Category Archives: America

by | October 15, 2018 · 6:00 am

Praying for the President

Why can’t more Christians be like Pastor Brunson and pray for the President?

How many times do folks like myself have to remind fellow believers that even if you dislike the man, Donald Trump is the President of the United States, and we are therefore instructed to petition God on his behalf, to pray for him when he might not even recognize his needs, and to thank God for him.

Don’t believe me?

First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good, and it pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. – 1 Timothy 2:1-4 CSB

Notice the “why’s” attached to the above commands:

  • So that we may lead a peaceful and quite life.
    Tell me, how in the world is throwing civility out the window helping things? Is our nation peaceful and tranquil? Heck, no! And why not? Could it be that many Christians are guilty of allowing Satan to use them as tools to stir up strife?
  • So that we lead a quite life of godliness and dignity.
    Oh, tell me, how much godliness is there in forcing people out of restaurants and threatening constant incivility? Where is the dignity in screaming at the sky and clawing at the doors of the Supreme Court?
  • It pleases the Lord.
    Newsflash: Rioting in the streets and burning police cars does not please the Lord. Sending hate mail does not please the Lord. Creating an atmosphere of chaos and incivility – even anarchy – does NOT please the Lord.
  • For the sake of the gospel!
    Yes, we are to pray for our leaders so that we might live peaceable, godly, and dignified lives in order that the good news of Christ might be shared with those for whom Jesus died, and that those for whom He died might be saved.

If that’s not enough, and you can’t think of anything good to say about President Trump, Jesus Himself leaves you with no excuse for the hatred and violence.

But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. – Matthew 5:44-45 KJV

Some of you can’t believe that any Christian would support Donald Trump. Frankly, I couldn’t believe that any Christian could support Barack Obama, the man more hostile to the Church than any other president in history.

But I can tell you this without blinking an eye: I prayed for President Obama.

We should be praying for President Trump, too.

30 Comments

Filed under America, Christian Living, Christian Unity, community, current events, ministry, Prayer

Tagged as , , , ,

by | October 9, 2018 · 11:32 pm

The Coming Incivility War

In a recent interview on CNN, Hillary Clinton said:

“You cannot be civil with a political party that wants to destroy what you stand for, what you care about… That’s why I believe, if we are fortunate enough to win back the House and/or the Senate, that’s when civility can start again. But until then, the only thing Republicans seem to recognize and respect is strength.”

Now, I understand that politics can get ugly, and that’s unfortunate. Anyone who dares enter the political landscape had better be prepared for misrepresentations and dirty tricks, slimy deals and back-stabbing colleagues. But what has historically been little more than mud slinging is now becoming even more than character assassination; it’s getting dangerous.

In the above-mentioned interview, Clinton referenced the “swiftboating” of John Kerry. She also talked about the “lies” the “right wing” told about her. But in both of these cases, including others she mentioned, we were dealing with wars of words. Even if lies were told (and I certainly don’t believe all the stories about her were lies), lies should have been expected – it’s politics… dirty, old-fashioned political theater.

But ever since Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton, politics-as-usual has become a thing of the past. No longer is it acceptable to have a conversation; words have been exchanged for screams toward the sky and door-banging. When Hillary lost, the old way of doing things had to change and a new norm had to be established.

Even if Donald Trump is guilty of saying racist, sexist, xenophobic, homophobic, or Hillaryphobic things, what about his words justified violence as a response? Even if Trump disagreed with everything every Democrat ever stood for, does that justify threatening every Republican’s life?

Hillary said, “You cannot be civil with a political party that wants to destroy what you stand for, what you care about,” but how many conservative college professors called for the castration of Democrats? How many conservative comedy writers rejoiced at the thought of at least ruining somebody’s life? How many conservative school employees have asked when someone was going to “take one for the team” and kill somebody?

With all the violence, threats, intimidation, calls for attacks, death threats, and physical assaults meant to disrupt the lives of American citizens just going out to dinner or walking to work, how are the above words any less disturbing than anything Trump was accused of saying that supposedly promoted violence?

You see, regardless of your political persuasion…regardless of how you felt after the confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh…where will ending civil discourse and the mature, adult-like exchanging of ideas lead? Where will you draw the line? What if you don’t win the next election, will you up the ante and resort to armed conflict?

That’s the way lots of other socialists around the world have done things. Why shouldn’t I be nervous?

I fear for America.

In December of 1941 the Japanese decided to end talking, resulting in the awakening of the “sleeping giant” Admiral Yamamoto feared. My question to the liberal and angry left is this: What kind of giant are you about to awake?

