July 13, 2025 • 24 mins
The immigration crisis sweeping across America has exposed deep fault lines in our society, with Christians finding themselves on opposite sides of a divisive debate. How should followers of Christ respond when protests turn violent and political tensions reach a breaking point?
Journey with host BC Vine as he tackles this explosive issue head-on, offering a refreshingly nuanced perspective that transcends partisan politics. Drawing from both Leviticus 19:33-34 and Romans 13:1-7, he articulates how seemingly contradictory biblical principles can coexist - showing compassion to immigrants while respecting national sovereignty and the rule of law.
"Our Messiah Yeshua is not a Republican or a Democrat," Vine reminds listeners, challenging Christians to examine whether they're placing political identities above their primary calling as disciples. As National Guard troops and Marines deploy to Los Angeles amid escalating unrest, this timely discussion explores what's truly at stake spiritually when a nation becomes so polarized it can no longer find common ground.
The episode delves into troubling footage of looters exploiting protests for personal gain and examines how the spirit of divisiveness prevents meaningful dialogue. Vine offers a thoughtful analysis of how Christians can simultaneously advocate for just immigration laws while treating all people with dignity and respect as fellow image-bearers of God.
What emerges is a powerful call to resist being swept up in America's culture of extreme positions and instead embrace the Holy Spirit's guidance toward wisdom and discernment. Subscribe, share, and join the conversation as we seek to be equipped for these challenging cultural moments with grace-filled, biblically-grounded perspectives.
For information on EFL, in person group studies, or donation opportunities please visit eflpodast.buzzsprout.com.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
Another explosive night in Southern California.
As protests continue overimmigration raids, police and
crowds facing off in Los Angelesand Orange County this morning,
law enforcement is gearing upfor a fifth day of unrest.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
All right, welcome back to the Equip for Life
podcast.
I'm your host, bc Vine, akaBrandon C Ricks, and today is a
different episode, ricks, andtoday is a different episode.
I had a different topic queuedup but I had to switch it
because of the fact that what wehave going on across our
country, in Los Angeles, thatspread to New York and has also
(00:58):
spread to Texas, and there areriots, there's violence, there's
protests, and I would be remissnot to address it.
Before we get to that, I wantto remind you that Equipped for
Life Media is a mediaorganization by Equipped for
Life, a men's discipleship groupthat meets several times a week
for in-person group studies.
You can go to EFLmencom If youlike the drip that you see.
(01:23):
This Jesus Saved my Life.
You can go to EFLmencom.
You know, see, get you lookingright, man.
The material is good, it's soft.
You know we got dope designersthat take care of us and the men
rock the EFL merch.
You gotta go get you some.
Every time I record, you'regoing to see me rocking some EFL
(01:43):
swag, because I try to lookfresh and look clean.
You know what I'm saying whenI'm repping Jesus, man.
So you got to get on my level,if you know what I'm saying.
So EFLmencom is where you canfind the merch if you want
information about the in-persongroup studies.
If you are in the Dallas-FortWorth area and you reside in
that area, then come on by.
Get fed with the word of God.
(02:05):
Shout out to all the men thatmedia EFL weekly.
We are growing, the Holy Spiritis moving and I am just proud
to be a part of what God isdoing.
All right, so without furtherado, we're going to kind of hop
into the subject of the day, andit is the protests and the
riots around immigration.
And this is a very difficultsituation to discuss because I
(02:28):
see Christians advocating forboth sides.
That's right, christiansadvocating for both sides.
And I know that if you'relistening to this and you're a
Christian on either side, you'reprobably turning your face up
saying, well, the Christians onthat side of the aisle are wrong
.
Well, I'll just be truthfulwith you that our Messiah Yeshua
(02:48):
is not a Republican or aDemocrat and he does not care
about your political partyaffiliations, he just doesn't.
But that doesn't mean that wecannot identify and find truth
in everything.
There's always going to bedivine principles and I'm hoping
that we can pull some of thoseout today.
Before we get into that, let'ssee what actually is happening,
(03:10):
because from day to day it seemslike an escalation and probably
by the time you hear this thesethings may have subsided.
But I don't know if the topicsthemselves are going to ever
subside, because I don't reallysee a resolution to this.
In our current climate as anation, we just seem too divided
and I think that that's aspiritual reason.
But before we get into that,let's see kind of where we are
(03:32):
right now in the conflict.
The last time I checked itlooks like there was the
National Guard was deployed andnow there are Marines being
deployed.
So check this out.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
As protests continue over immigration raids, police
and crowds facing off in LosAngeles and Orange County this
morning, law enforcement isgearing up for a fifth day of
unrest.
Here's a look at the latestdevelopments.
President Trump is mobilizingan additional 2,000 National
Guard members to help protectfederal buildings in LA.
(04:03):
Now.
That doubles his initialdeployment.
Also, 700 US Marines are headedto LA.
The Marines are from aninfantry battalion based in 29
Palms.
The LAPD says more than 70people were arrested over the
weekend and five police officerswere hurt.
The Trump administration'sdecision to put more boots on
the ground is being met bystrong criticism from LA leaders
(04:26):
.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
Mario Ramirez kicking off our team coverage of the
protest.
