Paul N. Johnson on LinkedIn: Donald Trump, Blasphemous Bible Thumper, Part 1 Maureen Dowd, NYT, March… (2024)

Here's How People Are Reacting To Donald Trump Selling A $60 American-Themed BibleYes, this is the lone Bible endorsed by Donald Trump! Donald Trump is simply a Bible salesman now! The "God Bless The USA Bible" besides contains the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Pledge of Allegiance, and the Bill of Rights.How nice!Putting a emblem connected a Bible past adding governmental documents to it to repackage and merchantability it for $60 by a antheral who has ne'er work it is truly immoderate sick, twisted stuff. This is not the christianity that comes from Jesus. pic.twitter.com/lv20Bj4YDY— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) March 27, 2024Truth Social/ Twitter: @RonFilipkowskiBut still, radical are having a tract time with it.Donald Trump selling an “endorsed” Bible is the astir anti-Jesus happening I've ever heard.— The Eddie McCabe (@TheEddieMcCabe) March 27, 2024Twitter: @TheEddieMcCabe"Does the Bible request to beryllium endorsed by Donald Trump? Does that mean different Bibles mightiness beryllium fake news?" this idiosyncratic said.Does the Bible request to beryllium endorsed by Donald Trump? Does that mean different Bibles mightiness beryllium fake news?— Manic Contrarian 🇺🇸 🇮🇱 (@ManicContrarian) March 26, 2024Twitter: @ManicContrarian"I perceive the caller Trump Bible comes with not conscionable one, but 2 Corinthians!," different idiosyncratic joked.I perceive the caller Trump Bible comes with not conscionable one, but 2 Corinthians!— Patrick Chovanec (@prchovanec) March 26, 2024Twitter: @prchovanecPeople are wondering if Trump volition assertion taxation exemption arsenic a spiritual instauration now.With releasing his ain Bible, however soon until Donald Trump claims taxation exemption arsenic a spiritual institution?— James Buchanan (@POTUS_15) March 27, 2024Twitter: @POTUS_15I conjecture we'll person to spot what helium gets to selling next.If yall deliberation Trump has work the Bible, I’ve got a span to merchantability you— Grinch (@Grinch21188235) March 27, 2024Twitter: @Grinch21188235

Something to think about this Easter weekend...“What is truth” is fundamental to who we are as human beings, what kind of civilization we will have, and how we will be governed.The Declaration of Independence proclaims, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Moreover, “To secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”The very foundation of the American system of government is based on the answer to the question, “What is truth?” The truths described in the Declaration deal with the inherent dignity of each person and the purpose of government, which is to protect that dignity. This is not just a nifty idea a few sons of the Enlightenment thought up while drinking mead. It goes to the very concept of truth, which must be objective and timeless. ... Truth is objective, which means it is not within the government’s competence to redefine truth. Of course, many governments do. Communist countries were famous for putting all kinds of rights granted by the State into their constitutions. But of course, a government that grants rights can take those rights away just as quickly. But even many modern democracies have substituted “values” for rights. Certainly, rights create specific values (also timeless), but too often, terms like “our common values” are little more than political platforms or the latest cultural fashion – changing with the times or even with the next election.The United States has, over its history, been blind to certain truths. And we have paid a dear price for it, including a Civil War that killed 600,000 people. But our Constitution was created to be self-correcting so that while we will never make a perfect government, we will strive to create a more perfect union.Why is the truth so important? Besides defining the struggle between God and man, it also establishes the worth each of us has as individuals. ..."

