Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Culture Shifts’ Category

What Happens When We Disagree?

Posted in Culture Shifts, Faith & Practice, tagged , , , on May 21, 2012| 3 Comments »

Americans who see life from a Biblical worldview have always had the right to disagree with those who do not.  And, vice versa.  Disagreement of any kind should be, according to a Biblical worldview, sane and civil.  Kind.  Respectful of the person no matter their opinion.

Recently, some folks who don’t see life from a Biblical worldview decided not to be so sane and civil to some folks who do.  Their less-than-kind behavior should capture the attention of all citizens interested in preserving true liberty and freedom of thought.

The media hasn’t reported it, but here’s what happened.  Doug Phillips of Vision Forum ministries and Ken Ham of Answers in Genesis both responded to President Obama’s public support of same-sex “marriage” with concern and words of caution.  Both pointed out that the president had mocked God who instituted marriage on Day Six of creation.  Both gentlemen have been faithful to defend marriage because it is the bedrock of civilization.  Marriage between one man and one woman is in the best interest of children.  Phillips posted his concerns on the Vision Forum website.  Ham posted a blog.  Then things got nasty.

The website of Vision Forum was compromised.  I’m not a technical wizard, so I can’t explain the hows and whys, but their public survey question on marriage was skewed in favor of same-sex “marriage.  Their website was overloaded and their on-line store couldn’t be accessed.  The blog of Ken Ham was compromised with pornography and profanity.  I’m wondering what will happen if ezerwoman continues to speak in favor of Biblical marriage.

What kind of behavior is this?  What happened to the popular idea of tolerance?  Or does it only work one way?

Read Full Post »

Fighting Moral Illiteracy

Posted in Culture Shifts, Faith & Practice, Parenting & Education, tagged , , , , , , , on May 15, 2012| Leave a Comment »

There is a “shocking level of moral illiteracy” among American kids.  A few years ago, writes Chuck Colson, the Josephson Institute of Ethics released the findings of its survey, “Report Card on the Ethics of American Youth.”

“Ninety-two percent of kids surveyed admitted to lying to their parents; seventy-eight percent admitted lying to a teacher.  Seventy percent said that they had cheated on a test, and half of them said that they had done so more than once.  Twenty-five percent said that they would like to get a job.”

The findings, notes Colson, were summarized by the Atlanta Constitution: “America’s next generation [believes that] it’s perfectly acceptable to lie and cheat.”  This is true despite the fact that three quarters of all U.S. states mandate some form of “values” or character education that encourages honesty, trustworthiness, and respect for others.  (How Now Shall We Live: A Devotional, 2004)

Does character education work?  If so, why are so many young people increasingly willing to lie and cheat?  Could it be that that most character education fails to explain why people behave morally? School programs may tell students that honesty is the best policy or that respecting others is a good thing to do, but they don’t provide reason for these beliefs.

Why not?  Because they are forbidden from doing so.  Discussion of moral behavior that grows from a faith foundation is not allowed in the public school.  The government has determined that Christianity has no place in education.  Neither does teaching young people that each individual is ultimately responsible for personal behavior.  The Biblical faith community which can explain the origin of humanity, why bad things happen, that good and evil exist, and why resisting evil and doing good builds a healthy society is shut out of public discussion.   This leaves girls and boys with only self-gratification as a reason for moral behavior.  It leaves them vulnerable to their fickle emotions and the pressure of peers.

When Christian faith, which partners so beautifully with science, is kept out of discussions on sex education, students who are told to wait for sex until marriage justifiably ask, “Why?  If it feels right for me, why would I wait?  I’m a sexual being, after all, so having sex is perfectly acceptable.”

Helping young people become morally literate, writes Colson, “requires that we change how we teach them about right and wrong.  This doesn’t mean turning classrooms into Sunday schools.  But if we want to give our kids reasons for acting morally that actually work, we must get over our phobia about the role of faith in public life.”

The lives of our children and grandchildren hang in the balance.

Read Full Post »

Dan Savage, Bullying & the Bible

Posted in Biblical manhood & womanhood, Culture Shifts, Faith & Practice, Identity, Life issues, Parenting & Education, Relationships, tagged , , , , , on May 9, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Dan Savage is a gay activist who speaks to students across the country.  Recently, he was invited to address the National High School Journalism Conference about the need to prevent bullying.  He launched a vicious attack on the Bible and Christian beliefs.  As he put it, “We can learn to ignore the bull **** in the Bible about gay people . . . .”  He also stated that the “Bible is 100% wrong on sexuality.”

