I tried to ride a horse once, but I fell right off. Only 5 quick seconds...he sped up, and I tumbled backward off his back. Luckily, he was a mini-horse, so it didn't hurt so much when I landed on the thick grass. So when someone tells me to get off my high horse, I stop and wonder if that person really knows me? Don't they know I hate riding horses? Well just last Thursday, President Obama made an accusatory statement at the National Prayer Breakfast about the Christian community, a group, by the way, I am honored to be a part of. Here is his stinging comment, "lest we get on our high horse and think this is unique to some other place, remember that during the Crusades and the Inquisition, people committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ." Are Christians in danger of riding a high horse? Do we think we are a better brand of person just because we call out Muslim terrorists for burning pilots or beheading journalists? Are we wrong to criticize the killing of cartoonists? Or are we reacting as any normal person would when we see criminals getting away with atrocities, and who get upset and demand for justice? Oh no, can't you see that our outrage is just a smokescreen hiding our meanness, cruelty and intolerance toward innocent god-fearing Muslims? When you look at our world, ask yourself, are Christians really the problem? Are we that terrible? I really want to know. I want reasonable people to tell me if I need to change my ways...If you will allow me to be candid, I feel like Christians are not the ones riding horses at all; but rather we are the ones being horsewhipped by a hostile world. Even here in the supposedly religiously liberated United States it seems like honest Christians are treated with real intolerance; and we have become the whipping boys for our modern culture's angst. Let me give you a few examples * THE CURIOUS CASE OF BEN CARTER: According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, (SPLC), they have listed the famed neurosurgeon and potential 2016 presidential candidate Ben Carson on their list of "extremists." The reason, as explained by the SPLC, seems to be little more than the fact that Carson supports traditional definitions of marriage and that he famously spoke-out against Obama's policies at the National Prayer Breakfast in 2013. * THE BAKER'S BUNGLE: A Christian baker who, on the grounds of her beliefs, refused to sell a cake for a same-sex couple’s wedding, may be required to pay as much as $75k per complainant – or, in this case, for the two people denied service, $150k. It has taken more than two years to near a conclusion of the case, which began when the Oregon bakery, Sweet Cakes by Melissa, refused an order for a wedding cake in January of 2013. Now, the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries says that there is sufficient evidence that the Aaron and Melissa Klein discriminated against the couple, and that they will have to pay damages. * MEAN OLE' MINISTERS: Two Christian ministers in Idaho, Donald and Evelyn Knapp, have allegedly been ordered to perform same-sex wedding ceremonies at their chapel or face fines or jail sentences.This nightmare began Oct. 7, 2014 when the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals invalidated Idaho's marriage laws and legalized same-sex marriage in that state, which allowed Idaho county clerks to begin issuing same-sex marriage licenses a week later. On Oct. 17, the Knapps declined a request to perform a same-sex wedding ceremony. One columnist who reported on this asked the following questions: Notice who the aggressors are here. Notice who is being intolerant. Why can't same-sex couples who want to marry under the newly minted law find ministers who have no objection to the procedure? Are they seeking the vindication of their rights or trying to force their beliefs on other people to the point of compelling them to deny their own? The problem with the columnist's questions is that he jumped right back on his high horse. Christian's should not have a well thought out opinion; instead they must submit to the will of the state, take their beating and forget their faith. So what is the answer? I know, instead of riding high horses, we should get on the back of the Lion, and let him defend our cause!
4 Comments
Tammy VanHouten
2/9/2015 10:17:32 am
Very well written Pastor Chris. I couldn't agree more. Prayers for your journey this week that God's grace and will, will guide you.
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Chrisg
2/9/2015 10:51:56 am
Thank you Tammy!
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Mike
2/10/2015 05:54:16 am
"Are they seeking the vindication of their rights or trying to force their beliefs on other people to the point of compelling them to deny their own?".....very well said Chris,
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Tom Tom
2/11/2015 02:03:23 am
We have been hearing this more and more, where people who have there own secular based beliefs, have been justified by a government, that, constitutionally, is supposed to stay out of such things, are constantly saying that anyone who doesn't believe the same thing should be punished. This is exactly why the government is supposed to stay out of it. It is obvious to most Christians, or should be, that this is the beginning of the persecution in the end times. The obvious intolerance is to any fundamental Christian who will stand up for the truth. I absolutely agree that the lion of Judah should defend us but only if we stand up for the truth of the word. We should never fear the persecution or what the world will do to us because in the end he is going to justify all those who stood up for the truth. As always thanks Chris for always standing up for the truth and being willing to say it to anyone who will listen.
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