The Devaluing of Conception, Children and the Elderly

Object 1:

I read in the January ‘05 issue of Discover magazine that covers the “100 Top Science Stories of 2004” that the “FDA Rejects Over-the-counter Sales of Morning-After Pills” called Plan B (page 55). Good news, right? Not according to health care professionals.

“It is morally repugnant, a tragedy for American women, and a stain on the reputation of an agency that calls itself ‘evidence based,’” says Vivian Dickerson, president of American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. “Accidents happen, coercion happens, and there is a public health imperative not to hold women hostage by hampering them from timely access to postcoital contraception.”

If taken “the morning after”, these pills prevent the fertilized egg (life) from implanting to the uterine wall. The fertilized egg is then discharged or aborted.

David Grimes, vice president of biomedical affairs at Family Health International in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina charged that the FDA action was influenced by the efforts of anti-choice Republicans who preach sexual abstinence to prevent pregnancy.

Grimes argues that the policy is detrimental to at-risk teenagers with limited access to medical care. “The irony is that the FDA approved over-the-counter sales of home defibrillators,” he adds. “So a 14-year-old can buy a device to deliver an electric shock to another person, yet she cannot buy 1.5 milligrams of levonorgestrel (the synthetic hormone that prevents the implantation of the fertilized egg) for herself.”

(All italicized words were quotes from the article.)

According to Ms. Dickerson, conception is a mistake. Maybe for the “women…held hostage” by an unwanted pregnancy, but not for God. God is the creator of life. God is the one knitting us together in our mothers’ womb.

Mr. Grimes thinks the “anti-choice Republicans” strong-armed the FDA. And shame on them for preaching abstinence.

These are just two of many that want their cake and want to eat it too. They want to have no ties to their sexual promiscuity. Since when do we not lie in the bed that we make for ourselves? This is not about birth-control, this is about the value of human life (or their lack of). These people would be very happy to put these pills into the hands of every high-schooler. Not only have the “family-friendly” clinics been pushing for high-school girls to gain health-care services (abortions) without having to notify the families, now they want the children to be able to have complete control of aborting the babies at home. When will this stop?

We are in a race to clone humans…but we can’t appreciate the miracles that God performs for us. We are so eager to see our manufactured babies, but God’s babies we throw away. Shame on us.

Object 2:

A couple weeks ago, the guy I work next to says “Troy, come here. You need to see this commercial!” I went over to his computer where he had a video clip ready. The commercial starts out with a nice looking, trendy young man in a grocery store with his young (4-6 year old) son. The son picks up a large bag of candy and throws it into the cart. The man picks it up and puts it back onto the shelf. Not to be defeated, the boy picks it up once again and puts it into the cart. The man puts it back onto the shelf. The boy erupts. He screams…and screams…and screams, and runs through the aisles screaming and throwing things off of shelves. People are staring. He is on the floor kicking and screaming. It shows the disturbed dad. The child seemed to go on forever. At first, I almost got sucked into the sales of the commercial. “What is the problem with this kid…shut him up! That poor dad…” went through my mind. The child’s role in the commercial was meant to grate your very last nerve. It was getting there with me. Just when you thought the kid would never shut up, it showed the dad once more and then it showed the product and sales pitch…Use Condoms.

At that point my heart sank. Once again, this is not an anti-birth control post. What this commercial did was de-valued this young boys life. This commercial was saying that this boys life was a mistake. He was never meant to be in this world. Now look at him. He is a menace. The dad is stuck with a bratty rotten kid for the rest of his life…all because he didn’t use a condom. I think a part of selling of the commercial was feeling sorry for the dad. When will we take responsibility for our selfish actions?

One of the European countries now allows the destruction of a child…a birthed child, up to a certain age if the parents don’t deem it’s life worthy to be lived. More like if it’s going to be an inconvenience to the parents. It starts with pre-birth abortion. Then on to post birth destruction. We are passing our children through the fire to Molech (Lev. 18:21).

Object 3:

On a recent post, my brother commented on a newspaper article he had seen. He got the article for me and I did a bit of research on my own. It appears that a church in Michigan (St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Battle Creek) is selling calendars to raise money for repairs that they need done on the church due to a lightening strike in May. They will also be donating a portion of the money to breast cancer research. The calendar depicts 14 women who attend church there posing nude in the pews as well as various other locations in the church. These women are between the ages of 54 to 82. It says that the ladies’ more socially sensitive spots are obstructed from view. In the research I did, there is a lady and her family who is leaving the church because of this. BRAVO! I pray that she finds a God fearing church. This is the same church who ordained an openly gay man as bishop. People don’t understand why this lady and her family are leaving the church. She is being called narrow-minded and prudish. Why? Because she believes the word of God? Because she knows what’s right and what’s wrong? That she chooses to flee from evil? What slippery slope have we jumped onto? Do these people not have any more sense than this? One lady quoted her grandchild as saying “Not my grandma. Another woman’s grand-daughter would not look at the calendar.” It is unfortunate that their grandchildren have more respect for their bodies than what they do. They have more conviction than what their grandparents do. This is the type of moral decay that you expect in the world…but a church (not THE Church)? I can’t understand the thinking of the leadership or congregation. How can they think that God could be pleased with this?

Who would have ever thought that I might be at a loss for words. I can’t find words that describe what I feel. This is so infuriating, yet so sorrowful. This is (thanks to the media such as the newspaper that this was found in) what the public, secular world sees as the church. What a shame. There is certainly a gap between God and the churches that need to be stood in. Why would people who are truly seeking a relationship with the Lord, something different go to a place so much like the world. So much in and of the world. THE Church should be a refuge. I just don’t understand. Forgive me if this sounds choppy and not thought through. Like I said, I can’t find words that express my emotions. Shame on us, and God forgive us!

God Bless!

“…holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:” Heb. 12:14

The Reason for the "Reason for the Season"

I can’t really explain it, but Christmas has kind of lost it’s luster. I don’t view myself as a Scrooge. I can’t exactly put my finger on it. I love to give gifts to my children. They have a great time. Part of it might come from the over-commercialization we’ve done to Christmas (as a nation). I don’t feel we can expect anything less from the un-saved. I don’t (and can’t) fault them. They are completely lost. They will do anything to bring some joy and maybe a bit of religion into their lives once or twice a year. Another part that has been weighing on my mind is the way we remember the “reason for the season”. How we remember when Jesus was born to the virgin Mary. How the wise men and the shepherds came to worship. All very nice things. Those that focus on this are at least making an attempt at bringing the holiday closer to having a Christian theme. Don’t worry, I’m not going to go off on a rant about not celebrating a holiday that has pagan origins. I’m not going to say that we shouldn’t have a tree in our house (although I do think it’s silly to cut down a perfectly fine fur tree to bring it into our house to die for a few weeks). And the only thing I will say about Santa Clause is what a fellow worker (who is quite heathen) of mine said to me. He knows about my faith in God. He also knows that I know he is a heathen. He claims nothing more than that. He came into my work area a couple weeks ago and sat down. “So, Troy…do you lie to your kids about Santa Clause?” That really made me stop and think about two things. First, is he trying to trap me knowing that I believe lying is wrong (which every moral person should believe) but seeing if I would try to justify it and admitting that I do lie to my children in this one small area? And second, here is a man who makes no claims to have any sort of religion, and he knows that “encouraging” your children to believe in Santa is nothing short of lying to your children. It made me think of all of the Christian folk I know who don’t see the harm in telling their children that there is a Santa or Easter Bunny. They tell their children that they shouldn’t lie, but they lie to them in these things. I am a firm believer that if it’s not good for the children, it’s more times than not, not good for the parents. We take a stand on not watching movies that we wouldn’t allow our children to watch. We don’t listen to music that we wouldn’t want our children to listen to. Why is it okay for us to watch a vulgar, violent or sexual movie and not our children? Or listen to music filled with sex, drugs, alcohol and Satanism? Why than is it okay to tell our children that telling a lie will send them to hell only to turn around and say that a fat man in a red suit with flying reindeer flies around the world and delivers presents to every house by slipping down the chimney and slipping back up? I will say once again, the world is watching what we do and say. They are always ready to catch us in hypocrisy. Our children likewise. This is something that has bothered me for a long time. This is not why I’m posting this, though. That was an extra.

