Category: Brother Al (Page 26 of 68)

I meet with a group of men at my church; we call ourselves “a band of brothers.” During a recent gathering, we talked about the spiritual decline of America and abandoned, wayward brothers. We agreed that one of our missions is to “rescue” other brothers, living with broken hearts, who could be influenced by cultural lies. Many could be sinking into despair, resigned to riding out the storm alone.  

As I prayed about this, I was drawn to Jude 22-23: “Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire, to others show mercy, mixed with fear – hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.”  

“Jude wants us to become involved in the painful, yet merciful, work of helping those who are wondering about falling, who are falling, or who have fallen” (Bible Speaks Today).  Jude seems to be describing believers who were in the various stages of falling away.  “What has happened is that some people have infiltrated our ranks (our Scriptures warned us this would happen), who beneath their pious skin are shameless scoundrels.  Their design is to replace the sheer grace of our God with sheer license – which means doing away with Jesus Christ, our one and only Master” (Jude 4 MSG). 

Oh, how easy it is for men to have their minds filled with teaching that denies the grace of God, only to get caught up in being religious and in the process moving further and further away from Jesus as Lord.  These men need to be rescued by other brothers. They live in confusion and brokenness, having lost their way home, now living in the far country (Luke 15).  Who will go and rescue them? 

According to Jude, men need to be rescued from three conditions:  First, those who are wavering.  “Some were in the early stages of wavering in their commitment to faith as a result of false teachers” (NIVZSB).  Brothers need to be  shown mercy, needing loving encouragement.  “Those driven into doubt need mercy” (N. T. Wright).  Learn to encourage struggling brothers.

Second, those who are in danger, “becoming so persuaded by the false teachers that they were in imminent danger of condemnation” (NIVZSB).  Some brothers will need rescuing from actual spiritual danger. Fire is an instrument of God’s judgment.  “Those seduced by the intruders need rescuing” N.T. Wright).

Third, those who are caught.  This group “probably consists of those who followed the false teachers” (NIVZSB), who are now caught in false teaching.  We are to show mercy but be cautious, so as not to be enticed.  “They must be urged to repent and warned of judgment” (N. T. Wright).  “Christians must be extremely cautious when showing mercy to false teachers and their followers because their sins can be enticing” (NIVZSB).

Jesus gave us fair warning of being taken in by false teaching. “For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and miracles to deceive the elect – if that were possible. So be on your guard.  I have told you everything ahead of time” (Mark 13:22-23).  Men, you will be tempted to compromise your faith.  Satan wants to take you out of the fight.  

We who are committed to Jesus need to be aware of our wounded brothers.  There will be many in the days to come.  Paul gives us this charge and warning, “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted” (Gal 6:1).

At its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, the World Economic Forum recently called for “The Great Reset.” Representing many of the world’s most powerful people, the Forum’s founder (Klaus Schwab) says a new movement called “the Fourth Industrial Revolution” will lead to “…a fusion of our physical, our digital and our biological identities.”  

Schwab believes the COVID-19 pandemic “represents a rare but narrow window of opportunity to reflect, reimagine and reset our world to create a healthier, more equitable, and more prosperous future.”  With almost religious zeal, he declares, “nothing will ever return to the ‘broken’ sense of normalcy that prevailed prior to the crisis.”  The aim of the Forum is to deliver us from our “broken normalcy.”

I reference “The Great Reset” to expose the folly of such grand schemes for humanity, and point to the true historic “Reset” in the incarnation of God himself into history.  Jesus declared himself to be “the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End” of human history (Rev 21:13). 

I write about “The Great Reset” during this Advent season, because Advent is meant to prepare (reset) our hearts to receive Jesus anew as our savior.  This has been a difficult year for many.  There is much uncertainty about the future and hope seems to grow dim for believers.  The subtle voice of the utopians wants to convince us of its solutions, overshadowing Jesus as the Lord of history. 

