General

Happy New Year. I hope you had a meaningful holiday season with family and friends. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen in Washington, D.C. as our leaders were engaged with the so-called fiscal cliff–an array of tax increases and budget cuts that needed to be dealt with by December 31.

I am making a resolution for my columns in 2013–to mince no words as to the dangers we face in the coming months and years. This era is akin to the 1930s which foreshadowed world upheaval and war.

I commit to be a Dietrich Bonhoeffer who dares to speak up.

Here is my take on the “fiscal cliff” and the forces we are facing in 2013.

First of all, let’s summarize what came out of the legislation that was passed by a sizeable Senate margin of 89-8 and a 257 to 167 count in the House which included support from 172 of the chamber’s Democrats and just 85 of the 242 Republicans.

The positives:

• The Bush tax cuts on lower and middle class taxpayers were permanently left in place, thus not raising income taxes on 86% of the American people. Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax reform said that “When Democrats wake up they will realize they just made most of the Bush tax cuts permanent and lost their leverage for the next four years.”
• The deal also nixed a scheduled pay raise for members of Congress signed by Executive Order by President Obama. (I don’t think they deserve it.)

The negatives:

• The measure increases “taxes on the rich” by letting the top income tax rate rise immediately from 35 percent to 39.6 percent on income over $450,000 for married couples and $400,000 for single people. This first-in-twenty-year tax increase will hurt small businesses and the job producers of the nation.
• This is not a “balanced” approach to the nation’s fiscal problems. In the bill, there is only $1 in cuts for $41 in various tax increases.
• The deal also means higher taxes on 77% of households via increased payroll deductions. This will add up to about $1635 per family.
• According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the measure adds 3.9 trillion dollars in debt to the exploding US deficit (over ten years).
• The bill increases government spending by 330 billion dollars.
• Many “earmarks” were thrown in for favored groups including tax breaks for Hollywood films, millions for rum producers, subsidies for green energy including $59 million for algae producers, milk subsidies, ad nauseam.
• Our fearless leaders “kicked the can down the road” on dealing with the 16.3 trillion dollar debt ceiling as well as the sequestration budget cuts. Sixty days from now we’ll be back in full-blown crisis mode.
• The $650 billion fiscal cliff distracted us from the true $48 trillion looming fiscal time bomb—the long-term funding obligations of Social Security and Medicare (not counting Obamacare).

That last bullet is the most significant. If yesterday’s crisis was a “fiscal cliff”, then the real cataclysmic disaster we are facing is a fiscal black hole in outer space: scores of trillions in fiat-money debt with no courage to tackle or repay it.

The Fiscal Cliff Crisis truly reveals the forces at work in America.

DESTROYERS

This is not too strong a word to describe our current Administration and its secular-progressive allies in the House and Senate. Many of our current leaders are doing nothing less than destroying the American Dream and our freedom-influence around the world.

I am not judging their motives–only God knows the heart. In fact, I will give them the benefit of the doubt that most of them actually believe they are doing “good” for the American people. A spirit of deception brings moral dyslexia. (Representative Nancy Pelosi called the fiscal cliff bill “a happy start to a new year.”) But regardless of motivation, what our president and his Congressional allies are doing is destroying the godly foundations of the American nation.

Consciously or unconsciously, they are systematically removing America’s long-held biblical values in three areas:

1. They are destroying faith in the land. Hence the “war on Christmas,” the suppression of religious values in the public square, and forcing people of faith to go against their convictions via Obamacare contraception and abortion mandates. The secular-progressives want a secular America (Europe-style). That necessities a crusade against biblical faith.

2. They are destroying the family via changing the definition of marriage, rewarding babies born out of wedlock (currently 40% of births and 76% in the black community) and creating a government-dependency mentality. The family used to be the biblical bedrock of American society. Secularism’s encouragement of free sex and no moral judgments is destroying the family structure in this nation.

