Big Guns are Aimed at YOUR FAMILY! Will It Survive? (Part 4A)

In modern America, God’s grand and glorious institution, the family, is being ferociously attacked. The relentless and malicious attacks are aimed at the traditional family in general and YOUR family in particular. Enjoy and consider seriously Part 4A (1st of 6 subparts) of this vital discussion.

Back view of little happy family standing on the road and follow a cross

Part 1 identified the most aggressive and influential enemies of the traditional family and the primary targets of those groups. Part 2 profiled the stunning heavy artillery amassed by the anti-family groups and their sources of immense power, along with a challenge to protect YOUR FAMILY. Part 3 characterized a power far greater than all the combined power arrayed against us. Finally, Part 4 provides the practical, detailed strategy to protect YOUR FAMILY.

God is the Greatest Defense and the Greatest Offense

The modern American Goliath is fearsome to behold. But YOU have available far more than David’s five smooth stones. God Himself and His infinite love are far greater than all the cultural and physical weapons ever devised.

Survival Skills for YOUR Family

The forces aligned against the family are determined to weaken the family by dilution, redefinition, and government encroachment. They intend to destroy the sanctity of life, the sanctity of marriage, and the sovereignty of the family. However, there is hope. You have available an astonishing defense as well as incredibly powerful offensive weapons.

Mere intellectual agreement with the list of Judeo-Christian weapons is of little value. They are only useable to the extent of your soul-deep, uncompromising, irrevocable commitment to:

  • Live a fully God-directed life in every area, all day, every day
  • Visibly become the salt of the earth
  • Visibly be the light of the world
  • Actively be an ambassador for the Messiah, by living as an unassailable role model.

Uncompromising conviction will suppress the barrier of pride and open the conduit of your life, for God’s love to flow through. His infinite love will be manifested through YOU as humility, forgiveness, mercifulness, longsuffering, and a servant’s spirit. These are the visible components of love.

To the extent that others see godly character in us, they will become envious. “I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.” [Romans 11:11 KJV]

We become visible and an active positive role model as we grow in godly character. People see godly character as increased confidence, resilience in the face of daily stresses, and an inner joy that is unshakable. It is an image that is real. It provokes the jealousy described in Romans. The jealousy inspires questions about your strength of character, triggering natural and amazingly comfortable opportunities to share your faith. Now, consider the genius of God’s family.

The GENIUS of God’s Family

The traditional family is one of the most awesome, breathtaking, and vitally important of all of God’s magnificent creations! God’s multidimensional portrait of the family is so eloquent and astonishingly beautiful that it makes Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa look like a cartoon character. The extraordinarily beautiful partnership between the husband and wife springs from the holistic and pervasive appreciation of God. Here’s why:

  • God’s portrait stabilizes and provides coherence to the family.
  • The stabilized family builds stability and coherence into the national culture.
  • A stable culture assures continuity of values across future generations.
  • God’s portrait facilitates growth of the God-ordained marriage partnership and family.
  • Married people are happier.
  • Married people are healthier.
  • Family is life’s boot camp for children, instilling virtues and guiding growth.
  • True family-centered families—as opposed to career-centered family arrangements reduce crime.
  • True family-centered families—as opposed to career-centered family arrangements reduce drug abuse.
  • A loving family experience facilitates interpersonal relationships outside the family, enhancing the richness of career, hobby, volunteer, and recreational experiences.
  • God’s portrait enables family members to practice humility, forgiveness, mercy, longsuffering, and a servant’s spirit in a loving, nonthreatening environment.
  • The positive character embedded in family members—parents and children—is carried to the outside community throughout life.
  • Family members learn to overcome pride by serving other family members
  • The family is an incubator for building God-ordained intellectual, emotional, and spiritual views and values (character development).
  • The family aligned with God’s portrait ultimately leaves the greatest of all possible legacies.
  • The family aligned with God’s portrait is the married couple’s gift back to God.
  • The family aligned with God’s portrait inspires frequent, comfortable, and nonthreatening opportunities for faith sharing.
  •  

Each family member is an ambassador of the family and family culture, which is a reflection of God’s presence or His absence. It is the parents’ responsibility to grow themselves from the character of natural sin-scarred man to the character of God, training their children to go with them. The parents must be what they want their children to become. If so, the children will also grow in the character of Christ and eventually pass on the godly legacy. Family is the 1) boot camp for life, 2) the training ground for building and developing character (parents and children), and 3) The God-created, God-ordained basic unit of civilization. Passing on godly character to children and as many other people as possible is life’s most important responsibility.

This life is a relay not a sprint. We accept the family and cultural baton from the last generation; guard it, protect it, and improve upon it; and then pass the baton on to the next generation. Godly growth and character are cultivated only by serving the needs of others (no shortcuts). “…the son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” [Matthew 20:28 & Mark 10:45 NIV]

The husband is responsible for material well-being and spiritual leadership, but the wife is responsible for emotional well-being and spiritual well-being as well as the distribution and use of the material gain. If a husband must work in a dirty corrupted world, his wife must make the home a spiritual shower.

 

The woman is the anchor (stability) and the heart (life of the home). Her responsibility is to make the home the most desirable place in the universe. The man’s job is to make hers easy by providing material resources, emotional support, and loving spiritual leadership. When the woman leaves the home for fulltime employment, the life goes out of the home like the air out of a balloon or a flat tire. The home that was once full of love becomes merely a house filled only with furniture, a place where family members only come home to sleep. To be the anchor and heart of the home, the woman must be part of a mutual ironclad, irrevocable, “’til death do us part” marriage. “What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder” (non-optional). [Matthew 19:6; Mark 10:9 KJV] The kids want to come home, because Mom’s there; Dad wants to come home, because his family is there. Together, Dad and Mom are superheroes.

What does it take to wake up the body of believers?

What does it take to wake up the clergy?

Big Guns are Aimed at YOUR FAMILY! Will It Survive? (Part 3)

In modern America, God’s grand and glorious institution, the family, is being ferociously attacked. The relentless and malicious attacks are aimed at the traditional family in general and YOUR family in particular. Enjoy and consider seriously Part 3 of this vital discussion.

Army soldier reading bible ,selective focus on book and hands

Part 1 identified the most aggressive and influential enemies of the traditional family and the primary targets of those groups. Part 2 profiled the stunning heavy artillery amassed by the anti-family groups and their sources of immense power, along with a challenge to protect YOUR FAMILY. Part 3 characterizes a power far greater than all the combined power arrayed against us. Finally, Part 4 provides the practical, detailed strategy to protect YOUR FAMILY.

God’s Power and Love are Far Stronger and Longer Lasting Than Any Other

Clearly, the greatest and most complete source of information about God is the Bible. Most conservative believers would readily agree that it is the inspired inerrant Word of God.

But what happened? Have we become spiritually numbed by the uniquely American luxury of having a shelf full of Bibles and a weekly dose of sugar-coated sermons? The rampant compromises among believers scream a resounding, “Yes!” Wow! Chew on that one for a while. Perhaps, for many, the notion that the Bible is the inspired Word of God is merely intellectual assent, rather than a soul-deep conviction.

A military analogy is helpful. Anyone who has ever been in the military knows that with rare exceptions, disobeying an order is unthinkable. Obedience is deeply embedded in the military culture, because in combat there is no time to appoint a committee to study the situation. The assumption is that the highest ranking onsite officer has the greatest training and experience and therefore has the greatest probability of making the most effective decision at the lowest casualty rate.

