"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord"

Merry Christmas, everyone!  This time of year can be one of such joy and also one of such sorrow. Missing loved ones who or are gone or away from us, feeling lonely or alone, being reminded of pain in our lives, all of this can be magnified at this time of year.

As a Christian who spends a lot of time in prayer and loves God more than I ever thought possible, I think I'm beginning to understand why this time of year, especially, can be so dicey.  You see, God, and by extension Christians, have one giant enemy.  Satan has so much hate for anything of God.  Satan's number one goal is to destroy everything God loves.  To take away everything and everyone from God.  It has become so apparent in everything that is happening in this world, and most notably in this country, how influential Satan is.  This time of year must be especially hard on him, after all we are celebrating the birth of the Savior of the world!

The birth of Jesus Christ is the biggest thing that has ever happened because it brought us the Man who would sacrifice His life thereby assuring all those who believe a place in Heaven.  The birth of Jesus effectively means, for Believers, that Satan cannot have us.  Ever.  No wonder he gets so mad this time of year and unleashes so much fear, anger, and sorrow on so many, trying to tear them away from God and make them forget the reason for Christmas.

Please don't forget the reason we celebrate Christmas.  Please don't forget that you are a child of God. Please don’t forget or doubt that He loves you and through the birth and death of His Son Jesus has reserved a place in Heaven for you. Please remember that your suffering here on this earth is not endless; that even though life on this planet can be hard, so hard sometimes you aren't sure how you will make it, you do not have to suffer alone OR forever. Suffering is a by-product of sin; of a fallen world.  It is not a product of God, and, if you will accept Him, God will walk with you through it all until such day that He calls you home. It is because of Jesus that no matter what you go through here on earth, if you have faith and commitment to the Lord, He WILL call you to a glorious home reserved just for you where there will be no more sorrow, no more pain, and no more Satan who is the real cause of all that pain and suffering.  Stay faithful, pray, and lean on other Believers who love you and know God.  Hebrews 3:14 “For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ.”

I’ll leave you with what I consider to be one of the greatest readings of the greatest news in the Bible.
Luke 2:8-14 “….for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord….”

Merry Christmas, friends!  May God's love FILL you with the Holy Spirit this Christmas and in 2016 and beyond!

God help this nation.... again

San Bernardino. Another tragic example of rampant evil and the loss of human life as a result of it. Another tragedy that could not be arrested or prevented because no one in that building was armed and able to defend himself or herself. Not one. Why? Because lawmakers in this country, and seemingly more and more of our citizens, would rather lay down for evil than fight it.

People crying out for gun control in response to the violence in the United States are starting in the middle of the story. They are starting from the place where violence happens. That is far too late in the story to be problem solving and coming up with solutions.  Gun control is a misguided, middle of the story solution.

What ever happened to looking at the root cause of a problem? Our current administration and the blind sheep that are following them would like us to believe that guns are the root cause of this problem. Less guns, less deadly violence. Really? So the evil that has grown unchecked for the last multiple decades as morality has gone the way of modest clothing and following the Ten Commandments could somehow be thwarted, abated or even destroyed if guns were removed from the picture? Or, is that not the real reason they are crying for our guns?

I do not trust our federal government and more specifically our current President.  I have not seen an example of their commitment to what is important to me, my family and many people I know since I started paying attention. All I see is big government getting bigger, taxing us and taking more than 50% of the money we work hard to earn, creating more and more dependence while less and less people seem to be better off because of it.  Now they want to take away our God given right to defend ourselves using false flags and taking advantage of the epidemic of ignorance that plagues this country to blind us with fear driving rhetoric about "gun violence".  Nothing that is happening in this country has anything to do with the availability of guns, but with the mainstream media in their pockets (or beds, whichever you prefer), you wouldn't know it. History has shown us over and over again that when a government takes away its citizens' right to bear arms oppression, unchecked government control over its people, and genocide is not far behind. Don't roll your eyes, it HAS happened, over and over in history, which means it CAN and likely WILL happen again.

