A Government Safety Net

Today many Americans look to the government for the answers to all our social ills. But  is this actually a wise approach to the problem? Many government welfare plans, such as President Lyndon B. Johnson's war on poverty caused more problems then they fixed. So, what is the government's proper role when it comes to welfare? Watch this video by Dr. Ryan Messmore of the Heritage Foundation as he explains the governments proper role as a safety net of last resort.

Will the Leaders Please Stand

I think it's apparent that our nation is suffering from a severe lack of righteous leadership. Washington has been tossed to and fro by what ever situation comes upon them at that specific moment. It took 1400 days before anything was done about the budget issue. The government just seems to be procrastinating over important issues until they are backed to a wall and are forced to do something. And that something is usually the wrong thing to do.

I'm sure the reader understands this, and already knows whats been going on in Washington and does not need  me to inform them of this, so I will not spend any more time on this but get straight to the point. We need leaders. Now. Real leaders, competent leaders, stirring leaders who understand the times in which we live, knowing what needs to be done and has the ability to motivate the people to do it. As Rabbi Daniel Lapin puts it We don't need Accountants but Crusaders. We don't need people who seem very smart or have a lot of money. We need people  who inspire others to believe in them, and can stir them to action.

But am I saying charismatic skills are all that's needed to make a leader?Absolutely not, Hitler was every bit as charismatic, if not more so, as Churchill. Both inspired nations to follow their lead and put their trust in them. However there's a big deference between Hitler and Churchill. Churchill inspired for good, the defense of the remaining free world and the liberation of the rest who were in bondage  Hitler inspired for evil, stirring up youth's so void of conscience they would kill millions in cold blood and would say as the adulterous woman in Proverbs 30:20 "I have done no wrong." What we need are leaders with integrity, men and women who will encourage this nation unto righteousness. Standing firm on the principles that have founded this great nation, the Holy Scriptures.

We need leaders with backbone, that will stand firm even when it means standing alone, even when it means be coming unpopular, and yes, even when it means being rejected by members of your own party if need be. John Quincy Adams was this kind of leader, several times he was almost expelled from congress because what he had to say about slavery was unpopular, even with his own party. But it was truth, and that's what kind of leaders we need ones who will side with truth no matter the cost. Are you ready to be that kind of leader? Yes, we must be the leaders I have just been describing, we must build the moral character within ourselves and if your a parent your children. We must stand and be the next Churchills, and John Quincy Adams. We must stand up, stand firm, and follow Christ and His word. Only then will we truly be the change. Only then can we ever hope to restore America.

Solus Christus,
Adam

Hope for America

     Have you ever looked at the situation in America today and thought to yourself, "Man, we're messed up," "I doubt America will ever change," or how about this one, "The US is walking on the edge of the cliff, it's only a matter of time before we fall off..." Recently some of those thoughts had been going through my mind. Last night though, I listened to a lecture by Ravi Zacharias, and as always, was immensely encouraged. The lecture was titled "Why Hope?" Ravi gave examples throughout history of how when things looked their darkest and it looked as if there was no hope, God always did something miraculous for His kingdom.

     As a historian, I firmly believe that the past holds the answers to the problems of the present. While studying the past, I have seen that every time things looked their bleakest, God always raises up Godly young men and women to do awesome things for His glory. Think about them, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Ruth, David, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Esther, Nehemiah, the Apostles, Paul, Athanasius, Luther, Calvin, Joan of Arc, the Wesleys, Whitefield, Washington, the Founding Fathers, and so many others that I do not have time or space to write about. God raised them all up at just the right time, and the right place and He used them mightily to bring about the change that was needed at the time.

     What I've learned from this, is that God is in control. as Acts 17:26 tells us, "From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live." God has determined the time in which we live, He has determined the places where we live. He knows what's going on in the world and He is not taken by surprise; He is even doing something about it. For God not only predetermined when and where you would live, He also determined why. God has a plan for your life, and that plan could very well mean you're the next Whitefield, or Wilberforce, Finney, or Sunday. Whatever God's plan is for your life, He is going to use you to make a difference in this world.

     So the next time you think that there's no hope remember that God is in control, and that he has called you to be the hope. You don't need to go on some far off missions trip, you don't need to get into to politics, I mean if that's where God is calling you then great, but, we all need to start being the hope right there where we are. That's why God put us there. That's why he gave us the family He wanted us to have. That's why we were born in the country that we were. God has a plan and His in control whether it looks like it at the time or not, and though it may look like there's no hope for our nation, there is. It's you and me. And if we follow God's principles that He has laid down in His word and we disciple others to do so as well. Then we can change America. And we will be the hope our nation so desperately needs.

Solus Christus,
Adam

P.S. Want to start being the hope? Sign this petition to free American Pastor Saeed from prison in Iran.

John Marshall

Celebrating the Great Chief Justice

     So, 212 years ago this day, the 4th (and in my humble opinion greatest) Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court received his commission. This man was the longest serving Chief Justice, participating in over 1,000 decisions, and personally writing 519 opinions. He also presided over Landmark decisions such as, Marbury v. Madison, Gibbons v. Ogden, and McCullough v. Maryland. His name? John Marshall.

