by Brian Hobbs | Jan 6, 2016
I am not a prophet, and only God knows the future. That obvious thing being said, it seems like everyone is making predictions these days, so I will throw mine into the discussion ring. I have four predictions for four major topic areas in 2016.
SPORTS
- Alabama will not will the College Football National Championship.
- Clemson will win the College Football National Championship.
- The Golden State Warriors will not win the 2016 NBA Finals.
- The San Antonio Spurs will win the 2016 NBA Finals.
POLITICS
- Bernie Sanders will not win the Democratic Presidential nomination.
- Hillary Clinton will win the Democratic Presidential nomination.
- Donald Trump will not win the GOP Presidential nomination.
- Ted Cruz will win the GOP Presidential nomination.
CULTURE
- There will be a record number of same-sex marriages issued in American in 2016.
- There will not be as many landmark changes to marriage laws as there were in 2015 (i.e. same-sex marriage Supreme Court ruling) but more incremental change on a state level.
- Star Wars: The Force Awakens will exceed $2 billion in revenue, a record that will stand for years.
- Star Wars: The Force Awakens will not win an Oscar for best picture but will win for best musical score.
FAITH & THE CHURCH
- There will be more Southern Baptist-connected baptisms in 2016 than the past year in Oklahoma.
- The number will be more of Southern Baptist-connected church plants in 2016 than the past year in Oklahoma.
- The new atheists will issue even more attacks on Christianity, through books, movies and PR.
- In spite of increased atheist efforts, the number of people poll who claim to believe in God will go up, according to Pew Research Forum.
Some of these may come true. Many of these likely will not. Regardless, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8
by Brian Hobbs | Jan 1, 2016
Here are 16 quotations attributed to my very favorite writer, C.S. Lewis. I pray they help you in 2016 and beyond.
- ON FRIENDSHIP… “Friendship is the greatest of worldly goods. Certainly to me it is the chief happiness of life. If I had to give a piece of advice to a young man about a place to live, I think I should say, ‘sacrifice almost everything to live where you can be near your friends.'”
- ON LOVE… “To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken.If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket — safe, dark, motionless, airless — it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside of Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell.”
- ON SUFFERING… “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”
- ON EVIL… “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.”
- ON AGE… “It is the stupidest children who are most childish and the stupidest grown-ups who are most grown-up.”
- ON FAITH… “If what you call your ‘faith’ in Christ does not involve taking the slightest notice of what he says, then it is not Faith at all—not faith or trust in Him, but only intellectual acceptance of some theory of Him.”
- ON CHRIST… “We are told that Christ was killed for us, that His death has washed out our sins, and that by dying He has disabled death itself. That is the formula. That is Christianity. That is what has to be believed. Any theories we build up as to how Christ’s death did all this are, in my view, quite secondary: mere plans or diagrams to be left alone if they do not help us, and, if they do help us, not to be confused with the thing itself.”
- ON HISTORY… “All that we call human history—money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery—the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy.”
- ON KINDNESS… “The hardness of God is kinder than the softness of men.”
- ON DESIRE… “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.”
- ON LOVE… “Being in love is a good thing, but it is not the best thing. There are many things below it, but there are also things above it. You cannot make it the basis of a whole life. It is a noble feeling, but it is still a feeling…Knowledge can last, principles can last, habits can last; but feelings come and go… But, of course, ceasing to be ‘in love’ need not mean ceasing to love. Love in this second sense—love as distinct from ‘being in love’—is not merely a feeling.”
- ON TRUTH… “My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust?A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust?”
- ON BOOKS… “I can’t imagine a man really enjoying a book and reading it only once.”
- ON BAD LEADERS… “Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive.It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. They may be more likely to go to Heaven yet at the same time likelier to make a Hell of earth. This very kindness stings with intolerable insult. To be ‘cured’ against one’s will and cured of states which we may not regard as disease is to be put on a level of those who have not yet reached the age of reason or those who never will; to be classed with infants, imbeciles, and domestic animals.”