To be fair, God did warn us of all this. Matthew 24:1-14 gives us a pretty clear picture of some of the things to come before Jesus returns to us. He warns us that there will be many false prophets and messiahs. Check. Just look at the proliferation of Christian preachers who want us to believe that the only thing we have to care about in the Bible is loving one another and absolutely nothing more.  He warned that there will be an increase in wars and rumors of war, with nations rising against nations. Check. Where have our efforts to bring peace to this world gotten us? The United Nations is a disaster; war in the Far East, Middle East, Africa, South and Central America have continued and increased. What about the War on Terror? Seems to me terrorism is on a huge upswing and even affects the United States on our own shores. How about war on our own streets (race wars and people warring against our police to name just two)? You can argue that the 24 hour media cycle just brings more attention to things that have always been there, but I believe those who really believe that are simply ignorant or blind to reality.  Yes, we learn about things quicker to be sure, but to say that evil in this world has not increased is ludicrous.  Here is why:

• NBC news reported in June on a State Department report that there had been a 35% increase in terrorist attacks worldwide and an 81% increase in total fatalities since 2013
• The Guardian reported that there has been a 5-fold increase in terrorism fatalities since 9/11
• The Global Terrorism Index recorded almost 18,000 deaths related to terrorism last year, a jump of about 60% over the previous year
• ABC news out of Australia reported just last month that global terrorism is on the rise

Now, contrast that with the trends of gun homicide here in the United States.  Gun homicide rates have decreased SHARPLY since their rise from the 1970's-1990's, despite a sharp INCREASE in population. Pew Research data: 

• In 1981 there 6.6 gun homicides per 1000 in the US
• In 1993 this number peaked at 7.0 per 1000
• There was a steady decline over the next decade and a half, with 2010 showing 3.6 gun homicides per 1000 people- 49% lower than it's peak less than 20 years prior!!!

Even CNN- traditionally fairly liberal, reported on this, stating: 

"The new study found U.S. firearm homicides peaked in 1993 at 7.0 deaths per 100,000 people. But by 2010, the rate was 49% lower, and firearm-related violence -- assaults, robberies, sex crimes -- was 75% lower in 2011 than in 1993, the study found...  In fact, gun-related homicide rates in the late 2000s were "equal to those not seen since the early 1960s," the study found."

As for mass shootings, which have taken on an urgency and increased concern over the last few years, well, according to a Bureau of Justice Statistics review, homicides that claimed at least three lives accounted for less than 1% of all homicide deaths from 1980 to 2008. These homicides, most of which are shootings, increased as a share of all homicides from 0.5% in 1980 to 0.8% in 2008, according to the bureau’s data. A Congressional Research Service report, using a definition of four deaths or more, counted 547 deaths from mass shootings in the U.S. from 1983 to 2012.

82% of Americans don't even know this, saying that homicides have either increased (56%) or stayed the same (26%).  Why is this?  Could it be that there is a certain NARRATIVE driven by the government to help drive an AGENDA to disarm honest Americans?  To be fair, there is much debate and little agreement as to WHY this is. While the why is helpful information, it doesn't change the fact that the narrative being fed us by the media sure doesn't match up with the facts stated above.

Now, take that information and think about how this relates to you and me in the United States.  President Obama and many in his administration would like us to believe that "gun violence" is the biggest problem we face in this country (next to "climate change").  If you listen to this, then you might lean toward agreeing with him that we need to either take all guns away from people, or put in place such restrictive requirements that most people won't be able to get them.  BUT- if you use the brain God gave you, and a little common sense, you would see those statistics and realize that it isn't guns we need to fear at all.  While there is a need to protect yourself from the common thug or criminal with guns in this country, I would like to argue that much greater than that is the need to protect our COUNTRY from the terrorists who seek to destroy us the first chance they get and OURSELVES from a government that is out of control with power. This shouldn't come as a surprise.  After all, Scripture warns us often of what will happen to us when we follow God.  

Matthew 24:9 "Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me."

Additionally, in verse 6 Jesus says that we are not to be alarmed because such things must happen, but the end is still to come. The end is still to come. While we know and believe that Jesus is definitely coming, we are charged with living for Him now, following His commands of us, and living His truth through our lives today. Even though we know how all this ends, that doesn't give us permission to stop fighting for His people who are here with us now.

