Trump Stand Against Terror

Trump Stand Against Terror by Bill Wilson

The media frenzy and anarchist globalist visceral over President Donald Trump's executive orders limiting immigration, visas, and refugees from nations of known terrorist activities exposed something far more dangerous to the American Republic than the rights of non-citizens and illegal immigrants-- it exposed the emergence of a possible Marxist Islamist shadow government.

The former president issued a divisive, seditious, and inflammatory statement against Trump's orders and his mouthpiece, the Huffington Post, printed it.

Trump even had to fire acting Attorney General, Sally Yates a holdover from the previous president until Trump's Attorney General is approved, for refusing to legally defend his executive orders.

The office of the ex-president, whose policies and legacy were soundly rejected by Americans in the November 2016 elections, issued the following statement through the Huffington Post:

[sic] the "president" is heartened by the level of engagement taking place in communities around the country. In his final speech as President, he spoke about the important role of citizens and how all Americans have a responsibility to be the guardians of our democracy-not just during an election but every day. Citizens exercising their Constitutional right to assemble, organize and have their voice heard by their elected officials is exactly what we expect to see when American values are at stake...the president fundamentally disagrees with the notion of discriminating against individuals because of their faith."

The ex-president is right in one respect: that American citizens need to be vocal, especially Christian citizens who see the common sense in enforcing the law, which the past president selectively did and the current President is trying to do.

Notwithstanding, President Trump is not singling out Muslims because of their faith, he is preventing for a limited time visits of people from states known to harbor terrorists.

He is taking measures to protect each of us from the murderous effect of terrorism.

The ex-president would appear to be trying to stir up division and rebellion by protecting possible terrorists in the name of American civil rights. Never mind, he did similar acts that the media hardly noticed.

As for the American people-a recent Rasmussen Poll suggests that some "57% of Likely U.S. Voters favor a temporary ban on refugees from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen until the federal government approves its ability to screen out potential terrorists from coming here...

Similarly, 56% favor a temporary block on visas prohibiting residents of Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen from entering the United States until the government approves its ability to screen for likely terrorists."

As 1 Samuel 15:23 says, "For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness (insubordination) is as iniquity and idolatry." This is a dangerous time for America as a seditious shadow government of Islamic Marxism supported by globalist anarchists may be in the making.

Pray and act.

 

Psalm 139

Psalm 139

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.

¹ You have searched me, Lord,
    and you know me.
² You know when I sit and when I rise;
    you perceive my thoughts from afar.
³ You discern my going out and my lying down;
    you are familiar with all my ways.
⁴ Before a word is on my tongue
    you, Lord, know it completely.
⁵ You hem me in behind and before,
    and you lay your hand upon me.
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
    too lofty for me to attain.

⁷ Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee from your presence?
⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
    if I settle on the far side of the sea,
¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me,
    your right hand will hold me fast.
¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
    and the light become night around me,”
¹² even the darkness will not be dark to you;
    the night will shine like the day,
    for darkness is as light to you.

¹³ For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.
¹⁷ How precious to me are your thoughts,^[a] God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
¹⁸ Were I to count them,
    they would outnumber the grains of sand—
    when I awake, I am still with you.

¹⁹ If only you, God, would slay the wicked!
    Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty!
²⁰ They speak of you with evil intent;
    your adversaries misuse your name.
²¹ Do I not hate those who hate you, Lord,
    and abhor those who are in rebellion against you?
²² I have nothing but hatred for them;
    I count them my enemies.
²³ Search me, God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
²⁴ See if there is any offensive way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting.

Biblical View re Travel Ban

Biblical View re Travel Ban by Dr. Jim Denison

Last night, President Trump removed his acting attorney general after she refused to defend his executive order restricting travel from seven Muslim-majority nations. Sally Q. Yates was deputy attorney general under President Obama and was serving until the Senate confirms Trump's nominee for the post, Sen. Jeff Sessions.

This is just the latest news in the ongoing controversy over the travel ban. Immigrants from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen, and Somalia are directly affected by the president's decision.

The administration notes that these nations were listed on the Obama-era Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015. President Trump blames the airport chaos that followed his executive order on computer outages at Delta Air Lines and political protests. He noted in a tweet that only 109 people out of 325,000 were detained and held for questioning. An additional 173 were denied entry on flights to the US from the seven countries listed in the order.

