Galatians 5:13
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We believe in one God and the sanctified truth that comes through the life changing love and personal sacrifice of Jesus Christ. We also believe in preserving the heritage and foundational truths of American and Western culture.
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04
Sep '19
Social Media – Test All Things
04
Sep '19
In Acts 17:11, we read where Paul’s teachings were tested by the Berean Jews. This was not only acceptable, it expanded their faith. Can we not apply this same expectation today to things we read that are not of the bible but of the world?
As the ministry venue for FHGH Ministries is currently a digitally based ministry, I do spend a bit of time reviewing others areas of the digital space. I have it on my heart, at some point, to write an article about “Christian Concerns About Big Tech”, but the Lord has yet to provide me with the right words – as well as solid biblical foundational support. My professional experience is based on technology so I do have some foundation on technology. Nevertheless, I look forward to when the Lord tells me the time is now.
However, this morning (4 Sep) I came across an article that was quickly spreading across Social Media that indicated “Oprah Winfrey had purchased a controlling stake in the Fox News Network”. A link to this article can be found below in the references section if you care to read for yourself. As one might imagine, this article caught the eye of many conservative readers and the result was foul. Conservatives felt that they had just witnessed the demise of the last venue of conservative free speech in America, and they were terrified. Violent actions had actually been contemplated by some. The writer of that article had accomplished his objective. Well played sir, well done! For my conservative friends out there, be comforted in the knowledge that this article is false!!!
1 Thess 5:21 “Test all things; hold fast what is good”
As tensions rise across our nation, rhetoric also increases exponentially. Unfortunately, the reaction is to spread “stuff” across social media platforms. Over 41% of Americans get their news from Social Media, this percentage increases as we consider younger generations. Unfortunately, a large percentage of what is placed out there across social media is false, or at best, intended to stir up a response placed on negative human emotions. Making this more difficult is that the bad guys know where the majority get their news but also that innocent citizens are also aware of the fakeness of social media news (this IS NOT intended to be commentary about regular media) but they react to it anyway. This is due, in most part, to a digital and literacy deficiency. Oh, I wish I had space to share details about how our Founding Fathers wrote at an intelligence level that surpasses us today and how the Bible played a significant part in their vocabulary, knowledge, and writing style. But alas, that is for another day {I hope}. Acts 5:29 “….obey God rather than men”
The bottom line is that human nature is lazy and we tend to take the easy road at every opportunity. We focus on headlines rather than the body. We rely on human reasoning, the word of others, or tradition.
Acts 17:11 “Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”
When I came across that Oprah Winfrey article, there was a check in my spirit that something was wrong, so I tested the information found in that article. I googled it, I reviewed my trusted news sites, and a meditated on what the article was implying. In less than 5 minutes, I knew that the article was fake and false. Yet, the writer had accomplished his mission. What took 2 hours to spread will now take weeks to clean up.
2 Tim 4:3-4 “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”
The Bible advises us to test scriptures, to test any word from God that we receive, and to vet what we hear and read with two or three spiritual brothers. When it comes to the junk that we see on Social Media, we should apply the same principal. Test it. Test it against two or three sources that you trust. If necessary, share it with a brother and sister to get their thoughts on it. Do not share or spread until you have checked and verified, the same that you would do with a word from God. The same should apply to something that you might consider “good” or “favorable” to you.
1 John 4:1 “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”
As Christians, I would argue that we need to test everything that we see come across our preferred social media platforms. As responsible Christians, we should be stewards of the truth, this also includes being good stewards of our digital resources and not add to the hype that is only intended to seduce a negative human reaction. This spreads hate. I look forward to the day that Christians are contributing to not only good news, but also the truth. Perhaps, just perhaps, we shall see a decline in the fakeness that is taking over social media.
References:
https://www.internetsociety.org/blog/2018/03/fake-news-spread-fast-dont-blame-bots/
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03
Sep '19
Why Do Some Christians Hate Trump?
03
Sep '19
On 27 August, I shared a blog about how Trump is not my savior. A link to that write up is here: Trump Is Not My Savior. In that article, I was transparent about my dislike of some of Trump’s behavior via Twitter as well as my lack of support for him when he was campaigning for the nomination from the Republican Party. As a matter of personal discourse, I stopped considering myself a Republican the day that he was nominated. However, his nomination and eventual election as President has not stopped my belief that the far left wings of the Democratic Party are more dangerous to America, as well as our freedom to preach the Gospel, than President Trump by far. They have an outright hatred for Judeo Christian values, that had been somewhat obvious yet still hidden in the shadows in the past, that have now come to the surface in a manner that is blatant, chaotic, and extremely dangerous: for both our American heritage AND our religious liberties. Trump is my President.
