Christian Decline

Christian Decline by Bill Wilson

For the first time in history, those who said they were “Christian” in the most recent census of the United Kingdom and Wales has dropped to 46.2% of the population. It means that some 6.2 million people have walked away from Christianity in the past decade, down from 59.3% in the previous census. Hindus increased by 636,000; Sikhs increased by 101,000; Islam increased by 1.2 million; and Judaism increased by 6,000. Christianity was the only religion that decreased, nosediving by the millions. The 6.2 million that left Christianity didn’t necessarily choose another religion. The gains in other religions combined only totaled 1.943 million. The fastest growing religion in the UK and Wales is “no religion.” 

Those who said they were “no religion” grew by 8.1 million to 37.2% of the UK and Wales population. In other words, Christianity not only lost 6.2 million people in the last decade, but nearly an additional two million have decided they are “no religion.” While Christianity is still the majority religion in the UK and Wales, it is losing ground at an alarming rate. These are not just statistics, they are souls. Once a nation that sought to evangelize the world and the religious leaders were so powerful that they essentially ran the government, now are in rapid decline. Nearly 40% of the population is choosing no religion at all, signaling a great failure of the “church.”

What we see in Europe also is happening in America as large numbers of youth and others are leaving the “church.” A February 2018 Barna Research study indicated that 61% of Christian teens say “I find God elsewhere and 64% of non-Christian teens say “church is not relevant to me personally.” Many Christian commentators conclude that churches are distorting the teachings of the Bible, have over-philosophized scripture, and teach an extra-biblical, emotional and self-indulgent version of the gospel—enough so that they have lost an estimated 60% of millennials who were raised in the church. This apathy about church carries over to political and societal beliefs that are fomenting a decline in society, as exit polls indicate youth ages 18-29 are the only age group in which a strong majority support candidates with anti-biblical views.

People are rejecting the most precious gift ever bestowed on mankind—the gift of salvation. In John 3:19, Christ says, “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” 

Rejecting the light of Christ is the gravest of condemnation that mankind can bring upon itself. But what we are experiencing before us is prophetic. 2 Thessalonians 2:3 says, “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come (the return of Christ), except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.” 

There is a great falling away in progress. The “church” shoulders a lot of the blame, but those who knowingly reject the gift of salvation are responsible for their own fate. 

The Name of JESUS

 

The Name of Jesus by Dr. D. James Kennedy

Therefore God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name which is above every name, …

— Philippians 2:9

When the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, he told specifically what the child to come was to be named: “you will … call his name JESUS” (Luke 1:31). The angel was but a messenger of God, who Himself chose the name of His one and only Son.

His name was Jesus. But why Jesus? Of course, to understand that, we would have to understand that Jesus is an English word. The New Testament and the Old Testament were not written originally in English, but in Hebrew and Greek, respectively. We get the name from the Greek.

His name was Jehoshua, or as we would say it, Joshua, meaning savior. That was the name of a great champion, a great hero of the Old Testament Hebrew people. It was the name of the great conqueror, the captain of the Lord’s hosts, who led the people of God into the promised land.

And so our Savior will lead us into the promised land.

At the name of Jesus, sorrow and sadness flees. At the name of Jesus, sinners are cleansed and converted. At the name of Jesus, saints are gladdened and strengthened. At the name of Jesus, evil is banished and fear must flee. At the name of Jesus, the wounded are made whole.

Of Public Health and Tyranny

 Of Public Health and Tyranny by Bill Wilson

Fearmongering in the guise of public health and safety has become a commonplace lever to institute tyranny in America. We are seeing this play out on a daily basis with government policies toward what is considered the many aspects of public health. The government, big business, and the mainstream media continue to collaborate on a fear narrative to control where citizens go, what they can say, even whether they can work in their desired profession—all in the name of protecting citizens from, in COVID’s case, a contagion where statistics indicate there is less than a one percent chance of mortality. But there is even a more sinister movement designed to make everyone comply with government authority. 

