AMERICAN TROOPS & WASHINGTON

Five years ago today, my oldest son USMC Captain Justin D Peterson, deployed to Iraq, where six months later he was killed while returning from a mission.  This time of year will always be special in my mind, and I traditionally use “milestone moments” for introspection.  Justin’s deployment with a small border transition team is one of those times, in part because it is surrounded with other important family events.

 For example, Justin’s only daughter, Caitlin, was born on 6 April 2006, only hours before his deployment, which had already been pushed back allowing him to be present for her birth.  How could I ever forget that day, since Justin and Patty had been gracious enough to let me stay with them in the birthing suite at Huron Valley Hospital until I had to race to catch my flight to Great Britain?  Forty minutes after saying goodbye to Justin, who had left Patty long enough to walk my wife Debbie and me to the car, he called to say, “Well, Dad, Caitlin’s here!”

Patty and Caitlin Peterson

However, today as I reflect, I am not only recalling tender moments like the one that I have just described, but also realizing the quagmire in which America has sunk, especially relative to those brave men and women in uniform who hazard their lives to keep us safe, and to the families whose fathers or mothers make additional sacrifices in our stead.

As I write today, the “highest leaders” in our land are embroiled in a budgetary stalemate inside the Beltway, and in what has become their standard modus operandi, they play their political games on the backs of and at the expense of the very people they are charged constitutionally with leading. 

Not only does the “establishment” (which includes both Democrats and Republicans) continually operate in such a manner that our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren will be laden with an unsustainable debt, they also are quite cautious to take steps to protect their own interests, salaries, and eternal benefits!  It’s time that every elected official at every level of government, especially Washington, D.C., throws himself or herself into a new caution—a caution to truly protect the populous whom they are to represent—even if it means throwing themselves on their own swords, as it were.

The latest political ploy—a government shutdown—appears to have little meaning to Washington.  Oh, I know—they trot themselves in front of cameras at every opportunity and talk—spewing a rhetoric that has worn terribly thin with the grassroots who pay not only their absorbent salary and benefit packages while they (in particular the Obama administration) are now threatening the meager paychecks of our troops and their families. 

Let me be clear—this gets personal, especially when I watch my five-year-old granddaughter blowing out her birthday candles, and I fight back the tears, realizing that this little girl will never know her daddy, other than the pictures and stories that others tell her.  Her mother and brothers are now being threatened with a cash flow shutdown by the very president that swore to uphold the constitution with a genuine concern for the people of this nation—including little girls whose daddies go off to fight for freedom!  

Maybe it would be a great idea for America to stop paying the people that we have elected to represent us in the House, Senate, and the White House until they establish a sustainable budget for each fiscal year.  And when they vote on bills for which they do not appropriate adequate funds, reduce their take-home pay by that same amount—in other words; let the fiscal irresponsibility be borne by the fiscally irresponsible people who fail at doing their jobs. 

Oh, and while we’re at it, why not scrap the special health care and retirement programs they all enjoy at this time and run them through the VA hospitals and Social Security?

Yes, as I reflect today, I’m very proud of my son Justin and his contribution to America.  However, I am ashamed of those men and women in Washington who, under a guise of caring about this great nation, are continually making choices and casting votes that are undermining this country and violating the very principles that lead to God’s blessings and the prosperity of our nation. 

And, just in case I have been too vague, that means that I am ashamed of much of what Barack Hussein Obama has done and is doing as my president.  The same is true for my Michigan Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow. 

BTW, do you pray?  If so, would you join me in praying that somehow, by His miraculous working, God would so speak to the hearts and minds of those we have elected, that once again common sense, honesty, and truth would begin to prevail inside the Beltway, in state capitols, and in local municipalities? 

(Ezekiel 22:30 KJV) And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none. 

How desperately we should pray that, as God continually looks for such men and women today, He will find such a person—in Washington, in Michigan, and in my house!

Semper fi, troops!

Stabilizing the Foundations

            We live in a great nation, don’t we?  I mean from sea to shining sea, America is a great land in almost every possible way.  Although being Americans makes us better than no one, the fact that we are so blessed by Almighty God augments our responsibilities within the world community.

