While the Prophecy authors, and a hand-full of the usual nuts, go about warning of God’s judgment “soon” to come upon America, I believe they are like the farmer who ran to close the barn door after the horses had escaped. They are blind, these “judgment warn-ers” for judgment has already been poured out upon America in the form of a strong delusion, sent by God. Its the only explanation for the insanity and self-destruction we are witnessing today. How else do we explain that nuts, conspiracy theorists, and crazies (in and out of the church) have taken center-stage in this country? 

Anyway, I am aware the above comment has little to nothing to do with this story below…except perhaps to show further proof of the evil spirit which has been loosed upon this nation.

quote, 

Eagle Forum founder and Joseph McCarthy admirer Phyllis Schlafly is using the Boston marathon bombings as an excuse to push for the reinstatement of the notorious House Committee on Un-American Activities.

“It would be useful to reinstate the House Committee on Un-American Activities,” Schlafly wrote in a column yesterday, “so we can have a look at those in our midst who may be jihadists, dupes of violent Muslim indoctrination, or (in old Communist lingo) fellow travelers or useful idiots.”

In her column, which she titled, “Are You American 1st or Muslim 1st?,” Schlafly further argues that while it is okay to be a Christian first and American second, Muslims who put faith first should not be allowed in the country.

Continued here: Schlafly: ‘Reinstate the House Committee on Un-American Activities’

In September of last year the president of a large nation stood before all the nations gathered in the assembly hall of the United Nations in New York City. He spoke about peace and understanding, but in his speech he also proclaimed that Jesus was coming back.

Can you imagine such a thing? A president of a nation proclaims before the whole world that Jesus Christ the Savior is returning to this world.

Surely it must have been the president of a self proclaimed “Christian” nation like England or the United States. Surely it must have been a president that professes Christ. That is what you might think, but you would be wrong.

The man was….

See: The Lion is on His Way at Following Judah’s Lion

While Hebrew Roots appears to teach that because of the Lord’s death, obedience to the Law is a privilege and not a requirement, a number of its teachers seem to be going well beyond that. They claim that in fact Torah observance is a requirement for all believers. Some have also abandoned the Greek based New Testament in favor of translations from Aramaic texts, due to alleged errors in the Greek based texts. They say those who call the Lord by His English name (Jesus) are actually worshiping a pagan god, which according to them makes traditional Christianity a pagan religion. They want us to believe that the only acceptable name for the Son of God is Yeshua (His name in Hebrew), and the only acceptable way to worship Him is by obeying the Torah and observing the Feasts of Israel.

Feel free to offer your comments on the above, but what I’d really like to hear are your thoughts on what he writes about Israel and the Church having separate destinies.

For instance,

In the Old Testament, God promised Israel that He would return one day to dwell among them in their land on Earth forever (Ezekiel 43:1-7). In the New Testament, Jesus promised the Church that He would come back and take us off the Earth to be with Him in His Father’s House (John 14:1-3). Both these promises will come true, so Israel and the Church will fulfill their prophetic destinies in different locations. The purpose of the rapture of the Church is to remove us from the time and place of the end times judgments that will take place on Earth (1 Thes. 1:10, 1 Thes. 5:9, Rev. 3:10). The purpose of the end times judgments is to completely destroy all the nations to which Israel has been scattered (Jeremiah 30:4-11) and to purify Israel in preparation for the coming Kingdom (Zechariah 13:8-9)…..

Concerning the Millennium and Israel,

The primary purpose of this Kingdom (known to the church as the Millennial Kingdom) is to give Israel its long promised Kingdom Age, although the entire millennial world will benefit from it….

Israel will be the preeminent nation on Earth during the Kingdom Age, and surviving tribulation believers and their descendants from all nations will come to Jerusalem to learn the ways of the Lord. He will settle their disputes, making war between nations a thing of the past.

