In the recently released movie, Taken, ex-CIA agent Bryan Mills’ daughter is kidnapped. I have not seen the movie, but in the trailer, while on the phone with the abductor, Mills hisses: “If you don’t [let my daughter go], I will look for you. I will find you. And I will kill you.” It appears, from the clip I saw, that the remainder of the movie follows Mills on an incredibly violent, retaliatory, killing spree as he searches for his daughter’s abductors. After killing over 30 people and grieviously wounding a dozen more, Mills rescues his daughter. Does the kidnapping justify the bloodbath? Jesus said, “You have heard it said: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say, do not resist an evil person!” (Matt. 5:38-39). What would Jesus have to say about Bryan Mills' rampage?

Last weekend we celebrated the 233rd birthday of the United States of America. On Wednesday my wife and daughters and I watched the Rochester Hills fireworks in the rain. Even though we were about a mile away, far from the startling booms, after the first little thud Riley buried her head in my shoulder and wouldn’t look up until it was over. But Madelyn loved the show. Heather took her to another show on Saturday and they sat just a few hundred yards away, right below the action. I stayed home with Riley. I guess fireworks are one way of celebrating our nation.

As kids we’re taught to salute the flag, say the pledge, and stand for the national anthem. We’re taught how great this nation is. I was taught the same thing. I said the pledge everyday at school when I was a kid. (Do they still do that today?) But as a young adult I began to question the greatness of our nation, mostly in reaction to the over-idealization of our nation by many Christians. I heard “American was founded as a Christian nation” asserted and demanded as if it were a cardinal truth, a non-negotiable of orthodox Christianity. But Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence, was a deist for goodness sake! I reacted to the seeming worship of America, usually America of the past. But I’ve had a change of mind. I still don’t believe that America is a Christian nation. (People are Christians, not nations. We may be founded on Christian principles, but we, as a whole, are not Christian.) And I do not believe that the kingdom of God depends on the existence of the United States of American. But, that being said, I have rediscovered my love for our nation.

One thing that really bothers me is when people tell you they’re going to do something, but then they don’t do it. They tell you they’re going to call you back, but they don’t. They tell you they’ll be there, but they’re not. They say they’ll take care of it, but they don’t. That really bothers me. And don’t worry, those of you that know me – I’m not thinking of any one particular incident. It’s just a problem in our culture, even in our Christian culture. Our words don’t mean anything. We make promises and then break them. We exaggerate and shade the truth. We think that if we say, “I swear,” people will be more apt to believe us. We are not people of our word. But Jesus said, “Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t’” (Matt. 5:33-37). The problem in Jesus’ day was similar to ours: people would make vows lightly and then break them. The rabbi’s would distinguish between types of oaths depending on by whom or what you swore. Oaths made “by the Lord” – you couldn’t break those. But oaths made “by heaven,” “earth,” or “Jerusalem” – you could break those. Jesus’ contemporaries had a problem with truthfulness. And so do we.

The following words will send chills of fear and guilt down the spine of every adult male. “Anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matt. 5:28). Gulp. Jesus’ followers are not just to avoid open sexual sin (“the big ones”), but also the sins of an impure heart and mind. Lust is adultery of the heart, sexual desire for that which is not yours. And ladies, you’re not off the hook: it cuts both ways. Lust is sexual (or emotional) desire directed towards people to whom it ought not be directed. We need to hear this, because something is wrong with us and our sexual natures. As C. S. Lewis wrote: "Now suppose you came to a country where you could fill a theater by simply bringing a covered plate on to the stage and then slowly lifting the cover so as to let every one see, just before the lights went out, that it contained a mutton chop or a bit of bacon, would you not think that in that country something had gone wrong with the appetite for food? And would not anyone who had grown up in a different world think there was something equally queer about the state of the sex instinct among us?" What’s the solution to our sexual corruption?

On the June 6, 2009 Battle Lines broadcast we discussed what to look for in a church. We began by discussing the need to be in church. According to Barna’s research, a full 17% of people who attend church less than once a year are born again Christians. About half of the overall population of the U.S. does not attend church on a weekly basis and a significant portion of those skipping church are believers! A lot of people are wondering, particularly young adults, why it is important to be a part of a local church. While it certainly is a good thing to attend church on Sunday morning, we are talking about more than just sitting in a pew for an hour once a week. The Christian is a member of the body of Christ and the family of God. Sometimes we call that the universal church; and the universal church finds visible expression in the local church. A Christian connected to a local congregation is part of a community, involved in ministry, submitted to biblical leadership, and regularly under the teaching of the Word. Most Christians, at least once in their lives, have had the experience of looking for a local church to call home. What should you look for in a church? We discussed six characteristics of a good church.

