Isaiah 9:6-7 -- "For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end."
America is in debt! The debt is so large that, according to the Denison Forum On Truth and Culture, "National debt in $1 bills would reach the moon four times" (that's laid flat, not end to end). The authors also state that "We will spend more than $415 billion this year to pay just the interest on the debt we owe." If each American man, woman, and child were assessed an equal amount to pay off the debt, the check we would have to write would come to $53,201 (more as each day passes – there are those who say that figure would be much more).
So the question is: "If the American government is god, to whom is this government/god enslaved through this debt?"
As citizens of a country whose government blindly enslaves us to an outside debt holder, we have become bond servants to the countries who hold this mortgage. But our Creator/Savior, the One who is ready to shoulder the government and all its needs is an administrator of peace, not debt. The debt of our present government, not we, nor our children, nor our grandchildren, nor our great-grandchildren, will be able to pay down. In fact, the debt from World War 1, a staggering $35 billion dollars in 1919, is still owed (original debt holders were paid with borrowed money), and today we are just paying the interest on that debt, not the principal. This $114.5 trillion dollars of unfunded liabilities that burdens our government today will not only eventually crush us, it will also disable the "American Dream" our society holds dear. It is time to seek the Administrator of Peace.
And why don't we as a nation eagerly bow before our Creator/Savior, the Peace Administrator, and seek His forgiveness and healing solution for our nation's woes? To help us understand the answer let me quote from Matthew Clark's article on the atheists' relentless attack on the Ground Zero Cross (american-heritage/ground-zero-cross): "The fact is their lawsuit alleges that the mere 'existence of the cross' has given them 'depression,' 'anxiety,' 'mental pain and anguish,' and even 'headaches.' For those who claim to have no faith, they are assigning near supernatural qualities to the Cross."
You will remember that the cross reminds all who see it that the Creator/Savior died on a cross for our personal sins, and even though a person may claim to be an atheist, the guilt felt for personal sins is brought to mind with the vision of the cross. "Mental pain and anguish, headaches, anxiety?" Yes, knowledge of our guilt of sin does have that effect. So, wanting to remain free of all such mental stress, we will not even consider appearing before a Creator/Savior. "We don't want to think of ourselves as sinners. It's too stressful. Let's just borrow some money and go have a good time. We'll pay it back tomorrow." Only tomorrow never comes.
"Now therefore, be wise, O kings; Be instructed, you judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, And rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, And you perish in the way, When His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him." Psalms 2:10-12
•••
Editor's note: Jim Duncan is the pastor of Mountain Bible Church, Mountain, Mo. He may be contacted at P.O. Box 146, Pea Ridge, AR 72751; or by telephone at 417-341-8504; by e-mail at [email protected]. His Web site is www.jamesduncan-writer.net.
Religion on 02/26/2014