Unfortunately, there are Christians out there whose hatred runs deep, they are so blinded by what they consider to be unbiblical and ungodly actions of President Trump, that they cannot see the forces that are actually opposing what they know, in their hearts, to be true. They hate Trump with such a passion, that they would agree to sacrifice some of our religious liberty (as ordained by God), just to see President Trump taken down, tossed in prison, and legacy destroyed. Christians that hate Trump will elect a democratic candidate even if the candidate supports late term or at birth abortions, even if the candidate will enact laws that will not allow the Gospel to be preached “openly”, even if the candidate will place a tax of over 50% on their income – their hatred runs that deep. How to share a story about Christians who hate President Trump has been something I have been personally struggling with. How can I share this truth in a way that does not become blinded by my own personal opinions and political bias?
Scripture promises that “blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord. Blessed are those who keep his statutes” (Psalm 119:2). God blesses those that keep His word and judges those who do not.
How does “hating the President” line up with the gospel? How does NOT praying for the President line up with Scripture? A Christian should never induce another Christian to sin.
The prophet Daniel served Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel recognized the role that this pagan king played in God’s unfolding drama. Daniel prayed for Nebuchadnezzar and helped him interpret his dreams. The church’s ability to work with Trump is totally Biblical.
We may believe that the Bible is divinely inspired but if we do not put its truths into practice, our beliefs ring hollow. Because the Bible is God’s Word we must be ready spiritually to hear what it says to us. The Bible is meant for every believer and if we want to help our culture understand why Scripture is worthy of respect, we must show that we respect it first.
Bible study is built on certain presuppositions:
- Believe that you can understand Scripture. God has given us His revelation in such a way that we can discover and apply its truths. We need not depend on creeds, councils, and church traditions.
- Use the New Testament to interpret the Old. The New, which reveals Christ, is our means of interpreting the Old. God reveals Himself progressively, building later revelation upon earlier truth. The New Testament is God’s fullest revelation of himself to us and our means of interpreting His earlier revelation.
- Make the Bible it’s own commentary. Scriptures can interpret themselves because Gods word is unified, coherent, and fully inspired.
- Remember to ask the question, “What was the author’s purpose?”. We need to know all we can about the authors intended purpose before we try to interpret the writing. If we don’t understand the purpose or task at hand, we will miss much of what the writer wants us to know and do.
When Christians accuse other Christians of disrespecting God’s Word because they disagree on the non-essentials, however important they might otherwise be, we jeopardize our witness to the non-Christians world. The end state of any Christian “opinion” should be firmly placed on a belief system grounded in the gospel – period. Therefore, if we remain grounded in the gospel, how does President Trump stack up against the current team of democratic candidates? My “opinion” which I believe is firmly grounded in biblical principles is that while Trump himself may not be behaving biblically, his heart, his motives, and his policies have made tremendous positive steps towards rebuilding and sustaining biblical principles. Unfortunately, I recognize that there are Christians that will find my opinion flawed – I simply have to accept that. My heart is at peace.
Tom Farron is a former leader of the Liberal Democrats in the United Kingdom. He wrote and published an article on 5 June 2019 titled “Why do US evangelicals support Trump? They’re giving Christianity a bad name“. In his article, he is highly critical of Christians who compare President Trump to the pagan king Cyrus from the Old Testament. But, it was his concluding paragraph in his article that weighed heavily on me:
“The choice of American Christians to publicly back Trump now, and George W Bush before him, has been a dangerous move in a culture war that now means that half of the US has its fingers in its ears when it comes to the gospel. My challenge to Christians in the US is this: what matters more to you, the identity of the person in the White House or the promotion of the good news about Jesus Christ? If it is the latter – and it surely must be – then you need to seriously reconsider your support of the former. The politicisation of US Christianity has undermined the witness of evangelicals everywhere.”
As I prayed on and meditated on this paragraph, I asked the Lord what it was about this article that was causing me distress. I believe very deeply that the Democratic Party is on a collision course with both our biblical freedom as well as the rights and freedoms afforded us in our US Constitution. What the Democratic Party is saying regarding their policies IS NOT grounded in biblical principles (see my blog on Trump mentioned earlier). However, I also find the tongue of President Trump to be unbiblical and ungodly as well.
