IN Lawmaker Plans to Abolish Abortion

An Indiana lawmaker, State Rep. Curt Nisly (Goshen-R), said he intends to propose the “Protection at Conception” bill in January 2017 when the State Legislature meets according to ChristianNews.net.  “It’s time to bring the Roe v. Wade to its logical conclusion,” Nisly told The Times of North West Indiana.  “My goal is to deregulate abortion right out of existence in Indiana.”

Nisly feels hopeful that the bill could pass and he believes there is a strong chance that Roe. v. Wade could even be overturned as President-elect Donald Trump takes office and makes appointments to the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS).  “The Supreme Court has been wrong before,” Nisly said.  “On issues like slavery, on segregation and a host of other issues, and they’ve reversed themselves, eventually.”

Mr. Trump has promised to appoint pro-life justices to the SCOTUS.  He also said that he favors allowing individual states to decide whether abortion is permitted in their borders.

Indiana is ahead of a number of states when it comes to pro-life legislation.  In March, then Gov. Mike Pence signed into law a bill that bans the murder of unborn children who are diagnosed with Down syndrome or any other disability.  Additionally, Indiana law already declares that “human physical life begins when a human ovum is fertilized by a human sperm.”  It recognizes abortion as a criminal act except when performed following very specific regulations that generally prohibit abortion beyond 12-weeks of pregnancy.  However, legislation has stopped short of outlawing abortion.

The Executive Director of Hoosiers for Life (pro-life group), Amy Schlichter, said now is the time to push for legislation like Nisly’s.  “The code is there, but Indiana has failed to use it to stop abortion.  Instead, they regulate it, which causes approximately 22-Hoosier babies to die every single day,” Schlichter said.  “It is time that Indiana understands that our legislators are not doing all they can to stop abortion in our state,” she added.

With some 56-million babies aborted in the U.S. since the 1973 Roe v. Wade SCOTUS decision, the time is long overdue to stop the murder of innocence.

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Sanctuary Cities … Where Criminals Are Harbored

Donald Trump understood something that many Washington insiders missed.  Many Americans … including some naturalized citizens … bristle at elected officials constantly defending the rights of non-Americans to migrate here illegally – and to be rewarded for breaking the law with a path to citizenship.

Toward that end, and in deference to his campaign promises, President-Elect Trump seems primed to deport undocumented immigrants and withhold some federal funds from ‘sanctuary cities’ like San Francisco.

Trump appears to have put aside his campaign rhetoric of deporting all 11-million undocumented immigrants.  Now he says he would focus on 2-million or more undocumented immigrants with criminal histories.  Trump told ‘60 Minutes’ he wants to “get the people that are criminals and have criminal records, gang members, drug dealers. We have a lot of these people; probably 2-million, it could even be 3-million.  We are getting them out of the country or we are going to incarcerate.”  

It’s hard for the mainstream media to call that position “extreme” when it lines up with President Obama’s direction to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to focus on removing undocumented immigrants with serious criminal records.  Under Obama, ICE’s Priority Enforcement Program has targeted convicted criminals who threaten public safety or national security.

The big difference, says columnist Debra Saunders for The San Francisco Chronicle, will be that Trump means it when he says he will deport “criminal aliens,” and Obama didn’t really mean it.  After all, if Obama truly believed in deporting criminal aliens, he would have challenged sanctuary cities like San Francisco that protected repeat offenders from ICE,” says Saunders.

In 2010, Obama’s Department of Justice (DoJ) sued Arizona after lawmakers passed a law to allow local law enforcement to check the immigration status of those suspected of breaking state laws.  A DoJ brief claimed “a state may not establish its own immigration policy or enforce state laws in a manner that interferes with the federal immigration laws.”  But the Obama Administration failed to challenge a 2013 San Francisco ordinance that protected Juan Francisco Lopez Sanchez from being turned over to ICE.  Lopez Sanchez had been convicted of 7-felonies and deported 5-times when San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon dropped a decade sold marijuana charge and then-Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi released Lopez Sanchez rather than hand him over to ICE, as ICE requested. Weeks later, authorities charged the Mexican national for the shooting death of city resident Kate Steinle.  (Lopez Sanchez has pleaded not guilty.)

Trump is likely to borrow from past legislation introduced by Sen. David Vitter (LA-R) to pull federal funding from sanctuary cities because, Vitter argues, “sanctuary cities will continue to exist until there are tangible penalties in place.”