So you know, one of the thingsthat I think is interesting as I
listen to this is that my firstreaction, right like most, is
that violence is not a solutionor an answer.
Right, when you look atindividuals within our history
like MLK that organized civilprotest and there was civil
(04:48):
unrest, if you will, and heorganized things like the
Montgomery bus boycott, and eventhough the extremely racist
Southern governors descendeddogs and sprayed them with water
fountains, they never brokeinto a store, they never fought
against the police, they neverassaulted, they never vandalized
(05:10):
, they just allowed the violenceto be done to them and a lot of
people disagreed with that.
But when you begin to break anddestroy the very places that
you live, I don't know if that'sGod honoring, I don't think
that that is us being imagebearers and I think that's part
of the problem.
Now, on the other side of it,you would say, well, perhaps,
(05:31):
maybe it's justified, because ifthere were peaceful protests
and you send out the NationalGuard and you send out police,
who tend to kind of beantagonistic and agitating in a
certain way, you can take theposition that well, we didn't
start the violence right, andthere's that back and forth.
He said, she said.
(05:51):
So, whichever side of the aisleyou're on, I think that we can
equally agree that, no matterwhat, if you are a disciple,
that violence is never thesolution for resolution.
Bob.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
Rick, good morning.
As local law enforcement ispreparing for another day of
demonstrations, we can tell youthat the National Guard is
stationed here, around federalbuildings.
We're just outside thedetention center.
You can see them there.
This federal building reallybecame a focal point for
protesters after it emerged thatICE detainees were being held
here, and now hundreds ofMarines are expected to join the
(06:23):
National Guard under Trump'sorders, as tensions continue
escalating.
Take a look About 700 USMarines from the 2nd Battalion,
7th Marine Regiment, out of 29POMs, received weekend orders
and are on the way, expected toarrive this morning.
And although they're trainedfor close combat, officials say
these Marines won't be on thefront lines.
Instead, they'll be focused oncrowd control and de-escalation.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Okay, so you take Marines that are trained for
close combat and you want themto go just de-escalate.
That's odd.
I don't know if that reallymakes a lot of sense to me, just
hearing that If somebody isequipped and skilled and they've
been trained to do a certainthing, and then you deploy them
to do something that they're nottrained to do, they're not
(07:07):
trained to de-escalate, they'retrained for combat, so why would
you deploy them into asituation, unless that you were
expecting that they were goingto meet violence?
That that seems a bit odd to mepersonally, just listening to
it on the surface skills thatthey've been trained in
specifically for this mission.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
that, according to US Northern Command, which
confirmed that those Marineswill support the more than 2000
National Guard troops alreadyactivated across the area.
And late yesterday the Pentagonsaid it's mobilizing an
additional 2000 National Guardtroops under President Trump's
order and that now pushes thenumber of military personnel to
more than 4,000, with growingopposition from Governor Newsom
(07:49):
and Mayor Karen Bass, thegovernor calling the deployment
unnecessary, saying it'll onlyinflame tensions.
Now, if we come back out hereto our live shot, we've been
seeing these National Guardtroops checking IDs for
employees entering the building.
The president's move toactivate these National Guard
troops marks the first time thefederal government has done so.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
There's a verse that comes to mind as I'm reading
this, and I know that you knowwhat's funny is.
Now we have this terminology inour country liberal Christian
and conservative Christian.
I push back against that idea.
I just like to say that we'redisciples.
If you are identifying yourselfas a liberal Christian, you're
putting an identity in front ofChrist's identity and I think
(08:28):
you need to question your heart.
Um, our Messiah was not aliberal or a conservative.
Um, all of his teachings bothhave conservative principles and
liberal principles melded intothem.
One of the things that I thinkthat I see a lot is Leviticus,
chapter 19,.
Verse 33 and 34 is in peoplethat that advocate for how we
(08:51):
treat immigrants Right, and Iand I agree with these things.
I think that the way that youshould treat the foreigner in
your land is with grace,compassion and love and empathy,
but that doesn't mean thatthere is a excuse to break the
law of the land, and I thinkthat both things can be true,
but for some reason, we wantthem to be in opposition to one
(09:14):
another.
So Leviticus 19, 33 and 34 saysthis, and this is the context
of the land of Israel when aforeigner resides among you in
your land.
Do not mistreat them.
The foreigner residing amongyou must be treated as your
native, born.
Love them as yourself, for youare foreigners in Egypt.
I am the Lord, your God.
So this is a commandment thatYahweh gives to the Israelites
(09:37):
to say hey, listen, whensomebody comes into the land of
Israel the 12 tribes and theyare not of the 12 tribes I want
you to treat them just as ifthey were one of yours.
Give them the same grace, thesame mercy, the same love, the
same compassion, the same care,and I agree with that.
So us, as individual Christians, when we encounter somebody in
(10:01):
our community, if they are animmigrant, if they are not
American born, then we shouldtreat them in the same way that
we are instructed to do so.
For you, as a Christian, tomistreat someone who is here
illegally?
