Time 2 Change Churches!

NIV vs KJV The Battle is On!

2012-01-09T06:33:00.004-06:00

No battle here. KJV wins hands down! The other bible versions are perversions of God's Word. One quick look will tell you all you need to know.

Here is what KJV says about the morning star.
Rev 22:16 "I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, [and] the bright and morning star."

Here is what the NIV says about the morning star.
Isaiah 14:12 "How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!" (this is in reference to Satan!)

KJV says about this same verse.
How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! [how] art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

If you are not aware, there are HUNDREDS of problems with the NIV and the other perverted versions.

Here is a very small offering of WHY there is a difference.

NIV and others use the OLDEST known manuscripts. There are two in particular that are used. Between the two, they do not agree with each other so the people who put the NIV together have CHOSEN which verses to use out of each manuscript.

The KJV uses the Textus Receptus. This is not the oldest but there are thousands of these manuscripts around and they agree with each other in over 95% of the verses. And the places where there is a difference, it does not change doctrine.

You choose. Would you rather use the oldest manuscripts that DO NOT AGREE WITH EACH OTHER, or would you rather use the manuscripts that are without error?

As for me and my household -- we will choose the KJV Bible! The diety of Christ has not been altered as it has in the NIV.

Let the Battle Begin!

Joel Osteen Cult Exposed

2011-11-23T07:04:00.001-06:00

It is almost Thanksgiving. What are you thankful for? Thankful that you are rich? That you have good health? How about that nice car that you drive around in? Maybe you are thankful that you go to a large church like Osteen's church. You feel good.

Here is something for you to be thankful for...
at the 1:54 mark of this video, Joel reads scripture (or something that HE calls scriptures).

Ephesians 1:4 in his bible says...

Long before God laid down earth's foundation He had us on his mind. Because of the sacrifice Christ made we are free people and not just barely free but abundantly free.

I have searched and searched only to find that his version of scripture is no where to be found. I have searched every major and nonmajor version of the bible with no success. He has twisted scripture for the purpose of giving his sugar coated message. Read what the KJV bible says about this scripture...

EPHESIANS 1:4 KJV
According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

Do you see it? Do you see how he is twisting scripture? Has it opened your eyes yet to the dangers of listening to this man and his self help drivel that he "preaches?"

I challenge you to look up every scripture that pops up on the screen on any youtube video of Osteen preaching, and I would be willing to say that none of his scriptures are found in the HOLY KJV BIBLE!

Are you thankful today? You are a sinner in need of a Saviour...For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16 KJV

It is not about health, wealth, prosperity and self esteem. It is about how wretched we are and how thankful we should be that God sent His Son to die for us on the cross. Jesus shed His blood and paid the price for our sins. If you would accept Christ as your Lord and Saviour and repent of your sins, you can be truly thankful today because heaven awaits you. If you continue to follow after false prophets even after they have been exposed then your thankfulness if found only on things of the world. I pray that your eyes of have been opened today to one who is truly a heretic of the faith. Leave Osteen but do not go chasing after other false charletons such as Creflo Dollar, Benny Hinn, TBN (Trinity Broadcasting Network), TD Jakes, and so many others who want you to believe in the prosperity garbage. The Word of Faith teachings are FALSE, do not fall for them. May Jesus and Him crucified be all that is preached.

President Brian Culver 2012

2011-09-16T10:30:00.002-05:00

http://time2changechurches.blogspot.com/2007/11/i-want-to-run-for-president-of-united.html

Prior to the last election, I had written a blog on how I wanted to be your next President of the United States of America.

Well it is time for an update:

2012 will be the year that Brian Culver runs for President! You need a person like me to run this country. Here is why...

10. I tell great jokes
09. I like to take vacations too (each month!)
08. I know how to read teleprompters
07. I was born in America and can prove it. I typed up my own birth certificate!
06. You can find my school records to verify who I am
05. I adopted my son, married my girlfriend, mowed the yard. I have done it all.
04. I am not a lawyer, I am not a lawyer. You can't make me, you can't make me!! (Gilligan)
03. I am not a millionaire so I can relate to most people
02. I still only have about $75 to my name. Where is my pepsi??
01. My name is not OBAMA

Seriously, here is why you should vote for me as a write in candidate for the 2012 election

10. I am saddened to see the direction this country is going
09. I am a Christian and will NOT do anything that contradicts the Word of God
08. I will not cater to the Muslims or any of the other evil sects out there
07. I am a blue collar worker. I know how to get my hands dirty
06. I have lived paycheck to paycheck most of my life
05. This IS and always has been a Christian nation. Just because someone does not like that, does not change the truth.
04. I promise CHANGE, I promise to bring integrity back to the office of President
03. I will see to it that our country is protected at home first and foremost (right to bear arms will always exist in my administration!)
02. I will enforce illegal immigration laws!
01. My name is not OBAMA

And Jesus said, "I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven." Barak means lightening Bama means high places. Did Jesus see Satan as Barack Obama? Let's get him out of the office of president. Elect me! I am a child of God! This nation was founded on the principles of for the people, by the people and of the people (something like that!)

I am not perfect but I could sure use a vacation every month! Elect Brian Culver as a write in candidate for President of the United States of America. It would be my honor to serve you. I am taking campaign donations now in an effort to get some national exposure.

I promise you change!
(buy a pepsi from me and I will give you change back from your dollar!)

Have You Counted The Cost Of Discipleship?

2011-09-12T04:59:00.003-05:00

Have you truly counted the cost of discipleship? The cost is higher than you can possibly imagine? Are you sure you want to be a disciple of Christ? Do you know what you are getting yourself in for? But here is a bigger question for you. Do you call yourself a disciple of Christ and yet live for the lust of the flesh? BEWARE the COST that you will pay. Luke 14:25-35

v25...And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, (here Jesus is about to talk to all of the many many people who were following Him...)

v26...If any [man] come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. (hate is a pretty strong word, does God really mean that you must hate your family to be His disciple? Of course not, we are to love our family, it's just that our love for them should "look" like hate when we compare it to the love that we are to have for God. Nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing should be loved more than God. If anything takes its place before God then that has become our idol and that is breaking the first and second commandment. Is your love for God so great that it makes all other shows of love look like hate?)

v27...And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. (do you have a cross that you carry? of course not. Then what is Jesus talking about? First off, if you are a baby Christian please do not lose heart over what you are about to read. The cross we will have to carry is one of persecution and hatred from the world. If we are truly a follower of Christ, we will be willing to forsake all things for His sake. That includes family, friends, jobs, homes, etc. Too many pastors preach that God loves you and you will only have good things happen to you in this life. That is obviously not true. Anyone ever read what Paul had to endure as a Christian? How about John? Stephen? and all of the other disciples? It is definitely not about having "your best life now" as Joel Osteen will preach. Our best life is not now, it is in heaven. If you have your best life now then hell must be waiting for you. For Osteen and his followers, there is no cross bearing taking place. It is all about getting along with everyone. And Jesus said, "whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, CANNOT be my disciple." Are you ready to pay the price?)

v28...For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have [sufficient] to finish [it]? (a good engineer will take everything into consideration. A good Christian will do the same. He will not accept Jesus on an emotional ride because the pastor made him cry. No. He will come to Christ because he realized that Jesus died for his sins and without a Saviour, he would be facing the wrath of God and sent to hell. Now, what does he do. He counts the cost. Is it worth it to him to endure persecution and hatred from family members and from friends for the sake of the cross that he beareth? Does he truly understand what the cost is in following Christ? What are the pro's and cons to following Christ (there are no true cons, just lustfilled desires to be fulfilled by the carnal person) and finally, when he counts the cost, will he have what it takes to endure to the end?)

v29...Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish [it], all that behold [it] begin to mock him, (okay, you are going to learn something from these scriptures here. Have you ever seen a structure start to go up only to never be completed due to not having enough funds to finish the project? Well, how many times have we seen people start out on fire for the Lord only to fall away? They come to Christ on that emotional ride and they say the sinners prayer. They do good for a season but the minute the persecution starts, or the minute family members mock them for their faith, they compromise God and they choose to please the world instead. Their witness to the world is mocked because people will say that their faith is nothing to be admired by the unbeliever.)

v30...Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. (or saying, he came to church a few times, got baptized and now we never seem him in church anymore)

v31...Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? (are there few that be saved? Remember this, the path is narrow that leads to life, wide is the gate that leads to destruction. If you are going to follow Christ and you are going to count the cost of following Him, are you ready for a steady stream of insults being hurled your way? Are you ready for the world to hate you? Are you ready for the persecution to begin?)

v32...Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace. (when going into battle, you cannot just go in with pure emotions. You must consider the cost, you must analize the opponent and you must know what you need to succeed. You are to plan ahead. Don't wait until Satan starts attacking you, consider right this very moment, what do you need to do to win the battle against the devil? Put on the whole armour of God and be ready for battle)

v33...So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. (Lot and his family were told not to look back at Sodom. They were to leave immediately. Lot's wife turned around to look at what she was leaving behind and was turned into a pillar of salt. When you become a Christian, you can not look back at your old life style and desire it. You cannot say, I wish I didn't have to give up this or that. When you become a Christian, God replaces your old heart of stone and replaces it with a new heart of flesh. Those things that you used to love such as alcohol, sex, drugs, lusts, lying, homosexuality, greed, covetousness, envy, etc should all be gone. If you still desire those things then your love for God is not stronger than your love for the lusts of the flesh. Examine yourself to see that you are in the faith. Do it daily! If you are not willing to give up your old lifestyle, then you have not been born again and you cannot be His disciple)

v34...Salt [is] good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned? (we, as Christians are called to be salt of the world. When we have a witness of Christ in our lives, then we can share that message with others and it will be a blessing to them. Now here is where the lesson gets very strong. Please do not miss this point. But if the salt have lost his savour...if you as a christian have lost your witness or have destroyed your witness, then just saying you are a christian, will not have an impact on the lost and dying world whatsoever. Your witness as a Christian is useless! How do you destroy your witness? When you have not planned ahead, when you have desired to please the world instead of pleasing God. So where can a useless Christian go? Does it really matter? You might as well go walking into a bar, playing pool and just forget the fact that at one time in your life, you 'accepted" Jesus as your Saviour, the only problem is, you never accepted Him as your Lord.)

v35...It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; [but] men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. (we are finally here and this is going to hit home with some of you who call yourself a Christian. When salt has lost its seasoning ability, when it has lost its flavor, it is useless. It does absolutely no good to the ground or even the dunghill for that matter, it is one of the most useless things on earth! Even men cast it out as nothing. Now read what Hebrews 6:4-8 says, For [it is] impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, {this is those people who maybe said the sinners prayer emotionally but did not endure to the end} And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put [him] to an open shame. {how many people do we know who fit this description? I know one such person who's latter end will be worse than the first} For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God: {for the person who has counted the cost of discipleship and decided that no matter what, they are going to even die for Christ, they will be counted as worthy to be His disciple} {I hope, I truly do hope that this next verse puts fear into you.} But that which beareth thorns and briers [is] rejected, and [is] nigh unto cursing; whose end [is] to be burned.

v4 of Hebrews 6 says it is impossible to bring to repentance that person who has lost his saltiness, his usefulness, for the person who has fallen away, who was not truly saved in the first place. Please repent of your sins today. God is a patient God, His mercy is ever before us and we thank God for that, but His patience is running out. He will be returning soon to take His church home to heaven at the rapture prior to the Tribulation. There is a fine line between the person who has erred and repented of his sins and has come back to the flock and the person who has once tasted the goodness of the Holy Spirit and has made a conscious decision to turn against God. That person, God's Word says, is impossible to repent of his sins. Please examine yourself to day to see that you are in the faith. Fear God, Love God, be obedient to God and His Word, repent of your sins and never look back! May your salt always be flavorful and may your witness for Christ always shine the light of His Word to the lost and dying world.

and finally, God's Word says in these scriptures that he who has ears to hear, let him hear. That is God's way of saying...HEY PEOPLE, THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT WHAT I AM SAYING, BE SURE TO LISTEN TO THIS!!!! If it is important enough for God to stress this point, then please do not take these verses lightly!
God is not slack concerning His promises to us. He will love His children and provide a place for them in Heaven. Praise God for those who are His.

But He will also prepare to send those who are not His to an eternal punishment in a place called Hell. Those who are children of the devil will not see the Light, they refuse the Light and they mock the Light in the way they live, the way they speak and the way they totally deny the Almighty Great God of the Bible.

And yes, this includes many so called self professing Christians. Does that bother you?

IT SHOULD!

Have you been saved more than once?

2011-09-04T07:39:00.001-05:00

The contemporary church continues to preach the "sinners prayer" as being biblical. They will say that it is in the Bible that if you say "the prayer" then you will be saved. And yet, we see, day in and day out, that people who have said "the prayer" are still just as lost today as they were before they said the prayer. If you are a pastor or a person who believes in the sinners prayer, please do me a favor. Show me the biblical basis for your belief in the prayer as being a means of salvation. You won't be able to do it. You can say that if we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord we will be saved. Fine! But that says nothing about saying a sinners prayer to be saved. No where in the Bible will you find an example of Jesus or any of the disciples talking to someone and telling them they must say a prayer to be saved. NO WHERE! And yet, people will stand up and "DEFEND" their right to tell people they MUST say the sinners prayer. There is no walking them through the Ten Commandments (God's Law) to show them their sinfulness, no showing them that they are headed for hell unless they repent of their sins. It is all about having "numbers" within the church. How many people can "we" get saved tonight??

The Bible in all of its fullness has been left out of the picture. We do not want to offend anyone. Some people worry so much about whether a person will come back to church if we tell them what God's Word really says, that they do not want His Word preached fully. They say you must give it to them a little at a time.

So a sinner who is already DEAD in his sins cannot be made fully alive in Christ until he has been in church for at least a year. And yet, we see in the newspapers that children die every day. A teenager who is involved in drugs, alcohol, sex and who knows what else, must come to church in order to be saved, but only after an appropriate amount of time so he does not get scared away by God's Word.

I have to tell you, that is not only UNBIBLICAL it is dangerously close to being the terrible works of the Devil. How dare someone think that we must slowly present the gospel message to people regardless of their age or situation. A dying person is a dying person and if a person is on their death bed, I can just see some people saying "don't mention God's Law to them, they might get offended!" So the person dies in his sins and goes to hell all because we do not want to offend people.

God have mercy on OUR souls!

If you are a pastor and you feel it is inappropriate to present the whole gospel message to the congregation then I have a suggestion for you...

GET OUT OF THE MINISTRY! LEAVE NOW! YOU ARE AN EMBARASSMENT TO GOD AND YOU ARE DOING THE WORKS OF THE DEVIL.

Do you still want people to come to Christ by reciting the sinners prayer?
When we use "man-made" techniques instead of biblical concepts then we have decided that "we" know what is best for converting souls. Or do you not know Scripture?

The Law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul. Psalm 19:7

When I see youth leaders, and even pastors promoting the unbiblical approach of the sinners prayer it makes me want to cringe. Unless a person cries out to God on their own accord, just reciting a prayer said by the pastor will do nothing to change them. They will have no fear of God. Sin will not be seen as being exceedingly wicked in the eyes of a Holy God. They will not have a true understanding of just how HOLY God is. They will have no understanding of what righteousness is. They will not have a true understanding of WHY they need to repent of their sins. They will only want to "get" God because it is a way of them getting something in return for their faith. They want God's blessings poured upon them. That is not biblical.

In fact, that is one of the worst things you can do for a person. Promise them they will receive blessings if they put their faith and trust in God. Uh, did you forget to tell them also about Scripture that says they WILL endure persecution?? Trials? Tribulation?? No, it is never said to the person who says the sinners prayer. Why not? Because the pastors all feel that they will run away from God if we tell them that. And that is precisely what will happen. If you give them nothing but promises of blessings without telling them the rest, the first time they face persecution they will run because they were not given what you promised them. They will have to be saved again sometime in the future. If they have to be saved again, they were never really saved in the first place! The parables of Jesus teach us that!! The wheat and the tares, the good soil and the bad, the good fish and the bad. And there will be people crying out to Jesus on the Day of Judgment, Lord, Lord, didn't we prophesy in your Name? and Jesus will turn to them and say, Depart from me you worker of iniquity, I never knew you! People MUST learn about God but they must learn the WHOLE message. Not only is He a God of love and grace, He is also a God of Wrath and will judge those who are still living in their sins.

How many times have YOU been saved? Are you truly saved?
Do you still find ways to say it is acceptable to live a godless lifestyle and still claim to be a Christian? if so, then there is a good chance you are not truly saved.
I worry when I see people claiming to be Christians and they feel it is perfectly okay to blaspheme His Holy Name, they feel it is okay to lie, cheat, steal, lust and be disrespectful to others. And it is those very same people who came to Jesus by way of the sinners prayer who will DEFEND their right to live a godless lifestyle because they are convinced they are saved and are Christians. They believe in Jesus and because of that they KNOW they are saved.

Even the Devil believes and trembles. I see no trembling on the part of todays contemporary Christians. They take lightly the fact that God is HOLY and requires us to be Holy just as He is Holy. The damage that has been done by todays contemporary pastors is amazing. By the power of God's Word, I pray that all who "say" they believe in Jesus will start "living" like they believe in His Word!

You know Scripture well enough don't you?
Or do you?

Where two or three are gathered together in My Name, I am there in the midst of them.

Is that a Scripture that speaks of God will be with us if we are with one or two more people?

Or do you not know that God is with us always? He is with those who are righteous and follow after Him and His Word.

The above Scripture is actually speaking about church discipline. Does your pastor misquote that verse to make it mean what it does not mean?

People it is so important that you use some discernment when it comes to listening to others preaching the gospel. Use discernment on what I am writing to you. I encourage you to see if what I am saying is true. Don's just blindly follow a pastor because not all pastors are truly saved!

If your pastor brought you to Jesus via the sinners prayer. I pray that you will read what Scripture says about following after man and not following after Jesus. Don't think you are following after man?? You recited man's word when you said "the prayer" didn't you? Pray to God from your own heart. Fall down on your knees and humble yourself to the point of tears that you have offended God by your words and your actions and cry out to the Holy God to save you. You are headed for HELL and that is the plain and simple truth. Hell awaits all who are not obedient to God's Holy Word. Obedience comes with faith. If your faith is not producing obedience to His Word, then there is a leak in your faith. You need to have it checked out.

How many times have you been saved? It is a question worth checking into!

I originally posted this about three years ago. It is just as true today as it was then.

Are Christians Ever To Accuse Someone?

2011-09-02T14:01:00.002-05:00

I agree.. for if we accuse, we are Satan's allies.. Satan is the accuser.. don't be like him..

Professional jealousy is the core reason why men of God like Rick Warren come under so much critisim

Sorry Clint but you are really off base applying that Scripture to Warren. You should really investigate before you make accusations against God's people. While I understand the call and need to defend the truth, you have to be careful before judging others. While no man (other then Jesus) is perfect, Warren does preach and teach the true gosepl of Jesus Christ

Of course not my friend. I think we need to wait until all the evidence comes in on Rick Warren until anyone makes any kind of accusations. That is the Christ like way to do things

remember, the only ACCUSER is the devil. the devil accuses without further investigation..

All of the above comments came from this link...
http://www.christianpost.com/news/rick-warren-does-not-embrace-chrislam-say-pastors-52833/

It is about whether Rick Warren is a Chrislam or not. Whether he believes the Koran and the bible can coexist together at the same time. The number of comments defending him are amazing. When they have as their only argument (not using Scripture to back up their claims) that we are not to accuse him of anything because the bible says so, well that got me thinking.

What constitutes accusing someone?
What is the difference between pointing out incorrect teachings as opposed to just accusing that person of something?

Let's set the record straight to begin with. For all of those people who say we are not to accuse because the bible says so, I want to give what Scripture actually says...

Luke 3:14 says, And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages.

Just like when people say we are not to judge, even though scripture says differently...
1 Corinthians 5:12 says, For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?

We are to bring accusations against those who are misleading the people of God. If not, how will God's Word be lifted up? How will the integrity of His Word shine? If God's children do nothing in regards to His Word being man-handled, wrangled and spit about as venom, then the church will not do what it is called to do, which is to edify the body of believers.

What we must be sure of is that we are not to accuse someone falsely!

so, maybe you want to hear what Jesus has to say on this subject.
Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust.

uh oh, there goes the whole argument that we are not to accuse anyone and that the ONLY one who can accuse is Satan. Jesus said that even Moses will accuse to the Father what you have done. Why? Because, as you have heard, the Law and the Prophets, well, Moses represents the Law. The Ten Commandments will be used by God to judge you. Yes, ALL have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Here is where the application of this verse comes in on this particular storyline.

Rick Warren does not teach biblically from the pulpit or anywhere for that matter.
Here is what RW is guilty of...
signing the letter to the muslims basically asking for forgiveness from their god, ALLAH, the all-merciful one. The letter goes on to put Jesus on the same level as Muhammad, just a prophet of god and nothing more.
His books are nothing more than self-promotion. He states categorically that the books are not about "you." but about God. Take and read a part of any of his books and you will quickly see that it is all about YOU. No need to repent of your sins because God loves you just the way you are.
When RW signed that letter he gave credence to the Koran as being equal to the bible. That makes him a Chrislam (combination of Christian and Islam) (the bible and koran both taught).
Did you happen to hear RW at Obama's inaugaration speech? He prayed to Jesus and to ISA (which is the islams, muslims, Esau -- the one God hateth!)

When the evidence is right there on TV, YOUTUBE and in print, it is very easy to expose RW for who he is, A FALSE PREACHER!

Do you want to call that an accusation?
Go right ahead. The Law of Moses will condemn him for his false teachings. We are to have NO OTHER GOD BEFORE THE GOD OF THE BIBLE! Unless RW repents of his sins, he will be judged.

Have you ever accused someone of not living a life for Christ? I am not talking about the non christian, I am talking about those who profess to know Jesus and yet deny His very power!

We are either a child of God or a child of the Devil. Who's are you?
If you are RW, you are promoting the muslim god and Jesus.
If you are a TRUE CHRISTIAN, then you are ONLY promoting Jesus Christ as the ONLY way to heaven.

Does your church follow after the teachings of Rick Warren? Investigate for yourself before you allow one more moment to pass. His false teachings will cause people to go to hell.

Open your eyes folks, God's patience is running thin on people like RW. don't be involved in his heresy.

A Flying Squirrel, A Boxer and Many Beaches, and the strength of the salvation of a false believer...What do they have in common?

2011-08-29T08:08:00.003-05:00

Rocky the Flying Squirrel was super popular back in the 60's when I was growing up! He always hung around Bullwinkle. What a pair they made!

Rocky Balboa was very popular back in the 80's and 90's for his never give up boxing style. He hung around his old time trainer (the penguine from the original batman series). What a pair they made!

The rocky beaches can be both beautiful and bad at the same time. Beautiful to look at, but not so great to walk on next to the beach. It can always be seen hanging out with lots of water! What an awe inspiring pair these two make!

And some fell upon a rock, and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. Luke 8:6

Now the parable is this, the seed is the word of God. Luke 8:11

They on the rock{are they}, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation, fall away. Luke 8:13

Being a Christian can be very popular at any time. That was not always the case. Men and women were killed for their faith in Jesus Christ. Even today, in other parts of the world, Christians are being killed for believing in Jesus as their Lord and Savior. The problem is here in America. We have a President that denies that this country ever has been and is not currently a Christian nation. He does not want to offend his muslim friends. There will come a time here in America where the Christians will be killed for their faith. Either theyaccept Jesus or deny Him. One will give life here on earth, the other will give life eternally in heaven. For the one who gains life on earth, he will lose his life to hell and forever be in damnation, forever in suffering pain and agony. Many self professing Christians accepted Jesus by simply saying a magical little prayer and they think that will get them into heaven. Unless they repent, they will fall away from God and they will go to hell. In spite of their supposed goodness, they will still be tossed into the eternal fire.

How many people do you know that lack fruit? They call themselves Christians but do not want to go to church? They say the church is full of hypocrites. They say they are a good person because of Jesus even though, they still lie, cheat, fornicate, commit adultery, blaspheme God's Holy Name, break the Sabbath, worship idols and so on. They do not understand that it is not their goodness that will get them into heaven. It is also not only calling on the name of Jesus and saying you believe in Him. The Devil believes and he trembles. Every knee shall bow, and that includes you and me. The saved as well as the unsaved. The liar, the thief and the homosexual will all bow down to face the God of wrath and be sentenced to eternal hell. Only those people who repent of their sins will see heaven. Only those who accept Jesus as BOTH LORD AND SAVIOR will go to heaven.

Many people say they want to go to heaven, but they don't get it. Jesus will be there. They don't want to go to church because Jesus is there and His Word is sharper than any two-edged sword. They don't want to go to church because they would have to sit with other Christians. They say they want to go to heaven and at the same time, they deny the power of God to transform their lives. They continue to live in their sins. Girls sleeping with older men (unmarried), tattoo's all over their bodies, even though God's Word is against that. Blaspheming the name of God. Some people just do not want God to convict them of their sins while they are living here on earth because that would mean they would have to give up their sins. No, they would rather enjoy their sins for a season and hope they get saved before they die. That is not a good game to play with God.

Seed and bad rocky ground do not make a good match. When trials and temptations come, the person professing to be a Christian will fall away from the faith and his latter end will be worse that the first.

How is your seed planted? Good soil that allows you to grow strong regardless of what is happening to you? Or is it in the rocky ground? Where it lacks tears of a broken and contrite heart before God? You need to take a look at yourself in the mirror of God's Word, the Ten Commandments. Can you see just how sinful, sinfilled, you are? Repent of your sins today for today is the Day of Salvation!

The Love of God and the Wrath of God!

2011-08-22T03:30:00.002-05:00

Are you ready for this? For a few years now I have been preaching the need to present the "whole" gospel message. Too many pastor's focus only on the grace of God and will tell people that God is love and that He loves everyone. No need to repent, or at least mention the word repentance. And definitely, no need to tell people that our God is a God of wrath. Pastor's you are deceiving your people when you do not tell them the whole gospel message. As a result of your inadequate preaching, people are running to all kinds of false teachings as if their heads were cut off. Running, running, running and never getting anywhere spiritually.

2 Timothy 3:7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

The Love of God

Romans 5:5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

Romans 8:39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

2 Corinthians 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, [be] with you all. Amen.

2 Thessalonians 3:5 And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ.

Titus 3:4 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,

1 John 3:16 Hereby perceive we the love [of God], because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down [our] lives for the brethren.

1 John 4:9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.

1 John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

Jude 1:21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

Deuteronomy 30:6 And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.

Ezekiel 16:8 Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time [was] the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine.

Romans 15:30 Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in [your] prayers to God for me;

1 John 3:1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

1 John 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.

The Love of God (lacking or conditional)

Luke 11:42 But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

John 5:42 But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you.

1 John 2:5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.

1 John 3:17 But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels [of compassion] from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?

Deuteronomy 10:12 And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,

Deuteronomy 13:3 Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. (did our friend meg see this? I sure hope so)

Amos 5:15 Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.

2 Corinthians 13:11 Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.

The Wrath of God

Psalm 78:31 The wrath of God came upon them, and slew the fattest of them, and smote down the chosen [men] of Israel.

John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

Romans 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

Eph 5:6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.

Col 3:6 For which things sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:

Rev 14:10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:

Rev 14:19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast [it] into the great winepress of the wrath of God.

Rev 15:1 And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.

Rev 15:7 And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.

Rev 16:1 And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.

Exodus 32:11 And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?

Deu 9:7 Remember, [and] forget not, how thou provokedst the LORD thy God to wrath in the wilderness: from the day that thou didst depart out of the land of Egypt, until ye came unto this place, ye have been rebellious against the LORD.

2Ch 24:18 And they left the house of the LORD God of their fathers, and served groves and idols: and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their trespass.

2Ch 29:10 Now [it is] in mine heart to make a covenant with the LORD God of Israel, that his fierce wrath may turn away from us.

2Ch 30:8 Now be ye not stiffnecked, as your fathers [were, but] yield yourselves unto the LORD, and enter into his sanctuary, which he hath sanctified for ever: and serve the LORD your God, that the fierceness of his wrath may turn away from you.

2Ch 36:16 But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till [there was] no remedy.

