Where is America Headed

God is more patient and lenient than we can imagine. But even God runs out or patience.

America is one of the few nations founded as a Christian nation and was known for long as being Christian. But instead of being a beacon shining light, hope, justice, and peace through Jesus Christ, we have turned to darkness, death, and rebellion. When God enters into a relationship with either a nation or individual He expects certain conduct. After God led the Hebrew people out of slavery in Egypt, before He guided them into the promised land (a homeland he chose for them, where they would accomplish His purpose) He set before them what He would do for them if they obeyed, and what He would do if they disobeyed.

In Deut. 30, beginning in verse 15 God summarizes His instruction: "See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity; in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments... But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall surely perish."

This sovereign God is not impressed with America's world economic or military might. He does not need to consult with anyone or check the latest New York Times opinion poll to know what to do. As the prophet Isaiah said in chapter 40: 14, 15 --"With whom did He consult and who gave Him understanding? And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge and informed Him of the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales; behold, He lifts up the islands like fine dust." When God has had enough, and that may be very, very soon, He will rise to judge us beyond anything we thought possible.

When God judges idolatry, the biblical pattern is that He will destroy the source of idolatry. America, you have made wealth your god. Things are more important to you than people. Thus, God will remove your wealth. Unless this nation truly repents and seeks to let God remake its heart and ways, at some time expect a collapse of the American economy. Many will lose pensions, property, and stocks, and many millions will be permanently unemployed. The impact will be much, much worse than the Great Depression of the 1930's.

When God judges a nation because it continues to shed innocent blood, such as through, but not limited to, abortion, He takes their blood. Ezekiel 35: 6 -- "...therefore as I live, declares the Lord God, I will give you over to bloodshed, and bloodshed will pursue you; since you have not hated bloodshed, therefore bloodshed will pursue you."

The September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, as horrible as they were, were a spat between small children in a sandbox compared to what is coming against America unless its repents. First the Oklahoma City bombing of 1995, and now this, and we have quickly raced back to removing God from all our ways and land as if He were a vile, persistent cancer. Both were warnings to stop the bloodshed, and both were ignored.

Thus millions of Americans will die, and very quickly, unless we change our god of things and self to the only living God. Proverbs 29: 1 -- "A man who hardens his neck after much reproof will suddenly be broken beyond remedy." Every culture or nation in Bible days that shed innocent blood was judged and/or destroyed by God. Notice we don't see the human sacrificing Incas of Peru or Aztecs of Mexico anymore.

God has ordained that people will be governed by what they ultimately desire. Will you desire peace from following God and His ways? Or will you desire further idolatry and rebellion, leading to the death of our nation? Psalm 94: 10 -- "He who chastens the nations, will he not rebuke, even He who teaches man knowledge?"

Many of you have enjoyed the good things of life in America. You may have a healthy family, be making more money now than ever, and have many friends. But you may have noticed occasionally that something is missing. What the world gives you will not last, and part of life is the pain of losing jobs, homes, health, and loved ones. Left by ourselves, what comes after this life? How do we know what's out there, and where are we going?

What you may not have, but then need, is a one-on-one relationship with God. Yes, God can be known in a personal way. He already knows a lot about you. Now, he would like you to know Him.

The Bible tells us there is one God and only one way to Him. Isaiah 43: 10, 11 say, "... Before Me there was no God formed, and there will be none after Me. I, even I, am the Lord, and there is no savior besides Me." Thousand of faiths in the world offer widely different ways to find their gods. But a loving God would make it simple, like He has, not requiring a certain education, high position in society, or individual physical capabilities to find Him.

Ecclesiastes 3: 11 tell us that God has given everyone a sense of a life to come, but also that we can't figure God out on our own. "He has set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end." Jesus tells us in Luke 10: 22, All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no knows the who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him." So all that we truthfully know about God is something God has to reveal to us.

God's purpose with man is to redeem man. To save him. To have man join Him for eternity. But, save him from what? Sin. John 3: 16 -- "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, and that whoever believes in Him shall not die, but have everlasting life." The New Testament was written in Greek, and many Greek words for "believe" are stronger than what we usually express in English. The Greek words for "belief" often meant a continuing belief and trust, and a belief based on personal experience. For people who met Jesus, to believe in Him was to have a life-changing experience.

God not only wants to save man from sin in his earthly life but also so that man will avoid hell. Hell wasn't originally made for man but for Satan and his demons. Jesus taught us more about love than anyone but also more about hell than anyone. Jesus believed in and taught that hell is a real, literal place.

Jesus taught that once one is in hell they never leave. We see this truth in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16. Also, Psalm 49:7 tells us, "No man can by any means redeem his brother or give to God a ransom for him." Once one is on his way to hell, after having rejected Christ as Savior during his or her life, nothing will keep him away from hell or change his destination. Thus there is no condition such as purgatory; the word itself or the concept neither appear in the Bible nor are taught by Jesus.

Every action has a consequence. If one has never taken Christ as Savior and given his life to him, then when that person dies he goes to hell. Forever. Romans 3: 23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord."

The solution is to let Jesus pay the price by offering Himself as a sacrifice. Only He would be acceptable, because since He was God, He was without sin. We read in Romans 5:8, "For God proved His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." 2,000 years ago He knew your sins of today, last year, and all your life, but He still died that you would be free and have eternal life. Again, God made our way to Him so simple that salvation comes through Christ alone. Jesus told us in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father but through Me."

The Bible says for sin to be forgiven a price has to be paid. Since nothing has life without blood, blood has to be shed for sin to be forgiven (Hebrews 9: 22). So someone or something has to pay for your sin to be forgiven. Either you pay or someone else pays. If you try to pay God won't accept your sacrifice, for God demands a perfect sacrifice.

Not only would offering ourselves as a sacrifice for our sins to be forgiven be inadequate, but God also won't accept our good deeds to get us into heaven. Isaiah 64: 6 tells us "All our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment." Ephesians 2: 8, 9 say "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and (that faith) not of yourselves, lest any man should boast." So not only is salvation itself a gift, but also the faith to believe one can be saved is a gift!

You can start over in life today. You can receive eternal life today. No matter how terrible your sin, God's mercy and love are bigger. You can pray now in your own words telling God you're a sinner, you want to be forgiven, you want Jesus to be Lord of your life, and that right now you are giving Him your life.

A new life must be nurtured. Once you have given your life to Christ get an accurate translation of the Bible, such as New King James or New American Standard. Begin reading it. Try reading it all the way through; if you read three chapters a day you can finish in one year. Next, find a church that upholds the Bible as the authority. Join and get involved in ministry. You will learn sometimes more by serving than any other way. Make prayer, at a regular time every day when you can be alone, a habit. Grow in Him and remember, He will never leave you.