Tag: Supreme Court

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A Tired Mind Revisited

It was almost three years ago when I penned this blog, which was based on a sermon I had preached a few years before. During this election year, we have much to consider when picking our candidates, and I thought this blog post was a good reminder — and a warning — of where we have come from, where we are, and what it will take to return to the path of righteousness.

With that, I give you Confessions of a Tired Mind…

Next week, we will celebrate our nation’s 237th birthday. I find it ironic that, just yesterday, the Supreme Court issued a ruling that chips away yet another stone in the foundation of Godliness that this country was built upon. As I witness the erosion of the greatness of America – a land that I love and still believe to be great – I must admit to you…

I’m tired.

IMG_1905I’m tired of the LGBT agenda that is being forced upon the American people. Understand me when I say that I don’t believe that anyone should be threatened, abused, or discriminated against because of their lifestyle. However, I do not believe that churches should have to hire someone that promotes a lifestyle contrary to our biblical world view, or be forced to affirm perversion as a “civil right”. While members of the LGBT community should not be oppressed or mistreated, neither should those of us who believe that their lifestyle is a sin be forced to agree with their choices. If you can’t “legislate morality from the (court) bench”, you shouldn’t be able to legislate immorality either.

I’m tired of abortion being called a choice when it means the death of an unborn child. Where was the child’s choice in the matter?

Pine Ridge1I’m tired of we, the American taxpayers, being robbed to support leftist causes and wasteful governmental agencies. It infuriates me to see our tax dollars go to failed and failing “green” companies (remember Solyndra) and other “pet
projects and programs”, as well as paying for silly videos, lavish parties, and non-sensical conferences for corrupt government agencies. Contrast this waste with the poverty in places like the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, and it is even more maddening.

I’m tired of government leaders apologizing for America to third-rate terrorist countries and dictators. I still believe in the greatness of our nation, and don’t believe that is something we need to apologize for.

I’m tired of the assault on our Judeo-Christian heritage, history revisionism, and the mocking of every accomplished conservative by a leftist media that holds up semi-literate celebrities as icons of virtue and wisdom. While the truth of God’s Word may not be popular to some, it is still truth… and that is something I will not apologize for.

I’m tired of “reverends” who value political correctness over biblical authority.

I’m tired of the abuse of our welfare system. I believe that the aged, infirmed, and disabled need our help. Their needs are legitimate. However, the abuses of the entitlement system have to end. As the late Adrian Rogers once said…

“You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.”

In addition, I’m tired of a government that will not take care of the brave men and women of our military who have kept us safe for decades on end. I’m tired of people who are here illegally, as well as countries that hate us, being shown more respect — and being better taken care of financially — than our veterans.

Coptic ChristiansI’m tired of Islamic terrorists being called moderates. When I was young and growing up in the South, there was a religious organization that committed acts of terror in the name of God. They were called the Ku Klux Klan. Yet, the church rose up against them and said, “You’re not Christian… You’re wrong.” It’s time for any moderate Muslims to rise up, call these terrorists for what they are, and affirm the right for Israel to exist in peace.

But you know what? While I may be tired, I still have hope.

IMG_5209I am still proud when I hear the sound of our National Anthem being sung at a sporting event.

I am still humbled when I see a brave soldier in uniform in the airport, coming from or going to the far reaches of the world to defend freedom.

I am still moved at the sight of our flag, “Old Glory”, waving in a warm summer breeze.

I still believe that our nation is not beyond hope when I hear the words…

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

I believe in the greatness of America. I believe that if we turn our faces in repentance toward God, He will heal our land, and give us “a new birth of freedom”.

Long may our land be bright,
With freedom’s holy light,
Protect us by Thy might,
Great God our King.

God bless America!

(Adapted from the message, “Freedom’s Holy Light – Part 1”)
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The Sound of Socialism

austriaanschlussRecently at our church, our young people performed the great musical The Sound of Music. It is the classic story of the von Trapp family’s escape from Nazism in Austria after Germany usurped Austria into the German empire in 1938 — an event known as the Anschluss.

