Doug Tweed

“And God spoke all these words, saying …“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them ….” (Exodus 20:1, 4-5)

The Ten Commandments are the ABC’s of righteousness – the fundamental rules of behavior given by God to His people at a time when they were not yet ready to understand the grace and truth that Jesus would bring. (Exodus 20:1-20; John 1:17)

Commandments #5-10 are concerned with how we treat each other. Commandments #1-3 are concerned with how we treat God. Commandment #4 bridges those two concerns by having us set aside time for both God and rest.

Our focus today is on how we treat God, and most particularly, how we should understand the 2nd Commandment.

Remember that our original sin was the desire to be our own god, deciding for ourselves what is good and evil. (Genesis 3:5-6) The 1st Commandment addresses this problem by assuring us God is God and we are not. It adds that we should also not make anyone or anything else our god.

The 2nd Commandment appears at first glance to be simply an adjunct to the 1st – a prohibition against making and worshipping wooden, stone or metal statues as gods, or as the representation of gods. However, this fails to take into account why mankind would do such a thing. As Isaiah so sharply pointed out, why would man grow a tree, cut it down, burn some of it to warm himself and cook his food, and then carve the rest into a statute and call it god? (Isaiah 44:14-19)

Our pagan ancestors made images and likenesses to worship as gods because they wanted gods that could address their daily needs and explain the many issues of life. There were gods of fertility, gods of war and death, gods of the harvest and the hearth, and many more. These gods might look like animals, or man, or a combination of both, but they always behaved like a more powerful version of man. In other words, and in every case, man was making god in his own image and likeness.

God gave the 2nd Commandment because He knew the instinctive heart of sinful man is, like with every two-year-old, to do what we want to do when we want to do it. If we cannot accomplish this by being our own god, our alternative scheme is to have gods who will be whoever we want them to be. This will justify our existing behavior and desires.

As Christians, we recognize God made us in His image and likeness, not the other way around. (Genesis 1:26-28) The clay does not get to shape the Potter. (Isaiah 29:16) The Father reveals to us who He is because we cannot figure it out on our own. (Isaiah 55:8-9; Matthew 11:27) He has done so through His Spirit-inspired Scriptures and, most completely, through Jesus Christ. (Psalm 119; John 14:9)

Unfortunately, our departure from worshipping statues has not put an end to our violations of the 2nd Commandment. Time and time again over the course of human history, Christians have edited or distorted the revelations of Scripture and the image of Jesus Christ so they could justify ungodly behavior. Men in power made Jesus in their image so they could commingle the Church and the Roman Empire, and declare a divine right to a throne. The Church conducted bloody wars like the Crusades and the Thirty Years War, and pogroms like the Inquisition, all in the name of Jesus.

Closer to home, distortions of Scripture and the image of Jesus were used in the South to justify slavery and the superior position of the white race. Other distorted images of Jesus were used in the North to justify murderous abolitionist raids. When war broke out, most soldiers in both blue and gray prayed in the name of Jesus before they fought and died, and this carried over to the difficult struggles of the Reconstruction Era and the Civil Rights Movement. Some, like Martin Luther King, got it right with a Christ image of love, non-violence and value of all people. Others on both sides did not.

Today in our nation, we face many cultural and political challenges: marriage, abortion, poverty, terrorism, healthcare, racism, sexism, law enforcement, religious freedom, immigration, environmental stewardship, and even constitutional authority. Some of our citizens will be purely secular in their approach to these issues, but there are also many professing Christians on both sides of virtually every aisle. We are supposed to follow Jesus, and He is not double-minded, so why are we? (James 1:8, 4:8)

My friends, we must all be very careful not to make Jesus in our image. On each issue, we must prayerfully study the character and teachings of Jesus as revealed in the whole of Scripture, and determine where He wants us to stand. Christ is not a Democrat or Republican, nor a progressive or libertarian, and He doesn’t ask us to simply pick the lesser of two evils.
Jesus is Lord, and He commands us on every issue to follow Him.

God bless you, and God bless our community.

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities- all things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:15-17)

Today is CHRISTmas, the day that CHRISTians around the world celebrate the wondrous birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem. Hallelujah!

Most birthdays are celebrated on the anniversary of the day when the birth occurred, but the Bible does not reveal the actual date when the baby Jesus came into this world. I am glad we picked a day to celebrate anyway because it is definitely a birth worth celebrating. And my proposal is that we expand the celebration to include another birth: the first birth of the Son of God that took place long before He was born again and laid in a manger.

