It's a SIGN of the TIMES!

Call me "corny"...I don't care, but I loved the TV show, "The Waltons!"  It was all about family values; they went to church together (except for John Walton); they sat at the dinner table together--and even talked to one another instead of being silently "glued" in front of a TV while they ate!  But times are different now!

Nowadays I'm seeing a society that is growing more-and-more "barren."   America is entering a time of "spiritual famine."  We have a "form of godliness," but are steadily and increasingly weakening, spiritually starving, and decaying from the inside out.  The Bible would say we're in "perilous times."  Perilous means:  Harsh, difficult, painful, fierce, dangerous, and hard to deal with.

Unemployment is mounting, there are more shootings and robberies, divorce is more popular than marriage, living together is the "in thing" to do, homelessness is increasing, poverty is on the rise, the middle class is disappearing, etc.  Yep!  The world's getting darker! 

I prayed, "God, please TURN UP YOUR LIGHT...shine down your blessings upon us...save us, heal us, help us!"  He answered, "You, who call yourselves Christians... turn up YOUR lights!!!"

Oh, then I remembered the little kids Sunday School song:  "This little light of mine--I'm gonna let it shine...let it shine...let it shine, etc."  Hum!  Have we run out of "oil for our lamps?"  Have we "hidden (or forgotten) our lamps?"   [Matthew 5:13-16; Matthew 25:1-13]

Didn't I recently hear a pastor say, "We have to see Jesus in the FLAME!"  But if our faith is flickering, or is snuffed out, how will we be able to see Him?  So what must we, as a nation, do to save our land?

• Put OIL in our lamps (the fueling power of the Holy Spirit)
• Turn up the FLAME (of our faith)
• Turn from our wicked, lathargic, lukewarm ways
• Turn around (repent)
• Put 1st things 1st (God 1st)
• Trust and obey what He has to say

Remember, when we were kids in school, we used to say "The Pledge of Allegiance?"  A line in that pledge says, "ONE nation under God...!"  Maybe we should pledge to be "ONE nation under the ONE and only God !"

But, "be of good cheer"--the Lord's still in control!  We're closer to His return....these are the LAST DAYS!   He's coming back for His church!  Will we be READY?  Until then, keep your lamp full of oil and burning brightly!