I’m not condemning the Times or the religion professor who is quoted in the article.  That’s not an appropriate response from a true follower of Jesus Christ, and that’s not what my response was intended to be.

Matthew 5:44 (NKJV) says this:

But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.

As one who considers himself one of the Copelands’ spiritual sons, I consider an attack on the Copelands to be an attack on me.  What must be (and is) my response?  To love, to bless, and to pray.  And when a contrary thought pops up, it’s my job to cast it down, and to love, to bless, and to pray.

I pray for the Times reporter, for the religion professor, and for all those who have been so critical of Brother and Sister Copeland.  Will all of you who confess Jesus as Lord you join me?

This is the time that has been prophesied about, and at stake here is not only your welfare in the land, but also My move in the end times of a ‘Great Awakening,’” saith the Lord. “And it is that awakening that will save this land and others like it. For it is the time of the coming of the Lord, and you will rise up and you will be My name and you will be My power and I will manifest Myself through you, and many shall come and say, “Surely He is the God of all good.”

Sister Billye Brim had delivered a similar word a few months ago.  Both words bear witness in my spirit.

We must pray for our leaders as we are admonished to do in 1 Timothy 2:1-8.  But political leaders are not the salvation of the United States.  The Lord is the salvation of this nation.  More than anything else, we need people here and around the earth to be convicted of sin and righteousness, to be awakened to the Lord, and to turn to the Lord for salvation.

We in the body of Christ need to be praying and standing in faith for a Great Awakening!  Don’t be moved by what you see.  Pray, believe you receive, and stand in faith for this great end-time move of God!

So many people, though, are putting their hope in the new president.  During my prayer time this morning, the Lord led me to Psalm 146:1-6:

Praise the Lord!  Praise the Lord, O my soul!  While I live I will praise the Lord; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.  Do not put your trust in princes, nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help.  His spirit departs, he returns to his earth; in that very day his plans perish.  Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps truth forever. . .

As much as many in the Body of Christ may admire the new president, let’s be sure our hope is not be fastened on him.

Our hope is in the Lord, Who keeps truth forever!!!

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.

Many evangelical Christians are wary of the president-elect.  Some of his vocal supporters pushed an agenda of unrighteousness, and the positions Mr. Obama took during the campaign seemed to mirror that agenda.

I don’t want to minimize the apparent differences we have with his stated opinions on issues of life and righteousness.  We need to be vigilant.  Yet we must also be mindful that God is still on the throne, and His Word says that the king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, and that He turns it (the king’s heart) wherever He wills.  (Proverbs 21:1).

We also must be mindful of this admonition:  “You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.”  (Acts 23:5 NKJV).  In that passage, the Apostle Paul had just spoken some strong words to Ananias, not knowing he was the high priest.  The words of Exodus 22:28 leapt to Paul’s lips, just as they should to ours.

Let’s also remember this.  During the years of his ministry, the Apostle Paul was living under the ungodly pagan authority of the Roman empire.  Wickedness in Roman society and among Roman leaders was no less prevalent than it is today.  Yet the Apostle Paul wrote this to the church at Rome, the seat of the empire’s authority:

Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities.  For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.  (Romans 13:1 NKJV).

We have marching orders straight from the Word of God:

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.  This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.  (1 Timothy 2:1-4 ESV).

Let us pray that the Lord turn the president-elect’s heart to rule righteously in the fear of the Lord.  Let us pray that he selects godly counselors.  Let us pray that the Lord give the president-elect and his advisors the wisdom of God.  Let us pray that the Lord give this nation and the church peace, quiet, and prosperity, and that we may live godly and honestly without interference from our government.  Let us pray that in the next four years a revival of the gospel sweep this nation, and that many people be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.

At all times – first of all – let us pray!  And when we pray, let’s pray in faith, not doubting, but believing we receive.  Pray!

My son, fear the LORD and the king;

Do not associate with those given to change;

For their calamity will rise suddenly,

And who knows the ruin those two can bring?

These things also belong to the wise:

It is not good to show partiality in judgment.

He who says to the wicked, “You are righteous,”

Him the people will curse;

Nations will abhor him.

But those who rebuke the wicked will have delight,

And a good blessing will come upon them.

Change has been a predominate theme in the presidential campaign.  But the passage above instructs us not to associate with those given to change.  Some other translations of that passage use the word “rebellion” instead of change in verse 21.

I will not tell you how to vote.  I will instruct you to pray, ask God to show you how to vote, and vote in light of scripture.  Are you being asked to vote for, and therefore associate with, a candidate who seeks to change this nation from its Judeo-Christian values?  Are you being asked to vote for a candidate who regards as righteous what God has called wicked?

