Boast

In Jeremiah 9, there is a passage that reminds us how we are not to be prideful in our human ability,
but to understand the power of God:
23 Thus says the Lord: "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches;
24 But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight," says the Lord.

We can become consumed in ourselves and think about our human accomplishments, what we have done in our own effort.  But, God wants us to become consumed with Him.  When we think of what He has done: creating us and providing us a way through the cross for us to come to know Him, anything we try to accomplish by human effort pales by comparison. He calls us to humble ourselves before Him, so that He can make us who He desires for us to be - in Christ.

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In the last two verses of 1st Corinthians 1, we can read:
30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God--and righteousness and sanctification and redemption--
31 that, as it is written, "He who glories, let him glory in the Lord."

A number of translations use the word "boasts" rather than "glories," as in "boast in the Lord."

We can rely on the power of God's Word to keep us on track with our lives and our walk with God.  Some have chosen a "life verse," perhaps a series of verses, that they have personalized in order for the purpose of motivation and clarity.  There is also great value to committing to memorizing Scripture. Whatever the tool, whatever the platform, we can all admit that the careful absorption of Scripture in our consciousness can help to mold us to the image of Christ.

My wife shared with me the other day about something she heard about the great evangelist Billy Graham.  I found the story on the ChristianHeadlines.com website.  The story says that his son, Frankin, shared in a Facebook post that his father "has a particular Bible verse displayed all over his North Carolina home."

The article relates that:

According to ChristianToday.com, the younger Graham called it his father’s life verse. "Still today, my father Billy Graham has a Bible verse pinned up on the wall in his bedroom, printed in VERY large letters. In fact, it's in the dining room, his bathroom, and several other spots around the house! Back before his 95th birthday, he was working on a sermon based on this key Scripture. It was his passion to memorize it, to saturate his heart and mind with it. He made it his life verse," Graham wrote in the recent Facebook post.

The verse, which Franklin describes as "a great verse for us to live by," is Galatians 6:14: "But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world."

The famous evangelist will turn 99 on November 7, which is two weeks from tomorrow.  The ChristianHeadlines.com article states that, according to Franklin Graham, his father "continues to focus on Scripture and also enjoys visits from family members and close friends."

Oh, by the way, Franklin Graham recently concluded his series of 7 special meetings throughout the state of Texas last week.  The BillyGraham.org website reports that the cities Franklin visited were: Lubbock, Midland, Corpus Christi, San Antonio, Round Rock, Waco, and Longview.

There are several words that I want to concentrate on...

For one thing, Franklin Graham says that even at age 99, his father continues to focus on Scripture.  This is key.  Mr. Graham has a life verse; one that can provide direction for his life.  And, there are numerous resources available in order to help us to digest God's Word better.  But, the starting point, I think, is to make time to be in the Word.  That could take the form of a one-year Bible reading plan, or some sort of daily directed study, or just setting up time to read the Word sequentially and take notes.  Perhaps you use, or have used, the Topical Memory System or other resource in order to help you to memorize Scripture.  If we get the Word into us, it can help assure that the Word is lived through us, out of us.

Now, let's think together about the content of the verse itself.  Galatians 6:14.  It speaks of boasting of nothing except the cross.  I think of the words of Jesus, the Savior of the World, who said in John 15 that without Him we can do nothing.  So, we are not called to highlight our own human ability, but to rely on and call attention to the ability of God to work through us.  And, the relationship comes as we die to self, recognizing we are crucified to the world and the world to us, and surrender to the Lord in the power of the cross.  We don't need to regard how great we are according to human effort, but how great He is!

Spiritual Smorgasbord

We live in a day when pure expressions of faith in Christ are so necessary. However, there are other ideas that permeate our culture.  2nd Timothy 3 warns against those who possess a "form of godliness," but continue to way in the ways of the flesh.  After listing a number of manifestations of this concept, Paul writes:
5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!
6 For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts,
7 always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

We have to make sure that our stated Christianity isn't a way to try to cover up actions that are not pleasing to God and inconsistent with our public persona; i.e., the double life.  Hypocritical Christianity becomes a "form of godliness."  There are those, including people in celebrity culture, who want to "talk spiritual," but whose lives also display characteristics or ideas that contradict Scripture.  Christianity is not one of many spiritual ideas to make one feel better about himself or herself: it is a relationship with the true, loving, holy God through Jesus.

