Happy Birthday America!

by Dick Buckingham, Administrator

With July 4^th upon us, many of us are preparing to celebrate the 237^th birthday of arguably the greatest nation that has ever existed.  This nation has accomplished so much in its relatively short history and had such a positive impact upon its citizens and the world.  The birthday of America is not just another opportunity for Americans to hold barbecues and party.  It is truly with a measure of pride that we celebrate a great nation.

Yet can you imagine a time when there will not be a celebration on July 4^th?  Do you think it at all possible that there may come a day when this date will pass by without even a thought of a parade or feasting or fireworks?  No one likes to even think there may come a time when the great nation of America would no longer exist or be reduced to such as state that no one would take notice or celebrate.  To even talk in such terms is highly criticized and almost treasonous.

Yet a quick scan down the annals of history finds empire after empire, nation after nation, though once strong and mighty, now reduced to rubble and ashes, only the subject of history books and archaeologists.  History recounts for us many of their highlights and their low-lights, but one thing is consistent about all of them.  What they once were, they no longer are.  Could that be a fate in store for the greatest nation that ever existed?  Will the fact that it is America spare it from the destruction that has been visited upon nation after nation?

Though no one, including me, wants to say it, not only can it happen to America, but it will.

How can I say such a thing?  Because we can examine how this has taken place in other nations over and over in history and we can see that America is following the same fatal pattern.  Let me put it simply.  Historically, when a nation or empire turns away from the truth of God, when they no longer seek to embrace righteousness, when sinful behavior is not only allowed but celebrated, God rightly judges them and brings His righteous wrath upon them.  Consider the Babylonian, Greek and Roman empires.  Think about what happened even to the chosen people of God, Israel.   America will not receive some special pass from this consequence because it is America.

Though this nation had a solid beginning that included Biblical ideas, principles and philosophies woven through its fabric by the founders, it has year by year, decade by decade been unraveled so much that the tapestry may well be forever ruined.  One need only consider the direction our society has taken on issues of life in abortion, faithfulness in marriage, morals in homosexuality and truth in understanding of origins to see that we are committing some of the same sins that were the death-knell of communities such as Sodom.  It was pride and arrogance that brought down Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians.  It was moral failure that doomed the Romans.  It was the unfaithfulness of Israel and Judah that changed their course forever.

What can we do?

Pray.  It is never too late to implore God on behalf of our nation.  Abraham pleaded with God on behalf of

Sodom and Gomorrah and God heard his prayer that if He found even 10 righteous in the cities, He would spare them.  Daniel prayed for the people of Israel during the time of the Babylonian captivity.  Please see below the text of Daniel 9.  I encourage you to take a moment and read the prayer that he prayed.  This is the prayer we need for America.

Remember.  We are taught in scripture that God is sovereign over all the affairs of men, including nations.  There is not a maverick molecule that acts contrary to His will and purpose.  Though we may not like or understand the course of things as God carries them out, we can be assured that  He is working all things out according to a plan that ultimately brings Him glory.

Take comfort.  Throughout all of history, whenever there was a nation that was destroyed, God has always preserved a remnant faithful to Himself.  Elijah was certain that he was the only one left who desired to serve and follow after God.  Yet God had preserved 7000 who had not bowed the knee to Baal (I Kings 19:14-18). There is already a faithful remnant in America that God has preserved.  May you and I be counted among them.

God bless America?  Yes, and may He have mercy upon us as well.

Daniel 9 - NIV

9 In the first year of Darius son of Xerxes^[a] (a Mede by descent), who was made ruler over the Babylonian^[b] kingdom— ² in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the Lord given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. ³ So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.

⁴ I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed:

“Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, ⁵ we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. ⁶ We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our ancestors, and to all the people of the land.

⁷ “Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame—the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you. ⁸ We and our kings, our princes and our ancestors are covered with shame, Lord, because we have sinned against you. ⁹ The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him; ¹⁰ we have not obeyed the Lord our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets. ¹¹ All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey you.

“Therefore the curses and sworn judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against you. ¹² You have fulfilled the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing on us great disaster. Under the whole heaven nothing has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem. ¹³ Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come on us, yet we have not sought the favor of the Lord our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth. ¹⁴ The Lord did not hesitate to bring the disaster on us, for the Lord our God is righteous in everything he does; yet we have not obeyed him.

