I have often
written about the Biblical significance of the number, 7 – widely regarded as
the number of perfection. Well, here are what I believe are the 7 key pieces of
satan’s game plan for America, like a 7-fanged snake.
Violence. A ripened culture of violence, fed to us
from our youth by the TV, movie and video gaming industries, all demonstrating
horrible conflict resolution approaches, and all for the sake of profit.
Sex. An unheralded sexual revolution, resulting
in breakdowns, first in personal values, and then in families, the building
blocks of any society.
Fatherlessness. Children growing up without the strong,
loving discipline of a godly father, adding to breakdowns in respect for
authority across the board, literally! *
Drugs. Rampant illegal drug use and abuse of
prescription drugs, damaging and destroying brain cells, all for momentary
escapes from hopeless/painful lives, and for the sake of profits to a few. No
wonder mental health ‘dis-ease’ is exploding!
Weapons. Ready availability of wide strata of
weapons, both in response to, and also feeding deep-rooted
cultures of fear and revenge.
Conflict. Grossly deteriorated conflict resolution
skills, based on the above crumbling foundations of our culture.
Greed-fed Lack. Rapidly escalating financial and economic
divides between the ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’, concentrating opportunity and
wealth in the hands of a few, and eroding hope among and across the masses.
From history, we
clearly recognize that…
anything God blesses,
devils deceptively maneuver to
curse.
But wait! What if the ‘deceptions’ are open-handed,
right up in our faces for all to see clearly?! Are we, the world’s leading
political, technical and military powers, blind to the fact that any
one of the above lifestyles can easily take down a society ‘for the count’, let alone their combined,
synergistic effects?!
Alas, as we push to
increase our cultural leadership worldwide, are we not spreading ‘cultural
venoms’ from these 7 lifestyles we have so fully embraced in America?
Have you noticed
that, in America, seeking God reportedly spikes immediately following some national
tragedy, but shortly afterwards, we return to our ole, ungodly lifestyles -- until
the next tragedy. This pattern is interesting in that it points to what
many of us regard as our spiritual anchor in life, though we
may only embrace it during times of crisis.
Perhaps/hopefully,
this may change when/if America becomes really ‘old’. Why?
1. Proverbs 22:6
promises, ‘Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he
will not depart from it.’ As noted in other posts, this verse cleverly excludes any reference to what
happens between childhood and old age. But we all know what happens! It
happened to me, and I’m fairly certain it also happened to you, too, dear
reader. We all departed, in one manner or another. Hey, why should our parents
escape the heartache we humans collectively gave God? (‘For all have sinned and
fallen short of the glory of God.’ Romans 3:23) My long-term hope is that,
perhaps this verse can also apply to nations, as it does to children. Unless
God shortens our time, America is still a relatively young nation. While this
is no excuse to ‘turn up the power’ on our sin, consider how long it took for
nations in Canaan land to become old and wear out God’s Grace. Genesis 15:16
and Exodus 12:41 affirm it was well over 400 years, and this excludes
the (undisclosed) period of time these nations had been committing gross sins before
God conversed with Abraham in Genesis 15! This reveals the awesome power of
Grace.**
2. James 1:15 promises,
‘…when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin: and sin, when it is full-grown,
brings forth death.’ This acts like a ‘back-up’ to Proverbs 22:6, so take your
pick. Either one or the other shall happen for sure! This reveals
that sin is merely a seed, and like all seeds, sins have varying gestation periods before fruits are
borne. This is the deceptiveness of sin – its fruits don’t show up quickly!
Moreover, there are different kinds/types of fruits (death), so don’t just
think of death as you know it.
Friends, we don’t
know whether God will shorten America’s life as a leading nation, or as a
nation, period. Neither do we know the gestation periods of our personal and collective/national
sins. We do know that, in response to a crisis, we generally turn God-ward.
Well, here’s my news flash…
>>>WAKE UP<<<
WE
ARE IN SPIRITUAL CRISIS NOW!
Our politics (politricks) lack
power to revert spiritual crisis.
So do external threats, like
those from N. Korea, Russia or ISIS.
God’s made only one antidote to venoms with which
we’re infected.
That is personal/national
repentance of His laws we redacted.
We like it when the world for
leadership looks up to us.
If we fail to repent, this
same world will look down on us,
Because God’s Grace has what I
call ‘Use-by dates’.
Use it now! Please
don’t wait! ‘Cause after these dates,
We’ll have forever sealed
America’s fate!
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* Praise God for Moms and Grand-moms who
successfully ingrain respect for authority in their children!
** Search for the post, ‘Our Land-Minded God’,
for more on this point.