The Censorship of Christians

Ramblings from Retirement – The Censorship of Christians

By Retired Pastor Lee Hemen

December 13, 2022

In our cancel culture today, there are those who desire to censor anyone who disagrees with their perceived proclivity or progressive ideals. Socialism loves censorship, and it is the fuel that fans the flames of oppression. Christians should be on the forefront of opposing any censorship of speech. It is at the core of what we believe.

When Jesus stood before the religious and political leaders of his day, they hated him because of the message he brought. It would upset their political and spiritual power over the population they were supposed to be leading. They wanted to keep their positions. Many Jews when they “had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him.” (John 11:45 NIV84) Some of those who were concerned about what Jesus was teaching, went to the Pharisees, and told them what was happening. They were the “Karens” of their day. John relates that “Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. ‘What are we accomplishing?’ they asked. ‘Here is this man performing many miraculous signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.’ Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, ‘You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for you that one man dies for the people than that the whole nation perish.’” (John 11:47-50 NIV84) They wanted to shut Jesus up because if the gospel truth kept being told, people would believe the truth! You have to understand what was occurring here, Caiaphas, the highest authority for the Jews both spiritually and politically, had already offered money, a bribe, to anyone who would turn on Jesus. His response is the same shameful and horrendous thing politicians, liberal media, and socialist today believe that it is “better” to sacrifice any individual who stands in their way, than to give up their power and prestige.

We see the very same thing occurring with online platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube today. We find it in the political halls of our own nation and in the walls of progressive colleges, schools, and churches. Just as time after time the rulers, religious leaders, and other wanted to silence Jesus, we find Teacher Unions, political systems, online entities, and progressive politicians who desire to silence parents, oppress voters, and edit what you read or hear. We’ve learned that Twitter deliberately suppressed viewpoints on COVID, vaccines, and politics that those who ran Twitter did not agree with, even when they were factual! If you disagree with the latest views on climate, mutilating children, murdering the unborn, or a politician those in power agree with you are censored.

The Cambridge Dictionary is being criticized for altering the definitions of the words “man” and “woman” to include people who identify as a gender other than their biological sex. The definition of woman, which previously was based on actual biology, now states that a woman is “an adult who lives and identifies as female though they may have been said to have a different sex at birth.” Similarly, a man is now defined as “an adult who lives and identifies as male though they may have been said to have a different sex at birth.” This is a form of censorship because any viewpoint other than that put forward by those in power is branded as “hateful”. When President Joe Biden signs the Respect for Marriage Act this week, he’ll be flanked by Vice President Kamala Harris, first lady Jill Biden, and gay drag queen story hour performer Marti Cummings, according to an invite posted by Cummings. Within the law passed by Congress and signed by the President are portions that tacitly force Christians to support lifestyles they deem as perverted and against the word of God. (https://www.cnsnews.com/commentary/bill-donohue/why-invite-drag-queen-white-house)

According to a recent Gallop poll over one third of women nationwide are prolife, but you had better not express that verbally or you may lose your job. (https://www.dailysignal.com/2022/12/12/its-2022-the-left-still-thinks-women-cant-think-for-themselves/) Most parents, over 80%, do not agree with the progressive “woke” agenda being taught in schools, and yet Teacher Unions and public libraries are constantly pushing it down your children’s throats. A middle school teacher is just one of many examples, who mock parents that want a say in lessons about gender, sexuality, and sex ed. Says parents should trust teachers because they’re experts and parents aren’t (pic.twitter.com/uasDYA9UXS).

Ben Shapiro understands the rising problem when he writes that “The legal obliteration of the distinction between governmental and private activity was only one prong of the new societal remolding. The second was the philosophical obliteration of the distinction between immutable characteristics and behavior. The case can easily be made morally that people ought not be victims of discrimination based on their immutable characteristics, like race; rejecting moral disapproval of particular behavior, however, means destroying the basis for any moral system. Yet that is what the law does when it likens race to sexual orientation philosophically.

These twin attacks on traditional American society — vitiation of the distinction between private and public, and elimination of the distinction between innate characteristics and behavior — are predicates to tyranny. The new secular system sets up government as a new god, determining right and wrong and cramming it down on every subject. You will be forced to celebrate the behaviors of others; you will be treated as a bigot if you do not.”

What Twitter did, what the “woke” culture is doing, what the liberal media desire you to adhere to, what you are being forced to do as a believer, and what some politicians are doing to your free speech should concern you as a Christian.

—-

This article is copyrighted © 2022 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission

Ramblings from Retirement – Words Do Mean Things

Ramblings from Retirement – Words Do Mean Things
By Pastor (Retired) Lee Hemen
March 29, 2022

The other day I was outside working in my yard getting things ready for spring, and the growing season, I began to think about how people today think that by using the right words or phrases will solve our problems. Now I know that many of them do not truly believe this and they are simply endorsing their own political correct propaganda in order to bring about a change in the world that fits their own paradigm. However, I suddenly realized that these social misfits do not realize it but they are endorsing what Jesus taught. And, I am sure that many of them would be horrified to realize this truth.

