Tuesday, January
24, 2017
But in spite
of this there is still hope for Israel.
Ezra 10:2b(NLT)
Now let us
make a covenant before our God to send away all these women and their
children, in accordance with the counsel of my lord and of those who fear the
commands of our God. Let it be done
according to the Law. Ezra 10:3(NLT)
Yesterday we considered the
state of our culture in the world generally, and particularly in the U.S.. Spiritually-speaking, that state is in a
condition much like the patient that is comatose, not breathing and running out
of time. Before long it will be impossible
for anything to be done. The judgment of
death will be final.
The only possible move is
repentance – a complete 180° retreat from our attitudes of self-sufficiency and
godlessness, and turning towards God in obedience and holiness.
As a nation, Israel did that,
repenting of their selfish and sinful ways.
It was time to make (or rather renew) their covenant promises given to
them by God centuries before at the base of Mt Sinai.
In order to repent and return
to your covenant vows with God you need to recognize just how serious sin is in
God's eyes. There is no such thing as a
little sin. Today we minimalize the
impact sin has to our overly-sensitive ears.
Teenage children in our churches (over 50%) are not fornicators any more
– they're simply sexually active. Adulterers have affairs, and pornographers are sufferers of sexual addiction. Everybody's a victim – nobody's guilty of
sin.
In a broadcast about 20 years
ago, Chuck Swindoll said, 'That's
nonsense! Any wrong thing I do, it is my
sin, my responsibility – 100%. Any sin
you do is first degree. It is your
responsibility, your wrong before God.
We need to stop seeing
ourselves as victims and begin to take responsibility for our covenant with
God.
Sometimes that takes a rebuke
in the right place. I have been
caught-up short a number of times in my life – at the right time – and it made
all the difference in my attitude and growth in walking with Christ. A rebuke, for a Christian believer, is
nothing more than a reminder of their covenant with God.
Our nation needs that. Abraham was the recipient of God’s favor and
blessing as a covenant promise to him and his posterity. But he had to be reminded often when he
wandered from the center of his promises and God’s will. In the same way, America cannot stand in the
wake of flagrant, arrogant willfulness, ignoring the God who gifted us with
this precious and magnificent land.
Our prayer (and actions)
should be that the pulpits and pews of America be filled and aflame just as
much (and more) now with righteousness, as they were in the days of the
formation of this nation. Absent of that
I do not know of any moral or consequential reason for God to allow this nation
to endure!
For You Today
Hear this, America…return to
your God while there is still hope!
NOTES
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