Weekly Articles

I caught part of an episode of Fox News Channel’s The O’Reilly Factor in which the very liberal Marc Lamont Hill proclaimed that the “people” had a “right” to the personal wealth of host Bill O’Reilly.  This casual remark illustrates the basic underpinnings of the socialist movement:  human beings have no inherent value other than as a cog in the machine of society.  By his remark, Hill reveals that he believes that O’Reilly’s wealth (the “fruits of his labors”) belong intrinsically to society and that O’Reilly is a steward of them on behalf of society.  By making this statement, Hill has done what all socialists have done:  reject God in favor of the society of man.

In order to understand why this is so, you must understand three basic things about the socialist view of the value of man.  Socialists believe that the individual exists to serve society (the state).  Socialists believe that value is defined by society.  Socialists believe that humans have only that value assigned to them by society.  These three statements all come from the viewpoint of man being simply a biological being, and thus no better than anything else (such as a pigeon or a virus).  The only thing that is good about mankind is their collective society; because of this, society determines what morality will be and what the difference (if any) exists between good and evil.  Proceeding from this is the value assigned to human beings:  high value to the elites in the society, no value to unborn babies, and everyone else falling somewhere in between.

This viewpoint is evil, and has been a proven failure from its inception precisely because of its inherent Godlessness.  Individuals are not in existence to serve society, but were in fact created to serve God – which is the basis for the Christian’s service to man. 

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’  Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?  When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’  The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’ “  (Matthew 25:34-40 NIV)

Morality is not defined by man but by God, who has set forth a standard by which all men will be judged. 

Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near.  Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts.  Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD.  “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.  (Isaiah 55:6-9 NIV)

Humans have an inherent value assigned to them by God, not man, and thus each should in turn by valued by man because of God.

“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.  (John 3:16-17 NIV)

This is how we know what love is:  Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.  (1 John 3:16 NIV)

Socialism is not a “utopian vision” that espouses a belief in equality, but is in fact a Godless movement with the agenda of displacing the Creator with the created.  Socialism destroys the inherent value of man, which is his identity of having been created in the image of God.  Reject this abominable belief system and embrace the Godly view of the world:  the earth and everything in it belongs to the Lord – treat it as such!

-Charles Peterson

In the story of Oedipus, the tragic lead character is beset by the monstrous Sphinx (a creature with the head of a woman, body of a lion, wings of an eagle, and the tail of a serpent) and is given a riddle to solve in order to escape death.  The Sphinx demands the answer to the following riddle:  “what creature walks on four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, and three legs in the evening?”  Oedipus answers correctly by saying “man, because as an infant he crawls on all fours, walks upright as an adult, and uses a cane as an old man.”  This riddle picks up on a basic truth of our existence:  life is different for us at different stages of our development.

Our spiritual growth, too, entails differing expectations and needs depending on the level of maturity of the Christian.  It is important for us to recognize what level of spiritual maturity the Christian we are interacting with has, because that will alter our relationship with them.  For example, it is common sense for most people that if a sixteen-year-old young man is romantically involved with a fifteen-year-old girl it is a normal thing; but if a forty-year-old man is romantic with a fifteen-year-old girl it is creepy!  Why?  Because they are at two totally different developmental levels; the fifteen-year-old girl does not have the same capacity for judgment and personal decision-making that an adult does, so she must be protected.

In the same way, mature Christians have a responsibility to protect the less mature in spiritual matters.

Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.  As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.  But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”  …  Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.  Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.  (1 Peter 1:13-16; 2:1-3 NIV)

Newborn babies can only handle their mother’s milk (or something like it), as their digestive systems are not well developed.  Similarly, new Christians need to be guided in Bible study and protected from the controversies and minor doctrinal squabbling.  They are trying to learn the most basic things and are still putting their lives in order.

Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.  He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.  No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.  This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.  (1 John 3:7-10 NIV)

Children live in a world of black and white; there are good people and there are bad people.  Children quite easily understand the old westerns like Roy Rogers and the Lone Ranger because good guys act good and bad guys act bad.  The children of God, also, should see the world through the black and white lens of the Spirit (such as demonstrated so well by Joseph the son of Israel).  I think that there is a reason Jesus called us to be as little children.

It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.  Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.  Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.  From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.  (Ephesians 4:11-16 NIV)

Adults are held to a higher standard; for instance, in a criminal proceeding a ten-year-old is generally not held to the same expectations of judgment as a twenty-year-old.  In the Lord, a fully mature Christian is held to a higher standard than is a new Christian.  A Christian leader is held to an even higher standard, as is a teacher.  There is an expectation that a mature Christian is far more capable of avoiding the enemy’s snares and is better able to serve others than is a less mature Christian.

For those who are newly born into the family of God, welcome and know that you should expect to have the time and support to fully change your life to be in accord with the precepts of Christ.  For those who are still children in the Lord, stay true to the Gospel and seek always to please the Father.  And for those who claim to be mature, who teach and lead others in the Lord:  act your age.

-Charles Peterson

Michael McLendon, the man who killed ten people in Alabama last Tuesday, seemed to have no real defining “reason” for his murder spree.  By descriptions provided of his work and social history, he never seemed to be willing to work hard and hold down a job.  He was fired from various positions for undisclosed reasons, and quit his position at a local sausage factory for unknown reasons.  His social exploits included an intended lawsuit against members of his family to obtain, ironically, a family Bible.  He flunked out of the Police Academy after a week.  Although he seemed to be well-liked at the sausage plant, his “hit list” included the names of a coworker who reported him for not wearing required safety equipment and a supervisor who did not think he was performing his job adequately.

It would be easy to write of such an individual as what many of my generation would call a “loser”.  It seems that this individual held a grudge against any and every person who wronged him, either in reality or even through perception.  In the grand scheme of things, McLendon’s concerns seem petty and minor; for him, they were reason to kill ten people, several of whom were apparently at random.  This person, who seemed to find no way to make a difference for good in the world through his life, decided to change for the worse the world around him through his final acts of hate and murder.

This is shocking to most of us, as we view this level of evil as incomprehensible.  But we should not be surprised at things like this happening:  people who reject godliness are left with no moral compass and no way to lift up out of the mire of a dismally self-seeking existence.

So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.  For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature.  They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.  The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.  I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.  Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.  Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.  Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.  (Galatians 5:16-26 NIV)

Popular culture often displays godliness as a monastic existence stripped of excitement and devoid of enjoyment.  But in reality the exact opposite is true.  The only way to have a meaningful existence is to seek after those qualities for which we were created:  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control.  If a person does not seek after these qualities in their life, they will find themselves filled with a demeaning sensuality, rebellion against God, a selfish hatred of others, and self-destructive addictions.

Now, not only does our society claim that fulfilling yourself is the way to happiness, but many churches make a similar claim by stripping the Word of God of any hint of God’s displeasure towards our chosen behaviors and “lifestyles”, focusing only on “love” and “joy”; in doing so, they defraud the people of the words of life and put themselves in jeopardy of being enemies of God!  Make no mistake:  God HATES sin!  There is no tolerance for differing opinions when the Day comes and we are called to account for our wickedness; the only path for salvation comes from faith in Christ Jesus and obedience to the Gospel of peace (that is peace with God, not man).

God “will give to each person according to what he has done.”  To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life.  But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.  (Romans 2:6-8 NIV)

Eternal life comes from seeking after God and persistently striving to please him.  Destruction comes from a self-seeking rejection of the truth and the embracing of evil.  There is no hope for those who do such, for they have chosen hopelessness.  Choose to follow God, for hope and true living reside only with him.

-Charles Peterson

There seems to be a stigma against the word “religion”; in fact, many seem to have an odd distaste for the very concept of religion.  I cannot count the times that I have heard someone say “it’s about relationship, not religion.”  This statement has always irritated me, but I could not put my finger on why – until now.

In my readings I recently came upon a passage written by Lactantius in the fourth century A.D., in which he wrote:

For we were created on this condition:  that we pay just and due obedience to God, who created us.  We should know and follow Him alone.  We are bound and tied [religare] to God by this chain of piety.  And the word “religion” [religio] is derived from this … Religion is the cultivation of truth.  (A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs, David W. Bercot, Editor)

This is what bothered me all along about the “it’s not about religion” crowd:  religion is the discharge of obligation of man to God; it is how we submit ourselves to God.  Those who scoff at religion are in effect scoffing at our obligatory submission to God – which is not surprising, as you often hear these comments from the same people who make claims such as “all you need to do is tell people about God’s love”.  God’s love is absolutely amazing, but so is his wrath at our sins and the coming destruction of the Godless.  In light of the terrible day of judgment approaching, and the wonderful work of redemption by Jesus, it is most definitely about religion!

” ‘Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, “We are safe”-safe to do all these detestable things?  Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you?  But I have been watching! declares the LORD.”  (Jeremiah 7:9-11 NIV)

Then he entered the temple area and began driving out those who were selling.  “It is written,” he said to them, ” ‘My house will be a house of prayer’; but you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’ “  (Luke 19:45-46 NIV)

But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God.  (1 Timothy 5:4 NIV)

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)

These passages show God’s view of religion:  it is not something to be scoffed at, but rather it is to be treated with the upmost respect in our lives.  The Jews thought that they could hide behind the temple, but God said that he saw the evil they did.  Jesus, by quoting from Jeremiah, told the money-changers and the Temple rulers what he thought of their practices.  The passages in Luke and James show that Godly religion is one of caring for others and of pursuing purity.

Now, back to this concept of “it’s about relationship, not religion”.  Those who believe this way have fallen into the trap of thinking without engaging the organ most useful for that process.  Religion is all about relationship!  After all, words like obligation and submission by their very definitions indicate relationships!  This inability to understand the basic nature of religion stems from a paradigm that emphasizes only the positive and fun passages, ignoring those that are negative in nature or that require real change in character and living.  When you hear the word “worship”, do you think of prayer, singing, and teaching?  Or do you think of reorganizing your life to be conforming to God’s standard of holiness?  Before you answer, read Romans 12:1-3.

God wants to be in a relationship with us, no doubt about it.  But that relationship that he seeks is one in which he is our God and we are his people!  That relationship is defined as religion.  Embrace that relationship and let’s reclaim religion the way God intends.

-Charles Peterson

Labor relations has been one of the most bitterly contested and crucially decisive factors in the American economy since our entry into the Industrial Age.  During the times of plenty, workers tend to want more pay and benefits for less effort and risk; while during the times of hardship, workers focus more on maintaining their agreements and ensuring their employment.  In those same times, shareholders (owners) try to focus on growth in the good years and on survival in the bad years.  Depending on the character of the parties involved, these decisions are either made with everyone’s interests at heart (such as with the basket company Longaberger) or they are made in the arena of personal attacks and corporate warfare (such as with automobile and airline labor disputes).  But in the end, no matter which way it goes, the discussion is about paying workers what they are owed and workers actually earning the pay they receive.

This often brings up a clash between economic and social ideology.  In economic terms, a worker is only worth what his effort can be sold for in the market (which is why in road construction, the person operating the heavy equipment is often paid more that the person holding the sign).  But from a social ideological perspective, people view as distasteful the assigning of worth to an individual (the janitor cleaning the office has equal human worth as the company CEO who occupies that office).  Problems come into play when the parties disputing compensation are using different definitions of the word “worth”. 

The Bible gives us two opposite views of the worth of man.  These first three passages show how utterly worthless in terms of spiritual value mankind has become.

