As stated in the previous posting, cowardly religious leaders and politicians lack the spiritual spine to tell the American people, specifically the church, the Biblical Truth–that it is their sins that causes God to repeatedly curse them individually and nationally. For example, God has promised good health to those who obey Him. Yet the medical industry is one of the largest in the world. God promised to protect obedient nations from war. Yet the United States has been at war almost continually over the past 150 years. He has promised good weather to the nation that serves Him in righteousness. This series speaks to that subject. He has told us that all things work for the good of those who love Him (Acts 8:28). How do we prove our love for Him? “If you love Me, keep My commandments (Law)” (Jn. 14:15). First John 3:4 defines sin as the breaking of the Law. However, we are told that obedience is not only impossible, it is unnecessary in that the Law was “nailed to the cross.” We are told that, due to Adam’s fall, sin is an innate, unavoidable part of our lives. Therefore all we need to do is pray and God will come to our rescue.

Currently, as has been the case for generations, America is focusing on prayer as the solution to many problems. The prayer people continue to quote is 2 Chronicles 7:14. I find it amazing that religious people “know” that the Old Testament is irrelevant in today’s New Testament world. Yet when the going gets rough they immediately turn to the Old Testament for help. They “know” that the Law was “nailed to the cross” but then refer to the Ten Commandments as their standard of behavior. Some even have copies of the commandments on their walls. Some have them chiseled on stone outside their local government buildings. The irony is inescapable.

Our vice president, along with various religious personalities, have publicly quoted 2 Chronicles 7:14 numerous times when praying for God’s help. In each case they conveniently omit the sin, wickedness, humbling and turning parts of the statement because such Words would upset those who consider themselves Christians, who just happen to be the ones who elect them to public and religious office and pay their salaries. Status, votes and money are always front and center when politicians and ministers are involved. Because of fear of reprisal these men refuse to tell Americans that they are guilty of sin and wickedness, that they must repent, humble themselves and turn to God–the God they claim to obey. This is the same God by Whose Words they are commanded to live (Mat. 4:4), which are the same Words they reject. Church pastors and evangelists refuse to preach the Lord’s unedited, unspun, unmaligned, uninterpreted Word. Instead, these false prophets continually feed their listeners a steady diet of perversion, lies, smooth things and deceits. Willingly ignorant and Scripturally lazy, their parishioners accept what they are being told as “God’s Truth.” Because of these factors, God is not answering their prayers. And the people do not understand why. After all, they are Christians, attend church, read the Bible, pray, tithe, etc. So what is the problem? The answer: disobedience relative to God’s Word, the same Word by which all will be judged (Jn. 12:48). In Psalm 34:3-5 the psalmist tells us how to have our prayers answered: “Trust in the Lord (believe His Word), and do good (obey His Word) and you will dwell in the land (live in safety) and be fed (have plenty). Delight yourself also in the Lord (love and obey Him), and He will give you the desires of your heart (answer your prayers). Commit your way (life) to the Lord, trust (have faith in His Word) the Lord and He will bring it (your heart’s desire) to pass.” The formula is simple: obey God and be blessed.

For the opposite of the Lord’s obey and be blessed rule, let us turn to the Prophet Amos who delivers a message to the nation God has cursed because of disobedience: “And I also withheld the rain from you when there were yet three months until the harvest (when rain is essential); and I caused it to rain upon one city, and not to rain on another city: one area was rained upon (flooded), and the area that was not rained upon withered” (4:7). Amos was speaking to America in these end times. For example, as Hurricanes Harvey and Irma were dumping four feet of rain on Texas, fires were scorching million of drought-stricken acres in California. While Amos was speaking to the Israelites living in his day he was also speaking to their descendants living in our day.

The intentional misquoting of 2 Chronicles 7:14 is both destructive and tragic because the Words being omitted are the very Words the people of this nation, and the world at large, must hear, believe and obey if they are to have any chance for salvation. The Prophet Amos did not hesitate to tell the children of Israel in his day and their descendants today what they must do in order have their prayers answered. Would that a modern day Amos would come on the scene and tell the people the Truth. A few men are speaking God’s warning Truth. But their voices are drowned out by those who emphasize prayer over obedience to God’s Word. God is speaking, but few are listening. His true ministers are warning, but few heed their voices.

The Lord always warns before He strikes. “Surely the Lord god will do nothing without revealing His secrets to His servants the prophets. The lion has roared (God has warned through His ministers), who will not fear? the Lord God has spoken, who can but prophesy?” (Amos 3:7,8). In Amos 4:12,13 we are told that God creates the wind that produces hurricanes. He has power over the elements and knows what people are thinking. Amos tells us that if there is evil (destruction and death) in a city the Lord brought it (3:6).

Satan’s false prophets have filled the hearts of God seekers with heart-warming homilies about sweet baby Jesus, but have refused to warn them about the wrath of the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. As a result of this error, the Institutional Church has embraced Jesus as her Savior Who makes all her sins disappear but has refused to accept Him as her Lord Who must be obeyed. If He is not one’s Lord now, He will not be one’s Savior later. All of the prayers an individual or a nation can offer up will change that Law. What is happening to the United States is all the proof we need. L.J.