A generation is generally considered to be a period of about
thirty years; the time in which children can grow up and have children of their
own. In 1984, when I was thirteen years old, President Ronald Reagan said the
following; “I believe that faith and religion play a critical role in the political
life of our nation – and always has – and that the (Christian) church – and by
that I mean all churches, all denominations – has had a strong influence in the
state. And this has worked to our benefit as a nation … Without God, democracy
will not and cannot long endure. If we ever forget that we’re one nation under
God, then we will be a nation gone under.” President
Reagan was an unabashed Christian in both public and private life. Fast forward to 2009, when I was 38, and our
current President Barack Obama said, “one of the great strengths of the United
States is, although I have mentioned we have a very large Christian population,
we do not consider ourselves a Christian nation, or a Jewish nation, or a
Muslim nation, we consider ourselves a nation of citizens.” Now, anybody with
discernment can see the difference in these two comments.
The comments of
President Reagan were not meant to imply there were only Christians in the
United States; he was talking about the foundational principles of this country
which come from a Christian heritage. Whereas President Obama is denying the
Christian heritage as if to say all faiths have played a foundational role in
this country. “Then Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of one hundred and ten. And they buried him in the territory of his inheritance in
Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. All that generation also were gathered to their fathers; and there arose
another generation after them who did not know the Lord, nor yet the work which He had done for Israel (Judges 2:8-10).” Our Presidents reflect the beliefs of the majority
of the country. We see that in less than one generation we have gone from a
leader who proudly proclaimed the role the Christian faith has played in this
country’s development to one that does everything in his power to diminish that
same faith in order to elevate other faiths. Like the generation following the
death of Joshua, we have a generation who does not know the Lord or His impact
on this country. The words of President Reagan have also proven to be prophetic
in that we are fast becoming a nation that has “gone under.” While I do not
believe that God is faithful to the United States like He is with Israel, it is
undeniable that the faith we have expressed in Him as a nation throughout our
history has proven beneficial for us. And like the Jews who forgot the Lord
after Joshua died, we have “forsook the Lord” and “followed other gods from among the
gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed” down to them. My
prayer is that as we celebrate our freedom this Independence Day, we remember
that it was and is faith in Jesus Christ that has made this country the best
nation God has given mankind. If you are a Christian, take the time to reflect on
our proud history as well as prepare yourself to not only continue the fight to
keep this country “one nation under God,” but to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus
Christ to all who look upon this great nation.
Forgiving the Filibuster
I just shook my head the other day as a story in the
newspaper showed Texas politician Wendy Davis proudly having her arm raised to
signify a “victory” after her 13-hour filibuster successfully blocked a bill
banning abortions after five months! Yes, five months. In other words, she was
proud that 20 week old, unborn children could still be murdered in the womb. To
add to my dismay was the photograph of a group of her supporters in the
gallery, celebrating her efforts. It was difficult to look at these people and
not believe I was looking at the face of evil. If a five month old child was
murdered, I bet many of these same people would be shocked and horrified. Yet,
somehow they would have no problem murdering that same child in the mother’s
womb in support of “reproductive rights” or the “right to choose.” However, after my initial anger wore off, my
mind turned towards the Lord. There was Jesus Christ on the Cross, beaten
beyond recognition, bloodied, suffocating, being mocked, abandoned, betrayed
and having those who nailed Him to that cross gambling for His clothes. Dare I
say that these people were proud of having played a part in putting an innocent
man to death just like those who celebrated their part in sealing the fate of
countless unborn children? Yet, what did Jesus do? He gathered enough strength
to pray for those people. Jesus
said, “Father,
forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing (Luke 23:34).” I firmly
believe that the love of God can best be displayed when others are sinning against
you.
But, before you can love others like God, you have to first experience it
through placing a saving faith in Jesus Christ. While these abortion advocates
and supporters deny the truth in order to guarantee that unborn children
continue to die in the womb, we must remember that Jesus died for their sins
also. And as their sin rubs us the wrong way, as Christians, let us remember to
not only stand against them as we proclaim the truth, but also to ask the Lord
to help us forgive them the way we have been forgiven in hopes that by doing so
some will come to faith in Jesus Christ. After all, the Bible tells us to, “Consider
him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary
and lose heart (Hebrews 12:3).” In our “opposition from sinners” let us not
grow weary and lose heart because they do not know what they are doing? They
are spiritually dead to God in their sins just like those who put Jesus to
death on the Cross. God allows them to do as they do in hopes that it will drive
them to the end of themselves. In many ways, that is the only way they will
realize that they need the grace and mercy of God which is only found through
faith in Jesus Christ. It is disheartening to think that the most dangerous
place for a child to be is in its mother’s womb. Yet, while we can rest in the
fact that a just and loving God will welcome those aborted babies into His
presence in Heaven, our proclamation of the truth just might result in those
who aborted their children coming to faith in Jesus Christ and one day being
reunited with their children in Heaven.
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