Much like many of my generation, as a child, my mother use to repeat the phrase “two wrongs don’t make a right”. Obviously as a child, I really didn’t grasp the depth or even the full application of this phrase. Yet today, if we just look at the news, we see the most glaring illustration of this truth unfolding before our eyes over-and-over.
America woke up today to another day of some of the worst violence and rioting we’ve seen in quite some time in relatively small Kenosha, WI, where 19 year-old Jacob Blake was shot by police over the weekend. The violence seems to be a magnified version of the rioting that took place in Minneapolis in response to the ugly death of George Floyd.
Let me preface this with the following: I abhor injustice. I honestly do not believe anyone can be an honest, sincere follower of Jesus Christ and not be deeply affected when someone, regardless of their skin color or the circumstances, loses their life. And yes, it can be particularly shocking and grievous when the death comes at the hands of those who’s job is “to protect and to serve”. I will also take this moment to say that, YES – there is a problem with injustice in our legal system. While I might not agree with HOW we define many things labeled as unjust, and further – in many ways I would definitely disagree with what “JUSTICE” might ought look like. I won’t get into the statistics that actually paint a much different picture than the “open season on Black men” claim of the #BLM movement – what we have is FAR less a skin color problem and far more heart issue. We have seen some pretty brazen and senseless violence and deaths at the hands of law enforcement. And YES, the “system” has allowed many to go unpunished.
But we have seen a great deal of attention placed on police and the sad over-use of deadly force. The system IS changing. Unfortunately, we now live in a knee-jerk, emotion-driven society that doesn’t care to wait and give the justice system a chance to do what is right. Instead, a whole new form of vigilante “justice” has been born, primarily led by the #BLACKLIVESMATTER and #ANTIFA anarcho Marxists who’s immediately response to ANY possible unjust case: RIOT (though the media seems to want to call them “Peaceful Protests”, no matter how many people are hurt or businesses burned and looted).
In our most recent example of the shooting of Jacob Blake: nobody seems to be willing to give the prosecutory, police department, and the justice system as a whole the opportunity to do what is right. In the cries of “INJUSTICE”, these folks actually prevent justice from being had! Governor Tony Evers didn’t even wait for the body of Br. Blake to grow cold before he labeled this shooting as criminal and pronounced the officers involved to be murderers. GUILTY! And in his public proclamation, he has likely tainted any chance for justice to be done.
You see – while the system has a history of failures and missteps, the foundation of our legal justice system is suppose to be “innocent until proven guilty”. We have seen many police-involved cases where the initial, even damning video or witness testimony turned out to not tell the whole story. But even if the initial video of this particularly death turns out to be teh “whole story” (and evidence has already emerged that there is, indeed, more – even if not exculpatory). The point is, there has not been enough time passed to evaluate even the known evidence, much less give time for even a preliminary investigation. Yet almost immediately, massed took to the streets – and in two days, it appears that more damage and property loss has occurred in little Kenosha than happened in Minneapolis. Businesses and property destroy – that have no connection to the police. And this is being done in the name of “Justice”? Burning down a youth correctional facility? Burning an office furniture business?
The reality is – these so-called “protests”, are simply acts of injustice perpetrated as a supposed answer to injustice. This is NOT about Justice! And again, “two wrongs don’t make a right”. In Minneapolis, the officers involved in the death of George Floyd were not just suspended, they were terminated. They were arrested and charged – all in the matter of three days – a stituation being taken very seriously. Did this do anything to quell the violence, looting, and even deaths? Nope. Likewise in Kenosha, the dead man’s body wasn’t even in the morgue and the “protestors” – aka: violence-minded, hate-filled rioters, were already about their dastardly actions. This is NOT about Justice! This is all about unregenerate people burning, destroying, and bringing evil into an already hurting community. This is about destroying justice, adulterating justice, cheapening justice. And it must stop. Unfortunately, this is directly tied to America’s political far-Left. A pattern that was actually promoted by the previous President, and is being perpetrated by the political party that had its “virtual” convention last week, where they completely refused to even mention the massive damage and injustice perpetrated by #BLM and #ANTIFA mobs on cities across the country.
