"America is a nation in decline." I agree and I disagree.
I disagree that we are in decline economically. The reason I disagree is that the word "decline" is relative. It assumes that prior to this, things were much better and now, well, they aren't. People usually compare the economy to the 90's when the US economy was "superheated" and everyone could buy anything and everything.
It's also when consumer debt exploded.
Could it be that we are simply basing our economic numbers on "real" numbers? We used money we didn't have to buy things back then. So, were times really all that good? I am no economist, but I do know that comparing NOW to a time when people were spending money they didn't have is not a good thing. I just wonder if we are simply dealing with the fact that all the imaginary money we thought we had has dried up and we are having to do what everyone else in the world has to do- live within our means.
And the thought of living within our means grates on us like fingernails on a chalkboard.
I think the real decline is in another area that doesn't make the news. I believe the decline is spiritual in nature. Now, I'm not a person that wistfully looks back to "the good old days" when things were so much better, simply because Scripture commands us not to do that. If you don't believe me, look up Ecclesiastes 7:10- "Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?” For it is not wise to ask such questions."
I believe America's decline is spiritual in nature, and it has economic, political, social, and religious consequences. Two-thirds of Americans see the problem. However, they are seeing the leaves on the tree and not the root. The root of our problems is a lack of recognition of the sovereignty of God. Our problems don't stem from poor economic policy or lack of energy policy or the fifty-thousand other reasons I hear on the news.
A virus, tinier than the point on a pin, can destroy an entire human body. It destroys the body by taking out the most basic unit of the body- the cell. When the basic unit breaks down, the body breaks down. So it is with our country. Faith is the glue that holds the family together. Destroy that glue and the family falls apart. When the family falls apart, the country falls apart.
America is in desperate need of a spiritual revival. I challenge all Catalyst Christians to begin praying for a nation-wide revival- an awakening and new obedience to God and His ways.
"Revival is the sovereign work of God to awaken His people with fresh intensity to the truth and glory of God, the ugliness of sin and the horror of hell, the preciousness of Christ's atoning work, the wonder of salvation by grace through faith, the urgency of holiness and witness, and the sweetness of worship with God's people."- John Piper, A Godward Life, p 111
I disagree that we are in decline economically. The reason I disagree is that the word "decline" is relative. It assumes that prior to this, things were much better and now, well, they aren't. People usually compare the economy to the 90's when the US economy was "superheated" and everyone could buy anything and everything.
It's also when consumer debt exploded.
Could it be that we are simply basing our economic numbers on "real" numbers? We used money we didn't have to buy things back then. So, were times really all that good? I am no economist, but I do know that comparing NOW to a time when people were spending money they didn't have is not a good thing. I just wonder if we are simply dealing with the fact that all the imaginary money we thought we had has dried up and we are having to do what everyone else in the world has to do- live within our means.
And the thought of living within our means grates on us like fingernails on a chalkboard.
I think the real decline is in another area that doesn't make the news. I believe the decline is spiritual in nature. Now, I'm not a person that wistfully looks back to "the good old days" when things were so much better, simply because Scripture commands us not to do that. If you don't believe me, look up Ecclesiastes 7:10- "Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?” For it is not wise to ask such questions."
I believe America's decline is spiritual in nature, and it has economic, political, social, and religious consequences. Two-thirds of Americans see the problem. However, they are seeing the leaves on the tree and not the root. The root of our problems is a lack of recognition of the sovereignty of God. Our problems don't stem from poor economic policy or lack of energy policy or the fifty-thousand other reasons I hear on the news.
A virus, tinier than the point on a pin, can destroy an entire human body. It destroys the body by taking out the most basic unit of the body- the cell. When the basic unit breaks down, the body breaks down. So it is with our country. Faith is the glue that holds the family together. Destroy that glue and the family falls apart. When the family falls apart, the country falls apart.
America is in desperate need of a spiritual revival. I challenge all Catalyst Christians to begin praying for a nation-wide revival- an awakening and new obedience to God and His ways.
"Revival is the sovereign work of God to awaken His people with fresh intensity to the truth and glory of God, the ugliness of sin and the horror of hell, the preciousness of Christ's atoning work, the wonder of salvation by grace through faith, the urgency of holiness and witness, and the sweetness of worship with God's people."- John Piper, A Godward Life, p 111
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