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Patriots and Partisans: Restoring America

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For the last couple of weeks, all eyes in the political arena were fixed on Georgia’s 6th congressional district. Democrats and liberals from across the nation poured money into the campaign of Democrat Jon Ossoff in his bid to defeat Republican Karen Handel. Ossoff outraised and outspent Handel in what became the most expensive race in U.S. House of Representatives history. Liberal actors and entertainers endorsed Ossoff. Liberal politicians campaigned for him, trying to tie Handel to their perception of President Trump’s unpopularity.

In the end, Karen Handel won a decisive victory for the Republican majority, and liberal Democrats were once again left with just the stench of all of the money they had burned through in their failed attempt to further marginalize the 6-month old Trump Administration.

Candidate XRecently I, along with several others, were given access to some confidential information from a clandestine source inside a liberal think tank. The information we received was disturbing, to say the least.

Those associated with this think tank are determined to execute a coup d’état on our President and our government. While they intend to make it all seem legal, make no mistake about it… their goal is to take down President Trump and his entire administration.

The information we were given outlined the steps of action for their plan.

Dr. Frank Wright of Truths That Transform conveyed the seven steps the socialist/anarchist liberals use to destroy any opposition.

  • Ignore – by haughtily dismissing the others viewpoint.
  • Marginalize – view the person as an extremist.
  • Attack – make up fake news and attack the person through the left wing media.
  • Dismiss – use terms such as “history has sown or experts say…”.
  • Vicious Personal Attacks – use personal attacks on the person so you will ignore their real viewpoint.
  • Restrict – use every effort to block the persons message.
  • Aggressive Legal Effort – use legal force to threaten and attack the opponent.

Normally by step 5 the victim will throw in the towel as we saw with Judge Robert Bork, Sarah Palin, and others. Some have survived the vicious attacks, such as Judge Clarence Thomas, but not without a stained reputation.

Then along came Donald Trump.

Monitor 5He met every one of their attacks with a determination not to be defeated, and has now made it to Level 7 — Aggressive Legal Effort. The liberal left have turned to a “special prosecutor” to bring false charges against the President in an attempt to thwart him in the media and public perception.

Remember — liberals believe that “the end justifies the means” and they will lie, cheat, unify, whine, create anarchy, demonstrate, attack physically, and yes… even resort to murder. We’ve seen it before our very eyes in recent days. One of socialist Bernie Sanders’s followers tried to murder Republican legislators at a ball practice about two weeks ago. According to eyewitnesses, the shooter expended more than 50 rounds of ammunition over a 10 minute period before being taken down by police.

There is nothing any more deceptive, dirty, or mean than a cornered liberal. They will never lose or exit gracefully. They have to be voted out or thrown out.

So, how do they control America? There is a “deep state” — a “shadow government” — that crosses all political lines. Only the fictional Netflix series “House of Cards” even hints at the darkness, deception, and death caused by the “hidden government”.

Now, before you think this is all surreal or impossible — conspiracy theory stuff — consider this…

First… They control through NSA surveillance of all communications between American and foreign nations. It is this illegal surveillance that was used against Donald Trump and has now caused the fake charges against him.

Second… Education and the mainstream media are totally controlled by the “deep state.” Most large universities are almost completely anti-American and socialist in their approach. Furthermore, the liberal media uses all its power, resources, and influence to attack political enemies who oppose their agenda.

Third… They control the governmental coffers of money, and through that, much of the business and banking. They can reward and punish financially.

Fourth… They provide immunity and protection for their cronies. The corrupt and criminal Clintons remain unprosecuted while patriots like General Petraeus are criminalized.

Fifth… The “deep state” can silence their opponents through intimidation, coercion, threats, and even death.

America stands on a battle field unlike any we have ever experienced. The forces of hell are operating in the atheistic, liberal, godless entities lurking in the shadows of our great government.

Monitor 1Right now there are brave souls who are daring to try to “drain the swamp” and to clean up our politics. Unfortunately, even the Republican Party bosses are not standing shoulder to shoulder with our President. Those who love America need to send a powerful message in 2018 to the elite in our halls of government… that message must declare, “You will hear us, and you will represent us, or we will unseat you and replace you with someone who will.”

The reason former President Obama never lost a vote while he had the legislature is because they (Democrats) were unified. Unity is the key, and is something in short supply in the Republican party. Do you mean to tell me that the Republicans can unify for a ballgame, but not unify behind the individual the American people chose as President, the agenda we voted for, and the will of the people who voted them into office to represent THEM… for the good of America?

