Remember the movie?

During the night, a storm knocked out the electricity, so the alarm clock was unreliable. From 2005-2009, my family and I lived on Chicago’s North Shore – just a couple of blocks from the house where all the holiday zaniness was filmed – and we remember those winter winds well. We loved our time in idyllic Winnetka, Illinois.

Anway, the unreliable alarm clock set the stage. Kevin was asleep – feeling the disgrace of his bad behavior – while the next-door kid made a mistaken head count as the family headed out for the airport. In the mad dash to O’Hare and to board the flight – they barely made it – no one notices that Kevin is missing.

The jumbo jet takes off for Paris, and Kevin is home alone.

For time’s sake, I won’t get into the many lessons learned by Kevin, but I want to share one important conversation between Kevin and his neighbor “Old Man Marley” on Christmas Eve, while they’re watching a choir rehearsal at church …

Marley: “I came to hear my granddaughter sing. And I can’t come hear her tonight.”

Kevin: “You have plans?”

Marley: “No. I’m not welcome.”

Kevin: “At church?”

Marley: “You’re always welcome at church. I’m not welcome with my son. Years back, before you and your family moved on the block, I had an argument with my son. We lost our tempers, and I said I didn’t care to see him anymore. He said the same, and we haven’t spoken to each other since.”

Kevin: “If you miss him, why don’t you call him?”

Marley: “I’m afraid if I call that he won’t talk to me.”

Kevin: “How do you know?”

Marley: “I don’t know. I’m just afraid he won’t.”

Kevin: “No offense, but aren’t you a little old to be afraid?”

Marley: “You can be a little old for a lot of things. You’re never too old to be afraid.”

That’s it: “You’re never too old to be afraid!”

We all have fears. If you say you don’t, you’re either not being honest or you’re in for a shock. Some of us start sweating at even the thought of spiders or snakes or sharks. Or heights. Or public speaking (with or without the audience-in-their-underwear trick). Some of us want to install a new security system every time there’s a strange noise in the middle of the night. Some of us fear impending enemies, whether we know about them or not. They’re out there somewhere – that’s for sure. Many of us feel paralyzed by fear in the form of shame, or defeat, or not measuring up, or sickness, sadness, or aloneness, or loss – whether catastrophic or in some form of gradual decline. I don’t have to tell you that many, many people fear death.

Whether you’re eight or eighty, you’re never too old to be afraid. Marley nailed it, though lots of kids watching the movie were afraid of him! Maybe you’re afraid to be left home alone – or maybe that’s the least of your fears.

Holding onto a peaceful spirit amidst the chaos in this world is difficult to say the least, yet Christ has come to give us exactly that. We can‘t feed on “the news” and expect to stay peaceful, as the entire news industry operates by economic incentive to sensationalize every event in order to hook us in. That’s why “Breaking News” no longer means very much. So we’re always given parts of a story – the parts that somebody has determined are most likely to lure us and lasso us. Fear sells.

Your mind can handle only so much negative news. That’s how God has hardwired us. When we’re regularly exposed to distressing news – whether accurate or not – the constant diet of it heightens the fight-or-flight response created naturally by our bodies. It’s a concrete physiological reaction. When you and I absorb bad news outside the light of the good news – good news: God’s eternal perspective surrounding His gift of Christ to us – our brain struggles to process the impending danger. This is stressful physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Over time, this persistent stress weakens our immune system. Our overall health suffers. Perhaps you’re agitated, anxious, or fearful for no apparent reason – it could be caused by a steady intake of bad news unmediated by gospel hope.

We need Christmas! The real thing.

Think about it. One of the key themes of the Christmas story is fear. Pretty much everybody recorded in the Gospels was afraid – at least at first. Whether it was news of an eyebrow-raising pregnancy which nobody would understand … or scary angels appearing in the once-peaceful night skies … or wise men feeling enough of a credible government threat to flee the country, everybody had plenty to worry about.

But, throughout the whole story, God keeps sending a reassuring message: “Don’t be afraid!” Read the story again, and you’ll see a steady stream of messengers sent from our gracious God to very frightened people – moving them from fear to joy. Finally, Christmas made sense.

Life on this fallen planet includes fear. Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, the wise men, Marley, Kevin, and everybody else – even “Wet Bandits” – have to face their fears.

Just like for Old Man Marley, the time might be now to face our fears by making an important phone call or two. It’s wise: “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all” (Romans 12:18). When it comes to the joy of Christmas, you and I don’t want to be the ones who are disturbing the peace.

At the height of the Cold War, when the dangers of the atomic bomb invaded every headline and frightened every home, C.S. Lewis gave practical advice: “If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, let that bomb when it comes find us doing sensible and human things – praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts – not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about bombs. They may break our bodies – a microbe can do that – but they need not dominate our minds.”

It’s high time you and I live like it’s Christmas.

Pastor Charles

Shawn Ryan is my neighbor. I see him with some regularity when I’m near the lake, but I’ve only introduced myself once, as he’s always with his family – and I don’t wish to be “that” neighbor. If you don’t know who I’m talking about, Shawn is a podcaster and former U.S. Navy SEAL and Blackwater contractor for the Global Response Staff, a paramilitary security wing of the CIA. He hosts the Shawn Ryan Show, and founded Vigilance Elite, a tactical training company.

Last Christmas Eve, Shawn hosted Lee Strobel on the show. And he set up the interview with two penetrating questions: “Who is Jesus Christ, the Son of God? Is it ‘Who is’ or ‘Who was’?”

Once a skeptic of Christianity, Strobel is a bestselling author, including “A Case for Christ.” He is an apologist whom Shawn credits with his own journey into the Christian faith. During the course of the interview, Shawn asked Strobel about evidence for the existence of God. Strobel’s response was (my paraphrase): “When it comes to the existence of God, the single biggest discovery from science has happened within the last century. We now know – from discoveries in science and philosophy – that the universe had a beginning. This was not widely believed prior to recent history.”

Strobel reminded us of the bottom line: “Whatever begins to exist has a cause.” He cited the work of Alexander Vilenkin (Director of the Institute of Cosmology at Tufts), who has concluded that even if our universe is part of a multiverse, that multiverse had a cause.

Strobel asked the question (again, my paraphrase): “If the universe had a cause, what kind of cause must that be?” And then he began to talk about what we know about the “cause” behind the universe. As I share these with you, I challenge you to give this your serious consideration …

1. The cause of our universe must be transcendent. It must stand apart from creation itself, and it must be distinct from creation.

