The Gender Unicorn Is Coming To A Middle School Near YOU!

On August 20, 2016 By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn Abortion, American Culture, Baby Boomers, Church, Education, Family, Father, Freedom, God's Love, Government, Homemaker, Judeo-Christian Culture, Love, Marriage, Mother, Same Sex MarriageLeave a comment

The relentless liberal/progressive effort to blur gender distinctions, invent new “genders,” and create new forms of “gender expression,” is currently invading an ever broadening list of public middle schools. The latest and most insidious wave is the Gender Unicorn:

gender-unicorn

Notice the similarity between the Gender Unicorn and Barney, the purple anthropomorphic tyrannosaurus rex, with whom many children are already familiar. Having already embraced a warm and fuzzy Barney, it becomes a very short step to embracing the Gender Unicorn.

The Gender Unicorn is clearly one of the most powerful and dramatic assaults on God, the Bible, and Judeo-Christian values of our time, just behind the U.S. Supreme Court ruling establishing the Constitutional validity of same-sex marriage

Believers are called upon by God to love everyone, regardless of lifestyle. But sin is still sin; it has never changed. The intimate actions of same sex unions are still an abomination to God. Adoptions be same-sex couples are still sinful. Any blurring of the God-given distinctions between men and women and their God-given roles is inviting the wrath of their Creator!

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

What does it take to wake up the clergy?

God’s Priorities! Greatest Miracle!

On June 18, 2016 By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn Abortion, American Culture, Baby Boomers, Church, Education, Family, Freedom, Judeo-Christian Culture, Marriage, MotherLeave a comment

6-17-16-rosie-makeLife

The Genius of the God-Designed Family

On November 15, 2015 By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn Abortion, American Culture, American Exceptionalism, Baby Boomers, Church, Education, Family, Father, God's Love, Homemaker, Judeo-Christian Culture, Love, Marriage, Mother2 Comments

God’s arrow of time from the Garden of Eden to Heaven passes through the family. Yet history is littered with the baggage of broken families. The amount of baggage increases just before the collapse of every civilization and culture in all of recorded history.

The genius and power of the God-designed family is jaw-dropping. The family is one of God’s greatest creations. The specific roles of the man and woman were assigned directly to Adam and Eve. They have never changed. To do so would compromise God’s infinite genius.

Man was created in the likeness of God. The God-designed family is a picture of God. We know Him as one God manifested to us in three Persons, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Similarly, the one impregnable family is represented by Dad, Mom, and the children. The family is an unbeatable team. It is the only way to carry out God’s commandments in a reliable way throughout posterity. It is the only way to enjoy all God’s blessings and the fullness of the life experience.

Marriage was created in the Garden of Eden, before Adam and Eve were disobedient to the Lord. God said, “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] Since marriage was created in the Garden of Eden, it was created in an environment of virtual perfection. After disobeying God by eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, God, proclaimed their respective, but perfectly complementary roles in a fallen world.

God’s Assignment for the Man

“…unto Adam he said, Because thou has…eaten of the tree, of which I commanded you, saying you shall not eat of it: cursed is the ground for your sake; in sorrow shall you eat of it all the days of your life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to you; and you shall eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shall you eat bread, till you return unto the ground: for out of it were you taken; for dust you are, and unto dust shall you return.” [Genesis 3:17-19 NKJV]

The man protects and provides for his mother, wife, and children. When his father and son do the same, they form an unbroken shield of protection assuring a perpetually safe, secure environment within which the family can thrive. His protection of the family is fueled by God’s love. As such, the man is the primary, but not exclusive, model for the commandment to love God with body, mind and soul:

“And you shalt love the Lord your God with all thine heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words, which I command you this day, shall be in your heart: You shalt teach them diligently unto your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in thine house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up…You shall write them upon the posts of your house, and on your gates.” [Deuteronomy 6:5-7 & 9 NKJV]

God has assigned to the man a vital role in developing the character of his children. His role is far greater than merely providing for security and financial needs, for food, clothes, and shelter. He is the protector of his family physically, intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually.

The man actively and routinely provides emotional and spiritual nourishment by being a conduit of God’s love. The man protects his family from outside influences that would weaken the character of his wife or interfere with or disrupt the development of character in their children.

God’s blessings for the obedient man are, “Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies. The heart of her husband does safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.” [Proverbs 31:10-12 NKJV]

However, God requires of the husband an ironclad ultimate commitment, “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it…” [Ephesians 5:25 KJV] The husband’s love and commitment to his wife must be so great the he would be willing to risk death for her.

