Look over the wall with me and think of the 400,000 men who gave their lives for the liberty you now enjoy. If it had not been for these men and God's grace, you would be living as servants to another nation. In fact, the whole world would be.
As I look over this wall, I hear bombs falling, machine guns firing and shells lighting up the night sky. All of this was preparing the enemy for an attack.
Children and parents, when you see these old men trudging along the way, have respect for them, for they are all that is left of the 16 million men who helped give you the freedom you now have. When you are enjoying life, know that it was these men and the grace of God that gave your joyful life to you.
Please do not let 400,000 men die in vain.
Yes, this is what an old sailor saw as he looked over the wall. The experiences of World War II will never be wiped from our minds. More than 70 years have passed, yet it is just as clear now as it was then.
Pray for America. Stand for America. If you have to fight, don't be afraid to fight for her. God bless America, the land that I love." [Mr. J.B. Stonecypher]
God was with our greatest generation to give them comfort and to give them the courage they needed to fight an evil which they feared might one day reach America's shores and destroy her liberties. They fought for their loved ones, their children, their unborn, and even for total strangers. They fought for that ideal that was America. With God, our brave young men understood that death was not final and that there would be life eternal, and so for many, it was that lesson gave them the comfort and encouragement to fight on. This man, Mr. J.B. Stonecypher, has seen firsthand the great war machine that is the United States. He has seen our great tanks, planes, and weaponry. He knows our military leaders receive the best training. Yet to this day, 70 years after World War II, he still encourages us to pray for America and to ask God to bless us. Why? Because he knows that military might alone is not enough to keep us safe and strong.
It's hard-pressed these days to view America as a Christian nation. Political processes, greed, and other human ambitions run the government.... not righteousness. Gratification and pleasure motivate people, not righteousness. Legal precedent and clever ambitious liberal lawyers determine justice, not righteousness. The heart of the people determines the heart of the nation and Americans focus more on self than on God. The ambitions of Americans determine the ambitions of the nation, and Americans focus more on material wealth, comfort, and advanced technology than they do on the promotion of religious and moral values. America is a secular nation, based on some Christian principles. But here is the rub. It is a secular nation based on some Christian principles, but it contains an overwhelming number of Christian citizens (at least 85%). What are American Christians doing? Clearly they are failing to heed the word of their Lord. There will be Christians in America as long as there are Christians in the world, but by all outward signals, America has ceased to be a Christian nation.
As most people know, Christianity took hold when the Roman Empire, under Diocletian and Constantine, ordered the purge of Godlessness from its empire starting about 280 A.D. and incorporated religion into government. From that time on, man's plight in the world was made easier when ruled by governments that were based on biblical principles. Our Supreme Court is doing everything it can to make sure that isn't the case here in the United States. It is making sure that we see no trace of religion in our government. Our nation has appeared to do a complete turn-around. Now it is God who is being purged from the government and Godlessness championed in His place. Now, "godlessness" is our nation's highest principle, our highest priority. To be clear, it is our government's highest principle and priority and not the intent or will of the people. Indeed, if government and the courts were to listen to the will of the people (and confine itself to the strict guidelines of the Constitution), we would still feel the influence of religious values and principles in our government and in our laws.
To be a Christian nation, we must acknowledge Christianity and its role in our founding and we must manifest Christian values. But do we?
"America tolerates the killing of our unborn children and calls it 'freedom of choice.' America tolerates cultivation of humans to harvest stem cells and calls it 'research.' America tolerates homosexual perversions and calls it 'diversity and alternative lifestyles.' America tolerates paganism and immoral life styles and calls it 'multiculturalism.' America tolerates the killing of the elderly and the ill among us and calls it 'compassion.' America tolerates religious cults that deny God and calls it 'denominationalism.' America tolerates pornography and exploitation of women and children and calls it 'art.' America tolerates vile and filthy brainwashing of our children and calls it 'entertainment.' America tolerates God's Holy Name being blasphemed and calls it 'freedom of speech.' America tolerates taking of innocent life, and theft of property and calls it our 'justice' system. America tolerates everything except God." [http://israelsmessiah.com/prophecy/america/warned.htm] Yet conservative groups are fighting back.
The Israelites, God's 'chosen people,' also had turned from God. In fact, they did it over and over again. Israel believed its status as God's chosen people would protect it from hardship and destruction. They believed that God would never allow anything to happen to their nation. They believed that up until the moment they were conquered. And while the nation of Israel has been re-forged, look at the suffering and inhumanity exacted on the Jews before that prophecy could become a reality. Similarly, many fear that Americans will make the same mistake. They fear that Americans will sit back, make their 1-hour-per-week sacrifice to attend Church, and rest assured that God will protect our country because of our Christian heritage. They can't imagine that God would ever allow anything to happen to America.
