Posted on 09/11/2001 9:53:03 PM PDT by TheCause
Almighty and most merciful Father, we humbly beseech Thee, of Thy great goodness, to restrain these immoderate rains with which we have had to contend. Grant us fair weather for Battle. Graciously hearken to us as soldiers who call upon Thee that, armed with Thy power, we may advance from victory to victory, and crush the oppression and wickedness of our enemies and establish Thy justice among men and nations. Amen.
Given the reality of yesterday’s events, there is a very good possibility that God Himself has lifted His hand of protection from America. He may have given us over to our own devices. We have sown the wind for years and have now reaped the whirlwind.
How Ironic, earlier today I saw Daschel, Dodd and other leaders commiserating in Washington and in the midst of this tragedy people in government, ... the very people who have been opposed to the Lord Jesus Christ, prayer in school or within the halls of government. People who support and promote sodomy and the wholesale genocide of the unborn ARE CALLING FOR PRAYER TO GOD! But what does God have to say about all of this:
24 “Because I called and you refused, I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention;
25 And you neglected all my counsel And did not want my reproof;
26 I will also laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your dread comes,
27 When your dread comes like a storm And your calamity comes like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come upon you.
28 “Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently but they will not find me,
29 Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the LORD.
30 “They would not accept my counsel, They spurned all my reproof.
31 “So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way And be satiated with their own devices.
32 “For the waywardness of the naive will kill them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them.
33 “But he who listens to me shall live securely And will be at ease from the dread of evil.”
This said, I will be praying for President Bush and those in leadership because it is my duty. But God's word is clear: we reap what we sow. America has supported Mr. Clinton, Mr. Condit et. al, because they are reflective of what many Americans themselves believe and how they themselves live and act. Many Americans have been willing to overlook their conduct and ungodly policies because "character does not matter, it is the economy stupid."
Well, God will not be mocked, but He does hold out this promise:
13 “If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people,
14 and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:13 - 14)
Guys, I love America and my prayers have gone out and will continue to go out to the thousands upon thousands of families who have lost their loved ones.
I have had the opportunity to live and work in Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, the Philippines, Moscow, Kiev, Odessa, and other cities. There is not another place on the face of the planet that has been as blessed by God as much as we have. People may not want to admit it but we were founded as a nation upon faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Word of God and Christian principles. It is not my intention to offend anyone, but we as a nation can not use God. Nor can we call upon Him to protect and defend us when it is convenient or politically expedient and spurn Him and His Word, the rest of the time and then expect Him to be at our beck and call.
There is a simple yet profound principle in His Word and it is this: You reap what you sow and what you reap is multiplied. That is true for individuals, it is also true for nations.
I have an honest question that I would ask everyone who reads this, whether you agree with me or my perspective or not to answer. Have we as individuals and as a nation been living righteous and godly lives. Lives that are pleasing to God who is Holy, absolutely righteous and totally just? Or have we chosen to forget Him, spurn His Word and do whatever is right in our own eyes? If the answer is the latter, then no matter how painful it is, the truth is this: We are being judged as a people for our sin.
Another question arises and it boils down to this:
How could God use a nation or individuals even more evil to judge another nation less evil than itself?
He did it numerous times in the Old Testament. Israel (the Northern kingdom) had turned away from following the Lord and He allowed the Assyrians to overcome and conquer them. The Assyrians were brutal beyond comprehension. They ripped open pregnant women and dashed their babies against walls and pavement, they impaled their living victims, skinned them alive and crushed them under huge threshing sledges. This is just a small sample of what they did to Israel. The Southern kingdom of Judah was later conquered by the Babylonians. A wicked nation, totally given over to idols and immorality. Why did God allow this? because His people had persisted in wickedness and in rejecting Him. god is gracious and long suffering, but there does come a time when His patience is at an end. He is not only a God of love, He is also holy and must judge sin.
No nation can spurn God, reject His Word and law and get away with it. Not Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome, Israel, the United States or ANY nation on the face of the planet.
But as I mentioned above, it is NOT TOO LATE. God holds out this promise to us as individuals and as a nation:
13 “If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people,
14 and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:13 - 14)
What has happened is a tragedy. We are a nation at war and those who are responsible must be held accountable and punished. But I believe that God can use these events to produce spiritual revival throughout this land.
Humbly yours,
Dr. S
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