Tag: Bible

Troubling Week/Troubled Country – Reflections From a Christian American Conservative

On By kingsjesterIn Christianity, Politics2 Comments

GodRonald ReaganFlag9122014As I sit here, reviewing the events of the past week, I have come to the conclusion that this noble experiment, which our Forefathers pledged their “lives, fortunes, and sacred honor” to birth, is in serious trouble.

Being a Christian American Conservative, as the subtitle of my blog states, I invariably turn to the Living Word of the One Who Made Me, for answers.

This American Saturday Morning, I am going to relate the scriptures which have helped me to reflect upon the problems besetting this Shining City Upon a Hill and the conclusions I’ve reached after reading them.

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.- 2 Timothy 3:1-5 (ESV)

This past week, America witnessed a speech by an American President in which he promised to defeat evil by remote control, the National Football League covering up for a player who knocked his fiancé (now wife) out in an elevator, and 100 black youths attacking one shopper and two Kroger employees at a store which sits on Poplar Avenue, the most-traveled street in my hometown.

1. In Obama’s speech, he stated that ISIL was not a part of Islam. I guess them shouting “Allahu Akbar!” as they behead the infidels, means they’re Jehovah’s Witnesses?

2. Baltimore Ravens Player Ray Rice, has been fired for knocking out his fiancé (now wife) while they were arguing in an elevator, which just happened to have a camera in it. As the story continued to roll out this past week, it was learned that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell had a hand in covering up the brutality. Thursday night, Ravens Fans showed up at this week’s game dressed in Ray Rice Jerseys in jaw-dropping support of the low-life.

3.  Last Saturday night, in my hometown of Memphis, Tennessee, one shopper and two Kroger Employees were attacked by a mob of over 100 black youths. The incident happened around 9:15 p.m. in the parking lot of the Kroger at Highland and Poplar. A store employee caught video of the attack. A 25-year-old man said he was attacked by the group as he walked to his car. Two Kroger employees, 17 and 18, ran to help the man. Both were repeatedly hit in the head and face. The teens told police pumpkins “in excess of 20 pounds” were thrown on their heads while they were on the ground. Police say both teens lost consciousness.  Eventually, a security guard stopped the attack.  The Kroger Employees were taken to the hospital and released to their parents. The video has spread via Facebook and other social media sites. So far, police have arrested 11 out of the 100 youths.

There seems to be an air of selfishness, immorality, and lawlessness, which has settled, like a dark cloud, over our country. Instead of caring for others and trying to accomplish something with their lives, we seem to be bearing witness to a generation which was perfectlydescribed in 2 Timothy.

But, what is the answer? Is there a chance to restore America?

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. – Galations 5:1 (ESV)

First off, in order for America to remain free, our military must be strong.

On the 8th of March, 1983, President Ronald Reagan spoke to the National Association of Evangelicals. This speech became widely known as “the Evil Empire Speech”, because, within the context of the speech, he detailed the evils of Marxism. Within that speech, President Reagan spoke of our duty to God and to our Country…and to PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH…

It was C.S. Lewis who, in his unforgettable “Screwtape Letters,” wrote: “The greatest evil is not done now…in those sordid ‘dens of crime’ that Dickens loved to paint. It is…not even done in concentration camps and labor camps. In those we see its final result, but it is conceived and ordered; moved, seconded, carried and minuted in clear, carpeted, warmed, and well-lighted offices, by quiet men with white collars and cut fingernails and smooth-shaven cheeks who do not need to raise their voice.”

Well, because these “quiet men” do not “raise their voices,” because they sometimes speak in soothing tones of brotherhood and peace, because, like other dictators before them, they’re always making “their final territorial demand,” some would have us accept them at their word and accommodate ourselves to their aggressive impulses. But if history teaches anything, it teaches that simpleminded appeasement or wishful thinking about our adversaries is folly. It means the betrayal of our past, the squandering of our freedom.

So, I urge you to speak out against those who would place the United States in a position of military and moral inferiority. You know, I’ve always believed that old Screwtape reserved his best efforts for those of you in the Church. So, in your discussions of the nuclear freeze proposals, I urge you to beware the temptation of pride–the temptation of blithely..uh..declaring yourselves above it all and label both sides equally at fault, to ignore the facts of history and the aggressive impulses of an evil empire, to simply call the arms race a giant misunderstanding and thereby remove yourself from the struggle between right and wrong and good and evil.

 I ask you to resist the attempts of those who would have you withhold your support for our efforts, this administration’s efforts, to keep America strong and free, while we negotiate–real and verifiable reductions in the world’s nuclear arsenals and one day, with God’s help, their total elimination.

