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The prerequisite for God's blessing
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One of the most widely used phrases is “God bless America.” I do believe God does want to bless America, as well as any people who will put their trust in him.
In our history we have experienced time and time again the blessings of God to the point that we have became the wealthiest and most influential country in the world. What many forget is that this blessing has not came without a prerequisite — that being repentance.
In the Old Testament days, there were those who proclaimed their faith in God then sinned and rebelled against his commandments.
God sent his spokesmen, whose messages were that they must confess and turn from their evil practices. But the people rejected the message and persecuted these messengers, and the result was a withdrawal of God’s blessing.
In the New Testament, God sent John the Baptist and then his own Son Jesus Christ and the reaction was overwhelming rejection. The result was that God did not pour out his blessing.
In our present day, there are some who think that because we are Americans, God owes us his blessing. What we need to do is to look at the overall attitude to what the Bible calls sin and the general lack of repentance.
The Scripture is very clear that without this sorrow for sin and a turning from it then God will not continue to bless.
The good news, however, is there is a promise that will stand through time. It is found in 2 Chronicles 7:14, which says, “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 will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
Our prayer should not be so much, “God bless us in this new year,” but rather, “Lord, help us to humble ourselves, pray, seek your will and repent” — then trust that you will be faithful to your word.

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