Pray for our Nation

2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall 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.

I feel as though our nation is falling from grace. When her people continue to do things contrary to the Word of God, then we are treading on dangerous ground. We accept abortion as a right for the women. Oh, many of us know that it is wrong but can do nothing to stop it other than pray. Many fight for the right of the unborn; yet, abortion is still performed in America every day.

The Word says that it's an abomination for a man to lie with another man. (Leviticus 20:13) Yet, this is being stuffed down the throats of Americans as young as kindergarten! The belief is that all people are 'free' to do whatever they want with their bodies and nobody is to complain.

Then there is Israel. As a nation, we should be supporting Israel and not trying to force her to sell off her land. And, we should be her ally in everything. Yet, the president has said, if Israel sends a bomb the way of Iran, then she is on her own and we'll do absolutely nothing. My friends, that sounds like disaster for America. A nation that stands for Israel will be blessed, but one that does not stand behind her will not be blessed.

Christianity is being raked over the coals every where you look. The pastors are going to be held in contempt and jailed for what the government is going to call hate crimes. It will be a crime to teach against certain things in the Bible that are clearly wrong and being practiced in the US. This could get them a prison sentence.

I've lived a long time, watching all this unfold. And, in my observation, I believe the Lord's return is growing closer. Nations are rising against nation, people are hated for their faith, and many Christians are being persecuted. But, through all this, we shouldn't lose faith in the Word of God. He tells us to 'look up, for your redemption draweth nigh'.

Troubles hampering your life?

Lately, we have been experiencing all kind of trouble with the provider of our DSL service. Our DSL is up and down, off and on, and it is very frustrating. We can have a page up and try going to another and it throws us up a page showing we are not connected to the Internet. Takes time for it to reset and sometimes we have to do it numerous times. We have called them time and time again, only to be told it is ‘okay on our end’. You would think they would try and find the problem, since it isn’t in our inside lines.

Now, we have been having trouble even in our phone lines (same provider) as have all our neighbors. There has been a roaring on our phone for many days. People complain when we try to talk to them on the phone. They are getting the same roaring on their end of the phone and they don’t want to talk with you. My daughter even said she hears her voice in the feedback. I, too, have experienced this when calling home from my cell phone.

These troubles seem to be detrimental to our every day lives. But, are they detrimental to our eternal lives? I believe all our every day worries are nothing compared to the trouble we will be in if we come to the day of judgement and have not given our lives to the service of the Lord. When we appear before the Lord on judgement day, will we hear ‘well done, thy true and faithful servant’, or will we hear, ‘depart from me, you workers of iniquity’?

Now is the time we need to decide whether we are really followers of the true God, or are we separated from Him and eternal rest because of our way of life. Do we truly adhere to His commandments?

Matthew 22:37, "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind."

Matthew 22:37 is the first and greatest commandment. And, if we do not hold to this one, then we are, for all spiritual purposes, lost. Where do you stand today? Are your troubles overflowing into your life where you are unable to separate them from your spiritual life? Are you constantly worrying about tomorrow rather than living for today, keeping your eye on Christ and His promises?

Our problems could be to the detriment of our souls, truthfully! Problems can get us into all kinds of trouble. I remember old folks saying things such as ‘it can cause you to lose your religion’ – in other words, the enemy is out there to destroy your faith. And, if he can get you off into secular thinking and out of the realm of faith, then he is on the way to having you in his corner. Don’t give into the enemy; keep your eyes on the Lord and remember it is HE who has the last say. He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.

Technorati Tags: Trouble, Faith, God, Eternal, Lord

Jesus must come first

I was reading Diane’s post from Saturday today at Crossroads. She was writing about the analysis of the evangelical church that she had gotten from a post by Ingrid at A Slice of Laodicea.

I went to Ingrid’s and started reading the entire post. At the end, she had written the following:

The bottom issue is that we can’t compromise the name and Gospel of Christ so that we can still run interfaith political action committees to end temporal problems in this country. I’m not against working against these evils and have, in fact, done so for many years in Christian information radio. I also don’t believe in a doctrinal litmus test before you sign some guy’s petition against higher taxes or whatever. We can work on public policy issues with those we don’t theologically agree with. But we must never stop being outspoken representatives of Christ whatever we are doing. If we work with Jewish people, Muslims, Mormons, etc. in the civil sphere, we can’t allow that to impede our sharing the truth with them when given the opportunity. We can’t put more value on their political influence than on their soul’s worth. And we must not worship together or pray together with those who reject our Savior. We must keep our Christian integrity. We must be faithful. Jesus must come first. That is the point.

