STUDIES FROM BRETHREN IN CHRIST

10/6/2019 ~ Presidential Quotes 26

♔   PresidentialQuotesPM26.mp3 (31m 34s)   PresidentialQuotesAboutGod26.pptx Darkness is the smoke of death. Wounds carry heavy debts when inflicted by others. 34. Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953-1961) “Forces of good and evil are massed and armed and opposed as rarely before in history. Freedom is pitted against slavery; lightness against the dark... In the final choice, a soldier's pack is not so heavy a burden as a prisoner's chains.” “We face a hostile ideology global in scope, atheistic in character, ruthless in purpose and insidious in method.” Evil has no regard for God        Global in Scope    Atheistic in Character    Ruthless in Purpose Insidious in Method “How far have we come in man's long pilgrimage from darkness toward light? Are we nearing the light-a day of freedom and of peace for all mankind? Or are the shadows of another night closing in upon us?” ... men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, ... ~ John 3:19-20 “This is a long tough road we have to travel. The men that can do things are going to be sought out just as surely as the sun rises in the morning. Fake reputations, habits of glib and clever speech, and glittering surface performance are going to be discovered.” “The hope of the world is that wisdom can arrest conflict between brothers. I believe that war is the deadly harvest of arrogant and unreasoning minds. And I find grounds for this belief in the wisdom literature of Proverbs. It says in effect this: Panic strikes like a storm and calamity comes like a whirlwind to those who hate knowledge and ignore their God.” "When your terror comes like a storm, And your destruction comes like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come upon you. ..." ~ Proverbs 1:27-29 “Before all else, we seek, upon our common labor as a nation, the blessings of Almighty God.” “Give us, we pray, the power to discern clearly right from wrong, and allow all our words and actions to be governed thereby, and by the laws of this land. Especially we pray that our concern shall be for all the people regardless of station, race, or calling.” ... aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. ... ~ James 1:21-22 “We the people, elect leaders not to rule but to serve.” “Personal prayer, it seems to me, is one of the simplest necessities of life, as basic to the individual as sunshine, food and water-and at times, of course, more so. By prayer I mean an effort to get in touch with the Infinite. We know that our prayers are imperfect. Of course they are. We are imperfect human beings. A thousand experiences have convinced me beyond room of doubt that prayer multiplies the strength of the individual and brings within the scope of his capabilities almost any conceivable objective.” ... we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings ... ~ Romans 8:26 “Without God there could be no American form of government, nor an American way of life. Recognition of the Supreme Being is the first, the most basic, expression of Americanism. Thus, the founding fathers of America saw it, and thus with God’s help, it will continue to be.” “Our government makes no sense unless it is founded on a deeply held religious belief - and I don't care what it is.” “If we make ourselves worthy of America's ideals, if we do not forget that our nation was founded on the premise that all men are creatures of God's making, the world will come to know that it is free men who carry forward the true promise of human progress and dignity.” I was a boy scout leader until while at a summer camp class, we were told we could not hold public prayer as it could be offensive to those who did not believe. I withdrew from the scouts after this, for I opened every meeting with a prayer. How offensive when we make laws against open worship. A sad day when we cannot say “God Bless America,” because it goes against our moral code? Good senses are lost when we flip common sense upside down and file lawsuits for not allowing girls to be in the boy scouts. We entertain unreasonable lies for the sake of claimed injustice. We have replaced “In God we Trust” to “Trust no One.” There are those waiting to attack with every breath. If fact, we have moved more toward unthankfulness wherever we can attack, rather than remaining thankful for His blessings bestowed upon us from the hard fought trials of our fathers. Lawyers have become the leaders of our demise where the noble are outlawed. Is there no rights for what is decent as norms are changed for the corruption of it? Women have filed lawsuits against sexist discrimination for not being allowed to walk our streets topless. Freedom was never intended to legalize evil. The rights of God fearing people are being stolen by those that this country was built to protect us from. If we allow the darkness to invade our open worship of God, darkness will consume us and murder will become more the norm than life. God’s warning is to all who hate, where there will be none of His inheritance. "Behold, all souls are Mine; The soul of the father As well as the soul of the son is Mine; The soul who sins shall die." ~ Ezekiel 18:4 “The spirit of man is more important than mere physical strength, and the spiritual fiber of a nation than its wealth. The Bible is endorsed by the ages. Our civilization is built upon its words. In no other book is there such a collection of inspired wisdom, reality, and hope.” The truth can be refused but not denied   The Bible:       ⮡  Endorsed by the ages              ⮡  Civilization built upon it                         ● Inspired wisdom                       ● Reality                       ● Hope Times are such they are unique, and when heroes of yesterday turn in to the monsters of today, we look to find the worst in us, rather than the best. Is this truly who we want to become for our children’s children? A legacy of disgust over praise? When climbing the hill we need help and encouragement over criticisms and predictions of gloom from screaming cynics. To achieve the best in life optimism cannot be substituted with pessimism. For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is ... ~ 1st Timothy 4:8 “In the highest sense the Bible is to us the unique repository of eternal spiritual truths.” “The teaching of their ancient belief is filled with truth for the present day. Its profound