“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (Jesus in John 15:5)
The secular ‘takeover’ of the Western world is nearly complete, or so it seems, for those following the more traditional forms of media. Injustice abounds around us. There are fights in our schools that will turn to the parks and streets in the summer. The current election fiasco has brought in new lows. The relative chaos around us is the result of our society rejecting the “common grace” given to all men in the form of His Design and Law. Even someone who does not know God can benefit from the structures of a respected government or traditional family!
Abandon God-designed institutions and guardrails, and a secular society will eventually discover the wisdom behind the guardrails, though by then it may already be too late! If history is not forgotten, it will be remembered as the “good ol’ days”. The abandoning of God’s design for marriage in the name of “sexual freedom” has brought in all kinds of destruction that could be a whole topic in itself, but just one facet in particular is a rapid decline in birthrate and fertility in all regions of the world except Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia. This will lead to a drastically different world in just a couple generations, should the Lord not see fit to intervene.
A new study published last month found that those who undergo so-called “gender transition” surgery are far more likely to attempt suicide than those who do not: over 12 times more likely, in fact. The data surveys millions of patients over the course of 20 years, from 2003 to 2023. The data exposes just how evil it is for counselors and activists to pressure parents into “affirming” their children’s dysphoria, especially with the manipulative question, “Would you rather have a live son or a dead daughter?”
The lack of moral fortitude and the lack of leadership in the United States have led Haiti to be run by rival gangs and “mob rule”. For safety’s sake, the general public would prefer the established order of organized crime over the life-threatening insecurities of anarchy. All these things are just downstream from the meaninglessness brought about from rebelling against God and His ways.
God foretold these things to Israel at the time of its formation: “All the nations will ask: “Why has the LORD done this to this land? Why this fierce, burning anger?” And the answer will be: “It is because this people abandoned the covenant of the LORD, the God of their fathers, the covenant he made with them when he brought them out of Egypt. (Deuteronomy 29: 24-25)
In other words, none of this should surprise us as Bible-informed believers. The world has long used fear to usher in a greater lie. Society has long-since discovered that its citizens will grow desensitized to whatever was considered a “moral outrage” just a few short years earlier…“those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. (Isaiah 5:20) It should not surprise us in the least that corrupted humanity, apart from God’s Grace, will inevitably call God’s Word “hate speech” and seek to make it illegal, while parading the worst elements of human depravity, flaunting them in front of believers in the name of “Pride Month”.
To us as well as to Jesus’ first disciples, Jesus reminds: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” Far too often we have let fear lead us over faith. We need to keep in mind that the same Spirit which began to work with a tiny minority of Christians within an oppressive religious system, is also at work in our world today!
Our Puritan forefathers cultivated and established this land in the most amazing way because they recognized the Providence of God behind their own actions, their daily business and domestic affairs. They saw God working though the nations and world events to accomplish His Great purposes. While modern philosophy seeks to put down anything that will raise Himself above human autonomy, we have found our source of wisdom and hope!
“For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength. (1 Cor 1:21 & 25)
We dare not forget the “ancient paths”, the solution made available through God from the beginning: “This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Jeremiah 6:16) Whichever way the world goes, you have been given the greatest assurance that none of your efforts for the Lord will be in vain (Isaiah 55:11, 1 Corinthians 15:58), provided that you “remain in Him”!
Therefore, now is the time for us to come back to the Source of our strength, that is in God’s leading, and let Him move through you in large or little ways, as you step forward in faith. Who knows if you might have the ear of the king, like Joseph, Daniel, or Esther?