My Letters

BANNING WON’T WORK
If we follow the illogical reasoning of those who believe banning gun ownership by law-abiding citizens will stop those bent on killing, then there are many other weapons used to kill that must be banned also.

Perhaps the most difficult would be the automobile since that is the most recent weapon used by deranged individuals. While it may seem that banning guns would be easier than banning automobiles, if you ever attended an Alabama gun show you would realize that taking the guns away from the citizens would be a very difficult job.

If we really want to stop the needless slaughter of helpless human beings, we should stop the legalized murder of innocent helpless babies by abortion. Our tax dollars are helping to fund Planned Parenthood, an organization dedicated to murdering babies and selling their body parts.

Abortion has become so politically correct that some of our Senators are making the belief in abortion a test for the president’s cabinet nominees. Our State Department has been promoting abortion in other nations and using economic pressure to promote it in nations that are against it.

HYPOCRITES
While the loss of lives (especially those of schoolchildren) is a terrible thing, the politicians of both parties are being hypocritical with their expressions of concern and determination to fix the problem. These same politicians not only allow the wholesale murder of innocent babies through abortion, they allocate taxpayer funds to the largest abortion business, Planned Parenthood, which was founded by Margaret Sanger, a eugenicist who encouraged the sterilization of persons with what she considered less desirable qualities.

Planned Parenthood was built upon the roots of exterminating individuals deemed unfit, which included Blacks, mentally disabled, and homosexuals. Their clinics are strategically located in minority communities targeting Blacks and impoverished minority groups. According to Guttmacher Institute approximately 893,000 innocent children’s lives were snuffed out through abortion in 2016.

These politicians hide behind court decisions, but the courts do not have the authority to enact law. That is the role of Congress.

CHRISTIAN PRIVILEGE
Recently I saw someone on Television complaining about “Christian Privilege.” I am glad to acknowledge that there is Christian privilege and that I am a beneficiary of it. Here are some examples:

My faith–my belief in God who raised Jesus from the dead–is imputed or accounted to me for righteousness, therefore I can say without being boastful, that I am righteous. (Romans 4:24-25).

I have peace with God–that is I am reconciled to Him–because I have been justified by faith in Him. (Romans 5:1).

Because of this faith I have access unto the grace of God which in turn gives me the ability to stand and rejoice in the confident expectation of God’s glory. (Romans 5:2).

When I have accessed this grace, I am able to glory in tribulations or trials (Romans 5:3-4)

I can be sure that I will not be disappointed in my hope. (Romans 5:5).

Because I am in Christ Jesus, I have been delivered from the law. (Romans 7:6).

I am dead to the law. (Romans 7:1-2).

I am free from condemnation because the law of spirit of life in Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:1-3).

I am pleasing to God not because of who I am but because the Spirit of God dwells in me. (Romans 8:8-10).

I am a child of God (Romans 8:14).

Because of my being His child, I am also an heir with Christ. (Romans 8:17).

THE FOUNDERS ON RELIGION
The problem we are facing in our nation will not be solved by banning things. The real root of our problem is the departure from morality as a result of removing God from our schools and society in general.

The disregard and devaluing of human life is depicted in various forms of entertainment– movies, TV shows, video games etc. The worst example however, for our children, is the legal murder of helpless babies and the ripping apart of their little bodies to sell the parts for profit.

Our legislators allot taxpayer funds to Planned Parenthood, which should be named “parenthood destruction” the largest abortion business, founded by Margaret Sanger whose aim was to eliminate those whom she considered unworthy of life.

Those who are in leadership in the various churches largely fail to address the issue of abortion.

We elect our politicians based on their promises to help us to prosper materially rather than where they stand on moral issues. When my wife and I were in Germany in the mid-1950s we lived in Munich and my duty station (kaserne) was near the Dachau concentration camp. All the Germans I talked with claimed they didn’t know the Jews were being slaughtered at Dachau.

The German people allowed Hitler to ascend to power because of his promise of material prosperity and many bought into the big lie that the Jews were the cause of their problems. If we continue to allow our government to legalize murder, glorify sexual deviancy and ban God from our institutions, we are no better than the German people and we will fail as a free nation.

Here are some quotations from some of the founders of our nation:

“A patriot without religion in my estimation is as great a paradox as an honest man without the fear of God. Is it possible that he whom no moral obligations bind, can have any real good will towards men? Can he be a patriot who, by an openly vicious conduct, is undermining the very bonds of society? … The Scriptures tell us ‘righteousness exalteth a nation.’”
—Abigail Adams, in a 1775 letter to Mercy Warren.

“Although guided by our excellent Constitution in the discharge of official duties, and actuated, through the whole course of my public life, solely by a wish to promote the best interests of our country; yet, without the beneficial interposition of the Supreme Ruler of the Universe, we could not have reached the distinguished situation which we have attained with such unprecedented rapidity. To HIM, therefore, should we bow with gratitude and reverence, and endeavor to merit a continuance of HIS special favors.”
—George Washington, in a 1797 letter to John Adams.

“I lament that we waste so much time and money in punishing crimes and take so little pains to prevent them … we neglect the only means of establishing and perpetuating our republican forms of government; that is, the universal education of our youth in the principles of Christianity by means of the Bible; for this Divine Book, above all others, constitutes the soul of republicanism.”
—Benjamin Rush.

PREMISES AND PRESCRIPTIONS

The first principle of science is: The findings of experimentation are no more accurate than the original premise. or if your premise is wrong, so shall your findings be.

Years ago, some friends took their sick child to a doctor who diagnosed measles and prescribed treatment for measles. It turned out the child had Rocky Mountain Fever and died. The prescription was based on a false premise–that the child had measles.

There is ever-increasing pressure on the church from the world, including the so-called liberal churches, to accept sinful lifestyles as merely alternate lifestyles.

In the name of inclusion and tolerance we are told that we should accept homosexuality and not be judgmental concerning those who are caught up in that lifestyle.

A pastor friend told me that another pastor in his denomination accused him of being intolerant because he opposed the ordination of homosexuals into the pastoral ministry. Another pastor told me that in the seminary of that same denomination he was not allowed to refer to God as “He” or “Him” because it offended the lesbian teachers in the seminary.

