The Most Critical Issues Not Yet Faced by All 2016 Candidates!

For if ye throughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye throughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbour; If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt: then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever. Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit. Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not; and come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, “We are delivered to do all these abominations?” Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the Lord. -- Jeremiah 7:5-11 (KJV)

Lots of excitement and lots of activity taking place as a number of persons are now seeking to be nominated as candidate for president of the United States. A few debates have already taken place and the end is by no means over. It will be settled finally on election day in November of 2016.

Different issues have been discussed by the candidates and their comments are on record as to what they would do about these concerns if they should be elected to the nation’s highest office.

However, in all the discussing and debating that has taken place, the most critical issues which have a direct impact on the future destiny of our republic have not been faced nor discussed!

The most critical issues facing our republic are moral and spiritual in nature. That is likely the reason those competing for public office do not want to mention them and the mainstream media certainly do not want to give attention to them.

Consider these accepted practices that absolutely guarantee the pouring out of God’s wrath in judgment upon us at some point in the future:

ONE: Our ongoing destruction of unborn children which has been taking place since the infamous Supreme Court decision in January of 1973. We have intentionally murdered and mutilated over 59 million unborn children since that insane decision was handed down! Even worse, it is now known that some who are in the abortion “business” have harvested certain parts of those murdered victims and sold those parts for big bucks! There is no real solid united front in opposing such abominations as this. There are even church groups and leadership within such groups that give the “green light” to these atrocities. I am an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church, which officially gives its sanction to abortion on demand. All a United Methodist woman has to do to get an abortion is to claim that having the baby will bring undue psychological or financial stress or circumstantial pressure to her and she has her “ticket” to get rid of the child God is forming within her! (see Jeremiah 1 on this).

TWO: God has clearly defined the boundaries of human sexuality in His special revelation to us. Sexual intimacy is acceptable ONLY within the covenant of marriage and involves one man and one woman. Anything beyond that in terms of sexual activity is forbidden! However, over time in our history there are purported “experts” who have led us to the point where now sexual experience and expression are best summed up in the words, “Sex is fun with anyone (or more than one at same time) anywhere and at any time!” As a nation, we took the final plunge into the moral cesspool when the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a decision that says sodomites can marry each other and lesbians can marry each other anywhere within the boundaries of the United States. Even some church “leaders” have been involved in the performing of such marriages. A retired United Methodist bishop did such a “marriage” as did a female district superintendent in marrying two lesbian “pastors!” And there has been a lot of whining and crying over the fact of declining membership in the United Methodist Church – a recent report stating a loss of over 116,000 members in one year!

Related to this whole issue on human sexuality and the destructive path we have chosen to travel in defiance of God’s standards is the rise of STD’s (sexually transmitted diseases) within our culture. Some of these are incurable. Worse yet there are large numbers of very young teen agers getting infected and tests have shown that some have more than one STD at the same time!

But after all, have we adults not taught the little tykes how to do it in various ways by example, the internet, our entertainment industry, and our “education” programs in the public school systems?

THREE: Idiotic court decisions which have been directed toward any acknowledgement of God in the public arena such as nativity scenes at Christmas time, a display of the Ten Commandments, or other quotes from the holy Scriptures. The most notorious was in 1963 when the Supreme Court ruled that the Lord’s Prayer (or any prayer) and reading of the Scriptures could no longer be held in public schools. There is not one person living who can say that our public schools have greatly improved, the quality of education is far superior, and human relationships are the best they have ever been because of that decision! Recently a part of a paper was shown on social media – an elementary student was asked to write about the person who most influenced her life. She chose Jesus Christ and wrote about this. She received an F grade with the note by the teacher saying, “Please remove Jesus.”

FOUR: Our widespread and deeply entrenched idolatry. No, we do not have stone or metallic images on every street corner to which we bow down and utter words of praise and adoration. Our idols take different forms with the prominent one being money. The pursuit of pleasure in its many forms and the idolizing that is connected to the realm of entertainment has captured the hearts of millions. Sports is another realm that has become an idol to far too many. Someone observed years ago that you could get tens of thousands into a stadium at sub-freezing temperatures shouting their lungs out at an NFL game on a Sunday afternoon but you can’t get them into church on Sunday morning if a few snowflakes are falling!

It has been documented in surveys that only about 46 or 47 percent of our population can find its way in to a worship service in a church on Sunday morning.

FIVE: The church scene is a very disturbing one. Over the decades past a deadly infiltration has taken place. In the latter years of the 19th Century a devastating thing took place with much of it occurring in Germany. Simply stated, a fellow got the idea that the Bible cannot be fully trusted and things reported in it did not really happen – miracles for instance! This kind of garbage caught on and eventually was imported to the United States. In early years of the 20th Century controversy erupted within the churches and it came to be known as the “Modernist – Fundamentalist” controversy – conflict between those who did not really believe the Bible and those who did. Later on terms such as “liberal” and “conservative” came to be employed as a distinction. In more recent times there has been a growing tendency to accept all religious expressions in the world as being legitimate and that all are on a level playing field with none superior to any other – Christianity is just one of many – pick and choose what suits you best as you move through the religious buffet!

And so today, when you walk into a church, you have to listen carefully with a sense of discernment and a familiar knowledge of Scripture – does that person standing in the pulpit and preaching a message believe the revelation God has given us via holy Scripture or does he/she NOT believe? This problem can be best compared to a fast spreading melanoma cancer. Check again the purpose of Scripture and how it came to be as shown in 2 Timothy 3:16.

God has been speaking, calling and doing some chastising things in these days. But at this point, very few are listening. The basic call is to search our hearts, confess our sins, resolve to be faithful in representing Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, and that He is the only way of salvation and hope! God holds us as individuals accountable, but He also holds entire nations accountable as well – and this includes religious leaders and government leaders.

Again, the REAL issue is not economic, terrorism, illegal immigrants, or national security – the critical issues are those matters mentioned above and no candidate has mentioned a single one.

Unless there is nationwide repentance and a genuine return to God, judgment is the only thing we can expect and quite possibly in the not too distant future!

From the prayer of Daniel, these words:

”To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him; neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets. Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him. And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem. As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth. Therefore hath the Lord watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the Lord our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice.” -- Daniel 9:9-14 (KJV)

God Is Commanding, But Who Is Listening?

"Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead. --- Acts 17:30, 31

God did a mighty work 236 years ago when He blessed and provided for a small number of people who desired to be a free republic. These people broke free from the British crown and became known as the United States of America.

As decades of time passed the population expanded, territories to the west in the direction of the Pacific Ocean were occupied, new states were added to the original thirteen, and the future was extremely bright.

From time to time conflicts erupted with one of the most critical being the Civil War involving great loss of human lives, massive casualties, and widespread property destruction. But God was merciful and a union emerged stronger than ever before as national healing and reconciliation took place over time.

Yet there were more conflicts to take place in the decades ahead. In the midst of these God granted an abundance of grace and mercy and our republic gained victory over the enemy until politicians chose to compromise and abandon the demand of unconditional surrender on the part of the enemy. WW II was the last conflict in which the enemy had to submit to the terms of unconditional surrender. Korea was an entirely different "ball game" with a "negotiated" settlement taking place and it has been downhill ever since. Any time you have a politician meddling in affairs, it is not going to produce a good result!

As the 1950's drew to a close, the moral and spiritual climate of the United States began to dramatically change as well. The 1960's saw insane court decisions handed down such as evicting God from the public school sytems and then the approval of the mutilation and murders of unborn children in the womb in 1973. No one who has a bit of a sense of right and wrong can truthfully say that our republic is morally and spiritually stronger now than it has ever been in the past.