Ezr 5:12 But after that our fathers had provoked the God of heaven unto wrath, he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house, and carried the people away into Babylon.

Ezr 7:23 Whatsoever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be diligently done for the house of the God of heaven: for why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons?

Ezr 8:22 For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way: because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God [is] upon all them for good that seek him; but his power and his wrath [is] against all them that forsake him.

Ezr 10:14 Let now our rulers of all the congregation stand, and let all them which have taken strange wives in our cities come at appointed times, and with them the elders of every city, and the judges thereof, until the fierce wrath of our God for this matter be turned from us.

Job 20:23 [When] he is about to fill his belly, [God] shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him, and shall rain [it] upon him while he is eating.

Job 32:2 Then was kindled the wrath of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the kindred of Ram: against Job was his wrath kindled, because he justified himself rather than God.

Psa 59:13 Consume [them] in wrath, consume [them], that they [may] not [be]: and let them know that God ruleth in Jacob unto the ends of the earth. Selah.

Eze 22:31 Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord GOD.

Rom 2:5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.

Jesus spoke more about hell than he did about heaven. Do you realize that? If you are in a church that has a poor pastor who only speaks of grace, then you most likely did not know this. Are you seeking prophets to tell you about your life? (are you listening megan?) then you will have to ignore certain scriptures to please your self.

Do not get me wrong on this one. GOD IS LOVE. AMEN TO THAT ONE! HE IS MOST DEFINITELY LOVE. BUT DO NOT BE DECEIVED, GOD IS ALSO WRATH. AND HIS WRATH IS ABOUT TO BE POURED OUT ON ALL HUMANITY FOR THEIR DISOBEDIENCE.

The signs of the times are upon us. The rapture of the church can happen at any time now. But only the church will be raptured. Only those who are truly saved. Few there be that enter in the narrow gate. Will you be one of the few? If you continue to live your life as though God does not care what sins you are involved with then by all means enjoy your sins for a season. but beware ... God is not mocked! He demands obedience to His Word and if you are living in disobedience to His Word then you will not go to heaven. Examine yourself today. Are you living in sin? Do you make provisions to sin? In other words, do you set out to sin knowing full well it is against God's Holy Word? Do you make plans to sin? If you are part of a mega church (or even a small church for that matter) that only preaches grace with no mention of God's wrath, you can pretty much bet that the pastor of that church is not saved himself. To not mention the wrath of God is to HATE you so much that he does not care if you go to hell or not. Does the wrath of God scare you? GOOD!

Psalm 34:11 Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

Proverbs 8:13 The fear of the LORD [is] to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.

Proverbs 16:6 By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD [men] depart from evil.

Proverbs 23:17 Let not thine heart envy sinners: but [be thou] in the fear of the LORD all the day long.

Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the LORD [is] the beginning of knowledge: [but] fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Watch this video. There are true preachers of God's Word and there are false teachers. Do we as Christians know how to discern the truth any more than the world does?

May God forgive us for not having a Fear of Him. A healthy fear of God is necessary to becoming a true follower of Christ. Come to Him for the right reason. Don't fall into the lie that God is ONLY a God of love. He is a God of wrath as well and unless ye repent of your sins and put your faith and trust in Him ye shall likewise perish!

The Sin of Facebook or is it Your sin?

2011-08-19T04:55:00.003-05:00

If ur gay, it's a sin. If ur bisexual, ur confused. If ur skinny, ur on drugs. If ur fat, ur a slob. If ur dressed up, ur conceited. If u speak ur mind, ur a bitch. If u don't say anything, u must be miserable. If u cry, ur a drama queen. If u have male friends, ur a whore. If u defend urself, ur a troublemaker. U can't do anything without being criticized. If ur proud of who u are copy and paste this. Love me or hate me, but u will never change me!

And the above comments are seen all over the place on Facebook by people who profess to be Christians. They make comments for the whole world to see and yet they mock the very words of God by the way they live their lives.

You will find pictures posted for the world to see by people who claim to be Christians. And what are they doing in those pictures? They are pictures of girls laying in bed with a guy that is not their husband. Showing them kissing and making comments about how they like to cuddle together. Showing off pictures of their latest tattoo's and talking about their latest experience with prophets at their church. Watch the following clip about one such prophet and you will begin to see how dangerous Facebook can be in bringing other people into a false knowledge of Christ.

Now let's take it a step further.
Many people on Facebook have over 500 friends listed. What does that have to do with anything? Take the start of this post as an example. You have 500 people who are your "friends" and they are all reading what you, a supposed Christian are posting. They are seeing that you, that supposed Christian, are saying it is okay to be gay, or bi, or on drugs, or anything at all. Why? Because all you have to do is be proud of who you are.

The Bible speaks of someone in the Bible that had over 700 wives and concubines. Solomon. The son of David. So what is the danger here? Besides the very obvious, the danger comes from trying to please each one. Solomon tried to please his wives to the point that he fell away from God. He erected tall places in honor of the gods of the women he was married to. He place a one such piece in Moab in honor of their god that they worshipped.

So what we have here on Facebook is the desire to please the friends. It no longer is about standing up for God and His HOLY WORD, no, it is all about saying things that will be popular to the masses. Show pictures of how you love to live in your sin with a man or a woman. Post comments about false prophecies because it makes you look spiritual to the world. Post pictures of a false document that says you are ordained of God by of all places, a universalist site ( for those of you that don't know, a universalist is a person that believes ALL people go to heaven. There is no hell. That means that an atheist, a mormon, an agnostic, a satan worshipper, a witch, call all get ordained to preach whatever they want to preach).

Facebook is also a place where you can see indecent, immoral pictures of people who name the name of Christ. Pictures of skimpy outfits that come within a half inch of showing something that ought not to be seen publicly. Girls kissing each other and promoting homosexual activities. Guys saying don't judge homosexuals, that is God's place. All the while forgetting that we as Christians are told to judge those within the church.

Facebook has become a place where anything goes, anything can be said, anything can be shown, anything can be presented as truth to the whole world. It is a place where the "world" resides. We as christians are not to be of the world, we are to be separated from the world. We still live in the world, but our lifestyle should exemplify Christ living within us. Sadly, too many professing Christians have failed miserably in their quest to live out a godly life for the world to see. Lord have mercy on them that do such abominable things.

From a pastor who took 6 months to speak to a dying lost man about Christ, to the same man who plays soft music behind his preaching so as to create an "effect" of emotions in the service, to the young person who follows all kinds of false teachings and displays them for the world to see, to the person who gets every kind of tattoo because they want to "glorify" God, to the ones who tell vulgar jokes and use vulgar language for the world to see, to the ones who want you to be like the world by embracing the you that is in you, and not the Christ that should be living within you, to the person who openly mocks God with his satanic worship, to the person who is more worried about having 1000 friends on Facebook that they will do and say anything to get them to be their friends. to the person who denies God, to the people who say in church, "This is not the time nor the place for Scripture," to the person who hates people for standing up for Christ, to the person who takes advantage of little girls and yet calls himself a Christian, to the person who cheats on his wife, to the old man sleeping with a young girl, to the people who support gay rights, abortions and still believes it is okay to claim Jesus as their Lord and Savior, to the person who leads a major denomination and will stand up for hypocrisy instead of God's Word, and to all the people who spend more time on Facebook than they do getting into God's Word...

You have been removed from my friends list on Facebook. I am so sick and tired of supposed Christians behaving in a way that does not glorify God. I want to see people truly desiring to please God. It is my desire to see God glorified in all things. I am hated, despised and ridiculed for being a faithful follower of Christ. Praise God because I know they hated Him first, even though they claim to know Jesus. A day will come when He will say to them, Depart from Me you worker of iniquity, I never knew you.

It is one thing to sin. We all do that.
It is quite another thing to sin and post it for the whole world to see.
It is quite another thing to embrace the sin and be proud of it.
It is quite another thing to share your sin with others in hopes of influencing them to follow the same god you do (not the God of the bible).

Which preacher would you rather listen to?
Joel Osteen or Paul Washer?

Now the question is this...
Who do you listen to? Jesus or man? Facebook or the Bible?
Matthew 6:21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also

Has Facebook distracted you from what is really important? How many hours a day do you spend on Facebook? How many minutes a day do you spend in God's Word? Anything that takes you away from God is an idol. The sin of Facebook is the fact that it breaks the first and the second commandments!

And when you top it off by promoting things of the devil, you expose yourself for whose you really are. You are either a child of God or a child of the devil.
Everything has its place. But how you use those things will determine where your heart lies. Repent of your Facebook sins and clean up your life and walk in obedience to the One who laid down His life for you. God is not to be mocked and millions of people EVERYDAY mock Him by the way they parade themselves around as Christians all the while, living for the devil.

I pray that God will open your eyes today and that you will live a life pleasing to the Lord of Hosts and King of Kings. Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior and He is also Judge. Who will you face when you die?

locked doors of the American Church

2011-04-03T16:40:00.001-05:00

Tell me what you think of this video that I created! I am anxious to hear from you all, yes, even from Jeff Greathouse! I would love to hear your opinion. Hope everyone is doing well. My wife is sick with strep throat so please be praying for her.

Creating false converts

2010-12-05T19:40:00.002-06:00

Is this how you bring children to Christ?
What a shame! When so many churches are not even properly preaching God's Word, the last thing we need are people making false Christians so easily! Oh how far the church has fallen!

How to know when it is time to change churches...

2010-12-05T14:35:00.004-06:00

It's all about Me!

Does that describe your church? Where the sermons are geared towards "your" felt needs...
Adultery? Do you like to do that? Have you married someone who was married while you were dating him? Not a sin if you find the right churches or hang out with the right so called "christians."

How about lying? Is that something you like to do? Want to know what God thinks of that? NO? Then find a church that never mentions sin and the need to repent of them. Of course you won't go to heaven, but hey, at least you will be happy here on earth. (just remember that time flies and no one knows when they will breathe their last breath on this earth)

What about sex outside of marriage? You know, fornication? Oh yes, the bible does specifically talk about fornicators going to hell. But hey, if you don't like what God's Word says, then find a church that does not mention this as being sin. Find one that says it is okay to be just like the world.

Idol worship? Not a problem here. Worship that boy more than God or worship that girl more than God. See how far you get in the life after you die. So long as you go to a "cool" church where everyone accepts you for loving your sins and does not require of you to repent, then that must the church from God for you.

Honor thy parents? Don't even go there on this one. It is not necessary to honor your parents. You can even go so far as to call them trolls or haters for trying to keep you on the straight and narrow road that leads to heaven. There are churches out there that will encourage you to hate your parents, literally hate them! Find that church, it must be of God if they teach you that!

Homosexuality? Go for it. Yes, the bible does say that homosexuals will go to hell. Find a church that is "soft" on their approach with gays. Find one that will never tell them that they need to repent of their sins. There are plenty of churches out there that do that. Go ahead and find one.

Does all of this sound far fetched?

It's not! This is happening each and every day. It is amazing to see how many people profess to be Christians but will base their search for a church on the very things I mentioned above. Tatoo's?? Don't ever tell someone what the bible says about putting marks on our bodies. If they are pretend christians, they will deny the very Word of God and go ahead and do what they want to do.

How about marriage outside of church? Not bad if a pastor performs the ceremony out in a park setting. That can be quite beautiful. But what if two professing christians (who have been involved in adultery, fornication, lying, dishonoring parents) (doesn't sound like christians to me, does it to you?) what if they are denied the opportunity of a pastor-led wedding? Well, off to the courthouse they go. Did I mention they only knew each other for one month?

See, you can tell when it is time to change churches when the pastor is not truly preaching God's whole Word. If he does not preach on sin and the need to repent of that sin, then he is a terrible pastor and you need to run from him. If he is telling stories of "his" life and not talking about what Jesus taught (repentance from sin and faith in Him) then you need to run from him.

The bible tells us to not have fellowship with the fruits of darkness. And sometimes that is very hard to do with people you love. But if they are professing Christians and are living in a very outwards sinful life without repentance, then you are to leave them to their father (the devil). Otherwise, you are showing the nonchristians that you as a christian approve of their deeds of darkness.

Some people want me to talk about economics and money from a biblical point of view. Why should I do that? Considering Jesus said that it is hard for a rich man to inherit the kingdom of heaven.

No, the thing that needs to be said is this...
REPENT, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!

In that final day there will be those (supposed christians) who will say Lord, Lord didn't we prophesy in your name...
and He will say to them...
Depart from me you worker of iniquity, I never knew you!

Without repentance there is no salvation and if your church is not teaching you this, then you need to leave and find one that is biblical. Send me a note if you have any questions.

Marriage, sex, adultery, homosexuality, drugs, etc

2010-11-27T14:12:00.005-06:00

This post today is going to hit on several topics, all from a biblical point of view. How will you line up with God's Word when it is all said and done? People will get mad at me and do a lot of name calling towards me but I know that it is not me that they hate, it is God and His Holy Word. The bible tells us that is so.

Luke 6:22

Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you [from their company], and shall reproach [you], and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake.

John 15:18

If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before [it hated] you.

The Pharisees hated Jesus so much that they wanted Him dead. He was a threat to their power hungry religious life. Jesus exposed them as the frauds that they were. We are called to expose frauds too. Those false prophets, pastor and all other so called "christians" who are not teaching and living a life truly for the One and Only God, need to be exposed. Why? Because the bible tells us so.

Ephesians 5:11

And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove [them].

So now as I go about talking of sin, see if the sin you love is covered here and check to see if your life and devotion to God lines up with His Word. If it doesn't then you need to repent of your sins. People say that God is a God of love. That is true. But He is also a God of wrath and that is the God that people refuse to believe. If they believed it they would not live and enjoy their sin so much. If they truly loved God and believed in His holiness and in His power, they would have a healthy fear of Him. You can see the lack of fear that people have for God by the way they speak, or by the way they act. They say they "believe" in God but only to the point of believing. Unfortunately, they do not know that believing in God is not a ticket into heaven.

James 2:19

Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

Now, if the devils believe AND tremble and we know they will not enter heaven, then what makes you think that "your" belief alone will get you into heaven. The bible tells us that without repentance -- THERE IS NO SALVATION!

Luke 13:2-5

And Jesus answered and said to them, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? "I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. "Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? "I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish."

So here is the problem we have today. We have false prophets, teachers and pastor who refuse to preach the true Word of God. They only tell half of the story. Why? Because they want large mega churches. With mega churches, you get lots of people and with lots of people you get lots of money. Those people refuse to properly teach God's Word because they know enough of the bible to know that if they did teach it the right way, people would become offended. If they become offended by God's Word, they will leave the church and their money will leave with them. That is why you see churches entertaining people now. They blast their music real loud, the pastors try to look "cool" by wearing jeans with holes in them (so he can relate to the lost sinners), he has earrings and tatoos and he is not scared to use cuss words as shock value. He will show entertaining videos and have people come up on stage doing stupid, supposedly funny things in order to get people laughing. He tells jokes to make people feel good. He tells them "God loves you" and sends them home. And look what happens when they go back home...

The following are true stories.

An elder of the church goes home and beats on his wife and kids. He threatens his wife in front of the kids and tells the kids that if a man held a gun to their heads, and told their mom to stop reading the bible or he would kill them, their mom would let them die. She would rather read her bible than save their life.

After finding out that a son of an elderly woman was going to visit a church, the pastor of that church changed his sermon. He found out the boy was gay and he did not want to offend the boy by talking about homosexuality, so he changed his sermon.

After hearing what the bible says about tatoos, a person purposefully goes out and gets more tatoos and says she does it for God's glory. Knowing full well what the bible says about sex outside of marriage this person goes church hopping in hopes of finding a man. She sleeps with several different guys, saying she loves them only to find out later they were not good christian men like they profess to be.

Getting drunk and lying in the road, a "christian" says that God forgives him because he only gets drunk once in a while.

A group of christians from work go out drinking, smoking and cussing up a storm and in the very next breath they will praise God because He is love.

A pastor commits adultery with one of his members in the congregation and says God forgives him. But he keeps on without repenting.

Let's see...
homosexuality, sex outside of marriage, adultery, drugs, alcohol, cussing.

Do those look like the traits that Jesus wants His followers to have?
NO

1 Corinthians 6:9-10

Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

Fornicators --
But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.

The Greek word for fornicator is "pornos" and we all know how bad that is in God's eyes. It has to do with sex outside of the bounds of marriage.

Idolaters --
An idolater is anyone who worships a false god.

This is one where so many people are guilty. A false god is not just worshipping a bronze calf. It is not jsut worshipping a god of a cult, like mormonism. It is worshipping a god that they have created in their minds. It is worshipping a god that is not the God of the bible. Too many people worship a god that looks the other way at their sins. They feel God will not punish them for living in habitual sins. Is that you? Do you know that God will judge the unrighteous person and that person will be found wanting and be cast to hell for all eternity. Their will be millions of people cast into hell and out of those millions of people, the majority of them would consider themselves to be christians. But just because "you" call yourself a christian, does not mean that God calls you His child. The bible tells us that you are either a child of the devil or a child of God.

Acts 13:10
And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, [thou] child of the devil, [thou] enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?

Again this all comes down to repentance. If you are not willing to cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord, then you are a child of the devil. And as a child of the devil, you only have hell to look forward to. There won't be card playing and drinking in hell. It will not be one big party as some like to joke about.

Revelation 20:10
And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet [are], and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Many of you who profess to be christians and teach others to sin or participate in sin with them are guilty of deceiving people about who the true God of the bible is. Hell is a very real place of fire and brimstone. It will go on for all eternity. You will never be able to escape the pain and torture.

Adulterers --
Sex with another married person. But Jesus said that any one who lust after another is guilty of adultery. See, God looks at our hearts, not just our actions.

Matthew 5:27-28
Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

Here is a shameful example for you. A girl meets a boy (he is married, separated but in GOD'S eyes, he is STILL married). She claims to be a Christian and yet she sleeps with this boy. In fact, before his divorce is even finalized, the two of them are engaged to be married. In fact, just one week after the divorce, the two of them are getting married. Their total amount of time of knowing each other? As of now, it is about 6 weeks. The marriage takes place in two days in a courthouse and not in a church. Did I mention that he smokes and drinks and calls himself a christian?

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Time to go to church. I will finish this article when I get home from church. Please take time to examine yourself to see if you are truly in the faith. If not, you need to repent and turn to God for forgiveness. Then do the sin no more!

More on Robert Schuller bankrupt church...

2010-10-24T05:47:00.003-05:00

I received another email from a faithful member of Schuller's church. While he did not address a single point of the false teachings I posted in the other post, he went on to say some pretty wild things. Read below to see his comments. My comments will be added along side his.
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I read your rantings and your take on things but you completely missed the point. Just because "you" don't agree with what the Chrystal Cathedral does for many millions of people, doesn't mean it's wrong. It's "YOUR" take on it and one that I am sure many may believe in, but that's for them to decide. There is more to life than taking what the Bible reads and making it fit what you feel is proper and right for all people.
I missed the point? I exposed his false teachings and all you can do is say "I" missed the point because you think it is my opinion. Scripture does not lie (unless you don't believe in God's Word as being true!) Taking what the Bible says by using proper use of Scripture (i.e. cross referencing, historical data, etc). Schuller is the one who takes a line of Scripture and twists it to fit his self-esteem garbage.

I have been a Southern Baptist all my life and for the past five years a member of a Non-doniminations church which has a different take on what the Bible says. One I sat still and listened while in the other I raised my hands and praised the Lord during the service. Was I wrong on one and right on the other, or was I more a part of one and less of another.
Guess I am confused. You say here you have been a Southern Baptist all your life and yet in the next paragraph you make it seem like you have been a member of Schullers church for the past 35 years. What you should do is be concerned that two churches have different "takes" on what the bible says. Do you have discernment on knowing how to tell if a church is biblical or not? It is not about the use of hands but about the teaching taking place. Is it biblical or is it filled with heresy?

You can listen, read, talk, point out, complain, yell or whatever a person wishes to do "but" what it in their heart and how the handle themselves in daily life is what counts.
Is there fruit?

I said one time at church, "If I walked out of here today with Bible in hand, dressed for church, praising the Lord and people seeing me here on Sunday, they would pretty much know that I am a Christian or that I claim to me. "BUT" on Monday or other days of the week, without the Bible in hand and no where near the church, do they "still" see me as a Christian through my actions? That's where is counts to me. How I act, how I treat others, etc.
It is not just how you act and treat others. There are many non-christians who are really nice people and treat people in very loving manner, and yet, they are headed for hell.

Roberts Schuller has "never" asked me one time in 35 years to "Let this be the only church you go to"... in fact over the years he has stated to people "Find a home church, I can't walk over a cemetery or hold your hand when you need comfort"..... He has always asked people to have a home church and use the "Hour of Power" for extra comfort and learning.
Of course, he never fails to ask people for their money too!

He has given me more to go on with my daily life than any one person that I know of. How to love the Lord "AND" other people by building them UP and making the know they are "SOMEBODY" and never a "JUST".
Not sure what you mean by never a just. When a person is truly saved they will never never need someone to tell them how to love the Lord and other people.

Just the other night I was headed home after a vacation and we stopped at a place for something "on the run" and there was a young man that was scrubbing the floor. Because of Robert Schuller and how he has treated people I said to this young man "wow, you really have this floor clean" "looks like a hospital floor it's so clean". Now, maybe to you that was silly, but to me and maybe to HIM he realized that he is not "JUST" someone that mops the floor but the "BEST" at what he was doing and does until he finds a job that will propel him to a better income in life.
Really? Because of Robert Schuller you said something nice to someone? Really? Not because Jesus is God, but because Robert Schuller taught you to be nice to someone? WOW? Maybe his income is where he wants it to be. Do you really think that just because he mops floors, that he is a loser who is not happy with his pay? To Schuller, it is about money. But to God, what does it profit a man to gain the whole world but lose his soul?

If you need a lesson on this, try taking your Bible (only) and walk up to anyone you wish and start telling them how they are living in sin, how bad they are, how you are correct and they are wrong and how you know the way to Heaven and they do not. Watch how the accept you for a few seconds and tell you to please move one.
A couple of summers ago, I spoke with over 300 individual people, with Bible in my hand and we spoke about sin, how sinful they are and how they need a Savior. I only had one person act offended. Everyone else was very thankful that I spoke to them. If you do not get them to a point of recognizing their sinfulness, you will create false believers and they will be headed to hell because of not mentioning it to them. Or don't you realize that without repentance of sin there is no salvation?

Now, take that same Bible and put it in Robert Schullers hand and let him tell them their "worth" to God and their "good place" on earth and how they are "SOMEBODY" and then see if they won't listen to him and want to know 'where does this man get this good feeling for life, God, people and share it with me and make me want what he has as well."
Putting the same bible in Schuller's hand will not help a person because he will refuse to share the "whole" gospel with people. He only wants people to feel good. Jesus did not do that. He told them what they needed to hear.

You are a prime example of the type of person that is counter productive to what people need. God is Good....and man should be as well when it come to being a representative of his word.
Would you consider yourself to be good? Seriously, do you consider yourself to be a good person? I highly doubt it!

Learn some of these little sayings and use them and you will be much more intune with life. I got them all from Robert Schuller over the years. They work and I use them all the time. "Inch By Inch, Anythings A Cinch", The Me I See, Is The Me I will Be", If you can dream it, you can be it" "For anything you like to do that is both moral and legal, there is someone out there getting paid to do it" "I AM SOMEBODY", "God loves you and so do I". "If It's Going To Be It's Up To Me" and they go on and on........
WOW, if only Robert Schuller would spend more time teaching God's Word than coming up with silly sayings. Amazing!
1. Inch by inch, anythings a cinch.
I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me!
2. The Me is see, is the me I will be.
Man is depraved sinner. If you don't see yourself as depraved and as a sinner, you will never come to a point of salvation.
3. If you can dream it, you can be it.
IF it is the Lord's will. Just because you say or dream something does not mean that it will happen. Or do you think your words are more powerful than the Word of God? Do you think that God is obligated to do for you something just because you spoke or dreamt the words?
4. For anything you like to do that is both moral and legal, there is someone out there getting paid to do it.
WHAT IN THE WORLD DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH BEING A CHRISTIAN?
5. I AM SOMEBODY!
Good for you, the only problem is that we are all somebody and someone's. You are either a child of God or a child of the Devil.
6. God loves you and so do I.
Really? Do you know that there is a literal place called Hell? God's wrath is going to be poured out on the unbelievers.
7. If it's going to be up to me...
I would hate to think what Schuller is trying to teach with that one!

When Jesus began his ministry the first words he spoke were, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. In the Book of Revelation, what did He tell the 7 Churches? Repent or else...! read the Book of Amos and see what God tells them. Repent or else!!!! In Schullers version of being a Christian, it is okay to be a homosexual, a blasphemer, a murderer because to him they will all go to heaven. Just so long as you end up being a good person, you will go to heaven. Read 1 Corinthians 6:9-10. Even being a liar will He cast you into the lake of fire! Do you understand what it takes to be saved? Do you truly understand? In your own words or in Schullers words, how can a person be saved?

I hope you have a nice day and btw.. you must REALLY dislike Joel Osteen that smiles and makes people feel good in his ministry as well? He's happy as are the Schullers and those that love them! God Loves You and I am trying!!
First off, Joel Osteen is not a godly pastor. He is a feel good guru. He does not even know Scripture and he admits it. He gets a lot of money to make people feel good about themselves. He and Schuller are alot a like. Do you realize that the bible speaks about men like them? Galatians 1:8-9. Preaching a different gospel is very dangerous and they will be accursed. Read 2 Timothy 4:3 about people wanting to have their ears tickled by feel good messages! The bible says people will turn away from the truth. You and thousands of others have done that. You have followed after man instead of God. You have placed your trust in a man who has given you "sound bites" to remember instead of God's Holy Word. You have only learned about grace without truly understanding just how great His grace really is. You have not learned about our sinful nature. You must tell people both sides of the story not just about grace.

I would love to sit down at a table with you and lovingly share with you the gospel the way it should be shared. You would walk away with knowledge but with a humbleness towards God. My prayers are with you sir.

Robert Schuller's bankrupt church

2010-10-21T08:49:00.002-05:00

I received an email complaining about how I was bashing Schuller's church (the one that filed bankruptcy for 43 million dollars in debt!). Below is a copy of his letter (no name mentioned)

"I am sure your church and your group has done much and that you have your take on what's good when we worship God/Jesus, but please don't bash a ministry that has been "all over the world" for nearly 40 years helping so much, so well.
No matter what, this church is a product of the downturn in the economy. This was one of the "FIRST" to ever reach out to the WORLD to share the word of the Lord. I have belonged to the Eagle's Club of this church 12 times and did it this year "just because" this church NEEDS to be around. When I see people belittle this church at this time in the life of the Crystal Cathedral, that's the kind of people a ministry needs to preach to and share the gospel with. Dr. Robert H. Schuller is right up there with Bill Graham and others. It's going to be fun watching them pull out of this, be back on top and the "belittlers" looking for someone else to kick...... God forgives, so you are still saved! "Inch By Inch, Anything's A Cinch" when it comes to what God can do!!"

Below is my reply to him. I brought up several of Schuller's false teachings. It will probably do no good, because one thing I have learned over the years is that once a person makes up his mind to follow false teachings or ideologies, it is hard (not impossible) for him to leave that teaching. All we can do is pray!
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Sorry to hear you have been following his false teachings all these years! The first problem with Schuller’s teaching is that he has a man-centered theology as opposed to a God-centered theology. In a very subtle way , Schuller writes that God is not glorified until man is glorified. In fact, he writes, “…it is impossible to glorify God until we glorify his children.”

Schuller has redefined salvation, as well, by teaching that “to be born again means that we must be changed from a negative to a positive self-image….” Hell is redefined as “the loss of pride that naturally follows separation from God…A person is in hell when he has lost his self-esteem.” This is a major alteration of God’s Word because Jesus taught that hell is a literal place of torment (Mk. 9:47-48).

Certainly, one of the most blasphemous teachings by Schuller is that Christ’s death on the cross was for nothing more than protection against His perfect self-esteem from being turned into sinful pride. According to Schuller, Jesus would not even tell us that we are miserable sinners. Quite contrary, Jesus said, “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance” (Lk. 5:32). Rather than the cross sanctifying the ego trip, it is a testimony of man’s utter depravity and the horrible price that God paid to redeem fallen mankind.

