Can you be a _______ Christian?

This was the topic on Truth Talk Live this evening. They were taking calls and debating if you can, for instance, be a liberal Christian. Their debate centered around the presumptive presidential candidates. As I am sure you are well aware Senator Obama claims to be a devoted Christian for over twenty years now, yet his voting record and stance on several issues would lead most of us to doubt this. So the question is, can one be a liberal Christian?
My personal opinion is no. However my opinion stems from my understanding of The Bible.

• John 10:26-2826 But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. 27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.

These verses sum up what it means to be a Christian. Being a Christian means committing your life to following Jesus Christ, and learning to be conformed to His image. So Senator Obama is in essence claiming that Jesus Christ would be in favor of killing a baby that is in the process of birth. Or that He would go against The Bible and say we should allow homosexual marriage.

It seems to me the major flaw that allows these so called liberal Christians to support these obviously non-biblical stances boils down to not believing The Bible is all The Word of God. If you pick and choose what you want to believe from The Bible it is easy to justify these sinful things. Unfortunately for them the entire Bible, from Genesis 1 through Revelation 22, is the inspired word of God.

• Revelation 22:18-19 18 For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

So in my opinion you can not be a liberal Christian. Now I will clarify this, there are those who have committed their lives to Christ and are still living in sin, but only out of ignorance. As in being in the process of spiritual growth and practicing sin that has not been revealed to them as the sin it is.

• 2 Peter 2:21-23 21 For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. 22 But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: “A dog returns to his own vomit,” and, “a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.”

So what do you think? Is there a flaw in my understanding here?

I will go back to Revelation 22 in closing today. Note John's last line before closing, Even so, come, Lord Jesus! Why would he say this? Imagine seeing the terrible vision of the doom coming for the unsaved that he recorded in Revelation. The end of life as we know it, Even so, come Lord Jesus! Are you ready? Do you look forward to His return with great joy and anticipation?

• Revelation 22:20-21 20 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! 21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

Theory of Evolution = Anarchy

Once again I am on a topic I think I have touched on before. I thought we would take a glimpse at the hypocrisy of Darwinian evolutionists. I think we are all familiar the theory of evolution, and one of the major tenets being survival of the fittest. Well this pretty much says those that are strongest get the best means for survival and the weak are left the scraps to get by on.
There are many people out there fighting to get creation removed from schools. This leaves them to teach evolution, which includes survival of the fittest, also known as natural selection. These same schools almost always begin the school year with a review of the rules and regulations. This seems a bit hypocritical to me. If you teach the students the world is ruled by survival of the fittest, then shouldn't the students that can pummel the others get their way first? The stronger students should not have to pay for their lunches, they should just simply take it from the weaker. If they could overcome the teachers and faculty, they should be able to take what they want from them as well. Well that is according to Darwin.
Teaching creation, also known as the truth, leads to a much different culture. The Bible does not teach this is how you deal with others. In addition, by the theory of evolution why would any one care for the elderly or the sick? According to Darwin's theory we should just separate them from the herd and let them die off. There is no reason for anything to create more of it's own species, as this is just more mouths to feed, plus the young are weak and should be left to perish.
So just as most of man's non-biblical ideas, when you follow the logic you end up with problems that common culture most likely would not accept. After all we build large facilities expressly for caring for the in firmed, or the elderly. It is also evident that species to reproduce young, and care for them, to varying extents in various species.

• Genesis 9:6-76 “ Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God He made man. 7 And as for you, be fruitful and multiply; Bring forth abundantly in the earth And multiply in it.”
• Matthew 5:43-44 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you
• 1 Timothy 5:3-4, 8 Honor widows who are really widows. 4 But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show piety at home and to repay their parents; for this is good and acceptable before God. , 8 But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
• Matthew 5:38-42 38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. 40 If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. 41 And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away..
• Thessalonians 3:10 For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.

These are just a few examples of God's word that contradicts the survival of the fittest. The civilization we now know is ruled by a set of laws derived from God's law. So why do they continue to fight to teach this flawed human system? The answer is quite simple. It boils down to guilt. They love their sinful lives and do not want to be reminded in any way of God's perfect standard. They can hide from it all they want now, but some day all will will die and face judgement. No lawyers, no defense at all. No escape.

• Hebrews 9:27-28 27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, 28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.
• 2 Corinthians 5:10-11 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. 11 Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences.

So there it is, they simply wish to harden their hearts and try to escape the inescapable. Once again we see the perfection that is God's word, The Bible.

In closing I offer this encouragement from the Old Testament:

• Isaiah 1:18-19 18 “ Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “ Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool. 19 If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land;

Retraction

That's right, I need to issue a retraction. It turns out I was wrong in my earlier post entitled Backsliders vs. False converts. In that post I said I did not believe in backsliders, well I was wrong. I am a little surprised none of you called me on this one. Well today the truth was thrown at my head like a brick. It was delivered to me by Adrian Rogers. It turns out the same David I spoke of in my previous post was indeed a backslider. This is the same David that is the only man referred to as being after God's heart.

• Acts 13:21-23 21 And afterward they asked for a king; so God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. 22 And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’ 23 From this man’s seed, according to the promise, God raised up for Israel a Savior—Jesus—

You see David had been blessed for so long he began to get too comfortable in this state. He became over confident, and thought to highly of himself. This lead him astray, and eventually into sin with Bathsheba. Making him a backslider.