All of us who trust the divine integrity of the Bible know that Christ existed before He was born of the virgin named Mary. Philippians 2 reveals how He was in the form of God, but humbled Himself to take on the form of a servant and the likeness of man. John 1 expands upon the Genesis 1 description of creation, revealing that God created everything through the Word, who was with God, and who was God, and who became flesh and lived among us.

We also know that Christ was already the Son of God before His birth in Bethlehem. Multiple scriptures tell us how the Father sent His Son to us. (Romans 8:3; 1 John 4:9-10) Since God inhabits eternity as the great “I AM”, without beginning or end, this leaves us with the staggering question of when the Father first birthed or “begat” His Son. (Exodus 3:14; Isaiah 57:15)
Orthodox Trinitarian Christianity has concluded from the whole of scripture that both the Father and the Son of God have coexisted in love throughout eternity, and my puny intellect is not about to challenge that.

At the same time, we must recognize that the relationship of father and son is a parent-child relationship, which fundamentally involves some type of birthing, “begetting” or coming forth. The Bible says God sent His “only begotten” Son to us. (John 1:14, 18 and 3:16, 18; 1 John 4:9) And Colossians 1:15, set forth at the outset of this Christmas column, calls Jesus “the firstborn of all creation”. What could that possibly mean?

We tread on very holy ground in discussing these matters, and can at best only know in part. (1 Corinthians 13:9, 12) But I believe Colossians 1 and John 1 combine to provide us a picture of the most glorious birth ever! At some point in the timelessness of eternity, the Eternal Father brought forth the Eternal Son, and through this the Father called all of creation into existence for His beloved Son.

Imagine for a moment the vastness of creation. We live as small people on a seemingly huge planet, but Earth is really just one small planet orbiting a sun that is one star in a galaxy of billions of stars. And our galaxy is just one of billions of galaxies. Yet all of this was created through and for Christ, the only begotten Son. It was a birth of glory, power and magnitude far beyond our comprehension.

Why do I bring such a mind-boggling topic up on Christmas Day? There are two reasons.

First, we can better understand the wonder of Christmas when we remember more clearly who Christ was before Bethlehem. The vastness and power of His first birth provide a vivid contrast to the humble setting where the Son of God was born again in a stable – laid in a little box used to feed livestock by a teenage mother whose people were in bondage. As Mark Lowry so poignantly sings, when Mary kissed her little baby, she kissed the face of God!

Second, we can better understand our own two births as Christians.

Our first birth, our so-called natural birth, is made possible by the first birth of God’s Son. We are part of creation, fearfully and wonderfully knit together by God in our mother’s womb. (Psalm 139:13-14)

This first birth is amazing, but it is also humble like the second birth of Christ. We may have been laid in a bassinette rather than a manger, but we were each a small, vulnerable and mortal infant.
Our second birth is made possible by the second birth of God’s Son. Because He came humbly as the Lamb of God, we can by faith in Him be “born again” – born of the Spirit, born of God! (John 1:12-13 and 3:3-7; 1 Peter 1:23) The Christ through whom all creation was made now lives inside us! (Colossians 1:27) Like the first birth of Christ, our second birth is a birth of glory, power and magnitude beyond what we have comprehended. (1 John 4:4; Ephesians 3:20)

As I treasure and ponder these things in my heart, all I can do is shout, “Glory to God in the highest!” (Luke 2:13-20) Glory to God!

Merry Christmas to you and to all our community!

“Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright.” (Psalm 20:7-8)

“… if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek My face ….” (2 Chronicles 7:14)

It is time for Christians to recognize that there is no adequate political or military solution to the crisis of radical Muslim terrorism. There is no adequate political or border security solution to the complicated problem of illegal immigrants and refugees.

There are also no adequate political solutions to the fragility of our nation’s financial condition, to include our incredible national debt and the rising tension between the “haves” and “have-nots”; or adequate technological ways we can protect our children from the rising tide of immoral sexual imagery that saturates the media world in which we live; or adequate law enforcement strategies to keep insane acts of violence from occurring in our public places.

There are no adequate human-based solutions to any of these problems for one simple reason. The root of these problems is spiritual.

The true battleground for all these problems is the human heart, and the true foe is not flesh and blood, but spiritual powers of destructive evil. (Mark 7:20-23; Ephesians 6:12) Our 21st century versions of chariots and horses – our bombs and bullets, and our political and financial manipulations – are simply not up to the task. To the contrary, they have consistently made things worse.
As people of God, we know there is an answer to these problems. It is set forth in Psalm 20. Trust in the wisdom, goodness, and power of the Lord our God! And we know from 2 Chronicles 7:14 that trust in God does not simply mean sit and wait for a divine bail-out.

