The Statue of Liberty, the Cross, and the Real Hope for the New Year!

Word from the Center
Written By Dr. Gregory Seltz

Help support our efforts to contend for the freedom to proclaim the faith.
Click here to learn more or to donate.

New Year’s Eve is a time when Americans gather to ceremonially put the past behind them and cast their hopes forward for a blessed New Year. As a country, the notion of liberty, life, and the virtuous pursuit of happiness always seems to compel us forward with bold resolutions, or at least bold assertions that the future, the years ahead, will surely be much better than the past.

But what happens to these “New Year’s hopes born of Freedom” when they are confronted by a growing barbarism or government abuse to the contrary? What happens when even the law-abiding, “good” citizens, striving to live virtuous lives, accountable to God and in service to neighbor, suddenly become lives threatened by the state? What then? This past year we have seen too much of this in the “land of the free and the home of the brave.” For even in the land of the Bill of Rights and the First Amendment we see:

· A family man, a kind man, a man who “stands for life and serves the most vulnerable among us,” targeted by the FBI with a pre-dawn raid with guns drawn and pointed at him and his family for justifiable reason whatsoever;

· A high school football coach fired merely for praying silently—in his head!—in a public place;

· Churches, in the crisis of Covid, demonized, fined, persecuted, even shut down, while liquor stores and casinos were deemed essential and free to do as they please, and violent protests occurred;

· A baker continuously “sued into oblivion,” now with his family targeted by lawsuits, merely for kindly refusing to make “special cakes” that violate his conscience . . . when there a plenty of bakeries that will do it with ease.

Even in western countries like Finland, which profess tolerance and protection for freedom, we have seen a pastor and a politician publicly, politically, harassed, arrested, tried, exonerated, tried again, and exonerated again. Why? For teaching that marriage is between and man and a woman, and the biblical view of sexuality is to be practiced within the marriage bond.

What’s going on? Well, this growing darkness is the extension and misuse of “hate speech” laws, using them to label, to silence moral, ethical, kind people. Why would officials do such a thing? Those who are perceived to be on the wrong side of the modern chaos of gender assertions, the “life” side of the abortion debate, or the “God side” of the “faith in God, or absolute faith/dependence in government” debate, they are a threat to the secular empire. And if so labeled . . . they must then be punished.

So, what about this “hope in the new year” then?

Well, first of all, we have First Amendment protections to prevent some of this nonsense from destroying our country. So, use those protections as long as you have those to use. Yes, celebrate the fact that these are indeed blessings from God, blessings that give us a bit of hope. Remember too that these blessings are purposeful in service to God’s people living boldly the life of faith that He has given us to life.

To that end, never forget the most important thing of all. God’s light of grace and mercy shines brightest amidst the darkness. And hope rooted in Jesus can never be extinguished. As believers in the “It-is-finished” Lord Jesus, we are called to be salt and light in this world, and to let His light shine for all to see. We have hope because of the civil, temporal liberties we have, no doubt. But we have an even more certain hope because of the person and work of Jesus on the cross for all. Being a people who know how to cherish both is the opportunity that we have in the world in which we live today.

I love the song written by Neil Enloe, called “Statue of Liberty.” He said that he was given the inspiration while performing with his group, “The Couriers,” for a large group of Christians on a ship out in the waters around New York City. Over 2,000 were on the ship, but only 400 could hear the concert at any given time. His group had to do six concerts that night as a result. Tired after the performance, cold, and gazing out from the ship’s deck into the darkness of the night, suddenly he was confronted by the Statue of Liberty directly in his gaze. It was brightly lit, shining boldly in the darkness. That confrontation caused him to cherish both the liberty he had as an American and the ultimate liberty that he had because of Jesus. He wrote these words, words we should all cherish anew in 2024:

In New York Harbor stands a lady, with a torch raised to the sky; And all who see her know she stands for Liberty for you and me.

Chorus: I’m so proud to be called an American, to be named with the brave and the free; I will honor our flag and our trust in God, and the Statue of Liberty.

On lonely Golgotha stood a cross, with my Lord raised to the sky; And all who kneel there live forever, as all the saved can testify.

