Flying a False Flag

The Bible provides the insight in order to discern what is true and what is false, and our actions
should be governed by the truth of the Scriptures. 2nd Peter 2 states:
1 But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.
2 And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.

The enemy's time is short, and the Bible tells us that he is roaming the earth, seeking out whom he may devour.  In order to accomplish his purpose, he will disguise himself, making himself and his ways appear good; perhaps sometimes even godly.  He cloaks sin in an appealing manner, he calls into question the authority of God, and he uses deception in order to keep believers from living a fulfilling Christian life.  Clothed in the armor of God, we can learn how to resist him and walk in Christ's victory.

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Paul was a passionate, relentless defender of Biblical truth, and we see how he stakes out his position
against false teaching in 2nd Corinthians 11:
12 But what I do, I will also continue to do, that I may cut off the opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the things of which they boast.
13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ.
14 And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.

The irresponsible use of social media, combined with the dedication of social media to manipulate messages, makes for a combustible mix.  While Alabama just went through the peaceful transition of constitutional officers yesterday, there is still plenty of lingering ill will about an election that occurred over a year ago in the state.

Never mind that Doug Jones has gone to Washington and in essence, acted in accordance with positions that he related in the campaign, putting him in alignment with other Democrat senators, which is odd because of the overwhelmingly Republican bent of the electorate.

But, there was no doubt highly-motivated and well-organized opposition to former Chief Justice Roy Moore winning the election.  Besides the daily drumbeat about still-unproven allegations of misconduct, there were those who could not fathom what Roy Moore, an outspoken Christian conservative, would bring to the U.S. Senate.

And, there is still a lawsuit and countersuit filed by a lady who accused Moore of sexual misconduct - she has filed the suit on the basis of his campaign team saying that she is lying about the allegations.  Moore is certainly out to tell his side of the story.  The "Stand with Judge Roy Moore" Facebook page stated yesterday:

“Judge Roy Moore Defense Team releases polygraph. To this day no one but Judge Moore has sworn under oath multiple times as to the false allegations. This polygraph extends to include questions about not only Corfman but also Nelson and Johnson as these three are the ONLY ones who have accused him of any sexual misconduct. Judge Moore has also sat for deposition. To this day Corfman and her attorneys refuse to answer questions about Judge Moore’s residence or vehicle and have not agreed for us to take her deposition. Judge Moore passed the polygraph.”

Now, in addition to allegations by the Moore team about highly questionable practices were carried out by his opponents, there have been more recent revelations, and that's the information that is driving today's commentary.  After all, I'm not sure how many Alabamians want to relive the 2017 special election, because it was certainly an unpleasant chapter in our state's history for many.  The Alabama Political Reporter states that:

Former Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore responded to reports that Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall was looking into media reports that a group used potentially illegal social media tactics to influence the 2017 special election, in which former Democratic candidate Doug Jones defeated Moore to win the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Jeff Sessions.

Moore, not unexpectedly, did not mince words, saying:

“It’s about time that state and federal authorities, as well as the general public, are becoming aware of the false and deceptive tactics used by the Democrat party and political operatives to influence the Alabama Senate election in 2017,” former Chief Justice Moore said in a statement. “It is curious that my former opponent Doug Jones, “Now” pretends to be ‘Outraged’ and calls for an investigation after the election, and Facebook suspends 5 accounts for ‘bad behavior.'”

So what was done?  The story links to a New York Times article, and shares this summary:

A group of elite Democratic tech experts set up a fake conservative website that encouraged write-in votes instead of votes for Republican nominee Roy Moore. It also highlighted thousands of Russian-based bots beginning to follow the Moore social media pages.

The Alabama Political Reporter article related:

The project’s operators created a Facebook page on which they posed as conservative Alabamians, using it to try to divide Republicans and even to encourage write-in votes to draw votes from GOP nominee Roy Moore.

“We orchestrated an elaborate ‘false flag’ operation that planted the idea that the Moore campaign was amplified on social media by a Russian botnet,” the report says.

Wikipedia defines a "false flag" operation as: "...a covert operation designed to deceive; the deception creates the appearance of a particular party, group, or nation being responsible for some activity, disguising the actual source of responsibility."

