Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”   (Genesis 3:1-4)

Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”   (Matthew 4:5-7)

It enemy has a way of talking around the issues without discussing the real issues. Does this sound like today’s news media?

There is this warning about false spiritual teachers who will mislead the people:

For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. (2 Timothy 4:3-4)

For many people the political pundit has become the spiritual teacher. The subjects under discussions today appear to have more to do with myths than reality.

Accept the inevitable. You will lose.

This was the thinking of King Jehoshaphat until the man of God prayed:

Then the Spirit of the LORD came on Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite and descendant of Asaph, as he stood in the assembly.

He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the LORD says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you.’”

Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the LORD.  (2 Chronicles 20:14-18)

My brothers and sisters, the battle belongs to the Lord. Do you not see what He is doing? Stay on the duty: watch and pray.

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’

“For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”

And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. ⁷ And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”  (Luke 18:1-8)

They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind. The stalk has no head; it will produce no flour. Were it to yield grain, foreigners would swallow it up.  (Hosea 8:7)

Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, until he comes and showers his righteousness on you.  (Hosea 10:12)

In truth, we have had the future of America in our hands. The evidence suggests that we have made a mess of our country and our society. There should be little need to go over all the poor choices we have made in recent years. Our political system has failed us and appears to continue to do so. Many of our churches have wandered away from the Gospel. Our leaders lack moral and ethical integrity. What are we to do?

It is time to release our grip and place the future of America into God’s hands. Prayer is the way we accomplish this transfer of authority and control. Prayer was the method of our founding fathers, though the media and educational institutions would have us believer otherwise.

“How does one pray?” you might  say. Are not the “prayer professionals” better equipped to do so? Perhaps, if they could actually pray rather than just talk about prayer. If they could humble themselves before God. Let give thanks to God for those who truly have dedicated their lives to prayer. Nevertheless, let us not hesitate to join them because our voices are needed as well.

Prayers from the heart move God. Do we still have a heart for America? Do we still have a heart for our children and grandchildren? Do we still have a heart for the Gospel? If so, let us pray.

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.  (2 Chronicles 7:14)

The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.   (James 5:16)

The media is biased.

On September 17, 1787, Benjamin Franklin wanted to give a short speech to the Constitutional Convention prior to the signing of the final draft of the Constitution. Too weak to actually give the speech himself, he had fellow Pennsylvanian James Wilson deliver the speech. He said, in part:

Sir, I agree to this Constitution with all its faults, if they are such; because I think a general Government necessary for us, and there is no form of Government but what may be a blessing to the people if well administered, and believe farther that this is likely to be well administered for a course of years, and can only end in Despotism, as other forms have done before it, when the people shall become so corrupted as to need despotic Government, being incapable of any other.

What type of government are we left with when the elections are over? That depends on who we are as a people. Do we elect people who will control our lives because we are no longer capable of controlling ourselves?

Not only did Franklin have a large part to play in the framing of the Constitution, he also was one of the authors of the Declaration of Independence. Let us not forget this part of it:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Do we still value life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? If so, we must be willing to fight for it. We cannot remain on the sidelines and watch the systematic overthrow of our Constitution and all the principles for which it stands.

Anyone political leader who contends that freedom and opportunity is dependent upon his or her governing control is a liar. In the words of John Locke:

“To properly understand political power and trace its origins, we must consider the state that all people are in naturally. That is a state of perfect freedom of acting and disposing of their own possessions and persons as they think fit within the bounds of the law of nature. People in this state do not have to ask permission to act or depend on the will of others to arrange matters on their behalf. The natural state is also one of equality in which all power and jurisdiction is reciprocal and no one has more than another. It is evident that all human beings – as creatures belonging to the same species and rank and born indiscriminately with all the same natural advantages and faculties – are equal amongst themselves. They have no relationship of subordination or subjection unless God (the lord and master of them all) had clearly set one person above another and conferred on him an undoubted right to dominion and sovereignty.” ( Two Treatises On Government: A Translation Into Modern English, ISR/Google Books, 2009, page 70)

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  (2 Corinthians 3:17)

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1)

Embracing the truth is the beginning of freedom. Denying the truth is freedom’s first casualty. We are a nation under God empowered by God to govern ourselves under His purposes, power, and protection. There is no United States of America without Him.

