Do you watch the news? It can be a bit depressing – one tragic story after another. Tragic accidents, horrific acts of nature, massive fires… Do you ever wonder if God is trying to get our attention?
Have you read the story in the Bible of Moses and the Egyptian Pharaoh? God was definitely trying to get the Pharaoh’s attention. Moses even stood before him and warned him time after time that if he did not do as God instructed, bad things were going to happen.
Now I am obviously in no position to state with certainty that God is behind the things that are happening in our world today, but is it that hard to believe?
For 2,000+ years we’ve had the answer to salvation. And from the moment of Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension to heaven – his disciples and other witnesses to all he said and did spoke boldly about who he is. Many, many Christians have died for sharing the truth. There is only one way to salvation and eternity with God. There is only one way to avoid eternity in hell. That is by confessing with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believing in your heart that God raised him from the dead. (Romans 10:9)
God’s message has always been clear. Repent!
Now 2,000+ years later the truth is being hushed. People who dare confess their faith in Christ are shamed for not being more inclusive. People who dare stand up for God’s laws as clearly defined in the Bible are ridiculed. And although many might have never believed it would happen in America, it is becoming less and less “politically correct” to state your beliefs – that is, if you are a Christian.
So when I watch the news and see the crazy events happening around us – I really do wonder if God is trying to wake us up. And I wonder … is anyone paying attention?
From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near. ” (Matthew 4:17 NLT)
Lord, you are searching for honesty. You struck your people, but they paid no attention. You crushed them, but they refused to be corrected. They are determined, with faces set like stone; they have refused to repent. (Jeremiah 5:3 NLT)
“God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him. (Acts 17:30 NLT)
Go back to what you heard and believed at first; hold to it firmly. Repent and turn to me again. If you don’t wake up, I will come to you suddenly, as unexpected as a thief. (Revelation 3:3 NLT)
If you warn them and they refuse to repent and keep on sinning, they will die in their sins. But you will have saved yourself because you obeyed me. (Ezekiel 3:19 NLT)
Gather before judgment begins, before your time to repent is blown away like chaff. Act now, before the fierce fury of the Lord falls and the terrible day of the Lord ’s anger begins. (Zephaniah 2:2 NLT)
Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. (Luke 3:8 NLT)