URGENT CALL for PRAYER AND ACTION - 1/25 UPDATE: ''American Pastor Saeed's sham trial in Iran began on Monday. Iran claims that his conversion to Christianity and work in house churches politically undermines the Islamic Republic. His Iranian attorney, who had less than 24 hours to prepare, strongly argued that Pastor Saeed's faith did not threaten Iran's national security. This was Pastor Saeed's only day to present a defense, and his father was the only family member allowed at trial. On Tues., Iran violated American Pastor Saeed's most basic human rights by barring him and his attorney from a trial that could lead to his death. Iran forced fellow Christians to testify against Pastor Saeed and told one witness to prepare to testify again in a month. Despite the promises from the "hanging judge" trying his case that Saeed would be released on bail and a sentence could be expected next week, Iran has denied bail and Saeed remains in jail. On Thurs., he was suddenly said to have been transferred to another part of the prison, but he now cannot be located. Demand the U.S. State Department speak out against this ongoing atrocity and demand Pastor Saeed's immediate. (The U.S. State Department's response has been abysmal; it has failed to demand this American citizen's release.)... There is still time to speak out and call for international pressure on Iran. We must not be silent. Please keep this pastor in PRAYER and SIGN THE PETITION with almost 200,000 others to ask for his release > http://aclj.org/iran/save-american-pastor-iranian-abuse-imprisonment
NOTE: I came across the followng statement in an artcle about the March for Life Rally in Washington, D.C. "As Friday's overwhelmingly Christian crowd came to march, they knew abortion is as much a problem in the Church as out. AbortionDocs.org reported that 65 percent of women getting abortion say they're Christians, with 37 percent of them Protestant and 28 percent Catholic." It is as shocking to me as having a pastor I talked to say almost casually that he was meeting with several couples in his church who were considering getting abortions! What a sad example of how too often we in the church today are as much of the world in our thinking as we are in the world. We know something is wrong - even murdering our own children - but we still contemplate doing it! Explains so much why revival will not come until THE CHURCH fulfills the admonition of 2 Chron. 7:14. - Stan]
REQUEST: I am participating in the annual fundraiser Walk for Lifeon Feb. 9 for a local pregnancy resource center that ministers to girls and women who might otherwise abort their baby. My goal is $213. If you can make a pledge of $10 or more, please email me at yonashiro@bellsouth.net. Thank you.]
REMINDER: “Truth That Transforms” (In Cen. FL, 5 pm, ch. 55.1; Mon. 7 pm. Ch. 52.2) speaks about ‘The Spiritual State of Our Nation” and the Christian response. On the web at www.truthinaction.org )
''Does “Gospel-centrality” Mean Christians Don’t Protest or Get Frustrated?'' - 1/14/13
-by http://www.patheos.com/blogs/thoughtlife/2013/01/does-gospel-centrality-mean-christians-dont-protest-or-get-frustrated/ [This article refers to the pastor stepping down from praying at the recent inauguration because of his BIBLICAL refutation of homosexualty years ago.I beleve it speaks well to how Chrsitans should respondl. Great food for thought. - Stan]
In light of the Louie Giglio fiasco [see post #413], some evangelicals have argued that Christians need to cheer up and trust God. It’s always true that we need to trust God. I was encouraged, for example, by the content Jared Wilson posted on this subject (Jared always encourages me with his Christ-driven material). Our Trinitarian God can never be thwarted. He is sovereign and unstoppable. Jesus will return for us. These are the truths that inspire, comfort, and embolden us.
There has been a bit of commentary from some of my brothers that I’ve wondered about, though. I fully agree that God is in charge and that we don’t need to fear man. But some, like my friend Matthew Anderson, have made the Giglio fallout sound as if it’s not really a big deal. Others have indicated it might even be losing sight of God’s goodness and grace to protest a sitting president apparently barring a Christian pastor from praying due to biblical convictions. Such protests, some would say, mean that we’re not gripping the gospel and its glorious promises tightly enough.
Well, that is a good caution. Our hope is not in politics or a place at the political table. I agree in an ultimate sense. Let that be said, and felt. But I would say this to my friends: being “gospel-centered” does not mean that we don’t grieve and protest against sin and injustice. If that’s what we construe it to mean, I wonder if we’re missing certain parts of Scripture. Yes, knowing God means living joyfully in a grim world. But let’s not forget the hard parts of Scripture, and the difficult times. After all, if we’re talking about godly people who responded to trial with great sorrow and also conviction, the list would include:
The early church practiced this same courage. Justin Martyr appealed to the emperor to stop persecuting Christians, to give just one famous example. Surely, many embraced martyrdom when it came, as should we if it comes (in fact, martyrdom became super-spiritualized, which was problematic). But we err, I think, if we see persecution as light and glancing. It is not. The government bearing down on believers is worthy of time, attention, protest, argument, defense of innocence, bold declaration of conscience, and assertion of the rights of citizenship. If we miss this, I fear that we who love Paul’s theology are missing Paul’s example.
Let’s be clear: the Bible does not commend us losing our minds over persecution. To the contrary, we’re fearless. We are ready to die for Christ (see Hebrews 11, which is just awesome on this point). But neither does the Bible commend a kind of imperturbable equanimity in light of suffering, persecution, and the usurpation of our rights. The biblical heroes descended into pits of anguish over sin and suffering. The biblical leaders defended themselves vigorously, knowing like Moses did that God himself was behind their call for justice.
