PLUS

Hosea 4:6-7 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame.”

President Abraham Lincoln once said: “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”

Indeed, adversity provides a humbling influence that draws people towards God. On the other hand, power provides a prideful influence that draws people towards self. Power and wealth create and exacerbate sinful selfish impulses that elevate self-sufficiency and replace the need for God. It does the same to a nation.

America has rejected God’s knowledge and forgotten God’s law. As we have increased, we have increasingly sinned against Him. As a nation, we have withstood adversity together, but we have failed to demonstrate character as we have gained power.

Frighteningly, God has a remedy for this problem … induced humility. This remedy includes rejection and destruction. It is characterized by a withholding of God’s blessings. It contains a transformation of glory into shame. It provides a stark reminder that we are not self-sufficient and that we desperately need God. Only then, in adversity that can last for generations, will the powerful and the wealthy return to their first love – only when power and wealth are things of the past.

PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICA WOULD PRACTICE PREEMPTIVE HUMILITY BEFORE IT IS THRUST UPON US. We are failing the test of our character, and the remedy is a harsh one that is better preempted than induced.

Job 9:4 “He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath hardened himself against him, and hath prospered?”

President John Adams stated: “Because power corrupts, society’s demands for moral authority and character increase as the importance of the position increases.”

President Thomas Jefferson said: “Experience hath shewn, that even under the best forms of government those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny.”

God is wise in heart and mighty in strength. We alone are neither wise in heart nor mighty in strength. When we harden ourselves against Him as we grow in our power and wealth, we will fail to prosper.

The responsibilities of power are massive, the greatest of which are maintained humility and moral authority. Everything about power and wealth lures people and nations away from God and degrades the ability for continued prosperity. It corrupts and perverts. Unchecked, it leads to personal and national tyranny.

PLEASE PRAY FOR A NATION THAT WILL SOFTEN OUR HARDENED HEARTS. We must not continue to resist God and harden ourselves against Him. Instead, we must grasp desperately to moral authority so that it does not become moral depravity.

Deuteronomy 6:11-14 “And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full; Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name. Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you”

God has blessed America beyond measure. He brought our forefathers out of bondage and oppression to a land of opportunity. He has given us protection and provision, resources and rewards. Like God’s people in times past, he provides houses full of good things, wells rich with water, and land that yields much fruit. Importantly, these things are less the result of our doing and more the result of His giving. These gifts should provide us a ubiquitous reminder that He is the One we should worship.

We should fear God; we should serve Him and swear by His name. We should avoid the gods of this world. We should not pursue the god of self; we should not go after the god of power; we should not seek the god of wealth; we should not be deceived by the god of man’s enlightenment; we should not be entrapped by the god of unrestrained passions.

PLEASE PRAY FOR A FULL APPRECIATION OF THE MANY BLESSINGS GOD HAS GIVEN OUR NATION. What we have, as individuals and as a nation, is God-given. That truth we must never forget!

I Corinthians 11:1 “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.”

Peter Marshall, Chaplain of the United States Senate, prayed the following in 1948:

“Help us, our Father, to show other nations an America to imitate… the America that loves fair play, honest dealing, straight talk, real freedom and faith in God.”

General Washington ordered his men to live in a way that was worthy of their unit, their army, and their cause (see previous post). He required them to personify a dream worth following. If they were to be followed, then they must BE something worth following. Similarly, if our nation today is to exemplify a cause worth following, then we must BE something worth following.

America has never been a perfect nation. Yet, she was once a nation worth following; as she followed Christ, others followed her. Even today, our residual Christian foundation promotes a leadership that prompts others to follow. Yet, as we fail to follow Christ our attractiveness quickly diminishes. As our characteristics deviate from fair play, honest dealing, straight talk, real freedom, and faith in God, then our walk is less worthy to follow.

PLEASE PRAY THAT OUR NATION WOULD ONCE AGAIN BE WORTH IMITATING. Our words and our deeds once screamed …. Follow us! Indeed, we were once worth following. If we return to Christ, then we can be once again.

Please see the previous posts for similar thoughts:
https://prayatlunch.us/a-shining-city-upon-a-hill/
https://prayatlunch.us/never-know/

Colossians 1:10 “That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God.”

On June 15^th, 1775, General George Washington was appointed Commander in Chief of the Continental Army, taking command two and a half weeks later. On July 4^th, 1775, exactly a year before the Second Continental Congress proclaimed colonial independence and more than two months after the first shots of the Revolutionary War, General Washington published the first orders to his new command. They included the following admonition:

“The General most earnestly requires, and expects, a due observance of those articles of war, established for the Government of the army, which forbid profane cursing, swearing and drunkeness; And in like manner requires and expects, of all Officers, and Soldiers, not engaged on actual duty, a punctual attendance on divine Service, to implore the blessings of heaven upon the means used for our safety and defence.”

Washington’s General Orders contained the short but critical components of proper behavior and right living. Elsewhere in the Orders, General Washington required officers to properly care for their men. He forbade his men from cursing, swearing, and drunkeness. And yes, General Washington ordered his men to attend church, worship and pray.

The officers and soldiers of the Continental Army were to be worthy examples. Their behavior reflected their unit, their army, and their cause. They were to be clean and humble. They were to be upright and bold. They were to be faithful and prayerful. So must we!

PLEASE PRAY THAT OUR WALK WOULD BE WORTHY OF OUR CAUSE. Washington’s General Orders were a reflection of God’s Word. Our orders are exactly the same.