            Further, living under such great freedom and protection that our nation provides, we as believers also enjoy the freedom that comes through Jesus Christ—the truth that always sets men free.  But we must never forget that these freedoms were handed to us by our fore-fathers. From the earliest arrivals aboard the Mayflower in 1620, they came with a vision, a dream, and a commitment to the Heavenly Father, whom they readily identified and named in their daily prayers for guidance, protection, and sustenance.

            While our president may not know or understand the history of this great nation, I do—and let me take a few moments to remind you from the pages of our rich history, lest any of you might buy into some of what comes from the Oval Office these days—statements like “America is not a Christian nation and never has been.”

1620 Mayflower Compact – “In the name of God … having undertaken for the glory of God and advancement of the Christian faith … do solemnly and mutually in the presence of God covenant and combine ourselves together … “

1643 Constitution of the New England Confederation – “Whereas we all come into these parts of America with one and the same end and aim, namely to advance the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ and to enjoy the liberties of the Gospel in purity and peace.”

1681 William Penn stated – “Men must be governed by God or they will be ruled by tyrants.

1752 Liberty Bell – inscribed with this verse from Leviticus 25:10 – “Proclaim liberty through all the land and to all the inhabitants thereof.”

1772 Samuel Adams – boldly proclaimed, “The rights of the Colonists as Christians … may be best understood by reading and carefully studying the institution of the Great Law Giver and Head of the Christian Church, which are to be found clearly written and promulgated in the New Testament.”

1776 Declaration of Independence – “ … the laws of Nature and Nature’s God … that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights …

1789 George Washington – in his Thanksgiving Day proclamation said, “Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly implore His protection, aid, and favors … “

1820 Daniel Webster said – “more than all, a government and a country were to commence, with the very first foundations laid under Divine light of the Christian religion … Who would wish that his country’s existence had otherwise begun?  Let us not forget the religious character of our origin.”

1863 Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address – “ … that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom and that government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

             But something has dramatically changed—something perhaps less visible than an industrial revolution—but something infinitely more damning to our nation than anything we can imagine.  America has forgotten God!  And for the many who have not totally forgotten God, there is often an unprecedented ambivalence and indifference toward His Word and His principles for successful living.

            (Psalm 9:17 KJV) The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.

            Our national dereliction of duty God-ward has brought us to the precipice of ethical, moral, and spiritual collapse!  We have become a nation of politicians without principles and devoid of character—we have to look no further than Detroit, Michigan or inside the Washington beltway to find that confirmation!  Washington, D.C. has become a collective cesspool of dishonesty, graft, greed, and a thousand other characteristics devoid of Godly character!  But American did not begin that way.

            As the character level of America continues to drop, we have become a nation of pleasure-seekers without conviction, businesses without morality, and sciences without humanity.  We have grown fat with knowledge, while starving good character and integrity.  And even our churches are losing our passion for evangelism, while offering a vain worship without sacrifice.

            But, ladies and gentlemen, there are three timeless truths on which I base my eternal hope, as I look past the tragic political events that each day brings, and I would remind you of these three:

• God is still on His throne—and nothing will dislodge Him
• God distinguishes between those who are righteous and those who are wicked
• God is holy and will certainly judge all wickedness

            What then is the great and pressing need of our day as we look at America?  If we listen to the political strategists and Washington’s rhetoric, we need more Democrats or we need more Republicans in office.  If we listen to the social engineers, we need to liberate ourselves and our children from the moralist constraints put on us by previous, prudish generations. If we listen to the secularist educators, the need is for more government money to be thrown into the black hole of humanistic education—an educational system that is increasingly void of God.

(Rom 1:28 KJV)  And even as they did not want to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient.

            The great reality is that people need the Lord!  The hope of America is not in electing different politicians, neither is it in shutting down abortion clinics, noble though that may be.  While putting the pornographer out of business and shutting down strip clubs is to be applauded, that isn’t the solution!  Joining the ranks of tree-huggers and hypocritical eco-freaks like Al Gore is wasted time and resources! 

