This Nation's Last and Only Hope

S

seeknulfind

New member
You won't find it in the GOP. And you certainly find it in the "Democratic" party. For those of you who, when you see the word "Hope", no, it is not the Hope of Christ's Return. More on that in a bit.

And in case you were wondering, no, this really isn't "my" bright idea. One of our members hm1996 has included the pertinent scripture in his signature for as long as I can remember:

II Chronicles 7:14 Quote:If my people will humble themselves, pray, seek my face & turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven & will forgive their sin & heal their land.

In the past few weeks, this scripture and the underlying principle has been on my heart to post.

If we, as a nation, fail to do this then our nation will fall.

I could easily make a case for this statement but I will not at this time. I am not posting this as a topic for discussion so to speak. Not that comments are unwelcome, but really, I am asking each of you to read this and either accept and act on it or reject it. It is your choice.

Now about the hope of the Return of Christ...

Like many of my generation, I've always held in the back of my mind that the fall of this nation will somehow be tied to the end times and, thus, the return of the Son of God. It is now clear to me that reliance on such an idea is pretentious at best. While God has indeed blessed our nation with incredible abundance and as allowed us to rise as no other nation, we cannot take for granted that these blessings will continue nor that we are somehow entitled to remain great. Look at Great Britain. Remember the saying "The sun never sets on the British Empire."? We are racing down their path.

Take an honest look at our nation. Can you say we are more godly than ungodly? I cannot. I just saw Donald Trump take the evangelical vote from Ted Cruz. While I am not holding forth Cruz as a "man of God", I daresay I'm reasonably confident he could at least find II Chronicles 7:14 in the bible. I am not so sure about Trump.

This election will not "save" our nation. Ronald Reagan's administration and the Congress at that time could have turned our nation around - if a political solution was available. Instead, we turned back to the world's ways like a dog to vomit.

II Chronicles 7:14 Quote:If my people will humble themselves, pray, seek my face & turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven & will forgive their sin & heal their land.

God bless,

Andy
 
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Spot on Andy, one very small critique however. Only God Himself can truly read a man's heart. Whether Trump can find any particular scripture has no bearing on his relationship with God. Likewise, some of the slickest slicksters can quote scripture till the cows come home. I think most of us will readily agree that this election as well as the last two are in God's hand. His will is being done daily although we ourselves may not like the way it is happening. Therefore we can hope all we want, but it should bring us peace to know God is still in control regardless of what the secular world may say.
 
Originally Posted By: azmastablastaSpot on Andy, one very small critique however. Only God Himself can truly read a man's heart. Whether Trump can find any particular scripture has no bearing on his relationship with God. Likewise, some of the slickest slicksters can quote scripture till the cows come home. I think most of us will readily agree that this election as well as the last two are in God's hand. His will is being done daily although we ourselves may not like the way it is happening. Therefore we can hope all we want, but it should bring us peace to know God is still in control regardless of what the secular world may say.

Very well put!
 
My prayer for this nation is that the Lord will provide us with a leader who will lead this nation back from the brink of destruction and restore the Christian foundation upon which it was founded. Amen

Originally Posted By: Ronald ReaganLet me reassure you that 2 Chronicles 7:14
is ever present in my mind. My daily prayer is that God will help me to use this position [as president] to serve Him” (letter to Greg Brezina, Oct. 25, 1982).

The verse to which President Reagan referred quotes God as saying: “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
http://www.ucg.org/the-good-news/ronald-reagan-in-his-own-words

Ronald Reagan's mother made the following notation in her bible beside 2 Corinthians 7:14:

Quote:A wonderful verse for healing of the nation.



Thanks, Andy, for starting this topic.

Regards,
hm
 
Originally Posted By: azmastablastaSpot on Andy, one very small critique however. Only God Himself can truly read a man's heart. Whether Trump can find any particular scripture has no bearing on his relationship with God. Likewise, some of the slickest slicksters can quote scripture till the cows come home. I think most of us will readily agree that this election as well as the last two are in God's hand. His will is being done daily although we ourselves may not like the way it is happening. Therefore we can hope all we want, but it should bring us peace to know God is still in control regardless of what the secular world may say.

