Winston Churchill was England’s nonsense prime minister during World War II. He argued that “those who do not learn from history are destined to relive it.” You can learn hard life lessons in high school, careless words that cause extreme fallout in your work or relationships, or history can become our biggest teacher.
History, for example, lets us know that our Founding Fathers rebelled against England to ensure their freedom to worship God. It’s not freedom from worship, it’s freedom of worship.
Fast forward to a modern era when the courts drove God out of public life and governed him, advocating for “separation of the church and the nation.” However, the “separation clause” was to move the government away from the church’s business and not to silence the church’s emphasis on government policies. Today, the separation between the church and the nation is genuine. However, most people don’t know if it really makes sense to exclude God from our lives, as our society is successful in talking and consolidating problems without truly understanding that we can learn from history, its origins, or past problems.
I’m worried that our country may be on a trajectory like the state of Israel. America today does not trust God. Larry Norman, one of the pioneers of Christian Rock, once wrote, “Your money is ‘we trust’, but praying at school is against the law.”
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Once upon a time, the United States was the king of the jungle, with respect for its strength and moral muscles. We stood up to protect human freedom and pushing away countries that oppressed others. We were lions that everyone respected and no one challenged. But now the lion is sick. The roar whispered! Now, other animals in the forest feel our weakness and see it as an opportunity to challenge that lion. Even for justice reasons, we lost the will to bite.
This weakened morality has changed its value. Biblical Christians who believe that the Bible is true were once considered the deification (highest point) of honor in American culture. Now the same person is number one public enemy. Christians are malignant when they are flexible, narrow-minded, prejudiced and intolerant. Christians are seen as American troubles just as King Ahab saw the prophet Elijah as the “trouble of Israel” (1 Kings 18:17). We are those they claim to be obstacles to homosexuality and transgender freedom.
But they mistaken the disease for treatment! The gospel is not a hindrance. It’s a treatment. The good news about Jesus Christ is the only thing that changes a person’s life. And only when you change people’s minds can you have the opportunity to change your community, your state, and even your country. This was when Ahab accused Elijah of being an Israeli problem, retorted, “I am not plaguing Israel, but I have you and your father’s house.” Don’t be ashamed of the gospel and don’t hold back. We are a treatment. There is a treatment.
Someone once said, “Never preach to be understood, preaching so that it becomes impossible to be misunderstood.” It is the best way to live a Christian life in a morally and spiritually dark world. Please be clear. He’s bold. Do be sure to be firm. It’s so lively that no one will mistake it. It doesn’t matter to share faith, belief in God, and its message with the world. It’s a treatment!
So many Christians are nervous about standing firm in their faith. They are afraid of blowbacks they may receive if they scream it from the summit. One day, when they are with a group of Christian friends, they are leaning towards God. But on another day, when they are with a more hostile crowd, they are leaning towards them. Thrown into the winds of opinion and popularity, they shake rather than endure firmly.
At some point in life, everyone has to decide which side of history is. As we learn from the past, we are poised to have a better future. Don’t repeat history for evil. Like Churchill, and like the Prophet Elijah, they insist on living and speaking for the truth.
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Skip Heitzig is a senior pastor at Calvary Church in New Mexico and is the author of numerous books and publications. His radio and television broadcast “Connect with Skip Heitzig” is available in the US and worldwide.
