Our Choices and Our Country

To the editor:

I am so blessed to be a citizen of a country where I have freedom of choice. However, if I use that freedom to make choices that are detrimental to me, that freedom ultimately does me no good. If there is a huge car lot full of vehicles that I can choose from, but only one of them actually has an engine, then simply having freedom of choice isn’t much use unless I choose the car with the engine.

We have complete freedom of religion. We can believe anything we choose; the God of the Bible, Jesus, the Quran and Muhammed, Mormonism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Agnosticism, Atheism, etc. But simply believing something, no matter how strongly, has no bearing whatsoever on whether it is true. The vast majority of beliefs are taught beliefs, usually from a young age. They become instilled “truths” in a person, without them ever genuinely researching what they were taught and seriously considering that what they were taught might not be true.

The most important subject of most religions is what happens to us in eternity when this short earthly life ends. That makes plenty of sense because deep down we know the eternal is infinitely more important than the temporary. If there is one thing that all the religions would have to agree on it is this – there can only be one truth about where we came from, why we are here, and what happens after this life. What could be more important than searching for that truth?

I was raised in a denominational religion that taught there was a loving, merciful, and just God that created all things and all people. After high school I made the choice to turn from those teachings so that I could pursue life on my own terms. I became increasingly miserable because what the world had to offer gave no genuine purpose, security, or peace of mind. It became plain to me that I, and everyone else, needed to know the ultimate truth about things. I asked myself what the chances were that I just so happened to be raised in the correct religion when there were millions of people that were taught and believed something completely different.

I realized nothing could be more important than finding the truth about life, because that truth has eternal implications.

I started from scratch and began an exhaustive study which included the major religions mentioned above. It stretched over several years. I researched when, where, why and who started them and what they believed. As part of this, I read the entire Bible for the first time in my life.

I could write a book on my research, but I will cut right to the chase. The massive corroborating evidence over the last six thousand years for God, His word the Bible, his son Jesus, and his Holy Spirit absolutely dwarfed any evidence of the other beliefs. But that actually was not the most convincing thing. The most compelling thing was what I read in the Bible itself. My eyes were opened to the incredible knowledge and wisdom the authors were given to reveal the truth about God, his son, and mankind to the world. It was clear to me the minds of natural, sinful men would never have written such things without the divine revelation they were given.

The Holy Spirit put a drawing on my heart that I earnestly pursued, and that led me to Christianity – the car with the engine.

So why do others read the same Bible (or choose to not read it) and not see it as truth? The answer to that is found in the Bible. It says God draws all men to himself, through his Holy Spirit, but gives us a free will to pursue that or reject it. 1 Corinthians 2:14 says “The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.”

The parable of the four soils (Matthew 13:1-23) explains that the word of God is like seeds and people are like four different kinds of soil. If you read that parable you will see how it explains exactly what you see in the world around you, and why there are relatively few true Christians, who are actual followers of Jesus Christ. Also read Matthew 7:13,14.

What does scripture say about those that either directly or passively reject God and His word? It says repeated, continuous rejection hardens the heart. Those calloused hearts can be seen in many of the letters that appear in this newspaper each week. The authors of these letters try to do what Colossians 2:4 warns about.. “… deceive you by fine-sounding arguments.” Here are a few of the many Bible passages about people that ignore, distort, reject, or suppress the truth, and have no excuse for it.

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” Romans 1:18-21 Continuing through verse 32, it says God gives people up to a debased mind when they reject Him enough. A definition of debased is “a state of severe moral corruption where an individual’s internal moral compass is so distorted that they can no longer accurately discern right from wrong.” This is a very accurate description of what is called the “far left.”

So when it comes to our Country, were the majority of our Founding Fathers Christians, and did they use Christianity as a basis for creating this nation and writing the constitution? To research an accurate answer to that question, one would have to include the book “America’s God and Country” by William J. Federer. It includes over 2,100 quotes from a wide range of sources, including the Founding Fathers, military leaders, African-American leaders, presidents, court decisions, and more. It focuses on our nation’s Godly heritage and covers topics like freedom, faith, and government. My research tells me the single greatest influence and source of wisdom used by the Founding Fathers was the Bible.

But whether or not our nation was founded on Chrisitianity is by far not the most important question. The most important question is, “Is Christianity true?” If it is not true, then I would hope we were not based on it then or now. If it is true, then I would certainly hope our nation is based on it, at least now, if not from the beginning.

This nation was founded on Christian principles. Even our money says “In God We Trust”. Because we did trust him, he blessed this nation in a way that made it the greatest and most powerful nation in the world. But the Bible tells us there will be erosion and what we can expect to see in the end times. Read Matthew 24, Luke 21, and 2 Timothy 3, and you will see an accurate description of what we clearly see right now.

Here is a quote from one source “When a society is driven entirely by self-interest and material gain, absolute truth is rejected. As a result, the culture naturally transitions into calling evil good to justify its own selfish desires.” Perfect examples of this are abortions, same-sex relationships, and transgenderism. These sins, and all other sins are a result of rejecting God.

The extremely good news is that no matter what we have done, God is willing to forgive us if we turn from all sin and genuinely accept his son as our Lord and Savior. Jesus completely paid the full price for all of our sin on the cross. All we have to do is accept what He did, receive the free gift of salvation (eternal life), and no matter what happens in this world, the battle has already been won for you and me.

The events happening in the world right now certainly appear to me as bible prophecy unfolding. The good news is that means we are closer than ever to the time when this scripture will be fulfilled… “As surely as I live’, says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me: every tongue will acknowledge God.” Romans 14:11 I strongly encourage my children to reduce or eliminate the ton of wasted time spent on ungodly social media, keeping up with other people’s lives, and other internet crud and use the internet to feed their brains godly things. We are what we feed ourselves physically and mentally. Seek God by making quality time every day to read the Bible and pray. That is literally the ultimate answer to all the worldly problems.