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Hang Ten: A New Wave Begins from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.

Lord I wait here all alone, for a whisper from Your throne. I prayed that while waiting on some inspiration to come, unsure what to write about. I was waiting for a word of hope or encouragement, but all week, I had been hearing something else. I waited quietly for a while with my head resting on the keyboard here. Then I heard “Hang Ten - A New Wave Begins” and this verse was read to me:

(Ezekiel 7:8–9 NASB) ‘Now I will shortly pour out My wrath on you and spend My anger against you; judge you according to your ways and bring on you all your abominations. ‘My eye will show no pity nor will I spare. I will repay you according to your ways, while your abominations are in your midst; then you will know that I, the LORD, do the smiting.

Now I am a preacher of hope. My state motto is: "While I breathe, I hope.” This devotional is called “The Daily Word of Hope.” But I have to write what He gives me or the flow of the Holy Spirit is shut off. We are not to quench the Spirit because we don’t like the message, and we are not to despise prophecy (1 Thessalonians 5:19–20). Now I am nobody, and I hope that what I am writing proves wrong, but for those who have ears to hear, let them hear.

All week I have been hearing “Sin has consequences.” I believe this is a word for the USA, but what is coming may affect other nations as well. Sin has become an outdated word in our culture, and we seem to have forgotten what it means, but rest assured God has not. We focus on God’s love, patience, goodness, kindness, long suffering, forgiveness, and I like to do that, but the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). God is love, but He is not the cuddly santa claus we have tried to make Him into. Nothing in scripture portrays God as “harmless.” That cuddly image is man-made. At His word the universe came into existence, and at His word it can cease to exist.

A few months ago I wrote about the importance of standing in the gap for our nations. I began to feel our scale tipping. There is more sinning happening, than repenting and praying. Wickedness, injustice, abominations, and idols are rampant, while most churches are closed. When the scale gets tilted far enough, judgment comes. This is nothing new, for it happens all the way through the Bible.

In the time of Noah, when man’s every thought was evil, and the Lord regretted that He had even created mankind, He put the one remaining righteous man and his family in an ark, and He sent a flood on the Earth that wiped out the inhabitants. Let’s read what led up to that:

(Genesis 6:5–9 NASB)  Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. The LORD said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God.

 Sin brings forth death (James 1:15). Widespread destruction came, but the Lord protected the righteous, and He destroyed the wicked. After this the Earth was gradually repopulated. Later Sodom and Gomorrah grew more and more wicked. The cities were filled with sexual perversion, and arrogance. They were haughty, and took pride in their abominations. Ezekiel writes about it like this:

(Ezekiel 16:49–50 NASB)  “Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy. “Thus they were haughty and committed abominations before Me. Therefore I removed them when I saw it.

Sodom was so bad that when the Lord sent angels into the city to rescue Lot and his family, the men there tried to rape them on the night they arrived. Once again, God removed the righteous man Lot and his family, then destroyed the cities. In short, taking pride in your abominations brings the boom boom.

The wrath of God is often pictured as a cup or a bowl in scripture that gradually fills up, and once it is full, it is poured out on the Earth. God is patient. He is in no hurry, for it is we who determine how quickly our cup fills, but once the vessel is full, it will be poured out. Our debt of sin is outclimbing the national debt, and that is impressive. Consider what the Lord told Abraham:

(Genesis 15:16 NASB)  “Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.”

The Amorites lived in the land promised to Abraham and his descendants, but the Lord waited four generations until their iniquity was “complete” before He removed them. He was patient, He was long suffering, but He also meant what He said. This happens time and time again in scripture, but judgment can be delayed. It can be averted.

The Lord told Jonah to go and prophesy to Nineveh. Now Jonah took off in the other direction, but let’s skip over that and stick to the main story. It went like this:

(Jonah 1:1–2 NASB)  The word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.”

(Jonah 3:4–5 NASB)  Then Jonah began to go through the city one day’s walk; and he cried out and said, “Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” Then the people of Nineveh believed in God; and they called a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them.

(Jonah 3:10 NASB)  When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would bring upon them. And He did not do it.

Their wickedness rose up before God like smoke, and their sin was like a stench in His nostrils. The Ninevites were wicked, and they began to stink so bad that God could no longer stand it. So He sent His prophet Jonah to bring them a message: “Forty days and the city will be overthrown.” The people believed God, prayed and fasted, humbled themselves, and when God saw them turn from their wickedness, He relented and did not destroy them. Later they fell back into their wicked ways and the city was destroyed by the combined armies of the Babylonians and the Medes in 612 B.C. Our ticket out of this mess is repentance, prayer, and fasting, and to not fall back into our wicked ways like Nineveh did.

Now I don’t want you to become scared. The wrath of God is not meant for His people. In each example I came across while researching this, the Lord protected His righteous ones. When the flood came, Noah was already in the ark with his family. When the fire and brimstone began to rain on Sodom, Lot and his family were safe in another city. There was drought and famine in the land of Israel for years, but Elijah always had something to eat. When Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians, Jeremiah was safely taken care of. The list goes on and on.

God takes care of His people, but make no mistake about it, not everyone is His. This is a time to walk close, to turn away from sin, to repent, to fast, to pray. Don’t be fooled by those that who say this is nothing, for things are about to “double down.”

(Galatians 6:7 NASB)  Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.

(Colossians 3:5–6 NASB)  Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience

(Ephesians 5:6 NASB)  Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

(Romans 5:8–9 NASB)  But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.

The wrath of God is stored up for the “sons of disobedience“ while Christians are covered by the blood of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Just as the night of the passover in Exodus, His blood will protect us from the wrath coming, but this is not a time for fun and games. A new wave is coming, and the Earth is about to shake once more.

You can pray this with me if you like:

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I pray that You forgive me of the sins that I have committed. Wash me and I will be clean. Save me and I will be saved. Me and my house look to You for protection, provision, and guidance during this time. Please hide us away in Your secret place and give us wisdom to navigate the coming days, in the name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.