God First? OR Country First?

Choosing God Over the USA

Barbara Henderson

I love the United States of America. It has been my family home since before the Revolutionary War.  Family members have fought in every major war.  My husband’s family has been here longer than my family.  We love America.  We are not proud to be Americans.  We are thankful to be Americans.  This nation was raised up by God Almighty.  It has been through His marvelous grace and protection that this land has stood as nation.  It is by his grace that the USA is still standing.  I know that according to some America is on its last legs.  This may be true.  As a Christian I know there is a better world coming where Jesus is Lord over all.  But it still hurts to see this beautiful land given over to every sin known to mankind.

I do spend some time reading news stories on the internet.  There has been a great deal written regarding the homosexual agenda, the recent Supreme Court decision on marriage, and the persecution of Christian businesses.  Unfortunately, I cannot stop myself from responding to some of the remarks made by left-wingers.  Sometimes I don’t respond simply because I am certain the person writing is not in the right mind frame to even read a reasonable rebuttal.  I am offended by so-called Christians saying that because Christians are supposed to love everybody that means we are not supposed to tell the truth about things that oppose God’s rules.  We are just supposed to love the sinners and apparently accept their sin.  But one thing stood out as really offense.  One commentator said Christians are bad if they love God over the USA.  That was brought on by a story about a church flying the Christian flag above the American flag.  The pastor of the church simply said his first allegiance is to God, and his second allegiance is to his country. 

In generations past there was no major conflict between Christians and the government because the majority of our laws were based on Christian morality.  Now we are facing an entirely different situation.  The government has increasingly sanctioned lifestyles that are not acceptable to God.  For instance, the Bible does say that if man will not work let him not eat.  This doesn’t say if a man can’t work – it says if he won’t work.  We are to care for disable.  We are not to support people who won’t work.  The Bible is clear that marriage is for one man and one woman.  Children are to be born to married couples.  Having babies without getting married is wrong.  Don’t misunderstand.  I am 100% against abortion except when the mother’s life is in actual danger.  But the ideal situation is that a husband and wife set out to raise children to love God and keep the commandments.  Our government sanctions immorality of all sorts by funding it.  Women who have babies without being married get a monthly check! 

God is very clear in the Bible that Christians are to pay our taxes. Most of us wish that wasn’t in the Bible, but it is.  So, most Christians obey that rule and pay their taxes. Most Christians make a serious effort to pay all their bills on time.

Now there are serious conflicts between Christians and the US government.  There are going to be times when we face that conflict head on whether we want to or not. 

I have to say once again that I am very thankful for my country.  However, I acknowledge that the USA was lifted up by God.  Even the pagan nations have risen through God’s plan.  I don’t understand it. I certainly can’t explain why.  But we know God’s finger is in everything.  Nothing happens without Him.  For me to love my country more than my God would be very foolish.  That would be like choosing to honor a painting or book instead of the artist or author.  In God we have daily blessings.  In the United States we have a huge example of God’s blessings. 

That is the real story.  In the United States you have an example of God’s blessings on people who followed Him with all their hearts.  That first little Pilgrim settlement came here for freedom of religion.  Their first year in this land they suffered around 50% casualties!  Let me repeat that.  The first year the Pilgrims spent in this land they lost half their settlers.  This was due to cold, hunger, lack of adequate shelter and supplies, and many other things.  I don’t believe they lost a single person to hostile Indians.  In fact, God used the Indians to help them.  The land the Pilgrims settled was vacant land as the tribe who lived there previously had all died in an epidemic. 

Now, here we are today.  We have enjoyed freedom of religion for centuries now.  These early settlers paid a very dear price to provide a future free from religious persecution to their children.  The question today is what will Christians sacrifice to keep freedom of religion?  The family in Oregon has sacrificed their business.  Whether or not you agree with their decision to refuse to bake the cake or not, they clearly have a deeply held belief.  To demand that they participate in something the Christian religion forbids is most definitely taking away their freedom of religion.  So far they have lost their business.  They have been profiled as bigots because of their stand on this issue.  Who knows how far it will go or what they will wind up sacrificing before the fight ends. As a result of their exercise of freedom of religion, the Oregon court has also taken away their freedom of speech.  The family is speaking out anyway, so who knows where that is going to lead. The truth is that the loss of any freedom leads to the loss of more freedoms.

