Monday, October 24, 2016
Pray Strategically For Specific Individuals In High Places
Here is a note I wrote on my Facebook Page, 'Pray for the church and Pray for the country'. Someone recommended that I put it into a blog, so here you go!
We need to be praying for our nation, obviously, but, how can we pray more specifically, and even more, how can we pray in detail for people/situations without being 'judgmental'. This is something I have struggled with for years, and I know others do as well.
There is a network of people who plan to expand our government and ultimately take away the freedoms of the people. This is how communism always started as well as other tyrannical governments. The people were entertained with other things and didn't pay attention to what was going on in the political world. Now, many are paying attention but it seems like it is too late or too hard for any change to come about.
We can pray for everyone to come to know the Lord. But even better than that, we can pray specifically for people we know to come to know the Lord. I think this applies to the political world as well. We can pray for peace in our nation, and that our leaders will make wise decisions, but, if we have a chaotic leadership, can that happen?
Maybe if we pray prayers like those in the Psalms, that would be effective. Perhaps if we prayed for specific people, God would work either to redeem those people or to stop them in their evil agenda.
So, let's pray for people by name, and situations as well, that God will intervene and show His mighty power. Our futures are at stake as well as the futures of our children, grandchildren, and other descendants.
Put in the comment box any names that come to mind and if you have any prayer leadings for these people, please put those as well.
Sunday, October 16, 2016
Which Is More Important; Politics Or My Relationship With God
Somehow, during this particular election season, I am finding it easy to become distracted. It is way too easy to get wrapped up in politics and forget about the things that are important.
I am an analytical type of person and I try to make everything fit into a logical equation. I find myself studying what the politicians are saying, what the media is saying, and how everyone is thinking on the issues of the day, yet, these issues are becoming more important to me than studying Scriptures.
We can spend hours analyzing the whole political realm in every way possible, yet, miss the whole point of why we are here.
I think it is time to go back to spending time with God and listening to what He says about life. I am not saying we should ignore what is going on in the elections or in politics, but I think we need to be careful to not become wrapped up in it.
In life, something will always captivate us. God wants us to be captivated by Him. He wants us to build our relationship with Him, and not lose sight of who He is. I know for me, I need to pull back on the time I spend watching or listening to the news and concentrate on the things that are important.
We can't do anything now about the elections. We have two candidates running and one of them will be elected to the office of president. We need to be praying for our country, and especially for our local churches. We need to be praying for the body of Christ in this country.
If you are one to share the Gospel message with people, you will quickly see that there are other Gospels out there that are not the right one. They might not be blatantly wrong either. With the philosophy of our culture mixed with a weak Gospel, we have many confused on what God is saying to the church in this country.
If our churches are healthy and the people are growing spiritually, it will be reflected in our society. But when there are people who will argue with you about how God is all loving and all forgiving while they sleep around or have an abortion, the church is not healthy. We need help. We need to turn to the true and living God on His terms, not on ours.
This is why we need to be praying for our churches and for our country. God changes things when we pray. He will either change circumstances or He will change us, and we will become conformed to the image of Christ, which is beautiful in His sight.
I am an analytical type of person and I try to make everything fit into a logical equation. I find myself studying what the politicians are saying, what the media is saying, and how everyone is thinking on the issues of the day, yet, these issues are becoming more important to me than studying Scriptures.
We can spend hours analyzing the whole political realm in every way possible, yet, miss the whole point of why we are here.
I think it is time to go back to spending time with God and listening to what He says about life. I am not saying we should ignore what is going on in the elections or in politics, but I think we need to be careful to not become wrapped up in it.
In life, something will always captivate us. God wants us to be captivated by Him. He wants us to build our relationship with Him, and not lose sight of who He is. I know for me, I need to pull back on the time I spend watching or listening to the news and concentrate on the things that are important.
We can't do anything now about the elections. We have two candidates running and one of them will be elected to the office of president. We need to be praying for our country, and especially for our local churches. We need to be praying for the body of Christ in this country.
If you are one to share the Gospel message with people, you will quickly see that there are other Gospels out there that are not the right one. They might not be blatantly wrong either. With the philosophy of our culture mixed with a weak Gospel, we have many confused on what God is saying to the church in this country.
If our churches are healthy and the people are growing spiritually, it will be reflected in our society. But when there are people who will argue with you about how God is all loving and all forgiving while they sleep around or have an abortion, the church is not healthy. We need help. We need to turn to the true and living God on His terms, not on ours.
This is why we need to be praying for our churches and for our country. God changes things when we pray. He will either change circumstances or He will change us, and we will become conformed to the image of Christ, which is beautiful in His sight.
Tuesday, October 4, 2016
Why We Are Having A Civil War In America Today
"The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. ThereforeGod sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness." 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 ESV
Why is there so much chaos in our country today? More puzzling, why is our country moving at great speed toward destruction? I think the answer can be found in passages of Scripture, such as the one above.
We live in a time where evil is promoted as good, and good is promoted as evil. Good appears to be too restraining to those who live in darkness.
I ask myself questions like, how can a presidential candidate who is running for office get away with the criminal activity she has committed and, at the same time, be the one who has the highest vote count from those who are likely to vote. Don't people know that this woman is untrustworthy to be our next president?
It is like we live in two different countries, but in the same land. There are those who are older and learned History fairly accurately, and who know the difference between good and evil, light and darkness, and truth and error. But there are those who seem to think that these people are foreign. They have a way of thinking that leads to the belief of entitlement. They would think that those who have convictions of what is wrong are simply being intolerable. Yet, this is the same group of people who claim that people should not be intolerant. Go figure.
So, we have a woman out there who has done actions that would clearly deem her as unfit for a president of the United States. Yet, we have people who want her in. We don't even know for sure, but, there may even be cheating in the voting system that will help her to win the election.
On the other hand, we have a man who has been viciously accused of similar crimes, yet, there is no clear evidence of his actually doing these crimes. For example, he is accused of being a bigot. For the life of me, I could not figure this one out, until I realized that he is being accused of bigotry because he wants to keep illegal immigrants out of the country, and he wants to build a wall so that criminal immigrants can't come in. One of the more recent things I heard him being accused of is that he was wrong to use the word 'bomb' in a New York explosion. It really was a bomb, and the female presidential candidate also used the word 'bomb' as she discussed the issue. But no accusations were sent her way because of using the word 'bomb'. Interesting.
According to society, we can't have boundaries. But those who don't want others to have boundaries, have their own boundaries. If you have boundaries, chances are, they don't think you should. Because your boundaries are crossing over to their boundaries (creating a rule that you shouldn't have boundaries is violating their boundaries!). So, if I know the Bible says that a man cannot be married to another man, and that marriage is made up of one man and one woman, I am crossing over the boundaries of others if I hold to that conviction (even if I do not do anything to harm the gay couple).
You and I can't have boundaries. But those who make up that rule can and do have boundaries. Another perversion that comes from perverted people (perversion is simply saying that what is good is really evil, and what is evil is really good. It is the result of people being turned over by God to their own wickedness).