Arguments in favor of the ban:

• A four-month restriction on travel from these countries is needed to keep Americans safe.

• The chaos that resulted was a temporary consequence of preventing terrorists from traveling into the US.

• If advance warning or a grace period had been announced, terrorists could have traveled before the ban took effect.

• The order is not against Muslims in general—it does not affect more than forty other Muslim-majority countries.

Democratic leader Chuck Schumer saw the controversy very differently, calling the executive order "mean-spirited and un-American." The New York Times called the ban "illegal." Critics note that none of the 9/11 terrorists came from the seven banned countries. Protesters in many other countries are registering their opposition as well.

My purpose this morning is not to argue for one side or the other. Rather, it is to think biblically with you about three issues central to the debate.

One: Scripture encourages security.

The Bible consistently teaches the priority of self-defense (Luke 11:21; Exodus 22:2; Proverbs 25:26; Nehemiah 4:17–18; Psalm 82:4). We are told to respect landmarks (Proverbs 22:28; 23:10). Moses noted that when God "divided mankind, he fixed the borders of the people" (Deuteronomy 32:8). The Promised Land's borders are clearly delineated in Scripture (Ezekiel 47:13–23; Numbers 34:1–15).

Two: Our government is responsible for our safety.

Paul called the governing authority "the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer" (Romans 13:4). Our oath of office requires our president to "preserve, protect, and defend" the Constitution and those who live under it. While we can debate the degree to which the travel ban enhances or endangers our security, we must recognize the post-9/11 reality that meeting the needs of foreign travelers can come at the expense of American citizens. For this reason, by a ratio of 48 percent to 42 percent, American voters support suspending immigration from "terror prone" regions.

Three: Compassion expresses the heart of God.

Scripture consistently calls us to care for immigrants and foreigners (Exodus 22:21; Leviticus 19:33–34; Deuteronomy 10:18–19; Ezekiel 47:21–23; Zechariah 7:10; Malachi 3:5; Hebrews 13:2). Many professionals, children, and refugees are affected by the ban. Jesus stands in solidarity with those who are persecuted (Acts 9:4–5) and considers our service to those in need as service to our Lord (Matthew 25:31–40).

Balancing borders, safety, and compassion is, of course, the challenge of our day. However we view this divisive issue, the most practical way we can respond is to pray for our leaders and those affected by this controversy and to find ways to serve the 40.7 million immigrants and others in need.

 

 

Prayer Initiative

Prayer Inititive

You are the light of the world.  A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.  Matthew 5:14,16

His life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:4-5

Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law.  Proverbs 29:18

I am about to do something new.  See, I have already begun!  Do you not see it?  I will make a pathway through the wilderness.  I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.  Isaiah 43:19





Thank you, Lord, that in You America can once again become a "City on a Hill" - Your beacon to the world.

We petition You, Lord, to lead us according to Your plan, in Your timing, with the power of Your Holy Spirit.  We know You are infinitely bigger and brighter than the darkness before us.

We ask that You remind us to keep our eyes and minds focused on what is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise.  Help us to elevate conversations and relationships to those higher things.  May You be the prompter and completer of any daunting tasks before us.  In You only may we find our voice to speak, our strength to move.

We pray for a vision of victory over the assaults on America's faith in You and Your will, Your ways, and Your provision for our needs. Teach us, Lord how to best fight efforts to separate this country, culture and people from You.  Give us revelation power to lead our country back to You.

God in heaven, we pray that America may once again become a great beacon of Your standards.
As the world sees Your ways and Your love demonstrated in this great country, may all people be drawn to Your Son.

