May 2, 2007

Restoring Justice to a Troubled Nation

By Gina Parker Ford

The Scriptures warn, "But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of what is good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. . ." (I Tim. 3:1-5).

This scripture describes America today. We are a society poor in virtue, but abounding in vices.

How heart-breaking that there have been over 48 million abortions since 1973. There were over 3,500 abortions per day in 2003. In 2003, more children died from abortion than Americans died in the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, World War I and II, the Korean, Vietnam, and Gulf Wars combined. Approximately 93% of abortions are for “social reasons,” and not for the mother’s health or for rape or incest.

Tragically, approximately 50% of all marriages end in divorce. “Divorce is like an amputation. Sometimes it may be necessary but it should be avoided if at all possible because it brings about a permanent disability,” as Bill Doherty wisely remarked. President Lyndon B. Johnson rightly noted, “When the family collapses, it is the children that are usually damaged. When it happens on a massive scale, the community itself is crippled.”

Like a scene from Sodom and Gomorrah, radical homosexuals demand their rights as they parade through the streets of America on Gay Pride Day. Homosexuals are also preying on our children in high schools across America. For example, recently school officials at Dearfield High School (Illinois) required freshmen students to attend a Gay Straight Alliance Network panel discussion where homosexuality was presented as a normal, healthy lifestyle. Most alarming is that they were instructed not to tell their parents about this gay indoctrination. Homosexuals are aggressively lobbying Congress to silence those who object to their perverted lifestyle. Currently, a hate crimes bill is pending in Congress that would prevent pastors and Christians from speaking out against homosexuality.

While homosexual indoctrination and condom distribution are welcomed in high schools, it is outrageous that Bible clubs, religious t-shirts, and other religious expression are banned by school officials. Our schools are at risk of becoming “religious-free zones.”

The recent shooting at Virginia Tech University and the dozens of other school shootings over the past decade are reflective of the society we live in. We have replaced prayer in school and the 10 Commandments with metal detectors, armed guards, and training sessions on how to prevent violence in school.

As national leaders sought to determine the cause of school violence, Darrell Scott, the father of Rachel Scott, a victim of the Columbine High School shootings in Littleton, Colorado, addressed the House Judiciary Subcommittee. Mr. Scott courageously shared these words of wisdom:

“I am here today to declare that Columbine was not just a tragedy—it was a spiritual event that should be forcing us to look at where the real blame lies! Much of the blame lies here in this room. . . . I wrote a poem. . . that expresses my feelings best.

Your laws ignore our deepest needs,
Your words are empty air.
You’ve stripped away our heritage,
You’ve outlawed simple prayer,
Now gunshots fill our classrooms,
And precious children die.
You seek for answers everywhere,
And ask the question, “Why?”
You regulate restrictive laws,
Through legislative creed.
Any yet you fail to understand,
That God is what we need!”

Mr. Scott is right! Our nation has been under assault by the liberal press, the United States Congress, the courts, and our own craving for more material possessions.

Indeed, the United States of America is a troubled nation in need of renewal. Reflecting back on the first Inauguration of President Ronald Regan, we find hope for today. The president-elect’s hand rested upon his mother’s old, wrinkled Bible, opened to her favorite verse, II Chronicles 7:14. "If my people which are called by my name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and heal their land." Next to this verse Reagan’s mother scribbled, "A wonderful verse for the healing of a nation."

Let us examine the call to prayer more closely by learning about the talith, a Jewish prayer shawl. In Numbers 15:37 - 40, the Jews are instructed to wear the prayer shawl. "Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the children of Israel: Tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and put a blue thread in the tassels of the corners. And you shall have the tassel, that you may look upon it and remember all the commandments of the Lord and do them, that you may not follow the harlotry to which [your] own heart and your own eyes are inclined, and that you may remember and do all My commandments and be holy for your God."

The purpose of the prayer shawl was to hold the tassels and be reminded of God’s commandments.

Pastor Cleddie Keith, in his book Praying the 10 Commandments, concisely points out the purpose of the commandments. He writes, "The Ten Commandments represent the God-given moral plumb line for the ages."

Why the need for these divine rules? They are like the limitations a mother places on her children when they go out to play. They are for our protection and contain blessings. They teach us how to serve God and provide wisdom for daily living with others in our community. Otherwise, without God, man eventually turns back to lawlessness as we see in our beloved America today.

