Category Archives: Uncategorized

by | October 31, 2010 · 11:14 pm

Do Your Duty…Vote…or NOT!

This Tuesday will be the day we go to the polls to vote.  Unless you were one who voted early, Tuesday will be the day you should do your public duty as a citizen of the United States.  VOTE!

But WAIT!!!  Do you know what you are doing?

Do you know who you are going to vote for?  If not, why? If you go to the polls November 2nd just so you can push a few buttons, or check off a few marks, what good did you do?  If you only go to fulfill a responsibility, without knowing any details, what kind of steward of this blood-bought gift are you?  If you don’t know the difference between liberty and liberalism, democracy and democrats, or socialism and social networking – DON’T VOTE!  Just stay home and watch Oprah or Dr. Phil.  When others are heading to the polls that evening, just veg out while you enjoy another episode of some cake-baking, tatoo-designing, dance-off competition.

For over 200 years men and women have been shedding their blood for the freedom we enjoy.

More will die to preserve it in the future, that is, if we still have freedom to defend.   In the last two years, and a little before, our freedoms have been as expendable as toilet paper.  The future of our nation is looking grim.  The rights afforded in the Constitution,  especially those in the First Amendment, are being destroyed for the sake of power and control, while the ignorant are enjoying the cheap door prizes.  If the uneducated, illiterate, uninformed and apathetic continue to vote for more government, all so that they can receive more “freebies” and food stamps, not to mention tax-payer funded health care, then blood was shed in vain.

Stay at home, ye who do not know what is going on.  Stay at home, all ye who voted just because we need “change” in the White House.  Stay at home all ye who said “anything is better than what we had.”  Please, for the love of God and country, STAY HOME!  Let the people who have strong ideals go vote.  Let the mature, the concerned, the alert, the forward-looking, the reader, the listener, the active citizen (as opposed to the apathetic moocher) go vote.  We know the importance of what we are doing and take it seriously.  We can handle the responsibility…Yes, we can!

People all over the world would, have, and will die for the opportunity to have what we have.

Take it seriously.  Make yourself a student, at least a “C” student, of what and Who made this country a “shining city on a hill.”  Read the Constitution.  Read the Bible.  Take responsibility for your own actions.  Know what the candidates truly stand for, then make a decision.  But if you’re wondering if it’s worth taking the time to drive to the poll…if you have to watch CNN right before you walk out the door to help you decide who to vote for…please, we’ll send you a “I Voted” sticker, just stay home.  It’s your patriotic duty.

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by | October 29, 2010 · 10:32 pm

Old Navy Smiles

 

It’s always great to meet nice people. This lady and I really hit it off this evening. We got along so well, and funny thing, my wife didn’t even mind that I was talking to her. Amazing!

You see, this just goes to show that you CAN go out in public and talk about the Lord without making people angry. This lady (I never got her name) was so gracious and kind. She let me talk and never tried to interrupt. All the while, she had such a pleasant spirit about her. I would bet she is a Christian.

By the way, as Annie would say, “You’re never fully dressed without a smile.” So, I will walk out of Old Navy wearing a smile, while at the same time happy I met a new friend and have a couple of new shirts. That means I nearly have a new wardrobe.

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by | October 28, 2010 · 11:22 am

When you hear the sound of the trumpet…

Last night I had the honor to participate in an event of community prayer.  I was invited to speak by Shelton Brown, a student at Soddy Daisy High School.  If you don’t know what happened, a whole bunch of people gathered together in the park to celebrate our right and freedom to pray, even though it was recently mandated that prayer be stopped before football games.  This meeting was organized by students who decided enough was enough.

In my closing remarks (I spoke for 7 1/2 minutes) I brought up the story of Nehemiah, specifically a part in chapter 4, verse 20.  Nehemiah, in response to threats from enemies intent on stopping them from rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem, set people on the wall as lookouts.   Being that the wall was big and spread out, and being that there were few people, Nehemiah came up with a plan.  He said :

The work is great and extensive, and we are separated far from one another on the wall.  Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there.  Our God will fight for us.”