Even though so many of us saw what we believed in, some of our most treasured biblical institutions, assaulted by the Obama administration, we remained civil and kept our fight within the realm of discourse. We didn’t call for attacking Democrat representatives every time they went out to eat. Yet, amazingly, there are people who call themselves Christians who side with this new Democrat strategy. They evidently have no problem with the call for incivility and continue to support the people who endorse it.

I don’t understand.

Who is the author of confusion? Would the Prince of Peace identify with those who harass and intimidate? It would seem to me that Jesus is not behind incivility and terroristic threatening, so why would His followers condone it?

America survived a Civil War, but will we survive an Incivil one?

6 Comments

Filed under America, current events, politics

Tagged as , , , , , ,

by | September 29, 2018 · 3:49 pm

National Coffee Day 2018 – Praise God!

There are some things and people that don’t deserve a “day” for themselves, however…

Today is National Coffee Day.

How am I celebrating?

Well, first of all, I took my cup of coffee and my Bible and went outside and staged a photo. I plan on doing some study on the front porch while sitting in the antique glider, but I don’t plan on studying at this metal table in the front yard. However, it made for a decent photo, don’t you think?

Secondly, I’m going to drink coffee all day. Don’t worry, a lot of it (but not all) will be decaffeinated.

Thirdly, I’m going to pretend I’m going to Krispy Kreme to get a free cup of coffee because I’m not going to drive the 20 miles and then wait in line, only to be tempted to purchase a dozen hot, life-altering donuts (and what’s worse, they now even have a “coffee glazed”).

Fourth, I am going to thank God I’m not living as a Southerner in the Civil War (The War of Northern Aggression) when Yankee embargos kept coffee from being imported. Believe it or not, the average Confederate soldier had to substitute dried dandelion and other nasty stuff for coffee, which actually did have a detrimental effect on morale – and alertness. #*@! Yankees!

Fifth and finally, I’m going to thank God for the coffee bean and the invention of hot water, for, as the Bible clearly says (and I’m actually preaching from this passage tomorrow in my continuing series through the book of James):

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights [He provides the fire to heat the water], with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. – James 1:17 KJV

Praise God for good and perfect coffee.

4 Comments

Filed under America, Bible Study, Food, Humor, Preaching

Tagged as , , ,

by | September 28, 2018 · 1:54 pm

The Elephant In the Kavanaugh Hearing Room

My friends, we are going to disagree on different things, and whether or not Justice Brett Kavanaugh should be on the Supreme Court of the United States is probably one of them. Some (well, a few) people I highly respect think voting for Judge Kavanaugh to be confirmed is insane, and that we should at the very least be doing an additional FBI background check into the allegations of rape as presented by Dr. Dianne Ford.

Then, there are others like myself who think it’s insane to believe that the whole fiasco being spread across the airwaves and social media is an example of the worst Washington, D.C. has to offer those who are pro-life, support traditional definitions of marriage, and did not vote for Hillary Clinton in the last presidential election.

However, one thing has been an integral part of both testimonies: ALCOHOL.

Let me go on record, if I haven’t already, by stating that I do not believe it is biblical to categorically claim that consuming beverage alcohol is a sin; there is no scripture that says it is, only those of which some may attempt squeeze out an implication (they eisegete rather than exegete). However, there is plenty of scripture that clearly spells out the dangers of unwise consumption and abuse of alcohol, all of which is sinful and destructive.

For just a moment, would somebody stop praising Dr. Ford for being a brave victim while I back away while I temporarily back away from defending the qualifications of Judge Kavanaugh? Why were these people allowed to publicly consume alcohol when they were teenagers? Why did Kavanaugh’s upper-crust high school yearbook glorify teenage drunkenness like it was a right of passage? Where were all the adults when all these supposed drinking parties took place?

Who drives their 15-year-old daughter to a party where alcohol is going to be consumed and then does nothing about it when she comes home smelling like booze?

What is so wonderful about teenagers knowing the names of drinking games?

And, Judge Kavanaugh, you were proud to remain a virgin until marriage, but nowhere in your study of Scripture was it obvious that drunkenness could lead to situations in which you might find yourself asking, “What did I do last night?”

Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has conflicts? Who has complaints? Who has wounds for no reason? Who has red eyes? [30] Those who linger over wine; those who go looking for mixed wine. [31] Don’t gaze at wine because it is red, because it gleams in the cup and goes down smoothly. [32] In the end it bites like a snake and stings like a viper. [33] Your eyes will see strange things, and you will say absurd things. [34] You’ll be like someone sleeping out at sea or lying down on the top of a ship’s mast. [35] “They struck me, but I feel no pain! They beat me, but I didn’t know it! When will I wake up? I’ll look for another drink.” [Pro 23:29-35 CSB]

Guilty or not, the elephant in the room is the foolishness of those who think alcohol played no part in this. It did – big time. And the footprints are trackable through the ruined lives who abused the stuff.