One of the by-products of doing this timeless musical was the opportunity to teach our children a little bit of history about World War II and the Nazi regime…

A history many in our nation have obviously forgotten.

Nuremberg 1The National Socialist German Worker’s Party (ie: the Nazi Party) rose to power following Germany’s defeat in World War I. The Nazis played upon the discontent of the people in attacking big business and capitalism, and used class-warfare as a tool to further its popularity by establishing a culture of entitlement and ideological superiority. Racism was also a key element in the spread of this toxic ideology, and resulted in the Holocaust… the death of six million Jews.

Socialist… Sound familiar?

For the first time in our nation’s history, we not only have candidates who are promoting socialist beliefs, but have an openly socialist candidate running for the highest office in the land.

Have we become so short-sighted that we won’t heed the hard-fought lessons we have learned in the last 80 years? Has our education system become such a cesspool of ideologues and history revisionists that our children are being brainwashed into believing that socialism is the answer to all of the problems that ail us as a nation? Oh sure… socialism has its appeal — after all, who doesn’t like FREE STUFF???

The problem is that nothing — N O T H I N G —  is free. Even “free” stuff is costing someone, somewhere.

Take education for example. One of the mantras we are hearing is for “free education/free college”. Well, if college becomes free, one would have to assume that all of those things it takes to keep the doors open — lights, heat, electricity, etc. — are all going to be free as well.

And how about those salaries? If we are going to offer free college, would it not be reasonable to assume that all of the college faculties will be doing their jobs gratis? That means janitors, security, administration, and yes… professors. So, all of these (mostly highly) trained and educated people are going to put in their 40+ hours per week with no paycheck to show for it? Sure, there are those states where some college is being offered for “free” (TN being one that offers 2 years of community college for “free”). However, “free” is still not free… it ultimately comes at the expense of the taxpayer.

The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other peoples’ money.
~ Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher

The Bible has a lot to say about work and a good work ethic. From Genesis to the writings of the apostles, hard work is considered admirable and Godly. Looks at what Solomon had to say in Proverbs…

All hard work brings a profit,
but mere talk leads only to poverty.
~ Proverbs 14:23-24

 Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth.
He who gathers crops in summer is a prudent son,
but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son.
~ Proverbs 10:4-5

The Apostle Paul was pretty direct in his instructions to the Thessalonians…

 While we were with you, we gave you the order: “Whoever doesn’t want to work shouldn’t be allowed to eat.” We hear that some people in your group refuse to work. They are doing nothing except being busy in the lives of others. Our instruction to them is to stop bothering others, to start working and earn their own food. It is by the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ that we are urging them to do this.
~ 2 Thessalonians 3:10-12

Yet in spite of these warnings, I hear candidates running on a platform that constantly blames the ills of the poor on the rich, and stirs up not just class warfare, but ties it to racial division as well. The idea that penalizing someone who has worked hard in order to subsidize the lazy completely takes away from the incentive to work hard and do well. Why would I want to work hard to be a success if someone is just going to take away my hard-earned income and give it to someone who has not worked for it? It is absurd to believe that when you rob from the rich it is going to somehow benefit the poor in the long term.

Hitler and Amin Al-Husseini
Berlin, 1941: Adolph Hitler meeting with Mohammed Amin Al-Husseini, Grand Mufti of Jerusalem

The further we run as a society from the teachings and statutes of the Bible, the further and faster we run toward our own destruction. Although seeming to tolerate Christianity initially, the Nazis moved rapidly to quell the voice of the Christian church, while at the same time forming an unholy alliance with Islam. Martin Bormann, Hitler’s personal secretary, once admitted, “National Socialism and Christianity are irreconcilable“. We are seeing the dark specters of this type of ideology taking hold in our nation, with Christians being put on trial for their beliefs and convictions, while Islam is given a pass and a warm embrace by those in the corridors of power.

In the end, however, it’s quite simple: One cannot forsake the teachings and statutes of the One who established human civilization without severe consequences.

