Time To Decide And Take A Stance – There Will Be Little Other Choice
There will be a point in the not too distant future where everyone will need to take a stand. You will no longer be able to be the turtle on a fencepost just watching the government continue to erode laws that have stood the test of time for millennia, and practiced and preserved the best of what made it all work. Concepts, laws, ideals, and the traditions that made western civilization great; particularly America, are being taken away before our very eyes as politicians continue to chip away. Expect Christian rights and values to be violated at a faster pace. The Gospel is a place of no compromise, and politics is the art of compromise by its very definition. Therefore, conflict is a built-in problem for Christians. When a conscience is violated by unjust and ungodly laws, there will be a point where the peg is driven into the ground and a stance must be taken. So, how are the believers to conduct their lives in times like these? When opposing sides dig in their heels and won’t concede any longer, there will be disagreements that will escalate. When the point is reached of not being able to reason, where do you go? What is the standard to look to? At the present rate everyone is becoming a serf to government policy feeding from its trough. In time it will get tougher to live outside the system of government largesse and contracts, and those not a part of it will find it more increasingly difficult to find employment.
Again, we must go to the basics and the most fundamental thinking in our Faith. When you no longer know which way the compass is pointing due to the confusion, look to the Ten Commandments. They consist of approximately one hundred words depending on what chapter you choose to use from the Bible, and what version. They don’t seem to be that hard to understand, but sure seem difficult to live. Do the laws we see being legislated by governments and the New World Order comply with The Ten Commandments?
Since there is no ability to reason any longer with people having little to no Scriptural or Godly orientation, difficult decisions will have to be made. Presuming for a moment that you appreciate what Faith, Hope and Charity require, what will you do when government asks you to violate your values and beliefs with laws and rules that are directly against your Faith? When government wants to intercede for you because it claims you have a “right,” will you turn to government or God? When the government insists on being the charitable arm of mankind to solve our every need, where will you turn, to government or God? Since most of mankind is deceived by modernism, relativism, and corrupt ideologies, you will need to look deeply into your own heart and soul, and then make difficult decisions.
Each of us is going to be confronted with things forced upon us. It is no longer a debate on our future with the preponderance of data before us. With government intrusion going deeper and deeper into violating our conscience, will we be like the general German population during World War II who said they knew nothing that was going on for years? The Nuremburg Trials and post war history said otherwise. The Germans chose a financial bread king with Hitler promising jobs as he was bringing the country to economic prosperity, so they turned a blind eye. Let’s not be to tough on pre war Germans, as we are doing exactly the same things today in the United States for exactly the same reasons. To get along is to go along. As the West becomes more economically disoriented in every form, we will choose an economic king or leader because it is man’s fallen nature. Remember, there was only John at the foot of the cross as all the others ran. Only one in twelve remained true to the end for the ordeal of Calvary.
Elijah is arguably one of the greatest prophets in all of Scripture. After lamenting he was the only righteous man in all Israel due to the sin Ejijah saw around him, the Lord then said to him, “there would be seven thousand men in Israel who would not bow their knee to Baal, and mouths that have not kissed him”(1Kings19:18). If we believe and act as Elijah, we are not alone because the Lord has prepared His Church to endure for all time no matter the circumstances we see around us. Heaven is in control and there is no need for despair. Many believers are either in depression or borderline despair as they look at the moral deterioration in society. Historically, the saints have been made in times like this, and as much as we may think there is more sin around us than any time in history, it is not true. The only history you don’t know is the history, you’ve never read, and man’s past is riddled with grievous sin. As Elijah’s human emotion was to lament his state, so it is with us. Some things never change, and Saint Faustina wrote in her diary that despair was the ultimate weapon of Satan.