Chorus: I’m so glad to be called a Christian, to be named with the ransomed and whole, As the statue liberate the citizen, So the cross liberates the soul.

On the cross is my statue of Liberty, it was there that my soul was set free, Unashamed I’ll proclaim that a rugged cross is my Statue of Liberty1

Defend, protect, and use the liberties that we have in this country, they provide a freedom unlike any other in the world. But defend so as to proclaim what you know to be true in Christ for you and for all. Do that . . . and there is real Hope for the New Year—2024.

The Rev. Dr. Gregory Seltz is the executive director of the Lutheran Center for Religious Liberty.

Be Informed

Order copies of “Fearfully and Wonderfully Made: Elementary Activity Booklet on the Beginning of Life” for the kiddos in your life who support life from conception to natural death!

 

Be Equipped

Dr. Peter Scaer explains the truly Satanic nature of abortion.

 

Be Encouraged

“Teach your children to love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength, and their neighbors as themselves. Teach them the Bible that shows them their living God. Teach them the catechism that shows them how His truth fits together.” – Rev. Dr. Adam Koontz


[1] https://townhall.com/columnists/calthomas/2020/12/24/the-power-of-christmas-n2582043

See Also
Kamala Harris’s Hypocrisy on ‘Women Having Miscarriages in Toilets’ by Ben Johnson
Kamala Harris’s Hypocrisy on ‘Women Having Miscarriages in Toilets’ by Ben Johnson

It almost seems ridiculous to point out that a politician did something hypocritical, but Kamala Harris inverted reality in an especially egregious way during her first (and hopefully last) vice presidential visit to an abortion facility last week. As part of her ongoing campaign against life, she claimed, “I have heard stories of — and have met with women who had miscarriages in — in toilets.” Like most of Harris’s speeches, she had said it all before. The vice president shared a video clip of herself repeating the same story on “The View” in January. Harris said she could not believe states still resist abortion “in this year of our Lord 2024,” before saying, “Women are having miscarriages in toilets.”

Caring, not killing, in a throwaway society by Tom Eggebrecht
Caring, not killing, in a throwaway society by Tom Eggebrecht

In his younger days, Bob Barker, former host of the television show, “The Price is Right,” hosted another show called “Truth or Consequences.” On this program contestants were asked questions and if they gave incorrect answers, there were consequences. There was a penalty for getting things “wrong.” Now the consequences weren’t life threatening. They involved comical stunts which may have been a bit embarrassing, but were endured as good-natured fun. At the close of every program, Barker signed off saying, “Good night, hoping all your consequences are happy ones.” It was an instant and enduring hit from the 1940s through Barker’s time with the show in the 1960s.

More Josephs, Please
More Josephs, Please

"What is the leading indicator of just about everything bad? The lack of a father, that is to say a Joseph, in the home." Learn why the Rev. Dr. Peter Scaer says the world needs more Josephs!

Wanted: The Perfect Family, Part 2
Wanted: The Perfect Family, Part 2

Thanks be to God, "There is only One who truly loves us 'no matter what' — only one family that will never fail us." Read more from Cheryl Magness.

Wanted: The Perfect Family, Part 1
Wanted: The Perfect Family, Part 1

Was the nuclear family a mistake? Cheryl Magness--in this two-part series--explains why it's the exact opposite.

Peace in Storms, Courage in Chaos
Peace in Storms, Courage in Chaos

Jesus is risen; He is risen indeed! But there’s more good news for those who believe in Him. He clearly says, “Because I live, you will live also” (John 14:19). Wow! What a statement. It calls believers to a confident hope that comes from knowing that even death itself has been conquered by the one who created and redeemed us.

The Lasting Solution
The Lasting Solution

For Christians around the world, it’s Good Friday today. I know that it sounds strange to say that the day when Jesus died on the cross is “good,” but it is. The real, lasting solution to the problems in every human heart, even the very problems of the whole world, is the sinless son of God, Jesus, exchanging His perfect life and His innocent death as a substitute for our sinful life. In His death and resurrection, eternal justice is served, enduring mercy is offered, and real, eternal life is possible again for us, for all. The God who created us is the only one who can also redeem us.