2. The cause of our universe must be immaterial. It must be unconstrained by human nature, existing in some kind of spiritual form.

3. The cause of our universe must be eternal in nature. It must be timeless – completely unlimited by time and space as we are limited.

4. The cause of our universe must be exceptionally powerful. It must be entirely capable of bringing everything into existence from nothing.

5. The cause of our universe must be smart. The precise physical constants of our universe are set perfectly for life – strongly suggesting intelligent design and order.

6. The cause of our universe must be personal. Only a free agent with will, knowledge, and power can – without compulsion – spontaneously initiate something new.

7. The cause of our universe must be caring. Claiming that the impetus of the universe is impersonal and indeterministic is no explanation, and could not be the better explanation.

Spoiler alert: When it comes to identifying this unknown “cause,” the only reasonable answer with which you and I are left is the God of the Bible!

I particularly enjoyed Strobel’s powerful unpacking of the obvious fine tuning of the universe. He graciously reminded us that between 50 and 100 dimensions of physics – gravity included – had to be perfectly calibrated to support human life.

Toward the end of the interview, Shawn asked Strobel a penetrating question: “Why is God so hard to find at times?” Strobel answered with a baseball analogy … God is the pitcher, and we’re the catcher. Theologically, the problem is clear. The problem is with the catcher. The problem is us. We see the evidence for God – it’s undeniable – but we suppress the evidence (Romans 1:20).

I’ll quote my friend, Greg Koukl: “Man, who is separated from God, is so hostile to the notion of bending his knee that he would rather believe absolute absurdities, absolute idiocy, and put his entire eternal future on the line than to accept the idea that a personal God is responsible. Now this is self-destructive and suicidal.”

Strobel reminded us that in history, even when God has revealed Himself in spectacular and obviously miraculous ways – such as the parting of the Red Sea – often the result has been apostasy or idolatry – the very opposite of belief. Again, here’s my paraphrase of his point: “Were God to write in the sky, ‘I am here,’ we would explain it away.”

“Who is Jesus Christ, the Son of God?” Shawn nailed it. It’s the million-dollar question, and it’s very much a present-tense proposition – a question you and I must answer today. In his own BBC talk show, the University of Oxford literary scholar C.S. Lewis gave us our only options: Jesus is either a liar, a legend, or a lunatic.

Or He’s Lord.

Christmas, my friends, is God revealing Himself. On steroids. Better than our wildest dreams! From the virgin to the shepherds to the angels to the bright star in the East. But the best part? “The Word became flesh” (John 1:14). God became human …

“Mild He lays His glory by,

Born that man no more may die;

Born to raise the sons of earth;

Born to give them second birth.”

Do we believe it?

On the basis of overwhelmingly compelling evidence, we should. If we humble ourselves before a supernatural and all-powerful God, then the way has been cleared for us to accept the entirely extraordinary! Christmas is a drop in the bucket for a God like ours.

In an unbelieving world, the boisterous claims of Christmas are big and bold. As they should be! From creation to crucifixion, God’s people awaited the fulfillment of the first gospel promise (Genesis 3:15) – that the Lord Himself would provide for our total rescue from sin and shame. While those cloaked in spiritual darkness groaned under the crushing weight of a fallen planet, the faithful serpent-crusher was on His way. Christmas shouts: “He’s here! He’s here!”

Christmas can’t be anything other than “merry” once you settle the question: “Who is Jesus, the Son of God?” Once we know the answer to that question, you and I should be livin’ it up!

Not in a way that is worldly, but in a way that is out of this world.

Pastor Charles

It first aired on December 9, 1965, as the Peanuts came to life on national television. Wondrously, Charles Schulz determined that our friend Charlie Brown would tee up the question which would send “good tidings of great joy” into family rooms across America: “I guess you were right, Linus. I shouldn’t have picked this little tree. Everything I do turns into a disaster. I guess I don’t really know what Christmas is all about. Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?”

You may remember, as he takes center stage, Linus’s riveting response: “Sure, Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about. Lights, please. ‘And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not …’”

“Fear not!” Those two small words were among the immortal words which Linus quoted from the old King James version of the Christmas story (Luke 2:8-14).

FEAR NOT. Small words. Gigantic hope.

This is why I love the season of Advent. It pushes me back into God’s Word and into God’s unstoppable promises. Linus began the account from Luke’s Gospel at Verse 8, but the verses right before it are equally amazing: “And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus …” The birth name of “Caesar Augustus” was Gaius Octavius, the nephew and handpicked successor to Julius Caesar’s throne. Little did he know it, but as Augustus issued his “decree that all the world should be taxed,” God used him to set in motion the fulfillment of the ancient Messianic prophecies of the Bible.

Imagine this! This edict from a pagan government would bring Joseph – and therefore Mary and Jesus – to just the right Bethlehem (there were two). In God’s providence, “the city of David” was Joseph’s ancestral home (Micah 5:2; Matthew 2:1). Friends, I tell you, only God would write this story.

FEAR NOT. Those words turn the page. Two small words bring indescribable relief because these shepherds are filled with (literally from the Greek) “mega-phobia” – and who wouldn’t be in the presence of an angel of the Lord? In the king’s English, they’re “sore afraid!”

Those words turn the page for us too. We don’t even need a dazzling light of unknown origin or an angelic visitation to find ourselves afraid. You and I are sojourners here in a land filled with endless fears, living among a people just as terrified as we. As we travel along between Christ’s first and second arrivals, the road can be rough. The waiting can be excruciating. Our haunting middle-of-the-night unanswered questions can be numerous. We’re not alone in our insecurity. The meaning of “Bethlehem” is “house of bread,” but it can also mean “house of war.” Christ is the source of our daily bread, and the authority and power that we need for our spiritual battle.

The battle is real. The 2025 Survey of American Fears reports that 69% of us are afraid of government corruption, followed by 59.9% of us who are afraid of a loved one becoming seriously ill. While those two fears are widespread, a multitude of less common fears consume just about everybody we know.

Facing our own fears is not easy for any pastor. This includes our sins, weaknesses, and failures, and the reluctance to come clean is no less true of me. But, as I’m still learning even at age 62, the more honest I am about my own insecurities – with the Lord, with myself, and with others – the more personal growth in grace I experience. It’s a daily struggle to find my identity in Christ, but I pour dangerous fuel on the fires of my fears anytime I try to find my worth anywhere else, including “ministry success” – which I’m quite sure God defines far differently than we.

