I AM A BIBLE THUMPER BECAUSE......

So, where I was - factoring things in light of current trends and events. Then I suddenly heard a disparaging word from someone, who said he was looking out for the folks - the folks like me, that the reason we are losing a certain debate is because we are "Bible Thumpers"! I thought he was looking out for me. But there was more to just this tip of the day. A few days later, one of his "yes men" told this highly opinionated Harvard Grad how he should answer those of us upset with him about the "Bible Thumping" comment.  The ex-CBS big shot, informed the factoring host to tell us - the folks, the Christian folks - to "screw them"! That's right.

This got me thinking: why do they despise the Bible so much? If it were not for the Bible, the God of the Bible and the main theme of the Bible - Jesus Christ, western civilization would not exist. Therefore, I need to come up with my own declaration of Faith of WHY I am what they say I am - A Bible Thumper! There may be more added to this as time goes by, but here goes

I am a Bible Thumper  because the US Constitution (via the Magna Carta) is based on biblical principles of life and liberty.
I am a Bible Thumper because I have the freedom to own the small plot of land, the Lord gave me stewardship of temporarily, because that Constitution grants me property rights.
I am a Bible Thumper because the Freedom Christ died for to set others free, leaves me freedom of mobility; freedom of speech; freedom of association and freedom to think.
I am a Bible Thumper because we can freely elect and then vote out of office those wish to represent us - until they start representing themselves first.

But most of all, I am a Bible Thumper because the God of the Bible loves all people and sent His Only begotten Son - Jesus Christ to live, minister and die on the Cross that others may be saved.
I am a Bible Thumper because that same Jesus Christ then rose from the grave they put Him in.
I am a Bible Thumper because I humbly and daily submit my will to His perfect Will that I may grow and in the wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy One with Whom I will spend eternity in Heaven - because He is my Lord and Savior.
I am a Bible Thumper because He commanded His followers - we - to love one another.
I am a Bible Thumper because these same followers have given mankind the First Hospitals.
I am a Bible Thumper because these same followers gave women and children dignity, liberty and education and opportunity.
I am a Bible Thumper because the first Missions and Charity work ever done to help others in uncivilized and third world countries were done by Christ followers - Livingston; William Carrey; Hudson Taylor; Jim Elliott and more.
I am a Bible Thumper because these selfless men and women of the Faith of the Bible willingly gave all; sacrificed all; surrendered all - for the Love of God and for their fellow man.
I am a Bible Thumper because our people are still doing it - even for those hordes who hate, persecute and more and more - execute Christians. Samaritan's Purse and Franklin Graham minister more to moslems and other non-Christians than to anyone else in this world.
I am a Bible Thumper because all the great social work of mankind - from Red Cross to Orphanages to Habitat for Humanity to the protection of the Disabled, Blind, Lost, imprisoned and hurting - were started and are still mostly done by Christians.

I can go on and on, but you get the picture. We do all these things because we believe the Bible we "thump" is the True and Loving and the LITERAL Word of God, Bill...not some allegorical tale which the over-educated and unredeemed say it is. Because we love, cherish and adore this Word from our Father in heaven, we believe what it says - from Creation to Revelation....from traditional God-ordained marriage to carrying for the least of these as aforementioned. There are worse things in this world to be accused of, but if this is the best that the world can throw at us, given all I have said above - I STAND ACCUSED OF BEING A BIBLE THUMPER - AND PLEAD GUILTY.

AMEN.

A FORTNIGHT OF PRAYER

DAY 13

ARE AMERICA'S FOUNDATIONS GONE?

If there is any doubt that America is under pending judgment, look at what has happened in the past 7 days alone:
- A line of storms 100 miles long has knocked out power in the Capitol of the United States. While we are still the world's biggest superpower (I think), conditions in Washington DC, Virginia and the liberal enclave of Maryland are starting to approach desperate as there is NO electric power for four straight days, with over 100 degree heat daily. These are approaching Third World conditions soon.
- Floods hit the Gulf coast cities after Hurricane Debby sideswiped Pensacola and Mobile.
- Fires are still burning down the expensive homes of hundreds of Colorado residents.
- Drought.
- More drought....and on and on.

