Faithful and True

Faithful and True by Dr. D. James Kennedy “And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken …” Hebrews 3:5 Have you ever struggled to remain faithful to God in certain areas of your life? To be faithful literally means to be “full of faith.” The practical outworking of faithfulness is remaining true to God and His Word regardless of the cost or adverse circumstances. Consider one man of faith, General William Booth, who founded the Salvation Army. In his later years, he lost his eyesight. He visited the doctor for help, but the doctor could not do much for him. His son, Bramwell Booth, had to give his father the final report: “I am afraid that there is little that they can do for you.” General Booth said, “You mean that I will never again see your face?” His son replied, “I am afraid the likelihood is that you will never again see my face in this world.” To this, General Booth declared, “Well, I have served God and the people with my eyes, and now I will serve God and the people without my eyes.” What an incredible example of faith in the midst of a tremendously adverse circumstance. If we want to faithfully seek and serve God, we must remain true to God even in the face of possible loss, as Abraham remained true to God even when he faced losing his son, as Daniel remained true to God even as he faced the horrors of the lions’ den. To be faithful to Christ means to forsake this world with all its trappings and temptations. But even when we lapse in our faithfulness to God, He remains steady in His faithfulness to us. If you have trouble being faithful to God’s call, then ask the Lord for His strength and help. Bolster your faithfulness by studying His Word and obeying its commands.

TIME TO IMPEACH THE TRAITOR-IN-CHIEF

TIME TO IMPEACH THE TRAITOR-IN-CHIEF

Biden's Traiterous Dealings

Biden's Traiterous Dealings Hunter Biden Demanded 10 Million From CCP: Linked Firm for Partnership with the Bidens: WhistleBlower Hunter Biden demanded $10 million from a Chinese energy firm linked to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), promising services from “the Bidens” in return, according to WhatsApp messages disclosed by a whistleblower. A summary of the messages was released last week by the House Ways and Means Committee as part of an IRS whistleblower’s redacted testimony (pdf) before the committee. In his Aug. 3, 2017, exchange with CEFC China Energy executive Gongwen “Kevin” Dong, Hunter Biden took an exasperated tone, evidently dissatisfied with Dong’s haggling over compensation. “Very simple,” he wrote. “10 M per annum budget to use to further the interest of the JV [joint venture]. This move to 5M is completely new to me and is not acceptable obviously.” (The Epoch Times) Read more here. - Abba, this is not the first time that what would appear to be very serious allegations about Joe Biden and his family have been in the news. But somehow, every time these kinds of issues come up, absolutely nothing is done about it. Father God, that needs to stop! We ask you, as Righteous Judge, to intervene in the plans the enemy would use to protect Joe Biden and his family from being held accountable for their actions and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. We ask you to make a way where there seemingly has not been a way for our Justice System to function as it was originally created, with equal justice under the law for everyone. We ask that you speak to the hearts of Merrick Garland, Christopher Wray, and every judge who took an oath to uphold our Constitution and the laws created from it, We ask you to reveal to them that they will stand before you and be accountable not only for their actions but for every word they have spoken 11 "And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide. 12 I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God's throne. And the book was opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books." (Rev 20:11-12)

July 3rd Event

Independence Hall, Philadelphia July 3rd, 2023 | 1-3PM EST July 3rd Event The Come to the Table National Communion event, scheduled for July 3, 2023, at Independence Mall, in Philadelphia, will also be taking place in private homes and among church groups all over the nation. IFA has a video featuring Lou Engle Ministries that details some of the Lord’s instructions for this event. For more information and to sign up to host at home or at your local church, please go here. Let’s pray and prepare our hearts with anticipation: Father, we repent of having allowed our hearts to grow cold toward the sanctifying blood of our Lord Jesus. Thank You for reaching into those places within us that have grown numb. Soften our hearts tonight — our hearts toward You, toward one another, and toward our nation. Grant us deep understanding of the authority You have given us to forgive others. In Your Name, Abba, we offer this prayer, Amen. Key verse for this national gathering: "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld” (John 20:23).

The Key to a Happy Home

The Key to a Happy Home “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.” Ephesians 4:29 Of all the contributing factors that make our homes happy, good communication must be high on the list. As we relate to people, we communicate on many levels—everything from “Hi, how are you?” to divulging facts, expressing emotions, and ultimately sharing our true selves. To make a home run smoothly, we need communication on all levels, but especially on that most intimate level of revealing ourselves to our housemates and families. But that kind of communication can feel threatening. Sharing at the deepest, most intimate level makes us vulnerable, and many people don’t want to risk rejection. But as these people stay on “safer” levels of communication, they never discover the real glory of intimacy. People avoid intimate conversation not only because they fear rejection but also because they have built up resentment against people who have hurt them in the past. As they refuse to forgive and as they continue to keep records of wrongs, these people maintain barriers between themselves and others. While they may feel safer that way, these people miss the joy of reconciliation and better understanding. We must express tenderheartedness and forgiveness toward one another as God, for Christ’s sake, has forgiven us. If we don’t let go of our anger, we will clam up or blow up. “In your anger, do not sin,” and “Let not the sun go down upon your wrath.” These admonitions from Ephesians can help us forgive others and let go of pent-up resentment. We also need to avoid faultfinding and blame. If we negatively evaluate someone, that person will not risk any deep communication, and we’ll experience isolation. Instead of focusing on the negative things, focus on the good in the people you care about. When we start focusing on the positive, the positive will increase, and we will “administer grace” to each other. What are some ways you can foster deeper communication in your home today? Do you need to share yourself on a deeper level, to forgive someone, to refrain from harshly judging others? Take a risk today, and see how those you live with respond as you pursue intimate communication and relationships.

PSALM 90

PSALM 90 Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. 2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. 3 Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men. 4 For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night. 5 Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in the morning they are like grass which groweth up. 6 In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down, and withereth. 7 For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled. 8 Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance. 9 For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told. 10 The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away. 11 Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath. 12 So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. 13 Return, O Lord, how long? and let it repent thee concerning thy servants. 14 O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. 15 Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil. 16 Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children. 17 And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.

Sound of Freedom

Sound of Freedom More than telling a story, Jim Caviezel is sending a message with his latest film. “Sound of Freedom,” in theaters July 4, chronicles the true experiences of former U.S. government agent Tim Ballard, founder of Operation Underground Railroad, a nonprofit dedicated to combating and rescuing children from sex trafficking and the modern slave trade. Caviezel, best known for portraying Jesus in Mel Gibson’s 2004 epic “The Passion of the Christ,” plays Ballard in the movie, distributed by Angel Studios, and feels compelled to call Christians to action, particularly over an epidemic as sinister as sex trafficking. “Our faith is paramount,” the Catholic actor recently told CBN’s Faithwire. “But it has to have something that comes from it. You love someone; it’s an action. It’s not what I say, it’s what I do. The problem is, in a lot of this modern-day Christianity, is people … are more afraid of the devil than they are of God.” “And God could kill the devil without a glance,” he continued. “And so, when I look at someone who might not want to watch this film, I say our love for God’s children has got to be more than our fear of evil. Our love for Jesus has got to be more than our fear of the cross, because, at some point, that [persecution] is going to happen.” Perhaps more than many, Caviezel understands what it means to face spiritual opposition manifesting in physical ways. While filming “The Passion,” he was struck by lightning, dislocated his shoulder, contracted hypothermia, and was accidentally whipped during taping, according to Far Out: Jim Caviezel had one of the toughest and spookiest experiences any actor can ever expect to face. This included accidentally being whipped twice resulting in a 14-inch scar, dislocating his shoulder while carrying the cross, contracting hypothermia while being crucified in -4°C [25° Fahrenheit] conditions, and suffering severe migraines as a result of swollen make-up effects impacting his depth perception. So far so horrible, but there was one strange incident that made this ordeal seem like more than merely a testing shoot. While filming the Sermon on the Mount, Caviezel was literally struck by lightning. Somehow, other than his hair catching fire, he miraculously survived unharmed. The only true antidote to spiritual warfare, Caviezel explained, is a deepening dependence on God. Caviezel recalled continually praying, going to church, and “meditating on the Gospels” while filming “The Passion.” He did the same during shooting for “Sound of Freedom.” A result of his commitment to those spiritual practices, Caviezel explained, was an idea for a particularly powerful yet disturbing scene in the movie — an ad-libbed moment he and his co-star Kris Avedisian shot from a dimly lit diner in just one take. Avedisian plays Ernst in the movie, one of the worst pedophiles Ballard had ever encountered. The two men had already filmed the scene as it was scripted, but director Alejandro Monteverde remembered the idea Caviezel had mentioned just a little bit earlier, and gave him the chance to play it out. At that, Caviezel told Avedisian, who hadn’t heard the line, to “just go with me” as they filmed the alternate version — and that’s the scene that ultimately made it into the final product. “We do the whole scene, we get to the end, and I throw the line in, ‘Better a millstone be hung around your neck that you be cast into the sea than you should ever hurt one of these little ones,'” Caviezel said, a direct reference to Matthew 18:6. His co-star, acting confused, began laughing. Caviezel’s character also began laughing — but for a very different reason: he had all the incriminating evidence he needed to arrest the heinous pedophile. “It’s just brilliant how it all came out,” Caviezel recalled. “It was like five moves in one moment. It’s things like that that were — that was a dark thing to talk about, but that lets you know what Jesus thinks about these guys. They are rejecting the Holy Spirit. To do what they do is to reject the Holy Spirit, and that’s the only unforgivable sin.” And that’s the message at the heart of the film: to combat evil. “Being able to take a movie — like ‘The Passion’ or like this — and use it for good,” Caviezel said. “Our film — I knew we could beat anyone in the world. I hate the ‘faith-based’ sound. You know what it says? It says, ‘Hey public, we made this movie for you — it’s a faith-based film — so you gotta go see it.’ Hey, if it’s not good, don’t go see it. This thing is phenomenal.”