But they are neglecting to read their Bible. They are ignorant of history. The Revelation is looming.
One principle in scripture is abundantly clear: the Law of Accountability. This spiritual law says that to whom much is given, much is demanded. (Luke 12:48). God has blessed America abundantly throughout our history but now we are taking that blessing for granted. Perhaps we have all adopted that poisonous "entitlement" mentality which is quickly destroying our American spirit. This "entitlement" mentality tells us that we are entitled to His blessing because we are a "good" nation - we help the poor within our borders and help sick, impoverished, and oppressed persons all over the world. We don't feel we need to "earn" that blessing. As a nation, we have clearly turned our back on Him, making policies and laws that are plainly anti-God, and then embracing political correctness so as to avoid offending any single person having a different belief or no belief at all. Unfortunately, the attitudes and lifestyles of many Christians in America are indistinguishable from those of non-Christians. We cannot expect God to continue blessing and protecting our nation unless Christian Americans radically turn back to God and actively serve Him.
Scripture warns that God will end the blessings he has bestowed on the world (the so-called "Year of Favor"; Isaiah 61:1-2) and the "day of vengeance" will begin. This "day of vengeance" will occur when Christ's offer of reconciliation is spurned by a revolt of the people and their governments. According to prophecy, this is exactly what will happen. See John 3:19: "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." That revolt brings the tribulation and then Judgment. Furthermore, prophecy teaches us: "But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's Word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same Word, the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the Day of Judgment and destruction of ungodly men." (2 Peter 3:3-7)
Are those events set in motion? Jonathan Cahn wrote a book entitled "The Harbinger" which suggests that they might. Cahn studied ancient scripture and noted how God's judgment on Israel played out (732 B.C.; Isaiah 9:10). He noted a series of uncanny similarities - the same warnings and events - taking place in America since the attack of 9/11. He wrote: "Before its end as a nation, there appeared in ancient Israel a series of specific omens and signs warning its people of destruction. These same warning signs (harbingers) are now manifesting in America and have profound ramifications for her future and end-time prophecy."
When judgment came to Israel (see Is. 9:10), God's people had turned to other gods and were even sacrificing their children to these false idols! We, in the US, worship material things and we've killed more than 54 million of our unborn children--and the similarities do not end there. We've banned God's Ten Commandments from our public schools and government buildings; we don't want public prayers in Jesus' name; we condemn public Bible reading and have mocked God in almost every way. As the Reverend Jim Bakker says: "Yet we have the audacity to sing "God Bless America"? But why should He?
When over 90% of the U.S. population is religious and at least 85% of those persons are Christian, we wonder if the blame lies with those who claim to be religious. Perhaps it is time to pull out the stops and put creed into deed. Perhaps we need to remember that "to whom much is given, much is required." And that includes eternal vigilance and a willingness to serve the Lord from Whom so many blessings flow. The atheist agenda must not be allowed to prevail. Earthly values must not be allowed to replace God's values. Christians can no longer afford to be the silent majority. We can no longer accept laws promoting immorality or activist judicial decisions which continue to define us as a godless society with a godless government.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, founder of the Confessing Church (created to defy the Hitler's attempt to establish a Nazi church) referred to the obligations of Christians. He talked about "cheap grace" and "costly grace." The grace he refers to is that unmerited mercy (favor) that God gave to us by sending his son Jesus Christ to die on the cross so that we might have eternal salvation.
Cheap grace means grace without cost... without sacrifice. It is easy grace. The essence of cheap grace is that the bill has been paid in advance; and, because it has been paid, everything can be had for nothing, without having to 'earn' it. It is the kind which can be summed up as follows: "My only duty as a Christian is to put my life on hold for about an hour or so on a Sunday morning to go to church. In that way, I can be assured that my sins are all forgiven." Cheap grace is the reason, perhaps, that we have a weakness that pervades our religious culture.
Costly grace, on the other hand, is the grace which must be earned over and over again. The gift of the crucifixion must be earned. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. The call to discipleship is not easy and will likely bring pain and suffering. It is costly because it requires obedience, and it could ultimately cost a man those things that are important to him, including his life. It is premised on the notion that man's salvation was "bought at a price" and that which cost God so much cannot be cheap for us. Jesus wants us to be integral members of the Church and minister God's word and teach God's lessons in word and by deed. We are expected to live our lives as examples of our faith.
