Hello Again!
I AM America.
Since Loy is a business/marketing professor, our home is very marketing oriented. We tape the Super Bowl commercials, not the game. I will say I like a certain ad and am quizzed about "What was the commercial for?" (Because it's not a good commercial just because you like it, it's only a good commercial if you remember what it was for!) Loy is always showing me ads before they're officially released that he gets from his secret marketing journals.
So, sometimes I will say something really innocent like, "I am really preferring the gel soap, as opposed to the bar soap." A few weeks later Loy will bring home a secret marketing journal article that says, "Americans Prefer Gel Soap." Or I might say, "Ranch dressing is tasting really good on everything, not just salad." You guessed it, Loy will show me a secret marketing website that says "Americans Are Going Nuts for Ranch Dressing." I'm not saying I'm leading the trend, just that I'm right there in the throngs of the Average Joe American.
(Loy will probably now have to kill me now because I gave away the secret marketing journals! Good bye, my friends!) :)
As America, I want to say that I have been really, really disturbed by what I see as America slipping away. I am feeling disgusted and scared and powerless. It feels like this is the worst things have ever, ever been.
In MY lifetime, maybe.
Biblical Instances of Decadent Times:
Sodom and Gomorrah-LGBT issues (Genesis 18:29; Luke 17:28)
Ancient Rome-sacrificing to other gods
Jesus' Times-racial division
Egypt-slavery and baby killing (Exodus 1:22)
After Israel Left Egypt-no sense of God (Exodus 32:6; Psalm 78:10-11, 40-42, 56-57)
Noah's Times-all around evil (Genesis 6:5, 9-11; Luke 17:26-27)
Ninevah-wickedness (Jonah 1:2)
David-unintended pregnancy
Tower of Babel-power seeking
But there were always believers…always a remnant. And God is
never surprised and somehow everything always works out for God’s will to be
done. Who appoints the leaders? Are we too late?
1 Samuel 24:4-7 Then the men of David said to him, "This is the day of
which the LORD said to you, 'Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand,
that you may do to him as it seems good to you.' " And David arose and
secretly cut off a corner of Saul's robe. Now it happened afterward that
David's heart troubled him because he had cut Saul's robe. And he said to his
men, "The LORD forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the Lord's
anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed
of the LORD." So David restrained his servants with these words,
and did not allow them to rise against Saul. And Saul got up from the cave and
went on his way.
Psalm 2:1-4 Why do the nations rage and the
peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers
take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, “Let
us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” He who sits in
the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision.
Psalm 22:28 For kingship belongs to the Lord, and
he rules over the nations.
Proverbs 21:1 The king's heart is a stream of
water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.
Daniel 2:20-23 Daniel answered and said: “Blessed
be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. He
changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom
to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; he reveals deep and
hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him.
To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me
wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of you, for you
have made known to us the king's matter.”
Romans 13:1-4 Let every person be subject to the governing
authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist
have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists
what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers
are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one
who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval,
for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he
does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who
carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection,
not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. ...
Titus 3:1-2 Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient,
to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling,
to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.
1 Peter 2:13-14, 17- Submit yourselves to every
human authority for the Lord’s sake, whether it be to the king, as supreme, or
to governors, as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and to praise
those who do right….Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the
king.
So, can I do anything???
Jeremiah 29:7 But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.
Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
But,
obviously God did not mean for times like now…these are the worst!
Once
upon a time there was a boy born in Antium, Italy. His name was Lucius Domitius
Ahenobarbus. His was a wealthy family, his mother descending from the Emperor
Augustus.
When
still a young boy, Lucius’s father died and his mother remarried her uncle, Emperor
Claudius. The Emperor adopted Lucius as his eldest son and renamed him Nero
Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus.
Four years later Nero married Claudius’ daughter.
The
very next year Claudius died. Rumors and suspicions ran wild that Nero’s mother
poisoned Claudius so that her son could be emperor. Five years after that Nero
repaid the favor by having his mother killed.
A
few years later Nero divorced his wife and then had her killed, all for love. A
few years later, he had her killed.
Some
of the Roman senators questioned his actions. You guessed it…he had them
killed.
He
had a grand vision of building a series of palaces that he would name, humbly,
Neropolis. The Senate objected to
this. It is said that he had the
city burned to get his ambition fulfilled. After the fire, 2/3 of Rome had been
destroyed. He was, conveniently, miles away.
It is said that Nero watched Rome
burn while merrily playing his fiddle. Gangs of thugs prevented citizens from
fighting the fire with threats of torture, Tacitus wrote. There is some support
for the theory that Nero leveled the city on purpose.
Nero himself blamed the fire on an
obscure new Jewish religious sect called the Christians, whom he
indiscriminately and mercilessly crucified. During gladiator matches he would
feed Christians to lions, and he often lit his garden parties with the burning
carcasses of Christian human torches. He would cover Christians with the skins
of wild animals and then sic a pack of dogs on them. Nice guy.
(In the interest of full disclosure, at that time some Roman Christians believed in prophecies predicting that Rome would
soon be destroyed by fire. Perhaps the fire was set off by someone hoping to make
the prediction come true. Mostly people think it was Nero, but I want to be fair.)
After being emperor for 14 years, the
military leaders feared Nero’s cruelty and wild suspicions and he committed
suicide shortly after.
--Secrets of the Dead, Unearthing History, PBS
--World Book Encyclopedia, Copyright 1990
This was all happening when Paul said:
1 Tim 2:1-4 I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior, ...
If Paul could say to pray for our leaders, to pray for Nero, we should be
praying for our own government!!
