"God Bless America...with Repentance" - (Off Site Link)

I read a great little post at Alpha and Omega Ministries about God's blessing through judgment and repentance. James White notes in his comments on a reading of Isaiah 17 that: "Most often, when a nation is buried in the filth of sin, as Western cultures are today in general, the greatest blessing they can receive is judgment that brings repentance".

I think we do ourselves a disservice when we focus too much on blessings being those which naturally bring happiness and joy - the blessings that are perhaps more tangible such as food, shelter, family, and finances. But how often do we think about the blessings that most people would not openly welcome - the blessings that, to those outside Christianity, do not appear to be blessings at all. In Philippians (1:29) we read that it is a blessing from God to suffer for the sake of Christ: "For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake,". Not only is the gift of faith from God, to believe in Christ, a blessing but so too is the suffering that comes from persecution - from a world that hates us.

This is not directly related to James White's post but go there to read about idolatry, judgment, and repentance - and how God can bless a nation.

[misc]