Ask yourself: how does it look for petty, quarreling believers to air dirty laundry in front of unbelievers? In this regard, I am referring to biblical interpretation and the judgement and exercise thereof. We really should keep our focus on Christ as He is our great equalizer. We are all under His authority.
We have Christians that hate Trump so deeply that they are willing to give up their own individual liberty to get him out of office. However, when we read 1 Cor 8, we see where Paul is telling the Corinthians that strong Christians should not give up their liberty, they are to use their liberties in a manner that will best serve Christ. While some Christians are free to choose to give up their own liberty, they do not have the authority to sacrifice the liberties of all Christians. Their hatred is a sign of weakness and, thereby, not under the authority of Christ.
Today, I was introduced to a story written by Mario Murillo titled “Christians Who Hate Trump“. I don’t profess to know much about Mario, but I felt the last half of his write up, which I share below, to ring true in my own heart. You can click on the link to read the full article if you wish.
“Franklin Graham was attacked for questioning Obama’s Christian Faith. They told him not to judge a brother. Hold that thought as we explore another question…
So why do so many Christian leaders—who said it was wrong to judge Obama—judge Trump?
Trump is not a pastor. He is a businessman who loves America. As far as his faith? I am not qualified to determine his spiritual depth, since I’ve never had the chance to meet the man. But there are many photos of Christian leaders laying hands on the President, praying for him, and he is cooperating.
“He is like Hitler and the church is being fooled,” said another comment. At this time, those of you who are wearing tinfoil hats, please remove them, and listen. Hitler never had 98% of the media against him. Trump has never called for a new constitution. Hitler never tried to protect Israel. I could go on and on.
Maybe if Trump had addressed the March for Life. Maybe if he had chosen an on fire born-again Vice President. Maybe if he had rescinded executive orders that banned federal funds from Christian organizations. Maybe if he overruled the Johnson Amendment that banned the free speech of pastors. Maybe if he had moved the American Embassy to Jerusalem, and shown himself to be a true supporter of Israel. Maybe if he had put someone on the Supreme Court who helped Christian bakers to exercise their right to freedom of religion. Maybe then you would support him. Oh wait…he did all those things…”
While Trumps tongue may challenge the best of us when it comes to biblical soundness, his actions indicate otherwise. Others will argue that his policies violate biblical principles or the teachings of Jesus, something that I will attempt to dig into in a later article; however, I believe that his issues come down to his “tongue”, and this gets him in trouble.
On facebook the other day, I shared an article, written by Dave Barton in 2015, that outlines an argument about how President Obama is arguably the most biblically hostile President in modern history (hence, most anti-Christian). Click on this link to see a list of 89 acts of hostility toward Christians: AMERICA’S MOST BIBLICALLY-HOSTILE U. S. PRESIDENT. The bottom of the article contains a reference list supporting all 89 acts. Being an avid researcher, I randomly reviewed 50% of the supporting arguments myself and believe I would have come to the same conclusion as Dave Barton.
My opinion and belief system remains firm that the conservative parties, while not completely, remain much more grounded in Judeo Christian principals than those of the liberal parties. My belief is based on actions, words, and individual stated beliefs; this does not mean that all conservatives are in line “biblically” nor that all liberals are not in line “biblically”. We must recognize that we are dealing with political parties developed and instituted by man, not God; therefore, all political movements and parties are flawed. Unfortunately, our nation is managed by a predominantly two party system, yet, in my opinion (and my heart), conservatives are standing on firmer ground.
Remain biblically grounded and evaluate against the end-state – the gospel. Since we live in a pluralist culture, I accept that there will be some disagreement. But, can we disagree with love in our hearts? Yes, I believe we can, and we should.
References:
https://mariomurilloministries.wordpress.com/2015/08/19/americas-most-biblically-hostile-u-s-president/, accessed 2 Sep 2019
https://mariomurilloministries.wordpress.com/2019/08/29/christians-who-hate-trump/, accessed 3 Sep 2019
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jun/05/us-evangelical-christians-trump-bad-name/, accessed 19 Jul 2019
https://www.fhghministries.org/trump-is-not-my-savior/, accessed 27 Aug 2019
Denison, J. PHD and Denison, R. MDiv, (2019). How Does God See America?, Denison Forum, pages 43-58
Limbaugh, D. (2018). Jesus is Risen, Regnery Publishing, pages 185-193
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27
Aug '19
Trump Is Not My Savior
27
Aug '19
I only have one Lord and Savior and it is not Donald Trump, BUT, he is my President.