To me, and I am just little ol’ me, there should have been a lot more people present last night.   Why?  A trumpet was sounded for the body of Christ to come to the aid of not only Soddy Daisy, but for all of Hamilton County.  An attack on our freedoms, as both Christians and Americans, has come to our soil.  Why is it that our schedules and programs and our own sections of the wall are more important than stopping the enemy somewhere else?

Last night was your typical “Wednesday night prayer meeting” night.  Besides the fact that prayer is rarely the object of attention at most of these meetings, what would have been wrong with jumping in the church bus and heading to where the trumpet was sounding?  Where there may have been 500+ at this event last night, there should have been 1-2000.  Why were they not there?  Because it was more important for local congregations to remain safe and snug in their own little sections of  “the wall.”  Here was a prime example of LEGALISM in action, for many did not want to participate in an event that featured speakers that weren’t of a particular denomination.  Here was a prime example of LAZINESS, for it may have been difficult to get people together to go somewhere on a weeknight, especially if it wasn’t to Ryan’s or the bowling alley.  Here was a prime example of DENIAL, PRIDE, and APATHY, for there were others that did not attend because they either didn’t think there’s a problem; it wasn’t their idea; or they just really didn’t care.  Folks, what has been “typical” needs to be trashed.

This past Sunday I told my congregation that I would be in Soddy Daisy on Wednesday night because a trumpet had been sounded.  I went to stand in the gap with my brothers and sisters that cared enough to make a public stand against the tyranny of a few over the wishes of the people.  In the future, when other trumpets are sounded,  I pray that the churches of our county and our country will rally together in defence of the few walls we have left in this nation that, for now, claims to be “under God.”

May our God truly fight for us, for we don’t seem to want to fight for oursleves.

…Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses. – Nehemiah 4:14

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by | October 11, 2010 · 1:29 pm

Atheists on Christianity

You know, I was just watching some videos of atheists firing all their best shots at Christians and the belief that there is a God. One such video that you could watch on YouTube is of a debate put on by ABC. The Christians were Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron, but I can’t (or don’t care to) remember the names of the others. If there was anything more evident than anything else, it was the snarky, condescending, teenager-ish, even (may I dare say) “b***hy” attitudes of the atheists.  Typical of people that hate being told what to do (just like juveniles that argues about everything, even when they know they’re wrong).  It really just made me sad.

Then I looked down at my shirt…

At this moment I am wearing a T-shirt that shows all of the more common, recognizable religious symbols of the world. In the middle is a cross, the symbol of Christianity. What a stark contrast to all the others is the cross. A symbol of death for crimes not committed. A symbol that used to stand for shame, but now for the One who bore our shame. He didn’t have to, you know. What other symbol represents that?  What other symbol offers forgiveness from the very One that suffered unjustly?  What other symbol cries out, “Agape!“

Atheism and all of its relatives are on the march, emboldened and encouraged by a world that wants to have it their own way. They are vicious and brash.  They have a chip on their shoulder because of all that “sinner” stuff, you see.  “Even if there is a God, who are you Christians to say you have the only way,” they ask.  But you know what, this isn’t Burger King, “this is my Father’s world.” His rules apply. He will have the final say. And, just like my shirt says, “every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father.”

Just say’n.  What say ye?

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by | September 23, 2010 · 11:52 pm

Does Divorce Disqualify?

I will never forget the phone call I got from a church in Rome, GA about 14 years ago. Someone on the other end of the line was part of a search committee looking for a new pastor.  They had gotten my resume and were impressed enough to give me a call.  Everything was going well until they asked a very pointed question, “Bro. Anthony, does your wife have a spouse that is still living?”  I responded with a cold, clinched-teeth, squinted-eye “Yes,…..ME.”  Unfortunately, this would not be the last time something like that happened.

What I encountered on the telephone that day was not unusual, nor unexpected; but it hurt.  You see, I had chosen to marry a woman who had been divorced, even against the wishes of our (then) pastor, who said marrying Valerie would “put the final nail in the coffin” for my ministry.  However, even knowing that many disagreed, we married, anyway.  I was aware of the Scripture (1 Tim. 3:2) being used, but I was also in the process of becoming free from the legalism that had bound me for so long…legalism that oozed with a self-righteousness that wanted to limit me based on another’s determination of my spirituality, not Biblical truth (and it didn’t hurt that the late Dr. Spiros Zodhiates gave his approval).