Men, we all need a new and fresh spiritual reset in light of the present suspicion, reluctance and uncertainty about the future.  But I want to shout about the elites who gather in Davos, “The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them” for their arrogance and defiance of the almighty Lord of hosts (Ps. 2:4).

First, in our true reset we can be confident that God has spoken decisively in his Son Jesus. Hebrews 1:2 declares, “but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things.”  Paul boldly proclaims, “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Col. 1:17). John begins his gospel with these resounding words, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14).  “Thank you, Father, for sending your only begotten Son to save us, enabling us to reset.”  

Second, those hoping for a Davos reset need to know that the spiritual kingdom of God is now reigning in the earth, and that Jesus will come back as Lord of Lords, to establish his everlasting kingdom.  In the book of Revelation, John boldly declares that we will remain with Jesus in his kingdom. “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth” (Rev 5:10). 

Third, those hopeful about Davos need to know there are multitudes of humble followers of Jesus laboring in his kingdom, under his authority.  This will bring everlasting results. “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me.  Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations…” (Matt 28:18-19)

Finally, we all need to remember that we are at war. Our battle is with the powers of darkness.  The struggle will be great.  “But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you!  He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short” (Rev. 12:12).  But Paul tells us Jesus “disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” (Col. 2:15).

Civil unrest in America has been increasing.  As a nation, we hold our collective breath, hoping it will not escalate into civil war.  Personally, I lament the deep anger towards people of faith being accused of “hate speech.”  To express our views is seen as “violence.”  What gives rise to such disconcerting reactions?

I found insight from a two-part essay in Public Discourse, by Carl Trueman, discussing the rise of “Psychological Man.”  Trueman writes, “The notions that human flourishing is found primarily in an inner sense of wellbeing, that authenticity is found by being able to act outwardly as one feels inwardly, and that who we are is largely a matter of personal choice not external imposition have become common intuitions that lie at the heart of our society’s many ills.” 

However, the gospel story is one of looking up and out to a loving creator God, who has rescued us in Christ and filled us with his Spirit, so that we might flourish in Christ. We receive personhood as a gift bestowed by loving heavenly Father, who deeply desires relationship with us.  This is still the “Good News” for our fragmented age.

In Trueman’s words, “The  Expressive Individual” or “Psychological Man” is a “psychological construction.” It is a denial of reality. “We think of ourselves in terms of our inner convictions, our feelings.”  We then “interpret the purpose and meaning of our lives in line with” this view of self.  “Thus, the church, family and nation can be viewed as potential hindrances to personal authenticity.”  For example, a woman can still really be a man. 

This shift in personal consciousness now views language as oppression, while regarding traditional social virtues as political vices. Oppression is characterized as “making people feel bad about themselves, less than fully human or preventing them from being outwardly that which they are inwardly.”  Victims now need protection from moral values. 

Trueman helps makes sense of our cultural confusion.  Our speech as Bible-believing men can be viewed as hate speech.  Words become “speech-acts,” seen as instruments of violence because they cause psychological injury.  Think of the “snowflakes” who need a “safe space.” 

Policing language then becomes necessary.  Declaring the “Good News” is viewed not as virtuous, but as a vice.  “A society built on the notion of radical individual autonomy,” observes Trueman, “where the policing of language by the authorities becomes a vital part of the social contract” will mean that “individual freedom perversely comes to require political authoritarianism.” 

Human flourishing is now found in sexual satisfaction since the freedom of the inner self is shaped by our sexual desires. Sex becomes a matter of identity, rather than an activity.  “Sex is something you are, not merely something you do.”  Culture is seen as repressing our sexual instincts.  “The psychological self thus becomes central to the political struggle as do sex and sexuality.”

Trueman envisions a two-fold response:  First, we need to see the depth of the problem.  We need to explain the world to the church.  Second, we cannot underestimate the depth of the changes taking place.  Trueman’s advice: “….only by modeling true community, oriented toward the transcendent, can the church show a rapidly destabilizing world of expressive individuals that there is something greater, more solid, and more lasting than the immediate satisfaction of personal desires.”

