I just happened to catch Fox’s Shephard Smith’s comments during the broadcast last week, and knew right away there would be fall-out (watch HERE).
Well I certainly called that, for no sooner did I pop over to one of the largest most popular Christian prophecy boards on the Internet that evening, did I read they were already rallying the troops; a few had even began emailing Fox demanding that Smith be fired. Didn’t matter that what he said was the truth..for after all, who cares about truth anymore? Certainly many who claim Christ as Lord and Savior sure don’t seem to care. Especially if any truth goes contrary to their political ideologies.
Frank Rich at the NYTimes wrote an excellent column yesterday, concerning Shephard Smith’s comments: he writes about the Silent Enablers.
We’re not to be silent enablers..
For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light; (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. …But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. – Ephesians 5
quote..
WHEN a Fox News anchor, reacting to his own network’s surging e-mail traffic, warns urgently on-camera of a rise in hate-filled, “amped up” Americans who are “taking the extra step and getting the gun out,” maybe we should listen. He has better sources in that underground than most.
What he reported was this: his e-mail from viewers had “become more and more frightening” in recent months, dating back to the election season. From Wednesday alone, he “could read a hundred” messages spewing “hate that’s not based in fact,” much of it about Barack Obama and some of it sharing the museum gunman’s canard that the president was not a naturally born citizen. These are Americans “out there in a scary place,” Smith said.
These are extraordinary words to hear on Fox.
The spotlight tonight is on all of us who have sat by in silence, whether its been from fear of man or plain apathy, refusing to reprove the works of darkness coming from those who claim Jesus Christ publicly. You know, the ‘voices’ heard or read the most.
Let me also say, the silence has become deafening. For by staying silent, we are not only enablers, but are seen as accepting of, or being in agreement with, those today, who’s visible fruit is so rotten that the stink emanating from it (and them) keeps many lost souls away from Christ and the good news of The Gospel message.
Let your light shine friends.…let your love for Jesus cause you to become bold against the darkness in his body today. It won’t be judgmentalism if its motivated by your love for him and others. And love should always be our motivation…
Prayerfully ask the Master Gardner to till your ground, so that good fruit may be produced and “hang” from your branches in abundance! That excellent fruit will give off an aroma to a lost world which will draw them to you and ultimately to our Savior. Isn’t that why we’re still here?
“..the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts” - Gal.5: 22-24
Well, hello “me” without Christ. That is all that shows me.
This only goes to show that Truth is Truth. What Truth am I referring to?
That Christ came and died for a select Elect among many born of women.
Hmmmmmm?
Psa 89:11 The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours; the world and all that is in it, you have founded them.
Psa 89:12 The north and the south, you have created them; Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name.
Psa 89:13 You have a mighty arm; strong is your hand, high your right hand.
Psa 89:14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.
Psa 89:15 Blessed are the people who know the festal shout, who walk, O LORD, in the light of your face,
Psa 89:16 who exult in your name all the day and in your righteousness are exalted.
Psa 89:17 For you are the glory of their strength; by your favor our horn is exalted.
Psa 89:18 For our shield belongs to the LORD, our king to the Holy One of Israel.
There is none Righteous, no not one. From the pool of humanity alive today there is found no one Righteous before God. The Only One who attained to this perfection was Jesus:
Gen 1:31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Now consider that Jesus “came” to the earth. He is Self Existant. He is Holiness personified. He is Righteousness personified. He came and was born of a woman and became a son of Adam’s race.
Now step back and consider this:
Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
Eph 1:4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love
Eph 1:5 he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,
Eph 1:6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
The Choice is God’s and it was a Redemptive Choice ruled by God the Father, Holy and Just, God the Son, Holy and Just and God the Holy Ghost, Holy and Just Who created these present heavens and earth, the world and all things in it.
Who did God “send” to this world from there, that place before the foundation of the world? His Children through Jesus Christ.
Who caused this evil to come about that God allowed? The Devil, Satan himself.
To try and button up all that I said above I will rely upon Scripture to put it into some context and perspective:
Psa 72:1 Of Solomon. Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to the royal son!
Psa 72:2 May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice!
Psa 72:3 Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness!
Psa 72:4 May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the children of the needy, and crush the oppressor!
