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America Fresh Oil New Wine 2014 Living It Out In Real Time New Year The Big Event

In the Shadow of Terror

Last week, terror attacks in the beautiful city of Paris, France brought to the forefront the fact that Islamic-driven terror is still alive and well in the world. With the deaths of over a dozen people in three days of attacks, Paris was left reeling, and leaders from around the globe converged on the city as a show of solidarity with the people of France. While shock and sadness still remain, some see this as yet another wake-up call in a battle against this destructive ideology. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims, their families, and a city and nation in mourning.

As new leadership is beginning in our own halls of Congress, it is time for us to lift our voices and demand leadership on the subject of Islamic terrorism and jihad.

Over a year ago, I posted a blog entitled “The Buck Stops Here“, in which I talked about the infiltration of Islamic ideology in the highest levels of our own government, and some steps we can take to combat this enemy. I would like to share that blog once again today…

The Buck Stops Here

(Original post date: 10/2013)

Well, this seems to be the $17 trillion dollar question:

“What is going on in Washington?”

FlagIt is disturbing to witness the dismantling of our nation right before our eyes. What we are seeing taking place in Washington right now is nothing short of tragic. There is confusion, division, and unfortunately, deception.

LOTS of deception.

Mystery surrounds the “dismissal” of nearly 200 high-ranking military officers for reasons that range from “questionable” to “absurd”. Scandals continue to plague the NSA, the IRS, the State Department, the Pentagon, the Justice Department, and the White House. Questions go unanswered concerning the Benghazi attack, the mistreatment of our allies, and the assault on our Constitution. And as the inexcusable deception related to Obamacare is unfolding before our eyes, the influence and positioning of Muslims in seats of governmental power is slipping “under the radar”… unnoticed, unchecked, and unhindered.

To say “I am alarmed” by the Islamic infiltration of our government at some of the highest levels would be a gross understatement.

Consider, if you will, this case…

Many of you remember the moral scandal that brought down New York Congressman Anthony Weiner. What you may not know is that his wife Huma Mahmood Abedin, a Muslim, worked for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, serving as Deputy Chief of Staff. While Ms. Abedin was working for Hillary Clinton, she was simultaneously working for a journal promoting Islamic supremacist ideology founded by Al-Qaeda financier Abdullah Omar Nasseef. Her parents support and worked for the terrorist organization led by Sheik Yusuf-al-Qaradawi, the notorious Muslim Brotherhood jurist, who has issued fatwas calling for the killing of American military personnel and suicide bombings in Israel.

In light of these facts, how in the world did Huma Abedin get the kind of high-level security clearance she would have to have in order to work in the State Department, and with unfettered access to the Secretary of State of the United States of America?

Why has nothing been done about Muslim extremists? Why do the questions about Benghazi go unanswered? Why has this administration repeatedly and recklessly chosen to align itself with terrorist organizations such as the Muslim Brotherhood – at the risk of irreparably damaging our relationship with our #1 Middle-Eastern ally, Israel?

After 9-11, one would think that a long, hard look would be taken before appointing anyone remotely tied to Islam to a high-level government post. However, this administration has chosen to openly welcome Islamists into the upper echelons of U.S. power. Consider these…

Arif Alikhan – Assistant Secretary for Policy Development for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Mohammed Elibiary – Homeland Security Adviser.

Rashad Hussain – Special Envoy to the (OIC) Organization of the Islamic Conference.

Salam al-Marayati – Obama Adviser and  founder of Muslim Public Affairs Council and its current executive director.

Imam Mohamed Magid – Obama’s Sharia Czar, Islamic Society of North America.

Eboo Patel – Advisory Council on Faith-Based Neighborhood Partnerships.

So, what can we do? What must we do?

We must pray. We must commit ourselves to prayer and fasting for this nation to return to God. We must encourage our friends to do the same. This has gone far beyond “politics as usual”. This battle has long since crossed into the spiritual realm with the very soul of our nation at stake. We must heed the words of 2 Chronicles 7:14, humble ourselves before the Lord, pray, seek His face, and turn from our wickedness. Then, and only then, will we see the healing of our land.

We must stand for truth. We ARE still a nation under God. No amount of history revisionism can change our Judeo-Christian heritage and foundation. It is time for the church to once again be the church, and stop cowering in the corner of society, fearful of offending hand-picked, government-approved special interest groups dedicated to immorality, ungodliness, and the dumbing-down of Biblical values. It is time for the Billy Sundays, the D. L. Moodys, and the Jonathan Edwards of this generation to arise!

We must stand with Israel. While this administration has done its level best to marginalize and insult our best friend and closest ally in the Middle East, WE THE PEOPLE must never lose sight of the promise that God made to Abraham thousands of years ago when HE promised to “bless those that bless you.” We must pray for Israel, support it in any way we can, and never fail to hold accountable those in our government who fail to do so.

