“Do return, O Lord; how long will it be?
And be sorry for Your servants.
O satisfy us in the morning with Your lovingkindness,
That we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.
Make us glad according to the days You have afflicted us,
And the years we have seen evil.
Let Your work appear to Your servants
And Your majesty to their children.
Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us;
And confirm for us the work of our hands;
Yes, confirm the work of our hands.” (Psalm 90:13-17 NASB1995)

We live in troubled times. I believe God is judging the world right now, and that he is definitely judging the nation where I live, which is the USA. Evil abounds here and in the world, as a whole, and so many people who profess faith in Jesus Christ are living no different from the world. They are still making sin their practice, and obedience to our Lord’s commands is not their practice. For they have accepted an altered version of the gospel of Christ which is contrary to the teachings of Christ and of his New Testament apostles, for it does not require death to sin and obedience to our Lord.

But not everyone is buying into this cheapened and altered “gospel” message, although it appears as though the majority have. For, it would seem as though we are living in times similar to those when the Israelites wandered in the wilderness for 40 years where the majority of them were still living according to the flesh, and not according to the teachings of God. The majority were idolaters, revelers, drunkards, rebels, disobedient, and those who were living in immorality and who craved evil things. And they set the example for us in how we are not to live in sin, disobeying our Lord.

But for the Lord to return to our nation, and to have compassion on us in order to forgive us our (the nation’s) sins, the people of God, or those who profess to be of faith in Jesus Christ, need to repent of their idolatries and their thirst for what is not of God but for what is sinful, especially as it relates to immorality, sensuality, and worldly living. They need to repent of their apathy and their lack of concern for holy living and for putting the pleasures of this world ahead of or in place of God, and for their lack of concern over those in the world who are in need of a Savior from their sins.

For how can we expect the Lord to return to our nation if the people of this nation who claim to believe in Jesus will not return to him? How can we expect God to forgive the people of this nation who claim him as their God if they refuse to repent of their sins, but if they continue to go their own stubborn way, living however they want for the pleasures this world has to offer them? If we want the Lord to have compassion on our nation, we need to bow to him as Lord, and follow him in obedience to his commands. So, if we want God’s favor, we need to submit to him as Lord of our lives.

Now not one of us is absolutely perfect in every respect, for even as followers of Christ we are still clay in the hands of the Potter (God), being shaped and molded into the likeness of character of Jesus Christ, which is a lifelong process of sanctification. But lack of perfection is never to be used as an excuse for deliberate and habitual sin and disobedience to our Lord and to his commands. For if sin is our practice, and not obedience to God, we will not inherit eternal life with God, even if we profess Jesus with our lips. So, if we want God’s favor, we need to submit to him as master of our lives.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

Lead Me Gently Home, Father

By Will L. Thompson, 1879

Lead me gently home, Father,
Lead me gently home;
When life’s toils are ended,
And parting days have come,
Sin no more shall tempt me,
Ne’er from Thee I’ll roam,
If Thou’ll only lead me, Father,
Lead me gently home.

Lead me gently home, Father,
Lead me gently home;
In life’s darkest hours, Father,
When life’s troubles come,
Keep my feet from wand’ring,
Lest from Thee I roam,
Lest I fall upon the wayside,
Lead me gently home.

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