Another dangerous aspect of Schuller’s teaching is “possibility thinking,” which is nothing more than humanistic psychology stressing the powers of the mind. Faith is a force or power that Christians and even non-Christians can use to manipulate energy. By following these techniques man can become co-creators with God. In essence, Robert Schuller’s “possibility thinking” is the same as Eastern practitioners. In conclusion, the church should not accept Schuller’s teachings any longer. One should not seek fellowship where these false teachings are being taught (Rom. 16:17) for they will lead to dangerous consequences (Mt. 7:17; 24:11, 12; Acts 20:30).

Rev. Robert Schuller has devised his own gospel of Christianity and defines his own set of terms in relation to Biblical doctrines that are not orthodox. His gospel is a blend of psychology, positive thinking and New Age mysticism.

Robert Schuller justifies his teachings on the basis that he wishes to attract people to the gospel and not repel them with negative theological doctrine. He claims that the reformers, and all of orthodox Christianity, have gotten the message wrong. He is the standard by which the message of the gospel should be judged. He claims to teach only what Jesus Christ taught and not deal with the negative message taught by the Apostle Paul. By attempting to equate his message with what Jesus taught and rejecting the Apostle Paul, Robert Schuller reveals his true belief regarding the inspiration of the Bible. If the words are not from Jesus Christ, then he believes that he has the right to ignore those words or judge the effectiveness in the use of those words. Since he believes that the Apostle Paul has a negative message, as apposed to his positive message, then he states that he does not teach the message of the Apostle Paul. The Scripture speaks for itself when it says:
All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NAS)
Robert Schuller measures Scripture against his own pre-conceived ideas, based on what the non-Christian person has told him that they need or want, and so he disregards those Scriptures that do not meet those particular criteria, assuming that some Scriptures are more inspired than others. In other words, he does not believe in the trustworthiness of God's revelation in relation to what God believes and says that man needs, and he does not believe in the sufficiency of Scripture to meet those needs.
By preaching a gospel based on what the non-Christian tells him they need or want, that gospel is of necessity different than what is revealed in the Bible. God has been very specific in noting that what men say they need and want is not what He has declared as their basic need. Robert Schuller claims that people do not come to God because they are afraid, lack self-esteem and believe that they are not good enough to approach God. So, he preaches a message about possibility thinking and the ability of people to achieve anything they wish. It is through this message, that Robert Schuller claims that he can attract men to God.

Perhaps the most incredible aspect of the incident was Schuller's declaration of moral innocence -- "I'm very proud of who I am. I am innocent. I have not broken a single one of the Ten Commandments. I have not broken any of the teachings of Jesus Christ, and so I'm proud of my faith and message," Schuller said at a July 1 news conference after the incident. (Source: 4Q 1997, PFO The Quarterly Journal.)

HORTON: Dr. Schuller, what do we tell someone who says, "I'm already happy and fulfilled, so why do I need the gospel?"
SCHULLER: I don't know ... I can't relate to that

Robert Schuller's gospel is one of his own creation; a gospel of positive self-affirmation and personal goodness. It is a gospel of positive thinking, admonishing people that they can be and do anything that they wish. It is a gospel that affirms the positive and ignores the negative, even in the face or reality.

To a person who already has those beliefs, obtained outside of Robert Schuller's teaching, he has nothing to say, because he cannot relate to a person who has already achieved what he teaches. Self-affirmation is the goal, and for those who attain that degree of self-esteem, there is nothing more to say.

Robert Schuller teaches a different gospel from that in the Scripture.

SCHULLER: Listen, I believe in heaven. I believe in hell. But I don't know what happens there. I don't take it literally that it's a fire that never stops burning.
HORTON: As Jesus said it was?
SCHULLER: Jesus was not literal. See, now this is where you have differences of interpretation. I went to a different theological school than you did. And there are different denominations, like about four hundred in the United States of America, and we don't belong to the same denomination. In my denomination, Jesus stood outside Gehenna, the city dump, and said that's outside the walls, that's hell. And in the dump there were always worms, and there were fires....****

Robert Schuller shows his dishonesty in his approach to the Scripture and in relation to what Jesus Christ said. He is perfectly willing to say that Jesus Christ taught that there is a literal heaven, in Matthew 11:23, but in the same verse only seven words after heaven, the word Hades, or hell, occurs and he claims that is figurative. He is perfectly willing to say that Jesus Christ taught that there is a literal heaven, in Matthew 5:20, but only 2 verses later, in Matthew 5:22, when Jesus talks about hell, Robert Schuller says He is not speaking literally, but figuratively. He blames his training and association with a different school of theology as the reason for his belief, rather than taking responsibility for imposing beliefs that he created himself. He again denies that Jesus spoke about a literal hell in Matthew 5:29, 30. Robert Schuller simply chooses the verses that say the things with which he agrees and then "reinterprets" as being figurative, the verses that deny what he believes. By twisting the words of Jesus Christ, Robert Schuller reveals his true opinion about his accountability under the authority of Jesus Christ. He does not feel any apprehension when changing the words of Jesus Christ, and at the same time has no trouble changing the gospel of Jesus Christ, to fit his own belief.

"He (Jesus Christ) never did call them 'sinners.' He saw great possibilities in each of these men. How He tried to give them the sense of self-worth and dignity that they deserved! After all, they were human beings, descendants of God."
Move Ahead With Possibility Thinking, Robert Schuller, 1967, p. 209

"Christ always tried to give man's self-image a boost. When he met immoral people He never called them sinners. Never!"
Self-Love: The Dynamic Force Of Success, 1969, pp. 87, 88

"He believed in the dignity of the individual. So He never called a person a sinner. He always saw the individual as a saint."
Daily Power Thoughts, Robert Schuller, March 23, n.d.

ON DOCTRINE COMMENT: Just a cursory examination of the Scriptures reveals that Robert Schuller speaks an absolute untruth in relation to what he claims Jesus Christ said. To claim that Jesus Christ never called a person a sinner and saw every individual as a saint, is a blatant and deliberate deception in which Robert Schuller writes the words to his own Bible and ignores the words of the true Scripture. He deliberately ignores the reality of the words and message of Jesus Christ, and claims that Jesus Christ spoke what He did not and did not speak what He did. In order to promote his own agenda, Robert Schuller changes the words that Christ spoke and he claims that Christ did not speak words that are recorded in the Scripture, confirming by his own words that he speaks the words of a Bible that exists only within his own mind.

in his book on self-esteem...
How can we believe Schuller when he says, "'Pride in being a human being' is the single greatest need facing the human race today" (p. 19)? God says, "I hate pride" (Prov. 8:13), and Peter tells us, "God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (1 Peter 5:5; cf. James 4:6, 10).
Schuller has said, "Do not fear pride" (p. 57). Scripture says, "Pride goes before destruction" (Prov. 16:18).

Schuller has said, "What we need is a theology of salvation that begins and ends with a recognition of every person's hunger for glory" (pp. 26, 27). God says, "I will not give My glory to another" (Isa. 42:8; cf. Herod Agrippa, Acts 12:21-23).

Should all men in the world have a high sense of self-worth based on the fact that they are all under the fatherhood of god, since "the Fatherhood of God is built into our subconscious" (p. 54)? But Christ said unsaved men were children of the devil (John 8:44). John adds, "By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God" (1 John 3:10).

From what Scripture do we learn that the core of original sin is negative self-image or lack of self- esteem, but not wickedness (pp. 67, 98)? Certainly we would have to ask what God meant in Jeremiah 17:9 when He said the heart of man is "deceitful above all things and desperately wicked," or in 1 John 3:4 and 5:17, "sin is lawlessness" and "all unrighteousness is sin."

How can he say, "The cross sanctifies the ego trip" (p. 75), when Scripture presents it as the event most reflective of man's vile, evil nature (Rom. 3:1-20)?

When Schuller says, "The cross protected out Lord's perfect self-esteem from turning into sinful pride" (p. 75), what psychological implications is he relating to the Son of God and what is he saying about Christ's impeccability (p. 75)?

Why does Schuller rank Jesus with Freud, Adler and Frankl, as if He were a psychiatrist (p. 79), when Scripture affirms His utter pre-eminence (Col. 1:15-19)?

Can we believe Schuller who says, "Gods ultimate objective is to turn you and me into self- confident persons" (p. 80), when Philippians 3:3 says, "for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of god and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh"?

Schuller writes: "My friend Fred Smith of Dallas expressed it like this: 'You know what hell would be for me? If, when I stand before God, he would tell me all the things I could have done in my life if I had only had more faith.'

"I agree, it would be hell if God ever told me all of the 'diamond ideas' that I have allowed to flow wastefully through my brain. It would be hell if God ever told me of the beautiful relationships I could have had if only I'd had more courage, or more patience.

"It would be hell if God told me all of the accomplishments I could have achieved in life if I had been willing to pay the price. It would be hell if God should tell me all of the possibilities I wasted.

"It would be hell if God showed me how I could have succeeded if I'd only tried, if I had not quit, and if I'd just hung on a little longer" (p. 93).

Can this be hell when Jesus calls hell and eternal "furnace of fire" (Matt. 13:42, 50)?

Schuller says, "The most serious sin is the one that causes me to say, 'I am unworthy....'For once a person believes he is an 'unworthy sinner,' it is doubtful if he can really honestly accept the saving grace God offers in Jesus Christ" (p. 98).

Is not this opposite the message of the Lord Jesus which confronts a person's sin and calls him to repent and be converted (Matt. 4:17)?

Schuller says: "Salvation. What does it mean to be saved? It means to be permanently lifted from sin (psychological self-abuse with all of its consequences as seen above) and shame to self-esteem and its God-glorifying, human need-meeting, constructive, and creative consequences" (p. 99).

Is this consistent with Scripture's presentation of salvation?

How does the Lord's call for a contrite, broken spirit, a meek and humble repentance permit the idea that "too many prayers of confession of sin and repentance have been destructive to the emotional health of Christians by feeding their sense of nonworth" (p. 104)?

Page 136 offers a summation of this "other gospel." Schuller writes: "Christ must be, at all times, Lord over the Scriptures. I cannot comprehend Christ ever treating any person, lost or saved, sinner or saint, in an insulting manner.

"God is trying to build his kingdom by appealing to our unsatisfied huger for self-esteem. He offers to save us from guilt and shame and insecurity and fear and boredom to a life of security, serenity, stimulation, and self-esteem!

"Here then is a theology of salvation that glorifies God, for it glorifies his children by lifting them from hostility and rebellion-generating doubt and fear to self-confidence-building, creativity- inspiring, human-potential-releasing, human-brotherhood-motivating, self-esteem.

"Here, too is a theology of salvation that inspires the quality of individual life and social behavior which meets the biblical label, 'Good works.' As such, this is a theology that, by its nature, sustains faith, for 'faith without works is dead.'"

Since when do "good works" sustain faith? Are they not the result of faith (Eph. 2:8-10; James 2:18)?

His whole approach brings to mind an article written by Charles Finney 108 years ago. Published in the Advent Review and Herald of the Sabbath (July 29, 1875), it was titled "Mastering the Art of Preaching so as to Convert Nobody." Here, paraphrased, are some of the 42 ways he gave to accomplish this:
1. Let your supreme motive be to secure your own popularity.
2. Aim at pleasing rather than correcting.
3. Let your sermons be literary, flowery, ornate, flowing beautifully so your hearers never remember the lack of content.
4. Be sparing of thought, lest you sermon contain enough truth to convert a soul.
5. Avoid preaching doctrines that are offensive to the carnal mind.
6. Deal with sin in the abstract and make no allusions to the sins of your audience.
7. Preach salvation by grace; but ignore the condemned and lost condition of the sinner, lest he should understand what you mean by grace and sense his need of it.
8. Make no appeals to the fears of sinner; give them the impression that they have no reason to fear.
9. Preach the love of God, but ignore the holiness of His love.
10. Do not rebuke the worldly tendencies of the church, lest you should hut people's feelings.
11. Select your themes and present them to attract and flatter the wealthy, aristocratic, self-indulgent, extravagant, pleasure-seeking classes, and you will not convert any of them to the cross-bearing religion of Christ.
12. Ridicule solemn earnestness in pulling sinners out of the fire and recommend by precept or example a jovial, fun-loving religion.
13. Cultivate fastidious tastes in your people by avoiding all disagreeable allusions to the last judgment and final retribution. Treat, old and uncomfortable doctrines as obsolete and out of place in these days of Christian refinement.
14. exhibit religion to encourage the selfish pursuit of it. Make the impression upon sinners that their own safety and happiness is the supreme motive of being religious.
15. See to it that you say nothing to any hearer that applies to him or her, unless is be something flattering.

Schuller's book falls into this formula of converting nobody. In his attempt to bring a new reformation, he has merely proposed an unbiblical solution to man's need for repentance from sin.

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This is a long response to you sir, but it is needed as you have spent 20 some years in his teachings. The pharisees were blinded to the truth. Mormons are blinded to the truth. You need to have your eyes opened. How many thousands of dollars have you invested in this man's ego trip? What does the bible say about being good stewards with God's money? Irresponsibility in the handling of money is only one of many things that shows this church is not a true church. You cannot blame the economy. If God were truly a part of this church he can take the least bit of money and have it cover all the bills. I am planning now on posting on my blog an entire article on the false teachings of Robert Schuller. My prayers are with you and all of the people in that church. May you one day see the light.

To all mormons...

2010-08-28T21:52:00.002-05:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nwrPJARws

click on the above link. How do you defend the book of mormon from copying out of the book of Isaiah?

besides having the 33 facts that mormons won't tell you and many other posts that I have done, it is a never ending story of deception from the mormon church out of Utah.

If you are involved in this cult, I pray that your eyes be opened.

Same Message. Different Language. PC

2010-08-27T08:34:00.000-05:00

this is a video of a church near my hometown in Illinois. It is disgusting to me to see how far a pastor (and I use that term loosely) will go to advertise himself and his church! Nothing like being what the "world" wants in a pastor. Whatever happened to standing apart from the world and being unlike the world? He obviously did not get the message!

I know there are those who think this man is great. He taught a sermon on how christian people will cry out to you (if you have a tattoo) and say, You are all going to hell. And then he laughs about it. He goes on to teach that Jesus had a mark so it is okay for us to mark up our body's since He did it! What an abusive torture of scripture! He took so much out of context without looking at the proper greek and hebrew wording used. He teaches a lesson of false teachers but he needs to examine himself as he is the prime culprit of a false teacher!

BEWARE people, when you want a pastor that looks worldly,
You will get a worldly pastor!

The bible condemns such a person.
Are you sure you want to follow a person like that?

The choice is yours
You will have NO excuse on the day you see God face to face

WWJT? What Would Jesus Tattoo?

2010-08-27T08:00:00.002-05:00

What Would Jesus Tattoo??

Is this for real?

This is all done in the name of Christian freedom of expression. How many people each and every day get a tattoo on their body because they want to "express" or "show" the world that they are christians? They want to use their body as an opportunity to get people to come up to them to ask them about their tattoo's so they can ultimately tell the people about Jesus Christ! The sad thing is this...

there are so called pastors who will tell their people that God says it is okay to mark your body (the Holy Temple of God)!

Our prayers are needed for them. They are a lost bunch that needs a renewing of the mind and the heart, that only God can give them. I pray that their eyes be opened soon!

How to know when God has called you...

2010-08-23T07:33:00.002-05:00

The telephone rings! You run to the phone only to find out it is a telemarketer. You try to hang up the phone but they are persistent. You remain on the phone and you finally give in and buy what they are offering you.

Does the above scene sound plausible? Can it happen? Does it happen?
Sure it happens everyday. People get on the phone and just do not know how to say "NO" to the telemarketer. They buy into the scheme.

How about scam artists? They make something sound too good to be true and people fall for their schemes everyday as well. Why do we do this?

First off, it is because we want those deals that sound too good to be true. We believe in our heart that maybe, just maybe this is the one true deal that will work for me.

There is another place where people desire something and fall prey to someone selling something.

This involves the matter of God and how He calls you to do something.
I personally know someone that will say at the drop of a hat that God has told her to do something. But the end result is never for God's glory but for her own pleasures.

Let me give you some examples...
God called her to go to a certain church.
On the surface that sounds plausible.
But the underlying reason was to meet up with a man in his mid 20's while the girl is not even 18 yet. It was to date a man who did not display Christian behavior (as in sex outside of marriage).
Do you think this is from God?
NO! God would never put you in a situation where it will cause you to sin. God does not tempt us to sin! He gives us the tools and the weapons to fight against sin. And as far as lust goes, He tells us to flee from it! So if this is not from God, who do you suppose is sending this message to the girl saying it is from God?

That's right, it is the Devil. He prowls around looking for whom to devour.

In our town, this girl claims that God called her to go to at the very least, 3 different churches. And in every case it had to do with meeting up with a boy who was not a true Christian.

One more example of being called to a church.
She was called to a church in a larger town. A mega-church. Where they play rock style music, wear torn jeans and they listen to a pastor destroy God's Word by saying it is okay to put tattoo's on your body. This pastor took scripture and twisted the meanings of it to please and tickle the ears of his audience. When Scripture was read in the proper context to this girl in reference to not marking your body, the Holy Temple of God, this girl went out and still put more tattoo's on her body. All in defiance of God's Word. She claims to know the bible and yet she does not live the bible. And she was still going to this church because it was so filled with the Holy Spirit.

She also met up with a "prophet" of God that told her she did not have a good relationship with her mom (she was 17 at the time, kind of fits every teenage girl's description). He told her that she would go on a mission trip oversea's and that she would have a big dog!

James 3:1 says, My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.

These teachers who are perverting the Word of God will receive greater condemnation for their poor teachings.

After meeting with this prophet, this girl then said that God was calling her to a Christian school in Colorado, followed by a Christian school in Minnesota and finally a Christian school in southern Illinois. She ended up moving down there because she said God called her there. But she is not going to school as God had supposedly called her to do.

1 Corinthians 14:33 says, For God is not [the author] of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

To this girl, she does not see that her god is confused as to what calling he wants her to follow. Look at all of the examples above. Does that sound like the God of the Bible?
NO!

I write this not to condemn this girl or anyone else for that matter who "thinks" they are hearing from God. But to lovingly warn them that there are deceiving spirits out there that want nothing more to do than cause you to fall.

2 Timothy 3:13 says, But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived

James 1:22 says, But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

Romans 12:2 says, Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will.

To not conform any longer to the patter of this world is to not put tattoo's on your body for the sake of reaching other people who have tattoo's. To not be involved sexually with people outside of marriage. To not use language that is coarse (as in Mark Driscoll).

2 Corinthians 13:5 says, Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?

1 John 4:1 says, Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world

When God has truly called you there will be no confusion.
It will always be for His glory and not your own glory or self-gratification.
You were created for His good pleasure, not the other way around!
If you have fallen for false leads in the past, you can be sure that the Devil has got your number and knows how to mislead you.
Have you repented of your sins?
Are you following after the advice of nonChristians, or of God's Holy Word?
If you are a rebellious person (especially with Christians), you can pretty much bet you are following the wrong god. You are following the god of this world.

You need to follow the God of all creation!
1 John 5:4 says, For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, [even] our faith

Have you overcome the world? Or are you still living to please the world? Sex? money? idols? self-gratification? selfishness? envy? strife?

One is of God...
the other is of the Devil...

Choose this day whom you will serve!
Has God been calling you lately?
or
Has it been that telemarketer by the name of Satan, deceiving you to buy his products?

Examine yourself daily to see if you are in fact, in the faith!

A story of a "church" that fails...

2010-08-22T20:01:00.003-05:00

When the church fails to be a true church...
You will find many of the members almost resembling those in this picture.

they put on a happy face around you but inwardly, they are ravenous wolves. You can see the fakeness of what they are trying to present to you. You can feel the evil presence that lies within them.

When the church becomes a part of the world...

You have a church that has failed!

Let me describe a scenario to you.
There is a church (no name mentioned, it could be any church!)
And this church was in need of a new pastor, or should I say they created a need for a new pastor. One of the members remained friends with a previous pastor of this church. The pastor had been out of work for a year. So in order for him to get work the following had to happen.

The current pastor had to be fired or let go in some manner.
The unemployed pastor had to be brought in to "audition" for the opening.
The pastor had to be voted in by the congregation by an overwhelming majority.

So here we go...
In the early fall of last year, the unemployed pastor was contacted by a member of this church that there was going to be an opening and that "he" was going to be the new pastor!
It was decided that the current pastor was making too much money so his salary was going to be cut in half and his insurance was taken away from him.
So, the pastor is now gone.
in comes the new pastor...
Now the normal process is that when there is an opening, it goes through the state office of the denomination and a listing is created that lets everyone know there is an opening at this church. This was not done.
The board members kept telling people in the church that they had only one candidate that had applied for the open position. Of course it was the one pastor that was contacted by the church member. The board continually kept telling the people that this must be from God because no one else applied.
So the unemployed pastor comes in to "audition."

His sermon in the morning was all about himself. It was all about him!
When he did talk about God here is what he said.

There was an elderly lady in his previous church that had a husband that was dying in the nursing home and he did not know the Lord. This unemployed pastor took 6 months before he finally spoke to this dying man about Jesus. How pathetic is that? Six months to talk to someone about Jesus and especially to a dying man!

When it came time for the vote, the board members made sure that many people who never attend church, many people from out of state put in their votes to make sure he got elected. It was brought up that the reason there were no other candidates was because the state did not post the opening. denials ran rampant in the church by the board. Scripture was read and the person was told to sit down because, now get this, this was not the place or the time for scripture to be read!

When it came time to vote, it was mentioned that it would have been nice to have him come back so the people could see if he really would preach biblically. The man who contacted him in the first place said no one was ever allowed to come back a second time, this church just did not do that.

The vote came and he lost! Not only was a new search not made, he was invited back. He was shoved down the throats of the congregation by the board. Talk about not allowing God to lead a church!

The state was mad that this man lost. They did everything they could to hide the dishonest approach that was used. The pastor came in and preached that God called him to this position without mentioning that it was actually a man from the church. Deceit at the highest level in this church! Anger and revenge was the theme of this church towards all who voted against this man.

This story could go on for several more pages! Do you get an idea of how lost this church is? there are many churches in this country in need of prayers. They follow a man and not God.

Many children and youth will follow a man if they see the adults doing it. Where is the example of being like Christ? If you are in a church that acts like this. GET OUT! Find a biblical church. God's Wrath will come down on these false churches! Tell me about the good and the bad churches you have seen.

Zeal Without Knowledge

2010-01-29T09:08:00.003-06:00

Romans 10:1-3 says, Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they disregarded the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness.

Do you have a zeal for God? Honestly, are you excited about the prospect of going out into the world to preach the gospel to a lost and depraved society? There is much I could write to those of you who have no zeal whatsoever for the Lord and yet call yourself a Christian. No, today, I am writing to those of you who do in fact have a zeal for the Lord.

Having zeal can be a good and a bad thing? How is this possible?

There are two possibilities...

1. Zeal with Knowledge
2. Zeal without Knowledge

Let me attack the second part first.
Zeal without knowledge...

This describes so called Christians. 80% of this country calls themselves Christians and yet by their very actions, they prove themselves to be followers of Satan. They desire the things of the world.

What are the things of the world?
This describes many things...
1. sex outside of marriage
2. using vulgar language
3. dressing inappropriately or immodestly, exposing too much skin
4. listening to music that condones the things of Satan (drugs, sex, violence, etc)
5. tattoo's or marking your skin to be like the world (your body is the Temple of the Holy God)
6. worship of idols such as money, car, home, people, etc

You get the idea? It is doing or saying anything that goes against the Word of God. It is worrying about whether you will be accepted by the world, because you desire to be like the world. Te be accepted by man!

1 John 2:15 says, "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world, if any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him."

What do you think it means to know that because you love the world, that the love of the Father is not in you? Many "Christians" will read this and make excuses for why they do what they do. The Bible never tells us to make excuses for our behavior. But to confess to God what we have done. Not only confess because confession without repentance leads to damnation.

Are you still willing to continue doing the things you are doing? Still want to please man? I know some will say that "I only want to please God" but in the next line they will say that they don't "think" that God will judge them. Or they will say it is only my opinion and of course everyone has an opinion. Since when did God's Holy Word, found in the inspired Scriptures of the Bible come under opinions? His Word is easy to understand. To the homosexual, He says they will not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. To the liar, He says they will not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. To the one who loves this world and the things of it, He says, the love of the Father is not in him.

To each of these and others, the answer is easy. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (and NO, He is not your homeboy!==that is the ultimate in disrespect for the LORD JESUS CHRIST!) A Day will come when you will fall to your knee's and bow down to Him as Lord and Savior. You will not be calling Him your homeboy at that time! You will then realize that you should have feared the Lord your God. A Holy Fear!

These very same people who claim to follow Christ and yet live in absolute disobedience to Him will do more harm to the church than can be imagined. These very people are a cancer to the church. We are told in the Bible to not have fellowship with the works are darkness. We are to rebuke those who are living in sin and if they do not listen, we are to not have anything to do with them. This is a hard one to live with, but for those of us who truly love God, it is most necessary. I do not want to face God and have to answer to Him for why I did not rebuke a sinner and tell them the errors of their ways.

If God's Word tells us to not have fellowship with someone then WE ARE NOT TO HAVE FELLOWSHIP WITH THAT PERSON!

1 John 1:6 says, "if we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth."

Ephesians 5:11 says, "and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them."

If someone is openly living in sin and openly living for the world by the words or their actions, we are to have no fellowship with them. I would not want that kind of person in my church to harm the true believers. That type of person might have all the zeal in the world for the things of Christ, but if they live in sin, they lie! The ultimate liar is Satan and he has a message he wants the church to hear...

surely, God did not say you can't do this or that...

Those of us who truly love God and desire to not be like the world, can see right through this kind of thinking from Satan. But there are many who profess to be Christians who are blinded to the truth. You can tell them what scripture says and they will always fall back on their old standard of...

God surely did not say this or that! It is your opinion. We all have opinions. I choose to listen to the ones who think the way I do!

BEWARE! There are many false prophets among us! You have a zeal for God but your life shows that your zeal for life on this earth is stronger than your zeal for godly living.
sex, drugs, language, tattoo's, idol worship, etc the things that please the world are what rule your life. God's Word tells us that when we are born again, He will give us a new heart and the old self has died away and we become a new creature. If you are still living for the world, you are not a new creature in Christ. hence, you are most likely not truly saved! Are you willing to take that chance by living by your "opinions" of God's Word?

Now let's talk a bit about having a zeal with knowledge of God's Word.

Too few people qualify for this one and that is a shame. Many people claim to know the Word of God but they fail to witness to people. The best example I can think of is way of the master host, Ray Comfort. He has a strong zeal for the Lord and goes out witnessing to lost souls every day. he has a knowledge of what God's Word says and he uses it to bring people to a point of salvation and repentance.

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=seal+beach&aq=f

(if above link does not work, go to youtube and search seal beach kid way of the master

ZEAL with or without knowledge.
Which do you have?
Do you even have any zeal at all?

If your zeal is without knowledge, then realize that you will be judged according to how you teach others (and realize this, you teach others not only by what you say, but by how you live)

If your zeal is with knowledge and you are actively out witnessing to people correctly giving the whole counsel of God, then praise God for your faithfulness. May God continue to bless you in all you do!

Only 2% of Christians actively witness to people.
Out of that 2%, are you one of them that is teaching heresy? Are you living in sin?

Now imagine what the percentage truly is with faithful, God-fearing Christians who desire to live for Him and desire to put the world aside for Him!

Scary, isn't it? Is it any wonder why our world is in such as mess.
If it isn't the atheist corrupting the world, it is the so called Christians who corrupt the Word of God. Satan truly has his foot involved in the life of false believers.

Clergy Sexual Misconduct

2009-09-17T06:56:00.000-05:00

Tell me what you think of the following article!
Does it surprise you?

Survey Reveals Prevalence of Clergy Sexual Misconduct
By Audrey Barrick
Christian Post Reporter
Fri, Sep. 11 2009 03:43 PM EDT
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Findings from a nationwide study reveal that clergy sexual misconduct is more prevalent than many people believe.