One afternoon while Jesus was berating the hypocrites in the crowds that constantly followed him, he bluntly told them, “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned. (Matthew 12:33-37 NIV84)”

You see Jesus often used common metaphors in order to teach eternal truths to an unwitting crowd. Jesus knew that fruit trees of that day only produced the fruit God designed them to produce, and if the tree was bad at its core it would only produce bad fruit. A farmer had to do something in order to make the tree produce good fruit, the tree itself could not. What the unsuspecting crowd did not fully understand is that they were bad to the bone, too their very core. Therefore they would only produce bad fruit in life, something or someone else had to make them produce good fruit.

Notice that Jesus continued to relate that “But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” He did not mean we were to use only approved words, names, or monikers but rather that we as sinful human beings were rotten inside and out, and if we wanted to truly produce good fruit in life we needed to change. The only words that could change us both inside and out were to confess our faith in him. Words do mean things and the spoken word reflects what one truly believes, but word themselves have no power to change anyone unless they believe the truth they proclaim. This is why the Apostle Paul would later write, “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. (Romans 10:9-10 NIV84)” The words people need to use to acquit themselves before God is their faith in him through Jesus. That one truly believes with their entire being “Jesus is Lord”. Words do mean things, what words do you truly believe?
—-
This article is copyrighted © 2022 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.

Ramblings from Retirement – Find Your Peace

Ramblings from Retirement – Find Your Peace
By Retired Pastor Lee Hemen
May 6, 2021

For me there is nothing better in the morning than to sit listening to the squirrels chattering outside, the red-winged blackbirds singing, and the sounds of people mowing lawns while I begin my day drinking a black cup of coffee. I grind some Guatemala Antigua beans, make four cups of the smoothest tasting dark nectar there is.

My mother taught me to drink straight black coffee. Except her coffee was often boiled in a pan of water on the stove and had the consistency of crude oil. Instead of pouring it you cut off a chunk and swallowed it whole. She would often let it cook on the stove or in her newfangled peculator all day as she wandered back and forth getting a new chunk in her cup. She learned to make coffee as a young girl in Wyoming cooking for cowhands. Lest you think it had a detrimental effect on her, she lived into her early 90’s and continued to drink plain black crude oil of coffee all day. She grew up poor and tried to escape it by going to Alaska as a young teenager.

Sitting here today I was reminded of what Jesus related to his disciples: “All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. (John 14:25-27 NIV)” Sadly my Mother was not a believer but she did find some comfort in a strong cup of Joe each day.

A good cup of coffee soothes the soul and I do not mean the prissy thousand calorie quasi-milkshake sugar induced confections that are often swilled by Starbuck drones. I mean a good black cup of freshly brewed coffee where the smell of roasted beans and the fresh scent of brewed heaven wafting up and gently engulfing you like a cloud. Now I know some of you will say that tea is better, but come on really? Green leaves boiled into nasty weak soup as opposed to a real drink made dark and rich? The best way to have tea is with a lot of lemon, sweetener, and ice. I jest of course so please no snarky remarks.

I drink my brew in a Donald Duck mug because he is my favorite cartoon character and always has been since I was a kid. When I first saw Donald lose it and go into his famous rage madly quacking and then the next instant be gentle and calm he reminded me of my Mother. She was like that. She could be the sweetest person one moment and then go all Donald Duck on you the next. However, the one thing that brought her joy was her coffee in the morning. She would sit by her patio door, listening to the birds in her backyard, looking out at her flower garden full of roses and a myriad of other flowery blossoms and the orneriness would melt away. She would drink her coffee and forget about her poverty, her stress, aches and pains, and allow it to be soothed away. We learned as kids to make sure she got her first cup as soon as she got up.

Dear child of the Lord I do not know if you like coffee or not, tea or some other thing, but what I want to leave you with today is take time to relax in the Lord and find your peace of mind in him. Do not let your heart be troubled by the cares and concerns of the day and allow them to melt away in the presence and peace of the Lord and perhaps a cup of coffee.

This article is copyrighted © 2021 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.

Ramblings from Retirement: Language Is More than Words!

Ramblings from Retirement: Language Is More than Words!
By Lee Hemen (retired pastor)
December 7, 2020

People sure are loose with their language in our day. Not just with the foul-mouthed verbiage they use but with the excuses they make in order to justify their ungodly actions. It reminds me of King Saul and how he tried to use excuses and words to justify his own rebellion to God. He was told by Samuel, God’s spokesman (prophet), to “attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.”

Now to our “sensitive” ears that may sound harsh, judgmental, and unjustified but it wasn’t. We often try to judge history with our own preconceived notions of what is justified today but to do so is to error big time. We dare not judge people in history by today’s standards and especially God. He had pretty good reasons for why he wanted the Amalekites destroyed. God knew that if even one of them was left alive they would seek revenge on the Israelites and the Amalekites were not the kind of people who would sit around holding hands singing “Kumbaya” with you. They were fierce land pirates who totally destroyed other tribes and nations they came into contact with; not to mention that they practiced some pretty ungodly and horrific religious practices of sacrificing their own children alive. They were kind of the Aztecs of the Middle East at this time; bloody, aggressive, and hating anyone and anything that was not Amalekite. And God knowing how people operate, because he made us, he knew that the Israelites would soon start marrying some of them and incorporate their ungodly ways into their own society which would be totally counterproductive and dangerous for them as a people. Kind of like your beautiful innocent teenage daughter who begins to hang around Goth Boy who wears black, talks in monotone, sports every demonic tattoo possible and pierces every body part he has access to. Just as you would want to protect your daughter God desired to keep his people safe as well.

