PastorTim

Boys will be Boys… Period!

The prophet Jeremiah said, “But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” Jeremiah understood the times and acted accordingly, so must we! God has entrusted you and I with the important stewardship of this critical moment in our nations, and the worlds history. And as my friend former United States Congressman Jody Hice rightly observed, “whoever wins the spiritual battle wins the cultural war.” 

It appears that we have arrived at that place Billy Graham observed: "Our society strives to avoid any possibility of offending anyone, except God." I see an insidious trend moving into society where tolerance has become synonymous with acceptance and a cult of victimization has become an excuse to suppress another individual’s right to express a different or opposing opinion. Political correctness, which has always existed, should not become the norm in an ethnically diverse republic. Wokeism and cancel culture squelches freedom of speech, honest debate, and genuine discussion.

Sarah Holliday in The Washington Stand wrote last week, “Why is it so hard for some people to recognize the biological differences between men and women? It’s a simple question, some would argue, and Meg Kilgannon, Family Research Council’s senior fellow for Education Studies, shared her insight with The Washington Stand. The reason such a simple reality is tossed aside, she explained, is because “they are not accepting there is a reality.”

Kilgannon emphasized what NPR’s CEO Katherine Maher said during a TED talk, namely, that truth is subjective. Maher stated, “[W]e all have different truths. They’re based on things like where we come from, how we were raised, and how other people perceive.” And for Kilgannon, it’s this mindset that leads the Left into a worldview where men can be women and women can be men. “They don’t believe there is truth,” she added. It’s as though “they don’t believe anything except the fact that they don’t believe anything. It’s the age old trope of [they] say there’s no definitive truth and [they] say that in a definitive statement.” It’s a cyclical argument, she observed, which is hard to escape from.”

Billy Hallowell is a digital TV host and interviewer for Faithwire and CBN News and the co-host of CBN’s “Quick Start Podcast.”  Writes, “Recent studies about gender confusion unveil the unbelievably diabolical realities surrounding the dangers of rampant emotion and activism consuming real-life medicine. These studies show most children grow out of gender confusion and that the so-called treatments being offered don’t necessarily provide promised reprieves.

This is especially troubling because of the transgender-identifying children’s lives that have been forever affected by an invasive movement permeating every facet of the cultural lexicon. In some ways, it feels like this movement is losing its footing and could soon crumble. A Dutch study found most young people simply outgrow confusion over their gender. Yes, you read that correctly.

While activists are claiming a failure to embrace transgender ideology will literally kill people via suicidal ideation, this second study published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior found a major decrease in “gender non-contentedness” as young people became adults.

“Gender non-contentedness, while being relatively common during early adolescence, in general decreases with age and appears to be associated with a poorer self-concept and mental health throughout development,” the paper read.

These damning results spark a plethora of questions with which we must all contend: How many lives have been destroyed because of emotionalism, ideological nonsense, and rhetorical bullying against anyone asking questions? Beyond that: How many young people have been misled and irreparably harmed in the process?”

Despite the aforementioned madness I still happen to believe that our nation is filled with great Americans who love God and love their country. Wonderful people who know that we are blessed to live here in the land of the free and the home of the brave where a Biblical worldview not only shaped our founding but was instrumental in this nation becoming a blessing to the entire world. I believe that most of America is awake and keenly aware of the times in which we live and the falsehoods that are embraced, propagated by corruption in government, media, and a host of entities in today’s culture. 

We must be aware of and understand the time God has handed to us to influence.  We must stand on and stand for the uncompromising truth which made us a great nation. May God help us to keep this land a blessing for the sake of those who will follow in our footsteps. Let’s stay awake and let’s stay true! But let’s NOT tune into National Public Radio!

 

 

 

 

 

Where it all began

This week we are blessed to celebrate the 249^th anniversary of the memorable night of April 19, 1775, the night of Paul Revere’s famous ride where he rode to warn two famous patriot leaders, John Hancock and Sam Adams that the British troops were coming their way. They were coming to raid and destroy the ammunition dump at Concord and then to find Hancock & Adams, put them in stocks and chains, march them to the harbor, then to England to be tried for treason and hanged!

A notable thing to remember is where these prominent leaders were staying that night in Lexington…they were staying at the home of a Pastor, a Pastor by the name of Rev. Jonas Clark. There is immediately whiplash in the secular media… What about separation of church and state? Aren’t church folks and pastors supposed to be quiet and let government do its thing? The answer is twofold; there wasn’t yet a state to try and separate the church from at this point, and without the church as we shall see, there wouldn’t even be a state! Secondly, government is a God thing… He designed and blessed it, and quite honestly, it only works well when the church adds its Biblical worldview perspective to the process!