PRAISE

Excerpted from Rabbi Akiva Gersh’s forthcoming book, 75 Hebrew Words You Need to Understand the Bible (available now!) these essays illuminate the connection between related Hebrew words, revealing Biblical secrets only accessible through Hebrew. Enjoy the series – and happy 75th birthday to the State of Israel! שֶׁבַח SHEVACH SHEH-VACH PRAISE “One generation shall praise Your works to another and declare Your mighty acts.” (Psalms 145:4) דור לדור ישבח מעשיך וגבורתיך יגידו. “Extol God, all you nations, praise Him, all you peoples.” (Psalms 117:1) הללו את יהוה כל גוים שבחוהו כל האמים. Throughout the Book of Psalms, King David uses the Hebrew word shevach, “praise,” to express his love for God and his longing to draw closer to Him. Praising God is of such importance that every Jewish prayer service ends with a prayer of praise that begins with the words “It is upon us to praise the Master of all.” Praising God helps us recognize His greatness and reminds us that He provides us with life. This is why the Jewish morning prayer service begins with a selection of Psalms referred to as “Verses of Praise.” Reciting the powerful words that King David used to praise God opens up our hearts and our souls to do the same, helping us begin each day with open eyes to see God’s wonders in the world around us and God’s providence in our lives. We are greatly indebted to King David for writing the Book of Psalms, which is most fundamentally a book of praise, so that we can always find the words we need to praise God. “Extol God, all you nations, praise Him, all you peoples” (Psalms 117:1). King David describes a future reality in which the entire world, with its great diversity of peoples and nations, praises God. How will we achieve this ideal state? The Psalm continues: “For His love for us is great and the truth of the Lord endures forever. Hallelujah!” (Psalms 117:2). When humanity realizes how much God loves us and that God is the source of truth, conveyed to us through the Bible, all of mankind will be moved to praise Him.

William Carey

William Carey by Dr. D. James Kennedy “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son …” John 3:16 How big is your God? Is He bound by the limitations of what you can see, hear, and think? Or do you have a God who can do anything at any time? Today, let’s consider a great man who believed in a great God—William Carey, the father of modern missions. Carey lived by the motto “Attempt great things for God. Expect great things from God.” For centuries, worldwide missions had come to a virtual standstill. But William Carey, a cobbler who lived in England in the eighteenth century, explored God’s Word and became increasingly convinced that God was concerned about the whole world—“For God so loved the world.” This conviction began a burning in Carey’s heart. He envisioned millions of people perishing throughout the earth, people who needed to hear about Jesus Christ. Being a man of action, Carey convinced a group of ministers in 1792 to form the first foreign missionary society. But that was not enough. Carey himself felt led to the mission field, so he traveled to India. He mastered more than a dozen Indian languages then translated the entire Bible or portions thereof into those languages. Every day, he preached to the natives. The result? Not one single convert among the Indians for seven years. But Carey persevered, believing that God could and would do great things. Finally, in 1800, Krishna Pal was the first convert of the modern missionary movement. Soon hundreds, thousands, and millions followed. In the thirty-five years after Carey went to India, missionary societies sprang up all over Britain, Europe, and America. The result was an outpouring of missionary activity, labor, and zeal, the likes of which had not happened since the first century. All of this came about through the hard work of a humble cobbler who believed in God’s greatness and obeyed God’s call. When ordinary people with ordinary talents yield fully to God, He uses them to accomplish extraordinary things. What can you do for God today?

Isaiah 55:11

My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it." (Isaiah 55:11)

LISTEN

Essays to Unlock the Secrets of the Hebrew Bible Excerpted from Rabbi Akiva Gersh’s forthcoming book, 75 Hebrew Words You Need to Understand the Bible (available now!) these essays illuminate the connection between related Hebrew words, revealing Biblical secrets only accessible through Hebrew. Enjoy the series – and happy 75th birthday to the State of Israel! שְׁמַע SHEMA SHEH-MAH LISTEN “Listen, Israel! Hashem is our God, Hashem is One.” (Deuteronomy 6:4) שמע ישראל יהוה אלהינו יהוה אחד. “Then he took the record of the covenant and read it aloud to the people. And they said, ‘All that God has spoken we will do and we will listen!’” (Exodus 24:7) ויקח ספר הברית ויקרא באזני העם ויאמרו כל אשר דבר יהוה נעשה ונשמע. Shema, Hebrew for “listen,” is the first word of Judaism’s most important and foundational prayer, “Listen, Israel! The Lord is our God, God is One” (Deuteronomy 6:4), which declares our faith in the one and only God. The Bible commands us to recite the Shema every morning and evening: “And these words, which I command you this day, shall be upon your heart… and you shall speak of them… when you lie down and when you get up” (Deuteronomy 6:6-7). By reciting the Shema prayer each day and night, we do not forget its powerful message. Rabbi Akiva was the leading rabbi of Israel during the 2nd century CE, a time of terrible Roman persecution. Among other rabbis, he was arrested by the Romans and tortured to death for teaching the Bible in public. As the Romans burned him to death, he cried out the words of the Shema. His students cried out, “Master, at a time like this you can say the Shema?” Rabbi Akiva responded, “All of my life I have strived to fulfill the verse ‘You shall love God with all your heart and all of your soul.’ Now I finally have the chance to do so.” With the words of the Shema on his lips, his soul left the world. Rabbi Akiva’s act of spiritual bravery is the source for the Jewish practice of reciting the Shema before death. Untold numbers of Jews recited the Shema in their final moments before being murdered by Nazis during the Holocaust. Upon receiving the Torah, the children of Israel proclaimed, “We will do and we will listen,” committing themselves to live according to God’s word as written in the Bible, even before they heard what was written in it, an extraordinary commitment of faith.

An Exchanged Life

“Shadowed by an illusory person” In point of fact, we are all such a “wizard” projecting what psychologist Karen Horney calls our “idealized self” to the world. The problem with pretending to be what we are not is not just that our fiction is inevitably known by others. It is that our fictional self is not known to God. In New Seeds of Contemplation, the monk and theologian Thomas Merton writes, “Every one of us is shadowed by an illusory person: a false self. This is the man that I want myself to be but who cannot exist, because God does not know anything about him.” Think about that fact: our false, idealized self does not truly exist, but God can know only that which does exist. He cannot help us contact Martians since there are no Martians. He cannot help us “know thyself,” the Western quest since Socrates, since there is no true “self” to be known apart from the One who, as St. Augustine prayed, “made us for yourself, O Lord.” Consequently, Augustine continued, “Our heart is restless until it rests in you.” An Exchanged Life by Dr. Jim Denison “An exchanged life, not a changed life” The good news is that the God who made us and thus knows us better than we know ourselves can remake us as his “new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17). So, to be your best self today, stop trying to be what you want others to see and ask Jesus to make you like himself (Romans 8:29) by transfusing your character with the “fruit” of his Spirit (Galatians 5:22–23). Watchman Nee was right: “Victory has to do with an exchanged life, not a changed life. . . . It is not an evil ‘I’ being changed into a good ‘I, or a filthy ‘I’ being changed into a clean ‘I.’ It is to be ‘no longer I.’” Jesus was adamant: “Whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 16:25). Paul testified that he had been “crucified with Christ” so that “it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). And Christ living through Paul changed the world. Will you ask him to do the same through you?

Responsibilities of Leadership

Responsibilities of Leadership by Bill Wilson As disciples of Christ, we all have responsibilities of leadership. It was Christ who told us in the Sermon on the Mount that we were salt and light. He said that salt was no good if it lost its savor and there can be no light if the lamp is hid under a basket. It was Peter who wrote that we were a royal priesthood. Paul exhorts us in Ephesians to put on the full armor of God, speak boldly as we ought to speak, and having done all, to stand. It was Peter and the apostles, who stood up against the prideful and hypocritical Sadducees filled with indignation, and proclaimed in Acts 5:29, “We ought to obey God rather than men.” Throughout the scriptures, leaders in the faith faced challenges. As leaders in the faith, we will too. Pride is often the double-edged sword for leaders of the faith. The position of leadership, no matter how big or small, can be a source of pride. Resisting pride through humility and an attitude of service is the mark of a good leader. Christ is our example. He led by serving others in humility and kindness. He also held people accountable. He was direct with his communication. He built consensus. He knew his purpose. But he also faced challenges, especially from the Pharisees and Sadducees who were part of the other edge of the pride sword. For various reasons, they opposed him. They saw Christ as a threat to their worldly authority and a challenge to their social status, intellect, and domain—all issues of pride. Let us recall the story of Korah in Numbers 16-18. Korah, a cousin of Moses, was well-respected and a carrier of the Ark of the Covenant. Because he was a first-born son and a Levite, Korah believed he should be a priest and leader of his clan. But Moses chose another cousin to lead, who was not a first-born. Korah raised 250 men to confront and challenge the leadership of Moses and Aaron. Moses called on the wisdom of God in handling this rebellious situation. Moses proposed that Korah and his 250 followers bring their firepans with incense to the Tabernacle to determine whether they were to serve as priests. Moses prophesied that if the Lord had not sent Korah and his coconspirators that the earth would swallow them up. You have heard it said that pride goes before a fall. Well, Korah and his buddies fell into the pit of the earth and were swallowed up because in challenging Moses, they were, in reality, challenging God’s authority. There are a lot of lessons from this story. We are all leaders in Christ and, thus we are held to a higher standard. We will face challenges. As Christ said, we will be persecuted and hated for his name’s sake. Let us always remember the double-edged sword of pride. When we are challenged, let us not allow pride to get in the way of what God is trying to accomplish. Seek his guidance. Respond in humility. As is written in Proverbs 29:23, “A man’s pride will bring him low, But the humble in spirit will retain honor.”

