March 2010
(Tenth and Final In Series on “What God is Saying to America in 2010”)
Well, it looks like we’ve come full circle.
Ten weeks ago we started this series on “What God is Saying to America in 2010” and we’ve looked at a variety of subjects. No doubt some of them rang your bell. And, possibly, some of them made you want to ring mine.
But, that’s okay—for, when it comes right down to it, we’re all like the five blind man feeling parts of the elephant and then convinced their “picture” was correct, even though they’d only grasped a small portion of the creature.
In reality, the same is true when it comes to matters of faith. We can only bear witness to the Reality we’ve “seen” with the eyes of faith. And, hopefully, that’s what I try to do each week when I write these columns or preach from the pulpit or share with someone in a crowded store.
I’m not a salesman peddling my religious goods; I’m simply a “satisfied customer” bearing witness to the Truth that has changed my life.
From the outset I knew it was somewhat presumptuous for me to write a series with such a daunting theme. First, who am I to tell you what God is saying to America? And, second, it’s foolish to think I could address the subject in an in-depth way because of its enormity.
But, that’s okay. I just hope I’ve given you some food for thought and, in a strange sort of way, your hearts have been “drawn toward Home” and the One Who created you.
As I ponder the current state-of-affairs in our nation and world (in light of Biblical teachings), I realize we’ve basically come full circle in the scheme of things. In the Book of Genesis we read how Noah cursed the lineage of his own son, Ham, after awakening from a drunken stupor (Gen. 9:20-27). From that lineage came Nimrod, the city of Babylon and the tower of Babel in what is now southern Iraq (Gen. 10:8-10a).
Contrary to God’s command to Adam and his great-grandfather, Noah, to “be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth” (Gen. 1:28; 9:7), Nimrod wanted to “build a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto Heaven, and make a name for themselves lest they be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth” (Gen. 11:4).
Simply put, God’s command was to “go forth and multiply;” Nimrod’s command was to “stay put and preserve.”
Consequently, God cast them down and “scattered them abroad across the face of the earth” (Gen. 11:8). Instead of going forth with one language, they now had many (Gen. 11:1, 7). No wonder the word “babel” means “confusion.”
The current push for “globalization” in government and financial matters is, in reality, a return to Nimrod’s dream for Babylon. It’s no accident that our forces are fighting in the very region where evil originated (the Garden of Eden was also most likely located in southern Iraq). We’re engaged in the same spiritual warfare now that existed in Nimrod’s day; but, by faith we must believe the same God that cast down that manmade attempt to “be as God” (Gen. 3:5) back then is the same God Who will triumph in these last days.
There’s no doubt we’re in for some rough days in the future. Even a cursory examination of Biblical prophecy and eschatology in Daniel, Ezekiel, the Gospels and Revelation attests to that.
But, we do not need to fear and give in to a fatalistic, “Que sere, sere” (“Whatever will be, will be”), passive resignation to our circumstances attitude. Instead, by faith we adopt a “positive relinquishment” approach whereby we entrust our lives, our families and our future into the trustworthy Hands of our sparrow-watching, hair-counting, tear-catching God (Matthew 6:25-34; 10:28-31; Psalm 56:8—KJV).
That way we can continue living in hope and calm assurance as everything continues to unravel around us. And, it is this Hope “as a sure-and-steadfast Anchor of the soul” (Hebrews 6:17-20) that will ultimately lead us safely to the Harbor called “Home,” which is really in the arms of Jesus Christ, the Risen Lord.
(NOTE: If you’d like to contact Bro. Tom or receive his daily e-mail devotional, entitled “Morning Manna,” you can write him at P.O. Box 582, Coushatta, LA 71019 or e-mail him at pressingon@hotmail.com).
