"The Narrow Road": Blogs By Shane Kastler

God Can Change Anyone

By Shane Kastler

 Before the Apostle Paul became “the Apostle” Paul, he was known as Saul of Tarsus. A fierce and legalistic Jew who hated Christians; Saul took part in their murders and gladly drug both men and women to jail. He was the chief tormentor and terrorist of the early church, which is why he later called himself the “chief of sinners.” (1 Timothy 1:15)

While chasing Christians to the city of Damascus he was encountered by the risen Christ. Blinded and confused, Saul questioned this shining figure before him as to who he was. “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.” (Acts 9:5) Saul was now a changed man. He would eventually regain his sight and preach the gospel, more famously than any preacher since. Jesus referred to Saul as “my chosen instrument” (Acts 9:15) and indeed he was. For if the Lord had not chosen to save and use Saul, then Saul would have simply lived a violent life and died in his sins with eternal Hell to face. But God showed him grace.

Perhaps you know someone who you think is beyond the grace of God. Someone who is hostile toward religion and even seems to hate Christianity. You might think it would be impossible for this person to be saved. From a human perspective it is. But with God all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26) The same God who flattened Saul on that Damascus road has the power to flatten and convict whomever He wishes. Every true believer has experienced this work of God whereby they were convicted of sin and given a new heart of love for the Lord. Maybe you're experiencing this right now.

The Bible calls us to do something that we will never do and promises salvation for those who do it. Repent of your sin and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. These are things you will never do. Unless God gives you a heart to do them. Has God brought conviction and repentance to your heart. Has God opened your eyes to the truth of Christ and Him crucified, dead and buried, and resurrected? Do you have a new found desire to walk with Him all of your days? If so, then praise God for it was His work not yours that brought this change.

Don't give up on the hard-hearted rebellious sinners. You can't save them. But God can. And in the past He has. Saul became Paul because Jesus showed Him grace. Pray the Lord to do this for others as well. Pray the Lord to do this for you.

Woe Unto You King Obama!

By Shane Kastler

This week a Planned Parenthood executive was caught on camera hocking the body parts of dead babies, while she sucked down wine and chomped on her dinner. Barack Obama's reaction? He gives a speech defending convicted felons in American prisons and calls for “prison reform.” Today, while a Muslim blows away four marines and shoots up a recruiting office in Tennessee, Obama tours a federal prison in Oklahoma and speaks out in defense of the convicts on death row. Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez murders Americans. Obama speaks in defense of murderers. Is there something wrong with this picture?

With roughly 16 months left in his horrendous presidency, Obama has removed all semblance of decency, declaring open war on America. While the economy crumbles, Obama has declared his top priority to be “gay marriage.” After stacking the Supreme Court with his personal stooges, the President has gotten his wish. Gay marriage is the law of the land and the White House has become Candyland. Red, white, and blue are not the predominate colors on display at “the people's house” but rather a rainbow light show to praise depravity. Recently, Obama barked to a would-be heckler, “this is MY house!” And so it seems it is.

The president brags of a nuclear deal with Iran, all the while, leaving American citizens including a Christian pastor, incarcerated in an Iranian prison. Too bad, Pastor Saeed Abedini isn't imprisoned in America for rape. Because then Obama would be giving speeches in his defense. Being imprisoned in Iran for the crime of Christianity draws nothing but silence from the Imposter-in-Chief. Or perhaps it draws a derisive laugh.

A complicit media does nothing to stem the tide of the wickedness that oozes out of the oval office. Major Garret of CBS News had the audacity to question the President as to why he would make a deal with Iran while leaving Americans imprisoned and was promptly brow beaten by Obama for daring to question the American dictator. There was a time in which Presidents were routinely questioned by a cautious media, on a whole host of issues. In a sense, it's the media's job to be distrustful. Sadly today, most are lap dogs. Obama, who was clearly chagrined by Garrett's question, shows zero ability to think on his feet and was aghast that anyone would dare question him. If a press conference moves beyond the topic of Caitlyn Jenner's fake breasts the President is at a loss for words. What a sad state of affairs!

Jenner, the man formerly known as Bruce, was awarded the “Arthur Ashe Courage Award” by ESPN last night. There was a time when ESPN was a sports network. This is no longer the case. I long for the days when ESPN was primarily a network to broadcast football games and boring afternoon billiards tournaments. Now they are nothing but a two-bit leftist political entity. They have awarded their “Courage Award” to a homosexual....FOR THE THIRD YEAR IN A ROW! How much perversion can they cram down the throat of America? Of course Obama praised the decision to give “Bruce in a Dress” the award declaring him to be “courageous for telling her story.” Good grief!

