One Nation Under God

message from S.

The Lord has been revealing some very interesting insights on the state of race relations in America. I am a young white female who grew up in a middle income family. My childhood was blessed financially, spiritually and emotionally. I was raised to value people of other races and until recently I felt that I understood the differences between blacks and whites in America. (I was also raised to be very proud of my country, to love it, appreciate it, and bless it in any way I could.) Last Thursday morning as I was praying, the Lord led me to pray specifically for my state, Illinois. As I began to intercede, I had the impression that the upcoming presidential election was significant for many reasons. First, I was reminded that President Abraham Lincoln was from Illinois and that Barak Obama is from our state. The Lord showed me that President Lincoln had planted the spiritual seed to pave the way for African-Americans to have equality in the United States up to and including the Presidency, and Senator Obama is the fruit of that seed. As with any case of seed-time and harvest…the good seeds come forth as well as the bad. At the minimum we are reaping a harvest of crime and apathy.

In the last few years of my life I have befriended many African-Americans. I was not seeking out people of other races, God added them to my life. And I am blessed to have them as not only acquaintances, but to know them as friends, fellow Christians and fellow intercessors. I have been shocked to discover how vastly different our upbringing and cultures are; we are all Americans, we are all Christians; yet violence, crime and drugs seem to have a firm hold on black families and communities. (I do not mean to imply that white Americans do not have the same issues, but there is a level of pervasiveness that I believe warrants it to be deemed a cultural issue, and I know that is an aspect of the intercession I have been involved in). These are not people I can ignore, they are not from the inner city, they are not militant, they are average black Americans…educated, respectable, good people and friends that I am proud to have in my life. We live in the same town, go to the same Wal-Mart, and yet they deal with issues that have never affected my life. These issues are cultural. My impression is that African-Americans continue to have a vast mistrust of white people and we are all left with a legacy of pain that has not been healed. Both cultures are hurting because one part of it is hurting. Young African Americans are the fruit and manifestation of generations of anger and bitterness, and unhealed hurt and pain.

Though the secular world and government have done their part to close the racial divide, there is still a huge gap found within Christianity. Our churches are culturally and racially divided. We are worshiping the same God. We love Jesus, and yet I think many of us would feel very uncomfortable in a church of a different racial make-up. Keeping the differences God has given us as cultures is good, but I believe it grieves the Holy Spirit when we are unable to put aside our fears and mistrust, and not accept people as Christian brothers and sisters first. When we look at another Christian our view should be through the eyes of one member of the body to another. We truly are one body in Christ and at this point the body is divided. As long as our races continue to negate God and look at color, we will continue to be separated at the place where God wants His children to come together.

Barak Obama is a man who represents the affluent, intelligent, charismatic leader that white Americans are ready to embrace; yet, if his pastor speaks for what he would not dare say aloud, he also represents the mistrust and rage that has thus far gone unhealed because unacknowledged. Just as with all planted seed, harvest is coming forth. The good…a black man running for President of the United States, being embraced by white Americans. And the bad…the revelation that African-Americans continue to mistrust and believe that white Americans are their enemies. Neither race has done enough to heal the wounds that have been caused and we, as Christians, have neglected to recognize, and utterly failed to address, the fact that our churches are divided down racial lines and see the consequences that will have on our future. We need to come to our Father as one nation under God - not two cultures.

We need to pray for healing. If this gap isn’t bridged when judgment comes to America it will be evident for all to see and know.

2 Chr: 7:14 “If My people, who are called by My Name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

When you're feeling down, listen to this video.

When you're needing encouragement, watch this video.
http://www.wretch.cc/video/ritahsia&func=single&vid=2282608&o=time_d&p=0

Scripture filters for Lakeland, FL

Here is a link for those who are inquiring about what is happening in Lakeland, Florida, with Scripture and an urge for thoughtful caution:
http://www.newchristian.org.uk/lakeland.html

Why Does Obama's Pastor Matter?

Why Does Obama's Pastor Matter?

By John Perazzo
FrontPageMagazine.com | 2/4/2008

Barack Obama, in a way that recalls John F. Kennedy, a politician to whom he's frequently compared, has carefully controlled and burnished his image to create the impression of an independent figure, free from dogma and ideological entanglements. But there is one man who threatens to undermine Obama's appealing narrative as a man above the ugly quarrels and divisive partisanship of the past: his longtime pastor and spiritual adviser, Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

On March 1, 1972, Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr. became the pastor of Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ (TUCC), a position he still holds to this day. Because he has been a revered figure in the life of presidential aspirant Barack Obama for two decades, Wright's political views, which he commonly draws from the tenets of liberation theology, are worthy of some scrutiny—if only to shed light on the teachings that have had enough resonance to retain Obama as a TUCC congregant since 1988. So great is Obama's respect for Wright, that the former sought the Reverend's counsel before formally declaring his candidacy for U.S. President. Moreover, Obama and his wife selected Wright to perform their wedding ceremony and to baptize their two daughters. These are honors of considerable magnitude, and it is reasonable to speculate that if we learn more about Rev. Wright, we may gain some insight into the personal qualities and belief systems Barack Obama holds in high regard.

