Our circumstances seem to increasingly alert us to the need for personal stability and hope. We yearn for a North Star–something we can depend on in a world so uncertain. That something always has been and always will be the absolute truth of God’s Word. Reading and meditating daily on the Bible is the beginning of peace and contentment. Getting serious about the Bible requires commitment to a structured reading plan. The best plan I have tried is the Crossgate Bible Reading Guide. It is free! You can print or save it at https://crossgate.org/resources.
For almost seven years, I have consistently used this guide for my daily devotional time. It involves reading one chapter a day, five days a week. A typical chapter takes only about five minutes to read. If you desire to go a little deeper, the Guide also explains the H.E.A.R method to journaling. Journaling is writing a short impression you gained from each chapter. It is a great help in applying the reading to your personal life. Another step you can take is to memorize a verse provided for each week of the plan. The reading, journaling, and memorizing can usually be done in less than 30 minutes if you choose all three. I encourage you to end with a time of prayer and praise.
If you haven’t been reading your Bible daily in a structured, disciplined way, I urge you to begin using this Guide today. It is scheduled by date, so you can just start at the current week. In two years, you will have read the entire Bible except for a few chapters that consist only of lists or genealogies. Some people use a read-the-Bible-through-in-a-year plan. That is commendable, but it involves reading multiple chapters each day, seven days a week, and can be stressful. The Crossgate Bible Reading Guide is a comprehensive plan with a reasonable commitment and a comfortable pace.
Feeding your soul from the Bible each day will change your life for the better. It will give you encouragement, hope, peace, and stability. It will also help you understand your Creator and His love for you as well as His best plans for you. If your time with the Lord is not what you wish it was, please try this plan for a month. See whether it works for you. Click https://crossgate.org/resources now. Print or save it and try it. You will be better for it.
Today, America is divided more than at any other time since the Civil War. Meanwhile, the world is engaged in protracted wars and conflicts on several fronts. Billions of people around the globe are placing their hope–their only chance of survival–on a perceived strong and stable United States that is actually unraveling. What is happening in America is too irrational and bizarre to be anything but unleased spiritual warfare. Satan knows that, as America goes, so goes the world.
With every succeeding newscast, the mindset and behavior of tens of milllions of Americans demonstrate flourishing insanity. We are getting a daily overdose of lawlessness bordering on anarchy. Misguided political leaders at every level fill our screens with provocative hate speech and calls for disobeying laws and law enforcement. They invoke mayhem. They support criminals and berate crime victims. Protestors and rioters chant slogans and carry signs that show a lack of even a basic knowledge of social and political issues. They only know what they learn from liberal social media and biased mainstream news. They reject proven civil processes and governance in favor of rebellion and violence.
This didn’t happen overnight. Our spiritual enemy is strategic and patient. It began in the late 20th century with a national movement away from biblical morality and respect for authority. But our society digressed into an exponential freefall in family values and civility in 2015 when the highest court in the land legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. My blog post at that time predicted that this single ruling would cast a dark satanic cloud over America that would rapidly move us into deeper separation from God’s protection and blessings. Soon came the transgender focus with children and adolescents in hormonal therapy and subjection to physical mutilation. The sports realm forced females to compete with males in their own sports programs. Showers and locker rooms became co-ed.
Established laws were ignored. Throughout the Biben Administration, our borders were wide open with an estimated 20 million illegal immigrants entering our country mostly unvetted. Many of those who invaded every state were felons from their countries of origin who have continued violent crimes to include human trafficking, rape, and murder.
America has overspent like there is no tomorrow, leaving future generations to pay the bill. Our national debt has more than doubled in the last 10 years and will soon surpass $40 trillion. Most of the borrowed funds have gone to entitlements to individuals and interest on the debt itself (Yes, we are going into debt to pay interest on our debt!).
The only explanation for America, which for over two centuries touted itself as a “Christian nation,” falling so abruptly into such an ungodly culture is our nationwide acceptance of Satan’s influence. His foot-in-the-door of our national character has evolved to a bold entry through the door we have opened widely. This spiritual warfare between good and evil is waging in the lives of American citizens across our land. Law and order is no longer a priority for many liberal cities, and entire blue states have declared themselves “sanctuaries” for illegal immigrants. Again, many of these immigrants are hardened, convicted criminals. State and local law enforcement officers are prohibited from assisting lawful federal law enforcement operations. Arrested dangerous perpetrators are being released by the courts immediately. Generally, our nation of laws has become a nation of complete chaos. However, recognition of this spiritual attack is not an excuse for retreat. It is still our sacred responsibility to fight the rebellion.
Thankfully, there is a current surging counter attack in this spiritual war. It is an evangelical revival movement of the greatest magnitude in decades. Pockets of revival in schools and colleges were gaining notice as Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point organization surfaced. I believe Kirk’s assassination was a literal turning point in the nation’s spiritual struggle. However, as Christian momentum builds, the evil deceiver is pulling out all the stops.
The spiritual enemy is irate and has turned up the heat. Hateful behavior, obscene talk and action, totally illogical rhetoric, and the popularity of incompetant, ignorant so-called leaders can be observed at every turn. And these traits are being condemned by few and celebrated by many.
For godly people with rational minds and hearts to prevail, the darkness that dominates our nation and world at present must be overcome. If it continues or worsens, I must assume we are ushering in the end-times tribulation period described in the Bible. We are presently witnessing almost all the biblical harbingers. It wouldn’t take much today to trigger a new world order and a one-world leader–the immediate precursor for the tribulation.
The last words of the Bible are: “He (Jesus) who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.” (Revelation 22:20-21 NIV)
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