Daily Devotional for Tuesday November 2, 2004

A ?Word? for Our Nation

(1 Samuel 8:6-8, 19-22; Romans 13:1)

?But the people refused to listen to Samuel.?No!? they said. ?We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.? When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the Lord. The Lord answered, ?Listen to them and give them a king.? ? (1 Samuel 8:19-22)

I am reflective, today, as our nation goes to the polls to exercise our right to elect men and women into office at the local, state, and national level. Romans 13:1 clearly tells us, ?Nobody rises to power unless God allows them to.? No matter who God allows to come into power, the one thing I can guarantee you is that Wednesday morning, GOD WILL STILL BE ON HIS THRONE AND IN CONTROL! I know many are worried about the outcome of the election. Don?t ever forget that our faith is not in a man but in THE MAN!!!

The one point I want you to hear loud and clear this morning is that no matter who is at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue the next 4 years, no matter who is in the House and Senate, no matter who is the governor of your state, no matter who your local dog catcher is, they are not the ones who are going to lead this nation out of the spiritual abyss it is in. That is only going to happen by those men and women God has called forth to lead the people in righteousness and Biblical values!

The choice for President has ultimately boiled down to a matter of restraining God?s wrath. Because of the void in spiritual leadership in this nation, God allowed President Bush to come into office in 2000 with the opportunity to exercise bold leadership in several pressing spiritual issues that will one day soon bring God?s wrath down on this nation. Instead of seizing the opportunity God presented him to be a Joshua or a Moses, President Bush chose to simply be another politician who happened to be a Christian.

In a recent interview with ABC?s Good Morning America?s, Charlie Gibson, President Bush stated he supported civil unions, that the allah of Islam is the same as the God of the Bible, and that Christians, non-Christians, and Muslims will all get to Heaven, we just have different routes of getting there. It was so sad to hear the President support civil unions which is just another name for gay marriage. President Bush also needs to be taught that the allah of Islam is NOT the God of the Bible. Lastly, while it is politically correct to say all people will go to Heaven, it is a lie from the pits of hell since the Bible CLEARLY teaches there is only ONE WAY, and that is through faith in Jesus Christ.

As for Senator Kerry, no matter how much dancing he wants to do, the fact is he supports a woman?s right to kill her baby, supports the destruction of God?s Holy Institution of Marriage, and shows no interest in even beginning to defend Biblical values. While he has claimed to be a man of faith on the campaign trail, his record after decades of public service clearly indicate he will only help exacerbate the spiritual decline of our nation. Amazingly, there are many who profess to be followers of Christ that support this man. But there are also ?churches? that accept and condone homosexuality and the slaughter of innocent babies, so it should be no surprise they support a man who stands for what the Bible clearly calls sin.

Note: The pollsters are incredibly ignorant when they talk about who people who go to church will vote for. They clearly do not understand that the vast majority of churches, especially mainline denominations like the United Methodist, Presbyterian, Episcopal, Lutheran, and others which represent over 50% of the church population, do NOT hold the Bible to be God?s inspired, inerrant Word and openly accept sins like homosexuality and abortion. People in these churches that pollsters assume are for President Bush are largely for Senator Kerry.

The bottom line is one man will only slow down the spiritual decay in our nation, the other man will allow it to continue unabated. God?s cosmic time clock is ticking my friend. Sadly neither man will do anything to try and stop it. That is why I am amused when I hear people trying to find the United States in the Bible. It is not there no matter what some may lead you to believe. As great as this nation has been has been over the years, as wonderful an instrument of God the United States has been in leading millions all over the planet to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, in the final days this nation will not exist.

So does that mean we just go hide and wait for Jesus to return? ABSOLUTELY NOT! I can assure you I am more motivated today than ever to serve God. I read about Paul and the disciples of Christ as they took the Gospel to the world of their day. A world that was void of God and looking to destroy the Christian faith. I read about the great men and women of God in the past 2000 years who were faithful in sharing the hope and love of Christ with a world that in many cases wanted nothing to do with Jesus.

I am very much aware of the modern day heroes of the faith. These are not people you will ever see on t.v., listen to on radio, who have written books, or you can go hear speak. I am talking about the real heroes of the faith whose names you will never know in many nations that on this very day, November 2, 2004, are in prison, being tortured, suffering all kinds of persecution, simply because they identify their life with Jesus Christ and preach the Gospel! These courageous warriors for Christ put their very lives on the line every day when they share the truth of God?s Word. They are being killed every day for only one reason, they are Christians! If they are willing to give their life for Christ, can we do any less?

Even though our nation has turned its back on God and is involved in every type of wickedness you can imagine, for this season we still have incredible freedoms to share the truth of God?s Word and the hope and love of Jesus Christ with this hurting, lost, and dying world. I can assure you that as this nation continues to deteriorate spiritually, as God begins to unleash His wrath on us for our rebellion, there will be incredible opportunities to see people won for Christ. The Bible talks about that last great harvest of souls, and I firmly believe we will have the honor of helping to bring in that final group of Believers before Christ returns.

I love you and care about you so much. The word for our nation is that God?s patience has run out. It has only been His grace and mercy that has held back His wrath thus far. God did not hesitate to bring down His wrath on His chosen people, why would we think that we would be spared when we have chosen to live in open, unrepentant rebellion against Him. Each day we walk around with our middle finger pointed at God, shaking our fist at the sky, literally pulling down our pants and mooning our Creator. God is a God of love, a God of mercy, but He is also a God of judgment. It is not a matter of IF we deserve God?s judgment, only WHEN we receive God?s judgment.

That is why now more than ever those who know Christ as their Savior MUST rise up and be counted. Don?t ever think again that your life doesn?t matter. God has work for YOU to do. God is calling His children in these last days to rise up and take a stand for righteousness. I don?t want you to ever forget that our purpose is to serve and glorify God. There is nothing greater we will ever do with our lives than serve our Lord. The Bible tells us that night is coming and we must work while it is yet light. I want to encourage you to realize that if you know Christ as your Savior, serving Him is NOT an option, it is a responsibility.

Over the past 4 days I have clearly shown you this is no longer a Christian nation, that the majority of people in the United States are no longer followers of Jesus Christ. I shared with you how God rarely intended political leaders to be spiritual leaders and that now more than ever those men and women God has raised up must lead the people spiritually. This nation will have to pay the price for our rebellion against God. Difficult days are ahead, but it is in those difficult days that great opportunities to share the hope and love of Jesus Christ exist. I pray that you will prepare yourself through your daily walk with the Lord to be a great warrior for Christ as these last days unfold. The battle is about to begin in earnest and the eternal souls of men are at stake. God is calling YOU today.

In closing, let me leave you with this word of exhortation from Hebrews Chapter 11, ?All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country?a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.?