Words from Franklin Roosevelt

Words from Franklin Roosevelt American might have to become the guardian of Western culture, the protector of Christian civilization. The preservation of our rights is vitally important now, not only to us who enjoy them - but to the whole future of Christian civilization. If the spirit of God is not in us, and if we will not prepare to give all that we have and all that we are to preserve Christian civilization in our land, we shall go to destruction. Almighty God, Our sons, pride of our Nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our republic, our religion, and our civilization.

George Whitefield

George Whitefield by Dr. D. James Kennedy “… unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3 Do you ever think about our nation and wonder whether God will renew a land that has sunk to the moral depths that ours has? Is there any hope for the society in which we live? Perhaps we can take a cue from another time, another society. The period in which we live is not unlike that of the opening half of the eighteenth century, especially in England. At that time, adultery, fornication, gambling, drunkenness, and the breaking of the Sabbath were commonplace. Crime was rampant, and sin was the norm. Sounds rather contemporary, doesn’t it? But then John Wesley and George Whitefield came on the scene, and revival began. It came as an electric shock and galvanized the people of England. As revival took place in England, the morality and religion of the country changed completely. (In fact, historians say that the Victorian period was in many ways a byproduct of the Wesley-Whitefield revivals.) God used George Whitefield not only in England but also in America. Whitefield preached in various colonies and helped found the University of Pennsylvania. So great was the change Whitefield sparked that it became known as the Great Awakening. Whitefield had made England and America his parish. Tens of thousands would come from miles around to hear him preach. What was his life-changing, culture-changing message? The same text that had pulled him into the kingdom of God: “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Near the end of Whitefield’s life, one of his friends asked him, “Why is it that you preach so often from that text, ‘Ye must be born again’?” Whitefield answered, “Because ye must be born again.” With this simple message, Whitefield helped transform the core of two countries. To save our great nation, we, too, must declare throughout the land, “You must be born again.” Perhaps today you can share this message with someone you know.

What Is Your Name?

“What Is Your Name?” by Dr. D. James Kennedy “Be strong and of good courage …” Deuteronomy 31:6 I admire people who display great courage. One man in history known for his courage was Alexander the Great. One day, Alexander held court in Nebuchadnezzar’s great palace in Babylon. He sat upon the great golden throne, pronouncing sentences for the crimes charged to his soldiers. The sergeant-at-arms brought in one soldier after another and read their crimes. No one could deliver them from Alexander’s severe judgments. Finally, the sergeant-at-arms brought in a young Macedonian soldier and read aloud his crime: fleeing in the face of the enemy. This cowardice Alexander could not tolerate. But as he looked on this young soldier, Alexander’s countenance changed from stern to soft. Smiling, he said to the lad, “Son, what is your name?” The boy said softly, “Alexander.” The smile left the king’s face. He said, “What did you say?” The young man snapped to attention. “Alexander, sir.” The king turned crimson and shouted, “WHAT IS YOUR NAME?” The boy began to stammer and said, “Al … Alex … Alexander, sir.” The king burst out of his chair, grabbed the young man by the tunic, stared him in the face, then threw him on the ground and said, “Soldier, change your conduct or change your name!” All of us have a name from our royal lineage. What is that name? Christian! And we need to live our lives in a manner worthy of that name. Dear friend, I encourage you to be strong. Be courageous. Obey the Lord. Allow God to give you courage in Him—courage to do what God has told us to do, courage to avoid the things God has told us not to do, courage to stand up for Christ. Let us not cower under fire but stand firm in the Lord’s name, living up to our calling as Christians.

PSALM 101

PSALM 101 will sing of mercy and judgment: unto thee, O Lord, will I sing. 2 I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. 3 I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me. 4 A froward heart shall depart from me: I will not know a wicked person. 5 Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off: him that hath an high look and a proud heart will not I suffer. 6 Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me. 7 He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house: he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight. 8 I will early destroy all the wicked of the land; that I may cut off all wicked doers from the city of the Lord. King James Version (KJV)

Where There Is No Vision

Where There Is No Vision by Dr. D. James Kennedy “Where there is no vision, the people perish …” Proverbs 29:18, kjv Do you have a great vision for your life? Do you have a purpose in mind, a purpose in heart that comes from a vision that inflames your heart with a blue-white flame? Or do you simply live your life because every morning you wake up again and there you are, having to endure just one more miserable day? I believe we need to have vision for our lives, dreams to reach for, goals to accomplish. As we develop vision, we discover purpose for our lives. If we lack vision, says the Bible, we perish. Though we may not die physically, we become part of the walking dead who view life as having no meaning. Vision gives significance, value, and meaning to our very existence. If we want our lives to have significance, then each of us needs to take hold of a vision and pursue it. And as Christians, we need to seek God’s vision for our lives. We are not free to choose our own; we have been bought with a price. We have a Master and Lord to serve. And our Lord has clearly described His vision for us: reaching the world for Christ. How does God envision fulfilling that goal through you? If you lack vision for your life, pray that God would reveal to you His vision for you. Ask Him to show you how you fit into His overall purpose: to spread the Gospel to those who need to hear it. Then adopt His vision for you as your own.

The Shadow of the Almighty

The Shadow of the Almighty by Dr. D. James Kennedy “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” Psalm 91:1 What is your greatest fear, the one thing above all others that makes your eyes widen and your heart race? Some fear death the most. Others fear public speaking even more than death. And still others fear dental exams. Newspaper counselor Ann Landers reports receiving about ten thousand letters each month from people with all kinds of issues that can be reduced to one common problem: fear. When our faith in Christ disappears, fear takes its place. The Bible says that in the Last Days people’s hearts shall fail them for fear. Shakespeare puts it this way: “Cowards die many times before their death; the valiant never taste of death but once.” The Bible exhorts us to courage, saying, “Fear not,” “Be not afraid,” “Be of good cheer,” “Be courageous and very strong.” This is not advice; it is a commandment. If you find yourself feeling fearful, Psalm 91 can help you ward off your fear. This psalm was the invocation of the early Church during a time when the disciples suffered great trouble and persecution. Many a young person has gone off to war leaning heavily on its promises. Psalm 91 promises to protect those who “dwell” in God’s presence. Someone once said that there are two kinds of people: those who dwell in God and occasionally visit the world, and those who dwell in the world and occasionally visit God. When we dwell too long in the world, fear can overcome us. To experience God’s strength and peace, we must abide in Him. The secret dwelling place of God is His Word. In His Word, God reveals the wonders of His grace and love. Dwelling with God means hiding His Word in our hearts by memorizing it and meditating on it. We also dwell with God when we commune with Him in prayer and seek His purpose in our lives. Do you often live in fear? If so, begin now the practice of abiding in God’s presence. Read His Word, and spend time with Him in prayer. Draw near to Him, and He will grant you His courage.

To Live Is Christ

To Live Is Christ by Dr. D. James Kennedy “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:21 If someone asked you what you live for, how would you respond? Some people seem to live for their next vacation. Others live for their retirement. Still others live for the weekend. But Paul expresses the best way to live. He declares that to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Too often, people want to rewrite the verse, replacing “Christ” with “pleasure.” “For to me, to live is pleasure,” cry a whole host of voices today. But pleasures fade quickly, and this lifestyle leads to ceaseless striving for one more thrill, one more good feeling. Others would replace “Christ” with “money.” “For to me, to live is money.” These people spend most of their waking hours, energy, and thoughts trying to make money. Some of them desire to be truly wealthy, while others want just a little bit more than they presently have. A reporter once interviewed a fantastically wealthy man and asked him, “How much do you want?” The wealthy man replied, “Just a little bit more.” Do you live to gain wealth? If so, may I say that at the end of your life, your wealth will turn to ashes in your mouth, and you’ll find that the great deceiver has deceived you. Others would say, “For to me, to live is fame.” They give their whole lives to accomplishment. Perhaps they rise to the top of the ladder. But then where are they? Many people who “make it” find themselves saying, “Is this all there is?” Like many who have risen to the pinnacle of success, they find nothing but the same emptiness that hounded them from the very beginning. “For to me, to live is Christ.” This is the secret of life. Furthermore, it is the secret of consecration, the secret of commitment. I do not believe that you could take the meaning of consecration and commitment and express them more succinctly than Paul has in those seven words. Today ask God to show you how to live so that you can say, “For to me, to live is Christ.” Then follow the way He shows you so that you may live a life consecrated and committed to Him.

Quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer

"We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by GOD." Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Mary Slessor of Calabar

Mary Slessor of Calabar by Dr. D. James Kennedy “… learn from Me …” Matthew 11:29 Would you like to know a great spiritual secret? You can find it in three of Jesus’ words: “Learn from Me.” When we learn from Him, He will change us from the inside out. Let’s consider the example of a great heroine of the faith who submitted to and learned from her Savior. Mary Slessor, originally from Scotland, is considered one of the first female missionaries. According to her own testimony, she had lived as a “wild lassie” until, by God’s grace, she entered the kingdom and eventually traveled to faraway lands to spread the Gospel. Barely over five feet tall, Mary was nevertheless a giant among people, a woman of tremendous courage and faith. In her passion to share the Good News with those who desperately needed to hear it, Mary set off to Calabar, the ghetto of Africa. Calabar comprised the worst of nature, both environmental and human. The people who dwelt there were bloody, savage, and cruel. They were fetish worshipers, headhunters, and cannibals. Nonetheless, Mary proclaimed to them the Gospel, and, astoundingly, God opened up their hearts. They became willing to hear. One after another they yielded their lives to Christ. And as they did so, they abolished the horrible customs that had plagued them for generations. Mary Slessor gave of herself to Africa for forty years. When she died, thousands of former fetish worshipers, headhunters, and cannibals mourned, saying, “The mother of us all is dead.” What was the secret of Mary’s life? She had learned from Christ. She had learned of His compassion and His concern for souls. She had learned of His courage. Mary Slessor prayed to and trusted God, saying that prayer was the greatest power God has given into our hands for service. She believed that by God’s power she could do all things. I hope you, too, take this great secret to heart. As you learn from Christ, rely on Him, and seek to do His will, He’ll make His power available to you for whatever challenges you face.

