ANALYSIS
Charlie Kirk is gone. Long live Charlie Kirk! And he will, through those he left behind, replicate how he shared his love for the lost at every opportunity. This is why Charlie being honored, even by those who opposed him, is global news!
When asked what he most wanted to be remembered for, even at his young age, his answer was always the same — “For having the courage to share my faith.” Impacting public policy is important. But Charlie knew that impacting lives for eternity is the only thing that’s eternal.
It could be argued that no one understood or better articulated God’s founding of America. He was unusually gifted to quote the words of our Founding Fathers and documents as easily as Scripture from Genesis to Revelation. Indeed, it was the Word of God that provided the preponderance of words found in our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution. This explains why the average life of a nation’s Constitution is 17 years, and America’s Constitution has survived 239 years.
God is the same yesterday, today, and forever! The impact of His Word is timeless, even when imbedded in a nation’s founding documents. Charlie’s understanding of this undeniable fact explains why his fervor for America and for the salvation of mankind were inextricably intertwined.
READ ‘What’s Going on…Is Supernatural’: Charlie Kirk’s Friend Reveals Powerful Moves of God Unfolding
It can be argued whether-or-not America remains a Christian nation. But the factual evidence is that America was founded on the Word of God, with the freedom to worship God at its core. Perhaps the least spiritual of our founders being Benjamin Franklin, one of six who signed both our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution, ended weeks of disagreement among our founders by calling for every session to be opened with prayer, seeking God’s guidance… and gave us our Constitution.
The fact that God’s role in the founding of America is so widely disbelieved today, reveals the naivety and godlessness of our population. George Washington and John Adams, our second President, stated our Republic was only made for a moral and religious people.
America was the first country created by and for its people, with inalienable rights for self-governance. Benjamin Franklin stated we’re “A Republic, if we can keep it.” Our founders knew a nation ruled by those who are neither moral nor religious is doomed. This is where we find ourselves today and why Charlie worked so hard to push back the darkness and reveal the light of God’s Word. Indeed, we’re in the midst of the darkest, most entrenched spiritual battle of our lives, with the outcome weighing on what we do next. What do we do now?
It’s against this backdrop that we must decide how to live the rest of our lives. The options range from going with the flow, digging in and holding out, or being part of the greatest revival in the world has ever seen. If you’re a Christian, the choice is obvious. The question is—how?
The global call is for all of us to be “Charlies” and that sounds wonderful. But there are few, if any, “Charlies” in this world who can match his intellect and communication skills. Regardless of our desire, the thought of living our lives at Charlie’s level of brilliance and articulation is daunting. That’s not for the faint of heart, even with extraordinary giftedness.
It begins with God’s perception of those around you. If you see those who are most offensive as simply evil, you are missing the heart of God. No one can escape God’s love. God’s desire is that none should perish. One needs only to ask the thief on the cross. Thank God for His mercy and grace and calling us to Heaven until our last breath.
God knows the history and hopelessness in godless lives, who have no idea He loves them. They’re not simply evil—they’re lost! And they will stay lost until someone tells them about God’s love and truth. Charlie knew that! You might be the only conduit to hope, Heaven and God for someone who hates God.
God made you for Heaven! Earth is merely His “boot camp,” allowing you enough time to discover who He is and decide to serve Him. Once you choose God, and choose to live for His purpose to seek and save the lost, you get to join God in getting as many people as possible into Heaven before it’s too late. Once you’re in Heaven, the only thing that will matter is how many people are in Heaven because of your influence.
Jesus said they will know you’re His disciple by your love (John 13:35), not by your ability to match Charlie’s intellect or personality. Here’s how it works: When you allow God’s love to flow through, those around you will share their deepest needs, the Holy Spirit will give you the words to say (Luke 12:12), the life in front of you will be transformed and your faith will explode in all the best ways.
***Please sign up for CBN Newsletters and download the CBN News app to ensure you keep receiving the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.***
This is why God wants you to share your faith! Isaiah 43:10 tells us He appointed you as His witness so that you will believe. Charlie’s joy came from knowing God was loving those around him through him, including those who opposed him. We saw it happen! This is how Charlie defeated fear with wholehearted faith until his final breath.
