Category Archives: Freedom of Religion

America in God's Hands

In God We Trust

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Whenever I’m concerned about something or have a lot on my mind, the best thing I have found to help is to take the time to pray and then after closing the prayer, come to Jesus Christ in my mind. It’s a self-guided meditation I use to find this place in my mind and heart where hearing Him seems easier.

This morning, I woke up early as I often do, with a lot of swirling thoughts. In my mind Jesus held both my hands in His. I could feel the nail prints in His palms, and I could hear Him saying, “Quiet your mind, Marnie. Let it all go. Focus on my voice.”

As He said this, a stillness settled over my mind. The swirl of client projects, the state of our nation, and concerns for my children all melted into the silence. I felt peace in His presence.

After some time in silence together, I heard Him say, “I understand what you’re going through. Love for your country and freedom principles are woven into the very fabric of your soul. Your parents lovingly sewed it into the tapestry of your life at a young age.”

Tears began rolling down my cheeks as I felt the truth of His words. He did understand! He did see me and my beautiful parents. He knew that the precious truths they integrated into the fabric of my soul formed the operating system of my life. For someone to tear my country’s freedom away feels as if it is ripping away parts of me that can’t be extricated without destroying me in the process.

Then Jesus cupped His hands together and said, “Give me your country. Let it go.”

What? How am I supposed to do that? Jesus just said He understood how tightly woven these ideals are into the core of who I am. How am I supposed to give that to Him now? I didn’t see it in that moment, but I see it in retrospect, that He was asking me to give Him myself on a whole new level.

As He asked me again to give Him my country, I remembered other times when He has asked me to give Him things that seemed impossible to extricate from the foundation of my life – my career, my property, my marriage, my dreams, my home, and even talents I leaned on for survival.

At this point, I began to see the logic in what He was asking me. One by one, He asked me if I would trade anything from my life today for those former things He had asked me to give up. Not a single one would I trade. The old, sad marriage was replaced with a beautiful, connected one. The old career has been replaced with one that feeds my soul. The dream, the home, the property, and the talents He gave back renewed and more beautiful than ever before.

Anything I have given Him, He has returned beauty for ashes. In the process I have learned that what He really desires is for me to learn to trust Him explicitly — that He is working everything together for my good.

Over the years I’ve put my trust in my ability to make money, in the businesses I’ve built, in the talents I’ve developed, in my home, relationships, and dreams. I learned that none of these things can be relied upon for a steady foundation. Only Christ, my God, can be trusted. My faith in and connection to God, is the only thing that has brought me through when everything has fallen apart.

I have put SO much trust in the freedom of my country. Every day I wake up assuming that I will be free to run my business as I see fit, speak what is on my mind, come and go as I please, travel where I want to travel, go to the store for anything I need. I’ve trusted that the dollar has value. I’ve trusted that I won’t be attacked by anyone as I go about my day. I’ve trusted no one will take over my home and quarter armies in my house and property. I’ve trusted the consistency of traffic laws and traffic lights. I have come to expect ORDER. I’ve lived in a world of order and freedom to say, believe, build, create and worship according to the dictates of my own conscience.

I’ve taken for granted that my country was there for me… assuming it was a sure foundation. Perhaps, it could even be said, I’ve trusted this foundation more than I’ve trusted God at times. In asking me to give my country to Him, Jesus was really asking me to put even more trust in Him. He was asking me to give more of myself and my heart to Him.

In God We Trust

Should all the freedoms I’ve grown accustomed to disappear, no one can take God from me. No one can climb into my heart and mind and take the peace that only He can give. In that inner space, I am truly free.

Reluctantly at first, and then with more trust, I handed Jesus my country. It was a small, round thing, about the size of a softball in His hands. It had the markings of the American flag wrapped around it. The evidence of red and white stripes and a blue field and a star or two where shiny and bright on this round ball.

Jesus cupped it in His hands, and I hoped that He would do as He has done for me other times and return beauty for ashes. Would He give it back to me even better like He did my land and home? Would he create something vibrant, new and different like he did in my marriage?

Deep down I knew there is no guarantee of any of that. I have to be willing to give it to Him and never see it again. So, if America dies and fades away into nothingness, I resolved this morning to trust Him to take care of me and my family and the people I have come to love.

