America, America!

I look at what is happening in the world, specifically in regards to America, and I can't help but wonder what in the world is going on. Is it only me, or are things spiraling out of control? Certainly God has it all perfect in His all sovereign plan, but it looks awfully messy this side of Heaven, and in many ways that is our fault. This following poem is true of where I think that America is, and what is happening here. Let's face it, no matter how much I love the America of 1776, we have fallen so far. Oh how we need to pray for America! For many people here, God is but something people wish a blessing from, but never bother to bless.

America, America!
Tracy Anryms

America! America! How you have fallen.
America! America! Where have you gone?
Have you not been warned?
Has no one told you?

God will not abide with you forever,
Indeed His judgment now is.
Has God blessed you?
Is His face toward you in goodwill?

God has blessed you,

God's mercy has surrounded you

Will He bless for long?

Is not God also a God of justice?

How can it be that God would long bless
A nation without redress of sins;
Children are killed, God's named blasphemed,
To fornications there is no end.

Will you not see the error of your ways?
Will you not repent?
God forgive America,
For America has forsaken God.

His wrath comes not only in fire
It comes not alone in pestilence and calamity,
But He has given us over to our sins
He has let us have our way.

It is better to be punished and corrected
Then to be given over to our own desires.
Let us turn, let us repent
Let us fall on our knees before the King of Kings.


America, America! There is hope for you yet.
God will see the contrite heart
God will hear the penitent prayer.
America, America! Turn to God and live.

Iraq

Iraq....
Let us begin in the beginning, why did we go?
There are a several possibilities. I have here the two I think most plausible. One, to oust Saddam Hussein. An evil, brutal dictator; a murderer of his own people. Isaiah 1:17 says, "Learn to do good, seek justice, rebuke the oppressor..." Although these words were written to the nation of Israel under different circumstances, I think in some ways, the U.S. was doing that; seeking justice, rebuking the oppressor. Reason number two, weapons of mass destruction. I have it from an eye-witness source that there were indeed WOMD, even though Iraq said there were none. Now, the first reason seems like a plausible reason to go. Who would not, when such brutal crimes against humanity were being committed. The second reason is slightly more skeptical. So they did have WOMD, did that give a right to go? Unfortunately, I am not knowledgeable on international laws or the U.N.'s rules, so I don't know what violation there was there. But the greater question is if the U.S. had any threat of danger from it. Maybe, maybe not. But it could be that the government decided not to take a chance. So these could be why we went. There are thousands of factors I don't know, therefore, I may not say whether we should have gone or not, but we must move on to more important questions.

What do we do know? It is best and biblical not to ponder on what is past, but live today and press forward to tomorrow. By invading Iraq we made a commitment of sorts; not to leave until the job is complete. Mainly, getting Iraq back on its feet. Iraq is getting there; they have a government, unstable though it may be, and a military and police force. So I believe we are doing our part. Unfortunately, the news media of today tends to focus on what's going wrong rather than what things are going right. There are good things going on over there, right along with the bad things. But this still leaves a most important question: When do we pull out? Thankfully, I don't have to decide. And I believe our president has put qualified generals in charge of that who will make good decisions to the best of their ability. But I will say that having a time-deadline within the next couple of years is a very bad plan. You can't time a war. I do believe that having a project-deadline might work. In other words, if our troops and Iraq's troops can get certain things done by a certain time, than that many troops get to come home. I don't really know, but I do know this, that the U.S. made commitment when we went to Iraq, and whether we should have gone or not, we need to fulfill it to the best of our ability.

Peace?
Iraq may become its own nation, but will that bring peace? Is peace made when democracies are established? Obviously not. Bryce has an excellent post that makes a great point on this subject. Indeed, Muslim nations, or any other nations, will never have peace without Christ. So, in one sense the war in Iraq is futile. When millions of people are believing that killing is part of their way into Heaven, then obviously no amount of military interference is going to change that. On the other hand, this invasion has opened up a door into Iraq: a door for Christ. After the invasion, the door was open for us to send Bibles, precious Arabic Bibles into the hands of our brothers and sisters in Christ and others in Iraq. It opened up a door that wasn't opened before. Christ will continue to advance His kingdom. Even in something as hellish as war, God's plan, perfect in every way, will prevail.

