You may already know that this year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the animated television special, A Charlie Brown Christmas, which was written by Charles M. Schulz – and which made its debut on December 9, 1965. In ways, for me at least, it doesn’t feel quite like Christmas without a delightful dose of the Peanuts gang. Who doesn’t enjoy their jazzy scores, timeless themes, and simple animation? And, in the case of A Charlie Brown Christmas, Charles Schulz had to insist upon the inclusion of Luke 2:8-14 as the story’s climax: “And that’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown!”

The Scripture is quoted (from the King James Bible) by Linus, in response to Charlie Brown’s lament: “Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?” When Charles Schulz originally proposed this, the show’s producer, Lee Mendelson, as well as its director, Bill Melendez, expressed their serious concerns. Melendez warned Schulz: “It’s very dangerous for us to start talking about religion now.” Schulz’s answer was quite simple: “Bill, if we don’t, who will?”

So have some fun with me, if you will, and watch that scene again. Click here for the video. It will take less than two minutes of your time.

If you’re like me, nostalgia will take over in a wonderful way. You remember Linus, don’t you? He never went anywhere without his near-famous blanket. The blanket was first introduced in the Peanuts comic strip in 1954, and was featured throughout the remainder of the strip’s run. Whenever the blanket appears, Linus can be seen carrying it around and sucking his thumb. Various storylines involve Lucy trying to do away with the blanket, disapproval of it from Linus’ unseen grandmother, and Snoopy frequently trying to steal it for himself. The blanket also transforms for use in a plethora of other ways, from a cummerbund to a bullfighter’s cape.

In the Peanuts strips from the later years, Linus sometimes wants to rid himself of blanket-dependence, even though he understands what a mess he is without it. On one occasion Linus attempts to persuade Charlie Brown and Snoopy to take away his blanket and refuse to give it back – no matter how much Linus begs for it. That sounds a lot like you and me – dependent on things we know (somewhere deep inside) we don’t really need.

But back to the scene from A Charlie Brown Christmas. As you watch the video clip, pay careful attention to the blanket. As Linus quotes the angel of the Lord speaking to the shepherds – right when he says, “Fear not!” – Linus drops his security blanket. And he doesn’t pick it up for the remainder of the scene in which he tells Charlie Brown the Christmas story.

Was the blanket drop intentional on the part of Charles Schulz? For a man of such creatively detailed significance, I’m rather sure that it must have been. It’s the most profound moment in the story, and it’s a startling revelation in the life of one of its most important characters.

Does not that “Fear not!” apply to us as well? The angel’s “tidings of great joy” are also our reason to celebrate. Christ has come! He lived for us. He died for us. He rose again for us!

I am in touch with at least a few of my own fears, but I don’t know yours. But I do know that all of our fears stem from what appear to be (to us, at least in the moment) very real threats. And I also know that Christ has come to set us free from all our fears (Second Timothy 1:7). Our greatest enemy, death, He has fully conquered on our behalf (John 14:19). Christ owns yesterday, and Christ owns tomorrow. Christ authors human history. Christ is King of kings, and Lord of lords, forever. For those of us who are in Christ (Romans 8:28), all is well.

In regard to whatever we’ve been hanging onto for security, other than Christ, the time has come. The moment is now. The season of peace is upon us.

So go ahead. Drop it!

Pastor Charles

Nobody liked the tax collectors all that much, but if you were the “chief” tax collector – and wealthy on top of that – you were particularly shunned and reviled. Such was the story of Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10). I’ve always liked that “wee little man,” Zacchaeus. Maybe it’s because I’m convinced that the taller people wouldn’t let him stand in front so he could see. I tend to vote for the underdog.

Everyone knew Zacchaeus, because this was one of the three regional tax centers in the land of Israel: the northern one being Capernaum, the central one on the coast being Caesarea, and the southern one being Jericho. Caught up in his materialism, no doubt, Zacchaeus had a heart that was blinded by money. At least at first. That was before Jesus came to town. Jesus was headed through Jericho up to Jerusalem for the Passover. This would be His last time. So Christ arrived at the City of Palms, as it was called, six miles north of the Dead Sea and six miles west of the Jordan River.