Whether in this world or in that heavenly country, liberty shall reign supreme once more. For where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is Liberty. And He is the only thing that lasts.

In God We Trust

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Kirk Cameron's 100 Days American Campfire Revival

American Campfire Revival – Kirk Cameron 100 Days

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I’m really enjoying Kirk Cameron’s 100 Days American Campfire Revival. He’s sharing his love for God and our country to invite spiritual life into our nation. Instead of waiting to see what a president will create in his 100 days in office, Kirk invites us to create our own 100 day plan to connect with God, learn the importance of our Christian history, and understand the seeds that produced the fruit of freedom and prosperity in our nation.

I’ve posted a few episodes below. Here’s Kirk’s Facebook page where he’s posting these. Someone is also posting these videos on YouTube on this channel if you don’t have Facebook to watch them there.

Day 1: Introducing the American Campfire Revival

Day 2: The American Campfire Revival

His second day is about The Self-Governing Christian.

Day 3: Ideas Have Consequences

Day 4: Remembering God’s Blessings on America

Here’s Kirk’s Facebook page where he’s posting these. Someone is also posting these videos on YouTube on this channel if you don’t have Facebook to watch them there.

are we praising God for the miracles

Are We Praising God for the Miracles Or Dismissing Them?

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Millions of people fasted and prayed when COVID-19 hit. According to the CDC the number of total deaths in the US are roughly the same as any other year (see stats from the CDC below). Did we give credit to God for that? Did people see His hand in it? Not that I can tell.

We’ve prayed and fasted for our nation, that the swamp be exposed and drained. Are we praising God now for exposing the corruption? We should be! If God saves our republic through some savvy legal footwork, will we give God credit for it? We better, my friends, we better!!!

The Facts from the CDC

CDC Reported Deaths for 2018: 2,839,205

CDC Reported 2020 total deaths (as of Dec 12): 2,788,849

Source for 2018: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/deaths.htm

Source for 2020: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid19/

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God's ways are not our ways. He makes us travel through chaos and loss before victory.

God Routes Us Through Chaos and Loss Before Victory

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God doesn’t work the way we do. He rarely uses the obvious route. He promises something big, and the route to receiving it includes losing the very thing He promised you. Things usually get so bleak you’ll want to give up. Everyone will call the promise impossible.

I know this from firsthand experience. God promised me a man who would work alongside me to fix up my property and conduct retreats. He showed me a fun, energetic man who would teach, speak and travel with me. He showed me our great communication and connection years before I knew this man in reality.

The direct logical route would have been that after my divorce this guy comes into my life, marries me, moves in and we get to work. Not with God. I actually had to lose my business, lose the house… lose everything. What God promised me looked utterly impossible.

I gave up on it, didn’t need it anymore. Didn’t care, and then BAM God restored it all to me and more. And it came in such a way that the man who joined me could be a real active part of it … not someone tagging along on my dream. He got his own dreams fulfilled in the process. He has real ownership in all of it.

Everything happened for the best to change me into the person capable of receiving the blessings. I had things I had to release, to forgive, to learn. I needed some humbling and to learn to trust God more and see the finger of the Lord in EVERYTHING. And I never could have learned these things without the excruciating pain along the way and losing it all.

There are some people who see the miracles in our situation and rejoice with us. Others see sinister motives.. they see a woman who manipulated a guy into loving her to get her dreams. I know the truth and God knows the truth. People can believe whatever they want. But we both know that God did this. We see His finger in every little twist and turn of the story. And frankly, this promise God gave me was something I didn’t even care about having by the time it came. I had to truly release the need for the outcome. That’s key… remember that.

In this nation, we thought God would just fix things, drain the swamp, and restore liberty. If you feel God set something in motion in our country and has dropped the ball, I promise God always delivers on His promises. It just looks like loss and chaos along the way. When all hope is lost and what He promised looks impossible, BAM, He delivers it all and abundantly more.

Just remember that God’s ways aren’t our ways. Nothing says who has to be President to make that happen. Think in terms of outcome — not people, events or circumstances. God doesn’t need any of our game plans.

