By Dennis Petersen

What must be done when a nation’s leaders attempt to make Immorality into the law of the land? If ever there was a time for Christian citizens to implore their representative government leaders to exercise wise Biblical action, it’s now. You’re probably listening to Christian leaders lately. No doubt, you’ve been alerted to take action regarding the so-called Equality Act. It’s being considered by the United States Congress NOW. It’s probably the gravest threat to many of the values that the vast majority of our nation’s citizens hold dear – not just Christians.

Most of our listeners are concerned about the values, morality and law and order in our nation. If you know someone with a fatalistic belief in politics or who thinks he is avoiding politics because it’s dirty, then you have two choices on how you can interact with him. Either you avoid him altogether as you would a corrupt mind (1Timothy 6:5) or an immoral person with a form of godliness but who denies God’s power (2 Timothy 3:5). Otherwise, you decide to patiently and humbly instruct him as one who opposes his own best interests, in the hope that God gives him a heart to change his mind (repentance) and recover himself from a snare in which the devil has captivated him to do his will (2 Timothy 2:24-26). Whatever the case, it wouldn’t hurt to gently ask them if they know God’s evaluation of someone who knows to do something good but fails to do it. James 4:17 gives us a solid answer on the matter. And, by the way, if a so-called Christian avoids politics for being dirty, he is obviously as much a hypocrite as any Pharisee. Working to help others through the dirtiness of our world in the family of God is dirty work to challenge the most well-meaning saint.

Make no mistake about it. Confronting evil in our world often involves bucking the system. Just ask the apostle Paul, or Queen Esther, or Moses, or King David, or even the man whom Jesus declared to be the greatest prophet who ever lived – John the Baptist (John 7:28). The big difference for us today in the American society is that we have no king but Jesus. Civil servants, lesser magistrates, and elected officials are not our sovereign potentates. In our constitutional republic, we are all citizens of one nation under God – not subjects of a monarch. Sometimes we have to remind ourselves that bureaucrats and politicians work for us. We are not their slaves. They are not our rulers. The trouble is that for decades, fewer than half of us Christians even voted in a national election. Local elections have been lucky to turn out 30% of the eligible voting citizens. But voting is not enough. How can we be salt and light to a dark and corrupt world if we’re not willing to be involved in the exposing of the evil done in darkness and exercising the redeeming and purifying preservation of the good news of our Savior’s kingdom?

Whether or not someone appreciates being warned about the dangers ahead or the bad weather coming, how can I, as a truly caring and conscientious follower of Christ, not use whatever influence I have been given by God to warn whomever God puts in my path about dangers of which I suspect they might be unaware?

All God-fearing American Christians must be aware of House Bill #5 that is presently being considered by the United States Senate.  HB-5 is written to effectively overturn our society and silence the Church. Our intercessory prayer is imperative!  Because our senators have the power to approve it, we all must personally contact their office immediately. I’m going to give you their phone number, so get a pen to write it down now or go to our website at ReclaimYourLegacy.com to find today’s show in the Radio Archive tab.  As citizens of our republic, we must urge all our senators to vote against this bill. Let’s briefly explore why, with help from Pastor Dutch Sheets who provided the research done by Intercessors for America and the Family Research Council.  https://www.givehim15.com/post/february-20-2021

HB5 is called the “Equality Act” but it is not really about “equality.” It is all about SOGI. It stands for sexual orientation/gender identity – SOGI. A well-funded, powerful, Anti-American movement is legalizing intimidation by attaching gender identity language to legislation and action of all kinds—even those that should have nothing to do with this concept. It’s a push to make sexual orientation/gender identity an issue in much of our civic lives, so in the end, we’ll have a new protected class of citizens. In the previous Congress, HB5 passed in the House but was not even discussed by the Senate. HB5 has now been reintroduced in the House, and with the shift of power in the Senate, it has a very real possibility of passing. It all depends on which voters for each senator impresses their influence upon them. Will it be those who support the works of the devil or those who take seriously God’s command to expose those works?

SOGI language has been inserted in treaties, commerce regulations, education standards, housing acts, local laws, and ordinances. It’s a strategy. SOGI language validates LGBTQ lifestyles, and forces the overwhelming majority of the nation to treat this as a preferred and protected class. By creating this “protected class” they are also elevating SOGI beyond equal treatment to a civil right. Special protections for LGBTQ will trump the rights of other people. This means that Christian daycares or schools would be forced to hire LGBTQ employees. What Jack Philips endured as a cake baker would become the norm and have a different result if these SOGI language clauses are adopted. Parents may not be able to decline hormone treatments for gender-confused children. SOGI clauses are legislating to the exception and restricting constitutional freedoms in order to achieve a pro-LGBTQ society.

