercy is so much greater than our sin that it cannot be measured. God s forgiveness is like a father who has mercy on his children. We are reminded of this in the story of the prodigal son, which is a glimpse of how God feels about us. The father was waiting and longing for the son to return, and he poured out his blessings once the son had repented and returned. If we likewise repent and return, God will do this for each one of us too. Thank You for Your mercy, grace, and forgiveness. Thank You for my salvation through Jesus Christ. I am a great sinner, but I am so grateful that You are a great forgiver. Please help me to live a godly life and change me more and more into Your likeness. In Jesus Name, amen.
Day 8: And restore their land Hezekiah became king when he was twenty-five years old, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem... And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father David had done. In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them. Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, that His fierce wrath may turn away from us. And they gathered their brethren, sanctified themselves, and went according to the commandment of the king, at the words of the Lord, to cleanse the house of the Lord. Now they began to sanctify on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they came to the vestibule of the Lord. So they sanctified the house of the Lord in eight days, and on the sixteenth day of the first month they finished. So the service of the house of the Lord was set in order. Then Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced that God had prepared the people, since the events took place so suddenly. 2 Chronicles 29:1 3, 10, 15, 17, 35 36, NKJV 2 Chronicles 29 gives an account of one of the greatest revivals in the Bible. The nation had turned its back on God. The Temple doors had been nailed shut, sacrifice to the Lord had ceased, and worship of other gods was rampant. Israel was in decline and was the laughingstock of the world. The situation seemed hopeless. Then a 25-year-old king came to the throne. Hezekiah was an unlikely candidate to turn the nation back to God. His father had been the one who had closed the Temple and ceased the worship of God. Hezekiah, however, made it his top priority to get things right with God and restore all that his father had destroyed. His day one agenda was to open the doors of the Temple, remove the things that should not be there, consecrate the Temple, and establish sacrifice and worship once again.
The amazing thing is that this was all done in 15 days. Fifteen years of decline were reversed in 15 days. This shows us that if we seek God with all our hearts and set things right in our relationship with Him personally and nationally He can turn things around and heal our land. Then Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced that God had prepared the people, since the events took place so suddenly (v. 36). We are not waiting on God to send revival; He is waiting on us to turn back to Him. He has promised that if we return to Him, He will heal our land. Will you determine today to make your relationship with Him your top priority? Our nation has turned away from You. Worship of You has ceased in many places. We have worshiped the gods of technology and affluence. We have not sought You as our number one priority. We pray for revival in our lives and in our nation. Today I am setting You as my first priority, and I purpose by Your power to remove the things in my life that are taking the place that You alone should have. Lord, forgive my sin and heal our land. In Jesus Name, amen. 2016 BGEA 02505 DecisionAmericaTour.com