Similarly, we are soldiers in the spiritual battle between good and evil, facing the arsenal of big guns aimed at our families. Our orders are issued by the Commanding General of the Universe. His orders are always perfect and guarantee success. They are found in the Bible.

God’s orders are often expressed as commands. If the word command is not used, the orders are nearly always written in the active voice or as an imperative. The essence of a command is that it is 1) non-negotiable, 2) not optional, 3) do it now, and 4) no excuses. Of course, His love for us is so great that He gives us the awesome gift of free will that allows us to choose to be disobedient. Nevertheless, God’s Word is directive, because He knows that the natural penalty or consequence for disobedience is painful, often rippling through many others.

Obedience to God is always much more beneficial for us than disobedience. The gap between God’s wisdom and ours is so vast that obedience should be an inescapably obvious no-brainer. But it is a lesson we need to constantly relearn, because of the relentless interference of pride.

The Bible is not simply a guidebook. Suggestions or flexible guidelines are rare. Long ago at the beginning of my engineering career, my Dad offered an important piece of advice. He said, “The boss never makes a suggestion; it may sound like a suggestion, but it’s not a suggestion.” Dad was urging me to treat my boss’s apparent suggestions as an order or direct instruction. The advice has held up well throughout my career. If it is important to treat the suggestions of an earthly boss as an order, how much more important is it to treat any of God’s apparent Biblical suggestions or guidelines as an order or commandment?

God gave us the Bible to be revered. It is our most treasured and sacred possession. If the house is on fire and you are fleeing, you cannot carry very much, but at least grab the Bible. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” [2 Timothy 3: 16-17 KJV]

When you have soulfully restored the Bible to life’s highest priority and most treasured of all possessions, your family can survive relentless attack by the powerful and well-organized anti-family enemies. Here are the Judeo-Christian weapons.

  • God’s power
  • God’s infinite love
  • Prayer (God’s direct personal communications line)
  • Bible (God’s specific directions—not guidelines—for life)

The family must be viewed as Dad, Mom, and the children against the universe. Marriage is permanent; abortion is never an option; family and children are the highest priority in this life. No exceptions!

The wholeness and sanctity of marriage, family, and life at all stages must be unconquerable by government as God designed it and as the Founders codified it. Abraham Kuyper called it the sovereignty of the family. It is in constant tension with the sovereignty of the state. If believers are unwilling to defend God’s turf, the government will take it away. “…Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” [Mark 12:17 KJV] Every believer must deeply and irrevocably commit to never giving unto government that which is God’s.

Part 4 will conclude this series with a breathtaking strategy for successfully protecting YOUR FAMILY. It will be posted in several subparts.

What does it take to wake up the body of believers?

What does it take to wake up the clergy?

Big Guns are Aimed at YOUR FAMILY! Will It Survive? (Part 2)

In modern America, God’s grand and glorious institution, the family, is being ferociously attacked. The relentless and malicious attacks are aimed at the traditional family in general and YOUR family in particular. Consider seriously, Part 2 of this vital discussion.

Group of different families together of all races

Part 1 identified the most aggressive and influential enemies of the traditional family and the primary targets of those groups. Part 2 profiles the stunning heavy artillery amassed by the anti-family groups and their sources of immense power, along with a challenge to protect YOUR FAMILY. Part 3 characterizes a power far greater than all the combined power arrayed against us. Finally, Part 4 provides the practical, detailed strategy to protect YOUR FAMILY.

Stunning Heavy Artillery Amassed by the Anti-Family Groups

Weapons are required to destroy the targets. The anti-family groups have assembled a formidable arsenal of powerful weapons aimed at YOUR family, including but not limited to.

  • Political correctness, a means to shut down all opposing viewpoints, by eliminating freedom of speech.
    • Unconditional abortion often paid for by the government
      • No-fault divorce
        • Social approval of cohabitation
          • Encourage single-parent “families.”
            • Social approval of out-of-wedlock births
              • Malignant welfare state establishing permanent dependence on government
                • Effectively ban religion from public discourse by abusive interpretation of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
                  • Legal recognition of same-sex “marriage”
                  • Theory of evolution
  • Child adoption by same-sex couples
    • Surrogate births for same-sex couples
      • Unlimited government regulations of every area of life
        • Easy student loans create dependence on government
          • Promote massive change using the judicial system to bypass the voters
            • Prioritize career over family, withdrawing women and love from the home
              • Legal recognition of transgendered individuals.
                • First promote “tolerance” of all manner of perverse behavior followed by legal recognition of “equality” of practitioners (establishes the moral equivalence of good and evil; lack of tolerance for sinful behavior is proclaimed “evil”)
                  • Government takeover of parental responsibilities
                  • Claimed racism
                  • Infanticide/euthanasia

Fearsome Power of the Anti-Family Groups

The attackers have available the formidable and intimidating power of the:

  • Highest level politicians
    • Full weight of the mainstream press
      • Highly publicized personal and moral failures of sports and entertainment celebrities
        • Emotional and spiritual power of most of the entertainment industry
          • Peer and cultural pressure of a rapidly collapsing American culture
            • Corrupt public school systems that have become intellectually incompetent as well as emotionally and spiritually toxic
              • Brute force of the Federal government facilitated by a runaway judiciary

YOU Must Protect YOUR Family from Cultural Devastation!

The Judeo-Christian family today faces a formidable array of big guns designed to weaken and destroy it. The family has already been directly substantially weakened by

  1. Dilution (cohabitation)
  2. Redefinition (any combination of people living together)
  3. Government intrusion into every aspect of family life
  4. Destruction of the sanctity of life
  5. Decimation of the sanctity of marriage
  6. Annihilation of the sovereignty of the family

The traditional family is virtually at war with the federal government. Many people would not choose a term as harsh as war. But the tension between the sovereignty of the family and the sovereignty of the state has undeniably escalated in recent decades.

The government breaches family sovereignty by:

  • Encouraging divorce, abortion, euthanasia, assisted suicide
  • Removing children from their family
    • Tacitly for ever increasing amounts of “education”
    • Physically for an ever-widening list of alleged “abuses”
  • Dilution, diffusion, and redefinition (ever broadening definition of “family” to include a growing list of “alternative lifestyles”)
  • Increasing control over personal health, including life and death decisions
  • Promoting radical feminism and materialism, which undermine and scatter the family
  • Attacking traditional Biblical roles of family members
  • Facilitating a progressively increasing dependence on government
  • Replacing traditional family values with evolution-rooted post-modern views (no god; no absolute/objective truth; no single set of universal values)
  • Promoting multiculturalism while denying the value and importance of traditional Judeo-Christian culture and values
  • Adopting a suffocating array of ever increasing over-regulations

The collective effect of the big guns attaches plausibility to non-Biblical and immoral conditions and behaviors. The ever increasing number of “alternative lifestyles,” represented here as heavy artillery, elicit an unending series of compromises to the institution of marriage, the sanctity of life, and the sovereignty of the family. Aggregated compromises become cultural bunker busters.

Part 3 is a discussion of a power so great that it can easily overcome the formidable forces arrayed against us.

Big Guns are Aimed at YOUR FAMILY! Will It Survive? (Part 1)

In modern America, God’s grand and glorious institution, the family, is being ferociously attacked. The relentless and malicious attacks are aimed at the traditional family in general and YOUR family in particular.

