If there was ever a time in American History when we need Divine guidance, prayer, repentance and revival it is now. The Bible tells us to “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thess.5:17) and reminds us that “An upright man’s prayer when it keeps at work, is very powerful.” (James 5:16 Williams Translation) In the 1800’s James Russell Lowell wrote the powerful, prophetic poem, “The Present Crisis,” which resonates today. While I would urge you to go to the internet and read the poem in its entirety, one line speaks to my point in this “Thought for the Week”.
“Once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide,
In the strife of Truth with Falsehood, for the good or evil side;
With the Impeachment Trial underway, as a nation we are in dangerous, uncharted waters. Our democracy is at stake. The security of our country is at risk. Our Constitution is threatened as well as the separate legislative, executive and judicial powers of our country. Law is disrespected. Order has turned to chaos. We have people in the highest level of power who thumb their nose at our laws and chose personal preference and political position over the country’s welfare. Our country has lost its moral compass, lies are preferred to truth, cover-up is preferred to facts. Corruption abounds. And all the while, people are caught in the net of suffering, disrespect, injustice, doubt, fear and despair.
What we face today is not a Republican or Democratic issue. It is an issue of Truth.
It is not just the President of the United States who is on trial. Truth is on trial. The Constitution of the United States and our Laws are on trial. The Senate is on trial. The American People are on trial. We are in serious times. We are at the moment in our nation’s history to decide, “In the strife of Truth with Falsehood, for the good or evil side.”
John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus is in the focus of our Wednesday Night Bible Study. We are seeing how John came boldly in the first century calling people to repent of their sins and pointing them to “the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” John spoke of Jesus making the crooked things straight. His world, like ours, was filled with corruption. There was corruption in government and corruption in religion then as now.
The present crisis we are facing 220 years after James Russell Lowell wrote about his day is a time for serious prayer. This is a time for deep soul searching. Is politics more important, more valuable than Country or its laws? This is a time that tests our values, our morals, our backbone, our convictions. Human nature has not changed nor has the solution to human problems. It is time for Americans to demand truth and justice. It is time for Christians to pray and to ask God to give us the courage to stand up for what is right. James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” Let us ask God for wisdom!
In His Love, Charles
