As we enter into this wonderful, beautiful and awe inspiring season my thoughts go to home and it's warmth, the one I grew up in and the one I have now. More importantly my thoughts go to the baby born in a stable 2000 years ago and the message he brought has spread all over the world, changing people, bringing them closer to the one who is their true father. Some reject the message, some take it for a while and let go and then some it takes root and bears good fruit. ...How powerful is his message that it has never been forgotten and has traveled all these years down through the generations of man and has come to rest in my heart. I am so thankful I know you Lord Jesus and I am so thankful for all those who do. What a wonderful community all over this world, you have built Jesus and the gates of hell will not prevail against it! (These were my thoughts as I listened to this song)
I read this article this morning and agree with what is being said. My mom read Dr. Spock's book when she was a young mom in the 1950's and tossed it after she read it because she knew it was going against what the Bible taught. She knew that it would cause big trouble in our society and she was right. - Elena
Here is the article:
In the last 50 years, our nation has taken a moral nosedive. Since 1960, the rate of violent crimes has more than tripled. Every day there are news reports of heinous crimes unheard of in America a generation ago. Children murder their playmates, their teachers and their parents. Teenage mothers abandon their newborn babies in trashcans, and every year students commit carnage on their classmates. Our culture has sunk so low that children are no longer safe with their teachers in school or at church – scores of men and women are arrested every year for preying on the children under their care.
The sexual revolution that started in the ’60s continues with many casualties. Promiscuity has become so rampant that 1 of every 4 teenage girls now has a sexually transmitted infection. In the last five decades, practices have become so deviant that the number of distinct STDs had risen from five to more than 50 – a sudden increase of a thousand percent. Obsession with sexual violence has brought a 318 percent increase in sexual assault.
Our nation is in severe moral decline, and the descent is not slowing. The root cause of decline in America is not that difficult to deduce. When a society becomes out of control, it is because its members elevate self-indulgence and lack self-control. It really is that simple. In the last 50 years, human nature has not changed. Selfishness, lust, covetousness and all other passions are in the human heart at birth. It is only a trained proclivity to say NO to our natural drives that keeps our passions in check – self-control is what stops us from stealing, murdering and committing adultery. It is parents who must instill this important quality in each generation. History and common sense teach us that the society in which children are not taught to keep control of their passions is destined to moral disintegration.
In America the reason that baby boomers and their children have grown up with less mastery over their passions than previous generations is because in the late ’40s a new voice of authority on parenting rose to prominence, and parents of the ’50s and ’60s began to raise children differently than before.
In 1946, Dr. Benjamin Spock first published his infamous book “Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care,” which was unlike any that came before it. Instead of stressing the importance of teaching self-denial and respect for authority, Spock discouraged directive training and emphasized accommodating children’s feelings and catering to their preferences. No longer did children learn they could endure Brussels sprouts and suffer through daily chores. Using Spock’s approach, parents began to feed self-indulgence instead of instilling self-control – homes were becoming child-centered. As parents elevated children’s “freedom of expression” and natural cravings, children became more outspoken, defiant and demanding of gratification. In fact, they came to view gratification as a right.
Spock wrote his book in response to a cold, authoritarian philosophy of parenting that had been dominant in America. For years, parents had been told to withhold affection from their children – not to touch them too often – not to respond to their tears. Understanding of children had not been encouraged, and fathers had held a minor role in their nurture and care. These things distressed Spock, and they would have upset me had I been born back then. Children need our tender affection, understanding and respect. However, Spock’s solutions reflected total ignorance of the hedonistic bent of human nature and fostered an over-exalted sense of self-importance in children. Homes became hotbeds for narcissism, entitlement and victim thinking.
In the early ’60s, under Spock’s influence, parents were watching their children become sassy and contentious, and increasing numbers were seeing them become juvenile delinquents and criminals. As the crime rate started to crawl up, SAT scores began to drop. Teenagers began to exercise less moral restraint and revealed an increasing contempt for authority. The free-love hippy movement and student protests were inevitable for children who had been raised to think too highly of themselves. Is it any surprise that Spock himself participated in protests and was arrested in 1968 because of his contempt for governmental authority?
In 1972, Spock’s imbalanced view of child rearing became greatly apparent when he entered the presidential race as the candidate for the socialistic People’s Party. Anyone who embraces socialism is clueless to a key element of proper parenting – personal responsibility.