The contention that homosexuality should be accepted by the church is based on a false premise –that homosexuality is not sin. However, God’s Word tells us that it is sin: Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).

This same Scripture tells us that drunkenness is sin, but the world calls drunkenness “a treatable, but non-curable disease.”

The homosexual is led to believe that he is born that way and there is nothing he can do to change it.

The drunkard is told that he has a disease that he should not be ashamed of any more than if he had the flu.

Both are based on false premises. The good news comes in verse 11: And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

This tells us that the alcoholic does not have to live the rest of his life confessing, “I am an alcoholic and I will always be an alcoholic.” Instead, he can be set free and be included in the such were some of you.

Neither does the homosexual have to live his life with the guilt of sin in the deception of denial. He also may be included in the such were some of you.

The “liberals” accuse Christians of promoting hatred but we believe that we should love the person that is caught up in homosexuality as well as those in any other sin…but we are not to love the sin that he is in.

REJECTING GOD

All the government programs to deal with drug abuse, child sexual abuse, and other problems that are eating away at the very fabric of our society, are doomed to fail without acknowledging that turning away from God as a nation is the root of the problem.

Historical revision has done immeasurable damage to our society. There are many historical facts that demonstrate the intent of the founding fathers that our nation would be governed according to biblical principles.

The Continental Congress formed the American Bible Society, and immediately after creating the Declaration of Independence voted to purchase and import 20,000 copies of scripture for the people of this nation.

Patrick Henry, who is called the firebrand of the American Revolution, is still remembered for his words, “Give me liberty or give me death.” But in current textbooks the context of these words is deleted. Here is what he said: “An appeal to arms and the God of hosts is all that has left us. But we shall not fight our battle alone. There is a just God that presides over the destinies of nations. The battle sir, is not of the strong alone. Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it almighty God. I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death.”

These sentences have been erased from our textbooks. Was Patrick Henry a Christian? The following year, 1776, he wrote this: “It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religion, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For that reason alone, people of other faiths have been afforded freedom of worship here.” Thomas Jefferson wrote these words on the front of his well- worn Bible: “I am a Christian, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus. I have little doubt that our whole country will soon be rallied to the unity of our Creator and, I hope, to the pure doctrine of Jesus also.”

Of the first 108 universities founded in America, 106 were distinctly Christian, including the first one, Harvard University, chartered in 1636. In the original Harvard Student Handbook rule number 1 was that students seeking entrance must know Latin and Greek so that they could study the scriptures: “Let every student be plainly instructed and earnestly pressed to consider well, the main end of his life and studies is, to know God and Jesus Christ, which is eternal life, John 17:3; and therefore, to lay Jesus Christ as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and learning. And seeing the Lord only giveth wisdom, let everyone seriously set himself by prayer in secret to seek it of him (Proverbs 2:3).”

For over 100 years, more than 50% of all Harvard graduates were pastors!

RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

Thomas Jefferson played a major role in the founding of the United States of America—and establishing its strong protections for religious freedom for all.

John F. Kennedy, speaking at an event honoring Nobel Prize winners of the Western Hemisphere, said: “I want to tell you how welcome you are to the White House. I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered together at the White House, except for when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.”

Liberals, who want to deny the citizens of this nation the freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment to our constitution have distorted the words of Jefferson concerning religion. His words the “wall of separation between church and state” were in his letter to the Danbury Baptists, a religious group in Connecticut concerned with the state’s weak religious liberty protections.

Shortly following his election to the presidency in 1802, Jefferson wrote about religious freedom. He wrote that man “owes account to none other for his faith or his worship” and referenced the First Amendment guarantee that the legislature would make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof thus building a wall of separation between church and state.

The liberals have abused this phrase “Thus building a wall of separation between church and state” to deny citizens of this nation the freedom of religion that is guaranteed by the First Amendment.

The so-called American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the American Humanist Association, Freedom From Religion Foundation, and others have used this phrase as an opportunity to use the legal system to deny religious freedom to the citizens of this nation.

While president, Thomas Jefferson also served as the chairman of the school board for the District of Columbia, where he authored the first plan of education adopted by the city. His plan used the Bible and Isaac Watts’ hymnal as the principle books to teach reading.

Now, some Senators attempt to get the President’s cabinet nominees to deny their Christian beliefs in the Senate’s advise and consent hearings.

In addition to the bills he signed appropriating funds for chaplains in the military, he also signed the Articles of War on April 10, 1806, in which he “earnestly recommended to all officers and soldiers that they diligently attend divine services.”

To use the phrase “separation of church and state” to impose secular humanism on our political life the liberals must willfully ignore the volumes of Jefferson’s other writings, as well as his own actions as president. Those actions speak louder than any words.

In the Declaration of Independence Jefferson wrote: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness….”

John Adams, the second President of this nation, wrote: “Our Constitution was made for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for the governance of any others.”

FUNDING MURDER
Planned Parenthood, an organization that makes a huge fortune murdering babies recently announced plans to spend more than $20 million defeating Republican candidates in the fall’s midterm elections. Meanwhile a congressional Republican majority appropriates $500 million a year of our tax dollars to them. Republicans have pledged to do away with funding Planned Parenthood but never get around to doing it. The lie that justifies our tax dollars going to this insidious organization is that taxpayer dollars do not pay for abortions. The truth is that without federal funding Planned Parenthood probably would not exist. That would be a good thing. The only reason Congress, which boasts a Republican majority, hasn’t defunded Planned Parenthood is because they lack the courage and determination to do so. With the overwhelming, evidence of the child murder by Planned Parenthood, there is no reason that they shouldn’t be stripped of $500 million.

DEMOCRATS FAMILY VALUES

In her April 13 letter in the Times Daily defending the Democrat Party, Marilyn Lee claims that the party “emphasizes policies and values that strengthen a family” such as “women’s right to choose what is right for them and their families.” One of those choices that Ms. Lee alludes to is the so-called right to abortion, which in reality is the murder of helpless children. Here is the description of one form of this “right.”

STEP 1: Guided by ultra sound, the abortionist (murderer) grabs the baby’s legs with forceps,

STEP 2: The baby’s leg is pulled into the birth canal.

STEP 3: The abortionist (murderer) delivers the baby’s entire body, except for the head.

