We Have Chosen to Forget

   It seems the older I get, the more of a history buff I become.   Maybe it’s a longing I have  for the way things used to be, but I just find the stories of yesteryear to be fascinating and heartwarming.  I am also convinced that a big reason our country is currently in such turmoil and confusion is that we have forgotten our history and our heritage.  We don’t remember where we came from, or what we’ve been through as a nation.  Probably because most of us haven’t had to endure any sort of hardship at all in our lives, and so we can’t relate to the struggles our founders faced, nor do we have any sense of the patriotism or national unity and pride that our parents and grandparents felt when they came here as immigrants, survived the Great Depression and pulled together as one nation under God during the World Wars.

   It seems our public schools no longer teach history, or if they do, then something frightening must have happened to the text books.  Because if you talk to any high school or college age student, you’ll find they’re hard pressed to give any sort of answers to the most basic of questions about our American history.  They cannot tell you why it was our ancestors came to settle here in the new world in the first place, or what their reasons were for leaving Europe.  They cannot tell you what the American Constitution is, nor anything about the Bill of Rights.    If you were to ask them about the Civil War, or which countries made up the Allied or Axis powers in World War II, you’d likely get blank stares.  For that matter, try asking them what happened on December 7, 1941, or what the Berlin Wall was... or even what happened to the Twin Towers at the World Trade Center on 9/11.  The answers you get -- or lack thereof -- will help to illustrate what I’m trying to say here.  Indeed, our lack of knowledge is the very reason the Supreme Court can get away with declaring sin to be the law of the land.  It wasn’t that long ago that any 6th grade civics student could tell you that’s not how it’s supposed to work.

   But today, many of our young people will tell you they are just not interested in politics, and that history has nothing to do with here and now.  To them, it is all irrelevant -- it has nothing to do with their daily concerns.  What’s more, the old fashioned values that many of us remember and treasure, to them, are seen as unrealistic, archaic and primitive.   Worst of all, the same can be said of their view of God, His Word and the Gospel.

   Sadly, this may well be the first generation in this country that forgets who God is completely.  We have been on a steady course here in the US, of removing our Creator from public view and acknowledgement.  As the ISIS radicals are tearing down ancient Christian landmarks in the middle east, here in America, radical God-haters are tearing down memorials of our Christian faith and heritage at breakneck speeds.  From the Ten Commandments carved in stone, to crosses in city logos and on age-old war memorials, anything that has to do with the God of the Bible is now considered offensive, intolerant and hateful toward unbelievers, and so it must go.  In our ignorance, we think “out of sight, out of mind.”  If we don’t see it, it will cease to exist or be real.  At the very least, if we can’t see it, then we need not be accountable to it.  And so in the puny minds of the God-haters, if they can erase all memory of God, He will cease to exist... and at the very least, if MOST  people stop serving Him, then the God-haters will no longer be the minority, thus they need not feel guilty about their blasphemy or abominable, self-centered lifestyles either.

   They are, in their minds, constructing a utopian society where there are no gods, no laws, no rulers, where we, the so-called “Free thinkers” are free to be and become anything we can envision for ourselves.  Free to live, to be, to experience and explore anything our hearts desire, without fear or guilt or need of any conscience at all.  For what is a conscience, other than the guilt imposed upon us by a tyrannical and imaginary god, invented by men to hold us down and control us as a people?!  Yes, to them, true freedom means throwing off the shackles of religion and conservatism, to be accountable to no one, to be free to see and do and be anything we can imagine or conceive.  

   Free to see, do and be anything, that is, EXCEPT to believe or even consider God.  You see, the “Free-thinkers” are free to think of anything they want, EXCEPT God.  That is the one subject they are NOT free to think of, much less believe in.  No, because you see, in order for the Utopian society they’ve constructed to work, there must be NO God!  Forbidden!  Not allowed!  Indeed the tyranny of the Freethinkers knows no limit when it comes to hatred for God.  Such talk will not only get you shunned by the New World Order society -- one day soon, I believe, it will get you imprisoned, right here in America, the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave.  Yes, to their way of thinking, we must kill even the very idea of God in order to create a new, higher, more progressive society based on reason and intellect.  Let Him be utterly forgotten!  Is this not where we are headed today?  Moreover, is this not how it was in the former Soviet Union?  And how’d that work out for them?

   To illustrate my point on this, let me tell you a quick story.  My wife and I were married at a tiny one-room Chapel in rural Wisconsin, back in 1990.  The Chapel in the Woods, as it’s called, is located on the banks of the Crystal River, which winds peacefully through the grounds there, creating not only a beautiful setting for weddings, but it’s also a place where people go to just meditate, pray and be with God, there by the riverside.  Indeed, the Chapel in the Woods is a place where all sorts of people go to sight-see, walk the grounds, and enjoy the beautiful scenery and serene landscaped gardens.  The former owner of the property, before his retirement, would tell you that the property was dedicated to God’s service years ago by his parents, and how he kept it as a ministry to the Lord, and that the Holy Spirit’s presence could always be felt in this place.