The lines that stood out to me were “We must keep our Christian integrity. We must be faithful. Jesus must come first. That is the point.” And, that is just the point. When we shove Jesus aside for any reason, we are letting the devil get a foot in the door. And, he only needs a small opening to impact our lives and others! We should never be ashamed to let people know what we believe or to share Christ with them in a loving way.

Ingrid had given a press release at Christian Newswire in which she spoke about Dr. Ravi Zacharias not praying in the name of Jesus on the official National Day of Prayer website. The Bible specifically says that we are pray to the Father in the name of Jesus.

NDP Chairwoman, Shirley Dobson, owes a biblical explanation to Christians around the nation as to why the name of Jesus is absent from the official prayer. We are not here as Christians to appease those of other world religions. We cannot come to God except through His Son's righteous merits. To pray as "Christians" in any other way is both a farce and a mockery. While other believers around the world are dying for that name, in America, Dr. Zacharias will not even breathe that name in his official public prayer because it might "offend".

Christians need to get back to the business of doing what God’s Word says, without the fear of offending anyone. If anyone is offended, it is by the Word, not the person. We may appease the people, but God isn’t pleased. The Christians of this nation have bowed down to outsiders long enough in order to appease and it hasn’t worked. Why not get back to God’s business, do things HIS way, and see what the outcome is. I believe we could benefit by acting like we were truly made in HIS image!

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Technorati Tags: Jesus, Christians, Prayer, Dr. Ravi Zacharias

Parenting

Parenting is not always an easy task. There are so many ways one can go wrong. But, scripture says to ‘train up a child in the way he should go and, when he is old, he will not depart from it’. (Proverbs 22:6) That does not mean you will not have conflicts along the way, or the child will love you through it all. It means that, in the future, he will come to realize that you were trying to make sure he develops into a well-rounded adult, able to function in an adult world.

Our children weren’t allowed to do everything they asked to do, or go everywhere they wanted to go. In fact, they weren’t able to hang around all the kids that they may have wanted to hang around. I suppose you can say we were strict parents. And, we got flack from our kids, at times. I often got the comment, “but ‘so and so’s’ Mom lets so and so do such and such.” I followed up with, “but I’m not so and so’s Mom; I’m yours.”

Well, we were strict to a point. We allowed them to date at 16, even by themselves. In fact, we always felt it was usually safer for teens to be alone on a date than with others who might pressure them into doing things they would not ordinarily do. But, they always knew we might check on them at any given time, and I did. They never knew when it might be, so they had better be where they should be when I called. Otherwise, they faced discipline they may perhaps not like! They had curfews and they always respected them. We weren’t perfect parents, but we tried our best to bring them up in a good environment and teach them to respect themselves and others.

Bringing up your children to have good manners, to not smoke, drink, do drugs, or go to wild parties has its rewards. After our son got out of school, into college and working (he worked a full time job during college days), he called home one night to tell us how he appreciated how he had been brought up. He told us that had he not been taken to church and taught right from wrong, that he could have been a drunkard, doing drugs, homeless, and on the street. Seems he had come in contact with a former classmate that had not faired so good in life.

Even if a child strays after being parented correctly, there is hope. God’s Word is truth. I put full trust in what He has said about a child not departing from the truth when he grows older. A child usually returns to their childhood faith in later years, even when they don’t follow it in their earlier years. So, if your child has strayed, don’t give up. Hold on to God’s promises, and pray that his path crosses that of another Christian who can be guidance back to God.

Technorati Tags: Parenting, Child, Guidance, God, Promises

The Church of Oprah Exposed

People need to wake up! New Age is creeping more and more into the lives of people without them even realizing it. This teaching is far from what scripture teaches. She says 'God is a feeling experience, not a believing experience'. She is saying that there are other ways to heaven other than God. That is not what scripture says.

John 14:6, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."

