Politics & Religion: Arizona Immigration

August 04 2010

Since my last column, Arizona has been sued – and has lost – in federal court over its state law (mirroring federal law) on immigration enforcement. Judge Susan Bolton, a Clinton appointee (typical), quickly resorted to the liberal’s standard operating procedure of judicial activism. Her ruling knocked the teeth out of the state law and overruled federal law. In doing so, she betrayed our Constitution, the rights and responsibilities of a sovereign state, and the will of the vast majority of the populace of the state as well as the nation.

This judge showed herself – at the very least – to be sympathetic to the liberal, globalist agenda that has been gradually but increasingly exercising itself against the sovereignty of America for the last century. The “progressive” movement has accelerated since the early 1900s, exposing itself overtly with David Rockefellers’ mid-century comment “All we need is the right major crisis, and the nations will accept the new world order,” to the overtly evil strategies of the God-hating, America-hating George Soros to destroy currencies, undermine economies, etc.

Two related federal laws that this “judge” thumbed her nose at are:

1. Non-citizens are required to keep their “papers” on them and be ready to show them at any time. This is a common requirement in every nation in the world, including the U.S. This judge said “no” (at least in terms of showing their identification to state and local authorities in Arizona, which in turn effectively voids the following federal law):

2. Section 642 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 says “no…government entity or official may prohibit, or in any way restrict, any government entity or official from sending…information regarding the citizenship or immigration status…of any individual.” (In other words, federal, state, and local law enforcement are all in this together. That is, or at least was, federal law.)

Judge Bolton flushed the Constitution and federal law in this egregious example of judicial activism. Take note that this is a forewarning of the type of judge Elena Kagan will be on the Supreme Court (who will hear this case when it inevitably reaches the Supreme Court).

The aforementioned 1996 law made “sanctuary” cites and states illegal. But Obama did not sue San Francisco which has been thumbing their nose at federal immigration laws for years. He sued Arizona for trying to protect their citizenry. This is beyond hypocrisy! It is another sign that Obama is not seeking to protect and defend the Constitution, but is trying to destroy the America that we all know and love in order to, in his words, “fundamentally transform America.”

Former Congressman and Republican Presidential Candidate Tom Tancredo recently wrote a Washington Times Op-Ed piece called “The Case for Impeachment.” Tancredo points out that there are several valid Constitutional reasons to do so, but the repeated violations of his oath of office in upholding the laws of the land regarding immigration and border enforcement are undeniable and inexcusable. I have come to the place where I have to agree.

But what we see happening in the nation is happening only because the same exact thing is happening in the church. The church in America has been AWOL in its civil stewardship for decades. We have not taught our children (and still don’t) what it means to really be a Christian who loves the truth and stands in integrity and character, nor what it is to be a true American.

Obama is a mirror thrust into the face of the compromising church, the supposed “salt and light” of a compromising nation. Our political leaders (with very few exceptions) long ago sold their integrity. Our business leaders (with almost no exceptions) long ago sold their integrity. Our spiritual leaders (with some exceptions) long ago compromised their integrity; all of them for a buck or to please man – or both.

There are nationally and internationally known Christian leaders who are miss-representing the truth in social, cultural and civil issues and putting a “Christian” label on this deception. Locally, the Houston Area Pastors Council’s very public statement on immigration is the latest example of such self-serving compromise. I’m a member, and know a couple of the leaders. They should know better. Their statement consisted of

1. Secure the borders (which thankfully, they got right)

2. Comprehensive immigration reform (which is code for illegal alien amnesty, which is wrong and rewards lawlessness, which in turn is anti-Biblical in principle)

3. Treat current illegals “humanely” (which is, at best, an unfortunate word usage seeing as how we’re not water boarding them, driving screwdrivers under their fingernails, or being “inhumane” to begin with.)

Such religious posturing is weak, and contributes to the plague in the American Church at-large of re-creating God in our own image, in our own like-ness (our own imagination), i.e., what we want him to be like instead being Who He Is as revealed in the Bible. He is the God of Truth, Whose passion is order, desiring His Kingdom to be established on earth, that His will would be done on earth as it is in heaven.

The reality is that in our government and in our churches, Isaiah 59:14 is again true today: “Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands far away; for truth has stumbled in the street, and uprightness cannot enter.”

Both political sides are selling out the nation for a price of their own choosing and convenience. Supposedly “republican” business interests want excessively cheap labor, which is an immoral violation of James 5:4. An overt desire of liberal democrats is to gain new voters, even illegal ones if necessary, and that violates any sense of fair play or allegiance to the Constitution. To take people from another nation, override the legal process and grant them amnesty so as to arbitrarily gain new voters to further their own socialistic agenda is particularly twisted and hypocritical. It reminds me a lot in principle of the accusation Jesus brought against the Pharisees of “traveling the world to make converts and making them twice the son of hell you are.”

One political agenda (liberalism) is about the overt destruction of America. The countering political agenda (conservatism) is often compromising and spineless. On the whole, what passes as “spiritual” leadership is a man-pleasing compromise between the two political agendas, instead of adherence to the higher, overriding Biblical and Constitutional truth, proclaimed clearly, accurately applied, with authority, and without compromise. We urgently need to return to that higher standard!

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Arizona Immigration Reality Check

June 16 2010

America was built in large part by immigrants. That’s not debatable. The question is: what kind of immigrant? To distinguish, (yes, to “discriminate” between that which is desirable and that which isn’t) is critical to the solution.