You too have your identity crises. They’re as real as the air we breathe. And for good reason.

It’s a scary world! We have plenty of reasons to be afraid of the dark, but Advent reminds us: there’s a light still shining. “The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world” (John 1:9).

Even when we’re suffering, we can worship from our heart when we know the One who is bigger than all our pain. The One who created the universe that is 100 billion light-years across, encompassing trillions upon trillions of fiery stars. The One who spoke into being the innumerable planets of the Andromeda Galaxy and our Milky Way. The one who holds all time and human history in His omnipotent hands. The one whose unmatched brilliance is evident in every molecule of DNA. The One who is never less than absolutely perfectly wonderfully good. E. M. Welcher writes: “Advent is the rusty nail holding us together until resurrection day.”

“God with us!” This was the angel’s solemn promise regarding the Christ-child (Matthew 1:23). The promises of Advent help us persevere in grace until we see Christ face-to-face. Just as God was faithful to the saints of old, and in due time sent the long-awaited Messiah, He will be faithful to us. I’ll remind you that God didn’t send us some garden-variety rescuer, but He sent His very best: His Son. Only One who knew the real mess we were in could deliver us from it, and our Savior cared enough to walk among us in our mess. Though you and I traverse the valley of the shadow of death (Psalm 23:4), our every fear has already struck the heart of Christ (Hebrews 4:15). So, when we’re sore afraid, our cries for His mercy don’t fall on deaf ears.

This is a God we can trust, friends – a Father who loves us beyond our wildest dreams. “For God so loved …”

FEAR NOT.

Pastor Charles

Greetings from Plymouth, Massachusetts! We are here enjoying family and friends – and we’re most grateful for the goodness of God.

Before our nation’s Civil War battlefields ran red to end the blight of slavery, and before our Founding Fathers broke the yoke of tyranny in the American Revolution, a band of Christians known as the Pilgrims sailed into freedom aboard the Mayflower.

Smooth sailing it was not. On November 11, 1620, they came ashore right here in Plymouth, and our constitutional republic is rooted in the faith of the brave men and women on that ship and the 51 who survived that first treacherous winter in New England.

The English Separatist, William Bradford – the Mayflower passenger who went on to become governor of Plymouth Colony – penned the words: “Thus out of small beginnings greater things have been produced by His hand that made all things of nothing and gives being to all things that are; and as one small candle may light a thousand, so the light here kindled hath shone unto many, yea in some sort to our whole nation; let the glorious name of God have all praise.”

As he formulated those thoughts, I have little doubt that Mr. Bradford had in mind the undisputable Word of God: “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin …” (Zechariah 4:10).

Now we might expect “Almighty” God to do everything in big ways. With power and force. With unrivaled grandeur. Sometimes He does. In Genesis 1, God brings the entire universe into being in ways that are beyond our wildest dreams in terms of God’s character, nature, and ability to accomplish whatever He pleases with a single word. Billions of galaxies appear on the scene, with only a brief mention: “He made the stars also.”

By contrast, in Genesis 2, our fascination is drawn from the large to the small. It’s like a transition from a telescope to a microscope. Adam and Eve become the primary focus – just one small couple in the grand scheme of the galaxies. Yet, they matter to God. They matter a great deal. Before we know it, our hearts are hungry to know more about this God who works and loves in such big and small ways. Transcendent yet immanent. Eternal yet “God with us.”

I think the story of America echoes similar features. The “New World” was a big deal, but it started really small. To again quote Governor Bradford: “One small candle may light a thousand.” As history would play out, Winston Churchill would call the Mayflower Compact “one of the remarkable documents in history.” We now know that such a “small start” was a forerunner of the Declaration of Independence and our U.S. Constitution, which opens with, “We the people of the United States …”

That’s how our God works, you see. He writes the whole story. History is “His story” indeed. But we don’t always know where He’s headed.

After two failed attempts to leave England, the Pilgrims boarded the 90-foot Mayflower for their journey of 2750 miles. On the open sea, they encountered such violent storms that the beam supporting the main mast cracked. Miraculously, it was propped back in place with a large iron screw which had been loaded to help with home construction later. One young man, John Howland, was swept overboard – but marvelously rescued. Howland’s descendants include Humphrey Bogart, George W. Bush, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Only God can write such a story.

The Pilgrims gave us much more than an excuse to eat lots of turkey and dressing. And gravy! They brought with them the ideas that would give birth to a free nation. The men and women who came to our shores in search of freedom believed that all human rights come from God, and that the principles of liberty are worth dying for. Their most precious cargo was Bible truth. The form of bottom-up self-rule which the Pilgrims pioneered shaped our entire government. This was a polarity change on the world stage. The Pilgrim spirit is inscribed on our Liberty Bell: “Proclaim Liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.” Again, only God.

And the Pilgrims were a gracious people. Some claim falsely that the Pilgrims stole from those already here, and that the “First Thanksgiving” is nothing but a fable. But the historical record documents the exact opposite. I’ll quote the Native American author, Billy Falling: “The Pilgrims were kind to the Indians. They showed them love. They showed them compassion. They showed them the godly way to live.”

At the Constitution’s signing, Patrick Henry testified unequivocally: “It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ.” We’ve inherited a treasure.

Sometimes we bring friends to this shoreline, and they’re disappointed by “Plymouth Rock.” It’s just not as large or impressive as they had imagined. It seems like such a small start for a nation. But that’s my point. There are no insignificant beginnings when God is in the middle of them. When God writes the story, a tiny stone can slay a giant.

I’ll leave you with a rock in your shoe – something to think about after you finish this posting. The Greek word for “calculate” or “figure out” is the verb “psephizo.” We find it only twice in the New Testament. Jesus uses it in Luke 14:28, where He warns us to “count the cost” of authentic discipleship. Christ wants us to think seriously about what will be required of us if we truly follow Him. The word “psephizo” comes from “psephos” – which means “pebble.” Pebbles were used for math calculations.

As you and I navigate this crazy world, and follow hard after our Lord Jesus, we too are pilgrims. We’re strangers here, and getting stranger by the minute. You and I can expect anything but smooth sailing. But – when you add it all up – would you really want to follow anyone else? When we do the math of life, Jesus is the only right answer.

So light your candle, and “let the glorious name of God have all praise!”

Pastor Charles

Anybody in the mood for a sunset lunch?