The point that I was getting to was leaving Jesus as a baby at this time of year. Keeping Him in the manger. We (for some reason) don’t like to think of Jesus grown up. Then we have to think of the real reason the baby was born into this world. Because we are sinners. Because He gave up His life for us. Because His death makes us feel uncomfortable and unworthy. And I’m an American. Nobody makes me feel unworthy. Everything is fine and dandy, and I want it to stay this way. How dare you bring sorrow into my life. Especially at this time of year. A time of joy and happiness. I think a lot of the problem is that we don’t know the freedom that His death brought. I’m really trying to choose my words wisely. I don’t want anyone to misunderstand what I’m trying to say. I don’t think we know how to handle His death. (Here’s where I might venture out on thin ice.) That is a big problem I had with the Passion of the Christ movie. I did not see it. I had no desire to see it. It’s not that I have a weak stomach (if only some of you knew what I do for a living). When a big production comes out mainstream like that, everyone is on board for it. I think a lot of people came away from the movie with the thought that “this totally innocent man went through a lot of torture….” This is where the thought stops. Yes they had great emotions welling up in their inner beings, but seeing a man brutally beaten will do that to you. Especially if you know the man committed no crime. Did they come away from the movie with the solid realization that He went through that for them? That it was their life and lifestyle that put Him through that? Did they grasp that reality? Or did they say “man, that guy could really take a beating! What a shame.”? I am not condemning or judging anyone that saw the movie. I did not need to. I already had an appreciation for what He did for me without seeing it on a 60 ft. wide screen. I am a visual person. I have pictured what He went through in my mind time and time again. It may not be as graphic as what the movie showed. Like I said, I already have an appreciation for what He did. And I’m sure that Mr. Gibson was well intended when making this movie.

I think these issues have a parallel dilemma. On the one hand, we think we are doing good by sharing the nativity but we are not sharing the reason He came to the earth. It just feels special to have Jesus there in the manger. I like Christmas music. The traditional ones are very sweet. Away in the Manger. Little Drummer Boy. Silent Night. The ones that I especially like are the ones that take Him from the manger through His life, onto His purpose. Read all of the verses of We Three Kings. Just like what I said about the Passion. We shared His brutal death, but we failed to share why He went through that death. And maybe the movie went into more detail than what I was let on to. Feel free to correct me. If a person with no knowledge of Christ at all was to view this film, would they have enough insight after this movie to understand why He went through this and for who? I would hope so. If not, what an opportunity missed.

The next time you are encouraged to remember the “reason for the season”, feel free to think of Jesus in the manger. But don’t ever forget why He came to be in that manger. Never forget the reason for the “reason for the season”.

I know that most of you will not read this before Christmas, but I hope that each one of you has been blessed this holiday season by sharing with friends and family, and most of all blessed by your thoughts and sharing about Jesus. If you might read this on Christmas day, think about and share why Jesus came to the manger to sleep. Why God came to earth. Who He did this for. Feel blessed and know that He loves you!

God Bless!

“…holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:” Heb. 12:14

Above and Beyond

Just a couple of quick things I want to mention this morning. These things have been bouncing around in my head for a few weeks. First comes from Daniel 3:

16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. 17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up

We know the story; the king gets angry, heats the furnace seven times hotter than normal and throws them in. He not only sees the three Hebrew young men but also someone who has the appearance of the son of God. He calls them out of the furnace and…

27 And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.

God not only delivered them from the fire, but He went above and beyond what they asked of Him. Their hair was not singed and their clothes did not smell of smoke. I know it sounds kind of small, but it was important enough to make the scriptures. I’m sure it was amazing to the Hebrews and the king!

I asked my wife if she thought that if the Hebrews would not have made the speech about God delivering them from the furnace, would God have delivered them from the furnace? Did He keep them safe in the fiery furnace heated seven times hotter than normal because they made a claim that their God could save them. Did He respond because they put His reputation on the line? She thought that, definitely God would have played it out the same way. I still wonder. I suggested the early martyrs. They were destroyed in various ways, and most of them never made a claim such as this. She brought up an article she read which came from the Martyrs Mirror about a German priest named Leonhard Keyser. This occurred in 1527. He was accused and condemned by a bishop and other priests to be burned. As they were approaching the execution site, he leaned over and plucked a flower. He said “Lord judge, here I pluck a flower; if you can burn this flower and me, you have justly condemned me; but, on the other hand, if you cannot burn me and this flower in my hand, consider what you have done and repent,” The judge got angry and threw “an extraordinary quantity of wood into the fire, in order to burn him immediately to ashes by the great fire.” When the wood was entirely burned up, his body was taken from the fire uninjured. So they built another great fire, his body still uninjured. His hair and nails were browned a bit. The flower was not withered or burned in the least. They chopped up his body and threw it into yet another fire. It came out unconsumed by the fire. Finally, they took the pieces and threw them into the river.

This man also put God on the line. Similar to what Elijah did with the prophets of Baal. Elijah made a claim. God delivered. Not only did He do as Elijah asked, once again He went above and beyond. The fire didn’t only consume the offering, but also the water and the rocks.

Also in Genesis chapters 18 and 19. Abraham begs for God to spare Sodom and Gomorrah for the sake of ten righteous people. God knew that Abrahams nephew was in Sodom. Even with the deal that God made with Abraham, He still had every right to completely destroy the two cities and everything and everyone in them. It appears that Lot and Lot only was the righteous in the two cities. God never agreed to bring Lot and his family out. He only agreed to not destroying the cities if there were ten righteous. God held to His word and destroyed the cities. Where He went above and beyond is by pulling Lot and his unrighteous family out before He destroyed the cities.

I’ve known about these stories for most of my life. It just amazes me how God can take an old story like this and allow you to look at it in another light. From a different perspective. To His glory. That’s how the Bible stays fresh. I don’t believe we will ever completely grasp the whole scripture. All of it’s meaning and revelations. Even if we memorized the entire book, God still speaks to us differently from the same versus at different times of our lives. Just a little sampling of how God goes above and beyond what we expect when the faithful pray to Him.

Matthew 7:

7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. 9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? 10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

God Bless!

“…holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:” Heb. 12:14

A Pleasant Diversion

My wife brought to my attention an article in “Our Daily Bread”. You know, the little devotional that everybody keeps in their bathroom. It was dated December 11th (last Saturday). It was written by Anne Cetas and was titled A Pleasant Diversion. I want to share the article with you.

Anne says:

A friend was looking for a church to join and told me she had found just what she was looking for: “I like this church because I don’t have to change my lifestyle of partying. It doesn’t make me feel guilty or require anything of me. I feel good about myself when I’m there.”

Her story makes me wonder how many people are in that type of situation. Their “Christianity” is what author W. Waldo Beach calls “a pleasant weekend diversion.”

But is that the kind of life Jesus calls us to? Beach says, “No amount of air-conditioning and pew-cushioning in the suburban church can cover over the hard truth that…discipleship is costly; that, for the faithful, there is always a cross to be carried. No one can understand Christianity to its depths who comes to it to enjoy it as a pleasant weekend diversion.”

Being a Christian means that we know Jesus personally. We have received Him by faith as our Savior from sin, and we present ourselves to Him. We deny our will and choose His instead. He transforms our thinking, our values, and our priorities to reflect what is acceptable to God (Romans 12:1-2).

Is your religion just a pleasant weekend diversion? That’s no substitute for a vital relationship with Jesus!

If I was a better and more tactful writer, those may have been my words exactly. Those have definitely been my thoughts. Once again, it goes back to being entertained. Entertained and reassured. Reassured that Jesus loves you…just as you are. No need to clean up to come in here. It’s all grace in here. We accept you as clean or as dirty as you want to be. You have problems…we have problems. Hooked on porn?...who are we to judge? Adultery?…nobody’s perfect! We all fall down…you just get back up; again and again and again and again…

Are we taking the Body of Christ seriously? How many people go to church on Sunday to pacify their conscience? How many people work in the church because they’re a good speaker…or it pays good money…or because daddy was a preacher…or to pacify their conscience? How many actually have a passion or a fire for the Lord? How many want to touch the lost souls? How many workers in the church evangelize outside of the church? I’m not talking this small blog spot either. Do you talk to people at the store about the Lord? Or is it like a lab coat? You don’t put it on until you’re at work. I know I’m guilty of not evangelizing like I should. I used to use the excuse that my life reflects my walk. They can see my Lord through letting the little old lady go ahead of me at the bank. Or putting the old man’s cart away for him. These are good things to do. But, I have met heathens that will do the same things. They are heathens with manners, that’s all.

