Let's Wake Up

"Ah, sinful nation, a people loaded with guilt, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption! They have forsaken the LORD; they have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him." (Isaiah 1:4 NIV).

These words of warning were given by Isaiah before the fall Judah of and the destruction of Israel. Even today, some 3,000 centuries later Israel still suffers because Israel has "spurned the Holy One . . . and turned their backs on him." (3,000 rounded from when Isaiah wrote those words.)

Eugene Peterson in The Message: The Old Testament Prophets renders the second half of this verse, "My people have walked out on me, their God, turned their backs on the Holy of Israel, walked off and never looked back."

Today’s thought is a little different. In the mid-40's America began a process of walking off on God. In the early to mid-60's that walk turned into a run from God. Freedom of religion was reinterpreted by a liberal court to mean freedom from religion. Yesterday, a federal appellate court in San Francisco took us a step closer to the brink of destruction as a nation when they declared the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional.

No amount of revisionist history can change the fact that this country was founded solidly upon Christian principles. Patrick Henry, politician and statesman said, "It cannot be emphasized too often or too strongly that this great nation was founded not by religionists but by Christians . . . not on religion but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ." And John Quincy Adams said, "The highest glory of the American Revolution was that it connected in one indissoluble bond the principles of civil Government with the principles of Christianity."
In 1811, in the case "The People verses Ruggels" the Supreme Court decided, "Whatever strikes at the root of Christianity tends to destroy civil Government." This ruling went on to state that any attack on Christ was tantamount to an attack on the Government of the United States. And George Washington, the Father of our Country stated in his farewell address, "Do not let anyone claim to be a true American if they ever attempt to remove religion from politics."

Where did this nation begin to walk out on the God who has so richly blessed it? I believe the desertion began when the ACLU formed with the express purpose of "undermining democracy through the judicial process." That goal has certainly been accomplished. This myth began in 1947 when the Supreme Court, following the philosophy of Dr. William James, a psychologist in opposition to the Church and all it stood for, erected the wall of Separation that has been the bane of the American Public ever since.

There are some interesting things to note about this particular decision. The decision came in Everson verses the Board of Education. The decision was based upon the philosophy, "There is nothing so absurd, but that if you repeat it enough and often enough, people will believe it."
Here are the unique things about the 1947 Supreme Court's decision:
First of all, it is totally unconstitutional! The First Amendment reads, "Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion . . . ." In other words, there was to be no official state religion.

In 1801, the Danbury Baptist Association grew alarmed over the rumor that the Congress was about to make the Congregationalist Denomination the official denomination of the United States. Concerned, they wrote to President Jefferson asking for a clarification on the "establishment of religion clause." Jefferson, in response wrote on January 1, 1802, "The first amendment had erected a wall of separation, but that wall is a one directional wall; it makes sure that the government will not run the church but it also makes sure that Christian principles will always stay in government." My, how things have changed!
The Supreme Court of 1947, chose to ignore the context of Jefferson's letter, and extracted only one phrase from it that it has used over and over again to dupe the American public every time it makes another unconstitutional decision based upon their misapplication of the establishment of religion clause.

If that is not enough, lets go on: "Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. . . . " every time the Court tells me where I can pray and where I can't pray, they have prohibited my free exercise of religion and have broken the Constitution of the United States which they are sworn to uphold! Separation of Church and State, as it is practiced today is simply unconstitutional!
Not only was the 1947 decision unconstitutional, but it was the first time in the court's history that they made a decision that was not based on precedence! In effect, they did not make a legal decision, they made a biased declaration!

If the court had looked at the facts, if they had followed precedence, they would have realized that the intent of our founding fathers was never to take the influence of the church out of government. Indeed, it is written in history books used in our schools until the 1960's that the basis for our form of Government was and is found in Scripture. A study was done of the speeches of our Founding Fathers. Ninety-Four percent of the quotes they used were based on the Bible. Think about it. Why can we not have prayers in our Schools today? Because on June 25, 1962, in "Engle verses Vital" the Court, using no precedence, framed a new doctrine of separation of religious principles from public education. That doctrine gave preference to a minority voice over the out-cry of the majority, and one person's views were given preferential treatment and another person's views had to be suppressed.

