Christian Living

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As we live and enjoy the freedoms that we have, let us not forget that our freedoms come from God and not man. This grand experiment we call America, fosters religious and personal freedom. This nation has, at its core, the Spirit of the Lord. For where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

Therefore, as I look back, I must admit it is difficult for me to imagine how far we have drifted from God and His Holy truth. Oh, we bless Him with our lips, but our hearts are far from Him. This nation that was once so grateful to God for all He has done, now works to remove Him from the public arena, and from our hearts.

George Washington, in his farewell address said, “Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports." He then reminded the people that national morality could not survive without religious principle.

Unfortunately, we have lost these two indispensable supports. There are those who are doing their best to remove our faith from this nation, and redefine morality. We no longer seek the best from our politicians. We no longer wonder if they are godly men or women. We don’t' care if they promote abortion, are for homosexuality, or take other ungodly stands. In addition, many of our churches do not speak against the evils of this nation, so as not to offend anyone. Everything is about what we want, not what is best for this nation and our society to remain as one people, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

So, where is our nation, on God's judgment scale? We are where I believe Judah found itself during the time of Jeremiah. God told Jeremiah, the people have left their ancient paths. He said, "Look! I am preparing a disaster for you and devising a plan against you. So turn from your evil ways, each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions" (Jer. 18:11).


Like the nation of Judah, we are at a crossroads where we have a choice to make. We can choose the ancient path that includes a deep enduring faith in God, through Christ Jesus, or we can continue down the side path that leads us away from God, and heads us toward destruction.

No, I am not talking about returning to the days where we separated people based on race, color, or anything like that. I'm talking about our spiritual lives, our walk, and our faith, where we offer our bodies as living sacrifices to God, holy and righteous before Him. I'm talking about knowing His Word in such a way that we base all our decisions on it, rather than on our own lusts and desires. I am talking about a time when we taught our children to follow God's ways and not the ways of the world. I am talking about a time when people were kind to one another, and you never had to lock the door, because people had respect for other people's properties.

Yes, there was a time when this nation had a righteous fear of God. This righteous fear guided us from within and made us the greatest nation on earth. Unfortunately, I am not sure we can ever return to those days. Judah could not. Their hearts were too sinful to change. The Lord told Jeremiah the people will tell you it is no use. They will answer by saying, "We will continue with our own plans; each of us will follow the stubbornness of his evil heart (Jer. 18:12).

Yes, the Lord had come to a place where He had had enough of Judah's sinful heart. The Lord told Jeremiah that His people had forgotten Him. They were chasing idols that made them stumble in their ancient paths. Instead, they chose bypaths and roads not yet built (Jer. 18:15).

Jim Nelson Black wrote a book in 1994, called, "When Nations Die." In it, he describes how every empire over the last two thousand years, even those that seemed invincible, collapsed from within. According to Black, three common characteristics lead to their ruin: devaluing life, abandoning religious beliefs, and celebrating sexual immorality (Agape Press).

Mr. Black's findings confirm God's Holy Word. Paul describes the death of a people or society in the first Chapter of Romans. According to Paul, the first step is to reject God. He writes, the people knew God, but they refused to glorify Him or show Him any thanks. Thus, "their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened" (Rom. 1:21). Next, a nation or people that turn from God exchange the truth for a lie and begin worshiping idols, serving created things rather than their Creator. Following this, the Word says, women will turn against nature and lust after women and men will lust after men. Moreover, because the people did not keep the knowledge of God, or no longer feared Him (Prov. 2:3-5), God turned them over to their own destruction.

As a nation, we have exchanged the truth for a lie. Today, more people believe truth to be relative, rather than absolute. Radical animal rights and environmental groups lift creation over the Creator. They see a moral equivalent among all of creation, where humankind is no different from an ant. In their minds there is nothing special about the human species, and discount the idea that God created us in His image and likeness.

In addition, we have devalued life, through abortion and our attempts at normalizing assisted suicides. Many in this nation celebrate sexual perversions as normal, uplifting, and fulfilling. Pornography receives free speech protection, cohabitation seeks the benefits of marriage, and homosexuality seeks legitimacy through marital and civil rights protections. While none of these is of God, they so permeate the heart of our society, that only a Holy Spirit revival could remove them from this land.

I hope and pray there is still time to repent and turn from our wicked ways before it is too late. I pray we have not come to the place where Judah found itself, when the Lord told Jeremiah not to pray for his people any longer. I pray we do not end like Canada, who after approving homosexual marriages, faces the worst drought in its history.

To change the direction of our nation, and return it to its ancient paths, we must have a heart change. We cannot point our fingers at others, while we defy God's Word and His truths. We must examine ourselves, and see if we are all that God called us to be.

Are we living the lives God called us to live? Are we asking God to allow the Spirit to move through us to convict our sinful hearts, so we might confess and turn away from them? We must remember the light of God resides in our hearts. If we cease to defend truth, the light of God will grow dim, and with it, liberty's lamp will cease to shine.

No doubt, God can heal our land, and this world. However, any healing must begin within each of us. We must first ask God to remove the boards from our eyes, so we might help remove the splinters from other's eyes. We must humble ourselves before Him, seeking His forgiveness, knowing that we have fallen short of being the living sacrifice He has called us to be. Then, we must seek God and His righteousness by putting our desires behind us, so that we might follow His.

Yes, today can be the first day of the rest of our glorious walk with God. Why not call on Him. Seek His ancient paths, and seek His Wisdom before it is too late. For, "Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse, who leave the straight paths to walk in dark ways, who delight in doing wrong and rejoice in the perverseness of evil, whose paths are crooked and who are devious in their ways"(Prov. 2:12-15).

As we live out our daily lives, let us remember God is the one that gave us our freedom, He is the one who preserves it, and He is the one who can take it away.

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