When it all is fulfilled, there will be people who dismiss it as manmade manipulation … but we’ll know that God did it. We’ll be changed ourselves so we are worthy of the promised blessings. And best of all, we’ll have the added ability to see the finger of the Lord in everything ever after. We’ll have the faith to move mountains.

Featured Image Copyright. Flag: Tanya Shulga/BigStockPhoto.com. Field photo by Marnie Pehrson Kuhns.

The new normal - a voice for those who have no voice

Episode #45 – A Voice for Those Who Have No Voice

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The New Normal

Listen to this episode or scroll down to read.

“The New Normal” is what they call it. A world where all must wear masks, you can’t gather in large crowds, you can’t go to the temple, concerts, ball games or shake hands. You must “social distance” at six feet. It’s a world where we must accept that cities are dangerous places, ransacked nightly, looted and burned in the name of “peaceful protest.”

The “New Normal” is a land where socialists and anarchists have a right to gather en mass, but law-abiding citizens can’t have more than 99 people at church at a time. Seated every other pew wearing masks, the bold hum songs of praise to our God. There is no lingering to talk to friends after church. We must move along lest a virus spread like wildfire among us.

I hate this new world. I refuse to believe in or accept that this is “the new normal.” I’m not ready to witness the destruction of our freedoms, our republic.

A Voice for Those Who Have No Voice

Because I know I am to be a voice for those who have no voice, I write about freedom and post it on my blog, to social media, to my podcast. I speak for the children murdered in the womb. I speak for the unborn destined to arrive in this sick, contentious world. I speak for the children who inevitably will be scarred by rampant fear-mongering.

I speak for those who are too frightened of the inevitable backlash that comes from admitting what one is thinking or feeling about this twisted world. I speak for the silent millions who are inwardly screaming, “The Emperor has no clothes!” I speak for those whose feelings are so deep and conflicted that they can’t even form the words to describe how disturbed they feel.

I speak for the hundreds of thousands of human trafficked women and children who receive no justice in this world while their perpetrators go free and sit in plush homes and government buildings.

As the world tears down our history, our monuments, and the memory of those who came before, I speak for the dead whose lives tell stories of hope, courage, faith, character, and the ability to change and grow. I speak for the Founding Fathers who sacrificed everything to give the priceless gift of freedom to an ungrateful, petulant populace.

I speak for those who are summarily judged and ridiculed for a misplaced word, for one mistake, for things they said or did 15 years ago that do not represent who they are today or that weren’t even “crimes” 15 years ago.

I speak up for God, for Jesus Christ, for scripture, for prophets, for truth – all of which are mocked, scorned, forgotten and defamed.

The Solution to It All

My voice may not make a dent. It may not be a solution in this world, but I know Who is the solution. I know that He who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life is the answer. And I will lift Him up like Moses lifted up that serpent on a pole thousands of years ago. All who believed enough to look upon that emblem of the Christ were healed and lived.

Simple. So simple that thousands chose to die rather than cast their gaze in its direction. The truth is simple. It’s plain and precious. The world, with its cacophony of voices, is only wind and waves. Focus on the nonsense of the world, and you will sink. Keep your eyes on the Master and walk on water.

Featured Image Copyright: Luca Lorenzelli / BigStockPhoto.com

A message to Christians who are going along with church closings

Episode 41: A Message to Christians Going Along with Church Closings

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California shut down churches again for at least 3 weeks. During the 3 weeks, the Department of Health will assess the impact of churches on COVID spread. Until the Department of Health gives them an okay for reopening, churches must implement strict guidelines and only reopen after being approved for opening by their county health department.

This episode discusses Four reasons Christians are going along with church closings and why these rationalizations are abdicating our first amendment right to freedom of religion.

Listen here or scroll down to read.

Perpetual excuses for closing churches is a violation of the 1st amendment. And yes, every state MUST abide by the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights. States don’t get to make up rules that violate the U.S. Constitution.

Let’s take a look at that first amendment:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

Ironically, the people I hear advocating for church closings are actually Christians! Let’s take a look at Christian rationalizations for acquiescing to the infringement of our 1st amendment rights.

Rationalization #1: No one can stop us from worshipping. We can just worship in our homes. I don’t need a church to worship in.

