God Bless America?

[1Timothy115]

Proverbs 16:18 Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.

Matthew 7:27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and
beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

Revelation 18:2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great
is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul
spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.

Of course they are way out of context but, it reminds me of the nation I pray for
every day. There will be gnashing of teeth.

[irishman]

“And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.” (Isa. 59:14)

This verse describes the conditions of America today. “Judgment is turned away backward”.. so that the evil is rewarded and the good is scorned; the law seems to be more aware of the criminal having justice than of his prey, and society is become helter-skelter. “Truth is fallen in the street”…and the lie has prevailed; yes, America is in dire need of revival today, perhaps as never before. We have but one hope, and that is Jesus! Oh that we might beg for mercy and lean on His grace, and seek Him with our whole heart until we find rest and peace among turmoil. Friends, pray for America! She is sinking fast into the mire of self destruction; she is succumbing to the wiles of the devil, and the wickedness that prevails; truth is no longer desired in America, it seems. Since truth is fallen, and judgment is turned away, equity cannot enter. It seems that equity has been all but abandoned in our lives today so that dealing fairly is a thing of the past. Equity cannot be a part of our lives until judgment gets back to being what it should, and truth rises again to a place of prominence. This can only happen by the grace of God.

What can we do about it? Get involved! I do not mean to get involved in politics-that game is run by the evil powers in high places, and we should not align ourselves with them in any earthly cause. We should get involved in prayer! We should seek the Lord diligently, and beg Him for His mercy, and all shall know that he is God.


Here is an excerpt that I posted on my blog (or,if not, I meant to!)
Pray for our country, there is always hope when Jesus gets involved.

[John81]

“And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.” (Isa. 59:14)

This verse describes the conditions of America today. “Judgment is turned away backward”.. so that the evil is rewarded and the good is scorned; the law seems to be more aware of the criminal having justice than of his prey, and society is become helter-skelter. “Truth is fallen in the street”…and the lie has prevailed; yes, America is in dire need of revival today, perhaps as never before. We have but one hope, and that is Jesus! Oh that we might beg for mercy and lean on His grace, and seek Him with our whole heart until we find rest and peace among turmoil. Friends, pray for America! She is sinking fast into the mire of self destruction; she is succumbing to the wiles of the devil, and the wickedness that prevails; truth is no longer desired in America, it seems. Since truth is fallen, and judgment is turned away, equity cannot enter. It seems that equity has been all but abandoned in our lives today so that dealing fairly is a thing of the past. Equity cannot be a part of our lives until judgment gets back to being what it should, and truth rises again to a place of prominence. This can only happen by the grace of God.

What can we do about it? Get involved! I do not mean to get involved in politics-that game is run by the evil powers in high places, and we should not align ourselves with them in any earthly cause. We should get involved in prayer! We should seek the Lord diligently, and beg Him for His mercy, and all shall know that he is God.


Here is an excerpt that I posted on my blog (or,if not, I meant to!)
Pray for our country, there is always hope when Jesus gets involved.

Short of a Great Awakening America is doomed. Christ is the answer and unless Christians are busy praying for America, working to revive ourselves and our fellow Christians for the glory of God, spreading the Gospel and bring the light and salt we are to be and America so desperately needs, America is doomed.

America is to far gone for anything other than the transforming work of the Holy Ghost to effect truly positive change. The godless political parties, the various organizations which work in their own strength, the charitible organizations which are or have become secularized, are not the answers, cannot turn America right and are pawns in the hands of the enemy.

Our pastor preached one time that if we were all living as we should and doing as we should our two Sunday services would be packed and we'd have to add a third and perhaps a fourth service.

Pray for our leaders, from those in the federal places of power to those in your state, county, city and locality. Pray for the people in general. Pray for Christians in general. Then pray for some of each in particular. Pray we will remove those things from our lives that hold us back, that prevent us from fully pursuing holiness and being about the Father's business. Then trust God with the results as we continue in this in patience.

[JerryNumbers]

I still believe in prayer:

2Ch 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
(For ALL God's people!)