We love and trust the Lord by obeying His commandments. (John 14:21) One of His fundamental commandments is that we pray. (Mark 11:17) Other commandments tell us how we should pray if we want to see the amazing results He has promised.

Pray for His Kingdom to come on the earth and for protection from the evil one. (Matthew 6:9-13) Pray in His name with faith in His faithfulness: a confidence that when we pray His will, His answer is always “Yes”! (John 14:13-14; Mark 11:22-24; 1 John 5:14-15) Pray together because numbers matter, and pray in agreement because teamwork is essential. (Leviticus 26:7-8; Matthew 18:18-20; Matthew 12:25)

Finally, pray with passion and pray without ceasing. (James 5:16-18; Romans 12:11; 1 Thessalonians 5:17) God cares how much we care. (1 Corinthians 13) And the fire on the altar is never supposed to go out. (Leviticus 6:12) The Lord’s command is to “keep asking” because it is perseverance that brings breakthrough. (Luke 11:5-13, 18:2-8)

“Christ-ians” are the people assigned to this absolutely essential task of unceasing intercessory prayer: all those who belong to the Lord and are called by His name. In order for us to fulfill our collective assignment, we must be connected together in ways that we have not been yet been connected.

You are all invited to become part of the Watchmen Prayer Network of TN/VA, a newly birthed 15-county network of Christians in northeast Tennessee and southwest Virginia who are committed to covering our region in prayer 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, 52 weeks per year.

For a comprehensive description of this regional prayer network, please go to watchmenprayernetwork.com, where you can learn in detail about its purpose, prayer focus, methods of operation, and how you can get involved.

In a nutshell, we are inviting Christians to commit to one or more hour-long prayer slots in the week. Each individual or small group will pray at their own home or wherever they choose. When all 168 prayer slots are filled, we will have continuous prayer coverage over our region, which is composed of the 15 counties where the Jesus Video Project was so successfully accomplished in 1999. Then we planted seeds. Now we water.

There are about 725,000 people in this 15-county region. 80% are over 16 years-old and about 75% of those are professing Christians. If all of those professing Christians were to take part, we would have 435,000 prayer warriors praying each week – as many as 2,500 for every hour of the day. Frankly, that is the way it should be, but even if we just get a 10% commitment, we will have as many as 250 believers praying every hour of every day. The impact of such prayer would be phenomenal!

Scripture tells us of the times God’s people prayed and worshipped, and the Lord struck down armies that were besieging them. (2 Chronicles 20:1-30; 2 Kings 19:35) God warned His people in advance of the ambushing strategy of their enemies, and even surrounded and disarmed enemy armies with angelic armies of fire! (2 Kings 6:8-23)

God gave His people godly leaders like Deborah, Gideon and David, and gave wisdom and revelation to ungodly leaders through godly advisors like Joseph, Daniel and Esther. The Lord converted Saul into Paul. And the Lord has not changed! All things are possible for those who trust and obey and pray! (Mark 9:23; John 14:12-14)

I beseech all of you to join this prayer network, and to urge your family and friends by personal contact or social media to join as well. Please be a hearer and doer of this word from the Lord. (Matthew 7:24-27)

God bless you, and God bless our communities.

“In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. (2 Samuel 11:1)

In 1963, our nation’s willpower was challenged by an advertisement for Lay’s potato chips that almost everyone still remembers today. “Betcha can’t eat just one!”
The reason we still remember this slogan is it was so true. That Lay’s potato chip was so light, salty, greasy and wonderfully tasty that none of us would eat just one. It was as if our hand and taste buds had a mind of their own.

Little did we know at the time how the fast food and snack industries would utilize that truth with salt, sugar and cheese to make trillions of dollars while our nation became more and more obese, diabetic and heart-unhealthy. Even less did we suspect how this slogan applies both individually and nationally to something far more dangerous than excessive salt and sugar.
I am talking about sin, and nothing in scripture illustrates my point better than what happened to King David in Numbers 11.

David was a man after God’s own heart. (1 Samuel 13:14) He was an extraordinary song-writer, worshipper, warrior and leader of warriors. David talked with God and sought to always keep his attention on God. (Psalm 16:8) He conquered Jerusalem and brought the Presence of God into that city so it could become God’s city. (2 Samuel 6; Psalm 48) God was so pleased with David that He made a covenant establishing David’s house and throne forever. (2 Samuel 7)

Then, one day in the spring, when kings go to war with their armies, David decided to sit out and let his armies go without him.
It is hard to blame David for wanting to have a spring break. He had spent most of his life in war or the wilderness. But it was the responsibility of kings to lead their armies, and there is no indication in scripture that David sought or received God’s permission to take that time off. So let’s call this Chip #1.
Because David was a warrior king, and all of his friends had gone off to war, he had less to occupy his time. He ends up taking a nap on a couch followed by a stroll on his roof, where he is able to witness a beautiful woman taking a bath.