What Spock’s actions reveal about the weaknesses of his philosophies is obvious, but some doubt that Spock’s influence was that pervasive. However, in the first year, his book sold 750,000 copies, and within six years it sold more than 4 million. It has since sold over 50 million and has been translated into more than 40 languages. According to Dr. Spock’s website, it is second in sales only to the Bible. Life magazine certified the depth of his influence, naming Spock among the 100 most important people of the 20th century.
Even Dr. Spock was aware of his negative influence upon parents. In a 1968 interview with the New York Times, Spock admitted that his first edition of “Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care” contributed to an increase of permissive parenting in America. “Parents began to be afraid to impose on the child in any way,” he said. In his 1957 edition, he tried to remedy that by emphasizing the need for setting standards and asking for respect. Unfortunately, Spock failed to see the deeper problems of his philosophy, so subsequent editions continued to cultivate narcissism.
As Spock’s radical parenting ideas grew in popularity, other “experts” jumped on the bandwagon and promoted their own versions of indulgent child rearing. Since 1946, parenting approaches that foster narcissism and contempt for authority have become the accepted norm in higher education and subsequently, in society. It is a simple matter to trace the dominant hedonism of our culture back to Spock’s influence.
And since the parenting we receive in childhood develops the worldview we hold as adults, Spock influenced not only how American’s conduct themselves in society, but how they approach government as well. Interestingly enough, in the 1968 New York Times interview, Spock admitted that he would “be proud if the idealism and militancy of youth today were caused by my book.” Raising children to adulthood with a defiant attitude toward authority was apparently one of his goals.
Spock died in 1998, and my intent is not to malign a man in the grave – it is to rescue America before we expire from moral disintegration. We must, therefore, identify and abandon the polluted well from which we have been drinking.
I write this account for you. For some of these events of this story occurred before you were born and then when you were very small and would not remember unless Mama tells you. Your dad was diagnosed with asthma when he was 2 years old. He struggled with it all his growing up years. He had many visits to the doctors and was diagnosed with lots of food and environmental allergies. He couldn't have chocolate, cows milk, pets that had dander like cats and chickens. He had to sleep in a room with no carpets and a big air purifier. Remember this was in the late fifties and early sixties. So most machines were a lot bigger back then compared to what they are now. He had to sleep partly elevated with 2 pillows so he could breath better. He gave his mom and dad a lot of scares as they watched over him and provided the best care they could give.
When he became a teenager, he out grew the asthma for the most part. He still could not run long distances and was excused from such activities in school and when he was in the military. He picked up a bad habit of smoking with he was sixteen. Grandma was not happy with him doing this after all the trouble they had with him on his breathing. He smoked for about 25 years. This habit was not kind to his lungs or his body. When he recommitted his life to the Lord, 5 years before Mommy met him, he became convicted about his habit and asked the Lord to help him. After a great struggle he was able to kick it.
Shortly after we met, his asthma began to return. It first started with only needing an over the counter allergy inhaler to give him relief when he was working in a dusty, dirty job or really tired. Then when we moved up here to Oregon, it got worse. The grass and tree pollen is really bad here in the spring and summer. He started going to a doctor for his condition. First he had an emergency inhaler with albuterol sulfate in it. Several years later he was having so much trouble between the weather and his job working in refrigeration, heating and air conditioning repair, that he went to the doctor and told him that he felt like he was drowning. They did a blood oxygen test on him and if he would of been one point lower they would of hospitalized him. They gave him a breathing treatment there and since he responded and the oxygen in his blood increased, they sent him home with a month of steroids to get the inflammation in his lungs down. Then they put him on a twice a day inhaler called Symbicort. It was a very expensive medicine ($350 an inhaler). It was a special drug that suppressed your immune system and it targeted your lungs. The doctor gave dad a free sample one. We did not have insurance to cover it, so your dad limped along with not using it all the time like it said to.
Finally dad was able to change jobs and started working for Providence Hospital. It really helped his health as he got to work inside with very sterile air and he worked in the sterile processing department for the surgery center of the hospital. Also we were able to get insurance that covered the expensive Symbicort. His breathing did improve but he still needed his medicine for the summer and when he got a cold. He would also have allergic reactions to the pollen of watery and burning eyes and dripping nose.
This summer, God touched your dad. My eyes are full of tears as I write this part. He stopped needing to use his inhaler. He could go outside and garden with Mama and not be bothered by the pollen. He stopped snoring loudly at night when he was tired and I would look over at him and he was breathing through his nose and his mouth was closed. Daddy had always needed to breath through his mouth at night to get enough air to breath. He went to his doctor and told how his breathing was so much better and not needing his medicine and his doctor was very surprised and said that he doesn't get news like that. Daddy is not taking any special vitamins or supplememts, just eating healthy and staying hydrated, as he has for a while now.
