Christian Travel Study Programs, Inc.

09/05/2024

Capernaum holds significant biblical importance as a central location in the ministry of Jesus. Located on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee, it served as a home base for Jesus during much of His ministry. Several key events in the Gospels took place in Capernaum, including the calling of His first disciples—Peter, Andrew, James, and John—who were fishermen in the area.

The town is mentioned in all four Gospels and is the site of many of Jesus' miracles, such as the healing of the centurion's servant (Matthew 8:5-13), the healing of Peter's mother-in-law (Mark 1:29-31), and the healing of a paralytic who was lowered through the roof of a house (Mark 2:1-12). Capernaum was also the location of Jesus' teachings in the synagogue, where He performed exorcisms and delivered the Bread of Life discourse (John 6:24-59).

Despite witnessing many miracles and teachings, Capernaum, along with the nearby towns of Chorazin and Bethsaida, was rebuked by Jesus for its unbelief (Matthew 11:20-24). Because of its rejection of His message, Jesus foretold that Capernaum would face a harsh judgment, a prophecy that aligns with its eventual decline and obscurity in history.

09/03/2024

Our new group in Rome starts tonight! Pray for a great time with the group from Denver Colorado!

Picture from Liveformoment

08/29/2024

Bethlehem: Bethlehem is celebrated as the birthplace of Jesus Christ, fulfilling the prophecy of Micah 5:2 that a ruler would come from Bethlehem. The town is also the setting for the Book of Ruth and the hometown of King David, linking it to the lineage of Christ.

The image is AI-generated and intended to give a visual aid; it is not intended to be a scholarly reference.

08/28/2024

Our dear friend Brad Gray posted this, and I thought some of you might like it!

In this third episode of Life in the Roman Empire – Pt 3: Gladiators & Beast Hunts, a dear friend of Walking The Text, Dr. Randall Smith, explores the explos...

08/22/2024

Jerusalem: Jerusalem is a central city in the Bible, significant for both the Old and New Testaments. It is where King David established the capital of Israel and where Solomon built the First Temple. In the New Testament, Jerusalem is the site of Jesus' crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. It also hosts the Mount of Olives and the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus prayed before his arrest.

The image was AI-generated and intended as a visual aid, not a scholarly reference of the time.

08/16/2024

GCBI Welcomes another daring group of students!

08/15/2024

How can you help restore two believers when one has wronged the other?

As Paul awaited his meeting with Emperor Nero in Rome, he met a runaway slave named Onesimus (his name meant “profitable”) a fugitive from the Colossian home of Philemon, the Apostle Paul’s friend. Philemon hosted a church in his home, and Onesimus stole goods and ran from his master to Rome, but ran right into an encounter with Paul, and more importantly, Jesus (through the teaching of the Gospel, see Philemon 1:10).

Paul sent the slave back to face a possible ex*****on, but he also gave with him a letter, and that is the small epistle we have included in the New Testament. It is a gem!

This little “postcard” epistle offers ten steps to repairing a breach between believers:

1. Acknowledge the injured party - don’t bury the offense. (11a).
2. Recognize the value of the offender as well as the offended (11b).
3. Do all necessary to bring the parties face to face (12a).
4. Put your heart into their restoration, this is not an intellectual exercise! (12b).
5. State the rights of the injured and enlist their help for the solution (13-14a).
6. Offer the injured party the means to respond willingly (14b).
7. Look for and express a Heavenly perspective; show how God was at work in this relationship even in the difficult times (15-16).
8. Be direct in asking the parties to forgive each other (17).
9. Be willing to serve in the restitution of the relationship, it may cost you something, but the payoff is a restored relationship (18-19).
10. Anticipate the best in the parties, encouraging them to act responsibly toward the Word of God and the relationship (20-21).

Though a short writing, it is a vital one to help us govern how to restore broken relationships.

Picture used through Creative Commons Pix4Free.org

Need more on Philemon? https://www.1hour1book.com/ #/philemon/

08/12/2024

Matthew seems to have written in the wake of the destruction of the temple by the Romans. Matthew took the basic outline of Mark's Gospel and added both emphasis on the prophets and on Jesus’ sermonic teaching, to explain that God had blessing planned for His people, in spite of current appearances.

He opened with a genealogical record that stressed Jesus had Davidic credentials, and included several Gentile women in his line (Matthew 1) to show God intended Messiah to touch the Gentile world. He added a birth and infancy narrative not found in Mark, but focused on Joseph’s experience in those days. He showed God orchestrating the coming of Jesus, along with the sad detail of the slaughter of innocent babies of Bethlehem (Matthew 2).

Most of the book, however, is organized around the teachings of Jesus in six major sermons. The recorded events between those sermons are not specifically chronological, but illustrate Jesus’ sermons. Here are the main ones:

• Sermon One: Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) Jesus offered a picture of the character, the commitment and the choices of a disciple. He set forth the standard for those who wished to become His disciple, and for those He said would enjoy the kingdom of God. Following the sermon in Matthew 5-7, Matthew placed a series of incidents in chapters 8 and 9 on the way to chapter 10, the second of those big sermons.

• Sermon Two: Sermon of the True Witness (Matthew 10): Jesus set specific standards by which disciples were to proclaim the good news that Jesus has come. Chapters 11 and 12 contain short narratives drawn almost exclusively from Mark. During that time, according to Mark 3-4, the crowds were unhappy with the parable instructions of Jesus. They sought more frankness, and less parable.

• Sermon Three: Sermon on The Meaning of Success (Matthew 13): contains seven pictures of a progressive parable to show what Jesus considered “success.” He noted His disciples weren’t qualified to measure what He did, nor did they understand the whole scope of God’s ministry through Him. The incidents recorded in Matthew 14-17 include the “final exam” of the disciples recorded in Matthew 16, and the important moment of the “Transfiguration” of Jesus, but Matthew pushed forward to get to the next major message of Jesus found in Matthew 18.

• Sermon Four: The Sermon on True Forgiveness (Matthew 18): the Master addressed His men on forgiveness to one another, and called on them to continually renew grace to each other. In Matthew 19-20, Matthew followed the general outline of the Perean Ministry, and by chapter 21, he picked up the story of Jesus’ trip up to Jerusalem, and led the reader into the heart of the Passion Week.

• Sermon Five: Woes to the Pharisees (Matthew 23): Set in that last week before the Cross, we read Jesus’ most critical sermon on the failed leadership of the Pharisees and his great apocalyptic message from the Mount of Olives. Matthew 23 contains eight “woes” directed at failed Pharisees.

• Sermon Six: The Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24-25): Set as Jesus and His disciples walked out of the temple, He sat on the Mount of Olives, and answered questions about the end times, the temple and the Jewish people.

In the end, this Gospel addressed questions of people who wondered how God could allow calamity to befall His people, and yet still offer them all that was promised. There's a kingdom still coming, and Messiah’s powerful reign will rescue them.

Few teachings can stir us like those of Jesus, and I am glad God recorded them to challenge and change us!

Photo used with Creative Common License from biblepics.co.

Want more on Matthew’s Gospel? https://www.1hour1book.com/ #/matthew/

08/09/2024

In Roman cities long ago, court cases were held in public, and legal arguments followed a well-established, five-part form used in contemporary public cases. The five parts included:

1. A challenge: What law was breached by the accused?
2. A statement of authority establishing who holds the accused accountable.
3. A list of violations that illustrate guilt.
4. A list of internally defined terms used in the preceding.
5. A call for judgment. What must be done because of the violations?

Using that form, the Apostle John argued: “Where one makes his own rules, sin reigns. Where one follows God’s Word, Jesus reigns.”

He opened with the challenge: Not everyone lives what they say they believe. For his statement of authority, John assured his readers the truth began with and wholly belongs to Jesus. (1:1-5).

In his “list of violations,” John set out two cases. In his first, he established that “talk without walk” isn’t real (1:6-2:11). Faith must be lived, he argued, it cannot simply be sermonized. In his second case, he argued that perseverance in pursuit of the truth is essential. He handled defectors and distractions from Christ (1 John 2:15-29).

For his “internal definitions,” you will note how many times John clarified the meaning of terms in this work. He defined:

• “Children of God” as those growing in surrender to Jesus (3:1-3).
• “Sin” meant “lawlessness,” not as in “no rules” but rather “self-made” rules (3:4). When John said: “No one who abides in Him sins” (3:6), this wasn’t a statement about perfection, but rather: “One who truly walks with Jesus doesn’t make up his own rules of what is right or wrong.”
• “Righteous” (3:7) is one who is chooses to live the standard of God.
• “Death” is disconnection from God, not from the material world; “Life” is the surrender after an encounter with God.
• “Love” is acting deliberately to meet a need, because there is a need, expecting nothing of personal benefit in return (3:18).
• “Murderer” is one who attempts to cut God’s connective bonds between people, therefore, 1 John 3:15 “Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.”

The rule is this: use only John’s internal definitions when trying to grasp this argument. The words use elsewhere, even in Scripture, won’t isolate John’s specific argument here.

To finish, John argued that if we really have Christ and love Him, we must meet needs of others (3:16-17) or our love becomes mere emotional sentiment. He pressed believers to check the spirit behind teachings (4:1), and watch behavior of teachers (4:2-3). He called believers to love people in practical ways (4:7-13, 20-21), and do so fearlessly.

John closed the letter with a “call to judgment” including two identifiers: First, we can show true love for the Father above by loving and obeying Jesus (5:1-12). Second, we show real trust in Jesus when we wholly rely on His Word (5:13-21).

Want more on 1 John? https://www.1hour1book.com/ #/new-page-37/

Picture used with Creative Commons license, with original by: www.weisspaarz.com

08/09/2024

Followers of Jesus know the Savior loves them, but He transforms us by His Spirit through His Word. What are we supposed to become? Paul responded in First Thessalonians.

Because he was forced to leave them after only three weeks of sharing Jesus, he wrote chapters of 1 to 3 of 1 Thessalonians to update them on what happened to him after he left. It's biographical. Then, in 1 Thessalonians 4, Paul picked up on instruction with some key points of God's transformation of a believer. They are:

Being Transformed to Pure Living (1 Thessalonians 4:3-8): Paul wrote that rejecting purity was rejecting the transforming work of His Spirit in our lives. “Sexual freedom” as defined by our society is a masquerade for anti-god rebellion. It isn’t merely rejection of church rules; it is the rejection of God’s right to be God and tell us when to restrain our desires.

Being transformed into Diligence (1 Thessalonians 4:9-12): Paul wrote: “make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business…” He called believers to get busy and fix what’s broke without fuming.

Being transformed into Expectancy (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18): Paul wrote about “…those who are asleep” because some believers had died. He told them that the body was sown like a seed and will be renewed at the return of Jesus. Be encouraged, this isn’t over.

Being transformed into Watchfulness (1 Thessalonians 5:1-11): Paul reminded believers not to be panicked by the NEWS of their world, but be spiritually watchful, and clear-thinking wile trusting God’s power and plan.

Being transformed into Gratefulness (1 Thessalonians 5:12-28): Paul urged believers to seek opportunities to express our gratitude to those who labor for Jesus, examine thoughtfully what we see and her, and hunger for the work of God in us. We do all while praying through everything we experience.

His Holy Spirit works to transform us because we cannot achieve holy change our own… but we must yield to be truly transformed.

Want more on 1 and 2 Thesssalonians? https://www.1hour1book.com/ #/1-thessalonians/

08/08/2024

God’s people vary on how well they handle their walk with Him, and respond to His revealed truths. In the Third Epistle of John, the Apostle highlighted three men he knew, and showed how they carried out their ministry, for good and for bad.

First, there was a man named Gaius, who was a servant-hearted leader, He PRACTICED WHAT HE WAS PREACHING IN HIS DAILY LIFE (3 John 1:1-8), and held truth carefully in his hands. That was made clear through his life and words that:

• John taught that TRUTH was the foundation of his relationships, as he “loved Gaius in the truth,” and he therefore prayed for Gaius’ health and growth (1:1). LOVE must be based on TRUTH, not affirming myths. True love is not unending affirmation of bad behavior.

• John noted that TRUTH is something believers LIVE, not just BELIEVE. He noted joy that Gaius “walked in the truth” and “acted faithfully” toward other believers, as well as strangers (1:3-6). Dynamic truth requires a LIFE context.

• John saw Gaius marked out and built his ministry team based on shared TRUTH that secured their identity in Christ (1:7-8). He did not count on supply from the world, but rather drew resources supplied to the team by God.

Gaius was, then, the example of someone who lived truth so well that a trusted bond could be formed into a solid ministry team.

Second, there was a man named Diotrephes who HINDERED OTHERS WITH HIS PRIDE, and seemed both arrogant and unteachable (3 John 1:9-11).

• Diotrephes trusted his own understanding and became wholly dismissive of travelling evangelists, in spite of the fact that the Apostle John previously instructed him to receive them. Since “he loved to be first,” he wouldn’t listen to John (1:9). Diotrephes was a self-appointed expert and didn’t fall under those who had authority.

• John said Diotrephes grew to make false accusations that John would call out in time (1:10a). John’s love for him didn’t preclude correction, because love doesn’t affirm behaviors that need correction.

• John noted Diotrephes tried to stop others from receiving guests as they were instructed (1:10b). He felt the need to control the behavior of others to conform with his, not direct them to conformity with God’s Word and the Apostle’s instruction.

Walking with Jesus places DEMANDS on behavior, and calls us to mimic the good and put distance between us and evil (1:11).

Third, John wrote of Demetrius, a compassionate man who ATTRACTED OTHERS IN QUIET HUMILITY with the Gospel (3 John 1:12). His adherence to the Word of truth and his faithfulness of lifestyle got him noticed and commended by others.

When all is said about these three men, we can see that each handled their walk and God’s truth differently, and lived out faith differently. How do you want to be know: faithful, arrogant or attractive?

Picture from Pix4Free.org under Creative Commons License.

Would you like more about 3 John? It is together with 2 John here: https://www.1hour1book.com/ #/2-john/

08/07/2024

In front of Jesus, Pilate asked “What is Truth?” What a great question for our generation that is thoroughly over-informed and yet often unaware of what is really true. The Apostle John wrote to the early church a “Second Epistle of John" that offered
ten straightforward truths about truth. He wrote:

1. Truth is the basis of real love (2 John 1:1a). He noted his recipients were people “whom I love in the truth."
2. Truth is objective and can be known (2 John 1:1b). If God said it, we need not wonder, as John noted: “all who know the truth."
3. Truth isn’t fickle; it remains constant (2 John 1:2a). John wrote: “because of the truth that remains in us…”
4. Truth outlasts the lies, deceptions and trickery (2 John 1:2b). Note John wrote it lasts “forever.”
5. Truth walks (2 John 1:4). John celebrated children “walking in truth.” It isn’t just theory; truth changes how we live.
6. Truth was the established foundation of the church (2 John 1:5b-6). John wrote: “the commandment we had at the beginning.”
7. Walking in Truth can be measured by agreement to the testimony of the Word of God (2 John 1:7). John said: “people have left the truth, denying Jesus.”
8. Adhering to the Truth is the primary basis for reward (2 John 1:8). John warned, “Watch yourselves that you will be eligible for the full reward!”
9. Exclusive truth about access to God was taught by Jesus (2 John 1:9). John warned that “anyone who doesn’t remain in Jesus’ teachings does not have God.”
10. Here’s the really difficult truth about truth: It separates us from supporting everyone. It is a God-given and proper line between us and the world around us (2 John 1:10). John even said: "Do not receive them into your house!"

God is very concerned that we don't entertain notions that oppose His Word and His Son, but many believers are awash in media that marinates their soul and wounds their walk.

Let me close with an illustration of the point John made long ago:

The story is told of a man who came to visit his old friend, a music teacher. As the man came in, he said, “What’s the good news today?” The old teacher was silent as he stood up and walked across the room. He picked up a small hammer and struck a tuning fork. As the note sounded throughout the room, he said, “That is ‘A.’ It is ‘A’ today; it was ‘A’ 5,000 years ago, and it will be ‘A’ 10,000 years from now. The soprano upstairs sings off-key, the tenor across the hall flats on his high notes, and the piano downstairs is out of tune.” He struck the note again and said, “That is ‘A,’ my friend, and that’s the good news for today!” The only hope for a world out of tune is to know that Jesus is the truth: “Yesterday, today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). That’s the good news of truth! (Dr. Clyde McDowell, Focal Point, Spring, 1997, p. 3).

Want more on truth? https://www.1hour1book.com/ #/2-john/

08/06/2024

Many years ago, Corrie Ten Boom wrote: “If you look at the world, you’ll be distressed. If you look within, you’ll be depressed. If you look at Christ, you’ll be at rest.”

Back in the first century, the Apostle John showed exactly us how to “see the essential identity of Christ.” He unfolded in the “Gospel of John” two ways to grasp Who Jesus is.

First, John recorded seven sample statements Jesus made to indicate Who He is. He said:

• I Am the Bread of Life: (John 6:35) I offer you what sustains your life, if you will trust Me.
• I Am the Light of the World: (John 8:12) I will guide you through a world that is lost in darkness, chasing dead ends.
• I Am the Door of the Sheep: (John 10:7, 9) I will stand between you and the spiritual predators who seek your harm.
• I Am the Good Shepherd: (John 10:11, 14) I will care for you, and nurture you.
• I Am the Resurrection and the Life: (John 11:25) I conquered death and I can bring you through what no one else can.
• I Am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: (John 14:6) I am truly your only way to God; there simply is no other.
• I Am the True Vine: (John 15:1, 5) Through Me flows God’s life and empowering; focus on staying connected and God will produce fruit through you.

Then, John included seven sample works Jesus accomplished revealing His identity:

• Jesus turned water into wine (2:1-11): He is a transformer! He turn our life into something ETERNALLY POWERFUL for His kingdom.

• Jesus healed a boy long distance (4:46-54): He demanded a man’s TRUST in His promise! Jesus always demands we take His Word seriously, and accept it as true!

• Jesus healed a lonely lame man at Bethesda Pools (5:1-11): He remembers us when all others forget. He will not abandon us even when our closest friend does.

• Jesus multiplied loaves and fish from a boy’s lunch (6:6-13): His resources are inexhaustible. Little becomes much when He touches it.

• Jesus calmed a storm on the Sea of Galilee (6:16-21): His strength without limit. His power can shut down any turmoil, and His might can confound any foe.

• Jesus healed a man born blind (9:1-7): He delights in defeating darkness! He LONGS to have us see the struggle of life is TOO GREAT to do alone.

• Jesus raised Lazarus from his tomb (11:1-45): He brings LIFE from death, hope from despair and rejoicing from tears!

This is the Jesus of the Bible. He is tough but true, fair to us and fierce to His enemy. He is powerful and yet tender. He is inviting to the broken, yet unbending in requirement of trust and surrender. The message of the church must return to the simplicity of KNOWING AND SURRENDERING TO JESUS. That’s when rest will return.

For more on the Gospel of John: https://www.1hour1book.com/ #/john/

Photo used with thanks from BiblePics.co, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

08/05/2024

God is completely aware of the needs of His people, and He acts when the time is right for His plan! I know, because long ago, a prophet named Habakkuk discovered that God hadn’t lost interest in His people, nor had He lost the power to deal with their struggles. No, He was working His plan in His time, for His purposes. The prophet learned a painful lesson we all need…

The prophet complained: "God, You don't seem aware of what the situation down here!" (1:1-4). It was like God didn’t listen, and held back rescue while evil grew!

God replied: "I am aware, and big things are about to happen because I planned for this, but I don’t think you’ll like it all." (1:5-11). God told him a swift and treacherous army was about to sweep in and change everything.

Stunned, the prophet balked: "God, your response isn’t what I wanted!" (1:12-2:1). You can’t use evil to correct evil, and they are clearly worse than us! I will stand here and wait for Your response!

God answered yet again: "You can count on My words, but My timing works on My system!" (2:2-4). The clock is ticking and this will happen right on time. Bad people are coming, but, I promise you, the day is coming when the whole earth will be filled with the knowledge of My glory! (14) I miss nothing (15-18) much less these who construct their own gods and build their own morality (19). Stay tuned…

Then God brought the hot wind from the south, and unfolded truth to the prophet in a powerful storm.

It started with the air becoming still as the Lord began His work (2:20). The power of the storm blew in, and it scared the prophet, who no longer had a defiant voice. He asked God for mercy (3:1-2). From the south came the winds, the rains, the lightning and the mudslides (3:3-10). A day and a night were overcast and dark as the Lord thrashed the wilderness (3:11-15).

The prophet quaked, and then seemed to finally grasp the lesson: It doesn’t matter what goes wrong, my joy is found in God. He’s my only help and protection (3:16-19).

You see, God hasn’t lost power nor interest in His people. He is patient and working a plan. He uses who He chooses, how He wills. Our job is not to counsel Him on His next move, but follow His direction and trust that He knows what we don’t.

Need something more? https://www.1hour1book.com/ #/habakkuk/

08/05/2024

Do you want spiritual health and fitness? God led Paul to write to Philippian believers while under arrest in Rome. He shared that ANY BODY (even a church body) suffers without proper care, by avoiding some things, and investing in others. His letter can be separated into three parts:

Part One: Intense prayer of their church planter (1:1-11). For Paul, as for us, solutions begin by seeking God.

Part Two: Insightful prescriptions of the church planter (1:2-4:9). The best path is exposed when God identifies our problems and indicates His path to solve them. Paul cited these prescriptions:

• Prescription #1: We must see what God is doing on a broader plain (1:12-18)
• Prescription #2: We must be more transparent in struggles before our family (1:18b-26)
• Prescription #3: We must pull together to stand strong (1 :27-30)
• Prescription #4: We must develop humility and reasoned behavior (2:1-18).
• Prescription #5: We must work at unity in the service of Jesus (2:19-30).
• Prescription #6: We must practice constant rejoicing! (3:1)
• Prescription #7: We must not exchange a walk with God for work for God! (3:2-11).
• Prescription #8: We must release the past and press toward God’s call for us! (3:12-4:1)
• Prescription #9: We must put aside our squabbles with each other. (4:2-5)
• Prescription #10: We must fall to our knees and pray to gain peace again. (4:6-7)
• Prescription #11: We must focus on the right thoughts. (4:8-9)

Part Three: Instructive patterns modeled by their church planter (4:10-23). Paul didn’t just talk; he walked his faith so they could see it.

Joy comes with spiritual health, and that comes from eliminating damaging practices and adding spiritually uplifting ingredients to our life as we walk with our Savior and praise Him!

07/30/2024

Long ago, the prophet Obadiah revealed God’s explanation for judging a nation, and while explaining Edom’s coming destruction, he offered reasons why nations fail. He enumerated four offenses:

• Undue self-pride in their defenses and military technology (1:3,4).
• Unwise trust in their shady allies (1:5-7).
• Imprudent confidence in their experts and strategists (1:8-9).
• And, most of all, a hardened heart and disdain toward God’s people (1:10-14).

He then swiftly explained God’s four responses to these violations:

• He would turn on them their own wicked practices and sap their fortunes away (1:15-17).
• He would cut off the promise of their future completely (1:18).
• He would give their “allies and friends” all of their accumulated fortunes (1:19,20).
• He would restore His message and His people (21).

It isn’t right to act as though God said nothing about the misbehavior of nations. That isn’t true. He made clear that pride comes before destruction, and trust in the wrong voices is perilous. Modern nations would do well to heed history, and see what God has done. Bozrah (the Edomite capital) is dust today, and her once superior defenses were parted out to her allies at her defeat.

Yet, take heart! The time between the pronouncement of judgment and the bringing of it is “grace time.” Nations can see the edge and back away, or plunge blindly forward. The greatest single sin that got God’s reaction was the treacherous mistreatment of His people. Make no mistake: God defends His own. That was the prophet’s message. That was God’s invitation to repentance.

07/28/2024

It is astounding that we are living in a time of tone deafness and brazen insensitivity. The France Olympics, while gaining mass criticism because of the opening show, has demonstrated powerfully what seems to be a growing epidemic.

Before we explain away whether the picture displayed by the artists was depicting a modern form of the "Last Supper" or "the Marriage of Bacchus and Ariadne," let me ask a simpler question: Since the show featured drag queens and a montage of suggestive twerk-based dancing along a host of artistic images, what was it designed to promote?

In a celebration for the international community, did anyone on the committee ask the question whether the presentation would be grossly offensive to the values, not merely of many Christian viewers, but of the Muslim world’s viewers and of most African viewers? Did those responsible recognize the true purpose for the event and the family viewing audience it was supposed to excite?

We live in a day when even the most basic sense of “marketing” is being traded for "captive indoctrination and promoting agenda." Ask Budweiser if ignoring your basic market will make your product more successful. Spoiler alert: it will turn the audience off.

Arguing over which group was the intended target of the offenses misses the essential point: the moment was to draw the international community together and this small group of planners decided it was better spent on drawing more attention to sexuality and sexual identity issues (as though that gets too little attention).

Those responsible owe a great many apologies today, but most prominently they owe a huge one to athletes who have worked tirelessly to accomplish something in the name of their own countries. They owe another to the many international organizers that have worked behind the scenes to draw the world’s attention to this potentially unifying moment.

The tone deaf need to be directed to stop trying to get us to agree to their views and simply listen to what they were tasked to do.

It is also important that we understand why the reactions were so visceral. Parents are tired to artists experimenting normalization for their children. People are watching every area of life become a stage for a sex-obsessed fringe to dictate to the rest of us what our values should be. They are not content to live and let live. They want to be front and center, authorized and affirmed at every turn. For many of us, it feels like theft of public space and the degrading of public discourse, and nobody likes getting robbed, plain and simple.

As a Christian, I needn’t apologize for holding thieves accountable, but I must be careful to always pair truth with kindness, lest my tone block my message, and I become the very beast I wish to slay.