We pray for a compellingly attractive vision for the future of America based on the real America, founded and grounded on eternal truths.  Bring us back, O Lord, to our First Love.

~~~

“We live in an age of science and of abounding accumulation of material things. These did not create the Declaration. Our Declaration created them. The things of the spirit come first. Unless we cling to that, all our material prosperity, overwhelming though it may appear, will turn to a barren sceptre in our grasp. If we are to maintain the great heritage which has been bequeathed to us, we must be like-minded as the fathers who created it.  We must not sink into a pagan materialism. We must cultivate the reverence which they had for the things that are holy. We must follow the spiritual and moral leadership which they showed. We must keep replenished, that they may glow with a more compelling flame, the altar fires before which they worshipped.”  

President Calvin Coolidge – July 5, 1926

"Oh, eternal and everlasting God, direct my thoughts, words and work. Wash away my sins immaculate blood of the lamb and purge my heart by the Holy Spirit. Daily, frame me more and more in the like of thy son, Jesus Christ, that living in thy fear, and dying in thy favor, I may in thy appointed time obtain the resurrection of the justified unto eternal life. Bless, O Lord, the whole race of mankind and let the world be filled with the knowledge of thy son, Jesus Christ."  

George Washington's daily prayer

Perfect Plan...Perfect Time

Our loving LORD and SAVIOR has a perfect plan for the life of every believer.

May every believer trust HIM to bring that perfect plan to perfect fruition in HIS perfect time.

 

 

"Wait patiently for the LORD. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the LORD." Psalm 27:14

Mark Zuckerberg

Thank YOU, JESUS, for a man, wise in the ways of the world, who has recognized BIBLICAL TRUTH which says, "The fool has said in his heart, 'there is no GOD,' and in seeing that truth, has himself become truly wise,

After Abandoning Atheism, Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg Met With Pastors. Here’s Why.

After openly proclaiming that he’s no longer an atheist, Facebook founder Mark…

Try ...

Prayer for Perfect Unity

LORD JESUS, we come before YOU in sincere repentance for the wrongs that have been perpetrated against the Native American people. We ask YOU to plant in the hearts of our leaders the desire to rectify those wrongs.

We ask YOU to plant in the heart of those who have suffered injustice at our hands the forgiveness that only YOU can give to a man or to a people.

We pray that YOU allow YOUR HOLY SPIRIT to move so fully and so freely through us and through them that in our common bond of love for YOU we will find oneness of mind and heart, so finally, after all the years of separation, we can be truly one in faith -- that perfect unity may be our portion.

Band of sioux warriors

Pray

"The effectual, fervent prayer of the righteous person avails much."

There is so much division and disorder and divisiveness and destruction in our country at this juncture in time. A great segment of our population has swallowed the notion of open borders and unvetted immigration and taxpayer support for illegal aliens and refugees of every ilk that they have resorted to burning and looting and rioting to emphasize their beliefs.

What we are observing is the rise of lawlessness in a land that was established upon GOD'S immutable law, the BIBLE and incorporated into our governmental law, the CONSTITUTION.

What these proponents of violent dissent don't seem to grasp is that they are undoing themselves in the process of their devastation of law and order, for when they have succeeded in reducing the country to the lawless, open- border repository for people who have not come to be Americans but to be beneficiaries of American largess, to be terrorists and perpetrators of evil, this once great land of opportunity for the hard-working and freedom-loving people of the world will be a cesspool of lawlessness and violence.

Those who believe in the power of prayer before our HOLY GOD should employ the power HE has given to them, "that same power that raised JESUS from the dead and dwells within," Romans 8:11; they should pray that fervent prayer of II Chronicles 7:14 that says, "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 will I hear from Heaven and forgive their sin and heal their land."

LORD JESUS, we who believe in YOUR HOLY NAME come before YOU with our heart's cry in the behalf of our nation.

We thank YOU for our new president, a man whose heart appears to be submitted to godly policies for our land, and we ask YOU to prosper him in his endeavors to restore our nation to its integrity, to its prosperity, to its faith, to its compassion for those who espouse YOUR truth.

We ask YOU also, dear SAVIOR for a mighty awakening of faith in this land that will restore these people of the United States of America to the godly heritage bequeathed to them by their CHRISTIAN founding fathers. We pray that this great awakening will sweep through every city and hamlet of our nation; that it will wash through every home in the land--from the WHITE HOUSE to the most humble abode of the ordinary people.

