If You Are a Christian Father--READ THIS!

INTRODUCTION

This is a culture that is the breeding ground of rapists, pornographers, predators, and misogynists.  I really take no joy in painting such a bleak picture of our society, but I'm just calling a spade a spade (as I see it).  This is a dark and wicked American way of life and it is being invisibly manipulated and engineered and focused at the complete and utter ruination of that which is closest to the heart of God: the family.  I suppose what I’m trying to say is that this environment is poisonous to God’s family and it revels in perversion, disorder, and chaos—just look at the (managed corporate) news or what some refer to as “reality” television.  For the Christian father to see his family endure the evil of this hour, he must fight as hard as this society is coming for him, his wife, and his children.  This culture wants your wife to be rebellious, your sons to be effeminate and passive, and your daughters to be whores.

Fathers and Daughters

The Christian father is in the fight of his life, but not for his own independence or freedom to worship Christ—he’s in mortal combat for the heart of his own daughter.  Fortune 500 corporations know absolutely nothing of what true competition is; they squabble over profit margins, market shares, and exclusive proprietary rights and trademarks, but the Christian father is in bitter combat for the eternal soul of his daughter.  My brother, if you have a daughter you can’t afford not to know the nature of the war in which you are right in the midst of and you dare not be found sleeping or unarmed!  We dare not be found not in constant vigilance!

    

This may step on a few toes, but Beyonce and Cardi B., Tiffany Haddish and The Real Housewives and Planned Parenthood are coming after our daughters with breakneck ferocity to reduce them to whores and pleasure seekers who aspire to nothing more than applause, public approval, hearts, likes, and “Retweets” on social media.  What is there that aligns with God’s written Word in the aforementioned “artists”?  Do they have the right to pursue what they’d like to pursue?  Of course they do, but every Christian father has to say in unison, “But not my daughter!”  These women are the high priestesses of the superficial, of the vulgar, and of the whorish—and they are certainly not the only ones, they are but the head of the spear, the tip of the iceberg.  They are hyenas, stalking in ravenous packs, the precious lionesses that are our daughters.

And for God's sake, Christian soldier—protect your daughters from the men-with-minds-of-boys!  Protect them from the boys in whom this pornographic society has stirred up such storms of lust that they can barely control themselves!  There is a reason why music is so sensual; there’s a reason why movies are becoming more graphic, even glorifying pedophilia (i.e., Call Me by Your Name, American Beauty); there’s a reason why public schools stamp out creativity; there’s a reason why the move to remove gender differences is so strong; there’s a reason why something as vile as Slutwalk is allowed!  We are raising our daughters in the most depraved environment that has ever existed, therefore our vigilance must be even more pronounced.  My brother, don't let them turn your daughter to a prostitute—which will happen if you allow television and radio, the internet, and public school to have more influence over your daughter than you; it will happen if you fail to love and honor your wife before her as Christ commands, showing her how a man is to treat a woman.

I guess what I’m trying to get us all to do as Christian men is to “circle the wagons” and protect our girls from the physical and spiritual predators that are surrounding us at all times.  Our daughters are the most beautifully precious things God could ever put into our hands to care for, and we had better take raising them as seriously as God does.  My wife and I have five children, and I’ve realized a long time ago that this society is trying to kick in every door that allows access to our children, especially our daughters, to try to steal them away right under our noses, right beneath the roofs of our own homes.  This world loves Jezebel, but hates Sarah; this culture idolizes Delilah and Athaliah, but reviles Mary and Elizabeth; the natural tendency of this world system is toward the “strange woman” (of Proverbs) rather than the Virgin Bride of Jesus Christ.

So we have to do everything in our power to guard our daughter’s heart, but to cherish it as we do.  We ought to tell them they are beautiful and precious often, to highly esteem their virginity and chastity, to praise them for their purity though the world mocks and scorns them, to restore and forgive them when they stumble, and to keep before them God’s high standard and the hope that rests only in Christ to live a life that pleases Him.  Watch how they dress; watch how they think, know where they are and who has access to them.  Most of all, keep the Word of God before them.  And this is a 24/7/365 job, and you can’t do it trying to be their friend—you have to be their father!

 
Fathers and Sons

There’s actually a ridiculous term thrown around among media referred to as “toxic masculinity”.  The idea at its core is laughable.  We have watched this culture become increasingly effeminized and demasculinized for the sake of a “perfect” society full of so-called men who are nothing more than empty-headed slaves whose mental faculties are to be used only for taking orders to mindlessly follow them.  To stand tall and strong, with honor and Christian nobility is shunned and derided, and this is to keep a Christian man from being a truth-teller in a world gone Satanically mad.  This world despises the Christian who calls a man born a man a man who puts on a dress and calls himself “female”.  This culture will not allow a man to live in peace who lives purely and righteously, free from dissipation, fornication, and covetousness.  This society does its infernal best to make unattractive the Biblical family and a  man’s desire to love his wife and children and to act like Christ’s man should, protecting his family, providing for his family, and being the pastor of his own house.

The Christian father isn’t just to raise up men, but to raise up threats to this kingdom of darkness that we must sojourn through for a short time.  This culture is crumbling faster than we can keep up with, from the election of Donald Trump, to the candidacy of Hillary Clinton, to men wearing dresses and make-up, to men wearing rompers, etc., etc., etc.  We even live in such an upside-down culture where Cover Girl has a male to advertise their products now.

Making men effeminate and passive is one aspect of the warfare against our children, but another is to simply kill them through urban violence, through overdoses of behavior-altering prescription medication (in the public schools), and to kill them before birth through the monstrous abortion industry.  It’s dark right now, brothers; they are doing their best to force our sons to adopt the covetous, self-absorbed, lust-driven way of life in the United States.  There’s a reason why sensuality and pornography is being so aggressively pushed and made more easily accessible for young boys.  I have been in education for 21 years, and my heart breaks at how young boys are now that have interaction with pornography, and who, after being confused and incited, direct their energies toward girls who are being taught to dress provocatively even at the middle school ages.  The world needs godly fathers!