It was the rise of the Nazi regime, the systematic suspension of human liberties, the round-up and internment of 'political dissenters,' and the genocidal policy against the Jews that helped Bonhoeffer understand the obligations that Christians have in this world.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born to a wealthy and educated family and enjoyed a privileged childhood. He studied theology and completed his doctoral thesis when he was only 21 years of age. He spent time in the churches of Harlem as part of a postdoctoral and teaching fellowship, studying the role of religion for those who suffer oppression. He then rose to fame in the 1930's with his writings and his radio sermons. Bonhoeffer's rise to fame ran parallel to Hitler's rise to power. He quickly became a strong anti-Nazi. He immediately understood that Hitler and his national socialist (Nazi) ideology represented a grave threat to Germans, to Christianity, to the Jews, and to western civilization. For once Hitler had gained power, he began to see Christianity as a threat to the National Socialists' domination of Germany. After 1935 his speeches and writings became more and more virulently anti-Christian; he argued that Christian worship was a sign of weakness, and that it should be replaced by reverence for the nation and the state, and of course for the National Socialist Party. He then began the nazification of the protestant churches of Germany, which included the following changes: (1) Hitler and not Christ would be the head of the church; (2) Printing and dissemination of the Bible would immediately cease; (3) There would be no crucifixes or Bibles allowed on the alters; (4) The only thing allowed on the alter would be a copy of Mein Kampf ; (5) The Christian Cross would be removed from all churches and replaced by the swastika; and (6) The Nazi policies against the Jews would apply to the church.
In a radio address he gave in February, 1933 Bonhoeffer denounced Hitler and denounced his fellow Germans for accepting a corrupt and inhumane leader. He established a new church, the Confessing Church, as an organized Christian opposition to the Nazi government. He publicly denounced Hitler and the Nazi regime and in particular, the attacks on the church.
Although Bonhoeffer spent a great deal of time living in England, safe from harm, he understood that he could not in good conscience "participate in the reconstruction of Christian life in Germany after the war if I do not share the trials of this time with my people." And so he returned to Germany in 1939 to take up the struggle against the Nazi menace. He not only took part in efforts to transport Jews to safety but he and his brother willingly took part in plans to assassinate Hitler. He probably understood that taking on Hitler would likely lead to his death, but yet he was compelled to serve and later to participate in assassination attempts on the Fuhrer's life (all of which were unsuccessful). He was ultimately arrested in 1943 after evidence was collected of his complicity in the assassination attempts (and also for his aiding in the escape of a number of Jews from Germany to Switzerland), and sent to the Buchenwald concentration camp. He was then moved to the Flossenburg concentration camp and on April 8, 1945, with Allied troops only two weeks from liberating his prison, he was executed on Hitler's orders.
We may not all believe that God calls us to earn His Grace, including a willingness to give one's life, as Bonhoeffer believed, but perhaps he does ask for Christians to do more than simply attend church once each week and to remain meek and silent while evil lurks and grows in this country which He established for us and has blessed us with. If indeed God established this country on His law and for His noble purposes, then maybe He expects us to defend those truths. Mitt Romney spoke these words in his speech to Liberty University: "Christianity is not the faith of the complacent, the comfortable or of the timid. It demands and creates heroic souls like Wesley, Wilberforce, Bonhoeffer, John Paul the Second, and Billy Graham. Each showed, in their own way, the relentless and powerful influence of the message of Jesus Christ."
Ronald Reagan once said (1986): "To preserve our blessed land we must look to God... It is time to realize that we need God more than He needs us... We also have His promise that we could take to heart with regard to our country, that 'If my people, which are called by my name shall humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.' (II Chronicles 7:14) Let us, young and old, join together, as did the First Continental Congress, in the first step, in humble heartfelt prayer. Let us do so for the love of God and His great goodness, in search of His guidance and the grace of repentance, in seeking His blessings, His peace, and the resting of His kind and holy hands on ourselves, our nation, our friends in the defense of freedom, and all mankind, now and always. The time has come to turn to God and reassert our trust in Him for the healing of America... Our country is in need of and ready for a spiritual renewal. Today, we utter no prayer more fervently than the ancient prayer for peace on Earth. If I had a prayer for you today, among those that have all been uttered, it is that one we're so familiar with: "The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace...." And God bless you all."