            The solution is exactly what it has always been and where it has always been—In God We Trust!

(2 Chron 7:14 KJV)  If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal our land.

            The combined repetitive prophecies of Glen Beck, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, and Rush Limbaugh will not turn America around—economically, morally, or spiritually. 

But if the people who know God will draw close to Him, honor and obey Him—will let their lights so shine before men—will determine to be salt with savor—we might be able to rescue perhaps the greatest nation in human history before she plunges headlong over the cliff from which there will be no return.

My pastor Dr. John Marine of the North Auburn Hills Baptist Church asked this question a few Sundays ago:  “Which side are you on?”  Are you a part of the problem or a part of the solution?

(1 Cor 3:11 KJV)  For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

(2 Tim 2:19 KJV) Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.

More for the Kingdom

Once again, I sit in an airport – Amsterdam’s Schiphol, hurriedly typing a note to update ministry friends and partners on what is happening recently.  Hurry as I might, I know this will not get out to until I am in Amsterdam, or even back in Detroit, but I wanted to share the latest news with you.

Two weeks ago, in our BBF-GB camp in Cefn Lea Park (Wales), with approximately 144 campers total, we were privileged to see 15-17 campers come to place their faith in Jesus Christ as Savior.  Due to other responsibilities, I was not at the camp for the closing ceremonies on Friday morning, and I have been given two different numbers.  However, on their own testimonies, at least 15 young people came to faith in Christ.

After a brief visit with my middle son Jordan in Oxford, where he has been working this summer at Oxford University, my journey took me back northward to Huntingdon-Alconberry, where I was privileged to spend time with Carol and Jose Esquibel and the wonderful congregation of their labors.  I truly anticipate future ministry opportunities with this gracious family.  Their immaculate church complex is located across the street from the Alconberry Royal Air Force base, and it was truly a pleasure to interact with both RAF military personal as well as a few American families who serve on the same base, some as DOD contractors.

Following the morning services and a wonderful noon meal in the Esquibel home, I raced back to the White House, where Dan Brown and the LIFT-UK 09 team had already settled in.  After a day of rest for them, we headed northwest to Cloverley Hall Christian Conference Centre and the LIFT-UK 09 camp.  These camps focus primarily on evangelism, and we were not disappointed in the results!  The spirit of God was self-evident in less than 48 hours, and by the closing of the camp Friday morning, 30 young people became Christ followers.  But it didn’t end there!

I just received word a few minutes ago from Dan Brown, who spent the night last night in the Birmingham area near the airport to catch earlier flights, that another young man had accepted Christ as Savior after camp was over, and over the telephone!

Fifteen teenagers one week, and thirty-one young people another – a total of 46 new heavenly-bound people … because you prayed and invested financially.  Somehow, at the end of the day, that all seems to me like a wise investment of our lives and financial resources.  Thanks for being a part of it, even by proxy.

BTW, do you pray?  If so, would you now pray for these young believers?  Would you also pray for those pastors and Christian leaders in the area churches who have the awesome privilege of following through with discipleship?  Would you also pray as we endeavor to multiply the number of camps in the next few years?  Imagine the impact for the kingdom!

Got to run catch that flight now!  Cheers!

The Answer Is Coming

Hundreds, if not thousands of my friends have been praying for this particular week of camp here in the Cannock Chase national Forest.  Although time is limited at this moment, I wanted to update you concerning your prayer support …

I just left the scene … 16 teenagers placing their faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior!  Last evening, at the close of our first service together, six young people accepted Christ personally.  So … as a result of the first two services, already 22 teenagers have trusted Christ … and we still have three more services!

BTW, do you pray?  If so, would you please join the leadership team of LIFT Student Ministries, Rick and Mick Vigneulle, and me in praying for the remaining 40 young people … most of whom are not Christ followers?

Just before I walked away to run upstairs to my room and dash this note off to you, I leaned down and asked Marie Hitchings, the wonderful British lady who is the chef for the week, “Marie, as you look at this scene, does it make a week in a hot kitchen worth every minute of the time?”  Marie responded, “I’d do it for a month to see this happening!”

Please, continue praying!  Cheers!