Sunday marked the 203rd birthday of a monumentally important figure in American history, a man who truly understood what it means that every human being is made in the image of God.
Frederick Douglass was a former slave, abolitionist, supporter of women’s suffrage, orator, writer, an adviser to Presidents, and diplomat. All of this is well known, but one of the most misunderstood elements of his life story was his deep and abiding Christian faith…
Ancient Purple Threads Discovered in Israel Confirm Biblical History
A colleague of mine, while looking for Civil War artifacts near his home, once found a brass button from a Union Army uniform. What made his discovery even more amazing was the bright blue jacket thread still attached to the button, even after 150 years. That’s pretty impressive.
What about finding threads dating back 3,000 years? Even more impressive! But imagine these are not connected with an event everyone believes happened, like the Civil War, but with events secular scholars often doubt. That’s the latest chapter in the ever-growing saga of “Super Cool Discoveries from Israel.”
So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. James 4:17 (ESV)
American Minute with Bill Federer
“All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing” –Edmund Burke, on the French Revolution
Edmund Burke is considered the most influential orator in the British House of Commons in the 18th century.
Born January 12, 1729, one of his first notable writings was an anonymous publication A Vindication of Natural Society, 1756, which was a satirical criticism of the deism promoted by Lord Bolingbroke:
“Seeing every mode of religion attacked in a lively manner, and the foundation of every virtue, and of all government, sapped with great art and much ingenuity … the same engines which were employed for the destruction of religion, might be employed with equal success for the subversion of government.”
Burke criticized how a deist“every day invents some new artificial rule.”
He described the“unalterable relations which Providence has ordained that everything should bear to every other. These relations, which are truth itself, the foundation of virtue, and consequently, the only measures of happiness.”
A Christmas message came to my mind a few years ago as I stood shivering in the autumn chill at the grave side of Father Jerzy Popieluszko. Jerzy was a young pastor who once delivered the dynamic messages that stirred the Polish people to overthrow their Communist oppressors.
His theme was always the same: The Christian is called to defend the truth and overcome evil with good.
CONTEXT (v. 1-31) : v. 1–8 The introduction to Ps. 78 explains that it is a “parable” (v. 2) intended to exhort the Israelites to not be like their forefathers (v. 8). In v.5–8 The psalmist describes how God (Ps 78:5) demanded that Israel not only recount His laws and instructions, but also remember the good and bad parts of their history. The Israelites should teach God’s laws and Israel’s history so that each new generation would know not to go astray (v. 8). Verses 9–16 This section is the first of two thematic overviews in Psa 78 (see vv. 32–41). This section summarizes Israel’s interaction with God during the exodus (Exod 6–12) and then in the wilderness (Exod 14–40; Num 11–25). Here in v.17–20 Israel’s main fault in the episode recalled here was their demand for meat (see Num 11:4–6); however, the psalmist implies that Israel complained against God on a regular basis (compare Exod 16–17; Num 11; Psa 78:19–20). In v.21–25In this section, the psalmist focuses on God’s anger and His provision of manna to Israel. He implies that, although God was furious with Israel, He did not stop providing food for them. This section may be a stylized review of the wilderness journey of Israel, contrasting the reality of God’s continual provision of manna (Exod 16:35) with Israel’s general disloyalty to God. Finally in v.26–31 The psalmist now switches from focusing on the manna to the quail (see Num 11:31–34). He recounts the incident in which God gave Israel meat to eat but also struck them with a plague. – Faithlife Study Bible
When I was a kid growing up WWII and the Korean War’s were still fresh on the minds on most Americans. Viet Nam was just not really underway in strength and patriotism was abundant.
I remember sitting for hours listening to some of my neighbors describing both the horrors (concentration camps, artillery bombardments, etc.) and glory (comradery, victory over evil, etc.) that they experienced. I know in some cases, Mrs. S who was in a concentration camp, Mr. T who was with Patton and liberated said camp(s) talking about the war was quite difficult but they did so so my generation would never repeat the lessons of the past.
This Plasm, sets out to do the same thing. V.4 We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.