In 1961, future president Ronald Reagan said, “One of the traditional methods of imposing statism or socialism on a people has been by way of medicine. It's very easy to disguise a medical program as a humanitarian project, most people are a little reluctant to oppose anything that suggests medical care for people who possibly can't afford it." Reagan reasoned that once a government or a tyrannical power has your medical information, it can dictate your life or diminish you. It stands to reason, then, that Reagan would have said, “I told you so” if he had lived long enough to see what has happened in America since Obamacare passed the Senate without a single Republican vote.

This is a threat to every freedom you have because the government has installed the apparatus to oppress you. Let’s face it: socialist healthcare is performing exactly as those of us who opposed it said it would—it isn’t. Worse yet, it has established a prescription of fear as the cure for everything. No wonder the pharmaceutical companies agreed to support it—vaccines and pills are more common than common sense. Our wellbeing has been hijacked by government. The latest Biden Administration announcement essentially turns nursing homes into forced COVID education camps to coerce senior citizens into taking an experimental shot that is ineffective and may do them more harm than good.

This extends to almost every aspect of life. Public schools and universities are leveraging their positions to normalize the LGBTQ+ agenda as essential to “behavioral health.” Big business, mainstream media and government are leveraging their power to censor dissent on COVID mandates, coercion, and science claiming it is “disinformation/misinformation.” The threat of government funding being withheld from schools, hospitals, nursing homes, even your Social Security and Medicare wields the fear of the government god.We are seeing Reagan’s warning first-hand. This is a threat to every freedom you have because the government is installing the apparatus to oppress you. Do as Ephesians 6:20 urges: “that therein I may speak boldly as I ought to speak.” Your religious and personal freedoms are on the line.

The Light of the World

 

The Light of the World by Dr. D. James Kennedy

… the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.      1 John 2:8

Jesus did not say “I am one of many lights of the world;” He did not even say, “I am the light of the Jews;” or yet, “I am the light of the Gentiles;” nor did He declare “I bring unto you light.” But rather, He said without apology, “I am the light of the world.” What a tremendous and bold statement.

The occasion that brought it forth was the Feast of the Tabernacles. Jesus took every opportunity to use that which was about Him to illustrate and make clear His teaching. One of the purposes of this ceremony was to remind the Jewish people of the pillar of fire, which had gone before them throughout those desert wanderings. 

They had set up in the outer courtyard (the Court of Women) of the Temple two giant candelabra. Maimonides tells us that they were fifty cubits high, which is seventy-five feet. There, thousands of women carrying torches formed a procession into that court from Jerusalem and around this they enacted this pageant to remind them of the presence of God in that pillar of fire centuries before.

God’s presence is not only symbolized by light, He is the “Father of Lights,” and into our dark world comes Jesus who declares: “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12).

Galatians 6:2

 

Who Fact Checks the Fact Checkers?

 Who Fact Checks the Fact Checkers by Bill Wilson

In all the 20 years of writing and publishing this post, it never has been censored. Even though many controversial topics have been covered from a biblical worldview. Through the entire COVID episode of unconstitutional lockdowns and mandates, quarantining of healthy people, coercing the public through fear and leveraging an unholy alliance of business, media and government to take an experimental shot that didn’t work as advertised and is known now to have many side effects, I was not censored. I was able to cover both sides, or all sides, of the many heated debates with clear documentation. Last week, however, that track record was broken. I was censored. The column “Biden Targets Senior Citizens” was published on Wednesday, November 23 through all the normal channels. The column quoted word for word the White House fact sheet on how it planned to launch a nearly half-billion dollar marketing campaign to get people to take the COVID shot. Word for word on how the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services was going to issue new regulations to police senior centers and nursing homes to hold them accountable for the proper “education” of residents to take the booster shot.  That “nursing homes with low vaccination rates will be referred to state survey agencies for close scrutiny, and that facilities that do not comply with the requirement to offer and educate on the benefit of lifesaving COVID-19 vaccinations will face enforcement actions.” The column also quoted from several peer-reviewed studies from reputable sources about the risks and effectiveness of the COVID shot. Documented sources included MIT, the International Journal of Vaccine Theory, Practice and Research, the New England Journal of Medicine, the UK government Vaccine Surveillance report, and the VAERs reporting system. Yet when the column was posted to Twitter and Facebook, crickets. Nothing. Two days go by and nothing. Usually these posts appear immediately. I decided to try to post again, but editing out the obvious statement about how the Biden Administration was conducting this campaign despite widespread studies questioning the shot’s efficacy and safety.  When I reposted the edited version to Facebook, it posted but with immediate warnings: “Missing context Independent fact-checkers say this information could mislead people”; “Visit the COVID-19 Information Center for vaccine resources”; “Fact Check: CDC's VAERS 'Reports' Are NOT Solid Proof of Vaccine Injuries Or Deaths -- Just Starting Point for CDC, FDA Investigators” and this directed readers to a website called “leadstories.com”. Had I not edited the content and reposted, the column would not have been read on Facebook or on Twitter. And when it was reposted, Facebook put warnings all over it to make it look like it was not credible. This is how truth is censored. It is how science is censored. And it is how people are deceived by agenda-programed censor machines.  Christ said in Matthew 24:4, “Take heed that no man deceive you.” We all have to be on guard, 24-7 because we don’t know who fact checks the fact checkers.

