The Bible warns us about saying "everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation" (1 Pet. 3:4) when judgment is at hand. We know that God is "patient not wanting anyone to perish" (v.9), but there comes a time when the gavel falls!
After Hurricane Katrina, I spoke with a former resident of Louisiana. He told me he grew up hearing warnings of levies breaking but folks simply tuned it out when nothing happened. This describes America today.
If you fell asleep like a Rip Van Winkle for 30 years and awoke today, imagine how shocked you would be at what happened to America.
1. Divorce: Increased from 4% to 51% in one generation.
2. Cohabitation: 65% of "altar-bound" singles live together, a euphemism for lifestyle fornication.
3. Abortion: 57 million unborn babies aborted, some with taxpayer funding and now part of socialized medicine.
4. Marijuana: Being legalized in several states.
5. Euthanasia and Infanticide: Being legalized under camouflage names.
6. Pornography: Rampant, graphic, just a "click away" on hand-held devices.
7. Homosexuality, lesbian and transgender lifestyles: Promoted even by our president along with gay marriage and homosexual ordinations.
8. Movies and music: Standards almost nonexistent with graphic nudity, profanity and blasphemy commonplace.
9. Out-of-wedlock births: 1st time in U.S history – more than 50%.
10. Sexually transmitted diseases: Over 110 million in our population infected.
11. Economic insanity: $18 trillion national debt; millions unemployed deriving benefits; $60 billion in annual Medicare fraud and waste.
12. Illegal immigration: Over 11 million and politicians pushing open borders and amnesty.
13. Political leaders: Corruption, incompetence and deception at all levels.
14. Radical Islam and terrorism: Exploding in regions of the world with an increasingly vulnerable America dismantling militarily and docile politicians calling it a "peaceful religion."
15. Should we add illiteracy... crime... catastrophic fatherlessness... human trafficking... adultery... profane comedians...an ignorant and low information populace? How about the ongoing erosion of our religious freedoms and secularism taking over society? And last but not least, how about a Laodicean, apostate church compromising and lacking the courage to address the defining issues of our day with clarity and conviction while defining success in terms of happy sermons, attendance, offerings, number of staff, programs and square footage?
Do we see the "handwriting on the wall" that we are at an unprecedented tipping point? Are we aware that America is rapidly spiraling into a lawless culture similar to Germany of a generation ago?
My wife and her parents are German and they will tell you an educated and civilized nation moved from democracy to dictatorship and then demise in less than six years! A once-thriving nation can have its heritage and faith so decimated that history records it as a tragic collapse.
Our Only Hope for Turnaround is a Heaven-sent Awakening That May Require A Calamity to Jumpstart
As long as things continue to run somewhat smoothly on the surface, we have an amazing ability to cope and carry-on, all the while making flimsy excuses for compromise and a comfortable "Christianity."
• "I don't like what's happening in America on so many issues, but it's not really affecting me or my family."
• "I prefer they not schedule soccer games on Sunday morning but I guess we can live with it. As a family we try to make it to church at least twice a month unless we need to catch up on our rest."
• "I wish our pastor would address these critical issues but his role model is Joel Osteen so he avoids controversy."
• "I grew up with Sunday school, Sunday evening and Wednesday evening services but times have changed and I guess we can get by with a brief Sunday service."
• "Our worship leader is gay, I think, and the primary singer is living with her boyfriend but it's probably best not to stir up problems."
• "I wish our church gave out voter guides so we knew where candidates stand but since we're in a building program, leadership said they don't want to jeopardize fundraising."
"Our pastors tell us they don't put out any lawn signs for candidates or speak about anything political because of separation of church and state."
"We got the evite for the citywide gathering to pray for transformation in our city but it's the same night of Dancing With the Stars finale and we just can't miss it."
"I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So because you are lukewarm – neither hot nor cold – I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked" (Rev. 3:15-17).
8 Potential Disasters to Awaken Us?
Will it take another stock market crash, severe financial recession or, God forbid, global economic collapse to get our attention?
Might it take a series of beheadings and coordinated Islamic terrorist attacks in malls and cities by ISIS supporters slipping through unprotected borders to wake us up?
Would a massive power outage shutting down computers and canceling NFL games nationwide strike fear into the hearts of citizens and sober us to the urgency of the hour?
How about an airborne Ebola virus outbreak and the "pestilences and diseases" (Matt. 24:7) Jesus predicted at the end of the age? Maybe a mass migration of infected Central Americans streaming through our porous Southern border?
