Healing A Nation

The first President  of the  USA (232 years ago) and every President until  the 46^th President in 2021, gave an inaugural speech to a live gathering of people.  On January 20, 2021 instead of citizens, there were thousands of soldiers guarding the government from the people.  What is wrong with this picture? The government has slipped away from “by the people, of the people, and for the people” (at the federal level at least).

Our first President, George Washington stated in his inaugural address, “ Since we ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of Heaven, can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself has ordained: And since the preservation of the sacred fire of liberty, and the destiny of the Republican model of Government, are justly considered as deeply, perhaps as finally staked, on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.”

Basically, what this is saying is that God’s order of creation must be honored and respected by all who call themselves citizens of the great experiment called the United States of America.  God’s sovereign rule is the authority above all nations, forms of government, and policies that dictate the rule of law. Anything short of acknowledging this Truth, will revoke God’s blessing and lead to the downfall of the USA.

The reality is we, as a nation, have turned away from God, and are guilty of the faults our Founders (Washington included) warned us against.  As we disregard the God who made us great, we dismantle our greatness. Turning back to God is our only hope for greatness. Turning back to God is our only hope to solve the problems we face.  Turning back to God is our only hope for unity (by the people, for the people, of the people) to return to being blessed by God. Not that our Founders were perfect in all the ways they themselves acted, but their pursuit of God was leading their way.

Our problems are not chiefly political, although politics is certainly involved. Our problems are a struggle between good and evil. Tyranny is evil. Our Founders fought a battle against tyranny, and won. In recent decades, forces of tyranny have been gaining ground from within our major institutions (especially government, media, and education). Examples are the authoritarian style state Governors using the Covid pandemic for excessive control, the so-called “news” media being hijacked to promote a narrative of fear and mob hysteria, and Big Tech companies using their digital savvy to systematically squash peoples’ opinions they don’t like. Killing unborn children, blurring clear boundaries of male and female biology, and trying to mainstream sodomy by redefining marriage, are abominable ad destructive to civilization. Tyrants are attempting to “cancel” our history and redefine the virtues that made America the greatest nation on earth.  We must fight and resist this tyranny.

Please note, by “fight” I do NOT mean causing physical harm or individuals’ character assassination. The very reason I have to make this qualification is because of tyrants calling evil good, and good evil. The American ideal of civil debate (as a means of fair “fight”) seems to be gone. We must speak up.

The greatest threat to evil tyrants is our good God. Therefore, squeezing God out of our nation’s heritage, culture, institutions, and lifestyles is the tyrants’ greatest aim. Unfortunately, if we are honest with ourselves, those of us who are God-followers must admit we have allowed evil to also invade our own ranks much too deeply. Immorality among  God’s people is rampant, and the Bible as the absolute authority of God is spurned by many who call themselves Christians.

As citizens of the US, at what point do we say, “The tyranny must stop” and engage the evil with resistance? The Germany of the 1930’s waited much too long to resist and paid a high price. Can we learn from history?  Now is the time to fight back the tyranny before it’s too late.The more power a government is given, the more controlling it will become of its people. American ideals hold tolerance in high value. Tyranny is a hypocritical use of tolerance.  We must become intolerant of tyranny within, similar to the way our Founders had to fight tyranny from distant forces.

I believe in America’s right to exist and defend her liberties (“America-first”), as a good political strategy in the global view of things.  However, my primary citizenship is in the Kingdom of God. As Christ-followers we cannot confuse our loyalties. The Church is called to a “Jesus first” strategy. Father God sent his only Son Jesus into the world to save the world from its brokenness (John 3:16-17).

For those of us who are citizens of God’s Kingdom we must first fight tyranny at our own personal heart level. With Christ as Lord our heart is being liberated from the tyranny of the devil’s imprisonment (see Isaiah 61:1). The Bible warns us that the “devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).  The book of James says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”  Submit therefore to God. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:6-7).  And resist we must. Distractions and deceptions are more common than ever to cause watering down and numbing of our full devotion to Jesus (2 Corinthians 11:3).  Hebrews says, “Take care, brothers and sisters, that there will not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God (Hebrews 3:12). The Church in America desperately needs revival. A revived Church is the best hope for healing a nation. 