In the Bible’s account of that day, it’s possible for us to read past what Zacchaeus did. After all, he’s most remembered for climbing a tree. And what’s the big deal about climbing some tree? In the culture of that day, what mattered most to people was a sense of dignity, honor, and respect. A grown man would never climb a tree. To do so would be saying to whole world: “Please ridicule me, starting now!” But height-challenged Zacchaeus didn’t care. He just wanted to see the Lord.

So there was high-profile (not literally, of course) Zacchaeus in a tree. Meanwhile, all the religious people were looking on – already ready to pounce on this notorious “sinner” if given even half a chance. So Jesus chose Zacchaeus as the one to whom He would extend friendship. That’s what staying with someone meant – even just sharing a meal – it meant relationship. This offended everyone. Except Zacchaeus. And that’s usually how grace works. The recipient is blown away by the absolutely undeserved joy of it all, while the religious hypocrites – who seem always within arm’s length – have some version of a fit (at least internally).

As for Zacchaeus, his life was changed forever. That’s also how grace works. We are saved “for good works” (Ephesians 2:10). In the case of Zacchaeus, some of those works included giving 50% of his income to the poor. And paying back everything he had ever stolen with 300% interest. Now that was radical, especially for a guy who – ten minutes ago – loved his stuff more than anything else on Earth. This man, who had made a fortune at the expense of others, had to become poor. So that he could become rich. Again, all of grace.

Pause and rewind. Back to that tree. I want you to picture little Zacchaeus up in that tall tree. He must have looked something like an animated Christmas ornament! And what was happening there? Hated Zacchaeus was beholding, with his very own eyes, Love. Love was passing by. And the town reject – that despicable and despised dude who was regarded by the crowd at Jericho as inferior to a prostitute – enjoyed a bird’s-eye view of the Son of God who had come “to seek and to save the lost.” For a moment in time, that tree – which may well have become somebody’s firewood soon thereafter – must have sparkled with the brilliance of a thousand diamonds. Verdant beauty? I don’t know. But beauty for sure. And in my mind’s eye, Zacchaeus is precariously perched there, grinning from ear to ear!

When it was all over, Luke recorded these words of Jesus: “Salvation has come.”

Maybe the first Christmas tree was a sycamore.

Pastor Charles

A Muslim couple stormed a holiday office party in Southern California on Wednesday, gunning down fourteen people – and seriously wounding others – before dying hours later in a shootout with police. The pair had with them a huge arsenal of ammunition, bombs, and high-powered assault weapons. Mounting evidence suggests that these were radicalized jihadists, complete with tactical gear and precision murderous movements. Later more than 5000 rounds of ammunition were found in their home, described as “an IED factory” of explosives and bomb-making equipment.

All is not well in our homeland. At this time of the year when we celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace, we recognize the sad consequences of human depravity this side of heaven. And, instead of seeing people turning to Christ in record proportions, we continue to witness the cultural marginalization of Scriptural truth. A church weakened in zeal and influence. Admittedly the path of least resistance is discouragement, doom, and gloom. But perhaps we should consider the amazing prayer offered to God by the believers in Acts 4:29-30 – after Peter and John had been arrested, interrogated, and released. Surely it is an example for us of courageous faith under fire: “… Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal …”

What had caused all the trouble for Peter and John? In a nutshell, it was the resurrection of Jesus. To offer the living hope of the gospel has always been among our most egregious offenses in the minds and hearts of those who reject Christ. But offer Christ, and Christ’s hope, we must. Were not the angel’s first two words to the shepherds, “Fear not”? Then our song of praise we must continue to raise.

You may remember reading Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol (1843). A Christmas caroler arrives at the dingy counting-house of Ebenezer Scrooge and begins to sing: “God bless you, merry gentlemen! May nothing you dismay!” Scrooge reacts with such violent anger that the terrified singer flees, “leaving the keyhole to the fog and even more congenial frost.” Yes, Dickens adapted the language a bit. (You had to be paying really close attention to catch that.) The original hymn line was “God rest ye merry, gentlemen …” It was a transitive use of the verb “rest” – as in “keep, cause to continue to remain.” “Rest” would have made plenty of sense in the sixteenth or seventeenth century – but had lost its punch by Dickens’ day – so Dickens chose “bless” instead.

