Hard to believe the above words were written from jail!

One of the greatest of the problems facing Christians today is that of fretting over the immoral behavior they see in the world. While the believers themselves do things that are immoral, due in large part to the imbalance in the preaching of grace, they have enough sense of right and wrong to be grievously upset over the violence, perversity and moral filthiness increasing on every hand.

The fretting is of Satan. While he may not be able to persuade a believer to abort her child, or live in an unscriptural relationship with another person, or molest a child, Satan can ruin the spiritual life of the person by encouraging him or her to continually curse the darkness.

God has commanded us through the Apostle Paul to think about things that are honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, and praiseworthy. Thinking about good uplifting things while one is attempting to survive in a moral cesspool, such as America is becoming, is not just a nice thing to do. It is essential to spiritual survival.

The whole earth is filled with the glory of God, as the Scriptures tell us. It is true also that the actions of Satan fill the earth. In any given situation we make the choice. We either choose to see the glory of God or we choose to see the abominations of Satan.

How can one avoid thinking about the abominations of Satan when the newspapers and television harp on these continually? Easy! Quit reading the paper and watching the television.

You can get all the news you need by glancing at the front page of the paper and then driving from your mind whatever troubles you. And, in case you didn't know it, the television news is subtly biased. You are not getting the whole story by any means. The reporters are human and they will color what they say in terms of their own values.

It is no easy matter in these days to think continually about lovely, joyous, peaceful things. We have to guard our mind continually and make ourselves concentrate on thoughts that lift us toward the Lord. As we do this we draw into the Presence of the Lord. This pleases Him and brings peace to us.

Perhaps there are believers whom the Lord has called to wrestle against the evil forces in our nations. The very few whom I have met do not seem to carry with them the Presence of the Lord. They scorn those who wait on the Lord as being lazy, cowardly, unwilling to stir themselves to try to stop the moral filth being practiced. It is not that we are lazy or cowardly. We are seeking to find the mind of the Lord.

When we do hear from the Lord it is never about attempting to use fleshly means to correct the wickedness in the world. Rather the Lord speaks to us either about cleaning up our own act or bringing the Word and Presence of God to other people.

This is not to say that God does not charge some people to go out and correct the social situation.

My fear is that those who are attempting to force the unsaved to behave righteously will not only fail but will bring persecution on the rest of us who are looking to the Lord for wisdom in what to do.

I think the Catholics say it is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness. I agree. Let each of us be a candle by serving the Lord and keeping His commandments. Others will see our good works and glorify God.

Maybe in the present hour we are to be a witness rather than a commando!