Madeline Crabb
What America needs most- -repentance
By Madeline Crabb
The Righteous Brothers once sang a great song, "You've Lost that Lovin' Feeling." As one might guess, it's about a love that's gone cold, and the singer's desire to regain that love. Well, God's message to America is that we have lost that loving feeling for Him, and He desires we once again love Him. But there are obstacles preventing that from ever happening: our sin, disobedience, and rebellion.
So today, we Americans have allowed ourselves to fall under God's judgment, after experiencing a few centuries of His blessings and protection. And now that we see we are in deep doo-doo, we want someone to fix it, or at least make it all feel better. How utterly childish and foolish an idea for us to want someone else to fix our mess! Because of our rebellious nature, we have rejected all rational or godly instructions. We have kicked God out of our lives. And for those who haven't gone quite that far, they still stand idly by as courts throughout our land undermine the religious freedoms which are guaranteed to us by the U.S. Constitution. Silence on the issue is like granting our seal of approval. So again we ask: what does America need most? We need repentance.
Most dumbed-down, lazy Americans now look to the government to solve all of our problems, not realizing the government has caused most of these problems. With our "nanny state" mentality, a majority of Americans have decided we have no real responsibility in the management of our personal lives, and that the government knows best about these things. We want cradle to grave care from our Big Daddy government. But that reliance has done nothing but make us slaves to the government.
Again, because of our dumbed-down society, multitudes of Americans think money grows on trees or rains down from the heavens to provide for them, or they think the Federal Government has its own endless supply of money. Of course, rational people know the only money our government has to spend on all the crybabies who want what they want when they want it, is to steal from hard-working folks who actually pay taxes. Government takes from those the whiners call "the haves" to give to lazy deadbeats. (Yes, I do know that some people are truly disabled or have afflictions preventing them from working or caring for themselves. We should care for them. But in reality, we know the Welfare State has hordes of recipients who are able-bodied and can work. And if a young woman is healthy enough to keep having recreational sex and producing babies, she can get a job. Hello! Talk about the stupidity of Americans.) Government altruism is nothing but a redistribution of wealth, a basic operating principle of Socialism. As Margaret Thatcher once said, "The trouble with Socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money." When the "makers" are finally bled dry, how will Big Daddy take care of all his lazy little children? Hmmmm? If we don't already understand our situation, we'll probably never understand.
Because of our decisions, our bad choices, our nation as it was perceived by our Founding Fathers no longer exists. We are NOT a free people, and our nation is on her last legs. We are rapidly heading into Communism, and yet, we keep "hiring" more Socialists, or "re-hiring" the old ones to represent us in government. (BTW...Socialism is Communism-lite.) And rest assured, it is the nation's leaders, in any country, that determine that nation's destiny. Our behavior reminds me of the definition of insanity that has been attributed to Albert Einstein: "Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
For there to be any hope for America's survival, we need to take immediate action. But it's not what most people are going to be willing to do. It involves religion...
In the last column we discussed three of the four foundational pillars of any society: government, business, and family. Also discussed is the fact that all of these pillars are crumbling and decayed, and in fact, are barely standing. The fourth pillar is religion. It, too, is in poor condition, but is probably the strongest of all the pillars. Sadly, if Americans don't change their ways soon, all the pillars will collapse. Our nation will collapse. That is when we can wave goodbye to our country.
Why do I say that the pillar of religion is strongest? It's because there are still millions of Bible-believing, Jesus-following, God-devoted Christians who are praying for America, and obeying the precepts given to us by our Father and Creator. Throughout the Bible, God has granted mercy and favor to nations because of His elect – those who believe in Him. Israel, while having rebelled against God many times, was always restored and protected because they were His "chosen" people. He calls them the "apple of His eye." Woe to the nation that tries to harm them. America has likewise been blessed by God because of our Founders who came here not only to freely practice their faith, but to evangelize for Christianity. But as we know, secular humanism has become the predominant "religion" in America. And we are suffering for this, as is demonstrated by our rotting foundational pillars.