Now that we are more than a decade into the 21st Century we have continued on our toboggin slide toward sure and certain disaster for a number of reasons:

1. The bloody trail that our republic has left behind is the result of the destruction of millions of unborn children. This practice is identified in the Bible as the atrocious act of "shedding innocent blood!"

2. Sexual immorality of every conceivable kind which is gaining more and more acceptance so that the national motto in regard to human sexuality could well be: "Sex is fun with anyone (or a number of persons at the same time) anywhere and at any time on a 24/7 basis!" With the help of the entertainment industry and high profile celebrities our young folk are leaning this practice while in the early years of their lives.

3. The teaching of our young that our roots are traced back to very low forms of life and that over millions of years we have evolved to what we are today with the end not yet taking place as we move onward and upward to perfection. As noted earlier, due to an insane decision of the first magnitude, God is not permitted on public school property and therefore it is unlawful to teach our young the truth that all things existing, including human life, have their origin with God Who is our Creator! At the higher level in colleges, universities, and graduate schools the deadly and hopeless doctrine of evolution is a brainwashing process that has devastating results in the lives of victims who accept it without question.

4. The profaning of the day of worship which originally was set aside to provide citizens of the republic with the opportunity to worship the God Who raised this republic up so that it became the most powerful and prosperous nation in the history of the world! Not only was it to be a special time for the recognition and worship of God, but also a day of rest for the citizens so that they might become refreshed and then prepared for week of work that would begin on Monday. But the day is now primarily a day of business, pleasure, entertainment in many forms, and intentional placing of God in a cell with high tech security devices so that He does not in any way interfere with our "fun and games!"

5. A church that has become increasingly corrupted because of the infiltration of "wolves in sheep's clothing" who refuse to accept God's special revelation in the form of the holy Scriptures as the absolute authority on all matters that have to do with our faith, our relationship to God through His Son, Jesus Christ, and the responsibilites we have to be fully obedient to Him on a day by day basis. The heart of denial is found in the rejection of Jesus as to His real identity (God revealed in human form), His miracles which He performed, His atoning death on the cross for the sins of the entire human race, His literal resurrection from the dead 3 days after the crucifixion, and His promised return to this sin saturated world at some time in the future to take full control and rule as King of kings and Lord of lords!

In the midst of all this chaos God has been calling for repentance -- no exceptions! To repent is to be brutally honest with ourselves, to admit we are guilty, and to turn from our sins, asking God for mercy and forgiveness. This has to be done on a personal level and also collectively (family, community, church, nation and its leaders).

But there is a major problem -- God has issued the command to repent but He is being ignored by the vast majority. So what does this mean? It means simply that we are perilessly close to experiencing judgment. God employs calamities (chastising actions) for a time in an effort to make a nation aware of its need to turn to Him. The classic example of this is His dealings with the ancient kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Neither heeded His appeals issued through His prophets and consequently were totally destroyed at the hands of heathen peoples. Yes, God at times does use a heathen people to bring judgment on those who claim to be God's people - e.g. "one nation under God!"

How is your hearing these days?

And I prayed to the LORD my God, and made confession, and said, "O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments, we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments. Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land. O Lord, righteousness belongs to You, but to us shame of face, as it is this day; to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those near and those far off in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of the unfaithfulness which they have committed against You. O Lord, to us belongs shame of face, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You." --- Daniel 9:4-9

235 Years of Independence But The Termites Are Eating the Supporting Timbers!

"America is great because she is good. If America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great." --- quote from Alexis de Tocqueville who was a French political thinker and historian best known for his Democracy in America (appearing in two volumes: 1835 and 1840) and The Old Regime and the Revolution (1856). In both of these works, he explored the effects of the rising equality of social conditions on the individual and the state in western societies. Democracy in America (1835), his major work, published after his travels in the United States, is today considered an early work of sociology and political science.

First, an explanation of the above photo of a tattered and torn U. S. flag. It was flying by our home and it started to get torn. I didn't replace it right away and after some strong winds, it really got mangled. Jean kept after me to get a new one. So, before doing so, I took a picture as you see above. The reason? I consider it a bit symbolical since the prevailing mood and spirit throughout the republic is one of shredding the holy Scriptures and the U. S. Constitution! It reminds us that our beloved republic is in major need of repair, restoration, and healing in government and church, which are the major forces of influence in any culture.

Our republic is celebrating its 235th birthday today, remembering a special statement that was made known as the Declaration of Independence. There will be lots and lots of celebrations of various kinds in each of the 50 states. Tons of fireworks will be set off in numerous communities and families will have a lot of picnics and their own fireworks experiences as has already taken place in the area where we live. Alcohol will flow like a raging torrent and there will be the accompanying tragedies resulting from such abuse.

After the ashes of the fireworks lie on the ground, the garbage cans are filled with remains from the picnics, and police make their detailed reports related to the tragic incidents involving use of alcohol, the troublesome question to consider is this: is there really very much to celebrate regarding the birthday of our republic?

Yes, we still have a measure of liberty which is at times greatly stressed. Yesterday I was able to get up, and go to church with my wife, Jean. I was able to participate in the worship of Almighty God and to preach with no church leader or politician telling me what and how to preach a message, or that I was not permitted to publicly read portions of the holy Scriptures. Afterward we were able to gather with some members of the family and enjoy a cookout picnic together without any restrictions imposed upon us. Freedom that all too often is taken for granted.

And yes, we can still go to the voting booth and cast our ballots for persons seeking political office in spite of electronic voting which makes election fraud more of a possility than ever before, especially at the state and federal levels!

But the "termites" are at work eating away at the supporting timbers. They are ethical, moral and spiritual in nature. There are some people who believe our republic is headed in a direction that will lead to ultimate disaster unless drastic changes are made soon.

The fact that we have accumulated a national debt that cannot be sustained and each day sees that debt increasing even more is an indication alone that a financial "Armageddon" looms in the future of the republic. Neither Republicans nor Democrats are serious about getting that debt paid down -- worse, they can't even agree on doing some reducing of the annual deficit. Lots of talk but never any serious action on this. And if there is no agreement on tackling the deficit, what chance is there that even a couple of bucks will be applied toward the ever expanding national debt?

Recent years have seen a number of scandals involving high profile religious leaders and political leaders alike. It seems a number of these choose to set their own "rules" for the questionable moral and ethical conduct which they practice! Too often the response when exposed is denial, then maybe a half hearted admission and it is usually somebody else's fault -- you know, we are unwilling to take full responsibility for our actions. High profile sports and entertainment figures could also be added to this growing problem - those who are supposed to be role models and moral examples for our young!

There is a growing acceptance of immoral practices which God clearly condemns in His special revelation to us. This is a barometer indicating that our republic is like a ship in the midst of a storm with its rudder disabled and unable to avoid the rocks along the shoreline. Recently New York state became the 6th state to legalize marriage between two sodomites or two lesbians. Other states are considering this issue and some have already granted "rights" to domestic "partners" as it is in the case of legally married couples (male and female) at the present time.

And of course the destruction of the unborn continues under the sanction of the president, many congressional members and some of the membership of the U.S. Supreme Court which is responsible for the original ruling that it is a constitutional "right" for a female to destroy her unborn child by a deliberate choice. What all of us are overlooking is the fact that God has not yet made a full response to this abomination. When He does, there will be no question that He is in radical disagreement with that Supreme Court decision. He may well make this nation's landscape resemble the mutilated and murdered remains of those unborn children for whom He had a high and holy purpose in life!

The aforementioned issues are but a few of the "termites" eating away at the supporting timbers of our republic. But the last one is the leading "candidate" for inciting the wrath of God more quickly than any other. A culture always commits moral suicide when it adopts a gutter level standard in its regard for human life and leadership takes a position that human life can easily be discarded by whimsical choice!