If God doesn't bless sinners, what chance have you and I? He can still bless America by getting us back on track! If you say that he does not bless open, and OBvious sin, then he still can't bless any of us. My sin is bigger than me--that is what I need Calvary for. If you are speaking of "presumptuous" sin, then realize that unsaved leaders are all presumptuous in their sin, otherwise they would be afraid of the wrath of God upon them! Presumptuous is arrogance; it is sinning when we know better, but don,t seem to care at the time--I've been there, and I believe we all have!

I still ask God to bless America, even though she does not deserve it. (Neither do I, by the way!)

So, you 100% disagree with Joshua 7?

Edited to add.

That is you do not believe what it teaches has anything whatsoever to do with us, that sin in a local church will not have an effect on others members of that local church nor will the sins of a nation keep God from blessing the nation? Edited May 27, 2010 by Jerry80871852

[irishman]

So, you 100% disagree with Joshua 7?

Edited to add.

That is you do not believe what it teaches has anything whatsoever to do with us, that sin in a local church will not have an effect on others members of that local church nor will the sins of a nation keep God from blessing the nation?

I do believe that, but I still honor my country in the great songs that remind me of what it once was. My previous post is about God judging America, but does that mean I shold not ask him to bless her instead? We are to pray for the dissenter even in the church in where we bear one another's burdens.

I was saying that patriotism is not Christianity, but I will still be proud of being an American, even though its beginning to look a lot like Sodom and Gomorrah! (which I am thinking if posting about the next time I start a new post!) I will not allow the sin of the people to keep me from thanking God that I am an American; and that by choice as well as birth.

As for 2 Chron 7:14, I believe that God's people are of all ages, and the promises are still true and the responsibility lies on us praying more than trying to straighten out the world's sinners. When was the last time any of us really agonized in prayer over the stae of the nation? A flippant prayer thrown out because if conviction means little or nothing at all! Are you saying that prayer won't help? I hope not. Edited May 27, 2010 by irishman

[JerryNumbers]

I do believe that, but I still honor my country in the great songs that remind me of what it once was. My previous post is about God judging America, but does that mean I shold not ask him to bless her instead? We are to pray for the dissenter even in the church in where we bear one another's burdens.

I was saying that patriotism is not Christianity, but I will still be proud of being an American, even though its beginning to look a lot like Sodom and Gomorrah! (which I am thinking if posting about the next time I start a new post!) I will not allow the sin of the people to keep me from thanking God that I am an American; and that by choice as well as birth.

As for 2 Chron 7:14, I believe that God's people are of all ages, and the promises are still true and the responsibility lies on us praying more than trying to straighten out the world's sinners. When was the last time any of us really agonized in prayer over the stae of the nation? A flippant prayer thrown out because if conviction means little or nothing at all! Are you saying that prayer won't help? I hope not.

No, I did not say prayer want help, what I said is, according to the verses I gave, when there is sin in the camp, all Christians in that camp will suffer, when there is sin in the nation, the whole nation will suffer, when there is sin in the local church, the local church will suffer.

And do we all well know there is plenty of sin in this country, thousands of babies murdered each year and this nation makes it legal, and that is just a tip of the iceberg, there is plenty more sin that this nations is responsible for.

And yes, I believe God has punished this country for their sin in recent years.

Could this country make a turn around? Yes! But does it have the desire to? I think the answer to that is the majority of the citizens of this country do not have the desire to turn their face to God, confess their sins, so that they can truly receive His blessing.

I have no idea what others do, I do know at our church we pray for our leaders, for our country, we pray they would turn to God and follow Him, turn from their evil ways. I feel that many other churches out there are doing the very same thing.

We must remember, its seems we are in the latter days, and all this world has to look forward to is doom and gloom, its already been judged, it was found guilty, the sentence has already been pronounced, its just a matter of time till it will be carried out. Thankfully we who are saved have a very bright future without doom and gloom. I refer to it as that "Blessed Hope."

