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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What does it take to wake up the clergy?

Words Are More Powerful Than Nuclear Weapons!

On August 18, 2015August 29, 2015 By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn Abortion, American Culture, Baby Boomers, Family, Freedom, God's Love, Government, Judeo-Christian Culture, Same Sex Marriage9 Comments

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hmm.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

On August 15, 2015August 29, 2015 By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn American Culture, Baby Boomers, Education, Judeo-Christian Culture, Same Sex Marriage3 Comments

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

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

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

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

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

What do YOU think?

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

Where is the body of believers today?

Where are the clergy?

Past/Present Jews and Christians Saving Each Other from an Earthly Hell!

On August 7, 2015 By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn American Culture, Education, Freedom, God's Love, Judeo-Christian Culture, Love2 Comments

Recently, I posted a message about a 95-year old Jewish Holocaust survivor who is personally arranging to rescue over 2,000 Middle East Christians fleeing ISIS. The elderly British man was a child in Austria who was part of a group of children rescued by British Christians and transported to England just before the breakout of World War II. He is flying the Christians to other countries and providing a fund that will support them for 12 to 18 months.

Meanwhile, 28 Iraqi Christians arrived in the United States legally, carrying all the necessary paperwork. They voluntarily reported to the immigration authorities, because they wanted to follow all the proper procedures. They requested sanctuary as refugees fleeing terrorism. How were they treated by the United States government? They have been detained at the Otay Detention Facility in San Diego for 4-6 months. Despite the euphemism, does that sound a bit like incarceration? Most of them have family in the United States and jobs waiting for them. Despite their efforts to honorably follow the rules, it was reported today that at least a dozen of them will be deported back to Iraq. The disposition of the rest remains unknown.

Along the same lines, there is an extraordinary docudrama on Netflix. This is a must see:

If you have access to Netflix, watch Nicky’s Family and keep the tissue nearby. It’s a factual story about Nicholas Winton, a young Brit who, during the run up to WWII, engineered the evacuation of about 669 Jewish children (babies to teenagers) from Czechoslovakia to England. The risks were extraordinarily high; the obstacles were enormous. The parents, knowing that war was coming, anguished over sending their children away—perhaps forever—but were simultaneously eager to save them. Some of the evacuated children received letters from their parents for a time. At varying intervals, the letters stopped. Apparently, all the parents and other adult family members perished in the Holocaust. Although valiant efforts were exerted, there is no evidence of any reunions after the war.

The act and anguish of the parents sending their children away is reminiscent of Moses’ mother placing the baby Moses in the basket along the Nile River. Surely his mother experienced the same indescribable anguish as the Czech parents. It’s difficult to imagine the extent of the anguish in both cases.

When the War broke out, Nicky’s efforts to save the children were forcibly blocked by the Nazis. He said the only thing left for him to do was to defend his country. Nicky joined the British Royal Air Force. He never had any contact with the children he saved. The children never knew who it was that saved their lives. Until now! Fifty years after the war, Nicky’s wife found an old scrapbook in the attic that told the story. After repeated efforts to publicize the story, it was picked up by the BBC. Many of the now aging children along with their children and grandchildren were rounded up on at least two occasions to honor Nicky—50 years after the war and again 70 years after the war (Nicky’s 100^th birthday party). It’s truly amazing how many of the children and grandchildren of the original 669 have been driven to lives of extraordinary service, inspired by the earthly savior of their parents or grandparents. The story continues even today.

NOW THAT’S GOD’S LOVE IN ACTION!

The movie is an incredibly powerful and gripping docudrama. Don’t miss it!

Where is the body of believers today?

Where are the clergy?

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

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

Robert Mugabe on Same-Sex Marriage

President

Zimbabwe

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

On June 10, 2015 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.

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 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]

Young Baby Boomers Caught in the Vortex of a Perfect Storm

On April 3, 2015 By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn American Culture, Baby Boomers, Family, God's Love, Judeo-Christian Culture5 Comments

The greatest cultural collapse in recorded history was energized by the theory of evolution and accelerated by modern technology. The Baby Boomers, born from 1946 – 1964, were caught in a perfect cultural storm. That storm compromised their soul-deep reality systems intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually, during their most formative coming-of-age years, the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. The resulting cultural drift away from Judeo-Christian tradition created a spiritual vacuum.