If Alexis de Tocqueville were to visit the United States today, would his comments be a bit different than what he said in the much younger years of the republic? And might he also say, "America has ceased to be good!"???

Celebrate? The better choice of action is to pray, asking God for mercy and forgiveness, and doing so in the spirit of Daniel who set a noble example for us many centuries ago.

And I prayed to the LORD my God, and made confession, and said, "O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments, we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments. Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land. O Lord, righteousness belongs to You, but to us shame of face, as it is this day; to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those near and those far off in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of the unfaithfulness which they have committed against You. O Lord, to us belongs shame of face, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You....." --- Daniel 9:4-8

Too Late to Pray for Our Republic?

The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, "Stand in the gate of the Lord's house, and proclaim there this word, and say, 'Hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah who enter in at these gates to worship the LORD!'".......... Therefore do not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry or prayer for them, nor make intercession to Me; for I will not hear you." --- Jeremiah 7:1,2, 16

There are two very common assumptions about prayer.

One, that God always hears every prayer. That is, when anyone prays, then God is going to hear and respond to that prayer no matter who is doing the praying and no matter the nature of the request that is submitted.

Two, that God will always be around in a crisis when the time comes in which we need to be "bailed out" -- after all, is God not a God of love and He would never leave us stranded in a time when He is so greatly needed, would He?

Tons of books have been written on the subject of prayer. Further, there seems to be no end to a listing of persons considered to be "specialists" in the realm of prayer in times such as these.

And certainly there has at times been an emphasis upon praying for our republic and its leaders. There are solid Biblical grounds for engaging in such a practice.

However, the Bible also reveals that there are limitations regarding prayer. It's sort of like the proverbial "line drawn in the sand." There can be times when God Himself makes clear the fact that it is useless to pray any longer!

It happened in years just prior to 586 B.C. in the ancient Israelite kingdom of Judah. For the most part God's commandments and standards had been rejected by the religious and political leaders in the kingdom. With that kind of leadership it was simply a matter of time before the majority of the citizens followed the ungodly examples set before them. There was a small remnant which still held to the true faith but the influence of this group could not bring about a miraculous change so that the kingdom again was under the favor and blessing of Almighty God.

Now then, how about the United States of America -- the "land of the free and the home of the brave?" Are we in a postion to effectively call on God with assurance that as a nation we will be abundantly blessed and secure or have we "crossed the line" and if there is a response, it is worded something like this: "Therefore do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer for them; for I will not hear them in the time that they cry out to Me because of their trouble." (Jeremiah 11:14).

There is more than a tad of evidence to suggest that it could be the latter scenario! We continue to destroy thousands of unborn children every week of the year. As of this writing we have mutilated and murdered more than 54 million unborn children since the infamous Supreme Court decision in January of 1973. We are a nation of fools of the first magnitude if we believe that God is not going to respond to this massive shedding of innocent blood for which we are solely responsible!

We continue to follow our idols at a fervent pace with money being the #1 "god" and the pleasure "god" being a close runner-up. Idolatry can take many forms and certainly has done so in our republic over decades of time. It can be an object, a person, or a type of activity and involvement in the same.

Our sexual immorality is practiced at an unprecedented rate and the philosophy that "Sex is fun with anyone, or more than one anyone at the same time, anywhere and at any time!" is being adopted by all ages in U.S. culture. God has in His special revelation to us explicitly shown where the boundaries on human sexuality are drawn. The sacred gift of human sexuality is to be shared and experienced within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman. Search all you want to -- you will not find even a hint that God has enlarged the boundaries to include additional sexual activity of different kinds involving males and females, same gender persons, adults with children and/or animals, or whatever bizarre perversion may enter a person's mind.

We are teaching millions of our young every year that we have evolved from lower life forms over millions and millions of years in time -- go ahead, insert however many millions of years you want to -- does it really make any difference? Perhaps the big difference in the millions of years is whether the forehead is sloped 3/4 inch backward or a mere 1/4 of an inch! Of course this also means that you have no need of a Creator and you are free to make your own "rules" in life with no real accountability after you die. Since it was convenient to ban God from the public classroom, it was also very convenient to deny that we are the focus of an act of creation in the past with a divine purpose and plan for each conceived human being. A godless theory filled the resulting vacuum and we are producing millions of young people who wander about day after day with no meaning to their existence!

And the church at large that claims to be "Christian" in faith has become corrupted over decades of time. The Bible is under assault and its truths denied by apostate renegades. Just a couple of many examples is denying the literal resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead following His crucifixion and that Jesus was indeed God appearing on earth in human form in the 1st Century! The United Methodist Church stresses that it is a "connectional church" due to its organized structure. What isn't recognized is the seriousness of the "infection within the connection." When a church leader says that we need to forget about going to other nations and converting the people to Christianity because they have their own religions and we ought not to interfere with that, then something is terribly wrong in light of Jesus' command to take the Gospel into all the world and confront all nations with His claims and call.

Pray for our republic and expect to be heard? It could happen if certain conditions are met. The main one is that the majority (including political and religious leaders) are willing to pray in a repentant spirit as did Daniel who found himself being carried away from his home and placed in a raw heathen environment known as Babylon! Consider the opening statements of his prayer: "Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. And I prayed to the LORD my God, and made confession, and said, 'O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments, we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments. Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land.....'" (Daniel 9:3-6).

Anyone up to admitting that we are badly out of step with the Creator of this mighty universe and we are guilty of commonly accepted practices which have caused Him to pour out His undiluted wrath in the past on cultures that committed similar transgressions?

And what is this thing that is said about history repeating itself?

Then the LORD said to me, "Do not pray for this people, for their good. When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence." Then I said, "Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, the prophets say to them, 'You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you assured peace in this place.'" And the LORD said to me, "The prophets prophesy lies in My name. I have not sent them, commanded them, nor spoken to them; they prophesy to you a false vision, divination, a worthless thing, and the deceit of their heart." --- Jeremiah 14:11-14

'Tis the Season for Mockery!

"You have become guilty by the blood which you have shed, and have defiled yourself with the idols which you have made. You have caused your days to draw near, and have come to the end of your years; therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations, and a mockery to all countries. Those near and those far from you will mock you as infamous and full of tumult. Look, the princes of Israel: each one has used his power to shed blood in you. In you they have made light of father and mother; in your midst they have oppressed the stranger; in you they have mistreated the fatherless and the widow. You have despised My holy things and profaned My Sabbaths....." --- Ezekiel 22:4-8

The republic of the United States has fallen upon very difficult times. Actually, this has been building up steadily since the early '60's when defiance and giving Almighty God the infamous obscene gesture became quite common occurences throughout our culture. It has been seen through the mass media, the prevailing attitudes in government and court decisions, business and corporation affairs, the entertainment industry, educational institutions, and drastic changes in the basic social building block in our culture that is known as the family.

It has been a negative toboggin slide since those years of the early '60's although there were very negative influences in active play since the early 1900's. It was within the professing Christian church at large that seeds of doubt and skepticism were being sown which would over time impact all segments of U. S. culture. The basic seed of poison was the idea that the Bible is not a totally trustworthy book and using our intelligence coupled with the ability to implement the powers of human reasoning we then could have a correct understanding and interpretation of the holy Scriptures!

Much of the skepticism centered on the Person and accomplished work of Jesus Christ. Satan is very smart and knows that if he can get us to doubt the integrity of the Scriptures with the added bonus of doubt concerning the identity of Jesus, His miracles performed, the purpose of His death, and His victorious resurrection, then he has easily won the battle. The result is a professing Christianity that is as impressive as a fish out of water and flopping helplessly around on land!