Dickens also tweaked the punctuation just a tad, putting the comma before “merry” instead of after. This is a common mistake. The only reason I’m mentioning it is to remind us that we’re not “merry gentlemen” on our own. We have to be kept merry. Any happiness we ever know, or that we ever will know, must originate in God – and not in us. Happiness – blessedness – emanates from God. You and I simply receive grace.

The main theme of the carol is that joy reigns on Christmas Day – and indeed every day, and for eternity – because of God’s great gift of His Son, Jesus Christ! For us. So you and I should think of “rest merry” like we think of “rest assured” – that is what the song is meant to convey. We can “rest merry” in the knowledge that Christ has paid our penalty for going astray. Christ has set us free from the penalty, the power, and (one day soon) even the presence of sin.

I don’t know about you, but I’m hoping that we can recover the “rest” in our day.

O tidings of comfort and joy,

Pastor Charles

“The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms …” (Deuteronomy 33:27).

As we quickly approach Thanksgiving, let me add one more thing for which we ought to give thanks: the immanence of God. By “immanence” I mean specifically to refer to God’s closeness. We can know Him. We can experience His presence. We can personally delight in His truth. Our great God is not just high and exalted, but He is near. This reality should blow our minds, while calming our troubled hearts.

When you and I take up the Scriptures, there is Christ in His “living and active” Word. When we behold the wonders of the created order, there is the Spirit of Christ whispering in our ear God’s power and glory. When we remember the cross, there is our present security even amidst life’s uncertainties.

My cousin Theresa has a daughter, Kendra, who just became a mom (at 6:51 a.m. today in fact). Ella Grace Wadsworth comes into the world already deeply loved. Her parents will do everything in their limited power to protect and provide for her.

But even better, our Heavenly Father knows no limits in His abilities to care for us. He has shown us His grace in extraordinary ways, and proven His enduring love by Christ’s meritorious triumph over sin and death. Almost inexplicably, God delights in us.

Martin Luther (c. 1529) got it right: “A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing.” Christ has won! We are safe. We are loved. We belong to the One whose arms are everlasting.

Experience. Enjoy. Celebrate. Give thanks.

Pastor Charles

I’m quoting Habakkuk (1:2): “O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you ‘Violence!’ and you will not save?”

It was another day when those words were penned, but something about that day was much like our own: God’s people were deeply afflicted by grief as they observed ungodliness and violence prevail. Even when they looked upon the ways of their own people, real righteousness and justice seemed eclipsed by hatred and lies.

We stare out today upon a world which seems to be descending into disarray on a number of levels, but we’re called to trust our God who orders all things well. I think that, because God knows that His ways at times appear more-than-molasses-style “slow” to us, in His mercy He has given us the Scriptures. The Bible, which required millennia to assemble, shows us that God is not in fact slow – but that instead He is patient in working out His redemptive purposes in the ways that are ultimately best (Second Peter 3:9).

It’s easier for me to wait when I remember that I’m waiting on a perfect plan. (I’d like to tell you that I wait patiently, like God, but I’m not that far along yet.)

Is Paris a foreshadowing of our future? Only the Lord knows. But many of us are at least thinking twice when we step into a jam-packed sporting event or a crowded theater, or when we board a plane or a train. Dangers are everywhere else too, of course, but specific venues and locales which seem like easy targets for terrorism capture our attention for at least a moment. The philosopher and apologist Ravi Zacharias says it like this: “War in small increments can be deadlier than large-scale war because it doesn’t just desensitize the killers; it desensitizes all of humanity.”

Even as I pen these very words, Mali unfolds. More traumatized hostages, this time in the Malian capital of Bamako. The social media are replete with the notoriety craved by present-day terror groups – who seem to live or die based on the widespread fear they can inflict. For several hours this morning, gunmen held some 170 guests and employees at what was considered one of the safest hotels in the West African city. At least 27 are dead.

Are we desensitized yet? O Lord, how long?

You and I may get tired of waiting for peace and justice to prevail, personally and globally, but even the most throbbing pain of our waiting should always include at least a spoonful of hope. We’ve read the story. We know who wins in the end! Christ has gone before us, friends, so you and I follow not into darkness and chaos – but into light and victory!