We pray that those who are blind to truth, those who devastate the land and disobey the law will find their blind eyes opened to the destruction of their way and that they will turn around from godlessness to godliness; from destruction to construction...that they will no longer be consumed by evil but that they will be afire for righteousness.

We ask YOU to make this people holy, and wholly THINE.

It is in YOUR own mighty, matchless name we pray, JESUS. Amen.

 

 

 

What About You?

President Trump has been criticized incessantly by a biased media.

Don't allow the biased liberal media to brainwash you into accepting its fallacious opinions.

Let President Trump make the necessary choices, take the required actions, to protect our nation and to preserve our culture and to support the religion on which our founding fathers built our country.

 

 

 

 

You?

Have YOU been silent regarding the CHRISTIAN GENOCIDE that is occurring in the Middle East?

Have YOU become complacent to the atrocities that are being committed against your brothers and sisters on a daily basis?

Our nation's recent leaders turned a blind eye to the kidnapping and rape and slaughter of believers in CHRIST but our current president has promised to act in the behalf of people of faith in our SAVIOR.

Do YOU think GOD will hold YOU guiltless on that great eternal day if YOU do not step forward to proclaim your support of President Trump in his endeavor to stop the genocide, to rescue the CHRISTIANS?

United States Constitution

Brigitte Gabriel

Brigitte Gabriel saw her native land devastated by terrorists. She is quite cognizant of their intent for world domination.

Brigitte Gabriel fled to America for refuge so she understands the desire of freedom loving people for a place here; however, she also understands the desire for culture jihad that would infiltrate the nation and transform it radically into a muslim entity.

Brigitte Gabriel also understands the intent of radical islamists to wreak havoc as they kill people and destroy our CHRISTIAN culture. 

Brigitte Gabriel's words deserve your full attention.

Brigitte Gabriel added a new video.

 

Words to Ponder

"Do not grant the wicked their desires, Lord; do not let their plans succeed."   Psalms 140:8

Quotes of Presidents

“The foundations of our independence and our Government rest upon basic Christian convictions. Back of the authority of our laws is the authority of the Supreme Judge of the World, to whom we still appeal for their final justification...”Calvin Coolidge

“A preacher who helps you deny yourself ‘the pleasures of sin for a season,’ (Hebrews 11:24, 25), and opens your eyes to ‘GOD'S UNSPEAKABLE GIFT,’ (II Corinthians 9:15), will transform your life from the idle pursuits of the world to the eternal pursuits of of the WORD.”  S.D. 

Disciple the Nations

January 31
Disciple the Nations by Mike Bickle

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20

The church has the responsibility to be a "prophet to the nation" concerning injustice, repression, and the unrighteousness that eventually causes a nation to provoke the judgment of God.

Many times prophets to the nation speak from a secular platform, not necessarily as those who represent the church. Joseph and Daniel were two biblical examples of people who represented God in a position of secular power.

Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr. prophetically stood for justice and righteousness in our social order. Yet they were not seen as prophetic from the traditional position of being on a church staff.

It is my conviction that the church as an institution should be as a prophet standing for the advancement of righteousness without indebtedness to political party affiliations.

During the recent election, many Christians were in a quandary as regarded for whom they should vote. Many good people of both parties saw the flawed character of both leading candidates.

Selecting one was a difficult decision that drove some voters across party lines to vote for a candidate's platform rather than for political affiliation.

This is what believers must always do…they must align themselves with the principles of God rather than with the whims of mere men.

God's Powerful Solution...

God's powerful solution for
'the burden of fear'

Dr. Jim Denison

Last night, Denzel Washington and Emma Stone won Screen Actors Guild Awards for outstanding actor and actress in a leading film role. John Lithgow and Claire Foy won for their leading television roles in "The Crown," one of my favorite series of the year.

Over the weekend, Roger Federer won his eighteenth Grand Slam by defeating his friend Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open. Serena Williams won her twenty-third Grand Slam title at the same event. And the AFC defeated the NFC in last night's Pro Bowl as Lorenzo Alexander and Travis Kelce were named Most Valuable Players.

Most Monday mornings, such news would be the focus of our attention. But not this Monday morning. Today's headlines are dominated by President Trump's immigration order, a technology glitch that halted Delta Air Lines flights yesterday, and a Sunday evening attack on a Quebec City mosque that left six people dead and eight injured.

Former Soviet Union head Mikhail Gorbachev is making headlines with an op-ed in Time magazine titled, "It All Looks as if the World Is Preparing for War." He is deeply concerned about the militarization of politics and a new arms race and believes that "the burden of fear is felt by millions of people."