Related
Southern Baptist Head Responds to Clergy Sex Abuse Cases
Released Figures Offer Glimpse into Protestant Sex Abuse Problems
Southern Baptists Reject Sex-Abuse Database
LifeWay: 1 in 7 Church Background Checks Uncover Criminal History
According to research by Baylor University, 3.1 percent of adult women who attend religious services at least once a month have been victims of clergy sexual misconduct since turning 18. In other words, seven women in every congregation of 400 adults have been victimized.

Ninety-two percent of the sexual advances were made in secret and 67 percent of the offenders were married to someone else at the time of the advance.

"Because many people are familiar with some of the high-profile cases of sexual misconduct, most people assume that it is just a matter of a few charismatic leaders preying on vulnerable followers," said Dr. Diana Garland, dean of the School of Social Work at Baylor University and lead researcher in the study, in a statement Wednesday. "What this research tells us, however, is that Clergy Sexual Misconduct with adults is a widespread problem in congregations of all sizes and occurs across denominations. Now that we have a better understanding of the problem, we can start looking at prevention strategies."

The study, which was conducted on more than 3,500 American adults, is the largest scientific study into clergy sexual misconduct and is being published later this year in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion.

It is part of an effort by Baylor to identify and prevent clergy sexual misconduct. With virtually no research or information available to inform prevention strategies, Baylor University's School of Social Work sought to provide data for that purpose. Along with spreading awareness and educating the public, the team at Baylor hopes the findings will be used to draft model legislation to make it illegal for clergy to make sexual advances just as it is with patients and doctors.

Sexual misconduct by clergy is only illegal in Texas and Minnesota.

Garland hopes the study will prompt congregations to consider adopting policies and procedures designed to protect their members from leaders who abuse their power.

"Many people – including the victims themselves – often label incidences of Clergy Sexual Misconduct with adults as 'affairs,'" said Garland. "In reality, they are an abuse of spiritual power by the religious leader."

The research study also includes a paper co-authored by Garland on first-hand accounts from men and women who are victims of clergy sexual misconduct, family members or spouses of victims, religious leaders who have committed CSM, and helping professionals who have provided care for offenders and survivors.

Data from the 2008 General Social Survey – an in-person survey conducted by National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago – was used to estimate the prevalence of clergy sexual misconduct. Questions developed specifically for this project were administered by the Baylor team.

Clergy sexual misconduct was defined as minister, priests, rabbis, or other clergypersons or religious leaders who make sexual advances or propositions to persons in the congregations they serve who are not their spouses or significant others.

11% of youth still in church after college??

2009-08-19T06:57:00.003-05:00

If the above number is correct, it is quite an alarming percentage. A research group has done some polling and have determined the percent of youth still in church after college is only 11%. If the truth were known, the number probably does not deviate much from the true believers who sit in church today. In a world where everyone wants to be entertained and fed feel good stories of personal lives touched by Jesus, it is no wonder that the church is faltering in its duties politically, socially, morally and obviously spiritually.

Many youth have already "checked out" of church even though they attend church, attend sunday school and attend youth group meetings.

What can be done to change this alarming trend?

The main thing is to preach the Word to them!
Teach the Word to them!
Live the Word to them!
Correct them in line with the Word!

Let's put an end to all of the entertainment going on in churches.
Want to make it fun for them?

At what cost are you prepared to do that?

Skit by our youth group!

2009-08-03T18:18:00.002-05:00

As youth leaders in our church we believe wholeheartedly that the youth need to be taught the truth. We never back down from actually teaching the Bible to them. This youth group has gone from being a large group of 40+ kids, down to low teens in numbers. The large group with the former youth leader did a lot of playing and not much learning of the Bible. We have changed the culture to one of biblical integrity. We might have fewer in numbers but the kids are more spiritually mature and have grown leaps and bounds over where they used to be. Praise God! Keep us in your prayers to continue doing the Lord's work!

Is Obama who he says he is?

2009-08-03T05:38:00.003-05:00

Check this out! I found this over at www.wnd.com

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=105527

After you read the article, come back here and let me know what you think.
No need to be mean or nasty if you don't agree, it won't be posted. Just comment on how eery it is!

God bless you all, it has been a long time since I have been on here posting. I hope to get back into the groove on a daily basis again. Thank you all for your prayers over the past several months!
Brian

Amazing Dog!

2009-04-11T06:47:00.006-05:00

And we humans have no compassion whatsoever to talk to our neighbors about Jesus Christ. They are lying in the roadway of hell, destined to be run over and consumed by Satan. Unless, we as Christians, are willing to go against the stream of traffic, and drag, pull, kick, whatever it takes, to bring our neighbors to safety, then we don't have the common sense that God gave us.

AND OTHERS SAVE WITH FEAR, PULLING THEM OUT OF THE FIRE; HATING EVEN THE GARMENT SPOTTED BY THE FLESH-Jude 23.

The cross we carry is not one made of plastic. It is heavy, it can cause splinters, it will consume your time, it will come with a cost attached to it. But it is well worth it! You will face persecution because of your faith in Jesus. You will not always have bright sunny days waiting for you when you wake up. But the one thing you do have is HOPE. Hope for a new day found in Christ Jesus.

As we prepare to celebrate Resurrection Sunday (Easter to those C&E people [you know, they only attend church on Christmas and Easter]), let us not forget that people are dying every day. And unless they have put their faith and trust in Jesus alone for their salvation, they are headed for hell. They are lying on that freeway of life, just waiting to die. They are hurting (and some of them don't even know it!). Do you love your neighbor enough to save them? Not save them in the sense that they are saved because of what "you" do, but save them in the sense that you give them God's Holy Word. Then wait upon Him to do the rest! God's Word will not return void. It is quick and alive! Not dead, just sitting on a piece of paper. It is more than able to open their eyes. When we use God's Law to show people how sinful they are in God's eyes, it will awaken them to the reality that they are lying in the middle of a freeway and are about to be steamrolled by a semi-truck!

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life! John 3:16

The dog saved the life of that other dog.
Have you risked anything for the sake of the gospel?

A day might be coming soon when you will be persecuted here in America because of your faith. I am not talking about persecution in the sense of people saying bad things about you, I am talking about the kind of persecution where you will lose all of your rights as a citizen and as a Christian. Your voice will be silenced, your right to speak to others about Christ will be taken away.

But have no fear, we can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens us! No matter what Obama tries to do to our country, and our rights as Christians, we shall not be silenced. May you always go against the worldly flow for the sake of Jesus, who died on the cross for you that you might have eternal life!

Christian College has gay housing!

2009-04-08T12:54:00.002-05:00

At a time when our country is falling deeper and deeper away from its roots, it is apparant that God's Word means absolutely nothing to one Christian College in particular. The Bible condemns homosexuality, yet, this Christian College seems it is okay to advertise gay housing. They want it to be a college where people feel accepted. Didn't Jesus say that the world will hate you because of Him? I would suggest that if you are thinking of attending a Christian College, that you think twice about this one. No, let me rephrase that. Read this article and just give no thought whatsoever of attending here!

Are people in your church accepting this as normal?
Do you see anything wrong with this?
What are the dangers of allowing gay housing in a Christian School?

Check this out...
I found this on their own website at http://www.tcu.edu/mission.asp
Our Mission
To educate individuals to think and act as ethical leaders and responsible citizens in the global community.
Our Vision
To create a world-class, values-centered university experience for our students
Our Core Values
TCU values academic achievement, personal freedom (?) and integrity, the dignity and respect of the individual, and a heritage of inclusiveness, tolerance and service.

Nothing in the mission, the vision or the core values includes anything remotely Christian. Where is the name of Jesus. Where is the idea of giving God the glory. This is liberal garbage!

Then when you go to their newspaper on campus, you read an article like this...
Can't have it both ways!!

Revelation has it right...
Rev 22:20 "Come, Lord Jesus!"

Time for your feedback!

2009-03-24T08:53:00.003-05:00

Here is a scenario for you. Please give Scripture references for your answers. If unable to provide Scripture, then please be prepared to give a detailed explanation for why you answer the way you do.

here you go...

You have just sat through the church service. The sermon is over and everyone is heading out the door. All of a sudden, the pastor's child comes up to you and confesses something to you and tells you not to tell anyone about it.

The thing that is confessed is something that shows absolutely no fruit of the spirit within them. Immorality at the highest level for that child. No desire to repent of the sin, in fact, this person actually enjoys the sin very much and is very proud of it. This person's dad (pastor of the church) spends much time bragging about this child to the congregation.

You have told the child what the Bible says.

Here is your question...

What if anything do you say to the child?
What if anything do you say to the parents of the child? (by the way, the child lives at home and is 19 yrs old)

The dilema here is that this person shows no fruit of being saved. Do you keep quiet? Do you hold on to the confidence that they had in you? If you keep the confidence, and this person should die in an accident, then their eternal destination is not going to be pleasant for them.

This presents a moral vs ethical dilema. Which side do you take?

remember, please try to back everything up biblically. If not, please give strong support for your answer.

thanks! God bless

Repost of "You Asked For It!" the Obama Plan

2009-03-24T05:52:00.002-05:00

The following is a post that I did back in November. I raised some questions. How long will it be before we some of these things happen?
**********************************************************

Obama wins the election.
You asked for it!

Obama wins the electoral college votes.
You asked for it!

Obama wants to bring in change!
You asked for it!

Can you remember a time when people asked for something and God gave it to them?

1 Samuel 8 comes to mind...
Israel Demands a King 1 Now it came to pass when Samuel was old that he made his sons judges over Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. 3 But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice.4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, 5 and said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.” 6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” So Samuel prayed to the LORD. 7 And the LORD said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. 8 According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day—with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also. 9 Now therefore, heed their voice. However, you shall solemnly forewarn them, and show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them.” 10 So Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who asked him for a king. 11 And he said, “This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots. 12 He will appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties, will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. 14 And he will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants. 16 And he will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest young men,[a] and your donkeys, and put them to his work. 17 He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants. 18 And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the LORD will not hear you in that day.” 19 Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, “No, but we will have a king over us, 20 that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.” 21 And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he repeated them in the hearing of the LORD. 22 So the LORD said to Samuel, “Heed their voice, and make them a king.” And Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Every man go to his city.”

What have we as a nation asked for in this new president?
Be very careful for what you ask for! God is giving us what we as a nation asked for.

Religious freedom out the window?? (have you been watching some of the court issues lately??)
Abortions run rampant and increase?? (gee, guess who is going to allow stem cell research to begin again? at OUR expense?)
Taxes raised to help fund the abortions?? (uh, can you say TAXES???)
Gas prices will sky-rocket within the next couple of months?? (give it time!!)

Immorality will reign over our country. It has already begun and it is only going to get worse. Can you feel the Last Day's are upon us?

Put everything to prayer.
Spend your time reaching out to the lost before it is too late. There is not much time left. If we are not doing the Lord's work, then we are wasting our time. God is looking for obedience to His Word, not just smushy, lovey-dovey kind of love for God. He wants to see action. Doing His will while we are still on this earth.

If He comes back today, are you ready? Are your friends saved? Family members saved?
Or are you just concerned about yourself and meeting "your" needs?

You asked for a president to lead this country. Where will he lead us?
I don't know what the future holds with our president but I do know what the future holds for us from God.

Put your faith and trust in God while there is still time. Repent of your sins and be obedient to His Word. (this is one thing that will NEVER change!!!! and even Obama, can't change this!!!)

The world is going down hill fast! Is this what you want for us?
You asked for it

Miracles are present daily!

2009-03-23T13:36:00.003-05:00

Miracles do happen every day! The year 2009 has been a very trying one for me personally. If it wasn't my back hurting, it was my stomach. The two of them at the same time was not pleasant for me. I ended up having a colonoscopy done on March 3rd of this year. I was told that everything was okay. Without getting too graphic, I still had some problems that concerned me. Pain started to return as a new problem developed.

What do you do when your health seems to fall apart? You praise God. Because through it all, He is still in charge. He is still GOD! Two days ago, the pain finally went away! I have gone a couple of days now without any pain at all. The first time all year that has happened.

I want to thank everyone who was praying for me. I especially want to thank my wife for enduring the heartaches of watching me be in pain. She stayed by my side and continued to pray for me daily. Of course, it goes without saying, (I will say it anyway), that I thank God. I thank Him daily for all of the blessings He has bestowed upon me and my wife. I thank Him for my son and his family for all of their love they have shown to me. I am truly blessed. How can I "not" praise God?

Of course, many people see miracles every day. A new born baby is an awesome display of God's power and love. Some miracles are more noteworthy, such as the ones found in Scripture. It makes for an interesting study.

Do you realize how many of the miracles Jesus performed were witnessed by the Twelve Disciples? And yet, they still had doubts! They still did not truly understand! It wasn't until Jesus was resurrected (and even then it took some convincing), until they finally truly believed that He was the Son of God!! We look at Doubting Thomas and say that he lacked true faith. But don't be so quick to judge him. It was Thomas who stated in John 11:16, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him." This is a story of Jesus going through Samaria. Thomas was being pessimistic. But, at the same time he was also being heroic. He was willing to die "with" Jesus if that was going to be the case. Of course, he was one of the many disciples who vanished when Jesus was taken away to be crucified!

Jesus performed many many miracles for their benefits. He had just fed the 5000 men with five loaves of bread and two fish. WOW! Later on, they see Jesus walking on water and are scared. They think He is a ghost (or a phantom). It isn't until He says, "It is I" that Peter finally speaks up and tells Him to call him to Himself.

John saw the miracles and seemed at times to be more concerned on whether he would sit at Jesus' right hand. He also wanted to bring down fire from heaven to kill the Samaritans. He missed the message of Jesus, just like the others did.

How about you? Have you witnessed the miracles of life and still don't believe in God? Have you watched a life being transformed because of Jesus and yet you still haven't put your faith in the Son of God? What are you waiting for? I thank God that I have the opportunity to write to you and I am looking forward (God willing), to writing daily again!

Do you need a miracle to convince you that Jesus is real?

Just look outside. All of creation is a miracle. Everything must have a creator!
Jesus died on the cross for your sins (you know which ones they are? lying, stealing, hatred, adultery, lusts, dishonoring your parents, not putting God first, worshipping idols, coveting, etc). Without His blood, you would be doomed to hell. His blood is sufficient to cover every single sin that has and ever will be committed. But it will only work, if you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ and you repent of your sins. Then a truly amazing miracle will happen.

Your old self will die.

You will become a new creature in Christ Jesus!!

What a way to start your new year. Tears about a love from a father!

2009-01-05T13:08:00.000-06:00

I will be posting a really big post soon!

2008-12-27T08:06:00.003-06:00

Please be patient with me. I am working on a really large post and am hoping to be done with it within the coming week. It has to do with God and who He is. It will come with an audio sermon (by me) and will include over 600 links in the post! I hope you will keep checking back to view this blog. I just felt it was necessary to do this work leading into 2009.

Do you know who God is?

Is Jesus "your" best friend??

2008-12-27T07:57:00.001-06:00

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-24T11:00:00.001-06:00

May you all have a Merry Christmas filled with the blessings that only come from God!

Penn and tell-him

2008-12-23T04:38:00.002-06:00

This video shows that a Christian CAN touch the heart of a lost soul. This video is just the beginning. It is the seed that was planted. Keep this man in your prayers. This could be the start of a changed life that he could never imagine as being possible. Have you reached out to a lost sinner today? The question is not, Have you reached out to a lost sinner? The question is, have you reached out to a lost sinner TODAY? Just one person a day will make 365 witnessing opportunities for the year. 2009 is fast approaching us. How about making it a goal to reach at least, one person each day! Can you imagine reaching just 3 people each day. That would translate into over 1000 witnessing opportunities for the year of 2009. Now compare that to what you did for 2008.

pretty sad to see just how little we have done for the kingdom of God, isn't it?

Contend for the Faith!

2008-12-08T15:09:00.004-06:00

This video is making the rounds on the Internet. How pathetic it is that these actors can depict Jesus the way they do. Jack Black is blasphemous at best in his portrayal of Jesus. He is treading dangerous waters that he knows not what he is doing!

And people wonder why I get so upset that Christians are not out preaching the gospel to EVERY creature the way we are COMMANDED to do! The people on that stage have no clue, they are blinded to the Truth. How many more people must go to hell because we as Christians don't care enough to tell people the Truth of God's Word?

Jude 1:3-4 (New King James Version)

Contend for the Faith

3 Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. 4 For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God[a] and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Are you contending for the faith?
if not, why not?

There are too many churches out there that are falling for the acceptance of homosexuality all in the name of "diversity." (Are you listening to me UM churches and others?)

It is time to stand up for the faith. Be bold! Be loving! But be a CHRISTIAN who truly follows God and believes in Jesus as Lord and Savior. If you believe Him to be your homeboy, then you have not placed your trust in the Lord. Humble yourself before God, ask for forgiveness and then ask for boldness to preach the gospel to every creature! That display by Jack Black is completely blasphemous and it should terribly offend every Christian! His lack of knowledge of the Bible goes to show that people who have a "little" knowledge can be dangerous for their own good. How many people have attended church only to later have no idea who Jesus really is? How many of those people have no idea of what the Word of God's says? We must do our part.

Are you ready for the challenge? Watching this video should open your eyes as to what we are up against. Fight and Contend for the faith!

Christian-based website sued and forced to promote gay agenda

2008-11-26T04:06:00.002-06:00

The following article was found on HumanEvents.com website. eHarmony which is an online dating service geared towards Christians, has been sued. They lost the suit and now must provide a service to gays looking for other gays. What other hallmarks of the Christian faith will be attacked in the coming years? I mentioned that the country voted Obama into the presidency and that we "had asked for it!"

The global acceptance of Obama as President of the USA is widely accepted as a "good thing."

other headlines found on the Foxnews site include:

Texas Teacher Arrested for Giving Topless Photo to Boy, 14
[2008-11-19]
Kansas City Student Could Face Charges for Hugging School Social Worker
[2008-11-19]
Brad Pitt Says Daughter Shiloh Wants Name Changed to 'John'
[2008-11-18]

Search On for Teen Son of Dead Lesbian Fugitive
[2008-11-19]

Suspects in 1998 Hot Tub Murder Found Dead After TV Profile on Case

What has happened to the America that we grew up with? Why is it that morality has gone out the window? Surprised? Don't be. This is just the beginning!

Read the following article and pray because our freedom is going to be under attack here at home. Are you ready for it?

The 'Fairness Doctrine' Comes to eHarmony
by A.W.R. Hawkins
11/24/2008

When news broke last week that the homosexual lobby in New Jersey had won a decision against online dating service eHarmony, we were once again reminded that the pursuit of “equal rights” for homosexuals is often an attempt to impose their agenda. It would behoove us to learn from this that the Left, and particularly the militant homosexual wing of the Left, will not stop until they have defiled all that we hold dear and have corrupted all we hold incorruptible. In what proved to be another case of discrimination victim (gay Eric McKinley) vs. business owner and “bigot” (Neil Clark Warren, founder eHarmony), we learned that McKinley had gotten his little feelings hurt when he learned that eHarmony had no options for men to meet men on their website. According to USA Today, when McKinley saw that only straight couples could meet on eHarmony he found it “very frustrating… very humiliating to think that other people can do it and I can't." McKinley filed suit in 2005, and with the help of the New Jersey Civil Rights Division, reached a settlement which resulted in eHarmony paying $5,000 to McKinley, $50,000 to the New Jersey Civil Rights Division, and opening a sister site for gays which will “include photos of same-sex couples, as well as individual same-sex users, in advertising materials used to promote its same-sex matching services.”

For years, bloggers and writers for www.queerly.com have asked why those “bastards” at eHarmony “discriminate against queers?” And they have been especially outraged that Warren founded eHarmony with ties to that “homo-hater” Dr. James Dobson at Focus on the Family. Pay attention folks: There’s a plot afoot here. When Leftists cry “discrimination” they are usually criticizing the exercise of someone else’s choice in the name of choice (imagine that). Sites like “queerly,” groups like GLAD or NAMBLA, and books that extol “queer theory” spread their vileness by casting everything in a negative light via the presumption that every person or entity that does not include homosexuals is anti-gay (which would be like saying the owner of a knife store is necessarily anti-gun). Thus homosexual lobbyists presume Warren purposely founded his site to exclude gays instead of adopting the more rational posture that he created the site to appeal to his Christian customers. What the gay community does not often admit is the fact that www.match.com has had a site where men can look for other men for some time. But militant gays aren’t happy with having only some options available to them – they want all options available to them. Regardless of who owns the sites (or businesses), and regardless of what religious affiliation that site (or business) might have, every knee shall bow to the gay agenda or face discriminatory charges. (See folks, it’s not the pursuit of equal rights that’s taking place here; it’s the attempt to impose an agenda.) The other reason I bring up the fact that www.match.com provides dating/relationship services for homosexuals is to demonstrate once more that the tactics of the Left are not simply anti-choice but anti-free market. Ideally, a business survives in the free market by offering a service for which customers are willing to pay. If enough customers want a service that is not offered and you have the capital to start a business that offers it, then you have an opportunity to make quite bit of money. And there are many such opportunities because the tastes and desires of American customers are diverse. But militant gays cannot tolerate diversity. Therefore, instead of launching their own version of eHarmony they go to court, interfere with the market, and force Warren to allow homosexuals to form relationships on his website.

This is exactly what our incoming president and the Leftists in congress want to do to privately owned radio stations. Even though the Left already has liberal talk radio via tax-payer-funded N.P.R. and the glorious “Air America” network, which has proven unable to attract the advertising dollars necessary to pay staff salaries, they want to tell the rest of America’s radio station owners what can and cannot be aired based on political ideology. It’s not that they will then listen to the stations; it’s just that they want to control the stations. As you read various opinions about McKinley v. eHarmony remember that the people who were truly discriminated against were those who had chosen eHarmony over other relationship services (such as match.com) because of its Christian principles as well as the stockholders of eHarmony who own it because it had a specific niche in the market. (I say “had” instead of “has” because it’s novel feature was greatly diminished thanks to the outcome of the case in New Jersey.)And no matter what the bloggers at queerly.com write you must also remember that this: like all other leftist endeavors, was simply a power play. If you don’t believe me, consider this: After the decision against eHarmony was made in McKinley’s favor, USA Today reported that he said he “might consider” using the site now. In other words, after all the suing, all the “discrimination,” and all the hurt feelings, he’s not even sure he wants to use eHarmony; but he was certainly sure he wanted to punish the site’s founder for making a decision with which he did not agree.

HUMAN EVENTS columnist AWR Hawkins has been published on topics including the U.S. Navy, Civil War battles, Vietnam War ideology, the Reagan Presidency, and the Rebirth of Conservatism, 1968-1988. More of his articles can be found at www.awrhawkins.com.

Who is watching you?

2008-11-24T04:14:00.003-06:00

Pretty good message from the heart of a child. It is so true that we as Christians are being watched. Our kids and our grandkids will be watching us to see if what we "say" we believe is really true in our lives.

I want to encourage each person to be a person of integrity.
When presented with the opportunity to present the gospel of Jesus Christ will you...
1. tell a story about yourself?
2. tell a bunch of jokes accompanied with a bunch of stories about yourself?
3. or will you tell people what they need to hear? The truth! The whole gospel message?

Our kids are watching us as parent, as leaders, and they are even watching the pastor's. If pastor's talk more about their own lives than they do about Jesus, then it really shows where their heart truly lies.

We should be preaching Christ and Him crucified!

It is the power of the gospel to change lives. We must not soften the gospel with stories about ourselves. I know some people will say that Jesus used parables. He did it so that His disciples would gain knowledge but that the truth would remain hidden to some. Herein lies the problem...
We are not commanded to go into all the world preaching parables about ourselves to all creatures in every land.

We are commanded to preach, read that again...
WE ARE COMMANDED TO PREACH the gospel to every creature.

Why not do it the way Jesus did? The way Paul did it? The way Peter did it? The way the other Disciples did it?

They all used the Law to convict the person of their sins. The Law was used to break the heart of the self righteous person and then they used God's grace to humble the broken heart. It is a wonderful example of how to reach a lost soul.

Psalm 19:7
The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.

Romans 3:19-20
Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

Romans 7:7
What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.”

Unless someone knows they have sinned against an Almighty, Holy God, then they will never come to a saving knowledge of exactly WHY Jesus died on the cross.

All the story telling in the world about your family will do nothing to further the Kingdom of God. It is time we get back to the Bible and preach it unashamedly. Christ and Him crucified!

People are watching us in how we live our lives. They will also see how important Jesus is to us by the way we "present" Him to the nations. When we die to self, we no longer preach about "us" but rather we preach Jesus and Him alone!

more church neglect...

2008-11-17T08:59:00.003-06:00

You have to wonder what is going on in our churches.

A while back our youth leader was let go from our church. I had confronted him a while back about his myspace site that he had. As I visited his site, I noticed that he had some inappropriate songs on there (the "F" word being prominently used in many of the songs!). At the top of his page he mentioned that he was a youth leader at our church. I sent him a friendly email just saying that he might want to remove the songs before he gets in trouble. He fired back that it was not my place to judge him. No matter what I said, it all came down to his saying I had no right to judge him. He would quote Scripture such as take the plank out of your own eye, and do not judge! I showed him how scripturally, he was wrong in his assessment of what I did. I showed him how the Bible says we should discern truth from error. We are to help our brothers and sisters. I showed him the compete scriptures that says to remove the plank from your own eye so you can help with the speck in the other person's eye. He came back filled with anger and hatred.

I did not need to say anything to anyone else. Obviously, someone else saw his site too and it came to the attention of the pastors of the church. He ended up putting a block on his site so no one except his "friends" could see it, not even the pastors. Just recently, an issue came up where the computer he was using was filled with pornography. He lived with an elderly couple in the church. They did an investigation and found over 45 pages worth of porn websites that he had visited. His response was that someone "set him up!"

He was given a chance to repent. He chose to call everyone in the church a liar. He was asked to step down from his position as youth leader. He sent text messages to all of the youth telling them to not go to our church and to our youth group meetings.

We just found out that he is now an assistant youth leader at a Nazarine Church in town. That church did not do a reference check on him before hiring him into this position. They have just gotten a man who feels it is okay to use the "F" word, it is okay to talk about sex openly with the kids (not in a biblical way) and to view pornography on the Internet.

Is it any wonder that our kids are lost when they graduate from high school?

What will it take for churches to finally look for biblical preachers and biblical leaders of the youth? There is much damage control that needs to be done within our own church since he has left. Praise God that we had 15 kids come back this past week! We are going to give them good old fashioned biblical teachings! They will learn what sin is and what the consequences are. At the same time, they will also learn about the love of God and "why" Jesus had to die on the cross.

Please keep our church in your prayers. There is some division that has occurred because of this. One of the pastor's has taken the hit for releasing this person from his position. Without divulging all of the details, he can only say that it had to be done. Please keep him in your prayers too!

Put your faith and trust in Jesus.
Repent of your sins and be obedient to His Word!
Go into all the world preaching the gospel to every creature!!

Do you see the danger?

2008-11-15T13:49:00.002-06:00

The following article is taken from The Telegraph out of London.

Traffic lights removed in latest 'shared space' road experiment
Traffic lights, road signs and markings have been removed from a major street in the most radical "shared space" experiment in Britain.

By Matthew Moore
Last Updated: 2:40AM GMT 15 Nov 2008

Pedestrians crossing a section of the ring road in Ashford, Kent are encouraged to step out in front of cars as all road users – whether on foot, on a bike or in a car – share equal priority.

The scheme is designed to improve road safety by spreading uncertainty. Similar "shared space" schemes in the Netherlands have suggested that motorists take more care when they are forced to engage with potential hazards, rather than simply following signs.

The road near the centre of Ashford has had four sets of lights removed, been relaid with bricks rather than tarmac and narrowed to force drivers to cut their speeds. The kerbs have also been lowered.

People wishing to cross the road should first make eye contact with approaching drivers. This has led to criticism from blind charities, who claim that blind people will be unable to negotiate a crossing.

Richard Stubbings, Kent County Council's project manager on the £13million scheme, said that he believed road users would get used to the new system, which is intended to promote mutual consideration.

"We needed to remove the concrete collar which was choking Ashford," he told The Times.

