Daily Devotional for Tuesday November 6, 2007

A "Dog" is Sent to the Pound

(Titus 3:2; James 4:11; 1 Peter 2:1)

A "Dog" is sent to the pound for making racist comments about black people, while those who slam Christians and the Christian faith are rewarded! Well, last week we saw another shining example of how someone who makes ignorant and demeaning comments about a group of people will pay a huge price. Meanwhile, those who regularly make offensive and hateful comments about Christians and the Christian faith do so with total immunity, and are actually rewarded! This latest example comes from the lips of the famed bounty hunter Dwayne "Dog" Chapman. What a huge shock it was to find that a man whose life is spent on the streets dealing with some of the most vile and evil people in society, uses foul, filthy, crude, and ignorant language. Who would have thought?

As this story has unfolded, apparently one of his sons was involved with a black woman, and Chapman, being the genius he is, leaves this blistering voicemail telling his son that he needs to break up with this girl since he and his staff regularly use the "N" word to describe black people and if anyone ever found out he would be ruined. Apparently, Chapman's son is not on good terms with his father and sold the voicemail to the media for a nice chunk of change and the rest as they say is now history, just like "Dog" Chapman. The A&E cable network that airs his popular reality TV program has stopped airing the show and most likely will cancel it all together.

As a side note, Chapman professes to be a Christian. His pastor is Tim Storey, who is a black man, has been in the media defending Chapman, though not his choice of language. He has told of Chapman's work with inner city youth. I pray that this will be a special time in Chapman's life, that he will realize he is a Christian first, a bounty hunter and celebrity second, and that due to the fact he has chosen to seek such a public life everything he does and says will be scrutinized. I pray that this will be a time of personal growth, since there is no place for racism in the heart of a child of God. I pray that this will open up a discussion within the Body of Christ about this horrible sin of racism, and that men of all color will look at each other as God does, at our heart and not the tone of our skin!

In the United States in November of 2007, you will pay a HUGE price if you say offensive things about blacks, those who choose to commit acts of homosexuality, Muslims, Jewish people, and most every other group you can name except one. That is right. The one group you can spew hatred against without any repercussions are Christians. As a matter of fact, you will actually be rewarded for unleashing vitriolic language at God, Christ, the Bible, or those who follow Jesus. Bill Maher is a great case in point. He regularly says the most disgusting things you could dream up about Christians and Jesus, and is paid millions by HBO to do a TV program, is a regular guest on many programs like Larry King, and sells out concert appearances.

George Carlin is another Christ hater who has made mocking God and anything to do with the Christian faith an integral part of his comedy show for over 4 decades. Rosie is another person who loathes Christians since they take a stand against her choice to live in rebellion to God and His Word by engaging in lesbian relationships and for trying to stop her and others who want to destroy the lives of children by adopting them into homes where this deviant and unnatural sexual choice is made. Others like comedian Kathy Griffin publicly slam Christ and the Christian faith and suffer no consequences for doing so.

So, in the face of this obvious double standard, this hypocrisy, what are Christians to do? How do we respond? As I shared with you this past Saturday in revisiting the Don Imus issue, another great example of what I am talking about today, sadly satan has so badly divided us that despite our numbers nobody ever hears us or takes us seriously. Until we begin to speak with one voice like these other groups do, we will continue to be ignored and marginalized and treated with zero respect. People like Maher and Rosie and Carlin will continue to not only continue to say horrible things about Christians, but prosper in their careers for doing so!

Again, I believe a byproduct of the Liveprayer TV program being back on nationwide this January will be to give the Christian community a bold, visible voice in the marketplace that people won't be able to ignore any longer. The greatest difference between what Liveprayer has done for many years on secular television and other TV ministries is to not only reach out to nonbelievers, but speak directly to our culture. By not needing millions of dollars every moth just to support the ministry infrastructure, it has given me the freedom of not having to take my message to people who are already Christians, since they are the ones who you can count on to send in donations, buy books and tapes, and come to events. Even the few who do venture in the secular media, use the same programming they use on Christian TV since they are only trolling for a new group of Christians who aren't on the mailing list of every other ministry.

Unlike other Christian leaders, I have never been on any of the secular news programs to sell books or promote some agenda, only to deal with issues from a Biblical worldview. I will never go on any of those programs and not work in that the Bible is the only Truth and Jesus is the only way for men to be saved since that is our only message. Liveprayer is obviously seen as a major threat or the largest Muslim group in the country wouldn't be working so hard to silence me, not to mention all of the pro-gay groups, groups who represents the Mormon and Scientology cults, as well as different atheist organizations. The door with Howard Stern was opened because according to him I wasn't "the typical TV preacher hustling people for money." So I have no doubt a byproduct of this TV program is going to be the ability to go after these people who publicly blaspheme our Lord and verbally attack Christians and our faith.

I love you and care about you so much. This message today is a call to all Believers in Jesus Christ to begin speaking up. We have been silent too long!!! You can no longer sit back and say nothing at work as others mock our faith, no longer listen in silence at school as God, the Bible and our Lord are ridiculed and blasphemed, no longer be silent at the gym, the grocery store, or wherever your day takes you as people demean Christians and lambaste our faith. PEOPLE DO IT INSTINCTIVELY AND WITHOUT CONSCIENCE BECAUSE THEY KNOW CHRISTIANS ARE TOO AFRAID TO SPEAK OUT AND DEFEND OURSELVES!!!

People ask me every day how they can be better servants of the Lord. They lament the fact they don't have many gifts, or are in a position to make a difference. I remind them that ALL of those who know Jesus have been called to serve Him. The greatest way we can serve our Lord is to speak out and take a stand for Him when we have those opportunities without worrying about the personal repercussions. My friend, Jesus was mocked, scourged, bloodied, and eventually crucified for you and me. THE LEAST WE CAN DO IS SPEAK OUT FOR HIM WHEN WE HAVE THE CHANCE!!! JESUS GAVE HIS VERY LIFE FOR US, HOW CAN WE DO ANY LESS FOR HIM??

If people like Maher and Rosie and others want to share their hatred for Christ and Christians with the world, let them. But just like Imus paid for his hateful remarks, just like "Dog" is paying for his hateful comments, just like many others have had to pay for their hateful comments against different groups of people, it is high time those who savage our Lord and faith with their blasphemous rhetoric also pay a price. The sad fact is, these and others like them don't know it, but they will one day pay the ultimate price unless they turn their heart and life to Christ by faith.