For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this? Esther 4:14
When they sat me down in front of the panel, it was the first instrument they called my attention to. It was the decibel meter, a measuring instrument used to assess noise or sound levels by measuring sound pressure. I had just joined the radio broadcast staff and it was my first day on the air.
They explained the importance. On air voice needs to be at a constant level and those broadcasting should not raise or lower their voice. They taught me other ways to create emphasis rather than raising or lowering my voice. They said to make sure that I kept the needle in the center. It was wonderful training that I have used in public speaking and preaching over the years. I carry one with me to test myself and make sure I stay on a verbal even keel.
I believe that God wants us to be constantly calm while professing our faith. Aim for the target of sharing Christ. I don’t like “yelling sermons or those that dwindle so low that you can’t hear the punch line”. Christians should avoid yelling because yelling is usually brought on by anger. Christians are to build others up, but yelling only starts arguments and more problems. We’re to remain calm in situations and we’re to speak the truth in love without shouting at others. Do you struggle with raising your voice?
Proverbs 15:1 A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare. Proverbs 29:22 An angry person starts fights; a hot-tempered person commits all kinds of sin. James 1:19-20 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Proverbs 22:24 Don’t befriend angry people or associate with hot-tempered people.
Keep your voice level and reach to others with the message of the Gospel. Be firm. Be calm. Be consistent. Be bold. And never give up.
Joel 2
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SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES
In How Should Christians Vote, Dr. Tony Evans explains the way God’s permissive judgment works: “Freedom means you get to control the choice, but because God is the sovereign ruler over his creation, you don’t get to control the consequences. He will rule by either endorsing your choice, or he will rule by allowing you to have the consequences of a decision made against him.”
He cites those who support abortion on demand and warns, “There is a price tag for legalizing the shedding of innocent blood. The more unborn babies are murdered in our land, the more we can expect violence in our culture as well. Because when a culture goes against God’s laws, God will allow that culture to experience the consequences of the breaking of that law—in this case the resultant devaluing of life as well as the effects of that devaluing.”
Another example is our culture’s rejection of biblical sexuality and the resulting epidemic of pornography, sex trafficking, sexually transmitted diseases, and broken homes and lives.
In When A Nation Forgets God, Pastor Erwin Lutzer writes, “It is said that after God died in the nineteenth century, man died in the twentieth. For when God is dead, man becomes an untamed beast.” Jim Denison
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Google has launched an “inclusive language” function that warns writers to avoid certain words and phrases that “may not be inclusive to all readers.” It will prompt you to change “mankind” to “humankind” and “policeman” to “police officer,” for example. I wonder if one day I will be prompted to change “same-sex marriage” to “marriage equality” and “sex change operation” to “gender affirmation therapy” as such euphemisms normalize a “personal truth” culture.
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“I’ve been doing this for 40 years, and that was a first”, said fireman Tim Manly after rescuing a woman who had fallen into the hole of a public outhouse while trying to retrieve her mobile phone.
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QUOTES YOU CAN USE
The number one threat to American constitutional government today is the collapse of the middle class. Ganesh Sitarman
Sometimes when God puts you out on a limb, it’s a place of safety. Coach Tom Allen.
When you are troubled by circumstances that you don’t understand, follow Jesus’ example. Dan Shock
Is there a transactional dimension to your relationship with God? Are you tempted to worship God on Sunday so he will bless you on Monday? To start the day with prayer so he will bless your day? To respond in anger if he doesn’t “keep up his end of the bargain”? Jim Denison
Never underestimate the vast ignorance and stupidity of the vast American electorate. Cal Thomas
I never worry about action, but only inaction. Winston Churchill
One person with a belief is equal to a force of ninety-nine who have only interests. John Stuart Mill