Group of different families together of all races

Consider first the context of the modern American culture. Then wrestle with the grim and determined attacks by the unprecedented number of highly organized groups determined to destroy YOUR family. They have specific targets, a huge arsenal of devastating weapons, and massive power.

Part 1 identifies the most aggressive and influential enemies of the traditional family and the primary targets of those groups. Part 2 profiles the stunning heavy artillery amassed by the anti-family groups and their sources of immense power, along with a challenge to protect YOUR FAMILY. Part 3 characterizes a power far greater than all the combined power arrayed against us. Finally, Part 4 provides the practical, detailed strategy to protect YOUR FAMILY.

Powerful Anti-Family Enemies Aligned Against YOUR Family

  • Evolutionists
    • Radical feminists
      • Multiculturalists
        • Planned Parenthood
          • American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
            • Liberal/Progressives
              • LGBT Organizations
                • Muslims/Islamists
                  • Abortion activists
                  • Socialists/Marxists
                  • Animal rights activists

All of these groups are Humanist or antagonistic to the American family or both. They have made man his own god. They are determined to reshape America in the socialist, Humanist mold, a “fundamental transformation.”

Perhaps, like many, you have concluded that as a Judeo-Christian believer, “I don’t belong to any of these groups nor do I support them.” Therefore, they have nothing to do with me. Wrong! Wrong! Dead wrong! They have everything to do with YOU. They ALL share a publically declared goal to destroy YOUR FAMILY. They will mock your successes and cheer your failures. In the Internet Age of virtually no privacy and instant everything, you can no longer “fly under the radar” and be protected by a weekly trip to church or synagogue.

Collectively, the groups create a cultural climate that undermines and weakens the sanctity of life, the sanctity of marriage, and the sovereignty of the family. The statistically equivalent rates of abortion and divorce between conservative believers and atheists/agnostics unambiguously demonstrates that the body of believers has been severely and negatively compromised by the combined efforts of the anti-family groups.

Targets of the Anti-Family Groups Include YOUR Family

To fundamentally transform America, the anti-family groups must have specific targets and objectives. A few of them are:

  • Destroy the Biblical family INCLUDING YOURS
    • Ridicule patriotism (an outgrowth of Judeo-Christian tradition)
      • Substantially weaken the Unites States Constitution
        • Undermine the concept of a representative republic (democracy)
          • Abolish capitalism and the free enterprise system
            • Denigrate the Founding Fathers
              • Eliminate the sanctity marriage
                • Destroy the sanctity of life
                  • Annihilate the sovereignty of the family

The God-created, God-ordained, Biblical family is the only real source of long-term cultural stability. A culture is stable only to the extent that the people consider the needs of others before the needs of self. It is an unassailable Biblical principle that can only be passed on to posterity through soulfully committed traditional families. The family is the heart and strength of the “Great American Experiment.” No nation has ever survived the breakdown of the family.

The anti-family Humanist groups must destabilize, weaken, and eventually destroy the family to make the American culture receptive to massive change (fundamental transformation). The intent to deliberately destroy the institution of the family is well documented in their published writings.

Part 2 will identify the mind blowing weaponry and the sources of the massive power available to the anti-family groups. Do not be discouraged. Part 2 will also include a challenge to protect YOUR FAMILY. Subsequent parts will explain how.

Love is NOT what you think!

It is always amazing to see how miss-translation from one language into another causes all manner of miscommunication and misunderstanding. Consider the word “love” as applied to interpersonal relationships.

undying love

Authors have written a myriad of books and ministers have preached endless sermons claiming that four Greek words represent four different kinds of love. Why? Because that is what they have been taught and that is the conclusion drawn by the Bible translators.

Actually, some have said that as many as 6-7 Greek words should be translated as “love.” Nevertheless, four Greek words are more than enough to examine here. Of the four, only two actually appear in Scripture, but it helps to present the context of all four. Only one is actually love. Consider each separately; then examine the context:

  • Eros (not in Scripture)—an intense, hormone-driven attraction, sometimes called romance, ultimately manifested by sexual intimacy. Physical intimacy is God’s incredibly awesome gift to the couple who has already developed a soul-deep bond of love and committed that bond to a lifetime of protection within the covenant of marriage. It is intended to “seal the deal” and provide for cohesive families and a sustainable culture. However, it is NOT love.
  • Storge (not in Scripture)—a natural affection between and among family members. It is wonderful to experience such affection, but the feelings can peak and wane like a roller coaster, depending on short-term and long-term circumstances. However, it is NOT love.
  • Phileo (found in Scripture)—a brotherly affection for others. It is also wonderful to experience such affection, but the feelings and attachments can rise and fall like a roller coaster, depending on short-term and long-term circumstances. However, it is NOT love.
  • Agape (found in Scripture)—the very nature of God. Scripture unequivocally defines love. “God is love.” [1 John 4:16 KJV] God is the origin and originator of love. All love comes from God, whether or not He gets credit for it. It is the only real love. God’s love is the action of putting others before self. Love cannot exist without giving. “For God so loved…that He gave His…Son (the most valuable gift of all)…” [John 3:16 KJV]

Love characterizes all interpersonal relationships—God/man; man/woman; parent/child; boss/employee; teacher/student; or friend/friend. “…if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another…If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.” [1John 4:11, 12 KJV]

Love and the relationships that it binds can only exist to the extent that there is regular mutual giving. In the absence of giving, relationships will weaken and eventually break. The exception of course is marriage that may become lifeless in the absence of giving, but must not be broken.

Unfortunately, the various Greek words typically translated as “love” can be misleading and elicit compromise. For example, George emerges from where he just heard a brilliant sermon on the four different kinds of love. He muses to himself, “I can understand and relate to eros, phileo, and storge. But that unconditional agape? I just don’t know. After all Jesus said, “love your enemies.” [Matthew 5:44 KJV] I don’t know if I can do that. There was only One who could unconditionally love His enemies. Well, I guess I have a lifetime to grow into it.”

George walks away comfortable with three different kinds of attractions that are not love, conceding that the only real love is seemingly out of reach. He quickly returns to life as usual; nothing has changed.

Yet God is telling us in Scripture that unless any relationship is characterized by agape, manifested in unconditional giving, there is no love in the relationship. There is no love, because the three attractions are all self-serving to some extent. They are all tied to conditions. The end result is that George ceases to grow and mature or does so at a snail’s pace.

Growth and maturity are produced by agape love. There is no substitute. The affections masquerading as love tend to be fruitless over the long-term. Their self-serving nature becomes a barrier to the growth of real godly love.

What does it take to wake up the body of believers?

What does it take to wake up the clergy?

From Ripples to Tsunami—Religious Freedom is Lost!

There has been near saturation coverage of the brief incarceration of Kim Davis. Of course, she is the Clerk of Rowan County, Kentucky who was held in contempt of court after refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Her Christian faith prohibited actions that would publically express her approval of homosexual or lesbian “marriages.”

kim-davis

There is no need to rehash the widespread news coverage of the event. Instead, mentally zoom out for a few thoughtful moments to consider the darker, far more widespread, and sinister cultural damage emerging from Kim’s experience and thousands of similar ones.

Often such incidents are reported by the press, including the Judeo-Christian press, ministers, and nationally known Christian leaders as “infringing on freedom of religion” or “encroaching on religious rights.” Words like infringing and encroaching suggest a nibbling away at the grander, bedrock, freedom of religion that has anchored America since its founding.

