THERE’S A HOLE IN THE SHIP

There’s a hole in the ship, and we’re going down—Titanic.

There’s a hole in the ship, and we’re going down—America.

The hole in the ship of America is abortion.

– – –

Lord, have mercy/judgment on the states that shake their fists in the face of God, and vehemently advocate enlarging the hole of abortion in the ship of America.

How long can this go on?

+mercy ? — How could that happen?”
Americans in abortion states would have to repent of personal sins and repent of voting for democrats.
All but two democrats (from Texas) voted against a bill in the House of Representatives to keep babies alive that survive abortion.

+judgment ? — How could that happen?
God has His ways—look through history and His Word, what He does with “the wicked” and “all the nations that forget God.”
The only judgment that is off limits for God is a worldwide flood.
He used enemy armies.
He used slavery.
He used snakes.
He used earthquakes.
He used cracks in the ground that swallowed thousands.
He used fire and brimstone (supernatural nukes).
He used wars.
He used drought.
He used famine.
He used famine of His Word.
He used death.
He used “giving them over” to their own abominations, with natural consequences.

The judgments of 9-11 worked for only a few weeks.
The economic judgment of 2008 brought change in finances without change in hearts.
Tests in weather and tests in power grid failures don’t seem to change anything.
Increased murders and isolated terrorist attacks don’t bring repentance to revival.

– – –

So how could judgment of God happen today?
He will decide how.
BUT HE WILL JUDGE ! ! !
He could bury California in the Pacific.
He could bury New York and Washington in nuclear rubble.
He could bury all our technology in fried electronics with the sun or an emp.
He could order a hundred or a thousand simultaneous terrorist attacks to bring us to our knees.
He could let ninety percent of Americans starve without electricity.

– – –

We are totally dependent on everything that is fragile, but not dependent on God.
AND THAT IS UNSUSTAINABLE.
How about you ?

– – –

God bless the states that end this disaster of abortion now.
But they are still part of America, at least for now.
Just like this country 160 years ago in the Civil War, “this union cannot exist half slave and half free”—likewise America today cannot survive, cannot endure half death and half life.

THE NEW ULTIMATE

One—Subjective Feelings is the Ultimate Guide.

Two—Subjective Happiness is the Ultimate Goal.

Three—Judging is the Ultimate Sin.

Four—God is the Ultimate Guess.

Compliments of Natasha Crain and Alisa Childers.
natashacrain.com
alisachilders.com

MODERN AMERICAN SLAVERY

What does all slavery, in any time of history, depend on to maintain stability between owner and slave?

Think for a moment about different examples of slavery.

What do they have in common?

– – –

+First, the master/slave relationship is not open for negotiation—at least not by the slave.

+The master can only make limited concessions, because he must maintain complete control. If he relaxes control, he will likely lose the slave—and every slave means money for the master.

+So, money is the motivation for the slave owner.

– – –

What is the motivation for the slave, if any?

– – –

+Some slaves are captured and forced into slavery—no motivation.

+Some are enticed or seduced into slavery—motivated by promises of a better life, anything but the current desperation.

+But many enter into slavery by choice—that makes motivation a mystery.

– – –

In modern America, there are two MAJOR cases of widespread slavery where money is the motivation for the slave.

Everyone is encouraged and expected to participate in insurance and retirement.

Americans sacrifice whatever it takes to pay for insurance and stash money for retirement.

This is a recent phenomenon—not universally applicable around the world and not throughout history.

– – –

The prosperity of Americans has recently fueled their perceived need to protect what they have, out of fear that they may lose it—so they pay a lot for insurance, to ‘guarantee’ they can’t lose money, even if they lose property.

The insurance industry is the modern American slave owner, with ever-increasing power and control that makes Americans slaves to insurance.

Fear—fear of loss, and fear of illness—is the motivation for people choosing to slave over insurance payments, that master their lives now.

– – –

The prosperity of Americans has also recently fueled their perceived need to save a lot of money for someday when they don’t have to work, or can’t work—so they pay a lot for retirement, and spend a lot of attention investing that money to protect it and make more money.

Providing for retirement has become such a universal expectation, that you can’t feel right if you don’t.

Fear—fear of less productive senior years, and fear of health crises—is the motivation to slave over storing money now for then, robbing time and resources to enjoy now and use to help others.