STEP 4: The abortionist (murderer) jams scissors into the baby’s skull. The scissors are then opened to enlarge the hole.

STEP 5: The scissors are removed, and a suction tube is inserted. The child’s brains are sucked out causing the skull to collapse. The dead body is then removed.

I don’t believe that what Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is accused of doing to the children in Syria is any more barbaric than this procedure which American taxpayers are helping to fund.

SEX REASSIGNMENT IDIOCY
According to Bradford Richardson in the March 5, Washington Times, Skeptics are yelling “stop” as a new study shows sex-reassignment surgeries are on the rise. According to Joseph Backholm, president of the Family Policy Institute of Washington, there is “no conclusive evidence” that these procedures lead to beneficial outcomes for transgender patients. Mr. Backholm points out that you can’t really change your gender and those who go through gender-masking surgery experience “disproportionate” levels of stress, anxiety and suicidality.

Ryan T. Anderson, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation and author of the just-released “When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Movement,” said there is “no robust science” to support the transgender movement’s claims. On Fox News “Tucker Carlson Tonight ” Mr. Anderson said: “The best science shows that 80 to 95 percent of children with a gender-identity conflict will grow out of it. The best science shows that 41 percent of people who identify as transgender will attempt suicide at some point in their lives, and that people after they have sex-reassignment surgery -are 19 times more likely to die by suicide.”

Trying to change the gender is against the law of God and the law of nature. It is idiotic to believe that anyone has the wrong body parts. The surgeons that perform these surgeries are no better than abortionists. Their only motive is money. The same liberals who support transgender surgery would want to imprison these doctors if they recommended that their young patients smoke cigarettes.

CHANGES

On 17 July 1951 I enlisted in the army as a 17-year-old, knowing that the nation was at war in Korea and I would probably be sent there. As it turned out I did not go to Korea during the war there but did three tours in Vietnam later.

The Army I served in for 20 plus years, 10 as a noncommissioned officer and 10 as a commissioned officer, in the combat branches of Infantry, Armor and Special Forces, was always fighting communism or training for war against communist nations, primarily the Soviet Union.

When I led a tank platoon in Germany in the mid-fifties, we studied the Russian battle tank. I knew where to hit the T-34 tank to put its main gun out of action. Back then I would not have believed that in a few decades our national government would be under the control of those whose aim was to destroy our Republic as was the case under the Obama regime. I would not a believed that a man who boasted of voting for the head of the Communist Party USA for president of the nation would be the director of our Central Intelligence Agency.

I would not have believed that the God-given freedoms that our forefathers fought and sacrificed to secure, and many others in later wars gave their lives to defend, would be taken away –not by foreign nations, but by the three branches of our own government, ignoring or perverting the meaning of the Constitution.

My parents who have long been deceased would have labeled anyone who predicted that homosexuality would not only be accepted but celebrated with the blessing of our government as insane.

As late as my retirement from the Army in 1972 no one could have convinced me that there would be a day when the military would designate days and months to celebrate homosexuality and other sexual perversions, and that anyone who expressed disagreement with the homosexual lifestyle and marriage would be punished. Neither would I have believed that Christian chaplains would be punished for speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Although president Trump favors the support of religious freedom, holdovers in the Departments of Defense, Army, Navy and Air Force from the Obama anti-religious freedom regime, are still punishing Christians for their beliefs and practices.

As recently as 20 years ago I would not have believed that our federal Department of Education would approve homosexuals indoctrinating schoolchildren, even in elementary schools, into the homosexual lifestyle and encourage them to change their sexual orientation, while severely restricting their diets in school lunches to protect their health. Although we have a dedicated Secretary of Education, this corruption still exists.

I don’t know whether it is too late for our nation but being the Christian soldier that I am I must keep fighting.

HOLDOVERS
I hope the new Secretary of State will clean out the Obama holdovers who continue the corrupt practices of the Obama administration, which includes actively promoting and funding abortion on demand, marriage “equality” and special rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgenders.

This practice is so bad that some foreign leaders are afraid to oppose our State Department’s policies for fear of retribution. Our State Department doles out billions in foreign aid under their USAID program. It was recently revealed that the left-wing atheist billionaire, George Soros, is receiving massive funding from the State Department in the form of grants.

Soros’ Open Society Foundation is right in line with the progressive values our State Department operatives: abortion, gay rights, and the promotion of general civil unrest in countries with conservative Christian leaders. Soros helped the Muslim Brotherhood terrorist group in Egypt, funded the violent protests in Ferguson, Missouri, and channeled millions into Barack Obama’s and Hillary Clinton’s election campaigns and is now trying to crush democracy in countries, such as Macedonia, with State Department dollars.

IGNORANCE OF HISTORY AND FOUNDING OF OUR NATION

I never cease to be amazed by the ignorance of “educated” people concerning the history and founding of our nation. The mantra of “separation of church and state” is been used to deny citizens the freedom of religious expression guaranteed by the First Amendment. Attempting to apply a phrase such as this without considering its context will always lead to error.

When you read the letter from Danbury Baptist Association to which Jefferson was replying in his letter, you find that their concern was for the government establishing one Christian denomination as the religion the nation.

Jefferson’s reply was to assure them that he agreed. The phrase “thus building a wall of separation between church and state” has been used to deny citizens the freedom that Jefferson believed in.

In recent hearings by the Senate for presidential cabinet nominees senators have attacked nominees for their Christian beliefs about homosexual marriage, attempting to require the nominees to deny their Christian convictions to qualify for government service.

Here are some interesting facts about Thomas Jefferson. While President he served as chairman of the school board for the District of Columbia, where he authored the first plan of education adopted by the city. His plan used the Bible and Isaac Watts’ hymnal as the principle books to teach reading.

In addition to the bills he signed appropriating funds for chaplains in the military, he also signed the Articles of War on April 10, 1806, in which he earnestly recommended to all officers and soldiers that they diligently attend divine services.
In that day, in this nation the “different religions” being discussed were different denominations of Christianity.

Bullying

According to TV host Mike Rowe, bullying is a symptom of the society that seems to value fatherhood less and less. He writes that statistics indicate that suicide, homelessness, behavioral disorders and violent tendencies occur more regularly in children who come from fatherless homes, and so do most of school shooters.

