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

In the 21st Century It's Not the "Black Death" but Rather, the "Green Death!"

“You must understand this: In the last days there will be violent periods of time. People will be selfish and love money. They will brag, be arrogant, and use abusive language. They will curse their parents, show no gratitude, have no respect for what is holy, and lack normal affection for their families. They will refuse to make peace with anyone. They will be slanderous, lack self-control, be brutal, and have no love for what is good. They will be traitors. They will be reckless and conceited. They will love pleasure rather than God.”
--- 2 Timothy 3:1-4 (God’s Word Translation)

Back in the Middle Ages it wiped out millions of people in Europe – the Bubonic Plague or more commonly known as the “Black Death.”

The 21st Century version is a plague of a different kind – not a physical disease, but every bit as deadly, if not more so and appropriately titled the “Green Death!”

Greed has enslaved millions in our culture as well as in all other nations of the world. Studies done and surveys taken provide clear evidence that the gap between the rich and the poor continues to widen with the passing of time.

It is not a sin to have money but it can be a sin of the first magnitude when it comes to motives and methods in getting it, how it is used, and the affection attached to it. Money quickly becomes a merciless deity for those who view and use it with a perverted perspective. Not only is money a merciless deity but ultimately it destroys all who have bowed down and paid homage to it.

Present day examples are too numerous to list completely, but here are a few starters:

• Companies fiercely compete for government contracts because these are very lucrative and it’s almost standard procedure that there will be what is termed “cost overruns” with the U.S. tax payers being ripped off repeatedly. Recent disturbing information reveals that millions of dollars are unaccounted for in the rebuilding and reconstruction which is supposed to be taking place in Iraq by U.S. contractors!
  


• And another news item that has surfaced asking a question about what has been going on in the hurricane ravaged areas of the Gulf Coast -- where have all those millions and millions of dollars gone? Those with fairly good memories will remember there was some scandal early on about "abuses" and "price gounging" -- any idea as to why such things take place -- if you look closely you will see that a lot of people have dollar signs flashing on and off in the place where their eyeballs ought to be!
  


• Competition is always deeply intense among members of the law profession as evidenced by their TV and newspaper ads along with billboards standing next to our highways. There is a constant bombardment of messages exhorting us to sue someone for something so that we can “get the money we deserve!” Of course, the award in a lawsuit will be drastically reduced once the attorneys get their “share.” So look around and see if there isn’t some reason to launch a lawsuit to get a ton of money, even if it’s for that hang nail that’s been irritating you lately – it is someone else’s fault, didn’t you know – just ask one of those characters that yells at you over the TV screen reminding you that he will help you get the money you deserve for your “pain and suffering!”
  


• Elected officials have provided clear evidence of their own infection with the virus of greed when their well traveled trail of salary increases and perk benefits is followed. This is the only group among supposedly “paid” employees which has the power to increase constantly what goes into their pockets, both short term and long term! For an experience that will make you want to lose the contents of your stomach quickly, compare the salaries and perks of our elected officials with that of the average citizen which they claim to represent either in Washington DC or a state capitol.
  


• Companies involved in petroleum distribution have held us hostage for a long time with price gouging tactics. Is it any surprise that companies in the business are reporting record breaking profits year after year? It gets to be a real circus when the officials of these outfits are challenged about this and to hear their “explanation” – a real lesson in how to use the forked tongue and persuade the public that what it pays for petroleum industry products is a good and healthy thing for all of us!

But enough of that – have you been getting the picture that something is far off base in the matter of money exchange in our nation and throughout the world at large?

Almighty God has made some statements about the subject of money which means that there are a substantial number of persons and their way of handling money that are in very deep doo-doo!

No further comment needed on the following:

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. – 1 Tim 6:10 NKJV

Then Jesus said to His disciples, "Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
--- Matt 19:23, 24 NKJV

Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
--- James 4:1-4 NKJV

Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten.Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days. Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter.
--- James 5:1-5 NKJV

But keep looking up – it’s not going to always be like this – one of these days Jesus Christ is going to return to this sin ravaged planet and set things right side up. When He takes charge it will be a whole new ball game which very few persons will be prepared to face – only the few who are looking for His glorious return (Titus 2:11-14) and have in their hearts each day the closing prayer of the book of the Revelation which says, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!”