One Vote Away From...

As the news of the Hobby Lobby decision spreads, I am increasingly disturbed at the reactions of those--especially the young--who are hysterically barking at a mirage. It is clear many have been completely duped by the leftist portrayal of the issues at stake. The idea that this is a "blow to women" or a "women's rights" issue is a smokescreen, and it concerns me that so many cannot see it for what it is.

 This decision has nothing to do with women's rights, and those who craftily packaged it as such know that.  Women have the "right" to do anything they wish, including destroying their unborn children, often with government funding and blessing. It has little to do with healthcare, either. At stake is freedom of religion, a guaranteed First Amendment right for every American. The real question, of which Hobby Lobby was only a poster child, was this: Does the U.S. government have the right to force the owners of a privately-owned company to participate in an act that they have consistently demonstrated they believe to be morally wrong? Whether a Catholic school, Muslim deli, or Christian-owned Mardel's, people's devoutly-held religious convictions don't cease simply because they create a profitable business and hire people to help run it.
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American's used to know that. We used to defend that. The "greatest generation" championed and died for this freedom along with free press and the right to vote. But not any more. Thankfully, there were more Supreme Court justices who still believe that than those who don't. Thankfully, they voted on the real issue rather than the smokescreen. This time.
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But what of future votes. As this deeply-deceived generation of new voters rises to take its place as leaders, we must recognize the foundation from which they are forming decisions. This is the entitlement generation, nurtured on the illusion that "everybody is a winner." They learned that to be offended is the greatest moral evil and someone must pay. Self-esteem was their favorite subject in school and their bookcases are littered with "trophies" for participation. A low grade or police record was a reason to blame someone: the teacher, principal, bus route, parent, inadequate free lunch, or lack of popularity. Blatant disobedience was attributed to ADHD and little league teams were sued for not allowing Janie to bat as often as Johnny. They demanded cell phones at 8, dating at 12, and a car at 16. And many parents scrambled to obey. They saw friends having sex at 13, abortions at 14, or a baby at 15 because it came with a welfare check. And they decided that's how the world works. 

And now when they are told that some Big Bad Christian Company has said "No" to government demands that it pay for someone else's immoral choice, they are indignant. Unaware of the carefully re-packaged deception they are buying, this new generation--and many of its parents-- are proudly redefining what it means to be the "land of the free and the home of the brave." America is becoming "land of the politically correct and home of the entitled masses." And those who are ushering it in couldn't be happier about it. They will shake their fists and champion what they call "equal rights" right up until the moment the iron bars of socialism slam shut behind them. Only then will they understand. And it will be too late. 

 

Stop that! I mean it!

Of all the character traits lacking in American society today, self-control has to be the most obvious.

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Just look around. People are out of control. Greed, lust, self-promotion, anger, substance abuse, spending, and arrogance are just a few of the ways human beings refuse to control themselves--or better yet, allow God to control them.

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The idea of self-control sounds a little outdated in our culture of reality television and blatant pornography. Self-control has been replaced by externals control because we refuse to do it ourselves. We think we've found clever ways to ignore the boundaries God established long ago, but it's hard to ignore the consequences.

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So we rename them.

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Drunkenness and drug addiction have been cleaned up and elevated to the status of a "disease." Homosexual perversion is now a "lifestyle alternative," and pornographers cry loud and long for their right to "freedom of expression."

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How clever we are! We have deluded ourselves into believing that what was once evil is now acceptable. And we assume that--if there is a God---He's going right along with it.

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But Scripture warns, "Be not deceived, God is not mocked. Whatever a man sows, that will he reap."

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On the flip side of self-control, are the positive traits we should be exhibiting and are not.

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Notice that self-control is last on the list of nine spiritual fruits. I think that's intentional. Without self-control, it is impossible for God's Spirit to so fill us enough to live out the other eight. Without controlling our natural fleshly impulses, we'll easily slide right back into the very sin God delivered us from. Without practicing the daily disciplines of prayer, worship, and study of God's Word, the other Fruits of the Spirit won't be able to flourish.