Today, you and I do not live in a democracy we live in an oligarchy run by the judicial branch of the government. The judges sitting on benches today do not care what the majority of people in this nation want, they are crafting a new society based upon the religion of humanism. They have overstepped their bounds. They are making laws, a task that is suppose to happen on the legislative level. But no matter what the Congress does, the justices undermine it and using the power of the bench have formed for all intents and purposes a County that is not run by three branches, a plan of checks and balances as our forefather’s desired, but the Courts have usurped the authority of both the legislative and executive branches of this fine Government. It is time that we, as the American people put a stop to this insane process. We need to stand up and be counted! We need to vote out of office those justices who thumb their noses at the Founding Documents. We need to vote out of office those Congressmen and Senators who block the way of justices whose record shows a support of the Constitution and who promote those who are bent on crafting their living Constitution view all the while undermining the very document they are sworn to uphold.

George Washington warned: "And of fatal tendency . . .to put in the place of the delegated will of the Nation, the will of a party; – often a small but artful and enterprising minority . . .they are likely, in the course of time and things, to become potent engines by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the Power of the People and to usurp for themselves the reigns of Government; destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust domination . . . ."

Thomas Jefferson expressed his concern of this "fatal flaw" in our system of Government when he wrote, "The germ of dissolution of our federal government is in . . .the federal judiciary; an irresponsible body . . .working like gravity by night and by day, gaining a little today and a little tomorrow, and advancing its noiseless step like a thief, over the field of jurisdiction, until all shall be usurped from the States." He wrote, "The Constitution is a mere thing of wax in the hands of the judiciary, which they twist and shape into any form they please." And to William Jarvis in a letter dated September 28, 1820 Jefferson wrote, "You seem . . .to consider the judges as the ultimate arbiters of all constitutional questions; a dangerous doctrine indeed, and one which would place us under the despotism of an oligarchy. Our judges are as honest as other men, and not more so . . .and their power is more dangerous, as they are in office for life and not responsible, as the other functionaries are, to the elective functionaries are, to the elective control."

The church was silent when Madeline Murray O’Hare managed to remove prayers from schools. We dare not remain silent in this day when crooked and perverse men try to force upon us the mistaken notion that what is legal is moral. We must stand in opposition to the unjust decisions of justices who ignore the expressed views of the people, reversing duly processed legislation by their judicial edicts (ala California).

Worry or Pray-The Choice is Yours

"Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life." (Philippians 4:6-7 MSG).

I use to be a world class worrier! If there was something to be concerned about, I’d find it and stew over it. If there wasn’t something to be concerned over, I’d invent something and worry about that! Studies show that the vast majority of things people worry about are past events that cannot be changed (60% of worry falls into this category) and 30% of the things we worry about are future possibilities that may not even happen! I had my 90% bad!

Then I realized something. Worry is not a psychological problem but a theological problem. Worry is the opposite of trust. Worry spurns God’s promises of protection and provision and causes us to act as if God doesn’t exist.

I am told that a blinding fog enough to cover seven city blocks to a height of 100 feet, actually contains less than one glass of water. Think of it. One glass of water atomized into sixty thousand droplets can virtually blind a seven city block area!

Worry can do that as well. Michael Youseff ways, "One small worry fogs up your whole consciousness. It creeps into every corner, distracting your attention, making you underperform, spoiling your enjoyment of life. A small glass of worry goes a long way." He’s right. Been there, done it, have the medical records to prove it!

When I discovered that worry was a problem of the soul more than a problem of the mind, that aspect of my life quickly and radically changed. Today my wife thinks I live in Oz because I seem to worry so little! I do not live in Oz, my place of refuge is much safer and real. I live in the confidence that what God promised He will do!

Perhaps worry has a hold of you today. Why not make a radical change? "Instead of worrying pray." In fact, let your worry be your catalyst to pray. That plan certainly helped me! Worry changes nothing, but prayer can change anything–even the consequences of past failures!

Joy in Suffering? Nonsense! (Or is it?)