And what is God's response to this ongoing defiance that is expressed in countless ways over the decades as time marches on?

First, God will convey messages of warning through a very unpopular group of persons known as prophets. These are people who will never grace the cover of Time magazine as the "person of the year." They will never win a popularity contest. It is not uncommon for these to be ridiculed, mocked, violently persecuted, and at times put to death. Scriptures in the Old Testament as well as the New Testament confirm clearly that this is how it is now and how it was for those through whom God issued warnings and the appeal to repent and return to Him.

Second, God begins to launch a series of calamities of various kinds upon the people who have claimed to be a people "under God," but have chosen to reject His standards which make for a sane, serene, sensible, secure, and sovereign state! As these actions are taking place, it is appropriate to say, "Things are not going well for our nation, its people and their leaders, politically and religiously!"

Third, God works in an unusual way in the world with those people who claim to be His people but who abandon the standards He has put in place that distinguishes the nation as one that truly fears and respects God. God declares that He will make them a mockery in relation to the other nations of the world.

Rodney Dangerfield, the comedian, had a very familiar saying which was used repeatedly in his stand up routines -- "I get no respect!" And so God arranges through events that a nation of people will get absolutely no respect. In the past the United States was a nation highly respected throughout the world and there was a time when the flag of the U.S. was respected wherever it was flown. Perhaps the peak for this was during and at the end of WW II. Such is no longer the case. It is not that unusual any longer to see the flag torn down, trashed and burned!

Will it dawn on our elected officials and our church leaders that the pressing need at this moment in history is for our nation to truly repent of its many sins and abominations and turn back to God? And this has to be done on an individual level as well as at the corporate level? At this point in time there is no indication that repenting is an act to be taken seriously and if anything, masses feel they "haven't done anything wrong!"

Mark it down -- God has much more in His inventory of "chastising tools" -- and if that doesn't work, then He brings out another plan of action - it's called judgment! None of us will want to be anywhere within the boundaries of the 50 states that make up the republic of the United States when that happens!

And a PS - note the claim that the Creator of this mighty universe makes in regard to His authority and power to establish a nation or tear it down and bring it to nothing, depending on critical choices made by the people and their leaders -- it is detailed in Jeremiah 18. And because I am in a very good mood at the moment, I'll let you look it up and read it for yourself! Something to sleep on tonight - pleasant dreams :-)

Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. And I prayed to the LORD my God, and made confession, and said, "O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments, we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments. Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land." --- Daniel 9:3-6

Praying for the President, the Congress, and the Nation!

And I prayed to the LORD my God, and made confession, and said, "O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments, we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments. Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land..." --- Daniel 9:4-6

Heavenly Father, you are the living God -- there is no other! You have been pleased to reveal yourself through all that you have created, through your inspired Word, and by becoming human in the Person of your Son, Jesus Christ. It is through Him that I come to you in all my unworthiness. I give thanks for your abundance of mercies you have granted to me over the years I have been privileged to live in this world. I also give thanks for the many times you have heard and answered prayer as I called upon you in my times of need.

I ask for your forgiveness for my offenses against you in thoughts, desires, words spoken and deeds done. I also ask your forgiveness for my failure to act when I should have done so as well as failure to speak in witness to your revealed truth when I should have spoken.

I ask that you would work such chastising works as are necessary to make the president, the appointed members of his administration, and the members of the Congress fully aware that you are God and you hold all of us accountable for our actions day by day. The president has given his sanction to the mass destruction of unborn children for whom you have a high and holy purpose. Those in his administration as well as many in the Congress give their approval to this ongoing destruction of thousands every week.

You know all things -- from you nothing can be hidden. You know the extent of the dishonesty, the greed and the bribery that has corrupted those who have been elected to govern this republic. May every dishonest, unethical, and immoral act be brought to light that all will know the truth concerning these elected officials. Bring reproach upon their heads and defeat their attempts to hide questional acts in their conduct. Rebuke the president and his advisors whenever they attempt to take a course of action that is not within your holy will and purpose. Bring deep conviction and distress upon them when they fail to seek your will in the making of decisions and the proposal of all legislation. Bring every effort they make to total defeat when such efforts are not acceptable in your sight.

Raise up a prophet who will come in the spirit of your servants such as John the Baptist or Elijah and who will confront the president face to face with his sins and that of the nation.

For the nation I pray -- we are a nation deserving of the ourpouring of your wrath in judgment for our many abominations and transgressions of which we are guilty. The spirit of our nation is such that we are not grieved that unborn children are brutally mutilated and murdered before birth. We show no remorse that we have taken unto ourselves numerous idols, that we have turned the holy day of worship into a day of pleasure and spectator sporting events, and that we are being consumed in our pandemic immorality and have rejected your standards for expressing the gift of our sexuality.

We teach our young that our origins are found in lower life forms rather than teaching them about you and your mighty creation and that you alone are the source and sustainer of all life.

O God, while we stand deserving of your judgment, have mercy, arise and bring forth such calamities as you see fit in your infinite power and wisdom upon this whole nation that people in every place -- within the church as well as outside the church will be moved and stirred by the working of your Holy Spirit -- that there will be a desire to seek you in a true spirit of repentance and to confess that as a nation we have failed to serve and honor you as the living God Who is worthy of our love, our praise and our loyaty every day that we live.

Thank you that in a love that defies human understanding, you gave your Son, Jesus, for the sins of the entire human race. It is in His Name that I pray, asking for mercy for myself and my loved ones, and that you would for a time work your chastising works throughout this nation and to confront our government leaders and our church leaders with the need to repent of all of our sins, personally and corporately. In the Name of Jesus Christ, my Savior and Lord. Amen.

"...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 I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." --- 2 Chronicles 7:14

As God Withdraws, What Will We Do Now?

With their flocks and herds they shall go to seek the LORD, but they will not find Him; He has withdrawn Himself from them. They have dealt treacherously with the LORD, for they have begotten pagan children. Now a New Moon shall devour them and their heritage. --- Hosea 5:6, 7

It happened to a nation a long time ago. They had become very powerful and they had prospered immensely. In the earlier years the people of that nation had appreciated God, consistently worshipped Him, took His commandments very seriously and sought to obey Him fully. The leaders (political and religious) and the citizens shared in the conviction that God and His intended purpose for them were to be given top priority on a daily basis.

But then something happened. As time passed God began to be treated as though He were a meddlesome nuisance. His commands were ignored, spiritual adultery was adopted as a desirable way of life and the nation sank so low that the sacrificing of their small children alive to heathen deities became a common practice!

At a certain point God said He would withdraw from them. Now then – guess Whom they came running to and calling on when calamities really set in? But there was no response – God had withdrawn from a nation of people who made the hypocritical claim that God was their God!

Since we are duplicating the same pattern as did those people many centuries ago and since there is overwhelming evidence that God is withdrawing from the United States, what will be the response of Obama, the U. S. Congress, the “religious” leaders, and the citizens to that withdrawal?

Will there be a spirit of genuine repentance as expressed by Daniel in his prayer (see Daniel 9)?

Or will there be bitterness and accusations that God has no right to do things that disrupt us in our idolatrous and immoral ways of life?

Or will the president and the Congress actually make a concentrated effort to ram through legislation in the vain attempt to offset all the negatives that take place because God has withdrawn from this republic?

Will church leaders attempt to stage some extra church activities – maybe even suggest that perhaps some extra praying should be done, as God in the process of withdrawing does something else – the “famishing” of the numerous idols that have been set up in a republic known as the United States of America?

