Editors NOTE: The following article written by Mario Diaz appeared in the TownHall Magazine on September 25, 2010. Mario Diaz is the Policy Director for Legal Issues at Concerned Women for America.
Now that several days have passed since President Obama “forgot” (see video here) the Creator while quoting the Declaration of Independence in his speech before the Congressional Hispanic Caucus , and my blood pressure is back down from 190/110, perhaps I can take a measured moment to comment on the big picture.
Much has been written trying to figure out if President Obama did this deliberately — in effect, declaring war against this vital foundational principle — or whether he just misspoke, like the time he referred to his “Muslim” faith. The truth is that it does not make much of a difference. Continued »
The following article was written by Chaplain (Capt.) Rick Cantrell of 1st Battalion, 13th Infantry Regiment at Fort Jackson in Columbia South Carolina.
The transfiguration of Christ is recorded in Mark 9:1-12. Peter, James and John accompanied Jesus up a high mountain. After Jesus was transfigured, Peter was so moved by the magnificence and glory of God that he said, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here” (Mark 9:5a).
Peter wanted to camp out and savor the awesome presence of God indefinitely. We too, like Peter, want to extend our mountaintop experiences with God because they do not happen often. The sobering reality is that our mountaintop experiences quickly fade away as we journey down the mountainside. Continued »
Is the Ground Zero mosque a sign of
judgment to come?
On September 11, 2001, two planes struck the World Trade Center and brought both towers down in a cloud of dust and smoke. Mixed in with the rubble of the Twin Towers – and seemingly lost from public awareness – were the ruins of the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church.
For the past eight years, the congregation of the small four-story church has tirelessly tried to work out a deal with the local government to rebuild their church. Within the past year, talks all but broke down.
But now the headlines are teaming with news of the construction of a very different religious center near Ground Zero: an Islamic Cultural Center, which includes a mosque. The church, which has been there for nearly a century, faces rejection…while an Islamic mosque receives approval to build. Continued »
We are called by God to give the first fruits of our labors. Whether our money or our sons, the message is clear. God wants our best. Not because He needs it, but because our first fruits represent our love for our Heavenly Father.
Do you give your earthly father “seconds?” If he joins you for dinner, do you feed him what was left from the night before? Of course not. Even if your earthly father is not around, your Heavenly Father is always there for you, no matter what. We can never “pay Him back” for the gift of salvation, but we can give the best of what we have.
For us, first fruits represent a sacrifice. But in God’s economy, we are just sending it on ahead. He alone holds on to our most precious possessions until we return.
What better way to show our love than to give our very, very best; our sons? They are, after all, on loan to us from God. We were the selected parents who saw a child grown into a man; a man of compassion, purpose, responsibility, and love for others. A man (or woman) who understood sacrifice. “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” John 15:13
Continued »