In my first ten years as a Christian, in Evangelicalism....and as a Pentecostal, there was one particular verse used over and over in relation to America and that verse is 2 Chronicles 7:14 "If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land." There are quite a few issues involved with applying this verse to America, I'll mention just one, that being that the people of the United States of America were never 'God's people.' Had the framers of our Constitution dedicated their work to Jesus Christ or at least clearly implied that He was the benefactor of their blessings then we at least would have grounds to make the 'mistake' of calling ourselves 'God's people.'
No... Americans were never 'God's people', rather a 'God fearing' people. Christians are God's people but Christians are not America. This is not to say that nothing can be gleaned by the Christian from the verse for much surely can be but to fail to delineate the difference between 'God's people' and a 'God fearing' people is to presume upon God that He would heal our nation because He made a covenant with us, which is the foundation of this particular verse in 2 Chronicles, when in fact He may not heal us and He did not make a covenant with us as a nation!
This may be our Achilles Heal, we think that we are untouchable, too powerful to be overthrown. We don't need borders, we don't need laws The worst that could happen to us would be another stock market collapse. Planet earth has become our god. Many who could not give a definition for the word 'pagan' are in fact pagan themselves.
There is a verse that seems to scream.... America....and even Western Civilization.... when I read it but it is not a hopeful verse. From the same English Standard Version (ESV) Romans 1:28 reads "And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind....." The word debase means to lower the quality or value of. That is us! Not only are we incapable of doing anything about our problems, we are incapable of discerning our problems. What other possible reason could explain 'same-sex marriage' other than a debased mind that God has left, ".....to do what ought not to be done."
"But As The Days Of Noah Were..." November, 2014
In amongst an entire chapter of information concerning the tribulation period, Jesus gave us this particular revelation of the Second Coming in verse 37 of that 24th chapter of Mathew, "But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood , they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark." If you read the Genesis account in chapter six you will find that what Jesus was referring to wasn't quite as simple as just getting married but rather that men "....took wives for themselves of all whom they chose." In the next verse we see God's response in "And the Lord said, 'My Spirit shall not strive with man forever...'." A few verses later we read "for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth." And once again a few verses later "....the earth is filled with violence."
We all know of the wanton killing that occurs all the time in the Middle East. More recently we hear unbelievable stories closer to home in Mexico. Here in Pittsburgh we could have three murders in one day and people watching the news would just shake their head and go on to the next story. As a child I viewed an occasional gunfight on television and there was hardly any gore. Our children today are exposed to digital displays of gruesome human carnage on a daily basis through many mediums.
We are violent in America and violence is encompassing the whole world. Possibly you have seen the ultrasound picture in the news this week of a baby smiling in the womb? Yet the world celebrates the ongoing slaughter of abortion. As for the Biblical verses mentioned above on marriage? Have you read the accounts this week that the abducted schoolgirls in Nigeria have been "married off?"Do we not marry whomever we want today irrespective of God's laws?
As I write this, on a Sunday afternoon, is it not probable that much of America does not have a care in the world about violence as they watch their football games...unless it is a quarterback's concussion of course? Ponder your own weekend so far. Had America's rebellion against God or His warnings of judgement that are becoming clearer as time goes on even been discussed in the fellowship with friends that you probably had taken part in? If you are a church goer were there any warnings emanating from the pulpit? Generally, Americans are concerned but that concern is kept below the surface so as not to make it appear that they are not as psychologically or spiritually secure as the one sitting next to them at work or in church.
No... Americans were never 'God's people', rather a 'God fearing' people. Christians are God's people but Christians are not America. This is not to say that nothing can be gleaned by the Christian from the verse for much surely can be but to fail to delineate the difference between 'God's people' and a 'God fearing' people is to presume upon God that He would heal our nation because He made a covenant with us, which is the foundation of this particular verse in 2 Chronicles, when in fact He may not heal us and He did not make a covenant with us as a nation!
This may be our Achilles Heal, we think that we are untouchable, too powerful to be overthrown. We don't need borders, we don't need laws The worst that could happen to us would be another stock market collapse. Planet earth has become our god. Many who could not give a definition for the word 'pagan' are in fact pagan themselves.
There is a verse that seems to scream.... America....and even Western Civilization.... when I read it but it is not a hopeful verse. From the same English Standard Version (ESV) Romans 1:28 reads "And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind....." The word debase means to lower the quality or value of. That is us! Not only are we incapable of doing anything about our problems, we are incapable of discerning our problems. What other possible reason could explain 'same-sex marriage' other than a debased mind that God has left, ".....to do what ought not to be done."
"But As The Days Of Noah Were..." November, 2014
In amongst an entire chapter of information concerning the tribulation period, Jesus gave us this particular revelation of the Second Coming in verse 37 of that 24th chapter of Mathew, "But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood , they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark." If you read the Genesis account in chapter six you will find that what Jesus was referring to wasn't quite as simple as just getting married but rather that men "....took wives for themselves of all whom they chose." In the next verse we see God's response in "And the Lord said, 'My Spirit shall not strive with man forever...'." A few verses later we read "for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth." And once again a few verses later "....the earth is filled with violence."
We all know of the wanton killing that occurs all the time in the Middle East. More recently we hear unbelievable stories closer to home in Mexico. Here in Pittsburgh we could have three murders in one day and people watching the news would just shake their head and go on to the next story. As a child I viewed an occasional gunfight on television and there was hardly any gore. Our children today are exposed to digital displays of gruesome human carnage on a daily basis through many mediums.
We are violent in America and violence is encompassing the whole world. Possibly you have seen the ultrasound picture in the news this week of a baby smiling in the womb? Yet the world celebrates the ongoing slaughter of abortion. As for the Biblical verses mentioned above on marriage? Have you read the accounts this week that the abducted schoolgirls in Nigeria have been "married off?"Do we not marry whomever we want today irrespective of God's laws?
As I write this, on a Sunday afternoon, is it not probable that much of America does not have a care in the world about violence as they watch their football games...unless it is a quarterback's concussion of course? Ponder your own weekend so far. Had America's rebellion against God or His warnings of judgement that are becoming clearer as time goes on even been discussed in the fellowship with friends that you probably had taken part in? If you are a church goer were there any warnings emanating from the pulpit? Generally, Americans are concerned but that concern is kept below the surface so as not to make it appear that they are not as psychologically or spiritually secure as the one sitting next to them at work or in church.
"But as were the days of Noah"...... are we as in the days of Noah? It must be possible to know of such a situation or Jesus would not have given us the clue. One last verse...in speaking of the people in Noah's day, Jesus then said "(they) did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be."