We are going to have to give an account very shortly of our beliefs. Where do you stand and which way are you going to go? A modern day Quo Vadis? How will you decide? Are you going to hang onto what can never provide redemption? He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot loose. We are coming into the time of one fold and one shepherd, and the high priestly prayer of Jesus in John 17, “that we all be made one.” This is our ideal. We are in Christ when we are stripped of all of fineries. When you take away all the externals, then we become who we are in Christ. Paul spoke of being either “in Christ” or “out of Christ” all over his letters and as this most commonly used phrase. You cannot be “in” and “out” at the same time. You must be one or the other. In the death camps of World War II and the gulags of Russia, survivors speak of basic needs being met and helping their fellow man with no class distinction. Nothing matters in time of hardship other than the essentials of our faith. Everything superfluous goes by the wayside in times of stress and hardship. Philosophy and theology are designed to teach us how to live appropriately. Theology taught incorrectly often brings one to unbelief, cynicism, or arrogance to others due to their perceived intellectual superiority. The soul either reaches new heights in times of stress or the animal evil nature of man takes over. Stress tests us. During World War I in Nova Scotia a munitions dump blew up and there were some people selflessly helping others, while some others were yanking the gold from the teeth of the dead. What is in the heart of man will manifest itself when hardship is thrust upon us. Evil or good, the choice is ours. People are tested in hardship and for the most part it is conjecture to guess how people will act in advance of difficulty.
Are you going to comply with the godless agenda of the New World Order and the one world government? There is nothing inherently wrong with it’s principles of wanting a better world for everyone, but what ideology and practices will it demand we follow? The goals of the New World Order are like communism; they work on paper for a college freshman, but with some age and experience, it doesn’t work in the street very long. The European Constitution of the European Union is directly in conflict with Christianity as we see from the November 3, 2009 European Court ruling on the display of crucifixes in Italian public schools. The Court said it violates religious and educational rights as outlined in a 1950 human rights treaty. The court said, “Italy restricted the rights of parents to educate their children in conformity with their convictions, and the rights of children to believe or not believe.” Meanwhile as churches in Europe are converted into condominiums and other trendy real estate, mosques are being built at an alarming rate where their rights of worship are sacrosanct. George Washington as other founding fathers understood government when he said, “Government is not reason; it is not eloquence; it is force! Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and fearful master.” What makes a republic work is a deep rooted faith with voluntary compliance with the law, as that person holds to a higher standard of truth and justice than man-made laws. It is for this reason the Psalmist said, “the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord” (Psalm 111: 10). The fear of the Lord translates to the “awesome majesty or respect” of God. When we lose our sense of the divine, we resort to the profane, and one doesn’t need to look very far to see it.
When God and divinity are expunged from world constitutions, should we follow their edicts and laws? Incrementally the United States is attempting to deploy wealth to developing countries through a variety of means, most notably a “carbon tax” on all U.S. citizens. U.S. sovereignty through treaties and such will transfer wealth and authority to a communist world government. It is not socialism they are after, but communism – a world without governance by God giving a false appearance God is in the equation. Because social engineering is down to such an exact science, the game is being won by evil for now. Jesus was clear, “be wise as a serpent and gentle as a dove.” Why did some see who Hitler was years before others? Remember, everything Hitler did was legal, much like other dictators before him. Today, the inmates are running the asylum in governments. In difficult times, good people do bad things and we know from history in times of trouble, the extremes are elected. This is an incendiary cocktail in America as we have grown to expect government to do everything for us at the expense of personal responsibility. Is it acceptable for world governments to mandate and fund abortion and immoral practices through tax dollars? To what degree will you comply with godless practices before you say no? Should U.S. citizens not collectively cry out with a vengeance their taxes are spent in the hundreds of millions annually for a Planned Parenthood agenda? When do you take a stand and turn off the television and get involved? Like Rome before us, we are perishing from within from ungodly rulers, and the exact same fate awaits us as previous civilizations unless we change. Can we be saved by a Jonah figure? The decision is ours.
