Please Forgive Me...

Father,
Please forgive me for all my senseless complaining...I am deeply ashamed and without excuse.
I am so very grateful for the undeserved mercy You have liberally lavished upon me.
Because of You, I lack nothing, yet in my selfishness I demand everything.
Oh, wretched man that I am, minute by minute of every day I find myself in desperate need of my Savior Jesus Christ.
You O Lord have never caused Your shadow of turning to darken my path or allowed me to stumble too far from the narrow way. I have never been alone for Your Spirit dwells within me, leading me homeward with each passing moment.
Today, at this moment, I praise you for who you are, and with full acknowledgment of who I am not, I praise You.
You alone are King of the universe, and as Thomas before me, I worship you as my Lord and my God.
-Al

Post-Christian America

I recently watched a video called “Freedom Is Not Free: A Soldiers Pledge.” It made me tear up, not only because of the incredibly patriotic and inspirational words and visuals of Ronald Reagan but mostly because the America that President Reagan loved so deeply is no longer that "Shining City on a Hill".

America has become a post-Christian nation, and collectively we have turned our backs on the One true and living God that blessed us with this fertile land. In our lack of gratitude, we have succeeded to defile and desecrate America beyond recognition with our national sins. God will not stand for any other affection our hearts will place above Him, not even national pride. He will tear down nations if that nation refuses to bow its heart and knee before Him.

As people of faith, we act according to the word of God, and must not be swayed by the ever-changing world around us that leads only to destruction. Our God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, Jesus promises to never leave us or forsake us and will remain with us even to the end of the age.

There is, however, a silver lining to this dark cloud, and that is as Christians we have great hope in Christ, and we must remember this is not our home.
All the horrible events unfolding before our very eyes should cause our hearts to turn more profoundly to Jesus, the author, and finisher of our faith. If we focus on Him, we will find ourselves excited for that which lies beyond the pale.

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” James 1:17 (NKJV)