I’m not a preacher, but I can see the state of the church. It’s withering. Many in numbers. I don’t like to judge a church by it’s numbers, but when you step into a small church and can feel/see the dissention and bitterness. When you get to know a few people and hear the back-biting. It’s no wonder we wither. There’s no love; there’s no fellowship; there’s no truth of the Word.

Then you go to the bigger, entertaining churches. There’s no Spirit. There’s a good speaker and a great music ministry. No substance. No commitment.

I guess the point of this post goes back to the falling down analogy. Rather than encouraging to watch where you step so you don’t fall down; rather than calling the porno sites, magazines and movies what they are…sin, death and destruction; rather than calling wrong, wrong and right, right; rather than striving to dump the sin and strongholds in our lives, we say that “life happens”. Accept it, get up and go on…but be prepared to fall again. Yes, God is a merciful God. He does forgive the sins of a REPENTANT man. But, a repentant man turns away from his sin. He doesn’t turn right back into it; knowing God will always give him another chance. At what point does God turn you over to your reprobate mind (Romans 1:28)? After you fall into the same sin three times? Four times? Ten times? Why take the chance of reaching the point of no return? At some point, God will allow your heart to get hard to your sin. Grief and sorrow will no longer follow after your sin. At that point, I believe you are lost.

It’s time Christians act like their name suggests’…Christ like. Allow God to challenge you. Get into a church that still calls a sin a sin (if you can find one). Get into the Word. Get out of the comfort zone. God will work on your heart if you allow Him to. He will draw you out of your sin…if you allow Him to. Allow Him to.

God Bless!

“…holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:” Heb. 12:14

THE Church

My mom and I were talking the other day about church. It was kind of mutually agreed upon that there was no perfect church. There’s even a saying that goes: “Even if there was a perfect church, it wouldn’t be perfect as soon as you stepped in through the door.” And for our fleshly minds to comprehend, the perfect church is subjective to the viewer. What might make a church perfect in my eyes you might think is wrong and so on. After the conversation was over and mom went home it hit me. There is a perfect church. From our point of view here on earth; when we look around laterally we see no perfect churches. Each one is tainted with something. Notice my wording…churches. Now look at it from God’s point of view. He doesn’t see us congregation by congregation. We might have a completely lousy church next door with one on fire genuine Christian family. This family is part of THE Church. The church across town has two families who are seeking….really seeking. They are part of THE Church. One might be Baptist, the other Methodist.

Christ is preparing a perfect Bride for Himself. We will either be a part of the perfect Bride (THE Church) or we can enjoy our churches full of entertainment and complacency. There will be ONE perfect Church called up to heaven. It will not all be from one congregation, or one denomination or from one country. Seekers from all around the world from every walk of life make up that Church. The word church means ‘the called out’. Not ‘called out of our homes on Sundays and Wednesdays’. There’s more to it than sitting through church service. We are called out. Called out of this world. Called out of our fleshly thinking. Called out of our un-righteous living. Called out of our sinful lifestyles. We all know the story that not everyone that calls “Lord, Lord” will enter. Our churches are full of those calling “Lord, Lord”. Christ is coming back for a perfect Church. Made up of holy and righteous people (made so by the cleansing of His blood). Cleaning up your life is not a one time thing. Just because you accepted Christ and were even baptized…this is not a free ticket. Christ is looking for people willing to keep being cleansed. The process continues. And Christ is doing the work…if we allow Him to.

Ephesians 5

25 …even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

I hope you’re in THE Church and not just a church.

God Bless!

“…holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:” Heb. 12:14

The Lost Sheep

Once again, an apology for not posting regularly. I will briefly explain. God has been trying to tell me something lately. I haven't heard it. More likely, I haven't been listening. I really love blogging, but somehow it started consuming all of my time in the mornings. I used to get up and spend time with the LORD in prayer and study. Since taking up this blog, I have been neglecting this time. This week of non-blogging has been one of the greatest weeks I've had in a long time. Not because I'm not blogging, but because I have rekindled my relationship with the LORD. That's what the LORD was trying to tell me. "Troy, I miss you. I miss the fellowship we used to have in the morning. Where are you?" He found me!! Praise God, He still seeks the one sheep gone astray! Sorry He had to leave you (the 99) to find me...but we rejoice together!! Kind of sappy, I know. Seriouisly, though. Until I can find a way to balance my time a little better, blogging might be slow. Maybe it will be in the evenings. I still have got a lot to say!

God Bless!

“…holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:” Heb. 12:14

Bible Translations

First of all, I am going to point you to the article I talked about in my last post. It was written by Michael Pearl of the No Greater Joy ministry. He wrote this article in reference to a book he was offering on his web-site concerning Bible Translations. It's an interesting article.

Second of all, I will post some information concerning Regan's comments to my last post (thanks for reading, Regan). What the book that I quoted from in my last post is claiming is that more modern translations leave information out that the KJV includes. I gave Regan one example, but here are a few more. I will not type both versions of the scripture but will print what the NIV leaves out of each scripture. Be sure to follow along in your OWN Bibles to be sure I don't make any mistakes. And feel free to correct me if I do.

Col 1:14 ...through his blood
Mat 5:44 ...bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you
Mat 9:13 ...to repentance
1 Cor 5:7 ...for us
Mat 19:9 ...and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery
Mat 20:16 ...for many be called but few chosen
Mat 23:14 Deletes this whole verse
Mar 10:21 ...take up the cross
Mar 10:24 ...for them that trust in riches
Mar 11:26 Deletes this whole verse
Joh 6:47 ...on me
I Tim 6:5 ...from such withdraw thyself

I understand that these phrases don't sound like much in this form. Read them in context and I can see why there is some concern. Dr. Jones (the author of the book) says that this is just a small sampling from the NIV. He also says that the NIV has fewer omissions than the New American Standard, Revised Standard, New English, etc. He appears to have done his homework. Which leads me to my third of all.

Third of all, I will bow out of any further discussion on this topic. The only reason I posted what I did tonight was because I said I would in my last post. I like to try to keep my word. I have not done much research in this area and I was foolish to bring it up. If I were to be challenged on it, I would not be able to defend myself. You don't choose battles that you are not equipped to fight. I do find this study interesting, and if someone asks my opinion I will give it with the understanding that that's all it is. My opinion. I can also point to a few resources. I am not saying that I have changed my view or that I have been challenged. That is not the case. I still believe that the KJV is the most accurate version of the Bible, but that is based completely on other peoples research. I like to be sure about what I post. I feel I can back up my previous posts with scripture. This one I cannot. I have not viewed the different Greek texts that are in question. Even if I did, I would still not be a threat because I don't speak, read or write Greek. There is my concession.

Fourth of all, I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. I got to spend time with my family, which doesn't happen often enough. Ate plenty of food. Have three more days off to look forward to. And I am so thankful for so many things. Give God thanks every day this year!

God Bless!

“…holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:” Heb. 12:14

THE Bible

Sorry I haven’t been posting very regularly the past few days. I guess if I don’t have much to say, I won’t post much. No sense in me boring you with thoughtless rambling.

I was in a wedding this last weekend. A young man in the church we have been attending got married and asked me to stand up with him as a groomsman. Not a big deal. The wedding was not held in our church for size reasons. Our church is much too small to hold all of the people that attended; and also this church was closer to the bride’s home. Getting to my point…in the hallway of this church they had a table set up for sign-up sheets and free literature and so forth. What struck me was the Bibles. They had several different Bibles set up with price tags on them. It just confused me. If someone needed a Bible, should we be selling it to them? In the church? Is there a price tag on Christianity? I have a problem with selling things in the church to begin with. Call me a conservative fundamentalist. But to sell the Bible in church. I have been trying to think back to all of the churches I’ve been in, if any of them have SOLD Bibles. I can’t think of any. I have been to churches that have bought boxes of Bibles in case someone needed one they could give it away. For crying out loud…we give Bibles away in the front lobby of my work, and I wouldn’t even call our company a ‘Christian’ company. We are a manufacturing facility! To SELL a Bible in church. I have given Bibles away to people at work who did not have one. We usually have several Bibles on hand at home. Not necessarily to give away, but we always have them on hand. I have even offered people my ‘good’ Bible because that’s the one I had with me at the time. You know, the one with real leather. The one with all of my personal notes. It is my belief that we need to flood the world with God’s word. Even if it’s at a financial ‘loss’. If our financial loss is their spiritual gain, to me it is well worth it. If someone reading this goes to a church that sells Bibles and can explain the concept, I am very eager to hear. Who knows, maybe if someone was in a real ‘need’ for a Bible, they would give one away.

