The only thing that triumphed on Friday in Kenosha, Wisconsin was justice.
It is tragic that two men lost their lives.
It is tragic that that a third was wounded.
It is tragic that Kyle Rittenhouse will bear the scars and wounds of memories from that fateful night for the rest of his life.
It is tragic that numerous property owners were violated and lost livelihoods’ and hard earned property. Sadly, all of it was preventable.

If evil men had stayed home and not burned and pillaged property, they would still be in the land of the living.
If evil media pundits had not stoked class envy and identity politics perhaps that night would have been peaceful instead of full of blood.
If evil political leaders had not tweeted lies and deception… but I guess it’s only an “if”. Sadly, evil thugs and bullies created a narrative in our nation that has brought us to the sad state of things we now see- division, hostility and distrust.
Where will it all end?

Thankfully, our constitution guarantees the right to assemble, to protest, to seek a redress for grievances and to freely speak our mind.
That right doesn’t extend to lawless pilfering and pillaging. To go with a mob to do evil is cowardice at its worst. Sadly, we have somehow equated protest with anarchy.
Martin Luther King would weep if he could see how a movement he once piloted on a platform of peaceful protest has become a cloak for the worst kinds of evil a society can stomach.

You must not spread a false report. Do not join the wicked to be a malicious witness. You must not follow a crowd in wrongdoing. Do not testify in a lawsuit and go along with a crowd to pervert ⌊justice⌋. Do not show favoritism to a poor person in his lawsuit.
Exodus 23:1-3

Kyle has much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. So do we.
Justice triumphed. For that let us be grateful to the Lord.
Because of grace,
Tim

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During these times of accusation, turmoil and uncertainty; I thought it good to remind us all of some civics.
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or of the people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
Amendment I, the U.S. Constitution

It has been often noted that the first right expressed in our Bill of rights is the freedom of Religion.
This freedom is foundational to all the rest and on it hangs the strength of our Republic. Without it we would quickly degrade into a swamp of competing interests and radical individualism- a place we are quickly going as this freedom is under relentless attack.

Following on this right is the right of all citizens to freely speak their minds, the press to function without fear and the people to assemble and even seek a redress for wrongs suffered at the hands of government. Interestingly, our founders wisely followed this amendment with the second amendment to give the people the means to enforce it.

During recent years the American people have become increasingly cynical of a press that seems to merely parrot and promote the progressive agenda of elitist leftists who seek to remake our Republic.
After taking over the French republic, Napoleon quipped: “Controlled by the government, a free press becomes a strong ally.” In this oxymoronic statement Napoleon links a “free press” with government control- a statement that almost mirrors exactly where we find ourselves today in America.

So, where does this leave us? It leaves us at a time where the church needs to find its voice again and speak boldly and powerfully.
We stand on the precipice of events that could quickly spiral into the coercive restriction upon almost every one of the rights that were recognized by our founders in the Bill of Rights.

Free speech is being undermined by public shaming of those who do not parrot the partly line. Freedom of assembly is undermined by heavy handed restrictions enacted for our own good in times of crisis.
Those who speak with a different voice are quickly eliminated from social media platforms, and Christian groups that stay committed to Biblical morality are the objects of scorn and derision.

Screw down your hat- this one might buck. It might be more than an 8 second ride.
Because of grace,
Tim

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