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In Acts 4, we find Peter under siege from those who were so skeptical of his faith that they turned the occasion of the healing of someone into an opportunity to ridicule his faith. He responded by calling attention to the one true way of salvation. We can read:
10 let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole.
11 This is the 'stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.'
12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."

There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of hope coming out of Hollywood these days - the entertainment industry has been rocked by the scandal involving studio mogul Harvey Weinstein and the astonishing number of women having claimed to be assaulted by him.  The #MeToo Twitter campaign has featured a host of women of who have experienced the pain of sexual assault.

Oprah Winfrey describes it this way, quoted in a CBS News article:

"This is what I do know for sure: When something this major happens, when you have the fallout, 50 women coming forward, that it's a watershed moment. And what I do believe is actually happening is that, first of all, it's triggering a lot of unreleased pain, repressed anger, guilt and suffering that a lot of women have had," Winfrey said Wednesday on "CBS This Morning."

The "60 Minutes" special contributor and author of newly-released book, "The Wisdom of Sundays: Life-changing Insights from Super Soul Conversations," said she was on set with actresses who had not slept for two or three days. "I was like, what is that? Oh, you guys are suffering from PTSD," Winfrey said.

Oprah added, "I know being a victim of child sexual abuse that when you feel like you cannot be heard and then other people start speaking out, it makes you feel like, 'Oh, now, I can speak out too..."

It would be great to hear about how the life-transforming power of Jesus Christ is working in the broken lives in Hollywood, who have been so caught up in the search for success; many intimidated into silence because they felt that by speaking out against despicable behavior that they will never attain the dreams they have.  

But, I'm not sure that Oprah's curious mix of spirituality - I am careful not to say Christianity, because her approach to spiritual matters encompasses a wide range of thoughts.  According to another CBS News article:

Winfrey said spirituality to her is the "desire to fulfill the highest expression of truth in ourselves," and that it is "the essence of who you are."

Her book is described as "a collection of moments from the two-time Emmy Award-winning series, 'Super Soul Sunday,' where Winfrey has in-depth conversations with spiritual thinkers, including life coach Tony Robbins, television producer Shonda Rhimes and Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh."

And, yes, there have been guests identified as Christians who have been on the program.  That makes sense, because in the world of Oprah, Christian ideals are part of an overall spiritual grid.  But, it's not exclusive.  And, that's where celebrity religion misses the mark.

Ken Baker of E!News has just released a book called, The Ken Commandments: My Search for God in Hollywood.  Don't let the title fool you, though - it doesn't appear that Baker has found true Christianity, although elements are part of his spiritual smorgasbord.  Baker, as an entertainment journalist, relates to ReligionNews.com that his amount of worry has been diminished and that he has greater peace.  About his faith perspective, he says:

I would identify as a believer in the grace and power of faith in a higher power. I started off on this midlife search for faith and meaning thinking maybe I will walk away with a label. Maybe I’ll be a Buddhist, or reconnect with my Christian roots, but really what I have walked away with is a reluctance to put any label on where I am.

And I am at total peace with that. I have a sense of being connected to God and any denominational label would not do that justice. So I would say I am a believer, I am faithful, I am centered, I am calm. I have what I think is the powerful spirit of God — as I know God — within me, that gives me focus and strength and a sense of peace I didn’t have before.

His current spiritual practice looks something like this:

I meditate everyday. My core practice is primordial sound meditation — the mantra-based meditation I learned from Deepak Chopra that is similar to Transcendental Meditation. I occasionally go to Bible study with pastor Judah Smith and I have a very good relationship with pastor Brad Johnson of California Community Church, which the Kardashian family attends.