This woman was one of David’s subjects, entitled to her modesty, and both adultery and coveting another man’s wife were violations of God’s commandments. (Exodus 20:14, 17) David should have looked away, but he didn’t, and he lusted for her. Chip #2.

David found out the woman was Bathsheba, the wife of one of his friends and mighty men, Uriah the Hittite. Now the loyalties of both kingship and friendship applied – another opportunity for David to catch himself. But instead he rationalized that while the cat was away, the mouse could play. In an action that was almost certainly more like exploitation than adulterous romance, he had sex with her, even though she was in the time following her menstrual bleeding when she was most likely to become pregnant. Chip #3.

As far as David was concerned, it was all over, but Bathsheba became pregnant, and now David needed a “cover-up” plan. He brought Uriah back from the battlefield hoping he would sleep with his wife and think the baby was his own. Chip #4. When Uriah was too honorable to do that, he got him drunk. Chip #5. When that didn’t work, he ordered his general to create a situation where Uriah would be killed. Chip #6. David then took Bathsheba as his wife and the baby as his legitimate child, and considered the whole situation successfully concluded. Chip #7 – bag empty.
Folks, you can’t eat just one. If a very godly David can go from taking unauthorized time off into voyeurism into lust into adultery into deceit into dishonor into murder, then what do you think will be your next step when you give in to a simple temptation like cheating on your taxes or expense account, flirting with that co-worker, taking a curious glimpse at pornography or sampling that “feel-good” drug. Romans 6-8 reveals that we no longer have to be slaves to sin, but we can still become slaves to sin if we keep making the wrong choices.

America also can’t eat just one. While our nation has never been perfect, we have a godly foundation just like David. However, when we gained political, military and economic superpower status after the end of World War II, it was as if we began to see ourselves as the good king of the world. The pursuit of prosperity and ease led to increasing self-indulgence, which led to the so-called sexual revolution and the inception of the drug culture, which led to the need to insist upon the right to abort unwanted babies, which led along with divorce to a devaluation of life and family.
At the same time, the pursuit of prosperity and power led to more and more greed, increasingly centralized political and economic power, and a growing gap between rich and poor. Covetousness, labelled as “wealth redistribution”, is just around the corner.

King David was confronted by God’s word and repented deeply for everything he had done. (2 Samuel 12; Psalm 51) He still suffered some consequences, but he ended well.
Will you and I do the same? Will America? All I know for sure is that there must be a confrontation with God’s word. There must be repentance. And there must be an understanding that you can’t eat just one.

God bless you, and God bless our community.

“And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, ‘Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe [“Aman”] in the LORD your God, and you will be established [“aman”]; believe [“aman”] His prophets, and you will succeed.’” (2 Chronicles 20:20)

“Truly [“Amen”], I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. (Matthew 18:18)

“Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)

Every Christian I know speaks both Hebrew and Greek, although most of them don’t realize it. They all say, “Amen”.

Hebrew, Greek and English have very different alphabets, but the spoken word, “amen”, in Hebrew became the spoken word, “amen”, in Greek and later became the spoken word, “amen” in English. In other words, the Greeks adopted the Hebrew word, “amen”, as their own word, and then we did likewise. As a result, when we speak “amen” in English, we are also speaking it in Hebrew and Greek. Amen!

“Amen” is a word used frequently in Scripture. The Hebrew and Greek versions of the word appear over 220 times even though they are only translated into English as “amen” about 50 times. The last word in the Bible is “Amen”, and we all know how significant last words can be. (Revelation 22:21)

What makes “amen” extraordinarily important, however, is not how frequently the word is used, but what it means.

The most well-known meaning comes into play when a person says “amen” at the end of a proclamation or a prayer, such as Ephesians 3:21 or Psalm 72:19. Here it means, “Surely it is trustworthy and true”, or “I completely agree to the truth of that”, or “So be it”.

A lesser known but more frequent use of the Greek “amen” is when Jesus says what we translate into English, “Verily” or “Truly”, at the beginning of an important proclamation such as Matthew 18:18. Here it means, “This has been divinely established as trustworthy and true”. The New Testament reports Jesus doing this about 90 times. Every phrase that followed such a “Verily” had blockbuster significance for God’s people.