The Church of Scotland minister and New Testament scholar, James Stuart Stewart (1896-1990) made this keen observation: “The very triumphs of His foes … [Christ] used for their defeat. He compelled their dark achievements to subserve His end, not theirs. They nailed Him to the tree, not knowing that by that very act they were bringing the world to His feet. They gave Him a cross, not guessing that He would make it a throne. They flung Him outside the gates to die, not knowing that in that very moment they were lifting up all the gates of the universe, to let the King come in. They thought to root out His doctrines, not understanding that they were implanting imperishably in the hearts of men the very name they intended to destroy. They thought they had defeated God with His back the wall, pinned and helpless and defeated: they did not know that it was God Himself who had tracked them down. He did not conquer in spite of the dark mystery of evil. He conquered through it.”

You and I are more than conquerors (Romans 8:37)! But the story is never really about us. Little is known about our brother Habakkuk. One day soon, little will be known about us. But may every new chapter of human history – both the changes we welcome and the changes we fear – exalt the unfading faithfulness of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Pastor Charles

An academy is an institution of higher learning or research, and the word “academy” can be traced back to Plato’s school of philosophy. When I think of “the academy” in general, I think of distinguished authorities within a field of scholarship who determine helpful standards, and who prescribe appropriate methods, and who critique (in the healthiest way) the latest ideas within their field – all the while passing along the passionate pursuit of their subject matter to the next generation.

When it was time for me to choose a college, I chose the University of Kentucky. I wanted a public, large-campus academic setting where professors and students would come from multiple backgrounds and perspectives – and where the sky would be the limit in terms of academic majors and postgraduate degree programs as well. My university studies followed a liberal arts trajectory, with much of my coursework in Spanish and political science (my undergraduate major and minor, respectively). Since many of my courses were in the Patterson School of Diplomacy, I witnessed liberal and conservative professors working together for the common good. Within the broadly more liberal academic environment that typifies a state school, the Patterson School included its fair share of outspoken conservatives, whose voices were – from my perspective – welcome at the table of ideas that represented U.K. academics.

The vision for the Patterson School came originally from Dr. James Kennedy Patterson, U.K.’s first president. The 1898 Spanish-American War convinced Dr. Patterson that a new school was needed to prepare young adults for “the diplomatic and consular service of the United States.” Patterson used as his model the programs that he had observed at Harvard, Stanford, Chicago, Cornell, and Yale. And the Patterson School, during my tenure as a student at U.K., was a robust marketplace of scholarship and academic inquiry. Thus, that experience became my understanding of university education.

What I see today, at least from a distance, is drastically distinct from that. In my opinion, what is happening at the University of Missouri is symptomatic of a deeper cultural fissure that underlies and threatens the foundation of American life. Though I decry racism in all its manifestations, I fear that the Mizzou problem is not really about racism. I fear that it is – in the name of “tolerance” – actually the dismantling of tolerance. Have we raised a generation of young adults who can no longer tolerate an opinion other than their own? Is this the result of the drive for self-esteem, only on steroids? (Wasn’t self-esteem for everybody supposed to fix everything?) And are we not witnessing firsthand what happens when the pursuit of political correctness is allowed to trump every other virtue in a civilized society? What most concerns me about Mizzou is the climate that caused a university president to resign based on charges that were only that – charges. Why would he not wait confidently for sound reason, common sense, and the truth to prevail? My best guess is that he had little hope that the truth would prevail.

What most concerns me about the climate of “the academy” today is the systematic erosion of freedom of speech, which is in fact the death of the freedom of conscience. (On that same train will depart that old bothersome baggage of religious liberty as well.) How can academic administrators protect every student from hearing anything that said student does not want to hear? Is that even the administrator’s job? And, were it even possible to create such an academic environment, how would that prepare anyone for real life in a pluralistic society like our own?

We can enjoy no academic integrity unless we also have honesty and respect, along with large doses of personal responsibility. Having nearly abandoned all three, I am afraid that we have created our own monster. And it’s hard to run away from our own monster. The colorful New York City attorney, Hiram Mann, published these lines in The Wall Street Journal in 1947:

No man escapes when freedom fails,

The best ones rot in filthy jails;

While those who cried, “Appease, appease!”

Are hanged by men they tried to please.