From 28 July thru 3 August 2019, I spent a week at the Texas State Capital participating in sessions about the US Constitution, religious liberty, and the legislative process. This group, ran and operated by the Patriot Academy, was attended by and facilitated by a wide range of people ranging from regular Christian American patriots (like me) to people already serving in elected office at various levels from local office through state legislators. One of the participants is intending to run for Governor of California in the very near future while another announced his bid to run as a State Representative for Texas. Also in attendance were 115 kids ranging in age from 16 thru 25; learning how to operate in positions of civil leadership in a biblical way while also understanding the TRUTH of our US Constitution and the founding of our great nation.
True, accurate, and factual lessons were given by such prominent professionals as Rick Green, Dave Barton, and other political and national figures. This experience was truly inspiring and revealing.
On the topic of President Trump, I have been very honest and open about my disdain about HOW he uses social media. He openly trashes his own staff members and he calls others by nasty and disparaging names. The bible does teach us about how we speak about others, grace to the hearer (Eph 4:29), slander (Matt 12:26, Prov 10:18, Col 3:8), etcetera. The bible also reminds us about how our tongue is strong enough to light fires (Prov 18:21), and while not vocal, our social media posts are representative of our voice. I stopped considering myself a Republican the day that he was nominated as the candidate for the republican party. However, there is MUCH more to the President than how he uses Social Media.
President Trump is fighting a war against a media (Matt 7:15) that is controlled and manipulated by the democratic party. President Trump has been fighting a relentless battle against career politicians and the inner circle of Washington DC. Dare I say that there is a deep state in operation that wants nothing more than to “take Trump down”, only because they do not like him. Over the last three years, our elected officials have spent a dominant amount of time and money working against President Trump rather than fulfilling their legislative responsibilities “for the People”. Based on this, if President Trump wants to be Sampson, then I say let him be Sampson.
Because of the war against him, within the circle and within the media, President Trump has no choice but to use Social Media to get out his message. 10% of his messages are junk and poor word choice, but the remaining 90% of his words provide a snapshot of what he is truly doing for our nation. I believe that President Trump is a patriot and is fighting to preserve our Constitution and the liberties and rights contained within. No other President in history has done more to protect our religious liberties and freedoms given to us by our Father and Creator. Not since our Founding Fathers.
The actions of President Trump are bringing to the surface, and to the light, the ugliness and bitterness that has always existed within the political arena. Without his actions, the things that we used to only think to be true or things that we used to think were nothing but conspiracy, would never have been brought to the light. Additionally, the activities of President Trump have done more than just bring the hidden ugliness to the light, he has caused the deep state to be blatant and “in your face” about their hatred of America and, in some cases, how much they despise those that follow the truth that is found in Jesus Christ.
To be clear, President Trump DOES NOT fit the profile of a Christian. I don’t know what he believes, but I do know that he has done more for us that any President has over the last few decades, and he has worked hard to live up to his campaign promises. If you want to consider a President that did fit the profile of a Christian, then take a look at President Carter – whom most consider to have been the worst President in modern history. Just because someone fits a particular “profile” does not mean that they are the right person for the job.
If you also want to consider examples of those that did NOT fit a Christian profile, then we need look no further than the Old Testament. A review of Xerxes, Nebuchadnezzar and Cyrus will provide examples of kings and rulers that DID NOT fit the profile of a Christian, yet, they still did good in the eyes of the Lord. In fact, the Lord refers to these leaders as “His servants”. If President Trump does not fit the profile of a Christian, does he, as some say, fit the profile of Cyrus? Numerous articles and books, along with Christian thought leaders, believe that President Trump is the new Cyrus.
There are some that believe President Trump is some kind of messiah, and this is almost as dangerous and gregarious as the never-Trumper’s (I refer to them as ever-Trumper’s). President Trump is not our savior, at least not mine, but he is our President and he is the right man for the job as it requires in our culture today. He is a flawed human being with a very large ego, narcissistic, and loud when he should be silent. Yet, without getting specific, he has done a lot for our nation and is fighting a fight worthy of a man that is committed and in it to win it. It will be interesting to see what happens over the next 18 months, as more of the deep state, and the hatred within it, is revealed and brought to the light. If only those in-the-know will share the truth.
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