Indirect Idolatry

 

Indirect Idolatry by Dr. D. James Kennedy

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

— Deuteronomy 6:5

Our gods today are usually what we regard as important, such as financial success or fame. What is it that is most important to your life? There are some people for whom their house is their god or even their car—all of their time, energy and labor centers around what they love best. There is nothing wrong with keeping a house, but when you make a house a god, there is something very wrong with that.

For some people their family is their god. Now families are wonderful. But I would not think of making my family my god. God has a way of throwing images and idols down on their faces in the dirt. That is why we must guard our hearts.

The gods of our age are materialism, self-love, hedonism, and all other “isms.” An idol is anything we set before us that is more important than God and anything we love more than Him.

II Corinthians 5:21

 

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
2 Corinthians 5:21

Either Way, We Win

 

JESUS Is.....

 

This Is Love

 

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
1 John 4:10 

YOU Pierced HIS Heart

 

Lessons Endure

 Lessons Endure by Dr. Jim Denison

In embracing the myths about the first Thanksgiving, we can miss the lessons the Pilgrims have to teach us.

Robert Tracy McKenzie, a history professor at Wheaton College, examines the historical record and debunks the myths in The First Thanksgiving: What the Real Story Tells Us About Loving God and Learning from History.

McKenzie notes that only one firsthand account of the celebration has survived, in a letter written by Edward Winslow, an assistant to Plymouth Colony Governor William Bradford. A little more than one hundred words long, the letter contains few details other than that the Pilgrims furnished fowl and the Wampanoag tribesmen brought venison.

The picture that emerges of that feast in 1621 differs in several respects from the way Americans imagine and celebrate it today.

What really happened at the first Thanksgiving

Rather than the fourth Thursday in November, the celebration likely occurred in late September or early October, after the harvest.

There’s no evidence turkey was on the menu. Winslow’s account says only that four of the Pilgrims “in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week.” Although turkeys were plentiful in the area, McKenzie writes, “It is just as conceivable that the Pilgrims dined on ducks or geese—or even swans,” which were considered a delicacy.

They also could have eaten fish, shellfish, or eels. “The ‘trimmings,’ which were less plentiful, would have included Indian corn (ground and used to make porridge or ‘succotash’) as well as what the Pilgrims called ‘sallet herbs’: vegetables from their gardens such as collard greens, parsnips, turnips, carrots, onions, spinach, and cabbage,” McKenzie speculates.

He considers it a mistake to view the feast as a “multicultural celebration” because of a history of mutual distrust. “It was likely tense at best,” McKenzie writes, and the Wampanoag may have shown up uninvited.

Rather than sitting around tables, as legend would have it, everyone likely sat on the ground outside. The buildings in Plymouth were tiny, with few tables and chairs.

And the Pilgrims normally didn’t dress in black and white. They were more apt to wear bright clothing, and common folk rarely wore buckles on their hats, belts, and shoes in the 1620s.