The Boomer’s deepest yearnings for significance and meaning were unsatisfied or poorly satisfied. Many people attempted to fill their spiritual vacuum by participating in various political movements such as the “protests” of the 1960s and beyond, radical feminism, multiculturalism, and various “rights” movements (abortion, animal, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender). By effectively leveraging the power of mission and vision statements, even the business world learned to evoke significance and meaning in the lives of employees.

The abundance of emerging political movements and advances in business created stiff spiritual competition for the attention of vulnerable Jews and Christians. The results have produced the splintering of the traditional God-created, God-centered family and an increasingly fragmented directionless national culture. The political and cultural power of the Boomers arises from sheer numbers—76 million, greater than any subsequent generation—as well as their high level of activism.

The perfect storm was enabled, in part, because prior to WWII the intellectual skepticism regarding the existence of God and post-modern thinking was limited primarily to a small cadre of campus-cloistered academics. However, their radical thinking was rapidly instilled in the swelling student populations, beginning with the Boomer’s parents who massively used the “G.I. Bill” to finance college educations for post-WWII veterans. After the war, there were substantially more students on university campuses than ever before. Jobs for returning veterans were scarce; pursuing a college education at government expense provided a reasonable alternative.

Evolution was the “excuse” offered by persuasive and demanding professors for questioning or denying the existence of God. Intellectually the theory of evolution produced post-modern thinking contending there is 1) no god, 2) no objective truth, and 3) no overarching universal values that apply to all people. It was not necessary for the Boomer’s parents to be fully compromised; the professors’ arguments merely created doubt, regarding traditional Judeo-Christian values and beliefs—a doubt that slightly loosened child-rearing responsibilities. The “Greatest Generation” was about to unwittingly unleash tectonic cultural changes that would be expressed throughout the lives of the Baby Boomers.

The winds of the same post-modern thinking were gleefully fanned by the media, 1960s activists, the entertainment industry and politicians. Accordingly, generations following the Boomers have been increasingly compromised and their march to maturity largely disabled, because parents cannot teach their children concepts they do not know or understand themselves.

In a recent well-researched book, Diana West observed that America has become a culture of perpetual adolescence. We have replaced anchor-like virtues with slippery values, based on situational ethics. America has become a, “culture that has perpetuated and enshrined immaturity for more than a half century,” and, “…the civilization that forever dodges maturity will never live to a ripe old age.” Mike Males forcefully adds that, “The deterioration in middle-aged adult behavior has driven virtually every major American social problem over the past 25 years.”

Today, the so-called elite and many parents view the universe in strictly physical terms. As such, ordinary thinking is dominated by impersonal practical considerations (utilitarian, logic). Purposeful (spiritual) and principled (emotional) influences have been routinely torpedoed by evolution, science, the media, Hollywood, and many politicians. The results are evidenced by extreme political correctness, escalating cultural chaos, and the movement to “control” thought by defining “hate speech” and “hate crimes,” then rendering both unlawful.

A remedy, offered in future blogs, requires recognizing the role of Judeo-Christian tradition in the development of the greatest country and culture in recorded history, a culture envied the world over for the best quality-of-life and the highest standard-of-living ever achieved, and restore that tradition to prominence. Judge Robert Bork advises that “Religion must be recaptured church by church; and education, university by university; school board by school board.” Over two centuries ago, William Penn maintained, “Those people who are not ruled by God will be governed by tyrants.” Founder John Adams agreed, “We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion…”

So…What happened to the Baby Boomers? What constituted the perfect storm that collapsed a national culture in such an incredibly short time? That will be the topic of a future blog. Meanwhile, what do YOU think?

On April 1, 2015 By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn Abortion, American Culture, Baby Boomers, Education, Entertainment, Family, Freedom, God's Love, Government, Homemaker, Judeo-Christian Culture, Love, Marriage, Science10 Comments

“…the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight.” I Corinthians 3:19 NIV

Baby Boomers Gave Us the Greatest Cultural Collapse in History!