Many centuries ago the prophet Isaiah warned of those like Obama: “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes. And clever in their own sight!” (Isaiah 5:20-21 NASB) While Isaiah prophesied against the rule of Kings of another time, Obama is the epitome of this passage. Though elected through a democratic process he rules like a petty tyrant. He rails against good and praises evil. He is the most radically pro-abortion president to ever soil the dignity of the office; and he is proud of it. He has declared open warfare on heterosexuals while making sodomy and lesbianism “his top priority.” Of course he would word it differently than I do. But we both know the truth of what he is doing. He utters in a speech the phrase “God bless Planned Parenthood.” And has climbed the political ladder over the bodies of millions of dead babies that he has never once sought to protect while openly defending the rights of their murderers. He defends felons and praises sodomites for their “courage” while ridiculing Christians and doing nothing to protect the free speech of his citizenry. Obama would be a laughing stock of a president, if only it were a laughing matter.

Expect Obama to use the Chattanooga tragedy as another attempt to seize the guns of honest Americans. All the while uttering scarcely a word about the evil barbarian Muslim who wielded the gun. Of course if the assailant were white and owned a Confederate flag we would get a much different response from the President. He used the Charleston shooting to further divide races and declare an all out assault on the South. Will he do the same against Islam as a result of Chattanooga? Not likely. He'll mumble a few empty platitudes, then loudly bark against any who own a gun. Of course disarming innocent people make them sitting ducks for the evil. If Chattanooga teaches us anything it's that every business in America should require at least one employee to always be carrying a gun. Especially if it's a military organization. Why would a recruiting station have no one armed? Because it's against federal “policy” for them to possess guns. Did you hear that? Soldiers are banned by FEDERAL POLICY from possessing a gun while on a base or in a military office. A spokesman for the military said today that part of the reason for this is because they want the recruiting offices to be “welcoming” so people will want to enlist. I guess the sight of a gun might scare away a would-be soldier. But if you're scared at the sight of a gun, then you probably shouldn't be a soldier in the first place.

This week, Obama's administration lifted the ban on transgender soldiers. Perhaps this explains the lack of guns in our military. The army is on it's way to becoming full of men in dresses. Camouflage will be replaced with rainbow blouses. Boots will be replaced with high heels. And war paint will be replaced with mascara as the geldings take over the Pentagon. Surely this will terrify America's enemies. Countries like Iran would fall in the floor laughing at us, if they weren't so disgusted by us.

Barack Hussein Obama is the very epitome of evil. Time and time again he has proven himself to be the face of wickedness in an ever increasingly wicked nation. Woe unto him for what he has done. Woe unto him for fiddling while America burns. And woe unto him even more for striking the match to set it ablaze. All that is good he ridicules. All that is evil he praises. One day he will be judged, as will all who rally to this charlatan's defense. “And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer; God gave them over to a depraved mind....” (Rom. 1:28) America has gone over the cliff, being led by a demented Chief. Woe unto those who call good evil and evil good. Woe unto you King Obama.

Nathan Bedford Forrest Was a Pro-Black Liberal

By Shane Kastler 

As a student of history I have studied many lives from the American Civil War. The one that intrigued me most was the notorious Nathan Bedford Forrest, who was a tremendous cavalry officer for the Confederacy; yet also had a reputation for racism on a massive scale. The marks against Forrest are that he was a slave-trader prior to the war and an early leader in the Ku Klux Klan afterward. The first statement is a fact, the second statement is debated. But there are other facts about Forrest that remain largely unknown today. Would you believe that by the end of his life, Forrest was maligned by many, including the Federal government, for being too benevolent toward the blacks of the South?

In my book Nathan Bedford Forrest's Redemption (Pelican Publishing, 2010), I recount some radical changes that took place in Forrest after the war, culminating in his conversion to Christianity in 1875. After the war ended in 1865, Forrest worked with many former Union soldiers and employed former slaves in his various business ventures. At one point he was investigated by the Federal government's “Freedman's Bureau” to make sure he was complying with the law regarding his black employees. The only complaint the Bureau had of Forrest was that he paid the former slaves higher wages than the government thought they should receive and that Forrest allowed the former slaves to own guns. Forrest, it seems, was far more respectful of the black man's rights than the Federal government was. The Bureau's chief investigator of Forrest referred to the former general as “too liberal” toward his black employees. (Nathan Bedford Forrest's Redemption, pg. 117) I wonder if any of the current vitriolic opponents of Forrest know that he was branded as a “liberal” for his kindness toward the black people of his day? Would this change their desire to dig up his body and tear down his statue? What about his public statements in defense of the southern blacks?