3. They are destroying economic freedom and prosperity in this nation. This is the indirect consequence of damaging faith and family, but it is also directly promoted through the growth of government power and control. Yesterday’s legislation really did nothing except raise taxes. And “the power to tax is the power to destroy” (John Marshall). Think on that again. When you raise taxes you lose liberty. If God only requires 10% (the tithe), and Joseph considered 20% taxation in Egypt to be high (Genesis 47:24), then what is 39% (or 70% in France)?

It is the power to destroy.

When I watched Vice President Joe Biden, and Senators Patty Murray and Dick Durbin strut through the Capitol Building on New Year’s Eve on their way to a meeting with President Obama, I knew that, whether it was conscious or not, we were looking at destroyers.

Secularism will change America. It will destroy the country and eventually persecute people of faith.

WIMPS

I believe this label applies to many in the Republican ranks. I personally like John Boehner (he  pronounces his name like mine), and others, but Winston Churchills they are not. In fact, for the past seventy years since the time of Franklin Roosevelt, the Republicans have primarily gone along with the growth of government. Even Ronald Reagan didn’t reverse it, just retarded its growth for a generation.

In fairness, during most of those decades R’s were in the minority and did their best to encourage fiscal restraint. But over time, the Republican establishment also gave in to the pressures of lobbyists, constituents who wanted goodies, and the power trap of Washington, D.C. and did not fight effectively for limited government and human freedom.

Courageous they were not. Wimpy in the face of pressure is a better metaphor. I believe there are a few bright spots among them. Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, Mike Lee and Eric Cantor–along with 157 other Republican representatives–voted against increasing taxes during this weak receovery. Others made the case that making the Bush tax cuts permanent was a victory of sorts.

But steely-spined, courageous leaders are desperately needed on both sides of the aisle. Will they emerge in the coming years of financial reckoning?

CHEERLEADERS

The other ominous problem in American politics today is the clear secular bias of most of the old guard American media. They are clearly “cheerleading” the ascendancy of secularism in the world as a whole. They are pom-pom holders for the Destroyers and antagonists of the Wimps.

Some call this group the “Mainstream” or “Lamestream” Media. Let’s be clear who they are:

• the influential New York Times who many media outlets look to for the daily news feed.
• Other newspapers including the Washington Post and LA Times and others. The Associated Press is strongly committed to the secular-progressive vision.
• Then there are the major networks–CBS, NBC, and ABC–and cable-based CNN and MSNBC.
• Finally, add to them the new media of Moveon.org, the Huffington Post, Media Matters, etc.

All of these groups actively campaigned for Barack Obama and his cohorts in the past two elections. The news media used to be the “Fourth Estate” that kept all politicians honest.

No more. They are clearly the “cheerleaders” of the secular progressive revolution and take utter delight when it triumphs (think Chris Matthews). They bury stories that hurt the cause (Benghazi), promote stories that help it (“The War on Women”), and try to take down faith-oriented candidates (Allen West comes to mind).

They also try to keep the Wimps in line through flattery or intimidation.

The Destroyers/Cheerleaders are a powerful coalition in 21st century America. We will either pooh-pooh their reality or downplay their power at our own peril.

THE ILL INFORMED

This group now makes up a significant portion of the America electorate–probably over fifty percent. They were educated in secular schools, got their degrees at secular universities, or have simply joined the secular pastimes of entertainment and consumerism.

I am always amazed when hearing interviews of average Americans “on the street”–especially those who are under thirty. They often can’t name the vice president, any Supreme Court justices, or have the foggiest idea of the great issues of the day. They’re too busy playing video-games, partying, or watching television. They know who Lady Gaga is but not Mitch McConnell. They can name the past three winners of “American Idol” but not one of their two US Senators.

They couldn’t define “freedom” if you gave them Blackstone’s Communtaries. In fact, they couldn’t read it because the language is too high.

Here’s how sad it is. I spoke with a Christian senior citizen this week who watches ABC News and was delighted that taxes are going up on millionaire athletes and entertainers. She thought they were the “rich”–not job producers and small business owners. If this wonderful person is ill-informed because of her choice of news source, then what about the rest who are only watching Saturday Night Live?