[Annie]

I still believe in prayer:

2Ch 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
(For ALL God's people!)


If God doesn't bless sinners, what chance have you and I? He can still bless America by getting us back on track! If you say that he does not bless open, and OBvious sin, then he still can't bless any of us. My sin is bigger than me--that is what I need Calvary for. If you are speaking of "presumptuous" sin, then realize that unsaved leaders are all presumptuous in their sin, otherwise they would be afraid of the wrath of God upon them! Presumptuous is arrogance; it is sinning when we know better, but don,t seem to care at the time--I've been there, and I believe we all have!

I still ask God to bless America, even though she does not deserve it. (Neither do I, by the way!)

I think it's a mistake to equate God's mercy to believers (who have accepted that mercy through faith and repentance) with his blessing a perverse nation, irishman. This kind of equation is just not found in the Bible, not to my knowledge, anyway. Do you know of an instance in Scripture when God actively blessed (not just stayed His hand of judgment, but blessed) a perverse nation? Is that terminology expressed anywhere in Scripture? It seems to me that the pattern all throughout Scripture (expressed in warnings, narratives, etc.) is that good is blessed and evil is cursed; that righteousness is blessed and wickedness is judged. That's why I find it very hard to sing about God blessing a nation as perverse as ours. It's not that I don't desire for America to turn back to God, but I think it is quite evident that she won't do that without judgment coming first. So, I guess you could say that God's judgment would indeed be a "blessing." But that's not the terminology we see in Scripture; there, blessing is presented as the opposite of judgment. I don't want America to continue to experience blessing (enjoy the world's best in everything from standard of living to health care to wealth, etc.) in her current condition. I want her to be brought to her knees, not "blessed" in the way the Bible talks about. The song "God Bless America" does not express my desire for our country. "Stand beside her"? "Guide her...with a light from above"? What a joke. To ask God to "stand beside" America is to ask Him to go completely against His holy character by pledging loyalty (as if God could ever be expected to pledge "loyalty" to anyone, anyway) to a country that thumbs her nose at Him. And, to ask God to guide America implies that America is following Him. (A guide is not a guide when he is not being followed.) To me, the song is pretty meaningless. Edited May 28, 2010 by Annie

[JerryNumbers]

Many of the very popular preachers, pastors, evangelist that are poplar today speak of a message about how God is blessing America and those who dare say when trouble, a disaster happens on our shores, its God whipping this country, they are spoken harshly against by most Americans, including many who confess Christ as Savior.

Seems to when we were young we were brain washed in public school to think God will bless a country that is living deep in sin that's talking the talk, yet no walking the walk. I might add, many churches taught its members the same thing.

1Co 11:31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
1Co 11:32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

Perhaps God is going to bring America to her knees. America as a nation thinks with its military might that there is not a single nation that can stand against her. Truth is if God ever stands against her, a much smaller and less powerful nation can take her down to her knees.

[irishman]

I think it's a mistake to equate God's mercy to believers (who have accepted that mercy through faith and repentance) with his blessing a perverse nation, irishman. This kind of equation is just not found in the Bible, not to my knowledge, anyway. Do you know of an instance in Scripture when God actively blessed (not just stayed His hand of judgment, but blessed) a perverse nation? Is that terminology expressed anywhere in Scripture? It seems to me that the pattern all throughout Scripture (expressed in warnings, narratives, etc.) is that good is blessed and evil is cursed; that righteousness is blessed and wickedness is judged. That's why I find it very hard to sing about God blessing a nation as perverse as ours. It's not that I don't desire for America to turn back to God, but I think it is quite evident that she won't do that without judgment coming first. So, I guess you could say that God's judgment would indeed be a "blessing." But that's not the terminology we see in Scripture; there, blessing is presented as the opposite of judgment. I don't want America to continue to experience blessing (enjoy the world's best in everything from standard of living to health care to wealth, etc.) in her current condition. I want her to be brought to her knees, not "blessed" in the way the Bible talks about. The song "God Bless America" does not express my desire for our country. "Stand beside her"? "Guide her...with a light from above"? What a joke. To ask God to "stand beside" America is to ask Him to go completely against His holy character by pledging loyalty (as if God could ever be expected to pledge "loyalty" to anyone, anyway) to a country that thumbs her nose at Him. And, to ask God to guide America implies that America is following Him. (A guide is not a guide when he is not being followed.) To me, the song is pretty meaningless.