The next question is this, ‘What price are you willing to pay for religious freedom?’  We are blessed to have examples of those like John Bunyan who refused to stop preaching without a license.  Eventually Bunyan won, but he did pay a dreadful price.  He was locked up in jail for years!  We know about the Pilgrims and the dreadful suffering and loss they went through all in the quest of freedom of religion. We know about the founders of this nation.  They were Christian.  Freedom of Religion was held dear enough to them to be written up as a specific freedom.  We know of missionaries who carry to good news of Jesus Christ into fearsome places where some have never heard about Jesus Christ.  They aren’t always welcome in those nations.  Sometimes they are even killed.  We know about the Islamic threat to the world today.  Christians are murdered every day because they won’t conform to Islamic dogma.  These Christians are choosing freedom to worship Jesus Christ over their very lives. 

Probably, for committed Christians, the price they will pay for freedom of religion depends on the circumstances of their own lives.  When a direct affront to God comes to them, they will stand in favor of Christ no matter what the cost. 

Regardless of what revisionist history says there were enough Christians in charge at the time of the Revolutionary War to get Freedom of Religion included in the Bill of Rights.  Whether or not there were atheist or deists in the group doesn’t really matter.  The law was written clearly stating that freedom of religion is a right guaranteed by the constitution.  There was also a majority who believed in the right to bear arms or that would not have made the bill of rights either.    Unfortunately, the two are connected. In fact, all our freedoms are connected.  Governments will attempt to take away rights.  Individuals wanting their own way will help governments.  Lawyers and judges twist laws to suit their own personal ideology.  Or they all flat out take bribes.  Any way you look at it the world is a sinful place.  There is always going to be a conflict between freedom of religion and government.  Ultimately government sees itself as god.  They don’t openly demand worship as the Biblical Nebuchadnezzar, but they do demand obedience to their rules.  Because government is made up largely of people who do not respect the God of creation their rules will not respect God either.  These people do not respect the people who follow the God of the Bible. 

And so it comes down to a choice for Christians.  Where does our ultimate allegiance lie?  If our first allegiance is to God Almighty then dangerous persecution lies ahead.  Currently the government is so sold out to socialism and humanism that Christianity is seen as an antiquated and trivial belief system.  They don’t take individual Christians seriously.  They marginalize and trivialize Christianity in its entirety. 

It is easy to say that our allegiance is to God in times like these when persecution is just beginning here in the USA.  Now is the time to speak out boldly in favor Christianity.  Now is the time to be faithful to our God and King in the smallest of things.  That is setting a pattern of faithfulness when it is easy.  If you can’t be faithful in the smallest things why would you suddenly have the faith to stand for God on the really hard issues?  The Christians around the world who have been martyred by Islam didn’t suddenly decide to be faithful to God on the day they were murdered. That sort of courage is something that is built up by daily faithfulness in the small things.  The big tests are much more easily passed when the muscles of faith and courage have been strengthened daily.

Currently there is a massive effort to de-Christianize the history of America.  Try doing an internet search on something as simple as the Pilgrim’s first thanksgiving and see what you find.  I can promise you that nine out of ten articles will be very anti-Christian.  The Pilgrims will be made into grave robbers, enslavers of the Indians, and the worst exploiters of others that ever walked the face of the earth.  Nine out of ten articles on our founding fathers will have them as atheists at best and deists at the worst.  If you look up the treatment of American Indians you will find it very difficult to find an article that tells of the plague that wiped out 80% of the Indian population before the Pilgrims even arrived.  You will not read about people like David Brainerd, Missionary to the Indians, unless you already know about him and do a specific search.  While the things positive to America and Christians may still be on the internet they are buried so deep under articles that are so biased against America and the early settlers that it appears they should all have been on death row for crimes against humanity.  This does not make any of their nonsense actually true.  It does eventually make it into what most people perceive to be the truth.  I am definitely not saying that early settlers were even close to perfect.  I am saying that many of them were practicing Christians who treated others like they wanted to be treated.

These early settlers choose serving God freely over all the comforts available in their day. 

They choose freedom of religion over the country of their birth. 

They chose freedom of religion over family members who didn’t find freedom of religion important enough to make the changes required to practice their religion freely. 

We really can’t imagine what it cost these early settlers emotionally to give up literally everything they had in the world to just get to America.  Then it cost them half their members in just one year.  Freedom of religion was obviously so important to them that they would die for it.

