[My GENday is Sept. 19th. What is yours?]
[Personal Request: Pray for Marina, a customer service rep. at my bank with whomm I was able to discuss spiritual things. She emigrated from a 300 member village in the Ukraine 6 years ago, has a successful career, and sees totally no need to consider "religion" right now. (Rom. 3:18) Pray that she will read the New Testament I gave her that contains answers to a number of apologetic questions. Pray that she might also watch the JESUS Film in Ukranian on the internet that I told her about. - Thank you, Stan]
Iran threatens Israel; new EU sanctions take force, July 01, 2012,http://www.presidentialprayerteam.com/Prayerwatch?pw=444 (Source: Reuters)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Iran announced missile tests on Sunday and threatened to wipe Israel 'of the face of the earth' if the Jewish state attacked it, brandishing some of its starkest threats on the day Europe began enforcing an oil embargo and harsh new sanctions. The threat against the Jewish state echoed words President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke in 2005, saying Israel "must be wiped off the page of time" - a phrase often translated as 'wiped off the map' and cited by Israel to show how allowing Iran to get nuclear arms would be a threat to its existence."
"The EU ban on Iranian oil imports directly deprives Iran of a market that bought 18 percent of its exports a year ago. The sanctions also bar EU companies from transporting Iranian crude or insuring shipments, hurting its trade worldwide. White House spokesman Jay Carney said he hoped the sanctions would force Tehran to make concessions in technical-level talks with six world powers later this week."
As the Lord leads, please pray:
•For the sanctions against Iran to be effective in forcing it to curtail its agressive actions towards Israel.
•For Israel to be able to effectively thwart any attacks by Iran and other enemies.
•For U.S. intelligence and military officials as they keep watch over this and other situations in the Middle East.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stung by Recession, Many Young Voters Looking Past Obama, July 01, 2012, http://www.presidentialprayerteam.com/Prayerwatch?pw=446 (Source: New York Times)
In the four years since President Obama swept into office in large part with the support of a vast army of youth, a new corps of young men and women have come of voting age with views shaped largely by the recession.
And unlike their counterparts in the Millennial generation who showed high levels of enthusiasm for Mr. Obama at this point in 2008, the nation’s first-time voters are less enthusiastic about him, are significantly more likely to identify as conservative and cite a growing lack of faith in government in general, according to interviews, experts and recent polls.
Polls show that Americans under 30 are still inclined to support Mr. Obama by a wide margin. But the president may face a particular challenge among those voters ages 18 to 24. In that age group, his lead over Mr. Romney - 12 points - is about half what it is among 25- to 29-year-olds, according to an online survey this spring by the Harvard Institute of Politics. And among whites in the younger group, Mr. Obama’s lead vanishes altogether. Among all 18- to 29-year-olds, the poll found a high level of undecided voters - 30 percent indicated that they have not yet made up their mind. And turnout among this group is expected to be significantly lower than for older voters.
As the Lord leads, please pray:
•That all young adults who vote will be truly discerning about the political agendas of their "educators" and not be swayed by the rhetoric of the mass media and the cultural elite.
•For both President Obama and Governor Romney, that they will be forthright in speaking the truth to all Americans and not just try to present unrealistic expectations in order to sway votes.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
U.S. Jobs Outlook: Better, but Still Not Good Enough, Thursday, July 05, 2012
"The last piece of the puzzle in this month’s economic data is expected to confirm what the others have shown so far: the U.S. job machine is sputtering along at a pace that isn’t putting American back to work fast enough...'Consumer confidence is digging deeper into recession territory as many Americans see their job prospects dim, their household net worth take a beating, and the European debt crises send jitters through the equity markets,' said IHS Global Insight economist Yinbin Li.
(Source: MSNBC, U.S. Department of Labor)
As the Lord leads, please pray:
•For the European nations to effectively end their debt crisis before it deepens not just their but our economic difficulties
•For the nation’s economic malaise and that Congress and President Obama will finally make the tough and right decisions that will improve it.
•For the many millions of Americans who remain unemployed - and underemployed
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Friday, July 6, 2012
#254(7/6) - While We Were Distracted Last Week ...
[FYI - My GENday is Sept. 19th. What is yours?]
[NOTE: While our attention was focused on the Supreme Court's Obamacare decision last week, the Congress passed and the President signed an ill-advised spending bill. Below you will read of what that bill contains and of the kind of things the representatives we elect this November MUST BE committed NOT to continue. And please note how Republicans were complicit, even going against their r pledge to reign in government spending. Unbelieveable!!! - Stan]
"10 Reasons to Oppose Highway/Student Loan/Flood Insurance Omnibus Bill" - by Daniel Horowit, June 28th, http://www.redstate.com/dhorowitz3/2012/06/28/10-reasons-to-oppose-highwaystudent-loanflood-insurance-omnibus-bill/
While everyone is focused on how to deal with the impending government takeover of healthcare, we must continue to battle the forces of big-government in Congress. Yesterday, in another display of venerable bipartisanship, leaders from both parties agreed to roll the $120 billion Democrat highway bill, subsidies to fuel the Big Education bubble, and a 5-year extension of government-run flood insurance into one omnibus bill, H.R. 4348. [As I said, the bill passed both houses.]
Just to rehash some of the main points, here are 10 reasons why conservatives [should have] oppose[d] this bill:
1)Highway Trust Fund: This bill creates a permanent framework that vitiates the integrity of the highway trust fund as a pay-as-you-go system. Instead of pegging spending to the gas tax revenue, it relies on a patchwork of tenuous and extraneous offsets that have nothing to do with highway spending. The bill authorizes $15 billion more in annual spending than annual revenues. This will set the stage for a future bailout that will be larger than the $35 billion bailout in 2008.
2)Inefficient Infrastructure Policy: This bill continues the inane policy of sending every state’s gas tax money to Washington only to see 35% of it spent on waste and mass transit. There’s no reason why states should have to hire lobbyists to beg for pork for every last road project when every state has such diverse transportation needs.
3)Fueling the student loan bubble: The bill is supposed to extend the Pelosi-era subsidized interest rates on Stafford student loans for just another year, but we all know that Congress will never have the guts to deny future extensions. We’ve seen that with all the other “temporary” stimulus programs in recent years. This will ensure that Democrat cronies in Big Education are never incentivized to slow the rate of increase for college tuition. This is an anathema to free market policy.