Finally, the least known use of the Hebrew “amen” comes in the word’s root form, “aman”, which, depending on the context, means “to trust and believe with certainty” or “to confirm, establish or support”. Abraham’s “aman” of God was treated by God as righteousness. (Genesis 15:6; Galatians 3:5-9) Likewise, we are told at 2 Chronicles 20:20 that if we will “aman” God, God will see us like He saw Abraham and establish or “aman” us! If we will “aman” His prophets, that is, His Word both written and truly spoken, then we will succeed.

For me, “amen” is ultimately a belief in my heart and confession from my mouth that I have come into agreement and alignment with a person or proclamation. My amen to Jesus as risen Lord is what brings me salvation. (Romans 10:9) My amen to God’s Word and Holy Spirit opens the door for me to receive all of His promises, for they are all established as “Yes” in Jesus. (2 Corinthians 1:20)

Why is it so important for Christians today to understand “amen”? It is because far too many of us are giving our amen to the wrong people and the wrong proclamations.
Some of us are giving our amen to arrogance and grandstanding. Others are giving their amen to fear, or to the coveting of what others have, or to materialism and greed, or to proclamations that are un-loving, condemning, judgmental and divisive.

Many of us are giving our amen to both political half-truths in the world and theological half-truths in our sanctuaries: doctrines based on man’s limited intellect that are directly opposed to Scripture.

What we fail to understand is how we become aligned with what we “amen”, and how we come out of alignment with God when we align with that which is not godly. Romans 1:32 indicates that those who approve of ungodly practices are, in the eyes of God, very much like those who actually perform those ungodly practices. Our criminal laws would use the term, “accomplice” or “aiding and abetting”. The last thing in the world we want to do is aid and abet the enemy. (Ephesians 6:10-20; 2 Corinthians 11:14-15)

Dear friends, I urge us all to give our unqualified AMEN to God. Amen to the Father! Amen to Jesus the only begotten Son! Amen to Holy Spirit! Amen to Scripture, from cover to cover! Amen to all our brothers and sisters who have joined with the great “Amen”! (Revelation 3:14)

As more and more of us on earth amen the God of heaven, we will see more and more of heaven established in the earth. (Revelation 22:17) Can I get an “Amen”?

God bless you, and God bless our community.

“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. (1 John 1:8-10)

I have, with the persistent encouragement of my wife Christie, written and self-published a book.

The title is “Moon in the Darkness: 100 Reflections on the Kingdom of God”. Using a poem the Lord gave me in 1994 as a launching pad, I have selected ninety-four of the best articles I’ve written for the Kingsport Times-News, along with five stories and a puppet skit, to explore how Christians can reveal God’s kingdom to the world.

Self-publication is a rigorous process. When the first copy of the finished product arrived, I was excited, and proceeded to read the book even though I has already read all of the material there several times during the selection and editing stages of book preparation. Then the unexpected happened! The book I had written began preaching to me, and the preaching led to conviction. My friends, I talk it better than I walk it.

At first glance, such a confession can be very disturbing. We are all too familiar with people who “talk the talk” but don’t “walk the walk”. They are called hypocrites, and we know how many people have left the Church and even left the faith because of these hypocrites. I can’t bear the thought of being one.

Fortunately, I am not. My problem is not that I fail to “walk the walk”. It is simply that I don’t walk it as well as I could and should walk it. There have been times when my prayer life has been strong, and other times when it is woefully inadequate; times when my focus is on God and others, and other times when it is far too self-centered and self-indulgent; times when I am a patient and compassionate listener, and other times when … well, just ask Christie.

For over twenty years, I have been committed to the Kingdom of God and the war of good against evil. (1 John 3:8; Romans 12:21; Ephesians 6:10-20) Throughout that time, there has also been an ongoing war within me – the Spirit against the flesh. (Galatians 5:17) And while the Spirit wins more often than not, the flesh has not thrown in the towel.

So, what am I to do? Should I temper my “talk”, reducing the demands of discipleship to what I have experienced and achieved? No! Scripture defines the standards of living to which we are called, not my puny efforts. The God of glory calls us to glory. (John 17) Too many people have been setting the bar too low for too long.

Should I stop “talking” until my walk is stumble-free? No! Even near the end of his wonderful ministry, the apostle Paul knew he had not yet “arrived”, but he ministered while he pressed on toward the prize. (Philippians 3:12-15) I am no “Paul”, but my calling also is to minister while I press on, and to urge you to press on as well.

My proposal is that we all join a new “4H Club”.

