At least 5,000 National Guard members will remain in Washington DC through mid-March.
“As we continue to work to meet the final post-inauguration requirements, the National Guard has been requested to continue supporting federal law enforcement agencies with 7,000 members and will draw down to 5,000 through mid-March,” Maj. Matt Murphy told The Epoch Times via email.
“We are providing assistance such as security, communications, medical evacuation, logistics, and safety support to state, district, and federal agencies,” he added. (Source: The Epoch Times)
Why?
It has never been a Constitutional practice to have military occupying US cities. As we look at the fact that thousands of National Guard troops will remain in Washington DC through March, we have to ask ourselves the question WHY?
Conditioning… pure and simple… Conditioning… setting a precedence for military occupying a major city. I wouldn’t be surprised to see more follow suit as rioters continue to do their thing in major cities. Now that there’s no Orange Man Bad to blame, those liberal governors will be placing National Guard in their cities.
And then we’ll be like other despotic nations with a constant military presence fearmongering people into submission.
That’s my personal prediction anyway. Hopefully, I’m wrong.
What Does the Constitution Say About Standing Armies?
ARTICLE I, SECTION 8, CLAUSE 12
The Congress shall have Power To …raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years….
“For most Americans after the Revolution, a standing army was one of the most dangerous threats to liberty. In thinking about the potential dangers of a standing army, the Founding generation had before them the precedents of Rome and England. In the first case, Julius Caesar marched his provincial army into Rome, overthrowing the power of the Senate, destroying the republic, and laying the foundation of empire. In the second, Oliver Cromwell used the army to abolish Parliament and to rule as dictator.” (The Heritage Guide to the Constitution, The Heritage Foundation )
Featured Image Copyright: New Africa / BigStockPhoto.com
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.
“Therefore, that we should waste and wear out our lives in bringing to light all the hidden things of darkness, wherein we know them; and they are truly manifest from heaven— These should then be attended to with great earnestness…
Let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed.”
(Doctrine and Covenants 123:13-14, 17)
Throughout my life I’ve watched my dad stand for truth and call out encroachments to freedom — all with a grace and cheerful calmness that passes all understanding.
Many believe that those who stand for time tested principles are filled with hate and anger. While some might be, that is not a requirement for standing for truth. In fact, my father has been very effective in teaching others freedom principles without ever losing his temper.
I asked him once how he does it. How can he not get angry about the things that are subverting our freedoms? How does he maintain his cheerful attitude? He said he’s not perfect. Sometimes he does get angry at what he sees, but he’s found that being angry is not effective.
And he’s right. Anger doesn’t educate. It doesn’t soften hearts. It doesn’t bring enlightenment. It’s not effective.
“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
Is federal policing of cities under siege by looters, vandals and violence federal overreach by the President and the executive branch? Listen below or scroll down to read and find out.
Some mayors and people are irate about the Federal law enforcement sent into cities that have endured rioting and looting that has escalated to attacks on Federal buildings and monuments. They feel this is an over-reach by the Federal government.
They compare this to Waco and Ruby Ridge. While I am a strong advocate of governing at the most local level, the Federal government does have a right and a responsibility to protect Federal property. That is within their jurisdiction. Waco and Ruby Ridge were people holed up doing their thing. Our current situation is incredibly different.
What about the claims that the Federal officers are rounding up people on the streets and questioning them, etc.? Let’s step back for a moment and look at this from an over-arching view. We have cities across the country that have been under attack by vandals, thieves and murderers since the end of May 2020. While it started out as peaceful protests, much of it quickly morphed into lawlessness.
BLM and Antifa blatantly advertise that this is their doing. They actively solicit new members to their cause. Both organizations actively and openly support Marxist and anti-American ideologies and methods. Both wish to fundamentally change our republic into another form of government. They are using criminal means to do so – vandalizing, looting and violence.
While every last person in their groups is not a plotter or a schemer, these groups DO have people coordinating their efforts. These folks have web sites. This is a coordinated effort to fundamentally destroy our republic and our way of life.
This is bigger than one state. This is a widespread national – even global – movement to move the world toward chaos and anarchy so the powers that lie in wait, funding this, can take over.
The mayors and governors who stand idly by while their communities are looted, burned and destroyed run the spectrum from delusion to collusion. They are not doing their jobs. They are not protecting the people of their communities. They are aligning with these anti-American, subversive groups to the destruction of their own citizens and the republican Constitutions which they have taken oaths of office to uphold.
As the Federal law enforcement seek to track down the ring leaders of these subversive groups in the cities across our nation, they may have to step off Federal property to do this. If someone attacks a Federal building one day and is spotted ten blocks over the next, the Federal officers have a right to arrest that person.
