Weekly Articles

In Mark Twain’s story, The Prince and the Pauper, two boys who bear identical likenesses exchange identities and live each others’ lives for a time.  One, a beggar named Tom Canty, takes the place of Prince Edward and lives in the palace and tries to navigate the treacherous waters of court intrigue and customs.  Prince Edward takes Tom’s life with an abusive father, neighborhood bullies, and witnesses for the first time in his life the remarkably unfair judicial system of the day.  In the end, Prince Edward is only recognized as the real Prince Edward because he knows what the Great Seal of England is, whereas Tom has been using it as a nutcracker.

The story does an admirable job of demonstrating the three important aspects of image:  appearance, accomplishments, and awareness.  Each of these three things define for those around us exactly who we are; but they must be taken together, as any single one by itself can be misleading. 

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.  (Genesis 1:26-27 NIV)

The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ “  “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman.   “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”  (Genesis 3:2-5 NIV)

Here you can see that God created man in his image, yet man’s accomplishments and awareness caused that image to be marred and so man’s appearance became twisted to resemble less the Creator and more the created.  For it was the Creator that set man in the Garden, but it was the creation that man chose to follow when he disobeyed God.

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”  They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.  The LORD looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.  All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.  (Psalm 14:1-3 NIV)

And so mankind has become spiritually destitute!  I heard a caller say on a radio talk show that he believed that a person can be moral and upright without religion (he was speaking specifically about Christianity).  This is completely false!  In today’s society, people often will point to certain morals and values and claim that they are possible without religion; but what they fail to understand and refuse to accept is that those morals and values that exist within our society are the remnants of our Christian heritage.  But just as we have squandered our economic standing with an entitlement mentality, so too have we wasted our spiritual treasure by accepting as equals with Christianity the numerous false religions of the world.

When you dress like a prince, people will assume you are a prince.  How many Christians in America today dress like Godly princes?  From what I can see, many Christians have exchanged a Godly appearance for worldly acceptance.  In the name of tolerance, many have compromised the Word of God and accept the words of man as authoritative.  In this way abominable perversions such as homosexuality and abortion are called lifestyle choices and are championed by the “open-minded”.

In the same way, accomplishments help define our image.  Many have taken the image of the world by working the way the world works.  In the name of feeding the hungry and clothing the needy how many have quit feeding the spiritually hungry from the Word of God and have quit clothing the spiritually naked with Christ’s clothes?  I am not against feeding the hungry or clothing the needy, but taking care of physical needs must be secondary to taking care of their spiritual ones!  If we sacrifice the spiritual for the physical, our accomplishments show us to be worldly, not Godly.

But much of this comes from our own inadequate awareness.  We forsake righteousness when we can no longer recognize it. God’s people have shown a remarkable lack of desire to listen to God as he speaks in his Word, and have instead claimed to hear God in their hearts.  But invariably what they hear God saying in their hearts somehow explains away what he said in the Bible that they disagree with.  It is impossible to remain aware of God’s will in your life without remaining connected to him through his Word.

So then, as we look at our image, do we look like Jesus?  Do we dress like him?  Do we act like him?  Do we listen to God like him?  The answers to those questions will tell you if in the Kingdom of God you are a prince, or a pauper.

-Charles Peterson

A news story on www.foxnews.com caught my attention with the title:  “China Court Sentences 6 to Death in Ethnic Riots That Killed Nearly 200.”  What caught my attention was the fact that I was seeing the Chinese do something that they are supposed to do:  bring swift justice down upon the heads of murderous thugs.  I am not in any way a fan of the communist Chinese, but I do recognize that they are the government in China, and so when criminals spark violent riots it is the responsibility of the government to enforce peace and deal justice to the evil-doers.  It is no surprise that the ethnic rioting was caused by Muslim extremists; in fact it has become something of a rarity to find a major incident like this that does not involve Muslims.

This is an odd position for me in that I find myself praising something done by one of the most oppressive governments on the planet.  China still executes thousands of political prisoners every year, and actively tries to squash Christianity at every turn.  But it is still a government that has been instituted by God for his purposes, one of which is to bear the sword to punish evil.

