Daily Devotional for Saturday May 26, 2007

The Spiritual State of our Nation

(2 Chronicles 7:14; 2 Timothy 3:16; John 3:16; John 14:6)

The spiritual state of the United States on May 26, 2007. I am fully > aware > that as you read this today, your mind is in many different places. You > are > preparing for or may even be at work. You have whatever pressing issues > there are in your life at this moment which are weighing on you. > Actually, > when you think about it, just dealing with your life and those in your > immediate family each day can be a huge challenge. While you try to stay > informed, aware of what is going on in the world around you, most of the > time it is all you can do to simply live your own life. I totally > understand that, and that is why today I want to share with you some of my > insights to help you understand what the real spiritual condition of the > United States is at this very moment. > > Because of the unique work God has called me to these nearly 8 years now, > I > am literally involved in hundreds of people's lives every single day. > Between Liveprayer.com and the TV ministry, I hear every day from over > 40,000 people. While I can't deal with each person individually, I do get > good reporting every day what those 40,000 people are going through. The > reason I still to this day personally handle anywhere from 250-300 emails > at > random is so that I never lose sight of what Liveprayer is about, helping > people in their time of need, and keep very focused on what is really > going > on in this world so I can effectively minister to your life each day > > I am dealing on a daily basis with people from 14 to 94, men and women, > people who have incredible wealth and those who have nothing at all, those > from every walk of life, blacks, whites, Asians, Hispanics, > American-Indian, > and folks from every ethnic background you can name. Over 20% of the > people > we reach each day at Liveprayer.com are outside the United States, so each > day I am also dealing with people living in different countries who face > the > same problems those here in the US do, but with different cultural issues > that have to be factored in. > > It is in dealing with this vast and wide array of different people in > every > kind of situation you can imagine, and trust me, many you could never > imagine, each day for nearly 8 years now that I share these insights with > you. > Since I deal with many of these issues on a regular basis, I don't think > the > issues themselves will shock you, however, I really doubt most people > totally understand the degree of spiritual decay that we are seeing month > after month in the United States. I also doubt most people really > understand how void of God and Biblical Truth this nation really is. That > void grows daily as does the hostility to those who do believe in God, > Biblical Truth, and have faith in Jesus Christ. > > Let me tell you what you may find most alarming. I laugh every time I > hear > Barna or any type of poll or study that says 80% of people in the United > States believe in God, or go to church, or identify themselves as > Christians. As you know, you can make a poll or study say about anything > you want it to say. Here is the raw truth. Most everyone agrees there is > a > God or some sort of Supreme Being. When you weed out the non-existent > false > gods like allah and the rest and are only talking about the God of the > Bible, you are now at under 50% of the population that believe in the one > true God of the Bible. > > When you talk about those who go to church and break it down to those who > regularly attend a Bible-teaching, Bible-believing church where faith in > Jesus Christ alone is the only way to be saved, now you are dealing with > less than 20% of the population. When you weed out those who go to > Mosques, > Temples, or are part of cults like the Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons, > you > are left with less than 20% of the population who regularly go to a Bible > teaching, believing church. > > However, the most alarming issue that I have found in nearly 2 decades of > ministry are those who identify themselves as "Christians." Let me say up > front that being a Christian means you have made the conscious decision to > ask God to forgive you of your sins and by faith ask Jesus Christ into > your > heart and life. You have made the conscious choice to give your life to > Christ. THAT is what makes you a Christian. The fact your mom and dad > are > a Christian doesn't make you one. You don't become a Christian by birth! > Going to church doesn't make you a Christian. The pews of churches > across > the nation are FULL of people every Sunday who are not saved, but think > they > are because they sit in that pew every Sunday. Just because you were > "baptized" as a baby doesn't make you a Christian. Sprinkling water on a > baby's head