¹⁵ “Now, Lord our God, who brought your people out of Egypt with a mighty hand and who made for yourself a name that endures to this day, we have sinned, we have done wrong. ¹⁶ Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn away your anger and your wrath from Jerusalem, your city, your holy hill. Our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors have made Jerusalem and your people an object of scorn to all those around us.


¹⁷ “Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary. ¹⁸ Give ear, our God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. ¹⁹ Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear and act! For your sake, my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.”

A Temporary Democracy

“ A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government.  A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury.  From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship.”

“The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years.  During those 200 years, these nations always progressed through the following sequence:

• From bondage to spiritual faith
• From spiritual faith to great courage
• From courage to liberty
• From liberty to abundance
• From abundance to complacency
• From complacency to apathy
• From apathy to dependence
• From dependence back into bondage”

The actual source of the above quote, most often attributed to an 18th century Scottish history professor, (Alexander Tytler) cannot be verified.  The list in particular, rather than having the authority of a history scholar and educator was most likely authored in the mid 20th century by the president of a company that made, of all things, cork; not a very authoritative position or resume for something so serious.
However, it is rather sobering as it seems to accurately describe the path of America.  The first four in the list above accurately describe the founding and successful growth of this great nation.  The next three seem to be descriptive of the things we are greatly concerned with presently.  And the final one is a great fear we share for our future.

While the list has resonance with us, let us stick with what we know.

a. There have been many great and powerful nations before the United States that for one reason or another no longer exist except as memories in our historical studies.  Think of the amazing Babylonian, Persian, Athenian, and Roman societies of a time now past.  I cannot image that anyone who lived during these days would have ever thought there would come a day when these empires were spoken of in the past tense.  Even with all the problems they endured, people still thought these nations were too powerful to not continue.  Even the later of these empires, though looking back on the earlier failures, would have a certain amount of confidence that they had found the answer to avoid repeating the previous falls.  As much as we would like to think America will be different than all the other nations, it will not.  The reality is nations are not eternal.  In Isaiah 40, God compares all the nations combined to dust on a scale or a drop of water on the outside of a bucket.  They are of no significant consequence.  Only God matters.  He alone is eternal.

b. Nations don’t last primarily because they are human institutions and are prone to the foibles of the sinful human nature even with the best intentions and carefully worded foundational documents.  The heart of man will always tend toward evil and he will find a way to accomplish what he desires every time.  The only answer to deal with the sinful heart is to turn to the redeeming God and seek His one and only solution for forgiveness and cleansing.  What this country needs is not new laws or political philosophies or parties.  What we need are new hearts and new minds recreated in the image of our Maker.  We need revival.  We need the truth of the gospel to pervade every arena of our society.  Yet, as we have seen so evidently recently (Chick-fil-A), the sinfulness of man will resist and fight back against that as well.

c. We must be careful not to put our hope in nations.  The scriptures say, “Some people put their trust in chariots and some in horses” (Psalm 20:7).  Men always have the tendency to trust what they can see and know by experience.  They think the government or institutions of men are the place to turn for help and relief.  But these things are vapors in the wind.  The only thing we should put our hope in is God himself.  It may very well be that we will face hardships, persecutions and trials unto death.  But God is the only one we can depend upon to be faithful.  Consider the situations of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the book of Daniel.  They were forcefully removed from their homeland and made to live and serve in a land not of their choosing.  God watched over them and was faithful to them even when they faced the death penalty.  That is the God in whom we trust.

d. We need to be careful to pass this truth on to our children.  Nationalism is fine and patriotism is great.  But for believers, the reality is this world is not our home.  We need to help our children understand that there may be difficult days ahead for American and its Christian citizens.  We need to prepare them to be faithful as was Daniel and his friends and to stand firmly upon the truth and never waiver.  In order to do that, we must do the same ourselves.  I believe the day is soon coming when we shall see open persecutions of those who belong to Christ.  Parents you must prepare your children for the possibility of that.  A great resource for older children is Foxes Book of Martyrs.   Read through this with your child and help them to see the experience of believers from a time past and how they dealt with the hardships of persecution.

There are three things I would like to ask each reader of this blog to do.  One is to make comment.  I would like to hear what you have to say about the state of our nation and its future.  Two, please think of at least one other person to share this blog with and pass it on to them.  And three, no matter what party or candidate you support, the election in 2012 is very important.  Make sure you know the issues and the candidates' stands and vote.