A Moral and Medical Response to the Gender Equality Act

You know it’s going to be a tough day when you go shopping at a local department store and the first major decision you have to make is “Which restroom can or should I use?”  Yes, that is where we are in America today.  Wow- we went from putting a man on the moon in the sixties to putting men in women’s restrooms in this decade. To quote a term from the sixties- “We’ve come a long way baby.” Question is, which way are we going?  Proverbs warns us, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” Proverbs 14:12.

We can’t defeat ISIS, and millions of Americans can’t find work. Health Care is still a disaster and the national debt is higher now than ever before. More Americans are on food stamps and other government subsidies than any other time in the history of our nation, and the President of the United States has decided to take on one of the greatest crises facing our great Republic- “The Potty War”! 

Mr. Biden, is now arguing for a clearer definition of “gender identity” in relation to who can use public restrooms and which ones are allowed to be used.  In the old days, public schools, the Division of Motor Vehicles and your family physician determined one’s sex based on the only objective standard we had and that was the plumbing.  According to the American College of Pediatricians, “No one is born with a gender. Everyone is born with a biological sex. Genesis 1:27 “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female he created them.” On the other hand, gender [an awareness and sense of oneself as male or female] is a sociological and psychological concept. In other words, we have people such as Bruce Jenner who claim to be female.  We have folks who are so sexually confused they change their “gender identification” like folks change their car oil. 

The point the ACP makes is that “Human sexuality is an objective biological binary trait.” Joseph Farah, a syndicated journalist writes, “The American College of Pediatricians have cited reasons why ‘gender ideology’ instead of treatment based on biological facts is harmful to children.” In his article he quotes the ACP and their findings, “A person’s belief that he or she is something they are not is at best, a sign of confused thinking or the child could suffer from gender dysphoria which is an objective psychological problem that lies in the mind not the body, and should be treated as such.” The findings go on to state, “Puberty is not a disease, and puberty blocking hormones can be dangerous by inhibiting growth and fertility.” 

Those on the left who want to turn families into social experiments want to politicize this issue and are encouraging parents and guardians to actually assist their sexually confused adolescents to pursue this dangerous avenue.  Farah goes on to quote the ACP by stating, “Endorsing gender discordance as normal via public education and legal policies will confuse children and parents.” The American College of Pediatricians wrapped up their findings with this statement, “No matter what sex a person imagines themselves to be, they remain either a biological male or a biological female.” 

You can kiss girls’ sports goodbye.  Nothing now can stop a 17-year-old boy from competing in an 8-year-old girls sports. It is already happening and it will continue. Don’t let the left hide this dirty little secret. If you thought your daughter’s privacy in her locker room was secure- guess again.  Matt Staver who is a Christian Attorney with the Liberty Council writes, “This dangerous bill is designed to destroy non-complying churches and synagogues.” The “sexually expressive” want to force every school and church to adopt their narrative. Churches and Christian Universities will be forced to hire people of every sexual orientation. The radical left is even pushing for pedophiles to be legally protected.  Think about that the next time you drop your kid off at the church nursery. This bill will require schools to accept abortion. Staver goes on to write, “Schools which offer health insurance for students must include abortion.  Mr. Biden made it very clear that he wanted the “Equality Act passed within the first 100 days of his “presidency.”  The House of Representatives passed it last week.  It is going to the U.S. Senate later.  Romans 1:28 continues to sound off in my mind. “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind to do those things which are not fitting.”

Are you ready to see how your hard-earned tax dollars are being spent by the Biden Administration?  So, this is how the United States Justice Department wants to redefine gender identity and force your kids to go potty next to a hard-core pedophile…Terry Jeffrey, a conservative columnist cites, “According to the Justice Department’s logic a person who is biologically male but claims a female “gender identity” must be treated as a female by state governments and schools that receive federal funding.” So a person who is biologically a male- that is a “person born with male parts” but who wakes up one morning and feels like a female- “gender identity” is now free to walk into any restroom and violate the freedom and liberties of others simply due to his new found identity.  You talk about a nation on the verge of a moral and spiritual implosion- that is us, folks.  Mychal Massie, a conservative African-American journalist, states, “If there is not God; no absolute truth; if we are to individualize our decisions based upon what feels good to us; we in effect have contributed to the creation of chaos and disorder. Moral appropriateness is no longer to be judged.” In place of good common sense legislation, we have allowed even the most corrupt individuals in society to set the tone for how descent, God fearing, ethically sound people live out their lives.  Massie goes on to state, “America has replaced order and morality with chaos and selfishness.”

So today maybe you are feeling a bit handicapped. You have no legal identification that would permit you to park in a handicapped spot, but you no longer need the Division of Motor Vehicles to issue you one. If you feel handicapped, then park wherever you want and tell the police officer and the judge you now “identify” with handicapped folks therefore you are one if of course you feel like one.  If you are filling out a job application or a college application for your child and it asks you to state your particular race remember if you are feeling kind of Cherokee or maybe Asian, put it down.  If truth is relative, then one’s nationality and color should be as well.  I never knew of the endless opportunities that await me as a born again cultural relativist.  Of course, all of my judgments and decisions in life must be honored and respected by society regardless of the people I hurt or injure because after all, with no moral compass or hierarchy of truth to govern our choices, there really isn’t such a thing as right or wrong-man or woman, it’s your call to make.

In closing, Bill Donahue stated in his book The New Freedom, “When pluralism is pushed to extremes, there is no such thing as the public good.”  How true.

The Diminishing Line Between Right and Wrong in America

I am reading a very thought-provoking book by one of the great thinkers of our generation. Even though I do not agree with all of Mr. Colson’s theological beliefs, I admire him for his outstanding leadership in a variety of issues from personal holiness to the essentiality for applied ethics and morality in modern society. One of events that made for a transformational moment in his career was when he spoke at his alma maters, Harvard’s Business School, and shared some incredible insights regarding the shifting moral climate in the business world, the political world, and in the personal behavior of most Americans.

