by Brian Hobbs | Apr 18, 2018
As the Utah Jazz and OKC Thunder battle in the first round of the NBA Playoffs, the states of Utah and Oklahoma are doing battle over another adversary: marijuana.
A recent news story said, “The push for legalized marijuana has moved into Utah and Oklahoma, two of the most conservative states in the country, further underscoring how quickly feelings about marijuana are changing in the United States.”
To be specific, Oklahomans will be voting on June 26 on State Question 788, which has been presented to the public as a medical-marijuana measure for the Sooner State. But is it truly medical marijuana?
According to new research published by a coalition of SQ 788 opponents, the measure more closes resembles recreational marijuana legalization, than a careful implementation of medical marijuana. How? Consider these facts:
- “Unlike a normal doctor’s prescription, a medical marijuana license under SQ 788 lasts two years.”
- “In addition to MDs and DOs, five other types of physicians (including veterinarians, dentists, optometrist, podiatrists, and chiropractors) will be able to sign a medical marijuana license. There is NO requirement for these ‘physicians’ to have attended medical school.”
- “The threshold for justifying a medical need is extremely low as a patient only has to ‘articulate a medical need’ to qualify. Simply saying you at times have a headache will grant a 2-year license.”
These three facts, added with other concerned features of the measure, suggest that it’s a stretch to call SQ 788 “medical marijuana.” In fact, it could be called downright misleading. In a recent Baptist Messenger column, I discussed the matter more comprehensively.
Regardless of your position on medical marijuana and its legitimacy, we all can agree that every Oklahoman ought to research the specifics of the proposed ballot measure. Because about the time the NBA Playoffs are wrapping up, Oklahomans will be voting on this game-changing law.
by Brian Hobbs | Apr 11, 2018
As the NBA Playoffs near, our Oklahoma City Thunder just clinched a spot in the playoffs just this week. I am planning even now to watch as much of the NBA Playoffs action as I can, and I am hopeful that Westbrook, PG-13, Melo and company can make a big playoff run.
While I am not the most knowledgeable basketball fan in the world, I am an enthusiastic fan of the NBA and specifically my team, the Thunder. I sometimes hear the question, “Should Christians be big sports fans?”
Some time back, I wrote about this topic in the Baptist Messenger, the parent publication of WordSlingersOK.com. In that piece, I said that I strongly believe that sports, even spectator sports, have a redeeming value, and God can be glorified in it. When a child learns to throw a ball with his father’s help for the first time, there is good in that. When a winning athlete thanks God for allowing him or her to compete, God can get the glory, too.
I also think we need to keep our appetites for sports and the affect sports has on us in balance by doing the following:
Keep the game, ditch the marketing
First, at our house, when viewing a game, we try to turn the screen off during commercials, including during NBA games. There are probably some cool commercials we miss in the process, but so often the marketing that goes on during sports viewing is ungodly, or at least not family-friendly.
Keep balance
Baptists are historically one of the best in the world at keeping Sunday set apart as the Lord’s Day. Yet some communities are quick to schedule sports tournaments/events on Sundays. This is not the unforgiveable sin, but it does say something about us that we could let sports compete with church activity. Moreover, if your weekends are spent primarily glued to the game(s), it might be high time to re-evaluate your habits.
Let sports talk lead to a “God talk”
If you listen to sports talk radio at all, you will know that you could go days on end listening without coming to a topic of eternal, or even permanent, significance. Hours are spent analyzing and re-analyzing every game, stats, replays and more. Yet many, if not most, pro-sports games will be long forgotten in the grand scheme of things. If you hear people in your office or neighborhood talking about the big game, you can use that opportunity as a springboard to share Christ.
Don’t just watch sports, play sports
You are familiar with the term “armchair quarterback.” You might have even met one at some point. This is the person who cannot run a mile if their life depended on it talk big about how the team should have played and what the quarterback should have done on Saturday or Sunday. Though Fantasy Football and its companions are good for fellowship and building sports knowledge, these can tend to turn us into mere consumers of sports, rather than participants. The Apostle Paul says bodily exercise is of some value (1 Tim. 4:8) and then he calls us on to even more, by pursuing godliness like we would a prize.
