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Below
is a word that the Lord gave me as I read a follow-up that Francis
Frangipane wrote to the original article about the National Day Of
Reconciliation that he posted on his website. In his follow-up he
stated that he had received many "concerned" letters about
the resolution from Christians who felt that it was somehow anti-Christian
or part of a "one world religion" because it was going to
be careful to include all faiths. This resolution is intended to provide
a day for all of our elected officials to come together to seek repentance,
reconciliation, forgiveness and blessing for this nation. The following
is an excerpt of what concerned people:
"It
was specifically drafted to include everyone and to exclude no one.
The National Day of Reconciliation acknowledges that we are all equal
before God and, consequently, it is tailored to accommodate the specific
faiths of every Member. It is ecumenical in substance and universal
in its aspiration. Everyone can confidently embrace the spirit and
purpose of reconciliation we advance with this proposal. We make way
for all faiths".
As I read his follow-up,
the Lord began to reveal to me what was happening. He took me to I
Kings 18 where the Lord says to Elijah "Go, present yourself
to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the earth." This directive
by the Lord started the whole confrontation on Mount Carmel between
Elijah and the prophets of Baal. Elijah told Ahab to gather all Israel
and the prophets of Baal as well as the prophets of Asherah who ate
at Jezebel's table.
At the same time the Lord took me I Kings 18 He reminded me of something
that one of the Taliban leaders said when President Bush announced
that the United States would hunt down the terrorists and demanded
that the Taliban government had over Bin Laden. This Taliban leader
said "If America strikes Afghanistan, Allah will cut America
in two."
I continued to read I Kings
18 about the confrontation on Mount Carmel. Elijah asked the people
"how long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is
God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him." The people said nothing
in response. Then Elijah proposed the plan. They would each take a
bull and prepare it and the God who answered by fire would be the
true God. The prophets of Baal would call on their gods and Elijah
would call on his God. Elijah told them to go first. They did all
of their routines, prayers, chants etc...and nothing happened. Then
it was Elijah's turn, at the time of the usual evening sacrifice he
said the people "come near to me." He prayed to the God
of heaven and God answered with fire consuming everything, the bull,
the wood, the stones, the dust and the water. The bible says that
when the people saw this the fell on their faces and declared the
Lord is God!
We cannot be afraid to have
the power of out God put to the test!! Elijah wasn't and neither should
we. This is a time when God is saying "come near to me",
not just to the followers of Christ but to ALL. You see, Elijah told
ALL of Israel to come, that included those who were in unbelief and
had been worshiping false gods. James 4: 8-10 admonishes us to draw
near to God and He will draw near to us, to cleanse our hands and
purify our hearts, to lament, mourn and weep (repent), to humble ourselves
and He will lift us up. I believe this is what Elijah was saying when
he told them to "come near". Elijah wasn't afraid of what
they believed because he knew the power of his God was greater. As
the above excerpt states, we are all equal before God, in that we
all have available to us His offer of salvation, the difference is
that the god's that they serve are not equal to the one true God.
The
word "fire" in I Kings 18 is actually translated "divine
presence and power". We can trust that even if there are some
praying to Allah and some to Buddha in the same room with us that
God's presence and power will be there and that there will come a
day when it will consume everything close to the altar (all of the
prayers of both Christian and non-Christian), then the Buddhists,
the Muslims, the Hindu's and everyone else will fall on their faces
and declare the Lord, He is God! I believe that this is the opportunity
provided in this resolution for the National Day of Reconciliation.
It is interesting that no matter how much the prophets of Baal called
on their god's no fire came. One of the writings of Mohammed in the
Koran says that only Allah had the right to judge by fire. Allah,
Buddha and the 3 million Hindu gods' did not come through to prove
themselves on Mount Carmel and they will not prove themselves now.
There is a division coming in America and in the world just as the
Taliban leader prophesied but it isn't what he thinks. The division
is a clear distinction between those who serve the one true God and
those who don't.
The rain that God promised
would come when He first sent Elijah to Ahab did not come until after
the consuming fire brought a clear distinction between good and evil,
truth and deception, reality and delusion. Once the prophets of Baal
were silenced the long awaited and much needed rain came in abundance.
The latter rain is rising out of the sea, it's a small cloud right
now but as we allow the power of our God to be tested and displayed
it will begin to pour down righteousness, justice and refreshing.
I keep hearing the Lord
say " in these days, those who know their God will do great exploits"
we MUST know him and trust completely in His power and His word. We
must believe He is who He says He is and can do what He says He can
do.
In Him,
Sandee Wichkoski
swichkoski@kenmontcap.com
11/10/01