Seeing revival in our land begins with being revival in our hearts. Our personal transformation journeys together can change the course of our nation’s demise. See some of my other articles for what inner transformation looks like. 

          My prayer is that we can make the following often-quoted Bible verses a part of our everyday lives.  God says,

“If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send a plague among My people, and My people who are called by My name humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land”   (2 Chronicles 7:13-14).

God’s healing is conditional on our response to him. Seeking his face in prayer Is a huge part of it. God also requires repentance. Everything in our lives that leaves even the slightest hint of an open door for evil to slip through, must go. Resistance starts with giving no assistance, to ungodly thoughts which lead to ungodly actions. Why not get “all in” today? What is there to lose, when Christ is our gain?

And after our hearts are right with God, speak up to make him known in our land. Ask God to heal our land, and proclaim his authority especially to those who deny it. Speak up Church! Speak up?

Note:  I realize some may perceive some statements above as “too strong.” I do not think fighting tyranny and showing the world the compassion of Christ are antithetical. I believe this is not an “either/ or”, but a “both/ and” course of action needed. Sometimes the “loving” thing to do is to take a stand against evil. Jesus himself did just that. We need to distinguish between the promoters of evil and the average person who gets caught up in it. We must also recognize the difference between the “spiritual warfare” behind tyranny; not seeing people as the problem, but their actions stirred up by the common enemy of our souls.  I recommend a book, “Bold and Broken: Becoming a Bridge Between Heaven and Earth” by David & Jason Benham

by Ed Hersh, Blue Rock BnB Healing Ministry

Religious Barriers

            Could it be possible that religion is a barrier to finding God? Can religion hinder a deeper or more meaningful relationship with God? 

            This is part 2 of a discussion on barriers to better living. The previous blog post talked about sin, unmet legitimate needs, psychological pain, and false beliefs as barriers to a better quality of life.  In some ways it may seem like religion is an answer to overcoming these barriers, but I'll unpack here, a statement I made.  "God is not accessed through religion, but through relationship.  Religion can become a barrier of its own  that hinders a relationship with God.  Religion can encapsulate all four of the barriers listed above." 

            Religion tends to direct more focus on the human than on the divine.  Religion is about human effort.  Religious practice is based on self-effort to achieve a self-imaged perception of the divine.  It's about becoming good enough, strong enough, or worthy enough to please God.  No matter how well we perform, however, our human limitations cause us to eventually "miss the mark."  The mark is placed  higher and longer with every tryout or race on life's journey. 

            Take "good enough" as an example.  Relationship of any kind is based on trust.  Although many point to evil things in the world and blame God for allowing them, God is not responsible for bad things that happen.  God has proved himself trustworthy.  Everything God thinks and does is for the good of people.  Anything bad has nothing to do with God.  Reframing our perceptions of God toward his goodness is part of trusting God more and improving relationship.  God is good, all the time.

            Somehow we think that in order for God to accept us, we must attain a certain level of goodness to qualify.  Some err by giving up on God completely, and others (calling themselves religious people) try way too hard.   If we try to "relate up" to God's goodness, we will fail every time because his goodness is inexhaustible.  The bar will always go higher and we will get more and more frustrated with trying harder to be good.  Religion does not see this deficiency, and tries to produce good rather than surrendering (yielding) to it. 

            Jesus came to solve this dilemma and tear down barriers that keep people from relationship with God.  Isaiah the prophet spoke of Jesus the Messiah's mission,

"The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
    because the Lord has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
    to proclaim freedom for the captives
    and release from darkness for the prisoners" (Isaiah 61:1).

            Christ's earthly life, crucifixion, and resurrection restored the path to Father God. 

Our sin produces guilt that leaves our heart broken and wounded.

Our unmet needs may leave us in poor condition.
Our psychological pain holds us captive to inner turmoil.

Our false beliefs filter out the light of truth leaving us in a dark prison.

Believing in Jesus (not religion) is the Way through all the barriers. 