2 Timothy 4:3-4, "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables."

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Technorati Tags: New Age, Oprah, God, Church, Salvation

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Home at last

Home at Last
Each of us comes here with a purpose and a destiny. We may never fulfill our purpose in this life, but each of us will fill our destiny. Some of us may fill it earlier than others.

We buried my cousin on Thursday. She had lived a life of 77 years. She had been a Christian practically all her life. She had been the pianist in my hometown church and also had a beautiful voice that she used for the Lord. She didn’t get married until later in life, but I think God had her life all planned out. She never veered from serving him, and one day, God called her to be a minister’s wife. She fulfilled those duties wholeheartedly. She truly enjoyed being in the ministry, serving as her husband’s helpmate in the ministry, and also as a pianist and singer.

At her service, you could tell she was deeply loved and appreciated. So many spoke of her love for the Lord, her love of her husband, and of the church. They talked about how she stepped in to help in any way she was needed. Many people, from churches in which her husband had previously been pastor, came to pay tribute to her.

Although she knew one day her life would come to an end here on earth, she used each minute of her life to follow in the steps that God had planned. I remember when I was young how she went to church when her parents never went. I think she led them both to the church and to the Lord by her obedience in the ministry God chose for her.

She fought the disease of the mind, Alzheimer’s, a long time. Both her Mom and Dad were afflicted with this terrible disease. Her Dad died first and her Mom followed three years later. She once told my mother that she was fighting with all her might not to give in – that was several years ago. I had last seen her about a year ago at another cousin’s funeral. She still knew me but didn’t know this cousin’s two sons and I had to show them to her and go with her to speak with them. As she progressed, I know she realized what was happening and it must have been a frightful trip for her to make, realizing she was following down the path after her Mom and Dad.

The disease may have taken away most of her ability to live life to the fullest, but it did not take away her ministry. Someone told me just the day after her death that she had visited this man’s family restaurant about two months ago. Although she didn’t know anyone, or seem to know what was going on, she got up and played the piano! The disease works on people differently. But, I believe God had a purpose in her life that she filled until she was no longer able to move those fingers or perhaps even get out of bed.

As we grow older, we realize that our time is growing nearer. If I could be half the person she was in fulfilling my purpose in this life, I would be happy. I know she will hear ‘well done, thy good and faithful servant’.

One song sang yesterday at the service was It Is Well With My Soul. And there is no doubt in my mind that it definitely was. She used to sing a song that said, “If I could help somebody along the way, then my living would not be in vain”. From the testimonies of those who knew her, she definitely did not live life in vain! She touched so many lives through her ministry that she knew of and perhaps many more that she will only learn of in Heaven.

Technorati Tags: Home, Life, Destiny, Ministry

A compassionate President

I don't know your feelings about our President, but, I, for one, admire him for the compassion he shows and his down-to-earth presidency. The following tells me lots about the man, George Walker Bush, President of the US.

By CALVIN WOODWARD Associated Press Writer

President Bush told the author of a new book on his presidency that "I try not to wear my worries on my sleeve" or show anything less than steadfastness in public, especially in a time of war.

"I fully understand that the enemy watches me, the Iraqis are watching me, the troops watch me, and the people watch me," he said. Yet, he said, "I do tears."

"I've got God's shoulder to cry on. And I cry a lot. I do a lot of crying in this job. I'll bet I've shed more tears than you can count, as president. I'll shed some tomorrow."

Technorati Tags: President, George Bush, Compassionate, Tears

The Power of Prayer

Prayer is our communion with God, whether it be a petition made to God, worship, repentance, praise, or thanksgiving. It doesn't have to be a laid-out patent prayer, but words from the heart. God wants all of us, he knows our minds and hearts, so why not talk to him as if he already knows the situation.

James 5:16 Confess [your] faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

The effectual fervent prayer is one with power behind it, one that produces results. We have to believe what we pray, not just 'mouth' words. Sometimes we go blindly into our prayers, not knowing in which direction to go.

Mark 11:24 Therefore I say unto you , What things soever ye desire, when ye pray , believe that ye receive [them], and ye shall have [them].

Desires of the heart should be those that will glorify God, not necessarily the human desires we have to make our life better.

