Whether you realize it or not, we are — right now — in the midst of perhaps the biggest culture war the world has ever seen. Many church-goers do not realize this because they live in a “Christian bubble,” and have no idea the battle that is raging all around us. Ephesians 6 tells us, “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Yes, my friends, there IS a SPIRITUAL REALM, and that is where the battle is being waged; the undiscerning only see the incremental RESULTS of the battle, not the battle itself. Just as the fish in an aquarium have no clue that there is a whole world outside their tank, many of us cannot discern the spiritual realm that is just as real as those things we can see, touch and smell in this natural world.
But this natural world is beginning to smell awfully bad. Even those who are largely tuned out know instinctively that something is wrong. This is not the same world we grew up in. That which is truly evil is now called “good,” and that which is good and decent is now called “evil.” Even professing Christians are often taken in by the deceptions of the enemy, acquiesing to the changing cultural worldviews of the left, under the guise of “Christian love.”
Of those who work non-stop to destroy everything good, Godly and righteous, many a professing Christian will say, “We just have to show them the LOVE of Jesus.” But friends, these are the ENEMIES of God. They care nothing about the love of Jesus. They HATE Jesus with a demonic passion! Do you not see that? They will NEVER come to a knowledge of the truth as long as we fail to show them their error and shine the light of truth on the sin they so proudly embrace. They will never come to the Savior as long as they do not understand how LOST they are — because they do not understand they desperately NEED the Savior!
And so by our acceptance, we have allowed the cancerous evil in our land to grow and expand, to the point where many now accept the abomination of SODOMY as just another “alternative lifestyle.” In our worldly, fleshly human “wisdom,” we believe it is a positive, modern and “progressive” thing to accept the sickness of “homosexual pride.” SO MANY of us have believed the lie, not even realizing it IS a lie, foisted upon us by a highly organized and MILITANT leftist agenda, bent on dismantling the very laws of God and nature itself.
And Christians are so “loving,” (and I say that in quotes), we are willing to roll over and give God’s enemies more and more ground, whatever they want. Few are willing to stand up and fight for truth, righteousness and justice. I think of the bakers, photographers and florists who have lost EVERYTHING for choosing to follow their Lord and Savior rather than participate in what God calls an abomination. They have been persecuted, beaten down, and have lost their businesses, their homes, their life savings — EVERYTHING — all because of their faithfulness to God. And few who call themselves Christians have stood with them in their time of persecution. If the truth be told, the average church-goer is not even AWARE of the stories I just mentioned, and those who ARE aware do not seem to care very much at all. Even fewer are willing to come alongside and fight the battle with their Christian brothers and sisters. “Just let it go,” they say. “It’s the law of the land and we must obey,” they say. “All we can do is pray for them,” they say. Yet they don’t even do THAT.
In case you’re not aware, I have recently become personally involved with a case of anti-Christian discrimination. At our Wisconsin Christian News Ministry Center here in Marshfield, we hold many special events, where guest speakers come in and present teaching seminars on the most important cultural issues of our day, always from a Godly, biblical worldview. Our Ministry Center is all about sharing Information, Education and Inspiration, raising up disciples, training them to not only be aware of the issues at hand, but also capable of defending and earnestly contending for their Christian faith.
Part of promoting our special guest speakers includes advertising and promotion of our events. We always have large posters made to hang in the front windows of our Ministry Center. In late October, as always, I placed an order with our local Office Max store for some events we are holding in November. One event is a tribute to Veterans and a Hymn Sing on Veterans Day. Another will feature Peter LaBarbera, president of Americans For Truth About Homosexuality. When I initially sent the computer files to Office Max for printing, I was told there was no problem; both posters would be promptly printed and ready for pickup early the next morning.
But the next morning, I got word from the manager of our local Office Max that the poster featuring Peter LaBarbera’s event would NOT be allowed to be printed because it violated their corporate policy against “hate speech” and discrimination against “certain groups of people.” The bottom line here, friends, is that Office Max has a corporate policy to promote the LGBT agenda — 100% in everything they do, and they’ll have nothing whatsoever to DO with anything that (as our poster reads) “Exposes the Truth About the Homosexual Agenda.”
Rest assured, there was NO hate speech, certainly no threats of violence, no discrimination against anyone included within the contents of the poster I wanted to have printed. It simply told of Peter LaBarbera’s work, his area of expertise, the location, date and time of the event. But because it talked about “exposing the homosexual agenda,” Office Max refused to print our project.
Now, I have a real problem with hypocrisy, injustice and bullies… and this situation has all three of those elements. It seems to me that if Christian bakers, photographers and florists are FORCED to cater to the whims of the homosexual agenda, then Office Max should have to abide by the same rules. Not the case. You see in America today, the homosexual lobby gets whatever they want, while Christians are routinely steamrolled into bloody submission and labeled as “hateful bigots.” To be clear, I don’t think ANY business should be forced to do something that goes against their firmly held beliefs. But if Christians are forced to violate their very FAITH IN GOD, then the sodomites should abide by the same rules they have forced upon Christians.
By refusing to serve us, they simply made my point for me. There IS, INDEED, a “homosexual agenda” out there… and the AGENDA IS: to silence the Christian voice and ANY opposition to their vision of a Godless, sodomite new world order.
Many have advised me to “just shut up” about all this, “let it go.” “Go get your posters printed somewhere else.” (Which I DID, by the way, through a local independent printer that was happy to have my business). But that’s not the point. Sure, I could go elsewhere. But so could those others — the homosexual activists — who, instead, have RUINED the lives of so many other Christian business people who only wanted to live out their faith in a Godly way. Yes, these Christian business people have lost everything, at the hands of the homosexual mafia and the activist judges they seem to control.
You may think this is a small matter. And in the big scheme of things, it probably is; but if I were to simply shut up about it and let it go, it would be just another incremental step toward the end of civil rights for Christians in this country, which is their ultimate goal. My situation pales in comparison to these others. But I believe it is time we stand up to the tyranny, hypocrisy, injustice and bullying.
Are you aware of an organization known as the Human Rights Campaign? (HRC). As with all things demonic, the name is a misnomer… just like “Planned Parenthood,” “The Affordable Care Act,” “American Civil Liberties Union.” You see, every organization the “liberal left” is involved with has a positive, nice-sounding name; but what it actually DOES is the OPPOSITE of what the name implies. Because that is what the devil DOES: HE LIES!
The Human Rights Campaign really has NOTHING TO DO with “human rights.” In reality, it squelches human rights, in an effort to promote the LGBTQ+ agenda. On their website, the HRC states, “The Human Rights Campaign represents a force of more than 1.5 million members and supporters nationwide. As the largest national lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer civil rights organization, HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are ensured of their basic equal rights, and can be open, honest and safe at home, at work and in the community.” So, in other words, all they are asking for is equality, right? Well, in THEIR world, some are more “equal” than others.
Part of what they do is to pressure businesses and corporations into pushing the sodomite agenda at the corporate level. If they can control all the big corporations, forcing them to comply with their outrageous demands, and shaming those that refuse to comply through their annual rating system, they can control the public conversation; this affects everything from television and movies to the store displays and advertising we see in public every day, thereby molding the minds of the undiscerning. Have you noticed the sharp increase in TV commercials showing happy homosexual couples? This is NORMALIZING abomination. That’s what it’s all about.
Office Max recently announced that for the sixth year in a row, they have earned a prestigious 100% rating with HRC in 2017. In a press release, they boasted, “We continue to recruit a workforce that reflects the diversity of the communities that we serve, recognizing that our organization only flourishes when we hire, promote and create paths to leadership for people of every background.” Once again, they speak of equality; but SOME, it seems, are more “equal” than others.
This is not the first time Office Max, which recently merged with Office Depot, has discriminated against Christians. In 2015, they refused to print flyers for a pro-life organization in the Chicago area, until legal pressure was brought to bear. In MY case, I received a phone call from a man representing the corporate headquarters, apologizing to me, and promising to send me a written statement of apology. It has now been a full week, and I have yet to receive any such statement. I doubt one will ever come, unless we continue to press for it.
After we released this story to the media last week, Office Max and Office Depot has received many phone calls and emails from Christians expressing their opinion of the corporation’s anti-Christian bias. In response, OfficeMax Corporate has been sending out “canned” replies, stating the situation has been resolved to my satisfaction. But again, they are lying. NOTHING has been resolved; I have received NOTHING.
Thus, I am asking YOU, now, to HELP US, by voicing your opinion to OUR local store here in Marshfield, Wisconsin; to Office Max Corporate Headquarters, and to YOUR local store, if you have one. Remember, Office Max and Office Depot have merged and are now one and the same. To help us, you can call my local store at (715) 389-8820, and you can call the corporate headquarters at: 561-438-4800. Push Option # 2, then push “0” and ask for the “Executive Consumer Relations Department.” There, you can leave a detailed voicemail message. I ask that you be polite and respectful, but FIRM, letting them know how you feel about the anti-Christian discrimination policy here in Marshfield, Wisconsin, which is also corporate-wide.
And as Christmas time will soon be here, and many will be out shopping for gifts, you might want to know that according to HRC’s own website, a total of “887 of the nation’s largest businesses have demonstrated their commitment to LGBT equality and inclusion.” This, I dare say, to the exclusion of God-fearing Christians, because in order to earn that 100% rating from the HRC, a company CAN NOT do ANYTHING that endorses or assists ANYTHING Christian.
Having said that, one will find it very difficult to buy anything anywhere in America anymore. Many of us know of the LGBT bathroom debacle at Target stores, which earned Target a 100% HRC rating. But are you aware that Wal-Mart ALSO has a 100% rating? You may want to check out the HRC ratings list at HRC.org. You will be ASTOUNDED to see just how deep this runs throughout corporate America. It will easily answer the question as to how we ended up as a nation and world that pridefully shakes it’s fist at God Almighty, marching in parades that celebrate not only sodomy but every other sexual perversion man can dream up.
Come to think of it, maybe this is the year we ought to reconsider the commercialism of Christmas altogether. Celebrating the birth of our Savior does not NECESSARILY HAVE TO include an orgy of BUYING useless trinkets — especially from those companies that despise Christians, yet love their money. If you DO buy, I encouarge you to shop at local, independent businesses, so your hard earned money no longer goes to companies that fund things which God’s Word rightly calls “reprobate.” Be informed, seek the wisdom of the Holy Spirit… and as we read in Ephesians 5, “Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them…. Be very careful, then, how you live — not as unwise, but as wise, redeeming the time, for the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.”
May the Lord open your eyes and bless you with understanding and courage in these matters. I also encourage you to join us here at our Ministry Center on November 16th, when Peter LaBarbera will explain all these things in much greater detail.
[Audio CDs and transcripts of this message are available when you call me at Wisconsin Christian News, (715) 486-8066. Or email Rob@WisconsinChristianNews.com and ask for message number 208.]
© 2017 Rob Pue – All Rights Reserved
E-Mail Rob Pue: Rob@WisconsinChristianNews.com
