Take A Stand For God And Country
Take A Stand For God and Country
In a recent sermon, my pastor, Dr. Ted Estes of Lifechanger Church in Claremore Oklahoma, brought us the story of Israel’s King Josiah. Josiah became king at the age of 8 and at the age of 26, during the 18th year of his rein, he learned some disturbing news about his nation (2 Kings Chapter 22 and following). During remodeling work on the temple workers found a copy of the Book of the Law and brought it to him. When he read the document and found how far from God they had strayed he tore his clothes in anguish and repentance. During the many years since Moses the Israelites had inter-married with the people they conquered and had taken on many of the customs of the conquered people. When Josiah found out how many idols were being worshipped in place of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Joseph he was distraught to the point of action. To save his people he took drastic action. He ordered all of the idols to be taken out of Jerusalem, and Israel’s other cities, and burned. He ordered the priests who had led the worship of these idols killed. His repentance was twofold. He wanted forgiveness for his people, and wanted God to once again bless Israel. Josiah was innocent of much of this as he was still a very young man and had not known any better until this point in his life. The key of this story to me is that when he learned of the sin of his people he acted to make things right with God. He repented and asked God’s forgiveness, but also took the steps to destroy the evil that had taken over his land.
The next night I attended an inter-denominational prayer service. One of the speakers was Cary Gates, also a member of Lifechanger Church. His story, combined with the sermon on Sunday, brought me to a realization that Americans are at the same point today as the Israelites were then, in both religious and secular practices. Cary used a bar graph analogy of a 1 to 100 scale. He talked about his level of faith, and a desire for doing God’s will, at 100 while his level of willingness to act was at a level of 10. This was because of a combination of insecurity in his ability to make a difference, and his fear of failure. He had finally come to realize that he had limited his ability to affect God’s kingdom by his insecurity instead of going full bore, depending on God’s wisdom and guidance, and letting God decide the outcome.
As a Christian I can identify with this hesitation and lack of confidence in my abilities in God’s kingdom, but Cary’s story actually brought me to a realization that this is not only a story of God’s kingdom but also a story of a moral and political nature in today’s America. When Cary mention political correctness, and I don’t remember his exact context, it set me to thinking and writing notes. Political correctness has become an idol in America today. Our nation has become so fearful of hurting someone’s feelings or offending someone that we no longer can tell the truth for fear of being called a racist, a hate monger, a terror threat, an Islamophobe, a homophobe, or some other fearful label. People who are willing to tell the truth, even telling the truth in love and kindness, are vilified and threatened with legal action.
Political correctness isn’t the only idol threatening the future of America today. So many people are so busy with idle activity that they let idolatry run their lives. Reality TV has taken such a ruinous hold on our nation today. Dancing with the Stars, American idol, and shows like them have taken the spotlight away from serious issues that really make a difference in the quality of our nation’s life. It amazes me how many people can tell me who won the first season of American Idol but how few can tell me anything about the 1st Amendment of the Constitution, or who was the king of England when the Declaration of Independence was signed, or why the Revolutionary War was fought in the first place. The NFL has just expanded their Sunday pre-game hoopla to 3 hours, starting at 10:00 a m Eastern time, when people should be worshipping God, not their favorite team or player.
For many years I have been concerned about the way our country has been drifting ever slowly towards the ism’s, socialism, Marxism, communism, and facism. I used to be of the thought that I am only one person and could not make a difference. I had the desire at the 100 level to make a difference in our country but fear of failure, lack of knowledge of how to make a difference, and lack of confidence in my ability limited me in my effectiveness to make a difference. God touched my heart in June of 2010 and brought me to the realization that one person can make a difference, in both His kingdom and America’s future. During June 2010 I was watching documentaries about the founding of our nation and realized how many individual people wound up banding together to become a force for freedom and equality as had never been known. Our founding fathers looked to Divine Providence to guide them in their quest for a nation. Each one individual became united into ONE entity for God, for freedom.
Our country has become so subservient to the idol worship of political correctness, star athletes, and performers, that, as a nation, we no longer stand up for God, we no longer stand up for the Constitution, we no longer stand up for the Declaration of Independence. We no longer stand up for truth, justice, and the American way. We have limited ourselves by apathy, by fear of failure, by disgust and frustration at what we see government doing, by lack of knowledge of what to do to make the necessary changes, and by the thought that we are only one person.
We are only limited by our willingness to take our activity to that 100 level. Our nation is not done. We don’t have to go down the trail of failure and turn America into another run of the mill dictatorship. It is up to We the People to throw off the shackles of apathy, fear, and political correctness and go to work saving America as Josiah saved the Israelite nation. We the People must stop being fearful and be bold. We must stand for God, for truth, and for freedom if our future generations are going to live in a free country.
When you want to complain about what Barak Obama has done, think about what you have done, or not done. What have you done to support or oppose the actions of our government at any level, by either party, depending on the issue and your stand on said issue? I often write politicians about issues, some that I agree with and some that I don’t agree with. I also write articles to post for others to read to help give them a perspective on an issue, and give them the facts and reasoning behind my viewpoint.