The wealth of neighboring nations will pour into Israel. Camels will be brought from Midian. Gold and incense from Sheba will adorn the Lord’s Temple in Israel. Flocks from Kedar and Nebaoith will be received as offerings on His altar there. (Midian and Sheba were descendants of Abraham and Keturah, the wife he took after Sarah died. Kedar and Nebaioth were sons of Ishmael. Their descendants are all part of the Middle Eastern Islamic nations of today.) The ships of Tarshish (Great Britain) will bring gold and silver from afar. Any nation that refuses to serve Israel will be utterly ruined by divine decree.

And the Millennium for the Church,

Meanwhile, life will be far different in the home of the Redeemed Church. Although the Kings of the Earth will bring us their splendor, no unbeliever can ever set foot in the place, nor even a believer in his natural state.

Our mansions in the sky will be built of the purest gold as will the streets that run before them, their foundations made from precious stones. There will be no Temple in the New Jerusalem because the Lamb of God will dwell there and is our Temple. The energy source that will light and warm us is the Glory of God, and our radiance will in turn provide light for the nations of Earth. (Rev.21:9-27) Other than calling us Kings and Priests, the Bible doesn’t mention any kind of work for us. Our glorified bodies will have been released from their dimensional bonds, allowing us to appear and disappear at will, traveling back and forth through time at the speed of thought as we plumb the limitless delights of God’s Universe..

Our eternal home is not on Earth, but it’s not at the Throne of God either. Coming down out of the heavens but never landing on Earth, our home could be called a low orbit satellite in today’s terminology…

And finally,

One God, Two Destinies: So the destiny of Israel has its place outside of the Church and the destiny of the Church has its place outside of Israel. The two are not the same and were never intended to be seen as such. The only thing these two groups will have in common is their belief that Jesus (Yeshua) died for their sins and rose again on the third day (1 Cor. 15:1-4).

But just as gentiles who converted to Judaism in Old Testament times became part of Israel, Jews who convert to Christianity in New Testament times become part of the Church. No matter what our background happens to be, conversion to Christianity makes us a new creation, neither Jew nor Gentile, part of an entirely new race of mankind.

In the beginning there was one classification of mankind. But in calling Abraham, God created a new classification. From then on there were two, Gentiles and Jews, and they are forever different. It remained that way until the cross, when as Paul explained, a third classification was brought into existence. Taking some from among the Gentiles and some from among the Jews, but making them different from either, God created a new classification called the Church. No matter what their former status was, from Pentecost until the Rapture everyone who comes to faith in the Lord becomes part of the Church and will inherit the Church’s destiny.

Those who choose to express their gratitude for the free gift of salvation through living by the Torah are free to do so. In the same way, those who choose to express their gratitude by striving toward the victorious Christian life described in the New Testament are free to do so. But anyone who teaches that either form of expression is required to achieve or maintain their salvation has run afoul of clear Biblical instruction to the contrary.

This disagreement over the proper response to God’s gift of salvation is not new. In the earliest days of the Church there were those among the Jewish believers who insisted that the only path to salvation for Gentiles was to first put themselves under the laws and practices of Judaism. The council of Jerusalem put that idea to naught and authorized Gentiles to be received directly into Christianity. Still the “Judaizers” followed Paul from city to city trying to undo what he had done. Later, Gentiles who called themselves Christian forced whole communities of Jews to convert to Christianity upon pain of death. Both of these efforts were thought by their proponents to be pleasing to God, but in the end we can see that neither was.

That’s because when God looks into our future it’s not Jews and Gentiles He sees. It’s Israel and the Church. Each has its unique origin and each has its unique destiny.

I’d encourage you to read the entire article, Israel, The Church, And The Hebrew Roots Movement.

After asking if President Obama, whom Wiles believes is literally a demon, is of the Illuminati’s bloodline, Bailey responded that he is not, at least according to his Illuminati “source.”

But don’t be disappointed just yet.

