Tag: Founding Fathers

STAYING FREE IN A WORLD HELD HOSTAGE TO THE LIE

· “Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.” -Benjamin Franklin-

· “…because although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts…Professing to be wise, they became fools…exchanging the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator…”             –Rom. 1:19-32-

A FOOL SAYS IN HIS HEART, “THERE IS NO GOD” -Psalm 14:1, 53:1-

                God has clearly revealed His eternal power and Godhead through His visible creation so men and women are without excuse. History teaches time after time that when a nation turns its trust away from the Creator and toward the created enslavement (not liberty) is the result. The recorded history in the Bible confirms this. The nation of Israel fell into captivity repetitively when they ‘did evil in the sight of the Lord’ and turned to idols (Judges 2:11, 3:7, 12, 4:1, etc.). King Solomon is an example of an individual who loved the Lord and was given great wisdom, but whose heart turned away when he strayed from God’s guidance (1 Kings 3:6-14, 11). Thankfully he came back to his senses and came to this conclusion: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.” (Eccl. 12:9-14).

THE FOLLY OF FOOLS IS DECEIT -Prov. 14:8-

OPPOSITION TO GOD’S WORD IS SATAN’S SPHERE OF ACTIVITY

                The name Satan means adversary and rightly so. His sphere of activity is opposing God’s Word. He’s been effective in this aim since he was in the garden and QUESTIONED God’s Word, PERVERTED God’s Word, and CONTRADICTED God’s Word. These tactics caused Eve to be deceived and the Fall to occur (Gen. 3, 2 Cor. 11:3). God’s allowed Satan to be the evil influencer of this present fallen age— an age where mankind is allowed free will to choose to be a fool or to be wise (Prov. 1:7, 10:21, Matt. 7:24-27). A deceived and foolish heart turns away from God and feeds on ashes (Deut. 11:16, Isa. 44:20). The mind that is antagonistic to God and His word is open to influence from the spirit of Satan to do his bidding (2 Cor. 4:4, Eph. 2:2, 2 Tim. 2:26).              

Some of the philosophies generated by this spirit are: Adolph Hitler’s Nazism, Karl Marx’s socialist philosophy Communism, and Mao Zedong’s Maoism. These philosophies are all just aliases for Atheism. The common precept promoted through these ideologies is, “There is no God.”  

                As a child, the Russian author, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn recalled hearing a number of older people offer this explanation for the great disasters that had befallen Russia: ‘Men have forgotten God; that’s why all this has happened.”  It took him years later as a Soviet dissident to realize the truth of this statement and the cause of the ruinous Revolution that exterminated some 60 million of the Russian people.

                Communism, Nazism, and Maoism have been responsible for the violent and sadistic deaths of at least 100 million+ people (via starvation, persecution, prison labor camps, and mass executions). These flawed philosophies are culpable for the closing and burning of tens of thousands of churches, as well as killing people based on their ethnicity and beliefs. For those of us living in a free society the lessons of this history must not be missed. Atheistic philosophies cleverly use thought control in the most practiced forms to assert political control, ideological influence, subversion, and propaganda that infiltrate every construct of society (i.e. in the educational realm, the media/press and economic area, etc.).  History also shows that the Communist leaders (dictators) were hypocrites. They didn’t adhere to the programs they imposed on their people, but rather they lived in splendor, wealth, privilege, and comfort. Even today, The Chinese Communist Party follows many of these tenets.

                The apostle Paul told the Colossians to beware of deceptive and vain philosophies that were after the tradition of men and the rudiments of the world and not Christ (Colossians 2:8).

 WHERE TRUE FREEDOM LIES— ONE NATION UNDER GOD—IN GOD WE TRUST

                The United States of America’s Founding Fathers strove to place their trust in God and look to Him and His Word (the Bible) as its source for its founding documents (The Constitution), as well as foundational principles of governing.  The Declaration of Independence confirms that the Founders acknowledged the Creator as the Giver of all good things, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”.