What is interesting about this is that the woman presidential candidate wants these illegal immigrants to come in and will make laws to enable them to be here. This is another boundary issue that today's culture does not understand, unless, of course, their boundaries are being violated.
If this woman is elected into office, it will help pave the way for those who believe that abortion is acceptable, and that men and women can live together outside of a marriage relationship, and that a man can live with another man and call it a marriage, and that whatever we deem to be inconvenient, we can get rid of, no matter who it hurts or how destructive it is to another person. But, on the other hand, if a person has convictions based upon Scripture, that is a different story. They will need to be done away with, according to those who support this woman presidential candidate.
I am also amazed at how a man who is running against this evil woman is condemned as a criminal and deemed unfit as a potential president of the United States of America. But, on the other hand, why should I be surprised. The media has power and they are part of society that has turned their backs on God and God has turned them over to their wickedness. They can enjoy it now, but they will ultimately perish because of their wickedness unless they repent.
Talking to these people is unproductive. Unless, of course, God is working in any of their hearts. You could say to them, 'the sun is shining' (if it is a sunny day) and they will insist that it is raining. Society has taught them to believe whatever they want to believe, and that is their truth. So, if they want to believe that a marriage made up of two women is good, then you cannot come against what they want to believe in, not even if it is in the Bible. (Did you know that in some states, you cannot counsel a person who is a homosexual from the Bible?)
If our country continues to go in this direction, we can look forward to losing our freedoms. There was an act passed in the 1950's that limits the political activity of churches. It is called the 'Johnson Act'*. The presidential candidate who is being slandered and called by many names unfairly, is going to repeal this act, should he become president. The act was a piece of legislation championed by President Johnson, probably because of the perceived threat from his opponent who was supported by groups such as churches. It was designed to prevent churches and other groups from having the ability to endorse people who are running for whatever political role they are running for.
"For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen." Romans 1:21-25 ESV
So, are we hopeless? We will be hopeless if all we do is complain about how bad things are. Praying sounds so trite. It sound too simple. There must be a more complicated answer than this, many people think.
Praying and fasting are spiritual weapons that we use against the devil and the world. God can do wonderful things if we trust Him for them. We all know that the Bible says that God can move mountains. When we think of those verses though, the Enemy comes in and reminds us of the prayers that God did not seem to answer. Then he says to us, 'if God didn't answer those prayers, how could you expect Him to move mountains?' The devil always lies to us to try to get us to not trust God.
The word of God also is a spiritual weapon against the Enemy. The more we feed upon the word, the more we will know God. The more we know Him, the more we will trust Him. The word of God brings faith to us. Faith is a shield that protects us from the Enemy's darts.
If we look at the Bible, all throughout the Bible, we see God doing wonderful, unbelievable things. But again, we reason within ourselves that God was doing such and such during certain periods of time. He is not doing those things today. The supernatural left us when the Bible was finished, or when the last Apostle died. But does this make sense? All throughout Bible History, God did great exploits for those who believed. In the future, God will be seen in His majesty and those who know Him will be involved as well. But during this time that we call the 'church age', God is silent? Why would God be so powerful for thousands of years, and continue to be powerful throughout eternity, but skip this period of being powerful and majestic that we live in?
Could it be that we have been duped by the devil? Remember, he is crafty and will shoot us with arrows that are specifically designed to destroy us and our faith and trust in God. We need to go back to the word of God and be praying for our country, for our families, for our churches and pastors, for our neighbors and co workers, for our relatives and friends, for those who are being held hostage, and for the lost who are continuing to go to their destruction.
It's time to 'pray for the church and pray for the country'. No more listening to the lies of the Enemy, whatever they are that he wants us to believe.
* http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/jul/22/donald-trump/donald-trump-correct-lyndon-johnson-passed-legisla/
What is interesting about this is that the woman presidential candidate wants these illegal immigrants to come in and will make laws to enable them to be here. This is another boundary issue that today's culture does not understand, unless, of course, their boundaries are being violated.
If this woman is elected into office, it will help pave the way for those who believe that abortion is acceptable, and that men and women can live together outside of a marriage relationship, and that a man can live with another man and call it a marriage, and that whatever we deem to be inconvenient, we can get rid of, no matter who it hurts or how destructive it is to another person. But, on the other hand, if a person has convictions based upon Scripture, that is a different story. They will need to be done away with, according to those who support this woman presidential candidate.
I am also amazed at how a man who is running against this evil woman is condemned as a criminal and deemed unfit as a potential president of the United States of America. But, on the other hand, why should I be surprised. The media has power and they are part of society that has turned their backs on God and God has turned them over to their wickedness. They can enjoy it now, but they will ultimately perish because of their wickedness unless they repent.
Talking to these people is unproductive. Unless, of course, God is working in any of their hearts. You could say to them, 'the sun is shining' (if it is a sunny day) and they will insist that it is raining. Society has taught them to believe whatever they want to believe, and that is their truth. So, if they want to believe that a marriage made up of two women is good, then you cannot come against what they want to believe in, not even if it is in the Bible. (Did you know that in some states, you cannot counsel a person who is a homosexual from the Bible?)
If our country continues to go in this direction, we can look forward to losing our freedoms. There was an act passed in the 1950's that limits the political activity of churches. It is called the 'Johnson Act'*. The presidential candidate who is being slandered and called by many names unfairly, is going to repeal this act, should he become president. The act was a piece of legislation championed by President Johnson, probably because of the perceived threat from his opponent who was supported by groups such as churches. It was designed to prevent churches and other groups from having the ability to endorse people who are running for whatever political role they are running for.
"For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen." Romans 1:21-25 ESV
So, are we hopeless? We will be hopeless if all we do is complain about how bad things are. Praying sounds so trite. It sound too simple. There must be a more complicated answer than this, many people think.
Praying and fasting are spiritual weapons that we use against the devil and the world. God can do wonderful things if we trust Him for them. We all know that the Bible says that God can move mountains. When we think of those verses though, the Enemy comes in and reminds us of the prayers that God did not seem to answer. Then he says to us, 'if God didn't answer those prayers, how could you expect Him to move mountains?' The devil always lies to us to try to get us to not trust God.
The word of God also is a spiritual weapon against the Enemy. The more we feed upon the word, the more we will know God. The more we know Him, the more we will trust Him. The word of God brings faith to us. Faith is a shield that protects us from the Enemy's darts.
If we look at the Bible, all throughout the Bible, we see God doing wonderful, unbelievable things. But again, we reason within ourselves that God was doing such and such during certain periods of time. He is not doing those things today. The supernatural left us when the Bible was finished, or when the last Apostle died. But does this make sense? All throughout Bible History, God did great exploits for those who believed. In the future, God will be seen in His majesty and those who know Him will be involved as well. But during this time that we call the 'church age', God is silent? Why would God be so powerful for thousands of years, and continue to be powerful throughout eternity, but skip this period of being powerful and majestic that we live in?
