"Those from among you shall build the old waste places; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to dwell in." ~ Isaiah 58:12
“A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.” (Matthew 12:35)
How we think inside produces our actions outside. Jesus is pointing out to us that the mind will determine what we choose, and thus, how we act. So what we put into the mind will determine the way we act.
So what should we put into our mind? What are the most basic truths we need to know in order to function as God intended us to function? What truths will Continue reading →
The Pilgrims landed in America nearly 400 years ago. But do you know why they came to America? Was it to start a new life? Well, yes; but what kind of life? Was it so they could be free? Well, yes; but what kind of freedom were they looking for? Because most of us don’t know the answer to these questions is why we continue to accept—or even vote for—more and more of the slavery from which they were fleeing.
Perhaps you would say, “They came here for religious freedom.” And you would be right—but, what kind of religious freedom? Did they come merely so they could sing songs to God and study the Bible in their own gatherings? No, they came with a much broader desire than that.
You see, the Pilgrims understood they must be able to Continue reading →
Though common men, the Pilgrims who came to America in 1620 were some of the wisest people who ever lived. They came together about 1605 in a covenant which meant they each believed that the Bible was completely true; and that it could be trusted to meet one’s need in this world, just as it could be trusted concerning eternal things. They believed the God of the Bible to be sovereign, or “supreme in power”, as Noah Webster would define the word in his first American dictionary.
They believed when church leaders disagreed with the Bible, those church leaders were always wrong, never the Bible. They believed when the King disagreed with the Bible, the King was always wrong, not the Bible. They believed when church writings disagreed with the Bible, those writings were always wrong, not the Bible. They lived this out in their daily lives and proved that the teachings of the Bible were far superior to any ideas of men about how to build a nation. To put it simply, they believed Continue reading →
The year of 1777 in America brought bad news almost every day. In the fight for Independence our Revolutionary army had lost most of their battles. Most Americans were very discouraged. Even the Continental Congress had been driven from Philadelphia and were at their lowest. Sam Adams, the man among them who had fought longest and hardest for American Independence, arose and gave a stirring speech. At the end of it he boldly declared that, “Good tidings will soon arrive.” He was not wrong. Within a month American forces would win the Battle of Saratoga in New York. It proved our rag tag army could stand up to the best the British had—and win. It greatly encouraged our people, and would ultimately bring France into the war on our side. The Battle of Saratoga has been called one of the seven greatest military battles of all time because of its importance in establishing American liberty.
Today we need to take heart from this experience as we struggle with the socialists who now lead our national government. Our Founders sought the face of God, crying to Him for His aid in their struggle, which they believed was part of His plan. They often called days of fasting and prayer and sought to repent of their sins, both personal and nationally, in an effort to be in His order so they could experience His blessing. He heard their prayers and did miracles to keep them in the fight. Those miracles would ultimately give them victory in the War as they had given them victory in the Battle of Saratoga.
After winning the Saratoga Battle, our national government called Continue reading →
It could be easy to look around us and be discouraged with the many bad things we see. Recent gains by the homosexual agenda in Colorado, California, and New York; and also, in California a court ruled that homeschool parents would have to either be certified by the state or stop teaching their children at home. Chaplains in our armed services have been told they will have to stop praying in Jesus’ Name. And I could go on and on. The day does indeed seem dark.
So what are we to do? Should we accept this darkness as the fulfillment of prophecy that “in the last days perilous times shall come”, and interpret that to mean there’s nothing we can do to protect the liberty of our children to hear the Gospel of the Kingdom of Christ?
While the day is dark, let’s remember that Jesus first came to this earth when it was Continue reading →
It was December, 1777. George Washington’s army filed silently into their winter camp at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. Washington would tell of the amazing commitment of these men by reporting how you could trace their path by the bloody tracks they were leaving. A great many of the 11,000 were barefooted; many were nearly naked in this freezing cold. More than 2,000 would die that winter from lack of food and shelter. Yet the miracle was—they didn’t leave. Why?
While it won’t be revealed completely until we stand before the Lord at the Judgment, at least one reason is the praying that George Washington did that winter. There were different reports by people who said they came unexpectedly upon Washington kneeling in the snow in the woods, earnestly pleading with God for the cause of his nation. While Washington was a very private person, and not at all given to showy religion, people close to him reported of his consistent devotions to God. No doubt the last words his mother said to him before he left home to embark on his military career had greatly impacted him. Mary Washington had Continue reading →
Could it be done? Could the new United States with its “ragtag” army stand up to the greatest army on earth? Could these thirteen newly united states hold together and defend their Declaration of Independence from England? Almost no one in the world believed they could. Indeed, the citizens of this new nation knew they couldn’t—unless, the God of Heaven intervened and defended them because they were within His order in declaring themselves free of the disordered government of Great Britain.
The new government commissioned George Washington to be the General of this new army. The ink was hardly dry on the Declaration of Independence when the British landed 30,000 troops on Long Island, N.Y. Washington dispatched a young, but proven, officer with several hundred soldiers to scout out the new British troops; but, under no circumstances was he to attack the British until Washington joined him with the main body of the army. The element of surprise meant everything since Washington was Continue reading →
It had been a long struggle. For over twenty years the American Colonies had appealed to their king, asking him to recognize his departure from English law. The Americans, because of their Biblical foundation, understood that government servants (including the king) had to do what they did according to the law of God. King George III showed no respect for what the Bible had to say about government, and thus ignored every request to come back into the order of God.
Finally on June 7th, 1776, Virginia delegate Richard Henry Lee introduced a resolution on the floor of the Continental Congress stating:
“RESOLVED, That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown; and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.”
(The Declaration of Independence, Rod Gragg, Rutledge Hill Press, Nashville, 2005; p.35)
A committee was appointed, which included Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Ben Franklin, to write a Declaration of Independence which would, upon the approval of the Congress be sent to the King of England. The Congress then recessed for three weeks to give the committee time to write the Declaration.
On July 1st they reconvened to debate the newly written Declaration, which was Continue reading →
The Bible says, “Stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” (Galatians 5:1)
Ladies and Gentlemen: The following document is the reason you and I, in America, are free:
“When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitles them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.Continue reading →
When the Pilgrims came here in 1620, they had learned some things that recent generations have had stolen from them. For instance, they had come to understand that the basis of the government is covenant. No state can exist very long if its citizens are not in covenant with each other.
The word covenant is defined as “a meeting or agreement of minds”. The minds of a people living under a particular government must be in agreement on the basics of life if they are to be able to walk together throughout the generations.
They must agree about Who God is, and who He says they are, and what His plan for them is, both as individuals and a nation. Without this agreement, education, commerce, and government just become Continue reading →