The Ultimate Life Threatening Disease

We all probably know or know about someone with a disease that if left unchecked is life threatening. It is tragic to watch someone waste away in the last years of their life. It is even more tragic knowing that many of these disease's could have been prevented. What many of us don't want to acknowledge is that we ALL suffer from a terminal illness. That illness that threatens our lives is sin.

Our bodies will one day cease to function, that's a given. But our bodies have always been just a temporary holding place for our soul. Our bodies are of this world and thus subject to the laws and conditions of this world. Our souls however were created to exist forever. Whether you believe in God or not your soul will live on. It will either live with our Creator on the new earth or live in constant torment in Hell.

Jesus has given us a way to live with Him forever but we must accept His invitation. Just like preventing a bodily disease we can also prevent a spiritual one. How tragic it is to lose a loved one knowing you will not be seeing them again in Heaven.

The Ultimate Life Threatening Disease? Sin, but there is a cure. Just ask the Great Physician.

Dealing with Trials

The car needs $1200 worth of work, AGAIN! That's over $3000 in repairs in the last year. Business is slow and there's no cash in the bank. Why now God and why so much!? It may not be your car. It could be your kids, your spouse or your job. You want to ask God "Why am I going through this?"

As Christians we often think we are immune to the trials everyone else goes through. After all we pray, we go to church, we are in a small group and for the most part we are darn good people! Why God, why this, why me, why now?

Let's see what scripture says. James 1:2 states "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds." So I'm supposed to be happy I owe money I don't have? The word joy does not mean happiness. Joy is a supernatural experience in the purpose or people of God. Joy only happens to followers of Christ! But why should I still feel joy when I can't pay the bill or my wife won't talk to me? The next verse says "for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness." So a trial is a test of your faith. Trials separate the men from the boys, the imposters from the authentic.

Verse 3 says that trials produce steadfastness. The New Kings James says trials produce patience. Patience, a word we love to hate. In today's "I want it now society" patience usually means "I'll wait until tomorrow before I freak out." Look at Verse 4 "And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." So we are to have patience until God is done with His work in us for that trial. How long will that be? Ecclesiates 3:1 says "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven." A season may be a day, a year or a decade. We are to follow God's timetable not ours. But with patience Job 23:10 tells us "But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold."

Do not be surprised or angered when your trail comes upon you. Look at it as a test from God in which He is preparing you for something greater. 1 Peter 4:12-13 "Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed."

Embrace your trials and feel Blessed that God cares enough about you to put you through the fire.

Attending 2 church's

Life gives us a smorgasbord of choices. We have 160 channels on TV, unlimited books and magazines to read and thousands of choices for tonight's dinner. All this is wonderful and a perk of living in the greatest nation on earth. But we seem to be expected to attend only one church at a time. Is this scriptural or cultural? If we are worshipping God and serving in both church's, does it matter?

No church is perfect and no church can meet the needs of each member but let's suppose Church A has a great Pastor that really can strike a chord with you when it comes to understanding and following the Gospel. He makes it come alive. Church B has classes and programs designed to promote spiritual growth that church A doesn't. Is it wrong to attend both (if 2 services a week don't bother you)? What about attending a small group from each church?

If the church's are the same theologically is there a problem with splitting your allegiance? Or are we commanded to make one church our home church even if it doesn't fill some of our needs? In the end aren't they all God's church and would He really care where or how many we attend as long as we are doing His will?

Tiger Woods is not alone

Today Tiger Woods gave his long awaited apology to the world. He said all the right things. He said he was sorry. He said he is the only one to blame and felt he was entitled. He felt the rules were not for him. He said his actions over time will mean more than his words. He said he needs to get back to a balance of his spiritual and professional life and remember what is important.

A nice apology and I'm sure he means what he says but Tigers actions are just a microcosm of today's society. Being one of the worlds most recognizable people maybe, just maybe, some of the average everyday men will see themselves and the destruction they are causing their families. Infidelity, adultery, sex addiction, whatever you want to call it is rampant. Statistics show that 60-80% of men will have an affair at sometime in their lives. Why? What is it in the male brain that thinks we can bed anyone we want for a few moments of pleasure and that no one will get hurt? What makes Christian men especially think they can ignore not only society's rules but also God's laws and no harm will come?