                The early educational system in America was also centered on instilling Biblical principles. The New England Primer was the first reading primer designed for the American colonies. It became the most successful educational text book published in the 17th century colonial U.S. and the foundation of most schooling before the 1790’s, drawn straight from Biblical wisdom. The founders and original mottos of leading American universities were Christian in content. Harvard’s original motto was “Veritas Christo et Ecclesiae” meaning: Truth for Christ and the Church. (It has since been changed to just Veritas). Princeton’s founding statement: “Cursed is all learning that is contrary to the cross of Christ.” Incorporated into Columbia’s seal is: “Yahweh” and Psalm 27:1 in Hebrew, Psalm 36:9 in Latin, and 1 Peter 2:1-2.  The three branches of government were based on Isaiah 33:22, “The Lord is our Judge, the Lord is our Lawgiver, the Lord is our King.”  The basis for civil authority was based on Romans 13:1-7, which says that rulers are not God’s servants, they’re His instruments. This passage directs civil authority to punish evil and condone good (The imperative being that the civil authority must know the basis for calling something good or evil).

John Adams said this, “We have no government armed in power capable of contending in human passions unbridled by morality and religion… Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

Daniel Webster wisely observed, “To preserve the government we must also preserve morals. Morality rests on religion; if you destroy the foundation, the superstructure must fall. When the public mind becomes vitiated and corrupt, laws are a nullity and constitutions are waste paper.” It’s important to note that ‘religion’ when spoken of during this time referred to the Christian religion of the Bible. Even Thomas Jefferson (who leaned more toward Deism than Christianity) wrote this in a letter dated June 28, 1813, “The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity.”

                Even the origins of America’s laws were based on the natural laws of God. English jurist, judge, and Tory politician, William Blackstone’s, “Commentaries on the Law” greatly influenced the Founding Fathers (as well as Abraham Lincoln). Here are some of Blackstone’s comments, “…as man depends absolutely upon his Maker for everything, it is necessary that he should, in all points, conform to his Maker’s will. This will of his Maker is called the law of nature…this law of nature…dictated by God himself, is of course superior in obligation to any other. It is binding over all the globe, in all countries, and at all times: no human laws are of any validity if contrary to this; and such of them as are valid derive all their force, and all their authority…from this original.” 

“Upon these two foundations, the law of nature and the law of revelation, depend all human laws; that is to say, no human laws should be suffered to contradict these.”

Sadly when Darwin’s theory of evolution came out, this atheistic philosophy permeated into law… case law. In 1870 when Christopher Columbus Langdell became head of the Harvard Law School he didn’t just introduce a new method of teaching law—he introduced a new faith regarding law. He believed that man, led by the ablest scholars and judges, could discover and determine the laws governing human affairs. He took God’s authority and absolute truth out of the mix—believing the lie of Darwin’s theory of evolution to be the key to all life, including the law. One of Langdell’s colleagues, John Chipman Gray said this, “The law is a living thing with a continuous history, sloughing off the old, taking on the new.”

FALLING FOR THE FAKE

“You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?

This persuasion does not come from Him Who called you.” -Galatians 5:7-

                When man forgets God and turns to his own fleshly ways there is not liberty, but bondage as the works of the flesh are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissension, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries and the like (Gal. 5:19-21). The apostle Paul urged the Galatians to, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty (2 Cor. 3:17) and it’s much more appealing fruit consisting of: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal. 5:22-23).  

We were created for so much more. A loving God, Who loved us even as we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together in Christ—by grace we have been saved. We don’t have to work for it or have our ‘act together’ before we receive it. It is by grace and through faith—a gift of God. We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. We won’t be able to walk in them if we buy into the ways of the world (Eph. 2:2-10). And that is precisely why Satan uses distraction so effectively.

                The one true God is the real thing. So why are so many duped into believing the fake—the lie?

SATAN (and all he represents) is FAKE, even masquerading as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14). He’s like the practiced illusionist—all about smoke and mirrors—but in reality one is being tricked.  