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." (James 1:2-4 NIV)

There are times when frankly the advice of the Bible seems like absolute non-sense. If James were a psychology student and his book were a doctrinal dissertation this ludicrous opening would end his career before it got started.

But the Bible isn’t a book of human psychology or human reason, it is a repository of Divine Truth. There words of James were not human in origin they were Divine. "Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." (2 Peter 1:20-21 NIV).

There came to me a great internet story I think that makes James 1:2-4 make sense. It is about a couple shopping for antique tea-cups when they stumble upon one that is quite unusual and, well on with the story, spotting this exceptional cup, they asked "May we see that? We've never seen a cup quite so beautiful."As the lady handed it to them, suddenly the tea-cup spoke, "You don't understand" It said, "I have not always been a tea-cup. There was a time when I was just a lump of red clay. My master took me and rolledme pounded and patted me over and over and I yelled out, Don't do that. I don't like it! "Let me alone," but he only smiled, and gently said; "Not yet!!""Then. WHAM! I was placed on a spinning wheel and suddenly I was spun around and around and around. 'Stop it ! I'm getting so dizzy! I'm going to be sick!', I screamed. But the master only nodded and said, quietly; 'Not yet.' He spun me and poked and prodded and bent me out of shape to suit himself and then......Then he put me in the oven. I never felt such heat.I yelled and knocked and pounded at the door. " Help! Get me out of here!" I could see him through the opening and I could read his lips as he shook his head from side to side, 'Not yet'."When I thought I couldn't bear it another minute, the door opened. He carefully took me out and put me on the shelf, and I began to cool. Oh, that felt so good! "Ah, this is much better," I thought. But, after I cooled he picked me up and he brushed and painted me all over. The fumes were horrible. I thought I would gag. 'Oh, please; Stop it, Stop it!!' I cried. He only shook his head and said. 'Not yet!'.Then suddenly he put me back in to the oven. Only it was not like the first one. This was twice as hot and I just knew I would suffocate. I begged. I pleaded. I screamed. I cried. I was convinced I would never make it. I was ready to give up. Just then the door opened and he took me out and again placed me on the shelf, where I cooled and waited ------- and waited, wondering "What's he going to do to me next?"An hour later he handed me a mirror and said 'Look at yourself.' And I did.I said, "That's not me; that couldn't be me. It's beautiful. I'm beautiful!"Quietly he spoke: "I want you to remember, then," hesaid, "I know it hurt to be rolled and pounded and patted, but had I just left you alone, you'd have dried up. I know it made you dizzy to spin around on the wheel, but if I had stopped, you would have crumbled.I know it hurt and it was hot and disagreeable in the oven, but if I hadn't put you there, you would have cracked.I know the fumes were bad when I brushed and painted you all over, but if I hadn't done that, you never would have hardened. You would not have had any color in your life. If I hadn't put you back in that second oven, you wouldn't have survived for long because the hardness would not have held. Now you are a finished product. Now you are what I had in mind when I first began with you."

The moral of this story is this: God knows what He's doing [ for each of us ]. He is the potter, and we are His clay. He will mold us and make us, and expose us to just enough pressures of just the right kinds that we may be made into a flawless piece of work to fulfill His good, pleasing and perfect will.So when life seems hard, and you are being pounded and patted and pushed almost beyond endurance; when your world seems to be spinning out of control; when you feel like you are in a fiery furnace of trials; when life seems to "stink", try this.... Brew a cup of of your favorite tea in your prettiest tea cup, sit down and think on this story and then, have a little talk with the Potter.

True Worship

"Within your temple, O God, we meditate on your unfailing love." (Psalm 48:9 NIV).

Certainly our worship of God is not limited to a place. Indeed, a person who is not consistently walking with God throughout the week cannot effectively worship God on the weekend! Like the people of Isaiah’s day, there are many people who "claim to worship me, but their words are meaningless, and their hearts are somewhere else. Their religion is nothing but human rules and traditions, which they have simply memorized." (Isaiah 29:13 TEV). When all is said and done, it is not the externals of worship that matter but the internals.

However, having said that, we must not forget, as some are in the sinful habit of doing, that corporate worship is no mere option for God’s redeemed people. (See Hebrews 10:25).

