Tough times. And they look to be getting tougher.
In the county I live in here in Southern California, unemployment is at over 12%. Everywhere that you look are foreclosed homes for sale and empty commercial business properties for lease. If you are like me you probably know many people that have been directly affected by the loss of a job or loss of revenue at their place of business. It's hard to stay optimistic as we watch wave after wave of bailout money going out the door to inept and failing corporations, with dishonest corporate officers and politicians still playing games. Political Parties point the finger at each other and play party games in the media even though these rascals are all cut from the same cloth. People like Bernie Madoff steal people's life savings and leave them to a terrifying future in the most vulnerable years of their life. States like mine are bankrupt and rather than fixing the problems they cut things that matter like education and increase taxes on an already struggling populace. Crime is on the upswing, and it seems like it isn't even a shock anymore when you hear about a mother or father killing their own children. A popular punk band has a song that states "Welcome to the new dark ages..." I fear they may not be far off track.
Statistics show that fewer and fewer Americans profess to be Christian anymore. It's common knowledge within the evangelical community that Church attendance is on the decline. And although we are seeing more megachurches than ever before, most of those are either stable or declining in attendance, and many of the smaller Churches are dying. Secular culture is winning the battle for the hearts of Americans...
Secular counselors will tell you that they are inundated with desperate people right now. Folks looking for hope. Looking for answers. They have nothing left to hold on to. In truth what can a counselor offer them? A positive message? Some type of reassurance? Can they analyze their past and help them to feel better about their current predicaments? At best they can only console them. What our brothers and sisters need is the guiding hand of a Lord that can actually come to their aid. A power from on High that can step into their situation and work miracles. Join me in prayer for this great nation of ours. And let us also pray that together we as a body of Christ can help reach out to those who don't know the Lord and do our part in sharing the message of the Gospel. America needs it now more than ever.