Dear sweet girl we are rejoicing in this work. The Lord promised your dad and I that we would live to raise you and he is abundantly fulfilling His promise to us. Your dad loves the Lord with all his heart and he is following the Lord in the truth humbly and faithfully. His walk with the Lord has always been such a joy and inspiration to me!!
Dad's tomato plant that has produced 40 tomatoes so far
Your are the wonderful fruit of our lives!
Your dad's grapevine that is blooming in the fall too!
A brother made such a great post in one of the Christian Forums, and we would like to share it with you. His name is Pierre.
Sufficiency and Humility
There are many who do not understand the teachings of Jesus concerning humility, and why he told people to sell all their possessions, and then follow him, as we see in this verse,
Is this a teaching that has become obsolete in favor of a modern luxurious and decadent life? First, before answering this, let us look at this old proverb that was written even before Jesus was born in the flesh,
In mentioning "feed me with food" as opposed to giving me riches or poverty, this proverb is referring to the nourishment of the body as the most basic need we should ask for. The two most basic needs related to the nourishment of the body for the body to live are food and water. The third and final need, although not necessary to live, but instead, needed to cover our nakedness, is clothing. These three things are the most basic needs, and they arefood, water, and clothing. Even Jesus made mention of these same three basic needs here,
Yet even before he made mention of these three basic needs of life, he spoke concerning this,
What is mammon? Mammon is wealth, riches, and excess of possessions. So here we have two polar opposites, which are,
Sell all your possessions as Jesus instructed, and believe in God to provide you with the basic needs of life, which are food, water, and clothing. This is the way involving serving God.
Or, continue having wealth, riches, and excess of possessions. This is the way involving serving mammon.
What are possessions? Possessions is anything you own, which also includes property. Your clothes, your house, your car, your furniture, your television, these are all possessions you own. Not only did Jesus instruct whomever he encountered to sell all their possessions, but this was also the same instruction the apostles gave to anyone who came to the belief of Jesus,
Notice how this scripture makes a distinction between "possessions" and "things of substance". As we said earlier, "possessions" includes everything you own, but "things of substance" is something more specific than possessions. "Things of substance" is property, or houses. The Greek word for "things of substance" is "huparxis", which specifically conveys "property". The same word is used in the following verse, although this translation renders the word as "possession" as well, losing its actual meaning of "property" specifically,
What is this better possession in the heavens? It is ahouse, a property, a mansion, in the heavens, prepared and given to each true believer that is chosen. This is why Jesus says,
These mansions are the "better properties" of those that are elect, which are kept safely in heaven so that they may not be broken into as properties on the earth are. That same verse Hebrews 10:34 I quoted earlier, describes this same reasoning, and is translated more clearly in the ESV than the APB in referencing earthy "properties" that are broken into,
So because properties on earth can be broken into, is another reason to store treasures in heaven, where thieves are not able to go up there and steal. And Jesus even said here,
So when are these mansions given to elect? When the new heavens and new earth is brought forth into existence, and the New Jerusalem comes down from heaven, which is the new heavenly city that will have these mansions and treasures that are prepared for the elect. Now, why is this distinction between possessions and properties of importance? Because Jesus was instructing to sell all your properties. The selling of properties coincides with this verse in the Book of Acts,
These believers were selling all their properties, as no believer should own property, which is why they sold all their properties. So if indeed they sold all their properties, where did they live? Some of them became apostles, such as Paul, going city to city, spreading the gospel and staying in someone's house for a short while until they went off to the next house, and others, rented their homes. We see evidence of renting even with Paul,
So while these early believers were selling all their properties, what were the possessions that they were also selling, since Acts 2:45 above made a distinction between the two? It was all the possessions they didn't need. This coincides with this scripture,
So in selling all properties, and selling all unnecessary possessions, what was left over to be had? Only the things that were needed, which goes back to the beginning of this study, concerning the most basic "needs". Bringing yourself down to these basic needs of only food, water, and clothes is possibly the lowest you can go in terms of humility, and this is indeed necessary for the ministry of apostleship, as Jesus also gave these instructions to the apostles,
Bringing yourself down to the basic needs of life is also why Jesus says,
The less you become, the greater you will become in the kingdom of God. This lessening of yourself by selling off of possessions and all properties is what humbling yourself truly means. There are many who think that humbling yourself is just a state of mind, or merely just praying constantly, but humbling yourself is in fact having all to do with ridding yourself all properties and possessions you don't need, which coincides with this proverb,
Meaning that when you truly humble yourself, then God show you favor, but while you are still in your excess, he will resist you. This is why the early believers sold all their possessions and all their properties, so that they can then be favored by God to be granted repentance and thus receive the gift of his holy spirit. This is why Jesus also said,
The first are those who are in excess of possessions, and the last are those who humble themselves and make themselves have little. When the time comes, those that made themselves first, will be made last, and those that made themselves last, will be first. Again, Jesus says here,
