Pastor Bob’s Blog

Last Sunday a wonderful family visited Abundant Life Church.  What struck me was how straight they had their priorities.

They’re weighing several job offers in different towns, including Athens.  Instead of jumping on the highest paying offer, or the one with the best benefits, or the one with the most impressive title, they’re looking for the  church God has called them to, and will take the job that’s in that town.

If they’re called to our church family, great!  If not, we’ve still been blessed with the opportunity to see how a job search is supposed to be conducted.  As Kenneth Copeland has taught for years, find the church God’s called you to, go there and roll your sleeves up, and the job of your dreams will follow.

My prayer for this family is that they be led by the wisdom of God to the church they’re called to.  Once they’re involved there, they can’t help but prosper!

Years before Jesus was born, the Lord spoke through Isaiah the prophet about Jesus.  Here’s one of the things He said:

For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder.  And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  (Isaiah 9:6 NKJV).

Jesus is our Prince of Peace.  “Peace” is more than just the absence of conflict or torment.  The Hebrew word translated “peace” is “shalom.”  That word is packed full of meaning.  Here’s what Strong’s and Thayer’s concordances say about “shalom”:

Completeness, soundness, welfare, peace

a.  completeness (in number)

b.  safety, soundness (in body)

c.  welfare, health, prosperity

d.  peace, quiet, tranquility, contentment

e.  peace, friendship (of human relationships and with God, especially in covenant relationship)

f.  peace (from war)

g.  peace (as an adjective)

Jesus is everything!  In a time when the world’s economic system is plunging and whipsawing, in the kingdom of God (where we should be living), Jesus is our Prince of Prosperity.  As the world participates in the “flu season,”  and fears “drug-resistant bacteria,” Jesus is our Prince of Health.  In the midst of danger, He is our Prince of Safety.  While millions are tormented in their minds, Jesus is our Prince of Quiet, Tranquility and Contentment.

In this Christmas season, let’s remind ourselves who our Jesus is.  Let’s lay hold on all He is for us.  And let’s share Him with a scared, tormented, and struggling world, person by person.

Let’s share Jesus, our Prince of Peace!!

Our public universities trumpet “tolerance,” “diversity,” and “free expression” as core values. Apparently those values do not extend to those who express strongly-held Christian beliefs.

Crystal Dixon has been a human resources leader for twenty-five years.  In May 2008, she was terminated from her job as the interim associate vice president for human resources at the University of Toledo.  What was the terrible transgression that led to her termination?

In April, Ms. Dixon wrote a guest column in the Toledo Free Press.  She was responding to a pro-gay rights editorial entitled, “Gay Rights and Wrongs.”  In the column, Ms. Dixon emphasized that God values all people regardless of their choices, but took umbrage with the assertion that gays and lesbians are “civil rights victims.”  Ms. Dixon wrote that she can not wake up tomorrow as something other than a Black woman, but that many gays and lesbians choose to change, often because of a work of God in their lives.  She wrote that gay and lesbian practices violate God’s divine order.

The response from the president of the University of Toledo was swift.  The president opined that, having expressed her beliefs, Ms. Dixon could not possibly do her job well.  Her opinions, the president concluded, violated the university’s core values.  No doubt had Ms. Dixon written a column deriding Christians as mean-spirited and judgmental towards gays and lesbians, her job would have been secure.

When did our universities break free from the moorings of truth?  How can they call themselves “tolerant” if they censor and deny the free speech rights of people of faith?  How can universities trumpet “diversity” as they shed Christians who express their devotion to the God of the Bible?  And how can they expect to find truth independent of the God of the Bible?

Ms. Dixon has filed suit against the University seeking reinstatement to her position and back pay.  I wish her well, and pray for her success.  Just as she and her ancestors were forced to resort to the courts to protect their civil rights, so she is being forced today to defend her rights as a person of faith who believes in the God of the Bible.  And I applaud her church, End Time Christian Fellowship, and its pastor, Bishop James M. Williams, Sr., for supporting her.

Ms. Dixon has created a web site.  A copy of the letter that led to her dismissal can be found there, as well as her explanation of what has happened since.  http://www.crystaldixon.com/

As Ms. Dixon’s brothers and sisters in Christ, we are injured because she is injured.  Let us pray for her and support her as she perseveres in the Lord’s work.