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)

It is hard to view China in this fashion, but we must realize that God is not nearly as interested in our comfort in this world as he is in getting us to the next!  And so the Christians in China suffer oppression and persecution, knowing that they are building up treasures in Heaven.  What should distress us is not that China is brutal towards its criminals, but that we have numerous judges and legislators here in America who pervert justice and leave criminality unpunished.  How is it that a patently Godless nation like China can care more about justice than Christian America?  The answer is that America has abandoned Christ and moves steadily closer toward Godlessness every day.

So, what can we do about it?  First, we must avoid the traps and snares set by the devil and keep ourselves pure.  Then we must influence America by influencing our neighbors, co-workers, and friends through our Christian lives.  It may not be too late to turn this nation back to God.  But even if it is, we must remain true to God no matter what happens.

Therefore, as we look at the example set by China, we need to remember that God is in control, and that he raises up nations and he causes them to fall.  I do believe that God set up the Chinese government to punish wrongdoers; I also believe he does not condone their persecution of his people.  God will avenge all of the persecutions perpetrated against the church.  But until he does, we must endure and continue to proclaim Jesus as the Lord and Savior.  No government has the right to stop us, nor should we give them the power to do so.  But we also must respect the government in so far as it does not seek to pull us from God.  So we obey the government in paying taxes and obeying Godly laws, but we do not obey the Godless laws.  Remember that it is better to be persecuted for Godliness than to be punished for Godlessness.  God will remember our Godliness and he will punish all Godlessness on that coming Day.  So keep Jesus close in your heart, and you can walk without fear of the sword.

-Charles Peterson

I recently saw the movie Cloverfield and was quite impressed at how well the movie achieved its aim of showing an American-version of a Godzilla-type monster movie; I also noticed something more important, which I doubt was intended by the writer.  The movie, which is completely shot from the viewpoint of a portable video camera, details the experiences of a group of friends who are in New York City when a skyscraper-sized monster attacks.  Interspersed with the “current” footage are snippets of a previous video that explain the recent emotional history of two of the main characters, Rob and Beth.  In the “current” story Rob is taking a job in Japan, planning to leave after a breakup with Beth; the previous video is from their last date together.

For much of the world’s population, life is short and hard.  Even in this country too many people meet their end in a violently abrupt manner.  I thought the movie portrayed this well through the genre of a monster movie; people were going on with their lives until all of a sudden a cataclysmic occurrence impacts them, fatally in many cases.  This is not limited to the realm of fiction; on September 11, 2001 all of our lives were disrupted, to one extent or another.  Whether through those terrorist attacks, or through the events in 2005 when hurricane Katrina hit the gulf coast, or even through a simple car accident, tragedy often strikes when you are simply living your life.

In fact, the movie portrayed very well the many ways people react to disaster.  Some were in shock, some took to looting and vandalism, and most tried to flee; but there were also heroic stories and expressions of love and caring during the most trying times.  During most of the movie Rob is searching the city for Beth, heedless of the gigantic monster and in spite of the numerous horrors he must face.  And on this, arguably the worst day of their lives, Beth and Rob are reunited and express their mutual love under a bridge in Central Park as the military bombs the city.  After this is the final scene, a clip from the “previous” video in which Beth (on her last date with Rob) tells the camera, “I had a good day.”

And this is how the world sees life – good days occur, but tragedy always strikes.  No matter what we do or how we live, we will all die as our bodies succumb to the ravages of age, assuming we are not cut down first by disease, war, accident, or crime.  But this is not the true picture!  If we desire to live for this world, we will die having had the few joys this world is willing to give us.  But if we live for God, we will still have a few joys here, but we will gain so much more in the next life.  In the movie (as in life), the character Beth had a good day, but ended with a horrible day.  But in Christ, we may have horrible days here, but we will find a good day that never ends when we are raised with Christ!

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.  I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them.  They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.  He will wipe every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”  (Revelation 21:1-4 NIV)

I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.  The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.  The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it.  On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there.  The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it.  Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.  (Revelation 21:22-27 NIV)

Do not let this world fool you into thinking that the rare “good day” that it allows you is the best you can get!  There is a place prepared for you that is unimaginably wonderful, a place where there is an unending good day.  Make sure to join the family of believers in Christ, so that your name will also be written in the book of life.