Those who exalt themselves are the ones who make themselves first and give themselves more than what they need, and those who humble themselves are those who make themselves last and sell of all properties and also all possessions they do not need. Yet even so, should all that are called sell absolutely everything and bring themselves down to only food, water, and clothes? No, because just as each has a measure of belief given to him, so each has a measure of how much they will humble themselves,
And even so, there were members of the early assemblies that still lived in homes, and did not make themselves "homeless" as the apostles were, going city to city, as we read here,
The assembling of the brethren, or what we call "churches" in today's time, was done in the homes, and it still must be done this way, but this is another topic entirely that I will explain in a another study. Going further, Jesus also says, the least among you, is the greatest, which also indicates that there is a measure of how "least" you become, and this even coincides with,
Again, indicating that there are those who become lesser than others, yet in being lesser, they are indeed greater. How are they greater? Because the lesser you become, the greater your reward will be, which coincides with this saying,
"Storing up" conveys the truth that these "treasures" in heaven can be accumulated by how "less" you become. Yet not even in lessening and humbling yourself are treasures stored in heaven, but also in sufferings as well, as it is even said here,
All these things, how far down you humble yourself, and the amount of sufferings you endure as well, in this present time, all relate to how great your reward will be. How far you humble yourself, and your measure of belief, also relate to what type of ministry you will undertake in the assemblies of God, which are,
Yet of all these, the ministry of apostleship specifically involves the bringing yourself down to the lowest basic needs of life, which are food, water, and clothes, and going city to city spreading the gospel and calling people to repentance. This type of ministry could be what we call today as the "missionary", yet an apostle does not always necessarily have to go to remote parts of the earth to be an apostle. An apostle can do the work of an apostle even in America. So, going back, these believers were selling their possessions, and their properties, and then in this verse we also read,
So if indeed these believers were selling their possessions and their properties, what was then left over that was said to be shared among all believers, as it says, "not even one said anything existing to him to be his own"? After they sold their possessions and all their properties, they were left with basic possessions they needed, such as needed clothes, needed furniture, needed things around the house, like needed utensils, and even also money of the things that were sold. This is the base level of humility all believers must come down to at the very least, yet if God has put it in your heart to go even lower in humility, then you ought to go even lower than this to the level of just basic needs of life, to thus receive a greater reward and possibly go into ministry of apostleship. In keeping the money of the things they sold, they then shared as each had need, which even those that were "rich" having a lot of money did as well, which coincides with this verse,
Having a lot of money is not evil, but rather, it is how you live where the evil is. You can have a lot of money, yet live like a poor and humble man. Yet it is indeed harder for someone who is wealthy to come into the kingdom of God, because many who have an abundance, do not want to bring themselves down to live like a poor man. This is why Jesus said,
Going further, the basic necessities that the early believers had left over after they sold their possessions and all their properties were the things they then shared with each other, which also coincides with this verse,
So what are the reasons that one must humble themselves in this literal way? First because it reflects the mindset of a traveler, or also called, a sojourner. Does a traveler visiting a city for a few days never coming back to that city buy a house to only stay in it for those few days or does he merely just reserve a hotel room? Does a traveler going to this same city for a few days bring his entire house of furniture and possessions or does he merely travel lightly? This is indeed the same reasoning behind those that are true believers, who travel lightly with the things necessary, and also rent if living in a home is necessary. True believers are indeed sojourners of the present eon, as it is even said here,
So therefore, renting is the mindset of a sojourner, knowing very well that living in the present eon is temporary and short, and that an incorruptible property will be given to those who remain faithful in Jesus Christ and are humble sojourners in the present eon. Yet those who become poor now, will be made wealthy in the time to come. This is also why Jesus said,
The meek, the poor, the humble, the last, these are the ones that will inherit the kingdom of God. Going further, Paul also says,
The love of money is what leads any man to go beyond what all true believers are called to do, to humble themselves by having the basic necessities of life. This is also why the Book of Revelation calls the roman catholic church the "prostitute of Babylon", because her existence as a church relates to her giving herself over to money, to have abundance of possessions and wealth. Look at the Vatican, and the wealth that exists in St. Peter's Basilica, and within Vatican City, and even in all the catholic churches. These are visible signs that correspond to a church given over to money and wealth, hence a "prostitute". And not only her, but all the megachurches, even the regular churches, and also denominations that stem from her, whether catholic or protestant, who do the same things the catholic church does in making themselves wealthy, and are thus the "daughter prostitutes of the great prostitute". These are all things that relate to money and having excess of possessions, and being given over to pleasures of life.