When God called the children of Israel out of Egypt and brought them to Mount Sinai, besides giving them the Law, He gave them instructions for the tabernacle so that they could have corporate worship. He didn’t say, "Now all of you go out into the wilderness alone and meditate on Me." No! He said, "Here’s my place, here’s how it is to be built, and here’s what I want you to do: Come here and meet with me."

In a society where a primum is placed on self-sufficiency, it is hard for us to understand the importance of the assembled body of believers. In a society where television preachers can be tuned into with the simple push of a button, many substitute the electronic church for the true church. (And yes, I did mean to put it that way!)

Think of it this way. Suppose you got up out of bed one morning, and, wiping the sleep from your eyes, you looked down and your right hand decided to stay in bed that day. After all, it has worked hard all week, not only at work but around home as well. So, during the night it simply decided to separate itself from the rest of the body and lay in that day. I doubt very much whether you would take in such a picture calmly. I doubt very much that you would think it normal. I doubt very much you would be willing to go about your daily activities with a dismissing, "Well, it’s part of my body most of the time. It deserves some time away."

Yet, week after week, members of Christ’s body do exactly that. It is not normal, and those of us who dismiss it as normal simply show how subnormal we’ve become in relation to the assembled body of believers. Christ said, "I will built my church," not, "I will build lone ranger Christians."
If you are excusing your lack of commitment to a local body, you are cheating yourself, you are cheating the body of Christ, and frankly you are being disobedient to Christ. Argue however you like, the truth of the matter is, you have a greater chance of experiencing the thrill of a baseball game if you are at the stadium. Similarly you have a better chance of experiencing the thrill of true worship if you are among other worshipers!

Never Abandoned

"1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? 2 O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, and am not silent." (Psalm 22:1-2 NIV).

Familiar words. The first question in this passage was uttered by our Lord as He hung on the cross. In this Psalm of Lament, David expresses his trust in God in spite of his apparent rejection by both God (our text) and men (verses 11; 19-21). He was in a lonely place.
Have you ever felt abandoned by God? It’s a horrible feeling. I went through a period of 3 1/2 years with that feeling back in the 80's. I was absolutely miserable. I am convinced that every believer has that experience. Not because I have had it but because our Lord Himself experienced it!

Understand this, though it is a part of the human experience to feel abandoned by God, the reality is God will never abandon us! "God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’" (Hebrews 13:5b NIV). By the way this verse (Hebrews 13:5) in the Greek language is written in the most emphatic way possible. Five times God says, "I will never leave or forsake you." That you can count on!

"The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’" (Psalm 14:1a NIV).

The Bible does not use the term "fool" often or lightly. However it does use the term to describe those who declare "There is no God" (the philosophical atheist) and those who live their lives as if there is no God (the practical atheist).

The Hebrew term for "fool" is rich in its imagery. This word finds its roots in a word that means "one who is powerless" and when used in the Psalms it is used to denote that idea of one who is morally deficient.

Atheism is not the child of intellectualism, it is the child of depravity. Harry Emerson Fosdick said, "Atheism is a theoretical formulation of the discouraged life." That observation is both right and overly generous. To be sure, some turn to Atheism out of personal discouragement and hurt (such was the case of Madeline Murray O’Hare). Others, as the Psalmist imply turn to atheism out of a rebellious heart; out of a heart that is first morally corrupt and then seeks to justify its moral decadence. Atheists are not fools intellectually, they grasp the fact that in order to live a life free of moral constraints they have to construct a world without God.

The Bible describes such a person as a fool and I would add the only person they are fooling is themselves. The one who says, "There is no God," is first an foremost a powerless creature trying to oppose the all-powerful Creator. One may believe that there is no God but all the belief in the world will not change the facts. There is a God and like it or not, every one of us will one day stand before Him and give an account of our lives–most importantly, every one of us will have to answer what we have done with His precious Son. Did we receive Him or reject Him? Those are the only two choices we have.

Not only is the one who declares "There is no God," powerless to change the facts, but such a person far from revealing any profound truth is actually only revealing their own insecurities and declaring to all who hear their cry their own moral decay. Atheism is not the faith of the enlightened but the perversion of the deceived.