My advice: 1) Know who you are in Christ, 2) Be wise and loving in your speech, 3) Know that speech is going to get more contested, 4) Build on the solid foundation of Jesus,  5) Find a group of like-minded men. 

I write this on Thanksgiving Day.  My bride and I are alone in our apartment due to the coronavirus. But we are content since our lifestyle already resembles that of a “monk and nun” living a somewhat atypical monastic life.  Even so, we see that Thanksgiving has changed over the years. 

I happened upon an article about the old TV show “Father Knows Best.”  During Thanksgiving week in 1954, NBC aired the show, which ends with the Anderson family praying before their meal.  After the family gathers at the table, the father leads the family in prayer: 

“Oh Lord, we give thee thanks from the depths of our humble hearts for all the blessings thou hast seen fit to bestow upon us.  We thank thee for this food, which graces our table, the roof, which covers our head.

“We thank thee for the privilege of living as free men in a country which respects our freedom and our personal rights to worship and think and speak as we choose.

“We thank thee for making us a family, for giving us sincerity and understanding.

“But most of all, dear Lord, we thank thee for giving us the greatest gift a family may know – the gift of love for one another.  Amen.”

I was 13 years old when that episode aired.  It sure brings back a lot of memories of growing up in the 50’s.  As I reflect on the evolution of my blogging, I am aware of being a voice of remembrance: “Stand at the crossroads and look: ask for the ancient paths…” (Jer. 6:16).  

Having walked with the Lord for over 60 years, I pray my voice will bring a godly perspective. We desperately need “truth tellers” since much of the past is dismissed as irrelevant or too harmful to remember.

“Father Knows Best” highlights cultural changes our nation has experienced over the years.  I am deeply grateful that I came to faith in the early 60’s and met my future bride in those early days.  Jesus has been the center; Scripture has been our moral compass; and the Spirit of Christ has continually renewed us.  Praise God the center holds and the foundation is secure.  

What are some positive impressions from “Father Knows Best” that could to be integrated into life today?  There are many.  Here are a few,  knowing that the cultural narrative of our day is often hostile to both the Bible and the idea of the traditional family.

First, and foremost is the spiritual leadership of the father. Traditional Christian thought sees the father’s role as spiritual initiator, pointing his family to God, to acknowledging God’s presence in everyday life.  Men, start with being thankful and positive, giving your family a hope-filled future because of Jesus and his kingdom. Your role as father is critical: do your best to keep your family “heavenly minded.” 

Second, we need to be thankful to be part of a nation that “respects our freedom and our personal rights to worship and think and speak as we choose.”  Back in 1954 this was assumed.  In the coming days, men will be called to advocate and stand for religious liberty. Expect to face strong opposition.  Resolve to “stand.”  

Finally, we can thank the Lord for “the gift of love for one another.”  This is a gift God gives to each of us.  Keep your spirit open to receive.  Only then can we pass on the love of God.   I know – I have cried out for mercy often to be able to love beyond my ability to do so. 

I am a football fan, which means another season enduring ads trying to manipulate men in new, subconscious ways.  I notice some ads are beginning to make social statements. Rod Dreher calls this “woke capitalism.”  He maintains, “Woke capitalism is now the most transformative agent within the religion of social justice, because it unites progressive ideology with the most potent force in America: consumerism and making money.”

Men, be forewarned: you may be being manipulated by a woke capitalism that wants you to embrace the progressive social agenda, not because it means a better future for America, but because it is now mainstream and it sells.  And if you disagree, you may be on the wrong side of history.

Coors, for example, still wants to sell beer.  Beer is all about men, football and having a good time.  So the underlying message goes something like this: Men are willing to be made fun of, so long as they can just be who they are.  We can’t live up to today’s expectations of being a proper male.  So let’s just be boys… These ads can be very subtle. 