• 2 Samuel 11:4-5 4 Then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her, for she was cleansed from her impurity; and she returned to her house. 5 And the woman conceived; so she sent and told David, and said, “I am with child.”

So there it is. I was wrong. But that is alright, I have seen the truth now. There is a lesson there alone. Much like the song Amazing Grace says "was blind, but now I see". This is how spiritual growth works. When you become a Christian you don't just suddenly have all knowledge of The Bible. When you repent and trust Jesus alone you are transformed, and The Holy Spirit comes to dwell in you. As you go on living with The Holy Spirit you learn, and slowly The Spirit will open your eyes to a new way of seeing. In other words as you learn to walk closer with God things are revealed to you in due time. The ultimate goal of this process is sanctification, that being when you die and go to Heaven you are much closer to the image of Christ than when you were first converted.

So in closing here is the rest of the Psalm at the close of my previous post.

• Psalm 63:6-11 6 When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches. 7 Because You have been my help, Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice. 8 My soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me. 9 But those who seek my life, to destroy it, Shall go into the lower parts of the earth. 10 They shall fall by the sword; They shall be a portion for jackals. 11 But the king shall rejoice in God; Everyone who swears by Him shall glory; But the mouth of those who speak lies shall be stopped.

Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways

I am taking a bit of a detour from usual type of topics today. Today I am thinking more in political/economical terms. So why did I use that title for this post? Well exercise tolerance and try to follow my convoluted logic here.
The Interstate Highway System was authorized by the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956. This was under President Dwight D. Eisenhower, thus the name. The Interstate Highway System is a separate system within the larger National Highway System. The entire system, as of 2004, had a total length of 46,837 miles. How many of us today are very dependent on these highways to get around in our daily lives? Just looking at the traffic reports I would say some where around a lot, approximately there about. So what does this have to do with anything? Well this was what was known as a public works project. That meant it put a lot of people to work making all these roads, and benefited our economy by allowing goods, and people, to flow more freely from state to state. Our current economy relies on these roads very heavily, but why am I bring this up now. How does something in 1956 relate to now? You are probably saying thanks for the history lesson but the roads are already there, we can not build them again. This is true.
I am no economical genius, or even have any education in it at all for that matter. Perhaps you have notice that lately gas has seemingly become more expensive than gold, and you constantly hear on the news about the decreasing value of the American Dollar. The dollar is falling because we are so dependent on foreign markets. We send millions, perhaps even billions, out of the country everyday in gas. I suggest that we are in need of another public works project. Like I stated before I am no expert, but it seems to me we could great use a source of fuel to decrease our dependence on overseas markets. Here is my idea.
The government should start a public works project. This project would involve drilling for oil on U.S. soil, building federal run refineries. Now before you flip out and say I am crazy for suggesting Government gas stations, that is not what I am suggestion. Rather the Fed's build, run, and maintain these oil drills and refineries, then the gas, diesel, and oil produced be used to run government vehicles. Such as city buses, school buses, D.O.T trucks, federal owned cars, police cars, fire trucks, and etc. This would reduce our use of foreign oil greatly. Simple economics says that as demand decreases and supply remains constant, price drops, thereby benefiting the American public. Another effect would be that we would send less tax dollars overseas. This would also give thousands of Americans good paying jobs. Perhaps I just do not see the flaw in my own logic, but to me this sounds like a win win proposition. If any of you reading this see the problem with this idea please comment about it.
As I have departed from my norm above, I think I will again depart in closing and give Paul a break. Instead I offer this section of a Psalm which played a great role in my reconciliation. So instead of the word's The Apostle Paul, here are some words from David ( the only man in The Bible referred to as a man after God's own heart):

• Psalm 63:1-5 1 O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water. 2 So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory. 3 Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall praise You. 4 Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. 5 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.

New Names For Everyone!

Have I gone off the deep end? Have I heard one to many clips of Todd Bentley and fallen to his foolish ways? Not quite. Just bringing another bit of scripture for us to think about. Never read a scripture that says you get a new name? Well I had missed it too.

• Revelation 2:17 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.”’

So there it is. What is so special about this you might be asking. Well we will be given a new name by the one who knows us most intimately. Some of us might think this is our spouse, our parents, sibling, perhaps even a twin. But in reality is is our Lord. He knows us to our very core.

• Psalm 139:13-16 13 For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. 14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.

Before we were ever even born He knew all the steps of our lives, every one's life. None are beyond His knowledge. Someday He will hand us this rock with His name for us. This name will fit us to a tee as He knows everything about us. How great will this be? I don't know about you but I can't begin to imagine the glory.

Now I started off mentioning Todd Bentley once again, this is because I heard more of his shenanigans! He was apparently baptizing people in the name of bam. To make this even worse, their so called pastor justified this . His explanation was so convoluted I can't even remember it all! I do know it used cartoons in the explanation. They are just flat out ridiculous down there.

For a change I will close with a joke like story I heard.

After a baptismal service a woman was home with her young daughter and heard the water running upstairs. She went up to investigate and found the young girl with all her dolls lined up filling the bathtub. The woman stood outside quietly watching. The little girl took the first doll, put in the water and said " I Baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and in the hole you go!" Maybe sometime soon I will attempt to delve into talking about The Holy Ghost.

• Galatians 6:18 Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

The sweaty blogger!

