A few things happened the last few weeks that I have been watching with interest. Pastor Jerry Vines, the former President of the Southern Baptist Convention gave a sermon in which he presented Muhammed, the founder and chief prophet of Islam, in a - how would you say - less than perfect light. The second thing of interest was that an atheist went to court out west and got the court to rule that his religion was greater than Christianity. In short, the atheist convinced the court to rule that the Pledge of Allegiance was unconstitutional because it contains the words "under God".

Let's talk about the Jerry Vines "incident" first. Pastor Vines made his statements in the context of a Christian assembly, amongst fellow Southern Baptists. It is true that Pastor Vines said that Muhammed was a pedophile, and quite probably demon possessed. It is true that Pastor Vines said that Islam is not a valid way to God, and that Islam is not as good as Christianity. He made it clear that you cannot get to Heaven by following the teachings of Muhammed, but by following the teachings of Jesus Christ you will be saved. All of these statements were made - he was very clear in his presentation. However, what you may not hear when you listen to the words of the liberal media is the rest of the story.

Pastor Vines made the statements he made in reference to the new book, "Unveiling Islam: An Insider's Look at Muslim Life and Beliefs" (Kregel Publications). This book was written by two men, Ergun and Emir Caner, who were raised as Sunni Muslims. Raised in this faith they were privy to all the rituals and "truths" of Islam - yet in 1982 they accepted Jesus Christ as Savior and turned from Muhammed's path. Ergun is assistant professor of theology and church history at Criswell College in Dallas, while Emir is assistant professor of church history and Anabaptist studies at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C. The brothers wrote their book to reveal the "hidden" things about Islam that both the followers of that faith and the pluralistic religious community kept under wraps.

When Pastor Vines made the statements he made, he was not striking out nor fabricating lies like the tabloids do to sell their papers. No, he was speaking from a position of fact. It is a fact that Muhammed married the nine year old daughter of a friend. The girl, called Aisha, became known as the "mother of believers". If I were to marry a nine year old child and have marital relations with her, I would be known and rightly prosecuted as a pedophile. The Hadith, a respected source of Islamic teaching VERIFIES that Muhammed married this child (see volume 7, book 6, number 64 and 65) - he was a pedophile. There is no easy or more sanitary way to say it: truth hurts, and this is the truth. A lengthy passage from the Hadith (volume 1, book 1, chapter 1) shows that Muhammed himself believed he was under demonic influence. You may claim that Pastor Vines statements were "offensive, demeaning, and damaging to the American ideals of religious diversity and intergroup civility" (as Abraham H. Foxman, the Anti-Defamation League National Director said in a statement released June 12, 2002), but how can you condemn his statements if he merely mirrors what the religion in question has already stated? You cannot, if you have a shred of common sense - the research shows that Muhammed was a pedophile, and believed himself to be demon possessed.

As to Christianity's superiority to Islam, the founder of our faith made this statement:

(John 14:6 KJV) "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."

The statement could be no clearer. Jesus Christ said that He is the ONLY way to God, the ONLY way. The early Church affirmed this Word by stating:

(Acts 4:10-12 KJV) "Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. {11} This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. {12} Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."

Again, a very clear statement. Jesus is the one and only way to God, to Heaven, to eternal life. So Pastor Vines sermon was based on two things: the truth of Islam's shady founder Muhammed, as clearly stated in their own holy writings, and the truth of Christianity's perfect founder Jesus Christ, as clearly stated in the Word of God. You can snarl at the content or the method of delivery of his sermon, but if you compromise then you must IGNORE written truths and LIE to yourself. The Founder of Christianity sacrificed Himself to secure the salvation of all who believe. The founder of Islam taught bloody warfare against the infidels, jihad, and reserved the highest level of heaven for Muslims who "shed their blood", killing the unbeliever (see Hadith 135). The Koran itself states:

[Al-Baqara (The Cow) 2.191] "And kill them wherever you find them, and drive them out from whence they drove you out, and persecution is severer than slaughter, and do not fight with them at the Sacred Mosque until they fight with you in it, but if they do fight you, then slay them; such is the recompense of the unbelievers."

