Some change.
Closed door, late night, sweetheart deals for major lobbying interests designed to save them money and cost us more, some change. Business as usual in Washington DC. Yes that is right America, there is no real change. Despite all the promises and rhetoric during campaigns no politician will buck the system. Money talks and as long the politician who needs the money for less than honest campaigns to stay in office wants to stay in office they will listen to money. Labor Unions, some of which have been connected to the President, have just dealt a horrible blow to the American public. In negotiating their sweetheart deal in a late night session with the White House and Congressional Leadership have saved themselves sixty billion dollars. Who will make up the difference? Well if you do not belong to one of these sweetheart unions you will. But here is another thought, the union operations themselves have saved the money but if the cost is going to be made up in taxes to the public the the union membership will see the cost come out of their paychecks while union officials pat themselves on the bank for negotiating this deal.
My understanding of economics and politics is not school taught other than the few classes I took in high school and college is real time life experience, trying to survive the day to day living. I am sickened that the political elite have lost touch with the American people. What is worse is the American people who blindly follow these politicians and believe lie after lie. These politicians do not know you, they do not know what is best for you or your family because they don’t live your life. Except at election time they do not have to worry about loosing their jobs and even if they are voted out they maintain a pension and health benefits paid by the American taxpayer. Politicians vote in their own pay raises and benefits packages with out approval from anyone. This is not right. The people that believe that any or all politicians know what is best for even one American other than themselves are fools! The real power in American politics resides with each individual citizen and the politicians know this. But the American citizen continuously relinquishes this power to the chosen few who have so little respect for the average citizen. Those who do not vote in elections because they feel that it is futile, nothing will change are idiots. Those who vote on candidates with no real grasp on the issues and vote just on the tradition of family or party loyalty, or even popularity are just plain morons.
People educate yourselves on the issues because it all affects us, if not immediately then eventually at some point in our lives. Educate your families and your children on the real strength of America, what it means and what it stands for. Those in power are afraid of the masses, because the masses have the power and we are the masses. It was the masses that broke from England and founded this country. A handful of military officers and a mass of untrained volunteers defeated one of the most powerful military powers of the time to form this country. It was the masses that revolted in France, in Russia, and in many other countries throughout history in the world. These masses brought about the change that they did because they were the real power not the chosen few. The masses have the power and it is NOT a gun, it is NOT violence, it is the voting ballot and the number of the masses. The American government is set up on a series of checks and balances and the most import check is the American people and their power in the voting booth.
If you are worried about providing for your families or even just yourselves, get involved. If you are worried about your future or the future of your children, get involved. If you are tired of out of touch politicians, get involved. If you want the government out of your pocket, out of your day to day life – get involved. Getting involved does not necessarily mean to run for office or even volunteering for campaigns. It means to educate yourselves about what is going on, pay attention, and register your opinion in the voting booth on election day. It means contact your elected official and let them know how you feel about things. If they get enough people contacting them then they have to listen and they know it. And by all means, if you have children make sure their education includes the proper teaching on American history and what their role in our country is.
The United States of Entitlement
The culture in America has grown into one of gimme, gimme, gimme. There is an entire generation that does not know an America without government programs that give away money to citizens. A generation that sees people living solely on the hand outs from government. The older generations that knew life before any progressive movement are all but gone. It is a shame that not all have listened to our grandparents and great grandparents about how life was in those earlier times. Sure life was harder, it was tough when people relied on themselves and their local community but it brought a sense of self worth and a pride in community.
This country of ours has been through some really tough times. There was the revolution to get the country started, the subsequent wars with England and Native Americans, the Civil War, and of course the big wars of the twentieth century and now the war with radical Islam. No every one seems to think that the government owes them a living. This could not be further from the truth. This country and the government formed to keep it together is the fruits of labor, the labor of many men who had a vision of a place to live where the central government did not control every aspect of the their lives. The governments of Europe in the 1700’s were ones that had complete control of the lives of their citizens, from their religion to how much money they could keep for themselves from there labors. All property was owned by the government and was handed out as that government saw fit. There was no private ownership of anything unless you were the monarch ruling the country. The founders of this country sought several things in the forming on a new nation. Private ownership of property, the ability to keep what they worked hard for, and self rule or the foundation of government came from the people not over the people.