No excuses—No training—No fear! The most prolific faith sharers are new Christians who don’t even know scripture. Everyone can be a “Charlie” when you follow God’s lead to seek and save the lost and move everyone, every day, closer to Jesus.
Your only job is to love on people, share God’s truth and glory, and let God do the rest. This is what being a Christian is all about. And the door is now wide-open.
If only 10% of Christians commit to moving everyone, every day, closer to Jesus, we can ignite America with revival in no time.
Let’s not waste this moment.
Barry Meguiar is the third-generation president of Meguiar’s Car Wax, the top-selling car wax in America and in countries around the world. His Car Crazy television show aired for 18 years and was viewed on Discovery Channel Networks globally. He is also the founder/president of Ignite America, with weekly podcasts and daily features on over 900 radio stations. He is the author of “Ignite Your Life” and “Live Ignited”. More at https://igniteamerica.com/.
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![Russian Memorial human rights NGO labeled ‘extremist’Russia’s Supreme Court announced on Telegram on April 9 that the activities of human rights organization Memorial were now banned throughout the country. This came after a closed-door hearing that was treated as “top secret.” Media representatives and diplomats from Germany, Sweden, the Czech Republic and France were only allowed to attend the announcement of the ruling, which sparked strong reactions internationally.
The Nobel Committee, which awarded the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize to Memorial, condemned the court’s decision. The European Union delegation to Russia described the ruling as a “politically motivated blow to civil society in Russia.” The diplomats pointed out that the Russian state itself had “not only officially recognized Memorial’s merits but also provided direct support, and members of the organization served on the Human Rights Council for many years.”The Supreme Court hearing took place behind closed doorsImage: Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo/picture alliance
Russian Supreme Court keeps wording deliberately vague
Lawyers for Memorial pointed out that the Supreme Court had classified the “International Public Movement Memorial” as “extremist,” but they pointed out that no organization of this name existed and had not been registered either in Russia or elsewhere.
They told DW that the wording had probably been kept deliberately vague to create a legal basis for potential repression against any Memorial structures, as well as their members and supporters. “The Justice Ministry’s action itself remained secret, and the organization’s representatives were barred from attending the hearing,” Sergei Davidis, the head of Memorial’s political prisoners support program, told DW.
He also stressed that in light of growing public dissatisfaction with the Russian government, the state was attempting to eliminate independent and reputable sources of information that could foster solidarity and networking in Russian society.
Memorial documents Soviet repression and the Gulag system
The international society Memorial was founded in 1987 and went on to become the leading independent organization dedicated to documenting Soviet-era repression in Russia. Its archives contain tens of thousands of documents about the victims of Soviet repression, including thousands of memoirs, hundreds of personal collections, as well as a wealth of material from researchers on the history of the gulags, the system of labor camps that was a major instrument of political repression in the Soviet era, and other human rights violations.
According to the independent online media outlet Mediazona, the authorities could now lay claim to the archive as the “property of an extremist organization.” In 2023, the head of the Perm NGO Center of Historical Memory, Aleksandr Chernyshov, was arrested after allegedly trying to smuggle archival documents from Russia to Germany.
The persecution of the Russian branch of Memorial began in 2014 when it was placed on a list of “foreign agents” by the Russian Justice Ministry. This status was later extended to the organization’s international branch, which required all publications and reports to be labeled accordingly. In case of non-compliance, there were fines and restrictions on Memorial’s activities.
In 2021, the Supreme Court ordered the dissolution of Memorial International for “repeated” and “gross” violations of Russia’s foreign agent laws. Memorial was also accused of depicting a false image of the Soviet Union.
Pressure continued to mount in March 2023, when the homes and offices of nine Memorial staff members, including Oleg Orlov and Yan Rachinsky, were subjected to searches as part of a targeted campaign against independent human rights organizations. The same year, Orlov was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for “discrediting” the army. He was released with other political prisoners as part of a prisoner exchange in August 2024 and has since been living in Germany.
Memorial will continue its human rights activities
Since this year’s ruling on April 9, Memorial has announced that it will have to suspend all activities in Russia but will continue its activities abroad. It has blocked the sharing and commenting of posts on social media. All supporters in Russia have been urged to follow the safety guidelines published on Memorial’s website.