We must communicate with our representatives. It is high time that our elected officials be reminded that they are our representatives, not our rulers; that they were sent to the state house to serve the people, not to enslave the people. Whether Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Liberal, Conservative, or anywhere in between, these people must be held accountable for the decisions they make on behalf of the people, and understand that failure to act in the best interest of the people will result in their removal by the people.

buckstopsherefrontsmallPresident Harry S. Truman famously had a sign on his desk in the White House that read, “The Buck Stops Here”. It is time for our representatives to stop kicking the can of responsibility down the road to future generations and stand up for what is “true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy” (Philippians 4).

As I have said before, May America bless God once again!

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America Fresh Oil New Wine 2014 Living It Out In Real Time The Big Event The Life of Faith Through The Looking Glass

The Cross and the Ballot

UTDDOA2

This week, we have the great privilege to exercise our rights as Americans and vote to elect our next leaders. As citizens, it is an honor to be able to choose the leadership that will serve our country for the next few years. As Christians, it is a solemn responsibility that none of us should take lightly. Conservative pundit Rush Limbaugh once said…

“This is a frightening statistic…
More people vote in ‘American Idol’ than in any US election.”

Whether Republican, Democrat, Independent, Libertarian, Tea Party, or any other affiliation we may have politically, as citizens of Heaven, we have a responsibility — first and foremost — to make sure that our vote reflects our commitment to Christ. Baseball great Jackie Robinson once said…

“I guess you’d call me an independent, since I’ve never identified myself with one party or another in politics. I always decide my vote by taking as careful a look as I can at the actual candidates and issues themselves,
no matter what the party label.”

With issues like abortion, gay marriage, racism, sexism, environmentalism, support of Israel, religious freedom, and immigration as hot button topics, as Christians, a good question to ask ourselves would be “How would Jesus VOTE?”, and cast our ballot based on His values, regardless of the platform of our party of choice. I recently saw a great quote on social media. It said…

“A lie doesn’t become truth, wrong doesn’t become right, and evil doesn’t become good just because it is accepted by a majority.” ~ Unknown

In an atmosphere of political correctness, many in the church have become swayed by popular opinion and the desire to be “relevant”. While finding some common ground with those we are trying to reach is important, we cannot do so at the expense of our testimony. As Christians, we should strive to be Christ-like. But being like Jesus does not being accepting of that which God calls sin. Being like Jesus means being in the world and not of it. It means having the ability to be honest with those with whom we disagree without compromising our convictions. It means checking our egos, our popularity, and our pride at the door, and following in His steps. It means heeding the call of Christ from Mark 8:34 when He said…

“Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself,
and take up his cross, and follow Me.”

Sure… it is always much easier to “go with the flow”, than to swim upstream, but as believers in Him, that is our call.

To be righteous… at the expense of being “relevant”.

To stand… when the rest of the world bows to the idol.

To follow the true and living God… even if that path leads us through the lions’ den.

To boldly proclaim “I love Jesus”… when everyone around you is screaming “Crucify Him!”

What will your vote say about you? Will your vote reflect Jesus?

I hope so.

Categories
America Fresh Oil New Wine 2014 The Big Event The Life of Faith

In The Wake of Jihad

On Wednesday, it was announced that American journalist James Foley was brutally beheaded by ISIS Islamic militants in Iraq. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Mr. Foley, and pray God’s strength and comfort for them during this time.

In the wake of these events, I can stay silent no longer.

Christian          I have done everything I can to contact those in leadership in our nation – the President, the Vice-President, our congressmen and senators — about the murder, the slaughter, and the disgrace that we are allowing to happen, first in Syria, and now in Iraq. It is a national shame, and America will give an account to God for allowing this to happen… and I’m not talking about what has happened in just the past few weeks.