The other motivation for sacrificing to build a retirement portfolio is the lifelong goal to just take it easy and enjoy everything one day.

We are slaves to whatever becomes our all-consuming priority, especially for a lifetime.

Reflections on insurance.

Insurance may promise money to pay for loss of stuff, but it does not prevent the loss.

Insurance also promises to pay for damage or injuries from accidents or illness or safety violations, but insurance does not inherently make products safer or guarantee health.

Insurance is like the lottery (called the moron tax)—people voluntarily pay money, with the hope of getting back more than they paid. The odds of winning with insurance? If you lose big, you win big. Kinda odd.

Insurance has grown so big, so fast, that it has become all-consuming for Americans to pay for it, and for the government to regulate it, and that not very successfully.

Reflections on retirement.

How much of the world, and how much of history, has seen such a large percentage of the population saving money for retirement, as in modern America?

As long as the economy sustains stability until a person retires and spends his retirement, there is not much argument against it, but there is still a case for calling it slavery.

About half a century ago, Daddy observed that young people became more concerned about the benefits package of a job than the pay.

Both employers and employees must calculate the extra costs, and added compensation, before agreeing on a job.

The result—ever higher prices for products and services, so we all become slave partners.

FAITHFULNESS IN AFRICA TODAY

This will be my longest post on this site, in over a decade of writing. It is a copy of something I read this morning from a leader in the Anglican church of Africa, responding to The Church of England endorsing the blessing of gay ‘marriage.’ The title above tells you what I think—thank God for such leadership coming from Africa. All Christians do well to learn and heed the following.

Statement by Archbishop Stephen Kaziimba on Behalf of the Anglican Church of Uganda

February 10, 2023

Good morning, our Media Evangelists, and Praise God from Whom all Blessings Flow!

I have invited you here today to update you and, through you, all our Christians here in Uganda about some recent decisions the Church of England has made. I want to explain them very well to all of us and also explain the Church of Uganda’s position.

The Church of England’s Decision

The General Synod of the Church of England (their top governing body, like our Provincial Assembly) sat yesterday and passed several resolutions that are of great concern to us in Uganda. They have decided to allow clergy to preside at Blessings of Same-sex Unions and have approved supplemental prayers and liturgies for such occasions.

The Church of England is very good at making contradictory statements and expecting everyone to believe both can be true at the same time. That’s what they have done with this decision.

On the one hand, they say that the Church of England has not changed its doctrine of marriage, namely that marriage is a lifelong union between one man and one woman.

On the other hand, they are giving clergy permission to preside at services of Blessing for same-sex unions, especially for gay couples who are already considered “married” by the British government. In other words, a gay couple joined together in a civil marriage would then go to the church to receive prayers of blessing.

The only significant difference between a wedding and a service of “blessing” is the terminology used.

The Church of England insists it is not changing its doctrine of marriage. But, in practice, they are doing precisely that. You may read various articles, opinions, and commentaries on this decision that try to justify its action.

But, what I want you to know is that if it looks like a wedding, and sounds like a wedding… it IS a wedding.

The Church of Uganda’s Position

Now, I want to talk about the position of the Church of Uganda. There have been very many questions about it in light of this terrible decision of the Church of England.

1. First, from the first page of the Bible in the book of Genesis to the last page of the Bible in the book of Revelation, it is clear that God’s design for human flourishing is that we are part of a family – a family that is defined as one man and one woman united in holy matrimony for life and, God willing, a union that produces children. God’s Word has said that the only context for sexual relationships is in the context of a marriage of one man and one woman.

2. Second. Because lifelong, exclusive marriage between one man and one woman is the only context for sexual relationships, the Bible calls any other kind of sexual relationship a sin. Whether it is adultery, or fornication, or polygamy, or homosexual relationships. They are all sin and they all separate us from God.

a. That means sleeping with your girlfriend or your boyfriend before marriage is a sin.

b. That means that if you are married and have a “side dish,” that is a sin.

c. That means that if you take a second or third wife that is a sin.

d. That means if you engage in homosexual or same-sex sexual relationships, that is a sin.

Yes, God can forgive you, but it requires that you come before God, confess that you have done wrong, and make a commitment to change your way of life – in other words, to repent – and walk in God’s ways.

