We love to sing, "God Bless America." I wish I might sing it with some measure of confidence that He would. That is not to deny, as we come to Independence Day celebrations, that there are not many blessings God has given this land of liberty in over two centuries of existence. Of course, we can state emphatically that it is grace--amazing grace--that we have received blessing and not judgment. There has never been a time that we merited God's favor, for we have all been sinners.
Yet, the Bible also teaches that nations may be blessed for seeking God and for their reliance upon Him--for a basic morality that is grounded in immutable standards. It is also Scriptural to note that nations who abandon such will inevitably face His wrath. We reap what we sow.
"The wicked shall be turned into hell,
And all the nations that forget God." (Ps.9:17 NKJV)
We have forgotten God. We have forsaken Him. The United States is descending rapidly into the abyss. Other great powers have risen--Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome--and are but shadows of what they once were. Israel--the covenant people--were a spiritually adulterous people, and they suffered division, dispersion, and though God still has a plan for them, what horrible suffering they have experienced. The worst is yet to come!
I am greatly concerned for my children and grandchildren and what they may face. I am alarmed that sin will snuff our freedom's light from this place where the Gospel has shone for years--to the very ends of the earth.
So, my prayer is, "God, make America bless-able!" May we repent of our sins and remember the Lord! And as concerned as we might rightfully be about what is happening in the culture, perhaps we ought to begin to focus on the departure from the faith that is increasingly an issue in the church!
"For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?" (1 Peter 4:17)
Yours for Truth,
Dennis Thurman, AMS
