Apr 28

Say “NO” to Assisted Suicide in New York

PRESS RELEASE

 SUBJECT: Bill S.138-Hoylman-Sigal/A.136-Paulin, Medical Aid in Dying Act
FROM: Rev. Bill Banuchi, Executive Director
CONTACT: Phone:  (845) 561-9499 Email: bill@nyfaithandfreedom.com

The New York Faith & Freedom Coalition, representing New Yorkers of faith from Buffalo to Montauk, encourages New York Assembly representatives and State Senators to do all they can to prevent this evil legislation from going to the Governor’s desk for signature. If it does find its way to Gov. Hochul’s desk we encourage the Governor to veto it immediately.

Our State Government must work above all else, to protect life rather than aid anyone to die. State government must not become a killing machine. There is clear evidence as one looks at the way this law has expanded in other countries, and even in other states, such as Oregon, to demonstrate that it will eventually become a tool to help save money by terminating the lives of the sick, and even those suffering from mental disorders. In Canada, the Trudeau government even tried to convince veteran and paralympian Christine Gauthier to commit suicide, simply because the Veterans’ Affairs department didn’t want to install a wheelchair ramp at her house.  We must not go there. We must not become “the execution state.”

The New York Faith & Freedom Coalition encourages all people of faith to monitor this issue and hold every person accountable who would be complicit in advancing this evil legislation.

 

Jan 19

GOD ANSWERED OUR PRAYERS—NOW WHAT?

God has answered our prayers for new leadership in Washington D.C. with the election of Donald J. Trump, but now what? What are God’s marching orders for His Church from this point forward? First of all, new doors will be opened for believers to advance the Kingdom of God in the public arena in 2025. Pastors and Christian leaders must take up their positions as leaders to “rule” or “take dominion” as commanded by God in Genesis 2:26. If the clergy won’t lead, God will raise up others to lead for “such a time as this.” How can you faithfully serve?

1. Continue in fervent prayer of repentance as per 2 Chronicles 7:14. That’s the formula.

2. Join and be active in a local fellowship—an ekklesia—that is devoted to God and to spreading the Gospel everywhere, and to every institution in our nation and beyond. If the fellowship you currently belong to does not teach or preach the stewardship of civic government encourage them to do so. If they refuse, I would encourage you to find a fellowship that believes in preaching the full Gospel, including the stewardship and Lordship of Christ in our politics and government.

3. Be educated and motivated about our God-given rights, and how to best secure those rights for our posterity.

”my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.”—Hosea 4:6,
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”—2 Tim. 2:15

4. Act. Go to the front lines where the battle is being fought. That’s at the local school board meeting, the town council, the local political party meeting and wherever else citizens gather to make decisions that impact our families and our liberties. Half the battle is simply about showing up.

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations… and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”—Matthew 28:19-20

5. Be willing to demonstrate your love for God and your country by sacrificing your time, your resources, or perhaps your career,  if God is calling you to serve in the arena of government and politics.

God, in His mercy, is giving us one more chance to exercise faithful stewardship of the greatest country on the Earth. How will we respond? America’s redemption will be a cooperative effort between us and God. We don’t have the power to save America—God does, but God doesn’t have the choice to save America—we do. So, as we make the right choices, God will provide the power, and for the sake of our posterity we will see America, once again, “One Nation Under God!”

Jul 09

What This Next Election is Really About

There is much to-do about the Kamal Harris-Tim Walz ticket and the Donald Trump-J.D. Vance ticket as we look forward to this next election, but there is a greater dynamic at play than these four personalities. There is the governing philosophy they represent. There has never been such a difference between the two political parties, even considering the time when their differences sparked a Civil War.

The Democrat Party advances the idea that government has the solution to all our problems. Very much like a typical business enterprise, they seek to grow “the business of government” by growing their customer base to increase their ability to exert power. They offer the promise of security, but fail to tell you that the cost will be freedom. It is, as Ben Franklin taught us, those who would give up liberty for security will deserve neither. The logical end of that governing philosophy will be total government control for the empty promise of total security. History calls that communism. A study of world history teaches us that the result is  a society where a few elite become very wealthy while the masses endure poverty–equally!  If there was ever any question about this being the Democrat driving force, all one has to do is to look at Kamala’s Vice President pick-an avowed Socialist with a demonstrated allegiance to the Chinese Communist  Party.

On the other hand, the Republican Party recognizes that, as Ronald Reagan told us, government doesn’t fix the problem; government is the problem. The Republican philosophy of government promotes increased liberty and minimal government control. Thomas Jefferson told us that,

“…a wise and frugal government which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them free otherwise to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned.”

In other words, the Republican governing philosophy is to promote and safeguard the freedom for citizens to fulfill their potential and achieve their highest goals with protection from the government, but not control. This is Capitalism.

In all fairness, both governing philosophies lead to failure when corruption runs rampant. The strong will always take advantage of the weak, and that is why the best system, the one that has produced the greatest, most prosperous and most free society in world history is Capitalism when practiced by people with a Judeo-Christian ethic, people who will do to others only as they would have them do to them, and will have a sense of obligation to take care of the poor and needy, and the less advantaged.