Man o' man is it ever hot out there today! I am sure glad to be back inside where it is a little cooler. I have been a little slack with my blogging lately, it's really no excuse but I have been very busy with other things. The important part is I am back at it today though. Today I just thought I'd look at back at a passage of scripture that I had overlooked, but it was brought to my attention on the radio recently. I must say it is quite a profound passage and I am not sure how I managed to miss the significance before now. Well before I ramble on, the passage I am referring to is:

• Luke 1:39-45 39 Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, 40 and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. 45 Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”

In case you aren't familiar with this bit here, the babe Elizabeth is caring is John The Baptist. It isn't real clear how much time had lapsed since Gabriel visited Mary and The Holy Spirit came upon her to make her with child, but it reads like it was a short time. So what we have here is Mary carrying a recently conceived Jesus meeting Elizabeth with John The Baptist 6 months into her pregnancy. Even before his birth John was overcome with joy at the presence of our Lord and Saviour. This obviously flies in the face of those who are "pro-choice". See they would like to say a child is not alive until it is born. But according to this passage John was very much alive in his mother's womb. So alive he felt joy by the presence of Jesus Christ. We can even go a little deeper here, Jesus was newly conceived when Mary made this journey, yet John was able to recognize His presence. This is pretty amazing to me. Pro-choicers would have considered Mary a good candidate for abortion, claiming what was in her womb was not yet a life. Yet John knew not only was it a life, but this child was The Life.

• John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
• Luke 3:16 John answered, saying to all, “I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

I like to close on a positive note. If you have not noticed I have been using Paul's writings for this. Most of his letters close with a positive up lifting scripture. So here is another:

• 1 Thessalonians 5:23-28 23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.25 Brethren, pray for us. 26 Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss. 27 I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read to all the holy brethren. 28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.

Another Song Complaint

I know I already did a post about a praise song from our church service, but I have to address the newest one. This time it is a song called Healing Rain, and being me, I of course have a couple of complaints. Some of the lyrics I do not agree with, but the major problem this time was our Worship and Communications Pastor left out Jesus! Of all the words in a song to omit, how can you skip over the name of our Lord and Saviour in a worship service? The line in question here goes as follows: Tears of joy and tears of shame, Are washed forever in Jesus' name. As I mentioned he skipped the name of Jesus and replaced it with "healing rain". Washed forever in healing rain? To me this was totally unacceptable. I was so shocked I lost my place in the song and quit singing all together. Aside from this mix up I took issue with some of the lyrics as they were actually written.
Here is the chorus to the song:
Healing rain it comes with fire
So let it fall and take us higher
Healing rain I'm not afraid
To be washed in heaven's rain

So where to begin here. Well my objection to the song as a whole is that it implies we are washed by a rain. Last I checked we are cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ alone. The narrow gate, Redeemer, Bread of Life, and of course our Saviour.

• Hebrews 9:22 22In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
• Isaiah 53:4-6 4 Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows;Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted.5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities;The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

No mention of any rain there. I hate to sound like I am beating the same old horse, but this is a top tier issue of Christianity. We can disagree on smaller things , like foot washing or something, but not on how we are forgiven. The Bible is very clear on that point.

One last smaller point in this song: Lift your heads let us return, To the mercy seat where time began.

• 2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
• Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,

The only mention of a mercy seat I could find where in the Old Testament. This was mostly in Exodus in the instructions for constructing the Ark.

I will say this song had one good section. "So lift up your hands they can be held, By someone greater, the Great I Am."

In closing I offer this, the longest sentence in The Bible. Paul got started and he was so in awe of the wonder bestowed upon us he just couldn't seem to stop praising. We could all learn from this.

• Ephesians 1:3-14 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. 7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. 11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. 13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

Dreams

This post I am more looking for input than giving it. I had a dream last night where I saw something I have been praying for fulfilled in the dream. It hadn't been on my mind before I went to sleep, yet the dream was very detailed. Even detailed to the point where it was not my first choice, but still what I have been praying about. So my question to you is this: Do you think God still speaks to us through dreams? I know there is no definitive answer, just looking for other opinions. GotQuestions.org doesn't give a clear answer, other than check it with scripture, but this is something more on a personal level. So what are your thoughts?

What can we learn from Samson's weakness?

• Judges 16:5-21 5 And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, “Entice him, and find out where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to afflict him; and every one of us will give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.” 6 So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength lies, and with what you may be bound to afflict you.” 7 And Samson said to her, “If they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings, not yet dried, then I shall become weak, and be like any other man.” 8 So the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh bowstrings, not yet dried, and she bound him with them. 9 Now men were lying in wait, staying with her in the room. And she said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he broke the bowstrings as a strand of yarn breaks when it touches fire. So the secret of his strength was not known. 10 Then Delilah said to Samson, “Look, you have mocked me and told me lies. Now, please tell me what you may be bound with.” 11 So he said to her, “If they bind me securely with new ropes that have never been used, then I shall become weak, and be like any other man.” 12 Therefore Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them, and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And men were lying in wait, staying in the room. But he broke them off his arms like a thread. 13 Delilah said to Samson, “Until now you have mocked me and told me lies. Tell me what you may be bound with.” And he said to her, “If you weave the seven locks of my head into the web of the loom”— 14 So she wove it tightly with the batten of the loom, and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he awoke from his sleep, and pulled out the batten and the web from the loom. 15 Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and have not told me where your great strength lies.” 16 And it came to pass, when she pestered him daily with her words and pressed him, so that his soul was vexed to death, 17 that he told her all his heart, and said to her, “No razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaven, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.” 18 When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up once more, for he has told me all his heart.” So the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hand. 19 Then she lulled him to sleep on her knees, and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him. 20 And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” So he awoke from his sleep, and said, “I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!” But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him. 21 Then the Philistines took him and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza. They bound him with bronze fetters, and he became a grinder in the prison.