Unless we are firmly tethered to God, we will drift with the natural flow of this world.  As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, though, we are called not to drift with the current, but to swim against it with all our might.

So pray.  Search scripture.  Vote.  And on Wednesday, no matter who wins, begin fervently fulfilling our privilege and obligation from 1 Timothy 2:1-4:

Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.  For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”  (Matthew 4:4 NKJV)

Satan tried to tempt Jesus to turn stones into steaming hot loaves of bread to fill Jesus’s hungry stomach.  Jesus denied what his flesh wanted and resisted Satan’s lure by declaring Deuteronomy 8:3.  As we read it today, we need to be reminded that we are to live by God’s Word, and what God finds important, not by “bread alone.”

In the current election, candidates for offices from President to commissioner are emphasizing the economy.  Even Christians have been swept up in making their voting decision based on what they think will benefit their pocketbooks.  That’s bread alone!!  We’re not supposed to be living by bread alone, but by what God values.

If we ignore the candidates’ positions on the sanctity of life, we’re living by bread alone.  If we ignore the candidates’ positions on sin (by other labels), we’re living by bread alone.  If we ignore the candidates’ positions on issues pertaining to the poor, widows, and orphans, we’re living by bread alone.

As those who call ourselves disciples of Jesus Christ, we need to shake off temptation, crucify our flesh,stop living by bread alone – and start living by God’s Word!

What impresses me is that both the Copelands and Pastor Dollar have acted with such integrity and kept in the love of God throughout all of this.  While we’ve had a few laughs at Sen. Grassley’s expense (come on – Jesus didn’t have the option of using a jet, but he did ride a donkey that had never been ridden before), everyone has been very respectful.

Sen. Grassley says he’s exercising his authority to set tax policy and to oversee the tax code and the benefits it confers on non-profit organizations.  But the First Amendment to the Constitution confers rights on houses of worship, like churches, that do not extend to the Red Cross, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, or other 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations.

Don’t believe what the news media feed you.  Kenneth Copeland Ministries  is the “dba” (doing business as) of Eagle Mountain International Church.  The church gave extensive, respectful responses to Sen. Grassley’s questions.  However, some of the questions stepped over the rights of the church.  The church and its very experienced legal counsel devised a very fair way to get information to the Senator while still protecting the privacy of the ministry’s information.  In an unprecedented step, John Copeland, the ministry’s CEO, asked the Internal Revenue Service to conduct a church tax inquiry.  Who would do that if they had something to hide?  Only a ministry of integrity would do that.  All of the information Sen. Grassley has requested would be provided to the IRS in a church tax inquiry.  Under a section of the Internal Revenue Code, Sen. Grassley and his committee could get the information from the IRS, review it, and do their tax code oversight and policy functions.

What’s the difference between turning information over to the IRS and turning it over directly to Sen. Grassley’s committee?  Privacy.  If the information goes directly to the committee, it will be made public.  If the committee has to access it from the IRS, the information must be kept private.

Sen. Grassley apparently wants to make the information public.  He’s a politician.  Politicians like to bask in the media limelight.  He wants to try to embarrass a ministry of high integrity.  (Who do you suppose is behind this?  Who steals, kills, and destroys?)

Brother Copeland has made it clear he will go to jail rather than to turn over private information,.  All religious organizations have a stake in this matter, and all should be backing Brother Copeland.  If the Senator can force these churches to disgorge private information, it can do it to any other religious organization – and the constitution will be trampled.

Here’s another thing you won’t read in the media.  This ministry has sown at least 21 airplanes into other ministries.  For those of you who don’t understand the concept of sowing and reaping, that means the ministry gave (and didn’t sell) the airplanes into the other ministries.  The ministry has sown millions of dollars into orphanages, disaster relief, buying people homes and food.  It has supported other ministries that have led millions of people to salvation.  Kenneth Copeland Ministries is an awesome testimony to the goodness of God and the love of God.

Cherie and I sowed into the purchase of the Citation X the Copelands fly around the world preaching the gospel.  We’re thrilled they have it!  When we became aware they were believing for that particular aircraft, our regret was not that they wanted a jet, but that we couldn’t just write a check and buy it for them.

If you want more information, go to www.believersstandunited.com.  And pray!  Pray for the Copelands, the Dollars, and the other ministries affected.  Pray for Senator Grassley, the other members of his committee, and the committee staff.

Even though the Copelands don’t know us from the man in the moon, Cherie and I consider them our spiritual parents, and we love them more than we can express.  We’re so blessed to be their partners, and we’re blessed to have the example they’re setting about how to walk through an attack from the devil.  In this, as in all circumstances, Jesus is Lord!