Case in point: one of the Coors beer (Made to Chill) ads.  Coors Light wants to be the official beer of the discontented male, and Coors tries to win over the male audience with a new appeal: “Chill Out”.  Two guys are settling down to watch football.  A guy asks his buddy, “Who’s playing?”  The answer, “Does it matter?”  To which the first guy replies, “Nope.”  Then this caption flashes on the scene.  “The official beer of who cares, it’s football.” 

What is the underlining message of this “Who Cares” ad?   Remember, a lot of psychological study goes into these ads.  Here is my take:  First, get men to laugh at themselves.  It fits the dominant narrative of the “dumb” male: uninvolved in the issues of the day; just wants to have a beer with his buddy.

Second,  this message reinforces the idea of “escape.”   The chaos, stress and confusion of life at the end of 2020 is too much for men.  They just want to have a place where life is normal.  This is watching football with your buddy.

Third,  the remark, “Does it matter?”  That is loaded with implications.  We are left to draw our own conclusions.  I take it to mean two guys have checked out on real life by escaping together into football. 

Fourth, and most damaging is the remark, “Nope!”  That is totally the stereotype of “toxic” masculinity.  Males in our culture have been told they have to be reeducated to know how to behave in our new “brave” world with its demands of feminine equality.  But men would rather “check out” of the drama of contemporary life.   

I could be wrong.  But that is my take.  My sadness is that many men subconsciously accept  the “I don’t care” message.  My suggestion is that you get your laugh from the ad and then take a look in the mirror.  

I know that I want to stay engaged, even at 79.  I ask God to give me a passion for his kingdom and a desire to understand what he is saying to America today.  I refuse to check out, just trying to survive…  

I am reminded and convicted by the words of Jesus to the church of Ephesus in Rev. 2:4-5, “But I have this complaint against you.  You don’t love me or each other as you did at first!  Look how far you have fallen. Turn back to me and do the works you did at first.” 

Here is more insight from Alastair Roberts.  He notes our society has difficulty with male virility because of what he calls, “gender-integrated environments.”   How  do we deal with the male libido?  “When historically male spaces become gender-integrated,”  maintains Roberts, “men must tone themselves down in practically every realm of life.”  Men then become stunted, needing to repress their natural strengths. 

Male virility left repressed will leave men undeveloped and starved for meaningful expression.  Roberts believes, “many men feel an unmet hunger within themselves and perhaps also a sense of shame at their emasculation.” Men become “unhealthy, repressed or impotent” when they must restrain themselves in ever “collapsing distinctions” between the sexes. “Men can’t become men by spending the overwhelming majority of their time in contexts where women are heavily represented,” Roberts warns. 

Roberts assumes the following  – “When we integrate the sexes throughout society and lose meaningful and productive realms of all-male or all-female society….men and women become stunted and we experience a sort of self-alienation…Virile masculinity takes up space and makes it difficult for women to occupy that space on equal terms.”

Masculine virility was loud and clear as I listened to “sports talk” radio on our long road trip to North Carolina recently.  The passion, excitement and seriousness with which the hosts and the audience dialoged about college and pro football was intense.  With all the critical issues in our culture, sports talk seems to be  the one place where men seemed free to express their passion.  There was fire in the belly for their teams and favorite players.   

I wonder about the “fire in the belly” of the men who read this blog.  Do you have the experience of Jeremiah when he said, “…his word burns in my heart like a fire.  It’s like a fire in my bones!  I am worn out trying to hold it in!  I can’t do it! (Jer. 20:9 NLT)?   Do you know your voice as a man or do you feel impotent in your expression?  The Palmist expressed it this way, “The more I thought about it, the hotter I got, igniting a fire of words’ (Ps 39;3 NLT).    

If you are a follower of Jesus, God’s word is within you.  God told Ezekiel to eat a scroll.  “Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll…..” (Ezk. 3:1).  So he opened his mouth and God gave him a scroll to eat.  God told him, “Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it” (3:3).  God gave John the Apostle a little scroll to eat.  “”Take it and eat it.  It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey” (Rev. 10:9).

