Weekly Articles

This last week I was taken aback by some old photographs my wife had unpacked while moving old boxes around.  One in particular cut right to my heart; it was a picture of my oldest daughter at around eighteen months old.  The expression of the child in the photo brought back a flood of memories, from her quick thievery of the toppings her mother and I would prepare for homemade pizza (green pepper slices were her favorites) to the mundane errands she and I would run together.  The discussion of the photos grew in scope as we reminisced about our other daughters and joyfully compared the three distinct personalities.  We talked about the changes that have taken place over the last nine and a half years of our marriage, and about how many more were ahead of us.  The conversation ended with our wish that those moments had not passed; but of course they had to, or we would never have had the next moments.  We are limited, because time does not heed our call.

Time flows in one direction.  Yes, I know what some scientists say, about time going in both directions (forwards and backwards), and possibly even other directions.  But really, in flows in only one direction for us:  forwards.  None of us experience time in any way other than looking backward in our past but moving inexorably forward into our future.  This is by design, not by accident, just as our awareness of this fact is by that same design.

I have seen the burden God has laid on men.  He has made everything beautiful in its time.  He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.  I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live.  That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God.  I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him.  (Ecclesiastes 3:10-14 NIV)

God, by design, set eternity in our hearts, and then caused the work of his hands to be permanent and the work of ours to be temporary.  Why?  So that we would revere him!

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  (Genesis 1:1 NIV)

God’s word starts with the phrase, “In the beginning,” implying that there was nothing before this point other than God; there was no space and no time.  Time is often referred to as a river, flowing on in one direction and sweeping past events.  But it could also be viewed as a building, with each floor being built on top of all those that came before.  If we view time in this way, then the “In the beginning” phrase is the ground floor upon which all of the time since has been built.

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city.  On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month.  And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.  No longer will there be any curse.  The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.  They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.  There will be no more night.  They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light.  And they will reign for ever and ever.  (Revelation 22:1-5 NIV)

Looking at the end of the Bible, we see the preview that God gives us of what our life will be like after time.  Currently, we struggle against the forces of darkness and we struggle against our own dark hearts; but there we will walk fully and completely in the light!  And tied to this is the reality of eternity that is expressed as “for ever and ever.”  You see, for all of those moments of joy with my daughter that I can re-live only in memory, my existence there will be complete and not a series of events being swept away by time.  Eternity has been set in our hearts not to frustrate us, but to liberate us from fear:  God is planning greatness for you and I!

-Charles Peterson

I saw a television show last night which made me think about my relationship with God.  In this episode, two characters had managed to sneak into a very exclusive party attended by the super-rich and the super-beautiful.  When they first entered the enormous main room, one character remarked to the other, “this is where God would party,” to which the other character replied “if he could get in.”  This statement was meant as a cute way to indicate the exclusivity of the situation in which the two characters found themselves, but it did something else as well (at least it did for me).  It raised the question:  do we desire to go places and do things where there is no room for God?

I had to think about what God has done for me:  creating, nurturing, protecting, guiding, and blessing my life in many ways.  As said in the Psalms:

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  (Psalm 139:13 NIV)

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.  He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.  He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.  You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.  You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.  Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.  (Psalm 23 NIV)

No matter where I have gone, God has always stood by me – not always pleased, but always protecting.  In fact, God has even conquered death for me!  So, to my shame, what have I done for God?  Nothing!  There is no claim I can make for glory about my deeds; there is no profit for God in my life.  I am a beggar, coming to the Master asking for the barest of sustenance and I am instead received as a long-lost son, picked up and dressed in the finest of clothes with a ring on my finger and a celebration planned in honor of my return to the family!

So, in view of this situation, where am I going to take God?  I have these new clothes – where should I go?  I have been welcomed back into the family of God – with whom should I “hang out”?  A recovering alcoholic should stay away from bars and a recovering gambling-addict should stay away from casinos.  Recovering sinners should avoid sinning!  If God is not welcome in places to which I am going, I need to question why I am going there.  That doesn’t mean I cannot go (for instance, if the place I have to work at is hostile to God), it just means I have to make sure that I keep God close in my heart and constantly in my mind when I am there.  But if I am going to a place for my own entertainment, I should not be ashamed in front of God to be there.  If I am, then that is a place (or activity) to which I should not go.

