Psalm 53:1 The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God. The last two weeks I have spoken with atheists while street preaching. Last week I dealt with the foolishness​ of atheism, this week I will deal with the heart. I spoke and listened to a young man about his rejection of the Bible and religion in general. Neither of us was angry at the other nor demeaning nor disrespectful, and it was clear what each of us believed and why. While he did believe evolution as all atheists must, the actual reason for his disbelief is much deeper, and is the reason I have seen for all people who become atheists. It is an issue of the heart. In Romans 10:10 we are told For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. This young man said the problem he has with the Bible is that he is the problem and the only way he can solve it is to come to God and only the God of the Bible and upon his terms. He is angry that God tells him that he is a sinner and that Jesus Christ is his only Saviour. Remember Peter? Why did he deny Jesus? Not from fear, he stepped out of his ship to walk on water in a raging storm. He was full of personal courage. He was angry. He was going to rescue Jesus from the crucification with one​ of the two swords the Lord told them to carry when Jesus told him to put up his sword in his sheath and further took away his personal glory by repairing the damage Peter had done in healing the man’s ear! A man I know often speaks to Jewish atheists who after awhile of intense anger and yelling admit that as a nation God is angry with them. My desire for these men I have spoken to is that they get reconciled to God and forgiven through the blood of Jesus Christ. Oh incidentally, he had a Bible app on his phone and wanted to show me contradiction in the Scripture but when I looked the verses up and showed him in the King James Bible they did not contradict and on showing him a certain doctrine his translation didn’t have it. A Christian can be no better than the Bible he uses!

Psalms 53:1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good. I met a man who stopped by while I was street preaching who was trying to tell my boys that I was lying to them. So I let him know that the Bible is true, there is a Good and he will be judged by God whether he believes it or not. So he tried to tell me a ludicrous explanation for the origins of Yahweh. I looked up his argument once I got home after reminding him that the Bible is God’s inerrant word and that he needed to repent for I do not wish this atheist to go to Hell. I am amazed at how little information you can use of historical fact to create a following and be viewed as an expert. Of course Mark Twain said an ex is a has been and a spurt is a drip under pressure. So a copper smelting site was found that the Edomite took over after the Egyptian left suddenly. Sounds like the time of the ten plagues to me. Well the Edomites destroyed the Egyptian idol of the smithy god and set up a tent over the sight. They found no idol nor name of a god yet assume this was a worship area. Then assume that the god they worship is the God of the Hebrews​ and that this is the Canaanite smithy god and then marry Jehovah to Ashteroth. Quite a leap of fancy to go from Edom to the Canaanite god which has a different name and blend the incoherent theology of the Canaanite with the carefully articulated majesty of the Jewish Scripture. But if a man wants to get out from under the burden of his sin without getting right with God, if he wants to evade the blood of the Cross they will grasp at any straw. So we have a man going to hell based upon spurious speculation and questionable conclusions​ equal to the fallacies of evolution. May God have mercy on his soul and Grant him repentance.

Genesis 50:6 And Pharaoh said, Go up, and bury thy father, according as he made thee swear. Exodus 1:8 Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph. Exodus 5:2 And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go. Here we see two very different Pharaohs​, with two different mindsets. One is open to suggestions, respectful of even a prisoner’s suggestions, who allowed these strangers in his midst that most basic of humanitarian respects, to be allowed to give the deceased a proper funeral, according to their last whishes. He is thankful and trusting, and knows that the happiness of his kingdom is intertwined with the happiness of God’s people. Some 400 years later we meet a Pharaoh who neither knows history nor the culture of the strangers in his midst. He is the first to believe that “international Jew” myth. He doesn’t even know the name of their God nor does he care. Can you imagine that our own leaders in this day forbid people from attending funerals or visiting their elderly parents or even their spouses and children in the hospital? There are Pharaohs in California and Nevada and the north east that don’t want people even meeting to worship God and pray for his mercy. Even the King of Persia knew the importance of having the temple rebuilt so they could pray for him. And like Pharaoh before the common denominator of those wishing to save lives at the cost of your freedom, is to engage in infanticide! I don’t trust my life to those who encourage killing babies, especially the unborn. Next will be the elderly and it’s coming fast. And they promote a life style that does not produce new life, if you know what I mean. So this survivor of abortion, Moses, stands before the arrogant Pharaoh and asks a reasonable request then pronounces God’s judgement upon his nation. The Bible says and be sure your sin will find you out, and sin is a reproach to any nation. As one brother pointed out, every nation comes to a point where no repentance is possible and God’s only alternative is judgement. As we said in the Navy, stand by for heavy rolls!