In his address, he referred to some of the scandals that had recently rocked Washington. Now nobody was more familiar to dirty politics than Chuck Colson, known by many as Presidents Nixon’s hatchet man and up to his elbows in the Watergate scandal. What makes Mr. Colson so intriguing to me, is after his run in with God, he began to realize that what was missing in so many leaders was a moral compass. In his address, he stated that in a press release in the early 90’s the Justice Department reported they had, “prosecuted and convicted 1,150 public officials, the highest number in the history of the republic.” This of course pales in comparison to the corruption being reported every day out of Washington. The business community is not immune to self-obsession either. Ivan Boesky, while addressing the Business School in the mid-80’s told the students, “Greed is a good thing.” Not long after that speech he spent time in a federal prison for financial misconduct.

We have seen sports figures blur the lines. Peter Rose betting on baseball, and quarterbacks with over-inflated ego’s deflating footballs. It would seem that even men of the cloth are not exempt from this destructive pattern. Many well respected and successful preachers in our own movement have succumb to either a sex scandal or financial impropriety. You know we have hit an all-time low when modern media outlets recognize we have a serious crisis on our hands.

In Mr. Colson’s address, he alluded to an article in Time Magazine in which the editor wrote, “Hypocrisy, betrayal, and greed unsettle a nation’s soul.” During that same period the Washington Post wrote, “Common decency can no longer be described as common.” Has there been, and is there a continual pattern developing in America? A loss of inner discipline? A failure to respect our fellow man? A desire to get ahead at whatever the cost?

Let’s go back a few years. What guided the entertainment industry and the political machinery as well as the business community and ultimately the homes and churches in this country? I believe it was a set standard of norms essential for healthy societies to operate and survive. Colson describes it as, “Shared set of philosophical assumptions and a transcendent value system.” Most historians would agree that our mores and ethics were directly aligned with what is referred to as the “Judeo-Christian value system.” Eventually, leading universities and leaders in our society began to cast doubt to the legitimacy of a fixed set of values and ethics. Writings from existential philosophers such as Camus and Kierkegaard were taught as gospel on college campuses across the U.S. What Chuck Colson calls, “heroic individualism” became the mantra and personal fulfillment at all cost became a priority for Western Culture. No longer were we governed by a hierarchy of truth for now truth itself was called into question. This ideology birthed the age of rebellion. No longer would people be governed by fixed values. Ethics would be judged based on the situation at hand. If it, whatever it meant, felt good- than explore it, experiment with whoever and whatever you feel makes you self-actualized.

If you do a google search for the best-selling books in the early 70’s you will see titles like Winning Through Intimidation and Looking Out for Number One pop up. In the 80’s greed reached an all-time high. Our culture demanded personal fulfillment at all cost. Shows like Dynasty and Dallas became more than popular shows on Friday nights, they became a picture of contemporary culture in America. We were in business for ourselves and the “Me” generation was in full bloom.

In Mr. Colson’s address to the Business School at Harvard, he told the students, “Self-obsession destroys character.” He went on to say, “In a relativistic environment, ethics deteriorates to nothing more than utilitarian or pragmatic consideration.” Simply put, right and wrong really don’t exist and if they do by some means, it is up to each individual to figure what that is. Wow! That describes exactly where we are in post-modern America. Men wake up one morning and if they feel like a woman, then they are a woman. If you feel your pet turkey fits the description of a “service pet” then it is just that. Since we have no standards to measure one’s behavior, and since with the lines of “right and wrong, good and evil” completely blurred, we have become a sophisticate culture of barbarians.

Stanley Hauerwas, who was a professor at Duke University wrote, “Moral life cannot be found by each person. Pursuing his or her options.” Colson went on to state, “In relativism, all you have is a set of options. The only way moral life can be produced is by the formation of virtuous people of traditional communities.”

What is see now is a great opportunity that awaits the church of Jesus Christ. We can help re-direct folks who are walking aimlessly in society back to a source of truth. The Bible helps to re-clarify what the world has to terribly blurred- Hope, purpose, grace, forgives mercy, love, but most of all transcendent truth.

In his address at Wheaton College, Colson stated, “Christians have an advantage because God’s revelation has given us a framework for knowing truth. We understand as well that if God has created he physical order, God has also created a moral order, the character of which He has also make known to us.”

Face the Facts Folks…Socialism Simply Does Not Work Anywhere!

Dale Crowley in his book entitled, Can America Survive, recalls that President John Adams absolutely believed the new nation he helped to construct had a “God ordained mission to give the Christian message to the world.” In fact, the second president of the United States stated, “The destiny of America is to carry the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all men, everywhere.”

One key reason I am very concerned about the direction the United States is moving, especially in regards to its fascination with socialism, is that if we become another failed socialist state, freedom of religion and the ability to practice our faith as we know it in America will look so different.

Everywhere socialism abounds Christians are persecuted; Cuba, Russia and China just to name a few examples. Yet when I look at the band of candidates running for the presidency it would seem that each of them is trying to out “Karl Marx” the other. This article is not a personal attack on any one candidate or party. It is merely the use facts and history to show how detrimental the new wave of political posturing really is in our country.

Fact- Venezuela was heralded by many on the left as the great model for socialism at work. Remember when Model Naomi Campbell traveled to meet the now deceased dictator and human rights violator Chavez and referred to this monster as “a rebel angel?” She wasn’t the only delusional lefty singing his praises. Twenty years or so have passed. What once was a thriving nation and in fact the wealthiest country in Latin America sitting on the world’s biggest oil reserve, has been reduced to absolute poverty. Walter Williams, a conservative African American journalist writes, “Nicolas Mauro, an avowed socialist, has turned oil-rich Venezuela into place where there are shortages of everything from toilet paper to electricity. Some people are eating their pets and feeding their children from garbage bins. Socialism has crippled Venezuela’s once-thriving economy.” Today, in spite of Michael Moore stating that Chavez would use the oil money to “eliminate 75% of extreme poverty”, this once thriving nation is in absolute ruins. We must pray diligently for a political, social and spiritual revival to take place in this once prosperous nation. We are blessed to have many refugees who have come from this socialist nation to America and more specifically to our church seeking relief from communist oppression.