Such psychological distress is not good for us. In fact, researchers now say it may increase our chances of dying from cancer, news that makes our distress even worse.

This weekend, I was thinking about the juxtaposition of fear and faith and was struck by the number of people in Scripture who found divine strength in the most perilous times. Name some of them with me: Daniel in the lion's den, Paul in the Philippian jail, Moses standing before the Red Sea, Peter and John on trial before the Sanhedrin. You can add others. Each faced imminent death. And yet each found the faith to trust God with their fears.

What can they teach us today? Faith is a prayer God empowers.

Paul counseled us, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God" (Philippians 4:6). Moses taught us to "be strong and courageous" (Deuteronomy 31:6). Peter advised us to "cast all your anxieties on [God], because he cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7).

God always gives us what we need to do what he says. The key is not to try harder to do better. It is to admit our fear and ask God for the faith we lack. Then God redeems our challenges by using them as conduits of his courage.

Erasmus noted that Satan hates nothing so much as for evil to be used for good. So let's anger our enemy. Name the fears you face this morning. Ask God for the strength to trust them to his omnipotence. And know that your Father will give you what you lack to do what you must.

On the way to his martyrdom, St. Ignatius wrote to Christians in Smyrna, a perilous place to follow Jesus (cf. Revelation 2:9–10). Yet he could say to them, "I celebrate the glory of Jesus Christ as God, because he is responsible for your wisdom, well aware as I am of the perfection of your unshakable faith." Their "unshakable faith" was a gift bestowed by divine wisdom.

Enforcing the Law Causes Outrage

Enforcing the Law Causes Outrage by Bill Wilson

President Donald Trump, true to his word, is temporarily banning entry into the US of people originating from countries with known terrorist activity. He also is preventing entry of those who do not have a valid visa or green card from other nations such as Mexico.

In short, Trump is enforcing the immigration laws on the books, which have not been enforced for the better part of a decade. This has sparked outrage. Protests at international airports located in the US; protests at the US-Mexican border; the ACLU going to court to stop the executive orders; a federal judge blocking part of the order that is not allowing people with visas or green cards to enter the US.

People are angry because the law is being enforced.

The news media immediately went into "globalist" group-think and interviewed immigrant travelers who were stranded by the Trump E-Os and telling the good they were doing for America--heart specialists, doctoral candidates, people who had saved to get their education in America, etc.-painting a picture that these folks were unfairly being singled out by this nasty president who insists on enforcing the law.

There has not been one mention of the terrorist attacks in the US-- one per year since the previous president took office, involving those who had immigrated to this country or were homegrown products of not enforcing immigration laws or carefully vetting those coming from terrorist-sponsoring countries.

The Center for Immigration Studies analyzed data released by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. From 2010 to 2016, ICE released 124 aliens who have been charged with 135 new homicides--some have been released multiple times.

In 2014, ICE released a total of 30,558 criminal aliens. These aliens had already been convicted of 92,347 crimes before they were released by ICE. As of July 25, 2015, a total of 1,607 aliens had been convicted of a crime after being freed by ICE.

The total number of new crimes for which these aliens were convicted after ICE released them was 2,560, including: 298 dangerous drug offenses, 185 assaults, 40 weapons offenses, 28 sex offenses, 10 sex assaults, four kidnappings, two arsons, and one homicide. The numbers have escalated since the study.

The Bible is very clear about how to handle immigrants. Exodus 22:21 says, "You shall neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him."

This is repeated in Leviticus and Deuteronomy. In context, Exodus 12:49 says, "One law shall be to him that is home-born, and unto the foreigner who sojourns among you."

This is also repeated in Numbers and Leviticus. One law for all.

In this context it is God's law, but these people neither want to submit to the laws of the nation or to God's laws. If they are here illegally, they have broken the law as their first act.

Difficult as it is, policymakers must address this, otherwise our country is in danger. Trump is taking the first step.

It's not pretty enforcing laws that have not been enforced for a long time. But it is necessary to protect the rest of the population from the predators and terrorists. 

 

 

Today in History

Today in History

1882

FDR is born

On this day in 1882, future President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born.

Roosevelt grew up the only child in an upper middle-class family in Hyde Park, New York. He graduated from Harvard in 1904 and later received a degree from Columbia Law School. In 1905, Roosevelt married his influential future first lady, Eleanor, a niece of Theodore Roosevelt and a distant cousin.

