There is no doubt that the fabric of Western society is coming apart.  It doesn’t matter what your personal or political world view is, we all feel it, and we all want to ‘fix’ it.  However, no matter who we elect or what policies we enact, things just keep getting worse.   So, if we know things are bad and getting worse, and we want to ‘fix’ it, why can’t we?  Well, there is no shortage of opinion as to why we can’t fix things, but the answer is simple — and the founders of this nation knew it.  In fact, it is why they succeeded where we are failing.  The answer is…

I have read this passage many times, and heard it repeated many more.  However, I did not understand just how wide-sweeping this statement really is — until just recently, that is.  The truth is, whether a person believes or not, this proclamation governs every aspect of our lives.  If you want to be a principled person, you have to have a moral standard or ideal.  Well, unless that moral ideal is God’s Law, then you creating your own law, and no matter how good you may think it is, your efforts will be in vain.  This is because God is Supreme, and He has already established an ever-lasting moral law.  We cannot change that, and any attempt to do so is kicking against the boards.  It is only when we surrender to God’s Law (either Revealed or Natural) that we can establish a lasting moral ideal.  Then, unless we also accept God’s ordinances as to how to live according to His law, we start our fruitless efforts all over again.  The only principles that last are those which the Lord directs.  This is why so many have such difficult lives: they refuse to let the Lord lead them.

The same applies to nations.  When we look to leaders, or political parties or ideologies to ‘save’ us, we are looking to ourselves.  If we look to ourselves, then God can have no part in whatever we are trying to build.  This condemns us to failure.  Now, God is patient, so it may take time to reveal itself, but the failure will come just as surely as the sun will rise tomorrow.  We need but look to the history of socialism for the proof.  Many have tried, convinced that they are the first who has understood how to ‘do it right.’  But no socialist system has lasted more than 7 or 8 decades (a single lifetime).  The same applies to anything which is built on human effort and not on a reliance on and trust in God.

On the other hand, we have the Christian Church.  Early on, it was hunted by Jew and Roman alike.  For the first few centuries of its existence, those in power sought to exterminate Christianity.  Islam and Secular Humanism in all its many forms are still trying to eradicate it today.  But, in spite of all man’s efforts to do so, those who have clung faithfully to the Lord and His teachings have not only survived, they have changed the world.  This applies equally to God’s second (actually first) witness, the Jews.  The world has tried to rid itself of the Jews since before Christ’s time, yet, because they seek human desires and not the will of God, they have failed and God’s people have flourished.  But then, those who are at war with God cannot see this.

Well, our founders were not at war with God.  In fact, they depended upon Him.  They expressly stated that they sought His blessings on their efforts to build a nation according to His laws.  But then, the world would like to deny this, too.  There’s just one problem with denying this truth, and it lies with one of the founders we are told was among the least religious of all: a deist — at best.  Before I prove that the founders understood they had to let the Lord build this nation, let me remind you of what Psalm 127 says about trying to rely on yourself:

Psalm 127

Prosperity Comes from the Lord.

I do not know how to write this.  Anything I say will seem arrogant to some, but remaining silent is not an option.  The Lord will consume me from within if I try to stay quiet.  So I must write.  I have no choice — not if I want to remain obedient.  At the same time, I am fully aware that pride and arrogance are at the top of my list of sins.  They are also a fire, but not the type of fire which purify, but which destroy.  So I have to be careful to keep a wall between what I write out of obedience and what I write out of my own mind.  Inevitably, realizing this keeps bringing me to the point where I have to face the possibility that this means I truly am called by God to be a messenger.  It’s just that I have such a hard time believing this could possibly be true.  I know how much of a sinner I have been…  How much of a sinner I still am.  So, when I feel compelled to write, I always ask “Who am I to presume to tell others what God says or wants?  I have no theology degree.  I am not a prophet.  Who am I and why would anyone listen to me?”  Well, I don’t know.  I don’t know!  All I know is that there is a storm coming, and I have been told to warn God’s people.  So, while there is still time, I need to clear the air with whoever may follow this blog.

For whatever reason, I have never specialized in anything.  I never became an ‘expert’ on any one subject.  I have too many interests.  Every time I start to spend a lot of sustained time in any one area, I see a squirrel and find myself chasing off in another direction.  For the majority of my life, I believed this was a character flaw and I despised myself for it.  I believed this was proof that I was not a serious person, and that I was lazy.  I saw it as the source of my perceived ‘failure.’  I was a failure because I couldn’t dedicate myself to anything for long enough to become ‘something.’  My father stuck to his job his whole life, and he is one of the greatest men I have ever known.  But I couldn’t be like him.  My younger brother became an architect, and I envied his success.  But I, with such intelligence, talent and promise?  I was a failure.  At least, that was what I believed — until about two years ago.  Now I know that the Lord was teaching me for this time, for this purpose.

About two years ago, the Lord showed me His hand in my life.  You see, while everyone else was learning everything they could about one subject so they could become ‘experts,’ I was studying about everything I could.  I never studied anything enough to be an ‘expert,’ but the Lord had put a curiosity in me that drove me to learn much more about so many things that I became a modern version of what was once called a ‘renaissance man.’  My child hood friend noticed this years before, and tried to explain it to me by telling me I had “learned so much about so little that I had learned everything about nothing.”  But I didn’t understand what he was trying to tell me.  By worldly standards, there is little value in knowing ‘everything about nothing,’ so I dismissed him as ‘crazy.’  But the Lord showed me that, while it may not make me a worldly success, I have been perfectly prepared for succeeding at the purpose He has for me.  That purpose is to look at current events through my knowledge of history and human nature and hold them up to Scripture so I can warn God’s people by connecting dots that no one else can see.

This brings me to the primary purpose for this post.  The only other person I know of who I can even come close to comparing myself is Glenn Beck.  But there are huge differences between us, and, if you follow this blog, you need to understand them.  Otherwise, you may get the wrong idea from my blog posts — both past and future — responding to Beck.

First, Beck is not one man.  He presents a great deal of material as though he has been the one to learn it and make sense of it, but, were he more honest about things, he would be clear about the people behind him who do most of his research for him.  Now, don’t get me wrong: I know Glenn gives credit to others when and where it is deserved.  I am not accusing him of taking credit for others.  What I am saying is that he is not consistently clear on this fact: that most of what he brings to his audience is a compilation of effort by many people.  This is important, and I’ll explain in a minute.

The next thing we need to understand is that Beck believes he is a prophet.  No, he has never said so in that language.  However, I took time to learn his religion, and their language, so I recognize the key words and phrases, as well as the undertones that are in his language.  If you are a devout Mormon, you know I am correct.  He sends enough signals that other Mormons know he believes himself to be a prophet.  The problem is, I do not accept the Mormon religion as being of Yahweh and Jesus Christ.  When I hold the Mormon religion up against Scripture, I see an apostate religion against which God, His Son and His Prophets and Apostles warned us to beware.  This is also important, and I’ll tie it together in a moment.

The last thing we need to understand is that much of what Beck has predicted — the things that I believe have convinced him he is a prophet — most of them have come from people who are in a position to know things the majority of us would never even suspect.  The majority of these people are cowards.  They will tell their secrets to Beck because they know he will share it with the public, so they think they are doing good.  But, if they had any courage at all, they would be telling the public, themselves.  So Beck listens to these people and is either brave enough of foolish enough to share what he is told.  This is how he has been so correct about so many worldly things: he has simply ridden the knowledge gained from other people.  Now, let’s tie everything together.

Beck has been correct about worldly events.  He has been correct about human nature, history, about Islam, about financial matters, about politics.  He has been so correct that he has been able to make accurately make many detailed predictions which have come to pass.  At the moment, I believe Beck, and not Limbaugh, has the best pulse of the political mood in this country.  This also gives him the best sense of where we are likely heading.  All of this is why I listen to him: because there is value in his understanding of these things.  But there is one major problem with Beck: he has a dangerously flawed understanding of Spiritual matters!