Their are many nations, and each one has its own culture, language, and national/international ideology. Each has its own distinct outlook, and perception about the world, and how it should be. Every nation that practices Socialism has its own version of it, because each nation is different at its core.
The United States is like other nations in this sense, it is unique, and it has developed its own version of Socialism, I am not going to give it a long scientific type name, we shall just refer to it as "American Socialism".
There are so many opinions about the definition of "Socialism". In this article we will simply define "Socialism" as a doctrine whereas a self aggrandized ruling body inflicts its will/agenda on the common citizens.
Socialism cannot exist in and of itself, it needs a driving force, an impetus, and it has to appear as though it is offering something of value to the citizens. This appearance of value can be used to condition the masses, and it has been used in this way for many years now.
If you have attended a public school, or college, or participated in a religious organization, or government employment, or even just turned on a television, radio, or phone, then you have been subjected to conditioning.
It is this conditioning that we will attempt to define in this article. It is important to remember that we are not ascribing any fault to any individuals, we are simply addressing a problem in the same way somebody would try to help someone that has a serious disease like cancer etc. In the same way that many people have had diseases that were not their fault. People can be very sincere, but at the same time be sincerely mistaken, and this is how we see the present state of our nation.
Everyone would have to agree that the basic building block of any society is the family ie: a father, a mother, and the children, and all of the kin. This constitutes the very fiber, and fabric of society, and civilization. Some doctrines are beneficial to family stability, while others are not. Doctrines that are based on truth, justice, protecting the innocent, faith, hope, love, self sacrifice, and honor, create an exceptionally vibrant environment for family growth, and health.
These ingredients are what this nation was built on, they are the very essence, and spirit that the founders wrote into the foundation of this country.
Like Jefferson said: "We hold these truths to be self evident".
The constitution is the very heart of the foundation. There are many patriotic quotes, but this one is among my favorites:
We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution.
– Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln Memorial
The things that make for a healthy, productive society are quite obvious, whereas the things that damage, and unravel the fabric of the nation are sometimes not so obvious, being obscured by agenda.
Anytime we see an intelligent person doing something damaging to the common good, or self-destructive, then we must assume that the person is mistaken in their logic, or they are being controlled by an agenda, or both.
If I were a malevolent influence that was trying to destroy the fabric of this nation, then I would attack the structure of the family, once this is done then it would be easy to dismember the nation with turmoil. An intelligent enemy would try to attack the most vulnerable part first, but the most vulnerable point is usually the most protected point, so if the attack is going to be successful, I would have to somehow effectively remove the protection. The most vulnerable point is always the heart.
The heart of our nation has been damaged, but this has not happened overnight, it has taken a long time. World War II is an obvious dividing line between the old republic, and the present day socialist state. If we consider the fear that was generated by the war, coupled with the feminist/socialist agenda propagated by the Roosevelts, and then that fear and agenda mixed with the bigotry against the minorities, and the failure of the religious organizations to speak out against feminism, bigotry, and fear because of their own financial agenda, then we can understand the dynamics that have created the present day socialist atmosphere.
What little protection that existed for the well being of the family was effectively removed during the 1940s, and the industrial feminism became the political socialist feminism of the following decades, which is the main impetus behind the demofrenetic socialist state that exists today.
Even right before 1940 there were 26 states that still had laws prohibiting women from working men's jobs, or rather women working with men. Today because of our socialist conditioning many would consider these laws archaic, and ridiculous. But if we examine the ramifications of these laws we can see the wisdom that they contained.
The original logic behind these laws stated that women working men's jobs, and working with men, would be disrupting homes, and stealing jobs from the men that needed those jobs to provide for their traditional families. If we examine history we can see that this is exactly what has happened, and is continuing to happen.