Please watch the short video clip here.

Does the fact that Dan Savage is invited to speak to students concern any of you parents?  Grandparents?

Does it concern you Christians who hold the Bible to be the very Word of God?  The Word that invites us to choose life rather than death so that we might have blessings rather than curses?

If we say that we believe true marriage is only between one man and one woman, we’re now accused of bullying.  If we say that homosexuality is a sin, we are accused of being intolerant.  You and I need to be aware that changes in word definitions are being used as weapons against Christians in a spiritual battle.

How do we — who believe that Jesus Christ is the Word on marriage, family, sexual behavior, and all matters of life — respond?

In this spiritual battle, may we never compromise the Word of God.  May we rightly use the Law and Gospel of the Word — Jesus Christ — in all circumstances.  May our speech and action show respect for all people, no matter our differences.

May we demonstrate kindness to those caught in the chaos and confusion of sinful choices.  May we volunteer to give blood for patients with HIV and others suffering AIDS.  May we exhibit compassion, not by tolerating lifestyles that bring harm, but by asking questions that help people think about their behavior and why they defend it.  May we, as Chuck Colson so rightly said, “never impose anything, but instead propose — propose an invitation to a better way of living.”

May we pray for people like Dan Savage who may be bold in an effort to cover anger and hurt.  May we pray for courage and never be bullied into silence.

Several students walked out during the savage attack on Christianity.  May we see hope in their courageous conviction.  May we see such conviction worthy of our nurture and defense.

Precious souls are at stake.

Read Full Post »

The Hunger Games

Posted in Culture Shifts, Life issues, Parenting & Education, tagged , , , , on March 26, 2012| 2 Comments »

The Hunger Games opened in theaters on March 23.  Some Christian parents read the novel and plan to let their children see the movie, but others are asking a lot of questions.  If I get the opportunity, I plan to view the movie for myself.  For now, I’m reading various reviews.  Perhaps the following may be helpful to any parent wondering about this PG-13 movie.

Dr. Brenda Hunter, a psychologist and the co-author of From Santa to Sexting, warns that the movie is really about child sacrifice.  According to Hunter, the adults portrayed in the story are either impotent or voyeuristic and watch as children kill each other.  Parents, she says, should be concerned.

Dr. Hunter writes that kids are being “desensitized to violence” on a regular basis.  “There are over a thousand studies linking media violence to aggressive behavior in some children.”  And once desensitized, she says, the children are no longer afraid or revolted by what they see.  Hunter says “that begins to erode their God-given sense of humanity.”

“There’s a new philosophy that parents and adults seem to have in this culture,” Dr. Hunter explains.  “And it is: Let’s expose kids to everything.  Let’s expose them to sex.  Let’s expose them to violence — and they’ll be the better for it.”

Those of you who know me are well aware that I have grave concerns — have had for a long time — about the goal of getting children “comfortable with their sexuality.”  I’ve just finished writing Faithfulness: One Child at a Time (Q & A on Sex Education vs. Instruction in Purity for Christian Dialogue).  It reveals the roots of what Dr. Hunter is talking about: “Let’s expose kids to everything.”  This concept is not Biblical, but secular.  The concept of “exposing kids to everything” opposes God’s mandate to protect the innocence of children and mentor them away from evil and the darker side of this world.  Sex educators have this theory that if they give kids all knowledge… all information, then they’ll be o.k.  But, an adolescent brain is not like an adult brain.  Adult brains use the PFC (pre-frontal cortex) to think, rationalize, or apply brakes to emotional responses.  The PFC is not fully developed in an adolescent.  In fact, it may not be fully functioning until the mid-twenties.  Is it any wonder that God wants parents to set boundaries for their sons and daughters?  The emotional systems, hormones, and “gut reactions” of an adolescent may be fully functioning, but without the ability to reason or use good judgment, this age-group is extremely vulnerable.

An interview with Suzanne Collins, author of The Hunger Games trilogy, is instructive.  When asked why she thinks people are enticed by TV reality shows, she replied, “Well, they’re often set up as games and, like sporting events, there’s an interest in seeing who wins . . . sometimes they have very talented people performing.  Then there’s the voyeuristic thrill — watching people being humiliated, or brought to tears, or suffering physically — which I find very disturbing.  There’s also the potential for desensitizing the audience, so that when they see real tragedy playing out on, say, the news, it doesn’t have the impact it should.”

