Listening to our pastor this morning preaching from Hosea Pastor Don Miller made a side bar statement from his central theme that got my attention. He stated that he is often asked if America was facing God's Judgement for her sins. His answer intrigued me. He said he did not believe that God is judging America. Based on Hosea 4:1 "Hear the word of the Lord,...because the Lord has a charge to bring against you...; 'There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgement of God in the land.'" And also Hosea 4:6 "...my people are destoyed from lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge,...."
Here are some reasons we have yet to face God's Judgement:
1. God prefers to be our Savior rather than our Judge. When God Judges it is always the last resort. God is a willing, because of His righteousness, but reluctant, because of His Mercy, Judge. Because of God's compassion he seeks to draw us back to him as a people and as a nation.
2. If we acknowledge God, and love Him, and are faithful to Him, as a people and a nation we will bask in God's favor, protection, and blessings. But if we do not acknowledge Him, love Him, and remain faithful to him we will have walked away from His favor, protection, and blessings.
3. In order to be faithful to God we must first love Him. In order to love God we must first acknowledge Him. As people and as a nation we have been systematically trying to remove God from our public discourse, our public buildings, parks, arenas, and monuments. We do not acknowledge him in our educational institutions, in our legislation, in our sciences, or in our personal daily routines. Therefore we are unable to truly love God or be faithful to Him.
4. We have known the knowledge of God but have rejected it in favor of other knowledge or philosophies. God will not force our obedience and therefore if we continually choose to reject Him He will allow us to choose our own way and let us run with it to its conclusion if we refuse to heed the warnings and return to Him. This is not judgement but releasing us to our own choices and consequences.
5. Therefore since we seem to be determined to reject the "knowledge" of God, and refuse to acknowledge him as a nation, God has allowed us to step away from his favor, protection, and blessings as well, and he has allowed us to face the consequences of our choices, decisions, and actions (the Godly principle of "reaping what you sow").
Having given this much thought today I agree with Pastor Don Miller's conclusion that we as a nation are not under God's Judgement, but are being allowed to reap what we have sowed and are sowing. All this so that in time we may turn from our rejection of God to an acknowledgement of HIm as a nation and learn once again to love Him, and to be faithful to Him.
Here are some reasons we have yet to face God's Judgement:
1. God prefers to be our Savior rather than our Judge. When God Judges it is always the last resort. God is a willing, because of His righteousness, but reluctant, because of His Mercy, Judge. Because of God's compassion he seeks to draw us back to him as a people and as a nation.
2. If we acknowledge God, and love Him, and are faithful to Him, as a people and a nation we will bask in God's favor, protection, and blessings. But if we do not acknowledge Him, love Him, and remain faithful to him we will have walked away from His favor, protection, and blessings.
3. In order to be faithful to God we must first love Him. In order to love God we must first acknowledge Him. As people and as a nation we have been systematically trying to remove God from our public discourse, our public buildings, parks, arenas, and monuments. We do not acknowledge him in our educational institutions, in our legislation, in our sciences, or in our personal daily routines. Therefore we are unable to truly love God or be faithful to Him.
4. We have known the knowledge of God but have rejected it in favor of other knowledge or philosophies. God will not force our obedience and therefore if we continually choose to reject Him He will allow us to choose our own way and let us run with it to its conclusion if we refuse to heed the warnings and return to Him. This is not judgement but releasing us to our own choices and consequences.
5. Therefore since we seem to be determined to reject the "knowledge" of God, and refuse to acknowledge him as a nation, God has allowed us to step away from his favor, protection, and blessings as well, and he has allowed us to face the consequences of our choices, decisions, and actions (the Godly principle of "reaping what you sow").
Having given this much thought today I agree with Pastor Don Miller's conclusion that we as a nation are not under God's Judgement, but are being allowed to reap what we have sowed and are sowing. All this so that in time we may turn from our rejection of God to an acknowledgement of HIm as a nation and learn once again to love Him, and to be faithful to Him.