For a moment, let’s sidestep the obvious that an aggregation of nibbles eventually consumes the whole. No matter how much you may have overeaten during an annual Thanksgiving feast, you did it one bite at a time. However, there are far larger more insidious and enduring impacts.

Whenever a,

  • judge issues and ruling contrary to Scripture,
  • legislature passes a law that restricts religious freedom, or an
  • executive (president, governor, or mayor) issues an order that interferes with the free exercise of religion,

the long-term impact on our nation, culture, and families contributes to a looming darkness.

Each of these seemingly narrowly-focused or targeted incidents unleashes ultimately the full, virtually unlimited might, of the federal government and often the full force of the best-known media to proclaim directly or indirectly any of several false and extremely alarming messages:

  • God does not exist.
  • If God does exist, he is somewhere in the cosmos unconcerned about our lives as individuals or collectively as a nation.
  • The government is more important than God.
  • The government has the authority to overrule God.

Essentially, the government is at war with God. The secular humanists (liberal/progressives) are, knowingly or unknowingly, fighting on behalf of the “‘prince of the power of the air,’ the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience…” [Ephesian 2:2 KJV] to amass as much temporal power as possible, at the expense of the people. “…because the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.” [Romans 8:7 NIV]

Meanwhile, Judeo-Christian believers have been largely shutdown by the cultural pressures of political correctness. They have become too timid to express the courage of their convictions. Far too many have lost the courage of their convictions and some have even lost their convictions. Many believers in the United States are no longer the salt of the earth or the light of the world, at least not visibly.

Apathy comes with a fearful price. Not only is the faith of believers weakened by the relentless pounding of government skepticism, but our children and grandchildren are routinely exposed to the same pounding, during the most vulnerable growing period of their lives. They are constantly exposed to the same alarming messages as everyone else.

Former President Ronald Reagan loudly proclaimed, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”

As free Americans, we must aggressively fight to protect our God-given freedom with,

  • persistent prayer,
  • careful voting,
  • letters to public figures,
  • alternatives to public schools, and
  • civil disobedience, as necessary.

Kim Davis opted for civil disobedience. Her actions triggered a long overdue national and very public conversation regarding the concept of same-sex “marriage.” Organized resistance to restrictions on religious freedom is no longer an option; it is inescapable—unless we want to see America irretrievably broken, another sad relic of history.

Each case like Kim’s are the ripples in the war to save America. The growing might of the massive government is the tsunami. Are YOU willing to take a stand?

What does it take to wake up the body of believers?

What does it take to wake up the clergy?

Devastation from Fatherless Homes Soars! Where is the Church?

The U.S. Census Bureau reports that, 43 percent of U.S. children live without their fathers. The impact on families and the American culture have been cataclysmic. Consider a few statistics:

Colors of anger

  • Ninety percent of homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Census Bureau).
  • Eighty percent of rapists motivated with displaced anger come from fatherless homes (Criminal Justice & Behaviour, Vol. 14, pp. 403-26, 1978).
  • Sixty-three percent of youth suicides involve individuals from fatherless homes (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Census Bureau).
  • Eighty-five percent of children who exhibit behavioral disorders come from fatherless homes (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).
  • Seventy percent of juveniles in state-operated institutions have no fathers (U.S. Department of Justice, Special Report, September 1988).
  • Eighty-five percent of youths in prisons grew up in a fatherless homes (Fulton County Georgia jail populations, Texas Department of Corrections, 1992).

Are these statistics shocking or are they becoming all too familiar—too familiar to capture meaningful attention? The numbers profile only the most serious aspects of a childhood without a father, the tip of the metaphorical iceberg.

Ninety-three percent of a real iceberg is underwater. Similarly, the crisis-burdened statistics mask a vast modern childhood culture that routinely exhibits uncivil behavior, immoral practices, underdeveloped character, and weak values, widely departing from Judeo-Christian standards. They are the harbinger of an even more ungodly future of the remnant of the American culture.

Little is reported about the chaotic childhood culture that is facilitated by a seriously broken government-run (public) school system and camouflaged by an endless round of nursery schools, day care centers, before school care, after school care, and all manner of babysitters. Absentee parenting does not work! It never has and never will.

All-too-often, fatherhood has shockingly dwindled to a source of sperm and a possible source of money. Others have written extensively about the importance of having a father and the specific responsibilities of a father. Of course the best source is always Scripture. Here is a link to 71 Bible verses about the responsibilities of fathers: http://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Fathers,-Responsibilities-Of

The virtually out-of-control crisis of fatherless homes (absolutely absent-by-law, or by choice, or effectively absent by over-the-top commitments to non-family matters) begs the extremely serious question, “Where is the Church?” Consider the sad profile:

  • 1962—Using a tortured interpretation of the “separation of church and state,” the U.S. Supreme Court banned prayer in the public schools. The Church was conspicuously silent.
  • 1963—The U.S. Supreme Court banned Bible reading in the public schools. The Church was conspicuously silent.
  • 1973—The U.S. Supreme Court legalized abortion (Roe v. Wade). The Catholic Church cried “foul” immediately. The Protestant Church was conspicuously silent for at least 5-8 years.
  • 1970s/1980s—A wave of no-fault divorce laws swept the states. Previously required “grounds for divorce” were rooted in various interpretations of Scripture. The Church has been conspicuously silent.
  • 1960s/2000s—A long series of evolution-related controversies engulfed the public schools. The Church has been conspicuously silent.
  • 1960s/2000sPolitical correctness movement has successfully applied plausible euphemisms to all manner of sinful activities, enabling an explosive increase in the activities. The euphemisms use language as a powerful tool to create the appearance of taking the evil out of sin. The Church has been conspicuously silent.
  • 2015—The U.S. Supreme Courts rules that same-sex “marriage” is a Constitutional right. National Christian leaders have been boldly outspoken, but the Church was conspicuously silent.

As a result of the long series of milestones-of-decay, along with the additional cultural pressures of radical feminism and multiculturalism, it may not be surprising that the role of the American male in the family has diminished and the role of fatherhood nearly collapsed. Yet, aside from an individual’s personal relationship with our Creator, God through Scripture assigns the roles of fathers, mothers, and families the highest of all life’s priorities.

Josh McDowell has confirmed that “If a child doesn’t accept Christ by age 12, there’s only a 4 percent change he or she [ever] will.” It is far less likely to happen among fatherless children or in homes with absentee parents.

Today, with a greater urgency than ever before, the churches, the synagogues, and the clergy in charge must embed in the believing culture a strong sense of the evilness of sin and the terribleness of Hell as well as the incomparable glories of God and Heaven to come.

The greater the gap between dark, despicable, evil and our majestic God, including the grand glories of Heaven, the greater the likelihood that people will flee from the former and relentlessly pursue the latter. Life choices, major and minor, that conform to Biblical commands inspire the most exciting life in the universe.

What does it take to wake up the body of believers?

What does it take to wake up the clergy?

Words Are More Powerful Than Nuclear Weapons!

The following summarizes an e-mail from a Liberty University history professor to Jason and David Benham (The Benhams have graciously provided a strong endorsement for my book.). It highlights the incredible power of words:

Words are powerful tools. They can be used to build up or tear down. To inspire or incite. To encourage or defeat. To cause trouble or create calm. To unite or divide. To liberate or enslave. Words can, and often are, used to divert, deflect, deceive, or hide the true motives of the one speaking. Words are powerful.