When we read about the stomach, you can be sure that both Ezekiel and John had digested what God wanted them to know.  It became a part of who they were.  Each man will express his virility, because of the word of God is within him, in a unique way that fits a man’s story and journey.  Don’t let anyone silence your voice.  It will lead to indigestion and emasculation.   

Remember Paul’s words to young Timothy.  “This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you.  For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love and self-control (II Tim 1:6-7 NLT).  We need to hear this word, so as to not be intimidated or silenced.    

Findings of the biennial State of Theology survey from Ligonier Ministers conducted with Lifeway found more than half of American adults, including 30% of evangelicals, I believe that Jesus isn’t God but rather a great teacher.  52% of American adults believe that Jesus was a great teacher and nothing more, while  65% of evangelicals agreed with the statement, “Jesus is the first and greatest being created by God,”  not both God and man.  An earlier Barna study showed that only 51% of Americans believed God to be “all-powerful, all-knowing, perfect and just creator of the universe who still rules the world today.”  In 1991, 73% of Americans believed that to be true.

Stephen Nichols of Ligonier Ministers noted, “As the culture around us increasingly abandons it moral compass, professing evangelicals are sadly drifting away from God’s absolute standard in Scripture.”  “The spiritual noise in our culture over the last few decades has confused and misled hundreds of millions of people,” according to Barna.” [We] can no longer assume that people have a solid grasp of even the most basic biblical principles.”  

These findings  come with a “trumpet alert” to men reading this blog.  Our culture will descend into chaos without a moral compass. “I appointed watchmen over you and said, ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!'” (Jeremiah 6:17). This blog from time to time will sound the trumpet, warning of danger ahead.  Pay attention. “Shout it aloud, do not hold back.  Raise your voice like a trumpet” (Is. 58:1).  I raise my voice as a warning to all men who read this blog. Men, the enemy wants to take you out, intending to have you drift without direction in the coming chaos.   

Joel was told to blow the trumpet because the day of the Lord is coming. “Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill.  Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming” ( Joel 2:1).  God is warning his people.  A flood is coming.  But like Noah’s day, “people didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away.”  The enemy would like for you to be spiritual asleep and completely unaware of the coming flood, allowing you to be swept along by the coming confusion.

Men, don’t let yourself be caught napping in the coming tide.  You may be in danger of being swept away without a moral compass.  Remembering these anchor points will help.   First,  Scripture is your sure moral compass.  Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away away” (Luke 21:33).  The Psalmist declared, “Your word, O Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heaven” (Ps 119:89).

This second suggestion may surprise you.  I encourage you to have a passionate, loving relationship with Jesus.  The Psalmists panted after God.  Let your deepest passions be for God.  Allow yourself to be a lover of God.   

Thirdly, in your daily affairs, know that you are part of the kingdom of God.  It is now, not by and by.  Jesus’ resurrection power and life are available to you.  “The kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21).  

Fourth, I plead with you to find a group of men who are building an ark.  That is, they know what is coming and they are preparing to weather the storm, not just for their sake, but their families.  “By faith, Noah built a ship in the middle of dry land.  He was warned about something he couldn’t see, and acted on what he was told. The result? His family was saved” (Heb. 11:7 Message).  

InterVarsity Press (IVP) has reissued Os Guinness’s book, “The Dust of Death,” published in 1973 .  I read the book several times as a young pastor back in the early 70’s.  Guinness gave me a  confident voice in articulating the gospel.  As a feeling-intuitive student of culture, I desperately needed a biblically-based analysis of the culture in which I was beginning my ministry.  

I spent all of the 60’s receiving my education (Bible school, college and seminary).   As a young pastor in the 70’s, “The Dust of Death” came as a breath of fresh air.  Guinness gave me spiritual eyes to see how the culture was changing. “Although it wasn’t evident at the time,” notes Guinness, “the 60’s sowed the poison seeds  that are producing today’s bitter harvest.  The roots of those ideas predate the 60’s, but it was in the 60’s where these ideas became dangerous.”  Guinness helped me to avoid those poison seeds.

