Isaiah 42:20-23: “'You have seen many things, but have paid no attention; your ears are open, but you hear nothing.' It pleased the Lord for the sake of his righteousness to make his law great and glorious. But this is a people plundered and looted, all of them trapped in pits or hidden away in prisons. They have become plunder, with no one to rescue them; they have been made loot, with no one to say, 'Send them back. Which of you will listen to this or pay close attention in time to come?'"
Early this cool September morning I read these words of Isaiah. One question haunts me: “Which of you will listen to this or pay close attention in time to come?” I asked myself am I paying attention to the times?
Have you wondered like I did last weekend? We have four professing Christians running for the Presidency and all of them campaigned on Sunday? Are we paying attention? We heard a lot about country first—really? I thought God and family were somewhere in the mix.
Nancy Pelosi, professing Christian, Speaker of the House and very part-time theologian says that theologians haven’t a clear understanding of when life begins—really? It has been the Church’s position since the beginning that life begins at conception. Listen to Psalm 139:13-16: "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” Have we forgotten this? Listen to the word of the Lord from Jeremiah 1:4-5: “The word of the Lord came to me, saying, 'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."
We pontificate on this issue of life. Some of us may feel the answers to these questions “are above our pay grade” but let the Lord speak through His word or has God’s word become outdated? Yes, we’ve heard and seen many things, and we have paid no attention and we act as if we have heard nothing. Few Christians stand up to defend the sanctity of life. Be reminded, we will all answer for our actions.
I was with a group of younger people who were discussing the election. One said McCain is old and stiff. Today in our culture, old people are marginalized. We haven’t learned from the past. Yes, he is old and stiff. Why stiff? Many of the younger generation have not heard of his time of service and his confinement as a POW. You’d be stiff too if you were tortured in a North Vietnamese prison camp for 5 ½ years. Don’t bother me with his life story. Have you not heard or seen?
We pay no attention as our nation is plundered. T. Boone Pickens is right, our unlimited appetite for oil is resulting in the largest transfer of wealth to the oil rich countries. T. Boone has a vested interest, he owns natural gas wind and oil technology and resources. And if we don’t change, it will not be T. Boone Pickens but “Slim Pickins’” for all of us.
The Chinese are buying up our debt at an alarming rate with what? With money we’ve given them to buy more cheap inferior products to pile into our over crowded houses. Is anyone noticing or listening?
I just got back from a business trip to Redwood Falls. I ran into a friend who said “no matter who we elect, it won’t change anything.” Pessimistic yes, but it may be closer to the truth than I want to think. We are, in many ways, a wicked nation and God’s judgment may be in the works.
We live in a system where we can participate. We need to participate and pray. God is still on the throne. We do not need a Messiah-like President or a Messiah-like Vice President be it Obama or Palin. What America needs is the Savior, Jesus Christ. Christians wake up, stand for truth, be alert and aware.
“Which of you will listen to this or pay close attention in the time to come?" (Isaiah 42:23). God help us.
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Yes, it will be important to vote in this election, and as christians, we should be "values voters", not to just vote for what will profit me. I reject the idea that some have that there is nobody worth voting for, I believe there is a clear choice, especially on the key issues of abortion and same sex mariage.
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