America at the Crossroads, Part 2
by Kay Arthur

What happens when a nation turns its back on God? When a nation that once had the light of God, the fear of God, the respect and trust of God, what happens when they turn their back on that knowledge, that light, and they walk away from God? Beloved, America is filled with people that have turned their back on God. We are sinning against God, and God is going to have to judge America. Is there anything we, as believers, can do? I believe that the year 2008 will go down in the history of the United States of America as shaping the destiny of this nation. America is at the crossroads. We are a country that has forgotten God, that has sinned against God, that doesn't want to hear anything about God, and if we don't repent, God's going to have to judge us.

Now if God judges us, is that bad for us? Not if it brings us to our knees, not if it causes us to repent, to have a change of mind about who God is and a change of mind about how we are to fear Him. God's judgment can be for the purpose of deliverance. Because God is holy and God is righteous, He cannot close His eyes to sin. He cannot turn His back on sin, so He has to judge it. His righteousness demands His judgment of sin. To fear God means to respect Him. It means to trust Him. It means to acknowledge God for who He is and then order our lives accordingly.

Ezekiel is a book that talks about judgment and deliverance. It's a book that teaches us about the glory of God in His judgment. And the book of Ezekiel shows us the importance and the consequences of our ways. This is where we're zeroing in, because America has turned its back on God, and unless God's people examine their lives and beseech Him on behalf of this nation, America is going to suffer the punishment of God.

In your quiet time, I'd like for you to read the book of Ezekiel. And as you do, there are two phrases that I want you to mark. One of them is found in Ezekiel 7:3. "I will judge you according to your ways and bring all your abominations upon you." In other words, you choose the judgment of God. You choose or you escape the judgment of God "according to your ways." So many times we want a God that is just kind of a "namby pamby" God. A God that says "I love you, I love you, I love you. You can do anything you want and get away with it because I'm just a God of love." But He's not just a God of love. He's righteous and He's holy. Let's look at verse 4 for our second phrase. "For My eye will have no pity on you, nor will I spare you, but I will bring your ways upon you, and your abominations will be among you; then you will know that I am the LORD!" When do they know? It's when judgment comes because of their sin.

So many times when we turn away from God, it's a gradual turn and what we do is, we let in a little sin here and a little sin there and then pretty soon, in a sense, we're anesthetized. We also live in a culture that is sinning and the culture doesn't condemn us in any way, so we think we're all right because we compare ourselves with them instead of comparing ourselves with a holy God. And what God is saying is, "When you get this way and you're not listening to Me, and you have turned from the light and you have walked in the darkness, then I'm going to do something that will make you realize that I am the Lord." And what He does is He brings judgment, that we might know that He is the Lord.

At Precept Ministries International, God has laid it upon our hearts to call the people of the United States of America to prayer on behalf of our nation. I want to challenge you to join us every Thursday, through the election and the rest of the year to Christmas, in seeking God's face, confessing our sins, repenting before God, having a change of mind and beseeching God, as it says in Isaiah, to "rend the heavens and come down," to visit us, that we might experience another great awakening in this country. A great awakening happens when God moves by His Spirit, convicts of sin, cleanses the church, and then He moves through society to bring people to Him. I'm urging you go to our website, to "preceptsforlife.com", and there you will find a link to prayer. Look at what we're saying about prayer. Just say, "God, what should I do?" The Lord bless you and God bless America.

-Kay

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Friday, August 15, 2008