God Let's You Do What You Want To Do, BUT...

We've been using the book of Jeremiah to uncover part of God's character and learn how God deals with nations. When does He bless nations and when does he curse (withdraw blessings) nations.

Does God force people to behave in a certain way? Is Christianity a religion of compulsion, that forces people to live and behave a certain way? About 2,500 years ago Babylon had conquered Israel, leaving just a remnant of the Jewish population behind. Those Jews started worshipping the Queen of Heaven, a pagan god. They refused to stop disobeying the LORD God and continued to worship the Queen of Heaven. So this is what God said:

"You and your wives have said that you will never give up your devotion and sacrifices to the Queen of Heaven, and you have proved it by your actions. Then go ahead and carry our your promises and vows to her!" - Jeremiah 44:25

If you choose to turn your back on God... if you refuse to obey God... he let's you do that. It's your choice to make and you may do as you wish. BUT, there are consequences both to you as an individual and to a nation that turns its back on God. The consequence for a nation is that God withdraws His blessing, and that brings disaster. In the case of the Jews God spoke to in Jeremiah 44:25 the consequences included "war and famine until all of you are dead." (Jeremiah 44:27)

In America today we are turning our backs on God both individually and as a nation. Individually, after our death, we all will stand before God to be judged. If you have disobeyed God in any way, the penalty is death (hell). As a nation the consequences don't come after the death of that nation, they are more immediate and may result in the death of the nation.

The Potter Does Whatever He Wants With His Pottery

In Jeremiah 18 the LORD sends Jeremiah to a shop where a potter is making pots. But the jar the potter was making did not turn out right, so the potter squashed the jar into a lump of clay and started over again. Then God said:

"...can I not do to you as this potter has done to his clay? As the clay is in the potter's hands, so are you in my hand. If I announce that a certain nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down, and destroyed, but then that nation renounces its evil ways, I will not destroy it as I had planned. And if I announce that that I will build up and plant a certain nation or kingdom, making it strong and great, but then that nation turns to evil and refuses to obey me, I will not bless that nation as I had said I would." - Jeremiah 18:5-10

What's Happening To America?

In the Book of Judges God blesses Israel and then withdraws His blessing. The cycle is repeated over and over. When Israel disobeys God's commandments, God withdraws His blessing. When Israel returns to obeying God, God then blesses Israel. The phrase that sums up what Israel did wrong is the very last sentence in this book... "so the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes."

When we do what seems right in our own eyes then we can expect the consequences, the withdrawal of God's blessings.

On Monday I was wondering why I didn't feel upset or sad about the murder of 33 people at Virginia Tech. On Tuesday someone mentioned that the NY Times was strongly promoting gun control. Then it struck me. Over 3,000 children are intentionally, and with premeditation, murdered EVERY DAY. And this daily mass murder doesn't even warrant a mention in the news. Our soil is soaked in the blood of our sacrificed children... how can God do anything but withdraw His blessing?

3,000 years ago people would sacrifice their children to pagan gods such as Moloch. They believed this would bring them a better life. It would bring rain to water the crops. It would bring them health and wealth. We are rightly appalled by this. As "civilized" people we would NEVER allow children to be sacrificed to a god. Or would we?

Today, 3,000 people a day sacrifice their children to the god of self-centeredness. Most abortions are done for the very same reasons people sacrificed children to Moloch, because they think it will bring them a better life. People have abortions because it is not convenient to have a baby at this point in time. People have abortions because they don't have time for children. It will interfere with their life. It will be a financial burden. We are sacrificing our children, just as the believers of Moloch did, because we believe it will mean a better life for ourselves.

What hypocrites we are!! What murders we are!! Where is the outrage? 500 years from now this period in time will be know as a dark age of savagery.

Does God Bless America?

When does God bless a nation and when does God withdraw His blessings from a nation?

A nation that lives in obedience to God, will be blessed. A nation that blesses Israel, will be blessed.

Is America living in obedience to God?

No, America is up to its eyeballs in the blood of innocent children who have been murdered. In ancient times some cultures sacrificed children to their pagan gods. We read about that and are horrified. How could someone kill their children to please a god that is not real? Yet we sacrifice millions more babies than were ever sacrificed to pagan gods... killing then in honor of the god of person convenience. We apply the death penalty to an innocent child because we had a moments pleasure and it would be inconvenient to let that child live.

Yes, some babies are conceived as a result of rape. (Very, very few abortions happen as a result of rape.) So what do we do? We give the death penalty to an innocent child instead of to the rapist. One person commits rape and we kill another person who had nothing to do with that rape. Does that make sense? NO!!!

The ongoing murder of innocent children is just one reason why America no longer has God's blessing as we did in the past. People are looking to the rest of the world and saying, "The world does not approve of what we are doing. We must change what we are doing." What we should be doing is looking to God and saying, "God does not approve of what we are doing. We must change what we are doing!"