Particularly over the last century, America has welcomed immigrants from throughout the world. They certainly wanted a better life here, and were willing and often anxious to leave their former world behind and truly become American. Most were desirous of the opportunities and freedoms that America provided, and were cognizant of the responsibilities that were part of the package.

The hope of America was a dream, an ideal, something of great value, a higher standard to live up to; something a person was both responsible and exceedingly grateful for; something very precious, worth the cost of great sacrifice. They wanted only the opportunity, not handouts. They humbly wanted to become American, not to re-make America in the image of their former nation or culture with, frankly, its’ limitations and failures.

We used to limit the number of immigrants. We would regularly reduce our intake of immigrants until other immigrants were more successfully assimilated. In other words, we were interested in the quality of citizen the immigrant would make, their successful assimilation, and the overall process of immigration in increasing the number of good Americans for the good of America and all her citizens. What was wrong with that?

Now, the apparent attitude is that we must take almost anyone, from anywhere, in any number, for any reason, lest we be “racist.” This is lunacy. We must restore order and sanity to our broken borders. We must realize our borders are broken and porous, and our laws intentionally un-enforced thanks to the globalists who want to dissolve borders between nations (which is un-Biblical). It is past time for Americans to demand that the federal government do its job, and fulfill its constitutional responsibilities.

We were founded as a nation of laws, not of men and selfish agendas. People can bring their agendas to the table and negotiate legislatively the laws that we will all live by. But living by the law is less and less the case anymore. Seemingly everyone, including deceived and un-discerning leaders in the church (representing all denominations and theological streams), is doing “what is right in their own eyes.” It is lawlessness.

Our President, who intentionally does nothing to enforce the immigration laws that are on the books, criticizes the Arizona immigration law. He thinks the states have no rights in this regard. He is wrong on both counts. As President, he is the constitutionally mandated executive authority to enforce the laws Congress has passed. He continues to fail.

The Constitution, in Article 1 Section 8 says

•  “The Congress shall have Power To….provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States;…” (Which it is not doing.)

•  “To establish an uniform Rule of a Naturalization,…” (Which it has done but is not enforcing.)

•  “To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;…” (Which it is not doing.)

However, in Section 10 of Article 1, the Constitution also addresses the state’s responsibilities:

•  No State shall, without the Consent of Congress…..enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay.”

Now that is clear constitutional authorization for Arizona to protect its’ state and citizens in whatever way is necessary to respond to an “invasion.” An unarmed invasion by lawless people is still an invasion (this one isn’t unarmed anymore), and should be viewed as an assault on America in general and a sovereign state of the union in particular. The point is that for Arizona to do nothing would not only be a failure to uphold the rule of law, but a clear violation of Arizona’s duties under the Constitution. (The anti-American ACLU’s opposition to the Arizona law is further proof of the law’s validity!)

Sanctuary cities like San Francisco violate the Constitution and federal law by passing laws protecting illegal aliens. For Arizona to “lie down” and allow this invasion of illegals from Mexico would make them a de-facto “sanctuary state.”

A professing Christian asked me the rhetorical question recently “would Jesus call these illegal aliens ‘illegal’?” The Biblical response is obvious. Yes, of course Jesus would call them illegal just as he would call someone that broke into your house a thief. He is not confused by word games, or the socialist-Marxist agenda masquerading as “Christian compassion” and/or “social justice.”

It is a sobering thing to think that on Judgment Day, Jesus will say to some “depart from me, I never knew you…you who practice lawlessness.” There are many professing Christians who are lawless at heart. But as Mike Murdoch says, God’s “obsession” is order. That puts Him squarely at odds with chaos and confusion. Order is the nature of His Kingdom. He will one day rule and reign with “a rod of iron” (Revelation 2:27), and there will be order, not semi-controlled anarchy and lawlessness masquerading as “freedom.”

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Politics and Religion: Socialism on the March

April 16 2010

President Barack Obama and his liberal/progressive socialists are on the march in their intentional and overt “changing” (read: “destruction”) of America as we know it. Not all democrats mind you, but all liberal/progressives.

The March passage of the so-called “Health Care” bill has fundamentally changed America, and will continue to eat away like a cancer at our God-given and constitutionally-guaranteed rights— it if it is not repealed. A once free people will now suffer government-funded abortions, rationed care resulting in passive euthanasia, the nationalization of student loans (which has nothing to do with “health”) and incredible new power for the IRS who will soon have some 10,000 to 15,000 new agents and $10 Billion dollars to enforce your compliance in purchasing the right kind of government-approved insurance from the right kind of government-approved insurance company. They’ll be fishing around in your bank account (in violation of your privacy) to make sure you line up with the collective. These developments comprise an absolute flushing-down-the-toilet of our Constitution on many levels.

The “Executive Order” preventing government funding of abortion isn’t worth the ink it took to sign it. An Executive Order cannot, does not, and never will trump actual legislation! “What’s the big deal about a government take-over of student loans?” you may ask. Granted, it doesn’t seem that tyrannical…until they start telling Johnny and Susie where they can go to school, what classes they can take, and how long they must work for the government and in what capacity after they graduate.

But this was never about health care. It was and is about socialism, control, and the redistribution of wealth! Obama and his liberal/progressives have stomped on America with the Jackboot of tyranny. Oh, it’s a lighter version; a “cushier heel” than the killing fields of the 20th century to be sure, but it’s still wrong! It is up to true patriots and true Christians (not pretenders who misuse Jesus as a way to facilitate making government “god”) to stand up and retake our nation at the ballot box this fall.