Bailey told Wiles that the Illuminati consider Obama to be the “forerunner of the Antichrist” (which we always thought was Oprah Winfrey) and that there is an Illuminati member who may be in the White House soon enough: Hillary Clinton.

Wiles: Lucifer ran this world and that is what they are seeking to bring back in the Last Days, that is the world government, that is the last beast, that is the fourth beast that is coming, it is a resurrection of the pre-Flood Luciferian government and the Illuminati is the bloodline that exists today with the assignment to bring about the resurrection of this pre-Flood Luciferian government.

Bailey: That is exactly what they’re doing; now the New World Order, so the head of the New World Order — there are many organizations — but the head of it is the Illuminati.

…

Bailey: You’re born into the Illuminati so if you hear these people who claim ‘well I joined the Illuminati and blah blah blah’ well they’re lying, that’s just not true, they have delusions of grandeur.

Wiles: Do you think Barack Hussein Obama is part of the bloodline?

Bailey: No he’s not; I’ve asked specifically. He is called the ‘Forerunner of the Antichrist.’ But Hillary [Clinton] is in the Illuminati.

Source (RWW) with audio

The Divine life within us comes from God, and is entirely dependent upon Him. As I need every moment afresh the air to breathe, as the sun every moment afresh sends down its light, so it is only in direct living communication with God that my soul can be strong. The manna of one day was corrupt when the next day came. I must every day have fresh grace from heaven, and I obtain it only in direct waiting upon God Himself. Begin each day by tarrying before God, and letting Him touch you. Take time to meet God.

To this end, let your first act in your devotion be a setting yourself still before God. In prayer, or worship, everything depends upon God taking the chief place. I must bow quietly before Him in humble faith and adoration, speaking thus within my heart: “God is. God is near. God is love, longing to communicate Himself to me. God the Almighty One, Who worketh all in all, is even now waiting to work in me, and make Himself known.”

Take time, till you know God is very near.

When you have given God His place of honour, glory, and power, take your place of deepest lowliness, and seek to be filled with the Spirit of humility. As a creature it is your blessedness to be nothing that God may be all in you. As a sinner you are not worthy to look up to God; bow in self-abasement. As a saint, let God’s love overwhelm you, and bow you still lower down. Sink down before Him in humility, meekness, patience, and surrender to His goodness and mercy. He will exalt you. Oh! Take time, to get very low before God.

Then accept and value your place in Christ Jesus.

God delights in nothing but His beloved Son, and can be satisfied with nothing else in those who draw nigh to Him. Enter deep into God’s holy presence in the boldness which the blood gives, and in the assurance that in Christ you are most well pleasing. In Christ you are within the veil. You have access into the very heart and love of the Father.

This is the great object of fellowship with God, that I may have more of God in my life, and that God may see Christ formed in me. Be silent before God and let Him bless you.

This Christ is a living Person. He loves you with a personal love, and He looks every day for the personal response of your love. Look into His face with trust, till His love really shines into your heart. Make His heart glad by telling Him that you do love Him. He offers Himself to you as a personal Saviour and Keeper from the power of sin. Do not ask, can I be kept from sinning, if I keep close to Him? But ask can I be kept from sinning, if He always keeps close to me? And you see at once how safe it is to trust Him.

We have not only Christ’s life in us as a power, and His presence with us as a person, but we have His likeness to be wrought into us. He is to be formed in us, so that His form or figure, His likeness, can be seen in us. Bow before God until you get some sense of the greatness and blessedness of the work to be carried on by God in you this day.

Say to God, “Father, here am I for Thee to give as much in me of Christ’s likeness as I can receive.” And wait to hear Him say, “My child, I give thee as much of Christ as thy heart is open to receive.”

The God who revealed Jesus in the flesh and perfected Him, will reveal Him in thee and perfect thee in Him. The Father loves the Son, and delights to work out His image and likeness in thee. Count upon it that this blessed work will be done in thee as thou waitest on thy God, and holdest fellowship with Him.

