Scary Predictions

Today I received an email from my brother. In the subject line were the words "Predictions Scary." I read the email message that consisted of dire predictions for our nation that concerned him. He believed they were legitimate, and they may well be. In my reply, I hoped to help him gain some perspective. Here's what I said:

Surely there can be no doubt among those of us who know our Bibles fairly well that our country is in a mess--for that matter our world is in a mess. Our founding fathers tried an experiment in government that has been unmatched throughout the ages in regard to prosperity in the matters of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Much of their governmental philosophy was grounded in the Word of God and their approach to matters of law was built upon the model of Blackstone's legal principles that formed the body of jurisprudence that governed England and which had at their center Ten Commandments. Now that America has departed from it's initial foundation, everything is up for grabs. It is almost beyond belief that we would look to philosophies of European countries for answers to our present needs recognizing that those countries are failing and their peoples are enduring a much less satisfying manner of life than that which forr many years we have known in America. The systems that have been set in place to govern socialistic countries have produced pretty much nothing but misery for their people. All of this is very sad, but it is not surprising. The Bible explains that in the Last Days, our world will go from bad to worse, selfishness and sin will be the dominating factors of our society, foolishness will rule people's lives, and the pursuit of pleasure and a wanton lust for self-fulfillment will dominate the societies of the world. The fact is, God's judgment is coming. And those of us who know Jesus should have our lives focused on Him--growing to love Him more; growing to love our neighbors more (showing that love in tangible ways and being faithful witnesses of the good news of Jesus Christ); and serving the world. Our hope is not in this world, but the world to come. The Word says, "Set your mind on things above and not on things below." With our minds and hearts rooted in the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom to come of which we truly are citizens, we can gain a healthier perspective of this world in which we are only (to use a John Wayne word) pilgrims, and which is only temporary. Hebrews uses a term I love of the Kingdom to which Christians have aligned themselves in Christ. It is called "The unshakable kingdom." The world is the "shakable kingdom." Presently we feel the tremors; eventually the people of this world will experience the earthquake. Praise God that in Christ we are safe. Praise God that He has given us the wisdom to "flee from the wrath to come." Praise God that we are safe in His arms even in the midst of such foolishness and misguided governmental policies that we are seeing practiced at the highest levels of our government today and that are filtering down through our American society. The only answer for our world is Christ. He lives to give life and liberty to those who would call upon His name. What a beautiful name it is--Jesus. God's prediction is judgment for the world; God's promise is that the judgment that I deserve because of my sin has been born by my Savior and He is now preparing a place for me in His unshakable kingdom. This life is as a vapor that passes away quickly; eternal life is forever. It is a fool who would give up what he cannot lose for that which he cannot keep. My prayer is that our Lord in these difficult days will move us, His people, to be "Heavenly Rooted" as we live out our days in this shaky world.