The number of unwed mom's is out of control. Prostitution for many is not even considered a crime. Porn addiction is skyrocketing and adultery is rampant. What do all these "indiscretions" have in common? MEN! It is time for the male of society to step up and be the man God intended us to be. It is time for us to keep our pants up and do what is morally right. It is time for us to serve our women and society. It is time for us to ask for forgiveness from our wives, our kids and our God for thinking only of ourselves. It is time we are humbled and brought to our knees. It is irresponsible to think we can be self centered and do anything we want and not pay the consequences. It is time for men to be men!

Hopefully, Tiger will make some out there look at themselves and not like what they see. Through Christ we all the have the chance to start again for we are forgiven. It's never too late to say "I'm, Sorry". One thing Tiger said was it's not what you achieve but what you overcome. That reminds me of the Poem "The Race".

Defeat! He lay there silently, a tear dropped from his eye,"
There's no sense running anymore- three strikes and I'm out- why try?"
The will to rise has disappeared, all hope had fled away,
so far behind, so error prone, closer all the way.

"I've lost, so what's the use," he thought "I'll live with my disgrace."
But then he thought about his dad who soon he'd have to face.
Get up, and echo sounded low, get up and take your place.
You were not meant for failure here, so get up and win the race.
With Borrowed will, "Get up!", It said, "You haven't lost at all,
for winning is not more than this, to rise each time you fall."

So he rose to win once more, and with new commitment he resolved to win
or lose, at least he wouldn't quit.
So far behind the others now, the most he'd ever been,
still he gave it all he had, and ran as though to win.
Three times he'd fallen stumbling, three times he rose again.
To far behind to hope to win, he still ran to the end.

They cheered the winning runner as he crossed.
First place, head high and proud and happy, no falling, no disgrace.
But when the fallen youngster crossed the line, last place,
the crowd gave him the greater cheer for finishing the race.
And even though he came in last, with head bow low, unproud.
You would have thought he won the race, to listen to the crowd.
And to his dad he sadly said, "I didn't do so well."
To me, you won, his father said, you rose each time you fell.

And now when things seem dark and hard and difficult to face,
the memory of that little boy helps me in my own race.
For all of life is like that race, with ups and downs and all.
And all you have to do to win is rise each time you fall.
"Quit! Give up you're beaten," they will shout in my face.
But another voice within me says, "Get up and win that race!"

God is your Father, Get up and Win the Race!!!!!!!!

Jesus was Gay

According to master theologian, Elton John, Jesus was a gay man. In an interview with Parade magazine John says "I think Jesus was a compassionate, super-intelligent gay man who understood human problems."

I guess that adds new meaning to "Love your neighbor."

Is God enough

From Gary Thomas

Genesis 2:18 – “The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."

Adam walked with God, enjoyed God, worshiped God, and talked with God – far more intensely and directly than we do today. And, yet it was God who said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. God literally told Adam, “It is my opinion that the way you are living - just me and you - is not enough, or at least not for now.”

But, when asked, “Is Jesus enough?,” most Christ followers are challenged to offer an unqualified “yes.” In a similar example, the true answer to the question, “Are bread and water enough to keep me alive?” is also yes. Does this mean, then that we should disdain fruit, meat, and even the occasional slice of cake if those foods are available?

In some lives and in some situations, there will be “only” Jesus. We may lose a spouse, our children, our home - seemingly every enjoyment we have. And, in those situations, yes, we will find that he is, really and truly, enough. But, I believe wisdom teaches us that such lives are entered into only under God’s providence. They are not to be pursued as self-imposed obligations.

Prayer, worship, Bible study, and fellowship are the bread of the spiritual life, but they are not the only remedies for our ailing souls. Indeed, they become even more effective when joined with other holy “creational” pleasures. When you feel free – indeed, feel determined – to cultivate and enjoy soul-filling pleasures, you will live so full you won’t have much time to dwell on the negative or the illicit. This is God’s intended, more powerful way to live in relationship with Christ, to worship him, and show his goodness to a hungry world.

Will the Austin pilot be labeled a Christian radical?

You can already hear it coming.

"Austin suicide pilot was former church planter"

In an attempt to avoid taxes, Joe Stack had started his own church. He was disgusted with what he called the Catholic Church's corruption so he tried to get the same breaks they do. $40,000 later he found out it didn't work. If he isn't branded a religious nut it's for sure he will be called a right wing extremist. His disgust with the government is well documented.