The likeness to Christ consists chiefly in two things–the likeness of His death and resurrection, (Rom. 6:5). The death of Christ was the consummation of His humility and obedience, the entire giving up of His life to God. In Him we are dead to sin. As we sink down in humility and dependence and entire surrender to God, the power of His death works in us, and we are made conformable to His death. And so we know Him in the power of His resurrection, in the victory over sin, and all the joy and power of the risen life. Therefore every morning, “present yourselves unto God as those that are alive from the dead.” He will maintain the life He gave, and bestow the grace to live as risen ones.

All this can only be in the power of the Holy Spirit, who dwells in you. Count upon Him to glorify Christ in you. Count upon Christ to increase in you the inflowing of His Spirit. As you wait before God to realize His presence, remember that the Spirit is in you to reveal the things of God. Seek in God’s presence to have the anointing of the Spirit of Christ so truly that your whole life may every moment be spiritual.

As you meditate on this wondrous salvation and seek full fellowship with the great and holy God, and wait on Him to reveal Christ in you, you will feel how needful the giving up of all is to receive Him. Seek grace to know what it means to live as wholly for God as Christ did. Only the Holy Spirit Himself can teach you what an entire yielding of the whole life to God can mean. Wait on God to show you in this what you do not know. Let every approach to God, and every request for fellowship with Him be accompanied by a new, very definite, and entire surrender to Him to work in you.

“By faith” must here, as through all Scripture, and all the spiritual life, be the keynote. As you tarry before God, let it be in a deep quiet faith in Him, the Invisible One, who is so near, so holy, so mighty, so loving. In a deep, restful faith too, that all the blessings and powers of the heavenly life are around you, and in you. Just yield yourself in the faith of a perfect trust to the Ever Blessed Holy Trinity to work out all God’s purpose in you.

Begin each day thus in fellowship with God, and God will be all in all to you.

Chapter (1) - THE DEEPER CHRISTIAN LIFE by Andrew Murray 

Jenna Bush Hager gave birth to a baby girl, Margaret Laura ‘Mila’ Hager, on Saturday, the Bush family announced in a Sunday statement.

The Dallas Morning News reports that the former first daughter, who is married to Henry Hager, gave birth to Mila Saturday evening in New York City. Former President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, said the baby was named after her grandmothers.

“Laura and I are thrilled to announce the birth of our grandchild,” read the Bush family’s statement. “We met our beautiful granddaughter today. Jenna and Mila are healthy. And our family is elated.”

Source

A few weeks ago I posted Support Us or You’re a Bigot? here at the blog. I received a steady wave of feedback. It was mostly civil. I learned this much, if you want to boost your blog traffic just express your views on homosexuality or gay marriage. The primary point of Support Us or You’re a Bigot? was to voice my concerns over the name-calling and the vitriol that is so common when we allow extremists to set the stage of any debate. It’s wrong, unfair, and dishonest. A person can disagree with “gay marriage” and still love their gay neighbor, just as they do their Muslim, Wiccan, and white supremacist neighbor…

Let me be clear. I don’t support or oppose gay marriage. And for good reason. It is for me a conviction rooted in Christ and his ability to creatively navigate cultural situations and contexts for the sake of the Kingdom.

I wonder if you have recognized that we can’t hear a third way of dealing with this in the culture because the matter is truly unlike most issues involving civil rights. It’s not a race issue, it’s a moral issue. And some folks are legitimately concerned that if “gay marriage” is sanctioned (based on the feelings one person has for another), then what is to stop polygamy, or something even more detestable? Are you going to deny their “rights” too?

You can’t easily brush this question aside if you’re an honest, thinking person. Why should “rights” stop with gay couples? It shouldn’t according to the logic of the LGBT folks and supporters I’ve heard. But what sort of world would we be inviting? It’s a question for the church and the state.

