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

On October 16, 2015October 16, 2015 By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn Abortion, American Culture, American Exceptionalism, Entertainment, Family, Freedom, God's Love, Government, Judeo-Christian Culture, Marriage, Mother2 Comments

The PAIN When God’s Family Turns Away from HIM

History has treated the family as a state within a state attaching to the family a certain “sovereignty.”⁶ G.K. Chesterton. Two people must agree to marriage; only one is necessary to guarantee a government facilitated divorce. Divorce cedes authority to the state, assuring increasing dependence on the state and perpetual domination of the wealthy over the poor and middle class. Consider that most people go to church to be married, but go to the government to be divorced. Marriage costs the state very little, but a huge tax payer-funded bureaucracy is required to support divorce. We pay billions in taxes to support the sinful choices of others. Marriage preserves freedom from government control. Divorce cedes freedom and control to the government.

Limiting sexual intimacy to the confines of marriage contributes to the permanence of the marriage. True sexual intimacy reflects the intellectual, emotional, and spiritual intimacy (bonding of two souls), which become the mortar that holds together the structure of the marriage. Physical intimacy before marriage allows two people the shallow transient pleasure of a rub and a tickle, rather than unfettered soulful bonding. But that transient experience is so powerful, so all-consuming that it becomes virtually impossible to clearly discern whether or not that partner is the best one to become an irrevocable, lifetime, “til-death-do-us-part” marriage partner.

Multiple intimate partners before marriage weaken or damage the soul and seriously inhibit the ability to make and sustain a lifetime commitment to a marriage partner. Following a series of temporary “bonds,” it becomes increasingly difficult to form the pervasive holistic bond that God intended with the one special marriage partner.

Similarly, extra-marital intimacy following the marriage creates the potential for destroying the marriage and family. The devastation painfully damages the spouse, children, siblings of the couple, and many friends. In addition, there is an immediate ripple effect among many people and an extended ripple effect through at least three or four subsequent generations. Is it worth it? Of course not! There is no way that the momentary pleasure even when repeated numerous times can justify the extended sphere of subsequent pain and suffering.

“Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for fornicators and adulterers God will judge.” [Hebrews 13:4 NAS] “Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not covet.” [Exodus 20:14 & 17 KJV] Hosea repeatedly forgave Gomer even though she was adulterous and a prostitute. [Hosea 3:3 KJV] As always, God’s moral law is an expression of His love established for our benefit.

Tasting the original forbidden fruit carried a high price. (1) “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.” [Genesis 3:6 KJV]. Sin entered the world. Similarly, (2) “The path of the adulteress leads to death.” [Proverbs 2:16-22 KJV] “What therefore God hath joined together let not man put asunder.” [Matthew 19:6, Mark 10:9 KJV] The command is non-optional and non-negotiable.

“Lord, grant that I might not so much seek to be loved as to love.” St. Francis of Assisi “…in everything worth having, even in every pleasure, there is a point of pain or tedium that must be survived, so that the pleasure may be revived and endure.” G.K. Chesterton.

For troubled Christian marriages, counseling is not likely to be productive unless and until both parties genuinely agree that the Bible is the inspired inerrant word of God and that divorce is NOT an acceptable option under any circumstances. The agreed upon mutual view solidifies the common goal to save the marriage. In addition, the husband and wife both have an incentive to resolve troublesome issues because they both desire to enjoy the fullness and richness of the human experience. Since they have both agreed that divorce is unacceptable, the only remaining alternative is to resolve the issues. Often the resolution is facilitated if the effort is framed by the memory of why they originally chose to marry.

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 4d)

On October 12, 2015 By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn American Culture, American Exceptionalism, Baby Boomers, Church, Education, Entertainment, Family, Father, Freedom, God's Love, Homemaker, Judeo-Christian Culture, Love, Marriage, MotherLeave a comment

God Assigned to the Parents Primary Responsibility for Children’s Education

Scripture assigns to parents the primary responsibility of educating their children. That assignment directly from God has never changed. In time, the parents were aided by religious institutions assuring a seamless character building process from birth to adulthood and beyond. Eventually, government schools assumed the responsibility for educating the children.

Initially, the government sponsored public schools supported the religious mission so well that the parents and religious institutions began to abandon much of their God-assigned responsibilities for educating the children. But, beginning in the 1960s, the government kicked God out of the schools eventually banning most forms of religious expression in schools and virtually all other public places.