These ideas and principles are still alive today, just buy fewer and fewer people. Now I have noticed that people are not remembering history the way it was taught to me when I was growing up. It would seem that textbooks are being changed but that is another subject. Entitlement programs were not written in to law in this country until the 1930’s but even then the programs were designed to get people back to work and make them self sufficient. In other words they were not supposed to be permanent. As people got back on their feet and became more self sufficient the programs were suppose to go away. In the 1960’s entitlement programs were expanded and a wider base of people were now entitled to handouts instead of hand ups. What happened out of the 60’s is a generation that expects to be handed everything without having to work for it. No longer did you have to be elderly or disabled to get Social Security and Medicare. People are getting income assistance just because they don’t make enough money. What ever happened to finding a better job or better yourself for a better job? In 1996 President Clinton did try to reform the entitlement system by instituting time limits as well as monetary limits on benefits. I guess that those limits don’t exist anymore.
Now our government is involved in business and bailouts left and right. It is not only an Obama or Bush problem, remember Regan did it back in the 80’s but that was supposed to be a loan to be paid back. Today we are letting the government through more and more money in to the failed automotive companies and financial institutions. Yes if it wasn’t for the money from the federal government those businesses would be dead. No one wants another depression. No one wants to see bread and soup lines and massive unemployment. However the monster in the closet that we are feeding by constantly throwing money at failed businesses and trying to recreate programs that are already in place instead of fixing the system. I remember that in the Constitution the federal government of the US is to regulate interstate commerce not recreating it. Our law makers removed a lot of the regulations that has caused the financial mess that we are in. I say regulate the banks and financial institutions again. regulate the medical industry don’t feed into the current system. Fix Medicare and Medicaid, don’t replace it. There are constitutional ways to fix our problems. Let the states handle the business within their borders, or make them and make the federal government stay with in its constitutional restraints, interstate and international commerce and policy issues.
If people are going to stand in line for handouts and refuse to do anything to put themselves back on their own feet then tell them NO! We will help you help yourself but well will not support you just sitting around collecting dust watching TV. Go to school, get a job. Uncle Sam is not your ’sugar daddy’ get your hands out of his pockets.
December 15th, Bill of Rights Day
Is this one preprinted on your calendars? It is not on mine. What is the “Bills of Rights Day”?
In 1941 then President Roosevelt declared the 15th of December to be the “Bill of Rights Day” to signify the importance of the Bill of Rights and the protections that it gave to each and every individual in our country. James Madison proposed the bill of rights to congress in 1789 to insure that individual and states rights were insured against a centralized federal government. Fears of a strong centralized federal government was threatening the ratification of the new federal US Constitution and Madison felt that these ten amendments to the constitution would insure rights to the people and protection against a strong centralized government. These amendments were designed to protect the citizens of the United States of America from any attack on individual or states rights from the federal government. It is important to remember that in beginning of our country the founding fathers wanted to insure that a centralized government could not infringe on the rights of the citizens, this concern came from people that lived under strong centralized governments that imposed laws, taxes, and penalties on citizens without any regard for their welfare and well being.
The Bill of Rights was ratified and came into effect on December 15th, 1791. Many do not know that there was a preamble to the Bill of Rights which I have included here. This preamble is not generally know because it does not appear in the constitution.
- ”Congress of the United States begun and held at the City of New-York, on Wednesday the fourth of March, one thousand seven hundred and eighty nine
- THE Conventions of a number of the States, having at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best ensure the beneficent starts of its institution.
- RESOLVED by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, two thirds of both Houses concurring, that the following Articles be proposed to the Legislatures of the several States, as amendments to the Constitution of the United States, all, or any of which Articles, when ratified by three fourths of the said Legislatures, to be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of the said Constitution; viz.
- ARTICLES in addition to, and Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, proposed by Congress, and ratified by the Legislatures of the several States, pursuant to the fifth Article of the original Constitution.”
“expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best ensure the beneficent starts of its institution.” This statement says a lot about the intent of the bill of rights. It means that people did not want a government that could arbitrarily impose laws that could infringe on the rights of the people to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We all should feel that are rights are ours and are inalienable afforded and guaranteed by our Creator. The spirit of the Bill of Rights is that the federal government is restricted in what it can do in the name of the country and to the country, the individual is sovereign and affords authority to the government to run the day to day business of running the country and to keep the United States united. Some feel that our country is growing away from the intent and purpose of the constitution and the fundamental ideals of our country.
