Author: John Page 122 of 172

Hosea 4:1 “Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.”

While Samuel Langdon directs Christians to keep their eyes fixed upon the Lord, he unabashedly condemns the British government for deviating from God’s plan. After comparing the British Empire to the wayward Israelites, Langdon voices the following:

“We have rebelled against God.  We have lost the true spirit of Christianity, though we retain the outward profession and form of it.   We have neglected and set light by the glorious gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, and His holy commands and institutions.  The worship of many is but mere compliment to the Deity, while their hearts are far from Him.  By many the gospel is corrupted into a superficial system of moral philosophy, little better than ancient Platonism.   And after all the pretended refinements of moderns in the theory of Christianity, very little of the pure practice of it is to be found among those who once stood foremost in the profession of the gospel.  In a general view of the present moral state of Great Britain it may be said: There is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.  By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, their wickedness breaks out; and one murder after another is committed, under the connivance and encouragement even of that authority by which such crimes ought to be punished, that the purposes of oppression and despotism may be answered.  As they have increased, so have they sinned, therefore God is changing their glory into shame.   The general prevalence of vice has changed the whole face of things in the British government.”

As a people and a nation, we have lost the true spirit of Christianity. Our personal and national paths are to be lit by the glorious gospel of Christ, but instead we follow our own superficial system of moral philosophy. Truth, mercy, and knowledge have faded as relics of the past. Our government no longer upholds the law while sin thrives under the connivance and encouragement of governmental authority. Like the British Empire before us, our glory is transforming into shame.

PLEASE PRAY THAT CHRISTIAN AMERICANS WOULD STAND FOR THE TRUE SPIRIT OF CHRISTIANITY IN OUR LAND. Instead of accepting godlessness, we must encourage godliness. Our government must do the same.

Psalm 47:7-8 “For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding. God reigneth over the heathen: God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness.”

Samuel Landgon’s quote from a post a few weeks ago continues to ring in my ears (see https://prayatlunch.us/gone-away-backwards/). It resonates with me based on the power of its analogy, written about the corruption of the 18^th Century British Empire but translatable to the vices of America today. From his view as Harvard’s president during the American’s Revolution, Langdon’s “Government Corrupted By Vice” brilliantly laments the dissolution of society’s moral and political foundations. Regardless of the crumbling edifices of his day, Langdon called upon believers to heed the following:

“We must keep our eyes fixed on the supreme government of the ETERNAL KING, as directing all events, setting up or pulling down the kings of the earth at His pleasure, suffering the best forms of human government to degenerate and go to ruin by corruption; or restoring the decayed constitutions of kingdoms and states, by reviving public virtue and religion, and granting the favorable interpositions of His providence.”

American Christian, keep your eyes fixed on the ETERNAL KING. He directs all events. He can destroy or restore, rebuke or revive. He sits upon the throne of the supreme government. When we let our gaze drop to the things of this earth, we can get discouraged. Yet, when we continue to look upon Him, we can be encouraged regardless of our societal context.

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO FIX OUR EYES UPON THE HOLY AND ETERNAL KING. His providence always reigns supreme.

Isaiah 6:8 “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send and who will go for us? Then said I. Here am I; send me.”

My favorite place in the Pentagon is at the foot of this source of massive motivation. I often spend time here praying for our nation and its leaders. Interestingly, this painting is located on the stairway between the 3^rd and 4^th levels of the E-ring between the 8^th and 9^th corridors. For those familiar with the Pentagon, this location is in the immediate vicinity of the world’s most powerful military leaders, only a few paces from the Secretary of Defense’s office. Thus, America’s senior leaders regularly pass under this very painting.

I have no idea how long this painting has been there or who placed it there. Frankly, I am afraid to ask lest someone decide that it is too provocative to keep displayed. Yet, I pass by it almost daily as I go about my business in the area. As I look at the family kneeling in prayer and I read the inscription from Isaiah 6:8, I am challenged and compelled that I am to be an unqualified volunteer for Christ. Where – it doesn’t matter. What – it doesn’t matter. How – it doesn’t matter. Why – it doesn’t matter. When – it doesn’t matter. None of it matters – as long as God is in it and as long as I am faithful to it.

PLEASE PRAY FOR CHRISTIANS IN THIS LAND TO BE UNQUALIFIED VOLUNTEERS FOR CHRIST. We must go! We must stand! We must pray! We must never hesitate to fully follow Him!

NOTE: For similar thoughts, please see: https://prayatlunch.us/send-me/

Hebrews 11:8 “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whiter he went.”

Obeying God isn’t about knowing the direction He is leading. It isn’t about understanding where He would have you to go or what He would have you to do. Instead, it is about trusting that if God is leading then we are to faithfully follow whether or not the end is clear or even whether the end makes sense.

Abraham followed God time and again, without knowing the why, the how, or the where. He was content knowing the what – God’s direction – and the when – God’s timing. The rest is left up to His power and our faith.

American Christians need to spend less time assessing and more time acting. We are to spend less time fretting and more time following. We are to spend less time considering and more time completing. We are to spend less time obfuscating and more time obeying. We are to spend less time studying and more time surrendering.

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO FAITHFULLY FOLLOW GOD NOW! It isn’t about knowing, it is about going. Go now!

II Samuel 11:2-4 “And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house.”

II Samuel 12:5 “And David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die”

Adam Galinsky, a professor at Columbia Business School, is a prolific researcher and writer. Over the course of his career, he has focused on the impact of power upon character. He has found that there is a strong correlation between power and selfishness, diminished empathy, corrupt relationships, and over-confidence. In his 2010 work “Power Increases Hypocrisy: Moralizing in Reasoning, Immorality in Behavior” Dr. Galinsky came to the following conclusions:

• “Across five experiments, irrespective of how power was manipulated or hypocrisy measured, we found strong evidence that the powerful are more likely to engage in moral hypocrisy than those lacking power.”
• “Across these experiments, the powerful judged their own moral transgressions more acceptable but the same transgressions committed by others less acceptable compared to low-power participants.”
• “This means that people with power not only take what they want because they can do so unpunished, but also because they intuitively feel they are entitled to do so.”

As a powerful nation, we have grown selfish. We have grown overconfident. We have grown entitled. We are characterized by diminished empathy, corrupt relationships, and chronic hypocrisy. We take what we want, do what we want and think what we want while growing angry when others do the same. We live unrestrained by morals while holding others to a higher standard. It happened to a “man after God’s own heart” and it is happening to a nation blessed similarly.

PLEASE PRAY THAT OUR NATION WOULD CRY OUT – WE HAVE SINNED AGAINST THE LORD. David did and we will never once again thrive as a nation if we continue in moral hypocrisy.