The Bible warns that “my people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6). Thomas Jefferson said that “The price of liberty is eternal vigilance.”

An ill-informed electorate will be slaves. They already are to entertainment

THE REMNANT

I believe there is still a remnant in this nation who love God and liberty and “understand the times with a knowledge of what we should do” (1 Chronicles 12:32). But this group is shrinking and is in desperate need of revival and enlargement.

Are you a part, and what would God have you do?

After watching the 2012 election results and, more recently, the fiscal cliff debate, I believe the most relevant verse for America in 2013 may be found in the words of Jesus in Luke 22:53:

“This is your moment, when the power of darkness reigns.“

(My second choice is Psalm 11:3 – “When the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?)

Let’s be painfully honest. Right now, evil sits in the American driver’s seat in a variety of forms. We are being destroyed spiritually, socially and economically by an invisible Destroyer who has deceived many people in this nation.

But we must take courage.

After Jesus said the ominous words above came the power of the Resurrection and the defeat of the Enemy!

Let us put our hope in His ultimate triumph and be faithful to advance His Kingdom regardless of the powers we face.

 

 

 For more than two hundred years, the United States of America was a light of freedom and blessing to the world. Four hundred years ago Plymouth governor William Bradford described American civilization as “stepping stones to others” for God’s great work on earth.

Of course, it was Jesus Himself who said his people would be a “city on a hill” and Ronald Reagan applied that phrase to America’s great experiment with liberty whose statue stands in New York harbor as a “light to the world.”

But America’s light is going out–and it pains me to state the necessary corollary:

Nations of the world: do not follow the American example.

Our light is under a bushel.

I believe the uniquely formed, biblically based, and freedom loving United States of America reached a tipping point in 2012. Our faith-based nation, born in spiritual revival and established on numerous principles that bring freedom and blessing to people, has chosen to go down a pathway of darkness that makes us unworthy of emulation.

What is our newly chosen worldview road?

Secularism–which brings darkness and death to liberty.

On the simplest level, to be secular is to be “worldly”–to follow man-made morality and customs rather than God. The dictionary defines secularism as “1. Religious skepticism or indifference. 2. The view that religious considerations should be excluded from civil affairs or public.”

Sound familiar? No doubt secularism has been rising in America for some time, but the 21st century has brought its triumph in government, education, economics, morality and family life.

America used to believe in God-given rights to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness (property).”

Today we believe in killing pre-born babies by the millions, placing punishing regulations on business, anything goes morality, re-defining marriage, and taxing people out of their properties. We have chosen “the way of the world”–which is really to say we are following Europe in the shedding of Christian freedom and blessing for the darkness of humanism.

How blind can we be.

Look at Europe. It was never the purest form of Christian expression, but none-the-less was essential and providential in the birth of God-given rights, republican democracies, science and the arts out of a biblical worldview, and free enterprise capitalism which created the middle class.

But today:

• Europe has turned away from faith in God. Secularism rules, especially in the West.
  
• It is dying demographically and could possibly become Islamic within two generations.
• Its bloated social democracies are teetering on the edge of collapse and insolvency.
• Morals are dead, family life is in decline, and despair and anarchy are rising.

Yet, America has chosen this model. We want to be like Europe.

For that very reason, the developing nations of the world–in Latin America, Africa, the Pacific, Asia, and the Middle East should no longer look to the United States as a “shining light on a hill” to follow and emulate.

Better to look to other nations who are “growing their faith” and applying Christ’s truths to their national life. These include:

UGANDA

President Yoweri Museveni recently repented of his sins and the sins of Uganda as a nation in a move aimed at establishing it as a God-fearing nation. The President made this historic move at Mandela National stadium in Namboole on October 9 during national prayers for dedicating Uganda to God.

