Walk in Peace

We are called and empowered to reflect the presence of Christ in us, and Ephesians 4 reminds us:
1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,
2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love,
3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Because we have peace with God and have a relationship with Jesus, we can act in a manner that is consistent with His truth and His love.  This can be especially important to remember when we come together with people with whom we have disagreements - we can disagree without being divisive and we have the Holy Spirit in us to help us check the tone of our words and the attitudes of our hearts. He calls us to pursue the path of peace as His representatives.

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The Bible has prescriptions for peace - with God and with others, which is especially important this
time of year. We can read in Romans 14:
16 Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil;
17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
18 For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men.
19 Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.

The Thanksgiving holiday has the potential to bring out the best in people - a shared experience around food, family, and football (even though watching a Detroit Lions game year after year hardly qualifies as an exhilarating experience).  But, there are those that dread the holiday year after year for a variety of reasons.

And, as an article at The Federalist by Tristan Justice points out, it does seem that the mainstream media is on a bandwagon of ensuring Thanksgiving survival in the midst of gatherings with family members who may disagree.  He writes, regarding political discussion:

Every year there are countless headlines offering advice on how to approach the topic or to avoid it altogether, giving anxious individuals a how-to guide on steering away from discussing the serious problems of the day.

“How to avoid all-out political war at your Thanksgiving table,” reads an NBC News headline. “Have different politics from your family? Here’s how to survive Thanksgiving,” wrote the Washington Post. “How to navigate awkward political conversations at the Thanksgiving table,” offered USA Today.

Problem is, politics is certainly a divisive topic and it can be wise to avoid it all together in such a happy setting.  Nick Hall of the Pulse Movement, as I mentioned yesterday, released a statement that included these words:

The truth is that despite being physically together for the holidays, families often are anything but ‘together.’ Old fights, grudges, hurts — even politics — put distance between many of us and our families. Yet, as followers of Jesus, we are called to a ministry of reconciliation, and that ministry can begin at a Thanksgiving table.

And, as I have said, our differences don't have to be divisive.  So, it may be a matter of tone rather than substance, grace rather than conflict, that can rule the day when we wade into difficult discussions.  But, Justice says not to shy away from those potentially explosive areas, writing:

But talking politics doesn’t have to be stressful, and nor should it be, especially among loved ones. Sadly, our toxic political climate has led to the rapid deterioration of civil discourse, where polarization has reached historic heights not seen since the Civil War.

The country is seeing something far worse than the simple breakdown in political civility. Our modern political climate has become saturated with contempt, where American politics has become so divisive that individuals on opposing sides of an issue begin see their friends and neighbors as something less than human.

You can also recognize that the purpose of a family dinner is not to win an argument, but ultimately to glorify God, and to be a good representative of Him.  Billy Hallowell over at PureFlix.com offers some ways to share the gospel during Thanksgiving gatherings, and it begins with prayer - for the right approach including the right words.  Also, he states - and this is important:

Another simple way to share your faith is to live it. Whether you’re the host or a guest at someone else’s home this Thanksgiving, it’s important to show God’s love through your interactions. We often focus intensely on the essentials of spiritual conversation, yet fail to realize that actions often speak much larger than words.

So, in the midst of holiday gatherings, we can consider how we have been placed there by God.  And, while politics can certainly be discussed, in a sensitive, even delicate way, we have to recognize that there are far more weighty matters that can be part of a conversation.  But, we can always be mindful to show respect and compassion.

And, realize that even friends and family disagree - a friendship doesn't have to be sacrificed on the altar of partisan politics.  Perhaps you're familiar with the legendary friendship between the late John McCain and his fellow senator Lindsey Graham.  Well, it seems that McCain's daughter, Meghan, has been receiving criticism about her refusal to criticize the senator from South Carolina, even though she has developed some policy differences with him.  FoxNews.com reports:

After Meghan McCain refused to criticize Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. on Monday's episode of "The View," she once again defended herself on Twitter.

"I literally grew up with @LindseyGrahamSC who I have always considered an uncle," the 35-year-old said. "We never have agreed on everything, and do not now. I refuse to let politics destroy my personal relationships across the board."

That is a good perspective that I believe can have parallels to Biblical prescriptions for relationships. These family relationships can certainly be complicated, but God specializes in helping us navigate - His ways and wisdom are higher than our own.  Above all, we can seek to reflect the character of Christ.  Happy Thanksgiving! 

Overcoming Evil with Good

In an angry culture or adverse circumstances, we can choose a better way to respond to those with
whom we disagree, as well as those who show disdain toward us. Ephesians 4 states:
31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.
32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you.

As Romans 12 teaches us, we can "overcome evil with good."  There is a better way to respond, and while bitterness can weigh us down, love motivated by our faith in Christ can help us to reflect His nature.  During this season of Thanksgiving, we can possess grateful hearts and display our devotion to the Lord.  He gives us the capacity to see others through His eyes, and have compassion even on those who may have hurt us or wrongly treated us.

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In Romans 12, we find a wonderful passage that is certainly applicable during this season in which
we celebrate Christ's love. We can read:
18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.
19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord.
20 Therefore "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head."
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

KC and Angel Ahlers are an Ohio couple who have been blessed with an infant son - his name is RJ and he is four months old.  And, the parents knew they had a child with serious medical issues, according to the website for the TODAY show on NBC.  The site says:

When Angel Ahlers’ son was born, doctors knew something was wrong with Randy James. An ultrasound showed that the white matter in the center of his brain was underdeveloped, something known as agenesis of the Corpus Callosum. A month later, blood tests revealed the infant, who the Ahlers call RJ, also has Trisomy 9 Mosaic Syndrome. Both conditions are extremely rare.

The couple is dedicated to handling the situation as a "team," as the article says, quoting Angel, who related, "We have done it side-by side...We definitely tackle it head on."

There are enormous medical bills; already, the child has been under the treatment of eight specialists.  The couple, according to the article, posted a sign on the side of the road directing people to their GoFundMe page. Then, KC saw that another sign had been posted underneath it, which read: “Stop asking for money. Let the baby die. Its called Darwinism. Happy holidays.”

Talk about insensitivity - the presence of outright evil!  And, unfortunately an indicator of the culture in which we find ourselves.  Angel initially felt anger, but then, she decided to take a different route; she related:

“I was thinking about it: There’s obviously something going on in that disturbed person’s life that made them feel compelled to do something like that,” she said. “I let them know that under no uncertain terms I was going to let hatred win out. We are going to teach our son that love wins above all.”

The article goes on to say:

The couple filmed a video, which they shared on Facebook. In it, Ahlers said:

“We’re going to battle your hatred with love. We’re going to pray for you.”

The story has received national media attention, and people are responding with support. Angel says, "Blown away. Definitely there was a time where I was just speechless,” adding, “I looked at my husband and he goes, ‘There are just no words.’”  The article also reports:

Ahlers said she also hopes that others will become more empathetic after hearing about RJ, who is a “very happy baby” who “smiles, laughs, giggles and coos” all the time.

The Ahlers are obviously thankful for the gift of the life of RJ, and we can be thankful for our life-giving Creator, who has chosen to give each of us life.  The Bible teaches us to give thanks in all circumstances, and we can take that to heart and even look to God and praise Him, even when we may face desperate situations.

The story can encourage us during this holiday season to, as Romans 12 teaches us, "overcome evil with good," as well as, like Jesus taught in Matthew 5, to pray for our enemies.  This is a primer on showing compassion to those who have wronged us.  When we encounter opposition or face disagreement, we can make sure that we are pursuing a path of peace.  Even in the face of outright hate, we can display the love of God.  It is easy and sometimes understandable to become angry, but we can turn that around and release the power of the Holy Spirit for His glory.

Protected by the Word

The Bible will establish our ways, guide our decisions, strengthen our hearts, and protect us from the power of the enemy. When fear sets in, our faith, which comes from the Word of God, can enable us to rise above it. Isaiah 43 states:
8 "But you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, The descendants of Abraham My friend.
9 You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, And called from its farthest regions, And said to you, 'You are My servant, I have chosen you and have not cast you away:
10 Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.'

