DIVORCE AGREEMENT

Here is something I read on Facebook.

DIVORCE AGREEMENT

by Jeannene Rutherford

THIS IS INCREDIBLY WELL-PUT, AND I CAN HARDLY BELIEVE IT’S WRITTEN BY A STUDENT!!! WHATEVER HE RUNS FOR, I’LL VOTE FOR HIM.

Sharia courts

Here is something I read on Facebook.

Sharia courts

by Ann Brooks

Muslims Demand Texas Mayor Surrender After She Attacked Shariah Court. Here’s Her Response

The group of Muslims who attempted to establish the first Islamic Sharia court inside the United States in the town of Irving, Texas just received a devastating blow thanks to the town’s mayor standing strong and not backing down.

God has ordained government

Here is something I read on Facebook.

God has ordained government

by  Ken Ham

Some recent news items reported on politicians holding and even reading from the Bible. Well, all politicians (including governors and mayors) need to read and understand the following: “For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God” (Romans 13:1).

The Democratic Party

Here is something I read on Facebook.

The Democratic Party

by Kaeley Triller Harms

It’s no secret that I’m a pretty terrible Republican.

I don’t think Trump hung the moon, I won’t be caught dead in a MAGA hat, I believe true feminism needs a swift revival, and while I love my country, I don’t think we’re better than everybody else. We’ve got lots of work to do.

Immigration

Here is something I read on Facebook.

Immigration

by Wally Fry

Friends…hi. I’m probably going to start a fight here, but this is on my heart and I have to let it out. This is not a copy and paste; this is all mine. First, I support national security and defense as much as anybody. I don’t want our country flooded with criminals and terrorists any more than anybody. Seriously, I understand the need for security. But…but..but.

Commercial surrogacy

Here is something I read on Facebook.

Commercial surrogacy

by Kaeley Triller Harms

Lengthy post ahead. I posted it as a FB note yesterday, but those things never get much traction, and the subject matter is important, though controversial. I don’t post this in condemnation but in caution:

Last year I sat in stunned silence at a WA State Senate hearing concerning the matter of commercial surrogacy. The proposed bill contained 55 pages of legislative text full of demands and bloviations about alleged parental rights. Its goal was to legalize commercial surrogacy without limit through the entire state.

Is the United States a Christian nation?

Is the Unites States a Christian nation?  The best way to answer that question is to look at what is happening in America and then compare that with what the Bible says.

In Roe v Wade the Supreme Court ruled that any woman who was pregnant had a right to end the pregnancy by aborting her baby.  The Bible calls children a blessing from God.

Government shutdown

The government of the United States is experiencing a partial shutdown because of a disagreement between President Trump and Congress.  The country has experienced shutdowns before and survived so I believe we will survive this one too, but it has caused a lot of inconvenience for many, especially for employees of the agencies that have been closed.

Have you ever considered the consequences if the Kingdom of God ever experienced a government shutdown?  Such an action would do more than inconvenience us.  It would probably jeopardize our very existence.  We need to be thankful that such a shutdown can never occur.  We can always depend on God even when human institutions fail.

I got the idea for this post from reading this article in the Babylon Bee.

Voting and praying

The United States has just had an election.  The right to vote gives all citizens a voice in deciding how the country will be run.  Christians, like other citizens, should exercise this right, but we have another way we can influence the government and that is to pray for our leaders.  Jeremiah sent a letter to the Jews who had been taken into captivity in Babylon urging them to do this.

 But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.  (Jeremiah 29:7)

The apostle Paul gave the same command to Christians.

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people,for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.  (1 Timothy 2:1,2)

In both cases the reason is the same.  We will be better off if we live under a stable government that cares about the welfare of its citizens.

Christians and government

Christians disagree about how involved we should be in government.  Some believe we should not be involved at all and not even vote in elections.  Others think we should use the government as a way to promote Christianity.  Most Christians adopt a position somewhere between these two extremes.  We need to look at what the Bible says about this subject.

We are commanded to pray for our government leaders.

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people,for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.  (1 Timothy 2:1,2)

The command is found in the Old Testament as well as the New.

But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.  (Jeremiah 29:7)

This was what Jeremiah told the exiles in Babylon to do.  Since Christians are citizens of Heaven we are in the same position as those exiles; we are exiled from our native land and living in a foreign country.  This is true even if we are living in the country in which we were born.

Meeting Melchizedek

Abraham’s nephew Lot separated himself from Abraham and went to live in Sodom.  His decision soon got him in trouble. Genesis 14:1-16 describes how a coalition of kings led by Chedorlaomer overcame Sodom and its allies and took as prisoners the people of those cities, including Lot.  When Abraham heard of this he called out his followers and rescued Lot and the other captives.

After his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley).  (Genesis 14:17)

But before the king of Sodom met him he encountered Melchizedek.

And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) And he blessed him and said,

“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
    Possessor of heaven and earth;
and blessed be God Most High,
    who has delivered your enemies into your hand!”

And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.  (Genesis 14:18-20)

Saving social security

The social security system in the United States will soon face a financial crisis.  Retirees are living longer than they have in the past.  At one time there were 41 workers paying into the system for each retiree receiving benefits; there are now about 3 workers for each retiree.

One contributing factor to this trend is the legalization of abortion in the United States.  Since the Roe vs. Wade decision almost 60 million babies have been aborted. If they had been allowed to live many of them would now be working and paying into the social security system.  Ending abortion might not be enough to solve the system’s problems but it would certainly help.

Even if abortion were ended it would be almost 20 years before the effects would be felt.  But there is another way we can find more workers to support social security.  That is to encourage immigration and open our borders to refugees who have been forced to flee their homelands.  We should encourage these people to settle in the United States, find jobs, and begin paying social security.

