PRINCIPLES OF PRESERVATION IN DIFFICULT TIMES

No. 1, Earnestly Seek God

Because of the uncertainty of the times we are facing, both now and in the future, I feel inspired by the Holy Spirit to encourage men to pray and draw near to God. We could well face a greater down-turn in our economy than most of us realize. Along with the depreciating economy comes greater stress on marriages and family life as we struggle to pay mortgages and utility bills, etc. On the positive side, difficult times provide greater opportunities to pray for one another and to reach out and help one another in practical ways.

Those who develop a lifestyle of earnestly seeking God, through prayer and faith in His many wonderful promises, will without a doubt survive these difficult times. Not only will we survive the challenges, but we will come through as better people as a result of applying God’s life-saving principles to our lives.

Those who will not take time to diligently seek the Lord will become the victims, losers, down-and-outers and casualties. Those who look to government to save them will fail. Those who look to their neighbors to save them will fail. Those who look to their employer to save them will be disappointed. It would be good if people could look to the church for help in difficult times. However, many churches are having to scale back their giving in order to pay their mortgages, salaries and utilities, etc. Some churches are closing their doors.

ONLY ONE PLACE TO GO!

There is only one place to go that will never fail, and that is before the throne of God’s mercy and grace, the place where we can pour out our hearts with earnest prayer. He who is so compassionate and merciful will come to our aid in our time of need. We should not only cry out to God for ourselves but for others. Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

While we thank God for the Tea Party momentum in the nation and the conservative talk-back show hosts, as well as the growing desire in the nation for conservative fiscal spending, smaller government, less taxation and greater encouragement to the private business sector in order to create more jobs, we must not look to man to solve our national crisis. We must look to God who gave us our nation. We must allow God to search our hearts to see if we have offended Him, and quickly repent and put away all the sins that are an affront to Him.

Jeremiah 17:5-6 says, “Thus says the Lord: Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord. For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when good comes, but shall in habit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land which is not inhabited.” It is an insult to our great God to look to any man, movement or party to deliver us in our times of national crisis. I get concerned with our national talk back hosts when they talk about all the evils of our present government, and yet fail miserably to talk about our national moral sins. It is these sins that are mainly responsible for the judgments that could soon bring correction and discipline to our nation.

REPENT OF NATIONAL SINS!

Let us all repent quickly so that we will be saved from harsher and heavier judgments. Let us pray that along with the rising tide of reaction and resistance toward run-away government spending and take-over, that there will also be a rising tide of reaction and resistance toward the great moral sins of our nation. The Tea Party movement will be just another lost cause, and will not deliver us, if we do not repent and seek the Lord while He may be found.

We read in Psalm 78:34-38, “When he slew them, then they sought him; and they returned and sought diligently for God. Then they remembered that God was their rock, and the Most High God their redeemer. Nevertheless they flattered him with their mouth, and they lied to him with their tongue; for their heart was not steadfast with him, nor were they faithful to his covenant. But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and did not destroy them. Yes, many a time he turned his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath.”

Let us not forget that the great need of America is something much more important than the government. It is the hearts of America that desperately need regeneration and only God can change the hearts. Let us zero our prayers on the “bull’s eye” of our great need and all else will come into its rightful place. As a nation we need to put the blame for our coming woes where it truly belongs—our sins. In the providence of God a nation gets what it deserves, but even in this matter God is merciful. We often get much less than we deserve. Praise our most merciful God.

GATHER YOUR FAMILY AROUND YOU TO PRAY!

Dear brother in Christ, in this important time of our nation’s history, would you please draw your wife and family around you each day and encourage them to pray with you for the heart of our nation? Perhaps a good time would be following the evening meal at Family Devotions. Pray together that our nation will repent of all the innocent blood that has been shed with 50 million babies being aborted since Roe v. Wade. Pray that men will repent of the gross pornography they are watching and for the marriage break-ups that are damaging so many families all over the land. Pray that this nation will repent of all the immoral sins of homosexuality and pedophilia, etc.

SPACE TO REPENT!

I believe this is a defining moment for our nation. Revelation 2:21-22 speaks about the woman Jezebel who beguiled God’s servants to commit sexual immorality, “I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent. Indeed I will cast her into a sick-bed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds.”

God, in His great mercy, is giving our nation a space to repent right now! We must seek the Lord without delay. Will we heed His warning to us in Isaiah 2:19, “They shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, from the terror of the Lord and the glory of his majesty, when he arises to shake the earth mightily.” Are Haiti and Chile warnings from our merciful God because He loves us? If the answer is a possible Yes, then let’s not drag our feet to pray, for who knows, except God, if our turn could be next! Thank God for all those who are already earnestly seeking God.

COLIN CAMPBELL

In the next few months, Colin will continue to give you biblical principles for preservation in difficult times.

Colin is the husband of Nancy Campbell, Editor of Above Rubies, www.aboverubies.org

Colin can be contacted at 615 948 5958 for speaking engagements.

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