Growing movements against actions taken by Congress and the President our based on the protection against ‘misconstruction or abuse of powers’. Their fears are real and based the preamble of the Bill of Rights. So on December 15th and every other day of the year, think about what the Bill of Rights mean to the country and to you as a sovereign individual and act accordingly.
Of Ghost and ‘Ghost Busting’; A Christian Perspective.
I am sure that I am not the only one who has noticed the growth of ‘ghost busting’ shows coming across the television today, the newest being on an animal oriented network dealing with animals and ghostly presence. The only way that their can be the growing number can be explained is that the public wants to see them. Simply people seem to be hungry for proof of the ‘supernatural’.
I grew curious as to why there are so many of these shows and then it came to me. The attendance number in churches is down but people are looking for answers to spiritual matters. Of course there are those who don’t believe in anything other than this existence and not only do not look for spiritual answers and scoff at those that do. Of those who want to believe in something but have not found their way to a church will look everywhere but a church. Being a Christian lends us to believe in the spiritual life, it is a foundation of faith. The spirit we speak of is the the immortal soul in all people and sets us apart from the rest of God’s earthly creations. The term is also used for ‘supernatural beings’.
The term supernatural applies to anything that mankind can not explain in terms understandable in terms of the laws of nature and science. Miracles are an example of a supernatural event. People have found a fascination in searching for the ‘supernatural’ and it is a fascination that dates back to the beginning of recorded history. Worship of spiritual beings exists in every culture throughout the world.
How can Christians be assured that the spiritual realm exists? All we need to do is to turn to the Holy Bible. First is the Trinity, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Second is the existence of angels, written accounts in the Holy Bible speak of these beings that were sent by God to communicate with mankind. Third, the return of Moses and Elijah to earth to be with Jesus at the time of the transfiguration. Fourth is the account of the disciples watching Jesus ascend to Heaven. I could continue on this track but I must move on. The point is this, to believe in the promise of the reward God has made to us for our faith in Him and His plan of salvation is to believe in the supernatural.
Now the danger of doing what we are told not to do in the Bible,
Leviticus 19:26 (NKJV) ‘You shall not eat anything with the blood, nor shall you practice divination or soothsaying.
Deuteronomy 18:10-11 (NKJV) 10 There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, 11 or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead.
Divination is the practice of attempting to contact spirits or other ‘supernatural’ phenomenon. If God wants us to know something His has proven that He will contact us in some way. We communicate with God in prayer and directly with Him. The practice of going through intermediaries other than Jesus(who is God incarnate) is nothing sort of idolatry which is forbidden by God.
What are the ramifications of ‘ghost busting’? From the perspective that everything not of God is bad and God is good then what God tells us not to do is not of God and is in fact evil. People who believe that Jesus was in fact our Savior and God’s sacrifice for our redemption to God’s Grace go to be in God’s presence and in fact are not lurking around after they pass from this life. Those who have not found that salvation prior to their death to not go to God, they are in fact given over to Lucifer who was cast out of Heaven for rebellion against God and given dominion in Hell and here on earth. (Revelation 12:9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.) If you seek things that are bad then bad things will happen. Possessions are an event that is documented through out time, even in the Holy Bible. These possessions are done by demons or evil spirits and no good comes from this. Influences from evil entities can tear families apart and irreversibly harm people. Mental, emotional and even physical harm to people has been witnessed. I have been witness to this myself and I strongly advise no one to voluntarily seek out these unseen entities. All you have to do is open the door for these entities to come into your home and your life. This is done by your actions and activities, your words, things you read or watch on television, music that you listen to and even the company you keep. I will take a lot of flack for that last sentence but the truth is the truth and some people just can not deal with the truth that they maybe doing wrong. All of these publicized ‘ghost hunts’ are done at night, in the dark. It is said that God is light and light brings the truth to all questions of man. Bad things can not hide in the light of truth but in the dark, in the shadows everything bad can hide and ambush anyone with out warning.
My friends, I strive to shine the light of truth for you all on this subject. Hopefully most if not all will listen. Seek God, not evil. My warning to all is do not seek out to prove to yourselves that evil exists, we all know that it does. Turn the light of the truth on in your life and seek the protection of that light. I pray for all.
Christians should not cower.
