Sunday Thought

I'm going to put on my "preacher" hat for this one - stay with me.

On Saturday morning, a bomb blast derailed a popular commuter train in Uglovka, Russia, and killed 26 people. The Russian authorities have announced that the derailment was due to a "terrorist bomb."

Some people in this country are still having trouble calling the massacre at Fort Hood a terrorist attack, in spite of overwhelming evidence that it was exactly that. Why exactly can they not call it what it is?

Political correctness offers a convenient way to massage, spin, or otherwise disguise the truth in softer-sounding words which won't offend anyone. How is that supposed to help?

We won't call things what they are anymore, because someone might take offense. My opinion is, so what? If the truth offends you, don't try to change the words! Ask yourself why those words offend; do you must have a guilty conscience?

When that radical Islamic extremist, who calls himself a "Soldier of Allah", brought weapons into a place where guns are prohibited for the purpose of murdering innocent passersby, it's terrorism - pure and simple. He shouted "Allahu Akbar", the traditional cry of the extremists, then opened fire on his comrades in a confined space.

Call it what it is: terrorism. Just because he didn't use a bomb doesn't change that simple fact.

When a bomber blows up a passenger train & kills innocent people, it's terrorism.

So while we're talking about calling a spade a spade ... when a person swears an oath with his hand on a Bible, he or she has done something which can never, never be taken lightly. Leviticus 19:12 says,

"Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the LORD."

Matthew 5:33-35 says,

"... Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.' But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool..."

James 5:12 says,

"Above all, my brothers, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your "Yes" be yes, and your "No," no, or you will be condemned."

So why do I mention this? The oath of office taken by elected officials does not usually involve placing one's hand on the Bible - but in court, and for those elected to the highest offices - heads of state, for example, the oath sworn typically ends with "So help me, God."

So what do you suppose will happen to those who swear an oath by the Bible, or by God Himself, and then go out of their way to deliberately damage the nation they've just sworn to protect?

We can tell ourselves any number of platitudes, and attempt to soften the impact by couching our rhetoric in fine-sounded prose ... but it doesn't change the facts. Do the facts keep you awake at night? Ask yourself why it is that you must disguise the truth in order to sleep.

Various public officials have lately begun reviling the Oath-Keepers as "extremists". The Oath-Keepers are those current military, law enforcement, and veterans who have re-committed to "protect and defend the Constitution of the United States from all enemies, foreign and domestic."

Did you ever think you'd see the day when those who promise to uphold the Constitution would be called extremists? And since when is "patriot" a dirty word?

Perhaps it is precisely because those who are doing the name-calling are those who have guilty consciences.

Do our leader's words tear anyone down? Do they pretend that all is well in America? Do they spread gloom and doom? Or do those words build up, encourage, and work toward a restoration of America's greatness?

There are those now in national political office who do not have America's best interests at heart. Others call things as they see them - and right now, our national future appears bleak. Don't be among those give up or become discouraged. Never, never let circumstances cause you to become despondent.

Isaiah 41:4 (Amp.) says,

"Who has prepared and done this, calling forth and guiding the destinies of the generations [of the nations] from the beginning? I, the Lord--the first [existing before history began] and the last [an ever-present, unchanging God]--I am He."

In other words, God Himself picked you for such a time as this; He ordained that you should be here now, in this time, and in this place. Don't doubt your ability to take a stand for what is right and Godly - God chose you to be here, right now.


Father, we know things are not right in this country, and we ask Your help in setting those things aright once more. We need Your strength, Your wisdom, and Your ability to take care of business. Lord, strengthen our hands! We ask these things in Jesus' wonderful name. Amen.



See? I told you it would be worth it.