Opportunity Knocks

 

Our nation is in a really bad set of circumstances right now. From the Christian perspective we see the judgment of our gracious God upon us.

Is it right to use “judgment” and “gracious” in the same sentence? Can the two words describe the same LORD?

Yes.

In judgment God brings us the opportunity to see what we have done to bring His judgment and repent of it. This means more than an acknowledgment of our sin. It means making right what we have left wrong according to the Word of our God.

It appears that our nation is in big trouble from every earthly viewpoint. Economically we are watching prices increase as the population work ethic decreases. We see the education of our youth diving into perverse teaching and a hatred for God and His Word. Spiritually the population is losing its footing, leaving the Lord out of ethical and legal decisions.

When we turn away from God He will let us know. When we fail to respond He will continue to wake us up to our own sin and the sin in our midst until the truth of needing to examine our ways is so clear that we cannot deny it. It seems that this is where we are (and have been for some time). God is making it abundantly clear that He is not happy with the choices we have made as a nation to stand against His law.   Our personal decisions to remain quiet about it have caused Christianity to have  a negligible effect on the culture. This is a one of the choices deserving His judgment.

Christian brothers and sisters, by the grace of God we still have an opportunity to repent of our failure to take dominion,  “over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth” (Genesis 1:26). While drawing breath, we always have that opportunity.

Our personal sin and the sin of our nation is (and always has been) against God. It is not something that will go unnoticed as we turn our hearts farther away from Him. He is the God who sees (Genesis 16:13). But, He shows us that with repentance for our complacency, He offers forgiveness and restoration to Him, both nationally and personally (Psalm 78:38, 1 Samuel 7:3, Isaiah 32:9-20).

Psalm 99 lays a basic foundation for us in its first verse, “The Lord reigns.” David was King but it was God who reigns. This is still true today. It does not matter who is in the White House or who is seated on the Supreme Court of the United States. God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit)  reigns. We can obey His law and live in His blessings of peace or we can pretend that men rule and live in the state of demise that we are currently experiencing.

Are we, as God’s children, willing to speak the truth of His power and rule over all? Are we willing to live according to God’s Law rather than man’s law? Being a follower of Jesus Christ requires sacrifice, not of stuff but of self.

It is very easy for us to quote David’s Words in Psalm 51 when he says, “For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart—These, O God, You will not despise (Psalm 51:16-17).

But it’s harder to echo David’s promises to God from verses 13 and 14: “Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners shall be converted to You. Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, The God of my salvation, And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, And my mouth shall show forth Your praise.”

Things are bad and God is judging us right now. This presents us with an opportunity, given to us by our gracious God who reigns over all, to make the same promises as David, promises and prayers of repentance, praise, and truth to the transgressors.