Sing a Little Louder Please

Good morning friends. Keep this message going across America for the truth must be told. The following ad is verifiably true; his speech at the Planned Parenthood convention was applauded loudly– and then they gave a sizeable gift to his campaign. One of his very first actions as President will be to sign the Freedom of Choice Act – remove parental notifications, restore the right to partial birth abortions and on it goes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pf0XIRZSTt8

When was the last time our Church leaders stood up and took a bold, clear stand for the Sanctity of Life? Are they saying anything about this concerted attack on the unborn? Are they standing on the watchtowers (their pulpits) and teaching, leading and preparing their people on biblical truth before next Tuesday?

I could be wrong but it seems that many within the Church do not believe that the Sanctity of Life is important at all and that this candidate will be the best thing for our country as he will bring jobs, prosperity, peace, etc. What is even more tragic is that this candidate knows that black children are being disproportionally wiped out by abortion in our cities and that Planned Parenthood was founded (by Margaret Sanger) on the goal of wiping out the black race! That was the mission of Margaret Sanger – read it.

What saddens me is that the Church is silent and remains silent for the most part.

In the German holocaust when the trains packed with Jews passed by the church on the way to the prison camps, the people in the church were instructed to sing a little louder so that they would not hear the cries from the train.

This is the last Sunday before the election – will we hear anything or see anything in the pulpit that leads the Church on this matter of grave, biblical importance? Or will the Church just sing a little louder and say what a wonderful service that was?

Treasures Hidden in Secret Places

We have a short time to go before our national elections and the pundits have already claimed the victor. Their projections may be accurate. There are many serious issues within our country at the moment and all of the candidates are doing their best to “scratch the itch” that will get them elected (the economy, taxes, healthcare, jobs, etc). There is a greater issue though than any of those listed. It is an issue of profound and eternal implication. It is the Sanctity of Life – and one candidate – the popular media candidate – the projected winner – the one many believe is so charismatic - will likely change the playing field as he appoints liberal Supreme Court justices in his term. And here is where some of you reading this will vehemently disagree with me – his election will be a mistake. A huge mistake. And the Church is disturbingly silent. As a result, many Christians are no different than non-Christians in their worldviews and their actions.

There is no greater value than human life and that life from womb to tomb should be treasured and protected. Our family heard a church pastor say this from his pulpit very clearly last Sunday. Thank God for his courage. Many pastors and church leaders do not say anything for they fear the opinion of their people, the backlash from their community and even the dip in the offering plate.

The divine value of human life transcends anyone’s right to chose whether an infant lives or dies or for the government to legislate the “appropriate” end of life. We need men and women who will defend life at all costs and not give in to the politically correct media or their partisan base of donors. When life is destroyed at our discretion, we are destroying the treasures that the Lord has provided to bless us. We are denying God His sovereignty and taking our place on His throne.

I will give you treasures hidden in dark and secret places. Then you will know that I, the Lord God of Israel, have called you by name (Isaiah 45:3)

Our culture has shifted (sunk) so much that we are willing to destroy the “treasures hidden in dark and secret places” for reasons that may be personal, financial, convenient, political or otherwise. And that is both tragic and wrong. In our “enlightenment”, we believe that we are the author of life. Wrong.

We are not the creator of life, we are only instruments used for the reproduction of human life. Ask any couple who agonizingly waits for the child they do not have, and you will know that we have no real control over when life begins. The Lord does. He alone is the creator of the “treasures hidden in dark and secret places”. He alone determines when the treasures are hidden in the secret places of a woman’s body. Life begins and the treasure is formed long before the woman even knows of it!

My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. (Psalm 139:15-16)

To acknowledge this truth about the value of life takes courage in the face of mocking crowds, laughter and ridicule. The leader who takes this stand to protect the treasures hidden in secret places will be recognized by the Lord. The leader who does not will be judged. As a democratic country, we the people decide who leads. We alone have a choice for what our future will be. Dark and dreary or full of life.

The one who rules righteously, who rules in the fear of God, is like the light of morning at sunrise, like a morning without clouds, like the gleaming of the sun on new grass after rain
(2 Samuel 23:3-4)

The opposite of 2 Samuel is equally true if our leaders deny God His throne and permit destruction of His treasures hidden in secret places. The American people will decide their fate soon.

FDIC Insurance

The ground underneath everyone is shaking. Housing values and sales are plummeting. Retirement funds are shrinking fast. Jobs are disappearing. Confidence in our government to make wise decisions is evaporating daily. Every day, a new financial crisis arises. Major corporations have their hands out for help. And, to be honest, the national elections hold little promise for real change. Our nation is leaning towards one candidate who is unprepared for the magnitude of these problems placing their unfounded confidence in his non-experience. Many Americans are thankful however, that the U.S. established the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) to protect our savings in U.S. banks. How secure is the FDIC?

The FDIC has a watch list for an additional 117 "at risk" banks that are in danger of collapse. A recent article stated that by the end of 2009, about 100 U.S. banks with collective assets of more than $800 billion will fail. In the event of a large-scale banking emergency, the FDIC will be unable to cover all the accounts covered, which would require tapping additional Treasury funds, all at taxpayers' expense and amounting to trillions of dollars.

When the FDIC runs dry, instead of millions of dollars or even billions of dollars, the US will need trillions of dollars to help keep our financial system from total collapse. How much is a trillion?
A million seconds is 12 days.
A billion seconds is 31 years.
A trillion seconds is 31,688 years.

We are talking about trillions as if we have a good understanding of what a trillion of anything really is. We don’t. A billion minutes ago was just after the time of Christ. It boggles my mind what a trillion of anything, never mind dollars, must be.

In case you haven’t noticed, we are in serious trouble and we are very vulnerable. Nothing that we have on deposit is safe from this “perfect storm” brought on by unprecedented corporate greed, fraud, morally bankrupt politicians, and flagrant consumerism. Nothing that is but one thing.

Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come
(2 Corinthians 1:21-22)

What an incredible promise! The Holy Spirit lives within us as a deposit for what is to come – the glory of heaven, peace and unfathomable joy. This is the ultimate FDIC Insurance – the Finest Deposit Insured by Christ – given to us when Jesus Christ paid all of the debt of our sins. Who needs the U.S. FDIC when we have His FDIC? He guaranteed what is to come and nothing can take that deposit away when we are right with Christ. Are you?

Friends, in these days of incredible uncertainty, of unparalleled hopelessness seen in so many, we need to smile and be ready to share the reason for hope that we have.

Honor Christ and let him be the Lord of your life. Always be ready to give an answer when someone asks you about your hope (1 Peter 3:15)

In times of economic hardship, there is a large, vulnerable segment of the world population that suffers greatly – the children. As people struggle without hope, more children become abused and at risk. Some go hungry, some starve and others suffer physically and emotionally. Foster care placements increase as more children are in peril. We can dwell on our own problems or we can become a channel of hope for these children. After all, we have incredible, eternal and glorified FDIC Insurance!

I invite you to view a short video on A Child's Hope International at this web address http://www.achildshopeintl.org/HomePage.html Click on the play button and then let us know what you think. A Child's Hope International exists because the children are waiting. Will you join us in this mission?