John Stossel wrote, “Even if he, Chavez, have good intentions, socialists eventually run out of other people’s money. When businesses raised prices to try to keep up with inflation, Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro called that “profiteering” and punished many by confiscating their businesses.” You see, that is what concerns me so much. When you compare the political mantra from the communist dictators in Venezuela and many of the presidential candidates running for the highest office in our nation, not of Cuba, Russia or North Korea but the United States, it sounds much like the failed and not so progressive ideology coming from the likes of Castro and Chavez. Bernie Sanders, for instance, recently stated, “When I talk about democratic socialism, I am not looking at Venezuela or Cuba, I’m looking at countries like Denmark and Sweden.” Bernie, those countries are not socialist!! Stossel goes on to write, “Those countries set no national minimum wage. They impose fewer regulations on business. Their leaders even go out of their way to point out that they are not socialist.” Not long-ago Denmark’s prime minister must have gotten a wave from some of the socialist running for president constantly using his name and his country to prop up their failing campaigns, so he went on TV to respond to Bernie’s comments. He stated, “Denmark is far from a socialist planned economy. Denmark is a market economy.” Denmark went on to privatize their national phone system and railroads and actually sold the Copenhagen airport to, get this, a privately owned company and in Scandinavia, business are largely left alone. Economic freedom rankings give Scandinavian countries high scores on both property rights and business freedom. Socialists hate private ownership of almost everything. They want to control wages and repeal recent tax-cuts. They want to control travel in how you arrive and depart from places. They want to control where your kids go to school. They want to have total control over the curriculum. They want to control your guns, and most of all they want to control your speech and your freedoms. Church, wake up!! If these Marxists have their way, they will not only control free elections in our country because they are pushing hard to take away the electoral college, they will do everything in their power to squelch the gospel from being preached. You don’t have to look far to find persecuted Christians in socialist states such as Cuba, China and North Korea, just to name a few. The new wave of candidates ruining, or running today are dangerous to the free-market and to good old-fashioned common sense.

As economist Ludwig von Mises wrote: “The champions of socialism call themselves progressives, but they recommend a system which is characterized by rigid observance of routine and by a resistance to every kind of improvement. They promise the blessings of the Garden of Eden, but they plan to transform the world into a gigantic post office, every man but one a subordinate clerk in a bureau.” I Thessalonians 5:3 “While they are saying, ‘Peace and safety!’ then comes destruction.”

The “Crybully” Epidemic in America

Jonathon Van Maren wrote an interesting blog not long ago in which he addressed what he sees as a growing epidemic in America. The crisis, is as he referred to as “cry bulling.” He views this as someone who engages in intimidation or “abusive behavior or harassment.” All the while playing the role of the victim, and using the platform of intimidation as a bully stick to harass others of differing opinions or ideology into submission. I have been stating for a long time, that it would seem that those who cry foul- foul the most. Those who scream from the mountain top for more diversity, practice it the least. The “Tolerance Movement” in America is anything but tolerant. If you don’t believe that many of these super tolerant people are indeed tolerant themselves, just try and disagree or fail to affirm their political position or lifestyle and watch just how intolerant the pro-tolerant crowd can be.

This whole idea of cry bullying is really catching on especially with the left. James Kass in his September 21,2019 editorial for the Chicago Tribune wrote, “The strategy of the left is undeniable and clear. It is about the use of force, about using media as both handmaiden and the lash. It is about those who virtue-signal most often about due process, demanding it, yet denying those same due process considerations to those with whom they disagree.” Wow! there you have it. Use whatever force necessary- bend the truth. Make up any story necessary to sway an already low-information driven society, and get as much of the media of mass deception to carry the story or even make one up.

In the case of Justice Kavanaugh we have literally seen the cry-bully’s in full force. Totally savage and wreck his reputation as a father, husband and judge, on nothing more than reckless hear-say. A feckless but proven tool by the liberal establishment. No proof to substantiate the claims of sexual harassment, but a very orchestrated smear campaign to present themselves as the ones being bullied by this sexual, conservative monster, all the while the hate and harassment is coming from the very ones who paint themselves as the victim.
Remember the Old Testament story of Naboth and his vineyard? King Ahab and Queen Jezebel wanted his vineyard and desired to take it by force. So much for Eminent Domain. He refused to give it to the king. So, the queen had fake letters written to the elders of the city of Naboth stating that he blasphemed the name of God and the king. In verse 13 of I Kings 21 the scriptures state that two men came in and witnessed against poor Naboth stating that he did indeed, “blaspheme God and the king! Then they took him outside the city and stoned him with stones, so that he died. Verse 16 states, “Ahab got up and went down to take possession of the vineyard of Naboth.” Queen Jezebel used her power and position to bully this innocent man out of his property. Notice she had him set up with “fake news” and make him out to be the bad guy all the while she came out smelling like a rose. This is exactly the game plan coming from the “not so tolerant” left today. Make up stories, lie and deceive the public, smear people and their reputations all the while portraying the role of the victim.
Walter Williams reported last in his editorial piece dated November 2018, “Senator Ted Cruz and his wife were harassed at a Washington, D.C. restaurant by a group calling themselves Smash Racism DC. They wrote, “No- you can’t eat in peace- your politics are an attack on all of us. Your votes are hate crimes.” Ok, so these thugs don’t appreciate the senator’s views. That is their Constitutional right. Now they want to voice their concerns and selective moral outrage as to their “perceived” views of racism by the good senator from Texas. So how do these “cry-bullies” convey their frustration and disapproval? By bullying him and his wife out of the restaurant. All the while crying “hate crime.” So, who’s guilty of the hate crime here?” Yes, the ones who are pointing at others are they themselves the guilty ones. Again, as Mr. Kass wrote in his editorial for the Chicago Times. This is the planned strategy of the left. Get people focused on their perceived definition of discrimination or sexism, or racism, all the while using the very same tools to accomplish their hidden agenda.

