"You have forgotten God your Savior; you have not remembered the Rock, your fortress. Therefore, though you set out the the finest plants and plant imported vines, though on the day you set them out, you make them grow, and on the morning when you plant them, you bring them to bud, yet the harvest will be as nothing in the day of disease and incurable pain." (Isaiah 17:10, 11--NIV, from today's Major Prophets reading)
I saw online a little while ago that there has been another school murder attempt. Over 20 students were stabbed by a high school sophomore at a school just outside of Pittsburgh. It was reported that a KDKA reporter who was a graduate of the high school said, "It can't happen here, it just can't happen here." Well it did, and it can, and it will. One of our friends and supporters teaches there, and we have received word that she is okay; praise Him. When you consider that my devotional today is from my regular reading in the Major Prophets, it is very difficult to think it is coincidence. This is America of, "'You have forgotten God your Savior; you have not remembered the Rock,' Jesus, 'your fortress." O, in most certainly is.
Now some argue with my conclusions, saying that America, as all nations, is just experiencing the progression of a culture, albeit, a "bad" progression. No. It is the result of old fashioned, "forgotten God your Savior." The majority of Americans believe that they can handle life better without Jesus Christ; truth reveals just how foolish is such thinking and living life. I recently read a report in "The Economist" which stated, "Even though the United States has the highest incarceration rate and the largest total prison population in the world by a very wide margin, hundreds of communities over America are being overwhelmed by crime and violence.... America...ha[s] the highest divorce rate in the world and approximately one out of every three children in the United States lives in a home without a father....According to the FBI, there are now 1.4 million gang members living in America....The federal government appears very unconcerned about stopping illegal immigration even though it has been one of the primary factors fueling the astounding growth of criminal gangs in this country." Now I know this is politically incorrect to relate this. But truth no longer matters in America. Most Americans are more concerned about offending some personage or ethnic group, or gender, e.g., an FBI report from 2011 revealed that the number of girls involved in school crimes rose from over 12,000 in 2000 to approximately 25,000 in 2005, the "sugar and spice and everything is nice" gender. The vast majority of pulpits in America are silent about, "sin, righteousness, and justice." This, Jesus says, is what the Holy Spirit was sent to bring to pass. Could it be that for all the Christian Television and Radio, all the hyped conferences and worship gatherings, Christendom in America is a laughing stock of demons.
Forgive the "prophetic" coming out, but is it the purpose of devotionals to give us gushy feelings, cute stories which make us feel all warm inside-------- or to, " consider one another in order to stir up love and good works"? (Hebrews 10:24). I have shared before about the pharmacist who spoke at a parents gathering in a local elementary school which had just discovered 2 second graders who had drugs, which they had received from a sixth grade boy; this was 45 years ago! I had had the devotional prior to the meeting. Later, one woman questioned the speaker, "But what can we do? I mean other than what Rev. Barnette said." I'm sure this is the same attitude in much of the Franklin Regional School District today. And as long as this is the attitude in America, or any country, "....though you set out the finest plants...and...though...you make them grow,..the harvest will be as nothing in the day of disease and incurable pain." Jesus died that this need not happen. Jesus destroyed sin in His Blood, at the Cross, in His Resurrection. "The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil."
Father, in Jesus' Name, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus." Amen.
I saw online a little while ago that there has been another school murder attempt. Over 20 students were stabbed by a high school sophomore at a school just outside of Pittsburgh. It was reported that a KDKA reporter who was a graduate of the high school said, "It can't happen here, it just can't happen here." Well it did, and it can, and it will. One of our friends and supporters teaches there, and we have received word that she is okay; praise Him. When you consider that my devotional today is from my regular reading in the Major Prophets, it is very difficult to think it is coincidence. This is America of, "'You have forgotten God your Savior; you have not remembered the Rock,' Jesus, 'your fortress." O, in most certainly is.
Now some argue with my conclusions, saying that America, as all nations, is just experiencing the progression of a culture, albeit, a "bad" progression. No. It is the result of old fashioned, "forgotten God your Savior." The majority of Americans believe that they can handle life better without Jesus Christ; truth reveals just how foolish is such thinking and living life. I recently read a report in "The Economist" which stated, "Even though the United States has the highest incarceration rate and the largest total prison population in the world by a very wide margin, hundreds of communities over America are being overwhelmed by crime and violence.... America...ha[s] the highest divorce rate in the world and approximately one out of every three children in the United States lives in a home without a father....According to the FBI, there are now 1.4 million gang members living in America....The federal government appears very unconcerned about stopping illegal immigration even though it has been one of the primary factors fueling the astounding growth of criminal gangs in this country." Now I know this is politically incorrect to relate this. But truth no longer matters in America. Most Americans are more concerned about offending some personage or ethnic group, or gender, e.g., an FBI report from 2011 revealed that the number of girls involved in school crimes rose from over 12,000 in 2000 to approximately 25,000 in 2005, the "sugar and spice and everything is nice" gender. The vast majority of pulpits in America are silent about, "sin, righteousness, and justice." This, Jesus says, is what the Holy Spirit was sent to bring to pass. Could it be that for all the Christian Television and Radio, all the hyped conferences and worship gatherings, Christendom in America is a laughing stock of demons.
Forgive the "prophetic" coming out, but is it the purpose of devotionals to give us gushy feelings, cute stories which make us feel all warm inside-------- or to, " consider one another in order to stir up love and good works"? (Hebrews 10:24). I have shared before about the pharmacist who spoke at a parents gathering in a local elementary school which had just discovered 2 second graders who had drugs, which they had received from a sixth grade boy; this was 45 years ago! I had had the devotional prior to the meeting. Later, one woman questioned the speaker, "But what can we do? I mean other than what Rev. Barnette said." I'm sure this is the same attitude in much of the Franklin Regional School District today. And as long as this is the attitude in America, or any country, "....though you set out the finest plants...and...though...you make them grow,..the harvest will be as nothing in the day of disease and incurable pain." Jesus died that this need not happen. Jesus destroyed sin in His Blood, at the Cross, in His Resurrection. "The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil."
Father, in Jesus' Name, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus." Amen.
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
