The Thirst for Freedom

I recently posted an article by Chuck Colson on my facebook page:

“There are reports of rioting and looting across the country. But this is no time for such behavior. This crisis will be settled; central bank executives are meeting in Brussels even as I speak.

“I have alerted the Armed Services and issued a provisional order of martial law. This is not without precedent. President Lincoln took similar steps during the Civil War. I want to assure the American people that your safety and the just order of our society is my first priority.”

The President continued, “We must show the world that Americans are law-abiding, peace-loving citizens. So if you see military personnel in your area, obey them. The areas that have given us particular difficulty today have been largely secured. Fires that were wantonly set in Newark are being brought under control.”  [Read More]

One of my facebook friends responded with this comment:

“It makes me want to be an ostrich. I feel helpless.”

I can hardly blame her. For the past decades the Church as a whole has tended to blame all of the worlds problems on the fact that “this is the end of the world.”

How then do we as Christians warn each other and the world of the very real consequences of ditching God and his ways and the consequences of making up our own destructive “answers” to the problems in the world? How do we do sound the alarm of what really could happen while maintaining hope and even assurance of what God is going to do in the Earth?

Here is my response on facebook:

Read Daniel 2:31-45. The Iron in the Statue was the Roman Empire. The Feet made of Iron and Clay are the remnants of the Roman empire. A Kingdom was promised to come in those days (The days of ancient Rome when Jesus came!) that would shatter all of the Kingdoms of This World and replace them with the Kingdom of God filling the whole earth.

It is inevitable. God has decreed it. There is always hope. In fact, there is more than hope, there is assurance.

Read Habakkuk 2:14. (Happens to be quoted on the left side of my facebook profile). The earth WILL be filled with the Knowledge of the Glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea! God has said it and He will do it!

Read Matthew 28:18-20. Jesus tells us to preach the gospel to all nations because All Authority in Heaven AND ON EARTH has been given to Him! Also because of this authority we should teach the world to obey everything that He commanded. (Remember that Jesus also wrote the Old Testament!)

God has given us dominion. Matthew 5:5 says that the “Meek will Inherit the Earth.” That should be us.

We cannot lose. Our job is to preach and teach and live out the ways of God in every area of life and society. God will turn that into Global Victory for Ever!

Perhaps this is one of the reasons why Jesus said things like “Do not Be Afraid.”

As God once said to Joshua “Shout, for I have given you the city!”

Charles Colson’s article is a great example of a dilemma that we have as Christians. How do we warn each other and the world of the inevitable consequences of sin and anti-Christian worldviews while still building hope and giving the instruction and strength to conquer?

Sin (including sinful ideas) produces consequences. The Power of God and the Gospel will triumph. The key is to see that this is true even when it looks like the whole world is “going to hell in a handbasket.”

It is times like that where we find out what we really believe.

Hopefully you will find that discussion encouraging.

Is America a Christian Nation? Does America have a Christian Heritage and History?

Barack Obama says America is not a Christian Nation. People are offended.

I have found this to be an almost impossible conversation to have because it is rarely established in a conversation what is meant by “Christian Nation.” Each side means something different.

Possible meanings of “Christian Nation”:

• Everyone in America is Christian
• Most people in America are Christian
• American Institutions are Christian
• The Character and Behavior of America is Christian
• The Character and Behavior of Americans are Christian
• America was founded by Christians
• America’s values are Christian
• Etc., etc., etc.

I am not a historical expert, although I hope I will be when you ask me again in 15 years. I have read a number of things and listened to a number of arguments and here are my current conclusions about America.

1. In the early 1600s the people that came to America came for the purpose of religious freedom and to advance Christianity in the earth – and/or they came for a new life and material gain (nothing inherently wrong with those last two).
2. The Bible and Christianity were the most influential sources of ideas and beliefs in America from the beginning (1600s) all the way up to (and following) the War for Independence from Britain.
3. All Americans from the beginning onward were flawed and normal human beings. They were highly influenced by Christianity but were not perfect by any means.
4. America was never a perfect Christian Nation, but it truly was a Christian Nation in many ways!
5. The ideas of Christianity were the most influential and prominent in the creation of both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

Photo by Kriss Szkurlatowski

We still have freedom. We can still turn this thing around.

Christian Revival and Christian Teaching can make America a Christian Nation again. We cannot (and should not) force everyone (or anyone) to have faith in Christ; but the Kingdom of God is like Yeast (Luke 13:20-21) – if Christians live it out, it will leaven the whole batch of dough! We’ll have nothing to fear from the “tares among the wheat.”

I believe there is hope for America. The faulty foundations of humanism that have been crammed into the place where Christianity was will crumble and fail. They can do nothing else.

We need to build up the next generation of Christian Believers to be ready to rebuild America when the enemies of God fail.

There’s lots of work for us to do! Let’s get to it!