And, equally revealing:

[Al-Nisa' (The Women) 4.87-89] "Allah, there is no god but He-- He will most certainly gather you together on the resurrection day, there is no doubt in it; and who is more true in word than Allah? [4.88] What is the matter with you, then, that you have become two parties about the hypocrites, while Allah has made them return (to unbelief) for what they have earned? Do you wish to guide him whom Allah has caused to err? And whomsoever Allah causes to err, you shall by no means find a way for him. [4.89] They desire that you should disbelieve as they have disbelieved, so that you might be (all) alike; therefore take not from among them friends until they fly (their homes) in Allah's way; but if they turn back, then seize them and kill them wherever you find them, and take not from among them a friend or a helper."

To characterize the entire religion as bloody would be unfair - for Islam does have its mercy - but the faith is, if you are a follower of Jesus Christ and insofar as our Founder is concerned - inferior to Christianity. That is written Truth, the Word of God. Disagree if you want, but facts are facts.

The second thing of interest was the atheist who convinced the Ninth Circuit Court to rule that the Pledge of Allegiance was "unconstitutional" because it contains the words "under God". This ruling means that children in schools in several states are now forbidden to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. I am waiting for the Ninth Circuit Court to rule that our coins are unconstitutional as well, for they have "in God we trust" written on them. (When that happens, give me all your evil coins - I'll take them to a country that'll redeem them and use them to help someone). The atheist in question did not want his daughter subjected to the word "God" in the context of the pledge, though I am certain that he goes to movies and perhaps speaks words that use "God" in a cursing manner without giving it the slightest thought. "God" is fine as long as it is paired with d***, but woe be unto anyone to use "God" in a positive manner.

Listen believers! I do not blame the unbeliever for the evil that he does. I expect dogs to bark, cats to meow, and unbelievers to complain about and persecute Christ and all He stands for. I expect unbelievers to act like unbelievers, atheists (who follow a religion that believes in nothing) to preach against God, liberals to preach "don't rock the boat" to the Church, and hypocrites to use God's name in vain in one breath while saying "there is no such thing as God" in the next breath. The Pharisees and the fools will always be with us.

But Christians need to act like Christians. If you need the word "Christian" defined, then look that word up in "The Word", the Holy Bible. The events that have happened in our country, not just over the past few weeks but over the last few years, should have been a wakeup call to every nominal Christian and every nominal Church in America. The heinous attack of September 11th shook us all up but now we're back to business as usual.

America has lost its moral compass, and that is the fault of every nominal Christian in every nominal local Church in this country. If you and your congregation have excused aberrant sexual behavior as "normal and perfectly acceptable between consenting adults", you are contributing to the problem. If you and your congregation have excused the murder of innocent children through abortion as "a woman's right to choose", you are contributing to the problem. If you and your congregation have looked the other way on drug abuse, or condoned racial bigotry, or walked indiscreetly as a believer among the unbelievers, then you are contributing to the problem. If you or your congregation have walked away from the clear teachings of the Word of God then you are contributing to the problem.

(Isaiah 5:20-21 KJV) "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! {21} Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!"

Would you follow Hitler? Most people, when asked this question, would immediately and vehemently respond "No!". But the majority of those whom we would interview and ask this question would, quite sanely, deny any affection or affiliation with Hitler. It would be better to call Judas Iscariot your best friend!

A few years ago I was stationed in Germany while serving in the United States Air Force. I don't know what I expected when I went there. Perhaps goose stepping storm troopers, perhaps racial intolerance. Do you know what I found? A beautiful country, with crystal clear waterways and snow capped mountains. A country cared for by its citizens - clean, well maintained parks and highways, wonderful facilities, stores, and specialty shops. And, amazing to me - an extremely well educated and polite people. From the time I entered Germany till when I left neither I, nor anyone who was with me, was ever treated with anything but respect. Though English was not predominantly spoken where I was, the people made EVERY effort to learn English to make my stay enjoyable. This was the norm for all who were there, regardless of color. Never did I see cross burnings, or mistreatment toward people of color. It was a wonderful stay.

