(Read Part 2) America's Heartbreak (cont.) A major fault of socialism is that it depends on two ugly traits of human nature to make it grow: envy and covetousness. The have nots must be stirred to demand that government act to give them their part of what is owned by the haves regardless of merit or work. Well, it is all rather sad, is it not? It really comes down to a question of how long we are going to be able [...]
(Read Part 1) America's Heartbreak The late Dr. Francis Schaeffer, one of the most able thinkers and writers among evangelicals, says in his book, Death in the City: “It is a horrible thing for a man like myself to look back and see my country and my culture go down the drain in my own lifetime.” He continued to say that 30 to 40 years ago our culture was built on the Christian consensus—and yet now we are in an absolute minority! [...]
“God has spared us in liberty and freedom to this hour, but . . .” As America enters a new century she has a decision to make. She can return to the Biblical principles her Founders supported, or move even further away from her Christian heritage. On that decision rests the future of our nation. The Bible declares, Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD. (Ps. 33:12) His continued blessing can be expected only when we as a people acknowledge His [...]
(Read Part 1) The New Plan What then was instituted was DIVISION. God, Himself, divided the world into a whole set of new political entities which He called nations. Speaking of one segment of the family of Noah, the Bible says, From these the coastland peoples of the Gentiles were separated into their lands, everyone according to his language, according to their families, into their nations. (Gen. 10:5) These were the sons of Ham, according to their families, according to their languages, [...]
Our little systems have their day They have their day and cease to be. They are but broken lights of thee And thou, oh Lord, art more than they. (Alfred, Lord Tennyson, “In Memorium”)[1] In our generation, we have said goodbye to dozens of nations. They have dropped into the dust bin of history. This now common expression is more and more often used to refer to well-known nations of the past and present. They were once prosperous, influential, happy and apparently [...]
By RANDY WHITE, D.Min. Founder and CEO (Read Part 1) One of the reasons that I am currently ministering in Taos, N.M., is that I do not desire to be the CEO of a church, managing many different ministries and committees. The way to keep a pastor from becoming a CEO is to allow parachurch organizations to do ministry. They can do that ministry, and do it well! And those ministries will not have to be overseen or funded by the local [...]
As we celebrate Memorial Day and the other patriotic holidays that are coming up at this time of the year, essentially what we are celebrating is more than 240 years of political freedom. We need to understand that this period of freedom that God has given us is abnormal—an anomaly. When you study the flow of world history, you discover that the majority of people who have lived and died have lived under totalitarianism, not in freedom or with the freedoms that we [...]
By RANDY WHITE, D.Min. Founder and CEO As we approach Memorial Day, it is especially appropriate that we take some time to remember the work done by Bible-believing chaplains. There are many wonderful military chaplains, and we celebrate their work especially at this season, but there are also many other types of chaplains who perform such a vital service in our communities. I would like to say a word to those who are engaged in this ministry. I want to give just a [...]
By PAUL J. SCHARF, M.Div. Editor in Chief (Read Part 1) We conclude our spiritual preparations for Memorial Day by turning to Hebrews 12:1-3: Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before [...]
By PAUL J. SCHARF, M.Div. Editor in Chief Memorial Day has always been a very meaningful time for me—that meaning being rooted in the celebrations of this patriotic holiday that I learned to enjoy from childhood. This day has an interesting history dating back to the Civil War, when people recognized the value of pausing to remember the contributions of fallen heroes who had given their lives in the service of their country. Wherever I have lived, I have enjoyed learning the customs [...]