Roosevelt’s early involvement in politics included a seat in the New York State Senate and the role of Woodrow Wilson’s assistant secretary of the Navy during World War I. In 1920, Roosevelt ran for vice president on the unsuccessful Democratic ticket against Warren Harding. He served as governor of New York from 1929 to1932, during which time he tested out various programs to help the needy that would later form the backbone of his New Deal social and economic policies.

Roosevelt’s personal appeal and a platform based on Wilsonian policies of a strong federal role in boosting industry and the public welfare led to his election as the 32nd president of the United States in 1933.

In 1921 at the age of 39, Roosevelt contracted a rare incidence of adult polio and lost the use of his legs. Although his disability was not a secret, the Roosevelt administration had a tacit agreement with photographers that they would avoid snapping images of the president being carried by assistants or using a wheelchair.

During this era the American public still considered paraplegics crippled or weak, a stereotype Roosevelt fought throughout his presidency. Known for his sense of humor and optimism in the face of adversity, it was perhaps his own personal challenges that allowed him to appreciate the struggles of others. In 1938, Roosevelt founded the March of Dimes to raise funds for polio research and rehabilitation.

In 1933, Roosevelt embarked on an ambitious effort to jump-start the economy through federal work and welfare policies, which included the creation of the Work Projects Administration (WPA), the Federal Industrial Recovery Act and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC).

The New Deal, as he dubbed his policies, was met in some quarters by opposition and controversy—Roosevelt was accused of practicing socialism in an era of rampant anti-communism, overreaching presidential power and being a big government spender. Some of Roosevelt’s programs were even ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. However, many of FDR’s New Deal reforms, including Social Security and the minimum wage, were maintained by successive conservative and liberal administrations.

At the same time as he faced unprecedented domestic problems, Roosevelt warily observed the rise of fascist dictatorships in Europe during the mid-1930s. While the German army stormed across Europe, Roosevelt tried to appease the American public’s entrenched isolationism by only gradually increasing U.S. aid to democratic European nations.

As the war in Europe progressed, Roosevelt stepped up financial and humanitarian aid to Great Britain and France. When it looked as if Hitler might invade Britain after the saturation bombing of London, Roosevelt boldly launched the lend-lease program early in 1941, which promised massive weapons and war-material exports to Britain.

During one of his signature fireside chat radio addresses, Roosevelt referred to the U.S. as an arsenal of democracy to help explain America’s increasing involvement in the European war and galvanize public support for the lend-lease program.

When Japan bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war and American industry then underwent a massive conversion to defense production. During the war, Roosevelt kept a tight rein on labor disputes between management and labor and implemented stringent rationing.

He worked closely with Allied leaders to plan the liberation of Europe, which was led by American troops.

In delicate war-time negotiations with Stalin, Roosevelt recognized the strategic importance of relying on the Soviet Union to divert Hitler’s attention away from an Allied liberation of Europe. At the same time, Roosevelt earned harsh criticism at home and among the Allies for accommodating the communist leader. Many saw Roosevelt’s concessions to Stalin regarding post-war territorial issues as a violation of democratic principles.

Critics blamed Roosevelt for giving Stalin most of Eastern Europe, thus ensuring the Soviet Union’s rise to world-power status during the Cold War. In addition, post-war conspiracy theorists suggested Roosevelt knew of Japan’s plan to bomb Pearl Harbor in advance and let it go forward to galvanize Americans’ support for the war. He was also accused of being insensitive to the plight of Jews during the Holocaust. Yet Roosevelt’s war-time diplomacy did have its successes–it contributed to the defeat of fascist Nazi Germany and Japan and ended in the formation of the United Nations.

In all, Roosevelt served four terms–his election to a third and fourth term were unprecedented–and his presidency spanned two of the nation’s greatest crises, the Great Depression and the Second World War, a testament to his popularity and the faith he was able to inspire in the American people. (It was only a decade later that Congress adopted the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, which limits presidents to two consecutive terms.)

Roosevelt’s health deteriorated rapidly toward the end of the war and he died on April 12, 1945, of a stroke at his home in Warm Springs, Georgia, leaving Vice President Harry Truman to see the U.S. to victory.

Whether reviled as a near-socialist or a beloved as a New Deal warrior for the people, Roosevelt’s influence on American politics was significant and longstanding–every subsequent president has invoked his name at one point or another in support of his own policies.