As I walked down a pathway in the Black Forest one day I noticed how the wardens had raked up the fallen leaves from the forest floor. Everything was orderly, in its proper place. As I walked, I considered some of the other sights I had seen in Germany, sights that were terribly out of place when compared to the order now before me.

Pictures of torture and murder. Stone tables with drains in their centers, drains that caught human blood in buckets as surgical operations - unneeded operations - were performed without anesthesia on screaming victims. I remembered the pictures I saw of holocaust victims bulldozed into mass graves. I remembered the images of children and women, starved beyond belief - starved till their very bones stood out, as if engraved on their skin. Such a horror: those who were created in the image of God torturing others who were ALSO created in the image of God. How could such things have ever been? This was not a nation of monsters, but only monsters could have done the things that were done in World War II. How could the Germany that I was the experiencing have fallen into such evil in years years gone by?

"Woe unto them ..."
Following Hitler Starts With Compromise

The slide of Germany into evil came gradually, just as evil always comes into the camp. In the beginning a loving Creator made us all in His image, after His likeness, and placed us in a perfect environment. The original creation was perfect, without sin ... it was good with a capital "G". The environment, that perfect state of sinlessness, that peaceful bliss that we enjoyed in Eden remained as long as we focused on the Creator and His Word. What one warning did God give Adam in the Garden? He said:

(Genesis 2:17 KJV) "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."

Our Creator did not place this restriction on us to harm us, nor did He do it out of some perverse sense of testing. No, Jesus did this from the beginning to establish a principle that would be reflected as true throughout all human history. The truth established, set in place for all eternity was this: As long as we who are the created obey the Word of the Creator we WILL find order and peace in our lives. If we reject His Word, choosing instead to follow our own word, to elevate our opinions to the place of Scripture, then we will find disharmony, dissatisfaction, and disorder.

Here lies the slippery slope that so many nations have stepped on with heads held high! God's Word has spoken. He who loves us with an Infinite Love, He has spoken from that love and told us what is best for our lives. From the beginning the Love that caressed us in the Garden, the Love that breathed life into our lungs, the Love that saw our need and made us a perfect companion from our own flesh - this Love spoke. Not to dictate terms, nor to inhibit our pleasure. Not to demean, nor to drive us into distraction. No, Love Eternal spoke for our benefit, for our good - if we would only hear and obey.

Eden, that initial Creation; Adam and Eve, and the very Fall of mankind are not fairy tales that we whisper to our children to lull them to sleep. Eden is a true place, Adam and Eve our common parents - we are all from this same root of Love. Eden is also something greater than paradise lost, for Eden a microcosm of every human society, of every government, of every nation on our planet. That which happened in Eden has happened time and time again in human history. Eternal Love spoke, and by His Will allowed a society, a government to be born. As long as the inhabitants of that society heard and heeded the Word of the Creator then His hand was on those people. Order was in the land as long as His Word was followed, as long as Love was obeyed.

But when the inhabitants of any human society, be it Eden, Assyria, Babylon, Chaldea, Germany, Russia, or the United States departs from the directive, for the Word of the Creator, chaos always enters in. Once chaos enters, a downward spiral develops that drags the society deeper and deeper into the muck of evil. Witness the serpent in the Garden. God did not tell Adam to debate theology with the serpent. In fact, God did not tell Adam to do ANYTHING with the serpent. Adam had two very clear directives from God: (1) Cultivate and tend this Garden, and (2) Do not eat of the fruit of this one tree. No other directions were recorded in Scripture, for no other directions were needed. Love does not seek to inhibit or enslave that which it loves. Two simple directions were given: cultivate everything, do not eat one thing. Yet when the serpent entered the Garden, Eve decided to debate theology with him. To paraphrase Genesis 3:3, Eve said "God has told us to not eat this fruit, NOR TO TOUCH IT". Here is the first historical record of creation putting words in the mouth of the Creator. Love does not unduly restrict. Father never told Adam and Eve to not touch the fruit - His Word merely stated "do not eat". But Eve stepped out boldly on that slippery slope, adding to that which God has said, putting her words forth as if the were God's Words. Once on this slope it is so easy to take another sliding step, and yet another, and yet another - until you Fall as our first parents fell.

"Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil ..."
Following Hitler Grows As We Blame Others

We must answer this question, for it still stands unanswered: How did Germany, this beautiful country, come to follow a madman? How did Eve come to follow a serpent, and Adam to follow Eve? It always starts with a small COMPROMISE, one taste of the Forbidden Fruit. Ignore the Word of God, or add to that Word - and see where it leads you.

Germany prior to World War II was a country in economic turmoil. Unemployment rates were skyrocketing. The people had been led into a fruitless war by the Kaiser (World War I), a war they lost. People were hungry, people were poor, people were in terrible need. People needed Jesus, needed to turn their eyes heavenward and cry out for redemption. Adam needed to stand up before the Creator and admit he had sinned. Eve needed to repent and trust in Love Eternal, Jesus Christ for her salvation. But this didn't happen. The average German citizen began to look for someone to blame their troubles on. Like Adam in the Garden, rather than admit their own corporeal failure to follow God's Word, German looked away from salvation and toward a "final solution". Ah, but had they listened to the Word of the Creator:

(Isaiah 1:18-20 KJV) "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. {19} If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: {20} But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it."

I have no doubt that our Lord would have restored a repentant Germany to its earlier greatness. He has done this countless number of times. Because Egypt treated Joseph's heirs with respect, that nation became mighty. But when Joseph's seed were tormented by Pharaoh, contrary to the Word of God, Egypt lost her greatness. I have been there and seen the shell that was once Egypt. The Sphinx, eroded with time. The pyramids, chipped and worn. The people living in graveyards as if they were city parks. Deny God's Word, lose His blessing. What of Babylon? Great while it respected Daniel and the Israelites, today gone because it sought to destroy God's chosen. Repent and find greatness, reject and become dust.

Germany refused to repent. I am certain that there were a remnant of God's people in that nation, but the remnant was small. In 1933 the Nazi regime came to power in Germany led by Adolph Hitler. It wasn't long before Hitler dictated to the Lutheran Church what was known as the "Aryan Clause", which demanded that no Jew hold office in any Church. The Christian theologian Karl Barth, along with anti-Nazi Church leader Martin Niemoller organized the "Confessional Church" at the Synod of Barmen (May-June 1934). Those who supported the Confessional Church affirmed the "Barmen Declaration", which stated:

"Jesus Christ, as He is attested for us in Holy Scripture, is the one Word of God which we have to hear and which we have to trust and obey in life and in death.."

The Confessional Church movement did not last long, however, for the visible Church compromised with the Hitler Regeme to the point of ineffectiveness. It was more "politically correct" to side with Hitler than to stand against the majority of Germany. Though some great Christians (like theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer) lost their lives resisting the evils of Nazism - those who should have been "the light of the world - a city that is set on an hill that cannot be hid" (Matthew 5:14) - instead blended in with the Serpent's Seed. "Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon; lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph"(2 Samuel 1:20). The Church divided, compromising the Word of God is largely ineffective against evil.

"Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put
darkness for light, and light for darkness ..."
Follow Hitler By Proposing UnBiblical Solutions

Sensing that none would stand in their way, the Nazi Party began suggesting ways in which society could become more "streamlined", more economically prosperous. The people wanted a scapegoat for Germany's economic woes, the Nazi's supplied the scapegoat. Bad government was not to blame, but "racial impurity" was at the heart of the problem. The Nazis began by suggesting that those who had physical or mental handicaps were not "true Germans" - and suggested that forced sexual sterilization of these "imperfections" would prevent any other drain on society. Christians in Germany, the Light of the world, should have rose up and held out this truth from the Word of God:

(Genesis 1:26-27 KJV) "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. {27} So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."