Psa 72:5 May they fear you while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, throughout all generations!
Psa 72:6 May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth!
Psa 72:7 In his days may the righteous flourish, and peace abound, till the moon be no more!
Psa 72:8 May he have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth!
Now I would zero in on this verse, “verse 7″ and ask you to consider both “why” there are some “blessed” and why there are some “cursed” in this world today and in all past generations and in any future generation til the end generation comes?
For me it comes back to understanding the “riddle” or “clue” to being blessed or cursed.
We all were born into this world “cursed” by Adam’s transgression and because of that we too will suffer “death”, the curse of the Law.
But that is not the “curse” I am addressing.
The “curse” I am addressing goes to the heart of Paul’s intent for writing what he did there at Ephesians 1 and particularly the use of this phrase in them: “….even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world,….”.
You are or you are not “chosen” in Him before the foundation of the world and are meant to be according to His Will from there or you are not. It is that simple.
But the “curse” and the reason you see such reaction by Shepherd Smith or anyone who would “live” Godly in Christ Jesus, are enabled to do so by the Grace and Mercy of God. It is this that I want to underscore now.
Seeing we were born cursed under the violation of the Law of Righteousness already we are not pointing to that curse.
The curse that the Holy Ghost would point us to has to do with “His” Faith once delivered to the Saints, Jude writes.
What curse then is it?
Well read these famous words and consider “Why” Righteousness was imparted to such a wretched idolatrous and adulterous sinner Abram:
Gen 12:3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Hopefully you can understand Psalm 72:7 now? “In his days may the righteous flourish, and peace abound, till the moon be no more!”
What will end these crazy reactionary expressions that Shepherd Smith highlighted on his program? Righteousness that was and is the Will of God chosen to rise up and reign in this Life as Paul describes it at Ephesians 1. This is the Righteousness that flourishes.
The curse then is upon those who refuse to receive “His” Faith choosing rather to live in this world according to their own faith and righteousness and goodwill going about exercising their beliefs killing others and not leaving vengeance to God.
Abram was reckoned as Righteous in the face of such evil and impossible circumstances in his day. Anyone who receives that same “Call” receives the very same “Faith” as Abraham and are just as Abraham, “reckoned” Just and Righteous as Righteous Abraham though the curse of the Law of Righteousness continues doing its work as we see in Abraham’s “flesh” too. It is so still, as it does in ours.
God saves His Elect out of this world. The separation is an Act of God’s Will according to “what” He knows and understands not man.
All I can say is the curse comes upon those who reject “His Faith” choosing to live in their own and acting on that ungodly faith during their lifetime in this ungodly world ruled by Satan himself.
Will this sort of self righteous violent act continue and increase in the world we live in? Yes. Jesus said as much and the picture of the end of the age according to Jesus seems to become so much more violent only the Elect will be saved out of it by an Act of God!
Mat 24:21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.
Mat 24:22 And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.
What seems to me to be something more important than that is the next verses:
Mat 24:23 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it.
Mat 24:24 For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.
Mat 24:25 See, I have told you beforehand.
It is as though there is a growing violence building up and then supressed and then a calming period and then an even greater growing violent outburst upon the world stage and then supression of that. It also seems that after each supression the devils are able to cause some to believe deceiving them by some sort of pious righteousness that Jesus has to warn us:
Mat 24:26 So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it.
Jesus then states the obvious to the Children of “Light” about “Light” and the characteristics of the “Light” at work in the Children of Light:
Mat 24:27 For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
The reality is this, Light and Lights are Light all the same.
Jesus is the Son of Light. We have been adopted to become Sons of Light and according to Paul that adoption was set in effect before the foundation of the world.
The Sons of Light come to know that they are such by the proclamation of the Gospel. This Gospel is to be preached to every creature for a witness and then the end shall come.
The days ahead for the Blessed of God will hold tremendous opportunity to lead many to Righteousness hence Psalm 72:7, righteousness will flourish!
My advice is to focus on the major things and keep the major things the major things and give some sense to wickedness that is abounding in “light” of the circumstances they abound in.
