Rural Viewpoints

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Sometimes silence is wise. Job speaks of the wisdom of silence (Job 13:5). Solomon wrote that there is such a thing as too much talk (Eccles 5:3). We can sum it up by saying what Solomon wrote in Proverbs 10:14: “A wise man holds his tongue.”

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I once read of this man who planted two sixty-foot rows of potatoes in his garden. When he dug them he got only eighteen potatoes. Eighteen little potatoes. He ate the whole crop for supper. He said he had an excellent crop of vines but few potatoes.

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Little by little, the enemies of Democracy and Christianity are whittling away at America’s heritage. The ACLU, the Liberal politicians, and radical Muslims have embarked on a mission to eliminate the influence of Democracy and Christianity in America’s culture.

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“How far would Moses have gone if he had taken a poll in Egypt? What would Jesus Christ have preached if he had taken a poll in the land of Israel? What would have happened to the reformation if Martin Luther had taken a poll? It isn’t polls on public opinion of the moment that counts, it is right and wrong leadership.”- Harry S, Truman.

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The Apostle Paul admonished the church at Thessalonica to “Pray without ceasing”. (Thessalonians 5:17). The opportunity and responsibility of every Christian today is to keep alive the fires of prayer. There are those who would prefer that the fires of prayer would go out. Some actually pour water on the fires of prayer. One day, they will regret this. When they are on their deathbed, and without hope, then they will be glad for prayer to be made on their behalf.

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We Have Our Work Cut Out for Us…Football Coaches at Westmoreland Junior High School Can’t Bow Their Heads During Prayer by Order Of Jeremy Johnson, Sumner County Schools Spokesman

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The devil’s ballgame isn’t over. This is just the first inning. The good guys haven’t been to bat yet. Don’t throw in the towel now. Just wait to the ninth inning. Then we’ll knock the devil out of the stadium. The good people of America aren’t going to cower down to the forces of destruction.

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Webster’s defines the word “cower” as: “to crouch quivering in abject fear of something menacing or domineering.” Voices today say, “Be quiet, they’ll haul you in and charge you for defying the atheists, liberals, and knuckle-headed politicians.” Excuse me, but I thought we were living in America, the land of the free. Did you enemies of God never hear of freedom of speech? I, for one, will not be quiet, and I’m not afraid of the liberal progressives who are attempting to silence God-loving and American-loving citizens by spouting their propaganda designed to shut us up.

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Johnny Ramsey was one of my favorite preachers. He wrote the following article for The Gospel Minutes, on some men who mocked God:

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A young engineer who graduated with distinction was leaving the office at 3:45 p.m. when he found the acting CEO in front of a shredder with a piece of paper in his hand. “Listen”, said the CEO, “this is a very important document, and my secretary is not here. Can you make this thing work?” “Certainly”, said the young engineer. He turned the machine on, inserted the paper, and pressed the start button. “Excellent”, said the CEO as his paper disappeared inside the machine. “I just need one copy”.

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The front page of the Tennessean on July 10, 2011 tells of the printing of a new bible, called the New Common English Bible. The United Methodist Church owns the Nashville-based Abingdon Press, which, along with four other publishing houses, is funding the $3.5 million dollar project.

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Claude Pepper once wrote, “If more politicians were thinking about the next generation instead of the next election, it would be better off for the United States and for the world”.

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I hate to be a bearing of bad news, but I have a message for all the atheists agnostics, modernists, liberals, the progressives, yea even the Muslims: GOD ISN’T GOING AWAY. “From everlasting to everlasting, thou art God” (Psalms 98:2). He’s here, and he isn’t going away, not ever, And because we live in America, with a Constitution guaranting each of us Freedom of Religion and Freedom of Speech, we aren’t about to buckle down to the likes of a growing anti-God element in this country, whose goal is to banish God from every aspect of our society.

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Allah, the god of Islam, enlists Muslim believers to elimate by force those who offend him and prevent him from ruling the world. Only those with their heads buried in the sand would fail to know that world domination is the goal of Islam. True Muslims therefore become the enforcers for their god, hoping to establish global rule.

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Many people in our age are attempting to solve their problems with alcohol. I’m reminded of a story I heard some few weeks ago. It concerned the wise old Mother Superior who was seriously ill. In fact, she was dying, the nuns gathered around her bed and were doing the best they could to make her comfortable. They brought her something warm to drink, but she refused it in no uncertain terms.

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The story goes that one day Winston Churchill was stopped by a woman who said, Mr. Churchill, “Doesn’t it thrill you that every time you speak, the hall is packed to overflowing?”

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I’m sure that most of my readers have heard about the preacher who asked a listener in his Sunday morning Service to wake up the sleeping man sitting beside him? The man relied, “Preacher, you come down here and wake him up! You put him to sleep!” there is more truth than fiction in his answer. Sunday after Sunday congregations are given Sominex Sermons which results in members going to sleep. Here is what the problem is: Preachers asleep in the pulpit put people to sleep in the pew. I heard this proverb recently: “People are cold in the pew because there is an ice cube in the pulpit.”

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Saved by technology? Really? It may be more of a curse than a blessing. There was a time when both young and old Americans read for enjoyment, but the internet has put an end to much of that practice.  Many adults and youth have abandoned books and newspapers for the computer and the cell-phone. Though modern technology has become a blessing in numerous ways, it has also created more problems than solutions. Today’s youth are looking for a cell-phone with more features, not a book with a hardback cover. Reading requires thinking, and that is something the present generation prefers not to do. Even so called” progressive education” discourage critical thinking. In fact, seldom is it taught in today’s classroom.