First, be hungry for God and the things of God. (Matthew 5:6; Psalm 37:4)

Second, be honest with ourselves. Some of us struggle with complacency. (Revelation 3:14-22) Many of us have developed dependencies – habits of television, computer games, food, drink or other activity we rely on as simple pleasures of life, only to find that those simple pleasures receive far more of our time and attention than God receives. (Matthew 6:24)

Third, be humble and realize we may need some help to get rid of these encumbrances and entanglements that are hindering our walk with the Lord. (Hebrews 12:1) Hiding the truth about our struggles serves no one but the enemy. A spiritual mentor, a good pastor or a trustworthy small group can pray with us, encourage us and hold us accountable. (Ephesians 5:21)

Fourth, choose to be holy. (1 Peter 1:14-16) The scriptural meaning of “holy” is to be separated from the world and evil so you are more joined together with God and His goodness. The first step in separation is the choice we make to initiate separation.

Let me share two final thoughts that can help us as we press on. First, we are each a work in progress, but we are His work in progress. (Ephesians 2:10) Our job is just to cooperate, and His grace and love are still there every time we fail.

Last but far from least, remember this. God’s call is to the highest standards, but it always comes as a wonderful invitation and never comes with condemnation. (Romans 8:1)
As to my book, I hope some of you will be interested. Local people can purchase it through our ministry at a small discount. Everyone can visit the website, www.mooninthedarkness.com, where both the book and e-book are available. It is even on Amazon!

God bless you, and God bless our community.

“Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good…. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all…. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:9, 17, 21)

Two events have occurred in the shadow of our nation’s 239th birthday that Christians must understand in connection with each other, or they will not be understood at all.

The first event occurred on June 17 in Charleston when a young white man with a twisted heart quietly invaded a prayer meeting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. Nine of our African-American brothers and sisters were murdered.

This was a horrible act of violence. What profoundly marks Charleston and Emanuel AME Church, however, is not the violence but their response to it.

The response of this congregation, the families of these victims and Charleston’s Christian community was totally different from what we have seen elsewhere, and totally different from what the world expects. It was a response of love, grace, forgiveness, humility and the courageous resolve to keep both their hearts and their doors open. As a result, there were no reciprocal acts of anger, hatred or division. There was only inspiration.

Non-Christians marveled and admired. Other Christians also marveled, and had to ask themselves if their faith was that strong, and if it should become that strong.

What happened in Charleston was, very simply, a demonstration of the power of Romans 12:9-21. Our Charleston brothers and sisters continued to abhor evil. They knew, however, that they wrestled not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces of darkness that use broken people to kill, steal and destroy (Ephesians 6:12; John 10:10). So they were not overcome by evil, and did not respond to evil with evil. Instead, they overcame evil with good, to the glory of God!

Our second event occurred on June 26. It also involved nine people and an act of violence, but the nine were not the victims. Marriage and the U.S Constitution were the victims.
In addressing the recent Supreme Court 5-4 ruling that homosexual marriage is a constitutional right, I am not seeking to condemn people who practice homosexuality. We all wrestle with sin, and God loves them as much as He loves me. I simply want us to better understand two documents: the Bible and the U.S. Constitution.

The Church was birthed before the New Testament was written, but once the New Testament was completed and joined with the Old Testament to become the Bible, the Bible became the “Constitution” of the Church. As God’s Word, the Bible has authority over Christians. We don’t change the Bible. It changes us.

The Bible is clear that marriage is a God-ordained institution between a man and a woman, and Romans 1:21-28 is just one of the biblical passages revealing the practice (not the desire) of homosexuality to be sin. However, it is important to note this passage does not describe the practice of homosexuality as a departure from God so much as it is a consequence for a society that has already departed from God.

Our American culture embraced heterosexual sin as acceptable – promiscuity, pornography and adultery – long before it began to call homosexual sin acceptable. Liberal Christian denominations accepted homosexuality and authorized homosexual clergy only after they had already chosen to abandon the Bible as full authority over their other doctrines. Thirty-six states then began to authorize homosexual marriage in response to both the culture shift and this partial Church “approval”. And all of that combined to cause five judges on the Supreme Court to follow the culture rather than the Constitution.

Just as the Church was birthed before the Bible, our nation was birthed before our Constitution. But once the Constitution was ratified in 1788, it became the “Bible” for our country. The Constitution creates and controls Congress (Article I), the office of the Presidency (Article II), and the Supreme Court (Article III), not the other way around. And the only permissible way to change the U.S. Constitution is by constitutional amendment ratified by three-fourths of the states (Article V).