So there is the story in case you haven't read it before. What can we learn from his weakness? Well first we must define what is his weakness. Just from reading the text provided the obvious answer would be shaving his head made him weak. But this is not his greatest weakness. Most of us would become suspicious if our wife asked what we could be afflicted with, but not Samson. Then most would have for sure said no more after the first time she said “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” , but not Samson. Three times she asked and three times he gave her a false answer, but yet he continued to stay with her. Until he finally gave up and confessed the truth about his hair. Sure his hair was what ended up robbing him of his great strength, but if you look closely at his life you will see a pattern. His true weakness was Lust. He had such lust that he was blinded to the tricks women were playing on him.

Lust is like a shiny trinket sin, and it is very sneaky.Are you now saying lust is not a sin?

• Matthew 5:28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Lust can sneak in on you very easily. I think it is one of the enemy's greatest tools. So why do I bring this up now? Yet another subject I heard on the radio. Abercrombie & Fitch is involved in another controversy. They have been ridiculed in the past for their borderline pornographic ads, and it seems they are back at it. The particular situation I heard today involved a store front ad that anyone walking by their stores can not avoid seeing. Why is it that they would revert to a tactic that caused them a hassle in the past? Well culture would use the old saying "sex sells". In reality it should be Lust sells! Lust is very easy for us to reason out, sort of justify in our own minds. It is always dangling right there in front of us, and some might say "well it's just human nature". In fact they would be right, but not in they way they would think.

• Jeremiah 17:9-10 “ The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? 10 I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.

So it is human nature, all evil is. But we must turn from evil and sins, all sins, and instead turn to Jesus Christ. How can you defend yourself against lust and other sins? Keep your focus on Christ. Like Peter, when he was focused on Jesus he was able to walk on the water as well, but when he became distracted he began to sink.

• Matthew 14:29-30 29 So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”

Did Racism Come From Christianity?

• Robert N. Proctor (Racial Hygiene: Medicine Under the Nazis [1988]) observed: "Prior to Darwin, it was difficult to argue against the Judeo-Christian conception of the unity of man, based on the single creation of Adam and Eve. Darwin 's theory suggested that humans had evolved over hundreds of thousands, even millions of years, and that the races of men had diverged while adapting to the particularities of local conditions. The impact of Darwin's theory was enormous."
• Darwin spoke of the "gorilla" and the "Negro" [sic] as occupying evolutionary positions between the "Baboon" and the "civilized races of man" ("Caucasian"); viz: At some future period, not very distant as measured by centuries, the civilized races of man will almost certainly exterminate, and replace, the savage races throughout the world. At the same time, the anthropomorphous apes ... will no doubt be exterminated. The break between man and his nearest allies will then be wider, for it will intervene between man in a more civilized state, as we may hope, even than the Caucasian, and some ape as low as a baboon, instead of as now between the Negro [sic] or Australian and the gorilla.

Obviously the answer to the question is an emphatic No! The Bible teaches man was created in the image of God. No mention of race at all. This is yet another example of what happens when you extend out the ideas of men. This never occurs when you stick to God's Word.

So many people now days refer to Christians as being stupid and narrow minded, yet they subscribe to an unprovable theory that claims other races are inferior to whites. People are quite proud to proclaim they are evolutionists, yet is this not the same as proclaiming you are a racist? This belief naturally digresses to something called eugenics. Which Dictionary.com defines : the study of or belief in the possibility of improving the qualities of the human species or a human population, esp. by such means as discouraging reproduction by persons having genetic defects or presumed to have inheritable undesirable traits (negative eugenics) or encouraging reproduction by persons presumed to have inheritable desirable traits (positive eugenics). To me that sounds just like the Nazi beliefs of Hitler. But much like many other things you give it a fancy name and sell it like it is something great and people start to slowly buy into it. Would anyone be jumping at this if it was marketed as Nazism?

• Sir Francis Galton, founder of the eugenics movement, believed very strongly that intelligence was mainly hereditary. He was also convinced there were profound differences in mental ability between the races. He regarded Negroes as barely human at all.

Is it just me or is there a pattern developing here? Sadly this is resurfacing under yet another name. Now it is genetic engineering. They can test a fetus to see what traits it will have, then if they are undesirable traits the child is aborted. This is eugenics repackaged with a shiny new box and flashing lights.

• Genesis 1:27-28 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
• Isaiah 43:7 Everyone who is called by My name, Whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him.

Quite a difference in the Christian view and the more popular worldly view of today. This will always be the case. Man's ideas when extended will run into a problems, but God's teachings will never lead you into these conundrums.

• Isaiah 55:7-9 7 Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. 8 “ For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. 9 “ For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.

We've got it easy!

Here in America we live a pretty good life. Sure our daily struggles may seem unbearable to us at times, but in comparison we have it pretty easy. I heard a replay of an interview with Peter Hammond today and he brought up some interesting points. He talked about how in Africa they use the heat to torture Christians. He pointed out that most Americans don't know what it is to truly thirst. He talked about how after so long you can not speak, and even breathing is a painful task.

• John 19:28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst!”
• John 4:13-15 13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” 15 The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw."

Well that is a bit of a digression, but it shows the two ends of thirst. It is nice to live in a place surrounded by water. I doubt any of us have ever gone more than 24 hours with out a drink. But we have the eternal spring of living waters in us when we are saved, which is comforting in it's self.