This is where the people behind Beck and Beck’s religion come together.  He is correct about worldly events because he has so many people helping him with them.  But long-term listeners may have noticed that Glenn tends to ‘float’ from one learning to the next.  He does not seem to have knitted any of the things he’s learned together into a coherent ant and consistent world view.  One week, he is reading Gandhi, then next, he is reading Martin Luther King, Jr, and tomorrow he will be reading about some Atheist tech guru who thinks we are about to transcend into man-machines.  And, sometimes, he can’t even remember what he learned or where he learned it from.  Now here is the problem (and again, long-term listeners might already be aware of this): Beck gives equal weight to all of these teachings.  If you believe in Scripture, you should not, cannot do this.  All of this stuff is man and man’s wisdom.  It has nothing to do with God, but Beck often presents it as if it does.  This is because, as a Mormon, he believes man is his own god.  Beware!  Dear reader, believing in our hearts that we are our own god is straight out of 2 Thessalonians 2!

I will continue to blog in response to Glenn Beck.  He has been too ‘in tune’ with this world to ignore.  But His Spiritual teachings are a threat, and I will continue to caution and warn as I feel lead.  Beck is correct: there is a storm coming.  But he does not see it as clearly as he believes.  This is because his religion has left him Spiritually blind.  I now know that I am being called to warn God’s people about this storm.  I do not claim to see them clearly, myself, but I see them more clearly than most.  I see what is coming because of the way the Lord trained me my entire life.  I see connections most cannot, and they have allowed God to show me a picture of what is on the horizon.  Now God is telling me to share what I  see with His people.  God made all of this crystal clear to me just this morning, while I was reading Isaiah.  His Word suddenly spoke to me more clearly and more forcefully than ever before.  It sprung to life, as though He, and not I, were the one reading.  So I will obey, and I will warn those who will listen.  This means, when I am directed, I will warn about the things Glenn beck tells his audience — to help those of God’s people who listen to him separate the wheat from the chaff.  I only pray the Lord protects my writing from me!

[NOTE: I no longer think of my voice as anything special.  There was a time when I believed I had something important to say, but not so much these days.  I write now because I feel driven to do so.  Something inside me will not let me rest until I post the pages you just read.  I’d just as soon not bother anymore.  It all seems like no one is listening and I do more harm than good.  So I have come to trust that whatever it is driving me has all this under control.  Personally, I believe it is God, but others may not.  All I ask is that, if anything I write helps you, or you think it might help others in any way, please, share this page.  Re-blog it, share it on FB or send the link to your friends.  So long as you feel it will do more good than harm, then please, use this page however you wish.  Thank you.]

Now that it appears as though we are going to be forced to chose between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, it suddenly strikes me that we are about to repeat the election of 1912 — and with the same potential for damage to what little is left of our republic. In 1912, America had to chose between Progressive, Theodore Roosevelt, and Progressive, Woodrow Wilson.  Today, many have a favorable opinion of both men, but that is a condemnation of our ‘education’ system.  So, naturally, out of unnecessary ignorance, we are about to repeat all our old mistakes all over again.  But, before you follow the lemmings blindly over the cliff and into the abyss, at least make sure you understand what 1912 means for us today.

First, we need to understand that a ‘Progressive’ is an American term for ‘Socialist.’  This is not my ‘opinion,’ but the bold assertion of both Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson.  In fact, Wilson went so far as to say that, under the label ‘Progressive,’ America would be made to embrace Communism — and so it has.  In fact, these men had a great deal in common, as explained in this link and book:

Compare and Contrast Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson

Theodore and Woodrow: How Two American Presidents Destroyed Constitutional Freedom

“Either the Constitution means what it says, or it doesn’t.”

America’s founding fathers considered liberty a basic part of our nature―something to be guarded, not usurped by the federal government. As a result, they enshrined separation of powers and guarantees of freedom in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

But a little over a hundred years after America’s founding, those God-given rights were laid siege by two presidents―Republican Theodore Roosevelt and Democrat Woodrow Wilson―who cared more about the advancement of progressive, redistributionist ideology than the principles on which the country was founded.

Both men share something else in common.  One can easily make a convincing argument that they were the first of the 20th Century dictators.  If they weren’t, they certainly laid the foundation for them.  So, if they had so much in common, what made them different?  Well, basically, the same things that separate Hillary and Donald.

Teddy was a socialist who believed in national sovereignty (patriotism), a strong military and government control over privately owned business.  Essentially, Teddy was a Fascist, and so is Donald trump.  Trump shares most of the distinguishing characteristics of Teddy Roosevelt, right down to his pronouncements on immigration:

On the other hand, Woodrow Wilson was a globalist.  He was the father of the League of Nations (the precursor to the UN).  He believed in the direct control, if not ownership, of everything in society by the government.  He also believed that the President should be an elected dictator, and he said so.  Essentially, Wilson was a Communist, and in his writings, he admitted to this.  This is who Hillary Clinton is, and she has said so.  She has self-identified as an ‘early 20th Century Progressive.’  Well, since Wilson wrested Progressiveness from Teddy after Teddy created it, we can assume Hillary was pointing to Wilson.

So there we go: we are about to chose between a Fascist and a Communist once again.  The first time, the Communist so screwed thing up that the Progressive movement had to change their name to ‘Liberal.’  America recognized them for what they were and they became so reviled that, for the better part of the next eight decades, Progressives had to hide their true identity and desires.  But now that America has forgotten, the Progressives have reclaimed their old name and are open about their agenda.  We survived their first attack — but just barely, and then as a much diminished shadow of our former selves.  I can’t help but wonder whether there are enough Americans left to salvage whatever is left this next go around.

As an aside, I can’t help but wonder: if the Progressives are correct, and the Constitution is irrelevant because we have ‘Progressed,’ how is it we are repeating ‘ancient history?’

[NOTE: I no longer think of my voice as anything special.  There was a time when I believed I had something important to say, but not so much these days.  I write now because I feel driven to do so.  Something inside me will not let me rest until I post the pages you just read.  I’d just as soon not bother anymore.  It all seems like no one is listening and I do more harm than good.  So I have come to trust that whatever it is driving me has all this under control.  Personally, I believe it is God, but others may not.  All I ask is that, if anything I write helps you, or you think it might help others in any way, please, share this page.  Re-blog it, share it on FB or send the link to your friends.  So long as you feel it will do more good than harm, then please, use this page however you wish.  Thank you.]

I have already written about Christians defending their support of unrepentant and ungodly people by saying “God can use sinners” and “We’re electing a leader, not a pastor.”  Now I am encountering a third misuse of scripture to defend the indefensible.  This one is “God’s ways are not our ways.”

Now, it’s true, God’s Word does say:

Isaiah 55:8

But it is a mistake to imply that this means we cannot know anything about God’s ways.  Scripture clearly tells us that God gave us His Word — in large part — so we can learn more about Him and His ways.  What do we think the Torah is all about?  It is God giving us His Law — His Way.  What do we think the Sermon on the Mount is all about?  It is Christ reaffirming God’s Law — His ways.  And if we are to assume that Isaiah 55:8 means we cannot know anything bout God’s ways, then what are we to make of the majority of the New Testament, which is filled with the Lord’s servants tell us about God’s ways?

But Scripture is God-breathed, and because God is omniscient, He addressed this issue long ago when He told us — through His servant:

2 Timothy 3:16

¹⁶ All Scripture is ^[a]inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for ^[b]training in righteousness;

This is also why the Bible records history — the good, the bad and the ugly.  It is so we can look to what has happened in the past and how the Lord dealt with His people as well as those who do not recognize or obey Him (i.e. Gentiles).  The events of the Old Testament most certainly do tell us about God’s ways, both in word and in deed.  And we are expected to learn the lessons and apply them to our lives.

So, when someone tells me they are free to support an unrepentant and self-proclaimed enemy of God because “God’s ways are not ours,”…  Well, all I can say in response is I do not find a single Scripture to support this claim, but I can list many that bear witness against it.