God’s Assignment for the Woman

“Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; in sorrow you shall bring forth children; and your desire shall be to your husband, and he shall rule over you.” [Genesis 3:16 NKJV]

The woman is the connector and propagator of life assuring a continuity of generations from the Garden of Eden to Heaven. All reproduction, physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual pass through the woman. As the connector and propagator of life, she is the primary, but not exclusive, model for the commandment, “…you shall love your neighbor as yourself…” [Leviticus 19:18 NKJV]

God’s blessings for the obedient woman are, “She opens her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness. She looks well to the ways of her household, and…Her children arise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her. [Proverbs 31:25-28 NKJV]

However, God requires a commitment of her, “Wives submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.” [Ephesians 5:22 KJV] Submission merely means voluntarily choosing to respect and defer to his leadership even when he is wrong. When he does make a wrong choice, the shared consequences will be character building for the whole family. Actually, God’s perfect family plan is mutual submission, “Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.” [Ephesians 5:21 KJV]

The practice of mutual submission should characterize all interpersonal relationships. Within the context of marriage and family, the stakes are simply higher than anywhere else. The blessings of mutual submission are greatest in marriage. The consequences of lack of mutual submission are more painful in marriage.

Together the Married Man and Woman Are Truly Awesome!

Combining the man’s vertical responsibility with the woman’s horizontal responsibility, Jesus proclaimed, “On these two commandments hang all the Law and the prophets.” [Matthew 22:40 KJV] Their roles are perfectly complementary. After all, they were created by the greatest genius of the universe, God Himself.

Multi-generational contact is vital to the maintenance and stability of the chain of life. The woman is responsible for the cohesion of the family and the sustainability of the culture. She is the primary facilitator of the commandment to love your neighbor as yourself.

There is nothing like the genius of the God-designed family. Dad and Mom are an awesome team specifically designed by God to:

Create a cohesive family that mirrors God’s relationship with humanity.
Solidify the family assuring that God’s symbolic representation of His relationship with us is maintained throughout all generations.
Establish a sustainable culture that remains unbroken for posterity.

The God-designed family minimizes overall stress by reducing time pressures, encouraging character development among parents and children, and building warm close interpersonal relationships. When the woman’s career is at home pursuing God’s design, there are an additional 40 hours per week available to destress the entire family, compared to the married career woman trying to have it all.

If either Dad or Mom contemplates and chooses divorce or any path that undermines and devalues the family, the continuity is broken and the surviving family fragments become especially vulnerable to all manner of evil.

Today, the American culture has almost completely lost sight of God’s plan. The results have been tragic. It is up to us as Judeo-Christian believers to step up, restore, and magnify His amazing and magnificent vision.

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

What does it take to wake up the clergy?

Is this why some women are miserable?

On November 1, 2015November 1, 2015 By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn American Culture, American Exceptionalism, Family, Father, Homemaker, Judeo-Christian Culture, Love, Marriage, MotherLeave a comment

This message is awesome. The American Christian woman has been smothered by worldly messages. The result has been the tragic loss of the American culture.

Wretched with Todd Friel

Episode 1613

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

On October 23, 2015October 23, 2015 By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn Abortion, American Culture, American Exceptionalism, Baby Boomers, Church, Education, Family, Father, God's Love, Homemaker, Judeo-Christian Culture, Love, Marriage, Mother8 Comments

Leverage the Forgotten Power of the Homemaker

Acclaim and demonstrate the vital importance of the homemaker—The Biblical homemaker enjoys the most vital and exciting career in the universe. Family and culture decline rapidly when the homemaker leaves home. To destroy a culture, remove the homemaker from the home. A major strategy of the spiritual and temporal enemies of the traditional family is to deflate or collapse the family by enticing the homemaker out of the home. But God says otherwise, “The women of my people have ye cast out from their pleasant houses; from their children have ye taken away my glory forever. Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your rest: because it is polluted, it shall destroy you, even with a sore destruction.” [Micah 2:9, &10 KJV] All roads go through the homemaker; she is the real, not just metaphorical heart of the home:

The homemaker is the heart of the home physically—Everyone is born through the womb of the mother. The bond between mother and child begins at the moment of conception and strengthens throughout the child’s growing time in the womb. No other bond in the universe comes close to matching the early mother-child bond. The bond is reinforced during the period of breast-feeding and continues to grow even as the mother lets go of the emancipated adult. Her loving bond with the father cements the continuity of generations, is a source of personal satisfaction for both, and provides desperately needed role models for the children. Her efforts to maintain or improve the home environment are an expression of love for her husband and children.