On March 27, 2015 By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn Abortion, American Culture, Baby Boomers, Family, Government, Judeo-Christian Culture, Marriage7 Comments

The widely acclaimed “Greatest Generation,” those that came of age during the 1930s and 1940s are often and rightfully praised for the sacrifices they made throughout the Great Depression and World War II, their firmly held values, and the quiet unobtrusive way they conducted their post-WWII lives.

However, the subsequent Baby Boom Generation (born between 1946 and 1964) emerged as the most selfish, self-indulgent, self-absorbed, irresponsible generation in the history of America and exhibited the greatest example of generational groupthink in history. The following account is not intended to point a finger or condemn an entire generation, but rather to provoke thoughtful consideration and meaningful discussion.

The Baby Boomers presided over the fastest and greatest cultural collapse in history. It was the Baby Boomers who gave us:

Woodstock
Much of the chaos of the 1960s
Replacement of love with lust
Abandonment of personal responsibility
An erosion of fundamental values
Explosion of abortions
Skyrocketing divorce rates
Splintering of the family
Alternative lifestyles that undermine and devalue the family
Widespread “dumping” of children into day care centers
Children to be raised by strangers
Large-scale shuffling of parents or other inconvenient loved ones perceived as less than whole to adult day care centers or nursing homes
Substantial concentrations of politicians and journalists of low character
People in Hollywood and on television who used their God-given creative talents to tear people down, rather than build them up
Multiculturalism that creates barriers to communications and relationships
Deterioration of the school systems
Removal of morality and religion and from public discourse
Separation of rights from responsibilities, exhibited by pushing the Bill of Rights to absurd extremes that ultimately lead to anarchy
Extreme political correctness, which stifles communication and the growth of meaningful relationships
By far, the greatest national debt in history imposing a bone-crushing burden on our children and grandchildren
Over-zealous government regulations that invade virtually every area of life
A malignant national government that makes god-like decisions, ranging from life/death to a limitless array of minutiae

God says, “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] Whose responsibility is it to “train up a child”? Day care centers and the schools cannot do it; at best, they are geared to educating the intellect. The churches cannot do it in only a few hours per week. Only the parents can do it!

Yet, many of the Baby Boomers effectively abandoned their single most important responsibility, raising godly children. Instead, the Boomers turned their children over to strangers to be raised. In the Boomers’ view, their personal desires trumped the needs of their children.

The Baby Boomers’ careers, recreational, and other self-interests trumped everything. Do not mess with the Boomers or disrupt their golf game, tennis match, hunting trip, fishing trip, career plans or anything else that they want. In addition, their sheer numbers enable them to demand and get virtually anything they want when they want it. Of course, there are exceptions. There are a minority of Boomers who determined early in life that they would live their lives according to God’s purpose and plan. God always has a remnant. [Romans 9:27 KJV]

The Baby Boomers notable successes are mainly intellectual and include people like Bill Gates and other high technology leaders. However, the magnetically powerful effect of the intellectual achievements has all too often crowded out the emotional and spiritual influences that give life its richness as intended by the Creator. Despite the enormous importance and usefulness of high technology it has had the unfortunate and perhaps unintended consequence of progressively isolating individuals.

A walk down virtually any street, through any mall, or through any airport quickly reveals that nearly everyone is plugged into some electronic device and therefore unavailable for even casual conversation much less thoughtful engagement. The Bible says that, “I come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly” [John 10:10 KJV].

The abundant life lies in the richness of interpersonal relationships, beginning with the family. God seldom rewards the accumulation of “stuff,” but always rewards relationships when they are given a selfless priority. Yet, the “gift” of technology has all too often become a barrier to communications and the growth of interpersonal relationships. Indeed, the Boomer-spawned culture continues the relentless pursuit of stuff at the expense of relationships.

What do YOU think?

The Family is Rock Solid!

