If My People

By Harold Mueller

In part 1 the scribe gives an account of the decline in the moral character of the United States, which has contributed to the diminution of personal freedoms and impacted the state of the republic. Along with the description of the decline, solutions are suggested to combat the decline. Part 2 provides actions the Christian faith community may take whether the country turns back toward its constitutional roots or continues down the road toward greater socialism.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jan 17, 2024
• ISBN: 9798889434740

Book preview

cover.jpg

If My People

Harold Mueller

ISBN 979-8-88943-473-3 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88943-474-0 (digital)

Copyright © 2023 by Harold Mueller

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

To the glory of God. It is the Father that created us in his image and who sees me through his loving eyes so that I can see others through those same loving eyes. It is Jesus who has redeemed us and given us new life so I can be his instrument in presenting new life to others. It is the Holy Spirit who leads us into all truth about himself and about ourselves and can accomplish the will of God through yielded people.

To my wife and partner in all of life, Susan, who shares life and ministry with me.

To all the people of God who rise up and answer God's call to do the work of an apostle in making this world more like home for our Lord.

Acknowledgments

If We the People

Introduction

A Parable

The Glossary

Recognizing the Roles of the Players

Sign of the Times

Answering the Sign of the Times

The RED Scourge

Getting the RED Out

You've Gone a Long Way, Baby

Getting Baby Back

Slavery

Restoration of Freedom: The Green New Deal

If My People

Introduction to Part 2

Yad Yahweh

Why?

The Meaning of the Parable

Part 2 Glossary

Recognizing the Roles of My Players

Who Is at Fault?

From Protest to Riot

How to Attend a Riot

Heterochromia Iridum

Critical Race Theory

Slavery by Invitation as an Option

Community Organizing

Open Borders

Extending the Blessings

I Am Woke

The Church

About the Author

To the glory of God. It is the Father that created us in his image and who sees me through his loving eyes so that I can see others through those same loving eyes. It is Jesus who has redeemed us and given us new life so I can be his instrument in presenting new life to others. It is the Holy Spirit who leads us into all truth about himself and about ourselves and can accomplish the will of God through yielded people.

To my wife and partner in all of life, Susan, who shares life and ministry with me.

To all the people of God who rise up and answer God's call to do the work of an apostle in making this world more like home for our Lord.

Acknowledgments

My wife, Susan, has been my encourager over the years of our married life. She has evolved with me as we worked together in ministry. In over thirty-nine years, she has had only one major obstacle to deal with—and she is still married to it. She is proof that iron sharpens iron (Proverbs 27:17). To our sons and their wives (one per son if you were wondering) who have shared my wife and I with those to whom we have ministered.

PHD is the prayer team of the ministry God has given to us. PHD stands for pulling heaven down, which is based on part of the Lord's Prayer: Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We know that God's will is done perfectly in heaven, so we pray that it might also be done here on earth as we pull heaven down through prayer. Their prayers and support have lifted us up throughout our shared ministry, including the writing of this book.

I am grateful to all the authors, speakers, and other influencers who have poured into my life over the years. I believe they would see the nuggets they deposited in me in this book. A special thank-you to Dave Ramsey for the financial training I received through his Financial Peace University and Financial Coach courses. Thanks for your input and support.

If We the People

Introduction

And the word of the LORD came to me saying, And you, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Then declare to her all her abominations. You shall say, Thus says the Lord God: A city that sheds blood in her midst, so that her time may come, and that makes idols to defile herself! You have become guilty by the blood that you have shed, and defiled by the idols that you have made, and you have brought your days near, the appointed time of your years has come. Therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations, and a mockery to all the countries. Those who are near and those who are far from you will mock you; your name is defiled; you are full of tumult. Behold, the princes of Israel in you, every one according to his power, have been bent on shedding blood. Father and mother are treated with contempt in you; the sojourner suffers extortion in your midst; the fatherless and the widow are wronged in you. You have despised my holy things and profaned my Sabbaths. There are men in you who slander to shed blood, and people in you who eat on the mountains; they commit lewdness in your midst. In you men uncover their fathers' nakedness; in you they violate women who are unclean in their menstrual impurity. One commits abomination with his neighbor's wife; another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; another in you violates his sister, his father's daughter. In you they take bribes to shed blood; you take interest and profit and make gain of your neighbors by extortion; but me you have forgotten, declares the Lord God." (Ezekiel 22:1–12 ESV)