I don’t mean to depress you but, during the month of November, the United States loses two to three minutes of daylight each and every day. Perhaps the longer periods of darkness make us more appreciative of the wonder of the nighttime skies. Within the last week, several friends have captured absolutely spectacular photographs of the Northern Lights – visible from places I never imagined.

The tenth of May of this year was one of the most amazing displays of the Aurora Borealis experienced in the last 500 years. You may remember that the “Northern” Lights reached latitudes as far south as Florida and Puerto Rico. My family and I have seen them from Alaska. They’re nothing less than stirringly glorious!

As we look up, you and I should take the time to marvel: “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world …” (Psalm 19:1-4).

As the nights get longer and colder, I find God’s glory in Creation warmly comforting. In fact, we need darkness to see the Northern Lights. The sky dazzles with wavy columns of green, red, blue, and purple. The magnificent rays of light move and sway and lunge like dancers on a Broadway stage. It’s breathtaking to see the colors burst brightly – and then dim as if on cue.

Northern Lights don’t just happen. They’re caused by violent solar storms – literally, explosions on the sun’s surface. The storms release massive gas bubbles, and – when the bubbles pop – energized particles careen toward Earth. Thankfully, our planet’s magnetic fields protect us from the solar winds of heat and light that travel through space. But some particles stubbornly penetrate the shield and invade our atmosphere through the North and South Poles. When these energized particles bump into our atmosphere, they produce the gorgeous hues. If they hit oxygen, they shine green and red. If nitrogen – much rarer – they shine blue and purple.

When it comes to seasons of light and darkness, our God is the great choreographer. As He writes the story of our lives, and of all of human history, He transforms even the storms into unmatched beauty. The question is: Will we trust Him?

Friends, the world is full of storms – storms of all shapes and sizes. Some we bring on ourselves. Some are well beyond our control. Some stem from life on a fallen planet – a world marked by sin and rebellion against God’s goodness. Some storms come by way of demonic activity. Some are so dark that they expose the forces of evil. But no storm is beyond God’s sovereign control.

You may be in a fierce storm right now. Maybe you’re fighting the battle of your life. I want to remind you that storms make the sky grow dark, but the darkness is not the end of the story. God is our Light in the darkness! The apparent gloom which hovers like an unwelcome guest can be beauty in disguise when God is accomplishing His purposes in  and through our storms, and our Lord never ceases to turn the most difficult chapters of our lives into markers of His ineradicable grace.

God doesn’t always lift the storm when we want Him to. Sometimes we have to hunker down and go right through the storm. In those moments, or perhaps even seasons, God gives us persevering grace. Grace to sense His bright smile even through the blinding rain of our tears. “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6). 

What we must do in the darkness is trust the Author of Light and Life. Just like when we want to behold the glory of the Northern Nights, we must lift our eyes! Eyes lifted humbly to God also lift our expectations … and enlarge our hope … and shore up our resolve … and strengthen our faith. This is true even when God doesn’t send immediate deliverance – even when we have to wait on Him.

 
Nobody particularly enjoys waiting on God. But, while we wait, we can find light in God’s Word. When we feel lost, especially, Christ can meet us right there in His Word and totally transform our perspective on the storm or the situation. Remember: His Word is “a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105).

And, while we wait, you and I can worship! We can declare with conviction God’s unmatched goodness and faithfulness. We can sing the praises of Christ, even from the pit of despair. Anywhere and anytime, we can worship our risen Lord – even while it still seems dark – because we can trust Him.

We. Can. Trust. Him.

I realize that storms can hit us one after another. Maybe you’re there right now. If that’s you, friend, I offer you two words: Don’t quit! In the penetrating words of our Dutch sister and Holocaust survivor, Corrie ten Boom (1892 – 1983): “When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don’t throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer.”

You and I must never lose sight of God’s grander vision. His vision is for us to flourish in Jesus, even when it’s dark. Our Lord has given us year-round marching orders: “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light …” (Isaiah 60:1-3).

Eyes on Christ!

Pastor Charles

From the mayor-elect of New York, Zohran Mamdani: “We will prove that there is no problem too large for government to solve and no concern too small for it to care about.”

It’s a compelling promise, but “no problem too large for government” is in fact the problem. It’s not just the problem of one political party. It’s a bipartisan – and in fact a human – problem. We want the government to do more than God ever designed human government to do, to function better than it could ever possibly function, and to provide what is humanly impossible. So, when it comes to saving us from the ills of this world, our perpetual hope in government – including our favorite politicians – can leave us in a perpetual state of frustration.

The highly influential Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. (1917 – 2007) promoted a powerful centralized government, arguing that only such a state had saved the U.S. from communism in the 1930s. He wrote In 1980 that “affirmative government” was not only necessary but inevitable, because such problems as inflation and energy shortages deem it a “technical imperative.” Schlesinger’s was one voice among many pro-big-government advocates within my lifetime.

Closer to here and now was the COVID pandemic which surprised us in 2020. Many of us were shocked by how many of our fellow citizens were willing to trade personal liberty for the hope in government to fix everything – a rescue that our government could not and did not deliver. That’s when I learned how much power people are willing to put into the hands of government when any sense of disaster feels imminent. Survival arguments proved highly effective at coaxing people to forsake steadfast principles for shaky promises.

So, friends, exactly what has God designed human government to do? I think it boils down to three key roles: 1) to protect human life (Genesis 1:26-27; 9:5-6); 2) to promote the conditions for human flourishing, that the blessing of life may extend to future generations (Genesis 1:28; 9:1-2, 7); and 3) to maintain law and order in society (Romans 13:1-7). Functioning government allows the Church – called to be “salt” and “light” (Matthew 5:13-16) – to influence the world for the blessing of all people and the glory of our great God (Matthew 22:21; 28:18-20).

As we picture blindfolded “Lady Justice” with her scales and sword, it is God’s Word which sets the gold standard for government leaders: comprehensive integrity and impartial justice (Proverbs 16:10-12; 29:4). And why is the standard so high? Because all truth matters to God, and all human life is equally valuable to God. People of every race, background, and creed, including those not yet born, are His image bearers – endowed with intrinsic dignity and worth.

All governments, whether they realize it or not, are servants of the Most High God. Some are better, and some are worse. When we care about good government, and strive for it, we are loving our neighbor. We care because sound governments support marriage and family, protect the most vulnerable, and promote the common good (Proverbs 29:14; 31:8-9). That our leaders would behave and inspire accordingly we’re to pray fervently (1 Timothy 2:1-4). There’ll be neither law nor order without wise and humble government leadership.