I wonder what kind of a difference it would have made on Brother Andrew’s ministry if he would have sold Bibles behind the Iron Curtain as opposed to give them away? (If you don’t know who Brother Andrew is, get the book God’s Smuggler written by Brother Andrew. It’s a great read for the whole family! Those local to me can borrow it, or I‘ll give it away if it inspires you!!)

As a side note, the Bibles for sale were sitting right next to the sign-up sheet for Cheerleading Camp...maybe that sums it all up.

The second point to this post:

I got up yesterday morning with every intention of posting here. I grabbed a book (Experiencing the Presence of God by Charles Finney) off of our book shelf to see if God wanted me to share anything from there. Nothing. He was a great writer, but a lot of times he is a bit deep to just grab a paragraph here or there. So I went to another book. A book I purchased a while back but haven’t taken the opportunity to sit down and read. I started leafing through it and kind of got hooked. The next thing I know, it’s time to leave for work. I will probably be sharing from this book in the future. I am not a Biblical scholar, but this book confirms what I have believed for the past few years about the many Bible translations. I don’t intend on making any friends by saying that I believe the King James Bible is the only accurate Bible we have. Before you fly off the handle, I am not saying that people can’t get saved using the other translations, or that you can’t grow closer to the Lord using the other translations. From articles that I have read from resources that I trust, I believe that the KJV is the accurate one. The book is called Which Version Is The Bible? and was written by Dr. Floyd Nolen Jones , Th.D., Ph.D. On the copyright page, it reads this: “Neither Dr. Jones nor his family receives royalties or remuneration from the sale of this book. Its distribution is not a business venture, it is a ministry.” There are three questions on the front cover that he is tackling: Is the Word of God on planet earth today? If so, where is it? And , Why do the modern versions read so differently from all the older English versions? So far, I’m only through about 20 pages. It is very easy reading and very well organized. Just a sample, the back cover reads this:

“Nearly everyone has the impression that the difference in wording between modern translations and the 1611 King James Bible, as well as the other older English versions, is mainly due to synonym choices and language changes. Such is not the situation. The outrageous reason is that almost all translations since 1881 have been made from a drastically different Greek text than was used to prepare the older versions. The traditional Greek text has been replaced! Yet 90-95% of all extant Greek New Testament manuscripts agree with each other and the traditional text as well as the old versions, but they do not agree with the extremely few upon which the new Greek text is based.

The reason for this dismaying development is that modern textual critics have been seduced into accepting a theory whereby this “minority” text is said to contain older readings than those found in the vast majority. Being supposed older, the “minority” is deemed superior.

This exposé documents that such is not true and that the traditional majority Greek readings are the preserved original biblical text. Moreover, state of the art technology enabling the user to differentiate between twenty separate thin layers of a single papyrus sheet has allowed recent papyrology studies to take this time honored text back to around 66 AD - the time of Christ’s Apostles and nearly 300 years older than the manuscripts underlying the minority text!”

Well, that’s that. I also have another article that goes along with this one. Maybe I’ll get around to posting it tonight. I hope I don’t bore you with this, but I have had an interest in this for a while. I don’t want to stir up dissention, but I do believe this to be true. If you disagree, feel free to post a comment or send an e-mail.


God Bless!

“…holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:” Heb. 12:14

Faith and Fathers

We were at a church a couple weeks ago where the Youth was in charge of part of the Sunday morning message. I have no problem with that. I think it does them good to get up and share their faith. All they were instructed to do was find their favorite passage (whether it be a verse or a chapter), read it, maybe explain it and tell why it was important to them. A boy got up. He was probably 16 or 17. His first words were “I don’t ever read the Bible. I know that’s a sorry state for a Christian to be in.” He went on to tell how he had been struggling in his faith lately. Even been doubting his faith altogether. Now I have had my doubts and have struggled before. It’s usually when I’m not in the Word like I should be. When I’m not praying like I should be. That was the first thing that went through my mind when I listened to him. Romans 10:17 kept droning through my head. “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” There is no better way to increase your faith than by getting into the word of God. To read about the miracles that I believe could still happen today. To read about Christ’s love for us. That He will never leave us, nor forsake us. That His mercies are made new each day. That He is our Keeper, our Shield, our Rock, our Salvation, our Provider…. The list could go on and on. I just hope that his family (who were there) encouraged him in this. That is another thing that I struggled with. Do I share this with him? Maybe he doesn’t know this passage. I have a hard time ministering to kids when their parents are Christian and very capable. I have always thought it ironic that a parent would approach a youth pastor and inform him that now is the time to share the gospel with their child. “You need to work on getting him saved.” It happens all the time. I understand that those close to you don’t always have the same effect that a stranger or someone not of the family does, but salvation is something that should be made known from the beginning. As men, we are responsible for the spiritual state of our families. I also understand that we all need to work out our own salvation, but if the Bible’s not opened in the home; if prayers aren’t heard in the home... How can we expect to raise a Godly seed if the only church they get is at church? Church should be all week long. I don’t know how this boy’s home life is. I don’t know how involved his parents are with his life. I do think they have been in church for a long time. They should understand this, shouldn’t they? I feel very strongly that there should be wide open lines of communications at home. I hope my children can trust me to bring anything to me for discussion.

I was even talking to a guy at work a couple weeks ago. He was talking about him and his daughter going to church. I said:

“What about your wife and son?”
“Oh, they don’t go to church.”
“And you’re okay with that?”
“Everybody is entitled to their own belief!”
“Mmm hmm.”
“Religion is not something we talk about at home.”

I hope and pray this is not the mentality of the majority of the church. THIS is a sorry state to be in. I can understand the boy’s dilemma. I was close to that in High School. For an adult to just be okay with his wife and son having no ‘religion’ at all. Maybe I should have asked him what he thinks church is for. What does he benefit from being there. I believe he thinks that if you’re a good person, you’re home free. If that’s the case, why are so many people wasting their time in churches on Sundays? Why is he wasting his time in church on Sunday mornings? If he believes there is more to it, how could he sit back and watch his wife and son slip into a Godless world? Once again, whether we accept the responsibility or not, I still believe that the men are responsible for the spiritual state of our families. I think if I see the boy from church again, I will run the Romans 10:17 verse by him. If (hopefully) his dad already talked to him about it, this will re-enforce it to him. If he has not, maybe this will help him.

I will write more on fathers being the spiritual leaders of the house later. Until then!

God Bless!

“…holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:” Heb. 12:14

Christ is our Keeper!!

I am home, but still not adjusted. That's why I'm not posting like I should. Just wanted to share quickly though. I don't mind flying. Tuesday night on the plane into Atlanta the devil started planting seeds of doubt into my head. "This plane could go down and you will most certainly die. Your wife will be left at home alone with all of the children." Than we would hit an air pocket and the plane would bounce. All the while I was reading Charles Finney. He was writing about Christ being our keeper. He quoted from Psalm 121:1-8:

¹ I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. ² My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. ³ He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. ⁴ Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. ⁵ The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand. ⁶ The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. ⁷ The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. ⁸ The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

Have you ever felt like shouting on an airplane. I didn't, but I wanted to. That passage just renewed my soul. I didn't have another problem the whole trip. Well, besides the lady behind me who decided to squeeze her bag of pretzles open when I was almost asleep. Being awakened by a large POP! when you're sleeping on an airplane is not good for anyone's heart. God is faithful, though.

God Bless!

“…holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:” Heb. 12:14

Character House

“…you have injured your own character. A man’s character is like his house. If he tears boards off his house and burns them to keep himself warm and comfortable, his house soon becomes a ruin. If he tells lies to be able to do the things he shouldn’t do but wants to, his character will soon become a ruin. A man with a ruined character is a shame on the face of the earth.”
Spoken by Charles Moody from the book “Little Britches” written by Ralph Moody.

I tore down my Character House one day last week. Both at work and at home. I can only hope and pray that it is restored to God’s glory. At work I made an inappropriate comment to someone; an unbeliever. It wasn’t sexual or vulgar. It was demeaning to someone else. As soon as I said it I regretted it. What made it worse was his saying “Gosh, and I thought you were the nice Christian type!” I could only respond “I am and I’m sorry.” I could care less if this guy thinks I’m a jerk. What killed me was thinking what his impression of a Christian has become. Am I working for the Kingdom or against it? Through God’s grace and mercy I have made a pretty good name for myself at work. How quickly I could throw all of that away. And not only ruin my name, but more importantly ruin Christ’s name as well.