Genesis is not only the beginning book of the Bible, but describes the genesis (beginning, birth, origins) and foundation of all that God created in our present age. Genetics is a form of this word and deals with the special coding (instructions/DNA) that God, the detailed and purposeful Creator, built into all living things (preset design features, functions, and programs). Genetics refers to what is natural and inherent (Psalm 139:13-16). Sadly due to the Fall, man’s default settings have been corrupted. Unless he/she reboots with the new program God has created (John 3:5-6, 8, 1 Cor. 2:9-16, Eph. 4:22-24), the temptation to run on the old corrupt program (under the devil’s influence) will win out (Eph. 2:2-3, 2 Tim. 2:26, 1 John 2:16). Satan’s a prowler and a destroy-seeking missile (1 Peter 5:8). He will stop at nothing to keep the minds of unsuspecting souls blinded so they’ll continue to foolishly buy into his lies and not embrace the light of God’s truth (2 Cor. 4:4).

                Is it any surprise today that men and women embrace the theory of evolution that takes God out of the role of Creator and replaces it with something coming from nothing and evolving into something over time on its own? “Fools die for lack of wisdom” (Prov. 10:21).

                Is it any surprise today that fake genders (that are also ever evolving and causing ‘gender confusion’) are replacing the two real and unique genders that God created for His purposes? (Gen. 1:27-28, 2:18, 21-24, Rom. 1:26-27, 1 Cor. 14:33). “Shame shall be the fools legacy” (Prov. 3:35).

                Is it a stretch today to see the rise of fake foods replacing the real food that God designed compatible from the ground with a similar composition to man and woman? (60 elements found in the human body are all found in the earth’s crust) (Gen. 2:7-9, 1:11, 29-30). The fake meat being promoted today is high in sodium and low in nutrition and many of the crops have been genetically modified (by injecting them with DNA from various foreign organisms such as a virus and bacteria). Toxins in GMO crops have been linked to immune system problems.

                Just because man packages an item and calls it something doesn’t make it so. A lie is a lie.  

“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life” Galatians 6:7-8

So how does one stay free in a world held hostage by the Lie?

If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do? -Psalm 11:3-

                We shouldn’t be ignorant of Satan’s devices (2 Cor. 2:11). Proverbs 29:25 says that the fear of man is a snare. When we place our trust in God and not man we place it on the Rock of Salvation. This will enable us to stand against the devil’s wiles and not be shaken (Acts 2:25, Prov. 3:5-7, Ps. 62:1, Eph. 6:11-17). We should boldly (and in love) speak His Truth with all patience and longsuffering. George Washington said this, “Truth will ultimately prevail where there are pains taken to bring it to light”.  Don’t be afraid to bring truth to light to those around you (2 Tim. 4:2). Let God’s Word be your guide to help you discern the true from the false and the real from the fake (2 Tim. 3:16, Eph. 4:15, Heb. 4:12). 

Here are some of my ‘go to’ verses that encourage me:

For the importance of renewing the mind with God’s Truth so His perfect will is known, see Rom. 12:2.

For a reminder to cast down imaginations and wrong thoughts that do not come from God, see 2 Cor. 10:3-5.

For a safety reminder to wear God’s spiritual protection, see Eph. 6:10-17.

For when anxiety strikes, see Philippians 4:6-7.

For things to meditate on, see Philippians 4:8.

For a hope that is real and sure, see 2 Cor. 4:16-17, Colossians 3:1-4

To keep fighting the good fight, see 2 Tim. 2:3-4, 4:7-8

“I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress;

                “My God, in Him I will trust.” Psalm 91:2

Laura

  • “Safe” by Laura Kestly

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It depends–Independence from what?

As the parchment copy of the Declaration of Independence was being signed, Samuel Adams declared: “We have this day restored the Sovereign to Whom all men ought to be obedient. He reigns in heaven and from the rising to the setting of the sun, let His kingdom come.”

                America may celebrate its emancipation from British rule this Independence day, but sadly America should mourn its independence from God.

