The Signs Of The Times

THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES

Because our God is not among us? Deuteronomy 31:17

Jesus once rebuked His contemporaries because they knew not how to “interpret the signs of the times” (Matt. 16:1-4). That rebuke is again warranted in our times. I stand amazed, at times, when people––especially preachers––refuse to spiritually give insight into the signs of our times.

I can remember how clergyman after clergyman struggled to define what happened to the United States on 9-11. Was it a “judgment,” an “act of God,” or something that could “just happen” anytime? Most settled for this: It was a “wake-up call” for Americans, or at least for the church. This seemed certain to most of us. The house was divided about calling 9-11 a “judgment” from God. A judgment on whom? And why?

Perhaps it is because we don’t want to unsettle folks any more than they are now. How much bad news can American souls take in one day, week, month? Or maybe it’s because we’re afraid: fearful of guessing wrongly and interpreting God’s actions inaccurately or making people angry. Or could it be that we really don’t want to hear a prophetic comment on our social malaise? Perhaps we really can’t judge our own hearts and we (rightly) don’t trust our own souls. Nevertheless, it seems to me that people need (and want) an answer.

Look at Deuteronomy 31:17-18: “Then my anger will be kindled against them in that day and I will forsake them and hide my face from them, and they will be devoured. And many evils and troubles will come upon them, so they will say in that day, ‘Have not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us?’ And I will surely hide my face in that day because of all the evil that they have done, because they have turned to other gods.” Could this be the answer for us, the one we are afraid to speak, reluctant to hear, refusing to accept?

Fifty million children have been sacrificed to the god Molech, whom we call “a woman’s right to choose.” Families are falling apart because we fornicate before the god Marduk, whom we call “acceptable alternative lifestyles.” Our economy is collapsing around us because we worship Mammon, whom we call the American Dream. And perhaps there are other minor deities whom we love––Leisure, Entertainment, Fitness, Sports, and the twin-gods Beauty and Brawn––who are causing us havoc. At least the pagan world had specific names for these real idols: Dionysus, Aphrodite, Eros, the Nymphs, Artemis and Apollo. They were the personifications of their passions.

If we believe in a Sovereign God, then we must reject the idea that “things just hap-pen”––even in a bent and broken world. If God is far from us, it is because we have moved away from God, not the reverse. President Reagan once coined the phrase “pain index”: a combination of unemployment and inflation. But there is a new kind of pain index

facing President Obama and the United States––“these evils have come upon us because our God is not among us.” One would hope and pray for a President who would join with the prophets in the pulpits of America, who must proclaim that.

PRAYING FOR THE PCA

AC: Pray for the upcoming 37^th General Assembly in Orlando, June 16-19, that God will be worshiped and honored in all that we think, say and do in every meeting and gathering.

CTS: Praise God for Covenant Seminary’s new Founders Hall educational building funded by the recently completed By His Grace, For His Glory capital campaign. Pray that the Lord will work mightily to expand his Kingdom through the future pastors and other church leaders who will be trained in this facility.

MTW: Pray for workers and national believers in restricted access countries or sensitive ministries in open countries. Ask God for courage, protection, opportunities to minister and growth of the Church.

RUM: RUF Students from all over the nation will gather in Florida for one week in May for preaching, seminars and fellowship. Please pray for these 1300+ students as they sit under the teaching of the Word. Join the staff of RUF in praying for the safety of the students and that young men and women will be drawn into the Kingdom.

RBI: Please pray for the RBI Relief Ministry assisting pastors, their families and widows who are living on a fixed income, so that these recipients may be able to maintain a standard of living sufficient for their needs.