We are given the example in Psalms about hiding God's Word in our hearts.  Without the Word, we are vulnerable to the deception of the enemy.  With the Word, we can be victorious over his schemes. We discover more about the Lord and get to know Him as we apply ourselves to study and meditation of God's Word.  During this National Bible Week, we can be prompted to allow His truth to guide our lives and to appropriate the power of the "living and active" Word of God.

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In Psalm 62, we find these encouraging words relative to God's presence as our refuge:
6 He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved.
7 In God is my salvation and my glory; The rock of my strength, And my refuge, is in God.
8 Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us...

We are continuing to see conflict in a variety of nations of the world - the Hong Kong situation continues to proliferate, as you have seen the emergence of a significant number of freedom fighters who are standing against the oppression of the massive Chinese government apparatus.  There are protests against the heavy hand of the religious leaders in Iran.

And, recently, there is conflict in the South American nation of Bolivia, where the president, Evo Morales, resigned, setting off tensions between his supporters and law enforcement, according to a Faithwire story, which reports on an incident in the city of Yapacani, where police attempted to reduce the tension.

It involves a police officer who was on the receiving end of the firing of what was believed to be a 9mm round from a gun that was stolen from law enforcement.  The article relates:

Oscar Gutierrez, head of the Special Force of the Fight Against Crime of Santa Cruz, explained how his officer was shot in the chest but that the bullet did not hurt him because he “had a Bible that stopped the projectile.”

“Yes, it was a miracle,” the officer himself explained, according to the Daily Mail.

Gutierrez also stated, “He is a young officer whose life was saved miraculously, he was shot by a projectile, I assume of 9mm calibre, and I know the weapons used were stolen from the Bolivian police..."  The Faithwire and Daily Mail articles both actually have pictures of the Bible, which appears to be a pocket New Testament.

The officer was sent for medical testing, and was found to be without injury.

A little background on the turbulence there in Bolivia, from Faithwire:

Former President Evo Morales was forced out of power by the military after accusations of a rigged election which saw him take 47.1% of the vote. He has since been granted asylum in Mexico and Senator Jeanine Añez had declared herself as interim president — bizarrely, by brandishing massive leather-bound Bible.

Already, not surprisingly, there is concern about her legitimacy.

One thing that is legitimate is that a small Bible intercepted a bullet that could have taken this police officer's life.  The young policeman actually said that it was a miracle.  So, we can give glory to God for the way that He has worked to preserve this man's life, and consider perhaps a life-threatening instance we may have encountered.  Our survival can remind us that God has a purpose for us, and He preserves our lives so that we might be fulfill it.

There is also the symbolic aspect.  The policeman took His Bible to work.  Now, carrying a Bible to the workplace or to school is not necessarily a mandated measure of one's spirituality, but, hiding God's Word in our hearts can certainly testify to the presence of God in us.  And, if we have the Word of God prevalent in our minds and hearts, then we can have His wisdom available to us in the decisions we have to make each day, and the Scriptures can help to determine our attitude toward all that we undertake.

In this case, a young Bolivian officer experienced God's protection, and it came in the form of the Scripture.  We know that the truths of Scripture can help us to overcome various forces that are aligned against us.  He will give us the ability to walk in freedom from the power of sin.  His Word helps us to experience victory over fear, anxiety, and discouragement, and can help us to renew our minds so that we can think in a manner that pleases our Savior.  He protects us from the power of the enemy, the philosophy of this world, and even from ourselves.

Inspiration Though Injured

In the Christian life, we may face injury or infirmity, insult or inconvenience.  Through all of these,
no matter what the severity, we can exert faith in Almighty God. 1st Peter 4 states:
12 Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you;
13 but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.

We will experience times when things don't go the way we think we should.  We may face injury of the body or spirit, loss of loved ones or loss of property.  In it all, we can trust the hand of God - He will sustain us and He does have a plan: a plan for our good and His glory, as it's been said.  So, in our suffering, we can know that He is producing a result that He has determined, that will help us to grow in Him and even increase our faith.

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The apostle Paul experienced his share of suffering, and there was an apparent physical malady about which he prayed and pleaded. God adjusted his perspective, as we read in 2nd Corinthians 12:
9 And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

For someone who participates in competitive sports, an injury can be a frustrating, not to mention, painful occurrence.  And, there have been some fairly recent declarations by quarterbacks who are Christians and have faced injury that can inspire us.

Of course, fresh on the minds of Alabama and SEC football fans is what took place in Starkville this past week - the injury to Heisman candidate and record-breaking QB Tua Tagovailoa.  This is a young man who has become known for his faith in Christ and is showing a trust in the Lord even in the midst of his season, and perhaps his career at Alabama, being derailed.

CBN.com reported that: "The 21-year-old tweeted 'Thank you all for the prayers and well wishes! God always has a plan.'"  The article goes on to say:

Tagovailoa is well-known for his strong Christian faith and for wearing a black cross on his face when he plays football.

His Twitter bio says it all: "1 Corinthians 2:9 HIM 13EFORE ME"

That Bible verse from Corinthians says: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him."

Tua's family issued a statement of gratitude earlier this week, which said, in part, according to CBN:

We felt the unceasing prayer, and words can't express how overwhelming and uplifting that has been for us. We have total faith in God's plan for Tua, and we know his plan is never wrong. God's grace, mercy, love, and faithfulness in our lives has never been more evident, despite this setback."

Oh, and in an interesting side note, the Sunday before the LSU game, Tua's father was being baptized - at Yellowhammer News, Rick Karle reported that:

Galu Tagovailoa told me that he reaffirmed his faith just a few days ago by taking part in the Church of the Highlands’ “I Have Decided To Follow Jesus” series.

Pastor Chris Hodges welcomed Galu, his wife (Diane) and other family members as Hodges helped make Sunday special for the Tagovailoa family and others by holding baptisms.

And, did you catch this one?

For @PlumleeJohn & @Tuaamann, Faith > Football pic.twitter.com/6A8G15jtzG

— Paul Finebaum (@finebaum) November 22, 2019

Meanwhile, another quarterback who has experienced injury this season, former Super Bowl MVP and current Jacksonville Jaguars starter Nick Foles spoke out recently about his faith.  Foles suffered a broken clavicle in Week 1, according to Faithwire, which quoted the veteran:

“Right when I felt this thing break and I was going into the locker room I just realized, ‘God this wasn’t exactly what I was thinking when I came to Jacksonville.'” Foles explained.

“But at the end of the day, I said, ‘God if this is the journey you want me to go on, I’m going to glorify you in every action, good or bad.’ You know, I still can have joy in injury. People hear that and say that’s crazy, but it’s like when you believe in Jesus and you go out there and you play, that changes your heart.”

About winning the Super Bowl and lifting up the Lombardi Trophy, Foles related:

“In that moment, I realized I didn’t need that trophy to find who I was, because I was already in Christ. And that’s my message when I play, same thing happens when I get injured… we tend to this so much about us, as human beings, we tend to make it about us, as athletes, it’s not about us..."

Foles and Tagovailoa can teach us quite a bit about suffering - it will come; we will face injury, perhaps physical, maybe emotional or mental, maybe relational.  But, we can know that God is there to sustain us; He has not forgotten us in our trial, even though it can be frustrating and devastating.

Both QB's talked about God's plan.  That's important to note in the course of our lives.  Some may question God and ask why things didn't go a certain way.  Truth is, the trajectory of the believer's life is determined by the hand of Almighty God.  We can choose to reject His plan, certainly, and face the consequences.  Or, we can place our hand in His and allow Him to walk with us and to do His perfect work in our lives.

The enemy would want to bring despair and cause us to get off track in our walk because of our perceived negative circumstances.  But, God wants us to experience joy, even in our times of suffering.

Fixed Not Fluid

There are those that would want to call into question the clear Biblical teaching about gender, given in Genesis, which states that God made male and female, and made them for one another.  Not extra genders, not for same sex or extramarital relationships.  Romans 1 addresses the perversion of God's plan:
24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves,
25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
26 For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature.
27 Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.

