Freedom Isn't Free

July 31

“In America...religious faith is the foundation of free government." Dwight D. Eisenhower

"FREEDOM IS NOT FREE" is the inscription on the Korean War Memorial in Washington, D.C.

The Korean War started in June of 1950.  Communist North Korea invaded South Korea, killing thousands.  Outnumbered South Korean and American troops, as part of a U.N. police action, fought courageously against the Communist Chinese and North Korean troops, who were supplied with arms and MIG fighters from the Soviet Union.

Five-star General Douglas MacArthur was Supreme U.N. Commander, leading the United Nations Command from 1950 to 1951  MacArthur made a daring landing of troops at Inchon, deep behind North Korean lines, and recaptured the city of Seoul.

With temperatures sometimes forty degrees below zero, and Washington politicians limiting the use of air power against the Communists, there were nearly 140,000 American casualties:

-in the defense of the Pusan Perimeter and Taego

-in the landing at Inchon and the freeing of Seoul

-in the capture of Pyongyang

-in the Yalu River where nearly a million Communist Chinese soldiers invaded

-in the Battles of Changjin Reservoir, Old Baldy, White Horse Mountain, Heartbreak Ridge, Pork Chop Hill, T-Bone Hill, and Siberia Hill.

Harry S Truman compared Communism and Democracy in his Inaugural Address, January 20, 1949:

"We believe that all men are created equal because they are created in the image of God. From this faith we will not be moved...Communism is based on the belief that man is so weak and inadequate that he is unable to govern himself, and therefore requires the rule of strong masters.

Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with reason and justice.

Communism subjects the individual to arrest without lawful cause, punishment without trial, and forced labor as a chattel of the state.  It decrees what information he shall receive, what art he shall produce, what leaders he shall follow, and what thoughts he shall think.

Democracy maintains that government is established for the benefit of the individual, and is charged with the responsibility of protecting the rights of the individual and his freedom...

These differences between Communism and Democracy do not concern the United States alone.

People everywhere are coming to realize that what is involved is material well-being, human dignity, and the right to believe in and worship God."

President Harry S Truman stated while lighting the National Christmas Tree, December 24, 1952: "Shepherds, in a field, heard angels singing: 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.'...

...We turn to the old, old story of how 'God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life...Tonight, our hearts turn first of all to our brave men and women in Korea. They are fighting and suffering and even dying that we may preserve the chance of peace in the world...

…And as we go about our business of trying to achieve peace in the world, let us remember always to try to act and live in the spirit of the Prince of Peace. He bore in His heart no hate and no malice - nothing but love for all mankind.

We should try as nearly as we can to follow His example. We believe that all men are truly the children of God...As we pray for our loved ones far from home - as we pray for our men and women in Korea, and all our service men and women wherever they are - let us also pray for our enemies.

Let us pray that the spirit of God shall enter their lives and prevail in their lands...that through Jesus Christ the world will yet be a better and fairer place."

General Douglas MacArthur warned in a speech to the Salvation Army, December 12, 1951, stating: "History fails to record a single precedent in which nations subject to moral decay have not passed into political and economic decline.  There has been either a spiritual awakening to overcome the moral lapse, or a progressive deterioration leading to ultimate national disaster."

At the College of William and Mary, May 15, 1953, Dwight Eisenhower stated: "It is necessary that we earnestly seek out and uproot any traces of communism."

First Lady Mamie Geneva Doud Eisenhower stated in a conversation at the Doud home regarding their son John Sheldon Doud Eisenhower, who was serving in Korea: "He has a mission to fulfill and God will see to it that nothing will happen to him till he fulfills it."

Fighting in Korea was halted JULY 27, 1953, with the signing of an armistice at Panmunjom.

On December 24, 1953, Dwight Eisenhower stated at the lighting of the National Christmas Tree: "The world still stands divided in two antagonistic parts. Prayer places freedom and communism in opposition one to the other.

The Communist can find no reserve of strength in prayer because his doctrine of materialism and statism denies the dignity of man and consequently the existence of God.  But in America...religious faith is the foundation of free government, so is prayer an indispensable part of that faith...

...The founders of this, our country, came first to these shores in search of freedom...to live...beyond the yoke of tyranny."

Apostles

July 30

How the Apostles and Early Church Fathers Died:

1. Matthew -
Suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia, killed by a sword wound.

2. Mark (one of the first missionaries) -
Died in Alexandria, Egypt after being dragged by Horses through the streets until he was dead.

3. Luke (Paul's doctor) -
Hanged in Greece as a result of his preaching to the lost.

4. John -
Faced martyrdom when he was boiled in huge basin of boiling oil during a wave of persecution In Rome. He was miraculously delivered from death. John was then sentenced to the mines on the prison island of Patmos. He wrote his prophetic Book of Revelation on Patmos. The Apostle John was later freed and returned to serve as a Bishop in modern Turkey. History assumes that he died an old man, the only apostle to die peacefully. No one truly knows.

5. Peter -
Crucified upside down on a cross. According to church tradition he told his tormentors that he felt unworthy to die In the same way that Jesus Christ had died. Thus, the inverting of the cross.

