GUN CONTROL (The right of self-defense)

                                                            SHEPHERD TO SHEEP

GUN CONTROL (The right of self-defense)

Today America is experiencing one shooting after another.  It used to be just gang shootings and an occasional domestic dispute but now we have killers entering public places and shooting indiscriminately.  And every time we have one of these high profile shootings the advocates of gun control step up to the plate and speak their minds.  But in the midst of all the debate we must ask ourselves what does the Bible say about this topic?  

Let’s go back to the first murder.  (Gen 4:8) Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.  Now it doesn’t say what he used to kill his brother.  Perhaps it was a big enough rock that was there as he was creeping up on his brother.  Man has always had a weapon to use because the Bible says violence begins in the heart.  (James 4:1) Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? (See also Mat 5:21-22)  The Bible says this regarding the core of our sinful hearts:  (Jer 17:9) “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?  So it’s really not the weapon, but the sinful heart that generates hatred and crime.  

One of these days the world will be peaceful under Messiah’s reign. (Isa 2:4) He shall judge between the nations, and rebuke many people; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.  But right now we live in a world riddled with violence that needs to be kept in check:  (Joel 3:10) Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears…  In other words, a nation needs to “keep its powder dry” because there are rogue nations and despots still bullying the world.  And as a nation is to defend itself, so the individual has the right to defend herself on a personal level.  

The pacifist produces Bible verses such as this: (Mat 26:52) But Jesus said to him, “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.  But what they fail to notice is that Jesus previously said: (Luke 22:36)…he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one…(Luke 22:38) So they said, “Lord, look, here are two swords.” And He said to them, “It is enough.”  Jesus endorsed their personal protection in the threatening days ahead but during His arrest they were not to resist because He had come to die for the sins of humanity.

A man is to provide for and protect his family whether he believes in having a gun or not.  (Exo 22:2) If the thief is found breaking in, and he is struck so that he dies, there shall be no guilt for his bloodshed. (See also 1 Tim 5:8)  If one chooses to have a gun then it is also important to learn to use it properly and to keep it locked up from children.  God protects us but we are not to tempt the Lord by not using sensible and appropriate means to restrain violence when it is called for. (Luke 4:12) 

Louie

LABOR DAY

 

 

SHEPHERD TO SHEEP 

LABOR DAY 

Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers.  Over the years, it has developed from a purely labor union celebration into a general "last fling of summer" festival.  School is starting and fall is around the corner.  Everyone loves the day off enjoying BBQ, beach, or baseball and in a general sense feels honored for their hard work.   

But is your labor feeling more like toil and drudgery?  Do you feel more like a slave than a happy worker?  Do you work hard and feel no one appreciates what you do?  Then take heart because God sees how hard you are working and values your labor of love!  Be encouraged through these words of scripture: 

• (Heb 6:10)  For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love . . .  

• (1 Cor 15:58)  Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

How can we find new energies and fresh inspiration for life’s tasks? 

• (Psa 127:1)  Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it . . . 

• (Col 1:29)  To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.

• (Mat 11:28-30)  "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. {29} "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. {30} "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

And remember that the work of salvation is free and you don’t have to work for it!

 

• (John 19:30)  . . . Jesus . . . said, "It is finished!" (The work has been done on the cross)

• (Eph 2:8-9)  For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, {9} not of works, lest anyone should boast.

 So work hard but at the same time rest in the Lord and enjoy the work of your hands! 

 

• (Eccl 2:24)  Nothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of God.

Louie