Another man I heard on the radio this week was named Burl Cain. Who is he you might be asking, well he is the current and longest standing warden of Louisiana's Angola State Penitentiary. Angola was known as the bloodiest prison in America. Angola now even has a partnership with New Orleans Baptist Seminary. The prisoners have the opportunity to get a degree in Bible studies. Then they can put in for a transfer to another prison where they act as missionaries. Burl Cain came into this prison and brought with him his faith and the courage to share it. Sometimes sharing your faith seems like a daunting task to accomplish, but we are dealing with ordinary citizens for the most part. Burl Cain was walking into a confined space with hardened criminals. Most of them in for life with no chance of parole. Long story short Angola now has multiple churches on it's campus, the newest seating over 1000, and more than 2000 of the 5000 inmates are now professing Christians. This is just proof positive The Gospel can change any one.

• 1 Timothy 1:14-17 14 And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. 15 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. 16 However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life. 17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise,be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

Just in case you are reading this and don't know, Timothy is a letter written by The Apostle Paul to his disciple Timothy. Paul was a pharisee , mostly likely the chief persecutor of the early Christians. He was on his way to arrest more Christians when he met the resurrected Jesus Christ on the road and he was radically changed. He devoted the rest of his life to spreading The Gospel. In essence what he is saying in this verse is that if I can be saved any one can. Whenever you think you've got it bad look back at some these men, like the Apostle Paul, Peter Hammond, or Burl Cain, and the courage they displayed in the face of adversity.

A Break for Your Enjoyment!

I may be an oddball but I like watching grilling contests on TV. At these competitions the contestant, who are very serious about their craft, compete in different categories. The typical categories are Ribs, Chicken, and Pork. They have different times to submit each of the various meats. Which are then given a number and delivered to judges in a random fashion. The judges then judge each submission on appearance, tenderness, and of course taste. Well in between the submissions from various contestants the judges have what they call a palette cleanser. This just gets the taste of the last entry out of their mouth before they taste the next one. This post was pretty much a mental palette cleanser. I feel like I've been pretty serious, and a bit negative with the last few so I am offering up this palette cleanser for your enjoyment. Here are some photos from the the national beard and mustache competition.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/145035?GT1=43002
Seems a bit odd to me, but to each his own. Never the less the pictures are amusing to me. I personally have never thought of what sort of art I could portray with my own beard. Maybe I am missing out, but I think I will stick with the ordinary for now.
I feel as though I would be doing a disservice to this blog and God if I did not include some scripture.

• Philippians 2:10-11
• 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

I personally think it is much greater to bow in free will now, than when everyone is forced to bow at the judgement seat of Christ. Plus there is the matter of eternal salvation. Those who refuse to bow in life will not escape bowing. Read it closely, it says EVERY knee. It does offer me some comfort to think that even those that mock us, or persecute us, will bow before our God eventually. Like I said before, the difference being we will go on to dwell with Him forever in His Kingdom, they on the other hand will be whisked off to an eternity in the lake of fire. It is a guarantee that if you step out of this life with out Jesus Christ you are doomed.

• Luke 11:1-4 So He said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. 3 Give us day by day our daily bread. 4 And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.”

Your Kingdom Come! How great a day that will be! A return to righteousness! I only hope this reaches out to some one who does not look forward to this. It can be yours, no price at all! Just repent and trust! Grace is God's free gift to all!

Will Atheists Like Being Muslim?

I know it seems as though I am beating a dead horse, repeatedly. But it is only because I feel so strongly about this issue, and you aren't going to hear about it in the mainstream media. The media avoids speaking any word that could be taken in a negative light about Islam, but they or the atheists have no problem slamming Christians on a regular basis. So back to the question I posed in the title: Why would I ask such a question? Well you have to understand the mindset of radical Islamists. They believe any non-Muslim is an infidel, and their holy book commands them to make war against the infidels. Islam is the fastest growing religion worldwide. They use many strategies to accomplish their goals. It is not always a take over by violence. They also go out to spread their beliefs much like Christians do in witnessing. Another technique they use is to move into an area with weak religious beliefs, or a lack of religion. They then set up their system and reproduce like humans do. So how does this affect atheists? Well the atheists are constantly fighting to remove Christianity from the public eye. If you have not noticed they are slowly winning. We Christians have fallen into a lull, comfortable to sit back and watch it go on. Most of us just see it happening and think well that is no big deal, or it goes unnoticed because the media doesn't cover these issues. If the atheists continue to win, eventually Christianity will be a small sect in this country that was founded on Christian ideals. Then all you have to do is look at other countries around the world to see that Muslims will move in and become the majority. When Muslims are the majority, then the leaders are Muslims too. Then comes Shariah law. Then the atheists that fought to eradicate the Christians will be forced to convert to Islam or be put to death for denying that faith. Think I am just exaggerating? Look back at my previous post, read the website about Dr. Peter Hammond. This is what he is fighting in Africa. There Christians are persecuted on a regular basis. This could be a glimpse of our future in The United States of America if we Christians do not get active. We have a Presidential Election coming up in November, this is a start to our fight. Our government is set up to be run on the approval of the people. If we remain silent we seal our own fate. Every election is important, not just the Presidential election. We must vote based on our faith. Elect those that stand for Christian values! There is no good reason why we should be passing laws that cater to a tiny section of the population. The vast majority of people in this country claim to be Christians, well it is beyond time for us to act it out in all parts of life. Let the Christian voice be heard! If we all stand up and speak, they can not ignore us all. Look at the book of Judges. How many times was Israel given over to another nation for disobeying God? Each time they were sent a deliverer when they came to their senses and cried out to God for help.

