Expectant Prayers ®

I heard on a morning national news show that the presidential candidates (at the dinner the other night) were united in.... laughter!  Is laughter a unifying force?  It made me stop and think about the universal language of music or perhaps love... but laughter?    I want to talk about what unifies us today, but first let's make a stop at the "laughter" issue. 

I could appreciate some aspects of this statement concerning the candidates  (ex. being able to laugh at yourself or perhaps the fact that laughter is good for the spirit and heart- making like a medicine {Proverbs}) I find it very unsettling, however,  to think that laughter is something brought to our attention when the most pressing hour that has ever hit our nation is at hand.   Laughing during an hour of great need seems almost a mockery.  Proverbs 31 tells of the woman who feared the Lord; she was able to laugh at the days to come.  Because her foundation of life was built on the solid rock of God, she had nothing to fear.    But, friends, this is not the case for our nation-we are not like the woman who feared the Lord.   We have wandered far away from our Christian heritage, witnessed God being slowly removed from our nation, observed crime and lawlessness abounding (even corruption in those in high authority), iniquity increasing, the family unit as God intended eroding, a monetary system that is unstable and insecure, and the value of life itself being challenged.  I don't know about you, but my heart breaks because this is NO LAUGHING MATTER!  People are bound with fear and trepidation at the days to come and we focus on laughing?    Get behind us satan!

God has revealed in His Word what the end times will be like.  Luke 17:26-28 says,  "The time of the Son of Man will be just like the time of Noah— everyone carrying on as usual, having a good time right up to the day Noah boarded the ship. They suspected nothing until the flood hit and swept everything away."  They laughed at Noah while he built the ark, poking fun at him in their mockery.  Yes, friends, it is quite disturbing to be focusing on laughter rather than falling on our faces before God and seeking His mercy and grace for the days ahead.  Our nation is at a pivotal crossroads.  We must seek God.

I also read this morning about the rebellious nature of the people while Moses was on the holy mountain.  They were partying, laughing, making merry while God was attempting to bring order and structure through the law (10 Commandments).  While the law was being written, the people decided to take matters in their own hands and worship something they had created.  I don't know about you, but I see a great correlation there!  Has America become a great golden calf?   Recall the words of Acts 7:41-42, "That was the time they made an idol in the form of a calf. They brought sacrifices to it and held a celebration in honor of what their hands had made. But God turned away and gave them over to the worship of the heavenly bodies."     Just like this time for the people of God, He was trying to establish the law and people took it into their own hands.  They did not want to wait on God.  They thought they could find their own way apart from God... and they were mistaken.   Is God about to turn away from us and turn us over to our own will?

Now let's talk briefly about what should unite us.  In this country, we were originally united "UNDER GOD".  Our founding fathers wrote our constitution based on the principles in the Bible.  Most of our common laws today found their origins in the words of Scripture.  God is the only true unifying force.  If we are not united in God, then we are divided.

Let me say it again, WE ARE ONLY UNIFIED THROUGH CHRIST JESUS! 

The next time I post, I want to tell you what the Lord has been urging me to share about unity in the body of Christ at this most pressing hour.  We must be a church united, even amid the turmoil that surrounds us.  God does have an ark of safety and we're going to talk about how to get there.

Until then, I leave you with this passage....