For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. Matthew 6:14
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” Matthew 18:21-22
32 Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. 33 When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Luke 23:32-34
More people identify as atheists today than at any time in my lifetime. On the eve of Kennedy's assassination in 1963 about 5 in 6 American's regularly attended church. Today church attendance has dropped to about 1 in 5. Christians today, depending on where you live, are many times viewed as weirdos and out of the mainstream. In my view this reflects the impact that Marxist indoctrination has had on our society in the last 60 years. Two of the ways that Marx wanted to undermine capitalism was by destroying religion and the family. Marxism has greatly weakened both institutions. Traditionally in America people turned to the church or the family in times of need. By destroying the church and family it forces people to turn to the state for help.
The four pillars of American exceptionalism have been a protestant religious foundation, the common law. private property with written titles and deeds and a free market economy. England had three of these things, minus the protestant church. They were Catholic before Henry the 8th established the Church of England. No reflection on these churches but they are ruled from the top down. American protestant churches such as the Baptists, Presbyterians, Methodists, Pentecostal and other denominations are mostly run from the bottom up. This was also reflected in the average American's view of their government which was in principle from the bottom up. Other countries have had elements of these four principles but only America has had all four. These four elements have been the basis for our success and longevity.
America is going through a communist cultural revolution right now that in in many ways is reminiscent of the French revolution. That revolution was based on atheism and a rejection of the Catholic church. The French revolution was inspired by our own but it devolved into mob rule and mass murder before it was over. Our revolution was based on the self evident truth of God and that all men were created equal. That our inalienable rights came from God separate from government and it was our government's primary job to protect those rights. The left is always beating Christians over the head by saying that Christianity has been responsible for more deaths than anything else. They always refer to the Crusades, the inquisition and the witch trials. First of all true Christianity would not support these things and these actions did not follow the teachings of Christ. Also the thousands of people that were killed by pseudo Christianity during Medieval times do not hold a candle to the millions killed by atheistic regimes in the 20th century alone. It is estimated that the communists killed over a 100 million people in the 20th century and that is a conservative estimate. That doesn't include the occultist regime of Adolph Hitler. At least 61 million babies have been aborted by the left. If America succumbs to the evil of atheistic Communism I believe we will enter a dark age unlike anything the world has ever seen. Remember, Marx was an atheist before he was a Communist. America has been that shining city on a hill but our fall will drag the entire world into darkness.
THE TRANSFORMING POWER OF JESUS CHRIST: One of the reasons that I believe in God is because I have witnessed the transforming power of Jesus Christ first hand. As a production supervisor in the 1980's I once supervised a girl that hated me. She had a terrible attitude and was constantly running late, or not showing up for work. I would have to write her up or reprimand her from time to time. She grew to hate me. Out of the blue one day she walked up to me and humbly apologized for everything negative that she ever said or done to me. I accepted her apology of course but I was baffled by this sudden change of heart. I learned later that she had given her heart to Jesus. The change in this girl was incredible. For the remaining years that I worked there I never had another problem with her. Her conversion was a beautiful thing to behold.
I am not ashamed to say that I wept as I watched Erika Kirk forgive her husbands assassin. Somehow I wasn't surprised because if you are truly a Christian I believe you have to forgive in order to be one with Christ but I was moved by her faith. From personal experience I know how hard that is. I have had to forgive my mother and son's murderers. The man who sexually molested one of my children and a family member who betrayed me. It is understandable when the wound is fresh forgiveness may not be forthcoming right at first but if you are a Christian you know that at some point you must forgive. That doesn't mean that you forget what they did or that they should not pay a price for their sin. For example if you forgive the child molester that doesn't mean that you let them babysit your children ever again Erika Kirk's forgiveness doesn't mean that Tyler Robinson shouldn't be executed or imprisoned for what he did. Forgiveness is for us more than it is for the offender. Forgiveness is so we can have inner peace and we don't allow hate to eat at us like a cancer. Hate is easy and destructive. There is nothing wrong however; wanting the guilty be held accountable. I pray that one day Dr. Fauci and everyone associated with the development of COVID in this country will go to jail for the m*rder of my son and the millions of people who m*urdered as a result of that disease.
Jesus commands us to pray for our enemies. Because redemption is a beautiful thing. It would be a beautiful thing if Tyler Robinson finds Christ. Or Anthony Fauci finds Christ. There are a long list of people who I would love to see redeemed. AOC, Gavin Newsom, Karen Bass, Barack Obama, Jasmine Crockett, Elizabeth Warren, Nancy Pelosi, Kamala Harris and so many others in the Democrat party too numerous to mention. There are Republicans in need of redemption also. Although I love President Trump and I think God is using him, some of the things that he says makes me believe that he has not truly had a conversion experience and I pray for that to happen. Imagine how much better this country would be if we became a Christian nation again. God promises healing. "If 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 will forgive their sin and heal their land". 2nd Chronicles 7:14.
The following are some historical examples of how the redemptive power Jesus worked great miracles in the lives of average Americans. The following people are examples of the redeeming power of God and the power of forgiveness.
