Thursday, October 17, 2013

Graham: "Our Politicians Don't Know Right From Wrong"

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"Our politicians don't know right from wrong" and they "come to this city and they fight one another..."

Franklin Graham was not timid in his analysis of the current conditions in our government as he visited Washington DC.

He told the press, "Greed, lust and wickedness are at the heart of Washington's woes."

Graham also observed why politicians are so willing to continue to spend money the country doesn't have---continuing to run up the deficit.

And he offers a solution. One that Senate Chaplain Barry Black is also calling for.


Most of the press didn't care to publish Graham's thoughts on the current state of the State, however CBN News felt his comments should be published. I agree.

Graham said, "Our government is in trouble; our country is in trouble; we are in moral decay; we are in economic decay."

He said, "Our politicians don't know right from wrong, and our politicians come to this city and they fight one another and its greed in their hearts, the lust that's in their hearts and they make all these rules and laws that affect the rest of us."

He charged, "The government spends and spends and spends and they don't have the money to pay for it."

Why does he think they do this?

"The politicians are trying to buy votes in favor for themselves," he says. He added, "It is so greedy, and so wicked and so wrong."

So what's the answer?

Graham says that in all this crises, nobody is saying "Hey, time out. Let's get on our knees and let's call on the name of Almighty God and let's ask Him for help. Let's ask Him to bring us together and find a way out of the mess we're in."

Franklin says, "Nobody---not the president, the Senate, the Congress---nobody is saying 'let's call on the name of Almighty God'. Why? Because we've taken God out of government. We don't want Him."

It's true.

Rebellion against God, our Creator, facilitated by political correctness, so-called equality and tolerance has removed God from government and to an alarming extent, silenced those who should be speaking out about it.

Thankfully, at least one in the halls of government is speaking out on our need for God. While not directly asking politicians to pray, he is asking Americans to do so.

Senate Chaplain Barry Black said yesterday, "I think the most important thing that voters can do, quite frankly, is to join me in prayer."

He said, "There's a Bible verse in James 5:16 that says, 'The effectual, fervent prayers of the righteous avail much'; so I believe that it is time for citizens to pray."

Black was asked if he was losing faith with members of Congress. He said he is holding out hope. "Dysfunction is par for the course in a sinful world," he said, "so nothing surprises me, but in spite of the dysfunction, somehow, this great nation has managed to navigate through some treacherous waters and I'm trusting God that it will do it again."

His hope he says is based on this verse: Romans 8:28. "I'm confident that God's purposes will prevail---He is working for the good of those who love Him---and I certainly do love Him."

Franklin Graham has rightly defined the cause of those "troubled waters," while the Chaplain has rightly called citizens to join in prayer.

Franklin Graham's call for our leaders to seek God in prayer for guidance is similar to a call by another Franklin---Benjamin Franklin.

America's rise to prominence and prosperity was not viewed as accidental by our Founding Fathers. Many of them spoke of their dependence upon God in framing the documents and forming this country that would become the greatest, most free, most blessed and most prosperous nation in the history of the world.

The Founders understood that God gives rights and freedoms and true leaders look to Him for guidance.

Never was this understanding more clear than in Ben Franklin's words during the very contentious Constitutional Convention.

While Franklin has been labeled as a deist, or even an atheist by some modern day secularists, that wasn't apparent on this day in 1787.

During the Convention, tempers flared and interests clashed as the debate continued. America, as we know it, hung in the balance.

In this quagmire of divisiveness, the elder statesman Benjamin Franklin appealed to the Convention to take a "time-out" and seek God to intervene and bring guidance to the dysfunction of the moment.

Ben Franklin asked the country's leaders to do what Franklin Graham notes they are now unwilling to do.

He asked them to pray. And they took action.

Modern day secular progressives have worked relentlessly to discredit the account of Ben Franklin calling for prayer.

History does not support their denial.

David Barton has done extensive research on this matter from original documents. Please take a few moments and read his documentation.

Nine days after the first Constitutional Congress convened with a quorum on April 9, 1789, the Congress implemented Franklin's recommendation for prayer.

Two chaplains of different denominations were appointed, one to the House and one to the Senate, with a salary of $500.

Barry Black serves today as Senate Chaplain as a result of this action. And apparently, with no threat to the First Amendment.

As Barton points out, "How could it? The men who authorized the chaplain wrote the Amendment."

While our political leaders have reached an agreement that "re-opens" government, this exercise only extends and expands our current debt crises. It solves nothing, while expanding the problem.

And we are still looking for leadership.

A final thought:

In Ezekiel 22:30 God says, "I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but found none."

The culture was about ready to collapse. Corruption was the norm.

A quick overview:

The "Princes" or younger generation (v.25) were "Conspiring within her like a roaring lion tearing up her prey; they devour people, taking treasures and precious things...; " The Priests were (v.26) doing "violence to my law" and would "profane my holy things; they could not distinguish between the holy and the common; they teach there is no difference between the clean and the unclean"; The Officials? (v.27) "Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey, they shed blood and kill people to make unjust gain."

The Prophets? This sounds a little too familiar. (v.28) "Her prophets whitewashed these deeds for them by false visions and divinations. They said 'this is what the Lord has said' when the Lord has not spoken."

Sin is the gap. Jesus Christ is the "Man" who has stood in the gap.

And He has called us to be "salt and light",---His hand extended into our world---a world that is not unlike the world of Ezekiel.

As then, God is looking for leadership---in the home, the community and the nation. And in the Christian church.

We, also look for true leadership among us..

Be Prayerful. Be Vigilant. Be Discerning. Be Active. Be Bold. Be Blessed.