Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. It’s delightfully cool on this August morning and somehow the cool air made my coffee better and the view more beautiful…at least it felt that way to me. I sought Wisdom and Counsel from my Instruction Manual and I entered His Gates with Praise. When I finally got around to approaching the Throne of a Mighty God to make my Requests Known to Him I found myself praying more for the United States and for Israel than for anything else. My appeals on behalf of our Country(s) didn’t just begin with this upcoming election and all the madness surrounding it. My appeals began years ago as I watched our Country begin to decline right before my very eyes as we turned farther and farther away from God while blaming somebody else for our problems. My appeals probably don’t sound like most people’s these days because my appeals are mostly for Forgiveness and Mercy for how far we (God’s people) have slipped away from Truth and for what we’ve allowed to happen to this Country of ours. I believe the Humility God looks for in His people is the kind of Humility that accepts responsibility for wrongs and then follows it up with genuine repentance…a foreign concept in our world today because we stay so busy blaming somebody else for our problems. Isn’t that the way you see it too?

A twenty-minute stroll through the Old Testament would be enough for anybody to see that our Sovereign God has no tolerance when His people turn away from Him to “worship” other gods and that He’ll stop at nothing to get their attention again. The same God who allowed enemies to overcome His people time and time again…who withheld the rain and brought famine to drive His people to their knees…the same God who brought forth a flood to wipe out the evil and who cursed Adam and Eve for disobedience…the same God who destroyed an entire city over sexual sin is the same God on the Throne today. He is to be revered AND feared…a novel concept within the church today. God Almighty doesn’t care about who is red or who is blue because He ordains ALL LEADERS for HIS own Purposes and it ALWAYS comes down to the Heart of His people and what it takes to get their attention. Sometimes the choice of leaders doesn’t always turn out so good when He’s trying to set things straight with His People. Even though God already knows how the Story ends, His people are busier than ever placing blame and shouting insults from the mountaintops rather than being Humbled to hit their knees REPENTING for allowing things to go this far. What we’re seeing today can’t be blamed on the Democrats or the Republicans…the blame belongs to us for allowing sin to dominate what was once a Christian Nation. Just like my furry friends in this picture, some people are determined to stand by and watch while they wait to point the finger of blame in one direction or the other – never assuming blame themselves.

Where were we when our government decided it was a matter of choice whether a woman murdered her unborn child or not? Where were we to tell the world that she DOES have a right to her own body, and (newsflash), that she’s not murdering herself…she’s murdering another life created by the Hand of God? It’s always been “he who screams the loudest wins” so why didn’t we take to the streets demanding the Righteouness of God? Instead, we roll out the red carpet and give the platform to murderers, blasphemers, adulters, sexual deviants, liars, and thieves, and THEN we expect our politicians to do something about it. It’s the “idol worship” of the freedom to do whatever is right in our own eyes that is one of the Greatest offenses to the God of all Creation. We’ve been ignoring God and we’ve refused to rock the boat by speaking up about what HE SAYS is “right” and “wrong” for years for fear that some of our idols might be taken away if we do. What do you expect from a Righteous God?

My destiny and the destiny of the United States of America is NOT in the hands of the Democrats or the Republicans…it’s in the Hands of the Author and Perfecter of my Faith who ORDAINS ALL leaders for His Purpose. He might have in mind for us to suffer in ways we’ve never suffered before as punishment for turning away from Him…God knows we’d deserve it. He might just squeeze us to our knees and wait for our Repentance and He can use anything He wants to use to get us to that point…to the point where He matters most of all…that He is first in our lives and the only One we worship. To that place where Righteousness matters much more party, policies, or a political race. To that place where we Surrender our Will to Him no matter what it looks like and we Trust Him with the outcome. As long as we continue to shake our fists and spit out insults at one side or the other it is a sure sign of pride and arrogance…two things God HATES. Just think, since God ordains the leaders, and He already knows who wins, all those insults and all that hate are actually being directed to the Living God…the Ultimate Decision Maker.

I mourn over what’s happened to America, and I wish my kids and grandkids could have what I had, BUT we (God’s people) are to blame for that. If there is any lesson to share with the next generations it is that we (Christians) should never have become complacent…we should never have accepted sin in the name of “tolerance”…we should never have been convinced to mind our own business when it comes to God’s business being “threatened”…that we should never have stopped praying in our schools even if it meant being kicked out and kicked on, that we never should have chased after white-washed sermons because they feel better than cold, hard, Truth…that we NEVER should have stop fearing God more than anything or anyone else…especially our government. David said, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding”. So, the choice is ours. We can learn that He is worthy to be Feared and that the Knowledge of the Holy One is where we find our True understanding…OR we can continue to stand around watching like my furry friends. I’ve never been much of a spectator in the Journey of Faith.

How about you?