Women working with men are not only a distraction to the men, many men are lured away from their families and leave their previous obligations, which leaves their families devastated, and not only this but many women that go into the workplace of men are seduced away from their own families, which leaves them devastated. These are real and obvious facts, and because of the conditioning many have chosen to ignore these dangers. We are not saying that the women cannot do the jobs as well as a man can do them, what we are saying is that they should not do them because of the devastation it will cause. Just because a person can do something doesn't mean they should do that thing.
The other part of the laws state that the women working in men's jobs would be "stealing" jobs from the men, this simply means that those women would be taking those jobs knowing that they would be "replacing" a man for that particular job, so it is not something done accidentally, or unintentionally, those women are purposely, and knowingly replacing the men in those particular jobs, all the while disregarding the dangers, and the ethical reasons for leaving those jobs to the men so that they can provide for their families in a healthy work atmosphere, free from distraction, and immoral influences.
You see the logic of these laws were to protect men, women and children in the traditional family environment, where they could thrive without danger, and be protected from malicious influences, but that protection was removed, and now in this time it is even scoffed at, and ridiculed by a conditioned culture that is losing sight of the truth.
So you see that our culture is being driven by selfish ambition, instead of being guided by the spirit of nobility, and honor, like it used to be. There was a time in this country when most of the people did what was right simply because it was the right thing to do. They did what was right even if they had to take a hit for it. But this is not the case anymore, that noble spirit of America is being suppressed, and is languishing.
"For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing."
James 3:16
"We the People" means that we are the ones that govern ourselves in the spirit of honor and nobility, the spirit of America that says "we hold these truths to be self evident", and we are guided by the truth, even if we do not profit from it personally, even so we do profit from doing the right thing because the country will profit from it in maintaining a healthy environment for families.
So we see that American Socialism is driven by selfish ambition, and we must resist the conditioning that is keeping us from practicing the truth, the conditioning that has dulled our senses so much that we no longer hear the millions of children crying in the dark.
It is time for us as a nation to repent, and repair what is damaged, to revive the true spirit of America, the spirit of truth and justice, and abandon the selfish ambition, and self centered behavior that has reduced us to a nation of disorder.
We must make no mistake, if we continue on the path that we are on now, we will be dismembered by turmoil, and we will fully become a people that no longer are worthy of liberty.
Resist the conditioning and embrace the truth. Have the spirit of the Old Republic in your heart.
If you read the Bible, especially in Daniel and many New Testament passages, which I know a lot of you have, you will know that the world is destined for a global government. The Democrats and Republicans of the last 28 years have been steering our government to be part of a socialistic, homogeneous world government, trying to make everything the same and downplay any religious beliefs that will separate people. But that is not the description in the Bible. It is described as Iron mixed with clay definitely not homogeneous. Socialism is great for programs and government aid but is weak in economy and military might. The pure iron in the Bible is used to describe the Rome of old, a Republic of great military and economic strength. It lasted the longest of the empires described before the last great world wide government. So this shift in the political scene with Trump is destiny. He is talking about the Iron of the last government but he is not eradicating all of the socialist part of our government, just reigning it in. He is beginning a trend that will spread to all of the Western Countries and eventually create the last great empire of Iron and Clay. Our hope is not in mankind but in the Lord Jesus Christ. We need to concentrate on following Him and being ready for His return. Look up as redemption draws near.
My heart is so heavy when I see the divide in our country over the elections, especially with the Super Tuesday primary just happening. It reminds me so much of the 60s with the Hippie movement coming against the establishment of government and religion because of disillusionment. I remember a little bit about the 60's as I was born in 1960, the deeper issues of that movement were kind of hazy as I was so young. I read about it later when I got older and understood what was going on.
When I was kid I remember the songs like, "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing"and "Born Free". I remember singing Born Free, in 5th grade with some other girls in class. One girl played the piano and the rest of us sang. We would practice during our lunch hour and we performed it for the class. I remember feeling so hip and cool as the words rolled off my tongue:
"Born free, as free as the wind blows, As free as the grass grows, Born free to follow your heart, Live free and beauty surrounds you, The world still astounds you, Each time you look at a star. Stay free where no walls divide you, You're free as the roaring tide, So there's no need to hide, Born free and life is worth living, But only worth living, 'Cause you're born free, Stay free, where no walls divide you, You're free as the roaring tide, So there's no need to hide, Born free and life is worth living, But only worth living, 'Cause you're born free. Here is the link to the tune on You Tube: https://youtu.be/d6c70hPa8iU
Born Free was a song composed for a movie and ended up winning an Oscar for best song that year, in 1966. It was written for a story of a lion being raised by humans and then let go free, back to the wild where she belonged. It became really popular during the era of the 60's and early 70's as it resonated the feelings of the young people then.