The Bible gives us this dire warning…

“Where there is no vision, the people perish…” ~ Proverbs 29:18a

Now is not the time to quit. It is time to pray, to stand, to speak out, to vote, and to believe. It is the time for the people of God to unify, and for those who have the best interests for the continued health, prosperity, order, and security of our nation to do the same.

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When President Obama was in office, there was very little I agreed with him on. I believed his rhetoric to be divisive. I believed his economic policies were destructive. I believed many of his social policies were godless and immoral. However, I decided I was going to pray for him every day. I encouraged others to do the same. We are commanded in the word of God to pray for those in authority, and we did so. Now I encourage every person reading this who disagrees with President Trump — about anything — to pray for him. God hears the person genuinely seeking Him, and rewards obedience, not anarchy and chaos. LincolnAbraham Lincoln once said, “He has a right to criticize who has a heart to help.” Until you are willing to be a part of the solution, you are a part of the problem. You cannot say you care about this nation if you are stubbornly unwilling to pray for those who lead this nation. As I recently read, “Hoping for President Trump to fail is like riding in a plane, and hoping the pilot fails”. What you may find, if you earnestly seek God on behalf of those in authority, is that His will is different from your perspective.

trumps-paradeI believe that the election of Donald Trump was, in part, due to the faithfulness of many who committed to prayer (and fasting) for our nation.  Now we must come together, make our voices heard, demand that the foolishness and childishness of fake news and false accusations be put aside, and for those in the halls of power to come out of the shadows, and get to work for the good of the American people. And for those who are unwilling to do that, know that your days are numbered, that your election is coming, and we the people have influence, determination, and a vote.

It’s time for patriots to rise!

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By the way…

I hope you will make plans now to join us for All-American Day on July 2, 2017 at Abba’s House in Chattanooga. Lots of patriotic music celebrating our nation and our heritage, and a moving message by our very special guest, Governor Mike Huckabee. This is an event you don’t want to miss! For more info, click the image below…

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Ready… FIRE… Aim…


So I’m perusing my news feed on social media the other day when I see this headline…

“Chip and Joanna Gaines Under Fire for Maybe
Having the ‘Wrong’ Views on LGBT Issues”

“Maybe”…

Please, take a moment and let that sink in.

“Maybe.”

Chalk outline - crossThe story, posted in The Daily Signal, discussed how the HGTV stars of Fixer Upper were in hot water with some outlets such as BuzzFeed and Cosmopolitan over the fact that they attend a church where the pastor still believes that homosexuality is a sin. Now, bear in mind that the Gaines couple, who happen to be born-again Christians, have never spoken publicly (that anyone seems to know of) about their position on homosexuality and/or gay marriage.

Cue the sirens of the “Thought-Police“.

So, if I’m getting this straight, now we have gone from…

“You are a horrible and despicable person if you speak out against what the Bible calls ‘sin'”, to…

“You are a horrible and despicable person if you think something is a sin”, to…

“You are a horrible and despicable person if I think that you think that something is a sin.”

Folks… we, as a society, have officially jumped the shark.

First_amendment_engraving,_Washington_DCPolitical correctness has indeed reached a tipping point, and for the left-wing crowd that wants to be able to say, express, and champion every progressive, “enlightened”, offensive, and ungodly idea under the auspices of “free speech”, well… here’s your First Amendment at work.

Our nation is sorely divided over LGBT issues. According to The Daily Caller article

According to Pew Research Center, as of 2016, 37 percent of adults in this country still oppose same-sex marriage, while 55 percent approve. That means over a third of Americans are still against same-sex marriage.

Meanwhile, among Christians, 54 percent thought that homosexuality should be accepted in society, per a 2014 Pew study—which means that up to 46 percent thought it shouldn’t be. Among Protestants, 44 percent believe that homosexuality should be discouraged in society.

However, as a minister of the Gospel for the vast majority of my life, I will continue to stand on the truth of the Word of God, and its definition of sin. In our day and time, with cultural forces being brought to bear on those who believe in the inerrancy and timelessness of the Bible, it would be far easier to go with the flow, follow the crowd, and preach an “I’m ok, you’re ok” doctrine that marginalizes holiness and righteousness in the name of a twisted and corrupted definition of “love”. But that isn’t how it works. The laws and principles laid out in God’s Word are sovereign and unchanging. What God says is sin is sin, for He is not bound to bend to the whims of culture and political correctness. He is God Almighty, unchanging from eternity to eternity.