Finally

I think Sportscenter can do without us for a while.  I think turning the phone and the computer off would do our families some good because most of us don’t even realize that many entertainment outlets are used to sedate us, at least to distract us, to taint our minds and to stain us before our God.  (And I’m talking about the side doors to darker stuff that “harmless” entertainment leads to.)  If you are Christian, you must accept that we are in battle with spiritual forces because the Bible says we are, and these forces are out to kill and destroy the family.

The good news is that we have God on our side and we have available impenetrable spiritual armor and an invincible offensive weapon of prayer. 

My brother, you must understand that being a father in this hour is among the highest callings a person can have and it also one of, if not the most serious and potentially earth-changing roles in existence.  The Christian father stands in stark contradiction to the confusion and perversion that marks this hour.  The Christian father has to understand that he is locked in battle not with people, but with Satan himself.  I understand that not everybody believes this; unfortunately, many have come to believe that “everything will be alright”, that if you choose the right neighborhood with the “right” school and if you land the “right” job, that somehow you can grant some kind of immunity to your family from the spiritual and moral blight sweeping across this nation that is bringing it to its knees.  My friend, my King James Bible says that the entire world is under the control of Satan; he sits as god over every institution, municipality, and government (I John 5:19; Ephesians 6:12) and an improper view of the nature of this world is akin to handing over your family to Satan on a silver platter! 

Church, Adjust or Lose a Generation

I love the Church of Jesus Christ.  I love the Lord we worship, I love the people, I love to reach out to those outside of Jesus Christ.  I fully and completely embrace the mandate given by the Lord Jesus Christ in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark and the implementation of that mandate in the Book of the Acts.  Ever since the Day of Pentecost, Christians have been doing just what we have been commanded, which is making it plain that the blood of Jesus Christ washes away ALL sin, and any and every sinner, regardless of deed, can and will be forgiven when appropriating what Christ did at the cross to themselves by faith (John 3:14-18; Ephesians 2:1-8). 

The Church (the Body of Christ) has grown, and down through the years, for all of our issues, backbiting, hypocrisy, apathy, etc., has also remained consistent, and this is only a testament to the grace of God, whose will and power overcomes all, even His own people's obstinacy.

In American cities there are churches virtually on every block, be they store-front, "mid-size", or megachurch-size, and the Gospel is preached within many of these churches, and various ministries go beyond the sacred walls with the good news of the Cross of Christ to poor souls that have been hurt and bruised and broken by a cruel and dark world.

However, I have noticed another mission field come to the fore recently.  But that mission field I am referring to is not skid row, or "the low end" (for all my Chicago people), or the "hundreds"; the mission field I am referring to is within the American Church and it is comprised of the youth.

I know, I know; I can hear someone saying, "I don't know what you're talking about; my church has an awesome youth ministry and a great youth pastor."  I don't dispute that.  My church also has a youth ministry as well as an exceptional minister—an Elder in the church—charged with the affairs of that ministry.  However, as the Lord continues to call more and more of the broken souls out of darkness, many of whom are young, the Church has to be in a regular state of examination and evaluation of its efforts as it ministers to this particular demographic.  Churches (generally speaking) are becoming older.  And many churches have adhered to a time-tested, time-proven method of ministering to the youth of the respective congregations.  However, as the issues that plague families and society continue to both intensify and change, I truly believe that some of those traditional methods of ministering to the youth either need to be discarded of subjected to complete overhaul.

And just so we're clear, I am not advocating abandoning preaching and teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, repentance and holiness out of the King James Bible when I mention "change".  What I am referring to is changing, or adjusting, some of the methods and mannerisms in which we administer the Gospel to the youth of the church, who've heard much "church talk" and "church jargon" but perhaps never the Gospel.

Especially in the Pentecostal and Apostolic churches, issues of sex and sexuality have not been topics of regular discussion.  And that was perfectly fine for the World War 2 generation and the "Baby Boomers", but now, with the children of "Generation X", that's not so fine, mainly in light of the unspeakably pornographic and hypersexualized and ultra-violent nature of contemporary American culture.  For my generation it was The Benny Hill Show and the dirty magazines we had to go out of our way to get; for the next generation it was B.E.T. Uncut and "big pimpin'" and cough syrup; now, it's Molly and Xanax, cell phone pornography, "sexting", Empire and Bad Girls Club. Think about the hours upon hours of television and radio and internet and music and secular (essentially atheistic) public education our youth are subjected to.  We can't fool ourselves into thinking that a couple of hours of church on Sunday (7-8 if you're Apostolic or Pentecostal) is enough to counteract the (roughly) 162 other hours of the week basically devoid of structured worship. Those things that the youth are plagued with today would have been unimaginable to a child of the nineteen-thirties or forties.

Henceforth, as the youth have more and more media and electronics to become ever-increasingly self-absorbed in, the Church must employ the means through which to pull them from extreme self-absorption, sexual confusion, perversion, and promiscuity, drug dependency (and tendency from addict parents) from birth, not to mention the power of the music that many listen to which is more programming than entertainment.

The hopelessness that rules the day currently is taking an exacting, demoralizing toll on the youth, for the combination of joblessness, disease, violence, and the breakdown of the family is forcing upon them a worldview with which the only way to cope is with a "nothing to lose" mentality which values nothing, expects nothing of lasting, true worth.  I realize, of course that there are outstanding exceptions to the rule, but what I'm trying to say is the magnitude of the youth's issues can no longer be sufficiently dealt with with the regular routine, without directly and aggressively addressing the specifics of their ordeal in reality and in the light of Scripture.

Those of us that are older need to reassess our interaction with the youth within the Church, that is, if we are interacting with them at all, as many don't.  My own pastor has admonished us about sometimes treating the young people of the Church as if they're invisible.  In many churches, the youth aren't even engaged.  That is a tragedy; it is also a church's death sentence, for a Biblically sound youth must carry on the work of the Gospel Ministry in subsequent generations.

We need to "reeducate" ourselves so that we can understand their language, find some common ground, step out of our comfort zones and, frankly, the rut many of us have fallen into as we've gone about "doing church".  In addition to some real reassessment, I believe there is sin we need to repent of so that the most important component of engaging the youth is powerfully present in us, namely, the Holy Ghost. 