- ON LIFE… “All mortals tend to turn into the thing they are pretending to be.”
- ON CHRISTIANITY… “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen. Not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else…”
by Brian Hobbs | Dec 29, 2015
Various news publications, inspired by TIME magazine, announce a “Person of the Year.” This has not been a tradition at the Baptist Messenger or Word Slingers to join in. But 2015 was such a banner news year, that it calls for someone to weigh in.
In a year that featured news headlines on “Cecil the Lion” to the mandate of same-sex “marriage” in all 50 states, what would the criteria be? There are no doubt politicians who made a big splash in 2015. There are unsung heroes of the faith who, through prayer and deeds done in the Name of Christ, have made an eternal impact beyond measure.
David Daleiden
For this blog post, my main criteria is cultural impact in public. Therefore, for 2015, my person of the year is David Deleiden, a 26-year-old Catholic pro-life activist who filmed and released undercover videos exposing Planned Parenthood for the practice of harvesting and trafficking body parts from aborted babies. Here are three reasons:
1. Created a cultural conversation. Using social media alone, David Deleiden’s serially-released videos from the Center for Medical Progress garnered millions of views. Even those who refused to watch the videos had to talk about them. While there is not 100 percent agreement, even within the pro-life movement, about what these videos mean, policy wise, the videos have undoubtedly created a very important conversation.
2. Led to investigation of Planned Parenthood. In the days and weeks that followed the first video’s debut, Planned Parenthood apologized for the “tone” of its workers in the videos. Their harsh, calloused attitudes fueled the controversy and ultimately led to a Congressional investigation of Planned Parenthood. In spite of President Obama’s promises to veto any legislation, the American people were reminded that PPFA does receive hundreds of millions of tax dollars each year, money they do not deserve.
3. Changed hearts and minds. Even if the polling data does not reflect a permanent shift toward life, the Planned Parenthood videos clearly brought now proponents for life to the conversation. Look no further than USA Today columnist Kirsten Powers, whose July 22 editorial that went so far to say, “When abortion doctors are elevated to gods who may not be questioned or held accountable, society has officially gone off the rails.”
I certainly understand that there will be those, Christians included, who question the motives or methods of Deleiden. There will be others who will dismiss the videos as mere propaganda. Sadly, there will even be those who blame Deleiden and his videos for acts of violence directed at abortionists.
Yet no one can rightly argue against the fact that in 2015, with virtually no money and no help from mainstream media or people in power, this particular David took on the “Goliath” of the abortion industry and scored a big win for the conversation to protect unborn life. This makes him my choice for 2015 person of the year.
by Brian Hobbs | Dec 10, 2015
Attention: If you’re a child who believes in Santa Claus, please ask your mother and father before reading further.
Our family was one who observed the Santa Claus tradition in full force, and as a child, I believed in Santa Claus with all my heart.
Yes, I was that kid on the playground arguing with others that Santa Claus is real, and I had the evidence to prove it.
After finding out the truth (much later in life than I care to admit), it devastated me and brought many tears. At the time, the only thought that would console me was, “At least the Easter Bunny is real.”
While there are variations of each approach, I find that parents today are divided into three main schools of thought regarding Santa, and I want to point out strengths and weaknesses of each approach, then let you decide.
Go all in. We know some Christian parents who see no harm whatsoever in teaching Santa is real. They go to great lengths to make the charade fun and believable. Some of these families never, even as adults, admit Santa is not real but continue playing along. Usually, these are just fun-loving families, who mean no harm. One shortfall of this approach is that it could possibly hamper or at least not help a child’s ability to believe in God. “If Santa is make-believe, then is what they tell me about Jesus real?” This may not often be the case, but it does happen.
Go partway in. I know some families who go through the Santa motions but make no secret of the fact that Santa is not real. The “Santa game” looks like giving gifts from Santa, going to see Santa at the mall, putting cookies out for Santa and the parents eating them, all while the kids know that “Santa is not really real, but God is.” These parents tend to tell their kids about the real Santa, referring to St. Nicholas and what he stood for. One shortfall of this middle ground approach, while trying to get the best of both worlds, you could end up getting the worst of the other approaches as well.