So back to language is more than words: God had told King Saul what he was supposed to do but Saul buckled under to social pressure, did what he wanted, and then tried to excuse his dishonesty by using God’s own words against Samuel: “But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs–everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed. (1 Samuel 15:9 NIV)”

God was not a Happy Camper and tells Samuel: “‘I am grieved that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions.’ Samuel was troubled, and he cried out to the LORD all that night. (1 Samuel 15:11 NIV)” Samuel heads out to confront Saul who proudly tells Samuel, “The LORD bless you! I have carried out the LORD’s instructions.” Notice Saul did destroy the Amalekites but he did not do exactly as God commanded. Saul even tried to dress it up by “blessing” Samuel. Samuel is not fooled and asks, “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?” Duh! God had taken a man who was nothing and made him King of his people and all he had to do is follow God.

Sounds familiar doesn’t it? Saul whines to Samuel, “The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the LORD your God, but we totally destroyed the rest!” Samuel like a good parent tells Saul just to “stop” with the excuses. Saul then makes one last attempt to justify his disobedience by responding that he did indeed “obey the Lord” that he went on the mission God had assigned him destroyed the Amalekites but brought back Agag their king and took the best stuff for themselves instead of giving it to the Lord. Even though Saul admitted that “I have sinned. I violated the LORD’s command and your instructions.” He confessed that he “was afraid of the people and so I gave in to them.” Saul’s disobedience cost him his kingship. Language is more than words; when we say we love God but do not live like we do, our words mean nothing just like Saul’s words.

In today’s world we think that our good feelings outweigh our words or that our kind words can excuse our actions and neither is true. God knew Saul’s intent just as he knows our intent. This is why Jesus told the crowds, “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men will have to give account on the Day of Judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned. (Matthew 12:35-37 NIV)” Our words may sound good to our ears but it does not mean we are good. We may think that our good feelings are enough to excuse our ungodly actions but they do not.

Our language is more than just words; they mean something. They can reflect the intent of our real self, of who we truly are and what we really believe as a person. Do not use your words lightly, make promises you cannot keep, or say things you truly do not mean unless you are ready to back your words up before the Lord. Never forget what Paul wrote concerning our words: “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. (Romans 10:9-10 NIV)”
—-
This article is copyrighted © 2020 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.

How to Find Comfort In a Harsh World! – Luke 24:31-40

How to Find Comfort In a Harsh World! – Luke 24:31-40

By Pastor Lee Hemen

June 14, 2020

Sometimes example can be so much better than a lecture. Some of the best teachers I have had growing up were those who were willing to come alongside of me and show me how to do something rather than just tell me how to do it. While the Bible teaches us how to live; and whom we should believe in — it cannot mentor us like someone who has already been there and done that. This is how we can learn to find comfort in a harsh world!

If you think your world is falling apart just remember the disciples who had followed Jesus for three and a half years and now had to come to terms with his death. Some were in hiding in fear of being discovered by the authorities, captured, and tortured or crucified, and others had just dejectedly decided to head home. For them, everything they had believed in had come to a horrendous end, what was left? Jesus decided in his wisdom to show them how to find comfort in a harsh world. Let’s discover what he taught them…

READ: Luke 24:31-40

Luke is a great historian. He takes great pains in using the right names for people and their titles. Today’s historians are amazed at how thorough Luke is and it is here in his account of what occurred with two eyewitnesses that we learn that…

I. The comfort of the resurrection gives us hope! (Vv. 31-35)

Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread. 

  1. The women had already found the empty tomb, ran back and told the disbelieving disciples who had to discover what the women had witnessed! The motley crew was despondent over the situation and huddled together wondering what to do next. Some were on their way home already. Noting more to see, hear, or do here; might as well head on home. Yet on their way something extraordinary occurs. On that “same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. (vv. 13-14)” While they were walking a stranger joins them. We learn it is actually Jesus and as he begins to question them they decide to get a bite to eat. As he begins to break the bread and give thanks for it, “Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.” It is often in the midst of life’s greatest grief we find the strongest faith. And this is what occurs here. They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” While their initial journey had begun in grief it had now turned to one of wonder and joy! “They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together and saying, ‘It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.’” Here we discover that they were perhaps some of those who had not believed the women and doubted but now they knew otherwise! Those who had stayed behind in the upper room now confirmed that Peter had seen Jesus at some point and now “the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.” This is important because we now have a minimum of three different eye witness confirmations of Jesus’ resurrection: the women, Peter, and the men walking to Emmaus! The comfort of the resurrection gives us hope! 

  EXAMPLE: A proud and ungodly professor said to a young child who believed in the Lord Jesus, “My dear little girl, you don’t know whom you believe in. There have been many ‘christs’. In which of them do you believe?” “I know which one I believe in,” replied the child. “I believe in the Christ who rose from the dead!” The disciples were so affected by what they had witnessed that they were willing to die for its message. Today hundreds of millions of believers know the same comfort and hope. The comfort of the resurrection gives us hope!