            Church background, family practices, and cultural norms may all factor in to our filtered perceptions of who God really is.  Some of our views may line up with what the Bible tells us about God's ways, and some may not.  Although a Christian since boyhood, my own personal journey is sprinkled with sin, unmet needs, pain, and mis-beliefs.  For example, I recently encountered a different interpretation of a Bible story I had known since childhood. 

            The classic Bible story of David and Goliath highlights a small shepherd boy defeating a heavily armed, giant of a man taunting the armies of ancient Israel.   A common interpretation is that  God strengthened the underdog David to battle Goliath;  God can strengthen us to defeat giants in our lives.  While it is true that God strengthens his people to do great things, that is not the point of this story.   In the story (see 1 Samuel 17), David is to be interpreted as a type of the Messiah Jesus.  Jesus came as the Savior.  Jesus has conquered the giants.  Jesus defeated the enemy of our soul and all evil.  Now we (as representative of the armies of Israel in the story)  battle from a position of the final outcome having been determined.  But fight we must.  And the cleanup of conquered territory must continue.  I recently discovered this insight about the story by watching a sermon online called "Goliath Must Fall"  by Louie Giglio at: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUkGDn4HnqI

            By inserting ourselves into the story as David, we reinforce the idea that somehow we can become good enough, strong enough or worthy enough to conquer bad things in our lives.  We can add religion into the mix and say, "God wants me to conquer _____" (fill in the blank with your personal struggle).  But the truth is, by surrendering to Jesus as our Savior/ Messiah, our relationship  with God and access to his power is restored.  Our giants are not conquered by our own efforts (religion), but through the relationship Jesus made possible.  

            The largest giants in our personal stories are not the financial struggles, relational struggles, or health concerns.  The big giants are inner person issues like anger, fear, guilt, shame, and rejection.  These giants are too big.  Jesus is the one who conquers giants.  I've been following Jesus for about a half a century now, and I still need reminded of that truth!   I'm dependent more than ever on my relationship with God to repeal and replace the sins, needs, pain, and falsehood for the righteousness, abundance, peace, and truth for better living.  God is the one who initiated removing the barriers and he accomplished barrier removal.  Our part is not to try harder to remove barriers on our own, but to surrender to what God has done.

            The gospel of John records the details of the intimate fellowship the Son Jesus demonstrated with Father God.  At the very end of John, the very last words he recorded as spoken by Jesus, are "follow me."  Becoming a follower of Jesus means you commit to grow your relationship with him as life moves on.  Following Jesus is not just a concept, principle, prayer, going to church, remembering a stained-glass picture on a wall, or relying on a deeply spiritual experience in the past.  Following Jesus is an active pursuit of discovering more of the person of God and putting your whole trust in him. 

            I'm not encouraging anyone to sever all ties to religious practices and traditions.  My hope is for people to discern between religion and relationship with God.  One more thing to point out is mankind's vulnerability to false religion.  We must recognize that some people in our  would hold to ideologies which pose as religion, but are more aligned with forces of evil than good.   False religion can become  extremely dangerous.  Blaise Pascal has stated, “Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from a religious conviction.”   Without naming them here, I'm sure we can all think of examples of this in our world today.  May God deal with this kind of giant as well.  

            My prayer is that everyone reading this will see through barriers of religion,  to find the authentic relationship with God that fulfills their true purpose and destiny.

            I end once again by returning to my roots in Jesus Music.  I couldn't decide on one, so I mention two songs that helped me overcome religious barriers.  These songs are about four decades old, but the message still rings true today.  John Michael Talbot "Would You Crucify Him?" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKvfk4Su9LU,  and Scott Wesley Brown  "I'm Not Religious Anymore"  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7aTVzW2kFA . 

by Ed Hersh, Blue Rock BnB Healing Ministry

Four Barriers to Better Living

            If you are a Christian,, (or just want to know God better), and honest enough with yourself to admit you don't have it all together yet, this article has something for you.  Like me, I'm sure you struggle at times with allowing the spirit part of your being to become greater, and the physical taking a lesser role in the soul. Our soul is the intersection of two distinctly different realms; the spiritual (supernatural) and physical (natural).  Our personhood is designed by our Creator for these two realms to work together to make the journey of life more complete and successful.

