"WHO IS ON THE LORD'S SIDE?"

WHO IS ON the LORD´S SIDE?



by David Wilkerson

"Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the
Lord's side? Let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi
gathered themselves together unto him" (Exodus 32:26).

How would God crush the corruption in Israel? Who would He
choose to be His instruments in a time of evil? Would angels
come down and execute righteous judgment? Aaron and his
sons had already corrupted themselves so who would God raise
up to shine forth as His soldiers of holiness?

Of all people, He chose the sons of Levi-sons of that murderer
who, with his brother Simeon, had caused Jacob´s family to be
shamed before the heathen. Simeon and Levi each took a sword
and slew Shechem for raping their sister Dinah. They also killed
his father Hamor and then took their sheep, oxen and donkeys,
their wealth, and their wives and children.

Oh, the matchless grace of God-to choose the most unworthy,
the weakest of them all-to be His instruments. "All the sons of
Levi gathered themselves together unto him. . . . And the children
of Levi did according to the word of Moses" (Exodus 32: 26, 28).

Perhaps there was something deep within them that said, "We
will not fail God as our father did! We will not bring reproach on
the name of our God; we will step out and take our stand with
the Lord!"

Moses had promised them, "God will reward you if you consecrate
yourself and take a stand among your family, friends and brothers"
(see Exodus 32:29). And God did reward them with a semi-priestly
order called the Levites, who were given to the service of God´s house.

Being on the Lord´s side is taking His sword and using it to combat
the forces of unbelief, putting down all doubts and fears. It means
standing true to God and His Word no matter what the crowd does;
no matter how faithless our friends become; no matter how worldly
our dearest loved ones are. We must step out and declare, "I am
on the Lord´s side! I come out against all attacks on the majesty
and faithfulness of our God!"

Pentagon May Court-Martial Christians for Sharing Their Faith in Military

                             

No First Amendment right of free speech for U.S. soldiers!

The Pentagon has released a statement confirming that soldiers could be prosecuted for promoting their faith: "Religious proselytization is not permitted within the Department of Defense...Court martials and non-judicial punishments are decided on a case-by-case basis...”. 

The statement, released to Fox News, follows a Breitbart News report on Obama administration Pentagon appointees meeting with anti-Christian extremist Mikey Weinstein to develop court-martial procedures to punish Christians in the military who express or share their faith.

(From our earlier report: Weinstein is the head of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, and says Christians--including chaplains--sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ in the military are guilty of “treason,” and of committing an act of “spiritual rape” as serious a crime as “sexual assault.” He also asserted that Christians sharing their faith in the military are “enemies of the Constitution.”)

Being convicted in a court martial means that a soldier has committed a crime under federal military law. Punishment for a court martial can include imprisonment and being dishonorably discharged from the military.

So President Barack Obama’s civilian appointees who lead the Pentagon are confirming that the military will make it a crime--possibly resulting in imprisonment--for those in uniform to share their faith. This would include chaplains—military officers who are ordained clergymen of their faith (mostly Christian pastors or priests, or Jewish rabbis)--whose duty since the founding of the U.S. military under George Washington is to teach their faith and minister to the spiritual needs of troops who come to them for counsel, instruction, or comfort.

This regulation would severely limit expressions of faith in the military, even on a one-to-one basis between close friends. It could also effectively abolish the position of chaplain in the military, as it would not allow chaplains (or any service members, for that matter), to say anything about their faith that others say led them to think they were being encouraged to make faith part of their life. It’s difficult to imagine how a member of the clergy could give spiritual counseling without saying anything that might be perceived in that fashion.

In response to the Pentagon’s plans, retired Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin, who is now executive vice president of the Family Research Council (FRC), said on Fox & Friends Wednesday morning:

It’s a matter of what do they mean by "proselytizing." ...I think they’ve got their defintions a little confused. If you’re talking about coercion that’s one thing, but if you’re talking about the free exercise of our faith as individual soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines, especially for the chaplains, they I think the worst thing we can do is stop the ability for a soldier to be able to exercise his faith.”

FRC has launched a petition here which has already collected over 30,000 signatures, calling on Secretary Hagel is stop working with Weinstein and his anti-Christian organization to develop military policy regarding religious faith.

**UPDATE**
The FRC petition has now exceeded more than 40,000 signatures at the time of this update.

Breitbart News legal columnist Ken Klukowski is senior fellow for religious liberty with the Family Research Council and on faculty at Liberty University School of Law.