4) GOP Pledge: In the 2010 GOP Pledge to America, they promised the following: “We will end the practice of packaging unpopular bills with “must-pass” legislation to circumvent the will of the American people. Instead, we will advance major legislation one issue at a time.” The idea that we are going to package a major 27-month transportation bill with a 5-year flood insurance extension and a one year extension of subsidized student loans under the guise of “must pass – or else,” is an anathema to the pledge.
5) 72-Hour Rule: For the millionth time, Republicans would be violating their pledge not to vote on legislation that has been posted for less than 72 hours. They always excuse their violation by rationalizing that these are “must pass” bills. Well, it’s precisely the “must pass” bills that require more public transparency. The dog catcher suspension bills don’t need a 72 hour rule.
6)Stimulus: Republicans are buying into the Obama/Keynesian notion that government spending will stimulate the economy and create jobs. Let’s be clear: there are some legitimate functions of government; although, transportation should be funded by states. However, we should implement those policies because there is a need for them, not because they create jobs. By definition, government cannot create an artificial need for a job.
7) Keystone: A provision to approve the pipeline should never have been an excuse to vote for a bad bill, but it is amusing to see that the one provision that was supposed to be inviolate is now gone.
8)Pension Fund Bailouts: The provision of the bill that allows corporations to put less money into company pensions that are backed by the taxpayer-funded Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) will expose taxpayers to future bailouts of the PBGC when it becomes clear that the pension plans are underfunded. [read more on this at the Heritage Foundation].
9) Balanced Budgets: When speaking of balanced budgets in the abstract, every Republican says definitively that they are in favor of a balanced budget. Yet, when presented with a specific opportunity to limit the scope of the federal government, they always have an excuse for reauthorizing federal overreach. If we don’t limit the federal government’s control over things like education and transportation policy, we will never balance the federal budget. Nor will we ever shrink the size of government.
10)Tax Hike: From the Senate Finance Committee: “Under current law, there is a disparity in the tax treatment of cigarette tobacco and pipe tobacco. This creates a loophole for in-store roll-your-own cigarette machines to avoid the standard cigarette tax by improperly labeling a product as pipe tobacco. The proposal would expand the definition of a tobacco manufacturer to include businesses operating a roll-your-own machine. As such, the machine’s owner would be responsible for federal excise taxes on the tobacco products manufactured using his or her machine.”
No supporter of limited government, federalism, or free markets can vote for this omnibus.
[bold and italics emphasis mine]
[NOTE: While our attention was focused on the Supreme Court's Obamacare decision last week, the Congress passed and the President signed an ill-advised spending bill. Below you will read of what that bill contains and of the kind of things the representatives we elect this November MUST BE committed NOT to continue. And please note how Republicans were complicit, even going against their r pledge to reign in government spending. Unbelieveable!!! - Stan]
"10 Reasons to Oppose Highway/Student Loan/Flood Insurance Omnibus Bill" - by Daniel Horowit, June 28th, http://www.redstate.com/dhorowitz3/2012/06/28/10-reasons-to-oppose-highwaystudent-loanflood-insurance-omnibus-bill/
While everyone is focused on how to deal with the impending government takeover of healthcare, we must continue to battle the forces of big-government in Congress. Yesterday, in another display of venerable bipartisanship, leaders from both parties agreed to roll the $120 billion Democrat highway bill, subsidies to fuel the Big Education bubble, and a 5-year extension of government-run flood insurance into one omnibus bill, H.R. 4348. [As I said, the bill passed both houses.]
Just to rehash some of the main points, here are 10 reasons why conservatives [should have] oppose[d] this bill:
1)Highway Trust Fund: This bill creates a permanent framework that vitiates the integrity of the highway trust fund as a pay-as-you-go system. Instead of pegging spending to the gas tax revenue, it relies on a patchwork of tenuous and extraneous offsets that have nothing to do with highway spending. The bill authorizes $15 billion more in annual spending than annual revenues. This will set the stage for a future bailout that will be larger than the $35 billion bailout in 2008.
2)Inefficient Infrastructure Policy: This bill continues the inane policy of sending every state’s gas tax money to Washington only to see 35% of it spent on waste and mass transit. There’s no reason why states should have to hire lobbyists to beg for pork for every last road project when every state has such diverse transportation needs.
3)Fueling the student loan bubble: The bill is supposed to extend the Pelosi-era subsidized interest rates on Stafford student loans for just another year, but we all know that Congress will never have the guts to deny future extensions. We’ve seen that with all the other “temporary” stimulus programs in recent years. This will ensure that Democrat cronies in Big Education are never incentivized to slow the rate of increase for college tuition. This is an anathema to free market policy.
4) GOP Pledge: In the 2010 GOP Pledge to America, they promised the following: “We will end the practice of packaging unpopular bills with “must-pass” legislation to circumvent the will of the American people. Instead, we will advance major legislation one issue at a time.” The idea that we are going to package a major 27-month transportation bill with a 5-year flood insurance extension and a one year extension of subsidized student loans under the guise of “must pass – or else,” is an anathema to the pledge.
5) 72-Hour Rule: For the millionth time, Republicans would be violating their pledge not to vote on legislation that has been posted for less than 72 hours. They always excuse their violation by rationalizing that these are “must pass” bills. Well, it’s precisely the “must pass” bills that require more public transparency. The dog catcher suspension bills don’t need a 72 hour rule.
6)Stimulus: Republicans are buying into the Obama/Keynesian notion that government spending will stimulate the economy and create jobs. Let’s be clear: there are some legitimate functions of government; although, transportation should be funded by states. However, we should implement those policies because there is a need for them, not because they create jobs. By definition, government cannot create an artificial need for a job.
7) Keystone: A provision to approve the pipeline should never have been an excuse to vote for a bad bill, but it is amusing to see that the one provision that was supposed to be inviolate is now gone.
8)Pension Fund Bailouts: The provision of the bill that allows corporations to put less money into company pensions that are backed by the taxpayer-funded Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) will expose taxpayers to future bailouts of the PBGC when it becomes clear that the pension plans are underfunded. [read more on this at the Heritage Foundation].
9) Balanced Budgets: When speaking of balanced budgets in the abstract, every Republican says definitively that they are in favor of a balanced budget. Yet, when presented with a specific opportunity to limit the scope of the federal government, they always have an excuse for reauthorizing federal overreach. If we don’t limit the federal government’s control over things like education and transportation policy, we will never balance the federal budget. Nor will we ever shrink the size of government.