In our American system known as a constitutional republic, our Legislative Branch should pass just laws, our Executive Branch should enforce just laws, and our Judicial Branch should uphold just laws and dismantle unjust ones. Each branch of our government has limits to its authority, maintained by checks and balances among the three. Ultimately, however, all government is accountable to God.

There is a universal reality which never fails to prove itself to be true: When the officers of a government don’t acknowledge or worship our Creator God, they will worship a false god, or they will worship themselves, or they will worship their own power (Exodus 5:2; Isaiah 36:15; Romans 1:18-32). Every chapter of human history bears this out. Believe me, the idols of the Egyptians were no more reliable than the gods of the Aztecs or the Mongols or the Bolsheviks.

The constant invitations to depend upon the government to relieve us of our problems – and our responsibilities, for that matter – run counter to historic reminders that: “A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take away everything you have.” Expansive government eventually tramples over liberty, and will go on to demand “what must be” over “what should be.” Sooner or later, it will invoke whatever measures will further the power of those in charge. “Equal Justice Under Law” – prominently inscribed on our U.S. Supreme Court building – was once widely understood to mean that it’s immoral to take a person’s property, but now inequality is deemed by many as a greater wrong than theft. But the noticeable trend – and here’s my point – is toward more and more government power.

Idolatry, by nature, blinds. It especially blinds people we might consider to be religious. The Soviet dissident Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1918 – 2008) wrote of the visit of Eleanor Roosevelt to the labor camp where he was incarcerated. Mrs. Roosevelt reported that it was a humane institution for rehabilitating criminals. While Joseph Stalin was shamefully murdering millions, John Macmurray (1891 – 1976) told the world that Stalin’s regime ruled over “the nearest approach to the realization of the Christian intention that the world has yet seen … It expresses the continuity of the Christian intention in an explicit and practical form, and thus makes an immense human advance in the process that Jesus began.”

No government can create utopia. The prolific author and scholar, C.S. Lewis (1898 – 1963), taught that the more pretentious the vision of a politician, the more defiling their rule will be. Lewis wrote, “Lilies that fester smell worse than weeds.” It’s the nature of the moral blindness behind campaign slogans promising to save the city, the nation, or the world. When Diocletian published his Edict of 301, destroying the few freedoms of the Roman Empire, he justified it by declaring himself and his cohorts “the watchful parents of the whole human race.” Diocletian, along with other emperors who demanded to be worshipped as God, brutally persecuted followers of Christ. The lesson for us is this: Whenever we regard government as the source of “our daily bread,” we’re idolaters at heart. It’s the blind leading the blind.

If you want to know what’s wrong in New York City, the problem is spiritual. It’s the philosophy of Georg Hegel (1770 – 1831), Jacques Ellul (1912 – 1994), and Chuck Schumer [NPR, 04.12.21] on steroids. The people are looking to government to be God.

How did we get here? One small step at a time. But here we are. We need a real Savior, so that we don’t have to be perpetually frustrated by promises which can never be kept.

C.S. Lewis knew that it’s in our “chest” – in our heart – where the only real transformation happens in us. In “The Abolition of Man,” as both warning and encouragement for us, Lewis captured it well: “We continue to clamor for those very qualities we are rendering impossible … In a sort of ghastly simplicity we remove the organ and demand the function. We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate and bid the geldings be fruitful.”

It’s time for us to humble ourselves, to acknowledge again our dependence upon the Almighty, to seek His forgiveness, and to speak the truth in love. Let’s be honorable men and women, and servants of the living Christ – wanting nothing but the best for our fellow image bearers.

Pastor Charles

So we gained an hour, huh? Anybody falling (pun fully intended) for that one again this year? Dodinsky wrote: “I hope I can be the autumn leaf, who looked at the sky and lived. And when it was time to leave, gracefully it knew life was a gift.”

It’s a nice thought, but our hope in Christ is worlds better. It’s a hope that sustains us in each and every season.

Our hope in Christ sustains us when things are going well, and our hope in Christ sustains us when things are falling apart. “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14). Though you and I have to face the sorrows of life, we do not grieve without purpose. There’s purpose in our pain.

We grieve, but we grieve differently – because of the promises of God. The world grieves without an eternal hope – but not us. Tears will fall this side of heaven, but shining behind our every tear is the absolute assurance of a glorious reunion. In Christ, behind every “goodbye” is the steadfast assurance: “But I’ll see you again soon.”

You and I can trust God with every day and with every season, because our hope is anchored in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. If Jesus had stayed in the grave, then death would still hold us in its grip. But, because Jesus died and rose again, death has been defeated – permanently. And, because Christ conquered death fully and now lives forever, those who die in Him will also live again. This isn’t some generic comfort pill – but our guaranteed future!

While you and I await the trumpet call, we can trust the Lord. Keith and Kristyn Getty sing …

“Who holds our days within His hand?

What comes, apart from His command

And what will keep us to the end?

The love of Christ in which we stand.

Oh, sing hallelujah!
Our hope springs eternal.
Oh, sing hallelujah!
Now and ever we confess
Christ, our hope in life and death!”

Between now and the trumpet blast, you and I can live with a certain and steady confidence in the gospel: the good news of what Christ has done for us. Consider 1 Corinthians 1:18, and how we – as followers of the Lord Jesus – are called to live with a convictional, joyful hope. It’s a hope which unbelievers can’t even decipher. It makes no sense to them: “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

Propelled by “the word of the cross” is precisely how you and I are called to live here and now. We can expect to be misunderstood at times by those who don’t know our Savior by faith, because our message topples some very popular assumptions …

THE WORD OF THE CROSS makes no sense if the Bible is just some antiquated, obscure relic. In our postmodern and post-Christian age, most people view the Scriptures as entirely irrelevant, so why would anyone give their life to living it out?

THE WORD OF THE CROSS makes no sense if people are basically good. If there is no sin, why concern ourselves with much thought of a Savior? We may tolerate some religious or “spiritual” lingo here or there, but it’s not to be taken seriously.

THE WORD OF THE CROSS makes no sense if the latest fads are welcomed unquestionably as knowledge and enlightenment. When the godless state or university sets the moral tone, a humble follower of Jesus appears to play the fool.

