RESTORING HONOR

It was refreshing to see hundreds of thousands of Americans attend the “Restoring Honor” rally held on August 28, 2010. It automatically brought to mind Romans 8:28, apropos. I must say that I agree with much of what was said, and I watched every minute of it. It was obvious that there were many Christians in the crowd. It is amazing that such a public demonstration of Christianity was shown on CSPAN.

Yes, our nation is in trouble. It can be attributed it to many things, one is our nation turning away from God. Millions of Christians have been praying for the USA. Prayers for redemption, for our leaders to be receptive to God, for voters to elect Godly leaders, for the nation to turn back to God and therefore restore the Godly blessings it has enjoyed for many years are being offered daily. Most are praying for Israel, and that America and its leaders will once again stand with Israel.

God is not a liar. He promised in II Chronicles 7:14 “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 will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” These intercessory prayers are claiming this promise and therefore, this thought crossed my mind as I watched the rally.

Glenn Beck is being used by God to help get our attention. Consequently, Beck's message has become more and more related to our nation's Godly heritage, standing up for right, and he frequently mentions God. God does use people and things to do His work. Case in point: The History Channel's series on the “End of the World” which featured a segment on The Rapture of the Church. I found it clearly amusing that God would use what I consider one of Satan's tools (a television show about Mayans, 2012, the end of the world) to remind viewers of the Rapture. God does have a sense of humor. The fact that Beck is a Mormon also reminds me that my Heavenly Father has a sense of humor.

During the rally, Bible verses were quoted, hymns were sung and at times, I felt like just worshiping God. It is possible that the Holy Spirit moved mightily during that rally. However, some of Beck's statements were disturbing to me. Said Beck, “Every American has a role in saving this country, we know we're in trouble. There is simply no way to solve it [many problems] unless we solve it through God, through our highest self.” This is disturbing on several levels. First of all, “a higher self” is something that is “realized” or “strived for” in several New Age religions and cults. Beck further said, “Be your highest self, stand in the fire..., “ speaking of individual responsibility. He made the statement in an interview to Chris Wallace of Fox News, “Most Christians don't recognize Mormons as Christian, they believe one just believes in Jesus Christ and that's it. My view is different. I'm Mormon, we believe in Jesus Christ, but you've got to get in there and do things and change your heart.”

Now we get to the heart of this matter. No matter who is giving us daily their views of God, country and responsibility, we must judge everything by the Word of God. The statement Beck made emphasized that fact for me. I wonder how many Christians caught that. I also wonder how many people now think that one has to work toward their salvation, which is what Beck seemed to suggest. As a Christian, I believe in Jesus Christ. He is the Son of God, the greatest gift given to man. He was rejected by His people and only spent just over three years in his earthly ministry but He changed the world. Christ died for my sin. He died so that we could have life.

Man's nature of sin will never allow him to live a just life in his own efforts. We are all sinners, we struggle daily with the “natural man” while trying to live in God's will. Through the Holy Spirit, and the realization that we are imperfect, we strive daily through God's Grace. The Apostle Paul wrote much about this, and “becoming a new creature in Christ” II Corinthians 5:17

It is likely that Beck owes his brand of Founding Father-worship to Mormonism, where reverence for the founders and the United States Constitution as divinely inspired are often-declared elements of orthodox belief. Mormon Church President Wilford Woodruff (1807–1898) declared that George Washington and the signers of the Declaration of Independence appeared to him in the Mormon Temple in St. George, Utah in 1877, and requested that he perform Mormon temple ordinances on their behalf. Many Mormons also believe that Joseph Smith prophesied in 1843 that the US Constitution would one day “hang by a thread” and be saved by faithful Mormons; this idea was given new life in the 1960s by former US Secretary of Agriculture Ezra Taft Benson, who cited Smith’s 1843 prophecy from the pulpit while speaking as a member of the Church’s Quorum of Twelve Apostles.

Glenn Beck marks an unprecedented national mainstreaming of a peculiar strand of religious political conservatism rooted in, and once isolated to, the Mormon culture regions of the American West. While he is helping in awakening the sleeping populous, he is a member of a cult. The Mormon church maintains that it, and it alone, has the authority to act in the name of God. In classic cult fashion, it claims that full salvation is not possible without the participation of the church. The Mormon church maintains that all other churches are the instruments of Satan. The official position of the church is that the "authority" and "priesthood" were lost to apostasy in the first century A.D., and that they did not exist on earth until the church was founded and the "keys" to the "priesthood" were restored in the 1830's. Other churches may possess parts of the truth, but none contain the whole truth nor the authority from God to act in His name. Only the Mormon church supposedly has this authority. A claim of exclusivity can hardly be more explicit than that.

We must pray for wisdom and understanding so that when we study God's Word, we understand the message, its meaning and we must remember not to “cherry-pick” verses that can be taken out of context easily. Our society is accepting of cults and doesn't understand why Christians do not just “accept them, because after all, we all worship the same god.” Do not be swayed by this attitude nor the attitude we are seeing in the earthly churches as they accept more and more pagan practices, occult, New Age nonsense, and get further and further from God's Word. We are not to judge the heart of men but we are to determine whether a person's beliefs are true and if they are in line with the Bible.

Christians must not tolerate the watered-down, feel-good message that doesn't even resemble the Gospel of Jesus Christ being spewed from many pulpits across our nation. This will not bring our country back to God, either. Lip service is something that our Heavenly Father does not approve of. If we want a Christian “religious”service that is true to the one God of this Universe, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the “Restoring Honor” service would have included an offer to join the Kingdom of God through our Lord Jesus Christ instead of trying ourselves to turn “back to God” through our “higher selves.” But it was merely a “religious” rally. It was not of God. Don't drink the kool-aid of this world but be immersed in the Spirit of God, walk in His will, keep your eyes on those things that are not of this world, for we are not of it. We are the light, not the darkness.

“Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.” Matthew 10:32-34

“All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:27-30

“Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.” Matthew 24:42



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