There you have it, folks—one more reminder why politics, and the rules it must operate by, will never be able to bring the full measure of peace, freedom, and justice we long for in the world.

No pragmatic politics or ethics will do. Without moral boundaries given from above, i.e. built into creation and divinely revealed, we must make it up as we go. “Do what thou wilt” shall be the whole of the law.

In case you missed it, I’ve been upfront that I don’t believe homosexuality (or even faithful “monogamous” homosexual relationships) is God’s best for humanity. And I believe this should be lovingly addressed in the church, right after we address the problem of divorce and adultery among heterosexuals. So, I believe it’s at this point an “in-house” issue.

The real problem I see here is what happens to the issue when it enters the ambiguous, complex, and nasty realm of politics. As an Anabaptist thinker and practitioner, this is where I bow out with a purpose.

Continued Here

David Flowers has posted a thoughtful article and I hope after reading it you’ll leave a comment. I’m very interested to hear what you think about his beliefs concerning the Church’s approach to this issue. 

One commenter (Chris Gorton) made what I considered an excellent point,

The gay marriage issue is just one of many where the enemy of our souls uses false alternatives to encourage us to cross lines that should not be crossed. We win by laying down our lives, not by trying to preserve our lifestyles….We must not battle on his terms. We have been given far more powerful weapons than his, if we will but use them.

Amen. “We win by laying down our lives, not by trying to preserve our lifestyles”….

quote,

Thirteen of America’s top religious right social conservatives this week sent Republican National Committee (RNC) chairman Reince Priebus an official letter warning if the GOP moderates on same-sex marriage or refuse to actively defend “traditional marriage,” they will take all their followers and form a third party. The RNC is holding their quarterly meeting in Los Angeles this week.

Leaders from the American Family Association, Family Research Council, Eagle Forum, and the Traditional Values Coalition, among others, signed the warning.

NBC reports: The signatories to this week’s letter were:

Gary Bauer, President, American Values

Paul Caprio, Director, Family-Pac Federal

Marjorie Dannenfelser, President, Susan B. Anthony List

Dr. James Dobson, President and Founder, Family Talk Action

Andrea Lafferty, President, Traditional Values Coalition

Tom Minnery, Executive Director, CitizenLink

William J. Murray, Chairman, Religious Freedom Coalition

Tony Perkins, President, Family Research Council

Sandy Rios, VP of Government Affairs, Family-Pac Federal

Austin Ruse, President, Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute

Phyllis Schlafly, President, Eagle Forum

Rev. Louis P. Sheldon, Founder, Traditional Values Coalition

Tim Wildmon, President, American Family Association

More Here

I think they should go for it. After all, reading through the list and visiting their websites, it’s evident all these people have been political spokespersons and activists for years. They may as well make it official and form their own personal party. Oops! I forgot…they kind of DID that already. It was called the Republican party of the last 30 years.  

From Frank Viola’s article, Rick Warren’s Horrific Tragedy & The Sickening Response of Some “Christians” 

quote,

Now is a good time to go back and re-read Warning: The World is Watching How We Christians Treat One Another.

Why do so many people not want to have anything to do with Jesus? It’s because of the cruel, harsh, self-righteous, and judgmental attitude that some professing “Christians” level against their fellow believers. “Why would I want to be part of that bunch!?” . . . is the common response by so many non-Christians today.

Yesterday, I got the sad news that Rick Warren’s youngest son committed suicide.

If you are a Christian and your heart doesn’t go out to this brother and his family, something is wrong with you spiritually. I don’t care what you think about Warren’s theology, his books, or how he combs his hair. The fact is, he lost a child. Few things can be more painful and nightmarish in this life.

