YouTube - God Bless America By Kate Smith
During this time of year it's common to hear the famous song, "God Bless America." I enjoy that song. That song was written around 1918 or 1919 by Irv Berlin. Kate Smith made that song famous starting in the late 1930's. That song was sung extensively during the World War II years when our soldiers were trying to defeat the forces of Nazism and Fascism across the globe. That song was sung by members of Congress on the very day of the 9/11 attacks. I thank God for his blessings upon America over these last 234 years. Anyone that has any sense at all would have to say that God truly has blessed America. We are the most blessed country on earth. We are blessed with land, natural resources, churches that preach the gospel (the ones that remain), food, technology, science, medical care, all kinds of retail stores, and the list continues. God has been good to us in spite of us. I want to thank the Lord for his goodness upon us.
I recall a statement a preacher made over 13.5 years ago. He said that he felt it was "criminal" or something to that affect to sing God bless America. Why would he utter such a statement? The reason was because of the condition of our churches in America today and the fact that sin abounds in this great nation today. Today vice has become virtue. For example, the homosexual lifestyle is no longer considered strange or weird. Society, along with the help of the media, has tried to make it a normal, acceptable lifestyle in this nation. There are forces to try to make "gay" marriage legal in all our states. Abortion today is couched in terms such as "reproductive choice" or a "woman's right to choose." Hollywood presents all kinds of filth and rancor on the internet and our television screens. In most of the sporting events that take place in America today, they are sponsored by beer-making companies. Many people in our country don't think about darkening the door of church on Sundays. Instead they regard the day just like any other day. Anybody that logs on to the internet knows there's all kinds of evil and filth that spew from it. We live in a society that's forgotten God. We live in a post-Christian nation. We've forgotten God. Isaiah 1:4 states, "Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters; they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward." That sounds like America today.
Proverbs 14:34 is often quoted many times on holidays such as today which states, "Righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people." Oh how true that is. What is righteousness! It means to be upright before God. I remember hearing people mention about the late Jerry Falwell years ago traveling across the country on God and country rallies. In 1979 Jerry Falwell along with Tim LaHaye co-founded the Moral Majority, which was supposed to promote Biblical values. They in the process tried to promote candidates that would uphold Biblical values. This same preacher that I just mentioned to you at the beginning of the post was speaking about the Moral Majority one time. He said the problem with the Moral Majority was it was about promoting "morality" or something to that effect. I'm just paraphrasing what he said. The preacher said that "Righteousness exalteth a nation," not morality. He's correct. There are only a few people that are righteous. First of all, the only people that can be righteous are God's people. Righteousness comes from God. A person has to be saved to possess God's righteousness. The Bible says that man's righteousness is as filthy rags. In other words, man's best is exceedingly insufficient. Righteousness isn't a work of man. Righteousness is from God. It's a saved person that desires to walk upright before the Lord. Isaiah 61:10 says, "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridgegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels." Righteousness isn't a work of man. God's covered me with a robe of righteousness. A righteous person is holy and walks before God.
I desire to see God bless America. I would be foolish to not desire the blessings of God upon this nation. I believe the reason why we still enjoy some of the blessings of God is simply because of the Godly living of some of our past forefathers. When I speak of forefathers I'm not speaking of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, or necessarily those that fought in the American Revolution. I'm speaking of those that walked with God and served him. I'm speaking of such people as Jonathon Edwards, D.L. Moody, Phillis Wheatley, Billy Sunday, Fanny Crosby, and other Christians whose names aren't in the history books. There were Christians that walked circumspectly before the world that had a desire to see God move and do great and mighty things. In the late 1800's, a movement called the "Progressive Movement" took place in which there were so-called educated people that were too educated for God. They sought to subvert the U.S. Constitution, they would question the Bible and what it taught. They would question the inspiration of scripture, for example. Many of these people held posts in our colleges and universities. America was on the road to secularization. In the 1960's beginning with the hippie movement, the nation has went the wrong direction and continues doing so this very day. However, the biggest problem with our country isn't so much those heathen out there that hate God and hate Christianity. The problem is with those that claim to be Christian and attend church.
Our churches are in a mess spiritually in America today. They've become so worldly in their appearance and their methods that you can hardly distinguish the church from the world. There's no presence of God in our mainline denominations today. Even those churches that are fundamental with their doctrine are as dry as land that hasn't experienced rain in several months. Spritually speaking we're living in the Laodecian area that Jesus talks about in the book of Revelation. We are rich and increased with goods. However, we're bankrupt spiritually. The Bible says that judgment first must begin at the House of God. We need to recognize where we're at spiritually and recognize that the methods of the world aren't going to convert people to Christ. If the church can't win people by preaching the Word, then nothing will win them. If the church has to compromise its standard to win the world, then the church needs to shut its doors. The church needs to go back to the old paths. A church can't win people to God unless it does it God's way. If the Spirit of God doesn't show up in the church services, then nothing can be done. It's all of God or nothing.
America's headed for judgment. If America continues straying in the same path, then she will be finished. That won't be much longer. However, the only choice we have is for the church to repent and turn to God. I will close with the famous verse that's quoted so often in an Indepedence Day sermon or a God and country rally speech. It's found in II Chronicles 7:14. "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from Heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."
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