The Devotional – Idolatry is Foolish (Part 4)!

The Devotional – Idolatry is Foolish (Part 4)!

Comment: There are many obstacles in life, even the pursuit of liberty and happiness can be an obstacle if reached for from a wrong platform. Motives may be sincere, but if the foundation is faulty the pursuit will be short lived. In an area of Connecticut (and I am not sure of all of the details) many houses are built on faulty foundations. Very visible and alarming cracks in the foundations are causing many homeowners much sorrow; This is simply a vivid picture (not a critical eye on the problem). Another alarming crack in is in the foundation of this great nation; The United States of America. My heart aches as yours must too at what we observe happening within our national borders. Over the Memorial Day weekend our church had a conference as it does every Memorial Day. The conference speaker was very good, he said many things that I agree with. Yet there is ONE statement of his that I love. “THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” Not many people today make this “PURPOSEFUL” distinction. We are not the Americas PERIOD.

Devotional: The “crack” in the foundation of The United States of America is singular, there is only one crack, it is the same crack that has destroyed all nations since the beginning of time. Even Israel in her finest hour was unable to mend the crack, yet Israel understood; above all others of how to mend their faulty foundation. And to the same extend so does the United States of America. RETURN TO GOD.

This is not a political rebuke on our governing entities, nor am I rebuking all of Christendom “YET!” all of Israel and Christendom is involved. God spoke to His nation Israel through appointed prophets. Now in our days (the last days) God has spoken to us through His Son; the LORD Jesus Christ, Hebrews 1:1-4. Israel along with its priests did not heed the warnings of God’s prophets, Christendom along with its pastors and teachers are failing to heed the warnings of the LORD Jesus Christ. 

In Israel’s day, some of the prophets failed as did many of the priests and kings. As a result, the nation’s foundation was reduced to a loaf of bread. It is by no stretch of the imagination that I use that phrase found in Proverbs 6:26. The Old Testament reveals that Israel did not follow God in Righteousness by Faithful obedience, instead they chose to follow the gods of the nations around them. They willfully believed the dangerous promises and indolent practices of idolatry and then the national direction turned to immorality. Proverbs 6 is a progression of failure, the failure of a son to listen to His Father. Israel is God’s Son.

The New Testament reveals that the church of Jesus Christ is God’s current foundation. It was prophesied by the prophets of the Old Testament (Isaiah 9:6; Malachi 4:1-6 and others). This foundation also is built and sustained by God, yet similar to the nation Israel this foundation has the same CRACK. There is willful disobedience in churches. Today, especially here in the United States of America we clearly see that God has been pushed out of His Church and men of “false religion” have corrupted the TRUTH. We have men and women making dangerous promises and incorporating practices of idolatry. Christendom today is steeped in idolatry and condoning immorality.

The churches of the United States of America need to turn back to the LORD, then and only then will the nation be healed of its present sinful existence.

The Devotional – Idolatry is Foolish (Part 3)!

The Devotional – Idolatry is Foolish (Part 3)!

Comment: Building a home, a community or a country is not all “hammer and nails”. The other side of this project, which is the first priority is found in Psalm 127:1-2. Reading together “Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman (security forces) stays awake in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows; For so He gives His beloved SLEEP!” How many times have we read Psalm 127 from a religiously human point of view? Almost every time a child is born and within the family celebration someone chimes in with verses 3-5. There is nothing religiously wrong as some would argue; but should we not include the first two verses that will reveal a deeper spiritual truth?

Devotional: There is NO spiritual prosperity for a home, a community or a country if the labors of these entities are focused away from the Creator. Today in our nation the home is a disaster in the making. Marriages are on the fast road of extinction and many families are of split parents. (You know it is like, “here you go again Jesse” talking about the decline of a nation because he likes to). BAH HUMBUG! I do not like to, but for me; tears do not fail to pop out of my eyes when I see the decline of our nation, the crumbling of our natural resource (CHILDREN).

All the while this is going on in front of our face, we march ignorantly along, using our plastic money, flaunting and filling our prepped beings full of drugs and alcohol and frolicking along as if all is well. As a nation we laugh at the thought of God, mock at those who mention His Name and THEN after wiping this off our lips like slobber; we even have the audacity to say “BEHOLD CHILDREN ARE A HERITAGE FROM THE LORD”. Well sadly; shame of face will be upon this nation. Not because I say so, but because God has already said so.

Psalm 2:1-6 – Why do the nations rage and the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and His anointed, saying. “Let us break THEIR (God and His Son) bonds in pieces and cast away THEIR cords from us. He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; the LORD shall hold them in derision (ridicule). Then He shall speak to them in His WRATH and distress them in His DEEP displeasure: Yet I have set (installed) My KING on My HOLY hill in Zion (Jerusalem).

So, if you think I am out of my mind because you go to church regularly, let me remind you of one more passage of scripture. Matthew 7:24-27 – "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall."

The Devotional – Idolatry is Foolish! (Part 2)

The Devotional – Idolatry is Foolish! (Part 2)

Comment: Right living will exalt a nation, yet that simple small word ‘SIN’, it is a reproach (shame or disgrace) to all people; Proverbs 14:34. I can only say that for myself, I find it hard to watch the people around me, our nation has lost its exalted position among the peoples of the world, and yet the world around this nation is just as corrupt. How is that for an oxymoron? Actually, shame of face and disgrace; or the reproach of a nation among the nations is more than the battle of finding the right word to establish an understanding. The SIN problem is serious, critically SERIOUS, yet nearly everyone laughs and scoffs at this and therein lies the problem. Is there hope? Yes of course, there is always hope; even on the other side of disaster and failure, the next step to take is one of HOPE.

Devotional: Proverbs 25:11 – A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver. Like and earring of gold and an ornament fine gold is a wise rebuke to an obedient ear. 

The question is; did you get it? The nuggets of returning to life, liberty and avenue of happiness are available to all of us who will turn away our ears, eyes and pride from the clatter and clamor of world around us. Am I preaching to the choir here? I think not! Many if not all of us have some connection to a church by family or tradition. The link between God and man today is the local and universal church, so if the most of us are linked to a church, then why is all not well with the nation? – THERE MUST BE A SIN PROBLEM!

Israel had and has the same problem, as I mentioned yesterday, the historical account of Israel in the Old Testament is an example of what happens to a nation that mixes faith in God with idolatry. The runoff is IMMORALITY. Israel allowed the nations around them to corrupt their faith in God with the minor gods (demigods) designed by humans to mix the Truth of God with the lies of the devil. Inter-marriage, commerce and greed has driven Israel to a temporary blindness. Such is true of the Church of Jesus Christ TODAY.

Jesus tells us plainly that HE knows our works (Church). Identified in Revelation 2 and 3 are the current works of the churches throughout Christendom TODAY. If one would combine the universality of these seven churches and compare this to the Spiritual production of our LOCAL churches today, we would certainly see that; as a nation of New Testament saints whose ‘citizenship’ is in heaven that we are no better than Israel in her finest and final moments. Can then the condition of our nation be the result of our inability the HEAR with our EARS and SEE with our EYES what the Spirit of God already KNOWS about the weakness of our churches today?

I think in our heart we know the answer already, but it is the PRIDE of life that keeps us silent – 1 John 2:15-17.

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