Ok, so we know the left hates censorship of any kind. That is why the most reprehensible art and music forms is permitted and displayed because we all know that the framers of the Bill of Rights had no intention of censoring filth when they called for “freedom of expression.” Now we know the left hates it when the church calls for responsible expression. The diversity crowd hates it when responsible citizens remind our culture that for every freedom their must accompany that freedom an equal amount of responsibility. So, you would think that the reigning democratic leadership in this nation would bemoan any form of censorship no matter who is behind it. Not so fast my friends. Rich Lowry writes, “In San Antonio, the leader of the anti-Chick-fil-A effort, City Councilman Roberto Trevino, explained that “Everyone has a place here, and everyone should feel welcome when they walk through our airport.” The irony of discriminating against Chick-fil-A in order to demonstrate the city’s famous open-ness was, of course, lost on him.” So, let me get this straight. Let’s make this feckless accusation against a food chain that does not discriminate on anyone by doing what? You got it— Cry-bullying!!!!! Let’s use the bully pulpit and his power as a city councilman to belittle this food chain because well, they differ in opinions.

Folks it goes on and on. This political posturing and political bullying is the force behind the corrupt message from the left. They want to use the mass shootings taking place in America as a tool now to bully their way into law abiding homes, and as one democratic candidate for president states, “Take your guns from you.” Dennis Prager said it best, “Lying in not an issue when truth is not a value.” That is why organizations pushing for radical laws revolving around Climate Change, Gay Rights, and other political hot-buttons, will stop at nothing to achieve their ultimate goals. They will literally say anything, do anything and run over anybody they have to in order to accomplish their end result. Fact, truth, kindness, civility, honesty, integrity- gone….
The left has proven that as long as the liberal media and the “entertainment industry” continues to carry their water for them, they can literally besmirch anyone they want and butcher the reputation of whoever gets in their way. As western civilization continues down this path of self-destruction and political temper tantrums, we will see more and more of this display of hatred and intolerance coming from the left. I’m cool with it, Jesus himself said, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.” No one was bullied by the “establishment” more then was Jesus. Yet he triumphed in the end. Good news fellow Christians—so will we…

My Prayer for our Nation and the Supreme Court Nominee Hearings

As the hearings for the nation’s highest court begin, I felt I needed to share my prayer for both Mrs. Amy Coney Barrett as well as those on the judiciary committee who will be interviewing her for this potential position. Let me start out by stating that I hope every citizen, especially believers, understand that decisions made in the nation’s highest court will indeed affect our lives. We all need to understand we have a vested interest in these proceedings. Yes, God will always be the Highest Judge in the universe and His Sovereignty will not waiver regardless of who is chosen, but while we steward the nation as good citizens we must take seriously our responsibility to pray for responsible representation in our nation’s government. That being said, today…

God help us to disagree without being disagreeable. Please remove the toxic overtones that have already plagued these hearings.

I pray, Father, that the nominee will be allowed to answer the tough questions that need to be asked of her. That you will allow for truth to surface above political ranting and rhetoric. Father, my prayer is also that leaders, regardless of party affiliation, will not give way to political grandstanding or bullying for, Lord, there is no room in our civilized society for the political tantrums we have already witnessed in more recent hearings.

I pray even today, God, that whoever the person is you have foreseen to serve in our nation’s highest court will value life, yes, even the life of the unborn, liberty, and the ability of each citizen of this great Republic the opportunity to pursue happiness. I pray that if Mrs. Barrett is confirmed by the Senate that she will not lean on her own understanding but will rely heavily as other Supreme Court members of our nation’s past, on divine providence.

I pray that those who have cried out in the past for tolerance and diversity of opinions will practice it throughout these hearings. I ask you, Father, that if there are those who would seek to divide this nation and demonize others through toxic and lethal language, will, like the lions in Daniel’s den, be silenced!

Father help us to be one nation, under your providential guidance and care. And may the judicial branch of this great Republic maintain the highest regard for the rule of law and reject judicial activism that would seek to destroy the fabric of our Constitution.

In the Name of Jesus Christ, I pray, Amen.

A Christian’s Response to Earth Day

During the month of April every year since around 1970 people all over the world have been celebrating Earth Day. Each time this year eco-friendly people come together and commit themselves to cleaning up the planet. For many, though, they are often motivated by more mis-information than solid scientific fact. Remember the book written many years ago by a fellow named Paul Ehrlich entitled- The Population Bomb?” Well, in that book he predicted that every ocean would die by 1979. He went on to write, “The total population of the Untied States would be reduced to 22.6 million by 1999 and leukemia rates would rise 70%. Food shortages would kill 65 million Americans in the 1980’s. He of course advocated vociferously for population control in fear of too many humans occupying the earth. Tony Snow who wrote an article years ago on this subject actually stated that based on recent studies the planet could “sustain 80 billion people with no improvements in technology and conceivably could support a trillion souls.” Have you noticed just how much of the “Earth Day Movement is based not on love for planet earth but fear? I might add that much of the information is simply not true. For instance, Rich Lowry, a noted journalist, wrote in May of 2006 an article in which he stated, “A 2002 study in nature found that two-thirds of the continent of Antarctica actually got colder from 1996 to 2000. A 2005 study published in science looked at about 70 percent of Antarctic’s surface area and reported that the east Antarctic ice sheet had gained 45 billion tons of ice annually between 1992 and 2003.” That is why you hear less of “global warming” and now of “climate change.” By the way no one would argue that the climate is changing. According to Dr. Fred Singer professor emeritus of Environmental sciences at the University of Virginia, and former director of the U.S. Weather Satellite Service, “We are seeing a warming trend of about one-tenth of a degree centigrade per decade, or roughly a degree per century.” This is hardly enough climate change to call for mass hysteria. I cannot help but reflect on Paul’s admonition to the church at Colossi, “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy.”