3. Third. When Jesus was questioned about a woman caught in adultery, he told her to “Go, and sin no more.”

There is a lot of sexual sin in Uganda. I know that, and you know that. Nevertheless, we haven’t changed our message. Our message is the message of the Bible, which is, “Go, and sin no more.”

The Church of England, on the other hand, has now departed from the Bible and their new message is the opposite message of the Bible. They are now saying, “Go, and sin some more.”

They are even offering to bless that sin.

That is wrong.

As Church of Uganda we cannot accept that. God cannot bless what He calls sin.

We all know the story of the Uganda Martyrs, how they refused to engage in homosexual sex with their leaders. They stood firm in their Christian faith and were martyred for it. We cannot betray them or our Lord Jesus Christ. We will not betray the Word of God or His ways. The Bible tells us that Jesus alone is “the way, the truth, and the life,” and that he is the same “yesterday, today, and forever.”

Jesus does not change his mind about what is sinful. Instead, Jesus gives us a way out of a bondage to sin by putting our trust and faith in him as our Saviour and Lord. That’s why it’s possible for us to “Go, and sin no more.”

Important Background

The suicidal path the Church of England has now taken began in the Anglican Communion in 2003 when The Episcopal Church in America consecrated a gay man as a Bishop. As Church of Uganda, we broke fellowship with them at that time, and we have maintained that they are the ones who have left the Anglican faith and, therefore, the Anglican Communion.

In 2008 when the Archbishop of Canterbury refused to discipline The American Episcopal Church for their action, Archbishops from Bible-believing Anglican Provinces around the world organized the first Gafcon conference to bring us together under the Lordship of Christ and the authority of the Bible. Gafcon has always said, “We are not leaving the Anglican Communion; we ARE the Anglican Communion.”

Likewise, the Global South Fellowship of Anglicans has said the same thing. “We are not leaving the Anglican Communion; we ARE the Anglican Communion.”

The Way Forward

We now want to ask the Church of England, “Do you have the integrity to step out of the Anglican Communion because you have departed from the Anglican faith?” God called you to preach a Gospel of repentance and faith. Instead, you’re like Jonah. You have disobeyed and are running in the opposite direction.

God called the church to go to Nineveh and preach repentance, but the Church of England is running to Tarshish and preaching acceptance of sin. There is no way we are walking together.

The Church of England, together with the Episcopal Church in America, the Anglican Church of Canada, the Church in Wales, the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Episcopal Anglican Church of Brazil, and others – these are the Provinces that have walked away, but we pray for them to repent.

And, if they refuse to repent, then we call on them to have the integrity to form their own Canterbury Communion because what they believe is not Anglicanism and it is not the faith once delivered to the saints.

If they want to take their whole church into the belly of a whale, they are free to do that; we are, after all, autonomous Anglican Provinces. We think it’s a bad idea, but they are free to do it.

But, they are NOT free to drag the whole Anglican Communion with them. The Anglican Communion is NOT an extension of the Church of England.

The Church of England has departed from the Anglican faith and are now false teachers. We fear Jesus’ words for them, “If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.” (Rev 2.5b) It’s that serious.

The Church of Uganda has more than 200 members traveling to Kigali in April for the 4th Global Gafcon meeting. We will be there with many Bible-believing Archbishops, Bishops, and Anglicans from all over Africa and the world. These are the ones who have not bowed their knee to Baal. (1 Kings 19.18)

We shall pray, and sit together, and discern the mind of Christ for the way forward. I ask your prayers for wisdom, for, indeed, we need the wisdom of Solomon to know how to faithfully respond to the crisis at hand.

Finally, now that our children are back in school, beware of the well-funded Gay organizations that are recruiting our children into homosexuality. Not only in Kampala, but all over the country. They target our poverty and promise our youth money.

To our youth – if someone invites you to a function and offers you a big transport refund, those are probably bad people. Say “No” to it. And, if you have already been exploited or abused by such groups, please go to your Bishop for prayer, support, and guidance. You will be received with love and compassion.

To our Head Teachers – if an organization is bringing money and resources to your school, or inviting your students to a function, do your research. Make sure you know who they really are.

My fellow Ugandans – we cannot serve God and mammon. We cannot serve God and money. Do not lose your soul because you think you will gain the whole world through the money they offer you. Do not think you can take the money, but not fall into their trap. It’s a lie; you are being exploited with that money.