Perhaps the reason we're losing our youth is because sin is in the midst of many churches and we can't be led by the Holy Spirit in this matter because of it.  We must shed all hypocrisy.  Many church youth are greatly turned off by the hypocrisy of their parents and church leaders who live one way inside the church but another in the home or outside of the church.  Many of us are living very compromised, powerless lives and we wonder why so many leave the church and don't return for many years, if they return at all.  I praise God for the youth in my church that do return of their own volition, because their parents have deposited the Word of God deep within them and they have reinforced the validity of Scripture with lives in the home that have proved their own belief in the Scripture.  At the same time though, I grieve over the many others that do not return, who embrace the world rather than Christ, in part, because they were never properly engaged and discipled, as Apostle Paul discipled Timothy; as Elijah discipled Elisha; as Moses discipled Joshua.

Discipling requires the discipler and the discipled to get to know each other, to spend one-on-one time with each other consistently and it takes the leading of the Holy Spirit.  Discipling requires a great deal of transparency, and if the discipler is living a life of sin then he or she will be exposed and will lose the disciple.  Large group teaching has its place, but if the Church is going to reach the youth, who are being attacked ferociously by the Enemy, our sin must be repented of and we have to get back to the business of discipling in this harvest-ready mission field.

The Claustrophobia of Christianity

"The walls are closing in..." It seems that every week the culture takes another step or two into our spiritual "personal space".  With increasing frequency, new movies are being released that are blatantly demonic in both nature and content with no attempt at all being made to disguise or sanitize the worldviews held by the propagators of the smut being marketed to us.  There's a movie that's just been released called Annabelle, and there's no way around the unavoidable conclusion that this movie is Satanic in nature. This is just one example in a long line of films that are steeped in darkness.   Perverse movies are the order of the day—and I'm not even talking about pornography, which is as anti-Christ as The Last Temptation of Christ or This is the End, but Friends With Benefits and Sex Tape and Zach and Miri Make a Porno are (quite successful) attempts at mainstreaming lasciviousness, fornication, and out-of-control lust. The normalizing of such practices is where the greatest damage upon the youth is being done, as an entire generation is being raised to accept all of these non-Biblical behaviors as not only normal but also worthy of praise and endorsement.  The irresponsibility and godlessness of their behavior will have multi-generational ramifications for centuries to come should Jesus Christ delay His coming.

With all that said, Bible-believing Christians really shouldn't be surprised by what is taking place before our eyes.  Most—not some—MOST Americans are almost completely secular in their ideology and worldview, despite numerous polls that indicate that a majority of Americans are indeed Christian. Sadly, some classify their "Christianity" valid if they're regular church attendees and give their tithes and offerings and keep the commandments.  Almost nothing could be further from the truth.  Most America-loving citizens would be lost for all eternity if Christ came right now.  This group has within it noble veterans and center-Right voters who know and can recite the Constitution and Federalist Papers, who love it and are willing to defend it with their lives; these are they who believe in American exceptionalism, who love Washington, Goldwater, and Reagan and swear by Fox News while Old Glory whips in the wind just outside their window—but they are LOST because they have loved country more than God and want a Judeo-Christian foundation more than they want Jesus Christ Himself to be the foundation.  These would marshal the whole Army and beloved Marine Corps to keep Christ from setting up His rule from Jerusalem, for His reign necessarily means the end of godless America, which is a cesspool of wickedness, totally contrary to all that Christ's Kingdom is about. Another group, one that currently holds sway in the nation now, means well in everything they do.  They dress themselves up as the Party of the downtrodden, the Party of the people, who want all the evils Martin Luther King spoke of expunged from the tapestry of American society forever.  These are they who idolize Lincoln, and Wilson, Roosevelt, Clinton, and Obama, who want full, equal rights for all and believe that government should be able to act without impediment according to contemporary issues, not bound by antiquated 17th century philosophies and bigoted religiosity.  At the core of this group is another group, ferociously humanistic, atheistic, and Socialist.  If Christ were to come now to set up His Kingdom they would no doubt fight Him because His views would be "too narrow-minded".

The Church surely might be feeling a little claustrophobic as we are left with less and less space in which to freely move.  Television shows like Black Jesus, Mr. Pickles, Modern Family and Preachers of L.A. aren't so much entertainment options as they are vicious blows against the jaw of every Bible-believing Christian in this perishing nation.  The patriot would say, "God bless America", but really, how can a holy God bless a nation bathing in the innocent blood of the unborn?  How can He legitimately bless a country drunk with its own pride, which places more faith in its fighter jets and nuclear submarines than it does in the Creator of the universe?  The well-meaning, socially conscious Liberal looks at America's problems and says, "We can make America better, we can fix all of the issues if we work together, putting aside our differences".  They greatly err because for them Truth is an obstacle to unity.  To them, Truth is relative, pliable, and is able to take whatever shape the molders desire. Truth for them can be cast aside, for there are as many versions of Truth as there are people in the world.  To them, it takes great audacity for anyone to present Truth as that which is immutable and not subject to human (or divine) altering.

It is from these two basic American groups that the attacks against the Church of Jesus Christ are launched, and they have both become more forward.  This lawless society reminds me of a child who tests the limits of parental parameters to see just how much he can get away with. This culture is doing the exact same thing to Truth.  The culture, I believe, KNOWS that its deeds are evil, but, as all despots and adulterers do, they redefine their wicked acts as "logical alternatives" to soothe their own consciences that convict them.  After conscience is silenced by searing they can proceed full throttle on the road of sin, ferociously attacking anyone who'd dare have the unmitigated gall to decry their actions as evil and worthy of the righteous judgment of God.  This is the hour in which we live and we might as well brace ourselves because the comfortable lives that we've always known in America is about to abruptly end and we will be one with Christians living under repressive regimes in both faith as well as in suffering.

I do believe that the increased level of scorn levied against Biblical Christianity is not only allowed by God but also SENT by Him, for the hour of the purging and refining of His people in America is upon us.  The Church needs it, because can you believe that some people actually think "Preachers of L.A." and "Fix My Choir" and "Sunday Best" are true representations of Biblical Christianity?  These programs lull millions of saved and unsaved alike into a false sense of security because viewers begin to see that there's NO real difference between the believer and the unbeliever, therefore what is there that would draw the unbeliever to the Gospel if the transforming power of the Gospel is not seen in those who preach it and sing about it?  Biblical Christianity is full of joy and love and peace, tempered with great sobriety and purpose and duty.  Where is the seriousness of the Faith in these godless shows?  There is none...