All of humanity, regardless as to physical or mental state, is made in the perfect image of God. All humanity has value because of its Manufacturer. To suggest that those who are not "exactly like us" - those with a different color of skin, different color eyes, of different abilities - are less valuable is a heinous sin in God's eyes. We are all created in His likeness, and we all have value because of that likeness. This inherent value of humanity was ignored for the Word of God was ignored. It was more expedient to listen to the Nazi solution, more expedient because it showed that SOMEONE was doing SOMETHING to alleviate our suffering. Sterilize the imperfections - they're not truly German/human after all.

Up to this point the Nazis were not fully focused on the Jews, but on "imperfections" in German society. Evil must see the people swallowed the simple lie:

- People who are not like me are not really people,
- It's not really a baby, it's just human tissue - not murder,
- She was a drain on society, and in pain anyway. Let her die,
- What does it matter if two people love one another? Why not condone same sex marriage?
- Why not legalize it, since people are going to do it anyway?
- There are many "ways" and "words" of God. Who's to say my way is wrong?

Just as the Serpent offered a small lie, watched Eve swallow it, then offered a larger lie, the Nazi's followed the same path. If the people are willing to ignore the Word of God in favor of the word of Hitler, offer a stronger lie.

"Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil;
that put darkness for light, and light for darkness;
that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! ..."

On September 1, 1939 Germany started World War II. The Nazis led the nation into this war using racial purity and Germanic superiority over other races as its standard for operation. Human life had already been CHEAPENED after six years of FORCED sterilization. Now, under the cover of war, the serpent took Germany to the next level - forced "euthanasia" for anyone who was mentally or physically handicapped. Again, the target was not focused on Jews alone, but on ANYONE, of German or non-German origin who was handicapped. In order to facilitate these murders the Nazis convinced the medical profession - doctors who should have loved those created in God's image - to carry out these acts of "euthanasia". Unlike the callous decision of the American Supreme Court in Roe vs. Wade, a decision that started the mass execution of children under the medical term "abortion", Hitler did not want to issue a PUBLIC law for forced euthanasia. Yet the medical profession in Germany would not support forced euthanasia unless it had a signed document from Hitler protecting them from later prosecution. Hitler complied, and gave the following written orders on his own personal stationary:

ADOLF HITLER

Berlin, 1 September 1939

Reichsleiter Bouhler and
Dr. med. Brandt

are instructed to broaden the powers of physicians designated by name, who will decide whether those who have - as far as can be humanly determined - incurable illnesses can, after the most careful evaluation, be granted a mercy death.

/Signed/ Adolf Hitler

(Henry Friedlander, The Origins of Nazi Genocide: From Euthanasia to the Final Solution. (Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina Press, 1995, p. 67)

Armed with this document Philipp Bouhler and Dr. Karl Brandt started the "ethnic cleansing" of Germany. Handicapped people were given a "merciful death" whether they wanted it or not. The citizens of Germany should have shouted a resounding "no" to this policy, but the people looked the other way. As Ian Kershaw said, "The road to Auschwitz was built by hate, but paved with indifference." As long as the evil treatment of the handicapped "doesn't effect me, then I'm O.K. with it". That attitude prevailed. Human life was cheapened, the slippery slope was crossed, and Germany slid into a hell of her own creation. To say that the average citizen knew nothing of the Nazi death camps is to make out the average German citizen to be severely retarded! How could they not have seen the packed cattle cars, with humans jammed in so tightly that their faces were crushed against the hellish bars? How could they have not heard the screams from these trains of the damned, the agony of people herded like animals to a certain slaughter? They knew. They knew of the camps, and knew that those who went into the camps did not come out. They knew of the industrial smokestacks, and of the snowlike human ash that drifted down day by day and night by night. Apathy kept Hitler in business. No novel written by Stephen King could approach the horror of this eyewitness account:

