While leaving a comment on GGM's blog, I was reminded of something I received from the Lord, a couple years ago. I had it posted on our original website, so instead of typing it all over again, I'm presenting it here, with some edits. Enjoy!
Since before He created man, God has desired to be our king. But in the waning years of Samuel, Israel's last judge, the people demanded that he appoint them an earthly king. They saw how nations around them were governed, and so they wanted the same for themselves. They wanted to be more like other nations! (Does this sound familiar?)
This greatly displeased God. Not only did He want them to set themselves apart from their neighboring idolators, but He Himself wanted to be their King. He warned them, through Samuel, that in desiring a man for king, they were rejecting God, and that their new king would lead them to suffering, ruin, and disaster. But the people did not listen.
Even though it was God who chose Saul for their king, from that day forward, the nation of Israel was essentially divided. No longer did the people have One Leader, but two. There were those who continued to trust in God, to whom it probably did not matter who wore the earthly crown; and there were those who rebelled against the Lord and chose to put their trust in their new king, and him alone.
The Bible chronicles the ups and downs that the nation of Israel went through, under their various rulers. There were some kings that truly loved God, but most of them turned their backs to Him, inviting God's wrath and a nearly uninterrupted string of invasions by Israel's enemies.
But God never gave up on His people. He had promised them that an heir would arise, from the lineage of King David (Israel's 2nd king, and arguably their greatest, though not without flaws), who would establish an eternal Kingdom and rule over it forever. Now clearly, that would be impossible for a mere man to do, since men are mortal. But God had a different plan. A perfect plan.
He eventually sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to be our King. Born of a virgin, Jesus was at the same time, fully God and fully man, of the lineage of King David. Because of His unique nature, Jesus re-unified God's people under a single King. The two kingdoms became one, because Jesus is heir to both!
Jesus, the Son of God and the heir to the throne of David, came to re-unite God with His own people. Through Jesus, God brought the long rebellious line of kings back under Himself and re-established Himself as the One and Only King of His people. All we have to do is individually accept Jesus as our personal Lord, Savior, and King.
Two thousand years later, we live in a country that was unquestionably founded on God's Word. Most of our nation's founders were devout believers, who relied heavily on God's principles, in creating the government and laws of our land. But as God blessed us with bounty, success, and power, people relied less and less on Him, and more and more on themselves and their elected leaders. Morality became subject to the fad du jour. Acts and beliefs that were once reprehensible (by God and man) are now condoned and even encouraged. Our justice system now relies more on the letter of the Constitution than the intent of its designers. We're even looking at other countries, to assist in court rulings! We are barrelling headlong down a slippery slope of no return!
The only way back is to return to the Lord, individually and as a nation. We each need to repent of our sins and surrender our will to Jesus Christ, Our Savior and King. We need to rely on the unwavering truth of God's Word: the Bible. Only then will He again bless our nation and defeat our enemies, both outside and within.
Since before He created man, God has desired to be our king. But in the waning years of Samuel, Israel's last judge, the people demanded that he appoint them an earthly king. They saw how nations around them were governed, and so they wanted the same for themselves. They wanted to be more like other nations! (Does this sound familiar?)
This greatly displeased God. Not only did He want them to set themselves apart from their neighboring idolators, but He Himself wanted to be their King. He warned them, through Samuel, that in desiring a man for king, they were rejecting God, and that their new king would lead them to suffering, ruin, and disaster. But the people did not listen.
Even though it was God who chose Saul for their king, from that day forward, the nation of Israel was essentially divided. No longer did the people have One Leader, but two. There were those who continued to trust in God, to whom it probably did not matter who wore the earthly crown; and there were those who rebelled against the Lord and chose to put their trust in their new king, and him alone.
The Bible chronicles the ups and downs that the nation of Israel went through, under their various rulers. There were some kings that truly loved God, but most of them turned their backs to Him, inviting God's wrath and a nearly uninterrupted string of invasions by Israel's enemies.
But God never gave up on His people. He had promised them that an heir would arise, from the lineage of King David (Israel's 2nd king, and arguably their greatest, though not without flaws), who would establish an eternal Kingdom and rule over it forever. Now clearly, that would be impossible for a mere man to do, since men are mortal. But God had a different plan. A perfect plan.
He eventually sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to be our King. Born of a virgin, Jesus was at the same time, fully God and fully man, of the lineage of King David. Because of His unique nature, Jesus re-unified God's people under a single King. The two kingdoms became one, because Jesus is heir to both!