Freedom of, by, and in the market place is called Capitalism, and while there can be and are abuses due to the lack of Biblical integrity in individuals, it is the best economic system on earth by far for all of history. In fact, it is the only Biblically-favored economic system. The Bible says that it is God who “gives you the power to gain wealth.” Only capitalism affords the economic system for that to happen. May God bless and grant victory to the Attorneys General from the many states that are suing the government over this gross violation of the commerce clause of our Constitution! The federal government cannot force us to purchase anything!

Freedom (personal, economic, and religious) is a comprehensively different word and concept than liberalism, progressivism, socialism, Marxism, fascism, totalitarianism, state-ism. Freedom is a gift from God.

Tyranny and bondage (personal or political) is oppression from satan, who comes to steal, kill, and destroy! All those other “isms” are evil, and come from the father of lies. Those systems are used to oppress people. They governmentally institutionalize violations of the Ten Commandments and other scriptural principles, much as our government is doing now. They foment unbelief and rebellion against God. They institutionalize covetousness (socialism), murder (abortion), etc. Biblical truths and principles are thrown out the window. Biblical love and truth is blasphemed as “hate speech.” I use the word “blaspheme” because God, the source of Biblical love and truth, and Who is Himself Love and Truth, is called, by extension, a “hater.” But God is not mocked; He will repay.

Obama, Pelosi, and Reid, just as they mock God, also mock true Americans, the true patriots, the tea-party populace. They falsely accuse Christians and patriots generally of violence, hatred, and racism, yet, where is it? There are fringe flakes on nearly any side of any cause, but to say Tea Party Patriots = Terrorists is itself the product of a dishonest if not dysfunctional mind. As all subversives with a “counter-agenda” are prone to do, liberals accuse their opposition of their own tendencies. They twist the truth, make fun of it, and mock it in such a way as to make the truth incredulous and unbelievable! This is a technique of master liars, especially in the political realm. The strategy is to discredit the truth at all costs: any lie, any accusation, will do. (This is a favorite personal technique of Rahm Emanuel, the President’s Chief of Staff.)

How long will it take for America to wake up? How long will it take for the true Church of Jesus Christ to wake up? How long before “false-prophet” types like Jim Wallis and others (who embrace socialistic, Marxist, environmentalist-wacko positions and other such tenants of their “other” gospel) are confronted by true Apostles and fathers in the faith who know the truth, speak the truth, and turn others toward the truth and away from practicing lawlessness? Let us hope that it will happen before it’s too late for America.

A lot will become clear between now and November. We need more genuine Christians and conservatives in Congress. We need to repeal and replace this bill. Obama says “go for it.” We will!

Pray. Pray like you’ve never prayed before. Pray for God’s grace and protection over this nation. Pray for a change in Congress. Pray that this tyranny be repealed. Pray for those who are so deceived to be delivered into truth! Pray—and put feet to your prayers! Your children’s futures depend upon it!

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Politics and Religion

February 15 2010

In these days, God is showing how true the truths of scripture really are. For everyone, eventually, and without fail – even in politics. But the ramifications of these truths in the political realm is not easily discerned and therefore rarely noticed. So let’s take a brief look.

Pro 6:16-19  “There are six things which the LORD hates, yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run rapidly to evil, a false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers.”

For many years, the liberals have become increasingly extreme in their pride (more government is the answer to everything), lies (too numerous to mention), shedding of innocent blood (abortion), wicked plans (socialism), running rapidly to evil (celebration of homosexual perversion, taking “God” out of education and the public square), and stirring strife (politics of personal destruction and gross accusation). These rebellions against God have progressed in degree and magnitude, from “there is no God” to an unspoken but very purposeful agenda to make government our God whether we like it or not.

While not the first lie ever told by a politician, a major event sending us down this path was “I did not have sex with the woman.” This lie was supported by another lie that it was all just a “vast, right-wing conspiracy.”

Another grand lie and accusation was that “Bush lied, people died” regarding the war in Iraq. I never could understand how liberals could make such a wild accusation when the Clinton administration itself had “regime change” in Iraq as an official policy of the Administration due to WMDs and the eventual likelihood of their use against us.

Global warming/climate change is another massive lie. While seemingly not directed at individuals, it is a strategy of deception that could change everything about the way you and I live. It is actually a demonic agenda set against western civilization. The “green police” ad on Super Bowl Sunday was not that far off from what the environmentalist wackos want this nation to look like. But God, in His protection of truth and the innocent, and reflecting His “just rewards” for those who stirred up this global strife and deception has granted the recompense of “climate gate,” repeatedly unmasking “climate change” for the scientific fraud it is. These agenda-driven “scientists” didn’t just get it horribly wrong, they made it up! And for that they are discredited, their careers are over, and some may even (hopefully) face prosecution for fraud.

There are philosophical lies, such as “there is no God,” and that we are products of evolution. That globalism and one world government will be the culmination of the goodness and wisdom of man, providing ultimate answers for all mankind. That homosexuality is something to be celebrated instead of an oppressive misery to be healed and delivered from.

There are specific lies, such as Senate Majority Leader Reid claiming the Iraqi war was lost. (Then came the surge, Al Qaeda decided there were greener pastures elsewhere, and now Iraq is increasingly in the hands of their own sovereign government.) Nancy Pelosi accused patriotic Americans protesting against the health care bill (culminating in the tea party movement) of being fringe elements comprised of uneducated hicks and violent Nazis. Thanks be to God there is still no government take over of health care, and the liberals have lost 3 major elections in three months – the most shocking being the loss of Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat. I guess it wasn’t that fringe after all.