It's frightening how quickly the “group-think” mob takes over. In a few short weeks we went from, perhaps, removing a flag in South Carolina to digging up the graves of a man and his wife who have been dead for 140 years. Blacks (and liberal whites) want him gone for being a racist, yet history shows he was far, far more benevolent toward the blacks of his day then Abraham Lincoln was. Yet Lincoln is hailed while Forrest is reviled. Most don't even know the truth about Forrest and if they did, sadly, it wouldn't matter. Blind hatred will not listen to rational truth and proven historical facts. It's awfully hard to talk sense into someone after Al Sharpton has whipped them into a frenzy with a plethora of lies. In all honesty, rather than dig up Forrest and tear down his statue, the blacks of Memphis should be leading the charge to build a few more statues in his honor and clean up the park where his body resides. His ties to the Klan are very loose, with his main link to them being his public call for them to disband in 1868. He spoke publicly in support of the black former slaves and helped them find work in a Southern world largely destroyed by Northern aggression, ignorance, and greed. Forrest should be the black man's hero today. Instead they want him dead. But he's already dead. So they want to dig him up and kick him out of town. I'm sure once their ghoulish deed is done Memphis will immediately see its rampant crime rate plummet. Racial harmony will congeal.  Butterflies will hold hands and play ring around the rosy, while rainbow colored unicorns skip through the streets.... Or maybe not. Here's more on Forrest and his “racist” past.

After being invited to speak at the Independent Order of Pole-bearers, a group of black former slaves devoted to racial reconciliation, Forrest gave a speech encouraging them and telling them he was with them “in heart and in hand” saying “if you are oppressed I will come to your defense.” Forrest publicly called for the KKK to disband and was ridiculed by many for his defense of blacks. One has to wonder if people today knew these historical truths that I cite with sources in my book, would they still hate him so? God's grace changed Forrest and that change was evidenced by actions. If God could forgive him, who are we to withhold forgiveness?

Forrest was ahead of his time regarding race relations. Rather than a villain, he should be held up as an example of what the black community should desire a “racist” to become. America needs to heal and the South has many problems. But Forrest isn't one of them. Let us commit to letting historical facts speak for themselves and show the same grace toward others (including Forrest) that we want shown toward ourselves. Jesus said, “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.” Put down your rocks America; and bend your knee to the God of all mercy. Forrest found grace. And so can you.

The Real Rainbow

By Shane Kastler

It is extremely ironic that the homosexual movement has hijacked the rainbow as a symbol of their depraved cause. Because the rainbow was originally given by God as a symbol after the great flood that He would not destroy the earth with water again. God said: “I establish My covenant with you; and all flesh shall never again be cut off by the water of the flood, neither shall there again be a flood to destroy the earth.” God said, “This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all successive generations; I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth.” (Genesis 9:11-13) Of course we have to consider this question: Why did God destroy the earth in the first place? Because of man's wickedness. “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Genesis 6:5)

Homosexuality is certainly nothing new. It existed in both Old and New Testament times and it has always brought God's judgment. The ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19) were destroyed by God because of rampant homosexuality and in the New Testament, Romans 1 speaks of homosexual behavior as a clear example of God's judgment. Rest assured, a society that is so enamored with sexual perversion that it would enshrine it in law and have parades flaunting it is a society marked out for doom. America's days are numbered. Which is exactly why you shouldn't trust in America. You should trust in Jesus.

While God always judges sin; He is also gracious in that He sometimes forgives it. Those who repent and trust in Jesus are granted eternal life and forgiven of their sin. But even in their case the sin is still judged. The judgment just falls on someone else instead. On the cross, Jesus paid the price for the sins of those who trust in Him. Don't buy into the world's lies about love and hate. It is not “hate speech” to warn you of impending judgment. And it is very loving to tell you of the one way to salvation. The rainbow shouldn't cause you to think of homosexuality and it's warped brand of so-called love. It should cause you to remember God's wrath against sin and His promise of grace for those who trust in Him.

(NOTE: This article is my "Seeking Higher Ground" column for the July 15 edition of the Linn County News).