On October 5, 1942, by accident, Hermann Graebe, a German engineer and manager of a German construction firm in the Ukraine, and his foreman, came upon an execution squad killing Jews from the small town of Dubno in the Ukraine. He gave the following eyewitness account:

"My foreman and I went directly to the pits. Nobody bothered us. Now I heard rifle shots in quick succession from behind one of the earth mounds. The people who had got off the trucks - men, women and children of all ages - had to undress upon the order of an SS man who carried a riding or dog whip. They had to put down their clothes in fixed places, sorted according to shoes, top clothing and undergarments. I saw heaps of shoes of about 800 to 1000 pairs, great piles of under-linen and clothing. Without screaming or weeping these people undressed, stood around in family groups, kissed each other, said farewells, and waited for a sign from another SS man, who stood near the pit, also with a whip in his hand. During the fifteen minutes I stood near, I heard no complaint or plea for mercy. I watched a family of about eight persons, a man and a woman both of about fifty, with their children of about twenty to twenty-four, and two grown-up daughters about twenty-eight or twenty-nine. An old woman with snow white hair was holding a one year old child in her arms and singing to it and tickling it. The child was cooing with delight. The parents were looking on with tears in their eyes. The father was holding the hand of a boy about ten years old and speaking to him softly; the boy was fighting his tears. The father pointed to the sky, stroked his head and seemed to explain something to him. At that moment the SS man at the pit started shouting something to his comrade. The latter counted off about twenty persons and instructed them to go behind the earth mound. Among them was the family I have just mentioned. I well remember a girl, slim with black hair, who, as she passed me, pointed to herself and said, "twenty-three years old." I walked around the mound and found myself confronted by a tremendous grave. People were closely wedged together and lying on top of each other so that only their heads were visible. Nearly all had blood running over their shoulders from their heads. Some of the people shot were still moving. Some were lifting their arms and turning their heads to show that they were still alive. The pit was nearly two-thirds full. I estimated that it already contained about a thousand people. I looked for the man who did the shooting. He was an SS man, who sat at the edge of the narrow end of the pit, his feet dangling into the pit. He had a Tommy-gun on his knees and was smoking a cigarette. The people, completely naked, went down some steps which were cut in the clay wall of the pit and clambered over the heads of the people lying there to the place to which the SS man directed them. They lay down in front of the dead or wounded people; some caressed those who were still alive and spoke to them in a low voice. Then I heard a series of shots. I looked into the pit and saw that the bodies were twitching or the heads lying already motionless on top of the bodies that lay beneath them. Blood was running from their necks. The next batch was approaching already. They went down into the pit, lined themselves up against the previous victims and were shot."

The Holocaust is generally regarded as the systematic slaughter of not only six million Jews, (two-thirds of the total European Jewish population), the primary victims, but also five million others, approximately ELEVEN MILLION INDIVIDUALS wiped off the Earth by the Nazi regime and its collaborators. Eleven million lives. Can you say this number and not shudder? Can you imagine the magnitude of that slippery slope? Eleven million individuals, all created in the image of and by God, lovingly formed for His purpose, all cut off. Of these eleven million, how many do you think would have been great composers, great politicians, great healers? Of these eleven million, could some of these murdered have discovered the cure for cancer? Of these eleven million, could some have invented a means of transportation that does not kill our atmosphere? Consider, too, that of these eleven million, when they were cut off their children were cut off as well. The children that they could have had were murdered along with the potential parents. Though Hitler is in hell now, the impact that he and all of Germany had on humanity will NEVER be erased.

All because God's Word was ignored.

"Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil;
that put darkness for light, and light for darkness;
that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! ...
Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes,
and prudent in their own sight!"

All because Hitler's Word was promoted.

