AMERICA! AMERICA! By Tom Shanklin

NOTE: On on the week of 9/11, the following article was scheduled to run in our local newspaper.Today, America still needs to repent and turn back to God, and if we don't, we open the door to the enemy to come upon our shores. May we heed God's warning and turn back to Him. God bless America! And like a sign I read once: "America bless God!"
Tom
 

America! America.
God shed His grace on thee.
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea

The old hymn "America the Beautiful" contains a prayer for God's blessings upon our land, and that righteousness, and integrity and goodness would prevail.

I love America. When I travel to other countries, I am always grateful to return to our shores. . . to to set my feet once again on the land of the free and home of the brave. Yes, it's the greatest nation in the world, but I fear that we are on a collision course with disaster, if we do not wake up.

I find myself burdened greatly for our fair nation. . . concerned for its well being. . . feeling that we are treading dangerously close to ruin and disaster, a nation that is falling steadily into a moral abyss.

The illustration is often given of someone driving their car at high speed, heading directly toward a tremendous cliff and drop-off. If you were to see that car traveling steadily toward that deathly end, you would be less than human if you did not at least try to warn the driver of the impending doom.

Unfortunately, even the most vociferous warning might go unheeded, not being heard above the din of a roaring engine, along with the intoxicating speed and a lust for the power of a 400 horsepower engine running at full boar.
Many people in America are like that driver of the 400 horsepower automobile. They are inebriated, intoxicated, and deluded into thinking that all is well, while the angel of death is hovering over their slick, powerful vehicle. The engine is roaring, but all is not well.

There is a great deception in America. People are blind. The Bible tells us that if anyone does not receive the Gospel, it is because the "god of this world" has blinded their minds. According to 2 Corinthians 4:4, Satan is the god of this world, and a great number of people are living under his insidious deception. Are you?
Allow me please to share with you three great deceptions of American culture today-sex, money and religion.

SEX
Sex is good! God designed it to be a wonderful experience between a man and a woman within the marriage relationship. But our society has turned into a business, and has perverted the minds of the men, women and the children of our nation.
Sexual innuendo, provocative talk, sexual images and pornography dominate every form of media, from Hollywood's productions, to the music industry, to talk radio, to late-night comics. We are a nation obsessed with sex, and it's having a terrible effect.

Much of the plague of divorce in our nation can be blamed on a spirit of adultery which exists in the minds of many people. "If only I had a different partner, I would be happy," they think. And as the obsession grows, their marriage falls apart. Oftentimes, they fall into the arms of another lover, only to be disappointed again.

Our children are taught through the sitcoms on national television that their true identity is sexual, and that by wearing risque clothing, and focusing on their sex appeal, they will find acceptance and happiness. They are taught that multiple sex partners is normal and even "cool."

Oftentimes, this deception leads to heartbreak through teenage pregnancy, sexually transmitted disease, and emotional wounds caused by multiple unfaithful partners. Instead of adding value through their obsession with sexuality, they loose their sense of self-worth and bring destruction into their lives.

America! America
God mend thy every flaw
Confirm thy soul in self control
They liberty in law.

MONEY
The Bible speaks of the deceitfulness of riches. Money is not bad; it's a tool. It's really neutral in moral value, because it can be used for bad or good.

The deceitfulness of riches is the deception that money can buy happiness. The deceitfulness of riches says that you must serve money, because money is the most important thing. For many people, money is their god, and they will do anything to get more of it, even if it means hurting others.

America is the richest country in the world, but for all our riches, we are corrupting ourselves. Wealth has become an end unto itself. . . and it has led to a spiritual bankruptcy in our society. The Bible says that we are to use our wealth to benefit others.

America! America!
May God thy gold refine,
Till all success be nobleness,
And ev'ry gain divine.

RELIGION
There is much deception in America concerning religion. For all of our preaching of the Gospel, many people have little comprehension of the truth. Their religious beliefs are being shaped more by the media and the culture around them than by the Word of God.

For example, when someone dies, you will often hear it said, "Oh, they're in a better place now." However, if that person has never accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior and become born again, they will not spend eternity in heaven, but rather in hell, a place of eternal torment.

Jesus told the Jews that their tradition had made the Word of God of none effect. (Mark 7:13) Today, man-made religion and traditions are blinding people to the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Universalism, secular humanism, modernism, new age philosophies, ritualism and various false religions are leading people into a false security concerning their relationship with God.
People say, "There are many paths to God." However, this statement is false, for Jesus himself said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6, KJV).

There is only one path to God. His name is Jesus. And there is only one answer for America, a return to righteousness and sobriety. Let the blinders come off and the name of Jesus be lifted up. Believe God for a change in your heart and in the soul of America. Cry out to God to have mercy on us and to heal our land, in Jesus name. Amen.