This is not necessarily about television shows, although media is used by the enemies if God to mock Him, to blaspheme His Name, and to ultimately bring Him down to our level in order to elevate man above Him.  The Republicans and Democrats of this nation, as political entities, hate God and by their works they deny Him.  The Republicans are forsaking the Judeo-Christian principles Sean Hannity and others so ardently pontificate about as fast as they can for political expediency; they know they could very well become a completely irrelevant party if they don't cross lines previously regarded as "uncrossable".  They, in droves, are embracing the basic tenets of homosexual marriage even as their Party's higher-ups spend themselves and their massive fortunes on buxom mistresses, and in the sadism of homosexual adulterous trysts.  They are spineless, aimless, and have no creed but their own patriotism.  The Democratic Party is no position to defend the Name of Christ either, for they are the undisputed champions of advancing homosexual rights and godless, humanistic public education and the total religious sanitation of the entire land.  They, like none other, are the nobility of a dark empire fueled by lobbyists' dollars of the industry of infanticide, they endorse Planned Parenthood, an organization started by one of the most racist eugenicists in American history; it is a party that is feminizing the military and excels at emasculating the American male.  They want Israel to fade into nonexistence as they wouldn't even acknowledge Israel at one of their own Party's Convention.  This is a Party that hates God with an obvious passion.  There are other groups of course, who operate in economic, religious, social, and educational spheres of influence—they all are enemies of God because they reject the Lord Jesus Christ, and together, because they love the things of this world, be they money, power, pleasure, or prestige, align themselves and their resources against Jesus Christ and all that He stands for.  This may sound harsh, but Christians need to understand that this nation is not our home, and we are a small minority here who truly walk in the light as Christ is in the light and the attachment we have to this society needs to be broken sooner, rather than later.  

The walls of relative peace and liberty we have operated in are collapsing in on us.  The nation has long since shown where her allegiances truly lie, and they find our loyalties abhorrent.  We are the bigoted, closed-minded, holier-than-thou Bible-thumpers in the eyes of this nation and world and they will tolerate us as long as we stay with in our own little corner.  Eventually, even that won't be enough as right now in the city of Houston, the mayor has demanded—via subpoena—the sermons of five city pastors for "violating" an ordinance by speaking God's Truth about homosexuality.  Yes, our space is tightening and the culture's tactic is to back us into a corner, to exert so much pressure and discomfort on us that we will keep silent and hide our light "under a bushel", but I tell you, on the authority of the written Word of God, that that will only embolden the true Body of Christ!  Yes, let them back us into a corner—but let us know we have our backs to the wall with the Lord Jesus Christ standing before us and He has all power to protect us and to perfectly execute His will through whatever He permits to happen to us.  We must stand on the Gospel of Jesus Christ and that alone. God sent Jesus Christ into this world to save sinners; whosoever will believe in the finished work of Jesus Christ at Golgotha will have their sin washed away by the grace of God alone through faith alone and will thenceforth be empowered by the Holy Spirit to live the holy, sanctified life God requires for entry into Heaven, escaping the wrath of eternal hell.  Christians, we have nothing to fear.  Let us demolish the walls they build around us...!

Why I Love Israel

"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee" (Psalms 122:6).

Right now, the sovereign State of Israel is under extreme duress.  Once again, the children of Israel must face yet another barrage of rockets from their southwestern neighbors and also, again, the resolve and fighting mettle of Israeli men and women is put to the test.  What other nation on earth could possibly endure the combination of the constant threat of annihilation and of worldwide disdain regardless of its course of action?  Truly, no matter what Benjamin Netanyahu and the IDF do to protect the men, women, and children of the only democracy in the Middle East, the collective likes of CNN, MSNBC, Al-Jazeera, NPR, etc. will only cast the Israelis as cruel occupiers and baby-killers.  Nothing could possibly be further from the truth.

My intent here is not to analyze the causes of the newest conflict between the cowardly thugs on the Mediterranean—Hamas, and the most powerful nation in the region—Israel, but to just briefly share with the world why I love Israel so, and why I believe with all my heart, like the Spartans of old they shall absolutely triumph over all of their enemies, though they are as the sand of the sea. 

I am a Christian.  I love Israel because God loves her, and because He exhorts all who would love Him to love the people He took as His bride millennia ago.  The very existence of Israel proves that every promise He makes to me He will will without equivocation keep.  His written Word says that no power exists that can destroy His chosen-for-all-time people.  The fact that Israel exists shows I can believe every word of the Scriptures He gave through His people.  Israel is a testament to the greatness and power of God.

I love Israel for two words: "Never." "Again."  I love Israel because they will not subject themselves to genocide easily ever again, and she is willing to match their enemies' every bullet, bomb, and missile to prove that they will be victim to no regime's "Final Solution" ever again.  Going to war against an enemy who uses his own countrymen as shields is not easy, what with all the rules and restraints imposed by the Geneva Convention, but Israel refuses to allow the cowards to hide, refuses to let them employ the same, dastardly tactics that will let them continue to kill Israelis.  I love Israel because her leadership is not shrinking back from its charge, its primary responsibilty of enforcing its borders to protect its people.  I don't think it matters who they face, for the response must be the same—force, when provoked.  A certain Western constitutional republic and Chief Executive thereof could learn a thing or two from this bright tower of courage and valor.

Lastly, I love Israel because she can never be destroyed.  Those things that are eternal are worthy of love.  Israel, according the Scriptures, shall never again go out of existence, and like Truth, she will endure and valiantly triumph over those who have hated her without cause.  Of course, I do not hold up Israel as a perfect, sinless nation, for the reason she is even in this predicament is because Jacob's children have perpetually been stiff-necked and rebellious, even to the point of rejecting her long-awaited Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.  But I choose to let the Lord deal with that, for His Word says that He will gather His people to Himself and they all will be saved, after having been poured upon with the spirit of supplication when Christ returns to fight for them in their darkest hour.  I realize that even Israelis may not subscribe to my belief about them in this matter concerning Messiah, but again, I trust God to work that out according to His Word and His good pleasure.

