King of Kings and Lord of Lords

People often sing “Glory to the newborn king” without stopping to think that the one who was born in Bethlehem really is King of kings and Lord of lords.

As the song “He Is the Only King” says,

“He's the only King who had to die to right the wrongs of men.
He's the only King who surrendered to win...
He's the only King every king will bow before and say,
‘Jesus Christ is King of kings! Jesus Christ is Lord of lords!’
He is the only King!”

“…He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen” (1 Timothy 6:15-16, NKJV).

“Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11, NKJV).

Enough Politicizing of Shootings!

The recent shootings in Colorado Springs, Colorado and San Bernardino, California and the inevitable response by many politicians and members of the media make me want to shout, "Enough politicizing of shootings!" As a well-known politician once said, "You never want a serious crisis to go to waste." Too many politicians and others jump on terrible crimes in order to further their agendas. They may give lip-service to the suffering of the victims and their families, but that usually fades into the background as they seek to push their agendas by blaming Christians, the NRA, Republicans, gun stores, the Second Amendment, and anyone or anything else they can think of who very likely had nothing to do with it, before finding out the facts. Rarely do they concentrate on the actual perpetrators of the crime, because they have been "mistreated" and/or are "misunderstood." "Political correctness" continues to control the narrative until the ugly truth comes out.

They immediately propose more "gun-control" laws, usually ignoring the fact that shootings almost universally occur in places with very strict gun laws, and more specifically in "gun-free zones." They also seem to ignore the fact that those committing such crimes are in violation of many laws, and will very likely violate any future laws. Criminals, by definition, are not the people who choose to obey laws. In almost every case, those on whom they originally cast aspersions have nothing to do with it, and the actual perpetrators are other than those they attempted to blame. They end up looking foolish for jumping to conclusions, but that fact is usually ignored.

Real people die in these violent crimes of evil. Here in Colorado Springs, the police officer who was killed was a husband, father of two, an elder in his church, and even though I did not know him personally, one of my brothers in Christ. He willingly went into harm's way in an attempt to save lives. Every time such a shooting occurs, people with guns are called in to help, because they are the only ones who can help. Almost always, they arrive too late to stop the carnage. Victims who must run and hide or attempt to fight back with whatever improvised weapons they can find have little chance of survival and even less chance of stopping the shooting.

I will start respecting anti-gun politicians when they get rid of their armed bodyguards, including the Secret Service. They seem to believe they and their families should be protected by guns, while everyone else only needs signs that say "Gun-Free Zone." Of course, if they did attempt to live by their philosophy of "all guns are evil and should be taken away," I could respect them for not being hypocrites. However, I still could not respect their foolish and illogical position on the issue until someone makes a lucid and common-sense argument that explains how disarming potential victims somehow makes them safer. With notable exceptions, in most of these cases no one has the capability of shooting back until the police arrive. Many clichés are true, and one of the most cogent is this:  "When seconds count, the police are only minutes away."

The problem is not "gun-control" laws or lack of them, lack of self-esteem, lack of education, problems with the economy, racism,  "climate change," or any other external thing people want to blame. The problem is the sin nature running amok and the resulting evil behavior. Evil is real, and no amount of pretending otherwise by our politicians, the media, and others will change that. We don't need more laws. We need strict enforcement of the laws we already have. "Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil" (Ecclesiastes 8:11, NKJV).

The only real answer to the problem is the Gospel of Jesus Christ and its power to redeem sinners. The Gospel is "... that Christ died FOR OUR SINS according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day..." (1 Corinthians 15:3-4, NKJV). Sinners need a Savior, and the Lord Jesus Christ is the only one who can redeem us. Those who ignore that fact will continue to experience the meaninglessness and frustration of living, without answers, in this world full of evil. "Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory forever and ever" (Galatians 1:3-5, NKJV).

I touched on this topic in a post back in 2012, which can be seen here.