Writing articles and letters in itself is a good thing, I believe, but it isn’t enough. I complain about stands I don’t agree with but I also offer alternatives, my ideas for solutions, to those issues. When I agree with a stand on an issue I let them know that I agree, and why I agree. The more important aspect, and a very necessary part of the equation, is to take drastic action.
The 2010 mid-term election was my first political drastic action. I studied, I listened, I learned. I learned about the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. I learned what the words of those documents meant. I delved into the writings and speeches of the founding fathers to get an understanding of their motives and their vision of the nation they were forming. I learned about the true history of our nation going back to the Pilgrims. I learned of the good and the bad of our history. I learned that one person can make a difference if they are willing to take the flack to stand for what is right and what is good. I also learned how much our founding fathers relied on God to accomplish their task. I then found the candidate who fit my values and I believed would be true to those values.
God has given me a gift to write and He has given me a gift to care. He has given me an insight and a desire I have never had before to stand for what is right and good. He has given me the courage to stand for His Word and to stand strong against the criticism that has come against me, from both party affiliations.
I could sit back and play it safe, not make noise, let someone else haul the water but that is not what God gifted me for. If we are to take our nation back to what God and our founding fathers designed we must first repent of our sins against God and our disregard for what He gave us, The United States of America. We must get out and learn. We must learn first of all what we as individuals stand for. Then we must learn which candidates stand for what we believe in and make the effort to help them get elected. The last election was the first time I ever campaigned for anyone. Although the congressional candidate I supported and worked for did not win, he showed how much of a difference one person can make.
He ran a race against an incumbent who ran as a moderate Democrat and spent nearly $200,000 against his $60,000. He ran against a Democrat who had the full support of the National Rifle Association in a state of hunters. He ran against a Democrat who had massive amounts of support from the national Democrat Party apparatus while receiving none himself from the national Republican Party apparatus, a Democrat who had not received less than 70% of the vote in 4 elections. He ran in a district that has been a Democrat stronghold for as long as I can remember. The margin of victory was 56%-44%, about 1200 votes. That same Democrat decided not to run in 2012 and the Democrat party is hard pressed to find anyone willing to run in the Oklahoma 2ndCongressional District.
Dr. Charles Thompson made a difference. One man put his life, and that of his family, on hold for over a year to make a difference, and succeeded. He didn’t win the seat but a congressional district that had been written off by the Republican Party for generations is now one of the featured races of that same national party in 2012. God is looking for people like Charles Thompson. We can’t all run for office but we can all help in some way. Some can give money, some can make telephone calls, some can write letters, some can get out and knock on doors or hand out campaign literature. All of us can pray and seek God’s guidance and wisdom on how to make our nation great again.
You are not alone. There are many of us who stand with you but we can’t stand for you. The slogan used by the United States Marines in their recruiting is “The Marines are looking for a few good men”. God is also looking for a few good men, and women, to take their level of effort to their level of faith and make a difference. America is looking for those same men and women. You can make a difference if you will. You can help change the course of a nation by doing what you can to make that difference. If you will live by the standards defined in the Constitution you will be living by the standards of men who looked to God as their guide in all they did. If you will step out of your comfort zone, out of your box, you can make a huge difference.
When the campaign was over in November 2010, Dr. Charles Thompson was looking at a loss in a campaign that he had sunk every bit of himself into. I don’t know how he felt personally but I was disappointed that he had come so close with very little to work with. I looked to 2012 with hope but had no idea then that I would be looking at the situation I see today. I never dreamed that the Democrat Party would be on the run in this district a mere one year later, even with Charles out of the equation.
One man made a difference but he didn’t do it by himself. Many people were involved behind the scenes to set the stage for what I see as a victory for conservative values in 2012. Each of us is needed to make the difference but we aren’t islands unto ourselves. Each of us is a part of a huge movement that is steadily gaining momentum. All of us together can change the course of history if we will make the effort to do what we can individually and as one player on a team to accomplish our task.
When I sit and write, although I am totally alone in the room physically, I am not alone. God is with me and guiding my thoughts because I will submit my mind to Him and follow his lead. God is not done with America yet but time is short. I believe the TEA Party movement is the hand of God guiding our nation back to its roots. People of faith are standing up for virtue and for righteousness, willing to show up at rallies with signs that acknowledge God and his divine assignment for this nation. People are willing to be ridiculed and called names by opponents and the media because they know what America stands for and also know how far we have drifted from those values.
Will you be one person who will make a difference? Will you take the tough stand for God, for freedom, for your country? You will never be alone. God will always be with you when you stand for His values and principles. I will always be with you also, as will millions of others you don’t know. We are ONE, a movement of individuals coming together, united in an effort to restore America to its purpose and standing in the World, united in the effort to bring God back into the focus of our nation, as a government and as a people. I don’t speak of a theocracy here but of a nation of people recognizing their heritage of a value system guided by the hand of Almighty God.
I submit this in the name of the Most Holy Trinity, in faith, with the responsibility given to me by Almighty God to honor His work and not let it die from neglect.
In God We Trust,
Bob Russell Claremore, Oklahoma September 23, 2011
No comments:
Post a Comment