For me, I love Israel...

Christians Aren't Angry Enough

"For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me" (Psalms 69:9).

This is more of a rant than an organized post.  You probably could also classify this as the random musings of an angry lover of God.  Sounds like a contradiction, doesn't it?  "An angry lover of God"?  Yes, I have to admit that that does sound odd, but on a deeper level it's very spot-on.  I love God, and daily I am striving to love Him more than I did the previous day and as the Scriptures say, with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength (Deut. 6:5; Mk. 12:30) and to love my neighbor as I love myself (Mk. 12:31).  Loving God and others is one of the primary reasons why we as Christians need the Holy Spirit; loving God as He deserves and commands is totally impossible without His Spirit empowering us to do it.  And for a moment just think about how hard it is to just like certain people, much more to love them, especially when we are treated unjustly, with hate and scorn and disdain—our flesh wants to lash back with similar sentiments—again, loving our enemies and those the world calls "unlovable" is precisely why we must have the Holy Spirit. 

I've gone on about love because it would be through love Christ said the world would be able to identify His followers as truly belonging to Him (Jn. 13:35), not holiness, righteous service, or acceptable worship, all of which are necessities for Christians.  Since our lives are, more than anything, to be governed by love, one might see love and anger as qualities that cannot coexist in the lives of Christians.  I can understand that.  For those who may not be particularly knowledgeable in the Scriptures and who may have heard the world's "version" of Jesus Christ and his message of universal love, peace, and harmony, I can understand why they'd be confused.  Yet the Jesus Christ of the Bible is one who loves in a way that is totally foreign to this world and also hates in a way this world cannot hate.  Yes, that's right.

Christ is able to effortlessly love those who hate Him; He showed His love on a cruel, rugged cross drenched in His blood, and He also showed His perfect hate for that which He took upon Himself—sin—at the very same rough, bloody cross.  Jesus showed He was very serious about sin by His death, submitting to the Father's will in that His death was man's only hope of freedom from the iron grip of sin.  When one considers what Christ went through; He was perfectly innocent, full of grace and Truth, love and virtue and this world did its best to totally destroy Him, and ever since then, has been trying to eradicate His memory from the history books and hearts of mankind.

In the world's attempts to destroy Jesus Christ, it has become much more forward about its intentions. At one time in the United States Judeo-Christian principles were highly esteemed, even by the ungodly.  But now, as the thin veneer of civility and morality is peeled back, the world is becoming all the more obvious in its hatred of Jesus Christ.  As the world, from virtually every sector, aligns itself with all that is blatantly antichristian its derision of Christ's Name becomes nastier.  I recently read a CNN article about the rapture of the Church and how Jesus would never endorse the doctrine of the rapture.  This article painted the Lord Jesus Christ as an uber-tolerant lover of any and every thing about man, who doesn't need or even want him to change, who'll take the elect as quick as he would the devout Catholic, the pious Muslim, the tormented pedophile, as quickly as He would the homosexual couple in love.

Of course, the idea that sinful man doesn't have to repent to have fellowship with God is a fallacy (Mt. 3:1-12; Lk. 13:1-5; I Jn. 1:6-9; 2:4), and all of those lies are attacks on Truth, and when Truth is attacked, that should make Christians quite irate. In America, we have grown accustomed to our peaceful, idyllic liberties, but it's high time we got angry about how blasphemous this society has become concerning Jesus Christ.

Hollywood constantly churns out movie after movie like Dogma, This Is the End, Bruce Almighty, Antichrist, The Da Vinci Code, and literally scores more, showing the world where that godless industry stands. And where it has stood has never been in question, but now,  like so many other sectors of this society the masks are merely coming off and they are showing Christians that they will no longer tolerate what we hold dear, that which has been so profound a blessing on this nation.

Christians, we have to awaken out of the malaise our comfortable living has induced and we have to get angry! But in our anger, we must go beyond the simple peaceful protest; we have to go beyond tweeting about it, posting our feelings on Facebook and Google+ and complaining to our friends. This is really about channeling that righteous indignation into more meaningful action, and that which will honor and glorify the Name of Jesus Christ and will endure the scrutiny of His examination at the judgment.

In our actions, we have to share the glorious Gospel, testifying by speech and conduct that Christ is worthy of esteem and praise and honor and worship because of the great love He has loved ALL people with and how He has offered Himself as the escape from the wrath to come (to those who receive Him by faith). We show our hatred for sin by sharing the cure for it; we hate the slavery to sin by declaring the freedom through Christ,  a free gift from God (Eph. 2:8-9). We do not channel our anger into hate for people. We do not use our anger to inflict harm on others. On the contrary, we wreak havoc on the kingdom of darkness with love and Truth for the lost but nothing but hatred for Satan and his infernal kingdom.

We have to divest ourselves from the entertainment system's blasphemy of our Lord. We can no longer watch their movies or listen to their music. I know that may seem hard, even impossible to some, especially since just about all of us have been raised almost from infancy on the industry's cartoons, movies, sitcoms, and songs, the snippets of which still float around in our minds still as fresh as day we first heard and watched it.

We have to use the talents and gifts and abilities to fight the Satanic propaganda and provide godly alternatives for ourselves and our children. Some of us are gifted in writing, speaking and teaching, singing, organizing, motivating and encouraging,  and all of these gifts can be used to defend Jesus Christ.

We should not accept the blasphemy of Jesus Christ lying down, but rather by focusing our anger toward Spirit-led Bible study, and effectual fervent prayer according to the will of God.

So much more could be written about this. We must stop looking for our elected officials to stand up for us, especially as they show that they do not love or know Jesus Christ, whether their name is Danny Davis, Nancy Pelosi  Mitt Romney, John McCain, Al Sharpton, or Barack Obama. No matter how much they offer lip service to our Lord, it is the blood-bought Church of the Living God that must defend the Lord of Lords, free speech rights or not.

Of course, we shouldn't be surprised by the world hating Jesus Christ because it does not know Him. We should also not be surprised when the world ramps up its attacks on Christ, in fact we should only expect it. But we absolutely don't have to stand by and do nothing.

Church, You May as Well Fight!

The Lord Jesus Christ had the exemplary perspective on death in that He saw it as the door to His Heavenly reward, but a portal that could only be opened by His Heavenly Father.  This is crucial a perspective to hold as the Christian's proper view of death; death is but a door that only God can open or close.  Jehovah alone, is a God who opens and no one can close, and He closes, and no one can open (Dan. 4:35; Rev. 3:7).  When we look at death in this manner, properly looking at God possessing all power and wisdom and perfect will, all fear of death evaporates.  We must understand that we cannot die without the Father's consent, even as we cannot even take our next breath apart from His will.  No matter how this world rages, and persecs, and threatens, it is completely devoid of power to end the life of any child of God.  Now, when we are armed with this thinking we are loosed of death's grip and free to pursue God's will wholeheartedly.  The fear of death holds back billions of people.  This should not be so for the saints of God for we can encourage ourselves from the records in Scripture of those who kept this state of mind, especially our Lord, John the Baptist, Apostles Peter, Paul, and James—they held nothing back in God's service, and the Father, at the appointed time, opened the door (of death) which led to His glorious Presence.

Now that death is appropriately perceived, we must properly look at the Christian walk as one of combat, and that to the death.  (Now, one might see the importance of the proper view of death in relation to fighting a war, for the soldier fearing death cannot be as effective as one not afraid of death.). The Church of Jesus Christ faces a foe devoid of love, mercy, or compassion.  Not only that, he also knows that he cannot win and that his doom is sure.  How many times have we heard that the most dangerous enemy is the one with nothing to lose?  A wounded animal, backed into a corner, will angrily and desperately fight to stave off its own end.  Well, Biblically speaking, Satan is that wounded animal, slithering about with a crushed and bleeding head (Gen. 3:15); he is a lion defanged, declawed, armed with but a loud, frightening roar (I Pet. 5:8).  Satan knows his brief time of rebellion is nearly done and that the fires of hell grow ever hungrier to consume him for all eternity (Is. 14:12-15; Jn. 16:11; Lk. 10:18; Rev. 20:10).  

Satan has formidable weapons which he uses to further his lost cause.  He also doesn't sleep, he doesn't tire, and he has an entire kingdom of evil spirits at his beck and call, furious at man for being able to inherit their former bright and glorious abode and probably equally as enraged at their dark lord for having led them down the path to everlasting destruction.

My basic premise is that we may as well fight as we are already in a fierce conflict with spiritual beings fueled by pure sin, hate, and rage, and actually, we have been in this fight from the second we drew our first breath.  Make no mistake about it—Jesus Christ is a Warrior and He takes no prisoners (Is. 63:1-6; Dan. 7:13-14; Jo. 3:14-17; Zec. 12:9-14; Rev. 19:11-16).  On the opposite end of the spectrum, Satan is also a warrior, albeit an inferior one, and wants to win (Rev. 12:7-12; 20:7-9).  He cannot win, therefore theft, murder, and destruction (Jn. 10:10) constitute his goals and objectives.  Christ fought with extremely effective weapons in His Humiliation, and He will also fight with spiritual weapons at the battle ground of Megiddo against Satan's "superman", Antichrist, and his vile ecumenical leader, the False Prophet.  The Scripture clearly says that in Israel's darkest of hour the King of Kings will fight with the great sword that proceeds out of His mouth, sharp enough, mighty enough to annihilate the last Caesar's army in one fiery instant.  Now obviously, that sword is not an actual blade of steel or brass, but one made of material far more substantial—the spiritual iron of the Word of the Living God.

The Apostle Paul spoke of the Christian walk frequently, and he did so at times using military terms.  And in one of the most often quoted and referenced passages in Scripture in the sixth chapter of Ephesians, Paul very deliberately and explicitly lists the armor and weaponry of the Christian soldier.  The Way (of Christ) is hotly contested and opposed by this world at every opportunity.  Christ said that the Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence; and He followed with "the violent take it by force" (Matt. 11:12).  There are babes in Christ as well as mature in Christ, yet regardless of maturity level we all share a common immutable faith—both also share a common war.  Entering the Kingdom of Heaven is done through conflict, through war, through being merciless against the principalities and powers of the darkness of this world using the weapons which have been dutifully forged in the searing heat of the foundries of God's armory.

 Upon salvation, each believer is given at least one gift by the Spirit of Truth for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, and for the edifying of the Body of Christ (Eph. 4:12). Unfortunately, too many Christians dwell far too long on the gifts of tongues, preaching and teaching, healing, and prophecy; so many want apostleship and pastorates, and the titles of "Evangelist" and "minister" and don't dwell nearly long enough on the Christian's armor and weapons of war.  Not every saint can teach; not every believer has been given to pastoral ministry, but every Christian has the exact same components of God's armor, and Paul urges the Ephesians and all saints to put the armor on!  We must know these artifacts well because every second of our lives we will be fighting—not speaking in tongues, and each day of our lives will be spent exchanging powerful blows with the army of darkness—not working daily miracles of healing.  Every year we live here will be spent fighting without quarter on the front line of the most ferocious combat imaginable. 

 Even while you read this, Satan and his army of demons are on the attack, and his weapons are ubiquitous in our society.  He uses the morally neutral medium of radio, television, and the web to pump into our ears, and subsequently, our minds, the sewage of vulgar music, pornography, and ungodly entertainers' mindless, foolish behavior.  He takes our ability to think critically and spiritually by the Pied Piper-like musings of entertainment which also feed the flames of sin and our innate appetites for debauchery.  These are just some of his more subtle, but shockingly, more effective weapons against us because he knows that if he can get our minds off of the things of God, he can make us ineffective on the battlefield.

