I'm posting this after midnight, but I haven't gone to bed yet, so I still consider this to be day 8. :-)
Tomorrow is Memorial Day. Our country has a lot of heroes in it. Not the kind you see on TV or in the movie theaters, but the people that serve in the Armed Forces day after day. Especially the ones that happen to be on the battlefield... or the ones that give their lives for our country.
I found out something interesting today... since 1776, not a single generation has gone by without having to defend freedom. I guess it's something the devil likes to attack. Because the freedom that we have had includes the freedom to worship God. The Chinese don't have the type of freedom we do... they have to meet underground. Neither do many people in the Middle East.
Today I read II Chronicles 14-17. I noticed something interesting. King Asa was a pretty good king, and followed the Lord for most of his life. He fought a battle with 580,000 soldiers against armies with more than a million soldiers... and he won, because he followed the Lord and God was on his side. When he got older, he became more prideful and relied on his alliances with other countries more than he relied on God. As a result, Judah was constantly in battle for the rest of his life. Similarly, he had a problem with his foot, and rather than praying and relying on God, he relied on physicians, and was never healed. He died 2 years later.
His son, Jehoshaphat, also loved the Lord, but he continued to rely on God all his days. I noticed something interesting. The fear of the Lord fell on all his enemies. This was only because the country under Jehoshaphat was a good country... if you would use the terminology of today, you would think of it as a "Christian nation".
Our country is quickly losing it's status as a "Christian nation". For the most part, it hasn't been for years. I watched some old speeches that Ronald Reagan made the other day, and it was really sad to see, because he referred to a Christian God in his address, in a way that would be scandalous if a president said today. It would be nice to go back to a day where presidents could talk about the birth of Jesus Christ and of the creator.
The only way we're going to get there is for revival. Don't know if it will ever make a difference, but I'm going to keep on praying.
In church today, our preacher preached about our military heroes, and about Christian heroes. We also sang some patriotic songs. Like a verse that rarely gets sung any more:
Our Father's God! To Thee,
Author Of Liberty,
To Thee We Sing;
Long May Our Land Be Bright
With Freedom's Holy Light;
Protect Us By Thy Might,
Great God, Our King!
Almost a prayer for revival in itself.
Showing posts with label America. Show all posts
Showing posts with label America. Show all posts
Monday, May 26, 2008
Friday, August 17, 2007
Stock Market Turmoil: Could This Lead To Something Big?
I've been watching with interest the volatile stock market for the past week or so. Some people are getting a little nervous. Some are selling off their stock and losing money, others are picking up bargains and may or may not end up making money long term. This is all on top of a housing market that is quickly losing steam, banks making it harder to borrow money for a house, and people stuck in adjustable rate mortgages with rising payments.
For those without God, this could be a scary time. I suppose that I might be a little worried too, if I didn't know that God was in control. My husband starts his new job on Monday. Starting a new job in a time with an uncertain economy has it's natural risks... although we didn't really have a choice since he lost his last one due to cutbacks.
I personally don't think that America is mentioned in Revelation or any of the prophetic passages of the Bible. There is a passage somewhere about an eagle getting it's wings clipped or something along those lines, but that's the only one that I can think of, and that's not pretty. I know that some people think that America and Babylon are one and the same, but my opinion is that Babylon is actually Babylon... that city in Iraq. I don't think that God would use the name of an actual city if he really meant something else. Feel free to disagree with me, it's not a matter of salvation or anything else of vital importance.
America itself seems to be in a perilous time. There are so many countries in the world that hate us for one reason or another. That wouldn't bother me so much, if our country wasn't in such moral decay. Sometimes it's difficult to even discern right and wrong, even with reading your Bible and going to church on a regular basis. There are games and books out there that aren't the most wholesome, it's so easy to steal songs over the internet, even just going to the mall for tennis shoes leaves you bombarded with images that it's better not to see. Earlier this year, I was reading through Leviticus, I noted with particular interest chapter 18, which lists all these sins, saying that the land will vomit one out for these sins. The whole chapter easily described our country. Could America be in trouble for its sins?
Me and my husband have discussed moving to Australia. It's a nice enough country, that doesn't seem to be like the Roman Empire in its state of decline. I spent 5 weeks there in 1997 and it seemed like a second home to me... I have been fond of it ever since. It's quite expensive to just pack up and move to another country, so for financial reasons, God has told us we can't go right now. Perhaps we will not ever go.
I do not wish ill on my country, but I try to prepare in case we do see a downfall. I stock up on nonperishable food, a little at a time. You never know when you might have to be quarantined to your house during a bird flu epidemic, or the economy goes haywire and food becomes an expensive luxury.
But most of all, I try to prepare mentally for the possibility of the tide of prosperity turning in America. I try to keep in mind that God is in control, and no matter what happens in this life, it is only temporary and better things await for those that love God. I try to realize how fortunate I am right now... to have enough to eat, a place to stay, a nice computer, great kids. I try to enjoy the blessings now, and not take them for granted. I try to think of all the Christians around the world today, and throughout history, who were killed or forced into hiding for their faith. God helped them through the worst circumstances we can imagine... if we are ever put in a situation like that, I try to trust (and pray) that God would give me the strength to deal with it.