Perhaps the beginning of war in the Middle East as Jerusalem is surrounded by enemies (Luke 21:20) and Iran launches the "bomb" on Israel causing catastrophic disruption in the Straits of Hormuz (where 20% of the total world's gas supply passes)? Recall the long gas lines of 1973?
Friends and family "handed over to be persecuted and put to death...hated by all nations because of Me" (Matt. 24:9)? Imagine us saying what a Chinese pastor, Huang Yizi, said this week upon being arrested in a government crackdown: "I am grateful to God for the opportunity to go to jail."
Perhaps the very real, dreaded, catastrophic EMP (Electromagnetic Pulse) attack causing unimaginable devastation by paralyzing America as all power lines burn out and all goes dark instantly? USA Today stated: "Cities darken, food spoils and homes fall silent. Civilization collapses." Cause: One terrorist A-bomb or a severe solar storm.
Massive earthquake(s) as Jesus foretold (Matt. 24:7). Scientist Dr. Lucy Jones issued a dire warning on Oct. 15 to the L.A. City Council of the effects: "Infrastructure crippled; power grid and communications knocked out; water supply disrupted; 1,800 fatalities, 53,000 injured and ½ the buildings unusable." [Note: This is not the inevitable "Big One" set for San Francisco.]
Awakening From Spiritual Coma
After the disaster of 9/11, people flocked to church buildings, prayer meetings mushroomed and streets were lined with marquees calling for God's blessing on America. We got our wake up call and people were motivated to seek the living God as atheists and the ACLU were silenced.
Unfortunately, we hit the snooze button and fell back asleep. African pastors gathering in D.C. stated it this way just a week ago: "America is in a spiritual coma!"
Providentially, the same week over 100 churches gathered at the Lincoln Memorial in our Nation's Capital to cry out to God for one thing - spiritual awakening in the United States of America.
In the time of Esther, things looked bleak and God's people were very discouraged at the prospect of a national disaster. But through prayer, fasting, seeking God and Spirit-led action, God intervened to save the day. "Who knows if you've come into the Kingdom for such a time as this?" (Esther 4:14) was spoken over one believer. As the clock is ticking, can you hear God issuing you and me the same challenge?
This is the second installment of a two-part series. Part one was posted yesterday.
Unless otherwise specified, the opinions expressed are solely the author's and do not necessarily reflect the views of Charisma Media.
After Hurricane Katrina, I spoke with a former resident of Louisiana. He told me he grew up hearing warnings of levies breaking but folks simply tuned it out when nothing happened. This describes America today.
If you fell asleep like a Rip Van Winkle for 30 years and awoke today, imagine how shocked you would be at what happened to America.
1. Divorce: Increased from 4% to 51% in one generation.
2. Cohabitation: 65% of "altar-bound" singles live together, a euphemism for lifestyle fornication.
3. Abortion: 57 million unborn babies aborted, some with taxpayer funding and now part of socialized medicine.
4. Marijuana: Being legalized in several states.
5. Euthanasia and Infanticide: Being legalized under camouflage names.
6. Pornography: Rampant, graphic, just a "click away" on hand-held devices.
7. Homosexuality, lesbian and transgender lifestyles: Promoted even by our president along with gay marriage and homosexual ordinations.
8. Movies and music: Standards almost nonexistent with graphic nudity, profanity and blasphemy commonplace.
9. Out-of-wedlock births: 1st time in U.S history – more than 50%.
10. Sexually transmitted diseases: Over 110 million in our population infected.
11. Economic insanity: $18 trillion national debt; millions unemployed deriving benefits; $60 billion in annual Medicare fraud and waste.
12. Illegal immigration: Over 11 million and politicians pushing open borders and amnesty.
13. Political leaders: Corruption, incompetence and deception at all levels.
14. Radical Islam and terrorism: Exploding in regions of the world with an increasingly vulnerable America dismantling militarily and docile politicians calling it a "peaceful religion."
15. Should we add illiteracy... crime... catastrophic fatherlessness... human trafficking... adultery... profane comedians...an ignorant and low information populace? How about the ongoing erosion of our religious freedoms and secularism taking over society? And last but not least, how about a Laodicean, apostate church compromising and lacking the courage to address the defining issues of our day with clarity and conviction while defining success in terms of happy sermons, attendance, offerings, number of staff, programs and square footage?
Do we see the "handwriting on the wall" that we are at an unprecedented tipping point? Are we aware that America is rapidly spiraling into a lawless culture similar to Germany of a generation ago?