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Self-control is the ribbon that ties up the package. Without it,there isn't a package.

It's easy to judge the people who are clearly coloring outside the lines, but what about you? Are there areas of your life where you need self-control?

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What about your fantasy life? Your choice of entertainment? Your shopping habits? Your eating habits? Or your temper?

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Are there areas in which you feel defeated or that you'll never measure up? Do your senses of identity and significance need the control of God's Spirit to regulate them? Do you see yourself as God sees you, or are you still using the world's crooked meter-stick to decide your worth?

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Self-control covers far more ground than we may think. It's the icing on the cake, but the most necessary if we want victory in all other areas.

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It's only in fully committing yourself to Christ that you will be able to lay claim to these delicious fruits. You can't do it yourself. Jesus is ready to do it for you, but you've got to give him the key to the orchard gate.

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Thank You, Andrew

"For Those Who Gave Their All"

This week, another young life I had the privilege of knowing was cut short in service to his country. That makes 2 in less than 3 years from my former home church--odds I don't like at all.

His parents, kind and decent Christian people, have lost a treasure. A piece of their hearts that will never be replaced. I cannot imagine suffering such a loss and all I can do is keep them lifted up to God, trusting Him to bring the only comfort possible right now.

Every one of us owes undying allegiance to those who've laid aside their very lives to ensure our freedom and hope. Whether or not you agree with the particulars of the battle, you cannot question the integrity and sacrifice of the ones who are fighting it.

"Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."

God has done that for us--setting aside his glory and holiness to become one of us, choosing to be tortured and murdered so that we could go free.

If we owe our loyalty and respect to human soldiers of freedom, don't we owe God much more? How can we withhold our love and allegiance from Someone who gave His all for us?

You would never think to show disrespect for a fallen soldier, but do you disrespect God? Do you toss His name around in vain? Do you trample his commandments underfoot as though they were merely irritating suggestions? Do you ignore His Word? Shrug off His company? Excuse sin as though it was your call to make?

When you see that row of white grave markers, notice the crosses on top. They are a reminder that Someone else died for your freedom, too.

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Thank you, Andrew. And thank you, Jesus.

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Duggar-mania

The latest tabloid buzz centers around the Duggar family from Arkansas, the stars of the reality show "19 Kids and Counting."

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According to my vast research on the subject--which involves watching several episodes of the show and approximately seven minutes in line at the WalMart checkout--public opinion has turned against this non-traditional family with the premature birth of their nineteenth child, Josie.
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Everyone seems to have an opinion and what strikes me as odd, everyone seems to think they have the RIGHT to have an opinion. When anyone goes against the average, everyone else can't wait to chime in--regardless of how uninformed or unqualified they are to voice their thoughts.

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• Do these people have the right to bring 19 children into the world when so many children are starving and homeless?



• Can two parents effectively raise that many children?



• Why on earth would they want to?

Like everyone else, I too have an opinion:

None of us as the right to have an opinion

on somebody else's business

that does not in any way affect society's morals or us personally.

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I cannot fathom what it would be like to parent 19 children. My four have taken all I've got and more. But just because I don't believe that is best for my family, why would I think for a moment I know what's right for someone else's?

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These people are self-supporting, debt-free, contributing members of society. They do not rely in any way on government subsidy, welfare, food stamps, or tax breaks. And their children are not clogging up the court systems with juvenile crime, truancy, or vandalism. Their premature baby's medical costs are being paid for by them and their private insurance--not medicaid. With those facts in mind, why isn't public opinion encouraging people like them to have as many children as physically possible?

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We are so quick to rush to judgement when most of the time we have failed to consider everything involved.