Because, whether they're hereillegally or legally, as an
(10:23):
individual, they deserve to betreated as God's child.
Let the American governmentworry about their legal status
and their citizen status.
That's none of your concern asan individual Christian.
Now, as a nation state, we haveto have the rule of law, there
needs to be borders, there needsto be standards and statutes
(10:47):
that we follow as a society,because we can't have a lawless
society.
And I think Scripture alsosupports that, when you see in
things like Romans, chapter 13,1 through 7, let everyone be
subject to the governingauthorities, for there is no
authority except that which Godhas established.
The authorities that exist havebeen established by God.
(11:08):
Consequently, whoever rebelsagainst the authority is
rebelling against that which Godinstituted, and those who do so
will bring judgment onthemselves.
For rulers hold no terror forthose who do right, for for rule
, yes, for rulers hold no terrorfor those who do right, but for
those who do wrong.
(11:28):
Do you want to be free fromfear of the one in authority?
Then do what is right and youwill be commended, for the one
in authority is God's servantfor your good.
But if you do wrong, be afraidfor rulers.
Do right.
Rulers do not bear the swordfor no reason.
They are God's servants, right?
So this idea is that, listen, ifyou don't want to worry about
(11:52):
the law and the force of the lawand all the legal recourse to
come down on you, then don'tbreak the law.
And you also see this, this theidea, right?
It says that the law is for thelawless and not the law abiding
, and you see that later infirst Timothy two as well.
And so it's, it's.
It's the argument that, okay,well, you don't have to worry
(12:14):
about immigration, police or ICEif you came into the country
legally is also a valid argument, right, as a nation state, and
we as Christians should alwaysencourage those around us to
live according to the laws ofthe land.
Now, some of you are going tosay, well, what happens when the
laws are unjust?
(12:35):
And I'm going to get to that,but let's see some other things
here that are happening.
I think I saw this video that,but let's see some other things
here that are happening.
I think I saw this video thatwas quite interesting too as
well.
Not good.
Speaker 4 (13:29):
It's day five of the riots in Los Angeles and they're
spreading.
We've seen protests in New York, in Chicago, in Austin, in
Dallas and in Tampa, but DonaldTrump is not backing down, he is
doubling down.
He is sending more securitypersonnel to LA, and not just
any personnel.
These are active duty Marines.
Basically, these are soldiersof the US military, some 700 of
(13:52):
them.
They are stationed at a base inCalifornia.
They have already begun thejourney to Los Angeles.
Reports say the Marines willarrive by Tuesday night, and
we'll tell you why this issignificant.
But first let's look at thesituation on the streets In Los
Angeles.
Most of the action was seen indowntown areas near detention
(14:13):
centers and courthouses.
This is where many migrants arebeing held.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
So this is international, okay, so you're
wondering, like that'sdefinitely not un-american, lady
, this is.
This is uh, first post.
Um, this channel is, I think,one of the largest channels, I
think, international newschannels on the internet, on
YouTube, anyway, there's one.
That's not the one that Iwanted to show you guys, though
there's another one that Iwanted you guys to see.
(14:37):
It was these looters that I saw.
Yeah, here it is.
Speaker 3 (14:51):
Look at this.
What are?
Speaker 2 (14:59):
you doing yeah, I agree, that's where I work With
a Mexican flag.
That is crazy.
That is crazy.
(15:24):
Wow, they just got in the car,oh my gosh.
They just got in the car, oh mygosh.
Okay, so these are the kind ofthings, right?
So this is supposed to be aprotest about immigration and
here you have these individualsthat are breaking down an Adidas
store, like they kicked thedoor down.
(15:46):
They broke the door down.
They broke the door down.
One of the guys.
He's coming out of the Adidasstore with a handful of fresh
Adidas shirts, fresh white teesand a Mexican flag.
The optics of that just doesn'tlook good.
If your whole thing is that,hey, I'm protesting because I
want to stay in America, becauseI'm a law-abiding citizen and
(16:10):
because I'm here in the countryto contribute, and then you're
caught breaking into vandalizingan Adidas store, you're coming
out of the Mexican flag.
I don't know if that's theoptics that you want people to
see.
And this is my issue, right,that with the spirit of violence
and dissension, it it starts to, it starts to bring out
wickedness in man, right, right,because what would a person who
(16:32):
is coming with good intentionsthink to themselves?
You know, I think that I wantto use this opportunity to go in
and steal merchandise from theAdidas store.
So we have an element oflawlessness, and this is the
reason why I mentioned thatscripture earlier from 1 Timothy
is that we also know that thelaw is made not for the
righteous, but for thelawbreakers and rebels, the
ungodly and sinful, the unholyand irreligious, for those who
(16:55):
kill their fathers and mothers,for murderers.
Right, so it's when you havethis idea in your mind that I
don't care about what the lawsays, I don't care about what
the governing authority says,I'm going to do whatever I will.
Now you're starting to get into, you know, alistair Crowley and
type of Book of the Lima dowhat thou wilt is the whole the
(17:17):
law.
This is a very Luciferianmindset when you don't care
about authority, and I thinkthat there has to be boundaries,
we have to have borders, wehave to have standards and
statutes, but in the same regardas individual Christians, when
we encounter human beings.