Let me be clear about a few things…

First,  I have never been divorced, so for me the whole argument of 1 Timothy 3:2 should be moot.  Second, my wife was abandoned and left with no choice but to divorce (she was the innocent party), and it happened before she was a believer.  Thirdly, her ex-husband remarried and divorced again before I even met her.  By all accounts, both she and I were clear from any “adultery” issues.  Also, I am the husband of one wife, and Scripture NEVER said “must be the husband of one wife who was the wife of one husband ever.”

What DOES Scripture say?

1 Timothy 3:2  “A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife...”  Also, verse 12 says, “Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife...”  The difficulty with these verses is not what is being said, but how it is interpreted.  Is Paul telling Timothy that in order to be a pastor or deacon or elder in a church, you must have only been married once?  Could it be possible that Paul is even saying that a man of God MUST have a wife, because being single would disqualify one from ministry?  These are things that have been debated for centuries.  Some believe that a pastor or deacon or elder should have never been divorced (or married to a divorcée) . Others believe that in order to be a proper leader, one must be married.  Still, many commentators believe that the proper rendering of the Greek is “one-woman man,” implying faithfulness and character over the number of wives.  What the Scripture says is one thing, but as William D. Mounce put it, “The Greek gives us a range of possibilities, but our theology is going to determine our interpretation.” (http://www.koinoniablog.net/2009/03/can-an-elder-be-divorced.html#comment-captcha)

I think there’s another way to look at it…

Take a look at 1 Timothy 3.  Read through verse 12.  The best I can figure is that there are between 16 and 17 qualifications for the bishop, and between 6 and 8 for the deacons.  All of these are preceded with a literal or an implied “must be,” as in “must be blameless,” or a “must have.”  How does this affect the argument that an elder must have only been married once, never remarried, or never divorced?  Well, think of any great pastor that you know of.  Think of any great man of God that has stood behind the pulpit and faithfully proclaimed the Word of God.  Has he always been blameless?  Has he always been on his best behavior?  Did he ever get drunk, covet, lose his patience, or curse his wife or children in anger?  Was he ever a novice, a beginner subject to pride? If so, then according to the logic of some, he should never be able to preach or lead in God’s church, for just as a man “must be the husband of one wife,” so he also must be “blameless, vigilent, sober, well-behaved, given to hospitality, patient, never greedy, and always in control of his house and children.”  Do you see it?  If your interpretation leads you to believe that the bishop must have only had one wife ever, then the same hermeneutic (the study of the principles of interpretation) should apply to the other “must be’s.”  “Must be the husband of one wife” = never divorced.  “Not a novice” = never been a beginner in the faith. Doesn’t make sense, does it?

1 Timothy 3:1-12 is in the present infinitive tense (i.e., must be / dei einai).  The requirements listed are ones that describe a man of character and faithfulness, of sobriety and gravitas; not a beginner or one untried and unproven.  What I see is a list of requirements that may not have always been present in a man, but should be NOW, after God has done a verifiable work in his life.  In other words, the Bible says a bishop “must be,” not “must have always been,” or “must have never done.”  Paul said, “and such were some of you:  but ye were washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” – 1 Corinthians 6:11

Here’s my point…

I believe that there are plenty of men and women (especially men) that are sitting back or hiding out because someone has convinced them that they are used up and un-usable.  For instance, I can think of men right now, who because of whatever reason, are divorced.  Yet these men, now Christians, are sold-out, God-fearing, faithful, Spirit-filled fathers and husbands with proven testimonies and unimpeachable character.  Sadly, however, because of mistakes made when they were young, unsaved, and stupid, they cannot serve as deacons, much less as pastors.  On the other hand, I can think of several pastors today who were once murderers, drug dealers, fornicators, extortioners, and abusers of mankind (gay, for those of you in Rio Linda).  They are accepted and given full reign as leaders in the church, but not the ones who were divorced.  So, like I said in a previous post…

if the Pharisee and the Publican sat down with a pulpit committee in the average Baptist church, which one do you think they would hire?

Answer:

Depends on which one “had a living spouse.”

