God Bless America?
God Bless America?
By Grant Phillips
Have you ever noticed the “God Bless America” bumper stickers when you’re out driving? How about the social media venues? I’ve noticed more and more that some folks are apparently realizing we are in trouble as a nation and are posting these words on vehicle bumpers and social media sites.
When we think about it, we immediately understand, or at least we should, that God has certainly blessed America…really, really blessed America.
From the beginning many of the people He sent to this land had a strong belief in the God of Israel and the Church, and just wanted to be left alone to worship Him. I emphasize the God of the Bible because He is the one and only true God and He is our founder, not Mohammad, Buddha, Maharishi, or any other false leader of man-made religions.
I don’t agree with everything our forefathers did, and I’m sure God doesn’t either, but nevertheless He, the God of Genesis through Revelation, started this country and set it up via men and women who believed in Him and believed in having a nation that guaranteed freedom of men. Many of our forefathers literally put their lives on the line for our freedom, and sacrificed everything they owned, which for some of them would be in the millions in today’s dollars.
God made this country into the strongest military power the world has ever seen.
It has sent more missionaries to foreign lands than any other country.
We have produced everything imaginable for the material use of mankind. America has brought the world from the horse and buggy days into the space age via the genius of many inventors.
The citizens of this country live like kings and queens compared to the living standards of most other countries. Even the “poor” in this country are better off than most people on the globe.
When we say, “God Bless America,” are we asking Him to continue blessing us? If that be the case, it is this writer’s opinion that the days of our blessings have come to an end. Why would I make such an outlandish statement? Maybe it is because I am reminded of the following verse and our failure to honor God over the last 50 plus years.
“…From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” Luke 12:48 (NIV)
Yes, God has blessed us beyond belief, but as the verse above indicates, we are required as a country to live up to what God expects of us, and we have failed to do so.
The year 1963 marked the beginning of the end for America. We as a nation of millions stood silent as one lone woman began chipping away at removing God from every area of our lives. In that year the Bible was removed from our schools. The sad part is if our hearts had been right unto the Lord, she would not have been successful. So what does that mean? It means that we were already hardening our hearts toward God and forgetting the real source of all our blessings. We stand just as guilty as she.
No nation is ever without sin, just as no person is ever without sin, but from the latter half of the 20th century to the present, we as a nation have “let it all hang out.” The corruption of our souls has been laid out on the table for all to see. What only God could see before is now visible for every eye.
We have turned from a nation blessed by God materially more than any nation in history to a corrupt cesspool of amalgamated stench.
If we do not lead the world in the following areas, we are certainly right up there at the very top: abortion, pornography, drug problems, murder, adultery, fornication, homosexuality, greed, pride, theft, narcissism, corruption of every kind, false religion, apostasy, and the list goes on and on.
God Bless America? How can we even think of asking God to bless us when we have already murdered over 50,000,000 babies and continue to do so at a rate of nearly 4,000 every day? How can we even classify ourselves as civilized when we bash in the skull of an innocent child, suck out its brains, then cut it up in pieces and tossed it in a garbage can?
God Bless America? Before long it is likely that every state in the nation, by imperial decree of the United States Supreme Court, will be forced to accept “gay” marriage. Only an idiot cannot see that God is vehemently against homosexuality when reading His Holy Word, the Bible. This sin has destroyed nations and we are wallowing in it. God Bless America?
Our Constitution and Bill of Rights are documents that I believe God inspired in our forefathers. In case you haven’t noticed, our leaders, especially the current administration, is busy at work destroying both, while we, the American people, continue to vote for politicians who are corrupt and have nothing for God. Yet we say, “God Bless America.”
Israel and Judah had some good kings and they had some bad kings. They prospered under good kings and they suffered mightily under the bad kings. Why? The good kings honored God, while the bad kings did not. If you’re still wondering what kind of king we have, you just haven’t been paying attention.
As rotten as we have become as a nation, we are on a road now that will seal our fate as the leader of the world. That “road” is turning our backs on Israel. The current administration is more anti-Israel than all the others combined. God told Abraham, “And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” (Genesis 12:3)
Many of our politicians in office, in all three branches, despise Israel and are working overtime to make her continued existence most difficult. With an avowed Muslim as our former leader, who hates Israel and is hell-bent on destroying us, and then the village idiot as the former second in command, we are in deep trouble. Pile on top of that the people’s representatives in the Senate and House, who represent nothing but their own interest, and we are in a bottomless pit of no escape.
Folks, instead of bumper stickers that say, “God Bless America” and social media posts that say, “God Bless America,” we need to be saying, “Forgive Us, For We Have Sinned Against You.” True repentance is the only hope we have.
Is it possible that one day soon, very soon probably, there will be someone in America praying a prayer very similar to that of Daniel?
“3 So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.
4 I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed: “Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments,
5 we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. 6 We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our ancestors, and to all the people of the land.
7 “Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame-the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you. 8 We and our kings, our princes and our ancestors are covered with shame, Lord, because we have sinned against you. 9 The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him; 10 we have not obeyed the Lord our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets. 11 All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey you.
“Therefore the curses and sworn judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against you. 12 You have fulfilled the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing on us great disaster. Under the whole heaven nothing has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem. 13 Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come on us, yet we have not sought the favor of the Lord our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth. 14 The Lord did not hesitate to bring the disaster on us, for the Lord our God is righteous in everything he does; yet we have not obeyed him.
15 “Now, Lord our God, who brought your people out of Egypt with a mighty hand and who made for yourself a name that endures to this day, we have sinned, we have done wrong. 16 Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn away your anger and your wrath from Jerusalem, your city, your holy hill. Our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors have made Jerusalem and your people an object of scorn to all those around us.
17 “Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary. 18 Give ear, our God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. 19 Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear and act! For your sake, my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.” Daniel 9:3-19 (NIV)
Do I believe we will repent as a nation? No I do not, but I would rejoice in being wrong. Would God stay His hand of judgment upon us, at least temporarily, if we were to repent as a nation? He did with Nineveh.
What I really believe is that Almighty God is allowing us to dig our own grave as a nation as He concludes the Church age. He is closing out the Church age and preparing for the remaining seven years He promised Israel. In my opinion, time is almost up. Soon Jesus will remove His bride from coming world judgment and take her home, while He deals with Israel and her enemies.
God Bless America? No. God bless all who come to Him through His Son Jesus Christ, for they will inherit eternal life. They are those who are truly blessed.