10)Tax Hike: From the Senate Finance Committee: “Under current law, there is a disparity in the tax treatment of cigarette tobacco and pipe tobacco. This creates a loophole for in-store roll-your-own cigarette machines to avoid the standard cigarette tax by improperly labeling a product as pipe tobacco. The proposal would expand the definition of a tobacco manufacturer to include businesses operating a roll-your-own machine. As such, the machine’s owner would be responsible for federal excise taxes on the tobacco products manufactured using his or her machine.”
No supporter of limited government, federalism, or free markets can vote for this omnibus.
[bold and italics emphasis mine]
Thursday, July 5, 2012
#253 (7/5) - "Does the Declaration of Independence Still Matter?"
[NOTE: Dear friends, Please go to: http://aclj.org/obamacare/repeal-pro-abortion-obamacare-now. Consider signing a petition to your members in the House of Representatives to vote to repeal Obamacare when it comes up for a vote NEXT Wednesday, July 11th. You would be surprised at how elected officials pay attention when VOTERS contact them! - Stan]
- By Matthew Spalding, Ph.D., On July 4, 2012
The Declaration of Independence was partly intended as a list of grievances against a distant monarch. And both George III and the colonists who disagreed with his rule are long dead. But so are many of those who’ve argued that the Declaration is obsolete. In fact, this is exactly what those who called themselves “progressives” were saying a century ago [1].
Woodrow Wilson, one of the most famous early progressives, argued during the 1912 presidential campaign [2] that “all that Progressives ask or desire is permission…to interpret the Constitution according to the Darwinian principle,” meaning that it should promote an ever-expanding set of powers for an ever-expanding government. The problem, he declared, was that pesky Declaration of Independence: “Some citizens of this country have never got beyond the Declaration of Independence,” he remarked. “The Declaration of Independence did not mention the questions of our day.”
But in fact the Declaration is more than a litany of complaints. Its greater meaning [3] is as a statement of the conditions of legitimate political authority and the proper ends of government. It proclaimed that political rule would, from then on, reside in the sovereignty of the people. “If the American Revolution had produced nothing but the Declaration of Independence,” wrote the great historian Samuel Eliot Morrison, “it would have been worthwhile.”
The ringing phrases of the document’s famous second paragraph are a powerful synthesis of American constitutional and republican government theories. All men have a right to liberty as they are by nature equal, which is to say none are inherently superior and deserve to rule or inferior and deserve to be ruled.
Because all are endowed with these rights, the rights are unalienable, which means that they cannot be given up or taken away. And because individuals equally possess these rights, governments derive their just powers from the consent of those governed. Government’s purpose is to secure these fundamental rights and, although prudence tells us that governments should not be changed for trivial reasons, the people retain the right to alter or abolish government when it becomes destructive of these ends.
The Declaration also insists we have the right to “the pursuit of happiness.” A higher component of that pursuit, of course, is being able to worship as we please. What right is more fundamental than religious liberty? Yet as Heritage’s Sarah Torre wrote recently [4], that right seems to be under attack.
"Obamacare’s anti-conscience mandate has a narrow religious exemption that applies only to formal houses of worship. Countless other religious employers, like Catholic schools, hospitals, and crisis pregnancy centers, are forced to provide coverage for the mandated services despite moral or religious objections—simply because they step outside the four walls of a church to serve others." Insinuating that faith should remain behind closed doors, not influencing or inspiring care for others, the government’s narrow view of religion has created what some have called a “religious caste system [5].” Only those considered “religious enough” by government bureaucrats are awarded religious freedom under the mandate.
Churches across the country have been pushing back against the regulation since its promulgation. A national “Fortnight for Freedom” has been spotlighting the erosion of religious freedom and helping Americans learn how to defend their freedom. Torre notes that “the freedoms enshrined in our founding document will be hard to ignore on July 4. As the Fortnight for Freedom concludes, church bells across the country will ring [6] simultaneously at noon (Eastern time), declaring loudly: Let Religious Freedom Ring.”
On Independence Day – and every day – Americans should remember and celebrate the Declaration’s timeless expression of our God-given rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and recall all those – past, present, and future – who pledge their lives, liberty, and sacred honor to upholding these truths.
[bold and italics emphasis mine]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Article printed from The Foundry: Conservative Policy News Blog from The Heritage Foundation: http://blog.heritage.org; URL to article: http://blog.heritage.org/2012/07/04/morning-bell-does-the-declaration-of-independence-still-matter/
URLs in this post:
[1] saying a century ago: http://blog.heritage.org/2009/07/03/morning-bell-the-left%E2%80%99s-assault-on-the-declaration-of-independence/
[2] argued during the 1912 presidential campaign: http://www.heritage.org/initiatives/first-principles/primary-sources/woodrow-wilson-asks-what-is-progress
[3] Its greater meaning: http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2007/06/independence-forever-why-america-celebrates-the-fourth-of-july?query=Independence+Forever:+Why+America+Celebrates+the+Fourth+of+July
[4] wrote recently: http://blog.heritage.org/2012/06/25/morning-bell-protecting-religious-liberty-from-obamacare/
[5] religious caste system: http://www.cardinalnewmansociety.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=OumXvpMXLZk%3D&tabid=707
[6] church bells across the country will ring: http://blog.heritage.org/2012/06/20/what-you-can-do-to-promote-religious-freedom/
[Copyright © 2011 The Heritage Foundation. All rights reserved.
- By Matthew Spalding, Ph.D., On July 4, 2012
The Declaration of Independence was partly intended as a list of grievances against a distant monarch. And both George III and the colonists who disagreed with his rule are long dead. But so are many of those who’ve argued that the Declaration is obsolete. In fact, this is exactly what those who called themselves “progressives” were saying a century ago [1].
Woodrow Wilson, one of the most famous early progressives, argued during the 1912 presidential campaign [2] that “all that Progressives ask or desire is permission…to interpret the Constitution according to the Darwinian principle,” meaning that it should promote an ever-expanding set of powers for an ever-expanding government. The problem, he declared, was that pesky Declaration of Independence: “Some citizens of this country have never got beyond the Declaration of Independence,” he remarked. “The Declaration of Independence did not mention the questions of our day.”
