I’ve journaled for years. I have books and books of things I’ve written. I really like to write. So, why not start a blog. This won’t get too juicy or personal, that’s not my style, but you will see things like my thoughts and rants, lyrics and poetry. I’ll start with something I wrote about 3 weeks ago that I’ve been looking for a place to publish. Why not here first?
This morning as I was praying and reading scripture, I had an insight on America. For years I’ve believed that much of the writings in the books of the prophets are now spoken to the people of America. Not that we are God’s chosen people over and above the Israelites, but that somehow we received God’s favor on the day of our inception because, much like Israel, we are a nation (and probably only the 2nd such nation) founded on the belief that God is the creator of the Universe and deserves our worship. We were founded believing that men (and women) should have the opportunity to worship in a way that is most meaningful to them without fear of punishment or prejudice.
Being founded on these kinds of principles, we, like Israel, have had an enemy since the beginning. Satan, the devil, is our enemy. He is the mastermind behind all the so-called human “masterminds.” He has attacked America since the beginning, but America has always stood strong because her roots are deeply imbedded in the belief that Christ wants liberty and justice for all. Even most Americans who say they don’t believe have a core value system that includes morals based on principles introduced by a Judeo-Christian belief system.
Our enemy has been working fervently throughout the history of America to bring it down, and finally after 200+ years, he may have found our weakness. He tried introducing false religions that allowed Jesus Christ to be a figurehead but not a Savior. He fooled some, but he couldn’t turn our country away from God. Darwin and others would like to take credit for the theory of evolution. They would never have believed they were merely pawns in the hands of America’s greatest enemy. For some years, I’m sure the enemy believed he may have finally found the thing that would cause enough doubt to turn the country away from her creator; however, the truth was and is being revealed and the case for evolution becomes more bizarre everyday.
Looking back I see that as the enemy began to see the crumble of his scientific theory, and especially as the evil of slavery, prejudice and inequality was finally beginning to be revealed for the lie that it is, he began to plant a new idea, an idea that very similar to slavery. It was an idea that might once and for all cause America to devalue human life and the ultimate creation of God enough to have them turn away from the army that has been protecting them since those first ships set sail to free themselves from religious oppression.
Yes, it was the enemy who whispered in someone’s ear the first time, “Go ahead and kill the baby, it’s not really a life yet.” It was the enemy who told a son struggling to care for his elderly parents, “The marvel of modern medicine, just turn a knob and they’ll go to sleep.” The enemy reasoned if humans could be convinced they had the power of God, they would turn away from and against Him.
But a shaken America stood firm. We continued to value life enough to limit abortion and euthanasia. We saw the travesty of people treated unfairly in countries far away and sent troops to fight the ungodly injustice. Today I thought about the 9-11 terrorist activities. I wonder if the enemy thought he had finally found that one thing America worshipped enough to turn her back on her Savior? Was Satan surprised when instead this still very young country in the grand scheme of things actually turned TO God in the midst of the aftermath?
And now it would seem Lucifer’s been relatively quiet for the past several years. Perhaps he’s been plotting and scheming, trying to find a way to convince America to abandon her Father and denounce her only source of strength. As I was praying, I wondered if during these last few years he finally found it. He let it sneak in. It didn’t take much work. He finally found the one thing that Americans will worship more than their Creator. It’s the one thing Jesus warned us about . . . the love of money.
I know many will say that they don’t really love money. If they had money they’d do more for those less fortunate, they wouldn’t hoard it for themselves. Yet, our restaurants are busier today than ever before. Gas prices are at an all time high, yet do we really drive less? We fight for the raise in minimum wage, we save for Christmas and vacations. After all, we deserve them. We pay way too much for sporting events and concerts. We sign our kids up for every imaginable extra-curricular activity. We don’t worship money, but do Americans worship all the things money can buy? Are the price of gas, the cost of health care, the rising cost of living and the failing economy finally going to be what proves America can’t stand strong against the attacks of the enemy? Has he found our weak spot? For the first time in more than 200 years, has he discovered what will make us fall?
What do you worship? America’s enemy wants us to worship anything but God. He’d like us to live high as long as we don’t have faith in Jesus Christ. Does that mean we can’t have nice things? I believe we can. I think Christ wants us to have nice things, but when we get so caught up in the things that we lose focus on the One who can win this war for us, we begin to tear down the fortress that Christ and the armies of God have fought so hard to build to protect us.
America has turned from “freedom to worship” to “freedom of worship.” This country was built on the foundation of the God inspired scripture and the desire to serve and worship our Creator and Savior freely without strings and without rules. As long as America has remained rooted to those principles, she has stood strong. But I’m beginning to be afraid for this nation that I believe was once God’s second “chosen people.” The enemy is gaining ground. We’ve allowed sports, jobs, boats and lawns to tear us away from Sunday worship. We’ve turned away from “In God we Trust” and begun to trust the man made object we engraved these precious words upon.
America, we are still free to worship. The basic premise of God’s provision in Genesis is our freedom to worship Him. One of the great things about America is that her founders understood that God doesn’t want to force us to worship Him. Our Maker’s greatest desire is that we choose to worship Him, we prefer to make Christ first in our lives, we embrace the chance to live a full, complete life within His will, His miraculous, marvelous and “bigger than our imagination can take us” will.
So, I wonder today . . . who will America worship? Who will we serve? Don’t forget if you serve yourself, you still serve the enemy . . . after all, that’s what he’s working toward. If he can just get our focus off God, he doesn’t care what we focus ON! We can argue all we want to about troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. We can fight about the economy, gas prices and all those political questions. But all of this means nothing if we continue to ignore the real enemy.
How ‘bout it America? Are you ready to stand up and fight this battle or has the enemy finally won? Has he embarked on his last strategic strike? You get to determine the outcome. Choose for yourself who you will worship, who you will serve. As for me and my house . . . we choose Christ!