The Bible says, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” So, just say, “No.”

I am here today to declare, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!”

The House of Bishops is united on this. The Provincial Assembly is united on this – “As for me and the Church of Uganda, we will serve the Lord.”

To God be the glory!

The Most Rev. Dr. Stephen Samuel Kaziimba Mugalu

ARCHBISHOP OF CHURCH OF UGANDA.

A WOMAN HAS A RIGHT ! ! !

Every woman (young or old) has every right to do with her body what she wants* and what she will be satisfied to live with for the rest of her life.

This includes the right to not be pressured by individuals or current cultural campaigns that persuade her to do something she will regret, permanently.

This includes anything that alters and/or harms her body with long-term consequences.

1—A woman (young or older) has a right to not be sexually mutilated by anyone, even with her consent—just as surely as a woman has a right to not be sexually molested (raped) by anyone, even with her consent.

How ridiculous the parallel of rape by consent—yet sexual mutilation with the new fad of transgender, is actually more permanently harmful physically that rape, and the psychological consequences later loom very great, because it is a choice a woman does not have to make.

2—A woman (young or older) has a right to not kill her baby, either by her choice or by others’ pressure.

A woman has a right to not be physically harmed by anyone with the procedure (even when termed ‘successful’), which will have lifelong negative consequences, physical and psychological.

3—A woman (young, very young, or older) has every right to not be killed by anyone, ever, at any age of her life, for any reason whatsoever.

 A woman has that right that no other woman or man has a right to take from her—by decision (‘choice’), by procedure.

This includes the right to not be murdered weeks or months after she started living, before she has the power to make the decision.

The right to life without the choice to live ?

4—A man (young, very young, or older) has every right to not be killed by anyone, ever, at any age of his life, for any reason whatsoever.

A man has that right that no other man or woman has a right to take from him—by decision (‘choice’), by procedure.

This includes the right to not be murdered weeks or months after he started living, before he has the power to make the decision.

The right to life without the choice to live ?

THE RIGHT TO LIFE WITHOUT THE CHOICE TO LIVE ! ! !

That is inhuman, evil, unholy, unGodly, unAmerican, unfeminine, unwomanly, abominable—WITH CONSEQUENCES we’ve only begun to see.

– – –

+God sees !

+Just wait !

+Just watch !

+Just do everything you can to “save those being led away to slaughter.”

*Unless the woman or the man is a Christian.  Then this applies, “Don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, which is in you, which you have from God, and you are not your own?  Therefore, glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

UNPRECEDENTED – – – UNPRESIDENTIAL

Biden gave China all the intelligence they were looking for with their spy balloon.

And it wasn’t the military information they gathered that was most significant.

Our number one enemy now knows that the U S commander-in-chief will not act to protect this country.

Never before, treasonous betrayal—UNPRECEDENTED !

Never before, surrender from the White House—UNPRESIDENTIAL !

Now, absolutely RIGHT NOW, the most important question that remains for this country:

Will swift justice be served for this betrayal, for this treason?

We dare not wait for a next time ! ! !

(UN)INTENDED CONSEQUENCES – – – (UN)INFORMED

If we “change the truth of God into a lie,” all kinds of bad things happen.

If you recoil over that statement, consider this:

+ Sometimes we “change the truth” by choice because we don’t like it.

+ Sometimes we “change the truth” because we never heard the truth.

+ Sometimes we “change the truth” because someone lied to us—someone who didn’t know the truth.

+ Sometimes we “change the truth” because someone lied to us—someone who knew the truth and hated it.

+ Sometimes we “change the truth” because we suppress the truth built into us—we invent “my truth”  that “works for me.”

+ Sometimes we “change the truth” because we’re saturated with news media and entertainment media.

+ Sometimes we “change the truth” because judges change the rules.

+ Sometimes we “change the truth” because people want power and feed us lies to get it.

Example:

Charles Darwin invented evolution to avoid the truth of accountability to God.  If we happened by chance, we don’t have to answer to anybody in charge.  (Evolution is a man-made invention—not a scientific discovery.)

Today, students (who have now become adults) are told evolution is a fact, against the truth and against all evidence.  Evolution is non-sense and non-science.