Your character house is completely under your control. Only you can build it up. Only you can tear it down. I have seen people try to tear others’ down. If you have a truly good character, people will ignore the stories and rumors people conspire against you to damage it. I have seen people try to build others’ up. Parents ‘hoping’ their children will ‘inherit’ their good morals, work ethic and spirituality without actually training it into them. Only you can tear it down; your speech and actions. Only you can build it up; your servant-hood, your speech and actions. No-one can take your character house from you. It is yours. It is either your curse or your blessing.

I gave up control here at home that same evening. No, I didn’t lose control. To me, to say that you lost control makes it sound like it wasn’t your fault. It was something you couldn’t help. I could help it, just like most other people that allow their temper to get away from them. I let the evil one get the best of me. I lashed out. Once again, I regret it. I apologized. Does that make it all better? I believe my family has forgiven me. But does THAT make it all better? What memory will my children have of me as they grow. One that loves them and expresses that love. Or one that lashes out wildly at any minor whim? I hated the feeling that came over me. No, I didn’t hit anyone or abuse anyone. They certainly knew my displeasure and frustration, though. Yes, I was displeased and frustrated but that never gives me the right to act the way I did. Paul says in Ephesians 4:26 to “Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:” I got part of it right. I didn’t “…let the sun go down upon my wrath:” Still, the part that tore me up was my boys. Don’t get me wrong. It is hard for me to make my daughters cry. But my boys. Is this the type of father I want my boys to become. One that doesn’t control their anger. If I don’t get myself under control, it will be. I made it a point to talk to my oldest son (9 yrs old) and explain to him that it was wrong for me to act the way I did. It was never okay to be like that. Than I had him pray for me. I think that helped to show him my sorrow for my actions. We both cried. My wife handled it like a champ. She cried too, but she never let herself get out of control. She never yelled at me. She just said in a calm, collective tone: “Troy, your upsetting the children.”

My character house is something I’ve been working on for thirty years. Actually making positive progress for about five (by God‘s grace). It’s so hard to take a bad name and make it good. It takes time, work and trust. How easy it is to tear it down. In a matter of moments, your character house can be in ruins. I pray that the Lord will help me to restore my character house. Proverbs 22:1 says: “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favor rather than silver and gold.”

This taught me multiple lessons. One is that non-believers don’t expect (nor should they) Christians to take part in ‘coarse joking’. That has been hard for me to overcome. I have never really been a serious person. I can verbally duel with the best of them. I really feel we need to have a ‘sound speech’, though. Christ and salvation are serious matters. I don’t think we should be all gloom and doom either. A smile on your face and a “Good morning!” does wonders. Another lesson is that people are always watching you. Friends and family. We need to ALWAYS be on guard. If your family thinks you’re a hero (especially with little children) it is very easy to ruin that image with a few words and an angry spirit. I want to be my children’s hero again. I really don’t think I have done any long-term damage to my family with last weeks episode. It certainly opened my eyes to how quickly it can slip away. God, once again, has been merciful!

God Bless!

“…holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:” Heb. 12:14

P.S. Posting might be kind of sporadic this week. I will be very busy at work and I have a wedding to be in at the end of the week. Tuesday afternoon and all day Wednesday I will be in Atlanta. I will try to keep up on posting when I’m home. Thanks for reading!

My Eyes Are Dry

My eyes are dry
My faith is old
My heart is hard
My prayers are cold
And I know how I ought to be
Alive to You and dead to me

But what can be done
For an old heart like mine
Soften it up
With oil and wine
The oil is You, Your Spirit of love
Please wash me anew
With the wine of Your Blood

My Eyes Are Dry - Keith Green

Ever get to this point? Honestly? I think if we were all honest with ourselves, we can say “Yes, I have been there.” Many times you don’t feel yourself getting there. It almost appears that you wake up one morning and you’re there. After I’m there, I can always look back and realize that, yes I have been neglecting my prayer time. I have not been in the Word like I should be. But what can I do?

First we need to confess our faults and pour ourselves out to God. Cry out to Him and plead for forgiveness. We could take some tips from King David.

Psalm 51
1 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. 5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. 6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. 7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. 9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. 12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. 13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee. 14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. 15 O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise. 16 For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. 18 Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem. 19 Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.

I understand that this was David’s prayer after Nathan confronted him regarding the Bath-sheba incident. That was a very serious matter. Spiritual death or Spiritual coldness is a serious matter also. First we need to get honest with ourselves. Are we where we need to be? Maybe not where we need to be, but are we where we once were? Has your Spiritual life been suffering? Second, we need to get honest with God. Only by His strength can it be made right. Only by His strength can we get where we need to be. To do our part we need only to be honest and to have “a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart.”

God Bless!
“…holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:” Heb. 12:14

Holiness Demanded

This morning, I want to share with you from Charles Spurgeon again. I like Charles Spurgeon. He’s no-nonsense. This is a sermon titled ‘Holiness Demanded’ and it was delivered in 1862. It’s quite a lengthy sermon. I pulled out just a bit of it this morning. It is very good reading in it’s entirety. If you have an opportunity to read the whole thing, I would highly recommend it. You can find this sermon at: www.spurgeon.org/sermons/2902.htm . From there you can navigate to other sermons from Spurgeon.

II. Now, then, for the second point very briefly indeed: "Without holiness, no man shall see the Lord;" that is to say, no man can have communion with God in this life, and no man can have enjoyment with God in the life to come, without holiness. "Can two walk together except they be agreed?" If thou goest with Belial, dost thou think that Christ will go with thee? Will Christ be a pot companion for thee? Dost thou expect to take the Lord of love and mercy with thee to the haunts of sin? Professor, dost thou think the just and holy One will stand at thy counter to be co-trader with thee in thy tricks? What thinkest thou, O man! wouldst thou make Christ a sharer of thy guilt? and yet he would be so if he had fellowship with thee in it. Nay, if thou wilt go on in acts of unrighteousness and unholiness, Christ parts company with thee, or, rather, thou never didst have any fellowship with him. Thou hast gone out from us because thou wert not of us; for, if thou hadst been of us, doubtless thou wouldst have continued with us. And as to heaven, dost thou think to go there with thine unholiness? God smote an angel down from heaven for sin, and will he let man in with sin in his right hand? God would sooner extinguish heaven than see sin despoil it. It is enough for him to bear with thine hypocrisies on earth; shall he have them flung in his own face in heaven? What, shall an unholy life utter its licentiousness in the golden streets? Shall there be sin in that higher and better paradise? No, no; God has sworn by his holiness—and he will not, he cannot lie, —that those who are not holy, whom his Spirit has not renewed, who have not been, by the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit, made to love that which is good, and hate that which is evil, shall never stand in the congregation of the righteous. Sinner, it is a settled matter with God that no man shall see him without holiness.

This is preaching you don’t hear much of today. This is a sermon, when printed out, that is about ten pages long. This is just a wee portion.

Why don’t we hear this sort of thing preached from the pulpit, much? Are we that afraid that we might offend? Would we rather not offend than let souls slip into hell? In point III, he starts naming sins and calling out. Most people need to hear it in a simple, blunt, yet loving way. A lot of ways we hear it delivered does not bring conviction, which does not bring a change. We are almost taught (in not so many words) that we CAN hold on to sin in our lives and still be a good Christian. That God will overlook a little sin. That we can be pleasing to and have fellowship with the Lord just as you are. I have even heard people say that “God understands our flesh, so how can He be upset when we sin. He just accepts it.” I don’t think so. It is true that He loves us regardless. There is nothing we can do to change His love for us. But I also believe we can please Him. I also believe we can displease Him. Without giving up our lives to Him, and putting our faith in Him, it is not possible to please Him.

People think it’s too hard. What you don’t understand is that the way God planned it, He does all of the work. We put our faith in God to meet our needs….and He does. Our little faith, His big works. God put forth the effort to save our souls. He pays the price, we just accept it. It is our flesh (that same flesh that God is NOT pleased with) that tries to make it too complicated, when really it’s very simple. We try to justify with knowledge and logic when all we have to do is accept in faith. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God. Get in the Word. Build your faith. Please the Lord.

God Bless!