We have to have borders, wehave to have standards and
statutes, but in the same regardas individual Christians, when
we encounter human beings, wehave to treat them with grace,
love and mercy.
So, like I said before, boththings can be true.
(17:39):
We can have a nation state thathas rules and laws and those
citizens within that nationstate can operate according to
divine principles in terms ofhow we treat one another with
love and respect and kindnessand courtesy.
We really don't need to berioting in the streets over it,
and the fact that we as a nationcan't come to an understanding
(18:00):
of agreement is more indicationto me that we are in a place
where the spirit of divisivenessand division has caused so much
turmoil that I don't know howwe reconcile.
At this point, it's verydifficult for me to see a path
forward, and I really want us tothink about this long and hard
as a nation.
Not looking at yourselves, forthose of us that call ourselves
(18:24):
by the name of Jesus asRepublicans or Christians
Christians, or should I sayRepublicans or liberals or
conservatives, becauseliberalism and conservatism are
just ideologies.
Republicans and Democrats arepolitical parties and
affiliations, but theaffiliations that should be the
most important is what is myresponsibility as a disciple of
(18:44):
Jesus, and I think that we oweit to one another to be honest
in those, in those matters, andlooking at this at face value.
Rioting for what you believe inis not a resolution, peaceful
protest, absolutely.
If you need to protest what'sunrighteous, if you really
believe that the way that isthings are being done is the
(19:09):
problem, then that's what youshould be protesting, correct.
And I think ultimately, at theend of the day, that's really
where we can probably find somecommon ground.
If we are going to find commonground, it's in how we go about
deporting.
Is there a heavy-handed approach, perhaps?
I think maybe sending out 700Marines may be a bit excessive.
(19:31):
At the same time, do I thinkthat LA has a very, very fast
and loose way they handle crime?
Absolutely, I don't know what'shappening in Los Angeles.
I'm from Southern Californiaand every time I go out there it
seems like the crime is gettingworse and worse.
California, and every time I goabout go out there, it seems
(19:52):
like the crime is getting worseand worse.
Why do we have to be a nation ofsuch opposite extremes?
Why can't we come to a morecentrist view of things?
There's such an imbalance inhow we view topics in our
country is that we cannotconcede any ground to either
side, that there's no amicableway to solve things.
And this is what happens whenyou want what you want and you
(20:12):
want what you want only and theword is very, very clear about
this, and if you don't believeme, you can just hear it from
James.
James, chapter 4, 1 through 3,it says this what causes fights
and quarrels among you, don'tthey come from your desires?
That battle within you?
You desire but do not have.
So you kill, you covet, but youcannot get what you want.
(20:33):
So you quarrel and you fight.
You do not have because you donot ask God.
And when you ask, you do notreceive because you ask with
wrong motives.
You see, most of the thingsthat we want are selfish in
nature.
I don't really think that mostpeople have true conviction
about these topics, but theyfeel compelled to bandwagon and
(20:53):
go along with certain ideas andcertain subjects Because in
three or four days no one willbe talking about it.
We'll be talking about LoveIsland or the Diddy case, or
we're talking about whateverschool shooting, or we're
talking about whatever food wewant to eat for that day, and
we'll forget that five daysprior, people were breaking into
Adidas store, lighting cars onfire and jumping on Waymos with
(21:16):
Mexican flags.
We just won't even be thinkingabout that.
We've become so short-sightedas a people that it really,
really pains me to see thesekinds of things happening.
I would like for us all to cometo the understanding and the
knowledge and the truth of JesusChrist, but I doubt that's
going to happen.
Now.
Is there a great revival?
Absolutely, and I've seen someof that, and I think there's
(21:38):
stories that we can talk aboutabout mass baptisms and things
happening in that nature.
But along a lot of these verykind of firebrand issues, we
seem to be so divided, we seemto be so polarized and we cannot
concede that.
Well, maybe there's some validpoints on the other side.
I can admit that as a nation,like all nations do, we should
(21:59):
have immigration laws.
If you look at all nationsaround the earth, okay, they are
not nearly as liberal as we arein terms of allowing people to
come across their borders.
In fact, they're far morestrict than we are.
And I understand that we are.
In terms of allowing people tocome across their borders, in
fact, they're far more strictthan we are.
And I understand that we are anation that was born of
immigration and we came into aplace that was someone else's
land, and I understand all thosethings are true, but now we are
(22:23):
several hundred years removedfrom that.
And so today the United Statesof America is a country that has
to have borders, and we shouldhonor those borders and we
should have laws and we shouldenforce those laws.
But we should also enforcethose laws with compassion and
care and grace and understanding, and we should do it in a way
that makes people feel likewe're not maybe out to get them.
(22:45):
Now, is some of that perceivedand is some of that real?
I don't know, because it's evenhard to know what's true and
not in the modern day Americanmedia.
Sometimes you watch Fox Newsand it looks like one thing.
Sometimes you watch CNN and itlooks like one thing.
You turn on TikTok and it lookslike another.
Who knows what's real?