Consequently, today’s public educational system is experiencing a major crisis. It has been hijacked by the liberal progressive movement and deprived of emotional and spiritual influences in order to emphasize the “academics,” in preparation for the assumed priority of career over family in the life of every rising young man and young woman. Evolution-driven materialism recognizes no other educational goals.

In contrast, Martin Luther proclaimed, “I would advise no one to send his child where the Holy Scriptures are not supreme. Every institution that does not unceasingly pursue the study of God’s Word becomes corrupt…I greatly fear that the [schools], unless they teach the Holy Scriptures diligently and impress them on the young students, are wide gates to Hell.” Take control of education as God commanded:

Therefore shall you lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. And you shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. And you shall write them upon the door posts of your house, and upon your gates: That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children… [Deuteronomy 11:18-21 KJV 2000] Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. [Proverbs 22:6 KJV]

The Scripture passage requires parents to recognize that education is a high priority, full time, around-the-clock responsibility. The “order from headquarters” come with a promise of a long life for you and for your children. Consider all of home life to be an educational opportunity for both the children and parents. Aggressively pursue home schooling or a Biblically based Christian school.

The churches and synagogues must reclaim the responsibility for parental and organized faith-based education. A few hours in a church or synagogue cannot compete with the powerful and compelling influences of continuous immersion in a culture and public government-run schools systems saturated with an aggressively advocated no-god or mini-god evolution-rooted humanistic worldview. There must be an education alternative.

Home schooling is a great alternative. It is absolutely scriptural and provides parents with the greatest degree of influence and control over the raising of their own children. Home schooled children learn more in 1-2 hours a day than a public school child does in the entire school day. National spelling bees are routinely won or dominated by home schooled children.

The home school resources available today are far superior to the resources available just a few years ago. Active home schooling organizations establish groups for activities such as participation in athletic teams and field trips. Parents and others with special skills draw together small groups of home school children to teach higher level subjects like chemistry, physics, or advanced mathematics. However, many families may not be in a position to engage in home schooling.

Too many churches or synagogues have Monday through Friday pre-school programs allegedly to respond to the needs of changing times. Despite the very best of intentions, preschool programs alone effectively facilitate and even fuel the breakdown of the family. There are many families who are dissatisfied with the public schools and perhaps not equipped for home schooling.

Faith-based schools are no longer just a nice option. They have become vital and essential to the restoration of a passion for freedom and survival of our families and our American culture. Religious and moral teaching feeds the thirst for education and desire to mature in character. Faith-based schools must become a high priority for parents.

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 4C)

On October 9, 2015October 9, 2015 By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn American Culture, Baby Boomers, Church, Education, Family, God's Love, Homemaker, Judeo-Christian Culture, Love, Marriage, Mother2 Comments

God’s AWESOME Loving Family

The genius of the traditional family created by God, and supported by virtually every civilization throughout the 6,000 years of recorded history, rests on a foundation of an irrevocable, complementary and wholly pervasive partnership between a man and a woman (marriage), which is unique and impregnable. “…a man [shall] leave father and mother and shall cleave to his wife; and they twain shall be one flesh…” [Matthew 19:5-6 KJV] “What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” (non-optional) [Matthew 19:6; Mark 10:9 Romans 12:2] “…let each esteem other better than themselves.” [Philippians 2:3 KJV] Pride goeth before destruction and an haughty spirit before a fall.” [Proverbs 16:18 KJV] “Self-love [pride] . . . is the sole antagonist of virtue, leading us constantly by our propensities to self-gratification in violation of our moral duties to others.” Thomas Jefferson

The headship of the husband functions only to the extent of his wife’s support even when he makes a wrong decision, e.g. ill-advised investment, for which the entire family may suffer the consequences. The shared sacrifice strengthens the family.

The cohesiveness of the marriage increases as the man and woman continually defer to each other through routine expressions of humility, forgiveness, mercy, longsuffering, and a servant’s spirit. Pride is regularly sacrificed as each grows in the character of God. Collectively, the love and solidarity of the parents is a model for building character in the children. Character is more caught than taught.