While America’s military strength is important, let me add here that I’ve always maintained that the struggle now going on for the world will never be decided by bombs or rockets, by armies or military might. The real crisis we face today is a spiritual one; at root, it is a test of moral will and faith.

Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. – 1 Peter 2:16 ( ESV)

A strong military will ensure our external defense against our enemies. How do we ensure the internal defense of our country?

Benjamin Franklin said,

Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.

What Dr. Franklin was talking about is the fact, as you’ve seen me state time and time again, that with Freedom comes Responsibility. Our actions have a direct effect on those around us.

Furthermore, man is a corrupt animal. Every child learns how to lie, at an early age. That is why we are told as parents to “raise a child in the way in which they should go”.

And, as those of us my age have observed, in the last couple of generations, there are less parents heeding that admonition from God’s Word.

Walk into any Walmart across America, and observe the behavior of children and their parents. It have become almost impossible to walk though a Walmart without almost running over a kid. And, please don’t stand there and wait for an apology from the mother of the “precious darling”, those come few and far between.

To be bold, a lot of these undisciplined children, grow up to be young adults, who seem to be allergic to responsibility. These are the ones, who, after college, refuse to leave home. Like the movie title, they experience a “Failure to Launch”.

Their every breathing moment is a quest for self-fulfillment, and an all-consuming involvement in a love affair…with themselves.

This selfishness guides their political ideology, as well. Usually these individuals become, either Liberals, or, they identify themselves as (l)ibertarians. Those who identify themselves as Liberals, believe that their intellect is innately higher than the rest of us, and, therefore, they should be able to be the Elite Class, political party in charge of our nation. Those who choose to identify themselves as (l)ibertarians, claim to believe in Fiscal Conservatism, and  Social Liberalism.

There is also a different sort of Libertarian in America….those who believe in the Constitution and the liberty of the individual. Those “Constitutionalists” are not the ones to whom I am referring.

Where the problem arises is the fact that Liberalism, (l)ibertarian, and Libertine all share the same root word “lib”, which means “free”. The word “Liberty” contains that word, also.

The problem is, “Freedom” or “Liberty” without conscience, is licentiousness. And, unrestricted  licentiousness will destroy an empire.

If man is left to his own devices, he usually builds his own Golden Calf.

And, I am afraid that is what has happened in this sacred land.

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.- 2 Corinthians 3:17 (ESV)

America’s Progressives, who are presently in power, are relentless in their mission to remove the God of Our Fathers from “the Shining City on a Hill”.

Just as the Ancient Greeks and the Roman Empire, through their acceptance and acquiescence to the trappings of a morally bankrupt society, allowed their enemies, foreign and domestic to overrun them and destroy their civilizations, so is our nation, carved out of the blood and sacrifice of those who have gone before, in danger of allowing the Tyranny of the Minority to subjugate the 78% of us who claim Jesus Christ as our Personal Savior.

The thing about a slippery slope is: once you start down it, its hard to climb back up.

The Good News? 

I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. – John 12:46 (ESV)

Jesus Christ is over all…and, He loves us.

Stay strong, Americans…and PRAY FOR OUR NATION.

Until He Comes,

KJ

The War Against Christianity: Living Under The Tyranny of the Minority

On By kingsjesterIn Christianity, Politics2 Comments

American Christianity 2As I was trying to choose what to write about on this hot, Mississippi Morning, a hard, cold fact struck my simple mind:  We are living in a country that continues to suffer under the tyranny of a minority. 

Not a racial minority, mind you, but an ideological one.

76 % of Americans still self-identify as being Christians.

And yet, we are under attack daily, from the Main Stream Media, Cable and Satellite Television Programs, Social Media, and the current President of the United States of America and his Administration.

As Rev. Franklin Graham, the head of Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, declares in the August-September  Edition of Decision Magazine, “Heaven is not for cowards!”

“Christians cannot ignore parts of God’s Word because they are unpopular or cause division. Our commission is to proclaim Christ and all He stands for,” wrote Graham.

“This is what the church’s presence in the world is all about. We cannot sincerely proclaim the truth of God’s love while ignoring what He hates, and God hates sin.”

Graham also stressed the need for “godly courage” and for Christians to speak out against abortion and homosexuality.

“We are soldiers in God’s army, and we cannot stand down on biblical issues out of fear of being labeled a homophobe or judge,” wrote Graham.

“People make judgments every day. The world’s system passes judgments accepted by governments and citizens. But the world considers Christian judgment to be biased, judgmental and intolerant,” he added.

In a column published in the July-August edition of Decision magazine, the head of Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, declared that “Heaven is not for cowards!”

“Christians cannot ignore parts of God’s Word because they are unpopular or cause division. Our commission is to proclaim Christ and all He stands for,” wrote Graham.

