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Blessings and Cursings |
Dear Brethren,
All through the Bible there are examples of God fulfilling
His promise of blessings to those who choose to follow his way of life. There is a spiritual
principle involved. This is a principle that works equally with individuals or nations.
History records national blessings for countries that look to God for guidance - the USA is a prime
example.
"All these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken
unto the voice of the Lord thy God." (Deuteronomy 28:2)
On the other hand, catastrophe, disease and destruction follow those who set out to
beat God's system by breaking the rules, i.e., the commandments. We have all seen lives ruined
by any number of causes. When people end up with broken lives, the reasons can be traced back
to violations of good principles. God's perfect set of spiritual rules brings about all things
good. Defiance of God's spiritual laws brings a breakdown of moral order. The Bible refers
to these outcomes as blessings and cursings. (Joshua 8:34)
"Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee,
till thou be destroyed; because thou hearken not unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep his
commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee." (Deuteronomy 28:45)
Within God's Church, we all know and love the song, “God Bless America.” God has
indeed blessed America greatly. Irving Berlin wrote the words, “Stand
beside her and guide her,” and God did lead America into becoming the
greatest and most powerful nation that has ever existed. Francis Scott Key
wrote in our national anthem how God has poured out His blessings on this
magnificent and excellent land. He wrote that God has, “Blest with victory
and peace... [and] hath made and preserved us a nation.”
This country was founded on God and the laws of God. As long as, we the people, were
submissively “Under God,” we could rightly expect His bountiful good graces
to continue to increase. Our national laws – based on God’s Ten
Commandments – are responsible for the freedom, rights, and liberty we have
so greatly enjoyed in the USA. Our open society allows us life, liberty,
the pursuit of happiness, with freedoms of religion and speech, as free men
in a free nation.
Too many of our leaders, teachers, friends and family have begun to select an alternate
life style – one without God as a part in it. They reject the truth that it
is God’s way alone that provides all good things. What can we, as a
people and a nation, expect as a result of our rejection of God and His Ten
Commandments? We can anticipate God beginning to remove the national
blessings and the protection He has, thus far, afforded us because we, as a
nation, have rejected His perfect way.
The apostle Paul wrote about the Laws of God, especially the Ten Commandments, “The
law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.”
King David said, “All thy Commandments are righteousness.” Now that we are
choosing to set aside the perfect spiritual law, which is the foundation of
society itself, we can absolutely expect to encounter diminished
accomplishment as a people and as a nation.
We are witnessing America's last days. If this great nation does not return to the creator
God soon, every good standard defining the attributes of America will collapse.
Without God, no nation can stand. All who believe in good morals will agree
that America is in a horrendous moral degeneration. As a result of this
disintegration, we will face incredible challenges in the immediate future
undreamt of. Will the complete breakdown come in a sudden immense crash or
an excruciatingly slow but sure demise?
Jesus Christ prophesied in Genesis chapter forty-nine exactly how the end
would come when He said, “I may tell you that which shall befall you in
the last days.” God refers to His people as a vineyard, and to our
protection as a hedge and a wall. "And now go to; I will tell you what
I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall
be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden
down." (Isaiah 5:5)
How will the end
come? Two chapters in the Bible explain in intricate detail how great
America could have remained, and how devastating the end will be. Read
these chapters for yourself to know what God has prophesied. They are
Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28. Read about the coming slavery and
starvation of this nation.
“Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the Lord shall send against thee, in
hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he
shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee.”
(Deuteronomy 28:48)
The citizens of this once moral land must come to understand what happens when God is
rejected and abandoned. Our people will learn what happens when God’s
spiritual rules, which are for our good, are not followed. Unless the
people of our country return to God in business, in education, and in
government, our social order will deteriorate to the point of total
breakdown. National defense will become insignificant, resulting finally
in defeat.
Our enemies will walk in and pluck-up our land and the surviving one-third of the population
like a ripe peach. Jesus Christ told exactly how He would replace the evil
rulers of this world when He sets up the Kingdom of God on this earth. “In
the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which
shall never be destroyed.”
(Daniel 2:44)
We of God's Church have a responsibility to set the highest example in our behavior and
conduct. Let's not get caught up in the Godless social disorder around us.
Jesus said, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble
themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways;
then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal
their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)
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"Blessings and Cursings"
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