To add insult to injury, take a look at some of the comments by fellow Christians (professing ones at least) to the news. These are comments that were left on various Christian news websites under the Warren article;

*Train up your children in the way, live a godly example with right priorities, care enough to home-school despite the great sacrifice involved, don’t let them date unchaperoned, have daily family devotions, turn off the 1-eyed idiot, TRULY HAVE A PURPOSE-DRIVEN LIFE, and your children WILL NOT COMMIT SUICIDE, nor will they be involved in homosexuality, nor fornication. —  

*He killed himself, it’s much worse than fornication or homosexuality or Onanism or eating pork. He denied himself a chance to get better. If your kids need a chaperone to date, why do you let them date? They shouldn’t be dating if they are not mature enough to control themselves. –  

*Suicide happens soon after your stupid enough to read “The Purpose Driven Life”. –  

*Poor Matthew denies God’s Love with suicide. –  

*He could not save his own because Mr. Warren does not truly understand how his own heart works, how it is broken and the mechanism by which Jesus laid out the example of how to fix it. Matthew killed himself because he did not understand either. He was a victim of his own ignorance and the ignorance of his family, friends, society and Christians around him — presently!

Sisters and Brothers, we have not so learned Jesus Christ!

There were more comments like these, unfortunately…

I fear for those who made these deplorable remarks. The Scriptures clearly teach that how we treat others is how the Lord will treat us. And if we have the knife out for one of His children, we will eventually end up falling on it ourselves. Paul said you will reap what you sow. That’s written in the heavens. So be very, very careful how you respond to someone else’s tragedy, mistakes, pain, or loss.

Treat others the way you want to be treated in every circumstance – (Luke 6:31). Ergo, how would YOU want to be treated if you lost a child? How we respond to bad things that happen to others (be they tragedies, failures, or pain) is a barometer that reveals how well we know our Lord. In fact, there may be no greater test.

“If Christians cannot extend grace through faithful presence within the body of believers, they will not be able to extend grace to those outside.” ~ James Davison Hunter

Like I said, responses like those above (and believe me, I actually read some much worse) didn’t surprise me in the least. That type of cold reaction is something I’ll never accept from fellow Christians, but regrettably it is something I’ve come to expect.    

Pat Robertson does not think the United States’ push for peace in the Middle East is the way to go. He recently said such a move is “asking for the wrath of Almighty God.”

The “700 Club” host discussed on April 9 Secretary of State John Kerry’s effort to encourage negotiating an end to the more than 60-year-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict. (The Associated Press notes previous peace talks crumbled in 2008, with Palestine refusing to resume talks and Israel continuing to build settlements.)

Robertson apparently doesn’t believe there should be peace in the Middle Eastbecause, according to Right Wing Watch, “any deal that includes territorial concessions to the Palestinians, including Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem, will lead to divine retribution and ‘catastrophic’ consequences.”

Said Robertson:

God says, “They divided my land … This is my land. I gave it to Abraham and his descendants, and I don’t want it taken away from them.” And Jerusalem is the eternal capital of Israel. And for the United States to get into a deal where they’re trying to split Jerusalem and take it away from the Israelis and split up their capital — huge mistake. You’re asking for the wrath of Almighty God to fall on this nation. And when it falls, it won’t be fun.

He called Kerry’s diplomacy a “course of folly” that will result in “terrible suffering” for the U.S.

The televangelist — who once advised a man to become a Muslim so he can beat his wife, and who also said “Ariel Sharon’s stroke was divine punishment for ‘dividing God’s land,’ and giving away Gaza to the Palestinians,” per The New York Times — has been vocal about his controversial stance on the Mideast peace process.

Back in 2004, Robertson offered Israel the support of Evangelical Christians. He boiled the Israel-Palestinian conflict down to a religious struggle and warned that “if God’s chosen people turn over to Allah control of their most sacred sites” then “Islam will have won.”

“We believe that God has a plan for this nation which He intends to be a blessing to all the nations of the earth,” Robertson said at the time. “Of course, we, like all right-thinking people, support Israel because Israel is an island of democracy, an island of individual freedom, an island of the rule of law, and an island of modernity in the midst of a sea of dictatorial regimes, the suppression of individual liberty, and a fanatical religion intent on returning to the feudalism of 8th Century Arabia.”

