America

 Hi Everyone!

In my time with the Lord today, I read a few chapters of Ezekiel. I felt as though I should post mainly about Ezekiel 6 and the great warning it is especially to us Americans. Whether we realize it or not, we as a culture, especially a church culture, have turned our country into an Idol. We think ridiculous things like God needs us or that we are special to God's plan, mostly because Revelation says the East and West will go to war, like what's happening now. Unfortunately, most of these views do not account for Church history or the Biblical history of Israel.

Ezekiel 6 points out that because of Israel and its Idols, it will be punished because it didn't repent. That the country will be taken over, and through slaves being taken, God's word will spread. Here's the hard reality this is the same pattern we see throughout church history. When the Body doesn't function, it develops Idols, then they stop sending the gospel through missionaries, and the Lord allows them to become slaves to the tribes they refused to engage, allowing the gospel to spread by force. The Church is forced to behave like followers of Christ more than a Jesus fan club, and so the gospel gets established in the other tribes. Every country sees itself as the most important in God's eyes. If he'll do it to the Jews, he'll do it to you. Everything is secondary to the spread of His glory. I'm pretty sure that, at this point in history, the gospel was established more by slaves than by church endeavors.

I, as an American, don't like this reality. I even see it as having already begun with the border and Immigration. I'm also aware that it doesn't matter who you vote for because the issue is spiritual, and repentance is needed. Trying to solve this issue by voting is like trying to cure cancer with a placebo. America needs the church to repent from its complacency. That starts with Pastors not considering a 45-minute sermon as discipleship because it's not. Pastors need to model Kingdom principles like evangelism and discipleship, expecting their congregations to do the same in the community, not simply bring people to a pew and drop them off. Pastors who understand that good voting comes from discipleship and all politics have ulterior motives that play off your morals.

Simple Examples:

Abortion and Immigration? Maybe they're covering for not having enough people born annually to sustain a country. It's why very rarely is there success around these wedge issues. They are morals of the people, not the politicians. Discipleship fixes that because, as believers, we are to receive refugees; in the same respect, we as believers cannot be killing children, both which increase the birth rate.

Gender Confusion? Maybe it is more like a controlled generation via trauma from family dynamics and self-mutilation. If they get past the trauma, the emotional rationalization instead of critical thought makes them largely an ineffective threat. On the other side you have the need for an effective military which requires physically, emotionally, and mentally healthy people capable of problem solving. Discipleship fixes this but creates a new problem. Healthy discipleship creates a more significant concern regarding God's kingdom than national sovereignty. Consistently, in times of trouble, the church sent more missionaries and the secular sent soldiers until recently.

Inflation: High taxes create inflation. Businesses that pay their workers so little that the government feeds them also create inflation. Healthy discipleship affects these concepts. In America's glory days, we had healthier discipleship. We also had regulations to prevent neo-slavery from greedy business leaders and power-hungry politicians. Godly leaders understand their role is first and foremost the people, government, and business alike.

Conclusion: America needs to repent. It needs to go from post evangelistic and become evangelistic. We need to understand that while voting is a civil duty, it is not worth 25% of our focus. If we discipled as much as we politically advocate, we wouldn't need to talk about voting or question how there is only a talking cheetoh that pretends to care and an airhead who is literally an airhead to choose from. We would have Godly leaders and thrive, but it starts with pastors doing their job, not just talking for 45 minutes twice a week and saying we need missionaries. Missionaries are to suffer with joy, and they are what apostolic ministry looks like in the New Testament. They don't build on old foundations. They can advise you. You won't like what they say, though. In essence, Their advice will be for leaders to repent. Stop playing politics, have integrity, stop acting like banks, and start empowering the Body as is your job. Grow some steel back in your spine, take your congregation out, and evangelize. In doing so, you have started to disciple. You live in open countries you haven't seen atrocity yet, but if you keep hiding, you will. I guarantee you, you don't want to see what you're headed for if you don't take risks in the very safe space of America. The missionaries are rooting for you.