I read a lot of things that bless my heart and some things that break my heart. I just finished reading an article that did the latter–another case of a fallen preacher, the pastor of one of the largest churches in the world, an independent Baptist church. He was dismissed by the church “due to a sin that has caused him to forfeit his right to be—pastor”. We now know what that sin was, but I am not going to mention it or his name. But I do want to say something that might bring some good out of this tragedy.

As I read the sad story, I couldn’t help but think about all the people who have been and will be affected by this man’s sin. Thousands upon thousands have been hurt, a marriage might be destroyed, a church and a college have been crippled because of it, and Christianity as a whole has been given another black-eye. The enemies of Christ are having a field day with it, as you would expect.

Sin would be bad enough if no one but the guilty party was hurt by it, but that’s never the case. When we sin we always hurt others. We grieve God and, in some way hurt others. We need to think about that the next time we’re tempted to yield to some temptation. Here’s something else we ought to remember. In nearly every instance you can see it coming. For example, when the Bible says, “Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall”(Proverbs 16:18) and you observe pride in a person, you can predict what lies ahead. You might not know what the nature of the sin will be, but it’s just a matter of time until his pride takes him into sin, sin that brings about a fall and destruction.

Not only is that true in regards to others, it is true of us as well. It is for that reason that we should be constantly examining ourselves, ever looking for the tale-tell signs of sin. And since pride is in some way associated with every sin, we should be especially on guard against it. By the way–one of the first signs of pride is the attitude that says, “I would never do that!”. Those who think like that are in grave danger (1 Cor. 10:12). Assuming you are better, smarter, or stronger than others is a fool’s game, an indicator that you are on dangerous ground. What happened to others could happen to you, or me.

Having been in that church and familiar with it for over 40 years, and familiar with the man involved, I knew in my heart that things would not end well. I could see it coming and it did— now if I can only be as careful in examining myself, and guarding my own heart, by the grace of God I can avoid the failure in my life. It is to that end that I pray. Think about it!

As we face the challenges of living in a corrupt and confused world many folks are scrambling to find answers, advice, guidance, and encouragement. They read everything they can find related to the things that interest or trouble them. However, a great many people are uninformed or misinformed. Some even thing they have it all figured out, even though they are ignorant of the truth and usually very intolerant of those who disagree.

Chances are, if you’re reading this, you are a well-informed Christian. You love God and country and are a Bible- believer. If that’s the case, God wants to use you. God has given you a voice and we all have a circle of influence– family and friends, people we come into contact with on a regular basis. God wants you to reach them and teach them–not always an easy job. Yet it is of great importance.

Many issues are far too important for us to just sit back in silence and let nature take its course. We are to be salt and light to the world around us. We must speak out! Considering the condition of our country and the position of those without Christ why wouldn’t we? How could we not speak out? Why would we remain silent? You’ve heard it said,”Silence is golden”, yes, but sometimes it is cowardly! Worse than that, silence in a time of crisis is sinful.

The Bible tells us that we “should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints”(Jude 3). We have a Divine mandate to make our voices heard. I’m not talking about ranting and raving, arguing rudely, often without any facts, to win people over to our preferences. I’m talking about “speaking the truth in love”(Eph. 4:15) from a kind heart of genuine concern for others, and using the Bible as the basis for our counsel.

We won’t win everyone over to the side of truth, but we will reach some. Even if our efforts seem to fail, God will bless them in some way. Speaking out is the right thing to do and God always blesses faithfulness. It might be in ways we cannot see, but make no mistake about it, your effort will be rewarded—God has promised.

Don’t expect things to change for the better unless you are willing to make your voice heard. You can bet the other side isn’t going to remain silent, neither should we. Christian values are being attacked on every side and we shouldn’t just sit back and take it, appearing to have no answers for their foolish arguments. I was greatly encouraged to see the response to “Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day”. Thank God for those who said “We’re not going to take it anymore. We’re going to stand on the side of truth and against those things that are wrong”. Now let’s keep up the good work of speaking out. We have what could be the most important election in our history as a nation coming up and there’s a lot that needs to be said. You can make a difference, one person at a time, but you must speak out. I believe you will. It won’t always be easy and it will never be popular, but it is our duty to make the truth known. May God help us to not fail!

