For the Glory of God through Godly Families

Posts Tagged "issue"

Thoughts on Political Satire

Posted by on Sep 18, 2008 in Culture | 1 comment

Boy, it’s political season, isn’t it?!?

Recently, we’ve been dealing with the issues related to a former employee who made the news with his “political satire” that many found in bad taste. It’s got me thinking about what should be the proper approach of a Christian to these matters? How far should a Christian go with his or her disagreements with politicians and efforts to support a particular candidate? These are tough questions and as an American participation in the political process is an important right and privilege. 
But I was making my way through 1 Peter in our family Bible studies and came across some very helpful principles that I think have relevance. They come from 1 Peter 2:11-17 (emphasis mine):
11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
13 Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, 14 or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. 15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. 16 Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. 17 Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.

As I read through these verses, I couldn’t help seeing the importance of recognizing that as Christians, we are not citizens of America first, but are citizens of a heavenly kingdom and we represent a much higher name. We are sojourners and exiles in this world. Notice the motivation that is emphasized for these commands: our actions should cause others to glorify God and we should do it for the Lord’s sake. See our actions get associated with Christ if we bear the name Christian.
So, what does the world today associate with the name Christian? Unfortunately, for too many I think the primary association is with the “religious right” as a movement of the Republican party. Is that really the association we want people to have with the name of Christ? I’m planning to vote for McCain this year, but the Republicans are wrong on a whole lot of stuff.
I think the warning to not use our freedom as a cover-up for evil is particularly relevant. Peter is exhorting people to honor everyone, including the emperor. And oh, by the way, Peter was writing from Rome and the emperor was a guy named Nero. 
So, my prayer is not that Christians will remove themselves from the political process. That would be a horrible wrong move. But, I pray that evangelical Christians will see themselves as representing something larger than the Republican Party and instead begin to think about how their actions reflect on the name of Christ. 
Let’s work harder to make sure that the world sees our actions and gives glory to our Father in Heaven.

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Recent Discovery: Couples heading to Isolation

Posted by on Jul 3, 2008 in Culture, Marriage, Ministry | 0 comments

The folks at the Wall Street Journal have a scoop for you. It seems that marriages in our culture may be heading toward isolation instead of oneness. Really.
In an article yesterday entitled “More Couples Find Marriage Leaves Them Alone Together,” Sue Shellenbarger reports that a recent study, “first documented last year in a major long-term study of marriage, is drawing attention to the need to shore up emotional ties between spouses.”
Too bad they haven’t been to FamilyLife’s Weekend to Remember, eh? We could have told them about that in the first session of a conference that began in 1976. Unfortunately, they’re still heading to the wrong conclusions. “Emotionally focused therapy” is not the answer. The truth of Scripture is.
What folks like this totally miss is that marriage was God’s idea and he designed it to work a certain way. Among other things, it’s a pointer for us to unconditional, unselfish love that God has for us. So, if we’re not living in a way that will illustrate His point, there’s going to be problems. End of story. But if we’re willing to crucify self and give ourselves up for our spouses, there’s hope.
WSJ, I’ve got a story for you….

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Flush with cash, Planned Parenthood aggressively expanding

Posted by on Jun 26, 2008 in Culture, Ministry | 0 comments

That’s the theme of a recent Wall Street Journal article that outlines how Planned Parenthood is expanding their reach into the upper and upper-middle class with new locations and marketing designed to appeal to the more affluent. The article, which you can read at WSJ.com, tells how they are rebranding their clinics with “muted lighting, hardwood floors, and airy waiting rooms in colors selected by marketing experts.”
(rant on)
Planned Parenthood alone now performs nearly 290,000 abortions a year! Reading this simply made my heart sink and made me angry that Planned Parenthood finds themselves “flush with cash.” Especially knowing that about a third of its estimated $1 billion budget comes from government grants.
You know, whether you support us in our fight for Godly families, or you support other extensions of the hand of God, I just encourage you to do all you can to make sure that the fight for life is as well funded as the fight for the right to kill.
(rant off)

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Impact of Cohabitation

Posted by on Nov 15, 2007 in Culture | 0 comments

With cohabitation on the rise and many expecting marriage to become largely a thing of the past, check out this post from the FamilyLife Culture Watch blog. Click on the title to access it.

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Pray for Persecuted Christians in Myanmar

Posted by on Nov 14, 2007 in Prayer | 0 comments

The Myanmar government (formerly Burma) has apparently instituted a policy to seek to “Destroy the Christian Religion in Burma” according to a leaked government document. You can read about it in this article at Christianity Today. Certainly based on word from some of my fellow church-members who’ve traveled there many time, conditions are very adverse.
It’s important that from the comfort of our American culture we don’t forget to pray for our brothers and sisters in other parts of the world who aren’t so comfortable.

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