The Pilgrims didn’t envision Thanksgiving as an annual holiday. Instead, they believed that, on occasion, Scripture allowed for days of thanksgiving. They opposed the numerous holy days imposed by the Catholic and Anglican churches and believed that only God could establish religious holidays.

Hijacking the Pilgrims

In embellishing the facts, McKenzie writes that we also have shown a disturbing tendency “to graft the Pilgrims and the First Thanksgiving onto the larger story of America” and enlist “them in causes they wouldn’t have supported.”

“We have distorted the Pilgrims’ story, clothing them with modern American values and making the future United States—not heaven—their true promised land,” he adds.

For example:

• Theodore Roosevelt implied the Pilgrims would have favored regulating Big Business.
• Look magazine called the Pilgrims “dissidents” and “commune-builders” during the turbulent 1960s.
• Life magazine said in a Thanksgiving issue in World War II that the Pilgrims “waged hard, offensive wars” while remembering that “victory comes from God.”
• Lyndon Johnson appealed to “the principles that the early Pilgrims forged” in explaining the Vietnam War.
• Bill Clinton compared the Pilgrims sitting down with the Wampanoag to efforts for a “comprehensive peace in the Middle East.”

McKenzie attempts to set the record straight: “We are ‘strangers’ and ‘aliens’ here on earth—yes, even in the United States—and this means, in turn, that we should expect the values of our host country to differ from those of our homeland,” he writes.

We have forgotten the true meaning of “pilgrim”—a person on a sacred journey in a foreign land—and, McKenzie notes, confused patriotism with piety.

The Pilgrims never would have made that sort of mistake.

No Other Gods

 

No Other Gods by Dr. D. James Kennedy

Then in every city in Judah he made high places to make offerings to other gods. So he provoked the Lord God of his fathers.      2 Chronicles 28:25

The first of the Ten Commandments, “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3), requires us to worship God exclusively. Christianity, like Judaism, is an exclusive religion. It is not pluralistic; it is not tolerant.

Certainly the Old Testament and New Testament writers were not tolerant of other gods. God Almighty is not tolerant of other gods. He says with absolute clarity: “You shall have no other gods before Me.” 

All of the other gods, said the apostle Paul, and all of their images are simply demons, and God would not have us to have fellowship with demons.

Even when people try to worship the true God through an idol, it becomes idolatry, as with the golden calf. Aaron declared, “Tomorrow will be a feast to the Lord.” So they rose up early on the next day, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play” (Exodus 32:5–6).

They were worshiping Jehovah through the calf; they weren’t worshiping the calf. The Bible makes it abundantly clear that idolatry is either the worshiping of images or pictures or statues—or the worship of the true God through or by means of images. Either one of them is equally idolatry.

Joy Reid's Lies

 Joy Reid's Lies by Bill Wilson

MSNBC’s Joy Reid Wednesday told viewers on “The Reid Out” that Republicans were using Thanksgiving as a “simplistic fairytale” to cover up for America being founded on “genocide” and “violence.” She went on to imply that Republicans were responsible for the slave trade, the Jim Crow South after the Civil War and the Ku Klux Klan. Reid’s remarks are most offensive, revisionist and false.  She said, “It is a holiday riddled with historical inaccuracies. It is built on this myth that the indigenous welcomed their colonizers with open arms and ears of corn. A simplistic fairytale interpretation of a 1621 encounter between indigenous tribes and English settlers that erases the genocide that followed.”

She continued, “It’s the truth that Republicans want banned from our textbooks. Because here is the secret they want so desperately to keep, we are a country founded on violence. Our birth was violent. In 1619, a ship with more than 20 enslaved Africans landed in Virginia, ushering in two centuries of American slavery that left millions in chains or dead. When those humans in bondage were finally free, a terrorist organization that was a card-carrying member of polite society, The Ku Klux Klan, picked up where the Civil War ended using violence to maintain white supremacy…The Klan is still active, and as Americans, we continue to choose violence. We are a country that chooses violence over and over again. There is no facet of American society that is untouched by it.”