“God has been very good to us. One of the reasons God has been
good to us is that we have done him honor. ~ Justice Antonin Scalia

Although we are a nation founded upon Christian principles, secularists in our society have been trying desperately to take America to the point that we are decidedly “post-Christian”. With the passing of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia last weekend, the political stakes for the soul of our nation have been raised to a perilous level. The wrong person being appointed to the Court would send us into an abyss of unconstitutional decisions and legislation from which we might never recover. For as Justice Scalia observed…

“That’s the argument of flexibility and it goes something like this: ‘The Constitution is over 200 years old and societies change. It has to change with society, like a living organism, or it will become brittle and break.’
But you would have to be an idiot to believe that.
The Constitution is not a living organism, it is a legal document. It says something and doesn’t say other things… As long as judges tinker with the Constitution to ‘do what the people want,’ instead of what the document actually commands, politicians who pick and confirm new federal judges will naturally want only those who agree with them politically.”

We need a transformation in our country. What is happening societally and politically right now should be driving us to our knees in prayer. The consequences of going further down the rabbit-hole of unGodliness, secularization, and socialism should drive every person who loves this country, and what it stands for, to the ballot box. We have come so far from the horrors of the socialism and subsequent fascism of Nazi Germany, as well as the fear of “The Evil Empire” of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.) and the Cold War. I lived through it. I remember the rhetoric and threats. I remember climbing under our school desks during air-raid drills. I remember the nuclear saber-rattling. I remember the images that the words “nuclear holocaust” invoked.

I want more for my children and grandchildren.

You should too.

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You Can’t Have It Both Ways

The more I watch the news, read stories on the internet, or talk to people, the crazier I see our society becoming. Here are just a few questions that I have been pondering of late…

  • Emanuel AME2We see stories nearly every week of some atheist or anti-religion group up in arms because someone prayed at a school function, sporting event, or city council meeting. We have seen anti-God groups go after every Christian symbol, holiday, and even our own national history with a vengeance, trying to eradicate the Christian “religion” and our Judeo-Christian roots from every corner of public life.

So where is the outcry from these same individuals when it comes to the tax-payer funded indoctrination of our school children and college students to Islam? If “separation of church and state” is so important, why do we need governmental-appointed positions such as Sharia Czar and Special Envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference? Where is the indignation from anti- religion groups when it comes to the misrepresentation and acceptance of Islam by those in the corridors of power in Washington D.C.?

You can’t have it both ways.

  • For decades, the argument (among others) from pro-abortion groups has been that it is fetal matter — a blob of tissue — not a baby. A baby does not become a real person until it is actually born. Until birth, a fetus does not have a “meaningful life”.

If this is the case, then why is one of the nation’s top abortion providers, Planned Parenthood, currently embroiled in controversy surrounding the harvesting and selling of fetal tissue from aborted babies? If it’s not a person, why harvest these meaningless “blobs of tissue”? At what point, and who, decides that a person’s life has no meaning? What about people who are tragically injured and in a persistent vegetative state… are they no longer worthy of life?

You can’t have it both ways.

  • IMG_1905With the Supreme Court decision to legalize gay marriage in all 50 states, the LGBT community, which has spoken out for decades about discrimination and mistreatment, have finally been granted the “right” to marry the person of their choosing. After years of being denied the right to live their lives however they choose, believe what they want to believe, and love who they want to love, homosexuals and transgender individuals have been granted the ability to do so with the blessing of the United States Supreme Court.

So why is it ok now to vilify and persecute Christians who still oppose same-sex marriage? How is it that people who for years screamed “discrimination” are now discriminating against those who simply (and peacefully) disagree with their lifestyle based on personal religious values? How does a homosexual’s “right” to marriage trump a Christian’s First Amendment right to freedom of religion and freedom of speech?

You can’t have it both ways.