Until God comes again there will always be evil. That is the sad truth of living in a fallen world. It appears that Satan is getting more and more anxious. Could it be because he knows that God is coming sooner rather than later? Possibly. As a new Christian I am suddenly seeing things through eyes changed by God that I never considered before. I wrote a post about America being a modern day Babylon recently because of this newly acquired vision. We have often been referred to as a Christian nation, but I am having a harder and harder time seeing the truth in that description. Our pop culture is more often than not extremely anti-Christian and blatantly sacrilegious (case in point, multiple new network and cable TV shows coming out glorifying Satan ("Lucifer"), fallen angels, wayward preachers... or just subjects that glorify sin. Our laws and many churches continue a quick downward ascent toward sanctifying things that are the exact opposite of what God commands us to do in His word and law. Things are not heading in the right direction for a supposed Christian nation, and God help us for that.

What does all this have to do with San Bernardino? Well, first of all, I do not think it is any secret that I am very pro second amendment. After all, I did write this and this. I am also completely committed to Jesus Christ and want to spread His message and live my life in accordance with His desire for His believers without exception. I have spent a lot of time reading and praying about a Christian's responsibility to protect himself and fellow citizens. From everything I have read on both sides of the argument, I do not believe for one second that Christians are called to simply lay down for evil and let it have us.

To take away good people's ability to protect themselves from evil is the absolute essence of evil. It is Satan's work. Satan wants to destroy good people. Satan would love nothing more than to see Christians completely wiped out, and we cannot bow down to that. Some have tried to paint Jesus' death on the cross as an example of what he calls us to do- to sacrifice ourselves and our lives for God.  I would like to submit that this is not what the Bible teaches us.  Jesus died because he needed to die. The only way we were ever going to get to Heaven was if someone paid for our sins. Face it, you are a sinner. I am a sinner. WE are sinners.  It is who we are because of Adam and Eve's choice to disobey God.  We can no more control this truth or change it than we can control the weather. Jesus did not die for any other reason than to save our sinful selves and open the door to salvation. For us to throw our lives away needlessly and refuse to defend ourselves and others against evil men and women would be not only wasteful but irresponsible. It would not be honoring the sacrifice Jesus made in order to save us. We may be called to be martyrs for our faith, but that doesn't mean we make it easy for those who would kill us.

To take it one step further, I believe that the United States of America exists because of God's plan for Christianity. There is no other plausible explanation for how the people who fought the Revolutionary War against the greatest army in the world could have ever succeeded without God's divine intervention. None. Untrained, unprepared, without proper weapons, supplies, or clothing against thousands and thousands more of the best trained, prepared and outfitted soldiers in the world?  It would not be the first time God would step in and help His people win battles against all odds.

Look, I know this stuff is tough to hear. For those of us who have believed that being passive, non-violent, non-confrontational and full of love was what we are called to be, this is especially difficult. Think about it, though. Why would the Bible say things to us like Matthew 10:22 "And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved" if God didn't call us to be a bit tough and confrontational?  What would there be to hate of people who sit quietly and passively in the corner loving everyone and standing up to no one?  Yes, we are called to love, but love can take many forms. I do not believe that burying our heads in the sand and never sharing the true gospel, God's true laws, or never fighting against the evil that threatens us, our families and our fellow man is true love. Do not let people trick you into believing that taking away your ability to protect yourself against evil will make evil go away.  Evil isn't going away.  Men who would kill us at the first opportunity are not going away.

I know this is a scary world.  I know that every time you hear about a shooting on TV you wonder if maybe guns really are the problem.  Given the narrative of the media, our President and your fearful American citizens that is not exactly a tough leap to make.  But please do not let yourself be blinded by fear. Something very sinister is taking place that is trying to convince us to put our trust in a government that has not behaved in a trustworthy manner. If they were so prepared to protect us, where were they when San Bernardino happened?  Where were they when any of the other mass shooting events in recent history took place? Where were they on 9/11? Don't you ever ask yourself why all these shootings happen in places where guns are prohibited?  Don't you ever for one second ask yourself why the times when honest armed citizens thwart the bad guys because of their guns and training don't make the front page news as well? Don't these omissions and discrepancies seem fishy to you?

God gave us many unalienable natural rights when he created us. He gave us the right to free will, to make our own decisions whether they be for our good or not.  He also gave us the right to self-defense.  You see it in the animal kingdom, and you see it in the human world.  It is a natural right because it was created to keep order in nature. The greatest property we have is our own life.  It is a great gift from God and as such we must defend and protect it.  If those who would take our lives have guns then it only follows that those who would protect their lives should, too.

