PLUS

Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Colossians 3:23 “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men”

Matthew 10:32-33 “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.”

II Timothy 3:16 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.”

In recently reading Eric Metaxas’ book on stalwart Christian and slavery abolitionist William Wilberforce, “Amazing Grace,” I came across the interesting thought that described the errant counter-argument in this way:

“In the thick of the battle for abolition, one of its many dedicated opponents, Lord Melbourne, was outraged that Wilberforce dared inflict his Christian values about slavery and human equality on British society. ‘Things have come to a pretty pass,’ he famously thundered, ‘when one should permit one’s religion to invade public life.’ … how very glad we are that one man led us to that pretty pass, to that golden doorway, and then guided us through the mountains to a world we hadn’t known could exist.”

Shortly after reading that book and this quote, I read Charles Krauthammer’s book, “Things That Matter.” He shared related thoughts on abortion and other moral issues from 1990:

“It is particularly hypocritical for liberals to profess outrage at the involvement of the Catholic Church in this political issue, when only a few decades ago much of the civil rights and antiwar movements was run out of the churches. When Martin Luther King Jr. invoked scripture in support of his vision of racial equality and when the American Catholic Bishops invoked Augustine in their pastoral letter opposing nuclear deterrence, not a liberal in the land protested that this constituted a violation of the separation of church and state.”

The humanistic world around us would love to exclude moral and religious arguments from the public dialogue when they disagree with their conclusions. It is a trick from their old playbook, and we must not be swayed by their hypocritical logic. After all, moral and religious arguments ended slavery and secured civil rights. These same tools can free us from reckless and unmitigated secular stranglehold that is ruining our society today.

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO UTILIZE THE POWER OF SCRIPTURE TO ARGUE FOR RIGHT AND RIGHTEOUS POLICIES IN SOCIETY TODAY. We must not fall for the tricks of secular hypocrisy.

Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Matthew 16:24-26 “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after men, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”

As a perfect parlay to the thoughts of Police Lieutenant General Binag from last week’s PLUS post, please consider this thought from fiery eighteenth-century preacher Jonathan Edwards:

“In worldly concerns, men discern their opportunities, and are careful to improve them before they are past. The farmer is careful to plough his ground and sow his seed in the proper season. When the harvest is come, he will not sleep away the time, or the crop will soon be lost. How careful and eagle-eyed is the merchant to improve opportunities to enrich himself? How apt are men to be alarmed at the appearance of danger to their worldly estate! O how they stir themselves in such a case to avoid the threatened calamity! But if we consider how men generally conduct themselves in things on which their wellbeing infinitely more depends, how vast is the difference. In these things, how cold, lifeless, and negligent most are. How few among the multitudes are wise!”

In temporal and tangible things, we are almost always discerning, careful, alert, and eagle-eyed. In eternal and spiritual things, we are often cold, lifeless, and negligent. It is an insult to God and a horrid reflection of our prevailing worldliness even though our wellbeing infinitely more depends on the latter than the former. It must not be so!

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO FOCUS ON THE ETERNAL AND THE SPIRITUAL OVER THE TEMPORAL AND THE TANGIBLE. It is on the eternal and the spiritual that our wellbeing infinitely more depends.

ADMIN: The Jonathan Edwards quote came from “Voices from the Past: Puritan Devotional Readings” edited by Richard Rushing.

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”

II Timothy 2:3-5 “Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life: that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a solider. And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully.”

Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

In his book, “44 Days of Faith and Valor: A Warrior’s Daily Devotional,” Police Lieutenant General Cesar Hawthorne R. Binag writes the following:

“As soldiers, dutiful obedience should be second nature to us. It’s ironic that some of us Christians in the military or police don’t have a problem with obeying our (human) officers and commanders; yet we refused to obey God. We obey our commanders because they can punish us – make us do push-ups or cancel our VOCO passes which allow us to go outside the camp for leisure and other reasons.

How low, therefore, is our view of God; and how little our respect for Him is when we fear our officers more than we fear Him: when we would not dare disobey our officers’ orders but would blatantly disobey His Word and instructions in the Bible.”

General Binag points out a great flaw in the thinking of a Christian solider that applies to all of us. We are regularly tempted to place everything else as a priority above the Lord, especially those things whose immediate nature seemingly drowns out the eternal nature of the things of God. We so easily forget that God’s thoughts towards us are directed towards His long-term plans and are filled with glory, peace, and grace. For that we should be immensely and eternally grateful.

We often entangle ourselves with the affairs of this life, tending to the things of this world instead of the things that far outlast this world, and it must not be so!

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO ALWAYS PRIORITIZE THE LORD OVER ALL OTHER SOURCES OF AUTHORITY. That type of dutiful obedience is what He deserves and what our loyalty should demand.

I Corinthians 10:31 “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”

Colossians 3:23-24 “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.”

Today we celebrate Veteran’s Day, honoring those brave men and women who have sacrificially served our great nation. It is a fitting day to thank all whose selflessness led them into the military on our behalf. It is a special day that intentionally falls on the anniversary of the end of World War I in 1918 – the 11^th hour of the 11^th day of the 11^th month.

Yet, there is an interesting historical convergence about this date that encourages and challenges me every year. It prompts me to think about a group of brave individuals going back to 1620 – veterans who braved the treacherous 66-day journey across the rugged northern Atlantic Ocean to come to the new world. On November 11th, these pilgrims found themselves within the safety of Cape Cod. Before setting foot on dry ground, realizing that there would come strong pressures that could divert them from their primary mission, they codified their mission statement in our nation’s first constitution – the Mayflower Compact. It was a document that bound them together with common purpose, mutual protection, and civil order.  The main body of this document stated:

“Having undertaken, for the Glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith and honor of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the Northern parts of Virginia, do by these presents, solemnly and mutually, in the presence of God, and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic; for our better ordering, and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the colony; unto which we promise all due submission and obedience.”

These American forefathers, at the outset of their foundational document, made their purpose clear – bringing glory to God and advancing the Christian faith.  They were not bashful about declaring that purpose, using those important words as the reliable basis for their society and to carry them successfully through the tough times that they would face in the days, weeks, months, and years ahead. Their focus on such a faithful common purpose allowed them to endure and thrive amidst their challenges.

PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICAN CHRISTIANS WOULD USE SUCH A COMMON PURPOSE TO ENDURE AND THRIVE IN THE CHALLENGING WORLD IN WHICH WE LIVE. It was a glorious undertaking in 1620, and could be so again today!

John 1:1-5 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In his was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.”

John 8:12 “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”

John 9:4-5 “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

Matthew 4:14-16 “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

Off of Interstate 15, near the border of California and Nevada, sits a huge solar power facility that starkly contrasts with the rugged desert floor. Over 170,000 mirrors reflect the desert sunlight onto 3 large towers that transform concentrated light and heat energy into electrical power.

A quick glance at the tops of the towers is blinding, causing the same temporary loss of vision that comes with an errant quick glimpse of the sun. Interestingly, though, there is an important fundamental difference. The sun is the source of the light, while the towers are simply a concentrated set of intentionally pure and carefully aimed reflections of that light. One is the source while the other is a byproduct of the source. Nevertheless, even the byproduct can be powerful when its reflection is pure and its aim is right!

Jesus is the source of light in this world. He has given us the charge and the power to reflect His light, to be the byproducts of the source. Nevertheless, even the byproduct can be powerful when its reflection is pure and its aim is right!

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO PROPERLY REFLECT THE LIGHT OF CHRIST INTO OUR DARK AND DISMAL WORLD. May our lives be like a solar concentrator for Christ.