USA PUBLIC SCHOOLS PROMOTE A GODLESS AGENDA

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A new documentary, “Brainwashed: The Indoctrination of America’s Youth,” warns that public schools promote a “godless” agenda. It calls on parents and churches to “wake up” and help today’s youth develop a biblical worldview. The godless, evolutionary worldview has been taught in schools and universities increasingly since the late 1960s (the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Epperson v. Arkansas (1968) that Arkansas‘s law prohibiting the teaching of evolution was in violation of the First Amendment)

In an interview with The Christian Post, Coral Ridge Ministries CEO Robert J. Pacienza said the documentary’s target audience includes parents, grandparents, and “anyone concerned about the next generation.”

Pacienza told CP the documentary took about a year to make. He said he was inspired to make the film after seeing various reports about the messages America’s youth receive not only through social media and the entertainment industry but also at public schools and college campuses.

According to a report the advocacy group Parents Defending Education released last year, more than 1,000 school districts, representing 18,335 schools with more than 10.7 million students, have policies that permit or advise faculty to withhold information from parents about their child’s gender confusion. 

Another study released last year found that around 3,600 individuals between the ages of 12 and 18 underwent body-disfiguring gender transition surgeries across the United States between 2016 and 2020. 

In addition to raising concerns about what schools are teaching kids about gender, the documentary discusses school curricula centered on social-emotional learning, which some experts featured in the film argued is used to push “left-wing politics” in the classroom. 

The documentary notes that while schools promote politics and social justice topics, many students fail at fundamental subjects like reading, writing, and math.

“I just thought we needed something that is waking people up to what is happening,” Pacienza told CP. 

Pacienza said that one of the documentary’s goals is to provide parents with “real action steps” in response to what he described as “propaganda” from the progressive left. These steps might include limiting kids’ exposure to digital devices and having more conversations with them around the dinner table.

“So it’s not just a documentary that exposes the problem, but it also gives Christian parents and Christian grandparents and any Christian in America that cares about the next generation real tools and resources to help them fight against this godless agenda that’s targeting the youth in America,” Pacienza said.

Sadly, the documentary does not address the issue of evolution and billions of years which contradicts the Bible’s history of 6000 years. The worldwide flood of Noah’s day produced the fossils: billions of dead things all over the world, including fossil fuels. It did not need billions of years.

http://www.answersingenesis.org and http://www.creation.com provide essential resources for dealing with the issue of evolution and billions of years.

FOR GEN Z, GOD AND THEREFORE HOPE ARE GONE

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Our godless schools and universities have taught this generation that this Cosmos came into existence through a Big Bang and evolution. Despite the overwhelming evidence for an intricately designed universe, they cannot and will not countenance God.

Why? “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it? Jeremiah 17:9 and they have been blinded by the god of this world, our supernatural enemy, Satan. “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” 2 Corinthians 4:3-4

By definition, hope is beyond us and bigger than us. True Hope is given by God. Gen Z is a generation that has no hope. It is destined for hopelessness and depression.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” Romans 15:13

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ… ” Titus 2:12-14

This post was inspired by my reading Martyn Iles’s book WHO AM I? SOLVING THE IDENTITY PUZZLE. I love his challenge in the book:

I challenge any reader to find me positive feedback on the human condition outside of Jesus Christ, after THE FALL OF MAN (Genesis 3), anywhere in Scripture. You and I frequently do the wrong thing because our hearts are corrupted by all kinds of sin. That has always been the human predicament after Adam and Eve disobeyed God.

Fortunately, our Heavenly Father has provided a way back into the right relationship with Him.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” John 3:16-21

WHO AM I? SOLVING THE IDENTITY PUZZLE

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I have spoken about Martyn Isles on many occasions as I have watched God use him to mightily impact Australia for Christ when he was with the organisation, Australian Christian Lobby. God has now expanded his ministry by elevating him to CEO of Answers in Genesis (AIG), a ministry based in the USA but started by an Australian, Ken Ham.

Martyn and Ken were recently in Australia where they held a series of meetings in Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane, and Melbourne entitled “Living in Babylon“. In total, more than ten thousand people were directly reached by the messages and many more are watching them online. If you have not seen them make sure you do and encourage others to do the same.