In the last column, I presented some facts from Dr. David Reagan of Lamb and Lion Ministries about how far we've fallen from God's standard of how to live our lives. Dr. Reagan has a few other facts that will underscore how our foundational pillar of religion has been, and continues to deteriorate. In many ways, he explains that Bible-believing Christians are "being alienated from society and are being increasingly subjected to persecution," and the speed at which this has been happening in recent years is "absolutely breathtaking."
Dr. Reagan refers to a presentation at a National Religious Broadcasters gathering where Nazarene minister and expert on church history, Jim Garlow, presented a "sweeping overview" of the relationship between Bible-believing Christians and American Society. Dr. Reagan gives the synopsis:
Another explanation for the disintegrating pillar of religion is demonstrated by how Evangelicals live. Taking from statistics gathered by the Barna Group, Dr. Reagan says that among those claiming to be Evangelicals, 19 percent are living with a partner outside of marriage, 37 percent do not believe the Bible to be totally accurate, and 45 percent do not believe that Jesus was sinless. And then there are the 52 percent who don't believe Satan is real, the 57 percent who don't believe that Jesus is the only way to eternal life, and the 57 percent who believe that good works play a part in gaining eternal life. In other words, as Dr. Reagan concludes from the survey results, even the term Evangelical has lost its meaning.
Dear people, America is dying. We've rebelled against God and His Word. We have removed the Bible, His Commandments, and just about any and every mention of Him and His Son from all public places and forums. True Christians cannot pray publicly in the Name of Jesus, but must be constantly subjected to all kinds of vile and disgusting filth from ALL areas of society. We can't even practice our faith in our businesses without being sued and forced to deny our deeply-held beliefs, just so that practitioners of the queer, lewd, ungodly, and obscene can get their way. Christians are being silenced. But then, some Christians have willingly gone along with the world – even church leaders. (More on this later...)
The point is that our sins are of such magnitude that we are bringing the very wrath of God upon ourselves. Homosexuality and over 56 million abortions alone are enough to rain down fire and brimstone upon our nation. Reverend Billy Graham's wife, Ruth, once said that if God doesn't punish America soon, He will have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah. Our sins are staggeringly great.
In this series, we've really been discussing the symptoms of a metastasizing disease called rebellion and sin. The only cure from certain death, and what America needs most is repentance. Corporately, as a nation, and individually, we must repent.
Merriam-Webster.com defines repent: to feel or show that you are sorry for something bad or wrong that you did and that you want to do what is right. It means we turn 180 degrees from doing wrong, to doing what is right. And in God's eyes, doing what is right is obeying Him and His Words – the Bible.
As individuals, all of us need to fall on our faces and truly apologize to our Holy God for our sins. We need to ask Him to show us all the areas in which we have sinned, and ask Him to help us change our ways. We must beg forgiveness for the immorality we have allowed to rule over our nation. We must repent of choosing ungodly, unethical, and immoral people to run our government. We must beg forgiveness for all the innocent blood we have allowed to be shed. Through abortion, we have actually sacrificed innocents to idols. And like Israel, there is a penalty for this sin.
At this point, true, heartfelt, gut-wrenching repentance is all that will save us from being totally destroyed. God is gracious, loving, and long-suffering, but we have pushed Him to the utter limits. If He punished Israel, He will punish America. And sadly, we have brought it upon ourselves.
Romans 3:23 says that we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. It's time for us to fall prostrate before our Holy God in tears of sorrow and genuine repentance. Will you join me? May God then have mercy upon us. To anyone willing to hear....
© Madeline Crabb
October 3, 2014
The Righteous Brothers once sang a great song, "You've Lost that Lovin' Feeling." As one might guess, it's about a love that's gone cold, and the singer's desire to regain that love. Well, God's message to America is that we have lost that loving feeling for Him, and He desires we once again love Him. But there are obstacles preventing that from ever happening: our sin, disobedience, and rebellion.