[NOTE: I no longer think of my voice as anything special.  There was a time when I believed I had something important to say, but not so much these days.  I write now because I feel driven to do so.  Something inside me will not let me rest until I post the pages you just read.  I’d just as soon not bother anymore.  It all seems like no one is listening and I do more harm than good.  So I have come to trust that whatever it is driving me has all this under control.  Personally, I believe it is God, but others may not.  All I ask is that, if anything I write helps you, or you think it might help others in any way, please, share this page.  Re-blog it, share it on FB or send the link to your friends.  So long as you feel it will do more good than harm, then please, use this page however you wish.  Thank you.]

 

So, once again, we are at a point where people are starting to make the same old tired argument of: “If you don’t vote for my candidate, you are voting for the other candidate.”  I used to accept this argument — but then I surrendered to the Lord, and to His wisdom, not mine.  Now, every time I hear someone say those words, I hear the serpent telling Eve: “God didn’t really say you’d die…”

First of all, the idea that not doing A means you are doing B a fallacy.  I explain the logic on my other blog dealing with Natural Law.  You can find the explanation here:

LESSONS IN LOGIC: ‘If You Don’t Vote A, You Vote For B’ Is A Fallacy

However, when we deal with issues of God’s Law and morality, the claim that not doing A means you are doing B is not as clear.  First, we need to understand that, unless I actually do B, I am not doing B.  So telling me that not doing A means I am doing B is a lie.  However, whether or not I actually acquire a moral guilt by not doing B is a different question, so we should take a look at it.

To make it easier to consider, let’s paint a better illustration than thing A and thing B.  We will start with a case where not doing something does create a moral guilt.  We will use the crowed calling for Barabbas to be freed instead of Jesus.

When Pilot offered the crowed a choice with clear ramifications — in this case, death to whichever man was not freed — then everyone who cried for Barabbas accepted the blame for the result.  This is because, when faced with a choice between freeing a guilty man or an innocent man, the crowed chose a person they knew to be guilty over one they knew to be innocent.  Therefore, they chose to do something which they knew would lead to a moral wrong.  This made them all equally guilty.

Now let’s look at a modern political example.  Evey election, we are told we have to chose one candidate over another or we are electing that other person.  But what if we object because we know both candidates are morally corrupt?  If you make that objection, both sides will usually argue that you have to chose the ‘lesser evil,’ and that the ‘lesser evil’ is their candidate.  So, they will say, you either vote for their candidate, or you are the same as the people who chose Barabbas.  But this is a lie!

Suppose we have two choices: Trump and Hillary.  Both are morally corrupt, lawless people.  This is true by their own admission and action.  So who is the ‘lesser evil?’  The answer is: neither — they are both evil!  This means, no matter which one you chose, you are knowingly choosing someone you know to be immoral and lawless.  This means, whichever one you choose, you are accepting guilt for whatever they do.

Scripturally, we are morally accountable for our own actions and only for our own actions.  We cannot be made morally guilty for not doing something unless we know — beforehand — that we will be giving aid to or empowering the person to do something we know to be wrong.  If we do this, we become an accomplice.  This means we willingly become part of that moral wrong.  However, if we know someone will do wrong, and because we do not support them, another person who will do wrong gains power, we are not guilty either way.  And this is our Scriptural solution.

If you vote for either Hillary or Trump, it doesn’t matter because you know (or should know) that both will do wrong.  So no matter who you chose between them, you are accepting guilt for whatever they do.  But, if you know someone you believe will at least try to do right, and you vote for that person, then, if Trump or Hillary win, you are not guilty of any wrong they do because you did not accept blame for their actions.

This is logically and Scripturally sound, and it is at the heart of John Quincy Adam’s admonishment:

“Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.”

You will have to make your own decision, but I am going to vote so I can answer to the Lord — not men.  This is why I cannot vote for either of these two people. 

[NOTE: I no longer think of my voice as anything special.  There was a time when I believed I had something important to say, but not so much these days.  I write now because I feel driven to do so.  Something inside me will not let me rest until I post the pages you just read.  I’d just as soon not bother anymore.  It all seems like no one is listening and I do more harm than good.  So I have come to trust that whatever it is driving me has all this under control.  Personally, I believe it is God, but others may not.  All I ask is that, if anything I write helps you, or you think it might help others in any way, please, share this page.  Re-blog it, share it on FB or send the link to your friends.  So long as you feel it will do more good than harm, then please, use this page however you wish.  Thank you.]

In my first post, I addressed something I have been hearing Trump supports — who claim to be Christians — have been saying to defend their support of Trump (LESSONS IN SCRIPTURE: Trump Supporters And The Cry Of ‘God Uses Sinners’ Reveals Christian Ignorance!).  In this post, I’d like to address something I’ve been hearing a lot of Christians telling me in support of whoever they favor: “We’re electing a leader, not a pastor.”  If you are a Christian, and you have ever found yourself agreeing with this sentiment, you might want to give this a quick read.

You can tell yourself that God does not exist, and that this is not a Christian nation — but God’s Word and the confessions of this nation’s founders testify against you.   And, even if you do believe and are a Christian, you can tell yourself that this does not bind us to vote for Christians to lead this nation — but God’s Word and the confessions of this nation’s founders testify against you.  You see, this nation was founded upon Biblical principles and dedicated — by its leaders — to the God of the Bible.  When Washington did this, he bound our fate to how well we follow and obey those principles.

Faith, the Culture, and other Small Topics

“Since we ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of Heaven, can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself has ordained: And since the preservation of the sacred fire of liberty, and the destiny of the Republican model of Government, are justly considered as deeply, perhaps as finally staked, on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.”

Therefore, we should head the Lord’s warning about what happens to a nation that breaks its covenant with Him — even the nation He loves most:

(Hosea 8:1-3)

So, how does this apply to picking our leaders?  It applies because God expects His people to pick Godly leaders, and to seek His counsel — and not our own — in picking them.  When we do not do this, the nation will suffer:

The Political and Cultic Sin of Israel (Hosea 8:4-6)

God destroyed Israel for picking leaders who did not fear Him or honor His Laws.  They chose their ways and trusted in what they thought was their own wealth, created through their own works.  They forgot that everything comes from the Lord, and it is to the Lord we should turn for guidance — even in electing leaders.  And it is in the Lord we should trust — especially for guidance in electing leaders.

Our founders knew this, but we no longer listen to them.  Today, we just think of them as archaic, rich, white slave owners.  Well, how can a ‘Christian’ claim to follow the Lord if they are going to turn a blind eye and deaf ear to Abraham — an archaic, rich slave-owner?  I mean, Abraham is only the father of the Hebrew (Judeo/Christian) faith.  Why does he matter today, right?  Well, for all our ‘technological advancement,’ our founders were far wiser than we are today.  They understood the perils of pride and arrogance, and that, if we allowed it to govern us instead of God’s Word, it would cost us our liberty.  If you doubt this, then open this link and start reading their words.  I am pretty sure they would condemn anyone who says “we’re electing a leader, not a pastor.”  But then, you might disagree…

In the Founders’ Words: the Essential Role of Religion in Public and Civic Life

[NOTE: I no longer think of my voice as anything special.  There was a time when I believed I had something important to say, but not so much these days.  I write now because I feel driven to do so.  Something inside me will not let me rest until I post the pages you just read.  I’d just as soon not bother anymore.  It all seems like no one is listening and I do more harm than good.  So I have come to trust that whatever it is driving me has all this under control.  Personally, I believe it is God, but others may not.  All I ask is that, if anything I write helps you, or you think it might help others in any way, please, share this page.  Re-blog it, share it on FB or send the link to your friends.  So long as you feel it will do more good than harm, then please, use this page however you wish.  Thank you.]