Liberals say abortion is health care. It is not. It is murder. Liberals say trillions in new debt will preserve and promote wealth and prosperity in America. Really? Really? How stupid can one be? Obama is doing to us what Reagan did to the Soviet Union in the 80s. Bankruptcy. The only question is whether it is intentional, and that answer is increasingly obvious.

When Obama recently met with the Republican caucus, he accused them of taking an approach to his proposed government take over of health care that made it seem like a “Bolshevik plot.” It was a Bolshevik plot! This is a common technique for those who continually try to deceive, distract and “mesmerize” people from seeing their hidden agenda and ulterior motives. They speak the truth, and then mock it so as to discredit it.

There are far too many specific violations of scripture to list here. But pointing out these few – and the consequences of their manifest failure – shows how much God is on the move. The Bible assures that our unrepentant sin will find us out. It also promises in Proverbs 6:15 that “his calamity will come suddenly; instantly he will be broken and there will be no healing.”

That gives me hope that God will cut off the anti-Christ agenda the liberal-progressives have been conducting against this nation for a long time. If Christians will vote righteously according to Biblical and Kingdom principles, we as the body of Christ could take a huge step forward on behalf of both our King and our nation on Election Day this November! Where will you stand?

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Politics and Religion: Health Redistribution

December 17 2009

The “redistribution of wealth” is an act of government sanctioned theft, and the so-called motives and benefits of such confiscatory redistribution have been proven a fraud as our debt deepens, our economy worsens, and unemployment is the highest in over a quarter-century. But President Obama and the liberals in Congress aren’t content to stop there. Despite both historical and recent proofs that Marxist socialism doesn’t work, they want to expand their backward “confiscate and redistribute” mentality to our personal health. President Obama sold the majority of us “change,” promising to “remake” America. I think “malignant mutation” is a more accurate description.

The fruits of a person’s labor should be their own. Taxes should be only the minimum required to defend the nation and build and maintain our infrastructure. Confiscatory taxes excised to redistribute wealth, alleviate the personal cost of sin and irresponsibility, and fund destructive social re-engineering are wrong and damaging enough (both the goal and taxation). Even so, it is to some degree, a cost extracted from outside of one’s personhood. But just as redistribution of wealth requires the confiscation of wealth from some to give to others, the redistribution of health will work the same way. But it will violate the essence and personhood of the individual in a profoundly perverse way; one our founding fathers would be sickened by.

Government has neither the right nor the responsibility to insert itself between a person and their health practitioner, for any reason, to any degree! Government has no right to take health decisions out of the hands of an individual regardless of what they seek as a solution (whether a traditional pharmaceutical approach, chiropractic, herbal, alternative, spiritual, or a combination of some or all). There are options for individuals and various practitioners when they’re allowed the freedom to make the decisions. But when government dictates the decision for all, based ultimately on the government’s own arbitrary interests, to whom will a person appeal? Many would not have time enough to outlast the bureaucratic process!

The obvious economic questions and potential bioethical betrayals of a personally disinterested third-party bureaucrat dictating one’s level and timing of health care are staggering. It is an authority the government simply does not have constitutionally, much less morally. Government cannot give what it doesn’t first take, and the consequence of the government exercising a compelling economic interest in a person’s life or death via granted or withheld health care is tyranny. It is evil!

Congress would do well to remember, whether they openly acknowledge it or not, that they will most certainly be held accountable before God for the stewardship of their office and this nation. Romans 13 clearly defines civil rulers as ministers of God, and their role is clearly defined: to reward good, and punish evil. This “government redistribution of health” bill is rife with evil: from the usurpation of our God-given freedoms, the real threat of government-funded killing of pre-born babies, the violation of health care worker’s conscientious objections to forced abortion provision, to the passive if not overt euthanasia that will be the result of bureaucratic delay, mistakes, mismanagement, and even cold-hearted cost/benefit calculations on the value of a person and their health needs—at an additional cost of trillions over the long-term adding to our already overwhelming national debt. This alone is a damnable act of economic child abuse inflicted on our children and the coming generations. And all of this in the name of “health care,” a perversely deceptive—even tragic—misnomer only a liberal could conceive of with a straight face.

Our government needs a remedial course in basic civics: freedom, the Constitution, and the role of government to protect both and destroy neither! The role of Congress is creating fair and equitable rules of play under the Constitution to maintain fairness, honesty and integrity; not to be players on the field. The NFL would collapse immediately if their referees had a vested economic interest in the outcome of the game!

Shame on this government if they betray us by ultimately enacting “health redistribution” contrary to the will of the people, the Constitution, and Scripture itself!  I say again stop it! Stop it now! Congress, get your hands off my freedoms; my faith, my family, my money, and my health! Government-run “health redistribution?” NO, NO, NO! A thousand times NO!!!

Mark Williamson is the Founder and President of Foundation Restoration Ministries and Federal Intercessors, educational and intercessory ministries dedicated to the restoration of Biblical truth, righteousness and justice in the nation, and the high offices of the Federal government. The views expressed in this column are his personal opinions and observations. Learn more and join the prayer cause at www.federalintercessors.net. You may contact him directly at mark.williamson@federalintercessors.net, or at 713-722-4301.

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Politics and Religion: Defenseless

October 20 2009

While the nation reels from our crushing national debt, the unceasing attempts to pass the environmentalist-wacko nirvana called “Cap and Trade” (which will result in skyrocketing energy costs and the largest tax hike in history), and the assault on the Constitution that is the proposed government takeover of our health care system, there is yet another “clear and present danger” to the United States. We are rendered increasingly defenseless by the naïve policies of President Obama.