            However, many of us spend a significant portion of our lives in "brokenness."  .  First of all, we are all born into a broken world, so we are born broken.  The spirit part of our being is made alive when we believe in Jesus.  Following Jesus begins a process of change in our soul, whereby the spirit part of our being should influence the physical part in greater and greater measures.  The process is given terms like transformation, sanctification, healing, and inner person change. 

            But sometimes this process of change becomes very difficult.  I have found in my personal journey that the simpler I can make things, the easier the journey becomes.  Volumes have been written about each of the following four difficulties, but hopefully here are some thoughts about each you find helpful in the direction of simplifying. Quality of life is determined by how well these four factors are navigated.

1. Sin

Sin is an ugly word. Whether you call it transgression, wrong doing, offense, or rebellion  against God, sin is the ugliest barrier that keeps us from experiencing connection to God.  We are created for eternal connection, but sin created a disconnect.  God sent his one and only son Jesus into the world so that whoever believes in him is saved from the eternal damnation (see John 3:16).  For those who believe, life on earth is a constant process of change to be governing more and more each day by the Holy Spirit whom Jesus announced when his work on earth was completed.  The Holy Spirit works with our personal spirit and soul to accomplish this change through repentance and forgiveness (see other blog posts for more on that). 

            All sin offends God.  There is no such thing as "big sin" and "little sin."  There is, however,  obvious and not-so-obvious, sin.  The Bible calls the devil the "father of lies."  Deception is a key factor we'll talk more about a little further down.  Even the most discerning people sometimes have difficulty allowing hidden heart issues to be exposed.  Jesus consistently through his teaching identified the heart as the source of sin.  The contents of our heart determines our actions (good or bad), and people around us see our actions and not our heart.  Although our actions cause us to appear guilty, when we offend, it is God who we offend the most (because of our resistant heart condition). 

            Many definitions for sin have surfaced, but a simple way to discover it is anything within our being that resists God.  It's not a sin to have a bad thought.  It's sin to grow (harbor, explore, expand, etc.) bad thoughts.  A bad thought is any thought that condemns yourself, God, or another human being.  Bad thoughts produce bad feelings and attitudes of heart, which produce bad actions.  When we accept Jesus as the solution for our brokenness, we agree to allow God to break down walls our resistance piece by piece.  He then reshapes our parts so they fit together as a better-functioning "whole" person. 

2. Legitimate Unmet Needs

            In crisis situations meeting immediate physical and emotional needs is of primary importance. However, in the day-to-day physical world, too much "stuff" can create distraction.  A TV or the latest technology device is not a "need."  Getting by with less stuff simplifies life.  So too in our psychological and  emotional world, expectations that are set too high will set us up for deeper disappointment.  For example, it's okay to expect people to treat you with respect and dignity.  When you feel like you are treated without respect and love, taking the hurt to the Lord and asking him to fill your need for love and respect may be the answer.  Depending on the relationship, this need may indicate more work to be done in communication and acceptance.  A spouse, for example, though no spouse is perfect, should be providing for needs of love and respect at the deepest level possible in a human relationship.  Working things through to have legitimate needs met is very important. 

3. False Beliefs

            The more whole we become, the more free we are to be who we were created to be.  Believing falsehood is an obstacle to freedom.  Jesus declared, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.  Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32).  Many people quote the second sentence and conclude that knowing the truth sets a person free.  Knowing truth does not necessarily mean you believe truth.   In the verse quoted above, the word "then" makes it only true when the preceding condition is true.  Being a disciple of Christ, as evidenced by holding to his teaching, is the Truth that sets a person free.  Mentally agreeing with Christ's teaching isn't enough to overcome engrained patterns of bad thought and destructive habits. 

            Practicing Christ's teaching is the measuring stick for belief.  Jesus simplified the ten commandments into two.  Jesus said, "‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’" (Matthew 22:37-39).  Loving God with your whole being and showing it by loving yourself and other people is the core of Christ's teaching.  To the degree we hold to this truth, we demonstrate that we really believe it.   Love (acting in the best interest of another) is a solution to removing barriers.  