“This is what the church’s presence in the world is all about. We cannot sincerely proclaim the truth of God’s love while ignoring what He hates, and God hates sin.”

Graham also stressed the need for “godly courage” and for Christians to speak out against abortion and homosexuality.

“We are soldiers in God’s army, and we cannot stand down on biblical issues out of fear of being labeled a homophobe or judge,” wrote Graham.

“People make judgments every day. The world’s system passes judgments accepted by governments and citizens. But the world considers Christian judgment to be biased, judgmental and intolerant,” he added.

Rev. Graham is spot on.

I can testify from personal experience, having caught flack for sticking to my Christian American Conservative Principles, since beginning my daily posts on this blog in April of 2010.

My posts, concerning American Christianity, seem to “touch a nerve” in both Liberals and Atheists, alike. (But, in at least some cases, I repeat myself.)

Their reaction has hardly been unexpected.

Of course, one of the Hot Button Issues, which those Liberals and Atheists who responded, over the years, immediately denied, was that our Founding Fathers were Christians and that our country was founded on a Judeo-Christian Belief System.

Evidently, they had never read anything, except what their like-minded, non-believing soothsayers, allowed them to.  Or else, they would have read historical documents like President George Washington’s Thanksgiving Day Proclamation, written on November 1, 1777, and found at wallbuilders.com:

The committee appointed to prepare a recommendation to the several states, to set apart a day of public thanksgiving, brought in a report; which was taken into consideration, and agreed to as follows:

Forasmuch as it is the indispensable duty of all men to adore the superintending providence of Almighty God; to acknowledge with gratitude their obligation to him for benefits received, and to implore such farther blessings as they stand in need of; and it having pleased him in his abundant mercy not only to continue to us the innumerable bounties of his common providence, but also smile upon us in the prosecution of a just and necessary war, for the defense and establishment of our unalienable rights and liberties; particularly in that he hath been pleased in so great a measure to prosper the means used for the support of our troops and to crown our arms with most signal success:

It is therefore recommended to the legislative or executive powers of these United States, to set apart Thursday, the 18th day of December next, for solemn thanksgiving and praise; that with one heart and one voice the good people may express the grateful feelings of their hearts, and consecrate themselves to the service of their divine benefactor; and that together with their sincere acknowledgments and offerings, they may join the penitent confession of their manifold sins, whereby they had forfeited every favor, and their humble and earnest supplication that it may please God, through the merits of Jesus Christ, mercifully to forgive and blot them out of remembrance; that it may please him graciously to afford his blessings on the governments of these states respectively, and prosper the public council of the whole; to inspire our commanders both by land and sea, and all under them, with that wisdom and fortitude which may render them fit instruments, under the providence of Almighty God, to secure for these United States the greatest of all blessings, independence and peace; that it may please him to prosper the trade and manufactures of the people and the labor of the husbandman, that our land may yield its increase; to take schools and seminaries of education, so necessary for cultivating the principles of true liberty, virtue and piety, under his nurturing hand, and to prosper the means of religion for the promotion and enlargement of that kingdom which consisteth in righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.

And it is further recommended, that servile labor, and such recreation as, though at other times innocent, may be unbecoming the purpose of this appointment, be omitted on so solemn an occasion.

Of course, the Poster Boy for the claim by Liberal/Atheist responders, concerning the Founders’ lack of  Christianity, is Thomas Jefferson.

Atheists like to bring up the fact that he wrote a version of the Bible which left out Christ’s miracles.  What they are reluctant to do, though, is explain why he wrote his book that way.  David Barton explains on wallbuilders.com:

The reader [of a newspaper article which Barton is replying to], as do many others, claimed that Jefferson omitted all miraculous events of Jesus from his “Bible.” Rarely do those who make this claim let Jefferson speak for himself. Jefferson’s own words explain that his intent for that book was not for it to be a “Bible,” but rather for it to be a primer for the Indians on the teachings of Christ (which is why Jefferson titled that work, “The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth”). What Jefferson did was to take the “red letter” portions of the New Testament and publish these teachings in order to introduce the Indians to Christian morality. And as President of the United States, Jefferson signed a treaty with the Kaskaskia tribe wherein he provided—at the government’s expense—Christian missionaries to the Indians. In fact, Jefferson himself declared, “I am a real Christian, that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus.” While many might question this claim, the fact remains that Jefferson called himself a Christian, not a deist.

The Eight Per Centers (Atheists) and young and/or misinformed Liberals, who replied to my blogs, insisted that Crosses and other Chrstian symbols have no place in the Public Square.  They wish for Christians to remain unseen and unheard from, worshiping in private.

Unfortunately for them, The First Amendment to the Constitution still holds.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

So,  y’all can wish for a unicorn to magically appear in your backyard…but that ain’t gonna happen, either.

