Democracy is under attack! We hear it in our communities and on the news. Some say God would never let this happen, but we see the state of our world shifting at such a rapid pace and some things changing for the worst.
Remember that God does not rule by a democracy! (If anything, God’s Kingdom is a theocracy.) But God has helped sustain our American democracy because we need freedom of speech and freedom of religion to continue having church, preaching the Bible, and spreading the Gospel. Unfortunately, we see signs that these freedoms are being threatened.
Similarly, Judaism came under attack in 70 AD, when Jerusalem and the Temple were utterly destroyed by the Romans. Jesus loves His people and did not want them to be destroyed; He warned them to “flee to the mountains” (Matt. 4:16). Just as God offered His people warnings of what was to come then, so does He offer warnings to us now.
“The problem is that the people of God don’t have a heart for God.”
The Bible, and specifically the New Testament, offers plenty of warnings about the church. Jesus saw a fig tree that bore no fruit, so He cursed it to wither and die (Matt. 21:18-19). Many churches today have beautiful buildings but lack the power and presence of God. Their congregation members remain the same and their lives untransformed. In Matthew 21:13, Jesus called out the religious leaders of His day for allowing the Temple to become “a den of robbers” instead of “a house of prayer.” Today, our churches similarly veer away from their God-intended purpose.
Why is democracy under attack? Because the church has lost its heart and first love for God! People are dropping out of church. They are losing their commitment and devotion. People wonder “what’s in it for me,” so the church starts preaching about what’s in it for you. That’s how we start losing our freedom—we have lost our reason for serving God and following Jesus. Let’s not give the devil what he is after. Our hearts and minds are for God alone.
12 Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves.
13 “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’”
18 Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry.
19 Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered.
Questions:
Is your first love Jesus, and are your heart and mind firmly set on Him?
How will you be a strength to your church body and its service of the Kingdom?
ACTION: Pray for the preservation of our democratic freedoms and for the revival of our churches.
ACTION: Pray for the children of God to have discernment and ears to hear the wisdom and warnings from God. We must respond to what God says!