• From www.gotquestions.org/:

• Question: "Does God expect Christians to vote?"
• Answer: Beyond any shadow of a doubt, it is the duty and responsibility of every Christian to vote and to vote for leaders who promote Christian principles. God is most certainly in control, but that does not mean we should do nothing to further His will. We are commanded to pray for our leaders in 1 Timothy 2:1-4. In terms of politics and leadership, there is evidence in Scripture that God has been displeased with our choices of leadership at times (Hosea 8:4). The evidence of sin’s grip on this world is everywhere. So much of the suffering on earth is because of godless leadership (Proverbs 28:12). Scripture gives Christians instructions to obey legitimate authority unless it contradicts the Lord’s commands (Acts 5:27-29, Romans 13:1-7). As born again believers, we ought to strive to choose leaders who will be themselves led by our Creator (1 Samuel 12:13-25). Candidates or proposals that violate the Bible’s commands for life, family, marriage, or faith should never be supported (Proverbs 14:34). Christians should vote as led through prayer and study of both God’s Word and the realities of the choices on the ballot.Christians in many countries in this world are oppressed and persecuted. They suffer under governments they are powerless to change, governments that hate their faith and silence their voices. These believers preach the gospel of Jesus Christ at risk of their own death. Many are killed so that others may benefit from the love of God. U.S. Christians have been blessed with the right to speak about and choose their leaders without fearing for themselves or their families. In the United States, in the 2000 presidential election, about 2 of every 5 of self-professed Christians took that right for granted. But about 1 in 5 self-professed, eligible Christians are not even registered to vote.In our day and age, there are many who want to drive the name and message of Christ completely out of the public eye. Voting is an opportunity to promote, protect, and preserve godly government. Passing up that opportunity means letting those who would denigrate the name of Christ have their way in our lives. The leaders we elect—or do nothing to remove—have great influence on our freedoms. They can choose to protect our right to worship and spread the Gospel, or they can restrict those rights. They can lead our nation towards righteousness or towards moral disaster. Christians in the United States, and Christians in other democratic nations, must stand up and follow our command to fulfill our civic duties (Matthew 22:21).

Frontlines

Frontline sounds like a war term. Well it was intended that way. As you may have gathered from my last few posts here, the Christian faith is under attack. In other parts of the world it looks more like an all out war right in the open. Some nations don't even bother to hide the fact that they are at war with Christians. Back to frontline: I got the title for this post from a man who's life is reminiscent of The Apostle Paul. His name is Dr. Peter Hammond. He started a group known as Frontline Fellowship. Here is a piece from the website about the founder:
The official government of Sudan, Ministry of Foreign Affairs website includes an article that declares that missionary Peter "Hammond should expect to be bombed when he comes to Sudan … he should expect to be shot on sight"!
Dr. Peter Hammond is a missionary who has pioneered evangelistic outreaches in the war zones of Mozambique, Angola and Sudan. Often travelling by off road motorbike, Peter has travelled hundreds of thousands of miles to deliver Bibles to persecuted Christians in Africa and Eastern Europe. In the course of his missionary activities Peter has been ambushed, come under aerial and artillery bombardments, been stabbed, shot at, beaten by mobs, arrested and imprisoned. On some mission trips he has flown far behind enemy lines to the beleaguered Nuba Mountains in Central Sudan with tonnes of Bibles, books and relief aid. He has then walked throughout the war devastated Nuba Mountains showing the Jesus film in Arabic, proclaiming the Gospel, training pastors and evading enemy patrols.
The things this man goes through to spread The Gospel are simply amazing. How many of us have been even stabbed for our faith?I saw an interview with Dr. Peter Hammond on Wretched with Todd Friel were Hammond recounted a story of one of his stays in prison. The cell he was in housed about 50 men, there were no toilet facilities other than a bucket all the men used. One form of torture they used on him was to stick his head in this bucket, but he would not deny his faith. He tells these stories just so matter of factly it is unreal. He is indeed on the Fronltines.
Dr. Hammond has written several books, I am hoping to soon get my hands on one of them, unfortunately the local library has a rather slim Christian section. When I do get a chance to read one I am quite positive I will have some posts from that. In the mean time if you want to read more about this organization check out their website at: www.frontline.org.za
All in all his story shows just how good we currently have it here in America! We must stay active on the political frontline or we may lose our freedoms. Christianity is under attack from all sides. The attacks here are more subtle, but if they continue to win battles to suppress the Christian voice it may come to a time where we experience the same struggles here that Dr. Hammond endures in Africa. Luckily we do have some that stand to fight for our rights in our legal system. I can not say enough good things about the work the ACLJ does for Christians in America and abroad. I urge everyone to support their work at www.ACLJ.org , you don't have to support them financially, although they could use the help, but often they just need signatures on various petitions. The least we can do is to pray for these men on the frontlines fighting the good fight to defend and spread Christianity, such as Dr. Peter Hammond and Jay Sekulow.

