“For although they
knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their
thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became
fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like
mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
Therefore God gave them over to the sinful desires of their hearts to
sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They
exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served created things
rather than the Creator—who is forever praised…Although they know God’s
righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only
continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.”
Sound familiar? Unfortunately it sounds as if Paul is
clearly describing the greatest country in the world, the United States of America. We rarely give thanks to God anymore, pushing
him out of our schools and legislature.
We use lies of political correctness, personal feelings, and what’s new
and hot to determine truth instead of the immortal word of God. We praise popularity, the famous, money,
cars, education, and success, or the “created things” rather than the Giver of
all these things. It seems as if everywhere we turn we see evil, murder,
sickness, corruption, and it is only getting worse.
Some may say that this world is on its way downhill and
there is no hope for how wicked we are. Even I am fearful of what life will be
like for the next couple of years, but considering we don’t know the day or
time when Christ will return, we cannot know for sure how long this world will
last. But, believe it or not this has happened before, and my pastor recently
showed our church a wonderful precedence of a people turning to God and being
saved.
Refer to 2 Kings 22-23. Before Josiah was king, the nation
of Judah had many kings who were corrupt, worshipped idols, and did much evil
in the eyes of the Lord. The Lord said that He was going to bring disaster on Judah
and its people because they had forsaken Him. But then came Josiah. Josiah did
right in the eyes of the Lord and did not look to the right or to the
left. God tells the nation under King
Josiah, “Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before the
Lord when you heard what I have spoken against this place and its people, that
they would become accursed and laid waste, and because you tore your robes and
wept in my presence, I have heard you,
declares the Lord. Therefore I will
gather you to your fathers, and you will be buried in peace. Your eyes will not
see all the disaster I am going to bring on this place.” And then in 23:25 it
says that “neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned
to the Lord as he did—with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his
strength…”
The nation of Judah was headed downhill with no hope, but God heard them and remembered his
promises towards his people, because they sought after him with all their heart
and soul and strength! And they didn’t have to experience their nation’s
destruction. Rise up church! The end is coming, no doubt, but we as the people
of God need to rise up and turn our affections toward our Creator, not toward
the things of this world! Can we allow
our hearts to be responsive? Can we humble ourselves before Christ and trust
that He is truth? The end is coming, no doubt, but each of us need to say, not on my
watch. Let’s seek with all our hearts and with all our souls and with all our
strength and beg God to save our nation.
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