As a free nation, all you who are non-believers have every right to your lack of faith…which, is actually a faith unto itself.

And, the overwhelming majority in this country, Christian Americans, will continue to exercise ours.

God of our Fathers, whose almighty hand
leads forth in beauty all the starry band
of shining worlds in splendor through the skies,
our grateful songs before thy throne arise.

Until He Comes,

KJ

Phil Robertson, America, and Me (A KJ Sunday Morning Message)

On By kingsjesterIn Christianity, PoliticsLeave a comment

PhilRobertsonCartoon

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. – Ephesians 6:12 (ESV)

This past week, the Patriarch of the Mega-hit Television Program, Duck Dynasty, Phil Robertson sat down with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, and, as usual, Brother Phil told it like it is…

…HANNITY: So we got to win those political battles, too. I think they’re just as important.

ROBERTSON: Yes. I just feel a little more comfortable dealing in the spiritual realm, even with the persecution of whatever comes with it, I’m just — I have a task to do and I go forth across America. I’ve been doing this, most people don’t realize, I’ve been doing this for 35 years.

HANNITY: Yeah.

ROBERTSON: I’ve been all over the United States backwards and forwards, and my message is always the same, god loves you, sent Jesus to die for you.

HANNITY: When the controversy arose were you surprised?

ROBERTSON: Surprised, not at all. Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you, when they insult you and reject your name as evil, Jesus said, because of the son of man. Leap for joy because great is your reward in heaven. It goes with the territory, spiritual warfare. There is a Satan out there, an evil one, and if anyone that looks at our culture doesn’t believe it, I would simply say, what, are you blind? It’s pretty rough out there.

HANNITY: I wrote a whole book “Deliver Us from Evil.”

ROBERTSON: Yep.

HANNITY: How do you explain Pol Pot and the killing fields, Adolf Hitler, Nazi Germany, fascism, communism, imperial.

(CROSSTALK)

ROBERTSON: Evil.

HANNITY: And then how do you explain murder, and pedophilia, and rape – – evil.

ROBERTSON: Yes, yes.

HANNITY: See, when you use these spiritual terms some people get, you can’t say that.

ROBERTSON: We took the 10 commandments now and removing them from the courthouse and we’re getting them out of our psyche. We took God out of our schools. Well, if you started with young people and you taught them, you rebuke them, you corrected them, you trained them, you instructed them to obey their father and mother, honor their father and mother, don’t murder, don’t lie, don’t steal from a young age, is anyone trying to tell me that we wouldn’t have a better society? I mean, it’s nuts.

What causes somebody to “wig out”, or to have what psychiatrists call “a break with reality”? Is it caused by some genetic abnormality? Is it caused by socialization? Or, it Brother Phil right? Does the Devil make them do it?

As I was resting at home last Monday, on a day we set aside to honor our selfless veterans who gave all to preserve our liberty, I started thinking about the young man who killed those people out in Santa Barbara, California I wonder what would cause somebody to brutally murder innocent human beings.

According to the murderer, he was ignored by women and had problems getting a date. Now, as someone who was a nerd who hung out with the jocks in high school, I can tell you that approaching girls as a nerd when you’re young man is a hard thing to do. You start to fear their rejection so badly, that it becomes a huge brick wall that keeps you from happiness. However, never in my wildest imaginations would I have ever thought of hurting others because I couldn’t get a date.  I mean, its stupid if you think about it and very sad at the same time. The horror of it all is that he ended innocent lives because he was jealous of the lives of others.

Brother Phil is right about how widespread evil is in our society.

This past week, while I was pursuing one of my favorite activities, perusing Facebook to see what was going on, I was on one of my favorite political pages, of which I happen to be an moderator, when I noticed that an anonymous poster had posted an anti- American Armed Forces message, just to get some attention. In fact, this guy was so far around the bend, that he posted that our military deserve to die because of the interventionism and nation-building foreign policy of the United States. When he became cornered and was asked to account factually for his comments on Facebook, this loon even suggested that the Japanese attacked the US Military at Pearl Harbor, because of things they had already done, and bore no ill will toward the American people.  When I asked him whose sons and daughters did he think that the US military consisted of, he went strangely silent.

Of course, this guy wound up getting banned from that Facebook Page. Then he came back under a phony profile, and got banned again.

We later found out that this troubled soul had been banned from several Facebook Pages for posting under phony names, posting incessantly, and threatening female posters.

By now. you’re probably asking, “So what do these two examples have to do with each other and with what Phil Robertson said to Sean Hannity?”

There is a reason that we don’t all go out killing another and there is also a reason why we’re not all fruitcakes who go around looking for attention, threatening people on Facebook.

Now you can call it genetics, you can call it socialization, you can call it the proper alignment of the moon and stars…I choose to call it the Grace of God.