And that's because the spiritof deception is so alive, and
(23:07):
that's because the spirit ofdeception is so alive.
So my charge to everyone hereis to be very, very cautious and
mindful that our nation isgoing to pull you into this
divisive spirit.
Don't fall into it.
Don't fall into it.
Allow the Holy Spirit to leadyou and guide you in truth and
(23:30):
wisdom and discernment.
So that's all I have to sayabout this topic.
You've been listening to Equipfor Life.
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(23:50):
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So, with that being said, beblessed and be strong in your
(24:11):
journey, peace.
Another explosive night in Southern California.
As protests continue overimmigration raids, police and
crowds facing off in Los Angelesand Orange County this morning,
law enforcement is gearing upfor a fifth day of unrest.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
All right, welcome back to the Equip for Life
podcast.
I'm your host, bc Vine, akaBrandon C Ricks, and today is a
different episode, ricks, andtoday is a different episode.
I had a different topic queuedup but I had to switch it
because of the fact that what wehave going on across our
country, in Los Angeles, thatspread to New York and has also
(00:58):
spread to Texas, and there areriots, there's violence, there's
protests, and I would be remissnot to address it.
Before we get to that, I wantto remind you that Equipped for
Life Media is a mediaorganization by Equipped for
Life, a men's discipleship groupthat meets several times a week
for in-person group studies.
You can go to EFLmencom If youlike the drip that you see.
(01:23):
This Jesus Saved my Life.
You can go to EFLmencom.
You know, see, get you lookingright, man.
The material is good, it's soft.
You know we got dope designersthat take care of us and the men
rock the EFL merch.
You gotta go get you some.
Every time I record, you'regoing to see me rocking some EFL
(01:43):
swag, because I try to lookfresh and look clean.
You know what I'm saying whenI'm repping Jesus, man.
So you got to get on my level,if you know what I'm saying.
So EFLmencom is where you canfind the merch if you want
information about the in-persongroup studies.
If you are in the Dallas-FortWorth area and you reside in
that area, then come on by.
Get fed with the word of God.
(02:05):
Shout out to all the men thatmedia EFL weekly.
We are growing, the Holy Spiritis moving and I am just proud
to be a part of what God isdoing.
All right, so without furtherado, we're going to kind of hop
into the subject of the day, andit is the protests and the
riots around immigration.
And this is a very difficultsituation to discuss because I
(02:28):
see Christians advocating forboth sides.
That's right, christiansadvocating for both sides.
And I know that if you'relistening to this and you're a
Christian on either side, you'reprobably turning your face up
saying, well, the Christians onthat side of the aisle are wrong
.
Well, I'll just be truthfulwith you that our Messiah Yeshua
(02:48):
is not a Republican or aDemocrat and he does not care
about your political partyaffiliations, he just doesn't.
But that doesn't mean that wecannot identify and find truth
in everything.
There's always going to bedivine principles and I'm hoping
that we can pull some of thoseout today.
Before we get into that, let'ssee what actually is happening,
(03:10):
because from day to day it seemslike an escalation and probably
by the time you hear this thesethings may have subsided.
But I don't know if the topicsthemselves are going to ever
subside, because I don't reallysee a resolution to this.
In our current climate as anation, we just seem too divided
and I think that that's aspiritual reason.
But before we get into that,let's see kind of where we are
(03:32):
right now in the conflict.
The last time I checked itlooks like there was the
National Guard was deployed andnow there are Marines being
deployed.
So check this out.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
As protests continue over immigration raids, police
and crowds facing off in LosAngeles and Orange County this
morning, law enforcement isgearing up for a fifth day of
unrest.
Here's a look at the latestdevelopments.
President Trump is mobilizingan additional 2,000 National
Guard members to help protectfederal buildings in LA.
(04:03):
Now.
That doubles his initialdeployment.
Also, 700 US Marines are headedto LA.
The Marines are from aninfantry battalion based in 29
Palms.
The LAPD says more than 70people were arrested over the
weekend and five police officerswere hurt.
The Trump administration'sdecision to put more boots on
the ground is being met bystrong criticism from LA leaders
(04:26):
.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
Mario Ramirez kicking off our team coverage of the
protest.
So you know, one of the thingsthat I think is interesting as I
listen to this is that my firstreaction, right like most, is
that violence is not a solutionor an answer.
Right, when you look atindividuals within our history
like MLK that organized civilprotest and there was civil
(04:48):
unrest, if you will, and heorganized things like the
Montgomery bus boycott, and eventhough the extremely racist
Southern governors descendeddogs and sprayed them with water
fountains, they never brokeinto a store, they never fought
against the police, they neverassaulted, they never vandalized
(05:10):
, they just allowed the violenceto be done to them and a lot of
people disagreed with that.
But when you begin to break anddestroy the very places that
you live, I don't know if that'sGod honoring, I don't think
that that is us being imagebearers and I think that's part
of the problem.
Now, on the other side of it,you would say, well, perhaps,
(05:31):
maybe it's justified, because ifthere were peaceful protests
and you send out the NationalGuard and you send out police,
who tend to kind of beantagonistic and agitating in a
certain way, you can take theposition that well, we didn't
start the violence right, andthere's that back and forth.