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We know that the law is good if one uses it properly.1 Timothy 1:8The Law is both good and useful in the Christian life. This immediately does away with the claim and misunderstanding of many Christians that we are so completely delivered from the Law that we have nothing to do with it anymore. Paul says that is not the case. The Law is good and useful, but it has to be used rightly.The Law is good, of course, because God Himself gave it. The striking thing about the Law is that those Ten Commandments are the only part of the Bible God Himself physically wrote with His own hand. Moses did not write them; Charlton Heston did not write them! They were written by the hand of God on tablets of stone and delivered by angels to Moses on Mount Sinai. In fact, God wrote the Law twice. After the first tablets were broken, Moses returned to the mountain, and God wrote the Law again. That in itself ought to indicate that the Law is important and not to be done away with.Furthermore, as you study those Ten Commandments, you discover that they reflect the character and holiness of God. They are an expression of the life of God, both in its outward behavior and its inward attitudes. That is why the Law never will change. The Law represents God's righteous demands for human behavior anywhere on earth. It is even written into the hearts of people who have never heard of the Ten Commandments. That is why most human laws--laws we make for the control of our behavior in city, state, and national government--are based upon, and reflect, the Ten Commandments. So the Law is not going to be done away with. Paul says it is holy, just, and good.Further, the Law is useful. Even for us Christians, the Law has a place in our lives, Paul says, "if one uses it properly." Not everything about the Law carries over into the Christian life, but there is an appropriate use of the Law in the Christian life. Our Lord Himself indicated that in the Sermon on the Mount:Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:17-19).Those words ought to make very clear what Paul insists on here in 1 Timothy that the Law is not eliminated. The Law will always be there because it is holy, just, and good; it reflects the character of God. So it does have a part in our Christian experience.Lord, thank You for Your Law, which reflects Your character. Teach me to use Your Law properly, in a way that is consistent with the gospel.

Perhaps the most common term used by believers in our day is the word Christian. But do you know how many times Christian appears in the Bible? Only three times (Acts 11:26, Acts 26:28; 1 Peter 4:16). In its two occurrences in Acts, which present the history of the term, it is used in a derogatory fashion. In fact, Christian was likely coined as a term of derision. Those who despised Christ displayed their disgust for His followers by calling them “Christians.” It wasn’t until years after Christ’s ascension that the term was used in a positive light. On the other hand, the term “disciple” appears 269 times in the New Testament, with 238 of those occurring in the four Gospels (the root word is used 281 times in the New Testament and 250 times in the Gospels alone). Why is this so important? The answer is because Christ did not come to make Christians; He came to make disciples. Immediately before leaving this world to return to heaven, He commanded us—His disciples—to carry on that work in His absence. But before a person can make disciples, he or she must first be a disciple. What does it mean to be a disciple? At the very core, a disciple is a learner, one who is set on growing and developing. In nearly every sphere of life, people learn specific skills from someone else who has developed those skills. An electrical certification is attained only after an extensive apprenticeship with a more experienced electrician. When a prospective doctor finishes medical school, she invests several years in a residency, a time of shadowing an experienced physician. If a psychiatrist bases his practice on the teachings of Sigmund Freud, we might say he is a disciple of Freud. If a musician, following the methods of Wynton Marsalis, plays jazz in the same style, we might comment that he is a disciple of Wynton Marsalis. This concept of learning directly through the expertise and experience of another is the foundation of what Jesus envisioned when He used the term “disciple.”- Excerpt from “Growing Up: How To Be A Disciple That Makes Disciples”

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Having considered what is going on right now with Israel and Donald Trump heightens my desire to see the world through the lens of the Bible. There is confusion, much of it intentional, and so I trust in God to guide me. Even the devil can quote the Bible. But, the devil quotes the Bible not to inform, but to confuse. That is the gift God gave to the devil, and that is the ability to confuse the unsaved with half-truths and lies. The devil is called the "prince of this world." And he is capable of fooling many with the wisdom of this world. Revelation 12:9 Satan deceives the whole world. I decide what to believe based on what serves God's purposes, not what the world thinks is best for itself. As the Bible states in 1 Corinthians 1:27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty. Because the world is full of lies, God has given some believers the "gift of discernment." That is, being able to perceive the true character of people and events. And I believe I have got it!So, for example, I look at the conflict between Israel and Hamas and come to the easy conclusion that Israel has God's favor. And those who are against Israel serve the devil. I don't need "evidence." I don't need "statistics." I don't need the International Community or the U.N. to tell me. And I don't need people telling me what Jesus would do. I know what Jesus would do. What did God tell Abraham? And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed. Amen. As for the current chaos gripping America, I use the same simple Biblical way to assess the situation and arrive at the conclusion that Donald Trump is God's man for America. How many bogus lawsuits have been brought against him are irrelevant. The devil is a good lawyer and those who wish to destroy Trump through the law have the world on their side. But, they don't have God on their side. Trump wants America to be great again. And that includes all Americans regardless of race, color, creed, or national origin. He did it before and he can do it again. Just because the wise of this world can spin things artfully to make Trump look like a villain doesn't mean they are right. They are the wise of this world, and whether they know it or not they are on the wrong side of what is right, just, and good. This is why the left in this country keep reinventing the English language to obscure its real meaning. This is why Joe Biden can give an interview saying he regrets calling a murdering rapist an "illegal" because it demeans the murdering rapist. But as the White House says, don't call that an "apology." For the left words have no objective meaning. The words mean whatever they want them to mean. That shifting sand ought to be a clue.

