Joshua 24:14-15 

¹⁴ “Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of ^[a]the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! ¹⁵ And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of ^[b]the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

 

Loving father

battle worn

Thoughts about

Father’s scorn

Remembers why

He went to war

Feels the pride

Of the weight he bore.

 

Knew America

was worth the cost

Never questioned

Never lost

 

Now he paces

in this room

Walls closing in

Thoughts of gloom

of current days

of what is wrought

of those two kids

What time has brought.

 

Precious babies

His everything

They make him proud

The joy they bring

Troubling thoughts

His first born son,

His beautiful daughter,

the feisty one.

 

They are built

for bigger things

going to war?

the truth, it stings.

 

Back in the day

when he went to war

things were different

God weighted the score

 

God was Here

WE pledged allegience

God was everywhere

Devine obedience

 

He went to serve

with God still here

and now He’s gone

and troubles steer

us down a path of pure destruction

His kids at war?

they go? Obstruction

against an enemy

wrought with sin

Enemy comes

and they will win.

 

Cause we left God

Way behind

Lost in the past

Within lost time

We said

We won’t fall

Without you God

Don’t need You at all

 

Now you look

with sobbing eyes

at what those terrible

devil lies

are ripping out of your two hands

and you have nothing strong to stand

upon cause you were the one who let

Him go and now you sit and fret

cause the precious gifts of miracles

and freedom are gone like that!!!

 

what?!

 

You think God will be there

to save your son?

You think He will save a country

Lost, undone?

You think He will be there

when you denied?

You think He will be there

because you cried?

 

You think there will be an end

to your true sorrow?

You think there will be

a happy tomorrow?

You think that your sin

won’t suffer pain?

You think that a world like this

is to gain?

You think that your suffering

will stop without

Looking to GOD

with a powerful shout:

COME BACK TO US GOD
COME BACK AND LEAD
US ALL TO VICTORY
AND POWER AND FEED
OUR SOULS WITH THE TRUTH
OF YOUR GREAT POWER
NOW DEFEND US GOD,
MAKE THE DEVIL COWER!

 

In unison we fall down

repent

We. are. all. so. sorry.

for such descent

 

Forgive us for what we have done

You are the Omnipotent and Powerful One

You are the Lord above! On high!

We will respect, without asking why

We will remember the punishment,

remember the pain

Remember there’s nothing

more to gain

Just loving You and keeping You on Your throne

We will never be left alone

We will never suffer again

As long as we keep You forever and mend

The sin and suffering of recent past

and keep You here, forever to last!

---

 

The story of Jonah is so powerful.  I can’t imagine how we can think that we can stand as a world power without the all powerful and merciful One.  Why would God keep us safe as we slowly and sneakily allow God out of our beautiful and once-Powerful Country?

I don’t understand.  Can someone help me understand?

Mercy remains – God loves us still.

Can we turn our hearts, our communities, our schools, and our government back to Him before it’s too late?

What do you think?