It appears that Obama is not serious about defending the U.S., believing it can all be talked out based on his personal charm and popularity. He apparently feels little sense of obligation regarding our friends and allies. His cancellation of the long-range missile defense deployment to Eastern Europe doesn’t just endanger Europe, it leaves us virtually defenseless on our northeastern shores against the eventuality of ballistic nuclear missiles that Iran is undoubtedly trying to develop. The IAEA now says Iran has a nuclear capability and is far advanced in developing longer range missiles. So, illogically and counter-intuitively, Obama cancels the most effective, affordable means to counter this threat.

In a profound understatement, Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona says flatly that this was a “bad idea!” Frank Gaffney, the President and Founder of the Center for Security Policy, characterizes the “Obama doctrine” as one that “undermine(s) allies; embolden(s) enemies; diminish(es) our country.” Congressman Trent Franks said “The president has disgraced this nation by breaking his word to loyal and courageous allies…” More “change.” As Commander in Chief, yes he can!

Then there is Obama’s desire to do away with Clinton’s policy of “don’t ask, don’t tell.” Actually, the law says gays and lesbians are not eligible for service, and are subject to an “undesirable discharge.” Where homosexual acts are committed, those persons are subject to a “dishonorable discharge.” It has long been a goal of the gay/lesbian agenda to infiltrate the military so as to perpetuate the illusion that the gay lifestyle is normal and moral, as well as to “change” the military itself. (There’s that word again.) Social re-engineering is a dangerous and stupid thing to undertake when it runs counter to God’s commandments, social order, and moral standards. But Obama wants it changed and he’s entertaining the idea of doing it by Executive Order, which his own advisors say would be unconstitutional. (You can’t just overturn the law of the land by Executive Order, though he would surely like to.)

Then there is the lingering, vacillating indecision about what to do in Afghanistan. Obama incessantly repeated false accusations against President Bush during his presidential campaign as having taken his eye off the ball in Afghanistan—the crux of the war on terror, in Obama’s view—to focus on Iraq. Now, after Bush sent the surge and turned the tide in Iraq, Obama seems poised to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in Afghanistan. The White House has assured us there will be no withdrawal and that is good as far as it goes. But what kind of Commander in Chief ignores history’s repeated lessons about military action without victory in mind? Is Afghanistan to become Obama’s Vietnam?

More dangerous from a spiritual perspective, as well as the geo-political one, is that Obama—who says we’re not a Christian nation, but could be called a Muslim nation— seems to be subtly turning his back on Israel. He spent months saying he wouldn’t recognize any new Israeli settlements, only to have to soften his tone when Netanyahu refused to play lap-dog. Pretty stunning hypocrisy for a man who wants to dictate to Israel where its own citizens can live, while saying we shouldn’t inject ourselves into Iran’s internal affairs in the face of an election stolen by the crazed leader of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has incessantly promised that Israel will soon be wiped from the face of the earth.

While pretending we are not a Christian nation and overtly ignoring the National Day of Prayer, Obama thinks Islam is worthy of celebration. Here’s what he said (in part) at his recent Ramadan celebration in the White House:   “Tonight’s iftar is a ritual that is also being carried out this Ramadan at kitchen tables and mosques in all 50 states. Islam, as we know, is part of America.  And like the broader American citizenry, the American Muslim community is one of extraordinary dynamism and diversity — with families that stretch back generations and more recent immigrants; with Muslims of countless races and ethnicities, and with roots in every corner of the world.

“Indeed, the contribution of Muslims to the United States are too long to catalog because Muslims are so interwoven into the fabric of our communities and our country.  American Muslims are successful in business and entertainment; in the arts and athletics; in science and in medicine. Above all, they are successful parents, good neighbors and active citizens.”

(Where so, it is only because of the God-given freedoms we all enjoy here as opposed to the backward, Middle Eastern “Sharia” states. You will know them by their fruits.)

Obama continued: “So on this occasion, we celebrate the Holy Month of Ramadan, and we also celebrate how much Muslims have enriched America and its culture — in ways both large and small.”

Only if you buy into the falsified, revisionist history of this nation that tries to exclude God, Jesus, and the Bible from our founding and history. I know of not one Muslim that was here at the landing of the pilgrims and the writing of the Mayflower Compact, which stated that they had “undertaken (the journey) for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith…,” which was and is the core purpose for the existence of America.

If Israel’s history is an example for our education, and it is, we do well to learn from it. God formed and has blessed this nation for over 200 years. However, for our nation’s leaders to continue to turn their back on God—His commandments (including blessing Israel) and the restoration of moral sanity in our nation—would be the highest act of treason, and could render us profoundly defenseless as happened more than once in ancient Israel.

