I'm to Blame, too!

I heard on the radio this morning that under the Bush administration, the daily Pentagon briefings came with a cover sheet containing a scripture verse. Apparently, under the Obama administration, this practice of including a scripture on the cover sheet will be done away with because a Muslim working at the Pentagon found it offensive. I grieved for our country upon hearing this, and prayed to God asking for forgiveness for our arrogance at removing him and his word from every aspect of our lives.

I didn't make the decision to remove the scripture references from the briefings but I'm still part of the problem. Since becoming a Christian, I see all the areas in my former life, and some still today, that either were caught up in the culture or contributed to the culture we have today. I am not immune from the wrath of God in this matter.

I was reading in Jeremiah today and was struck by the similarities of Jeremiah's time to ours. J, as I like to call him because it's easier to write J in my journal writings than Jeremiah, lived in a time when the people did not want anything to do with the one true God. They had completely removed him from their society, replacing him with their own gods, and finding prophets who would tell them what they wanted hear. They had no regard for the truth because they were blinded by their own arrogance and sinful nature.

In J's time, God spoke to the people through J. God told them exactly what they were doing wrong, what they needed to do to fix it, and what would happen if they didn't. They had ample warning, direct from God's mouth, and yet they refused to hear it. They knew what was coming but they chose to ignore it. Even when events began to take place that J had said would happen, they refused to attribute it to God's doing. To me that is great arrogance.

I believe we live in similar times. Take the average American family and the choices a person makes throughout their lifetime and contemplate how much of a role God makes in that person's decisions. A young man or woman in high school begins to understand their talents and academic strengths and are encouraged to pursue areas of career where they can make a positive impact in society as adults. They may choose some sort of secondary education or go directly into the work force. As they mature there's dating and marriage decisions, parental decisions, decisions about what kind of house to buy, what kind of lifestyle to pursue, what kind of look they want to project to the world, what kind of material possessions to purchase and when, where to vacation, who to invite to parties, how much money to save, when to upgrade, etc. Everyday there are choices to make, and as I look back on my own life, I see that out of all the choices I have made in my life, very few were ran past God first before finalizing the answer.

Even Christians live in the culture of ME, ME, ME unless they are really getting serious about who their King is and begin to bow to his leadership in ALL areas of their lives. It's not just liberals who have led this country down a path leading to self-destruction. Blame also falls to all of the Christians who have allowed themselves to live IN the world they were called to be in but not be a part of. When we live our lives just like the world and don't check in with God and his will on the big areas of our life, much less the little areas, can we really expect to escape blame and judgement for the consequences? We are in this because we all have contributed to the problem.

We don't have the prophets anymore to relay God's direct words to us but we do have the scriptures, God's divine revelation, to guide us. We can look back on biblical history and understand what is happening and predict the consequence of our actions. We can also look back and know what it is we need to do. The good news is that God sent Jesus to pay the price for our sin and thus we do have a way to reconcile with God. Just like in the Old Testament we need to remember, repent, and return. Remember who our King is and why he is worthy of that place. Repent of our sins and seek the assurance of forgiveness. Return to the Father who loves us and wants what is best for us and is willing to bless us, if only we would stop bowing down to false and empty gods and seek him alone.

So, the Pentagon has removed God's word from their daily briefings. I have no control over that. The important question here is: Where have I removed God from my daily life and what am I going to do about that?

When I'm busy pointing fingers, I can't see the sin in my own life or see the distance I'm putting between myself and God. I can't control everything but with God's help, I can control what I do. If the supposed 85% of Christians in the United States did the same self examination and made divine inspired changes in their own lives, our nation would begin to submit to God's authority again. A nation in submission to a heavenly King is a nation that is blessed and protected!

May it be so Lord! May we self examine, repent, and return wholly to you! May you heal our nation and revive your name above all names for the whole world to see! May we be an instrument of obedience and glory to you for the world!