I was sent a video of a sailor in uniform singing some of
our favorite songs, at a recent ball game.
The songs we grew up on that gave us good feelings, often to tears.
I wonder if the singer understands that we are under judgment?
That no matter how much we ask God to bless our country, it
will fall on deaf ears because we are not repenting from our sins as a country.
Psalm 66:16-20
"16 Come and hear, all you who fear God, And I will
declare what He has done for my soul. 17 I cried to Him with my mouth, And He
was extolled with my tongue. 18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will
not hear.
19 But certainly God has heard me; He has attended to the
voice of my prayer. 20 Blessed be God, Who has not turned away my prayer, Nor
His mercy from me!"
Our prayer ought not that "God bless us", but that
we learn to bless God.
I used to love to hear these things, but I realize that all
this wonderful emotionalism, isn't going to cause people to repent, they need
the gospel and a spirit of brokenness over their sin.
Emotionalism only causes pride and solidifies our elevated
opinion of ourselves.
Christianity in our country is not dedication to Christ but
an emotional high that we look for, we like to feel good about ourselves.
2 Peter 2:18-22
"18 For when they speak great swelling words of vanity,
they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that
were clean escaped from them who live in error."
19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the
servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he
brought in bondage.
20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the
world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are
again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than
the beginning.
21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way
of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy
commandment delivered unto them.
22 But it is happened unto them according to the true
proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed
to her wallowing in the mire."
If those people in the stands would take their focus off of
their pleasurable ball games and begin to pray for forgiveness, we might have a
chance at further blessing but of
righteousness, not freedom and material prosperity, but the blessing of
a changed heart.
Psalm 51:17 "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit:
a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise."
I wonder how many in the stands at those ball games, are on
second and third marriages, how many have had abortions, how many are dressed
in immoral clothing and will hit the bars after the game?
You see, that song was beautiful and the soldier’s decorum
was commendable, but we have to look beyond the emotion to the reality,
otherwise we may become prideful that we have changed our hearts by merely
listening to a song that made us "feel good."
When our Christianity, in many Pentecostal and Charismatic
churches is based on how emotional we can appear to others, then we have a
fallacious, misleading and deceptive Christianity based on personal
gratification.
This is not the Christianity of the Bible, nor does God
desire it. He wants our hearts, quiet and gentle devotion to Him planted firmly
in the foundations of the Word of God, motivated by love and desire to obey
Him. Growing in grace daily as we seek His will not our own.
Emotionalism leads us astray, it causes us to think things
are wonderful when they are not, it causes us to think things are bad when they
are not. We must ignore them, enjoy the
song, but do not let it override our good sense based on Scripture.
