Christians In The Crosshairs

I have considered, I have struggled and I have laid this message aside several times because I knew it would cause pain. But this morning's Internet news cried out for the pain to come forth, indeed, there are times when pain is healing as well as wracking, and there are times when we as Christians must endure the pain of just being Christians. Today we live in such a time as this, in a land and in a world that has become anti-God, launching a 21st Century Scythian barbarism accompanied by the gutter growls of the European Middle-Ages.

Indeed, I doubt the European Middle-Agers could compete with today's guttersnipes. Such name calling and hate monikers as we hear today may have existed in old Sodom and Gomorrah, but I doubt the strict Catholic villagers of old Europe would have allowed such liberties to desecrate the Name of God. European blasphemers were burned at the stake. In Colonial America the blasphemers were pretty much the minority and didn't utter their mockery before ladies or on sacred ground. Consequently, allowances were traded for due respect...

In the 1940s and '50s a politician could not get elected unless he was a Christian in good standing in a local mainstream church. He frequented weddings, funerals and church picnics, anything to present himself to the people and win the coveted honest-folk votes. I suppose politicians have always been a wee bit on the aggressive side - guess they had to be - but campaigns and elections have changed so drastically on the state and national levels there is just no way of knowing for sure who is 100% American patriot these days and who is...whatever...

Now I believe every person has a right to their own opinion, they either believe in Jesus Christ or they don't. They either believe in a Sovereign God who created all things, who owns all the earth and the heavens, and who will one day judge them and their works, or they don't. That is their choice. But I do not believe one opinion maker has the right to attack or attempt to destroy the other.

Jesus did not force anyone to believe. He did not insist they live by the laws of the Church. He insisted the believers abide by the laws of God, but unbelievers are not bound by the law, they are outside the holy congregation, so, if they insist on believing there is no heaven or hell, Jesus will not force them to believe one way or the other. All men, all women and all youth have to make a personal choice to believe the truth or believe the lie...

Some Christians go too far in trying to win a soul to Christ - they threaten and frighen their contacts into a submission that will not last. This is not the love of Christ - this is not what Christ wants us to do. We are to share and be the example of His love, His mercy and His compassion. Whether that person submits to Christ or not, we are to represent Our Lord with kindness and love. We can thank the Holy Spirit for His active role in the world today, enabling believers in every nation to be the torch of love for Christ to any and to all that will hear. Our own faith grows as we share it with others, and we become the bold warriors and evangelists God has called each of us to be. Even in the face of adversity, we have a job to do, and it must be done with the love of Christ.

Unfortunately, our local, state and federal governments have, for the past forty-five years, legislated laws that required Christians and non-Christians alike to obey. And lately, say in the last 100 days or more, they have broken every Commandment God gave at Mt. Sinai. They have spit in His face. They have spit in your face - and mine. They have you and me in the crosshairs. The radical liberals in Washington have us in their sights, and God has us in His...

In the news this morning there were two articles: One was the passage of a new bill in the halls of the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean, protecting the lives of all persons, from conception to the grave. There will be no more abortions in the Dominican Republic, to the dismay of the abortion industry and the delight of Christians everywhere.

There are several states in America working on similar bills and this could encourage the legislators of these states to speed things up a bit. Especially since President Obama has just increased funding for abortions world wide and lifted the ban on late term abortions. We can anticipate that this news will bring our Democratic Congress and all the Hill liberals to the sweet revenge and illegal sanctions of a professional back-alley crap-shooter.

The second article warns us the hate crimes bill is headed to the House to be voted on and it is far more binding than originally drafted. Amendments were suggested to better protect the religious who preach and teach Biblical laws, but the judiciary committee would not allow these amendments. Therefore, pastors and laymen who preach against sodomy, abortions, gay marriage and those that disagree with the policies of the U.S. Government, will be prosecuted, fined and spend time in jail. The bill has passed in the judiciary committee and is on its way to the House of Representatives. Senators know it will be coming to them very soon and are gearing up for a fight in the chambers. This puts us in the crosshairs of radical hatemongers. And these people are running our government???

So what do we do? Well, the Bible teaches us to obey the law of the land - so long as the law of the land obeys the laws of God. If the laws of the land are contrary to the laws of God, indeed even abominations unto God, we are not obligated to obey them. We are to honor the Word of God in all circumstances.

The law of the land is determined and enforced by the authority of men, and by the courts, whether they be Godly or godless. We may have to stand before magistrates in this land and answer to the courts for refusing to honor the law, but if we compromise our integrity and our convictions, we will also stand before God one day to answer for breaking His laws.

We are in the crosshairs - we obey one or the other - the one is temporal, the other is everlasting. One leads to honor, the other leads to dishonor. We cannot have it both ways, we cannot please God and man, we cannot sit on the fence and be liked, admired, accepted, followed by all. We have to choose...

When I am in the crosshairs of fallen men, I know I am also in the crosshairs of God. I am so proud of Miss California for standing by her convictions when asked a stupid question by a homosexual pageant judge. She knew immediately what she had to do and she willingly gave up an earthly crown for a heavenly one, something the foul-mouthed judge cannot understand. She did something wonderful for all of us. She shone for Jesus in a moment when millions were watching and listening. And she made church leaders around the country look like weasels. May God's blessings go with her in her chosen path, and may it bring her joy in all that she sets her hands to do.

And God bless you and me - we are going to need the big guns of the Father when the guns of Washington start to fire...

Joan Krempel
April 24, 2009
joan@joankrempelministries.com