The United States of America is the only country I’ve ever called home. I love where I live and love my fellow Americans but am astonished at the cesspool we’ve become. Our nation is so far from the Christian nation it was founded as, that it is barely recognizable.

Most don't realize that Numbers 14-19 is comprised of a period of 38 years. This is the period of wilderness wandering. Whether we like to admit it or not that’s where we often find ourselves individually and as a nation. We focus on small insignificant issues, and we grumble and complain every step of the way. We get nowhere and accomplish little for Him because our eyes are on everything but His promised land. We read in Numbers 20:12, "Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them." Many view what happened to Moses as a little over the top for a man who did so much. There are so many pictures of Jesus in this section. Jesus as the bronze serpent, we read in John 3:14, "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up." In Numbers this bronze serpent stopped the deadly plague. For Jesus the above statement goes on in John 3:15-16, "that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." One key factor in believing is that if this is true of us then it will lead to FRUIT. The fruit is not the root of our salvation it is the proof that your belief is authentic- more than just lip service. It will result in a faith that ACTS and a faith that ACTS will produce FRUIT. “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.” – Matthew 3:8

We have strayed so far from our roots. Like was said of Moses above we often fail to hallow God in the eyes of others. It's interesting that bronze is a symbol of judgment and the serpent a symbol of sin. This symbol is used as the symbol for the medical profession (though the U.S. used two snakes) which is a picture of sin being judged. We should take a long hard look at ourselves and what we stand for. For those with school aged children will you help them study for their tests that are on the LGBTQ agenda, but simply give the disclaimer that Mom and Dad don't agree with this? Will we continue to teach our children evolution rather than creation? Will we be careful how we post on social media for fear of who might be upset with our Christian stance? I'm not talking about polarizing people based on politics, but on God. Will we continue to care more about how speaking out will reflect on us or our children and wait for others to take the lead? Our nation has fallen asleep and before our eyes we have allowed our nation to become anything but a Christian nation. We need to compare ourselves to God and His Word. None of us deserve anything, but by His grace and mercy He gives us breath for another day. The question is since we have only been guaranteed today, what are we going to do with that breath? It is time for all of us to take to heart the words of Jesus in Matthew 10:28, "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”