The Bible verse which stood out to me, as the Spirit leads, as I contemplate this prayer message for Day 13 of our 14 Days of Prayer, is "If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3 ESV). This is the perfect analogy for the state of the civilized world and America in particular. The Foundations are being blown out from right under the feet of not just the Righteous (or Christians who are saved), but everyone who believes in traditional moral and constitutional values.

These Foundations being destroyed are:
- Religious Liberty
- Free Speech
- Basic education
- The Culture
- The Judicial and legal system, most recently the Supreme Court
- The political system.
We can write voluminous books on each of the above topics, but we won't. It is obvious to the objective eye, that the future is in complete jeopardy for this and every other country and there appears nothing folks can do about it. The recent decision by the US Supreme Court had nothing to do with any real Law, Moral or legislative. The medical care of 316 million people has ended up at the mercy and decision of one man - the Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts - who it is now known, switched his vote to fit the prevailing political/media elite winds.

A note of caution - to anyone calling themselves a Christian view their salvation like the following, consider that: a. if you think you KNOW the way of the Cross and what Peace with God requires (Repentance, asking for Forgiveness and Trusting in the Savior Who gives that Peace) and then b. if you know all of this, yet when the rubber meets the road, you choose to compromise to find favor with mortal men, abandoning the Truth of God.....if you do this, knowing what Jesus has said is the narrow way to Him (Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:14-15 ESV).....if you do all of this, and still think you're saved and going to Heaven, well, think again! The "John Roberts Way" is not the Way of the Master - Jesus Christ. If your moral and spiritual foundations have been compromised and damaged, your standing as a righteous man before God is gone.

It is thus, the same with any society. The Foundation of any righteous people is always Christ. North America, Western Europe etc have turned their collective backs on Him and built a foundation of shifting sand. When God's people did the same thing 2600 years ago, in the time of Ezekiel, Daniel and Jeremiah, God sent an East Wind to destroy (see Hosea 13:15 here "Though he flourishes among the reeds, An east wind will come, The wind of the LORD coming up from the wilderness; And his fountain will become dry And his spring will be dried up; It will plunder his treasury of every precious article).


Therefore, in light of all we know to be true and with our knowledge of Scripture and the Ways of God, what really can the Righteous and the people of God really do? First of, we know we can pray and this underscores everything we do. But secondly, we most share the Gospel as much as possible. We ARE living in the last days and the more people who are told of the Wrath that is to come, and how to escape it by repenting and believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, the better. We,, who can read the stitches on the fast ball, MUST so do!  It must begin with our families and then in all the circles we operate within daily - at work, church, community etc. Concentrating on the piece of Wall before each of us will lead to a group of focused individuals who are both knowledgeable in the Ways and Word of God, so that the Will of God can be accomplished as He had planned all along.

So Father in the Name of Jesus, I pray for the Foundations - both of Faith in our personal lives as well as the Foundation pinings on which America was built and ask Your Grace, Compassion and Blessings upon us all, that we may turn our eyes to YOU alone, as the Author and Perfecter of our Faith, in Jesus' Holy and Mighty Name I pray, amen.

(image by google)

A FORTNIGHT OF PRAYER BEGINS JUNE 21

DAY ONE:

FOCUS ON JESUS IN MATTHEW 6:5-18

You don't have to be a Catholic to spend the next 14 days of Prayer and Fasting, commissioned by US Conference of Catholic Bishops. It is always good to Pray and Fast! There is NO bad time to pray and fast, Biblically, as taught to us by the Lord Jesus in the Lord's Prayer. This Lord's Prayer is not to be done in rote, but is a model...a template...an example of HOW we pray, and the order of prayer, when we begin to press into the Throne Room.


Here is what Jesus said "...And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 
But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. (Matthew 6:5-8 ESV)


Then He said "...“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. (Matthew 6:16-18 ESV)


There is no choice as in "IF you pray..." but "WHEN you pray"! So this is an imperative. If we Protestants pray as the Lord Jesus indicated, there is NO downside! The focus of the Catholic Bishops is for us to maintain Religious Freedom as guaranteed in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. I suggest you and I, who love to pray, in and out of season, add Prayer for the increasing amount of Lost souls here in this country!


