"Those from among you shall build the old waste places; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to dwell in." ~ Isaiah 58:12
If you have a fenced in yard, and all the sudden you notice there are animals trampling your flowers and destroying your vegetable garden, you know there’s something wrong with your fence. So you look for where the fence is broken, where it has a gap, and you fix it. To stop the flow of intruders into your property, you must repair the gap in your fence.
God uses this very picture in the Bible to describe what happens when His people start to disobey Him. God evidently places a “hedge” of protection (Isaiah 5:1-7) around each individual at birth. As we grow in age and size we learn from parents, teachers and others about life. If what we learn is the truth as revealed in the Bible, and we choose to consistently obey that truth, the “hedge” stays up. But if what we learn either is not the truth, or if we choose to disobey the truth, then our “hedge” of protection starts to break down. The more disobedience there is to God’s Word, the more our fence comes down; and the more satan and his evil spirits, who come to “kill, steal, and destroy,” (John 10:10) break into our lives. Thus, the destruction in our lives will, generally speaking, be in direct proportion to how much of God’s truth we know and are walking in. Generally speaking—and let’s leave the exceptions to God—the Bible teaches that obedience brings blessing to the life; disobedience brings destruction. Life really is that simple—for both individuals and nations. The Bible says,
A few days ago the Lord awakened me very early in the morning. When that happens I know that it generally means He has something very specific He wants to talk with me about. So I began to read my Bible in the normal progression by which I read it through each year. I was in 1 Chronicles at this particular time, and as I read chapter 16 and verse 35, the words grabbed my attention. It was as if the Lord had encircled those words and was saying, “Don, here is the prayer I want you and others to pray in these days!” This passage is the record of King David, who himself was a great worshiper, telling the priests who ministered to the Lord before the Ark a prayer they could pray to God as they did their ministry of worship 24 hours a day. And I believe the Lord is saying to us in America today we should pray this same prayer. It is causing hope to rise in my own heart as I’ve been praying it often ever since.
The prayer is part of a group of verses which reveal how God is in control of all events on this earth. Verse 31 says,
The message of judgment for sins has always been unpopular with those who want to run their own lives. It still is. But the fact remains: No matter how much we try to put off or forget judgment, it will still occur, right on schedule—both in this world and the next. Judgment for rebellion is no pleasant thought when the Judge is a just God who keeps a very detailed, specific record of every thought and every action we’ve ever known. The prophet Amos warned the northern kingdom of Israel that impending doom was near. He had cried out,
“Woe to them that are at ease in Zion…that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near; That lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock…That chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of music…That drink wine in bowls, and…are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph. Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go captive…The Lord GOD hath sworn by himself…therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein…For, behold, the LORD …will smite the great house with breaches…for ye have turned judgment into gall…behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, saith the LORD the God of hosts; and they shall afflict you…”
(Amos 6: 1-14)
But Israel scoffed at Amos’ words. In spite of increasing disease and frightful storms, the nation still didn’t really think these were “the beginning of sorrows”. They thought “somebody will get a handle on this economy…someone will come up with a cure for this rampant disease.” (Sounds like our sexually transmitted diseases, like AIDS, doesn’t it?) “After all,” they said, “this Amos-guy doesn’t even have a college degree! What could he know about judgment from God?”
But Amos faithfully kept trying to warn them. He cried against their refusal to consider their Godly heritage. He warned them that God was saying to them:
Charles Spurgeon, the great English preacher, gave us a measuring stick by which we could determine if our churches were healthy. He called it a “Grace-ometer.” Here’s what he said:
“The condition of the church may be very accurately gauged by its prayer meetings. So is the prayer meeting a grace-ometer, and from it we judge the amount of divine working among a people. If God be near a church, it must pray. And if He be not there, one of the first tokens of His absence will be a slothfulness in prayer.”
(The Metropolitan Tabernacle, 1873 edition)
According to Spurgeon’s “Grace-ometer”, I’m afraid 98% of our churches would have to admit the Lord is mostly absent! Any discerning believer will admit that the church in America is far from what Jesus died to make her. And likewise, the truth is: As the church goes, so goes the nation. A culture is always the mirror of the state of the church in a nation. And while there are some healthy churches—most of which are unknown to the national eye—we cannot deny the obvious. Our culture reflects the confusion we now see in the church. More and more churches are trying to redefine marriage so as to “broaden” the “narrow way” into the church. This confusion is the fruit of a deeper symptom of a diseased church: That is, the desertion of the Bible as absolute truth. Only 28% of the churches in America now believe that (Recent Barna-Wallbuilders Survey). And when you give up the Bible as the standard of truth, you give yourself to the whims of man’s shifting standards; and confusion, chaos, and death are the result. The Bible calls that way, the way of the fool. Proverbs 1:7 says,
It had been extremely hot and dry. There had hardly been any rain for twelve weeks. The corn and other crops had wilted and looked to be beyond reviving. This would mean starvation come winter. There was no hope in their own ability to fix this situation. But this group had learned to trust God, their Creator, as God, their Sustainer. Thus, they called for a day of fasting and prayer to seek God’s face as to why He had withheld the rain. After genuine repentance and worship that day in 1623, the rain began to fall that very night and to their astonishment, their corn revived and produced wonderfully that summer. The Pilgrims proved, once again, that prayer to God Almighty, the Father of Jesus Christ, is the way to move things in this world!
In the midst of our current crisis, we must remember that it is not up to us, but the Lord Himself, to change our hearts and forms of government. While our part is to work with Him in what He’s doing, our praying will be what ultimately wins this battle. God stirs us to prayer, reminding us,
“…you have not because you ask not. You ask, and receive not, because you ask amiss, that you may consume it on your own desires.” (James 4:2-3)
Others, beside the Pilgrims, have proven this throughout history….