Although the court has used the term “international social movement” to describe Memorial and this does not actually exist as such, all people, associations and organizations associated with the NGO could now be at risk. Memorial has called on people in Russia to not make any donations, to remove any logos and links on social media, and to delete any compromising content on all digital devices. It warned that people could draw attention from law enforcement agencies even by subscribing to Memorial channels.
It also said that though the risks outside Russia were not as high, people could still be subject to persecution abroad. Nonetheless, it said it would continue its work to protect human rights and preserve historical memory. Politzek — voices that defy the KremlinTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
Nobel Committee: ‘Affront to fundamental values of human dignity’
Earlier this week, the chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee Jorgen Watne Frydnes said that to designate Memorial as “extremist” was “an affront to the fundamental values of human dignity and freedom of expression.”
On his Telegram channel, the Russian political scientist Aleksandr Kynev wrote that the persecution of Memorial marked a new level of repression in Russia. He added that the new status of the organization would allow the authorities to target even ordinary employees.
Davidis pointed out that Memorial did not have a unified, centralized structure, but constituted a broad network of different groups. He said that people continued to be interested in political repression, both in the past and today. He said that the work of human rights activists had to continue despite the more difficult and risky circumstances.
Russian government strategy to suppress memory of Soviet crimes
According to Irina Sherbakova, a co-founding member of Memorial, the latest move against the organization is part of the Russian government’s overall strategy. She explained that it was in keeping with the closure of the Moscow-based Gulag History Museum in 2024, the systematic removal of commemorative plaques installed by the Last Address memorial project, the restrictions on access to official archives and the amendment to the official concept for commemorating victims of political repression, from which the mention of mass repression and later mass rehabilitation has been removed.Irina Sherbakova co-founded Memorial. She now lives in GermanyImage: dts-Agentur/picture alliance
Sherbakova said that these measures were all aimed at controlling the collective memory of Soviet repression and human rights work today: “This is part of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s ideology, which is becoming increasingly ultranationalist.”
Human rights activist Anna Karetnikova agreed, and pointed out that the initiative to persecute Memorial went back to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), which succeeded the Soviet secret service, the KGB, itself preceded by the NKVD. She said that the FSB viewed Memorial’s efforts to preserve the memory of Soviet repression and support of political prisoners today as a thorn in its side. She said that Memorial’s new status would lay the path for more criminal proceedings and increase pressure on civil society.
This article was originally published in Russian.
What’s really behind ‘foreign agent’ laws? To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
#Russian #Memorial #human #rights #NGO #labeled #extremist](https://i1.wp.com/static.dw.com/image/76090686_6.jpg?ssl=1 "Russian Memorial human rights NGO labeled ‘extremist’Russia’s Supreme Court announced on Telegram on April 9 that the activities of human rights organization Memorial were now banned throughout the country. This came after a closed-door hearing that was treated as “top secret.” Media representatives and diplomats from Germany, Sweden, the Czech Republic and France were only allowed to attend the announcement of the ruling, which sparked strong reactions internationally.
The Nobel Committee, which awarded the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize to Memorial, condemned the court’s decision. The European Union delegation to Russia described the ruling as a “politically motivated blow to civil society in Russia.” The diplomats pointed out that the Russian state itself had “not only officially recognized Memorial’s merits but also provided direct support, and members of the organization served on the Human Rights Council for many years.”The Supreme Court hearing took place behind closed doorsImage: Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo/picture alliance
Russian Supreme Court keeps wording deliberately vague
Lawyers for Memorial pointed out that the Supreme Court had classified the “International Public Movement Memorial” as “extremist,” but they pointed out that no organization of this name existed and had not been registered either in Russia or elsewhere.
They told DW that the wording had probably been kept deliberately vague to create a legal basis for potential repression against any Memorial structures, as well as their members and supporters. “The Justice Ministry’s action itself remained secret, and the organization’s representatives were barred from attending the hearing,” Sergei Davidis, the head of Memorial’s political prisoners support program, told DW.
He also stressed that in light of growing public dissatisfaction with the Russian government, the state was attempting to eliminate independent and reputable sources of information that could foster solidarity and networking in Russian society.
