"Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it." (Matt 21:43)
This verse refers to the nation of Israel versus the Gentiles, but as I was reading it, I couldn't help but to think about our nation. The United States has lived a generally charmed existence and it was founded on the back of Pilgrims escaping religious persecution in Europe to found a set of Protestant Christian colonies. These people risked their lives and died in massive numbers, but succeeded in finding a place where they could worship the Lord without the oversight of a powerful elitist church leadership who were more interested in worldly power than spiritual piety.
From such humble beginnings, we grew up to be the nation that is the beacon of modern Christianity. From greater Europe to Great Britain, and now to the United States, the mantle of world superpower has passed. And along with each successive change in the title of world superpower, so has gone the strength of the Christian church in each nation.
I am not saying that the Kingdom of God is something to pass from nation to nation, but I do believe that it is God's hand that causes nations to rise and fall. And He brings about the rise and fall of nations in accordance to the faithfulness of that nation to His Word and His Ways.
Unfortunately, our nation has become a country of loopholes. People aren't looking to follow God in fullness, but are instead interested in finding loopholes that will allow them to sin without punishment.
In our nation, we don't lie, we misspeak. We cuss constantly and we have no qualms about showing adult sexual situations in the midst of family programming. We teach our kids that materialism is the most important thing in life and we no longer put a premium on honoring our mother and father. I don't know if even 5% of us are even remotely familiar with the 10 commandments (Even as a committed Christian, I am pretty familiar with them all, but can't name them for you in order - probably a good time to go study).
Are we a nation that is deserving of God's blessing? Has the recession, which was caused by personal greed by all levels of society, taught us anything that would get us to re-examine and reform our ways?
I can't say that I know if there is another nation in the world that has the spirit of God growing inside of them although the rumor is that China's underground church is already larger than ours. However, the point is not to be powerful as a nation. It is that we will all benefit from a nation that has God's hand upon it. A nation that respects the ways of God and lives them out in their daily interactions with their neighbor. A nation that prays and has personal charitable compassion for the society around them.
Lord Jesus, I know that a nation is only made up of individuals, and a nation You can bless is made up of individuals who make a personal choice to worship and follow You. So help me to be a person that lives in fear of You above all things, who has the strength to live as You guide us to live. Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control - those are the fruits that come from a nation that is worshipful and fearful of You. Please help me to become that man more and more each day. In Jesus' name, AMEN.
Showing posts with label Compromise. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Compromise. Show all posts
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Fighting Against the World's Desire to Compromise Our Faith
(After the plague of locusts)
"So Moses and Aaron were brought again to Pharaoh, and he said to them, "Go, serve the Lord your God. Who are the ones that are going?" And Moses said, "We will go with our young and our old; with our sons and our daughters, with our flocks and our herds we will go, for we must hold a feast to the Lord." Then he said to them, ..."Not so! Go now, you who are men, and serve the Lord, for that is what you desired." And they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence."
(Exodus 10:8-10)
Pharaoh was a prideful and powerful man. As a leader of his people, he was also a politician -- he did not want to lose total face with his people if all of Israel were to leave and never come back. He knew that if Israel were to go with their possessions, they would not serve him again. So he wanted to compromise with Moses and negotiate the terms of Israel's departure.
God often gives us a clear command and in our hearts we know what He says. Sometimes we don't understand the reasons behind the prompts we are given, and oftentimes it runs against our personal comfort zones. Moses never compromised God's command. He was to bring every Israelite with their possessions out of Egypt. Pharaoh counter-offered that the men could leave, but without their households as collateral to force them to come back.
Satan wants to waterdown our beliefs, convictions and purpose. He negotiates with us while beating us down with trials in order to make us abandon our core purpose. Sometimes I am weak enough to take the lesser offer just to avoid the difficulty of maintaining my ground. At the center is my belief system and my faith. Satan wants to attack the edges of our faith and drag us closer and closer to the brink of denying God altogether. Yes, we may still believe in God and even profess faith in God, but if Jesus is no longer Lord over our lives, we are lost -- and Satan has stolen our souls.
"He lies in wait secretly, as a lion in his den; He lies in wait to catch the poor; He catches the poor when he draws himinto his net. So he crouches, he lies low, that the helpless may fall by his strength." (Psalm 10:9-10 - Description of a wicked robber, the greatest thief is Satan himself)
Negotiation and compromise. We must be careful to never abuse the scriptures by taking it out of context to twist it to our needs. If we are in doubt, we must take a step back to look at the scriptures, Old Testament to New Testament, as a whole in order to discern meaning. The Holy Spirit will also be our guide in this.
Compromise - Putting it into the context of today, we know of a key congressman professing to be a staunch pro-life advocate who recently voted for a big healthcare legislation that opens the door to new funding for abortions. This, even after giving speech after speech against that same legislation? Why? Because he was pressured by his political party into accepting a compromise. One that has a general promise to not use the provisions in the bill, but doesn't actually take the abortion language out of the bill. It is a political promise with no guarantee. Time will tell of the outcome, but in a year or two when the current political cycle has past, isn't it likely that the promise to not fund abortions will fade? What then? This congressman will have to live with his failure to be resolute in the face of overwhelming pressure - such is the pain of compromise. Despite the fact that his inner core told him to vote "No", he was overwhelmed by the world.