We can be thankful to God that He has called us to sacred purity rather than sinful passion.  But, the world is determined to corrupt the clear principles of the Scripture.  When we reject the teachings of the Bible, God will allow people to sow what they reap.  We must be cautious to stay grounded in the Word of God and to follow the direction of the Spirit of God and to appropriate His power so we reject those sinful desires and conform our desires to His will.

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In an age in which there is a trend to misuse the teachings of Jesus to accommodate sin, including the
support of homosexuality, it's helpful to recognize what He actually said. Matthew 19:
4 And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,'
5 and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'?
6 So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."

The numbers are clear: two genders, one man and one woman in a one-flesh relationship.

There is so much confusing and confounding news out there about the issue of gender, isn't there?  Of course, you have the transgender people who believe that they can actually change their biology through surgery, therapy, and hormones.  You have those that say that children should not be taught that they are one particular gender.  People identify as one of a host of different genders, and the drag queens dress up as women and are lauded for it.  While Jesus taught God created us male and female - those are fixed, the world has created a whole assortment of genders that are fluid.

WORLD Magazine reported on a recent study about the views of teens in rural areas in the southeastern United States with regard to gender.  The article says:

The report, published in the Journal of Adolescence, used surveys from 744 high school students in the southeastern United States conducted from 2014 to 2016. Researchers from three universities asked each student about their sexual identity (whether they identify as heterosexual, gay, lesbian, or bisexual), their romantic attractions, and their sexual behavior for three years in a row.

Of those surveyed, 19 percent reported at least one change in their self-labeled sexual identity over three years, and 21 percent reported at least one change in who they were attracted to. For many, their identity, attraction, and behavior were inconsistent. Nearly 10 percent of female students said they were heterosexual and had at least some attraction to girls. Of the female students who said they were heterosexual and not attracted to girls, 12 percent reported engaging in same-sex sexual behavior.

And, girls - biological, I presume, were twice as likely as boys to "report a change in sexual identity."

The article states, "...the study leaves out an important nuance, said Michelle Cretella, executive director of the American College of Pediatricians. Namely that homosexual feelings are a lot more fluid than heterosexual ones."  It continues:

She said other research has shown young adolescents who experience solely opposite-sex attraction will likely always feel and identify as heterosexual, while homosexual attractions in teens are more fluid than fixed. Cretella pointed to a 2007 study on sexual identity fluidity in teens that found 98 percent of adolescents experiencing heterosexual attractions retained those into adulthood.

WORLD notes: "the recent study showed that 75 percent of adolescents with homosexual attractions changed to experience heterosexual attraction only. That jives with a 2011 study of more than 13,000 teens that found 66 percent of teens initially unsure of their sexual orientation became exclusively heterosexual."

Cretella has spoken out in the past about the use of therapies on children that involve medical therapies that would enable someone to attempt to change his or her gender.  According to Life Site News, in 2017...

...the Heritage Foundation sponsored a forum on transgenderism at which Dr. Michelle Cretella said it is child abuse to facilitate gender confusion in children by helping them “transition” to the opposite sex.

“Chemical castration is what you’re doing when you put any biologically normal child on puberty blockers,” said Cretella, the president of the American College of Pediatricians. “It’s treating puberty like a disease, arresting a normal process which is critical to normal development.”

She added, "Indoctrinating preschool kids with the lie that you can be trapped in the wrong body … disrupt(s) their normal reality testing and cognitive development,” she explained. “Those things are abusive.”

And, the studies show that the majority of young people who experience gender confusion will eventually land on heterosexual feelings and practice exclusively.

Adam Donyes, the founder and president of Link Year, which is described as "a one-year Christian program for post–high school teens," according to the WORLD article, "...pointed to the fact that students today are primarily self-educated about sex and sexuality and believe they can determine for themselves what is right or wrong." He says: “Everything that is educating them and informing them is on their phones. … No longer are Mom and Dad, or teachers at school, the primary educators.” Everywhere they turn they see sexual identity fluidity, said Donyes, and so they begin to believe it’s the “new normal.”

Bottom line: we are called to accept and teach God's plan.  There are many influences that attempt to sway young people to be more investigative and explore false narratives about gender, and we have to recognize the fixed nature of biology, as determined by the Creator.  It's not up to a child or teen to choose his or her gender, and attempting to do so is an act of rebellion to God's ways.

The enemy will attempt to lure people into experimentation.  He will tempt us to explore alternative viewpoints, so that we do not adhere to God's principles and hurt our witness.  His aim is to make us less effective or even ineffective in representing our Savior.

And, we should always support therapy and tools that can help decrease gender confusion or deal with same-sex attraction, rather than complicate matters through embracing godless ideas.  While some in the Christian community have spoken out against therapy that would help a person deal with these thoughts, emotions, and attractions, and governments have sought to ban counseling that violates their agenda that promotes the exploration of unbiblical ideas of sexuality, we can go to the Word of God to govern our perspective. 

Chicken, Charity, and Cancel Culture

We are new creatures in Christ, and we're called to behave not like the world, but attempt to reflect our Savior. Philippians 3 states this:
17 Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern.
18 For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:
19 whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame--who set their mind on earthly things.

Because we are in Christ and He is in us, we have new instructions about how we are to live our lives. And, we have to have clarity in the way we walk.  Jesus reserved some of His strongest words during His earthly ministry about hypocrisy, and we have to make sure that how we act lines up with who He says we are.  We have to be grounded in that new identity and recognize that the strength to live that life comes from Him, and not from ourselves.

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Our identity is rooted in Christ, and determined by His presence within us.  And, if we believe we are who He says we are, then we will act and think accordingly. We need to make sure that our practice lines up with our proclamation.  Colossians 3 gives us some direction:
1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.
2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.
3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

Honestly, I don't know where to begin here.  I think I want to ask the question: what's up with the Salvation Army?  I mean, you had this pop singer who decided that she wouldn't sing at the Dallas Cowboys game on Thanksgiving to kick off the Army's "Red Kettle Campaign," which is a Christmas staple.  Why?

Well, anti-LGBT, of course.  That's the common phrase to describe people and organizations that uphold a Biblical view of marriage and sexuality.  Ellie Goulding will perform, after all.  A report on the WFSB Television website quotes the singer:

"We'd like to thank Ellie Goulding and her fans for shedding light on misconceptions and encouraging others to learn the truth about The Salvation Army's mission to serve all, without discrimination," wrote David Hudson, National Commander of The Salvation Army. "We applaud her for taking the time to learn about the services we provide to the LGBTQ community."

So, imagine the concern over at the Salvation Army when it learned that one of its corporate donors was pulling the funding that it had been receiving for years.  Yes, that's right, Chick-fil-A, through its giving arm, the Chick-fil-A Foundation, has decided to cease funding the Army as well as the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.  The story that set off a chain reaction on Monday was found on the Bisnow website.  It says:

The Salvation Army has been accused of LGBT discrimination in the past. The organization has repeatedly denied those accusations, most recently on Monday afternoon after Chick-fil-A’s announcement. “We’re saddened to learn that a corporate partner has felt it necessary to divert funding to other hunger, education and homelessness organizations,” the organization said in a statement to Bisnow.

“We serve more than 23 million individuals a year, including those in the LGBTQ+ community. In fact, we believe we are the largest provider of poverty relief to the LGBTQ+ population.”

FCA is an organization that spreads the truth of Christ among young people and has a strong emphasis on character development.  However, as Bisnow says, the LGBT community finds fault with "FCA’s employment purity statement, which speaks out against sex outside marriage and 'homosexual acts.'"

The Bisnow article drops this bombshell, quoting Chick-fil-A President and COO Tim Tassopoulos:

The new giving structure moves away from the multiyear commitments Chick-fil-A had with the Salvation Army and the FCA and focuses on annual grants, which Tassopoulos said will be reviewed and assessed each year. Future partners could include faith-based and non-faith-based charities, but the company said none of the organizations have anti-LGBT positions. While the philanthropic shift is an acknowledgment that past giving has hurt the company’s brand, it hasn’t negatively impacted sales.

So, if an organization upholds Christian principles, including traditional marriage and God's plan for sexuality, that organization will be disqualified?  That's what this sounds like.

