Forgetting God

“Hear this, you foolish and senseless people,

who have eyes but do not see,

who have ears but do not hear:

should you not fear me?” declares the LORD.

Should you not tremble in my presence?

I made the sand a boundary for the sea,

An everlasting barrier it cannot cross.

The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail;

they may roar, but they cannot cross it.

But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts;

they have turned aside and gone away.

They do not say to themselves,

‘Let us fear the LORD our God…’

Jeremiah 5:21-24 (NIV)

The Crossroads

“This is what the LORD says: ‘Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.’ But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’

Jeremiah 6:16-19 (NIV)

God’s people stood at the crossroads—they had a choice to make. They could choose their own way or God’s way, the path of destruction or the path of blessing. As angry as God was at their rebellion, He still called them to return to Him. Even as He warned of the coming judgment, He offered them a way out. He made it clear which path they should choose, but they refused to listen.

Are we, the church, standing at the crossroads today in America? We hear what God says in His word, but we don’t really believe there are consequences for not following Him. We continue to ignore His warnings, thinking that God surely would not bring destruction on our nation.

James 1:22-25 says this: “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.”

Yesterday and Today

Yesterday and Today

“To whom can I speak and give warning?

Who will listen to me?

Their ears are closed so they cannot hear.

The word of the LORD is offensive to them;

they find no pleasure in it.”

“From the least to the greatest,

all are greedy for gain;

prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit.

They dress the wound of my people

as though it were not serious.

‘Peace, peace’, they say

when there is no peace.

Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct?

No, they have no shame at all;

they do not even know how to blush.

So they will fall among the fallen;

they will be brought down when I punish them,

says the LORD.

Jeremiah 6:10,13-15 (NIV)

God is Not Asleep

“Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you so that he will not hear.” Isaiah 59:1-2 (NIV)

The Bible tells us that we do not always know how to pray. Sometimes our prayers remain unanswered. Sometimes they are not answered in the way we expected. Most of this is out of our control—God is the one who sees and knows best how to give us what we need. But we do have control over whether or not we are living a holy life. According to Isaiah 59:1-2, unconfessed sin will keep God from even hearing our prayers. It’s not God that has the problem, it’s us. How can we be humble if we are unwilling to confess our sin? How can we seek God’s face if our sin causes Him to hide his face from us? How can He hear from heaven and heal our land if our sin makes it impossible for him to hear us?

James 5:16 says, “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”

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The E Word

“The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart.” Luke 6:45 (NIV)

There is an 800 pound elephant in the room, and everyone is pretending like it isn’t there. It’s a little word—only four letters, but people hate, even refuse, to speak it. The word is spelled E-V-I-L. In today’s world, most would like to have it erased from the dictionary. But it’s there—whether you acknowledge it or not. The Bible says it’s all about what is in our heart: “For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness.” (Mark 7:21-22 NIV) We all have the capacity for evil—not everyone is controlled by it. God is the one who can help us with this problem—all of our attempts to change these heart issues ourselves usually fall flat. Only He can change a heart. But most people don’t want His help. They prefer to think that man, and the world he lives in, can be perfected by the wisdom of man. I don’t see much progress, do you?

A Cry For Help

“How long, O LORD, must I call for help?

But you do not listen!

‘Violence is everywhere!’ I cry,

But you do not come to save.

Must I forever see these evil deeds?

Why must I watch all this misery?

Wherever I look,

I see destruction and violence,

I am surrounded by people

Who love to argue and fight.

The law has become paralyzed,

And there is no justice in the courts.

The wicked far outnumber the righteous,

So that justice has become perverted.

Habakkuk 1:1-4

This Plea to God was written by the Old Testament prophet Habakkuk It describes the condition of God’s chosen people in the 7th century B.C. Does this sound familiar? God was well aware of their sin and took strong action to correct it. Do we really think America can escape God’s judgment without repentance?

Where Is God?

“I trust in the LORD for protection.

So why do you say to me,

‘Fly like a bird to the mountains for safety!

The wicked are stringing their bows

and fitting their arrows on the bowstrings.

They shoot from the shadows

at those whose hearts are right.

The foundations of law and order have collapsed.

What can the righteous do?’

But the LORD is in his holy Temple;

The LORD still rules from heaven.

He watches everyone closely,

examining every person on earth.

The LORD examines both the righteous and the wicked.

He hates those who love violence.

He will rain down blazing coals and burning sulfur on the wicked.

punishing them with scorching winds.

For the righteous LORD loves justice.

The virtuous will see his face.”

Psalm 11 (NLT)