So, here's another celebrity who has added Christianity as an item on a spiritual menu.

And, that can challenge us to think about what Biblical Christianity actually is.  Certainly we have the choice whether or not to follow Jesus, but once we are followers, the way of discipleship actually involves doing what He says and adhering to His principles.  Sure, we have free will to do what we want to to grow as close to God as we wish, but that's not the Biblical approach to God.  Once we become a Christian, we are called to pursue a life of righteousness and holiness, a life that reflects the glory of God and devotion to Jesus - but to add other ideas to the process that contradict the teachings of Scripture, well, that diminishes what God has in store for us.

Because, the life devoted to Jesus is the life of a follower, an acknowledgement that He is the way, the truth, and the life.  We come to the Father through Him; no one comes to God any other way. Sure, there are many who claim to follow God and talk about God in their lives, and this is very common in celebrity culture.  But, it seems to me there is a tendency to seek for a self-styled god, whose religion allows you to blend a variety of spiritual elements.  That's not the walk to which Jesus is calling us - once we decide to surrender our lives to Him and are born again, then the expectation is to follow His principles, and not rely on spiritual ideas that contradict His own in order to experience a better life.

Christianity does not represent one of a stream of spiritual ideas or set of spiritual ideas in order to make us feel better about ourselves; nowt, it's about an encounter with a loving, living God, Who gave His life so that we can live His life; or so that we can have Him live His life through us.

Speak

Peter and John, according to Acts 4, are great examples to us of two men who were not intimidated to speak out for Christ.  Empowered by the Holy Spirit, they confounded the authorities, who sought to
silence them. We can read:
18 And they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.
19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge.
20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard."

So what have we seen and heard?  We can think about what God has done in our lives, and be motivated to speak out about it.  We can also speak out about what we have seen in the Scriptures; reliant on the Holy Spirit to give us the words to say and the boldness to speak them. We can be ready to speak truth to whoever we encounter, grounded in the Word and devoted to presenting a Biblical perspective on issues and situations.

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There is a Biblical concept of reliance on the Holy Spirit to give us words to say, especially in
difficult situations. Luke 12 says this:
11 Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say.
12 For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say."

When you consider the complex and sometimes uncomfortable relationship that the faith community has with President Trump, you can find a certain amount of comfort in his stated commitment to religious liberty.  At the Values Voter Summit last week, an annual event sponsored by Family Research Council, Trump said this about an executive order he issued on religious freedom on the National Day of Prayer, according to the White House website:

Among many historic steps, the executive order followed through on one of my most important campaign promises to so many of you: to prevent the horrendous Johnson Amendment from interfering with your First Amendment rights. 

That was greeted by applause. He added, "We will not allow government workers to censor sermons or target our pastors or our ministers or rabbis. These are the people we want to hear from, and they're not going to be silenced any longer."

Just this week, the Alliance Defending Freedom, according to its website, sent a letter to members of Congress on behalf of 4,000 religious leaders that ADF says are in favor of repealing the Johnson Amendment, which places limitations on what pastors are allowed to say on political issues.  Included in the letter are some results from a LifeWay Research survey.  The site states:

The LifeWay Research poll of 1,000 Protestant pastors, conducted Aug. 30 to Sept. 18, shows that 91 percent agree that “pastors should have the right to speak freely from the pulpit without the fear of being penalized by the government.” In addition, 73 percent agree that “Congress should remove the IRS’s power to penalize a church because of the content of its pastor’s sermons.” The poll has a margin of error of approximately 3.2 percent.

The letter says:

It’s time for Congress to restore a pastor’s right to free speech.

The Free Speech Fairness Act does just that. This bill stops the IRS from being speech police, and allows pastors to speak—or not speak—as their conscience requires. America’s pastors have asked for this legislative fix, and you have the opportunity to restore their First Amendment freedoms by including this bill in tax reform.

