Nahum 1:3
The LORD is slow to anger and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked.
I realize that everyone has an opinion. If you find this hard to believe, all you have to do is cruise social media and you will quickly see that there is this need to put our opinions out there for all to see.
Of course those who publish their opinions do so with the idea that their opinion is right and deserves to be heard. To be posted and published in every venue even when the exact opposite may in fact be the truth.
With such understanding, I realize that as I write this, I could be construed as one of those "opinion publishing" goobers that rail against the machine. I do not want to come across as operating in this fashion, but I do feel the need to at least state some things that I believe. In the end, God will sort through the mess and show us what is really true and what really wasn't true.
My Bible reading took me to Nahum chapter one this morning. Not a very popular book, Nahum, and I wonder if you could tell me the last time you heard a teaching from this book. But I do think it contains relevant material that is applicable to our day and age. If Scripture isn't applicable to us, then why read it? If we can't garner some wisdom from it, then why even pick it up and open it? I believe, if for nothing else, Scripture gives us insight into God's heart and His desire to save people.
So, with that in mind, we see in the book of Nahum, God sending a prophet to warn the people to turn back from their sin. You see, sin had become so rampant in society that there was a total rejection of God on every level. The government had turned away from God and did as they thought best. The religious rulers had long abandoned God, and their call to serve had become merely a job and a position that had certain perks and benefits to it. Take these two offices into account as being leaders of the people and you can see how their own grievous sin had affected the society of the day. As the leaders lived, so did the people.
But God's desire was for them not to perish, but to turn from their dark, evil ways and return to Him. They did not. The end result was that God took His hand of protection and provision from these countries and allowed them to suffer the consequences of their choices. Some might claim that God is not fair. Really? If I see you headed in a direction that I know is going to cause you pain and possibly death, and I warn you but you ignore the warning, telling me to mind my own business......who's to blame for any suffering or pain (maybe even death) that you encounter? Me...who tried to save you....or you, who did what you thought was right?
In my Bible study this morning, I ran across this in the guide I was using.
"Over and over, God speaks to each generation about the facts of sin. The result of sin is death! We cannot continue to live in and develop sin as our goal. It may be legalized by the government, but the result of sin remains death. In today's world, we tend to look at what is right or wrong based on whether it is legal. What if something is wrong, and the government declares it legal? Does such make it right in the eyes of God?"
As our nation has chosen to go down that slippery slope of tolerance, we can see evidence that what is legal isn't always what is right. Our government has made choices to appease people and their belief's, in some instances, to hang on to the power they now possess. If we can appease enough people, no matter whether what we do is right or wrong, they will vote for us and keep us in power. The very fabric of our nation is being changed into a nation of moral relativism which cries out that there isn't an absolute truth by which all men and women are judged. Everyone can choose which truth they want to embrace. If we cry loud and long enough, we can get our view into law.
Now before you go off on me, I'd like you to know that I do not hold to the view of legislating morality. That has proven to be a failure time and time again. What I am a proponent of is changing the heart. I know it isn't as quick as whipping out a law that affects millions, but I do believe it is the mandate of the Kingdom After all, in Matthew 28, we have been called to make disciples. That is a one-at-a-time process. God is into craftsmanship, not mass production.
One last point.
I don't look on these days with fear. I look at them as opportunity.
A chance for the real church to rise up and be what it was created to be.
To serve...
To battle for those to weak to fight for themselves....
To push against the darkness and extend the kingdom rule of God.
To feed the poor...
To proclaim freedom to the prisoners...
To release the captives...
To bind up the brokenhearted...
And the list goes on and on and on....
The moral compass of this nation isn't broken....
IT has simply been discarded.
God on you...
michael b
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