And so, it is not enough to advocate for Capitalism, if we do not also advocate for a Biblical worldview that puts all on trial for how we relate to one another. Our national mottos, “In God We Trust,” and “One Nation Under God” must become, once again, the north star of our public policy debates and actions. That is how we make “America Great Again.”

If America chooses the Democrat platform we will see the end of prosperity and liberty. If America chooses the Republican platform, that will provide the opportunity to continue to build that “more perfect union.” Be informed; vote your conscience. Know what’s at stake.

Apr 24

No More Equivocation!

Rev. Bill Banuchi

“But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve,… whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amornti-Aites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”—Joshua 24:15

The chaos currently seen on American Universities, fueled by anti-Americanism is yet one more manifestation of the clear polarization of our politics. This is not a polarization of our nation, but rather a polarization of political and governmental leaders, and it must be called out for what it is—good vs. evil.

The American left—not liberals, but leftists—are driven by demonic powers, and those under its influence are either consciously, or unconsciously, being controlled by a demonic puppet master whose mission is to destroy our democratic republic, and replace it with its own authoritarian control. Most of the young people seen demonstrating in defense of Hamas’s barbarism have absolutely no clue about who is pulling their strings. Like the western sympathizers of the Bolshevik revolution that brought Lenin into power they have become “useful idiots,” useful to the cause, because they unwittingly promote a demonically-driven agenda without understanding the dire consequences of their actions. They demonstrate to eliminate the very freedoms they exercise. Go figure. They want to cut off the very branch they sit on. They would be pitied if they weren’t so dangerous to the cause of liberty.

There can be no more equivocation by Americans who believe there is a God in Heaven who governs in the affairs of men and nations. It’s a binary choice: Good vs. Evil; God vs. Satan! Christians who have any understanding of the Bible know that this is not a political issue, but rather a spiritual one. Satan has always risen up to attempt to dethrone the God of the universe. What we see going on in our nation is simply the latest manifestation of that same satanic aggression that would bring America under demonic control like most of the nations of the world. We would no longer be an “exceptional” nation, but just one more among the many where liberty, peace and prosperity is just a pipedream.

Unfortunately, the Democrat Party has succumbed to that demonic control. It must be defeated or we will lose this nation. This is not exaggeration. The peace and prosperity we enjoy in this nation is the exception, not the rule. Those who protest American values take those values for granted, leaving them open to brainwashing—rather brain-polluting. If they succeed they will find friendship in hell with those French revolutionaries who found themselves victims of their own guillotines. Today’s college students should be learning from world history, not repeating it.

Regardless of what one may think of Donald Trump’s personality, he is the man who I believe God is using to bring our nation back to Him and preserving us for yet another generation. It is a binary choice—Good or evil.  Every pastor and Christian leader must teach and encourage those under their tutelage to pray for Donald Trump, and do all they can to elect him in November for our next President. If we fail, God will hold us accountable; so will our children and our grandchildren who will curse us for losing the gift of liberty that our parents passed on to us. Let it never be!

 

Jan 29

LET’S WIN THE DEBATE – ABORTION IS CHILD-SACRIFICE

A Case for Reclaiming the Language

Here we are in 2024 preparing for the most consequential presidential election of our lifetime, and ungodly Democrats are actually planning on using abortion as one of the issues they believe will help them win the presidency. How far have we fallen as a nation that abortion—the killing of an innocent human baby—can actually be thought of as a selling point for a major political party! More importantly, how can we win the argument to preserve the sanctity of life for the benefit of our posterity and the preservation of the blessings of liberty? Nothing less than the choice between liberty and tyranny hangs in the balance.

We must reclaim the language. Whoever defines the terms will win the argument. We have allowed the left to define the argument as one over “abortion.” The word, “abortion” speaks of the rights of the woman, and no one wants to deny women of their “reproductive rights”; that’s understandable, but it says nothing of the rights of the child in the womb. If we’re going to win the argument for the hearts and minds of Americans, we have to change the language to focus on the life and the rights of the baby in the womb. We must call it for what it is: “child-sacrifice.” That is not hyperbole or exaggeration. It is, in fact, what abortion is; it is the sacrificing of a baby for the “choice” of another. We must change the subject of the debate from the woman to the baby. In the present debate over abortion, the happiness of the woman is preferred over the life of the baby. Most reasonable Americans will agree, that ought not to be the case. We can win that argument. Child sacrifice must be unacceptable in modern-day America.

It will take bold public leaders to change the terms of the debate. Yes, the left will push back, but we must be firm knowing that truth is on our side. It is, in fact, the sacrifice of a child for the choice of another. No longer should we use the word, “abortion,” but rather use the term describing what it is: “child-sacrifice.” We will win that debate.

Let’s win the debate. For the benefit of the yet unborn, the continued greatness of our nation, and ultimately, for the glory of God!