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by | September 21, 2010 · 7:00 pm

Goodbye to a Family Friend

I don’t want to do it, but it must be done.

Why do some things that should be so simple have to be so hard?  What is a car?  Is it not just a machine?  Does it have personality?  Does it have feelings?  Well, when you have driven a care past 300,000 miles, you tend to question reality.  Seeing this car leave our family is going to be,  no it IS difficult.

Several years ago I actually took the time to look for a specific brand, model and year of car.  I wanted a 1994 Honda Accord EX.  After searching the car lots and the papers, one morning, when I first got to work in Clarksville, TN, I logged onto the local paper’s website.  There, for the first time listed, was a car meeting the exact specifications I was looking for.  What was better, it was a one-owner (garage-kept by a literal “old lady”), and the asking price was at least $1000 under value.  I was the first to call and said, “I will be right over.”

The little blue Honda has been through a lot with our family.  It has had me drive it to appointments while I was wearing a suit and tie.  It has endured me driving it all hours of the night while delivering pizza.  It has carried the sick.  It has raced to the aid of friends and relatives.  It has even carried the load once packed into a Ford Crown Victoria that broke down on the way to Chattanooga from Kentucky (I will never underestimate my wife’s ability to pack again).

With nearly 340k miles on the old car, and with another in the shop, we have decided to let this one go.  The possitive side of the story is that someone else is going to get some benefit from it.  I still has life in its engine.  It still

One last look inside (my legs look wimpy)

looks pretty good, too.  For that matter, I think that the 1994 Honda Accord was the prettiest body style that Honda ever came out with.  Even the newer Honda we have, a 2001 EX, is not as elegant.  As a matter of fact, the ’94 gets better milage.  I do like the V6 in the 2001, though.

I hate it when change comes, especially when it requires the loss of an old, faithful friend.  This little Honda has been as faithful as they come.  It has never given us any problems that didn’t come with just usual wear and tear.  It was literally the best investment I ever made.  So long little friend.  You will be missed.

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by | September 16, 2010 · 11:09 pm

Happy Birthday to Me!

A whole lot has gone on this year.  I have had a few serious health scares.  My wife, Valerie has had more than her share of health scares.  Our girls have had difficulties, and even our dogs have had problems.  Man, it has been interesting.  But one thing I can do it genuinely celebrate the fact that I have gotten older.  I lived one more year.

September 17, 1967, was when I was born.  As I described it to a kid on the bus yesterday, “I was born before Austin Powers got transported in time.”  I really don’t know if she understood what I was talking about.  Anyway, Iwas born in the 60’s.  I put it another way a couple of years ago when I was speaking to a Vietnam veterans group in Soddy Daisy, TN.  I said, “When you were ‘in country,’ I was ‘in womb.'”  Fortunately, they actually got it and thought it was funny.  Good thing…they could have killed me, unlike the 10 year old.

Now, I have gotten some cool things for my birthdays over the years, thanks to loving parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, girlfriends, friends, co-workers, and other assorted associations.  But I can’t think of anything more cool, more fun, or more seriously (did I say) cool than a new 4G iPhone.  I have actually entered the most sophisticated, up-to-date, high-tech world of modern gadgetry.  Best of all, it is a brand new phone; not one handed down from somebody else who decided to upgrade, but felt sorry for me.  Who can I thank for this work of Apple art?  My lovely wife and children (and who knows, maybe even my son-in-law).

I am 43.  I won’t be long before I am 50.  Before I die there are several things that I would like to do at least once.  There are a few things that I would

like to do again.  One thing that I would like to do is drive a 67 fastback Ford Mustang again, one like I use to have.  I can still smell it.  I can still remember the feel.  Of course, I can still also remember rolling over several times in it, all the while praying to God “please don’t let me die!”  Anyway, I would love to drive one again, if not own one.

Another vehicle I would love to own again, or at least drive, would be a 68 F100 like my dad used to have.  That was a REAL truck.  I don’t see how the new ones even hold a candle to it.  When my dad was still alive, we used to imagine a perfectly restored 68 F100 pulling a scary, mean, black-on-black (like mine was) 67 Fastback on a trailer to a car show.  Now that kind of setup would cost as much as a house.  Oh well.  I can still dream, though.