What say YOU?

"It shall be in that day," says the LORD of hosts, "that I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they shall no longer be remembered. I will also cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to depart from the land.” --- Zechariah 13:2

The LORD will frighten them, because he will destroy all the gods of the earth. Then everyone in faraway places will worship him wherever they are. --- Zephaniah 2:11 (New Century Version).

The Ultimate Low!

During the reign of the Clintons years ago this item circulated for a while – a question was asked, “What is the difference between the Clintons and the RMS Titanic?” Answer was, “The RMS Titanic ran out depths to which it could sink!”

There are almost countless ways by which human depravity is demonstrated and how low a person can descend when it comes to involvement in something that is highly offensive to a holy God Who has us under surveillance at all times.

In recent days within driving distance of the place where we live the following have been reported:

• 2 females have been charged with raping young children
  
• a male has been charged with sexual abuse of a child
  
• a man has been charged with the shotgun slaying of his estranged wife in a McDonalds parking lot
  
• a man shot his wife and then himself – they were the parents of two young children who were fortunate to be with grandparents at the time of this tragedy
  
• a 12 year-old took his shotgun and shot his father's pregnant girl friend to death while she was sleeping. He is being charged as an adult in this case, although his lawyer wants this changed so that he is charged as a juvenile. In Commonwealth of PA in a case of murder such as this a juvenile can be charged as an adult.
  
• a young female student took a picture of herself in the nude and then text messaged it to a boy who in turn shared it with a lot of other students via cell phone – it seems the administration of the school where this happened was more than a tad unsettled by this development
  

In another part of the country in a small community a 15 year-old boy and a 13 year-old girl made a video recording of their act of sexual intercourse and then shared that recording via cell phone with other students in their school. The community and school officials were in a state of shock on this one – well, hello! Guess who has been encouraging and teaching the little tykes how to do it – monkey see, monkey do, you know!

The lowest of the low, however, is when an effort is made to protect lives of unborn children and someone blocks such an effort.

It happened in the state of Illinois when legislation was proposed to do whatever necessary to preserve the life of an unborn child who should happen to survive a botched abortion – once in a great while it does happen and there are a very few persons today who can testify that they are survivors of the murderous attempt on their lives! But the effort in Illinois was stonewalled by an arrogant legislator named Barack Obama whose attitude was, “If that baby should survive the abortion intended to kill it, then let it alone – don’t touch it until it dies!”

At least one nurse has testified of the horror involved when such an occurrence took place – of witnessing a baby surviving an abortion and no person was permitted to lift so much as a finger to take some form of action which would insure that the life of that intended victim would be preserved!

Heartless? Cruel? Totally lacking in any compassion whatsoever? Without a doubt, yes, and when you see a picture or a video of the president, dare to remember that here is a person who has sunk as low as it is possible to go in regard to his attitude toward unborn children. He has put together the most pro-death administration in the history of the United States, and then has the audacity to throw out the term, “God bless the United States of America!”

It becomes more obvious as time progresses that he, his administration and the country he is attempting to lead will learn the hard way that you cannot pursue a policy that intentionally disrupts the plans of Almighty God for human life and get away with it!

It is now time that the name Clinton as used in connection with a comparison to Titanic earlier should be changed to Obama who has revealed his ability to sink to the lowest depths when it comes to defining human depravity and what it is about!

"This is the interpretation of each word. MENE: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it; TEKEL: You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting; PERES: Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians." --- Daniel 5:26-28

Only One Type of Inaugural Prayer Is Appropriate and Urgently Needed Now!

Prayers at the Inauguration and related activities has stirred up intense controversy for weeks in part due to the persons chosen to participate and in part due to the possible content of those prayers when they are uttered.

Names such as Rick Warren and Gene Robinson have come to the forefront since the announcement was made that President-Elect Obama had chosen them to offer prayers during inauguration events. With the announcement came reactions of a varied kind, much of which was controversial.

Warren is considered an "evangelical" and the nature of his prayer and whether it would be prayed "in the Name of Jesus Christ" was part of the issue. Warren came under fire for his support of marriage being limited to male and female which was an issue in the November election in California -- same-sex supporters fired salvo after salvo on this issue.

Then came the choice of Bishop Gene Robinson to do a prayer during the Sunday outing at the Lincoln Memorial. Bishop Robinson of the Episcopal Church is a practicing homosexual and has had a "partner" for some time. Robinson was on record as saying that he did not want his public prayer on this occasion to be particularly "Christian" and that he would not be making references to the Bible.

But really, what these persons pray and say is not really important. It will likely involve some appeal for some kind of blessing in times to come. With all the tossing around of phrases such as "God bless you." and "God bless the United States of America." it is a distinct possibility that the favor of some divine something will be sought.

What is needed is a prayer which was prayed in the distant past and which goes straight to the heart of the issue as to our republic's greatest problems and how to correct them. It was originally prayed by the prophet Daniel a long time ago and doesn't need a bit of revision to fit our situation -- here it is as recorded in Daniel 9:3-19:

Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. And I prayed to the LORD my God, and made confession, and said, "O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments, we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments. Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land. O Lord, righteousness belongs to You, but to us shame of face, as it is this day; to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those near and those far off in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of the unfaithfulness which they have committed against You. O Lord, to us belongs shame of face, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You. To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him. We have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in His laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets. Yes, all Israel has transgressed Your law, and has departed so as not to obey Your voice; therefore the curse and the oath written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against Him. And He has confirmed His words, which He spoke against us and against our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us a great disaster; for under the whole heaven such never has been done as what has been done to Jerusalem. As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us; yet we have not made our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand Your truth. Therefore the LORD has kept the disaster in mind, and brought it upon us; for the LORD our God is righteous in all the works which He does, though we have not obeyed His voice. And now, O Lord our God, who brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and made Yourself a name, as it is this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly! O Lord, according to all Your righteousness, I pray, let Your anger and Your fury be turned away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people have become a reproach to all who are around us. Now therefore, our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications, and for the Lord's sake cause Your face to shine on Your sanctuary, which is desolate. O my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see our desolations, and the city which is called by Your name; for we do not present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies. O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for Your own sake, my God, for Your city and Your people are called by Your name."

As you probably realize, such a prayer would never be prayed on the occasion of an Inauguration nor will it be prayed in other places or other occasions in our republic.

The reasons are simple -- first, many would say it has no relevance to our time and place -- just forget it and treat it as though it doesn't even exist!

Second, the vast majority have no desire to pray unless we get into some crisis out of which we cannot extricate ourselves -- then maybe we'll call out for some assistance.

Third, that may be one of those passages in the Bible that really never happened to begin with and certainly doesn't have anything to do with us in the 21st Century.

Fourth, what have we done that is so wrong anyway? We're all pretty good people and God is a good God (if He should happen to exist) -- besides, we have to respect one another's views as to what is right and wrong -- we can't use an all inclusive term which implies that we are all sinners and we are all guilty!

So we will pray our prayers asking for blessings, special favors and whatever and then wonder later on down the road when God really begins to make His response to our entrenched ungodly ways as to why such calamities (read "judgments") are hitting our country!

And here and there among a very small minority the thought might arise, "Maybe that Daniel fellow really knew something significant after all!"

"The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it. And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it, if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it. --- Jeremiah 18:7-10

Want to Fix the Country? Only One Place Where It Must Start!

Can They Reach a Deal? Bush presses lawmakers to move quickly on stalled economic bailout plan – stocks fall as bailout talks break down – WaMu seized, assets sold --- Internet headlines on September 26, 2008

O LORD, I know the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps. --- Jeremiah 10:23

As of this writing the first effort to reach a “deal” on the 700 billion dollar bailout of those institutions going under for the deadly third time has failed. The president assembled a host of leaders including the major party candidates for president in an attempt to get those billions rolling, but to no avail.