Some examples include, according to Andrew Roberts of the Hoover Institution:

Yet there have been such things as False Flag operations undertaken by agents provocateurs in history, and probably still are today. The burning of Rome by Nero, which he blamed on the Christians; the forging of the Zinoviev Letter in 1924 by elements connected to MI5 in order to discredit the Labour party during the 1924 British general election; the Mukden Incident in which Japanese saboteurs created a pretext for the invasion of China in 1931, and the Gleiwitz incident in which the SS faked an attack on Germany by Poland in September 1939.

Roberts was attempting to debunk a fake "false flag" rumor about a Daily Mail report that British agents may have bombed a pavilion at the 1940 World's Fair as a ploy to get the U.S. to join World War II.  Some even suspected that a series of fake bombs sent to high-profile Democrat leaders last fall may have been a "false flag" in order to help Republican candidates; that rumor went down when an arrest was made.

A Boston Globe article reported on suspicions that Syrian leader Assad may have undertaken a "false flag" operation, bombing his own people in order that people might think Syrian rebels did it.  The article also states:

Throughout history, false flag operations have been used to provide casus belli — a justification for war. In 1788 a squad of Swedish soldiers dressed in Russian uniforms attacked a Swedish military outpost, giving King Gustav III grounds to attack Russia. Japan seized Manchuria in 1931 after its forces bombed its own rail line there and blamed the Chinese. In 1939 the Nazi leader Reinhard Heydrich dressed concentration camp inmates in Nazi uniforms, had them shot, and then, seeking to win sympathy for the Nazi occupation of Poland, claimed that Polish partisans had killed them. That same year, Soviet forces bombarded a Russian village near the border with Finland, blamed it on the Finns, and four days later invaded Finland.

I think you can safely say that you might be better off not believing everything you see or read.  If it's reported by media, it's important that you are discerning and do your due diligence.  I speak often about discernment, and we have to make sure that the sources to which we expose ourselves are reliable and truthful.

I do think there are spiritual "false flags" out there, too.  There are times when the work of the enemy is attributed to God.  The Bible tells us that Satan disguises himself as an "angel of light."  We can develop a warped sense of the nature of God if we are not careful.  We see instance after instance in which sinful behavior is actually deemed to be OK, even though Scripture explicitly forbids it.  Good old-fashioned greed can be disguised as an expression of the "prosperity gospel." People will say that "God told me" to do this or that, but the activity doesn't line up.  We have to make sure that if we are claiming to be led of the Lord, that what we think we're being led to do actually conforms to Scripture.  Otherwise, we run the risk of being participants in the enemy's deception.  And, his deception can lead to destruction.

So, don't believe everything you see - there may be evidence of the enemy at work.  Beware of those who claim to be doing the work of God, but who are manipulating others by placing a God-stamp on what they're doing in order to make people do what they want them to do.

On the Field

It's a wonderful thing to consider how God uses human beings, made in His image, but who are
placed in this fallen, finite world, in order to bring honor to Him. 2nd Corinthians 4 states:
7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.
8 We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed--
10 always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.

We, in these earthen vessels, are made and ordained to be useful to the Lord.  We are limited in our human capacity, but that enables the power and presence of God to be expressed through us.  Even those who have disabilities have the potential to fulfill the call of God in our lives.  And, we all have our limitations, but in our weakness, we're told in 2nd Corinthians 12, His strength can be seen. We can desire for people to look at us and see Jesus.

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We can be motivated to allow the power of the Holy Spirit to enable us to fulfill God's calling in our lives.  The adventure that begins when we accept Christ as Savior and Lord guarantees our home in
heaven, and God sets a course for our lives until we get to that destination. Toward the end of his life, Paul writes in 2nd Timothy 4:
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
8 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.

Even in the darkest times of our lives, we can always find something - or Someone - to believe in, and in Him, we can have hope.

The team that Auburn defeated in the Music City Bowl turned out to not be as tough an opponent as some may have predicted.  After all, the Purdue Boilermakers had soundly defeated Ohio State early in the season; the Buckeyes ended up ranked #3 in the country behind Clemson and Alabama.

And, there to cheer Purdue on was Tyler Trent.  But, it was a struggle for the young man who had wrestled with bone cancer to make it.  According to Faithwire, he tweeted out that day:

“At the end of the day. All glory goes to God, without him there is no way I was going to make the game yesterday,” Tyler posted to Twitter after the game. “From having to have emergency surgery at the beginning of the week to throwing up all day Friday. – 1st Thes. 5:18-20 all day long!”