Now that it appears that Donald Trump is going to be the Republican nominee, the predictable cries to ‘rally around Trump’ have started.  I understand why those of the world would say this, but I simply do not understand why anyone who calls themselves by the Lord’s name would do so.  I was reading some Christian sites, and I saw a few brothers and sisters trying to warn Trump supporters that he is not the person they believe him to be, and almost without fail, Trump’s supporters reply with “God uses sinners, look at Paul.”  Ignorance!   Don’t these Christians know the difference between the repentant and unrepentant sinners that God has raised up to do His work?  Don’t they read God’s Word?  Don’t they know His laws?  Don’t they know His ways?  Obviously they do not.  Otherwise, they would not be championing a man who may turn out to be a modern day Assyrian?

Scripture is very clear: God can and does raise up sinners to do His work.  Many times, they are homely in appearance and lowly in stature and social status.  They may not have charming personalities, or even be able to speak well.  But this is precisely why God uses them: because they are humble, the most unexpected of people to be doing His work. This insures that these people cannot boast in themselves, but must give credit and glory to the Lord for whatever they do.

1 Corinthians 1:27-29

²⁷ but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, ²⁸ and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, ²⁹ so that no ^[a]man may boast before God.

Whether it was a leader such as Moses, David, Gideon or a prophet such as Daniel, Isaiah, or Jeremiah, every sinner God raised up to help build His kingdom had something in common which is absolutely imperative to doing the Lord’s work.  They were repentant!  This means they acknowledged they were sinners, confessed their sins, ended their evil ways, begged the Lord for forgiveness and south to live by His commands from that day forward.  However, there are those in Scripture who were not repentant, and God still raised them up, but — in every case — they were raised up for a different purpose.

Many start out repentant, but they lose their way.  Men such as Sampson and Solomon started out obedient to the Lord, but they started to believe in themselves and turned their backs on God.  They paid the price for this disobedience, too.  But these men, in some form or another, still knew they were wrong and came back to the Lord at their very end.  So these men lie in the middle.  They repented, lost their way, but eventually returned to the Lord.  They were prodigal sons.  So they were not unrepentant sinners.  But there are unrepentant sinners who God uses, and one of the most famous of these was (is) ‘The Assyrian!‘

I am not talking about the figure so many know as ‘The Anti-Christ.’  I am talking about the king of Assyria.  If you read the prophets, you will find that, through them, God declares He will punish Israel by raising up the Assyrian to destroy them.  And it is Assyria that eventually does destroy Israel — just as God proclaimed.

God Will Raise Up the Assyrians to Attack Israel (Hosea 8:1-3)

Now here is the lesson Trump’s supporters should take away from this:

The Assyrian was an unrepentant sinner, and God did use him: not to build God’s kingdom, but to bring judgment down upon Israel!

Israel claimed they believed, but God rejected them!  Just as Jesus said there will be many who claim to be His disciples, yet He will tell them He never knew them!  But it doesn’t end here.  There are two more lessons in this for Trump’s supporters.  However, before I share them, I want to remind them of why God destroyed Israel by reminding them of what Israel was like right before God sent the Assyrian down on them:

The Political and Cultic Sin of Israel (Hosea 8:4-6)

Notice that Israel was doing things its way and was not relying on God.  This is what led God to send the Assyrian to destroy Israel.  But here is the next lesson Trump’s supporters should take from the unrepentant sinner who is raised up by God.  After God uses that person, God destroys them for their sin:

Isaiah 10:5-6

Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger
And the staff in whose hands is My indignation,
⁶ I send it against a godless nation
And commission it against the people of My fury
To capture booty and to seize plunder,
And to ^[g]trample them down like mud in the streets.

Isaiah 14:24-27

Judgment on Assyria

²⁴ The Lord of hosts has sworn saying, “Surely, just as I have intended so it has happened, and just as I have planned so it will stand, ²⁵ to break Assyria in My land, and I will trample him on My mountains. Then his yoke will be removed from them and his burden removed from their shoulder. ²⁶ This is the plan ^[m]devised against the whole earth; and this is the hand that is stretched out against all the nations. ²⁷ For the Lord of hosts has planned, and who can frustrate it? And as for His stretched-out hand, who can turn it back?”

Now, Ted Cruz may have many faults.  He is not the best looking man.  He does not have a particularly captivating personality.  And the way he speaks does not necessarily captivate his audience.  But he is humble, obeys the law and keeps his word.  Contrary to what Trump has claimed, Cruz also tells the truth.  Most importantly, however, there is no doubt that Cruz at least knows and understands God’s Word.  All of this is praised in Scripture are signs of a virtuous and righteous man, yet, for some reason, many people who claim to love the Lord rejected Cruz — the very ‘type’ God tends to raise up to build His kingdom.

Instead, these people support Trump: a man who has openly boasted that he has no need to ask God for forgiveness.  A man who boasts about his money, his wealth, his achievements — including serial adultery and theft!  Trump is lawless and proud of it.  He openly admits to bribing political leaders and expecting them to do favors for him in return for his ‘gifts.’  He also boasts about taking private property and abusing the bankruptcy laws for personal gain.  But, most of all, he is arrogant and filled with pride — just like the Assyrian.  Now, if anyone thinks God is going to raise up such a person to ‘save’ this nation, I would remind them of what God’s Word actually says about such a man:

Proverbs 11:2-4

A final lesson for those who reject the lawful and support the lawless: the unrepentant who walk according to their own ways and reject those of God:

Romans 1:28-32

²⁸ And just as they did not see fit ^[a]to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, ²⁹ being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, ³⁰ slanderers, ^[b]haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, ³¹ without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; ³² and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.

Maybe Cruz was not chosen by God, but I suspect he was chosen by God as a choice.  Cruz offered this nation one last chance to turn from our ways and back to God, to lawfulness.  Instead, we chose a man who may have also been chosen by God — not to lift us up; but to tear us down in judgment.  And all those claiming to follow this man while also claiming to be disciples of Christ…  Well, all I can say is you either do not know God’s Word, or you have chosen not to listen because there is now way Donald Trump has been chosen to build God’s kingdom (at least, not as he is now).

Still, I have no fear.  I know God likes to act just as there appears to be no way out of catastrophe.  So I cling to the hope that He will do so again and save us at the last moment.  And maybe, just maybe, Trump will convert and lead us out of the abyss — like Lincoln did in the last two years of his life.  But, even if this is not to be and we are to be destroyed for our nation’s sin, I still do not fear.  For I know that God has a plan, and my hope and trust is in Him and His Son’s atoning work on the cross!

[NOTE: I no longer think of my voice as anything special.  There was a time when I believed I had something important to say, but not so much these days.  I write now because I feel driven to do so.  Something inside me will not let me rest until I post the pages you just read.  I’d just as soon not bother anymore.  It all seems like no one is listening and I do more harm than good.  So I have come to trust that whatever it is driving me has all this under control.  Personally, I believe it is God, but others may not.  All I ask is that, if anything I write helps you, or you think it might help others in any way, please, share this page.  Re-blog it, share it on FB or send the link to your friends.  So long as you feel it will do more good than harm, then please, use this page however you wish.  Thank you.]

From my other blog, The Road to Concord:

APPLIED LOGIC: What Is The Difference Between Communism And Fascism?

I just wanted to write a short note and ask you to consider something.  If you follow politics, you may have heard that people are comparing Ted Cruz to Lucifer.  One Congressman even went so far as to say that such a comparison may give Lucifer a bad name.  Now, like him or hate him (and if you are a Christian, I hope you wouldn’t hate anyone), let me ask you to consider an honest question:

What — exactly — has Cruz done that has people comparing him to Lucifer? 

None of us are perfect.  We all sin.  However, by all accounts, Ted Cruz has spent his life obeying our laws and keeping his promises to his constituents that he would continue to uphold and defend those laws.  So, how does obeying the law connect one to evil?

Might I suggest that the accusation says less about Cruz and more about the people making and agreeing with it?  After all, the primary assertion that Cruz is a liar has been coming from a man who has boasted about his theft, adultery, wealth and even his refusal to acknowledge he is a sinner and ask God for forgiveness.  So, why are so many Christians actually supporting that man over Cruz, who — by all appearances — is a man who has tried to live the Lord’s commands?  And why should anyone accept the accusations of men and women who have spent their careers perverting the laws?  When lawless men compare someone to Lucifer, what does that say about them?