"We accept it will take a bit of getting used to but we believe the ending segregation between cars and pedestrians will make roads safer and more civilised."

Schemes to declutter British roads have been tested in Kensington High Street in London – where pedestrian barriers were removed – and other towns including Sherford in Devon and Waterlooville in Hampshire, but this the first time that traffic lights have been removed.

Last week it emerged that Kent County Council had spent £15,000 on a DVD to teach adults to cross the new road.

*****************************************************
I am sure there are people reading this who would say...
Hey, that's pretty clever. I think it would make people slow down instead of just watching for the signs.

Now, let's contrast that with todays contemporary church.

Todays church says, "people are tired of looking for 'signs' from God. What they really want is the opportunity to 'experience' God in a personable way!"

The message gets watered down so it will be more pleasing to the people. Here is an interview that John MacArthur did with Paul Edwards. He is talking about the Emergent movement and the Seeker-Sensitive Churches. They have tried to come up with "new" ideas and ways to present the gospel message. The problem is, there gospel message is no gospel message. It is soft at best and damning at worst.

The Emergent Church is a Form of Paganism

Paul Edwards, host of “The Paul Edwards Program” on WLQV in Detroit, interviewed pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church John MacArthur about the emerging church movement in America. Paul begins the interview by asking Pastor John to respond to a radio interview with prominent emerging church leader Doug Pagitt. In the clip from October 22, 2007, Pagitt denied that there is a place of eternal conscious torment for persons who die apart from faith in Jesus Christ. Paul Edwards : Help me with this—the emerging church prides itself on conversation, having a conversation, so let’s have a conversation. How can you have a conversation with someone, when you’re not even speaking the same language?

John MacArthur: Let me just cut to the chase on this one: [Doug] Pagitt is a Universalist. What he was saying is real simple. He was saying when you die your spirit goes to God and judgment means that whatever was not right about you, whatever was bad about you, whatever was substantially lacking about you, gets all resolved. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a Buddhist, a Hindu or a Muslim—doesn’t matter whether you’re a Christian really; we’re all going to end up in this wonderful, warm and fuzzy relationship with God. That’s just classic universalism.

I think you know it’s most helpful, Paul, to go back and kind of recast how we view these people. He’s not a pastor; he’s not a Christian; that’s not a church. When you call yourself a Christian and you call yourself a pastor and you say you have a church, all of that has to be—to be legitimate—defined biblically. And if it’s not, that’s not a church and you’re not a pastor and you’re not even a Christian.

What you have here is a form of false religion … A form of paganism that basically wants to be thought of as Christian because it gains a certain ground. But the underlying bottom line of this whole emerging movement is they don’t believe in any doctrine, they don’t believe in any theology. They don’t want to be forced to interpret anything in scripture a certain way and the out is, “Well the Bible isn’t clear anyway.” In other words, we don’t know what it means; we can’t know what it means.

Brian McLaren says nobody has ever gotten it right—we haven’t got it right now—so let’s not make an issue out of anything. Let’s just be open to everything. Let’s not take a position on theology, or for that matter, on morality or behavior because, hey, there’s no judgment anyway so we’re all going to end up in God in some ethereal, eternal relationship. And that’s just non-Christian. It is blatantly, flagrantly non-Christian. It’s as non-Christian as any false religion.

Edwards : [When “Emergents” and many seeker-sensitive church advocates say “We do church a certain way,”] it seems to me that they do it by totally ignoring the book of Acts and the Epistles.

MacArthur: I’m going to seem anachronistic if not an outright dinosaur at this point. I believe the church has one function, and that is to guard the truth, to proclaim the truth and to live the truth. So you take the Word of God, you teach it, you proclaim it, you protect it, you defend it, and you live it, and that’s a church. The Word of God rightly divided, rightly understood.

That’s not the idea in a seeker church; that’s not the idea certainly in an emerging church. Everything becomes style and contextualization and everything is built around the manipulation of people’s hot buttons as if we were selling a product like any other product in our culture. This fails to understand that the only real power in the spiritual realm is Divine and that God works His power through His truth, and that’s all that matters.

I think the illusion of success is created by crowds. You’ve probably heard recently that Bill Hybels, who is the guru of the seeker movement, has openly confessed that they did a big survey and found they’ve been doing it wrong.

Edwards : “We made a mistake,” he said.

MacArthur: Yes, we made a mistake. And so, the solution is—one of the lines in the statement was—we gotta get a blank piece of paper and start all over again. That’s exactly the problem. Why do you want a blank piece of paper when you have all kinds of paper full with the Word of God?

Edwards : Right.

MacArthur: If you want a biblical mandate and you want to do ministry biblically, you teach and preach the Word. I don’t think it matters whether you have smoke and mirrors. I don’t think it matters whether you wear a tie, or don’t wear a tie, whether you wear a black T-shirt and holes in your knees or a blue suit. (I think there are reasons to go with the suit rather the grunge approach—of dignity, respect, sober mindedness, seriousness, loftiness, etc, etc.)

At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is that we proclaim the Word of God. Look, I’ve been doing this for so long, and I haven’t changed anything. Contexts come, contexts go; fads come, fads go; styles come, styles go. I just keep doing the same thing. We show up on Sunday morning, we sing a little bit, we pray, we open the Word of God and explain His meaning to the people. The people just keep coming and coming and what I say goes around the world, on radio, and then it gets transferred into 50 languages and books and commentaries because [the Word] knows no boundaries. It knows no cultural restraint, because the Word of God is transcendent.

Edwards : One of the things I get most frustrated about is whenever people like you who are standing for truth point out the error both in the emergent church and in the seeker movement people will immediately run to 1 Corinthians 9 and begin screaming, “You know Paul said, ‘I became all things to all men,’ which means to the grunge I become as grunge, to the Universalist I become as a Universalist.” But in 1 Corinthians 9 Paul isn’t saying that we compromise the message and we become whatever the audience needs us to be in order to make the gospel palatable.

MacArthur: Well, of course not. All he is saying is there’s a foundation in the proclamation of the gospel with the Jew and there’s a different starting point with the Gentile. If I’m going to evangelize a Jew, I’m going to start with the Old Testament because that’s the substantial basis. So every time the Apostle Paul preached to the Jews he started with the Scripture—the Old Testament Scripture. Every time he evangelized Gentiles he started with creation. For example, in Acts 14 and Acts 17 he talks about the unknown God. Who is the unknown God? He’s the God who made everything—that was the foundation.

All he is saying in 1 Corinthians 9 is you must understand the starting point of your audience and here’s the point: ideologically. In other words, how do they think ideologically, philosophically, religiously? What are the ideas, the theories, the viewpoints that they hold? It’s not about identifying with their lifestyle; it’s not about being able to converse about every episode of South Park, every R-rated movie and every Rap song—that’s not it at all.

How do people think religiously, how do they perceive truth?—those are the starting points that Paul was establishing. That’s a far cry from saying that to reach this generation we must do their music, we must dress the way they dress, we must live the way they live, we must be familiar with the baser components of their culture. That’s a million miles from what the Apostle Paul had in mind. He was talking about those things that controlled their thought process and their worldview.

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Well said John. If only more pastor's would stay with the Truth instead of inventing their own idea of truth. Oh, and did you notice one line in the first article out of London? It said, "This has led to criticism from blind charities, who claim that blind people will be unable to negotiate a crossing."

Was there any concern for the blind person not being able to cross the road. Apparently not! I guess it is okay for "some" people to die in order to satisfy the majority.

There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof [are] the ways of death. Proverbs 14:12

יֵשׁ דֶּרֶךְ יָשָׁר לִפְנֵי־אִישׁ וְאַחֲרִיתָהּ דַּרְכֵי־מָֽוֶת׃ 14:12

ways of death=a path, a way, a journey, a road, a direction, a manner.

The Word of God should be the standard that we live by. Are we leading others to death by not sharing the full gospel message with them? When we allow "man" to dictate what should be preached in church instead of the Holy Spirit directing us, then we have failed as pastors and as leaders.

The church needs to get back to biblical preaching and teaching. All roads DO lead to God! There are MANY ways to God, just ask Oprah Winfrey! While all roads will lead to God, it is the narrow road, the one that follows Jesus as Lord and Savior that will lead to Heaven, it is all of the other roads that will lead to God as Judge and ultimately to Hell. Be looking for those signs. God has told us what we can expect in the future.

Luke 13:5 says, "I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish."

Luke 13:23-28 says, Then one said to Him, "Lord, are there few who are saved?" And He said to them, "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open for us,' and He will answer and say to you, 'I do not know you, where you are from,' then you will begin to say, 'We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.' But He will say, 'I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.' There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out.

Which road are you on? Does it have accidents just waiting to happen? Or, are you safely in the care of our loving God? If you or your pastor are preaching a message that is not completely, accurately, and truthfully taken fropm the Word of God, then you might as well be the blind person trying to cross a street without a light to stop the traffic. Death is waiting for you!

John 10:10 says, The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have [it] more abundantly. (You can have life that leads to heaven! It is not about being rich on earth. It is about living a life that is full, rewarding, extraordinary, uncommon, more remarkable and more excellent!)

Joel Osteen and Paul Washer

2008-11-12T16:28:00.003-06:00

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

It takes discernment as a Christian to recognize proper biblical preaching and teaching. Have you been using discernment in your listening? The difference is frightening and it can have eternal consequences. Now, think about your friends who follow after Joel Osteen and his teachings. Are they saved?

It is time to DEMAND that your church properly preach God's Word. Do not let your pastor off with smushy, soft-core gospel preaching. Do not let him get away with only giving "feel good" messages without talking about sin and the need to repent of those sins that we do.

You asked for it! continued...

2008-11-09T07:29:00.003-06:00

The following article was found on ABCnews website.

There are some interesting comments that we should be aware of. As you read this article, I want you think about the coming Antichrist. I am not saying that Obama is the antichrist. This is only used to show you how easily the whole world might be willing to follow one man!

Much of the World Applauds Obama
From Kenya to Britain, Indonesia to Korea, Many People See Signs of Hope
By JIM SCIUTTO and ZOE MAGEE

LONDON, England, Nov 5, 2008

With unprecedented news coverage worldwide, this year's presidential election had already captured the globe's attention. Now, it has delivered a winner who is capturing the world's imagination. World leaders, normally diplomatic in their official statements, were unusually effusive in their praise for President-elect Barack

The president-elect is receiving great fanfare from countries around the globe.More Photos
"I applaud the American people for their courage and the great morality that they showed," Afghan President Hamid Karzai said. French President Nicolas Sarkozy was even more glowing in a letter to Obama: "In choosing you, the American people have chosen the path of change, openness and optimism. Your election raises immense hope in France, Europe and beyond: the hope of an open America."

Nelson Mandela, as qualified as he is complimentary in his comments, gushed, "Your victory has demonstrated that no person anywhere in the world should not dare to dream of wanting to change the world for a better place."

Newspapers at first stumbled over each other to declare Obama the winner, and then to find the language to match the moment.

Britain
The sense of global excitement is palpable in Britain, the United States' closest ally. Even before the results officially came in, the British press was both confident and biased: Headlines read "Gobama!" (Daily Mirror); "The History Man" (The Independent); and "Yanks Very Much" (The Star).

Obama's victory is being especially heralded among the young in London. "Obama is an inspiration, especially as an orator," 23-year-old Alexandra Demper told ABCNews. "We can't quite say what the effects will be for Britain yet, but it is a great change for America."
Of course, not everyone is pleased with the result. A taxi driver and former police officer told ABCNews: "An amateur is now the most powerful person in the world. A salesman is all Obama is. He has no experience in foreign affairs."

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown sent his "sincere congratulations" to the U.S. president-elect, saying Obama would be a "true friend to Britain."
Meanwhile, the leader of the opposition, David Cameron, said Obama's victory has restored America's status as a "beacon of hope."

Kenya
But nowhere in the world was the news greeted with more emotion than in Obama's father's home village in Kenya. Kenya's president declared Thursday a national holiday to celebrate the victory. Ouma, Obama's half-sister, seemed exhausted by all the attention her normally sleepy village has garnered in recent weeks. "It's been tough; I won't lie," she said. "You guys have been really ... you're persistent. You're stubborn, so it's been hard." But she quickly acknowledged the pride she felt when Obama mentioned her in his acceptance speech.
"I did have someone come in and say, 'Ooh I'm gonna shake the hand of the lady who was mentioned by the president of the United States of America,'" she said.

Global Reaction to Obama's Win
Indonesia
As in Kenya, the celebrations in Indonesia had a personal tone.

President-elect Barack Obama smiles during his acceptance speech at Grant Park in Chicago Tuesday night, Nov. 4, 2008.(Morry Gash/AP Photo)More Photos
At the school Obama attended as a child in Indonesia, children cheered. Former childhood classmates, teachers and friends of Obama, who have followed his career, said they'd been waiting for this emotional moment for a long, long time. One of them was Rully Dasad, who refers to the president-elect, his third-grade classmate, as Barry. "I'm very grateful, thank God for him that finally he reached, achieved, what he's been seeking all this time," he said. "Good luck, Barry." Another classmate, Dewi Asmara Oetoyo, said, "After a long, long rally of campaign, he did it. We are so happy for him and his family and also we are so proud of him."
There is a hope here in Indonesia that Obama will help bridge the gap between the two countries and cultures. "I believe Obama would be able to restore the trust, the confidence, the hope, of Indonesians towards Americans," said Todung Mulya Lubis, CEO of Transparency International-Indonesia, a nongovernmental organization addressing corruption. "This is a really good and historical moment, for both countries."

Italy
In Italy, Romans on the street this morning were openly excited by the results.
Drinking their coffees and cappuccinos, some called the election results "real democracy." Many had watched Obama's victory speech this morning before they left home; it aired live before 5 a.m. Italian time. Though most didn't seem sure about how Obama as president would or could change things for them, they were especially relieved that this marked the end of the Bush era.
"Of course, it affects me," said Filippo at his newsstand this morning, as he happily handed out papers with Obama on all the front pages. "This is change. Not like that Bush. ... Oh mamma mia." One commentator on television this morning summed up the country's mood, saying, "While the rest of the world is questioning America's supremacy as world leader, Americans elect a true postmodern politician, one who encapsulates the whole American dream in one person."

South Korea
But popular fascination with Obama is already yielding to hard questions in some countries.
In South Korea, young people cheered for Obama. Chung Han-Ho, a 24-year-old student, told ABC News that "I have high hopes for him. He will put an end to racism around the world."
South Korean leaders, however, fear Obama's stance on diplomatic and trade issues with the two Koreas. South Korea is waiting for the U.S. Congress to ratify a free-trade agreement, which Obama has said he opposes, claiming that it gives U.S. automakers too little access to the South Korean market. Denuclearization of North Korea is another big issue. Obama mentioned that he would meet Kim Jong-Il in person for direct talks, a meeting that North Korea has long wanted but that the Bush administration has denied. The prospect of direct talks is not welcomed by the conservative South Korean government, which believes that it would only increase the unpredictability in North-South relations and might even relegate South Korea to the sidelines.

Future Change in Policies?
Pakistan
Obama-mania has not reached fever pitch everywhere. In Pakistan and elsewhere in the Muslim world, many doubt any new U.S. president can make real changes in what they see as hostile American policy. In Pakistan, most people are skeptical that President Barack Obama will change U.S. policies there. "It really didn't matter whether it was [John] McCain or Obama," 38-year-old Mohammad Fasil Aziz said. "It was going to be the same policies implemented."
Among others, however, especially among the elite, there is hope that Obama will at least focus more on economic development than on CIA drone attacks inside Pakistan. "There's a belief that Obama will certainly pursue policies that will move the United States away from the policies pursued by the Bush administration," said Tariq Fatmi, a former Pakistani ambassador to the United States. "Redirect the relationship towards one of economic engagement, support for people-oriented programs. Present America as a promoter of good rather than a messenger of death and destruction."

Israel
And nowhere, perhaps, does America have the reputation of such a messenger moreso than in the Middle East. Much will hinge on Obama's Israel policy and his ability to bring peace to this fractious region. Most Israelis have been captivated by his charisma, his youthfulness and skills of communication. Many say they wish they had a politician like Obama there. Israelis will be voting in their own elections in February. During the long campaign the majority of Israelis and their political commentators have become convinced that a President Obama will not compromise on Israel's main preoccupation, security. If there are reservations, they concern his apparent desire to engage with America's enemies in the Middle East. He has said he will talk with Iran about its nuclear ambitions, which makes some Israelis nervous. A nuclear Iran is their No. 1 fear and, despite today's euphoria, some there will be wondering if the future president will be tough enough on Tehran.

Iraq
Obama's stance on Iraq has been a cornerstone of his campaign. He wants to bring troops home within the first 16 months of his presidency. This policy made headlines earlier in the year after Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki appeared to use Obama's plan of a 2010 troop withdrawal during negotiations with the Bush administration. Many interpreted this as an oblique endorsement of Obama by Maliki. But this does not mean all will be clear sailing between Maliki and Obama.
The Iraqi prime minister is more concerned with playing to an internal audience and consolidating his power in upcoming local elections. Iraq's state broadcaster, al Iraqia Television, which Maliki controls, chose not to carry any of the live coverage of Tuesday's elections or even report the results in its regular morning broadcast. Al Iraqia's decision to ignore the American election is seen by some as a more calculated message from the government, designed to show that Iraq is truly a sovereign nation not the least bit concerned about who will lead the United States for the next four years. Indeed, when asked their opinions about Barack Obama's historic victory, many people in the streets of Baghdad on their way to work this morning had the same question: When will the Americans go home? "The Iraqi people were hoping that Barack Obama would win the U.S. presidential elections because Iraqis know that he issued orders to withdraw the troops," one elderly man wearing traditional dress said. "Iraqis are optimistic about this decision." But another man wasn't as hopeful about an immediate change in U.S. policy: "Obama's victory won't change anything because U.S. interests in Iraq and the whole Middle East region are selfish," he said. "U.S. policy is all the same, whether it's Barack or McCain."

World Reacts to New U.S. President-Elect
Russia
Many in Russia are equally doubtful of a positive change. The mood on the chilly streets of Moscow is the same as it is most days, with some Russians pleased to hear that Obama will be the next president of the United States, but most ambivalent to the news. The Russian headlines read "America opens itself" and "America made a historical choice," but for most Russians, America is still regarded with distrust, irrespective of its leader. Svetlana, a cleaning lady in Moscow, told ABC News, "I can't really say that I am happy or sad that Obama won, we still have so many problems with America." Still, Russia's Communist Party leader, Gennady Zyuganov, said, "His election is a choice in favor of a younger and more modern America, which is now completely disappointed in George W. Bush's policy resulting in extremely hard times for the country's economy, in which a financial crisis is raging." President Medvedev offered Obama his congratulations unusually late in the day and was not particularly effusive in his telegram, citing "solid positive potential" between the two countries.

China
The Chinese president sent an equally official sounding message to Obama. "China and the United States share broad common interests and important responsibilities on a wide range of major issues concerning the well-being of humanity." Ordinary Chinese reacted to the U.S. election with a combination of curiosity and indifference. In Tiananmen Square in Beijing, which attracks tourists from across China, several people had a vague recollection of the name "Obama" from reading newspapers, but didn't know that he won the presidential election.
But some Chinese who don't normally follow U.S. politics have been observing Obama and believe his race helps him relate to "ordinary" people.

Japan
But one place where his election was greeted with almost unbridled joy was the sleepy seaside town in Japan that shares a name with the president-to-be. The people of Obama came out to the streets and danced in celebration at the news. And, in Tokyo, Obama's words gave one resident hope for a new-world order. "His speech was heartwarming," said Fusae Asano, a 64-year-old homemaker. "Through his speech, I get this idea that he wants all of us to unite, it is one world and we are all one. Although he will be the president of a foreign country, his speech made me cry."

***************************************************************

It is one world and we are all one...

CARM website says this about the antichrist.

Who or what is the antichrist?
The term antichrist is only found in the epistles of John (4:3; Dan.7:8,22, "While I was contemplating the horns, behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it; and behold, this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth uttering great boasts...22 I kept looking, and that horn was waging war with the saints and overpowering them." 1 John 4:3 John says that all who do not confess Jesus are of the spirit of the antichrist, "and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; and this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world." The cults such as Mormonism, the Jehovah's Witnesses, the Christadelphians, the Christian Scientists, etc., are all of the Spirit of the antichrist since they deny the true Lord and Savior, Jesus.

****************************************************************

Again, I want to say that I am not saying Obama is the antichrist. I use this article as a way of showing people just how real the threat of a new world order can be to us. People around the world are hailing Obama as some sort of great man. And yet, they really know nothing about him. In the Last Days, people WILL follow after a man who will make promises. And that man will proclaim himself to be as god. The time is NOW. We must prepare ourselves for the coming antichrist. How do we do that?

Get into God's Word.

Read it

Believe it

Live it

Share it

Know what is coming in the future and realize that if you are someone you know is not saved, then it is so important to do what the Lord calls us to do.

Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior

Be obedient to His Word

Fulfill the Great Commission by going out into the world and preaching the gospel to every creature.

It is His will that the redeemed of the Lord shall all be gathered together on earth as in heaven!

Are you doing your part? Are you talking to people about Jesus. Are you a true convert that was planted on good soil, or are you a false convert that will blow away at the first sign of trouble?

We need to examine ourselves daily to see that we are in the faith!

You asked for it!

2008-11-05T08:56:00.002-06:00

Obama wins the election.
You asked for it!

Obama wins the electoral college votes.
You asked for it!

Obama wants to bring in change!
You asked for it!

Can you remember a time when people asked for something and God gave it to them?

1 Samuel 8 comes to mind...
Israel Demands a King 1 Now it came to pass when Samuel was old that he made his sons judges over Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. 3 But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice.4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, 5 and said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.” 6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” So Samuel prayed to the LORD. 7 And the LORD said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. 8 According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day—with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also. 9 Now therefore, heed their voice. However, you shall solemnly forewarn them, and show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them.” 10 So Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who asked him for a king. 11 And he said, “This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots. 12 He will appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties, will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. 14 And he will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants. 16 And he will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest young men,[a] and your donkeys, and put them to his work. 17 He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants. 18 And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the LORD will not hear you in that day.” 19 Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, “No, but we will have a king over us, 20 that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.” 21 And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he repeated them in the hearing of the LORD. 22 So the LORD said to Samuel, “Heed their voice, and make them a king.” And Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Every man go to his city.”

What have we as a nation asked for in this new president?
Be very careful for what you ask for! God is giving us what we as a nation asked for.

Religious freedom out the window??
Abortions run rampant and increase??
Taxes raised to help fund the abortions??
Gas prices will sky-rocket within the next couple of months??

Immorality will reign over our country. It has already begun and it is only going to get worse. Can you feel the Last Day's are upon us?

Put everything to prayer.
Spend your time reaching out to the lost before it is too late. There is not much time left. If we are not doing the Lord's work, then we are wasting our time. God is looking for obedience to His Word, not just smushy, lovey-dovey kind of love for God. He wants to see action. Doing His will while we are still on this earth.

If He comes back today, are you ready? Are your friends saved? Family members saved?
Or are you just concerned about yourself and meeting "your" needs?

You asked for a president to lead this country. Where will he lead us?
I don't know what the future holds with our president but I do know what the future holds for us from God.

Put your faith and trust in God while there is still time. Repent of your sins and be obedient to His Word.

The world is going down hill fast! Is this what you want for us?
You asked for it

College Flyers promote SEX TOY SALE

2008-11-03T07:03:00.003-06:00

Our local 4-yr college has signs posted all over the college promoting a Sex Toy Sale. I finally had enough, I had to post my own flyers! Below is a copy of the letter I posted all over campus! Would you have done the same thing?*****************************************************************
God is watching!
Time doesn’t forgive sin. If a man commits murder on Monday, but on Tuesday he is kind to others, he is still a murderer. If a man lies and steals, unless he comes to the Savior, his sins remain with him until he stands before God in judgment.

Time doesn’t forgive sin. If a man commits adultery (which Jesus goes on to say, “any one who looks at another person with lust is guilty of adultery with that person already) on Monday, but on Tuesday he is kind to others, he is still an adulterer. Unless he comes to the Savior, his sins remain with him until he stands before God in judgment.

Time doesn’t forgive sin. If a man dishonors his parents on Monday, but on Tuesday he is kind to his parents, he is still guilty of breaking God’s Commands. Unless he comes to the Savior, his sins remain with him until he stands before God in judgment.
The Bible says…
“But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” Revelation 21:8

Do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10

"I don’t mind going to hell. All my friends will be there."
Obviously, those who flippantly say such things don’t believe in the biblical concept of hell. Their understanding of the nature of God is erroneous. The slow-witted criminal thinks that the electric chair is a place to put up his feet for a while and relax. It may be wise therefore to speak with him for a few moments about the reasonableness of a place called hell.
Reason with him by saying, "If a judge in Florida turns a blind eye to the un-lawful dealings of the Mafia, if he sees their murderous acts and deliberately turns the other way, is he a good or bad judge? He’s obviously corrupt, and should be brought to justice him-self. If he is a good judge, he will do everything within his power to bring those murderers to justice. He should make sure that they are justly punished.
"If Almighty God sees a man rape and strangle to death your sister or mother, do you think He should look the other way, or bring that murderer to justice? If He looks the other way, He’s corrupt and should be brought to justice Himself. It makes sense then, that if God is good, He will do everything in His power to ensure justice is done. The Bible tells us that He will punish murderers, and the place of punishment—the prison God will send them to—is a place called hell.
"God should punish murderers and rapists. However, God is so good, he will also punish thieves, liars, adulterers, fornicators, and blasphemers. He will even punish those who desired to murder and rape but never took the opportunity. He warns that if we hate someone, we commit murder in our hearts. If we lust, we commit adultery in the heart, etc."
Then take the time to tell him of the reality of hell. Sinners like to picture hell as a fun, hedonistic, pleasure-filled place where they can engage in all the sensual sins that are forbidden here. But Jesus said that it is a place of torment, where the worm never dies and the fire is never quenched (Matthew 9:45-47). We tend to forget what pain is like when we don’t have it. Can you begin to imagine how terrible it would be to be in agony, with no hope of relief? Many human beings go insane if they are merely isolated for a long time from other people. Imagine how terrible it would be if God merely withdrew all the things we hold so dear—friendship, love, color, light, peace, joy, laughter, and security. Hell isn’t just a place with an absence of God’s blessings, it is punishment for sin. It is literal torment, forever. That’s why the Bible warns that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

God has given His Law to convince men of their sins, and unless a sinner is convinced that he has sinned against God, he won’t see that hell is his eternal destiny. He may consider it a fit place for others, but not for himself. That’s why we mustn’t hesitate to open up the Law and show that each individual is personally responsible for sin, and that God’s wrath abides on him because of it. Ask him to consider why you would say such things to him if it wasn’t true. Tell him to examine your motives. You are so concerned for his eternal welfare that you are prepared to risk offending him.
Then ask him if he would sell an eye for a million dollars. Would he sell both for ten million? No one in his right mind would. Our eyes are precious to us. How much more then is our eternal soul worth?

Most of the above parts of this post were taken from the Evidence Bible.
www.evidencebible.com brought to you by Way of the Master! Thanks Ray Comfort!

Are you ready for it?

2008-11-01T11:52:00.002-05:00

http://news.aol.com/article/space-station-trash-plunging-to-earth/234755?icid=100214839x1211845551x1200752764

Something the size of a refridgerator will be plummeting down towards the earth at 100 miles per hour this coming Sunday night, Nov 2, 2008. NASA does not seem too concerned. How about you? What if it hit your neighborhood. How many people do you know who are not saved? Any youth? Family? Friends? Are you going to tell them that God has a wonderful plan for their life?

We must present the whole gospel message. It is so important. Developing "friendship" evangelism is not going to get the job done. Someone might be dead sunday night as a result of this piece of junk falling from the sky.

What will you tell your friends and family members who are not saved?
Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand and put your faith and trust in Jesus alone to save you! Without that, there is no salvation!

Bashed by another pastor! (again!)

2008-10-31T17:57:00.002-05:00

I was recently asked to be a clergy leader for a Weekend experience (used to be called Chrysalis). My talk was supposed to be on "God Accepted." Those of you who have followed me for some time now can probably guess how my sermon went. It lasted 20 minutes.

