2 SWORD OF THE LORD July 23 , 2021
The Christian Culture
If you watch the networks no doubt you ’ ve heard the liberal media throwing “ rocks ” at the conservative Christian and patriotic American crowd . That ’ s not a new development , but the pace of their vitriole has picked up quite a lot this year . One of their attack strategies is the targeting of what they call “ Christian nationalism .”
They want everybody to believe that Christians are intolerant , even dangerous , to anyone who is not Christian . It is a lie , of course , but they are pushing that narrative in their lust for power and their deter - mination to create a fully “ secular nation .” They are attacking religious freedom especially where Chris - tians are concerned . The precious freedom of free speech which is clearly delineated in the U . S . Con - stitution is also being infringed upon and threatened every single day now .
These secularists who hate Christians so intensely are the ones who are intolerant . They are the ones who silence their critics . They are the ones who revile any - one who has an opinion that conflicts with the liberal narrative .
They are the advocates of “ the cancel culture .” If they can ’ t get us to shut up , then they will try to shut us down . They are a disagree - able , anti-God , anti-Christian , anti-Constitution , anti-capitalism and anti-American group .
When they rail about “ Christian nationalism ” they say that Christians have in mind to shut everybody else out . If they can find even one example of that , I would be very surprised . But it is an old , deceitful political ploy . They accuse their opposition of the very thing they are doing .
But let me talk about the “ Christian culture .” Christians do have scruples ( Bible based ) against theft , arson , lying and cheating .
We do have a moral compass about right and wrong .
We do have a voice which we use freely and frequently to advocate what we believe .
We do solicit others to join us and welcome them when they do .
We do not and we will not force anyone to think as we think , to believe as we believe or to do as we do . We will advocate , we will encourage and we will evangelize , but we will never coerce anyone to become a Christian .
We still stand up and use our First Amendment rights ( as do our critics and our adversaries ) to make the case for what we believe is right .
In other words , it is the “ culture ” of Christians to
1 . Be bold , be aggressive , be straightforward in the represen - tation of our cause .
2 . Be a peaceful people ; but if you threaten our way of life , our safety and our well being , then we will fight back .
3 . Treat others as we would like to be treated ( Matt . 7:12 ).
4 . Be the ambassadors of our Lord every day everywhere we go ( II Cor . 5:20 ).
5 . Be a testimony to the prin - ciples we find in God ’ s holy Word .
6 . Be neither intimidated by opposition nor discouraged by the circumstances of these times .
7 . Be relentless in the pursuit of our God-given mandates . If we lose a round or two , we will not quit . But if we become winners , we will be gracious in handling the responsibilities en trusted to us .
So let me be clear . We are living in very troubled times with lots of angry , hate-filled , belligerent oppo - sition . The battles of 2021 are many and they are very intense .
None of us could have imagined a few years back that our country would fall apart so quickly . We are , nonetheless , in a huge conflict . The atheist , humanist , Marxist crowd has a massive presence in the USA and they are pushing hard to remake our country into something we have never been .
If you and I do our job as we should , that wicked , worldly crowd will hate us and they will attack us . We understand that , but we cannot quit . We must not give in to them . If we do , they will run
DR . SHELTON SMITH , President , Editor
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over us roughshod . We simply cannot let that happen .
We are Christians and we will use our influence and whatever leverage we have to keep our “ Christian culture ” growing and flourishing .
Let ’ s not let these rock-throwing critics drive us away .
Let ’ s keep preaching the Gospel !
Let ’ s keep teaching the truth of God ’ s Word .
Let ’ s keep making church a priority .
Let ’ s keep building strong fam - ilies .
Let ’ s keep winning people to Christ .
Let ’ s keep living the Christian life .
Let ’ s keep standing and with - standing .
Amen !
Two Very Special Days , Evansville , Indiana , FaithWay Baptist Church
On June 27 and 28 I was with Pastor Stephen Russ at the FaithWay Baptist Church in Evansville , Indiana .
The church was founded by his grandfather , Pastor Gayle Russ , as Boeke Road Baptist Church . After 47 years at the Boeke Road loca - tion , the church bought a ten-acre church property and relocated to 3635 Pollack Avenue ( just two miles from the old location ). At the time of the move , the church was renamed as Faith Way Baptist Church .
Of course , this is also the home of Faith Music Missions ( www . faith musicmissions . org ) and radio station WGAB ( 93.1 FM and 1380 AM ). Both of them are now also at the “ new location ” with state-ofthe-art studios .
On Monday afternoon I went to the studio and spent some “ on air ” time with Dan Wolfe . They were having a midsummer sharathon for Faith Music Radio and I was glad to help with it .
Sunday started with my teaching the auditorium Bible class and preaching at the eleven o ’ clock service . Brother Russ told me that even though COVID has impacted attendance for more than a year , they are almost back to pre-COVID attendance . In spite of the COVID crisis , they have reached a good number of new families during this time .
