God's Core Values By Roger D. Reed - Pastor Berea Baptist Church

A Visitor From The Past

I had a dream the other night, I didn’t understand.
A figure walking through the mist, with flintlock in his hand.
His clothes were torn and dirty, as he stood there by my bed.
He took off his three-cornered hat, and speaking low he said:

We fought a revolution, to secure our liberty.
We wrote the Constitution, as a shield from tyranny,
For future generations, this legacy we gave,
In this, the land of the free and the home of the brave.

The freedom we secured for you, we hoped you’d always keep.
But tyrants labored endlessly, while your parents were asleep.
Your freedom gone, your courage lost, you’re no more than a slave,
In this, the land of the free and the home of the brave.

You buy permits to travel, and permits to own a gun,
Permits to start a business, or to build a place for one.
On land that you believe you own, you pay a yearly rent,
Although you have no voice, in choosing how the money’s spent.

You children must attend a school that doesn’t educate.
Your Christian values can’t be taught, according to the state.
You read about current news, in a regulated press.
You pay a tax you do not owe, to please the IRS.

Your money is no longer made of silver and of gold.
You trade your wealth for paper, so your life can be controlled.
You pay for crimes that make our nation turn from God in shame.
You’ve taken Satan’s number, as you’ve traded in your name.

You’ve given government control to those who do you harm,
So they can padlock the churches, and steal the family farm,
And keep the country deep in debt, put men of God in jail,
Harass your fellow countrymen, while corrupt courts prevail.

Your public servants don’t uphold the solemn oath they’ve sworn.
Your daughters visit doctors so their children won’t be born.
Your leaders ship artillery and guns to foreign shores,
And send your sons to slaughter, fighting other people’s wars.

Can you regain freedom for which we fought and died?
Or don’t you have the courage or the faith to stand with pride.
Are there no more values for which you’ll fight to save?
Or do wish your children to live in fear and be a slave?

“Sons of the Republic, arise and take a stand!
Defend the Constitution, the Supreme Law of the Land!
Preserve our great republic and each God-given right,
And pray to God to keep the torch of freedom burning bright!”

As I awoke he vanished, in the mist from which he came.
His words were true, and we are not free. We have ourselves to blame.
For even now as tyrants trample each God-given right,
We only watch and tremble, too afraid to stand and fight.

If he stood by your bedside, in a dream while you’re asleep,
And wondered what remains of our rights he fought to keep,
What would be your answer, if he called out from the grave?
Is this still the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave?

Something to think about!

Credit Given to Author, Unknown 1999?

    Before I continue this article I want you first to know, I love America, and I love our Flag, and for those of you who do not, I would ask you to leave! Yes that’s right, leave America. We are not keeping you here. If you believe in burning, and urinating on the American Flag, you must hate America. PLEASE, LEAVE!
Our son is a Staff Sergeant in the United States Army. He has been to Germany, Bosnia, and Iraq, his mother and I are very proud of him and all men and women that are in all branches of the Military. I thank them when ever I get the chance, do you? I was at the hospital to visit and there was a young man in the elevator with me and I asked him if he was in the military and he said he was in the Marines and had just come home from Iraq and was headed back, I shook his hand and thanked him for what he was doing!
I remember when we went to Fort Sill, Oklahoma to watch our son graduate from basic training; it was the proudest day of my life. But it was also the scariest, for you see all those men and women pledged themselves to the President of the United States, whatever he said, they were bound by an oath to obey. I asked my son if he realized what he had just done, and shared my concern of what I heard them say. He knew what I meant, and he assured me not to worry, and I knew what he meant, and we walked away understanding each other. I hope you the reader also understands.
    I never was in the Military but I came very close. I was only 19 years old and just five months earlier had married my high school sweetheart. In April 1971, I received a letter from Uncle Sam requesting my presence at the Fort in Columbus, Ohio to take my physical for the Military. I went, was scared to death, and passed the physical and cried all the way home, for I was on my way to Vietnam. I was in that Lottery deal and my number was up. But the Lord intervened and the draft was stopped, and I was spared the whole ordeal. But I was proud of those who did go and those who died. I actually called the Recruiter when I got home and told him if I was getting close to call me and I would come in and enlist, I really didn’t want them to drafted me; I never ran away from my duty as an American even though I was scarred.
I wished I could have had the experience in the Military, I just wasn’t crazy about going to Vietnam, and I’m sure neither was anyone else. I believe every young man and woman should experience Military life when they get out of high school and before they go to college or get on with their life. I believe it molds character and maturity; it has done wonders for our son.
    I would like to quote the Evangelist Dave Roever: “During the Vietnam War it took 10 years to kill 59, 000 Americans, and during those ten years people rioted in the streets and burnt and urinated on the American flag, and called our loyal GIs baby killers. Listen, drunk drivers kill over 50,000 Americans every 24 months and I don’t see people burning their cars or urinating on them and calling them baby killers. Drunk drivers have killed more babies than all our wars put together; it is time we draw the line and say, enough is enough.”
I LOVE AMERICA, and I’m proud to be an American. May God continue to bless the U.S.A. and keep America free!!!