Just about every day I read the ‘letters to the Editor’ in my local paper. When I do so I read it online so that I can read the responses from other readers as well. I have noticed that whenever a writer mentions their beliefs in the Christian faith the responses are fast and furious and the majority is always negative towards the Christian faith. There are responses from pro-Christian people as well but we are always accused of ramming our beliefs down their throats. I find that curious since whenever the subject comes up it is usually non-Christians telling us that we can say this or do that. Christians are told what they can and cannot display in full view of the public even on the grounds of our own churches. My family is lucky that we live in an area that still has a moderate religious influence but that does not mean that God and references to the Christian Faith are not being cleansed from sight. Are your children singing Christmas carols at school this year?
On the 20th of November 2009 leaders from different denominations of the Christian faith released a declaration of faith and values for the Christian faith. Called the ‘Manhattan Declaration’( http://www.manhattandeclaration.org ) it is being touted by some as the most important Christian declaration since Martin Luther nailed his Ninety Five thesis to the door of the church. It calls Christians to stand firm in their faith even to the point of civil disobedience. Civil disobedience was a common practice used during Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s fight for civil rights. It speaks against all actions currently being taken by society today that go against the pillars of the Christian Faith. This document tells all Christians that it is okay to stand up for your faith and to defend your beliefs.
I for one will not shut up in matters of my faith. I am not looking for a ban on anything anti-Christian, that would be unconstitutional. I am not complaining about all the anti-God things I see and hear even in my local community. Freedom of expression is a constitutional right, I am taking advantage of my constitutional and God given right to express my beliefs. This country needs a re-awakening of Christians and their beliefs. Like it or not it was Christians that founded this country and they did it for everyone seeking freedom.
The truth about living as a Christian.
As Jesus left the temple and was walking away, his disciples came up to him to point out to him the temple buildings. But he said to them, "You see all these things, don’t you? Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another that will not be torn down." While Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately and said, "Tell us, when will these things take place, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" Jesus answered them, "See to it that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name and say, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will deceive many people. You are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See to it that you are not alarmed. These things must take place, but the end hasn’t come yet. For nation will rise up in arms against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. But all these things are only the beginning of the birth pains." "Then they will hand you over to suffering and will kill you, and you will be hated by all the nations because of my name. Then many people will fall by the way and will betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets will appear and deceive many people, and because lawlessness will increase, the love of many people will grow cold. But the person who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come."
(Mat 24:1-14 ISV) (emphasis added)i
It always amazes me that all these studious Christians with degrees in Biblical Studies and leadership positions in any given church cannot remember what the Bible says about living as a Christian. I have turned off the ‘Christian’ programming because the constant message of the glorious feel good trouble free live does not match with what I read in the Holy Bible. The Bible is specific with words right from the mouth of Jesus as spoken while He was with us on earth. While being born again and following the way of Jesus and the laws of The Creator will bring about peace of mind and peace in your heart and soul, it will not change the way the world acts towards you except to make it worse. When we are ‘born again’ and give ourselves back to the Heavenly Father we cease being apart of this world. Romans 12:2 tells us not to be conformed of this world.
Do not be conformed to this world, but continually be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you may be able to determine what God’s will is-what is proper, pleasing, and perfect.
(Rom 12:2 ISV)1
We are to be transformed into children of the Heavenly Father. The fighting and bickering of this world is of no concern for us any longer.
The rules and laws of men will come and go just as the leaders that create and re-create them. One thing is the same and consistent, the Heavenly Father, our Creator and His plan for our salvation through the blood of Jesus Christ. Because of this, the persecution of His children, the ones who follow the Christ is on going and ever present. For many years the Christians in the United States of America enjoyed the comfort of living in a nation created by Christians using the foundation of Judeo-Christian values. As anyone who has been paying attention to life in America can tell the persecution of Christians and their way of life is catching up.
I am sure that those who read this are familiar with the messengers who put out the message of hope and happiness or of the rosy life with the Father. What they don’t say or prepare anyone for is the immediate onslaught of persecution from worldly forces backed by the evil one. This is a disservice to the new Christian as they are not ready to take this persecution on alone. Because of this many leave and return to the world. Ever wonder how cults retain membership? It is because they remove their followers from society. Christians should not be treated this way but they should be instructed on how to recognize and deal with the persecution and where to seek help when needed. Through out Jesus’ ministry on earth He prepared His Disciples for what was to come. Jesus imparted on His followers what was to come for all who followed Him. Like many following Him today, they do not wish to believe the bad things that can happen to them simply for doing what their hearts tell them is right. Believers seem to want to fool themselves that everything changes back to the way it was in the Garden of Eden before sin was introduced to man and the first bad decision was made. In reality this does not happen and the disillusioned stand wondering why or just return to their prior lives in sin. In Matthew 24:12 Jesus says that because of the persecution many will have the love from knowing Him grow cold.