It is a comforting old saying which states

There but for the grace of God go I.

We are given free will by our Creator will to make choices and decisions on the direction of our lives. Being human, we often don’t make the right decisions and being human, those decisions have the potential to lead us down a dark path.

Whether is in reality or strictly in the close quarters of our own consciousness, the path we choose to follow is up to us. However, our parents, family, and friends can make a difference in our journey and I thank God that through His Grace I was given a Father who made sure that I received loving instruction in The Way in which I should go.

We still live in the greatest country on the face of the earth and we still have a responsibility to one another.

The Light or the Darkness. The choice is up to each and every one of us.

Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 1 John 4:14 (ESV)

Until He Comes,

KJ

 

America’s Culture War: This Encroaching Darkness

On By kingsjesterIn Christianity, Politics2 Comments

American FreedomFor we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. – Ephesians 6:12

Am I insane? (Don’t answer that.) Or, have you noticed that, beginning back in January of 2009, the doors of decency and Old Fashioned American Values began coming off at the hinges even faster than they were before?

The internet is abuzz everyday with the left’s banshee screams for Gun Control , the “enlightened ones” incessant cries for Marijuana Legalization and all of their drug-addled, naivete-laden arguments in favor of it, and the whining and strawman arguments associated with the push to change the definition of the word “marriage”, so that Adam and Steve may be viewed as “normal”, and live, as least for a couple or years, as “husband” and…err…umm…”husband”.

Globally, our allies are swiftly becoming our enemies, as this Administration embraces and panders to a Political Ideology masquerading as a religion, whose avid followers want to kill each and every one of us “infidels.” In fact, Obama and his Administration want our strongest ally, God’s Chosen People, Israel, to give up half of their country to a nomadic people, the Palestinians.

Meanwhile, in a related story, earthquakes and violent weather have become commonplace in our nation and “the smartest people in the room” can not figure out why.

All this mayhem continues to dominate the 24-hour News Cycle, as Americans, who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own, either continue the struggle to find employment, or simply give up.

Yet, this nation re-elected, as I referred to him once, “an anti-American, Muslim-sympathizing, political-pandering, class warfare-preaching, card-carrying Communist”.

Has God taken His hand of providence and protection off this country?

A man, who would be considered a cornball by the standards of today’s Socially-Liberal Fiscally Conservative Liberals, Moderates, and “Libertarians”, wrote a prophetic analysis of today’s current events.

This speech was broadcast by legendary ABC Radio commentator Paul Harvey on April 3, 1965:

If I were the Devil . . . I mean, if I were the Prince of Darkness, I would of course, want to engulf the whole earth in darkness. I would have a third of its real estate and four-fifths of its population, but I would not be happy until I had seized the ripest apple on the tree, so I should set about however necessary to take over the United States. I would begin with a campaign of whispers. With the wisdom of a serpent, I would whisper to you as I whispered to Eve: “Do as you please.” “Do as you please.” To the young, I would whisper, “The Bible is a myth.” I would convince them that man created God instead of the other way around. I would confide that what is bad is good, and what is good is “square”. In the ears of the young marrieds, I would whisper that work is debasing, that cocktail parties are good for you. I would caution them not to be extreme in religion, in patriotism, in moral conduct. And the old, I would teach to pray. I would teach them to say after me: “Our Father, which art in Washington” . . .

If I were the devil, I’d educate authors in how to make lurid literature exciting so that anything else would appear dull an uninteresting. I’d threaten T.V. with dirtier movies and vice versa. And then, if I were the devil, I’d get organized. I’d infiltrate unions and urge more loafing and less work, because idle hands usually work for me. I’d peddle narcotics to whom I could. I’d sell alcohol to ladies and gentlemen of distinction. And I’d tranquilize the rest with pills. If I were the devil, I would encourage schools to refine young intellects but neglect to discipline emotions . . . let those run wild. I would designate an atheist to front for me before the highest courts in the land and I would get preachers to say “she’s right.” With flattery and promises of power, I could get the courts to rule what I construe as against God and in favor of pornography, and thus, I would evict God from the courthouse, and then from the school house, and then from the houses of Congress and then, in His own churches I would substitute psychology for religion, and I would deify science because that way men would become smart enough to create super weapons but not wise enough to control them.

If I were Satan, I’d make the symbol of Easter an egg, and the symbol of Christmas, a bottle. If I were the devil, I would take from those who have and I would give to those who wanted, until I had killed the incentive of the ambitious. And then, my police state would force everybody back to work. Then, I could separate families, putting children in uniform, women in coal mines, and objectors in slave camps. In other words, if I were Satan, I’d just keep on doing what he’s doing.

Paul Harvey, Good Day.