What these settlers had that most people today do not have was assurance of heaven and heavenly rewards.  True Christians have that assurance in every generation.  The courage to stand for God comes from knowing there really is a totally different world coming for everyone.  Those who follow Jesus Christ will be joint heirs with Him.  Those who reject Jesus will be joint heirs with the devil.  Hell will be their reward.

If it came down to it, a few Christians might choose to go along with the world to just stay out of trouble.  But most Christians will choose to stand for Jesus because they may be the one who makes the difference for one lost soul headed for hell.  Standing for Jesus is about being faithful to our Savior.  It is also about carrying out Jesus’ instructions to go into all the world to spread the gospel.  How can the lost be saved unless they first know salvation is possible?  And how can they hear about the gospel if no one will speak out and tell them?

Freedom of Religion is important.  Don’t confuse ‘freedom of religion’ – which is constitutionally guaranteed right - ‘with ‘freedom to worship’.  Freedom to worship is far more limited concept than freedom of religion.  Anytime politicians start changing one perfectly good word or phrase for another there is definitely something wicked going on.

Here we stand today on the top of a great divide.  True Christians will be divided from the children of this world.  The division will be made to appear unclear since many professing Christians will be on the side of the world.  True Christians will choose God over government every time.  They are wise enough to know that God is maker of everything including nations and governments.  Christians will worship God.  They won’t worship a nation that God has created.

The song for this article is the ‘Star Spangled Banner’.   The song tells a marvelous story of a man waiting through a long night to see if the flag was still waving over Fort McHenry.  He wrote the song and praised God for raising up this nation and preserving this nation.  It is a marvelous choice for our national anthem.

The Star Spangled Banner

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1wLtAXDgqg

Oh, say can you see by the dawn’s early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
‘Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps’ pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war’s desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav’n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust.”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Here is a nice video regarding Francis Scott Key and the ‘Star Spangled Banner’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaxGNQE5ZLA

The Truth About the Relaxed Past of Our Ancestors

The Imaginary Easy Relaxed Lifestyle of our Ancestors

Barbara Henderson

Having just gone through a pretty dreadful year due to the cancer treatment, I have tried to read everything I could find on what causes cancer and how to avoid it.  Page after page on the internet, some written by well respected doctors, list ‘stress’ as a major cause.  The go on to say that are living in the most stressful time in history.  I agree we live in stressful times, but I disagree that this is the most stressful time ever. The world is and always has been a stressful place.  People look to the distant past with nostalgia.  It is a place in their imagination where the world was much simpler.  In their dreams of a less stressful life that world is a place of safety, peace, harmony, and plenty.  Unfortunately, that place is not somewhere in our actual past.  That place never existed.  Let’s look at a few things then and now and do a comparison.  Let’s look at survival then and now

Food:

Then – In the past people grew a lot of their own food.  The individual family was responsible for growing, processing through canning, drying, or smoking, and storage of their own food supply.  Some products were available at stores providing funds were available.  Farmers and ranchers of all generations faced a life of brutal hard work. They faced floods and drought. They faced uncertainty on every hand.  Farm families in the past had a limited diet of seasonal foods and foods that they were able to preserve.  Each meal was a lot of the same thing with some variety through something like killing a chicken or snaring a rabbit.  I know many of these people led contented lives of joy and satisfaction.  However they worked so hard they probably didn’t have  time to reflect on their joy or even consider if they were content or not.

Nomadic people were always in dire situations.  Moving and living off the land was a dangerous lifestyle.  In addition to facing the elements, rugged terrain, and the constant search for food, nomadic people faced hostility from other nomadic wanderers.  There just wasn’t enough food to go around.  There was seldom a day that they knew from where their next meal would come. 

Without refrigeration food had to be dried to preserve it. In the more recent past canning food was another way of preserving food.  Vegetables and fruits could be stored for part of a winter, but they would rot long before the next harvest.

Now -  Food is still what sustains life. It still requires work to get it.  (There are instances where government provides some things to people who do not work.  This article is written to encourage Christians who are committed to serving Jesus.  This type of person works if they are able.)  Today there are fewer farmers.  Food is sourced out to big business.  The food supply depends on crops growing, processing food, distribution of food through a variety of means, and buying power of the individual.  There is the added stress of food choices.  Today we do have the luxury of food choices most of the time.  We also have the responsibility of making healthy choices, cooking nutritious meals for our families, concern over GMO foods, trying to afford organic foods, avoiding things that are known to cause cancer and other diseases, and the list goes on and on. 