He said, she said.
(05:51):
So, whichever side of the aisleyou're on, I think that we can
equally agree that, no matterwhat, if you are a disciple,
that violence is never thesolution for resolution.
Bob.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
Rick, good morning.
As local law enforcement ispreparing for another day of
demonstrations, we can tell youthat the National Guard is
stationed here, around federalbuildings.
We're just outside thedetention center.
You can see them there.
This federal building reallybecame a focal point for
protesters after it emerged thatICE detainees were being held
here, and now hundreds ofMarines are expected to join the
(06:23):
National Guard under Trump'sorders, as tensions continue
escalating.
Take a look About 700 USMarines from the 2nd Battalion,
7th Marine Regiment, out of 29POMs, received weekend orders
and are on the way, expected toarrive this morning.
And although they're trainedfor close combat, officials say
these Marines won't be on thefront lines.
Instead, they'll be focused oncrowd control and de-escalation.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Okay, so you take Marines that are trained for
close combat and you want themto go just de-escalate.
That's odd.
I don't know if that reallymakes a lot of sense to me, just
hearing that If somebody isequipped and skilled and they've
been trained to do a certainthing, and then you deploy them
to do something that they're nottrained to do, they're not
(07:07):
trained to de-escalate, they'retrained for combat, so why would
you deploy them into asituation, unless that you were
expecting that they were goingto meet violence?
That that seems a bit odd to mepersonally, just listening to
it on the surface skills thatthey've been trained in
specifically for this mission.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
that, according to US Northern Command, which
confirmed that those Marineswill support the more than 2000
National Guard troops alreadyactivated across the area.
And late yesterday the Pentagonsaid it's mobilizing an
additional 2000 National Guardtroops under President Trump's
order and that now pushes thenumber of military personnel to
more than 4,000, with growingopposition from Governor Newsom
(07:49):
and Mayor Karen Bass, thegovernor calling the deployment
unnecessary, saying it'll onlyinflame tensions.
Now, if we come back out hereto our live shot, we've been
seeing these National Guardtroops checking IDs for
employees entering the building.
The president's move toactivate these National Guard
troops marks the first time thefederal government has done so.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
There's a verse that comes to mind as I'm reading
this, and I know that you knowwhat's funny is.
Now we have this terminology inour country liberal Christian
and conservative Christian.
I push back against that idea.
I just like to say that we'redisciples.
If you are identifying yourselfas a liberal Christian, you're
putting an identity in front ofChrist's identity and I think
(08:28):
you need to question your heart.
Um, our Messiah was not aliberal or a conservative.
Um, all of his teachings bothhave conservative principles and
liberal principles melded intothem.
One of the things that I thinkthat I see a lot is Leviticus,
chapter 19,.
Verse 33 and 34 is in peoplethat that advocate for how we
(08:51):
treat immigrants Right, and Iand I agree with these things.
I think that the way that youshould treat the foreigner in
your land is with grace,compassion and love and empathy,
but that doesn't mean thatthere is a excuse to break the
law of the land, and I thinkthat both things can be true,
but for some reason, we wantthem to be in opposition to one
(09:14):
another.
So Leviticus 19, 33 and 34 saysthis, and this is the context
of the land of Israel when aforeigner resides among you in
your land.
Do not mistreat them.
The foreigner residing amongyou must be treated as your
native, born.
Love them as yourself, for youare foreigners in Egypt.
I am the Lord, your God.
So this is a commandment thatYahweh gives to the Israelites
(09:37):
to say hey, listen, whensomebody comes into the land of
Israel the 12 tribes and theyare not of the 12 tribes I want
you to treat them just as ifthey were one of yours.
Give them the same grace, thesame mercy, the same love, the
same compassion, the same care,and I agree with that.
So us, as individual Christians, when we encounter somebody in
(10:01):
our community, if they are animmigrant, if they are not
American born, then we shouldtreat them in the same way that
we are instructed to do so.
For you, as a Christian, tomistreat someone who is here
illegally?
Because, whether they're hereillegally or legally, as an
(10:23):
individual, they deserve to betreated as God's child.
Let the American governmentworry about their legal status
and their citizen status.
That's none of your concern asan individual Christian.
Now, as a nation state, we haveto have the rule of law, there
needs to be borders, there needsto be standards and statutes
(10:47):
that we follow as a society,because we can't have a lawless
society.
And I think Scripture alsosupports that, when you see in
things like Romans, chapter 13,1 through 7, let everyone be
subject to the governingauthorities, for there is no
authority except that which Godhas established.
The authorities that exist havebeen established by God.
(11:08):
Consequently, whoever rebelsagainst the authority is
rebelling against that which Godinstituted, and those who do so
will bring judgment onthemselves.
For rulers hold no terror forthose who do right, for for rule
, yes, for rulers hold no terrorfor those who do right, but for
those who do wrong.
(11:28):
Do you want to be free fromfear of the one in authority?
Then do what is right and youwill be commended, for the one
in authority is God's servantfor your good.
But if you do wrong, be afraidfor rulers.
Do right.