Although the parents exhibit the same deferential character with respect to the children, the parents also establish firm physical/temporal boundaries aligned with God’s moral boundaries. The parental boundaries are a visible expression of their love of the children. Since the mother typically has more time with the children, she is the primary character builder supported by the strength and stability of her “’til- death-do-us-part” committed husband. The parents support each other’s decisions even when there is disagreement. The parent’s ongoing expressions of love are the child’s “security blanket.”

“And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity…he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off…” [II Peter 1:5-7 & 9 KJV]

A cohesive stable marriage produces a cohesive stable family, which becomes a cohesive stable national culture assuring stability and continuity throughout many generations of time. No culture has ever survived the breakdown of the family.

The MIRACLE of God’s Family Child

When a child is conceived, he/she is endowed by the Creator with a new eternal soul; after an earthly life, the individual’s soul is transported to Heaven, if God’s saving grace has been accepted or is eternally lost to Hell, if God has been rejected. A mother’s highest calling is to introduce that soul (child) to the universe.

The child—often called a miracle of God—arrives knowing nothing except what he/she is taught by the parents, primarily the mother. The child’s lifetime ability to enjoy the fullness of the human experience is largely dependent on that maternal introduction, during childhood. When the mother is substantially absent, the child has little opportunity to soulfully learn the anchor-like virtues which would otherwise establish a lifelong pattern of godly decisions.

Putting a child in a day care center is a bit like putting a dog in a kennel; both are for selfish reasons. If you react negatively to that statement, perhaps reading on will soften the blow. Note that a home schooler can learn in an hour or so as much as another child can learn in a whole day at public school. Imagine the impact of a full-time mother!

Further, the parent’s influence, especially that of the mother, extends through the generations of grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren. Consider the positive and negative impacts of Dad and Mom’s influence. “But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him and his righteousness with their children’s children with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts [Psalms 103:17 NIV]”and “…he punishes the children and their children for the sins of the fathers to the third and fourth generation [Exodus 34:7b NIV].”

In addition, the richness of the life experience is dependent on establishing a continuing pattern of godly choices. “Be careful to obey all these regulations I am giving you, so that it may always go well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is good and right in the eyes of the Lord your God [Deuteronomy 12:28 NIV].”

Consider that the mother’s children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren influence the lives of thousands of others, preferably in a positive godly way. What an awesome sacred responsibility God has assigned to the mother!

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 4B)

On October 7, 2015October 7, 2015 By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn American Culture, American Exceptionalism, Baby Boomers, Family, Father, God's Love, Judeo-Christian Culture, Love, Marriage, MotherLeave a comment

Dad and Mom Are Superheroes

Both the Old and New Testaments summarize the Ten Commandments into just two. “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’This is the first and greatest commandment.And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” [Matthew 22:37-40; Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18 NIV] Both commandments represent ultimate love characterized by extreme giving. The first is a vertical love of God; the second is a horizontal love of others.

Consider how those two commandments uniquely apply to marriage. Scripture explains the marriage relationship:

Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear (reverence, awe) of God. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the savior of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. [Ephesians 5:21-28 KJV (emphasis added)]

A husband must give himself for his family so they may become as perfect and blameless as is humanly possible. The husband and wife are mutual givers, but there is more, much more.

The earthly marriage is a representation of an eternal relationship with God. The Lord is illustrated scripturally as the bridegroom coming for his bride, the worldwide body of believers. “Let us rejoice and be glad and give him (Messiah) glory! For the wedding of the Lamb (Y’shua; Jesus) has come, and his bride has made herself ready…blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb…These are the true words of God.” [Revelation 19:7&9 NIV] The Bible further clarifies that the apostle John, “saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” [Revelation 21:2 KJV]

Scripturally, the order of the universe is that the Lord is the bridegroom and the body of believers is the bride. Of course, in any earthly marriage the man is the bridegroom and the bride is the beautiful woman spectacularly dressed in a white wedding gown walking down the aisle to meet her man. But in a larger sense, the bride is not just the woman at the ceremony, the bride is the woman and by extension the children she later produces, often referred to as the fruit of her womb. The husband is required to love the wholeness of his bride, i.e. the wholeness of his family, even as the Messiah also loved the church, to the point of the husband’s own death if necessary.

