Ephesians 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.

My parents did not raise me in the Lord. What if they had raised me in the Lord? I have often wondered and that is the regret game. First of all it stems from a lie often whispered into our ear by Satan.

“It is their fault you turned out this way.”

Placing the blame on others is one of Satan’s favorite tricks. Heaven forbid Satan should every allow you to repent of being under his influence. The truth is that each one of us, until we accept Jesus into our hearts is under the influencing lies of Satan.

The worst kids I knew as a child were the twin sons of a preacher. I know they heard the truth and I am sure they were raised by God fearing parents. It wasn’t the parent’s fault that those two were mean, angry, bitter children.

God is all about relationship. If the parents cannot lead the child to God, perhaps the child can lead the parents to God. Satan’s approach is to cast fear, doubt and resentment in every relationship. Regret is the hangover of a live lived under Satan’s lies. Like any hangover, you need to drink water to purify your system and wash out impurities.

Ephesians 5:26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,

John 4:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

I keep drinking in, every day, because Satan has not given up his whispering lies.

Hebrews 3:13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

There has been a decline in goodness in America and I fear it is because we did not do this daily. We have seen a steady decline in earnest praying Christians. We cannot exhort anyone outside our camp. The enemy needs conviction not exhortation. In our zeal for peace we have made peace with the enemies of the cross.

1 Timothy 2:1-2 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.

America’s life is less peaceable, less godly, and less honest. There have been revivals calling reversal of fortune in America but the decline continues.

There is a show called Outlander in which the main characters want to rewrite history because they know what will happen in the future. They failed at every attempt. History could not be changed.

2 Thessalonians 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

This prophesy cannot be avoided any more than changing our past history. It is a fool’s errand to think that we can bring about this prophecy. It will happen in due course, just as all prophecy is accomplished. So what are the choices we have before us?

Exhort one another today. Leave the results up to God.