"The laws that forbid the carrying of arms are laws of such a nature. They disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes.... Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man."
- Thomas Jefferson, Commonplace Book

Guns and Rifles 101

THIS VIDEO is a great example of what to do, and also HOW DUMB our media and many of our general public are when it comes to firearms.

My first response to watching this was YES!!

EXCEPT, this was NOT an assault rifle! Geez, why do people keep using this incorrect terminology?

Educate yourself please so you don't sound so ignorant. What she used was a Hi Point rifle. These are great home defense weapons because they are reliable, reasonably priced and easy to use- easier in fact than a handgun (and also more intimidating, which may mean you won't actually have to use it because a criminal might see you holding it and turn tail and run). They also use standard ammo like 9mm or .45ACP which is widely available. More info here:http://www.americanrifleman.org/…/hi-point-firearms-and-th…/

PS: also, don't ever call an AR-15 an assault rifle either. Just don't be that dumb. K? Quick Tutorial so you no longer have to be part of the misinformed masses:

The AR in AR-15 does not stand for Assault Rifle- nor does it stand for Automatic Rifle. AR actually stands for ArmaLite rifle, which is the company that first developed it in the 1950’s.

An assault rifle is often a term used to describe a battlefield military rifle which can fire automatically (one trigger pull will fire the gun until either the trigger is released or the magazine is empty). None of the above are that. The Hi Point described above and the AR-15 are semi-automatic. Even a regular handgun is semi-automatic.... all that means is that it fires just one round (bullet) each time the trigger is pulled no matter how long you hold that trigger down. You must pull the trigger each time in order to fire the weapon. The only thing “automatic” about it is that when you pull and release the trigger, another round (bullet) moves into the chamber so you can fire again without racking the slide. Mass media and the movie industry have done wonders to give these things a bad name, but now you know so you don't have to be one of the ignorant masses anymore.

Moral of this story- arm yourselves! Take a class, learn how to use handguns and rifles by learning and practicing. I pray everyday I will never need to use one, but, make no bones about it, I am not ever going to let fear dictate my own OR my family's safety and security against thugs and criminals like this.

Oh, and promise me that you will never ever call one of these rifles an assault rifle again. Thank you.

Last thoughts on helping refugees....maybe

Ok- I think I need to say this. I have posted a few things about the Syrian Refugee crisis here and on Facebook, and I think I may have been misunderstood (or have not written clearly). Please do not get me wrong, I am not in any way saying that we should not take any refugees or help people from other countries anymore. As a Christian if I were to make a blanket statement like that then you can and should call BS on me. I do think that anytime we can we should help others. I do have a problem with many of the METHODS that are being used to "help" not only refugees, but ALL public welfare as it exists today.

I have a problem with the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT running these programs because:

#1 I do not have faith in the federal government's ability to run programs like these (pretty poor track record)

#2 I do not believe it is in the SCOPE of the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT'S responsibility to manage social welfare programs (based on the Constitution)

Just because there are people out there that need help both locally and abroad does not give the federal government or anyone, for that matter, the right to tell ME how to help them. That is up to me and God will ultimately judge me for my actions on this earth. You may think that everyone should help everyone, and that I make more than you and so therefore I should give more than you, and that we should open up our borders to everyone because we are only here because of our immigrant ancestors and whatever else you want to think and that is fine. You can think all those things. That STILL doesn't give the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT the right to make those decisions for me (and you either). Most of the money they collect for these programs doesn't even make it to the people it is intended for anyway. We have increased our spending on welfare, social programs, etc. every year for DECADES and the problems keep getting worse. Why is that? Could it be that these programs are being mismanaged somehow? Could it be that asking a huge bureaucracy such as the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT to manage this is simply bad practice?

At the end of the day I want to help people who are suffering, but I want to choose. If I want to give my money away to people in my own city or my own state or another country, that should be MY CHOICE. Right now, I am not given any choice in the matter. I have less to give to help others in my community because our Federal Government has decided it knows better than me (note I have said FEDERAL government here.... there may be a place for some of this in state government, but that is a different topic).

