STONEHENGE REDUX

In England there is a mammoth circle of massive stones.  It took an incredible amount of effort to bring those stones to that location and place them upright in a precise correlation to one another. No one knows their meaning or purpose (though there are numerous conjectures) and they are no longer used.

In my lifetime I have seen a number of abandoned churches, seminaries, Christian colleges, and other Christian endeavors discontinue their labors and leave abandoned buildings behind them. In Baltimore a Presbyterian Church that had a tremendous ministry for many years was faced with the need for major repairs. The congregation decided to dissolve the church. There is now a McDonald’s on that busy and strategic street corner. In my second pastorate, there had once been a chapel out in the country that served a number of families. A new preacher at the church in town didn’t want to preach twice, so the chapel closed. It is now a hay barn. A church that I was serving closed. It is now a community center.

These are just a few examples. All over this country and all over Europe there are empty church buildings in various states of disrepair. In one sense they are memorial signs marking once vibrant testimonies to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In another sense they are tombstones marking the decline of vital Christianity.

Why is Christianity weakening in its influence and failing to attract the enthusiasm of the current and next generation of young adults and youth? Politics, the struggle for material success, television, social media, and smart phones are the modern day Baals, Ashtoreths, and even Molechs. Just as the ancient Israelites deceived themselves into thinking that they could worship the LORD and Baal, modern Americans think they can love God and mammon. Our faint attempts to keep an allegiance to Christianity that costs little of our time, interferes little with our behavior, and demands no commitment to daily Bible study and prayer will only bring down the wrath of God for our ingratitude.  

CRISES AND CALAMITIES

Our nation has suffered a torrent of crises that have left us drained and confused. We have had thousands of servicemen either returned in body bags or litters or as walking wounded. Terrorists have struck by seizing airliners and crashing into the World Trade Center twin towers and into the Pentagon, by bombs, by gunfire, by poison in letters. The worst damages have come from tropical storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, droughts, and floods. A severe financial crisis has left millions homeless, or jobless, and without hope of regaining a comfortable life.

Our response has been to deal with the symptoms of each crisis. Volunteers have gone to storm wrecked communities and helped in meeting the immediate needs of those who survived, cleaning up the debris, helping to rebuild. Law enforcement officials have focused on ways to thwart terrorist plots. Government has created programs to help the wounded warriors and other programs to stimulate the economy.

No one has been heard in the media or otherwise addressing the nation to proclaim an overarching reason behind these multiplying crises. Jesus said, “But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows.”        (Mark 13:7-8 NKJV)

Thousands of years ago in a similar time of crises, the LORD said, “So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.”   (Ezekiel 22:30 NKJV) We need a man of God who will stand up and declare that only God is powerful enough, only the sovereign God is able to bring these powerful forces upon us. We do not need a man who will say that God is sending these troubles upon us because He is angry about abortion rights, or gay marriages, or Obamacare. We need a man who will tell us to turn our eyes and hearts to God and beg for mercy and let God tell us why He is angry with us.

“O LORD, you have our attention now. Speak to our hearts. Show each of us what we should do, what sins we should forsake. We do not ask what other people ought to be doing or what other nations should be doing. Only You are great enough to have brought these calamities upon us. Only You are great enough to lead us to their solutions. Hear our prayer. Have mercy upon us.  Amen.”