July 4, 2010
Morning
Psalm 16:1 Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge.
On this day, the 234th birthday of our country, Psalm 16:1 is truly patriotic. Utter it right now for the United States of America. God is sovereign over the affairs of nations. Proverbs 21:1 The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases. Ask God to direct the hearts of the leaders of our country at all levels (Washington, Sante Fe, Estancia, Moriarty, businesses, families, churches) to do what pleases Him and keeps us safe.
If God is to keep us safe our leaders and us must meet God’s conditions. Note that Psalm 16:1 contains both a petition (“keep me safe”) and a condition (“for in you I take refuge”). We have no right to expect God to answer our petition until we have met his condition. God will keep us safe, if and only if, we take refuge in Him.
Where is our country’s refuge? Is it in border fences, immigration law, government and its leaders, police officers, military, money, Wall Street, universities, educational system, etc. Spend some time at the beginning of this Independence Day to allow God to reveal to you the refuge of our country—In whom or what our country seeks its safety. While you are at it, evaluate your own refuge and that of your family. If anything or anyone other than God is our refuge, we are “walking on thin ice.” We can have no expectation that God will keep us safe, when we have replaced him with other gods.
Psalm 33:12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. The question never concerns God’s willingness to bless. He wants to. The question is whether He is our Lord. If not, repent and return. If so, celebrate his blessing, now and in the future.
Evening
On Independence Day we all should thank God for the military. Let us avoid, however, putting them in the place of God. Psalm 20:7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. Ultimately God preserves nations.
Truthfully, there is another group of people more important to this nation’s future than the military. 2 Chronicles 7:14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. The spiritual health of our country is the responsibility of the church. If our nation is in poor spiritual health, the church is responsible and must repent. Then we need to state our trust in the Lord, by pleading for His restoration and protection in prayer. Psalm 16 is a good expression of such trust. Before you go to bed tonight, for the glory of God and the sake of our country, meditate on 2 Chronicles 7:14 and Psalm 16. Ask God to raise the importance of the work of the church in your mind and the minds of your fellow church members. Use those verses to guide you as you pray for our church and country. The two are linked in heaven.
1 comments:
Good words! I feel like you have really tapped into the heart of God. How He longs for us to be on the same page as Him! Matthew 23:37 (Amplified Bible)Jerusalem, Jerusalem, murdering the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a mother fowl gathers her brood under her wings, and you refused!
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