Well, at least I have my family that loves me.  And even though I don’t have the truck and the car, I have a dang cool phone.  I have nothing to complain about.  Happy birthday to me!

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by | September 16, 2010 · 12:38 pm

Local Bus Driver Injured, and You Won’t Hear About It

The Average School Bus

It is dangerous being a school bus driver these days.

For the last two days, in the Hixson, Tn area, there has been a driver that has had to put up with fights on his bus.  This morning he was actually injured.  The students that caused his injuries were students who have been written up for past offenses, but were still riding that route.  Actions are being taken to try to get another driver and another bus to service that particular stop, but the students, or at least the students not arrested (if any of them were, I don’t know), will still be receiving transportation.

There are so many reasons for why all this is going on.  One reason is the fact that the students that are causing trouble are from families that have no control over their children, nor accept responsibility.  Another reason is that the children have no respect for authority, no fear of consequences, and respect for themselves.  The real immediate problem, however, is the inability of the bus drivers to discipline students in any way, nor put these dangerous, anti-social students OFF the bus.  Literally, the driver’s hands are tied  – tied, that is, to the steering wheel.  The only thing they can do is defend themselves when attacked, but even that is subject to legal issues.

There are many people, if not most, that think it is a right to ride a school bus.  It is NOT a right; it is a PRIVILEGE!  Children are required by law to attend school (or home school), but students are not guaranteed the right to ride a bus, especially if they are making life miserable for everyone else, disobeying rules, or hurting people.  Sadly, certain groups of people have a problem with thinking that they are “owed” certain rights based on their economic status, location, or ethnicity.  The fact is that buses in Hamilton County are owned by a company, not the county, and drivers work for this company, not the tax payer.  As a company, it reserves the right to decide who it will, and won’t allow to ride it’s buses.  Now, the contract between the company and the county may make certain exceptions, based on law, but no student is above the law, nor has the right to ride regardless of his actions.

Another problem that exists in Hamilton County is that bus drivers are required to handle everything that goes on on their buses and still drive.  What is a driver supposed to do when he is driving in the dark hours of the morning with 60-80 kids?  How is he/she expected to deal with trouble starting and try to drive at the same time.  It is hard, believe me.  Other states require that another person ride with the driver so that the driver can do his job of keeping the bus on the road.  That is not the case here; only with special needs (small bus)  routes.

I think that there should be an outcry on behalf of those that literally put their lives on the line to transport the most valuable cargo in the world – our children.

As school bus drivers, we should be able to protect and defend ourselves without fear of law suites, but we should also be able to defend and protect the students put in our trust.  When we are not allowed to do anything other than talk to and warn kids, or write them up, many more drivers and students are going to get hurt by gang members, hoodlums, and spoiled rich kids.  Sadly, again, it is the law that protects those who are causing so much trouble.  What’s the answer?  Get the laws changed and allow the brave men and women who transport our children to have more say-so in who is allowed to ride.  That would be a start, at least.

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by | September 14, 2010 · 10:34 pm

You Don’t Have to be Perfect to be Used

So, a Pharisee and a Publican walk into…let’s just say…a  search comittee meeting…

You know the story of the Pharisee and the Publican, don’t you? Jesus told the story, as recorded in Luke 18:10-11

“Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.”

Imagine that instead of the temple, they walked into a search committee meeting.   A meeting of people designated with the task of finding, let’s say, a new pastor for a church (at least that’s the way we do it in the Baptist denomination).   They walk in, introduce themselves, compare resumes, and one gets the job.  Which one?  The one that fits the picture of what every Christian fit for service should be – perfect.

Sunday night I shared with my congregation that God doesn’t just use perfect people, but people who have made mistakes, REAL people.  But sadly, within the church today, there are many men and women who have felt inferior and useless because of  sinful and broken pasts.  They are the people who sit on the pews, week after week, doing all they can to be faithful in life, but are forbidden to hold positions in the church.  They are much like the Publican, men and women who know they have failed before, but want to be forgiven and start new.  They are not the ones that look down on others for mistakes they’ve made.  They’re not Pharisees.

Have you ever considered how dysfunctional the characters of Genesis were?