6. James -
The leader of the church in Jerusalem was thrown over a hundred feet down from the southeast pinnacle of the Temple when he refused to deny his faith in Christ. When they discovered that he survived the fall, his enemies beat James to death with a fuller's club. Historically this was the same pinnacle where Satan had taken Jesus during the Temptation.

7. James the Son of Zebedee -
A fisherman by trade when Jesus Called him to a lifetime of ministry. As a strong leader of the church, James was ultimately beheaded at Jerusalem. The Roman officer who guarded James watched amazed as James defended his faith at his trial. Later, the officer Walked beside James to the place of execution. Overcome by conviction, he declared his new faith to the judge and knelt beside James to accept the martyrs crown by beheading.

8. Bartholomew (also known as Nathaniel) -
A missionary to Asia and he witnessed for our Lord in present day Turkey. Bartholomew was martyred for his preaching in Armenia where he was flayed to death by a whip.

9. Andrew -
Was crucified on an x-shaped cross in Patras, Greece. After being whipped severely by seven soldiers they tied his body to the cross with cords to prolong his agony. His followers reported that when he was led toward the cross, Andrew saluted it in these words: 'I have long desired and expected this happy hour. The cross has been consecrated by the body of Christ hanging on it.' He continued to preach to his tormentors another two days until he expired.

10. Thomas -
Stabbed with a spear in India during one of his missionary trips to establish the church on the sub-continent.

11. Jude -
Killed with arrows when he refused to deny his faith in Christ.

12. Matthias -
Stoned and then beheaded. He was the apostle chosen to replace the traitor Judas Iscariot who committed suicide.

13. Paul -
Tortured and then beheaded by the evil Emperor Nero at Rome in A.D. 67. Paul endured a lengthy imprisonment, which allowed him to write his many epistles to the churches he had formed throughout the Roman Empire. These letters, which taught many of the foundational Doctrines of Christianity, form a large portion of the New Testament.

14. Simon the Zealot -
Simon was traditionally martyred by being sawn in half.

15. Philip -
Philip evangelized in Phrygia where hostile Jews had him tortured and then crucified upside down. Some sources have him being stoned to death.

May we who believe face life and face death with the assurance of eternal life that these early martyrs had.  May we be able to say with them, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." – II Timothy 4:7

Statue

July 29

 What Satanic Statue in Detroit Says about Us by Dr. Jim Denison

The Satanic Temple in Detroit has unveiled a one-ton bronze tribute to Satan.  The statue depicts a person with a goat's head, horns, and wings.  The image is flanked by statues of a young girl and boy gazing up at the creature in adoration. However, the Satanic Temple says it doesn't believe in Satan.  The group views the devil as "a literary figure, not a deity—he stands for rationality, for skepticism, for speaking truth to power." So Satanists stand for rationality and truth? New York Times columnist Ross Douthat explains why Planned Parenthood apologists have avoided commenting on the actual content in recently-released videos: "Because dwelling on that content gets you uncomfortably close to . . . that moment when you start pondering the possibility that an institution at the heart of respectable liberal society is dedicated to a practice that deserves to be called barbarism."    Abortion supporters will continue to focus on women's rights while ignoring "human beings that the nice, idealistic medical personnel at Planned Parenthood have spent their careers crushing, evacuating, and carving up for parts." How did our culture get so far from truth? Evangelical scholar Os Guinness notes that recent decades have witnessed an astonishing rise in consumer choices, a phenomenon he calls the McDonaldization of our culture.  I remember when TV had three channels and we went on vacation to see our grandparents because that was all our family could afford.  Today's consumer is immersed in choices—what to wear, to buy, to see, to do.  Our very lives seem to be the product of our choices. Why wouldn't we believe that reality is what we choose it to be?  Why wouldn't we believe the lie that there are no lies?  Why wouldn't we make Satan a symbolic literary figure and abortion a harmless reproductive choice? Here's where Christians must beware.  You and I live in the same consumer culture.  Our lives are equally constituted by our choices, or so we think.  We may believe that we make better choices than others.  But we can be just as deceived into thinking that we are what we decide to be. Over the weekend I read Brennan Manning's classic Abba's Child.  Manning defines our core identity as the fact that we are loved infinitely and passionately by the God who is our "Abba," "Daddy."  To accept this identity, we must reject all others.  We must admit that we are nothing without God and that our choices cannot change this fact. Manning quotes Thomas Merton: "The reason we never enter into the deepest reality of our relationship with God is that we so seldom acknowledge our utter nothingness before him."  He agrees with St. Augustine: "There can only be two basic loves, the love of God unto the forgetfulness of self, or the love of self unto the forgetfulness and denial of God." Reality is ultimately not what you choose, but what your Creator has chosen.  He has chosen to like you, to love you, to die for you, to rise for you, to prepare your place in paradise, to walk beside you and in you right now.  He longs for you to see yourself as he sees you—the child of your Abba. "See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are,"  I John 3:1.