John Adams, the second President of these United States, delivered the following message to the Officers of the First Brigade of the Third Division of the Militia of Massacusetts on October 11, 1798:

Gentleman,

While our country remains untainted with the principles and manners which are now producing desolation in so many parts of the world; while she continues sincere, and incapable of insidious and impious policy, we shall have the strongest reason to rejoice in the local destination assigned us by Providence. But should the people of America once become capable of that deep simulation towards one another, and towards foreign nations, which assumes the language of justice and moderation while it is practising iniquity and extravagance, and displays I have received from Major-General Hull and Brigadier, General Walker your unanimous address from Lexington, animated with a martial spirit, and expressed with a military dignity becoming your character and the memorable plains on which it was adopted. In the most captivating manner the charming pictures of candor, frankness, and sincerity, while it is rioting in rapine and insolence, this country will be the most miserable habitation in the World; because we have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.

The scripture I quoted at the beginning of today’s Blog is one of my favorites.  You see, both of these great Americans, Paul Harvey and John Adams, knew that there is spiritual warfare happening every moment of the day,  around each and every one of us.

Are the Powers of Darkness winning?

For example. if  you look at Horror Movies nowadays, all of them seem to seek to glorify the Powers of Darkness….and they seem to be very popular with young Americans.

Why is the Occult, including Satan and his Demons so fascinating to impressionable Americans?

Pastor Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church offers some background in answer to that question:

His knowledge, presence, and power are limited because he is an angelic being (a guardian cherub according to Ezekiel 28:14) created by God for the purpose of glorifying and serving God. However, he became proud in his heart and desired to be worshiped and exalted like God. So, he declared war on God and one-third of the angels joined his army to oppose God. Judged by God for his sin, the Serpent was then cast down to the earth (Isa. 14:11–23; Ezek. 28:1–19). Upon the earth he appeared as a serpent to tempt Adam and Eve by twisting God’s word and lying (Gen. 3:1–24). After successfully tempting Adam and Eve to sin, he was judged and cursed by God for his sin and told that Jesus would ultimately come to completely defeat him, though Jesus would suffer physical harm in their conflict (Gen. 3:14–15).

The motivation for all of the Serpent’s work is pride and self-glory instead of humility and God-glory (Ezek. 28:2; James 4:6–7). Subsequently, one of his most powerful allies in opposing God’s people is their own pride.

A lot of Americans have been raised to believe that they are their own God, and even some of them that were raised in the church have become victims of this popular culture. So, now, as God’s Word tells us, they want their “ears tickled”.

Were Paul Harvey and John Adams speaking about the situation we find our country in on January 19, 2014?

Do you see it? Or, is it just me?

Until He Comes,

KJ

Catch a Falling Star: It’s Not the Years…It’s the Miley-age.

On By kingsjesterIn Politics3 Comments

Miley CyrusWhat is it about a train wreck that captures our attention? It is the sight of something that was once sleek and beautiful, now a twisted pile of debris, that holds our gaze? Or, perhaps it’s the memory itself, that we see among the carnage.

Ever since the days of Fatty Arbuckle, our nation has held a fascination with the spectacle of a rising star being brought back down to Earth by their own reckless behavior.

Another example, before some of you were born, is the late, great Judy Garland. This wonderful entertainer could sing, dance, and act. She was remarkable, and an American Favorite from the moment she put on those ruby red slippers and followed the yellow brick road, until she left us much too soon, passing away in 1969, of a drug overdose, a victim of her own demons.

It is rather ironic, the Ms. Garland starred as the young ingenue, Esther Blodgett, in the 1954 classic movie, “A Star is Born”, with the great James Mason.

The movie is about a movie star who helps a young singer/actress find fame, even as age and alcoholism send his own career into a downward spiral.

Judy Garland was an amazing performer.

I can see and hear her now, in a black dress, on a nightclub stage, with her short black hair, and those huge, expressive eyes, singing

Forget your troubles, c’mon get happy. Get ready for the Judgement day.

Sadly, there have been too many talented women, who have fallen victim to their demons.

I’m afraid, dear friends, that we are watching another talented young woman begin her own downward spiral right before our eyes: Miley Cyrus.

America first became aware of Ms. Cyrus, as a fresh-face teeny-bopper in the Disney Channel program, Hannah Montana.

Boys and girls all over the world tuned in to watch the adventures of a normal American Girl, who led a double-life as the teenage singing sensation, Hannah Montana.

Her real-life Dad, Billy Ray Cyrus, of “Achy Breaky Heart” fame, played her Dad in the series, and also wrote the songs she sang.

Her fresh-faced innocence  shown through the glitz and glamour of her weekly TV series, to the extent that the entire country fell in love with her. Soon, Walmarts from coast to coast were carrying Hannah Montana lunch boxes, t-shirts,  school supplies, and everything else you could think of.

Once  the series was over, as she tried to grow into young adulthood, things looked strained, at best.

Even though she was growing into a beautiful young woman, Miley was still, in the eyes of America, Hannah Montana.

In the meantime, Miley Cyrus was **ahem** exploring her own sexuality **ahem**…and decided that the public needed to explore it, too.

Beginning with a pole dance at the Nickelodeon Awards, Miley let the whole world know that she did not embarrass easily, even if we were all embarrassed for her.

During this past year,Miley, with her barely-dressed appearance at the MTV Video Music Awards with Robin Thicke, during which she “twerked”, (which is a pleasant way of saying that she had “clothed sex” on stage) and then, in a music video, where she appeared, riding naked on top of a wrecking ball, and licking a sledge hammer, continued her descent into the all – consuming darkness.

Annie Lennox, of the 1980s MTV Sensation, the Eurythmics, recently wrote the following on her Facebook page;

I have to say that I’m disturbed and dismayed by the recent spate of overtly sexualised performances and videos. You know the ones I’m talking about. It seems obvious that certain record companies are peddling highly styled pornography with musical accompaniment. As if the tidal wave of sexualised imagery wasn’t already bombarding impressionable young girls enough..I believe in freedom of speech and expression, but the market forces don’t give a toss about the notion of boundaries. As long as there’s booty to make money out of, it will be bought and sold. It’s depressing to see how these performers are so eager to push this new level of low.Their assumption seems to be that misogyny- utilised and displayed through oneself is totally fine, as long as you are the one creating it. As if it’s all justified by how many millions of dollars and U tube hits you get from behaving like pimp and prostitute at the same time. It’s a glorified and monetized form of self harm.

Ms. Lennox is right. However, she did not take it far enough.

The young American girls, who idolized Hanna Montana, are now young adults,  watching Miley Cyrus’ musical hootchie-coochie show, believing that it is perfectly acceptable to act like a dog in heat in public.

One of my favorite Bible verses is Ephesians 6:12. which warns us

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Young folks have a lot to deal with, growing up nowadays. I realize that. And, Ms. Cyrus has had more pressure on her than most.

However, as the Bible also tells us 

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. (Proverbs 22:6 ESV)

 By his own admission, Billy Ray Cyrus, as Miley was growing up, and even now, as a young adult, pictures himself as a “bud”, instead of a father.

Perhaps, her hedonistic behavior is simply a cry for attention, combined with an attempt to be “MTV-Cool” and relevant, in a desperate attempt to re-live the celebrity status she held as Hannah Montana.

Hopefully, the same forces who, in the past, have caused the lives of other talented entertainers, like Ms. Cyrus, to end in a “train wreck”, will not succeed in hers.

She has the Power, living within her, to avoid this. All she has to do…is ask.

Until He Comes,

KJ

Obama/Lincoln: Fore Score and Several Mulligans Ago…

On By kingsjesterIn Politics3 Comments

obamalincolnEver since Barack Hussein Obama (mm mmm mmmm) became president, Liberal pundits have desperately attempted to compare The Manchurian President to Abraham Lincoln.

Back on November 14, 2008, Evan Thomas, an Obama sycophant,  posted an article for Newsweek/The Daily Beast, titled “Obama’s Lincoln”, in which he wrote

It is the season to compare Barack Obama to Abraham Lincoln. Two thin men from rude beginnings, relatively new to Washington but wise to the world, bring the nation together to face a crisis. Both are superb rhetoricians, both geniuses at stagecraft and timing. Obama, like Lincoln and unlike most modern politicians, even writes his own speeches, or at least drafts the really important ones—by hand, on yellow legal paper—such as his remarkably honest speech on race during the Reverend Wright imbroglio last spring.

…During the Civil War, Lincoln was able to brilliantly manage his team of rivals. His secretary of state, William Seward, came into office thinking “he would actually be controlling Lincoln,” notes Goodwin, but Lincoln was able to sit Seward down, remind him who was president—and ultimately make him his close friend. Lincoln, in some ways, had it easier than Obama will. Cabinet secretaries in the 1860s could not step out on the White House lawn and hold press conferences with cable-TV networks. But Goodwin, who has spoken with Obama about her book, thinks he has absorbed the deeper meaning of Lincoln’s leadership style. “I think he’s got a temperamental set of qualities that have some resemblance to Lincoln’s emotional intelligence,” Goodwin tells NEWSWEEK.

On November 10th, after ‘”Baracky Claus” was re-elected, the following conversation occurred on the NBC Nightly News.