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Government vs. the American Citizen

September 10 2009

These are again times that try men’s souls. It is time to confront the apparent reality that the liberal-socialist-Marxist cabal running our government is committed to destroying the America we all know and love. This final rush gained speed with TARP, progressed to “cap and trade,” and they’re trying to finish us off with a government takeover of our health care system. Understand there is not a health care crisis; it is an insurance problem for which there are answers without destroying the best health care system in the world!
Many now realize they bought the real “bridge to nowhere:” Obama, Reid, and Pelosi’s agenda. Obama, as Hustler-in-Chief, sold the majority of us “change.” As the joke goes, we’ll be lucky to have any left. The real change they’re attempting is from our autonomy as free citizens working in a free enterprise economic system, minding our own business and making our own way, into serfs working for the government, at the will and dictate of our government, in businesses “owned and operated” by the government, for the benefit of the government, it’s ruling class, and their co-dependent wards.
How long will it take for the ignorant and gullible among us to realize that when the oil companies, auto companies, insurance companies, and “the rich” who own small businesses (for whom most Americans work) are being consistently and aggressively demonized by the ruling class that something is dangerously wrong! That’s not what America was meant to be! Who is serving who? Who works for whom?
Obama’s change is bankrupting the country–morally and economically. It’s change that will force tax payer-funded abortion down our throats (in this “stealth FOCA” Bill), and will mandate euthanasia through rationing for our elderly and infirm. All in the name of “Health Care” – a misnomer only a liberal could conceive with a straight face. This would make for extraordinary comedy if it weren’t so dangerous and grievous. But as one columnist has asked, “Who’s going to tell Michael J. Fox he needs to die”? The bioethical questions and the dangers of bureaucratic mandate are staggering!
Crazy, you say? Harsh words, you say? No. Just the truth; generally regarded in modern America these days as “hate speech,” but truth just the same.
Senator Jim DeMint has called this “Health Care” Bill “Fannie Med.” How true! If you like the efficiency, the responsibility, the wonder of the wise and cost-effective management we don’t see in Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, the VA, the Postal Service, your average Department of Motor Vehicles, and the economy-destroying mortgage debacles of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – combined with the mercy and compassion of the IRS – you’ll just love “Fannie Med!”
Mathew Staver and his legal staff at Liberty Counsel have reviewed, revised and adapted a list of summarizations of the specific provisions of House Bill 3200 and noted their locations in the actual Bill. They used work originally prepared by Peter Fleckenstein (and posted on line at FreeRepublic.com). The entirety of Liberty’s review is at http://www.lc.org/media/9980/attachments/healthcare_overview_obama_072909.pdf
Here’s my message to President Obama and our government: Get your hands off my freedoms, my money, my health, and my family! Government-run “health care”? NO, NO, NO! A thousand times NO!!!
Take these sentiments in person to your Congressmen’s “Town Hall Meetings” and let them be known in no uncertain terms! Let them hear continually the same resounding NO in their DC offices. The number to the Capitol Hill switchboard is (202) 224-3121.
America is at stake! Your family’s health is at risk! It is your Christian duty to pray and stand against the threat!

Mark Williamson is the Founder and President of Foundation Restoration Ministries and Federal Intercessors, educational and intercessory ministries dedicated to the restoration of Biblical truth, righteousness and justice in the nation, and the high offices of the Federal government. The views expressed in this column are his personal opinions and observations. Learn more and join the prayer cause at www.federalintercessors.net. You may contact him directly at mark.williamson@federalintercessors.net, or at 713-722-4301.

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Politics and Religion: A Fruit Inspection

June 10 2009

It is important to understand that we live in a time when even professing Christians are confused and many of them buy the lie that “truth is hate speech.” Nothing could be further from the truth (no pun intended). Scripture says “you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” We are to expose the deeds of darkness, “make a righteous judgment,” and to judge the “fruit” (though not the person). Unfortunately, most people can’t distinguish the difference, and thus default to secular tolerance.

Truly knowing the God Who IS Truth implies knowing His Truth, His “opinion” on every kind of Truth that exists, for the God Who IS Truth KNOWS all truth, and we do well to seek His truth in every aspect and on every issue lest we be deceived by anti-Christ in these last days. I’m increasingly convinced that the “mark of the beast” happens between the ears before it is accepted on the forehead or the hand. A big start in that direction is the subtle belief that government is god (the essence of liberalism).

The idea that there is no absolute truth, that everything is relative, and the highest virtue is to be tolerant of “others’ truths” is an intentional lie from the pit of hell. It is a “gross darkness covering the peoples.”

There is absolute truth about every issue. Judging the “fruit” of a person’s actions is not the same as passing judgment on the person. This is also true of our political leaders and their political agendas. Indeed it is required stewardship. Pastors from the era of our founding fathers would excoriate such ignorance and passive irresponsibility as we have in the church and nation today.

So let’s inspect the “fruit” of President Obama and his performance so far. And again, these comments regarding President Obama have to do with his policies that the Bible clearly condemns and which the Constitution prohibits, not with the person. He and his family are loved by God and it is His earnest desire (and my earnest prayer) to save them. It is God’s job to judge the character of the man and his heart; what I address are the fruits of his policies and the resulting damage being done to our nation.

Most mature Christians who believe the Bible and its principles will have little difficulty discerning that his pro-abortion, pro-homosexual, anti-church positions and other anti-Christian, anti-Biblical, and anti-constitutional policies of Obama’s are wrong and should opposed. Yet, astonishingly, massive numbers of not-so-mature Christians who knew these truths still voted for him. If ever there was a wolf in sheep’s clothing, Obama qualifies. And six months into his administration, his “coat” is beginning to shed.

Not only did he support infanticide as an Illinois state Senator, he supports abortion on demand, and is now working to make it illegal for doctors to refuse to perform an abortion because of their Christian beliefs and/or personal conscience.

His “stimulus bill” prohibits funds from going to any school or university that allows their facilities to be used by Christian organizations although such activities have been upheld as constitutional by the Supreme Court – an intentional slap at Christianity. His “stimulus bill” is itself a massive Socialist/Marxist coup d’état against the free enterprise/capitalist economy through which the poorest among us live a veritable “lifestyle of the rich and famous” compared to most other countries.