WORLD magazine responds to this statement: “This is a very poignant criticism of our culture, and one that deserves to be taken seriously. But for all the beauty and moral high ground [The Hunger Games] contains, it’s just as true that the world Collins has created is terribly evil.  Teenagers are dispatched throughout the movie by knives, swords, and mutated dogs; adults are either too powerless or corrupt to help; and [heroine] Katniss herself experiences an inward despair that will (in coming installments) lead her to attempt suicide . . . The Hunger Games  may produce the same deadening effect on the conscience that Collins seeks to warn us against.”  (This review to appear in the April 7, 2012, issue of WORLD.)

No wonder Dr. Hunter says that parents need to learn to say no.  Her recommendation: “Don’t let children go see The Hunger Games.”  (OneNewsNow.com 3-23-12)

Read Full Post »

Standing On Truth & Resisting Evil

Posted in Citizenship, Culture Shifts, Faith & Practice, Life issues, Vocation, tagged , , , , , , on March 22, 2012| Leave a Comment »

The Manhattan Declaration is a historic proclamation promoting the sanctity of human life, traditional marriage, and religious liberty.  Within a short time after it was released in November of 2009, 500,000 Christians from multiple denominations signed the document.  I am among those Christians.  Co-authors of this document include Charles Colson.  He writes,

“Christianity is more than a religion.  And it is more than a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  Christianity is an all-encompassing worldview that shapes how we think and how we live in the world.  It could not be otherwise.”

Colson continues, quoting from God’s Word in John: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.  “Word,” writes Colson, “is the English translation of the Greek Logos.  And as a translation, Word falls far short of the richness and totality of Logos.  For Greek speakers (like St. John) all the way back to Plato and beyond, Logos meant ultimate reality, all that was known or could be known, the glue that holds the universe together.

“Jesus Christ,” confesses Colson, “is more than a founder of a religion.  He is more than my personal savior (and I thank God every day that He is).  He is the Logos . . .  If Christ cries out ‘Mine’ about every aspect of life – medicine, music, literature, science, family, law, politics, and so on – then we, the Church when we look at every aspect of life, must cry out ‘HIS’!”

The faithful Christian has both the duty and privilege of bringing Christ’s truth to bear on every aspect of life.  And, says Colson and the authors of The Manhattan Declaration, right now “is a vitally important time to do so.”  Why?  Because we are witnessing a “titanic struggle between two antithetical worldviews: secular naturalism and Christianity.  The one side holds there is no God, that we humans are nothing but . . . glorified germs whose ancestors arose from the primordial soup.  The other holds that God created the universe, that His physical and moral laws are observable and knowable, and that He created man in His image – endowing man with a sacred dignity . . ..”

Colson notes that “we see the struggle all around us: in the classroom, in the courtroom, and on Capitol Hill.  If man is nothing special, then why not abortion?  Why not cloning?  Why not experiment with human embryos?  If there is no moral law, no ultimate truth, why not ‘same-sex marriage’?  Why not enshrine individual preference as the ultimate arbiter of human conduct?  Why not borrow money you cannot repay – and who really cares how that might impact others?”

The Manhattan Declaration is grounded in Scripture and the creeds all Christians confess.  It is a “wake-up call to the Church.”  It focuses on three issues: the sanctity of human life, marriage, and religious freedom.  Why not other pressing issues such as social justice or the environment?  Because, explains Colson, “these three issues are so foundational, so critical, that every other Christian concern – indeed, every human concern – flows out of them.”

Colson explains, “It is the belief in the sacredness of human life that led the early Church to fight the Roman practice of infanticide and abortion; it is this belief that put Christians in the forefront of fighting slavery; it is this belief that led Christians to lead in the promotion of civil rights.  And, today, it is this belief that has charged Christians to fight human trafficking all around the globe.  The sanctity of human life is the foundation of true social justice.”

The Manhattan Declaration proclaims, “Marriage — is the first institution of human society – indeed, it is the institution upon which all other human institutions have their foundation.”  Colson notes, “It is the bedrock institution that no society can survive without.”