Matthew 6:7 But when ye pray , use not vain repetitions, as the heathen [do]: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. 8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

God knows each thought we have, so why not go to HIM and talk with him as you would if you were to meet him on the street. Prayers do not have to be long, drawn out affairs, but we need to be precise in what we are asking, and ask according to the bible rather than asking blindly for what we want. If it glorifies the Lord, then it will be something good for us. If it does not, then we shouldn't be asking for it in our prayers.

Taken from Barbara's Entourage Power of Prayer

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Technorati Tags: Prayer, Power, God, Communion, Repetition

Muslims threaten Christians: Convert or die

According to a report out by Voice of the Martyrs, Christians in neighborhoods in Pakistan are being told by Muslims to leave Christianity and join Islam, or they will die.

There have been numerous threats sent to Peshawar's Kohati area," sources for VOM reported this week. "The letters say if we don't become Muslim we will be killed."

The unsigned threats began several weeks ago, when residents of Peshawar, the capital of the North-West Frontier Province, reported receiving the letters threatening suicide bombings if they did not convert.

Christian residents of the Tailgodom, Sandagodom and Goalgodom neighborhoods received the threatening letters. Each of the districts house about 2,000 residents. They were told they would be wiped out on August 10, if they did not convert. Although the date has come and gone, they do not know what may happen to them at any time. Now, they live in fear and uncertainty, not knowing what might come.

George said the threats were prompted by the suggestion from U.S. presidential candidate Tom Tancredo that the U.S. threaten to bomb Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina in retaliation if there would be a terrorist nuclear attack on the United States.

The letter states there is death to those that follow Americans' religion of Christianity. They are intent on killing all the infidels of the world.

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Technorati Tags: Muslims, Christians, Infidels, Pakistan

$3 Worth of God

"I would like to buy $3 worth of God, please, not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep, but just enough to equal a cup of warm milk or a snooze in the sunshine. I don't want enough of him to make me love a black man or pick beets with a migrant. I want ecstasy, not transformation; I want warmth of the womb, not a new birth. I want a pound of the Eternal in a paper sack. I would like to buy $3 worth of God, please."

-Wilbur Rees

I found this over at Biscotti Brain while reading on blogs this morning. Made me stop and think - just how many of us are 'playing Christian' these days?

Oh, we make it up on time for Church on Sunday morning, but we seldom dart in the doors any other time. Hey, I've been guilty with the best of them, at times! Our Bible is only opened when we manage to take it to Church. We never 'study' the Word in order to get it down in our hearts in order for it to come out when we need it. And, we need it every day to face the world.

We believe, if we 'know God' just enough, we will make it to Heaven and skip Hell. But, do we really 'know' Him as we should? Do we trust Him with every aspect of our lives every minute of every day? Or, do we trust Him when we can't find someone else to help us out - when we are in trouble, or have a sickness the doctors are confounded with? Proverbs 3:5 tells us to 'trust the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding'. Too often we lose sight of that fact. We end up wanting only a little part of Him - that which keeps us safe, out of trouble, and healthy. And, it doesn't work like that. We either take God completely, or we don't take Him at all. Can you imagine only going home when you need to get something to eat to keep from starving? You do without food until your body feels like it is going to cave in, then you go home. That is how we sometimes treat God. We want to say we put our faith in God; yet, we only use Him when it is convenient with us. As the saying goes, 'we put him in a box and only take him out when needed.' Sounds like the average game we play!

We need to realize that God lives within us, if we are a Christian. He wants us to use His power every day in every situation, not just for convenience. Convenience is the hot water to take a bath, the pre-cooked food that only needs to be microwaved, the car outside your door, the computer we 'play' on daily, and many other things that we have at our fingertips to keep us happy. Those things quickly pass away; He will be there forever. Our true happiness is in God, whether we want to admit it or not.

God is like our parents when we are young - ever there for us, always loving regardless of how we treat Him or His Son. He will 'never leave or forsake' us according to Hebrews 13:5. He gives us the opportunity to have 'all of Him'; why take only $3 worth?

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Technorati Tags: God, Trust, Happiness, Christian, Eternal

We are having a heat wave!

The temperatures have been in the 90's for a good while. There is hardly any air stirring, which makes it extremely hot. I was at my Mother's today, and it was 96 under her carport. Out in the hot sun, it registered 102! She had guessed 100.

