Tag: Marriage

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

On 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 19th Century poem. Enjoy! It is powerful.

Mother and baby

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 4E)

On 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

beauty girl cry

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 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

 Kids doing homework isolated on white background

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 4B)

On 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 

Man and women with guns on black

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 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.

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

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

God is the Greatest Defense and the Greatest Offense

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

Survival Skills for YOUR Family

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

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

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

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

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

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

The GENIUS of God’s Family

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

What does it take to wake up the clergy?

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

On 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

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

Army soldier reading bible ,selective focus on book and hands

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What does it take to wake up the clergy?

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

On 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.

Group of different families together of all races

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

Stunning Heavy Artillery Amassed by the Anti-Family Groups

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

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

Fearsome Power of the Anti-Family Groups

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

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

YOU Must Protect YOUR Family from Cultural Devastation!

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

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

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

The government breaches family sovereignty by:

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

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

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

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

On 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

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

Group of different families together of all races

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

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

Powerful Anti-Family Enemies Aligned Against YOUR Family

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

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

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

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

Targets of the Anti-Family Groups Include YOUR Family

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

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

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

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

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

Love is NOT what you think!

On 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.

undying love

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What does it take to wake up the clergy?

From Ripples to Tsunami—Religious Freedom is Lost!

On By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn American Culture, Church, Education, Family, Freedom, God's Love, Government, Judeo-Christian Culture, Marriage, Same Sex MarriageLeave a comment

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

kim-davis

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

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

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

Whenever a,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What does it take to wake up the clergy?

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

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

James Dobson

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?

Coming Soon to a School Near You: Sponsored by NEA!

On By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn American Culture, Baby Boomers, Education, Judeo-Christian Culture, Same Sex Marriage3 Comments

Angry teacher with eyeglasses on the school blackboard background

Nearly 10,000 delegates attended the recent national convention of the National Education Association in Orlando, Florida. Here’s a sampling of what is coming soon to a government (public) school near you:

  • New Business Item A: “The NEA will develop educational materials for its state affiliates and members about the potential dangers of so-called ‘Religious Freedom Restoration Acts’ or RFRAs, which may license individuals and corporations to discriminate of the theory that their religious beliefs require such actions.” Potential dangers? License to discriminate?
  • New Business Item 30: Schools must provide “transgender student and staff access to facilities consistent with his or her gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the employee’s or pupil’s records.” Coed rest rooms? Locker rooms? Sports teams including close-contact sports?
  • New Business Items 45 & 74: Schools must allow students to dress as the gender they choose without being required to “obtain a court-ordered name and or /gender change as a prerequisite to being addressed by the name and pronoun that corresponds to their gender identity.” Cross-dressing is now desirable?
  • New Business Item B: “We acknowledge the existence in our country of institutional racism,” which “manifests itself in our schools.” Institutional racism? In the schools? This one was so important that it was introduced by the Board of Directors. It was passed unanimously. Schools were called upon to partner with groups sharing this view “particularly in areas of cultural competence, diversity, and social justice in order to address institutional racism.”

The implications are staggering! The government schools will build and amplify ever increasing gender confusion. Interpersonal relationships will become increasingly stressful and sometimes violent. The institution of the traditional Biblical family will become further weakened, dissipated, and ultimately destroyed.

“Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them…have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.” [Ephesians 5:6, 7 & 11 KJV]

Christian families must have an affordable alternative for educating their children!

“Therefore shall ye 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 ye shall teach them your children, speaking of the when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates. That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth.” [Deuteronomy 11: 18-21 KJV]

“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 government-sponsored public schools are doing everything possible to overrun and overturn everything a child learns or should be learning from the Judeo-Christian family, the Church, and God. Of course there are many hardworking Christian and Jewish teachers in the school systems, but their worldview has been largely shutdown by political correctness. Christian families must have an affordable alternative for educating their children!

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 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.

 Soldiers surprise daughter reunion

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

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

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

What do YOU think?

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

Where is the body of believers today? 

Where are the clergy?

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

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

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

Robert Mugabe on Same-Sex Marriage

President

Zimbabwe

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

On By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn American Culture, Church, Judeo-Christian Culture, Same Sex Marriage2 Comments

white-house-rainbow

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

  1. expands or ignores the God-given boundaries of morality,
  2. encroaches on the sanctity of life,
  3. infringes on the sanctity of marriage, or
  4. 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 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.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

On 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

Liberty

Sing a Little Louder

On 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.

scream

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

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

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

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

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

What will YOU do?

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

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

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

same sex marriage concept with text radial blurr

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

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

A majority vote cannot overrule God

A majority vote cannot turn a vice into a virtue.

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

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

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

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

On 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.

Happy young family with three children celebrating the baptism

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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