I read through the book of Genesis last week in a couple of sittings.  Reading a book of the Bible that way, especially in a different translation, can help you see the story from a new perspective.  This time I was just astounded at how messed up these people really were!  There was so much “stuff” going on that if it were today, it would make an episode of Jerry Springer, or TrueTV look tame!  Consider, if nothing else, the sad story of Jacob, Leah, and Rachel.  This was a seriously messed up family with real marital problems.  At one point, Leah and Rachel get into a jealous argument over a son’s mandrakes.  Just imagine you were a marriage counselor and listened in to the following story…

Reuben went out during the wheat harvest and found some mandrakes in the field.  When he brought them to his mother, Leah, Rachel asked, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”  But Leah replied to her, Isn’t it enough that you have taken my husband?  Now you also want my son’s mandrakes?”

“Well,” Rachel said, “you can sleep with him tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.”  When Jacob came in from the field that evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come with me, for I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.”  So Jacob slept with her that night. – Geneses 30:14:16 HCSB

Twice Abraham told other people that his wife, Sarah, was his sister so that he would not be harmed.  Joseph’s brothers hated him and sold him to traveling salesmen.  Jacob and Esau were seriously at odds.  Leah, poor thing, kept trying to have children so that her husband, Jacob would love her.  Jacob’s father-in-law, Laban, got him drunk on his wedding night and gave him the wrong wife – on purpose.  The son’s of Jacob (founders of ten of the tribes of Israel) lied to a bunch of men about making a covenant, then proceeded to slaughter all of them after they had convinced them to be circumsized.  It just goes on and on.  Messed up, I am telling you!

Nevertheless,

God told Abraham in Genesis 12:2-3  “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”  How is this even possible?  If God can use Abraham and his family with all their problems to bless the nations, then He can SURELY use ANYBODY!

Check in next time, and I will continue my thoughts on this subject.  I will be addressing the legalistic applications of 1 Timothy 3, the portion of Scripture most likely used to keep the Pharisees in the pulpit, and the Publicans in the pews.

Here’s a teaser: should divorce keep one from serving as deacon or pastor?

Tell me what YOU think.


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by | September 11, 2010 · 1:22 pm

Heaping Coals, Instead of Burning Korans

Being that it is in the news everywhere, I couldn’t help but weigh in on this story.

Has anyone ever stopped to ask, “Why are we so worried about what Pastor Terry Jones does?”  Sure, there have been many, from Franklin Graham to President Obama, who have stated their opinions.  People in the news all the world over have commented about it saying, “Nothing good can come of this…” and all that.  The main reason that is stated by Christians is that this Florida pastor, by burning Korans, will not only incite violence, but turn people away from Christ.  The “Christians” say that this pastor is not acting according to Scripture.  Maybe.

I would like to submit that the real reason that most people are against this pastor burning Korans in public, which he has a right to do, is because they are AFRAID!  Did you read what I just said? People are AFRAID of what Muslims, the “peaceful” people, will do.  Now, would someone tell me, prior to 9/11, would this have been an issue?

It seems to me that terrorism is winning, and winning big!

Why is it that Terry Jones is/was wanting to burn the Koran?  The reason probably rests in the desire to see some resolution to the inequity in the world.  Just recently I showed to my congregation the video, Obsession – Radical Islam’s War Against the West, in which there were multiple scenes of Muslims burning American flags, crosses, etc., and speaking publicly of how Christians, Jews, and anyone else that differs with them are just “cattle.” In one of the scenes there was an Islamic group standing in New York City, speaking English, proving their loyalty to the Qua-ran and Islam by walking on an American flag and saying, “Allah Akbar!”  Not one person did a thing to stop them.  But could you even imagine the opposite happening?  Death and mayhem would take place, not just on the streets of New York, but all over the world.  So it’s ok to burn a Bible, but not a Koran.  RIIIGHT!

