What a world we live in, my fellow Americans and Christians.
It turns daily topsy-turvy. The more untraditional the better. The more anti-social, challenging the social order as-is, also the better.
We live in a world that readily accepts:
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Abortion
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LGBTQ priorities
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Euthanasia
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Embryonic stem cell research
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Human cloning
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Pornography
It is an age of moral change, post truth to be sure, one of radical social upheaval and sexual turmoil. It is an age it seems where:
ANYTHING GOES.
Anything.
THE NEW MORALITY. Perhaps nothing confronts Christians and conservatives more so than the birth of the NEW MORALITY. It is the day and age, so says Obama and his ilk of:
POST TRUTH.
In short, there is no such thing as truth in any ABSOLUTE way. It is a day and age of moral relativism. In fact, it is an age where the ultimate moral decision maker is:
YOU.
Whatever you think is right or wrong, so be it. Your conscience, however sensitive or moral, is your guide, your very own absolute truth and nothing external, especially nothing absolute, matters.
The ultimate demands, the claims for truth for many and all religions are irrelevant. The Christian may claim that Jesus Christ is the ultimate, THE way, the truth and the life and the same for scripture. But if YOU don’t believe that, any and all claims of Christianity are irrelevant and you make the TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR YOUR LIFE. And the same with Islam where not only is Islam the only truth, but everything else is idolatry, blasphemy and such believers are nothing more than INFIDELS. Ignore Islam in any absolute way. Only what you think and believe matters, that and that alone.
And so, fact and truth change day to day. In fact, there is no such thing as a fact. Perhaps it is no more than an event which consists of any number of elements, interpretations, emotions and matters unobserved or unreported. And truth, anything ultimate, is nothing more than a configuration of guesses, estimates and hopes. So again, do as you please for if your conscience so dictates, any actions you take will not incur any moral consequences.
And this new morality (immorality) has little respect for the rule of law. If what an individual wants or believes is contrary to the law, then bend it, break it or ignore it. It may, says such an Actor apply to others but not to ME. The ME generation has few if any rules. How difficult it is for the Christian or the conservative traditionalists to live and uphold by the standards, values and morals so honored in the past. And this, fellow conservatives and Christians, may be the ultimate test and challenge of this day.
THE CHURCHES. They decline. Attendance goes down.
They compromise, Pastors do, the scripture, Christian ethics and teachings they depart at will from the true faith. They become social institutions rather than messengers and ambassadors of the gospel.
They raise money. So many compromise for money. They bow to criticism or modernity. The courage of the gospel declines. Spiritual muscle wastes away. They become ineffective.
Churches and Pastors yield far too much to the political. THE JOHNSON AMMENDMENT intimidates them. So many do not speak boldly from the pulpit or in the community. A rabid secular IRS threatens to take away tax exemption and churches buckle under. Communities attempt to tax legitimate non profits and that results in more decline, more compromise. The once potent assembly of believers, fired and inspired by the Holy Spirit hardly exists anywhere. Ironically, when it does, it enlivens, empassions the believers and sends them into all the world with the power of the gospel. Those inspired church centers spring up outside the denominations where the old fashioned, old time gospel is welcomed in every way. Then and only then do the fruits of the spirit become evident, and do they ever.
These churches train up the young, the children in the ways they should go. They implant the seeds of the gospel early on and up come men and women who are not afraid or ashamed of the gospel and carry on individually and in new groups what was once the mission of the churches. It is to them, these new apostles, which is entrusted the message of the gospel with its power of old and this gospel of old, never, ever quieted or extinguished goes on in many ways more powerful than ever. The church of today needs to be born again. Thank God, many are. The true Christian should make certain this new revival occurs in every church.
And then there is our beloved CONSTITUTION. The document, with its precious amendments, which contains our freedoms, the finest freedoms the world has ever known. Its form of government is the most creative fashion by mankind. This REPUBLIC in which we live, fueled by an aggressive and energetic democratic process has no equal. The roles fashioned for President, Senate, House of Representatives and the Judiciary are a marvelous system of checks and balances and prevent this great country from lapsing into an oligarchy, or a dictatorship, or certainly socialism much less communism – Marxism. The constitution counteracts in any of four ways any attempt to ABRIDGE these fought for and hard won freedoms. They are under attack as never before.
Especially the one-of-a-kind FIRST AMMENDMENT. The freedoms of speech, religion and assembly are in fact being abridged every day and in so many ways. Those who would speak conservative or religious are so often intimidated, even silenced. That speech and the speakers are not only threatened, but legally and financially challenged time and again. There is no greater challenge for the Christian and the conservative than to stand up and protect these freedoms, and all of the constitution, and without compromise and without allowing any ABRIDGMENT whatsoever. We should be reminded once again of the words of President Ronald Reagan:
FREEDOMS ONCE LOST ARE LOST FOREVER!
