As I was sitting here writing I looked out the window and there were two beautiful does visiting the yard.  They looked around then meandered down to the garden – where they decided the roses looked pretty good to eat, as did the dahlias and pepper leaves.  I encouraged them to leave, they did.

Carla is a glutton for punishment; she brought home some more pears to can.  We will be busy for a day or two. 

I did pick up some peaches yesterday, the last box at the stand.  The young lady asked if they were for canning or eating – I said both.  She hadn’t seen me there this year so asked why I waited so long to can – I told her we hadn’t and then she recognized that I was Carla’s husband. 

Luke 10:16 He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.

Mathew 23:37-38 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!

³⁸ Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.

This morning I was talking with an older person who was shaking his head and saying nothing makes sense anymore.  He is right, nothing makes sense.

You can’t count on the government to defend your rights, you can’t count on the community leaders and even many of the church leaders are wallowing in their own filth.  The world is in turmoil, diseases are running rampant. 

The Middle East is a war zone where our soldiers can’t tell who their friends are, they don’t know if the ‘allied’ soldier they are having dinner with will stand by them or try to kill them tomorrow.

We have many governments testing boundaries, such as Korea, China, Russia, Iran and we don’t know if another world war is going to break out at any moment.   

What was sinful yesterday is permissible today.  What was wrong last month is right today and vice versa.  According to our government The Muslims are supposed to be a religion of peace, yet people are afraid to contradict them for fear of retribution; while the Christians are now a religion of hate and nobody fears their retribution.

More and more are blaming an uncaring God while others deny He and His precepts even exist; there is no limitation to their depravity.  They preach man holds his own destiny and that he is able to determine what is right and what is wrong without having to listen to anyone that claims God is the answer to our problems. 

And all the while, satan is rubbing his hands in glee, with a huge smile on his face.  He has been doing this kind of thing since the Garden and Adam.

God’s punishment is coming down on the world; we but have to look at the turmoil we are enduring to see that.  This is not the first time He has had to allow the results of sinful behavior strike people and their governments in an attempt to chastise them and make they realize they need to return to Him.

We but have to read the Old Testament and Jesus’s words to the Jewish hierarchy in the New Testament to understand there are consequences for turning our back on God; for worshiping idols.

How much of what is occurring in the world today is punishment from God and how much is just the result of the actions of Adam bringing sin into the world I will not speculate.  But I do know that the world, and America in particular, is turning our backs on God and worshiping idols. 

While America may not be building temples to false Gods with craven images as were done before, we are building temples and worshiping idols.  Sports arenas worth billions of dollars are springing up and the players are our heroes.  Americans spend thousands of dollars on sports memorabilia to honor their teams and favorite player.  And there are those proclaiming they go to these ‘churches’ on Sundays – some have even said the NFL is their religion.   

We place these athletes on pedestals and applaud their multi-million dollar contracts and choose to ignore their ugly behavior.  We purchase items that bear their names and likenesses because of their endorsements.  These are our idols.  These are the people we look up to and ‘worship.’

We go to movies that are starring actors that are outspoken critics of God’s Word and His people.  We spend thousands of dollars on products they endorse and follow them on the different media outlets so we can know their every move.  These are our idols and we ‘worship’ them.

We do not have time for God because our life is too busy with jobs and hobbies; too busy with television and the internet; too busy finding out what our favorite athlete or movie star is doing.  God is shunted off to the side until we falter and are in trouble and then we remember Him; and decide we need Him to intervene on our behalf.

In the above scriptures we could easily substitute America for Jerusalem.  God has blessed this country more than any other except Israel when their leaders and people obeyed Him.  Yet, we have fallen away from Him, telling Him we no longer need His guidance or preservation. 

God is patient.  God loves us.  God would rather bring us under His wings than allow us to be subject to the discipline He places on the world.  He calls us to Him, yet we reject Him.  As the chicks that refuse to come to their mother and rest within her bodice are at risk from the elements and the predators in the world, so too are we left to the predators of this world when we no longer accept God’s protection.

God will accept our confessions of sin, and turn this country around as He did when Jonah preached to Nineveh and they listened and asked God for forgiveness.  But our leaders must recognize our sins, must admit them and ask for His forgiveness.

As God cries out in anguish when His children leave Him and suffer the consequences, so must we.  There are those that would rejoice the end is near, yet, there are so many out there that need God, that need His Son’s sacrifice and we should never forget that God wants them under His wing.

As He has compassion on us, we too must have compassion on others and that means telling them of the love of God and the results of rejecting Him and His Son.  As Jesus and His disciples did not back down from proclaiming Him as King no matter the consequences to their lives, so must we.

We are God’s voice to this country, to this age, and we must not be silent.  We must not yield to intimidation or outright attacks against Him and us.  We are on a precipice and if we do not pull this country back from it, we will fall over it.

Luke 10:16 He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.

God wants His people safe. “how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, “

Later, Art :-)  

From the ColumbiaRiverGorgeous
May Our Good Lord Bless and Keep YOU....’til we meet again