Our text is taken from Deuteronomy 6:1-15.

(Deuteronomy 6:1-15) Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it: {2} That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged. {3} Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey. {4} Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: {5} And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. {6} And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: {7} And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. {8} And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. {9} And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates. {10} And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not, {11} And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full; {12} Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. {13} Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name. {14} Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you; {15} (For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.

    I have read where a successful advertising agency has inscribed these words on the floor of a rotunda in its headquarters: COMMUNITY, INTEGRITY, RESTLESSNESS, FREEDOM and RESPONSIBILITY, CURIOSITY AND WINNING. As employees pass by, they are reminded of the company’s core values.
It has become common for businesses to display their central beliefs in prominent places. I work in a graphics department and my main job is to make posters and signs to be put up all over the plant. Our Plant Manager is a believer in visual aids to make us aware of our goals and values. One of the major issues is safety. The plant is very strict about our safety practices. One of the signs I have made is “Take Two For Safety”, meaning take two extra minutes to evaluate the job to be done, so it will be done safely. Everywhere in our world we see signs, billboards, and TV commercials. But this is not a new idea.
At a critical time when God’s people moved from the desert wandering into the Promised Land, the Lord charged them to take His core values and demonstrate them in a variety of ways: “You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them…You shall bind them as a sign on your hand…Write them on the door posts of your house and on your gates” (Deuteronomy 6:7-9).
    Do you see what it says parents? Teach them to your children. Oh, how much neglect has been done to our children over the past 50 to 60 years. We have left the teaching of our children to the unsaved educators of this world and look at the problems our youth are facing today. I remember when my son was in the first or second grade; he came home from school one day and told me what his teacher had said. I can’t remember exactly what the conversation was about but “his teacher said”, and I remember being in disagreement with what “she said”. But it didn’t matter to my son what “I said”, all he would keep saying was “but dad, my teacher said”. So God had a reason to tell us to teach His values to our children, it starts at home parents.
    Do you realize as a parent how far things have gone? You can’t even discipline your child anymore without someone calling the law on you. To give you an example of this my wife and I went to visit our son and grandsons at Fort Drum, NY. While we were there we all went to the PX to buy a few things. My son turned to me and said, “Dad, whatever you do, do not lay a hand on these boys”. When I asked why, he said “Because it is forbidden to lay a hand on any child on base; they will put me in jail.” Needless to say I wasn’t too happy. I have always been a strong disciplinarian; I take God’s Core Values to heart.
    The Bible says in Proverbs 22:15 “Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.” Now dear reader, you tell me what that means? I don’t have to read anything into that to understand it; it means what it says. It doesn’t mean to give a child a time out, maybe a knock out. Now don’t misunderstand me; I believe that a parent should never discipline their child out of anger. Go run around the block if you’re angry; you should never be angry when you’re about to apply the rod of correction to a child’s backside. God says foolishness is in the heart of a child and He said the rod will get it out. Parents, listen to God, and not to Dr. Spock or any other worldly child educator or psychologist. Listen, when I went to spank my children they would always say “wait…wait dad, lets talk about this.” So I would give them the opportunity to speak their peace and present their side of the story. But most of the time it came down to “What are the Rules?” They knew them, and they knew the punishment for breaking those rules. Let me ask the reader this, if whipping my children was so wrong, please explain why, when I was done they would throw their arms around me, and tell me, “I love you daddy”! Can you explain that? I can, it is called being obedient to God’s Core Values. If only all parents would follow them. I’ll be the first to admit, it doesn’t make them perfect children. But now that they are older, they thank me for caring enough to teach them right from wrong, even though I sometimes feel as though I’ve failed in many ways. Maybe it was because it was my first time being a parent? But trust me; I don’t want a second try. My daughter-in-law has even thanked me, because she realizes that our son is the man he is today because of how he was raised.
    I would love to go in front of a Judge with this issue. 1) It is my God given right as a parent, 2) it is a Biblical and Christian principle, and 3) it is my freedom as an American. To tell me I can’t discipline my children is discriminating against my religious beliefs and my rights as an American.   Who’s going to fight for me if I don’t, it wont be the ACLU I’ll tell you!
     “And shall talk of them” Where? Everywhere, at home, on our jobs, to your children, to your wife, to those you work with, to everyone you meet. “And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.” The Jews had a wooden box that had a metal cylinder in it, and in that metal cylinder they would literally enclose written portions of the law called phylacteries, and bound them on their hands and foreheads (Matthew 23:5). “And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.” The Jews also took this very literally. Today, the lost world wants to remove God’s word from the posts, houses, and gates. Our own government no longer wants it on public display. Stop and think for a minute. Our forefathers started this country on godly principles and the faith that God was for and with them. Many were God-fearing men. They wrote His word on public buildings for all to see. What would they think of our government today, or if we told them we could no longer pray at public gatherings, or say the pledge of allegiance in our schools to the flag that they fought and died so bravely under? What would they think of us today, sad…so sad that we have fallen so far away from God and His Core Values?
    Here is a sad and sickening prospect, I have read from our own people, this statement; “I hear preachers preach all the time that this country was based on Biblical principles and godly men but have never seen any proof.” I will be the first to say that many of our early forefathers did not believe in Jesus Christ and therefore were not saved, but they did believe in an all Supreme Being (God) and therefore had many Biblical principles in the starting of this country.   Apparently they have NOT done their homework. Let me point the reader to a very good book that goes through each President and what they believed, “The Faith of America’s Presidents” by Daniel J. Mount, and there are others, but I think some are to prideful to admit their error.
    How would it revolutionize your life, for example, if you viewed the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17) as God’s Core Values? Show the character traits of loyalty to God (v.3), faithfulness in marriage (v. 14), and honesty (vv. 15-16). What would happen if they became the principles that guide your thinking and actions? Let me ask you, just what are your duties? “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13). In your heart, home, and workplace, put God’s Core Values on public display. You might ask why we should. Here is why I believe we should; in Psalm 119:11 the Psalmist writes: “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” God has commanded us this day to put his words in our hearts (Deuteronomy 6:6). Pretty good reasons, don’t you think? Not only in our hearts but everywhere!