Listen to a short clip about this major controversy from the Heritage Foundation, featured on the news program, Flashpoint just recently.  Listen beginning at 10:57 on https://youtu.be/UV63ebFBoe4?t=657

This action being considered by our federal government is not only a danger to our freedoms.  It is an abomination to the sensibilities of any God-fearing citizen. However, our hyper-sexualized society that is over-sensitized to the insanity of political correctness, has virtually NO ability to discern good from evil (Hebrews 5:14)!  Why is that?  Could it be because the “salt” of the supposedly preserving influence in our society (the church) has lost its “savor” (Matthew 5:13)? Have we been neglecting to do our job?

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 states that there shall be no discrimination of a person based on their “race, color, national origin, sex, and religion.” The first four of these are included largely because they are intrinsic to the individual.  They are bestowed involuntarily, and are unchangeable, immutable. (Religion is voluntary, and that’s why it is protected by the First Amendment.) As Peter Sprigg of Family Research Council points out, “while sexual attractions may be involuntary, neither homosexual conduct nor transgender behavior meets any of the other criteria.” To elevate someone’s “felt” and potentially changing gender to the status of a civil right is incongruent—it doesn’t qualify. It’s a dangerous slippery slope. Ryan T. Anderson of the Heritage Foundation makes a good point. “In the United States of America, people who identify as LGBT are free to live as they want. But SOGI laws, including FFA [Freedom for All], are not about freedom— they are about coercion. SOGI and FFA are about forcing all Americans to embrace—and live out—certain beliefs about human sexuality.” It is forcing all Americans to live under their beliefs, their choices and their reality.

You can read more about this at the website of Intercessors for America. Download a special report, and share a message with your elected officials by clicking here. There is a chart on the Special Report showing the 24 states which have already passed some form of SOGI laws. This is another battle that may be waged at the state level.

Here’s an overview of some of the problems with the Equality Act

The Equality Act jeopardizes women’s privacy and safety.

The Equality Act’s expansion of the Title II “Public Accommodations” definition means that females would no longer have privacy in public bathrooms, locker rooms, showers, or even battered women’s shelters. State and local laws to this effect are already causing fallout: A kindergartener was assaulted by a boy in her school bathroom. A rape survivor was forced to quit her job when her employer began allowing men into women’s private facilities. A man was allowed residence in a women’s shelter, and nine women are suing because they were sexually harassed.

The Equality Act unfairly penalizes female athletes by allowing biological men to compete in women’s sports.

The Equality Act would undermine real civil rights gains women have made.

 The Equality Act would interfere with the medical profession.

It would force doctors and others who provide legitimate hormone treatments and surgical procedures for patients with certain physical conditions to offer those treatments for individuals with gender dysphoria. The moral or medical opinions and warnings of those doctors about assisting individuals to physically alter their bodies would be disregarded.

The Equality Act could erode parental rights.

When Ohio parents declined hormone treatment for their child, the Children’s Hospital of Cincinnati involved child protective services, and the parents were ultimately stripped of their parental rights.

The Equality Act would severely erode religious freedom.

The Equality Act expressly exempts itself from the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), our flagship religious liberty law. The Equality Act’s expansion of public accommodations could require churches and houses of worship to violate their own beliefs regarding how they use their facilities. Its changes to employment law would prohibit some houses of worship from ensuring their clergy and employees abide by their doctrines or beliefs about marriage, sexual behavior, and the distinction between the sexes.

The Equality Act would hinder the ability of faith-based charities to function.

The Equality Act could be the most pro-abortion legislation to pass the House in a decade.

The changes would essentially create an abortion mandate …this also jeopardizes long-standing federal conscience laws that protect those opposed to abortion. The Hyde Amendment, which prohibits taxpayer funding for abortion, would also be in jeopardy.

The Equality Act shamefully attempts to usurp the history and legacy of the civil rights movement.

In no way are one’s sexual conduct and inclinations equivalent to skin color. Suggesting or implying as much diminishes the hard-fought gains of this movement. Indeed, scientific evidence shows that “sexual orientation” is quite fluid and that “gender identity” is not fixed.

The Equality Act mandates an anti-life, anti-family, and anti-faith agenda upon all Americans.

You can read FRC Action’s entire article and contact your U.S. Representative by clicking here.