Robert A.J. Gagnon of Houston Baptist University quotes from Princeton Professor Robert George on Facebook, who makes a number of points - here are some:

6. Then, suddenly, the company announced that it would no longer fund organizations like the Salvation Army and the Fellowship of Christian athletes. It said that in assessing its philanthropic work, it would only support organizations that "align with its values"--clearly implying that those organizations did not.

7. There is no explanation for this development apart from the fact that the Salvation Army and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes uphold Biblical standards of marriage and sexual morality.

8. If there is some other explanation, Chick-fil-A has not provided it, despite requests to do so.

9. Chick-fil-A has announced that it will support Covenant House, which publicly embraces "gay pride" activism and has been praised for it by the pro-LBGT "New Ways Ministry."

10. This makes clear that Chick-fil-A has established a litmus test for its philanthropy. If an organization holds to Biblical standards of marriage and sexual morality, it will not be funded. By notable contrast, if an organization publicly rejects such standards it is nevertheless eligible for funding.

Steve Berman, over at The Resurgent, cautions against what I would term a "Christian outrage mob" over what he terms ".02% of revenue" that was given to Salvation Army and FCA.  He writes:

Dan Cathy is still the Chairman and CEO. He still gives to Christian organizations. The other executive leaders, including the president and COO Tim Tassopoulos, have been with the company for decades.

Chick-fil-A is still closed on Sundays.

And buried at the bottom of the “Who We Are” page, but featured prominently, framed on the entryway wall in most restaurants, Chick-fil-A’s corporate purpose remains the same:

“To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us and to have a positive influence on all who come into contact with Chick-fil-A.”

Until this changes, those who now plaster the media with “Chick-fil-A caves” stories still want the company to fail. They want Christians to react with spittle-flecked tantrums and threats. They want to bring out the worst in Christians so they can gleefully watch the company’s fans turn on their favorite chicken sandwich restaurant.

The Christian Post went to Chick-fil-A for more information, and received this quote:

"Our goal is to donate to the most effective organizations in the areas of education, homelessness and hunger. No organization will be excluded from future consideration – faith-based or non-faith based," the spokesperson said, noting "I also wanted to add that Chick-fil-A will not be opening on Sundays."

Chick-fil-A's Foundation will now be donating to Junior Achievement, Covenant House International, and local food banks.   Tassapoulos says, "There’s no question we know that, as we go into new markets, we need to be clear about who we are,” adding, “There are lots of articles and newscasts about Chick-fil-A, and we thought we needed to be clear about our message.”

While there has been enormous negative response in the Christian community, the LGBT advocacy group, GLAAD, is not overly impressed. NBC News quotes Drew Anderson, the director of campaigns at GLAAD, saying, “Chick-fil-A investors, employees and customers can greet today’s announcement with cautious optimism, but should remember that similar press statements were previously proven to be empty..."

The Bisnow article acknowledged that:

While the philanthropic shift is an acknowledgment that past giving has hurt the company’s brand, it hasn’t negatively impacted sales.

Chick-fil-A surpassed $1B in sales in 2001 and eclipsed the $5B mark in 2013, the year following Cathy’s statement on gay marriage. The chicken chain became the third-largest U.S. fast-food chain this year with $10.5B in sales, according to Nation’s Restaurant News data. Only McDonald’s and Starbucks bring in more revenue among fast-food chains.

But after years of “taking it on the chin,” as a Chick-fil-A executive told Bisnow, the latest round of headlines was impossible to ignore. This time, it was impeding the company’s growth.

As the story points out, these headlines included contract issues in San Antonio and other airports, protests in Canada, and the forced closure of a location in the UK due to protests.  Instead of standing strong with Dan Cathy's statement upholding traditional marriage, it seems the company, on a corporate level - and that is important to note - has been slowly backing away from being seen as "intolerant" or "anti-LGBT."  This announcement is just another step in the process, it seems.

And, Christians have been leading advocates for the ultra-successful chain, and after years of defending Chick-fil-A's faith-infused operation, you can sense there is betrayal.  For instance, there's former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, who tweeted:

In Aug 2012, I coordinated a national @ChickfilA Appreciation Day after they were being bullied by militant hate groups. Millions showed up. Today, @ChickfilA betrayed loyal customers for $$. I regret believing they would stay true to convictions of founder Truett Cathey. Sad.

— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) November 18, 2019

Rod Dreher of The American Conservative wrote:

So, let me get this straight: Chick-fil-A has managed to become the third-biggest fast-food chain in the US, despite earning so much progressive hatred for honoring what its leadership once claimed was fidelity to “a much higher calling.” But now, in 2019, as it sits near the summit of business success, Chick-fil-A suddenly finds that it can no longer afford to follow that “higher calling,” and is cutting the Salvation Army and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes off.

LGBT - never satisfied.  So, never capitulate. Dreher writes: "And it’s a lesson to all of us. The LGBT lobby, and their progressive allies, will never, ever leave you alone. Never."  Glenn Stanton of Focus on the Family agrees; he is quoted at Life Site News:

“What Chick-fil-A will now be surprised to learn is gay activists will absolutely not leave them alone,” suggested Glenn Stanton, director of Global Family Formation Studies for Focus on the Family, on Facebook. “They will still be judged ‘bigots’ because their owners still support natural marriage. The only action acceptable will be for them to 1) denounce their current convictions. 2) announce their strong support of the lgbt community, and 3) demonstrate that support with financial support.”

So, again, the LGBT activists are never satisfied and demand 100% acceptance.  There are LGBT advocates who demand that others be "cancelled" because they disagree with their set of values; we have to be careful that we are not taking the same tactics.  Chick-fil-A has been a victim of "cancel culture" by some; I would contend a very small, but loud percentage.  But, you can also consider this: is refusing to eat at Chick-fil-A a representation of this "cancel culture" that we are seeing?

Certainly, the branding of Christians and Christian organizations as "anti-LGBT," is symptomatic of this pervasive attitude.  Christians are not "anti-LGBT" people, because we are to love and welcome all, but we are to be "pro-Bible," and that causes us to embrace its principles, including its teachings on sexuality.

The Chick-fil-A executive talked about telling these new markets who they are.  According to that mission statement, they are dedicated to glorifying God.  So, there are people who wonder if that has changed; is the company suffering an identity crisis because of the constant negative publicity that it has received for the past seven years; even though revenues continue to increase - I contend that is God's blessing on its foundational principles.  We have to recognize that who we are is tied up in who He says we are and how we respond to Him.  How you give communicates who you are, as well. We are called to stand for our values, which are consistent with Scripture.  We are at war with an agenda, but there are people held captive by it who need to be set free.

I would also encourage you again: Remember the good work of local Chick-fil-A operators.  This is a corporate decision not a local decision. Punishing the operators and their employees locally may not be the most prudent course of action.  But, I would expect that local franchisees would send a clear message to corporate to make this right.  Plus, Chick-fil-A and the Cathy Family has historically done great work through the WinShape Foundation, which apparently is separate from the Chick-fil-A Foundation.  WinShape sponsors Christ-centered day camps across the country and hosts marriage retreats with Christian speakers.

All in all, we need to check our own lives to make sure that our actions are lining up with what we say we believe.  While organizations and individuals may not act all of the time the way we would like, we can still attempt to live a life that reflects who we say we are and what we say we believe.

Spreading Hope

Life will bring its share of adversity; we will encounter suffering, yet even in our pain, we can press through to hope. Romans 5 reminds us:
1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

We can spend our whole lives trying to find that peace, described in Philippians 4 as peace that passes understanding.  We are promised peace, but the cares of this life can steal our peace and our joy.  We can become overwhelmed by sorrow, and some, even though they know Jesus, will end their lives - on earth.  We need to see hope and recognize that promise that is on the other side of the difficulties that we are facing; and we can stand with those who need to see that hope and experience it for themselves.

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For the believer in Christ, we know that our death on earth is not the final chapter and that our passing may have eternal significance.  In John 12, we see these verses:
23 But Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified.
24 Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.
25 He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
26 If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.