Az,

I totally agree - only God can read a man's heart. God can also change a man's heart. That said, my observation was more towards those who chose Trump rather than the man himself. He was also endorsed by Jerry Falwell, Jr. It could be I am missing something in Trump. I do not know.

You are also right about this election being in God's hands, as are they all. Yes, God, truly is in control. Just as He agreed to spare Sodom and Gomorrah, I pray He will find enough righteous here to spare this nation also.

Thank you all for your comments. They have lifted me up a great deal.

God bless,

Andy
 
I was questioning whether or not it was right to sentence convicted killers to life without parole.. In that, if they took the life of a person who in turn was living a life of disbelief in God.. Took their life while they where still young before maturing and seeing the light and asking for forgiveness to be reborn in faith.. Is it fair to sentence the killer to life where he has time to see his wrongs and ask for forgiveness? The life he took was not given that chance.. It does not seem right.

OT stated; "crimes of passion should be forgiven but crimes of the heart should not" those were not his exact words but it was along those lines. Makes a lot of sense.. It is true that only God can truly see what is in a man's heart.. But people you have ongoing relationships with over periods of time, well their actions are a pretty good indicator as to a heart filled with darkness or light. We have to take other people's inventories if we are to know "what not to be", as well as "what to strive for".. I just try not cast stones from a false pedestal of holier than thou, at those I deem dirty.. For I fall often..

Unfortunately getting to truly know those who we would consider casting votes for is not realistic.. We have no insight to their true demeanor when not in front of a camera.. They all want to project a certain image.. We do not see how they truly act behind closed doors with their loved ones.. More importantly we don't see how they act when no one is watching.. When they are alone, but the crux as in; have a conscience contact with God then they are never "truly alone"..

I figure the best we can do is sift through the pre-canned speeches trying to determine who is the least lonely
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Ouch, dangit, there you go again Jeremy, makin me think till my poor little brain hurts. LOL. You bring up some interesting points. Any time any one takes a life, most especially murder (Thou shalt Not) they are most likely stepping out of God's will. Or are they? We know that NOTHING ever occurs on earth that God does not will or at least permits. Here's the problem for me, from my perspective, I strive to do only God's will, believe me when I say I struggle daily striving for clarity and discernment. Problem is no human is infallible, including the pope and me. However we also know that God tells us there is no excuse for not knowing Him, for not trusting Him and believing ON Him. I am a Calvinist in theology, to be exact a 5 point Calvinist, pre-millennial, pretribulational dispensationalist. From Calvin's teaching God's call, election, is irresistable. IOW if we are elected to be believers it will happen. So should we not have angst in situations like you describe? Personally I abhor murder, but most especially abortion. But like you I know that every day, many times a day I stumble and fall, many times it includes my personal desires to revenge the killing of the innocents. But that's not my job, that's God's job. All I can say is that for the grace of God I would be totally lost. NO ONE makes it through the narrow gates based on good intentions or works, sorry pope. I think we have to come to the conclusion that regardless of how the election turns out it is either God's will or He is permitting it. He is still in control and all we can do is be watchful and keep oil in our lamps.
 
Lyle what do you mean believing "ON" him? What is the difference in believing "on" as opposed to "in"?

I agree that what ever is the outcome it will be as he allows it.. but the devil is in the details.. Is the outcome as he allows it even if it is not what he would will? Or is he willing what we are allowed and choosing to do, even if it leads us to woe? Thank God for KISS (keep it simple stupid); it is clear to me.. And I'll place my bets on; God could and would IF he were sought..

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Again you bring up valid points. Let me explain believing on as opposed to believing in. Even Satan believes in our Lord, yet there is no salvation for believing in. Our salvation comes from putting our hope, our faith, total control of our life, on His word, our faith on the fact that not only can He do what He says He can do, believe that He will do what he says He will do. Many people believe in the historical Jesus, however, it ends there. Sadly I believe that on that fateful day when the trumpet sounds round the world, there will be found many people sitting in the pews of their church because they never understood the difference in the two. Seems now days many churches and pastors have been led astray by things like the name it and claim it apostasy. As far as Him willing what we are allowed to do or causing us to choose something, well, that's a big bone of contention among denominations. This train of thought has caused church splits and a falling away in many churches. Personally I believe we have free will. Even though God, being omnipotent fully knows what we are going to do He is allowing us to choose. Otherwise how could we be credited with producing fruit. If He were controlling us like robots why go through thousands of years and lifetimes just to watch His robots work. Also being that God is righteous wouldn't He choose to make us choose as He would. Our God is not the God of chaos, where would the chaos be in this world, or the evil or Satan if there was no free will? Again, these are simply my beliefs and are worth exactly the price you paid. But they represent reality to me.
 