Here is a copy of the outline I was supposed to follow.

Talk #8 God Accepted Clergy

Overview:
This talk will help the participants understand how one accepts or rejects the love that is being offered by God. Just as a person is able to choose whether or not to relate with others, they can choose whether or not to relate with God. Out and out denial is easy to recognize, but the subtleties of partial acceptance (partial denial) sometimes eludes us. A person finds fulfillment when one fully accepts the relationship offered by God.

Schedule:
Saturday, 6:00-6:20 p.m. (20 minutes)

Suggested Themes:
Your talk should follow the overview while still being your own story. You may use some of the suggested themes, your own ideas, or a mixture of the two as God leads you. You don’t need to follow the suggested themes in order. Remember that your talk should be about 20 minutes long.

· Remind participants of what is being offered to them.
· God offers forgiveness.
· God offers us a love relationship with Jesus Christ.
· God offers fulfillment and happiness.
· Discuss how a person can accept or reject a relationship with Christ. Remind candidates that this must be done of your own free will; parents or friends cannot accept Christ for you.
· We are persons of freewill, not puppets.
· Discuss the consequences of denying the relationship that God offers us. We will be cut off from God as describe in the vine and the branches in John 15:1-17.
· Discuss the benefits of accepting a relationship with Christ. We will hunger for God; we will find reconciliation, security and the peace that passes all understanding.
· Explain what can be hoped for when we say “yes” to a relationship with God.
· Explain what faith is and how a relationship with Christ is an expression of faith.
· Tell how faith is the foundation of the relationship with Christ.
· What does it mean to deny self? How does that affect my relationship with Jesus?
· Close with the 4 Spiritual Laws and pray the prayer of acceptance. Let the candidates know that they can pray silently. Let them know that if they prayed the prayer of acceptance and meant in their hearts what they prayed that they should seek out an adult on the team sometime this evening and confess with their mouths.

Suggested Scripture:
Spend time with God in prayer and in your Bible as you write and develop your talk. Some suggested scriptures are given below but God may also lead you to other verses and passages.

John 10:10 Jesus came so we may have life and have it to the full.
John 15:1 – 17 Jesus is the vine and we are the branches.
Acts 4:12 There is no other name by which we can be saved.
Romans 3:21 – 26 All have sinned and fallen short.
Romans 10:9 Confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord.
********************************************************************************
So with that in mind, here is what I told the group in our practice session.

I started off asking everyone there this question...
How many people here have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior?
(every hand went up)
I then asked this next question and it was silent!
How many people here have been accepted by God?

I had their attention! Now they were ready to listen.
I quoted John 3:16 and told them what the word "Believe" really means. I told them it was an action word based less on the intellect on more on the obedience of the believer.
I talked about sin and the need to repent. I talked about how Jesus' first words in ministry were, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

Basically, I gave them the whole gospel message.

I told them about repentance, obedience, faith and trust. I gave them the example of putting the Lord Jesus on as told in the bible. An airplane is going to crash and you are told there is a parachute under the seat. What are you going to do with that parachute? Will you just believe that it will save you? NO! You will put it on. For without it, you will die! The same way with Jesus. Just believing is not good enough. Not if it is only an intellectual belief, for even the Devil believes and trembles. I followed all of that up with the Love of God in sending His Son to die on the cross for us. We do not have the right to make up our own set of rules on how to get into heaven. God has given us His Word and His Word tells us what we must do.

Repent of our sins, for without repentance, there is no salvation!
Put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone to save you!
Be obedient to His Word.
Be holy just as He is holy! Without holiness, no one will enter heaven!

I talked about the choice that each person must make. Their decision will have eternal consequences.

When the talk was over with, I went into another room with one other pastor and one of the team leaders of the Weekend. The team leader was all smiles and just said, WOW! You really hit it right on the head with that talk!!

The other pastor (a woman pastor of a methodist church)...
She scolded me in front of the other man. She said that she did not like the message. She kept repeating, "Where is the hope? Where is the hope? Had she listened to the sermon she would have heard me say that the only hope we have is in Jesus Christ. Otherwise, we are all destined for hell. She said I shouldn't have talked about the Law of God and about sin. She said that many people who will be listening on the Weekend will be atheist and they don't want to hear about sin. They want to hear about hope.

As far as she was concerned, the Holy Spirit had no chance of saving those people with my sermon. I had mentioned in the sermon how many people just sit in church and do not take their faith out into the streets where it belongs. She said I was attacking churches and she did not like that.

After we prayed we went back into the room of other people (a mix of adult leaders and high school boys who are acting as leaders too)
They all gave their reviews of my sermon.
They loved it! They all had that WOW statement.

It's as if they had never heard a sermon about repentance and how important it is to their walk with Christ. I pray that the lady pastor is convicted within her heart. She seems to be another one of those entertainment valued pastors. Tell a couple of jokes and then tell nothing but "feel good" messages. Mustn't offend anyone!!

I want to encourage all people reading this today.
You will all have opportunities to talk to someone about Christ. It might be the only opportunity you get. Will you give them a soft gospel filled with God's love and nothing else? Or, will you give them the whole gospel message of sin and the need to repent followed by God's love? If you do the first one, if they die without repenting of their sins, you have done them no favors by talking to them. Without repentance there is no salvation! Period!

I pray that you give them what they need to hear. If they are offended by God's Word (much like this lady pastor), then do not worry. It is not our job to do the "saving," we leave that up to God! Our job is to present the whole gospel message. Will you do it?

by the way, the lady pastor told me next time to be sure to follow the outline. What outline will you follow when talking to people? The best outline available is found in the Bible. Just do as Jesus and the Disciples did! Law to the Proud, Grace to the Humble!

Don't Pray Too Hard For Me! And, I am a Baptist, I can do what ever I want and just repent!

2008-10-01T07:03:00.005-05:00

Can you imagine hearing these comments?

Aside from the fact that both comments are so far removed from being Biblical, there is just something eerily and strangely connected with both comments.

The rest of the story...
The first comment comes from a pastor's kid.
The second comment comes from the PK's "lover."

The first comment comes from a girl who has found that sex "feels so good." She says she cannot stop. She has slept with a few different boys in her home while her parents have been gone. She is 19 and she knows what the Bible says. She has been told that she will not be allowed to join our Feed Your Spirit Ministries due to her complete disregard for the Word of God. Her parents were given a gift to go out of town to a beautiful town up north. She stayed behind. We offered to take her with us to the scenic drive and she was going to come but at the last minute she said she had an appointment she had to keep. Her appointment was to have a guy come over to her parents house so they could have sex.

As for her "lover" here is what he says.

I am a Baptist, I can do what ever I want to do so long as I repent.

This same boy has plans of becoming a pastor!

And people wonder why I get so upset with people who "claim" to be Christians. I hate to see the way they defile the name of Christ with their worldly lusts.

Jude 3-4 says

3Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. 4For certain men whose condemnation was written about[a] long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.

It is for this very reason that this girl will not be allowed to be a part of our ministry. She laughs when talking about her sin. There is absolutely no contrition, no sorrow for the sin that she commits. In fact, she does just the opposite and laughs about it. It feels so good is what she says. It is almost as if she is proud of what she is doing.

When will todays contemporary church learn to start dealing with sin the way the Bible says we should?

They have let sin creep into their walls and have let leaders unashamedly promote ungodly living. People will be quick to say that I should not judge this girl, that it is not my place. But Scripture clearly teaches us that we are to make righteous judgments. The thought of sin being allowed in a church setting is appalling at best.

The new leaders (not all) have forgotten "why" they need a Savior. Too many of them think it is just a way of getting something from God. "If you ask for it, He will give it to you!" That seems to be the logic many people use in bringing people to Christ. And yet, there is not mention of the need to repent of sin. There is no mention of the need to be obedient to His Word. There is no mention of the need to by Holy, just as He is holy. No, it is all about "what can God do for ME?"

Today's leaders are quick to tell you that He has plans to prosper you. That you might have life to the full. They teach that it means you can be rich, you just need to ask for it! And yet, Jesus Himself, said that it is harder for a rich man to inherit the Kingdom of God than it is for others. Why? Because money becomes their god. Why would God want to make every believer rich when He knows how much money controls people? We will prosper and we will have a full abundant life. But look at the Apostle Paul...

He had a full abundant life. He was shipwrecked, abandoned, beaten and persecuted. Not exactly a rich life. But it was a fulfilling life given to serving God. That is what we should be doing!

I pray that you all realize the need to repent of your sins! May God's blessings be with you all.

Why are you a Christian? Why are you an Atheist? Why are you so sure about who you claim to be?

2008-09-26T04:26:00.001-05:00

I am in the middle of writing an article on the above statements. If you would like to contribute your two cents worth, please feel free to write to me. With my busy schedule (getting married tomorrow- Sat, Sept 27th!), I will add your comments as time allows.

I thank you again for your patience and your prayers, it is very much appreciated!

till His nets are full
God bless
Brian

Wedding coming soon!

2008-09-19T04:21:00.002-05:00

Only four more days until the wedding!
After that, I am back into the blogging world!!!!!
did I say four more days??
it might be wise for me to include a couple more days after the wedding before I get back to blogging. I think we need to spend some quality time together first!!

Thank you all for your prayers.
We both appreciate it very much.

We are almost finished painting our new house. We ended up putting two different colors in every room along with a wall paper border. This has taken us so long to finish but we can finally see the light at the end of the dark tunnel.

There is another light that I want to encourage each of you to focus on...
In him was life; and the life was the light of men. John 1:4
And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. John 1:5
The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all [men] through him might believe. John 1:7
[That] was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. John 1:9
And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. John 3:19
For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. John 3:20
But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. John 3:21
Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. John 8:12

Jesus is "The" Light. Follow after Him. Listen to Him. Obey His Commands. In doing so, you shall not walk in darkness again!

talk to you all very soon!

something to think about...

2008-09-17T04:28:00.004-05:00

what do these people have in common?

TD Jakes
Joel Osteen
Rick Warren
Bill Hybels
Robert Schuller

Now, what do you have in common with them?
What do you have in common with Jesus?

If you can agree with the teachings of these men more than you can agree with Jesus, then I pray that you can see a need for change. Their message is not the same as the message proclaimed by Jesus.

I will say it over and over and over again...
Who do you follow?

Ray Boltz just recently showed the world who he follows. He claims to follow Jesus. Think of it this way...

I am walking down a sandy beach. It is a beautiful day outside with a slight breeze. The shoes are off as I let the sand massage my feet. It can get pretty hot sometimes but then the cooling effects of the water does its thing. It refreshes my feet. Someone sees me walking and decides to follow me. He is curious as to where I am going. I am not really "going" anywhere in particular, just going for a leisurely walk. But this person decides to follow me anyway. He sees some of his friends and he hollers out to them to walk with him as he follows me. So his friends all join him. They talk about all kinds of things while they are walking and following me. I even heard them once mention something about the Bible and about God. Now, I had lost my desire to continue walking. It was getting noisy behind me, so I ask them to please go somewhere else to walk. They refuse, they want to "follow" me. I ask them again, to please take that other path, it is wider and easier for you to talk to each other and you can talk about whatever you want to over there. They said "No" to me. They want to watch and see where I go. So, I decide to do some teaching to them. I tell them about God's Law and how it exposes sin within us. I tell them how they need to repent of their sins and to put their faith and trust in God. They say, "No, we just want to watch and see where you go." I tell them that where I am going, they cannot go. In fact, unless they repent of their sins, they will not go there. When I finally tell them exactly where they are headed, they finally decide that they have "seen" enough of me. They head home having gained nothing from their time with me.

Who do you follow? What motivates you to follow God?
Ray Boltz has followed after the wrong person. I cannot and will not support a person who claims to be a Christian in one sentence and follows it up with saying it is perfectly okay to live in sin because "God made him that way."

Let me tell you something...
we all have within us the ability to be homosexual
we all have within us the ability to be a thief
we all have within us the ability to be a murderer
we all have within us the ability to lie

we all have sin living within us.
We have a choice to make...

Will we decide to chase after our sins?
Will we decide to engage in lustfilled desires?

Or, will we decide to follow God and listen and obey His Words?
Ray Boltz has decided against being faithful and obedient in favor of living out his sinfilled life. The repurcussion is going to be a sentence of Hell, UNLESS he repents!

Who do you follow?
Put your faith and trust in Jesus alone to save you!
Repent and be obedient to the One who Saves!

Your life will never be the same! You will have persecution, trials and tribulations! And you will count it all as JOY! That is not what the world teaches and in fact, that is what most churches do not teach. The Bible teaches that.

Who do you follow?
Listen to your pastor give his sermons. Is he truly preaching God's Word or is he just telling you what you want to hear?

Rick Warren's poor teachings

2008-09-16T04:26:00.001-05:00

Here is some more of Rick Warren's false teachings (or at the very least -- poor teachings). We as Christians, must have discernment of what the pastor's are teaching. Don't just take everything that is spoken as being truth. Search Scripture to see for yourself. Do not take the words of a seminary trained pastor as being the gospel truth. Rick Warren is a prime example of this!

Do the right thing!

2008-09-11T04:13:00.005-05:00

Doing the right thing it seems is never easy or is it popular.

I have stood in front of congregations and read Scripture that God lead me to read and I was basically told to never do that again during prayer time.

I have confronted someone who, as a youth leader, was promoting sexually explicit songs on his myspace site. He, in turn, came back against me and said, "You have no right to judge me." "Why do you hate me so much?" "What did I ever do to you?"

I have also removed from my own myspace site a person who claimed to be a Christian and yet was promoting the "F" Word and was also highly sexually themed.

In every case, I was basically told that I shouldn't have said anything. It would have kept the peace. Everyone would have gotten along.

I am getting ready to clock into work. It is 4:30am and it is time for another day and another dollar!

Isn't it sad when fellow "Christians" end up being the least supportive of standing up for the Truth of God's Word?

Isn't it sad when fellow "Christians" will yell out the trump card and say that you are judging others and the Bible says not to judge? (in truth, the bible does say we are to judge with a righteous judgment! and that we are not to judge the world, but we are to judge those who claim to be Christians)

When will Christians finally stand up and do the right thing?
When will Christians finally promote God and His HOLY Word instead of promoting the ways of the World?
When will Christians finally act like they are truly Christians without spewing out the words, "Well, no body is perfect, I am a sinner forgiven by God" and yet, they continue to sin daily the same sin over and over and over with no thought of ever repenting of that sin. They use the words REPENT but they do not actually do it!
When will Christians finally get rid of their worldly ideas?

When...

How many times have you been saved?

2008-09-10T03:57:00.002-05:00

The contemporary church continues to preach the "sinners prayer" as being biblical. They will say that it is in the Bible that if you say "the prayer" then you will be saved. And yet, we see, day in and day out, that people who have said "the prayer" are still just as lost today as they were before they said the prayer. If you are a pastor or a person who believes in the sinners prayer, please do me a favor. Show me the biblical basis for your belief in the prayer as being a means of salvation. You won't be able to do it. You can say that if we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord we will be saved. Fine! But that says nothing about saying a sinners prayer to be saved. No where in the Bible will you find an example of Jesus or any of the disciples talking to someone and telling them they must say a prayer to be saved. NO WHERE! And yet, people will stand up and "DEFEND" their right to tell people they MUST say the sinners prayer. There is no walking them through the Ten Commandments (God's Law) to show them their sinfulness, no showing them that they are headed for hell unless they repent of their sins. It is all about having "numbers" within the church. How many people can "we" get saved tonight??

The Bible in all of its fullness has been left out of the picture. We do not want to offend anyone. Some people worry so much about whether a person will come back to church if we tell them what God's Word really says, that they do not want His Word preached fully. They say you must give it to them a little at a time.

So a sinner who is already DEAD in his sins cannot be made fully alive in Christ until he has been in church for at least a year. And yet, we see in the newspapers that children die every day. A teenager who is involved in drugs, alcohol, sex and who knows what else, must come to church in order to be saved, but only after an appropriate amount of time so he does not get scared away by God's Word.

I have to tell you, that is not only UNBIBLICAL it is dangerously close to being the terrible works of the Devil. How dare someone think that we must slowly present the gospel message to people regardless of their age or situation. A dying person is a dying person and if a person is on their death bed, I can just see some people saying "don't mention God's Law to them, they might get offended!" So the person dies in his sins and goes to hell all because we do not want to offend people.

God have mercy on OUR souls!

If you are a pastor and you feel it is inappropriate to present the whole gospel message to the congregation then I have a suggestion for you...

GET OUT OF THE MINISTRY! LEAVE NOW! YOU ARE AN EMBARASSMENT TO GOD AND YOU ARE DOING THE WORKS OF THE DEVIL.

Do you still want people to come to Christ by reciting the sinners prayer?
When we use "man-made" techniques instead of biblical concepts then we have decided that "we" know what is best for converting souls. Or do you not know Scripture?

The Law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul. Psalm 19:7

When I see youth leaders, and even pastors promoting the unbiblical approach of the sinners prayer it makes me want to cringe. Unless a person cries out to God on their own accord, just reciting a prayer said by the pastor will do nothing to change them. They will have no fear of God. Sin will not be seen as being exceedingly wicked in the eyes of a Holy God. They will not have a true understanding of just how HOLY God is. They will have no understanding of what righteousness is. They will not have a true understanding of WHY they need to repent of their sins. They will only want to "get" God because it is a way of them getting something in return for their faith. They want God's blessings poured upon them. That is not biblical.

In fact, that is one of the worst things you can do for a person. Promise them they will receive blessings if they put their faith and trust in God. Uh, did you forget to tell them also about Scripture that says they WILL endure persecution?? Trials? Tribulation?? No, it is never said to the person who says the sinners prayer. Why not? Because the pastors all feel that they will run away from God if we tell them that. And that is precisely what will happen. If you give them nothing but promises of blessings without telling them the rest, the first time they face persecution they will run because they were not given what you promised them. They will have to be saved again sometime in the future. If they have to be saved again, they were never really saved in the first place! The parables of Jesus teach us that!! The wheat and the tares, the good soil and the bad, the good fish and the bad. And there will be people crying out to Jesus on the Day of Judgment, Lord, Lord, didn't we prophesy in your Name? and Jesus will turn to them and say, Depart from me you worker of iniquity, I never knew you! People MUST learn about God but they must learn the WHOLE message. Not only is He a God of love and grace, He is also a God of Wrath and will judge those who are still living in their sins.

How many times have YOU been saved? Are you truly saved?
Do you still find ways to say it is acceptable to live a godless lifestyle and still claim to be a Christian? if so, then there is a good chance you are not truly saved.
I worry when I see people claiming to be Christians and they feel it is perfectly okay to blaspheme His Holy Name, they feel it is okay to lie, cheat, steal, lust and be disrespectful to others. And it is those very same people who came to Jesus by way of the sinners prayer who will DEFEND their right to live a godless lifestyle because they are convinced they are saved and are Christians. They believe in Jesus and because of that they KNOW they are saved.

Even the Devil believes and trembles. I see no trembling on the part of todays contemporary Christians. They take lightly the fact that God is HOLY and requires us to be Holy just as He is Holy. The damage that has been done by todays contemporary pastors is amazing. By the power of God's Word, I pray that all who "say" they believe in Jesus will start "living" like they believe in His Word!

You know Scripture well enough don't you?
Or do you?

Where two or three are gathered together in My Name, I am there in the midst of them.

Is that a Scripture that speaks of God will be with us if we are with one or two more people?

Or do you not know that God is with us always? With those who are righteous and follow after Him and His Word.

The above Scripture is actually speaking about church discipline. Does your pastor misquote that verse to make it mean what it does not mean?

People it is so important that you use some discernment when it comes to listening to others preaching the gospel. Use discernment on what I am writing to you. I encourage you to see if what I am saying is true. Don's just blindly follow a pastor because not all pastors are truly saved!

If your pastor brought you to Jesus via the sinners prayer. I pray that you will read what Scripture says about following after man and not following after Jesus. Don't think you are following after man?? You recited man's word when you said "the prayer" didn't you? Pray to God from your own heart. Fall down on your knees and humble yourself to the point of tears that you have offended God by your words and your actions and cry out to the Holy God to save you. You are headed for HELL and that is the plain and simple truth. Hell awaits all who are not obedient to God's Holy Word. Obedience comes with faith. If your faith is not producing obedience to His Word, then there is a leak in your faith. You need to have it checked out.

How many times have you been saved? It is a question worth checking into!

thank you for prayers

2008-09-09T10:57:00.002-05:00

thank you to all those who prayed!
David did in fact, have pancreatitis. He is going to be alright now. The doctor came in late last night to give us the good news. It is so scary to see your only son on the hospital bed. I cannot imagine what it must be like to have a son or daughter die before the parent does.

Our Heavenly Father sent his Son to die on the cross for each one of us. Are we all children of God? the answer is NO! the Bible speaks of the Children of the Devil. The difference being, the children of God are those who have put their trust and faith in Jesus Christ. They have repented of their sins and are seeking after righteousness. Do you believe in Him? What does your "belief" look like?

To all of those who sent me emails, I thank you so much. Your encouraging words meant so much to me and to my son. May God bless each one of you and may you share His Word with all people that you come across. We never know when our last breath will come!

Just the other day, a 19 year old boy was killed in a head on collision. He was hit by a drunk driver. Are you saved? Do you know when you will die? Are you still living in your sins? Having trouble giving those sins up? Who do you follow? These are important questions to ask yourself. If you don't want to be bold for Christ, then why call yourself a Christian? If you don't want to expose false teachings all in the name of "not judging someone" then cults will run rampant. If you want to continue to use every foul word in the world and still claim to be a Christian, then why has the change not happened yet?? Please think about it!

God bless you

please pray!

2008-09-08T12:34:00.003-05:00

my son was just taken to the hospital. I am at work and will be getting off soon. They think he has some kind of pancreatitis. if you know anything about this, please let me know. I just ask that you all keep him in your prayers. His name is David Culver!

thank you all and God bless you for your prayers

Do you want to study God's Word?

2008-09-01T04:29:00.002-05:00

I have found a free site that you can go to if you want to get deeper into God's Word. Many people have gone to blueletterbible.org to get into the Word. Did you know they offer a free course of study on there as well?

Go to www.blueletterbible.org
on the left hand side you will find some links
the bottom link says "BLB Institute"
click on it
then click on the link for registration. There is no charge for this!

You can either take a course as an audit or for a grade. They offer a certificate when you are finished. Currently, they offer 11 courses and within the courses are several classes. You can listen to audio's of the classes or read transcripts. There is then a 20 question test at the end of each class. It is extremely biblical and for someone who is wanting to get deeper into God's Word, this is very economical (FREE) and very indepth! Contact me if you have any further questions!

May God bless you as you study His Word!

American Idol??? Who do you worship?

2008-08-26T06:58:00.003-05:00

I found this video over at: http://www.jaywingard.com/2008/07/18/the-american-idol/

Thanks for posting this! We need to see it!

“And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:15, NKJV.

Are you "too" good?

2008-08-26T06:37:00.003-05:00

9-year-old boy told he's too good to pitch
Associated Press
Updated: August 25, 2008, 9:30 PM ET

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Nine-year-old Jericho Scott is a good baseball player -- too good, it turns out.
The right-hander has a fastball that tops out at about 40 mph. He throws so hard that the Youth Baseball League of New Haven told his coach that the boy could not pitch any more. When Jericho took the mound anyway last week, the opposing team forfeited the game, packed its gear and left, his coach said.

AP Photo/Douglas Healey
Officials with the Youth Baseball League of New Haven say they will disband Jericho Scott's team because his coach won't stop him from pitching.
Officials for the three-year-old league, which has eight teams and about 100 players, said they will disband Jericho's team, redistributing its players among other squads, and offered to refund $50 sign-up fees to anyone who asks for it. They say Jericho's coach, Wilfred Vidro, has resigned.
But Vidro says he didn't quit and the team refuses to disband. Players and parents held a protest at the league's field on Saturday urging the league to let Jericho pitch.
"He's never hurt any one," Vidro said. "He's on target all the time. How can you punish a kid for being too good?"
The controversy bothers Jericho, who says he misses pitching.
"I feel sad," he said. "I feel like it's all my fault nobody could play."
Jericho's coach and parents say the boy is being unfairly targeted because he turned down an invitation to join the defending league champion, which is sponsored by an employer of one of the league's administrators.
Jericho instead joined a team sponsored by Will Power Fitness. The team was 8-0 and on its way to the playoffs when Jericho was banned from pitching.
"I think it's discouraging when you're telling a 9-year-old you're too good at something," said his mother, Nicole Scott. "The whole objective in life is to find something you're good at and stick with it. I'd rather he spend all his time on the baseball field than idolizing someone standing on the street corner."
League attorney Peter Noble says the only factor in banning Jericho from the mound is his pitches are just too fast.
"He is a very skilled player, a very hard thrower," Noble said. "There are a lot of beginners. This is not a high-powered league. This is a developmental league whose main purpose is to promote the sport."
Noble acknowledged that Jericho had not beaned any batters in the co-ed league of 8- to 10-year-olds, but say parents expressed safety concerns.
"Facing that kind of speed" is frightening for beginning players, Noble said.
League officials say they first told Vidro that the boy could not pitch after a game on Aug. 13. Jericho played second base the next game on Aug. 16. But when he took the mound Wednesday, the other team walked off and a forfeit was called.
League officials say Jericho's mother became irate, threatening them and vowing to get the league shut down.
"I have never seen behavior of a parent like the behavior Jericho's mother exhibited Wednesday night," Noble said.
Scott denies threatening any one, but said she did call the police.
League officials suggested that Jericho play other positions, or pitch against older players or in a different league.
Local attorney John Williams was planning to meet with Jericho's parents Monday to discuss legal options.
"You don't have to be learned in the law to know in your heart that it's wrong," he said. "Now you have to be punished because you excel at something?"
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press
***********************************************************************
Next time you are in a small (or large) group, ask them this question...
How many of you would say you are a good person?
Then have them pick one person to represent them all as the ultimate "good person."

When that person comes forward, ask them if they have ever told a lie in their lifetime.
Ask them if they have ever stolen anything, regardless of the value.
Ask them if they have ever lusted.

You will find that this "ultimate" good person is in fact, a lying thief and an adulterer at heart. If this "good person" can fail this test, then how much more will everyone else fail it? We are never to stop "doing" good for others, but we are never good enough on our own merits to enter heaven. Thank God we have a Savior who took our punishment upon Himself!

As for the story above...
What talents do you have that have not been used or encouraged? Do not let the church keep you from serving God in the way that He wants you to serve. If God has called you into ministry, then go full speed ahead. But first seek His guidance! A day will come when this little boy will pitch again, I just hope his skills do not diminish as a result of not practicing them! Don't let your skills diminish out of lack of use! Get out there and preach the gospel to every creature!

what are your tears?

2008-08-21T04:32:00.002-05:00

Genuine Conversion
If we labor for souls, we must not be content unless souls are really saved; for the apostle says, "For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God." Well, does not that satisfy you, Paul? They are zealous for God. They are red-hot. "No," says he, "not unless it is in the right way. They have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge." We feel very thankful when we see tears stream down the cheek; but, you know, people cry at the theater, and there is not much in it. Pray God it may not end in a shower of tears; but that the heart may bleed as well as the eyes weep. It may happen that we have induced our hearers to give up some outward sins. So far, so good. But it is written, "You must be born again;" and if this vital change is not experienced, all outward reformation will land them short of Heaven.
(from the book Spurgeon Gold)

Have you ever experienced this scene?
I sat in a church once where a pastor came and filled the pulpit. He spoke and had a "special" ability to produce tears. It was as though his tears could be turned on and off at a moments notice. It makes a person wonder if he had it "scripted" to cry at a certain point in his message.

Tears do not make or break a sermon. when the tears are genuine and heartfelt, it brings upon the congregation a feeling of compassion for the speaker. But when the tears are "manufactured" it looks so very fake.

Someone crying from the pulpit is no guarantee of sincerity towards God. It is the message that is preached that has everlasting value. Emotions that are generated in order to get people to come to the altar is a cheap way of "getting people saved!" That person has done absolutely no one any favors. In fact, they will have done great damage if their message does not convict anyone of their sins.