Founding Father John Adams envisioned Independence Day to be celebrated by generations to come as the great anniversary festival. He said, “It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.”  And while we celebrate by doing many of these things, we’ve omitted, “solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty”.  Anything good, right, and true comes from above (James 1:17). JFK reminded Americans that, “The rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God.”  

                History allows us to learn from mistakes made in the past, but it can also help us remember what was done right and has worked.  One only has to read the book of Judges in the Old Testament of the Bible to see how things went when the Israelites turned away from God and “everyone did what was right in their own eyes.”  General Douglas MacArthur said this, “History fails to record a single precedent in which nations subject to moral decay have not passed into political and economic decline.”  America’s first president George Washington said, “It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.”  Ronald Reagan, our 33rd president proclaimed, “Without God there is no virtue because there is no prompting of the conscience…without God there is a coarsening of the society; without God democracy will not and cannot long endure…If we ever forget that we are one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.” 

                Is it any wonder that our country today is in the mess it’s in?

“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, and demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace” (James 3:13-18).

                Dependence on self or the flesh brings about these things: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like (Galatians 5:19-21).

                Dependence on God bears the fruit of the Spirit, which is: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). There is freedom where the Spirit of the Lord is (2 Cor. 3:17).

                Which would you rather be ruled by?

                God’s ways are superior because He is superior. He doesn’t judge people or show favoritism by outward appearances, but sees the inner man (1 Sam. 16:7, Job 34:18, Prov. 5:21, 15:3, 16:2, 21:2).  If we ever hope to go back to being one nation under God, we mustn’t show favoritism or partiality to any one group or people over another. Injustice is injustice— Evil is evil no matter your ethnicity, economic status, or station in life. Showing partiality is a sin (James 2:9, Prov. 24:23, 28:21, Mal. 2:9, 1 Tim. 5:21). Love rejoices in the truth, not in unrighteousness (1 Cor. 13:6). “The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe” (Prov. 29:25).

                Imperfect men and women can do great things for the glory of God when they put their trust in Him. As General Lee led his army of 76,000 men into Pennsylvania, panic took hold of Washington, DC. In the midst President Lincoln remained strangely confident. He later told a general wounded at Gettysburg, “When everyone seemed panic-stricken…I went to my room…and got down on my knees before Almighty God and prayed…soon a sweet comfort crept into my soul that God Almighty had taken the whole business into His own hands…”

                Christ Jesus made of himself no reputation and took on the form of a slave and came in the likeness of men. Although He was innocent, He suffered ridicule, humiliation, beatings, and was spit on. Still He humbled Himself and died on the cross, paying the penalty for the sin of mankind. After this, God raised Him from the dead and exalted Him to His rightful position. God offers life and liberty to all who believe and receive what Christ Jesus did on their behalf (Phil. 2:5-11, Mark 10:34, Isa. 53:3-7, Rom. 8:34, 1 Cor. 15:20, 2 Cor. 5:21, John 3:16).  Salvation is not for a select few, each man and woman has the opportunity to become emancipated from their bondage to sin. It requires no work on their part. It’s a gift from God to be received with gratitude (Rom. 6:22-23, Eph. 2:8-9).

                Freedom in Christ is not freedom to do whatever one wants. It’s freedom to live righteously—something that can’t be done when one is enslaved to sin (Rom. 7:15-24). This liberty enables one to serve one another in love, not to bite, devour, and consume one another (Gal. 5:13-15).

                After President Eisenhower signed the Congressional Act and Joint Resolution to add the phrase “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance in 1954 he said, “In this way we are reaffirming the transcendence of religious faith in America’s heritage and future; in this way we shall constantly strengthen those spiritual weapons which forever will be our country’s most powerful resource in peace and war.”     

We can only influence others, not control them. As an individual, choose to declare your dependence on the Lord.  Don’t fret because of those who bring wicked schemes to pass. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him. As you commit your way to the Lord and trust in Him, He will bring it to pass (Ps. 37:7, 5). We’re only strangers passing through this life, our true citizenship is in heaven, from where we eagerly await the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ (Phil. 3:20).

Laura

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