And because wrongdoing will be increased, the love of most people will become cold.
(Mat 24:12 BBE)ii
This means that people will turn away from salvation because of the persecution. Why does not everyone turn away? Verse 13 tells us why;
“But he who goes through to the end will get salvation.” (Mat 24:13 BBE)ii
Those who stick it out and follow the Savior will receive their reward. How do we get to the end?
How, indeed, do we get to the ‘end’?
[Someone asked him, "Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?" He said to them, "Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, 'Sir, open the door for us.' "But he will answer, 'I don't know you or where you come from.' ] (Luke 13:23-25 NIV)iii
If it was going to be easy everyone would be doing it! So we know that following the Son of God is not the easy way to go. Matthew 24:9 tells us that we are sure to be persecuted because we follow Jesus. Jesus, Himself said it so we know this to be true. But wait in the book of John chapter 8 verse 12 Jesus says that He is the light of the world and whoever follows Him will never be in darkness again but have the light of life.
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (John 8:12 NIV)iii
How can this be true if we are to be persecuted, isn’t that a pretty dark thing? Yes it is. The light of life is the light of the truth of the Heavenly Father inside you. Something that cannot be taken from you but you can give up. Belief in the promise of salvation as provided by the blood of Jesus is the cornerstone of the Christian faith. To let the events of the world which are perpetrated by the agents of evil wrought with sin diminish the light of your faith and darken your heart will lead to you giving away that light of life. Hell is a real place, just as real as Heaven and earth. We do not here as much about hell as we do about heaven. This is because hell is a scary place, a place of eternal torment and pain. No one wants to hear about this! They only want to hear about good stuff! You cannot preach salvation without teaching that the alternative is hell. Do not most of us make decisions based on one option or another? How can you have anyone chose heaven honestly without telling them about the alternative? To be honest with a person you cannot do it. Jesus taught salvation by teaching what the alternative was as well, why can’t we?
i Scripture taken from the Holy Bible: International Standard Version®. Copyright © 1996-2008 by The ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission
ii S. H. Hooke, ed., The Basic Bible, Containing the Old and New Testaments in Basic English. Cambridge: The University Press, 1949.
iii New International Version International Bible SocietyCopyright © 1973, 1978, 1984
http://www.ibs.org/
Help a hearing impaired girl get her dog back.
If you missed the October 9th, 2009 episode of ‘Rescue Ink’, this is Pinky she belongs to and assists her owner a hearing impaired girl in Ozone Park New York. Pinky was stolen in March and has yet to be located. Please help Pinky return home. Contact Rescue Ink at 516-208-7676 or info@rescueink.org with any information.
Political Correctness, A good intentioned idea gone horribly wrong.
I do not know who started it nor where it came from. The idea was to watch our words and actions so as not to offend anyone else. It has gone horribly wrong.
Would not it be wonderful to go through life and never be offended by anything that anyone ever says? Political Correctness is based on something of this idea. Watch what you say or do so as not to offend anyone and we will all get along wonderfully forever and ever. Nice idea but it will never work. Because we are human beings it is impossible to go through life with out ever saying anything that anyone is not going to find offense to. Many conscientious people are trying to live by the political correctness doctrine, watching every word, having uncomfortable conversations as they try to choose words that will not offend. These people in my opinion become very high strung in public and very bitter in private.
Political correctness itself is nothing more than a philosophy that is designed to govern the way that people talk to each other, to defuse any situation before it even begins. This “correctness” white washes all conversations and interactions among all people that are expected to follow this philosophy. The reason that it has gone horribly wrong is that while a person strains to have conversations that do not offend anyone or struggle to sanitize their lives to the standard of political correctness there are many who just sit around and watch for offenses against this philosophy. As soon as any perceived transgressions of political correctness occurs the world jumps on the offender with anger labeling that person as a racist, homophobe, sexist, or even intolerant to any other religion other than their beliefs.