Our nation has changed and is changing so drastically that you can hardly recognize it. Do a comparison– put our constitution, legal documents, testimonies from our founding fathers, and history on one side of the page, then put a description of current events on the other side. They are two entirely different things. We are being, or should I say “have been”, destroyed from within without a shot being fired! The article below is a good example of our bad situation:

Chicago Plays Chicken With Christians

By George Neumayr, July 27, 2012

The Obama Left places believing Christians in the same moral category as racists. The bullying has escalated to the point that prominent liberal mayors, such as Chicago’s Rahm Emanuel, now openly say that Christians are unworthy of even running a fast food chain in the public square.

“Chick-fil-A’s values are not Chicago values. They’re not respectful of our residents, our neighbors and our family members. And if you’re gonna be part of the Chicago community, you should reflect Chicago values,” said Emanuel, backing alderman Joe Moreno’s goal of preventing the chicken restaurant from opening its doors in the Logan Square neighborhood.

This is a stunning doubling down in the left’s war on Christianity by a prominent Democrat. Emanuel, Obama’s former chief of staff, has in effect told the religious across the country, in an election year no less, that traditional Christian values are not American values.

Obama supporter Tom Hanks once said that opponents of gay marriage in California were “un-American,” but Emanuel’s comment spells this view out even more explicitly. The dictatorship of relativism, to borrow Pope Benedict XVI’s phrase, has never been more cocky. Apparently, Americans must not only learn to live under the amoral style of “Chicago politics” but also under the in-your-face secularism of “Chicago values.”

A less biased press would see great significance in Emanuel’s thuggish phrase. But since reporters sympathize with the Left’s war on Christianity, and since Mitt Romney shows little to no interest in engaging Obama on non-economic matters, this remarkable outburst will not get the attention it deserves. Has the culture really changed so quickly and dramatically that a position held by many Democrats, including the president, just months ago — a position ratified by the people in over thirty states — can be the grounds for depriving a chicken restaurant chain from operating in major American cities?

Emanuel has been joined by Boston mayor Thomas Menino in this get-the-hell-out-of-my-city message to Christians. “In recent days you said Chick-fil-A opposes same-sex marriage, and said the generation that supports it has an ‘arrogant attitude,'” Menino wrote to the company’s top executive in Atlanta. “Now — incredibly — your company says you are backing out of the same-sex marriage debate. I urge you to back out of your plans to locate in Boston.”

All of this tough talk is dished up with the usual irony-oblivious prattle about tolerance and freedom. No one is more intolerant than a “tolerant” liberal. It has been reported that Menino didn’t want a Chick-fil-A anywhere near the “Freedom trail” in Boston. Well, if that is the way he feels, perhaps Menino should dig up and ban the “Freedom trail,” since the founding fathers who blazed it agreed completely with St. Paul’s condemnation of homosexual behavior. They never confused liberty with secularist license. Even the mere phrase “gay marriage” would have been unfathomable to them.

The values of the Boy Scouts (another blameless group tormented by oh-so-progressive mayors) and Chick-fil-A are not foreign to America’s principles, but the “Chicago values” of the Obama left certainly are. This level of secularist hubris is unprecedented in American history. Not only must Christians pay for what they see as the immoral practices decreed by Obama, pace the HHS mandate, they aren’t even permitted to harbor “thoughts” contrary to regnant secularist propaganda.

The executives of Chick-fil-A simply hold the view that redefining marriage is wrong. So do millions of Americans, as seen every time it comes up for a direct vote in state referenda. Yet that’s enough to deny them from opening restaurants in major American cities like they are segregationists? This is unbelievable.

Americans are coming to see in more and more graphic form-from the HHS mandate all the way down to mayoral decrees enforcing political correctness-what Obama meant when he said in the 2008 campaign that he was going to “fundamentally transform” the country. He is the “one” we have “been waiting for,” his supporters chanted, meaning that he would run the ball into the end zone for radicalism.

He is building a secularist Animal Farm which no one is free to leave. For all of his talk about “privacy,” nothing in the end is private under his coercive mentality. A chance remark to a reporter by a fast food executive can become the occasion for destroying a company. In Obamaland, you either bow to his new morality of abortion and gay marriage or you go out of business.

That is the Chicago way, and now “Chicago values.”—————- THINK ABOUT IT !