There are a lot of public discussion of abortion and immigration but I don’t recall anyone discussing the affects of these topics on social security.  I have also heard a lot of discussion the the social security crisis but I don’t recall anyone suggesting changing the laws on abortion and immigration as possible solutions.  If our leaders realized how these subjects are interconnected they might find it easier to solve the problems connected with them.

Any American who cares about the welfare of our retirees should oppose abortion and support increased immigration but Christians have other reasons to do this.  I have made two posts in this blog about those reasons.

Molech

Immigration and evangelism

Life at Conception Act

Congress could end abortion without overturning Roe vs.Wade simply by passing a law stating that life begins at conception.  The authority to do this is contained within the decision itself.

Working from what the Supreme Court ruled in Roe, pro-life lawmakers can pass a Life at Conception Act and end abortion by using the Constitution instead of amending it.

A simple majority vote in both houses of Congress is all that is needed to pass a Life at Conception Act as opposed to the two-thirds required to add a Constitutional amendment.

When the Supreme Court handed down its now-infamous Roe v. Wade decision, it did so based on a new, previously undefined “right of privacy” which it “discovered” in so-called “emanations” of “penumbrae” of the Constitution.

Of course, as constitutional law it was a disaster. But never once did the Supreme Court declare abortion itself to be a Constitutional right.

Instead the Supreme Court said:

“We need not resolve the difficult question of when life begins . . . the judiciary at this point in the development of man’s knowledge, is not in a position to speculate as to the answer.”

Then the High Court made a key admission:

“If this suggestion of personhood is established, the appellant’s case [i.e. “Roe” who sought the abortion], of course, collapses, for the fetus’ right to life is then guaranteed specifically by the [14th] Amendment.”

That’s exactly what a Life at Conception Act would do.

http://prolifealliance.com/end_roeVwade.html

When Barack Obama was president it would have done no good to pass such an act because it would almost certainly have been vetoed.  Now we have a president who is pro life and would probably sign it.  The passage of this act would be a pro life victory.

Leaving vengeance to the wrath of God

We are commanded not to avenge ourselves but to leave all vengeance to God’s wrath.

 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” (Romans 12:19)

But just how do we leave vengeance to God?  If what another person does to hurt us involves a violation of the law, there is a very easy way.  Inform the police and press criminal charges against him.  Here is what the Bible says about the role of government.

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. (Romans 13:1-4)

Did you notice the last sentence?  For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.   When we ask the government to take action against someone who has hurt us we are not avenging ourselves but turning the matter over to God’s servant.

Ending abortion

One of the first commands God gave to Noah after he left the ark was one prohibiting murder.

And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man.
Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.
Genesis 9:5-6

In 1973, in the case of Roe vs. Wade, the Supreme Court ruled that in the United States one class of humans, unborn children, was not entitled to protection by the laws prohibiting murder.  Since that time 59,000,000 children have been murdered without their killers suffering any punishment.  This failure to uphold God’s law places our country in danger of divine intervention.

You shall not pollute the land in which you live, for blood pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed in it, except by the blood of the one who shed it.
Numbers 35:33

Our debt to Caesar

Jesus said, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”  He was responding to a question about the legality of paying taxes to Caesar and his answer shows that we must pay our taxes.  Some people protest government activities that they consider evil or immoral by withholding the percentage of taxes that goes to support such actions.  Jesus’ statement does not give Christians the option of doing this.  We must pay all the taxes imposed on us; if Caesar misuses the tax money we provide in ways that are contrary to God’s will, he will answer to God for his actions.

Our obligation to Caesar goes beyond just paying taxes.

Pray for the Supreme Court

There is a vacancy on the US Supreme Court.  The fact that abortion and same sex marriage are now legal in the United States is the result of decisions by this court, so naturally anyone who has strong views on these subjects is concerned about who will be chosen to fill the vacancy.

Christians should do what we can to make sure the next member of the Supreme Court holds views on these and other issues that are compatible with what the Bible teaches but we have another tool for influencing the court that others do not.  We can and should pray that God will move the court to make the right decisions in the cases that come before it.

The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will.
Proverbs 21:1

If God can control the hearts of kings he can certainly control the hearts of Supreme Court justices.

The worst rulers

Israel had some very good kings, such as David, Hezekiah, and Josiah.  She also had some very bad kings.  The worst was Manasseh, whose story is found in 2 Chronicles 33.  He was the son of Hezekiah, who had destroyed the false gods the people worshiped and restored the worship of the true God.

Manasseh began his reign by attempting to undo the good his father had accomplished.

And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel. For he rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had broken down, and he erected altars to the Baals, and made Asheroth, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. And he built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, “In Jerusalem shall my name be forever.”

And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. And he burned his sons as an offering in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, and used fortune-telling and omens and sorcery, and dealt with mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking him to anger.
2 Chronicles 33:2-6

Was Jesus really a pacifist?

Jesus is perceived by many as being a pacifist who never practiced or advocated violence of any kind.  He commanded us to turn the other cheek when someone hits us and to love everyone, including our enemies.  On the basis of these commands some Christians have concluded that a Christian must never engage in any kind of violence.  They believe it is wrong for a Christian to serve in the military, even if his country is at war.

If we consider only these teachings of Jesus this seems to be a logical conclusion.  But Jesus also did and said some things that are inconsistent with pacifism.

Gay marriage and same sex marriage

I believe in gay marriage.  Gay people have the same right to marry that straight people do.

I believe that God established marriage as a union between a man and a woman.  A “marriage” between two men and two women is a sin.

Do these statements seem contradictory to you?  There is a lot of confusion on this subject because most people use the terms “gay marriage” and “same sex marriage” interchangeably.  In fact they do not mean the same thing.