Weekly Articles

I was talking with my wife yesterday (one of the secrets to a good marriage – communication), commenting on how amazed I am by her ability to engage children for an extended period of time.  Now I enjoy children, and I certainly think it a rewarding way to spend my time by doing things with my kids; but to spend hours with another person’s small children is exhausting.  Not torture, or boring, or any such negative concept; but I just plain cannot imagine where I would get the energy to do what she can do.

This was one small comment in the context of a larger conversation dealing with our marriage (and others we have seen around us) that was brought on by the Valentine’s Day holiday.  I do truly respect and adore my wife for all of the things that she does and who she is.  I assume (and truly hope) that the husbands who read this will take to heart how special their wives are.  In a world where a twenty-two-year-old woman can auction her virginity online legally, it is important to look to God’s word for the standard of what a woman should be.

A wife of noble character who can find?  She is worth far more than rubies.  Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.  She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.  She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands.  She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar.  She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls.  She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.  She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.  She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night.  In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers.  She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.  When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet.  She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple.  Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.  She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes.  She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.  She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.  She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.  Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:  “Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.”  Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.  Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.  (Proverbs 31:10-31 NIV)

You can see the character of a Godly woman:  valuable, trustworthy, a beneficial partner, productive, honest, shrewdly wise, compassionately charitable, supportive of her husband, knowledgeable and a teacher at heart, and (certainly the center of her character) God-fearing.  Now, this is not here so that the husbands can test their wives and see if they measure up!  This passage has three reasons for being:  the two lesser reasons are for the women to have a Godly example to pattern their own lives by and the men to have a vision of what they should be looking for; the greater reason is for the church to have a pattern to follow!

The church is the bride of Christ, so it stands to reason that the church needs to be about developing that noble character of a Godly wife.  After all, the church should be seen as virginally pure, trustworthy of the calling of Christ, compassionate and gentle with those who need salvation, strong and unyielding to the temptations of the world; the church should be about faithful instruction in the word of God.

Fellow Christian men, I hope that you can join me in honoring our wives for their partnership, devotion, and love.  Fellow Christians, I hope that we can all join together and be the church that Jesus deserves.  And do not doubt that we will be that church, because Jesus has redeemed us and is working to make us that church!  Praise be to God!

-Charles Peterson

Our country has always been a “Christianized” nation, having been founded (by Christians – not Deists) upon Christian values with laws based in Christian morality.  The Declaration of Independence made reference to “nature’s God” and the “Creator” and the Articles of Confederation mentioned the “Great Governor of the World, both referring to the God of the Bible.  The motto “in God we trust” has roots back to the Civil War, in which it was understood that history may be unkind to that generation and the concern was that they not appear “heathen” – in the midst of a bloody war, they wanted their descendents to know that they were Christians! 

Now we live in an age that markets clothing emblazoned with such witty slogans as “porn star” and “objects under shirt are larger than they appear” to pre-teen girls.  Our kids go to schools that will suspend or expel them for speaking too freely about God, but will actively promote sexual perversions as normal and acceptable.  Our nation grants murdering Islamic jihadists the rights of US citizens, while it denies the right to life of millions of babies.  What does our generation hope that succeeding generations know about us?

Richard Dawkins, the celebrated atheist scientist and author of “The God Delusion” said (and referenced in the movie Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed) that it was a study of Darwin’s theory of evolution that convinced him to become an atheist.  As he is not the only person to make such a claim, it should outrage Christians that Darwin is taught as incontrovertible fact, sanctioned by the school and with no other alternative allowed to be brought forth.  Instead, many Christians foolishly reason away the absolute incompatibility between evolution and the Bible and move on with their lives.

There is an orchestrated assault on Christianity today that combines the full panoply of the enemy’s forces, including atheists, practitioners of witchcraft, and other religions.  In addition to this outside threat is the more severe threat that comes from within:  apathetic Christians.  Much of the problems of today can be laid at the feet of yesterday’s church, whether it is declining attendance, the aging of the population, or the marginalization and isolation of many congregations from their neighborhoods.  But if that is the case, then the problems of tomorrow are being created by the church of today.

Look at the beginnings of the church:

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.  Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.  All the believers were together and had everything in common.  Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.  Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.  They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.  (Acts 2:42-47 NIV)

You do not see them fighting over allocation of resources, teaching the Bible, or personal preferences!  Look at what they devoted themselves to:  the teachings of the apostles, fellowship, communion, and prayer.  Now some will pick apart things such as they “broke bread in their homes” and will take that as an edict from God that no meals must be associated with the assembly (this is just one example of this kind of thinking); it is this kind of legalistic and pharisaical thinking that causes the church to be marginalized as “whacko” in the eyes of the unbeliever, who cannot reconcile this line of thinking with reason.  Our focus should be instead on the fact that they ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people!  No wonder God added to their number!  They were ready to receive his lost sheep because they were a loving family; and only a truly loving family can properly take in a wayward child and raise him up properly.

This is a lesson worth taking to heart.  I opened this talking about what is wrong with this country.  The problem with the country is that the church is having less of an impact on it that we should.  The problem is not with the country abandoning God, but rather the church is not engaged in telling the country about God, and so we are allowing the country to fall away.

It is the Christians who must answer the question:  in which God do you believe?  If you know the answer, why not share it with someone else!

-Charles Peterson

There is a trend in many churches today in which “Bible classes” use non-Bible books as the focus of their study.  I am not talking about the many small group and identity-focused group studies that are formed separate from established congregational assemblies – such as a Thursday night ladies class, or a group of Christians meeting in a home to share thoughts together as they go through a book together.  No, I am referring to the established “Bible Study” times that were instituted years back for the purpose of teaching the members about the Bible throughout their lives; I remember growing up in the church and being taught the Bible from the Bible. 