According to Mr. Rowe the thing called an “epidemic of bullying” is really an epidemic of fatherlessness. He points out that while condemning a climate of “toxic masculinity” we’re telling boys to man up when the going gets tough. This is confusing.

Rowe points out that society is falsely blaming such issues as guns and violent video games instead of recognizing the deeper cultural problem.

According to Rowe, the bullying crisis is real, but the root cause has nothing to do with video games, guns, social media, rock ‘n roll, sugary drinks or any other boogymen currently in fashion. He says it is the parents who put their own happiness above the best interests of their kids and who really believe “the village” will raise their kids.

There is a lot of truth in what Rowe says. Several years ago, I was requested to minister to the children in the juvenile detention center that served seven counties in North Alabama. Over a period of several weeks I ministered to about 90 boys and girls ranging in age from 11 to 18 years. Almost every felony that you can imagine had been committed by at least one of them.

On a questionnaire that all of them completed, two key questions were: What is the happiest event in your life that you remember? And, What is the saddest event in your life that you remember?

Not one child gave an answer to the first question that involved a relationship. They gave such answers as When I got a bike for Christmas.
To the question concerning the saddest event, however, they all gave answers concerning relationships, such as: When my parents divorced… when I was kicked out of the house… when my mother died, etc.

Enemies of Peace

Worry

Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount: “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or was you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is life not more than food and the body more than clothing. Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” (Matthew 6:25-26).

In the context Jesus confronts the issue of materialism, warning that if we focus on the acquisition of material things, our hearts will be turned from God and His heavenly treasures to earthly treasures. He said: “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and riches.”

Paul admonishes us about worrying and reminds us that God will take care of our needs: Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God…. And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6,19).

Worry is unfruitful. Nothing is ever changed for the better through worry. Jesus said that a man cannot add one cubit to his stature by worrying.

Worry affects our health: emotionally, spiritually and physically.

Worry brings on depression which takes away our energy.

Worry wastes time and energy and hinders us from doing what God has called us to.

When we spend our time worrying about something that we cannot change, we are distracted from the things we really need to be doing. When we are focused on self, we cannot have the love and compassion for others in need that is necessary to carry out God’s will.

How do we cure anxiety or worry? The Apostle Paul gives us a clue in his letter to the Saints at Rome: “For the Kingdom of God is not food and drink, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 14:17).

Paul also admonished us to focus on the uplifting rather than the negative: Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy–meditate on these things. (Philippians 4:8)

Jesus commanded us to Seek first the Kingdom of God, and promised that when we do all of our materials needs will be met. ( John 6:33). When we stop living for things, and live for God and His righteousness, we will be free from worry or anxiety.

*******************************************************************

Said the Robin to the Sparrow, I would surely like to know,

Why these anxious human beings, rush about and worry so.

Said the Sparrow to the Robin, I am sure that it must be,

That they have no Heavenly father such as cares for you and me.

___Author Unknown

******************************************************************************

Anger

Anger causes all kinds of problems in our lives. One of the results of anger is to cause us to lose relationships that are very important to us. I have seen families that were divided for years be

Charles Spurgeon and Joseph Parker occupied pulpits in London during the 19th century. On one occasion Parker commented about the poor condition of the children admitted to Spurgeon’s orphanage. It was reported to Spurgeon, however, that Parker had criticized the orphanage itself.

Being a man of fiery temperament , Spurgeon blasted Parker from his pulpit. That attack, printed in the newspaper, became the talk of London. People flocked to Parker’s church the next Sunday to hear his rebuttal.

From his pulpit, Parker said: “I understand Dr. Spurgeon is not in his pulpit today and this is the Sunday they use to take an offering for the orphanage. I suggest we take a love offering for the orphanage.” The crowd was delighted and ushers had to empty the collection plates three times to receive the offering.

Later that week, Spurgeon came to see Parker and said: “You know, Parker, you have practiced grace on me. You have given me not what I deserved; you have given me what I needed.” This was a situation with the potential to cause a great rift in the Body of Christ, because of the rift between these two great leaders.

Anger that is not dealt with promptly turns into bitterness and hostility. Anger can shorten lives. It can cause various diseases such as heart disease, strokes, and arthritis, but what is most important, is what it does to the soul and spirit.

The only way you can be free from anger or hostility is to deal with the root of it. You can confess your anger and determine to control it until you are so frustrated and discouraged you want to quit, but you will not be free of it until you deal with it at its root.

Human resolution is not sufficient to set you free from the anger that has become a part of you. You may be struggling right now with this problem. You may have been prayed for and prayed for yourself to overcome it, and felt some relief, only to have the anger take over again when the right button is pushed. The reason this happens is that you have never allowed the Holy Spirit to deal with the very root of the anger.

The Apostle Paul, quoting from Psalm 4:4, wrote in Ephesians 4:26: be angry and do not sin, then continued with this admonition: Do not let the sun go down on your wrath (anger). Obviously, Paul was saying that we need to do something with our anger quickly. Anger is like an infection: the longer it takes to treat it, the more it has taken hold.

**********

A wrathful man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger allays contention.

__Proverbs 15:18

Fear

More than any other emotion, fear hinders the Body of Christ, as well as its individual members, from being the effective force that God has called us to be. Because of fear the spiritual gifts that God has given those who belong to Him lie dormant. Because of fear we fail to tell the lost the good news of God’s salvation. Fear holds us back from entering into absolute commitment to the Lord.

There are three fundamental facts about fear that we need to be aware of. The first is that fear is not a gift from God. Paul wrote to Timothy: For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7). If fear is not from God, then it must be from the enemy.

The second fact is that fear brings torment: There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.(1 John 4:18). If you have ever been controlled by fear you understand John’s statement. Fear is not based on reality in most cases, but on what could happen.

There are many Christians who have an unhealthy fear of God. We are to have a healthy fear of or reverence for God, but when we fear Him in the sense that we avoid committing every aspect of our lives to Him it is an unhealthy fear. This kind of fear is based on lack of understanding of God’s love and compassion for His children.

