Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Memorial Day In America: Weighed On the Scales and Found Wanting

There is hardly a day that goes by that we are not bombarded with new tragedies of one form or another.  We awake in the morning to the news of world-wide financial instability, riots breaking out in European cities over the economy, stock market woes in the United States and abroad, America's sovereignty being threatened, wars and skirmishes rising all across the globe, and natural disasters that threaten the lives of citizens and the balance of nature, to name just a few.   The challenges we face today are not unlike those that have struck the world in the past.  The difference is that they all appear to be occurring at once.  When we mentally list those we are aware of and the speed at which they are happening, it can leave our minds reeling with uncertainty and dread about the future to come.

The old adage, "Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it",  seems to be one those in power, including the people who elect them, have chosen to ignore.  This does not surprise me, however, because those with a "progressive" mindset would rather ignore or redefine history and the lessons they could learn from it.  Set within the sacred confines of the hallowed halls of Washington D.C. are the elite who came up out of the ashes of the 60's radical revolution who were bent on the destruction of America and the re-interpretation of the time-honored documents that once guaranteed a stable and united nation.  Their desire was and always has been that of "changing" and restructuring America to fit into their twisted and wicked agendas; the global scheme of a world-wide economy and a world-wide form of governance.  They have effectively infiltrated every department and agency within the United States government and set in place the motions to bring America to its knees before them.  Perhaps their greatest achievement was their success of fooling the uneducated and misguided into placing their pawn, Barrack Obama, into the most powerful position this country has to offer.  As they manipulate his puppet strings, we have seen what he is capable of in just 17 short months.

The greatest threat to America, and the world for that matter, is their effective removal of God from every aspect of our society.  Our courts are crammed with litigation over what the secular world deems is God's proper place.  From prayer in public places to stifling church leader's voices over Godly guidance and Godly behavior, our nation has become one that blindly and stupidly follows the dictates of the Federal government and its courts.  To make matters worse, an attempt to legislate their twisted form of morality within the financial system is being undertaken by the current administration, forgetting that man has free will and a independent thinking process.  A corrupt man may give an outward impression of having a changed heart, but no one, other than God, is able to accurately determine it. 

The Federal government's desire is that Americans will look to them as their god who provides all their needs.  Like Nebuchadnezzar's towering golden statue (Daniel 3), they expect the American people to kneel before them and worship them and their benevolence.  After all, the Christian God is an unseen One, and He appears to have forgotten all about the masses He left behind.  Right?  Because this unhealthy perception and blatant lie has been perpetuated for the last fifty years or more, the masses are beginning to believe it as they watch their bank accounts dwindle  and the world turn upside down.  Instead of falling before the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in repentance, faith and trust, most Americans are kneeling before the alter of Obama's oily brand of "change" and hailing their newly-elected Messiah as the one that can save the world from the disaster to come.  Never wanting to "let a good crisis go to waste", the Obama administration has effectively convinced the American people that the past mistakes are behind us and that we must forge ahead in lockstep into a brave, new world order.

How are we to react to this?  Do we numbly submit to the governing authorities and allow them to dictate to us how we are to live, how much we can earn, and to Whom we worship?  Do we blindly accept all that is being forced upon us at such a rapid rate?  Or, in faith, do we turn to the only One Who has all of the answers to the world's woes and ask Him for help?

As Daniel languished in Babylon, the Lord gave him the ability to interpret Nebuchadnezzar's dreams, those which revealed to the powerful dictator his eventual demise.  God also revealed Himself in ways that defy man's perception of the universal rules of order.  Following Nebuchadnezzar's reign and conversion, King Belshazzar shared rule with his father, Nabonidus, as co-regent of Babylon.  In Daniel 5, Belshazzar held a banquet and had the gold and silver goblets that had been stolen from the Temple brought in so that those in attendance could drink from them.  To make matters worse, the people who defiled these instruments used them to drink praise to their false gods and idols.  As they were doing so, a human hand appeared out of nowhere, writing on the wall the following words:

"Mene, Mene, Tekel, Parsin"

Because the diviners and sorcerers Belshazzar summoned were unable to interpret the words, Daniel was brought to the king.  Daniel proceeded to give Belshazzar a brief history lesson on the recent past failings of Nebuchadnezzar that he apparently chose to ignore, reminding him of Nebuchadnezzar's arrogance and pride and how the Lord had responded to it.  He then went on to reveal the condemnation God would bring upon Belshazzar for his own arrogance, insolence, and pride.  The defiance he demonstrated towards God was repaid to him "that very night" (v30).

The interpretation of the words written by the hand of God should cause us to seriously consider them and apply them to our own situation here in America:

"Mene:  God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end."

"Tekel:  You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting."

"Peres:  Your kingdom is divided (parsin) and given to the Medes and Persians."

Because of our unfaithfulness and defiance toward God, America's glorious days of prosperity and sovereignty are in grave danger of coming to an end.  The disobedience by aligning ourselves with the global unification of the banking systems, economy, and world-wide governance is only part of the equation.  The unholy disrespect and disregard we demonstrate to the God of the universe by dangerously attempting to remove Him and His will from all of society is the most damning.  By attempting to blend the world religions into one, we are minimizing His sovereignty as the God of all creation.  These are the sole reasons we are seeing the things mentioned above.  America has "been weighed on the scales and found wanting."  We have become drunk from the corrupted wine poured into God's golden goblets and have worshiped at the altars of greed, corruption, and committed adultery with Godless nations.  And if we continue on this path, the "kingdom" we hold dear and that was so graciously granted by God will be given to others.

It behooves all of us to not forget the past as Belshazzar did.  God had compassion on Nebuchadnezzar because he ultimately chose Daniel's God.  Not so with the foolish and arrogant king that followed him.  His destruction was swift and sure, and America's will be just as certain and just as swift if we fail to remember the God Who established this great nation and placed His blessing upon it.

With repentant hearts on this Memorial Day weekend, let us all cry out to the God of all nations, peoples, and tongues, Who is the Lord of lords and King of kings, and Whose righteousness, holiness, and justice bears testimony to His Name.  As He looks down upon mankind, and weighs and considers our unfaithfulness to Him, let us pray that He will not find us "wanting".   Pray that we will not forget the mistakes of our past and foolishly repeat them.  And pray that He will once again return His blessing upon America.

"Return to us, O God Almighty!
Look down from heaven and see!
Watch over this vine, the root Your right hand has planted,
the son You have raised up for Yourself."

"Restore us, O LORD God Almighty;
make Your face shine upon us,
that we may be saved."
 
Psalm 80:14, 15, 19