Is It Too Late For America, Or Is There Another Answer?

Here are a few thoughts I have concerning the future of out nation. As you know, this nation we live in is much different than the nation we started with. When this nation started out, the men who were leading it were God fearing, and used the principles in God's word as the foundation for this country. They were not perfect, and they may not have even known the Lord, but they did fear God, and they did run this nation based upon the principles of God's word.

  My thoughts are mainly questions. The first question I am thinking is, will this nation be judged by God and destroyed, or, will this nation just collapse due to corruption?

Second question; Can those who are destroying this nation by their lifestyle choices ever repent? Or has God turned them over completely to their wickedness and ultimate destruction?

Third question; Can we ever recover from the degree of darkness that we have brought ourselves into? Is it possible for us to ever become a God-fearing country, once again?

Fourth question; How deep do we have to go into darkness, before we come back to the light? Can the prayers of the righteous bring us back to the light again, or has God given up on America?

Fifth question; Will this hardship wake up the church, and will many start doing the work of evangelism, or will this hardship drive people away from the church and make it harder for the Gospel to be presented openly?

Responsibilities of the Church and the State

Here is a comment I wrote on Facebook a couple of minutes ago. It has to do with the responsibility of the church and the effect it will have on the community when the church takes seriously the claims of the word of God.

Here's the deal: The state cannot legalize morality. The state is limited in what it can do to 'help' in a situation with unwed mothers or providing funds for birth control. It can help in the areas of benevolence, charity, etc. It cannot do what the church was intended to do. The church's responsibility is to declare and demonstrate the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the only answer to the dilemma of brokenness. 

The church is not responsible for supporting people who live lifestyles that are contrary to the word of God. But I believe if the church is healthy (and I am not speaking of one particular church, but the body of Christ in general), then people will come to know the Lord. If they have genuine conversions, they will have the power to live lives that are in line with God's word. This has nothing to do with having the state support the church. But I really do believe if the church will genuinely turn back to God, in humility and trust, as well as obedience, then the church will be in the place of being able to be the Instrument of Righteousness that God intended for her to be. 

The problem we have today, is that the world and its principles have crept into the church (maybe they were there all along) and we have a watered down church presenting a powerless Gospel and a small, powerless God, who is not capable of changing anyone's heart. If we presented the God of the Bible, the way He identifies Himself, then we would have a different picture of what is right and wrong. People make wrong choices simply because they don't see anything better than the choices they have made. They haven't seen God in His holiness and majesty. They have only seen a god we have created and wish we could believe in (like a Genie in a bottle, or a Santa Claus god). We turn to God when we want something, but we avoid Him when something is required of us. But if we truly knew God, the way He is, and in His awesome power, we would be different, those around us would be affected, and I believe those in the White House would in turn be affected as well. Broken people would be healed. Drug addicts would be delivered. Young girls wouldn't be spending their time trying to win some guy's love for them. Abused women wouldn't be tempted to commit suicide. Men would learn to love their wives and treat them with respect. There would be a worthwhile cause for us to live for. The alternative is just an empty life where we go from one thrill to the next, to pass the time away while we exist on this little planet.

Another Religion Taught In A Business Class For A Big Company

  The hype was on. There was a business learning opportunity that seemed to be in demand that was being made available to people in my group.

   It started as a Facebook post with my name tagged. Several others were being tagged as well, so as to not miss the deadline. This was sure to be an event one did not miss.

   What we were told that we would be learning would be twofold; we would learn about the product we are selling and using, and, we would learn about how to build our business and make it successful.

   While everything was being settled, and people were still trying to get in on the event, a video came out that was the first of many. But what we learned was way different than I expected.

   I got out my notepad to take notes, but stopped taking them about a quarter of the way through the webinar. The woman told us at the beginning that we had power. She informed us that nothing can stop us from doing what we want. We were also told that we were co-creators with whoever created us. I was ready to turn the video off at that point, but I continued to listen. Perhaps there would be an opportunity somewhere to inject some truth.

   There was a strong emphasis on meditation. The lady said that we were to look inside ourselves for the answers. All the answers to anything we need reside inside of us. We were also to view ourselves as powerful. This theme continued throughout the whole video, which lasted almost an hour.

    I was hoping to learn some good business principles. Up to this point, everything I have learned from this company has been beneficial. But this video was so far from reality, that it isn't even funny. In fact, it is kind of scary.

   Do the people who are watching this video really believe now that they are co-creators with God? (The woman used terms like God, Jesus, the universe, interchangeably). If after watching this video, are the people who are selling this product thinking that now they have some kind of positive power in them that they never realized?

  (The teaching sounded like a combination of Norman Vincent Peale, Word of Faith movement, and New Age).

   What concerns me is the observation that no one seems alarmed. There are many Christians in this field, and I am sure they have watched this video. Did their understanding of God change after they watched the video, or were they discerning and realized that the woman was teaching heresy of the first degree?

   You don't have to have a doctorate of divinity to understand that what this woman was teaching was another religion. Any Christian who has even a small understanding of Bible truths should be able to watch that video and realize that something was wrong with that picture.

   The woman did not profess to be a Christian, but, obviously, she did believe that some kind of higher power existed, even if she didn't know what his or her name was.

   I am putting this blog here on this page for a couple of reasons. I do not want anyone to be offended because of what I am exposing on their video (or a video that they think is supposed to be super good). I do hope that I might have an opportunity to speak the truth in love, and I do need prayer to know how to do this properly.

   I think we need to know what is going on in the world today. There are tons of business classes taking places in various places as well as on the Internet. I haven't been exposed to too many of them, and I have never seen anything like this in any business forum I have been in yet, but that doesn't mean that this kind of thing is not going on somewhere else.

   The best way to start dealing with situations like this is to pray. The Bible tells us to pray without ceasing. We need to be fasting as well. We need to be praying in the Spirit. We need to come back to worshiping the True and Living God.

    My prayer and desire is for my readers to be discerning. I know there is a lot of talk about Yoga and its benefits. I am sure there are exercise techniques that might be helpful to us, but let's be careful not to embrace the aspects offered in Yoga that are contrary to the word of God. When it comes to meditation, we should be meditating on God's word. Our minds can be a playground for Satan if we allow it to be. God wants our minds to be renewed. We are to have the 'mind of Christ'. Our decisions should come out of having a renewed mind that has been fed by the word of God.

    Let us be discerning. Let us separate the truth from the lies. We want to be careful to not throw the baby out with the bath water. We need to be careful with what we hear from others, even if the teacher or speaker is being touted as top-notch or the cream of the crop.

   Beware of any teaching that says that 'you are awesome' or 'you are great', or even where the teaching says that all answers reside in you. All answers reside in God, and as we trust Him, we will receive answers. They do not reside in us. We are a fallen race, but we can be restored because of the Cross of Jesus Christ.


Everyday Evangelism

P.S. One of the assignments is to make a video telling of our intent (dream) of why we are doing this business. From there, I can explain exactly why I want to start a business, and bring God into the picture. Pray for me to have wisdom to know how to do this right, or if I should just not continue in this class.