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Ladies and Gentlemen, the following story is why you and I can know God…

“But this One was different.  Some of the soldiers had noticed the way He had taken the scourging without crying out like most men did.  The soldiers who had been at the trials had noticed the way He didn’t answer trumped-up charges; refusing to dignify such accusations with an answer.  The times He did speak revealed His deep inner peace.  He seemed to be drawing strength from a Source they couldn’t identify, but yet was very evident.

“However, the supreme test was about to occur.

“The soldiers get up, shift their armor into place, and start to form a circle around Jesus.  But then they see something that they’ve never seen in all their years of crucifying men.  Jesus, of His own will, moves over to His cross, and stretches Himself out on it.  He then extends His hands and waits for the nails.  They are shocked!  Never, among all the many experiences of crucifixion they’ve had, have they ever had anyone willingly accept a cross.  This Man is different!  Jesus actions seem to say, “No one takes my life from Me; I lay it down willingly.”  But why?  Why would He embrace a cross?

“But they didn’t have time to ask questions.  Besides, soldiers weren’t Continue reading →

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Ever hear of Hadrian’s Wall?  It was a wall built across England in the 2nd century.  It was named after the Roman Emperor Hadrian because his Roman armies, while occupying England, could never defeat the people of Scotland in those days.  Though the strongest, best-equipped army on earth, the Romans simply could not overcome these ‘freedom-loving’ mountain people called Picts.  The Roman Commander, in trying to explain to the Emperor why Rome was not occupying Scotland, stated that these “red-headed Picts” would die in a ‘heartbeat’ rather than live in subjection to someone else.  They loved freedom so much they would rather die free than live enslaved.  So the Romans built this giant wall all the way across England for the purpose of keeping out of southern England these freedom-loving Picts; lest they invade the south and stir up the English to rebel against the Romans.

But that’s not the end of the story.  After the Romans left England, several centuries later it became the goal of English kings to conquer the Scots.  King Edward of England marched his armies against the Scots in the early 1300s.  And though he succeeded in executing their popular leader, William Wallace, better known to our generation as Braveheart, Edward’s forces were no match for Scotland’s fierce warriors of freedom.  Not long afterward Robert the Bruce conquered the English army and preserved Scotland’s precious liberty.

But America has a modern-day link with the Scots.  Due to English oppression, as well as economic woes caused Continue reading →

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The winter of 1623 had been especially hard for the Pilgrims.  At one point they had been reduced to five kernels of corn per person, per day.  That’s right; only five kernels of corn each day to live on!  Somehow, they had survived.  Spring finally came and they anxiously planted their crops.  They now had great hopes of having a good harvest and storing it up to avoid hardship this coming winter.

But then, the rain stopped.  Twelve weeks would go by with hardly any rain at all.  They finally realized God was trying to get their attention.  They called for a day of fasting and prayer to seek God’s face to find out the cause of the drought.  They worshiped and prayed earnestly for God to show them their sin.  As He did, they began to confess their wrongs toward Him and toward one another.  As they honestly opened their hearts and revealed selfish attitudes toward a neighbor and ask them to forgive them, the joy began to flow.  They knew they were meeting with God and He was pleased with their confessions to Him—and to one another.  It was then they simply asked Him to let the rain return.

When they left the meeting house that afternoon about 5 p.m., the clouds had already gathered on the horizon and by the next morning, were Continue reading →

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It had been extremely hot and dry. There had hardly been any rain for twelve weeks. The corn and other crops had wilted and looked to be beyond reviving. This would mean starvation come winter. There was no hope in their own ability to fix this situation. But this group had learned to trust God, their Creator, as God, their Sustainer. Thus, they called for a day of fasting and prayer to seek God’s face as to why He had withheld the rain. After genuine repentance and worship that day in 1623, the rain began to fall that very night and to their astonishment, their corn revived and produced wonderfully that summer. The Pilgrims proved, once again, that prayer to God Almighty, the Father of Jesus Christ, is the way to move things in this world!

In the midst of our current crisis, we must remember that it is not up to us, but the Lord Himself, to change our hearts and forms of government. While our part is to work with Him in what He’s doing, our praying will be what ultimately wins this battle. God stirs us to prayer, reminding us,

“…you have not because you ask not. You ask, and receive not, because you ask amiss, that you may consume it on your own desires.” (James 4:2-3)

Others, beside the Pilgrims, have Continue reading →

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Ladies and gentlemen, the following story is why we have Christmas:

“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away [privately]. But when he thought on these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she shall bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name JESUS; for…he…shall save his people from their sins.’ Now all this is come to pass, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel; which is, being interpreted, God with us.’ And Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took unto him his wife; and knew her not till she had brought forth a son: and he called his name JESUS.” Continue reading →

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The date was December 7th, 1941. The time was 7:55am. To the complete surprise of American forces in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Japanese planes began to sweep down and drop devastating bombs onto our fleet and also our planes on the ground. When the attack was done, eighteen of our ships were sunk or sinking and nearly all of our planes were destroyed. Over 3,500 of our servicemen were dead. We were shocked at such a bold and devastating attack on our U.S Navy. Many wondered if the Navy would ever recover. Even worse, we wondered if our liberty would shortly be ended and we would be required to worship the Emperor of Japan as god.

In the midst of this despair, President Franklin Roosevelt replaced the commander of our Pacific fleet with an Admiral named Chester Nimitz. Nimitz arrived at Pearl Harbor on Christmas Eve, 1941. He immediately went for an inspection of the harbor. Sunken ships and twisted metal were everywhere. Once Nimitz had inspected the whole harbor, the young seaman at the helm of his boat asked him, “Well, Admiral, what do you think after seeing all this destruction?” Nimitz’ reply shocked everyone listening. He said Continue reading →

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October 31st marked the great change in history which began to restore the “liberty of conscience” to the human race. Five hundred years ago a young priest tacked on the door of the church in Wittenberg, Germany a document that changed the course of history. Martin Luther was that young priest, and his bold act threw off the religious yoke of “the tyranny of the mind”. And while most in America now think of October 31st as Halloween, that’s a “Johnny-come-lately” idea. Up until the mid-1800s, on October 31st, we celebrated “Reformation Day”, for that was the day the mind of man began to be set free from hundreds of years of living in the fear of what other men thought. Once again, man began to learn that only God has the right to shape our minds for He created us, and thus by rights, owns us and our minds. What Martin Luther did would start to restore the precious freedom Jesus talked about when He stated,

“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” (John 8:32)

We call that truth, the “liberty of conscience”, and it is a most sacred part of “religious liberty”. God used a lowly young boy, grown into a courageous young man, to Continue reading →