-Charles Peterson

An article in the June 15, 2009 edition of Time Magazine caught my attention; it was titled “Decoding God’s Changing Moods,” and was an essay authored by Robert Wright and based upon his book The Evolution of God.  In this article Wright asserts that God seems to have changing moods about religious tolerance but that when the texts of the three Abrahamic faiths are put together, the true picture appears in which God is maturing and growing so that religious harmony can be attained.  In Wright’s view God is a petulant child who learns and grows, and the prophets (such as Isaiah and Hosea) are monolatrists – belief in many gods but believing that only one is worthy of worship.  Wright’s reasoning is the natural result of progressive secularism, in which everything is viewed from a morally relativistic paradigm and there cannot be an absolute truth (and certainly not the Bible).

Wright’s agenda is apparent from the wording he uses and the facts he assumes are true:  the denigration of God.  Wright says that “maybe knowing what circumstances made the authors of scripture open-minded can help make modern-day believers open-minded.”  This open-mindedness he writes about is a quote he takes totally out of context from the book of Judges.  Compare the following passages; the first is an excerpt from the article and the second is the context of the actual Bible reference.

Yet sometimes the Israelites were happy to live in peace with neighbors who worshipped alien gods. In the Book of Judges, an Israelite military leader proposes a live-and-let-live arrangement with the Ammonites: “Should you not possess what your god Chemosh gives you to possess? And should we not be the ones to possess everything that our god Yahweh has conquered for our benefit?”  (Time Magazine)

“Then the LORD, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and all his men into Israel’s hands, and they defeated them. Israel took over all the land of the Amorites who lived in that country, capturing all of it from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the desert to the Jordan.  Now since the LORD, the God of Israel, has driven the Amorites out before his people Israel, what right have you to take it over?  Will you not take what your god Chemosh gives you?  Likewise, whatever the LORD our God has given us, we will possess.  Are you better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab?  Did he ever quarrel with Israel or fight with them?  For three hundred years Israel occupied Heshbon, Aroer, the surrounding settlements and all the towns along the Arnon.  Why didn’t you retake them during that time?  I have not wronged you, but you are doing me wrong by waging war against me. Let the LORD, the Judge, decide the dispute this day between the Israelites and the Ammonites.”  The king of Ammon, however, paid no attention to the message Jephthah sent him.  (Judges 11:21-28 NIV)

Wright takes the passage out of context and claims that it is an example of enlightened leadership in which the “Israelite military leader” (Jepthah) takes the position of ive and let live.”  But that is obviously not the case – especially in light of what Jepthah does!  No, Jepthah is simply saying that the aggressor king would view anything his god gave him as belonging to him, so the Israelites are right in viewing what God gave them as theirs.  Never does Jepthah say that he believes in the existence or legitimacy of the Ammonite gods, but rather makes an argument to persuade the Ammonite king.

Wright also assumes facts not proven when he groups Judaism, Christianity, and Islam into one family called the Abrahamic faiths.  Now it must be granted that Wright did not come up with this classification, but he certainly uses it as truth.  He also tries to show an evolving God, who tries first with the Israelites in the Old Testament, then with the Christians in the New Testament, and then finally with the Muslims in the Koran.  This evolving God also keeps failing, by the way, and so has to undergo “moral growth.”  But the Jews rejected Christ, and so Modern Judaism is vastly different from what the first century Jews practiced and believed.  And the only similarity between the Christians and the Muslims is that both agree the other cannot be right.

No, Wright got it wrong.  God is not a mercurial being trying to fumble his way through moral adolescence; God is the perfect creator and absolute judge of truth.  The Bible says that “the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline,” (Proverbs 1:7 NIV).  Since those of the world do not fear God, they have nowhere to go but foolishness and fallacy.  But for those of us who do fear God, he has prepared a place; let’s keep our heads and hearts right before God!

-Charles Peterson

I was listening to the radio in my car one morning this last week and I heard something that irritated me to no end.  The program was the Grandy and Andy Morning Show, and their news anchor Bryan Nehman made the remark that he just didn’t trust organized religion anymore.  One of the reasons that he gave was the numerous scandals involving the sexual predations committed by Catholic priests.  So then, because some men sinned Mr. Nehman doesn’t trust organized religion?  Does this make sense?

Let us first examine religion itself.  Setting aside other uses of the word, Religion means the “the service and worship of God or the supernatural” (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary).  The word religion actually comes from the Latin religare, meaning “to restrain”.  The idea seems to be that there is something about the “service and worship of God” that restrains something about man.  Lactantius, tutor to one of Emperor Constantine’s sons, wrote in the Fourth century that “religion is the cultivation of truth … superstition is the cultivation of what is false … the name of religion is derived from the bond of piety,” (A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs, edited by David Bercot).  Lactantius asserts that the difference between religion and superstition is the difference between truth and falsehood, and that contrast only becomes clear in light of the restraint of piety (godliness).

If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.  Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this:  to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.  (James 1:26-27 NIV)

So we can see that God’s word defines religion as restraint!  And it makes sense, doesn’t it, that our religion is denying ourselves to walk with Christ?  I doubt many would argue with this, so then the problem with organized religion must be the “organized” part.  So then, do these people who have a problem with organized religion, wish to have disorganized religion?  I think the answer is yes, and I think they are gravely mistaken.

What is “disorganized” religion?  Chaotic restraint?  Whimsical bonds of piety to God?  The idea is patently absurd.  No, those who want this want the cultivation of truth, but only the truth that supports their ideology and beliefs.  But these people do not realize that while they voice objections to organized religion, thinking that this makes them sound wise and discerning, they are really showing their objections to the restraint imposed not by the religion but rather by the organizer of the religion.

Many people do not want to be restrained by the bonds of piety; in fact, I’d have to say that the reason we need the bonds to restrain us is that we do not want to be restrained! 

Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.  They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity.  They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice.  They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless.  Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.  (Romans 1:28-32 NIV)

Look at what man does when he feels bound only by his own morality:  human life is cheapened and truth is ridiculed.  We have movements in this country trying to legalize prostitution and pedophilia just as they have homosexuality.  Our Christian values are scorned while Islamic law is hailed as just and peaceful.  And what does man do with religion?  Well, he searches for the disorganized religion in which he picks and chooses what words he wants from God and so seeks to place restraint on God rather than being restrained by God.  Those who cry out against organized religion think they sound wise, but they reveal themselves as fools.  Wisdom begins with a fear of the Lord, and it takes root through the bonds of godliness:  religion, organized by our savior Jesus Christ.  That is the religion we can trust.

-Charles Peterson

I watched a video yesterday which featured Ken Ham from the Answers in Genesis organization, in which he talked about the changes that have occurred in the world since Adam’s sin.  He recalled a conversation in which a friend mentioned taking others to a beach to demonstrate the love of God as displayed in creation; Ken’s admitted response was to remark on the child that had lost an arm to a shark attack recently.  His response was driven by the need to explain all of the evil things that happen in the world today, which he correctly attributes not to a failing in the love of God but rather to the corruption of the creation because of the sins of mankind.  I do not, however, completely agree with his response.

There is little doubt in my mind that Ken Ham is absolutely correct in his appreciation for the cause of the troubles in the world.  I was very impressed by his attribution of the apparent imperfections in the world not to a lacking in the efforts of God but rather to corruption caused by man’s sin.  Too many Christians have no clue how to respond to people in anguish, who wonder why the innocent suffer.  Put simply, there are no innocent people!  There are people who are innocent of certain things, for sure:  most of us are innocent of many things, such as armed robbery.  But that is a far cry from being innocent!  We live in a world of corruption and degradation because we are all sinners!

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”  They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.  The LORD looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.  All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.  (Psalms 14:1-3; 53:1-3 NIV)

All a man’s ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the LORD.  (Proverbs 16:2 NIV)

So in this way, I can see why Ken responded in the way he did.  But I disagree with him on another level, in that while this is a corrupted and fallen world, it is still a world that was created by an awesome God and it still bears his mark upon it.  Yes, because of the fall of man, we have cancer and other scourges within our bodies; but we are still magnificently designed and flawlessly created with the stamp of the Master upon us.

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.  (Psalm 139:13-14 NIV)

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.  For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.  (Romans 1:18-20 NIV)

So, is it from the corruption and decay of the world around us that we can clearly see the eternal power and divine nature of God?  No, but rather it is in spite of the corruption and decay that we can see the handiwork of God.  And this is not some esoteric theological point that I am arguing; our ability to reach out to those who are living in darkness is rooted in our ability to see those around us as lost children of God rather than as twisted relics of what was a “very good” creation.

