Bøger af Jim Dickson

A Return to our RootsIntended for group study or individual reading Rise up, O men of God, have done with lesser things.Twelve score and seven years ago our Fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation whose founders believed a Creator was the source of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. This belief was incorporated into the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. Later Lincoln affirmed this spiritual heritage in stating "this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom."The foundation remains, but we have wandered away. Our spiritual emphasis as reflected in participation in houses of worship that had been in excess of 70% perhaps since the nation's founding fell below 50% in 2019. The culture shifted from an emphasis on God's way to man's way.The thesis of this book is that pleasure and prosperity are the primary culprits that stimulate our old nature's addictive tendencies to replace eternal values. Works of the flesh replace fruit of the spirit resulting in loneliness and violence.4 Steps to Return to Our Christian Heritage shows the way to return to our spiritual heritage. It will not be easy. Forces of evil are on the attack in schools, government, media, entertainment, and even families and churches. This must change, especially in families and churches, the wellspring of spiritual truths. If we are willing, the Creator's power our forefathers depended on can cure our addictive tendencies and return us to our roots.Check out our website: merehumanity.info

The late Warren Wiersbe, noted Christian writer and former pastor of Moody Church discussed God's intervention in worldly affairs in his 1996 book Be Amazed. He wrote words that were prophetic, "God didn't have to send great battalions to Judah to bring the people to their knees. All He needed was a swarm of little insects, and they did the job. Sometimes He uses bacteria or viruses so tiny that you need a special microscope to see them." (Underlining added for emphasis) Might God be involved in worldly affairs today through the Covid-19 virus? If he is involved, the epidemic has both physical and spiritual dimensions and must be dealt with accordingly. If Covid-19 is just a "natural disaster" we must still come together as a nation to successfully deal with it. Our Founding Fathers faced disaster in the Revolutionary war, a war against tyranny for which they were ill prepared. They succeeded with the motto, "United we stand, divided we fall." We would do well to follow their model. A More Excellent Way draws on their experience to guide us in dealing with Covid-19, no matter the cause. Check out our website: merehumanity.info

This Commentary is for folks who are seriously searching for a more meaningful and satisfying life than they are presently experiencing. In the Garden of Eden man disobeyed God and set his own agenda for living. As a result sin, disobedience to God, entered the world as a barrier to living God's way. In Old Testament times man's disobedience and God's retribution became cyclery until God sent His son Jesus to "save His people from their sins" (Matt 1:21). However disobedience continues two thousand years later. Disobedience is a result of man's agenda that includes blatant acts of nonconformity and acts such as pursuit of power, prosperity and pleasure that, while not wrong in themselves, can over time become additive. Satan's wants us to "pursue works of the flesh". God's wants us to enjoy the fruit of the spirit". Eliminating barriers to God's agenda opens the door to the latter and to life the is meaningful and satisfying. The early Christians pursued God's agenda. Our Founders had to overcome religious, economic, and cultural barriers to do the same while. Today our culture cries out for a return to God's plan for man. Living God's Plan tells how we can do this.

This Commentary is based on the Founding Fathers' belief in a Creator. For 200 years a majority attended church, children sang "This is my father's world," and adults responded with "Praise God from whom all blessings flow." They believed it was God's world and He was the source of all blessings. This has dramatically changed. Aided by mass communications; big business, government, high tech, and education have used modern technology to influence thought and action away from God's plan. Materialism replaced spirituality. The commandment to "love God and your neighbor" has changed to "ignore God and fault your neighbor." Many believe our lust for power, prosperity, and pleasure is so strong today it cannot be reversed. This Commentary believes otherwise but it will require the quality of leadership exhibited by our Founding Fathers, a quality rarely seen today. On Fire For God uses the wisdom of the Founders and biblical principles to go on the attack as did Jesus when He said, "I came to cast fire on the earth" and "Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God." Controlled fire, as when heating, cooking, lighting, and melting to purify, can be a powerful positive force to remove the dross from our lives to provide the leadership needed to return to God's plan for our nation. Check out our website: merehumanity.info for guidelines on starting On Fire for God small groups.

Our culture today is in disarray. Time honored values have been replaced by nano-values with the theme, "You only go around once, get all you can." The change in values corresponds to the breakdown of family values, especially beginning in the 1960s.Our founding fathers believed in the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God. Biblical values such as honesty, unselfishness, caring, sharing, and hard work were the pillars of our nation. These authentic values however are not natural for humanity. They distinguish man from animals and must be taught, modeled, and caught. The family is God's institution for passing on these values.Grandparents who lived through the Great Depression, WW II, and the 1950s understand it took authentic values and principles to make a nation great. This commentary is written to encourage grandparents who lived through these times to fight today for freedom as did the Greatest Generation in the '40s. They fought an enemy who was visible. Our enemy is largely invisible, it is our addiction to materialism that is replacing spiritual values as our reason for being. Materialism has no reputable right or wrong and relies on feeling to replace facts. It is quicksand and a false foundation for a nation.Grandparents arise! Be the watchmen on the wall to warn of danger. Steep yourself in the truth. Be clear on God's plan for man. Speak up when lies are passed off as truth. Expose deception. Let God use you to restore his values to your family and to the nation. Grandpa's Guide to Parenting is a call to restore the Founder's foundation.

This nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom (Lincoln 1863)Asking "How are things going in our country?" is a kind way of asking, "Will we make it?" but if we are honest the second question is the one we should be asking today.We have gone from being a spiritual to a material culture. The former has values that satisfy such as love, peace, patience, and self-control. The latter has no lasting values but has tendencies that are addictive and cry out for more, such as more power, pleasure and prosperity.Our addictive tendencies come from our ancestor Adam who chose self-will in the Garden of Eden in defiance of God. Addictive tendencies can be offset by energizing the image of God implanted in each of us by the Creator. The question of which controls, our spiritual nature or our sin nature, depends on which nature we feed.In the past half century our culture has been fed a constant dose of half-truth trivia, beginning with Hollywood movies, radio, TV, and theater; now joined by education, government at all levels, social media and woke thinking.Materialism without spirituality is a path to nihilism-nothing makes sense-leading to loneliness, anxiety, despair, anger and often violence. Freedom is at stake.The message of Common Sense 2.0 is that we can again become a spiritual nation if we have the determination of the Founding Fathers. Determination will require a new type of leader, On Fire for God leaders who are pure in heart so they can see God (Matthew. 5:8). It has taken a half century to get to our present situation; it may take that long or longer to restore the foundation of the nation.(This commentary was prepared for use by individuals, groups, and churches.)

This book is about God's love-pure, wholesome, unselfish Godly love that is available in unlimited amounts to anyone. Although the book was written from a Christian perspective, the principles of loving one another apply regardless of your belief.Mere Humanity aids in getting this love into the heart so we "want to" be what we were created to be.Mere Humanity tells "why" God's plan isn't normal living today and "what" to do about it. Every person we meet provides an opportunity to bless others and in return be blessed.Satan is having a field day. His "I, me, mine" worldview is a path to loneliness, to despair, and, too often, to death. Our Creator's plan is for abundant and everlasting life.Mother Theresa transformed her world. You can transform yours. Read the book, form a study group if you feel led to do so, build a team to nurture one another, and change your world.For more information, check out our website: merehumanity.info.