The third foundational issue is religious freedom, or freedom of conscience.  It is under assault every day.  It might be the Methodist camp losing its tax-exempt status because it refused to allow a “same-sex marriage” ceremony or the Catholic adoption agency threatened from its ministry because it wouldn’t place orphaned children with same-sex couples.  It might be the steadfast refusal of Congress to protect the religious freedom of medical providers in the current debate of health care “reform” legislation.  “More is coming,” writes Colson.  “These are not political issues.  These are profoundly moral issues that affect the common good.”

How can we love God and serve our neighbor by sitting idly by?  As human dignity, marriage, and religious freedom are under increasing assault, will you visit The Manhattan Declaration to read, prayerfully sign, and then share with others?

Read Full Post »

The Flying Spaghetti Monster vs. Ratio Christi

Posted in Culture Shifts, Faith & Practice, Life issues, Parenting & Education, Vocation, tagged , , , , on February 28, 2012| 6 Comments »

On March 24th, it is estimated that thousands will celebrate the faith of atheism at the Washington Mall in D.C.  The event, called “The Reason Rally,” will feature famed atheist, Richard Dawkins.  Among those attending will be Missouri State University’s atheist club known as the “Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.”  

Chuck Colson explains that atheist groups, often filled with young adults who grew up in Christian homes, are increasing on college campuses.  According to the Barna Research Group, three in five “Christian” kids abandon the church after the age of 15.  Eighty-four percent of 18-29 year-olds who call themselves “Christians” admit that they have no idea how the Bible applies to their occupation.  What do you say?  Has the church done a poor job of teaching our young people that reason and faith are not opposites?  Do you think atheism more reasonable than Christianity?  Many young people find themselves at the university completely unequipped to defend the rationality of the Christian faith against the secular worldview so prevalent on college campuses.

A group called Ratio Christi (Latin: “The Reason for Christ”) is doing something about this by starting  student apologetic clubs (apologetics: defense of the faith).  They want to reclaim the intellectual battle ground on campuses.  Questions such as, “Does God really exist?” and “Is Christianity consistent with science?” are discussed.  “Ratio Christi,” said a student at North Carolina State, “has given me a rational and logical defense of my faith.  When I dialogue with atheists, they are shocked that I have a defense. When I run into skeptics, they are overwhelmed by the amount of evidence supporting creation.  When I talk to Christians with questions about this, they find that their belief has a strong, historical foundation that cannot be shaken.” 

I echo Chuck Colson who said, “Folks, this is music to my ears.  A young, bright, college kid who gets it — and who is willing to defend the faith and make the case that Christianity is truly the only reasonable worldview there is.” 

NOTE:  I am indebted to Chuck Colson and his team for the way they keep me informed.  The information above was gleaned from Breakpoint (2/20/2012).  Visit Breakpoint to learn more about Ratio Christi and another group, Veritas.  Also, Colson provides a helpful chart that shows various worldviews.  Go to Breakpoint and, under “Further Reading and Information,” click on the “Worldview Grid” link.  Do not fear the flying spaghetti monster.  It is only the figment of doubting minds.  Ezerwoman

Read Full Post »

Women, Sex & Health Care

Posted in Biblical manhood & womanhood, Culture Shifts, Life issues, Parenting & Education, Relationships, Sexy or holy?, Vocation, tagged , , , , , on February 23, 2012| 2 Comments »

There is a stage being set.  I see male and female players, but focus on those of my own gender.  Why?  Because the way we women choose to play our role determines much for men and children.  Our character matters.   Each woman being called on stage is a daughter of Eve.  Each one is prompted with one question.  “Did God really say . . . ?”  So far in my lifetime, I have heard many responses.

“We are not created, but self-evolved!” proclaim deceived women.  “We are unbound sexual beings with the right to express our sensuality and seek pleasure.  Our daughters must be made comfortable with their sexuality.  Give them all knowledge and they will choose well.”

“We are no different from men,” proclaim foolish women, “and entitled to an equal playing field.  Men do not have to bear children, nor should we.”

“We have the right,” proclaim restless women, “to unlimited access to birth control and abortion.”

Deceived, foolish, and restless women have difficulty holding men accountable as faithful husbands.  Devoted fathers of their children.  Laborers who work for honest pay.   Builders of vibrant community.

When the act of sex is disconnected from procreation, an entire culture pays the price.  Everything – from the family to the economy, from ethics to health care – is affected.

