Their Blood Cries Out From The Ground To God

Here is a brief excerpt from an excellent article by Alan Sears:

Yes, these are grim days for children in our society, but give the administration this: it’s not limiting its persecution to the children of America.

Just one day after hundreds of thousands of Americans swelled the streets of Washington, D.C., to declare their allegiance to the protection of life from the moment of conception, President Obama issued an executive order freeing U.S. taxpayer monies to be given to Planned Parenthood and others to fund abortions that will take the lives of children all over the world.

Guess he finally figured out his pay grade.

God forgive us.

Get Over It

In an article I saw today it would appear that the gay mafia (who look simply FABULOUS in their Italian suits and coordinated accessories) are offended with President-elect Obama's choice to have evangelical pastor Rick Warren deliver the inaugural invocation.

"Gay rights advocates are criticizing President-elect Barack Obama's choice of a popular evangelical minister to deliver the invocation at his inauguration, saying it shows disrespect for a constituency that strongly supported his campaign.

Pastor Rick Warren, a best-selling author and leader of a Southern California megachurch, is one of a new breed of evangelicals who stress the need for action on social issues such as reducing poverty and protecting the environment, alongside traditional theological themes. But the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay rights organization, said Warren's opposition to gay marriage is a sign of intolerance.

'We feel a deep level of disrespect when one of the architects and promoters of an anti-gay agenda is given the prominence and the pulpit of your historic nomination,' the group said in a letter to Obama, asking him to reconsider."

Oh waaaaah! Get over yourselves! I feel a deep level of disrespect by the way the homosexual "lobby" is forcing itself on my life. I am confronted by homosexual perversion almost everywhere I go. Want respect? Act respectable.

And here's a little tip, y'all: just as many evangelicals helped to get Mr. Obama elected. You didn't get it done by yourselves. He's not your little lap dog who has to bark when you say so. You are not the only people in America, and your agenda isn't the most important one. In fact, your agenda isn't important at all. Hate to break it to you.

Or is it wrong for President-elect Obama to invite someone who represents a constituency of roughly 18 million American adults to the table as well? Most likely, that number is low because it is based on Barna's fairly strict definition of evangelicalism.

I am personally shocked but quite pleased with Mr. Obama's choice. I'm sure that your heretics will eventually get their say too. So if this post or Mr. Obama's decision offends you, here is a hammer. Build a bridge and get over it.

The Stench Of Moral Decay

There are times when I just feel the sadness and frustration of watching America's slide into depravity more than others. Tonight is one of those times. I look at the corruption that is so rampant and I see the perversion that is so prevalent and all the while more and more of the society is trying to marginalize those who stand for truth, and I frankly begin to welcome the judgment of the Lord.

It has taken much to get me to this point, because I know that the "Day of the Lord" is a dreadful thing. I know that many lives will be lost - and many souls will be as well. What could be more dreadful than that? It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of a righteous God. I am reminded of the words from Jonathan Edwards' sermon:

It would be dreadful to suffer this fierceness and wrath of Almighty God one second; but you must suffer it for all of eternity. There will be no end to this extreme horrible misery. When you look forward, you shall see a long forever, a boundless duration before you, which will swallow up your thoughts, and amaze your soul; and you will absolutely despair of ever having any deliverance, any end, any mitigation, any rest at all. You will know certainly that you must wear out long ages, millions of millions of ages in wrestling and conflicting with this almighty merciless vengeance; and then when you have so done, when so many ages have actually been spent by you in this manner, you will know that all is but a point to what remains.

My God, what a dreadful end!

I think that the only way that I can even hope to stomach such a thing is knowing that God is patient and that when He chooses the time to unleash His judgments against a people that it is the perfect time to do so. The people will have earned His wrath in full, and they will be beyond hope of repentance. (Well, I would also add that I do have hope, knowing that judgment will remove the stumbling blocks from our nation and will bring the purification of our land once again.)

Still, it saddens me to see what seems like the entire world running as hard as it can run to utter destruction. Yet this is the very picture painted by the Scriptures. Why am I surprised? I guess it is partly because it is so foolish and unnecessary. And perhaps I am also shocked by how evil men's hearts really can be. I have always been a little naive.

Today I read about Russian warships doing joint exercises with the Venezuelan navy and visiting Cuba. The government and Pentagon seemed very unconcerned. This seems very foolish and arrogant to me. The Russians would have never pulled such a stunt when Reagan was in office, and we would have never taken it so lightly either. Hubris is a dangerous sin.

I also read about the arson of Sarah Palin's church, and of the numerous frivolous lawsuits being brought against her to discourage her from ever even THINKING about running for office again. God help her!

Then I read about the corruption in Governor Blagojevich's administration and saw the connections between him and Jesse Jackson Jr. I read about how Blagojevich will likely be impeached because he refuses to resign - after being arrested on federal felony charges. (Is anyone else puzzled by this? What, does he think he can pardon himself?)