At Marshall Simonds Middle Scool

At Marshall Simonds Middle School by Bill Wilson Students at Marshall Simonds Middle School in Burlington, Ma., tore down Pride celebration signs and chanted “U-S-A are my pronouns, wearing red, white and blue clothes and face paint instead of the “Spirit Day” rainbow colors. Now the kids are being labeled homophobic and intolerant. School Principal Cari Perchase condemned the anti-Pride Day demonstration, writing in a letter to parents, “I fully respect that our diverse community has diverse opinions and beliefs. I also respect individuals’ right to express their opinions through clothing choices and freedom of speech. When one individual or group of individuals’ beliefs and actions result in the demeaning of another individual or group, it is completely unacceptable.” Perchase is saying free speech is OK so long as you don’t disagree with homosexuality. Yet, Perchase allowed the middle school’s “student-led LGBTQ+ and allies “Spectrum Club” to set up a “spirt day” where rainbow banners, and posters saying “Happy Pride Month” and “Why it’s not ok to say “That’s so gay’.” They also were handing out rainbow stickers. Students and faculty were asked to wear rainbow colors for the day. Why on earth would a middle school allow such a demonstration of advocacy for a sexual orientation? Talk about inappropriate. Talk about intolerant of those who used the “Spirt Day” to celebrate their pride in America. Talk about grooming minor children for sexual purposes. This is what is “completely unacceptable” to use the principal’s words.” Perchase continued, “I am truly sorry that a day meant for you to celebrate your identity turned into a day of intolerance. Schools are supposed to be a safe place for ALL students and faculty. Some community members’ actions created an unsafe environment for many of our students, caregivers, and faculty.” Unsafe? How unsafe does Perchase think it makes normal kids feel with all this Pride bullying going on? WCVB Boston reported that a parent of one of the middle schoolers, Christine Steiner, said that her daughter felt coerced to participate in the Pride event. She said her daughter was offended by a poster in the school that said “What is straight? A line can be straight, or a street, but the human heart, oh, no, it’s curved like a road through the mountains.” Safe place? For who? Coercion? We must celebrate even if we disagree. The Maine Wire reported Nancy Bonassera, co-chair of the Burlington Equity Coalition, issued a statement: “Students were invited to show their pride and wear rainbow clothing in celebration of Pride month. On that same day there was a counter-demonstration in response to what should have been a day to celebrate, where students wore red, white and blue clothing, chanted ‘my pronouns are U.S.A.,’ and destroyed rainbow decorations at the school. These displays of intolerance and homophobia are unacceptable and impact the whole community. We call upon the school administration to address and provide consequences for the students who participated in the counter-protest.” In order to have a counter demonstration or a counter protest, there needs to first be a demonstration or a protest. By their own words, these Pride advocators are telling everyone what they were trying to force upon minor students. And this is what happens to people, young and old, who stand against these Pride Month sexual grooming sessions, called “celebrations.” Equality under the law does not mean forced acceptance. 2 Corinthians 6:14 asks, “what fellowship has righteousness with unrighteousness? and what partnership has light with darkness?” The ones who should face consequences are the adults who allowed such a “Pride” celebration to take place in the school. Nevertheless, surely they will have their reward.

Assurance of Salvation

Assurance of Salvation by Dr. D. James Kennedy “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.” 1 John 5:13 Do you know for sure that when you die, you will go to Heaven? If you’ve given your life to Christ, you can know that you’ll have eternal life because the Bible promises that to you. His Word is true, and it has greatly comforted those at death’s door, the great and wise as well as the poor and humble. When Sir Michael Faraday, the brilliant scientist who discovered magnetism, was on his deathbed someone asked him, “Sir Michael, what speculations do you have about life after death?” And he replied in astonishment, “Speculations! Why, I have no speculations! I’m resting on certainties! ‘I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.’” An elderly Scottish lady lay at death’s door. Her pastor asked her, “Sadie, suppose that after all God has done for you, when you die He should still allow you to perish; what then?” She said, “Well, that’s up to Him. He will do what He will. But if He does allow me to perish, then He will lose more than I. For though I lose my soul, He will lose His honor. He has promised me in His Word, ‘He that trusteth in Me shall never perish.’” An old fisherman who lived by the sea also came to the end of his days. A friend asked him, “John, do you believe you’re going to heaven?” John replied, “Look out the window. Are the seven great stones still there?” The friend said, “Yes.” “Is the old mountain crag there?” He said, “Yes.” “Are the Three Maidens [a set of mountains] still there?” He said, “Yes.” John leaned back and said, “The mountains shall disappear and the hills shall be cast down, but My Word shall last forever.” Today praise the Lord that His Word is true, and thank Him for the assurance you have as you rely upon His Word—that you will live in Heaven for eternity.

AMA Stands with Youth Sex Change

AMA Stands with Youth Sex Change American Medical Association Pledges To Work With Activists To Push ‘Youth’ Sex Changes Opponents And Supporters Of Senate Transgender Bill Rally At Capitol The American Medical Association (AMA) pledged to ramp up its support for cross-sex medical interventions for youths with gender identity issues in a resolution its House of Delegates approved this week. The AMA already supported cross-sex medical interventions for children, but the new resolution makes this stance more proactive in response to state-level restrictions on such procedures, with the AMA now affirmatively lobbying for laws designed to promote sex change procedures. The resolution passed Monday, according to the Endocrine Society, which sponsored the resolution. The organization pledged to work with special interest groups to fight state and federal limits on all cross-sex medical procedures, which it euphemistically referred to as “gender-affirming care.” (RELATED: Yet Another Country Begins To Move Away From Child Sex Changes) The resolution was co-authored by two medical students, Charles Adams and Delia Sosa, both of whom are transgender, according to MedPage Today. The co-authors expressed concerns that state restrictions on cross-sex treatments for children endangered people’s lives. “This is a life and death matter,” Charles Adams told the outlet. “It’s trying to erase our existence,” Delia Sosa said. “So this [resolution] really is important, because it says that one of the largest medical associations in the entire world says ‘We stand behind trans people. We want to make sure that not only do they have access to healthcare, but that the people that are supporting them are also safe.'” The AMA pledged to advocate against all adverse medical licensing actions and liability, including responsibility for future medical costs, for doctors and healthcare facilities that perform cross-sex medical interventions, as well as against all criminal and legal penalties against patients and parents seeking cross-sex medical interventions for minors in the resolution. It also expressed its intent to communicate with the Federation of State Medical Boards about the importance of protecting access to these procedures. The AMA recently elected its first openly gay president, Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld, who has boasted of promoting the interests of transgender people throughout his career. “LGBT health equity has been a driver of a lot of my activity in medicine and policy for a number of years. While I was deployed I was able to work to help share the lives of transgender service people while in service,” Ehrenfeld said, according to TMJ4 Milwaukee. The resolution updates the AMA’s policy on “Medical Necessity for Treatment of Gender Dysphoria” by stating that surgeries and other treatments are medically necessary for gender incongruence rather than merely for gender dysphoria; gender incongruence is the sense of one’s gender identity not matching their biological sex and body, and dysphoria is the discomfort that arises from that condition, according to the resolution. The resolution references data points put out by LGBT activist organizations including the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to demonstrate the growing restrictions on youth sex changes.

II Chronicles 7:14

"If MY people, who are called by MY name, will humble themselves and seek MY face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from Heaven and forgive their sin, and heal their land." II Chronicles 7:14

National Day of Prayer

Abraham Lincoln's Declaration of the NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER "Whereas, the Senate of the United States devoutly recognizing the Supreme Authority and just Government of Almighty God in all the affairs of men and of nations, has, by a resolution, requested the President to designate and set apart a day for national prayer and humiliation; and ... Whereas, it is the duty of nations as well as of men to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon, and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history: that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord; ... And, insomuch as we know that, by His divine law, nations like individuals are subjected to punishments and chastisement in this world, may we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil war, which now desolates the land may be but a punishment inflicted upon us for our presumptuous sins to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole people? ... We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power as no other nation has ever grown ... But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious Hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us! It behooves us then to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins and to pray for clemency and forgiveness ... Now, therefore, in compliance with the request and fully concurring in the view of the Senate, I do, by this my proclamation, designate and set apart Thursday, the 30TH DAY OF APRIL, 1863, as a Day of National Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer ... And I do hereby request all the people to abstain on that day from their ordinary secular pursuits, and to unite, at their several places of public worship and their respective homes, in keeping the day holy to the Lord and devoted to the humble discharge of the religious duties proper to that solemn occasion. ... All this being done, in sincerity and truth, let us then rest humbly in the hope authorized by the Divine teachings, that the united cry of the nation will be heard on high and answered with blessing no less than the pardon of our national sins and the restoration of our now divided and suffering country to its former happy condition of unity and peace. ... In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the city of Washington, this 30th day of March, A.D. 1863, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-seventh." Abraham Lincoln.