But in fact the Declaration is more than a litany of complaints. Its greater meaning [3] is as a statement of the conditions of legitimate political authority and the proper ends of government. It proclaimed that political rule would, from then on, reside in the sovereignty of the people. “If the American Revolution had produced nothing but the Declaration of Independence,” wrote the great historian Samuel Eliot Morrison, “it would have been worthwhile.”
The ringing phrases of the document’s famous second paragraph are a powerful synthesis of American constitutional and republican government theories. All men have a right to liberty as they are by nature equal, which is to say none are inherently superior and deserve to rule or inferior and deserve to be ruled.
Because all are endowed with these rights, the rights are unalienable, which means that they cannot be given up or taken away. And because individuals equally possess these rights, governments derive their just powers from the consent of those governed. Government’s purpose is to secure these fundamental rights and, although prudence tells us that governments should not be changed for trivial reasons, the people retain the right to alter or abolish government when it becomes destructive of these ends.
The Declaration also insists we have the right to “the pursuit of happiness.” A higher component of that pursuit, of course, is being able to worship as we please. What right is more fundamental than religious liberty? Yet as Heritage’s Sarah Torre wrote recently [4], that right seems to be under attack.
"Obamacare’s anti-conscience mandate has a narrow religious exemption that applies only to formal houses of worship. Countless other religious employers, like Catholic schools, hospitals, and crisis pregnancy centers, are forced to provide coverage for the mandated services despite moral or religious objections—simply because they step outside the four walls of a church to serve others." Insinuating that faith should remain behind closed doors, not influencing or inspiring care for others, the government’s narrow view of religion has created what some have called a “religious caste system [5].” Only those considered “religious enough” by government bureaucrats are awarded religious freedom under the mandate.
Churches across the country have been pushing back against the regulation since its promulgation. A national “Fortnight for Freedom” has been spotlighting the erosion of religious freedom and helping Americans learn how to defend their freedom. Torre notes that “the freedoms enshrined in our founding document will be hard to ignore on July 4. As the Fortnight for Freedom concludes, church bells across the country will ring [6] simultaneously at noon (Eastern time), declaring loudly: Let Religious Freedom Ring.”
On Independence Day – and every day – Americans should remember and celebrate the Declaration’s timeless expression of our God-given rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and recall all those – past, present, and future – who pledge their lives, liberty, and sacred honor to upholding these truths.
[bold and italics emphasis mine]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Article printed from The Foundry: Conservative Policy News Blog from The Heritage Foundation: http://blog.heritage.org; URL to article: http://blog.heritage.org/2012/07/04/morning-bell-does-the-declaration-of-independence-still-matter/
URLs in this post:
[1] saying a century ago: http://blog.heritage.org/2009/07/03/morning-bell-the-left%E2%80%99s-assault-on-the-declaration-of-independence/
[2] argued during the 1912 presidential campaign: http://www.heritage.org/initiatives/first-principles/primary-sources/woodrow-wilson-asks-what-is-progress
[3] Its greater meaning: http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2007/06/independence-forever-why-america-celebrates-the-fourth-of-july?query=Independence+Forever:+Why+America+Celebrates+the+Fourth+of+July
[4] wrote recently: http://blog.heritage.org/2012/06/25/morning-bell-protecting-religious-liberty-from-obamacare/
[5] religious caste system: http://www.cardinalnewmansociety.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=OumXvpMXLZk%3D&tabid=707
[6] church bells across the country will ring: http://blog.heritage.org/2012/06/20/what-you-can-do-to-promote-religious-freedom/
[Copyright © 2011 The Heritage Foundation. All rights reserved.
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
#252 (7/4) - Happy Independence Day! - "The American Spirit"
[FYI - My GENday is Sept. 19th. What is yours?]
[NOTE: On this 4th of July, I offer this article that was written for the recent Flag Day. It focuses on a book entitled, "The American Spirit" (that I am eager to read - as soon as my library gets a copy) that discusses what makes America such a unique country in the history of the world. In light of the pessimism about the future of this country and the loud voices of its detractors these days, the points made in this article are truly worth noting. - Stan]
P.S. - On this Independence Day, how about READING the "Declaration of Independence"? Go to: http://www.hillsdale.edu/constitution/pdfs/00_Declaration_of_Independence.pdf
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Paul Gallagher, June 14, 2012
http://blog.heritage.org/2012/06/14/morning-bell-the-american-spirit/
Many Americans proudly hang the Stars and Stripes on June 14 to celebrate Flag Day. On that day in 1777, the Second Continental Congress formally adopted the emblem under which generations of Americans have lived, fought and died. More than any other flag in the world, it symbolizes freedom and celebrates the optimism of our Founding Fathers.
Yet today we have voices suggesting that America’s best days are behind her. The experiment, they insist, is over. “The American dream is a myth,” writes Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel laureate in economics, in a recent op-ed. A new USA Today/Gallup poll shows that nearly six in 10 think that the next generation won’t live better than their parents do today.
Such pessimism, however, is unwarranted. More importantly, it’s counter-productive. Even if things were as bad as some people suggest, there is a solution, as Ed Feulner, president of The Heritage Foundation reminds us in his weekly column: "Negative thoughts like this are nothing new. It stands to reason that tough economic times will breed pessimism. Sometimes, though, we need to remind ourselves of the principles this country was founded on, and reconnect with the genius that created the United States of America, the only country founded not on identity, but on ideas."
Feulner, in fact, has just written a book designed to do just that. Co-authored with Heritage trustee Brian Tracy, “The American Spirit: Celebrating the Virtues and Values That Make Us Great“ is a wake-up call for those who may find themselves discouraged by the challenges we face as a nation at this critical moment in history.
Why would such a book be necessary? As Brian explains in the introduction: “Today, millions of Americans are not clear about why the United States is the greatest country on earth and in all human history.” They know they’re free. But they may have never reflected on why their nation is unique — not only in the world right now, but in human history. As Feulner writes:
“Consider the phrase ‘the American Dream.’ The words themselves reveal something extraordinary. In all the history of man, there has been only one country with the word ‘dream’ attached to it. There is no French Dream or Russian Dream or Chinese Dream. There is only the American Dream, to which people worldwide aspire and have aspired since our founding. From 194 countries, people have come to America to pursue this dream.