Unheeded Prophetic Voices

July 28
Unheeded Prophetic Voices by Mark Ledbetter

Some will call it being an alarmist. But nevertheless, recent events not only in the U.S. but globally indicate the age many thought we would never see is unfolding before our very eyes.
We should not be dismayed, however. The prophets of old, the teachings of Jesus and the writings of the apostles all told us this day was coming—we simply didn't believe it would come within our lifetime.

What we are witnessing did not happen overnight, and to lay out before you how and when the "process" of societal reconstruction would take several posts.

Suffice it to say that, by the 1970s many saw what was unfolding in American culture and the devastating effects that would take place once the cultural shifts gained momentum (Leonard Ravenhill, Francis Schaeffer, David Wilkerson, and others).

Here we have the world spirit of our age—autonomous man setting himself up as God in defiance of the knowledge and the moral and spiritual truth that God has given. Here is the reason why we have a moral breakdown in every area of life.

The titanic freedoms that we once enjoyed have been cut loose from their Christian restraints and are becoming a force of destruction leading to chaos. When this happens, there really are few alternatives.

All morality becomes relative, law becomes arbitrary, and society moves toward disintegration. ... At this point "right" and "left" will make little difference. Those choices are only two roads to the same end; the results are the same. An elite—an authoritarianism as such—will gradually force form on society so that it will not go into chaos, leading most people to accept it.

"We can expect the future to be a further disaster if the evangelical world does not take a stand for Biblical truth and morality in the full spectrum of life. For the evangelical accommodation to the world of our age represents the last barrier against the breakdown of our culture. And with the final removal of this barrier will come social chaos and the rise of authoritarianism in some form to restore social order." – Francis A. Schaeffer, The Great Evangelical Disaster (1984)

Schaeffer laid it out before us so vividly, but no one heeded the call. The consequences are now obvious.

We live in a Post-Modern era that is marked by Neo-Pentecostalism and Neo-Propheticism.
In this Post-Modern era of the "Emerging Church" what has emerged is a Neo-Pentecostal movement that embraces charismatic figures rather than the charismata of the Holy Spirit. Rather than embracing the power of the Holy Spirit, it embraces a message of personal empowerment and entitlement.

Much of the worship is designed to solicit an emotional response rather than worship of the true and living God. Congregants have become addicted to a feeling rather than seeking a clear revelation from God.

We live in an age of idolatry. Yet today's idols are not figurines crafted from stone, wood, or metal but are images of success and prosperity. Americans worship the bold and the beautiful, celebrities, athletes, power brokers and even thugs and gangsters that shape values and morals upon which many within the church pew make their decisions. Rather than the Scriptures shaping core beliefs and values that determine attitudes and actions, Hollywood, Wall Street, Madison Avenue and the sports arena hosts the prophets of the age and influence who and what we are.

Americans spend billions of dollars on movies, videos, sports, and an endless array of ways to absorb the heart and mind of the millions who believe they can find fulfillment by filling their spirit with sound bites, dazzling visual effects, unnecessary realism, violence and voyeurism. One entertainment insider said the driving force behind entertainment is "self-actualization."

Americans live vicariously through actors, athletes, pop and western singers, and perpetuate their idolatry by emulating them, purchasing their clothes designs and attempting to live their lifestyles. If we say the Post-Modern church isn't tainted by this influence, we deceive ourselves.

Neo-Propheticism finds itself powerless to address the Neo-Paganism of the American culture. There are many self-proclaimed prophets and prophetesses who wrap empty promises in packages of gold and glitter.

Listening to the false prophets of wealth and prosperity with the intent of positioning itself to receive the mantle or an impartation, the church is hardly equipped to fight the issues that once laid dormant but now rear their ugly heads with a vengeance—child and spousal abuse, drugs, family disintegration and pornography.

No amount of binding and loosening or declarations of prosperity present effective measures to address the shift of moral values in the church pew much less outside the four walls of the church. No longer can the church claim to be salt and light but it has played the fool and become insipid ( Matthew 5:13).

The Apostle Paul saw the solemn descent the world would take. Some call it an apostasy, a deterioration of faith in the church. But the word is actually better translated "rebellion." It isn't simply a falling away from the faith; it is shaking an angry fist in the face of God. This rebellion doesn't deny His existence as much as it launches a militant campaign against Him—and the remnant of believers who remain faithful.

Paul wrote in II Thessalonians 2:
"Do not let anyone deceive you in any way. For that Day will not come unless a falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or is worshipped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself as God. ... Now you know what restrains him that he might be revealed in his time. ... and with all deception of unrighteousness among those who perish, because they did not receive the love for the truth that they might be saved. Therefore God will send them a strong delusion, that they should believe the lie: that they all might be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (II Thess. 2:3-4, 6, 10-12,)

The true Post-Modern Day prophet faces a daunting task, but it isn't unlike those who have gone before. Challenging the status quo has never been easy, nor has it always been successful (in terms used for success today). There is a remnant, a number of believers who are becoming more and more discontent with the status quo, of being entertained, of being fed self-helps rather than the Word. There are those who are tired of preachers who place their message above the Word and whip the congregation into a co-dependent altar service.