Shelter:

Then – More often than not there was no pre-built home to purchase. People had to actually chop down trees and build their own home.  If trees weren’t available they made homes from bricks made of mud, animal skins, and even ice if happened to be an Eskimo.  If there was an already built home available it cost a lot of money just like a home now.  The roof was made from wood shingles or even straw.  The houses were drafty.  Heating them was close to impossible.  Windows were not even available for most of history.  There was no indoor plumbing.  There was no hot and cold running water.  There was no electricity.  There was no central heat and air conditioning.    If you think these are not big deals then you really need to try primitive living for a few days.  Even this won’t give you an exact idea of how primitive families lived because you can pack up and go home when you want to. This life was especially hard on women due to the fact that they actually are the weaker sex; add child bearing to their load and a shorter lifespan was often the case.

I remember going to graveyards with my grandad to catalog information from gravestones when the family was doing a family tree history.  I saw firsthand gravestones lined up where a man might have three wives one at a time.  When the first wife died the husband remarried.  He needed a helpmate to raise the children from his first wife.  When the second wife died, the husband married again.  This wasn’t due to any evil on the part of the men.  It was just life.  Primitive families did the best they could do under the circumstances in which they lived.  The headstones for babies and small children were overwhelmingly sad generations later.  I can’t imagine what sorrows these families went through.

Now – Shelter is still the most expensive thing on anyone’s budget unless they have a huge budget and collect classic muscle cars or jet airplanes as a hobby.  We have homes that are more easily heated today.  In many instances we do have air conditioning.  We have electricity.  We have indoor plumbing and running hot and cold water.  These things are expected in civilized nations today.  They cost a lot of money.  Today, someone could attempt to live a primitive life; in fact I am sure some people have made that choice.  But, having lived with modern conveniences it would be very hard to live a primitive life permanently.  It is overwhelmingly harsh and unforgiving. 

Clothing

Then – Keeping a family clothed was almost a full time occupation.  Animal hides or woven cloth was needed.  Then the material had to be made into clothes. This was done by hand up until a few hundred years ago.  Can you imagine the hours of work that went into growing wool or cotton, spinning the raw material into thread, and weaving the threads into cloth?  Then an actual garment had to made by hand.  Shoes were an equally difficult task.  I can’t imagine the difficulty of keeping even a small family adequately clothed.  Things changed when bolt cloth became available.  Store bought shoes of any quality were never cheap.  Most people of a bygone age would have laughed at the thought that hand-me-downs weren’t wearable.  The idea of used clothing was equally laughable.  People wore their clothes until they were worn out.

Now – Decent wearable clothing is available for almost free.  I say that because I have shopped in thrift shops.  There are days when a large part of the inventory is 99cents.  It may not be the most fashionable clothing, but in today’s world where people wear anything fashion is really what you personally can afford and what you want it to be.  Clothing is so readily available that the skill of sewing is almost a lost art.  I made a lot of clothes for my kids when they were small because I could still do it cheaper than buying the clothing that I wanted them to wear.  I was good with a sewing machine so it wasn’t a big deal for me.  The winter coats in thrift stores today are amazing.  I absolutely can’t imagine how readily available they are.  I think of growing up in Alaska and the struggle mom went through to keep warm coats for her six kids and I still can’t believe it.  Shoes are available in all price ranges and styles.  Some people have over a hundred pairs of shoes!  Most of them would be worthless if they actually had to wear them long, but they still have them.  And people have shoes for walking, running, dancing, working, and resting. 

Medicine

Then – For most of recorded time there was no ‘modern medicine’.  There were no antibiotics although some herbs have antibiotic properties.  Doctors did not have the resources to adequately diagnose disease.  If they were able to diagnose a particular illness their recourse was still a simple natural remedy. Obviously this worked often, but often it was not enough.  Surgery was not something available for even something as simple as appendicitis until recent history.  I am 100% in favor of herbal remedies, essential oils, vitamins, and other supplements.  However, without modern medicine I would have died as a child.  And that is what happened with many children who lived a primitive life.

Now – Eternal life is still only available through Jesus Christ, but modern medicine has made vast improvements in diagnosis and treatment of disease. Death because of childbirth is almost non-existent in developed countries.  Cancer treatment is available.  Knee and hip replacement is available.  Day surgery for heart blockage is available.  Medicine to lower blood pressure and improve heart function is available.  To truly go to a primitive lifestyle all these advances would have to be given up.  And do not worry that modern medicine is contributing to global over population.  Remember that the earth has a creator, a Savior, and a sustainer. 