His firing of private business leaders (talk about audacity), the refusal to take back “stimulus money” from businesses who have thought better of it, and the recent bankruptcy of General Motors is disastrous, but more importantly, an assault on the constitutional limits of the federal government. Especially since Obama structured it via destroying most of the private investment in GM–including those of the elderly and the average worker’s retirement plan–and giving it away to the UAW. Shameful! The shutting down of dealerships that contributed to Republicans (only one “democrat” dealership is being closed) is frightening if not illegal, and certainly revealing about his ACORN mentality and “Chicago gangster” approach. “You give-ah allegiance to me, we take-ah care of you; you don’t, we take-ah you out at the knees.” The “trickle-down” economic damage will be broad and long-lasting as GM is not an island.

Beyond his long-term destruction of our economy, the interest on the debt he has incurred (more than all the annual debt incurred in the history of our nation combined) is nothing less than child abuse and theft against our children and grand-children. It would be bad enough if this entire “stimulus bill” had any positive effect, but it hasn’t. Its money borrowed only to be burned.

Then there is his half-hearted pseudo-support of Israel. Talk about speaking with a forked tongue. He’s telling Israel how to run their business to such an extent he’s now “ordering” them to build no new settlements – not even for population growth. This is on top of his genuflecting before a Saudi King, and now we have his recent statements that Iran has a right to nuclear power.

What Socialist/Marxist re-make of America would be complete without an overtly activist judge on the Supreme Court? Judge Sonia Sotomeyer certainly fits the bill with her admission that the Appellate Court is “where policy is made.” Pardon this tidbit of truth, but according to the constitution (I know what a drag that outdated and mostly ignored document is to “progressives” like Obama) the Congress is where policy is supposed to be made, not in the imagination of one who believes that by virtue of her “Latina” experiences, she would make a better judge than a white male. If the reverse had been stated by a white male, liberals would have been apoplectic, and the offender would have been rightfully disqualified. But such a comment gets a pass by virtue of the fact that she is a “Latina.” The brazen hypocrisy of liberals is mind boggling, but alas, it is increasingly the norm in our nation of dumbed-down sheep.

Then there are the more subtle things that are happening that don’t really make much news, but which have profound implications. One example is Obama’s Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s appointment of Kevin Jennings, founder of the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GSLEN), to be Assistant Deputy Secretary for the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools. GSLEN promotes affirmation of homosexuality in schools starting at the Kindergarten level. According to the Family Research Council, “Jennings wrote the foreword for a book, “Queering Elementary Education” which among other things praises teaching masturbation to a 7-year-old girl.” And, “in a speech in a New York church in  2000,  he declared, “We have to quit being afraid of the religious right….I’m trying not to say, “(F—) ‘em!” which is what I want to say, because I don’t care what they think! Drop dead!”  Thank you, President Obama and all you Obama-voting “Christians” for this assault on our children.

Yes, this is just a small sampling of the fruit of what so many mistakenly believe is our “messiah;” the “one.” Despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, many will insist that Obama is a Christian sent by God to save America. Scripture suggests otherwise. Titus 1:16 says “They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.” (Emphasis mine.)

The question is: is all this unholy and wrong fruit born out of the ignorance of an inexperienced rookie, or, to borrow a phrase, the work of intelligent design?

Mark Williamson is the Founder and President of Foundation Restoration Ministries and Federal Intercessors, educational and intercessory ministries dedicated to the restoration of Biblical truth, righteousness and justice in the nation, and the high offices of the Federal government. The views expressed in this column are his personal opinions and observations. Learn more and join the prayer cause at www.federalintercessors.net. You may contact him directly at mark.williamson@federalintercessors.net, or at 713-722-4301.

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Politics & Religion: Texas Senate Testimony

April 12 2009

While most of my focus regards the federal government, God’s design for civil government obviously applies to state and local governments. On March 9, I traveled to Austin to attend a meeting of the Committee of the Whole of the Texas State Senate, and to participate in the public testimony phase. This was somewhat historic in that a Committee of the Whole meeting had not taken place since the early 90s.

The issue was Voter ID, Senate Bill SB362, authored by Senator Troy Fraser of Horseshoe Bay. The essence of the bill would require voters in Texas to provide a photo ID when voting in Texas – a pretty simple, sensible, and increasingly necessary requirement. Voters who could not provide a photo ID at the time of voting would be allowed to vote with a provisional ballot pending verification of their identity. Under this bill, everyone who is legally qualified gets to vote, and the security of the election process is increased. Who could argue with that?!

But of course, there were arguments. Unfortunately, some were petty and frankly insulting to one’s intelligence. One man who followed me in the public testimony phase actually told the Senate that if they passed this bill, they would be guilty of committing a hate crime. Wow!

After spending all day and night in the Senate gallery listening to the non-stop session, I finally got to testify at about 8:30 the next morning, Wednesday March 10. All public testimony was limited to three minutes, so I tried to make the best of the short time I had. What follows is my statement before the Senate:

QUOTE:
I’m honored to be here, and to testify on behalf of the Voter ID Bill. I’m a minister, and approach this perhaps differently than most. I feel it is imperative to pass this legislation, as weak as it is, and as limited as it is. It’s time to secure the vote.

The Biblical command to “do everything decently and in order” is not just a rule for churches, it is a life principle! And it is particularly applicable to civil government and its processes. Romans 13 says that civil rulers – and that includes you Senators – are the ministers of God to reward good, and punish evil. You are stewards before God, with a great weight of responsibility that you will answer for. Do not take it lightly; do not reduce it to cheap political advantage.

