The State of the Nation

My wife and I have been avid fans of the Glenn Beck Show, albeit it is very difficult for us to see it as regularly as we would like. Beck's theme, "Refounding America," reminds me of Psalm 11:3, If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?

The cover of an April 2009 issue of Newsweek read, "The Decline and Fall of Christian America."
The article inside the magazine by Jon Meacham was entitled, "The End of Christian America."

One thing for certain is that Christianity is under attack. Of course, Jesus told us that since they hated Him, we would also be hated.

My Dad sent me a DVD presentation by Ken Ham entitled State of the Nation. It is a very stirring piece. Ken is the president and CEO of Answers in Genesis and the Creation Museum in Kentucky. His presentation is filled with so many interesting facts, including some information that should wake people up. One of early points he makes is based on a study by the Barna Group which shows that the church is not retaining its youth. According to the 2000 research by Barna, 61% of young people who attended church in their teens, fell away from church in their twenties.

I join Mr. Beck in noting that we are living in unprecedented times, that will go down in history as one of two things, either the death of America as we have known it, or as the generation that saved America. We have definitely go our work cut out for us. Hey, I believe we have got to save our youth, while we still can. So let's take our country back and make it One Nation Under God again!

In our Sunday Evening Service I reminded the folks that Jesus said that when we see all these things begin to come to pass, we should look up and lift up our eyes, because our redemption draweth nigh.

"I See the Lord"

One of our songs this morning was the Vineyard Music Classic by Mark McCoy and Andy Park, I See the Lord.

I see the Lord and His train fills the temple
I see the Lord, He is high and lifted up
I see the Lord and His train fills the temple
I see the Lord, He is high and lifted up

Angels cry ?Holy, holy is the Lord?
Angels cry ?Holy, holy is the Lord?

I see the Lord and His eyes are flaming with fire
I see the Lord and His hair is white as snow

Angels cry ?Holy, holy is the Lord?
Angels cry ?Holy, holy is the Lord?

The angels came and touched the coal to my lips
My guilt is gone and sin has been forgiven
And I cry ?Holy, holy is the Lord?
And I cry ?Holy, holy is the Lord?

And the temple is filled with the glory of God
And the whole earth is filled with the glory of God

He called to me ?Whom shall I send??
I answered Him ?I will go for You?
And I cry ?Holy, holy is the Lord?

The song is based on Isaiah 6:1-8,

1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.
6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: 7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.
8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
KJV

Isaiah sees a vision of the Lord in all His glory in the place of worship, the temple. Sometimes I wish we could have our spiritual eyes opened and be able to see God's presence when we gather to worship Him. Too often we gather to worship and simply go through the motions. When there are no more than two or three gathered together in His name, He declares that He is there in the midst of us.

This phrase, "His train fills the temple," really captures my imagination. The NIV translates the word, train, as "robe." I am thinking of all the effort of the woman who must have had to push through the crowd around Jesus in Matthew 9:20, to touch the hem of His garment. When she did, virtue flowed out from the Lord and she was healed. I am hoping we can grasp all of the awesome possibilities that must be open to us if we will just acknowledge Him Whose robe fills our place of worship! If only we can reach out by faith and touch that garment that must be all around us, then we can experience His power and presence ourselves. Open our eyes, Lord, we want to see Jesus, high and lifted up. No matter what difficulties we may be facing, if we can just cast our eyes upon Jesus, then by faith we can choose to see, to understand that He really is right there with us when we gather in His name. He is with us in power, and authority. So why not, just reach out and touch Him? Let Him heal your issues too. Blessings.

Merry Christmas!

Yesterday was "Black Friday," which marks the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. I really love this time of year because whether people admit or not, it's not much ado about nothing. The whole world is stirred as we celebrate Christmas. It is the birthday of the Savior, Jesus Christ. Hey that's why they call it CHRISTmas.

There are some who would like to do away with the greeting, "Merry Christmas!" They say it's offensive. They think we should say, "Happy Holidays," instead. Well, no matter what they choose to say, it is what it is! It's Christmas.

A woman, who has always made hand-made ornaments for the White House Christmas Tree, reported that she received a letter stating that no religious ornaments would be accepted this year. The tree will be called a "Holiday Tree" instead of a "Christmas Tree." She wrote back that they would not be receiving any ornaments from her.

Here at the furniture store where I work, we say, "Merry Christmas." In fact, just the other day Odell shared a "YouTube" video by Go Fish, entitled "Christmas With a Capital "C." Just click on the title and you can see it too.

For now, let me wish you a wonderful Christmas season. Blessings!