Turn

Love you all, praying for you.
 
God spoke to me through my time of worship this morning.  God said “In this busy season of your life, worship me three times each day.  Do your PRISM for today in those three times in worship.  Before breakfast, before lunch, and before dinner.”  As the live worship set was playing, someone was praying for God to heal our land – quoting that verse.  “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 forgive their sin, and heal their land.”   Humble yourself and pray – adore him, confess your sins, and give an offering of thanksgiving - lifting your requests to him, that’s a demonstration of humility.  Humble yourself.  Seek my face – that’s worship – seeing Him for who He is, the loving, all powerful, all giving, all forgiving, all gracious and merciful and Almighty God!  Turn from your wicked ways – anything that he didn’t assign for you to do right now - that’s wicked, less than he said, than He directed for you, anything different from His will…  Then – I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.  Healing cannot come until forgiveness comes.  And forgiveness cannot come until there is a turning – a thinking differently.  A thinking about sin, the way God sees it, as a grievous evil.  Something that is wholly incompatible with His Holiness and His presence.  And then God revealed a secret.  Every time you turn to something, you turn from something.  The best way to turn from something, is to turn to something.   When you turn to sin, anything that is the lust of the eyes or the flesh or the pride of life – you really are turning from God, and His Word, and His good, and His best.  But every time you turn to Him, every time you choose worship, His presence, His praise, His Word, His Spirit… His presence, you automatically turn from sin.  Praying that God will draw you to more times in his presence of worship, not just more time with Him, more times with Him.  The more you turn to Him throughout the day, the more you turn from the things that are not from him, that do not lead to his truth, and His good, His power and His favor and His blessing.  Praying that you will turn to – so you turn from.  If you only turn from one sin, you could end up turning to another – the list of possibilities is endless.  But every time you turn to Him, you turn from everything that would displease him, and hinder you.  Praying that you would learn to turn.  That you would turn like Daniel – three times a day.  And His schedule and responsibilities and career were far greater than yours.  Every time you turn to Him, you turn from every unclean thing, every wicked thing, every less than His best for you – thing.  Praying that you will turn more – to Him, so His thoughts become your thoughts, so His glory fills you with wonder, so His thoughts consume you, and His power fills you, and His joy overflows in you, so He can hear and turn, and forgive and heal.    
 
Love you all,
dad