We can forsake God, after we have known him.  But it is never a good thing (and sometimes it is eternally fatal)!  Look at three examples:  Peter, Paul, and Judas.  Peter knew Jesus more intimately that any other disciple except possibly John.  But in the confusion of the revelations at the Last Supper, the arrest in the Garden, and the trials of that night, Peter forsook God because of fear and exhaustion.  Saul (Paul) was a devout Jew, raised with the best education in the Law, Prophets, and traditions.  But in his zeal to stamp out a heretical sect, he forsook God because of inability to accept that he and his teachers were wrong.  Judas saw the miracles of Jesus and witnessed God bringing the messiah out into the public view.  But he forsook God because of his desire for money and the trappings of this world; he rejected the living god for thirty cold pieces of silver and received a lonely death.

Don’t forsake God!  It will always lead to pain and heartache, and can even lead to eternal death!  Choose carefully if you are going to be a Christian, or someone who goes to church and lives your real life away from Godly things.  God has chosen you; make sure that you choose him too!

-Charles Peterson

In 2008 over 614,000 people under age eighteen were reported missing to the FBI’s National Crime Information Center (NCIC).  This total includes runaway, abducted, and abandoned children.  Many agencies and organizations exist to try to remedy this situation and rescue these children including the FBI and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which has been successful in recovering over 138,000 children since 1984 according to their website (www.missingkids.com).

This is a situation that tears at our hearts.  Our popular culture is filled with references to this subject in movies, television episodes, songs, and books.  We establish special law enforcement and judicial procedures such as “Amber Alerts” and “Megan’s Law”.  Pictures are posted on milk containers and sent in the mail on postcards advertisements.  The loss of a child causes disruption throughout a community not due to a loss of production or the value of that child’s labor; it causes disruption because normal people cannot abide the thought of a child being lost or abducted.  We are made to place the well-being of children ahead of our own.

I cannot imagine the despair and hopelessness that is a daily reality for many runaways, abductees, and other missing children.  I can only imagine in my nightmares what the parents of many of those children are going through.  But there is one who knows exactly what they are living through, and it is he who took action.

Jesus continued:  “There was a man who had two sons.  The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’  So he divided his property between them.  Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living … When he came to his senses … he got up and went to his father.  But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.  The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’  But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick!  Bring the best robe and put it on him.  Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.  Bring the fattened calf and kill it.  Let’s have a feast and celebrate.  For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’  So they began to celebrate.  Meanwhile, the older son was in the field.  When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing …  The older brother became angry and refused to go in.  So his father went out and pleaded with him.  But he answered his father, ‘Look!  All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders.  Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends.  But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’  ‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.  But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ “  (Luke 15:11-32 NIV, excerpted)

Each one of us was a missing child of God, exploited by Satan and the world.  Apart from God we led lives of desperation, fear, and hopelessness.  We were helpless to change the situation, but God was not!  He sent his son Jesus to suffer and die in our place so that we could be rescued and brought back to the family of God.

Pray for those children who are missing.  Pray that God will deliver them back to loving families.  Realize as well that those who live apart from God are in that same state.  Pray that God will bring them back into the family of God.  This world is a world of despair and exploitation.  But God is the God of the lost and found.

-Charles Peterson

Over the past couple weeks I was driving a little further during morning rush hour, which left me time for the morning “news and views” as they are described on a local D.C. radio show.  The show featured a variety of topics, and thus a variety of viewpoints from the callers.  In addition to either agreeing with the caller or thinking they were a few sandwiches shy of a picnic, I was stunned at the perspective of many of the callers.

For example, former NFL star Michael Vick was released from prison, having been sentenced to twenty-three months for his dog-fighting operation.  The vehemence with which callers expressed outrage that he was even out of prison, but also that he could potentially go back to playing professional football.  When hearing these calls, I was reminded of when the story about what he was doing to the dogs first broke; there were many who were calling for him to be locked up for decades to life.

Now, it was quite disturbing to me to read the accounts of what went on with the dogs; normal people do not do such things.  But it caused me to wonder why so much outrage was shown towards someone who abused dogs in horrific manners, and yet many of these same people turn a blind eye to the millions of babies butchered in America (and yes, butchery is an apt depiction – read the accounts of how “abortions” are performed).  No, this is seen as a political or social argument between two “sides” that many cannot be bothered to decide between.  But don’t hurt the dogs.

There are many examples of this:  the people who burned Ken Lay (of Enron) in effigy for his theft and fraud, yet cannot seem to be concerned about the greed and corruption of their elected officials; the people who become quite active for causes centered on the environment, yet are blasé about the atheistic indoctrination of our school children.  It seems that I often find myself wondering what it takes to get people mad about certain things!

I then started to wonder:  is God frustrated with me in this same way?  Do I get mad about the things that he does?  Sure.  Of course.  After all, what is it that makes God mad?

“You shall have no other gods before me.  “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below … You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.  Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy … Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.  You shall not murder.  You shall not commit adultery.  You shall not steal.  You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.  You shall not covet your neighbor’s house … or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”  (Exodus 20:3-17 NIV)

There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him:  haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.  (Proverbs 6:16-19 NIV)

For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you.  They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord. / These men are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.  (Jude 4,16 NIV)

We do not think like God.  We have no basis upon which to make a judgment about God, except to accept that he is absolutely right (which means that we are wrong).  These are just a few of the many passages that reveal to us God’s character.  Man seeks to justify sin so that he can keep on sinning.  God sought to justify the sinner by condemning the sin and nailing it to the cross.

But just because God seeks to be reconciled with us does not mean that he is okay with our sin!  He is appalled at it!  He detests the corruption and filth of our lives here.  But he loves us enough that he sent Jesus to bleed for our cleansing.  So with all that he has gone through for our sakes, maybe we ought to get more in line with his character and get mad at sin.  Get mad at the evil that goes on in the world.  Get mad at the sin in your own life.  Mad enough that you get sick of it and rid your life of it!

-Charles Peterson

One of the more destructive things to a marriage (or any relationship, for that matter) is when one person takes for granted that they are central to their spouse’s life and are, in fact irreplaceable.  R&B Singer Beyoncé sang Irreplaceable, a song about a woman who has a man for whom she did everything (bought cars, clothes, jewelry, etc), and who in turn used what she did for him to pick up other women.  The point of the song is summed up in a few lines (I separated the lines with “ / “, and excerpted the important content):

Everything you own in the box to the left / In the closet, that’s my stuff / Yes, if I bought it, then please don’t touch / And keep talking that mess, that’s fine / Could you walk and talk, at the same time? / And its my name that’s on that jag / So go move your bags, let me call you a cab / Standing in the front yard, telling me / How I’m such a fool, talking ’bout / How I’ll never ever find a man like you / … / You must not know ’bout me / I can have another you by tomorrow / So don’t you ever for a second get to thinkin’ / You’re irreplaceable  (Knowles, et al., 2006)

You can, I suspect, get the impression that this guy is an arrogant jerk for whom the relationship was only about pleasing himself.  No relationship that exists in this way is in any manner a healthy one; it certainly is not a Godly one.  Now this song is about an earthly, romantic relationship; but the concern raised applies to our relationship with God.

I clothed you with an embroidered dress and put leather sandals on you.  …  So you were adorned with gold and silver; your clothes were of fine linen and costly fabric and embroidered cloth.  Your food was fine flour, honey and olive oil. You became very beautiful and rose to be a queen.  And your fame spread among the nations on account of your beauty, because the splendor I had given you made your beauty perfect, declares the Sovereign LORD.  But you trusted in your beauty and used your fame to become a prostitute  …  You took some of your garments to make gaudy high places, where you carried on your prostitution.  …  And you took your embroidered clothes to put on them  …  Also the food I provided for you—the fine flour, olive oil and honey I gave you to eat—you offered as fragrant incense before them.  …  Was your prostitution not enough?  You slaughtered my children and sacrificed them to the idols.  (Excerpted from Ezekiel 16:10-21 NIV)

In this passage from Ezekiel, God declares that the Israelites were chosen from nowhere and given everything, but instead of appreciating God and being true to him, they turned away and used all of his blessings to gratify their desires with foreign idols and wickedness.  He then continues in the passage in telling them how he is going to punish them by turning them over to those evil nations they had chosen over him.  This is similar to what Jesus said to the Jews living in Jerusalem:

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!  Look, your house is left to you desolate.  I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’ “  (Luke 13:34-35 NIV)

God has always called out his people for rejecting him, and he has always made it known how long-suffering he is.  But there is a point at which God says “enough!”  This should not be the way the church acts!  The message for the church at Sardis is a great example of this:

Wake up!  Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God.  Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent.  But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.  (Revelation 3:2-3 NIV)

Just as the children of Israel were surprised when their enemies overtook them, and just as the Jews in Jerusalem were caught unawares by the turbulence that resulted in the destruction of that city, so too will Christians who try to straddle the fence between following Christ and belonging to the world be shocked by the disposition of their eternity.