Fallows magnificently explains, “The husband is the ‘house band,’ the earthly giver of life, uniting the divine with the human in the supreme function of fatherhood.” The wife is ‘the weaver,’ shaping and coloring in the prenatal and postnatal influences of sacred motherhood the destinies of her offspring.” “As the “earthly giver of life, uniting the divine with the human,” the husband/father becomes the role model for “the first and greatest commandment” to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”

As the “weaver,” the wife/mother is the connection between the past and future generations of her family, but also the past and future generations of the culture. She is the role model for the second summary commandment to ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Shannon clarifies,

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.

Sadly, far too many dads in modern America fail to carry out their God-assigned, high- priority, family responsibilities, either due to a lack of holistic understanding, the powerful lure of excessive materialism or both. Far too many moms fall short by not being there and available for raising the children. Together, such parents effectively sacrifice their children on the altar of the false god of materialism. However, when Dad and Mom lovingly and enthusiastically become God’s family, the results can be deeply heartwarming and sometimes even breathtaking. When they do not, the results can range from troublesome to tragic.

Some time ago, I devoted seven years to meeting virtually all the needs and providing around-the-clock care for my terminally ill late wife. She endured a neurodegenerative condition similar to Alzheimer’s disease. After her passing, a well-wisher said. “You really sacrificed a lot during those years.” I thanked her and replied that it did not seem like I sacrificed anything. Providing total care for her was more important than anything else I could have been doing during that time. It was a monumentally life-changing experience, a soul-deep lesson in selfless love. The experience has had long-term impacts on me and those around me and will continue to do so far into the future.

Together, fueled by God’s infinite supply of love, Dad and Mom become virtual super heroes, an incredibly awesome team stabilizing God’s brilliantly designed family and the national culture as a whole. A child forms a vertical relationship with God, primarily, though not exclusively, through the role model of the father; a child forms horizontal relationships with others within and beyond the family primarily, though not exclusively, through the role model of the mother. The complementary combination produces godly character in the child. The actions of role modeling build character in the parents. The character of every family member extends outward to the community and the nation.

That is God’s grand design for Dad and Mom. What incredible 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 4A)

On October 5, 2015October 5, 2015 By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn Abortion, American Culture, American Exceptionalism, Baby Boomers, Family, Father, God's Love, Government, Homemaker, Judeo-Christian Culture, Love, Marriage, MotherLeave a comment

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.

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)

On October 3, 2015October 3, 2015 By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn American Culture, American Exceptionalism, Baby Boomers, Education, Family, Father, God's Love, Government, Homemaker, Judeo-Christian Culture, Love, Marriage, MotherLeave a comment

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)

On September 30, 2015September 30, 2015 By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn American Culture, Baby Boomers, Church, Education, Family, Father, God's Love, Homemaker, Judeo-Christian Culture, Love, Marriage, MotherLeave a comment

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.

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

Dilution (cohabitation)
Redefinition (any combination of people living together)
Government intrusion into every aspect of family life
Destruction of the sanctity of life
Decimation of the sanctity of marriage
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)

On September 28, 2015September 28, 2015 By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn Abortion, American Culture, American Exceptionalism, Baby Boomers, Church, Family, Father, God's Love, Homemaker, Judeo-Christian Culture, Love, Marriage, Mother3 Comments

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!

On September 15, 2015 By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn American Culture, Church, Family, God's Love, Judeo-Christian Culture, Love, MarriageLeave a comment

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.

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?

Devastation from Fatherless Homes Soars! Where is the Church?

On August 31, 2015 By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn American Culture, Baby Boomers, Church, Education, Family, Father, God's Love, Government, Judeo-Christian Culture, MarriageLeave a comment

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:

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/2000s—Political 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?

Same-Sex “Marriage” Ruling is a Cultural Tsunami!

On August 29, 2015 By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn American Culture, Church, Judeo-Christian Culture, Marriage, Same Sex MarriageLeave a comment

Most people are already aware that Dr. James Dobson has soundly condemned the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that established a nationwide “right” to same-sex marriage. While much of the commentary focuses on the gay marriage issue, he contends that the intentional impact is far larger. We are not talking about a ripple effect. The consequences will be a spiritual and temporal tsunami.

In a recent newsletter, Dobson explains, “We are convinced that this unconstitutional decision, issued by five unelected, unaccountable and imperious justices, will ultimately prove to be as catastrophic as Dred Scott v. Sanford in 1857 and Roe v. Wade in 1973. It will touch every dimension of culture…This court decision is not about same-sex marriage, except only tangentially. Many gay and lesbian groups have admitted that marriage has never been their primary objective. Instead, it is about everything else.”