Furthermore- I want the time, talent and resources I spend to go toward actually helping people. I do not believe it is very Christian to blindly WASTE all of those things on people who are not actually being helped, either because they refuse to actually be helped or because some bureaucracy mismanages these things. With Trillions in debt, thousands of homeless, civil unrest, etc. I question whether bringing more people who need help here is a very loving thing to do. So we will add more people to an already stressed system (not to mention the cultural implications)? Look at it this way- if you opened up your home to me because I was downtrodden and needed help, but then you told me that you could not feed me because you already had enough mouths to feed and actually, I needed to sleep outside because you didn't really have any room for me because you had taken in too many others already, I would question how charitable you really are and probably be a little upset. How did you actually help me? OR maybe you put all that assistance you gave me on credit cards and then filed for bankruptcy....placing your mismanagement of resources on the backs of others (trillions in debt anyone? )

This is what I meant in an earlier post when I said that we are reacting far too much on EMOTION and not enough on LOGIC. We all have finite resources. The government has NO RESOURCES without us. If we do not start to become discerning about what is happening with those resources (be it money, time, housing, jobs, or anything else), they will be gone and then no one will be helped.

Let's PAUSE and ASSESS people.

Selfish or Smart- Closing our borders as an act of love?

I've been struggling with the topic of immigration and more recently the Syrian Refugee crisis for a while now. I am a very emotional person and my first response to almost anything is emotional.  Logic and reason are things I have had to work very hard to develop.  Early on in my marriage one of the biggest challenges Chad and I faced was how differently we reacted to everything. He is all about logic and data, and I am all about emotion and how something makes me feel. We butted heads A LOT because of this!  I've learned over the years to find some balance; to consider the facts as well as how I feel, always considering how my walk with Christ directs me to respond in light of those things.

I'll be honest. Our government's response to immigration and refugees and their lack of attention to our national security OR our our own financial, homeless and racial crisis has me extremely worried.   The emotional part of me wants desperately to help everyone who is afraid and hurting.  Pictures of children and families who are desperately trying to escape war and violence tug at my heart.  Knowing that the United States began as a country of immigrants confuses the issue in my head as well.  When I stop to really think reasonably and logically, though, I believe there is something very, very wrong with the direction we are going in this country when we don't place a primary importance on taking care of our own citizens and our own problems.

I believe that there is a huge imbalance in this country between the emotional thinkers and the logical thinkers, with the emotional thinkers taking over virtually all decision/policy making in this country. Because of this I believe we are being taken advantage of and lied to when it comes to the Syrian Refugee situation. 

In the best case scenario, if these really are innocent women, children and families who are trying to escape war and violence, how in the world can we afford to keep doing this as a country?  We are already drowning in debt, and have so many people already on some type of government assistance that we are about to collapse under the weight of it all.  Sure we want to help the needy, but at what point have we used up our ability to do so?

In the worst case scenario these are not really innocent women, children and families but rather they are people bent on destroying others who don’t subscribe to their way of life (especially Americans and Christians).  As emotional people who want everyone to love one another I know we don’t want to believe that, but are you really willing to risk the safety of your family by completely ignoring some fairly compelling evidence that this describes at least some of them?

This is more than just a security issue, though, it is also an issue of available resources and a financial issue for this country.

What is wrong with taking a PAUSE in order to truly assess this situation?  In my job (Human Resources) that is often my response to a potentially risky situation.  Instead of pressing to make a hasty quick decision, sometimes we have to pause and figure out what is going on and what all our options are BEFORE we act. Sometimes the action we end up taking isn’t what we WISH we had to do, but it is what we MUST do based on the evidence.  I have been involved in many employee terminations over the years.  I’ll be honest, there have been some that were pretty easy for me.  There have been some, though, that were difficult and that wish I didn’t have to do, but based on the evidence it was the right thing to do.  That is the way the world works, sometimes we like what we have to do, and sometimes we don’t, but we have to find a balance between our heads and our hearts.

I want to challenge all Christians especially to stop for a second and think about how we are truly called to behave. When Hebrews 13:16 says "Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God”… you can’t ignore the words “what you have”…. God calls us to share what we have to share, not what we don’t have.  Bringing more people to America who need assistance when we don’t have it to give is wrong.  We are TRILLIONS in debt already, where are all these resources coming from?  Ecclesiastes 5:5 says “It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay” and Psalm 37:21 says: “The wicked borrows and does not pay back, but the righteous is generous and gives.”  Clearly God says that borrowing more than you can repay is wrong.  How are we going to pay what we owe already?  Promising more assistance to people who need it when we have to borrow that assistance is wrong- regardless of their situation.  Haven’t you ever heard the saying “robbing Peter to pay Paul”?  That is just ONE problem I have with all of this.