Side view portrait woman talking with alphabet letters coming out of her open mouth isolated grey wall background. Human face expressions, emotions. Communication, information, intelligence concept

For a people to come together, form a culture, and live in peace and safety, they must be able to communicate with each other. Language, which involves the use of words, is the tool that serves that purpose. And for communication to take place, words must have commonly understood and generally accepted meanings.

All manner of problems emerge when language breaks down. Let me give you an example. What do you hear me saying in this statement? “I am a perfect gay liberal man who can do nothing to stop abortion.” This would be a rather startling announcement from a conservative. But let’s take a look at what I just said.

Some of you may be thinking, “What is he, a homosexual left-wing guy who supports the deliberate killing of unborn babies?” If that is what you think I said, communication between us did not take place. Because I used those words according to their standard and historically accepted meanings; that is, the meaning those words conveyed prior to the time when radicals began deconstructing the English language.

Radicals among us have been busy tearing down our language for more than a hundred years. They disregard the generally accepted meaning of words and use words in ways that are contrary to their intended meanings. The end result of this subterfuge is to make language ultimately meaningless. Justice Antonin Scalia said in his dissenting opinion in the latest Obamacare ruling, that “words no longer have meaning.”

Let me tell you what I meant when I said I am “a perfect gay liberal man who could do nothing to stop abortion.” What I was attempting to communicate to you through the use of those words was this, “I am a mature, happy, liberty-minded man who is unable to prevent expectant mothers from suffering miscarriages.”

Hmm.

Let’s break those words down. “Perfect” means mature, “gay” means happy, “liberal” means the maximizing of liberty, and “abortion” means miscarriage. That was the clear and commonly accepted meaning of those words before radicals started using them for their own purposes.

Did you know that in the first trimester, approximately 20 percent of known pregnancies unfortunately end in miscarriage? However, the medical word for a miscarriage is “spontaneous abortion.” Yes, a miscarriage is called an abortion by the medical community. The deliberate killing of an unborn child is not an abortion. Abortion is the term used by medical professionals, whereas miscarriage is the word used by the general culture to describe the same thing.

The deliberate act of killing an unborn child is a feticide or an aborticide. Just like insecticide is the killing of insects, herbicide is the killing of weeds, homicide is the killing of individual people, and genocide is the killing of a political, or cultural group of people, infanticide is the killing of an infant. So the deliberate killing of a preborn child is a feticide or an aborticide. The English root “cide” comes from the Latin “cidium,” which means the act of killing.

Whenever a group of radicals seeks to mainstream a deviant, disturbing or evil practice, they must first desensitize the general public as to the gravity of their deviancy. To do so, they steal an upright word and by repetitious use superimpose that word on that which the general public finds abhorrent. Their objective is to attach some new meaning to the word in the minds of their hearers and thereby transfer that good feeling people previously associated that word to their diabolical practice.

You see, radicals of all stripes have no principles – they only have goals. Their goal is to destroy everything this country and culture stand for … and to rebuild anew on a man-made foundation. They will twist, distort and misuse language if it advances their agenda and moves them closer to their goal. It is the end that is all-important to them, not the means. Changing language, words and their meanings is a major weapon in their arsenal in doing so.

We must ever be mindful that whoever controls the use and meaning of words comes to control the cultural and political agenda, as well as the emotions of the masses. Right now, more than ever in history, emotions control the agenda far more than facts. So more bluntly stated, “he who defines the terms always wins the debate.”

If we want to be victorious and see liberty restored and preserved, we must retake command of the words we use and thereby reframe the argument. When we do so, we will win every debate.

I close with a quote from Sam Adams, that revolutionary firebrand, and defender of liberty in the late 18th century. He said, “How strangely will the tools of a tyrant pervert the plain meaning of words.”
http://www.wnd.com/2015/08/a-perfectly-gay-liberal-man-who-cant-stop-abortion/#qy8isQx4kE3dC2Rl.99

 

Heartwarming or Heart wrenching?

A few minutes ago, I watched a short video on The Christian Post. It was billed as a heartwarming reunion of parents and child. Many would agree and even become a bit teary-eyed. I cried because I saw tragedy.

 Soldiers surprise daughter reunion

Julia and Brian Woodburn are married and have a daughter, Addison who appears to be 3-4 years old. The difficulty arises because Mom and Dad both serve in the military and have both been deployed. Result? Mom, Dad, and little Addison have been in three different parts of the world for an extended period.

Their surprise for Addison was a reunion during a school-sponsored magic show in a gymnasium. The magician enabled Mom to pop out of an apparently empty box; Dad was costumed as a mascot bear, serving as the magician’s assistant. Just before the unveiling of the parents, the host “magically” selected Addison from the audience and briefly interviewed her. He asked Addison if her Mom was present. Gesturing panoramically, he asked if Addison’s mother was anywhere in the audience. Another off-camera child shouted, “SHE DOESN’T HAVE ONE; SHE’S DEPLOYED.” My tears flowed freely, not because of the reunion, but because the reunion never should have been necessary in the first place.

I have a great deal of respect, appreciation, and admiration for those serving in the military and regularly post Facebook messages to underscore that appreciation. Understandably and regretfully, it is necessary for a parent, often the father, to be deployed for a long period of time. But a young child should never have to be deprived of both parents, for extended periods, even if both are serving in the military. Such a tragic long-term separation is a serious indictment of our falling culture today.

What do YOU think?

If you’re curious, here’s the link: http://www.christianpost.com/buzzvine/soldiers-surprise-their-daughter-with-a-heartwarming-return-at-a-school-magic-show-142626/

Where is the body of believers today? 

Where are the clergy?

Ring gay rainbow isolated on a white background. Shallow depth of field, focus on the color of the top ring

“…I can’t understand how this people [United States] dare to defy Christ’s explicit orders as our Lord prohibited mankind from sodomy, …the American tradition and heritage was based on lofty Christian principles, but to the detriment of this great nation, America’s corrupt political elite is acting according to their diabolic whims.

Robert Mugabe on Same-Sex Marriage

President

Zimbabwe

Imperial Justices Shake Their Fists at God!

“Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife:

and they shall be one flesh.” [Genesis 2:24 KJV]

That’s marriage—one man and one woman for one lifetime, an institution created by God, defined by God, and accountable to God. On 6-26-2015, five of the nine unelected and unaccountable United States Supreme Court Justices voted to overrule God. They voted to codify same-sex marriage as the law of the land in all 50 states. With the stroke of a pen, they declared sin to be a Constitutional “right.”

U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington D.C.

Intimate same-sex relationships are immoral. Formally codifying them within the institution of marriage is unconscionable. The Biblical condemnations of such relationships, primarily in the Books of Leviticus and Romans are well known. Nevertheless, the Supreme Court Justices have shaken their fists in the face of God effectively proclaiming, “God—We don’t care what you think! We know better and are determined to do it our way.” “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” [Galatians 6:7 KJV]

For believers, God’s Word, the Bible, is the final authority. No outside support is necessary. He established certain moral limits as an expression of His infinite love, knowing that painful natural consequences lurk outside those limits. Let’s take a look.

Holistically, when people live happily within God’s moral requirements, including limiting sexual intimacy to within marriage, the result is cohesive families and a strong sustainable culture throughout the generations. Flagrant flouting of God’s requirements produces weakened and failed families as well as an unstable and eventually collapsed culture. “Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge.” [Hebrews 13:4 NAS] Same-sex ‘marriage’ will weaken the traditional family and ultimately lead to an acceleration of the downfall of America. No civilization or culture has ever survived the breakdown of the family!