Choosing to follow after the sensual lifestyle because “it’s who I am” comes with tremendous cost to society.  There are pills before sex and after sex.  Pills to fight infection.  Pills to fertilize life or abort life.  Fearing they may lose their “sexual freedom,” women cry out, “Do not come between me and my right to health care.”  In fact, “whether the conscience of my neighbor is good with my lifestyle or not, they must help fund my pills and procedures.”

The stage is set for Election Day.  Do you see the lines forming?  “Stand here, if you’re in favor of women’s health!”  “Over there, if you don’t give a wit.”  Backstage are powers and principalities busy pitting women against men, parents against children, a people against God.

Well, I give a wit.  But, my conscience can’t embrace the funding of Planned Parenthood or health care that mandates religious institutions to cover abortion-causing drugs.  Nor can my conscience turn away from deceived and restless women.  They may speak in one trained voice: “My body, my choice.”  They may be loud.  Bold.  Impassioned.  But, loud, bold, and impassioned voices can be a cover for unhappiness.  Fear.  Discontent.

Knowing this, I am compelled – mercifully compelled – to take a stand for women.  Not for our foolish and hurtful choices, but for women of character who are needed by men.  Children.  A nation.

Because God really did say there is a way that is right.  A way with blessings.  A future.  Hope.

Read Full Post »

My Church Speaks Its Conscience

Posted in Culture Shifts, Faith & Practice, Life issues, tagged , , , on February 16, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Do you have a moment?  Please listen to what Rev. Dr. Matthew Harrison, President of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, has to say about the recent mandate of President Obama and Health and Human Services (HHS).   Lutherans — and all people of the Christian faith — should care about the HHS Birth Control Mandate. 

http://youtu.be/X5au8yj2msQ

Read Full Post »

Dear Planned Parenthood

Posted in Culture Shifts, Life issues, Parenting & Education, tagged , , , , , on February 15, 2012| 2 Comments »

Dear Planned Parenthood,

You say you care about women’s health.  That being the case, do you educate girls and young women about their sensitive ecosystem?  Do you tell them that their bodies, quite different from men’s, are more at risk for infections?  Do you explain that the cervix, for example, is an area of the female body that more easily allows bacteria and viruses to grow?  That being on the birth control pill may actually increase the risk of infection?  (Dr. Miriam Grossmen, Unprotected, p. 27)

You say you have the best interests of young women at heart.  So, how do you protect them from themselves?  “An adolescent is like a fully mature car that’s turbo-charged, but its driver is unskilled, and his navigational abilities are not yet fully in place.” (Dr. Ronald Dahl, quoted in You’re Teaching My Child What? by Miriam Grossman, M.D., p. 75)  You insist on providing teens with all information so that they can make informed decisions, but how can you produce a sexually responsible girl if her wiring isn’t finished?  Circuits aren’t complete?  If the “feeling” part of her brain is functioning, but the “thinking” part of her brain is not yet fully developed?

You say you want to help women make informed decisions.  Then why do you resist showing expectant moms a sonogram of their baby?  Why, if there is any possible link at all between abortion and breast cancer, don’t you mention this?  What do you say about the risk of cervical cancer that can be caused by the human papilloma virus possibly passed on during the act of sex?

You say you want to prevent abortions.  Once again: Why do you resist showing expectant moms a sonogram of their baby?  Why do you insist on telemed abortions which are not only unsafe for the women and kill more babies, but increase your annual revenue?  According to your own 2009-10 annual report, PP performed more than 329,000 abortions.  Conservatively estimating that each abortion is $450, abortion services brought in $148 million of PP’s overall $320 million in clinic revenue, representing 46% of your budget.  Why do you insist that each of your affiliates must have at least one clinic offering abortion services by 2013?  Why do you have “abortion quotas” that your clinics are to reach every month?   

You say you want to provide services for poor women of every ethnicity.  What kind of services?  78% of PP clinics are set up in minority communities.  African-Americans make up 12% of the U.S. population, but 35% of U.S. abortions.  PP founder Margaret Sanger created the Negro Project designed to sterilize unknowing black women and others she deemed “undesirable.”  Sanger said, “Colored people are like human weeds and are to be exterminated.”  (Source: Black Genocide) 

You say you want to help this country help its families.  Does single parenthood ever bother you?  Why do you force your way into schools with your “services” and clinics but resist parental consent for minors?  How do you build generational relationships between sons or daughters and their moms and dads?