There was no end to the financial “arm chair quarterbacks” and their “expert” comments as to how it should be done as exhibited on cable news channels and sound bites on major network news programs.

So, since “arm chair quarterbacking” is in vogue at the present moment, how about adding one more – a Clarion County PA farm boy who lives out in the sticks – and who never served as a congressman, or a CEO or achieved the distinguished status of a bishop in a mainline denomination, or a district superintendent in the same, or even as a senior pastor of a church with a few thousand members!

Understand that this “formula” for fixing the country has not really been mentioned in all those discussions taking place among the powerful and wealthy leaders of our republic. Rest assured that this "formula" will deliberately be avoided even more so than exposure to the dreaded Bubonic Plague! Leaders in all fields of responsibility want absolutely nothing to do with the necessary action that has to be taken to restore this nation to what it needs to be and must be if it is going to survive!

But let’s mention it anyway – I do so in part in order to fulfill responsibility which I have in regard to the call Jesus Christ has given me and also that nobody will be able to say, “No one said anything about getting things set right with Almighty God.” As an aside, there are personal letters sent to the president, elected officials, media people and church leaders on an ongoing basis which focus on this issue.

In order for this nation to recover from the deadly *“graveyard spiral” in which it presently finds itself, both governing officials and church leaders will have to issue a loud and clear call that the entire nation will have to do something – this action must be top priority, even beyond the 700 billion dollars which has been the focus of attention for days.

*"graveyard spiral" - a term I learned from a friend who was a commercial pilot all his life and it applies to an aircraft spinning out of control with no recovery possible -- end result is a deadly crash!

A nationwide call to repentance from sin must be jointly issued by those who occupy positions of power, wealth and influential leadership. Citizens must respond and also personally pray for God to extend mercy and forgiveness.

Best example as well as words which can be repeated are found in Daniel 9 in Old Testament Scriptures:

Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. And I prayed to the LORD my God, and made confession, and said, "O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments, we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments. Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land. O Lord, righteousness belongs to You, but to us shame of face, as it is this day; to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those near and those far off in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of the unfaithfulness which they have committed against You. O Lord, to us belongs shame of face, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You. To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him. We have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in His laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets. Yes, all Israel has transgressed Your law, and has departed so as not to obey Your voice; therefore the curse and the oath written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against Him. And He has confirmed His words, which He spoke against us and against our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us a great disaster; for under the whole heaven such never has been done as what has been done to Jerusalem. As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us; yet we have not made our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand Your truth." --- Daniel 9:3-13

It’s about as plain as it could ever be stated, is it not? But there is a problem – first, too many don’t even want to consider what God wants, much less converse with Him about our national sin problems! Leadership too often is hung up on pride and that never permits one to be honest in admitting to ethical, moral and spiritual failure.

And we are unwilling to make a break with our pet sins – not just on the personal level, but just as critical, on the corporate level!

Here’s how it works – either we as a nation do confess and repent of our sins, or we continue to invite God’s chastising actions as we are now experiencing them and then His devastating judgments, if the chastising times do not produce the desired results!

Do you want the country “fixed?” Have you been talking to Almighty God about it? Or have you been deceived into thinking we humans can fix everything by ourselves, relying on our own abilities and resources?

Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. When I kept silent, my bones grew old Through my groaning all the day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Selah. I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD," and You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah. For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You in a time when You may be found; surely in a flood of great waters they shall not come near him. You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah. --- Psalm 32:1-7

We’ve Got It All Wrong - Court Decisions and Constitutional “Rights” Do Not Supersede the Laws and Ordinances of Our Creator!

The 4-3 decision, written by Chief Justice Ronald M. George, rules that even though California’s domestic partnership (DP) laws give same-sex partners “all of the significant legal rights and obligations traditionally associated under state law with the institution of marriage,” the DP scheme violates the California Constitution because of its “failure to designate the official relationship of same-sex couples as marriage.” George writes:

In light of all of these circumstances, we conclude that retention of the traditional definition of marriage does not constitute a state interest sufficiently compelling, under the strict scrutiny equal protection standard, to justify withholding that status from same-sex couples. Accordingly, insofar as the provisions of sections 300 and 308.5 draw a distinction between opposite-sex couples and same-sex couples and exclude the latter from access to the designation of marriage, we conclude these statutes are unconstitutional. --- Part of article by Jan LaRue, Esq. of the Culture and Media Institute

In the midst of the increased calamities this nation is experiencing one would think that there might be a bit of a pause and some soul searching with a pointed question being asked, “Are we doing anything to correct our rebellious ways, seeking true repentance and as a nation, desiring to move to a favorable relationship with our Creator?”

If anything, we seem adamant in rebelling in just about every way possible as conceived by unregenerate minds and hearts.

Worse still is the attitude that our warped interpretation of the constitution gives us the “right” to do just about anything we want to do!

The recent California Supreme Court decision now makes possible for those practicing sodomy and lesbianism to marry – and it allows for these “couples” from anywhere to travel to California and get “married.”

The governor of New York, David Paterson, is setting in motion directives that will result in the recognition of such “marriages” from California, Massachusetts and Canada!

In the meantime we continue to destroy thousands of unborn children on a weekly basis, practice sexual immorality of every possible kind and use the designated day of worship of God as one big day of fun and games!

All this is done with the deadly deception that we have a constitutional “right” to do all these things plus anything else that may invade our minds so saturated with depravity -- a duplication of how it was with humanity in the years preceding the judgment of the flood at the time of Noah.

We are fulfilling to the letter a comment made a long time ago by one of God’s prophets

The earth mourns and fades away, the world languishes and fades away; the haughty people of the earth languish. The earth is also defiled under its inhabitants, because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. --- Isaiah 24:4, 5

It appears more obvious as time moves on that this nation is going to pay a price which is far out of reach in terms of comprehension by our tiny finite minds. It still remains that God is not mocked and if we persist in ignoring the boundaries He has established, then we shall definitely reap as we have chosen to sow rebellion. See Galatians 6 for further details on that!

So one of these days when elected officials and others in positions of wealth and influence -- and even some church leaders begin to raise such questions as, "Why is God doing these things to us?" be prepared to answer that we are now discovering the hard way that our court rulings and so called constitutional "rights" DO NOT supersede the moral laws and ordinances established by the mighty Creator of the heavens and the earth!

"TEKEL: You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting..." --- Daniel 5:27

Dare to Be or Reluctant to Be a Daniel, Which Will It Be?

But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. Now God had brought Daniel into the favor and good will of the chief of the eunuchs. --- Daniel 1:8, 9

It has often been a theme in children's Bible school sessions. And sometimes pastors have picked up on it a bit. It's the "Dare to Be a Daniel!" challenge to people of faith of all ages.

Anyone with a measure of exposure to Bible stories has doubtless heard of Daniel, the Hebrew captive in Babylon, who refused to compromise his convictions which were rooted in his upbringing. He was keenly aware of Who the God of Israel was and he was further determined to be obedient to this God. As noted in the statement above, he would not compromise those convictions and three friends chose to join him while a bunch of others probably felt it would not make any difference by eating and drinking whatever was set before them. You also don't read anything more about those compromising Hebrews, do you?