John Marshall patriot and devoted Christian,
reinforced the principle of judicial review.

     John Marshall, the eldest of 15, was born in 1755 to gentleman farmer, Thomas Marshall, and his wife, Mary Isham Keith. In 1776, both Thomas and John joined the American war effort. John's father was given the rank of colonel and commanded of one of the Virginia regiments, and John became a lieutenant of the Culpepper Minutemen, seeing action at Iron Hill and Brandywine Creek. John was even with the army during the dreaded winter at Valley Forge. Where he was promoted to the rank of captain, and was appointed as Deputy Judge Advocate after demonstrating his ability to analyze legal cases. When the War for Independence was over, Washington himself, who had grown found of Marshall because of Marshall's cheery and reflective nature, urged Marshall to go into politics. In fact, when Washington became president, he offered Marshall the position of United States Attorney for Virginia. Which Marshall declined.

     Marshall was a marvelous attorney, and at the age of twenty five was winning nearly all his cases. When it came to debate, Justice Joseph Story once said that he, "Made it a rule in argument never to admit any proposition asserted by Marshall, however plain and unquestionable it might seem to be, for if the premises were once admitted,the conclusion, however apparently remote, flowed on with an irresistible certainty." In 1782, Marshall won a seat in the House of Delegates, and again in 1789. In 1795, Washington again made a proposition to Marshall, this time offering the coveted position of United States Attorney General. Marshall again denied. However, in 1799, Marshall consented, and ran for congress, winning easily.

     A year later, President John Adams appointed him as Secretary of State. Which he served the nation until the election of 1800. When the growing majority of Democratic-Republicans voted Adams out of office, and replaced him with Marshall's distant cousin, Thomas Jefferson. However, Marshall's career in politics was only just beginning, when Adams realized that a completely Democratic-Republic government would destroy all that the Federalists had worked so hard to build. Adams pleaded with Marshall asking him to take the position of Chief Justice, Marshall, a staunch Federalist himself, accepted. On January 31, 1801, he received his commission.

     To go on about Marshall victories as Chief Justice would be a tedious effort, and would result in a much longer post then the one I've already written! One more thing you should know about Marshall, besides that he defended the Constitution as the highest law in the nation, established judicial review, and made sure that we were a nation governed by laws not men, was that he was a devote follower of Christ. Though we have no quotes from him concerning his faith. There is a story found in the Winchester Republican, that reveals this man's devotion for his Master.

    Apparently, upon arriving at the McGuire Hotel, Marshall, disheveled after the ride, went into the tavern where unbeknownst to him a group of young men had gathered and were discussing the merits of Christianity. Marshall, sitting close by, listened intently. When, finally one of the men turned to him and asked, "Well my old gentlemen, what think you of these matters?" ( So, disheveled was Marshall that no one would guess that he was the Chief Justice.) According to the Republican, "Marshall responded with a 'most eloquent and unanswerable appeal.' He talked for an hour, answering 'every argument urged against' the teachings of Jesus. 'In the whole lecture, there was so much simplicity and energy, pathos and sublimity, that not another word was uttered.' The listeners wondered who the old man could be. Some thought him a preacher, and great was their surprise when they learned afterwards that he was the Chief Justice of the United States."

     America needs men like John Marshall, men who will stand for liberty, men who are virtuous, and  are, "always prepared to make a defense for the hope that lies within them" (see 1 Peter 3:15). Let us raise the next generation to be like this.


Solus Christus,
Adam

Restoring America

"The only foundation for a useful education in a republic is to be laid in religion. Without it there can be no virtue, and without virtue, there can be no liberty, and liberty is the object and life of all republican governments"                               

                                                   - Benjamin Rush  ,Father of the American public school



     Faith, virtue, and liberty. Those are the triumvirate of all free societies, and it doesn't take a long look at the situation of America today to see that we are undermining every one of them. All over the country Christians are being told that they can't share their faith, lawsuits are taking place to remove scripture, and the ten commandments especially, from court houses and other public areas. The crime rate is rising, as is the number of divorces, and out of wedlock births. The Democratic National Convention of 2012 chose a political platform of immorality, vowing to protect the people's "right" to promiscuous living, murdering innocent lives, and legalizing the self-destructive practice of homosexuality. As for liberty, just this month the Democrats in Washington have launched an all out attack on the second amendment.

     The foundations of America are crumbling, but they haven't fallen... Yet. Time is running out for America, and the only thing that can save her is Jesus Christ. We must renew our minds with a Christ-centered Biblical worldview, we must follow Christ's commands to form strong moral character, and we must stand for the protection of our God given rights of life and liberty. If we do not protect liberty we will oppress religion, and if we oppress religion we will squelch virtue, and our nation will collapse. Now is the time to act, now is the time to restore America, before it is to late.

Solus Christus,
Adam