Lyle, I get what you mean by believing "on God" verses believing "in God".. It actually gives me another level to build on.. For the first 27 years of my life I believed "of" God, but not "in" God.. Kinda like God was up there keeping score of all bad s hit and sins I committed.. Like he was waiting to punish me on the other side.. The last thing I could count on in this world would be grace, mercy or anything positive for that matter.. Yes I believed "of" God but faith in him restoring me from the mess I had made of my life, well I just could not comprehend that.. Just a sin sick soul lost in the dark.. I know you understand beyond just knowledge as with the line that places empathy above sympathy.. Many call it being reborn, I just know it was the moment I ceased fighting.. It's hard to assign it words that accurately describe it, without the description falling short..

But anyway, while there are absolutes in this life, I try to remember that you cannot graft a new idea onto a closed mind.. That everything I know in life is subject to revision except for the few absolute convictions, such as God's grace.. But while my faith is strong it can not be limited.. So yeah, I think there is a progression from believing "of" to believing "in".. Without limitations I will raise that belief "in" to belief "on"!

That little piece of wisdom.. I just stole it
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Jeremy it does my heart good to see someone who, like me, struggled for too many years, and through shear determination and the illumination provided by the Holy Spirit, continued in prayer and researched and questioned fanatically, finally gaining traction and finding true inner peace. It took me a while to figure out that acquiring TRUTH is a marathon, not a sprint. You're in good company when struggling to find forgiveness within yourself. I believe that most every Christian struggles with that at one time or another. However, if our Creator, our Lord and Saviour, who cannot lie, tells us He has forgiven us, will never remember them, who are we to remember them? We face a considerable foe who is more powerful than us, although he has already been defeated at the cross. Remember that his most powerful tools are his lies, he's the father of lies. You are not thinking of and remembering and reliving the painful memories on your own. You and I and every Christian out there are constantly engulfed in spiritual warfare. Satan and his minions never attack nonbelievers. Why should he waste time, they're already living his way. The closer we get to God the more frantic Satan's attacks become. Let's face it, we will continue to face his attacks until the veil is pulled back. While we are warned scripturally not to challenge him alone, we are told that if we continue to resist him he will flee. When you experience these episodes of lingering guilt simply make him aware that you know where these thoughts are coming from and you refuse to participate. I find it effective to remind him that God has forgiven them all and then I remind him that I also know his final fate. I look forward to eternity with God and will relish watching him thrown into the fiery pit. Try it my friend it works.
 
I remember early in my journey I was having coffee with a member of my fellowship.. I was still carrying around a lot of guilt.. He asked me; "do you think that God has forgiven you for your sins?" I replied with confidence "yes".. I still remember him saying; "if God has forgiven you why can't you forgive yourself?" I see his point today just as I did then.. It's just I know my heart is nowhere near as great as God's, for he loved me when I could not love myself..

"TRUTH is a marathon, not a sprint" just as is life and belief.. I am getting better yet I am also a realist.. It is progress not perfection in this "marathon".. Yet one thing that is crystal clear, is that my heart is soft and safe with God, while a spiritual battle rages in the mind from time to time.. Time has shown that the further I progress down this "marathon" the heart grows softer while the skin grows thicker.. Forgiveness of self is a big part of the ingredient to the heart of the matter.. But the spiritual battle of the mind against "the father of lies" and intrusive thoughts is for today.. I find that seaking God to direct my thinking is key.. My thoughts drive my actions, as one's actions define their character..

I found it hard to fight the good fight alone.. Yet impossible when my heart was in the wrong place..
 


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