Where is there compromise in my life? Am I doing anything that is not of the Lord? Am I really seeking Him first, and His righteousness? Those are pretty tough questions to answer because there are moments when I fool myself (which I think common). Compromise can come so quietly that we hardly notice. I'll have to spend time in prayer today on this topic - to take stock and an inventory of where I'm at. I know that when I was unemployed there were good times with the Lord and I got back to a strong relationship and friendship with Him. Now that I'm working and busy, I need to find out if I am slipping in any aspects of faith.
"Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." (Psalm 139:23-24)
Lord Jesus, please help me to take an inventory of where I am with You. I know that it is easy to see compromise in a public figure like a politican in a large public political fight, but it isn't always easy to see the same spirit in myself. My prayer however, is that I can stand strong in my faith in You... even in the face of losing everything that this world has to offer. May my soul never be for sale. Somethings in life, like our core beliefs, are never up to the highest bidder. Strengthen your servant to have a calm and sturdy hand even in the midst of storms - that I will always represent You in everything I do. In the name of the Jesus, the Lord of my life, AMEN.
"So Moses and Aaron were brought again to Pharaoh, and he said to them, "Go, serve the Lord your God. Who are the ones that are going?" And Moses said, "We will go with our young and our old; with our sons and our daughters, with our flocks and our herds we will go, for we must hold a feast to the Lord." Then he said to them, ..."Not so! Go now, you who are men, and serve the Lord, for that is what you desired." And they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence."
(Exodus 10:8-10)
Pharaoh was a prideful and powerful man. As a leader of his people, he was also a politician -- he did not want to lose total face with his people if all of Israel were to leave and never come back. He knew that if Israel were to go with their possessions, they would not serve him again. So he wanted to compromise with Moses and negotiate the terms of Israel's departure.
God often gives us a clear command and in our hearts we know what He says. Sometimes we don't understand the reasons behind the prompts we are given, and oftentimes it runs against our personal comfort zones. Moses never compromised God's command. He was to bring every Israelite with their possessions out of Egypt. Pharaoh counter-offered that the men could leave, but without their households as collateral to force them to come back.
Satan wants to waterdown our beliefs, convictions and purpose. He negotiates with us while beating us down with trials in order to make us abandon our core purpose. Sometimes I am weak enough to take the lesser offer just to avoid the difficulty of maintaining my ground. At the center is my belief system and my faith. Satan wants to attack the edges of our faith and drag us closer and closer to the brink of denying God altogether. Yes, we may still believe in God and even profess faith in God, but if Jesus is no longer Lord over our lives, we are lost -- and Satan has stolen our souls.
"He lies in wait secretly, as a lion in his den; He lies in wait to catch the poor; He catches the poor when he draws himinto his net. So he crouches, he lies low, that the helpless may fall by his strength." (Psalm 10:9-10 - Description of a wicked robber, the greatest thief is Satan himself)
Negotiation and compromise. We must be careful to never abuse the scriptures by taking it out of context to twist it to our needs. If we are in doubt, we must take a step back to look at the scriptures, Old Testament to New Testament, as a whole in order to discern meaning. The Holy Spirit will also be our guide in this.
Compromise - Putting it into the context of today, we know of a key congressman professing to be a staunch pro-life advocate who recently voted for a big healthcare legislation that opens the door to new funding for abortions. This, even after giving speech after speech against that same legislation? Why? Because he was pressured by his political party into accepting a compromise. One that has a general promise to not use the provisions in the bill, but doesn't actually take the abortion language out of the bill. It is a political promise with no guarantee. Time will tell of the outcome, but in a year or two when the current political cycle has past, isn't it likely that the promise to not fund abortions will fade? What then? This congressman will have to live with his failure to be resolute in the face of overwhelming pressure - such is the pain of compromise. Despite the fact that his inner core told him to vote "No", he was overwhelmed by the world.
Where is there compromise in my life? Am I doing anything that is not of the Lord? Am I really seeking Him first, and His righteousness? Those are pretty tough questions to answer because there are moments when I fool myself (which I think common). Compromise can come so quietly that we hardly notice. I'll have to spend time in prayer today on this topic - to take stock and an inventory of where I'm at. I know that when I was unemployed there were good times with the Lord and I got back to a strong relationship and friendship with Him. Now that I'm working and busy, I need to find out if I am slipping in any aspects of faith.
"Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." (Psalm 139:23-24)
Lord Jesus, please help me to take an inventory of where I am with You. I know that it is easy to see compromise in a public figure like a politican in a large public political fight, but it isn't always easy to see the same spirit in myself. My prayer however, is that I can stand strong in my faith in You... even in the face of losing everything that this world has to offer. May my soul never be for sale. Somethings in life, like our core beliefs, are never up to the highest bidder. Strengthen your servant to have a calm and sturdy hand even in the midst of storms - that I will always represent You in everything I do. In the name of the Jesus, the Lord of my life, AMEN.
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