The reader is free to decide for themselves.  Personally, I was a Cruz supporter — right up until he chose a lawless running mate.  But that choice does not necessarily make Cruz lawless, himself: it just means he is as human and susceptible to mistake as any of us.  But what I do know is that the other three ‘front runners’ in the race are wantonly lawless, and so are the men comparing Cruz to Lucifer.  So, to me, this tells me more about who the father of all these people is than it tells me about the character of a man who has demonstrated he tries to obey the law.

But then, none of that is of any consequences, is it?  I mean, it’s not like God’s Word says He hates the lawless and loves the one who obeys and upholds the law.  And if it did, what would that matter?  As long as we ‘love,’ God forgives, right?  I mean, nothing in His Word says we have to obey His commands if we ‘love,’ right?

Isaiah 5:20-21

The relationship between ‘principle’ and ‘ideal’ can tell us a great deal about ourselves.  For starters, it can tell us whether or not we truly value the things we claim to value.  If our actions are in line with our stated values, then there is a good chance that we actually believe in them.  However, if our actions are not in line with our stated values, then there is a good chance that we do not really believe the things we say.  In this case, if there is a pattern or consistency in our actions, that may actually tell us what we truly do believe in or value.  What’s more, when we understand this relationship between ‘principle’ and ‘ideal,’ it helps us determine whether or not others believe what they say, whether they may be confused about something, or whether they actually do not believe the things they claim to believe  (i.e., it will help us distinguish true hypocrisy from honest misunderstanding).  This is why we should all understand the relationship between ‘principle’ and ‘ideal.’

I understand that it is not something most people enjoy doing, but, before we have a discussion about ideas, we should start by looking at the definition of the words we will be using — just to make sure we have the proper understanding of what those words are supposed to mean, so we can be sure to use them properly:

Full Definition of ideal

In other words, an ‘ideal’ is the model of perfection: the ‘perfect’ scenario or model of whatever we are discussing.  In this sense, an ‘ideal’ answers the question(s) ‘what?‘ and ‘why?‘  In the case of a direction, North might be the ‘ideal,’ especially in terms of navigation.  In the case of morality, the ultimate ideal might be ‘The Sermon on the Mount.’   In the case of America, our ideal is found in The Declaration of Independence.

Full Definition of principle

In other words, a ‘principle’ is the system of per-determined rule by which we make our daily decisions to assure we stay on the path that leads to our stated ‘ideal.’   In this sense, a ‘principle’ answers the question ‘how?‘  In the case of direction, a compass could be our ‘how?‘  In the case of morality, the Ten Commandments would be our ‘how?‘  And, in the case of the American ‘ideal,’ our how is found in the Constitution.

So, to put it in the simplest terms, an ideal is the destination (ex. the Declaration of Independence); while a principle is a per-determined rule intended to help you stay on the correct path to that destination (ex. the U.S. Constitution).

But this is just the understanding of the proper relationship between ‘ideal’ and ‘principle.’  That understanding only comes into full use when we actually apply it examining our own actions.  Only when we do this — and do it honestly — can we know what things we truly value.  For example:

Suppose I claim to value the ‘ideals’ set forth in the Declaration of Independence, but I support abortion, ‘equality’ laws and social security.  What do my actions tell me about my stated beliefs?  Well, since the Declaration states that life is among our primary rights, that it is granted by our Creator, and that all our rights belong to us from the moment of creation, then my support for abortion tells me I do not really believe that part of the Declaration’s ideal.  And since I support ‘equality’ laws, which are based in forcing one person to accept another who they may find morally questionable, then my actions do not conform with the Declaration’s ideal of liberty. Finally, if I support social security, which is based on taking from one and giving it to another, my actions contradict the Declaration’s ideal of ‘pursuing happiness‘ — at least, not the happiness of others.

So, in the hypothetical above, what do my actions tell me?  They tell me that I either A — do not think of the Declaration in the same terms as the men who drafted and adopted it intended, or B — I do not actually believe those stated ideals are true.  If A, and I have a different understanding of the ideals asserted in the Declaration, then I may be ignorant or confused.  Either way, I need to study the founders words more closely to decide.  However, if I properly understand the original intent of the Declaration, and I claim their ideals, yet my actions are in conflict with those ideals, then I am deceiving myself, as ell as everyone else around me.  In this case, I am walking a fine line between criminal ignorance and deliberately lying — both of which speak directly to my character.

Once we can take an honest look at ourselves and determine whether our actions (i.e. ‘principles’) agree with our stated beliefs (i.e. ‘ideals’), then we can use this understanding to evaluate the beliefs of others.  In this case, I will not provide any examples.  I’ll leave that to the reader.  However, if the reader has a firm understanding of the relationship between ‘principle’ and ‘ideal,’ then I have no doubt that the reader will find many such examples in our society today — namely because so few of us actually live a principled life any more that their consistency sticks out against the overall backdrop of hypocrisy which surrounds those few principled souls left in this world…

[NOTE: I no longer think of my voice as anything special.  There was a time when I believed I had something important to say, but not so much these days.  I write now because I feel driven to do so.  Something inside me will not let me rest until I post the pages you just read.  I’d just as soon not bother anymore.  It all seems like no one is listening and I do more harm than good.  So I have come to trust that whatever it is driving me has all this under control.  Personally, I believe it is God, but others may not.  All I ask is that, if anything I write helps you, or you think it might help others in any way, please, share this page.  Re-blog it, share it on FB or send the link to your friends.  So long as you feel it will do more good than harm, then please, use this page however you wish.  Thank you.]

 

From my other blog, The Road to Concord:

Like mathematics, Language is a form of logic.  This means, like mathematics, Language is governed by a known set of rules.  In order for mathematics to work, the rules which govern it cannot change.  If 2+2 equals 4 here but 5 where you are, then we cannot be sure of the result of any equation we use.  This means we cannot be confident in anything that uses mathematics, most especially engineering.  So, if the rules governing mathematics can change, you should not cross a bridge or get on an aircraft as you cannot know they will hold up or fly.  The same is true for Language.  In order for us to have any confidence that we can make ourselves understood, or that we properly understand what others are saying to us, the rules governing our language cannot change.  Now, let’s look at one of the most fundamental rules of any language: words have specific meanings and you cannot change that meaning without making it abundantly clear to all parties that you have redefined the word!  This especially applies to the ‘gender’ issue in our society today.

Read the rest…

WARNING!

THIS POST IS NOT POLITICALLY CORRECT

It’s just logically correct

When properly applied, logical extension is a powerful tool.  For example, if we apply it to the bathroom/gender issue currently in the news, we find that our sexual orientation is not an accident of birth after all, but a choice — just as many have claimed.  But how do we arrive at this conclusion?

The easiest way is to just notice that the people who support the GLBT agenda have now added a ‘Q’ — for ‘Questioning.  If you Google it, you’ll find it.  Here is just one example:

Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans, or Questioning

Now, simple logic says that, if you are born hetero or homosexual, then you are not going to ‘question:’ you will know.  Even the assertion that you can question implies choice, which implies that it is not pre-determined.  But there’s more.

If you will do another Google search, you will find that the people pushing this gender/bathroom agenda say that we must allow people to use the bathroom that matches how the ‘identify’ at that time.  Well, there is yet another choice only, this time, it is not even connected to your sexual organs or orientation, but your whim.  This is a direct admission that one can ‘chose’ their gender and, because the people pushing this non-sense have equated gender with sex (which it is not, but that is an entirely different post), then the logical conclusion is:

One is not born gay, one choose to be!

And this means (again, by logical extension) that the LGBTQ agenda has nothing to do with ‘fairness’ or ‘equality’ and everything to do with political power of a minority over the majority — period!  (in this case, the forced normalcy of deviancy along with the creation of special — not equal — rights and protected classes).