In September, Jarrid Wilson, associate pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, CA, where Faith Radio programmer Greg Laurie is the senior pastor, took his own life.  He and his wife Juli, according to a Faithwire story, had launched a ministry back in 2016 called Anthem of Hope...

...“with a passion devoted to help equip the church with the resources needed to help better assist those struggling with depression, anxiety, self-harm, addiction, and suicide,” according to the nonprofit’s website.

The article notes that Wilson had been "outspoken" about his own mental health issues, linking to an earlier Faithwire story from August, which related how Wilson had come to Christ in 2007 and had heard the gospel several years earlier at a Harvest Crusade in Southern California.  He is quoted as saying:

“If someone like me, who was contemplating suicide, thought I had no purpose in this world, thought I was just a piece of trash, could encounter the love of God and be used in a mighty way, if someone like Paul who was once persecuting Christians could be used in a mighty way,” Wilson said, “that’s what fuels me, is letting people know, ‘You’re never too far gone for the love of God.’”

His life was devoted to helping people discover hope, and his wife, Juli is carrying on the mission of Anthem of Hope - she spoke at a church for the first time last week, a church pastored by one of the last persons who personally heard from Jarrid before he took his life.  Faithwire reports that Adam Weber, pastor of Embrace Church in Sioux Falls, SD, invited Juli to speak last Thursday night.  The article says:

“We all have struggles we deal with, regardless of what our calling is or what we do for a living,” Juli explained, noting there’s a “stigma” around pastors admitting they struggle with their mental health. “Just because you deal with depression or anxiety doesn’t mean you have a lack of faith and that you can’t be a solid believer and have everything in your heart right and your head can still have some issues.”

She stated, "What better place to start than the last place Jarrid looked to for hope, and that’s what we’re gonna do,” adding, “we’re gonna go share some hope.”

The article quotes Weber:

“When it comes to people talking about [mental health] early, Jarrid and Juli led the way. They’ve been talking about this for years, and in many ways, were kind of a lone voice in actually talking about it. I feel in many ways like I’m really late to the conversation, yet, thankfully, with God, we’re never too late to begin having conversations.”

The Faithwire article continues by stating:

Both Adam and Juli said it’s important for these conversations to take place because it’s a sign to those struggling with mental health that they “are not alone” in their fight. It’s also a chance, the Embrace pastor said, to “point people to Jesus” and “take away the stigma” of mental health treatment.

The greatest tool believers have, Juli said, is hope — it’s “clinging to what we do know instead of what we don’t know.”

Juli adds:

“I’ve said this before, and I just believe it to be true: this wasn’t Jarrid’s anthem,” Juli said. “This was something he found in Scripture and took seriously and was just to help people who were down and help people who couldn’t go on anymore. That’s the heartbeat of this anthem, and I think that’s why so many people resonate with it — because it’s from Scripture and it’s what God’s called us to do. I just pray we’ll all step up as the church and not let this be another sad story, but something that catapults us to where we need to be as the body of Christ.”

In life, there is disappointment and loss, but in Christ, there is hope.  Sadness can be overwhelming and depression can set in and control a person's life; when someone feels trapped, he or she needs to see a way out - and that's where the body of Christ, without condemnation, can, as Juli Wilson says, "step up."  And, I would add, we can step into the darkness that someone else is experiencing and help that person step into the light.

Jarrid may have lost his battle with mental illness here on earth, but that perceived loss can be turned to victory.  God uses our struggles and crises to bring glory to Himself.  His ministry can grow and flourish even through his death - ultimately, it's not a setback, but an opportunity.  He died, but the God-inspired idea and ministry did not.  We can consider and rejoice in the things that last.  Death may have claimed Jarrid, but he is alive today with Jesus and perhaps you could say he is cheering from the sidelines.  Meanwhile, his wife and those who loved him and continue to love him are picking up the baton.  In the midst of what may seem like failure, we can take hold of Christ - and in the Church, of one another.

Who We Are

We have been brought into fellowship with our Heavenly Father, and we have a new nature in Christ.
2nd Peter 1 states:
2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,
3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,
4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

He has brought us out of darkness into the light of Christ.  We have been delivered from the power of the enemy and brought into the love of Jesus.  He is the One who determines our identity and tells us in His Word who we really are.  So, we can continue to rely on Him and resist that corruption of the world by standing strong against temptation, according to His great power.  Because we know Him, we can send a powerful message to the world around us about who Jesus is and who we are in Him.

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God is so merciful toward us, and He sent His Son so that we, by believing on Him, can be recipients
of His newness of life and the new identity He has provided. 1st Peter 2 says:
9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.

We have been hearing of people who have identified essentially as someone other than who they really are.  There are men identifying as women and women who identify as men.  People will identify as animals, or even a different age.  Maybe even a different race.  Unfortunately, people are rejecting the physical nature of who God, the Creator, has made them to be.

And, in a spiritual sense, there is the tendency to identify in a manner that is inconsistent with the Scripture - we have to be careful to refer to ourselves in the way that God regards us.

Actor Letitia Wright, in an awards ceremony for BAFTA, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards around the start of this year, declared in her acceptance speech for the "Rising Star" Award, according to Faithwire:

I can’t get up here without thanking God,” Wright boldly declared as she took to the stage. The actress went on to discuss her previous battle with depression, which struck at a time when her acting career repeatedly stalled. However, despite the heartache, and amid this excruciating period of failure, Wright revealed that it was her unwavering faith in Jesus that ultimately sustained her.

She is known for her role as Shuri in the blockbuster film, Black Panther. She went on to say: "A few years ago I saw myself in a deep state of depression and I literally wanted to quit acting,” adding, “The only thing that pulled me out of it was God, my belief, my faith and my family, and an email from Bafta asking me to become part of the Bafta breakthrough Brits.”

The article includes more positive words from Letitia:

“I want to encourage young people. You don’t have to be young, you can be any age, but I want to encourage you – anyone going through a hard time… God made you and you’re important,” the actress declared. “There might be some of you here who might be going through a hard time. I just want to encourage you and God loves you. Just let your light shine.”

Interestingly enough, with her apparent boldness to declare her faith, she has experienced that element of her life being left out of coverage of her career - she took note of it recently, according to  a CBN.com article:

Wright tweeted that it was “super cute when journalists/interviewers for magazines leave out the massive part where I give God the glory for the success/ achievements in my life.”

“I still love you,” she added, “and God will still be praised.”

The article also points out that:

Speaking to talk show “This Morning,” the actress talked about how she only landed the “Black Panther” role after surrendering her entire life to God.

It goes on to quote Wright:

“I needed to take a break from acting because I really idolized it. So I came off from it and I went on a journey to discover my relationship with God, and I became a Christian,” Wright said in the interview aired in February last year.

So, here she is, a bold, hopefully growing Christian who is tweaking journalists for leaving out the faith element of her life in their coverage.

We have to be careful not to compartmentalize our faith. The Christian faith is not some sort of "add-on" or something we activate when we get in a tight spot.  No, we can be convinced of the sufficiency of Scripture and seek to apply God's principles to every area of our lives.  What we have to do is rely on God's wisdom and ask Him to guide us.

Also, in this age in which it seems so many are not content in who they are or who God has made them, we can find the reliability of our identity in Christ.  Because of Him, not of ourselves, we are children of God, we belong to God, and we can allow Him to determine who we are - not the world, not other people, not our own misguided ideas.  We can rely on Him.

At a low point of her life, Letitia Wright looked up.  Sometimes we may have to come, as it's been said, to the end of ourselves.  And, that is just where God wants us.  Remember, as Paul wrote in 2nd Corinthians, when we are weak, He is strong.  We can lay down our own ideas and self-reliance and appropriate what He has provided.

From Genocide to Gratitude

As we approach the Christmas season, we can consider the love of God that motivated Him to send
His Son to earth so that we might come to know Him; the greatest gift of all. James 1 says:
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
18 Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.

Because He gave, we can think about how we can give to others.  There are numerous opportunities during this special season to get involved - Operation Christmas Child is one that comes to mind, and National Collection Week begins today and continues through next Monday.  We can be aware of the needs all around us and consider how God can use us to show love to the people who need to experience the love of God firsthand.