“In America, people care very much who you are. They care little about your background. In America, you can start from anywhere, with or without benefits and advantages from your family, and make your own way and your own life. At any time, you can decide to change and do something completely different. Your life is yours to chart. In my opinion, this freedom to define your own destiny ultimately derives from the Judeo-Christian tradition. God created us in His own image, and just as God is free, so we are meant for freedom.”
The question, then, is what the relationship of government should be to man. Is man there to serve the government? No. In America, it is very much the other way around — despite the many attempts by liberals to change that relationship throughout our history. Feulner continues: “Government’s purpose is not to impose some elite-inspired vision of the good society on the rest of us, but to empower men and women to use their God-given freedom as they choose. This opportunity has its roots in our extraordinary founding in 1776. Having such freedom is more the exception than the rule throughout much of human history. The republican form of government had mostly been consigned to the history books since the fall of Rome. Monarchies had ruled the leading powers of the world for centuries."
“By choosing a republic, where the governed control the government — not the other way around — the Founding Fathers displayed faith in the individual’s ability to know better than any elected or appointed official what is best for himself and his family. That’s why they created a Constitution that protects our God-given rights from government. The government does not grant those rights to us as citizens.”
It’s all too easy, in the face of so many difficult problems, to throw up our hands in despair. One look at our flag, however, watered by the blood and sweat of patriots for more than 200 years, ought to cure that temptation. As Feulner’s book reminds us, the American Spirit is alive and well, provided we’re willing to believe in it and do our part to nurture our irreplaceable birthright of freedom.
[bold and italics emphasis mine]
[NOTE: On this 4th of July, I offer this article that was written for the recent Flag Day. It focuses on a book entitled, "The American Spirit" (that I am eager to read - as soon as my library gets a copy) that discusses what makes America such a unique country in the history of the world. In light of the pessimism about the future of this country and the loud voices of its detractors these days, the points made in this article are truly worth noting. - Stan]
P.S. - On this Independence Day, how about READING the "Declaration of Independence"? Go to: http://www.hillsdale.edu/constitution/pdfs/00_Declaration_of_Independence.pdf
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Paul Gallagher, June 14, 2012
http://blog.heritage.org/2012/06/14/morning-bell-the-american-spirit/
Many Americans proudly hang the Stars and Stripes on June 14 to celebrate Flag Day. On that day in 1777, the Second Continental Congress formally adopted the emblem under which generations of Americans have lived, fought and died. More than any other flag in the world, it symbolizes freedom and celebrates the optimism of our Founding Fathers.
Yet today we have voices suggesting that America’s best days are behind her. The experiment, they insist, is over. “The American dream is a myth,” writes Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel laureate in economics, in a recent op-ed. A new USA Today/Gallup poll shows that nearly six in 10 think that the next generation won’t live better than their parents do today.
Such pessimism, however, is unwarranted. More importantly, it’s counter-productive. Even if things were as bad as some people suggest, there is a solution, as Ed Feulner, president of The Heritage Foundation reminds us in his weekly column: "Negative thoughts like this are nothing new. It stands to reason that tough economic times will breed pessimism. Sometimes, though, we need to remind ourselves of the principles this country was founded on, and reconnect with the genius that created the United States of America, the only country founded not on identity, but on ideas."
Feulner, in fact, has just written a book designed to do just that. Co-authored with Heritage trustee Brian Tracy, “The American Spirit: Celebrating the Virtues and Values That Make Us Great“ is a wake-up call for those who may find themselves discouraged by the challenges we face as a nation at this critical moment in history.
Why would such a book be necessary? As Brian explains in the introduction: “Today, millions of Americans are not clear about why the United States is the greatest country on earth and in all human history.” They know they’re free. But they may have never reflected on why their nation is unique — not only in the world right now, but in human history. As Feulner writes:
“Consider the phrase ‘the American Dream.’ The words themselves reveal something extraordinary. In all the history of man, there has been only one country with the word ‘dream’ attached to it. There is no French Dream or Russian Dream or Chinese Dream. There is only the American Dream, to which people worldwide aspire and have aspired since our founding. From 194 countries, people have come to America to pursue this dream.
“In America, people care very much who you are. They care little about your background. In America, you can start from anywhere, with or without benefits and advantages from your family, and make your own way and your own life. At any time, you can decide to change and do something completely different. Your life is yours to chart. In my opinion, this freedom to define your own destiny ultimately derives from the Judeo-Christian tradition. God created us in His own image, and just as God is free, so we are meant for freedom.”
The question, then, is what the relationship of government should be to man. Is man there to serve the government? No. In America, it is very much the other way around — despite the many attempts by liberals to change that relationship throughout our history. Feulner continues: “Government’s purpose is not to impose some elite-inspired vision of the good society on the rest of us, but to empower men and women to use their God-given freedom as they choose. This opportunity has its roots in our extraordinary founding in 1776. Having such freedom is more the exception than the rule throughout much of human history. The republican form of government had mostly been consigned to the history books since the fall of Rome. Monarchies had ruled the leading powers of the world for centuries."
“By choosing a republic, where the governed control the government — not the other way around — the Founding Fathers displayed faith in the individual’s ability to know better than any elected or appointed official what is best for himself and his family. That’s why they created a Constitution that protects our God-given rights from government. The government does not grant those rights to us as citizens.”
It’s all too easy, in the face of so many difficult problems, to throw up our hands in despair. One look at our flag, however, watered by the blood and sweat of patriots for more than 200 years, ought to cure that temptation. As Feulner’s book reminds us, the American Spirit is alive and well, provided we’re willing to believe in it and do our part to nurture our irreplaceable birthright of freedom.
[bold and italics emphasis mine]
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
#251 (7/3) - "Revolutionary Sermons That Rang with 'Notes of Freedom' ”
[FYI - My GENday is Sept. 19th. What is yours?]
- Ryan Messmore,June 24, 2012, http://blog.heritage.org/2012/06/24/revolutionary-sermons-that-rang-with-notes-of-freedom/
Today [6/24] is the first Sunday of the Fortnight for Freedom, a two-week celebration of religious liberty in America. Church leaders, and preachers especially, have played an important role in our nation’s struggle for and preservation of this “first freedom.” In 1833, the American Quarterly Register articulated the important role that ministers played in the American Revolution: “As a body of men, the clergy were pre-eminent in their attachment to liberty.