On Sunday night the attendance looked to be almost as strong as Sunday morning ’ s . But all day long the energy in the services and the excitement of the people were on full display .
Evangelist Steve Nichols and his family from Sacramento , California were at Faith Music to record two new CDs . Brother Nichols sang before I preached Sunday night and Monday night and what a blessing he is .
Dr . Joe Arthur and I preached together on Monday night and once again the folks turned out and the Lord gave His blessing .
Starting in the 1970s there has been a Sword Conference here 37 times . It has been my joy to be in on 26 of them . Pastor Russ has invited Brother Arthur and me to be with them again next year . It will be June 26 – 27 , 2022 .
If you are in the Evansville area be sure you go visit FaithWay Baptist Church .
National Sword of the Lord Conference Report
We will have a report on the National Sword of the Lord Con - ference in the next issue of the
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Noteworthy News
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warns , “ just shows the level of hypocrisy we have operating in the Connecticut legislature .”…
The federal lawsuit was filed in the U . S . District Court for the District of Connecticut .
Festa ’ s organizations are asking the court for a temporary restraining order to put the new law on hold while the litigation unfolds .…
The other U . S . states with no religious exemption for vaccinations are California , Maine , Mississippi , New York and West Virginia .
— Chris Woodward , onenewsnow . com
EDITOR ’ S COMMENTS : Government control versus religious freedom and freedom in general is a growing crisis in the USA .
China ’ s Horrific Organ Harvesting
China is famous for leading the world in technology and manufacturing and infamous for stealing to do so and now a watchdog group is speaking out about the communist nation ’ s horrific practice of harvesting organs from innocent victims .
Because of international pressure , China implemented a law in 1984 to stop involuntary organ transplants , but the practice continues today .
Shalah Sandefur of China Aid tells One News Now …“ Usually , from what I understand , you have to be on a waiting list depending on the severity of your illness ,” she advises . “ But there ’ s a need , and people are willing to pay for their loved ones to have an organ .”
A recent United Nations report , which China Aid was pleased to see , documented the forced harvesting of organs in China where prisoners are entered in a database of “ living organs ” that can be harvested .
Hearts , kidneys , livers and corneas are the most common .. Where do the organs come from ?
Christian leaders , Tibetans , Muslims … and Falun Gong practitioners lose their kidneys and other organs because they are considered enemies of the communist regime , which takes them from prisoners without permission and sells them for a high price .
“ They harvest their organs ,” Sandefur says of the CCP , “ and at times when they ’ re still living .”
Sandefur and China Aid say there is only one country in the world that murders its own people for their organs , and that country is China .
— Charlie Butts , onenewsnow . com
Colorado Mayor Bans Pledge of Allegiance , Calling It “ Divisive ”
The mayor of a Colorado mountain town recently banned the board of trustees and residents from reciting the Pledge of Allegiance at public board meetings , purportedly due to its “ divisiveness .”…
Mayor Shane Fuhrman of Silverton , a small mountain town of fewer than 600 residents , did not mention specific incidents but said the pledge would no longer be recited due to threats .…
Minutes later , a meeting attendee who was at the meeting to make a public comment addressed the board by first saying that she wanted to recite the pledge .…
A few of the board members and those attending the public meeting defied the mayor ’ s order and recited the pledge anyway .
The mayor and most of the board members remained seated during the pledge , which was followed by a strong rebuke by Fuhrman , who told attendees that he had the power to cancel the meeting .…
Representative Lauren Boebert , R-Colo ., tweeted that it ’ s “ hard to put into words what kind of anti-American disgrace this is ,” in response to the mayor ’ s disdain for the pledge .
“ Mayor Fuhrman should resign and purchase a one-way ticket to China where he won ’ t have [ to ] worry about hearing the pledge !” Boebert quipped .
— Emily Wood , christianpost . com
Flying Christian Flag at City Hall Now Before the Supreme Court
A conservative Christian legal nonprofit has asked the U . S . Supreme Court to weigh whether the city of Boston violated the rights of a Christian organization by refusing to allow a Christian flag to fly on public property .…
This rejection came even though numerous other private groups had successfully applied to wave flags representing sovereign countries and nonreligious causes .…
There are three 83-foot-tall flagpoles outside Boston City Hall , two of which always fly the U . S . flag and the state flag . The third usually flies the city flag , but citizens can petition to raise other flags temporarily . The appeal claims that between 2005 and 2007 , the city has approved hundreds of requests to fly other flags with “ no record of denial .”
— Michael Gryboski , christianpost . com
Atheists , Humanists Sue Over Mississippi ’ s License Plates
American Atheists , the Mississippi Humanist Association and three nonreligious state residents filed a lawsuit … against the state over its “ In God We Trust ” license plate . The complaint accuses the Mississippi Commissioner of Revenue of violating the people ’ s freedom of speech and religion by forcing them to display the religious message on their personal vehicles .
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