Holy is the Lord!
He is HOLY!
and we are so unworthy by our own efforts. We shoud be crying out to Him to save us. He will save us but first we need to repent of our sins and put our faith and trust in Jesus alone to save us! When you truly understand that you have been saved and snatched from the fire, you will cry out to Him! Save us Lord, Save us!

Bad worship!

2008-08-19T07:11:00.002-05:00

Pathetic!

If the Devil were to hold a worship service, I would have to think that the worship singer would apply for the position. I have another video to show tomorrow. It is so sad to see how many churches are like this.

Examine Yourself

2008-08-15T17:03:00.003-05:00

Click here to listen to a sermon by Paul Washer on examining yourself to see if you are in the faith.

If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
1 John 1:6

(side note: Just wanted to say hi to my aunt Jane and uncle John from Fort Lauderdale, FL -- thanks for visiting my site!)

Learn the Ten Commandments!

2008-08-13T17:05:00.002-05:00

Watch this short video clip. By remembering what each picture represents, you will be able to remember the Ten Commandments. Try it. It took me just two minutes to remember all of the Commandments and to remember them in order! I hope this helps you. We are saved by grace. The Ten Commandments act as a mirror to show us our sinfulness and to point the way to the cross!

A world of choices...

2008-08-13T04:11:00.002-05:00

You wake up each day and you make a decision.
Regular or Decaf?
Cereal of pancakes?
Milk or juice?

These decisions are very minor in the greater scheme of things.
We don't realize how many decisions we make on a daily basis. Do you ever stop to think how many of those decisions have "eternal" consequences?

Shall I cuss and display my anger or shall I control my tongue and let my disposition be a pleasing one in the sight of God?
Shall I look at that pretty girl and allow lustful thoughts to come into my head, or should I look away and cling to God's Word?
Should I take that pen from work because I need one, or should I go to the store and do the right thing?
Should I do what my parents say to do, even though I don't agree with them, or should I just do what "I" want to do?

God's Word will give you the answers. We had an interesting conversation last night. It was concerning the youth. The youth leader is right in telling the kids to look things up in the Bible. But the question that comes to mind is this...
How are youth, who are not familiar with the Bible, going to be able to look things up if they don't know "how" or "where" to look?

If you have kids, grandkids or are a youth leader yourself...
take time to teach those kids "how" to look things up in the Bible. Teach them how to "cross-reference" verses within the Bible. Teach them how to use the concordance and dictionary aids in the back of the Bible. Show them the maps and what each one means. Prepare and outline for them to follow and train them in God's Holy Word. We can do all of this, but it is so very important that when we teach kids about God's Word, that we are "living" God's Word. They need to be able to see that He lives within us. We need to be sure that we have displayed ourselves as being godly and not worldly.

Let no filthy language come out of your mouth.
Forgive others.
Love always.
Help others and always do good.
Work out your salvation with fear and trembling.
Be a person of integrity. be the same person whether someone is watching you or not!

The choice is yours. You can either choose to follow God or you can choose to follow the ways of the world.

Just remember...
there are consequences for the choices we make. Are you prepared to face your consequences?

The Trickle Down Effect

2008-08-12T04:09:00.002-05:00

In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God...
...and the Word became flesh!

We can all remember the words of John as he wrote about Jesus. It is easy to see by reading the Scriptures what he says about Jesus. Jesus was in the beginning with God, in fact, Jesus is God. He became flesh and dwelt among us.

Now, imagine a pastor who would take this scripture and twist it so that he could create his own message. A man by the name of Joseph Smith did this. He was not a pastor, but instead was a self-proclaimed prophet. He said that Jesus was the brother of Lucifer. He also claimed that Jesus was "once" a man who became God. He then went on to teach his followers that they too, could become a god of their own planet. Today, millions of people are still following after this lie, they have been deceived by the great deceiver himself, Satan!

There is a trickle down effect. What the people are taught, is what many people will believe and will also exhibit in their daily lives.

Case in point...
I have written lately about a pastor here that is not teaching the Bible in its full authority. He is a story teller and has no ability (at least he has not demonstrated an ability) to properly teach the Bible. In fact, he is the first to tell you that he is not a teacher of the Word. He is a "pastor."

Now, we look at a person who serves under his leadership. A youth leader.
Upon visiting his myspace account, I came across a listing of songs on his site. Kid Rock songs which are filled with the "F" word and a completely sexual theme. Also, on his page is the mention of what he likes...
girls, girls, girls!! This person has been arrested in the past for having sex with a minor.
This person is a youth leader in this church!

When I confronted him about the vulgar songs, he became extremely defensive and said I was judging him. He said it hurt his feelings that I would judge him. He also said, "why are you picking on me??" He said the Bible tells us we are not to judge. He then went on to try quoting scripture to me in an effort to defend himself and to knock me down.

While the bible does say we are not to judge the world, we are called to make a righteous judgment.

Righteous judgment is being restored to the church. A religious spirit has deceived us for far too long into believing that we are not to judge. In fact, you’re probably quoting Matt. 7:1 to yourself right now (or is that a religious spirit ministering to you)?“Judge not, that ye be not judged.” That seems to be pretty clear cut. Some ministers have pounded it into our heads from pulpits for so long, that we all are real quick to pound someone else with it if they try to speak a word of correction to us, “you’re judging me brother, judge not lest you be judged!”

We desperately need to rightly divide this passage of truth, and not with the human reasoning and American dictionaries that has led to such wrong understanding resulting in a destructive lack of knowledge.It was Jesus Himself who said, “Judge not, that ye be not judged,” but then we find Paul saying in I Cor. 5:3 “For I.. have already judged.. concerning him who has so done this deed.” Was Paul being directly disobedient to the words of Jesus here? Of-course not! But he would have been told that by the religious church today- “Now Paul, you’re judging that man, judge not.”Yes, Paul is judging and rightfully so! Paul goes on to tell the Corinthian Church to deliver such a one to Satan and put away from yourselves that wicked person, and that they were to do it in the name of Jesus and with the power of Jesus (I Cor. 5:4,5,13).

Then in verse 12, Paul openly challenges them in an attempt to awaken them to righteous judgment, “Do you not judge those who are inside?” I Cor. 5:12 in the T.E.V. reads like this- “But should you not judge the members of your own fellowship? The Anderson Greek N. T. - “But isn’t it true that you people must judge those in your own group?It would seem as if we do have a contradiction here; the instruction of Jesus in Matt. 7:1 vs. Paul’s actions in I Cor. 5:1-13. Why is it, that when we know God is leading us to speak a word of correction into a situation that needs it and we have already discerned the heart of the Father about it, that the very words “judge not” shuts us down?

It’s because we have a wrong understanding of Matt. 7:1, and ministers have beat the sheep with it for so long that we now beat each other with it ourselves.So what is the right understanding?The Greek word for judge #2919 Κρινώ, pronounced Krino, means here in Matt. 7:1- to condemn, to damn, to punish and avenge. Whereas, in I Cor. 5:3&12 it means- to judge properly, an issue of decision, to distinguish. This living understanding, rightly dividing the word of truth, sets us free to now obey both Scripture passages. Let’s remove the controversy and the ignorant & demonic attempts to stop righteous judgment.We are to obey Jesus’ instruction not to condemn lest we be condemned. For with what condemnation we damn with to punish and avenge, the same measure will be measured back to us. We will reap what we sow. And at the same time, we must obey our responsibility to judge. In fact, this life within our church experience prepares us to execute righteous judgment on a much larger scale- one day we shall judge angels and the world (I Cor. 6:2-3).

Also consider this, Jesus went on to say in Matthew 7:15-16, “Beware of false prophets... you will know them by their fruits.” For us to be able to beware and know calls for a judgment which allows us to distinguish and produce a decision. This truth can free you and destroy that false mind-set. The entrance of His words give light. The NAS says- The unfolding of Thy words gives light, It gives understanding to the simple. Prerequisites for Righteous JudgmentThere are prerequisites required of us to be used by God in any significant capacity, especially righteous judgment.Knowledge and Understanding. What is righteous judgment? It is to be judged or governed by a pronounced verdict which is just and fair. “I know, O Lord, that Thy judgments are righteous.” (Ps. 119:75 NASB).

Judgments here is the Hebrew word #4941 Mishpat, meaning- a verdict pronounced judicially, to be judged or governed to promote justice. “The LORD is a God of [Mishpat]” (Isa.30:18) and “loves [Mishpat]” (Ps. 37:28).Righteous judgment is required when disobedience, idolatry, arrogance, cruelty, persistent unfaithfulness, abominations, ect.. continue. Most of the time, the desired end result of righteous judgment is to produce repentance and bring restoration- “Brethren, if anyone among you wander from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins” (James 5:19-20). “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one..” (Gal. :6:1).

Know and understand that it’s not condemnation, but rather righteous judgment if someone has determined that you have wandered from the truth into error or have been overtaken in a trespass if they seek to restore you. Quit telling people not to judge you if you need to be judged. What you don’t need is condemnation. That’s not righteous judgment, and neither is slandering, criticism or false and malicious statements which are injurious to a persons’ character or a ministries’ reputation.There are other prerequisite conditions that must be met before one is to administer and execute righteous judgment.

Self Examination.
Ministry without self-examination will never be used by God to execute righteous judgment. Too much ministry is built on unresolved anger, unhealthy needs for approval, and the instinct to control. Failing to explore our own soul for unwholeness will only lead to hypocrisy and partiality when we try to judge a situation and bring correction, it will not minister the wisdom that is from above.Jesus said, “Hypocrite! First remove the plan from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother’s eye” (Matt. 7:5). “First remove the plank from your own eye.” First before what? First before what would follow and be second- “..then you will see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother’s eye.” Jesus desires for us to be able to remove the speck out of our brother’s eye, but He demands that we first examine ourselves and purify our motives. We must first remove any obstacles that would obstruct or pervert our vision to see clearly to minister to our brother. Let us remove the planks of pride, arrogance, ignorance, contention (a quarrelsome spirit), insincerity, operating out of a wounded spirit and especially presumption (to speak or act without warrant, performing actions without authority). Our brother will be delivered by pure hands (Job 22:30). “Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Cor. 7:1). “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded” (James 4:8).We must abound in Love and be Spiritually minded. “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment so that you may approve the things that are excellent [or distinguish between the things which differ. Note from NASB] (Phil. 1:9-10 NASB).

Love precedes everything, including real knowledge and all discernment.We also must be spiritually minded to make righteous judgments and restore those overtaken in trespasses. “..he who is spiritual judges all things..” (I Cor. 2:15). “..if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted” (Gal. 6:1). This verse in Galatians also shows us right approach- spirit of gentleness; and right motive- to restore. This verse also reinforces the self-examination principle- considering yourself. The NASB says “looking to” yourself. The Greek word is #4648 ,,κο,,έώ, pronounced skopeo, and means - to look toward, to contemplate, to spy out. God will always speak the truth in love and by His Spirit.

When people cry out, "Stop judging me!" it makes a person wonder, "why are they yelling back?" Is it because they do not want their sins to be found out? This youth leader has just graduated from bible school and yet he has not got a clue on how to use Scripture. And his life is bearing no good fruit. Sure, he has improved on some parts of his life. No more drugs, no smoking and drinking. That is awesome and I pray he continues in that path. but to promote vulgar and sexual themes on his myspace site, which is visited by all of his youth, is completely irresponsible and immoral. We are called to make a righteous judgment concerning this lack of moral leadership within the church. He is a professing believer but his walk does not match his talk.

When God's Word is not preached from behind the pulpit, is it any wonder why the rest of the leadership fails?

Do you want to see this trickle down effect...
A pastor that does not teach God's Word in its fullness...
A youth leader who does not live as a Christian and is teaching the youth...
Youth themselves openly engaging in sex and feeling no problems with it as Christians.

It's happening and it is sad. God's Word MUST be preached in its fullness. Sin must be preached against and the need for repentance MUST come alive once again in our churches. Friendship evangelism is showing its fruits and it has gone bad.

God's Word will never fail. Teach it, preach it and live it to its fullest!

Ephesians 5:1-7

2008-08-06T04:18:00.002-05:00

Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;
And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.
But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;
Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.
For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.
Be not ye therefore partakers with them.

Eph 5:1-2

Here we have the exhortation to mutual love, or to Christian charity. The apostle had been insisting on this in the former chapter, and particularly in the last verses of it, to which the particle therefore refers, and connects what he had said there with what is contained in these verses, thus: "Because God, for Christ’s sake, has forgiven you, therefore be you followers of God, or imitators of him;’’ for so the word signifies. Pious persons should imitate the God whom they worship, as far as he has revealed himself as imitable by them. They must conform themselves to his example, and have his image renewed upon them. This puts a great honour upon practical religion, that it is the imitating of God. We must be holy as God is holy, merciful as he is merciful, perfect as he is perfect. But there is no one attribute of God more recommended to our imitation than that of his goodness. Be you imitators of God, or resemble him, in every grace, and especially in his love, and in his pardoning goodness. God is love; and those that dwell in love dwell in God and God in them. Thus he has proclaimed his name, Gracious and merciful, and abundant in goodness. As dear children, as children (who are wont to be greatly beloved by their parents) usually resemble them in the lineaments and features of their faces, and in the dispositions and qualities of their minds; or as becomes the children of God, who are beloved and cherished by their heavenly Father. Children are obliged to imitate their parents in what is good, especially when dearly beloved by them. The character that we bear of God’s children obliges us to resemble him, especially in his love and goodness, in his mercy and readiness to forgive. And those only are God’s dear children who imitate him in these. It follows, And walk in love, v. 2. This godlike grace should conduct and influence our whole conversation, which is meant by walking in it. It should be the principle from which we act; it should direct the ends at which we aim. We should be more careful to give proof of the sincerity of our love one to another. As Christ also hath loved us. Here the apostle directs us to the example of Christ, whom Christians are obliged to imitate, and in whom we have an instance of the most free and generous love that ever was, that great love wherewith he hath loved us. We are all joint sharers in that love, and partakers of the comfort of it, and therefore should love one another, Christ having loved us all and given such proof of his love to us; for he hath given himself for us. The apostle designedly enlarges on the subject; for what can yield us more delightful matter for contemplation than this? Christ gave himself to die for us; and the death of Christ was the great sacrifice of atonement: An offering and a sacrifice to God; or an offering, even a sacrifice—a propitiatory sacrifice, to expiate our guilt, which had been prefigured in the legal oblations and sacrifices; and this for a sweet-smelling savour. Some observe that the sin-offerings were never said to be of a sweet-smelling savour; but this is said of the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. As he offered himself with a design to be accepted of God, so God did accept, was pleased with, and appeased by, that sacrifice. Note, As the sacrifice of Christ was efficacious with God, so his example should be prevailing with us, and we should carefully copy after it.

Eph 5:3-7

These verses contain a caution against all manner of uncleanness, with proper remedies and arguments proposed: some further cautions are added, and other duties recommended. Filthy lusts must be suppressed, in order to the supporting of holy love. Walk in love, and shun fornication and all uncleanness. Fornication is folly committed between unmarried persons. All uncleanness includes all other sorts of filthy lusts, which were too common among the Gentiles. Or covetousness, which being thus connected, and mentioned as a thing which should not be once named, some understand it, in the chaste style of the scripture, of unnatural lust; while others take it in the more common sense, for an immoderate desire of gain or an insatiable love of riches, which is spiritual adultery; for by this the soul, which was espoused to God, goes astray from him, and embraces the bosom of a stranger, and therefore carnal worldlings are called adulterers: You adulterers and adulteresses, know you not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Now these sins must be dreaded and detested in the highest degree: Let it not be once named among you, never in a way of approbation nor without abhorrence, as becometh saints, holy persons, who are separated from the world, and dedicated unto God. The apostle not only cautions against the gross acts of sin, but against what some may be apt to make light of, and think to be excusable. Neither filthiness (v. 4), by which may be understood all wanton and unseemly gestures and behaviour; nor foolish talking, obscene and lewd discourse, or, more generally, such vain discourse as betrays much folly and indiscretion, and is far from edifying the hearers; nor jesting. The Greek word eutrapelia is the same which Aristotle, in his Ethics, makes a virtue: pleasantness of conversation. And there is no doubt an innocent and inoffensive jesting, which we cannot suppose the apostle here forbids. Some understand him of such scurrilous and abusive reflections as tend to expose others and to make them appear ridiculous. This is bad enough: but the context seems to restrain it to such pleasantry of discourse as is filthy and obscene, which he may also design by that corrupt, or putrid and rotten, communication that he speaks of, ch. 4:29. Of these things he says, They are not convenient. Indeed there is more than inconvenience, even a great deal of mischief, in them. They are so far from being profitable that they pollute and poison the hearers. But the meaning is, Those things do not become Christians, and are very unsuitable to their profession and character. Christians are allowed to be cheerful and pleasant; but they must be merry and wise. The apostle adds, But rather giving of thanks: so far let the Christian’s way of mirth be from that of obscene and profane wit, that he may delight his mind, and make himself cheerful, by a grateful remembrance of God’s goodness and mercy to him, and by blessing and praising him on account of these. Note, 1. We should take all occasions to render thanksgivings and praises to God for his kindness and favours to us. 2. A reflection on the grace and goodness of God to us, with a design to excite our thankfulness to him, is proper to refresh and delight the Christian’s mind, and to make him cheerful. Dr. Hammond thinks that eucharistia may signify gracious, pious, religious discourse in general, by way of opposition to what the apostle condemns. Our cheerfulness, instead of breaking out into what is vain and sinful, and a profanation of God’s name, should express itself as becomes Christians, and in what may tend to his glory. If men abounded more in good and pious expressions, they would not be so apt to utter ill and unbecoming words; for shall blessing and cursing, lewdness and thanksgivings, proceed out of the same mouth?

I. To fortify us against the sins of uncleanness, etc., the apostle urges several arguments, and prescribes several remedies, in what follows,

1. He urges several arguments, As, (1.) Consider that these are sins which shut persons out of heaven: For this you know, etc., v. 5. They knew it, being informed of it by the Christian religion. By a covetous man some understand a lewd lascivious libertine, who indulges himself in those vile lusts which were accounted the certain marks of a heathen and an idolater. Others understand it in the common acceptation of the word; and such a man is an idolater because there is spiritual idolatry in the love of this world. As the epicure makes a god of his belly, so the covetous man makes a god of his money, sets those affectations upon it, and places that hope, confidence, and delight, in worldly good, which should be reserved for God only. He serves mammon instead of God. Of these persons it is said that they have no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God; that is, the kingdom of Christ, who is God, or the kingdom which is God’s by nature, and Christ’s as he is Mediator, the kingdom which Christ has purchased and which God bestows. Heaven is here described as a kingdom (as frequently elsewhere) with respect to its eminency and glory, its fulness and sufficiency, etc. In this kingdom the saints and servants of God have an inheritance; for it is the inheritance of the saints in light. But those who are impenitent, and allow themselves either in the lusts of the flesh or the love of the world, are not Christians indeed, and so belong not to the kingdom of grace, nor shall they ever come to the kingdom of glory. Let us then be excited to be on our guard against those sins which would exclude and shut us out of heaven. (2.) These sins bring the wrath of God upon those who are guilty of them: "Let no man deceive you with vain words, etc., v. 6. Let none flatter you, as though such things were tolerable and to be allowed of in Christians, or as though they were not very provoking and offensive unto God, or as though you might indulge yourselves in them and yet escape with impunity. These are vain words.’’ Observe, Those who flatter themselves and others with hopes of impunity in sin do but put a cheat upon themselves and others. Thus Satan deceived our first parents with vain words when he said to them, You shall not surely die. They are vain words indeed; for those who trust to them will find themselves wretchedly imposed upon, for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. By children of disobedience may be meant the Gentiles, who disbelieved, and refused to comply with, and to submit themselves to, the gospel: or, more generally, all obstinate sinners, who will not be reclaimed, but are given over to disobedience. Disobedience is the very malignity of sin. And it is by a usual Hebraism that such sinners are called children of disobedience; and such indeed they are from their childhood, going astray as soon as they are born. The wrath of God comes upon such because of their sins; sometimes in this world, but more especially in the next. And dare we make light of that which will lay us under the wrath of God? O no. Be not you therefore partakers with them, v. 7. "Do not partake with them in their sins, that you may not share in their punishment.’’ We partake with other men in their sins, not only when we live in the same sinful manner that they do, and consent and comply with their temptations and solicitations to sin, but when we encourage them in their sins, prompt them to sin, and do not prevent and hinder them, as far as it may be in our power to do so. (3.) Consider what obligations Christians are under to live at another rate than such sinners do: For you were sometimes darkness, but now, etc.,

What do you want for your family?

2008-08-05T17:25:00.002-05:00

thanks Jason R for sharing this with me!
You will have to listen to this and catch what John Wayne says he wants for his little daughter. Two things come to mind...
1. John used to drink (that is known)
before we pass judgment on him, let's remember that each one of us has our own sins to deal with.
2. John loved America
When was the last time you heard God mentioned in a positive format on national tv?
When was the last time you heard America mentioned in a positive format on national tv by a Hollywood actor or actress?

anger and hurtful words!

2008-07-30T05:55:00.001-05:00

There once was a little boy who had a bad
temper. His Father gave him a bag of nails
and told him that every time he lost his
temper, he must hammer a nail into the back
of the fence. The first day the boy had
driven 37 nails into the fence Over the next
next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger,
the number of nails hammered daily
gradually dwindled down. He discovered
it was easier to hold his temper than to
drive those nails into the fence.
Finally the day came when the boy didn't
lose his temper at all. He told his father
about it and the father suggested that the
boy now pull out one nail for each day that
he was able to hold his temper.
The days passed and the young boy was finally
able to tell his father that all the nails
were gone. The father took his son by the
hand and led him to the fence He said, "You
have done well, my son, but look at the
holes in the fence. The fence will never be
the same. When you say things in anger,
they leave a scar just like this one. You
can put a knife in a man and draw it out.
It won't matter how many times you say I'm
sorry, the wound is still there. " A verbal
wound is as bad as a physical one.
Friends are very rare jewels, indeed. They
make you smile and encourage you to succeed.
They lend an ear, they share words of praise
and they always want to open their hearts to us."

Calling all fathers!!

2008-07-23T17:54:00.000-05:00

Plesae go to Jason and Jessie's blog and send your congrats to them!!

http://christianconclusions.blogspot.com/2008/07/fatherhood.html

Joel Osteen

2008-07-23T04:30:00.002-05:00

After listening to this pastor talk about Osteen, now watch the actual interview for yourself. It is sad to think that this person can mislead so many people.

John 14:1-3 I go to prepare a place for you!

2008-07-21T04:03:00.004-05:00

Chapter 14

This chapter is a continuation of Christ’s discourse with his disciples after supper. When he had convicted and discarded Judas, he set himself to comfort the rest, who were full of sorrow upon what he had said of leaving them, and a great many good words and comfortable words he here speaks to them. The discourse in interlocutory; as Peter in the foregoing chapter, so Thomas, and Philip, and Jude, in this interposed their thoughts upon what he said, according to the liberty he was pleased to allow them. Free conferences are as instructive as solemn speeches, and more so. The general scope of this chapter is in the first verse; it is designed to keep trouble from their hearts; now in order to this they must believe: and let them consider, I. Heaven as their everlasting rest (v. 2, 3). II. Christ himself as their way (v. 4–11). III. The great power they shall be clothed with by the prevalency of their prayers (v. 12–14). IV. The coming of another comforter (v. 15–17). V. The fellowship and communion that should be between him and them after his departure (v. 18–24). VI. The instructions which the Holy Ghost should give them (v. 25, 26). VII. The peace Christ bequeathed to them (v. 27). VII. Christ’s own cheerfulness in his departure (v. 28–31). And this which he said to them is designed for the comfort of all his faithful followers.

Jhn 14:1-3

In these verses we have,

I. A general caution which Christ gives to his disciples against trouble of heart (v. 1): Let not your heart be troubled. They now began to be troubled, were entering into this temptation. Now here see,

1. How Christ took notice of it. Perhaps it was apparent in their looks; it was said (ch. 13:22), They looked one upon another with anxiety and concern, and Christ looked upon them all, and observed it; at least, it was intelligible to the Lord Jesus, who is acquainted with all our secret undiscovered sorrows, with the wound that bleeds inwardly; he knows not only how we are afflicted, but how we stand affected under our afflictions, and how near they lie to our hearts; he takes cognizance of all the trouble which his people are at any time in danger of being overwhelmed with; he knows our souls in adversity. Many things concurred to trouble the disciples now.

(1.) Christ had just told them of the unkindness he should receive from some of them, and this troubled them all. Peter, no doubt, looked very sorrowful upon what Christ said to him, and all the rest were sorry for him and for themselves too, not knowing whose turn it should be to be told next of some ill thing or other they should do. As to this, Christ comforts them; though a godly jealousy over ourselves is of great use to keep us humble and watchful, yet it must not prevail to the disquieting of our spirits and the damping of our holy joy.

(2.) He had just told them of his own departure from them, that he should not only go away, but go away in a cloud of sufferings. They must shortly hear him loaded with reproaches, and these will be as a sword in their bones; they must see him barbarously abused and put to death, and this also will be a sword piercing through their own souls, for they had loved him, and chosen him, and left all to follow him. When we now look upon Christ pierced, we cannot but mourn and be in bitterness, though we see the glorious issue and fruit of it; much more grievous must the sight be to them, who could then look no further. If Christ depart from them [1.] They will think themselves shamefully disappointed; for they looked that this had been he that should have delivered Israel, and should have set upon his kingdom in secular power and glory, and, in expectation of this, had lost all to follow him. Now, if he leave the world in the same circumstances of meanness and poverty in which he had lived, and worse, they are quite defeated. [2.] They will think themselves sadly deserted and exposed. They knew by experience what little presence of mind they had in difficult emergencies, that they could count upon nothing but being ruined and run down if they part with their Master. Now, in reference to all these, Let not your heart be troubled. Here are three words, upon any of which the emphasis may significantly be laid. First, Upon the word troubled, meµ tarassesthoµ. Be not so troubled as to be put into a hurry and confusion, like the troubled sea when it cannot rest. He does not say, "Let not your hearts be sensible of the griefs, or sad because of them’’ but, "Be not ruffled and discomposed, be not cast down and disquieted,’’ Ps. 42:5. Secondly, Upon the word heart: "Though the nation and city be troubled, though your little family and flock be troubled, yet let not your heart be troubled. Keep possession of your own souls when you can keep possession of nothing else.’’ The heart is the main fort; whatever you do, keep trouble from this, keep this with all diligence. The spirit must sustain the infirmity, therefore, see that this be not wounded. Thirdly, Upon the word your: "You that are my disciples and followers, my redeemed, chosen, sanctified ones, however others are overwhelmed with the sorrows of this present time, be not you so, for you know better; let the sinners in Zion tremble, but let the sons of Zion be joyful in their king.’’ Herein Christ’s disciples should do more than others, should keep their minds quiet, when every thing else is unquiet.

2. The remedy he prescribes against this trouble of mind, which he saw ready to prevail over them; in general, believe—pisteuete. (1.) Some read it in both parts imperatively, "Believe in God, and his perfections and providence, believe also in me, and my mediation. Build with confidence upon the great acknowledged principles of natural religion: that there is a God, that he is most holy, wise, powerful, and good; that he is the governor of the world, and has the sovereign disposal of all events; and comfort yourselves likewise with the peculiar doctrines of that holy religion which I have taught you.’’ But, (2.) We read the former as an acknowledgment that they did believe in God, for which he commends them: "But, if you would effectually provide against a stormy day, believe also in me.’’ Through Christ we are brought into covenant with God, and become interested in his favour and promise, which otherwise as sinners we must despair of, and the remembrance of God would have been our trouble; but, by believing in Christ as the Mediator between God and man, our belief in God becomes comfortable; and this is the will of God, that all men should honour the Son as they honour the Father, by believing in the Son as they believe in the Father. Those that rightly believe in God will believe in Jesus Christ, whom he has made known to them; and believing in God through Jesus Christ is an excellent means of keeping trouble from the heart. The joy of faith is the best remedy against the griefs of sense; it is a remedy with a promise annexed to it; the just shall live by faith; a remedy with a probatum est annexed to it. I had fainted unless I had believed.