“…holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:” Heb. 12:14

Music In the Church

Yesterdays post wasn’t really about music in the church; specifically. But this is definitely a gorge in churches that separates. Regan brought up the point that we will never have a unified church because people aren’t willing to submit themselves unto someone else’s doctrine or music. This may have stemmed from Fridays post that kind of went the direction of modern music. (Regan, feel free to jump in if I have mistaken your comment.) That post wasn’t really about music in the church either, but music in general. I am not trying to be divisive in this area. I think that the music that we submit ourselves to has an effect on our thinking, behavior and even our spiritual growth. It has nothing to do with the style or my personal preference. It’s a lot about the content. If you want to call rap music poetry, call it poetry. What you hear on the radio is x-rated poetry; full of sex, violence and drugs. Rock and Roll and Pop aren’t any better. Call them what you will. I can only speak from personal experience. I know what the lyrics say in the music I used to listen to. I’m ashamed I used to listen to it.

Another example: we had a high school intern working with us this summer. He worked at the computer next to mine. He was listening to a CD on his computer. I asked him what he was listening to, in a kind and tactful manner. He told me the name of it, which I can’t remember right now. He started telling me about the type of music he likes to work out to and what he listens to before he wrestles (in competition) and what he likes to listen to when he runs. I asked him about the music he listens to before wrestling. He says it “hypes” him up. It makes him want to punch a wall and hurt someone. It helps him perform better on the mat. I asked him if that wasn’t strange that it makes him want to “punch a wall and hurt someone”. For some reason, it didn’t phase him much. I asked him if that’s the kind of music he would want his kids to listen to. He said that after high school he would probably grow up and grow out of that kind of music. “But not right now.” Maybe it’s just him that this music does this to, but I doubt it. I read a research article a few years back of the effects certain types of music has on behavior and thought patterns and so-forth. That may be part of the reason I feel so strongly about this. And because of the effect it had on my life. Maybe it doesn’t effect everyone the same way. Once again, I doubt it.

About music in the church. If you read the comments made to yesterdays post, I mentioned being non-instrumental. This is not a preference. I don’t have a problem with instruments. We are not non-instrumental where we go now. I personally like the piano and the organ and the tambourine and maybe even the acoustical guitar. If it happened to offend someone, I would say “get rid of them all”. No, I’m not trying to be a jerk or throw a fit. I just think that music is a foolish thing to split over. It should not be the music program that holds a church together. If it is, there is a deeper problem. If the power went out at your church and the amplifiers stopped working, could the band put their instruments down and finish the service? If so, that’s what it’s about. Worshipping God with our hearts. If that’s using a guitar, than use a guitar. I know most of us have voices, though. And I don’t think God cares if I can’t sing on tune. If it comes from my heart, it’s pleasing to the Lord. I have also seen emotions run a service, too. I don’t think we should look to our worship service for the “high” we might get from it. And not just from the band. I have seen the song leader let their emotions run rampant when it just them and an organ. The song service, I feel, should compliment the teaching/preaching service. Not overshadow it.

There is no way around it. Music will always be divisive. And it’s not just because it’s not what Troy wants. Like I said, I love to hear instruments. We love music in our house. But in church. If we don’t allow it in, there is nothing to be divisive about. If the rule is set and not wavered upon, people coming in know the rules and the rules won’t be changed. I’ve been to black churches where the piano or other instruments may have hindered the music portion of the service. It was beautiful. There where no drums or guitars or pianos or organs or keyboards. Nothing but the hearts and souls of the congregation. Worshipping the Lord. I am not about to say how your church needs to conduct your worship service. Obviously most people don’t disagree with the music in their church services or they wouldn’t be there. You do as the Lord leads you.

God Bless!

“…holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:” Heb. 12:14

New Link(s)

Just wanted to let you know that there is a new blog my wife has been enjoying (Connie's Corner) and asked me to pass it along. It certainly appears to be geared towards women. If you're a woman, check it out. If you're a man with a wife or older daughter, send them. Yes I have read it and yes I approve of it's content.

I have also put up a link to Mozilla Firefox. If you are unhappy with Internet Explorer or any other browser such as AOL or CompuServe, this is the place for you. Even if you are not unhappy with them, check it out. It has a lot of great features. No, I'm not making money from them. I'm just endorsing a product that I think works great! And it's free!!

The Divided Church

How can we call ourselves “THE Church” when we are so divided? Is it our pride that gets in the way that doesn’t allow us to fellowship with others who might worship a little differently? I have been to a church where the minister would say, from the pulpit, that they were the only denomination (although they don’t claim to be a denomination) going to heaven. I know that is a bold statement that most people or ministers would dare not say. But do we feel that way? The Church of Christ wont lower their standards to associate with someone who doesn‘t believe how they believe. The Baptists are too occupied with themselves. And nobody wants anything to do with the Pentecostals and charismatics. It’s not just one group. And this is not an all-inclusive list. I’m not saying that each of these groups would hold true to this across the board. I have worked in all of these groups, and in this area have seen this to be true for the most part. There are always exceptions.

I don’t believe that it will be one select group going to heaven. I don’t believe it will be one denomination. We are supposed to go out and evangelize the world, but we can’t get along with the church down the street. Can you imagine if our outreach was unified? Could you imagine the effectiveness? If we took our personal opinions and preferences out of the mix and just went out and taught the love and salvation of Jesus? If the churches in the United States were united, can you imagine the impact on the world? I have known ministers that felt so grudgingly towards each other they would not even say “hello” on the street. I believe that Satan has the church in a state of dissention that only God could pull us out of. If Satan can keep us out of union with each other, this greatly reduces our effectiveness. We dislike each other so much. How can we grow spiritually if we have a hatred in our hearts. If we feel we are the only ones right, how can we be teachable? This is not even going into non-unity within a specific denomination or even a specific congregation. We have built such solid walls between denominations that no man could pull them down.

I read a book a while ago about the Chinese underground church. About the unity they had from house-church to house-church. A big problem was the shortage of Bibles. They sent the message out expressing what they needed. People started send Bibles and all was good. They had a Bible and a faith that could not be quenched. They were seeing miracles and healings and God moving so heavily on the Chinese people. These were not Pentecostal or charismatic people. Like I said, they had a Bible and a faith. Than, along with the Bibles, people started sending denominational literature with the Bibles. This caused such a split in the churches, they still have not fully recovered. They were now sending out requests for Bibles and nothing more. They can see what damaging effects a divided body has. Why can’t we see it?

All true Christians have the same goal in mind. Why can’t we put our selfish pride and worship styles on the back burner and get along with people? I don’t foresee a global church. I don’t think all churches will unite any time soon. And like I said, if it does happen, it’s only by the grace of God. What can we do on more of a local level, or even personal level that could help this cause? I need to look at myself and see what walls I have built that need to come down. Just something to think about.

God Bless!

“…holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:” Heb. 12:14

Are You NUTS?!?!?!

“Are you NUTS?!?! Your poor wife!” That’s what I heard last week from a lady at work when I told her my wife was expecting again. No we are not Catholic, Mormon or Amish. And yes I do know what causes it. We have five children and like I said, my wife is expecting number six.

Our thought is that if you give your life to God, that is indeed what you do. GIVE your life to God. If you say that God knows what is best for your life, He should know best how many children you have, where you should be working, going to church, etc. You give everything to God. That is a hard one to get a hold of. You feel secure enough with giving Him your salvation, but is that where it stops?

“God gave us a brain to think with, didn‘t He?” Of course He did. But He gave us a faith in Him that He wants us to practice, also. “How many are you going to have?” is another one I hear a lot. Usually my answer is “We'll stop when we get an ugly one” or “when God chooses not to give us anymore” (depending on my mood or who is asking).

Another thing I have realized. Just because a person says they are anti-abortion, it certainly doesn’t mean they are pro-life. Pro-life would mean FOR life. For more life. I know I might be playing on the terminology a bit, but I hear the same comments from Christians and un-saved alike. You say you are a supporter of life, “but we only want one or two!” You wouldn’t believe the criticism I get when people realize we have a medium-sized family. I have heard it from all over.

I am not even going to touch on tubal ligations and vasectomies this morning. I will say, though. If (men) your wife is taking “the pill” or (women) if you are taking “the pill”, please do the research and know what you are taking. I’m not talking the morning after pill. I’m talking ‘birth-control’ pills. Ask your doctor or do your own research. Most pills don’t prevent conception like we are led to believe. It prevents the conceived life from implanting for nourishment and growth. In effect, your body then aborts the conceived life. If you are insistent on controlling your family population, there are natural ways to do it.

I know it’s short and there is really a lot more I’d like to say on this topic, but I need to get going.

God Bless!

“…holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:” Heb. 12:14

Holy Living part 2

Sorry I didn't post this this morning but Blogger wouldn't let me in.