As a Christian I know we are called to help others.  For those Christians out there that are touting the love one another route over all else, I have a question for you.  When was the last time you brought a homeless person (or family) home with you to have a hot meal and a warm place to sleep?  How much of your personal time and resources do you give to the homeless, refugee, foster, elderly communities in your own city/state/country?  If you are one of the very few who spend a lot of time doing these things and HAVE brought people into your own home then you can talk about showing love and giving everything to others as much as you want.  The rest of us need to check out own behavior before calling out others (ME included).

Anyway- that is a long winded lead up to sharing the below article. It covers a lot of the questions and concerns I have, written in a thoughtful way.  Hopefully you’ll take a look and then raise your voice based on actual facts rather than simple emotion.
As We Allow Syrian Refugees in the U.S., There's Something Many Have Overlooked

A Christian gun owner- oxymoron or legit?

It's been a few years now since I shot my first firearm.  Thanks to my husband, I've gotten more and more proficient with this form of protection, and continue to hone my skill should I ever, God forbid, need to use one to protect myself or a member of my family.

Prior to taking my concealed carry class or purchasing my first gun, I had a good long talk with God and many sessions with my Bible.  Being new to true Christianity I am cautious of being tripped up when it comes to God's will for me as a believer.  I wanted to be sure if I went down this path that it would be with Biblical support and not against it.

As you can imagine, I was able to find lots of information and "facts" about what God says regarding the use of weapons for self-defense on both sides of the argument.  I'd like to take a minute to talk about what I found in my research and what led me to conclude that God calls us to protect ourselves and others.  This is not meant to be an expository about fighting gun control, laws restricting who should have guns and what type, what our founding fathers meant by the 2nd ammendment, or any arguments such as these. I'm sure I will get into that at some point as I do feel VERY VERY strongly about these things and think they are important to talk about.  For now, though, I'd like to discuss the very simple matter of whether or not the Bible supports Christians arming themselves with weapons and then using them in self-defense or the defense of others.

First Point: anti-gun anti/violence proponents often claim that the 6th commandment denounces all killing.
Those who believe guns are evil and go against Christian values often cite the 6th commandment as proof of this.  Depending on where you look this commandment can read either "you shall not kill" or "you shall not murder".  Whether the word is kill or murder is not simply a matter of semantics, but actually changes the meaning of this commandment and therefore is of primary importance.

So which one is correct?  It appears that this commandment is one of the most commonly mistranslated of them all.  The Hebrew version of this commandment is Lo tirtzach which, translated, means "Do not murder".  I found example after example that this is indeed the correct translation of the Hebrew and therefore will go with "Thou Shall Not Murder" as the correct translation of the 6th commandment.

Now- what exactly is the difference between murder and killing?  Don't these words mean the same thing? The Hebrew word for “murder” literally means “the intentional, premeditated killing of another person with malice.”  So, intentionality is really what we are looking at when determining whether someone has killed vs. murdered. Even under common law (law originating from custom and court decisions rather than statutes), murder was an intentional killing that was unlawful (in other words, not legally justified), and committed with "malice aforethought."

So, those who would argue that God prohibits killing in all circumstances would not be able to cite the 6th commandment as proof of that statement.  God says you may not MURDER... but there is a such thing as justified killing.

Second Point: God calls us to turn the other cheek
Anti-gun/Anti-Violence people have often quoted passages in the Bible that advocate turning the other cheek, suffering instead of causing suffering, and loving your enemies.  Once again, anytime the Bible is quoted and interpreted for meaning, CONTEXT is critical.

Turning the other cheek as quoted in Matthew 5:39 and Luke 6:29 is not referring to mortal harm, but rather insult.  The Bible is very clear that you are not to retaliate against insult or other personal offenses that do not put your physical life in danger.  Back in the day being slapped via a backhand was a common way to describe an insult.  The Sermon on the Mount, where many people go to cite examples that Jesus calls us to be pacifists, really had nothing whatsoever to do with that.  Jesus was actually clearing up confusion about personal conduct around revenge or taking the law into your own hands. God is very clear throughout the Bible that individual retaliation toward others is not OK, but rather, rests in the hands of the government or "the law".  Killing as a form of retaliation is very different than killing in self-defense, and the Bible makes that very clear in both the New and the Old Testament.  Killing in retaliation becomes murder because of the pre-meditation and malicious intent involved.