THE WORD OF THE CROSS makes no sense if I answer only to me. Why, for a moment, should I deny myself? Why should I consider amending my ways? Why should I seek some radical new orientation? I don’t answer to God – I am God.

THE WORD OF THE CROSS makes no sense if life is just an accumulation of status or stuff. When materialism rules the day, then “survival of the fittest” makes perfect sense – and “eternity” feels like a pipe dream. After all, “all is vanity.”

THE WORD OF THE CROSS makes no sense if God judges by human merit rather than by grace. Only a God of unfathomable love leaves behind the riches of glory for the ravages of Earth – sacrificing Himself so we could be forgiven and free!

The cross was the most unimaginably heinous instrument of torture ever invented, but for us it symbolizes eternal peace and beauty and joy. To most people, such hope seems foolish. Folly. For our good and for God’s glory, grace and truth have overwhelmed us – yet our eternal hope is hidden from unbelieving eyes.

Just like the colors of autumn, we were never meant to be here forever. Winter is certain, and will sweep in with all its gray fury. Fierce winds will howl and assault, making youthful optimism seem frozen by death.

But you and I are anchored to a life-source which winter can’t touch.

Hope prevails.

“He is not here, for He has risen!”

Pastor Charles

The ballroom addition to the White House is a perfect illustration.

If you like President Trump, then he’s building a beautiful structure which will be enjoyed by future generations. If you don’t like President Trump, then he’s destroying a beautiful structure which has been enjoyed by past generations.

Same East Wing space. Polar opposite perspectives. This seems to typify life in America.

Though it may be amped up right now, the phenomenon is not really all that new, friends. Psalm 12 jumps off the page as illustrative of life in the days of King David. In Verse 2, we read: “Everyone utters lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.”

I suspect that we’re all guilty as charged, sadly. Spin is all too readily our native language. When we’re caught up in it, we barely recognize it. And our easy 24/7 access to whatever kind of “news” we want allows us to spend most of our time in the echo chamber of our own design. You and I can drown in spin. A double heart for selfish gain can bring us down.

Please let me define “spin” (not the physics variety): the strategic presentation of information to influence another’s perception by highlighting certain facts while downplaying others. Sounds innocent enough. Quite tragically, it’s not. If you’ll please allow me just a small liberty: The wages of spin is death.

According to Gallup News, the confidence of Americans in the mass media has edged down to a new low – with just 28% expressing a “great deal” or “fair amount” of trust in radio, television, and newspapers to report the news fully, accurately, and fairly. This is down from 31% in 2024 and 40% in 2020. Seven in 10 U.S. adults now say they have “not very much” confidence or “none at all.” For comparison purposes, when Gallup began gauging trust in media in the 1970s, between 68% and 72% of Americans expressed confidence in reporting.

Any way you look at it, it’s a dismal state of affairs.

But David, in the same psalm, offers us tremendous hope in Verses 6-8: “The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times. You, O Lord, will keep them; you will guard us from this generation forever. On every side the wicked prowl, as vileness is exalted among the children of man.”

“The words of the Lord.” There’s our hope. And only there.

When every other voice around us feels shaky, and evokes doubt in us, you and I can trust God’s Word. We can stand on it, and we can stand firm. We can stake our lives on it, in fact. God’s pure-to-the-nth-degree Word rests upon His pure-to-the-nth-degree character.

Scripture has one ultimate Author, and the Bible tells one main story: the story of Jesus Christ. There are no errors of any kind in the original manuscripts of the Bible. Translations may err in the way they convey the original languages, but the manuscripts penned by the original writers contain no errors or deceit. Not a single one.

Don’t be confused by the false charges people try to level against the Bible. Again, nothing new. Now the Bible isn’t always grammatically sophisticated, as God used real human writers to record it – and the Bible speaks in real human language. The Bible speaks the way real people communicate with each other. We can’t accuse the Bible of inaccuracy, for example, when it speaks without scientific precision about a “sunrise.” We all know that the sun isn’t rising, technically, but we all understand the meaning of “sunrise” and “sunset” – it’s how we speak. Sometimes people try to undermine the authority of Scripture by attacking the “science” in passages where the Bible isn’t saying anything at all about science. Fake news.

Truth can be conveyed with average grammar and with the use of round numbers instead of exact figures. Skeptics of the Bible seem eager to point out “discrepancies” as if they’ve just sunk the battleship. When we say we affirm the inerrancy of Scripture, we mean simply that the Bible always communicates the true state of affairs and never affirms anything contrary to fact.

The true state of affairs. The Bible is where we find it. When “vileness is exalted among the children of man,” you and I have a place to find the truth. Jesus prayed to the Father on behalf of His people (John 17:17): “Sanctify them in the truth; Your Word is truth.” Jesus knew that, regardless of the subject, you and I need the wisdom of God. Without God’s wisdom, we’re internally conflicted. Spiritually schizophrenic. A person with two hearts is a bit of a monster.

A U.S. Supreme Court Justice from 1902 – 1932 and an able wordsmith much like his father, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., said that a word is “the skin of a living thought.” In other words (see what I did there?), a word is a sound with a critical meaning – the oral or written expression of someone’s idea. Though that’s true, the Bible is so much more! “For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).

God’s Word has intrinsic power. When God speaks, things happen! “Let there be light!” Chaos is banished, and things without order are put into right order. All it takes is a Word from God! We move from spiritual schizophrenia to spiritual wholeness by the Word of God.

God’s Word is so much more than some random collection of letters on a page. God’s Word became flesh! A sound floats on the air and soon dies away, but God’s Word is Jesus – who is not only eternal but with us forever! So we can meet the Son of God in the pages of Scripture and hear Him speak directly to us through the “still, small voice” of the Holy Spirit!

I’m happy to report that you don’t have to drown in spin. In the Word of God, we’ve been offered an unsinkable life raft. We’ve been given an objective source of what is real and true – wise and lovely. We can rise above the cesspool of sly deceit which marks this generation.

Jesus tells those who believe in Him that we’re really His disciples if we “continue in” His Word (John 8:31). Think about it. The only way that you and I can “continue in” something is if that something truly endures. If that something holds its value. If that something is reliable from here on out. If that something can never float away and die. That’s God’s Word (Isaiah 40:8)! Jesus promises us (John 8:32): “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free!”

I suspect that the spin will keep spinning.

But we don’t have to.