Over the years Earth Day has become more than just an opportunity to clean up waterways and remove debris from roads and parks, it has become an outlet for many Naturalist’s to turn this event into an opportunity to glorify and honor the planet at the expense of worshiping the Creator. In fact, according to a Time Magazine article written clear back in 1991, “Nature worship was part of the festivities from Boston to Berkeley. The ceremonies were part of the growing U.S. spiritual movement.”

Chuck Colson in his book entitled “How Now Shall We Live” states this all-important fact. “We need to clearly recognize a basic truth about humans. We are made to worship. We do not have the option of being non-religious. We only have the choice of what we will worship. Second, we are rebellious against God. The fact is, many people were not just helping to clean up the shorelines around the world or plant trees where deforestation has taken place, millions of people were worshipping not the God of the planet but the planet itself.

Now, I believe the scriptures give very clear direction on the fact that we as God’s prized creation must manage and care for this big rock we call earth. Think about the number of scriptures that advise believers to be good stewards of what God has allowed us to enjoy. From our finances, to our homes, to our bodies, to our tongues, to our marriages, to the body-the church, we have been commissioned to be good stewards and managers of what God has loaned to us. In Genesis 2:8,15 Moses records these words from God to man. “The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and keep it.” Did you notice first it was God who formed man? It says nothing of man evolving over billions of years through random chance and time. Secondly the scriptures record that God placed man in this lush garden to “tend it and keep it.” Also note that God placed the first couple in the garden to manage it not worship it. Big difference!!

Ever since the beginning of time as we know it, God expected us to care for and preserve what he has made for us. We should take a responsible approach to caring for the planet that God has lent us. That can be done by being responsible with the water we use, the way in which we protect our waterways, and of course the way in which we dispose of waste. Our motivation though is out of love and respect not for nature but out of love and respect for the Divine Creator. Paul knew that man would get this whole thing out of whack. In Romans 1:25 he warns us that man would eventually focus more on the creation if you will and less love and admiration on the one who created it. “Who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshipped and served the creature, rather than the Creator.”

Psalm 105:1 Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name make known among the nations what he has done.”

Psalm 24:1 “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it.”

Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands”

We know that God speaks through [1] General Revelation which is the creative order and careful meticulous design. [2] Specific Revelation which is His divine blueprint for mankind we know as the Scriptures.

Remember when Job began to question God and His authority? For 37 chapters Job and his friends and his wife cast doubts as to God’s perspective. In chapter 38 God said to Job in verse 3 “Brace yourself like a man; I will question you.” God then reminds Job that he was in charge of all the workings of planet earth and then God shares this insight in verse 33. “Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you set up God’s dominion over the earth?” Did you catch the term “law”? You see Evolution or Darwinism is merely a theory or I think a bad hypothesis. God refers to creation and His handiwork as “Law.” God is highlighting in this chapter the fact that the systems in place simply could not have evolved through chance.

My heart sinks for people who hold on to planet earth because, in their minds, this is all there is. The environment has become their God. Hence Earth Day affords Pantheist and Hyper-Environmentalist to elevate the physical over the spiritual all the while allowing Satan to eclipse God’s glory at the expense of the human soul.

Finally, the best gift we can give the planet is the gospel message of Jesus Christ. Man is the prize, the greatest of God’s creation. What man needs more than clean water is the Water of Life. What man needs more than healthy trees is to be grafted into the Vine. What planet earth needs is eternal salvation. In II Peter 3:10-13 the apostle records this chilling prophecy, “The elements shall melt with a fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. We according to his promise look for new heavens and a new earth, which righteousness dwells.” FOLKS THAT IS REAL GLOBAL WARMING!!! Jesus himself said, Heaven and earth will pass away but my word shall never pass away.” The fact remains that our earth cannot be preserved forever. We can practice conservation as good stewards but we cannot ever hope to preserve it forever. In fact, we have been told to look with great anticipation for a “New heaven and new earth.”

I find it very interesting that Jesus’ final words for his followers before He ascended back to heaven were to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel.” That is how Jesus wanted the planet earth to be saved. Is it possible that after all is said and done, we may indeed have the cleanest air managed and controlled by the most polluted minds? Celebrate Planet Earth by sharing the saving message of Jesus!!

What’s Love Got to Do With It?

Paul tells me that “even if I bestow all my earthly goods to feed the poor and give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.” Nothing? Really Paul? Certainly, I can cash in on a job well done. Certainly, I can still receive rewards for a healthy bottom line. How essential is it that my motives are pure in ministry? Just get the job done. Grow fast. Baptize lots of people and build bigger facilities. Who really cares if I enjoy what I do or if my motivation in ministry is pure and holy and done out of love if the church is growing numerically and even spiritually? If we are posting a profit, that’s really all that counts. Or is it?

Let’s go back in time. After leaving the bustling city of Capernaum, we find Jesus taking a small break from preaching and teaching to encountering a man, an outcast, an individual suffering from one of the most dreaded diseases during the 1st century- leprosy. In Mark 1:40-42, the writer states, “Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling to Him and saying to Him, “If You are willing, you can make me clean.”

Ok, lots of drama taking place in this one verse. First, leprosy came in one of three stages and none of them good. [1] Tubular kind in which one’s body would ache with bumps and bruising. [2] Anesthetic form in which the nerve damage would be so bad that the outer limbs of a person would decay and literally rot off. [3] Fungus type in which the sores would ooze forth and the victims flesh would also decay.

A leper was indeed, a social, and medical outcast. They were literally cast outside the city gates so not to infect the healthy population.
So, what does a man or woman do who has been infected with leprosy? Just what this fellow did. He went to the only one who could save him and restore him to health. When you think about it, that’s why I came to Jesus many years ago, myself. Unable to save myself. The realization of my sinful ways and the spiritual leprosy that covered me. Anyone who has accepted the plan of salvation and understands the ramifications of what sin can do, can totally relate to this pathetic leper.

