Leading Forward!

Posted by Larry Miller on March 29, 2010 under How | Be the First to Comment

Human nature has changed little over the years. We have a tendency to put up with all kinds of intrusions and oppressions as long as it doesn’t intrude too much on our personal lives and it takes a some effort to change. When Moses went to lead the Children of Israel out of captivity into the promised land, they saw the destruction of Egypt through the various plagues that included turning the Nile River to blood, locusts devouring the crops and the death of every first born. They saw the power of the God that was setting them free. Yet, when they started on the journey and they were backed up to the Red Sea and saw Pharaoh’s army approaching, they apparently forgot everything they had just witnessed.

The ungrateful people turned to Moses and said, “It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” Like many of us, they only saw the problems and dangers. They forgot the amazing power that had won their release from the slave labor. They could tell the chariots were approaching in the distance and turned on their leader and the God who had led them to this point. In some ways they are a lot like many Americans today who like the freedom we have and understand what it took to give it to us… and when it comes under assault are ready to roll over and accept that it cannot continue.

As for the Israelites, although they had some weapons and organization, they could not see themselves surviving an encounter with Pharaoh’s army, and rightly so if they were battling the enemy alone. Panic stricken, they longed to be back in the yoke of slavery, but the God of Jacob had other plans. Moses told them, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” He stretched out his staff over the Red Sea and a path was created for the people to walk across on dry land. They were delivered form the clutches of Pharaoh, when they had the need. It was not too early or too late. Read more of this article »

Is The Day Of Great Leaders Past?

Posted by Chuck Baldwin on November 11, 2009 under How | Read the First Comment

A recent column co-authored by John Eidsmoe and Ben DuPré struck me. They titled their column, “What makes a ‘great’ president?”

See it at: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=114683

The basic thrust of the column was to examine the qualities that make one a “great” President. They start by examining the Presidency of our 11th President, James K. Polk. They note that Polk is commonly regarded as being one of America’s top 12 greatest Presidents. To use their words, “between eighth and 12th among our greatest presidents.”

Eidsmoe and Dupré note that Polk was undoubtedly a man of outstanding Christian character and faith. They say that Polk was “the only president who kept and fulfilled every one of his campaign promises.” They observe him to be a man “with a Puritan work ethic, [who] literally worked himself to death as president, retired from office in broken health and died 103 days later.” Read more of this article »