The United States has been teetering on the edge of financial disaster some say for years, but the bottom seemed to drop out after the bombing of the World Trade Centers and the resulting wars. We have one toe on the edge, but we aren't finding a secure place on which to stand.
The other day I heard someone say the government should call for a day of prayer for our nation because of the economy. I believe in our leaders gathering people to pray, but the logical thing to do is for churches to call Christians to their knees.
If I were a pastor, I'd open the church every day at least for a few hours for prayer. After all, the Lord said if HIS people will humble themselves and pray, seek His face and turn from their wicked ways He would hear from heaven and forgive their sins and heal their land (Second Chronicles 7:13-15).
Yet, there are important things we as a nation should remember and do. Here are a few interesting scriptures, some which pertain to Israel but we know they also apply to a certain extent to nations which follow the Lord.
"For the LORD your God will bless you as he has promised, and you will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. You will rule over many nations but none will rule over you" (Deuteronomy 15:5-7).
"If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth" (Deuteronomy 28:1-3).
Their descendants will be known among the nations and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the LORD has blessed” (Isaiah 61:8-10).
"And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts" (Malachi 3:11-13).
From "The Message" Paraphrase: "Is it not obvious to you that persons who put their trust in Christ (not persons who put their trust in the law!) are like Abraham: children of faith? It was all laid out beforehand in Scripture that God would set things right with non-Jews by faith. Scripture anticipated this in the promise to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed in you" (Galatians 3:6-8).
"After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice:
'Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne,and to the Lamb'” Revelation 7:8-9).
From "The Message" Paraphrase: "If you forget God, your God, and start taking up with other gods, serving and worshiping them, I'm on record right now as giving you firm warning: that will be the end of you; I mean it—destruction. You'll go to your doom—the same as the nations God is destroying before you; doom because you wouldn't obey the Voice of God, your God" (Deuteronomy 8:18-20).
"The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God" Psalm 9:16-18).
Teh bible also says nations will be blessed when they support Israel.
The United States has been greatly blessed by God. But like the Israelites in Old Testament times, we tend to wander away from God and go into rebellion. We've killed 45 million of our babies. We've become just as Paul told Timothy people would become in the perilous times near Christ's return. ""For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away" (2 Timothy 3).
We can repent, love God and others, and turn to the Lord with all our hearts. Let's expect His blessings once again.
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