Proverbs 29:25 tells us that: The fear of man brings a snare but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe. When fear is in control we are “snared” or trapped into a lifestyle that feeds on fear. The kind of fear that disrupts our lives and hinders our fulfillment is called “phobia” By the psychologists and physicians. This is not the normal instinctive fear that God gave us to protect us in times of danger, but unfounded, irrational fear. Anytime your decision to do or not to do something is based entirely on fear, your decision is likely to be wrong.

The third fact about fear is the good news that perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18). This verse tells us that fear in a person is an indicator that he has not been perfected or become mature in love. Jesus promised us His peace and instructed us to not let our hearts be troubled nor afraid. ( John 14:27).

We also have a promise in James 4 that if we resist the devil he will flee from us. You can reist the devil when he is tormenting you with fear by proclaiming the truth that God has not given you the Spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

***********

The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?

The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?..

Though an army may encamp against me, my heart shall not fear.

___Psalm 27: 1,3

Guilt

True guilt is a healthy emotion, although many secular therapists would disagree. Some look upon guilt as something that hinders a person from being emotionally healthy. There are hundreds of different theories of psychology today and all of them have some theological basis–that is their proponents subscribe to some doctrine concerning God and man.

Some say God doesn’t exist (Atheism); and others that even if God exists, He cannot be known (Agnosticism). Concerning man, some hold that man is intrinsically good and is perverted only by his environment. This is known as the “blank slate” theory. Others believe that man is simply another animal.

The father of most of the false theories, at least to some degree, is Sigmund Freud who was against all religion, especially Christianity.

Freud called himself a “Godless Jew” and a “Hopeless Pagan.” He claimed there is no God, no absolute standards and values. According to Freud, Personal sin and guilt are not real, therefore confession of sin is not necessary. Consequently, man has no responsibility for his actions.

On the opposite extreme are those–including some in Christian ministry–who load people down with false guilt. True guilt is an awareness that you have violated God’s law and it comes to us by the Holy Spirit and our conscience. We need to understand that the Holy Spirit is always right but our conscience is not. Our conscience can be tricked and hardened.

God uses true guilt to turn us from sin. True guilt brings repentance and confession of sin. False guilt is destructive. Children who have been subjected to overly strict teaching at home or church may struggle with false guilt in their adult lives. I often encounter those who think they have committed the unpardonable sin. In every case, the basis for this fear is some verse or phrase of Scripture taken out of its context.

False guilt is never based on fact or reason but on fear. Children feel guilty because their parents are divorcing. Children feel guilty about the death of a parent , especially if they died by suicide. I know a man who is my age and still struggling with guilt because his little brother died in an accident while he was still a child himself.

Survivors feel guilty when there is a tragedy and others died. Often survivors of combat in war, struggle with guilt for the remainder of their lives because they survived and their comrades died.

Christians feel guilty for not studying the Bible enough, for not praying enough and for enjoying life while others are miserable.

What is the cure for guilt? The cure for true guilt is to acknowledge your sin and receive the forgiveness and cleansing of the Lord: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9

The cure for false guilt is to understand and receive the unconditional love of the Father: There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love… For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (1 John 4:18; John 3:16-18).

The best course, however, for dealing with true guilt, is to follow the imperatives to avoid temptation: “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it…..Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart… But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.” (1 Corinthians 10:13; 2 Timothy 2:22; 1 Timothy 6:11)

Condemnation

The Apostle Paul wrote: “There is therefore now no condemnation to those

who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to

the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1).

Many Christians continue to struggle with condemnation for many years

after they are saved. We need to understand and take this declaration of Paul

very literally and personally, that “There is therefore now no condemnation” for

those of us who belong to the Lord.

Many who understand this from a theological and intellectual viewpoint are

unable to apprehend this truth in their innermost beings, that those who are in

Christ are free from condemnation, no matter what was in their past. In the

Gospel of John, we find this assurance: He who believes in Him is not condemned,

but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the

name of the only begotten Son of God. (John 3:18).

He who believes and is therefore no longer condemned is one who

has turned away from sin and the life of the past and placed his trust in the

Lord Jesus Christ for his salvation. A mental assent is not enough. Just

believing that Jesus is, wont do it. James tells us that even the demons believe

that there is one God and tremble, but the demons are not “Believers.”

(James 2:19).

The victory is not in making the old man behave, but in walking after the

Spirit: I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh…

Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was

raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in

newness of life. (Galatians 5:16; Romans 6:4).

The law condemns but the believer has a new relationship to the law and

cannot, therefore, be condemned by it any longer : “For what the law could not do

in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness

of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous

requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh

but according to the Spirit.” (Romans 8:3-4).

Bitterness

People who want to hold onto to bitterness, usually deny that they have it. They re-label it as hurt feelings. The fact is that people enjoy holding things against others.

In his letter to the Ephesian church—and to all of us–-Paul adresses the issue of bitterness directly. He wrote: Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you. Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. (Ephesians 4:31-5:2).

This doesn’t allow for any exceptional cases. Often someone who is in bitterness will say: “But you don’t understand what she (or he) did to me.” In effect, this person is saying,”My case is special and God should make an exception for me.”

We need to have a clear understanding of what bitterness is. Suppose that a Christian commits a sin. He tells a lie for instance. When he does this he feels guilty. When we sin we feel guilty. But suppose someone told a lie about this same person and spread it all over town. Now he will feel bitterness, not guilt.

Guilt is what we feel when we sin, and bitterness is what we feel when others sin against us. The very definition of bitterness points to the action of another. If we had committed the offense, we would feel guilty and know that we had to confess and forsake our sin. But what do we do with the guilt of others?

Bitterness is always based on the sin–-real or imagined–of someone else. Many times we can be bitter toward someone for what he said, when in reality he didn’t say it–we heard either a false or distorted report. We sometimes misunderstand what someone said or what they meant by what they said.

Bitterness is based on sin, or the perception of sin, that somehow relates to you. How big is the sin is not the issue, but how close is the sin to you. A great sin can be committed somewhere else in the world and it will have no effect n you, but a little incident that touches you can be the opportunity for bitterness.

You may think you have a right to be bitter, but the Bible does not give anyone that right. You may find several people that will agree with you that you have the right to be bitter, but that doesn’t change God’s position.