Now back to Pastor Clark…  from 1762-1776, Pastor Clark drew up a series of reasoned responses to the British Parliament’s oppressive rulings. When the stamp act passed in 1765, he called it a door to numberless evils. When the Quartering acts passed in 1765 and the British troops could come into your home eat your food, sleep on your bed and break your stuff and you could not only do nothing about it, but you had to pay for damages yourself, he spoke against it and said that it was an infringement of our natural God given rights. When the Tea Act passed in 1773, he said that any citizen of Lexington who consumed British tea should be looked upon as an enemy of the town. He preached sermons and wrote newspaper columns bringing a Biblical perspective and biblical truth to political issues.

That brings us to the evening of April 19^th, 1775, when Pastor Clark hosted these two great men, John Hancock, and Sam Adams in his home. These patriots asked Pastor Clark,” are these men ready to fight?” According to Historian George Bancroft, he replied, “I have trained them for this very hour!” The next morning, they were to prove it. Capt. John Parker assembled the men, 67 of them in two lines on the Lexington green; they were vastly outnumbered. The British came around the church building and Capt. Parker said, “Stand your ground, don’t fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here!”

 Some 77 Americans would face about 800 British troops. Gunfire was exchanged and right there in the shadow of the church with the men of the militia who belonged to the church, who drilled on the green in front of the church, the battle began. Pastor Clark would later say,” From this day will be dated the liberty or the slavery of the American world.” Thus began the war of independence in the shadow of the steeple, the shot heard round the world! As the smoke cleared, 18 Americans lay wounded or dead, with all the casualties in the battle being from Pastor Clark’s church.

 May we always remember the words of President John Adams regarding the influence of the church. He rejoiced that "the pulpits have thundered" and specifically identified several ministers as being among the "characters the most conspicuous, the most ardent, and influential" in the "awakening and a revival of American principles and feelings" that led to American independence." I am also convinced of the important a roll the first great awakening played in the seeds of revolution being sown in the heart of a new continent which produced the greatest blessing economically, militarily, and spiritually the world has ever known. May we never forget the boldness and courage displayed by the revolutionary era, Pastors who were willing to put faith into action giving their lives, if need be, for freedoms generations have come to enjoy!

As we remember the events of this week that occurred 249 years ago and the liberties they eventually produced, let’s also remember the responsibility those events place upon us. Listen again to President Adams, “Posterity! You will never know how much it cost the present generation to preserve your freedom! I hope you will make a good use of it. If you do not, I shall repent in Heaven that I ever took half the pains to preserve it.” It is truly remarkable to remember, the battle for the liberty and independence we treasure began in the very shadow of the church!

 

Storm Warnings

Springtime is upon us in the great Midwest. Last week brought us high winds and tornado’s, even snow showers! Storm tracker forecasts capture the attention of many, and we should pay close attention to the weather, especially this time of year. There is something however that is a bit more concerning as we cast a glance toward the middle east. One can easily recognize that there seems to be a storm brewing. What’s worse, this week in the streets of Dearborn Michigan, the words “death to Israel” could be heard chanted by a large crowd, followed by the enthusiastic chants of “death the America!”  

Tom Basile the host of “America Right Now” on Newsmax TV and a Washington Times columnist rightly observed, “Times like these should not only breed an unbreakable solidarity between Christians and Jews but also between Americans and Israelis. Israel as a state is a representation of biblical truth. It is by its very existence an acknowledgment that the God of Moses and Abraham exists.

Erasing Jews from the face of the earth through force, as the jihadis attempt to do, or through cultural, political or academic derision, as the Marxists attempt to do, is not just an attack on one religion. It is an attack on the foundations of all Western civilization, especially the United States. The weakening of Israel is linked to the designs of those tearing at American society today. Its existence and stability as a liberal democracy is therefore critical to buttressing our own values as a Judeo- Christian country.”

He continues, “The amoral and atheist proclivities of Marxism or “wokeism” as a political movement and socialism or communism as government structures cannot be underscored enough here as central to shifts in tone toward Israel. The secularists and militant atheists in the Democratic Party know that Jews and Israel are the genesis of and connection to a biblical history that is transcendent. It connects Moses and the Ten Commandments with King David, laying the groundwork for the teachings of Christ, the Apostles and the saints of the universal church. If you eliminate Judaism, weaken Israel or associate either with abhorrent behavior like genocide, then you also begin to eviscerate the underpinnings of Christianity as well.”

Thousands of years ago, a shepherd boy named David sees that Israel is shaking in their sandals against this Goliath, and something boils up and over in his soul. He asks what will be done for the man who takes this giant out forever. Now David is stirring up the people with this kind of talk and his older brother Eliab gets on to him. In 1 Samuel 17:28, “Now Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke to the men. And Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, “Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption and the evil of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.” 

And then David responds, in 1 Samuel 17:29, “What have I now done? Is there not a cause?” In other words, is there not a time to take a stand? Is there not a truth worth living for; indeed, worth dying for if necessary? Where is Israel’s conviction? His noble heart pulsing with divine patriotism, David volunteered to fight the evil giant. David’s words reveal to us...What he understood about the hearts of the men, and what he knew must be done. It also reminds us that David knew the Promises his God!

You and I, we are called to pray for Israel standing on the same promises as David in the valley of Elah. As a nation we are called to stand with and defend Israel. The Psalmist inspires us… “I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord… Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee. Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces. For my brethren and companions' sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee. Because of the house of the Lord our God I will seek thy good.”

Historical Biblical landmarks serve as a reminder of not only the sheer determination of the courageous men and women of Israel who labored, fought, defended and are still defending their homeland to this very day! Placed prominently in the foyer of the museum one finds the words of Amos 9:14, “I will bring back the captives of My people Israel; They shall build the waste cities and inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them; They shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them.” It occurs to me that what has happened Israel is reflective of not only the history of Israel, but of our own nation’s Godly heritage as well. As my friend Dr. Everett Piper observed recently, “What happens in Israel does not stay in Israel.” A truth we must never forget!

 

 

 

 

O say can you see

The air was thick with chaos and despair in Baltimore harbor in the early hours of the morning of September 14^th, 1814. As the smoke and fog rolled away and the golden beams of the rising sun caught hold of the broad stripes and white stars gleaming. It was as if God himself seemed to declare that he had plans for this fledgling nation which was founded on the timeless principles of his word. Things in Baltimore harbor have changed. 

Don Feder, columnist with The Washington Times, writes this week: “Without God, America looks a lot like a bridge that lies in ruins in Baltimore harbor. The collapse of the Frances Scott Key Bridge is a metaphor for our national decline. Key wrote a poem that became the lyrics of the national anthem — including the words: “Then conquer we must when our cause it is just. And this be our motto, in God is our trust” — as he watched the British Bombardment of Fort McHenry during the War of 1812. But as trust in God declines, so does belief in America.

On Easter Sunday, 43% of Americans were in church. That’s 20 points lower than the number who say they’re Christians. One-third of avowed Christians couldn’t be bothered to go to church on Christianity’s holiest day of the year. What’s more, 57% of Americans seldom or never go to church. Those who don’t identify with any religion (the “nones”) went from 13% in 2010 to 21% today.

In a recent survey, not quite 50% said they have no doubt about the existence of God, compared with 60% as recently as 2008. The rest think all blessings flow from the Treasury. The Founding Fathers had a core set of beliefs, including the conviction that rights are endowed by the Creator. You can see it in the Constitution and Declaration of Independence and the words of those who shaped our republic.”

Our second president, John Adams, declared: “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” As he was leaving the Constitutional Convention in 1787, Benjamin Franklin was asked, “Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?” His answer should haunt us: “A republic, if you can keep it.” Without religion, we are on a bridge to nowhere.

May we once again reach back to that September in 1814 and capture for the moment and for future generations the hope and courage of that new nation. May we endeavor as President Abraham Lincoln said on a hillside in Gettysburg Pennsylvania only 49 years later, may we “highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” 

May we be inspired as we remember that as the British were about to execute their plan of bombarding Fort McHenry, a young lawyer, Francis Scott Key was dispatched to the British fleet to negotiate the release of an American Doctor. Finally, the British agreed to release Dr. Beane but would not let them leave until after the battle began, fearing they had heard too much of the battle plans regarding their impending attack on Fort McHenry. The British fired 1500 bombshells that weighed 220 lbs with lighted fuses that were supposed to explode on impact, but many malfunctioned and exploded in midair. From specially fitted small boats the British also fired new Congreve rockets that would trace a small wobbly arch of red flame throughout the sky. Americans had taken 22 of their own vessels in the harbor so that the ships could get no closer. As long as they were shelling, they knew the fort stood. 

Then an eerie silence welcomed the morning. What the young lawyer Key didn’t know was that there was an attack by land of Baltimore and when the British saw the resilience of these Americans, they ordered a retreat. As Key began to catch a glimpse of the flag over fort McHenry, he was inspired to pen the words that we today herald as our National Anthem. 

We all know the first verse may never forget what the fourth verse reminds us, “O thus be it ever when free-men shall stand, Between their lov'd home and the war's desolation; Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserv'd us a nation! Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, And this be our motto: “In God is our trust!” And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave, O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave! May this always be our motto and may God continue to Bless America!