There is a growing number who are looking for revival, restoration, and reformation. It can happen.
Leonard Ravenhill wrote in his introduction to his book Sodom had no Bible (1979):
"When we get humble enough, and low enough, and desperate enough, and hungry enough, and concerned enough, and passionate enough, and broken enough, and clean enough, and prayerful enough, then God will send us a revival that equals and surpasses the awakening this country experienced in the days of Charles Finney."

Schaeffer and Ravenhill had their fingers on the pulse of America and recognized the fading heartbeat of the church and sounded the alarm. They were prophetic voices we did not heed. Consequently, should the church in America attempt to sound an alarm today, not only may it be too little too late, congregants remaining true to the faith may also experience something they thought they'd never see—American societal persecution.

Sail Life's Sea

July 27

“Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it.  For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.”

The Israelites of old had great cause to believe God.  Yes, they had suffered much in bondage in Egypt, but the deliverance the God of their fathers prepared for them made all the indignities they endured worthwhile.

Not only did the Holy One cause Pharaoh to become frustrated with them because of the plagues he and his kingdom endured as a result of his refusal to obey the Lord’s demand of their release but the Israelites themselves were spared the consequences of those plagues.

In the midst of the affliction upon Egypt because of Pharaoh’s rejection of God’s command to let His people go, the Israelites endured none of the plagues’ affect.  When Egypt’s firstborn sons were taken by the death angel, Israelite children were under the blood.  (See Exodus 12:7).

Like them, we who believe in the completed work of the cross are under the blood.  But we are not under the blood of sacrificial animals; we are under the blood of Heaven’s sacrificed Lamb.  Our salvation emerges from the single most amazing event of time—the death and resurrection of Jesus.

But what do we do with His great sacrifice?  Will we mix it with faith, or shall we be like the Israelites of old who were not profited by the miracles they saw because of the blood that was applied to their doorposts? 

Will we who have Christ’s shed blood upon the doorposts of our hearts avail ourselves of the totality of His great sacrifice or shall we live our lives as the Egyptians, who even when they had seen a clear revelation of the power of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob pursued God’s people to the Red Sea?

Lord, help us to see You clearly and to follow You closely so we may sail the Sea of Life in the security of the salvation You have supplied to us.  May we not perish in a Sea of Unbelief as did the Egyptians.  May we not negate the power of Your Spirit in us or the truth of Your immutable Word.

Pray

"...Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; May they prosper who love you..." Psalm 122:6

Ananias and Sapphira

July 26

“But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles" feet.

“But Peter said, ‘Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.’

“Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things. And the young men arose and wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him. Now it was about three hours later when his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. And Peter said to her, ‘Tell me whether you sold the land for so much?’

“She said, ‘Yes, for so much.’ Then Peter said to her, ‘How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.’ Then immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. And the young men came in and found her dead, and carrying her out, buried her by her husband,” Acts 5:1-10.

This passage is very sobering. How many of us have trivialized our perception of God, our relationship with Him, our conversation about Him? How many of us have reduced Him to a buffoonish character that we mock, to an impotent entity whose name we use only as a cuss word? How many of us have failed abysmally to give God His due?

And He has allowed us to live. He has not struck us dead in our tracks. He has not sealed our eternal fate at the instant of our flippant disrespect. He has allowed us to go on another day. Have we repented before Him? Have we turned around from our foolishness and gone forward in the direction of reverence and honor for the Holy One?

Or have we dismissed the whole notion of needing to repent before the Christ who is our God and soon-coming King? When we contemplate the sin Ananias of and Sapphira we realize that had they merely told the truth about keeping a portion of the proceeds of the sale of their property for themselves, no one would have cared!

The point of their sad tale is that they were making a show of faith, a show of giving all of themselves to the Lord but they were phonies. When we make a pretense of being believers in the Christ before the Church while indulging blasphemy and dishonor to Him in our hearts, we are perpetrating a lie that is just as grievous as that of Ananias and Sapphira.

And just as they could not fool God, neither can we. May He help us to recognize the importance of Christ’s admonition, “I wish that you were hot or cold, but since you are lukewarm, I will spew you out of My mouth,” Revelation 3:15, 16.

May He help us to be on fire for His Kingdom and His purposes. May He help us to “love Him because He first loved us,” I John 4:19. May He help us to remember that we will be held accountable for every time we have taken His holy name in vain, Exodus 20:7. May He help us not to trivialize the "unspeakable gift," II Corinthians 9:15, that is ours, but to cherish it, to live to glorify the One who gave it, and to die before we would abuse it.

Real Realm

July 25

“Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.” I Corinthians 2:9,

It’s a difficult concept for man to grasp—God wants to bless us more than we want to be blessed. People in the Western world tend to look upon the material things of life—the things we can handle, own, enjoy; the influence we can exert over others; the ability to flex our muscle in the area of self-serving control over others that we have the power to wield—and count ourselves blessed if we operate in the realm of that kind of sway over our circumstances and over those around us.

But the LORD does not see things as we see them. As the prophet says in I Samuel 16:7, "…But God doesn’t “see as we see. Man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart.” When we interpret worldly possessions or achievement or influence as blessings from the Holy One, we may be totally or at least in part, in error about our interpretation of what we see.