Jan 05

Word for 2024

First, a recap of 2023 – In short, it was a year of sifting; of separating the wheat from the chaff, identifying the real warriors, while exposing the cowardly pretenders who name the Name, but will not count the cost of discipleship.
John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus at his first coming and that same spirit is here today to prepare the way for His second coming. In Matthew 3:11 he told us,

“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with[c] the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

And in Hebrews 4:12 we read,
“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

You see, the word of God separates the wheat from the chaff, the Soul and the Spirit.
This illustrates what I call a “threshold of carnality,” that point at which one crosses from the spiritual, and responds or reacts in the natural. When I began pastoral ministry many years ago, I was part of a liberal denomination where there was a very low threshold of carnality. Almost everything was done in the natural. When God promoted me to a pentecostal fellowship, I found the threshold of carnality was much higher. Much more was operating by the Spirit, but there was still a threshold, a point at which they would leave the Spirit and act in the flesh.

The apostle Paul warned the Galatian believers about beginning in the Spirit and yet falling to the flesh, preferring human reason above the Word and Spirit of God.

When the Bible talks about separating the joint and marrow it speaks of relationships where people, like bones, come together. What keeps us together is the marrow of our relationships, and that ought to be the very blood of Jesus.
Marrow produces red blood cells to carry oxygen to bring life to the Body, as well as white cells to fight off infection calling out error and corruption in the Church, and ultimately, it produces platelets to stop the bleeding, and facilitate healing. These same characteristics should describe our relationships in the Church. Our relationships must be founded upon the blood of Jesus, and not some mutual use agreement that serves nothing more than personal interest. We must be kingdom-minded.

The Word of God judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Men judge by outside appearances. I find it interesting that we tend to judge others by their actions, but we judge ourselves by our intentions, and of course, we never intend to sin, do we? But I digress…

Yes, in 2023 we saw much separating wheat from chaff, and much of it was disappointing, but nevertheless it was necessary to bring things into the light where we have true fellowship. You know, when the tube is squeezed what’s inside comes out. In 2023 the tube was squeezed, and we saw what came out. It wasn’t always pretty, but it was necessary to bring it into the light where the blood of Jesus cleanses us of all sin and we have fellowship-genuine fellowship-one with another.
And alas! God’s not finished.

Now Looking forward to 2024. Here are the bullet points:

• Pursue Integrity,
• Seek Unity,
• Advance the Kingdom

1 – Pursue Integrity, personal, holiness, virtue. Give Satan no cause for accusation.
We must make “virtue” cool again. If we’re going to run the race in 24, we must throw off the sin that so easily entangles, paralyzes and cause us to shrink back from the battle because of our own insecurity, caused by the self-awareness of our continual sin and our refusal to repent. Remember, John the Baptist baptized with water, but only Jesus can baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire to burn away everything that displeases the Father and gives Satan cause to accuse you before the throne. If you are not yet baptized in the Spirit you will need it in the New Year.

2 –Establish Unity – Seek fellowship with other Christians of other churches, and expressions of the faith. I find it interesting that pastors who swear to never get political, often will only fellowship with pastors of their own denomination or expression of faith. That, my friend, is the very essence of being political, and Paul counts it among the other sins of our sinful nature like sexual immorality, idolatry, witchcraft, and so on. Christian leaders who refuse to build relationships with other Christian leaders in their community are leading the present-day apostasy, falling away from the pure doctrines of the Gospel. Christians must not isolate. The love of God is a compelling force to bring believers together in the Name of Jesus. Where brethren dwell together, there is where the blessing and the power of the Lord is to be found. Living waters can only flow where there are channels of relationship. Pastors must lead the way.

3- Advance the Kingdom
Get involved in local politics and government.
“Where the righteous rule the people rejoice; where the wicked rule the people groan.” (Prov. 29:2). There is too much groaning in our nation.

The prophet Amos warns us about becoming complacent in Zion lest we experience the same judgment that came upon God’s chosen people. They lost their nation!

In Matthew. 16:18 Jesus tells Peter, “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”
The gates of Hades are stationary, the status quo of this world. It’s up to the Church, the Ekklesia, to advance to take back dominion of this earth entrusted to us.

“And from the time John the Baptist began preaching until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing, and violent people are attacking it.” –Matthew 11:12:

If you’re not being attacked, or at least encountering resistance, I would question whether or not you’re even in the fight. But know this, our weapons are not the weapons of this world; No, it is perfect love that drives out all fear (1 John 4:18) It is God’s perfect love that wins the day. It’s by the love that we have for one another that the world will know we are His disciples. It is in that love that your children will see Jesus.
So get involved in local politics and government. Be the salt of the earth and the light of the world, not the salt in the Church and the light in your prayer closet. Make a difference.
Where the righteous rule the people rejoice; where the wicked rule the people groan. (Prov. 29:2). Let’s see the groaning turn to rejoicing.

So, to recap: 1) Pursue integrity, 2) Seek Unity 3)Advance the Kingdom

Will I see America saved? I don’t know. This I do know: Duty is mine; results are God’s. Let’s do our duty In 2024 for the benefit of our posterity and the glory of God.

Please spread this word however you can, and I can be of further help don’t hesitate to call.