Example:

The boatloads of nonsense now introduced in American public schools are hardly even veiled for the non-truth, for the lies, they are based on.

Tragic, criminal, disastrous ideas tell younger and younger children they should . . .

+choose their sex—change their sex

+blame someone else for everything—blame themselves for everything

+find fault with capitalism—find future with socialism

+destroy America—devote to our enemies

+criticize and cancel God and the Bible and Christianity—condone and endorse everything evil.

The Bible is true—always has been, always will be—no man can change it.

Jesus is The Truth—Jesus is The Way—Jesus is The Life (the only Truth, the only Way, the only Life).

A couple Bible verses about Jesus, the foundation rock:

“The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone.
This was the Lord’s doing,
And it is marvelous in our eyes

And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.”

I urge the reader to reject the tsunami of untruth that is inundating the world today, and fall at the feet of Jesus, broken for your sin, and receive Life and Truth from Him, and the only Way with Him now and forever.

WARNING—THEOLOGIANS AT WORK

One of the greatest dangers for theologians, and their ongoing universal practices, and their followers, is this:

Theologians (who by their education believe they know more about God) make statements of doctrine in their own words.

Then these theologians must use Bible verses to back up and defend their statements.

Then other theologians who disagree with those doctrine statements must use Bible verses to refute them and defend their own opposing position.

Then all the non-theologians are confused—how can these learned men of God disagree so firmly on so many matters?

Then all the non-theologians have to pick sides, and in turn disagree with each other, and label each other, even separate from each other, and even worship separately.

This is not necessary!

What starts all this?

What keeps all this going?

Can all this be stopped?

HOW?

+What starts all this?

In all walks of life, there are those who want power to control people by any means possible.

We recognize the more obvious means of military might to control people.

We don’t as readily notice the economic means to control.

We get angry but helpless when we see orchestrated chaos causing displacement and hunger, as means to control.

We all have vulnerable spiritual needs, which are exploited repeatedly throughout history, as means to control—lots of people falling prey to educated leaders ‘speaking for God’ (in reality, ‘for god’).

+What keeps all this going?

Whenever individuals (and in turn the organizations they create) gain power to control people, innate human nature compels them to hold on to the power and control, by all means possible.

Until people rise up and face the power head-on, accepting the consequences, those at the top keep control over people for decades, or centuries, or in the case of theologians (the church) for millenia.

In one sense this defies logic, how religious power maintains control longer than even military power.

Kingdoms come and go, including dictators, while the church sets up structure that people succumb to, then voluntarily subscribe to forever.

Slaves built the pyramids (for religious reasons), poor people built cathedrals (buying indulgences for forgiveness for dead relatives), suicide bombers guarantee provision for their families (promised by their religion), and even today at the highest levels of churches, people accept and believe their eternal spiritual welfare is covered, by doing what the leaders tell them to do.

Amazingly the churches don’t all say the same thing—just follow what our church says, because our theologians have a corner on the spiritual market.

People desperately want to belong to something, and people desperately want to be told they’ll be okay after they die—so they will believe anything.

What keeps all this going—money, money, money—food, food, food—survival, at all cost, including the cost of losing freedom (freedom to think, freedom to own property, freedom to read the Bible, and in America, freedom to live out our convictions in public and in business).

So what do church leaders (theologians) do to maintain control when the prevailing beliefs in the culture turn against Christians and the Bible?

Sadly, history records religious compromise and sufficiently modified doctrine statements to prevent revolution in the church and still capitalize on universal, ongoing spiritual needs.

+Can all this be stopped?

If history is any indication, the answer is “no.”

But there are exceptions in history to the patterns of history.

+How?

Power (control) is relinquished only by force—sometimes military invasion, sometimes revolution, sometimes widespread protest, sometimes superior ideology, sometimes religious persuasion, sometimes spiritual revival—all including conviction and sacrifice.

Spiritual revolution, like other revolutions, can happen when enough people get sick and tired enough of control by a few at the top, and use any means possible to throw them out of power.  And they pay a price in the process.

Spiritual revolution, unlike other revolutions, happens when people remember that God answers prayer for change—change that moves people to get right with God instead of religiously correct with man.  And they pay a price in the process.

Man’s power, however high and mighty, however clothed in spiritual garb, is no match for the power of God changing lives.