So I watch the stock market with interest. I don't wish for it to drop (especially since I have an inheritance that is bound up in Microsoft stock), but I realize that God has a plan for this country, for good or for bad, and he is in control.
For those without God, this could be a scary time. I suppose that I might be a little worried too, if I didn't know that God was in control. My husband starts his new job on Monday. Starting a new job in a time with an uncertain economy has it's natural risks... although we didn't really have a choice since he lost his last one due to cutbacks.
I personally don't think that America is mentioned in Revelation or any of the prophetic passages of the Bible. There is a passage somewhere about an eagle getting it's wings clipped or something along those lines, but that's the only one that I can think of, and that's not pretty. I know that some people think that America and Babylon are one and the same, but my opinion is that Babylon is actually Babylon... that city in Iraq. I don't think that God would use the name of an actual city if he really meant something else. Feel free to disagree with me, it's not a matter of salvation or anything else of vital importance.
America itself seems to be in a perilous time. There are so many countries in the world that hate us for one reason or another. That wouldn't bother me so much, if our country wasn't in such moral decay. Sometimes it's difficult to even discern right and wrong, even with reading your Bible and going to church on a regular basis. There are games and books out there that aren't the most wholesome, it's so easy to steal songs over the internet, even just going to the mall for tennis shoes leaves you bombarded with images that it's better not to see. Earlier this year, I was reading through Leviticus, I noted with particular interest chapter 18, which lists all these sins, saying that the land will vomit one out for these sins. The whole chapter easily described our country. Could America be in trouble for its sins?
Me and my husband have discussed moving to Australia. It's a nice enough country, that doesn't seem to be like the Roman Empire in its state of decline. I spent 5 weeks there in 1997 and it seemed like a second home to me... I have been fond of it ever since. It's quite expensive to just pack up and move to another country, so for financial reasons, God has told us we can't go right now. Perhaps we will not ever go.
I do not wish ill on my country, but I try to prepare in case we do see a downfall. I stock up on nonperishable food, a little at a time. You never know when you might have to be quarantined to your house during a bird flu epidemic, or the economy goes haywire and food becomes an expensive luxury.
But most of all, I try to prepare mentally for the possibility of the tide of prosperity turning in America. I try to keep in mind that God is in control, and no matter what happens in this life, it is only temporary and better things await for those that love God. I try to realize how fortunate I am right now... to have enough to eat, a place to stay, a nice computer, great kids. I try to enjoy the blessings now, and not take them for granted. I try to think of all the Christians around the world today, and throughout history, who were killed or forced into hiding for their faith. God helped them through the worst circumstances we can imagine... if we are ever put in a situation like that, I try to trust (and pray) that God would give me the strength to deal with it.
So I watch the stock market with interest. I don't wish for it to drop (especially since I have an inheritance that is bound up in Microsoft stock), but I realize that God has a plan for this country, for good or for bad, and he is in control.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Adventures In History: 2 Kings 17 (part 1)
Today our pastor gave a sermon on 2 Kings 17 that I thought was quite relevant to what is going on today. I'm not sure if I had noticed the parallels between this particular chapter and our country's history, but he really brought it to life to me.
I think that there's a lot to say on this subject, so I'll be breaking it up into a few pieces. Don't know how many, but that's why this is part 1.
The Israelites were taken away into captivity. They were openly rebelling against God, so God punished them. So how do the Israelites, who saw such mighty wonders as the Red Sea parting, manna falling from Heaven for 40 years, and miraculous battles won, end up in a place where they are so wicked that God has to punish them? And what does that have to do with us?
~ 2 Kings 17:9
The Israelites started with secret sins. Don't we all have those? Maybe some of the guys liked to look at pornographic paintings or visit the local strip show. Maybe it wasn't even that blatant... maybe some of them were lusting after the neighbor down the street. Maybe some of the wives were asking "does this robe make me look fat?" and the husbands told little white lies, thinking that it didn't really matter anyway. Maybe some of the wives started gossiping about how the dashing Levite a couple of houses over sometimes argued with his wife. Perhaps people let anger and bitterness fester.
Whatever happened, the Israelites began to commit sins. They didn't sin openly, just in secret. They didn't think that anybody would ever find out.
Sure, they had seen many miracles (or at least had heard of the miracles from parents and grandparents. But they were humans just like us. Haven't we seen miracles too? Hasn't God blessed our country? We were able to fight off the British and become our own nation. We defeated Hitler in World War II. We are blessed with abundance that many people only dream about. From our country's very beginnings, God protected the Pilgrims by sending the Indians to help them learn how to feed themselves, and he protected Jamestown as well. They sinned despite seeing the hand of God in their country, we have had many of the same advantages and we sin as well.
~ Proverbs 15:3
Sometimes it is easier to pretend that this is not the case. If I'm alone at my computer in the middle of the night, who is going to know what goes on? If I'm alone with my thoughts, who is going to know what I'm thinking? If God doesn't strike us down dead with lightning, maybe what we're doing is okay. Or that may be our rationale.