As I conclude, God has constructed the specific elements of His armor for us to counter very deliberate, predictable volleys of Satan.  Satan isn't going to stop attacking until he finally begins his eternity-long prison sentence in the lake of fire, and if we interpret Scripture properly, he will only intensify his warfare against the Church on an almost unimaginable level.  Additionally, he will actually be given power to overcome the saints who are saved during the 70th Week (Dan. 7:21, 25; Rev. 12:17; 13:7) but we should understand that while Satan will certainly win battles here or there, his overall campaign is miserably lost, and those Brothers and Sisters he is allowed to kill finally and forever triumph by the blood of Jesus Christ and the word of their testimony (Rev. 12:11).  

The weapons they will fight with will not be different from the weapons we currently fight with.  We read to the very end of Scripture that Christians are fighting one who constantly fights them but even more, the Church is on the offensive!  We are not to be in a defensive position!  Jesus said that the gates of hell would not prevail against His Church (Mt. 16:18; Acts 19:20).  What is interesting about that is that gates don't attack—gates only are used as defensive tools!  It is the Church that is on the attack as it advances the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ.  The world attacked Jesus because He was on the attack and from the sinful nature the world reacted with envy, persecution, and murder (Mt. 27:18; Mk. 14:55-65; Jn. 10:31-39; 15:24-25; Acts 2:23).

The Lord Jesus could have prevented any assault on Him.  Christ could have silenced every scornful tongue with His almighty power.  He had Divine right to prohibit unbelief of His words.  Instead of a ministry of 33 years, He could have made it 33 days, or even 33 hours—He could have, by His irresistible authority forced all mankind to receive the Gospel.  However, in submission to the will of the Father (and, having no fear of death,) strapped on the armor and went out into the muck and mire of the battlefield's trenches, blocking endless flurries of fiery darts with His shield while pulling sinners from the No Man's Land of the fray.  Therein is our task.  As believers in Christ, we must armor up—we're already on the battlefield—and pull people who have been wounded and battered and enslaved by the devil to the safety of the fortress of Jesus Christ.  This is all about the souls of people.  We're already in the war—we may as well fight, and fight to win!

The Armor of God, head to feet, briefly (Eph. 6:10-18):

1.) The Helmet of Salvation
Upon salvation, the mind is renewed; the believer now is able to think God's thoughts; the knowledge of salvation helps to govern the believer's thinking.

2.) The Breastplate of Righteousness
Since Satan primarily uses guilt and accusation and condemnation against the saints, a righteous life protects the most vital organ—the heart—from the devil.

3.) The Belt of Truth
The belt of a soldier doesn't just hold up his pants, it also serves as an important instrument in holding all the elements of the armor together; the Roman soldier of Paul's day had his sword and dagger attached to the belt; the breastplate was often connected to the belt for stability; a water skin and food rations could be tied to it as well as writing tools and medicinal supplies; without Truth, the believer's armor cannot hold together.  God's Word is Truth.

4.) The Sandals
The feet of the Christian soldier are swift totake the Gospel to the lost; the Gospel is the good news of peace, peace between God and sinful man made possible by Jesus Christ alone, which is the Gospel. The steps of the believer are governed by this aim alone.

5.) The Shield of Faith
Roman soldiers' shields were large, able to almost cover the entire body; the larger a believer's faith, the larger his protection from Satanic deception and dupery; when on one accord, the collective faith of the Church is a powerful defence as Roman soldiers would connect their shields to fend off aerial attacks by arrows and spears.

6.) The Sword of the Spirit
The Word of God is the only offensive weapon for the believer; the Word alone is able to effect damage on the kingdom of darkness; the Word of God is the only weapon the believer needs and when properly used it cannot be defended against; Roman troops used spears more than swords to keep the enemy at a distance, therefore the use of the sword is for close combat, the Church must closely engage Satan in battle.

7.) Prayer (Not part of the Armor)
Prayer is communication with God, primarily used to hear from Him concerning His will, rather than a means to get desired things; prayer keeps the believer before the Presence of God, helps to keep the believer from sin; through prayer, the Christian soldier is renewed, refreshed, repaired.

Jesus Christ's Stance on Gay Marriage

Not long ago I saw a cable news panel discussion between various pundits debating both the Constitutional legality and moral basis for homosexual marriage in the United States.  The panel consisted of three participants, one of which was a Bible-believing Christian, the others being staunch proponents of gay marriage, which, of course, is their right to be so.  The endorsers of gay marriage even now, see the issue as one between two loving, consenting adults.  The Christian panelist based his argument solely on the Holy Bible's prohibition against the practice.  

The discussion unfolded, and I saw the other two panelists' glee as they defended their position using the philosophy of this world's "Jesus"; this world desires a "Jesus" who loathes to judge anyone, who wants us all to just love another and most importantly, accept everyone, including everyone's version of Truth.  Their "Jesus" tailors Truth to the times and amends it as is needed.  Truth lies at the core of the argument because if Truth is subjective, then, of course, there's nothing wrong with gay marriage--or anything, for that matter.  The secular panelists accused the Christian of intolerance and bigotry, and even worse, of twisting the message of the Lord Jesus Christ.  The Christian's Biblical views were maligned and excoriated.  The secular panelists said that the Christian's views were erroneously based on Old Testament Law.  They also insisted that that code had been nullified by Christ's message of universal love, tolerance, and acceptance.  The debate was no more than about fourteen minutes, but I was impressed by the Christian's firm stance on what Scripture says about the issue.

In the days that followed, I thought about this extremely hot topic in mainstream America.  The media report almost weekly how state after state is eliminating all respective bans on gay marriage which allow hundreds of same-sex couples to be legally married.  Okay, one might say.  What could possibly be wrong?  What's the big deal?  Again, once the foundations are thrown out, a well-meaning public servant has no ground to prohibit same-sex couples from becoming married.  The result of such attacks on the very first institution God established is the incursion of His judgment. 

Again, the central matter is Truth.  For the Christian, the Bible is the sum total of Truth.  As far as the world is concerned, Truth is relative and has as many versions as there are people in the world.  I have noticed that many, even clergy, (and specifically the Episcopalians, Presbyterians, and Evangelical Lutherans to name a few) are now asserting that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself said nothing directly against homosexuality, much less gay marriage.  I disagree because Christ said everything He needed to say about homosexuality, drunkenness, adultery, hypocrisy, and a myriad of other sins in His unapologetic support of the Law.  He did not endorse the Law as the means through which sinful man could be saved, but He did present the Law as the lens through which the holiness of God can be properly viewed and the principles in that same Law in every moral sense is just as binding today as it was thousands of years ago when Moses first received it.

