Don't Give Up.

"For Consider Him who endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you may not grow weary and lose heart" (Heb.12:3). Motivation to keep pressing ahead in ministry, to not grow weary in doing good or lose heart in the face of hostility, opposition, and discouragement is the example of Jesus. What price am I paying in my service for the Lord that compares to Christ's sacrifice for me? His sacrifice freed me from sin-no greater gift could ever be received. His sacrifice serves as an example to follow--I have not suffered anywhere near what He has. Mondays are a good day for me to be reminded of why I should not give up. This encouragement is especially true in light of some of the very discouraging things that I see developing in America. Yesterday we began to hear some of what will inevitably become the uncovering of the Benghazi debacle and the intentional cover up by the current administration for political expediency. At least two issues are extremely disturbing. First of all, a thorough review of policy and procedure in handling the protection of foreign diplomats overseas and especially in political "hot spots" is needed. Something went terribly wrong the night of September 11, 2012. The families of those lost in the tragic attack, Congress and the American people all deserve an answers. The State Department, Military, and all coordinating agencies need to learn from mistakes. This tragedy speaks of incompetence and/or inability, on a grand scale. Secondly, the Administration's integrity, propriety, legality, and morality are all in question. If what happened was not the result of incompetence, ignorance, or inability for which some need to be held responsible, then we must be willing to entertain the idea that the deaths of the four Americans was the result of political expediency. The "emphatic and determined" talking points of the Administration from the President, Secretary of State Clinton, Presidential press secretary Jay Carney, and U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice were all the same. Two months before the Presidential election they all INSISTED that four U.S. citizens including an Ambassador were killed due to a "spontaneous demonstration" triggered by an "Anti-Islamist" amateur movie. It is becoming increasingly clear to anyone willing to take the evidence for what it is that this Administration narrative was a lie perpetrated to maintain the fiction that Al Qaeda was on the run, being dispersed, and of no consequence in the Middle East and that Islamic fueled terrorism against the U.S. was declining. These were "politically beneficial" talking points that were completely fallacious and grossly denied the facts.What appears to be unfolding before us is a seriously disturbing scenario in which political agendas took precedence over the safety of Americans and then the facts deliberately hidden from the people. If it is confirmed (which from the preliminary testimony seems to be certain) that the President and his people lied to the American people then we have a serious breach of trust that cries out for justice. Then there are the recent "gut-wrenching" exposures of the grizzly, gruesome, and grotesque business of late term abortions in the U.S. This has been brought to light (begrudgingly I might add) by the exposure to the Gosnell trial in Pennsylvania. The atrocities committed in his clinic and certainly repeated in clinics all over the country are nothing less than barbaric, neanderthal, and inhumane in ways rivaling if not exceeding what took place in the holocaust. The callousness, hard-heartedness, and ease with which innocent young life is destroyed, mangled, and murdered highlights the depth to which the depravity of the fall infects the human soul. As I reflect on these two issues in our society I find myself thinking of Isaiah 5:20 "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness." What is taking place in America today parallels in degree if not action the sins of Israel that brought them into serious judgment. I find myself humbly driven to pray for repentance for the sins of our country, to beg God for mercy, for clemency (a.k.a. Lincoln), for God to turn us collectively from our entrenched wickedness and towards our need for His holiness. With these vivid examples of the depth of our collective depravity it should move us to seek God for His mercy. 2Chronicles 7:14-- It is God's true followers who are instructed here "humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways..." I'm praying for forgiveness, for collective repentance, for God to bring the wicked to justice if they do not repent. Oh, Lord here our prayers, turn each of us from our personal sins, embolden us to speak out against our collective sins, and convict those who are engaged in wickedness to see their error, turn and trust you. God please heal our land.