Pastor Charles

A guard for the Miami Dolphins for fourteen seasons, Bob Kuechenberg was once asked by a reporter why he had gone to college when most of his family had not.Mr. Kuechenberg’s answer was: “My father and my uncle were human cannonballs in carnivals. One day my uncle came out of the cannon, missed the net, and hit the Ferris wheel. I decided to go to college.”

I don’t have to tell you that knowing what to do isn’t always easy. Let’s put to the side, for now, the matters addressed clearly by the Scriptures. They’re matters of obedience or disobedience. I must love my neighbor, for example – there’s no reason for me to ask God if I’m off the hook on that one. So don’t complain about God not speaking when your Bible is closed. But I’m talking about the dilemmas we face that aren’t clear. Search as hard as you want, but you’re not going to find a verse which tells you whether to move to Minneapolis or Moline.

That verse is simply not there. Sometimes, friends, we gotta hit the Ferris wheel. When it comes to leading and guiding us – or just getting our attention – God can get ‘er done …

In Genesis 32, He wrestled conniving Jacob to the ground by the Jabbok River.

In Exodus 3, He commissioned Moses through a burning bush that wouldn’t burn up.

In Exodus 14, He parted the roaring waters of the Red Sea – then swallowed the Egyptian army.

In Numbers 12, He secured Miriam’s attention through a case of temporary leprosy.

In Numbers 22, He set the record straight through a talking donkey. More peculiar prophets would follow.

In Joshua 10, He made the sun stand still ‘til everybody noticed.

In First Samuel 12, He used thunder and rain to stop skeptics in their tracks.

In Second Samuel 12, He captured David’s soul through the truth-telling of a convicting story (about David).

In First Kings 18, He sent fire from heaven to destroy 450 false prophets.

In Second Kings 6, He made an iron axe head float, and He filled the mountains around Elisha with mighty angels – “horses and chariots of fire.”

In Isaiah 6, He showed Isaiah His (God’s) incredible throne. Isaiah never got over it.

In Isaiah 38, He got King Hezekiah’s attention through a diagnosis of terminal illness.

In Daniel 3, He arrested the gaze of proud King Nebuchadnezzar by dropping a fourth man into the fiery furnace.

In Jonah, He snagged the prophet through a storm, a large fish, and a near-death experience.

In Matthew 26, He broke Peter’s heart via the crow of an unsuspecting rooster.

In John 11, He raised very-dead Lazarus from the dead.

In Acts 9, He – with a blinding bright light – brought Type-A Saul to his knees. Yes, Paul.

In Acts 16, He woke up the Philippian jailer’s family (in more ways than one) through a miraculous earthquake.

In Revelation, He overwhelmed John by stunning revelation … after stunning revelation … after stunning revelation.

God’s ways can seem very mysterious to us. And we just barely scratched the surface. The bottom line is this: To secure our undivided attention, God can do whatever must be done.

God doesn’t always speak to us in ways which we’d deem “dramatic.” In First Kings 19, Elijah is severely discouraged. He’s coming off an undeniably spectacular victory when he becomes immediately depressed because of death threats against him. The Lord comes to comfort Elijah, who is spiritually and physically exhausted – and feeling isolated and afraid. As Elijah waits, an impressive windstorm, an earthquake, and flashing fire come his way – spectacular events through which we’d expect God to reveal His plans for Elijah (especially since it’s the place where God had met with Moses). But God doesn’t speak to Elijah through any of these. In fact, Elijah’s heart is unmoved until a low whisper comes his way – the sound of a still, small voice. The Hebrew literally says, “a thin silence.” Then and only then, in reverence and awe, can Elijah listen as God reassures him that he’s not alone.

You see, God’s Ferris wheel may not look, or sound, or feel much like a Ferris wheel.

You and I have it on good authority that – whether we feel like we’re “hearing” from Him or not – our Father in heaven never stops caring for us. Jesus said it plainly (Luke 11:11-13): “What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” When we’re struggling or seeking answers, we can rest assured that God will not leave us without the guidance we need. God doesn’t major in vagaries, but He meets us where we are.

We must never forget that God’s character is unshakable. He longs to fill our hearts and minds with comfort and wisdom and strength. We can count on Him. We can come to Him honestly and openly, and we can pour out our souls before His throne of grace. We can express our doubts … fears … discouragement. He knows already. And, regardless of where we find ourselves, we can look at our lives through the lens of God’s perfect promise (Romans 8:28): “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” There’s no uncertainty in the big picture – only certainty.

You and I won’t understand everything God does. We must humbly leave room for His mystery (Deuteronomy 29:29; Job 38-39; Isaiah 55:8-9; Romans 11:33-34). And, in the end, we should find that comforting. Who wants a God we can fully comprehend?

As you keep learning to hear from God, I’ll share some general principles which may be helpful …

1. Ask the Lord to remove from your life anything that hinders your open ear or your open heart. Be prepared to repent. You’ll be glad you did.

2. Commit yourself to a life of discipleship marked by trusting and obeying God. This is who you want to be, and who you’re becoming in Christ.

3. Resist the natural tendency to rely too heavily on your own understanding. Instead, determine to live by God’s wisdom – and keep asking to be filled with it. Humbly acknowledge the truth: What feels right isn’t always right.

4. Listen to the wise counsel of those whom you trust for their spiritual maturity (including their maturity in God’s Word).

5. God often repeats what is most important. We see this in the Scriptures, and we see this in our lives. Notice things that come to you more than once.

6. Pray humbly and earnestly. Be willing to fast and pray – and to do whatever it takes to hear clearly from God.

7. While you’re praying, pay attention to the thoughts that capture your heart. They may be distractions, but they may be vitally important.

8. The Lord’s callings tend to grow stronger over time. If He’s calling you to do something, He’s able to make that abundantly clear.

9. Test the spirits. This comes straight out of 1 John 4:1-6. None of us is above being deceived. A good test question is: “Does it honor and exalt Jesus Christ?”

10. God never speaks in any way that contradicts His written Word (the Bible), as He is entirely consistent in character and communication.

11. Recognize that God usually calls us to things that require faith and risk. (I understand that it’s not ultimately risky to obey God, as God will see us through – if not in this world, then the next – but God’s calling may feel very risky to us now.)

12. While you’re waiting on wisdom and direction from God, wait actively. Worship God joyfully. Rejoice in the truth that you have received and that you do understand. Thank God that He never wastes time, and that He builds vital Christlike character in us while we wait.