The heat is enough to make you want to stay in the house constantly. And, I do stay in most of the time. But, there comes a time when you need to go to the store or go out for other things. And, you are in an air-conditioned car, feeling really good, only to have to step out into the sweltering heat of the day. It is enough to make you sick. I can remember a time when we didn't have an air-conditioned car and we thought nothing of it. My husband and I dated in a 1957 Impala Chevrolet with no air-conditioning. We just rolled down the windows (it was a hardtop) and let the hair blow. And, we bought a 1967 Pontiac GTO in 1967 in Texas before he got out of the Air Force. And, it had black leather seats - and no air-conditioning. I don't know what we were thinking!

My children or grandchildren will never know what it is to be without air-conditioning, with the exception of a unit burning out. Then, you would think they are dying! When I was growing up, nobody had air-conditioning in their homes or cars. We had only one oscillating fan in our home and we made do. We opened our bedroom windows at night and let the cool breeze blow. Now days there seems to be no cool breezes blowing. Besides, I'd be afraid to open my windows because of the crime rate in our nation. You never know who is lurking outside in the dark.

I know that we are experiencing a heat wave, but think about how much worse the alternative to heaven is going to be like! I don't understand why anyone would not want to live for the Lord and go to heaven instead of living a 'good life' for the devil and going to hell. It apparently hasn't registered with them just how hot it is going to be. For me to burn a finger taking something out of the oven is hot enough for me! Just being next to an open fire makes you hot. So why would a person want to expose themselves for eternity to hell fire?

Some think that this is it - this life on earth will end and that will be the end of us. The Bible does not bear that out. The very first verse in the Bible says 'In the beginning God created heaven and earth'.(Genesis 1:1) If He had not meant to have His people join Him in heaven, why would He create heaven?

I leave you with the following verses of Truth from His Word:

• 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18, "For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words."
  

Technorati Tags: Weather, Heat, Heat Wave, Heaven, Hell, Bible, Truth

Ruth Graham - Reaching Heaven

With the passing of Ruth Bell Graham this week, I asked permission to use the following poem as a tribute to her reaching that final reward.

When I Get Home to Heaven

When I get home to Heaven,
there'll be so much to see,
I'll stand and gaze for ages
at wonders all 'round me.

But this one thing I long to do
as soon as e'er I can:
I want to look on Jesus--
His head, His feet,His hands.

I want to see the nailprints
my Savior bore for me;
His precious flesh, so torn and scarred-
Those scars that set me free.

I would not ask to touch them,
or even to presume
That I, one so unworthy,
should brush those holy wounds.

I wish that I, like Mary,
might fall before Him there.
And wash His feet with teardrops,
And dry them with my hair.

Not having costly perfume
to lavish on Him, then
I'd simply pour out all my love,
and kneel and worship Him.

I'd look into His tender eyes,
His gentle smile to see.
I'd whisper how I love Him
for all He's done for me.

And then throughout Forever,
I"ll sing about His Love,
And tell the wondrous story
in Heavenly courts above.

Copyright Ruth Martin October 2001

Can you imagine the look on her eyes as Ruth gazed upon the beauty awaiting her as she reached those golden shores! When she entered the heavenly portals, the greatest gift all was her ability to look upon the face of Jesus, the one she had so willingly served most of her life. She no longer had to read about Him; she was with him for eternity!

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Technorati Tags: Ruth Bell Graham, Heaven, Jesus, Eternity

The "Me, Myself, and I" mentality

I recently received a newsletter from a pastor’s wife. The topic was ‘Me, Myself, and I’. Her husband had read an article about ‘Children’s Laws’ in an email about how they always have me, myself, or I connected to anything they do or say.

I went through this with my two children as they grew up. Our son was the oldest by almost 3 years. He had always been the center of attention, and every thing in sight was his, or so he thought. So, when his baby sister came along and got to the age she could sort of play with him, he took control. He took his place of authority; his mentality was, ‘every thing I have is mine – keep your hands off. And, every thing you have is mine – so give it to me.’ Often, we were stepping between the two because of this strong-willed child. He was never mean to her – just possessive of his/her things.

As little children, we learn to take control. We put our wants first, regardless of how it hurts someone else. Seldom do we find a child giving into another child until after a first encounter. Children have friends, but do not let a friend cross over the threshold of ‘my property’! The mentality is, “if I want you to play/hold/touch my things, I’ll let you know; otherwise, hands off!”