Judge Roy Moore was the Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice that was ordered to remove the 10 Commandments from the State Judicial building. He stated, "It is axiomatic that to restore morality, we must first recognize the source from which all morality springs."

Time does not permit us to reflect on all the commandments, but let’s quickly examine a few of them and seriously consider their importance and relevance for us today.

The Second Commandment is one of promise. "You shall not make for yourself a carved image. . . you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord, your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments."

The spirit of this commandment is teaching us not to trust in other things, but to trust only in God. It is a commandment that promises blessing to our children through the influence of our lives. As Pastor Keith notes, when we live and pray this commandment, it is a prayer that reaches into the future.

The Fifth Commandment is also one of promise. This commandment instructs us as follows, "Honor your father and mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving to you."

In the times we live with broken hearts and dysfunctional homes, honoring our parents may not be easy. However, when we walk in love and forgiveness, the cycle of sin is broken. Let the scripture in Malachi give us hope for our families. "And He will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers. . .” (Mal. 4:6).

Let us also consider the Sixth Commandment, "You shall not murder.” The lesson to be learned from this commandment is to respect life, not to harbor hate and contempt in our hearts, and to walk in forgiveness. What if this commandment had been posted in the classrooms of America where the school shootings have occurred?

The Tenth Commandment addressed the selfishness and the greed of man’s heart. It is a much needed commandment for today’s materialistic society. It warns, "You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. . . ."

Pastor Keith tells the story about Uncle Bud, a Nazarene preacher who went window shopping with friends on the streets of Manhattan. Later in the evening he was overheard praying, "Lawd, I tank ya that I di’nt see one thang I wanted." How many of us can say that?

Oh, how we need the 10 Commandments to be written upon our hearts. It is important to note that the Hebrew word for prayer means to judge oneself—that is, self-examination. God is looking for people willing to examine their own hearts. God is looking for men and women to stand in the gap and pray for this generation and to stand up boldly for righteousness.

We live in an hour of political correctness which is nothing more than a fancy word used to describe the liberal media’s efforts to silence truth and justify all sorts of perversion in the name of tolerance. In reality, these same liberals are intolerant of all things religious. Unfortunately, many have cowered to this minority view and abandoned our godly heritage, which has kept this nation safe and blessed, the “shining city on a hill for all mankind to see,” as President Ronald Reagan so eloquently described it. We have a message of hope for a nation in need of renewal.

Let us not be ashamed of our beliefs because they are a solid foundation for our homes and for our nation. May we accept the challenge of Darrell Scott: “Dare to move into the new millennium with a sacred disregard for legislation that violates your God-given right to communicate with Him.”

God is looking for preachers who will boldly proclaim the Word of God without compromise and fear of repercussions. When Eli, the priest, failed to confront the sin of his two sons, the nation of Israel slipped further and further into immorality. The same has happened today as a result of a watered-down gospel; we are losing a nation because it is void of godly leadership.

The same is true with politicians who choose power over principle. They reason that getting re-elected is the greater good that justifies the compromises. Unfortunately, they are selling the soul of America for the next vote. We need statesmen and not politicians.

Parents are divorcing in the name of irreconcilable differences and leaving their children to suffer the consequences of their decisions. Many are too busy for church and prayer and family time because they are chasing the American dream of "more and better." With a sky rocketing divorce rate, “Daddy is home” is missing from our family vocabulary. We need parents committed to God and their children before their careers and their personal inventories.

Perhaps, America looks hopeless to you, and you feel as though you are the only person praying. Let me leave you with these words of encouragement.

One of my favorite stories is the story of Jonah and the whale. Jonah did not believe that there was hope for the city of Nineveh. He refused to preach and left town on a ship. There was a great storm, and Jonah feared that the storm was a result of his refusal to preach to Nineveh. He was thrown overboard and swallowed by a whale. Jonah cried out to the Lord while he was in the belly of a whale, and God commanded the whale to vomit up Jonah.

He later preached to the Ninevites. "So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. Then the word came to the king of Nineveh: and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes" (Jon. 3:5-6).

"Then God saw their words, that they turned from their evil way, and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it" (Jon. 3:10). I cannot help but hope that America too will return to righteousness and be healed. As we humble ourselves and turn from our ungodly ways, may “the Son of Righteousness . . . arise with healing in His wings" (Mal. 4:2) and restore justice to our troubled nation.