In his preface to the signature edition, now 50 years later, Guinness said this about the 60’s: “It was the period that shaped the lives, faith, hopes and experiences and horizons of a generation – a generation that in the sixties and early seventies were students, but are now the leaders and gatekeepers of the nations. In one way or another we’re all children of the sixties today, and we need to assess the best and worst of the legacy given us by that decisive decade.” In other words, we need to be aware of the seeds that have been planted in our lives. 

Guinness would make only slight changes in his analysis of the 60’s.  He acknowledges that he would would use the term “Christian faith” rather than “Christianity.”  “The reason,” writes Guinness, “is that the progression from “Christ” to “Christian” to “Christianity” is a movement toward impersonality and abstraction, both ideologically and institutionally.”  We are to make the gospel personal. 

I praise God that I journeyed through the 60’s and 70’s, being able “to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints” (Jude 3). By the mercy of God, I have always tried to put the Lord Jesus first, both in word and in deed.  I pray that I will continue to weed out any of the  poisonous seeds still remaining.  At the end of Revelation, Jesus declares, “Behold, I am coming soon.  My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.  I am the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End” (Rev. 22:12).  Jesus is the whole story and the real revolution.  

One area of hindsight has proved critical, “so much so,” observes Guinness, “that understanding it would make this new preface worth the price of the whole book.”  The “long march through the institutions” is seen as “the forward progress of ‘revolutionary faith’ and its dream of world brotherhood, equality, and a politics to end all politics.”

Men, we are in the midst of a cultural revolution.  It has been slow and methodical.  Back in 1967 German activist Rudi Dutschke wrote, “Revolution is not a short act when something happens once and then everything is different. Revolution is a long and complicated process.”  Fifty years later, the long march through the institutions has accomplished a great deal.  Guinness believes “America has been bewitched. The great American Republic is in the process of switching revolutions from the American to the French.”  

“Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls” (Jer. 6:16).   Choose which revolution you will participate in. 

I continue to ask the Lord to help me grasp the message of the prophets, so as to apply it to our day.  If God’s word is relevant for our day, the question I ask is, “What are the prophets saying in 2020?”  Amos assures us, “The lion has roared – who will not fear?  The Sovereign Lord has spoken – who can but prophesy?” (Amos 3:8).

In two places, Jeremiah (6:13-14 and 8:11-13) refers to prophets and priests  giving  false assurance of peace – “They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious.  ‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace.”  The NLT says, “They offer superficial treatments for my people’s moral wound.  They give assurances of peace when there is no peace.”  The Message says, “My people are broken – shattered – and they put on Band-Aids, saying, ‘It’s not so bad.  You’ll be just fine.’  But things are not ‘just fine.'”

We have endured another long and contentious  political campaign season.  We have been  bombarded by messages from both sides, telling us of solutions that will work for our nation.  The slogans and supposed solutions are beyond belief.  They are lies. They just don’t fit with a biblical worldview.  We need help.  The prophets call us back to God.  But are we listening?

The notes in the “Bible Speaks Today” Bible (BST) give this analysis: “There is something astonishingly perceptive and perennially relevant about Jeremiah’s analysis…it is a terrible thing to mislead God’s people into falsehood, complacency and immorality, to be chaplains to the unrepentant and to collude in the culture of lies.” 

“From the least to the greatest” (meaning all of society), we all want to benefit materially.  Add to this cultural impulse spiritual leaders (prophets and priests) who are not being truthful.  The result is a culture captivated by lies in both religion and politics.  When such collusion between those who peddle the lies and those who profit from them becomes established, it poisons the whole culture with greed.” BST)

What is sad in our day is the lack of moral integrity in our public dialogue.  Outrageous moral statements are made, obvious immoral behavior receives approval, and there is endless character assassination of political opponents.  There is no longer any “social trust,” observes David Brooks. Biblical moral values are not even tolerated. 