Earlier in the letter, it states:

For over sixty years, Section 501c(3) of the Tax Code (the “Johnson Amendment”) has forced churches to surrender First Amendment freedoms in exchange for a tax status and empowered federal bureaucrats to dictate what pastors may not say from their pulpits. Simply mentioning biblical issues—like the sanctity of life and marriage—too close to an election could risk intrusive IRS audits, incur steep fines, and even jeopardize a church’s tax-exempt status.

George Barna of the American Culture and Faith Institute alludes to that framework as an intimidation factor for pastors speaking out on a Biblical viewpoint on current issues.  In a 2015 article on the Institute website, he says, "The corollary information in our studies indicates that theologically conservative pastors are refusing to teach biblical principles related to current issues because they are concerned about being seen as political, not wanting to risk the loss of numbers of people or donations, and concern about the status of the church’s non-profit designation..."

His research showed that willingness to preach on social issues declined between 2014 and the 2016 election cycles.  For instance, in 2014, 63% of pastors said they had addressed or planned to address the topic of religious freedom - that was 36% in 2016.  Abortion: 48% in 2014, 26% last year.  And, immigration: 17% in 2014 and 8% in 2016 - no wonder there is confusion in the Christian community about that issue!

Barna also relates that, based on research, "A large majority of Christian conservatives are actually eager to learn and to be challenged how to think biblically about today’s issues. If they do not receive that teaching from their church, they are not likely to receive such insight at all. It certainly won’t come from the mainstream media, which is their primary source of news about the elections and the state of America. Conservative churches have a biblical mandate to teach these things but are choosing to ignore the opportunity in favor of remaining safe in their teaching and practices.”

I don't believe we as Christians are called to exit the political realm - the decisions made by our lawmakers can affect our lives and our families for bad or for good.  That is why we need to be engaged.  And, that will involve speaking up from time to time.  Addressing current issues Biblically, I don't believe, is politicizing the pulpit; rather it is being a good steward of applying the truth of the Scriptures to the times in which we live.

I also think this intimidation to speak up extends beyond our churches.  It affects the willingness of the Church to speak in the public square.  We see this in our schools, where officials misunderstand and misapply the rights of students, and even teachers and administrators.  We also see this in our military, where brave people of faith have found their freedom of expression curtailed.  Why, just recently, according to ChristianHeadlines.com, WORLD News Service reports that:

U.S. Air Force officials have suspended a decorated officer and revoked his recommendation for promotion to brigadier general because he would not sign an unofficial document affirming a retiring subordinate’s same-sex marriage.\

I think it's helpful as we examine and wrestle with our place in the culture to recognize how the Bible speaks to the issues that confront us.  We all have media sources that we turn to, but we have to be discerning in what we allow to influence us.  We can rely on the direction of the Holy Spirit to shape our views - and our responses.

Flames

When we are surrounded by trouble and our hope is waning, we can draw strength from the presence
of the Lord. In Psalm 32, we can read:
7 You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah
8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye.

When times in our lives occur when our faith is challenged and we experience weakness in withstanding the difficulties of life, we can choose to focus on the problem, or to focus on the Lord, who provides strength and solutions.  We can rely on Him to give us instruction, to provide the direction we need in order to navigate those troublesome times.  We can hide ourselves in Him and allow Him to fight for us and advance His cause.

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In our times when it seems like the challenges or spiritual threats might outweigh our resources and
our resolve, we can look to our Redeemer, and in Him we can have hope. Isaiah 43 states:
1 But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.

Dozens have died in those tragic California wildfires, with thousands of firefighters and first responders battling the flames.  John and Jan Pascoe have a unique survival story that was reported on the Faithwire website, integrating content from a Los Angeles Times article.

Over a week ago, the Pascoes had recognized that there might be a limited amount of danger.  Around bedtime on Sunday night over a week ago, they received a call from their daughter who said that her father-in-law's home 40 miles away from the Pascoes had burned down.  John and Jan began to take some precautions, including putting some of John's paintings and two Dale Chihuly glass bowls in their pickup truck.