doesn't save them! > > THE ONLY WAY YOU BECOME A CHRISTIAN IS BY MAKING THE DECISION TO ACCEPT > JESUS CHRIST INTO YOUR HEART AND LIFE BY FAITH! > > Having said that, let me take this whole "I'm a Christian" conversation to > the next level, since this is what I deal with every day here at > Liveprayer.com and on the TV program. I get people who identify > themselves > as "Christians" every day telling me that there is nothing wrong with > homosexuality, nothing wrong with abortion, that people of other faiths > will > be in Heaven! If you are a Christian, that means you are a follower of > Jesus Christ and have surrendered your heart and life to Him. It is no > longer your life. It also means that you BELIEVE THE BIBLE! The Bible is > God's inspired, inerrant Word, representing Absolute Truth and our final > authority in all matters. It is the Book GOD WROTE! It is inconsistent > to > say, "I am a Christian but I do not believe what the Bible says." > > The reason people who call themselves Christians deny the Bible is the > same > reason any lost person denies the Bible. It condemns their choices and > holds them accountable for their actions. People hate being held > accountable, and that is what the Bible does. So it is easier to just > dismiss the Bible with the thousands of different reasons people come up > with to try and make the case it is not really God's Word. Well, I am > sorry, you can't be a Christian and deny the Bible! Jesus said you can't > serve two masters. You need to decide if you belong to Christ or not. If > you do, you need to follow His Word, not live in rebellion to it. That > doesn't mean we don't sin or are perfect. It does mean we do our best to > obey the Lord since Jesus said, "if you love me you will obey me!" > > Let me give you a quick summary of some of my other observations. The > drive > by those in the homosexual community to make their deviant choice of sex > socially acceptable is working. The VAST majority of people in this > nation > do not see anything wrong with this choice of sex. Most alarming is the > great job the pro-homosexual community has done in brainwashing kids that > this is a perfectly acceptable way to live. Well over 80% of the young > adults and school-age children in this nation see nothing wrong with > homosexuality. THIS INCLUDES KIDS WHO ARE IN CHURCH AND REGULARLY ATTEND > YOUTH GROUPS! As I told you years ago, it will be very soon labeled "hate > speech" in this nation to speak out against homosexuality, even from the > Bible. That is already the case in Canada and many European countries. > Still don't believe how ingrained this perversion has become? WE ARE NOW > EVEN DEBATING WHAT MARRIAGE IS! > > Killing babies via abortion is considered by the vast majority of people > to > be a choice left up to a woman. Whatever chance to see this practice of > infanticide stopped has passed us by these last 6 years. We will now > continue to legally slaughter over 4,000 babies a day in this nation until > God finally decides to bring down His wrath on us. I still firmly believe > it will be this one issue which will ultimately bring God's judgment on > the > United States. The majority of the people in this nation see nothing > wrong > with abortion and not only accept it, but will fight for it to continue. > > Sex outside of God's intended plan for it to enjoyed by a man and woman in > the bonds of marriage is so ingrained in our culture now, people who > decide > to follow God's plan represent a SMALL FRACTION of society, EVEN IN THE > CHURCH! Sex outside of marriage, adultery, and every kind of perverted > form > of sex is totally out of control in our nation. Living together is > "normal." Sadly, sexual sin is just as big of a problem with people in > the > church since the church really has little impact on our culture any longer > or even in the lives of those who attend. Most churches have turned into > little more than entertainment venues, and have quit preaching holiness > and > righteousness and judgment so they won't "offend" anyone. Now it is all > smiles, enjoy the show, drop in your dollar, and see you next week. > Meanwhile, lives are being destroyed daily by those who commit sexual > sins. > > Speaking of the church, the biggest needs in the church are having an > altar > call at the end of every service, getting back to preaching the > unadulterated Truth of God's Word with boldness, and to provide the people > free counseling. Many churches NEVER have an invitation for people to > accept the Lord. NEVER! There are churches today that are so far away > from > the Bible, they don't even believe it is God's Word and condone blatant > since like homosexuality and abortion. People who are coming to faith in > Christ in 2007 have many more problems, issues, and baggage in their lives > than people who came to Christ even 20 years ago. Churches need to help > their people