The best way to understand the violence done to our Constitution on June 26 is to compare the so-called “freedom” of homosexual marriage to other freedoms we value. The Constitution was adopted to “secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity”. But despite that language, no Supreme Court has ever ruled that slavery was unconstitutional, or that denying people the right to vote based on their color was unconstitutional, or that denying women the right to vote was unconstitutional, or that denying people aged 18-20 the right to vote was unconstitutional even though they could be called to military service.

We know now that all of these freedoms are good, but they all had to come by constitutional amendment (13th, 15th, 19th and 26th) because every Supreme Court knew from history they were not part of the freedoms intended by the drafters of the Constitution. Constitutional amendment was the only lawful way to bring constitutional change.
How then can five Supreme Court justices in 2015 lawfully say, without constitutional amendment, that this same Constitution recognizes and protects homosexual marriage? They can’t. But they did. The question now is how Bible-believing Christians should respond.

My friends, we must respond like Charleston. We must trust and obey Romans 12:9-21. Please read the whole passage, which speaks of genuine love, Christian brotherhood, zeal, hope, perseverance, unceasing prayer, generosity, hospitality, blessing, empathy, humility, and not being “wise in your own eyes”.

If we respond with good, we shall overcome. Overcoming is our legacy in Christ (John 16:33; Romans 8:37; 1 John 4:4). “Deep in my heart, I do believe, we shall overcome someday.”

God bless you, and God bless our community.

“Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.’” (Matthew 6:9-10 ESV)
“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.” (Romans 12:2 NLT)

Virtually everyone reading this column has been blamed at some point for something you did not do. You know, therefore, how horrible false accusations can be.
False accusations are unjust and unkind. They hurt the heart of the one accused. Most destructive of all, they malign the good character of the accused, crippling the relationship between the accused and everyone who believes the false accusation.

The extraordinary evil of false accusations may best be revealed by the name Scripture often gives to Satan, the “father of lies”. (John 8:44) Over thirty times, Satan is called “diabolos” (the Greek word we translate “devil”), which literally means “false accuser”, “slanderer”, or “one who divides”.

So, if false accusations are clearly evil, why do so many Christians falsely accuse God?

A son or daughter comes home from Afghanistan in a flag-draped coffin, and some Christians say to their parents, “It was God’s will.” A father of four dies in an automobile accident and some Christians say to his wife and children, “God took him”. A grandmother is diagnosed with breast cancer, and some Christians say, “God wants to teach you through suffering”.

If these Christian witnesses are to be believed, then God is to blame for these deaths and diseases. He chose for them to happen. What kind of loving God is that?

The tragic reality is far too many Christians blame God all the time for things that He didn’t want and didn’t do. It is the devil, not God, who comes to kill, steal and destroy. God wants us to have a rich and full life. (John 10:10) God’s will is always good! (Romans 12:2)

Our problem begins with a misunderstanding of God’s sovereignty. Yes, God is eternal Creator, all-powerful, all-knowing and all-present. His sovereign authority and power allow Him to rule all from His throne in heaven. (Psalm 103:19)

But the same sovereignty that allows God to reign also allows Him to delegate, and God has delegated the responsibility for what happens on earth to mankind. (Genesis 1:26-28; Psalm 115:16) If we had embraced our authority while remaining under His authority, then the Kingdom of God would still be on earth as it is in heaven. But we didn’t, and it isn’t. The blame for the disease, death and other evil in the earth lies with us.

This is why Jesus came. This is why He asks us to pray for the Kingdom of God to return to the earth – so God’s will, which is not being done, will be done!

Our second problem is a failure to fully embrace the revelation God has given us about Himself. For centuries, theologians have intellectualized, debated and divided the Church over issues like the Trinity, eternity, predestination, divine foreknowledge and exactly who gets into heaven – all things we are incapable of fully comprehending. And all that time, God has invited us to intimately know His character so we can trust Him completely even when we do not understand all His thoughts or ways. (Isaiah 55:8-9)

As Jesus declared, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children….” (Matthew 11:25 NIV)
Childlike Christians enter into Kingdom living on earth because they know God is love. (Luke 18:16; 1 John 4:8, 16) They know God is always good, and that His goodness is the essence of His glory! (Luke 18:19; Exodus 33:18-19) God has a hope and future for them that involves wholeness, not evil. (Jeremiah 29:11) He is the heavenly Father they can always trust, who gives good gifts to them, not stones or serpents and not disease or death. (Matthew 7:7-11)

A third problem for many stems from a misunderstanding about prayer. We pray for our loved ones to be safe, our sick friend to be healed, or our lives to prosper, and when things don’t turn out like we asked, we conclude it must be “God’s will”.

