America In Crisis

AMERICA IN CRISIS

The people of Iraq live today under the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein. Iraq is a

country where women have no rights, where men are persecuted and tortured if they dare make any anti-government remarks, and where all people live in constant fear.

Until recently in Afghanistan, women were not allowed to be educated in the schools. Men were not allowed to shave their beards or mustaches; the growing of opium represented more than 50% of the farmer’s national crop, grown and

harvested and sold to provide for the needs of drug cartels and drug traffickers. And most certainly, the most evil, vile and despicable terrorists in the world were trained in Afghanistan under Al Qaeda and its sick and demented leader, Osama bin Laden.

Ninety miles south of the tip of Florida, the people of the island of Cuba continue to live in poverty as they have for more than 40 years now, under the communist dictatorship of Fidel Castro.

The AIDS epidemic continues to sweep across Africa and into China. Medical care is poor at best, and only the few receive the treatment they so desperately need.

Church, I wonder, do we realize how fortunate we are to live in the greatest country in the history of the world. We are the most powerful, the wealthiest, the most well educated and most blessed country that mankind has ever known. We are a nation that was founded under the principle that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life,

liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Our Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America states that we are one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

For 116 years in New York Harbor, near the ruins of the once majestic World Trade Center buildings, the Statue of Liberty has stood steadfastly with its right hand raised holding the torch of freedom. Since October 28, 1886, Lady Liberty has been the first sight seen by many peoples of all nations, all religions, all nationalities, as they have emigrated to our country in search of a new life and new opportunity, that which we have come to know as the American Dream.

For 226 years America has been the beacon of light and the defender of freedom for all people. I am proud to call myself an American. I love my country, but my heart breaks and cries out in sadness for my beloved country, America, is in crisis.

We find in our Bible, in the Book of Galatians, Chapter 6, verse 7, that the Apostle Paul writes in his letter to the people of Galatia, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: (meaning fooled), for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”

Today, in America, people of all walks of life have strayed from the very foundation upon which our country was built. The seeds or corruption have grown and flourished and as a country, we are reaping what we have sown.

The good news for all of us is that Almighty God has never changed, and when I think of His great love for me and for you, I am reminded of that beautiful old gospel hymn that we all love and have heard so many times.

Yesterday, today, forever, Jesus is the same.

All may change, but Jesus never! Glory to His Name! Glory to His Name! Glory to His Name!

All may change, but Jesus never! Glory to His Name!

The Bible remains the same today as it was in the days of old. It was God’s unchanging Word yesterday, it is God’s unchanging Word today, and it will be God’s unchanging Word for all the tomorrows to come. The Bible is our textbook,

our map and our direction for all things we encounter in this earthly life, and when we stray from it, that is when we get in trouble.

I opened the local newspaper the other day to read and find out what was happening in our world. Certainly we all knew and were concerned about the snipers that were terrorizing cities in our state and bordering states and the District of Columbia, wherein resides the leaders of our country; congressmen, senators, Supreme Court Justices, and the President of the United States. I praise God this morning that local, state and federal law enforcement agencies were able to join together in a united effort with one common purpose, and that being to stop the terror and arrest the two men responsible.

I do admit, however, that I feel a sense of sadness in the knowledge that one of those responsible was a 17-year-old high school student. My heart cries out asking where were his parents? Where were his teachers? Where were God’s witnesses that