Category: Blog Page 159 of 171

Romans 6:19 “I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.”

In my previous post I used the term ‘restoring force’ to describe the necessary counterbalance of the Lord against our wicked hearts.  Such a force is necessary to counteract a sinful nature that disturbs us away from the balanced equilibrium that the Lord intends for our lives.  Like a spring that snaps us back to where we belong, the Lord’s constant influence is unmistakable and necessary to keep our lives in check.  Without this restoring force, the infirmity of our flesh will cause our lives to rapidly diverge from God’s perfect intent for us.  Such divergence, compounding iniquity upon iniquity, is a clear characterization of our nation.

This divergence can be seen everywhere in America.  It can be seen in our schools; it can be seen in our courthouses; it can be seen in our political offices; it can be seen in our churches; it can be seen in our communities.  In can be seen through our diminishing prosperity; it can be seen through our diminishing security; it can be seen through our diminishing safety; it can be seen through our diminishing credibility.  It can be seen in an America that is substantially different than it was in decades past, and is increasingly different as days go by.

It is a difference that will be more stark as time passes and as the divergence grows more radical.  It is a difference that will remain unchecked unless America’s Christian citizens truly yield ourselves to righteousness and holiness.  PLEASE PRAY FOR AN AMERICAN REVIVAL THAT WOULD CAUSE US TO ONCE AGAIN CONVERGE TOWARDS GOD’S PERFECT WILL.  Without such restoration, we will continue to be trapped in a vicious cycle of divergence.

Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”

It is easy to see symptoms and consider them the cause.  Unfortunately, a remedy that targets the symptoms simply masks the cause.  A real remedy targets the cause itself, and the symptoms disappear as a second-order result.

The root cause of America’s problems is not a dysfunctional political process; that is only a symptom.  The root cause is not an ineffective educational system; that is only a symptom.  The root cause is not high unemployment; that is only a symptom.  The root cause is not a faltering position in the international system; that is only a symptom.  The root cause is not anemic economic growth; that is only a symptom.  The root cause is not a weakened military; that is only a symptom.  The root cause is not an increase in crime; that is only a symptom.  The root cause is not a drop in church attendance; that is only a symptom.

The root cause is a heart that is desperately wicked.  But wait, you rightfully say, if a wicked heart is the natural condition of man then what has changed in America?  The answer is the second part of the root cause, the loss of a restoring force (more on this later in the week).  America has been persistent over the course of the past few decades in our sense of self-sufficiency and our rejection of God.  With our rejection of God’s counterbalance against our hearts, we have steadily diverged from His plan and its accompanying blessings.  The impacts on our political, educational, social, military, and religious systems are simply symptoms of this insidious root cause.

PLEASE PRAY THAT AS A NATION WE WOULD BEG GOD TO COUNTERBALANCE THE WICKED PASSIONS OF OUR HEARTS.  This would address the root cause by trusting in the ultimate restoring force.

A tipping point is a “magic moment” in which change happens.  As often as not, change does not happen “gradually but at one dramatic moment.”  Change that occurs at a tipping point is described in Malcolm Gladwell’s book of same name.  Such change, like the ignition of innovation or the spread of an epidemic, can be for good or bad.  The results are agnostic.

While Gladwell does not base his theory on consideration of the Lord’s influence, there are spiritual applications of the tipping point.  These include the change of eternal direction at the moment of salvation, an inflection in church growth, or a ramping of the rewards of faithfulness.  There are two applications of the tipping point that are directly relevant to PLUS, one bad and one good.

The first is a negative application.  In my post “Wrestling Us Back from the Brink,” the mere mention of a brink is a reminder of a tipping point.  Many experts agree that America is on the brink, though it is impossible for us to know how close we are to widespread national failure.  For our own good, we must not assume we have much time left to return to the Lord before it is too late.  Such thoughts must compel us to faithfully pray for our nation and encourage others to do so.  These thoughts are the ones that compelled me to begin the PLUS ministry, before the Lord has given us up for good.

The second is a positive application.  Widespread revival could come with the next act of faithfulness by God’s people.  The next person who dedicates to praying for our nation regularly may be enough to trigger the “magic moment” in which the Lord sparks widespread change.  These thoughts have compelled me to continue PLUS, realizing that the next post may be necessary for a dramatically positive moment to occur that changes our national direction.

You could be the tipping point for our nation, for good or bad.  A single act of ignoring the call of God for faithfulness may be enough to push us over the brink.  It may be enough for God’s hand of blessing to be completely removed from us for good.  Alternatively, a single act of answering the call of God for faithfulness may be enough to tip us into a glorious revival.  PLEASE PRAY THAT YOUR FAITHFULNESS WOULD BE A POSITIVE TIPPING POINT FOR THE DIRECTION OF OUR NATION.  We need to be tipped in the right direction before we are irrevocably tipped in the wrong direction.