            The problem is, the broken world we grow up in, forms our core belief system with bits and pieces of Christ's truth, at best.  Our default natural condition forms beliefs about God, ourselves, and other people which are false (and unloving).  Chief of these false beliefs is that we can decide for ourselves which beliefs are true or not (good or evil), and we don't need God's help to decide.  We also conclude things like "people don't like us if they don't give us what we want," and "I'm not worthy of love" if someone criticizes something we do.  Most of these beliefs come from our parents (or primary caretakers), but we cannot blame them for how we behave as a result of adopting false beliefs. 

            Correcting our misperceptions caused by believing things not true, is a bit like putting on new glasses with new prescription lenses for better eyesight.  We may still have "blind spots" and not see perfectly.  Our glasses still become dirty (creating distortions) and need regular cleaning.  But the pair of lenses is the tool we need to focus our gaze on our surroundings.  The tool we need for focusing on Truth is the Bible.  It is called God's Word because it is the final word.  The Bible is the recorded history of God's people living out the combination of the natural and supernatural realm (see also Hebrews 4:12).   It is the lenses through which all our beliefs need to be filtered for complete vision.

4.  Psychological Pain

            The two distinct categories of pain I wish to mention here are: self inflicted pain, and pain inflicted by others.  Self inflicted pain means your own personal sin, unmet needs, and/ or false beliefs are the primary source.  The most common types of feelings of pain are rejection and shame.  Sin creates guilt for behavior which can be corrected.  Guilt then is a positive motivator.  Same on the other hand, is based on a false sense of guilt and has no solution.  Guilt says, "I did bad," whereas shame says, "I AM bad."   Shame causes rejection of self and the God who created the self.  Self-rejections fuels bitterness, resentment, and blame in the deepest part of your core being. 

            The pain of shame can be very hard to identify, but this obstacle is common in every human being.  Shame is impossible to resolve without finding the source where a person has rejected self.  Remember, resisting God is sin.  Resisting who God made you to be is resisting God.   Dissatisfaction, discontent, and rebellion against who God made you as a person, is an offense against God.  So, self inflicted pain may require repentance and forgiveness to become free and return to wholeness. 

            Pain inflicted by others causes different kinds of issues.  This is emotional damage caused by abuse, violence, traumatic injury, or some type of injustice for which a reason cannot be explained.  Injustice is part of our broken world, but our broken soul has no way to justify it.  Jesus came not only to save the world from sin, but to heal the world from the consequences of sin (see Isaiah 53 and 61).  Jesus can heal the broken heart caused by injustice. 

            In summary, God does not expect you to remove these four barriers before you can have his favor.  In fact, he implores us to come to him for help on the journey.  He says, "Come to me .... and I will give you rest" (see Matthew 11:28-30)  ... rest from trying to perform your own way around these barriers.  So, I sometimes ask, "Why is it so hard to make/ keep things simple?"  I haven't come up with a good answer, but I know the enemy of our soul wants nothing more than to have us believe the way to God is about working instead of resting. 

            God is not accessed through religion, but through relationship.  Religion can become a barrier of its own  that hinders a relationship with God.  Religion can encapsulate all four of the barriers listed above. 

A simple cry of the Psalmist heart is,

"Search me, God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting" (Psalm 139:23-24).

            May this be our heart's cry to God.  I can speak from my experience that as I surrender more of my heart to God's search light, I encounter less resistance from these barriers. 

            If you are facing struggles you feel are overwhelming you., seek out the help of a counselor.  If I can assist you, drop me a line.  I tell people,  "I'm not a medical doctor, but I am a heart specialist."   You can also check out some of the other articles on the blog site to see how to practically walk out the inner person change for successful living. 

            I end with a link to a song.  This song meant a lot to me decades ago when I was beginning my journey, and I still find it's simple message inspiring today.  The song is "He Loves You" by 2nd Chapter of Acts:    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9ksIsp58pg

by Ed Hersh, BnB Healing Ministry