Does God Hate ..... Westboro?

Bless their hearts. The Westboro folks have come to Clarksville. They want to protest at the funerals of the five "Bikers Who Care" who died this week. This isn't Westboro's usual place. They usually protest at military funerals. They carry colorful signs with very hateful messages. Today they even "tweeted" directly to my Senior Pastor and told him some rather hateful things and where they thought they were sending him because they disagreed with some of the things he said - I guess about them.

So I am risking getting some hateful posts or e-mails since I am talking about them in this post. But, of course, my eternal destiny isn't up to some crazy people from Kansas (who obviously have too much time and money on their hands since they fly all over the country to make a nuisance of themselves).

First, let me point out that I don't use the word "Baptist" when describing them. They use it in their title, but they are not Baptists. Historical Baptist theology is nothing like the hate they spew. I also won't use the word "church" to describe them because what they do has nothing to do with the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ.

So, anyway, the Westboro folks like to tell everyone who God hates and they like to tell anyone who questions them where they should go (and I don't mean down to Sonic for some sweet tea). So surely God hates them for doing all of the things that they do.

The Apostle John had a lot to say about God and love. The most famous quote from John is John 3:16
Here it is in the Holman Christian Standard Translation.
"For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life."

Yes. God loves hateful, terrible people. He loves murderous dictators, those who persecute the church, those who make hateful fools of themselves at funerals, mean people, ugly people, big kids, little kids, kids who climb on rocks, fat kids, skinny kids, even kids with chicken pox (oops, sorry, a childhood commercial just popped in my head.)

But what about the Westboro crowd? My prayer is that they come to know Jesus for who He really is - that they see the truth of John 3:16 in their own lives.

John makes it rather clear who the true followers of Jesus are. Take some time and read all that John had to say about love by reading the entire book of 1 John. Here is a little of what he said found in chapter 4.

7 Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

20 If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For the person who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And we have this command from Him: the one who loves God must also love his brother.

These words are for us too. It's EASY to hate the people from Westboro because of what they do. It's not so easy to love them. The only way to do that is to look at them through God's eyes. 1 John 4:9-10 "God's love was revealed among us in this way: God sent His One and Only Son into the world so that we might live through Him. Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also must love one another."

Pondering the Music Selections for Sunday, February 20

Here's our music for this Sunday.

It's interesting - the thought process that goes through my head at times - well, maybe it's not really interesting, maybe I meant strange... maybe I'm not sure what I mean...

Well, anyway, here's what I'm thinking. I try to "say" different things on different weeks. I don't want to always sing about the exact same thing because there are many things in the Christians life and many things about God that need to be said. You can't sing about God being our refuge in times of trouble every week because then you wouldn't ever sing about the cross. You wouldn't want to sing about Christ's birth every Sunday. If you did, when would you sing about the resurrection? Singing great songs of praise are always good, but when do you sing about being a sinner in need of a Savior?

I planned on singing this past Sunday about God's love - since it was the day before Valentine's Day. "God is love" is always something to sing about!

So I started out with
To God Be the Glory ("great things He hath done. So loved He the world...")
God of Wonders

Choir Anthem - You Never Let Go (a great testimony of God's love)

Love Lifted Me
Shout to the Lord

Since Geron Davis was here last week we didn't sing these songs, so we're going to sing them this week. Since then, however, I have found out that a man I have been praying for - for over a year now - is going to be here Sunday morning. He's an Army Ranger guy, mean as a snake and needs to know the Lord. I've been joining his brother and mother in praying for him. (You are invited to pray for him too!)

So now I'm questioning my song selections. Should I sing songs about salvation? But then I thought how there are people here EVERY week who need to get saved - who need to become followers of Jesus Christ. Do I need to sing about that every week? This takes me back to my opening thoughts - I can't sing the same songs every week. There are many facets to the Christians experience and we need to be able to express them all.

So how does it work? The answer is rather easy. The Holy Spirit is at work in all of our lives. He takes the different elements of a service and through His power speaks to everyone who has ears to hear. And since HE is the one who brings conviction of sin and the power of salvation into a person's life, I can fully trust in Him to speak to a mean, hardened army guy this Sunday.

Besides... what better testimony to a lost person than to see and hear and experience the love we have for our Savior? As we sing with all our hearts that testimony is sounded loud and clear that we have been changed, redeemed, saved from our former lives that were enemies of God and we now are His loved children.

Sing your testimony this week. "Love lifted me!"

How Deep the Father's Love for Us

How Deep The Father's Love For Us
by Stuart Townend
(C)1995 Thankyou Music (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing)


Verse 1
How deep the Father's love for us
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure
How great the pain of searing loss
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory


Verse 2
Behold the Man upon a cross
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished


Verse 3
I will not boast in anything
No gifts no power no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection
Why should I gain from His reward
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom


Here's a beautiful arrangement of this wonderful new hymn by a guy named Carlton Forrester. Go to his website Carlton's websiteand hear more beautiful songs. Or look him up on YouTube. Buy his CD. Wonderful music!