Rulers do not bear the swordfor no reason.
They are God's servants, right?
So this idea is that, listen, ifyou don't want to worry about
(11:52):
the law and the force of the lawand all the legal recourse to
come down on you, then don'tbreak the law.
And you also see this, this theidea, right?
It says that the law is for thelawless and not the law abiding
, and you see that later infirst Timothy two as well.
And so it's, it's.
It's the argument that, okay,well, you don't have to worry
(12:14):
about immigration, police or ICEif you came into the country
legally is also a valid argument, right, as a nation state, and
we as Christians should alwaysencourage those around us to
live according to the laws ofthe land.
Now, some of you are going tosay, well, what happens when the
laws are unjust?
(12:35):
And I'm going to get to that,but let's see some other things
here that are happening.
I think I saw this video that,but let's see some other things
here that are happening.
I think I saw this video thatwas quite interesting too as
well.
Not good.
Speaker 4 (13:29):
It's day five of the riots in Los Angeles and they're
spreading.
We've seen protests in New York, in Chicago, in Austin, in
Dallas and in Tampa, but DonaldTrump is not backing down, he is
doubling down.
He is sending more securitypersonnel to LA, and not just
any personnel.
These are active duty Marines.
Basically, these are soldiersof the US military, some 700 of
(13:52):
them.
They are stationed at a base inCalifornia.
They have already begun thejourney to Los Angeles.
Reports say the Marines willarrive by Tuesday night, and
we'll tell you why this issignificant.
But first let's look at thesituation on the streets In Los
Angeles.
Most of the action was seen indowntown areas near detention
(14:13):
centers and courthouses.
This is where many migrants arebeing held.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
So this is international, okay, so you're
wondering, like that'sdefinitely not un-american, lady
, this is.
This is uh, first post.
Um, this channel is, I think,one of the largest channels, I
think, international newschannels on the internet, on
YouTube, anyway, there's one.
That's not the one that Iwanted to show you guys, though
there's another one that Iwanted you guys to see.
(14:37):
It was these looters that I saw.
Yeah, here it is.
Speaker 3 (14:51):
Look at this.
What are?
Speaker 2 (14:59):
you doing yeah, I agree, that's where I work With
a Mexican flag.
That is crazy.
That is crazy.
(15:24):
Wow, they just got in the car,oh my gosh.
They just got in the car, oh mygosh.
Okay, so these are the kind ofthings, right?
So this is supposed to be aprotest about immigration and
here you have these individualsthat are breaking down an Adidas
store, like they kicked thedoor down.
(15:46):
They broke the door down.
They broke the door down.
One of the guys.
He's coming out of the Adidasstore with a handful of fresh
Adidas shirts, fresh white teesand a Mexican flag.
The optics of that just doesn'tlook good.
If your whole thing is that,hey, I'm protesting because I
want to stay in America, becauseI'm a law-abiding citizen and
(16:10):
because I'm here in the countryto contribute, and then you're
caught breaking into vandalizingan Adidas store, you're coming
out of the Mexican flag.
I don't know if that's theoptics that you want people to
see.
And this is my issue, right,that with the spirit of violence
and dissension, it it starts to, it starts to bring out
wickedness in man, right, right,because what would a person who
(16:32):
is coming with good intentionsthink to themselves?
You know, I think that I wantto use this opportunity to go in
and steal merchandise from theAdidas store.
So we have an element oflawlessness, and this is the
reason why I mentioned thatscripture earlier from 1 Timothy
is that we also know that thelaw is made not for the
righteous, but for thelawbreakers and rebels, the
ungodly and sinful, the unholyand irreligious, for those who
(16:55):
kill their fathers and mothers,for murderers.
Right, so it's when you havethis idea in your mind that I
don't care about what the lawsays, I don't care about what
the governing authority says,I'm going to do whatever I will.
Now you're starting to get into, you know, alistair Crowley and
type of Book of the Lima dowhat thou wilt is the whole the
(17:17):
law.
This is a very Luciferianmindset when you don't care
about authority, and I thinkthat there has to be boundaries,
we have to have borders, wehave to have standards and
statutes, but in the same regardas individual Christians, when
we encounter human beings.
We have to have borders, wehave to have standards and
statutes, but in the same regardas individual Christians, when
we encounter human beings, wehave to treat them with grace,
love and mercy.
So, like I said before, boththings can be true.
(17:39):
We can have a nation state thathas rules and laws and those
citizens within that nationstate can operate according to
divine principles in terms ofhow we treat one another with
love and respect and kindnessand courtesy.
We really don't need to berioting in the streets over it,
and the fact that we as a nationcan't come to an understanding
(18:00):
of agreement is more indicationto me that we are in a place
where the spirit of divisivenessand division has caused so much
turmoil that I don't know howwe reconcile.
At this point, it's verydifficult for me to see a path
forward, and I really want us tothink about this long and hard
as a nation.
Not looking at yourselves, forthose of us that call ourselves
(18:24):
by the name of Jesus asRepublicans or Christians
Christians, or should I sayRepublicans or liberals or
conservatives, becauseliberalism and conservatism are
just ideologies.
