The last 3 or 4 weeks have been the worst and the best of times including a family emergency and death, along with a blessed vacation with our granddaughter. Meanwhile a lot has happened since I last posted at the end of May.
The Best:
The Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in favor of the Colorado Christian baker who refused to make a cake for a gay marriage. It should be a time of celebration for justice and a confirmation of religious freedom and the 1st Amendment.
President Trump met with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un and forged an agreement that included the end to North Korea’s efforts to become a nuclear power. According to reports, Trump also pushed for religious freedom and for the end of Christian persecution in North Korea. Thousands of Christians in South Korea and around the world have been praying for the summit and for the end of Christian persecution in the North.
The meeting was a real miracle when you consider that just last year Kim was talking about bombing Guam and the West.
The Worst:
If President Obama had been able to get a summit with Kim with similar results he would have been up for another Nobel Peace Prize. Meanwhile, the American press tried to ignore it as much as possible and continue to down play the results.
Also, LGBT activists are calling for courts and liberal jurists to ignore the 7-2 SCOTUS ruling claiming that it was a ‘narrow’ decision that only applies specifically to Colorado case. Some are even calling for an outright rejection of the ruling by lower courts.
That approach supports what I call- ‘The political Chaos Strategy.’ It calls for the outright rejection of all leaders and laws which do not support a progressive agenda. If a conservative leader does anything good it is to be downplayed or ignored while any half truth will do in strategic political attacks.
Therefore, no matter what this President says or does he is to get no respect but he is to be continually attacked regardless of the facts. The unemployment rate is the lowest it has been in decades but the main stream media attacks the President on immigration laws that the Congress passed years ago and were first implemented during the last administration. The truth does not really matter anymore.
Meanwhile, radical folks like Bill Maher are actually calling for and hoping a major recession or depression in order to turn conservative working folks against Trump. They are looking for any possible way to overturn the election and get rid of Trump.
Just this last week it was revealed that a number of major FBI folks were actually doing what they could to get Clinton elected ignoring the violations of Hillary while looking for supposed ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. The Special Counsel hasn’t found anything that would support that conjecture but continues the ‘witch hunt’ to find anything at all against anyone connected in anyway to Trump. It doesn’t matter that the original reason for the investigation has not produced any real facts that can be acted upon. Now it is nothing but a ‘gotchu’ effort to get folks through the process by catching them in supposed lies and finding unrelated violations of the law.
Then there are liberal Hollywood folks like actor Robert De Niro who recently subjected us to the worst language possible in order to highlight their rejection of this president, and in reality the results of the election, the people who elected him, and the American political system itself. Meanwhile, Trump is still president, the economy is booming, the world is a safer place, and Hillary continues to blame everyone but herself. *Top
Recently Pope Francis has been criticized by conservatives in his own church for saying that there was no Hell and for blaming God for homosexuality. Earlier this year he actually admitted to a group of Jesuits that some in the church were calling him a heretic. From Politico:
ROME — “They call me a heretic.”
Not the words you’d expect to hear from the head of the Roman Catholic Church. But that’s what Pope Francis told a group of fellow Jesuits in Chile earlier this year, acknowledging the fierce pushback from arch-conservatives in the Vatican.
Celebrated by progressives around the world for his push to update and liberalize aspects of church doctrine, Francis is facing fierce blowback from traditionalists…Opposition has become so heated that some advisers are warning him to tread carefully to avoid a “schism” in the church.
Father Thomas Weinandy, a former chief of staff for the U.S. bishops’ committee on doctrine, has accused Francis of causing “theological anarchy.” …Last fall, more than 200 scholars and priests signed a letter accusing Francis of spreading heresy. …
And last week, in his most explicit acceptance of homosexuality yet, he told a gay Catholic that God had made him that way and that his sexuality “does not matter.”
Response: None of this is surprising since Francis came from the ‘Liberation Theology’ wing of the South American Catholic church. I wonder what former Pope Benedict, a Catholic conservative, now thinks about his decision to ‘retire’ which ended up paving the way for the reign of Pope Francis?
This is what happens when church leaders depart from ‘the faith once delivered to the saints’ given to us in the Bible and substitute it for human philosophy along with scientific and political theory and ‘cultural relevance.’