With angry crowds chanting, “No justice, no peace!” and watching the total chaos created by Socialist groups like ANTIFA, the violence, and the rage it might be hard to realize that now is the time to share the peace that surpasses all understanding, Jesus. In fact we learn from Luke’s account that…

II. The comfort of Jesus’ presence gives us peace! (Vv. 36-41)

While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” 

  1. The men headed back immediately to the rest of the disciples who had stayed in Jerusalem to share with them what they had experienced. And “While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’” Wow! Evidently Jesus shows up unexpectedly or just suddenly appears. Mark writes that Jesus appears to them while they were eating and rebukes the remaining disciples for not believing the rest who had seen him. John writes that the doors to the house were locked because of the disciple’s fear of the Jewish authorities and Jesus suddenly stood among them, declaring, “Peace be with you!” So we learn that several different eyewitnesses to the same event have similar tales to tell. It is confirmation of Jesus’ resurrection! Yet these disciple who should have known better “were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost”. Jesus does not want them to think he is a mere phantom but is alive with a physical body and tells them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” Can you imagine what took place? When I came to Christ and read these accounts it struck me that I was reading the actual words of those who witnessed the risen Lord. Each was similar but just different enough to show it was from personal accounts. I can only imagine what they felt. We read that “When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, ‘Do you have anything here to eat?’” It would be difficult to realize that the person you thought was dead is now alive and standing right in front of you. Jesus understands our fears and need to have our doubts confirmed and this is why he asks them for the simple reassurance of a meal. “Do you have anything to eat?” he asks them. A dead man or a ghost doesn’t need food to eat; only a living person does! It is through this simple act that relieved the disciple’s fears. It is the simple fact that the comfort of Jesus’ presence gives us peace!

  EXAMPLE: Julie Ackerman writes, “In the days of Adam and Eve, peace was lost. As soon as they ate the forbidden fruit and realized their nakedness, they started blaming each other (Genesis 3:12-13) and introduced conflict to God’s peaceful planet. Sadly, all of their descendants, including us, have followed their bad example. We blame others for our own bad choices and become angry when no one will accept the guilt. Blaming others for our unhappiness breaks apart families, churches, communities, and nations. We can’t make peace because we’re preoccupied with placing the blame.” How wonderful to realize that the comfort of Jesus’ presence gives us peace!

Conclusion:

The comfort of the resurrection gives us hope! The comfort of Jesus’ presence gives us peace!

—-

This article is copyrighted © 2020 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.

Colin Kaepernick vs. the Truth

Colin Kaepernick vs. the Truth
By Pastor Lee Hemen
September 14, 2018

Colin Kaepernick has become a hero for some and a Nike spokesman for a progressive movement to distort and deconstruct the truth of American history. The mantra goes that the National Anthem is racist because it contains racist philosophies written by a racist. Nothing could be further from the truth. The words in one of the stanzas that no one sings anymore have absolutely nothing to do with slavery or the promotion of it in any way possible. How do I know this to be true, because Key was an active Christian who fought slavery all of his life and he never owned slaves. The words in the stanza that are the focal point of protests do not mean the same things they do today as they did in Key’s day:

No refuge could save the hireling and slave,
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave;
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O’er the land of the free & the home of the brave.

To be oblivious of this fact is either deliberate or gross ignorance on the part of those who persist in this alteration of historical facts. The words “the hireling and slave” refers to those who were fighting at Fort McHenry because the soldiers were “hirelings” and we are all “slaves” to the sin of war. Nothing could save them from the bombardment going on. It was horrendous. Key was writing about how the British wanted to enslave us and make us their hirelings and slaves as well and it has nothing to do with Kay’s supposed racism. And in fact the truth of the situation is totally amazing. The following is taken from a web site AmericanMinute.com for September 13, 2018 and book by William J. Federer:

Francis Scott Key had actually reworked a previous song he had written nine years earlier to celebrate the American victory over the Muslim Barbary pirates titled “When the Warrior Returns from Battle Afar,” 1805:

In the conflict resistless, each toil they endured,
Till their foes shrunk dismay’d from the war’s desolation,
And pale beam’d the Crescent, its splendour obscured
By the light of the Star-Spangled flag of our nation.
Where, each radiant star gleam’d a meteor of war,
And the turban’d heads bow’d to the terrible glare;
Then mix’d with the olive the laurel did wave,
And form’d a bright wreath for the brows of the brave.

Muslim pirates had enslaved an estimated 180 million Africans and over a million Europeans. Virtually every African slave brought to America had been purchased from Muslim slave markets.

In a twist of irony, those intent on removing symbols and reminders of past groups which participated in enslaving Africans must, to be consistent, also remove Islamic symbols, as Muslim slaves markets sold Africans.

After the Battle of Fort McHenry, President James Madison proclaimed, November 16, 1814:

“The National Legislature having by a Joint Resolution expressed their desire that in the present time of public calamity and war a day may be recommended to be observed by the people of the United States as a day of public humiliation and fasting and of prayer to Almighty God for the safety and welfare of these States, His blessing on their arms, and a speedy restoration of peace …I … recommend … offering … humble adoration to the Great Sovereign of the Universe, of confessing their sins and transgressions, and of strengthening their vows of repentance …that He would be graciously pleased to pardon all their offenses against Him … that He would in a special manner preside over the nation … giving success to its arms.”

Remembering American history is necessary to counteract the socialist/communist tactic of deconstruction, which is:

-say negative things about a country’s founders so people emotionally detach from them;
-then move the people into a neutral position where they no longer remember where they came from;
-then brainwashed then into the socialist/communist future planned for them.

Francis Scott Key fought slavery!