He said to the nation: “I denounce witchcraft and satanic practices. I repent on behalf of Uganda. We confess our sins. We repent of the sins of shedding innocent blood, corruption, bribery, sexual immorality, drunkenness, rebellion, insubordination, tribalism and sectarianism.”

The president dedicated Uganda to God to be His nation anchored on His principles and values. He indicated that the next fifty years belong to the young generation, advised the young people to be God-fearing referring to the Biblical verse in Proverbs 9:10 which says, “The fear of God is beginning of wisdom.”

Family Research Council commented: “The Museveni prayer is a model for all Christian leaders in the world. Unfortunately, the media is so threatened by religion that it refuses to leave another country alone to pursue its own views on sexuality and faith. Since Museveni’s speech, the press has ridiculed Uganda for bending its knee to a higher power–the same higher power that Americans have to thank for our great nation. In times like these, President Museveni’s humility should be emulated, not criticized. It is faithfulness like his that will raise Uganda’s status as a new power in Africa.”

My friend, J. Lee Grady, points out other nations to watch:

CHINA

Nothing in the history of missions rivals the success story that is China. Mao Zedong tried to wipe out Christian faith in the 1970s when there were only 2.7 million believers. Today, the most conservative estimate is that China had 75 million believers in 2010–and it could be as great as 120 million in 2012–more evangelicals than in the U.S.

As China’s “faith” rises, its influence increases in the world.

INDIA

Despite language barriers, tribal divisions and violent attacks by Hindus, indigenous church-planting movements have flourished all over India in the last 40 years. Fifteen years ago in Andhra Pradesh, a woman who heard a gospel radio broadcast, asked if someone could plant a church in her remote village. Within the first year after a pastor came, the church had 75 converts. After a church building was constructed in 1994, this church planted 125 churches with a combined membership of more than 5,000. This type of growth is occurring throughout India today.

BRAZIL

This nation of 203 million is experiencing an economic boom during a global recession. It is also in the midst of a Christian awakening. Pentecostal churches have been growing exponentially since the 1970s, as have Baptist, Presbyterian and Nazarene groups that have adopted Pentecostal practices. If Brazil can avoid the traps of greed and moral scandal that crippled American Christians, it could become a spiritual superpower. It is already the world’s second largest missionary-sending nation.

ETHIOPIA

Since the deposing of Ethiopian dictator Haile Selassie in 1974, evangelicals have grown from 5 percent to 20 percent of the population. Mainline Christians from Lutheran and Orthodox backgrounds have been swept up in Pentecostal revival movements in recent years—and this has fueled huge church-planting initiatives.

GUATEMALA

At least 24 percent of the country’s population is evangelical, and churches are pushing farther into unreached areas where indigenous people are trading their superstitions for faith in Christ.

ROMANIA

What this Eastern European nation lacks in economic strength is offset by its spiritual passion, especially in the western cities of Oradea, Cluj-Napoca and Timisoara. Many of the believers in this country are leaving old traditions and embracing a more relevant, dynamic faith and planting vibrant churches—and their sights are set on sending missionaries to the nearby Middle East. Romania’s flat tax (a more biblical idea) is the fourth lowest in Europe.

SINGAPORE

As America continues to fall on the “Index of Freedom” (number ten and dropping rapidly), the nation of Singapore is number two and rising. This tiny, prosperous nation is emerging as an Antioch of the East—a strategic base for both missionary sending and funding. Members of Trinity Church, one of many megachurches in the nation, give more than $6 million a year to missions.

INDONESIA

In the world’s largest Muslim country, Christianity is growing so fast the government tries to hide statistics. Operation World says evangelicals have grown from 1.3 million to 13 million since 1960. Time magazine recently called what is happening in Indonesia “a religious revolution.” And Christians in the Banda Arc province say Muslims are much more receptive to the gospel since the 2004 tsunami that devastated the region.

As America falters, many others are rising. God is never without his “light” in the world. You just need to choose your heroes wisely.

