Although I did not watch the President’s speech last night, I was online with a few bloggers watching their running commentary to the speech. I have read excerpts of the speech and I will read it in its entirety later today, but as is the case with most presidential speeches before a joint session of Congress, this president made promises he cannot keep without bankrupting our future:
1. Increase troop levels
2. Cure cancer in “our timeâ€
3. Universal education through college
4. Universal health care
He did warn that the banking system bailout may cost more than expected. With all due respect to the Office of the President, no man can make and keep those promises nor can he bring the hope and change this nation needs. King Solomon knew what it took to be an effective executive:
“Take away the wicked from before the king, and his throne will be established in righteousness.†(Proverbs 25:5)
Granted we do not have a king however all executives need trustworthy people to give solid advice. But is solid advice all that is needed? Should we as a nation expect more of our public servants? Is it right for a nation whose mantra since the 1947 Supreme Court decision in Everson vs. The Board of Education case that there is “separation between church and stateâ€; can that nation still expect to have only godly men and women in power? The Founder Fathers believed as much:
“Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.†John Jay, October 12, 1816
How far do you think “that dog would hunt†today? But it is not only part of our American Christian heritage to expect righteous leaders, but it is also biblical:
“It is an abomination for kings to commit wickedness, for a throne is established by righteousness.†(Proverbs 16:12)
How is a throne established by righteousness? My NIV Bible note to this verse says, “When the king ‘judges the poor with fairness’ (29:14), refuses to take bribes (29:4) and removes any wicked advisors.†Is it fair to reward bad behavior with a government subsidy, in which that subsidy came from the taxpayers? Is it not wicked to have a tax cheat overseeing the nation’s treasury and the very Internal Revenue Service that is supposed to enforce our nation’s tax laws?
Beloved, we are a wicked nation. We are an abomination in the eyes of the Lord. We became all patriotic and rightfully bemoaned the death of more than three thousand of our fellow Americans on September 11, 2001 and yet we kill more than that every day in the abortion factories across America; funded by the government to a tune of over 300 hundred million taxpayer dollars each year.
We are a wicked nation.
We have become the nation of which the Prophet Isaiah warned:
“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!†(Isaiah 5:20-21)
Just look around our country and see what is considered acceptable behavior; look how we view homosexuality as an alternative lifestyle instead of how the Bible describes it, an abomination before the Lord.
There is no Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Constitutionalist; American Independent…whatever the party affiliation, no man or woman can bring to this nation what is promised. There will be no peace, no hope, no change, and no righteousness to a nation that exalts self over Almighty God.
Wisdom rests in the heart of him who has understanding, but what is in the heart of fools is made known. Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people. The king’s favor is toward a wise servant, but his wrath is against him who causes shame.†(Proverbs 14:33-35)
Beloved, without revival our nation is lost. Revival will not come until we reeducate ourselves on the biblical principles that guided our Founding Fathers. We must not only look to an unrevised history of our American Revolution, we must also turn to God’s Word to see what our Sovereign Lord would have us do as a people. As you read the Bible daily, the sin in your life will be illuminated from the Light that came into the world, the Living Word who is Christ Jesus. And as you confess and repent of your sin, the Holy Spirit will begin to revive a desire, nay a hunger for righteousness that comes only from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. And when you begin to live a life that is pleasing to God then you will see a personal revolution in your own life.
It will be so radical that you will begin loving those you hate, caring for those you once passed by, and most importantly, sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a wicked, dying, and desperate world.
Then and only then will we become the nation envisioned by Francis Scott Key:
“The patriot who feels himself in the service of God, who acknowledges Him in all his ways, has the promise of Almighty direction, and will find His Word in his greatest darkness, ‘a lantern to his feet and a lamp unto his paths.’ He will therefore seek to establish for his country in the eyes of the world, such a character as shall make her not unworthy of the name of a Christian nation.â€
May it be so Lord Jesus, first in my life and in the lives of all who read these words.
In Christ
Dave
Ps. 37:4
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Tags
Christian Activism, Christianity, Conservatism, Constitution, Corruption, Culture, Democrats, History, Judiciary, Morality, Obama, Politics, Republicans
I’m glad you posted this, Dave 🙂 – I’m sure that not everyone who comes to your blog gets your devotionals. What really got me fascinated with the American Revolution was the 70s book The Light and the Glory which describes miracles of God during the Revolutionary War. (An updated version of it is coming out March 1, by the way – http://www.amazon.com/Light-Glory-1492-1793-Gods-America/dp/0800732715/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1235590721&sr=8-2 )
Thanks for the heads up on the book Christopher!
You’re welcome 🙂 !