Martyn has written a book that every pastor needs to read if they are to reach Gen Z, a generation that has grown up with an evolutionary mindset.

Western Schools, Universities, Media, and Governments teach evolution and operate as if God does not exist. Hence we see an obsession with self as seen in the rise of psychology, genders and sexualities, and identity politics. As Martin rightly points out, the identity crisis has resulted in people looking at themselves and coming up with subjective answers based on how they feel and attributes supplied by political activists, ideologues, and pop culture.

Young people are encouraged with notions like loving yourself, living true to yourself, being your best self, following your heart, believing in yourself, living your truth… or phrases like “you do you,” “you are enough,” “you’re worth it,” “you’re beautiful just as you are.” This self-talk has changed the kinds of things people hold up as virtues. We need to be authentic: if your actions are true to “you” then they are good for you and are justifiable. It is the same idea that makes it possible to say, “My truth.” In other words, we define what is right and even what is “true” based on how we feel. Seeing ourselves as the ultimate authority instead of God.

The virtue of self-belief is a staple these days – no motivational speech or life advice is complete without it. The resources we need for our own achievements are found in our attitude to who we are.

The Big Mistake the world is making is that they believe that “self” is good. The Bible and Jesus specifically make it clear that “self” is not good, in fact, it is profoundly bad.

““What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” Mark 17:20-23

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.” Jeremiah 17:9-10

GEN Z: THE LOST GENERATION

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Gen Z reminds me of the generation that arose after Joshua and his generation died.

“And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110 years. And they buried him within the boundaries of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash. And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord or the work he had done for Israel.” Judges 2:8-10

More than 20% of Generation Z now identify as LGBT, with close to 30% of generational women falling into that category, according to new data released by Gallup. Roughly 22% of young adults ages 18 to 26 self-identified as LGBT, more than the nearly 10% of Millennials, ages 27 to 42 years old, who identified as such, and even greater than the 5% of Generation X, 2% of Baby Boomers, and 1% of the Silent Generation Z who claimed such identities. Overall, 7.6% of adults in the general population identified as part of the LGBT community. Slightly more than 85% of those polled identified as heterosexual. Jeffrey Jones, a senior editor for Gallup, said the uptick is largely driven by Gen Z women. “A lot of the growth seems to be happening there,” he said. The explosion of LGBT-identified youth comes as many on the left and even in federal government agencies, like the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), have pushed for LGBT ideologies to be hoisted upon children and teenagers. As CBN News reported in early 2023, the CDC materials then urged public school educators and administrators to embrace LGBT causes, all in the name of inclusivity.

The agency provided a “self-assessment tool” to help school officials determine just how supportive they are of sexual minorities. The self-assessment document, which the CDC says is voluntary, is posted on the agency’s website. It encourages educators to display rainbow flags in classrooms and unisex signs in bathrooms. It also urges teachers to incorporate LGBTQ content in their lessons, use student-preferred pronouns, and attend LGBTQ training. These ideas, while, on the surface, seemingly abstract, are taking real-life tolls on families. For example, in mid-February, two parents in Indiana petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hold the State responsible for removing their gender-confused child from their home due to their Bible-based beliefs about sexuality and gender identity. According to CBN News, Mary and Jeremy Cox filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari last month, asking the court to review the legality of Indiana’s decision to strip them of their parental rights and pull their son, who identifies as a transgender girl, from their household over their refusal to use female names and pronouns when addressing or referring to their child.

The removal came after the Indiana Department of Child Services launched an investigation in June 2021 into the Christian parents. At the time, the state agency argued, referring to the Cox’s son, “We just feel that at this point in time, this child needs to be in a home that’s not going to teach her that trans, like everything about transgender… tell her how she should think and how she should feel. However, she should be in a home where she is accepted for who she is.” “If this can happen in Indiana, it can happen anywhere,” said Lori Windham of Becket Law, the firm representing the couple. “Tearing a child away from loving parents because of their religious beliefs, which are shared by millions of Americans, is an outrage to the law, parental rights, and basic human decency.”