Here are my encouragements:

Nations of the World: The American Statue of Liberty no longer speaks the truth. Look to Christ and his power and principles as well as choosing wise national examples to follow.

American believers: Let’s be honest that “our city is no longer on a hill” but is covered by a basket. Only God knows when the darkness will be irreversible. Until then, it is our duty to humble ourselves, repent, pray, and work even harder to revive God’s American Dream.

 

There is growing agitation in Congress and the nation this week as our leaders focus on a looming financial crisis that could hit every American on January 1.

The media have branded it the “Fiscal Cliff” because it is purported that by not renewing the Bush tax cuts and other tax breaks that are set to expire, increased taxation in 2013 on all Americans may plunge us into another recession.

They’re probably right. It’s never helpful to raise taxes in a down economy when so many people are out of work. It thwarts job creation.

Yet the president doesn’t seem too concerned. He canceled negotiations this week with Congressional leaders though the deadline is thirty-five days away. And the press are already blaming Republicans for the looming problem.

But I smell a rat.

No, better to call it what it is: a spirit of deception.

Deception #1 – The Fiscal Cliff is Raising Taxes

No, the real “Fiscal Cliff” is trillion dollar deficits each year and 16.3 trillion dollars in total national debt which will soon have to be raised to 20 trillion.

I remember when we first started using the word “trillion.” It was kind of unbelievable. Actually, if you look back at American history, we didn’t even use the word billion until the 20th century, and it was quickly replaced by trillion which most of us find hard to comprehend.

If you have trouble picturing a trillion dollars, watch this little video to gain some perspective.

Today we throw the word “trillion” around like it doesn’t mean diddly-sqat. More to the point, our incredible and dangerous national debt–now trillions of dollars in hock–brings empty stares. What used to be a stable dollar equaling one hundred cents is now worth eight measly cents–with 40% of the dollar’s devaluation taking place during Barack Obama’s first four years.

And we re-elected him.

Historically, we’re dealing with trillions of dollars of debt in America because of liberal policies over the past seventy years–starting with the New Deal visions of Franklin Roosevelt. Prior to that era, America had a currency that was generally “sound as a dollar,” where, for hundreds of years, our currency retained its value and was backed up by gold.

For one hundred and fifty years, the basic necessities of life in America stayed the same price.

But Roosevelt confiscated all of the privately held gold, took us off the gold standard, and began a disastrous experiment in printing and distributing “Monopoly” money in America. Most presidents after him–especially the liberal ones–continued to de-value the dollar by running the printing presses. Richard Nixon eventually took us off of a “gold peg” in 1972 that allowed the American dollar to truly become fool’s gold.

But we Americans are a busy and forgiving lot–so we didn’t say much and allowed the crap-shoot to continue. The government continued to grow, the printing presses whistled along, and all of a sudden (not really–but gradually over a lifetime), those greenbacks in our hands didn’t purchase much.

Do you remember when a twenty dollar bill seemed like a lot of money? Now it evaporates in about three minutes when you’re filling up your car with gas–in fact, you need two or three twenties to pay the bill.

I remember when making $1.35 a hour seemed like a great wage and $4 was heavenly. Heck, my grandfather worked for $1 a week! That was not that long ago. My father bought a five acre water-view parcel in 1950 with a home and multiple out-buildings on it. The price? $11,000. Today, that parcel of land is “worth” (in funny money) probably two million dollars.

I couldn’t buy our family Hyundai for $11,000 in 2010.

The real fiscal cliff is the cruel tax of inflation that has been foisted on this country since the 1930s and has exploded into trillions of dollars of unpayable debt in the past thirty.

This is the biggest “bubble” ever created in world history. Yet, a spirit of deception says that it is okay, no problem–let’s just keep on spending.

Don’t believe that lying voice. The real fiscal cliff in coming sooner than we think.

Deception Number Two – Raising Taxes on the Wealthy will Help the National Budget.

President Obama ran on this silly premise and an unthinking and illiterate 50.4 percent of the American people believed him and voted for a second term. Even Warren Buffet–one of the savviest investors and richest men in America–continues to share the charade.