Psalm 81:10-16 “I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.  But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me.  So I gave them up unto their own hearts’ lust: and they walked in their own counsels.  Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways!  I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries.  The haters of the Lord should have submitted themselves unto him: but their time should have endured for ever.  He should have fed them also with the finest of wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee.”

Israel had the great opportunity to follow the Lord and be blessed with supernatural protection and provision.  They had followed God in the past, and had seen the great rewards that resulted from their faithfulness.  By hearkening unto the Lord, they again would have experienced the richest of God’s blessings.   Instead, Israel had gotten to the point where they had done more than just ignore God; they rejected Him.  As a result, the Lord removed His hand of blessing and they were turned over to their own counsel.  The results were drastically different than if God had been a part.

America has had the great opportunity to follow the Lord and be blessed with supernatural protection and provision.  We have followed God in the past, and have seen the great rewards that resulted from our faithfulness.  By hearkening unto the Lord again, we would have the opportunity to experience the richest of God’s blessings.  Instead, we have gotten to the point where we have done more than just ignore God; we have rejected Him.  As a result, the Lord has removed His hand of blessing and we have been turned over to our own counsel.  The results are drastically different than if God had been a part.

What are some of the manifestations of following our own counsel apart from the Lord?  We compromise on moral issues and refuse to compromise on practical issues.  Our political leaders do the same.  We take the trivial seriously and consider the serious trivial.  Our political leaders do the same.  We discount the eternal and cling to the temporal.  Our political leaders do the same.  We scoff at the righteous and adore the unrighteous.  Our political leaders do the same.  We elevate the value of entertainment and discount the value of the meaningful.  Our political leaders do the same.  All the while, we fail to consider that there is a strong correlation between our rejection of God and the loss of our national blessings.

PLEASE PRAY THAT WE AS A NATION WOULD ONCE AGAIN HEARKEN UNTO THE LORD.  Our own counsel and the lusts of our hearts are leading us in a direction away from God’s protection and provision.  The ruinous results are all around us.

Genesis 32:24-26 “And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of day.  And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thing was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.  And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh.  And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.”

Jacob wrestled with the Lord figuratively and literally.  He refused to give up until he saw his faithfulness bear fruit.  He refused to give up throughout the dark of night until he saw success at day break.

American Christians have forgotten how to wrestle.  We have failed to wrestle our nation back to its Christian foundation.  We have failed to wrestle with the Lord to beg for large-scale revival.  We have failed to wrestle with those who would invite ungodliness into our schools.  We have failed to wrestle against liberal doctrine.  We have failed to wrestle against anti-Christian influences in our government.

We have failed to wrestle in the voting booths.  We have failed to wrestle in the school board meetings.  We have failed to wrestle during campaigns.  We have failed to wrestle during conversations with the unsaved.  We have failed to wrestle in our prayer closets.  We have failed to wrestle in our parenting.  We have failed to wrestle as Christian Citizens.  It is as if we have given up, content to be pinned against the mat of compromise and resignation.

As a leadership primer and an encouragement for PLUS, I was recently given a touching book by a friend about recent Columbian history.  No Lost Causes details the tenure of President Alvaro Uribe Velez from an autobiographical perspective.  Regarding the impending failure of his country, President Velez boldly states:

“We live in a cynical era, one in which many people around the world have lost faith in the ability of their leaders, and their governments, to change their lives for the better.  Maybe I was an incorrigible romantic; maybe all those bullets and bombs had made me stubborn.  But I refused to accept that Columbia was a lost cause.  I passionately believed in the power of leadership to solve any problem, no matter how dire.  I believed that, if we set our sights on an audacious vision and worked tirelessly toward it, we could indeed take back our country.  With the dedication and teamwork of our ministers, military and police commanders, and thousands of other dedicated public servants, we would show our teeth to the violent ones and overcome them, without compromising our values.  This was always the purpose of our administration:  We would bring security, prosperity, and the rule of law to Columbia, while strengthening our democracy and human rights.  None of this would be easy—there would be many failures, and much heartbreak, during our journey.  But our government would spare no effort, and I was willing to do absolutely anything—big or small—to bring Columbia back from the brink.”

President Velez wrestled his country back from the brink of national failure.  He had a strong passion and translated it into action.  American Christians should learn from him.  We must wrestle our country back from the brink of national failure.  We must develop passion and translate it into action.  We must trust in the power of God’s leadership to solve any problem while refusing to accept that America is a lost cause.  PLEASE PRAY THAT AS AMERICAN CHRISTIANS WE WOULD WRESTLE OUR NATION BACK FROM THE BRINK.