Could it be that we have been duped by the devil? Remember, he is crafty and will shoot us with arrows that are specifically designed to destroy us and our faith and trust in God. We need to go back to the word of God and be praying for our country, for our families, for our churches and pastors, for our neighbors and co workers, for our relatives and friends, for those who are being held hostage, and for the lost who are continuing to go to their destruction.
It's time to 'pray for the church and pray for the country'. No more listening to the lies of the Enemy, whatever they are that he wants us to believe.
* http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/jul/22/donald-trump/donald-trump-correct-lyndon-johnson-passed-legisla/
Tuesday, September 20, 2016
Similarities Between An Old President And Our Current President
With All the elections coming up, our focus naturally is on the condition of our country, which leads me to look at America's History. The History of this country is not a bed of roses either.
I am amazed at something I am reading about tonight. I decided to look up the story of the 'Trail of Tears'. Sadly, I had only heard of this, and many times, because it is a reference given by those who want to make sure that everyone knows that our country did not start because Godly people were running our nation.
The reason I am posting this is because in reading about this Historical event, I have learned that there were similarities of that event compared with what we are going through today, during this presidential campaign.
I know very little about Andrew Jackson. I thought I had heard that he was a Christian, but maybe it was someone else. In reading this article, I am seeing that this man was very cruel. He was in charge of the event of the 'Indian-Removal' Act which led to the 'Trail of Tears' where many Indians died as they were forced to move away from their land.
There were many states which joined together to get the Indians to move out of the land they were living on. The reason was due to the fact the the white people wanted the Indian's land, and so they worked together to make laws to get the Indians out. But the Supreme Court objected, at least in the cases in a couple of states. Nevertheless, the Federal Government got its way, and President Jackson disregarded the Supreme Court's decisions.
What kind of a man was President Jackson? Would we have voted him into office if he were running today? According to a Wikipedia article, Jackson killed a man in a duel over his wife, Rachel. He owned hundreds of slaves who worked on the Hermitage Plantation. His decision to invade the Seminole territory in Florida led directly to the First Seminole War, which resulted in Florida being taken away from Spain. He lost in the House of Representatives and blamed the loss on a 'corrupt bargain' between Adams and Henry Clay. Interestingly, he was the one who started the Democratic party.
We tend to think of Early America as a nice nation started by Christian people who loved and feared God, but, it must not have been so, or at least in part.
The reason I am writing this is actually as an encouragement. If this is true about this time in American History, then our country was in trouble even back then. God has been merciful to us as a nation, and we should be thankful for that. We should be taking advantage of the freedom we do have as a people. We should be using this season of our lives for sharing the Gospel and making God's name known in truth.
We have a lot of problems in our country today. This is why we need to be praying for our churches and for our country. May God make us to be the people of God He wants us to be. May our churches be filled with the love of God for each other and for the lost. We can pray for the church in America and for our country to turn back to God.
Throughout History, there is always this cycle where God blesses a people. The people enjoy God's blessings, then, they forget about God. They become full and aren't hungry for God anymore, so they start looking for other things to fulfill them. Eventually, they worship the creature rather than the Creator, then God withdraws His blessings and people suffer. Now we are in a time where many have hardened their hearts against God, and refuse to be saved. God has turned them over to believe the lie. Many in our society are living in a world of lies.
The answer lies in us. We need to be changed by God's power. Then our churches will become vibrant. They will be lights in the darkened communities around them. The standard of right and wrong, good and evil, light and darkness, and truth and error will become evident once again.
"If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, then will I hear from heaven and forgive their sin, and heal their land" applies to Israel, but, there is truth in it for us as well. Whenever we turn to God in repentance and faith, He will turn to us. Our land could be healed if we turn to God. If we pray for ourselves to change, and we pray for our churches, and for our country, God will help us. We need to act on this though, and not just store it in our heads.
Resources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Jackson
http://www.history.com/topics/native-american-history/trail-of-tears
I am amazed at something I am reading about tonight. I decided to look up the story of the 'Trail of Tears'. Sadly, I had only heard of this, and many times, because it is a reference given by those who want to make sure that everyone knows that our country did not start because Godly people were running our nation.
The reason I am posting this is because in reading about this Historical event, I have learned that there were similarities of that event compared with what we are going through today, during this presidential campaign.
I know very little about Andrew Jackson. I thought I had heard that he was a Christian, but maybe it was someone else. In reading this article, I am seeing that this man was very cruel. He was in charge of the event of the 'Indian-Removal' Act which led to the 'Trail of Tears' where many Indians died as they were forced to move away from their land.
There were many states which joined together to get the Indians to move out of the land they were living on. The reason was due to the fact the the white people wanted the Indian's land, and so they worked together to make laws to get the Indians out. But the Supreme Court objected, at least in the cases in a couple of states. Nevertheless, the Federal Government got its way, and President Jackson disregarded the Supreme Court's decisions.
What kind of a man was President Jackson? Would we have voted him into office if he were running today? According to a Wikipedia article, Jackson killed a man in a duel over his wife, Rachel. He owned hundreds of slaves who worked on the Hermitage Plantation. His decision to invade the Seminole territory in Florida led directly to the First Seminole War, which resulted in Florida being taken away from Spain. He lost in the House of Representatives and blamed the loss on a 'corrupt bargain' between Adams and Henry Clay. Interestingly, he was the one who started the Democratic party.
We tend to think of Early America as a nice nation started by Christian people who loved and feared God, but, it must not have been so, or at least in part.
The reason I am writing this is actually as an encouragement. If this is true about this time in American History, then our country was in trouble even back then. God has been merciful to us as a nation, and we should be thankful for that. We should be taking advantage of the freedom we do have as a people. We should be using this season of our lives for sharing the Gospel and making God's name known in truth.
We have a lot of problems in our country today. This is why we need to be praying for our churches and for our country. May God make us to be the people of God He wants us to be. May our churches be filled with the love of God for each other and for the lost. We can pray for the church in America and for our country to turn back to God.
Throughout History, there is always this cycle where God blesses a people. The people enjoy God's blessings, then, they forget about God. They become full and aren't hungry for God anymore, so they start looking for other things to fulfill them. Eventually, they worship the creature rather than the Creator, then God withdraws His blessings and people suffer. Now we are in a time where many have hardened their hearts against God, and refuse to be saved. God has turned them over to believe the lie. Many in our society are living in a world of lies.
The answer lies in us. We need to be changed by God's power. Then our churches will become vibrant. They will be lights in the darkened communities around them. The standard of right and wrong, good and evil, light and darkness, and truth and error will become evident once again.
"If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, then will I hear from heaven and forgive their sin, and heal their land" applies to Israel, but, there is truth in it for us as well. Whenever we turn to God in repentance and faith, He will turn to us. Our land could be healed if we turn to God. If we pray for ourselves to change, and we pray for our churches, and for our country, God will help us. We need to act on this though, and not just store it in our heads.
