In a Christian literary world that is beleaguered with “how-to-live-a-better-Christian-life” books, Deward Publishing author Jason Hardin has offered us another, Boot Camp - this one focusing on how a Christian man can live opposite to what the world expects. Hardin’s approach is a bit unique. As can surely be surmised from the title, his volume centers around a military theme. Hardin uses this military launching point to focus in on his central topic – integrity.

The book is divided into three sections: Frist is “The Beginning of Our Journey” which introduces the subject at hand and is a challenge to Biblical integrity in the framework of military terminology. Second is “As Integrity is Born, What Must Be Put to Death?” which addresses seven challenges to integrity such as Selfishness, Idolatry and Sins of the Tongue. Part Three is “The Lord’s Armory” in which Hardin issues the ultimatum for men to rely on the Lord.

Boot Camp highlights Hardin’s marvelous creative imagination. For example in Chapter One he introduces us to a “great cloud of witnesses” (Hebrews 12.1) that are the spectators in an ancient coliseum. We are the participants in the arena of life. Imagine Moses, Gideon and David observing as you live your life. With this imagery Hardin gets our attention right from the start.

The text is frequently intertwined with Scripture which supports the challenges that Hardin wishes to issue. It should direct you to your Bible to check out his exegesis.

While Boot Camp really doesn’t break any new ground, it is certainly worth the read. Hardin’s style is light which makes the book an easy read. It is encouraging and challenging and will serve as an excellent primer for a new Believer and a challenging reminder to more mature and experienced Christians.

More Info on Religious Liberty

Here’s a link to further information on the case of the Christian photographers in Colorado who have had their religious freedom stripped from them.

http://www.breakpoint.org/bpcommentaries/entry/13/23199

At the bottom of the article are a few more links to various stories concerning this case.

This is a case that has far-reaching implications and consequences. This is a case that can totally reinterpret our religious freedoms.

Here’s a potential worst-case scenario.

If this case gets to the U.S. Supreme Court and if the Supreme Court upholds this ruling in Colorado, how we conduct ourselves as Christians will be threatened. Soon your religious liberty will extend only to your house of worship. Once you step outside the doors of your church, your religious liberty will end. Your right to speak about God will end where the church walk meets the sidewalk.

If you are a Christian who owns a business, forget about conducting your business with an eye toward Christianity in mind. You, the owner of a private business, will not be able to refuse the service of your business to anyone.

It’s all a frightening scenario, but it is not long in coming.

More and Moore on the Christian Photogs

Here’s a follow up article on the couple who refused to photograph the commitment ceremony of a homosexual couple and then had their ears pinned back by the New Mexico Supreme Court.

 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=40969

The article provides more detail on the decision (with a few more incredible quotes from the “esteemed” justices and some reaction from SBC leaders.

One of the justices summed up some of his comments with this statement,

“Compromising religious beliefs is ‘a price ... we all have to pay somewhere in our civic life,’" Boson wrote.

All this is an indication of where religious liberty is heading in our country – down the liberal, progressive rabbit hole.

One of the statements of reaction from an SBC leader caught my attention also. Russell D. Moore, president of the SBC Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, commented that the church's appropriate response should not be venting outrage at the decision but rekindling "in our own churches why religious liberty and freedom of conscience are essential for a free church and a free state. We've been here before, and we'll be here again."

What? That reads to me like we ought to take the punch; that we ought not to display any moral outrage.

Give me a break Dr. Moore. We ought to raise …. about this. When the schoolyard bully pushes you to the ground and you fall down and scrape your elbows, you get up and push the bully back. You don’t go home and reevaluate why the bully doesn’t like you.

 

We need to fight this battle in the cultural wars until we win or die trying.

Coming Soon to a Town Near You - Freedom from Religion

I haven’t had the opportunity to “blog” much lately, but this particular story really caught my attention and I thought it was vital that as many people as possible were aware of the story itself and the multitude of implications that are behind it.

It is illustrative of a number of counter-Christian social issues that are embodied in our laws today. It shows exactly the path down which the USA is travelling. Think of it as the Garmin of our moral direction.

You’ll want to read the story first here: http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=40958

BUT, before you hit the link, here’s the headline: Christian photogs must compromise beliefs.

Aside from the overall case itself, what is astonishing are the statements made by the members of the New Mexico Supreme Court. Here’s a sample.