The pulpits of the land rang with the notes of freedom.” One minister whose pulpit rang loud with such notes was Isaac Backus. A preacher in the tradition of George Whitefield, Backus served as pastor of the Middleborough Baptist Church (Massachusetts) beginning in 1751. In one of his most famous sermons, Backus asked of colonial America: “How can such a union be expected so long as that dearest of all rights, equal liberty of conscience is not allowed?” He went on to explain that “religious matters are to be separated from the jurisdiction of the state, not because they are beneath the interests of the state but, quite to the contrary, because they are too high and holy and thus are beyond the competence of the state.”
Another pulpit that rang notes of freedom was that of Samuel Cooper. He was a pastor in Boston during the Revolution, and among his parishioners were John Hancock, Samuel Adams, and John Adams. In his “Sermon on the Day of the Commencement of the Constitution,” Cooper praised the Constitution as a “happy foundation for many generations…a constitution of government founded in justice, and friendly to liberty.” “[W]hat a broad foundation for the exercise of the rights of conscience is laid in this constitution!” he proclaimed, “which declares, that ‘no subject shall be hurt, molested, or restrained in his person, liberty or estate, for worshipping God in the manner and season most agreeable to the dictates of his own conscience, or for his religious profession or sentiments.’”
Cooper emphatically urged his fellow congregants and citizens to appreciate the liberties protected in the Constitution and to defend the Constitution from any threat: “It is with you also my fellow-citizens…to give life and vigour to all its limbs[,] freshness and beauty to its whole complexion; to guard it from dangers; to preserve it ‘from the corruption that is in the world’; and to produce it upon the great theatre of nations with advantage and glory.”
One of the most articulate defenders of freedom was an itinerant Baptist preacher in Virginia, John Leland. He advocated to James Madison the need to secure the Bill of Rights in the U.S. Constitution. “Be always jealous of your liberty, your rights,” he insisted. “Nip the first bud of intrusion on your Constitution.” Leland especially championed the protection of religious liberty. In his sermon “The Rights of Conscience Inalienable,” he declared, “Every man must give an account of himself to God, and therefore every man ought to be at liberty to serve God in that way that he can best reconcile to his conscience.… It would be sinful for a man to surrender that to man which is to be kept sacred for God.”
Today, religious liberty, guaranteed in the First Amendment, is under threat. In particular, the Obamacare anti-conscience mandate undermines this freedom in an unprecedented way. Church leaders and other voices of moral authority can help articulate and defend the importance of religious freedom in the American constitutional order. During the Fortnight for Freedom, and especially on July 4, may the pulpits of our land once again ring out strong notes of freedom.
[bold and italics emphasis mine]
- Ryan Messmore,June 24, 2012, http://blog.heritage.org/2012/06/24/revolutionary-sermons-that-rang-with-notes-of-freedom/
Today [6/24] is the first Sunday of the Fortnight for Freedom, a two-week celebration of religious liberty in America. Church leaders, and preachers especially, have played an important role in our nation’s struggle for and preservation of this “first freedom.” In 1833, the American Quarterly Register articulated the important role that ministers played in the American Revolution: “As a body of men, the clergy were pre-eminent in their attachment to liberty.
The pulpits of the land rang with the notes of freedom.” One minister whose pulpit rang loud with such notes was Isaac Backus. A preacher in the tradition of George Whitefield, Backus served as pastor of the Middleborough Baptist Church (Massachusetts) beginning in 1751. In one of his most famous sermons, Backus asked of colonial America: “How can such a union be expected so long as that dearest of all rights, equal liberty of conscience is not allowed?” He went on to explain that “religious matters are to be separated from the jurisdiction of the state, not because they are beneath the interests of the state but, quite to the contrary, because they are too high and holy and thus are beyond the competence of the state.”
Another pulpit that rang notes of freedom was that of Samuel Cooper. He was a pastor in Boston during the Revolution, and among his parishioners were John Hancock, Samuel Adams, and John Adams. In his “Sermon on the Day of the Commencement of the Constitution,” Cooper praised the Constitution as a “happy foundation for many generations…a constitution of government founded in justice, and friendly to liberty.” “[W]hat a broad foundation for the exercise of the rights of conscience is laid in this constitution!” he proclaimed, “which declares, that ‘no subject shall be hurt, molested, or restrained in his person, liberty or estate, for worshipping God in the manner and season most agreeable to the dictates of his own conscience, or for his religious profession or sentiments.’”
Cooper emphatically urged his fellow congregants and citizens to appreciate the liberties protected in the Constitution and to defend the Constitution from any threat: “It is with you also my fellow-citizens…to give life and vigour to all its limbs[,] freshness and beauty to its whole complexion; to guard it from dangers; to preserve it ‘from the corruption that is in the world’; and to produce it upon the great theatre of nations with advantage and glory.”
One of the most articulate defenders of freedom was an itinerant Baptist preacher in Virginia, John Leland. He advocated to James Madison the need to secure the Bill of Rights in the U.S. Constitution. “Be always jealous of your liberty, your rights,” he insisted. “Nip the first bud of intrusion on your Constitution.” Leland especially championed the protection of religious liberty. In his sermon “The Rights of Conscience Inalienable,” he declared, “Every man must give an account of himself to God, and therefore every man ought to be at liberty to serve God in that way that he can best reconcile to his conscience.… It would be sinful for a man to surrender that to man which is to be kept sacred for God.”
Today, religious liberty, guaranteed in the First Amendment, is under threat. In particular, the Obamacare anti-conscience mandate undermines this freedom in an unprecedented way. Church leaders and other voices of moral authority can help articulate and defend the importance of religious freedom in the American constitutional order. During the Fortnight for Freedom, and especially on July 4, may the pulpits of our land once again ring out strong notes of freedom.
[bold and italics emphasis mine]
Monday, July 2, 2012
#250 (7/2) - "What the Decision Means for Christians"
[FYI - My GENday is Sept. 19th. What is yours?]
"The Mandate Upheld"- by John Stonestreet, Breakpoint.org, June 29, 2012
You’ve no doubt heard that the Supreme Court, by a 5-4 vote, upheld the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate and the ACA itself.
The ACA will now, of course, be a major campaign issue in this fall’s elections. The GOP has vowed to repeal the ACA if they are elected. The Court’s decision will be scrutinized, and there will be no shortage of analyses about what this says about the Roberts Court.