Once you have set your mind to prayer and even fast, expect major spiritual warfare in the form of Distractions, Abstractions, Substractions and just plain old demonic attack on your person, family and even your very soul!  The key is Perseverance! 
When you and I are praying or meditating on the Pure Word of God and something vile comes to mind, rebuke it and move in. Do not dwell on it.
When you and I are praying and fasting and the Dunkin Donuts go around the office and you're hungry...let it go! Turn your mind off food....or a certain type of food...or TV etc when you decide to fast!


These are just two simple tips to help prepare our minds as we pray, and/or get into a habit of prayer over the next two weeks, which will then inspire us to keep going and make it a lifestyle! Please pray with me, if thou wilt:


Father God, in the Name of Jesus, I pray You strengthen us in the inner man or woman to come boldly to the Throne of Grace to seek You, to seek out Your Heart, to search Your Word to sense and see Your Will for Your people, in these evil end times. Give us the ability to persevere in this venture to make it through the next two weeks of focused prayer and to never grow weary in loving You and all You mean to us. We bless, praise, worship, adore and surrender all to You right now...right now, in Jesus' Name, amen.

DEBATE CONTINUES OVER MILITARY BIBLES ISSUE

UPDATE (July 13, 2012): "Holman Publishing was only asked to remove the military insignia's after they VIOLATED their agreement with the military branches. They were given permission to use the commercial versions of the military seals on the boxes the bibles came in, but the branches found out last year that he had since started putting the official seals on the bibles themselves, thus VIOLATING HIS AGREEMENT WITH THE MILITARY!"  (Informed Sources).

EDITOR'S NOTE:  Bibles are still sold on US Military Bases. This will continue. The only Bibles removed are these pictured here with the Military insignia

The US Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty has asked Congress to intervene over the removal of Holman Christian Standard Bibles from PX's and US Military base stores and restore the sale of these special designated Holman Bibles to the store shelves.  

The Christian Post has reported that due to just a few complaints from a small, but hostile atheist organization, the Pentagon policy makers have made this strange decision. This comes right on the heels of news from this same politicized Pentagon, that the rate of suicides among US Soldiers has now reached one suicide per day! There have been 154 US military personnel suicides from January 1 to June 3, 2012!  Retired US Chaplain Peter Sousa told the Christian Post in part "..."I am speaking from experiences in my perspective, but I do believe that the young people coming into the military today do not have the firm foundation in religious belief that previous generations had. More and more soldiers are saying they have no religious preference". 

This is the latest religious freedom issue involving US soldiers who need the Cleansing Power of the Blood of Christ and the Word of God to give them a hope and a future. It just came out that 1 in 5 returning service personnel face Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).They face divorce, separation from their families and unconventional warfare only to find their spiritual knees have been cut out from under them by their own superiors who sit behind desks. Here is a list of attacks on Christians and the Bible in the past two years....and a lot of it successfully instigated by a guy named Michael Weinstein, a confirmed atheist whose apparent main purpose in life is to dishonor our God; remove as many bibles from the US Military as possible and deny hurting servicemen and women true Spiritual counsel. Weinstein runs something called the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, which is about anything but religious freedom.
- Rev. Franklin Graham was kicked out and disinvited from a National Day of Prayer service inside the Pentagon in 2010 because of his solid stance for Christ!
-  Rev. Franklin Graham runs the worldwide charitable SAMARITAN'S PURSE, which gave over 8 million shoeboxes full of gifts to poor children of all races and religion around the world. This past December 2011, the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs kicked Samaritan's Purse off the Campus because two atheists complained!  Yet this same Air Force Academy has given witches some high ground to build and conduct their Pagan rituals!!!
-  US Chaplains are forbidden from praying in the Name of Jesus.

-  In the fall of 2011, the brass at Walter Reed Hospital, the largest military one where wounded military from Iraq and Afghanistan are treated, sent down a written memo banning ALL bibles from Reed! After it was discovered and some US congressman started condemning the ban from the floor of Capitol Hill, the US government took back their memo and allowed families to bring bibles for their wounded sons and daughters again.
-  This past February 2012, all Army chaplains were banned by the government from reading a letter from the Catholic bishops, where the bishops spoke against the church being made to buy and give employees contraception and pregnancy prevention pills for free...against the tenets of church teaching.


The answer to all of this is - PRAY for the brave men and women of the US Military and the people who send them to war.  PRAY for those suffering PTSD and families of those who are living in desperation due to the high rate of suicide among their loved ones, who have served.