Stop-Stand-Pray A few weeks ago a friend of mine called my hand. He told me he was concerned about some of my Facebook posts and thought what I was posting could be contributing to the divisiveness going on in our country. We discussed his concern quite extensively, and I realized my desire for fairness to all – “every life matters” – and a need to express my concern over what I was seeing that disagreed with my belief system could be perceived as divisive. I was convicted to change my approach. My friend told me he considered 90% of people to be good, caring people who love our country and want to do what is right. He also said he thought 10% of the people were the ones stirring up things and causing problems. That’s when you saw me posting things and saying I believed (this) person was part of the 90%. I also asked you if you were part of the 90%. There were occasions where I pointed out that something I had seen or read made me believe a person or incident was either part of the 90% or part of the 10%. Even though I haven’t asked this question of anyone else, except myself, in a couple of weeks, I still run something I’m about to say or do through the litmus test to see whether it passes as a 90% contributor. If it doesn’t, I don’t go forward with whatever it is at that time, but I may revisit the info later and retest. I’m also of the strong opinion we should all be using a green pen to grade what is right in every situation and circumstance. I believe we’d live in a much better world if we’d do away with red pens. During all of this soul searching, the incident in Paris happened, our government’s lack of appearance at the Paris march concerned me, Japanese nationals were taken hostage, Michael Moore made comments about the sniper, gas prices drop, sanctions against Cuba are to be stopped, New York police officers are murdered, etc. The list goes on and on; however, Duke University agreeing to allow Muslims to use the bell tower to call Muslims to prayer was the last straw. And, probably not for the reason you are thinking. You see I believe our Constitution grants freedom of religion to all citizens of this country. For, you see, I believe if you are a citizen of the United States of America, you are to love this country and be loyal to her above all others to the point of death, if necessary. We have a Constitution with a Bill of Rights which guarantees us freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, the right to bear arms, protection from unlawful search or seizure, and various legal protections among others. These rights should apply to all citizens. If you are not a citizen, but are a visitor, either legally or illegally, you are not guaranteed these rights. I know certain treaties and the UN are responsible for ensuring we don’t act like heathens and mistreat people, but as far as my rights as an American citizen go these are exclusive to citizens. If you came to our country to just hangout and enjoy the benefits we have worked to develop and maintain for our citizens for the last two hundred and forty years and don’t want to become a participating and contributing citizen, go back where you came from and take your issues with you. You are not part of the 90% who love this country and are actively contributing to her prosperity. I am pro-choice and give me a chance to clarify before you draw and quarter me. I believe everyone has the freedom of choice. As a Christian, I believe God even gives me freedom of choice; He’s not going to force me to believe in Him. The timing of the choice is where I differ with a lot of people. I believe the choice is before the act and not after. I believe people have the right to choose their religion or lack thereof, but not the right to force their beliefs on me and vice versa. I would love for everyone to believe in Jesus and accept Him as their Savior; however, I accept this decision is their choice. And, on the flip side of that coin, I don’t believe anyone has the right to force their beliefs on me or persecute me if I don’t believe the way they do. The vast majority of people (according to the Pew Forum’s U. S. Religious Landscape Survey, 2007) in the U. S. are Christian. We could shout majority rules, and we could also shout believe in “my” God or be destined to hell. The God I know doesn’t work that way; He gives us freedom of choice. We are also not to judge. We are told in the Bible He will come to the door and knock. If we invite Him in, he will come in. (Revelation 3:20) If we deny Him, He will deny us before the Father (Matthew 10:33). I would wholeheartedly say let a person choose to be a Christian, Muslim, Jew, Hindu, Buddhist, atheist, agnostic, etc. if we could all do so in peace. What happens at eternity is between you and God; however, many are not satisfied with free choice. They want to be a part of the 10% who are stirring up trouble. When Duke announced it was allowing Muslims to use the bell tower to call people to prayer, I was mad. It took me only a few minutes to remind myself I was acting like part of the 10%. As a way to counteract the erosion we Christians have seen (in my lifetime) of our religious freedom, I decided to with conscious intent start a Call to Prayer four times a day. I want this call to be a visible and intentional statement that I am a Christian who is exercising my religious freedom. I will stop, stand, and pray wherever I am four times a day. I will do so in a public place, in a church, in a government building, driving down the road, wherever I am. I want others to know I am proud to be a Christian, I’m thankful God welcomes my direct communication with Him, and it’s lawful for me to practice my religious freedom in every location at any time and under any circumstances in my country. Many of our children cannot take a Bible to school, our soldiers are told not to bow their heads in prayer, we can’t display a nativity in a public place during Christmas, the celebration of Christmas and Easter are being called holiday breaks, the Ten Commandments are being stripped from our government buildings, and the list grows. According to Gallup, 78% of us Americans are Christian, and I’ve always heard majority rules. We need to demand our right to our religious freedom and not in an effort to take away someone else’s but in an effort not to lose ours. Somewhere every day at 7:30 AM, 11:30 AM, 3:30 PM, and 7:30 PM I’m going to Stop-Stand-and-Pray. Join me in exercising our right to religious freedom and in thanking God for His love, grace, and protection.
Posted on: Fri, 23 Jan 2015 04:31:52 +0000
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