What I want to do is start a discussion with BreakPoint listeners about the decision’s impact on Christians. While we can disagree about whether the ACA is good policy — personally, I think it’s deeply flawed in very important ways — the health care issues addressed in the ACA cannot be ignored. So while many of us may have been disappointed by the outcome of the case, the Court’s decision provides us with an opportunity to say what we are for and not just what we are against.
The first thing we can agree we are for is that the health care and insurance situation in this country is just not acceptable. Millions in our country do not have adequate or any health insurance, and while some avoid this by choice, many, including many with children, simply cannot afford it. The current system is broken, and Christians need to care about those who suffer. The Affordable Care Act is not the best answer for the problem, but it’s a problem that Christians shouldn’t, in good conscience, ignore. TMorally, the status quo is unacceptable.
The same thing can be said about the rising costs of health care. When you hear about the tens of trillions in “unfunded liabilities,” the largest and fastest-growing part of that is related to health-care costs. These costs are by far the greatest threat to our fiscal future, a fact on which both parties agree. We should insist that this “agreement” translate into action.
Justice Roberts’ majority opinion, which upheld the individual mandate by justifying it under Congress’ taxing powers, invited Congress to revisit some of the ACA’s provisions. We should urge Congress to do so and provide better protection for the sanctity of human life.I’m not only referring to taxpayer funding of abortion, although current provisions against it are woefully inadequate. I have also have in mind what might be called the “monetizing of human life,” the cost-benefit calculations that prompted people to talk about “death panels.”
Also, it should go without saying that we must insist on better guarantees for the freedom of conscience. The ongoing struggles over the HHS mandate have made clear the administration’s intention to define freedom of conscience and religious freedom as narrowly as possible. Given this intention, they shouldn’t be allowed the kind of carte-blanche discretion the ACA currently affords them to change definitions about religious freedom as much as they’ve done already. The struggle over the HHS mandate underlines the need for courage. The first attempt to apply the ACA was a broadside against religious freedom. While I’m gratified at the loud and strong response from many Christians, I am also certain that more threats to our freedom are still to come.
Now that the ACA has been upheld, we need to be prepared to fight for something better than the status quo. We need to insist on something that addresses all of our concerns. As Chuck Colson might have put it, the battle has just begun.
There will be a lot of discussion about the Supreme Court’s ruling at our blog at BreakPoint.org. Why not join the conversation? Go to BreakPoint.org and click on the “BreakPoint Blog” tab. Or click on this commentary and leave a comment. Join in!
[bold and italics emphasis mine]
"The Mandate Upheld"- by John Stonestreet, Breakpoint.org, June 29, 2012
You’ve no doubt heard that the Supreme Court, by a 5-4 vote, upheld the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate and the ACA itself.
The ACA will now, of course, be a major campaign issue in this fall’s elections. The GOP has vowed to repeal the ACA if they are elected. The Court’s decision will be scrutinized, and there will be no shortage of analyses about what this says about the Roberts Court.
What I want to do is start a discussion with BreakPoint listeners about the decision’s impact on Christians. While we can disagree about whether the ACA is good policy — personally, I think it’s deeply flawed in very important ways — the health care issues addressed in the ACA cannot be ignored. So while many of us may have been disappointed by the outcome of the case, the Court’s decision provides us with an opportunity to say what we are for and not just what we are against.
The first thing we can agree we are for is that the health care and insurance situation in this country is just not acceptable. Millions in our country do not have adequate or any health insurance, and while some avoid this by choice, many, including many with children, simply cannot afford it. The current system is broken, and Christians need to care about those who suffer. The Affordable Care Act is not the best answer for the problem, but it’s a problem that Christians shouldn’t, in good conscience, ignore. TMorally, the status quo is unacceptable.
The same thing can be said about the rising costs of health care. When you hear about the tens of trillions in “unfunded liabilities,” the largest and fastest-growing part of that is related to health-care costs. These costs are by far the greatest threat to our fiscal future, a fact on which both parties agree. We should insist that this “agreement” translate into action.
Justice Roberts’ majority opinion, which upheld the individual mandate by justifying it under Congress’ taxing powers, invited Congress to revisit some of the ACA’s provisions. We should urge Congress to do so and provide better protection for the sanctity of human life.I’m not only referring to taxpayer funding of abortion, although current provisions against it are woefully inadequate. I have also have in mind what might be called the “monetizing of human life,” the cost-benefit calculations that prompted people to talk about “death panels.”
Also, it should go without saying that we must insist on better guarantees for the freedom of conscience. The ongoing struggles over the HHS mandate have made clear the administration’s intention to define freedom of conscience and religious freedom as narrowly as possible. Given this intention, they shouldn’t be allowed the kind of carte-blanche discretion the ACA currently affords them to change definitions about religious freedom as much as they’ve done already. The struggle over the HHS mandate underlines the need for courage. The first attempt to apply the ACA was a broadside against religious freedom. While I’m gratified at the loud and strong response from many Christians, I am also certain that more threats to our freedom are still to come.
Now that the ACA has been upheld, we need to be prepared to fight for something better than the status quo. We need to insist on something that addresses all of our concerns. As Chuck Colson might have put it, the battle has just begun.
There will be a lot of discussion about the Supreme Court’s ruling at our blog at BreakPoint.org. Why not join the conversation? Go to BreakPoint.org and click on the “BreakPoint Blog” tab. Or click on this commentary and leave a comment. Join in!
[bold and italics emphasis mine]
Sunday, July 1, 2012
#249(7/1)- Sunday Special > "Will the Church Forget?"
[FYI - My GENday is Sept. 19th. What is yours?]
[NOTE: The following is one of the most powerful sermons delivered by the late Dr. Kennedy. (Please consider asking your own pastor and other believers to check out the message below. I trust that it would truly challenge him.) It is an example of what you will hear everytime you listen into one of his sermons and why I tell you each Sunday to either tune into the weekly broadcast of "Truth That Transforms" as they present one of his sermons as well as an updated report on the state of our country and culture. You will be hard pressed to find a better half-hour of inspiring an informative programing. Once again, in Orlando, tune in to "Truth That Transforms" at 5 pm, ch. 55, or else check your listings. Also, you can find the program at www.truthinaction.org - Stan]
- by (the late) D. James Kennedy, posted on June 1, 2012 at>
http://www.truthimpact.me/index.php/2012/06/will-church-forget/#more-584
On Memorial Day we remember those who have fallen in the great fight for freedom—those who have given their lives or limbs so that we might worship without hindrance. But will the Church forget what a great many thousands have fought for, and those who gave the last full measure of devotion to defend? Will the Church forget the principles upon which this nation was founded, principles of liberty, godliness, piety, and morality?