Source: Faithwire

Generation Z is the generation that precedes Jesus’ second coming this time to pour out His wrath upon an unrepentant world. Christians will be raptured before the wrath of God is poured out on the world with the Trumpet and Bowl judgements but will not be kept from tribulation/persecution when the Antichrist declares himself to be God in the rebuilt Jewish temple. It is at the sixth seal, where we read about the celestial signs that precede Jesus’ second coming and the wrath of God and it is at the trumpet blast at the seventh seal that the rapture happens and the wrath of God commences. God has provided us with a great deal of information about the last seven years (70th week of Daniel) before Jesus second coming. He wants us to be prepared.

We know that seven is an important number for God. He created the Cosmos in six days followed by a rest day. he established this as the pattern for how we should live: six work days and one rest day. Is it any wonder then that God should define the last seven years as six years of work and one year of rest for His Saints. Whilst God is pouring out His wrath upon an unrepentant world we will have a sabbath year in heaven. The trumpet and Bowl judgements last for a year, the fifth trumpet judgement lasts five months.

“and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.” 1 Thessalonians 1:10

“Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.” Revelation 3:10

“Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.
The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up” Revelation 8:6-7

AT THE FIFTH TRUMPET, LOCUSTS LIKE HORSES WITH TAILS THAT STING LIKE SCORPIONS: “They were allowed to torment them for five months, but not to kill them, and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings someone.” Revelation

YFC REACHING GEN Z WITH 3STORY WAY OF LIFE

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The American ministry Youth for Christ (YFC) is reporting a 20% increase in the number of young people they saw turning to Christ in 2023. The report also shows exciting trends of evangelism amongst young believers. It reveals that in the US, nearly 8000 teenagers gave their lives to Jesus under the ministry’s outreach last year. The ministry also claims that 25% more children were sharing their faith with their peers compared to 2022. Youth for Christ’s CEO and President, Jake Bland, has called it a “rising metric of young leaders” – saying that Generation Z seems to be much more open to discussions. “They are living out YFC’s ‘3Story way of life’ and it’s this rising metric of young leaders that has our full attention.

3Story® is the phrase YFC uses to describe how Christians live in a relationship with God and others. They use three circles to represent these stories—God’s Story, my own story, and the stories of young people. When the circles overlap, it means friendship is growing, trust is building, and transformation is happening.

3Story® helps people who love Jesus stay tightly connected to Him so they might become good news as they talk about the Good News of God’s love to others. It’s a lifestyle we pursue. We want to be people who love like Jesus loves us, who serve as Jesus serves and who are consistently drawing near to God for the sake of young people.

YFC pursues 11-19-year-olds who are walking through pivotal, story-shaping moments; like navigating a new school, becoming a teen parent, spending time in a juvenile institution, or simply enduring the culture of social media. Young people often feel marginalized. As we live 3Story® lives, we represent Jesus who is steady and trustworthy so that young people feel seen, heard, and valued.

Generation Z seems to be much more open to discussions about faith among their peers than the generations that immediately preceded them. It’s clear that this is a strategic opportunity God is creating for ministries like YFC and our Kingdom partners.”

The report noted that compared to last year:

  • Seven percent more teens made a first-time decision for Christ.
  • Thirty-eight percent more students engaged with local churches this year.
  • Twenty-one percent more kids began sharing their faith with their friends.

“Because of God’s faithfulness, 2,907 kids became multipliers of the hope of Christ!” Bland enthused. Yet even as YFC looks back on the year of ministry, Bland notes the numbers only matter because they tell a story.

“In YFC, we aren’t celebrating numbers, scope, or scale. We celebrate how Christ is moving”.

These are more than numbers — every number has a name, and every name has a story. The harvest is ripe among this generation and Jesus is still calling us to pray earnestly and trust Him as Lord of the harvest, the solution for every soul, every story.” Youth For Christ, whose first full-time staff member was Dr Billy Graham in 1944, operates in over 100 nations and has over 130 chapters that impact communities across America through over 1,200 local ministry sites.

Source: Premier Christian News

TRANSFORMING POWER OF THE BIBLE

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Despite the lack of Scripture engagement among America’s youth, about half of Gen Z respondents in the American Bible Society’s State of the Bible USA 2023 study agreed with the statement that “the message of the Bible has transformed my life.” Among Gen Z adults between the ages of 18 and 21, 49% agreed that the Bible had a transformative effect on their lives. That number rose to 52% among Gen Z respondents between the ages of 22 and 26.