So today, we Americans have allowed ourselves to fall under God's judgment, after experiencing a few centuries of His blessings and protection. And now that we see we are in deep doo-doo, we want someone to fix it, or at least make it all feel better. How utterly childish and foolish an idea for us to want someone else to fix our mess! Because of our rebellious nature, we have rejected all rational or godly instructions. We have kicked God out of our lives. And for those who haven't gone quite that far, they still stand idly by as courts throughout our land undermine the religious freedoms which are guaranteed to us by the U.S. Constitution. Silence on the issue is like granting our seal of approval. So again we ask: what does America need most? We need repentance.
Most dumbed-down, lazy Americans now look to the government to solve all of our problems, not realizing the government has caused most of these problems. With our "nanny state" mentality, a majority of Americans have decided we have no real responsibility in the management of our personal lives, and that the government knows best about these things. We want cradle to grave care from our Big Daddy government. But that reliance has done nothing but make us slaves to the government.
Again, because of our dumbed-down society, multitudes of Americans think money grows on trees or rains down from the heavens to provide for them, or they think the Federal Government has its own endless supply of money. Of course, rational people know the only money our government has to spend on all the crybabies who want what they want when they want it, is to steal from hard-working folks who actually pay taxes. Government takes from those the whiners call "the haves" to give to lazy deadbeats. (Yes, I do know that some people are truly disabled or have afflictions preventing them from working or caring for themselves. We should care for them. But in reality, we know the Welfare State has hordes of recipients who are able-bodied and can work. And if a young woman is healthy enough to keep having recreational sex and producing babies, she can get a job. Hello! Talk about the stupidity of Americans.) Government altruism is nothing but a redistribution of wealth, a basic operating principle of Socialism. As Margaret Thatcher once said, "The trouble with Socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money." When the "makers" are finally bled dry, how will Big Daddy take care of all his lazy little children? Hmmmm? If we don't already understand our situation, we'll probably never understand.
Because of our decisions, our bad choices, our nation as it was perceived by our Founding Fathers no longer exists. We are NOT a free people, and our nation is on her last legs. We are rapidly heading into Communism, and yet, we keep "hiring" more Socialists, or "re-hiring" the old ones to represent us in government. (BTW...Socialism is Communism-lite.) And rest assured, it is the nation's leaders, in any country, that determine that nation's destiny. Our behavior reminds me of the definition of insanity that has been attributed to Albert Einstein: "Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
For there to be any hope for America's survival, we need to take immediate action. But it's not what most people are going to be willing to do. It involves religion...
In the last column we discussed three of the four foundational pillars of any society: government, business, and family. Also discussed is the fact that all of these pillars are crumbling and decayed, and in fact, are barely standing. The fourth pillar is religion. It, too, is in poor condition, but is probably the strongest of all the pillars. Sadly, if Americans don't change their ways soon, all the pillars will collapse. Our nation will collapse. That is when we can wave goodbye to our country.
Why do I say that the pillar of religion is strongest? It's because there are still millions of Bible-believing, Jesus-following, God-devoted Christians who are praying for America, and obeying the precepts given to us by our Father and Creator. Throughout the Bible, God has granted mercy and favor to nations because of His elect – those who believe in Him. Israel, while having rebelled against God many times, was always restored and protected because they were His "chosen" people. He calls them the "apple of His eye." Woe to the nation that tries to harm them. America has likewise been blessed by God because of our Founders who came here not only to freely practice their faith, but to evangelize for Christianity. But as we know, secular humanism has become the predominant "religion" in America. And we are suffering for this, as is demonstrated by our rotting foundational pillars.