ALVIN C. YORK: Alvin spent his young adulthood as a rebellious hell raiser. After his Christian conversion he went on to win the Medal of Honor and was the highest decorated soldier of WW1. Because of his faith he was reluctant to take human life but in the end he killed to save the lives of his fellow soldiers more so than to inflict harm on the enemy. After the war York refused the opportunity to become a wealthy man by turning down multiple commercial contracts that would exploit his fame. He looked at that money as blood money. On the movie set of Sgt York starring Gary Cooper Alvin was approached by a stage hand who casually asked him "how did it feel to kill all those Huns". Alvin broke down sobbing and began throwing up. Later, when the man was about to be fired for being so insensitive York came to his defense and saved the man from being fired. York spent the rest of his life using his fame to advance the cause of Jesus Christ , promoting patriotism, and the education of children.
LOUIS ZAMPERINI : Louis was one of the fastest runners in the world until he enlisted in the Army Air Corps after Pearl Harbor. He was one of only 3 survivors when his bomber crash landed in the Pacific. They drifted in the Pacific Ocean for 47 days in a life raft exposed to the elements and living on almost no food and water. One man died at sea so Zamperini and the only other survivor were captured by the Japanese. The Japanese tortured them and used them as human guinea pigs until they were transferred to a prison camp in Japan. For two years they were brutally tortured and starved by their guards .There was an especially brutal guard named "The Bird". Upon release he hated the Japanese so much that all he could think about was going back to Japan and his former guards, especially the Bird. Louis became an alcoholic because of nightmares and his wife told him that she was leaving him. His wife would sometimes wake up in a panic with Louis choking her while having a nightmare. She went to a Billy Graham crusade in Los Angeles and gave her heart to Jesus. Louis wife went home and told him that she had changed her mind about leaving and invited him to go to the crusade with her. He did but decided to leave early the first night. One the 2nd night Zamperini gave his heart to Christ. The anger that was destroying his life left him and he never had another nightmare after that night. He went back to Japan not to kill but to forgive his captors. Louis tried to forgive the Bird but he would never meet with him. The Bird was unrepentant and proud of his war record to the day that he died.
JAKOB DESHAZER : Jake was a volunteer for the Doolittle raid over Tokyo. After running out of gas the crew was forced to parachute into enemy territory over Ningpo, China when their B-25 ran out of fuel. DeShazer was injured in the jump and along with the rest of his crew, he was captured the next day by the Japanese. DeShazer was sent to Tokyo with the survivors of another Doolittle crew and was held in a series of P.O.W. camps both in Japan and China for 40 months – 34 of them in solitary confinement. He was severely beaten and malnourished. Three of the crew were executed by a firing squad, while another died of slow starvation. As the war came to an end, on 20 August 1945, DeShazer and the others in the camp at Beijing (Peiping), China were release after being rescued by American soldiers. While he was a POW Jake persuaded a Japanese guard to give him a copy of the Bible. He was only allowed to have it for three weeks but it changed his life forever. Jake was saved and because of his change in attitude toward his captors they began to treat him with more respect. After his release he became a Christian missionary and returned with his wife to Japan in 1948. Jake met and befriended Captain Mitsuo Fuchida who led the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and they became close friends. Through Jakes Christian witness Fuchida was saved and he became a Christian minister. DeShazer and Fuchida preached together in Japan on several occasions.
As I said Commander Mitsuo Fuchida led the Japanese air attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. He was born on December 3, 1902. In 1924 he graduated from the Japanese Imperial Naval Academy and began a long career as a pilot in the Japanese Navy. On December 7, he radioed the signal for two waves of Japanese aircraft from six different carriers to open the attack. When he realized he had achieved complete surprise he radioed "Tora, Tora, Tora" to the flagship Akagi. He remained over Pearl Harbor until both waves were finished with the attack. Upon return to his carrier he discovered 21 flak holes in his aircraft and the main control wires were barely hanging together. In June 1942 he was wounded and barely escaped alive from the carrier Akagi when it was sunk in the Battle of Midway. The day before the atomic bomb was dropped Fuchida was in Hiroshima attending a week long military conference for Japanese officers. He received a phone call to return to Naval Headquarters in Tokyo which saved him from certain death. The day after the attack he was sent back into Hiroshima with a group to assess the damage. Everyone in his group contracted radiation sickness and died. All with the exception of Fuchida who never even showed symptoms of the disease.
After the war he was called to testify in a war crimes trial. This angered him because he felt Americans treated their Japanese prisoners with the same brutality as they had shown Americans. When he talked to returning Japanese prisoners of war, however; they said that they were not mistreated or abused by their American captors. He talked to a friend who had been captured at Midway and he told him about a Christian missionary couple who treated him with kindness. Fuchida was taught the code of Bushido where revenge was not only expected but a responsibility. He was obsessed with the idea of forgiveness and could not understand how someone could forgive their enemies. In 1948 he was handed a pamphlet that told the story of an American Airman named Jacob DeShazer. His story inspired Fuchida and he became a Christian after reading the Bible in 1949. In 1950, the year I was born Fuchida and DeShazer met for the first time. Fuchida eventually applied for a green card and settled in the United States. He toured the United States and Europe as a Christian missionary. He wrote several books including his autobiography "From Pearl Harbor to Calvary". Fuchida died in Japan in 1976 from complications brought on by diabetes.
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