This article was written in November of 2009 – Shawn
“Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.” Psalm 100:3-5
I know some people get aggravated when preachers talk about politics but I cannot help it. Please bear with me this issue. Thanksgiving is a time that we set aside to thank God for our blessings. I think we should also take a moment to appreciate those things that we hold dear, because they are slipping away from us daily and I believe our children and grand-children will not know the freedom that we have enjoyed. Read the following excerpt and understand this is the direction our country is heading.
“At 4 in the morning on July 24, 1948, my doorbell suddenly started ringing insistently over and over. Sleepily I arose, put on my robe and went to the door. There stood three strangers, two of them were in ordinary clothes and the other in a uniform. “We have come to search your house” the leader in civilian clothes said and pushed his way past me into the sleeping house. My wife Ruth heard the noise and joined me in the living room where we watched with bewilderment as the three men searched the entire house. As they were searching I thought, it’s finally come. The time is here at last.” – Haralan Popov from his book Tortured for His Faith
After the Second World War the communist took over the country of Bulgaria. It was nicknamed “Little Russia”. Religious freedom became a thing of the past. Preachers who preached the truth were arrested and “puppet” pastors were installed in their place. Those who wouldn’t go along with the government were slandered and imprisoned. Pastor Haralan Popov was hauled off for questioning that night and did not see his wife and two children again for more than thirteen years. Christians were accused of all sorts of wrongdoing and wickedness and then they were tortured until they confessed to the government’s false accusations. Communist Bulgaria {Haralan Popov’s homeland} murdered over 200,000 people between the years 1946 and 1990.
As I write this article the U.S. Senate has passed a hate crimes bill and the President has signed it into law. Senator Jim DeMint, Republican from South Carolina said the bill “was a ‘dangerous step’ toward thought crimes. He asked whether the bill would ‘serve as a warning to people not to speak out too loudly about their religious views’.”
I believe that our nation is sliding into socialism. It may not be long until three men are knocking at my door in the middle of the night. As a Bible preacher I must preach against homosexuality and all sexual sin. I preach against false religion. I preach there is only one Way to God, and that’s through His Son Jesus Christ. I preach against the false religion of Islam. This may soon be considered “hate speech” and one day, I will probably be arrested for “hate crimes”. The communists accused Haralan Popov of many things, yet he was not guilty of anything but preaching the truth.
I know discussing this depresses some people. It’s hard to enjoy the big game or your favorite TV show if you have to think about things like this. But is it wrong of me to ask people to consider the future of their children and grandchildren, who in all likelihood will never know the freedoms that we have enjoyed? Is it wrong to think of those who have sacrificed everything so that we can be a free people? And what about that man who said; “Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”
Give me liberty or give me death? …Are you kidding?
Won’t that mess up the little league schedule?
Now here is a question… do I allow strangers {uniformed or otherwise} to come into my home and drag me off in front of my wife and children or do I defend my home and freedoms? You might be thinking, ‘that will never happen in this country. You just need to preach the Bible and not worry about all that.’
It sure has happened an awful lot in the past.
Democide is defined as “the intentional government killing of an unarmed person or people”.
Just to give you an idea what governments are capable of,
It is estimated that Hitler killed over 20 million people, {1933-1945}
In Russia, Lenin killed 4 million, {1917-1924}
Pol Pot of Cambodia 2 million, {1968-1987}
In Russia, Stalin killed 43 million, {1929-1953}
China’s Mao Zedong 73 million {1923-1976}
The total Communist body count is estimated over 149 million people worldwide. Men, women, boys and girls murdered by their government. {This figure doesn’t include other tyrannical regimes}
In 1938 the Reverend Martin Niemoller, a Lutheran pastor was arrested and imprisoned in Nazi Germany. He spent eight years in the Nazi’s concentration camps. He made the following statement about remaining silent in a climate of fear:
“In Germany, the Nazis first came for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, but I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left to speak for me.”
I am thankful for our country.
I am thankful for the freedoms that we still have.
I am thankful for those who made it possible.
I am thankful for my family.
I am thankful for our church.
I am thankful for my job.
I am thankful for my health.
I am thankful for all of God’s blessings.
But we need to remember, we didn’t gain all of these things by luck or coincidence. Fortunately for us, there were some people in our past who were willing to fight and die for what they believed in. This is what makes us different as Americans...
And who knows “whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
Sorry if I have depressed you.
Have a good Thanksgiving – Brother Shawn
Sources: Communist Body Count
The Christian Excavator 