On the May 31, 2009 Battle Lines broadcast we discussed Joel Osteen and his feel-good version of the Gospel. Osteen is the pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas. Lakewood is the largest church in the U.S., drawing 43,000 people every week to services. You can check out their ministry at www.lakewood.cc. Osteen is also the most widely watched television preacher. His messages are televised nationally every week on ABC Family, USA, TBN, and several other cable channels. He also broadcasts here in Detroit every Sunday morning on local NBC. Most of us, flipping through the channels, have seen him. Is the message he preaches in keeping with historic, orthodox Christianity?

On the May 23, 2009 Battle Lines broadcast we discussed the legitimacy of faith healers and miracles of healing. (Due to technical difficulties, the audio is not available.) Our special guest was Dr. Brad Burke, a medical doctor and author of Does God Still Do Miracles? We asked Dr. Burke… Does God still do miracles of healing? Are faith healers for real? We began by defining a miracle. A miracle is a healing that cannot be explained by any natural cause. God intervenes and short-circuits natural processes. For example, cancer that is present one day and absent the next. While Dr. Burke has never seen a miraculous healing, he does believe that God still performs miracles of healing. However, we concur with Dr. Burke that God no longer heals through human agency. We believe that God no longer gives to men the gift of healing. Dr. Burke believes in miraculous healing but not in the gift of healing. What do we make then of faith healers such as Benny Hinn and Todd Bentley? As recently as last summer Todd Bentley led healing services in Lakeland, Florida where tens of thousands of people attended and hundreds claimed to experience healing. World Magazine did a story on Bentley and asked for the names of people who were healed. Bentley submitted 13 names and World followed up on those names.

I deserve to be punished as a murderer. I was angry with my daughter. I don’t even remember what it was about. But you know how a four-year-old can do that to you. Most of us have probably never killed anyone. But we’ve all been angry at someone. I mean really angry - angry enough to curse someone. And Jesus says, “You have heard that our ancestors were told, 'You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.' But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment. If you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell” (Matt. 5:22, NLT). Being angry with someone can be just as bad as murder.

On the May 16, 2009 Battle Lines broadcast we discussed the homosexual political agenda with special guest Peter Labarbera. Labarbera is the president and founder of Americans for Truth about Homosexuality, a national organization devoted to exposing and countering the homosexual activist agenda. Labarbera is a former reporter for the Washington Times and has appeared on Fox News’ Hannity and Colmes speaking out for the truth about homosexuality. We discussed whether gay marriage is a civil right. Labarbera’s unequivocal conviction is that it is not – instead it is a moral wrong. Gay marriage, according to Labarbera is not even the issue; the issue is homosexuality. And because homosexuality is morally wrong, gay marriage is not even an option. To the assertion that the government cannot legislate morality, Labarbera reacts with certain disagreement. The very purpose of government is to legislate morality. To establish laws that guide a society’s behavior. The only question is whose morality a government will legislate: a healthy, truth-based morality or a relativistic, liberal morality. According to Labarbera, “The number one threat to free speech and religious freedom in America today is the pro-homosexual activist movement.” We concluded our discussion by reminding our listeners that, while we oppose the homosexual political agenda, we love and are concerned for people who are engaged in a homosexual lifestyle. We believe that through the love and truth of Christ, through faith in His death and resurrection, people can be delivered from sin. Check out Peter Labarbera’s website: www.americansfortruth.com.

A.J. Jacobs devoted a year to living biblically. Then he wrote a book: “The Year of Living Biblically is about my quest to live the ultimate biblical life. To follow every single rule in the Bible – as literally as possible.” Interesting… but it means nothing. Apart from Jesus, obedience to the Scriptures is meaningless. Jesus said, “I did not come to abolish the law of Moses… I came to accomplish [its] purpose” (Matt. 5:17, NLT). People misunderstood Jesus’ teaching, that He was encouraging rebellion against the Law of Moses (e.g. dishonoring the Sabbath). Jesus did not come to abolish the Law – it still has purpose, the same purpose it always had...