National Identity

Matt Miles • August 20, 2020

Our nation is embroiled in a battle for its identity. We were founded on the precepts that all men are created equal, just as the Word of God states in Acts 17:26. This is because the Word of God was a foundational book to the founders. Sure, not all of our founders accepted the Bible as you and I understand it, as God’s holy inspired words, but they at the least revered it to be trustworthy about who we are as a people and where we find our origin. Sadly, it seems today our society is squandering that truth away and replacing it with injustice and lawlessness.

     There has been a concerted effort over the last 50-60 years to tear our nation’s identity away from the Bible and the Lord’s authority. As we seek to balance a nation grossly divided, maybe now as much as we did during the Civil War era, our return to the truth of God’s Word is imperative. Without identifying God’s Word as more than an archaic book of nice stories with a few moral exhortations, we sacrifice the foundation of our nation’s identity. Our founders knew that we are made in God’s image. This identifying truth is plainly spelled out in Genesis and then echoed through the entire Bible. But, if we individually identify as just another in a long line of animals trying to survive with no overarching moral compass at our foundation, then each of us will continue to do what we think is best for survival, in the process destroying ourselves as well as others because we don’t recognize the fact that we are all image-bearers. This evolutionary worldview must stop as it has no foundation of truth; there are no divinely inspired words behind it, only the lie. That lie is from Satan himself and it continually challenges God’s Word as being the Truth over all others.

     The Lord’s authority was foundational in our nation’s beginning. Our founding fathers regarded it from, at the least, a providential guiding, to a full-fledged understanding of His sovereignty over all. As the Word of God is trashed and disregarded, so also is the truth of His authority in our nation, authority also founded in Genesis when He created everything. Taking away His Word and authority from our nation leaves behind a vacuum that will suck up all of our solid foundations. Then we are left to our own ideas of what freedom or any semblance of control should be. The sad reality about a vacuum is that it sucks up everything without discrimination, moral or not. So for 50-60 years we have said in our nation and our public school systems that God has no authority over all because He did not create all. Do you hear the vacuum sucking? In comes anarchy, communism, tyranny, socialism, marxism and any other “ism” to fill the void. We must realize Who has true authority, for our own sake and our nation’s. The Lord’s authority is present whether we acknowledge it or not, but His authority is the one true balance we desperately need acknowledged at present.

     I implore you to check your worldview in light of the present identity crisis our nation is suffering from. If we do not seek our Lord Jesus Christ’s Word and authority at this time for our nation, then I am afraid of the outcome that is rising. It may not have any bearing on my eternal security, but it will directly impact our ability to worship and evangelize freely as we were designed. Rest assured that this ministry will continue to proclaim His Word as absolute and His authority as sovereign over all. Please join with us in prayer for our nation’s identity to return to it’s foundation – freedom, liberty and justice for all. Blessings.

By Ryan Cox June 18, 2025
Moses & History (part 3)
lined up books
By Matt Miles June 18, 2025
Over the course of time a person can accumulate many things. Most of the stuff we collect is meaningless to most everyone else, but when a person collects books, they can be treasured for a lifetime and even beyond. In this age of digital media, physical books seem to be less important to many people. Digital books are searchable, and copy/paste functions make it easy to use those great quotes. Yet, there is still something great about a physical book, things you can’t get digitally: the turning of pages, the feel of it in your hand, and the “book” smell. For our founder Dr. Sharp, physical books could never be replaced by digital. While my collection of books is growing each year, it is dwarfed by Dr. Sharp’s collection. Over the years he collected thousands of titles for research and enjoyment. Through the course of his ministry he had to sell his book collection a couple of different times to support his family, only to start collecting again when he was able to do so. When Doc passed his office full of packed bookshelves to me and said he would clear the shelves, I laughed out loud at the prospect of having loads of empty bookshelves. So I urged him to instead leave his books for my, and anyone else’s, use. Little did I understand that the four bookcases in my office were only a fraction of his entire collection. A couple of years back when Doc moved from his house, it was decided that his book collection would be stored at the office. Our thought was to establish a library, yet none of us had time to plan, organize and catalog all 79 boxes of books. They sat piled in his office until last year when my daughter Megan joined our ministry. She has a love of books, both reading and writing. So we offered her the task of cataloging and establishing Doc’s library. Can you picture me, a bbq lover, being offered a table full of succulent smoked offerings - brisket, sausage, ribs, pulled pork, chicken, turkey and all sides? Yep, that was Megan’s response to the library. For over four months she cataloged and organized the entire collection. The Dr. G. Thomas Sharp Library was completed earlier this year in his old office space, with overflow into my office. The entire 2700+ volume agglomeration is digitally cataloged for searching and locating. As you might expect, there is an extensive collection of creation and evolution subject matter, yet the library is full of many different categories. It very much reflects Doc’s love of gaining knowledge and research. An extensive commentary collection and multiple Biblical reference sections are invaluable to our ministry. There is even a whole bookcase housing books that are over 100 years old. Our desire was not to just house books but to also make a place of honor and inspiration. One wall exhibits Doc’s many diplomas, and throughout the library we have placed personal memorabilia of the mission trips he took over the years. Come, grab a book, relax in the sitting area and allow Doc’s handwritten notes from the margins or post-it notes bring a smile to your face. For those who may be more ambitious, Doc's office chair resides at the credenza for anyone to sit and be inspired to study. This is a place to honor Doc’s life and love for books. We at CTF have already utilized this great resource for further study, and we are so thankful to Diane and their family for donating these books for continued Kingdom growth. Blessings.
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