LEARNING DAILY

 

Deuteronomy 30:17-18, But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, I announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess.

 

 I am not able to let go of the thoughts that God’s warning to Israel in the Old Testament is a warning for us and this country today. Like Israel, the United States was founded upon principles important to God. I know there are those who passionately disagree with that statement (at least about the United States). I wonder if they might not be walking the broad way to destruction – forgive me if that is judgmental. God gave the Israelites conditions that would bless them and told them that disobedience would bring consequences. The United States of America has seen tremendous blessings because of the people following God. I wonder if by taking God out of the schools, by removing the Ten Commandments from public view (which was basically saying there are no more absolutes), by the worship of idols and other gods, and allowing the people to embrace immorality such as abortion, same sex marriage, and the other sexual immorality seen today, we are removing God from our country.

 

God warned Israel through Moses – several times – about the blessings of walking with Him and the consequences of turning away from Him to follow other gods. Can we agree that they did not seem to understand this. During the exodus from Egypt the people made a golden calf to worship and after taking control of the Promised Land they disobeyed God and did not destroy those living there. Because of their disobedience they began doing what God did not want them to do; they began to worship and serve other gods. That led to their eventual captivity in Babylon.

 

Not unlike the Israelites in the Old Testament, people today are being drawn away from the way of life that God desires and demands us to live in order to continue receiving His blessings. The United States of America has been greatly blessed as the people walked in the promises of God. We have experienced prosperity, great achievements, and successes of all kinds. I might not be expressing it well, but you realize how blessed we are. Yet, like the people of Israel self-centeredness, deception, and the belief that God is no longer needed or relevant is drawing this nation to the worship of other gods.

 

Choice. There is that word again. God promises blessings to those who follow Him. Because of choosing to follow Jesus Christ you and I have receive eternal life with Him in His kingdom. Those who do not choose Him are walking the broad way to destruction and an eternity in hell. Too harsh? No, it is the reality of God’s word! This nation is not on a journey that is pleasing to God. The people are ignoring the warning signs of dishonesty in government at all levels, joining in with those calling evil good and good evil. You and I must remain strong in our faith, be diligent in reading and studying God’s word, be diligent in prayer for those who need to accept the salvation offered through Jesus Christ and pray those who have been deceived have their eyes opened and come out of their deception.

Evil is growing stronger as people worship other gods; we are already seeing the results of that as God’s people are being persecuted and attacked for their righteousness. Jesus did say in Matthew 5:10-12, that the righteous would be persecuted and people would say all sorts of evil things about them. He also said because of our righteousness that the kingdom of heaven would be ours. I wonder if the persecution has begun.

 

Be strong. Be diligent. Be looking for the return of Jesus to take His faithful to be with Him.