"The Huguenins today can no more turn away customers on the basis of their sexual orientation -- photographing a same-sex marriage ceremony -- than they could refuse to photograph African-Americans or Muslims," Justice Richard Bosson wrote in the court's unanimous decision.

If that doesn’t make your head spin and your blood boil, well then …

And with this statement Bosson has just wiped away the First Amendment. He has reinterpreted the Constitution to mean to “freedom from religion.”

The next step in New Mexico (and eventually the USA) will be the state dictating to churches when to meet, where to meet and what to believe.

Let’s hope the Alliance Defending Freedom does appeal this case to the U.S. Supreme Court and the they agree to hear it. A decision on this case will point out to us the direction of our nation.

Come on ERLC! Come on FRC! Come on SBC!

Come on ERLC! Come on FRC! Come on SBC!

Here’s the riddle for the day: What happens when Christian/Evangelical organizations act like those in the non-Christian world?

Answer: [I’ll provide one for you later.]

If you’re having difficulty, let me give you a few facts to clarify your thinking.

Every day I receive an e-mail from Baptist Press. It bills itself as “News with a Christian Perspective” and it’s a publication of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). One of the stories in the May 24^th edition concerned Richard Land receiving the “Watchman on the Wall” award from the Family Research Council (FRC) and its president Tony Perkins. Land is the outgoing president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), an organization of the SBC.

“How wonderful,” I thought. “I wonder exactly what the Watchman on the Wall award is.” So I pop up the ol’ Google and off we go. A simple search led me to a page with this headline “Family Research Council President Tony Perkins to Receive Distinguished Service Award from ERLC.” What? Did I misread the abbreviations?

Turns out this is a press release  - a press release announcing that Perkins was going to receive an award in February 2013 from the ERLC. A what’s worse is that the award Perkins was receiving was the Richard Land Distinguished Service Award from the ERLC.

Holy smokes, boys. This looks a lot like organizational incest. Couldn’t you have waited a year or two to hand the awards to each other instead of three months?!

ANSWER TO THE RIDDLE: It doesn’t necessarily tarnish your testimony with the non-believers of the world (they probably don’t give a hoot anyway), it destroys your credibility with the believers you are trying to minister to and influence.

CONSEQUENCES OF THE ANSWER TO THE RIDDLE: With these gentlemen parading around and patting each other on the back, why would any hard working Christian want to donate his/her hard-earned money to either organization?

Come on, gentlemen. Surely you must see how bad this looks! It smacks of Pharisaism.

If you want to follow the trail of the smelly fish, here are the links to the two stories.

BP News - http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=40382

FRC Press Release - http://www.frc.org/newsroom/family-research-council-president-tony-perkins-to-receive-distinguished-service-award-from-erlc

A Shocking Poll from Gallup

Okay, get ready to put on your shock face.

Well, on second thought, maybe that wouldn’t be a shock if we, as a country, had any moral fiber remaining.

A recent Gallup Poll shows that “72% of Americans Think the Country’s Moral Values Are ‘Getting Worse.’”

Go here to read the sad numbers on the poll … http://cnsnews.com/news/article/gallup-72-americans-think-country-s-moral-values-are-getting-worse.  And you may just want to put this on your favorite list and refer back to it when the whole country goes down the tubes.

I won’t try to interpret the numbers for you because everyone seems to have their own moral compass by which they evaluate such a poll. I’ll just pass on my favorite determination and let you examine the rest.

The poll specifically showed that Americans who attend church weekly, are married, or are Republican, were the most negative about the country’s moral direction. But even Democrats, people who attend church infrequently, and the unmarried had high negative outlooks about the nation’s moral values.

And one final thought – I think it is not so important that these numbers exist, but rather how do we turn this ship around?  This question can be answered in two steps: (1) What caused the moral decline, and (2) what can be done to improve the morals of America?

A Day of Reason?

This will be just a short note for everyone to go to the two links provided.

There really is little to say about this mayor’s philosophy of life. It is typical of life today in the USA.

And for Christians this is the battle. For every day of prayer, some nitwit will offer a humanistic meditation solution. For every cause to worship some nitwit will entertain a day to celebrate human accomplishment. The goal, of course, is to squeeze God completely out of the society.

So take the time to read these two pieces. It will be an awakening.

First read this: http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2013/04/30/anthony-foxx-declares-thursday-a-day-of-reason-instead-of-prayer-in-charlotte

Then go here: http://www.churchandculture.org/blog.asp?id=4307