When we read the writings, public statements, and sermons of Rev. Wright, we quickly notice his unmistakable conviction that America is a nation infested with racism, prejudice, and injustices that make life very difficult for black people. As he declared in one of his sermons: "Racism is how this country was founded and how this country is still run!... We [Americans] believe in white supremacy and black inferiority and believe it more than we believe in God."

In a similar spirit, Wright laments "the social order under which we [blacks] live, under which we suffer, under which we are killed."[1] Depicting blacks as a politically powerless demographic, he complains that "African Americans don't run anything in the Capital except elevators."[2] On its website, Wright's church portrays black people as victims who are still burdened by the legacy of their "pilgrimage through the days of slavery, the days of segregation, and the long night of racism," and who must pray for "the strength and courage to continuously address injustice as a people."

Wright detects what he views as racism in virtually every facet of American life. In the business world, for instance, he attributes the high unemployment rate of African Americans to "the fact that they are black."[3] Vis-à-vis the criminal justice system, he similarly explains that "the brothers are in prison" largely because of their skin color. "Consider the 'three strikes law,'" he elaborates. "There is a higher jail sentencing for crack than for cocaine because more African Americans get crack than do cocaine."[4] Notwithstanding Wright's implication that the harsh anti-crack penalties were instituted by racist legislators for the purpose of incarcerating as many blacks as possible, the Congressional Record shows that such was not at all the case. In 1986, when the strict, federal anti-crack legislation was being debated, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC)—deeply concerned about the degree to which crack was decimating the black community—strongly supported the legislation and actually pressed for even harsher penalties. In fact, a few years earlier CBC members had pushed President Reagan to create the Office of National Drug Control Policy.[5]

In Wright's calculus, white America's bigotry is to blame not only for whatever ills continue to plague the black community, but also for our country's conflicts with other nations. "In the 21st century," says Wright, "white America got a wake-up call after 9/11/01. White America and the western world came to realize that people of color had not gone away, faded into the woodwork or just 'disappeared' as the Great White West kept on its merry way of ignoring black concerns."

Remarkably, no mention of jihad—the ageless Muslim tradition of aggressive, permanent warfare whose ultimate aim is to achieve Islam's dominion over the human race at large—managed to find its way into Wright's analysis. Rather, he assured us that the 9/11 atrocities were ultimately traceable to the doorstep of U.S. provocations. In fact, Wright apparently sees no reason to suspect that Islam may be incompatible in any way with Western traditions. "Islam and Christianity are a whole lot closer than you may realize," he has written. "Islam comes out of Christianity."[6]

Apart from America's purported racism, Wright also despises the nation's capitalist economic structure, viewing it as a breeding ground for all manner of injustice. "Capitalism as made manifest in the 'New World,'" says Wright, "depended upon slave labor (by African slaves), and it is only maintained by keeping the 'Two-Thirds World' under oppression."[7] This anti-capitalist perspective is further reflected in TUCC's "10-point vision," whose ideals include the cultivation of "a congregation working towards ECONOMIC PARITY." Dispelling any doubt that this is a reference to socialism and the wholesale redistribution of wealth, the TUCC mission statement plainly declares its goal of helping "the less fortunate to become agents of change for God who is not pleased with America's economic mal-distribution!"

This view is entirely consistent with Rev. Wright's devotion to the tenets of liberation theology, which is essentially Marxism dressed up as Christianity. Devised by Cold War-era theologians, it teaches that the gospels of Jesus can be understood only as calls for social activism, class struggle, and revolution aimed at overturning the existing capitalist order and installing, in its stead, a socialist utopia where today's poor will unseat their "oppressors" and become liberated from their material (and, consequently, their spiritual) deprivations. An extension of this paradigm is black liberation theology, which seeks to foment a similar Marxist revolutionary fervor founded on racial rather than class solidarity. Wright's mentor in this discipline is James Cone, author of the landmark text Black Power and Black Theology. Arguing that Christianity has been used by white society as an opiate of the (black) masses, Cone asserts that the destitute "are made and kept poor by the rich and powerful few," and that "[n]o one can be a follower of Jesus Christ without a political commitment that expresses one's solidarity with victims."