Tyler even had a chance to address the team after their big victory. The article says that he told the players: “Thanks for leaving your heart out on the field and showing the nation what being a Boilermaker is all about.” He is an alumnus of Purdue, and the story relates:

A long-term osteosarcoma battler, Trent previously had two years free from cancer, before the disease returned just prior to his enrollment at Purdue on a Presidential scholarship. According to the college website, a Presidential scholarship is awarded to those who can demonstrate “high academic achievement; leadership and service in school/community.”

As part of his treatment, Trent had to have his pelvis removed. But just 11 days after the surgery, he started attending classes at Purdue.

Another Faithwire article made reference to Tyler's interview with the Sports Spectrum podcast about the importance of his faith in Jesus.  He said, "It’s my everything. It’s the cornerstone,” adding, “Every morning, I make sure to get in the Word. My faith is what keeps me going honestly. I don’t think I would be able to smile or have the happy face that people have seen on TV without my faith.”

Earlier this month, Purdue quarterback David Blough tweeted out:

On Dec. 14 Tyler shared this verse from 1 Corinthians with me, “But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.”

Blough added, "I can only imagine what it’s like where he is now."  You see, Tyler has now gone home to be with the Lord.  Blough, who describes himself as "Christ follower" on his Twitter feed, also tweeted: "Rest In Peace to my friend, my captain, my brother, my hero. You inspired us all by the way you lived. I love you, and I can’t wait to see you again. Forever #TylerStrong."

Tyler spoke at the College Football Awards, as well.  The Faithwire story posted a SportsCenter tweet that said, "A year ago, I prayed that I would have the opportunity to share my story, and now it's coming true...At the end of the day, there's always a light at the end of the tunnel and as long as you rely on your faith, things will work out."  He had also told Sports Spectrum:

“Whether I wake up tomorrow or not, I know where I’m going to end up and having that comfort and that peace is huge,” he continued. “I really don’t know how anyone is able to fight a terminal illness without faith, honestly.”

And prior to the Music City Bowl against Auburn, according to the Tennessean, Tyler was there at midfield as an honorary captain, having been flown to Nashville by Indianapolis Colts' owner Jim Irsay.

I think that a concept that Tyler related to the Purdue football team after its big victory over Ohio State can be motivational for us.  He said that they left their "heart on the field."  That means to give it all, to not hold back.  For us, that means we are to seek to do our best for the Lord, allowing Christ's power to be displayed through us.  Where God calls, He makes His strength available in order to complete the task He has given, and to do it well.

That's true in the micro sense for the individual assignments we have, it's true in the daily sense in that we should live each day for His glory, and from a big-picture perspective, we can also know that when we have finished the course, we can know what our eternal destination will be.  If Christ is our Savior, then we can know we will spend eternity with Him.

Finally, we can make it our aim not to allow any barriers from keeping God from using us.  He will use those who have disabilities or health challenges, and the Church can be involved in encouraging those who have conditions who hold them back to press forward.

Breaking the Ice

When we encounter challenging circumstances, that will test our faith in God, we can be confident that He is at work; remember, James 1 says the trying of our faith brings patience.  In Matthew 13, we read about what Jesus taught:
31 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field,
32 which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches."

We will encounter barriers, roadblocks if you will, in our lives.  Our faith will be challenged, our resolve tested.  But, in those times of difficulty, we can be confident in God to see us through.  He wants us to call on Him, believe in Him more wholeheartedly, and know that He will give us strength to endure.  Whatever faith we have, He wants us to apply that to our troublesome situations, so that we may grow in Him.

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Jesus encountered an obstacle that had confounded His disciples, and this passage from Matthew 17 can remind us of our opportunity to step out and call out in faith when we face obstacles in our own faith journey:
18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?"
20 So Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.
21 However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting."

You may remember my conversation with Joyce Smith and Jason Noble regarding a book entitled, The Impossible.  You can listen to it our download it here.

Joyce's teenage son, John, fell through the ice on a frozen lake, and he was declared to be dead around 60 minutes. John has made a full recovery. Jason is the family's pastor who walked with them through the ordeal.

This story is told in a forthcoming film called, Breakthrough.  Noted filmmaker Devon Franklin is involved in the film, which is due out in April.  So, is NBA star Stephen Curry, who serves as executive producer.