Paul said we are to “put away all biiterness.” The author of Hebrews wrote: Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking diligently lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; (Hebrews 12:14-15). This verse describes bitterness as if it were a root. A root is something that is underground and cannot be seen. However, there can be visible evidence of it’s presence. We have seen sidewalks buckled up from a tree root that was not visible. The fact that you can’t see the roots doesn’t necessarily mean you will never see them. Roots drink jn nourishment and they don’t remain roots. They eventually come up and produce fruit. The fruit that is produced is directy related to the root producing it. The root of a pear tree produces pears. Likewise, a bitter root will produce bitter fruit.

When a person keeps bitterness on the inside for many years, he can be come physically, emotionally and mentally ill. The world’s solution for bitterness is to prescribe medications for the depression that results from it. The medicine will make you feel better temporarily, but it is not the cure.

The Christian should instead follow the Lord’s prescription to get rid of bitterness. How do you get rid of bitterness? By making a choice to forgive the person who or persons who offended you-–unconditionally.

To say that you can’t forgive, is in reality, calling God a liar, because He said you can forgive. God is perfect and could not command you to do something you can’t do.

Jesus said: And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. (John 8:32). The truth concerning your bitterness is that God has commanded you to forgive and put away your bitterness, therefore, You can do it!

Humanity is never so beautiful as when praying for forgiveness, or else forgiving another.

___Jean Paul Richter

Rejection

In chapter 4 of Luke, we find that Jesus, after He had gone through the wilderness testing by the devil, returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee.. .And He taught in their synagogues.. .So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; he has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” (Luke 4:16-19) After Jesus had finished reading He said: “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:21)

I realize there may be some who grew up in such a positive environment that you have never really suffered from rejection or damaged emotions. There are others who have been able to receive healing. I know for certain, however, that there are some of you who are still hurting from damaged emotions in your childhood.

Whichever of these three groups you fit into, what the Lord has to say on this subject is for you. It is easy to judge others on the basis of our own experiences or on our responses to those experiences. We fail to take into account the differing temperaments that cause different responses. Two people can go through the same experience and, because of different temperaments, one can be devastated while the other can overcome it with comparative ease.

If you are one of the fortunate ones who have never suffered from damaged emotions, you will probably have difficulty empathizing with those who are suffering. “Common Sense” tells us that there is no need to dwell on the past and allow the past to control the present. This “common sense,” however, is no help to the person who is hurting and doesn̓t know how to be free from his or her painful past.

We all need to understand the pain these hurting people go through so that we will not judge them. We need to know the pain they feel so that we will be tender toward and patient with them.

One man to whom I have ministered is physically limited and deformed because of a condition that he has no control over. Other Christians have confronted him and told him, in effect, that if he had faith he would be well. It is not uncommon for Christians to tell those who are depressed and hurting that they just need to “deal with it” or “get over it.”

Jesus proclaimed that He was sent to heal the broken-hearted. Another description of the broken heart is the wounded heart. Many hearts are wounded because of rejection.

We see people who behave badly and assume that the problem is their behavior, but the behavior is only a symptom of the real problem. When we see someone who is always angry, we say that they are “hot tempered” or “high strung.” Often, we justify bad behavior with such descriptions. However, if our lives are not what the Lord has called us to be—if we are not walking in the Spirit, and if the fruit of the Spirit is not the character of our lives—something is wrong.

Rejection affects all of our human relationships as well as our relationship with God. There are two main sources of rejection, or broken hearts. The first is: What people say to you. Spoken words are very powerful. They have the power to hurt or to help. Spoken words have the power to build up or to tear down; to discourage or encourage; to urge someone to victory or to bring defeat.

James compared the tongue to the rudder of a ship which, although small, is able to change the direction of the ship. He also compared the tongue with a small spark which is able to ignite a fire to destroy a whole forest. (James 3). Some of you are suffering from what has been said to you many years ago, and some of you need to repent of what you have said to someone that wounded them.

The second source for rejection wounds, or broken hearts is: What people did to you. I have found that people suffer all their lives from what happened to them as children. Many women in their later years are still wounded from being molested as little girls. Many men are abusive toward their wives and children because they are still hurting from the abuse they received as children. Some of you need to receive God̓s healing for the wounds of rejection in childhood.

All of us need to be sensitive to those around us who are hurting. We need to tame our tongues and be sure that what we speak to them brings hope and encouragement rather than condemnation and discouragement.

The Wall of Separation

Let me begin by positively stating that I believe that the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, establishes a wall of separation between the church and state. The religious freedom clause reads: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”

I Had already learned to read before I started school, and I honestly believe that had I read this when I was in the first grade of elementary school I would have understood its plain and simple meaning–that the Congress was forbidden from establishing a religion.

Many of our citizens, including some in our government, think that the words, “wall of separation between church and state” are in the Constitution. The reality is that these words were in a letter from Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptist Association in 1802 to answer a letter from them written in October 1801. Here is a transcript of the letter:

To Messers Nehemiah Dodge, Ephraim Robbins, & Stephen S. Nelson, a committee of the Danbury Baptist association in the state of Connecticut.

Gentlemen
The affectionate sentiments of esteem and approbation which you are so good as to express towards me, on behalf of the Danbury Baptist association, give me the highest satisfaction. My duties dictate a faithful and zealous pursuit of the interests of my constituents, & in proportion as they are persuaded of my fidelity to those duties, the discharge of them becomes more and more pleasing. Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should “make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” thus building a wall of separation between Church & State. Congress thus inhibited from acts respecting religion, and the Executive authorised only to execute their acts, I have refrained from prescribing even those occasional performances of devotion, practiced indeed by the Executive of another nation as the legal head of its church, but subject here, as religious exercises only to the voluntary regulations and discipline of each respective sect. Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties. I reciprocate your kind prayers for the protection & blessing of the common father and creator of man, and tender you for yourselves & your religious association assurances of my high respect & esteem.

(signed) Thomas Jefferson

Jan.1.1802.

It is ludicrous to believe that Thomas Jefferson was promoting the idea of restricting the practice of Christianity.

We have school principals who are so ignorant of the Constitution that they restrict the rights of students based on the very Amendment that gives them those rights.