12 Comments

Filed under abuse, Alcohol, America, current events, politics, wisdom

Tagged as , , , , , ,

by | September 18, 2018 · 8:16 am

On Jost and Che: Thanking Jesus

The Emmys, etc.

I didn’t watch them.

I never do. I never watch any award shows.

I used to watch them – years ago – when they were actually funny and entertaining. Now they are nothing more than self-indulgent platforms for self-important people to slam normal people who actually make a difference in the world.

So, all I ever see from the modern awards shows, like the Emmy Awards, is what ends up on the news or viral YouTube clips.

I just don’t care.

The Jesus Joke

Then just this morning, all over the media news outlets, there came the clip from the Emmy Awards’ opening monologue from Colin Jost and Michael Che. Oh, it was hilarious! Not.

What made the news! Oh, nothing more than what has become the norm for those on the political and social left.

Michael Che (who is he, anyway?), a black man, joked that his mother wasn’t going to be watching the Emmys. Why? Because the winners on “white” award shows never thank Jesus for anything. He went on to say,

“The only white people that thank Jesus are Republicans and ex-crackheads.”

Photo: ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images

Funny. Really funny. Absolutely brilliant, original, creative comedy. NOT.

It’s just so easy to insult Christians, and that’s nothing new. For that matter, this whole story is nothing new; it’s been this way for years, now. It’s just becoming so common that the shock factor has completely worn off and even the atheists are getting bored.

And what’s also getting old is pointing out the fact that no joke, ever, not on their life, would be offered in the same way about Muslims. Nope. Never.

Because, odds are, no Christian or Republican who thanks Jesus for anything will hunt you down or pose a real terroristic threat to your next black-tie venue. Christians…those sheep who go silently to slaughter. Those Republicans…who never fight fire with fire.

Thanking Jesus

For the record, I am a Republican. I also thank Jesus for everything. However, I’m not an ex-crackhead – because I’ve never used crack. I am a sinner redeemed by grace, however.

But those “ex-crackheads” who are thanking Jesus might be worth listening to. Better than the drug addicts on stage, I would suppose.

And to all you Democrats out there, who do you thank? Have all the Jesus-thankers left your party?

I know Christian Democrats (I don’t understand them, but I know them), and I believe – unless I’m been deceived – they give thanks to Jesus.

I also know a lot of Republicans who are heathen, so…

Again, this is why I don’t watch this stuff; it’s stupid, offensive, and certainly not funny.

Thank Jesus I had better things to do.

 

8 Comments

Filed under America, Christianity, politics

Tagged as , , , ,

by | September 11, 2018 · 9:05 pm

Misunderstanding a Christian’s Patriotism

Based on the comments I’ve read in response to a previous post of mine, along with others across the social media spectrum, there seems to be a misunderstanding – even a mischaracterization – of mine and others’ patriotism.

Believe it or not (and some will refuse to), a Christian can love his country, even to the point of sacrificing his life, without turning it into an idol and worshipping it.

I love my country and believe in what the original framers envisioned this nation to be. I believe there’s never been a better Constitution, nor has there ever been a nation whose laws better reflected the fact that all men (and women and children) are created in the image of God and therefore intrinsically valuable and endowed with “certain unalienable rights.”

I believe that the American flag means a lot more than color on cloth and borders within borders.

I’m proud of the fact that the American soldier, despite the failures of policy and leadership, is the first to shed his own blood for the freedom of another, even the one that might hate him. And, yes, I see that as a “Christ-like” quality, but one that is endemic to a Christian ethic, not a parallel worth of deification.

But even though I love my country, I do not worship her. Even though I stand when the National Anthem is played, it’s not a creed I recite. Even though I salute the American flag and am greatly offended when it is disrespected or defaced, it is not an idol – it is not Nebuchadnezzar’s golden statue.

As He changes the seasons, so God “removeth kings, and setteth up kings” (Daniel 2:21). I worship Him. Before Jesus Christ, the Word of God made flesh, Emanuel (God with us), I bend my knee.

Nations come and go, but the Lord of lords and King of kings remains the same; it is He that I serve.

Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king. – 1 Peter 2:17

Don’t mischaracterize my patriotism: it’s not idol worship; it’s honor and familial love. But when this country and its founding documents have faded into the annals of history; when the only Old Glory still flying is over the old graves of citizens, His praise will be the only thing on my lips as I worship the Eternal King upon His throne.