Joyce will be played by actor Chrissy Metz, who is a cast member of the popular NBC television show, This is Us. Metz told The Christian Post: “When I was given the gift of even reading the script, I was so moved by it, because we're all looking for something greater than ourselves, and we're all trying to figure it out, and do the best we can in the process,” adding, “I've had some hardships myself, obviously, not to this degree but things that were really trying. And the only thing that sort of kept me going was my faith.”

The article relates that Chrissy has not been vocal about her faith, and the story says:

“It is hard I think, now, to just be really vocal about your faith, or what you believe in because people want to think ‘it's not cool,’ but I'm like, I don't care! I have to do what I have to do for me, and I know that the only person that shows up for me time and time again, is God, and is that higher power that's greater than myself. So I have to honor that. Not because I have to, because I want to, even though people might think it's the uncool thing to do. For me, there's no question about it,” Metz testified.

Addressing her resistance to sharing her faith, Metz stated something that perhaps some Christians can relate to:

“I know it can be a challenge because the whole problem is that we all want to fit in, we want to be liked and validated,” she explained. “So when we're different, we feel it, but I think that when people are strong in their convictions, it can really persuade people to think differently just as the movie’s going to do.”

In this case, according to Chrissy, Joyce was strong in her faith, but her husband, John's father, was having some difficulties in light of the circumstances.  Metz says: "You have to have somebody to believe in something, somebody to hold on to that and I think it's so inspiring in the way that just when you think you can't, and everybody else's against you – that God is for you and that's all that you need.”

I like the way that the filmmakers took the aptly-named book, The Impossible, and renamed the movie, Breakthrough.  Obviously, there is double meaning - John Smith breaking through the ice and God breaking through to show Himself faithful.  We can explore the concept of a breakthrough and consider the level of our desire for God to show up and make Himself known to us.  In fact, He is wanting us to develop a deeper walk with Him and is calling us to do so - are we ready and willing to experience what He has ordained for us?

I don't know what spiritual flavor Chrissy Metz may be, but she is willing to be bold about her faith, and that is commendable in Hollywood.  We can consider the extent to which we are willing to share our faith and trust in God's power to enable us.

Finally, we know that God desires for us to call on Him in the midst of our pain and difficulty, and as we take perhaps what little faith we have, faith that may have been rocked by disappointment and desperation, faith the size of a grain of mustand seed, we can be confident that He will meet us as we believe in His love and power.

Moral and Religious People

We are called ultimately to serve the One True God, who is the righteous God, who gives us instruction to follow.  But, there are earthly governments to whom we are called to submit, as well.
1st Peter 2 says:
13 Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as supreme,
14 or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good.

So, as citizens of heaven and citizens of earthly nations, we are called to honor the Lord by honoring governmental authority.  If you were a Christian living under sharia law in which the practice of your faith is illegal, or in China, where authorities routinely suppress religious expression, then you have other considerations and you, as Peter stated in Acts 5, "obey God rather than men."  We can be thankful that we still have freedom of religion in America, although some have chipped away at it. We can be devoted to standing for Christ, even though we may encounter opposition.

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The Bible speaks to authority and our duty to pursue certain principles in Proverbs 21:
1 The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, Like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.
2 Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, But the Lord weighs the hearts.
3 To do righteousness and justice Is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.

We are so blessed to live in a nation that was founded on Judeo-Christian principles.  When you consider the worth of an individual, as elaborated on in the Declaration of Independence, and look at the inspiration of the U.S. Constitution, which, even though there is scant mention of God, His hand can be seen throughout it - it is certainly a brilliant document that has stood the test of time.

But, when the religious roots of our nation are challenged, what implication does that have for the future of our Constitution?  John Adams, the second President, is quoted on Wikipedia:

we have no government, armed with power, capable of contending with human passions, unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge and licentiousness would break the strongest cords of our Constitution, as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.

So, what happens when you have elected leaders that do not practice religion?  Or who practice a religion that is not in the Judeo-Christian tradition?  Just saying...

Christianity Today published a story about the makeup of the incoming Congress.  It states:

Though the overall number of Christians in Congress fell slightly from 91 percent from 2017 to 88 percent in 2019, a vast majority of freshmen—78­ of the 96 newly elected lawmakers—identify as Christian and around half—47—are Protestants, according to the Pew Research Center’s Faith on the Hill report.

