This article was written in July of 1993 in the wake of a multitude of natural disasters and catastrophes that had recently taken place throughout the United States. Do you think this article can still apply today? You be the judge.
On October 17, 1989 the most costliest of earthquakes devastated the city by the bay, San Francisco, California. Scores of people lost their homes and their lives. Two years later, that same month in 1991, the city of Oakland, California was scorned and ravaged with fires that lasted for days. This was the costliest fire damage in recorded history with costs of well over $500 million dollars.
Less than a year later, on August 23, 1992, hurricane Andrew ripped through Florida leaving us with the costliest hurricane damage in the history of this country. Damaging costs were estimated to be at least $7.5 billion dollars! Over 85,000 homes were destroyed and thousands of people were left homeless. Less than a year later, almost the entire Midwest section of the United States had to contend with the worst and costliest flood ever in this country's history. From Minnesota to Missouri, the Mississippi river crested 46 ft. above normal and covered over 17,000 square miles of land leaving over 10,000 people without homes and farms.
Aside from these unfortunate and costly natural disasters, our country faces over a 5 trillion dollar debt and the highest cost of living this nation has ever faced. We have come from being the biggest creditor of nations to the world to the biggest debtor nation of the world and in a relatively quick time!
To get straight to the point ญญ What other wake up calls do we need? How much more is the Lord going to cry out before we take heed?
"For a long time I have kept silent, I have been quiet and held myself back.
But now, like a woman in childbirth, I cry out, I gasp and pant.
I will lay waste the mountains and hills and dry up all their vegetation;
I will turn rivers into islands and dry up the pools." (Isaiah 42:14-15)
Is the Lord calling upon us not only as a nation, but as a nation which was established by God's principles, standards, and laws? A nation who now has seemingly turned it's back upon Him? A nation which has now become so corrupt that it leads the world in: crime, violence, abortions (over 1 million a year), drugs, sexual immorality, pornography, idolatry, gambling, and the largest homosexual population in the world.
At the signing of the Declaration of Independence in July of 1776, roughly 70% of all American citizens were "born-again" Christians. Today, during a recent Gallup poll, 25% of all Americans consider themselves to be Christians. A decline of 45%! Perhaps this is what Paul was telling us 2,000 years ago:
"The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons." (1 Timothy 4:1)
What I'm trying to say is, I truly believe God is calling out to us to turn our hearts back to Him, to revere Him, and to worship Him and Him alone, the same God that gave us this land of freedom, liberty, and opportunity.
We all know what God does to evil, corrupt nations and generations by simply reading the scriptures. We've seen the total destruction of all mankind during the great flood of Genesis. We've seen the complete destruction of such cities as Sodom and Gomorrah who couldn't even claim ten righteous people! We've also seen how the Lord waited for an entire generation to pass away so that only then could the new generation be able to enter into the promised "land of milk and honey". We must sincerely ask ourselves, are we a modern-day Sodom and Gomorrah? Will the Lord destroy this nation just as He did with them? Or perhaps are we that same generation that He awaits to pass away so that He can finally do a new work in this country?
Well, this is where we as Christians need to come into the picture. We need to take a stand! We, as the Body of Christ need to join together and pray. Many Christians, including myself, take prayer lightly. It shouldn't be, for praying is a powerful tool if not the most powerful. Paul writes in Ephesians, chapter 6 that we need to don the "full armor of God" at all times, which consists of the following elements:
- the belt of truth - vs. 14
- the breastplate of righteousness - vs. 14
- feet fitted with the Gospel of Peace - vs. 15
- the shield of faith - vs. 16
- the helmet of salvation - vs. 17
- the sword of the Spirit (the Word of God) - vs. 17
However, none of these will do us any good lest we PRAY! In the last verse describing this inventory of our "full armor of God", the very word PRAY is mentioned three times:
"And PRAY in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of PRAYERS and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on PRAYING for all the saints. (Ephesians 6:18)
Pray, is what we as believers in Christ must do. And we need to do it now. We as the church, the Body, need to eliminate all the worldliness out of both our individual lives and our churches. We need to come together and pray unto our Lord. I believe it's never too late. We need to become full-fledged warriors (spiritual) and take on a militant style (spiritually) to take back this great, God-given, and blessed nation of ours.
We as Christians can believe and have all the faith in the world that someday this nation will make a turn-around. But unless we don't take immediate action now, don't expect it to happen in yours or my lifetime.
"In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." (James 2:17)
Brothers and Sisters, I call upon you now, with all of my heart and soul, and with the words of the Spirit, STAND UP, JOIN HANDS WITH FELLOW BRETHREN AND PRAY! Pray for the lost, pray for our leaders at all levels of government, and pray for our children that they will see a much better world when they are older.
Ask yourselves what you're doing to bring this country back to God. Do you often sit and watch the news or read the paper and lament and grieve at the evils of this world, yet don't do a thing about it? Ask the Lord to give you counsel, to give you strength, courage, and knowledge, to win souls for Christ and to tell others of the Good News. Seek the Lord's wisdom and guidance on how and what exactly you should pray for.
Let us now take a stand Christian soldiers and move ever onward, don the full armor of God, and let's reclaim this country and give it back to God.