How about Israel Annie? Didn't God bless them "for His servant David's sake"? There is still a remnant in America that do not kowtow tot he political regime, will God judge the righteous with the wicked?

There is also an example in 1 Corinthians, but in principle. Did not the Lord say something similar to that in 1 Corinthians? "For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy." The unbelievers were "sanctified", is this not a blessing?

If you choose not to sing God Bless America, that's up to you, but when your church has a fourth of July (honor the veterans, or whatever title it may have) don't participate--you do not deserve to; and there is always room for you in other countries where they don't kill babies, but they worship false gods, and where judgment and equity are perverted...so go ahead, do what you want, but please don't get any of it on me! (when you regurgitate for the cruelty and blasphemes committed there too!)
Canada has queer conventions every year, maybe you could sing "God save the queen" while watching a bunch of perverts hold hands and kiss each other!

Annie, do you pray for the lost? If so, what do you pray? Do you not pray for your enemies, and ask God to bless them in their hearts, so that they might see His glory and honor Him? (or something along those lines) That is the way the Lord tells us to pray--it is the way of love and mercy, and God can change stone-cold hearts for the sake of a faithful man's prayer. I have seen it done, and you no doubt have too, being a preachers wife.

Sure America is in bad shape, it is run by a bunch of heathens, but what do you expect from heathens? Every country in the world is run by heathens, "spiritual wickedness in high places" if you want to trade abortion (and I DO NOT advocate abortion) for a lust for power, or the greed for a dollar, then find the country you can be a part of, and sing about it!

God Bless you, and if he has an extra blessing, God Bless America too! Edited May 29, 2010 by irishman

[Amaryllis]

I haven't read all the posts in this topic, but there's a significant advantage that United States has over any other country of the world and that's the preaching of the gospel. As clearly OBserved, America is the only country that has continually and successfully spread the gospel through other parts of the world. Truthfully, there were a couple of English gospel ministries in the past, but their work cannot be compared with how many missionaries came from America. I'd like to believe that America won't be judged that harshly, because I hope that God will remember the immense world evangelization that this country has done in the past. I don't think there's any other country who has done so much for promoting the salvation by grace through faith. Even nowadays, United States, prOBably has the most doctrinally-sound churches. The major European countries have no interest in God, Christians are also in minority in plenty of Asian countries.
Most churches in my country were started by American pastors/missionaries/evangelists and I can tell you about fundamental churches in parts of France and England planted by Americans. I'm not saying that God will overlook the current state of America, but I don't understand why he won't take a softer approach towards it when nations will be judged. The fact of the matter is this: if America weren't that zealous for God's plan of salvation, true biblical Christianity will not have been presented to the world.

[John81]

How about Israel Annie? Didn't God bless them "for His servant David's sake"? There is still a remnant in America that do not kowtow tot he political regime, will God judge the righteous with the wicked?

There is also an example in 1 Corinthians, but in principle. Did not the Lord say something similar to that in 1 Corinthians? "For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy." The unbelievers were "sanctified", is this not a blessing?

If you choose not to sing God Bless America, that's up to you, but when your church has a fourth of July (honor the veterans, or whatever title it may have) don't participate--you do not deserve to; and there is always room for you in other countries where they don't kill babies, but they worship false gods, and where judgment and equity are perverted...so go ahead, do what you want, but please don't get any of it on me! (when you regurgitate for the cruelty and blasphemes committed there too!)
Canada has queer conventions every year, maybe you could sing "God save the queen" while watching a bunch of perverts hold hands and kiss each other!