There are 22 who identify as "unspecified/other" Protestants in the freshmen class.  One is Josh Hawley, newly-elected senator from Missouri.  He is quoted here:

“In Romans 13, government officials are described as ministers of God,” said Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, who assumes Claire McCaskill’s seat, in an interview last year about his faith. “That’s how serious God is about politics.”

That's from the University of Missouri student publication, The Maneater.

Interestingly, only one lawmaker, Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, identifies in the "nones" category with respect to religion.

But, read the fine print here:  there are 14 Representatives and 4 Senators who either did not answer or did not know what their religious affiliation was.  There are also now 3 Muslims in the House, and there is 1 Buddhist in each chamber.

Of course, with all this religion, you have to question how much it is being applied.  When you see legislation that is hostile toward people of faith or contradictory to Biblical teaching on the sanctity of life, that indicates that faith may be verbally or even ritually expressed, but the teachings of Scripture are not really taking hold.  That is a concern - if the Constitution is for a "moral and religious people," then if your leaders do not live those standards, how can we expect them to make decisions according to Godly wisdom.  And, can a practicing Muslim, whose religion teaches "sharia law," an anathema to the Constitution, really be able to execute the principles of a document that contains principles that are not consistent to that person's faith?

One Muslim lawmaker was sworn in on a Koran, wore a traditional Palestinian dress, which is OK because that is her heritage. However, she is anti-Israel, and according to The Jerusalem Post, supports the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions, or BDS movement toward Israel.  She accused senators supporting a bill to counter BDS as possessing "dual loyalties."  And, of course, she is most famous so far for calling the President a profane name.  Is this someone that you can trust to uphold our Constitution?

But, keep in mind, the Constitution is not our God, but I believe it was inspired by Biblical principles.  But, ultimately, our allegiance is to a higher authority: so we recognize our call to worship God, but we certainly can show our devotion to upholding the Constitution and to obey the rule of law; except, as the Bible teaches, when man's law conflicts with God's law.

And, now, as before, we can be reminded to pray for our leaders.  Our government is partially shut down, and you're beginning to hear stories of financial hardship.  It seems that both sides have dug in, but we must find a way forward - border security is an important consideration, and we must address it.  Last year, there was a shutdown that was resolved when lawmakers indicated their willingness to put together a reform proposal.  But, action was never implemented.  Our leaders must find the will to protect our nation adequately and appropriately, without trying to score political points.

No King But Jesus

It is important that we walk through this life with a knowledge of what it means to be a Christian, to
exhibit the character of the Lord as we go about our daily lives. Jesus taught in John 15:
16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.
17 These things I command you, that you love one another.

The fabric of our lives as believers in Christ is not to be determined by what we read on the Internet, the reporting of the media, which seems to be intent on defining what a good Christian should be, or by our own human understanding.   We recognize the call of God on our lives; and realize that we have been loved by Him, filled with His nature, and directed to go out and engage in meaningful human relationships, predicated on humility.  We can check ourselves to make sure that we are allowing His character to be radiated through us.

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We have to evaluate what it means to be a Christian in today's world, and develop Christlike character.  2nd Peter 1 gives us instruction in that area:
(5) giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge,
6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness,
7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.
8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.
10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble...

In the midst of all the year-in-review material that was spread out through the media, there was an editorial column about which columnist and media host Michael Brown called attention.  It was in the New York Times, not surprisingly.  In it, writer Katherine Stewart says: “The Christian nationalist movement today is authoritarian, paranoid and patriarchal at its core. They aren’t fighting a culture war. They’re making a direct attack on democracy itself.”

Brown responds that, "Such claims are as ludicrous as they are misleading." He says that in the world of this author:

...when evangelicals like Lance Wallnau compare Trump to King Cyrus in the Bible, they are actually wanting Trump to be a king. Indeed, she claims that, “in Mr. Trump, they have found a man who does not merely serve their cause, but also satisfies their craving for a certain kind of political leadership.”

Evangelicals, whom she slyly characterizes as “Christian nationalists,” want a king, not a president. They want someone to impose their views on the nation. They are theocratic, not democratic. That’s why Trump is their man.

While that may be true for some, it certainly seems to be a cartoonish mischaracterization.

Brown went point-by-point about the contentions of the author.  The comparison of Trump to Cyrus has been around since during the campaign, and I think it has some merit.  Brown writes:

The Cyrus analogy had to do with the unlikelihood of someone like Trump being president, just as it was unlikely that God would use someone like Cyrus (an idol-worshiping, non-Israelite), to restore the Jewish exiles from Babylon.

