Thank you Mark and thank you for dropping by to listen.
As the nation approaches Election Day, the importance of this moment is undeniable.
But the true crisis America faces goes far beyond politics. We are on the verge of total collapse — not because of who we elect, but because of who we are.
In case you haven’t noticed
In case you haven’t noticed, America has become a place where evil thrives.
As a nation we’ve chosen to glorify violence and chaos. We’ve let more than 10 million people enter our country illegally, bringing with them violent gangs, dangerous drugs, and human trafficking.
We’ve chosen to groom our young children for sexual exploitation and call it 'progress.' We’ve chosen to rip apart the family, which once was the cornerstone of our society, if the parents in those families don’t agree with the current “woke” ideologies.
We’ve chosen to brutally murder more than one million babies every year for the last 51 years and have chosen to celebrate the practice.
We are engaging in actions internationally that could very well lead us into a world war.
Those are just a few of the things you may have noticed if you’ve been watching.
We are literally running off the side of a cliff to our own destruction.
A little history
Nations have been on the verge of destruction before, and usually when they reach that stage in their development, they are destroyed.
But not always.
Sometimes, broken nations are spared destruction.
The city of Ninevah is a good example. Ninevah was the capital of the Assyrian Empire, which ruled a large chunk of the world from the 8th to the 7th century BCE. The Assyrians were a ruthless, vile people. They did many things that would horrify us today. But they also did things that would fit right in with what is acceptable in our culture today.
They conducted brutal military operations, destroying entire cities and slaughtering all the inhabitants, including women and children. They were notorious for their practice of torture. They would impale prisoners on stakes, skin them alive, or mutilate their bodies. They worshipped idols, sacrificed children to their gods, and engage in temple prostitution as part of their worship.
Because of Nineveh’s wickedness, God decided to destroy the city. But He also decided to warn them before carrying out the destruction.
You may be familiar with the story of Jonah and the whale, but the purpose of that story was to get the message to the people of Nineveh that they would be destroyed because they had chosen a life of evil.
You can probably imagine how that message was received. Surely the people would have ignored Jonah, or mocked him, or even attacked him. At least that’s how the people of America would probably treat a prophet like Jonah if he arrived in our world today.
But that’s not how the people of Nineveh responded. When they heard the message, they realized how evil they had become. They understood that what they believed and did was wicked.
“And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.”
Jonah 3:5 (ESV)
Even the rulers of the nation believed God’s message, repented of their wickedness, and pleaded with God not to destroy them.
“By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water, but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.”
Jonah 3:7-9 (ESV)
Fortunately for the people of Nineveh, when they turned from doing the evil that had become such a routine part of their lives, God did forgive them.
“When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.”
Jonah 3:10 (ESV)
That’s an encouragement to me.
Like Nineveh, our society teeters on the edge of destruction. But there is hope. God’s warning to Nineveh was not met with rebellion but with repentance. And because of that, God spared them.
We, too, have an opportunity for repentance.
America’s hope is not in elections or policies, but in turning back to God. If we, as individuals and as a nation, repent of our sins and seek God’s mercy, there may yet be hope.
Voting is important, but a return to God is paramount.
Before I go, I’d like to share a blessing with you from the Old Testament.
“May the Lord bless and protect you; may the Lord’s face radiate with joy because of you; may he be gracious to you, show you his favor, and give you his peace.”
Numbers 6:24-26 (The Living Bible)
Until next time … be the reason someone smiles today
Running Off the Cliff