Ladies and gentlemen, the following story is why we have Christmas:
“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away [privately]. But when he thought on these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she shall bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name JESUS; for he shall save his people from their sins.’ Now all this is come to pass, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel; which is, being interpreted, God with us.’ And Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took unto him his wife; and knew her not till she had brought forth a son: and he called his name JESUS.”
(Matthew 1:18-23)
“Now it came to pass in those days, there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be [taxed]. This was the first census made when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to [be taxed], every one to his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David; to [be taxed] with Mary, who was betrothed to him, being great with child. And it came to pass, while they were there, the days were fulfilled that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son; and she wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
“And there were shepherds in the same country abiding in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flock. And an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, ‘Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all the people: for there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this [shall be] the sign unto you: Ye shall find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men in whom he is well pleased.’
“And it came to pass, when the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, ‘Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing that is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found both Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in the manger. And when they saw it, they made known concerning the saying which was spoken to them about this child. And all that heard it wondered at the things which were spoken unto them by the shepherds.”
(Luke 2:1-17)
Wise men still seek Him! Parents, Grandparents: Shouldn’t you be teaching that to your children—and teaching them to teach it to their children?
Think about it! Because if you don’t, someone else will do your thinking for you—and for your children! And you won’t like what that brings to you. I’m Don Pinson; this has been Think About It.
The date was December 7th, 1941. The time was 7:55am. To the complete surprise of American forces in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Japanese planes began to sweep down and drop devastating bombs onto our fleet and also our planes on the ground. When the attack was done, eighteen of our ships were sunk or sinking and nearly all of our planes were destroyed. Over 3,500 of our servicemen were dead. We were shocked at such a bold and devastating attack on our U.S Navy. Many wondered if the Navy would ever recover. Even worse, we wondered if our liberty would shortly be ended and we would be required to worship the Emperor of Japan as god.
In the midst of this despair, President Franklin Roosevelt replaced the commander of our Pacific fleet with an Admiral named Chester Nimitz. Nimitz arrived at Pearl Harbor on Christmas Eve, 1941. He immediately went for an inspection of the harbor. Sunken ships and twisted metal were everywhere. Once Nimitz had inspected the whole harbor, the young seaman at the helm of his boat asked him, “Well, Admiral, what do you think after seeing all this destruction?” Nimitz’ reply shocked everyone listening. He said,
The little boy tugged at the young man’s coat sleeve. “How far is it to America?” he asked, “Will we soon be there?” “No, lad,” the man replied, “It will take many days to cross this huge ocean.” The little boy gazed briefly across the ocean to the west. Then, unaware of the risks of such a voyage, he ran to find his friend to tell him this ship, the Mayflower, would be their playground for a long time. The young man continued to gaze across the vast ocean. His thoughts drifted back twenty years—to the time he had first met these people he was now a part of.
He remembered the wonderful meetings they had in their homes in England. For the first time in his life he had felt accepted, really accepted. These people were genuine, somehow he just knew it. Though others were saying this group were bigots who thought they were the only ones who were right and that they had “gone off the deep end” with their religion, he knew the truth. These people were real. They people didn’t claim to be perfect. They readily admitted that they too were capable of selfishness. But the unique thing about them (that so set them apart from those who were against them) was that they had entered into an agreement to help each other not give into selfishness by letting their friends point it out to them. And the way they did it seemed safer to him than living the way his relatives did. Because they recognized their own bent toward selfishness, they didn’t trust their own thoughts alone. They had agreed to compare their thoughts about another member’s actions to what the Bible said about those actions. Those who were critical of them certainly didn’t live that way. As he had considered their agreement (which they called their “Covenant”) he had come to recognize this was the safest way to live on this earth and had decided that—no matter what anyone said—he would cast his lot with this group, who now referred to themselves as “Pilgrims”. The years had brought them much hardship, but also much maturity. The peace they enjoyed was worth all the difficulties of living in a world system which was against their Covenant.
The Pilgrims landed in America over 400 years ago. But do you know why they came to America? Was it to start a new life? Well, yes; but what kind of life? Was it so they could be free? Well, yes; but what kind of freedom were they looking for? Because most of us don’t know the answer to these questions is why we continue to accept—or even vote for—more and more of the slavery from which they were fleeing.
Perhaps you would say, “They came here for religious freedom.” And you would be right—but, what kind of religious freedom? Did they come merely so they could sing songs to God and study the Bible in their own gatherings? No, they came with a much broader desire than that.
It was November 11th, 1620. After sixty-six days at sea, with over half that time in violent storms, they were more than ready to get off the ship. The Mayflower had just dropped anchor inside Cape Cod Bay. They had been blown off course by the storm, and deposited here, much farther north than they had intended. But they came to believe that the storm was the Lord’s way to get them to settle in this place.
These “Pilgrims”, as they called themselves, had come to America to have the freedom to teach their children the Bible; and to them that meant much more than teaching them how to be born again. It included teaching to their children reading, writing, and all the other academic subjects. Their Pastor, John Robinson, had taught them how to establish from the Bible the institutions of education, government, and economy. These Pilgrims were Christians who believed the Bible was true and that its teachings could be lived out in this present world. Thus, they were intent on creating a community which agreed that their children would be taught the Bible, and all the academic subjects from the principles of the Bible; and they had agreed on establishing a Biblical economy to fund that teaching; as well as a Biblical government to protect that education system and that economic system so they could accomplish the Pilgrim vision.
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