What we don’t know is if Trump will try to be as tough on sanctuary cities that simply shield undocumented crime victims from being reported to ICE – which seems reasonable – as he should be on San Francisco, with its extreme stance on defending career criminals who are in the country illegally.

California’s state law also shields repeat offenders from ICE.  The TRUST Act policy sends a message that people can live in America illegally and continue to break laws without having to face the consequences.

The problem for President Trump is this: If repeat offenders figure they can evade deportation by fleeing to ‘social justice’ havens, then it will be harder for immigration officials to target the worst threats to public safety.

There is also a principle involved here: “As a lawyer for 60 years and a judge for 10,” Superior Court Judge Quentin Kopp recently told columnist Saunders, “I’m a believer in the law.  That’s why I don’t understand accepting, much less rewarding, disregard of the law.”  That’s a pretty basic belief.

If the Washington establishment understood that contract, then perhaps Donald Trump would not be president-elect.  But he is; and he has a clear mandate from ‘the people’ to enforce our immigration laws and crack-down on those U.S. cities harboring undocumented immigrants.

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Where Are You Not Willing to Compromise?

In this post-election season, much of what we hear from both sides of the political divide is this – “It’s time for all of us to come together and get along?”  That’s nonsense!  Not just regarding politics, but also in many other areas of life.

Listen, politically speaking:

I will never “come together and get along” with those who are Pro-Planned Parenthood, because I believe human life begins at conception and should never be taken except in very narrow circumstances.  I believe that those who are pro-choice and believe that abortion at any time for any reason, as determined by the one carrying the baby, are absolutely wrong.  Hitler defined the Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals and others as sub-human; and the slave holders defined the slaves as less than fully human – thus buying and selling human beings!  By the same token, Planned Parenthood defines the unborn as not human, which allows for abortion at any time for any reason; and they even harvest the body parts of the innocent little child they have just killed!  The Bible clearly says the baby in the womb is a human being!  End of discussion!

I will never “come together and get along” with the current demonstrators on college campuses or the rioters in our cities – all of whom I view respectively as spoiled brats, misfits and criminals.  I can get along with people like the Tea Party folks, because they were orderly and altogether law-abiding.  They were not profane; they did not destroy other people’s property and they did not defecate on public property!  Some people know how to demonstrate and protest; still others do not.  End of conversation!

I will never “come together and get along” with those who side with the Palestinians and against Israel.  Period!

I will never “come together and get along” with those who take the position that Christian marriage can be anything other than the joining together of one man and one woman in holy wedlock.  Churches that have embraced same-sex unions and now have liturgy for the “marriage” of same gender couples are disgraceful - but not surprising.  Among these churches – The glory has departed!

I will never “come together and get along” with racists, bigots, homophobics, xenophobics or anti-Semites; or those who brand others as racists, bigots, homophobics, xenophobics,or anti-Semites.  Often the most hateful, mean-spirited and untruthful things are said by those who claim to be tolerant, enlightened and morally “holier-than-thou.”  I have even heard supposedly tolerant, enlightened and “high road takers” dismiss millions of people as deplorable and irredeemable!  They are people at the height of hypocrisy!

I will never “come together and get along” with those who burn the American Flag, or run down this country, or vow to leave America if an election does not go their way … and then fail to do so!  In the immortal words of country singer and songwriter Merle Haggard – “If you’re runnin’ down my country, man, you’re walkin’ on the fightin’ side of me.”  Mess with my country, and you and I are at war!

Finally, to answer the question, “Can’t we all just get along?” the answer is “Hell No!”  While it is true that the Lord Jesus said that we are to love our neighbor (even our enemies), He never said we have to like our neighbor or our enemies.  He never said we have to all “just get along.”  Jesus did not get along with the religious leaders of His day.  The Reformer, Martin Luther, did not get along with the religious leaders of his day.  So, I’m in good company when I say – No, I can’t come together and get along with everyone.

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Soul-Searching Scientific Researchers Are Catching Up With Centuries of Christian Faith

Scientists are now claiming that death may not be as final as we once feared – and that humans have souls that can leave the body after their hosts kick the bucket.  It may sound like a supernatural myth, but the idea that human consciousness lives on after death has been put forward by a number of well-respected scientists.