One of our suffering brothers who appears to be powerless before a ruthless legal system, one of our impoverished compatriots in faith, one of our unknown fellow citizens in Christ’s Heavenly Kingdom may appear as a victim of an unholy system in the eyes of the world while wielding great spiritual power and possessing incalculable eternal treasure.

If the Lord looked upon outward appearances, Moses, a Prince of Egypt, reduced to shepherding his father-in-law’s flock on the remote side of a mountain would not have been selected to lead God’s people out of bondage in Egypt (see the Book of Exodus). If God looked upon outward attributes, the adolescent David would not have been selected above his warrior brothers as Israel’s next king. (See I Samuel 16:1-13.)

If the Holy One counted temporal wealth and power as eternal worth, Jesus would not have declined Satan’s offer to give Him the kingdoms of the earth if He would but bow down and worship him. (See Matthew 4:9.)

If God were impressed with earth’s trappings of power and wealth the men of power in high places would be princes of His Kingdom, but they are not. Some of the earth’s most influential people are spiritual dwarfs who are impoverished in the eyes of God.

So, what shall we be? People who pursue temporal gain at any cost? People who care nothing of character? People to whom honor is an antiquated virtue? People who use other people and things as expendable instruments of their own aggrandizement?

Or shall we see as Jesus sees and be willing to take up our cross and follow Him from the shadow of the cross into the real realm of true power and glory?

The Lord Will Keep You

July 24

"The Lord will keep you from all harm — He will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore," Psalm 121:7-8.

Nations may rise and fall. Freedom may ebb or flow. Happiness may attend our way or elude us. Human love may be our portion or it may be far from us. Our only constant in a world fraught with upheaval and transition is” Christ and Him crucified,” II Corinthians 2:2, and as the Apostle Paul affirmed, that truth is the only thing worth knowing.

At opposite ends of the human spectrum we have the great achievers who develop amazing technological and medical and military advancements and at the other end of the equation we have the people who languish on government handouts who expend no effort toward enriching mankind or themselves.

Neither the former nor the latter probe the truth of God or desire a relationship with Him, although He lovingly extends it to all who will receive. In this one immeasurable regard, all—from the most gifted to the most inert—perish for a lack of the knowledge of “the One whom to know is life,” John 17:3.

Yet to those who know His name, to those who abide in His salvation, to those who honor His Word, He has made great and precious promises! Whatever life may hold; whatever trials may be encountered in this Vale of Tears, whatever successes or failures, whatever loves gained or lost, whatever prizes won or forfeited, the child of God knows that he “abides under the shadow of His wing,” Psalm 91:1.

Our Father God assures us that “He keeps us as the apple of His eye,” Deuteronomy 32:10, Psalm 17:8. Just as the entire structure of the face is configured to protect the eye—eyebrows, eyelashes, eyelids, bridge of the nose, cheekbones, forehead—so the resources of God are available for the protection of His children.

His love covers His people so they may say even if trials come, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him,” Job 13:15. If His hedge be removed and we perish, we may say as did Stephen, the first Christian martyr as he was stoned, “I see the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God,” Acts 7:56. Jesus was standing to receive Stephen to Himself as he transitioned from the fleeting life in this veil of flesh to Eternal Life at the footstool of the Holy One.

If our hope were in this life only, we would, as Paul said, “be of all men most miserable,” I Corinthians 15:19. But our confident expectation transcends time so we have “joy unspeakable and full of glory,” I Peter 1:8. May we abide in His joy, which is our strength, Nehemiah 8:10; may we rest in His love which never fails, I Corinthians 13:8; and may we hope in His coming which is promised, Acts 1:11.

Our Heritage

July 23

The United States of America enjoys the unique heritage of having been established by Christians for the purpose of achieving religious freedom for all people of faith in Jesus Christ. It has since expanded its scope to include religious freedom for people of all religious persuasions. Perhaps in gaining that dimension, the nation has lost something of infinite value--its claim to being a Christian nation. That is for the Holy One to decide.

But one thing even the finite minds of mortal men may correctly ascertain is that a once great nation is in a free-fall from its lofty estate. We can blame our leaders for the corruption with which they have compromised our great Constitution, or we can blame a mindless populace that elected them, or we can blame the times in which we live which are fraught with godlessness--but wherever we allocate blame, the unfortunate reality is that our nation no longer enjoys the blessings of the Lord upon it.

However we feel about the cause of the current status of our nation, the one solution the God of Heaven and Earth and all that exists has to say in the matter is found in II Chronicles 7:14. That now familiar passage iterates: “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and I will heal their land.”

It behooves each of us who profess to love the Lord Jesus Christ to lift up this prayer, which originates in the Father’s heart, to His throne of mercy and grace daily. It behooves us to fast and pray in the behalf of this land that was laid at His feet at its inception—that godly men shall rise up to rule here, that spiritual revival will sweep our population and we will treasure the freedom our founders built into the Constitution.

When our cry has reached His footstool, we will, above all, cherish once again the freedom Jesus purchased for us on the cross.

If our generation allows the current tide of lawlessness and godlessness to be sustained, the next generation will not know the freedom our Founding Fathers counted dear enough to mutually pledge their “lives, their fortunes, their sacred honor,” in order to attain.