In our Christian walk, we sometimes treat God with this same mentality. You would have thought, through the years we would have learned a few lessons of ‘me, myself, and I’, and how it sometimes got us into trouble we could have otherwise avoided.

We all know the number one commandment from God: Matthew 22:37, "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind."

Do we love God with all our heart? Or, do we just think we do? Love should never cease. In other words, God should be in our heart and minds continually. But, we, as humans, constantly put ‘me, myself, or I’ before God with our actions. Christianity isn’t a religion, but a relationship with God. It should be our desire to always be in communication with God. But, as I said, we are humans, and we make mistakes. We get in a rush and the ‘me, myself, and I’ mentality gets hold of us and we decide we can ‘do it on our own volition.’

The POWER is all ours – after all, God gave us humans ‘free will’. But, when we leave Him out of our plans/our daily lives, we must accept the consequences of our actions. Sometimes those consequences are too hard to bear, and we have to come back to God – His Love is always there, whether we give him our full, undivided attention/love or not. I John 4:8 says that ‘God is love’. After all, He gave His only Begotten Son to die for all our sins. He knew that man would fail in his obedience to Him and His commandments. Jesus Christ became our advocate (I John 2:2) with the Father. The next time this mentality strikes you, remember God was never selfish. Think back to what He has done for us: He shared His Son with us, and He loves us. If we would develop His traits, just think what we could do for ourselves, our families, and for the world. Selfishness is not a trait that endears us to anyone, but having the spirit of love and compassion will.

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Technorati Tags: Selfishness, Love, Compassion, God, Children, Mentality

Living by the rules

We live life by rules, whether they are set by ourselves, or someone else who is in charge. When we work for an employer, we are expected to do things by their rules. We join the company with the knowledge that we do what they say; otherwise, we might find ourselves without a job.

Parents make rules for their children,and expect them to obey them. But, when they don't, there are usually consequences for their disobedience. It may be that they are grounded for a time, or perhaps have lots of privileges taken away from them, i.e., cell phone, automobile, computer, etc. The kids make the decision to obey or not to obey, and either grow or suffer the punishment by their parents.

And, there are rules we live by as a Christian. God knows we live in a world of secular tendencies. We find ourselves being pulled from both sides daily. But, we are expected to resist those secular tendencies and live by the commandments He has laid out within His Word.

• Matthew 22:37-40, "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

And, there are consequences, when we don't keep His commandments...

• Psalms 89:30-34, "If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments; If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments; Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes. Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail. My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips."

The secular world may write us off, or perhaps fire us from the job. But, God, in his loving kindness, will give us another chance. He may chastise His children, but he never forsakes them.

Technorati Tags: Rules, Life, God, Commandments

Guidance

I got an email to day about guidance. The email mentioned that “G” made this person think of God, then you have “U” and “I”, plus Dance. Two people cannot lead in a dance. Otherwise, you’d have no place to go, or, worse, you would be stepping on each other’s toes.

• Psalms 25:5, "Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day."

When we let Him do the leading, and we do the following, then we are less likely to stray from the path, on which He would prefer we walk. It is so easy to get in with the wrong crowd, if we lose sight of the Word, and do things that would separate us from God.

• Psalms 23:3, "He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake."

In these two scriptures above, we see that, when we let God do the guiding, and we do the following, He leads us in truth and righteousness, and teaches us the truth, and restores our soul. Only God can lead us in the path of righteousness, and, when we are discontent, it leads us to an unsteady walk. Just as in dancing, we have to be willing for one to lead, we need to surrender to God and let him do the guiding in our walk with Him.

Technorati Tags: Guidance, God, Truth, Righteousness, Salvation

Doing it the Lord's way

The Colts came out big tonight, winning the 41st Super Bowl 29-17. Tony Dungy, coach for the Colts, in his speech after the presentation of the trophy, said he was so proud of his team, having come this far, and winning the Super Bowl, 'doing it the Lord's way'.

It is refreshing to see two coaches like Lovie Smith and Tony Dungy meet in a game such as this, knowing that both those guys are held in high esteem. They both have given God the glory for winning games. And, tonight, it was no different with Dungy. The owner of the team, Jim Irsay, first gave God all the glory, because "that's what got us here, sticking together and believing that we could. And, I know God has looked out for us on this journey and bonded us to such a tight family."