Their daughter called a couple of hours later and begged for them to get out.  They tried, but upon driving down their driveway, they encountered a wall of flames.  They drove back up the driveway and began to strategize.  The place of rescue - a neighbor's pool; they headed for it and waited until the last possible moment in order to jump into the 50-degree, soot-covered water.

The Times article said that, "To stay warm, they held each other. They stood back to back. They spoke about their deep love for each other and their family."

Faithwire reports:

By first light, the Pascoes had been in the pool for about six hours. With the worst of the fire seemingly behind them, they emerged from the water and fashioned what remained of their tattered clothing and melted shoes into a loincloth. They trudged back up the hill to where their house once stood and found nothing but ashes in its place. At their neighbor’s home, only a life-size statue of a cherubic angel made it through the fire unscathed.

John is quoted as saying: "We lost everything, and we have to start over. We’ve been here for 35 years. That’s a little hard to get my head around, but… we’ll be fine,” adding, “We have each other, and that’s something we found really came out of all this: We have each other, and we’ll be fine.”

Obviously, this is a harrowing survival story, and while you don't get an indication of the Pascoes' faith perspective, they were able to draw strength from one another, and it is an inspiring tale of how the bonds of a married couple and their reflection on the good times they had experienced together kept them going.

This story can certainly provide inspiration and instruction for us when the flames of fiery trials seem to be encircling us.  When there seems to be no way out, we can turn to our powerful friend, who will comfort and sustain us.  And, we can look for a way of rescue, a plan of escape - for the Pascoes, it was a pool; for us, it will likely be something different, but we can make sure that we are looking for God's wisdom and depending on His Spirit.  But, when it seemed like there was no way out, a plan emerged.

We can reflect on a powerful lesson for us concerning faith and determination, powered by God's Spirit. There will be the flames that come into our lives, and we may find ourselves surrounded.  But, rather than be discouraged by the challenges, we have the credible option to focus on the hope, to concentrate on God's resources and His provision.  We can find our encouragement in Him.

Satisfaction

The apostle Paul accepted the call of God on His life and the purpose that the Lord had intended for
him even before Paul was born. Galatians 1 states:
15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb and called me through His grace,
16 to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood,
17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.
18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and remained with him fifteen days.

And, that's what God wants to do through each of us - to reveal His Son.  He wants us to coming into a saving knowledge of Himself so that the nature of Christ might be displayed in our lives.  There are those who would deny the hand of God on them and reject His design, even to the extent that they identify as a gender other than the one that He has created for a person. We recognize that He has formed us; that we are, as Psalm 139 states, "fearfully and wonderfully made."  Who are we to attempt to override His design and try to alter His purposes?

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God is our creator, and each human being is created in His image; we bear His mark, we reflect His
image. Isaiah 44 says this:
24 Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, And He who formed you from the womb: "I am the Lord, who makes all things, Who stretches out the heavens all alone, Who spreads abroad the earth by Myself...

There are those who have been duped by the promise of a new gender identity are expressing regrets for what they have done to themselves.  That's according to a piece on the Liberty Counsel website quoting from a story on The Telegraph site.

The Liberty Counsel story states:

Professor Miroslav Djordjevic has seen a high number of “transgender” people who have undergone sex-change surgeries later express regrets and experience crippling depression and suicidal thoughts. Djordjevic cites two reasons: a lack of robust research on the topic and a lack of psychiatric evaluation and counseling before the surgeries.

Djordjevic requires a year of psychiatric evaluation, followed by hormone therapy and evaluation. The professor also notes that the age of his patients has dropped - he will not perform the surgery on anyone under 18.

A psychotherapist in England named James Caspian attempted to do research on what has been termed, "detransitioning," but, as the story says: "his proposal was rejected after his preliminary findings revealed that an increase of young people, particularly women, were regretting 'gender reassignment surgery,' according to The Guardian."

Walt Heyer attempted to fix his gender dysphoria through gender reassignment surgery. The good news is that, "after he experienced restoration and healing from a relationship with Jesus Christ, Heyer reverted back to his biological gender as a man." He's quoted as saying, "I see the tragic consequences of polices to expand gender/sex beyond male and female, in the desperate letters I receive from those who regret gender transitioning and from the families of those who are still caught in the transgender delusion...”

