By the time you read this, the election for our new Governor of Virginia will be over. We will have elected a woman as Governor for the first time!
We are citizens of a great country, a great state and a great county. But if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, as I am, we are also citizens of a GREATER ONE TO COME.
Sadly, our great country, our great state and even our great county have been changing over the years. We tend to miss some of the changes since they happen slowly, over time.
Liberalism has pervaded our schools and universities, DEI has invaded our workplaces, and socialism is slowly overtaking our American way of life. AMERICA HAS NEGATIVE GROWTH RATE – except for immigrants and exiles – Craig Co lost 10% +/- in the last 10 years.
We would like these immigrants/ exiles to assimilate – to learn our language and ways, as our ancestors did, and we want them to come legally through the legal systems into our lands. Regardless of how they got here, WE SHOULD BE SEEING OURSELVES as MISSIONARIES to our neighbors.
That also includes the many who are among the “NONES’, those who do not attend church or know Christ. The mission field is no longer AFRICA or ASIA. The Mission field is CRAIG COUNTY and NEW CASTLE, Roanoke and Botetourt. We need to our neighbors, whether new or old, our identity as citizens of heaven and what that means.
The Bible teaches us how to live as Christians, but also how to live as good citizens of our great country – America and our NEXT COUNTRY – HEAVEN! We have been blessed as a people. The Bible tells us this:
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
The people He has chosen as His own inheritance.
13 The Lord looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men.
14 From the place of His dwelling He looks On all the inhabitants of the earth;
15 He fashions their hearts individually; He considers all their works.
Psalm 33:12-15
I will never tell you how to vote, but I believe that God has allowed a new president and administration in order for American to get right with God once again. The time for revival in our land is now. God is on the move!
The Star Spangled Banner says, “BIest with victory and peace, may the heaven rescued land praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation! Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just; and this be our motto: “ln God is our Trust!”
Americans may believe in separation of church and state if it is rightly interpreted, but we certainly do not believe in the separation of God and government. We believe that God is the one who has made America, God is the one who preserves America, and God is the one that America desperately needs.
And, our national hymn, (not the National Anthem) America, gives these words: “Our fathers’ God, to Thee, author of liberty, to Thee we sing: Long may our land be bright with freedom’s holy light; protect us by Thy might -Great God, our King!”
The Declaration Of Independence from King George III and Britain was at the same time a declaration of dependence upon Almighty God. They did not say that, “We’re independent of Almighty God; but that we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are endowed by their Creator with these unalienable rights.”
And so, what happened is that our nation was born from prayers, in a revival which spurred from the Enlightenment, and our founding fathers gave us a Constitution. And to our founding fathers the best government was the smallest government. Today, without a great revival in our land…the freedoms that we enjoy may not be here long.
If America is not reborn spiritually as a nation, I believe we’re going to join the graveyard of the nations. We have already had a taste of living in a Godless society.
But I must say with a broken heart that something has happened in America in the last few decades that is very un-American. There is an underlying problem in America, and it’s called moral relativism. IN essence, moral relativism says – it feels good, do it! It is a belief system or worldview that has replaced the Judeo-Christian system.
Some of the characteristics of moral relativism include:
- It’s lack of morality. No longer do people consider “doing the right thing”.
- Many now find that their children and grandchildren don’t believe in God.
- And, many believe there are no absolute morals anymore. And this is tearing our next generation apart. Generation Z – those born in the past 25-30 years, have by and large adopted this view.
- Their lives have been shaped by the internet, social media and influencers They have adopted this view of no moral absolutes because they have seen it live out in the generations before them many of whom decided not to follow God, worship God, and serve God
- This is why we are seeing so many shootings at schools and malls and churches today.
- Furthermore, moral relativism says that all religions are true. And – none are really true!
No one can declare their beliefs are better than others. They reject the exclusive truth claims of most people.
- And it’s centered around the concept that they want to sleep with whoever they want to sleep with.
WHAT IS THE ANSWER TO THIS? There is a simple answer… His name is Jesus!
The answer to moral relativism is to make Jesus Christ MORE ATTRACTIVE than worldliness! That means we have to show and live the love of God every day. This is our responsibility as Christian citizens, as neighbors, as parents and grandparents, and as Americans. When did you last speak to someone about the love of Jesus?
– Pastor Scott Gabrielson
Craig Valley Baptist Church, at 171 Salem Ave in New Castle, welcomes you to visit and share in the love of God we have experienced. We meet Sundays at 11AM, with an upbeat service of music, sharing and preaching. You don’t need to dress us, and you won’t be asked to speak, so just come and hang out and meet new and old friends! Questions? Call 540-864-5667 or email pastor@cv-bc.com.