To those who like to critique others spiritual activity all the while playing arm chair quarterback in their easy chairs munching on potato chips and drinking beer. Those not in the fight, need to take a hard look at what they are not doing. For many, fellowship today is a gossip session where there is little prayer or determination to spiritual growth and formation with a strategic vision and faith. Saint Paul spoke about tirelessly working for the Gospel and not being a burden to his brethren. Thus he worked as a tent maker to earn his keep. Western Christianity has been reduced to buying and selling a mailing list. Hit l.5% of respondents and you are under water. Hit 2% and you are near breakeven. 2.5% hit rate and above, and the list is worthwhile. Mailing year after year to keep a ministry or apostolate going is the norm as groups purchase mailing lists. We are a people consumed with social activism and projects rather than discipleship and relationships. Project after project and Christ is lost in the process. Usually around people like this is chaos and endless fundraising to keep the machine oiled. We all want to do good on someone else’s dime, yet maintain the lifestyles of corporate executives and have what everyone else has. Isn’t this what Non-Government Organizations (“NGO”) are all about? We want the perks that come with ministry and the world. It’s inconsistent, so the drive for money is relentless for those in ministry. Rather than spiritual formation, another project is started. Meanwhile the Christian family loses the intended purpose of it all because they are double minded. It is for this reason that divorce, abortion, addictions and the negative social indices are nearly identical for believers and unbelievers alike. There is no distinction between the two any longer and there hasn’t been for over a generation. Is it a wonder kids are lost?
The Secret To Strength In Difficult Times
The ultimate question is: how do we maintain peace and decorum in times like this? There are many places in Scripture to find solace, but Psalm 31 is of special comfort. King David who saw many trials of his own writes (19-20), “Yahweh how great your goodness, reserved for those who fear you, bestowed on those who seek shelter in you, for all mankind to see! Safe in your presence you hide them far from the wiles of men; inside your tent you shelter them far from the war of tongues.”
David is saying it is the Lord who provides comfort and strength in times of adversity. The phrase most appropriate is “safe in your presence you hide them”. It is clear that it is His presence among us that gives strength. In the midst of chaos we can carve out peace. So when we are living “In Christ” as Saint Paul says, we will find the peace and the answers we are seeking. If we are not in prayer and silence, we will never find the solution to what ails us. If we are running from event to event, the television constantly blaring spewing nonsense, we cannot hear the “still small voice” (l Kings19:12) of the Holy Spirit.
The Psalmist said, “Be still and know that I am God” (46:10). Until we shut off the noise, we cannot hear what is being said or asked of us. As we draw closer to Jesus, here is our safe refuge from the trials of the day. A person would need to be living in abject denial or the life of Rip van Winkle to not know America is under God’s judgment. The Lord is the author of all things. We see time and again in Scripture where the blessings are removed from nations due to sin. Do we deserve judgment? If the “presence of God” is with us, we can maintain peace in the midst of the peril around us. Following what Scripture and the prophetess of our times the Blessed Mother is telling us, the prescription is clearly given. We complicate things because we cease to do as explicitly asked looking for excessive reason rather than obedience. We continue to seek activities that sap our strength and traditions that are steeped in formulas. Much in the same way the Pharisees and the Sadducees had Jesus in front of them and they couldn’t see Him for who He was, because they had prescribed so many formula laws, they lost sight of the Ten Commandments and the Spirit of God. The manic activity in our culture today prevents us from hearing the Lord’s voice. The issue is addressed in the words below of I Samuel 15:22-23. It is obedience the Lord requires, not sacrifice, and as Mother Teresa frequently said, The Lord is asking us to be faithful, not successful.
“Is the pleasure of Yahweh in holocausts and sacrifices or in obedience to the voice of Yahweh? Yes, obedience is better than sacrifice, submissiveness better than the fat of rams. Rebellion is a sin of sorcery, presumption is a crime of idolatry.”
The Lord is in control and is allowing what is happening through His permissive will. As Stefan Cardinal Wyszynski the former primate of Poland many years ago said, “Certain events are willed by the Lord of history, and they shall take place.” And for some reason beyond our grasp, it is the Blessed Mother’s role in these unique times to step on the head of the serpent fulfilling Scripture (Rev. 12). Lumen Gentium of Vatican II says, “….but the Blessed Virgin’s salutary influence on men originates not in any inner necessity but in the disposition of God. It flows forth from the superabundance of the merits of Christ, rests on His Mediation, depends entirely on it and draws power from it…”
Get your guidance in prayer, toss away the concern of what others may think, and have the courage to walk in faith. Our times demand it.