Because of Jesus, you and I can know hope even when we can’t know the way forward. Clarity will come in due time. Meanwhile, we choose to trust a trustworthy God. Even if we have to hit a few Ferris wheels along the way, we can thank the Lord for every holy jolt. Soon we’ll realize that our moments of mystery were never hollow, but each held sacred purpose and meaning.

We’ll see that Love was guiding us all along.

Pastor Charles

God calls us to do the right thing – no matter the consequences.

It was the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Before the Civil War, Congress enacted a law which demanded that all citizens return slaves who were fleeing from the South. Thankfully, thousands of Americans violated the law, in obedience to the greater law of God: “You shall not give up to his master a slave who has escaped from his master to you” (Deuteronomy 23:15). Regardless of their respect for our government, and for the rule of law in general, many followers of Christ – and others compelled by conscience – refused to do what they knew was fundamentally wrong.

Like many other matters of church and state, understanding when civil disobedience is warranted requires the utmost care. You and I are called to honor God, to honor God’s law, and to honor the authorities whom God has placed over us. We’re to honor and pray for government leaders whom we would not have chosen, and to respect the laws of the land unless they directly coerce us to violate the laws of God. The Bible clearly does not address every issue of political concern, but it does include some general principles to guide us toward the truthful and the good.

I respectfully contend that the swiftest currents in the river of Biblical truth flow in the direction of freedom and democracy, and that such deep channels of God’s common grace have fashioned and preserved the very best of our Western Civilization. Admittedly, the words “politics” and “democracy” came from the Greeks, and an ancient Hebrew would not have understood such lingo, but I suggest that the foundational concepts of individual liberty and freedom of conscience (“soul freedom”) flow directly from the Word of God.

If you’ve paid attention to Venezuela in recent years, you know that the ongoing humanitarian and political crisis there is heartbreaking. Though having to live in hiding most of the time, the 58-year-old María Corina Machado, an industrial engineer by trade, stands out as a modern-day hero. Tirelessly, and at great personal risk, Machado has pledged to advocate peaceably for her beloved fellow Venezuelans “hasta el final” – “until the end.” I find promise and hope in her sacrifice and perseverance, and I’m glad to report that Machado is now a Nobel Prize laureate.

As she has watched her beloved homeland self-destruct, Machado has observed the fallout from the abandonment of democracy: “Socialism always follows the same pattern. It elevates the state above the citizen, strips away your autonomy, your conscience, your dignity, your ability to choose. And it does so with a seductive lie. It whispers of equality, but the only equality it delivers is at the bottom – where everyone is dragged down together. That has been the case in every nation, on every continent, in every culture where it has been tried. The result is always the same: a gigantic state that crushes the people beneath it, and once it takes hold, is terribly hard to remove.”

What I want you to consider today is not simply that the Venezuelans have lost their way – and that we need to pray fervently for them – but that there’s a steep and tragic price to be paid by society at large whenever we ignore the deep-rooted principles of the Scriptures. Since we are created in God’s image, we share in and exhibit certain divine attributes. Despite our many sins and failings, we’ve been “created a little lower than the heavenly beings, crowned with glory and honor, and given dominion over the works of God’s hands” (Psalm 8:5-6). Such inherent and intrinsic dignity demands freedom for all people – for each one is a divine image-bearer. Venezuela forgot that.

I’ll quote Machado one more time: “Only free societies – where the individual comes first – can nurture both liberty and the responsibility that sustains it. Because freedom without responsibility decays, and responsibility without freedom is tyranny. But when merit becomes the path to rise, when effort and creativity are rewarded, then every citizen is called to succeed – the whole nation rises together.” If you ask me, that philosophy flows nicely from the portion of God’s songbook which I quoted in the previous paragraph: “crowned with glory and honor!”

The great translator, John Wycliffe, who gave us our English Bible, contended that God’s Word affirms “government of the people, by the people and for the people” – a phrase which has reverberated through the centuries since long before Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. The faithful Puritans stood in that tradition when they declared, “Rebellion to tyrants means obedience to God.” Those powerful and prophetic words were proposed by none other than John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson for the Great Seal of the United States.

You and I are to be seekers of righteousness and justice not just because we’re Americans, but – in the ultimate sense – because we belong to the God of righteousness and justice. In the form of a penetrating question, Micah 6:8 sounds our clarion call: “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

Can you imagine a society – or a government – without goodness … justice … kindness … and humility? What I want you to see is that we didn’t imagine those noble things or discover them in a vacuum – but those bedrock notions which promote human flourishing come from the sacred Scriptures. Justice and freedom are God’s will for His children, and the inevitable and ultimate goal of human history: “LET MY PEOPLE GO!” God’s people have always understood that our Sovereign God uses evil to destroy evil – and to usher in the common good.

The quest for freedom rallies the human spirit. Though born a “commoner,” the claim to fame of Sir William Wallace was the First War of Scottish Independence (1296 – 1328). You may remember how Mel Gibson captured Wallace’s persona and passion in the film “Braveheart” … “Aye, fight and you may die. Run and you’ll live – at least a while. And dying in your beds many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days from this day to that for one chance, just one chance to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they’ll never take our freedom!”

I contend that freedom blesses the underdog. Freedom blesses those on the periphery – the marginalized, the disenfranchised, and the suffering. I believe that the essence of democracy includes not just the power of the majority to implement its will, but the right of the minority to maintain and express its point of view – even in the face of a dominant and hostile majority. Surely our God who spoke the world into existence would not want His image bearers muzzled.

Friends, it is the Bible’s priority of personal liberty which paved the initial way for the freedoms of religion and speech with which we are presently blessed in America. Please let that sink in. The First Amendment did not originate with sophisticated men in a back room smoking cigars and chatting philosophy, but it flowed from a God who values freedom so much that He sent His only Son to purchase ours.

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Freedom, when it’s real, can be costly. The prophets of old were the greatest dissenters of all time. They were misunderstood, feared, hated, rejected, maligned, and persecuted. In certain seasons, they were imprisoned, exiled, and even killed. But they were never silenced. At important moments in history, God raised up His brave people to do great but costly things – and they paved the way for the patriots to come.

Our Lord Jesus explained (Matthew 24:12-13) that “because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” Gospel faithfulness is our highest priority, and perseverance is required.

May our freedom in Jesus Christ translate into a love for every person who is living without such glorious freedom. And may the “shalom” with which our Lord has just visited Israel inhabit all the Earth.

Hasta el final!

Pastor Charles