• Persecution
• Romans 8:34-36 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written:“ For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”
• 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
• Keeping Faith
• Psalm 119:2-3 2 Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, Who seek Him with the whole heart! 3 They also do no iniquity;They walk in His ways.
• Prayer
• James 5:16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

More Bad News

Around the world, Christians are being increasingly targeted, and even persecuted, for their religious beliefs. Now, one of the largest organizations in the United Nations is pushing to make a bad situation even worse by promoting anti-Christian bigotry wrapped in the guise of a U.N. resolution called “Combating Defamation of Religions.” We must put an immediate end to this most recent, dangerous attack on faith.
I stand with the American Center for Law and Justice and Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow in grave opposition to the Organization of the Islamic Conference’s resolution entitled “Combating Defamation of Religions.” I recognize this measure as anti-Christian in nature and fully believe it stands in stark contrast to the concept of religious freedom outlined in the International Bill of Human Rights.
- from: https://www.aclj.org/Petition/Default.aspx?sc=3359&ac=1

This is extremely troubling to me. This could have immense ramifications if passed.

The OIC countries all signed the Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam (CDHRI) in 1990, which states that all rights are subject to Shariah law, and makes Shariah law the only source of reference for human rights. - Again from : ACLJ.org
Shariah law is not as innocent as it may sound. It does not change. It is the same as it was in the eigth century. It does not give any rights to women, they are regarded as property. I recently heard Islam had revised it's standards to say a female child maybe married off at the age of, any guesses? One. Shariah law also permits the death penalty for any one that is not Muslim. This means if you speak of Jesus, or are found with even verses from The Bible, you could be killed on the spot. The report on ACLJ.org gives examples. It states that those that carry out these murders are never tried, quite the opposite they are treated as heroes by the police. These are very troubling facts to me. If the UN passes this who knows what it could mean for us here in America. You see America is different than a lot of UN members, when we sign something with the UN it becomes U.S. law, topped only by the constitution. One more fact I have learned about Islam, it teaches it is permissible to lie to any non- Muslim. They are only required by their holy law to be truthful with fellow believers. For instance a Muslim could deny being Muslim as long as they are speaking to a non-Muslim. ACLJ.org has a petition to oppose this if you want to take a stand.
Once again this issue begs the question: why is it Christians who are under attack? Christians do the most world wide to help the less fortunate, yet we are despised like no other religion. Islam is obviously launching an attack on international Christians, atheists have been waging war on Christians domestically for decades now. Why is this? It seems the attacks are always aimed at Christians. My personal theory is that Christians carry the seed of The Truth. Jewish people also carry some what the same seed, and are subject to some of the same attacks.Darkness despises the light as it can no longer hide in the shadows.
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
Philippians 2:10-11 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Romans 14:10-12 But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 11 For it is written:“ As I live, says the LORD, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God.”12 So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.

Israel to America

Yesterday in our church the sermon was a little different. It was one of the week when our pastor took a break from exegesis. Instead we had only one verse but a powerful message. The sermon was about the current state of our nation. Truthfully it reminded me of a lot of things I have said here.
2 Chronicles 7:14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
These were God's words to Israel, but they should apply to us today. Our country has many problems that could be solved by following God. But it seems most of this nation claims to be Christian, but lives a secular life. Our pastor also included a few quotes from patriots:
"Let men be good and government can not be bad. Let men be evil and government can not be good." -William Penn
"It is important to keep God fearing people in office." - John Jay, first Supreme Court Justice
"America is great because America is good. If ever America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great." - Alexis de Toqueville
Those statements seem like daggers considering the current state of American politics. The answers must come from the public. That is how our country was set up to run. Government for the people, by the people. It worked this way in Biblical times as well. Everyone knows the story of Jonah and the whale, but Jonah brought repentance to Nineveh.
Jonah 3:4 On the first day, Jonah started into the city. He proclaimed: "Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned."
Jonah 3:10 When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened.
That was his sermon to turn the city from it's sinful ways. Pretty much he said In forty days, DOOM! Repent! And they repented. Well all we are missing now is a man fresh from a whale's stomach. Look around you, listen to the media. We need to spread the message: Judgement is coming! Repent and trust!
Hebrews 9:27-28 27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, 28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.

The 4th of July

Well here it is again. Tomorrow is the day we celebrate our independence, the birth of our great nation. Most Americans will be out watching fireworks tomorrow night, but how many watching those fireworks think about what they represent? Countless men and women have given their lives for us to enjoy the freedoms we now have. They fought and died to gain independence from England, and they're still out fighting to this day to defend freedom. Defending freedom against those that despise our way of life, and fighting to give freedom to those who have never known what freedom feels like. We are so use to being able to protest whatever we do not agree with, speak our minds on any issue, we take for granted what we have here. The truth that has almost been forgotten in our present culture is that those that founded this country did so for religious freedom. Not freedom from religion like so many now like to claim. Instead it was to practice the religion they chose, not what the crown told them. In essence the settlers that came here were protestants, and the crown dictated that in England you were to be Catholic. Unbelievers may think these are the same, but they are not. Catholics believe in a system of saved by works, where as Protestants believe you are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Things have not always been the way they are now. People through history have been killed for their religious beliefs, now so many people disregard religion and even fight against anyone practicing it. Even here in this great country of freedom and liberty people have taken the stance that it is not enough that no one is required to attend any church, but they want any mention of religion banned from the public eye. This attack on religion is usually aimed at one group in particular. Who is this group? Radical Islam? Nope. Catholics? Nope. It is aimed at the Protestants that founded our country. What a difference 232 years can make! I just encourage every one as you gaze at those fireworks, remember the founding fathers, what they stood for. Remember all those that laid down their lives that you might have freedom. Ponder the irony that in 232 years we have come from starting a new nation to have religious freedom, to having the freedom and fighting to force religion underground!
John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.