Notice how the sick man made his way to Jesus, he recognized the power of Christ to restore him completely. “If you are willing, you can make me clean” vs 40. He wanted it to be His will, and he knew he could be completely restored.

The verse though that has captured my attention for the last couple of days is verse 41. I don’t struggle with the fact Jesus can heal. I don’t struggle with the idea that Jesus assisted folks of all kinds of backgrounds. He saved an adulterous woman. He converted a tax-collector. He healed people who were connected to the Roman government. He fed thousands of hungry people. Ok, I see that modeled throughout the gospels. But there are three words in verse 41 that cause me to pause. Then Jesus, “moved with compassion” reached out and touched this infected man and he was cleansed. Did you get that? Jesus was moved with compassion. So, what? Why did Jesus have to care about this man to heal him? Just take away his pain and physical agony. Just take away the leprosy. Isn’t that all the guy needed Jesus to do? But for Christ and for His followers today, it’s not enough to just minister and work in the Kingdom and produce great results. Jesus wants my motivation to be as genuine as my productivity. Max Lucado in his book, Just Like Jesus writes, “Our hearts seem so far from his. He is pure; we are greedy. He is peaceful; we are hassled. He is purposeful; we are distracted. He is pleasant; we are cranky. He is spiritual; we are earthbound. How could we ever hope to have the heart of Jesus? Ready for a surprise? We already do.” Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” If I am in Christ, Paul states, then I have the mind and heart of Christ.

Maybe that is what’s missing in our ministries and pulpits today. We have the talent, the style, the charisma, the money, the legacy, and even a little swagger, but what’s missing is HEART!! Walter Wink said about Jesus, “If Jesus had never lived, we would not have been able to invent Him.” Why? Because Jesus was neither predictable or boring. We have seen a lot of great orators and lecturers come out of our leading seminaries, yet with all the raw talent and biblical knowledge they still lack the finest of qualities- A heart and love for people. I think Mark intentionally included those three words for all of Christ’s disciples today- Paul tells me that “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.” If I minister and reach thousands of people through my messages, my personality, my charisma and my talents but have no love for the people God says it’s just white noise. It’s one thing to feel compassion for someone and not lift a finger to help, it’s also spiritually shallow to lift a finger to help but with no compassion. G.K Chesterton once said, “A saint is one who exaggerates what the world neglects.” I don’t expect secular people to operate with integrity or with compassion or love when they reach out to help. Maybe their motivation is shallow or based on manipulation. Let it not be said of Christ’s disciples that we operate under any false pretense but truth baptized in biblically-based love.

Jesus didn’t just heal this poor leper, He loved the opportunity to heal him. I can and must have the heart of Christ if I ever truly want to minister like Jesus. It is not good enough to just know about Jesus I must have the heart of Christ.

So, whose messy world do you or I need to climb into today. The man burdened with homosexuality? The women who has messed up her world with drugs? How about the outcast who sits by themselves each Sunday morning? These folks, waiting to be salvaged and saved by the touch of the Master’s nail-pierced hands. You and I are those hands and feet. “We are ambassadors for Christ” II Corinthians 5:20.

So, we go out amongst them. But how we go is as important is if we go and where we go. What does love got to do with it? Everything….

Is Truth Dead?

In the April 3, 2017 edition of Time magazine, the issue will incorporate on its front cover these rather provocative words, “Is Truth Dead?” Many folks will remember a half century ago, Time Magazine had as it’s front cover the words, “Is God Dead?” I must give credit to the editors and writers of Time for asking the questions. In the late sixties, America was reeling from the effects of war in Southeast Asia, racial tension was at a fever pitch. Shortly after 6:00 p.m. on April 4, 1968 Dr. King was assassinated. The sexual revolution was in full swing. Americans watched in horror as our president was gunned down in his open limousine in Dallas Texas. In the years 1962 and 1963 the Supreme Court voted to remove the Bible and prayer from the daily diet of children in the public-school classroom. For many, these events sparked questions as to the legitimacy of God and moral truth. If there is, or for the Deist, if there was a God, why so much evil and hatred? These events added fodder to the atheist claims as to the legitimacy of a Sovereign, caring and omnipotent God. And of course, if there is no God, why would society need a standard of absolutes to govern itself? Hence if God is either dead or non-existent then truth can be called into question.

I would argue that the events that led up to the April 8, 1966 Time cover story “Is God Dead?” was fueled by a trend already in motion at the time amongst liberal theologians to minimize the God of the Bible or simply to write God out of history and religion altogether. Ah, Satan is smart. Before attacking God’s legitimacy in contemporary society, first undermine His deity and influence within the walls of seminaries and Bible colleges.

So, a half century later we still see biblical truth under attack. We see God’s Sovereignty called into question. And if theological schools and colleges producing tomorrow’s vocational ministers doubt the existence of the Creator, it won’t take long for society in general to call God, Creation, and the Son-ship of Christ into question. As I see it, without God there is no such thing as ultimate, transcendent truth. God becomes the source of absolutes and the hierarchy of truth from which society can measure whether a behavior is either acceptable or not. God and Truth go hand- in- hand.

Time editor, Nancy Gibbs, wrote recently, “I suspect that about as many would say they believe in Truth, and yet we find ourselves having an intense debate over its role and power in the face of a President who treats it like a toy.” Now as much as Nancy Gibbs finds Mr. Trump deplorable, I would remind her that the questions revolving around ultimate truth and God and His word as the source of all truth have been debated by society and cultures for centuries. America, for instance, has been operating on a healthy dosage of secular humanism long before Mr. Trump took office.