Dungy said that he had told his players that God doesn't always bring you directly through. Sometimes you have to work for it.

The Indianapolis Colts are now the World Champions.

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Technorati Tags: Super Bowl, Colts, Indianapolis, Tony Dungy, World Champions,Miami

This is the day the Lord has made

But how many of us actually are glad and rejoice in it (Psalm 118:24) without complaining? Do we get up in the morning and thank God for the ability to rise again, to breath the refreshing air, and have one more day in which to give him praise and thanks?

I would venture to say that most of us get out of bed 'on the wrong side'. In other words, we have not got all our rest out and we get up, going to the bathroom to wash our eyes and freshen up. We don't get up and say, 'thank you God I'm alive today', although we probably are thankful.But, we don't express it to the one that makes the next breath possible.

We go about our daily chores, complaining along the way of being tired, or that others never stop to help. We do things grudgingly, without ever smiling, because we feel we've been put out by others. Our jobs aren't satisfying because there are those that never do their part. They expect us to carry the load and never complain, while they get the 'free ride'.

But, we are still humans. And, humans have been known to complain, to get mad, be angry, protest, scream, and do things unbecoming to Christians. Oh, did I forget to say at the beginning I am speaking of Christians? Yes, Christians can sometimes be as difficult to live with or work with as sinners. Sometimes, you can't tell them apart. Sometimes the sinners may possess the right qualities while the Christian does everything against the Word of God. I suppose that is why Christians sometime get a bad name. We need to 'clean up our act'.

When we were saved, we were supposed to become new creatures; the old man was put away.(II Corn. 5:17) But, lots of times,that doesn't happen. The old man keeps creeping out. Some say Christians don't act that way, but they do. We have to make a change in our lives, and ask the Holy Spirit to help us. We can't change all by ourselves, but we surely have a lot do with it. That's called free will. The Holy Spirit is a gentleman and will not make us do anything, although you will feel the prodding in your Spirit, if only you listen.

Why don't we rethink our stand with Christ, and give Him more place in our lives. We need to rise in the morning, and, as we plant our feet on the floor, we need to start by thanking Him for the day and the breath He has given us. Thank Him for the blessings we are about to receive throughout the day. Ask Him to bless others throughout the day. When we begin to live more like the Word of God admonishes us to, our lives will take on a whole new meaning. We will feel more like rising and rejoicing that, truly this is a new day, and we will be glad in it!

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Technorati Tags: Christians, God, Holy Spirit, Rejoice, Blessings, Thanks

Nothing like a side trip!

Alexandra Pelosi, documentary filmmaker and daughter of Nancy Pelosi, took a little 'side trip' to the red states, those who are conservative. She was making a film that takes a look at the evangelical movement in the United States.

Pelosi was interviewed by Diane Sawyer of Good Morning America on Monday morning. They discussed the now defrocked pastor of New Life Church, Ted Haggard, who was Pelosi's tour guide. Pelosi was under the impression that most evangelical Christians are 'holy roller Jesus freaks'. But, when she met Haggard, he didn't fit into that category.

I can understand that evangelicals are thought to be different but not as bad as they are thought to be. Just read the following transcript from the Good Morning America interview.

Sawyer: "You know, it's got to strike a lot of people who live in middle America, church going people, as very quaint that you have to come visit them to learn about them. Where did this begin? Did you feel you had to get a visa to a foreign country?"

Pelosi: [Laughs] "Well, I had made two political documentaries and I was trying to get away from politics. And growing up, they always said the two things you're not supposed to talk about in polite conversation is politics and religion. So, since I’d done politics, I thought it was a chance to go and explore religion."

"Visa to a foreign country?" Is Diana Sawyer so far removed from Christianity that she would suggest that we Christians are from another country or perhaps PLANET? Actually, Pelosi said she felt like she was on a 'sociological field trip'.

Despite her clumsy language, Pelosi actually stated she now understands the importance of religion and even suggested that if she had to make a choice in the culture wars, the daughter of liberal Speaker of the House would go with the conservatives:

Pelosi admitted that she was bothered by what happened to Haggard because he seemed so nice. She said she even came away with a respect for the evangelicals. She thinks they are organized and everybody could learn something from them. She went on to tell Sawyer that the church provided a strong foundation of values and she thought that was good for our teenagers today.

