State of Jefferson: A Christian Perspective! By Pastor Dave Bryan--Church of Glad Tidings--Yuba City Over 200 years ago, our countrys founders gave us the first ever, best ever REPRESENTATIVE form of government... along with a solemn warning that it would take eternal vigilance on the part of the governed to maintain it! The citizens of the new American Experiment were repeatedly warned that government tends to self-corrupt, and MUST be held accountable to the will of the people to keep it clean! Well... whadoyaknow... THEY WERE RIGHT!!! Two centuries later, were beginning to wake up to the fact that government CANT be trusted, and that power STILL corrupts! Looking back, the American people have failed to hold our elected officials accountable, and now government of the people, by the people and for the people has very nearly perished from the earth! For the past few months, we have joined with other good people of various religious backgrounds and political affiliations to promote the formation of a new and independent State of Jefferson in the North State from the southern border of Yuba County northwards all to the the border of Oregon! While most folks have been very supportive of exercising our Constitutional Rights to appeal for new statehood, some passive souls have suggested that the whole idea may not jibe with a truly Christian world-view. Some are simply committed to the doctrine of non-rocka- boat-is and wrongly feel that true Christianity must always be passive and go docilely along with the powers that be whatever the issues are. To these, I recommend a more careful reading of Scripture with an eye open toward the frequent revolutions of Israel and Judah as they sought to cast off their oppressors, which were led by spiritual leaders commonly referred to as either Deliverers or Judges. Also note the frequent confrontations in Scripture between godly Prophets and ungodly rulers, as well as the Spiritual Warfare motif of the entire Bible that clearly portrays us Christians as the the emissaries and warriors of Gods heavenly kingdom that has come to earth to destroy the work of the devil! (1 John 3:8) and to overcome evil with good! (Romans 12:21). Moving from the days of Bible history into the New Testament age, we see that the great heroes of the Christian faith boldly risked (and gave) their lives to confront and overcome the evils of their age. They were not cowardly passivists that allowed evil to reign uncontested in their day! No indeed! Just the opposite is true. Whether it was Justin Martyr confronting Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius regarding the wrongful persecution of Christians under Roman law, or Martin Luther risking his life by bucking the all-powerful religio-politcal system of the Catholic Church by nailing his 95 points of protest and necessary reform to the church door, or William Tyndale resorting to clearly illegal activities in order to get Gods Word into the hands of the common folk of his day - they were all brave heroes (and heroines) committed to do whatever it took to see righteousness prevail over evil in practical, societal issues of their day. They were willing to risk everything to show up in the showdown between good and evil, and their brave examples should be not only honored, but emulated by us today! Additionally, I suggest any timid souls whose tendency is to hide their light under a bushel in the name of beneficent Christian conduct to read the writings of renowned Christian leaders such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer (author of the Christian Classic The Cost of Discipleship) - who was executed by Hitlers Third Reich in Nazi Germany for opposing their evil agenda; and 20th Century Christian activist Dr. Francis Schaeffers epic work on the rueful decline of western civilization due to the passivity of the church (How Shall We Then Live?). We find that Scripture, church history, and the heroes of faith in our day all have this in common: They were stalwart Christian activists who recognized and confronted the evils of their day, and took both literally and seriously the command of Scripture to overcome evil with good! That said, what about us? What are we willing to do to confront the increasingly blatant anti-American and anti-Christian biases in our government? Are we willing to show up in the showdown and stand up for what we believe in? Actually, we should all be willing to risk our lives defending truth and justice, and standing up for righteousness sake, but it certainly is not too much to ask any authentic Christian to rally behind a specific Constitutional Provision given us by the fathers of our country and preserved for such a time as this! Appealing to Sacramento for a new and independent State of Jefferson is a lawfully provided RIGHT under the American Constitution! To not exercise that right would seem to imply that we were either happy with the political, economic and social trends in California under our present governmental system, or that one believes the system is working just fine, and that any of our concerns could be effectively addressed by the democratic process under the current system. To any who feel that way, while a cannot begin to understand either of those conclusions, I can understand you not wanting to promote the declaration of a new state with a different structure and a different set of values. For any who recognize what so many of us feel is glaringly self-evident, however, and are not happy with the condition or current direction of the State of California, nor feel that our voices are heard and our opinions considered in the chambers of State Legislature (which is our rightful due as U.S. citizens, and the stated guarantee of our Constitution and its representative form of government) - we would cordially invite you to join the State of Jefferson Declaration Movement! Heres your chance to do the truly Christian thing by joining us as we boldly confront the issues that are undermining our family values, our economy, and our traditional form of American representative government! Heres your chance to let your light shine and raise your voice to join us in petition Sacramento and Washington DC to recognize our Constitutional right to form a new and independent State of Jefferson built on conservative principles and dedicated to the ideals of Lower Taxes, Smaller Government, and Personal Freedoms! As Christian disciples, we have been charged by Christ Himself to be the salt (healing agent) of the earth (Matt. 5:13-14) and to let our lights (redemptive influence) shine before men (Matt 515-16) by actively and strategically placing our light on a stand for all to see (Mark 4:21-23)! We have also been commissioned by The Holy Scripture to pray that we might live peaceful lives marked by godliness and dignity (1 Timothy 2:2) and to stay busy (occupy) in the business of establishing Gods Kingdom in the earth until Jesus returns at the end of the age (Luke 19:13)! In the past, we have erred greatly in allowing ourselves to become passive and fatalistic in our mindset and worldview. As we have passively hidden our light (influence) under a bushel evil has prevailed in our land without a contest! Its time to repent of being salt that has no savor (redemptive, preserving influence) and begin to be bold in standing up for truth and for righteousness! Christian brothers and sisters - Do we have enough character and courage to admit where weve failed, and the moxie to show up in the showdown to turn things around for ourselves and for our children! Thats what a free and independent State of Jefferson is all about! So please... for the sake of conscience! For the sake of righteousness! For the sake of your children and their children! For the sake of Christ and His kingdom! Please join us in this exciting and noble effort to form a brand new state where our voices will be heard again, and where we can live peaceful lives marked by godliness and dignity (1 Timothy 2:2). For Christs sake, dont be timid! Dont be passive! Dont be absent, hiding your light under a bushel somewhere! Its time for the true followers of the Lion of Judah to ROAR! So... Lets all SHOW UP IN THIS SHOWDOWN, and make the Dream of Jefferson come true for us and for our children! RIGHT HERE! RIGHT NOW! (RIGHT ON!?!)
Posted on: Sun, 27 Apr 2014 19:24:50 +0000
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