Law and Gospel

Law and Gospel by Dr. D. James Kennedy “Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.” Romans 3:31 Now that we’ve spent the past few days looking at the Ten Commandments, we need to clarify the relationship between the Law and the Gospel. Many people don’t understand this relationship, but unless we do, we will live our faith on false pretenses. The Law reveals to us our need for the Gospel. It shows us our sinfulness; for no one, except the Savior, has kept the Law fully. The Law doesn’t save us; it condemns us. It shows us our need for salvation. We can gain that salvation only by believing the Gospel, the good news that God sent His only Son to die in our place. This relationship between the Law and the Gospel distinguishes Christianity from all other religions. We could boil all those belief systems into a single two-letter word: “do.” This is the essence of every pagan religion’s message: “Do this; don’t do that.” Even distortions of Christianity base salvation on that one word. But the basic message of Christianity is not “do,” but “done.” “It is finished” were the last words Christ spoke before He died. It is done. Finished. Christ paid the full penalty for our sins. And now, all who trust in Him may freely have eternal life. We’re not saved by good works. We’re saved to them. When God’s grace touches our lives, we naturally desire to do good works. As you continue to meditate on the Ten Commandments, remember their rightful place; in obeying them you thank God for that which He has done through the Gospel.

HAPPY FATHERS' DAY!

Thoughts on Fathers' Day

"America needs heroes on the battlefield of everyday life"-U.S. Senate Chaplain Peter Marshall - American Minute with Bill Federer June 18, 2023 • Father's Day! U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Center for Disease Control, and other agencies report that children from fatherless homes are: Five times more likely to live in poverty; Nine times more likely to drop out of school; Twenty times more likely to go to in prison; Higher risk of drug and alcohol abuse; Increased incidents of internalized and externalized aggressive behavioral problems; Greater chance of runaways and homelessness; Twice as likely to commit suicide. In an effort to recognize the importance of a father in the home, the several "Father's Day" services were celebrated. One was organized by Grace Golden Clayton, who on July 5, 1908, arranged a church service to honor all fathers, in memory of her father who was a Methodist minister in West Virginia. Another event was celebrated June 19, 1910, in Spokane, Washington. Sonora Louise Smart Dodd heard a church sermon on the newly established Mother's Day and wanted to honor her father, Civil War veteran William Jackson Smart, who had raised six children by himself after his wife died in childbirth. Sonora Louise Smart Dodd drew up a petition supported by the Young Men's Christian Association and the ministers of Spokane to celebrate Fathers' Day. In 1916, Woodrow Wilson spoke at a Spokane Fathers' Day service. On December 6, 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt addressed Congress: "No Christian and civilized community can afford to show a happy-go-lucky lack of concern for the youth of to-day; for, if so, the community will have to pay a terrible penalty of financial burden and social degradation in the to-morrow ...Roosevelt continued: "The prime duty of the man is to work, to be the breadwinner; the prime duty of the woman is to be the mother, the housewife. All questions of tariff and finance sink into utter insignificance when compared with the tremendous, the vital importance of trying to shape conditions so that these two duties of the man and of the woman can be fulfilled under reasonably favorable circumstances." In 1972, President Nixon established Father's Day as a permanent national observance (Proclamation 4127), stating: "To have a father — to be a father — is to come very near the heart of life itself. In fatherhood we know the elemental magic and joy of humanity. In fatherhood we even sense the divine, as the Scriptural writers did who told of all good gifts corning "down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning" (James 1:17)—symbolism so challenging to each man who would give his own son or daughter a life of light without shadow ... Nixon added: "Our identity in name and nature, our roots in home and family, our very standard of manhood—all this and more is the heritage our fathers share with us ...It has long been our national custom to observe each year one special Sunday in honor of America's fathers; and from this year forward, by a joint resolution of the Congress approved April 24, 1972, that custom carries the weight of law ...Let each American make this Father's Day an occasion for renewal of the love and gratitude we bear to our fathers, increasing and enduring through all the years. Now, Therefore, I, Richard Nixon, President of the United States of America, do hereby request that June 18, 1972, be observed as Father's Day." On May 20, 1981, in a Proclamation of Father's Day, President Ronald Reagan stated: "'Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it,' Solomon tells us. (Proverbs 22:6) clearly, the future is in the care of our parents. Such is the responsibility, promise, and hope of fatherhood. Such is the gift that our fathers give us." Dr. Ben Carson explained: “The more solid the family … the more likely you are to be able to resist peer pressure … Human beings are social creatures. We all want to belong, we all have that desire, and we will belong, one way or another … If the family doesn't provide that, the peers will, or a gang will, you will find something to belong to.” On Father's Day, 1988, Ronald Reagan said: "Children, vulnerable and dependent, desperately need security, and it has ever been a duty and a joy of fatherhood to offer it. Being a father requires strength ... and more than a little courage ... to persevere, to fight discouragement, and to keep working for the family ...Let us ... express our thanks and affection to our fathers, whether we can do so in person or in prayer." Genesis 18:19 records one of the reasons God chose Abraham: “For I know him (Abraham), that he will teach his children … (to) keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment.” Deuteronomy 4:9: “Teach the law of the Lord diligently to your children and grandchildren.” Deuteronomy 6:7: Williams Jennings Bryan gave over 600 public speeches during his Presidential campaigns, with his most famous being "The Prince of Peace,” which was printed in The New York Times, September 7, 1913: "Christ promoted peace by giving us assurance that a line of communication can be established between the Father above and the child below." A warning from Greek philosopher Plato in his work Republic, 380 BC, was that democracy is in the process of collapsing when the younger generation disrespect their fathers: Can liberty have any limit? Certainly not ... By degrees the anarchy finds a way into private houses ... The son is on a level with his father, he having no respect or reverence for either of his parents; and this is his freedom ... Citizens ... chafe impatiently at the least touch of authority ... they will have no one over them ... Liberty overmasters democracy ... The excess of liberty, whether in states or individuals, seems only to pass into excess of slavery ... And so tyranny naturally arises out of democracy, and the most aggravated form of tyranny and slavery out of the most extreme form of liberty ..." By heaven ... the parent will discover what a monster he has been fostering in his bosom; and, when he wants to drive him out, he will find that he is weak and his son is strong. Why, you do not mean to say that the tyrant will use violence? What! beat his father if he opposes him? Yes, he will, having first disarmed him ... Then he is a parricide, and a cruel guardian of an aged parent; and this is real tyranny." George Orwell wrote in the book 1984 of what socialists do when they take over a country: “Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And the process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right.” U.S. Senate Peter Marshall commented on Marxist social deconstruction (20 Centuries of Great Preaching Vol. 12 Waco: Word, 1971 p. 11-19): "The history of the world has always been the biography of her great men ... There was a time in these United States when youth was inspired by (heroes) ... when a picture of Washington or Lincoln adorned every school room wall ... Along with the ponderous Family Bible on the Victorian table and the hymn books on the old-fashioned square piano, there looked down from the walls the likenesses of our national heroes ... Those were the days of great faith - belief in the authority of the Scriptures, belief that prayer was really answered, belief in marriage and the family as permanent institutions, belief in the integrity and worth of America’s great men. These beliefs laid the groundwork for producing more great men, for many a boy believed, "If that man could do it -- get an education, make his life count for something -- then I can too ...'" Peter Marshall further stated: "Then there dawned the day when the pictures of Washington and Lincoln did not fit in with our concept of modern décor ... The old Family Bible looked embarrassingly out of place ... So the pictures and the Bible were often relegated to the Attic of Forgotten Things. There went with them some of the most stabilizing influences of American life. We had become a more sophisticated people, somewhat cynical of the cherished beliefs of our ancestors, rather blasé, frankly skeptical of old-fashioned sentimentalism. Along with our higher education came a debunking contest. This debunking became a sort of national sport ... It was smarter to revile than to revere ... more fashionable to depreciate than to appreciate. In our classrooms at all levels of education, no longer did we laud great men - those who had struggled and achieved. Instead, we merely took their dimensions and ferreted out their faults. We decided that it was silly to say God sent them for a special task ... They were merely ... products of their environment ... The Constitution, that hitherto cherished charter of American liberties, was drawn up by men who never spoke on a telephone or flew in a plane, therefore, we should change the Constitution to suit modern ways." Marshall's concerns were echoed by others: Thomas Sowell, a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, stated: "Ours may become the first civilization destroyed, not by the power of our enemies, but by the ignorance of our teachers and the dangerous nonsense they are teaching our children. In an age of artificial intelligence, they are creating artificial stupidity." In writing for The Federalist, June 12, 2020, Katy Faust and Stacy Manning reported: "NAACP president Kweisi Mfume, when asked if white racism or the absence of fathers posed a greater threat to black Americans, replied without hesitation, 'The absence of black fathers.'" Senate Chaplain Marshall added that sons and daughters need courageous fathers to defend them against predatory agendas: "We failed to realize that when we were denying the existence of great men, we were also denying the desirability of great men. So now, many of our children have grown up without the guiding star ... holding in their hands only a bunch of ... question marks, with no keys with which to unlock the doors of knowledge and life. The young are no longer inspired to any ambition to become heroes. Their ambition now is to make as much money as possible, as quickly as possible, in whatever way was most convenient ... Thus, our debunking is ... a sign of decaying foundations of character to the individual and in the national life ... We who are Christians, believe that God gives the world a few great men to lead the rest of us closer to Him, that to depreciate or to deny their greatness is to deny one of God’s revelations of Himself to mankind. The heroes the Christian cherishes ... are human .. They have their weakness ... Their faults are well-known to their friends, better known to themselves. But the point is that with God and His guidance, they can provide the moral leadership that our nation so sorely needs. America needs heroes on the battlefield of everyday life ... in our homes, in our schools, on college campuses, in offices and factories, who can lead us toward a return to idealism. For time is running out for us ...The call today is for Christian heroes and heroines ... who are willing to speak a good word for Jesus Christ ... who are willing to live by the undiluted values of Christian morality in the pagan atmosphere of our society surrounded by lewdness, pornography, and profanity. This may be a higher bravery than that of any battlefield: to face ridicule, sarcasm, sneering disdain for what one believes to be right. To fight for goodness and right ... fighting the battle first in our own hearts and souls ... seeking God’s help to overcome our particular temptations for the sake of peace .. for the sake of America ... for our own sake ... for God’s sake." In 1942, General MacArthur was named Father of the Year. He stated: "By profession I am a soldier and take pride in that fact. But I am prouder -- infinitely prouder -- to be a father. A soldier destroys in order to build; the father only builds, never destroys. The one has the potentiality of death; the other embodies creation and life. And while the hordes of death are mighty, the battalions of life are mightier still. It is my hope that my son, when I am gone, will remember me not from the battle but in the home repeating with him our simple daily prayer, 'Our Father Who Art in Heaven...'" MacArthur composed "A Father's Prayer": "Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know when he is weak, brave enough to face himself when he is afraid, one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory. Build me a son whose wishes will not take the place of deeds; a son who will know Thee -- and that to know himself is the foundation stone of knowledge. Lead him, I pray, not in the path of ease and comfort, but under the stress and spur of difficulties and challenge. Here let him learn to stand up in the storm; here let him learn compassion for those who fail ... Build me a son whose heart will be clear, whose goal will be high; a son who will master himself before he seeks to master other men; one who will reach into the future, yet never forget the past. And after all these things are his, add, I pray, enough of sense of humor, so that he may always be serious, yet never take himself too seriously. Give him humility, so that he may always remember the simplicity of true greatness, the open mind of true wisdom, and the meekness of true strength. Then, I, his father, will dare to whisper, 'I have not lived in vain.'" President Reagan ended his Father's Day message: "With God's grace, fathers find the patience to teach, the fortitude to provide, the compassion to comfort, and the mercy to forgive. All of this is to say that they find the strength to love their wives and children selflessly."