God’s core values are so plain,
We should ever teach and train
Others to obey His law,
Bow and worship Him in awe. -Hess

CORE VALUES ARE OF NO VALUE
UNLESS THEY REFLECT GOD’S VALUES.

In closing I wish to share this prayer that was written by a teen in Bagdad, Arizona. This is quit incredible and stirring to the heart!!! Many I am sure have read this it has been around for a while, but it is truer today, than when it was written. God Bless!

Now I sit me down in school
Where praying is against the rule
For this great nation under God
Finds mention of Him very odd.

If Scripture now the class recites,
It violates the Bill of Rights.
And any time my head I bow
Becomes a Federal matter now.

Our hair can be purple, orange, or green,
That’s no offense; it’s the freedom scene.
The law is specific, the law is precise.
Prayers spoken aloud are a serious vice.

For praying in a public hall
Might offend someone with no faith at all.
In silence alone we must meditate,
God’s name is prohibited against the state.

We’re aloud to curse and dress like freaks,
And pierce our noses, tongues and checks.
They’ve outlawed guns, but FIRST the Bible.
To quote the Good Book makes me liable.

We can elect a pregnant Senior Queen,
And the ‘unwed daddy’, our Senior King.
It’s “inappropriate” to teach right from wrong,
We’re taught that such “judgments” do not belong.

We can get our condoms and birth controls,
Study witchcraft, vampires and totem poles,
But the Ten Commandments are not allowed,
No word of God must reach this crowd.

It’s scary here I must confess,
When chaos reigns the school’s a mess.
So, Lord, this silent plea I make:
Should I be shot; My soul please take!

Amen!!

This poem was posted on the Bagdad Public Bulletin Board on1/28/00. I can only say, God help our children, and God give us the courage to stand and fight for our God given rights and to protect our children from the lawlessness that is in our land today. God Bless America!