Wallnau even read Isaiah 45 to Trump at a gathering of evangelicals during the primaries, including these words: “For the sake of My servant Jacob, Israel My chosen one, I call you by name, I hail you by title, though you have not known Me,” (Isa 45:4).

In other words, God was raising up Donald Trump, a non-evangelical, non-Christian, to help America and, in particular, to help evangelicals. It had nothing to do with him reigning as a king.

Brown contends that evangelicals are not paranoid, rather, "We are fighting a very real battle for our liberties. We are standing up for the rights of our children."

I disagree with Christian leaders who would say that the culture wars are over and we lost.  I agree with Brown that...

...we evangelicals are fighting a culture war. We are not fighting “democracy itself.” To the contrary, we believe the democratic principles of our country are being undermined by radical ideologues who have a very different vision for America.

He is concerned about "mobocracy, not democracy."  And he disagrees with the loaded term, "Christian nationalists," which I think conjures up images of Christians who put country over God.  Christians who want to see godly principles lived out in American life and remember the hand of God in the establishment and furtherance of this nation should not be chastised; I was concerned to see a thread last summer about churches celebrating the Fourth of July; why, we should be devoted to rejoicing in this wonderful nation that has been established on a belief in the Bible.  But the "nationalist" label has negative connotations attached to it now, and Stewart plays along in reinforcing that characterization of Christians.

And, finally - and I think this is something the Church really needs to be aware of - there is the use of the word, "patriarchy," to describe Christians.  Brown responds:

Fifth, these evangelical leaders are not standing up for patriarchy. They are resisting radical feminism, which ultimately hurts women more than anyone. They are pushing back against the “Shout Your Abortion” movement, against the war on the unborn. They are pro-woman and pro-family.

Unfortunately, you have this dangerous mindset that denigrates men, questions their leadership and fidelity, and promotes women as superior custodians of the moral order.  And, we have to be careful that the Church doesn't embrace the world's feminism to create division between men and women as they seek to fulfill their God-given roles.

Brown concludes by saying that Christian leaders may agree with some of the President's principles, but do not concur with the way that he communicates them.  And, people continue to forget, it seems, that faced with a binary choice in the 2016 election - and it really was, even though there were third-party candidates who had no chance of winning - as Brown points out, a large number of Christians could not vote, in a good conscience, for Hillary Clinton.

It is puzzling to me that there are some faith leaders who are more critical of Trump, who has been a friend to the evangelical Christian community by and large, than they were of Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, who represented a set of values and principles that ran completely contrary to Scripture.

But, there will be those in the media who are intent on describing what is a "good" evangelical and what is not.  For instance, there was a recent story on the New Yorker website entitled, Conservative Evangelicals Attempt To Disentangle Their Faith from Trumpism.  As if it were. It basically is trying to present a more enlightened, socially acceptable, form of evangelical Christianity, centered on a university professor who seems to be challenging this patriarchy in the church and society.

For instance, she believes the "Billy Graham rule," named after the practice of the late evangelist to not be alone with any woman (other than his wife), as "encoded sexism."  This professor was also a supporter of the gay-identity movement's "ReVoice" conference and leader of a petition drive to oust a professor at another school, a Southern Baptist seminary, because of past statements that were considered to be so misogynist that they warranted his removal; ill-advised, probably, but the opposition could certainly be regarded as vitriolic.

This is the type of wedge-building that the enemy delights in, and has become all-too-common in the evangelical church.  But, it's acceptable for the media to lionize certain "evangelicals" because they represent a threat to the established, and in some cases, Biblical order of things.  Which leads us to a practical point here.

Our views are to be shaped by Biblical principles.  That includes political views.  And, we have to develop discernment so that we are not distracted by high-profile Christian leaders who promise some new, "enlightened" way of thinking that are Scripturally questionable.  We have to be wary of the "next new thing" in Christianity, the shiny object that seems to be trendy and fresh, but that may, in fact, lack Biblical foundation.  Perhaps a return to the tried and true is the answer.

We do have to be careful that our behavior does not line up with the caricature that has been created for us.  We have to make passion for Christ the focus that should never supersede our fervor in the public square.  Though we should be engaged in the public square and continue to speak out on important issues with a Biblical perspective.  When progressives say, "Shout Your Abortion!," we can "speak the truth in love."