Quote from Thomas Sowell

"Ours may become the first civilization destroyed, not by the power of our enemies, but by the ignorance of our teachers and the dangerous nonsense they are teaching our children. In an age of artificial intelligence, they are creating artificial stupidity." Thomas Sowell

The Moral Law of God

The Moral Law Of God by Dr. D. James Kennedy “Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.” Psalm 119:97 What is your relationship to God’s law? Are you passing acquaintances who wave “hello” from across a great distance but never interact? Or are you in such intimate communion that you hide the Law in your heart, thinking of it constantly? If you feel a bit distant from God’s law, perhaps understanding its origin and purpose will give you the desire to know it better. In the Old Testament, God gave humankind three types of laws: civil laws, ceremonial laws, and moral laws. The civil laws helped people interact as a country. God laid down the civil laws because He Himself was King of Israel; no one else had authority to create such laws. If someone broke a civil law, that person would receive a punishment such as bodily harm or even death. These laws disappeared in A.D. 70 when Israel was no longer a theocracy. The ceremonial laws dictated which days to commemorate as a nation—the Passover and the Day of Atonement, for example. These laws also carefully delineated how to celebrate each holy day. The ceremonial laws foreshadowed Christ’s coming; since He has come, we no longer observe them. The third type, moral laws, reflect the eternal, holy, and unchangeable nature of God. All the moral laws are summed up in the Ten Commandments. God’s moral laws have never passed away and will never pass away. We must obey them always. We need the moral laws because they draw people to Christ. They restrain wicked people. They smash our pride and drive us to our knees. They guide us in the way we should live. In considering the moral laws, people make two basic errors. Some people believe they can save themselves by keeping theLaws. Others believe just the opposite—that if they are saved, they don’t have to keep the moral laws. But God wants to create a perfect kingdom of righteousness where, in joyful and willing obedience, men and women yield themselves gladly to God’s eternal law because of their love for and gratitude to their Savior and Lord. Today ask God to show you how to delight in His law. Invite Him to make His law a constant companion for your soul.

Healing Scriptures

A Few of the Many Healing Scriptures in the BIBLE Jeremiah 17:14 - Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise. Jeremiah 33:6 - Behold, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal them and reveal to them abundance of prosperity and security. 1 Peter 2:24 - He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed. Psalm 41:3 - The Lord sustains him on his sickbed; in his illness you restore him to full health. Psalm 147:3 - He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Proverbs 17:22 - A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. James 5:15 - And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 3 John 1:2 - Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul It is evidenced through both Old Testament and New Testament Scripture that God does have the power to heal our physical bodies. Miraculous healings still happen today! Use these Bible verses to talk to God about your pain and to fill your heart with hope.

The Great Commandment

The Great Commandment by Dr. D. James Kennedy “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment.” Matthew 22:37-38 Can you imagine someone commanding love? We can understand how God can command certain actions or even tell us how to speak or think. But to go into that innermost closet, into the depths of our hearts, and to command us to love, seems a breach of our free will. Yet God commands us to love Him. Why is this the case? There are several reasons. God knows that we’re built to love something supremely. If we don’t love God, we’ll adore something less honorable, less exalted than He. And whatever we love most, we’ll inevitably resemble, just as we become like that which we worship. This is why God says that He is a jealous God and that we should have no gods before Him—not for His sake but for ours. God doesn’t need our love, nor does He need our worship. In fact, He doesn’t need anything from us. But we most definitely need Him. We need to worship and love Him so that our lives might be purified by that love. If anything can ever lift us from the mire of our sin, it’s the power of love. As we love God and others, we will resist breaching our relationships with sinful thoughts and actions. Today fix your gaze on Jesus Christ, the Bridegroom, and His love for you, His bride. Let God’s love for you kindle in your heart and spirit a greater love for Him.

Healing Scriptures

“See now that I myself am he! There is no god besides me. I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal, and no one can deliver out of my hand." ~ Deuteronomy 32:39 "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 will heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place." ~ 2 Chronicles 7:14-15 "You restored me to health and let me live. Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered such anguish. In your love you kept me from the pit of destruction; you have put all my sins behind your back." ~ Isaiah 38:16-17 "I have seen their ways, but I will heal them; I will guide them and restore comfort to Israel’s mourners, creating praise on their lips. Peace, peace, to those far and near,” says the LORD. “And I will heal them.” ~ Isaiah 57:18-19 "Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security." ~ Jeremiah 33:6 "Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well." ~ 3 John 1:2 "And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus." ~ Philippians 4:19 "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." ~ Revelations 21:4

Persecution Today

Persecution Today by Bill Wilson On May 14, 2023, I headed towards Bosuafise on 3-hours journey to join Christ Fellowship Church, a tiny little rural church operating in a woefully underserved community, to celebrate Mother’s Day. My journey was at the invitation of the women in the church. They had invited my wife but she was down with a severe cold and the women, being smart, asked me to bring a message from her! Access to the village church was arduous and time-consuming. Roads leading to the place had been totally destroyed by heavy duty vehicles and washed out by torrential rains, leaving great “manholes” which had turned into various pockets of rivers of all sizes! The roads, however, were a far smaller challenge than what was to happen later! Carefully avoiding the “manholes” and deep craters and cliffs on the sides of the road, I proceeded cautiously until I finally reached the village. Service was in progress two women came to usher me into the meeting place, which was filled to capacity! Some 70 people were in attendance, including children! Praise and worship was awesome and many lined up to give various testimonies, a clear indication that the Holy Spirit was operating in the midst of this poor church! I delivered the written messages from my wife, including four others that I had organized from leading Women of Faith! One such message from Chris Wilson in Maryland read: “A virtuous woman is not concerned with what seems right according to the world. Her main desire is to honor God, because she knows her reward comes only from Him. The words capable wife is not the best translation. The Hebrew words “eshet cayil,” are better understood to be “heroic woman” or “woman of valor”. All went very well and our ministry donated some food items and drinks to everyone in the church. We also donated 30 dresses for the young girls in the church, which was financed by Lynette, a woman of God in Florida. Service ended well, the benediction was said, we had a short leaders meeting and closed for the day with GREAT JOY and thanks giving to God! Soon after service I set off with the local pastor and two other church members to inspect a plot of land acquired by the Ministry, close to the church, to cultivate cash crops with the involvement of church members. The idea is for the Ministry to buy crops planted and harvested by the church, on ministry land, for free distribution to needy families! This strategy will help provide livelihoods to church members and make available foodstuffs for free distribution to others! It’s a win-win-win plan! Within minutes when we got to the land, I heard the approaching heavy sounds of a convoy of motor cycles! These were Islamic land grabbers and illegal soil merchants who have forcefully grabbed a large plot of land that shares boundaries with the village where the church is located. As a matter of fact, the stolen land belongs to the family of the local pastor of the church. This family and the church leadership have engaged the police, the military and lawyers to evict the invaders to no avail. There were about a dozen motor bikes, some with three or more pillion riders that came from their “homes” and rode past us where I had parked the Ministry truck! They revved the engines of their motor bikes loudly, some blowing their horns with impunity, making deafening sounds and weaving their bikes past us in a show of power and intimidation! We avoided them and went on with our inspection! Some minutes later, they drove back in the same fashion to announce their presence again! Still, we avoided them! Some of them stopped a short distance away to watch us! John 10:10 says: “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” What we experienced has been perfectly rendered by this scripture! Jesus came that the church “might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly,” and in come the agents of the devil in a dramatic fashion with intent “to steal, kill and destroy” our GREAT JOY!!! We didn’t allow them! Our joy in the Lord still burns with a perpetual flame in the face of persecution!Would I return again to the church? You bet I would! I’m even planning to set camp there for temporary stays, on and off! What is it that can separate us from pursuing and exhibiting the love of God? We are “persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39

