PLUS

Matthew 19:5-6 “And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?  Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh.  What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.”

In a recent contribution to the Wall Street Journal entitled “Ignoring an Inequality Culprit: Single-Parent Families”, the authors describe detailed research on the tangible benefits of a Biblical family unit:

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303603904579493612156024266

Through their research, the authors conclude the following:

“Abuse, behavioral problems and psychological issues of all kinds, such as developmental behavior problems or concentration issues, are less common for children of married couples than for cohabiting or single parents, according to a 2003 Centers for Disease Control study of children’s health. The causal pathways are about as clear as those from smoking to cancer.”

They go on to cite research that “the poverty rate [in America] would be 25% lower if today’s family structure resembled that of 1970.”  This is strong evidence that God’s plan for the family is far preferable to all alternatives.  Indeed, Biblical direction in all areas is so powerful because it furthers not only our spiritual well-being, but our practical well-being as well.

On this Father’s Day, may American Christian fathers and mothers commit ourselves to the importance of the Biblical family unit.  We must first do so in our individual lives, allowing God’s truths to flourish through us.

PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICAN CHRISTIAN FAMILIES WOULD CLING TO A BIBLE-BASED STRUCTURE AND COMMITMENT.  The evidence of its success in our lives may eventually tip the cultural scales back towards a Bible-based family.  We must live according to Christ’s commands for this cause, among others.

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John 15:18-21 “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.  If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.  Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord.  If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.  But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me.”

If the memo mentioned in the previous post was published with the word “Christian” instead of “LGBT” there would be no end to the public outrage.  The response would be filled with vitriol and hatred.  Such a response would be no surprise to our Saviour.

Indeed, our Saviour faced His own vitriol and hatred, and telegraphed the same to His servants in John 15.  The world did not love Him, nor should we expect it to love us.  The world persecuted Him, and we should not expect to be immune from persecution ourselves.  After all, if we are truly Christians then Christ has chosen us out of this world.

In reality, the attitude towards Christianity in the first two hundred years of our nationhood is an extreme anomaly orchestrated by the Lord himself.  Such an attitude has been extraordinarily rare in the two thousand year history of Christianity.  Persecution and hatred have instead been the norm.

This truth should not horrify us.  In fact, such treatment of Christians would give us more in common with our Christian brothers and sisters throughout history.  It also does not alleviate our responsibility to be salt and light in our world.  In fact, our salt and light is more savory and more illuminating when contrasted to a world that has neither.  It also does not alleviate our responsibility to pray for revival and act together with one accord as Christian citizens.

We should far prefer a future in America as anomalous as the past, and God could make it so at any moment.  Yet, he will only do so if we are urgently faithful.  PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO BE MOTIVATED AND NOT DETERRED BY THE WORLD’S REACTION TO US.  It puts us in very good company … that of Christ.

I John 3:13 “Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.”

Please indulge me in a short thought experiment.  Consider if the following were published by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness in 2014:

“The Department of Defense joins the nation in celebrating Christian Pride Month during the month of June.

We recognize Christian service members and Christian civilians for their dedicated service to our country; the heroic contributions made by these Americans strengthen our national security.  Whether officer, enlisted, civilian employee, or family member, their inclusion gives our Department greater promise and possibility.

The Christian community has written a proud chapter in this fundamentally American story by reminding us that integrity and respect remain corner stones of our military and civilian culture.  During the month of June, let’s rededicate ourselves to equity, dignity, and respect for all, and celebrate the diversity of the DoD workforce.”

All of the above regarding the impact of Christians on our nation is true, more true than for any other population group.  American Bible-believing Christians have a lot to be proud of in this land.  We have served our country with dedication.  We have heroically contributed to our national security.  Christians have established a nation founded upon integrity, respect, equity, dignity, and respect for all.

Of course, in 2014, no such official letter exists exalting Christians for their contributions.  In fact, replace the word “Christian” above with “LGBT” and you will find a letter that was actually signed on May 13^th, 2014 and distributed on Under Secretary of Defense letterhead.

Regardless of how the popular culture views American Christians in 2014, its hatred should not deter us in our Christian citizenship responsibilities.  After all, Christian Americans and the message of Christ have given our nation promise and possibility throughout our history.  True promise and possibility for our nation in the future comes from the same.

PLEASE PRAY FOR A FUTURE OF AMERICAN PROMISE AND POSSIBILITY THAT STEMS FROM CHRIST HIMSELF.  After all, he is the only source of true promise and possibility.

Psalm 142:1-2 “I cried unto the Lord with my voice; with my voice unto the Lord did I make my supplication.  I poured out my complaint before him; I shewed before him my trouble.”

Though I did not originally intend to make a PLUS post today, I cannot let the 70^th anniversary of D-Day pass by without a thought.

General Eisenhower made the decision to launch the invasion of mainland Europe on June 5^th, 1944 after carefully consulting with his advisors and subordinate commanders.  Once he made this monumental decision, he did two noteworthy things.

First, he penned a note that perfectly models the duty of a leader to hold themselves accountable for failures within their organization, something lacking among today’s leaders.  He wrote the following in the case of a failed invasion, fortunately a thought relegated to an historical footnote:

“Our landings in the Cherbourg-Havre area have failed to gain a satisfactory foothold and I have withdrawn the troops.  My decision to attack at this time and place was based upon the best information available.  The troops, the air and the Navy did all that Bravery and devotion to duty could do.  If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt it is mine alone.”

Second, as the calendar flipped from the 5^th to the 6^th of June and he restlessly spent the long night awaiting word of the invasion’s outcome, he felt compelled to pray.  In fact, he wrote that “there was nothing we could do but pray, desperately.”

Christians in this land today must do the same.  We must pray, not just casually but desperately.  PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICAN CHRISTIANS WOULD PRAY DESPERATELY FOR OUR NATION.  We are engaged in a war between fundamentally opposed ideologies, and we cannot win without doing so.

Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”

Battles are most easily won when an opponent surrenders willingly.  In fact, national strategies are often designed around creating the perception of overwhelming force so that an enemy capitulates before the battle even begins because they believe that a negative outcome is a foregone conclusion.  Deterrence theory is founded on these concepts, importantly relying upon actual or illusory capability, will, and credibility.  Even the less powerful can succeed through such a strategy if applied properly.

Our adversary is using a similar strategy in America.  Anti-Christian forces are pressing their current advantage in our land today through threats against those who stand for Christ.  Though they are no match of the ‘power of God unto salvation,’ they chip away at our will by planting the seeds of shame about our counter-cultural beliefs.  Once we become too ashamed of the gospel of Christ to continue our stand, they claim victory and move on to the next battle.  In many cases, we surrender without a fight because we are falsely convinced of their superior capability by their will and credibility.  We willingly capitulate, though the power of God is on our side.

PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICAN CHRISTIANS WOULD BE PROUD AND NOT ASHAMED OF CHRIST AND CHRISTIAN PRINCIPLES.  Our lives have been transformed by the power of God at the moment of salvation, and we should never be convinced that our adversary is more powerful than that.  The only way we will lose is if we fail to fight.