Annie, do you pray for the lost? If so, what do you pray? Do you not pray for your enemies, and ask God to bless them in their hearts, so that they might see His glory and honor Him? (or something along those lines) That is the way the Lord tells us to pray--it is the way of love and mercy, and God can change stone-cold hearts for the sake of a faithful man's prayer. I have seen it done, and you no doubt have too, being a preachers wife.

Sure America is in bad shape, it is run by a bunch of heathens, but what do you expect from heathens? Every country in the world is run by heathens, "spiritual wickedness in high places" if you want to trade abortion (and I DO NOT advocate abortion) for a lust for power, or the greed for a dollar, then find the country you can be a part of, and sing about it!

God Bless you, and if he has an extra blessing, God Bless America too!

This post sounds rather bitter and harsh; especially given the topic at hand.

[Annie]

If you choose not to sing God Bless America, that's up to you, but when your church has a fourth of July (honor the veterans, or whatever title it may have) don't participate--you do not deserve to; and there is always room for you in other countries where they don't kill babies, but they worship false gods, and where judgment and equity are perverted...so go ahead, do what you want, but please don't get any of it on me! (when you regurgitate for the cruelty and blasphemes committed there too!)

Irishman, I have never "chosen not to sing 'God Bless America.'" No group I've been a part of (church, etc.) has sung that song for quite a few years now, prOBably for the reasons I've explained in this discussion. So, it's really not a choice I'm having to make. (And, if a group were to sing it, I would, out of respect, sing it along with them, just like I sing hymns I don't care for when visiting a different church. I'm not into making a scene about such things.) I have no prOBlem singing patriotic songs in general. I love "The Star Spangled Banner," although a lump doesn't come to my throat when I sing it, as it used to. I respect the symbols of our freedom (flag, etc.), and have taught my children to do the same. I think you might be reacting too strongly here. I'm thankful for my American citizenship, thankful for those who have served our country (my dad and both grandpas are veterans), thankful for the blessings that have come as a result of the principles our country was founded upon. But those principles have been given up, and I'm not going to ask God to bless America for that, or "stand beside" her in her wickedness. (If I ever find myself singing that song again, I might have to cough when I get to that phrase in particular. :-) )

Canada has queer conventions every year, maybe you could sing "God save the queen" while watching a bunch of perverts hold hands and kiss each other!

I don't believe that Canada (or any other country, really) is any better than the U.S. It's so sad to see the U.S. following hard on the heels of Canada and godless European socialist nations, isn't it?

Annie, do you pray for the lost? If so, what do you pray? Do you not pray for your enemies, and ask God to bless them in their hearts, so that they might see His glory and honor Him? (or something along those lines) That is the way the Lord tells us to pray--it is the way of love and mercy, and God can change stone-cold hearts for the sake of a faithful man's prayer. I have seen it done, and you no doubt have too, being a preachers wife.

Irishman, I don't ask God to bless the lost. I ask Him to bring them to a realization of their need for Him, and to save them. I have no personal enemies that I know of. God tells us in Matthew to love our enemies, not to pray God's blessing upon them. (And, again, I think you're confusing issues here. A personal enemy is quite different than a perverse nation. Scripture deals with each one specifically.)

Sure America is in bad shape, it is run by a bunch of heathens, but what do you expect from heathens? Every country in the world is run by heathens, "spiritual wickedness in high places" if you want to trade abortion (and I DO NOT advocate abortion) for a lust for power, or the greed for a dollar, then find the country you can be a part of, and sing about it!

Not sure what you mean here. America is guilty of all of these things (abortion, lust for power, and greed). I wouldn't need to move to another country to live in a culture where these things are glorified.

God Bless you, and if he has an extra blessing, God Bless America too!

God bless you, too, brother.