We are clearly living in a time in which there is an embarrassing reluctance to be a Daniel within the ranks of those professing to hold to the Christian faith! This is seen in two ways:

• Conviction to stand faithfully by the standards which God has established for holy living and witness. The common word now is compromise and "don't rock the boat!" Increasing numbers are entering into the "dialog" mode -- various issues on which there is sharp disagreement are resolved through the "dialog" process -- parties with differing positions sit down at a table and discuss these with the understanding that each respects the other and the position which the other side represents. One of the greatest examples of this disaster is the "dialog" sessions taking place on the subject of the practices of sodomy and lesbianism. Those advocating such practices really don't care if you disagree with them so long as you are willing to "dialog" and eventually all work together within the established church for the good of the Kingdom! It's those few of us who are the "homophobes" who refuse to "dialog" that give the church a bad name, right?
  
  
• Honest confession in prayer with unapologetic recognition that political and religious leadership erred and brought about a direction in the life of the people which led to an indescribable disaster. Daniel was thoroughly honest in his assessment as to why he was in Babylon rather than back in the kingdom of his native Judah enjoying freedom as a citizen there. Note some things he said as he prayed:
  

  
  And I prayed to the LORD my God, and made confession, and said, "O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments, we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments. Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land." --- Daniel 9:4-6
  

  
  

Later it is noted by Daniel that he confessed his sin and the sin of his people Israel. It was then that the angel Gabriel appeared to him with some rather startling news about some future happenings!

At this point in time all indications are that this thing of confessing as well as repenting of sin is something to be avoided -- dare to be a Daniel? Well, maybe up to a point -- but to do so wholeheartedly places one in a very difficult position -- it's like being the point man on a military patrol to rout out the enemy -- you're the first one in line and you are the first target of attack!

The majority trend is this -- compromise a bit here and there in order to maintain "peace" and whatever you do, don't bring this subject of sin to our attention -- people don't want to hear about that! Or to put it another way by rephrasing an approach taken by former President Bill Clinton -- "Just what do you mean by sin?"

How many are out there in the republic of the United States who will dare to be a Daniel with the conviction that obedience to God is an absolute must and the conditions under which we presently live demand total honesty in a true spirit of repentance and prayers of confession?

Look -- over there in the distance-- do you see them -- isn't that a majority I see that is holding banners with very large and bold letters saying, "We are most reluctant to be a Daniel -- in fact, we don't want to be like him!"

"Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: 'Because you have forgotten Me and cast Me behind your back, therefore you shall bear the penalty of your lewdness and your harlotry.'" The LORD also said to me: "Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominations. For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols, and even sacrificed their sons whom they bore to Me, passing them through the fire, to devour them. Moreover they have done this to Me: They have defiled My sanctuary on the same day and profaned My Sabbaths. For after they had slain their children for their idols, on the same day they came into My sanctuary to profane it; and indeed thus they have done in the midst of My house." --- Ezekiel 23:35-39

Will It Be Blessing Prayers or Repenting Prayers?

"God bless America!" --- oft repeated phrase heard throughout the United States on numerous occasions -- i.e. after a presidential address et alii!

Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. And I prayed to the LORD my God, and made confession, and said, "O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments, we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments. Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land." --- Daniel 9:3-6

May 1, 2008 has been designated as the National Day of Prayer in the republic of the United States. It has been something which has taken place for a long time.

How will it go this year as many join together in observance of this event? Will it be dominated mainly by "blessing" prayers -- that is, a chorus of voices beseeching God to bless the nation, its leaders and all the citizens? As noted above, the phrase, "God bless America," has been used again and again and we have a song by that very title as well.

Or will there be praying that reflects the critical matter of repentance at all levels of our nation? A primary example is that of Daniel who was deeply concerned about the issue of repentance on the part of his people. He makes no excuses but honestly admits the heart of the problem -- willful disobedience to God which brought about the destruction of the kingdom in which he was a citizen!

There is little indication at this stage that the spirit of a grieving prophet over his people's sin will be recaptured on May 1 in our nation. There may be a few who recognize the need to repent -- a repentance involving each individual as well repentance at the collective level involving our institutions, including church groups and government!

Lest one is tempted to think that Daniel was a bit "self-righteous" in all this, as you read further through the account you find that he admits to confessing not only the sin of his nation, but also his own sin! We don't have the details on that -- in fact, Daniel is of such a noble character that the Bible does not record one negative thing about him as in the case of a number of others.

So then -- have you been praying for our nation? Not focusing on seeking blessings, but rather expressing grief over how sin is ravaging our culture and the need to repent of all that God finds to be offensive and abominable in His sight?

Far be it from us that we just devote a little attention to this on May 1, but that each day will find us beseeching our heavenly Father to be merciful because we are a sinful and wicked nation and need to repent before He chooses to bring devastating judgments upon us!

And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, "Son of man, say to her: 'You are a land that is not cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation.' The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured people; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst. Her priests have violated My law and profaned My holy things; they have not distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, to shed blood, to destroy people, and to get dishonest gain. Her prophets plastered them with untempered mortar, seeing false visions, and divining lies for them, saying, 'Thus says the Lord GOD,' when the LORD had not spoken. The people of the land have used oppressions, committed robbery, and mistreated the poor and needy; and they wrongfully oppress the stranger. So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one. Therefore I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; and I have recompensed their deeds on their own heads," says the Lord GOD. --- Ezekiel 22:23-31

Is Your God the One Who Will Do It, OR Will Your god Be a Victim of It?

The LORD will be awesome to them, for He will reduce to nothing all the gods of the earth; people shall worship Him, each one from his place, indeed all the shores of the nations. --- Zephaniah 2:11

Thus you shall say to them: "The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under these heavens. He has made the earth by His power, He has established the world by His wisdom, And has stretched out the heavens at His discretion. When He utters His voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens: and He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain, He brings the wind out of His treasuries." --- Jeremiah 10:11-13

"As the thief is ashamed when he is found out, so is the house of Israel ashamed; they and their kings and their princes, and their priests and their prophets, saying to a tree, 'You are my father,' and to a stone, 'You gave birth to me.' For they have turned their back to Me, and not their face. But in the time of their trouble they will say, 'Arise and save us.' But where are your gods that you have made for yourselves? Let them arise, if they can save you in the time of your trouble; for according to the number of your cities are your gods, O Judah. Why will you plead with Me? You all have transgressed against Me," says the LORD. --- Jeremiah 2:26-29

He has done it at times throughout human history and one of these days the republic of the United States will undergo a similar experience.

Cultures have only one extremely critical issue to settle and time is limited as to whether that issue is settled correctly for the citizens’ well being and ongoing survival or incorrectly with the result that disintegration and ultimate disaster takes place! That issue is simply choosing who will be the deity (or deities) that all the citizens will honor, reverence, love, and obey daily.

Will the choice be to worship and obey the living eternal God Who loved us humans so much that He gave His only Son, Jesus Christ, to be the atoning sacrifice for every sin committed by every human since Adam and Eve were kicked out of the Garden of Eden for their disobedience to this God?

OR will the choice be to reject this true God and concoct a myriad of false deities as has been demonstrated by cultures down through the millennia of human history and continues at a vigorous pace in today’s world?

God has also demonstrated something most graphically. He targets His judgments not just at defiant human beings but also at the false deities they have created for themselves. What could be more explicit than this:

'For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. --– Exodus 12:12

Egypt was in a bad state of affairs after this incident. The Egyptians also discovered too late that they had made some very bad choices when it came to selection of deities around which they would rally! Can’t you just picture those Egyptians desperately calling on their sun god during those 3 days in which it was so dark you could almost slice it with a knife?

Now, are you ready for this? For decades a large number of U. S. citizens have established their own peculiar brand of false deities – no, not the kind that are crafted of wood, stone, or metal but nevertheless they are still very real in the lives of millions of all ages. The living God Who put this great universe together by simple spoken commands is ignored, insulted, and blasphemed on a 24/7 basis! The day set aside in which He is to be worshipped and honored has been trashed in countless ways – Sunday should be renamed Funday in order to more accurately reflect how low we as a society have sunk in the decades following WW II!

