Psalm 127:1  Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.
2  It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.

The lost are blinded by their foolishness. They cannot see the trees for the forest. We need God to open our eyes to see what is happening in our world.
I was asked this week what is behind the riots in France. This was from a man whose news diet comes from sites like CNN. I have known this man for some time. He gets into a foul mood at times and then he wants to argue.
It is not just France that is in turmoil. Israel has been in a state of heightened unrest ever since the last election. They are not only being attacked from without, but also from their own people. Mr. Netanyahu wants to reform the Supreme court so that it is not so political. Apparently their court system is worse than what we have in our country, or in the U.S. Israel is supposed to be the people of God, but they have chosen to reject the true God for well over 2,000 years now. They rejected Him in the time of Jesus Christ, and for many years prior to that. They and other countries boast that Israel is the only democratic country in that region.
We have talked about this before, but being a democratic nation is not a blessing. It is actually a curse. Too many people think that in a democracy they have a say in who forms government and what they will do while in government. It should be rather obvious to those who can see, that this is a pipe dream.
Israel has a more conservative government at this time. However, they are still an ungodly government and that is the problem. As our verses state, “except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it.” That is a fact that should be acknowledged by all born again Christians. It is a fact that should be proclaimed to all people regularly. Most people are very hardhearted. They do not hear well and they do not receive facts very well either.
The troubles that Israel has faced over the centuries are exactly because the LORD is not building their house. God has His eye on Israel and He will never allow them to be destroyed. That is His promise to Abraham. However, He will not allow them to walk in defiance of Him without responding in righteousness to their rebellion.
Recently there have been protests in the streets over two “christian” concerts held in Israel. The Orthodox Jews did not approve of the concerts and they tried to shut them down. The police needed to get involved to keep the violence from getting too violent. The Orthodox Jews are not Christians and those who put on the concerts were not Christians either. Again, we need to remember, “except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it.”
Back to our opening question. Why is there rioting in France? The French are not that much different than Canada. Canada has a very loose immigration policy when it comes to certain ethnic groups. Canada has accepted the lie that Muslims are peace loving people and that they are an asset to any country they enter. France has accepted that same lie. We have seen Muslim uprisings in France for several years now. The latest one was supposedly started by the police shooting of a 17 year old young man. The leftwing news outlets do not tell why this young man was shot. He was a criminal. He was trying to flee when he was shot. The ensuing riots have nothing to do with his death. They are just using that death as an excuse to continue to try to overthrow France. Islam has a goal to take over the world. They know they can never accomplish that goal by simply preaching their heresies. Even though most people are lost, they still have enough sense to know that something is wrong with Islam. God gives man the ability to reason and to think.
There are extremely foolish people like the leadership in France and in Canada that believe that Islam is not a threat to anyone. Canada has a new word: Islamophobia, to try to silence any opposition to this ideology being exposed for what it really is.
God is showing the world what these people are like as we see what is happening in France. History tells us that Mohammed tried to spread his heresies in a peaceful manner at first but that was not working out the way he wanted it to. Thus he decided to use violence to scare people into converting to Islam. He found that method to be much more effective. Since that time, violence has been the vehicle by which that ideology is being spread to other countries.
That is what is happening in France. The Muslims are seeking to take over that country. The government does not want to address the enemy honestly and their pandering has brought them to the current situation. Will they learn and change? Highly unlikely. Keep in mind: “except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it.”
This truth applies to nations and it also applies to families and to individuals. A life that is built without Christ will end in disaster. It will end in the lake of fire. Along the way, there will be struggles and sorrows that could have been avoided if the LORD was building the house.
We have noted before the challenge that God directed Joshua to leave with the nation of Israel prior to his death. He challenged them to choose to follow and serve the LORD. We know that Israel did not choose to do that after his death. The book of Judges shows us the trouble Israel faced over and over again because they did not want to build on the LORD.
We need to take inventory of our own lives today as well. France is burning and being destroyed by God haters. Canada is no better. We do not have the riots yet. We do have a strike on the West coast that is hurting the economy of this country in a big way. Interestingly, when the truckers tried to get the attention of the government for their wicked Wuhan virus scheme, the government used a heavy hand to shut that down. People’s bank accounts were seized and some still do not have access to them. Yet this strike can go on for days at a great cost to the country. Strange how “justice” works in this country. But then again, “except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it.
The hope of man is still and always will be to turn to the true God in repentance and trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. That is the message that needs to be repeated over and over again. Without that in place, the downward spiral will continue. The Lord Jesus Christ will make a huge change to this during the Millennium and at the end of that time, He will destroy Satan and all his followers. Satan will be immediately cast into the lake of fire and then the great white throne judgment will take place and all the lost will be at that judgment and will be cast into the lake of fire.
Today, God is still giving each individual the opportunity to repent and be saved. If you are not saved today, why not turn to God now in repentance and ask Him to save you through faith in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Pastor Bartel