Influencers Weekly Devotional- One Nation Under God?
One Nation Under God?
by
Bryan Craig
“Oh, eternal and everlasting God, direct my thoughts, words and work. Wash away my sins in the immaculate blood of the Lamb and purge my heart by Thy Holy Spirit. Daily, frame me more and more in the likeness of Thy son, Jesus Christ, that living in Thy fear, and dying in Thy favor, I may in thy appointed time obtain the resurrection of the justified unto eternal life. Bless, O Lord, the whole race of mankind and let the world be filled with the knowledge of Thee and Thy son, Jesus Christ.
– George Washington
The Stars and Stripes are flying and hanging all over this country this week as our nation turns our thoughts and hearts collectively to the celebration of our birth and independence. Our forefathers, these Pilgrims and Patriots, were longing for a free country, one where they could worship God without tyranny and oppression. They were believers and worshippers of God, and they gave their very lives to serve Him. They were striving to create a nation under God because they belonged to the Kingdom of God.
Fast forward to 2015. This country’s highest court, the men and women who are supposed to be the “watchmen on the wall”, keeping our nation’s laws and leadership in balance, voted to endorse freedom. However, they were proclaiming freedom from the Biblical standard of moral living. For those of us who follow Christ, who have the Kingdom of God within us, we grieve as we watch our country moving so far from the God it was created to serve.
Jesus knew this day was coming. In Luke 17, Jesus was engaged in a conversation about the coming of the Son of Man, better known as The Return of Christ. “Then He said to His disciples, ‘The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it.’” Luke 17:22 He went on to explain just when you think the Son of Man is never coming, He will come like a lightning flash. He inferred that the world will become very dark and when you see these things happening, they serve as a signpost of the coming of the Son of Man. In Luke 17:26-27 He says:
“Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also it will be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.”
Why did the flood come?
“The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The Lord was grieved that He had made man on the earth, and His heart was filled with pain. So the Lord said, ‘I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth.’” Genesis 6:5-7
Back to Luke 17, Jesus also said His coming will be like in the days of Lot:
“It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.” Luke 17:26-27
Why did God destroy Sodom?
“The Lord said, ‘The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached Me. If not, I will know.” Genesis 18:20-21
The Lord sent two angels to assess the situation. What happened next tells you why the outcry had come to the Lord (Genesis 19):
“All the men from every part of the city of Sodom- both young and old- surrounded the house. They called to Lot, ‘Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.’” Lot pleaded with them. “Don’t do this wicked thing.” “’Get out of our way,’ they replied. And they said, ‘This fellow came here as an alien, and now he wants to play the judge! We’ll treat you worse than them.’”
Lot and his family escaped the city before burning sulfur rained down on Sodom and Gomorrah and destroyed them.
Brothers, the days are evil, but the Lord has given us an escape plan. After the great flood, God created a Rainbow as 
a covenant between Himself and mankind that never again would He flood the Earth. It was not a symbol of sexual freedom, but a symbol of God’s love for us. He loved us so much that He sent His Son Jesus to us. Jesus suffered and died, taking on our sin, so that all who believe in Him will be saved. Judgment is coming. The Son of Man is coming. We must put our trust in Him and do it quickly. He will rescue us just like He rescued Noah and Lot.
Oh, that we might fall humbly on our knees, like our first President George Washington, and repent of our sins, asking Him to cleanse us and purge us. Oh, that we, who have the Kingdom of God within us, might lead the way in righteousness and love. Oh, that America could one day truly become One Nation Under God.
“Oh, eternal and everlasting God, direct my thoughts, words and work. Wash away my sins in the immaculate blood of the Lamb and purge my heart by Thy Holy Spirit. Daily, frame me more and more in the likeness of Thy son, Jesus Christ, that living in Thy fear, and dying in Thy favor, I may in thy appointed time obtain the resurrection of the justified unto eternal life. Bless, O Lord, the whole race of mankind and let the world be filled with the knowledge of Thee and Thy son, Jesus Christ.
– George Washington
The Stars and Stripes are flying and hanging all over this country this week as our nation turns our thoughts and hearts collectively to the celebration of our birth and independence. Our forefathers, these Pilgrims and Patriots, were longing for a free country, one where they could worship God without tyranny and oppression. They were believers and worshippers of God, and they gave their very lives to serve Him. They were striving to create a nation under God because they belonged to the Kingdom of God.
Fast forward to 2015. This country’s highest court, the men and women who are supposed to be the “watchmen on the wall”, keeping our nation’s laws and leadership in balance, voted to endorse freedom. However, they were proclaiming freedom from the Biblical standard of moral living. For those of us who follow Christ, who have the Kingdom of God within us, we grieve as we watch our country moving so far from the God it was created to serve.
Jesus knew this day was coming. In Luke 17, Jesus was engaged in a conversation about the coming of the Son of Man, better known as The Return of Christ. “Then He said to His disciples, ‘The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it.’” Luke 17:22 He went on to explain just when you think the Son of Man is never coming, He will come like a lightning flash. He inferred that the world will become very dark and when you see these things happening, they serve as a signpost of the coming of the Son of Man. In Luke 17:26-27 He says:
“Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also it will be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.”
Why did the flood come?
“The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The Lord was grieved that He had made man on the earth, and His heart was filled with pain. So the Lord said, ‘I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth.’” Genesis 6:5-7
Back to Luke 17, Jesus also said His coming will be like in the days of Lot:
“It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.” Luke 17:26-27
Why did God destroy Sodom?
“The Lord said, ‘The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached Me. If not, I will know.” Genesis 18:20-21
The Lord sent two angels to assess the situation. What happened next tells you why the outcry had come to the Lord (Genesis 19):
“All the men from every part of the city of Sodom- both young and old- surrounded the house. They called to Lot, ‘Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.’” Lot pleaded with them. “Don’t do this wicked thing.” “’Get out of our way,’ they replied. And they said, ‘This fellow came here as an alien, and now he wants to play the judge! We’ll treat you worse than them.’”
Lot and his family escaped the city before burning sulfur rained down on Sodom and Gomorrah and destroyed them.
Brothers, the days are evil, but the Lord has given us an escape plan. After the great flood, God created a Rainbow as a covenant between Himself and mankind that never again would He flood the Earth. It was not a symbol of sexual freedom, but a symbol of God’s love for us. He loved us so much that He sent His Son Jesus to us. Jesus suffered and died, taking on our sin, so that all who believe in Him will be saved. Judgment is coming. The Son of Man is coming. We must put our trust in Him and do it quickly. He will rescue us just like He rescued Noah and Lot.
Oh, that we might fall humbly on our knees, like our first President George Washington, and repent of our sins, asking Him to cleanse us and purge us. Oh, that we, who have the Kingdom of God within us, might lead the way in righteousness and love. Oh, that America could one day truly become One Nation Under God.