As the story says:

Liberty Counsel has been instrumental in defeating proposed laws in numerous states which sought to prohibit counselors – including pastors, teachers, and parents – from providing counsel to any minor (including a parent’s own child) about the child’s unwanted same-sex attractions or gender confusion.

Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel, says, “To suggest that people can change their sex like they change clothes or dye their hair is dangerous,” adding, “People’s discontentment with their birth sex cannot be solved by hormones and body mutilation..."

We can always take efforts to improve ourselves, but I believe that gender is a non-negotiable element of our lives.  The Bible teaches us that we have been created by God with certain biology - male or female.  Now, that's not to say we cannot or should not take medical steps to correct certain irregularities, but it is outright dangerous to try to change our God-given gender.  And, as this story suggests, we are seeing people who have now expressed regrets for their efforts to alter what God has not intended to be altered.  Attempting to identify as another gender is denying His design.

But, what He does intend to be altered is the condition of our hearts.  While we can be satisfied with certain aspects of our human identity, especially concerning physical characteristics, we should seek to find our true identity in Christ and depend on Him to conform us to His will through salvation and the sanctification process.

We are uniquely created by God; fearfully and wonderfully made - and through the presence of Christ, He can take the canvas of our lives and infuse each of us with His Spirit, His nature, so that we become who He wants us to be.  We are vessels crafted by Him, designed to be filled with His Spirit, so that He might be glorified.

Light Unto My Path

Psalm 119 contains a great amount of content regarding the Word of God. It tells us of the reliability and the power of the Word. We can read:
103 How sweet are Your words to my taste, Sweeter than honey to my mouth!
104 Through Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way.
105 Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.

The Bible even tells us that our steps can be ordered by the Lord.  There is a challenge that we have each day, in the everyday flow of our lives, to either navigate life our own way or allow God's Word to shape our paths.  We can decide whether or not we allow the authority of the Word to govern how we walk.  Sure, there are certain routines that we have, but even in our regular schedule, we can turn to the principles of the Word to determine our actions and attitudes within those contexts.

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I want to open up with this Scripture today - it has quite a bit of significance in light of yesterday's Talladega race.  Billy Irvin had shared about this story, and it was featured on the FOX Sports website yesterday.

But, first - to the Word...Lamentations 3, verses 22-24:
"The unfailing love of the Lord never ends!  By His mercies we have been kept from complete destruction. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh every day.  I say to myself, 'The Lord is my inheritance; therefore I will hope in Him.'  The Lord is wonderfully good to those who wait for Him and seek Him."

(That appears to be from the New Living Translation.)

That verse was posted on the dashboard of the pole-sitting car in yesterday's race - the 88 car driven by Dale Earnhardt, Jr., racing for the last time at the Alabama oval.

It was a special weekend for Dale Jr.  The speedway had given him a special gift. Autoweek reports:

Remarkably, given the success of the Earnhardt family at the massive track in the heart of Alabama, Earnhardt had no poles to show for his previous 34 attempts. But a day after proudly driving the No. 2 Rod Osterlund Chevrolet his father, Dale Earnhardt Sr., piloted to his first series championship in 1980, Earnhardt Jr. found his mojo.

After Friday’s practice, Earnhardt took a lap in the vintage car, a gift from the speedway to commemorate his contribution to the iconic track and to the sport.

And, then he earned the pole for the Alabama 500 - for the first time in 35 tries at Talladega.  Sunday was also Dale Earnhardt Jr. Day in Alabama, proclaimed by Gov. Ivey.

It was many years ago when the wife of racing great and now FOX sportscaster Darrell Waltrip gave Dale Jr.'s father a special gift.  As the story goes, Stevie Waltrip had been sharing Scriptures with Darrell to post on his dashboard.  One day, after Dale Sr. had been invited to join a prayer meeting following the death of Neil Bonnett, he saw Stevie hand Darrell his Scritpure, and Earnhardt asked Stevie where his verse was.  That began a tradition that continues to this day...from 1994 until Earnhardt's death in 2001, and now in the car of Dale Jr.  Stevie passes the Scriptures to Junior's wife, Amy, and she, by popular demand, posts them on her Twitter feed.  Today's verse from Lamentations was no exception.  And, the hashtag is #SteviesVerse.