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In the first chapter of the book of Acts, after Jesus resurrected and just before He ascended into
heaven, we can read these words:
6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?"
7 And He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.
8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

We have now entered that season in which we can become more aware of how God is working around the world.  The Faith Radio Advent Guide for this year is entitled, Around the World in 25 Days! and features the traditions of a number of different countries, along with a Scripture verse for each day in December.  You can download it for free from our website; it's also found in the latest Faith Radio Ministry Magazine.

This marks the beginning of National Collection Week for Operation Christmas Child, a worldwide outreach of Samaritan's Purse, in which shoebox gifts are distributed all around the world.  Children receive these gifts in the name of the Lord, as an expression of the gift God has given to them through Jesus Christ.

Throughout the years, I have had the opportunity to interview spokespersons for the ministry whose lives were impacted by receiving a shoebox gift when they were children.  I came across an instance in Texas recently in which one of those interviewees spoke to a church group.  According to KLVT Television:

Alex Nsengimana drew a crowd of caring East Texans when he went to speak at Calvary Baptist Church in North Longview to promote “Operation Christmas Child”. In 1994 he and his family were on the run and he was nearly killed.

Alex, you see, is from Rwanda, and he was there during the Rwandan Genocide that year.  The story quotes from Alex:

“Both my grandmother and my uncle, the people who were taking care of me were killed during that war, and I would run from family to family. By the end of the genocide I was put in an orphanage. And while I was in this orphanage, that’s when Samaritan’s Purse, the mother organization of Operation Christmas Child brought shoe boxes to us,” Alex recalled.

The Samaritan's Purse website contains Alex's story and documents his return to Rwanda to distribute shoebox gifts.  That article says:

Alex held onto the hope that his shoebox gift provided for the next several years, until in 1997 he was chosen to tour the United States and Canada with the African Children’s Choir.

Alex, his brother, Fils, and 10 other children from the orphanage were selected.  The article states that they...

...went to Uganda to learn English before the tour began. They also learned Bible stories, and Alex read Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

He is quoted as saying, “I started to see that God had to have a plan for my life too, that He had been there all the time...I started to see all the things that He used to save my life not as a coincidence, but as part of His bigger plan.” The article relates, "Soon, while touring with the choir, he trusted in Jesus Christ as his Savior."

Just a few years ago, Alex returned to Rwanda, according to the Samaritan's Purse article, which says:

“I want to be back in Rwanda so I can share the ministry of forgiveness, because that’s the only thing that has continued to heal me,” said Alex, who left his homeland in 2003 to attend school in the United States.

The article continues...

...he visited the village where he grew up. Alex delivered shoebox gifts to children unaware of past distinctions between Hutu and Tutsi, and who do not feel the same hatred toward their neighbors as the generations who came before them.

And, we are told:

With God’s grace and Christ’s example of forgiveness, Alex believes that his nation can be reconciled. During his visit, Alex reinforced his words with actions by offering forgiveness, in person, to the man who killed his uncle.

After days of distributing shoeboxes, Alex went to the largest prison in Rwanda to talk with the perpetrator.  The story goes on:

“I am Alex Nsengimana,” he explained in Kinyarwanda. “My uncle was Karara. Would you please tell me how my uncle was killed?”

The prisoner reached up, his scrawny arm swimming in short-sleeves that extended far past his elbows. He grabbed a red-and-white-checkered satin cap off his head and spoke, acknowledging that he remembered that fateful spring morning.

“It was around 9:00 a.m. A group of militia came. I was nearby. The group was looking for Karara. I went with them. We went to his house, and found him. We killed him and looted the house. After, we didn’t bother to bury him; we left him outside his house. We went to look for two others, who we also killed.”

Alex took a deep breath and began again.“I’m not here to accuse you, though you wronged me, but I’m here to do something else,” Alex said, the next words catching in his throat as he began to cry. “I am here because I saw how God’s power works in forgiveness. I received that power. I really want to forgive you so you have peace and you also repent of everything. I want you to know that even after all the things you did, all the people you killed and hurt, God wants you to come back to Him.”

He prayed for the man, who said after the prayer: “I don’t know what came over us...We killed everybody. Please forgive us. When I think of what I did, I always get sick.” Alex then said, "What brought me here was to tell you I have forgiven you because of the grace of God. I don’t have any hate in my heart toward you. You should also ask God’s forgiveness.”

The shoebox gift through Operation Christmas Child was a critical piece in Alex's spiritual journey. And, through participation in this outreach, Christians have the opportunity to make an impact in a child's life that God can use in profound ways.  When the shoeboxes are distributed through local contacts partnering with Samaritan's Purse, they are directed to discover how God sent His Son as a special gift for them.

This is the beginning of National Collection Week for Operation Christmas Child, which continues through next Monday.  You can go to SamaritansPurse.org for more information and click on the Operation Christmas Child link.  The Christmas season is a great time to focus in on how God sent His Son to die for the whole world and how He is working all around the world.  Our new Faith Radio Advent Guide is focused in on 25 different countries and their Christmas traditions - you can download yours through FaithRadio.org.

Participation in the work of missions is part of fulfilling the Great Commission.  We are certainly called to go - that begins, as Acts 1 suggests, close to home, our "Jerusalem," if you will, and also entails allowing God to use us to share His truth.  Perhaps there will come a time when you are called to go on a mission trip or even serve in a foreign land.   We can consider how the Lord is using His people to share His message.

Someone shared God's message with Alex Nsengimana, who lost his family during a tragic and brutal genocide in his home country of Rwanda.  He spent time in an orphanage, which is where he received the Operation Christmas Child gift, a gift that symbolized God's gift of salvation to Him.  He gave His life to Christ and experienced the power of God's forgiveness for him and he was able to extend forgiveness to the man who had killed his uncle.  Our story is a story of God's love for us and our ability to receive what He has done and demonstrate it to other people.

Upward Trends

In the days of the early Church, the passion of believers was evident and the life of the Church was not separated from how Christians by and large lived their lives.  They were intertwined, as we see in
Acts 2, documenting what occurred after the day of Pentecost:
44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common,
45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.
46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart,
47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.

God was very, very active in the lives of His believers - He was building His Church and growing His Church - in quantity and quality.  But, the quality of the walk was the important factor, I believe - people were devoted to walking the walk together, and as they were committed to the work of the Lord, He brought others into their midst.  We have to get the fundamentals right, and if we have the right relationship with Jesus, then it produces fruit, which He uses to draw people to Himself.

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On this Survey Thursday here in the Front Room of The Meeting House, I want to continue to share information relative to the perceived decline of Christianity.  And, as I pointed out last week, Pew Research is indicating that there may be a reduction in the Christian population, but as Glenn Stanton of Focus on the Family suggests, we need to take a look at a number of factors, including faith intensity.

I would submit that the impact of the Church is not merely numerical - you could say it's related to quality, rather than just quantity.  Think about the growth of the early church: from 12 disciples, then the 70 more sent out two by two, to the 120 gathered in the Upper Room, to 3000 saved on the Day of Pentecost, God was building His Church.  There was numerical growth, certainly, but the passion of these disciples ruled the day.

The work of these early disciples is expressed in Acts 17:
5 But the Jews who were not persuaded, becoming envious, took some of the evil men from the marketplace, and gathering a mob, set all the city in an uproar and attacked the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.
6 But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, "These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.

We continue to possess the potential to "turn the world upside down" - it's occurring in pockets and we can certainly do better.  And, it's more than a story of quantity - quality, or passion, or intensity, as we see from the research Stanton referred to, is critical.

And, a leading voice in the polling field is also providing some insight into statistics relative to Christianity - Frank Newport.  Who?  Well, he is a Senior Scientist at the Gallup organization.  He was editor-in-chief for the Gallup Poll News for 28 years, until last year, according to the Gallup website.  He also wrote a book called, God is Alive and Well.

In a recent analysis, Newport provides some close analysis of the projected faith patterns of Millennials, writing, "...millennials as a group are less religious than they used to be, but they are not a homogenous group. Older millennials are more likely to be religious than younger millennials are. This pattern across ages is as evident now as was the case for the same age range in the recent past."

