America the Beautiful?
Denali, Alaska
Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — If anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things.
~ The Apostle Paul’s Letter to the Church at Philippi, Chapter 4, Verse 8
Based on this magnificent charge from Paul, it is evident he didn’t watch cable news, avoided Twitter, and refused home delivery of the New York Times. Because for those of us who stand a post as watchmen on the wall staving off the chaos in our country, we are forced to regularly descend the ladder, retreat to our prayer closet, and tightly close our eyes until we can once again see the true, the noble, the pure, and the admirable.
To traverse the tattered terrain of today’s cultural landscape is to squint firmly trying to find the heavenly attributes Paul highlights here. Of course, for the believer, we know that our natural habitat is a well-ordered garden resplendent with luscious fruits, abundant crops, and a cooling breeze. And while our primary, Edenic invitation is to subdue our parcel, cultivate it, and bring forth robust harvests — The wolves are at the gate, missiles are screaming overhead, and we all too often feel like grasshoppers scurrying amidst the giants.
Are We Still America the Beautiful?
Commencing with the Covid lockdowns, many wall-perched prophets have deemed this diabolical era as a Great Revealing. But unlike the book of Revelation, which is the Revealing of Jesus Christ, this Great Revealing is the exposure of deeply embedded evils that have been covertly cloistered for countless decades.
The criminally-coordinated, unsustainable flood of illegal aliens includes vicious gang members who are inflicting violent mayhem in our cities. Under this current administration, over 90,000 migrating children have crossed our border only to completely disappear. These children’s nightmares are the trafficker's wicked dreams.
The climate catastrophist’s mandates are forcing insufferable pains upon the poor of the world and are already proving that any measurable improvement to planetary conditions will be indistinguishable.
The unstoppable rate of increase to the U.S. debt is adding one trillion dollars to our deficit every 100 days. Let that sink in.
In 2023, the first full calendar year following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, abortions increased 10% over 2020. States that border “Ban states” saw an increase of almost 40%! And of the 1,026,690 babies killed by abortion in 2023, 63% were medication abortions. For those who insist that abortion is not murder, why is there always a corpse?
The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) guidelines state that “Sex reassignment surgery is effective and medically necessary.” However, a very recent study published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior found that "Almost all children who suffer gender confusion grow out of it by adulthood.” Let that really sink in . . .
As soul-breaking as this rapid demolition of “Whatever is lovely” is, this acceleration of gross evil is necessary. If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? Likewise, if evil remains secretly hidden and unseen, will anyone stand to resist it?
Resurrection Sunday, 2024 is a day marked with infamy. The current administration continues to augur through the bottom of their well-rotted barrel to venture deeper and deeper into untouched layers of hell’s choking sediment. While all of creation was proclaiming that the Risen Christ had inaugurated the reconciliation of all things, the defiling White House urged a dark and different proclamation.
Rachel Crandall-Crocker, a psychotherapist from Michigan, is a man who identifies as a woman. On March 31, 2009, he founded the International Day of Transgender Visibility. Many simply shrugged that Easter 2024 coincidentally landed on the same day. But this is not a comment on a singular occurrence. Today, there are 145 days of the calendar year dedicated to celebrating one or more hues of the LGBTQIA2S+ color wheel.
Less than 1% of the US Population is transgender, yet this fractional minority is being used to subjugate majority values. Does anyone truly believe that visibility is their most central challenge?
Don’t hear me wrong, and I say this ad infinitum: This is not a rendered judgment on individuals, particularly those we know and love. But we have to be able to distinguish between loving an individual and despising an ideological movement. Particularly when that ideological movement has locked its crosshairs on our children.
Intellectual author and speaker, James Lindsay, brilliantly urged Christians to be thoughtful about how they reacted to Visibility Sunday. Yes, it was a blasphemous, sacrilegious offense to the highest holy day of the Christian faith, but our response is precisely what the progressive left is after.
Quoting Saul Alinsky’s, Rules For Radicals, Lindsay reminds us of Alinsky’s directive to the radical: “Your target's reaction is your real action.” Meaning, the instigated offense is not as important as the reaction of the target. In this case, Christians were the clear target.
It is unimaginable to look intently upon the evil and chaos deracinating the sacred formularies of our founding without becoming heartsick. This is why we must drink the Apostle Paul’s words deeply and realize the unmasking of these pernicious acts are the final gasps of a dark kingdom doomed for annihilation.
This is the hour for the church to rise, stand, and go forth as light-bearers for the King!
To heed this call in such a time as this is to fall wholly reliant upon every gift, power, discernment, and authority Our Father willingly desires to give us in The Holy Spirit. Apart from Him, few should venture near that ladder, let alone stand a post atop the wall.
For The Intercessor
Acclaimed international author and theologian, Derek Prince, described the role of intercessory prayer as this: “Intercession is one of the most profound and powerful ministries of the Christian. To ‘intercede’ literally means, ‘To come in between.’”
This is the role of the watchmen on the wall. He physically and spiritually places himself between the safety of his kingdom and the advancement of his enemy. Between a rebellious nation and the judgment of God. Between the unborn baby and the depraved abortionist. Between the trafficked child and the twisted predator. Between the pre-pubescent child and the prescription for hormone blockers. Between a compromised government and the Perfect King.
A Future Filled With Hope
Many people love and cling to what the Lord said in Jeremiah 29:11:
I have plans to prosper you, not to harm you. I have plans to give you a future filled with hope.
And cling to this promise we should! But many miss the preceding passage which is the conditional element of this great pledge of assurance:
Work to see that the city where I sent you as exiles enjoys peace and prosperity. Pray to the Lord for it. For as it prospers you will prosper.
~ Jeremiah 29:7
To lift verse 11 out of the context of this orchestral prophecy is to be tempted to idly wait for The Lord to deliver your prosperity to you. But when this verse is rejoined within the full discourse, we are met with our immense responsibility in this equation.
First, we must work in a manner that cultivates peace and prosperity in the city in which we live. Next, we must pray to God that the fruit of our work brings success to our city. Why? Because our prosperity is directly reliant upon the degree to which our city prospers.
When this truth bursts in our hearts, we suddenly find we are once again in our natural habitat, subduing and cultivating the parcel in which the Lord has placed us, working diligently to bring about a bountiful harvest.
Yes, America the Beautiful
There is a magnificent phrase in the second stanza of this great song to our nation.
America! America!
God mend thine every flaw
Confirm thy soul with self-control
Thy liberty in law
Thank you Father for the unmatched resurrection of Your Son, Who has opened the way and is at work mending our many flaws. Holy Spirit, birth within this nation a reverent discipline of self-control, which is one of Your many redeeming fruits. May our leaders forsake lawlessness and once again trust that true freedom can only be found within the Law of God. We repent before You and take our place on the watchmen’s wall. And may work diligently to see peace and prosperity reign in this garden plot on earth called, America.
(Pictured is Denali, Alaska, formerly known as Mt. McKinley. I had the unforgettable experience of climbing her in 1996. We spent 18 days on the glacier building seven camps as we progressed higher and higher up the mountain. America is truly beautiful from these hard-to-reach high places.)