The homemaker is the heart of the home intellectually—Scripture assigns parents the responsibility of educating the children. For millennia, the mother was the primary teacher, later assisted by the Church. Schools were created by the Church to teach children about life, God, and His amazing creation. The great universities, including most Ivy League schools, were founded to teach young men to be ministers. But in the last century, the Church and parents have largely abdicated their roles and responsibilities for education in favor of government schools that have become increasingly abusive regarding all aspects of Judeo-Christian tradition. Raising the children is far more than simply taking care of the children.

The homemaker is the heart of the home emotionally—Children learn emotional awareness and compassion far more from the mother than from the father. Indulging a sports analogy, dad is primarily a coach; mom is the quarterback, the source and catalyst of virtually all action in the family and the home. What would happen on game day if the quarterback decided to go fishing instead of instead of going to the stadium? The athletic coach probably has a backup quarterback who may not perform quite as well as the star quarterback. But in the home, every homemaker is a star and there is no backup when she is not there.

The homemaker is the heart of the home spiritually—In most homes, it is the mother who primarily instills spiritual principles through day-to-day training. Often it is the mother who takes the children to church or synagogue. Shame on the dads who are not the spiritual leaders in their homes as well. But even in the homes where dad is a strong spiritual leader, the children still spend far more time with the mother and are therefore more available to her for spiritual training. Dad becomes the reinforcer.

These vitally important lessons are not learned when strangers, such as nursery schools, babysitters, an endless round of age-graded day care centers, and government-run schools raise the children. Lifestyle absentee parenting is tragic and leads to disastrous consequences.

To survive, a family must actively and irrevocably commit to Biblical values and fight aggressively and continuously to maintain those values.

No civilization has ever survived the breakdown of the family.

If parents want their children and grandchildren to enjoy a free society (country), they absolutely must deeply embed Biblical family values in their children. It is an impossible task for absentee parents.

In perilous times, there will be people “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof…Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” [2 Timothy 3: 5 & 7 KJV] Never be satisfied with a “form of godliness.” Do everything God’s way. You will be glad you did.

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

What does it take to wake up the clergy?

The hand that rocks the cradle IS THE MOST POWERFUL HAND IN THE WORLD

On October 21, 2015 By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn Abortion, American Culture, American Exceptionalism, Baby Boomers, Church, Family, God's Love, Homemaker, Judeo-Christian Culture, Love, Marriage, Mother7 Comments

Until recent decades, people often quoted, “The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world.” We have lost sight of the real power of a mother. Actually, the hand that rocks the cradle IS THE MOST POWERFUL HAND IN THE WORLD. Most people don’t know where the slogan originated. It is from a 19^th Century poem. Enjoy! It is powerful.

William Ross Wallace (1819-1881)

THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE IS THE HAND THAT RULES THE WORLD.

BLESSINGS on the hand of women!

Angels guard its strength and grace.

In the palace, cottage, hovel,

Oh, no matter where the place;

Would that never storms assailed it,

Rainbows ever gently curled,

For the hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world.

Infancy’s the tender fountain,

Power may with beauty flow,

Mothers first to guide the streamlets,

From them souls unresting grow—

Grow on for the good or evil,

Sunshine streamed or evil hurled,

For the hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world.

Woman, how divine your mission,

Here upon our natal sod;

Keep—oh, keep the young heart open

Always to the breath of God!

All true trophies of the ages

Are from mother-love impearled,

For the hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world.

Blessings on the hand of women!

Fathers, sons, and daughters cry,

And the sacred song is mingled

With the worship in the sky—

Mingles where no tempest darkens,

Rainbows evermore are hurled;

For the hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world.

The poem can be found in:

 Northrop, H.D. Beautiful Gems of Thought and Sentiment. Boston, MA: The Colins-Patten Co., 1890.

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.

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

Mothers are Awesome!

On May 9, 2015 By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn American Culture, Family, God's Love, Holidays, Homemaker, Judeo-Christian Culture, Love, Marriage, MotherLeave a comment

“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!

On May 7, 2015May 7, 2015 By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn Abortion, American Culture, Baby Boomers, Family, Freedom, God's Love, Homemaker, Judeo-Christian Culture, Love, Marriage2 Comments

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.

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?

Are YOU truly forgiving? Why not?

On April 29, 2015 By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn Abortion, American Culture, Baby Boomers, Family, Freedom, God's Love, Homemaker, Judeo-Christian Culture, Love, Marriage2 Comments

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.

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?

On April 24, 2015April 24, 2015 By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn American Culture, Education, Family, God's Love, Homemaker, Judeo-Christian Culture, Love, MarriageLeave a comment

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?

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]