Please contact your Representative today to tell them to vote NO on the Equality Act.  Write down the Congressional switchboard number and call them today. Don’t wait. Ask for the office of your Senator and let them know you want them to vote NO on HB5.  Dial 202-224-3121

The Bible has much to say about the influence of national and cultural leaders on their society.

A familiar one is in Proverbs.

“When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan.” Proverbs 29:2

When Israel’s society strayed from God’s righteous ways in the four centuries before God gave them a king, we learn that in His providence, “Then the Lord raised up judges who delivered them from the hands of those who plundered them.” Judges 2:16

Do you think that our society today could use a God-ordained deliverer from the hands of those who are plundering our nation?  Do you think that there might be more than “10 righteous” remaining in our cities that need to be delivered?  Has Jesus retracted His assignment to His church to “disciple” the nations by teaching them “all that He has commanded?” Have we finished discipling our own nation? Our own families?

Proverbs 8:15-16 tells us, “By me kings reign, And rulers decree justice. By me princes rule, and nobles, All who judge rightly.”

For us to understand God’s providence in how He orchestrates the leadership of societies, we’re reminded of the prophet Daniel’s wise counsel to King Nebuchadnezzar.

“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His. And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.” Psalm 2:1-5

Psalm 2:1-5

When we learn about God’s merciful pity on the oppressed people of a society, we see the hope of God’s justice upon the rulers who oppose God’s righteous rule.

“Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, “Let us break their bonds in pieces and cast away their cords from us.” He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The Lord shall hold them in derision. Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, and distress them in His deep displeasure:”

Psalm 2:1-5

Reading the history of God’s dealings with nations, and especially His chosen nation of Israel, we must not miss that national captivity to an oppressive and dominating enemy regime happened for a reason.

“Therefore, my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge…” Isaiah 5:13

Yet, even in captivity God’s chosen society of people were commanded to be a blessing to the foreign people in the place where they were taken away as captives. Read Jeremiah 29.

“seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the LORD for it; for in its peace, you will have peace.”

Jeremiah 29:7

It was in the context of captivity that God made His familiar promise to His people.

“For thus says the LORD: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

Jeremiah 29:11

And it was in the light of that promise that God laid out His conditional plan for His people.

“Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the LORD, and I will bring you back from your captivity…”

Jeremiah 29:12-14

It’s common for us modern Western Christians to read the Bible, thinking only about how the messages and promises apply to us as personal individuals. But it’s also important for us to understand how the counsel of the Bible and much of its message is directed toward nations – toward groups of people with a common bond of ethnicity. An important message for us as the congregation of Christ’s bodily representatives on earth is Christ’s famous great commission.

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Matthew 28:18-20

If we have a Christ-centered conscience, we are unquestionably obligated and sensitive to His Holy Spirit’s conviction. As I have read this information, I can see why we all would be deeply moved to pray and do whatever we could to save the lives of our children.  Jesus reminded us…

“But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea. “Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!”

Matthew 18:6-7

Make no mistake about this. If our lack of action enables H.B. 5 to be enacted, how can we say we have not been complicit, even if we fundamentally disagree with it?

“Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.” James 4:17

The Equality Act mandates an anti-life, anti-family, and anti-faith agenda upon all Americans.

Let’s all contact our Representatives today! Let’s plainly tell them to vote NO on the Equality Act.  Write down the Congressional switchboard number and call them today. Don’t wait. Ask for the office of your Senator and let them know you want them to vote NO on HB-5.  Dial 202-224-3121

The true light-bearers of our society – the true Ekklesia – must do whatever is possible to hold any senator who votes for HB-5 accountable. They must be identified to all our circles of influence. Why?  Because this action is a clear act of war against basic American principles under God to protect our citizens to have life, liberty and the pursuit of private property.

The actions of the Democrat party show they are desperate because they know that our 45^th president actually won reelection in a landslide. But the visceral reactions of a huge majority of the population are preparing our nation for an historic move of God’s Holy Spirit – a huge Awakening revival that demonstrates God’s sovereign mercy on the hurting masses that are awakening to the only solution to their sin-sick, affluent western world that has forgotten the God of their fathers.

I urge you to hear the passionate plea from an old evangelist friend who has been preaching the gospel for over four decades.  Hear Mario Murillo briefly share his heart at the link from that same recent Flashpoint program at https://youtu.be/UV63ebFBoe4?t=1225

And if you would like to see a descriptive list of 11 myths about the Equality Act, go to our website, ReclaimYourLegacy.com and look for the transcript of this program called “What Must Be Done?”