God designed a man and a woman to complement each other in awesome and miraculous ways. He designed them to have vital complementary roles for raising children. Consider the devastating impact of same-sex adoptions on children.

The birth of a child is the greatest expression of the love between a man and a woman. The conception of a child is a miracle from God; the birth of a child is a gift from God. After conception, the mother bonds with the child throughout the nine months of pregnancy. She bonds with the child during childbirth and continues bonding with the child throughout the period she is nursing the child. Her husband does not participate in the physical bonding. He nevertheless bonds with his wife and child emotionally and spiritually throughout that period. A gay or lesbian couple cannot participate in any of these events and therefore do not have the soul-deep roots necessary to sustain them throughout the child rearing years.

What happens during the growing years after birth? A boy must have a role-model father to learn what it means and how to be a man, husband and father. He needs a role-model mother so that when he reaches the age of searching for a wife of his own he knows how and where to look. A girl must have a role-model mother to learn what it means and how to be a woman, wife, and mother. She needs a role-model father so that when she reaches the age of searching for a husband of her own she knows how and where to look.

A powerful Sunday school lesson will not do it; an emotion-charged message at a summer camp for teens cannot do it. Even the best of churches cannot do what God designed Mom and Dad to do. Same-sex couples not only cannot do it, they may and often do damage the child and his or her future. The damage, cited in numerous studies, seriously weakens the traditional family and substantially damages the national culture.

The massive difference between natural God-given biological parents and artificial same-sex adoptive ‘parents’ is like the difference between and emotional passion and a spiritual passion. Perhaps a sports analogy illustrates it best.

An emotional passion is like a short-term roller coaster ride that arises when your favorite NFL team makes it to the Super Bowl. For a week or so before the big event that’s all you can talk about. The anticipation and excitement builds. On the big day, you invite your friends and put on a pot of your favorite chili. You spend the evening cheering loud and often until your overworked voice is reduced to a whisper. Win or lose, the Super Bowl is all the water cooler talk at work for a day or so afterwards. Then—it’s gone. It’s over. It’s forgotten. Forever!

A spiritual passion is what drives and Olympic athlete to painfully train for 4, 8, 12, 16 years or longer for the privilege of participating in one or a few events with the possibility of winning a medal. The medal actually has little intrinsic value. But it creates significance and meaning in the life of the athlete who has become part of something much bigger than the athlete.

Now, return to the comparison of God-given biological parents with artificial same-sex adoptive ‘parents.’ Biological parents have a strongly bonded soul-deep passionate love for their children. The family has meaning because it is bigger than either parent alone. It’s God’s picture of the church and its relationship to Him. Even if their teenagers are found to have committed a crime, the natural parents will be among the first to forgive their children and search for ways to overcome the impact of the crime. The offending children may have a public price to pay for their crimes, but they can count on their parents to love them for a lifetime.

Artificial same-sex adoptive parents cannot love as deeply or provide for the children in many other ways that can only be provided by traditional parents. The same-sex parents necessarily have more of an emotional passion for the children. Some people try to argue that same-sex parents love their children the same as natural parents. It is not the same.

Although not often publicized in the main stream media, there are growing numbers of adults raised in ‘families’ with same-sex ‘parents’ who report seriously troubled childhoods. One young woman was interviewed by The Christian Post, an outstanding online Christian news service. The woman was raised by two lesbians, one of whom was bio-mom. The woman said that throughout childhood she felt an emotional vacuum, because of not having a father. She reported seeing things at gay pride parades that no child should ever have to see.

When the woman, raised by lesbians grew up and went to college, she met a young Christian man who was different than the negative, bigoted stereotype she had been taught. Eventually, he took her home to meet his parents. His parents turned out to be loving and not negative in any way. The family began taking her to church regularly. She maintained a pretty face on the outside, but inwardly mocked the “hypocritical Christians.”

Nevertheless, the “Great Hound of Heaven” eventually captured her attention. She became a believer. The young couple were married. In scriptural terms, in the fullness of time she gave birth. The moment the new mother held her baby for the first time, she reported that the vital importance of a father hit her “like a ton of bricks.” Her long-term emotional longing for a father, became a soul-deep understanding through the birth of her child.

The impact of licensing same-sex marriages will be devastating. It may ratchet the body of believers even further from the anchor of Scripture. The reason? Many believers have come to view same-sex marriage as a responsible concept, because they simply do not understand this message and have been caught up in the cultural flow.

The good news is that God is still in charge! Pray the all believers will come to understand the true nature of this vitally important issue. Pray that God will unleash the greatest awakening of all time. Otherwise, prepare for His judgment.

“It is not our duty to leave our children wealth, it is our duty to leave our children Liberty.” – Chaim Solomon – Financier of The American Revolution

Liberty

Sing a Little Louder

An old man tells a profound story about a childhood experience. As a young boy during World War II, he lived in Nazi-controlled Germany. His family regularly attended a church located along side railroad tracks. Trains regularly passed the church during the church services.

They were long strings of cattle cars painfully overloaded with terrified Jews destined for work camps, concentration camps, and usually death. There was no food, no provisions for personal hygiene, and no considerations for people with special needs. In the heat of summer, the extremely cramped cattle cars became ovens. The stench from accumulating body waste was suffocating.

On at least one occasion, a train stopped outside the church. In the absence of air conditioning, the windows were frequently open. The congregation could hear anguished cries of pain and desperate pleas for help.

The pastor raised his voice so he could be heard above the din. When it was time for the choir to sing, the pastor instructed them to, “Sing a little louder,” to cover the disturbing sounds from outside. The compelling experience seared into the boys mind and changed his life forever. The story has become a book and recently a movie.

scream

          What about today? Are we being told to “Sing a little louder?”

  • 55,000,000 unborn babies have been murdered using increasingly gruesome processes euphemistically called “abortion.” When we hear their cries, are we being told to “Sing a little louder?”
  • America’s Judeo-Christian culture is being destroyed by massive government-encouraged immigration that includes the immigration of large numbers of criminals, terrorists, and people adhering to religious beliefs that are hostile to Jews and Christians as well as millions of immigrants too poor and uneducated to support themselves. (Refer to Ann Coulter’s new book, “Adios America.”) Are we being told to “Sing a little louder?”
  • Our culture, including a large portion of the body of Judeo-Christian believers is rapidly sinking into a moral abyss. Are we being told to “Sing a little louder?”
  • The witness of believers is being crushed by the relentless pressures of political correctness. Are we being told to “Sing a little louder?”
  • The public school system has become intellectually inept as well as emotionally and spiritually toxic. (Refer to “Crimes of the Educators: How Utopians are Using Government Schools to Destroy America’s Children,” by Samuel Blumenfeld and Alex Newman.) Are we being told to “Sing a little louder?”
  • The politicians of both political parties are spending America into irretrievable bankruptcy. Are we being told to “Sing a little louder?”
  • The United States Supreme Court appears poised to declare the sin of oxymoronic “same-sex marriage” to be a Constitutional right. Are we being told to “Sing a little louder?”
  • The military valiantly protects our freedom from without. But our individual freedom is being lost from within by the feeding frenzy of a rabid, out-of-control government. Freedom is a gift from God, not a grant from government. Are we moving to protect that divine gift or are we being told to “Sing a little louder?”
  • Large numbers of believers around the world, especially in the Middle East are being tortured, shot, hanged, burned alive, or beheaded, because they refuse to renounce their Messiah. Are we being told to “Sing a little louder?”

