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RECAP NEWSLETTER - 1/31/5 Issue 31
DEVOTIONS While this passage is directed at Israel, there are notable points about our God, and about how He deals with nations. The Lord brought to my attention verse 18, where it states that our God "is he that giveth thee power to get wealth." I was instantly reminded of our own nation, America, and how we have not garnered wealth. God states that He is the one who gives out the power to get wealth. Our nation seems to have a serious and negative source of that power. We can fake the appearance of true wealth by fiat, deficit, and debt. True wealth is in the holding - "power to get wealth" - tangible assets. Most of our 'wealth' is virtual or on paper. It can be lost or 'devalued' overnight. The whole of chapter eight was written so that Israel would not forget who has made her prosperous. Grave woes are pronounced upon the nation that forgets God. It is troubling the phrase that is used: "if thou do at all forget." America has more than "at all" forgotten the reason for her former glory. We still harp about "God Bless America", but we do not act like it. It sounds nice, but just make sure that 'religion' stay as far away from government as possible. Why is it that the American concept is that the 'government' is a secular entity perfectly capable of sound judgment, ethics, and morality without the need for religion of any kind? God told Israel that the very reason that they had a good land was because they kept His commandments (vs. 6, 11,18). What happens to the nation that not only forgets God, but rejects Him? "...ye shall surely perish. ...because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the LORD your God." (vs. 19-20)
If you read only the Current Event section and the RECAP newsletter, you may get the impression that we are woeful harbingers of doom. We are - the Bible makes that clear. However, as Christians, we should not just focus on the corruption of this world. That is why we have hundreds of devotionals, sermons, and uplifting and encouragement articles on how to live for Christ. When we look at this world and hope earnestly for the world to come, we should eschew the evil, but cleave to that which is good. It is my prayer and hope that you do not just read the current events and the newsletters, but act on what we know. This shallow mud puddle called the world is not the sole object of my existence. As a Christian, I should live and strive to serve Him above all else! Seek Him first and highest of all! While you may know and observe the documented and accelerating decay of our world, does that make you run to the altar, grab a hold of the horns of the altar, and beg God for wisdom, knowledge, discernment, and the grace to serve Him? Do you get hunger pains to read more from His Word each day? Does your spirit take notice when you do not eat spiritually? When was the last time you read a chapter of what God told you? Matthew 6:33-34 reminds us of what our priority is: "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness."
CURRENT EVENT RECAP In our devotional, we saw that God is the one who gives the power to gather wealth. Our nation is not gathering, but shoveling out. Just this week saw serious indicators that our dollar is temporary. Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, the two 'richest' people in our country, have both stated that they are certain the dollar is on a permanent way down. Both are looking abroad at the Euro and China as emerging power centers. The UN even joined in this week, stating that the "twin budget and trade deficits of the United States were throwing the global economy off balance." It was mentioned that America does not have sustainability - we consume far more than we export. More and more countries are not needing to solely rely on the United States. Japan is now more dependant on China than the US. Even China is now looking at how they can get off the reliance on dollars and switch to euro. Our nation has not been granted the power or blessing to gather wealth and prosperity. As we grow deeper in deficit, and as our dollar grows weaker, it will get even easier for foreign entities to purchase our remaining assets at cheaper prices. God has been judging our nation for quite some time now, but nobody has been noticing. It is increasing in visibility. God cannot bless America. This week, around the globe, we are seeing precious life continually being lowered to the level of a commodity, scientific tool, economic hindrances, options, and seen as a bearable and acceptable evil. Weekly, we see promotion and discussion of embryonic stem cell research as a necessary evil. Now that the American stem cell bank is reportedly 'contaminated', they will most likely use it as an excuse to cull more stem cells - from embryonic sources. Well, they will have many abortuaries to choose from, seeing that government funding of Planned Parenthood is mainly the crutch supporting this industry. Our government is the largest financial underwriter for a murder outlet that has 34% of its income from the killing of children! It was a rare story this week to hear of a woman who died a hero - rather than take cancer-treatments which would have involved the abortion of her child. She chose to give birth to her child, making the greatest sacrifice. I am reminded of the