Finally I read about the Newsweek article that tried to make it sound as if the Bible and Jesus endorse homosexual marriage, and also about a "leader" in the evangelical movement that said that such unions should be allowed.

This is why I rarely read the news anymore. And this is why I take hope in judgment when it comes... but how I dread it.

Contrary to popular belief it is not hateful to tell a person that they are headed towards destruction. It is one of the greatest demonstrations of love that a person can give. This is especially true when that warning is coupled with the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

But how many know the true Gospel? How many churches actually teach it? How many know that our right standing does not come because of anything that we do or don't do, but it comes as a result of God's grace through faith in the sacrifice that Jesus made for us through His death on the cross and through His resurrection?

How many teach that grace demands obedience to Jesus? Is belief truly belief without corresponding obedience? Can a person walk in his own way if he has truly been converted? True grace inspires obedience. True grace is based on a walk with the Spirit of God and living life based on His laws being written on a person's heart. True grace leads us to sin less - not more. As the Apostle John wrote, a person who claims to be walking with God yet walks in sin is a liar and the truth of God does not dwell in him.

Salvation is not a "get out of hell free" card. Salvation is the trading of masters. You are either a slave to the devil or you are a slave to Christ. There is no middle ground. If you are a slave to Christ you should be seeing a dissipation of the sins of the flesh and conviction about the ones that remain. If there is no difference in your life before you were "saved" and after, perhaps you had best re-examine your conversion. It sounds like you are still a slave to the devil.

Yes, it is true that God is love, but He is also jealous, just, holy, righteous, pure, patient, merciful, vengeful... the list goes on. If we focus on only one of His attributes, we put ourselves in grave danger of error - error that has not only temporal but also eternal consequences.

God Help Us

I just read a very distressing article about the downward ethical trends among our nation's youth. According to the article:

The Josephson Institute, a Los Angeles-based ethics institute, surveyed 29,760 students at 100 randomly selected high schools nationwide, both public and private. All students in the selected schools were given the survey in class; their anonymity was assured.

Michael Josephson, the institute's founder and president, said he was most dismayed by the findings about theft. The survey found that 35 percent of boys and 26 percent of girls — 30 percent overall — acknowledged stealing from a store within the past year. One-fifth said they stole something from a friend; 23 percent said they stole something from a parent or other relative.

...Cheating in school is rampant and getting worse. Sixty-four percent of students cheated on a test in the past year and 38 percent did so two or more times, up from 60 percent and 35 percent in a 2006 survey.

Thirty-six percent said they used the Internet to plagiarize an assignment, up from 33 percent in 2004.

Forty-two percent said they sometimes lie to save money — 49 percent of the boys and 36 percent of the girls.

Despite such responses, 93 percent of the students said they were satisfied with their personal ethics and character, and 77 percent affirmed that "when it comes to doing what is right, I am better than most people I know."

Is it just me or does anyone else detect a disconnect between the data in the first part of this quote and the statement in the last paragraph? This is utterly appalling to me. Such a discrepancy would either indicate to me that there are some really bad people not accounted for in this survey or that a whole bunch of people have absolutely not clue about what is moral or ethical.

Just as scary as the results of this survey is the responses that the article reported from educators that were presented the results. A typical response came from Peter Anderson the principal of Andover High School in Andover, Massachusetts. He said, "This generation is leading incredibly busy lives — involved in athletics, clubs, so many with part-time jobs, and — for seniors — an incredibly demanding and anxiety-producing college search."

Another "educator" said, "We have to create situations where it's easy for kids to do the right things," he added. "We need to create classrooms where learning takes on more importance than having the right answer."

I think though that Michael Josephson hit the nail on the head when he "contended that most Americans are too blase about ethical shortcomings among young people and in society at large. 'Adults are not taking this very seriously,' he said. 'The schools are not doing even the most moderate thing. ... They don't want to know. There's a pervasive apathy.'"

Why are many adults not taking this seriously? I would suggest that a similar survey given to adults about the age of the kids' parents would find that they are no better than the kids surveyed. The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree. Whether we want to acknowledge it or not, America is in a serious moral crisis.

Good grief! The guys I quoted above made excuses instead of even acknowledging that these behaviors are wrong. I wonder if the tone of these individuals would have been different if the survey showed that intolerance, ethnocentrism, or conservatism were on the rise. And one suggested that if we make it easy enough then they won't have to cheat! These people are morally bankrupt! It is a classic case of the blind leading the blind. No wonder we're so screwed up!

Information like this just convinces me that a reckoning is coming and coming soon. God help us.

This Annoys Me

According to a Michelle Malkin piece today, eHarmony has wimped out and agreed to change its business model to include homosexuals because of a lawsuit leveled against them. Would somebody please get a spine?! If nobody stands up to this crap it will not stop - in fact it will get worse. I would rather shut down my business than give in to this kind of unconstitutional coercion.