In 1820, a U.S. revenue cutter captured the slave ship Antelope off the coast of Florida with nearly 300 African slaves. Francis Scott Key was defense attorney for the Africans, many of whom were just young teenagers. Spending his own money, Key fought to free the slaves in an expensive legal battle which dragged on for seven years. Arguing their case before the Supreme Court in 1825, Francis Scott Key, as recorded by Henry S. Foote: “… greatly surpassed the expectations of his most admiring friends … Key closed with … an electrifying picture of the horrors connected with the African slave trade.”

Jonathan M. Bryant wrote in Dark Places of the Earth: The Voyage of the Slave Ship Antelope (2015):

“Most startling of all, Key argued … that all men were created equal …If the United States had captured a ship full of white captives, Key asked, would not our courts assume them to be free? How could it be any different simply because the captives were black? …Slavery was a dangerously hot subject, but Francis Scott Key stepped deliberately into the fire.”

Bryant continued:

“Key had unleashed all of his rhetorical weapons … This was a case he believed in and had worked personally to bring before the Supreme Court. The Antelope was a Spanish slave ship that had been captured by privateers and then seized by a United States Revenue Marine cutter off the coast of Florida …”

Jonathan M. Bryant continued:

“Using clear precedent, poetic language, and appeals to morality, Francis Scott Key argued that the hundreds of African captives found aboard the Antelope should be returned to Africa and freedom. United States law demanded it,” he said.

The law of nations demanded it, he said. Even the law of nature demanded it.

Key looked into the eyes of the six justices sitting for the case, four of whom were slave owners, and announced that ‘by the law of nature, all men are free.'”

Considered to be one of its many shameful decisions, the Supreme Court sadly chose to define slaves as property. Only a portion of the slaves were returned to Africa where they founded the colony of New Georgia in Liberia. Key raised $11,000 to help the Africans.

In 1841, two years before his death, Francis Scott Key helped former President John Quincy Adams free 53 African slaves in the Amistad case. Francis Scott Key became a board member of the American Sunday School Union and the American Bible Society.

He told the Washington Society of Alexandria, March 22, 1814: “The patriot who feels himself in the service of God, who acknowledges Him in all his ways, has the promise of Almighty direction, and will find His Word in his greatest darkness, ‘a lantern to his feet and a lamp unto his paths’ …He will therefore seek to establish for his country in the eyes of the world, such a character as shall make her not unworthy of the name of a Christian nation.”

Kaepernick will be long forgotten and has suffered the results of his ignorance and pampered lifestyle. Those who continue to promote the deconstruction of history are doomed to repeat the very things we have fought for throughout our Nation’s history that “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Malachi 2:17-3:6 – Being hopeful!

Malachi 2:17-3:6 – Being hopeful!
By Pastor Lee Hemen
April 8, 2018

Being a parent is tough, but I cannot imagine being a single parent. When we were kids my mother, after a particularly hard day, would tell us, “You kids are going to wear your old mother out!” Looking back on this I find it kind of humorous since at the time she was only about 35 years old and she had the backup of my father! Perhaps it was the constant care she had to give to two young active little boys who were always on the go? Being a good parent can, at times, make one feel a little worn out.

I wonder how God feels when his constant care of his children wears on him. Not that God can be worn out, he is God after all. However, when his children continually distrust, disobey, and disrespect him, God tells us he becomes “weary.” Malachi tells the Israelites that God has grown weary of their endless spiritual platitudes. Who were they trying to fool? They did not trust God. We discover that Malachi’s message is just as valid today as it was when he first presented it! As God’s children we are to fully hope in God and not weary him! It’s a matter of being hopeful, let’s discover how…

READ: Malachi 2:17-3:6

God’s people can begin to think and act without faith. We can begin to blame God for the outcome of our own sinful choices. Israel did just that. God’s people need to remember that faith begins and ends in hope. In fact Malachi reminds us that…

I. Our actions show our hope in the Lord! (V. 2:17)

You have wearied the LORD with your words. “How have we wearied him?” you ask. By saying, “All who do evil are good in the eyes of the LORD, and he is pleased with them” or “Where is the God of justice?”

1. How we live says more about what we believe than all our empty words of praise! First, the Israelites had no hope because they were spiritual beggars! They begged God for blessing without investing anything themselves. They are accused of wearing the Lord and ask, “How have we wearied him?” The implication was, “It’s not our fault it’s God’s fault!” They were blinded to their sinful manipulation! The Psalmist related they “soon forgot what he had done and did not wait for his counsel. In the desert they gave in to their craving; in the wasteland they put God to the test. So he gave them what they asked for (Psalm 106:13-14 NIV)!” They were acting and talking as if they had no God to hope in! This world is a spiritual desert, a wasteland and Christians can give into their cravings when they beg God and then blame God for their choices! Secondly, the Israelites had no hope because they trusted in themselves, in their judgment, and in their own decisions of what was right or wrong. They had the gall to sarcastically declare, “All who do evil are good in the eyes of the Lord, and he is pleased with them.” Can you imagine a nation where God had blessed it and manifested himself daily, saying this? Christians can do this very thing when they question why God allows the ungodly to prosper and then question why God doesn’t make them prosper too! This is defining for God what sin should be according to our standards! And finally the Israelites had no hope because they wanted to know, “Where is the God of justice?” In other words they demanded, “If God is real, where is he when we need him?” And this was coming from God’s own people! WOW! Talk about audacity! They questioned God’s justice by saying that he delighted in evil people more than those he chose to love! Yet they were the guilty ones, they were the ones who were unfaithful! God was only God to them when they could see the benefits! Our actions show our hope in the Lord!

