Who would have thought that we would have fallen so low? Who would have thought that the things that divide us would really be an argument between rational people? We are a nation that is divided over the right to kill babies in the womb, over a boy wanting to be a girl and a girl wanting to be a boy, and if two of the same gender can be married. Our two primary political parties are so divided over these issues that if one says they belong to a particular party, there is no question where they stand on these issues. Our young children going to school must declare their pronouns so no one can mistake their perceived gender, and we spend time in our state legislative chambers determining if parents should have the right to control these decisions for their young children. How far we have fallen!
We have churches divided and splitting apart over the same-sex marriage argument, and those who have made a covenant to love God with all their hearts and others as themselves are now not speaking to each other. A recent article in Newsweek (3-29-23) states that Progressive Jews now demand the Torah to be rewritten to include “unfettered abortions and multiplicities of genders.” Many, if not most, pastors and Bible teachers no longer use the Word of God as an authoritative source. According to the May 2022 report from Arizona Christian University, only 13% of teaching pastors hold a Biblical worldview. Is it surprising that this research reveals that only 12% of youth pastors possess a Biblical Worldview? How far we have fallen!
We have been so blinded by our confusion that we fail to connect the dots when we see increased tornadic activity killing scores of people across our nation. Our economy has been rated the lowest in decades, and people fear for their life savings. We see drag queens invited into our schools and giving lap dances to the students. Violence is soaring in our cities and schools. And the talk of a potential invasion by enemy nations is on the minds of many. How far we have fallen!
We might think we have never seen such things before, but if we dig back into the greatest history book ever written, The Bible, we discover this is really nothing new. Being recently placed into the book of Jeremiah, I feel that I am reading current news. Will we learn our lesson, or will we be like the nations of Israel and Judah who were offering “superficial treatment for mortal wounds”? (See Jeremiah 8:11)
How have we fallen so low? We have fallen the same way the people of God fell so low over 3000 years ago. The Lord tells Jeremiah, “The people do not know the law of the Lord” (See Jer. 8:7). The Lord blames the prophets and priests for their greed and for twisting His Word to bring lies to the people. Why has this once great nation fallen so low? The state of any nation will follow the state of its religious system. This nation was founded on Biblical and Godly principles, and this nation was made great by adhering to these principles. But that foundation has fallen. When the foundations are destroyed, what will the righteous do? (See Psalm 11:3)
How have we fallen so low? We find the answer in Jeremiah 9:13-14 “The Lord replies, this has happened because my people have abandoned my instructions; they have refused to obey what I said. 14 Instead, they have stubbornly followed their own desires and worshiped the images of Baal, as their ancestors taught them”. Will we make the same mistake and continue to blame the ruling political party for our dilemma while the answer lies in the spiritual void that exists in the lives of people? Will we continue to hope that the solution lies with the next election without seeing that the soul of this nation is very sick? Do we ask, as Jeremiah asked, “Is there no healing for the wounds of my people?”. (See Jeremiah 8:22) Is there no healing for this nation? Have we fallen so low that we cannot recover? Is this cancer within our nation still treatable?
Is there hope? I believe yes. Just as King Josiah found the Word of God while renovating the temple, we must recover the Word of God in our lives. Is there hope for such a sick nation? We have the same promise given to King Solomon, 2 Chronicles 7:14 (NLT) — 14 Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land. There is still hope because we have a merciful God. There is still hope because there is a remnant of people crying out to God for the sake of this nation. How must we pray?
Our pulpits must be filled with men and women who believe and teach the Word of God with authority. We must teach repentance and not “our best life now” theology. We must teach the Kingdom of God, and we must forsake idle Christianity that finds its expression only in a routine, sterile, and impotent Sunday Morning church services. The body of Christ must be released to become the sons and daughters of God that creation is groaning to see. (See Romans 8:19) The current moves of God happening worldwide are God’s extension of grace and mercy to the people He loves. His Presence should first bring people to repentance, as with the prophet Isaiah:
Isaiah 6:1–7 (NLT) — 1 It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. 2 Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. 3 They were calling out to each other, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Heaven’s Armies! The whole earth is filled with his glory!” 4 Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire building was filled with smoke. 5 Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. 7 He touched my lips with it and said, “See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven.”
We are in the Passover Season where we observe the most incredible gift of all, Jesus the Son of God, who has brought to us forgiveness of sin and reconciliation with God. There is a remnant that will arise to the standard that God has set in His Word. There is that “stump …holy seed” that the Lord told Isaiah would be revealed during this time. (See Isa 6:13) Our nation needs this remnant to arise and to begin to declare “Not on my watch will I allow this nation to follow the path of the rebellious and idolatrous Israel”. It is the goodness of God that brings men to repentance, but it is the Word of God that guides our steps and keeps us on the right path. We must pray for God’s truth to return to the pulpits, the schools, and the government corridors of this nation. We cannot continue the way we are and expect a full recovery. We cannot decree how we believe God will step in at the last moment and deliver us unless we are willing to allow our hearts to be healed. The Lord told rebellious Judah in Isaiah 1:5, “Your head is injured, and your heart is sick”.
We find our hope in the promises of God, but we cannot pretend that there are and will not be consequences for where we are as a nation and our continued rebellion. The Lord asked Isaiah “Whom shall I send as a messenger to these people?”. Isaiah said, “Here I am Lord, send me”. Many are feeling the depth of the fall of this nation. Many are turning to the Lord today as a result of the outpouring of His Presence across the world. We must be willing to spread the message of the Kingdom of God and that message is that God’s answer for sin is found in His Son, Jesus. Making declarations that “America will be saved” is not enough. We must take the message of that salvation into every area of our lives. It must go into the marketplaces and into the schools. It must go into our government and into our churches. America will be saved when the people of America are saved. We must remember again the word of God to Solomon, “….if My people…”!