May we not be so foolish as to grovel in the pit of bondage when the lofty mountain of freedom is our heritage.

Pray for the Persecuted Church

Open Doors International says 2014 was the worst year for persecution of Christians in history. And it appears to be getting worse!

A 2014 Pew Institute research study says believers in Christ are the world’s most oppressed religious group.

Reports of Christians martyred for their faith doubled between 2012 and 2013.

ISIS continues to kidnap, slaughter, and enslave Christians — and to proudly broadcast the horrifying executions by beheading, burning to death, and worse.

Pray for the Persecuted Church and pray for those who persecute her, for the monsters who do evil to the people of Christ are relegating themselves by their rejection of the Lord and by their vitriolic hatred toward those who love Him to the fire of hell for eternity!

At the Mt. of Olives

July 22

“Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues," Revelation 18:4.

"When the early Christians were told that the love of the world and the things of the world meant they did not love God, they do not hold discussions on what the world meant or how far they could go and still please God, they got out of the world; they separated themselves completely from everything that had the world's spirit. The result was that they brought down the world's fury on their own heads.

"The world is no different now than it was when they crucified Jesus and martyred the first Christians...The reason we get along with the world so well is that we have compromised our position and allowed it to dictate to us...The result is that very few of us are in any way embarrassed by the world.

"What the church needs to fear is becoming accepted in the community. Any church that the unsaved, worldly community accepts is never a church full of the Holy Spirit. Any church that is full of the Holy Spirit is separated from the world, walking with God and will never be accepted by any worldly community," A. W. Tozer, The Crucified Life.

Our Brother Tozer has expressed a truth many of today’s Christens cannot begin to understand. We are to be salt and light in a decaying world that is enshrouded in darkness. The salt of the truth of Christ that we bear is to preserve those who will receive Him and bring them forth from the darkness of the world into the light of His Kingdom.

If we succeed at this mission, they will become born again (see John 3:3), they shall accept the veracity of John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life,” and they shall be transformed.

In II Corinthians 5:17, Paul says of them, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things are passed away; all things become new.”

Jesus Himself says of them, “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world,” John 17:14.

In Jeremiah 10:2, 3, the prophet states very clearly, “Thus says the LORD, Do not learn the way of the nations, and do not be terrified by the signs of the heavens, although the nations are terrified by them; for the customs and practices of the nations are futile and worthless.”

As believers in Christ, we must fully separate ourselves from the futility and vanity of the world. We must not desire its accolades; we must not yearn after its treasure; we must not seek its rewards, for none of its trappings are of any eternal value.

All we must do is separate ourselves as completely from it as we can; we must keep our hearts and our minds and our vision fixed on Jesus, for we are new creatures with new aspirations.

And our aspirations lie at the Mt. of Olives where, as the angel said, “…This same Jesus, who is taken from you into Heaven, shall return in like manner as you have seen Him go,” Acts 1:11.

Jesus is coming...nothing else matters.

Be ON FIRE For Christ

July 21

Some of us live our Christianity by the "skin-of-the-teeth." In other words, some of us are people who just BARELY get into Heaven. The Bible is clear about the reality that some professing Christians live their lives on the edge. How do they do that? By the many compromises they make with the world instead of living lives that are fully surrendered to Christ.

Read, for example the words of I Corinthians 3:11-15 where Paul says, "For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built on the foundation remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire."

A.W. Tozer, an American pastor, April 21, 1897 - May 12, 1963, called such Christians "spiritual failures"

In his book, THE CRUCIFIED LIFE, he said, "It is possible to be a Chrisian and yet be a failure...Chistians who have wandered 40 long years in the wilderness, not going back into sin but not going on into the holy life. Wandering in an aimless circle, sometimes a little holier, and sometimes very unholy, but never going on..."

Tozer goes on to elaborate on a "spiritual failure's" classic excuse: "I've got to think about my family… after all…and God wants us to be wise…I can't push this thing too far. I can't become too spiritual because…It would cost too much…”

Tozer further declared, "For 40 years Israel wandered aimlessly about. God was with them. He did not destroy them; rather, He let them die one at a time. Occasionally He would punish them, but He did not destroy them as a nation. To me this is a terrible thing..." In Matthew 7:21-27, Jesus expounds on this topic. Here He says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name and in Your name drive out demons and in Your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Go away from Me, you evildoers!

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

In Titus 1:16 the Apostle Paul is even more direct in his assessment of lukewarm believers. Here he says of them, “They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.”

It is clear that living on the edge, being a ‘skin-of-the-teeth Christian, is not the way for a believer to go. In Revelation 3:15-16 Jesus made His position about half-hearted Christianity quite clear. He said, “I know your works, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish you were hot or cold. But because you are lukewarm, I will spit you out of My mouth.”

There is nothing we can add to that—except—BE ON FIRE FOR CHRIST!

PERSEVERANCE

Perseverance
July 19

"Perseverance is the badge of true saints. The Christian life is not a beginning only in the ways of God, but also a continuance in the same as long as life lasts.

It is with a Christian as it was with the great Napoleon: he said, ‘Conquest has made me what I am, and conquest must maintain me.’ So, under God, dear brother in the Lord, conquest has made you what you are, and conquest must sustain you.

Your motto must be, ‘Excelsior!’

He only is a true conqueror, and shall be crowned at the last, who continues till war's trumpet is blown no more. Perseverance is, therefore, the target of all our spiritual enemies. The world does not object to your being a Christian for a time, if she can but tempt you to cease your pilgrimage, and settle down to buy and sell with her in Vanity Fair.

The flesh will seek to ensnare you, and to prevent your pressing on to glory. ‘It is weary work being a pilgrim; come, give it up. Am I always to be mortified? Am I never to be indulged? Give me at least a furlough from this constant warfare.’

Satan will make many a fierce attack on your perseverance; it will be the mark for all his arrows. He will strive to hinder you in service: he will insinuate that you are doing no good; and that you want rest. He will endeavor to make you weary of suffering, he will whisper, ‘Curse God, and die.’ Or he will attack your steadfastness: ‘What is the good of being so zealous? Be quiet like the rest; sleep as do others, and let your lamp go out as the other virgins do.’

Or he will assail your doctrinal sentiments: ‘Why do you hold to these denominational creeds? Sensible men are getting more liberal; they are removing the old landmarks: fall in with the times.’

Wear your shield, Christian, therefore, close upon your armor, and cry mightily unto God, that by His Spirit you may endure to the end.” Charles Spurgeon

Hebrews 11

July 18
Hebrews 11

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speak. By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.

By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, in Isaac shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.

By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.

By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshiped, leaning upon the top of his staff.

By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.

By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king's commandment.

By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible. Through faith he kept the Passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them.

By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days. By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.

And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, and quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.

Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: and others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment.

They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented, (of whom the world was not worthy.)

They wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

And what can anyone add to that wonderful chapter! Nothing, except that the Lord our God does wondrous things through our faith! May we ever hold fast to Him, to His Word of Promise, that He may use us to glorify the Holy Name of Jesus through exploits He will do as we believe.

The Apostles' Creed

THE APOSTLES' CREED

I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth:
And in Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, our Lord:
Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary:
Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, died and was buried:
He descended into hell:
The third day He arose from the dead and led captivity captive:
He ascended into heaven, where He sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty:
From thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead:
I believe in the Holy Ghost:
I believe in the holy catholic church: the communion of saints:
The forgiveness of sins:
The resurrection of the body:
And in the life everlasting. Amen.

Is There Hope...?

July 17
Is There Hope in the Chaos? Brenda J. Davis

One of my most poignant memories of my late father is of him seated at his desk with his Bible open, studying. My dad wasn't a highly educated man, but he was devoted to Jesus Christ and had an insatiable hunger for biblical knowledge.

I remember watching him many times as he pored over passages and prayed for understanding. Years later, I had the privilege of getting a seminary education, and one day during a class lecture, I thought of him.

Surrounded by my fellow graduate students in a stately lecture hall, my eyes began to water. I was imagining how much my father would have loved being in this class.

He never made it to seminary, but because he held out before me the example of someone who "trembled" at God's Word, studying it became my own desire. I observed what he did, and I sought to emulate him.

My behavior was not unusual. Children who are nurtured and trained in the safety of their parents' love seek to embrace the parents' qualities throughout their lives.

Not every one of us has the experience of love and protection in an earthly sense. But in a spiritual sense, we can all attest to having that experience with our heavenly parent—God, the Father.

We are commanded to imitate Him: "Therefore be imitators of God as beloved children" (Ephesians 5:1). As His beloved children, we should resemble Him and act like Him.

There's a good reason for this. Our nation and the world are longing to see the reality of God in the lives of His people.

The apostle Paul wrote, "The eager expectation of the creation waits for the appearance of the sons of God" (Rom. 8:19). There are many for whom a demonstration of the reality of the One we worship is long overdue.

If only they could see Him reflected in His church! If only our brokenness didn't cause us to reflect so poorly on our precious Lord!

What is the creation waiting to see? I believe above all things, the unsaved desire to see the reality of Christ's sacrificial love.

Sadly, it seems harder for us to exhibit unconditional love toward those in the family of God than to those on the outside. We hear too many stories about brothers and sisters who are wounded by other members of the body of Christ.

This kind of behavior isn't lost on those who are looking for God. The unbeliever may not have any great knowledge of who (or what) God is, but he or she is quite adept at identifying who (or what) He is not. I believe the biggest beef unbelievers have with us is our lack of real, sacrificial love for one another.

We simply must love one another more. Now is a moment when hearts are being taken captive to fear. Men and women are desperate to know if there is any hope—any security out there.

Let's tell them, "Yes, there is hope, peace, protection!" Better yet, let's show them the evidence of the hope we have: Let's show them how we love one another.

Sneezing

July 16

“He returned and walked back and forth in the house, and again went up and stretched himself out on him; then the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes,” II Kings 4:35.