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THURSDAY'S THOUGHT: (3 of 4) A Remnant Arising That Know Who They Are!Like Nehemiah on the walls, they must keep focused on the task at hand.Revelation of Dream Two:There are pastors, leaders, and ministers who are starting to swallow the woke agenda, and they will be removed from their positions should they continue in this way. This is a warning for those who are compromising, diluting the truth, and those who have moved away from the truth of Jesus, the REDEEMER and TRANSFORMER. It is also a wake-up call for those who are not properly equipping their people to stand, or those who are too afraid to equip themselves, and thus their people, to have the hard conversations. We MUST equip ourselves for these hard conversations, and we MUST stand and build with the plumbline of Scripture at all costs. A lighthouse is meant to guide to safety, not to cause crashing on the rocks.I saw, however, that God's replacements, the ones whom the baton is passed to, have been refined by fire in the wilderness. They are friends of God who carry the fear of the Lord, and they have a purity and righteousness that make them shine like stars (Daniel 12:3). The fear of the Lord that they carry is weightier and more tangible than any "fear of man" that would try to stop them from properly stewarding the "lighthouse" they have been given.They will sound the alarm and keep the family free from disaster. "But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman's hand." (Ezekiel 33:6)Revelation of Dream Three:Something else has been released upon the earth, and it is big. The Church (at large) seems to be either unaware, and thus needs to be informed, or they are afraid and hiding within their structures. The Church needs HOPE! The media is not reporting on it, nor will they. Many Believers will call it a "conspiracy," since it does not line up with what their protestant theology has taught them, but the intercessors are certainly feeling it! It is here, and we will need to begin to face it, just like in dream one.

John’s second epistle is written to the chosen lady and her children (v. 1)—likely a female leader of one of many house churches in the region. Not only does the Elder value written communication, but he longs to come and visit in person, face to face, in due time (v. 12).Here, he continues the appeal to love one another, as in 1 John, and he specifies that loving consideration for fellow believers involves keeping God’s commandments, which they have heard from the beginning. They are to walk in ways pleasing to God, and the Elder delights in learning that some are faithful in doing so (vv. 4-6).He again warns of false teachers who deny that Jesus came in the flesh—that he suffered and died—these are again labeled in the worst way possible: they are “Antichrists” (v. 7). They are not to be received in the community, for to do so is to participate in their sinful practices (vv. 8-11).Again, I might guess that this second antichristic threat involved traveling Gentile teachers, who advocated assimilation with culture—saved by grace through faith, not by keeping Jewish customs and stances—going against the first two Commandments forbidding embracing other gods and venerating graven images (1 John 1:8-10; 5:21; Jude 4; 2 Pet 3:16).Such would go against the teaching they have heard from the beginning, and to really love one another, one must adhere to Christ alone in truth and love (v. 3). Even if subjected to danger and punishment for not participating in required Emperor worship under Domitian (81-96), adhering to the Way of the Cross is the way forward in every generation, as empowered by grace, mercy, and peace (v. 2).

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THE LIBERTY UNIVERSITY SCANDAL CONTINUESThe Bible makes clear an inviolate Principle that governs the entire moral universe: “But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the Lord; and be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23). To this Jesus adds, severely: “Consider how far you have fallen! Repentand do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstandfrom its place” (Revelation 2:5).To state it plainly, there are Consequences for the covering up of one’s corruptions, and all the more so for Christian leaders and their institutions who bring sustained shame to the name of our King. Sadly, the word “Repentance” seems to have been expurgated from the Biblical Canon in these Last Times – just as the Scriptures foretold (cf. Hebrews 10:26; 1 John 3:8-10).None of this is a surprise to some of us who worked for or attended Liberty University. A number of us were muzzled or terminated if we would not go along with the Charade of feigned righteousness. But God shall not be mocked any longer, and we have been ridiculing Him and His Truth for years now. LIBERTY UNIVERSITY: According to God’s Law of Grace, you may have a little time to make this right, or your Lampstand could be removed from you for perpetuity in view of the entire nation. It is the way of the Lord for such occasions as this, to restore a proper fear of the Lord that has all but vanished from among us.