I’m afraid that not only will the Church forget them, but to a large degree the Church has already forgotten them.
The media makes a mockery of Christians, the Christian faith and Christian values, and those who speak out for the sacredness of life are branded as extremists . . . And 300,000 pulpits are silent. Christian morality cannot be taught in schools, but atheistic immorality is . . . And 300,000 pulpits are silent. Rock music fills the airwaves and our children’s minds with music which legitimizes rape, murder, sadomasochism, adultery and even satanic worship . . . And 300,000 pulpits are silent. A majority of states now have lotteries and gambling is no longer a crime . . . And 300,000 pulpits are silent.
The Church hasn’t always been silent. Through the centuries churches have moved to get rid of most of the great evils of our world. It was through the work of Christians that slavery was eliminated from Great Britain. Two-thirds of the members of the Abolition Society in New England were Christian clergymen. No, the Church was not always silent. The Church spoke out on child labor laws and wives being beaten and abused. The Church has spoken out about prison reform and reform of asylums for the insane.
God needs men who will speak out on the issues of the day. Martin Luther said something to the effect, “Though we be active in the battle, if we are not fighting where the battle is the hottest, we are traitors to the cause.” Be not afraid, Christ is with you! If the Church doesn’t speak out, who will?I have debated and confronted face-toface the leaders of the abortionist movement, the leaders of the homosexual movement, the leaders of the feminist movement, the atheists, the evolutionists, and all of the left-wing cadre—and they are all full of passionate intensity.
If right now this country were suddenly filled with passionate intensity for the cause of Jesus Christ, for the spread of His Gospel, and for the advance of His morality throughout the nation, next Sunday the churches of the land would be packed to overflowing!
Where is the intensity? Let me tell you. They have it! One historian said that the people who have that intensity are the people who always win. Ultimately it is going to be a decision as to which side lacks conviction and which side is filled with passionate intensity. Will it be those who oppose Christ, or those who are for the kingdom of Jesus Christ? Christ says “…seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness…”(Matt 6:33 KJV).
Pray that God will fill you with intensity to do whatever you can to become involved, to get out of the bleachers and onto the playing field, and become a participant in the greatest struggle in the history of the world—a struggle for goodness, a struggle for godliness, a struggle for Christ against Satan. That is the battle we are in [!].
[bold and italics emphasis mine]
[P.S.-"...These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation [Jesus]. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! so, because you are lukewarm - neither hot nor cold - I am about to spit you out of my mouth." (Rev.3:14-16) Heavenly Father, make each of us PASSIONATELY INTENSE while there is still time!]
[NOTE: The following is one of the most powerful sermons delivered by the late Dr. Kennedy. (Please consider asking your own pastor and other believers to check out the message below. I trust that it would truly challenge him.) It is an example of what you will hear everytime you listen into one of his sermons and why I tell you each Sunday to either tune into the weekly broadcast of "Truth That Transforms" as they present one of his sermons as well as an updated report on the state of our country and culture. You will be hard pressed to find a better half-hour of inspiring an informative programing. Once again, in Orlando, tune in to "Truth That Transforms" at 5 pm, ch. 55, or else check your listings. Also, you can find the program at www.truthinaction.org - Stan]
- by (the late) D. James Kennedy, posted on June 1, 2012 at>
http://www.truthimpact.me/index.php/2012/06/will-church-forget/#more-584
On Memorial Day we remember those who have fallen in the great fight for freedom—those who have given their lives or limbs so that we might worship without hindrance. But will the Church forget what a great many thousands have fought for, and those who gave the last full measure of devotion to defend? Will the Church forget the principles upon which this nation was founded, principles of liberty, godliness, piety, and morality?
I’m afraid that not only will the Church forget them, but to a large degree the Church has already forgotten them.
The media makes a mockery of Christians, the Christian faith and Christian values, and those who speak out for the sacredness of life are branded as extremists . . . And 300,000 pulpits are silent. Christian morality cannot be taught in schools, but atheistic immorality is . . . And 300,000 pulpits are silent. Rock music fills the airwaves and our children’s minds with music which legitimizes rape, murder, sadomasochism, adultery and even satanic worship . . . And 300,000 pulpits are silent. A majority of states now have lotteries and gambling is no longer a crime . . . And 300,000 pulpits are silent.
The Church hasn’t always been silent. Through the centuries churches have moved to get rid of most of the great evils of our world. It was through the work of Christians that slavery was eliminated from Great Britain. Two-thirds of the members of the Abolition Society in New England were Christian clergymen. No, the Church was not always silent. The Church spoke out on child labor laws and wives being beaten and abused. The Church has spoken out about prison reform and reform of asylums for the insane.
God needs men who will speak out on the issues of the day. Martin Luther said something to the effect, “Though we be active in the battle, if we are not fighting where the battle is the hottest, we are traitors to the cause.” Be not afraid, Christ is with you! If the Church doesn’t speak out, who will?I have debated and confronted face-toface the leaders of the abortionist movement, the leaders of the homosexual movement, the leaders of the feminist movement, the atheists, the evolutionists, and all of the left-wing cadre—and they are all full of passionate intensity.
If right now this country were suddenly filled with passionate intensity for the cause of Jesus Christ, for the spread of His Gospel, and for the advance of His morality throughout the nation, next Sunday the churches of the land would be packed to overflowing!
Where is the intensity? Let me tell you. They have it! One historian said that the people who have that intensity are the people who always win. Ultimately it is going to be a decision as to which side lacks conviction and which side is filled with passionate intensity. Will it be those who oppose Christ, or those who are for the kingdom of Jesus Christ? Christ says “…seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness…”(Matt 6:33 KJV).
Pray that God will fill you with intensity to do whatever you can to become involved, to get out of the bleachers and onto the playing field, and become a participant in the greatest struggle in the history of the world—a struggle for goodness, a struggle for godliness, a struggle for Christ against Satan. That is the battle we are in [!].
[bold and italics emphasis mine]
[P.S.-"...These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation [Jesus]. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! so, because you are lukewarm - neither hot nor cold - I am about to spit you out of my mouth." (Rev.3:14-16) Heavenly Father, make each of us PASSIONATELY INTENSE while there is still time!]
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