Biblical story of Rachel and Benoni (Benjamin). Rachel died giving birth to Benjamin. The Bible records that Rachel "travailed, and she had hard labour." This description, "hard labour" is only used twice in the Bible - both in this story. Perhaps we would call it complications in surgery. It is amazing that the midwife appears to know that even though the son will be born, it will cost the life of the mother (vs.17). Abortion, especially late-term abortion, was never an option. The 'health of the mother' is what the world rallies around - even though there is no evidence that abortion is a benefit to the health of the mother. It seems that God places the health of the child above the health of the mother. A reversal of values. Is it any surprise then, that II Timothy 3:2 warns that the very first sign of the last days was "For men shall be lovers of their own selves" and also "Without natural affection." Paul was warning that the days would come when it would be 'normal' for a mother to not treasure and love her own child. America is glutting itself via indebtedness to where we are the most covetous nation on the planet. We want what we want, and it had better have several varieties and options to choose from. Boasters, proud, blasphemers - sound like our land? Disobedient to parents - I sincerely hope that you do not allow your children or grandchildren to watch any Disney videos. They seem particularly apt at making the parent's role one of comic relief and stupidity. Your children will watch and learn a satanic value. Unthankful - is not this the crux of Deuteronomy 8, which we looked at in the devotional, that they did not remember to thank God for His blessings on their land? (vs.11,18) Why is unthankful such a big deal? Because you get your eyes off of God, and onto yourself. Unholy - let's stop the bus here for a moment. Unholy, wicked. Are not those succinct words with which to describe the morals and values that are taught in public schools, culture, media outlets, and literature of our era? When public schools across our land include in their classes tolerance (acceptance) of what God calls wicked, when diversity centers are created in cities to 'mentor' young adults whose parents 'cannot understand the issues', when whole documentaries, films, archives, books, dissertations, and other media record and tout the wicked lifestyles that blaspheme God, when the entertainment fare consists of regular crude and vulgar references to wickedness, when our nation's largest retailer (Walmart) aids in the recognition of unholy partnerings, when the media targets children with pro-wicked material using cartoon characters for a mask - the only word that can describe our country is wicked! We are not going to look at all the sins that II Timothy 3 points out. I hope you have seen enough to recognize the obvious. We have stepped way beyond the threshold of the last days. "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come." (vs. 1). Do you grasp the seriousness of this statement?? For starters, this adjective 'perilous' only occurs this once in the entire Bible!!! No other time in history will match the end of the last days. Jesus, Himself, described it as the days of Lot and Noah. The word 'perilous' has the idea of hard to bear, troublesome, dangerous, fierce. The time will soon come in which life will be described as perilous - in peril. It is imperative that you are trusting in the work of Jesus Christ to save (rescue, heal) you from the wages (result) of your sin. We have looked briefly at how this world is wicked. We are all wicked. Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." None of us can ever work enough to be righteous. Only by Jesus Christ, taking upon His righteous self and taking our place, can we have eternal life. Trust in what He has done for you today. Romans 10:9-10 reminds us, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Have you trusted in Christ? Nothing else matters if your soul is not saved. Eternal life is not worth forfeiting by inaction only to receive eternal death. Romans 10:13 promises, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Have you already trusted in Christ? What are you doing with your life for Him? This world is wicked, and is not worthy of even mild consideration. Are you, as Lot's wife, trying to leave the world behind, but still longing for it? It is sad that for all of the time that Lot and his family were in Sodom, not only did they not bring anybody else out, but they left some of their children behind! When you safely reach the gates of Heaven, who will you have brought with you? Jude 1:22-23 reminds us - "of some have compassion, making a difference: And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh." This world is wicked, but it needs a Saviour. We can still reach even those steeped in wickedness. We need to hate the wicked lifestyles, yet reach and rescue those poor souls who are on the threshold of hellfire.
"And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he
counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;
REMINDERS & PRAYER REQUESTS
Pray for our President that if he is not saved, he will come to the true
knowledge of Jesus Christ. Pray that he will work to the protection
of the American people, and the punishment of the wicked.
Pray for the requests in PrayerList, and also in iChurches.
May God richly bless, |