True Wisdom

 Who is wise and understanding among you?

Let them show it by their good life,

by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.

 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts,

do not boast about it or deny the truth.

Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven

but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.

For where you have envy and selfish ambition,

there you find disorder and every evil practice.

 

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure;

then peace-loving, considerate, submissive,

full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.

Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.

(James 3:13-18 NIV)

 

https://biblehub.com/niv/james/3.htm

 

The Duty to Warn

There are warnings posted all around us.  Signs tell us not to smoke or use a cell phone when pumping gasoline.  Road signs tell us about sharp curves ahead and post advisory speeds.  Stores warn that surveillance cameras are in use and shoplifters will be prosecuted.  In Idaho, some highways have signs that warn of cricket migrations.  That’s right.  Cricket migrations.  If you hit a bunch of migrating crickets at 60 mph, your car can be thrown into a skid and crash because the cricket guts under your tires are slick. 

Seriously, if we were standing on a street corner and your child started to step out in front of a car, you would be grateful if I took the kid by the arm and pulled him out of the way.  Wouldn’t you? 

The Holy Bible admonishes believers to warn people when they are living a sinful lifestyle.  We are told not to be judgmental – not to condemn people.  We are charged, however, to lovingly warn people that there is a God to whom we all must give an account. (Hebrews 4:12-13)  “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Hebrews 10:31 NKJV) 

https://biblehub.com/nkjv/hebrews/10.htm 

We are told that it turns people off to talk about sin and God’s judgement.  Rather, we should talk about all the “warm fuzzies,” that encourage people.  It is true that the Bible is full of examples of God’s love for us, not the least of which is that He gave his only Son so that we can have everlasting life.  These things must be emphasized, over and over. 

It is also true that the Bible says that all of us are sinners. (Romans 3:23)  It is difficult for someone to seek a savior if they do not understand that they need one. Don’t you think? 

Christians are called haters, bigots, racists, homophobes, hypocrites, stick in the mud, holy Joe’s and goody two shoes.  We are shouted down on campus and barred from social media.  Some executives and public servants have been forced to resign for speaking out in favor of traditional values.  We have had our businesses targeted with legal proceedings for refusing certain services that conflict with our sincerely held religious beliefs.  The Obama administration even tried to prosecute a group of Catholic nuns for refusing to provide insurance that paid for birth control. 

Yet, we Christians continue to be a voice in the moral wilderness that modern American society has become.  Why? Because God said to: 

Once again, a message came to me from the LORD:  “Son of man, give your people this message: ‘When I bring an army against a country, the people of that land choose one of their own to be a watchman.  When the watchman sees the enemy coming, he sounds the alarm to warn the people.  Then if those who hear the alarm refuse to take action, it is their own fault if they die.  They heard the alarm but ignored it, so the responsibility is theirs. If they had listened to the warning, they could have saved their lives.  But if the watchman sees the enemy coming and doesn’t sound the alarm to warn the people, he is responsible for their captivity. They will die in their sins, but I will hold the watchman responsible for their deaths.’ 

“Now, son of man, I am making you a watchman for the people of Israel. Therefore, listen to what I say and warn them for me.  If I announce that some wicked people are sure to die and you fail to tell them to change their ways, then they will die in their sins, and I will hold you responsible for their deaths.  But if you warn them to repent and they don’t repent, they will die in their sins, but you will have saved yourself. (Ezekiel 33:1-9 NLT) 

https://biblehub.com/nlt/ezekiel/33.htm

 

Fourth of July, 2022

Patrick Henry's speech to the 2nd Virginia Assembly was not transcribed.

St. John's Church, Richmond, Virginia

MARCH 23, 1775

MR. PRESIDENT: No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as well as abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen who have just addressed the House. But different men often see the same subject in different lights; and, therefore, I hope it will not be thought disrespectful to those gentlemen if, entertaining as I do, opinions of a character very opposite to theirs, I shall speak forth my sentiments freely, and without reserve. This is no time for ceremony. The question before the House is one of awful moment to this country. For my own part, I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery; and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom of the debate. It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfil the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country. Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offence, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the majesty of heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings.