For a society that prides itself on intelligence and logic, we have crossed just about every line of logic and reason in our attempt to be “fair, tolerant, and inclusive.” Science, biology, natural law, and intelligence take a back seat to the ability to “identify” with a person or group. Laws are ignored by those entrusted with upholding the law because those individuals disagree with a certain statute or regulation. Those tasked with protecting and serving the public are forced to operate at a handicap because the very people they are trying to protect are advocating their destruction. We have been told that global warming (“climate change”) is the most pressing issue of our time. Yet recently, arctic ice increased by 1 million square miles in one year (2012 to 2013).

In Romans 1, Paul had this to say about those who choose to ignore and/or disregard the truth…

   The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator — Who is forever praised. Amen.
    Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them. ~ Romans 1:18-32

Creation itself testifies of the glory of God, and His handiwork. A society may attempt to dissuade its members from belief in a Holy God. It may try to marginalize God, lumping Him in with fable, folklore, myth, and legend. Yet, the fingerprint of God on Creation is unmistakable and undeniable. In Psalm 19, David declared…

The heavens declare the glory of God;
    the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
    night after night they reveal knowledge.
They have no speech, they use no words;
    no sound is heard from them.
Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
    their words to the ends of the world.

Werner Heisenberg, considered to be one of the fathers of Quantum Physics, had this to say about the relationship of science and religion…

“Where no guiding ideals are left to point the way, the scale of values disappears and with it the meaning of our deeds and sufferings, and at the end can lie only negation and despair. Religion is therefore the foundation of ethics, and ethics the presupposition of life.”

CoffeeCreation is not subject to the whims of world leaders, political correctness, or public outcry. Nature cares not a wit about feelings, fairness, or whether or not it offends anyone. The natural laws, written into the DNA of every cell in Creation, are as unchangeable as Jehovah God. Mankind may attempt to suppress all evidence of the goodness of God from society, but the stones, seas, and stars will not cease to cry out. And if nature declares the glory of God, and God is who He says He is, then His Word is true. And if His Word is true, then we cannot help but conclude that He means what He says, and that we must all come to Him in repentance and humility, to find grace and forgiveness. Truly coming to Him in repentance means to turn from our sin, and accept His finished work of salvation through His sacrifice. We cannot come to Him while holding on, in stubborn unrepentance, to the very things He died to redeem us from. You can’t have it both ways.

“The first gulp from the glass of natural sciences will turn you into an atheist, but at the bottom of the glass God is waiting for you.”
~ Werner Heisenberg

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Dear Mr. President…

LL ArmAt a recent Catholic-Evangelical Leadership Summit, President Obama criticized the Christian church at-large for focusing on issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage, saying the church needed to focus more on poverty and the poor. Saying “I think it would be powerful for our faith-based organizations to speak out on [poverty] in a more forceful fashion”, he went on to state that the liberal ideology of wealth-redistribution was essential in following Christ. (view source)

Recently, 2016 Democratic Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton stated that religious groups needed to change their religious beliefs regarding “reproductive rights” (ie: abortion). This came on the heels of comments she made comparing the Biblical belief that “homosexuality is a sin” to honor killings, widow burning (the Hindu practice of Sati), and female genital mutilation. (view source) This should come as no surprise, however, considering what Mrs. Clinton had to say about Margaret Sanger, founder of the American Birth Control League (which later changed its name to Planned Parenthood):

Now, I have to tell you that it was a great privilege when I was told that I would receive this award (Planned Parenthood’s Margaret Sanger Award). I admire Margaret Sanger enormously, her courage, her tenacity, her vision … And when I think about what she did all those years ago in Brooklyn, taking on archetypes, taking on attitudes and accusations flowing from all directions, I am really in awe of her.

Mrs. Clinton’s admiration for Ms. Sanger is reason to give any decent person pause, considering Ms. Sanger’s own words…

The most merciful thing that the large family does to one of its infant members is to kill it.

A woman’s duty: To look the whole world in the face with a go-to-hell look in the eyes… to speak and act in defiance of convention.

