19 But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, that I also may be encouraged when I know your state.
20 For I have no one like-minded, who will sincerely care for your state.
21 For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus.
22 But you know his proven character, that as a son with his father he served with me in the gospel.
Proven character - it is proven by our devotion to Christ, no matter what amount of adversity we may encounter. It is developed as we read, study, and absorb God's Word and how we seek to live it out each day, utilizing the power of the Holy Spirit. The Bible gives us the prescription for being a person of character, and while we never arrive, we can express the love of Christ through our actions and attitudes as we exhibit a sense of dependence on Him.
In Romans 5, we are encouraged to allow character to develop in our lives, and that comes as we stand with God, even in times of difficulty:
(3b) we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance;
4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope.
5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
One of the principal issues of the day, it seems, is religious freedom and the ability to withstand the assault on our culture by those who embrace an intolerance cloaked in the language of tolerance. It all came to a boiling point in Georgia recently when lawmakers, who have been working on strengthening the state's religious liberty protections for a number of years now, came up with what has been described as a watered-down version of a bill that would protect people of faith from being punished for standing on their deeply held beliefs.
The NFL threatened to keep Atlanta from receiving a Super Bowl in its new stadium; the owner of Atlanta's team was opposed to the bill, and members of the film industry, which holds considerable sway in the state, erupted in threats to leave a state where they have invested quite a bit of infrastructure - all because they perceived a bill that would simply reinforce religious rights was somehow discriminatory. Well, the veto of that bill is discriminatory - toward Christians who disagree with having to be forced by the state to act in a manner that contradicts their deeply-held beliefs.
The same mentality is now at play in North Carolina, where the state took decisive action to strike down an extreme ordinance out of Charlotte giving special rights to so-called "transgender" people, including using whatever restroom facility they wished, regardless of biological gender. This, no doubt, would open the door to others who would seize this new "freedom" to enter the bathroom of an opposite gender and be involved in despicable behavior. But, you have corporate and governmental interests who are now taking aim at this public safety law that overwhelmingly passed the Legislature and was signed by the governor. And, now it's Mississippi's turn, with Governor Bryant under pressure to either stand strong like Governor McCrory in North Carolina, or to wilt like Governors Pence in Indiana or Deal in Georgia.
I think it's interesting that the faith community and the business community are seemingly at odds these days - why, you'd think that the characteristics that would make someone a good Christian would make someone a good employee; well, oh, except for that intolerance that we are charged with. Has it come to a point in the workplace where a believer is not allowed to hold certain convictions without facing the endangerment of being fired? Are we heading for a litmus test here? I certainly hope not, but think about the plight of former Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran, who lost his job because he wrote a book about God's views on sexuality, in which a brief passage referred to a Biblical view of homosexuality. Chief Cochran, by the way, was standing with African-American leaders in Atlanta recently to decry the veto of the Georgia religious freedom bill.
But, does godly character still count in the workplace any more? You know, a person that has an exemplary work ethic, who desires to do his or her best on the job, who treats customers how he or she would wish to be treated. But, if that person believes in the Biblical definition of marriage, are we approaching a point where that person is targeted for being discriminatory? Or is that person really the victim of discrimination?
But, would you believe that corporate interests, who nowadays seem to walk lockstep with an agenda that runs counter to our Christian faith, were partners in some of the civic expressions of religion today. I ran across a piece on the Politico website by Kevin Kruse, a Princeton professor who wrote a book called, One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian America. No, I haven't read the book, but in reading the article, it was rather clear that an alliance, which some criticized, between business interests and people of faith, had been formed for the political purpose of reversing the effects of Roosevelt's New Deal. The corporate community was looking for an image boost after the Great Depression, and these interests were encouraged to embrace faith.
In a review of the book by John Turner on the Christianity Today website, he says that:
But, for each of us individually, we recognize that the principles of Christianity are powerful when integrated into the culture of business. Again, what makes a person an effective Christian can contribute to a person being a good employee. I contend that Christian should be the absolute best that we can be in the workplace, exhibiting responsible capability in performance, a conviction to be excellent, and compassion in service. Our faith and our practice of it should qualify, not disqualify us for employment. If an employer is searching for a person of character - and it should - then a Christian should be the best to fit the bill.
We also have to recognize that people and organizations will use religion when they feel it benefits them. That has the potential to be advantageous to us in the spread of the gospel, but we have to be careful that we don't attribute spiritual motives to those who are just trying to build up the bottom line. And, that standard is fickle, anyway - witness what we're experiencing now, when there is a more dominant agenda that corporate culture is buying.
But, for us the measure of revival is the same - it's how much we as Christians are allowing God to work in our lives, not in how the "Christian community" is being targeted, positively or negatively, or how much we seem to be liked or disliked, but by how the Lord is moving in the hearts of His people. Don't get too excited when a company decides to say "Merry Christmas," or when entertainment professionals relate a proper faith-based message; these are not determinants of spiritual revival - it's when the Lord is allowed to have His way that's important.
+++++
In Romans 5, we are encouraged to allow character to develop in our lives, and that comes as we stand with God, even in times of difficulty:
(3b) we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance;
4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope.
