October 7, 2023
Dear Friend,
Today is going to be a great day! I am so excited about today’s insight, so let’s dive right into our verse.
2 Chronicles 7:14: "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."
Welcome to October! I feel like January started with a quiet stroll to May. June and July began to speedwalk, and then August joined the Olympics! Thankfully, we can choose to slow down.
Time, our most valuable asset, matters most in our relationships. If you’ve never spent time getting to know someone, you do not know them. God made Himself known, but it is hidden knowledge. I cannot claim to know Him without taking the time.
That hidden knowledge is our treasure and inheritance. It has our name on it.
Read Matthew 13:44 and Isaiah 45:3.
This treasure belongs to those called by name; therefore, we must find it together.
2 Chronicles 7:14
“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.”
Turning
Prayer is a three-in-one move, and we know a little about two of them now.
- Humbling ourselves means praying according to what God wants.
- Seeking God’s face means praying in faith that God is listening.
The last step is turning from our wicked ways.
The Wicked
Before you associate wickedness with sin, listen to this story.
Sin is the enemy of God. He was once the corrupt warden of a prison called Darkness in the city of Wicked. God’s people were all once inmates of Darkness. Every prisoner got the death penalty without a right to an appeal before God (Romans 3:18-20).
How did this happen?
Adam and Eve were the first “sinners.” They were created “good,” but they broke the Law of the Lord (how to avoid Sin’s death trap). Sin seized that opportunity (Romans 7:10-11) to pronounce them “guilty until proven innocent” by the Law of Sin. Sin built a very high wall so they could not call for help (Isaiah 59:1-2). But they were God’s people, marked by His jealous love for them (Solomon 8:6).
The Law of Sin called good people evil and evil good (Isaiah 5:20). All Adam and Eve’s children were born in the prison of Darkness and branded with the word “sinner.”
God pronounced Sin wicked. Sin condemned everyone the same way (Romans 3:23). A man named Job checked all ten commandments and still lost everything. But God called him “righteous.” David failed all the commandments except one and was called “man after God’s heart.”
God gathered testimonies against Sin. He counted every tear (Psalm 56:8). He marked every scar. He registered every stroke and lash. He numbered every hair. He identified every disease. He recorded every secret deed done in Darkness because God stayed with His people.
Finally, God became a prisoner. He entered the prison of Darkness and was branded (2 Corinthians 5:20-21) to save every branded sinner (Luke 5:32). Jesus declared that all humanity was God’s GOOD creation from the beginning and God sent Jesus to finish that work and make us NEW creations (2 Corinthians 5:17). God’s direct pardon would negate the Law of Sin (Romans 3:21-26).
Jesus was murdered. He proved that Sin and the Law of Sin were unjust. Every prisoner only had to believe God had sent Jesus (John 5:24), but the prisoners were afraid. Their gang leaders refused to hear Him (Matthew 23:13), and they killed him.
Satan – the Big Boss of Darkness – and his hitman, Death, thought they had finally won (I Corinthians 15:55). Now, there was no hope for the prisoners.
But God is Love. Love is Life. His Life is Light. Love raised Jesus back to Life, Life destroyed Death, and the Light (no longer hidden) broke down the prison walls of Darkness, setting everyone free in one flawless move. Anyone who followed Jesus out of prison was renamed “Righteous” and given a brand new life. No one was left to condemn anyone (Romans 8:34), but some still rejected the offer (Hebrews 2:3-4). Some believe they still have to pay and make others pay (2 Chronicles 19:7). Some didn’t believe in Jesus at all and still remain in Wicked City.
The wickedness of Sin was punished. His own rule judged him “guilty until proven innocent.” If Sin reminds you of your old branded scar, show him his worst and final mistake – Jesus’ scars.
No longer Wicked
It is time to walk out, my friend. Turn away from your wicked prison of doubt, guilt, and fear. There is no more Darkness (John 5:24) and no more condemnation from Sin (Romans 8:1).
Believe that God took everything evil and made it work together for your good because He ALWAYS deeply, unconditionally, and compassionately LOVED YOU and loves you still.
And that is wicked good.
Believing Him,
Monisha.