Alright, back into it.

Back to a previous statement. How can we be lights to the dark world when we appear dark? When we look like, act like, talk like and do the same things as the world, where is the light/dark contrast? I truly feel that if we are not different from the world, we will not be effective. And I’m not saying ‘different’ as that we are saved and the world is not. I am saying lifestyle differences. We should be noticeably different. Not necessarily Amish different. I have a problem with today’s music. It’s full of sex, drugs, violence, more sex and sex. I also have a problem with taking today’s music and putting new words to it and calling it ’Christian’. Job 14:4 says "Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Not one." I have a problem with Christians listening to this music…especially the secular music. It’s vulgar and angry. We put that into our bodies and spirits and expect it NOT to change us? Music can become like a drug. I’ve been there. I know. There was a time when I couldn’t wait to get into my car and go somewhere so I could turn up my music loud and listen to what my wife didn’t want me listening to in the house around the little ones. It was like an addiction. Praise God He has removed that stronghold from me. I am still plagued by the music I used to listen to though. If I hear a bit of an old song I used to listen to, all of the lyrics and beats and memories of that song come flooding back over me. I am not proud of that. I think it’s unfortunate. This stuff sticks in you. An example; some of my children play musical instruments. The songs they are working on, they are supposed to listen to several times a day on CD to learn tone, rhythm, speed and so on. One night at about 1:30 a.m. our almost two year old woke up to be fed and cuddled. She didn’t cry or call for ‘mama’ but she was humming one of the children’s musical pieces they were working on. She was humming it perfectly! Please don’t tell me that you listen to it ‘just for the beat’. The words stick in you just like the musical piece stuck with my daughter. If we are supposed to think on the "…true,…honest,…just,…pure,…lovely,…and things of good report;" (Philippians 3:12) today’s music doesn’t fall into those categories. And I started out listening to ‘Christian’ music. It was soon that it didn’t satisfy. It wasn’t long until my standards for ’good’ music was so low that I was listening to anything and everything. Ask my wife, she will tell you.

Apply the previous paragraph to movies and television, also. The television is so full of sex it’s humiliating. We make promiscuity to be okay. We have soft porn on in the daytime (not that the evenings or nights would make it alright) with soap operas. I used to watch those, too. The commercials on TV are terrible…you can’t even sell a soft drink or sandwich or vehicle or anything without using sex. "Well, I just watch sports." I’ve heard that before. And you just watch the beer commercials in between. The last sporting event I watched was the Stanley Cup Playoffs a couple of years ago. No more…never again. We had to turn the channel at commercial times because of the smut. Half naked cheerleaders on the football field. The Janet Jackson incident. It tares me up to think that ‘ministers’ or ‘shepherds’ were allowing youth to watch that. You may think that I’m a prude. Do an experiment for me. Shut your TV off and stop listening to trashy music and get rid of the smutty magazines like People for a couple weeks or a couple months. Than turn the TV back on. It will shock you what you watched before without even realizing the pollution. We have grown so calloused to the immoral that it doesn’t bother us any more. I’m not just talking fellow lay people. I’m talking ministers of the gospel, elders, deacons…all addicted to media and entertainment. I used to justify watching inappropriate things on TV saying that "at least my kids are in bed" or that "it’s not that bad at prime time for your kids to watch." What makes it not right for your kids to watch…is it the language or the sex or the violence? What makes it wrong for them to watch and not wrong for you to watch? I was hypocritical in saying those things. If you have ever said those things, you too are a hypocrite. Why do we think we can handle it any better than they can? Because we can filter through the bad? Would you filter out your septic water with a strainer and assume the water is okay to drink? And I’m telling you, the world is slipping things onto TV slowly and quietly. At first your surprised to hear a certain word or to see that much of a body. Than again, and again, and again until it’s no big deal. Than it’s earlier in the evening. Soon the things that were shocking and inappropriate five years ago are making it prime time. I’ve watched that happen over my short 30 year life-span.

Well, this post took a turn that I did not expect. I’m not sorry it did. These things have bothered me for a long time. Like I said, I know about these things. I’ve lived through it. Praise God for His mercy; it‘s in my past! If you deny any of the things you have read, you need to seek God in this matter. I am completely convinced that the trash of the world is good for nobody. If you deny it, that’s what it is…denial. How many alcoholics admit they have a problem. These issues are problems. They are strongholds. Giving these things up will not make you a perfect Christian. I am not a perfect Christian. I find it hard to believe that the Holy Spirit would dwell in a vessel full of the world’s dirt and filth, though. The Bible might have something to say about that. If you’re a Christian, get off of the fence. Get both feet on one side or the other. If you want the world, take it. If you want the Lord, forsake the world.

God Bless!

"…holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:" Heb. 12:14

Holy Living part 1

This is it. This is my first (of possibly many) posts focused on Holy Living. I don’t want to put it into one post for two reasons. 1st is the length. I have a lot to say and most people don’t finish reading long posts. And 2nd is the time. I post in the morning before I go to work. I shouldn’t be late to work.

If you haven’t read any of my posts in the past, I would encourage you to read “What Have You Given Up Lately?” because it goes along with what I might say today. Lets face it, to live a Holy Life, God is going to ask you to give some things up. But where do you start? I think a great starting point would be to read 1 Timothy. He (Paul) gives qualifications of a Bishop (overseer, elder…) as well as a Deacon. I had a similar conversation on someone else’s blog a while back. Why not strive or aim for the High goals? Why aren’t we encouraged in our churches to desire the office of eldership? Are ministers afraid to let people read or study the Bible for themselves? Do they fear a hostile takeover? Do they fear that someone might realize their spiritual life doesn’t measure up to the patterns in the scripture? The early Catholic church fastened the Bible to the pulpit so no one could take it out of the church. They wouldn’t allow the Bible to be translated into the ‘common’ language. Today is different, though. They don’t discourage Bible reading (although it’s not often encouraged). Ministers don’t fear the people reading their Bibles too much because they know better. That hasn’t been a problem for a long time. Not since the invent of the TV, video games, radio, computer, internet (plug your struggle in here). What is the fear? Why aren’t we encouraged to live a Holy Life? To read and study on our own?

1 Timothy 3
2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; 3 Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; 4 One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; 5 (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) 6 Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7 Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

Even though I may never become an elder or deacon, I view this passage as a call to holiness. Aren’t these characteristics all desirable? Wife, wouldn’t you like your husband to measure up to this? And this is certainly not the only passage in scripture that leads to a Holy Life. Titus 2 encourages us to have sound speech and sober minds so people can’t give an evil report of you. 2 Timothy says we need to be gentle to all men, apt to teach, patient, instructing in meekness. These are just a few examples. Holy Living isn’t just to benefit you. Like the Titus passage says, so people can’t give an evil report of you. This is how we are a light to those around us. I personally find it hard for us to be an example to the world when we are so much like the world. God has called us to a higher standard of living than the world. That is why we can’t look down upon those not saved. We can’t expect them to live according to the Biblical teachings when they don’t own or have never read a Bible. We have. We know the scriptures. Why aren’t we living according to them?

Back to a previous statement. How can we be lights to the dark world when we appear dark? When we look, act like, talk like and do the same things as the world, where is the light/dark contrast?

I don't like leaving this un-finished but I will pick up tomorrow where I left off today. Think on these things, have a great day and…

God Bless!

“…holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:” Heb. 12:14

Still Waiting

Well, now we wait. We wait to see how big of a stink we make over this.

When we went to bed last night at about 11:00 EST President Bush had a pretty sizable lead. We were really waiting to see who took Ohio and Florida. Two key swing states. We were multi-tabbing on the web (thanks to Mozilla) between Fox News, CNN, MSN and possibly some others. Most of them were pretty consistent. Like I said, we went to bed.

My wife got up at 1:30 this morning to use the bathroom and get the baby. She said "why don't you go downstairs and check things out." I was sleeping very good and mumbled something about it being alright and tried to go back to sleep. After that, I started having nightmares. It was Sen. Kerry's booming voice saying "Kerry wins Ohio...Kerry wins Florida...Kerry wins Pennsylvania." Needless to say, I wasn't sleeping well after that. I got up at 2:30 and came downstairs. I checked four different websites. The previously mentioned and one other that I can't remember (it was early). Two of them said that President Bush was at 269 electoral votes (needing 270 to win). The other two could not agree on where Bush was and all four of them had Kerry at all different electoral votes!?!? Two of them said Ohio was Bush's and the other two said it was too close to tell just yet. I checked the break-down by states and Fox News reported that Bush gathered over 100,000 more votes in Ohio than did Kerry. What's in question? After all is said and done it wouldn’t surprise me to see a disgruntled Al Gor..I mean John Kerry down in Florida somewhere wearing flannel and sporting a bushy beard. That’s my election prediction.