II. Here is a particular direction to act faith upon the promise of eternal life, v. 2, 3. He had directed them to trust to God, and to trust in him; but what must they trust God and Christ for? Trust them for a happiness to come when this body and this world shall be no more, and for a happiness to last as long as the immortal soul and the eternal world shall last. Now this is proposed as a sovereign cordial under all the troubles of this present time, to which there is that in the happiness of heaven which is admirably adapted and accommodated. The saints have encouraged themselves with this in their greatest extremities, That heaven would make amends for all. Let us see how this is suggested here.

1. Believe and consider that really there is such a happiness: In my Father’s house there are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you, v. 2.

(1.) See under what notion the happiness of heaven is here represented: as mansions, many mansions in Christ’s Father’s house. [1.] Heaven is a house, not a tent or tabernacle; it is a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. [2.] It is a Father’s house: my Father’s house; and his Father is our Father, to whom he was now ascending; so that in right of their elder brother all true believers shall be welcome to that happiness as to their home. It is his house who is King of kings and Lord of lords, dwells in light, and inhabits eternity. [3.] There are mansions there; that is, First, Distinct dwellings, an apartment for each. Perhaps there is an allusion to the priests’ chambers that were about the temple. In heaven there are accommodations for particular saints; though all shall be swallowed up in God, yet our individuality shall not be lost there; every Israelite had his lot in Canaan, and every elder a seat, Rev. 4:4. Secondly, Durable dwellings. Monai, from mneioµ, maneo, abiding places. The house itself is lasting; our estate in it is not for a term of years, but a perpetuity. Here we are as in an inn; in heaven we shall gain a settlement. The disciples had quitted their houses to attend Christ, who had not where to lay his head, but the mansions in heaven will make them amends. [4.] There are many mansions, for there are many sons to be brought to glory, and Christ exactly knows their number, nor will be straitened for room by the coming of more company than he expects. He had told Peter that he should follow him (ch. 13:36), but let not the rest be discouraged, in heaven there are mansions for them all. Rehoboth, Gen. 26:22.

(2.) See what assurance we have of the reality of the happiness itself, and the sincerity of the proposal of it to us: "If it were not so, I would have told you. If you had deceived yourselves, when you quitted your livelihoods, and ventured your lives for me, in prospect of a happiness future and unseen, I would soon have undeceived you.’’ The assurance is built, [1.] Upon the veracity of his word. It is implied, "If there were not such a happiness, valuable and attainable, I would not have told you that there was.’’ [2.] Upon the sincerity of his affection to them. As he is true, and would not impose upon them himself, so he is kind, and would not suffer them to be imposed upon. If either there were no such mansions, or none designed for them, who had left all to follow him, he would have given them timely notice of the mistake, that they might have made an honourable retreat to the world again, and have made the best they could of it. Note, Christ’s good-will to us is a great encouragement to our hope in him. He loves us too well, and means us too well, to disappoint the expectations of his own raising, or to leave those to be of all men most miserable who have been of him most observant.

2. Believe and consider that the design of Christ’s going away was to prepare a place in heaven for his disciples. "You are grieved to think of my going away, whereas I go on your errand, as the forerunner; I am to enter for you.’’ He went to prepare a place for us; that is, (1.) To take possession for us, as our advocate or attorney, and so to secure our title as indefeasible. Livery of seisin was given to Christ, for the use and behoof of all that should believe on him. (2.) To make provision for us as our friend and father. The happiness of heaven, though prepared before the foundation of the world, yet must be further fitted up for man in his fallen state. It consisting much in the presence of Christ there, it was therefore necessary that he should go before, to enter into that glory which his disciples were to share in. Heaven would be an unready place for a Christian if Christ were not there. He went to prepare a table for them, to prepare thrones for them, Lu. 22:30. Thus Christ declares the fitness of heaven’s happiness for the saints, for whom it is prepared.

3. Believe and consider that therefore he would certainly come again in due time, to fetch them to that blessed place which he was now going to possess for himself and prepare for them (v. 3): "If I go and prepare a place for you, if this be the errand of my journey, you may be sure, when every thing is ready, I will come again, and receive you to myself, so that you shall follow me hereafter, that where I am there you may be also.’’ Now these are comfortable words indeed. (1.) That Jesus Christ will come again; erchomai—I do come, intimating the certainty of it, that he will come and that he is daily coming. We say, We are coming, when we are busy in preparing for our coming, and so he is; all he does has a reference and tendency to his second coming. Note, The belief of Christ’s second coming, of which he has given us the assurance, is an excellent preservative against trouble of heart, Phil. 4:5; James 5:8. (2.) That he will come again to receive all his faithful followers to himself. He sends for them privately at death, and gathers them one by one; but they are to make their public entry in solemn state all together at the last day, and then Christ himself will come to receive them, to conduct them in the abundance of his grace, and to welcome them in the abundance of his love. He will hereby testify the utmost respect and endearment imaginable. The coming of Christ is in order to our gathering together unto him, 2 Th. 2:1. (3.) That where he is there they shall be also. This intimates, what many other scriptures declare, that the quintessence of heaven’s happiness is being with Christ there, ch. 17:24; Phil. 1:23; 1 Th. 4:17. Christ speaks of his being there as now present, that where I am; where I am to be shortly, where I am to be eternally; there you shall be shortly, there you shall be eternally: not only there, in the same place; but here, in the same state: not only spectators of his glory, as the three disciples on the mount, but sharers in it. (4.) That this may be inferred from his going to prepare a place for us, for his preparations shall not be in vain. He will not build and furnish lodgings, and let them stand empty. He will be the finisher of that of which he is the author. If he has prepared the place for us, he will prepare us for it, and in due time put us in possession of it. As the resurrection of Christ is the assurance of our resurrection, so his ascension, victory, and glory, are an assurance of ours.

Mark Cahill preaching

2008-07-19T07:18:00.000-05:00

open air preaching!

2008-07-18T14:12:00.001-05:00

It really isn't hard to do people! The hardest thing about open air preaching is taking that first step and actually doing it. Once you do it, it becomes easier each time and you will gain the confidence you will need. God will see you through it. Just be faithful to Him!

I found this video over at The Centurion Papers

What motivates you to follow Christ?

2008-07-18T08:51:00.001-05:00

Many of us have seen this video before. It is funny and sad at the same time. Lately, I have been getting on the prosperity preachers sites to see what kind of preaching they are doing. It seems that most of their messages have to do with the "ME" that is within you.

JFK once said, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what can you do for your country."

PBC is now saying (okay, PBC is pastorbrianc), "Ask not what God can do for you, but ask what can you do for God!"

Too many of the me-generation have dictated to the church what they want. Too many of the pastors have geared their messages towards the me-generation. The me-generation is self righteous and does not know God's Law. The ME pastor does not give them the Law. Why? Because Me does not want to hear it.

Can you see some of the Me Church residing within your own church? Open your eyes this week to the churches in your community. How do they promote themselves, but more importantly, how do they promote God? I am still waiting to find that one church that will be seen out in the streets reaching the lost. I have yet to see a church so on fire for the Lord that the whole congregation is out witnessing to the community. Me can be lazy. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. When we are empowered by God's Word we will give up our "self" and will follow Him.

It is the giving up of self that seems to shut so many christians down. They worry about being embarassed or treated rudely. Does that bother you? I don't worry about what other people think. I worry about getting God's Word into the minds and hearts of the lost souls.

What motivates you to follow Christ?
Me will not do it.
As for me (small "m") and my house, we will serve the Lord.
Acknowledge Him in all your ways!! And lean not unto your own understanding.

You can either be self-centered and self-righteous
OR
You can be humble and can seek after righteousness.
Which do you choose?

Time for a feel good video

2008-07-17T19:31:00.002-05:00

I know this video is 2 years old now, but the power of it is still special. If any parent out there has a child who is autistic, please watch this video. It will inspire you and motivate you. If you are a woman considering an abortion because you found out your baby is not going to be "normal" then please take time to watch this video. Do you know someone who needs to be encouraged, then do like this coach did...

create an opportunity, then tell them to go at it! You might be surprised to see how well they do!

Biblical Assurance

2008-07-17T15:20:00.003-05:00

Biblical Assurance - Part 1 by Paul Washer
Biblical Assurance - Part 2
Biblical Assurance - Part 3
Biblical Assurance - Part 4
Biblical Assurance - Part 5

Hocus Pocus Religion

2008-07-17T04:10:00.004-05:00

American Churchianity

In making an attempt to describe the american church to someone it is necessary to set the original groundwork down so the person can understand some major differences between the original ACTS church and the American Church.

ACTS Church

41 So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people were added. 42 They were devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Reverential awe came over everyone, and many wonders and miraculous signs came about by the apostles. 44 All who believed were together and held everything in common, 45 and they began selling their property and possessions and distributing the proceeds to everyone, as anyone had need. 46 Every day they continued to gather together by common consent in the temple courts, breaking bread from house to house, sharing their food with glad and humble hearts, 47 praising God and having the good will of all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number every day those who were being saved.1

American Church

So an advertisement went up at the local Wal-Mart promoting the Elvis impersonator and the gospel according to him. There was no teaching that would take place, it was all about the fellowship and the breaking of the bondage that we are in. Exceeding gladness came over everyone as they listened to the songs (especially Love Me Tender). All who believed that Elvis was truly saved (because of his fruits of debauchery, drunkenness, adultery) came forward at the end of the service. Afterall, he MUST be saved if he sang gospel songs! Once a week the people would gather to look down their noses at the other people, often complaining about what clothes they were wearing and gossipping about what so and so did yesterday. Hot dogs were sold immediately after the service and everyone was praising the hot dog maker. And the Lord did not see fit to add to their numbers. But Satan did. Their numbers continued to grow each week as new programs were added to the service. Motorcycle jumps were added, free gas was given away, talks on sex were sold out immediately. Girls were seen wearing dresses that were a full 10 inches above their knees and the men were seen looking at the girls. This church "must" be blessed because the pastor is a best selling author and since millions of people buy his books, he must be right. As the people came to church, no mention of sin was found. No mention of repentance was found either. The sinners prayer was said and people were magically saved. Hocus Pocus -- You are saved!

in the Acts church, the people that were saved were knowledgeable of the Law. They knew the Law, they did not know about the grace of God. Once they learned that, they gave themselves to Him and were saved. For people who do not know the Law, it is important that we use the Law to convict people of their sins. The law acts as a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. We are not saved by the Law, it just acts as a mirror to show us how God sees us. Sinners in need of a Savior. Imagine what it must be like to try to live by the law. There is no human possible way that any person could keep the whole law of God. A person would feel as though he had no chance at all of going to heaven. Then the Savior came! Victory in Jesus! These people who knew they were destined for hell, found out about a Savior that loves them so much that He died on the cross and took their punishment upon Himself. It was the grace of God that saved them!

How many times do we see people get saved only to never set foot in a church again?
Do we see people who are really hungry for God's Word? No. The hunger is gone from the American church. People are more interested in being entertained than they are in hearing God's Word. In fact, you can see people start looking at their watches after about 20 minutes of preaching. Some people will actually leave a service because it is infringing on their lunch date at the local Sirloin Stockade. The American Church is so void of reverance for God, so void of true honor and glory to Him. The American church has been relegated to nothing more than a meeting place for the world to pretend they care about God. It has become filled with lazy, boring, entertainment oriented pastors, who have not got a clue as to how much danger they are in. They have perverted the Word of God. They have shaken hands with the Devil in order to be seen acceptable to the world. They have become money hungry estates where the pastor is the beneficiary.

The pastor, in all his glory, has decided to stop preaching the whole gospel and has taken the easy way out. Instead of training people to get out into the streets and actually start reaching the lost, he is making his church (not God's church, but "his" church) a place where it is filled with unbelievers. The church was never meant to be for unbelievers. It is for believers so they can worship God, praise Him and be edified by His Word. It is a time of like-minded believers to share in fellowship with one another. What we have today is a church filled with the world and there is absolutely no growth taking place. When we make church services to be geared towards the lowest common denominator (the unbeliever), then there will never be any growth. That is why Willow Creek will never have true spiritual growth within their walls. When Church becomes a marketing scheme, it will come across exactly as that, a scheme!

Everyone is being trained to get people to say the sinners prayer.
"If you will just repeat after me, you can know for sure you are going to heaven...
Dear God, I am sorry. Please forgive me of my sins. I want to ask you into my heart and I want to live for you. Thank you for sending Jesus to die for me. I accept you. in Jesus Name, Amen."

First off, it is not US that needs to accept Jesus. We need to pray that HE accepts us! We are the lowly sinners who are headed for hell. There is nothing we can do to earn our way into heaven. Jesus is not a beggar hoping someone will accept Him. He is the creator of all things. He is LORD! Just because someone says the sinners prayer does not mean they are saved.

Secondly, the sinners prayer is not biblical. It is not found anywhere in the Bible. There is not even anything close to it. It is a lazy man-made scheme to bring people to Christ. Why not take time to do the real work of a Christian. Learn God's Word, take it to the streets and tell people what they need to know. If you do it the right way, they will fall to their knees on their own and on their own they will cry out to God to save them! That person is much more likely to come to church because they will hunger for God's Word.

We can't keep using the sinners prayer as a Hocus Pocus, you are saved, method of bringing people to Christ. Let's keep it biblical. I have heard pastors say that their way is the best way. Never are we to do it OUR way. We are the sinners who have not got a clue. We should always do it the way Jesus did it! The way He taught His disciples to do it. Why in the world would we want to deviate away from biblical teachings? Why? Because it is offensive to the world and the American Church would never want to offend anyone!

The Creflo heretic revisited

2008-07-16T04:13:00.002-05:00

It was about loving God with your stuff

if you keep reading down a couple more scriptures it says, "and he received a hundred-fold of everything that he gave, everything that he sold."

The above quotes are from Creflo Dollar as said in this video in response to Matt 19:16-30.

Matthew 19:16-30
And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? [there is] none good but one, [that is], God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and [thy] mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go [and] sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come [and] follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. When his disciples heard [it], they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? But Jesus beheld [them], and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible. Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore? And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. But many [that are] first shall be last; and the last [shall be] first.

As you read this scripture for yourself, you can see that the rich man went away sorrowful. HE DID NOT SELL HIS STUFF! there is no mention in scripture that he sold or gave away his stuff. It just says he went away sorrowful, or sad because he had great wealth, lots of possessions that he did not want to give up. When you listen to Creflo, you can tell he does not know his Bible. He has twisted scripture to mean what he wants it to mean. He wants to make it about prosperity and how you can get rich by God. This Scripture in no way means what he is making it to mean. He is deceiving people left and right!

click on this link to see an article written by John Piper in regards to prosperity preachers.

Be very careful who you follow. There are many people out there who are deceivers and are getting rich off of gullible people. They will take you down the serpents path with them. Read your Bible and check to see if what people are saying is true!

Church Cancels Teen Gun Giveaway

2008-07-14T18:02:00.003-05:00

Church Cancels Teen Gun Giveaway
POSTED: 10:38 pm CDT July 11, 2008
UPDATED: 8:56 am CDT July 12, 2008
(Thanks Jeff G for contributing this!)

OKLAHOMA CITY -- An Oklahoma church canceled a controversial gun giveaway for teenagers at a weekend youth conference.
Windsor Hills Baptist had planned to give away a semiautomatic assault rifle until one of the event's organizers was unable to attend.
The church’s youth pastor, Bob Ross, said it’s a way of trying to encourage young people to attend the event. The church expected hundreds of teenagers from as far away as Canada.

“We have 21 hours of preaching and teaching throughout the week,” Ross said.
A video on the church Web site shows the shooting competition from last year’s conference. A gun giveaway was part of the event last year. This year, organizers included it in their marketing.
“I don’t want people thinking ‘My goodness, we’re putting a weapon in the hand of somebody that doesn’t respect it who are then going to go out and kill,'” said Ross. “That’s not at all what we’re trying to do.”
Ross said the conference isn’t all about guns, but rather about teens finding faith.
“You make a lot of new friends down here,” said Vikki Goncharenko, who attended the conference. “You get to meet new people. There's a bunch of things that are going on. It's just, you have a wonderful time.”
Friday evening, Ross said the gun giveaway had been canceled. Pastor emeritus Jim Vineyard, who ran the event, injured his foot and wouldn’t be able to attend. The gun giveaway was also removed from the church Web site.
Ross said the church would give the gun away next year instead. He said the church spent $800 buying the gun for the promotion.
********************************************************************
Who in their right mind could possibly think this is a good idea? They actually did this last year! Video games from the late 70's started out rather tame in comparison to today's games. The games seemed to continue to show more flesh (sex), gore (killings) and over all violence (rape, murder, robbery, etc). The world is only content for a little while until they want something more and more shocking.

Now the churches seemed to have fallen for the trap set by the Devil himself. Let's entice these children to come into our churches and we will give them a gun. When they stop coming, then it will be time to do something even more radical. Where will it end?

Jesus over turned the tables of the money changers in the Temple because they were abusing the system. Makes you wonder what Jesus will do to a church that does not have the guts to preach God's Word without stupidity being added to it!

Losing faith in your pastor

2008-07-14T04:18:00.003-05:00

I have been noticing lately an unusually large increase in some of my visitors lately. I am able to track what brings people to my site and it is amazing how many people show up by doing a google search. Here are some of the searches that have brought people here...

how to know you need to change churches

i think god is telling me to change churches, how do i know?

what to do when you lose faith in your paster

i have been hurt by my church, what should i do?

Below is a copy of a post I did back in early May...

When is it time to change churches?

Here are 16 questions that you have maybe asked yourself or others...

Is it okay to lie, cheat or steal?

When is it time to change churches?

Why should I change churches?

Is it biblical to change churches?

What about my church family?

Will I be setting a poor example to them if I leave?

What do I do about my volunteer work I do for them?

Would it be better for me to NOT change churches so that I could be around my loving friends?

Does it matter what Bible translation I use?

Is it better to listen to expository preaching or story based preaching?

Is it better to have a sermon series (7 weeks or longer) or a different sermon subject each week?

Do I need to have communion each week or once a month?

I was baptized in a Mormon church, do I need to be baptized again in a Christian church?

What should I do if I have been hurt by church?

Are jokes acceptable from behind the pulpit?

Is it acceptable for a pastor to wear Hawaiian shirts while preaching?
*************************************************************************************Is it okay to lie, cheat or steal?
Sure, and while you are at it, go ahead and commit adultery, murder someone (hate), covet, dishonor your parents, blaspheme God's Holy Name, break the Sabbath, forget completely about God and bow down to a man-made god. Go ahead, do it! But realize this...

But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. Matt 12:36Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. 1 Cor 6:9-10

You see, we have the freedom to do whatever we want to do. But as Christians, we understand that what we do comes with a price. Unless we repent of our sins, we will not inherit the kingdom of God (heaven). Instead, for the unbeliever and the unrighteous person, hell awaits those who have not put their faith and trust in Jesus alone to save them. Without repentance and faith in Jesus, there is no salvation. (side note -- repentance here is not a "works" that is necessary for salvation. This is something that the Holy Spirit allows us to do when we put our faith and trust in Jesus completely! If a person has NOT repented of their sins,then they are not saved)

When is it time to change churches?
When the Holy Spirit convicts you to.

Why should I change churches?
Because the Holy Spirit has led you out of your current church. The "why" might have to do with several factors. Maybe you are being called to serve in a special ministry at another church. Maybe there is someone there that God has called you to at that very moment so that you can witness to them. The main reason from our human understanding is that the church you are currently attending is not preaching the whole Gospel message. If the Bible is not the authoritative Word of God in your church, then it is time to leave and find another church. If God's Word is changed to reflect the modern world and to make sin acceptable, then run, don't walk from that church! If you are not growing spiritually and are not being "fed" then you need to leave.

Is it Biblical to change churches?
We are to expose false teachings, false prophets and false leaders. If you are in a church that is spewing out false teachings, then you are to expose them for the sake of the other believers.Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, rebuke and expose them. Eph 5:11

What about my church family?
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some [is]; but exhorting [one another]: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. Heb 10:25
The assembling or gathering of ourselves for Christian communion in private and public, is an earnest of our being gathered together to Him at His appearing. Union is strength; continual assemblings together beget and foster love, and give good opportunities for "provoking to good works," by "exhorting one another." Now when the church does not provoke you to good works and does not exhort you, when the people in the church are bringing in sinful and sinfilled idea's and they are not being corrected by the pastor and the elders, then it is time to leave.

Will I be setting a poor example to them if I leave?
Actually, quite the opposite! If a true Christian is not willing to stand up for God's Word then what kind of faith is found in that church? It is a good example that we show others the importance of Holy Scripture and stand by God's Word as opposed to standing by Man.

What do I do about my volunteer work I do for them?
It is commendable that someone wants to serve God. We should all be in service to Him within the church. At what point do we hang on to our positions for the sake of hanging on as opposed to leaving and being fed God's Word so we can be edified to go out into the world reaching the lost for Christ? As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Just be sure that you are serving God and not serving your own self-interest.

Would it be better for me to NOT change churches so that I could be around my loving friends?
As mentioned earlier it is important to be "fed" God's Word. It is important to be edified along with the body of believers. It is important to be fed by a pastor/minister that exposits God's Word. You can leave and still maintain your old friends. Don't let loyalty to friends interfere with your desire to learn God's Word. Not everyone is at the same maturity level in the Word, and that is okay. Just don't let an unbeliever keep you down to their level.

Does it matter what Bible translation I use?
If you are a Mormon, you will want to find one that backs up the claims of Joseph Smith. If you are a Catholic, you will want to find one that includes the Maccabee writings. If you are a Christian, you will want to find one that does not distort the Word of God into less than the perfect Word of God!

Is it better to listen to expository preaching or story based teaching?
For me, I like expository preaching because I feel that learning the Whole Word of God, taken in context, is important for being edified. At the same time, there are some people who learn best by hearing stories. So long as the story is said in a way that is biblically accurate, the same effect will take place. The person will learn and grow. Unfortunately there are many story telling/joke telling pastors who have perverted the Word of God into something that it is not ~~ a soft gospel message. We must remember that the Word of God is sharper than any two edged sword!For the word of God [is] quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and [is] a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Heb 4:12

Is it better to have a sermon series (7 weeks or longer) or a different sermon subject each week?
Which ever one the pastor feels led to preach ~~ so long as the Holy Spirit has led him to preach it. The problem comes when the pastor takes the lazy way out and just copies someone else's sermon online. For the pastor that tends to cheat by not doing an actual Bible study on his own, that man is not being led by the Holy Spirit and he should be removed from the pulpit!! No if's, and's or but's about it. He should be removed if he has been found to have copied a sermon prepared by someone else.

Do I need to have communion each week or once a month?
It’s not the frequency that matters, but the heart attitude of those who participate. We should partake with reverence, love, and a deep sense of gratitude for the Lord Jesus, who was willing to die on the cross to take upon Himself our sins.

I was baptized in a Mormon church, do I need to be baptized again in a Christian church?
As for me, yes, I was baptized again. I felt dirty coming out of the Mormon religion. My baptism was not in Jesus of the Bible but in the Jesus created by Joseph Smith and who was the brother of Lucifer! The Mormon Jesus can not save a person from ALL sins. The Mormon Jesus was once just a man and only a man who became a god. I wanted to make sure my baptism was a representation of the Jesus of the Bible!

What should I do if I have been hurt by church?
First off, realize that there is no perfect church that is led by men. Also, realize that when the church hurts you, it was not God that was hurting you, it was man. Do not lose your faith and walk away from God because of what man has done to you. When you have been hurt by church, be sure to keep your eye on Jesus and on the cross.

Are jokes acceptable from behind the pulpit?
Be ready to meet one of my "pet peeve's." I am personally a joke teller and spent five years being a joke teller behind the pulpit. I have sat in the sanctuary listening to pastor's tell their best jokes in an effort to make people laugh. Humor can be used if that is your personality. But when it becomes a chance to present yourself as a stand-up comedian, then it is inappropriate. When people remember the joke more than the Scripture, then it is time to leave the ministry. It amazes me how many LAZY pastor's are preaching from the behind the pulpit. Leave the joke telling for after the service. Let's use the sermon time to edify the body of believers so they can learn how to reach the lost out in the streets!

Is it acceptable for a pastor to wear a Hawaiian shirt while preaching?
I guess I would have to ask, "why is it necessary to wear that kind of shirt?" It seems to have a lot to do with being found acceptable to the world. When church becomes a place better suited for unbelievers than for believers, then church has failed to be effective. Church was never meant to be used for the unbelievers. NEVER! That is not to say that unbelievers cannot come to church. Of course they can, they are welcome there. But when the sermon is prepared in a way so as not to offend an unbeliever, then the Word of God has been softened and a Soft Gospel has been developed. Church is for believers for the purpose of edification, worship, fellowship and to lift each other up for the sake of the gospel so we can all go into the world ready to preach the gospel to every creature!

When you have a question about church and don't know where to turn...
When you want to know what to do...
When you are frustrated at church...
Call on God!

There should be no confusion in the answer He gives you, it will be consistent with Scripture without compromise!

Have you had the above questions?
then the answer seems obvious...
it must be...
Time2ChangeChurches!!

It was bound to happen!

2008-07-11T07:17:00.003-05:00

Gay Man Files $70M Suit Against Bible Publishers Over 'Homosexual' Verses

A homosexual man has filed a $70 million lawsuit against Bible publishers Zondervan and Thomas Nelson, alleging that their version of the Bible that refers to homosexuality as a sin violates his constitutional rights and has caused him emotional distress.

Bradley LaShawn Fowler, an ex-con turned author, filed the federal suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan on Monday, the same day a judge refused to appoint him a lawyer for his suit against Thomas Nelson, The Grand Rapids Press reported.

"The Court has some very genuine concerns about the nature and efficacy of these claims," the judge wrote.

Fowler, who is representing himself in both cases, claims that Zondervan manipulated Scripture by using the term "homosexuals" in 1 Corinthians 6:9 of their 1982 and 1987 revised edition Bibles. He also contends that the reference to homosexuality were deleted by the publisher in later versions without informing the public.

He alleges that since the older Kings James Version containing the term "homosexuals" is used by his family pastor, he has been outcast by his family.

The 39-year-old is suing the Grand Rapids publisher for compensation of 20 years of "emotional duress and mental instability," he told WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids.

In a hand-written suit, Fowler lists all sorts of charges against Zondervan including malicious negligence, strict liability, malice, libel, and violating his civil rights. He filed a suit in June against Tennessee-based publisher Thomas Nelson on similar grounds. He's seeking $60 million from Zondervan and $10 million from Thomas Nelson Publishing.

Zondervan issued a statement to The Christian Post that said they do not discuss ongoing litigation. The company's spokesperson Tara Powers, however, pointed out that they only publish Bibles, not translate them.

"Since Zondervan does not translate the Bible or own the copyright for any of the translations we publish, we are not in a position to comment on the merits of how a word should or should not be translated," said Powers.

"We rely on the scholarly judgment of the highly respected and credible translation committees behind each translation and never alter the text of the translations we are licensed to publish. We only publish credible translations produced by credible biblical scholars," she noted.

According to Fowler, Zondervan has 20 days to respond to the claims listed.
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This is no different than supposed "christians" who choose to ignore Scripture. God's Word is sharp! It cuts! It digs deep within us! It shows us just how wretched we truly are. Instead of fighting against God's Word, we need to embrace it as a means of deliverance from our sins.

Do you believe the Bible to be God's Holy Word? If you do, then live by it and be obedient to His Word.

Do you believe the Bible is not fully God's Word? Then don't call yourself a christian. It's as simple as that!

Evolution!? The Great Myth!

2008-07-10T18:18:00.002-05:00

This says it all. Some people will think this is childish and nothing at all what evolution teaches. But it actually is what they teach. If I just "think" to myself that I want to fly, I have absolutely no ability to grow my own set of wings.

Evolution is the greatest myth that has ever been told as truth. Those people who have fallen for the lie, have not accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior. He is the creator of all things!

Ambassador's Academy

2008-07-09T18:30:00.003-05:00

I wish I could attend this academy. But even though I am not able to attend, I pray that someone out there is able to go to this. If you want more information, you can either go to www.wayofthemaster.com or to www.livingwaters.com and they can give you the details.

I have been sick this past week so I am keeping this short today. I pray you are all doing well. God bless!