And the British scientist at the forefront of the eerie theory claims that humans have souls which don’t die along with the body.  We many not know exactly what consciousness is, but physicist Sir Roger Penrose believes that it’s just a packet of information stored at a quantum - or subatomic - level.

Sensationally, he claims to have found evidence that this information, which is stored in microtubules within human cells, leaves the body after a person dies.  The researchers argue that humans have souls which leave the body upon death, and can live on without it forever.  Sir Roger has argued that when a person dies temporarily, this quantum information is released into the universe, only to return to the body’s cells if the host is brought back to life.  He argues that this explains why people can have near-death experiences, and believes that this quantum information amounts to a soul leaving the body.  The physics expert said: “If the patient dies, it’s possible that this quantum information can exist outside the body, perhaps indefinitely, as a soul.”

And Sir Roger is not alone in believing this, since his theory is backed by researchers at the renowned Max Planck Institute for Physics in Munich.  Experts there argue that our physical universe is just a perception, and that once our bodies die there is an infinite life beyond.  Dr Hans-Peter Dürr, former head of the institute, has said: “What we consider the here and now, this world, it is actually just the material level that is comprehensible. The beyond is an infinite reality that is much bigger.  The body dies but the spiritual quantum field continues.  In this way, I am immortal.”

People of faith have believed this for centuries.  It’s great that science is seeing the light and coming to understand what God’s Word (Truth) has already declared.

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Coming Soon: DoD PC Review

Under the Obama Administration, the Department of Defense (DoD) is swimming in a sea of political correctness (PC) that has determined climate change is America’s greatest national security threat and applauded “green” U.S. Navy ships for operating on beef fat.  There are also Obama-led policies allowing transgenders to serve in uniform and allowing women in front-line combat units, says Elaine Donnelly of the Center for Military Readiness.

But then Election Day happened; and election results have consequences.

Donnelly says the Republican Platform calls for a thorough review of such policies that damage the readiness of the U.S. armed forces.  If there is a “full and objective review,” Donnelly says, and if new orders are given to drop those policies, she predicts serious changes are coming that improves military readiness.

President-elect Trump vowed (in an October town hall meeting) to fight PC in the Pentagon.  “We have a politically correct military that is getting more and more politically correct every day,” he said.

Within the walls of the Pentagon, says military analyst Bob Maginnis, experienced professionals must be chosen to fill important roles overseeing the armed forces.

I would add: The Trump Administration needs to review the Rules of Engagement (ROE) of the Obama Administration, and modify them to empower those with ‘boots on the ground’ to engage the enemy with ‘just war’ principles … and begin with the immediate release of our military personnel incarcerated for violating the ROE in the endeavor to protect their comrades in arms.

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Electing Pro-Lifers vs. Pro-Choicers

Among the numerous absurdities expressed during the general election season are the following assertions:

• “It doesn’t matter who gets elected President – it’s been over 40 years since Roe v. Wade and abortion is still legal.”
• “Even if a politician says he’s pro-life and that he’ll appoint pro-life judges, nothing changes.”
• “Overturning Roe v. Wade would only be a symbolic victory.” 

Maybe you’ve heard statements like these from people who identify as pro-life.  They express a frustration with what some think is a lack of progress in protecting the unborn from brutal deaths.

The fact is: These assertions are wrong.  What’s more, they serve only to prevent progress, protect the abortion industry, and hurt babies, their mothers, and their families.

The undisputed truth – documented by researchers such as Dr. Michael New – is that pro-life laws save lives.  And these laws now exist because the judges who upheld them were appointed by presidents who sought to protect human lives.

If anyone thinks it doesn’t matter who gets elected to make judicial appointments, consider what’s happened in the last four months:

• Last June, the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) struck down Texas laws that would have required abortionists and abortion businesses to meet minimum health and safety standards, which in turn would have caused some unsafe clinics to close.  Because of this decision, below-standard clinics in Texas – and in Wisconsin, Alabama and Mississippi - where similar laws have subsequently been rendered unenforceable – will remain open, with more women and their babies at risk.
• Piggy-backing on the Texas decision, the Virginia State Board of Health last week voted to rescind its health and safety regulations for abortion businesses.
• A couple of weeks ago the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a radical California law that requires pregnancy resource centers, some of which are faith-based, to inform clients that low- or no-cost abortions are available to qualifying women.  The 1st Amendment rights of pro-lifers in the western United States are no longer deemed worthy of protection.