I have been in contact with many people so far in my life, in many parts of this county and others. What has angered me is that there are always people who while not caring what they say to any one wait for others to commit an offense under the political correctness doctrine. In America there are people that flaunt there actions, their lifestyles in front of the world for all to see. They do this daring the world to say anything about it and as soon as anyone says anything it gets twisted into some comment against them and their lifestyle or skin color. Here is an example; a nice family is out for a nice dinner at a restaurant giving mom a night off from cooking. At the table near them a couple is engage in a open public display of sexual activity, not the full blown act of sex but just all over each other kissing, groping and other acts. The family is upset over this activity especially in front of the young children. The father complains and the restaurant management approaches the couple to ask them to stop or leave. Now if that couple are a man and a woman, some words may be exchanged but the issue will get resolved and people will move on. Now lets say that the couple is same sex. An argument will usually erupt with the couple calling the family and the restaurant staff as homophobes and discriminating against them because of their sexual preference. If we say that the couple is of another race than the the complaining family you risk it becoming a confrontation with racism as its base. While this situation originally only had to do with the actions of people in the restaurant and had nothing to do with race nor sexual preference. However, under the doctrine of political correctness this family may never say anything for fear of the results that may happen, the restaurant management will not say anything for fear of discrimination charges and the couple gets away with unacceptable behavior.
Under political correctness minority groups now have the majority over a barrel. Fading from view are the displays of faith, the holidays that people celebrate with their religion at its core. What has taken its place are displays glorifying the life styles of homosexuals, the plight of the minority races, displays of religions other than Christian or Jewish or even against religion. If anyone in the majority says anything they are assaulted by the minority for whatever the perceived offense is.
I believe that ‘political correctness’ should be scraped and thrown away with all the garbage that it creates. There is a standard of society that everyone must live by in order to maintain order within the society. If you are different from your neighbor great, no one wants to be the same as everyone else. It is not in our nature, we are each our own person. I can guarantee that I agree with things that you do not and that is fine with me. What I am suggesting is that the banner of political correctness is being used to disrupt the lives in America. With all the fights in courts and in public view taking place under the banner of political correctness the very fabric of life in America is being ripped to shreds. While life in America may have never been 100% perfect it was a lot better before the doctrine of political correctness.
The Gift of a Nation.
When Abraham walked the earth with God he was promised that his descendants would make up a great nation in land that was promised to them by God. God promised this to Abraham for his faithfulness and obedience. Both of Abraham’s offspring became the foundation for nations of people. Following a man named Moses the descendants of Isaac, Abraham’s son, were led to the land that was promised to them and through their obedience the nation of Israel was born.
Two hundred and thirty three years ago a new nation was formed. Among the people that came to inhabit this new land were scores of Christians that were seeking to escape persecution in their homelands. Many of the homelands hand state endorsed religions having the policy that the national religion must be followed. Many political reasons can also be sighted for the creation of this new nation but the foundation of laws were based on Christian-Judeo values and religious freedom was established. Through writings and recorded events we know that the faith of the founders played highly in their every day life. Prayer was a must at the beginning of every meeting with requests for guidance and blessings from God. By all accounts the military force formed by this fledgling nation was no match for the forces of the homeland and there was confidence that the superior forces would quickly put down the rebellion. Much like Joshua leading the nation of Israel to their promised land, the leaders of this aspiring new nation prayed and sought the blessing of God to give them this nation to save them from oppression. There are reports from numerous sources that General George Washington prayed before battles seeking the favor of the Almighty God, there is even a painting commemorating this event. Against all odds this new nation was formed and independence was gained from the former homeland. Within the last few decades their has been a push to remove the influence of God from the nation that He blessed two hundred and thirty three years ago. The misguided thoughts and beliefs of a few are letting this happen. What is the cost of removing God from the life of a nation?
After time past the people of Israel came under the influence of other nations and strayed from God and did not seek His blessings and at such times God gave the people over to their enemies. Repentance brought redemption but straying would bring punishment. After generations of this behavior the nation of Israel was routed and scattered throughout the lands. The nation of Israel did not exist from about 70 A.D. until 1948 when the nation was reformed by the international community following World War II. Almost one thousand eight hundred and eighty years without a country. What would that mean to us today? Could you imagine being just a visitor no matter where you went because you country no longer existed?
I wonder if the people of the United States of America could learn anything from the story of the nation of Israel. Could you imagine the United States ceasing to exist? Yes it can happen, anything is possible. Learn from the past. Learn what had happened to a nation that turned its back of God.