First, you’re right. No one has the right to stop you from worshipping in your homes. And while I have enjoyed worshipping at home, gathering with other believers is a core component of faith. It’s important to me and to a lot of other Christians.

Elder David A. Bednar warned there is a danger in limiting a religious organization’s right to gather.

“Gathering, in short, is at the core of faith and religion. Indeed, if the faithful are not gathering, sooner or later they will begin to scatter. And because gathering lies at the very heart of religion, the right to gather lies at the very heart of religious freedom.” (COVID-19 Crisis—A Wake-Up Call for Religious Freedom)

David A. Bednar

Rationalization #2: God’s in control. It’s all according to prophecy. Or God won’t let anything bad happen to us.

Yes, God is in control and most of what has been happening has been prophesied. That doesn’t mean we stand idly by and throw away our religious liberties.

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

Edmund Burke

I believe we will be held accountable for what we do now. “To whom much is given, much is required,” said Jesus (Luke 12:48). We have been given much in this country. If we throw it away because we are afraid, because there is a virus, we are slothful servants. We are as the foolish servant who buried his talent in the ground because he was afraid. Our “talents” in this case are our God-given rights! if we bury our inalienable rights in the ground because we’re afraid, we will be held accountable for it. Jesus called this person a wicked and a slothful servant (Matthew 25:14-30).

Rationalization #3: Nothing can stop the Word of God. They couldn’t stop it in Jesus’ day, and they can’t stop it now.

I am not concerned about the gospel dying off, or that we can’t worship in our homes, or that we can’t keep God in our hearts. I know that in the end, God wins. Satan is defeated. My concern is what side am I on? Am I on the side that wants to destroy religious liberties or hand them over without a fight? Am I on the side that wants to keep the gospel from spreading and healing lives and hearts through the power of Jesus? Am I such a chicken that I would stand idly by while our hard-won freedoms are destroyed and taken from future generations? I’m concerned about our Divinely inspired Constitution and the Bill of Rights being hacked to shreds.

You don’t think anything bad can happen to your religious liberties? You think God is going to protect you? When you don’t do your part to protect what God has given you – when you don’t value it – and you treat it like it’s nothing, then don’t expect God to come in and do for you what you ought to be doing for yourself.

Try living in China and being a Christian or believe in God in any way. Try living in China and advocating for basic human rights. You’ll be rounded up, tossed into a concentration camp, and have your organs harvested while your heart is still beating! (Find out what’s happening in China in When the Plague Arrives)

We either draw a line in the sand and protect our rights now or our grandchildren and great grandchildren will be worshipping in secret at the peril of their lives.

Rationalization #4: So many outbreaks have happened in churches, it is just not safe to reopen them.

What about those “outbreaks” that happen in churches? First, the media shows you and tells you what they want you to hear. They give a lot of airtime to infections that happen because of churches or choirs.  Name one case of someone catching COVID at a Walmart? A Home Depot?

Crickets.

It’s amazing how smart this virus is that it can’t spread in a Walmart or a Home Depot, but churches don’t seem to have the protective bubble that a big box store has.

But for arguments’ sake, let’s say churches are a hotbed of viral puss. Who says churches can’t take precautions? If Walmart and Home Depot can safely open, then so can our churches. In my church here in Northwest Georgia, we sit every other row, don’t sing or use hymnals, wear masks, and the Lord’s supper (sacrament) is passed in a way where no one touches anything another person has touched.  There are only two entrances into the building and three exits out. The building is cleaned thoroughly after every use. We have up to 99 people in attendance. More meetings can be added throughout the day after proper cleaning.

It’s possible to allow churches to remain open and still be safe about it. Giving churches no choice in the matter at all is a violation of our 1st amendment rights.

It’s time we stood up for our God-given rights … the rights millions have fought, bled and died to give us. Imagine, for a moment, that we stand up to the tyrants now while we still can. History will look back on this time of threats to our Bill of Rights and thank us for standing strong and loud and advocating for our rights. We will be viewed as Martin Luther King and his followers who stood up for civil rights. We can do this in a peaceful way just as he did. But let us not remain silent. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is Liberty. Standing for our liberty is standing for God.

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