And let me simply add this about the nature of truth itself: sometimes the truth hurts. Pontius Pilate didn’t like that fact either – we see that in his “What is truth?” (John 18:38) – but that didn’t change the fact that it was fact. You may remember that snarky Pilate, right before he delivered Jesus to be crucified, pulled that one out of his hat in an attempt to save his own hide. Pilate had been adept in his acquisition of the throne, and he would prove just as adept (under Rome’s watchful eye) at maintaining his power at all costs. Truth is: truth did not matter to Pilate. And Pilate understood that truth did not matter to Jesus’ accusers either – though they championed themselves as the guardians of truth.

But truth is still truth.

It is more than ironic that Pilate would ask the question “What is truth?” … while staring Truth itself right in the eye.

May we not do the same.

Pastor Charles

What do you discover when you make phone calls to 35,000 neighbors?

A newly-released survey – the U.S. Religious Landscape Study – finds that 77% of American adults identify with a faith group.

Good news.

Findings by the Pew Research Center confirm that 2/3 of religiously affiliated adults would also say that their faith is “very important” to them.

Good news.

The same percentage – again, 2/3 – of the “religiously affiliated” also pray on a daily basis.

Good news.

Even in worship attendance among that same group, we’re holding our own. About 6-in-10 engage regularly in corporate worship.

Good news.

One more finding: Half of all Americans who call themselves Christians believe that other religions (outside of Christianity and Christ) can lead to eternal life.

Bad news.

As a matter of fact, that’s such bad news that it actually calls into question all the “good news.”

Apparently we’ve now discovered that non-Christian faiths can save.

Has anyone told Jesus?

John 14:6.

Pastor Charles

It’s happening today and tomorrow in Lexington, at Keeneland: the Breeders’ Cup. I’m not advocating that you spend your money wagering at the track, but I do think there’s something wonderfully intriguing and majestic about horses. And one of the most amazing characteristics of Thoroughbred racehorses is their undeniable athleticism: power, grace, and near-perfect movement. These equine abilities have captivated people throughout history (Job 39:19-25).

Back in 2010, when we were living in SoCal, I brought several of my pastor friends to Kentucky, and of course they wanted to see horse country – all the beautiful farms in and around my alma mater. Just this past summer, Josh’s friend Noah visited from Orange County, and he wanted to see Churchill Downs. We’ve taken the tour before, and we learn something new every time. It’s not just he sinew and muscle and bone of the horse that makes him powerful, but it’s also his large and efficient heart (the heart of a resting horse pumps 40 quarts of blood per minute, and at full gallop 240 quarts per minute). It’s partly a matter of genetics, no doubt, and it’s partly his rigorous training to run like lightning.

This is the week of the year when I ponder, perhaps more than ever, how I’m running my race. We celebrate our Reformation heritage as a people of sola scriptura (Scripture alone), and we remember the price that was paid by many so that we could build our lives (and our churches) on the Word of God – and pass along the truth to the next generation.

Are we running well the race of faith?

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us (Hebrews 12:1).

Let’s consider that admonition within its proper context. You’ll remember that the Old Testament saints, in their lifetimes, never received what was promised. (The end of Hebrews 11 covers this.) They died waiting in faith, and trusting that one day God would bring all of His promises to final fulfillment. This Jesus accomplished through the New Covenant, as He offered the perfect sacrifice (the one that had been hoped for all those years) on the cross – Himself.

Now, as the writer to the Hebrews reminds us, we live in a “better” era than those who lived before Christ’s death and resurrection – because we can see and understand with much more clarity the fullness of God’s redemptive plan. But you and I have some waiting to do as well. We must persevere in faith until Jesus comes again (8:13; 9:28). We must press on in the race, and that’s not always easy.

Are you ready to run with endurance? The finish line is ahead of us. The prize awaits us. We’re almost there!