The most telling statement of where this Pope really stands was the official ‘ENCYCLICAL LETTER’ issued by Francis naming ‘climate change’ as the most important and pressing issue facing humanity. In light of that, some have also been critical of this pope’s lack of emphasis on spreading the ‘Gospel’ of Jesus Christ and his validation of other religions like Islam.
He did early on (2013) issue his ‘EVANGELII GAUDIUM’ ON THE PROCLAMATION OF THE GOSPEL IN TODAY’S WORLD and it did call for taking the good news and joy of Jesus Christ to the whole world. However the vast majority of the 51,000 word document was spent on church administration and the calling for a change in the world economy and in particular a condemnation of capitalism (which one would expect coming from a proponent of Marxist Liberation Theology).
Even more problematic for me is this Pope’s accommodation of Muslim leaders in the midst of the greatest persecution against Christians since the first century and the campaigns of the Muslim conqueror Muhammad.
On one hand I really do personally like the man and his loving approach to all people, but so much of his personal belief system seems to be rooted in popular philosophy rather than the Bible. Those calling him a ‘heretic’ do have a point and ‘last days’ prophetic folks are having a field day with his departures from the scriptures and looking for parallels with the end-time world religion represented in the Book of Revelation.
Meanwhile, don’t look for him to get into any kind of ‘official’ trouble with his church. The Vatican officials continue to cover for this pope by claiming that he was misquoted or speaking as an individual and not ‘officially’ as the leader of one billion Christians. Pope Francis will continue to be an interesting world religious figure regardless. *Top
The AP, CNN, and the New York Times among many other main stream media giants recently reported that President Trump called illegal immigrants: ‘animals.’ The truth is that the President was actually referring to MS-13 gang members and not immigrants in general. Nevertheless, the media slanted what Trump had to say to make it appear that the president was calling all undocumented immigrants ‘animals.’ From Townhall:
CNN and the Associated Press were both forced to clarify or delete tweets and stories Thursday that portrayed President Trump’s remarks during a meeting Wednesday as referring to illegal immigrants generally rather than violent MS-13 gang
President Trump said “these aren’t people, these are animals, and we’re taking them out of the country at a level and at a rate that’s never happened before,” Wednesday in response to remarks about MS-13.
…The New York Times has yet to issue any sort of correction or clarification…
Response: The damage has been done since most will never see the ‘clarifications.’ It is all over the social media and TV newscasters have already made their quips over the president’s name calling of immigrants. And what is with ‘the newspaper of record’- The NY Times? I guess when it comes to this president the truth no longer matters?
This just demonstrates how much of our news is now fabricated and so slanted and biased that Americans really are justified in their distrust of the major media. Their choice of what they present and what they decide to not give us is another issue. I have had to turn to foreign news sites for stories about how Christians are being persecuted around the world.
The point is, the MSM presents itself as unbiased suppliers and arbiters of the news. That may have been true in some ideal past but obviously it is no longer the case. This recent situation demonstrates how much the American media has become part of the story and not just the reporters thereof.
The major media has been critical of the purveyors of so-called ‘fake news.’ Meanwhile as in this case, some of their own have been guilty of blurring the lines and crossing over into the very territory they supposedly oppose. It is my guess that some of the media folks are so obsessed with opposing this president that all bets are off and the truth no longer matters. *Top
Last week the Boy Scouts organization announced that they were changing their name to Scouts BSA and would now include girls in their ranks. That seemed to be the last straw for the Mormons. This week the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) officially ending their 105 year partnership with the Boy Scouts and said that they would form their own rival scouting group. From Christianity Today:
‘The Church has increasingly felt the need to create and implement a uniform youth leadership and development program that serves its members globally. In so doing, it will be necessary for the Church to discontinue its role as a chartered partner with BSA,’
‘We have jointly determined that, effective on December 31, 2019, the Church will conclude its relationship as a chartered organisation with all Scouting programmes around the world. Until that date, to allow for an orderly transition, the intention of the Church is to remain a fully engaged partner in Scouting for boys and young men ages 8–13 and encourages all youth, families, and leaders to continue their active participation and financial support.’
It also comes after a number of rows between the Boy Scouts and different church groups over decisions last year to admit gay leaders and also to allow transgender boys into the ranks.
Response: This is quite a blow to the Scouts BSA organization. The LDS currently sponsors groups in their churches that account for over 280,000 members. Last year the number of members in the Boy Scouts declined by nearly 500,000 members and now this.