Who among the clergy or laity has the courage to stand up and demand that we sing a new song? No—not the one we will sing in glory, but the new song for today that actively confronts the exponentially increasing evils of 21st Century America.

What would the Apostles Paul, Peter, and John say if they were with us today?

The movie, Sing a Little Louder, is now available for viewing in places of worship. Find it at http://singloudermovie.com/

What will YOU do?

A Majority Vote Cannot Overrule God (Same-sex “Marriage”)

The United States Supreme Court is nearing a decision on a case that could mandate recognition of same-sex marriage nationwide. If so, nine unaccountable, unelected black-robed justices will have succeeded in turning the sin of homosexuality, an abomination to God, into a government endorsed Constitutional Right. The results would be devastating.

same sex marriage concept with text radial blurr

According to Franklin Graham, freedom of speech, press, and religion “have suffered greatly” in Canada since it began federally mandating same-sex marriage in 2005. “[In Canada] If you say or write anything questioning same-sex marriage you could face discipline, termination of employment , or prosecution by the government!” (Graham’s Facebook page) We can expect the same here if the Supreme Court federally sanctions same-sex marriage.

For 7,000 years, marriage has been defined in virtually all cultures as a man and a woman married in a lifetime commitment. The Christian scriptures are clear, “Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.” [Hebrews 13:4 KJV] Many cultures elevate traditional marriage because it is the incomparable nucleus of a cohesive culture that is sustainable across many generations. Since the traditional family was created by God, it cannot be arbitrarily redefined by the government or anyone else. No culture has ever survived the breakdown of the traditional family.

A majority vote cannot overrule God

A majority vote cannot turn a vice into a virtue.

A majority vote cannot declare a sin to be non-sin.

Are you willing to sign the “Pledge in Solidarity to Defend Marriage” at http://www.defendmarriage.org/pledge-in-solidarity-to-defend-marriage lead by Dr. James Dobson and other prominent Judeo-Christian Leaders? The exact language was crafted in part by Mathew Staver, Chairman of Liberty Counsel Action. Many of the signers have pledged civil disobedience as necessary if the Supreme Court hands down a ruling establishing same-sex marriage as a nationwide new norm that defies God and millennia of worldwide experience. Rev. Rick Scarborough, president of Vision America Action, says our nation is approaching a Bonhoeffer moment. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German minister who sacrificed his own life for his faith in Nazi-controlled WWII Germany.

You must save America and the family. The rest is up to YOU!

Mothers are Awesome!

Young mother and daughter doing yoga exercise in fitness studio with big windows on background

“Mothers constitute the only universal agent of civilization. Nature has placed in her hands both infancy and youth. The vital interest of America hang largely upon the influence of mothers. The queen that sits upon the throne of home, crowned and sceptered as none other ever can be, is—mother. Her enthronement is complete, her reign unrivaled, and the moral issues of her empire are eternal. ‘Her children rise up, and call her blessed.’ Rebellious at times, as the subjects of her government may be, she rules them with marvelous patience, winning tenderness and undying love. She so presents and exemplifies divine truth, that it reproduces itself in the happiest development of childhood—character and life…An ounce of mother is worth more than a pound of clergy.” [Shannon]

The Power of the Breast

The breasts of a woman illustrate that her power and her freedom are greater when she is satisfying the needs of her family than anywhere else. For a moment, set aside all the breast jokes you have ever heard and consider a much more profound discussion.

When she is pregnant, she is bonding with the baby for nine months. It is reasonable to recognize that “fetus” is a scientific term acceptable for use in a laboratory and for scientific research. But any woman who has ever been pregnant knows that she is carrying her baby. Her unique bonding with the baby continues during and following birth, as long as she is using her breasts to nurse the baby. The bond grows throughout the child’s growing years as she devotes special individual attention to the child’s needs.

The breasts have another vital function as part of reproductive or recreational intimacy with her husband, activities that contribute to the growing and sustaining the marriage bond. Of course the breasts of a woman are the outward physical representation of a much more holistic bond with the baby (intellectual, emotional, and spiritual) and a much more holistic bond with her husband (intellectual, emotional, and spiritual).

As the ultimate bonding connection between the woman and her child and between the woman and her husband, her breasts represent the indispensable totality and power of her role as the heart of the home. The powerful bond with her husband is her link with the present and the past; her powerful bond with the children is her link with the future. When she leaves the home for a career, she becomes the missing link. Love leaves the home like air out of a flat tire. Her involved presence is vital to the continuity and cohesiveness of the family and the sustainability of the culture.

Mothers are indispensable!

Mothers are Awesome!

Mothers are one of God’s greatest miracles!

I Will NOT Render Unto Caesar That Which is God’s!

The traditional family and institution of marriage are under relentless and ferocious attack. Together they are the bedrock of American culture. Yet most believers are unable to articulate, advocate, and defend them. Nor are they able to cast an informed vote.

Happy young family with three children celebrating the baptism

Scripture says, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. [Mark 13:17 KJV] Caesar (the government) can confiscate all of my material possessions as excessive taxes, but:

  • The institution of Marriage was created by God millennia before man’s creation of the American government. Marriage belongs to God, not Caesar! The government is NOT free to redefine marriage.
  • The institution of the Family was created by God millennia before man’s creation of the American government. The family belongs to God, not Caesar! The government is NOT free to redefine the family.
  • Life was created and given by God millennia before man’s creation of the American government. Life belongs to God not Caesar. The government is NOT free to redefine or exterminate life, except for capital punishment as prescribed by God.
  • Freedom was given by God millennia before man’s creation of the American government. Freedom is an incredible gift from God, not a piece meal grant from Caesar. The government is NOT free to restrict freedom beyond Biblical restrictions that come from God.

Believers should have no problem rendering unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s, However, believers must be willing to exert whatever effort is necessary to defend that which is God’s and prohibit takeover by the government. We owe that much to God, to our children, to our grandchildren, and to our great grandchildren.

Otherwise, the iniquity (sins) of the fathers will be visited, “upon the children unto the third and fourth generation” [Numbers 14:18 KJV] and “Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with the LORD; and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.” [Psalm 109:14 KJV] Are YOU willing to allow your sins of neglect to be passed on to the next three or four generations?

“If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home and leave us in peace. We seek not your council, nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you; and may posterity forget that ye were our country men.” Samuel Adams

The body of believers has always impacted their surrounding culture to an extent far greater than their numbers. It is unlikely that conservative believers have ever been a majority in the United States. Yet, the culture was largely driven by Judeo-Christian tradition and values for nearly 200 years. Today, our light is dim and we have lost our saltiness. In recent decades, the body of believers has negatively impacted the American culture. It is way past time to turn that negative impact into a lasting positive impact. The Master expects it! We owe it!

Marriage, family, life, and freedom are all extraordinary gifts from God. He would reasonably expect believers to respect, value, treasure, protect and defend those gifts for now and posterity (future generations).

One day, He will ask each believer, “What did YOU do with my gifts?” Will we be excited about sharing our love and protection of His awesome, incomparable gifts? Or will we hang our heads in shame as we feebly attempt to explain that we were so addicted to material and other self-indulgent pursuits that we allowed His precious gifts to be taken from us without a whimper?