A Brief Christian History

A Brief Christian History by William Federer Jerusalem had been a Jewish city since King David, around 1000 BC, and it had been a Christian city since Emperor Constantine. Muslim warriors under Caliph Umar took Jerusalem away from the Byzantine Patriarch Sophronius in 637 A.D. and forced Christian and Jewish inhabitants to live as second-class citizens under a set of laws called "dhimmi." Christian pilgrims began to be harassed, massacred and crucified. In the 700's, Christians were banned from giving religious instruction to their children and displays of the cross were banned in Jerusalem. In 772 AD, Caliph al Mansur ordered Jews and Christians to be branded on the hand. In 923 AD, sharia Muslims began destroying churches in Jerusalem. On Palm Sunday in 937 AD, they plundered the Church of Calvary and the Church of the Resurrection. In 1004, Fatimid Caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah began a ten year persecution where thousands were forced to convert or die and 30,000 churches were destroyed. In 1009, Caliph al-Hakim destroyed the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. In 1075, the Muslim Seljuk Turks captured Jerusalem from Arab Muslims. Gregory Bar-Hebraeus (1226-1286), a Syrian Orthodox Church leader, wrote how Seljuk Turkish Muslims initially tolerated Christians then: "... having seen very much modesty and other habits of this kind among Christian people, certainly the Mongols loved them greatly at the beginning of their kingdom, a time ago somewhat short. But their love hath turned to such intense hatred." Travelers returning from pilgrimages to the Holy Land shared reports of Islamic persecution of "dhimmi" Christians. Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and Egypt, which had all been Christian lands, were conquered by fundamentalist Muslim, who then conquered Sicily. In 1057, the Norman adventurer Robert Guiscard took control of Calabria in the "toe of Italy" and fought against the Islamic warriors of Sicily. Italian city-states of Pisa, Genoa and Catalonia fought the Muslims who were raiding Italy's coasts, Majorca, Sardinia, and Catalonia. In 1071, the Muslims inflicted a major defeat on the Byzantine Christians at the Battle of Manzikert and took control of all but the coastlands of Asia Minor. Cries for help were carried back to Europe. Europe sent help, it was called the Crusades. The Europeans nine major Crusades lasted from 1095 till 1291, when Acre was finally recaptured by Islamic forces. The First Crusade began when, in desperation, the proud Byzantine Emperor Alexius Comnenus humbled himself and sent ambassadors to the Council of Piacenza in March of 1095, appealing for aid from his religious rival, the Roman Catholic Pope. The seriousness of this call for help is underscored by the fact that it occurred just a few years after the Great East-West Schism where the Byzantine Church and the Roman Catholic Church split. Pope Urban II gave an impassioned plea at the Council of Clermont in 1095 for Western leaders to set aside their doctrinal differences and come to the aid of their Byzantine Christians brethren. With Spain exuberant after successfully driving the Muslims from Toledo and Leon a few years earlier, the First Crusade began in 1097, led by Godfrey of Bouillon. It freed Iconium from the Muslims, though it was later lost. The First Crusade defeated Islamic warriors at Dorylaeum and Antioch, and captured Jerusalem in 1099, holding it for nearly 100 years. After Muslims conquered Edessa, another crusade was called for by Bernard of Clairvaux in 1147. It was made up of French and German armies, led by King Louis VII and Conrad II. The Second Crusade failed to take Damascus and returned to Europe in 1150. Bernard of Clairvaux was disturbed by reports of misdirected violence toward some Jewish populations. On July 4, 1187, the Muslim leader Saladin, founder of the Ayyubid Dynasty of Egypt and Syria, captured Crusaders at Hattim and ordered their mass execution. In 1190, Pope Gregory VIII called for a Third Crusade. It was led by German King Frederick I, called Frederick Barbarossa (meaning Redbeard), who was the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. He was joined by Richard I of England and Philip II of France. Frederick led 100,000 soldiers across Byzantium, driving out Muslims and temporarily freeing Iconium. He most likely would have freed Jerusalem had he not fallen off his horse while crossing the Göksu River in Cilicia, Asia Minor. Being 67 years old and weighted down with heavy armor, Frederick Barbarossa drowned in waist deep water and the Crusade went into confusion. Richard the Lionheart was suddenly in charge leading the Crusade and successfully captured Acre. Due to rivalries, Philip II, without warning, abandoned the Crusade and returned to France in 1191. Richard's troops came within sight of Jerusalem in 1192, but grew weary as it did not look like they were making an impact. Then word came to Richard that Phillip II was trying to take away Normandy from England, so Richard quickly ended the Crusade to go back and defend his kingdom. Richard later discovered Saladin was on the verge of defeat and was propping up dead soldiers along the walls. Saladin allowed some Christians to leave Jerusalem if they paid a ransom, but according to Imad al-Din, approximately 15,000 could not pay their ransom and were enslaved. Richard sailed away, but was shipwrecked and had to travel on foot across Europe in disguise. He was recognized near Vienna and captured by Duke Leopold V of Austria. The Holy Roman Emperor, Henry VI, imprisoned Richard at Dumstein for three years. Legend has it that Richard's loyal minstrel, Blondel, traveled from kingdom to kingdom across Europe trying to find him by singing Richard's favorite song. When Richard heard the song, he sang the second verse from the prison tower, and was found. Richard's brother, King John, had to raise taxes for the "king's ransom." This was the origins of the story of Nottingham, Sherwood Forest and Robin Hood. The Holy Roman Emperor, Henry VI, prepared for another crusade in 1197, but died from malaria. Once back in England, Richard ruled only a few years before being shot with an arrow during the siege of a castle in Normandy. His brother, King John, once again ruled, where he raised taxes oppressively. When he lost Britain's claim to Normandy after the Battle of Bouvines in 1214, English baron's were upset, as they also lost their titled lands there. Angry barons then surrounded King John on the plains of Runnymede on JUNE 15, 1215, and forced him to sign the Magna Carta - the cornerstone of English liberty.

Beware of Covetousness

Beware of Covetousness by Dr. D. James Kennedy “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house . . . your neighbor’s wife . . . nor anything that is your neighbor’s.” Exodus 20:17 We’ve all done it, and yet it has been called the sin no one commits. One priest declared that in fifty years of hearing confessions, not one person had ever confessed to committing this sin. Another minister declared that in decades of leading prayer meetings, no one ever mentioned it. What is this sin? It’s covetousness: desiring another’s possessions, eagerly wishing for what we don’t have. Covetousness is a root sin, a sin committed in the heart that can lead to sins committed outwardly, such as stealing. Covetousness is linked to greed, and the apostle Paul said greed was idolatry. You can see covetousness everywhere in our culture, including messages that pour out of Madison Avenue. Advertisers prey on our lack for their financial gain. Even bumper stickers often appeal to covetousness, such as the ones that say “Born to shop” or “Whoever dies with the most toys wins.” (I prefer the bumper sticker that says, “He that dies with the most toys wins—nothing.”) One day Abraham Lincoln was walking down the street in Springfield, Illinois, holding the hands of his two little boys who were wailing and crying. A neighbor stepped out of his doorway and said, “Mr. Lincoln, what’s the matter with the boys?” Answered Lincoln, “Just the same things that’s the matter with the whole world: I have three walnuts and each boy wants two!” So what’s the cure for covetousness? The Bible has the answer. Covetousness, essentially, is fixing our hearts and desires upon the things of this world. But the Bible says, “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:2). We need to replace covetousness with contentment, our greed with gratitude. Today ask God to show you whether covetousness is an unconfessed sin in your heart. Then ask for His grace to give you contentment with, and gratitude for, the gifts He has given you.

Another Boycott Target

Another Boycott Target by Bill Wilson Americans boycotting Target and Bud Light has had an impact, causing both companies to lose billions of dollars in sales and market caps. Moreover, causing them to hide their support—not end it, but move it out of the public eye. These companies are still donating hundreds of thousands of dollars to LGBTQ+++ organizations to fund their efforts in targeting children. Another company to add to the list is NIKE. The popular sports apparel company not only partakes in boosting the Chinese slave labor practices, but also is a strong supporter of the LGBTQ+++ agenda. NIKE even has an online toolkit to explain all the various sex terms and how to be an advocate for LGBTQ+++ in sports and at schools. Under the “Be True” branding, NIKE offers various “gender affirming” clothing articles promoted by athletes. NIKE posts on its website: “Be True is part of Nike’s broader commitment to the LGBTQIA2S+ community which focuses on recognition, advocacy, inspiration and education through community grants, employee engagement, storytelling, and product collections.” For example, the NIKE website promotes a new “We see you always, in all ways. The eye-catching design of Be True’s latest collection uses the artwork of trans man and artist Xavier Schipani to illustrate the euphoric feeling and joy of being free to express who you are.” This support by NIKE is nothing new. For example, in 2019, NIKE partnered with OUT Memphis by sponsoring a Queer Youth Field Day. The advert for the event boasts: “Our goal is to offer a fun, safe and supportive environment for all LGBTQ and Ally youth ages 13-25 to be active and have a chance to meet other like minded youth. In addition to the games we will be playing, there will be food, music, awards and resources available for youth. The first 80 individuals to pre-register are guaranteed a Nike swag bag! Come OUT and join us for a fabulous day!” The online flier came complete with a question and answer link and sign up forms for kids as young as 13. To be fair, NIKE is offering all this under the mantra of inclusivity—that, as NIKE says “All identities, bodies, and communities have the right to pursue their health and wellness goals safely, without concern or judgment.” Notwithstanding, NIKE is still targeting children and is partnering with the most radical and extreme LGBTQ+++ organizations—Human Rights Campaign, GLESN, and GLAAD—all of which target kids in school. GLESN promotes “transition” of minors without parental knowledge. Breitbart reports that NIKE has given some $600,000 to these groups to push their agenda in schools and communities. Psalm 127:3-4 says, “Children are indeed a heritage from the LORD, and the fruit of the womb is His reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are children born in one’s youth.” It’s a sad state of affairs when adults, corporations, schools and the government are slinging arrows at children rather than protecting them from predators.