Protesting in Afghanistan

Protests have taken place all over the world over the POTENTIAL burning of Korans at the Florida church.  Nothing had even happened, yet people were rioting, burning stuff, threatening to kill.  Where are the protests, the riots, the murders, the fires of destruction when crucifixes were dipped in urine (see picture at left) by Andres Surrano and called art?  Did Catholics march through Rome burning American flags?  Did Baptists burn art studios?  When Christians did speak out in this country over the funding of such art with tax dollars, the media accused the Christians of being bigoted and incapable of “understanding true art.”  What happens when a cartoonist just draws a picture of Mohammed? Oh, well, cutting his head off is the only logicgal thing for “peace-loving” people to do.  Just doesn’t seem too fair, does it?

So, you see, Pastor Terry Jones is feeling the frustration that comes with seeing others do things that offend you, but never being allowed to speak out.  If everything was fair, Christians should be able to burn Korans just as easily as Jihadists can cut of the heads of people they don’t agree with (Kaafir).

But let me be fair, there are, supposedly, Muslims who do not believe in what the so-called “radicals” are doing.  The don’t believe in terrorism.  They hate what happened on 9/11.  They say that the Koran is being misused in order to justify killing.  For example, here are some verses from the Koran:

(Qur’an 60:7-8):

“It may be that God will grant love (and friendship) between you and those whom ye (now) hold as enemies. For God has power (over all things), and God is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

God does not forbid you, with regard to those who fight you not for (your) faith nor drive you out of your homes, from dealing kindly and justly with them: for God loves those who are just.”

(I don’t want to sound like a pessimist, but really, does not the Muslim world consider us as those who “DO fight you for your faith, and DO fight you for your homes?“)

The fact is that most of the world runs in fear at the thought of offending a Muslim, but Christians can be made fun of at every turn.  Islam is on the rise, and it is primarily because FEAR that they are able to grow.  Even if there are “peaceful” Muslims around us, their sympathies still lie with their brethren, and few will stand up and condemn groups such as Hamas, the PLO, etc.  The average Muslim, whether he likes it or not, is benefiting from terrorism in its purest form.  The world, including America, is changing its habits, beliefs, and customs, not to mention the Constitution, in order to placate a TERRORIST religion.

Well, back to Terry Jones.  Does he have the right to burn the Koran? Yes, he does.  Should he?  I don’t think so.  The reason for not doing it should not be based in fear, though.  The reason for not doing it should be based on the Bible.  Not a Bible of milk-toast, wimpy, cowering Christianity; but a Bible filled with the courage of Christ.  Jesus was the MOST offended of all people.  He came to love and to save the lost, but they mocked and crucified Him.  He, of all people, could have poured out unspeakable horrors upon the earth in a matter of seconds, calling ten thousand angels to His defense.  However, He did not.  He knew that His purpose had to be completed, to die for sinful man, so that those who “know not what they do” could be saved.

Even though we have the right to be angry and demand justice, we should show Biblical love.

Ephesians 5:1-2 tells us to “be imitators of God, as dearly loved children. And walk in love, as Christ also loved us and gave Himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God.”   And as verse 15 says, we should “pay careful attention” to how we walk, “because the days are evil.”  Fact is, people of the world, including Muslims, are watching us.  Even though Satan would blind their eyes to the Truth of the Gospel, they can still see the love of Christ when it is expressed through the life of a Christian.  Admittedly, giving up our right to respond to injustice, as with burning the Koran, might seem unfair, but doing such things, just to make the other side angry, defeats the command of Romans 12:14, “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.”  Further more, verse 17 says, “Do not repay anyone evil for evil.”

Burning the Koran is either an act of revenge, or an attempt at justice.

I would say to all of those like Pastor Jones that I understand your frustration and pain, not to mention your anger at obvious inequities in what is considered fair and just.  But to intentionally provoke, knowing the consequences, would be stirring up unnecessary strife in an already troubled world.  There may come a time when one can no longer “turn the other cheek,” but Romans 12:18 tells us, “whenever it is possible, live at peace with all men…”  What is the reason for this?  Because as verse 19 says, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.”   The best thing that we can do in this world to reach the lost, including the Muslim, is to love them.  Granted, that may be easier said than done.  On the other hand, consider God knows what He is doing, and He makes a promise that is found both in Proverbs and in Romans 12:20-21:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him.  If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. For in doing so you will be heaping fiery coals on his head.  Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.”

Maybe, instead of burning Korans, we should be “heaping coals.”


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