Reacting to the findings of the research in a statement, American Bible Society’s Chief Ministry Insights Officer John Farquhar Plake described Gen Z as “a generation struggling to find their footing with faith.”

After noting that “scripture engagement rates for Gen Z have been on a steady decline over the past three years,” he expressed gratitude that “this generation still shows significant interest in the Bible and the message of Jesus.”

“Ministry leaders may be surprised to find how open Gen Z adults in their communities are to discussion about God’s Word,” he added. “And if the trends we’re seeing continue—it’s crucial to be having those conservations now.”

We are fast approaching the last seven years prior to Jesus’ return to rapture the Saints and pour out His wrath upon an unrepentant world so we need to share the Gospel message with as many people to whom we are led by the Holy Spirit. He will guide and direct our steps if we allow Him to do so. Jesus knows who will respond to the Gospel message and who will not so it is imperative that we follow the Holy Spirit’s lead. Jesus’ instructions to the 72 disciples He sent out ahead of Him into every town and place where he himself was about to go (Luke 10:1-12) is helpful.

“But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’” Luke 10:10-11

“The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, Peace be to this house!’ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you. And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick in it and say to them, The kingdom of God has come near to you.’” Luke 10:2-9

It is important to know what the 72 said when they returned after having been sent out “as lambs in the midst of wolves“.

“The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” Luke 10:17-20

GEN Z LIKE THE GENERATION THAT AROSE AFTER JOSHUA DIED

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A 2018 study from Barna Group found that Gen Z is the least Christian generation in American history as just 4% holds a biblical worldview, with more teens identifying as agnostic, atheist, or not religiously affiliated than previous generations. “Gen Z is different because they have grown up in a post-Christian, post-modern environment where many of them have not even been exposed to Christianity or to church. So that is a really unique shift,” Brooke Hempell, Barna’s senior vice president of research, said at the survey’s release event. “There are a lot of churches that are empty in this country. Gen Z is the one who is really showing the fruit of that. There are many of them [who] are a spiritual blank slate. For the first time in our nation’s history, that is more and more common.”

What is happening with the Gen Z generation reminds me of what happened when Joshua died. The Millennials (Gen Y) were brought up in schools and universities that taught evolution (billions of years) not creation (six thousand years and a worldwide flood) as the origin of the Cosmos, is it any wonder that the next generation, Gen Z no longer believes the Bible and the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

“And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110 years. And they buried him within the boundaries of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash. And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.“ Judges 2:8-10

The generation that lived in Joshua’s time knew what God had accomplished through Joshua but they were no longer living in obedience to God’s commandments. Hence the next generation saw no evidence of God in their lives, in fact, the opposite.

“And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt.” Judges 2:11-12

Jesus told us that during the last days before His return there will be a great falling away from Biblical faith which is exactly what we see happening in our day. The following was told by Jesus to the disciples prior to Pentecost as Jesus knew the persecution of the early church that would follow.

“I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away… Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me. But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you.” John 16:1, 3-4

Jesus told us that the same “falling away” would happen to the church in the last days before He returns in Matthew 24.

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.” Matthew 24:9-12

BITCOIN AND DEFI

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In this interview with Stansberry Research Institute’s Daniela Cambone, Miguel Vias, a former executive for Ripple and CME Group, weighs the benefits of owning gold and crypto. Vias also talks about the future of decentralized finance (DeFi). He does a creditable job of explaining why Bitcoin and DeFi have made such a difference to traditional finance and how it is likely to develop. The billionaire Mark Cuban has called DeFi possibly the greatest thing since the Internet.

The fact that governments and so called financiers are operating in fantasy land means we are in unchartered territory, no one has travelled this way before. In fact, commonsense tells us that governments cannot keep printing money to spend on whatever and not expect tragic consequences.

Put this together with a godless generation, the Zoomers (Generation Z, the youth of today) and the Millennials (Generation Y) and you have a recipe for chaos and lawlessness. The end times scenario as prophesied in Scripture.

The world sees Gen Z as more tech-savvy, politically active, globally engaged, more realistic. In fact, they are pessimistic about the future (global warming, Covid 19, dismal economic outlook and there is no meaning or purpose to life). Gen Z has the highest suicide rate and it is increasing..

https://stansberryinvestor.com/media/HNOi9jppdnw