“What’s at stake is the entire culture war.” Dobson characterized the decision as an “expression of hostility toward people who take their Christianity seriously.”

“As you probably know, certain groups and organizations hate us. It is about weakening the church of Jesus Christ and limiting what pastors and ministers can say and do publicly…It is about undermining the religious liberties of Christians that are guaranteed by the Constitution. It is about attacking Christian schools, Christian non-profit organizations such as Family Talk, and Christian businesses, hospitals, charities, and seminaries. It is about Christian colleges and universities, and about whom their leaders choose as professors and what their students will be taught. It’s about government funding and accreditation.”

“There is almost no limit to what will be imposed on the American public as a result of Obergefell. There is every indication that a barrage of court cases has been pre-planned and will be implemented against those who dare to disagree with the government’s view of marriage. Some will lose their jobs for failing to knuckle under…Some will lose their professional licenses. Some will be persecuted, ridiculed and fined. Some will go to prison. After all, the Supreme Court has ruled that same-sex marriage is an inviolable constitutional right that will trump other liberties considered untouchable for more than 200 years.”

Dobson expressed a particular concern for the children. “I grieve over what will happen to kids in public schools. They will be taught that right is wrong and wrong is right, and that the teachings of Scripture are unreliable and inaccurate.”

“How unthinkable it is that in some states kindergartners, barely out of babyhood, are being taught adult perverse behavior that should never be discussed in the classroom. Soon, publishers of public school textbooks throughout the country will have to re-write and re-illustrate materials to make them conform to the demands of Obergefell. It matters not that these revisions will contradict the beliefs and convictions of Christian parents. It has already become the law of the land in some states.”

Dobson chillingly warns that anything activists “can dream up could be imposed on our children by liberal judges.”

“LGBT propaganda will be blatantly taught to wide-eyed kids who are too young to understand how they are being manipulated. There is no consideration that the messages given will contradict the beliefs and convictions of millions of parents. The wishes of moms and dads will have been overridden and superseded by five justices who have a better plan for their kids,” he writes.

It all has a familiar ring. Remember that Adolf Hitler said, “Your child belongs to us already … what are you? You will pass on. Your descendants, however, now stand in the new camp. In a short time they will know nothing but this new community.”

Quoting Rod Dreher, senior editor at the American Conservative, Dobson adds, “The alarm that the four dissenting justices sounded in their minority opinions…Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Antonin Scalia were particularly scathing in pointing out the philosophical and historical groundlessness of the majority’s opinion. Justice Scalia even called the decision ‘a threat to democracy,’ and denounced it, shockingly, in the language of revolution.”

It is up to the pastors to lead, warn, and prepare the body of believers. “…if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes the life of one of them, that man will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood.” [Ezekiel 33:6 NIV]

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

What does it take to wake up the clergy?

Heartwarming or Heart wrenching?

On August 12, 2015 By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn American Culture, Family, Freedom, God's Love, Judeo-Christian Culture, Love, Marriage, Mother16 Comments

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.

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?

On July 26, 2015 By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn Abortion, American Culture, God's Love, Judeo-Christian Culture4 Comments

“It should bother us as a society that we have use for aborted human organs, but not the baby that provides them.” Michael Wear

We Are Sacrificing Our Children to Molech!

On July 24, 2015July 24, 2015 By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn Abortion, American Culture, Baby Boomers, Government, Judeo-Christian Culture, Mother2 Comments

Many people were shocked, or should have been shocked, this week when two horrifying videos were publicly released. They exposed casual luncheon conversations with people at the highest levels of Planned Parenthood leadership. They were discussing the harvesting and sale of organs from aborted babies, adding that they were feverishly developing “less crunchy” abortion techniques that would kill the baby without damaging the organs. The emphasis on retrieving in-tact organs itself confirms the personhood of the unborn baby.

One presidential candidate claimed that Planned Parenthood would deny life-confirming ultrasounds to pregnant mothers, but would use the ultrasounds to preserve the organs of dead babies.