What I want to know is will the media spend as much time on the Alabama professor that killed 3 colleagues and was a staunch Obama supporter as they will on Joe Stack?

Should the word retarded be banned?

Sarah Palin jumped on Rahm Emanuel a couple weeks ago for using the word retarded in describing some Democrats who oppose the Administration. Since then the "R" word has been treated like the "N" word. Is this political correctness run amok?

As a highly visible Christian and Conservative Palin has made hay with Rahm's comment. Should we ban a word just because it offends someone? How about the words fatso, baldy, slut or idiot? Does banning a word change the attitude? Let's say we ban the word and instead call a handicapped person "special". Now every time someone calls a child special won't it bring up the same feeling as retarded. In time will special be banned?

As they say, you can't legislate morality. Until you change society's attitude towards any word banning that word will hardly make a difference. It is somewhat hypocritical of conservatives to make this an issue when they have been on the forefront to stop the PC crowd from censoring anything that offends someone.

Change peoples hearts and their vocabulary will change.

Should we care about our politicians religion?

George Bush wore his Christianity on his sleeve. Barack Obama says he's a Christian but hasn't seen a church in a while. We are told JFK was a devout(don't know how devout with his affairs) Catholic and Mitt Romney was a proud Mormon. Does it matter today what a politicians religion is?

Unlike many blog sites I see I have to say YES! I am not talking about a Christian in name only but one that actually tries to follow God's word. I could not vote for someone with no moral compass. He or she may be a wonderful person and lived an exemplary life but with only their own moral background what decisions will they make when their back is to the wall? Now a Christian can fall and make mistakes, no doubt about it but I would feel more comfortable if they had a real belief in God and were trying to follow His lead in all they do. How someone lives his life is important to me when I'm asking him to lead my country. If he cheated on his wife will he give in to temptation in D.C.? If he is known for a bad temper or has abused his kids will he fly off the handle when things get tough with Iran?

Before anyone gets all excited I'm not talking about establishing any certain religion as the designated religion. All I'm talking about is knowing where someone gets their ideology.

If our politicians take the oath of office on the Bible shouldn't we hold them to that standard? And if we aren't going to keep them accountable why do the dog and pony show at the swearing in? Let them swear to whatever or whoever will guide them. It could be a tree, a beer bottle or an astrologer. At least this way we know what we are getting.

Should we all strive for ministry?

I was in my 40's when I started my walk with God and for the first few years I constantly felt I was letting God down because I was working in the secular world and not a full time ministry job. So I did ministry "on the side" while continuing my full time job. What I found was it was very difficult to do both at a high level of competency.

We love marriage ministry and would do that full time given the opportunity but not having retirement money to live on we continue to work. We have cut back in our church ministries but what we have found is ministry opportunities continue to come to us. These opportunities are from our small group, our family and our friends. We are as busy as ever but not in an organized manner.

An essay by Dorothy Sayers entitled "Why Work" says it better than I can. "Christians must get it firmly into their heads that when a man or woman is called to a particular job of secular work, that is as true a vocation as though he or she were called to a specific religious work."

In doing the work that God gifted us for—whether it be truck driver, politician or a plumber—does not make us second-class Christians nor Christians who aren't doing the work of Christ. We are people who are worshipping God with the abilities He gave us and expects us to use no matter our place in society.

Women cheat too!

Look up adultery on google and you will see over 6 million different sites listed. Look closely and see how many cover the aspect of adultery where the woman is the cheater. View your churches ministries and see if there is one for men who have been cheated on. My bets are there aren't any. I found this out when I was cheated on. Why does society think men are the only ones who commit adultery and even if it's the wife who goes astray, the man should be able to take it?

The feminist movement told women that they could do everything a man could do. That they had the same rights to follow their dreams just like men. The past 40+ years have showed us that the NOW gang was right. Women now have more heart disease, high blood pressure and affairs then they used to. Welcome gals to our world!

As more women sow their wild oats they will find the hollowness of infidelity. And as more men are cheated on they (the men) will find the intense pain that has long been relegated to the female species. The effects on a man are different than a woman when it comes to infidelity. While a woman generally seeks emotional connection a man is looking for that physical relationship which in turn produces the emotional relationship. I'm not an expert in this field but from my own experience and from others I've talked to a man is hurt in a different but equally painful way.

