American Idols

America used to love God.  Sunday used to be the Lord's Day and people dressed up and went to church.  Now people tailgate Sunday mornings and spend Fridays in the bar, Saturdays being lazy, and Sundays worshipping the football gods.  And cheerleaders and Budweiser.

God is angry at sin. At our sin.  At the world shaking their fists and saying we don't care what you throw at us, we will not forfeit our right to have a good time.

Before our desires were to please God.  His blessings poured out on lost and saved alike because Blessed is the nation who's God is the Lord says the Bible.  The opposite is proving true today.  Cursed is the nation who's God is not the Lord.  The Bible says the wicked shall be turned into hell and all the nations that FORGET God.  Hence the title for this blog.  How to you keep America from turning into Hell? Easy, remember God.

It is easier said than done.  God is saying he will come back if we repent of our ways and turn to him.  That will not happen until the majority of gods are stripped from our nation, and uprooted from our hearts.  It would do America good if greed shut down the NHL and NFL and MLB for the next 10 years and if an earthquake sent Hollywood to the ocean, and if an E Bomb wiped out our electricity for the next year.  We might have time to talk to God if we weren't so busy texting.  And blogging.  Don't know anyone like that though.

It is hard for the lost to repent, when the church makes so light of our sins.  A Pastor once said he was going to try and start texting his sermons so the teens might actually pay attention.  At church if you look around you will see the teens texting.  Before we were so advanced they were passing notes back and forth.  Now we are more advanced.  The adults are drifting off or nodding off or AMENING when you know they don't obey what was just said.  Only 8% of Pastors I saw in one study say they have the gift of evangelism.  They go and yell at us to give the gospel out instead.  And the church says it is first the Pastor's job.  So on and on in our spiritual game of chicken and no one is sharing their faith and the lost are dropping faster into hell.  But we live just like they do, except we tape the Superbowl and watch it later so we save face and not miss church.  And if there is any nudity at the halftime show we say how disgusted it was.  Especially after we watched it for the 10th time.

Today, in America, lust is a must, gambling hits the jackpot for the owners, porn is the norm, GO NFL is what we yell, beer is dear, living together has never been better, powerball is spent instead of saving for retirement, more casinos than a flock of flamingos, at the 25cent peep shows the money grows , adult book stores keep open their doors (why are they called that when they only sell porno movies and porno mags?), cable tv -- don't get between it and me!, Hollywood is so so good, Jerry Springer shows keep me on my toes, and well, church, church, that is not something I'll search.

The Bible says Thou shalt have no other gods before me.  Jesus commands us to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, minds, souls, and strengths.   Anything you love more than God is an idol.  Those are some of the things listed above.  We need to not add Jesus to our American Idols.  Jesus is not into Hinduism.  We are to be like those of Thessalonika, who turned from their idols to serve the true and living God. 

However another form of idolatry is creating a god in your own image. Just like New Coke, America has it's new formulas for making a god to worship.  America's god fits it's image.  It is a do as you please, don't worry about judgment, let the good times roll hippie party Jesus.  It is the Jesus of the book the Shack.  It is Oprahs "all paths lead to God" Jesus.  It is the Morgan Freeman God who says call him "G" from the Almighty movies.  America's Jesus keeps you as you are and lets you have as many gods as you want with him.  Just call on Jesus for heaven, and get as much of the world as you want in the mean time.  That is not salvation.  Jesus said the DEVIL is the GOD OF THIS WORLD.  The devil has many costumes, whether it is wearing the Pope dress, the Santa suit, the TV divine healer white suit and polishes shoes, or the leaders in Washington.  WE are born on the devil's team.  We worship his gods and don't even realize it.  His greatest trick is to get us to worship him and not even realize it.

That is why we must repent.  That is why we must be born again.  Traded to God's team.  Willing to divorce ourselves from the gods of this world.  All paths do not lead to God.  The bible teaches otherwise,  Wide is the path that leadeth to destruction.  Most paths lead to Hell, and the GOD OF THIS WORLD.   So in a sense that is true, all paths do lead to that god.  But that is not Heaven.  And that is not the true and living God. 

America count the cost.  What god or sin is worth going to hell for?  And worse for all eternity you will not only suffer in hell with unbearable misery and pain, you will be denied your gods and sins you clung so dearly here on earth.  Drunkards will not have one drop of beer forever, and it doesn't sound like the desires will go away either.  You spend all week waiting for Happy Hour, just imagine going all eternity without your precious shot of whiskey.  If you count the cost, there is not one good reason not to repent and believe the Gospel.

Jesus commands us to repent.  Jesus says throw down your idols and raise your hands in surrender and come follow Him.  Give up your American idols that are part of the reason America is headed for hell.  And then if you turn to Jesus you don't have to join her.