There are certainly ideas that are in conflict in our country.  There may be common ground that is there, but we have to realize that there is a group; Michael Brown calls it a "mobocracy," that is intent on implementing radical policies and forcing taxpayers to fund them - Medicare for all, free college, a Green New Deal, based on the shaky template of climate change.  And, woe be to those who disagree.  Many are not interested in dialogue, but domination.  In the public debate, we should be intent on not wanting to win by shutting down those with whom we disagree, but by communicating our deeply-held, Biblical principles in a compelling way.  "Win at all costs," is not the motto of the Christian.  We win by losing, by humbling ourselves before Christ and allowing Him to govern our human relationships.

Blindfolded

In Matthew chapter 13, after Jesus has taught what is known as the parable of the sower, the disciples
had an important question for him. We can read this passage:
10 And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?"
11 He answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.
12 For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.
13 Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.

In order for us to truly see and comprehend God's truth, we have to have our hearts open and our minds sensitized to learn what God has to teach us.  Our minds can be renewed as we expose ourselves to His truth and allow it to speak to us.  God doesn't desire for us to go through lives with a spiritual blindfold on, trying to navigate the decisions we must face without the direction of the Holy Spirit.  He wants to uncover our eyes so that we might truly know Him.

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After healing a blind man, Jesus spoke to those who were witnesses, some of whom were challenging
this action. We read about it in John 9:
39 And Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind."
40 Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, "Are we blind also?"
41 Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.' Therefore your sin remains.

If you're a Netflix subscriber, you perhaps over the holidays was searching for a movie and you saw the banner ad featuring Sandra Bullock for a film called, Bird Box.  It's hard to know whether it was the star power there or some other factor or set of factors, but the MarketWatch website reports that the film "was viewed by more than 45 million subscribers in its first seven days on the platform, the most for the first week of a movie’s availability. Netflix claimed to have 137.1 million streaming subscribers as of the end of September, which means that almost one-third of them watched the movie in its first week of release."

So, I went to Plugged In to see what the movie was about that was creating all this fuss.  I found out that it is an R-rated film, and here's the premise:

The planet had been invaded. But the invaders don't attack physically: Just looking at them was something deadly: Most victims will kill themselves as quickly as possible. The very few who survive that initial glance seem enthralled by the creatures.

So, the main character, Malory, dons a blindfold, takes her two children, known as simply Boy and Girl, downstream to a place of escape she has heard about.  She has to follow the sound of birds.  With respect to a message from the film, reviewer Paul Asay states:

Malory's so wrapped up in surviving the present that she forgets to give her children hope for the future. I think there's an intentional real-world echo to be found in that.. . Hope and love—these are the things that life is built from, Bird Box tells us. Without it, we live in fear and despair, if we live at all.

The film is popular, all right, and it has spawned what we might say is the first social media challenge of 2019.  Last week, FoxNews.com reported:

On Wednesday, the streaming company issued a warning to viewers taking part in the so-called “Bird Box” challenge, in which people are called to do everyday tasks blindfolded.

“Can’t believe I have to say this, but: PLEASE DO NOT HURT YOURSELVES WITH THIS BIRD BOX CHALLENGE. We don’t know how this started, and we appreciate the love, but Boy and Girl have just one wish for 2019 and it is that you not end up in the hospital due to memes,” the streaming service tweeted.

According to the story, "Using the hashtag #BirdBoxChallenge, social media users posted photos and videos of themselves attempting to do tasks like using the escalator, operating a scooter indoors and dancing without their sense of sight." The story adds, "Most of the videos end up with people crashing or falling."

So, is that an exercise of responsibility or a dare to participate?  I wonder what the effect of that announcement has been.  But, a cursory search of the hashtag on Twitter seems to indicate that people are continuing to participate.  I even saw a picture of two radio announcers with blindfolds on!

The challenge has garnered a reaction from the visually impaired community.  The GlobalNews.ca
website quotes Ashley Nemeth of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind Saskatchewan, who relates: “In a lot of the videos, when you watch them at the end, they’re saying ‘you can’t do this. You can’t do this blind. I couldn’t cook, I couldn’t text my friend, I couldn’t cross the street...The reality is you can do it- but you have to do it differently.” The article says:

While Nemeth has a lot of praise for the movie itself, she feels the challenge trivializes the independence of visually impaired people and years of hard work it takes to build those skills.

