Compromise

California: The State of the State

Barbara Kain Parker Biblical Insights, Inspirational , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

untitledBorn and raised in Humboldt County in the midst of the majestic redwoods of Northern CA, and living in the desert of South Orange County, I have a lifetime of roots planted throughout our wonderful state; and I have faith that God will bring it back to Him. About 17 years ago, He had me highlight every road on a CA map that I had traveled, assured me that this was my ‘promised land’, and He was on the move.

Why is our state so ‘blue’? Why do we have such unrighteous leadership? It’s simple, really; once we stand up for God and begin to move in faith, we will be a threat to the enemy’s influence on the rest of the nation and the world. The battle here isn’t between liberals and conservatives; it’s Christians against that which is unseen. Ephesians 6:12:

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

CA has been home to some of the biggest moves of God in history, not the least of which was Azusa Street and the Jesus Movement. So think about that for a moment: Azusa Street was birthed in Los Angeles, and the Jesus People came straight out of Haight Ashbury in San Francisco. See any parallels between that and the two biggest bastions of liberalism in the state today?

So what happened? Compromise! The church got all happy and full of God, but quickly turned away and compromised with the world, choosing to please man instead of God.

So what’s needed? Repentance! And not just on the part of the ‘sinners’ either, because many in the Church are right there at the top of that list. The Church Body in CA must repent of aligning with the world, of accepting such abominations into our fellowships as homosexuality, abortion, and co-habitation outside of marriage. The Church Body must repent of a multitude of sins that seem OK because ‘everybody else does it’; from the big ones just mentioned right down to the ‘little ones of ‘stretching the truth’ for personal gain, pride, self-sufficiency, and the list goes on. When the Church in CA repents, the spiritual earthquake that will occur will cause any physical earthquake we might experience here to pale in comparison!

We who live in CA can choose to focus on all of the evil that surrounds us, or we can shift our gaze a bit and focus on God, which will make all the difference in the world. We need to dive deep into Lamentations 3 and let God show us His way. He is our Hope. The thing is though, we must clean our own house before we can revolutionize our state. Lamentations 3:40-45:

Let us lift up our hearts and hands
to God in heaven:
“We have transgressed and rebelled,
and you have not forgiven.
“You have wrapped yourself with anger and pursued us,
killing without pity;
you have wrapped yourself with a cloud
so that no prayer can pass through.
You have made us scum and garbage
among the peoples.

De Rigeuer

Barbara Kain Parker Biblical Insights, Inspirational , , , , , ,

BibleDe rigeuer.  It’s the word that was in my mind the moment I awoke this morning, and I can’t even imagine a scenario in which that would’ve been my first thought!  Knowing it had to be a piece of a bigger puzzle, I told the Lord that I didn’t have any idea what he was talking about, and I’d wait for Him to give me some more clues so I could figure it out.

As is my usual practice, I grabbed my coffee and settled in with my Bible for some quiet time with the Lord before the demands of the day ran away with me, and I started reading Isaiah again, going through the first four chapters.  I’d just finished it yesterday, but I’d received a wonderful new journaling Bible at about chapter 46, so I decided to go back to the beginning so I can ‘personalize’ a whole book at a time.  In fact, the reason I got the new Bible was because my last one is beginning to wear out, and many passages are double and triple marked, with hard-to-read notes scrunched into the small margins.  My older Bible was a gift that I really want to be able to keep and take along with me, but its days are numbered unless it gets a break.

Reading along and relishing all the space I now have to make notes, I read the first four chapters without really thinking about my ‘word of the day’.  When finished, I moved on to My LinkedIn discussion group, Standing In Faith, and read a new discussion in which comments had been made about the true value of success, as contrasted with popular indicators of value that focus on outward appearances.

Hmmmm, maybe there’s a pattern here. De rigeueur refers to a requirement of etiquette or current fashion in order to be fashionable or socially acceptable. Put that that together with the words of Isaiah 3:16-26, which I’d just read, and it sure began looking like the Lord’s had a plan in mind here.

The Lord said:

Because the daughters of Zion are haughty and walk with outstretched necks, glancing wantonly with their eyes, mincing along as they go, tinkling with their feet, therefore the Lord will strike with a scab the heads of the daughters of Zion, and the Lord will lay bare their secret parts.

In that day the Lord will take away the finery of the anklets, the headbands, and the crescents; the pendants, the bracelets, and the scarves; the headdresses, the armlets, the sashes, the perfume boxes, and the amulets; the signet rings and nose rings; the festal robes, the mantles, the cloaks, and the handbags; the mirrors, the linen garments, the turbans, and the veils.

Instead of perfume there will be rottenness; and instead of a belt, a rope; and instead of well-set hair, baldness; and instead of a rich robe, a skirt of sackcloth; and branding instead of beauty. Your men shall fall by the sword and your mighty men in battle. And her gates shall lament and mourn; empty, she shall sit on the ground.

The words above were written to the kingdom of Judah in the days of the Old Testament, but are as relevant for the church today as they were for His people then.  We live in a time when evil is increasing exponentially; immorality and downright debauchery are rampant; our children are being sacrificed through abortion; and the list goes on.  Unfortunately, in the midst of it all, many Christians are choosing to compromise with the world, preferring to ‘go along to get along’ rather than to stand firm in their faith, refusing to budge when it comes to God’s righteousness and justice.  It’s time to heed seriously the words of 1 Peter 4:17:

For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

Yes, God’s judgment will surely start within the house of the Lord, and those who are His had better be standing in faith rather than compromise.  If we are, then there’s an amazing answer right there in Isaiah 3:10-11 to the question from 1 Peter:

Tell the righteous that it shall be well with them, for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds.

Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him, for what his hands have dealt out shall be done to him.

Does anybody remember George Peppard’s oft-spoken line as Hannibal in the A Team? “I just love it when a plan comes together.”  That describes perfectly my sentiment today as I watched God assemble the pieces of His lesson of the day!  My prayer is that many of us will choose to be on God’s A Team.