The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association website ran a feature last year on Stevie Waltrip. Her husband, Darrell, is quoted as saying: “It’s so gracious and kind of the Lord to use a little act like that and expand it to that point,” adding, “That just makes me really happy..." He said for Junior and Amy, his then-fiancee, "to have that kind of platform and to use it in that way is so valuable, so significant; it’s a great thing for the kingdom.”

When Earnhardt won the 2014 Daytona 500, his Scripture verse was Isaiah 40:28-31...the card rests on the trophy to commemorate the win.  

The story quotes Stevie as saying, "I believe God’s Word is living and powerful and life changing so I put Scriptures on the dash of his car not for any other reason than to just help him focus on what truly was most important to give him encouragement..."

This story can inspire us with a number of elements:

We can think together that God's Word is living and active.  We can consider how God wants us to keep His Word in the forefront of our minds.  I would dare say that those that are familiar with this arrangement between Stevie altrip and the Earnhardts recognize that this practice should be more than just a mere ritual or superstition.  There is life in the Word, and for the believer in Christ, it become a lifeline for us.

We can also cling to God's Word and recognize that it will not return void.  No matter what the motivation might be, that Word can mean something to so many people.  And, we should never take His Word for granted in our lives.  The Word as it is spoken, or posted, has power from which people can draw.

Finally, we can be assured that God's Word will provide us with direction, hope, and comfort.  So many of us need wisdom in our lives today; we can turn to the Scriptures, rather than human understanding, to discover what God has to say in various situations.  When we need an anchor to bring hope to us, His Word is there.  And, when we need to know the peace of God that passes all human understanding, we can turn to the Bible and find comfort.

Permission to Speak Freely

In Proverbs 15, we see some wise words about the proper use of the tongue:
1 A soft answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.
2 The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly, But the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness.
3 The eyes of the Lord are in every place, Keeping watch on the evil and the good.
4 A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, But perverseness in it breaks the spirit.

The Bible teaches us that our words are a reflection of what is abundant in our hearts, and we also are told that we, in our human strength, cannot tame our tongues.  The tongue is powerful, and it has to be guided through the power of the Holy Spirit.  We are told to be slow to speak and quick to listen. And, we are to guard against idle words.  So our tongue can be used to build up or tear down, for God's purpose or our own.  We have the power to use our words to bring about powerful outcomes.

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The Bible has plenty to say about our demeanor as believers in Christ, and the quality of our speech, consistent with His character. Ephesians 4 says:
29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.
30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.

The celebrities are out and responding to public pressure to denounce the offensive ways of Harvey Weinstein, even in light of his contributions to their own personal success.  One of the most outfront victims of his alleged assaults is an actor whom I have to admit I have never heard of - Rose McGowan.  She has been very active on Twitter denouncing the studio mogul, except for that time period during which she was banned by the social media service.

According to a CBS News report...

...McGowan said late Wednesday that Twitter had suspended her from tweeting after the social media company said she broke its rules. On her Instagram account, McGowan said "there are powerful forces at work" and pleaded for others to "be my voice."

Twitter issued a statement late Thursday morning explaining the decision. It said McGowan's account "was temporarily locked because one of her Tweets included a private phone number, which violates of our Terms of Service."

She's been restored and Twitter made a conciliatory statement, according to the article.  It said: "Twitter is proud to empower and support the voices on our platform, especially those that speak truth to power," adding, "We stand with the brave women and men who use Twitter to share their stories, and will work hard every day to improve our processes to protect those voices."

McGowan has been back in full force over the past day or so, taking aim at Amazon founder Jeff Bezos for, according to CNBC, "allegedly ignoring her warnings about Harvey Weinstein."