EXAMPLE: Have you ever known people who are always demanding attention, wanting more for themselves but never giving anything in return? No not your preschooler. What do we call children who act this way? Spoiled! This is what God’s people had become, Spiritually-spoiled brats! They had begun to think that they deserved being blessed because they were God’s chosen people and not because they were faithful. Their hope was not in the God of Jacob, Abraham and Isaac. Their hope was only in what they could get from God now! They had become like the pagan world around them, seeing God as a good luck charm, something to be manipulated for personal gain. We can weary God when we do the same thing. A God who is infinitely patient and loving was pushed to the point of judgment by those who should have been placing their hope in him. Our actions show our hope in the Lord!

It would be about 500 years before John the Baptist would be a voice crying out in the wilderness announcing the coming of the Messiah. The Israelites would be defeated again, taken into national captivity, and enter into a time of spiritual desperation. Through it all the Israelites had a reason to not despair and we discover that…

II. God offers us hope in a hopeless world! (Vv. 3:1-6)

“See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the LORD Almighty. But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the LORD, as in days gone by, as in former years. “So I will come near to you for judgment. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear me,” says the LORD Almighty. “I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.

1. The gospel writer Matthew quoted Isaiah concerning Jesus by stating that “In his name the nations will put their hope.” (Matthew 12:21 NIV) First, Malachi writes about the coming of God’s wonderful messenger! (V.3:1a) This title “the messenger of the covenant” occurs only here. Many believe it points to John the Baptist, others believe it references Jesus. Malachi relates that “Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come.” Yet, what if the people aren’t prepared and are still sinning? Jesus has “entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption” (Hebrews 9:12 NIV) God’s messenger has come and the Messiah has entered his temple! Secondly, Malachi mentions God’s judgment! Malachi asks two questions: “But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears?” The answer is “No one.” The day of the Lord will be a day of judgment on the whole world for those who do not know the Messiah, “For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.” No one will escape Jesus’ judgment! In fact “he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver.” God tells them, “I will come near to you for judgment. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear me.” God will judge what we believe and how we live! Yet, in all of this there is the basis for hope! Will God’s people be destroyed or put to shame? God says, “No.” “I the Lord do not change!” We can trust in God to do what he promised, “So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.” God has left a remnant in those who believe in Jesus. Peter reminds us that we “are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God (1 Peter 2:9 NIV)” — those who trust in Christ are never put to shame. God offers us hope in a hopeless world!

EXAMPLE: Hope is a gift of God. It does not come wrapped in fancy packaging. In fact real hope came in the form of a very ordinary looking man. He wasn’t anyone you would notice or think of as a hero or a celebrity. Yet at just the perfect time he came to give us all hope, the greatest gift of all. This hope is a free gift as well. It isn’t a come on or a con. Although the hope offered by this one man, changes the con or the priest or the seeker of truth. He is God’s Messiah. He is the hope of the world. He is Jesus Christ. What the Israelites had a tough time understanding in Malachi’s day, we can have in hindsight this morning. Jesus has already come, proven his love for us in that “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” God offers us hope in a hopeless world!

Conclusion:

Dave Franco talks about his young married life as a writer. He had lost his job, his apartment building evicted his family and was becoming a co-op. His wife was pregnant with their second child. In New York City, out of a job, in a place with high rent, and a new family–Dave was frantic. One day they were walking home and he could not stand the pressure of a silent God. “What is God doing?” he angrily demanded of his wife Nicole. Just then his three-year-old son Julian threw a fit because they had passed an ice cream truck and did not stop. “Not now,” they told him. That didn’t work. Finally, after all else failed, Dave told him, “Julian, you’re just going to have to wait!” Dave’s wife remarked, “You know, Julian’s doing exactly the same thing to us that we’re doing to God. God is saying, ‘Wait,’ and we’re telling him we want our ice cream and we want it now.” Israel had become spoiled and negligent spiritually. They failed to place their hope in the One who gives us hope. Dear child of God, have you? Remember, our actions show our hope in the Lord and God offers us hope in a hopeless world!
—
This article is copyrighted © 2018 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.

Do you go to Sunday School?

Do you go to Sunday School?
By Pastor Lee Hemen
January 29, 2018

The apostle Paul wrote his friend and young cohort Timothy these words: “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15 NIV)” Yet sadly in our day many think that by just attending a worship service they have done this; handled the word of truth correctly. Nothing could be further from the truth. We live in a time when things like Wednesday Night and Sunday Evening Services have gone by the wayside and now for many churches they are doing away with Sunday School Classes or promoting Bible Study. It has created a flux of folks who think they know all about the Bible by simply listening to the latest pithy relevant message by their prognosticating preacher, using the Internet to garner spiritual insight, or by reading the latest Christian fad found in their local bookstore.

Paul correctly understood the human condition that it was like water in that it has a tendency to always flow downhill so-to-speak. We are lazy lots who would rather diet and exercise an easy way rather than put in the hardcore self-control and workout that is needed. A pill or prepackaged food will not create the life change needed and the same is true for the Christian who should be growing in their knowledge and understanding of Scripture.