We who love the gospel should feel absolutely no shame, then, when waves of grief pass over us. It is right in terrible times to mourn. Being Christ-centered, in fact, means that we mourn as he did–fully and without inhibition. You don’t have to go to the funeral of a believer and smile through it all. It’s not wrong to cry. It’s right, I think, to weep. Something is functioning rightly if you do.
In addition, we should feel no shame in protesting evil and mistreatment. Whether we’re thinking of Moses, Paul, or others, it is profoundly right to do so. Before he quieted himself on his way to death, Jesus declared his absolute innocence and moral rightness before Pilate (John 18:33-38). Christians must speak up when attacked. If we do not, our public witness will be endangered; if our public witness is endangered, then the gospel may well be silenced. It is right to meet even smaller-scale challenges with Mosaic and Pauline boldness.
Christians don’t care about losing power. We’re not afraid of no longer being political kingmakers. We care about being free to speak truth so that lost souls can find the grace of God shed through the cross of Christ. It is not wrong to speak up. It is right to do so. And it is not wrong to grieve. In fact, in a fallen world, to be truly Christlike, we must do so.
But even in justifiably deep sadness, we grieve with much greater hope, because Jesus is returning, and he will right every wrong. He will end the need for self-defense and consummate a kingdom of righteousness in a world of love (1 Cor 15, Rev 20).
[bold AND italicized portions are MINE]
There has been a bit of commentary from some of my brothers that I’ve wondered about, though. I fully agree that God is in charge and that we don’t need to fear man. But some, like my friend Matthew Anderson, have made the Giglio fallout sound as if it’s not really a big deal. Others have indicated it might even be losing sight of God’s goodness and grace to protest a sitting president apparently barring a Christian pastor from praying due to biblical convictions. Such protests, some would say, mean that we’re not gripping the gospel and its glorious promises tightly enough.
Well, that is a good caution. Our hope is not in politics or a place at the political table. I agree in an ultimate sense. Let that be said, and felt. But I would say this to my friends: being “gospel-centered” does not mean that we don’t grieve and protest against sin and injustice. If that’s what we construe it to mean, I wonder if we’re missing certain parts of Scripture. Yes, knowing God means living joyfully in a grim world. But let’s not forget the hard parts of Scripture, and the difficult times. After all, if we’re talking about godly people who responded to trial with great sorrow and also conviction, the list would include:
- Jesus, who wept at Lazarus’s death (John 11) and shook with bloody sweat before his death (Luke 22:44)
- Jeremiah, the “weeping prophet,” who mourned the moral compromises of Israel and the domination of evil Babylon
- Paul, who when facing imperial sanction frankly did not embrace immediate death and did not silence himself as Jesus did, but appealed brilliantly to his Roman citizenship (Acts 22, and also 23-28)
- Job, who responded to the death of his family with abject sorrow (Job 1)
- Moses, who with the Israelites did not suffer the persecution of the Egyptians lightly, but protested to Pharoah of his treatment of God’s people (remember that God himself sends Moses to battle with Pharoah) (Exodus 4-13)
The early church practiced this same courage. Justin Martyr appealed to the emperor to stop persecuting Christians, to give just one famous example. Surely, many embraced martyrdom when it came, as should we if it comes (in fact, martyrdom became super-spiritualized, which was problematic). But we err, I think, if we see persecution as light and glancing. It is not. The government bearing down on believers is worthy of time, attention, protest, argument, defense of innocence, bold declaration of conscience, and assertion of the rights of citizenship. If we miss this, I fear that we who love Paul’s theology are missing Paul’s example.
Let’s be clear: the Bible does not commend us losing our minds over persecution. To the contrary, we’re fearless. We are ready to die for Christ (see Hebrews 11, which is just awesome on this point). But neither does the Bible commend a kind of imperturbable equanimity in light of suffering, persecution, and the usurpation of our rights. The biblical heroes descended into pits of anguish over sin and suffering. The biblical leaders defended themselves vigorously, knowing like Moses did that God himself was behind their call for justice.
We who love the gospel should feel absolutely no shame, then, when waves of grief pass over us. It is right in terrible times to mourn. Being Christ-centered, in fact, means that we mourn as he did–fully and without inhibition. You don’t have to go to the funeral of a believer and smile through it all. It’s not wrong to cry. It’s right, I think, to weep. Something is functioning rightly if you do.
In addition, we should feel no shame in protesting evil and mistreatment. Whether we’re thinking of Moses, Paul, or others, it is profoundly right to do so. Before he quieted himself on his way to death, Jesus declared his absolute innocence and moral rightness before Pilate (John 18:33-38). Christians must speak up when attacked. If we do not, our public witness will be endangered; if our public witness is endangered, then the gospel may well be silenced. It is right to meet even smaller-scale challenges with Mosaic and Pauline boldness.
Christians don’t care about losing power. We’re not afraid of no longer being political kingmakers. We care about being free to speak truth so that lost souls can find the grace of God shed through the cross of Christ. It is not wrong to speak up. It is right to do so. And it is not wrong to grieve. In fact, in a fallen world, to be truly Christlike, we must do so.
But even in justifiably deep sadness, we grieve with much greater hope, because Jesus is returning, and he will right every wrong. He will end the need for self-defense and consummate a kingdom of righteousness in a world of love (1 Cor 15, Rev 20).
[bold AND italicized portions are MINE]
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