Category Archives: politics

Voting to end the American Holocaust

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(This is part two of a series. Tap here to read the first half, which focused on scriptural examples of God’s people who virtuously supported flawed heathen leaders.)

Winston Churchill, known to be intentionally rude at times, was passionate to save the Jews from Hitler at a time when other world leaders (including our own) preferred to look the other way.

Does history offer any examples of holocausts which were ended by righteous rulers? I have found none. Instead, history seems to indicate that a narcissistic leader like Churchill is typically empowered by our sovereign God to lead urgent life-saving (and nation-saving) political tasks which often are too “dirty” for perfectionistic Christians to accomplish.

Are Christians then helpless to do anything in our nation to end the American Holocaust of abortion? Should we follow those who make the pledge to refuse to offer any support for any politician who falls short of penalizing every abortion as murder (in an effort to “immediately” end every abortion)? Or shouldn’t our primary goal first be to seek to support politicians who will allow Christians to pursue efforts to protect the lives of vulnerable children?

TaP HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Must Christians vote only for righteous leaders?

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Nehemiah bows to King Artaxerxes

A battle is raging all around us for the future of our nation. The current election is a key aspect of that battle, as the leaders we are now choosing will set the agenda for our nation on many urgent battlefields (including but not limited to abortion) which will have a huge impact on all of us in the next few years and beyond. Does God expect His people to get our hands dirty to make a difference in this battle, or would He want us to only cast our vote symbolically, choosing the most impossible “righteous” candidate even though we have no doubt that by doing so our vote will have no impact on the many critical battles impacting all of us?

Everyone knows that the current major candidates do things which are often embarrassing and sinful. Is it a sin to support such a political leader whose actions at times seem to show a lack of respect for God? Or does God actually call His people to honor and serve unrighteous leaders for righteous purposes?

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Gospel-centered pro-life podcast interview

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Gospel-centered pro-life podcast

Pastor Daniel Parks, executive director of Cities4Life in Charlotte, interviewed Tim and Terri Palmquist during their recent visit to North Carolina. He entitled the interview “Gleaning Wisdom from Pro-Life Pioneers….” Beginning with how Christians responded to Roe v. Wade, the Palmquists explained how God led them into pro-life ministry, even using a girl’s lie for good. They also shared how God saved a child physically and spiritually, how God used a baby in a jar, and some personal experiences with Operation Rescue and Life Chain. The Palmquists point to their relationship with a true pro-life pioneer leading them to get involved with national efforts to end abortion, realizing how churches and politics are not incompatible. But some of the most important wisdom originated from a Charlotte-based hero. Listen to the Gospel-centered pro-life podcast directly at this link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/gospel-centered-pro-life-podcast/id1474399522?i=1000458631887

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Relationship or religion? (A deadly question!)

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“Christianity is not a religion, but a relationship.” Words like this have been spoken often in the churches I have attended throughout my life. Jesus. Relationship. Not Religion.

I don’t know where this slogan first came from, but it seems to me that it became more popular through Scott Wesley Brown’s song “I’m Not Religious, I Just Love the Lord.” That song was certainly heard often in our home when I was growing up, in addition to being on my parents’ radio station.

Respected pastors (such as Ed Young) continue to teach that “What separates Christianity from other religions is the fact that it’s actually not a religion. Jesus was the most anti-religion person that ever lived. Religion is a set of man-made do’s and don’ts in order to appease God.”

A recent Washington Post article examining the faith of Senator Ted Cruz (the first Republican presidential candidate for 2016) noted that Cruz was echoing “common evangelical lingo” when he emphasized “relationship” instead of “religion.”  (It seems that this question of relationship-versus-religion may become a topic of discussion during the coming campaign.)

But what does the Bible teach about “religion”?
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The key to our survival

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In this 13 minute video, Tim Palmquist (flanked by two City Council members) speaks at the Victorville March for Life, which was held on January 19, 2014 in front of the new Victorville Planned Parenthood mega center.  (For the best experience, please consider watching the video with captions turned on.)

The wide spectrum of points covered in this brief pep talk include:

  • Why there is hope for the future of our cities and nation
  • Why pastors can’t dismiss their responsibility to confront abortion deaths
  • Why God will not only judge individuals, but also cities — and churches!
  • Why it is so dangerous to look at abortion as a “personal” issue of “choice”
  • How we have been a part of changing the landscape of the pro-life movement

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Personal attack from Democratic leader surprises us

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Candi Easter

Candi Easter

Speaking against the Human Life Ordinance at the Bakersfield City Council meeting yesterday, Candi Easter, Chairman of the Kern County Democratic Party, began her comments with a personal slur against us, though likely nobody besides Terri and myself realized it.

“Personally,” Candi explained, “I believe that a couple that has 8 or 10 children is offensive. However I would never ever come to this Council and ask them to legislate against it.”

As parents of 11 children, Terri and I immediately recognized Candi’s mean-spirited point.

I first met Candi over 20 years ago, as we worked together for the same company. Continue reading →

Hitting the curve-ball to protect Bakersfield inhabitants

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A commentary by Tim Palmquist appeared in today’s Bakersfield Californian under “Community Voices.” It was written in response to last week’s Bakersfield Californian editorial opposing the Human Life Ordinance.

The original unedited version of the commentary appears on the LifeSavers Ministries blog.

God meant it for good: what an amazing year!

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On Monday, July 8, 2013, a little over a year from the time that we first learned that Planned Parenthood was building a mega-abortion center in Bakersfield, I spoke to a group of pro-life supporters who gathered outside the new Planned Parenthood building. (It coincidentally seemed to be the first day that Planned Parenthood had switched their operations from their old building at 2535 16th St. to the new building at 2633 16th St.) The following is a summary of comments I made that day:

Terri stands under an olive tree outside new Planned Parenthood being constructed.

Terri stands under an olive tree outside new Planned Parenthood being constructed.


“But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good….” (Genesis 50:20)

In early June of 2012, when we first learned that Planned Parenthood was building a new mega abortion center in Bakersfield, we were daunted by the prospect of confronting this abortion “giant,” even though we had just heard an inspiring sermon on facing the giants. Driving by the construction site that first day, we immediately noticed the three olive trees near the sidewalk. Seeing the branches of the trees filled with olives, we identified this as being somehow an additional answer to prayer (similar to the olive tree outside the Bakersfield FPA abortion center), but we still didn’t understand how this could be true.
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Something sweet from South Bend

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Cherry Blossoms from South Bend Chocolate CompanyI wish we had time over the past few days to get involved in the controversy over pro-abortion President Obama receiving an honorary degree from “Catholic” Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. As Jill Stanek has pointed out, this situation points to a much bigger problem in the Catholic Church.

The mention of South Bend actually brought some sweet thoughts to my mind, though. Continue reading →

The power to destroy

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We did not take part in a “Tea Party” tax protest on Wednesday, though perhaps we should have done so. During the Bakersfield protest, I was one block away at the bank trying to keep the ministry and family afloat.

Tax time hit us very hard this year, both personally and in the ministry, and our survival seems unlikely if you’re looking at the facts on a piece of paper. Some would say we only have ourselves to blame. Perhaps they are right.
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