We have sat back in this country and allowed the Islamic caliphate to almost take over. I stated years ago, when the “Arab Spring” started in Tunisia, that they were trying to rebuild the Islamic caliphate. (The Islamic caliphate starts in Tunisia, goes to Egypt, skips Saudi Arabia, then continues to Iraq, Syria, and Turkey — the old Ottoman Empire.) I’ve said for years that the Antichrist is coming out of a revived Ottoman Empire, not a revived Roman Empire. I stated when the “Arab Spring” happened that Hosni Mubarak should never have been overthrown in Egypt; we had a better friend in him than we did in Morsi, who the military in Egypt was forced to overthrow before he destroyed the country. America has stood back and allowed a 20-year friend, who had peace with Israel, to be lied about and run out of office in Egypt. Since 2012, we have watched the same scenario play out in Syria with President Assad.  While he was accused of using chemical weapons on his own people, there is much evidence reported to the contrary (including the testimony of a Syrian guest who visited Abba’s House in 2011). However, since coming into office, the Assad regime has not fired a shot at Israel or America.  The fact is that Syria has not exhibited any aggression toward Israel since 1973. The largest synagogue in the Middle East was in Aleppo, Syria, and was being protected by Assad. Yet, it is the rebels in Syria who were known for telling Christians to “either convert to Islam or die.” There was actually one video making it’s rounds on social media of a “rebel leader” who, while standing over his defeated foe, cut the man open, cut out his heart, and ate it. And THESE were the people we were supposed to be pulling for??? These were the people our government was purportedly supporting against the Assad regime??? Now, as a result, the largest group of Aramaic-speaking Christians — a genealogy of Christians who date back to the time of Christ — have been scattered and slaughtered under our watch.

What we as Americans have allowed to happen with regard to the slaughter of our fellow Christians, not only in Syria and Iraq, but in the Sudan as well — people by the thousands being driven from their homes by Muslims — has got to stop, even if it has to stop at gunpoint. There comes a time that you have to fight for your family, fight for what is right, and fight for what you believe in.

I have been saying for the past couple of years that what we are now seeing in the Middle East was coming. In 2011, I spend four Sunday nights discussing the coming storm of Islam in our world. Now it is coming to pass before our eyes. It’s time for every person reading my blog — Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Tea Party, Independent… whoever you are — to speak up and let your voice be heard by the people you elected into political office, and start making a difference. It’s high time for those in our government to stop hiding behind political correctness, start calling these events, and the people involved in them by their proper names, and start using the power of our government, whether it be political, financial, humanitarian, or military, to help these Christians who are being slaughtered “en masse” by Muslims all over the Middle East. When I see rallies being held on our own American soil in support of known-terrorist organizations like Al-Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah, and ISIS… we have gone too far. When I see celebrity-types speaking out of defiant ignorance, and slamming our Israeli friends and allies, it is time to put the truth out there.

WE HAVE HAD ENOUGH!

I believe in peace, but even Jesus said, “I did not come to bring peace, but a sword” (Matthew 10:34). In Hebrews 12, Paul says, “You’ve not resisted unto blood” fighting against sin. I am telling you right now, it does not take a PhD or a rocket scientist to figure out that cutting off the heads of children and placing them on poles for public display, raping women and murdering their husbands, and forcing people from their homes and sending them to flee and die of starvation and thirst in the desert — all because they are Christians — is evil. This type of behavior should not and can not be tolerated in the world in which we live. Maybe you don’t agree with me now, but you probably will when they show up on our shores, and force your wives and daughters to wear a burka, and mutilate their bodies in the name of Allah.

It’s time for the church of Jesus Christ in America to WAKE UP!

It is time for those in our government to stop playing “political chess” with every two-bit dictatorship around the world, and stirring up the pot of political unrest in these places, overthrowing leaders who are less-than-perfect, and creating political vacuums that are being filled with the horrors of Islamic ideology. It’s time for the people of our great nation to demand more from their leadership than empty promises from empty suits. It’s time to start holding leaders accountable for the words they speak. It’s time for the people of America to start having an attention span that lasts longer than the last worthless sound-bite, and start demanding truth, accountability, justice, and righteousness from those in the seats of power in Washington D.C., and every capital building in every state across this great land. It’s time for the Church to be the Church, come together in unity, and be the force that has the ability to change the world with the most powerful weapon in the universe… the love of Jesus.

This link is to a video recorded on the floor of the Iraqi parliament on August 5, 2014. It is approximately three minutes long… please watch.

We cannot sit and do nothing any longer. We must take a stand against evil at home and abroad. We must pray fervently. We must all contact our representatives and leaders and demand more from them. Demand the truth be told. Demand action be taken. Demand that this country, firmly established and founded upon Judeo-Christian values, take a stand against the tyranny of Islam that is being perpetrated across the deserts of the Middle East, Europe, Africa, and is slowly seeping into the fabric of our great nation. While I am all for religious freedom, what I will not stand by silently and watch is for a political ideology that masks itself as a religion to invade our nation, and steal the hope of a better future from the rising generation.

May God bless America, protect our Christian brothers and sisters abroad, and grant peace to Jerusalem, all of Israel, and the Middle East.

Pastor Ron

 

To write the President of the USA:

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Phone Numbers for the White House:
Comments: 202-456-1111

Switchboard: 202-456-1414

FAX: 202-456-2461

Send E-Mail:

President Barack Obama:
president@whitehouse.gov

Vice President Joe Biden:
vice.president@whitehouse.gov

To contact your member of Congress, please visit… http://www.contactingthecongress.org/

Categories
America Living It Out In Real Time The Life of Faith

The Buck Stops Here

Well, this seems to be the $17 trillion dollar question:

“What is going on in Washington?”

