TODAY’S NEWS: While the U.S. mourns the tragic and senseless loss of life in Newtown, Conn, CHINA seeks to recover from a stabbing spree that hurt 22 schoolchildren and one adult outside a primary school in central China as students were arriving for classes Friday, police said, the latest in a series of periodic rampage attacks at Chinese schools and kindergartens. http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2012/12/14/china-knife-attack-school.html

Matthew 15:19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a person.

The problem in America, China or anywhere else is not access to guns or knives; according to Jesus, the heart of the problem is the problem of the heart. It is not some “sickness”; call it what it is – it is EVIL in the heart of man – – my heart, your heart… our neighbor’s heart.

There is only one solution: THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST.

Lets be praying for the families and friends of the victims, as well as for the children traumatised by the events of the day. May God have mercy and bring His comfort.

And may God bless America with repentance.

Romans 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.

24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. 25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

26 For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.

28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; 32 and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.

Romans chapter 1 describes the judgment of God in a way not normally understood. We usually comprehend the fact that as a just and holy God, He punishes sin, but this chapter teaches far more. It teaches that God, in His wrath can abandon a society (turn His back on them), allowing the people to pursue the sin they crave. He gives them up or gives them over to the sin they cherish most. When this happens, this will not merely BRING the wrath of God, it IS the wrath of God.

Romans 1 is a New Testament passage that mirrors many found in the Old Testament that speak of God’s dealings in this way. One such passage is Judges 10: 13, 14 where we read, “13 Yet you have forsaken me and served other gods; therefore I will save you no more. 14 Go and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress.” Haunting words, aren’t they?

This is why, now that the votes have been counted, millions of Christians in America are waking up this morning with a great measure of sadness in their hearts. This is not because their faith in God has been shaken. That is not true at all. Their sadness arises from the fact that though a deeply divided nation, America as a whole (by means of the choices made) has clearly abandoned God, and this by itself is a sure sign of God’s judgment. God is saying, “alright then, if that is what you want, go for it.” As Justin Taylor commented, “It’s possible to hope in God, believe that King Jesus is still on the throne, and still be deeply disappointed.”

Yet for all who seek refuge in God, He shows His great mercy. The Name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous run into it and are safe.

May God bless America… with repentance.

Here is Dr. John Macarthur with a message from the year 2006 entitled “When God abandons a nation.”

I re-read the book of Revelation this week. We often get bogged down in all the intricate details but the book was written for Christians in all ages (often times) under heavy persecution and the big picture is clear – no scheme of man can thwart the triumph of the Lamb.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, tonight when the votes are counted, and forever.

All hail the Lamb upon the throne.

“… there is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: ‘Mine!'” – Abraham Kuyper

“It is now worse to judge evil than to do evil, so profound is the ethical confusion.” – Os Guinness

This is something like a “State of the Western Nations” address by Os Guinness (from The Veritas Forum at Stanford, 2002). Ten years on, the situation has only escalated, and the solution remains the same, the Gospel of Jesus Christ taking hold in the hearts of people.

In this short video below, Os Guinness outlines why there is such a pressing need for Reformation Revival.

Romans 1: 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

Western culture as a whole, and the United States in particular, has had a tremendous amount of light from God, and experienced many blessings from His hand. Yet, this culture seems intent upon continuing on its path to self-destruction. According to Romans Chapter 1, this itself is God’s judgment and wrath as He gives a society up to live in defiance of Him.

God bless America with repentance.

Dr. James White provides a very sobering commentary on the current situation in America.