Sawyer: "So, this is a shift for you. You have a two week old son and you're going to make sure he goes to church?"

Pelosi: "Well, yeah. Yes. It’s important for me now. On a personal note, something I took away from this: It is important to expose your children to religion, any religion, whatever is important to you. Because otherwise they'll be called unchurched, and those are the ones who may later in life fall into more extreme religions."

Sawyer: "So you came away a changed person in some ways."

Pelosi: "Nothing like a road trip."

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Technorati Tags: Alexandra Pelosi, Road Trip, Evangelicals, Ted Haggard, Christians, Christianity, Religion, Church, Jesus Freaks

The image in the mirror is deceiving

How many times have you looked into that bathroom mirror, only to find a face you didn't recognize staring back at you?

Seems over the years that mirror seems to be playing tricks! The face seems to change from day to day. At one time in your life, you actually thought it was your face you saw. Now you have your doubts that you ever saw your own face.

You were prepared to see a young, unwrinkled one with glowing hair, only to see a much-wrinkled face and white hair staring back. "This could not be my face", you thought. The mirror must be rigged!

Many of us have thought the same thing. But, after careful examination, we find that what we are seeing in that big mirror is indeed the face we call our own. Oh, it does not appear to be the face we envision in our on mind. In fact, our mind tells us that we really look much younger. Well, we do feel like we are younger, even though our body may look more like it belongs to the face in the mirror than than it does with what our mind thinks.

We could really freak out when we see that 'distorted image' in the mirror. But, remember the old saying, 'we are only as old as we feel'. What shows in the mirror and what others see, when they look at us, doesn't really tell the tale.

God gave us a body for the mind. He did not say the body would not age. II Corinthians 5:17 tells us that, if we are in Christ, then we are new creatures. But He tells us to 'be renewed in the spirit of your mind' (Ephesians 4:23). The Word of God renews our mind in Him. He wants us to follow after Him with our whole being, not taking up the habits of the world. When the Word gets planted deeply within our spirit, then we are able to conform more to His purpose for our lives. Renewing our mind in the Word is the key to transformation from the old man to the new man.

As your mind is renewed day to day, then that image in the mirror seems to take on a new 'face'. You can smile at that image, knowing that your faith in God has given you the promise of eternal life. Our bodies may wane in this life, but, if we continue to put our trust in the heavenly Father, and follow after His commandments, then we know one day we will have a new body - one that is incorruptible.

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Technorati Tags: Mirror, Face, Body, Mind, Renewed, Christ, God, Promises

Pastor reaches out to the 'unchurched'

In today's world, you might think that most people have either grown up going to church, are going to church, or have been to church sometime in their lives. But, there are a number of people who have never gone to church, simply because they weren't taught as a small child. Then, there are others who just decided it was no longer necessary to go to church any longer, or perhaps were hurt in a church. So, there is truly a reason to want to go after those who simply do not attend a church for different reasons.

Marcus Johnson, a 30 year old single minister from Greensboro, NC, is one of those ministers who feels a need to go after those unchurched people. So, he has started a church called 'Hungry Church'. The name may sound a little different for a church, but it is right for those that have a hunger that hasn't been filled.

Johnson wants Hungry to be engaging and approachable, like the time he used the popular 1970s sitcom "Good Times" as the basis for a monthlong Bible study.

As he sees it, Hungry won't compete with other churches. "Our competition," he said, "is every other place people could be, such as the movies, the driving range ... or the football game."

Johnson said over the years he would see places that would make a good church, but not him. He was happy where he was. But, he kept getting those visions of people hungry for God, worshipping God. And, one day, he realized the vision was for him. He shared his plans with three people who agreed to be elders of the new church - three who were desperately needed in starting a new church. They are making decisions together in things that have to do with running a church, such as choosing a podium (too expensive?), or how do you collect the offerings? And, he is not afraid of failing.

"If something doesn't go the way you thought it was going to go, it's realistic to mourn ... dust yourself off and get back up, get counsel," he said. "God may be saying do it again, or he may give you the missing piece and say, 'This is how you should have done it.'

"Failure is one of the destinations on the way to success."

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Technorati Tags: Church, Unchurched, God, Worship