In all of the above instances, the controlling majorities of the justices, judges and governing authorities, with the exception of one SCOTUS justice, were appointed by pro-abortion politicians.

It comes down to this – pro-abortion presidents always appoint pro-abortion judges and justices.  And pro-life judges are always appointed by pro-life presidents.

Some like to point to the aberrations, appointees like Sandra Day O’Connor, David Souter, and Anthony Kennedy … all nominated to the SCOTUS by pro-life presidents and who subsequently produced tortured interpretations of the Constitution to strike down pro-life laws.

But those of us concerned with protecting human life need remember that pro-abortion presidents have never been disappointed with their nominees to the federal bench.  The election of a president who supports dismembering babies in the womb, without exception, has resulted in SCOTUS justices who agree with him.

It’s not just the SCOTUS where presidential appointments have an impact.  When President Obama took office in 2009, 10 of the 13 federal Circuit Courts of Appeal had a majority of judges appointed by Republican presidents.  Today, that number is almost reversed – 9 of the 13 have a majority of Democrat-appointed judges.  In all, President Obama has appointed about 38% of all federal judges.

This is crucial.  Federal appeals courts hear about 50,000 cases a year.  The SCOTUS hears around 80.  As such, a great deal of legal precedent is established by the lower courts.  And with a SCOTUS that has been reluctant to take up abortion related cases, those precedents will stand for longer periods.

What kinds of laws are we talking about?  According to Dr. New, an associate professor at Ave Maria University, these are life-saving laws.  Dr. New’s research shows that measures like the Hyde amendment that restrict Medicaid funding for abortions result in 37% of the women who otherwise would have aborted their babies giving birth instead.  In states with parental involvement laws, minors’ abortions have decreased 13 to 42%.  Informed consent laws that let women see color photos of an unborn baby’s development result in a 3-7% abortion decline.

To say “Nothing changes” is absurd.  Elect pro-abortion candidates and see what happens.  Under this year’s Democratic Party Platform, all of the above laws (and more) would be subject to pro-abortion appointees wielding their judicial machetes.  The Democratic platform pledges to strike down the Hyde amendment and any other state or federal law that “impede[s]… access to abortion.”  In other words, no pro-life statute would be left standing.

Finally, if you think overturning Roe v. Wade would be merely “symbolic” because it would return abortion law to the states, think again.  States would now be able to protect their unborn children, and many would.  There are children and adults now walking the earth because of pro-life laws enacted even while Roe is in force.  More will be saved when Roe falls.

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Testimonies of Muslims Coming to the Church in Aleppo

The Libertarian presidential nominee, Gary Johnson, you might remember responded to a television interviewer – “What is Aleppo?”  He was ridiculed for his asking the question in response to a question.

Well, let me ask you (as a Christian): What do you know of the Christian church in Aleppo?  If you can’t answer that question, read on.  

God’s light and love are still shining despite intense fighting in the Syrian city of Aleppo.  Not all churches have been closed or destroyed as anti-government forces battle the Syrian army for control of the country’s second largest city.  At least one church is reaching out to help war-weary Syrians of all faiths.

According to World Watch Monitor, a Christian woman named Kristina and her family are now living as refugees in neighboring Lebanon.  She tells of how her home church has lost most of its members.  However, while Christians were forced to flee the violence and live elsewhere, 10% of the church members still remain in the besieged city and are now serving their neighbors.  “But you know what’s surprising?  The church is still full; displaced people take their place.  Especially Muslims are coming to the church now,” Kristina said.

Most of the fighting has occurred in the eastern part of Aleppo, in heavy Muslim concentrated areas.  Many Muslims have fled farther to the west and have sought a safe haven in Christian neighborhoods.  Some Muslim adults come to Kristina’s church to attend various activities for their children, including the reading of Bible stories.  “The Muslims are afraid — especially when entering and leaving the building — but they are there.  The children have opened the church’s doors, then the women followed, and finally the men,” Kristina said.

Muslims have witnessed the women of the church helping them, reaching out to provide encouragement, prayer support, and material relief.  “Many Muslims were genuinely surprised when they met Christian women in our churches willing to serve them,” Kristina explained.  “Their image was that all Christian women spend most of their days dancing in night clubs and drinking alcohol!  Meeting each other was a shock, both for them and for us.”