You call yourself “Planned Parenthood.”  Why don’t you just admit that you’re not very fond of parenthood at all.  In fact, looking at your TeenWire web site (X-rated), I see that you encourage the practice of homosexuality as a way to avoid parenthood altogether. 

You insist that the U.S. government force religious  institutions to pay for insurance plans offering “free” contraception, abortion-causing drugs, and sterilization.  You say that churches have no right to deprive women of access to free “birth control.”  But, have you ever stopped to consider the ethics of The Pill, abortion pills (RU-486 or mifepristone, the “morning after pill,” or telemed/pill-in-a-drawer), and sterilizations on ethical or medical grounds?  Fact is, you and people from all walks of life — pastors, physicians, psychologists, and social workers — have agreed  that The Pill has been responsible for massive social changes which have crippled the economy; increased promiscuity, STDs, and teen pregnancies; decreased marriage rates; and lowered birth rates to barely replaceable levels.

You say you exist simply to offer a choice.  Then why do you resort to “gangster tactics” when that choice is questioned and funds are stopped? (Sheila Liaugminas in Mercatornet)

In what way, Planned Parenthood, are you helping to build a vibrant and hopeful civilization?

Read Full Post »

No Time For Foolishness

Posted in Biblical manhood & womanhood, Culture Shifts, Faith & Practice, Life issues, Vocation, tagged , , , , , , on February 15, 2012| 1 Comment »

Dear friends and fellow people of faith,

Now is not the time for foolishness. 

Please, don’t look at your watch on Sunday morning and complain if Divine Service expands beyond your allotted hour.  Instead, thank God that He is serving you and filling you with Word and Sacrament so that you are energized for your vocations of parenting, teaching, working, learning, building, and neighboring.

Please, put away your pride and curb your sensitivity if your pastor seems to speak directly to you and your particular weakness or sin.  Be grateful that God is using His servant to stir your conscience and lead you away from harm.

Please, don’t close your ears and plant your feet stubbornly if you hear your pastor speak about sins including abortion, homosexuality, living together outside of marriage, so-called gay “marriage,” euthanasia, and so on.  You may feel loyal to a particular political party.  You may believe that the church should stay silent where the government has spoken.  But, a pastor that speaks where God speaks is a pastor who is faithful to his call.  Instead of resisting that pastor or telling him to keep quiet, please pray for him.  Pray that he speak the Truth of Christ with the attitude of Christ.

Please, don’t be distracted by hymns with melodies you don’t like; or vestments that seem too priestly; or the weekly Lord’s Supper that stretches “church” even longer; or an organ that sounds, well, too much like a church organ; or a choir that doesn’t entertain.  Instead, be thankful that you can congregate with fellow believers in a public place of worship.

This, dear friends and fellow people of faith, is no time for foolishness.  Why?  Because we are living in a country that has legalized the killing of children in the womb whose hearts beat as vibrantly as the hearts of their mothers.  (Those 53+ million babies would have invigorated our economy and supported an aging 76 million baby boomers.) 

We are living in a country where three states have legalized euthanasia and six states plus the District of Columbia have legalized so-called same-sex “marriage.”   

We are living in a country where voters – many of them Christian – elected Barak Obama.  Under this president and his administration, freedom of worship (personal faith kept to oneself) has replaced freedom of religion (personal faith shared and practiced in public). 

Under this president, freedom of sexual expression (hetero, homo, bi or trans) is the right above all other rights. 

Under this president, the government partners with Planned Parenthood (the nation’s largest provider of abortions) and we, the taxpayers, fund deceitful cover of rape and under-age prostitution, separation of minors from their parents, and drugs and procedures that place girls and young women at risk physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Under this president, people of faith – people like you and me – are being stripped of their right to conscience; in other words, their right to resist evil and do good.  With “Obamacare,” for example, church bodies are being told that they must obey Caesar rather than God. 

So please, dear friends and people of faith –

This is not the time to foolishly complain about the length of Divine Service, or liturgy, or sermons that make you squirm.  This is the time to thank God that you can still gather in His name and in a public place.  This is the time to grow more familiar with The Word, partake in the Sacrament, and encourage one another to resist evil and mentor a new generation for Christ.

Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Ephesians 5:17).

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »