Parade and Applause

Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. John 8:36 (NKJV)

For the record, I love America.

As our family was getting ready to go to the local 4th of July parade, my granddaughter was preparing a bag to collect the candy that would be thrown her way.

She wrote on the bag, “God Help America,” and pointed out to me that it was deliberate. In a sermon, our Pastor made the point that for us to ask God to bless America without first repenting for the way we have turned from Him and His Word, is wrong.

We talked afterward about whether or not we should be celebrating the 4^th of July. We concluded that what we can celebrate is the heritage of godly men and women who sacrificed a lot in their own lives to leave us a nation that would be blessed by God because of the faith on which it was founded.

Now, however, as a nation, we have turned from that faith.

As I sat and watched the parade, I was taken in by the nostalgia of it all. Red, white and blue could be seen everywhere around me. Families gathered to watch, eat, and applaud as the parade went by.

Then, I looked at what was being applauded:

Politicians in a government that supports abortion, ungodly taxes that support ungodly funding, and homosexual marriage. All things that defy God’s Word.

Boy Scouts, public schools, and the Masonic Lodge. All have turned from God.

Yet, we celebrate and applaud as they parade down the street.

Throughout the scriptures, nations that did not honor God and apply His Word faced His wrath. He is a jealous God and we have replaced Him with so many idols that we cannot be surprised by any judgment He sends on us. From presidential candidates to viruses and economic crisis, we deserve what He gives.

The good news is that He offers forgiveness to those who repent and turn from sin. Not for an hour while we watch a parade and lament what we used to have, but as we move forward and put Him in the place of those idols that we have allowed to take over our nation (things like our own comfort and convenience as we kill babies we think will hold us back in some way). He will see what we are doing and hear as we pray for mercy.

2 Chronicles 7:13-14, God said to Israel, “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

Locust, rain, and pestilence for Israel is being replaced by whatever God chooses to use to get our attention today.

Will the church (you and I) repent for applauding the sin all around us?

Are we willing to pray for God to help this nation, so that we have reason to pray for Him to bless this nation?