What a year it was. There was another housing crises and much concern about taxes. The central government was taking control of just about everything, including religious observances. It was a difficult year indeed. However, this particular year has had a profound effect on not just one nation, but the whole world. You could say that this year has changed the world forever. It is the year in which this prophecy was fulfilled:

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulders: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)

The ruler of the known world was Emperor Augustus. Yet all the political or military leaders, though important, are ultimately quite insignificant. They cannot dispel the darkness that surrounds us.

The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian. (Isaiah (9:2-4)

Jesus is leading His people out of darkness into to light. Are we following Him? What about our nation? Will the prophecy that was given to Israel also be fulfilled for America?

His authority shall grow continually,
and there shall be endless peace
for the throne of David and his kingdom.
He will establish and uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time onward and forevermore.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this. (Isaiah 9:7)

When Jesus returns He will fully consummate His authority on the earth. In the meantime, will we as a people embrace His rule in our hearts? Will we embrace His principles of government which He gave to our forefathers? We do not know the answer. We need to pray that those who have had their hearts stirred will continue to seek His light. We need to pray for leaders who will follow after God’s heart.

The Christian faith encompasses much more than our current political situation.

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly, while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. He it is who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds. (Titus 2:11-14)

The nativity of our Lord is still taking place on this earth. As we can see, little changes from year to year. For the Christian believer, however, all things are being made new. Even in the enslaved societies of today people are able to live in freedom from the power of sin with joy in their hearts. This world is a difficult one no matter where we live. Our best choice for each one of us is to seek the Prince of Peace. Our best choice is to seek the Counselor for direction and hope. Our best choice is to turn our hearts over to Him so that He may continually transform us into His likeness. Let us walk as children of the Light and become light bearers in this dark world.

Not so long ago people were saying that competence matters more than character in government. They were wrong. Everything is based on character. Our system of government is based on the character and nature of our God. If we are looking for the right political leaders for this nation we must begin and end with prayer. The political system is too corrupt now. Only God can save us.

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.  (Matthew 6:24)

One Friday continually takes from us and the other Friday gives us life – for an eternity.

The picture above is a reenactment of the first landing at Cape Henry by the English settlers who later established the Jamestown colony. At the Cape that they first came ashore and offered thanksgiving to God for their safe passage. Here they also made a covenant with God and dedicated this new land for purpose of spreading the Gospel. God spoke to us there several years ago that He wanted to renew His covenant with America. That has been our prayer and mission ever since.

We began this blog with the story of Cape Henry and the special covenant made there. This Thanksgiving Day we reflect upon that covenant. We are reminded of all the blessings which God has bestowed upon us because of the covenant. America was meant to be a missionary nation as was Israel. The question that remains is this: Will we follow through on the covenant commitment which our early settlers made with God? Our forefathers understood the covenant and operated under its authority and provisions.

Let us remember this day to give God the thanks and praise for all He has done for us and our nation. May our prayers be that we will return to Him, our first love, and the calling He has place upon us. That calling is still to reach the lost with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, by Word and example.

Thank you for joining us in prayer this day for our nation and its people. May God bless you and your family with His joy and peace. May He keep you safe in your travels and may each family member and friend be under His divine health and protection.

“The LORD bless you and keep you;

The LORD make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;

The LORD lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.”’ (Numbers 6:24-26)

A modern understanding of this newspeak might be political correctness. Surely, we see much of that today in our politics and media. Nonetheless, today’s newspeak goes far beyond political correctness and is far more sinister. It even invades our churches. Yet it did not come in overnight. It has been continually seeping in over an extended period of time. Let us examine it, shall we?