You've gone a long way, baby. This is just one word off from a cigarette slogan from 1968. Yet I believe the first sentence is more accurate than the 1968 slogan. The slogan, and some of the subsequent advertisements, seemed to be touting freedom. The opposite is true in my opinion. The freedom being promoted was actually slavery to the addictive element in tobacco products, which has the propensity to impair the quality of life and/or shorten one's life. It also asks the target audience to dislike their own identity and be like the person pictured. The cigarette company was promoting the idea that women smoking was socially acceptable and, perhaps, even a right to pick up a cigarette and smoke in public. Women were the target of this slavery, which had primarily been the servitude of men. The same company was among the first to liberate black women by using them in their advertisements. How thoughtful of them to be equal-opportunity enslavers. Putting another nail in the coffin was Phillip Morris's gift to women. It was never about social acceptance. It was about increasing profits by exploiting new, underutilized targets.

The early immigrants were pioneers looking for freedom of religion, freedom from tyranny, freedom from oppressive taxes and rulers, and freedom to pursue life. They had a can-do attitude. In one sense, they had no idea where they were going, just a hope of a better life. It was like Abram (later called Abraham) setting out for a land that God would show him when he got there. The immigrants packed up their families and some belongings and left the rest behind. Their pioneering spirit propelled them to seek out their dreams. Of course, not all of them made it, but many did. They went into new territory and carved a place for themselves. Today, those pioneers are called entrepreneurs, taking a risk to fulfill their dreams. They provide opportunities for others to make a living while earning a living for themselves.

As opportunities have come to pass, they have been accompanied by opportunists who have a distinctly different moral code in their pursuits. They think nothing of using and abusing others to get what they want. It is also possible for entrepreneurs to be of low or almost nonexistent moral code.

It is incumbent on all people to operate under the Bible's high moral code. We were created that way. We also know from the record written in Genesis that it did not last long. The framers of the constitution expected that the republic could exist if people would operate under a high moral code. As we look back at the people who have ruled our country, we find that the high road was not always the road that was taken. Hindsight is better than what we are able to see at the time when decisions are being made. History can teach us facts, and God can give us wisdom. The question becomes, Will we stand for what is right and seek to return to the high moral ground, or will we abandon gained wisdom and keep on a path that may lead to the collapse of our nation?

It is not my intent to condemn anyone. I do not sit in the seat of judging a person's heart. I have been taught what is right and wrong. It is my intent to call out behaviors that go against the Bible's high moral code. The objective is to warn people of consequences they may face so the consequences might be avoided or mitigated.

Most people believe that robbing a bank is wrong. If I became aware that someone I know was about to commit such an act, I would warn him against carrying out the plan. I would not support or encourage him in that endeavor. I would help him to get a hold of his finances if he asked. Helping him in that manner is the right thing for me to do.

I do not write this from a place of perfection, nor can anyone else, since that is not possible. I do not demand that people change because I cannot control other people. I will not condone behaviors that go against the Bible's high moral code. I will not support behaviors that go against the biblical code nor accept them as a new norm. Controlling the behavior of others is impossible, as well as unbiblical. God gave each of us free will to make our own decisions. God also allows us to live with the consequences of our decisions.

In Leviticus 20:10, the old covenant law states that a man who commits adultery with the wife of another, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death. Yet the story of the woman who was caught in adultery by the Scribes and the Pharisees was not condemned to death by Jesus, nor did the accusing group stick around to condemn her either (John 8:1–11). It is an interesting story. I have wondered for many years what Jesus was writing in the dirt. It must be important, or it would not have been included. What did Jesus write in the dirt? I have two theories, and they shall remain theories since, to my knowledge, neither can be proved or disproved. One of my theories is that he wrote the Leviticus reference. The Greek word used means to write. But it can also have the sense of engraving or drawing. This lends credence to my second theory. Jesus may have drawn a picture of two people committing adultery. It does take two to physically commit adultery, not just one. Yet only one was brought to Jesus.