The organization is asking people not to participate; rather to "use this as an opportunity to learn more about the visually impaired."

Consider this: what if it were you; what if you had a disability, such as the inability to see?  How would that impact your life?  Something to think about.  And, it's important that we are sensitive to those around us who have special needs and challenges in their lives.

We also know that Jesus talked about blindness - physically and spiritually.  He healed those who were physically blind and taught about the importance of embracing His principles so that we could truly see.  We have to make sure that we are not walking through life blindly, but that our hearts are open so that we can truly see and believe what God has provided for us.

Trucking Along

Sometimes at the beginning of the New Year, we hear about New Year's resolutions, which I would say in some cases are well-intentioned; but we know that true life change comes from the giver of
eternal life. John 5 states:
24 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.
25 Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.

Hear and believe.  The Bible tells us that if we confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that God has raised Him from the dead, we will be saved.  God wants us to really hear from Him, to receive His Word into our hearts and then to act on what He has said.  We are called to be more than merely hearers, but doers of the Word, indicating that we have heard and believed.  He has a plan for us, and wants to recast our lives in His image, so that Christ might be powerful in us.

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There are powerful words in the 6th chapter of the book of Romans that can remind us how God wants to take us as we are, to redeem and transform us, and to fill us with His nature in salvation. We
can read this:
4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,
6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.

A man from Gordo, Alabama used to take an truck out in the mud and go drinking.  But, God has redeemed the truck - and its owner, Terry Billings, according to a Baptist Press article provided by Grace Thornton of The Alabama Baptist.  The article opens by saying:

Terry Billings saw his old truck sitting in the field, weeds growing up through it. Then he heard God whisper that He could take that old truck and make something new out of it.

Billings was not a regular church attender at one time; in fact, far from it.  But, after attending his son's baptism, he started going.  He was all set to leave church one afternoon and spend a restful afternoon drinking, but God intervened - at Walmart:

"All of a sudden, I felt so visible, like everything I'd ever done was so visible," Billings said. "His eyes were on me. I tell everyone I had a Damascus Road experience that day, but it was a blue light special -- I got saved right there in Walmart at 45 years old. And my life has never been the same."

He became a pastor, and now serves Forest Baptist Church, which, according to the article, has "been among some of the top in the state for baptisms in recent years" among Southern Baptist churches.

He also received direction from the Lord to redeem that old truck, which is now known as the Heaven Bound Mud Bogger. Billings is quoted as saying: "God gave me this vision to reach out to people who are getting ignored -- the good ol' boys. I've always been one of them," adding, "I was an alcoholic and God reached out and touched me. If He hadn't and if people hadn't, I wouldn't have been saved. So there's nowhere that's too far for me to go to reach them."

He and some friends began to rebuild the truck, and donations began to flow in for the project, to the tune of $100,000! The Heaven Bound Mud Bogger is described as "a massive truck with a picture of a cross on the side and verses about finding eternal life in Jesus. On the tailgate it says, 'Covered in mud, but washed in the blood.'"

The truck now travels to a variety of events. They will, as the story says, "set up tents, share tracts and then connect with the local Baptist association so they can do follow up." Billings says, "Every time I stop anywhere, everybody in the gas station or Dollar General unloads and goes out to look at it. Then I get to tell them my story and what Jesus did for me," adding, "All it takes is a trip to Hardee's, and we have church."

Sammy Gilbreath of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions is quoted; he says that mud bogging "...becomes a great evangelistic tool reaching into a segment of our culture that is not being touched by any other phase of evangelism," adding, "I'm thrilled Terry is doing it. I think it will draw attention and spark ideas and creativity for other people too, and that can cause a domino effect."

We can consider a few things relative to this story.  First of all, think about this: what do you have at your disposal that can be used to direct people to Christ?  Terry Billings had an old truck and God gave him a creative idea for using it for His glory.  But, perhaps there is something you have - a physical item or a spiritual gift, that can be used for Him.  Remember, he is the God of creativity.

Of course, one of the most powerful things that you have is your story; your testimony - what God has done in Your life?  That can be a key component of sharing what it means to have a relationship with Christ.

Just as the old truck was able to be restored, we can think of how God wants to restore us, to remake us in His image.  God specializes in taking what (or who) is seemingly not usable and bringing glory to Himself.