We often say that a person who only sees the pleasant parts of something (such as a relationship) is looking through “rose-tinted glasses.”  I am not saying that we should not see the effects of sin around us – and more importantly within us – but I am rejecting that our lenses should filter all the good around us through the lenses of “the world is going to hell in a handcart.”  In Romans chapter 8, Paul tells us that the creation is waiting for its liberation from the decay caused by sin; shouldn’t we be awaiting that as well?

I do not think we should avoid the ugliness of the world around us, but let’s not put blinders on to the wonders of the creation!  I believe there is a tint for your glasses that will enable you to see God’s miraculous works while also remaining aware of the price of our sins:  the crimson color of the blood of Christ.

-Charles Peterson

This last week a scandal broke concerning the activist group ACORN which led to the firings of a few employees and the severing of ties with at least one federal agency.  The staffers involved at the Baltimore office were caught on tape advising a couple that they believed were a pimp and his prostitute on how to evade taxes, fraudulently obtain tax incentives (such as child tax credit for thirteen-year-old girls they claimed to be importing from El Salvador to work as prostitutes), and even how they could buy a home to use as the brothel.  The “pimp,” an independent filmmaker in disguise, claimed in a later interview to have been trying to get the story so outlandish and shocking that the staffers would object, or even call the police.  Instead, the staffers went with the story and outright encouraged what they thought was going to happen.

How could those staffers act like that?  That was the question that jumped into my head when I watched the video.  I did not concern myself with feeling any pity for them for having been trapped as they were; unlike ACORN, which seems to have focused on how they were victims of a “gotcha” type of journalism, these staffers (and the organization as a whole) were caught in a trap of their own making.  But what brings me to the limits of credulity is that someone could hear plans to bring children to work as prostitutes and then to express encouragement instead of outrage!  How could they act like that?  It is simple:  they are Godless.

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.  For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.  For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.  Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.  Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.  They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.  (Romans 1:18-25 NIV)

Without a Godly faith, what becomes our “moral compass”?  In politics we have countless examples of men and women who have surrendered their principles in order to pursue power and prestige.  And how many people have “sold their souls” to make money at any cost?  Some have centered their lives on ideology (such as abortion, homosexuality, and animal-rights).  More than a few live only for themselves and the pursuit of their own comforts.  In each of these illustrations (politics, economics, ideology, and identity) the individual’s pursuit has become corrupted and they become foolish because they have rejected God and have become Godless.  That is what happened to the ACORN staffers:  they put their ideology ahead of common decency because they rejected the source of that decency, which is God.

But what happens when the individual does use the only compass that points to morality, which is having a Godly faith?  Politicians become statesmen, who reject lies and corruption and instead labor to steer the country back to its Godly roots.  People conduct their business with honesty and fidelity.  Ideology becomes centered on God rather than replacing him (and thus the individual’s positions align with God’s position on any given topic).  Selfishness becomes selflessness, and the purpose of the pursuit changes from comfort to character.  When a person acts in a Godly manner, hidden videos will reveal only good choices and right behavior.

If you were caught on tape, would you want the video shown?  Have you ever considered who watches you more intimately than any electronic eye?  Make sure you use the right compass, and you’ll never need to worry who is watching.

-Charles Peterson

There is so much today about how religion shouldn’t be mixed with any other part of our society.  I saw a bumper sticker once that summed up the mistaken belief that religion is the problem:  “the last time religion and politics were mixed, we got the crusades”.  Well, the truth is that the result of divorcing this nation from Godly religion is over thirty million dead babies and a nation in utter disarray.  Godly religion is exactly what should be mixed into American society.

But we cannot do that, can we?  The moment you raise the issue, someone fervently raises objections disguised as questions, such as: “what about separation of church and state?  What about the intolerance and divisiveness?  And what religions do we accept as valid?”  Questions like this one exist not as an attempt to solicit information and then to make a reasoned argument, but rather to frame the debate in such a way as to keep the ball firmly in their court.  Let’s look at these questions.