And ours are very much in danger of just that. Franklin Graham of The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association has reminded us that we are near a day when we will have to have the strongest individual acts of resistance and even incidents of civil disobedience, some even massive. If those on the other side bring America to that divide, that course of conduct would be absolutely required. Christians and conservatives must be ready to stand up, fight the fight of faith and never allow these freedoms to be extinguished by radical progressives.
And then there is a creeping SOCIALISM. Witness Bernie Sanders. Or Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez the now famous former bartender. Or those many who despise capitalism and seek to erode it or even eliminate it. These radical thinkers and workers intend a level playing field. They supposedly despise the inequity of financial return and they wish a monetary redistribution, so they say. They are ready to tax as high as 70% (Ocasio-Cortez) and the intimidated speaker Pelosi fails to respond. This is a party, Democrat and progressive, radical in so many ways intent upon regulation, and the more the better. This is a party which is supported by the so called DEEP STATE where supposedly objective and fair minded government workers live and work. In reality, the vast majority of these DEEP STATERS are themselves liberal and progressive and will do whatever it takes to foster the progressive agenda. They are as President Trump has so well stated a real danger to America, our republic at work and our democratic process, perhaps as much as anything. They are for the most part anti-capitalism and their ultimate goal is to secure the political and governmental power to implement socialistic beliefs.
Many of these radicals have the strongest antipathy for America. They despise our governmental structure and our way of life. They are diametrically opposed to capitalism and Christianity. They champion a RABID SECULARISM and so much of this in the pursuit of power, ultimate power. They want the control of the American people, THE DEPLORABLES, controlling the vote and even the thinking of so many Americans. They are fueled by men like George Soros, Saul Alinsky and so many other NIHILISTS who do not want change in America, but the utter destruction of our government and our way of life. They want the complete power to introduce THE NEW WORLD ORDER. They are against American Exceptionalism in every way and they wish us to be little more than a member of the United Nations or NATO or any other world order organization. They would subject us to international courts, and legislation passed by others and treaties which would not be in the best interest of America. The socialism they propose would stagnate our American economy and, especially for the young, the millennials and so many others, would virtually extinguish the OPPORTUNITY which our country now provides. There would be a leveling which would prevent the rise of talent, creativity and individual achievement. The end result would be a flat, dull, lifeless society without the dynamic America now enjoys. This is yet another enormous challenge to Christians and conservatives. We simply must not allow socialism in any form to occur in our great country, much less anything more extreme. We should stand tall for our republic, for our democratic way of life, for our freedoms and prevent the socialism advocated by Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez, George Soros and others from ever happening in our great country.
And I suggest finally there is ISRAEL. If, says the God of Abraham, you bless Israel, I – Jehovah will bless you. But if you curse them, do harm to Israel, I will do the same to you. So many Christians believe and therefore stand with Israel. We are told that is the chosen land, the Promised Land and that Jews are chosen, special. There was from 1940 – 1945 the most barbaric, brutal slaughtering of the chosen people. The death of six million was not enough for today, in this day of diversity, caring for all peoples, ethnic differences and respect, ANTI-SEMITISM is once again on the rise. It is a vicious, ungodly despicable movement. There is a growing hatred of people simply because they are Jews. This growing hatred or anti-Semitism not only exists on the individual level, but on the national and international level as well. The movement BDS, boycott, divestment and sanctions grows daily. Nations rise up economically, politically and socially against Israel for its alleged apartheid practices. This little nation no larger than New Jersey is threatened on all sides by radical Islam which, they have said the wish totally destroyed and:
“Every Jew buried in the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea.”
Surrounded by Iran, Iraq, even Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and others beyond, this tiny nation, THE PROMISED LAND lives in extreme danger of death and extinction every day. America vacillates in support. Trump moves the American embassy to Jerusalem, the right move. But there is little progress with regard to peace and negotiations, and the danger not just for Israel but the world over grows. Some of these enemies and soon Iran will be nuclear capable as Israel now is. It would take little for the Middle East and then the world to explode in a nuclear holocaust. The Peace of Jerusalem is an illusion. War seems inevitable whether sooner or later, even as this rabid anti-Semitism grows. It should be the duty of Christians and conservatives to stand up for Israel. The blessing of God disappears if Christians don’t, not only for them but perhaps for America as well. It is one of the great challenges of our day and we must have the courage to deal with it. I pray you do.
No matter how dark, depressing and despairing things are, it is so good to be alive, to live well in the day which the Lord hath made. There is joy, happiness, cheer, good will and hope for the believer. There is promise for those who will work no matter the night which is coming. Service, living for GOD AND COUNTRY has its own reward. And as we serve and honor the God of Abraham, and the son the Christ He sent, we are promised his blessing and protection and we should rejoice in that. I do every day as I fight the fight of faith and I pray you do as well.
May God bless you my fellow Christians and conservatives as you battle these extraordinary CHALLENGES AND ISSUES OF THE DAY.