USA Journaling #5*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
I AM A CHRISTIAN AMERICAN: WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?Written January 26, 2015, Monday, 915 a.m.
I am Christian.
I am American.
I am a Christian American. In that order.
What does it mean to be a Christian American? And, what does it mean to be a Christian American in today's world?
The answer to the questions in the previous paragraph are complicated, but are also simple. There are several ways to answer those questions--and that's the purpose of this blog. However, they all stem from this: God first, then country. This is the answer and is the definition. God first, then country, in 2015.
So, how do you put God first in the USA today? Or, should I say... How should I put God first in my life and in my life in the USA today?
Stop. Look at the last part of the previous question. It makes a very important distinction. I am living for more than for myself. As I live, I am living for more than for myself and my family. I am living for more anything or anyone else. This includes for the USA. When was the last time I thought about this?
Long pause. Long pause as I try to come up with the answer.
Huh. The truth of the matter is I cannot think of the last time I thought of that before this blog.
How self-serving, self-focused, egotistical, narcissistic can I be? There is far more to my life than myself, my husband, and the everyday stuff of life. I am an American and it is my duty to make sure I am contributing to the embetterment of the country, not making it worse. The embetterment is on the and for the whole, and is not just for self, family, or job.
Pause. I am stuck now. Not sure where to go with that. It made me think. How am I making the USA the best country in the world?
Answer: I have no idea.
There is the rub. I should have several answers to that question.
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GOD AND COUNTRYWritten January 26, 2015, Monday, 930 a.m.
I know this for certain. I cannot be the best American I can be if I am not right with my Maker. I also know that the USA will fall if she is not right with God. Period. End of story.
So, how can I, and how can every American citizen be right with God? And, how can every Christian American be right with God, myself included? The answer lies in the following verse:
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2 Chronicles 7:14 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
14 and My people who are called by My name humble themselves, pray and seek My face, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
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2 CHRONICLES 7:14Written January 26, 2015, Monday, 941 a.m.
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2 Chronicles 7:14 GOD'S WORD Translation (GW)
14 However, if my people, who are called by my name,
will humble themselves,
pray, search for me, and turn from their evil ways,
then I will hear their prayer from heaven, forgive their sins,
and heal their country.
GOD'S WORD Translation (GW)
Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group
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"However" marks a change. It's a change from current behavior or thought.
What is my current behavior and thought?
I cringed as I USA Journaled and typed that last question. My shoulders sag and I feel a tug in my heart as I think how much I have missed the mark as a Christian American in general--and as I read this verse of 2 Chronicles 7:14. I have blown it. Big time. There is no other answer. I refuse to excuse it or justify my behavior, or lack thereof.
If I read the rest of the verse of 2 Chronicles 7:14, after I read the word, "However," then I see how I have not been thinking on, praying on, applying, reviewing, or contemplating the verse in my life. No wonder why the USA is falling, failing, sliding, in every way. I've blown it.
How about you?
HOWEVER!
That word gives me great hope. HOWEVER, if I start reading, re-reading, memorizing, praying, thinking on, contemplating, applying, reviewing, re-applying, re-contemplating this verse, THEN God will heal our land, the USA.
But, I just got ahead of myself. There is a great deal to be done before God will heal the USA and each of us has a part to play, according to 2 Chronicles 7:14. The first being, to meditate on, contemplate, ponder, and pray this verse repeatedly every single day and make sure we are living it.
I'm going to write this verse out on a few note cards to carry with me everywhere I go--and am going to keep it on my tablet and cell phone so I can look at it and allow each and every word to sink in as I try to live that verse every moment of every day.
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