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. 2 Chron 7:14
I love this verse for its simplicity. All God asks of us is here. Be humble, pray, seek Him, turn from sin. It doesn’t seem hard, yet for some reason the Israelites had quite a tough time living up to it. We all have a tough time of it. It does seem easy, but for some reason it isn’t. I struggle with all of those elements. Humility in this “me” culture is hard. To get ahead professionally I find I have to promote myself more than I am comfortable with. And there is a fine line between self promotion and prideful boasting. After all these years, while praying is a lot easier, I still have a hard time getting started on occasion. Sometimes I wonder if I truly am seeking Him, and can any of us say we have truly turned from sin? Saying I have would actually be a sin.
What’s truly interesting to me is that even though the culture of today is obviously vastly different from that of Solomon’s day, God’s promise is still relevant. Many non-beleivers think the bible is either not relevant, or worse, fiction, because our culture is so much different. They equate the bible with religion. The sad part about it all is that they get hung up on the word “religion.” God didn’t invent religion, flawed humans did. We did it as a way to try and make the pure Word of God mean something more than it does. We simply weren’t convinced that what He tells us in His Word was all there was to it. But, that’s were we erred. That is all there is. It is as simple as that verse. God loves us all, regardless. He wants everyone to seek Him. He’s given us the Way to do that, we just have to believe. I firmly believe the Bible is the only true Word of God. Religion has ruined it. God wants us to seek him and the best way to do that is to get back to the Word, and really READ it. It will change us. God will change us.
God, thank you for your Word. It allows me to find you – know you – love you. Amen
Jim (jmitch1)
Sixty-six books in a year 
I love this Scripture, too! When my church family in Amarillo, Texas, replaced a small church building we had used for years, 2 Chronicles 7:14 was painted on the wall in the entrance to the new sanctuary. Every time I entered I was reminded to be humble, pray, turn from sin, and seek God with all my heart. That attitude of worship each Sunday became my daily desire and still is. How can we do otherwise when our great God still invites us to come to Him? And how can we stand before Him justified? We cannot. Therefore, by His righteousness and His redemption and grace, He alone becomes our Justifier through faith in Jesus. That is humbling, isn’t it.