Living in the Daze of Deception

FOREWORD by Mike Pompeo
Sometimes, simple truths told directly, humbly, and with love can affect lives. Pastor Hibbs’s timely work will do that.
 
I opened my remarks to the American University of Cairo in Egypt on January 10, 2019 with three simple, declarative sentences: “I’m Mike Pompeo. I’m America’s Secretary of State. And I am an evangelical Christian.”  It’s an understatement to say it is rare to hear a United States Secretary of State proclaim his faith in such a setting. My own team strongly opposed me saying it. The New York Times, the flagship of the mainstream media, declared my remarks had sparked a “revolt” at the university. But these words were both true and important. They needed to be said so that America’s adversaries and allies would know my worldview and how I would approach threats to the American people. The central ideas pastor Jack details in this book make it clear that we should approach the threats to our souls and our faith with equal directness.
 
Over the ensuing 1,000 days that I served as America’s Secretary of State, I always made it my mission to clearly understand the problem, call it out by name, and develop strategic and concrete approaches to fixing it. From China to North Korea to Iran and so many others, we took the same approach: Be honest about the problem with yourself and the American people, and work hard to find a solution. Too often, Washington politicians tiptoe around issues, afraid to offend someone or some group. But solving a problem always begins with understanding reality. In this book, pastor Jack uses the same approach to provide Christians with a clear view of the world and how we must respond.
 
Today, America faces no greater external, earthly threat than the Chinese Communist Party, an atheistic governing body that seeks total subservience from its own people and total deference from other nations. I saw it up close and personal as Secretary of State: This regime has no respect for human rights because it has no respect for human life; indeed, the only thing that matters to the CCP is the continuation of its power. China absolutely seeks to remake the world so that its model of tyranny can prosper. The CCP wants humanity to live in their fog, their daze. Pastor Jack correctly points us toward the deception of our adversaries, via propaganda, and the deception of our leaders by controlling the flow of information so they can advance their agendas. The consequences of such tyranny for Christians—indeed, for all of humanity—can be truly terrible and wicked.
 
If the United States is to face down its challenges—as it did with Communist Russia—we will need the moral witness of Christianity. We will need a strong, vibrant church that is prepared to remind Americans of the foundations of our freedom, which undoubtedly flow from the Judeo-Christian understanding that we are all created in God’s image and are therefore endowed with “certain inalienable rights.” 
 
Yet Western nations—originally the defenders of the Christian faith—are working to remove faith from their societies entirely, something pastor Jack describes in detail in the pages ahead. Today, we are told to place our faith not in God, but in grievance, victimhood, and tribalism. We are told there is no such thing as God, truth, or good and evil. The true threat to America and all free people lies in this ideology.
Pastor Jack gets it exactly right: If we lose our faith as a nation, we will not survive. We will lack the courage and certainty necessary to confront the CCP, and we will crumble from within.
 
As this book makes clear, though, now is not the time to despair. Evil is a fact of life, and it always has been. Rather than appease or compromise, we must meet evil today in the same manner as the apostle Paul instructed the church in Ephesus: “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.”
 
In Living in the Daze of Deception, Pastor Jack outlines for all believers how we can do this: by faithfully trusting in Jesus, proclaiming Him as our Savior, and following Scripture.
 
Without Christ, I know that I would be lost. My walk with Him began many years ago at the United States Military Academy at West Point after I was invited to a Bible study led by two upper-class cadets. Though much in the world has changed since then, my faith has remained an indispensable light and my surest support: Through my service in the military, running two small businesses, serving in Congress, and dealing with the challenges facing America as CIA Director and Secretary of State, I have been able to persevere only through God’s grace.
 
If we have faith, God will work in surprising and wonderful ways to continually prepare us to meet the challenges ahead. I know I would have never possessed the courage to proclaim my faith in Cairo had I not first been blessed years before with the chance to share it with a room full of precocious, rowdy fifth graders while teaching a Sunday school session with my wife, Susan, at Eastminster Presbyterian in Wichita, Kansas. This proved doubly beneficial too: My role often encompassed keeping the boys in their seats—this was the best preparation for a career in international diplomacy! 
 
I share pastor Jack’s faith and optimism. Jesus Christ overcame our sin and all sin, forever. He overcame death. Through Him, I know we can overcome the wickedness we face today.
 
Be unapologetic; be unyielding. Always approach, in love, those who persecute you. Christ can truly change hearts, and it is for this reason that I know you will find this book as encouraging as I did.
 
God bless you, and always keep your faith.
—Mike Pompeo