Perilous Times Have Come

By Shane Kastler

The Apostle Paul warned Timothy that in the last days “perilous times will come.” (2 Timothy 3:1)  He then goes on to list some of the characteristics of the “last days.”  It would be very hard to read this list and not come to the conclusion that we are living in the “last days.”  For indeed, perilous times HAVE come.
    Perilous times is  not necessarily related to increased persecution, although that is definitely part of it.  My prediction is that persecution will increase in America in the coming days and the true church will be separated from the pretenders.  Churches that have a habit of capitulating to the culture or avoiding “controversial” doctrines will most likely go the way of the world.  They've never stood strong on issues of doctrine and they won't stand strong on issues of culture either.  Expect to see more and more so-called “conservative” churches embracing things like gay marriage since that's the way the current winds are blowing.  Those church's who are “seeker sensitive” in nature will try to find the weasel's way out so as to attract the unbelievers while not offending them.  But the gospel is by it's very nature offensive.  My prediction is that many churches will begin strong in their stand for true marriage, but over time they will cave.  If a church's goal is to please the culture, they will eventually do what the culture desires.  But a true church's desire is to please the Lord; and in so doing a guaranteed conflict will arise with culture.
    The Apostle  Paul wrote:  “For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.” (Galatians 1:10)  In other words, you cannot “please men” and be a “bond-servant of Christ” at the same time.  Eventually your loyalties will fall one way or the other.  Will you stand with men?  Or will you stand with Christ?
    Indeed “perilous times have come.”  When you read Paul's list of characteristics of the last days, it sounds like it was taken right out of America's current headlines.  Paul said:  “For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.” (2 Tim. 3:2-5)
    The “last days” are upon you.  Perilous times have come and are indeed here.  Trust in Christ for salvation. Expect persecution to increase.  Embrace it as the normal course of life for the believer. Don't cave to the winds of change and the spirit of the times.  Stay true to the Lord and eagerly await his return. This world is passing.  But eternity will never end.  Heaven with Jesus or Hell without him. This is your lot.  Trust in the Lord and be saved.  And know without a doubt, that what the Bible said would happen is happening.  Perilous times HAVE come.

Honoring Black Confederates

By Shane Kastler

I recently corresponded with Dr. Walter E. Williams via e-mail, about the current flap over the Confederate flag. In case you don't know, Dr. Williams is Professor of Economics at George Mason University and has been a frequent guest host for Rush Limbaugh. In my opinion, he is one of the greatest minds America has produced. I have learned much over the years from his economic writings, but even more, his cultural and political commentary. He has been a staunch defender of liberty and has boldly called out the political left for their hypocrisy and deeply flawed policies. He has also defended “State's rights” and even the Confederacy. Did I mention Dr. Williams is black?

In a recent article, Dr. Williams wrote of the lunacy taking place in Memphis where Mayor A.C. Wharton and the city council have voted to dig up the bodies of Nathan Bedford Forrest and his wife and move them out of the city. I wrote a biography of Forrest in 2010 and know from historical fact that by the end of his life he was a Christian and an outspoken advocate of black civil rights. But these truths are disallowed in the vitriolic debate over how bad we should hate Forrest. Dr. Williams shared with me another inconvenient truth for those who hate the Confederacy.

Back in 2000, he wrote an article entitled “Black Confederates” in which he recounts some of the heroic deeds of black men (both free and slave) who fought for the South. Theses soldiers were incensed at the idea of a Northern invasion of their home and fought bravely to defend it. Here are some excerpts from Dr. Williams article:

 “Erwin L. Jordan cites one case where a captured group of white slave owners and blacks were offered freedom if they would take an oath of allegiance to the United States. One free black indignantly replied, "I can't take no such oaf as dat.”

“One of the slave owners took the oath but his slave, who didn't take the oath, returning to Virginia under a flag of truce, expressed disgust at his master's disloyalty saying, "Massa had no principles."

 

“General Nathan Bedford Forrest had both slaves and freemen serving in units under his command. After the war, General Forrest said of the black men who served under him "These boys stayed with me . . . and better Confederates did not live." Southern generals owned slaves but northern generals owned them as well. General Ulysses Grant's slaves had to await for the Thirteenth Amendment for freedom. When asked why he didn't free his slaves earlier, General Grant said,"Good help is so hard to come by these days."

Dr. Williams concludes with these words: “The flap over the Confederate Flag is not quite as simple as the nation's race experts make it. They want us to believe the flag is a symbol of racism. Yes, racists have used the Confederate Flag, but racists have also used the Bible and the U.S. Flag. Should we get rid of the Bible and lower the U.S. Flag? Black civil rights activists and their white liberal supporters who're attacking the Confederate Flag have committed a deep, despicable dishonor to our patriotic black ancestors who marched, fought and died to protect their homeland from what they saw as Northern aggression. They don't deserve the dishonor.”