The Weinstein allegations are difficult to talk about and very serious.  But, so are the issues being raised by a member of Congress from Tennessee who is a favorite to win the Senate seat to be vacated by Bob Corker.

Seems Rep. Marsha Blackburn wanted to run an ad on Twitter, which, according to Fox News, said:
"I'm 100% pro-life. I found Planned Parenthood, and we stopped the sale of baby body parts — thank God."  Twitter claimed the ad included "an inflammatory statement that is likely to evoke a strong negative reaction" and originally stated it would, according to Fox, "air the Senate candidate's ad, but only if the line about 'the sale of baby body parts' was removed."

The story notes that Twitter has now changed course and decided to allow the ad. According to the Fox story:

Blackburn said she believes Twitter reversed its decision because "the American people rose up."

"I think what has happened, the American people rose up. They are sick and tired of the liberal elites and the liberal media telling them what they're going to listen to, and what is going to be pushed forward and broadcast and what is not, and in this example it was Twitter," Blackburn said.

Two pro-life groups are demanding that Twitter not block their ad content. In a press release from the Susan B. Anthony List, it is stated:

Twitter has arbitrarily blocked advertising from Live Action and Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List) in recent years, just as the company did recently with a political advertisement submitted by Rep. Marsha Blackburn in which she discussed her efforts “to stop the sale of body parts” by Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion business. Twitter reversed its decision after receiving widespread criticism.

The press release also includes this morsel: 

In an interview with Axios this morning, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg said her company would have run Rep. Blackburn’s ad and that “When you cut off speech for one person, you cut off speech for all people.”

Oh, by the way, Sandberg gave $1 million dollars to Planned Parenthood earlier this year and is a longtime donor, according to The Daily Signal.

And, her statement is a bit laughable - you might ask Kirk Cameron, who experienced his content being blocked concerning his 2013 movie release, Unstoppable.  A release on the Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry website quoted Kirk's Facebook page:

Facebook has officially "blocked" me and you (and everyone else) from posting any link to my new movie at UnstoppableTheMovieDOTcom, labeling the content as "abusive", "unsafe", and "spammy"!

Facebook ultimately allowed the link.

Or, how about Elizabeth Johnston, also known as The Activist Mommy.  According to CBN News:

She argued that the Bible does not condone homosexuality and quoted scriptures from the Old and New Testament to support her. Facebook quickly removed the post and suspended Johnston's account on three separate occasions. Facebook told Johnston her post did not "follow the Facebook Community Standards."

"They are muzzling me and my biblical message while Mark Zuckerberg claims that FB is unbiased," she said in a statement. "The post Facebook deleted included no name-calling, no threats, and no harassment. It was intellectual discussion and commentary on the Bible."

Facebook finally apologized and reinstated Johnston's account after coming under heavy fire from the media.

And, didn't Facebook recently introduce a feature that allows users to label content as "fake news?"

We recognize the lay of the land: there are those who will want to shame Christians into silence.  Intimidate us because of our views consistent with the Scriptures.  People claim to support free expression of ideas, but when it comes right down to it, there is a tendency that humans have to shut down speech with which they do not agree.

Certainly, I do think that there are types of expression that are culturally and morally inappropriate, and should not be available for mass consumption. There are forms of content, such as pornography, that are so harmful that they should be rooted out at all costs. And, you can't hide behind free speech when lives are being destroyed.

Funny thing is, there are those who are so hostile to faith and religious expression that they would like to see those elements erased from our culture.  I think they would be hard-pressed to admit that they would like to live in the anarchy that would result from an absence of Christian ideals in our culture.  God's principles still provide us with the restraints that are necessary in order to facilitate order and to build quality relationships.  The lack of awareness of common decency and the recognition of humans as having value has enormous negative implications; unfortunately, we are already seeing that occur.

To those who are hostile to faith, we hopefully can say to them, "look at me!"  Not in a narcissistic way, but saying to the world, "follow me as I follow Christ."  The way we live, the way we love, could send a strong message to the world about who Jesus is.