Republicans and Democrats arepolitical parties and
affiliations, but theaffiliations that should be the
most important is what is myresponsibility as a disciple of
(18:44):
Jesus, and I think that we oweit to one another to be honest
in those, in those matters, andlooking at this at face value.
Rioting for what you believe inis not a resolution, peaceful
protest, absolutely.
If you need to protest what'sunrighteous, if you really
believe that the way that isthings are being done is the
(19:09):
problem, then that's what youshould be protesting, correct.
And I think ultimately, at theend of the day, that's really
where we can probably find somecommon ground.
If we are going to find commonground, it's in how we go about
deporting.
Is there a heavy-handed approach, perhaps?
I think maybe sending out 700Marines may be a bit excessive.
(19:31):
At the same time, do I thinkthat LA has a very, very fast
and loose way they handle crime?
Absolutely, I don't know what'shappening in Los Angeles.
I'm from Southern Californiaand every time I go out there it
seems like the crime is gettingworse and worse.
California, and every time I goabout go out there, it seems
(19:52):
like the crime is getting worseand worse.
Why do we have to be a nation ofsuch opposite extremes?
Why can't we come to a morecentrist view of things?
There's such an imbalance inhow we view topics in our
country is that we cannotconcede any ground to either
side, that there's no amicableway to solve things.
And this is what happens whenyou want what you want and you
(20:12):
want what you want only and theword is very, very clear about
this, and if you don't believeme, you can just hear it from
James.
James, chapter 4, 1 through 3,it says this what causes fights
and quarrels among you, don'tthey come from your desires?
That battle within you?
You desire but do not have.
So you kill, you covet, but youcannot get what you want.
(20:33):
So you quarrel and you fight.
You do not have because you donot ask God.
And when you ask, you do notreceive because you ask with
wrong motives.
You see, most of the thingsthat we want are selfish in
nature.
I don't really think that mostpeople have true conviction
about these topics, but theyfeel compelled to bandwagon and
(20:53):
go along with certain ideas andcertain subjects Because in
three or four days no one willbe talking about it.
We'll be talking about LoveIsland or the Diddy case, or
we're talking about whateverschool shooting, or we're
talking about whatever food wewant to eat for that day, and
we'll forget that five daysprior, people were breaking into
Adidas store, lighting cars onfire and jumping on Waymos with
(21:16):
Mexican flags.
We just won't even be thinkingabout that.
We've become so short-sightedas a people that it really,
really pains me to see thesekinds of things happening.
I would like for us all to cometo the understanding and the
knowledge and the truth of JesusChrist, but I doubt that's
going to happen.
Now.
Is there a great revival?
Absolutely, and I've seen someof that, and I think there's
(21:38):
stories that we can talk aboutabout mass baptisms and things
happening in that nature.
But along a lot of these verykind of firebrand issues, we
seem to be so divided, we seemto be so polarized and we cannot
concede that.
Well, maybe there's some validpoints on the other side.
I can admit that as a nation,like all nations do, we should
(21:59):
have immigration laws.
If you look at all nationsaround the earth, okay, they are
not nearly as liberal as we arein terms of allowing people to
come across their borders.
In fact, they're far morestrict than we are.
And I understand that we are.
In terms of allowing people tocome across their borders, in
fact, they're far more strictthan we are.
And I understand that we are anation that was born of
immigration and we came into aplace that was someone else's
land, and I understand all thosethings are true, but now we are
(22:23):
several hundred years removedfrom that.
And so today the United Statesof America is a country that has
to have borders, and we shouldhonor those borders and we
should have laws and we shouldenforce those laws.
But we should also enforcethose laws with compassion and
care and grace and understanding, and we should do it in a way
that makes people feel likewe're not maybe out to get them.
(22:45):
Now, is some of that perceivedand is some of that real?
I don't know, because it's evenhard to know what's true and
not in the modern day Americanmedia.
Sometimes you watch Fox Newsand it looks like one thing.
Sometimes you watch CNN and itlooks like one thing.
You turn on TikTok and it lookslike another.
Who knows what's real?
And that's because the spiritof deception is so alive, and
(23:07):
that's because the spirit ofdeception is so alive.
So my charge to everyone hereis to be very, very cautious and
mindful that our nation isgoing to pull you into this
divisive spirit.
Don't fall into it.
Don't fall into it.
Allow the Holy Spirit to leadyou and guide you in truth and
(23:30):
wisdom and discernment.
So that's all I have to sayabout this topic.
You've been listening to Equipfor Life.
Once again, eflmencom, for allof your swag needs and all of
your information about thein-person group studies,
retreats that we do, familynight events that we have every
month, and also, as usual, youlike this content.
You know what to do.
(23:50):
Hit the bell, ring that thing,ding-a-lang-lang, whatever.
You know what I'm saying.
Subscribe, do all that stuff.
I don't know.
I just need you to watch thecontent, like it, follow it.
It feels like I'm sellingsomething.
It's lame, I know, but this.
So just whatever floats yourboat, just do it so you'll get
more of the videos.
So, with that being said, beblessed and be strong in your
(24:11):
journey, peace.
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