Another song that I remember quite well was the Coca Cola song. I can remember singing that, many times. It went like this: "I'd like to build the world a home, And furnish it with love, Grow apple trees and honey bees, And snow white turtle doves, I'd like to teach the world to sing, In perfect harmony, I'd like to hold it in my arms, And keep it company, I'd like to see the world for once, All standing hand in hand, And hear them echo through the hills, For peace throughout the land, That's the song I hear, Let the world sing today, A song of peace, That echoes on, And never goes away, I'd like to teach the world to sing, In perfect harmony. Here is the you tube link to the song: https://youtu.be/7ytm856qh64
I found this interesting story about the coke song: The song first aired in July 1971 and featured a multicultural group of young people lip syncing the song on a hill outside Rome, Italy. The global unity of the singers is emphasized by showing that the bottles of Coke they are holding are labeled in a variety of languages. It became so popular that it was recorded by a number of recording artists and it became a big hit.
Thinking of these songs made me think of the idealism of that era. The desire for world peace and everybody loving each other and getting along, all different cultures being compatible and happy together. It was an idealism that longed for a Utopia but it was ignoring the curse upon the Earth because of sin and separation from God. That type of Utopia could only be possible when Jesus returns and sets all things right. Being a follower of Christ in this broken world that we live in, we desire the world to be set right when Christ comes, but until then we have to accept that there is evil. Men are not innately good and we need to protect ourselves through government, military, police and laws. Countries have to have borders and leaders to help protect the people physically and economically. Christ taught his followers to pay their taxes, work hard, be a good citizen and pray for the leaders of their country. He said the soldiers (which were the policemen of Rome) are the servants of God. They keep back chaos and protect the innocent people from the criminals.
The people in our country, that were not true followers of Christ, felt that they could promote all these ideals of globalism and all cultures getting along by legislation and government practices. It was like over time, the Hippies and their ideals to a certain extent, rose to power in our country. During the Hippie movement they were rebelling against the straight laced, religious people that were highly patriotic and were in control and yet dysfunctional in many ways. They didn't like the strong authoritarian figures. This too became accepted in our culture over time. So Christianity and patriotism came under attack by those in political power. No more saying the pledge to the Flag in School, no more prayer in public school and no more displaying of the Ten Commandments or other Christian symbols. The Christian and the patriot were portrayed as over bearing and not applicable to the culture of today.
Now I see this scenario has flipped. The liberal, permissive, everybody get along and get a handout came into control but they were weak in protection of the people physically and economically. They were great for all the social programs and accepting of all the races but they were ignoring the great big giant debt they were accruing from their "big hearts" and "benevolent acts" to others in our country and outside our country. The social ills of delinquent youth because of the crumbling of the traditional families, high divorce rates, low social accountability, bringing acceptance of sexual immorality and selfishness fueling abortion and raising children in dysfunction, has cost our country a lot of money. Prisons began to fill, and social programs began to multiply for troubled kids and mother's without a husband and father for the kids. This meant the government stepped in financially to help them out. Also the idea of trying to feed the world and the pressure it has put on production of food has damaged our farm land and made them fail ecologically. The honey bees are disappearing in our land because of these practices. The pressure on the animals and all the hormones and cheaper animal husbandry going on has hurt us physically bringing a whole host of diseases upon us. All the taxes on big companies to fund the government and its programs, and the restrictions on businesses for the environment, have driven them overseas and this taking away our jobs. Now the people are suffering economically as well as physically. We began to realize that we can't keep going like this. Something had to change.
The feeling of a need to change and go back to more traditional values of protecting our country, getting away from all the globalism expense, and becoming more conservative on how we view the family and moral behavior was brewing deeply in the people's heart. They just needed a leader to rally them. The leader did not make them feel the way they did, he would just be a voice for them. They were tired of all the rhetoric of the people in control, they wanted to make a statement of how they felt. Just like the Hippies did with all the growing of their hair long, going bare foot, free love, not getting a job and dabbling in all kinds of drugs and religions of the East to make a statement of the their stand against materialism, the governmental establishment, social caste systems and the organized Christian religions of our country. The Hippies' practices were not what Christ taught, they were not doing the "right thing" in the eyes of the Lord, but their hearts were crying out. The movement they were in was sparked by the senseless dying in the Vietnam War. They wanted to see genuine love and acceptance, stop all the social pressure and control to perform and for there to be peace.
