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The Unraveling of America

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As we celebrate Independence Day today, I find myself reminiscing about the qualities and people who have made our nation great. Character, integrity, patriotism, freedom, excellence, Godliness, exceptionalism are all words that come to mind when I think of the writings of our founding fathers. Names like Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, and Adams are synonymous with these aspirations. Others who followed in their wake — men like Lincoln, Roosevelt, Kennedy, Reagan — encouraged America’s citizenry to overcome adversity, stand for freedom and against tyranny, and shoot for the moon. One has but to visit our nation’s capital — places like the Smithsonian Institution, Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery — to have a sense of where we came from, how hard we have worked, where our faith was founded, how much we have sacrificed, and what we have accomplished…

And we have but to watch the evening news to realize how far we have fallen.

Unraveling Flag - horiz

“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil…” ~ Isaiah 5:20

We’re there.

Today, we are seeing America unraveling at the seams. We are seeing unprecedented evil – as the Bible defines it – being accepted and even welcomed in our culture. We are witnessing events and attitudes that I would never have imagined would be “acceptable” in my lifetime.

So who is pulling the strings?

The history we are seeing unfold before our eyes is startling, shocking, and disturbing. But current events beg the questions…

  • Do you know that two men changed all of culture as we see it right now?

  • Is the homosexual revolution all the result of a brilliantly devised marketing plan?

  • Did you know that Dearborn, Michigan is already “Islamicized”?

  • Is political correctness destroying America?

  • Why is there respect for Shari’a law in our government, but no respect for the Bible?

  • Did our forefathers really set up boundaries between the church and the state?

Yesterday (July 3), I released a word to our nation. My new book, The Unraveling of America, answers these questions and more. It is time to stand for righteousness. It is time to stand for truth. It is time to get honest about the individuals, entities, and attitudes that are tearing our great nation apart, and return our nation to the path of righteousness, justice, truth, and integrity that is our true destiny.

If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. ~ II Chronicles 7:14

It is time to expose the unraveling of America, and begin the healing of our Land.

Pastor Ron

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America Fresh Oil New Wine 2015 Healing Living It Out In Real Time The Big Event The Life of Faith The Mysteries of God The Secret Place Through The Looking Glass

The Big #Fail.

It’s the joke you told and no one laughed.

It’s the job you got fired from.

It’s the “great idea” that singed your eyebrows, sent your best friend to the hospital, or turned your dog green for 6 months.

It’s the “Hey… watch THIS!” moment that nearly landed you a Darwin Award.

Tacoma Narrows Bridge
Tacoma Narrows Bridge

One has only to Google the word fail to find a host of cringe-worthy, heart-wrenching, and oftentimes humorous results that come from that particular search. Fails come in all shapes and sizes… from the personal unfortunate moment captured by your little sister and posted to Instagram, to the architectural mis-design that garnered the attention of the world (the Tacoma Narrows Bridge), to the truly tragic that resulted in untimely death or serious injury. But while losing a job, or failing as an inventor for the 500th time can take the proverbial wind out of your sails, just because you fail doesn’t make you a failure.

When faced with multiple failures trying to create the incandescent light bulb, Thomas Edison made this observation…

I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.

American founding father, statesman, and inventor Benjamin Franklin said…

Do not fear mistakes. You will know failure. Continue to reach out.

Billionaire and real-estate tycoon Donald Trump expressed it this way…

Sometimes by losing a battle you find a new way to win the war.

Microsoft founder Bill Gates stated…

It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.

All of these men experienced disappointment. These men all experienced some sort of failure. However, experiencing failure and being a failure are two entirely different things.

Failing does not make you a failure. After Peter famously told Jesus that, even if everyone else turned away from Him, he would not, but then proceeded to deny Jesus three times in His hour of need, most would have written Peter off as an abject failure and loser.

Jesus didn’t.

Upon His resurrection, Peter found redemption in Jesus’ words, “Peter, do you love Me?” No grovelling. No penance. No period of probation or trying to make it up to the Savior. Jesus understood Peter’s heart, understood His weakness, and showed Peter in no uncertain terms that even the most horrific failure is not always final. He gave Peter hope, and by giving Peter that hope at that time, Peter went on to become “The Rock” that Jesus depended on in the infancy of the early church.

So what is your fail? What is your moment from which you need to pick yourself up by your bootstraps, dust off, and re-affix your eyes on the Savior? It’s time to stop seeing yourself through the eyes of your embarrassment, and start seeing yourself through the eyes of the One Who looks at you, and sees nothing but potential.

Today, I leave you with a thought from President Theodore Roosevelt…

Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure… than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.

Screenshot taken from 16MM Kodachrome motion picture film by Barney Elliott.. Via Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:TacomaNarrowsBridgeCollapse_in_color.jpg#/media/File:TacomaNarrowsBridgeCollapse_in_color.jpg
“Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collapse in color” by Barney Elliott; The Camera Shop