In I Corinthians 13 (The Love Chapter), Paul says…

    Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. (v. 4-8a NKJV)

As a minister of the Gospel, I speak out against things that the Bible calls ‘sin’ — not in spite of love — but because of love…

… Love that puts up with being called a bigot or a homophobe because of my love for the souls of men and women who are without Christ.

… Love that is willing to risk ridicule and derision for the sake of truth.

… Love that wishes, as Christ did, that “none should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9)

But I digress… a little.

The fact is that political correctness in America has reached a point of toxicity, hypocrisy, and absurdity that warrants a long, hard look by the next administration into the injustices and persecution of conservative individuals who have simply stood on their First Amendment rights of freedom of speech and faith, while other — more politically correct — individuals are given a pass on the basis of those same rights.

And for the “who are you to judge me?” crowd to now begin persecuting people because of what they MIGHT believe??? Is that not the very essence of being judgmental? (I wish I could say this is a joke, but you really can’t make this stuff up.)

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. ~ Hebrews 4: 12-13 (NKJV)

In the end, God is the Judge of all. Until that time, whether conservative or liberal, right or wrong, we must all be ready to be offended in some way by some person who has a differing viewpoint from our own. That is the whole essence of discourse or having a conversation — to share differing ideas and opinions. 

And who knows… in the process, we might actually learn something about ourselves, about others, and about what it means to live and exist outside of the bubble of our own ideas. As Christians, we might actually become better informed to make the difference that Jesus called us to make, in the lives of others and in our world. We might start changing minds and hearts because of, not just a message of love and forgiveness, but a lifestyle and attitude that uncompromisingly walks the talk.

 

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The Message of the Kettle

One cannot travel through the malls and shopping centers of America during this time of year without coming into contact with it…

Red kettle3The red kettle of the Salvation Army.

For over a century, the organization founded by British evangelist William Booth has been “doing the most good” — feeding, clothing, helping the down and out, comforting the hurting, and caring for those lost in the unrelenting busyness and chaos of society.

 

William BoothWilliam Booth famously said…

I consider that the chief dangers which confront the coming century will be religion without the Holy Ghost; Christianity without Christ; forgiveness without repentance; salvation without regeneration; politics without God; and Heaven without Hell.

Mr. Booth’s prophetic words are — sadly — where we are today.

  • We want “feel good religion” without the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
  • We want to call ourselves a Christian nation, all the while trying to remove Christ from every facet of the public square.
  • We want to be forgiven without sacrificing the very things that we need to be forgiven for.
  • We want to separate our politics from our belief system. We have become more and more willing to sacrifice our convictions of holiness on the altar of political correctness. We are more concerned with being culturally “right” than being righteous.
  • We want all of the “warm fuzzies” that thoughts of Heaven invoke without the unpleasantness and horror of Hell.

Salvation ArmyWhen we water down the message of the Gospel for a relevant message of “I’m ok… you’re ok”, we cheapen the sacrifice of a Savior Who gave His all so that we could spend eternity with Him. When we dilute the message of grace and mercy found only in Christ, we prove that we have lost our understanding of the true meaning of this season of Christmas. As the prophet Isaiah prophesied hundreds of years before His birth…

For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

This Christmas season let us remember that, in order to ever have Peace on Earth, we must give the Prince of Peace His rightful place on the throne of our hearts and lives; not as an ornament that we take down and wear at our convenience, but as the foundation of who we are, permeating every facet of our being.

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No Expiration Date on Favor

Recently, at every turn, we are faced with stories meant to incite fear and worry.

ISIS.

Islam.

Ebola.

Political correctness run amok.

Healthcare.

Climate change.

It’s easy to get bogged down in gloom, despair, and depression with so much negativity right now.

That being said, let’s all pause, take a deep breath, and go back to the well of God’s mercy and grace. Today, I want to share with you something I shared back in 2013. It is truth that is just as real, and just as pertinent today as it was then, and I hope it encourages you today to trust in the favor God has for you as one of His favorite children.

got favor?

Gas GaugeIn May of 2002, I was preaching a crusade in Nigeria. After about a week of wonderful meetings, it was time to once again climb aboard a plane and head back across the Atlantic. As we were about to leave, we were praying with our host pastor, Dr. Nick Ezeh, and rejoicing in what God had done in the meetings. After saying our goodbyes, we turned and walked into the terminal only to be confronted by these disturbing words on the flight schedule screen:

Flight #— to Lagos: CANCELLED

Now, in the U.S., this is not really a huge issue. When a flight is cancelled, most of the time, there is another flight within hours. However, since we were in Calabar, Nigeria, and not Cleveland, Ohio, this was not the case. If we missed our connection in Lagos, the next available flight was FOUR DAYS LATER!