Our sins do come to light eventually. I'm sure the guys at Enron didn't think that they would ever get in trouble for their deeds. What about the millions of teenagers who engage in premarital sex and... when the girl comes up pregnant, their sins aren't so secret any more.
Our country has always had individuals who have had secret sins. Even the Puritans... they must have put the stocks to use at times, otherwise why would they have had them? In the 1800s you had the Wild West... most of those sins weren't so secret. But I suppose that in those days when the preachers condemned whisky and other forms of hard liquor, little ol' grannys and curious schoolboys alike probably took a swig at times.
If you move forward in time, we can see more secret sins. Some people decided that they didn't want to believe that God created the earth, and they decided to side with the Darwinists and with evolution. Eugenics was a big thing back in the early 1900s. In the 1920s we had the flapper movement, where some people engaged in secret sins like dancing provocatively and using cocaine.
ABC had a "7 Deadly Sins" special last Friday where they talked about vanity. People probably have been vain since long before Narcissus fell in love with himself during Greek times, but certain vain activities that us Americans take part in used to be secret. Like plastic surgery. It used to be something that people didn't like to talk about because they didn't want people to know that they were secretly vain.
However, secret sins usually don't stay secret. Often they come to light while we still live... but even if you take secret sins to the grave with you, God has seen them, and eventually they all will be known. Anybody who knows much about America can realize that dancing provocatively in bars and taking swigs of whiskey are not the controversial secret sins that they once were.
~ Numbers 32:23
Next time on Adventures In History: the continuing story of what happened to the Israelites and their secret sins... and how that relates to America and our country's secret sins.
I think that there's a lot to say on this subject, so I'll be breaking it up into a few pieces. Don't know how many, but that's why this is part 1.
The Israelites were taken away into captivity. They were openly rebelling against God, so God punished them. So how do the Israelites, who saw such mighty wonders as the Red Sea parting, manna falling from Heaven for 40 years, and miraculous battles won, end up in a place where they are so wicked that God has to punish them? And what does that have to do with us?
And the sons of Israel secretly did things that were not right against Jehovah their God. And they built high places in all their cities for themselves, from the Watch Tower to the fortified city.
The Israelites started with secret sins. Don't we all have those? Maybe some of the guys liked to look at pornographic paintings or visit the local strip show. Maybe it wasn't even that blatant... maybe some of them were lusting after the neighbor down the street. Maybe some of the wives were asking "does this robe make me look fat?" and the husbands told little white lies, thinking that it didn't really matter anyway. Maybe some of the wives started gossiping about how the dashing Levite a couple of houses over sometimes argued with his wife. Perhaps people let anger and bitterness fester.
Whatever happened, the Israelites began to commit sins. They didn't sin openly, just in secret. They didn't think that anybody would ever find out.
Sure, they had seen many miracles (or at least had heard of the miracles from parents and grandparents. But they were humans just like us. Haven't we seen miracles too? Hasn't God blessed our country? We were able to fight off the British and become our own nation. We defeated Hitler in World War II. We are blessed with abundance that many people only dream about. From our country's very beginnings, God protected the Pilgrims by sending the Indians to help them learn how to feed themselves, and he protected Jamestown as well. They sinned despite seeing the hand of God in their country, we have had many of the same advantages and we sin as well.
The eyes of Jehovah are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.
Sometimes it is easier to pretend that this is not the case. If I'm alone at my computer in the middle of the night, who is going to know what goes on? If I'm alone with my thoughts, who is going to know what I'm thinking? If God doesn't strike us down dead with lightning, maybe what we're doing is okay. Or that may be our rationale.
Our sins do come to light eventually. I'm sure the guys at Enron didn't think that they would ever get in trouble for their deeds. What about the millions of teenagers who engage in premarital sex and... when the girl comes up pregnant, their sins aren't so secret any more.
Our country has always had individuals who have had secret sins. Even the Puritans... they must have put the stocks to use at times, otherwise why would they have had them? In the 1800s you had the Wild West... most of those sins weren't so secret. But I suppose that in those days when the preachers condemned whisky and other forms of hard liquor, little ol' grannys and curious schoolboys alike probably took a swig at times.
If you move forward in time, we can see more secret sins. Some people decided that they didn't want to believe that God created the earth, and they decided to side with the Darwinists and with evolution. Eugenics was a big thing back in the early 1900s. In the 1920s we had the flapper movement, where some people engaged in secret sins like dancing provocatively and using cocaine.
ABC had a "7 Deadly Sins" special last Friday where they talked about vanity. People probably have been vain since long before Narcissus fell in love with himself during Greek times, but certain vain activities that us Americans take part in used to be secret. Like plastic surgery. It used to be something that people didn't like to talk about because they didn't want people to know that they were secretly vain.
However, secret sins usually don't stay secret. Often they come to light while we still live... but even if you take secret sins to the grave with you, God has seen them, and eventually they all will be known. Anybody who knows much about America can realize that dancing provocatively in bars and taking swigs of whiskey are not the controversial secret sins that they once were.
And be sure your sin will find you out.
Next time on Adventures In History: the continuing story of what happened to the Israelites and their secret sins... and how that relates to America and our country's secret sins.
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