Dark Days
We are in increasingly dark days in our nation. The last several years, it seems, we have not been headingto the cliff, but have gone over the cliff ... and the downward plunge is speeding up exponentially. Every statistic, both in the church and out, confirm this spiritual and moral free fall.How do we interpret all that is happening, and what should our response be? Look how David saw such things:
The nations have sunk down in the pit which they have made;in the net which they hid, their own foot has been caught.The Lord has made Himself known; He has executed judgment.In the work of his own hands the wicked is snared.The wicked will return to Sheol,even all the nations who forget God.(Psalm 9:15-17 NASB)
The Ways of God’s Judgment
God’s greatest judgment is to leave us alone—to take His gracious, protective hand off of our lives and our nation. No nation is an exception to this possibility.Nations rise and fall. We must do everything we can—in personal holiness and missional living, in our role as revived believers (first) and faithful citizens (second)—to exalt God and His righteousness, because “righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people” (Proverbs 14:34).But we must also realize that nations will be judged for their refusal to acknowledge God. In the end, they will receive what they desire—a nation without the blessing and power of God.
The Good News of God’s Plan
God is always building His church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it (Matthew 16:18). While we may not see this clearly right now in our nation, this is happening all around the world ... slowly in some places, in others with amazing rapidity. We must not lose sight of God’s overarching agenda.But the purpose of the OneCry initiative is to call the church across our nation to see the desperate need of the hour, to turn from our lethargy and sin, and to cry out to God for His deliverance. We are uniting to pray for a mighty revival in the church that will lead to a spiritual awakening among the lost and the rapid advancement of the gospel in our land.As a nation, this is our only hope to avert the sure and soon judgment of a righteous God.