I’m proud to be an American, but I’m a Christian first and foremost. Blue passport or not, I rejoice that my name is written in the Lamb’s book of life.

8 Comments

Filed under America, Christianity, Countries, politics

by | September 11, 2018 · 8:30 am

I Will Remember

Seventeen years have come and gone, and many have already forgotten what happened on September 11, 2001. But I won’t forget.

Not only will I not forget, I will choose to remember.

I will remember…

  • that freedom isn’t free, and there are those who want to steal it.
  • that Christ came “to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to [them that are] bound;” therefore America is never more “Christ-like” than when its people shed their blood for the freedom of others, whether they love us, or not.
  • that it wasn’t secularists, militarists, or a bunch of Baptist preachers who crashed four aircraft on that day, killing thousands.
  • the Byzantine Empire and Constantinople – they weren’t converted to Islam through peaceful conversion.
  • who is considered the “Great Satan” and what countries are truly religiously intolerant.
  • the heroes who went back into those buildings to rescue anyone they could.
  • the heroes who fought back and said, “Let’s roll!”
  • the heroes who go into harm’s way for freedom every day.
  • that America was founded by men who knew God; who recognized the hand of Providence; and who knew when to bow a knee and call to God for deliverance.
  • that we (and all freedom-loving people) are in a life-and-death struggle between opposing worldviews – a war. Losing can’t be an option.

I will also choose to remember, and not forget, that America, no matter its current faults and flaws, is made up of a people, who, when push comes to shove, will take the fight for freedom anywhere in the world. We will also defend it. That’s who we are.

God Bless America!

5 Comments

Filed under America, Culture Wars, the future, World View

by | August 18, 2018 · 8:08 am

If Trump Was Who They Claim

Before I get going on the list of things I need to do for this Saturday, including things like hang curtains, record a sermon for tomorrow’s radio broadcast, deliver cookies to every house on our “street of the week,” work on tomorrow’s sermon, and brush my teeth… I want to pen/type down a thought that’s been on my mind for a few days.

Photo credit: Pinterest

What if President Donald Trump was really the Hitler-esque dictator many on the left claim he is? What if he truly was as horrible of a man as the one who started the whole “Heil [Me]!” thing?

Oh, do you think I’m making this up? Do you think my accusation that the left wants to compare Trump to Hitler is hyperbole? Do this: google “Trump like Hitler,” then click on “images” in the toolbar. That should prove my point. The image to the right came from Pinterest.

Nevertheless, what if Trump was really like Hitler? How would things be different?

  • Instead of separating families at the border and keeping them in facilities with bedding, air-conditioning, and food, they’d all be killed at the border. Shot. Lined up, if caught, and mowed down like grass – children and all.
  • Every reporter from CNN, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, NBC, and the long list of newspapers, blogs, and television talks shows would be arrested, along with their families, taken to holding facilities, then eventually gassed, burned, worked to death, or just hanged or shot. No freedom of the press. No heckling Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
  • No Hollywood celebrities would have the freedom to curse the President in public or express how they’ve thought about burning down the White House (Madonna) and live to see the next day.
  • Every person of color (because Trump is supposed to be racist) would have all their possessions confiscated, themselves arrested, and they would be systematically eliminated in the most efficient ways modern technology would allow. No more uprisings…no more calls for the secession of Texas and California…no more marches… All would just be sent to the furnaces. Whole cities like Detroit and Baltimore would be ghost towns, just like all those little villages in Poland.
  • Same-sex marriage? Yeah, right. Remember, not only did Hitler attempt to eradicate the Jews, he had homosexuals put into concentration camps, too. No more parades in San Fransisco.
  • Religious freedom? Nope, none of that either. Not unless you worshipped Trump (of course you could worship God, but He would have to become a lesser god who also supported Trump). Anti-Nazi ministers were arrested, imprisoned, and killed, no matter their religion.
  • There would be no Americans with Disabilities Act, that’s for sure. Hitler called for the elimination of all handicapped persons, too. As a matter of fact, they were often used as guinea pigs for medical and science experiments. If Trump was Hitler, there would be no more need for Shriner’s hospitals, the March of Dimes, or any colored ribbon supporting any disability.
  • Essentially, those who say they live in fear of Trump would know a terror like they’ve never experienced.
  • Russian collusion? Hitler would do that? And make peace with North Korea? By now he would have nuked their butts and been done with it.
  • And here’s a really funny one… Moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem – like THAT would have been a Hitler-like move.
  • Oh, and all that taking a knee during the playing of the National Anthem stuff? Are you serious?

My point is this, folks: Donald Trump is not Adolph Hitler. Grow up.

This has been my politically-incorrect vent of the month … or quarter … or whatever.