God has never been less than absolutely faithful to us.  He demands from us the same commitment towards him.  As a person fallen and corrupted, I am totally replaceable; there is nothing that any of us do for God that he needs.  But as a redeemed son of the living God, I am so irreplaceable that he sent his only true son to die in my stead; God wants all of us to see him in this way – with gratitude and the love of complete dedication and exclusive devotion to him.  So the choice is ours:  do we depend on our useless efforts and walk in arrogance thinking that God somehow needs us?  Or do we become truly irreplaceable by surrendering our pride and approaching in humility and gratitude, knowing it is because he chose us that we belong to him?

-Charles Peterson

In the Church today there are few topics that are both more misunderstood and less difficult to understand than is the topic of giving.  We spend considerable amounts of time and attention on things that we feel are “weightier,” such as denominationalism, but we often shy away from talking about how much a member should give to the collection plate.  There are plenty of groups that practice tithing in one form or another, and we often use such phraseology as “in proportion with how we have been blessed.” 

But the Bible is fairly clear on the topic of giving – at least clear from God’s perspective.  The children of Israel were given specific amounts to tithe, but the New Testament deals with the topic differently for the Church.

There were no needy persons among them.  For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.  (Acts 4:34-35 NIV)

Now about the collection for God’s people:  Do what I told the Galatian churches to do.  On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.  (1 Corinthians 16:1-2 NIV)

Remember this:  whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.  Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.  And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.  As it is written:  “He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.”  Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.  You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.  (2 Corinthians 9:6-11 NIV)

These three passages I have chosen because they illustrate what should be our central themes in any message concerning the topic of giving:  it is supposed to be about the needs of the Church; it is supposed to be deliberate; it is supposed to be strictly voluntary.

Our giving is not based on God’s need, but rather on the needs of the Church; this point should be obvious to us:  God has no needs!  We cannot give to God in any way that will satisfy a need such as shelter, hunger, or support – God gives those things, he doesn’t need them!  The Church does have those needs, however, and so we give based on needs within the Church.

Our giving is not based on a momentary whim but should be deliberative and purposeful in nature, having been carefully thought out.  The admonishments given by Peter to Ananias and Sapphira should come to mind here!  Our contributions must be planned and accomplished with a purpose in mind other than peer pressure.

Our giving is not based on a desire to look good in front of the other members, but rather should come from a desire to give back out of the bounty given to us.  God wants our giving to come from a cheerful heart just like he wants our participation in the Body come from more than a desire to avoid hell!  We belong to Christ out of love for him who loved us first, and so we give to him who gave to us first.

“Will a man rob God?  Yet you rob me.  But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’  In tithes and offerings.  You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me.  Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.”  (Malachi 3:8-10 NIV)

This passage should underscore that while it is given to the Christian to decide what to give, it is appropriate to point out that the Christian should be giving.  After all, God has given us everything and asks for us to give ourselves back to him.  Are we setting up our treasure here on Earth or there with him?

-Charles Peterson

I read an article about a Cambodian minister named Christopher LaPel.  The article was titled “Is there anything God can’t forgive” (Mary Murphy, Purpose Driven Connection, 2009) and reported on LaPel’s work with a man named Hang Pin; Pin had run the Tuol Sleng prison and was responsible for the brutal murders of over 17,000 people in the 1970’s.  LaPel got involved with Pin in 1996, knowing him only as a school teacher (later he found out about Pin’s past).  The article discussed some of the controversy surrounding Pin, who is in prison being tried in court for his activities with the Khmer Rouge in the 1970’s; since 1996 Pin has been preaching and teaching the gospel (including while in prison).  Some feel that his actions since the Khmer Rouge were overthrown in 1979, especially his conversion to Christ, should in some way mitigate the charges against him (or at least weigh in at the sentencing).  Others feel that justice should be meted out, regardless of his behavior since or of his conversion.

There are a great many Christians that are confused about the nature of redemption and justice.  It seems that there are many who call themselves Christians who view the gospel message as a “wipe the slate clean” sort of message.   But is that really what happens to us by the redemptive power of Jesus?

All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written:  “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”  Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, “The righteous will live by faith.”  The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, “The man who does these things will live by them.”  Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”  He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.  (Galatians 3:10-14 NIV)

Here we see that Christ redeemed us from the “curse of the law”, referring to the previous quoting of Deuteronomy 27:26 (”Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law”).  This “curse of the law” was that if at any time you broke the law, you were forever condemned as a lawbreaker.  We therefore are given the blessing through faith in Jesus, not in observance of the law.  But this is dealing with our relationship with God, not our relationship with the civil authorities!

Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established.  The authorities that exist have been established by God.  Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.  For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong.  Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority?  Then do what is right and he will commend you.  For he is God’s servant to do you good.  But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing.  He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.  Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience.  This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing.  Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.  (Romans 13:1-7 NIV)

There is a difference between being redeemed from bondage to death through the law, and being punished by the government for having committed crimes.  Jesus has given us salvation, so that we need not any longer be slaves to a life of sin; but just because we are forgiven of our sins does not mean we are not responsible for them!  If I steal a car, I can be forgiven of the sin that I committed; but I still am guilty of the crime of grand larceny and will likely go to prison. 

Christians should not be lobbying to end the just punishment of criminals, nor should we be about the punishment or neglect of criminals – that’s what our government is for!  Rather we should spend our time reaching out to the prisoners so that they too can obtain redemption and forgiveness. 

-Charles Peterson

I ate a meal from a local Chinese restaurant last week; included, of course, was a fortune cookie.  The message contained within that simple but delicious folded cookie read “the eyes believe themselves, the ears believe other people.”   At first glance I took that to mean we should follow what we learn through listening to others more than by our own opinions; after I thought about for a few days, my readings in the Bible lead me to a different perspective.

Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the word of his servant?  Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.  But now, all you who light fires and provide yourselves with flaming torches, go, walk in the light of your fires and of the torches you have set ablaze.  This is what you shall receive from my hand:  You will lie down in torment.  (Isaiah 50:10-11 NIV)

How often have we heard someone say “God helps those who help themselves”?  Absolute rubbish!  In fact, Isaiah said exactly the opposite:  those who know they cannot help themselves and so turn to God for help are the ones that God helps.  It is by God’s power and might that we “live and move and have our being,” (Acts 17:28 NIV).  The reality is that all of us are in darkness in this life.  Some try to light their own way and go by their own wisdom; God says that reserved for them is torment.  But for those who trust in God, life awaits.

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned … For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.  And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  (Isaiah 9:2,6 NIV)

This passage tells us directly the identity of the “great light” that illuminates the way of life for those living in the darkness of this world of death:  Jesus Christ!  It is only by the light of Jesus that we can enter eternal life (hence Jesus is THE way).  Too many Christians soften the message and so cheat others of the chance to enter life from death.  Too many Christians want to appear “open-minded” and sophisticated, able to see the “many paths up the mountain”.  But they forget that treading up the mountain of God is a dangerous thing!

You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, because they could not bear what was commanded:  “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned.”  The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.”  But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God.  You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel … Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”  (Hebrews 12:18-24,28-29 NIV)

Those who walk in the darkness trying to light their own way, whether through false religion, corrupt philosophy, or dishonest science, will eventually come to the foot of the mountain of God and will perish in smoke and fire.  But those who put their trust in God will be led up the mountain into that “joyful assembly”.  Let the eyes believe themselves, and let the ears believe others.  But let the mind, heart, and soul believe in God!  And let’s make sure that our path is lit by Jesus.

-Charles Peterson

Recently, at a panel on censorship given to business leaders in China, action super-star Jackie Chan made some comments about freedom and the Chinese people.  “I’m not sure if it’s good to have freedom or not,” and “I’m gradually beginning to feel that we Chinese need to be controlled. If we’re not being controlled, we’ll just do what we want,” (Copyright © 2009 The Press Association).  It is obscenely ironic that a man who has been able to pursue his dreams and reap the benefits of freedom so casually advocates denying a billion people that same freedom.  But then again, why should this concern Christians?  Instead of liberty, shouldn’t I be writing about a spiritual topic?  I am:  freedom is absolutely a spiritual matter.

There is a common myth that the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States gives us rights and defines what rights the government cannot take away.  This is completely wrong.  In fact, those documents do not claim to be establishing rights, because the Founding Fathers did not believe that rights were established by man, but were rather bestowed on us by our Creator and therefore were inalienable by man. 

The Godless in this country believe that man, through the government that he has established, decides who gets what amount of freedom.  It is the same with the arrogant ones who claim that people do not know best how to spend their own money, so the government should take it and spend it as determined by bureaucrats.