Now, before you decide to pull out your politically correct stakes and start kindling a fire for me, let me try one more thing to make my case.

What if I declare that I identify as a ‘conservative male lesbian’ and demand that I then be afforded the same protections as any other lesbian?  Do you think the LGBTQ community is going to accept me — a male lesbian living as a heterosexual male?

HONESTY TEST:  If you are honest with yourself, you know the answer to that last question.  And with that answer, I rest my case.

Ain’t logic a bugger?  OK, let the hate begin 🙂

[NOTE: I no longer think of my voice as anything special.  There was a time when I believed I had something important to say, but not so much these days.  I write now because I feel driven to do so.  Something inside me will not let me rest until I post the pages you just read.  I’d just as soon not bother anymore.  It all seems like no one is listening and I do more harm than good.  So I have come to trust that whatever it is driving me has all this under control.  Personally, I believe it is God, but others may not.  All I ask is that, if anything I write helps you, or you think it might help others in any way, please, share this page.  Re-blog it, share it on FB or send the link to your friends.  So long as you feel it will do more good than harm, then please, use this page however you wish.  Thank you.]

I heard someone today who was lamenting the loss of what he called ‘ritual’ in our society.  Now, I understood what he was trying to say — and why — but he came across as whining more than informing.  This was because he was using the wrong word.  But, if I understood him, what does it matter if he used the correct word — right?  Well, in this case, the fact that he did not understand why he was using the wrong word spoke directly to what he was trying to say.  It showed a lack of understanding on his part, and this lack of understanding transformed what might have otherwise been an insightful and informative commentary into an emotional lamentation that could too easily be taken for whining.  To me, this was a lost opportunity to help others understand what this person was actually lamenting, and why, but it does not have to remain lost — not as long as we still have our own voice and a means to reach out to others.

So, once again, I heard this person lamenting the fact that our society has lost what he called ‘ritual.’  However, what he meant to say is ‘tradition.’  On the surface, it may not seem like this is a big deal, but it is.  Let me explain by pointing to a passage in the Bible:

If you read your Scriptures, you will find that the Pharisees questioned Jesus as to why He allowed His disciples to break their ‘traditions.’  Jesus responded by asking the Pharisees why they had replaced the Commandments of God with those same ‘traditions/” (Matt 15:1-6).  Now, just as in the discussion over ‘ritual’ vs ‘tradition,’ there is more to the words used in this Scripture than may appear at the first reading.  To understand what Jesus was really saying to the Pharisees, you have to know the history of Israel and the Hebrew faith.  Well, the same applies to the difference between ‘ritual’ vs ‘tradition.’

In the case of this Scripture passage, Jesus could have just as easily asked the Pharisees why they had replaced God’s Law with human ritual, because that is exactly what they had done (remember, form and function are what define our words).  They had replaced God’s Laws with rituals.  And, in this case, we can just as accurately translate this passage using the word ‘ritual’ instead of ‘tradition.’  There would be no change in the meaning or lesson in Christ’s Words.  We can see this by looking at the definition of the words in question:

Full Definition of ritual

Notice that one definition is ‘done in accordance to religious law?’  Well, have you ever heard the saying:

“Religion is man’s attempt to reach God; Grace is God’s attempt to reach man.”

This is exactly what the Pharisees had done: they had replaced God’s Laws with their own idea of how things should be done to make everything right with God.  But this does not work because, in the end, any attempt to earn God’s favor through works is a declaration that we are god.  For, if we can ‘earn’ a response from God by doing a work, then we are placing God in our debt by our own actions.  The only way you can put God in your debt is to be God, and a God greater than he.  This is blaspheme.  It is also why any works-based attempt to earn salvation will fail.  And it is exactly what the Pharisees had done to Israel: replaced God’s Laws which could save with man’s rituals wich cannot.

Now look at the definition of ‘tradition:’

Full Definition of tradition

Notice how two of the meanings of ‘tradition’ can be connected with the teaching of past events and/or information?  Well, past events may be questioned because they cannot be proven, but this does not mean they didn’t happen.  Likewise, the information handed down my go out of fashion, but this does not mean that it is not still true.  This is the key difference between ‘ritual’ and ‘tradition.’

A ritual is an invention of man.  It has no connection to the past, nor can it carry any truth.  Therefore, it has no value outside of serving as a means of controlling others by marking those who may be rejecting the authority which established and/or enforces that ritual.  In the case of hand washing, the disciples marked themselves for the Pharisees because they did not wash their hands.  Therefore, by refusing to comply with the Pharisees’ ritual, the disciples showed they had rejected the Pharisees authority.  This was because the disciples knew that there was no value in the Pharisees’ rituals.  Those rituals could not provide any benefit to them, so they ignored them.

However, in the case of a tradition, even if we are ignorant of the past events or learning which created them, they can still afford us some benefit.  This is because there is truth in them.  Many in our society have rejected the Bible, yet those same people cling to the weekend as a time of rest.  Well, the five-day work week is a tradition which comes directly from Judeo/Christian teachings.  God commanded His people to rest on the Sabbath, so they could study His Word, but also so their bodies could rejuvenate.  This is not a ritual, but a tradition, and as such, it still carries a benefit for those who know nothing of the past events or wisdom which created the tradition.

This is what the man I heard was actually lamenting: the loss our our traditions.  Those traditions were meant to teach us about liberty, and the price that must be paid to gain and sustain it.  Our traditions were also meant to protect us from those who would seek to take our liberty from us.  Our founders derived this formula from Scripture, and they told us that our liberty would only last so long as we remained a Godly people.  So this teaching is also a part of the American tradition.  All of these things were put in place because our forefathers wanted to teach us and protect us.  But today, we have either lost or rejected them.  We have even rejected God, or worse yet, made Him into a thing of our own creation.  This is what the man was lamenting, and I agree with him.  But the fact that he used the word ‘ritual’ tells me that he does not understand why Jesus chastised the Pharisees for replacing sound teachings with worthless rituals any more than the Pharisees did — and that breaks my heart (because it speaks to the condition of his heart...).

[NOTE: I no longer think of my voice as anything special.  There was a time when I believed I had something important to say, but not so much these days.  I write now because I feel driven to do so.  Something inside me will not let me rest until I post the pages you just read.  I’d just as soon not bother anymore.  It all seems like no one is listening and I do more harm than good.  So I have come to trust that whatever it is driving me has all this under control.  Personally, I believe it is God, but others may not.  All I ask is that, if anything I write helps you, or you think it might help others in any way, please, share this page.  Re-blog it, share it on FB or send the link to your friends.  So long as you feel it will do more good than harm, then please, use this page however you wish.  Thank you.]

It’s true: the Bible cannot save you!  However, it can guide you to the Person Who can — but you have to read it and embrace its teachings first.  This is because salvation comes through faith/trust in the One True God in the form of Jesus Christ.  If you let it, the Bible will teach you how to have a personal relationship with God, and how you can be saved through that relationship.  In this sense, God’s Word (i.e. the Bible) is a guide to salvation, but not salvation, itself.  The Constitution is very similar: it cannot save us, but it can help us keep from destroying ourselves.  However, just like the Bible, you have to understand the principles behind it.  In the case of Scripture, the Bible teaches faith, trust and love.  In the case of the Constitution…  Well, the principle is the same, but the way it is presented is a little different, and that is the point of this post: understanding the true relationship between the Constitution and the preservation of individual rights and liberty.

There are many who point to the Constitution, but there is one voice in particular who speaks in terms that suggest the Constitution is the source of our national salvation.  This belief is driven by this person’s religious beliefs.  When you hear phrases similar to ‘the Constitution is hanging by a thread,’ you need to understand that it is very likely a reference to the Mormon ‘white horse’ prophecy.  In short, this prophecy says that there will come a time when the Constitution is in great peril, but the nation will be saved by Mormon elders who ride in “on a white horse’ — so to speak — and ‘save’ the nation by restoring the Constitution.  To the Mormons, the Constitution is of divine origins.  Therefore, by restoring the Constitution, the idea is they will be restoring God’s plan, which will lead to a new era of peace and lawfulness.  In other words, Mormons see themselves as the ‘saviors’ of the nation because they believe they will ‘save’ the Constitution which will then save the nation.  But this is all is all bunk!

