WHEN STORM CLOUDS GATHER

I Was Just Thinking About - - - -

To suggest that we are living amid transformative times would be an understatement. The world is in a state of tumult. Nations are involved in unimaginable atrocities. Threats and dangers of nuclear proliferation are resounding across the Middle East. Treaties and national boundaries are inconsequential. Europe is marked by a wave of disunity and suspicion. Asia, especially China, is a giant casting its shadow of uncertainty and unrest globally. The generational restraints on Communism, Cuba, have been removed by a mere executive order of a sitting U. S. President.  Cities in America are seeing an increased number of protest marches and rioting. The destruction of property is somewhat condoned (as per Baltimore, MD). An anti-civil authority, especially against law enforcement, is becoming more pronounced. 

A popular song that captured the American imagination was written by Irving Berlin in 1918 and revised in 1938. He first wrote the lyric while serving in the Army during World War I. As Europe began to experience Germany’s expansion that would soon include Great Britain and later involve America, he revised his lyric to fit the threat and lurking dangers. The stanza that introduces that which was construed as a national prayer is:

While the storm clouds gather far across the sea

Let us swear allegiance to a land that's free

Let us all be grateful for a land so fair

As we raise our voices in a solemn prayer.

The prayer follows his concerns regarding the Gathering Storm Clouds:

God bless America, land that I love

Stand behind her and guide her, Through the night with a light from above.

From the mountains, to the prairies, To the oceans white with foam

God bless America - My home sweet home.

The question for our day and the cultural shifts of our day is: Will God be obligated to bless any nation that has forsaken Him and violated His standards? The United States has both ignored and forgotten the clarity and preciseness of the observant Almighty God. God has recorded in His Word: “The nations have sunk in the pit that they made; in the net that they hid, their own foot has been caught. The Lord has made himself known; he has executed judgment; the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. The wicked shall return to Sheol, all the nations that forget God” (Psalm 9:15-17, ESV). When any nation or people fail to take a serious God seriously, there are and will be repercussions. God will not sit idly by as wickedness is gaining a foothold.  An additional assessment of Israel is applicable to the conditions that are prevailing in the United States. Can the United States be exempt from God’s judgments? In Isaiah 5:14-15 (NLT) are these vivid words: “The grave is licking its lips in anticipation, opening its mouth wide. The great and the lowly and all the drunken mob will be swallowed up. Humanity will be destroyed, and people brought down; even the arrogant will lower their eyes in humiliation.”

Are we a nation that has forgotten God? If you plead that you are unaware, read the latest Pew Research released this week (http://www.religionnews.com/2015/05/12/christians-lose-ground-nones-soar-new-portrait-u-s-religion/). Christianity is on the decline. Church attendance is also declining. More and more people from all age groups have “had it” with the Church today. They are “done” with the traditionalism and impersonal nature of the Church. Others are among the “none” who have decided to seek other paths for personal fulfillment. The “done” and “none” are unlikely to return to the traditional Church and its dormant routines.  It is past time for us to wake up to the reality of our times! Consider these things with me!