November 27, 2020 | Page 2

2 SWORD OF THE LORD November 27 , 2020
After enjoying a beautiful sunrise on the morning of November 8 , Betty and I were talking about the amazing God of creation and the awesome creation of God . It lingered in my thoughts through - out the day until I found my pen and began to write .
In the east the morning sun Rises skyward
In its majestic orbit ,
Glowing brightly through The shrouded mist ,
Gleaming across the autumn- Colored forestation and
Glistening on the widespread Placid waters
To announce the dawning Of the coming day .
Even so , the Bible says , ‘ The Sun of righteousness shall arise ’ ( Mal . 4:2 );
And arise He did !
From His lowly birth in a cattle stall ,
He arose to impact both Time and eternity .
Despite the obscurity of little Israel ,
He arose to worldwide fame That spans the centuries .
From His ignominious death on the cross ,
He arose triumphantly From the grave .
For a fallen human race He arose
“ With healing in his wings ” ( Mal . 4:2 ), giving Redemption to all who would believe .
From the sacred heights of the Mount of Olives ,
He arose from this gory earth To reclaim the glories of
Heaven .
With a handful of persecuted disciples ,
He arose in great power To build a militant church .
And because “ He arose ,” we too shall
Rise to meet Him “ in the air : and so shall we
Ever be with the Lord ” ( I Thess . 4:16 , 17 ).
Oh , my , what a sight !
The view of the morning sun and The promise of the rising Sun Fill us with blessed hope
And an abundance of joy .
Amen ! Hallelujah ! Amen !
Christmas Gifts From the Sword of the Lord
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So let us hear from you . We will process your order promptly and ship it right to your door or the address of your choice .
The Post-Election Crisis
As we have prayed for our country in preparation for the November 3 elections , we now need to pray for a resolution to the mess that has been created in a half-dozen states .
It is obvious that some cheating has occurred ; just how much is yet to be determined . As much as we
DR . SHELTON SMITH , President , Editor
MARLON SMITH , Executive Vice President BART WALKER , Treasurer JIMMY BARRETT , Customer Service Manager
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want to believe that the elections will be conducted on the up and up , the integrity of the process is always dependent upon the char - acter of the people who are entrusted with the re sponsibility . If the officials are honest , they will do what ’ s right . If they are not honest , they will do whatever they think they can get away with .
In this case we are faced with a serious crisis which will likely wind up before the U . S . Supreme Court . If the fraud is sufficiently so wide - spread that the election is stolen , it will not be the first time that something like that has happened ; but this one could be the most consequential .
The battle is not just a contest between two men ; it is a conflict of two very different visions of what our country should be .
How will it all turn out ? At this moment , who can be sure ?
The news media seem to think that whatever they declare is the way it should go . It would be a delight to see them get disap - pointed , because they are so much a part of the problem .
If there has ever been a time when our preachers need to breathe the fire of God and thunder the message of God , it is today .
If there has ever been a time when our people need to stop playing church and get things rolling at the church house , it is today .
If there has ever been a time when we need to win people to Christ and get them to church , it is today .
If there has ever been a time to plant new churches all across the land , it is today .
If there has ever been a time to start new bus routes all over town , it is today .
If there has ever been a time to resist the trends of compromise , carnality and corruption , it is today .
If there has ever been a time to “ hold the banner high ,” stay true and stand tall , it is today .
So , in spite of the post-election mess , let ’ s not dig a hole of dis - couragement and camp therein .
Let ’ s not declare ourselves a nonfactor by defaulting on our God-given mandates .
Let ’ s stay on agenda and on alert .
Let ’ s surrender ourselves to the Lord afresh and give ourselves in full devotion for the days ahead .
Even if the election is stolen , you and I must not let it steal our joy .
Let ’ s pray for our nation and let ’ s keep ourselves on the frontlines of the battlefield !
Amen ! Amen ! Amen !
Crossville , Tennessee , Cornerstone Baptist Church — Our Twenty-Sixth “ Tell It on the Mountain ” Conference
Crossville , Tennessee is located on the Cumberland Plateau right on Interstate 40 ( 113 miles east of Nashville ). The Cornerstone Baptist Church has a choice location on Miller Street ( three or four minutes from I-40 ) in Crossville .
The Cumberland Plateau is not like mountains with tall peaks , but the elevation rises almost 1,300 feet higher than Nashville — consequently , the unique title of the conference .
Pastor Mike Kerley , a Crossville native , started the church in 1989 and has served as pastor now for 31 years .
I have been privileged to be here for the conference each year for the past 26 years . Dr . John Hamblin
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Noteworthy News
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family Thanksgiving dinner is the height of hubris . Those restrictions are ludicrous .”
— LIBERTY COUNSEL
EDITOR ’ S COMMENTS : The list of restrictions is much too long for us to print here , but they are very detailed .
Louisiana Man Gets Twenty-Five Years for Torching Three Black Churches
A Louisiana man who admitted to burning down three predominantly African-American churches to promote himself as a “ black metal ” musician was sentenced [ November 2 ] to 25 years in prison and ordered to pay the churches $ 2.6 million .
… U . S . Attorney Alexander Van Hook said …“ Matthews admitted to setting the fires because of the religious character of these buildings , in an effort to raise his profile as a ‘ Black Metal ’ musician by copying similar crimes committed in Norway in the 1990s .”…
Matthews had shown interest in “ black metal ,” an extreme subgenre of heavy metal , according to authorities . The music has been linked , in some instances , to fires at Christian churches in Norway .…
Matthews pleaded guilty in federal court to three counts of violating the Church Arson Prevention Act and to one of using fire to commit a federal felony .
[ U . S . District Judge Robert ] Summerhays ordered him to pay $ 1.1 million in restitution to Mt . Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church and $ 970,213.30 to Greater Union Baptist Church , both in Opelousas and $ 590,246 to St . Mary Missionary Baptist Church in Port Barre .
All three were burned down over 10 days in March and April of 2019 .
— BAPTIST PRESS
EDITOR ’ S COMMENTS : This man will face even more time when sentenced on the state charges . Arson is always a serious matter and it should draw a heavy penalty .
Five States Vote to Relax Drug Laws
A nationwide push to relax drug laws scored significant victories on [ November 3 ] as four states voted to legalize marijuana and Oregon became the first state to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of hard drugs .
Voters in Arizona , Montana , New Jersey and South Dakota passed state ballot measures to legalize recreational cannabis use .…
The states join the District of Columbia and 11 other states that have already legalized adult use of cannabis , which remains illegal at the federal level in the U . S .…
… In Oregon , voters made history by passing the first state law in the U . S . to decriminalize possession of hard drugs including heroin , cocaine and LSD .…
Oregon voters also approved a measure making it the first state to legalize the therapeutic use of psychedelic mushrooms .
— gopusa . com
Blind Woman Banned From Rhode Island Park Over Sharing Christian Faith Can Return
A blind woman who was banned from a Rhode Island park after sharing her Christian faith with others will be able to return to the park following litigation .
… Gail Blair was banned from entering Westerly Library and Wilcox Park by the Rhode Island Memorial and Library Association , which controls the public property .
First Liberty Institute , which helped represent Blair , announced … that they had reached an agreement with the association to allow Blair to return and share her beliefs .
… Said Jeremy Dys of First Liberty …“ Our client is thrilled that she can once again enter the park across the street from her home and talk with other visitors .”
A former nurse who has been blind since 1991 … the 63-year-old Blair was known to share her faith and hand out copies of the Gospel of John to park visitors .
— Michael Gryboski , christianpost . com
“ Puberty Is Not a Medical Condition ” Billboard Unveiled in Los Angeles
A billboard aiming to force discussion on the gender transitioning of minors has been erected in Los Angeles and it asserts that “ puberty is not a medical condition .”
The billboard … reads : “ Your child is learning about gender identity in school . Puberty is not a medical condition . Get the facts . Read this book .”
Positioned beside the text is the cover of Irreversible Damage : The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters by Abigail Shrier . Shrier ’ s book is a work of investigative journalism that explores the rapidly increasing number of girls and young women swept up into a peer contagion , many of whom have been put on a pathway of experimental medicalization that yields permanent , often devastating effects on their mental and physical health .…
The Los Angeles area Jewish father who put up the money for the billboard has a high school age daughter currently caught up in the transgender ideology and spoke to the Christian Post … on condition of anonymity . Should his identity be revealed , he risks losing his job .…
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