In the last column, I presented some facts from Dr. David Reagan of Lamb and Lion Ministries about how far we've fallen from God's standard of how to live our lives. Dr. Reagan has a few other facts that will underscore how our foundational pillar of religion has been, and continues to deteriorate. In many ways, he explains that Bible-believing Christians are "being alienated from society and are being increasingly subjected to persecution," and the speed at which this has been happening in recent years is "absolutely breathtaking."
Dr. Reagan refers to a presentation at a National Religious Broadcasters gathering where Nazarene minister and expert on church history, Jim Garlow, presented a "sweeping overview" of the relationship between Bible-believing Christians and American Society. Dr. Reagan gives the synopsis:
-
"From 1607-1833, Bible-believing Christians were the establishment of this nation, that is for 236 years folks. From 1833-1918, we were the predominant force. That is only 85 years. Notice how these periods decrease rapidly.
From 1918-1968, the sub-dominate force was Bible-believing Christians for about 50 years. And then the big turning point came in the 60's – from 1968-1988. We were a sub-culture for 20 years.
From 1988-1998, a counter-culture for ten years. And from 1998-2008, an antithetical culture for ten years. And finally, from 2008-present, a persecuted culture."
Another explanation for the disintegrating pillar of religion is demonstrated by how Evangelicals live. Taking from statistics gathered by the Barna Group, Dr. Reagan says that among those claiming to be Evangelicals, 19 percent are living with a partner outside of marriage, 37 percent do not believe the Bible to be totally accurate, and 45 percent do not believe that Jesus was sinless. And then there are the 52 percent who don't believe Satan is real, the 57 percent who don't believe that Jesus is the only way to eternal life, and the 57 percent who believe that good works play a part in gaining eternal life. In other words, as Dr. Reagan concludes from the survey results, even the term Evangelical has lost its meaning.
Dear people, America is dying. We've rebelled against God and His Word. We have removed the Bible, His Commandments, and just about any and every mention of Him and His Son from all public places and forums. True Christians cannot pray publicly in the Name of Jesus, but must be constantly subjected to all kinds of vile and disgusting filth from ALL areas of society. We can't even practice our faith in our businesses without being sued and forced to deny our deeply-held beliefs, just so that practitioners of the queer, lewd, ungodly, and obscene can get their way. Christians are being silenced. But then, some Christians have willingly gone along with the world – even church leaders. (More on this later...)
The point is that our sins are of such magnitude that we are bringing the very wrath of God upon ourselves. Homosexuality and over 56 million abortions alone are enough to rain down fire and brimstone upon our nation. Reverend Billy Graham's wife, Ruth, once said that if God doesn't punish America soon, He will have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah. Our sins are staggeringly great.
In this series, we've really been discussing the symptoms of a metastasizing disease called rebellion and sin. The only cure from certain death, and what America needs most is repentance. Corporately, as a nation, and individually, we must repent.
Merriam-Webster.com defines repent: to feel or show that you are sorry for something bad or wrong that you did and that you want to do what is right. It means we turn 180 degrees from doing wrong, to doing what is right. And in God's eyes, doing what is right is obeying Him and His Words – the Bible.
As individuals, all of us need to fall on our faces and truly apologize to our Holy God for our sins. We need to ask Him to show us all the areas in which we have sinned, and ask Him to help us change our ways. We must beg forgiveness for the immorality we have allowed to rule over our nation. We must repent of choosing ungodly, unethical, and immoral people to run our government. We must beg forgiveness for all the innocent blood we have allowed to be shed. Through abortion, we have actually sacrificed innocents to idols. And like Israel, there is a penalty for this sin.
At this point, true, heartfelt, gut-wrenching repentance is all that will save us from being totally destroyed. God is gracious, loving, and long-suffering, but we have pushed Him to the utter limits. If He punished Israel, He will punish America. And sadly, we have brought it upon ourselves.
Romans 3:23 says that we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. It's time for us to fall prostrate before our Holy God in tears of sorrow and genuine repentance. Will you join me? May God then have mercy upon us. To anyone willing to hear....
© Madeline Crabb
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