Indeed history is not quite as polished as many Confederate detractors would like to see it. Republicans and Democrats alike have rallied to rail against all things Southern. They do this either out of ignorance or intimidation, since being branded a “racist” is often career ending in our hyper-sensitive, politically correct world of today.

I thank God that there are still a few sane voices out there like Dr. Walter Williams. But I fear he is a dying breed. Common sense is held in disdain today and hysterical over reactions are the best way to advance one's career. After all, it is much easier to scapegoat the Confederacy than it is to hold demented individuals responsible for their evil deeds.

When Nathan Bedford Forrest Defended the Black Man's Rights

By Shane Kastler (Pastor, Author, Radio Host, Columnist)

(Note: In light of recent attempts to remove Confederate symbols from the public square some have also sought to tear down monuments to Nathan Bedford Forrest. An effort is under way in Memphis to actually dig up the bodies of he and his wife and move them. The following is an Op-Ed piece that I submitted to newspapers in Memphis and across the South.  Most of them chose not to run it, for obvious reasons. I encourage people to read my book Nathan Bedford Forrest's Redemption to get the whole story on this man).

The recent despicable act of Dylann Roof in South Carolina has caused a stinging pain, that has reverberated from Charleston, across the South, and indeed the entire country.  While our nation has been largely divided about certain aspects of the tragedy, there is unanimous assent that Roof's act was wicked and justice should be served.  I echo this sentiment whole-heartedly and pray for the brave families and friends, who are also victims, of this senseless tragedy.
    Pain is not the only thing that has reverberated across the South as a result of this act.  What to do about the pain is also being fiercely debated.  Calls to lower the Confederate flag in South Carolina have led to a full scale protest of any and all vestige of Confederate history.  Including the destruction of monuments, the removal of busts, and the relocation of bodies long since laid to rest.  Such calls have certainly been the case for Nathan Bedford Forrest.  The Confederate general and presumed early leader of the Ku Klux Klan is, not surprisingly, maligned by many who see him as an icon of a tainted age in American history.  But I wonder how many know of Forrest's latter years? When the war was over and his fortune was gone.  When he was no longer selling slaves, but rather trying to eek out a living for himself and his wife.  The once hardened soldier became a born-again Christian; and the ferocity which had previously marked his personality was transformed into a mild-mannered, kindly, meekness as he called for the KKK to disband, and spoke out in favor of black civil rights.
    For several years I researched the spiritual aspect of Forrest's life, eventually writing a book entitled, Nathan Bedford Forrest's Redemption.  While I admired his battlefield exploits, I had no intention of writing a “puff piece.”  I had read in several places of a conversion to Christianity he experienced and, as a Christian myself, I was curious.  What I found was that Forrest was married to a godly woman who prayed for his salvation; and in 1875 it seemed to happen.  Forrest was a broken man who turned to Christ for redemption and found it.  People don't always forgive, but the Lord does. And aren't we all the better for it?  Perhaps the most poignant aspect of Forrest's transformation occurred when he was invited by the Independent Order of Pole-Bearers (an organization of black freedmen) to give a speech.  Forrest encouraged them and promised to be with them in “heart and hand.”  He told them to pursue careers, even politics, and use their new found freedom to make a solid life for themselves.  Forrest, dare I say it, became the black man's friend and defender.
    Rather than maligning him, I wonder if people should instead marvel at the grace of God in his life and point to Forrest as what they wish every racist would become.  How much different would the Charleston story be if the shooter had experienced a Christian transformation? If his blind hatred had been turned to blessed love because of an encounter with God?  I would encourage temperance as it pertains to the removal of statues and bodies.  I would encourage a serious “cooling off” period to avoid rash decisions.  And I would encourage an examination of the complete picture of Nathan Bedford Forrest, rather than just a snapshot of his earlier days. People can change and deep down we all know that we need a touch of grace.  We also need to show grace, even to those whom we don't think deserve it.  Jesus calls us to “love our enemies” and when we do this we sometimes find that our enemy isn't really our enemy at all.  Forrest was once the black man's enemy, but God's grace changed him and his views.  Maybe God's grace will change you and yours as well. Maybe our verbal swords can be beaten into plowshares and we can get to work changing our nation and our world for the better.