In a parent teacher conference a certain mother did not like the way I grade her daughters report card. She said that I had not made a positive confession over her daughter and, thus, was handicapping her spiritually. I tried to explain to her that the word “confession” meat telling the truth. She was not interested in that. She was only interested in improving the grade of her daughter without her daughter having to make any more effort. God alone would make the effort if we said the right incantation. In other words – we should use witchcraft.

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.  (1 John 1:8-10)

Christians will sometime say: “I am believing for” whatever they might want. Does our believing make God believe the same thing for us? God is not bound by our thoughts.

 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.  (Isaiah 55:9)

You ask and don’t receive because you ask wrongly, so that you may spend it on your desires for pleasure.  (James 4:3)

True confession is agreeing with God. True belief is acting on our agreement with Him. Believing is keeping covenant with God. A little sarcasm from James might be in order:

You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!  (James 2:19)

What about the word “election.” In a democracy we like to believe that we have free elections. Free elections should mean free choices. Nevertheless, election for many Christians does not mean free choice. In may very well mean the opposite for them. The theology is that God has chosen certain people for salvation. He has elected them they are called His elect. He has predestined certain people to be saved from damnation. If so, then logically He has also predestined other people for damnation. How diabolical is that?

Is this thinking scriptural? He might be construed to be that way if we read God’s Word the way Satan wants us to read it. We know that Satan quoted scripture to Jesus in the wilderness to tempt Him. Of course, he took the scripture out of context. He twisted the scripture as he twists everything else.

Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”  (Matthew 4:5-7)

What does the word election mean in the context of scripture? We may start by what it does not mean. It does not mean that God’s mercy is arbitrary:

For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.  (Romans 11:32)

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.  (2 Peter 3:9)

The biblical interpretation of God’s election is that the children of Israel were chosen or elected by God as He promised Abraham that he would be the father of many nations. Israel was chosen to by a nation of priests and to be a missionary nation in accordance with God’s purpose. They were chosen as instruments for the purpose of saving the whole world, not for excluding other peoples and nations.

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.  (1 Peter 2:9-10)

“And now the LORD says,
Who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,
To bring Jacob back to Him,
So that Israel is gathered to Him
(For I shall be glorious in the eyes of the LORD,
And My God shall be My strength),
Indeed He says,
‘ It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob,
And to restore the preserved ones of Israel;
I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles,
That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.’”  (Isaiah 49:5-6)

Let us remove this newspeak from the Church. It is nothing more than Satan’s lies.

Deliver us Lord from the way of sin and death. Give us discernment so that we might not judge amiss. Let the words of our mouth ad the meditations of our hearts be always acceptable unto you, for you alone are our rock and our redeemer. Amen.

Blow the trumpet in Zion,
declare a holy fast,
call a sacred assembly.
Gather the people,
consecrate the assembly;
bring together the elders,
gather the children,
those nursing at the breast.
Let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her chamber.

Let the priests, who minister before the LORD,
weep between the portico and the altar.
Let them say, “Spare your people, LORD.
Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn,
a byword among the nations.
Why should they say among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?” (Joel 2:15-17)

Why is there a need for reformation in the Church today? The leadership has strayed from the way and followed their own devices. God is restoring His Church and He will not stop until His work is finished. One question remains: Will the leadership listen and repent?

Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion: And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. ( Jeremiah 3:14-15)

How has the leadership gone wrong? Many of today’s churches emphasize prosperity as a well of selling their particular brand of the Gospel. Jesus promised believers an abundant life in the Kingdom of God which means righteousness, peace, and joy. Churches have emphasized a kingdom of financial prosperity. Jesus cautioned against this kingdom in His sermon on the mount:

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.  (Matthew 6:24)

Many churches today emphasize signs and wonders. Leaders will go to any length to produce them because they think the signs and wonders are proof that God is with them. Jesus cautioned against this kingdom as well:

For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.  (Matthew 24:24)

Then there are the overly cautious church leaders and self-proclaimed experts who proclaim that the days of healings and miracles are over. This flies in the face of the New Testament teachings and the clear evidence we see everyday when we open our eyes.

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.  (2 Timothy 3:1-5)

See New Reformation.