A man has an ego! I know that's a shock. Much of his self esteem comes from being all those things society tells us makes a man. Bread-winner, strong, daring and of course, great in bed. This last one is probably the biggest. If you don't think so then why are there so many "male-enhancement" commercials on TV? Remember all the stories and jokes in the locker room about sex and a guys sexual prowess? Sex to a man is Big! There is hardly anything worse to a man then when his wife gives her body to another man. The questions fill your head. How did it happen? How good was the sex? How many times? Was he better than me? The "why did it happen" comes after all the questions about the actual act.

So where does a man go? For me I had to keep it to myself for the most part. I spent most of my time trying to heal my wife and never thought about healing myself. It actually wasn't until recently that my wife and I sat down and I opened up to her about my thoughts. I had questions about the affair but didn't know if I really wanted the answers but I knew the only way to truly heal was to get everything into the light. Nothing satan likes better then to keep our thoughts to ourselves in the dark recesses of our minds to be used when he wants to make us question our marriage.

I wish every self centered man out there could feel the pain I felt. This is the same pain he causes his wife when he cheats on her. Once you experience it you would not wish to ever hurt anyone like that. Men, don't keep it to yourselves. Talk it out with someone. It will only eat you alive if you keep it hidden.

Does Christian tradition matter?

These lines are from a book by Joshua Harris called Dug Down Deep.

The bottom line is that my parents' faith wasn't really my faith. I knew how to work the system, I knew the Christian lingo, but my heart wasn't in it. My heart was set on enjoying the moment. During my early twenties I went through a phase of blaming the church I had attended in high school for all my spiritual deficiencies. Evangelical megachurches make good punching bags. My reasoning went something like this: I was spiritually shallow because the pastors' teaching had been shallow. I wasn't fully engaged because they hadn't done enough to grab my attention. I was a hypocrite because everyone else had been a hypocrite. I didn't know God because they hadn't provided enough programs. Or they hadn't provided the right programs. Or maybe they'd had too many programs. All I knew was that it was someone else's fault.

I mostly floated through grown-up church. Like a lot of teenagers in evangelical churches, I found my sense of identity and community in the parallel universe of the youth ministry. Our youth group was geared to being loud, fast paced, and fun. It was modeled on the massive and influential, seeker-sensitive Willow Creek Community Church located outside Chicago. The goal was simple: put on a show, get kids in the building, and let them see that Christians are cool, thus Jesus is cool. We had to prove that being a Christian is, contrary to popular opinion and even a few annoying passages of the Bible, loads of fun. Admittedly it's not as much fun as partying and having sex but pretty fun nonetheless. Sad to say, I spent more time studying my dance moves for that show than I was ever asked to invest in studying about God. Maybe I wouldn't have been interested in youth group if it hadn't been packaged in fun and games and a good band. But I still wish someone had expected more of me—of all of us.

When we talk about knowledge of God, we're talking about theology. Simply put, theology is the study of the nature of God—who he is and how he thinks and acts. But theology isn't high on many people's list of daily concerns. I've come to learn that theology matters. And it matters not because we want a good grade on a test but because what we know about God shapes the way we think and live. What you believe about God's nature—what he is like, what he wants from you, and whether or not you will answer to him—affects every part of your life. Theology matters, because if we get it wrong, then our whole life will be wrong. We're either building our lives on the reality of what God is truly like and what he's about, or we're basing our lives on our own imagination and misconceptions. We're all theologians. The question is whether what we know about God is true. The word orthodoxy literally means "right opinion." In the context of Christian faith, orthodoxy is shorthand for getting your opinion or thoughts about God right. It is teaching and beliefs based on the established, proven, cherished truths of the faith. These are the truths that don't budge. They're clearly taught in Scripture and affirmed in the historic creeds of the Christian faith.

Orthodoxy matters because the Christian faith is not just a cultural tradition or moral code. Orthodoxy is the irreducible truths about God and his work in the world. Our faith is not just a state of mind, a mystical experience, or concepts on a page. Theology, doctrine, and orthodoxy matter because God is real, and he has acted in our world, and his actions have meaning today and for all eternity

Porn destroys another relationship

Adult movies, men's magazines, gentleman's clubs. Call it whatever you want but the viewing of scantily clad women is big business. How big? The 2005 revenue from porn was $12.5 billion. 45 million people access porn on the internet each month. Approximately 70% of men between 18-34 report viewing monthly. 47% of families say porn is a problem in their home. A 2000 Christianity Today survey of clergy showed that 33% said they had viewed a sexually explicit website.