Jesus, the Son of God and the heir to the throne of David, came to re-unite God with His own people. Through Jesus, God brought the long rebellious line of kings back under Himself and re-established Himself as the One and Only King of His people. All we have to do is individually accept Jesus as our personal Lord, Savior, and King.
Two thousand years later, we live in a country that was unquestionably founded on God's Word. Most of our nation's founders were devout believers, who relied heavily on God's principles, in creating the government and laws of our land. But as God blessed us with bounty, success, and power, people relied less and less on Him, and more and more on themselves and their elected leaders. Morality became subject to the fad du jour. Acts and beliefs that were once reprehensible (by God and man) are now condoned and even encouraged. Our justice system now relies more on the letter of the Constitution than the intent of its designers. We're even looking at other countries, to assist in court rulings! We are barrelling headlong down a slippery slope of no return!
The only way back is to return to the Lord, individually and as a nation. We each need to repent of our sins and surrender our will to Jesus Christ, Our Savior and King. We need to rely on the unwavering truth of God's Word: the Bible. Only then will He again bless our nation and defeat our enemies, both outside and within.
6 comments:
Greg,
Amen. And we as a nation need take warning from what you pointed out in your post, how God used other nations to punish his people.
Also, throughout all that befell Israel and Judah, there were those who remained faithful and the Lord used and blessed them.
May we who love the Lord never lose heart no matter what happens on this earth. We are told in scripture these days would come when good will be called evil and evil - good. When I was young being Christian was respected in this country; now it is attacked.
May God have mercy on us.
Larry
Greg,
thanks for the reminder. I'm not certain of what our country's psyche is. It seems impossible that a majority of a nation can stray, looking for something other than God. But, it has and if we have any doubts, compare, as you did to the Biblical Jews.
Here is another blogger to contact and invite into the network. Kermit the thinking frog.
"Jesus, the Son of God and the heir to the throne of David, came to re-unite God with His own people."
By this I'm assuming you are referring to humanity in general? If so, very well put and I agree.
I know your post wasn't directed at me, but just in case you (or anyone else) was wondering, I'm not pro Obama. I may have stated some things a certain way for effect, but, as I said early in my post, "my guy didn't win" (not that I was super-thrilled with the McCain/Palin ticket anyway).
And my point about America not being a "Christian" nation is that it never was and never will be a "theocracy". Even Israel at its high-point with King David wasn't a legitimate theocracy, though David and his kingdom came the closest and is understood Biblically as a prophetic type of Christ and His Kingdom. The problem with calling any nation a "Christian" nation, in my opinion, is that most people understand this in sacral terms. And as I've suggested before, just looking at the early Roman empire and, more recently, the time of "Puritan" England, in a sacral society the Gospel becomes smothered underneath the bureaucracy of the Church/State union.
The history of "Christendom" (a sacral term, by the way) is not pretty when the Church becomes a part of the State (or vise versa).
All that to say that while I may have some different understanding than you and most of your readers about the nature of the government/Church relationship (both historically and philosophically), I do agree that we need to turn our hearts and minds back to God through Christ our Savior. If we as Christians were to give ourselves completely over to our Lord, maybe God would send true revival to our land and raise up God-fearing (if not God-loving) people to "govern" us in the future.
But in the meantime (and this is not directed at anyone in particular, just a general statement) we should behave like we are truly Children of God (pre- and post-election) toward all people (even...gulp...people like Obama, Pelosi, Rangle, etc.) whether we agree with them or not because all people have been created in God's image and are, therefore, worthy of dignity. God will judge--we are to love. If God loved us "while we were enemies", shouldn't we love those who are still His enemies (whether personally or in policy making)? Jesus thinks so.
GGM
GGM, interesting that except for a few minor edits, the article is as it was written, two years ago, before Obama even announced his intent to run for President. So, as you surmised, it was not directed at you, or any of my current readers. It was merely something the Lord showed me, which I wanted to share.
I'm with you, that bad things happen when religion and government mix, but that does not mean that government cannot be composed of individual Christians, who let themselves be guided by the Bible and the Holy Spirit. The USA may not be (or should be) a "Christian Nation" per se, but it definitely was founded upon Christian principles, and it pains me to see us stray from that.
Ultimately, God's people form a nation that transcends geographic and political boundaries. We cross into that nation's borders when we repent and surrender our will to Jesus, and no man or earthly nation can deport us! :)
"Ultimately, God's people form a nation that transcends geographic and political boundaries. We cross into that nation's borders when we repent and surrender our will to Jesus, and no man or earthly nation can deport us!" :)
Amen! And I'm also in one spirit with you in the rest of what you said in this post. :-)
Amen Greg,
Excellent post and very well said!
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