God is a God of standards and boundaries; from Mt. Sinai to the borders of nations, the boundaries of one man – one woman marriage, and even salvation (Jesus Christ alone!).

Let there be one standard, universally applied. Is a photo ID really such an unbearable burden when one can’t effectively function in our modern society without it? This is not even a serious question.

The Bible also states that whoever resists the ordinances of God will bring judgment on themselves, and that goes for both citizen and ruler. God hates unjust weights and measures – it is the lack of integrity. That means He is for a single, universally applied standard equal for – and protective of – EVERYONE, not just your (partisan) constituents.

Set a standard! Secure the vote!

Mexico is in danger of imploding and our borders are porous. ACORN is increasingly seeking to do their mischief in Texas. They would see the failure of this bill as a green light, and we all know it. The last line of defense is to secure the vote! If we can send men and women to fight and die in Iraq to secure their vote, I don’t think a photo ID is too much to ask to secure ours.

If I, for whatever reason, were unable to produce my driver’s license at the polling booth, I would gladly sacrifice my vote to be confident that the electoral process was sound and secure, no matter the outcome. 1 vote per 1 legal citizen. My right to vote doesn’t mean as much if there’s no integrity in the system. Again, I urge you, secure the vote!

Thank you very much. God bless you all, and God bless Texas.
UNQUOTE

After I finished Senator Fraser came up to me. He thanked me and congratulated me for my remarks, and in thanking him, I told him that he deserved a medal for his performance the previous day as he was absolutely under the gun for some four to five hours straight. He fielded every possible question from multiple Senators, often repetitive questions asked in different ways as though he were under prosecution at trial. No one can say that every facet of this issue didn’t get a through examination!

Senators Dan Patrick and Joan Huffman were also very gracious and congratulatory to me as I left the floor. I also want to mention Senator Tommy Williams from the Woodlands, who did an outstanding job on the floor during the proceedings.

While I was there to support the bill as a citizen, the greater goal was to exhort the Senate as a whole to “raise their game.” God’s stewardship standards are not to be trifled with. They – and we – will all answer one day for the stewardship responsibilities that God has given each of us. From our personal lives to marital relations, parental responsibilities, our employment, our work for the church and the Kingdom – even how we exercise the stewardship of our vote.

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Politics & Religion: The Goodness of God

January 01 2009

In these troubled economic times, increasing unrest in the Middle East, political ineptitude at every turn domestically and internationally, and seemingly impending natural disasters (from the fraud of “man-made” global warming to what is now ridiculously predicted to be the approaching ice age, to the 900 or so earthquakes in Yellowstone within one week of December 26, purportedly signaling the eventual cataclysmic eruption of the massive volcano underneath), Christians can and need to rest in the goodness of God.

I really don’t know how the unsaved will make it. Already there are many reports of suicides of people who have lost everything financially. Millions are investing their hope and expectations in the new Obama administration, and those expectations are likely to do as badly as the average investment in Bernie Madoff’s multi-billion dollar ponzi scheme. Is there any real difference between Madoff’s massive fraud and the trillions in debt being incurred to “save” the economy? It is amazing to me what grown people will believe anymore.

Some believe judgment is coming to America, as well as the rest of the world. And while some things are going to be judged, I believe the judgments of God are redemptive in nature, at least for those who are willing to repent. I believe God is going to judge the church first before He judges America, for America is in the shape its in because the church has allowed it. But I also believe God is going to do some of His most awesome work on the earth in the days ahead, probably continuing from now until the Lord returns.

Speaking of which, some are looking for the “rapture” at any moment. I find the “beam me up, Jesus” mentality to be less than productive. I’m all for the return of the Lord at the earliest opportunity, and scripture suggests we are to look forward to the appearing of the Lord, but seeing so many Christians hunkering down and doing nothing using the “imminent return of the Lord” as an excuse is unbecoming of a true believer.

Psalm 2 kind of sums it all up this way:

Why are the nations in an uproar and the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers take counsel together against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, “Let us tear their fetters apart and cast away their cords from us!” (The very definition – and danger – of liberalism, by the way). He who sits in the heavens laughs, the Lord scoffs at them. Then He will speak to them in His anger and terrify them in His fury, saying, “But as for Me, I have installed My King upon Zion, My holy mountain.” “I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as Your possession. ‘You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.’” Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; take warning, O judges of the earth. Worship the LORD with reverence and rejoice with trembling. Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, for His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!

When thoroughly analyzed and accurately discerned, God’s goodness toward us is both stunning and overwhelming. Deserving of hell for our rebellion against him, He has made a way to reconcile us to Himself. Jesus took our punishment upon Himself, and all we have to do is to believe in Him and what He did, and that is amazing. It is all or nothing though. With genuine faith in, and a life lived for Jesus, we are ushered into eternal life. Without Jesus, eternal damnation is a self-chosen destiny.

Psalm 34:8 and 9 says “O taste and see that the LORD is good; how blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him! O fear the LORD, you His saints; for to those who fear Him there is no want.

In the days ahead, we must rest in the Lord our refuge, and trust His goodness and love toward us. Live for Him. Do not withdraw from people and the troubles of the world around us, but “live out loud” more than ever. The world is awash in lie. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). That is an exclusive statement. No one else – nothing else – is the way, the truth, or the life. This is the “be all” and “end all” of life. It is the summation of all that is, and certainly all that matters.

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