When I was in Pensacola Florida I read an article in the paper about a man who received a fine from the court. He disagreed with the verdict so he went to pay the fine with pennies. The clerk did not want to spend the time counting so she refused the payment. The man insisted that it was legal tender and was the only way he would pay. The judge put this man in jail for contempt of court. Many times overseas coming off the ship and going into town I would see something I wanted to buy for a souvenir or wanted to buy a meal. The countries varied but usually you had to use their currency to make the purchase. In some nations it was considered black market practice if they accepted U.S. money. Now we have a greater Judge and a more severe punishment. Will God accept your money? No. Will he accept your works? No. Will he accept your religion? No. The word propitiation is found 3 times in the Bible, and it means a payment that satisfies God. Romans 3:24-25 says And being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God. I John 2:2 and 4:10 state that Jesus Christ is the only propitiation. This is the same apostle that quoted Jesus saying I am the way, the truth and the life no man cometh unto the Father but by me. Have faith in Christ and his blood for the forgiveness of sin for if you try to pay any other way you will be found in contempt of court and the punishment will be far worse than a week in jail.

John 11:48 If we let him thus alone, all men will follow him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation. It is interesting to note that the nation of Israel rejects their king, who could have set up this earthly kingdom up to the point of Stephen, and trusts a foreign power to give them power to exist. The preachers of the American Independence era freely preached that the war was just. Many took up arms in battle and gave their lives so that no governmental power could control the pulpit. Up until the church registration movement, with it’s 501c3, churches regularly preached against government wickedness. When needing guidance on recognizing the State of Israel President Truman consulted a preacher, J. Frank Norris. Now is the time for Texas Independence. I will give a few reasons why the men of God in my State as well as pastor’s of all our States should support the movement. It is first to be remembered that we are 50 independent nations bond by a contract called the Constitution. If a contract is violated the signer is no longer bound by its terms. And even the most casual reading will admit that the terms are violated every session of Congress! Now as to the reasons. Remember O’Hare? No more prayer in government schools. Where did this case originate? Texas. And the Supreme Court (9 men) overthrew the will of the millions in our state without a constitutional reason and in defiance of previous decisions on this subject. How about Roe vs Wade? Yes, Texas again. Once again a tyrant of nine men overthrew our murder laws, the province and right of the States. The sodomy law? Once again from Texas. Now no one wants anyone spying on what is done in your house but it was an effective law for convicting child molesters. And that is the next group seeking recognition. How about David Koresh? His group was attacked by armed military! Do I believe as he did? No. Was he guilty of some of the charges against him? Probably. But that is a civil matter, a state matter and not a military dictatorship issue. And it violated the first amendment, as well as Constitutional safe guards against the federal government having troops fire on the citizens. How about the open rioting going on around our nation. I mean Texas is a law and order State. Don’t forget at these riots (not protests) Bibles and American flags are burned. Another one​ of our laws overturned by the Supreme Court. Texas had a law forbidding the desecration of the flag and objects held sacred. There are many more reasons to support a peaceful exit from the Union, but these should suffice. But never forget that more important will be church exit from this world when our Lord Jesus Christ comes for His own and let’s the Devil’s crowd have this Earth for seven years then sets up His kingdom! If you are not saved prepare to meet thy God!

Luke 23:38 And​ a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. Many people will ask if the King James Bible is the perfect Word of God then isn’t God obligated to give all languages the same treatment? Of course you must be very careful not to stand in judgement of God. You are not worthy to judge God nor his Word. God has given mankind translations which will instruct them on salvation and fellowship but the one absolute truth is the King James Bible and it is in English. Note the passage. Luke and John both record the three languages but Luke specifically says the letters. When God first gave His perfect Word He gave it in one language, Hebrew. Yes I know there is some Chaldean in there too. The New Testament he gave in one language, Greek. Then using Latin letters he gave the whole Bible in English. A man once asked me if the Bible said that the King James Bible was the perfect Word of God. Once more we can go to Doctor Luke. Acts 1:3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs​,… That word infallible is found only in the King James Bible. So if you want absolute truth you need look no further than the old King James. And yes it withstands every other test men, mere men try to give it.