Many of Wright's condemnations of America are echoed in his denunciations of Israel and Zionism, which he has blamed for imposing "injustice and … racism" on the Palestinians. According to Wright, Zionism contains an element of "white racism." Likening Israel's treatment of Palestinians to South Africa's treatment of blacks during the apartheid era, Wright advocates divestment campaigns targeting companies that conduct business in, or with, Israel.

Given Wright's obvious low regard for the U.S. and Israel, it is by no means surprising that he reserves some of his deepest respect for the virulently anti-American, anti-Semitic Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. "When Minister Farrakhan speaks, Black America listens," says Wright. "Everybody may not agree with him, but they listen … His depth on analysis when it comes to the racial ills of this nation is astounding and eye opening. He brings a perspective that is helpful and honest. Minister Farrakhan will be remembered as one of the 20th and 21st century giants of the African American religious experience. His integrity and honesty have secured him a place in history as one of the nation's most powerful critics. His love for Africa and African American people has made him an unforgettable force, a catalyst for change and a religious leader who is sincere about his faith and his purpose."

Wright's paean to Farrakhan was parroted in the November/December issue of TUCC's bimonthly magazine, the Trumpet, which featured an interview with the NOI "icon" who, according to the publication, "truly epitomized greatness." "Because of the Minister's influence in the African American community," the Trumpet announced that it was honoring him with an "Empowerment Award" as a "fitting tribute for a storied life well lived."

This seems an odd distinction to confer upon someone whose anti-American, anti-white, anti-Semitic statements are numerous. For example, in 1996 Farrakhan told a Tehran newspaper that God would "bestow upon Muslims" the honor of "destroy[ing] America." In February 1998, he sent a cordial and supportive letter to Saddam Hussein, calling him a "visionary" who had earned the Iraqi people's "love," and whose demise would "mean a setback for the goal of unity [among Muslims]." In July 2002, he declared that America, "with blood dripping from [its] hands," had no moral authority by which to overthrow Saddam. In February 2005, he condemned the United States for waging a war "against Islam," adding: "[T]here's no way that I, as a Muslim, could countenance my children or grandchildren fighting a war against fellow believers in any part of the world."

Farrakhan also has a long, well-documented history of venom-laced references to the white "blue-eyed devils" and Jewish "bloodsuckers" who purportedly decimate America's black communities from coast to coast. Moreover, he has referred to white people as "the skunks of the planet."

On a 1984 trip to meet with the Libyan dictator (and America's arch enemy) Muammar Qadhafi, Farrakhan was accompanied by none other than Jeremiah A. Wright.

Farrakhan has long considered Qadhafi to be his trusted "friend," "brother," and "fellow struggler in the cause of liberation for our people." In 1996, the NOI leader formed a partnership with Qadhafi, who pledged $1 billion to help Farrakhan develop a Muslim political lobby in the U.S. Said Qadhafi: "We agreed with Louis Farrakhan and his delegation to mobilize in a legal and legitimate form the oppressed minorities—and at their forefront the blacks, Arab Muslims and Red Indians—for they play an important role in American political life and have a weight in U.S. elections." "Our confrontation with America," added Qadhafi, "was [previously] like a fight against a fortress from outside, and today [with the NOI alliance] we found a breach to enter into this fortress and confront it."

Farrakhan's October 16, 1995 Million Man March ranks among the events about which Rev. Wright has written most extensively and passionately. Wright attended the rally with his son, and has described it as "a once in a lifetime, amazing experience."[8] When a number of prominent African Americans counseled fellow blacks to boycott the demonstration because of Farrakhan's well-documented history of hateful rhetoric, Wright derided those critics as "'Negro' leaders,"[9] "'colored' leaders," "Oreos," and "house niggras"[10] whose most noteworthy trait was their contemptible "Uncle Tomism."[11] "There are a whole boat load of 'darkies' who think in white supremacist terms," added Wright. "… Some 'darkies' think white women are superior to black women…. Some 'darkies' think white lawyers are superior to black lawyers. Some 'darkies' think white pastors are better than black pastors. There are a whole boatload of 'darkies' who think anything white and everyone white is better than whatever it is black people have."[12]

In the book titled When Black Men Stand up for God, a collection of sermons and reflections on the Million Man March, Wright identifies Kwanzaa founder Maulana Karenga as an attendee of the rally.[13] In the end notes that follow a transcript of one of Wright's sermons, Karenga is described as "an internationally acclaimed social activist and scholar in Pan African Studies"; "the founder and creator of Kwanzaa, the well-known African American holiday"; and "the director of Pan African Studies and Visiting Lecturer in Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Riverside."[14] Unmentioned is the fact that Karenga is a self-identified "African socialist" whose "Seven Principles of Blackness," which are observed during Kwanzaa, are not only the Marxist precepts of parity and proletariat unity, but are also identical to those of the 1970s domestic terrorist group, the Symbionese Liberation Army. Nor is it noted that in 1971 Karenga was convicted of torturing two women who were members of United Slaves, a black nationalist cult he had established.