The absurdity of this lawsuit is beyond bounds. That the AG of New Jersey even countenanced it is an outrage. Are there not plenty of websites that help homosexuals hook up? Are there not plenty that help them find a "life partner?" Well, hooking up homosexuals or adulterers isn't, er, wasn't eHarmony's thing. They were serving the portion of the market that they wanted to serve. Should a business be forced to serve all portions of the market? I suppose that the pedophiles and folks that like our four-legged friends will be up in arms demanding equal access too. Perhaps they could serve necrophiliacs too?

Where does it stop? Perhaps I should sue JC Penny's because I can't get milkshakes there.

A Quote

A non-normative marriage, once allowed, undermines the normative kind just by inference. If the norm no longer is the lifelong union of a man and a woman, we may count on the imaginative faculties of those most concerned to come up with new understandings. I don't think the proponents of gay marriage have in mind the extension of the matter to polygamy, but when you think it over, why not? It's what some people want. Shouldn't they have what they want? To deny a 21st century American his wishes (unless he's some Christian rightist or other) would be cruel and hateful.

- Bill Murchison from his article "Calling Things By Their Right Names"

Interesting article worth a read. I find it ironic that he uses polygamy as the next logical progression should marriage be re-defined to include homosexual unions. There is far greater biblical support for polygamy than there is for "homosexual marriage." Indeed, I think polygamy is the least of our concerns should the homosexuals have their way.

On The Money

Democrats have worked hard to bring more religious voters into their fold. As part of their strategy they have promoted a dubious and debatable doctrine that big government should be doing the work of God on Earth. But Democrats want to pick and choose what they like about God and what they don't (Republicans sometimes do this as well in such matters as wealth and materialism).

While government has a role in addressing certain issues that can be considered biblically-based (such as justice and poverty), Democrats see no role for government in helping to restrict sinful man when he wishes to kill the unborn, or allow - even promote - any and every relationship but traditional marriage.

It is in its failure to address these premier moral issues that the Democratic Party has unmasked itself as a party that cares less for God's agenda and more for its own, as it pursues the White House.

- Cal Thomas (excerpt from 'Losing Faith Voters')

Cal is so right on this one. The big problem is that the Democrats don't understand Evangelical Christians. They think that if they try to pretend to be more religious that Evangelicals will buy in and vote for the Obamessiah.

The problem is that Evangelicals cannot support the positions that the Democratic party has taken on life and moral issues. Evangelicals are overwhelmingly pro-life, and this is a make or break issue with most of them. Evangelicals are also overwhelmingly in support of the defense of a biblical definition of marriage - also a make or break issue.

In its stance on both of these issues the Democratic party has shown its true colors in regards to its so-called deep religious conviction. The conviction may be religious, but it isn't Christian, and Evangelicals know the difference.

(If you would like to see who ought to be "doing the work of God on Earth" check out this new post over at Conspiracy of Kindness.)

Why Would Anyone Want To Be President?

As I have been watching this Presidential race unfold (albeit from a distance - I haven't had the stomach for much political nonsense this year) I have wondered aloud more than once why anyone in their right mind would want to be President right now.

Our country is deeply divided and seems likely to remain that way. We are still in the middle of a war that cannot be safely walked away from. The economy is in a very tenuous state with the dollar falling and oil soaring. Russia is trying to restart the cold war. China is flexing its muscles and seems to have an appetite for expansion. Iran is working to develop nuclear weapons. Venezuela is stirring up trouble in Central and South America and the Caribbean too.

Add to that Congress' partisan impotence, daily corruption scandals at all levels of government, utter moral decay in the culture, and a whole host of other domestic issues and you have the makings of Excedrin headache numbers 2009-2012.

The world the next President of the United States will face won't be one for wimps. I hope we choose wisely or it's gonna be a long four years.

Busted

Someone asked me the other day what I thought about the whole John Edwards situation. I can say that I am absolutely not surprised. And I'd bet you a dollar to a doughnut that he's still lying. You can't cover up character flaws. The flaws that were blatantly obvious to me since he took office as a NC Senator have merely been shown to the world.

In all of the hoopla surrounding this story the only candid thing that he has said that I believe is that he didn't believe that he would get caught. I guess he figured that the rules don't apply to him because he is so pretty and because he was slick enough to dupe several juries (and quite a few of the American public) into believing his various assorted loads of bull.

I personally hope that this removes his name forever from consideration for any public office.

The problem is that he isn't the only one - and I'm not just talking about Democrats either. The level of corruption in our society has reached such a level that it just nauseates me to think about it. It seems like fewer and fewer people have any notion of what holiness is and even fewer care if they are pursuing it. I am so tired of the constant disappointment when people all around me continue to fall, and when I hear time and time again of people who claim to be Christian who openly assent to the fact that they are going to do what they want to do even if it flies in the face of scripture.

I have been praying for quite some time now that God would expose those in our government who are cheating, stealing and living immoral lives. It would seem that He is answering my prayer.