With these reminders in place, I believe Christians can be big sports fans, but that we need to keep it in perspective. That being said, as the NBA Playoffs are set to begin, I will leave you with one final thought: “Let’s go Thunder!”
by Brian Hobbs | Apr 4, 2018
Years ago, an emphasis was started encouraging people to “Thank a veteran” for our freedom and the very country we enjoy. Today, there is also another group I believe we can thank: teachers.
With education and schools in the news and focus, we are reminded that education matters, that teachers matter a great deal.
Think about it. If you ask a person about their favorite teacher growing up, you see their eyes light up with enthusiasm. If you ask a person who are some of the people who have had a large impact on their life, you almost always hear that person mention a teacher.
In God’s Kingdom, teachers have a beloved and special role. Jesus Himself was repeatedly referred to as “Rabboni,” teacher.
For most students in Oklahoma, their formal education happens through the public schools. Thankfully, there are many godly teachers and leaders within the schools trying to exert Christlike influence as much as possible. To these people laboring in the public schools, we express our deepest thanks!
For others, their formal education is happening at a private/Christian school. At these places of education, we have many godly teachers and leaders trying to share the Gospel and inculcate a Christian worldview in the next generation. To Christians laboring in private schools, we say our deepest thanks!
Still others receive their education at home. Christians around the country are increasingly choosing homeschool. Many parents are sacrificing much to be able to offer a quality education to their own children, and to these people laboring in home schools, we say our deepest thanks!
Beyond these simple but inadequate words of gratitude, there are other ways to express thanks to teachers. Here are a few ideas:
- Pray for them. Nothing is more uplifting than to know someone is praying for you. Take time today to pray for teachers you know—by name—lifting them up to the Lord.
- Write notes of encouragement. Receiving hand-written notes is a lost art. Today you could write a hand-written note to the teachers in your life, telling them you appreciate them.
- Send a gift. Students used to bring an apple for their teacher. Today, teachers might appreciate an Apple iTunes gift card or something useful.
- Organize an event. Many churches hold an annual banquet of appreciation for teachers. Whether a big event or small, see how your Sunday School class could do an event for teachers (whether public, private or homeschool).
- Offer to help. Gary Chapman’s indispensable book, The Five Love Languages, says “acts of service” is a great way to show appreciation. Think about how you, as a volunteer, can support teachers.
Oklahoma is blessed with many people working in noble professions—pastors, doctors, construction workers, military personnel, and the list goes on. Near the top of that list, we recognize teachers, whose service and work inspires us each day.
May God bless you for your work, and we say “Thank you!” today to our teachers!
by Brian Hobbs | Mar 20, 2018
Did you know that on June 26, Oklahomans will vote on allowing the use and distribution of a schedule one narcotic, as identified by the Federal Controlled Substances Act in the United States and the Drug Enforcement Act?
I refer to marijuana. To be specific, a ballot initiative (State Question 788) is coming before Oklahoma voters that “legalizes the licensed use, sale and growth of marijuana in Oklahoma for medicinal purposes.”
According to reports, Oklahoma is one of nine states in the U.S. that will vote on some marijuana legalization measure this year. Southern Baptist scholar and thinker Albert Mohler recently said, “2018 is going to be a pivotal year on the question of marijuana” in America, and he is right.
Knowing this, how should Christians in Oklahoma think about the issue? There are several important questions and concerns about this proposal, which include:
Is this unnecessary?
Some people do not realize that Oklahoma already has passed one form of legalized medical marijuana. In 2015, the Oklahoma Legislature passed—and the governor signed—a bill establishing a limited-basis pilot program for medical marijuana in the form of a “cannabis oil” liquid extract. The oil was limited to certain types of patients who qualified, such as those who suffer with childhood-onset epilepsy. Since that time, the law has been expanded. In this sense, as Oklahomans consider medical marijuana, they should know we already have it in a much more regulated form than what’s being proposed here.
Is ‘medical marijuana’ unproven?
The cannabis oil law was to be pursued more carefully and as part of medical study, while the implementation of SQ 788 seems messier and broad-based. Former Oklahoma Attorney General E. Scott Pruitt’s administration said at the time the ballot measure was advancing, “The proposition itself states there are no qualifying medical conditions, and while a physician has to sign-off on an application for a license, nothing in the law provides a physician will monitor usage.” In other words, the proposal is written is such a way that it’s not precise and, perhaps intentionally, broad.
Got a headache? Try marijuana for that! Feeling stressed? Try marijuana. Have trouble sleeping? Try this! These scenarios may sound far-fetched, but they are not, based on what we have learned from other states.
Meanwhile, medical marijuana has not been approved by the FDA; indeed current federal laws prohibit doctors from prescribing marijuana. This ballot vote, then, allows for medical doctors to license people to grow and retail medical marijuana, putting them in unproven territory and placing them at odds with the FDA and Federal government.
Is this unwise?
If Oklahoma voters approve this measure, the Sooner State could become a hotspot for the production and sale of marijuana, as we have seen from states like California (which legalized so-called medical marijuana in 1996). What we also have learned from other states is that medical marijuana becomes a public-policy “gateway drug” to demands for marijuana decriminalization and recreational use laws.
When the issue comes to a vote, people do not always hear these kinds of details and drawbacks. That is why issues like these are best left to our duly-elected legislators.
At a time when the jury is still out on our 2015 cannabis law; at a time when legitimate medical research behind medical marijuana is hard to come by; at a time when Oklahomans facing illness and suffering have other legitimate options, Oklahomans do not need take a chance on a practice that is unnecessary, unproven and unwise.
Come June 26, I plan to just say “no” to this proposal.
by Brian Hobbs | Feb 22, 2018
Like quotes attributed to any great figure, like Abraham Lincoln or Winston Churchill, it can be difficult to know what quotes were actually said by the person.
As best as I can tell, each of the following quotations were uttered by the world renowned evangelist, Billy Graham, who just went home to be the Lord. I hope they mean as much to you as they did to me.
On the Gospel and the Afterlife
“My home is in Heaven. I’m just traveling through this world.”
“No, I don’t know the future, but I do know this: the best is yet to be! Heaven awaits us, and that will be far, far more glorious than anything we can ever imagine. I know that soon my life will be over. I thank God for it, and for all He has given me in this life. But I look forward to Heaven. I look forward to the reunion with friends and loved ones who have gone on before. I look forward to Heaven’s freedom from sorrow and pain. I also look forward to serving God in ways we can’t begin to imagine, for the Bible makes it clear that Heaven is not a place of idleness. And most of all, I look forward to seeing Christ and bowing before Him in praise and gratitude for all He has done for us, and for using me on this earth by His grace—just as I am.”
On Long Life
“Most of us, when we are young, think that we are never going to get old. I certainly admit feeling that way from time to time. … I know my time on earth will not be over until He calls me home. I admit I don’t like the burdens of old age–the slow decline in energy, the physical annoyances, the pain of losing loved ones, the sadness of seeing friends decline. But old age can be a special time of life, and God has lessons to teach us through it.”
On ‘Dad Life’
“Except in emergencies, we never let a day go by but we had Bible reading and prayer. As the children got older, we asked them to participate. When I was home, I went up to tuck them in and to pray with them. Sometimes Ruth would stay up till one or two o’clock if one of them wanted to talk. Some of the greatest conversations I’ve had with any of my children have been late at night. The same principles and promises we applied to our children are still true for our grandchildren and great-grandchildren. We pray for each one each day and spend hours each week on the telephone with them. Without question, the regrets are greatly outnumbered by the delights. The mistakes we did make were not fatal, and we both thank the Lord for that. And that bolsters our faith that He will do the same for the generations coming after us.”
On Life Regrets
“Although I have much to be grateful for as I look back over my life, I also have many regrets. I have failed many times, and I would do many things differently. For one thing, I would speak less and study more, and I would spend more time with my family. …
I would also spend more time in spiritual nurture, seeking to grow closer to God so I could become more like Christ. I would spend more time in prayer, not just for myself but for others. I would spend more time studying the Bible and meditating on its truth, not only for sermon preparation but to apply its message to my life. It is far too easy for someone in my position to read the Bible only with an eye on a future sermon, overlooking the message God has for me through its pages. …
About one thing I have absolutely no regrets, however, and that is my commitment many years ago to accept God’s calling to serve Him as an evangelist of the Gospel of Christ.
For some interesting facts about Billy Graham, check out this article by Joe Carter. What articles or things you’ve read from Billy Graham meant a lot to you?