And, as we stay in the race, we have some cheerleaders. Great throngs of people are cheering us on. Those Old Covenant saints – “so great a cloud of witnesses” – propel us forward by their examples of faithfulness and steadfast determination. Our job is to “lay aside every weight” of sin that would impair our running well. But we can’t just turn from sin, with any lasting effectiveness, without looking joyfully upon the face of Christ while we run. Christ is our reward! That reality, then, becomes the practical sanctifying power of His gospel at work in us. My friend Dr. Tom Schreiner makes this observation: “Eternal life is the reward that we trust God will give to us who faithfully endure to the end of the race. Yet eternal life is also the very breath of heaven that already fills our hearts by God’s Spirit and enlivens our ‘feeble arms and weak knees’ (12:12).” I love thinking about “the breath of heaven,” because it’s a whole lot easier for me to run when I know that I’m running with an inexhaustible supply of strength!

On October 16, 1555, Nicholas Ridley and Hugh Latimer, two English Protestant ministers, were burned at the stake by Mary Tudor – under whose five-year reign some 300 believers were martyred. Four months later Thomas Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury, also suffered the same death. As the fire started burning under them, Latimer said to his friend: “Be of good courage, Master Ridley, and play the man, for we shall this day light such a candle by God’s grace in England, as I trust shall never be put out.”

In Christian tradition, November 1 is All Saints’ Day. We remember those who have run before us, who have left behind for us a legacy of faith and faithfulness. Perhaps they weren’t martyred for their convictions, but they persevered through their own persecutions, sufferings, and trials in this world (as all believers do). They were just pilgrims and strangers here, but now they’re safely home. Their city and country are far better than ours (11:16).

We who remain in the race don’t have the heart of a horse, but we have something much better: the breath of heaven! So run, friends, run! And Happy Reformation!

Pastor Charles

Some of you might not know that as a kid I was totally into meteorology. I practiced being a TV weatherman with my maps and my charts and all the rest of my props. So I’m kind of fascinated by Hurricane Patricia, now bearing down on Mexico’s Pacific Coast. Patricia is a Category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale, which is the highest designation for a hurricane as measured by its wind strength. As of this writing, the storm is about 140 miles southwest of Manzanillo. I have visited Puerto Vallarta, so I know what a stretch of beautiful and rugged coastline this hurricane presently threatens. It also threatens the people who live there.

Forecasters predict Category-5 intensity even upon landfall tonight. This is an exceptionally dangerous monster of a storm. Mexican authorities are distributing sandbags to help protect against rising waters, but you can imagine how likely it is that preparations will be too little and too late as streams overflow their banks and cause widespread damage in the form of flash floods. Patricia is so potent that even the Texas Hill Country, and the I-35 corridor from San Antonio to the Dallas-Ft. Worth metroplex, will be impacted by dangerous flooding.

Today we tend to depersonalize what we often label “nature,” but we must remember that our God is the Creator of all. He is fully in control, and there are always reasons behind the weather. His reasons.

The Bible does not share our timidity in assigning the weather, both good and violent, to the Lord. Psalm 42:7 is rendered: “Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls; all your breakers and your waves have gone over me.” Regarding Jonah, it was God (1:4) who “hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up.” Yes, if we take the Scriptures seriously, then we know that every weather pattern and anomaly simply does the bidding of our great and awesome God (Psalm 148:8): “Fire and hail, snow and mist, stormy wind fulfilling his word!”

I’m even convinced that God’s Word described the hydrologic cycle long before any scientist had that figured out. The cycle of water consists of three major phases: evaporation, condensation, and precipitation. Clouds move over the land and drop water through precipitation. The rain runs into creeks, the creeks into streams, the streams into rivers, and the rivers into oceans – with evaporation all along the way. Ecclesiastes 1:7 and Isaiah 55:10 describe the water cycle! Check out Job 36:26-33. There is a picture of evaporation and condensation with amazing clarity – centuries before any scientific understanding in this regard – as well as another affirmation of God’s greatness displayed as He “scatters his lightning.”

When Adam and Eve sinned, their sin (and ours) brought serious consequences to Planet Earth. Adam’s descendants became so godless and corrupt that God destroyed all human life, land animals, and birds by way of the Flood. Thankfully Noah, and his family, and his animals were saved – as Noah’s ark became a type of Christ for us. The fountains of the deep were broken up, and there was great volcanic activity. The layers of Earth’s crust were formed and even “nature” began to display the wages of sin. The stage was thus set for earthquakes and killer storms. Patricia is no exception.