SVR Asset

SVR Asset Burisma Founder Mykola Zlochevsky, Who Allegedly Bribed Joe and Hunter Biden, Is an SVR Asset - Red State Burisma Holdings founder Mykola Zlochevsky, who allegedly paid a total of $10 million in bribes to Joe and Hunter Biden in 2015 and 2016 in exchange for then-Vice President Joe Biden’s assistance in getting Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin fired, is believed to be an asset of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) by the United States intelligence community, according to a national security source speaking to RedState on condition of anonymity. The official said: “The US intelligence community has a high degree of confidence in their assessment of Zlochevsky as SVR. This is not a new assessment; the intelligence community under Obama knew this, and Obama was briefed on it. Joe Biden and Victoria Nuland were briefed as well.” In a June 2021 RedState exclusive story about the defection of Chinese counterintelligence official Dong Jingwei, it was reported that among the “terabytes” of data Jingwei brought with him to the United States was information related to “details of meetings US government officials had (perhaps unwittingly) with Chinese spies and members of Russia’s SVR.” With all of the evidence stacked against Hunter Biden and our current president Joe Biden, it is a catastrophe that Trump is the one being accused and ridiculed. We hope for an awakening in our people and an infusion of integrity into our media that the truth be exposed about who the real criminals are. May the Biden crime family and their cohorts be held accountable for their actions and that those that are innocent would walk free.

Defund Public Library

Defund Public Library Virginia Parents Call To Defund Public Library Over ‘Pornographic’ Children’s Books At County Board Meeting - The Daily Wire Hundreds of Catholic parents and others packed into a Warren County, Virginia, Board of Supervisors meeting last week to protest dozens of children’s books in the Front Royal public library they say contain inappropriate sexual content Nearly three dozen speakers called for defunding the Samuels Public Library in Front Royal if a list of 34 “pornographic” children’s books remain on the shelves. Many parents from the area’s robust Catholic community spoke during the public comment portion of the June 6 board meeting. “This is not literature. This is smut,” one Front Royal dad told the board after reading an excerpt about anal sex from a book, titled “This Book Is Gay.” A mom told the board that “sexually explicit content read during the wrong stage of development can do so much damage to a child’s psyche.” -

King Alfred's Battle Song

GOD'S people fight battles of one magnitude or another every day. May the words of this ancient battle song encourage you as you fight yours King Alfred's Battle Song "When the enemy comes in a'roarin' like a flood, Coveting the kingdom and hungering for blood,  The Lord will raise a standard up and lead His people , The Lord of Hosts will go before defeating every foe; defeating every foe. For the Lord is our defense, Jesus defend us, For the Lord is our defense, Jesu defend. ... Some men trust in chariots, some trust in the horse, But we will depend upon the Name of Christ our Lord,  The Lord has made my hands to war and my fingers to fight. The Lord lays low our enemies, but He raises us upright; He raises us upright. For the Lord is our defense, Jesus defend us, For the lord is our defense, Jesu defend. ... A thousand fall on my left hand, ten thousand to the right, But He will defend us from the arrow in the night.  Protect us from the terrors of the teeth of the devourer, Embue us with your Spirit, Lord, encompass us with power; encompass us with power. For the Lord is our defense, Jesus defend us, For the Lord is our defense, Jesu defend."

To Tell The Truth

To Tell The Truth by Dr. D. James Kennedy “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” Exodus 20:16 The Hare Krishna cult (a form of Hinduism) believes there are five circumstances in which one may lie and remain sinless: in marriage, to gratify lust, to save one’s life, to protect one’s property, and on behalf of Brahma (the highest caste of Hindus). But God is Truth, and He abhors and abominates all lying. The Ninth Commandment forbids lying on several levels. The worst level is perjury— lying about someone in a court of law. Our courts of law recognize this as a gross crime, but in Old Testament times, the people took it even more seriously. A witness who committed perjury would receive the same penalty as the criminal, such as death by stoning. Another level of lying includes the sins of talebearing, faultfinding, and criticizing. We must do nothing that will harm a person’s reputation. The third level is speaking falsely to someone. Just as the Ninth Commandment forbids these three levels of lying, it also requires the opposite positive actions of speaking truthfully and witnessing for God’s truth. We must faithfully witness for the Lord and His Gospel, even if it costs us our lives. (The word “witness” in Greek is marturia, from which we get the word “martyr.” This developed because many people in the New Testament lost their lives for bearing witness to the Gospel.) Jesus was the ultimate true witness. At the same time that Peter lied in the courtyard, saying, “I do not know this man,” Jesus was inside before the Sanhedrin bearing faithful witness to the truth. Have you lived in line with the Ninth Commandment? If not, choose today to avoid lying on all levels, to speak truthfully, and to witness to God’s truth.

Nation Gone Mad

Nation Gone Mad by Bill Wilson This nation has utterly gone mad. Instagram connecting a pedophile network. People protesting because children’s hospitals in Texas will not offer child gender modification. NIKE offering a whole new line of gender-affirming children’s clothing and conducting seminars across the country with admitted “queer” doctors that brag about child breast and genital removal. The governor of Arizona vetoing a bill that makes it illegal to film pornography in government buildings, such as middle schools. The Southern Poverty Law Center targeting parents’ rights groups as hate and anti-government groups.” Wake up America. These leftists, supported by Democratic Party politicians, are coming after your kids. The list goes on and on. The Biden Administration is actively seeking to overturn or defeat laws in the states that protect children from this trend of horror. It’s like there is this political force that has decided the only way to stay in office is to call good evil and evil good. And what about the corporations that are carrying the child predator mantra for the crazies in government? If you boycotted all of them, you wouldn’t be able to buy anything. It’s almost like the LGBTQ+++ juggernaut is the Beast in Revelation where you can’t buy or sell unless you have the mark of the Beast or the number of his name. They say this is about equality, but when you link all the agenda items together, it’s really about recruiting kids. Minor children are the ward and responsibility of their parents, not the government. But the public school system, the government schools, believe they are in charge of your child. What they do at school should stay at school. Parents are not welcome to intervene. We can see this in how the school policies are supporting this gender affirming and gender altering agenda. Even to the extent of counseling kids that their birth sex is not what they really are, showing them where to get birth control and abortions, pointing them toward sex change procedures—ALL WITHOUT PARENTAL KNOWLEDGE, let alone parental consent. If you have a child or grandchild in public schools, you had better be on your toes. Christian blogger Vern Phillips writes: “Our young are NOT being trained up in the way they should go (Psalm 22:6). The problem begins in the home. As a parent or grandparent, what are your children and grandchildren learning -- from you -- in teaching and teaching by example? Are you laying a spiritual foundation in them? The church is not teaching about, or equipping people with spiritual power. Sleepers, wake up! (Ephesians 5:14) We DESPERATELY need a spiritual awakening and revival in America -- NOW! If you agree, what are you doing to help bring that about?” As is written in Romans 13:12, “The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.” We are only victims of evil if we allow it to advance. Let’s do our part against evil in all its guises -- especially as they target children.

Stealing

Stealing by Dr. D. James Kennedy “You shall not steal.” Exodus 20:15 Some years ago, the state of Delaware opened a new turnpike. Motorists without exact change could pick up an envelope at the automatic toll booth, take it home, and mail the toll to the state at their convenience. During this experiment, which lasted twenty days, motorists took 26,000 envelopes but returned only 582. Some of the returned envelopes had paper and junk in them, but virtually none contained any money. What would you have done if given the same opportunity? As our nation moves further away from God, stealing is becoming epidemic. People learn to steal in part because of their upbringing. Once some parents spanked their little girl for stealing. Afterward that little girl dried her tears on a towel her parents had “taken” from a hotel. Schools have also played a part because they no longer post the Ten Commandments on their walls and because they teach that there are no absolute rights or wrongs in life. But as Christians, God’s Word is our standard, and Scripture clearly forbids us to steal. It also commands the opposite positive action—that we be honest and generous. Christ taught that a person must repay what he or she has stolen. In Luke 19, Zacchaeus paid back four times the amount he had stolen as a tax collector. God wants us to have the same repentant attitude when we take what isn’t ours. “But,” you say, “I’m not a thief. I’ve never stolen anything.” While most of us have never held up a bank, a large majority of us have helped ourselves to others’ belongings through seemingly harmless actions. Here are some “innocent” ways in which we break the Eighth Commandment (see if you can read this list without wincing): shoplifting, cheating for grades in school, cheating on taxes, ripping pages from library books, marrying or divorcing for money, taking kickbacks on contracts, faking insurance claims, stuffing ballot boxes, borrowing things and not returning them. We also rob God by not paying our tithes. Do you have a habit or two you need to break to fulfill God’s Eighth Commandment? Thankfully, if we’ve broken the commandment, God grants us mercy and forgiveness through Christ. May God help you be completely honest in all your dealings with others.