Resources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Jackson
http://www.history.com/topics/native-american-history/trail-of-tears
Sunday, September 18, 2016
When Did We Drop The Ball?
As you know, unless you have been in hiding for the last 25 years or so, our nation has had a drastic moral change. Do you ever wonder why?
We are all familiar with the saying, 'All that is necessary for evil to triumph, is for good men to do nothing.' We also know that when our nation started, those who founded our country were God-fearing people.
The Pilgrims came over in 1620 to be able to have religious freedom. Many of them died the first year, but no one went back to England. Then the Puritans came over a little later. Along with the good, came the bad also. Others came into the country to find gold. Many of them did not stay though, or they didn't last very long.
How did we get to where we are today, in our nation? This country became great and God blessed us mightily. But today, we see a different standard than the one that our country started with. Today, many do not fear God, nor do they even seem to have any idea of who He is or what He is like. The Bible is treated with skepticism. Christianity is made fun of, and the Gospel is watered down in many pulpits (or completely ignored).
I don't know everything about the History of this country, but I am aware of a couple of things that happened, that probably affected our nation and made it the way it is today.
In the 1850's, for example, the church turned away from doing any kind of Biblical counseling. Up to that point, people looked to the church for help, but, the church didn't want to help people anymore. Thus, the reason for the whole branch of medicine called 'Psychiatry'. Sigmund Freud and others rose to the occasion and provided the answers, supposedly, to man's dilemma in relation to people's mental well being and relational/emotional health.
But something else happened too, around that time. The church also looked down on those who were sick. Those in the church believed that people got sick because of their sin. The church was comprised of mostly middle class people who could afford medical help. To those who had no access to any kind of medical help (the poor and needy?), too bad. They were considered 'sinners' by the church and were shunned. (For more information on this topic, read David Powlison's book, 'The Biblical Counseling Movement' The Biblical Counseling Movement: History and Context
*
In 'Hell's Best Kept Secret', Ray Comfort talks about how the Gospel was watered down at the turn of the 19th Century https://www.livingwaters.com/pdf/HellsBestKeptSecret.pdf. In The Truth Project, we learned about how some of the older colleges were started by Godly men, yet, somewhere down the road, they began to allow evolutionists to lead the schools. Today, these schools are far from representing Biblical Christianity.
In the 1960s, Madalyn Murray O'Hair made up a case and took it to the Supreme Court. She was successful in getting prayer out of schools, and also the idea of 'separation of church and state' became known. Separation of church and state was coined by Thomas Jefferson in a letter to Danbury Baptist Church when they were concerned that the government could come in and interfere with the church. Remember when the Pilgrims came over? They came to America to escape the rulership of a king of their country also ruling the church. Kings should not be ruling the church. Pastors shepherd churches. Kings don't. Or at least they are not supposed to. That is the correct understanding of separation of church and state. But Madalyn Murray O'Hair took her made up case of separation of church and state to the Supreme Court and won. How could she have won? It was because those in the church did not stand up for the truth. They were ignorant of the origins of this country and probably really didn't care. Whatever will be, will be, they must have been thinking.
All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing (Edmund Burke). That is exactly what happened when Madalyn Murray O'Hair did her thing in the 1960s. The church didn't care. No one looked at the bigger picture. On top of that, by that time, much of the church had been watered down. No wonder the course of our nation is going in the direction it is going in.
http://www.beliefnet.com/faiths/secular-philosophies/who-was-madalyn-murray-ohair.aspx
Are we surprised by all this? We shouldn't be. We should be concerned about whether people really do know the Lord or not. What kind of a Gospel message have many professing Christians been told? Were they told to ask Jesus into their hearts? Were they told to raise their hand or go down to the front of the auditorium? Maybe someone encouraged them to 'make a decision for Christ'?
There is a cost to our relationship with God. Salvation is free and is provided through the Cross of Jesus Christ. But have we let go of our sinful ways, or do we just think that God is all-loving and all-forgiving while we go on living for ourselves?
Yes, there is a correlation between the evil path our nation is going on today, and the fact that the church did nothing to respond to evil in the past (except participate in it). But there is hope. God is calling us to unite together, to pray, to grow together as believers in Christ, to love one another, to preach the Gospel and disciple men and women, and to stand up for the truth. Although it will be a lot of work, and will take much faith, I believe we can still turn this nation around and we can be instruments of righteousness in God's hands.
There is hope and our hope is in God. Our relationship with God starts with us, then the church, then society. When the church is healthy, society will reflect that. Society will be affected by the church. When the church is affected by society, something is wrong. When the church is healthy, society will become healthier. Then, God-fearing leaders will be raised up and leading our nation. The destiny of our nation starts here. What will we do in response to this?
*An Amazon Affiliate link. Thanks for your support.
We are all familiar with the saying, 'All that is necessary for evil to triumph, is for good men to do nothing.' We also know that when our nation started, those who founded our country were God-fearing people.
The Pilgrims came over in 1620 to be able to have religious freedom. Many of them died the first year, but no one went back to England. Then the Puritans came over a little later. Along with the good, came the bad also. Others came into the country to find gold. Many of them did not stay though, or they didn't last very long.
How did we get to where we are today, in our nation? This country became great and God blessed us mightily. But today, we see a different standard than the one that our country started with. Today, many do not fear God, nor do they even seem to have any idea of who He is or what He is like. The Bible is treated with skepticism. Christianity is made fun of, and the Gospel is watered down in many pulpits (or completely ignored).
I don't know everything about the History of this country, but I am aware of a couple of things that happened, that probably affected our nation and made it the way it is today.
In the 1850's, for example, the church turned away from doing any kind of Biblical counseling. Up to that point, people looked to the church for help, but, the church didn't want to help people anymore. Thus, the reason for the whole branch of medicine called 'Psychiatry'. Sigmund Freud and others rose to the occasion and provided the answers, supposedly, to man's dilemma in relation to people's mental well being and relational/emotional health.
But something else happened too, around that time. The church also looked down on those who were sick. Those in the church believed that people got sick because of their sin. The church was comprised of mostly middle class people who could afford medical help. To those who had no access to any kind of medical help (the poor and needy?), too bad. They were considered 'sinners' by the church and were shunned. (For more information on this topic, read David Powlison's book, 'The Biblical Counseling Movement' The Biblical Counseling Movement: History and Context
*In 'Hell's Best Kept Secret', Ray Comfort talks about how the Gospel was watered down at the turn of the 19th Century https://www.livingwaters.com/pdf/HellsBestKeptSecret.pdf. In The Truth Project, we learned about how some of the older colleges were started by Godly men, yet, somewhere down the road, they began to allow evolutionists to lead the schools. Today, these schools are far from representing Biblical Christianity.
In the 1960s, Madalyn Murray O'Hair made up a case and took it to the Supreme Court. She was successful in getting prayer out of schools, and also the idea of 'separation of church and state' became known. Separation of church and state was coined by Thomas Jefferson in a letter to Danbury Baptist Church when they were concerned that the government could come in and interfere with the church. Remember when the Pilgrims came over? They came to America to escape the rulership of a king of their country also ruling the church. Kings should not be ruling the church. Pastors shepherd churches. Kings don't. Or at least they are not supposed to. That is the correct understanding of separation of church and state. But Madalyn Murray O'Hair took her made up case of separation of church and state to the Supreme Court and won. How could she have won? It was because those in the church did not stand up for the truth. They were ignorant of the origins of this country and probably really didn't care. Whatever will be, will be, they must have been thinking.
All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing (Edmund Burke). That is exactly what happened when Madalyn Murray O'Hair did her thing in the 1960s. The church didn't care. No one looked at the bigger picture. On top of that, by that time, much of the church had been watered down. No wonder the course of our nation is going in the direction it is going in.
http://www.beliefnet.com/faiths/secular-philosophies/who-was-madalyn-murray-ohair.aspx
Are we surprised by all this? We shouldn't be. We should be concerned about whether people really do know the Lord or not. What kind of a Gospel message have many professing Christians been told? Were they told to ask Jesus into their hearts? Were they told to raise their hand or go down to the front of the auditorium? Maybe someone encouraged them to 'make a decision for Christ'?
There is a cost to our relationship with God. Salvation is free and is provided through the Cross of Jesus Christ. But have we let go of our sinful ways, or do we just think that God is all-loving and all-forgiving while we go on living for ourselves?
Yes, there is a correlation between the evil path our nation is going on today, and the fact that the church did nothing to respond to evil in the past (except participate in it). But there is hope. God is calling us to unite together, to pray, to grow together as believers in Christ, to love one another, to preach the Gospel and disciple men and women, and to stand up for the truth. Although it will be a lot of work, and will take much faith, I believe we can still turn this nation around and we can be instruments of righteousness in God's hands.
There is hope and our hope is in God. Our relationship with God starts with us, then the church, then society. When the church is healthy, society will reflect that. Society will be affected by the church. When the church is affected by society, something is wrong. When the church is healthy, society will become healthier. Then, God-fearing leaders will be raised up and leading our nation. The destiny of our nation starts here. What will we do in response to this?
*An Amazon Affiliate link. Thanks for your support.
Saturday, September 3, 2016
Man Gives Birth To Baby And Nurses His Baby Too!
OK, I have seen a lot of strange things that have happened recently, but I have to admit, this is probably the strangest of all.
It was a picture of a man breastfeeding a baby! According to the article, which was written by one of 'his' sisters, the man was a 'trans' as he called himself. He was born female, with female organs and all, given a female name, and raised as a little girl. When he was sixteen years old, he came out of the closet and identified himself as a man. (I am using male gender terms loosely here).
The man (really a woman filled with male hormones) always wanted to have a baby. I don't think this man had sexual organ transplants or surgeries, but if you were to look at him, he certainly looks like a man! That, of course, is due to the male hormones he was given. He stopped taking the male hormones in order to get pregnant, which happened twice. The first pregnancy miscarried, the second was full term. And now he is 'chest-feeding' his baby (even though the picture shows a full sized breast with a baby nursing).
The article was long, so I didn't read the entirety of it. You can read it for yourself here: http://time.com/4475634/trans-man-pregnancy-evan/
My point is not to make much of this article though. The reason why we are in this situation in the first place is that those at the top of our nation in leadership have chosen to throw God out of this country. But this is not the ultimate problem. The real issue has to do with the condition of the church. What goes on in our society is a reflection of the condition of the church in America.
In the 1960's, a woman named Madeline Murray O'Hare went to the Supreme Court and demanded that God be taken out of our public schools. She was successful in getting the 10 Commandments taken out of the schools, as well as taking prayer out of the school system. What happened? The church was not prepared for this and honestly, I don't think much action was taken. It was like an 'Oh well' situation. Whatever will be, will be. The undiscerning Christian assumed that there was something in the Constitution that had been overlooked all these years, concerning the separation of church and state, and bought into the lie that anything that has to do with God or religion having to stay out of the public school system. There was no fight. There was no battle. The church conceded to the lies of the devil, and evil won. Christians were not alarmed when the Supreme Court decided to take God out of the public school system. No one cared. This is why, I believe, we are in the boat we are in today, especially with immorality issues.
I was in public school in the 1960s and70s. The standard of right and wrong was still intact. Abortions were not legal and many abstained from having sexual relationships outside of marriage. If they did have those relationships and a girl got pregnant, she didn't parade herself around or get an abortion. Many times, the young woman was sent away to live with other relatives until the baby got older.
Today it is different though. Even though God's laws never change, people forget. The standard is now gone, and if a young woman gets pregnant, she has a tough decision to make. She will probably choose to have an abortion and get rid of the evidence. There are greedy people who prey on these young woman and charge a high fee to kill the baby, while consoling her into thinking that God is pleased with the decision she is making to have the abortion.
But it only gets worse. Today, in the church, we have those who actually believe that when Scripture and culture are in disagreement, Scripture has to bow to culture. We have false teachers like Rob Bell teaching this kind of philosophy. They would believe that culture rules and has the final and only authoritative say on any issue.
Fast-forward 30-40 years from when the Bible and prayer were removed from the schools. We now have a generation of people who have some authority in our country, who do not have the wisdom of our forefathers. The fear of God is gone. We are now a nation where everyone does their own thing, and because of technological advances, men can have babies.
Is there any hope for our nation? I do know the answer to this one! Yes, there is hope, but the hope will only come to pass as people are envisioned to share the Gospel message with others. You see, we cannot change our country from the top down. We cannot elect God-fearing men and women into political office today because they are not there. But, we can pray for the church, pray for one another, pray for our pastors, and pray for ourselves, that God will change us and that we will become salt and light in our communities. We can pray for a healthy church in America. Ultimately, that will affect those who lead at the top of our nation.
Our local churches need those who can teach and pastor well. The bickering in the body of Christ in America has to stop. We will never see God move in our midst if we spend our time picking people apart and chasing after false teachers in order to destroy them. In my opinion, this is what the devil wants us to do so that the church will be rendered ineffective.
We have no idea how great and awesome God is. We have a knowledge of His greatness, but we do not have a living experience with the awesome God. We are far too distracted by the Enemy of our souls. We are focusing on the wrong enemy. That is a trick of the devil that he is playing on us, and we don't seem to be discerning enough to catch on.
Do you realize how powerful prayer is? Praying is a spiritual weapon that we can used to fight against the lies and schemes of the Enemy. He will distract us so much that we will not even have time to pray, or we might not think of prayer as significant. Fasting is important as well. Fasting and praying are part of what we do as soldiers in the battle for the souls of men and women, boys and girls.
There are so many things to be praying for. If we don't pray, our country will continue to go downhill. We will lose our freedoms and our children and grandchildren possibly will not even have a church to be part of (unless they meet in secret).
I know many people look at the situations at hand, and basically conclude that the evil around us is just a sign that Jesus is coming back soon. Maybe it is. But keep in mind that with God a day is like a thousand years and vice-versa. We can come up with ideas like Obama being the Anti-Christ and the beast is around the corner. Jesus will probably come back sometime within the next year or coming months.
Jesus will indeed come back again. No question about that. But what if He doesn't come back for another hundred years? Or maybe a couple of hundred years? Will the excuse of not taking responsibility as a soldier of God be worth all the repercussions of the evil we are seeing today and not responding to, down the road? Will our grandchildren and great grandchildren appreciate our apathy and hopelessness during their lifetime in this country or wherever they live? Could we change the course of this nation if we put on the armor of God and stand up for the truth? Could revival come about again in America if we turn back to God in faith and repentance? Could the church shine so bright in this dark and dying world that those who are in utter darkness can see it and be given hope for deliverance and salvation? I believe it can.
It was a picture of a man breastfeeding a baby! According to the article, which was written by one of 'his' sisters, the man was a 'trans' as he called himself. He was born female, with female organs and all, given a female name, and raised as a little girl. When he was sixteen years old, he came out of the closet and identified himself as a man. (I am using male gender terms loosely here).
The man (really a woman filled with male hormones) always wanted to have a baby. I don't think this man had sexual organ transplants or surgeries, but if you were to look at him, he certainly looks like a man! That, of course, is due to the male hormones he was given. He stopped taking the male hormones in order to get pregnant, which happened twice. The first pregnancy miscarried, the second was full term. And now he is 'chest-feeding' his baby (even though the picture shows a full sized breast with a baby nursing).
The article was long, so I didn't read the entirety of it. You can read it for yourself here: http://time.com/4475634/trans-man-pregnancy-evan/
My point is not to make much of this article though. The reason why we are in this situation in the first place is that those at the top of our nation in leadership have chosen to throw God out of this country. But this is not the ultimate problem. The real issue has to do with the condition of the church. What goes on in our society is a reflection of the condition of the church in America.
In the 1960's, a woman named Madeline Murray O'Hare went to the Supreme Court and demanded that God be taken out of our public schools. She was successful in getting the 10 Commandments taken out of the schools, as well as taking prayer out of the school system. What happened? The church was not prepared for this and honestly, I don't think much action was taken. It was like an 'Oh well' situation. Whatever will be, will be. The undiscerning Christian assumed that there was something in the Constitution that had been overlooked all these years, concerning the separation of church and state, and bought into the lie that anything that has to do with God or religion having to stay out of the public school system. There was no fight. There was no battle. The church conceded to the lies of the devil, and evil won. Christians were not alarmed when the Supreme Court decided to take God out of the public school system. No one cared. This is why, I believe, we are in the boat we are in today, especially with immorality issues.
I was in public school in the 1960s and70s. The standard of right and wrong was still intact. Abortions were not legal and many abstained from having sexual relationships outside of marriage. If they did have those relationships and a girl got pregnant, she didn't parade herself around or get an abortion. Many times, the young woman was sent away to live with other relatives until the baby got older.
Today it is different though. Even though God's laws never change, people forget. The standard is now gone, and if a young woman gets pregnant, she has a tough decision to make. She will probably choose to have an abortion and get rid of the evidence. There are greedy people who prey on these young woman and charge a high fee to kill the baby, while consoling her into thinking that God is pleased with the decision she is making to have the abortion.
But it only gets worse. Today, in the church, we have those who actually believe that when Scripture and culture are in disagreement, Scripture has to bow to culture. We have false teachers like Rob Bell teaching this kind of philosophy. They would believe that culture rules and has the final and only authoritative say on any issue.
Fast-forward 30-40 years from when the Bible and prayer were removed from the schools. We now have a generation of people who have some authority in our country, who do not have the wisdom of our forefathers. The fear of God is gone. We are now a nation where everyone does their own thing, and because of technological advances, men can have babies.
Is there any hope for our nation? I do know the answer to this one! Yes, there is hope, but the hope will only come to pass as people are envisioned to share the Gospel message with others. You see, we cannot change our country from the top down. We cannot elect God-fearing men and women into political office today because they are not there. But, we can pray for the church, pray for one another, pray for our pastors, and pray for ourselves, that God will change us and that we will become salt and light in our communities. We can pray for a healthy church in America. Ultimately, that will affect those who lead at the top of our nation.
Our local churches need those who can teach and pastor well. The bickering in the body of Christ in America has to stop. We will never see God move in our midst if we spend our time picking people apart and chasing after false teachers in order to destroy them. In my opinion, this is what the devil wants us to do so that the church will be rendered ineffective.
We have no idea how great and awesome God is. We have a knowledge of His greatness, but we do not have a living experience with the awesome God. We are far too distracted by the Enemy of our souls. We are focusing on the wrong enemy. That is a trick of the devil that he is playing on us, and we don't seem to be discerning enough to catch on.
Do you realize how powerful prayer is? Praying is a spiritual weapon that we can used to fight against the lies and schemes of the Enemy. He will distract us so much that we will not even have time to pray, or we might not think of prayer as significant. Fasting is important as well. Fasting and praying are part of what we do as soldiers in the battle for the souls of men and women, boys and girls.
There are so many things to be praying for. If we don't pray, our country will continue to go downhill. We will lose our freedoms and our children and grandchildren possibly will not even have a church to be part of (unless they meet in secret).
I know many people look at the situations at hand, and basically conclude that the evil around us is just a sign that Jesus is coming back soon. Maybe it is. But keep in mind that with God a day is like a thousand years and vice-versa. We can come up with ideas like Obama being the Anti-Christ and the beast is around the corner. Jesus will probably come back sometime within the next year or coming months.
Jesus will indeed come back again. No question about that. But what if He doesn't come back for another hundred years? Or maybe a couple of hundred years? Will the excuse of not taking responsibility as a soldier of God be worth all the repercussions of the evil we are seeing today and not responding to, down the road? Will our grandchildren and great grandchildren appreciate our apathy and hopelessness during their lifetime in this country or wherever they live? Could we change the course of this nation if we put on the armor of God and stand up for the truth? Could revival come about again in America if we turn back to God in faith and repentance? Could the church shine so bright in this dark and dying world that those who are in utter darkness can see it and be given hope for deliverance and salvation? I believe it can.
Friday, August 19, 2016
Political Concerns
As I look at social media today, my eyes have been open to many, many things that I never saw before.
I have always heard things about politics, politicians, etc. but this goes much deeper than that. We have philosophies tied in with how we look at the situations and decisions facing us today. And many of us have fallen prey to concepts we would have never have thought of ourselves in.
Let me get my thoughts straight first, before I continue to write. Maybe I need a couple of drops of Rosemary oil to help me think more clearly first.
(Takes a Rosemary oil application break).
All my thoughts are trying to mix together in one pot, and if that is successful, this blog will not make much sense!