On its website, Wright's church describes itself in distinctly racial terms, as being an "Unashamedly Black" congregation of "African people" who are "true to our native land, the mother continent, the cradle of civilization," and who participate in TUCC's "Black worship service and ministries which address the Black Community."

Some have suggested that such seemingly exclusionary assertions, coupled with Wright's own racially loaded statements and his close affiliation with Farrakhan, indicate that Wright is guilty of racism. But Wright casually dismisses this charge, stating: "I get tickled every time I hear a 'Negro' call me a racist. They don't even understand how to define the word. Racism means controlling the means."[15] In other words, Wright employs a rhetorical escape hatch that permits him to evade all charges of racism simply by claiming that only the "dominant" (i.e., white) demographic is capable of such ugliness. The implication is that no deed or utterance, however hateful or vile, is egregious enough to qualify any black person as a racist; that blacks are always the victims of racism, never its perpetrators.

American voters ought to have more than a passing interest in the fact that when Barack Obama formally joined TUCC in 1991, he tacitly accepted this same Jeremiah Wright as a spiritual mentor. Moreover, he pledged allegiance to the church's race-conscious "Black Value System" that encourages blacks to patronize black-only businesses, support black leaders, and avoid becoming "entrapped" by the pursuit of a "black middle-classness" whose ideals presumably would erode their sense of African identity and render them "captive" to white culture.

In addition, voters should examine carefully the question of whether Obama shares Wright's socialist economic preferences. They ought to be aware, for instance, that the Democratic candidate is on record as having said that his religious faith has led him to question "the idolatry of the free market." Moreover, Obama's voting record and his issue positions show him generally to favor high spending and increased government intervention in all realms of life.

When Rev. Wright's controversial statements and positions recently became more widely publicized, Obama said, "There are some things I agree with my pastor about, some things I disagree with him about." It is the duty of every American voter to determine exactly where those agreements and disagreements lie.

Notes:

[1] When Black Men Stand up for God (Chicago: African American Images), 1996, p. 17.
[2] Ibid., p. 102.
[3] Ibid., p. 17.
[4] Ibid., p. 17.
[5] John DiIulio, Jr., "My Black Crime Problem, and Ours," City Journal (Spring 1996), pp. 19-20.
[6] When Black Men Stand up for God, p. 16.
[7] Blow the Trumpet in Zion (Minneapolis: Fortress Press), 2005, pp. 8-9.
[8] When Black Men Stand up for God, p. 10.
[9] Ibid., pp. 11, 37.
[10] Ibid., p. 80.
[11] Ibid., p. 11.
[12] Ibid., p. 81.
[13] It should be noted that Wright's church has conducted Kwanzaa programs for its congregants. See When Black Men Stand up for God, p. iv.)
[14] When Black Men Stand up for God, p. 25.
[15] Ibid., p. 102.

Links to people with similar concerns

http://filesfromtoni.blogspot.com/2008/05/todd-bentley-and-false-lakeland-revival.html

Grain for Energy

May 9, 2008
My brother and I were talking about current conditions in the world and I mentioned newscasters saying that we hadn't hit bottom yet, economically. Yes, but this is optimism speaking, he pointed out. Only God gives hope; all the world has is optimism. They believe the present economic situation is just a bump in the road, and they have no fear. The Bible says fear is the beginning of wisdom. Compassion and grief are godly responses to real situations, and are not negative. People tell us that we are too serious or too heavy in spirit. Even fellow Christians say this! Should there not be grief at the riots in poor countries by hungry people? Is not grain for energy a moral issue? The result is not merely higher prices for Americans, but not enough food for the world. How can I not grieve for what is yet to come?
A voice

A voice

Easter, March 23, 2008

American Christians are about to be refined by fire. The Lord says the whole nation is descending into fire, some in judgment, some into refining, but all will experience what He is only beginning to do in this nation. He prepared the nation for leadership in the beginning and His people walked softly with fear and respect before Him, but we have lost our respect for God and are engaging in not just sin, but in degradation by worshiping strange gods as ancient Israel did. And as God spoke to Jeremiah, those God speaks to today must cry out a warning. No one wants to be the bearer of such scorching news, and no one wants to hear it, but it must be spoken! As God protected Jeremiah, so He will protect those who hear and prophetically speak His words today. As Jeremiah went through great trials, so will today’s prophets. This is a message specifically for America because other nations are already experiencing the purging and preparation of believers through greater persecution than the world has ever known until this time. Believers in other countries know that to be a follower of Christ is to lay down their lives so they sanctify themselves purposefully with courage that only comes from a commitment and passion American Christians, generally, do not have.