He looked at three snapshots - from 2002, 2009, and 2019 and compiled what he calls "rolling" averages for a three year period around that target year, for the purpose of stability.  He says:

...the generational pattern by which religious service attendance begins to climb with age is generally evident among those interviewed in each of the three years, although the rise with age is somewhat delayed in 2019 compared with the two previous points in time. We saw higher church attendance among those in their mid- to late twenties in 2002 and 2009. This year, heightened attendance is delayed until it begins to be evident among those in their 30s. But, and this is the key point, church attendance among millennials does begin to get higher with age as millennials reach their early 30s.

He takes issue with a recent piece in The Washington Post, writing that:

The headline in The Washington Post piece to the effect that millennials are "not going back" to church doesn't appear to be a wholly accurate depiction of what is happening. The oldest millennials are going back to church, just as people their age (and younger) went back to church in 2002 and 2009. The absolute level of self-reported church attendance is lower at each age point now than in the past, but the trajectory of attendance is following the same pattern.

Newport insists that "the generational patterns by which people return to religion as they age still appear to be evident," and states, "...what we see now suggests that predictions of the forthcoming demise of religion as we know it may be premature. Broad structural changes in society and culture may well continue to affect religiosity across all groups, but the big bulge of millennials may actually get more religious as they age."

In considering what Newport is saying, and examining the charts showing a rise over time in the percentage of people attending church weekly and a decline in the percentage of people indicating that they are religious "nones" can show us that there is a strong possibility that people will, in fact, return to church after having left in their younger years.  Now, you don't want to count on that, because someone who has strayed from the church is not necessarily guaranteed to live long enough to return - same for all of us.

The key is maintaining an intensity level in our Christian walk.  And, that is a message for people of all ages.  If we are passionate about the things of God and falling deeper in love with Him, then we can make an impact for Him - the world will be affected as the seeds of faith are cultivated and the Word of God is acted upon.  We can also develop an infectious walk that will be demonstrated to those younger people so they will perhaps not lose interest; we can be hopeful as a result of this data, but it is far better to try to be consistent in our relationship with Him.

Words, Tone, & Timing

The Bible teaches us to control our speech and we can draw on God's Spirit and His Word to
empower us to be obedient to God in controlling what we say. Proverbs 12 states this:
17 He who speaks truth declares righteousness, But a false witness, deceit.
18 There is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword, But the tongue of the wise promotes health.
19 The truthful lip shall be established forever, But a lying tongue is but for a moment.

If we want to demonstrate Godly wisdom working through us, it is important that we use God's resources in order to control our tongue.  That includes, as James says, being "slow to speak."  A Christian leader has written a column about not dropping "verbal bombs" on pastors right before they preach; and we can expand that concept to include not only authority in a variety of settings, but consistent practice in our interactions with others.  We should be using our words to glorify God and should speak with clarity, conviction, and compassion.

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The book of Proverbs contains a significant number of words on the subject of words - this illustrates
how the words we speak are so important. For example, here are a couple of verses in Proverbs 16:
23 The heart of the wise teaches his mouth, And adds learning to his lips.
24 Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, Sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.

The chapter begins with this verse:
1 The preparations of the heart belong to man, But the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.

Words can have such a profound impact on people - we see it in the home, in the workplace, and even the Church.  The right heart, with the wrong words, can be counterproductive.  The right words spoken with the wrong tone or at the wrong time can also have a negative effect.

And, sometimes we're better off just keeping our mouth shut.

Noted church leader Thom Rainer, who used to head LifeWay Christian Resources, illustrates how wrong words and the wrong time can be potentially devastating to a pastor.  And, I think this should illustrate caution to all of us when considering whether or not to say something and certainly when and how to say it.

He writes at The Christian Post:

Frankly, I don’t see how most pastors make it to their sermons when they have been blasted by one of these bombs right before they preach. While three sentences are certainly not an exhaustive list, these are the three I hear most often.

Number 1 is...

“People are saying . . .” This one is the coward’s special. Rather than speak for themselves, the critic hides behind the deceitful anonymity of other people.

He adds, "Anonymous criticism is not valid criticism. It should be dismissed along with the messenger."  The second one can also be discouraging:

“I love you, but . . .” The only thing the critic wants the pastor to hear is the verbiage after “but.” The only thing the pastor hears is the verbiage after “but.” The critic tries to couch his or her concerns from a posture of love and concern. Baloney!

And, the third one, apparently relative to someone being disgruntled with a church: “I’m just not getting fed here.” Rainer writes: "Sometimes, the sentence is just a cover because the church member has a consumer mentality, and he or she has not received her preferences or has not gotten preferential treatment."

The point I want to make for all of us is that words matter.  There is a way to offer what you could term "constructive criticism," if you really feel it's necessary.  But, you have to consider timing, setting, and the content of your words.  Think about it: how are these words going to be regarded?  Will they be received in the way they are intended?  Is my heart right and am I communicating in love or in vindictiveness?  Our word count would probably be reduced if we exhibit the self-control that is listed in the fruit of the Spirit.  We can allow the Spirit to control our tongue.

And, have you been on the receiving end of a "verbal bomb," perhaps especially before we have to perform a certain task?  We have to double down and dig deep into the resources of the Spirit to put those hurtful words aside so that we are doing what we have to do effectively.  It's a difficult task, but we can reject what weighs us down - at least temporarily, so that it doesn't negatively impact what God has called us to do.

The main takeaway from Rainer's column is found in the last two paragraphs:

Most church members are good church members. Most church members really love their pastors. The few exceptions, though, are incredibly painful exceptions for pastors. Please prayerfully protect pastors from these verbal bombs, particularly right before they preach.

You will be demonstrating true love for your pastor when you do.

We have just come off Pastor and Staff Appreciation Month, and while this is a dedicated emphasis, by no means should we just make a concerted effort to affirm our spiritual leaders during October.  We can be challenged to support those who are in spiritual authority over us.  Words matter, and words can hurt - we have to make it our aim to be vibrant, contributing members of the body of Christ, and there is a Biblical and respectful way to express disagreement, even with those in authority.

Angry and Demanding

God calls us to communicate truth in a way that is accurate, authentic, and authoritative, yet
compassionate and consistent with our Christian behavior. 2nd Corinthians 3 says:
3 clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.
4 And we have such trust through Christ toward God.
5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God,
6 who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

When we are insecure in our walk with God and our ability to live the Christian life, we can turn to Scripture which gives us instruction and strengthens us on the inside.  The Bible tells us that yes, we are sufficient, through Christ.  We can do this - we can be bold in our faith, we can overcome the power of sin, because Jesus has overcome it through His resurrection.  We have been raised with Him and He wants to raise our level of living so that we might reflect Him.

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We are called to share and live the gospel using the tools that the Holy Spirit gives to us, so that
people will be inspired by our words and our actions. 1st Corinthians 2 states:
12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.
13 These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit
teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

We hear a lot about equality these days.  There is an insidious bill that has passed the U.S. House of Representatives that would manufacture "equality" and provide special considerations for those who are gay and transgender.  This would include an equal opportunity, supposedly, for a transgender woman, who is actually a biological man, to compete in sports with biological females.

That's equality?  I actually would attach another name to it.  The bill would plunder religious freedom and force people of faith to accept lifestyles that violate their beliefs.

That's equality.  No, actually, it's not.

Adam Ford of satire site, The Babylon Bee and the factual website, Disrn, tweeted out:

GLAAD calls for 20% of primetime TV series characters to be LGBT by 2025 — which, according to Gallup, would represent four-and-a-half times the actual LGBT population

GLAAD stands for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, and its posture doesn't seem to be very glad, at all.  I think angry and demanding might be better adjectives to describe its agenda, and the approach of LGBT activists.  According to the Disrn article, in the GLAAD "Where We Are on TV" report:

GLAAD is calling on the industry to ensure that 20 percent of series regular characters on primetime scripted broadcast series are LGBTQ by 2025. Further, we would challenge all platforms to make sure that within the next two years, half of LGBTQ characters on every platform are people of color. While broadcast has actually hit this mark two years in a row, cable and streaming have yet to reach this goal. These two steps are key moves towards ensuring that entertainment reflects the world in which it is created and the audience who consumes it.