On March 13, 2015 By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn American Culture, Education, Family, Freedom, God's Love, Homemaker, Judeo-Christian Culture, Love7 Comments

The family is rock solid. Don’t miss out! The traditional family is one of the most awesome, breathtaking, and vitally important of all of God’s magnificent creations! Here’s why:

God’s plan 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 plan facilitates the 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 plan 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 plan ultimately leaves the greatest of all possible legacies.

The family aligned with God’s plan is the married couple’s gift back to God.

The family aligned with God’s plan inspires frequent, comfortable, and nonthreatening opportunities for faith sharing.

The driving passion for the family visualized in God’s plan is the aggregate of:

Gratitude for the Lord’s personally expressed infinite love.
Desire to express that gratitude by serving Him and others as a way of life.
Desire to be a conduit of His love to succeeding generations by embedding His love and character in the next generation’s children.

Anything that erodes family culture absolutely and irretrievably undermines national culture, at first weakening it and ultimately annihilating it. No culture has ever survived the breakdown of the family. Ours won’t either. It’s up to YOU to save America and the family. What do you think?

Dad and Mom Are Superheroes

On February 18, 2015 By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn American Culture, Family, God's Love, Homemaker, Judeo-Christian Culture, Love4 Comments

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 everything. 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. In essence, 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.

The complementary responsibilities of the husband/father and the wife/mother are awesome and readily illustrated by The Cross of Family Life, which of course resembles the iconic ancient cross used for crucifixion. Although the old Roman cross was a notorious instrument of extreme torture and ultimate sacrifice, for Christians it is also a symbol of incomparable love. The Lord’s amazing self-sacrifice was an expression of his infinite love for all mankind for all time. Similarly, The Cross of Family Life is a representation of the parents’ many daily sacrifices as an expression of their love. As an expression of God’s infinite love, Dad and Mom routinely set aside their own desires as an expression of love for each other, the children, and the larger culture.

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 bear The Cross of Family Life, 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 was more important than anything else I could have been doing during that time. It was a monumentally life-changing experience that 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!

All Love Comes from God

On February 14, 2015 By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn American Culture, Family, God's Love, Judeo-Christian Culture, Love2 Comments

Significant spiritual growth occurs only to the extent that a Judeo-Christian believer routinely serves the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of others thus growing in the character, by becoming increasingly humble, forgiving, merciful, longsuffering, and serving. That is God’s will for YOUR life.

As a child, did you ever play with a glass prism? It is a small wedge-shaped piece of glass with two triangular sides and three rectangular sides (one is the base). When sunlight or white light from any source is passed through the prism, the light is separated into its components revealing all the colors of the rainbow.

Scientists have demonstrated that all physical energy originates from the sun. Fossil fuels, for example, were once plants that absorbed solar energy through a process called photosynthesis. The plants used the energy from sunlight to combine water and carbon dioxide, producing glucose (a form of sugar) and oxygen. Large masses of dead plants exposed to elevated temperatures and pressures deep within the earth eventually became the crude oil and natural gas that are burned today to produce energy. Even the energy that supports our own life arises from the plants we eat or the animals we eat that have themselves fed on plants. Hence, we “burn calories” to release the energy that supports all body functions.

In contrast, love is spiritual energy. Just as the sun is the source of all physical energy, God is the source of all spiritual energy, because “…God is love…” [1 John 4:16 KJV] and “…love comes from God. [1 John 4:7 NIV] Similarly as light (physical/electromagnetic energy) is separated into its influences—a rainbow of colors—when the light passes through a glass prism, God’s love (spiritual energy) is separated into its influences when it passes through the prism of you and me.

The graphic shows how God’s infinite love is expressed through people. 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. Multiple actions that spread God’s love in turn produce the fruit of that Spirit of giving, including love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Sadly, the prism of our life is not as clear as the glass prism we played with children. The prism of your life and mine is a bit fogged by the pride that becomes a barrier to the free flow of God’s love through us. That pride is our insistence on doing things our way instead of God’s way; it’s our personal war with God. It is pride that interferes with or obstructs efforts or even desire to be humble, forgiving, merciful, longsuffering, and having a servant’s spirit. Maturity is a lifelong process of overcoming pride. It is as if we hear God saying, “Get you pride out of the way and let My love pass through!” What do you think?