My wife and her parents are German and they will tell you an educated and civilized nation moved from democracy to dictatorship and then demise in less than six years! A once-thriving nation can have its heritage and faith so decimated that history records it as a tragic collapse.
Our Only Hope for Turnaround is a Heaven-sent Awakening That May Require A Calamity to Jumpstart
As long as things continue to run somewhat smoothly on the surface, we have an amazing ability to cope and carry-on, all the while making flimsy excuses for compromise and a comfortable "Christianity."
• "I don't like what's happening in America on so many issues, but it's not really affecting me or my family."
• "I prefer they not schedule soccer games on Sunday morning but I guess we can live with it. As a family we try to make it to church at least twice a month unless we need to catch up on our rest."
• "I wish our pastor would address these critical issues but his role model is Joel Osteen so he avoids controversy."
• "I grew up with Sunday school, Sunday evening and Wednesday evening services but times have changed and I guess we can get by with a brief Sunday service."
• "Our worship leader is gay, I think, and the primary singer is living with her boyfriend but it's probably best not to stir up problems."
• "I wish our church gave out voter guides so we knew where candidates stand but since we're in a building program, leadership said they don't want to jeopardize fundraising."
"Our pastors tell us they don't put out any lawn signs for candidates or speak about anything political because of separation of church and state."
"We got the evite for the citywide gathering to pray for transformation in our city but it's the same night of Dancing With the Stars finale and we just can't miss it."
"I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So because you are lukewarm – neither hot nor cold – I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked" (Rev. 3:15-17).
8 Potential Disasters to Awaken Us?
Will it take another stock market crash, severe financial recession or, God forbid, global economic collapse to get our attention?
Might it take a series of beheadings and coordinated Islamic terrorist attacks in malls and cities by ISIS supporters slipping through unprotected borders to wake us up?
Would a massive power outage shutting down computers and canceling NFL games nationwide strike fear into the hearts of citizens and sober us to the urgency of the hour?
How about an airborne Ebola virus outbreak and the "pestilences and diseases" (Matt. 24:7) Jesus predicted at the end of the age? Maybe a mass migration of infected Central Americans streaming through our porous Southern border?
Perhaps the beginning of war in the Middle East as Jerusalem is surrounded by enemies (Luke 21:20) and Iran launches the "bomb" on Israel causing catastrophic disruption in the Straits of Hormuz (where 20% of the total world's gas supply passes)? Recall the long gas lines of 1973?
Friends and family "handed over to be persecuted and put to death...hated by all nations because of Me" (Matt. 24:9)? Imagine us saying what a Chinese pastor, Huang Yizi, said this week upon being arrested in a government crackdown: "I am grateful to God for the opportunity to go to jail."
Perhaps the very real, dreaded, catastrophic EMP (Electromagnetic Pulse) attack causing unimaginable devastation by paralyzing America as all power lines burn out and all goes dark instantly? USA Today stated: "Cities darken, food spoils and homes fall silent. Civilization collapses." Cause: One terrorist A-bomb or a severe solar storm.
Massive earthquake(s) as Jesus foretold (Matt. 24:7). Scientist Dr. Lucy Jones issued a dire warning on Oct. 15 to the L.A. City Council of the effects: "Infrastructure crippled; power grid and communications knocked out; water supply disrupted; 1,800 fatalities, 53,000 injured and ½ the buildings unusable." [Note: This is not the inevitable "Big One" set for San Francisco.]
Awakening From Spiritual Coma
After the disaster of 9/11, people flocked to church buildings, prayer meetings mushroomed and streets were lined with marquees calling for God's blessing on America. We got our wake up call and people were motivated to seek the living God as atheists and the ACLU were silenced.
Unfortunately, we hit the snooze button and fell back asleep. African pastors gathering in D.C. stated it this way just a week ago: "America is in a spiritual coma!"
Providentially, the same week over 100 churches gathered at the Lincoln Memorial in our Nation's Capital to cry out to God for one thing - spiritual awakening in the United States of America.
In the time of Esther, things looked bleak and God's people were very discouraged at the prospect of a national disaster. But through prayer, fasting, seeking God and Spirit-led action, God intervened to save the day. "Who knows if you've come into the Kingdom for such a time as this?" (Esther 4:14) was spoken over one believer. As the clock is ticking, can you hear God issuing you and me the same challenge?
This is the second installment of a two-part series. Part one was posted yesterday.
Unless otherwise specified, the opinions expressed are solely the author's and do not necessarily reflect the views of Charisma Media.
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