• Where is the public outcry against multi-married movie stars, creating children with each other's spouses?
• Where is public outrage against the immoral lifestyles of our so-called idols polluting the minds of America's teenagers?
• We scratch our heads in confusion over the skyrocketing teen pregnancy, suicide, and violence rates--while we criticize people like the Duggars who are quietly showing us another way to do things.

If people are willing to take the full responsibility for their choices, their decisions have no immoral or illegal overtones, and their results are as praiseworthy as the Duggar's--then I say, "Leave them alone!"

The Fastest Growing Religion

I recently viewed this video and it makes me ill. I love Oprah. Love her personality, her compassion for people, her classiness.

But she is allowing such deception into her life and sadly, she is leading thousands, millions, into darkness with her. Jesus said, "Whoever causes one of these...who believe in me, to stumble, it is better that a millstone be tied around her neck and she be cast into the bottom of the sea."

Pretty harsh words from a God of love. But then, according to Oprah, Jesus was just a good guy who set a good example of overcoming adversity.

Take a minute to view this and don't be caught unaware when this new quasi-religion sweeps the world.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JW4LLwkgmqA
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What Happened to We The People?

This is a photo of a small portion of the over 2 million Americans who marched on Washington just days ago, demanding our country back. Two million peaceful but fed-up Americans standing together against what they see as the socialist take-over of our country.
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Where was the media?
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Fox News was the only televised source of factual information on what should have been the lead story on every newscast. Had this been a gathering of abortion-rights activists, homosexuals, or Obama supporters, it would have headlined for days! Yet, the story was buried in most media outlets and given only the smallest whisper when it was mentioned at all.
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This frightens me more than anything to date. We have been conditioned to expect fairly accurate reports from the national media and when something of this magnitude is so blatantly silenced, it gives me chills. Freedom of the press is quickly becoming whitewashing of the press, a propaganda machine for those who would rather apologize for America than defend her.
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The Muslims are planning their own rally on the Capitol steps, estimating a mere 50,000 to attend, but I already predict that the news stations and papers will fall all over themselves to present "balanced and tolerant" coverage of an event that should leave us quaking.
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We are poised to "tolerate" ourselves into oblivion. The new religion of the politically correct worships anything and everything but the God whose name is inscribed on our currency and the walls of congress. Tolerance has come to mean the embracing of that which not so long ago was decried as depravity. Dangerous. Evil. But that was back when America knew there was a right and wrong. Back when we at least claimed to be One Nation Under God.
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What makes this event even more chilling is that this convergence of over 2 million Americans had nothing to do with anyone's brand of religion. This was the grass-roots citizenry crying out against the destruction of their nation by its leaders. This was "We The People," the very individuals our constitutional government was designed to protect and honor and listen to.
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But in the interest of "tolerance", the government and its right arm, the Press, can no longer listen to We The People, because those same people will not tolerate what's going on.
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To refuse adequate coverage of this monumental event is the same as silencing freedom of the press.Those people had a right to be heard, had a right to be addressed by the man elected to sit in the White House. You can bet he'll be out there addressing the Muslims.
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And shouldn't that tell us all we need to know about where we're headed?

But they're just kids...

"A rash of burglaries is sweeping the city..."

"Latest crime wave involves gangs smashing car windows and stealing radios to sell at pawn shops..."

"A ninety-three-year-old man was mugged and beaten..."

What these disturbing headlines have in common, is that the perpetrators of these crimes are all under the age of eighteen.

Why does it matter? If an old man is beaten senseless, he is just as injured by a seventeen-year-old as he would be if the attacker was thirty-seven. Crime is crime. Evil is evil. And no one knows that better than career criminals who happen to have started early.

We are becoming a nation who is controlled by our children. In the very country that allows children to be slaughtered inside their mothers' wombs, we take a radically different approach the moment they are declared "alive." Now, we must worship them, cater to them, focus on them completely for the next eighteen years, or risk having them taken from us by an all-knowing and all-powerful government.