But “taxing the rich” will do nothing to help the massive debt problem in America. If we followed the Obama/Buffett plan to increase taxes on the wealthy, it would only raise 80 billion dollars or pay for eight days of federal spending.

Eight days.

I don’t call that a solution to trillion dollar deficits and a 16 trillion dollar mountain (sixty-nine miles high). Go back to the video above and remind yourself that a trillion dollars is one million million.

We cannot tax our way out of Debt Armageddon.

Deception #3 – The President has a Plan for Lowering the Deficit and Improving the Economy.

This is one of the lies that half the American people believed. Barack Obama has never had a plan to help improve the American economy. Dinesh D’Souza’s 2016 documentary makes a very strong argument that President Barack Obama doesn’t even desire for America to do well.

He wants to “transform America”–to lower it as a nation–to make it just another debt-laden social democracy that is controlled and manipulated by a secular elite.

What is the evidence?

• No free market jobs plan during his first four years. No jobs focus whatsoever.
• Not one Senate budget in nearly four years (controlled by the president’s party).
• Increasing government spending from 20% of GDP to 24%–ensuring high unemployment.
• No jobs plan or budget plan for the next four years.

Barack Obama simply wants to grow American dependency on big government to make us like Europe. Unfortunately, he is succeeding. But his words are a deception.

Deception #4 – Spending is Not the Problem: We Need More Revenue (Taxes).

This is a laughable untruth. Spending is the problem in all social democracies. Despite the manufactured tepid economic growth of today, the federal government still receives more money than any time in history. The problem is not revenue–it is squandering it on non-essential programs and  entitlements galore.

Take just one entitlement–Medicare. Do you know what the unfunded liability is for this program alone? It is 42 trillion dollars. Imagine that pile of $1000 bills stretching 3000 miles into space.

And that’s only one program. It does not include Social Security, Medicaid, and the newest granddaddy of them all–Obamacare.

After a while you just get a little numb to the numbers and simply think that the money spigot will never be turned off.

But think again. Oh, there may be lots of $1000 bills floating around in future. But it will be post-War Germany times a google: Truck loads of greenbacks that are good for nothing but burning in your woodstove.

The only way to save America and many other nations from hyper-inflation and certain economic collapse is to cut spending, spending, spending.

It’s the spending, stupid!

Why don’t we get that? A spirit of deception.

Deception Number Five: It’s the Republicans Fault.

The national media are already setting the stage to blame the Republicans for not solving the fiscal cliff problem. They say that the Democrats are reasonable people–they’re willing to cut some spending if we raise some taxes.

The president says this is the fair and balanced approach (he sounds like Fox News).

So if the Republicans say no to taxing the rich (all taxes are bad during hard economic times), which the president and the Democrats say must take place in order to extend the Bush tax cuts to the middle class, then the miserly Republicans are responsible for torpedoing the deal and hurting the nation.

And the liberal media will scream to high heaven that the R’s are at fault.

That’s why some Republican leaders right now seem to be caving to the pressure and indicating that they might be willing to change their no new taxes pledge.

But they shouldn’t. The American people elected them to help save the Republic. Now is the time for courage and resolve.

“Read our lips.” 

The progressive spenders are the reason that the American economy is in trouble. America’s tax rates are among the highest in the world–corroding our competiveness. History has shown–even under conservative Democrats like John F. Kennedy–that lowering taxes across the board increases tax revenues because it gives people more freedom to create, succeed, and thus generate tax monies to the government.

Freedom actually benefits all–including government. It just takes control away from it.

Here is the truth about the fiscal cliff debate:

There is a devil. He wants to destroy America, biblical principles, the Person of Christ, and take down the Western world.

He is a liar–and he’s very good at it.

We must open our eyes, repent of debauching our currency, living beyond our means, and once again put our trust in God to save us from ourselves.

We must learn to resist the spirit of deception.