As a pastor I try my best to be in a Sunday School Class on Sunday mornings. I enjoy not only the give and take of lively discussion, I enjoy the friendships formed, and the insights given me by fellow believers. It goes to the basics of what does this passage in the Bible mean, what does it mean for me, and what is its history and context?

Because of the lackadaisical attitude of most Christians there is a spiritual shallowness rampant within Christianity today. Many do not know what they believe nor why they should believe it or not. Most are influenced by society rather than being the salt and light they are supposed to be in an ungodly world. In the 80s and 90s it was the heresy of end times theology that crept into believer’s lives, in the early 2000s it is a worldview that is totally contrary to biblical truth and personal holiness. Worship was never meant to be where one is taught the deep spiritual truths of Jesus. It is where we are to worship. Depending upon a message in a moment will not suffice to make an individual one who is “approved… who correctly handles the word of truth”. Christians need to be in Bible Study or a Sunday School Class, whatever you want to name it, in order to mature and understand the word of God correctly. Paul also told his friend Timothy, “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers. (1 Timothy 4:16 NIV)” And I am reminded of a beautiful little comment by Luke who wrote about a tiny church who saw the importance of getting together with their fellow believers to learn the word of God: “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. (Acts 17:11 NIV)”

My advice then is this: Get your body to Bible Study or Sunday School Class on Sunday mornings and if your church does not offer them, find one that does. Therefore, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15 NIV)”
—
This article is copyrighted © 2018 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.

How to remain faithful! — 1Timothy 4:1-7

How to remain faithful! — 1Timothy 4:1-7
By Pastor Lee Hemen
November 26, 2017

Here in America we have not faced the persecution that exists in much of the rest of the world for our faith. We think that if someone feels ill-will towards us or says a nasty thing about our faith that this is the same as the persecution others around the world face — it is not. Certainly we are facing more and more resentment, ungodliness, and outward bitterness towards Christianity but we are not yet suffering beatings, slavery, and religious genocide as others have and are. Yet how are we to remain faithful if persecution for our faith worsens?

Paul knew very well what real religious persecution was all about. He not only felt it as he followed Jesus but had inflicted it on other believers before becoming a Christian himself. This is why he was being so urgent with Timothy; being a believer in Paul’s day meant being persecuted for your faith. So how does one remain faithful in light of such a prospect? Let’s find out…

READ: 1Timothy 4:1-7

Paul knew there would be those for whatever reason who would try to sway the early church to not adhere to what Jesus taught and so tells Timothy that in order…

I. To remain faithful we must not believe the world’s teaching concerning Christ! (Vv. 1-2)

The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.

1. Jesus had taught his disciples that “false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and miracles to deceive the elect–if that were possible. So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time… No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” (Mark 13:22-23, 32 NIV) And Peter had written to remind the church that “First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, ‘Where is this ‘coming’ he promised?’ Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation… But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” (2Peter 3:3-4, 9 NIV) So like Jesus or the other disciples I do not think Paul was specifically writing Timothy about a set date but rather he knew everyday brought believers closer to the day of Jesus’ return and that “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.” Never forget that anyone who teaches against the gospel in the antichrist and any teaching that goes against what Jesus taught is demonic. John would write that “Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist… every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.” (1John 2:22; 4:3) So Paul warns Timothy that “Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.” To remain faithful we must not believe the world’s teaching concerning Christ!

EXAMPLE: I believe in fact this is what we are facing now in our day. There are those who want to dismiss Jesus as just another human who taught good things and was a nice guy who loved everyone. While this is the partial truth it is not the actual truth. Adam Rutherford in his book A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived: The Human Story Retold Through Our Human Genes writes that history is “foggy” and therefore untrustworthy so if we “Flit back a few centuries, and there is no contemporary evidence even for the existence of Jesus Christ, arguably the most influential man in history. Most of our tales about his life were written in the decades after his death by people who had never met him. Today, we would seriously question that, if it were presented as historical evidence. Even the accounts that Christians rely on, the Gospels are inconsistent and have irreversibly mutated over time.” This is not the gospel message of Jesus who came to “seek and save the lost” rather it is part and parcel of a worldview to dismiss Jesus. To remain faithful we must not believe the world’s teaching concerning Jesus Christ who “appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory” (1Timothy 3:16 NIV). To remain faithful we must not believe the world’s teaching concerning Christ!

There are a lot of false notions that have existed even for decades concerning what is taught in Scripture. As believers we must not appear hypocritical in our faith walk nor in our teaching of what Scripture actually says. Therefore Paul tells Timothy that…

II. To remain faithful we must adhere to the truth! (Vv. 3-5)

They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.