It is amazing to see the politicians of our country, many elderly who should know better, acting like little children. They speak of reconciliation and healing with one side of their mouth then call one another Facist and degenerates ​with the other. It is amazing that they want to impeach a president with two weeks left in office! Galatians 5:14-15 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even this: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. This stems back to the War between the States when the Tenth amendment, and all the Constitution for that matter, were trampled under foot by one section of the country trying to impose it’s will on another. If it wasn’t bad enough they won the war they had to continue with an impoverishment and”reeducation” program. You would have thought that was enough but they also had to stir up resentment between the races in order to have power over the property and taxes of the vanquished. And even with the war over for over 150 years these same people, who used the war to bring in Marxism and big government, are still fighting by desecrating the memory of valiant men who fought to repel an invading army over 10 times their size to preserve our precious constitutional rights. Now the mature would debate the issues rather than denigrate the man. The statesman would follow principles rather than party. And if you hate some section of the country so much why not let them leave peaceably? I recently spoke with a man from the Czech Republic and ask about their separation from Slovakia. He said they were two different peoples and wanted separate nations and so peacefully separated. No blood shed, no hate, live and let live no agenda to shove down anyone’s throat. A politician would do well to watch his words, especially those not for young ears, the news media would do better to report fact than strife​s of tongues. Texas secede!

I Timothy 4:13 Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Very often on New Year’s people make a resolution to read the Bible completely through. There are many programs and computer apps to help with this. Most often I just start at the beginning and read straight through. But here are some thoughts on the annual reading. First you really don’t have a grasp of the Bible as a whole until about the fourth or fifth time of reading the entirety. Also with this much practice Bible reading gets easier. The next time you may want to concentrate on Biblical divisions, also called Dispensations. After that you may wish to read it devotionally. The next time look for doctrines or a particular doctrine. Don’t forget to look and see if your beliefs are at variance with the Scripture and repent of wrong belief and have a correctable spirit. Another time you may search for just how great God is. You may take a year in which you read the Bible as quickly and as many times as you can. You may miss some by swift reading but it can also help to bring things together. If something strikes you in particular on your next reading look where the Scripture deals with this through the whole Bible. You would do well to look at how the church practice actually lines up with God’s commands and how we can get closer to the New Testament model. Look for material that can help those in need of comfort and encouragement. How about how the news is reading just like a book of prophecy. Keep an eye out for Scripture that refutes false doctrine. Look for how God deals with men, women and races. Read from the stand point of a personal love letter from God to you. Do character studies. Look for good verses to memorize. How about practical matters like finance, agriculture or even war tactics. By using variation you can have a more interesting, useful, and profitable time of reading and sweeter fellowship with the Almighty. I hope this is a blessing and help to you.

I noticed recently that the statue of Stonewall Jackson was removed from VMI and the statue of General Robert E Lee was removed from the Rotunda. Both of these dastardly deeds were done in the dark of night. Well the Bible says men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. These were two of the most noble men to walk the face of the Earth. Both were great Christians and men who kept their word and refused to stoop to unchivalrious actions even to an enemy that was attacking defenseless women and children. Don’t forget that Mr. Lincoln advocated total war and wanted to ship all people of African descent to another country. Read the Douglas Lincoln debates and see what Mr. Lincoln really thought about the black race. Stonewall Jackson taught a Sunday school class of black students and regularly sent money from the front to see that the class was funded. General Lee admitted that he was just a poor sinner in need of God’s mercy. Their tactics are still studied today and these men are well worth remembering today.

I Corinthians 15:33 Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners. Ephesians 5:33 Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband. I Peter 2: 17 Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the King. I Peter 3:8 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous. I Corinthians 13:4-5 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil.

We live in a day and age when many put aside good manners. You used to see books on etiquette​ and Miss Manners as a regular column in the newspaper. People were instructed on proper behavior and taught by example as well. But as anyone of grey hair can tell you, those days are gone and well mannered children are the exception rather than the rule. As you can see from the first verse evil speech brings evil manners. I am appalled daily at the foul speech of our political leaders. They don’t even try to hide it anymore. But Jesus said by thy words thou shalt be justified and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. Also in the context notice that corrupt doctrine is corrupt speech. So be careful how you speak before your children for little pitchers have big ears. Next love and honor your wife. Boys in particular need to see this. Open the door for her rise when she enters the room, seat her at the table and compliment her. A wife will forgive many short comings if she is simply noticed and given attention. Next reverence and obey your husband. If the child is to obey the command to honor his father he needs your example. Next honor all men. This includes the politician you hate most and​ an unbelievably rude person on the internet. If more people spoke face to face and had to answer for it (the Bible says A fools mouth calleth for strokes) this nation would have more civility. The Bible says to be courteous. Note that the word begins with court. So you should have behavior befitting a king’s court. And remember that children need to see you, for T. V. teaches atrocious manners. And most manners are learned at the good old fashioned supper table. Most importantly is the last verses, to have charity. If you have love and compassion and respect and charity most manners will come naturally. I hope this is a help and blessing to you all. Remember those special words that unlock doors: sir, ma’am, please, thank you, excuse me, may I.