By Ron Culbreth

     I read in today’s paper of another infringement on religious freedom whereby gutless city officials once again cowered to the whims of someone who was offended by a cross on a banner promoting their town.  This took place in San Clemente, CA.  According to the Chattanooga Times Free Press, an e-mail was sent by one individual stating, “it appeared to be inappropriate on public property.”  The paper reports that 80 banners depict beach  scenes, a skate boarder, and other themes of the city, but it is  the one that features a tower of the San Clemente Presbyterian church  that is in question.  The city manager, after consulting with the city attorney, asked the Chamber of Commerce to replace the cross with another theme.  This was after the city attorney concluded that there could be potential legal trouble.  Of course all of this stems from the deliberate misinterpretation of the 1st Amendment.  Will someone please explain to me where ‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion’ means you cannot have a banner  with a cross on it hanging on a pole to promote a town?  The written messages on all of the banners read: “San Clemente, Love it.”

     The  paper goes on to quote the chief executive of the Chamber in San Clemente as saying,  “ With what just happened at Fort Hood and the war in Afghanistan and Iraq I think it’s sad that we can focus on a banner and not look at the big picture of what’s going on in the world.”  To that I say a big A-Men and God Bless you.  Now to the point of my message:  what in general is going on in the world and specifically in  America?

     As for the world, it is reeling like a punch drunk boxer;  earthquakes, tsunamis, wars and rumors of wars, a rise in crime, a runaway political system.  If the last administration ignored the constitution, then the current one has stomped on it and ripped it to shreds.

     What is  wrong with America?  Palms 9:17 “The wicked shall be turned into hell, And all the nations that forget about God.”  Notice it did not say some nations, a select few nations, but rather “All Nations.”  I  personally feel that forgetting about God began in 1963 when, on the strength of one atheist Madelyn Murray O’ Hare, prayer was taken out of the public schools.  I remember as a boy in eastern North Carolina when the cotton mill workers would come into the small store we had, and would be discussing what was going on in the effort to have prayer taken out of the schools.  The thing that stuck in my mind from then was hearing them say, “ This is America, it will never happen.”  The other thing I remember is that no one did anything to try and stop it.  From that we have gone to, in some places, not being allowed to have a manager scene, or on some jobs you can’t say Merry Christmas, and the list of can’ts goes on and on.  We have been the greatest country in the world, and we have allowed people to come here from parts of the world where oppression was the order of the day.  We as a country have done great and mighty things by the grace of God, but this nation has turned its back on God.  For some time we have been asking God to leave us alone, and God, being the gentleman he is,  has slowly obliged.  In Haggai 1:6: You have sown much, and bring in little; You eat, but do not have enough, You drink, but you are not filled with drink, You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm, And he who earns wages, Earns wages to put into a bag with holes.”

     God was saying this to His people after they had turned their back on Him.  You may ask how this applies to today.  I’m glad you asked, I will attempt to bring it into today’s jargon.

     America, you go ahead and do your own thing, ignore my words, my warnings, my pleadings and my begging for you to repent.  Those of you who claim to be Christians, hold on to your tithes and rob me.  I will see to it that you will not prosper regardless of how hard you work, how much money you amass, or borrow.  It will be as though you are putting your money into a bottomless bucket.  Go ahead and see if  I don’t send a Katrina, a 911, a wall street melt down, or a Fort Hood.  Go ahead and forget about ME.

     Ron