The movement today that we are seeing was sparked by the fear of senseless dying at the hands of radical Islamic terrorists because of lack of protection on the government's part. The agenda of the government in the 60's to fight the Vietnam War was killing Americans needlessly. They were involved in a civil war they couldn't win. The agenda of the government today fighting in Iraq, involving themselves in a civil war that they could not win and awakening the nemesis of ISIS has sparked this movement in America today. No these people are not growing their hair long, going bare foot and not getting a job. Many of these people can not find a job and they are tired of all the fancy, nice talk and they want action. They find it refreshing if someone is brutally honest, even if it is not nice. They have a high mistrust of the organizations of politicians and donors. So they are drawn to an outsider. There is a lot of mistrust of the religious sounding politicians of the past who said a bunch of stuff and delivered very little. So if there is some swear words and not nice things said in the leader's speeches and comments, it bolsters the feeling they have, of mistrust of someone saying all the right things but not producing much. Is swearing and saying not nice things, the "right thing" to do in the eyes of the Lord. Well, of course not. But it is an indication of hearts who are crying out.
What are these hearts crying out for? They want to see genuine concern and love by doing and not just saying. Show some personal sacrifice, not just a token one. Doing something where you won't get a big financial gain out of it. They are crying out for someone to do things that could ruin their own reputation for the sake of the cause. They want someone to care about the common man and care about how they are protected and provided for.
How were the Hippies treated and looked at by the establishment of the 60's and the organized churches of the day? They were despised, called names, looked down on. They said they were going to destroy society. So they told people not to associate with them. They also told them to cut their hair and get a job. They basically were looked at like they were scum. How are these people, the Trumpies, treated and talked about by the establishment today. They call them backward, uneducated, radicals, racists, Nazi's, rude, liars and unChristian. They tell people that Trumpies are going to destroy our society and nothing good is going to come from them.
The Jesus Movement of the late 60's and early 70's started because people began to truly love the Hippies, that seemingly were unloveable. They began to understand what their hearts were crying out for and they changed the face of organized church practices. In the Jesus Movement, they were accepted just as they were. You could come to church dressed any ole' way you wanted to. Thus the song, "Little country church on the edge of town...long hair, short hair, some coasts and ties. People finally comin' around (meaning not just coming to church, but actually changing and seeing the truth)." The hallmarks of the Jesus Movement was the love of Jesus being no respector of person, letting go of material things and sharing things in common. Going back to basics of sharing and writing songs and reading straight through the Bible. This movement spread through out the whole country and changed how Christianity was practiced to this day.
Now what about this new movement? What is their heart cry? They are tired of all the talk about the right things to do and desire to see action. They want to see that people would tell them the truth, love them and be involved with them without financial gain ever. They are tired of all the programs and token sacrifices. They want to see things happen. We have already seen the young in our nation, the Millennials, begin to vacate the organized religions. In our part of the country about 33% say they believe there is a God but have no religious affiliation and do not go to "church". The established churches, run in the traditional way, of paid staff and buildings, programs, and evangelical outreachs and benevolent outreaches like food pantries and free meals, say that the next great revival will start with them. But in order to change to answer the heart cry of this movement and have no financial need and ties, they would have to change their whole world. To speak the whole truth of Jesus's words (being truthful in all things even the difficult truths) would mean they would suffer rejection and financial ruin. This means a grass roots spiritual movement will need to happen.
When people humble themselves and follow Christ Words they will have the oil in their lamps, they will have power without financial gain of any sort.
We are excited to see this movement of Trumpies, these are hearts ripe for revival, not to be scooped up into the status quo, but start a fresh work of the Lord. They may suffer rejection and persecution from the religious community who want to stick to the old pattern, the way things have been done for centuries. There is always persecution when there is a reformation.
"Not by might, not by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord of Hosts." Zechariah 4:6
Why Trump is a popular conservative candidate and not a so called "born again Christian" because a lot of people are tired of the Christian talk and no action in politics. Trump is promising action to help turn our nation around. That's what the people are interested in. We are not a Christian Nation, we are a nation sympathetic to Christianity and the founding Father's took some principles that they liked from Christianity but no where does Christ teach the majority rules, that principle came from Rome. There is no Christian nation now, as believers we are sojourners without a country looking forward to the country that Jesus will bring and he will be our King. Now we are to be good citizens where ever we live, work hard, speak the truth and follow the Lord no matter what.