Although his beliefs are extreme, Robertson is not alone in his line of thinking.

A March CNN-ORC International poll revealed that two-thirds of Americans don’t think Israel and its Arab neighbors, including Palestine, will ever find peace. According to the same poll, 46 percent of respondents consider Israel an ally.

“There is a large partisan divide in the U.S. over Israel,” CNN Polling Director Keating Holland said. “Sixty-three percent of Republicans call Israel an ally of the U.S., compared to only 33 percent of Democrats. A plurality of Democrats think that Israel is friendly to the U.S.; only one in five think it is unfriendly or an enemy.”

Source with video

…because if Robertson is correct then Jesus proclaiming “blessed are the peacemakers” (Matthew 5:9) must have been a slip of the tongue. Guess he meant to say “cursed are the peacemakers” 

Are evangelical Christians rapidly becoming one of the most hated minorities in America? Once upon a time such a notion would have been unthinkable, but these days things are changing dramatically. All over the United States, evangelical Christians are being called “extremists” and evangelical Christian organizations are being labeled as “hate groups”. In fact, as I will detail later on in this article, a U.S. Army Reserve training presentation recently specifically identified evangelical Christians as “religious extremists”. This should be extremely chilling for all evangelical Christians out there, because as history has shown us over and over again, when you want to persecute a particular group of people the first step is always to demonize them. And that is exactly what is being done to evangelical Christians today.

Continued Here

My reason for stating this is ‘somewhat biased’ is the author, through-out his article, appears to be believe the terms Evangelical and Christian are synonymous, when in fact they are not. At least they are not one and the same in today’s America.

Anyway, reading through the article and the comments left by readers, a couple scriptures come to mind.

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me“ – Matthew 5: 11

“But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;  But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:  Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing“ – 1 Peter 3: 14-17

Just musing here but I think it’s a good idea when we start screaming, persecution! persecution!, that the persecution is coming for the right BIBLICAL reasons…don’t you? And, “if” America’s Evangelicals are being labeled as extremists or as a hate group, it also might be worth-while to take a moment to ask “why”.

Is it for Jesus Christ….is it because Evangelicals respond with meekness and humility when asked for the reason for the hope they possess,…is it because of their loving, “good” conversations concerning the Gospel and Christ?

Or are these labels being now attached to America’s Evangelicals for some other reason, entirely?

“I hope many of us, so soon as our children saw the light, if not before, presented them to God with this anxious prayer, that they might sooner die than live to disgrace their father’s God.”

We only desired children that we might in them live over again another life of service to God; and when we looked into their young faces, we never asked wealth for them, nor fame, nor anything else, but that they might be dear unto God, and that their names might be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

We did then bring our children to Christ as far as we could do it, by presenting them before God, by earnest prayer on their behalf. And have we ceased to bring them to Christ? Nay, I hope we seldom bow the knee without praying for our children. Our daily cry is, “O, that they might live before thee!”

God knows that nothing would give us more joy than to see evidence of their conversion; our souls would almost leap out of our bodies with joy, if we should but know that they were the children of the living God. Nor has this privilege been denied to us, for there are some here who can rejoice in a converted household. Truly we can say with the apostle Paul, “I have no greater joy than this, that my children walk in the truth.”

We continue, therefore, to bring them to Christ by daily, constant, earnest prayer on their behalf. So soon as they become of years capable of understanding the things of God, we endeavour to bring them to Christ by teaching them the truth. Hence our Sabbath-schools, hence the use of the Bible and family prayer, and catechizing at home.

Any person who shall forbid us to pray for our children, will incur Christ’s high displeasure; and any who shall say, “Do not teach your children; they will be converted in God’s own time if it be his purpose, therefore leave them to run wild in the streets,” will certainly both “sin against the child” and the Lord Jesus.

~ Charles Spurgeon