The power of Patricia is a display of the power of God. In fact this is the most powerful tropical cyclone ever measured in the Western Hemisphere, with maximum sustained winds recorded at an unprecedented 200 miles per hour. Let’s pray for people in the path of the storm, and worship the God who is sovereign over all. In Jonah’s day, even the pagan mariners were afraid and cried out to their lifeless deities! How much more should we, for such a time as this, prevail upon the One who can calm the storm (Matthew 8:27): “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”

Pastor Charles

I’m quite sure that I will not do justice to this subject, but please allow me to try. I am, like you, grieved by the headlines. Late yesterday Palestinians set fire to a site in the West Bank (in the city of Nablus) which some Jews regard as the tomb of Joseph (the Biblical patriarch). Later a Palestinian impersonating a journalist stabbed an Israeli soldier in the town of Kiryat Arba (on the outskirts of Hebron; mentioned in the Bible as the place where Abraham buried Sarah). Apparently Hamas has called for a “day of rage” against Israel.

Israel resents a blatant attack on their freedom of worship. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas officially condemns the attack. This follows at least a month of attacks in which both Israelis and Palestinians have been killed. Now hundreds of Palestinians from Gaza are up against Israeli troops.

If you are like me, you probably scratch your head from time to time wondering why it’s so difficult to understand news reports from the Holy Land. At least part of the reason is that the “Holy Land” is home to the most diverse people groups in the world. It’s populated by Jews, Muslims, and Christians. It’s populated by Arabs and Europeans, as well as Africans and Americans. And by almost every other ethnic group in between. The soup is thick – and at least for me at times – very hard to digest.

There are about 200 million Arabs in the world. Some 21 states are encompassed by Arabs, occupying approximately 5.3 million square miles of oil-rich land. Not only do they generally not get along with those outside the Arab world, but they fight internally over just about everything.

Since there is only one Jewish state with a population of six million squeezed into an area of 8000 square miles (they’re outnumbered 33 to 1 in people, and 662 to 1 in land), our first thought as patriotic Americans is likely, “What gives?” And for those of us with a Biblical and evangelical worldview which appreciates the Abrahamic Covenant (consider Genesis 17:8), we are tempted toward a sense of moral outrage, even if our emotions might cloud some of the complexities which perhaps we ought not miss. To that end I write this blog.

There are four different political statuses among the Palestinian people living in Israel and the occupied territory. 1.6 million Arab Israelis have citizenship and a passport. 200,000 residents of Arab East Jerusalem can vote in municipal elections, but not in national elections. (It’s kind of like their version of our green card.) 2.8 million West Bank Palestinians are not free to travel in Israel, and can work only by permit from the Israeli military. No voting allowed. No civil rights. Finally, 1.8 million Gazans are essentially trapped within Gaza. Few exit permits are granted, so they’re largely cut off from the outside world, even from family members in the West Bank.

Here’s where things get even more difficult. Most Palestinians live at a much lower standard of living than their Israeli neighbors. We’re talking basic utilities like electricity and water. Imagine a concrete house with temperatures in the 40s, and no running water for days in a row. This can happen in Bethlehem, and Gaza is worse – with more people (including many children) crammed into fewer square miles than anywhere else in the world.

And please don’t miss this: as many as 40,000 Palestinians identify themselves as Christian. This fact we must not overlook in our political observations. Among that group are our brothers and sisters in Christ. These Christians suffer just as much as the Palestinian Muslims, not only in the Gaza Strip but also in the West Bank. In exceptionally large measure, these Christians are not violent. They are not fighting. They are Palestinian Arabs who speak the Arabic language, but they are Christians. And many of them feel extremely forgotten by believers in other parts of the world.

It is absolutely clear that God, through Abraham, gave the land to the Jewish people. You and I can be pro-Israel, and I think we should be just that. But, in a world driven by news reports that often tell just part of the story, we must hold high God’s Word – as we seek to interpret world events through the prism of His unchanging truth. In the present crisis, we must speak against Islamic violence, while also recognizing that Israel has covenant obligations (e.g., Leviticus 19:33-34) to treat aliens and strangers with the kind of covenant kindness which they have received from God.

The same goes for us, friends.

Surely this is a call to pray. Surely this is a call to cry out with Christ’s angels for “peace on earth; good will toward men.”

Pastor Charles