Supplies

Then – In a truly primitive culture supplies for anything were either not available or difficult to come by.  Even salt was a commodity that was in short supply.  There were no hardware stores or building supply stores.  There were no supplies easily and readily available.

Now – Supply stores are available for just about anything you want.  If there isn’t a store near you then it can probably be ordered on line and in your hands in just a few days.  Building supplies, remodeling supplies, soap making supplies, hobby supplies, baking gadgets, restaurants with ready made meals, frozen foods for easy cooking at home, shoe stores, clothing stores, specialty size stores, pet supply stores, farm supply, fabric stores, and even herbal remedy shops.  If you can think of it someone has it for sale!  Of course there is still that one little problem. You are required to pay for whatever supplies you need or want.

Transportation

Then – People walked.  Can you imagine walking everywhere you go without adequate footwear?  I don’t know what people did for shoes, but I am sure it was expensive. I am equally sure that people often went without shoes when they really needed them. 

People rode a horse or mule or donkey.  Or they used a draft animal to pull a cart.  The animal(s) were not free to begin with.  Then they required food and shelter to keep them healthy enough to do their job.  My dad said that transportation has never been cheap.

Now – we have all sorts of transportation available today up to and including air travel.  Like anything else it grows more expensive every day.  It doesn’t cost to feed a car on the days you don’t drive which makes it cheaper than a horse in that way.  But the cost of a vehicle and fuel is substantial.  Dad was correct. Transportation has never been cheap.

Peer pressure

Then – The first recorded incident of peer pressure causing someone to misbehave is recorded in the book of genesis.  Eve was talked into disobeying God by Satan.  Peer pressure has been with us ever since.

Now – Satan is still with us influencing people to follow other people instead of thinking for themselves.

I am not suggesting that anyone who currently lives a primitive life or wants to live a primitive life should change their mind.  If that is what you want to do, then you better give it a try!  But don’t think a primitive lifestyle is going to be free from stress.  It will be different stress, but I believe it will be equally difficult to live with. 

Everyone on the planet is facing political and social unrest.  Obviously this is stressful.  People all have ideas of how to solve at least some of the problems, but no one has power or authority to implement their solutions.  The uncertainty of the future is in itself overwhelming without faith in the Almighty God who created us.  No matter what the social, economic, and political outlook may be Christians can be confident that God has not changed.  In the world today Christians need to live a life that is pleasing to Christ.  Don’t worry about anything.  Continually give thanks for God’s daily benefits fail not.  Do not fall into compromise in seeking to get along with the world.  Do not set feelings above scripture.  True compassion for the lost people of the world demands that we do not waver from the truth that God has revealed to us in the Bible.  Certain behaviors are sin.  No one, Christian, atheist, or otherwise, has power or authority to change God’s message.  Christ died for all humanity.  He never wavered even when faced with the cross.  Will a Christian dilute the message of salvation when God Himself did not water down the truth?

There never was a time since God created the world that stress has not been a major part of life.  Even Adam and Eve were faced with the stress of dealing with the lying serpent.  Nothing has changed.  And nothing will change until God Himself sets up a perfect world.  Until that day there is going to be stress.  In the meantime there is rest in the Lord.  There is comfort in obedience to God’s instructions.

The changes that are going on in the world are temporary. They are not going to last.  Evil is not always going to be with us.  God Himself will one day separate His children from the devil’s children for all eternity.  In the meantime Christians can’t pull off a dramatic military style coup and force a Godly population on the world.  Christ Himself said His kingdom is not of this world. 

What we can do is the same thing Christians have been doing since Jesus gave His followers the great commission.  Live the gospel. Preach the gospel. Do not back down when standing on the Bible as your source of truth.

Ultimately there is coming a day when stress actually will be worse than at any other time in history.  This is what is known as the ‘great tribulation’ and ‘the time of Jacob’s trouble’.  It will be a time of turmoil such as the world has never seen.  As long as God leaves us in this world our job is to tell the world the way of salvation.  Some will hear and follow Jesus. They will gain eternal life.  We have been commissioned to take the gospel to the world.  No matter what is going on in the world the job description of a Christian does not change.  Our God does not change.  The foundation on which we stand is the Rock of Ages.  ‘And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.’ Galatians 6:9

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http://trulysiberians.com -