1. There is a lot of ungodly teaching concerning Jesus in our day and sadly a lot of it comes from “Christian” churches. Some of comes from the pride of the preacher who speaks it; some of it comes from the human adherence to unbiblical teaching; and some of it comes from those who would want to deceive you in order to gain some kind of control over your life. I learned early on that the best thing believers can do is to read their Bibles but again sadly few actually do. Instead we allow others to fill our heads full of gospel gunk that has no actual bearing on what Jesus, the disciples, or biblical writers actually taught! As I have heard and taught the best thing to remember when reading what others say about a certain passage: A text taken out of context is a pretext to a false doctrine, and so we must be willing to make sure we contextualize what we read or hear concerning Scripture! Paul gives us some examples of what folks do who have an axe to grind rather than truthfully teaching what is actually in Scripture. Some of these folks “forbid people to marry” like ascetic Catholics or those who think marriage is not necessary or that it can be redefined to fit their personal perverted proclivity! Or those who “order [believers] to abstain from certain foods” like Seventh Day Adventists and their schizophrenic attitude towards the Old and New Testaments or those who teach that Christians should eat only certain “healthy” things forgetting that all things “God created [were] to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth.” Going back to what Jesus actually taught and how he completed God’s plan and therefore the law, redemption, and what we should know about God, Paul reminds us that “everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.” To remain faithful we must adhere to the truth!

EXAMPLE: Pontius Pilate stood in front of the truth of God in human form, Jesus, and asked him “What is truth?” In our day the answer to this question has been reduced to some personal esoteric often emotional concept. We have churches that are complacent in not teaching the entire truth of God found in Scripture. Some do it in order to sooth their own guilt, some do it in order to promote themselves, and some do it so they will not “offend”. The gospel message is offensive by its very nature. Never forget Jesus bluntly taught his followers, “All men will hate you because of me.” (Luke 21:17 NIV) Later Paul would write Timothy, “For the time will come when men 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.” (2 Timothy 4:3 NIV) To remain faithful we must adhere to the truth!

What the world needs today is the gospel truth yet there are those who will defy it, discredit it, and try to dissuade others from following it. Therefore as Paul taught Timothy in order…

III. To remain faithful we must teach others the truth! (Vv. 6-7)

If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, brought up in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly.

1. I have found it frustrating, kind of funny, and often puzzling when you use logic with others and they resort to name-calling, vulgarities, or lying. It is truly sad when those who profess faith in Jesus do these things. Paul understood that this would occur as well and he wanted his young friend Timothy to be aware of his concerns. He knew the Jewish community, the pagan world, and even other jealous believers would resort to these kinds of tactics when faced with the stark truth of the gospel. So he writes that it is his duty as a pastor to teach the truth in season and out of season no matter what others claim. In fact, Paul writes, “If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, brought up in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed.” The same is true for each of who profess our faith and trust in Jesus. In fact, Paul would write Titus, another young pastor, “In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.” (Titus 2:7-8 NIV) Paul would later tell Timothy to “Keep reminding them of these things.” (2Timothy 2:14 NIV) In fact he would tell him to “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. Their teaching will spread like gangrene.” (2Timothy 2:15-17 NIV) And in fact this is why there still exists a resistance for some to follow actual biblical teaching rather than what has “always been taught”. This has created a false correction by some and spiritual rebellion by others. Therefore we are to “Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; [but] rather, [we are to] train [ourselves] to be godly.” To remain faithful we must teach others the truth!

EXAMPLE: I have found it beneficial to allow others to read for themselves what the Bible says rather than always trying to tell someone what it says. This is why I will use specific passages when witnessing to someone else and allow them to read them out loud and tell me what they think they say. Now do not think I am saying that reading some Christian books are not beneficial because they are, but we need to be more discerning in what we read even if it claims Christianity. As Paul would write, “‘Everything is permissible’–but not everything is beneficial. ‘Everything is permissible’–but not everything is constructive.” (1 Corinthians 10:23 NIV) We must follow and teach what the Bible actually says and not our own inclination. Much of what is taught about Jesus’ coming, prayer, angels, worship, church membership, giving, church leadership, and salvation has more to do with manmade doctrines rather than what is actually taught in Scripture. Paul tells Timothy that in order to remain faithful we must teach others the truth!

Conclusion:

To remain faithful we must not believe the world’s teaching concerning Christ! To remain faithful we must adhere to the truth! To remain faithful we must teach others the truth!
—
This article is copyrighted © 2017 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.

Keep Your Promises!

Keep Your Promises!
By Pastor Lee Hemen
November 11, 2017

What is a promise? The Bible relates that it is the same as an oath and is reliant and reflects upon not only the character of the person giving it but it reflects on God himself. If a person says that they believe in God, makes a promise – an oath – and then breaks it they are reflecting poorly not only their own dishonesty but that God cannot be trusted either. This is why Jesus would teach his disciples, “Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” (Matthew 5:37 NIV) Satan, the “evil one” Jesus is referencing here, is the chief liar in all of history.

Jesus has a curious conversation with those who would try to accuse him of being dishonest. He bluntly tells them, “Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me!” (John 8:43-45 NIV) The reason some folks cannot understand the truth, the promise of God through Jesus, is that they are liars. They would rather believe a lie rather than the “gospel truth” concerning salvation through Jesus! Jesus’ language is not clear to a liar because he speaks only the truth and they are unable to hear his language! Wow!

For God and therefore Jesus making a promise and not keeping it is the same as lying. You are a liar if you do not keep your promise. This is why one should always consider the promises one makes and it is why things like marital vows are held in such a high degree. In fact, law courts view breaking the marital vow can result in legal action whereby the guilty party can be held liable. The same is true for contracts we sign and it is why God holds us spiritually accountable for the vows we make, the promises we keep or not, and spiritual laws we are to follow.

So do you think that making a promise to your child, spouse, parents, or others is important to God as a believer? I do and so should you. Keep your promises.