Psalm 33:12 - Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.
Each Independence Day millions of Americans gather in parks and stadiums to watch fireworks and spend a day with their families. Yet in the midst of the pomp and pageantry, many people have no idea that our nation is sliding down a slippery slope perilously close to a cliff-a point of no return. Consider the following evidence of how grim our slide has become.
Alexander Fraser Tytler lived at the end of the eighteenth century, but his book The Decline and Fall of the Athenian Republic sends a chilling warning today. Tytler found that ancient democracies waned under the selfishness of human hearts. He wrote: "The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years. These nations have progressed through the following sequence:"
From bondage to spiritual faith;
from spiritual faith to great courage;
from courage to liberty;
from liberty to abundance;
from abundance to selfishness;
from selfishness to complacency;
from complacency to apathy;
from apathy to dependency;
from dependency back to bondage.
It was Abraham Lincoln who said, "The strength of a nation lies in the homes of its people." I am more convinced than ever that the homes of our nation contain the ingredients for a spiritual and moral awakening in our country. The smallest yet most powerful unit for spiritual awakening and social change is the family. Your family!
The real battle, the most important battle, is not in Washington, D.C.; it's in your own home.
Prayer: For those in power, both in this country and in other nations, that they may rule in godly ways so that we may live in peace in our nation.
Discuss: How does the level of morality and faith in society affect the home? Why do you think Christians are being tempted to lose heart in establishing biblical values and standards in their homes?
by Dennis and Barbara Rainey
2 comments:
I once saw a bumper sticker that read "Instead of God Bless America, why doesn't America Bless God". Something to think about! Do we bless him with all that we do at home, work and so on? Our sinful nature is very complicated and likely affects so much of our lives. That is why I really like Rick Warrens' suggestion to use small little prayers throughout the day to help you remained focused on things above. Anyway, I think the moral fabric of America is certainly in a precarious place these days. And, with the overwhelming wave of entitlement that has consumed us, it is going to be a heck of a struggle to reprogram to majority of those that subscribe (we all do at times don’t we?). What I do know though is that God is the only one who can do it. We should all become prayer warriors for sure.
Blessings,
cas
How appropriate for these times. Great reminder to be dependent on Christ for guiding and leading my home.
I often pray for courage to do the right thing outside the house. But I rarely pray for courage to run our home in a godly manner on a daily basis. The schedule or calendar seems to be in charge...
We are so influenced by what we see, hear and feel around us. The Christian way of life is becoming less of a standard as the days go by as we relate to our schools, jobs, governments, neighbors, sports teams and extended family.
Compassion supercedes all the secular and humanistic white-noise in society. I have to man-up and depend on Christ's compassion to use in my life today for my family first, my neighborhood, friends and clients.
Thanks God for putting us where we are now. I ask for your wisdom and guidance for each man on this blog to show compassion today starting at home. Please help us not to trend into a bunker-down mentality. Thanks again, God.
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