Mr. President, it is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts. Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and, having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation? For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst, and to provide for it. 

I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided; and that is the lamp of experience. I know of no way of judging of the future but by the past. And judging by the past, I wish to know what there has been in the conduct of the British ministry for the last ten years, to justify those hopes with which gentlemen have been pleased to solace themselves, and the House? Is it that insidious smile with which our petition has been lately received? Trust it not, sir; it will prove a snare to your feet. Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss. Ask yourselves how this gracious reception of our petition comports with these war-like preparations which cover our waters and darken our land. Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation? Have we shown ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled, that force must be called in to win back our love? Let us not deceive ourselves, sir. These are the implements of war and subjugation; the last arguments to which kings resort. I ask, gentlemen, sir, what means this martial array, if its purpose be not to force us to submission? Can gentlemen assign any other possible motive for it? Has Great Britain any enemy, in this quarter of the world, to call for all this accumulation of navies and armies? No, sir, she has none. They are meant for us; they can be meant for no other. They are sent over to bind and rivet upon us those chains which the British ministry have been so long forging. And what have we to oppose to them? Shall we try argument? Sir, we have been trying that for the last ten years. Have we anything new to offer upon the subject? Nothing. We have held the subject up in every light of which it is capable; but it has been all in vain. Shall we resort to entreaty and humble supplication? What terms shall we find which have not been already exhausted? Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves. Sir, we have done everything that could be done, to avert the storm which is now coming on. We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne, and have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry and Parliament. Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult; our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been spurned, with contempt, from the foot of the throne. In vain, after these things, may we indulge the fond hope of peace and reconciliation. There is no longer any room for hope. If we wish to be free² if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained, we must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of Hosts is all that is left us! 

They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance, by lying supinely on our backs, and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot? Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. Three millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations; and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come. 

It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!

Source: Wirt, William. Sketches of the Life and Character of Patrick Henry . (Philadelphia) 1836, as reproduced in The World's Great Speeches, Lewis Copeland and Lawrence W. Lamm, eds., (New York) 1973.

 

https://www.colonialwilliamsburg.org/learn/deep-dives/give-me-liberty-or-give-me-death/

 

 

Saved by Grace to do Good

We are saved by God’s mercy and favor, which we cannot earn.  It is a free gift provided by God through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ.  Jesus paid the death penalty that we deserve for our sins, so that we can live.  We obtain this wonderful salvation by believing in Jesus. (John 3:16) 

Good works are not the cause of our salvation.  They happen as a result of it. God planned it that way.  When we are saved, we become a new creation in Christ; to do what God prepared for us to do from before the beginning. 

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,  in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.  All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh  and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.  But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,  made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.  And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,  in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.  For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast.  For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. 

(Ephesians 2:1-10 NIV) 

https://biblehub.com/niv/ephesians/2.htm

 

The Greatest Commandment

And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?”  Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’  The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”  And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him.  And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”  And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.

(Mark 12:28-34 ESV) (See also Matthew 22:34-40)

 

https://biblehub.com/esv/mark/12.htm

 

 

Predictable

The outcry from the Left regarding the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision that, according to the constitution, the responsibility for laws and regulations on abortion resides with the states and the people – not with the federal government - was predictable.  The radicals are few in number, but they are loud.  Consequently, they make good copy for the sensationalistic, left-leaning mainstream news media.  The minority of Americans who support abortion on demand up until a baby is born are being made to look like the majority. 

Some of the protests are turning violent.  That is an abuse of our right to freedom of assembly and our right to petition the government for a redress of our grievances.  Like petulant children pitching  temper tantrum, the radicals expect to get their way so that they will shut up.  They think all they have to do is raise a ruckus, and society will accede to their demands.  Violence and threats have been reported.  In Portland, Oregon slogans like “Death to SCOTUS” have been spray painted on sidewalks and buildings.  Windows have been broken, cars vandalized, and fires set.[1]  On the Fox News Chanel, segments showing other graffiti saying things like, “If abortion isn’t safe, you won’t be either,” have been shown.  Please join us in prayer for the safety of the Justices and their families. 

