If the plague of Covid and the riots/civil unrest in our
cities is God’s judgement on our nation, it is a light punishment. Sure it’s
inconvenient, it’s disrupted life as we know it. But it is NOT really serious
judgement. I’ve talked to people who have lived in nations where they have had severe discipline from God. People in Germany
and Russia where they remember bombs falling out of the sky, and starvation.
Have we in America experienced anything like that? NO!
Wisdom. What does it mean? “The fear of the Lord is the
beginning of wisdom…” doesn’t mean anything to the modern (post-Christian)
mind. The average young person doesn’t know how to explain the fear of the
Lord.
But, our (older) generation might not know much better what
wisdom is. Think of a 60 something person who has been married 4 times,
squandered their lives with drugs, love of money, and fame, and is broken,
bitter, overweight, and lonely.
Jane Russell’s mother said to her, “The Ten Commandments are
like the guardrails on mountain passes. The Lord puts those white guardrails
there to protect you, not to restrict you…” (Jane Russell: An Autobiography).
How much better if we just obeyed them! How much wiser we
would be!
God’s commands are simple: love each other, forgive your enemies,
don’t strive for money and possessions for yourself, but put God and others
first, take care of the world around you, be kind. And obey the 10
commandments.
During Covid lockdown, I made a quilt of many T-shirts that
I’d collected over the years. Hey, I had time! As it lies on our bed now, it
brings back many memories: the times I taught volunteers on how to help victims
of sex-trafficking, the many trips taking students to Russia, my husband’s bike
marathons of the MS 150, my sons at the Naval Academy and in the Marines. As I
look at them, I wonder, “What does God think of me?” These are awesome
memories, but what about the times I was prideful, lustful, covetous? You don’t
get a T-shirt to remember those. Thank God that they are buried, under the
blood! Lord, I receive your forgiveness.
In I Tim.1:8-11, it lists 13 grievous sins and contrasts
that to the “glorious gospel” of Jesus. As I look at them, I realize that I was
guilty of many of them, in fact even now I wrestle with some of them. Hmmmm.
Lord, give me wisdom and grace to live as You would have me to! I’m glad that
the verses following it speak of His abundant grace and mercy. Where would we
be without those?
My point is that we need to live with wisdom now. The fear
of God. When a law was passed legalizing abortion on demand in New York, a
great cheer went up (The Harbinger II, by Jonathan Cahn). Times are
getting darker. People are calling what is good evil and what is evil good.
(Is.5:20)
For the sin of abortion alone we deserve to suffer the worst
punishment. Lord, have mercy on our nation.
It is popular now to quote II Chronicles 7:14 “If my people
who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and
turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive
their sin and heal their land.” But what if we really took it seriously? What
if we really did humble ourselves, return to the Lord, and seek His wisdom.
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Let’s fear
God, before anything worse comes upon this land. Let’s stop complaining about
the inconveniences of Covid, and be GRATEFUL.
For people interested in seeking
God and His wisdom, I’d like to refer you to The Return, a time of prayer and
fasting for our nation, that coincides with the Jewish High Holy Days the end
of September. (www.thereturn.org) Really
powerful. The Harbinger II is a stunning book, you won’t be disappointed
if you read even some of it.
Lord, have mercy on our nation.
