Thursday, June 4, 2015

God didn't Bless America

Sometimes I just laugh at how high and mighty we Americans feel about ourselves.  We have this great superiority complex and think that the world should bow down to us.  We go around patting ourselves on the back for all the good things that we do.

As far as I can tell, the only people that God chose were the Jews.  When Christ died for us, the way to salvation was opened to the Gentiles. Who do you say are Gentiles.  Everyone that's not a Jew.  We Gentiles that accepted Christ were simply grafted into the Jewish tree.

There's no mention of America there.  We are not even one race of people like the Jews, we are a melting pot.  A melting pot that includes peoples from all over the earth.  Our founding fathers were, for the most part, Christians. And for the first 150 years we claimed to be a Christian nation.  I think that this is where we got the notion that God blessed America.

Isaiah 40: 15-17 is clear as to how God feels about nations.

15 Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
    they are regarded as dust on the scales;
    he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.
16 Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires,
    nor its animals enough for burnt offerings.
17 Before him, all the nations are as nothing;
    they are regarded by him as worthless
    and less than nothing.

The last verse states that nations are worthless and less than nothing.

So who or what does God bless? God blesses his people.  If the people of a nation are followers of Jesus, by virtue of their obedience to God, the nation goes along for the ride. But make no mistake, it's not the nation that God is blessing.

The last 50 years have seen the American people turning away from God. We stopped prayer in schools, we allowed abortion, we simply thought that we could handle everything without God. When you separate yourself from God, you grieve the Holy Spirit and are no longer blessed. You may be saved, but you are missing the blessing.

Don't get me wrong, I love the United States, but at the same time I am sadden by what she is turning into.  Now there is a movement to remove "In God we Trust" from our coinage.  I personally won't be too upset, because why put it on your coinage if you don't believe it. "In God we Trust" is not just some words written on a dollar bill, it's a way of life.  And if you don't try to live that life, why tell people that you do trust in God.

Now some of you will start to label me as some right wing Christian radical preaching end times with some hell fire and brimstone thrown in for good measure.  And I am not trying to push my beliefs on you or judge you for your beliefs.  You and you alone answer for your own sins.  I'm busy dealing with my own.

Do I believe that we are in the end times?  The simple answer is yes.  Ah, ha, I was right you say.  I believe that the end times began when Christ arose from the grave and ascended into heaven. I can hear you laughing and saying that was over 2000 years ago.  2 Peter 3:8 says,

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.

So, 2000 years ain't that big a deal to me.  James 4:14 tells us;

Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

We are only here for a short time.  I know the names of my great great grandparents.  I know when they were born and when they died.  I don't know about their daily struggles and whether they were liked or not.  I never grieved over them, cause I didn't know them. Three generations is about it when it comes to how you were remembered.  I remember my grandmother and hurt terribly when she passed.   My grandkids have only seen her picture and have no knowledge of the type of person that she was.  

What does all this rambling mean?   Get over yourself.  Accept Christ and know what it's like to exist for eternity in heaven.

Now your preaching again, you say.  Not really, Max Griner, creator of The Empty Cross in Kerrville, Texas, says it best: " If Jesus is God, wouldn't you want to know".

On the subject of politics, the truth of the matter is, I don't care much for either the Republicans or the Democrats.  2 Timothy 3: 1-9 is a true picture of my feelings.

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.
They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth. They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.

Pretty much sums it up for me. Whoa, you say.  This guy is just a doom and gloom fatalist. I had to go look that word up.  Here's what it means.
  1. Fatalism is a philosophical doctrine stressing the subjugation of all events or actions to fate. Fatalism generally refers to any of the following ideas: The view that we are powerless to do anything other than what we actually do.
That sounds like a guy that doesn't have any hope.  Does this sound like you?

That's the complete opposite of me. I want to share 3 verses with you that are a real part of my beliefs.  I am full of hope.

Matthew 28:19-20 

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

1 Corinthians 13:13

 And now these three remain faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Hebrews 11:1

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, being convinced of what we do not see.

In closing, God didn't bless America, he blessed his people who happened to be Americans.  But as the people of this country fall away from Christ, his blessing will grow farther and farther apart.  

I would be remiss if in closing I didn't invite you to know Jesus for yourself. 

Lord Jesus, I want to know you personally. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life to you and ask you to come in as my Savior and Lord. Take control of my life. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Make me the kind of person you want me to be.

God Bless you.  

Here're one of my favorite hymns. I know Whom I have believed...