A Challenge to Return to God

In His sermon on the end times, Jesus tells His disciples that "because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold" (Matthew 24:12). We could insert the word "lawlessness" into that verse as well. Hardly a day goes by when we hear of riots and destruction within our nation's cities. Portland has experienced continued rioting for over 70 days. Just this past weekend, rioters invaded Michigan Avenue ("the Miracle Mile") in Chicago, breaking windows and looting upper-end stores. Homicides in our major cities has escalated exponentially these past few months. The number of children and teenagers whose lives have been snuffed out so violently should be alarming to each one of us. Yet, even as the violence and lawlessness escalate, many city councils and mayors continue the discussion of defunding or even disbanding local police departments. This kind of thinking almost defies one's logic. In fact, it is not based on logic at all. And what is the purpose for such violence and destruction? What do these people - a minority, at best, although very vocal - really want? Those groups who espouse such destruction and violence have as their intended purpose the overthrowing of those values and principles upon which America was founded. Theirs is an anti-Christian movement; one could almost say it is an anti-God movement. They believe that our nation was created by a group of racist, biggotted white men whose only desire was to satisfy their racist vision of a nation. And this racist, biggotted vision of America has been perpetuated down through the past 244 years. But, if these rioters and the organizations that support them do succeed, will they created a race-free, less biggotted nation? Will they create a nation that provides hope for the hopeless, an opportunity for the desperate, an encouragement for those downhearted? The answer is a most assured "no!" They will instead create a nation just like other nations - in many cases, nations from which those who espouse violence have come. What has happened? To put it bluntly: America has abandoned God! And God was the foundation upon which our Founding Fathers built this nation. If you have not yet read the marvelous stories of those early days in America, please read them carefully. They tell a story that is not being told today. When a nation willfully abandons God and turns away from truth, then the sinful nature of man ascends. What America needs today is not more governmental programs. What America needs today is a return to God. We need to confess the sins of the past - and they are many. We need to seek God's forgiveness, which He delights to freely give. Then we will experience the healing so many of us desire. Our nation will never be perfect, but it can once again be the "beacon on the hill" shining brightly for all the world to see.

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