A Patriot Voice

Last year many universities created a (safe place) for their students. At first glance that looked like an honorable thing to do. However, the safe place was created for the prevention of free speech. The students were seeking refuge from being offended. The schools of yesterday openly invited civil debate. Fear now runs both governments and higher education. From here forward we will always be in crisis management.
 
As a minister I speak freely from God’s Word. Whether the subject is the government’s sin of attempting to make boys into girls or the church’s sin of not loving those who commit that sin. I speak freely, from God’s Word. If ministers are not vigilant about this freedom, they will someday find a government creating a (safe place)for people who want truth silenced.
 
Isaiah 1:16-17 gave us three reasons for government. They are to do good for its people, seek justice, and provide help for the oppressed. Overreaching political leaders must never forget that there is no compromise for us in the church. We will speak freely from God’s Word. We were given that right from our Father, not from the statehouse. We will love, honor, and respect those in authority over us, just as Romans 13 commanded us. However, the church was created as a (safe place) for believers to practice their faith. I have ministered in more than three hundred churches across the country and in more than twenty nations around the world, and never have I witnessed a closed door to any person who wanted to hear from God’s Word. Our American government should celebrate that freedom, not seek to silence it. The church is the last stand for freedom. Pastors must be willing to engage this culture with the love of Christ. Our weapon is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Every time your church doors open it is a celebration of freedom. God forbid we ever lose that…
 
Today, all social media is finding censure its primary way of silencing opposing thoughts. Daily, they take down Scripture posts they claim do not meet community standards. What if tomorrow our messages do not meet their community standard? If we state that abortion is sin and marriage is between a man and a woman? We will not be applauded, we will be removed. May we celebrate our freedoms and pray for each other in our differences.

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Day by Day

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.” 2 Cor. 4:16
 
“Give us (day by day), our daily bread.” Luke 11:3
 
Many years ago a young minister grappled with unresolved conflicts. Before his thirtieth birthday, he had damaged his health. He took a trip to Italy to reflect and heal his body. While there, he contracted a fever and was confined to bed for weeks. Finally able to travel again, he booked passage aboard a sailing ship. While sailing in the Mediterranean the winds ceased. The ship floundered for days. The dispirited young man could take it no longer. Alone in his cabin, he wrestled mightily with God until he gained victory in his heart. Out of that experience, John Henry Newman wrote a powerful hymn.
 
“Lead kindly Light! Amid th’ encircling gloom,

Lead thou me on;

The night is dark, and I am far from home,

Lead thou me on;

Keep thou my feet;

I do not ask to see

The distant scene;

One step is enough for me.

 

John Henry Newman

From The Red Sea Rules by Robert Morgan

Thomas Nelson publisher
 

Sometimes, we would like to peek around the corner to see what’s coming next. We would love to know if our nation is going to hold itself together after hearing the name George Floyd only a few days before. This previously unknown name is now the most searched name on Google. While much of the world is still reacting to his death, another group fueled by hatred and opportunity set America on fire…literally.

As a small boy, the framing of a philosophy for life was found in our daily routine. One day a rake head came flying off its handle. I feared my grandfather’s response would not be good. His wisdom helped to form the beginning of a way to live. When I presented grandad the two-piece rake, he looked it over and said, “When you get it fixed we will be back in business.” From that…I got my (if you broke it, you fix it) philosophy. Life is designed to learn as we go. The reason I could never vent my anger by running around in charter buses, calling myself Antifa and demolishing local businesses while terrifying neighborhoods, is that I was taught to always be responsible for anything I do. I just never could do the terrorist thing because the character instilled into me was…. if you broke it you fix it. The young people who are doing the bidding of anarchists today were never given the broken rake model. Their conception of life is that if we can destroy all that others have, we can then be free to design a new system of life that will be more fair.
 
That same idea for framing a way of life was revealed in the four disgraced police officers in Minnesota last week. To Protect and Serve cannot work as words stamped into a badge, it must be framed from the heart and lived through the actions taken.
 
Our challenge as Christians in a hostile culture is not to get in a war of words but to show the love of Christ. That one challenge is becoming more difficult as our politics can often get in the way of our purpose. We are in a cultural fight without question.
 
The apostle Paul told the Corinthians that, “We do not lose heart, even though the outward man is perishing the inward man is renewed day by day.” We simply cannot quit our purpose. We cannot lose heart. There are so many battles. When we speak about marriage being between a man and a woman, we are called a homophobe. When we speak about biblical gender we are called a bigot. So…don’t lose heart. It’s day by day that God’s grace is given. It’s day by day that we ask for food. It’s day by day that we seek His blessing. Don’t lose heart…be encouraged. The Lord will fulfill His purpose in you…Day by Day.

 

       

 

 

 


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