We all know Israel’s history with God. It is a history wrought with FAILURE. Failure to obey the one true God of Heaven and Earth, the great I AM. The Psalmist is making it clear I/we will not hide those past failure from the next generation otherwise we condemn them to the same mistakes we and our forefathers have made. He implores them to remember the Highs and Lows of their past, leaving nothing out.
Webster’s 1828 Dictionary defines History as: An account of facts, particularly of facts respecting nations or states; a narration of events in the social justice
order in which they happened, with their causes and effects.
Yet there are many today in America (and other countries) that wish to rewrite history, ( Change the facts) using names like social justice as a smoke screen for historical revisionism which is a fancy way of saying I/we see history as this so it must be a fact. The would have us believe the Pilgrims came only for profit, that all who fought for the South in the War Between the States were Slave owning racist and so many more lies. I hope you can see the danger in that, I encourage you to:
Pray for those who would re-write history
Parents, Monitor you children’s school assignments for misinformation
Encourage Everyone you know to, Inform the Next Generation of our Nations’ True History. n If we love to tell the story of our redeemer we should love to tell the story of the nation he has Graced us with.
Verse 4. Commentary – We will not hide from their children, etc. Thou must not only praise God thyself, but endeavour to transmit the memorial of his goodness to posterity. Children are their parent’s heirs; it were unnatural for a father, before he dies, to bury up his treasure in the earth where his children should not find or enjoy it; now the mercies of God are not the least part of a good man’s treasure, nor the least of his children’s inheritance, being both helps to their faith, matter for their praise, and spurs to their obedience. “Our fathers have told us what works thou didst in their days, how thou didst drive out the heathen” etc., Ps 44:1-2; from this they ground their confidence, Ps 44:4, “Thou art my King, O God; command deliverances for Jacob, ” and excite their thankfulness, Ps 44:8, “In God we boast all the day long, and praise thy name for ever.” Indeed, as children are their parents heirs, so they become in justice liable to pay their parents’ debts: now the great debt which the saint at death stands charged with, is that which he owes to God for his mercies, and, therefore, it is but reason he should tie his posterity to the payment thereof. Thus mayest thou be praising God in heaven and earth at the same time. – William Gurnall.
Today’s BreakPoint: Germany to Honor Sophie Scholl
JOHN STONESTREET
In February of 1943, German university student Sophie Scholl was convicted of high reason against the Nazi regime and executed by guillotine. Last week,Germany announced it will honor this Christian martyr with a €20.00 sterling silver commemorative coin.Scheduled for circulation in time for her 100th birthday, which is in 2021, the coin will bear Sophie’s likeness with her words, “A feeling for what is just and unjust” along the edge.
Sophie Scholl was raised, along with her older brother Hans, in a nominal Lutheran household. Like most German children at the time, she was a member of the League of German Girls and her brother a member of the Hitler Youth. However, as they grew up, they became more and more disillusioned by the Nazification of virtually every area of German life and Hitler’s tyrannical opposition to much they believed to be good, such as works of art and music considered to be non-Aryan…
Today on The Sword and The Trowel, Tom Ascol and Jared Longshore welcome Dr. Tom Nettles on the show to discuss what it means to have a theology and philosophy of History as a Christian. Dr. Nettles shares wisdom on how 21st century evangelical Christians should navigate life in the West, in light of what we know from Scripture and also from History. How should God’s greatest historical work, Jesus’ death on the cross, shape the way we live day to day?
“In this moment of national crisis, rather than fighting over the optics around the Bible, we’d be far better off reading, hearing, and applying what it has to say.”
Why the Bible is Not a Prop
JOHN STONESTREET
Presidents and politicians using the Bible or Christian symbolism for political ends is nothing new. Some, as President Trump did Monday afternoon, pose with Bible in hand. Far more common is the selective quoting, misquoting, or downright twisting of Bible verses to advance political talking points.
After nights of rioting and violence across America and even right outside the White House, the President punctuated his speech by walking from the Rose Garden to an historically important church that was nearly burned down the night before. He then posed with a Bible in hand beside the church sign.
