Dear editor:
Responding to liberal letter writers, John "Doc" Crawford, George Lindholm and David Voss (Sunday, April 19), I am perplexed about how I am accused of being "hateful" or "fighting" when I disagree with you, but you see yourselves as always being loving and kind when you attack and criticize. Stop fooling yourselves! Your side throws plenty of mud, so please stop your whining.
"Doc," you continue to insist that "the newspaper is not the appropriate place" for Christian letters. Don't you claim to be a Christian also? I find it strange that you are not encouraging me to continue writing them too.
I certainly have received a great deal of positive feedback and encouragement from many other Christians and conservatives! So if you really are a true Christian, shouldn't you and the other liberal writers also be happy about the Christian viewpoint being presented? How strange.
I'm trying to please my Lord. What you all say will not change that. "We stand true to the Lord whether others honor us or despise us or commend us ..." (2 Cor. 6:8).
If you will read the Bible more thoroughly, you will come to realize that sometimes Jesus could also be critical, stern and even angry! He was not always meek and mild, therefore, it is not always appropriate for Christians to always be meek and mild.
Jesus sometimes rebuked Christians whenever it was needed, such as in Revelation 3:14-19 in the church of Laodicea. Christ criticized those Christians for being "lukewarm" instead of being "on fire" for the Lord. They had become useless! These believers didn't take a stand for anything and Jesus wasn't too happy with them! In verse 19, Christ concludes by saying, "Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent."
I was reading one of my study Bibles and came across a verse in Proverbs. "The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion" (Proverbs 28:1). Listen to the commentary to that verse, entitled: "Don't Be a Wimp!"
"Christians are not supposed to be wimps! The whole idea of Christians being 'namby-pamby,' 'nerds,' and 'wimps' is of the devil. This verse says, 'The righteous are bold as a lion. That means they should be dynamic, courageous, fearless, on fire, and bold! Nowhere in the Bible do men or women of God who are filled with the Spirit of God come across as wimps or cowards. David slew a giant. Sampson took on whole armies. Gideon triumphed despite being outnumbered, and the Apostle Paul preached boldly, even in prison.
"Acts 1:8 states that we will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon us, and so Christians who are filled with the Spirit of God are always bold. Christians should never be running from the powers of darkness; rather, the powers of darkness should be running from Christians! Be filled with God's Spirit on a daily basis so you can be a bold son or daughter of the King."
Jesus is Lord!
Lloyd Hoffman
Hot Springs
Editorial on 04/23/2015