Don’t go there. I know some great families who are strongly opposed to doing the Santa tradition, for fear of lying to their kids or at least messing them up in some ways. I admire these parents commitment to the truth. The weakness here tends to be looking down on the other two approaches and harboring a hostile, almost impatient attitude of any other approach.
You could make biblical, practical and anecdotal arguments surrounding each one of these methods.
My point here is not to prop up one over the other. Instead, consider the strengths and setbacks of each, have patience with other people; and above all, make sure your kids know that the real reason for Christmas is that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to seek and save sinners like you and me.
For He is better than any fun or gift a family could give or get.
P.S. Let me say thank you to my parents for loving me and working so hard to raise me in a godly home. Thanks Mom and Dad! You’re the best!
by Brian Hobbs | Dec 2, 2015
Much of the world is talking about Paris this week. The focus is not on the aftermath of the Nov. 13 terrorist attacks, but on the Global Climate Change Summit happening there. Many, including President Obama, seem to view climate change as one of the most pressing issues today. Still others, including those polled in a recent Pew Research Poll, do not think it is a major issue.
What should Christians make of all this talk about climate change? I offer four thoughts.
1. Christians care about creation. God made the heavens and the earth and put men and women in charge of creation. The word “stewardship” expresses the Christian idea of creation care, as found in the Book of Genesis. This means that Christians are opposed to pollution. Christians care about humane treatment of animals and are in favor of responsible use of land and resources. Individual views on climate change aside, the fact is that Christians do indeed care about the earth God made, and we want to be good stewards of creation, thinking about future generations as well. At the same time, we recognize that until the final day of resurrection, the earth is sin-effected and, therefore, is fallen and not able to be perfected.
2. Alleged ‘climate change’ challenges are confusing. Ask the man on the street what risks global warming or climate change pose, and you are likely to get a blank stare. For the last 15 years, I have tried on and off (mostly off) to understand the claims of those sounding the alarm. I watched the Al Gore movie. I’ve read articles and listened to remarks from so-called experts. I even once attended a University environmentalist meeting. The key worry appears to be about “sustainability;” the worry also appears to be that warming can lead to drought which can lead to famine and even more natural disasters. The cause and effect are disputed. The climate is cyclical, and we do not have data for centuries. Therefore, it is hard to believe all of the climate change models out there and assumptions that things are worse today than ever. Also, we must stop to ask, if warming is happening, is mankind having any effect on it? And, if so, how much of an effect? While I want to understand this more, it is hard to see why the challenges are settled science in the minds of some.
3. There are more pressing issues. C.S. Lewis said the Devil loves it when people are running around with fire hydrants during a flood. In other words, people are going to care about some issues, and the Devil is fine with that, so long as it is not the most pressing issue or what God wants them to focus on. Today, the world is faced with an explosion of human trafficking, abortion on demand, terrorism, a pornography epidemic, a foster care crisis and the very fact that nearly 6 billion people are in need of the soul-saving Gospel. Unlike climate change, there are immediate and direct ways to help on these people-centered issues, which therefore should get the higher priority. Through prayer and direction action, we can make a difference on important matters right in front of us. To rescue a young girl from human trafficking; to support a woman in an unplanned pregnancy; to give food and clothing and a job to our poor neighbors; to tell someone the Good News of Jesus Christ: these are actions that directly help people and should take priority over, say, what European countries have just the right balance of carbon emissions.
4. God is in control. After the flood recorded in the Book of Genesis (and verified by other cultures which have a historical remembrance of Noah and the flood survivors), God said, “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease” (Gen. 8:22). That is a promise that still stands and has been true in every generation. We understand that weather patterns change. We understand that the climate changes cyclically. But praise be to God, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8). The world may change, but God is still in control. We rest in that thought. For those who are deeply alarmed, take comfort in this.
These are my thoughts on the issue. What do you think?