The exodus will undoubtedly continue as evangelical Christians and conservative churches also leave the organization and join rival groups like Trail Life USA which more closely represent Biblical standards of behavior and morality.
It will be interesting to see if any other denominations officially respond to the changes that the Boy Scouts are going through. *Top
On the National Day of Prayer, President Trump signed an executive order protecting religious liberty in America. From Townhall:
President Trump announced the signing of a new faith based executive order that will allow religious organizations to obtain resources from federal government programs.
"The faith initiative will help design new policies that recognize the vital role of faith in our families, our communities, and our great country. This office will also help ensure that faith-based organizations have equal access to government funding and the equal right to exercise their deeply held beliefs,"
President Trump said.
"We take this step because we know that, in solving the many, many problems and our great challenges, faith is more powerful than government, and nothing is more powerful than God."
The White House Faith Based Opportunity Initiative will be led by someone inside the administration, who will report directly to President Trump on ways to better streamline programs beneficial to religious groups.
Response: What ever you may think about Pres. Trump personally, he is serious about protecting religious liberty just like he said that he would in his campaign. In this case through executive order. This administration is far better than the last for conservative Christians and faith based organizations.
Is it just me or did the last president use EO’s to consistently take away religious freedom? At least it sure seemed that way particularly with the HHS ‘Abortifacient’ Mandate. Also, freedom of religion seemed to be constantly challenged in the military under the last administration.
Plus Christian non-profit faith based groups were under assault. Now this president is addressing that very issue and forming an office to actually help faith-based groups rather than put them out of business. *Top
Today is the National Day of Prayer. Every day is a good time to pray for our nation particularly today. Join thousands across America in prayer for our nation and people, Unity is the theme for this year. Something we really need right now. Here’s a link to the National Day of Prayer website.
2018 NATIONAL PRAYER FOR AMERICA:
Our Dear Heavenly Father, while we come to You in complete humility, we also come to You with boldness in the authoritative name of Your One and Only Son, Jesus Christ, who is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. In Jesus’ name, fill us now with Your Holy Spirit and lead us as we pray in Jesus’ name for America.
Oh God, we are burdened for our nation today. We turn from the sins that we have committed against your Word and your Name. We turn away from our contentious words and ways toward one another that has led us to division and polarization. We turn away from our disrespect and lack of dignity toward each other, and we turn away from our continual devaluation of all human life from the womb until death in this world. We also turn away from and refuse to participate in skepticism, criticism, and cynicism in our nation. We turn away from anything that divides us, and we run toward the gospel of Jesus Christ that is the only thing that has the power to unite us together.
Lord, in this critical hour in our nation, we pray for unity in America. Only You can bring unity, harmony, and oneness in America. As your Word calls us in Ephesians 4:3, “Making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace”, we ask You to empower us to make every effort to live in unity, to call for unity, and to forward unity in America continually.
We pray for the churches in America to unify in Jesus Christ and to pray as one unified spiritual family for America. May Your Church pray for America passionately, perpetually, privately, and publicly.
We pray for God’s power to unify families, workplaces, communities, and cities in America. By Your Spirit, lead us to forgiveness, reconciliation, healing, and unity.
We pray for people of all ethnicities and races in America to come together as one, living in peace and unity together. Oh Lord, because each of us is created in Your image, please give us the courage to stand against all racial and ethnic division, denouncing it as evil and sinful, while simultaneously coming together in unity with all persons knowing this is God’s will for us.
We pray in unity for the security of our nation. We ask You to preserve the United States of America from the forces of evil that are threatening our lives and our future. God, please guard all persons in public and private settings from anyone or anything that desires to harm us or take our lives. Our future is in Your hands.
We agree clearly, unite visibly, and pray extraordinarily for the next Great Spiritual Awakening in America. Oh Lord, wake up Your church spiritually and convict Your people to agree clearly, unite visibly, and pray extraordinarily until the next Great Spiritual Awakening occurs in our generation.
Oh God, we stand together upon Your words in Psalm 133:1, “How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony.” Through Jesus’ name and by the Holy Spirit’s power, we pray for all Americans to unify and to live together in unity.
In the mighty and majestic name of Jesus Christ who is the Only Savior and the Only Hope in this world, we pray. Amen.
Dr. Ronnie Floyd
President, National Day of Prayer Task Force Senior Pastor, Cross Church
