Walking After Our Own Devices

Jeremiah 18:12 And they said, there is no hope: but we will walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart. At what time will a nation of people awaken to the truth? When will it be that people gain wisdom? For Israel of old, wisdom came after they were sent into captivity for their rebellion against the Lord. I ask you, when will America heed wisdom? When will we awaken? We are surely a big nation, bigger in our own eyes, perhaps, than in reality. We do walk after our own devices, after all, who's to stop us? If we want homosexuality made lawful, who's to stop us? If we want to abort babies, who's to stop us? If we want to declare sex outside of marriage is perfectly ok, who's to stop us? If our ministers, pastors, deacons, bishops, and others want to ordain wickedness, who's to stop them? So far, so good, should be our adage. God's mercy has been leveled at this nation and others, in spite of such wickedness. The problem is, His mercy will come to an end someday, then what? As a nation that has been blessed of God, we sure follow the ways of stubborn Israel. In spite of Gods warnings by His prophets, the nation headed straight into captivity. This is a nation full of churches, fine golden crosses, plush pews, the best educated seminaries, and the richest of all peoples on the earth, yet it is headed for disaster. This disaster comes when people think they answer to no one. That wicked ways will not be punished. This nation has been warned for years by many godly men. Even today, there are voices that cry for this nation to repent amidst the godlessness. In Israel's day, David knew to put into words the Justice of God. In Psalms 9 verses 7-10, David says that "the LORD shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment. And he shall judge the world in righteousness; he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness. The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee." Those who know the Lord have put their trust in Him. The Lord will not forsake those who seek him. The Apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:12 that we (who now know the Lord) were at one time "without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world." Having no Hope, without God in the World, this describes many in America today. Moreover, when we in this nation, forget God as we have been doing, this "having no hope" boils to the surface. Instead of glitz and glamour, young people become disillusioned with society. Instead of religiosity of the churches today, the young people opt for the dark side of the occult and mysticism. Instead of feeding on this nation's secularism and hype, the young people find it shallow offering nothing of sustenance. They find that the offerings of money, fame, wealth, food, religiosity, and everyday life to be of no value. It is pure vanity, uselessness. They see adults fighting to obtain, yet having not enough, politicians fighting in Washington offering no solutions, and in school they find humanism offering the empty wisdom of man. Again David touches on this point for us in Psalms 9, verses 16-20 saying that "The LORD is known by the judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God. For the needy shall not alway be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever. Arise, O LORD; let not man prevail: let the heathen be judged in thy sight. Put them in fear, O LORD: that the nations may know themselves to be but men." In our strivings in this nation, people need wisdom. Not mans, but Gods wisdom. The beginning of such wisdom is fear of the Lord. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, Psalm 111:10. This nation and its people need to know, the way they are headed will bring a snare upon them. Just like nations before who thought they were Gods in their own eyes, they were brought low. This nation will end up just like the wicked before them, who were caught in the justice of the Lord and were cut down. Will America find herself in this situation? The answer is, America is already there. Today, before I wrote this, I got a call for prayer. This prayer was for the families of two young men. These families were unrelated, yet, they faced the same dilemma. Both young men had committed suicide. One succeeded, the other failed and is facing horrible consequences for his action. In both these young men's lives, we can see the reflection of America. The list goes on. Murders, suicides, rapes, drugs and so on. The ignorance never ceases, with wisdom of wicked men who fail to see the Justice of God that will come upon all nations who forget God. The trip to hell is paved with good intentions and is one step at a time. The problem for America is that we are taking the scenic trip and everyone including many churches is blinded to this.