"Ephraim is joined to idols. Leave him alone." Ephraim here meaning all of the northern tribes. "Leave him alone" or 'let him him go' as we would say today....or as the Amplified Bible adds...."to suffer the consequences." That is America today....for our idols are everywhere....and I have my own....and God has left us to our own devices....`a la our choices in the last three presidential elections.
Jonah was sent to Nineveh with a warning. That warning was given to us in the latter part of the last century. It wasn't a general awakening by any means that resulted....and revival is a term that does not really fit....so maybe there isn't a word for what happened in America.....as it pertains to the gospel of Jesus Christ in 70s and 80s....but it was something to behold if you were a part of it.
Satan seemed to fight back at this embryonic movement with blasphemous entertainments such as Jesus Christ Superstar....and Godspell....(both of which I loved at the time).....and the Rolling Stones helped with....Sympathy For The Devil....(which was on Trump's rally playlist for a while)....and The Doors with...."I'm going to love you 'til the heavens stop the rain....'til the stars fall from the sky"....and so many other volleys in seemingly every area of life in the war until through our dalliances with politics and lack of vigilance we were rendered helpless in the blitzkrieg over the past twelve plus years.
Well we don't want to hear this type of message....that's for sure....and I can't blame any of us for feeling this way....but we have got to get through the shock....because it gets harder as these judgments continue. Peter wrote...."I think it is right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder"....after he had just written...."Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble'."
Now how do we get the pulpits on board? That's a tongue-in-cheek question because prayer is what we are to do. No it's not Jonah's warning that we hear anymore as Billy Graham is gone.....along with so many other faithful pastors who have gone to their Lord whom they so faithfully obeyed in warning the sheep. It's Nahum's message that comes to us today....a warning yes....but a warning to get our houses in order. We are so much further gone than we were in the 70s and 80s.....but we in general have no way of knowing that....so if you might agree with that....(and you would have to be almost as old as I am)....then please pray with me....all the time....pleading as to grabbing the robe.....as with the impudence of the man in the parable who wanted the three loaves of bread....and pestering as did the widow to the unjust judge.
Hosea 4:17....2 Peter 1: 13 and 10....Luke 11:5 and 18:5
Note: We are one thousand times....(biblical connotation intended)....worse off than we were forty years ago....(once again biblical connotation intended)....and one hundred times less aware of our predicament than we were back then. God has blinded our discernment....taken His hand off of us....and left us to our own imaginations and machinations.
Also: There cannot be many who write about and recommend R. C. Sproul more than I do on this website....but I remember distinctly the frustration that I felt when it was announced that the title of their upcoming conference in March of 2017.....celebrating the 500 years since the Reformation....would be....The Next 500 Years....as I thought to myself....."the next 500 years.....what about the next 500 days?" God would call His servant home before the end of the year.....and Billy Graham would go home to his Lord and Master shortly afterwards.....having urgently warned us for many years. We will proclaim today that Jesus is indeed coming back....but there is no urgency here....and little to no warning to get our houses in order....nor even it appears actual desire for His return.