The Supreme Court Can Be Wrong

If any proof is needed that the Supreme Court can be terribly wrong, consider the Dred Scott case. With the same majority that ruled homosexual marriage is constitutional, the Dred Scott ruling explicitly denied state and federal citizenship to all African-Americans and ended the “once free, always free” standard courts applied to emancipate slaves who had lived in free territory.

The Chief Justice ruled that when the Founding Fathers had declared that a man’s property was sacred, “property” would have included slaves. The Court ruled Blacks could not be considered citizens. At the time of the Dred Scott case, the justices were in league with the states that relied on slave labor. The Dred Scott ruling essentially denied the humanity of African-Americans.

The justices who ruled that homosexual marriage is lawful already had their minds made up before hearing the case. Some of the justices had performed gay marriages. Certainly, those who had performed gay marriages should have recused themselves.

There is no way that any sane person could believe that these justices heard the case with open minds. They knew beforehand how they would rule.

This idea that the Supreme Court ruling is the law of the land, which should not be questioned, that some of the Republican candidates hide behind, is ridiculous. When the court makes rulings that are unconstitutional they are the lawbreakers and should be held accountable.

The framers never meant for this Court to have dictatorial power over the citizens of this nation. If the right thing for us to do is accept the Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage, then the Dred Scott ruling should still be followed.

Of course, this is ridiculous but would make just as much sense as claiming that the gay marriage ruling should be accepted as the law of the land. There is nothing in the constitution that gives the Supreme Court the authority to decide what the state laws on marriage should be.

Citizenship Responsibility

When I was commissioned a second lieutenant I took an oath to defend the Constitution against all of its enemies, foreign and domestic. I don’t believe that being retired relieves me of that responsibility.

The domestic enemies–including some who are in our government–are destroying our nation. Some are simply motivated by greed and the desire for power. There are some, however, who actually want to see this nation, under the control of world government.

The harm is the same no matter the motive. Through ignorance of the meaning of our Constitution, or the deliberate misinterpretation of it of its meaning, some of our judges and legislators are working to allow the evil system of Islam’s sharia law become part of the law of the land in our nation. Sharia law denies the constitutional rights of women and allows violence against them by male family members.

Political correctness and denial of the reality of the intent of those who are planning for our destruction is taking us down a slippery slope. The so-called American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), People for the American Way, Freedom From Religion Foundation and other organizations are being allowed to make de facto law, limiting the freedom of speech and religion by twisting the meaning of the Constitution and bullying institutions with threats of lawsuits.

God has been expelled from the schools and history is being revised to deny the Christian influence in the founding of this great nation. Historical revision has done immeasurable damage to our society. In many of the schools children are being taught that this nation was founded by atheists, agnostics and deists. But that is a lie.

The Continental Congress formed the American Bible Society and immediately after creating the declaration of independence voted to purchase and import 20,000 copies of Scripture for the people.

Patrick Henry, the firebrand of the American Revolution, wrote: “It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religion, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For that reason alone people of other faiths have been afforded freedom of worship here.”

In 1782 the United States Congress voted this resolution: “The Congress of the United States recommends and approves the holy Bible for use in all schools.”

In recent history the Supreme Court has ruled that Bible reading in the public schools is unconstitutional. It has banned prayer in public schools, and legalized the murder of innocent children.

It has outlawed the 10 Commandments in our public schools, giving this explanation for the ruling: “If the posted copies of the 10 Commandments were to have any effect at all it would be to induce schoolchildren to read them and if they read them, meditate upon them and perhaps venerated them and observed them, this is not a permissible objective.”

The Supreme Court of the United States declared that children venerating and observing the 10 Commandments is not permissible objective.

The citizens of this nation, assisted by illegal aliens, elected a man for president (Obama) who does not love this nation. A man who has shown repeatedly that he favors both communism and radical Islam over our form of government.

Christians and Politics

We often hear the citing of Jesus’ words in the Gospels, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” as a rationale for unquestioning passive obedience to governments, laws and rulers. Those who do this obviously completely ignore the context.

When He uttered these words, Jesus was answering a specific question by the Pharisees who were trying to trick Him into making a treasonous statement on the one hand or offending the nationalistic pride of His Jewish listeners on the other. His statement specifically relates to the duty of a citizen to pay his lawful taxes.

The principle of God’s people participating in and encouraging good government is interwoven throughout the Old Testament. Joseph is the early example. God placed him in his position of great power and authority in government in order to advance God’s will and cause for His people.

Joseph was, in essence, the Prime Minister of a great Empire and in that position not only able to do great good but also would have been required to “bear the sword” so to speak.

The lives of Daniel and the three Hebrew Children testify to the principle of opposing and resisting evil laws and evil rulers as well as advancing the cause of good government.

One of the great lessons on the subject in the New Testament is taught by John the Baptist. John was a man who was willing to stand up, speak up and act out his opposition to an evil government ruler, even to the point of giving his life for his God-given convictions.

Neither Paul’s statement in Romans 13 nor Peter’s in 1 Peter 2 negates the responsibility of Christians to advance righteousness and oppose evil in the land, especially in a nation such as ours where the people, not the President, nor the Congress, are the ruler.Many seem to ignore Peter’s statement, “It is better to obey God, than man…”

Paul, a Roman citizen, and perhaps all the other apostles had their lives taken because they were perceived to be disobedient to the law and to established government institutions.

The founders of our nation warned that its form of government with all of the freedoms would not endure if we turned away from God.

To the General Assembly of the State of Virginia, James Madison said: “We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We’ve staked the future of all our political institutions upon our capacity … to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God. ”

John Jay, the first Chief Justice of the nation said: “Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers and it is the duty as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian Nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.”

George Washington said: “No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand, which conducts the Affairs of men more than the People of the United States. Every step, by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation, seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency.”

John Adams said: “Our Constitution was made for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for the governance of any others.”

Thomas Jefferson said: “And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with his wrath? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just: that his justice cannot sleep forever.”

How can our free nation survive if Christians stick their heads in the proverbial sand and do nothing to stop its destroyers? Someone said: “All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.”

