It's Time To Take A Knee

 

As we enter the last quarter of this troubling year of 2020, the clarity we often relate to 20/20 is yet to be seen by those of even minimal intelligence. Nothing seems to make sense any longer and a dense fog of redundant and irrational societal demands looms over everyone’s future. This year the citizens of the United States of America will exercise their right to vote in a general election of most of the positions in federal and local governments. This election year is a crucial time in the history of the world and most of all our country. One must take the time to investigate the past history and the immediate intentions of every person on the ballot and weigh that information against your expectations for the future of this country and peace throughout the world. Remember this – the U.S.A. citizen voter is the owner of the U.S.A. and those we elect to office are to represent us and protect our way of life, not to dictate and destroy our Constitutional Republic. Above all, one must pray for the survival of our form of government, confess our faults that are tearing down our Constitutional Rights, and ask God for guidance when selecting whom you should vote for. When minister Joe Wright was asked to open the new session of the Kansas House of Representatives in January 1996, everyone was expecting the usual generalities, but this is what they heard:

“Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask Your forgiveness and to seek Your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, ‘Woe to those who call evil good,’ but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We confess: We have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and called it pluralism. We have worshipped other gods and called it multiculturalism. We have endorsed perversion and called it alternative lifestyle. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem. We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent to direct us to the center of your will. I ask it in the Name of Your Son, the living Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.” Can you see the shame and truth in this powerful prayer?

[Proverbs 12:12-22] A number of legislators walked out during the prayer in protest. Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on his show "The Rest of the Story" on the radio and received a larger response to this program than any other he has ever aired. With the Lord's help, may this prayer sweep over our nation, again, and wholeheartedly become our desire so that we again can be called one nation under God. “If My people who are called by My Name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sins and heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14). Every person on the face of this earth is a sinful, greedy soul. “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins…” (1 John 1:8-10). Time has come to rally around the voting booth and the cross of Jesus. And failing to take a knee here could result in total chaos and great loss.

God's Guidance and Good Fences

 

In his farewell address of 1796, George Washington famously stated, “Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to a political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.” A couple of years later John Adams said, “We have no government armed in power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion.” We can see the results of unbridled human passions. As we consume the media reports and learn of those advocating anarchy; as we see people beaten and terrorized at “anti-hate” rallies; while we are surrounded by so much turmoil, we seek answers. Anyone claiming to be able to govern one’s self or country without God is confused and mistaken. “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death” (Proverbs 14:12). “I know, O Lord, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps” (Jeremiah 10:23). “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

[2 Peter 1:3-9] An old classic western song pleads, “Don’t fence me in.” All of us like our freedom, but at the same time we recognize a need for fences. They keep ours in and there’s out, give us privacy, offer protection, beautify and enhance value, establish ownership and identify boundaries. Though they restrict freedom in some ways, in others they also offer freedom and protect it! Let us make a spiritual application as we consider various kinds of fences. * Barbed Wire Fence: Don’t carelessly grab hold of this fence. It is a no-nonsense fence that intends to establish boundaries to keep stuff in or out. It establishes ownership and protects that which is owned. The Word of God is a barbed wire fence (John 12:44-50; Revelation 21:24-27). * Spite Fence: This fence is designed to send a hateful message. Hard-hearted persons, void of God’s love, who display hate and vengeance toward others fall into this category (1 John 4:20-21). * Storm Fence: Here is a rugged fence intended to establish boundaries, protect ownership, keep out undesirables, and withstand the weather’s efforts to tear it down. It is built to stand through all kinds of hardship. Christians should be like this (1 Corinthians 15:58). * Farm Fence: Again we have a simple but rugged fence built to last, establish boundaries, to keep stock in and intruders out. It is practical and functional, doing its job day in and day out. It is another portrait of what Christians should be (Luke 9:23; 2 Timothy 4:1-5). * Privacy Fence: Its basic message is KEEP OUT! It is anti-social and discriminate. Narrow minded persons who would bind where the Bible does not, fit this category (Romans 16:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20). * Electric Fence: The primary function of this fence is to limit access in or out. It will deliver a shocking experience to anyone who touches it and will certainly discourage them from crossing the boundary it establishes. The Bible functions in this way. Entrance into or exit from the kingdom of God is governed by its precepts (John 8:32; 17:17; Acts 2:38-47; Mark 16:16; Romans 6:3-4; Galatians 3:26-27). * Landscape Fence: This fence has no functional purpose other than to look good and enhance beauty. It is entirely superficial, is not really built to last, and is often changed on a whim. It is very liberal, establishing no boundaries and protecting nothing. Those who profess to be Christians outwardly but are not inwardly, and who would loose where God has bound are like this fence (James 2; Philippians 1:17). Tearing it all down; “burning it down”; destroying what God has established will only lead to chaos and compromise outside of God’s love and protection.

Contentment and Happiness

 

A story is told of the time when Abraham Lincoln (before he was President) was walking through town with two of his young sons. The two boys were crying and visibly unhappy. A friend stopped Mr. Lincoln and asked him what was wrong with the two boys, to which he supposedly replied, “Exactly what’s wrong with the whole world… I have three walnuts and each boy wants two!” To some degree we can all identify with this story. We live in a world that is consumed with consuming. Even though Jesus taught that life does not consist in the abundance of our possessions (Luke 12:15), we continue to live as though it does. We know what it is to be always spending but never satisfied. Years ago, the comic Flip Wilson used to do a satirical bit of comedy known as “The Church of What’s Happening Now.” More recently, a theologian by the name of Mark Buchanan wrote a short piece titled, “The Cult of the Next Thing.” ‘I belong to the Cult of the Next Thing. It’s dangerously easy to get enlisted. It happens by default – not by choosing the cult, but by failing to resist it. The Cult of the Next Thing is consumerism cast in religious terms. It has its own litany of sacred words: more, you deserve it, new, faster, cleaner, and brighter. It has its own deep rooted liturgy: charge it, instant credit, no down payment, deferred payment, no interest for one year. It has its own preachers, evangelists, prophets, and apostles: ad men, pitchmen, and celebrity sponsors. It has, of course, its own shrines, chapels, temples, and meccas: malls, super- stores, club warehouses. It has its own sacraments: credit and debit cards. It has its own ecstatic experience: the spending spree. The Cult of the Next Thing’s central message proclaims, “Crave and spend, for the Kingdom of Stuff is here.”’

[Philippians 4:11-13] “…I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it means to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” Rather than being content with what we have, we always crave something more. The fact is, if we needed different “things” or gifts to enable us to glorify God, he would provide them for us (Matthew 6:25-34). Instead of saying, “If I only had this” or “If I only had that,” God is calling upon us to glorify Him right now! God expects us to serve Him in our current situation with what we have right now. Like Paul, may we all be satisfied and content with what our God has provided for us. May we all be completely satisfied with God for He is all we need for life and happiness. Solomon wrote: “For what has man for all his labor, and for the striving of his heart with which he has toiled under the sun? For all his days are sorrowful, and his work grievous; even in the night his heart takes no rest. This also is vanity. There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of God. For who can eat, or who can have enjoyment more than I? For God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy to a man who is good in His sight; but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and collecting, that he may give to him who is good before God. This is also vanity and grasping for the wind” (Ecclesiastes 2:22-26). On Judgement Day… “God will give to each person according to what he has done”  (Romans 2:5-11). The conclusion of the whole matter: “Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).

Possibly The Last Generation

 

As we continue daily to quantify the overnight evolutionary developments of our whacko society, I hear it repeatedly said in discussions of disbelief, “We just haven’t been paying attention,” and I have to agree that most people are so wrapped up in themselves they haven’t been paying attention to the facts of life surrounding them. While browsing through my written materials I came upon this article written in mid 2010 by Jay Lockhart titled “The Last Generation” and was amazed how right on he was.

‘Our nation is in trouble. Morally, religiously, economically, and politically – we are in trouble. When the Constitution, the document upon which the Republic was built, is called a “living document,” i.e., it must change with the culture to be politically correct, and is no longer interpreted but ignored by some in high places, we are in trouble. When the morality of the nation is at an all time low and the national debt is at an all time high, we are in trouble. When “Congress shall establish no religion” is interpreted to mean that God is removed from the fiber of our nation, we are in trouble. Will this be the last generation of Americans who were a part of the greatest nation on earth? The church is also encountering difficulties in many places, here and abroad. From the outside, the church ever faces the temptation to be overly influenced by the culture. This is called the “Emergent Church” movement. Becoming like the world silences the voice of conviction that should characterize the church. The church is in the world and does its work in the world, but must be carefully separated from the world. We are not to conform to this world but are to have a transforming influence in the world. From the inside we face the “Change Agent” movement which seeks to remake the church into a denomination. “Change Agents” have affected countless congregations as well as administrators and teachers on the campuses of Christian colleges and universities. If this movement has its way, we wonder if this is the last generation to stand strong upon Biblical truth and to call for restoration of the New Testament Christianity. This is certain: the church will be here when Jesus comes. Not even the power of death can defeat it (Matthew 16:18). However, local churches or individual members must make a choice. Where are the churches at Corinth, Philippi, Thessalonica, Colosse, and what happened to the seven churches of Asia? We may continue to exist, but will we exist as a church that seeks to be the church of the New Testament? In our families, the most influence in the lives of children are their parents. If today’s young people are as strong or weak spiritually in the coming years as their parents are today, we wonder if this is the last generation that will seek to be the church of the New Testament. We look to the future optimistically but realistically and wonder what the future holds for us. It’s worth pondering. Could this be the last generation to hold to the real, the true, and the lasting in the matters affecting us nationally, religiously, and domestically?’ Did you think this way ten years ago?

[Genesis 6:5-13; Deuteronomy 27, 28, 29; 2 Peter 2:1-3:18] The world is in a mess and personally I believe the lawlessness and apostasy of the generation roaming the earth today is going to bring about the return of our Savior and the destruction of God’s glorious creation. I may not see the Lord coming in the air but I know I will share in His resurrection because I’m not going to forsake the church, even if I have to take her underground. I pray I will never see that day but I do think there are folks alive right now who will. What will tomorrow bring? It doesn’t matter, because I know God is still on the throne and is in full control of His creation no matter what man thinks or does to oppose.