America’s founding documents, The Declaration of Independence and The Constitution of the United States, considered together, were written in their entirety to preserve and guarantee personal freedom in the broadest sense and religious freedom in a special sense. The founding package was and is unique in all of recorded history. It was designed to protect the people and their God-given gifts from a potentially runaway government. Reducing an understanding of the Founders intentions as expressed in those documents to a mere discussion of the First Amendment or even the Bill of Rights (the first ten amendments) is a monumental distortion of America’s governing principles.

Today, the founding documents are continually undermined by public ignorance, apathy, and indifference enabling a government that increasingly ignores the Constitution and its strict boundaries.

“There is no nation on earth powerful enough to accomplish our overthrow. Our destruction, should it come at all, will be from another quarter. From the inattention of the people to the concerns of their government, from their carelessness and negligence. I must confess that I do apprehend some danger. I fear that they may place too implicit a confidence in their public servants and fail properly to scrutinize their conduct; that in this way they may be made the dupes of designing men and become the instruments of their own undoing…Hold on, my friends, to the Constitution and to the Republic for which it stands. Miracles do not cluster, and what has happened once in 6000 years, may not happen again. Hold on to the Constitution, for if the American Constitution should fail, there will be anarchy throughout the world.” Daniel Webster

Are YOU willing to do whatever is necessary to restore and protect our God-endowed “unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness?” Or will YOU merely slip back into your materialistic, self-indulgent slumber after reading this statement?

Mercy Triumphs Over Judgment!

How many people do YOU know who are truly merciful?

Mercy

Once again many groups have responded with bewilderment and a struggle to identify such persons within their circle of relationships. Jesus modeled mercy toward an adulteress about to be stoned. “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” [John. 8:7 NIV] Even at the point of death, Jesus showed mercy toward a thief hanging from an adjacent cross by confirming that, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” [Luke 23:43 NIV]

During the Revolutionary War, the winter of 1777-1778 was particularly brutal. General George Washington and his army were quartered at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The General listened to a very unusual request for mercy. Michael Wittman, a spy, had been sentenced to hang for treason. The night before the scheduled execution, an elderly man, Peter Miller, was given permission to see the commanding officer. In exchange for many previous favors, Miller asked for only one:

I’ve come to ask you to pardon Michael Wittman.”

Washington was taken aback. “Impossible! Wittman has done all in his power to betray us, even offering to join the British and help destroy us.” He shook his head. “In these times we cannot be lenient with traitors; and for that reason I cannot pardon your friend.”

“Friend? [said Miller] He’s no friend of mine. He is my bitterest enemy. He has persecuted me for years. He has even beaten me and spit in my face, knowing full well that I would not strike back. Michael Wittman is no friend of mine!”

Washington was puzzled. “And you still wish me to pardon him?” “I do. I ask it of you as a great personal favor.” “Why?’ “I ask it because Jesus did as much for me.”

Washington turned away and walked into the next room. Soon he returned with a paper on which was written the pardon of Michael Wittman. “My dear friend,” he said to Peter, placing the paper in the old man’s hand. “I thank you for this.”

We often hear the phrase, “That’s not fair.” Did you know that fairness is not a Scriptural concept? Perhaps it is partially because fairness like beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. There is no commonly held standard or definition of fairness. Instead, two prominent elements of the character of God are judgment and mercy. Scripture tells us that in situations where judgment and mercy are in opposition, mercy wins. If mercy is such an important and powerful principle, why are many people missing out?

Are YOU truly merciful?

Are YOU more merciful than you were five or ten years ago?

If not, why are you not growing or maturing in such a vitally important godly character trait?

What do YOU think?

“Mercy triumphs over judgment!” [James 2:13/Proverbs 21:13 NIV]

Are YOU truly forgiving? Why not?

How many people do YOU know who are truly forgiving? When confronted, many groups responded as before with puzzled looks as individuals struggled to identify even one such person within his/her circle of relationships.

A man holds a white rock inscribed with a bible verse

In 2006, the Pennsylvania Amish, regarded by many as a bit strange because of their apparent “old fashioned” lifestyle, gave the world an extraordinary lesson in forgiveness. A gunman from a religious home invaded a small Amish schoolhouse shooting ten young girls. Five girls died from the wounds.

At the end of the rampage, the gunman committed suicide. His suicide left behind a widow and his two young children. Despite the horrendous nature of the tragedy, the leaders of the Amish church appeared at the gunman’s home within hours to comfort the gunman’s family and offer their help to the widow in any way she wished. Later the Amish people attended the gunman’s funeral; his widow was invited to attend the Amish funerals. The experience evoked numerous other stories of extraordinary forgiveness.

Many people, including those with a strong faith in God, were astonished at the quickness, generosity, and extent of the Amish people’s forgiveness of the gunman who committed such an unspeakable atrocity. Why did it happen?

Forgiveness is soulfully embedded in the Amish culture. After all, the model prayer, often called The Lord’s Prayer, says in part, “…Forgive us our debts (trespasses), as we also have forgiven our debtors (those who trespass against us)…” [Matthew 6:12 NIV] The passage immediately following the prayer indicates that, “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” [Matthew 6:14-15 NIV]

It is the only part of the prayer that is immediately reinforced. It is as if the Lord is saying even if you miss everything else be sure to get the forgiveness thing right. If forgiveness is so important, are many of the rest of us in our Judeo-Christian culture missing something? Those seemingly strange Pennsylvania folks who insist on horse-and-buggy transportation and avoiding modern technology have given the rest of us a truly powerful lesson in forgiveness. What do YOU think? Does YOUR life match their forgiveness? Why not?

Humility is magnetic and godly. Are YOU?

The components of love are expressed as attitudes and specific acts of humility, forgiveness, mercy, long-suffering, and a servant’s spirit. Collectively, the growth of those influences in each person’s life moves him/her toward the perfection of godly character, i.e. maturity.

How many people do YOU know who are truly humble?

Hand holding an empty dish

Many groups have been asked that question. The response has typically been a wave of bewildered looks. Some say they do not know anyone who is truly humble. Others struggle to identify one such person or two at most. Clearly such people are rare in American culture—even in religious cultures. Yet Scripture loudly proclaims, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” [James 4:6 NIV/ also Proverbs 3:34 & Psalms 138:6]

The Supreme Commander in Chief is also our supreme role model. He entered this world in a very humble way through a stable manger. He left us in the humblest possible way through a torturous death on a cross and led a continuously humble life in between.

Mother Teresa was one of the best known modern role models of humility. In relative obscurity, she devoted many years to meeting the needs of the poorest of the poor in the slums of Calcutta, India before receiving worldwide recognition late in life. In part, that recognition included a Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.

The greatest politicians and statesmen, such as George Washington and Abraham Lincoln are known as much for their humility as for their magnificent accomplishments.

Researcher and author Jim Collins, lead a large team that collectively devoted about 15,000 hours to researching the difference between good companies and great companies. The difference they concluded was what they called Level 5 leadership—extreme humility coupled with an unyielding commitment to a vision.

Leaf through a rack of leadership books. Humility is rarely mentioned. Yet it is a vital part of the most effective leadership in any area of life.

How about YOU? Would others say that you are a humble person? Is it a characteristic that you strive to build into your life? Be careful! As soon as you claim humility verbally, you’ve lost it.

But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.” [Matthew 19:30 NIV]

Apostle Paul’s Disciples Condemn Abortion

Barnabas

“You shall not murder a child by abortion, nor kill them when born.” Barnabas, 100 A.D.

“Christians follow the customs of their native lands…they marry and have children, but they never have abortions.” Mathetes, 130 A.D.