Your teenage daughter may attack you with a knife, shriek curses and foul names at you, run like a wild beast out of control...but if you lay a hand on her, you are a child abuser. A monster! After all she's a child.

Anytime someone wants more of your tax dollars, all they must do is put a pleading child on television, and you're a monster if you vote NO. "Do it for the children..." is the passionate plea. "They are our future." How original!

What about our present? Modern America has extended the idea of a responsibility-free childhood longer than at any other era in world history. At eighteen, kids are granted full adult status, which translated means "your parents can't do anything about it." Yet, few eighteen-year-olds are equipped to live independently in this complicated society we've created.

The reason they are ill-equipped is that they have learned that they exist to be worshipped by adults, entertained, their self-images to be airbrushed and babied by all manner of expensive curriculum, toys, and programs. Who would want to grow up and leave these posh conditions?

We are a nation being tyrannized by its own offspring. Kids without a conscience can steal, kill, and destroy and nothing much happens to them. The juvenile system is the equivelent of a useless "time-out." You think they don't know that? Let Dad take a belt to Junior Delinquent and it's Dad who faces jail time. Let the courts crack down on Katie Killer, and the bleeding hearts (who most likely have not raised children!) come out of the woodwork, shouting in outrage: "We must protect children."

I am seeing this situation rise at an alarming rate in people I know. Good parents, whose own children are taking over and they don't know what to do about it. There is no good recourse for parents who've done their best, but their kids caught on early. Scream "child abuse," and it's strict Mom and Dad who are caught in the net while Junior heads out to hang with his buddies, smoke a little weed, pop a few pills, smash a few windows. Ha-ha, good times. He's just being a kid...

What will it take for America to wake up? The same nation who would kill that child moments before his birth, now undermines his character development for the next eighteen years--and blames the outcome on lack of funding.

Until we start treating our children as valuable human beings with a conscience, and holding them fully accountable for their actions, we face a future of anarchy. If the parents can't or won't do it, our legal system must. It won't get better on its own; evil never does.

Legacy of 9/11

Americans can never erase from our minds the horrible images burned there 8 years ago. Flaming bodies plunging to their deaths. Mighty airliners headed straight into the Twin Towers. Shock and disbelief as we heard of yet another crash. And then another.

And for days afterward, America was spiritual. Americans were nicer. Calling upon God was the popular topic of the day. We'd been faced with our own mortality and it humbled us. For a time.

But no nation as deeply rooted in sin and selfishness as ours is can sustain a shock-induced revival; just as foxhole converstions rarely last. If anything, the events of that September morning did serve to awaken some Christians to the inevitibility of America's downfall. Many of us are not surprised at the economic collapse hovering above us, or the moral decay eroding us from within.

The solution is the same as it's been for thousands of years, yet God's own people refuse to heed it:

"If My people, which are called by My Name, will humble themselves and pray, and seek My face....THEN, will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sins, and will heal their land."

How many more 9/11's will it take before God's own people get the message?

Which Way Are We Headed?

Does anyone else feel it? Maybe it's me. Maybe aging does this to everyone, but I don't think that's entirely it. For the past couple of years, I have watched our world, our culture, the status quo careening sideways at an alarming rate. The history of the world is littered with crises: wars, natural disasters, acts of terrorism, famine, moral decay...But never before have we slipped from such a lofty position.

This is not a tirade against the younger generation nor a moral soapbox from which to condemn everything I find uncomfortable. Never in my life have I been so personally comfortable. It would be easy to turn my head, close my ears, and refuse to acknowledge the haunting unease that is strengthening every day.

It's a sensation, intuitive, just a whisper, like an apparition glimpsed from the corner of your eye. You try to focus on it, and it's gone. But you know it was there. You're affected by it, even though you don't understand what it is.