The Christians give them love, respect and treated them with a kindness they don’t usually experience in mosques.  Kristina says that approach has caused them to re-think “the faith they grew up in” and drop “their hostility towards Christians.”  Facing danger and tragedy from the war, many Muslims — especially women are receptive to the Gospel message.  Kristina said Muslim women “feel liberated when they notice the church doesn’t see them as merely machines only fit for cleaning, giving birth to children, and raising them, like many Muslim men do.”  She goes on to say, “In Islam, many women don’t have any rights.  When they feel how Christians really care for them, it feels like Heaven for those women.  They see it’s possible to live as independent women, to dream.”

Although they are surrounded by violence and face death down nearly every Aleppo alleyway, a remnant of bold Christian believers remain.  They have chosen to stay behind, to be salt and light in a city overcome by darkness and despair.  As a result, God is filling the church with its Muslim neighbors.  And lives are being touched and saved for eternity.

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

President-Elect Trump & Nation of Israel

Israelis are going to have a friend in President-elect Donald Trump the likes of which the Jewish state has “never seen before,” David Friedman, Trump’s adviser on Jewish and Israeli matters, told The Jerusalem Post last week.

Speaking shortly after Trump delivered his victory speech in New York, Friedman – co-chair of the President-elect’s Israel Advisory Committee – said that the hostility which existed between Washington D.C. and Jerusalem under President Barack Obama would completely disappear under Trump’s leadership.  “The level of friendship between the United States and Israel is going to grow like never before and it will be better than ever, even the way it was under Republican administrations in the past,” Friedman told The Jerusalem Post.

Friedman is said to be a leading candidate to become the U.S.’s new ambassador to Israel under Trump.  According to Friedman, one of the administration’s first moves will be to follow through on a campaign promise Ivanka Trump made last month according to which her father will move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem if elected.  “It was a campaign promise and there is every intention to keep it,” Friedman said.  “We are going to see a very different relationship between America and Israel in a positive way.”

One change he hinted at was the removal of the restriction on Israel not to ask the U.S. for additional money as stipulated in the new 10-year $38-billion military aid deal signed in September.  “The hostility will be gone between Israel and the United States,” he added. “We know how Obama treated the prime minister of Israel and how [Hillary] Clinton berated the prime minister … we will move forward with mutual respect and mutual love and a much better future for the United States and Israel.”

Listen: I believe that we should treat Israel as a very special and close ally; we should be willing to defend it if attacked; and to defend and support it in diplomatic circles … especially in the United Nations.  We should defend Israel’s right to exist and its right to defend itself.  We should be seeking to find ways in which we can help Israel grow and prosper as a nation – through free trade, cultural exchanges, educational and technical exchanges, access to military technology, the promotion of tourism, and so forth.  From a Biblical perspective, Romans 11 still sees a special purpose and love of God for the Jewish people, whom He will bring to salvation through Christ in great numbers in the future.  Therefore, the U.S. must interpret in scripture that God’s promise of the land of Israel (to the descendants of Abraham) was an eternal promise.  In Genesis 17:8 we read, “And I [God] will give to you [Abraham] and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.”  This promise found its initial fulfillment when the Jewish people, under the leadership of Joshua, entered the promised land and drove out the Canaanite people who had been living there but who came under God’s judgment. [Joshua 1:2-6] 

I believe the U.S. should treat Israel as a favored ally for several reasons:

1.     Israel is our most reliable ally out of the entire group of nations in the Middle East.

2.    Israel is now one of the most advanced nations in the world in terms of scientific and technological inventions, information processing, and financial management.

3.   We should support Israel because its establishment as a nation (in 1948) was morally legitimate and was affirmed by a significant majority of countries in the United Nations at that time.

4.    There are Biblical reasons why Christians should support the continued existence and health of the nation of Israel:

a.    First, in a world filled with much moral relativism and confusion and also influenced by the harsh, totalitarian governments in strict Islamic nations, Israel provides a refreshing ally in terms of the similarity of its convictions to the moral standards held by Christian believers and taught in the Bible.

b.   Second, because the Bible clearly teaches God’s sovereignty over the affairs of nations and also teaches that God has a future plan for the salvation of large numbers of Jewish people, it seems right to see the establishment of the nation of Israel in 1948 and the present gathering of over 5-million Jews (there) as a significant preparation that God has made so that the future salvation of many Jewish people through trust in Jesus (as Messiah) will be evident to the entire world as a fulfillment of what Paul predicted in Romans 11.