If someone is a ringleader vandalizing another part of town, they may know the ringleader of the attack on the Federal building. While there are plenty of people who are local know-nothing citizens enlisted into these causes, there are also many who move from city to city creating anarchy. There is a strong possibility that they may know who is coordinating these nation-wide attacks. Whether the attacks be on Federal, state, or private property, the attacks are all part of the same cause. Thus, it is well within the jurisdiction of Federal law enforcement to arrest and question people associated with these groups.
Our nation has become more polarized and divided than ever. Traditionally Americans pull together in a crisis No so much today. How can we be more respectful and kind of others regardless of their political stance, opinions or views? How can we come together as Americans for the sake of our country?
Here are some thoughts on my mind. Listen below or scroll down to read.
I have several children who feel my beliefs about freedom principles and what’s happening in our country are nonsense. They rarely vote the way I would.
Does that make me love them any less? No! Does that make me think they are unintelligent and stupid? No! Does that make me think they’re evil and need to leave the country? No!
I admire these children. They are resilient, independent, talented, and beautiful people. They are my heroes in many ways. When we’re together, we don’t talk politics. There are other things we can talk about. I know it’s useless to try to shove my beliefs down their throats. Granted, when they’re living in my home on a day to day basis, they’re going to overhear those conversations and sometimes be asked to share their opinions.
Because freedom is my most core value and preserving it my mission, I know that at the root of freedom is allowing others to form their own opinions, believe how they wish, and come to things in their own time and way. Freedom even means letting people make mistakes (as long as they don’t harm someone else’s life, liberty or pursuit of happiness).
As I thought about my kids this morning I realized I need to be that patient and loving with everyone. Everyone has qualities to be admired. None of us is the sum total of our political views or our biggest mistakes. People aren’t flat, two-dimensional caricatures that social media makes it so easy for us to assume. I’m going to work to remember that. I invite you to consider doing so as well.
Today I was reading in a history of the rise, fall and destruction of two nations (The Book of Mormon). It illustrates how both societies were destroyed by secret combinations. Their story has huge parallels to our day. These secret combinations had their Satanic oaths and covenants where they agreed to protect each other and commit murder and plunder for gain and power. The intent of secret combinations is to destroy the freedom of all lands, nations and people.
In 3 Nephi 1-7 which spans 33 years, the two factions of people who had once been bitter enemies (the Lamanites and Nephites) unite to remove the secret combinations. The secret combinations have gotten so bad they are burning, looting, destroying cities and murdering people.
Through their sophistry, the secret combinations (aka Gadianton Robbers) flatter, deceive and lure the rising generation to their cause. Because of the contention and divisiveness among the people, the Gadianton Robbers get the upper hand. The people are almost about to be destroyed by these robbers.
Eventually it gets so bad, the people gather in one city with all their flocks, herds, food, horses and chariots. They fortify this city with walls and armed guards, and they have enough of everything they need to hold up there for 7 years.
Because the Gadianton Robbers produce nothing and subsist on looting and murdering people to get what they need, they are forced to live on wild beasts. Eventually, they kill all the beasts and must come up against the city to battle.
“As the Lord liveth, except ye repent of all your iniquities, and cry unto the Lord, ye will in nowise be delivered out of the hands of those Gadianton Robbers.”
(Lachoneous leader of the Nephites — 3 Nephi 3:15)
They try to defeat the people of the city, but the people have repented, and they have called upon God. God helps them slaughter tens of thousand of the Gadianton Robbers. Eventually, through stratagem, the robbers are wiped out.
After a couple years, the people return to their lands. But they get proud and break into classes based on wealth and education. Within a matter of only a few short years, another cabal forms and destroys their government. The people break into tribes. The tribes are enemies with each other, but their common enemy is the cabal, and they make a covenant not to fight among the tribes.
Across these 33 years (Jesus Christ’s lifetime) the people become so wicked that they stone and execute those who call them on their iniquity. Their wicked judges execute the righteous and the people are fighting and contending with each other. Their entire republic has collapsed.
A great destruction occurs simultaneously with Christ’s death on the cross. Mountains become valleys, mountains spring up in the center of cities, some cities are sunk, the wicked die. The more righteous part of the people remains. Christ appears to them, teaches them, and heals their sick and afflicted.
There are so many parallels to our day in this story. The common thread is the contention and divisiveness among the people. This contention opens the door for the secret combinations to get a greater hold. It allows the rising generation to be flattered away, deceived, and led into the secret combination.