Using a tactic perfected by Bill and Hillary Clinton, Leftist politicians have started to use the “politics of character assassination” against the conservative Supreme Court Justices.  This despicable tactic is often used by the Left against just about anyone they disagree with.  Events are mischaracterized, and “spun” so that they seem to prove someone to be guilty of something they did not do. 

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) is accusing the Justices appointed by President Trump of lying to the Senate, during their confirmation hearings, and she is calling for their impeachment.  That flies in the face of an independent judiciary.

Senators Joe Menchin and Susan Collins have complained that they were assured the Trump nominees regarded Roe vs. Wade as law.[2]  Come on man!  At the time of the confirmation hearings, Roe vs. Wade was, indeed, the law.  The nominees affirmed that they would uphold the law, as they should.  However, they also said, repeatedly, that they could not prejudge cases during their confirmation hearings, and that they would decide each case before the court based on its merits. 

The Senate confirmation hearings were turned into political theater by Senators whose “questions” were nothing more than longwinded speeches made for the benefit of the TV cameras.  If legislators at that level do not know that court rulings can be overturned, and laws may be repealed or rewritten, they have no business being there. 

We are living in the 21^st Century.  This is not ancient Babylon, where an edict from the emperor was irrevocable law that could not even be undone by the king himself, if he realized he had made a mistake. (Daniel, Chapter 6) 

In modern totalitarian societies like the People’s Republic of China (PRC), leaders are so paranoid that they might be caught in a mistake, they would rather cause a worldwide pandemic than admit they are fallible.  Why?  Because their right to absolute power rests, in part, upon their infallibility.  Has America become like that?  Let’s hope not! 

“A woman’s right to choose” may, or may not, be inviolable.  However, even the Liberal icon, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, admitted Roe vs. Wade was a flawed court ruling. In my opinion, it was an attempt to rationalize a constitutional right into existence that simply was not provided for by the constitution.  That is why it has been overturned. 

Want to change it?  You may need to repeal the 10^th Amendment, and pass a new amendment that provides for abortion on demand.  Oh – but there isn’t enough public support to do that, is there?   

 

---

[1] Richard, Lawrence and Betz, Bradford. “Rioters in downtown Portland graffiti, smash windows following Supreme Court abortion case: 'Death to SCOTUS.” Fox News, 25 June 2022,  https://www.businessinsider.com

 

[2] Dzhanova, Yelena. “AOC says Supreme Court justices who lied under oath must face consequences for 'impeachable offense.” Business Insider, 26 June 2022, ydzhanova@businessinsider.com

 

 

Miracles

Our God is a God of miracles.  He created the universe and all that is in it, delivered the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt, destroyed Sennaecherib and the Assyrian army, provided salvation for all through belief in Jesus Christ, restored the Jewish people to the ancestral homeland that God promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and many, many more. 

God performed a miracle when he “saved a wretch like me.”  For most of my life, I was of two minds. (James 1:8)  I had one foot in the kingdom, and one foot in the world.  I knew the Lord, but I resisted being conformed to His image. (Romans 8:29)  Like a fish on the line, I struggled to go my own way, but He kept reeling me in.  Praise God for not giving up on me! 

Finally, He had to resort to divine discipline to make me see what I was doing to myself.  In 2014, I was badly flash burned in an explosion, and it took 12 days in an intensive burn ward and another week or 10 days in rehab before I was cleared to return to normal activities.  I guess it was a year before I was fully healed of the physical and psychological injuries I sustained.  During the time I was convalescing, I felt separated from God.  In the explosion and in the hospital, God gave me a glimpse of what Hell is like.  I begged Him to restore me to fellowship with Him, and He did. 

I am still a work in progress, but God has caused me to want to do His will.  He is giving me the strength to do it. (Philippians 1:6, 2:13)  Thank you, Lord, for being merciful to me a sinner!