We who have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior are not members of some exclusive club, nor should we go to Church just to be entertained. Giddy, lightheaded believers in the early Church would not have made an impact on society as they did. This was a harsh editorial, but it promoted a harsh reality. When we who are to be the light of the world compromise with the world around us, when we look the other way so that we won't be politically incorrect - then we are not the light. When we pat someone on the head and say, "There, there, it will be all right", when it is clear from the Word of God that their behavior is an abomination to God - then we are not the light. When we, out of a misguided sense of love, tell others that "as long as you're hurting no one, what's the harm? - then we are not the light of His Love. When we cease to be like Jesus was, cease to follow His example AS PRESENTED IN THE WORD OF GOD, and start offering modified concepts of what Jesus is - then we are not the light.

We who are members of Christ's Body, the Church, are in the world but we are not to be of the world. Too many local churches have forgotten this. Worldly and unsaved people have come into our congregations and have convinced the light of the world to compromise with the darkness. Some local churches have condoned same sex unions as Godly, though God's Word clearly condemns it (Leviticus 18:22). Some local churches have looked the other way while members of the clergy engage in pedophilia, though Jesus cherished the little children and warned of damnation if they were harmed (Matthew 18:6). Some local churches have promoted racial segregation within their flock, and actively discourage "those people" from attending their services - though God's Word says that He loves all equally (Acts 10:34-35). Some local churches have ceased even a pretense of proffering God's Word, and now focus on the big business of entertainment.

Believer, we need to refocus on our Lord's priorities. I'm going to end this editorial with the Lord's Prayer. No, not the one we learned in Church as children (Luke 11:2-4), but the prayer Jesus made for the Church just prior to His sacrifice. Our Lord knew that He would shortly be offered up as a sacrifice for our sins. Time was short, and He wanted the Church focused on being the light. Jesus prayed this:

(John 17:8-17 KJV) "For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. {9} I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. {10} And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. {11} And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. {12} While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. {13} And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. {14} I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. {15} I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. {16} They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. {17} Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth."

Jesus prayed for His Church for He knew how hard it would be to be the light. It's easy to follow Hitler - you can do that without trying. All you need to do to follow Hitler is to do nothing. Let the world make all the decisions. If it makes the serpent happy, do it. As long as it has no direct immediate effect on me or my children, let it go. What does it harm, after all?

It harms a lot.

Jesus gave us Words as the Father gave them to Him. Jesus represented the Father perfectly while He walked on this earth. What the Father said, Jesus said. What the Father directed, Jesus did. Jesus was and is the Light of the world, and He prayed that those who believed in Him, the light, would show forth the Word that the Light gave them.

The Father gave Word to the Son.
The Son was the Light of the world.
When the Son departed, the Church was to be the light of the world.

Jesus prayed for His Church, that we would stand in His Word regardless as to whether the world agreed or not. Jesus prayed that His Church would know that, just as He was hated, we will be hated. Jesus prayed that His Church would understand that we are IN this world, but that we are NOT A PART OF this world. We are strangers in a strange land. We are foreigners, passing through this life, shining the light of the Light on all that we can, seeking to lead others into salvation by faith in Christ.

The serpent doesn't like this, and we shouldn't expect him to like it. The hedonistic, pleasure seeking sinner doesn't like this, and we shouldn't expect them to like it. Jesus was hated, and we should expect the same. But when we, the Church of Jesus Christ, compromise the Word, His Word, in order to satisfy the world around us, then we are no better than those Nazi sponsored doctors who started the ball rolling by forced sterilization of the handicapped which led to forced "merciful death" for the handicapped. We are NOT called to justify eating of the forbidden fruit. We are NOT called to look the other way while this nation hits the slippery slope of evil. We are not called to enable others to sin by our tacit approval.

We are people of the Book.

We are people who follow God's Word.

As Jesus said above, "Sanctify them through thy truth: THY WORD is truth." This is what makes the Church light for the Light. We carry Jesus' Word to the world. We carry God's Word to the world. Many may disagree, many may hate us, but many more will rejoice on resurrection day when they hear, "Enter in, My child, Enter in", rather than "depart from me, ye that work iniquity - I never knew you" (Matthew 7:23).

God give us, the Church that He purchased with His own blood, the will and the fortitude to follow His Word without compromise.