Overall, according to the GLAAD report, just over 10 percent of characters in regular broadcast television regular series are considered to be gay.  So, this organization wants more so that it would more reflective of the world around it?  Well, as the article points out...

...A massive 2017 Gallup survey of 340,604 U.S. adults found that 4.5% of the population identifies as LGBT. This means that presently, LGBT characters are overrepresented on television by 227%. GLAAD’s demands that 20% of TV characters be LGBT would constitute an overrepresentation of roughly four-and-a-half times the actual LGBT population.

One of the respondents to the original Ford tweet makes an excellent point:

What % of Americans attend church & what percent of TV characters are portrayed as such? Who attended church but the Simpsons & the Hecks?

The Hecks are the family from the Patricia Heaton sitcom, The Middle.

Oh, and in a story that is certainly not from The Babylon Bee; again, from Disrn, Kellogg's, to coincide with GLAAD's "Spirit Day," has released a new cereal.  The article says:

The new product, called “All Together,” consists of several different types of Kellogg cereal, such as Frosted Flakes, Rice Krispies and Froot Loops, among others. Part of the lettering on the cereal’s packaging is rainbow-colored.

On the box, you see the caricatures of the beloved Kellogg characters, such as Tony the Tiger, Snap, Crackle, and Pop, and Toucan Sam.  The article says that, "On its website, the multinational corporation says that proceeds from the product will go to support GLAAD, an LGBT advocacy and watchdog organization."

And this is to coddle less than 5 percent of the population.  Take heart - even though the gay agenda's representatives rage and shame those who disagree with it, including Bible-believing Christians, using strongarm tactics to get their way, according to Gallup, it is not the rampant social movement that one might think.  And, its intolerance in the name of tolerance may just backfire.

So, the watchword for Christians who believe the Bible's teachings on sexuality is don't buy the lie.  Homosexuality and transgenderism are not behaviors to be accommodated by the Church, but to be repudiated.  Those who practice these things should not be championed, but called to repentance.

Just like for all sins.  God loves all of us so much that He has provided solid answers to our sin problem, and offers the power to crucify the flesh, not to indulge it.  With His resources available, we can boldly and confidently live out the Biblical model of sexuality.

Now, regarding those that are trapped in sexual perversion or who embrace it, we are called to engage enthusiastically, I believe, with conviction, but not angrily; we don't have to stoop to their level.

While those who adhere to the LGBT agenda want to "demand" that people see sexuality their way, it seems, we should never demand that a person follow Jesus.  We can be bold and firm, but never condemning - that's the job of the Holy Spirit - we are called to demonstrate the love of Christ and speak and live His Word, with urgency.  But, to try to "force" someone to come to Christ can be human-inspired manipulation, rather than a Spirit-inspired mission.

Warrior Faith

We recognize on Veterans Day, the dedication of those who are serving for a cause that is beyond themselves, that is greater than themselves.  They serve and have fought for freedom, for the ideals
upon which America was founded. In Philippians 2, we see these words:
3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.
4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus...

Paul goes on to write about how Christ humbled Himself, even to the point of death, and how God exalted Him and gave Him the name above every name.  Effective service flows out of humility - our men and women in uniform have the opportunity to demonstrate their dedication to our country every single day; they are under the authority of their superiors, who are ultimately accountable to God, according to Romans 13.  And, ideally, our service members have the right to express their faith in Him, because so many have risked their lives to preserve what our Founders have granted.

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Jesus Himself taught the concept of self-sacrificial love, and on this Veteran's Day, we can take time to reflect on concepts of honor, sacrifice, bravery, and freedom, including freedom of religion.  In
John 15, Jesus said:
11 These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.
12 This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends.

On Veterans Day, we can remember the service and sacrifice of those who have bravely served our country, and recognize that there are certain challenges that those who have served in our military face, especially on the health front.  Fortunately, there is a health care system that is devoted to our veterans.  And, there are those that have recognized the struggles with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and are offering help in that regard, even Christian ministries and support groups, like one you will find out about on today's Meeting House program.

Also, on this Veterans Day, in an effort that has been endorsed by some high-profile individuals who have served in our military and have been featured on film, there are free mobile health care services that are being provided by Medici and 2nd.MD, as Clint Phillips, the founder, related recently on the radio show.

The role of faith cannot be separated from our military, and I have reported periodically about challenges to faith being expressed and exalted in the military context, including the veteran's health care system.  There was a positive development earlier this year; CBN reported:

The US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recently announced it has updated its policies "permitting religious literature, symbols and displays at VA facilities to protect religious liberty for veterans and families while ensuring inclusivity and non-discrimination."

The department's move aims to simplify and clarify the VA's policies on religious symbols, and spiritual and pastoral care, which have been interpreted in different ways at various VA facilities across the country in recent years, leading to much confusion.

The article quotes someone who has been a Meeting House guest multiple times, Mike Berry, who is director of military affairs at First Liberty. He said, "This new VA policy is a welcome breath of fresh air...The Supreme Court recently upheld the constitutionality of religious displays with historic roots such as those commonly found in VA facilities. We commend the VA for taking this necessary and positive action."

A Christianity Today article referred to that Supreme Court decision:

The announcement noted the Supreme Court’s June 20 decision, in which it permitted the so-called “Peace Cross,” a World War I monument in Bladensburg, Maryland, to remain in a traffic circle. The VA said the case “reaffirmed the important role religion plays in the lives of many Americans and its consistency with Constitutional principles.”

The policy revisions, announced July 3, come two months after a US Air Force veteran filed suit against the director of the Manchester (New Hampshire) VA Medical Center, seeking the removal of a Bible from a POW/MIA table at that facility.

But, that lawsuit is still in litigation. In fact, just a few weeks ago, FoxNews.com reported:

A lawsuit over a Bible on display at a memorial for POWs at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center can move forward, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.

The ruling failed to end a months-long fight over a Bible display that prompted even Vice President Mike Pence to chime in.

The article goes on to say:

Judge Paul Barbadoro said in his decision not to toss the lawsuit that any case involving alleged religious freedom violation requires a “highly fact-specific analysis." There was also a legal debate over whether or not Chamberlain could claim "injury" over the Bible's presence since he himself is Christian.

Chamberlain is the veteran who filed the lawsuit, assisted by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation.  The report notes that the Bible was "quietly removed," but then reinstated after complaints.  Fox also states, in this story released on Wednesday, September 25:

Vice President Pence sent a firm message to the Manchester VA hospital in remarks he made last month at The American Legion’s national convention in Indianapolis.

“You might’ve heard even today that there’s a lawsuit to remove a Bible that was carried in World War II from a Missing Man Table at a VA hospital in New Hampshire,” Pence said. “Let me be clear: under this administration, VA hospitals will not be religion-free zones.”

At the hearing on Wednesday, several veterans showed up at the hearing to show support for the VA – and the Bible's presence in it.

"The Bible on the Missing Man Table represents something that the actual POWs clung to to survive," said Quinn Morey of the Northeast POW/MIA Network.

Morey's group is one of several that maintains the memorial at the hospital with the VA's permission. He said Chamberlain is the first to complain about it.

Today is a great day to reflect on the contributions of those who have served in our military and to celebrate the role of faith, and specifically Christianity, in the lives of our servicemembers.  These are individuals who have chosen to serve a cause greater than themselves and reflect the words and the example of our Savior, who taught about and demonstrated a self-sacrificial love.

We can also consider that Biblically, we never lose our right and responsibility to live out and share our faith.  Constitutionally, as it's been said, people don't lose the right to live out their faith when they enter the workplace.  So, those who serve in our military should ideally have the freedom to live out their faith.

After all, our veterans have risked their lives to preserve the freedoms we have as Americans, which includes religious freedom.  When you hear of incidents in which these are not properly defended, it can be concerning, and we can appreciate those who regularly speak out for the freedom for someone to express his or her faith.