5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
One of the principal issues of the day, it seems, is religious freedom and the ability to withstand the assault on our culture by those who embrace an intolerance cloaked in the language of tolerance. It all came to a boiling point in Georgia recently when lawmakers, who have been working on strengthening the state's religious liberty protections for a number of years now, came up with what has been described as a watered-down version of a bill that would protect people of faith from being punished for standing on their deeply held beliefs.
The NFL threatened to keep Atlanta from receiving a Super Bowl in its new stadium; the owner of Atlanta's team was opposed to the bill, and members of the film industry, which holds considerable sway in the state, erupted in threats to leave a state where they have invested quite a bit of infrastructure - all because they perceived a bill that would simply reinforce religious rights was somehow discriminatory. Well, the veto of that bill is discriminatory - toward Christians who disagree with having to be forced by the state to act in a manner that contradicts their deeply-held beliefs.
The same mentality is now at play in North Carolina, where the state took decisive action to strike down an extreme ordinance out of Charlotte giving special rights to so-called "transgender" people, including using whatever restroom facility they wished, regardless of biological gender. This, no doubt, would open the door to others who would seize this new "freedom" to enter the bathroom of an opposite gender and be involved in despicable behavior. But, you have corporate and governmental interests who are now taking aim at this public safety law that overwhelmingly passed the Legislature and was signed by the governor. And, now it's Mississippi's turn, with Governor Bryant under pressure to either stand strong like Governor McCrory in North Carolina, or to wilt like Governors Pence in Indiana or Deal in Georgia.
I think it's interesting that the faith community and the business community are seemingly at odds these days - why, you'd think that the characteristics that would make someone a good Christian would make someone a good employee; well, oh, except for that intolerance that we are charged with. Has it come to a point in the workplace where a believer is not allowed to hold certain convictions without facing the endangerment of being fired? Are we heading for a litmus test here? I certainly hope not, but think about the plight of former Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran, who lost his job because he wrote a book about God's views on sexuality, in which a brief passage referred to a Biblical view of homosexuality. Chief Cochran, by the way, was standing with African-American leaders in Atlanta recently to decry the veto of the Georgia religious freedom bill.
But, does godly character still count in the workplace any more? You know, a person that has an exemplary work ethic, who desires to do his or her best on the job, who treats customers how he or she would wish to be treated. But, if that person believes in the Biblical definition of marriage, are we approaching a point where that person is targeted for being discriminatory? Or is that person really the victim of discrimination?
But, would you believe that corporate interests, who nowadays seem to walk lockstep with an agenda that runs counter to our Christian faith, were partners in some of the civic expressions of religion today. I ran across a piece on the Politico website by Kevin Kruse, a Princeton professor who wrote a book called, One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian America. No, I haven't read the book, but in reading the article, it was rather clear that an alliance, which some criticized, between business interests and people of faith, had been formed for the political purpose of reversing the effects of Roosevelt's New Deal. The corporate community was looking for an image boost after the Great Depression, and these interests were encouraged to embrace faith.
In a review of the book by John Turner on the Christianity Today website, he says that:
Kruse explains how many things Americans take for granted came to be: the presence of “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance, the adoption of “In God We Trust” as a national motto, the annual “presidential” prayer breakfast, and the presidential practice of ending speeches with “may God bless America.” Although “In God We Trust” has a longer history, many elements of American civil religion have their roots not in the American founding but in the more recent past.So, isn't it interesting that corporate leaders in that day, including Walt Disney, were intent on using religion as a means of currying favor with the American people. I mention Disney because the company he founded is a leading nemesis to the Georgia religious freedom bill? So, it was not always an adversarial relationship between the faith community and corporate interests. And, I don't want to generalize that it's that way today - but we just have to recognize that many corporations have been duped by the gay agenda to redefine tolerance in a manner that discriminates against people of faith.
But, for each of us individually, we recognize that the principles of Christianity are powerful when integrated into the culture of business. Again, what makes a person an effective Christian can contribute to a person being a good employee. I contend that Christian should be the absolute best that we can be in the workplace, exhibiting responsible capability in performance, a conviction to be excellent, and compassion in service. Our faith and our practice of it should qualify, not disqualify us for employment. If an employer is searching for a person of character - and it should - then a Christian should be the best to fit the bill.
We also have to recognize that people and organizations will use religion when they feel it benefits them. That has the potential to be advantageous to us in the spread of the gospel, but we have to be careful that we don't attribute spiritual motives to those who are just trying to build up the bottom line. And, that standard is fickle, anyway - witness what we're experiencing now, when there is a more dominant agenda that corporate culture is buying.
But, for us the measure of revival is the same - it's how much we as Christians are allowing God to work in our lives, not in how the "Christian community" is being targeted, positively or negatively, or how much we seem to be liked or disliked, but by how the Lord is moving in the hearts of His people. Don't get too excited when a company decides to say "Merry Christmas," or when entertainment professionals relate a proper faith-based message; these are not determinants of spiritual revival - it's when the Lord is allowed to have His way that's important.
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