They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their fathers and the warnings he had given them. They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless. They imitated the nations around them although the LORD had ordered them, “Do not do as they do,” and they did the things the LORD had forbidden them to do.  (2 Kings 17:15 NIV)

Before him all the nations are as nothing; they are regarded by him as worthless and less than nothing.  (Isaiah 40:17 NIV)

As it is written:  “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.  All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”  (Romans 3:10-12 NIV)

You can see that there is no reason to expect God to forgive (or even to want to forgive) all of the sin and blasphemy that mankind has covered himself in.  That is the state of affairs for all who rely on the “well, I am a good person” defense!  There is only justified and well-deserved condemnation for all who go before God’s wrath and stand in their own defense.

Praise be to God that there is another view presented to us in the Holy Scriptures!

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)

“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)

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.  Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.  But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:  while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  (Romans 5:6-8 NIV)

For just as man has no intrinsic value because of sin and depravity, God desires for all to be saved.  In fact, God is so passionate about salvation that he sent his son Jesus to come and bear his wrath on the cross; Jesus is so passionate about salvation and is so passionate about pleasing the Father that he bore all our sins and paid the price for our immense debt! 

How extraordinary is the fact that we who were worthless by our nature were purchased at the greatest price of all!  Let us all remember to strive to live up to the price that was paid for us.  We do not want the wages that we have earned in our lives; we want the credited righteousness!

-Charles Peterson

There was a commercial that was banned from the Super Bowl broadcast.  The commercial did not contain any politically charged messages, nor did it contain obscene imagery such as nudity or graphic violence.  There was no foul language, and the content did not attack anybody on the basis of race, creed, religion, etc.; it was banned (quite properly in my opinion) because it advertized a website dedicated to helping married people commit adultery.

The website “AshleyMadison.com” promotes itself as “The World’s Premier Discreet Dating Service” and uses the tagline “Life is short.  Have an affair.”  The add featured a couple kissing and frolicking while text appeared proclaiming “This couple is married”, followed by the text “but not to each other”.  The point of this seems to be that you shouldn’t have to be constrained by a marriage to the “wrong partner” so go find happiness elsewhere.

The entire notion of this website “dating service” is anathema to Godliness, and should be appalling to all of us.  If you are married and you decide to cheat on your spouse, your entire marriage is in vain and you are an adulterer.  In this same way, we need to ask ourselves if we are becoming spiritual adulterers.

One of the things that Jesus held against the Jews (namely the Pharisees and the Teachers of the Law) was that they seemed to be constantly making up new and stricter laws for the people to be required to follow.  An excellent example is when the Pharisees confronted Jesus because his disciples were not following their rules on the ceremonial washing of their hands:

So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with ‘unclean’ hands?”  He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: ” ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.  They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’  You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men.”  And he said to them:  “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions!  For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’  But you say that if a man says to his father or mother: ‘Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is Corban’ (that is, a gift devoted to God), then you no longer let him do anything for his father or mother.  Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down.  And you do many things like that.”  (Mark 7:5-13 NIV)

Throughout their history (from Moses to the time of Jesus), the Jews were married to the law.  But they proved unwilling and unable to remain faithful – they were always committing adultery with everything from idols and false gods to self-made rules and imported philosophy.  In Romans, Paul says: “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.”  (Romans 7:15 NIV).  This is not saying that we will just sin, sin, and sin again for the rest of our lives.  What this says is that we were unable to remain faithful to the Law, so we lived in vain.  Christ, however, put to death the Law and freed us from our useless life and broken marriage; he then established a new marriage with him – one based not on observance of the law but based on the same faith that Abraham had.

Today there are many Christians who seem to think that it is their calling from the Lord to police the rest of us.  They do this not by a careful examination of the scriptures but by finding passages that can be used to make a wise-sounding argument.  Paul wrote in Colossians:  “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ,” (Colossians 2:8 NIV).  They often mislead younger Christians into following their misguided ways, so that whole generations are corrupted.  The really sad part of this is that these Christians may never discover that the life free from the bondage to sin is not found through the making of new rules but through seeking a Godly mind.  A life spent focused on earthly things is a life spent in vain; a life spent focused on Godly things is a life that is renewed and made perfect.

-Charles Peterson

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