Elisha again stretches himself out on the child, and this time something happens: The child sneezes seven times and opens his eyes! What a strange way to resurrect the dead! Its very peculiarity demands a spiritual parallel, and indeed it has one…

What is a sneeze? Webster's Dictionary defines it as "a sudden violent spasmodic audible expiration of breath through the nose and mouth especially as a reflex act." This last phrase shows that most sneezes occur as a reaction to an irritant of some sort: dust, dander, allergen, etc. The respiratory system convulses, and a 240-mph blast of air attempts to dislodge and expel the offending particle.

Does sneezing have a spiritual counterpart? Yes! The act of repentance is the part we play in clearing ourselves of irritants—sins—that enter our lives. Through repentance, we expel everything that is foreign to God's way of life.

Notice Paul's description of repentance in II Corinthians 7:10-11: “For godly sorrow produces repentance to salvation, not to be regretted. . . . For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter.”

In the analogy of reviving a body to life, sneezing is a perfect picture of the individual Christian's repentance!

One other detail remains: The child sneezed seven times. The number seven—used multiple times in the Bible—is notable for signifying completion, totality, perfection. The Book of Revelation contains numerous groups of sevens: lamp stands, stars, angels, churches, spirits, eyes, seals, trumpets, plagues, bowls, thunders, heads, crowns, mountains and kings.

Solomon uses the number seven to show a complete list of things God hates (Proverbs 6:16-19). Sacrifices are often in groups of seven (Leviticus 23:18; I Chronicles 15:26). Scripture includes numerous other references to seven.

That the child sneezed seven times is an illustration of complete repentance. Just as Elisha's part takes his complete exertion, so must the child put his all into the cure. One or two sneezes are not enough to rid him completely of his illness; he must sneeze until it is completely gone. Then, completely restored to his former health, he can live a new life without fear of relapse. Back in the embrace of his mother, he can go out and be a witness of God's mercy and power (II Kings 4:36-37; 8:5).

The spiritual parallels are obvious. David cries out to God in his prayer of repentance:

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity. . . . Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean. . . . Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall be converted to you. . . . The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart—these, O God, You will not despise. Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion; build the walls of Jerusalem. (Psalm 51:2, 7, 13, 17-18)

This is the kind of repentance God seeks from us now. The church has not been scattered because of righteousness! God's displeasure with our deplorable spiritual condition has resulted in His violent expulsion of us (Revelation 3:16; see Leviticus 26:33; Daniel 12:7; Amos 9:9-10).

To return to His good graces—to revive God's church—we have to expel the sin from ourselves completely, totally, permanently, so we can be suitable representatives of Him before the world. Only then will we be fit to preach the gospel with any power to the world.

When that time will come, only God knows, and He will open the door to get it done. In the meantime, our job is to become clean by the grace of God, the blood of Christ, and the scouring effect of sincere and deep repentance.

Revelation, an end-time book, contains one-third of the Bible's occurrences of "repent,” and this should convince us how important repentance is at this time. Christ tells the Laodiceans, "Therefore be zealous [earnest, eager] and repent" (Revelation 3:19).

This is the lesson of Elisha's resurrection of the Shunammite woman's son: God's true ministers and the members of His church must work together to produce repentance, putting God's people back on the road to His Kingdom and eternal life! — Richard T. Ritenbaugh

When God Speaks

July 15
When God Speaks
From: Today God Is First by Os Hillman

"...The Lord is with you, mighty warrior." - Judges 6:12

Has God ever spoken directly to you in such a way that you knew that it was actually His voice speaking to you specifically? I don't mean just an appropriate verse of Scripture, or a circumstance that seemed probable that it was God. I am talking about a situation that you know that you know it was the God of the universe speaking directly to you.

In the book EXPERIENCING GOD, authors Henry Blackaby and Claude King say that one of seven important steps to experiencing God in everyday life is how God speaks to us.

"God speaks by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways." [Henry Blackaby and Claude King, EXPERIENCING GOD (Nashville, Tennessee: LifeWay Press, 1990), 225].

You can examine the life of every major character in the Bible and see this principle expressed in the way God worked in each of their lives.

One of the ways God speaks is through others. God often used others to speak to individuals, especially in the Old Testament when God often spoke through the prophets. This is still one of the ways He speaks today.

Several years ago I was in a church on the west coast that I had never been in before. I was in the midst of a tremendous trial. Three people prayed for me, and as they did, they began to describe a picture that was reflective of my life since I was a young Christian.

It was a very accurate picture of my life. About a year later a man from Virginia prayed with me in my office. After our prayer time, he began to describe what he had just seen as a picture of my life. It was the same picture that had been described a year earlier.

A year after that I was on a trip overseas and a man from England whom I had never met before came to me. He and I had a time of prayer together, and at the end of our prayer time he described a picture he had just seen in his mind while we were praying. Again, it was the same type of picture as the two previous encounters. Only this time, one element was added that was important for me to know related to what God was doing in my life at that time.

When God chooses to speak into our lives through others, it can be an incredible blessing. He speaks in many ways. This is just one of them.

God desires to encourage us by speaking to us. He does this in many ways. The next time someone speaks into your life, prayerfully consider whether God is using that person to convey something important He wants you to know.