Christ Centered Living

"He died for all so that those who live should live no longer for themselves but for Him who died for them and rose again."
- 2 Corinthians 5: 15

"To live for Christ, and not for ourselves, is to devote every physical gift, every mental capacity, every moment of time, and every fragment of thought to the glory of Jesus Christ. This mode of living is motivated by our awe of God's marvelous love and enabled by His unfathomable grace."

~1 Cor. 10:31 ~ Col. 3:17 ~ Phil. 4:8 ~ 2 Cor. 5:14-15 ~ Col. 3:2 ~

Phil. 3:10

Creation Conference

This last weekend my sister and I attended a very informative creation conference taught by several Americans and an Australian all proficient in their fields of physics and other areas of science. I learned so much, and was again reminded of the accuracy of the Bible. I would attempt to relate what I learned, but alas much of it I could hardly understand much less describe. I will say that it covered many topics from faulty dating methods, to Mt. St. Helen's, from the stars, to a discourse on the origin of man. Again, and again, all the evidence was in line, and supportive of the Bible. One of the last sessions talked about the "ancestors" evolutionist say we have. One by one the were refuted by the speaker. The speaker, a Dr. Gish, concluded with the following, and with it I will conclude as well, as it the conclusion I hope many came to by the end of the conference:

"Some of my ancestors my have hung by the neck, but none of them ever hung by the tail."
- Dr. Gish

Suffering for Evil

Not too long ago we received several e-mails requesting that we voice our outrage at the prosecution of Homeschoolers in Germany. Homeschooling is illegal in Germany, and apparently several families were being prosecuted for doing it. We did not send any outraged e-mails. Frankly, we were not outraged. In Romans, I believe, it says that if we break the law we should be afraid, for it is the civil authority's job to keep the law and punish evildoers. And as there is no biblical command broken by not homeschooling, as a general rule there is no excuse for those homeschooling in Germany or other countries where it might be illegal. Let me clarify by saying that homeschooling is a freedom we have here that I would not part with without a fight, and I may be sorely tempted disobey laws against it, if it came to that. But the point is one is not a martyr when they are punished for doing wrong. Only when man's laws contradict the laws of God is there a reason to disobey the authorities God has put in place.

He is not here, He is risen!

Good Friday

Isaiah 53:5-7

(New King James Version)

5 But He was wounded for our transgressions,

He was bruised for our iniquities;

The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,

And by His stripes we are healed.

6 All we like sheep have gone astray;

We have turned, every one, to his own way;

And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

7He was oppressed and He was afflicted,

Yet He opened not His mouth;

He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,

And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,

So He opened not His mouth.

April Fool's

Check out this amazing post by Dan Phillips on April Fool's (or should I say athiest's?) day:

http://teampyro.blogspot.com/2008/04/april-1-happy-atheists-day-plus.html

Liberty for Christ

Here in the United States we have been given a great privilege. We've been given what relatively few countries in the world really have; liberty. Like Cyrus in Isaiah, God has used the leaders of this nation, whether they truly loved Him or not, to shape a country that has unhindered freedom of speech, of religion, of press... and the list goes on. Like all other things, this liberty should be used to further Christ's kingdom. I really do believe that God has the Christians He has in America for a purpose. I continually am seeing how God has used our freedom so richly for His kingdom. God has used the material wealth of this nation to impact the world for Christ by enabling us to send out countless missionaries and help smaller, poorer brothers and sisters in Christ in closed countries. This is in part because of the religious freedom we have here to operate churches and organizations that may otherwise be illegal. The ability to speak to anyone and everyone about Christ through the press and through speech itself is a privilege that, I'm afraid, I don't use to its fullest potential. Again, the list could go on about the opportunities we have here. There are a lot of people who generally think that the material and political blessings we have, have more downsides than positives aspects. For instance, material wealth leads to materialistic thinking; religious liberties tends to make fickle and fair-weather Christians. I cannot deny these things, they are true and should be carefully guarded against. But although we emphatically do not deserve it, God has blessed America and He has blessed her for a reason and a reason of His own. We don't know how long it will last. God's holy justice may very well check America's world-power standing very soon. But our sovereign God has given us many blessings, liberties, and privileges that can and should be used for His glory and kingdom. So, the question remains for all of us to ask, how are we using our liberty for Christ?