These are the best of times now for the Church and I suggest the times will be better especially if you can find your way to the Righteous Right Hand of God in Christ Jesus and realize what is being taught by Paul here:
Rom 5:17 For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.
and here:
Rom 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
and here:
Rom 16:20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
One of the best benedictions in the Bible in my opinion is this one here:
2Co 13:11 Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.
2Co 13:12 Greet one another with a holy kiss.
2Co 13:13 All the saints greet you.
2Co 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Amen?
Amen and amen then!
PJ,
Am I missing something? I watched the video and I went to the blog board. I didn’t see any hate speech nor did I see the troops lining up.
I saw an email that didn’t call for any action on the part of the people but rather someone calling Obama what he is. That isn’t hate speech.
The blog commented on Shep’s presentation of the subject. I saw people agreeing with the context of the infromation and how it was presented.
Frank Rich, you mean ultra liberal Frank Rich, don’t you and the NYT. Come on.
Let’s also mention Sara Palin and the rotten things the ultra liberal Letterman said about her and her daughter.
Let’s also mention the church burnings in the south by the hate filled left. The ones who poured gasoline not only around the church but also in the doorways of all the exits.
How about the daily Kos and Huffington post and all their hate spewed posts?
When are you going to be fair and balanced? It seems lately or I should say every since Obama came on the scene you have picked apart anyone you could find on the right. Why is that?
Where’s the love?
rick62
Fox’s Smith was referring to the number of emails he has been receiving in the past few months, which are over the top and extreme in nature–this he did on the day of still another shooting by another right-wing extremists. He was making a connection between the recent murders and what he sees happening in this nation: paranoia, fear mongering, and dangerous extremism being perpetrated on boards, blogs, etc…
And he is correct.
The greater concern for me as a Christian, is this same ‘unGodly’ spirit is being spread on many Christian boards/blogs/websites. AND that Christians, not caught up in it themselves, are remaining silent on the issue.
As far as the long thread i linked to, you’re right–i see today that the more volatile comments have (thank God) been removed from the numerous pages. But on the day of the broadcast, the comments were unbelievable in their unChrist-like content. They definitely were not coming from any type of Christian i want to be associated with.
And the link i gave was only one of many such threads posted on Christian blogs/boards around the internet.
In your statement above, you prove my point…very well actually.
Are you a Christian rick62? If you are, then why do you see everything in a political context? Why do you feel the need to post a comment filled with ‘tit for tat’ on bad behavior?
And why do you believe only conservatives own the truth? Apparently you do, for you felt the need to point out the author of the article i quoted from was an “ultra liberal” in your estimation.
See that’s the difference between you and i: I look for truth wherever its to be found–and the same goes for darkness. Politics has nothing to do with it–
You’ll never see me “fair and balanced”…I’m a Christian rick, and biblical Christianity is not “fair and balanced”. Its radically & narrow-mindedly pro Jesus Christ and truth.
First, that’s false. I was “picking apart” as you call it, the right wing political Christian movement, long before this last election. I called it another sign of the last day apostasy. And it is….
What you may have noticed are a number of more recent posts on the volatile hatred which has escalated since Obama’s election on Christian websites BY those who claim to follow Christ. And i do that for good reason; Which is those who are participating in this sinful behavior (and its growing by leaps and bounds) claim to be members of my ‘family’…the body of Christ.
They are no longer connected to the ‘Head’–which is Jesus
Where is the love rick62 when the truth is ignored? It is absent. If our idea of love is to continue to blindly enable those who present a false Christ and form of Christianity to the world, it is not true love.
Paul understood this:
am i your enemy because i speak the truth? Gal. 4:16
PJ,
Have you ever read the Myth of a Christian Nation by Greg Boyd? I am reading it now. Very relevant to the recent discussions on this topic.
Barbara, i have…in fact its still lying on my night-stand.
Late last year i had come upon a post and video’s about the topic and book at a brothers blog, and was so intrigued i put up a post here AND got a copy of the book!!
Here’s the rather long thread (there were quite a few comments) and a couple video clips: Gregory Boyd on “The Myth of a Christian Nation”
When i read it, all i could do was thank God…
Everything Boyd wrote was a confirmation of what the Holy Spirit had been showing me for over a year…
I’d be interested to hear what you think of it Barbara!