sense of justice, nation to nation, man to man, is an essential part of every religious and social order. The health of our society depends upon a deep and abiding respect for the basic commandments of the God of Israel.” “We have never stopped sin by passing laws; and in the same way, we are not going to take a great moral ideal and achieve it merely by law.” “What the church should be telling the worker is that the first demand religion makes on him is that he should be a good workman. If he is a carpenter he should be a competent carpenter. Church by all means on Sundays-but what is the use of church if at the very center of life a man defrauds his neighbor and insults God by poor craftsmanship.” ... in sincerity of heart, fearing God. And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, ... ~ Colossians 3:22-24 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, ... ~ Ephesians 2:10 “This is what I found out about religion: It gives you courage to make the decisions you must make in a crisis, and then the confidence to leave the result to a higher Power. Only by trust in God can a man carrying responsibility find repose.” Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, ... ~ Proverbs 3:5-7 ... Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ~ Matthew 11:28-29   PresidentialQuotesPM26.5.mp3 (30m 27s) “There are three stages of life: youth, maturity, and 'My, you're looking good!'” “The past sharpens perspective, warns against pitfalls, and helps to point the way.” As iron sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend. ~ Proverbs 27:17 “Freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed - else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die.” ... As for man, his days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes. For the wind passes over it, and it is gone, ... ~ Psalms 103:14-16 But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting On those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children's children, ... ~ Psalms 103:17-18 “The qualities of a great man are vision, integrity, courage, understanding, the power of articulation, and profundity of character.” “Only our individual faith in freedom can keep us free.” “May the light of freedom, coming to all darkened lands, flame brightly - until at last the darkness is no more.” "I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness. ..." ~ John 12:46-48 “But we know that freedom cannot be served by the devices of the tyrant. As it is an ancient truth that freedom cannot be legislated into existence, so it is no less obvious that freedom cannot be censored into existence. And any who act as if freedoms defenses are to be found in suppression and suspicion and fear confess a doctrine that is alien to America.” ... "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." ~ John 8:31-32 “To have a free, peaceful and prosperous world we must be ever stronger particularly in the spiritual things....It is American belief in decency and justice and progress and the value of individual liberty because of the rights conferred on each of us by our Creator that will carry us through. ... There must be something in the heart as well as the head.” “We are so proud of our guarantees of freedom in thought and speech and worship, that, unconsciously, we are guilty of one of the greatest errors that ignorance can make - we assume our standard of values is shared by all other humans in the world.” “As we peer into society's future, we -- you and I, and our government -- must avoid the impulse to live only for today, plundering for our own ease and convenience the precious resources of tomorrow. We cannot mortgage the material assets of our grandchildren without risking the loss also of their political and spiritual heritage. We want democracy to survive for all generations to come, not to become the insolvent phantom of tomorrow.” “It is not a struggle merely of economic theories, or forms of government or of military power. At issue is the true nature of man. Either man is the creature whom the psalmist described as a little lower than the angels ... or man is a soulless, animated machine to be enslaved, used and consumed by the state for its own glorification. It is, therefore, a struggle which goes to the roots of the human spirit, and its shadow falls across the long sweep of man's destiny.” Only fools cannot see the truth          True Nature of Man               ⭩ A little   lower than   the angels  A soulless      ⮡   Animated machine    to be enslaved          ⮡   used and consumed                   ⮡   by the state                                 ↓                         For its own                         glorification ... For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor. ~ Psalms 8:3-5 “Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way of life at all in any true sense. Under the clouds of war, it is humanity hanging on a cross of iron.” “The cost of one modern heavy bomber is this: a modern brick school in more than 30 cities ... We pay for a single fighter with a half million bushels of wheat. We pay for a single destroyer with new homes that could have housed more than 8,000 people.” Love departs where hurt thirsts. There will always be those waiting to attack any and all things. The Hyper-critical students of little knowledge or self-control presently lurk in both the future and past. Condemning dead men and glorifying no one but their own demagogues, they seek what they cannot find, peace. Hate will forever divide songs of joy. Personal achievement is found in unity, the solution as part of the climb, not the dive. Battles are won when His light shines ● The great battle is freedom from slavery ● Hating knowledge and despising God brings defeat ● One must pray to distinguish between right & wrong ● The Bible holds timeless wisdom, reality, & hope ● Societies heath is dependent upon adherence to God ● Trust in God is the only sane way to peace ● Truths of the past delivers wisdom in the present ● Greatness is found in the gauge of good character ● The light of God’s truth is found in His word ● Passion to pursue the will of God strengthens people ● Values like grasping water can shift as sand blows ● Impulsive greed steals the birthright of our children ● The cost of war enslaves the whole world The canvas of life is spewn with challenges to return to Him. Darkness is somewhere below cold.