As I was watching the recent movie "Lincoln" the Lord began to bring to my mind how much America has changed in the past 150 years. I started to think about how morality and law were upheld and were basic convictions in the heart of Americans back in the 1800's. Yes, they were still depraved, sinful men, but something has changed for the worst in our culture and nation. Our sense of right and wrong is not where it should be. Our moral compass is OuT oF WhAcK and it seems the Lord is given this nation over to judgment.
Proverbs 14:34 states: "Righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a reproach to any people." The god of this world, Satan has been looking to devour the thing that holds a society together, which is the family. This problem isn't just on America, but the world. But it is interesting how things have turned around on a nation that was built upon Christian principals.
In our culture, people think that abortion, gay marriage, divorce, sex outside of marriage are just the norm and we need to embrace it and go with the flow. They justify abortion by calling it the woman's right to choose. They justify gay marriage by saying: "What hurt does it do, let them marry!" Sex outside of marriage is thought of as part of the dating process and a personal right for pleasure in one's life. Divorce is all too common and people are divorcing for more reasons than just unfaithfulness and abuse.
All that to say, the family is under attack and has been! If there are abortions, there is no life to start a family nor add to it! If there is gay marriage.... the correct of view of marriage and what God instituted as a family, (mother and father) is dismantled. Divorce tears a family apart and kids suffer the most! Sex of outside of marriage leaves single mom's and dads, and frustrating circumstances for how the children are raised. Not to mention STD's, unwanted pregnancy's (abortion) and the cycle goes on and on!
Way back in the beginning, God had a plan to bring Man and Woman together in marriage and start the family. The family was to represent God's nature and character and pass it on to generations of future family's. If the family is destroyed, God's purposes are destroyed. In fact, it makes it harder for our next generation to get a glimpse of what God intended.
We are in fact under God's judgment and our nation has been given over: "Therefore God also gave them up....." (Rom. 1:24) & "For this reason God gave them up..."(Rom. 1:26). You will see that when a nation starts to rebel against what is right and aids in dismantling the family, God gives us over to our desires. This in itself is judgement because sin is a reproach to any people!
"But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power." (2 Tim. 3:1-4)
We are indeed living in perilous times, but there is hope! Our hope is in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The good news that gives hope to our families! The hope that Jesus Christ transforms our sinful hearts and makes us righteous as He is righteous! Only Jesus can restore family's and take past mistakes and wash them away as far as the east is from the west! We have all sinned and fallen short of God's standards. We have all been guilty of dismantling the family in one way or the other! But Jesus died in our place upon the cross to bear our guilt and shame. He rose to conquer the penalty of death and give us life for eternity!
We can bring nothing to the cross but our sin. All our righteous acts are filthy before God. We must come broken and bankrupt. We must repent and turn to Christ for forgiveness. He alone can save and wash us clean! He alone can restore what the enemy has stolen! Will you trust in Christ alone today?
In Christ -Dustin
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