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

The Origin of Veterans Day

U.S. President Woodrow Wilson first proclaimed an Armistice Day (what we now call Veteran’s Day) for November 11, 1919.  In proclaiming the holiday, he said, “To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory; both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations.”  The U. S. Congress passed a concurrent resolution seven years later on June 4, 1926, requesting that the then President (Calvin Coolidge) issue another proclamation to observe November 11 with appropriate ceremonies.  An Act approved May 13, 1938, made the 11th of November in each year a legal holiday.  In 1953, an Emporia, Kansas shoe store owner (named Alfred King) had the idea to expand Armistice Day to celebrate all veterans, not just those who served in World War I.  King began a campaign to turn Armistice Day into “All” Veterans Day.  The Emporia Chamber of Commerce took up the cause after determining that 90% of Emporia merchants … as well as the Board of Education … supported closing their doors on November 11th to honor veterans.  With the help of then U.S. Rep. Ed Rees, also from Emporia, a bill for the holiday was pushed through Congress.  President Dwight Eisenhower signed it into law on May 26, 1954.  Congress amended this act on June 1, 1954, replacing “Armistice” with “Veterans,” and it has been known as Veterans Day ever since.

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

The Morning After …

On this day following the general election, I have these random thoughts:

• ·         God granted to you and me the dawn of a new day …meaning He is not finished with us yet.
• ·         God is still on His throne … meaning He rules, and His will and way will prevail.
• ·         The only true victory … is that which is found in Jesus’ conquering death and resurrection to new life.
• ·         The eternal message of salvation and righteous living remains constant … and does not diminish by the whims of mortal humanity.
• ·         The need for the true Church’s work remains heightened … as revealed in our fallen and deprived humanity.
• ·         Our message doesn’t change … like those tossed about by the latest trends of popularity or pressure to conform.
• ·       The Creator’s commands for the creature’s living are not in the finite hands of government, but in the divine providence of God who directly intervenes in the affairs of man.
• ·         This is a spiritual war, and yesterday was but one battle … and we already know ‘Who’ wins the war.
• ·         The war for the hearts of this fallen race …is won one sin-sick soul at a time by the loving witness of God’s warriors – unless God brings about a revival … for which I earnestly pray.
• ·         We cannot retreat … but continue in obedience to His Word – engaging the enemies of righteousness.
• ·         Believing that truth will always triumph … let’s not be disheartened in proclaiming what we know to be the way, truth and life.
• ·         My preaching will not diminish on addressing the moral decadence of our society … as I remain committed to equipping the saints to engage the culture.
• ·         Our work from here requires an “overtime” performance– not unemployment … and the benefits are well worth it.

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Could This Election Be a “Point of No Return”?

With tomorrow being Election Day (November 8), I thought I’d share these recent words by Dr. James Dobson who issued the following statement:

“Every four years, when Americans head to the polls to choose our next president, it’s easy, and frankly common, to label each election as ‘the most important in our lifetime.’  However, given the unprecedented nature of this current presidential contest, that statement is finally proven true.  Each candidate proposes radically divergent visions for the future of our country, making 2016 a great turning point in the history of America.  What hangs in the balance is not only who will occupy the White House, but the many down-ballot candidates and initiatives, our constitutional right to religious liberty, the sanctity of human life, the meaning of marriage and the composition and nature of our entire judiciary. This election could represent a point of no return for many of the issues Americans hold dear.  As Christians, we cannot and must not leave the future of our country to chance.  I beg you, the American voter, to go to the polls on November 8th and make your voice heard.  The fate of the country depends on it.”

Let me add my words about voting at this general election:

First of all, not voting is not an option.  Every U.S. citizen has a civic duty and every American Christian a moral obligation to vote.  I devoted 25-years of my life in the U.S. Army with other comrades-in-arms to preserve (among other things) the freedom of law-abiding citizens to vote in every election.

Secondly, every Christian should vote in accordance with a biblical worldview.  The GOP Platform is by far the closest to the Judeo-Christian scriptural principles.  The DNC platform is to the contrary. 

Thirdly, we are faced with two flawed major party candidates.  Neither one of them is my preference.  In a one word description of each candidate, I see Trump as “crude” and Clinton as “criminal.” 