If you know someone who believes you must bow to ridiculous government demands over areas of our lives in which they have NO rightful JURISDICTION, remember that all you can do for their sakes is “gently correct those who oppose themselves, if perhaps God gives them repentance” that they might save themselves from the deceptive entrapment of the enemy.  You can’t make them accept common sense, logic, or the truth that could save them from destruction.

Please contact your Representative today and tell them to vote NO on the Equality Act!

11 Myths about the Equality Act H. R. 5… posted by Pastor Todd Coconato (2/24/21)

Myth 1: The Equality Act Simply Punishes Discrimination Against People Who Identify as Gay or Transgender

Fact: The Equality Act—introduced as H.R. 5 in the House of Representatives on February 18, 2021—makes mainstream beliefs about marriage, as well as basic biological facts about sex differences, punishable under the law. Every person should be treated with dignity and respect and no one should face discrimination. But the Equality Act makes discrimination the law of the land by forcing Americans to conform to government-mandated beliefs under the threat of life-ruining financial and criminal penalties. The 1964 Civil Rights Act outlawed state-sanctioned discrimination that caused systematic economic and material harm to black Americans. The Equality Act is different: It forces every American to agree with controversial government-imposed ideology on sexuality or be treated as an outlaw. The Equality Act demolishes existing civil rights and constitutional freedoms.

Myth 2: The Equality Act Preserves Religious Freedom

Fact: The Equality Act guts the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) and threatens constitutional freedoms by eliminating conscience protections from the Civil Rights Act. If enacted, H.R. 5 would force employers, medical professionals, educators, and religious organizations to allow men into women’s shelters, pay for or perform sex-change operations, and engage in speech that violates their consciences. Faith-based adoption and foster care agencies would be forced to violate their belief that every child deserves a mother and a father. Section 2(a)(2) of the bill refers to the belief that marriage is between a man and a woman as a “sex stereotype.” This stigmatizes the beliefs of hundreds of millions of Americans, including Catholics, Evangelicals, Jews, Mormons, and Muslims.

Myth 3: The Equality Act Does Not Expand the Scope of Federal Civil Rights Law

Fact: By expanding the definition of “public accommodations” under Title II of the Civil Rights Act to include “any establishment that provides a good, service, or program, including a store, shopping center, online retailer or service provider, salon, bank, gas station, food bank, service or care center, shelter, travel agency, or funeral parlor, or establishment that provides health care, accounting, or legal services,” many more individuals and establishments would, in fact, become liable to discrimination claims, including doctors who do not want to perform abortions.

Myth 4: The Equality Act Is Irrelevant to Abortion

Fact: H.R. 5 endangers unborn children. The Equality Act opens the door to taxpayer funding for elective abortions, which the vast majority of Americans oppose, regardless of political affiliation. The bill does not contain any conscience protections for those with moral or religious objections to paying for or performing abortions. It also takes away judicial relief by blocking claims based on the RFRA. The Equality Act expands the term “sex” to go far beyond the state of being male or female, and includes “pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical condition.” Both the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the 3rd Circuit Court have interpreted “related medical condition” to include abortion. This expanded definition of sex applies to public accommodations, which—under the Equality Act—includes providers of “health care.” This definition also applies to section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which is the act’s nondiscrimination provision guaranteeing that people will not be denied benefits in a federally run or federally funded health program. Section 1557 of the ACA looks to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which addresses nondiscrimination in federally assisted programs, to interpret what constitutes discrimination. If the Equality Act were to pass, section 1557 nondiscrimination regulations could be used against providers who refuse to perform abortions, or against hospitals that receive federal funding and do not provide abortions.

The Reproductive Blueprint promoted by Planned Parenthood, NARAL Pro-Choice America, and other abortion industry actors specifically calls on the Biden Administration to interpret section 1557 in this manner.

Myth 5: The Equality Act Is Good for Women and Upholds Title IX of the Education Amendments Act, Which Prohibits Sex Discrimination Against Girls and Women

Fact: The Equality Act’s changes to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act do not uphold Title IX of the 1972 Education Amendments Act. Gender-identity policies will require biological males to be permitted to participate in female-only activities. In sports, the physical bodies of biological males (even after two years on estrogen) put them at an obvious unfair advantage over female athletes, who are losing out on opportunities and scholarships designed for girls and women. Three brave female high school athletes in Connecticut are suing the state because two boys who identify as girls defeated them in track and field and demolished the state records held by 15 other girls.