Third Point: God calls us to protect ourselves and others from mortal harm
There are very clear directives and examples given in both the New and the Old Testament about our freedom AND obligation to protect ourselves and loved ones from those who would seek to do us physical harm, both individually and as groups.  Exodus 22: 2-3 says that if someone breaks into a home at night when their intent can't be easily determined (it's dark, you have been awoken from sleep and are disoriented), the homeowner has a right to kill in self-defense with no repercussion.  It goes on to say if the same person were to break in during daylight where it was obvious they were there only to steal, then killing would not be justified.  Why? Because, again, killing another must be used as a last resort to protect yourself or another from being killed. Killing to protect your stuff; not on the same level.  Of course, you have to know FOR SURE that you are not in mortal harm, and I would argue that if someone breaks into your house while you are there, there isn't a lot of opportunity to discern intent and to err on the side of caution and protection is always wise.  God knows what you know, so if you are truly fearful for your life, God says you may take the bad guy out.

I'd like to take this a step further, though, and point out that there are many passages that show that not only does God condone using lethal force in self-defense, but that He actually commands us to protect ourselves and others.

"Rescue the weak and needy; Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked." Psalm 82:4

"... But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and a sword comes and takes a person from them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require from the watchman's hand." Ezekiel 33 

Another example from the Old Testament. When Lot and his people were captured, Abram had no problem rescuing them with force (Genesis 14:13-16). How about Nehemiah?

"Therefore I positioned men behind the lower parts of the wall, at the openings; and I set the people according to their families, with their swords, their spears, and their bows."  Nehemiah 4:13

God calls us to fight for His kingdom.  If Nehemiah did not have his men arm themselves while they worked to rebuild the walls, they would have been killed and failed.  The same thing happened when David fought the Philistines and when Moses and the Israelites fought the Amalekites and many other examples in the Bible where deadly weapons were used to defeat God's enemies who were bent on killing them. With God's direction and support men were led to arm themselves over and over again.  "A righteous man who falters before the wicked is like a murky spring and a polluted well" Proverbs 25:26.... we have no right to hand over our life, which is a gift from God, to the unrighteous. 

What about the New Testament?  Didn't Jesus scold Peter for using a sword to fight off the guards that were taking Him away (John 18:10-11)?  Doesn't that show that Jesus was against using a weapon in defense? Again, context is critical.  Jesus condemned Peter's action not because of his intent to defend Christ, but because Peter was getting in the way of God's plan for the guards to take Jesus.  Note that He didn't rebuke him for having the sword (a gun in today's world), but rather only for using it at that time.  Later on in Luke 22:36 Jesus advises his Apostles not only to arm themselves, but to sell their coats if necessary to do so. That's a pretty strong recommendation considering that the Apostles were going to be traveling and spending a lot of time sleeping outside where a coat would have been pretty important.

To sum up:

• The 6th Commandment states that you should not murder, and the definition of murder is intentionality, along with premeditation or malice- Exodus 20:13...
• Some 50 verses later God calls us to protect ourselves from physical harm using lethal force if necessary- 22:2-3 supporting the fact that killing is different from murder
• Multiple examples of God commanding His people to arm themselves in both the Old and New Testament to protect from physical harm and to protect others from deadly intentions as well
• Multiple examples of God commanding us NOT to retaliate with physical harm to insults and character attacks- further distinguishing how serious the situation must be to justify using deadly force against another

Killing becomes murder when (and only when) it is not properly justified.  Scripture is clear regarding the justification: you can use whatever force necessary to protect your own life from a hostile aggressor, or to save the life of an innocent from such imminent, life-threatening danger. Do not take the responsibility of arming yourself lightly.  We will all stand before God and answer for our actions in this life.  If you neglect your responsibility to yourself and others, there will be consequences just the same as if you neglect to follow God's commands and use the right to self-defense foolishly and without justification.

"Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight" Psalm 144:1 

The Bible? Naw, there's a video for that...

My husband and I attended a Marriage seminar a few weekends ago, and the first speaker of the day was Alistair Begg. This was the first time I had ever heard him speak, and I was so enthralled by his message and his speaking style that I decided I had to seek out more by him. That is when I came across the Truth for Life Bible teaching ministry. You can check this out online, and they also have both an Android App and a iPhone App, making it really easy to find and engage with this incredible ministry.