Jesus said, Let he who is without sin cast the first stone. All the woman's accusers left, beginning with the oldest. The eldest may have been more aware of the totality of his own sin than the younger accusers and his inability to cast the first stone. After all, they all failed to bring the adulterer to Jesus as well as the adulteress.

In the end, Jesus asked where all her accusers were. Is there no one to condemn you? Neither do I condemn you. Then he exhorts her to go and sin no more. He did not condone what she had done. Rather, he gives her an opportunity to amend her ways. She is not the only one who escapes condemnation. Her accusers, the Scribes and the Pharisees, were well aware of the Leviticus passage and that they were wrong in not bringing both parties. Yet Jesus did not condemn them either. They also were given the grace to amend their lives. He did not condone their behavior either when they failed to bring the man involved in the adultery. Does that make Jesus a scribophobe or a pharisophobe or an adulterophobe? (I hope none of these non-words catch on.) We do not need to add to the list of names to be called. (See The Glossary.) This is an example of Jesus hating the sin, not condoning the behaviors, all the while loving the people. We do not know if any of them amended their ways. That is the same way he deals with us, not condemning us for what we do but extending his grace and mercy. I am thankful for the grace and mercy he extends to me throughout my life.

Separating the person from the behavior is my intent throughout this book. I do not condone the wrong actions of anyone. Neither do I condemn the people who do them. I will not support people in behaviors that are contrary to the way we were created to live. Following the teachings of Scripture does not get us into heaven. We are saved by faith. The teachings are a road map to living a blessed life. I desire to share a blessed life with all people. The fact that I will not be able to fulfill my desire does not deter me from doing what I am called to say and do. I will stand for what I believe is right and invite others to join me.

We have gone a long way, baby, from where our country started—some good, some not. This should not be a surprise to any of us. The people of Israel were not content to be under the rule of God. God gave them a king, just like the other nations, as the people had asked (1 Samuel 8). Before the king was anointed, the prophet Samuel gave them the warning of what it would be like. The king would take the sons of the people and appoint them to his chariots, to make them horsemen, and to run before the chariots. The king would appoint some to be commanders over the troops, some to plow his fields and reap his harvests for him, and some to make equipment for the army. Their daughters would be taken to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. He would take the best of the fields, vineyards, and orchards and give them to his servants. The king would take a tenth of the harvest and give it to his officers and servants. He will take the male and female servants, along with the best of the young men and donkeys to do the king's work. The king would take a tithe of the flocks and would make people his slaves. Consider closely what happens when Israel decided to have a king. There is nothing in that chapter that indicates what Israel would receive with the appointment of a king. It is all take, take, take.

Now consider what follows in this book and look at what happens when we ask for things or even allow them to happen rather than stick closely to the principles under which our country was organized. It seems to be an extension of what Israel experienced with their kings. Our current kings are not even satisfied with 10 percent. With lies and half-truths, our lives have been robbed of the foundations on which our country was founded. Slowly but surely, we are going back to the situations from which our ancestors fled. For me, it is time to take back what the enemy stole from us. Ultimately, we will end up back under God's rule and all he has to give to us. While we are here, we can recover some of what was intended by the framers of the constitution if we are willing to fight for what is right and good, to reestablish a high moral ground, and to prepare ourselves and others for the kingdom. That is why we have been given this time. The longer we wait, the harder it will be. It could get to the place where it is no longer possible to recover what our founding fathers provided for us.

When a house catches fire, the extent of the fire determines what is necessary to restore the house to a usable condition. It could be minor, such as a localized area of the building, or it could be major, where one would need to take the building down to the foundation and reconstruct the home to its intended design. Some people are willing to just find fault with the way things are. That is negative and unproductive. There are some who find fault and harp