First, the Constitution is not a divine document, but you would have to read and understand Scripture to understand why this is true.  The Constitution is nothing but a vehicle: a means through which our nation can strive for the ideal upon which it was founded.  But the Constitution does not contain that ideal.  The founders assumed the people would understand that the ideal which founded this nation is contained in the Declaration of Independence.  This is why I often tell people the Declaration of Independence is the ‘what’ and ‘why’ of America, the Constitution is just the ‘how.’  This means the Declaration contains the destination toward which this nation was intended to travel; the Constitution was just one vehicle by which we could travel toward that destination.

Now, let me return to my original analogy between the Bible and Salvation.  If Salvation is the destination, the Bible is the vehicle that will get you there, but it is not what saves you.  Your faith/trust in God saves you.  So the Bible functions as a compass.  It points you in the direction of your goal and warns you how to stay on the correct path.  In the same way, individual rights and liberty was the goal of our founding fathers.  Our Constitution was just the vehicle they created to help guide us in that direction, but it is not the source of our individual rights and liberty.  To find that source, you must look to the Declaration, and if you look to the Declaration, you will find that it points directly to the Creator.  But then, those who actually read what the founders wrote with their own hand and not what politically motivated ‘historians’ claim the founders believed, this will not come as a surprise.  The founders saw the hand of God in the creation of this nation, and — to them — the Declaration and Constitution were growths resulting from a People trying to actually apply and live the teachings of the Bible.  It is also why the founders said that, unless the nation stuck with the Judeo/Christian principles underlying the foundations of this nation, we would lose our way.  It is why John Quincy Adams said:

Before the formation of this Constitution…[t]his Declaration of Independence was received and ratified by all the States in the Union and has never been disannulled.

Is it not that the Declaration of Independence first organized the social compact on the foundation of the Redeemer’s mission upon earth? That it laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity?

The highest glory of the American Revolution was this; it connected in one indissoluble bond the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity.

Now here is the point: if a society rejects the foundation upon which the Constitution is built (i.e. the God of the Bible), then there is no way the Constitution can guide us because the compass has been rejected.  The compass of this nation is the Declaration, and it points to God.  This is why the godless who seek to control the nation and its people severed the connections between the Constitution and the Declaration: so they could convince us we were heading in the wrong direction, which then allowed them to take control of the vehicle.  We, the People, have allowed men to convince us of lies.  So long as we believe those lies, the Constitution is useless: it can be made to take us in any direction our masters tell us to go.

Now, ask yourself, how can restoring the constitution save a nation that no longer knows where it is going?  You can’t.  Before you can fix the car, you have to convince people of where they want to go.  Only then can the vehicle get you there.  And, again, if we would bother to read history, real history and not what revisionists claiming to be historians tell us.  If we read the first hand records, we will find that our founding fathers understood the need to change hearts before you can create a vehicle to guide society on its chosen path:

“The Revolution was effected before the War commenced. The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people; a change in their religious sentiments of their duties and obligations … This radical change in the principles, opinions, sentiments, and affections of the people, was the real American Revolution.”

–John Adams

You see, the American Revolution, and the nation which was created out of it, came from the Great Awakening: a religious revival that convinced the nation that Salvation comes only from a faith/trust in God, and that a faith/trust in God leads to obedience to His law.  This belief is stated in the Declaration and the means to guard us on our way was created in the Constitution.  But the Constitution is just a vehicle: it cannot save us and no amount of restoration is going to work until we first change the hearts of our countrymen.  Beware of anyone who tells you otherwise.  They are trying to seize control of the vehicle so they can take you in whatever direction they wish to go.

[NOTE: I no longer think of my voice as anything special.  There was a time when I believed I had something important to say, but not so much these days.  I write now because I feel driven to do so.  Something inside me will not let me rest until I post the pages you just read.  I’d just as soon not bother anymore.  It all seems like no one is listening and I do more harm than good.  So I have come to trust that whatever it is driving me has all this under control.  Personally, I believe it is God, but others may not.  All I ask is that, if anything I write helps you, or you think it might help others in any way, please, share this page.  Re-blog it, share it on FB or send the link to your friends.  So long as you feel it will do more good than harm, then please, use this page however you wish.  Thank you.]

When Jesus warned His disciples to guard themselves against the ‘yeast of the Pharisees,‘ He was warning them to guard themselves against the Pharisees’ teachings.  The Pharisees had perverted God’s Word and His Law.  But how were the disciples supposed to know that their leaders were perverting the Truth?  Because the disciples were expected to know God’s Word and His Law, they were expected to recognize that the Pharisees teachings and actions conflicted with God’s Word and Law.  Or, to put it in simpler terms, Jesus expected His disciples to recognize the Pharisees’ hypocrisy.  A careful reading of Scripture will reveal that Jesus often confronted hypocrisy.  But why?  What is it that hypocrisy is supposed to teach us?  Is it supposed to indicate that what is being taught is wrong, or is it supposed to teach us something else?  Well, if we have eyes to see and ears to hear, there is a very famous passage in Scripture which speaks directly to this question.

John 7:53-8:11

The Adulterous Woman

8 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. ² Early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began to teach them. ³ The scribes and the Pharisees *brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court, ⁴ they *said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. ⁵ Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?” ⁶ They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground. ⁷ But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” ⁸ Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. ⁹ When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court. ¹⁰ Straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” ¹¹ She said, “No one, ^[b]Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.”]

This passage is about Jesus directly confronting the Pharisees’ hypocrisy (for a fuller discussion, please read this link).  Jesus did not let the adulteress go free because the Pharisees were wrong about their accusations or because He disagreed with the law.  Jesus let her go free because the Pharisees were being hypocritical.  They claimed to be the experts in and caretakers of the law, so they knew that, before anyone could be stoned for adultery, they had to produce both parties (the man and woman) who had been caught in the act by two or more witnesses.  Furthermore, both witnesses had to testify to the act and a judge had to find the accused guilty.  So, by demanding that Christ condemn the accused woman, they were demanding that Jesus break the law.  Jesus knew this, and His response upheld the law while shining a spotlight on the sin in every heart taking place in this act.  By demanding that the person without sin cast the first stone, He was telling them that, if they truly believed they were acting lawfully at that moment, then they should obey the law and throw the first stone to execute the accused.  But because everyone — including the Pharisees — knew they were guilty of hypocrisy, no one threw a stone.  Instead, they left.  But notice: Jesus told the accused to stop sinning, which reveals she was guilty and Jesus knew it.  So the penalty would have been justified — had the people followed the law (which also teaches us that the ends do not justify the means).

You see, hypocrisy does not mean that what we say about right and wrong is incorrect; it is just an indication that we do not truly believe what we say.  This is a profound realization, as in the case of right and wrong, it reveals that we reject God’s Laws.  If we claim to love the Lord and His Law, but we cannot obey, then do we really love Him or His Law?  Scripture would suggest the answer is no!  And that is the other lesson: that we cannot obey God’s Law.  Humans simply cannot obey the Lord without going astray.  This is the essence of sin: a violation of God’s Law.  And that is what hypocrisy is: a sin.  It is bearing false witness.  We say one thing, but we do another.  Well, if you say something that your actions reveal you do not believe, then you have borne false witness, and that is sin (read this link for more on this aspect of hypocrisy).  But we can go one step further.  Even if we reject God’s Law and we create our own idea of right and wrong (which is claiming to be God), we will still break those rules.