Scripture teaches, however, that effective prayer is conditioned upon several very important factors, including our motives, our lack of doubt in God, the faithfulness of our lives, our unity with like-minded Christians, our passion and perseverance, and our desire to see His will done. When our prayers are not answered like we wish, it is not God’s fault. It simply means we have somehow “missed the mark” of God’s good purpose for the overall situation.

Dear friends, we who are the Church must stop falsely accusing God. We must stop accepting theologies that accommodate our little faith, and start growing our faith in accordance with the divine revelation of a God who always loves us, is always trustworthy, and whose will for us is always wonderfully good.

That change in us will change the world.

God bless you, and God bless our community.

“And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men’.” (Luke 2:13-14 KJV)

Christmas remains a wonderful time for most Christians despite the materialism and hectic schedules, and even despite all those “politically correct” efforts to appease non-Christians so they can celebrate a Christian holiday without becoming Christians.

We gather with family and friends. We enjoy giving as well as receiving. Most important, we remember the incredibly inspiring story of the birth of Jesus: Son of God, Savior and Lord!
One of my favorite moments in this birth day story is when the glorious angels visit the humble shepherds. Heaven declares to earth how the arrival of the Christ child expresses God’s good will toward mankind and God’s desire that we live in peace with Him and each other.

Yet over two thousand years later, God’s desire remains largely unfulfilled. The majority of people on earth still do not know the Father and His Son. As to peace among men, both our nation and the world seem even farther away from that than we used to be.

All we hear on the world news are reports of ISIS, Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, Gaza, North Korea, Somalia, the Ukraine, and other “hot spots” where men hate, terrorize and kill. Closer to home, we seem to have become a nation defined by our dissension and discord.

The tragic deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner triggered both non-violent and violent protests over what some Americans believe was excessive force motivated by racism. Other Americans gathered to support law enforcement officers and the difficult job they have, particularly when people challenge their authority and resist arrest. Politicians and media rushed in on both sides to gain favor with their support base and ratings for their networks.

So where is the truth? Two NYPD patrolmen were murdered last Saturday by a man claiming to seek revenge against the police for the death of Eric Garner. It has become very important that our nation discover the truth.

The truth is Michael Brown and Officer Darren Wilson did not have good will toward each other. Eric Garner and the officer who choked him did not have good will toward each other. Maybe it was racism, one way or both ways. Maybe it was disrespect for legal authority and a reaction to that disrespect. Maybe it was to some degree a blend of all these. In any of those scenarios, men can be injured or killed because they do not have good will toward each other. Peace requires you to have good will toward each other.

The Greek word translated “good will” in Luke’s Christmas story is “eudokia”, which means “good will”, “kindly intent”, “benevolence”, or “a desire for good things to happen to someone”. Because a loving God feels that way toward us, He sent His Son to save us.

Likewise, if men and women feel that way toward each other, we seek to help each other, not hurt each other. We solve problems together rather than seeing each other as the problem. Because we care for each other, peace is a priority. When peace is a priority, rather than just getting your own way, then peace is obtainable.

I love to cite scripture, and there is plenty of scripture to cite here. We are called to love our neighbor and our enemies. (Luke 10:27; Matthew 5:44) Strife, rivalries, dissension and division are the work of our sinful flesh, not fruit of the Spirit. (Galatians 5:19-21) We are to do good to those who hate us, bless those who curse us, pray for those who abuse us, and, in short, treat others the way we want to be treated. (Luke 6:27-31) We overcome evil with good, not more evil. (Romans 12:21)

These scriptures mean little or nothing to non-Christians, of course, because they do not believe in the Bible. I am never surprised when the lost act lost. They need Jesus!

These scriptures should, however, mean a great deal to every Christian in our nation, regardless of your political party, race or socio-economic background. We are at a time of crisis. The United States is not united. Our political parties and media conglomerates are part of the problem, not part of the solution. The only way we can restore unity is to restore our good will toward each other. The only way we can restore good will is for Christians throughout America to start acting like Christ.

We serve the God of Peace. (1 Thessalonians 5:23) We are called to be peacemakers (Matthew 5:9) My prayer for 2015 is that Christians will come together over racial, political and socio-economic lines to show this nation we are united under the banner of the Prince of Peace, and that God’s good will, and our good will, are for everyone. (Isaiah 9:6-7; Ephesians 4:1-6)

As Paul told the Christians in conflict-ridden Corinth: “Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.” (2 Corinthians 13: 11)

God bless you, and God bless our community.