Pray
for:
- ·
Their health and safety.
(Ezra 6:10; 1 Peter 2:13-14) ho do wrong and to honor those who do right.)
- ·
They would follow the
Lord’s ways and repent if they don’t. (2 Chronicles 33:1-20--this is an incredibly long passage, but I didn't remember ever reading it before. It's never too late!!)
33 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. 2 He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, following the detestable practices of the pagan nations that the Lord had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites. 3 He rebuilt the pagan shrines his father, Hezekiah, had broken down. He constructed altars for the images of Baal and set up Asherah poles. He also bowed before all the powers of the heavens and worshiped them.
4 He built pagan altars in the Temple of the Lord, the place where the Lord had said, “My name will remain in Jerusalem forever.” 5 He built these altars for all the powers of the heavens in both courtyards of the Lord’s Temple. 6 Manasseh also sacrificed his own sons in the fire in the valley of Ben-Hinnom. He practiced sorcery, divination, and witchcraft, and he consulted with mediums and psychics. He did much that was evil in the Lord’s sight, arousing his anger.
7 Manasseh even took a carved idol he had made and set it up in God’s Temple, the very place where God had told David and his son Solomon: “My name will be honored forever in this Temple and in Jerusalem—the city I have chosen from among all the tribes of Israel.8 If the Israelites will be careful to obey my commands—all the laws, decrees, and regulations given through Moses—I will not send them into exile from this land that I set aside for your ancestors.” 9 But Manasseh led the people of Judah and Jerusalem to do even more evil than the pagan nations that the Lord had destroyed when the people of Israel entered the land.
10 The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they ignored all his warnings. 11 So the Lord sent the commanders of the Assyrian armies, and they took Manasseh prisoner. They put a ring through his nose, bound him in bronze chains, and led him away to Babylon. 12 But while in deep distress, Manasseh sought the Lord his God and sincerely humbled himself before the God of his ancestors. 13 And when he prayed, the Lordlistened to him and was moved by his request. So the Lord brought Manasseh back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh finally realized that the Lord alone is God!
14 After this Manasseh rebuilt the outer wall of the City of David, from west of the Gihon Spring in the Kidron Valley to the Fish Gate, and continuing around the hill of Ophel. He built the wall very high. And he stationed his military officers in all of the fortified towns of Judah. 15 Manasseh also removed the foreign gods and the idol from the Lord’s Temple. He tore down all the altars he had built on the hill where the Temple stood and all the altars that were in Jerusalem, and he dumped them outside the city. 16 Then he restored the altar of the Lord and sacrificed peace offerings and thanksgiving offerings on it. He also encouraged the people of Judah to worship the Lord, the God of Israel. 17 However, the people still sacrificed at the pagan shrines, though only to the Lord their God.
18 The rest of the events of Manasseh’s reign, his prayer to God, and the words the seers spoke to him in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, are recorded in The Book of the Kings of Israel. 19 Manasseh’s prayer, the account of the way God answered him, and an account of all his sins and unfaithfulness are recorded in The Record of the Seers. It includes a list of the locations where he built pagan shrines and set up Asherah poles and idols before he humbled himself and repented. 20 When Manasseh died, he was buried in his palace. Then his son Amon became the next king.
The rest of the events of
Manasseh’s reign, his prayer to God, and the words the seers spoke to him in
the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, are recorded in The Book of the
Kings of Israel. Manasseh’s prayer, the account of the way God answered
him, and an account of all his sins and unfaithfulness are recorded in The
Record of the Seers. It includes a list of the locations where he built
pagan shrines and set up Asherah poles and idols before he humbled himself and
repented. When Manasseh died, he was buried in his palace. Then his son Amon
became the next king.)
- ·They would govern with
wisdom for the “welfare of the city” (Jeremiah 29:7)
and not personal gain or for the advantage of a favored few. Concern for the well
being of all.
- ·That God would accomplish
His purposes through them regardless of their willingness to be used by
Him. (Proverbs 21:1)
Remember, God is
unimpressed by political power. (Isaiah 40:15-17 Instead, you will be brought down to the place of the dead,
down to its lowest depths. Everyone there will stare at you and ask, ‘Can this
be the one who shook the earth and made the kingdoms of the world tremble?
Is this the one who destroyed the world
and made it into a wasteland? Is this the king who demolished the world’s
greatest cities and had no mercy on his prisoners?’; 22-24 God sits above the circle of the earth. The people below seem
like grasshoppers to him! He
spreads out the heavens like a curtain and makes his tent from them. He judges
the great people of the world and brings them all to nothing. They hardly get
started, barely taking root, when he blows on them and they wither. The wind
carries them off like chaff..)
God is not
threatened by them. We shouldn’t be either. (Daniel 4:17 For this has been decreed by the messengers; it is commanded
by the holy ones, so that everyone may know that the Most High rules over the
kingdoms of the world. He gives them to anyone he chooses—even to the lowliest
of people.”)
--“5
Ways to Pray for Government Leaders You Don’t Agree With,” Rob Schwarzwalder,
Senior Vice President for the Family Research Council, aired on Charisma
Podcast Network, 2014
And one last thought...often I think that the nation needs to humble itself. That vague concept of everyone, but I don't make it real to mean ME. I need to humble myself.
If
physically able, pray on your knees, not because we think that will be an extra
postage stamp on our prayer—a way of making sure God sees our piety. But, as a
way to humble ourselves and help our minds stay on the prayer. Pray for our President and Vice President and unnamed advisors. Pray for the upcoming election and candidates.
