Daily Encounter: A Week-day Devotional by a staff of ACTS International.

Wednesday, July 6, 2016

"The LORD said through his servants the prophets: 'Manasseh king of Judah has committed these detestable sins. He has done more evil than the Amorites who preceded him and has led Judah into sin with his idols. Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I am going to bring such disaster on Jerusalem and Judah that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle.'"¹

According to Old Testament Bible commentators, Manasseh's reign as King of Judah over 2,600 years ago was one of the darkest periods in Judah's history. His was a reign of evil and his nation paid the terrible price because they allowed and followed his leadership.

Are things much different in present times? Recall the reign of Hitler and of Stalinâ€"godless leaders who slaughtered millions. And look at countries and nations today where God of the Bible is forgotten, where Christianity is despised, and where Christians and others are being slaughtered if they refuse to denounce their faith and join a different religion, and where religious zealots are committing heinous acts of mass murder in the name of a god who is not the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ and to whom Jesus Christ is not the Son of God nor Savior of the worldâ€"and to whom followers of Jesus are the infidels who need to be destroyed.

And let those of us in the West who, in our complacency, think we are safe and secure see how we too, as nations, are drifting farther and farther away from our Judeo/Christian roots and heritage, and rapidly forgetting God and all that He has done for us. Do we think we will be protected from evil when we turn from God?

No we won't. In time we, too, unless we turn back to God, will go the way of all nations who forgot God and thereby allowed a reign of evil to rule the land. When we reject God, we automatically divorce ourselves from His protection.

People opposed to the Bible, the Ten Commandments, and anything to do with God and the Christian faith; leaders without morals; and business leaders without character and ethics have already done great harm to U.S. society. Surely Satan has blinded the mind of the Godless.

What we desperately need today is a revival of the Spirit; not the revival of a costless, shallow spiritualism, but a revival of God's Spirit, where we turn from our sins and come back to God through the Lord Jesus Christâ€"and be committed to truth, justice, integrity and the Jesus way!

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, how desperately today's world needs You and how desperately our country needs You. I beg of You to send a great Spiritual awakening to our land and a great revival of the Spiritâ€"and let Your work begin in me. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus's name, amen."

1. 2 Kings 21:10-12 (NIV).

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