Myth 6: Safety and Privacy in Sex-Specific Spaces Will Not Be Diminished

Fact: All single-sex spaces will be open to both sexes under the Equality Act. The Equality Act adds sexual orientation and gender identity rules to Title III of the Civil Rights Act on “public facilities” as well as to public accommodations (Title II) and federal funding (Title VI). This would create a nationwide transgender policy in single-sex facilities. It would affect everything from girls’ and women’s showers and locker rooms to women’s shelters and women’s prisons, endangering safety and diminishing privacy. Giving people blanket permission to enter private spaces for the opposite sex enables sexual predators to exploit the rule and gain easy access to victims.

Myth 7: The Equality Act Treats All Students Fairly, Promotes Inclusion, and Cannot Affect School Curricula

Fact: By adding sexual orientation and gender-identity rules to the Civil Rights Act’s Title IV on “desegregation of public education,” the Equality Act could pave the way for K–12 federal courts to require sexual orientation and gender-identity curricula the same way they required black history curricula. All children deserve to learn in an environment where they and their views are treated with respect. Imposing one political viewpoint on students about questions of gender and sexual orientation stigmatizes and excludes those who hold disfavored (read: mainstream) views. Denying a child the right to a supportive educational environment effectively denies that child meaningful access to the right to an education. Additionally, changing Title VI to include sexual orientation and gender identity means that any school, even private and parochial schools that receive federal assistance, would have to adopt transgender policies in sports and private facilities.

Myth 8: Doctors Will Not Be Forced to Perform Sex-Change Operations or Prescribe Hormones for “Gender Affirmation”

Fact: As a result of the expanding definition of public accommodations, as well as changing federal funding requirements, doctors (and counselors) could be punished for treating gender dysphoria according to their own best medical judgment. Even a referral to another doctor could be a violation of the Civil Rights Act. If a doctor performs a double mastectomy to treat cancer, she must also do so for a woman who identifies as a man. Transgender individuals have already sued hospitals for discrimination in New Jersey and California because the hospitals refused to perform surgeries, including mastectomies, for “gender affirmation.” This, despite the fact that evidence has shown that “transitioning” does not provide any lasting mental health benefits. In fact, many patients who undergo a sex change end up with damage to their physical health, such as heart problems and decreased bone density, as well as loss of fertility.

Myth 9: Parental Rights Will Remain Unchanged

Fact: The Equality Act’s politicization of medicine and education through gender ideology will undermine parental rights. Since most schools will be pressured to comply with sexual-orientation and gender-identity policies, parents will have limited educational choices for their children. Those who do not believe that their daughters should have to compete against biological males in sports, or who do not believe their daughters and sons should have to share bathrooms with members of the opposite sex, will be hard pressed to find schools where this is not happening. Parents should not have to sacrifice their children’s safety in order to attend school. Counseling that has proven to help children suffering from gender dysphoria reconcile with their bodies will no longer be considered an acceptable approach. This means that parents will be left without therapeutic alternatives that do not cause irreversible harm to their children’s bodies. A judge in Ohio terminated the rights of parents who opposed administering testosterone to their underage daughter and wanted her to go to counseling for gender dysphoria instead.

Myth 10: The Equality Act Helps Children in Need of Foster Homes and Adoption

Fact: The Equality Act hurts vulnerable children by punishing faith-based adoption and foster-care agencies that believe that every child deserves both a mother and a father and that children’s bodies should not be irreversibly harmed by hormonal or surgical interventions due to gender dysphoria. Imposing this radical ideology on child-welfare providers will reduce the number of “forever families” for the more than 424,000 foster children in need of them. Adding sexual-orientation and gender-identity requirements to laws in Massachusetts and Illinois diminished the supply of foster families at the same time that more children needed them due to the opioid crisis.

Myth 11: The Supreme Court’s Decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, Requires the Equality Act’s Changes to Civil Rights Law

Fact: The Equality Act goes far beyond the Supreme Court’s 2020 Bostock ruling. While Bostock invented a misguided theory of sex discrimination in employment law, it did not redefine “sex” to include sexual orientation and gender identity. But the Equality Act does. Bostock was limited to employment law; the Equality Act adds “sexual orientation and gender identity” to all of the nation’s civil rights laws. Because Bostock was limited to employment, it said nothing about schools, sports, or medicine. The Equality Act adds sexual orientation and gender identity to all of them.

If you know someone who believes you must bow to ridiculous government demands over areas of our lives in which they have NO rightful JURISDICTION, remember that all you can do for their sakes is “gently correct those who oppose themselves, if perhaps God gives them repentance” that they might save themselves from the deceptive entrapment of the enemy.  You can’t make them accept common sense, logic, or the truth that could save them from destruction.

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