[John81]

I haven't read all the posts in this topic, but there's a significant advantage that United States has over any other country of the world and that's the preaching of the gospel. As clearly OBserved, America is the only country that has continually and successfully spread the gospel through other parts of the world. Truthfully, there were a couple of English gospel ministries in the past, but their work cannot be compared with how many missionaries came from America. I'd like to believe that America won't be judged that harshly, because I hope that God will remember the immense world evangelization that this country has done in the past. I don't think there's any other country who has done so much for promoting the salvation by grace through faith. Even nowadays, United States, prOBably has the most doctrinally-sound churches. The major European countries have no interest in God, Christians are also in minority in plenty of Asian countries.
Most churches in my country were started by American pastors/missionaries/evangelists and I can tell you about fundamental churches in parts of France and England planted by Americans. I'm not saying that God will overlook the current state of America, but I don't understand why he won't take a softer approach towards it when nations will be judged. The fact of the matter is this: if America weren't that zealous for God's plan of salvation, true biblical Christianity will not have been presented to the world.

Notice how much of your post is referring to the past. God calls us to walk in His ways continually. While it's true the effects of past blessings will carry over for awhile they will eventually cease and no new blessings will be added because of past good deeds.

America has a rich heritage of the Gospel spreading across the land and throughout the world. Sad to say, most of that is now past. True enough, there are still some good efforts at speading the Gospel today, but there are also many more who are speading a false gospel, which is no gospel at all. Perhaps even more sad, some of the churches which were founded by Amerian missionaries are now sending missionaries to America! America is going the way of Europe; it's just taking her longer to get there and America is also filled with false, watered-down and worldly "Christians" which yet gives America the appearance of Christianity more so than other countries.

God's hand of judgement won't be less upon America because of her past faithfulness. If anything, it will be heavier because America reaped such an abundance of wonderful blessings from God and yet she chose to become haughty, declaring her greatness was of her own making, and she not only has turned her back on God but is actively casting Him aside while setting up false gods to replace Him. God is turning us over to our wickedness and our own wickedness will be our undoing as we reap what we have been sowing.

The only hope for America is the same hope for all nations and peoples. Repentance and turning to Christ.

[Annie]

I haven't read all the posts in this topic, but there's a significant advantage that United States has over any other country of the world and that's the preaching of the gospel. As clearly OBserved, America is the only country that has continually and successfully spread the gospel through other parts of the world. Truthfully, there were a couple of English gospel ministries in the past, but their work cannot be compared with how many missionaries came from America. I'd like to believe that America won't be judged that harshly, because I hope that God will remember the immense world evangelization that this country has done in the past. I don't think there's any other country who has done so much for promoting the salvation by grace through faith. Even nowadays, United States, prOBably has the most doctrinally-sound churches. The major European countries have no interest in God, Christians are also in minority in plenty of Asian countries.
Most churches in my country were started by American pastors/missionaries/evangelists and I can tell you about fundamental churches in parts of France and England planted by Americans. I'm not saying that God will overlook the current state of America, but I don't understand why he won't take a softer approach towards it when nations will be judged. The fact of the matter is this: if America weren't that zealous for God's plan of salvation, true biblical Christianity will not have been presented to the world.

Amaryllis, you are correct that America has had (and is still having, to some degree) a significant evangelistic impact upon the world. I wouldn't say that it is the only country in history that has done so, as Christianity had already spread throughout the world before the U.S. was even around (and the gospel came to the U.S. itself through other nations). But America (as a government) is quickly losing appreciation and tolerance for gospel-oriented activities. America, once a beacon to the world, is plunging into darkness.

[irishman]

Sorry about the harsh sounding post, I do get frustrated at times, and then I get in the flesh. Please forgive me for that.

As for God not blessing countries that are extremely wicked, what about Egypt in Joseph's time? Or Babylon when Daniel was there? These countries were just as wicked as America, but the saints did nit throw up their arms in despair.

John81, you are right, I have tried to say all along that God will judge America for her wickedness, but there is a remnant...and the country can be blessed for their sakes. it may be up to us whether the country survives or not.

At any rate, this post is getting the best of me, so I think my input is over with. I still see nothing wrong though in asking God to bless our country--He is the only one who can now! (Salvation is a blessing too, isn't it?)

I reiterate that God blesses the just and the unjust according to Mt 5:45.