I Can't Do It Anymore

By Ron

At a few months away from seventy, and following quadruple bypass surgery, there
are physical things that I cannot do that I once did. There is one other thing
that I can not longer do as well.

When I was in public school we pledged allegiance to the flag, read a portion of
scripture, and prayed each morning. Kate Smith introduced a song on the radio in
the days before TV that is still being sung and has become an oft repeated phrase
today - "God Bless America!" (If you are too young to know who Kate Smith was or
have never heard her sing that song, check it out on the inter net.) We attended
patriotic parades where our American flag was the source of our pride. The Bible
was "God's Word", not the latest translation. Pastors preached from it, not
movies or other popular opinions.

I still love both the Lord and our country. Obedience to scripture requires us
to pray for our country and our leaders. However, I cannot simply say "God bless
America" any longer. Having studied scripture as I have through the years, I have
sadly come to the point where I do not believe we can tell God, or expect Him, to
keep blessing America as He has done in the past.

Our president declares to the world that we are NOT a Christian nation. God has
been removed from our schools, courts, legislatures, and the military. If you do
not believe that, try praying at any public gathering of any of those groups "in
Jesus' Name".

There is one example after another in the Bible where God forgave, and used,
sinners. At various times Israel repented and returned to the Lord and He
continues to bless them. Therefore America could do the same and be blessed once
again. When we are saved all of our sins are forgiven and we are spiritually clean.
But the consequences of our sins remain. Many in prison repent and are saved.
However, they remain in prison. If they have killed someone, that person remains
dead.

Applying that Truth to America, what do we find? There are the consequences for
decades of our schools teaching evolution and excluding God from creation, for
allowing the killing of babies, for accepting divorce and living together, and for
generations growing up using illegal drugs. We cannot change God's mind by
legalizing what was once against the law, changing our definitions of marriage and
life, or shifting what we place our pride in. Those growing up accepting those
things are now our ministers, teachers, legislators, an judges.

Can we expect God to bless a nation who calls evil good and good evil? Can we
really expect God to bless a nation who publicly denies the Lord and allows open
worship of false gods and teaches it in our public schools? We can certainly
worship God in private. But our faith must also be public. We cannot be obedient
to Christ's command to go into all the world and teach the gospel in private.

There is one consequence for our country that mathematically I see no escape from.
That is our growing national debt. We owe vast sums of money to China which is a
communist nation. They like the other nations and banks we owe are not likely to
forgive our debt because we cannot repay it.

God has had faithful servants who were watchmen and warned our nation of these
dangers. We still have a few. But like those who went before them, most are
ignored. We have been warned - we cannot claim otherwise.

Receiving God's blessings is conditional upon faithful obedience. We have the
written record in the Bible as our example and guide. We cannot simply demand
God's blessings while our nation continues as it does. We musty pray and work to
spread the truth.