America 2017

For the past decade, it has been obvious that the LORD has been trying to get the attention of the American Christian.  There is within the church, in general, this attitude that in the future the End Time scriptures will be fulfilled.  The problem with this type of thinking is the future is now.  While the country is fighting over whose statue to take down, and what a terrible president we have, our nation is faced with serious issues that will bring this country to its knees.  It is not China, Iran, North Korea or Russia that should be our concern; it is America that we should be concerned about.

Ezekiel 14:13­14 "'Son of man, if a country sins against Me by committing unfaithfulness, and I stretch out My hand against it, destroy its supply of bread send famine against it and cut off from it both man and beast, even though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job were in its midst, by their own righteousness they could only deliver themselves,' declares the LORD GOD."

Have you ever asked yourself the question, “Why do so many bad things keep happening in America?

Those who know me understand my passion for protecting our clean water source.  Water is the source of life, without it, we would cease to exist.  Yes, I know that we have the same amount of water that we had at the beginning of creation.  However, we have not been good stewards of that water, and we have less clean water than we had 100 years ago.

Most Americans have never heard of the Ogallala Aquifer, but it is absolutely critical to food production in many areas of the United States. The water from this massive underground lake is used to irrigate much of America's Great Plains. From 2011 to 2014, 8% of the total 2.92 billion acre-feet, has been depleted, an overall decline of about 267 million acre-feet.  At this rate, the water supply will be gone in a few short years.

So why is that a bad thing? Well, the Ogallala Aquifer is a gigantic underground lake that stretches from southern South Dakota all the way through northern Texas, covering approximately  175,000 square miles.  If it is gone, the era of "pivot irrigation" in the region will be over. That would mean that the Great Plains could quickly turn into the Great American Desert. America could very well see a return to the Dust Bowl days of the 1930s. Are you prepared for that?  

Conditions in the American West, especially in the Dakotas and northeastern Montana, are dire. The government’s own data, gathered by the US Drought Monitor indicate an “exceptional drought” condition in patches of these three states. Here’s the definition of that rating: “Exceptional and widespread crop/pasture losses. Shortages of water in reservoirs, streams, and wells creating water emergencies.” Scary.

The drought is so bad, in fact, that an estimated seven out of ten farmers in these areas have chosen not to even attempt to bring their wheat to full harvest, instead baling it early to create hay. That strategy drastically reduces the amount of wheat to be made into flour on the open market and also reduces the income of those farmers.

Sadly, the United States has only enough grain stored up to give about a half a loaf of bread to every man, woman, and child in the United States. How long do you think that is going to last in the event of a major emergency?

Ranchers and farmers are struggling with the lack of water already.  What will happen if the drought continues to move south across the United States?  Land use is aggravating the impact of drought when water users like farmers and landscapers, power plants, and urban populations must all draw from limited water supplies. Because of this, drought can impact everything from the availability and cost of food to the cost of electricity over a wide region. When comparing single events, i.e., one hurricane compared to one drought, drought is the most expensive natural disaster.

In North Dakota, it was reported on August 22, 2017,  that some ranchers are resorting to drilling new wells as the previously established wells have dried up. In South Dakota, reported impacts include: dry dams or unusable water, lack of well water, failed hay crops, and wildfire danger. In Nebraska, it was reported that crops are beginning to stress due to the lack of rain.

It was reported on August 22, 2017, that 98 percent of the topsoil moisture in Montana was rated very short to short and 90 percent of subsoil moisture was rated very short to short. The USDA reported 67 percent of the state’s pasture and rangeland was in poor to very poor condition. It was also noted that livestock sales have been accelerated 3 to 4 weeks ahead of normal due to the extreme lack of moisture. Wildfires have resulted in poor air quality. The Lolo Peak fire has scorched 32,000 acres thus far.

Added to this is the increased number of natural disasters that have taken place already this year.

In 2017 (as of July 7), there have been 9 weather and climate disaster events with losses exceeding $1 billion each across the United States. These events included 2 flooding events, 1 freeze event, and 6 severe storm events. Overall, these events resulted in the deaths of 57 people and had significant economic effects on the areas impacted. 

This does not include the latest hurricane, Harvey.  It is estimate $24 billion dollars in damages have already occurred.  Chuck Watson, a disaster modeler with Enki Research, said that he would place it among the top eight hurricanes to ever strike the U.S. “A historic event is currently unfolding in Texas,” Aon Plc wrote in an alert to clients. “It will take weeks until the full scope and magnitude of the damage is realized,” and already it’s clear that “an abnormally high portion of economic damage caused by flooding will not be covered.”

Over the past 5 years, there has been an increase in the number of natural disasters. These disasters are each in the billions of dollars.  The LORD is trying to wake us up.

The old saying, "when it rains it pours," is certainly applicable to the United States right now.

Already faced with some of the biggest economic problems in a generation, America is also being forced to deal with horrifying natural disasters, rapidly  growing  environmental  nightmares and agricultural problems that could end up being absolutely unprecedented. So why do so many bad things keep happening to the United States? Does there come a point when the economic damage from all of these disasters just becomes too much? After all, how much can the "biggest economy in the world" take and still remain standing?

In looking back over some of my sermons forty years ago, my concern was with a sleeping church.  Many churches today have become no more than a social or service club.  I struggle with how spiritually blind Christians have become.  America was once the Christian lighthouse of the world, but that’s all over.

The LORD has brought judgment upon this Nation, and we are so blind we cannot see.  We have had our focus diverted by those who manipulate the news media.  We have lost sight of who we are as a Nation.  We have allowed our sins to go unchecked until our country; it is filled  with hatred and evil.  The spiritual leaders have made the message of the Gospel little more than a means to pad their pockets.  This is also the judgment of the LORD on this Nation

Zechariah 11:16 "For behold, I am going to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for the perishing, seek the scattered, heal the broken, or sustain the one standing, but will devour the flesh of the fat sheep and tear off their hoofs . . .” (Because the spiritual hoofs have been torn off our people by self serving church leaders who know not God, we no longer know how to walk the Christian walk.)  Instead of repenting, we continue in our sin.

Just before the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C., the godly sighed and groaned over the abominations committed in their midst, but do we?

Ezekiel 9: During the time of the prophet Ezekiel, the LORD spoke to Ezekiel about the condition of Israel.  The LORD was angry and sent angels to mark the people who groaned over the abominations which were being committed.  Those who were not concerned about the sin and evil going on the LORD sent angles to kill them.  The LORD told the angels that  it didn’t matter if they were elders, young men or young women, children or mothers—you must use your weapon and kill everyone who does not have the mark on their forehead. Don’t show any mercy. Don’t feel sorry for anyone. The Death Angels started at the elders in front of the Temple.

The LORD told Ezekiel, the sins of the country had filled the cities with crime.  The people had disregarded the LORD for so long that they came to believe the LORD could not see their sins.  The action of the LORD was  not to show any mercy or feel sorry for them. They brought it on themselves. They were getting the punishment they deserve.

Do you believe, the LORD of hosts, is going to act different now, just because you go to your spiritually dead church on Sunday, know the four spiritual laws and have said the sinners prayer?

The Lord is putting the above mark on many today. If you have that mark, you know it, because you recognize the lateness of the hour, Romans 13:11 “. . . knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep.”