It is disturbing to witness the dismantling of our nation right before our eyes. What we are seeing taking place in Washington right now is nothing short of tragic. There is confusion, division, and unfortunately, deception.

LOTS of deception.

Mystery surrounds the “dismissal” of nearly 200 high-ranking military officers for reasons that range from “questionable” to “absurd”. Scandals continue to plague the NSA, the IRS, the State Department, the Pentagon, the Justice Department, and the White House. Questions go unanswered concerning the Benghazi attack, the mistreatment of our allies, and the assault on our Constitution. And as the inexcusable deception related to Obamacare is unfolding before our eyes, the influence and positioning of Muslims in seats of governmental power is slipping “under the radar”… unnoticed, unchecked, and unhindered.

To say “I am alarmed” by the Islamic infiltration of our government at some of the highest levels would be a gross understatement.

Consider, if you will, this case…

Many of you remember the moral scandal that brought down New York Congressman Anthony Weiner. What you may not know is that his wife Huma Mahmood Abedin, a Muslim, worked for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, serving as Deputy Chief of Staff. While Ms. Abedin was working for Hillary Clinton, she was simultaneously working for a journal promoting Islamic supremacist ideology founded by Al-Qaeda financier Abdullah Omar Nasseef. Her parents support and worked for the terrorist organization led by Sheik Yusuf-al-Qaradawi, the notorious Muslim Brotherhood jurist, who has issued fatwas calling for the killing of American military personnel and suicide bombings in Israel.

In light of these facts, how in the world did Huma Abedin get the kind of high-level security clearance she would have to have in order to work in the State Department, and with unfettered access to the Secretary of State of the United States of America?

Why has nothing been done about Muslim extremists? Why do the questions about Benghazi go unanswered? Why has this administration repeatedly and recklessly chosen to align itself with terrorist organizations such as the Muslim Brotherhood – at the risk of irreparably damaging our relationship with our #1 Middle-Eastern ally, Israel?

After 9-11, one would think that a long, hard look would be taken before appointing anyone remotely tied to Islam to a high-level government post. However, this administration has chosen to openly welcome Islamists into the upper echelons of U.S. power. Consider these…

Arif Alikhan – Assistant Secretary for Policy Development for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Mohammed Elibiary – Homeland Security Adviser.

Rashad Hussain – Special Envoy to the (OIC) Organization of the Islamic Conference.

Salam al-Marayati – Obama Adviser and  founder of Muslim Public Affairs Council and its current executive director.

Imam Mohamed Magid – Obama’s Sharia Czar, Islamic Society of North America.

Eboo Patel – Advisory Council on Faith-Based Neighborhood Partnerships.

So, what can we do? What must we do?

We must pray. We must commit ourselves to prayer and fasting for this nation to return to God. We must encourage our friends to do the same. This has gone far beyond “politics as usual”. This battle has long since crossed into the spiritual realm with the very soul of our nation at stake. We must heed the words of 2 Chronicles 7:14, humble ourselves before the Lord, pray, seek His face, and turn from our wickedness. Then, and only then, will we see the healing of our land.

We must stand for truth. We ARE still a nation under God. No amount of history revisionism can change our Judeo-Christian heritage and foundation. It is time for the church to once again be the church, and stop cowering in the corner of society, fearful of offending hand-picked, government-approved special interest groups dedicated to immorality, ungodliness, and the dumbing-down of Biblical values. It is time for the Billy Sundays, the D. L. Moodys, and the Jonathan Edwards of this generation to arise!

We must stand with Israel. While this administration has done its level best to marginalize and insult our best friend and closest ally in the Middle East, WE THE PEOPLE must never lose sight of the promise that God made to Abraham thousands of years ago when HE promised to “bless those that bless you.” We must pray for Israel, support it in any way we can, and never fail to hold accountable those in our government who fail to do so.

We must communicate with our representatives. It is high time that our elected officials be reminded that they are our representatives, not our rulers; that they were sent to the state house to serve the people, not to enslave the people. Whether Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Liberal, Conservative, or anywhere in between, these people must be held accountable for the decisions they make on behalf of the people, and understand that failure to act in the best interest of the people will result in their removal by the people.

buckstopsherefrontsmallPresident Harry S. Truman famously had a sign on his desk in the White House that read, “The Buck Stops Here”. It is time for our representatives to stop kicking the can of responsibility down the road to future generations and stand up for what is “true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy” (Philippians 4).

As I have said before, May America bless God once again!