   After we were married there, my wife and I made it a tradition -- and eventually it became a FAMILY tradition -- to visit there every summer, about the time of our anniversary.  Each year as our children -- and our family -- grew, we would take pictures in front of the little Chapel in the Woods.  Many times when we would visit, there would be a wedding in progress, and sometimes we were able to share with the young brides and grooms that us “old folks” were married there too, way back when, and how it’s now our family tradition to return each year and take a picture as a memorial of our vows in that place that was always so special to us.  Though our kids are all grown up now and out on their own, they were raised with a family heritage and history of this special place, and it became very special to each of them as well, something I hope they will share with their own future spouses and children for years to come.

   But getting back to my point...  this last summer when we visited, as we were strolling through the grounds, over the old covered bridge and down the path to the Chapel, there was another family there...  a Dad, who seemed to be in some sort of a hurry to get done here, clearly not there to meditate or spend time with the Lord.   He was walking by himself, apart from the rest of his family, and the Mom and two small kids, probably about 8 and 10 years old trailed behind, just enjoying the scenery.  As we passed by, we heard the little boy ask his Mom, “What’s this place?”  The Mom said, “It’s a Chapel, it’s like a church.”  The little boy asked, “What’s it for?  What do they do there?”  And the Mom responded with some haunting words I will never forget.  She said, “It’s a place where some people go... to pray to God, or whoever...”

   Here was a husband and wife, with two little kids, a young family that could have been us many years ago...  in the same place we were, but experiencing something completley different.  To us, the Chapel has become a special place of remembrance, because we were married there, but also because this is where God began a new family -- our family -- there in His presence.  And as we made our vows before Him in that place, on that day, He consecrated us and has kept us in His care all these years.  We know the Lord:  individually, as a couple and as a family.  Our kids grew up knowing Him too.  Before they were even old enough to read, we read the Bible stories together.  Before our youngest was even born we prayed together as a family for the new baby in Mom’s tummy -- and each one of our kids knew of God’s love for them just like they knew of our love for them.  

   But how different with this family.   I am not telling you this to be boastful or proud.  I’m telling you this to illustrate what is happening to our nation and our people... and how it is happening now so quickly.  When I started  this ministry work in the year 2000, approximately 87% of Americans considered themselves Christians.  Today, by some estimates, that number is as low as 54%.  And if you want to get technical and consider what the number is of Americans who are actually serious about their Christian faith, I dare say that number would be down in the 20s, or even less.  Today we have churches that are closing down and sitting vacant, or turned into restaurants, bars, and nightclubs.  How long before all the little kids point their fingers and ask, “What’s that place?”  And the parents will say, “Oh, it’s where some people USED to go to pray to God, ...or whoever...”

   “To pray to God, or WHOEVER.”  We don’t remember.   As a nation, we have forgotten our history, and as individuals we have forgotten our Lord.  Worse than that, we have willfully turned away from Him, seeking our own pleasures.   It would do us good to remember Scripture, and what happens to a nation that forgets God...because as we see our country crumbling around us, as we see foreign enemies with strange religions coming in and taking control, dominating us as a people and ruling over us from even the highest office in the land, we can be assured it is because we have forgotten God.  Worse, we have CHOSEN to forget God.  

   You see the godless Utopia the so-called “Free-thinkers” would have you embrace is not Utopia so much as it is hell on earth.  Like the prodigal son who learned the hard way that his father’s house really meant love, security and a future, while the shiny enticements of the world only brought despondency, despair and utter ruin, I pray we will someday learn that God’s laws were meant for our ultimate good.  Placed before us as guard rails at the cliff, rather than the walls of a prison.  Read the words of Scripture, recorded for us and preserved through eons of time for our benefit...for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness... the precious ancient wisdom of God Himself, and read about those who forget their history and their God, and see what happens.  Then take a look around and see if you notice any resemblance to our own time.  

   As I close now, let’s look at a few words from the weeping prophet, Jeremiah.  Because this is what the Lord says:  “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.”   Friends, we are now standing, as a people, at that very crossroads... the Lord says to ask for the ancient paths, to look for the good way, His ways, and walk in them... this alone will bring rest to our souls that are now so twisted and tortured having forsaken ourselves from His presence.    And Lord, let us not forget Your ways, and let us humble ourselves and return to Your arms, Heavenly Father.  Help us to wake up and teach us to remember, as even now, we stand at the crossroads.  I pray we will remember from where we have come, and follow in Your ways as You lead us home.