We are going through load shedding again. For those of you not familiar with South Africa it means that because there isn’t enough electricity to go around the whole country is being rationed. There are certain times of the day that the electricity is turned off. It works according to a schedule and it works on a rotations basis. There are also different stages of load shedding according to how much electricity has to be saved. It starts at stage one where the power goes off once a day for about 2 hours and then progresses as the need arises. The only positive thing I have heard about it was someone saying that we should pray for the country every time the power goes off. That would definitely be a good thing.
The reasons behind the whole issue are complex and it really isn’t worth going into them. All I know is that if we don’t pray for our country we are going to really be in trouble. Our attitudes are going to determine the future of our country. If we speak negatively about the place where we live we are speaking curses on ourselves. Malachi 2:1-2,8 “’And now, O priests, this commandment is for you. If you will not hear, And if you will not take it to heart, To give glory to My name,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘I will send a curse upon you, And I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have cursed them already, Because you do not take it to heart. But you have departed from the way; You have caused many to stumble at the law. You have corrupted the covenant of Levi.” Verse 7 says, “for the lips of a priest should keep knowledge, And people should seek the law from his mouth; For he is a messenger from the Lord of hosts.”
It has happened a lot in this country, and I am sure in other countries, that people, to whom people’s spiritual well being have been entrusted, have broken this trust and misled people. Trusting people have been misled by letting them believe that God’s Word can be compromised. There are churches which allow people to worship idols and sacrifice to their ancestors while they are church members, but not only members, even elders. There are churches which lead people to believe that they have to pay for healing and blessings. There are pastors who cause people to believe that money can buy all kinds of spiritual blessings. Then there are spiritual leaders who have watered down the Gospel to such an extent that it contains no power at all. This is, and cannot ever be right.
But we are now living in the time after Jesus died. We do not have to rely on priests and prophets to tell us what God is saying. We can read the bible for ourselves and much more than that, we can hear God’s voice. Hebrews 10:15-17, “But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before, ‘This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,’ Then he adds, ‘Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” V19 “Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from and evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”
We are able to access the throne of God with boldness. We don’t need a priest to make atonement for our sins. We can check in the bible if the pastor is preaching junk from the pulpit. We can’t use anyone’s false testimony as an excuse for doing things which are against the Word of God. Philippians 2:12, “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” Each one of us is responsible for his own soul. We need to find spiritual homes where the Bible is preached clearly. Churches where the Holy Spirit is allowed to move. Places where Jesus Christ is the only Savior. A house where the Word of God is the final authority.
Have the priests put a curse on our land? Probably, but because we have the right to be called children of God and we have access to the throne room, we can come before His and humble ourselves and stand in the gap for our country. We have to stop blaming other people, even when things are their fault. We have to pray with the conviction that God has heard our prayers and is the good Father that he promises to be.
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