Will We Return to God?

Scripture: "But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts; they have turned aside and gone away. They do not say to themselves, 'Let us fear the Lord our God, who gives autumn and spring rains in season, who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.'" Jeremiah 5:23-24

In the books of the prophets, their purpose is often to call Israel back to "the God of their ancestors". We find that the Israelites have turned their backs on God to worship other gods, to lead their own lives void of God, to seek their own pleasures, wealth and direction.

All through the Old Testament, we see the Israelites turn to God, and things go generally pretty well for them. With all the provision and protection God gives to them in abundance, it is soon taken for granted, and the Israelites once again turn away from God because they find they don't "need" Him anymore. As time goes by, they find their country and their very lives are in peril again. As they suffer consequences for putting God on the back burner, (suffering famine, losing wars, government corruption, turning to mediums and sorcery) they turn back to God, place their dependence on Him once again, and as a result, God blesses them by placing His hand of protection over them, offering provision and guidance. And on and on the pattern goes.

I see America very much like the Israelites, and it makes me sad. In the 1960's, children in school started their day with a simple prayer as such: "Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers and our Country." But things have changed drastically in my country, and although we are supposed to be a country tolerant of everyone else's lifestyes and beliefs, whether we believe them to be immoral, destructive or dangerous, the gavel of justice seems to be coming down squarely on the heads of Christian believers. We are harshly looked at as "judgmental" and "closed minded" because we believe and follow the precepts of the Bible laid out by God Almighty. And somehow "we" are in the wrong!

I see America very much like the Israelites - once the Israelites were protected from their enemies, often supernaturally, because God kept them safe. They didn't suffer from hunger and self destruction - until the world lured them away and then they figured "life is good, it will always be this good, what do we need God for, anyway?"

America was once the strongest nation in the world. We won two World Wars. We once had strong leaders that took us through lean times. Even when we suffered the Great Depression, smaller wars, the assassination of a president - Americans generally banded together, they helped one another, and they grieved together as a nation. At that time, we were a nation that strongly believed in God seven days a week, and lived our lives accordingly.

But now I listen to the radio and hear ads for a psychic network. I flip through channels on TV and am assaulted by awful visuals as I travel from a news station to a movie I want to see. I'm saddened by the magazines that I see in the racks at the check out stands, the visuals that even little children must be exposed to at such a young and tender age. And the ten commandments have been hauled out of courts and city halls, prayer in school is illegal, spreading the Gospel is somehow more offensive than the crude language heard on public radio.

We are a nation in trouble. Are we believers really the minority? Sometimes it feels as though we, as believers, are one tiny little group trying to change the course of the doomed Titanic.

All we can do at this point is band together, keep each other accountable, and hold on strong. We each must have a part in growing our churches, spreading the Gospel ... and pray for God's blessings "upon us, our parents, our teachers and our Country." This is such a beautiful and simple prayer, that I just may begin my mornings with it from now on.

Carry on, my brothers and sisters in Christ. Continue to spread God's Word and "Let us fear the Lord our God, who gives autumn and spring rains in season, who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest." Never to allow God to be taken for granted.

All is not lost ... we must have faith that God will intervene for this wayward country of ours.

Prayer request: That each one of us draws closer to the Lord, discovers our gifts, and begin to effectively share Christ with others in love and with compassion.

Prayer: Lord, we humbly ask You to please help our nation to turn back to You. Help our nation realize our very lives depend on You, not on the wisdom of man, not in our government, not in sorcery. Help each of us to draw others closer to You through the gifts You have given each one of us. Heal America. Heal our world. Amen.