with professional counseling to get beyond their past lives > so > they can be free to live in victory and grow in their faith to lead > productive Christian lives. > > Drug use (street drugs and abusing prescription medication) and alcohol > consumption are both at all time highs. As people deal with the problems > in > their lives, tens of millions daily look to these forms of "escape." > Gambling and porn continue to grow and are destroying millions of lives > each > year. Other addictions like the abuse of food and shopping are on a steep > rise. Again, these are simply ways people have found to try and escape > from > life's problems rather than dealing with them. Of course in the end, not > only do they still have their original problems, they now have even > greater > problems due to their bondage to these different forms of escape. > > So in the face of all of this, where is the hope? JESUS CHRIST! I liken > this time in our nation's history to many of the times we read about in > the > Old Testament when the children of Israel began to slowly turn away from > God > and to this world. Over time, they drifted further and further from God > until they were ultimately living in all out rebellion to Him and to His > Truth. It was during this time of great apostasy that God would > eventually > bring down His wrath on Israel. I clearly see that same scenario > unfolding > here in the United States. > > We are living in the last days, Jesus is coming very soon and the last > chapters of human history are about to unfold. I believe prior to that > happening, this nation will be judged rather harshly for our rebellion to > God. What form that judgment takes I can't tell you, but I do know God > will > not be mocked. However, what I also see is an unparalleled time in human > history to bring people to faith in Jesus Christ. It was during God's > judgment on Israel that many turned back to the faith of their fathers, > and > I see that happening here in the United States. > > I see the difficult days ahead being a catalyst to help many come back to > the God of the Bible, His Truth, and faith in Jesus Christ. The bad news > is > this nation is living in open rebellion to God our Creator and His Truth. > The good news is that it is in this time of rebellion, as lives are being > destroyed, as God takes His hand of blessings off our land, there is a > great > opportunity to bring people the one true hope there is, faith in Jesus > Christ! God has raised up Liveprayer at this moment in human history to > be > part of bringing in that last great harvest of souls. God has raised YOU > up > at this time for that same reason! > > I love you and care about you so much! It pains me to bring you a word > like > the one today, but I have to be honest with you. I can't tell you > everything is great when it isn't. I deal every day with the real lives > of > people who have turned away from God or never knew him at all, and the > problems and consequences they live with due to their rebellion. I can > tell > you this from being on the front lines 7 days a week. Yes, there is GREAT > hostility to those who preach the Word of God since those who choose to > live > in rebellion to the Bible don't want to be confronted with their sin. > However, there are many hurting and broken lives out there, more each day, > who simply want answers, who simply are looking for hope. That is why I > have given my life to the preaching of the Gospel! > > That is also why I have been challenging you for the last 2 years now > about > the Liveprayer TV program and the work here at Liveprayer.com. We are > sitting on two of the most powerful communication vehicles man has ever > known to reach the masses, the Internet, and a "live" hour- long TV > program > 5 nights a week on a major secular TV network that is able to reach 90 > million of the 100 million TV households in this nation. WE HAVE THE > TOOLS > TO REACH THE LOST AND HURTING MASSES AND I AM WILLING TO LITERALLY GIVE MY > LIFE TO GO ON THE FRONT LINES DAY AFTER DAY TO BOLDLY PROCLAIM THE TRUTH > OF > GOD'S WORD, CALLING PEOPLE AND THIS NATION TO REPENTANCE, AND WITHOUT > COMPROMISE TELL PEOPLE THEIR ONLY HOPE IS A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH > JESUS > CHRIST! > > One family who has made a significant financial commitment to Liveprayer > wrote this, "I kept saying to myself that we should contribute more to > help > solve your dilemma, but everyday I would hope and rationalize that someone > else with much larger resources would step to the plate and for us to help > out was too much of a stretch. I kept telling myself we should help more > and not wait for others, but there was this uneasiness. But then came the > answer to what to do. A recent devotional (the one last weekend about the > boldness of those who mock Jesus) hit me right between the eyes. I > apologize for not stepping up sooner."