We have finally exceeded the depravity of the ancient Israelites who strayed and sacrificed their children to the pagan god, Molech, “Do not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molek, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.” [Leviticus 18:21 NIV]

“You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way, for every abominable thing that the Lord hates they have done for their gods, for they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods.” [Deuteronomy 12:31 ESV]

“Any one of the people of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones. I myself will set my face against that man and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given one of his children to Molech, to make my sanctuary unclean and to profane my holy name. And if the people of the land do at all close their eyes to that man when he gives one of his children to Molech, and do not put him to death, then I will set my face against that man and against his clan and will cut them off from among their people, him and all who follow him in whoring after Molech.” [Leviticus 20:1-5 ESV]

Of course, we do not talk about Molech today. We’re modern. We sacrifice our babies and children to:

The pagan god of money
The pagan god of materialism
The pagan god of personal convenience
The pagan humanistic god of our own pride

Astonishingly, the ghastly practice of selling “baby parts” has apparently been common practice at least since 1998, according to a price list uncovered by a pro-life organization. Even the post-abortion procedures are horrific. If you can stomach the read, the details are explained at http://www.wnd.com/2015/07/20-years-fresh-and-frozen-baby-parts-sold-across-u-s/ The gruesome practice is reminiscent of the cruel, inhuman, and excruciatingly painful “research” conducted by the notorious Dr. Mengele of the Third Reich.

Rather than simply recoil at a few sick news items, view them in the cultural context of another controversial current event. Our President and his team recently negotiated an apparent nuclear agreement with Iran. It is so shallow, incomplete, extremely one-sided, and lacking in accountability that the President has been compared with Neville Chamberlain, the notorious pre-World War II appeaser. He attempted to appease Adolph Hitler, by negotiating a shamefully failed treaty with the vicious dictator. Appeasement failed then and it will fail now.

Far worse however, is that we have become a nation of citizen appeasers in the name of political correctness. Children used to chant a jingle, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.” Today, we cower in fear that somehow we might offend someone or even worse be called an unkind name. It is ironic that the name callers are the authors of the cancerous political correctness. They do not seem to mind offending others. While screaming “tolerance,” they have developed name calling into a finely tuned weapon.

Given current conditions, cultural appeasement might be understandable to some extent within the background secular culture. But the body of believers has compromised so much that many would rather appease sin, or even participate in it, than publically confront it. Such astonishing spiritual weakness is evident in every major controversy including abortion, infanticide, divorce, same-sex “marriage,” assisted suicide, euthanasia and many others. Such shocking news events should drive every believer to his/her knees in prayer, arising afterwards with a powerful conviction to take action.

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

What does it take to wake up the clergy?

Believers Cannot Be the Light of the World Until They Are Willing to Go Into the Storm

On July 12, 2015July 12, 2015 By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn Abortion, American Culture, Freedom, God's Love, Judeo-Christian Culture, Light2 Comments

Christians and Jews are increasingly disliked and targeted for the same reason. A conspicuous godly lifestyle creates a standard of comparison:

Righteousness exposes wretchedness
Right exposes wrong
Light exposes anything hidden in the darkness

Exposure by godly believers triggers unwanted guilt, stress, disorder, and negative emotions in others. The reactions range from cynical criticism to powerful lawsuits and sometimes violence.

Believers are, or should be, the ‘light of the world’ [Isaiah 42:6; Matthew 5:15-16] exposing hidden wrongdoing to the extent that they live their lives as God intended. Because they aspire to live on a higher plane, the cultural impact of Christians and Jews greatly exceeds the number or proportion of believers in any culture. Unbelievers will respond or react even to the perceived righteousness of believers.

The impact of believers can be positive or negative. For the last 50 years, the American culture has been drifting away from God. The collective body of American believers has been caught in the backdraft of the cultural drift, always a few steps behind, but still drifting away from God. The light of believers has grown dim.

Large numbers of Christian and Jewish believers have compromised in every cultural, social, and family-linked controversy. Examples are legion and include the areas of abortion, divorce, cohabitation, “same-sex marriage,” and many others. As believers continue to drift away from God, the standard of comparison weakens. Unbelievers perceive the lifestyle compromises adopted by Christians and Jews as approval by God and license for even further compromises by the secular public. Believers are facilitating the destruction of the American culture and family.

Today, the drift has become a spiraling free fall into the storm of chaos as American believers have increasingly allowed themselves to be sequestered by the pressures of political correctness to within the four walls of their homes and the four walls of their places of worship.