What ultimately leads to their destruction is…
Turning away from God and persecuting the believers and those who hold up a standard of truth.
Pride, contention and in-fighting
Allowing the secret combinations to infiltrate their land, infest their government and their cities
As I’ve reviewed this story again, it strikes me how important it is not only to turn to God and obey His commandments, but also to avoid contention and divisiveness. This doesn’t mean we can’t stand up for truth.
There will always be those who fight and hate those who share God’s truth. We can’t help how other people feel about that. What we can control is how we feel about them. We don’t have to hate them. We don’t have to be rude, angry or divisive. We can stand solidly for truth and freedom principles without hating those who have been deceived by the cunning sophistry, flattery and deception of our modern-day secret combinations.
What made the people in this book “wicked” was how they let what was happening affect their hearts. They let it make them hateful toward others. They let it make them bitter and angry. They were so contentious they let their republican form of government be destroyed.
I hope we can do better.
Whether the destruction of our republic happens or not, reviewing this story made me ask myself…
Am I letting all of this make me hate other people? or groups of people? Mainly, the people who I believe are seeking to destroy our freedoms? What’s in my heart? Sometimes I’m downright angry and mad. Where can that lead me?
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.
Featured Image Copyright: Rawf8 / BigStockPhoto.com
There are a lot of people out there telling other people what to do, how to live their lives, how to interact with others, what they have to do for health reasons, how to run their businesses, etc.
There’s something I’ve learned by rearing 6 children, running a business for 30 years, and working with thousands of people: No two people are the same. No two lives are the same. What is right for me may not be right for you. Only God has your answers. There are a few absolute truths (like the 10 commandments) but beyond that, the choices we make are best made between us and God.
If we want to take other people’s advice, fine. But their advice and views should never be forced on us. And we must never force our answers on other people. We don’t get to shame or use government force to push our answers onto other people. To do so is unrighteous dominion and infringement on other people’s lives, liberty and pursuit of happiness.
Learn to listen to the Spirit! Heed Its counsel for you. And remember what it tells you to do today could change tomorrow. The Spirit can help you dodge and weave through the obstacles of life. Get good at listening and obeying.
If you would like to get better at this, I have a whole free Masterclass on living a Spirit-Led life. Details here.
Featured Copyright: Gagodesign / BigStockPhoto.com
Note: By posting this, I am NOT making a statement about whether wearing masks is right or wrong or good or bad, effective or ineffective.
As an energy therapist I uncover and help my clients release trapped emotions and limiting beliefs. Clients come to me because the trapped emotions are manifesting adversely in their physical bodies and/or their physical world. Our internal state creates our external one.
As I see rampant debates and arguments over wearing masks or not wearing masks, it struck me that IT IS NOT ABOUT THE MASK. Perhaps what’s really behind these mask debates are feelings of
being stifled,
trapped in houses,
kept from our friends and loved ones,
not being able to run businesses or go to church,
being told there is no cure and any person or surface you interact with could be a carrier,
AND having any dissenting research or views that don’t jive with the narrative removed from social media
All of these things JUST MIGHT be outwardly manifesting themselves in the form of pro-con mask arguments and even the appearance of the masks themselves.
For many, the mask represents inner feelings of being at the mercy of an unseen enemy and wanting to feel you can protect yourself. How do you keep yourself and your loved ones safe when you can’t see your enemy? The mask is a sign of solidarity, that you care about your neighbor, that you’re doing your part, that you have some sense of control in an out-of-control situation. For these folks, someone not wearing a mask means they don’t care about their fellowman, they aren’t doing their part to control what is perceived to be an out-of-control situation.
On the other hand, those who really despise masks may not be protesting the mask wearing itself but the stifling of their voices. Even they may not know this is why the mask ticks them off so badly. For many, the mask is an outward manifestation of a world intent upon stifling and controlling their free will. It could feel like being forced to “go along to get along… peace at any price… safety at any price.” The mask is a physical manifestation (or symbol) of all those stuffed, trapped, and denied words and emotions, and threatened core values.
Ultimately for both sides, the mask represents control, stuffed emotions and fears. For many, it reveals core values. Safety and security is most likely a core value for mask wearers. Being in control of their world may also be one of their core values. For mask-haters, freedom and independence carry more weight than security. Their desire not to be controlled by someone else is paramount.
In the end, both sides have one thing in common – they are being triggered at their core values. And it’s all about having control of our own lives.
Just food for thought. And perhaps some compassion for either side.
Featured Image: I’m not sure who created this image. The original is marked A.G. #737. If you know who created it, please let me know.
