Isaiah 58:12, “And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.” Read also Isaiah 58:1-14.
Repent and return to the Lord were absolutes for the salvation of Israel and God's invitation to all humanity is the same today. Once again the world is afforded another opportunity to evaluate where we are in the scope of eternity. We cannot allow the events of the past few months to pass us by without serious introspection. In the wake of 9/11, the American resolve was to seek out those responsible and to attend to the loss and healing of the nation. The lesson that we all should have learned is that human tragedy cannot be resolved by physical strength and determination alone. When examined all together, we must conclude that this is a spiritual issue evolving from an erroneous religious ideology. The combination of carnal thought and religious ideology creates extremists views and activity. The only way to successfully curtail such a movement is through enlightenment. Truth dispels deception just as light dispels darkness. Success is incumbent upon those who are willing to embrace the truth, make the correct but difficult decisions and become the example for all to see.
These United States as a people had the opportunity after 9/11 to become a light to the world. For a brief moment, we thought that an awakening was in process, that we the people would be enlightened to serve our true place and purpose in the world. For a short time people went to their knees in prayer, church attendance increased and the name of Jesus and God were invoked in the public arena.
Gerald Zelizer cited a report by George Barna in Jan. 2002. "After the attack, millions of nominally churched or generally irreligious Americans were desperately seeking something that would restore stability and a sense of meaning to life. Fortunately, many of them turned to the church. Unfortunately, churches succeeded at putting on a friendly face but failed at motivating the vast majority of spiritual explorers to connect with Christ in a more intimate or intense manner." (continued) The Message: A Critical Review Of End Time Events, p. 107-108, available at Amazon.com.
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