The battle between the idea of moral absolutes and the popular mindset is heating up. All over the world, the suffering of mankind is escalating, much of it due to man's own evil; yet, no one refers to evil anymore. The idea of absolute right and wrong is no longer acceptable. Instead, we talk about "healthy choices," "affirming self image," "lifestyle alternatives," and "disease." None of those labels carries with it any personal judgement.

Africa is being decimated by AIDS, overwhelmingly due to the immoral lifestyle choices of the people. Yet, to hear the popular media address it, you would think it was a plague similar to polio. No one but the handful of missionaries working in the field ever speaks the truth. South American countries are being overrun by terrorists and ruling entities who seem to have no conscience. Yet, our own government--the one nation under God--plays word games and elevates dictators to the position of benevolent rulers, supporting their tyranny for political gain.

Much has been said and written about the United States's rapid decline, yet few Americans truly believe they are part of the problem. "Just as long as I'm comfortable," is the hymn sung by most, even those professing to be followers of Christ. "Don't make anyone feel bad about themselves," has become the accepted mantra of well-meaning people. But how wrong that is.

Until we see ourselves the way God sees us, until we feel terrible about our contribution to moral decay, until each of us cleans up our own act in whatever little ways we can, the slope into destruction only gets slicker.

We view our own choices as private, as though we alone have the right to define evil for ourselves. We call good what God calls abhorrent. We value what God detests. We rewrite history to exclude any intervention from Heaven. Yet, when the ship begins to sink, we all cry out to God to save us, as though the God we've renamed and redefined to suit ourselves has no choice but to obey our every wish.

The world is pushing for global unity, global ideology, global everything to the extent that soon the idea of nationalism will be viewed as suspect. The Land of the Free, the once-honorable champion of liberty, has abused the concept of liberty to the extent that we will soon be slaves once more. Those crying out to stop this headlong race to self-destruction are universally booed, labeled "phobic," and accused of "hate-mongering."

It's happened before. All throughout history, those who stood for truth and righteousness were mocked and belittled, eventually silenced. But never before has the descent into darkness originated from the brightest era of light the world has ever experienced.

We could have it all. It's right in front of us: the technology, the experience, the science, the convenience to allow us to devote ourselves to righteous causes, lifestyles of honor and purity, clear-headed decisions based on dignity, fairness, and an undisputed standard of right and wrong.

But we're going to miss it. While plunging headlong into the chaotic mess that will eventually destroy us, we think we're becoming more enlightened. We won't realize how foolish we were until it's too late.

And I'm afraid, for much of the world, it's already too late.
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A Prayer for the School Year

As kids head back to school this week, there are a few things that we can all agree on as we pray for them and their year, no matter what schooling situation they may be a part of. Having had a child in almost all of these at one point, I'm well aware of the pitfalls and potential for Satan's snares inherent in each.

For the public school students:

Lord, give them strength and nobility of character to stand alone, no matter what friends, teachers, or the cool kids say or do. Let the Scripture that's been planted in their hearts rise to the surface with every challenge. Let your truth come from their mouths as they answer their tempters, and with every true word spoken, let their hearts grow stronger. Allow them to see their school as a mission field, filled with hurting people who long for truth and not be swayed by the popular opinion of the day.


For the Christian school student:

Father, even within the supposedly Christ-centered hallways, darkness lurks and temptation waits, hiding in the hearts of those who are not there to learn truth, but to disrupt. Protect our children from themselves, and the tendency to become careless or shallow in their faith, assuming that anything they hear or do must be Christian, since that's the name of the school. Let them see clearly the difference between those professing the Name, and those with You entrenched deeply in their hearts. Let this time of growth and discovery prepare them with the ability from now on to tell the sheep from the goats and to never be led astray by false prophets.

For the homeschooled student:

As hard as we try, Lord, no parent can train the sin nature out of a child. They are each your unique creations with a free will. Guard the homeschooled child from puffed-up pride and self-centerdness. Rebuke the tendency to assume spiritual superiority. Just because they can quote whole chapters of your word doesn't meant their hearts are any more tender than the most hardened criminal. Let them see the struggle others must face and develop compassion for the lost and hurting who they may not see as often as they would in another mode of schooling. Help them to recognize that their relationship with You is not based on Mom's relationship with you and that God holds each one accountable for what he's been given.