Faux Repentance and Contrition
Faux Repentance and Contrition

After reviewing what was said at their Baptisms, LCMS confirmands affirm their intention “to continue steadfast in this confession and Church and to suffer all, even death, rather than fall away from it” (LSB p. 273). Nevertheless, confirmation is often the last time we see some of these young people in church. When they become adults, some children return, but many do not.

Children Stay in the Faith When Both Parents Teach Them
Children Stay in the Faith When Both Parents Teach Them

After reviewing what was said at their Baptisms, LCMS confirmands affirm their intention “to continue steadfast in this confession and Church and to suffer all, even death, rather than fall away from it” (LSB p. 273). Nevertheless, confirmation is often the last time we see some of these young people in church. When they become adults, some children return, but many do not.

Speaking of Humanity
Speaking of Humanity

As a new mother, I once had a friend and her daughter over for a playdate. After we set our babies down on a bright red and blue blanket I had spread on the floor, she commented, “I love this quilt. It’s so stimulating!” The comment arrested me. I suddenly felt as though my child were one of the microscopic crustaceans from my college physiology lab to be plied with caffeine so we could observe its heart rate.

Teach Them How to Think, Not What to Think
Teach Them How to Think, Not What to Think

Teach them how to think, not what to think. That's what Senator Braun's commercial says we need. And in that, he's typical of much of the conservative movement. But scratch the surface of that phrase, and you end up in a world of hurt. Our kids need to be taught goodness, must be inculcated in the natural law, must be formed in an education that is value laden. Education always includes moral formation.

WHAT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO THE GOVERMENT ANYWAY?
WHAT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO THE GOVERMENT ANYWAY?

What is your responsibility to the government—the state? What do you owe the state? While you are contemplating that question, ask yourself this: What is your responsibility to God—the church? What do you owe the church?

THE CHURCH DOES WELL TO LISTEN
THE CHURCH DOES WELL TO LISTEN

When we look at our nation, it is easy to get quite discouraged. For example, we are up to 33 trillion dollars in debt as a nation. House prices are through the roof, eating up over a 1/3 of people’s monthly income. Real inflation with some goods and services is upwards of 10 percent. Socially, things are also chaotic; you can’t turn the television on without getting blindsided by woke ideology. And to make things worse, we indirectly have our fingers in the war in Ukraine and have political connections to a war in Israel.

THE RELIGIOUS LIBERTY AND THE CHALLENGE TO RE-AWAKEN PUBLIC VIRTUE IN AMERICA
THE RELIGIOUS LIBERTY AND THE CHALLENGE TO RE-AWAKEN PUBLIC VIRTUE IN AMERICA

In his book, The Death of Character, James Davison Hunter says,

When Newsweek poses the question, “How Do We Restore a Sense of Right and Wrong” on its cover, it tacitly acknowledges that our “sense of right and wrong” is less and less present to the living memory of our entire culture . . .

THINGS ARE NOT AS BAD AS THEY SEEM
THINGS ARE NOT AS BAD AS THEY SEEM

When we look at our nation, it is easy to get quite discouraged. For example, we are up to 33 trillion dollars in debt as a nation. House prices are through the roof, eating up over a 1/3 of people’s monthly income. Real inflation with some goods and services is upwards of 10 percent. Socially, things are also chaotic; you can’t turn the television on without getting blindsided by woke ideology. And to make things worse, we indirectly have our fingers in the war in Ukraine and have political connections to a war in Israel.

TO HUSBANDS AND TO WIVES
TO HUSBANDS AND TO WIVES

We live in a very strange world. It is world that says men and women are the same. In fact, they are so much the same, that a man can decide he is a woman, or a woman can decide she is a man, and everyone around that individual is supposed to act like this is just the way things are. It is asserted that men and women are completely interchangeable, and so marriage can occur between a man and a woman or between two men or between two women.

One Flesh in Two Persons: Marriage
One Flesh in Two Persons: Marriage

So, God brought all the animals to him. He named them all one by one. While they were good, something just was not right. Dogs and cats just didn’t do it. So, God made woman from his own bones. Now at last man was just like God—two persons in one flesh. Adam So God brought all the animals to him. He named them all one by one. While they were good, something just was not right. Dogs and cats just didn’t do it. So, God made woman from his own bones. Now at last man was just like God—two persons in one flesh. Adam called her woman—she-man and named her Eve (“life”), because she would be the mother of all people. God’s creation was finally complete. He had made marriage and the family. This was very good..

New Year’s Champions
New Year’s Champions

Most of us never tire of flipping to a new calendar and the new opportunity to begin fresh. There is something about it that feels good. It signals an opportunity to wipe the slate clean, to start anew, and maybe, just maybe, this next year will end better than the one we just put behind us.

We Are All Like Chameleons
We Are All Like Chameleons

And so, it happened among us. Everyone knew, not all that long ago, that marriage was between one man and one woman. Obama said so, and even mentioned God. Hillary Clinton made a speech on the senator floor, invoking time and tradition.

The Statue of Liberty, the Cross, and the Real Hope for the New Year!
The Statue of Liberty, the Cross, and the Real Hope for the New Year!

New Year’s Eve is a time when Americans gather to ceremonially put the past behind them and cast their hopes forward for a blessed New Year.

Fighting to Hear and Share the Message of Christmas Matters!
Fighting to Hear and Share the Message of Christmas Matters!

A blessed Christmas day this weekend as you all hear again that “In the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ, the Lord” (Luke 2:1112).

If Politics Can’t Solve Our Problems, What Will?
If Politics Can’t Solve Our Problems, What Will?

It’s Advent! And those who engage the culture from a two-kingdom perspective are fully aware that human efforts, whether political, economic, philosophic, or even religious, are incapable of bringing the fulfillment in life that humans crave and even strive for. Former Senator turned University of Florida President Ben Sasse wrote a persuasive opinion article several years ago in the Wall Street Journal that described the issue in even more stark terms. It was entitled, “Politics Can’t Solve Our Political Problems.”

INDOCTRINATING YOUR CHILDERN
INDOCTRINATING YOUR CHILDERN

“I won't indoctrinate my children but will let them decide for themselves.” Non-believers boast that their children are free and critical thinkers, taught to be kind and non-judgmental. Remarkably, though, these free-thinking children end up just like their supposedly free-thinking parents.

GOD CREATED, THE DEVIL DESTORYS
GOD CREATED, THE DEVIL DESTORYS

Abortion is tragic, a deadly and heartbreaking deceit. No bond is more sacred, more profound, than that of a mother and child. Life’s journey begins in the womb, given by God as a safe space, a place for shelter, warmth and nurture.

The Power of Thanksgiving: Can We Really Be Thankless and Still Be Free?
The Power of Thanksgiving: Can We Really Be Thankless and Still Be Free?

Blessed Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving if you still allow the practice of giving thanks in your home. Each year in November there seems to be more and more Americans advocating for the eradication of the Thanksgiving Holiday.

The Church Militant: Of Lambs and Lions
The Church Militant: Of Lambs and Lions

Since the twentieth century, Lutherans have spoken about a “two-kingdoms” doctrine to work out the relationship between church and state

Kingdom of the Left
Kingdom of the Left

Since the twentieth century, Lutherans have spoken about a “two-kingdoms” doctrine to work out the relationship between church and state

Rights and Privileges
Rights and Privileges

We have a right, not a privilege, to life. Life is a gift from God, and it may not be unjustly taken from us.

On Being a Man
On Being a Man

Years ago, when my sons were small, we had a delightful friend at church who also had young boys. He often repeated to his sons his own father’s refrain to him: “Be a man!”

Nightcare Providers
Nightcare Providers

We are familiar with the idea of daycare, but perhaps we may be led to adjust our thinking and our language. We call it daycare, because the kids are still our children. But government schools don't see it that way.

Dr. Gregory Seltz
Previous

Are You Ready for the Party that Matters?
Next

The Persevering Power of CHRISTMAS