“What about separation of church and state?”  Well, what about it?  The phrase comes from the correspondence between Thomas Jefferson and a Baptist church in which Jefferson assures the minister that the newly formed constitutional republic could not possibly interfere with the church because it was limited by the Bill of Rights.  Yes, this is the same Bill of Rights that is now used to emasculate churches everywhere.  The separation of church and state as a concept exists in the Constitution only in the First Amendment – the one which says that “Congress shall make no law…”

“What about the intolerance and divisiveness?”  The intolerance I see most is that from the godless activists who seek to impose their will on the rest of the country through the use of the courts.  I see intolerance from the courts, who abuse their power to legislate by judicial proclamation and who demonstrate their corruption constantly by denying justice to victims and showing partiality and hypocrisy at every turn.  I see divisiveness in how the homosexual movement infiltrates churches and then rips them apart through controversy and subversion.

“What religions do we accept as valid?”  This would be a good question, if it would be asked honestly.  Our country was founded on Christian principles and an understanding that a valid religion was a Christian one.  Today, the only religion recognized by the government is atheism.  If you do not believe me, then what is the only authorized theory of the origin of the universe that can be taught in a public school?  It is the one that assumes as its basic premise that there is no supernatural origin and that everything that exists came about through entirely natural means and without any external design or causation.  That is a statement of faith, not of science because it cannot be tested or confirmed, but only believed.  We were a Christian nation until Christians became ignorant of God; we had better become a Christian nation again, before it is too late.

We must put Christian beliefs and teachings back into American society.  We took God out of the courts, and the courts forced the legalization of infanticide and the freeing of bloodthirsty terrorists.  We took God out of the classroom and our children were told that there is no God and that they should be having sex of every kind and nature; then children started killing other children.  So what do you think is going to happen when we finally let God be taken out of our lives?

Wake up America!  God is alive and is active and is the only one who can give your life meaning and direction.  Turn back to God before it is too late.  And for those who are Christians already, stand up and take a stand for Christ, before Christ spits you from his mouth and ejects you from his kingdom.  Declare yourself for Christ.  Otherwise, everyone will assume you are in the other camp.

-Charles Peterson

Yesterday, I was watching a video clip my wife had forwarded to me of the men’s quartet “Il Divo” singing Amazing Grace (one of my favorite hymns for both song quality and meaning), when I was struck with an understanding of a Bible passage.  There was a part where the group was accompanied by a bagpipe (complete with Scotsman in kilt).  This was the part which helped illuminate scripture:  I could think of no musical instrument more suited for that piece than the bagpipe.  It is almost as if the music was written for the bagpipe, with it peculiarly mournful tones.  I was struck with the thought, “there must be, for every instrument, one piece of music for which it is the best.

”Now, what does this have to do with scripture?  If this makes sense for instruments, then doesn’t it stand to reason that it is that way for people?  Or put in proper order, maybe the reason we make instruments uniquely suited for particular sounds and musical arrangements is because we are made by our creator to be uniquely suited for particular purposes.  Is this idea scriptural?  Let’s see:

The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying.  In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”  “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem.  And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”  But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel.  I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”  (Acts 9:11-16 NIV)

In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble.  If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.  (2 Timothy 2:20-21 NIV)

But the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.  (Luke 7:30 NIV)

“For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his fathers and his body decayed.  But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay.  (Acts 13:36-37 NIV)

These are just a few selected passages.  There are many more in the Bible on this topic, mainly because the Bible itself deals with the “why are we here” question as a major theme!  The first passage comes from the account of Saul’s conversion from persecuting Christ to evangelizing for him, in which Ananias was convinced that God has a particular mission for Saul, one for which he was made.  The second passage was written by Paul (who had been Saul) in which he expresses this very idea of being an instrument with a purpose.  The third passage is one in which we are told that the Pharisees had a purpose given them by their creator, but they rejected it when John came out of jealousy and pride.  The fourth passage is an account in which Paul stood up and preached the Gospel, showing that David had a purpose from God and fulfilled it; this was a different thought on the relevance of David than what the Jews of Paul’s day believed about David.

In fact, how many of us think of David as “King David,” as opposed to “David, the man after God’s own heart?”  How many of us regard ourselves from the world’s perspective rather than from God’s?  Far too many, I think, including myself.  I have had many dreams (still do) and have pursued them as I could, but not many have come to fruition (and certainly not as I had planned).  Yet my life is far more fulfilling to me now than in the past, and I have hopes for the future being even better yet.  This fulfillment and hope have little to do with my plans and actions in support of those plans; actually, most of my plans have completely fallen apart and I can see with hindsight that had they actually succeeded my life would be far less than it is now.  The one responsible for this is God, making my life what he wants it to be.  When I have bend myself to his plans, it is a gentle process; when I have not, the process is quite a bit more painful and embarrassing.