As the economy spirals downward rather quickly, people will lose their homes and jobs and become cold and hungry. Youth and young adults will form gangs and pillage without restraint. I am not speaking of city gangs but small town and even rural gangs who will break in and steal food, clothing and shelter because they believe society owes that to them. This is a common belief now and when hunger and lack of shelter become a fact, they will act on their unspoken belief of entitlement.

Another situation that is already in process and will escalate is mental illness caused by unforgiveness, extreme fear, bitterness, hatred, and the desire for revenge which will become increasingly expressed in twisted thinking. Those who deny having hatred and a desire for revenge will claim that their anger is only reasonable. They will commit grisly crimes and claim insanity when actually the problem is spiritual. Standing before a church congregation to preach God’s antidote, Christ as the only Way, the only Truth, the only Life, already is an exercise in courage and commitment. No wonder people are traveling from sea to sea to hear God’s word preached and taught in its entirety. The present famine of the Word in both preaching and hearing will increase because of compromising, fearful pastors and Christian leaders.

This solemn message is not cast in concrete; it is a warning of what is about to happen if things continue as they are. As when Jonah preached to the heathen at Nineveh, the Lord’s desire is for people to take warning, repent, and turn from their wickedness to Him.

At some point in the future, among other disasters, the New Madrid Fault will produce an earthquake of devastation beyond anything America has ever faced. Gas and electrical lines will be broken from the Mississippi River to the East Coast and from the Gulf Coast into Canada. Fires will break out from broken gas mains and storage tanks. Bridges will be broken and high-rise buildings will crumble. The disaster will be too far-reaching for our nation to recover even after many years, thus setting us back into the 1800s. In order to survive we will be forced to work together to help one another do the simplest things, such as drawing water from closed wells, planting crops with the aid of horses and backbreaking human labor. Crops will not be distributed all over the nation as they are now because the transportation network will have been severely ruptured. People in large American cities will suffer most because they will have inadequate access to food, heat and shelter. The death toll will be high and disease will be rampant because of floods caused by broken levees and unburied dead. In the midst of economic chaos the Lord will perform miracles for those who are faithful to Him just as He did for the widow of Zarephath in Elijah’s day and others who were politically or economically insignificant but humble and obedient before their Lord. (see I Kings 17 and II Kings 4)

Many years ago, I was asking the Lord how He could possibly protect His little children as persecution and natural disasters increased, and He gave me this dream:

I was in an empty apartment in a very high building, looking down at the street below. Most of the building was empty because Christians had been searched out and killed wherever they were found. The apartment door opened stealthily and half a dozen people of various ages entered, looking very frightened. They told me they were being pursued. Was there any place in the apartment to hide?

I shook my head, “Only closets and cabinets.”

“Oh, what will we do?” they cried fearfully.

“Stand here in faith and ask the Lord to hide us,” I suggested.

“We can’t do that,” they gasped. “That would be fool-hardy!”

“Alright,” I snapped, “hide in the cabinets and closets. The soldiers will sweep the space with their bayonets.”

So the people scattered and hid as best they could while I stood quietly in the middle of the floor and prayed for us all to be unseen.

The soldiers finally reached our floor and began a methodical search of apartments, reaching ours at last. They clomped in, swung their bayonets about in the closets and cabinets, and tromped out again. Timidly the people crept out of their hiding places and exclaimed in wonder, “He hid us. He did what you asked. Thank you for praying for us and having faith in the Lord’s goodness to us!”

They were so relieved that they realized they were hungry, so we all trekked down stairs to a back alley and the large waste bin of a nearby restaurant. Much of the food thrown out was still good so we ate, all the while watching for police.

I woke up then and understood that no matter what the situation, God is more than able to keep us safe and meet our needs according to His will, even in dire circumstances. I am convinced that He is exceeding abundantly able to keep that which I have committed to Him against that day when I will meet Him face to face. Until that time, I will not step aside for anything, but I will follow Him, simply trusting that He knows the way. He is worthy of our confidence in Him.