Thought #1: I am concerned about the future of our country, for obvious reasons. Well, they might not be obvious to all, but to most of my friends and family, we know what is at stake. We have a woman who is running for president who appears to be potentially dangerous for our country. This is more serious than having a person elected who just isn't very wise. We have a woman who used her personal email accounts exposing top secret information that could be read by those who hate America and will do anything to destroy us. When she was asked if she did this, she said that she did not. When the questioning came concerning her actions, they determined that she did indeed send out those emails. If this were the only issue that concerned this presidential candidate, that would be enough for an average, intelligent person to realize that voting for Hillary Clinton as president could definitely mean that the future of our country will be endangered. We also know that she is open to allowing the borders of our country to be open to illegal immigrants. This is another potential danger. Even when those illegal immigrants commit crimes in our country, the left does not see this as a problem.
Another serious concern with this candidate is her 'full support', and I am using her words, of Planned Parenthood. She said in one of her talks, that Planned Parenthood has her full support, then she went on praising the works of Planned Parenthood.
Thought #2: I am concerned about the philosophy of people who say that we are indeed selecting a shepherd for our country when we are voting for the presidential candidate of our choice. This statement is a rebuttal to those who say that we are voting for a president, not a pastor. I actually read an article about this rebuttal and the person who wrote the article does believe that the president is definitely 'shepherding' people in America. He or she said that the president is the shepherd of the people in this country. That is like saying that the president should be a pastor, for another term for pastor is 'shepherd'. I don't know about you, but I don't want my president to be my pastor. It seems like there was a group of people who lived around the early to mid 1600s, who left their country because their king also ran the church. That is the reason why this country was started in the first place. A pastor is called by God to lead the church. He must meet certain qualifications. A president is to lead a country in safety and peace. He is to make good decisions concerning the issues that have to do with our country and how this nation should be run, and how we should interact with other nations. A president is not all powerful. Higher credentials are required for a pastor than they are for a president (not that the president shouldn't have good credentials).
Thought #3: The media is good at twisting stories around and making people look in a way that they want to project him or her to look. No presidential candidate is going to be freed from being slandered. It is one thing when a person who is in the spotlight does something wrong. It is another thing when they are accused of being a certain way or having certain undesirable traits. We have to take this whole thing into account. The media is not pro-conservative. They will slant their stories to make them look like what they want to look. They will take clips from here and there and make up a case against whoever they want, then publish it. The really sad fact is that many professing Christians have bought into the lies of the media.
I remember when the last election was going on. I could not believe what I saw as people posted things. I am talking about professing Christians posting things like, 'Romney is a Satanic High Priest' or, "Romney has a secret agenda to convert all America to Mormonism". So, multitudes of professing believers were never, in their lifetimes, going to vote for Romney. And we see what happened. By not voting for Romney, we got someone who is so much worse than Romney would have been. Who were these professing Christians listening to? The media?
Thought #4: I see a kind of peer pressure among Christians in the social circles. I have to admit, that in writing this article, I know I risk losing Facebook friends or Twitter followers and I don't like that thought. I see quite a few people though, who are hinting at how they are going to vote, but being hesitant on actually coming right out and saying who they are voting for. They know that if they do, their other Facebook friends and even family members might not like them anymore. For some reason, those in the body of Christ haven't learned how to disagree in love. They regard those who disagree with them as those who need to be chastised for their disagreeing.
Thought #5: There is a common belief that 'voting for the lesser of the 2 evils' is wrong, simply because it is still evil. This whole concept would be too long for this article to iron out. What I would like to say though is that there are different types of evil. There is the perverse type of evil, which exchanges right for wrong, light for darkness, truth for error, etc. Good is thought of as bad, and evil is thought of as good. We have a presidential candidate who is like this. We all know who she is. If we are on the far left side of the spectrum, we will see things the same way as she does. We will choose evil over good, and darkness over light. The other candidate is evil, not because he is perverse, but because he is a sinful human being, like the rest of us. The difference between these two candidates is not so much whether they are evil or not, or who is more or less evil, but what kind of evil is it? Is it a perverse evil like Hillary Clinton promotes, or is it a selfish evil, like Donald Trump lives out?
Think about it for a minute. What were our country's forefathers like? We know a couple of things from History that we learned about them. They were God-fearing. But did you know that many of them were not, in reality, Godly people? For example, if Thomas Jefferson were running for president today, and people knew what he stood for in his personal life, most professing Christians would not be voting for him. Sometimes, I think that Jefferson was a double minded person. On the one hand, he seemed to have a high regard for God, and for Jesus in particular. But, at the same time, he struggled big time with the thought of the deity of Christ. I haven't read this yet, but Thomas Jefferson actually has his own rewritten copy of the New Testament. If you go to his museum, you will find a copy of his Bible (I'm not talking here about his rewritten one). It is full of holes. He took a pen knife and cut out all the verses pertaining to hell. Yet, this man really did seem to be a God-fearing man who made some valuable decisions concerning the health of our country.
I have seen some things concerning the lives of our forefathers in America. Many of them were truly God-fearing. But, they weren't necessarily born again believers in Jesus Christ. God raised them up to do what they did, and a free nation was created. But we would be appalled to know what went on in their real lives at home. And many of us would not vote for them today, if they were running for president.
If we have a perverted president running our country, anything is game. We could lose our Constitution. We could lose our freedoms. If we have a president who lacks some good character qualities, but can make some good decisions (or at least intends to), this could actually pave the way for righteousness to be restored to the White House. Thousands upon thousands of babies will be killed under the Clinton administration. If Trump is elected as president, this move will be halted as he intends to move in the opposite direction.
Thought #6: Voting for a write in is counter productive. While I admire the concern and vigilance of many of my friends for raising up a Christian presidential candidate at the last minute, I'm afraid it's going to be too late for anything good to come of this, at least in this election. Even if 100% of all my friends write in this same name when they vote, this person will not be elected. There are only 2 candidates and only one of those two will win the election this time. It really is not our vote so much that counts (although, our vote ultimately does count). It is all dependent upon the electoral votes. That is how the final outcome will be determined.
What my friends should do though is this; they should have been doing this 4 years ago, or more. They should be raising up this candidate and getting him ready for the next election. That way, perhaps he could get on the ballot. This would take a lot of money (and I mean tons of money) and a lot of time. If the dedication is that strong though, perhaps it could happen. It is too late for it to happen this election, but maybe there is hope for this presidential candidate to make it in the next election.
So those are my thoughts. Please do not be offended by them. Mainly, we need to be praying for our country. We need to be doing evangelism, and we need to become everything God wants us to be so that we can represent Him well in a dark and dying world, with many people who have no compass and will spent an endless eternity of torture.
I have always heard things about politics, politicians, etc. but this goes much deeper than that. We have philosophies tied in with how we look at the situations and decisions facing us today. And many of us have fallen prey to concepts we would have never have thought of ourselves in.