Porn is a seductive mistress promising more than she can deliver. Initially the viewing of material may not seem to be a problem but the male brain is wired in such a way that viewing a sexually explicit picture releases a pleasure producing hormone. Over time we require more explicit pictures to get the same "high". Ultimately more time viewing or riskier behavior is needed to produce the desired high. This is when relationships fail and men are destroyed.

This was made clear to me by a young couple we were mentoring before their marriage. Something was off with the groom to be and after some long discussions he came clean about his addiction. He thought he could keep it under control but his fiance could tell there was a problem. Their wedding was postponed six weeks before the ceremony and my young friend looked to me to help him with his problem. We were to meet last week and he couldn't make it. He didn't show up tonight either. I can't get hold of him and fear it's a battle he isn't ready to tackle. I also fear he has no idea the power it has over his life.

Men, please talk to your sons about porn. Give them the books and articles. Porn today is a serious problem that with the internet only makes the problem worse.

Tebow Super Bowl Ad

After all the comments from both sides of the abortion issue you would have thought this ad was going to be a defining moment in history. Not so. Whether it was intentional or not Focus sucked the critics in and then showed an ad that was simple, short and void of the "A" word. It made Planned Parenthood look like a bunch of hyped up unaborted kids on sugar. They were running around screaming about things that didn't happen and the publicity Focus on the Family got was worth much more then the cost of the ad.

The abortion debate will continue but the tide has turned. A Pro Family ad on prime time coupled with an increase in more young adults saying they are pro life means the eventual end of this destructive (to both the mom and her child) procedure.

Are Christians the New Negro?

Read the Rev. Ken Hutchersons entire article at WorldNetDaily.com.

Many reading this may not understand where I came up with this concept of calling Christians "the new Negro."
The reason is because there are undeniable similarities. Jim Crow laws were passed to keep me from having my constitutional rights and my rights under the Declaration of Independence of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Even though the Constitution gave me those freedoms, man was smart enough to be able to keep me from living those freedoms by saying I was "separate but equal."
Today, my constitutional right of freedom of religion is being eroded again by laws such as the Hate Crimes Bill and repeated attacks by the politically correct crowd. Threats that came along as a result of an African American wanting to get out from under Jim Crow laws were formidable and scary and designed to keep African Americans quiet. The same thing is happening to Christians today.

Another way secular society is trying to control Christians is by the fallacy of the separation of church and state. That establishment clause was intended to protect the church from the state, not to keep the church from participating in the state. Christians' ignorance of the meaning of the establishment clause has allowed us to be controlled just like the African Americans were in the 1950s and '60s.

If you don't believe one could be attacked for one's stand on Judeo-Christian beliefs alone, take the case of Miss California, Carrie Prejean. Look at her refusal to compromise her Christian values. She has been vilified and demonized and lost her title simply because of her constitutional right to freedom of religion. What is so encouraging is that she will not compromise; she will not give up her values and would rather please God than take what the world has to offer her.

Sarah Palin is another example.
The politically correct crowd has a very difficult time dealing with Sarah because of who she is. Mrs. Palin is a pro-life, pro-gun, pro-traditional-marriage, pro-hunting, white, conservative, Christian male who happened to have been born a woman! The politically correct crowd knows exactly what to do with a white male with those attributes, but a woman?
She is the perfect picture of the politically correct woman – strong, beautiful, able to both buy and fry the bacon, take care of the family, run an entire state and still take care of her baby. But because of who she is, and because she does not subscribe to politically correct thinking, she has been attacked for no other reason than her Judeo-Christian values, just as African Americans were attacked for no other reason than their skin color.

The only difference between Christians and African Americans is that Christians put up with this intolerance while standing behind the false disguise of humility and love. We are obsessed with showing the world our love when our primary job is to tell them the truth. The Bible does not say, "Sensitivity shall set you free." It says, "The truth shall set you free." Are we not the truth-tellers?
When are we as believers, like the African Americans that came before us, going to say, enough is enough? No more "separate but equal!" Our battle cry is "We are the salt of the earth, onward Christian soldiers and to God be the glory! For in unity we will stand and we will not be stopped!"