Tomorrow, hopefully back to normal. Spiritual, life changing issues. Until then.

God Bless!

“…holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:” Heb. 12:14

Election Day; God's Longsuffering or God's Judgment

Happy Election Tuesday from the Swing-State!

Today we decide the fate of our great nation. Do we hand over the reins of our leadership and security to a new man and the United Nations or do we ride this storm out like a cowboy? We could argue, debate, fight and disagree but does it matter? I mean after all, the Weekly Reader Poll has already been taken. Isn't that good enough?

We buckeyes don't measure the scale...we own the scale. After hearing that Ohio usually decides the election I felt pretty confident. You drive through our town and many other small towns in our area and all the signs point to Bush/Cheney. Than I spent some time out by Cleveland last week and their signs are telling a different story. It could go either way. How should we feel if our candidate doesn't get in? Is it all doom if John Kerry gets into office? Is it all better if George Bush stays in office? You see what my title is today. I believe that God is in complete control of who gets elected President. Obviously we have free-will to vote for whoever we want, but I believe God puts in office who he wants (or who we need) in office. Let me explain. If elections were in November of 2001 when America was still in her "God Bless America" fad, I have no doubts that George Bush would have been re-elected in a heart beat. Why not put a 'religious' man in charge of a 'religious' nation? Well, that phase is past. I no longer see "God Bless America" on Gas Station signs or Liquor Store signs or Bar signs or even Church signs. Most church signs are the cutesy little creative sayings like "Sign Broken: Message Inside". Do people actually fall for that? Anyways, back to the subject. Our religious feelings didn't last long. We don't want to be a Christian society. We like to be un-decided. Don't label me as Christian because it takes away too many of my liberties. We are on a moral decline. What's to say we don't vote in John Kerry and things fall apart? Maybe this is God's way of drawing us back to Him.

When God set up kings in Israel, I can't help but believe that He had intentions of bringing His people back to Him. Especially with the wicked kings. Look at the attacks that went on. Than people would repent and call out to God and God would pull them out. Is He looking for us to repent? This may be God's Judgment. I'm not saying that I agree with the 9/11 attacks or anything of that sort. But I do believe God knew they were coming. Why He let them happen is beyond me. The book of Job proves that the devil has to have God's permission before afflicting a person (or I believe a people). I believe the pressure will increase until we make a turn back to God.

On the flip side, I do not believe that George Bush will make all of the problems go away. I know that he is not a perfect man, leader or Christian. I do believe that he seeks the Lord, though. To me, that is a big factor. Who knows, he may be the man standing in the gap.

Regardless of who gets voted in, remember the words of Ecclesiastes 10:20 "Curse not the king, no not in thy thought; and curse not the rich in thy bedchamber: for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter." Yes, it is true that this was probably written by Solomon, a king and a rich man. But none-the-less. I think that we have to trust God in His doings. It will be hard not to complain if my candidate doesn't get elected; but God is in control.

P.S. I put another link off to the left, there. A great ministry helping in child-rearing, home schooling and all around sound Biblical teaching. They have a lot of resources available. Definitely one of our favorite ministries. If the link doesn't work for some reason, it's nogreaterjoy.org. Visit them today, and tell them Troy sent you...they'll have no idea what you're talking about.

God Bless!

“…holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:” Heb. 12:14

Love Not the World

1 John 2
¹⁵ 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. ¹⁶ For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. ¹⁷ And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

Pretty much says it all right there. Besides, I don't have much time.

P.S. Don't forget to get out and vote tomorrow. And don't forget to pray about the election. It has the potential to get ugly. This could also create serious division in this country. We are dealing with some extremes in this election. Pray, pray, pray; and vote for the RIGHT person!

God Bless!

“…holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:” Heb. 12:14

Slow Weekends

Posts may be slim here on the weekends, so don't plan your days around them. I do appreciate those of you who read and those of you who post comments. Like Regan commented the other day, I don't argue or bring up stirring issues to force my views upon or make personal attacks against anyone. Obviously I think I'm right or else I wouldn't post it. And typically I will post only on things that I have thought through, studied through and/or prayed through. These topics I feel strongly on. I have been proven wrong in the past and I am grateful for those who care enough to correct an error in my thinking. I will not always be convinced that I am wrong, but once again, I appreciate those who are willing to confront. I don't want to be demeaning or sound 'holier than thou'. I do think we need to teach/preach with authority. I feel passionate about these issues. When I start writing about them, it just kind of bubbles over. It just flows. I don't want people to missunderstand me. Mainly those of you who don't know me personally. I write because I feel the church is in a dangerous state. I only want to encourage people to take a look at your spiritual life. I know I'm not perfect. I know I have faults of my own. And yes, I do struggle with pride at times. But believe me when I say, I write this from my heart. I love those of you that I know. And if I knew the rest of you, I'm sure I would love you too. I don't write out of pride; I write out of love. Anyways, keep reading; keep commenting; keep sending your friends and family to read. I do claim to have ALL of the answers...Jesus is that answer!

P.S. If I miss a day here or there, don't be upset. Like last week, I found out on Wednesday afternoon that I would be traveling to the Cleveland, Ohio area for work that night and the next day. I will try to warn you when I will be missing a day and maybe try to have something to fill in. Have a great weekend!

God Bless!

“…holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:” Heb. 12:14

A Literal Bible II

Wow, thanks for the comments the other day, guys. I was going to apologize for not posting yesterday, but you guys took care of the reading material for me. Thanks.

Believe me when I say that I am not trying to be divisive. I think the church has enough problems without Troy dividing the flock on top of it. On the other hand, I also think that we are too passive with key elements of the Bible. For some reason we have ‘buzz-words’ or ‘buzz-topics’ of the Bible that we are not supposed to speak about. I think that is a dangerous situation. I’ve heard so many people, even Christians, say that you shouldn’t talk about religion with your friends. This doesn’t make much sense to me. I really kind of doubt if this was Paul’s attitude. My intentions for writing these posts are to encourage us in our faith. To encourage that there is more Jesus out there (or in there in your heart) than what you might know. That there is more to it than being in the world. We don’t have to be, and shouldn’t be of the world. I am not sorry for writing the post on Wednesday. If it made someone consider that we can believe the whole Bible as true and accurate, than that’s what my goal was. To me, to say that some may be literal and some may be figurative, what message are we sending to new believers. Are we telling them that you have to be careful what you read and believe in the Bible because all is not literal? That just sounds confusing. Or that they need to learn the Hebrew and Greek language before they can own and read a Bible?!?! I understand that I have a simple thought pattern. I understand that I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed. I also know that the Bible said that the words in it are inspired by Him. I also know that is says in Revelation that anything added to it or taken away from it are the mixings of bad things happening. I am not willing to risk throwing my interpretations in to it. I am trying to take it as literal as I can. The way it comes off the pages into my simple mind. The post on Wednesday, like I said, wasn’t even about the fact of creation., but indeed about taking the Bible literal. About living holy. Keep reading this blog. I will soon be talking about holy living. That might make someone else mad. That’s not my goal either. I don’t want to make people mad. I want people to take their faith seriously. I don’t think sermons or Bible lessons have to be full of jokes to keep peoples interest. If you have to sing a song or do a dance to keep them focused, they are there for the wrong reasons. And if you give in to that ministering, you are there for the wrong reason. “But they might leave if I don’t entertain. That might effect my numbers.” So…let them leave. And if you are a minister of the gospel and you like to ‘play’ church too, than maybe it’s your time to step down. Like the article written by Spurgeon, we were not called to perform and entertain. We were called to preach the straight-forward, hard-hitting, true gospel of Jesus Christ. It’s time to clean up the church of Christ (not the church called the Church of Christ). This is the Bride of Jesus that he is coming back for. Why are we prostituting her? Will he come back for some unclean, used, abused, social gathering? We need to wake up. I think that taking the whole Bible literally is a good starting point. Without it and the Holy Spirit, we certainly would be lost.

Keep reading and always feel free to post a comment. Just keep it clean! And one more thing, is this font too small? These are the things that a simple mind struggles with.

God Bless!

“…holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:” Heb. 12:14