They are in Babylon...
Illustration
Object:
They are in Babylon, and Zion is vacant with the people gone. There are some who may be in a foreign land today who are longing to go home, but their home may be a wasteland.
One problem of living in another country is that we are tempted to take on their customs and traditions -- and maybe their gods. In some cases that may be good as when Muslims move to a Christian country and are tempted to change if we treat them well. This has been true over the centuries when Muslim or other invaders came and tried to convert Christians -- unfortunately with some success! It is the old-timers in either case who try to preserve the status quo. "Faith of Our Fathers" can be the hymn of immigrants everywhere.
This text tells us that there is only one God, our Lord and he can get angry if we turn to those other "gods."
In our country we are trying to be so accepting of others that we don't want to hurt them by speaking of our faith. We seem to be ashamed of our Lord!
There were some dangerous words spoken by one president when he said, "It is the duty of nations as well as men to owe their dependence upon the overruling power of God and to confess this truth announced in Holy Scripture and proven by all history that those nations, only, are blessed whose God is the Lord!" When was the last time a president said words like those? Those were said by Abraham Lincoln! I wish we could hear them again from our capital! Maybe we are suffering in our congress because we have denied those words! Maybe that is why there is no healing for the wounds of our people.
We are hurting our God because of our denial, and it has crushed us also! He weeps for us day and night. Has our Lord suffered in vain? Let us turn back to him with all our hearts and leave all the foreign gods, whatever or whomever they may be. It may cost us something, but it will be worth it!
One problem of living in another country is that we are tempted to take on their customs and traditions -- and maybe their gods. In some cases that may be good as when Muslims move to a Christian country and are tempted to change if we treat them well. This has been true over the centuries when Muslim or other invaders came and tried to convert Christians -- unfortunately with some success! It is the old-timers in either case who try to preserve the status quo. "Faith of Our Fathers" can be the hymn of immigrants everywhere.
This text tells us that there is only one God, our Lord and he can get angry if we turn to those other "gods."
In our country we are trying to be so accepting of others that we don't want to hurt them by speaking of our faith. We seem to be ashamed of our Lord!
There were some dangerous words spoken by one president when he said, "It is the duty of nations as well as men to owe their dependence upon the overruling power of God and to confess this truth announced in Holy Scripture and proven by all history that those nations, only, are blessed whose God is the Lord!" When was the last time a president said words like those? Those were said by Abraham Lincoln! I wish we could hear them again from our capital! Maybe we are suffering in our congress because we have denied those words! Maybe that is why there is no healing for the wounds of our people.
We are hurting our God because of our denial, and it has crushed us also! He weeps for us day and night. Has our Lord suffered in vain? Let us turn back to him with all our hearts and leave all the foreign gods, whatever or whomever they may be. It may cost us something, but it will be worth it!