Let me get my thoughts straight first, before I continue to write. Maybe I need a couple of drops of Rosemary oil to help me think more clearly first.
(Takes a Rosemary oil application break).
All my thoughts are trying to mix together in one pot, and if that is successful, this blog will not make much sense!
Thought #1: I am concerned about the future of our country, for obvious reasons. Well, they might not be obvious to all, but to most of my friends and family, we know what is at stake. We have a woman who is running for president who appears to be potentially dangerous for our country. This is more serious than having a person elected who just isn't very wise. We have a woman who used her personal email accounts exposing top secret information that could be read by those who hate America and will do anything to destroy us. When she was asked if she did this, she said that she did not. When the questioning came concerning her actions, they determined that she did indeed send out those emails. If this were the only issue that concerned this presidential candidate, that would be enough for an average, intelligent person to realize that voting for Hillary Clinton as president could definitely mean that the future of our country will be endangered. We also know that she is open to allowing the borders of our country to be open to illegal immigrants. This is another potential danger. Even when those illegal immigrants commit crimes in our country, the left does not see this as a problem.
Another serious concern with this candidate is her 'full support', and I am using her words, of Planned Parenthood. She said in one of her talks, that Planned Parenthood has her full support, then she went on praising the works of Planned Parenthood.
Thought #2: I am concerned about the philosophy of people who say that we are indeed selecting a shepherd for our country when we are voting for the presidential candidate of our choice. This statement is a rebuttal to those who say that we are voting for a president, not a pastor. I actually read an article about this rebuttal and the person who wrote the article does believe that the president is definitely 'shepherding' people in America. He or she said that the president is the shepherd of the people in this country. That is like saying that the president should be a pastor, for another term for pastor is 'shepherd'. I don't know about you, but I don't want my president to be my pastor. It seems like there was a group of people who lived around the early to mid 1600s, who left their country because their king also ran the church. That is the reason why this country was started in the first place. A pastor is called by God to lead the church. He must meet certain qualifications. A president is to lead a country in safety and peace. He is to make good decisions concerning the issues that have to do with our country and how this nation should be run, and how we should interact with other nations. A president is not all powerful. Higher credentials are required for a pastor than they are for a president (not that the president shouldn't have good credentials).
Thought #3: The media is good at twisting stories around and making people look in a way that they want to project him or her to look. No presidential candidate is going to be freed from being slandered. It is one thing when a person who is in the spotlight does something wrong. It is another thing when they are accused of being a certain way or having certain undesirable traits. We have to take this whole thing into account. The media is not pro-conservative. They will slant their stories to make them look like what they want to look. They will take clips from here and there and make up a case against whoever they want, then publish it. The really sad fact is that many professing Christians have bought into the lies of the media.
I remember when the last election was going on. I could not believe what I saw as people posted things. I am talking about professing Christians posting things like, 'Romney is a Satanic High Priest' or, "Romney has a secret agenda to convert all America to Mormonism". So, multitudes of professing believers were never, in their lifetimes, going to vote for Romney. And we see what happened. By not voting for Romney, we got someone who is so much worse than Romney would have been. Who were these professing Christians listening to? The media?
Thought #4: I see a kind of peer pressure among Christians in the social circles. I have to admit, that in writing this article, I know I risk losing Facebook friends or Twitter followers and I don't like that thought. I see quite a few people though, who are hinting at how they are going to vote, but being hesitant on actually coming right out and saying who they are voting for. They know that if they do, their other Facebook friends and even family members might not like them anymore. For some reason, those in the body of Christ haven't learned how to disagree in love. They regard those who disagree with them as those who need to be chastised for their disagreeing.
Thought #5: There is a common belief that 'voting for the lesser of the 2 evils' is wrong, simply because it is still evil. This whole concept would be too long for this article to iron out. What I would like to say though is that there are different types of evil. There is the perverse type of evil, which exchanges right for wrong, light for darkness, truth for error, etc. Good is thought of as bad, and evil is thought of as good. We have a presidential candidate who is like this. We all know who she is. If we are on the far left side of the spectrum, we will see things the same way as she does. We will choose evil over good, and darkness over light. The other candidate is evil, not because he is perverse, but because he is a sinful human being, like the rest of us. The difference between these two candidates is not so much whether they are evil or not, or who is more or less evil, but what kind of evil is it? Is it a perverse evil like Hillary Clinton promotes, or is it a selfish evil, like Donald Trump lives out?
Think about it for a minute. What were our country's forefathers like? We know a couple of things from History that we learned about them. They were God-fearing. But did you know that many of them were not, in reality, Godly people? For example, if Thomas Jefferson were running for president today, and people knew what he stood for in his personal life, most professing Christians would not be voting for him. Sometimes, I think that Jefferson was a double minded person. On the one hand, he seemed to have a high regard for God, and for Jesus in particular. But, at the same time, he struggled big time with the thought of the deity of Christ. I haven't read this yet, but Thomas Jefferson actually has his own rewritten copy of the New Testament. If you go to his museum, you will find a copy of his Bible (I'm not talking here about his rewritten one). It is full of holes. He took a pen knife and cut out all the verses pertaining to hell. Yet, this man really did seem to be a God-fearing man who made some valuable decisions concerning the health of our country.
I have seen some things concerning the lives of our forefathers in America. Many of them were truly God-fearing. But, they weren't necessarily born again believers in Jesus Christ. God raised them up to do what they did, and a free nation was created. But we would be appalled to know what went on in their real lives at home. And many of us would not vote for them today, if they were running for president.
If we have a perverted president running our country, anything is game. We could lose our Constitution. We could lose our freedoms. If we have a president who lacks some good character qualities, but can make some good decisions (or at least intends to), this could actually pave the way for righteousness to be restored to the White House. Thousands upon thousands of babies will be killed under the Clinton administration. If Trump is elected as president, this move will be halted as he intends to move in the opposite direction.
Thought #6: Voting for a write in is counter productive. While I admire the concern and vigilance of many of my friends for raising up a Christian presidential candidate at the last minute, I'm afraid it's going to be too late for anything good to come of this, at least in this election. Even if 100% of all my friends write in this same name when they vote, this person will not be elected. There are only 2 candidates and only one of those two will win the election this time. It really is not our vote so much that counts (although, our vote ultimately does count). It is all dependent upon the electoral votes. That is how the final outcome will be determined.
What my friends should do though is this; they should have been doing this 4 years ago, or more. They should be raising up this candidate and getting him ready for the next election. That way, perhaps he could get on the ballot. This would take a lot of money (and I mean tons of money) and a lot of time. If the dedication is that strong though, perhaps it could happen. It is too late for it to happen this election, but maybe there is hope for this presidential candidate to make it in the next election.
So those are my thoughts. Please do not be offended by them. Mainly, we need to be praying for our country. We need to be doing evangelism, and we need to become everything God wants us to be so that we can represent Him well in a dark and dying world, with many people who have no compass and will spent an endless eternity of torture.
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