What Iran’s Retaliation Proves

On By Robert W. PeckIn BlogLeave a comment

What I find interesting about Iran’s recent retaliation against Israel is how it disproves what America’s Christian-conservative-right has been telling me for decades.

Soon after the attack of September 11, way back in 2001, before current college graduates were even born, voices on the right began telling me that Iran hates Israel and America; that Iran wants to kill Israelis and Americans; that Iran is just months away from getting a nuke and once they get it they’ll use it; that Iran absolutely will attack Israel and/or America as soon as it’s able and therefore we have to attack Iran first – it’s a matter of survival. For more than a generation, we’ve been assured that Iran, filled with bloodlust, will begin killing Israelis and/or Americans at the first opportunity.

Iran’s retaliatory strike against Israel shows that Iran does have the capability to strike Israel, and no doubt has had it for a long time. In other words, the recent response demonstrates how restrained Iran has been for decades in choosing not to use offensive capabilities that it does possess.

In fact, in all the time that the right has been telling me Iran is out to get us or is about to attack Israel, the only times Iran has done so has been in response to Israel bombing Iran’s embassy in Syria and the US assassinating one of their generals. Even those responses have been very measured, indicating that Iran does not want war but must save face and prove to the world that they are capable of war if pushed into it.

I’m not saying Iran is some kind of warm and fuzzy Islamic state where we can all go sit around a campfire and sing Kumbaya.

What I am saying is that I’m sad for the way the right has listened to fearmongers and let ourselves be whipped into frenzied, paranoid delusions, believing Iran will attack at the first opportunity when the last several decades prove just the opposite.

Supplemental Resources

The Lesser of Two Evils

On By Robert W. PeckIn Blog, Political1 Comment

The following is a guest post by my friend Riley J. Hood. The subject of voting for the lessor of two evils has been a constant theme since I began to be politically active in the 1990s. Riley addresses the matter well, so I will post his comments as representing my own views on the matter.

The Lesser of Two Evils

“Go and tell David, saying, Thus saith the Lord, I offer thee three things: choose thee one of them, that I may do it unto thee.” I Chronicles 21:10

By Riley J. Hood

I was watching a DVD made by Christians in 2016. They had a question-and-answer session, where a poorly worded question about choosing the lesser of two evils was read. “As a Christian, my conscience is deeply conflicted in this election. I don’t feel right voting for the lesser of two evils. How do I participate in the election without violating my Christian conscience?” I don’t know of any real person who makes that argument in such airy-fairy terms. The question is an obvious straw man.

It was answered by Dr. Ben Carson, “It is a very appropriate question for me, because I’m a brain surgeon, and the reason God gave us a brain is so that we could make decisions. You know every day when you get out of bed and you get dressed and you walk out that door, until that time you get back in that bed you are making choices between the lesser of evils because we live in an evil world. If you are unable to do that then you really can’t exist. So that’s a cop-out quite frankly.” He continued his answer by comparing choosing a paper cut versus having both your legs amputated. Then he appeals to the audience to be concerned about the nation. His argument has some truths in it, such as living in a fallen world, and God giving us a brain.

But quite frankly the cop-out is “choosing the lesser of two evils,” if and when you didn’t have to. What Dr. Carson leaves out is that a healthy person doesn’t have to give himself a paper cut, because he is more afraid of amputation. It is kind of like a person with a crummy job thinking his only two choices are being worked to death for substandard pay, or to break his pinky with a ball-peen hammer so he can collect disability. All the while ignoring his options to find a better company to work for.

Continue reading “The Lesser of Two Evils” →

Ministry: See a Need, Meet a Need

On By Robert W. PeckIn Christian1 Comment

Message delivered to ZChurch.life March 23, 2024

A lot of believers go around wondering what their calling is, questioning whether they are called to ministry, and if so, to what ministry. While not everyone is called to an official full-time ministry with a fancy title, every member of the body of Christ is called to bear fruit, bear much fruit, and have fruit that remains. So how do you find your ministry? For Elder Bob Peck, it’s been by seeing a need, then meeting that need.

Message Outline

Do we have to serve? We don’t have to serve, we get to serve.

Two errors –

  1. Some err in thinking we don’t have to serve and in not wanting to serve.
  2. Others err in thinking we have to serve, we must serve, or that Jesus isn’t pleased with us because we’re not serving him well enough. That’s old testament, works based-performance based thinking that we can dispel with right now. We’re not under works but under grace.
Continue reading “Ministry: See a Need, Meet a Need” →

Rolling the Dice on Republicans: Has the Right Become Delusional?

On By Robert W. PeckIn Articles, Political4 Comments

Conservatives in my state are currently abuzz with talk of gubernatorial primary candidates. One candidate seems favored by activists on the right, partly because he’s saying key things they want to hear but also because he’s the best-funded and deemed most able to beat the Democrat in November.

Upon hearing that this candidate previously served in Congress, I decided to put the matter into perspective by looking up his score in the respected Freedom Index. The index grades representatives on their adherence to the U.S. Constitution, principles of liberty, and fiscal responsibility. During his six terms in the U.S. House, this individual, now proffered as the gubernatorial champion of the right, scored an average of 33 percent adherence to traditional conservative values–worse than simply guessing on a true/false quiz.

Rolling the Dice

I did a little more research and discovered that during the same period, the Republican delegation in the U.S. House as a whole scored a whopping 50 percent adherence to the constitutional rule of law. That’s a 50/50 chance that on any given day, Republicans might protect our God-given rights or give them away. We could get the same results if we just sent a pair of dice to Congress and said, “Give ’em a roll and let’s see which way the country goes.”

Continue reading “Rolling the Dice on Republicans: Has the Right Become Delusional?” →

Getting a New Covenant Perspective

On By Robert W. PeckIn Blog, Christian2 Comments

Part 3 in the “Understanding Sin” series

Message delivered by Robert Peck to ZChurch (https://zchurch.life), February 24, 2024

Imagine yourself in a time of prayer in the presence of God. Now imagine that in the middle of fellowshipping with Him, you discover you’re currently committing a sin. Would you suddenly feel condemned? Would you cringe and turn away from His face? Would you fear being separated from your heavenly Father’s love? If so, then you don’t have a full revelation of what happened at the cross and have not thoroughly grasped the realities of the new covenant. It’s time to drive a stake through the heart of old testament, works-based thinking, and get a new covenant perspective.

OUTLINE

Introduction

People struggle to understand sin and forgiveness.

We seem to think that we got saved by grace, but stay saved by works and not sinning again.

My breakthrough began when I realized the difference between the Old Testament and the new.

My big breakthrough came when I realized I could sin while standing right in the presence of God, fellowshipping with him, and not be separated from his love for a single moment.

The primary point of this message is to break the stronghold of Old Testament, works-based thinking that brings into bondage and condemnation.

Continue reading “Getting a New Covenant Perspective” →

Gaza: Putting a Human Face on It

On By Robert W. PeckIn Blog1 Comment

While sitting in front of a television viewing a distant war, one can get caught up in cheering for a favored side like it’s a sporting event. It’s far too easy to forget the human realities of thousands of innocent civilians being killed and millions displaced from their homes. That’s why I’m sharing the article below, to put a human face on the inhuman reality in Gaza.

While governments and political factions initiate hostilities, those who suffer most are usually ordinary people who just want to be left alone to live their lives. People don’t generally kill other people once we see another human face like our own. It usually takes propaganda to convince us that the other religious, political, or ethnic group are subhuman animals who want to kill us, then we’re good with dropping bombs on them. 

Whatever our feelings might be toward the factions that are fighting, it’s worth remembering that in Gaza, and Ukraine as well, tens of thousands of ordinary people like ourselves are being killed by munitions that say “Made in the USA.” Yes, via our tax dollars, you and I are participating in killing people, destroying cities, and sending hundreds of thousands of families fleeing from their homes, and unlike watching a sporting event, I’m not cheering.

‘Israel is killing us without mercy’: As the fighting in Gaza continues, civilians are starting to lose hope
Amid a humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Palestine that no international organization can cope with, locals tell their stories of survival
(Read the article at: https://www.rt.com/news/590125-israel-kills-us-without-mercy/)

I also found this article to be of considerable interest. It discusses the history of Christianity in Gaza and Christian/Muslim relations there.

Under Israeli attack: Who are the Christians of Gaza?
They’re small in number, but with deep roots that they are unwilling to leave behind.
(Read the article at: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/1/under-israeli-attack-who-are-the-christians-of-gaza)

There’s No Condemnation for Sin but There Are Consequences

On By Robert W. PeckIn Blog, Christian4 Comments

Part 2 in the “Understanding Sin” series

Message delivered to ZChurch.life August 19, 2023

In part one of this series, we learned that Christ offered one sacrifice for all sin for all time and that there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in him. If you really get that message, it might leave you wondering, “why not just go ahead and sin then?” In part two, we’ll answer that question. Learn a New Testament definition of sin and discover how to walk free of the corruption and calamity in this world.

PREFACE

The Old Testament law system is based on works.

New Testament Christianity is based on a free gift.

Most of Christendom has unwittingly mixed the two, receiving salvation by grace, then thinking we have to keep it by works. It’s nothing new, Paul dealt with it in his day too (Galatians 3:3).

In part one of this series we learned that:

  • Christ offered one sacrifice for sins forever (Hebrews 10:12).
  • That sacrifice so paid the price for all sin for all time that there’s nothing left that can ever again condemn anyone who is in Christ (Romans 8:1).
  • Therefore, the Old Testament law system has been made obsolete (Hebrews 8:13), nailed to the cross, and taken out of the way (Colossians 2:14).
  • There is no longer a works based system in effect under which men can be judged.
  • We are either condemned for not believing in Christ (John 3:18), or there is no condemnation to us if we are in Christ (Romans 8:39).

Does that mean there is now no such thing as sin?

Continue reading “There’s No Condemnation for Sin but There Are Consequences” →

An American Covenant

On By Robert W. PeckIn Blog, Christian, Political3 Comments

When the expedition that founded Jamestown, Virginia, landed at Cape Henry, expedition chaplain Robert Hunt offered this prayer.

“We do hereby dedicate this Land, and ourselves, to reach the People within these shores with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to raise up Godly generations after us, and with these generations take the Kingdom of God to all the earth. May this Covenant of Dedication remain to all generations, as long as this earth remains, and may this Land, along with England, be Evangelist to the World. May all who see this Cross, remember what we have done here, and may those who come here to inhabit join us in this Covenant and in this most noble work that the Holy Scriptures may be fulfilled.”

As I heard that prayer read aloud in church this past Sunday, it occurred to me that God honored it. Most of the Bible printing, evangelizing, and mission work that has gone out around the world has come from America.

However, one may be tempted to look at America’s current political, moral, and spiritual ills and think Chaplain Hunt’s prayer has failed us and become a mere relic of history. I say quite the opposite. 

The continued fulfillment of that prayer does not depend upon who is in the White House, the general morality of society, or even a majority of the population. The continued fulfillment of that prayer depends upon each of us who is willing to take it up and make it our own, praying:

“Lord, I join myself with Chaplain Hunt and those of his expedition in the covenant they made with you over 400 years ago. Regardless what others may do, as for me, with the resources of the land that you put in my hand and under my power, I will mark this land deep and wide with the gospel of Jesus Christ and take the Kingdom of God to all the earth.”