A few days ago I wrote a post called What is a Christian and How Can I Recognize One Out In The Wild? If you read that post you would know what my take is on the definition of a Christian. As indicated in the above post, I believe we have to get serious about God's truth and God's word if we are going to confess to being a Christian. It is one thing to SAY you are a Christian, it is another thing entirely to actually BE a Christian. Being a Christian is not a passive activity, and that post explains why.

Back to Alistair.... I was checking out his Truth for Life ministry when I stumbled upon a sermon that blew me away. I found it to be so compelling and CONVICTING that I actually listened to it twice in two days and then listened to it again as I wrote this post. It is called The Apostles' Teachings and when you have about 40 minutes you really should listen to it. It gets really good at about the 18 minute mark and forward (the first two times I listened it was in the Android app and I didn't realize I was listening to part 2 which is the last 20-25 minutes or so of the audio linked above and is really the best part of the whole thing).

Essentially, this sermon teaches about how important Biblical doctrine is to the Christian heart. Without a solid and continually deepening knowledge of Scripture we are in big trouble trying to live a Christ-centered life. Getting this right and spending time in The Word is the precursor to getting everything else in life right.... because how we live our lives in ALL aspects of our lives comes from God in Scripture. We have to get serious about God's word if we are to be truly Christian.

This is not something I understood at all until very recently, but it makes total sense if you think about it. There is so much sin and temptation in the world. In our culture what is classified as sinful behavior in the Bible is actually glorified and looked at as a normal part of life (sex before marriage, abortions, living a gay lifestyle, selfishness and pride). Besides all that, there are so many BAD preachers out there; people who teach false doctrine, who turn scripture around to fit a non-Christian narrative, who share only a part of God's word out of context and then skew it some more. It's no wonder we can become easily confused and tripped up.

An example of this are those who try to say that all lifestyles should be welcomed and embraced because Jesus was inclusive and embraced everyone (cue examples like the 'woman at the well' which you can find in John 4). There are even entire churches and church leading pastors who are preaching "inclusiveness" and saying that Jesus only stood for loving everyone and nothing more. Without a solid knowledge of Biblical doctrine you would be at risk of believing these things because this teaching is EVERYWHERE, including in some of our churches. If you simply trusted man to tell you what God says, then you would be at the mercy of lady luck that you get the right man teaching the right stuff. Spending your own time in the Bible and learning what God actually says is your only defense against calling yourself a Christian but not actually being one because you are following the wrong christ.

My point is this: I lived 40 years of my life apart from Jesus. I went to Catholic school from K-12 and yet somehow knew nothing whatsoever about God's word and lived like I didn't. I "knew" how I should behave from years of going to church and Catholic school- but that never translated into changed behavior on my part. I was very susceptible to others' opinions on what God says we should do and made a lot of mistakes as a result. Now, as a saved child of God and a truly born again Christian, I have a lot of catching up to do when it comes to understanding God's word- and this catching up involves a lot of reading and studying the Bible. Without doing that myself I would still be susceptible to false teaching.

The examples I have given above are not meant to call you to judge others who are living contrary to God's word. They are merely meant to be real life examples of how we can get confused. I'm sure you have good friends and close family who cause you to question or doubt what is true. I know I do. I have friends and family who fall on the sword over the "love" debate. The problem is, God's word is not that shallow or narrow. Yes, Jesus did love everyone, including sinners. I do not believe this is up for debate by anyone. His hope, though, is that all sinners will open their hearts to Him and repent, turn away from sin, and be saved. He loves them, but there are still standards to meet and laws to obey.

The path we are called to take is not necessarily the popular path and definitely not the common path. But.... God does not call us to take the popular or common path. He calls us to take His path, and we can only know what that path truly is by reading about it in the Bible. We must fact check what others tell us by going to the only place we can trust to be the true and authoritative source on the matter. Scripture.

As Christians we can live our lives as examples of what being filled with the Holy Spirit really looks like. Through the truth of Scripture, and a love for others rooted in Biblical honesty, we can help more sinners get into the Kingdom with us. We can do this ONLY through intentional study of the Word so we are leading others down the right path to salvation.

"Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many that enter through it. For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it." Matthew 7:13-14