The Godly, however, know that it is God who raises up governments in order to carry out his will.  Therefore the government that acts to set itself up as the highest power has set itself up against the Living God!  God has ordained liberty and freedom in the hearts of men precisely so that men will seek him.  Freedom is for everyone!

Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside.  He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.  He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom.  And he stood up to read.  The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:  “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”  Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down.  The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”  (Luke 4:14-21 NIV)

The message of Jesus is one of freedom and hope, not one of oppression and despair!  Too many Christians buy into the fascist line that “freedom is not for everybody,” meaning that what works in America won’t work elsewhere.  They back up their statement by pointing out that democracies around the globe often sink into corruption and poverty.  But you cannot compare those countries to the United States!  The other nations are founded on rule by many people as opposed to rule by a dictator.  The United States was founded on the Sovereignty of God.  Our founding documents clearly cite the authority from which their legitimacy is derived as being the Creator – meaning God!

Freedom is not chaos!  Freedom is the ability to choose, specifically the ability to choose to follow God.  Jackie Chan is wrong.  China is not the model to emulate; they persecute people for attempting to seek God.  But just as a reckoning is ordained for man, so too Governments will answer for their misdeeds; God has shown in the past his willingness to bring low a nation that rejects him.  We need to make sure that we do not mistake the world’s rejection of God as meaning that God’s freedom is not for everyone.  And we need to reject the liberal view that “we the people” is the source of our government’s authority.  God is sovereign – always has been, and always will be.  Let’s treat him as such; in our political choices, in our financial decisions, and most of all in our spiritual walk as we embrace his freedom.

-Charles Peterson

I caught part of a news segment in which a panel of guests were discussing the current economy, especially the causes of its woes and potential cures for its ailments.  One of the guests was a leader/advocate of the socialist party.  His comments were all to the point that individual profit is basically bad and that society’s welfare should be the primary goal for our political and economic policies.  This is a disturbingly common view in our country and, even more unsettling, within the church.  People seem to think that if you personally have something to gain from a given outcome then you are selfish and corrupt.  This view is not only wrong, but is at its core fairly wicked.  The profit motive is not only reasonable but is indeed one of the basic immutable laws instilled into creation by God.

Many would question this statement, and more than a few would be outraged that I could say such a thing; this comes from a basic ignorance of what profit is.  Profit is not the same thing as greed.  Greed is “a selfish and excessive desire for more of something (as money) than is needed” (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/greed).  Some might say, “wait a second – if you sell something for more than you paid, isn’t that a selfish desire for more than is needed?”  Not at all, but rather that is simple participation in the market.  Greed is not born from market interactions but is instead born from a covetous and ungodly heart; put simply, profit is the productive result of honest effort and greed is the destructive result of evil desires and wicked schemes.

This is not a finance issue; while other words may be more often used, profit and greed describe every aspect of our lives. 

Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  (Luke 12:33-34 NIV)

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.  But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.  (2 Corinthians 4:6-7 NIV)

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.  Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.  In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.  (1 Timothy 6:17-19 NIV)

If it is wrong to seek profit, then why did Jesus admonish us to build up treasures in heaven?  Why then is the Gospel of Christ compared to treasure?  Why are the rich told to use their wealth in this life in such a way as to build up true wealth in the next?  In fact, looking at the 1^st Timothy passage, Paul implies that all of us have been richly blessed with everything not merely for sustenance but for enjoyment!

Now, there are other passages in the Bible that seem to say that profit is bad.

Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God.  (2 Corinthians 2:17 NIV)

But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.  (Philippians 3:7 NIV)

Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error; they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion.  (Jude 1:11 NIV)

In the 2^nd Corinthians and the Jude passages, profit is referring to money exclusively; an argument can be made that the Apostles did indeed profit from “peddling” the word of God (see above passages in Luke 12 and 2^nd Corinthians 4).  Balaam chose to work against God for money and power – what I would term here as greed.  In the Philippians passage, Paul is simply recording that everything that he valued before coming to Christ he now saw as worthless in his new life.

What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?  (Mark 8:36 NIV)

This verse shows that the profit motive is an immutable law.  By analogy, you could ask what profit would there be for a man on a sinking ship to sell his only life-preserver for a million dollars?  People who see profit only as money have fallen into the trap of seeing this life as what is important.  If a man is truly concerned with profiting from his life, he will do everything he can to live as Godly a life as he can, spreading the Gospel and doing as Jesus did.  There is no greater personal investment that can be made, and no greater treasure that can be desired.

-Charles Peterson