"....He will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers...." (Malachi 4:6)
Here we have the last verse of the Old Testament. Could this be a "foreshadow" of the Redemption of the Cross of Jesus which would soon manifest in the earth? And yet there is a twofold declaration in the passage, a promise and a judgment coming on the earth when the promise is rejected.
Huffington Post has been running AOL for some time now, so Post news items pop up regularly on my site. I recently read an article in the Huffington Post which stated that 24% of children born in the Black Community in 1965 were born to unwed mothers. Today it is 72%. It is almost incomprehensible. But it doesn't end with the Black Community. Another article in the same magazine said that "the number of children living in single parent homes has nearly doubled since 1960, according to data from the 2010 Census. The Washington Times analyzed the most recent census data, showing that the percentage of two-parent families has dropped significantly in all 50 states. Even as the total number of American households with children increased by 160,00, the number of two-parent households decreased by 1.2 million. Today, one third of American children -- a total of 15 million-- are being raised without a father. Nearly five million more children live without a mother." I really need not add anything to the above, do I? Humanists can whitewash, indulge in political correctness, attempt to make the population feel okay about such things by their Godless rationales, but the facts are alarming to say the least.
Yesterday marked 50 years Sarah and I have been married. We talked some of what has changed. We had no television for most of the first year, no cell phones who could show us who we were talking to, no computers, no ATM cards, just to name a few. But as I look at the above stats, 24% in 1965 and 72% today, and "single parent homes... nearly doubled" since then, the other things I mentioned shrink into insignificance. America has been in a steep decline over the last 50 years. I can only pray and hope for the fulfillment of Malachi 4, "Behold, I will send you Elijah... before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers...." Even so, Come, "great and dreadful day of the Lord....Even so, come, Lord Jesus."
I will not attempt to "explain" or exegete the text. I can only say that The Living Triune God, revealed in our Lord Jesus Christ, obviously places a premium on the relationship of father and children. It is such that unless there is a, "turn...of the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, [He will] come and strike the earth with a curse." Many politicians end speeches with, "May God bless the United States of America." I say, Amen, but add, And may God have mercy on The United States of America and all nations where such statistics manifest.
Father, in Jesus' Name, any more I need to know about this I pray You will show me. But I pray for revival and restoration to turn America's declining families. Amen.
Here we have the last verse of the Old Testament. Could this be a "foreshadow" of the Redemption of the Cross of Jesus which would soon manifest in the earth? And yet there is a twofold declaration in the passage, a promise and a judgment coming on the earth when the promise is rejected.
Huffington Post has been running AOL for some time now, so Post news items pop up regularly on my site. I recently read an article in the Huffington Post which stated that 24% of children born in the Black Community in 1965 were born to unwed mothers. Today it is 72%. It is almost incomprehensible. But it doesn't end with the Black Community. Another article in the same magazine said that "the number of children living in single parent homes has nearly doubled since 1960, according to data from the 2010 Census. The Washington Times analyzed the most recent census data, showing that the percentage of two-parent families has dropped significantly in all 50 states. Even as the total number of American households with children increased by 160,00, the number of two-parent households decreased by 1.2 million. Today, one third of American children -- a total of 15 million-- are being raised without a father. Nearly five million more children live without a mother." I really need not add anything to the above, do I? Humanists can whitewash, indulge in political correctness, attempt to make the population feel okay about such things by their Godless rationales, but the facts are alarming to say the least.
Yesterday marked 50 years Sarah and I have been married. We talked some of what has changed. We had no television for most of the first year, no cell phones who could show us who we were talking to, no computers, no ATM cards, just to name a few. But as I look at the above stats, 24% in 1965 and 72% today, and "single parent homes... nearly doubled" since then, the other things I mentioned shrink into insignificance. America has been in a steep decline over the last 50 years. I can only pray and hope for the fulfillment of Malachi 4, "Behold, I will send you Elijah... before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers...." Even so, Come, "great and dreadful day of the Lord....Even so, come, Lord Jesus."
I will not attempt to "explain" or exegete the text. I can only say that The Living Triune God, revealed in our Lord Jesus Christ, obviously places a premium on the relationship of father and children. It is such that unless there is a, "turn...of the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, [He will] come and strike the earth with a curse." Many politicians end speeches with, "May God bless the United States of America." I say, Amen, but add, And may God have mercy on The United States of America and all nations where such statistics manifest.
Father, in Jesus' Name, any more I need to know about this I pray You will show me. But I pray for revival and restoration to turn America's declining families. 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