I believe that everyone has a purpose for which they were created.  It is too bad that most will reject that purpose for themselves.  Our young people, in particular, are coming to awareness of the need for a purpose in very dangerous times.  Our young men debase themselves with drugs, alcohol, sex, and money.  Our young women, in the name of freedom, prostitute themselves and make themselves into spiritual “chew toys.”

But I still have hope, as should you, for though our problems seem insurmountable and our ferocious lion of a foe seems undefeatable, the one true God will redeem his people and will restore back to us far more than we could ever lose here.  We must simply believe in him and hold fast to his teachings, showing his light to those around us.  Let us do that, knowing that the Conductor of Creation made us into the right instruments for his purpose.

-Charles Peterson

The other day I saw a show on the Animal Planet channel about collies.  Since no show about collies would be complete without talking about Lassie, the show featured several interviews with Bob Weatherwax, the son of the trainer of the original Lassie.  Bob recounted several tales of his experiences with the current Lassie (he took on the job after his father), which included Lassie’s appearances at children’s hospitals and nursing homes.  One particular time was particularly poignant; Bob had taken Lassie to a children’s hospital and watched as Lassie gently put his paws on a boy’s chest to kiss him, taking care not to trouble the tubes and sensors.   The boy was in the final stages of terminal leukemia and after they had continued on their tour of the facility and were on their way out they were informed that the boy had passed away.  Bob recounted how touched he was that this gentle dog could give such comfort in the final moments for that boy.

How important is this comfort?  Ask the Make-A-Wish foundation, which has granted over 182,000 wishes to sick children since 1980.  Read their stories anytime you feel your heart hardening (but make sure you have a tissue box nearby).  Accounts from Civil War and World War I tell of soldiers dying on the battlefield calling out for their mothers.  At times when all seems lost and despair threatens to consume us, comfort eases that burden and allows joy and hope to build in the heart.  Comfort is more valuable and more important than gold or silver, and is more necessary for life than water or food.

Yet, if this is so, then why are we so bad at it?  After all, how many times have you been in the rather awkward position of having someone tell you they are hurting or despondent and you haven’t the slightest clue how to help?  I have been there many times, and I have yet to really know what to say.  Most people have this same problem, and it has been this way for a long time; consider Job – he has been told all of his great wealth is gone and all of his children are dead, then he is struck with boils all over his body and his wife is telling him to “curse God and die.”  And then his friends come to comfort him with slanderous accusations.

When Job’s three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him.  (Job 2:11 NIV)

Then Job replied:  “I have heard many things like these; miserable comforters are you all!  Will your long-winded speeches never end?  What ails you that you keep on arguing?  I also could speak like you, if you were in my place; I could make fine speeches against you and shake my head at you.  But my mouth would encourage you; comfort from my lips would bring you relief.  (Job 16:1-5 NIV)

Job’s friends brought nothing but more pain and dishonor, at a time when he needed encouragement and relief!  What they did was much like going to a terminally ill cancer patient and telling them they shouldn’t have smoked so many cigarettes; as bad as it is for anyone to hear that, imagine if the person with cancer had never touched tobacco in their life!  Job had done nothing wrong, had lost everything but his life, and then had friends accusing him of great sin because of course only great sinners had such horrible things happen to them.  They would have done better to bring Job a dog and leave him alone!

This need for comfort isn’t just for the physically ill; how many are on their spiritual deathbeds just waiting for a touch of compassion and comfort?  Are we “miserable comforters” to them as well?  If so, it is something we must get better at – we are supposed to be about our Father’s business.

The LORD will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the LORD.  Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing … Lift up your eyes to the heavens, look at the earth beneath; the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants die like flies.  But my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail.  (Isaiah 51:3,6 NIV)

God is the source for comfort in a world that causes us to need it.  And God’s people should make it one of their top priorities to learn how to convey God’s comfort to those around us.  You do not need eloquence or presence to do this; you need a heart that truly cares for those around you, fueled by the love of God and driven by his Son, Jesus Christ.

-Charles Peterson