Then people find that they don’t need the fake church leaders, more interested in perpetuating their power than promoting the real power of the Holy Spirit.

And where do people go from there?

Continued intense prayer and searching the Word of God gives comfort, courage, and direction.

Faith to face persecution, life-sustaining fellowship with a few faithful Christians, and God honors a remnant of true believers with His presence and joy in the midst of suffering and sacrifice.

“For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.  But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;  and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.”

“They searched the Scriptures daily, to see if the things were true, which were taught to them.”

“My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.”

Teachers in the church? Yes, but with fear and trembling, not for power.

A WOMAN HAS A RIGHT ! ! !

Every woman (young or old) has every right to do with her body what she wants,* and what she will be satisfied to live with for the rest of her life.

This includes the right to not be pressured by individuals or current cultural campaigns that persuade her to do something she will regret, permanently.

This includes anything that alters and/or harms her body with long-term consequences.

1—A woman (young or older) has a right to not be sexually mutilated by anyone, even with her consent—just as surely as a woman has a right to not be sexually molested (raped) by anyone, even with her consent.

How ridiculous the parallel of rape by consent—yet sexual mutilation with the new fad of transgender, is actually more permanently harmful physically that rape, and the psychological consequences later loom very great, because it is a choice a woman does not have to make.

2—A woman (young or older) has a right to not kill her baby, either by her choice or by others’ pressure.

A woman has a right to not be physically harmed by anyone with the procedure (even when termed ‘successful’), which will have lifelong negative consequences, physical and psychological.

3—A woman (young, very young, or older) has every right to not be killed by anyone, ever, at any age of her life, for any reason whatsoever.

 A woman has that right that no other woman or man has a right to take from her—by decision (‘choice’), by procedure.

This includes the right to not be murdered weeks or months after she started living, before she has the power to make the decision.

The right to life without the choice to live ?

4—A man (young, very young, or older) has every right to not be killed by anyone, ever, at any age of his life, for any reason whatsoever.

A man has that right that no other man or woman has a right to take from him—by decision (‘choice’), by procedure.

This includes the right to not be murdered weeks or months after he started living, before he has the power to make the decision.

The right to life without the choice to live ?

THE RIGHT TO LIFE WITHOUT THE CHOICE TO LIVE ! ! !

That is inhuman, evil, unholy, unGodly, unAmerican, unfeminine, unwomanly, abominable—WITH CONSEQUENCES we’ve only begun to see.

– – –

+God sees !

+Just wait !

+Just watch !

+Just do everything you can to “save those being led away to slaughter.”

*Unless the woman or the man is a Christian.  Then this applies, “Don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, which is in you, which you have from God, and you are not your own?  Therefore, glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

MINDSET TO MAKE A SOLDIER

+Focused for conflict.

+Trained for combat.

+Hardened for battle.

+Ready for sacrifice.

+Covered by your buddies.

+Covering your buddies.

+Obedient to your captain.

+Dedicated to the cause.

+Complete commitment, not for glory or reward.

+Give all, spend all, leave all on the field of battle.

– – –

A soldier is not trained to negotiate.

A soldier is trained to kill the enemy and break his stuff.

– – –

What can Christians learn from a soldier ?

What can Christians learn from the Bible to make a soldier ?

– – –

America’s mindset about the military and war has changed, and along with it the mindset of the American church and American Christians has changed.

Americans are focused on avoiding conflict/war, believing we actually can avoid war, resulting in reducing our readiness for war, increasing our vulnerability to our enemies.

This is becoming obvious in America’s national security crisis.

This is not so obvious in America’s national spiritual crisis—with the church in a seriously weakened state.

For decades now the church has focused on feeling good and sounding positive and fitting in and following.

– – –

One way or another American Christians must learn how to be soldiers of the cross.

Biblical bootcamp may have felt foreign for some time now, but it will be familiar again soon.

Following Jesus is not easy – – –

“Fight the good fight of faith, and in the end receive the salvation of your souls.”

“Endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.”

“We must through much tribulation enter the kingdom of heaven.”

“Finish out your salvation with fear and trembling.”

“You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood, striving against sin.”

“Remember those in prison for their faith, as though you are there with them.”

“Be faithful unto death, and I will give you a crown of life.”