I agree with my preferred candidate (Ted Cruz) that we vote our conscience.  For me, that’s much more than what I do in the voting booth.  My conscientious vote doesn’t end with casting a vote on November 8th; in fact, it’s only the beginning.  On November 9th, will my vote result in protecting the rights of the unborn; providing for the security of America’s sovereignty; guard my right to self-defense and our national defense through renewed military strength; protect my religious liberty; provide for economic prosperity; determine the direction of the courts for decades to come; etc., etc.?

If a ‘write-in’ is your fulfillment of voting with integrity, then understand it will do nothing for the long-term vote for ‘conscience sake.’   One’s short-term conscientious vote has long-term consequences for this nation.  One needs to think long and pray hard about what it means to vote for ‘conscience sake.’   

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

GA Governor Makes Demands of Pastor

Family Research Council (FRC) has expressed outrage after the State of Georgia issued a legal demand that Dr. Eric Walsh, a lay pastor, hand over his sermons, sermon notes and all pastoral documentation … including his Bible.  FRC launched a petition at frc.org/walsh that calls on Governor Deal to “correct this egregious over-reach of the state into church affairs.”

“This demand for Dr. Eric Walsh’s sermons, sermons notes and ministerial documentation is an alarming display of government intrusion into the sanctity of the church, pastor’s study and pulpit,” said Tony Perkins, FRC president and himself an ordained pastor.  “This is something that I would have expected to see in a communist country, not America. The pulpit is to be governed only by the Word of God.  Government scrutiny of speech in the pulpit is unconstitutional and unconscionable.  FRC stands with Dr. Walsh, and any other pastor who is targeted by the government because of what is said in the pulpit.  We call on Gov. Deal to correct this egregious over-reach of the state into church affairs.”

Travis Weber, director of FRC’s Center for Religious Liberty, said, “We’ve recently seen the former mayor of Houston issue subpoenas against pastors in Houston, Texas, seeking their sermons.  This action against Dr. Walsh is another unjust assault on people of faith, including the pulpit itself.  This cannot go unchallenged.  We support Dr. Walsh in his resistance, and call upon the Georgia government to act according to the law and traditions of our country, which respect people of faith and the autonomy of the church. What they are doing is the opposite of religious freedom and everything that it means to be an American,” concluded Weber.

Dr. Eric Walsh was one of the nation’s leading health administrators until being fired in 2014 by the Georgia Department of Public Health.  A lay minister in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Walsh was fired after Georgia officials learned of his faith.  Documents released by First Liberty include emails showing that Georgia officials assigned employees to examine his sermons on YouTube—sermons dealing with common Christian themes including creation, compassion, spiritual growth, the family and Christian living.  He was fired after this examination.

Walsh has since filed a federal lawsuit against Georgia, alleging unlawful religious discrimination.  Now, as part of that lawsuit, the state of Georgia — which ironically claims it did not fire Walsh for religious reasons — is demanding he hand over religious documents: his most intimate, private sermon notes, along with sermons themselves.

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

There is NO ‘Health of the Mother’ Reason to Abort a Baby in 3rd Trimester

For those of you (like myself) who value the life of the pre-born baby, the last presidential debate held some striking moments.  When asked about Roe v. Wade (and specifically partial birth abortion), Hillary Clinton reiterated her full support for both – citing the “health of the mother” argument.  That’s when a practicing OB/GYN decided to get the truth out on social media, posting the following on his personal Facebook page:

“As an OB/GYN physician for 31-years there is no medical situation that requires aborting/killing the baby in the third trimester to ‘save the mother’s life.’  Just deliver the baby by c/section and the baby has 95+% survival with readily available NICU care even at 28-weeks.  C/section is quicker and safer than partial birth abortion for the mother.” – Lawrence K. Koning, MD, FACOG

Steve Shultz, Founder of the Elijah List and Breaking Christian News … and personal friend of Dr. Koning … weighed-in about the doctor’s remarkable post, and the debate between the two presidential candidates:

“I was stunned watching the debates to see how readily Hillary Clinton was to show approval of partial birth abortions right up until the time of the baby’s birth. And I was thrilled to hear Donald Trump say with conviction, ‘That’s not okay with me!’  In 1973, I graduated from Christian Academy with Larry Koning.  Now he’s Dr. Lawrence Koning, MD, and an OB/GYN specialist.  After watching the same debate, he posted this quote on his personal Facebook.  This morning I asked him if could share it with our readers.  He thought about it only for a moment and sent back this message, ‘Do it!’”

May the Lord raise up more God-fearing physicians willing to go public with their convictions!

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel