​          Jesus handled difficulties with gentleness.  A description of Jesus is found in Isaiah 42: “He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets.  A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he leads justice to victory.  In his name the nations will put their hope” (Matthew 12:19-21).
          But gentle Jesus could be driven to righteous indignation when that was appropriate.  Once, “When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money.  So, he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.  To those who sold doves he said, ‘Get these out of here!  How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!”
          Jesus could not be described as an angry man.  He was in fact a gentle man.  But when the day called for righteous indignation, Jesus could in anger address the situation so there was no mistaking the problem or the solution.  Jesus was right to cleanse God’s temple.  There is a time and a place for anger to be used in service to God.  May God always give us the wisdom to know when those times are appropriate.
          What about the so-called righteous indignation in our cities where the protesters are rioting, looting, burning, assaulting, killing and destroying property?  Is that justifiable?  Of course not!  A distinction must be made between righteous indignation and the unrighteous exploitation of a problem.  Those who justify these unlawful and evil acts are not leading justice to victory like Jesus, but instead are bringing about chaos leading to our ultimate defeat. God, make us gentlemen who will stand up for righteousness, just like Jesus.

Rick Cunningham

    The Herod’s were Edomites from the territory of Idumea.  So how did they become rulers in Judaea and the surrounding territories?
   In 125 B.C. John Hyrcanus, a Jewish general, conquered Idumea and forced all of the Edomite men to be circumcised.  In the first century B.C. one of those men, Antipitas, was appointed by Roman Authorities to be governor of Idumea.  His son, Antipater, succeeded him and was appointed Procurator of Judaea.  Eventually, Antipater had his son Herod, appointed governor of Galilee.  Herod proved to be a smart ambitious politician, providing tribute monies to the Roman government while building relationships with Anthony and Augustus, the famous Roman generals. In 37 B.C. Herod was given the crown of Judaea by the Romans, provided he could conquer the territory and establish his rule there, which Herod did, conquering the city of Jerusalem the same year.  That is how an Edomite became king of the Jews.
    Called Herod the Great, he tried to kill Jesus in his infancy by killing all the young boys in Bethlehem.  Jesus escaped.
    Herod the Great’s son, Herod Antipas, had John the Baptist beheaded.
   This same Herod Antipas questioned Jesus during his trial before Pilate. Jesus gave no answers even though they mocked and beat him.
    Herod Agripa I, grandson of Herod the Great, had the apostle James killed with a sword.  Soon thereafter this Herod was eaten by worms and died.
   Herod Agripa II, the great grandson of Herod the Great, listened to Paul’s defense in Caesarea with governor Felix.  Paul appealed to Caesar in Rome rather than return to Jerusalem for trial.
   Jesus’ entire time on earth was lived under the tyrannical rule of the Edomites known as the Herods.  Yet through it all, Jesus accomplished everything he came to do, ultimately declaring, “All authority in heaven and of earth has been given to me” (Matthew 28:18).  No matter who gets elected on earth, Jesus is the king of kings, with absolute authority over everyone.

Rick Cunningham

​          Life can be hard at times.  Illness, tragedy, misfortune, loss and such may make life seem unbearable. An accumulation of negative events may lead to a sense of depression.  It may look like things only get worse, never better.
          Job experienced such depression. He said, “My days are swifter than a runner; they fly away without a glimpse of joy.  They skim past like boats of papyrus, like eagles swooping down on their prey.  If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint, I will change my expression, and smile,’ I still dread all my sufferings.” (Job 9:25-28).  Life is hopeless.
          Later, however, Job’s fortunes did improve.  God blessed Job with renewed health, restored wealth and a beautiful family of children and grandchildren four generations deep.  He couldn’t have imagined it in the days of his depression, but life was good again.
          So, it is with Christians.  We may have problems, sometimes tremendous problems, but in time everything will be good again.  In fact, our ultimate future will be better than we could ever imagine now.  Paul said, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18).
          No matter what, Christian, God has blessings in store for you.  Things will not get worse and end in personal destruction.  Things will get better and end in personal victory and eternal bliss.  We have God’s Word on it.
 
                                                                                               Rick Cunningham
                                                                                                   To the Point!  
                                                                                       “The Cunningham Papers"

​            It is hard to distinguish between good and evil these days.  The world is constantly redefining the two.  Bad has become good, right has become wrong, true has become false, and nothing is what it seems to be.  Everything has a “spin” on it.  That’s the new term.
          There’s nothing really new about redefining good and evil.  The ancient Greek sophists made their living putting a “spin” on anything for pay.  Whatever view one wanted; the sophists could justify it.  Many lawyers practice sophistry today.  And sadly, so do many people who claim to be Christians.
          Good and evil are absolutes.  God defines them in his Word.  To avoid the confusion, we must continually define our values in the light of what God says. Otherwise, we, too, will be confused by the “spin”.
          Isaiah said, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter” (Isaiah 5:20).
          Watch out for the “spin,” Christian.  The results can be dizzying.
                                       
                                                                                              Rick Cunningham
                                                                                                  To the Point!
                                                                                      “The Cunningham Papers”

​Every morning I made the inspection. I wondered if what had been sprayed on the weed in my yard was going to work. At first, the objects of my dissatisfaction, those   persistent weeds seemed undisturbed. But after a few more days, obvious changes were beginning to take place. By the seventh day it was apparent the solution had done its job for there was no sign of life in the once flourishing weed.  The solution had attacked the roots of the weeds for an effective kill. Think about sin in our lives. Sin will not only affect externals it makes its way into our hearts and strikes at the root of faith, of spiritually, of life. If we continue to ignore sin the result will be a withering conscience, a shriveling of morals, and in time a complete collapse of the soul (James 1:15). Sin ultimately destroys the soul unless it is repented of and cleansed by the blood of Christ. James said, Do not merely listen to the Word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. (James 1:21). We can be set free of any sin that seeks to binds us, but we must not take sin lightly (Luke 13:3, John 8:31-32). There are certain sins that may take longer to get to the root of our lives, but any sin we ignore promises to destroy our souls.

Clark Tatum