LESTER HOLT [anchor]: Finally tonight, days after our nation’s 44th president was re-elected to a second term, this weekend the spotlight turns to America’s 16th president – at the movies at least. Abraham Lincoln getting the big screen treatment courtesy of Steven Spielberg.

KEVIN TIBBLES [correspondent]: The film has been a decade-long labor of love for director Steven Spielberg.

STEVEN SPIELBERG: Lincoln advocated things we hold dear today. He advocated that government can be a positive force for the good of all people.

TIBBLES: No coincidence, perhaps, the film opens the week America’s 21st century President won re-election in difficult times fraught with partisan bickering. Times in which many ask what would Lincoln do?

MICHAEL BESCHLOSS: Well, in Lincoln you had a president who was very eager to unify the country, dealing with a congress that had all sorts of acrimonious factions. Somehow Lincoln had the genius to get everyone to work together.

The Lincoln lie continues… 

The Weekly Standard Reports

President Barack Obama will deliver this year’s State of the Union Address on February 12, which is the same day as Abraham Lincoln’s birthday.

“Our nation continues to face immense challenges, and the American people expect us to work together in the new year to find meaningful solutions,” House speaker John Boehner writes in a letter to Obama, inviting him to deliver the address. “This will require a willingness to seek common ground as well as presidential leadership. For that reason, the Congress and the Nation would welcome an opportunity to hear your plan and specific solutions for addressing America’s great challenges. Therefore, it is my privilege to invite you to speak before a Joint Session of Congress on February 12, 2013 in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol Building.”

It’s been reported that Obama has accepted Boehner’s invitation to speak on Lincoln’s birthday.

And, if that wasn’t enough…

Per CNN

What do the 16th president, a civil rights leader, and Michelle Obama’s grandmother have in common? Their Bibles will be used in the second inauguration of President Barack Obama.

The Presidential Inaugural Committee made the announcement on Thursday that Obama will take the oath of office on the Robinson family Bible on Sunday and on the Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr. Bibles on Monday.

The 20th Amendment designated Jan. 20 as Inauguration Day. But traditionally, when inauguration falls on a Sunday, the president takes the oath privately on Jan. 20 and in a public ceremony on Jan. 21.

“President Obama is honored to use these Bibles at the swearing-in ceremonies,” said Steve Kerrigan, President and CEO of the Presidential Inaugural Committee. “On the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington and 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, this historic moment is a reflection of the extraordinary progress we’ve made as a nation.”

The first lady’s father Fraser Robinson III gifted the Bible to his mother LaVaughn Delores Robinson for Mother’s Day in 1958. The King Bible was the civil rights leader’s “traveling bible,” the holy book he used as he prepared for sermons and speeches on the road. And the Lincoln Bible, on loan from the Library of Congress, was originally purchased by William Thomas Carroll, clerk of the Supreme Court, for use during Lincoln’s inauguration on March 4, 1861.

Obama took the oath on the same Lincoln Bible at his first inauguration in 2009.

That’s nice, because just like Lincoln, Obama is facing a divided nation.

Sean Hannity said on his radio program recently;

People that are fed up with a power hungry, radicalized, abusive federal government intruding into every aspect of our lives.People are going to say they’re fed up, and states are going to want more liberty and more freedom. They’re not going to want to tax their citizens to death anymore. If this pattern continues and gets worse and worse and worse, I can see at some point the states saying, ‘Forget it. I don’t want to be a part of this union anymore.’

The Great One, Mark Levin, is less than enamored with Obama and his Administration, also:

…We have evidence over one decade after another of how the very same people pushing for gun control against law-abiding American citizens support radical left-wing judges who are soft on criminals, support weakened sentencing rules, decriminalizing this and that. Since when was Obama strong on fighting crime? Since when has Obama supported law enforcement? But here he is, you know, ‘we have to stop gun violence.’ No, we have to stop violent criminals.

Now, there’s a fury in me — I’m just being honest with you — that I’m trying to contain. Biden, the moron Senator from Delaware, taking his train back and forth and back and forth on Amtrak. Oh wow, what a guy. Anyway, so they may do by executive fiat — I’m trying to read between the lines — a national gun database. Now, why would we need a national gun database? Well, listen, we need to know who has the weapons, at all times, and how many weapons they have and what weapons they have. How come? Why? The guy that killed all those people in Newtown, Connecticut, we know who he was and we know who had the weapons, his mother. So what does this national database have to do with anything? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Oh, okay, but we need one anyway, right? To prevent what exactly? To prevent what?

So, here we are, 150 years after Lincoln, standing on a precipice, looking down into the abyss of a divided nation, with a poor imitation of Abraham Lincoln sitting in the Oval Office at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

There is no comparison between Abraham Lincoln and Barack Hussein Obama.

Abraham Lincoln actually loved America.

Until He Comes,

KJ