Today we face the same enemy that crippled ancient Rome -- moral decay. Yet it is so much more. We are intentionally, almost willingly, turning from God, even though we are indeed a nation of Christians. We are indeed in need of a great spiritual revival. And we may have already started one. But we need to step it up in order "to heal our land" and save it from the forces that are getting dangerously close to destroying her. Romney is right. It is the character of the American people which will save or condemn our country.
For the sake of the land that we love, we Americans must rise from where we have fallen, turn from our evil ways, repent from our sins, and again seek His face and earn His grace. Only then can we ask for His blessings or expect them. And in this age of national discontent and growing world hostility, we are going to need them.
References:
Jonathan Cahn, The Harbinger, 2012, Frontline Publishers. [Also see http://www.cbn.com/700club/guests/bios/jonathan_Cahn_010312.aspx ]
John Winthrop, "A Model of Christian Charity" (Winthrop's most famous thesis, written on board the Arbella, 1630. Referenced at: http://religiousfreedom.lib.virginia.edu/sacred/charity.html
Bob Unruh, " Judge Orders 'Gay' Agenda Taught to Christian Children" (in Massachusetts), WND, February 24, 2007. Referenced at: http://www.wnd.com/2007/02/40339/
Brian Camenker, "What Same-sex Marriage Has Done to Massachusetts," Mass Resistance, October 20, 2008. Referenced at: http://www.massresistance.org/docs/marriage/effects_of_ssm.html
Kathleen Gilbert, "Mandatory Homosexual Indoctrination in Grade School Survives after Supreme Court Turns Down Case," Life Site News, October 8, 2008. Referenced at: http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/archive/ldn/2008/oct/08100812
Meg Jalsevac, "Court Rules Schools Can Teach Homosexuality Without Parents Consent or Choice to Opt Out," Life Site News, February 26, 2007. Referenced at: http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/archive/ldn/2007/feb/07022604
"California Governor Signs Bill Requiring Schools to Teach Gay History," CNN, July 14, 2011. Referenced at: http://articles.cnn.com/2011-07-14/us/california.lgbt.education_1_california-governor-signs-bill-gay-history-state-textbooks?_s=PM:US
"The Problem Facing California Public School Parents," Rescue Your Child. Referenced at: http://rescueyourchild.com/The_Problem.html
Billy Hallowell, "California Bill That Mandates Public Schools Teach Gay History Goes to Governor," The Blaze, July 6, 2011. Referenced at: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/california-bill-that-mandates-public-schools-teach-gay-history-goes-to-governor/
"California Public Schools to Teach Homosexual Curriculum to Children as Young as Kindergartners," American Power, October 17, 2011. Referenced at: http://americanpowerblog.blogspot.com/2011/10/california-public-schools-to-teach.html
"California Senate Votes to Force All California Public Schools to Promote Homosexuality, Transsexuality, Bisexuality Education," Christian News Wire. Referenced at: http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/58592127.html
Teresa Watanabe, "How to Teach Gay Issues in 1st Grade," Los Angeles Times, October 16, 2011. Referenced at: http://articles.latimes.com/2011/oct/16/local/la-me-gay-schools-20111016
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship, 1937. [Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945)]
Church of the Holy Trinity v. United States, 143 U.S. 457 (1892)
J.B. Stonecypher, " The World War II Memorial, Through an Old Veteran's Eyes" (letter), Mississippi Press Editorial Board, May 5, 2012. Referenced at: http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-opinion/2012/05/the_world_war_ii_memorial_through_an_old_veterans_eyes_letter.html
"America in Bible Prophecy," Fox Ventures. Referenced at: http://www.foxven.com/r1c
Mitt Romney Delivers Commencement Address at Liberty University, May 12, 2012. Referenced at: http://www.mittromney.com/news/press/2012/05/mitt-romney-delivers-commencement-address-liberty-university
Dr. Nelson L. Price, "God's Judgment on America." Referenced at: http://www.nelsonprice.com/gods-judgement-on-america-2/
"America in Prophecy," Israel's Messiah. Referenced at: http://israelsmessiah.com/prophecy/america/warned.htm
"God Rejected," Wake Up America. Referenced at: http://www.wakeupamericainc.org/godrejected.html
Berit Kjos, "Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Nazi Religion versus "Religionless" Faith," 2010. Referenced at: http://www.crossroad.to/articles2/010/1-bonhoeffer.htm
Publisher's note: Contributor Diane Rufino also serves of co-publisher for Pitt County NOW.