With that said…

Dear Mr. President,

CoffeeAs a 67-year-old pastor who has been standing by the Word of God for the majority of my life, I am growing increasingly weary of being told what to believe by politicians. I’m tired of left-wing pundits who know enough about the Bible to be dangerous and, whenever homosexuality is mentioned, spew out-of-context Scripture in an attempt to justify their leftist agenda.

Mr. President… I don’t base my belief system on political winds or public opinion. My belief system is based on the Bible – the Word of God. As a person of faith, I look to a source Who is higher than I am, Whose ways and thoughts are higher than mine. I look to the Author and Finisher of my faith for guidance, wisdom, and courage to stand on the convictions that have been instilled in me as a result of my faith. 2 Timothy 3:1-9 tells us…

But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was.

Today, we are seeing this Scripture play out in real-time in front of our very eyes. Wrong has become right, and right has become “bigotry, discrimination, intolerance, and hate-mongering”. And when our courts not only violate Biblical standards, but the very Constitution upon which our nation was founded, by persecuting and prosecuting people based on their deeply-held convictions and “religious beliefs”, we are in a dark and dire time indeed.

Mr. President… as for your idea that faith based groups should ” speak out on [poverty] in a more forceful fashion”, maybe we would have more time to talk about poverty if we weren’t already out in the world trying to make a difference in the lives of the poor. I see churches and faith-based ministries, throughout my area and across our great nation, trying to make a difference in the lives of the poor and destitute in their communities and around the world — organizations like Samaritan’s Purse, Compassion International, the Salvation Army, and so many others who devote energy and resources to the poor and needy around the globe. I could name many churches in my area alone that minister to the poor. My church ministers to the poor and needy locally, as well as in places like Nicaragua, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, and others. If you wish for a discussion, many of these groups might wish to discuss government rules and regulations that hinder them from operating and ministering more effectively.

I am all for reaching out to the poor, but so much of what we see in America with regard to welfare is subsidizing people who are simply lazy. If a person has a legitimate disability or handicap, that is one thing. However, handing out money to able-bodied individuals who are simply unwilling to work flies in the face of Biblical teaching, logic, and fiscal responsibility. In 2 Thessalonians 3, Paul says…

But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to follow us, for we were not disorderly among you; nor did we eat anyone’s bread free of charge, but worked with labor and toil night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, not because we do not have authority, but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us.

For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies. Now those who are such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread.

For “people of faith”, the Bible is not the “Book of the Month” — it is the Book of the Ages. The Bible is the standard by which we attempt to live — admittedly, often falling short. However, those of us who truly call ourselves “believers in Christ” aspire to live as He lived, to be true to His calling and teachings, and to hold Him up as the example by which we live. I, for one, have no interest in dragging God down to my level, and projecting upon Him my human flaws, failures, and misgivings. I have no interesting in creating a god in my own image, of my own creation. I aspire to be like Jesus… not the other way around. Every time in the Bible that the children of Israel sided with the “people of the land” and began to worship other gods, and brought deity down to their level, it didn’t end so well for them. God is loving and merciful. God is also holy and just. God is never-ending and never-changing.  The same Ten Commandments that commands us not to steal commands us not to kill (that goes for abortion as well). The same Book that calls adultery wrong calls homosexuality a sin…

Not my rules.

We are ALL sinners… the murderer, the liar, the homosexual, the adulterer, the rebellious, and so forth. However, we can all come to Jesus, but we must come to Him admitting our sins — in repentance — and with a decision to forsake our sins and turn to Him.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. ~ 1 John 1:9-10

Jesus didn’t hang on a cross so we’d be happy. He died a horrific and cruel death so we could be forgiven and have eternal life with Him.

CrossI stand with Christian brothers and sisters throughout our land and say, regardless of what presidents, politicians, pundits, and Supreme Court justices decide, I will always fall on the side of the Bible, of following in Jesus’ steps, and will never stop in my attempt to lead others to a saving knowledge of Him, according to His Word, and on His terms. To do or believe anything less is to denigrate the Bible down to the level of just another fanciful tale, and to cheapen the sacrifice of Jesus to the worthless gesture of a crazy man.