Jesus called Herod, “that fox”. It was a rebuke and a critical commentary on a political figure. John the Baptist was beheaded for denouncing the moral depravity of President Herod. Jesus did not separate himself from his culture, society or the politics of his day. He was keenly aware of all that was going on in his country. If a political leader is doing what we Christians perceive to be destructive to our country, we have an obligation to speak out and expose evil with the light and salt of our testimony, witness, and our actions.
Yehuda,
Herod, tetrarch of Galilee and Peraea, was rebuked by John the baptist not because of his politics but because he transgressed Jewish law concerning divorce and re-marriage. (Leviticus 18:16 and 20:21)…and adultery.
I’m sure he was aware, but Jesus never involved himself with the politics of his day–he didn’t even openly reprove the Romans or Rome’s politics.
Jesus ‘saved’ his rebukes and most vocal admonishments for the Jewish religious leaders of his day. His concern was focused on the kingdom of God not the earthly kingdoms and/or their rulers.
That’s why we vote.
We cannot dismiss the commands we are given by God in his word, concerning government leaders:
“I exhort therefore, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and givings of thanks, be made for all men: for kings and all who are in high places; that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; who desires all people to be saved and come to full knowledge of the truth.” 1 Timothy 2:1-4.
“Let every soul be in subjection to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those who exist are ordained by God. Therefore he who resists the authority, withstands the ordinance of God; and those who withstand will receive to themselves judgment. For rulers are not a terror to the good work, but to the evil. Do you desire to have no fear of the authority? Do that which is good, and you will have praise from the same, for he is a servant of God to you for good. But if you do that which is evil, be afraid, for he doesn’t bear the sword in vain; for he is a minister of God, an avenger for wrath to him who does evil. Therefore you need to be in subjection, not only because of the wrath, but also for conscience’ sake. For this reason you also pay taxes, for they are ministers of God’s service, attending continually on this very thing.” Romans 13:1-6
PJ,
I bought the book last week and I am reading it now. I am blown away at how much it confirmed many of my thoughts that I could not articulate to many of my Christian friends. So far, I feel like I am being re-educated on the truth of the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of the World. Sadly my husband and I were involved for many years in several prophetic, NAR churches where Chuck Pierce and others were regular visitors. So you can imagine what I was believing. We were supposed to invade the world’s system and take it over for Christ and subdue all realms of society for Jesus. But always it felt that we were using wordly human channels to only change people’s behavior. Only the Holy Spirit can change a person’s heart and produce life long lasting results. We can elect as many Christian leaders, advance all Christian laws and still people’s heart and souls may not be changed. Because we are using external methods to try and change the world….not going to happen. It just saddens to know that the church is more focused on political agendas than saving people’s souls and reflecting the image of Jesus to the world. Its like we are fighting the world for power. So the book is music to my ear and my spirit. I feel like I am learning so much about how Jesus could live in such a highly politicized environment and never get sucked in to the political battles of the day. He was focused on doing the Father’s will and nothing more/ nothing less. Its an amazing book!
Barbara you sound like me.
God began to open my eyes to the wrong thinking i had concerning the 2 kingdoms, a couple years back; but it wasn’t until the past year that it hit me like a ton of bricks. I credit the last election cycle for being what God used to truly wake me up. I’ll never forget it. Many days i sat at my computer, reading and watching events and people (many of them Christians), which left me in confusion and in tears.
Its been one of the hardest lessons God has ever taught me.
Many in the American Church, have blurred the line so much between the 2 kingdoms, that the two are indistinguishable to not only us now, but to the lost. In the process, we have lost the ability of being able to discern (and separate) the two.
Reading Boyd’s book did the same for me. I’m not a writer or a very good explain-er (lol) so it was exciting to read his words which explained perfectly how i felt.
John the Baptist’s motives are not my point. He was still publicly exposing and accusing a powerful political leader. When ex-president Bill Clinton had sex with an intern, he was called up for impeachment because he transgressed acceptable moral behavior. Clinton was first exposed by Matt Drudge, a Jewish blogger. Mr. Drudge did much more than “just cast his vote”, and the country was better served by his actions.
I receive the correction of your scripture references in the books of Timothy and Romans. Paul establishes a model that has become increasingly more difficult to follow. I will read Greg Boyds’ book.