So how will it be in your case? Is the God Who will eventually bring all the deities now prominent on U. S. soil down and crush them into dust your God Whom you seek to honor and serve with all your heart?

OR will your god (or gods – you could have accumulated quite a number of them as did the ancient Egyptians) be the helpless and defenseless victim/s of indescribable judgment of the living God and Creator of this mighty universe?

Those who have made bad choices in determining their deities will be in a very precarious position to say the least. Don’t be one of them. Make sure you are “squared away” in your relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ. And that you are living each day with the blessed assurance that He indeed is Savior and Lord in your life and the One Whom you are expecting to return to rule this world forever.

Further information on this eternal issue is found at How to Become a Christian! A link at the bottom of the area will bring you back to this location.

Further information with graphic details on the many deities to which citizens of the United States are giving enthusiastic devotion is found at Popular Deities of American Culture! A link at the bottom of the area will bring you back to this location.

"And you have lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines, have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which do not see or hear or know; and the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified.” --- Daniel 5:23

"You shall have no other gods before Me. --– Exodus 20:3

Adopt a Prayer!

At least some states have encouraged the practice for years -- it's called "Adopt a Highway" or something akin to that. The idea is to have a group of persons "adopt" a portion of highway and a couple of times a year or so, go along that portion of highway which they have adopted and pick up all the litter which has been thrown from vehicles traveling along that stretch of road.

Here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania there is a great need for this and a number of families and groups have responded to the appeal. You see, our state is still plagued with a number of persons with a very low IQ and common sense level of decency and respect -- and so they throw out their beer and soda cans, their McDonald's french fry boxes and hamburger wrappers, and their Pizza Hut boxes along the road as they travel along after indulging in their food and drinks!

Seizing on the idea of adopting a highway for ridding it of all debris deposited by those aforementioned ignoramuses, I am suggesting that we do an "adopt a prayer" exercise for the future well being and survival of the republic of which we are citizens.

How about adopting the prayer of Daniel the prophet as he prayed most seriously in chapter 9 of the book of Daniel? If the leaders (political and church) of this republic and we citizens took this seriously and performed the necessary steps of full repentance, the most astounding miracles would immediately take place!

Here is how Daniel started:

Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. And I prayed to the LORD my God, and made confession, and said, "O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments, we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments. Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land...." --- Daniel 9:3-6

Now there is quite a bit more, but since it's good to thumb through the pages of the Bible and do some serious reading on a regular basis, I'll let you look it up and finish reading that prayer.

Then, how about adopting it as a personal prayer on your part and from time to time insert words such as "we...our leaders in state and church...in the United States" etc. The words about sinning and disobeying God remain the same until there is clear evidence that we as a nation are really serious about quitting this massive sin thing and getting right with God on a personal and individual basis as well as a collective basis.

As an aside, can you picture the United States Congress praying this prayer in all sincerity and then taking necessary actions to prove the sincerity of what was prayed? One thing sure, there would be a heap of things to be changed if such would really happen!

Will you do it today and encourage others to get involved in the "adopt a prayer by Daniel" program?

"....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 I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." --- 2 Chronicles 7:14

Prayer Is Also a Weapon -- Use It!

Let the righteous strike me; it shall be a kindness. And let him reprove me; it shall be as excellent oil; let my head not refuse it. For still my prayer is against the deeds of the wicked. --- Psalm 141:5

Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit. --- James 5:16-18

The concept of prayer for a large number of people consists mainly in seeking something from God -- it boils down to asking God for blessings and if one is in some kind of "crisis" dilemma, then you ask God for help and that He would get you out of the trouble in which you find yourself.

Some may go a bit further and say that we ought to give God thanks and express gratitude for good things He has granted. At that one special time of the year, in between a turkey dinner and a plethora of football games, we may be reminded to pray a bit and offer up an expression of gratitude!

Prayer is much more than what has been mentioned, and that includes use of prayer as a "weapon." Note the statements in Psalm 141 as mentioned above -- about praying against the "deeds of the wicked." Then we are informed of one person who did this very thing -- Elijah prayed that it would not rain and for 3 1/2 years God turned off the spigot when it came to rain events in the northern kingdom of ancient Israel. Its king was Ahab with a rather notorious wife named Jezebel -- she was a good missionary -- she brought all her heathen deities with her when she married Ahab and Baal worship was widely promoted and accepted -- perhaps the people were excitedly proclaiming the fact that now they were a "diverse" people with different ideas about belief systems and worship just as has been happening in the mainline denominations today -- you hear a lot about celebrating "diversity" in the United Methodist Church at the present time!

Ahab confronted Elijah and accused him of causing trouble in the kingdom -- it's a fascinating encounter -- I'll let you hunt it up and see what adventures Elijah had as he used prayer as a weapon.

There is a lot of wickedness in our culture and even big name people can be a part of it -- they live it and actively promote it at times! So pray "against" them -- that God will return upon their heads the "fruit of their doings!" This last expression is Biblical by the way -- you can see references to it from time to time.

Try that approach for instance with the guys who mutilate and murder unborn children! Or with elected officials who act more out of self-interest and self-preservation than they do for the interests and well being of the citizens they are supposed to represent! Or with those in the entertainment industry with their repulsive display of immorality and ungodly influence upon our young folks! And don't forget other ways those who are wicked in their ways have a destructive influence on our young -- those who traffic in drugs and alcohol -- those who influence the young with "music" (term used loosely) laced with lyrics encouraging immoral and violent conduct -- those who teach our young that we have "evolved" from lower life forms rather than being a special creation, with each person known and identified by God before conception in the womb and for whom there is a special place in God's overall plan for His creation. This last problem on origins is to be compared to an intellectual cancer which is out of control in the majority of educational institutions throughout the U.S. starting at the elementary level and continuing all the way through the graduate school level!

And just maybe with the resulting calamities that come about, there may be some who will actually repent of their wickedness and seek the mercy and forgiveness of God so wonderfully offered in and through His Son, Jesus Christ!

But we also are sobered with the historical record that in Elijah's case, it didn't do any good -- the kingdom continued down the slippery slope toward impending judgment and ultimate collapse. It doesn't exist anymore.

So, shake the dust off that weapon and be sure to use it every day -- you have to keep working at it because it's virtually impossible to fully identify all the wickedness which exists within a republic known as the United States of America! But sensitivity to what God has revealed in His Word about the patterns of wickedness and enlightenment provided by the Holy Spirit, we will be able to see more clearly where it is concentrated and then pray against it!

In a sense we who have chosen to follow Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord find ourselves surrounded by the "lions" of wickedness in a variety of forms -- and we are constantly pressured to go along with the ungodliness of our culture without objection or saying something that may "offend" somebody! Nonsense! Get out that weapon and use it -- see what great things God can and will do -- if He shut the mouths of hungry lions in the presence of His servant, Daniel, He can bring all manner of chaos into the lives of those who live and promote the ways of wickedness!

And a PS: Do you remember what happened to that bunch which conspired against Daniel with the result that he was thrown into the lions den? They and all the members of their families were pitched into the den and this time the lions had a feast -- God allowed them to gorge themselves. Yes, wickedness does pay off, but not in a very pleasant way ultimately!

It is time for You to act, O LORD, for they have regarded Your law as void. Therefore I love Your commandments more than gold, yes, than fine gold! Therefore all Your precepts concerning all things I consider to be right; I hate every false way. --- Psalm 119:126-128