At this point, our team shifted into overdrive, trying desperately to speak to someone who might have a solution to our dilemma. We quickly discovered that there was a flight to Lagos from another town called Port Harcourt. The flight was scheduled to leave in 3 hours and 45 minutes. Great, right? Except for one small problem…

Port Harcourt was 3½ hours away.

If we left immediately, we would have a fifteen minute margin of error. If we hit traffic, had any mechanical issues, or were in any other way delayed, chances were good that we would not make our connection, and would have to get comfortable for a four-day layover. Our team quickly gathered all of our gear, and got back into the vehicles for the long ride to Port Harcourt.

Now, one thing about Nigeria is that twice a year they shut down all of the oil refineries for a week or two for scheduled maintenance, thus creating shortages, rationing, and gas station shutdowns all over the country. It just so happened that that shutdown fell during our visit. The whole time we were there, we witnessed lines at gas stations that made the U.S. gas lines of the 1970’s look like the express line at Wal-Mart. About an hour into our drive, I glanced down at the gas gauge of our borrowed vehicle, and noticed that the needle was below empty. Our driver, a very nice Nigerian gentleman by the name of A.G. Bright didn’t seem too concerned. I leaned forward and asked him if the gauge was broken.

“No, my brother,” he answered, “but God will provide, for we prayed for mercy on this journey. Also, you and Dr. Ezeh are God’s men… He will surely see us through.”

It is difficult to admit this, but my faithless soul was not comforted. As we drove on, my mind was filled with visions of our stranded team, standing by our vehicles in the middle of the sweltering Nigerian jungle, or worse, being taken captive by rebels or robbers.

As my mind raced through the worst possible of scenarios, all of a sudden, I heard the sound of singing. Mr. Bright had started singing praises to God, and was quickly being joined by others in the vehicle. As the praises went up from our SUV, my faithless heart still continued to fret, expecting our engine to come to a grinding halt at any second. However, after another HOUR of unrelenting driving, we came to a crossroads, with a gas station that stood like an oasis at the intersection. As we pulled in, we questioned whether or not it was even open, since it was without the massive lines we had witnessed everywhere else. Upon discovering that it was open, we soon found out from the proprietor that the station had been closed for a week due to the fuel shortage, but that he had just received a shipment, and was actually re-opening his station AS WE PULLED UP!

A smiling A.G. Bright looked at me and said, “See, Pastor Phillips… God always takes care of His servants. You are in favor with God!”

Now here we are today, and we face challenges like never before. Turmoil in our financial markets, uncertainty and unrest about the state of our nation politically, and chaos and disquiet in various hot-spots around the globe make it difficult to have faith. Yet having the favor of God is not dependent upon who is king, prime minister or president. The favor of God does not hinge on “bull markets” or diversified portfolios. The favor of God is not even affected by our immediate circumstances… our job, our family, or even our gas gauge. The favor of God is about His goodness and His faithfulness. We receive God’s favor, not because we are good, but because HE is good.

Driving down those dirty, pot-hole infested roads of Nigeria that day, Mr. Bright became a shining example of how we get ahold of that favor.

Mr. Bright prayed… He prayed a prayer that said, “God, here is what I am expecting, and no one will be more surprised than me if You don’t come through.” (Contrast this with the prayer that many of us pray: “God, here is my need, and I will be shocked if You actually answer me.”)

Mr. Bright walked by faith… He put his proverbial “money where his mouth was”. He had no choice but to move forward by faith, and he did it with gusto, literally driving into the unknown with nothing but a belief that God is true to His word and to His children.

Mr. Bright worshipped… He didn’t sit there and fret about the gas gauge. He opened his mouthand declared God’s goodness and faithfulness in advance.

What a powerful lesson! I want to be like Mr. Bright. I want to be the one who walks in favor, stands in favor, and lives in favor! I want to be the one whose life is centered in His presence, and in the blessing that God gave Moses for the children of Israel…

“The Lord bless you
and keep you;

The Lord make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;

The Lord turn his face toward you
and give you peace.

So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”

(Numbers 6:24-27)

That is the kind of favor I want.

How about you?

Pastor Ron