Another unknown said: “When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”

General Mattis on Transgender Policy

Senate liberals haven’t had the easiest of times adjusting to Donald Trump. After the last decade of shaming conservatives, they’re not exactly used to Republican leaders standing up and confronting them on issues like sexuality. But this president is a rare breed. His policies have never been about what the Left thinks or how he’s labeled. They’ve been about what he can do to make America better. If that means bucking the status quo or offending people who are used to being coddled, he’s willing. And his military transgender policy proves it.

In the year since President Trump ended the days of Obama-era social experimentation in the ranks, Democrats probably believed that they could scare the new administration into submission. When that didn’t happen, and a new memo outlining his policy appeared at the Pentagon last month, they were rattled.

Recently, in a hearing with Defense Secretary James Mattis, they looked for weak spots to pressure the White House into changing its mind. Fortunately, they found none.

Despite the ranting of Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) that Mattis was somehow harming the military by not letting the $3.7 transgender distraction continue, the defense chief held the line. . Gillibrand accused the Pentagon of not doing its research, despite more than 45 pages of data that proved what a disaster this confusion would be. “It appears,” she says, “that this report your department has issued is not based on the department’s data or science, but rather on quote ‘potential risks’ that the authors cannot back up. In fact,” she continued, “this seems to me to be the same unfounded claims and unfounded concerns that led the opposition to repealing ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’… I think you need to do a lot more work on this topic to inform yourselves.”

Mattis said he “regretted” the way Gillibrand presented the issue, but told her “it would be ‘impossible'” for the service chiefs to answer those questions. For starters, President Obama and then-Defense Secretary Ash Carter never bothered asking them about the policy. Of course, we know from testimonies then that both the Army and Marine Corps had been vocal about their objections to the change. Yet even now, Gillibrand claims, not one member of the branch’s brass will complain about it.

Mattis pushed back on her assumption, arguing that the chiefs wouldn’t have been able to identify issues, because the Obama era policy didn’t allow it! As FRC’s Peter Sprigg points out, the military wouldn’t have received any reports of unit cohesion problems because Obama’s guidance (which is still in effect) forbids the identification of individual troops as transgender in their reports! It was Ash Carter’s way of insulating the decision from criticism. “The reason is that under the Carter policy, the reporting is opaque. We cannot report that problem emanated from a transgender,” Mattis said. “So, the questions you’ve asked the service chiefs and the chairman are ones that right now the Carter policy prohibited that very information from coming up because it is private information.”

But if complications are what the Left is looking for, active-duty troops identified plenty of them when the Military Times poll asked. Fifty-seven percent had a negative opinion of Obama’s decision to let people who identify as transgender serve openly. More than half said it would have a “very negative” impact on morale. Compare that to just 16 percent who thought the idea would improve troop morale. Secretary Mattis was clear in his testimony yesterday that he came into the job without any position or agenda. But this level of frustration is impossible to ignore.

What wasn’t impossible to ignore, apparently, was the service chiefs themselves — who, Mattis learned recently, were never even consulted about one of the most sweeping changes ever instituted. “Last spring, Mattis said he learned military service chiefs made clear that the Obama administration had not answered key questions about recruiting transgender troops,” the Washington Examiner reported. “They were asking me questions,” Mattis told the senators, “because we were coming up on the advent of the induction of transgender, and they wanted to know how they were going to deal with certain issues, basic training, deployability. I said, ‘Didn’t you get all of this when the policy was rolled out?’ …They said ‘No.’ And I said, ‘Well, did you have input? And they said, ‘No,’ they did not.”

Mattis was astonished. To him, he said, the lack of consultation with the service chiefs was “very, very newsworthy.” It proved what most of us have known all along — that this was a purely political decision that put Obama’s personal agenda ahead of the stability and lethality of the military. Thank goodness for leaders like this president, who know that the Defense Department should never advance a political cause at the expense of national security.

Tony Perkins’ Washington Update is written with the aid of FRC senior writers.

Changes

The Army I served in for 20 plus years– 10 as a noncommissioned officer and 10 as a commissioned officer– in the combat branches of Infantry, Armor and Special Forces, was always fighting communism or training for war against communist nations, primarily the Soviet Union.

When I led a tank platoon in Germany in the mid-1950s, we studied the Russian battle tank. I knew where to hit the T-34 tank to put its main gun out of action. Back then I would not have believed that in a few decades our national government would be under the control of those whose aim was to destroy our Republic as was the case under the Obama regime. I would not have believed that a man who boasted of voting for the head of the Communist Party USA for president of the nation would be the director of our Central Intelligence Agency.

My parents who have long been deceased would have labeled anyone who predicted that homosexuality would not only be accepted but celebrated with the blessing of our government as insane.

Neither would I have believed that Christian chaplains would be punished for speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that homosexual weddings would be conducted at the Military Academy at West Point.

I don’t know whether it is too late for our nation but being the Christian soldier that I am I must keep fighting.

Rejecting God

REJECTING GOD

For over 100 years, more than 50% of all Harvard graduates were pastors!

Religious Freedom

Thomas Jefferson played a major role in the founding of the United States of America—and establishing its strong protections for religious freedom for all.

Liberals, who want to deny the citizens of this nation the freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment to our constitution have distorted the words of Jefferson concerning religion. His words the “wall of separation between church and state” were in his letter to the Danbury Baptists, a religious group in Connecticut concerned with the state’s weak religious liberty protections.

Shortly following his election to the presidency in 1802, Jefferson wrote about religious freedom. He wrote that man “owes account to none other for his faith or his worship” and referenced the First Amendment guarantee that the legislature would make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof thus building a wall of separation between church and state.

The liberals have abused this phrase “Thus building a wall of separation between church and state” to deny citizens of this nation the freedom of religion that is guaranteed by the First Amendment.

Now, some Senators attempt to get the President’s cabinet nominees to deny their Christian beliefs in the Senate’s advise and consent hearings.

In addition to the bills he signed appropriating funds for chaplains in the military, Jefferson also signed the Articles of War on April 10, 1806, in which he “earnestly recommended to all officers and soldiers that they diligently attend divine services.”

To use the phrase “separation of church and state” to impose secular humanism on our political life the liberals must willfully ignore the volumes of Jefferson’s other writings, as well as his own actions as president. Those actions speak louder than any words.

John Adams, the second President of this nation, wrote: “Our Constitution was made for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for the governance of any others.”