I didn't want to write so much as far as an introduction. However, as I thought about the flow of Biblical logic a Christian would have to follow to properly defend Christ's actual position on this matter, the Word of Truth shows that it contains all that the Christian needs to stand upon about this issue. I drafted an outline of how one could systematically and effectively defend Biblical marriage as God's unalterable standard and I saw that no Old Testament has to be directly quoted.  (The world fiercely eschews Leviticus and Deuteronomy and view those books as the pinnacle of religious intolerance.)  I found that the New Testament is just as resolute on this matter as the Old Testament, and that the Jesus Christ of the Bible would never endorse gay marriage at anytime or for any reason.

I must say that just because I support Scripture's definition of marriage that does not mean that I want them stoned to death as was required under the ceremonial Law of the Pentateuch. I would not support anyone who would have them excluded from the society.  I am not desiring the imprisonment of homosexuals or their blacklisting.  As they have the freedom to choose their lifestyle, so do I.  They have every right to choose to stand against Scripture and I have every right to stand with Scripture.

The most important truth of this post is that the Jesus of the Bible totally and eternally saves from sin when one repents and receives Him as Lord and Savior (Jn. 3:16; 5:24; 8:21-24; Lk. 13:2-5; Acts 4:12; I Cor. 6:9-11).  I join the Apostles, saints, and Heavenly angels in that any adulterer, fornicator, idolater, thief, child molester, swindler, murderer, or hypocrite can be cleansed completely by Christ's blood through faith (Heb. 9:15; 10:12; I Jn. 1:7).  I'm glad that I have no pressure to try to win an argument; I am not trying to trump anyone's philosophy, but solely satisfied with declaring to the world that God's way is the best way and that Christians don't have to retreat from the debate!  The Christian has the Word of the Living God, which is able to demolish every worldly argument, philosophy, and position (Lk. 21:15; II Cor. 10:4-5).  All a Christian needs to do is just present the Word and let God respond in His perfect way to either the reception of His Word, or to its rejection.  Souls are at stake, not notches on our belts for having won insignificant arguments.

Obviously, anything man does is flawed (except for Holy Scripture which the Holy Spirit inspired and commissioned a select few to write).  This outline is by no means the only way to defend Scripture's definition of marriage and prohibition of homosexuality but just a possibility.  I can accept and welcome flaws being identified and pointed out and shared as comments.

I.  The Bible Is Truth

     A.  The Old Testament is Holy Scripture

          1.  verified as sacred, binding Scripture by Jesus Christ

               a.  Matthew 5:17-20

                    1.  the Law is holy and is sacred Scripture and morally binding

                    2.  the Law cannot be nullified or destroyed

                    3.  every commandment of the moral Law is to be obeyed

               b.  Matthew 4:4; Luke 4:4

                    1.  the Law verified by Jesus Christ as the very words of God that man 

                    shall live by, align all conduct to

               c.  Mark 12:24-27

                   1.  marriage associated with what Moses has written

                        a.  Christ affirms Moses' authorship of Genesis which explicitly

                             defines God's design for marriage, doom of Sodom and 

                             Gomorrah

               d.  Luke 24:25-27

                   1.  Christ explicitly defines what Scripture is

                        a.  Moses

                             1.  The Book of Genesis

                                  a.  marriage, doom of Sodom and Gomorrah

                             2.  The Book of Exodus through the Book of Deuteronomy

                                  a.  prohibitions against Sodomy, examples of judgment

                        b.  The Prophets

                             1.  all Scripture, in this case, in addition to the Pentateuch

               e.  John 17:17

                   1.  The entire canon of Scripture is Truth

                        a.  Truth is immutable

                        b.  Truth is, at all times, binding and universally authoritative

                        c.  Truth is objective, never subjective or relative

          2.  verified by the Apostle Paul

               a.  Romans 7:12

                    1.  the Law is holy

               b.  Romans 7:14

                    1.  the Law is spiritual, therefore eternal in essence and application

               c.  Romans 7:16

                    1.  the Law is good!

               d.  Romans 7:22

                    1.  the Christian delights in the Law

                         a.  Psalm 19

                         b.  Psalm 119:1; those who walk in the Law are blessed

                         c.  Psalm 119:97; the man and woman of God loves the Law

                         d.  Psalm 119:142; the Law equals Truth

II.  The Doom of Sodom and Gomorrah in the New Testament

     A.  Jude 5-8

          1.  The sin of Sodom and Gomorrah is clearly defined, gives the context of 

               judgment

               a.  destroyed for sodomy

     B.  II Peter 2:6-8

          1.  destroyed for their continual wickedness, made an example of by God

          2.  God is longsuffering, even as He was with Sodom and Gomorrah

     C.  Revelation 11:8

          1.  the adherents of the ways of Sodom naturally attack the people of God;

               Sodom (and Egypt) equated with evil

     D.  Matthew 11:23

          1.  Sodom's evil compared with Capernaum's evil

     E.  Romans 1:18-32

          1.  homosexuality, along with uncontrollable, burning lasciviousness by a

               society is a sign of the judgment of God, having been given over to that    

               which shall destroy it

III.  Hope for Homosexuals and All Sinners

     A.  I Corinthians 6:9-11

          1.  sinners washed

          2.  sinners sanctified

          3.  sinners justified

              a.  the homosexual is transformed, saved for all eternity, filled with the

                   the Spirit of Truth
                  1.  over time, the appetites and desires for sin decreases over time, taken away as the Holy
                       Spirit asserts more and more influence by the new nature over the natural nature (the 
                       flesh).  Theologically, this process is called Sanctification; the new nature is fed by:
                            a.  daily Spirit-led study of and meditation on the Word of Truth
                            b.  daily Spirit-led, intense prayer
                            c.  daily Spirit-led, Biblical worship of the God of Scripture with other believers
                            d.  daily obedience to the will of the Holy Spirit as revealed in the Word of Truth
                            e.  daily confession of sin and daily repentance