Ultimate truth and the truth claims of God have been under attack in post-modern America for a long time. One reason why I find the question on the front cover of Time magazine so fascinating is that it has taken the secular left-leaning journalist so long to ask the question- Is Truth Dead? I mean they have been questioning transcendent truth for years. They have mocked God and challenged the Christian Worldview for many years. Dr. Dell Tacket who authored the Truth Project, a series I have taught and feel every Bible believing church should teach, states, “In almost every case, the perspective of contemporary culture stands in direct opposition to the Truth-centered worldview presented in the Bible.” As Jesus stands before Pilate, who during the trial and persecution of Jesus, was the Roman procurator of Judea, asks Jesus one of the most profoundly thought provoking questions asked of Christ, “Are you a king?” Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause, I was born and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth,” John 18:37. I hope you got that. Jesus simply says to Pilate and to the world at large- “I am the way the truth the life,” John 14:6. The Messiah makes no apology for being the source of all truth. So, Ms. Gibbs and all the Time Magazine writers and team take note- Truth is not dead!!! Truth still sets people free- John 8:32 Our hate-filled, confused and spiritually famished society needs to rediscover God’s truth.

Chuck Colson in his book How Now Shall We Live writes, “We have discovered that we cannot live with the chaos that inevitably results from choice divorced form morality. Thus, Americans are groping for something that will restore the shattered bonds of family and community, something that will make sense of life.” We cannot survive as a society without guidelines and the only compass that can keep us from the chaos and downward spiral that we are presently on is the ultimate source of truth- God’s Word. Ravi Zacharias defined truth as good as I have ever heard it defined, “That which affirms propositionally the nature of reality as it is- not reality as it is perceived.” Simply put, we cannot define truth, right and wrong, on subjective whims or subjective reasoning. There must be something greater more honest, upright, more fair-minded and good then what is derived from the fallen world. Chuck Colson went on to state, “The rule of law can’t survive unless there is an unchanging and transcendent standard against which we can measure human laws. Otherwise, the law is whatever lawmakers or judges say it is-which can only result, eventually, in the collapse of free government.” The more we travel down the confused path of the postmodernist the closer we will get as a society to moral and spiritual destruction.

Friends I say truth and the God of all truth is alive and well!! The church of Jesus Christ must stand in the gap between a fallen world and the only message that can still save and that is the gospel of the risen Savior. When man discovers the joy of salvation that is propelled by truth, then, and only then, will he and the society in which he lives discover peace and hope and purpose and order.

Media of Mass Deception

Balancing the news with rational thinking–

William Penn once stated, “Right is right even if everyone is against it, and wrong is wrong even if everyone is for it.” Many folks in America tend to throw their support behind a particular candidate based on polling data. Many people will endorse a particular viewpoint based on majority thinking. Since so many Americans have become low-information voters and thinkers it is absolutely essential that the news we get either from the airwaves or print be as accurate and factual and committed to details as possible. Herein lieth the problem. If this past election cycle taught us anything it is this– Good journalism and attention to facts took a long hiatus.

I recently got my hands on a book entitled Media Revolution authored by Brian Fisher, who served as the CEO of Coral Ridge Ministries. This book points out how the left-leaning media in America has literally twisted truth and negatively influenced the American public in regards to people of faith and those who hold conservative political views. Fisher believes the American people have been intentionally miss-led for last fifty-plus years through what he refers to as the, “media of mass deception.” One of the first questions he poses in his book is “Do mainstream American values coincide with the modern day media’s value system or are they miles apart? Do the vast majority of television, radio, Internet sites, music and books really reflect main street American beliefs? That question cannot be answered effectively until we dissect the words, “mainstream America.” We have been taught by those on the left that individuals who hold a Judeo-Christian value system essentially represent a very tiny minority. The fact is, modern media simply does not fairly represent mainstream America. It never has. The media loves to minimize the majority of Americans as illiterate fundamentalist who are uneducated and easy to persuade. So, the question again must be raised, does mainstream America and the mass media embrace the same values and political ideologies? Or are the media pundits completely out of touch with “main street” America? And are conservative thinkers coming to the realization that most media outlets in this country are nothing short of toxic left-leaning ideologues posing as objective journalist?

According to recent studies, less Americans are putting stock in big networks for their information. Joseph Farah in his book Stop the Presses, explains that, “Americans are leaving traditional sources and flocking toward alternate providers, such as talk radio and the Internet, to get good truthful information.” Farah suggests that what you and I are exposed to every day on television reflects the work of a small group of media insiders. Then he makes a point that really caused me to rethink how I have been using the term “mainstream media.” He went on to say, “We shouldn’t use the term ‘mainstream media to the describe the media of mass deception.” You see, the media of mass deception loves it when we give them credit they simply don’t deserve. We give them a greater audience then they have. The major media outlets represent a fraction of the American way of living and thinking. When you remove the university elites and the hedonist in Hollywood, the liberal community doesn’t have as much of a following as they think.

Question. Would you have ever have imagined, by watching the three biggest network news stations over the last two years, that the liberal agenda in America would have lost over 1,000 elected seats across this country. That’s right. We were told that progressive thinking was going to dominate the political landscape of America and that those who held too closely to their faith and traditional family values were simple going extinct. Well look around folks. What we have all seen taking place over the last few years is nothing short of a Great Awakening. More and more Americans simply refuse to let the tired old fossils on network news shape their thinking. If the last few years have taught us anything it was this, the days of solid, truthful and honest journalism being reported by the major networks and major newspapers in America is as dead as the dodo bird. Speaking of the “Big Three” networks. ABC, CBS, NBC have seen a viewership drop from 52 million in 1980 to just 26 million in 2006. OUCH!!!!

Brian Fisher goes on to write, “The media of mass deception has influenced American culture in an undeniable way.” In a speech given to the Heritage Foundation, David Kupelian, managing editor of WorldNet Daily and author of the book, The Marketing of Evil stated, “No institution in America is more complicit, more responsible for making evil look good and good look evil than the news media, because it is the filter through which we all get our information.”

Remember back in the day when the news anchor would report not politicize the news? He was fairly well respected and Americans felt they could trust the news media to at least be balanced and objective. Now the press has become the mouth piece for the liberal agenda. They portray themselves as honest hard-working fact -finding journalist whose only desire is to report information in the most unbiased and objective fashion. In reality they have turned their news-desks and printers into a tool of the secularist agenda.
Bernie Goldberg who worked as a news correspondent for CBS for 28 years raised a lot of eyebrows when he wrote his book entitled Bias and Arrogance. He stated, “I don’t want journalists deciding what’s right and what’s wrong. I don’t want them championing certain causes, because I guarantee you this: they will not champion the causes that a lot of conservative people in America champion. When it comes to making the world a better place, let’s leave that to ministers and social workers, not journalists.”

Jesus himself said to His disciples in Matthew 10:16 “Behold I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore, be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” Next time the evening news comes on- look real close- What you think looks like a news anchor, may in fact be the big bad wolf!!

Not on My Watch – A Christian’s Response to the Entertainment Industry

It’s hard to go anywhere or be in a particular place and not be affected by the “arts and entertainment industry”. Music plays in the background while you dine out in a particular restaurant. While you wait to board your plane CNN blasts away on TV monitors at each gate. We can download movies on our cell phones and Netflix allows us to watch movies anytime we desire. We have over 10 million TV channels to choose from or so it would seem. Movie theaters encompass the landscape and there are multiple channels dedicated to recent movies coming out and glimpses into the life of our favorite actors and actresses. That being said, Paul gives us good guidance for our entertainment selections. God’s people must demand better and commit to abstaining from material that is not good for “necessary edification” (Ephesians 4:29) and most certainly let’s not “give place to the devil.”

Whereas the entertainment industry was once a friend of the family, times have changed and I believe we are living in a time where Hollywood has taken direct aim on people of faith and the God of the Bible.

Michael Medved in his book Hollywood vs. America sites one reason why the entertainment industry has turned a hostile eye towards people of faith in America. “The distortions and insults about religion will continue unabated as long as our popular culture continues its overall campaign against judgment and values. A war against standards leads logically and inevitably to hostility towards religion because it is religious faith that provides the ultimate basis for all standards.”

Today, many in Hollywood and the movie industry committed to entertaining us at the box office have made it clear through their political views and complete disdain for Christianity that they simply have no tolerance for either people of faith or people who hold to a system of biblical absolutes. Medved goes on to state that God is a God of distinctions. When you examine the book of Genesis you see God distinguishing between light and darkness, water and dry earth. Because we differ from the animal world we too are able to distinguish between good and evil.

Have you noticed how blatantly dismissive many in the industry of entertainment are towards people of faith? We hear from those on the left how exclusive the Christian community is and how intolerant the church has become. Now that momentum seems to be shifting towards a greater respect for family values and religious tolerance and acceptance, those same entertainers are foaming at the mouth and now demonizing anyone who might vote differently then they do, believe something differently or espouse a different worldview. In fact, you cannot sit through a motion picture or music award show without witnessing some of Hollywood’s most tolerant and progressive thinkers reduce themselves to a vile hate-filled-intolerant Jesus-phobia.

Many people may have forgotten but during the 1960’s the church weighed in on the motion picture industry- especially the content of movies coming out of Hollywood. Brian Fisher in his book Median Revolution writes, “For the better part of three decades, from 1933 to about 1966, the script for every movie to be released in the U.S. was evaluated according to a strict production code. The Hays Code required filmmakers to scrupulously avoid plots and depictions that would glamorize violence and evil. There were three overarching principles governing the code.” I want you to read very carefully how sensitive Hollywood was to the family unit and to overall decency in America. Both men and women and children could attend a motion picture and not feel emotionally and mentally assaulted after they walked out of the theater. The first of these codes read, “No picture shall be produced which will lower the moral standards of those who see it. Hence the sympathy of the audience shall never be thrown to the side of crime, wrong-doing, evil or sin.”

Now ask yourself this question, when was the last time you tuned into a sitcom or went to a blockbuster movie that didn’t either insult your intelligence blaspheme the name of God or compromise your values? In 1966 the Hays Code was completely abandoned and the highway to hell was completely opened in Hollywood California.

The good news is, many Christians have given Hollywood and the so-called entertainment industry, permission to go extinct. Medved goes on to write, “In 1967, the first year in which Hollywood found itself finally free to appeal to the public without the restrictions of the old Production Code, American pictures drew an average weekly audience of only 17.8 million- compared to the weekly average of 38 million who had gone to the theaters just one year before! In a single 12-month period, more than half the movie-audience disappeared- by far the largest one-year decline in the history of the motion picture.”
And yet, many in Hollywood continue to wallow in the sewer of debauchery and shovel it out as entertainment. Well, I cannot control the moral midgets in Hollywood. But, I don’t have to subjugate myself to their mindless tripe and certainly don’t have to pay for them to continue to assault my faith and mock my God.

So, I am encouraging Christians all over this great land not to boycott the movies. That’s right. The last thing I want to see is a wholesale boycott of those who are trying to produce wholesome, clean, family friendly entertainment. Those are the movies and shows that need our support. Some fantastic movies of faith and family have come out recently and certainly deserve to be viewed Music and television shows that strive to enhance family values and Godly character traits need our support. For those who have made it their mission in life to mock God and to spew hatred towards the body of Christ and flaunt their immoral lives- well let’s just say- It won’t be done on my watch. Yes, our country allows for people to espouse even material that is considered by “mainstream America” as offensive in nature. Okay, you want to hide behind the first amendment- go ahead- just don’t look for me to pay for the material. Not going to do it. Albin Polasek, the famous artist once stated, “Each nation has its individual character, and this character must reflect in its art.” God help us if our character as a nation is being defined by the likes of Madonna, Julia Dreyfus or Charlie Sheen.

Finally, the best tool to use when searching for a movie or particular music in which to listen is Paul’s words in Philippians 4:8 “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think about such things.”