A Prodigal Speaks Out

By Charles E. Cole

IF MY PEOPLE, WHICH ARE CALLED BY MY NAME, SHALL HUMBLE THEMSELVES AND PRAY, AND SEEK MY FACE, AND TURN AWAY FROM THEIR WICKED WAYS, THEN WILL I HEAR FROM HEAVEN, AND WILL FORGIVE THEIR SIN, AND WILL HEAL THEIR LAND.

2 CHRONICLES 7:14, KJV

What we are witnessing in America is indeed a theater of the absurd. Given our drifting, spir

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trilogy Christian Publishing
• Release date: Dec 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9798890415325

Book preview

INTRODUCTION

Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!

Isaiah 5:20

This book is written to and for committed Christ followers in America. It is not an attempt to convince non-believers of what Christians know to be the eternal Truth of God and His holy will and plan for the salvation of His creation. I trust that local churches and an array of outstanding evangelists and Spirit-filled organizations are all working diligently to spread God’s Word to the lost. Over fifty years ago, evangelist Billy Graham noted that in America the Gospel is everywhere. This is even more true today than when Reverend Graham made that statement.

For my part, I believe the Lord has given me certain talents which I’m quite satisfied applying to my service to Him, trusting in His will for my life and relying on scriptural guidance such as in Acts 20:24 and Colossians 4:17.

Moreover, this book is neither a polemic nor an attempt to seek secular solutions to contemporary problems facing the world or our country. I believe the best description of secular so-called solutions is that they represent sinking sand, given the level of evil we see being perpetrated in this, of all nations in the world – the one which was founded on a firm faith in Almighty God. It is, rather, a call to God’s people to stand up, call out the darkness surrounding us, and proclaim His Truth to a country badly in need of spiritual revival and awakening.

Rather than spend the reader’s time providing details of my life, I would instead point people to those portions of Scripture which explain the title of this book and which best describe my journey. First, the bad part which is found in Romans 7: 15-24. To borrow an old saying, God was in my heart, but the world was in my head. This took many years for me to realize and to seek guidance from the Holy Spirit to turn my situation around.

The good part is where I’ve arrived: the 15th chapter of the Book of Luke – most especially verses 11-24.

Now back to the book itself. There can be little doubt that what we’re seeing in America today is akin to walking through the Valley of Baca (Psalms 84) and we Christians need to dig a well to get us through the tough, dry, parched times that are coming our way and to follow God’s advice as to how to persevere and take action in accordance with His Word and His will for our lives.

After decades of enduring political correctness in the name of tolerance, comity, and decency, many believers are finally starting to attend to God’s warnings to us throughout Scripture. It’s now time for people of faith and good will to stand up, speak out, and boldly and loudly proclaim the truth. We need not be harsh or threatening or hateful, as we’re often described for raising awareness about the evils in full view of our society. But we do need to stand firm and not shrink from shining a light in the midst of the deepening darkness prevalent in America today.

The fact of the matter is that contemporary American society has gone so far down the road of allowing, supporting, condoning, and even promoting evil that no election, no political party, no court, no legislature, no president, and thus no secular action or entity can possibly save this nation from a gruesome fate akin to that suffered by so many other nations throughout history.

God spoke to the church at Corinth through the Apostle Paul and indicated this quite clearly. First Corinthians 3:19-20: For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. And again, the Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain. God had said the same thing much earlier through the prophet Isaiah: Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight. (Isaiah 5:21)

A cursory review of the various utopian collectivist regimes which abandoned God in the name of pursuing some heaven on earth reveals a horrific record of poverty, suffering, repression, misery, death, and destruction. Twentieth century British philosopher Karl Popper described it well: The attempt to create heaven on earth inevitably produces hell. We need to review some examples of that as we move forward.

So, come, let us reason together. Let us seek the only genuine, effective, and permanent solution to the mess in which we’ve been tacitly complicit. Instead of trying to conjure up some new panacea from the domains of philosophy, science, human-developed jurisprudence, government, or education, let’s ask God to intervene and show us the way out. This will require us to prayerfully listen to Him and rely on His wisdom and righteousness.

The Lord Jesus said the following words in Matthew 15:10: Hear and understand. That is the first step we must take under the guidance of the Holy Spirit of God who always stands ready to reveal to us God’s eternal Truth if only we will pray for His guidance in interpreting what we read in His Word and apply it to our lives each time we open Scripture.

Frankly, this is the only way I see for us to apply spiritual medicine to our diseased society. In the words of the old hymn, All other ground is sinking sand.

Charles Cole

Sheridan, Wyoming

August 2023

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