TWO WRONGS DON’T MAKE A RIGHT!
people, along with the ongoing aftermath of her death – dealing with the probate of her estate and juggling two memorial services almost 900 miles apart, we then see an eruption of division, with Black Lives Matter and ANTIFA bringing violence, destruction, and fear to cities across the nation.
have lost both parents. Preaching memorial services for both my mom and dad in a relatively short time was not on my ministry radar – but then again, neither was seeing our nation literally torn apart by politically-motivated manipulation of a virus, and a systematic attack on the very values that have endured and helped make the USA the nation that people still dream of escaping to.
church family, Sister Jeanie Greene, and more recently an old friend fromcollege, Michael Marlin who left behind a family that needed him.
The Breastplate of righteousness – Which begins and ends with the righteousness of Christ – but in living lives that reflect the righteousness of Christ – based on the Word of God – when we walk by what God has said is good and bad – and when we take a firm stand on that – true righteousness – our hearts are protected – we are not so conflicted and divided at the core –
battle, as instruments of peace – but the concept is quite simple here – we must have something solid as a foundation. In athletics and in work – the right footwear is important to our ability to stay in the work at hand. Those of us who have done real work with the wrong shoes know exactly what this can be like. In the case of our equipping for the spiritual war that we ARE involved in – is having a solid foundation – that we might not be tripped up – and that is the biblical gospel of Jesus Christ. One that isn’t carried away by cultural norms and expectations – a gospel that reflects the understanding of the utter sinfulness of mankind – our inability to “fix” that ourselves – but instead requires the supernatural actions of God in the great exchange of our sins for Christ’s righteousness – all by the grace of God. A false or weak gospel is no foundation for us to stand.
Helmet
are dealing with wielding the power of the Holy Spirit – the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the grave is the same power we are given! A power that is based on being actively filled by the Holy Spirit in walking WITH the Spirit day-by-day. When we practice the presence of the Lord in our lives – We are, as Kyle Idleman wrote in his “Not a Fan” book, empowered in ways that we cannot be by our own power. What is interesting – the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives is described as “fruits of the Spirit by Paul elsewhere – with the chief fruit being… Love.
Confederate monuments, ostensibly to fight “racism”, but the surge grew to tear down monuments of General Grant (Union General of the Civil War), Francis Scott Key (writer of the Star Spangled Banner), Abraham Lincoln, Christopher Columbus, and even ABOLITIONIST Matthias Baldwin! What is the purpose of tearing down not just Civil War/Confederate monuments, but those representing all facets of US History (including
new calls to destroy Mount Rushmore!)? It isn’t to combat perceived racism and hate. It isn’t even a rally against “colonialism”. It is an attack on history itself.
a few bad seeds who tried their best to cause me to despise them (ask me about a certain Arkansas State Police officer back in 1988, I believe it was). Yet I never grew to hate police.
evil, wicked, hunters of black men for sport. Statistics don’t matter. Reality is in the eyes of the one narrating the story by the mainstream media.
We’ve labeled it as the misnomer of “racism” – but there is but one race, the Human Race. But there is still ungodly, unbiblical hate based on any outward condition or appearance. Hate is the exact opposite of what Jesus came and perfectly modeled. And the answer to HATE – is to answer it with love. To confront ANYTHING people use to divide with truth – beginning with the foundation of the Gospel.
Jesus didn’t come to save one particular ethnicity. He came to redeem a people from ALL people groups and ethnicities. He came to conquer sin and death. Through His own death, HE demonstrated the very same kind of love His people are commanded to show to all the rest of the Image Bearers of God – of all nations, tribes, and tongues! A love that knows no skin color or background. A love that isn’t conditioned on others believing as we do (though there is a biblical “preference” for the brethren), looking like we do – etc. The Gospel is the Answer. God’s Word gives us the details, the hows, and the whys.
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, grandson (Anthony Fowlkes of Austin, TX), and granddaughters (Anna & Selah Battenfield of Highfill, AR), she was equally engaged in trying to make a difference in the lives of those around her, whether it be her church family (Thank you 
In addition to her son, step-daughter, and grandchildren, Judy is survived by her brother J. Emil Hunziker (San Antonio, TX). 
little cowgirl was yet another jewel in her heart.
Don’t they have every bit the same right to be there as you? And then have the audacity to blast them for not using an app to get their orders delivered or at least do pick-up? You are a special kind of selfish person. There are quite a few people who still don’t do technology – They just don’t use a smartphone – barely find their way around turning a computer on – and most definitely aren’t about to give banking information over the phone – they still write checks! (oh how selfish.. right – because they also are the ones who cause you a 30 second additional wait in the grocery store isle). Never mind that many of the stores that offer delivery or pick-up have backlogs sometimes a week out… I guess they should just go hungry until then?
Contending For Christ 