When I became an adult, I thought that I would have access to a broad range of Bible classes, but instead found that many were topical in nature; that would be okay with me except that many of them taught topics such as weight loss or how to recover from [whatever], using some new guru’s book, rather than teaching on the topic from the Bible.  Again, I am not opposed to people learning from each other, or in people studying together.  But I do oppose taking the precious little time set aside for actual study of the Bible, and using it to study somebody’s opinion on the Bible or a topic.

I did not understand this trend when I was a young man, but now (as I get older) I see more clearly why this trend exists.  This trend has little to do with the effects of television – I love reading the Bible and yet I watched a lot of television, whereas I have known people who do not even own a television that never seem to be able to get past the front cover of the Bible.  This trend has little to do with education or social status, for both Bible and non-Bible classes span the full spectrum of education, wealth, and family status.  No, this trend really only has to do with the answer to one question:  is the Bible practical for my life?

To answer this question, I want you to contemplate three passages and how they relate to your life:

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.  For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  (2 Peter 1:5-9 NIV)

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.  Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.  (Ephesians 6:13-18  NIV)

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”  (John 3:16-18 NIV)

In the first passage, Peter explains that there is a definite way for you to develop the attributes of Jesus Christ, by starting with the easiest to build (faith) and adding more as you grow in the Lord.  Expecting a new Christian to demonstrate selfless love and to be able to proclaim the gospel to the masses is absurd!  Peter instead shows how to build up a Christ-like life over time.

The next passage has the analogy of Christian character as protective armor.  Paul uses this imagery to demonstrate that each piece of the “armor” of Christ’s character is crucial to protecting you from spiritual attacks.  Obviously Christians should not be running into battle spiritually stark naked!  God wants you to be able to resist temptation and to choose good over bad, so he shows you how to be properly equipped.

In the third passage, John quotes Jesus telling Nicodemus the point of God’s plan:  God loves you, so he sent Jesus to bring back to him all who will believe.  The first passage tells you how to develop Christian attributes, and the second passage tells you how to use those attributes.  But this third is most important for your life, and for answering the question I posed:  it tells you WHY you should do these things.

Jesus offered the Samaritan woman living water.  You too have the chance to drink; do you want sterilized bottled water, or are you willing to drink from the source?

-Charles Peterson

At the inauguration of President Obama, there were two prayers given:  the invocation and the benediction.  Baptist pastor Rick Warren gave the invocation, ending the prayer with Jesus’ name and reciting the “Lord’s Prayer”.  The benediction was given by a civil rights leader who ended the prayer with “Let all those who do justice and love mercy say amen”.*  Several sources were cited in an article that claimed the benediction was far more appropriate because it was more inclusive:  evidently, prayer is okay, as long as it is a general plea to other humans (or to nature) for everyone to be nice; prayers to Jesus are offensive, apparently.

This should not surprise us; after all, we have seen this attack on our Christian values and beliefs for decades now.  The biggest blow started back with Madalyn Murray O’Hair and her 1963 lawsuit in which she was able to convince the Supreme Court to outlaw “coercive” prayer in school.  From that has grown a concerted effort to attack every public (and even some private) religious expression – most specifically Christian expression.  Federal court judges have even gone on the judicial warpath to remove state elected officials who transgress the highest law of “separation of church and state” – the most famous example was the removal of Alabama State Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore.

While some of these attacks on all things Christian have been leveled at monuments and expressions on currency, most have been against prayer in public or prayer by government employees (and military members).  Looking at the two sides, it is interesting to note that the vehemence and activism is almost totally one-sided:  few (if any) Christians actually lobby for government-led prayers; they just ask to be allowed to do what the U.S. Constitution says that they can do.  But the anti-prayer side is irrational with zeal to ban prayer in any form, in any place where someone might know it is occurring; sometimes this zeal manifests itself in humorous ways, such as the California man who sued a school because his daughter was being forced to be in a school where student-led prayers occurred, only for it to be revealed that his daughter was one of the prayer leaders.

Do not worry about this.  The worst that can be done to you is that your family will be killed and you will be tortured and imprisoned, and possibly killed.  Yes, this goes on every day in nations around the world.  Notice, though, that the Christians are tormented and persecuted in places run by atheists, Buddhists, and Muslims, but the places run by Christians are even willing to curb Christian practices in order to not offend these groups. 

Now, you are not likely to be imprisoned or killed in America just for prayer; it is just remarkable that prayer is seen as so offensive to atheists that it is intolerable for it to occur, but Christian children are forced to listen to bad theories masquerading as “fact” and “science” that say existence is a natural accident and that there is no God.  Back in 1963 Madalyn Murray O’Hair argued that her son was being discriminated against because he did not want to pray; today, Christian children are penalized on tests if they do not answer correctly about evolution.

They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.  (Acts 1:14 NIV)

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.  (Acts 2:42 NIV)

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.  (Romans 12:12 NIV)

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  (Philippians 4:6 NIV)

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.  (Colossians 4:2 NIV)

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.  The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.  (James 5:16 NIV)

Prayer is fundamental to our existence, and is a vital part of our connection to God through Jesus.  Rick Warren was right to conclude the invocation in the name of Jesus Christ.  Inclusive language destroys the meaning of prayer and invites judgment from God whose honor is demeaned and marginalized by it.  There is only one name on whom we should call – Jesus.  And the other side knows this, otherwise they wouldn’t fight so much to get rid of prayer; maybe Christians should care more to keep it.

-Charles Peterson

*  “Public prayers at Obama’s inauguration raise important issues” Helen T. Gray, The Kansas City Star, January 23, 2009, http://www.kansascity.com