2 Comments

Filed under America, current events, politics

by | July 18, 2018 · 7:00 am

ICPC In Review (Video Included!)

This post is going to be packed full of media, so I hope you can view it on a good computer or smartphone…

Last Week

It has been a week since my last post and I’m chomping at the bit to talk about all that’s gone on. However, for the sake of time (it’s nearly midnight at the time of this writing, and I have to out of the house by 7 a.m.), I will stick to one subject – my trip to the annual training seminar with the International Conference of Police Chaplains (ICPC) in Lexington, KY.

Below is a photo of me and the three other chaplains from our Sheriff’s Office who attended this year’s annual training seminar (ATS).

Myself and Chaplains Rich Payne, Allen Lindon, and Sergio Freeman (who is also a Chaplain with the Air Force and the US Secret Service)

I really didn’t know what to expect when I agreed to go to the ICPC training last week. I had never attended anything like it, but it was being paid for by our Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office and was needed for our department to meet certain government credentialing standards, so who was I to say “No”?

What I experienced was an event that was informative, encouraging, and challenging. Even though I have been a police chaplain for 3 years, most of the courses I had to take for my “basic” level of credentialing contained a lot I’d never learned from experience.

What the ICPC does is provide education and instruction to those who want to be or are already chaplains to law enforcement officers and the victims they serve. Police departments cannot pick and choose the faith traditions of those who want to serve as chaplains, and this training is not meant to promote one particular faith, either. The courses of instruction are designed to help the police chaplain do his job, regardless of denomination or faith.

For that matter, as a law enforcement chaplain, it’s not my primary job to promote my faith while performing the duties of the position. However, where I am able, I want to share the light of Christ in a very, very dark world most people never see. I’m very thankful that I got to fellowship with a lot of chaplains last week who were solid Christians and devoted followers of Jesus Christ, even though not all were in my particular denomination.

Below is a list of the 12 mandatory courses I attended over the 5 days of the seminar:

  • Explanation of the basic courses

    Intro to Law Enforcement Chaplaincy

  • Death Notification
  • Stress Management
  • Ceremonies and Events
  • Law Enforcement Family
  • Ethics
  • Confidentiality and Legal Liability
  • Responding to a Crisis
  • Substance Abuse
  • Suicide
  • Officer Death and Injury
  • Sensitivity and Diversity

I also took another course on how First-Responder Chaplains (which is what police chaplains are) can be used during riot situations, along with attending a larger group session dealing with “implicit bias.”

They Came from Everywhere!

While I walked around the convention center during the conference, I thought it would be cool to collect pictures of department patches. The following photo collection is only a portion of the police (and fire) departments that were represented at this international event. Some chaplains that attended (like myself) didn’t have dress uniforms to wear, so the following photos only tell part of the story.

The Video

In order to give you a little more insight into my week, I made a little video and posted it on YouTube. I hope you will take the time to watch it.

But before you do, I need to clarify a couple of things.

First, as you watch the video clips of the memorial service, it may seem odd that people stood up when the pictures of canine officers were shown, but not when the people were shown. Well, what actually happened was that whenever the officers of a particular state were shown, the people there from that state would stand up and hold up their blue “candle.” However, when the fallen police dogs were shown, they were shown after officers from other countries were shown, so the American Flag came up instead of individual states. That’s why all Americans stood at the same time.

Second, I left a very disturbing statistic out of the video, and I want to share it here. New numbers were released to us as we were at the conference, and those numbers were heartbreaking and sobering: 4 times more police officers die of suicide than those who die in the line of duty.

Did you get that? Besides having the highest divorce rates, police officers take their own lives four times more often than those who die while performing their duty!

If there was no other reason to do what I do, that’s reason enough.

If you want to do something different, why not consider volunteering to be a Police Chaplain where you are? There are risks, but the rewards are well worth it – and those you serve will thank you. #ICPC4cops.org

Click here to visit ICPC’s website.

1 Comment

Filed under America, community, ministry

Tagged as , , , , ,

by | July 5, 2018 · 6:30 am

July 4th, Chattanooga, Tennessee River

Last night I played bodyguard to my daughters Katie and Haley. They wanted to go downtown to walk around and take pictures before the fireworks, so I went with them…armed to the teeth 😉

Well, I’m sure their pictures from last night are much better, but here are a few I took from the Walnut Street Bridge. The drawbridge in the pictures is the Market Street Bridge.

The red, white, and blue mansion is the Hunter Museum. We passed by it as we walked back to the car, and right before it started pouring rain!

We love our city. We love our river. We love our country.

2 Comments

Filed under America, places

Tagged as , , ,