For Ms. Reid’s information, the Native Americans and Pilgrims peacefully joined with each other in community. They hunted together, traded with one another, and defended one another against hostiles of both races. This is documented in Of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford, the only written historic account. There wasn’t even a Republican Party until the time of Abraham Lincoln. The slave institution was sustained by Southern Democrats who also organized to disenfranchise black Americans with Jim Crow laws after the Civil War. From 1865 to the late 1960s, these laws oppressed black voting, mandated segregation of public schools, public places, public transportation, housing, restrooms, drinking fountains, and restaurants. Many residuals of these laws still remain. These laws were enforced by the Democrat-dominated Ku Klux Klan. 

Instead of bringing people together on Thanksgiving, a uniquely American holiday celebrating life-giving harvest and the peace of God, Joy Reid offensively and falsely weaponize it with politics. In reality, the party she supports was far more responsible for the horrors of slavery and the terrors of the KKK and Jim Crow laws. She should be ashamed of herself and MSNBC should penalize her for her blatant attempt to stir hate and division. But we know that won’t happen because MSNBC agrees that America is not a great country founded on Christ-centric principles and laws. The bitter politically correct crowd has it wrong.  The first Thanksgiving, as it was then and is today, is a 1 Chronicles 16:34 day, “O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good; for his mercy endures for ever.” And don’t let the lies of deceivers spoil it. 

Pilgrims and Socialism

 Pilgrims and Socialism

… let him labor, working with his hands things which are good, that he may have something to share with him who is in need.      Ephesians 4:28

In the earliest days of the Pilgrims a type of communism was forced on them by The London Company, which financed their passage to the New World. (By the way, the Pilgrims were charged an interest of 45 percent, and they paid off every nickel.) This company required the Pilgrims to have a communal or socialistic government in which everything was to be brought into a common barn. Nobody owned any property. It would be from each according to his ability to each according to his need—long before Karl Marx wrote similar words.

The result: unhappy colonists and poor harvests. Gov. William Bradford wrote that the imposed socialism “was found to breed much confusion and discontent, and to retard much employment which would have been to the general benefit and comfort.”

So he changed the system. Now it was each man for himself. A piece of ground was given to every family, and the increase was astonishing. Bradford wrote that “It made all hands very industrious, so that much more corn was planted than otherwise would have been by any means the Governor or any other could devise.” That led to thanksgiving celebrations filled with abundance—once free enterprise replaced communism.

Celebrate Thanksgiving

 Celebrate Thanksgiving

We have just celebrated the holiday of Thanksgiving.  It is largely considered as merely the precursor to Christmas for we have forgotten its roots in our culture.

Thanksgiving is more than pardoning a turkey at the White House and serving its less fortunate relatives with boundless side dishes in every home throughout the land.  Thanksgiving is a time when each of us should bow before our wondrous Savior and thank HIM for delivering us from the evil that dwells within us.  

Each of us is steeped in sin and CHRIST'S life and propitiatory death in our behalf allows us to escape the pangs of eternal separation from our GOD who is too holy to look upon our sin.

May we each pray the prayer of II Chronicles 7:14 -- "IF MY PEOPLE, WHO AEE 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."

Each of us individually, and our land as a whole, are in desperate need of redemption.  May we implore Him to deliver us.  May we not neglect so great a salvation.

Thanksgiving

 Thanksgiving by Dr. D. James Kennedy

You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.      Matthew 5:14

Thanksgiving is an annual reminder of America’s Christian roots. It goes back to the Pilgrims, who gave thanks to God. Were they thankful for the abundance of their crops? No. There was no abundance. The average meal that winter consisted of five hard kernels of corn on the plate. Period. Just about 50 percent of all of the Pilgrims died in that first winter of 1621.

They had landed in early December of 1620, and it was the fall of 1621. Half of them are gone. There was virtually not a family left who had not lost a husband or a wife or a child. They had little food. Many were still sick. But they were men and women of God's Holy Book, the BIBLE. They believed the Word of God.

There is nothing Americans cherish more than their freedom; and the origins of that freedom can be traced directly back to the Pilgrims. Religious freedom (the right of a people to own and read the Bible, to worship according to conscience, to form their own church); political freedom (the right of a people to frame their own constitution and form their own government); even economic freedom (the right to own one’s own property and keep the fruit of one’s labors)—all these freedoms in America began with the Pilgrims.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

                               HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Add to the list below -- things for which YOU are thankful:

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Idolatry

 

Idolatry by Dr. D. James Kennedy

With their silver and gold, they made idols, so that they will be cut off.     Hosea 8:4

There are more denunciations of idolatry than any other sin in the Bible. Though this sin runs deep in the human psyche, and there is a great tendency to idolatry in the human heart, and though this dark stream seems to flow dangerously in the cold subterranean caverns of the fallen soul, it is something that has been followed by a continual stream of condemnation and denunciation by poets and prophets, by preachers and apostles, down through the centuries.

Not only did they worship idols in Moses’ day, but we read further on that Jeroboam doubled the sin by creating a golden calf in Dan and another in Bethel for the people to worship. All over Israel there arose on the high places—on every hill, in every clump of trees—an altar so people could rush up the hills and worship their gods and bring down upon themselves the increasing wrath of almighty God until at length the patience of God was exhausted.

The hordes of Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar swept across the plains of Israel, broke down the walls of Jerusalem, and led the people off into captivity. It was in that burning furnace of slavery in Babylon that the last dredges of idolatry were largely burned away.

59 Years Ago

 President John F. Kennedy was assassinated 59 years ago today.

Lessons of 1620

 Lessons of 1620  by Bill Wilson

My 13th great grandfather was William Bradford, co writer of the Mayflower Compact and eventual leader of the Pilgrims who came to America on the Mayflower in 1620. There were some 102 passengers and about 30 crewmen on that ship that braved horrible weather, disease, and other hardships to come to this new place that later would become the greatest Christian nation in the world. Bradford wrote, “So they committed themselves to the will of God, and resolved to proceed. In several of these storms the wind was so strong and the seas so high that they could not carry a knot of sail, but were forced to hull for many days.” The trip in of itself to find a place to worship without persecution was most difficult.

Once landed, it was no picnic either. Bradford says, “But soon a most lamentable blow fell upon them. In two or three month’s time half of their company died...scarcely 50 remained, and sometimes two or three persons died in a day. In the time of worst distress, there were but six or seven sound persons, who, to their great commendation be it spoken, spared no pains night or day, but with great toil and at the risk of their own health, fetched wood, made fires, prepared food for the sick, made their beds, washed their infected clothes, dressed and undressed them; in a word did all the homely and necessary services for them which dainty and queasy stomachs cannot endure to hear mentioned.”

“...And what I have said of these few, I should say of many others who died in this general visitation, and others yet living, that while they had health or strength, they forsook none that had need of them. I doubt not that their recompense is with the Lord.” Their Virginia Company Charter, however, called for common ownership of land, property, food, drink, clothing, and provisions. Bradford saw that this socialist experiment was detrimental to the colony because it inspired laziness and a lack of productivity. Bradford then did away with this structure, giving ownership of land to each person and two days a week for “their own private employment.” This was the first capitalist system and the colony then prospered.

The headlines 402 years later are that over 41 million Americans (the total population of California and Connecticut combined) will eat their Thanksgiving dinner purchased by food stamps. Liberals say without the government, these people would starve. No, I don’t believe it. Without the government, the citizens across the land would be blessed as the Pilgrims were by reaching out to their neighbor and helping him from the goodness of their hearts. We have come full circle in 400 years. We are now in a stage of socialism where the government is truly robbing its citizenry of blessing others, promoting laziness and lack of productivity. 

But you know, just as Bradford knew in 1621, government won’t save you. Only the Lord will save you. He chooses to do it through his people. As written in 2 Corinthians 9:11-12, “Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causes through us thanksgiving to God. For the administration of this service not only supplies the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God.” How much spiritual starvation and dependency on the false god of government will it take before we begin to collectively change our hearts? Like Bradford, we who know the truth, must lead in truth.

Thank You to Our Troops

 

Comfort My People

 

Comfort My People by Dr. D. James Kennedy

… for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.      Psalm 23:4

Some people are amazed to find out that the great and the mighty of the world are often in need of comfort and consolation. Handel began his Messiah with the words “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people” because this verse of Scripture was dear to his heart. Luther pondered Isaiah 40 over and over again when he was in prison at the castle in Wartburg. Oliver Cromwell also went to it for help in time of storm. The great Daniel Webster was mighty in debate, and yet his heart was often grieved, and he read this passage again and again. Tennyson called it one of the five great classics in the Old Testament record.

We all need comfort. High and low, prince and pauper, none of us can live life to the full without this solace from Him who is the God of all comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3).

One young seminarian was filled with vim and vigor. He was coming like Daniel to the judgment and was ready to let his flock have it. He told an elderly minister who replied, “But don’t forget to preach comfort. Remember that those people in the pews have heartaches and problems and fears. Always preach comfort.” 

Indeed, in this day how great is that need for comfort!

Let us pour out words of comfort to those around us and let us demonstrate the power of those words by the living epistle of our lives that are read by everyone whose life touches ours.

II Timothy 4:18

 

Living in God's Presence

 

Living in God’s Presence  by Dr. D. James Kennedy

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.  Psalm 91:1

Brother Lawrence, who wrote the famous little booklet, The Practice of the Presence of God, made that marvelous discovery to such a degree that he became the wonder of Europe. Kings and princes, cardinals and popes visited him to learn his secret. Was he a philosopher? A count? A theologian? No, he was a dishwasher. That’s right. A dishwasher and a waiter.

Kings visited him because his reputation had spread all over the world. A reputation for what? For peace—for an almost miraculous serenity in the midst of the clamoring of the people who were crying for his services and complaining about this and that and the other. In spite of all of the demands on him, he seemed to float through life in a bubble of peace.

In his marvelous booklet, Brother Lawrence tells how through much trial, effort, and labor, he learned how to stay his mind upon God. Then, when he was turned away from whatever might demand his immediate attention, his mind automatically seemed to turn to its resting place and his thoughts to God. His mind was stayed on God, and God kept him in perfect peace.

Heirs with Christ

 

Heirs with Christ by Dr. D. James Kennedy

… to an incorruptible and undefiled inheritance that does not fade away, kept in heaven for you. 1 Peter 1:4

I was talking recently in my office to a young lady who had just accepted Christ. I told her that she was now the child of God and that she was, furthermore, the heir of God. I said, “Do you realize that you have just become an heiress?”

She looked very puzzled, so I opened my Bible to the New Testament and showed her the front page which had the heading on it, “The New Testament of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.” I said, “Did you notice the word? This is the last will and testament of Almighty God, and you have become His heir. You are written into God’s will. The Bible says that we are the heirs of God, and joint heirs with Jesus Christ.”

Well, it would be, I suppose, a great thing to be written into the will of some fabulously wealthy man. However, my friends, we have something more marvelous than that. We are written into the will of God, if we have received Jesus Christ and we belong to Him. We are the heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. All things are ours; whether in this life or the world to come (see I Corinthians 3:21-23), and we know that “My God shall supply all of your needs out of His riches in glory” (Philippians 4:19).

Impact

 

Impact by Dr. D. James Kennedy

These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, …   Acts 17:6

In many places in the world, Christians have made a tremendous impact for good. A handful of people can help ignite a city. Today, a city full of Christians seems to have little impact.

Why is the Church seemingly so impotent in today’s society, whereas in the early centuries, it transformed the pagan Roman Empire? One of the reasons could be that these people took the lordship of Jesus Christ seriously. They committed themselves to Him as Lord. They knew what a lord was. In the Roman world, to be a servant, doulos, meant that you gave up your will completely; you had no preferences of what you would like yourself. You were the servant of a master, the kurios.

Where are the Christians in our society? It just so happens that evangelical Christianity is generally not making the laws in the Senate or in the Congress; they are not sitting on the Supreme Court; they are not generally the ones making motion pictures in Hollywood; they are not the ones running our television networks.

This is something very obvious. Though Christianity is growing in this country, it is still far from being the controlling force or even that influential.

The question is not a matter of numbers, but the level of commitment.

Isaiah 53:5

 ISAIAH 53:5

HE was wounded for our transgressions, HE was bruised for our iniquities.  The chastisement of our peace is upon HIM, and by HIS stripes, we are HEALED.

Care for Them

 

Whose Reality?

 

Whose Reality? by Dr. D. James Kennedy

To the pure, all things are pure. But to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure. Even their minds and consciences are defiled.      Titus 1:15

Hollywood producers may tell you, “Well, you see, we are just a reflection of reality. We’re just revealing what the country is like.”

The truth of the matter is that they do reflect a portion of reality. They reflect what is going on in the gutter, what is going on in the sewer and a few of the other worst places in the country. Then they spread that vileness over the entire nation. They are not just reflecting reality. They are pushing their favorite kind of reality—the reality that appeals to their depraved minds.

We do not have to accept their version of reality. Yes, there is evil, and yes, there is ugliness. But we as Christians know that purity, innocence, goodness, and kindness exist too.

Just recently there has been a trend of good and moral movies coming and generally doing well, to the surprise of the Hollywood elite. Let us support what is good and decent and avoid what is not.

Impact on Thanksgiving

 With record high inflation, Americans are struggling to keep up given the higher costs of just about everything from gas to groceries. That means this year, Thanksgiving might be trimmed when comes to the usual big family meal and celebration.

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According to a study by Personal Capital, an online wealth management company, one in four Americans say they’re skipping Thanksgiving because they can’t afford the holiday meal this year.

One in three say they’re a hosting a smaller dinner due to higher food prices.  

And a whopping 88 percent are cutting at least one dish from their table to make ends meet. 

“Definitely have to have the green bean casserole and Brussels sprouts, and probably three or four desserts, but I’m not buying them I’m going to make them from scratch because I think I can do it cheaper,” Laura Douglas of Chesapeake, VA told CBN News. 

This year, turkey costs 20 percent more than it did in 2021.

Experts say the biggest factor driving up those prices – a wave bird flu that hit in the spring.

“About five percent of total national production has been taken offline because of Avian influenza,” said Jayson Lusk of Purdue University. “So, you remove birds from the market, that’s less available for you and I, food consumers. So, you and I end up bargaining against each other for the smaller quantity of supplies and that pulls up prices.”

“We might not just buy one, might just do like a ham or some fish, something local, pasta,” said one consumer. 
 
The Department of Agriculture reports that food prices have jumped 13 percent between September 2021 and 2022. 

It is an issue affecting not just families but local foodbanks as well.

“Food costs have gone up dramatically for foodbanks,” Christopher Tan of the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and The Eastern Shore said in an interview with CBN News.  “The cost of shipping and of products have gone up significantly, almost to the point of we’ll pay for more shipping than the actual product.”

Tan said his organization began ordering turkeys back in June. 

“We knew that the supply chain issue would be a potential problem. And we’re still not getting the amount that we would have probably liked. There isn’t enough out there,” he explained. 

Tan also says that as grocery costs have increased so has the number of families seeking help.

“Inflation has caused many people to come to our lines for the first time,” Tan commented.  “We see a lot more working families who are working and employed but their food budgets have drastically increased and so they’re using the foodbank as a way to supplement that budget.”

One in Four Families

One in four families are skipping Thanksgiving due to high food costs  To help struggling families, the supermarket chain Aldi is rolling its Thanksgiving prices back to 2019 costs.  

“We expect to welcome tens of millions of customers in our stores this Thanksgiving season, and we want them to know they can count on us,” Dave Rinaldo, President of Aldi said in a statement. “So why not attempt that additional side dish this year or invite over a few more friends or family members.” 

Despite the tight economic times, some are choosing to be thankful no matter the costs.

“We know that the economy is high, but we’ve got to be thankful, said Carlton Griffin of Norfolk, VA. “Thankful for health and strength and having a job, having a family -- just to be alive.”