There is not one among us who can even keep our own idea of right and wrong, so, even when it comes to our own rules, we are all hypocrites.  God’s Law is infinitely higher than man’s, so how can any of us be expected to obey God’s Law when we can’t even obey our own?  The answer is we cannot, and this is meant to help us understand our need for a Savior.  It is also meant to teach us that there is a God (how can there be a perfect moral law without a perfect law giver?) and that only He can save us (how can someone who cannot even obey their own laws save themselves?).  Thankfully, God loves us in spite of ourselves, and He has provided a Savior — Jesus Christ!  All we have to do to be forgiven and saved is to humble ourselves and admit that we are hypocrites (sinners) and ask Him for forgiveness.  Then ask Him into our lives and to become the Lord of our lives.  If we do this, it won’t stop us from being sinners, but it will start us down a path that will open our eyes to our hypocrisy — which then helps us avoid it because we chose not to be hypocrites.  This is what Christians mean when they say:

“We are not perfect, just forgiven.”

So, yes, Christians are hypocrites, and that tells you we still break God’s Law.  But we have accepted Him as our Lord and Savior, and Him living in us helps us to see that we are hypocrites.  This means we know the Truth.  So, if we do wrong, when other believers confront us and show us where we have done wrong, we acknowledge it and stop doing wrong.  This is called repentance.  However, if a person who claims to be a Christian is confronted with the Lord’s Word and they still refuse to stop doing wrong…  Well, that is what hypocrisy is meant to teach us: that those who say one thing and act another do not truly believe what they say.  In the case of an unrepentant ‘Christian,’ Scripture would suggest they are not Christians at all.  After all, Jesus is the one who said that those who call themselves by His name but do not do as He commanded will be turned away by Him! 

Therefore, pay attention to hypocrisy.  It is meant to warn and teach us.  When you see it, look for what is wrong and act accordingly — especially if you find it in yourself.  After all, it is directly connected to your relationship with our Lord, and He doesn’t want anything to come between us and Himself.  So, watch for the signs that indicate we are getting in our own way in our relationship with Jesus.  God bless (to read my companion post on the Natural Law aspects of this subject, please click here).

[NOTE: I no longer think of my voice as anything special.  There was a time when I believed I had something important to say, but not so much these days.  I write now because I feel driven to do so.  Something inside me will not let me rest until I post the pages you just read.  I’d just as soon not bother anymore.  It all seems like no one is listening and I do more harm than good.  So I have come to trust that whatever it is driving me has all this under control.  Personally, I believe it is God, but others may not.  All I ask is that, if anything I write helps you, or you think it might help others in any way, please, share this page.  Re-blog it, share it on FB or send the link to your friends.  So long as you feel it will do more good than harm, then please, use this page however you wish.  Thank you.]

As I try to keep up with the news, especially in trying to link current events to Scriptural timelines, I find myself wondering just how many of us who call ourselves by the Lord’s name actually worship Him, and how many of us worship our own, personal Jesus?  And do we even realize that there is a difference, and the difference is a matter of eternal life or eternal death?

I took the title of this post from a Depeche Mode song, but the question I pose goes to the very heart of what now ails the Western world: the idea that we can and do create our own, personal reality.  That’s a lie, but many believe it.  Just as many who call themselves Christian do not worship Jesus, but their own personal creations which they call Jesus.  In other words, these people worship an idol, a lie, but they are blind to this because they are blind to Truth.

Jesus is in the Jewish (Old Testament) faith.  They know Him as ‘The Messiah.’  He is also in the Mormon religion, but to Mormons, Jesus is a man who became a god.  Muslims also have their own version of Jesus.  To them, Jesus is also ‘the messiah,’ though they do not define what that means.  Mostly, to Muslims, Jesus is a great prophet.  Jehovah’s Witnesses, Seven-Day Adventists and others all have their own versions of Jesus, as well.  And then there are Christians: those who follow the Jesus proclaimed by Scripture.  All are called ‘Jesus,’ but no two are the same person.  One is Genuine: the Living God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  The rest are all creations of man — or, if you will —  ‘personal’ versions of Jesus.  The first Jesus can save you — if you accept Him and Him alone.  All those other versions…  Well, not so much.

So which is the ‘true’ Jesus?  And why do so many find it offense that I would say there even is a ‘true’ Jesus?  Well, I suppose the answer is a bit of a paradox (and more than a little ironic), but the simple answer comes from the True Jesus, Himself:

Matthew 7:20-27

²⁰ So then, you will ^[a]know them by their fruits.

²¹ “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. ²² Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many ^[b]miracles?’ ²³ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’

The Two Foundations

²⁴ “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and ^[c]acts on them, ^[d]may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ And the rain fell, and the ^[e]floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. ²⁶ Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not ^[f]act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. ²⁷ The rain fell, and the ^[g]floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”

Now, for those who still do not understand, let me do my best to explain:

Jesus is Who He claimed to be — God!  He is Yahweh: the One, True, Living God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  He has revealed Himself in and through the Scriptures: both Old and New Testament.  This is the ‘Real’ Jesus: the Jesus Who reveals Himself in and through His living Word.  Those who believe in and trust in this Jesus are building their hope on solid ground.  They will not collapse under the weight of their own sin, but will be rescued out of it by God’s Grace, through His Son, Jesus.

All other versions of Jesus are lies.  Those who place their hope in lies build that hope on sifting sands, and they will be swept away to ruin for it.  This is because they never knew the One True Jesus.  They knew a creation of their own desires: they knew their own, personal Jesus.

The question for you now is, which Jesus do you worship?  Or, better yet, how can you know you worship the True Jesus?  And the answer is simple: if your Jesus always agrees with you, then you might want to keep seeking Him until you start to see you and He have very different ideas of what is right and wrong, and that you are usually on the wrong side of His right.  You can do this by reading the Scriptures and, just as the Scriptures promise, you will find Him — but only if you are humble and sincere.  If you are humble and sincere, you will accept the Jesus of Scripture.  But if you are not, you will create a personal illusion and chase after that Jesus, and that Jesus will lead to ruin.  So choose wisely.

 

I stumbled across this meme on Face Book and found myself wondering: “How many people realize that there is one sin represented here, and both sides are equally guilty?”

To me, the implication is that the we are suppose to have less sympathy for the people at the top of the meme than for those at the bottom.  This may be the world’s way of looking at things, but it is not Scriptural.

Both the prophets and Jesus warned us against corruption and ‘unjust gain.’  But that is exactly what is represented by both groups in this picture.  In both cases, the people in this meme are perverting the law for personal gain.  It does not matter how much one takes: theft is still theft.  Nor does it matter how badly one corrupts the law for personal gain: corruption is still corruption.  To the Lord, everyone in this picture is equally guilty because everyone in this picture has corrupted the law for their own personal gain.

It may help to remember that the government does not give anyone anything that was not taken from another by force.  Even if you think you are ‘entitled,’ such as in the case of Social Security, the money has been taken from another and given to you.  This perverts the law and turns the government against the person who is having his money taken.  It forces people to become dependent on the government.  And, in the end, it is theft.

So, no matter how we may try to rationalize this, our perfect Lord looks on this and sees nothing but sin, and because the Lord is also perfect justice, He is compelled to treat the guilty equally.  It does not matter whether you steal millions or a single dollar, all the Lord sees is a thief.  Luckily, the Lord is also forgiving enough to have provided us with a way of redeeming ourselves.  All you have to do is acknowledge your sin and accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior.  But understand, this means you must repent, and to repent, you must give up the old ways.  Sadly, I have to wonder how many people represented in this picture are willing to do this? (You can find a parallel post dealing with this same subject from the position of Natural Law here.)

[NOTE: I no longer think of my voice as anything special.  There was a time when I believed I had something important to say, but not so much these days.  I write now because I feel driven to do so.  Something inside me will not let me rest until I post the pages you just read.  I’d just as soon not bother anymore.  It all seems like no one is listening and I do more harm than good.  So I have come to trust that whatever it is driving me has all this under control.  Personally, I believe it is God, but others may not.  All I ask is that, if anything I write helps you, or you think it might help others in any way, please, share this page.  Re-blog it, share it on FB or send the link to your friends.  So long as you feel it will do more good than harm, then please, use this page however you wish.  Thank you.]