Memorial documents Soviet repression and the Gulag system
The international society Memorial was founded in 1987 and went on to become the leading independent organization dedicated to documenting Soviet-era repression in Russia. Its archives contain tens of thousands of documents about the victims of Soviet repression, including thousands of memoirs, hundreds of personal collections, as well as a wealth of material from researchers on the history of the gulags, the system of labor camps that was a major instrument of political repression in the Soviet era, and other human rights violations.
According to the independent online media outlet Mediazona, the authorities could now lay claim to the archive as the “property of an extremist organization.” In 2023, the head of the Perm NGO Center of Historical Memory, Aleksandr Chernyshov, was arrested after allegedly trying to smuggle archival documents from Russia to Germany.
The persecution of the Russian branch of Memorial began in 2014 when it was placed on a list of “foreign agents” by the Russian Justice Ministry. This status was later extended to the organization’s international branch, which required all publications and reports to be labeled accordingly. In case of non-compliance, there were fines and restrictions on Memorial’s activities.
In 2021, the Supreme Court ordered the dissolution of Memorial International for “repeated” and “gross” violations of Russia’s foreign agent laws. Memorial was also accused of depicting a false image of the Soviet Union.
Pressure continued to mount in March 2023, when the homes and offices of nine Memorial staff members, including Oleg Orlov and Yan Rachinsky, were subjected to searches as part of a targeted campaign against independent human rights organizations. The same year, Orlov was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for “discrediting” the army. He was released with other political prisoners as part of a prisoner exchange in August 2024 and has since been living in Germany.
Memorial will continue its human rights activities
Since this year’s ruling on April 9, Memorial has announced that it will have to suspend all activities in Russia but will continue its activities abroad. It has blocked the sharing and commenting of posts on social media. All supporters in Russia have been urged to follow the safety guidelines published on Memorial’s website.
Although the court has used the term “international social movement” to describe Memorial and this does not actually exist as such, all people, associations and organizations associated with the NGO could now be at risk. Memorial has called on people in Russia to not make any donations, to remove any logos and links on social media, and to delete any compromising content on all digital devices. It warned that people could draw attention from law enforcement agencies even by subscribing to Memorial channels.
It also said that though the risks outside Russia were not as high, people could still be subject to persecution abroad. Nonetheless, it said it would continue its work to protect human rights and preserve historical memory. Politzek — voices that defy the KremlinTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
Nobel Committee: ‘Affront to fundamental values of human dignity’
Earlier this week, the chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee Jorgen Watne Frydnes said that to designate Memorial as “extremist” was “an affront to the fundamental values of human dignity and freedom of expression.”
On his Telegram channel, the Russian political scientist Aleksandr Kynev wrote that the persecution of Memorial marked a new level of repression in Russia. He added that the new status of the organization would allow the authorities to target even ordinary employees.
Davidis pointed out that Memorial did not have a unified, centralized structure, but constituted a broad network of different groups. He said that people continued to be interested in political repression, both in the past and today. He said that the work of human rights activists had to continue despite the more difficult and risky circumstances.
Russian government strategy to suppress memory of Soviet crimes
According to Irina Sherbakova, a co-founding member of Memorial, the latest move against the organization is part of the Russian government’s overall strategy. She explained that it was in keeping with the closure of the Moscow-based Gulag History Museum in 2024, the systematic removal of commemorative plaques installed by the Last Address memorial project, the restrictions on access to official archives and the amendment to the official concept for commemorating victims of political repression, from which the mention of mass repression and later mass rehabilitation has been removed.Irina Sherbakova co-founded Memorial. She now lives in GermanyImage: dts-Agentur/picture alliance
Sherbakova said that these measures were all aimed at controlling the collective memory of Soviet repression and human rights work today: “This is part of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s ideology, which is becoming increasingly ultranationalist.”
Human rights activist Anna Karetnikova agreed, and pointed out that the initiative to persecute Memorial went back to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), which succeeded the Soviet secret service, the KGB, itself preceded by the NKVD. She said that the FSB viewed Memorial’s efforts to preserve the memory of Soviet repression and support of political prisoners today as a thorn in its side. She said that Memorial’s new status would lay the path for more criminal proceedings and increase pressure on civil society.
This article was originally published in Russian.
What’s really behind ‘foreign agent’ laws? To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
#Russian #Memorial #human #rights #NGO #labeled #extremist")
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