Of course, God is still in charge. He is the source of infinite love and is always available. Believers can once again become the light of the world to the extent that they soulfully repent of their own wrongdoings and aggressively pursue the life that God clearly intended. Believers must be willing to personally go into the storm and publically let His light shine through them, regardless of the cost. Political correctness is nothing more than aggregated secular pressure to turn off God’s spotlight on their widespread and growing wrongdoing. It cannot continue. Believers must be willing to stand up and let God’s light shine through them once again.

It begins with YOU!

Are YOU willing to drive into the storm?

Your children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, great great grandchildren and God are depending on YOU.

On July 1, 2015July 1, 2015 By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn American Culture, Family, God's Love, Government, Judeo-Christian Culture, MarriageLeave a comment

“…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

Same-Sex ‘Marriage’ (?) United States Supreme Court Wins—Children Lose

On June 28, 2015September 17, 2015 By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn American Culture, Church, Judeo-Christian Culture, Same Sex Marriage2 Comments

Is that picture of the White House troubling? I hope so!

The ramifications of the United States Supreme Court decision to sanction same-sex marriages and require such marriages to be licensed in all 50 states are many. One of the most damaging is the impact on children. They are the biggest losers.

Dr. Michelle Cretella, President of the American College of Pediatricians (an apparently secular group) issued a statement saying:

“This is a tragic day for America’s children. The SCOTUS has just undermined the single greatest pro-child institution in the history of mankind: the natural family. Just as it did in the joint Roe v Wade and Doe v Bolton decisions, the SCOTUS has elevated and enshrined the wants of adults over the needs of children.”

Whenever a legislature passes a law or the judiciary issues a ruling that

expands or ignores the God-given boundaries of morality,
encroaches on the sanctity of life,
infringes on the sanctity of marriage, or
encourages abortion,

they always do so to satisfy the selfish desires of adults and is always at the expense of children.

Imagine you are asked to identify the most selfish decisions any person can make. Inescapably, the list must include

abortion,
divorce,
sacrificing child rearing on the altar of career, and
identifying parenthood as anything other than the child’s natural parents.

Each of the selfish decisions is scorned by God, but approved, sanctioned and encouraged by the government (most government entitlements subsidize sin). Children pay a fearful price for all of them.

Only the natural parents are directly charged by God with the responsibility of raising their children to be adults of strong character. Same-sex ‘parents’ cannot do it. The churches cannot do it. The schools will not do it. Children simply cannot raise themselves. Yet, many today find themselves with little direction from parents who are suffering from career absenteeism.

When we fail to raise our children to become adults of strong character, their lives are compromised, the cohesiveness of the family is seriously damaged, and the weakened culture will eventually self-destruct.

“And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.^“ [Matthew 18:5-6 NIV]

The Supreme Court ruling codifying same-sex marriage is simply a barometer of a much broader cultural decline. Today, we are very near the point of cultural implosion. Nearly 200 years ago, Alexis de Tocqueville observed that, “America is great because she is good. If America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.”

He also summarized the results of his search for America’s greatness:

I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and her ample rivers – and it was not there . . . in her fertile fields and boundless forests and it was not there . . . in her rich mines and her vast world commerce – and it was not there . . . in her democratic Congress and her matchless Constitution – and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. (emphasis added)

Same-sex marriage is wrong according to God and every reasonable temporal measure. It is now the law of the land, ultimately because the body of believers allowed it to happen just as the body of believers have allowed every other compromise and cultural controversy to emerge. Sadly, the body of believers have adopted many of the same compromises as the background secular culture. Sin has all-to-often become the new norm. After all, we must be “tolerant.”

Do America’s pulpits “flame with righteousness” today? If not, why not?

Imperial Justices Shake Their Fists at God!

On June 27, 2015 By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn American Culture, Family, Freedom, God's Love, Government, Judeo-Christian Culture, Love, MarriageLeave a comment

“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.”

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.

On June 22, 2015 By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn American Culture, Baby Boomers, Education, Family, Freedom, God's Love, Homemaker, Judeo-Christian Culture, Love, Marriage1 Comment

“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

Sing a Little Louder

On June 12, 2015 By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn Abortion, American Culture, Baby Boomers, Education, Family, Freedom, God's Love, Government, Judeo-Christian Culture, MarriageLeave a comment

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.

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 21^st 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?