Testimony Time

This is a little different for me, I'm not a big fan of discussing myself. But I thought I would share this as an encouragement.
I went through most of my life so far believing in God, and that Jesus was the Son of God. But Not until this past year did I come to a right understanding. I never thought about sin, I just knew everyone was a sinner. I had been to church here and there, never regularly though. At church I heard about people getting saved, but they were always taken to another room where I thought the saving took place. I wasn't really sure what this process was. But by the time I was aware of this and put it together, I was too embarrassed to ask what it meant and what happened. I know this sounds silly, but it seemed every one around me knew and I simply did not want to ask. Well needless to say I found out in my own time, but that was only the beginning. Other things in my life began to change, and my eyes were opened more. Eventually I came to a full understanding that no one among us is with out sin because we are simply incapable of keeping God's perfect standard of The Ten Commandments. I knew a lot of the big stories of The Bible, Like Noah, and Jonah. I knew the story of Christmas, and Easter. But now I have a full appreciation of these.
My encouragement would be to always share these things. Offer up the information of what it means to be saved. In case you are reading this and need to know yourself: If you have told one lie in your entire life you have broken God's law. He gave you life and all the goodness of this world, and the capacity to enjoy it, and you broke His law. Because He is pure and Holy, He must give you justice. The punishment for breaking God's Law is an eternal suffering in Hell. If you don't think this is fair look at the one against whom you offend.God is not bound by The Law, it is His very nature. When you realize this is true and the you are completely devoid of any hope, and knowing you are vile in His sight you are ready for the message of the cross. Jesus Christ, God's only Son, came to this earth, lived a perfect sinless life. Then He gave his life on Calvary's cross. He was whipped, mocked, spit on, and all sorts of torture. He endured all this for you! Then they nailed Him to the cross. We are talking about God himself enduring all this! And if you didn't realize it, Crucifixion is a slow tortuous death. The position it forces the body into gradually decreases your lungs functioning. So you suffocate over the hours you hang there. Jesus did this for you and me. See The Bible tells us there can be no forgiveness of sin with out the shedding of blood. Jesus Christ, God's spotless Lamb, shed His Blood so that you and me could have forgiveness. What is the price for such a thing? Salvation is the free gift of God! All you must do to receive this is come to Jesus Christ in a state of broken repentance, acknowledge He is the Son of God and that you are a vile sinner. And that you want to turn your life over to His Lordship, and instantly you will be saved. If you need more information on this you can seek out a local Bible believing church, or if you aren't comfortable with that you can always email saved@wayofthemaster.com for help.
OK, so if you knew all that: my encouragement is that if you know someone you doubt their salvation, just tell them. Don't wait for them to ask. Just offer the information in love with compassion.
1 Corinthians 1623-24 23 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. 24 My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Back To Obama Again

I really don't mean to keep hounding on the election. But Senator Obama has done it again so I feel obligated to speak on it. I was watching Andy Griffith this evening and Andy had told Opie that you should always keep a promise. Well then Opie came home with a friend who had run away. Opie had promised not to tell on his friend, so Andy was caught were he was expecting Opie to tell, but Opie said he was mixed, up first you tell me to keep a promise, but now you want me to break it. Andy said " I can't seem to keep from gettin my britches caught on my own pitchfork". This fits what Senator Obama has done now. He gave a speech on Father's Day where he said " fatherhood begins at conception". What wrong with that you ask? Well nothing as a statement alone, but it catches his pants on his own pitchfork. Senator Obama by voting record is the most liberal member of Senate.He has repeatedly supported abortion. Even to the point where the child is in the birth process. So by his statement he says fatherhood begins at conception it begs the question fatherhood of what? Of an idea? A thought? Or perhaps a life? If it is the latter there is a huge problem with voting in favor of abortion. Let me just quote The Declaration of Independence: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal , that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. If it is a life the document that separated this great country from England grants the unalienable Right to Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness! So can fatherhood begin with out a life to father? Senator Obama seems to have caught his britches on his own pitchfork. You simply can not have it both ways.
This is a difficult issue. I am torn on the legal aspects as it forces us to decide which life is more valuable. If they ban abortion it will not stop the practice, just force it underground where standards are far inferior. This will risk the lives of the mothers. I can not say abortion is right, but I at the same time can not say which life is worth more. In perfect world this would not be an issue at all. Sadly we live in a world wrought with sin and evil for now.
Take a look at these situations:
1. In the spring of 1452 a young peasant girl named Caterina is not married but winds up pregnant by a man named Piero.
Had she had an abortion would the world have ever noticed? Well we would missed a scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, painter, sculptor, architect, botanist, musician and writer. Who was this? Leonardo da Vinci.
2. Paris, France 1824 a young dressmaker named Marie-Catherine Labay is unmarried and pregnant. Would we have noticed any loss wit out her child? We would not have books like The Count of Monte Cristo, or The Three Musketeers. Who was this? Alexandre Dumas.
3. A young woman named Mary is pregnant and the father is unknown. If she had an abortion we would have no hope. She went on to give birth to Jesus Christ, or Lord and Saviour!
Luke 2:10-14 10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 14 “ Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
Just some food for thought there. Anyone have any other thoughts to add?
Romans 16:25-27 25 Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began 26 but now made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith— 27 to God, alone wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen.