I have been working on this post for over a month now. I've delayed writing about symptom #3 in particular because a) i've been incredibly busy with college and b) i am of two minds on this subject. This is the first time i've found it difficult to reconcile my faith and my patriotism because the symptom that i am about to write about first has become prevalent in this country (particularly in my lifetime) and while it goes against my faith i'm not entirely sure it goes against my politics. Strangely enough this issue is being largely ignored in the current election (probably because it is so controversial). I cannot fully communicate how very strongly i feel that if all of the issues that i am writing about here; if they are not dealt with very soon then this could well be the death of this country if not its inhabitants.
Symptom #3 = Homosexuality
There is no question in my mind that homosexuality is wrong: this is evident in the Bible in such verses as Romans 1:26-27, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, and Leviticus 18:22. Not only is homosexuality morally wrong but it is also psychologically damaging (i have read of studies and accounts of former homosexuals that confirm this). Over the past year i have had to ask myself: am i for the Federal Marriage Amendment? At first i said yes, then no, and now i don't really know what to say.
This country is based on freedom, and though that freedom was designed and meant to be for the Christian faith it was also freedom to have any faith (whether one be buddhist, jew, muslim, new age, pagan, wiccan, atheist, or agnostic, just to name a few). We all know how Prohibition went; it failed miserably (telling any American they can't do something is like sounding the starting gun). As much as i'd love for America to truly become a Christian nation i am against any persecution of religious, political, or scientific beliefs as well as any moderation or censorship of free speech. If someone else's freedoms have been taken away then mine can be taken away just as easily.
What then shall we do? Sure, i would like gay marriage to be made illegal, but i knew that with the current state of our legistlative and judicial system that it would not happen. Even if Congress had passed the Federal Marriage Amendment, judges would probably not have upheld their legislative decision. At the current moment our judicial system is bankrupt morally but it cannot be changed for the better because the Democrats in Congress will not allow any of President Bush's nominees to fill the empty positions that are currently a void in the fabric of our government.
And again, should such a law be passed? Though the FMA is morally right i believe that it may be unconstitutional and that it would surely alienate more of this nations inhabitants than Christians already have and do. Homosexuality would go the way of prohibition and become yet more prevalent, not the other way around.
Which leaves us with a dangerous choice... What can we do that will not destroy our nation? For even if this issue does not tear We the People apart i know that if our inhabitants continue to live in this sin we will surely be destroyed (as Sodom and Gomorrah were in Genesis 18:16-19:29). The time of Christ's return draws near, i can feel this in my very being. I have known for as long as i can remember that He will return within my lifetime (i have no fear of death) and that time is running out. Biblical prophecy tells me that the United States will be destroyed in a (Super)natural disaster and its inhabitants will either perish or there will be another Great Awakening thus allowing the majority of Americans to be saved/born again and rise to meet Him in the air (Revelation 8:6-13 and 1 Thessalonians 4:17). And so i have come to the conclusion that like with so many other issues the government cannot regulate this epidemic by political means: only the Truth, the Way, and the Life can save them and thus change their thinking and hearts.
Who then will go and tell them? And if/when one goes will their hearts not be hardened? (Isaiah 6) I cry out "Here am i, Lord, send me!" but who will listen to me? How then will i go and to where? I feel as if i am in a cage with my hands tied. Does even one read what i am reading here and care? Does anything i say or do make a difference?
Symptom #4 = the Children (Education and their Future)
Several weekends ago i attended an AWANA Leadership Training Conference. Most of the day was spent detailing that which i already know: that today's children do not know the Truth and that the Church as a whole is ignoring a great need. A child's moral foundation is set by the time they are thirteen; if they do not become Christians before that time they are unlikely to ever be saved (though it is not impossible). Sadly many children do not know that the Bible is true, nor do they know its content (even if they have attended Sunday School, the Bible stories are often watered down or changed to be less offensive or "more understandable"). A few years ago one of the youth leaders in my church got in trouble for teaching a lesson against homosexuality... Why is this?
At my church the Christian school is more important than AWANA, Sunday school is more important than AWANA, the youth group is more important than AWANA, the adult bible studies are more important than AWANA. The church as a whole is deemed more important than the children, yet the children our are future and AWANA may be the one thing that equips these children to live their lives for God in a sinful world because it doesn't water down the message: it makes sure they understand it. The first verses a clubber memorizes present the plan of salvation and a child usually hears the same message outlined in Council Time by the time they've attended the club twice (if not the first time).
Since our club started up again for the year it has been attacked on every side from within the church itself. Satan knows that the church is greatly set behind if the Way, the Truth, and the Life is kept from the ears and hearts of this nation's children, of any nation's children. For instance in Cuba missionaries are allowed to come into the country for a short time to bring in relief and medicines, etc., even witness, but they are not allowed to bring in any children's Bible study material because TPTB know that it is the children who are the most likely to be converted.
Satan is attacking our children before our very eyes...
Today's education system is in shambles. There are multiple studies that prove that homeschooling is the most effective form of educating a child (followed by charter schools and Christian schools). I know firsthand how ineffective the public school system is and the problems are only getting worse. There are second graders who still don't know how to read (i've met some) and i've heard of high schoolers graduating illiterate. Classes are too large and are geared towards the slow students. The system tries to dump information into a child's head just long enough for them to pass their tests instead of actually teaching anything that's important.
I know there are good teachers out there who care about their students (i've had a few) but the simple truth is that the system does not work. It cannot be fixed. The only reason it worked so well for so long was because God was in it and as we all know that prayer and the Bible were taken out of schools over forty years ago. More than this, children's shows, cartoons, and games, are now filled with violent imagery. Not all of them know that the things they do in play are not acceptable in real life because, again, no one is teaching them the truth. Just like with the issue of homosexuality i do not believe this symptom can be treated by legisltaion: we must reach the hearts of the children or things will only get worse.
Symptom #5 = Hardened Hearts, Itching Ears
There is no doubt in my mind that so many Americans today have Hardened Hearts and Itching Ears. Most Christians sporadically attend churches where the Pastor teaches them what they want to hear. Sadly there aren't enough ministers who are actually preaching anything of spiritual importance. They seem content to forcefeed us milk instead of challenging us with meat. I grow weary in my church and wonder if perhaps the problem lies in me as much as it lies with them. I do not know what to do but pray.
I know that i am probably watching and reading things that i shouldn't be. I can see God in them, He can use them in my life, but i don't think He wants me dwelling on them. I have seen God work in the most incredible ways. I want him to be free to use anything in my life to change me, i want my heart to be pliable for him. But i know that Satan is constantly whispering lies into my ears. He is attacking all of us. Will we listen to him, give in, or will we listen to God and allow Him to use us in the growing dark?
There are no easy answers. I "know" that i can't make a difference on my own, but i know that God can use me to make a difference. I pray 2 Chronicles 7:14: "Then if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land." I cannot fully relate the gravity of this situation, the need, only God can speak through me.
Does anyone hear?
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