For the college student:
Lord, this is a tough time in the life of any kid. The buffet of the world's choices is spread before them, tempting, inviting them to just "have a taste." Deepen their convictions now, Lord. Strengthen their minds that they can make the standards they were raised with their own. Bind the spirit of confusion that will try to muddle Your clear mandates and let them think clearly and rightly and refuse to be sidetracked. Give them a vision for their future, for a path You've created for them. One that will excite and motivate them to finish the race. Deliver them back to us whole, stronger and wiser, ready to use all they've been given to impact their world.


We pray that this school year will produce mighty warriors for God's kingdom from every school in the nation and from every family. Amen.

A Wake-Up Call

It's a sad thing, the death of a young, beautiful woman in some freak accident that was so avoidable. Natasha Richardson's death this week is a tragedy, but it reminded me how close my family came to the same thing.

Natasha died of an epidural hematoma, bleeding on the brain from blunt trauma. Her symptoms sounded so familiar, I felt a chill: seemed fine after hitting her head, walking around.

Our Susie did the same thing. At age 11, she hit heads in the swimming pool with her little brother. A lot of screaming and yelling, but how bad could it be, right? Two hours later, we couldn't wake her up. The next two weeks were the most frightening of our lives as she underwent brain surgery and we sat by her side for a week while she lay in a deep coma.

God miraculously restored her, although she will always have physical and educational challenges. But we're not complaining. Natasha's story is another reminder of just how much we've been given.

Times Are A-Changin'

I was just thinking today how much has changed since we entered this new millennium. Rapid change has become a way of life and sometimes we don't realize it until we stop for breath and look back.

My father died in 1998 and my mother in January 2001. Some days it doesn't seem like they've been gone such a long time until I stop and think about what is so commonplace now that they knew nothing about.

My father never saw Y2K that everyone got so nervous about. Neither of them knew about 9/11, the Iraq war, or our current recession. The Internet was still a thing of mystery to most average Americans, usable but not essential to life as it is now. Cell phones were a novelty, email the new method of communication for those far away.

Only 8 years since my mother died, yet she had never heard of blogs, Facebook, or MySpace and websites were designed by pros with technological genius. Cell phones were large, clunky items that looked like house phones and had roaming blackouts larger than the clear areas. Gas had never been $4 a gallon and no one had heard of hybrid cars.

Putting a frame around the changes happening so rapidly brings it into clearer focus. How quickly things evolve, move on, grow up, and then they're gone.

As frightening as our times may be, this too will pass...

What's Ahead for America?

Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to people.

Proverbs 14:34 forecasts our nation's downfall as we turn further and further away from God and right living.

Sins that were only whispered about twenty years ago are now flaunted proudly everywhere you look. And we call that progress. Tolerance.

God doesn't.

The United States has enjoyed a long history of freedom and blessing that most of the world only dreams about. We've taken God's mercy for granted. Forgotten Who brought us this far and has given us so much.

Unfortunately, payday is here. We've had many warnings that our riotous living and glutenous excess is an offense to the rest of the world and a stench in God's nostrils, but we don't care. As long as we have what we want at the moment, we don't want to think about changing anything.

"Anything goes," "live and let live," "to each his own." Catch phrases that sound so kind. So patient and tolerant.

But God is not tolerant of sin and for us to do less is the height of arrogance. Is our standard of holiness more appropriate than God's?

America, America, God shed His grace on Thee... But how much longer will He tolerate our willfully disobedience? How much longer can he stand the stench of the sins we so proudly tolerate?

If righteousness exalts a nation, then what happens to that nation who has rejected righteousness?

I fear we are about to find out.