Jeremiah asks, “Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct?  No, they have no shame at all, they do not even know how to blush” (6:15).  The Message says, “There’s no hope for them.  They’ve hit bottom and there’s no getting up.”  Then God says, “As far as I’m concerned, they’re finished.”  

When I think of those who have established  the dominant narrative in our culture, which continues to echo throughout secular media, I think of hardened hearts that refuse to respond to the Spirit of God when confronted with the truth of Scripture.  Are we now  beginning to experience the wrath of God upon our society?  Paul gives us a warning, “But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who push the truth away from themselves” (Rom. 1:18 NLT).

Men, I beg you not to be drawn in by those who show no concern for the moral and spiritual condition of our nation.  When a person blushes, they are uncomfortable with their position for fear of being exposed.  This is no longer the case in our public discourse.  So beware.  Don’t be influenced by all the posturing from those who seem to have the right answers.  They are lying to you. Jesus gives us fair warning, “”Watch out that no one deceives you” (Mark 13:5). 

These are words of the prophet Joel, calling for repentance, knowing that God’s judgment was near.  It has been difficult to either date or trace the prophecy of Joel to a person or place.  “The events  described in it are, at one and the same time, unprecedented and timeless.  The message of Joel is, therefore, relevant to any situation in any generation.  What can it say to us?” (Bible Speaks Today)

Joel (2:11) warns of judgment: “The day of the Lord is great; it is dreadful.  Who can endure it?”  The land trembled as does America today.  As a nation we have turned from God.  Do we hear the warnings?   Who can save us?  “I don’t see our nation able to go much further unless we repent and call upon the name of Almighty God,” observes Franklin Graham.

Joel saw judgment coming in the form of an invasion of locusts.  God was giving warning that conditions were ripe for judgment. “Joel had the courage to talk of God’s direct and personal involvement in current affairs and to assert that he [God] and he alone had the answers to the national crisis” (Bible Speaks Today).  For us the question would be, “Where are the locusts today in our technologically brilliant but ethically bankrupt society?” (BST)

Joel alerts the people to prepare, “for the day of the lord is coming” ( 2:1). “He is emphasizing as strongly as he knows how that the great and terrible day is imminent” (BST).  It might not be the final judgment, but it will mean  present judgment and change.  “The day of the Lord is great; it is dreadful.  Who can endure it?” (2:11). The nation needed to wake up and pay heed.  “Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill.  Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming” (2:1).  

Men, I believe the trumpet has been sounding.  Darkness is descending on our nation.  Outright rebellion against God’s moral standard is being openly flaunted, while politicians on both sides bombard each other in ever despiteful language.  I often wonder if there is any hope for the healing of our nation.

Joel’s answer is clear.  It is a matter of repentance and returning to God.  Men, instead of getting caught up in the heated rhetoric of the dominant narrative of our day, especially during this electoral period, Joel tells us to “cry out to the Lord.”  I do that continually throughout the day,  knowing that only God can heal what is displayed daily on TV.    

God is looking for a change of heart.  Are we prepared for what is coming? “‘Even now,’ declares the Lord, ‘return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning'” (2:12).  “Rend your heart, and not your garments” ( 2:13).  This is soulful behavior, not just talk motivated by anger, fear and frustration.  God is looking for heartfelt, passionate crying out to him. 

Why would God listen to men, when the culture is being stiff-necked?  Because God cares about the condition of our nation: “Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love…” (2:13).  Can God be persuaded.  “Who knows? Perhaps he will give you a reprieve, sending you a blessing instead of this curse” ( 2:14 – MSG).  

It could be that God might, “repay you for the years the locust have eaten” (2:25).  God is able to send a mighty “awakening.” “I will pour out my Spirit on all people.  Your sons and daughters will prophecy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions” (2:28).