Revelation Letter to the Church of America

To the angel of the church of America write; These things saith he that is the Creator, yet forgotten; he that provides your every need and loves and cherishes you, but am your last resort.

You get so weary so quickly with the race before you because you are a lazy and impatient generation. Your temples are beautiful but are costly. The price is the souls of men; the sick, the weary, the poor and needy are neglected because you are bound by them. What goes on in the temples is an abomination. It is idolatry that belongs in the synagogue of Satan. To keep people coming, they must be entertained. Men and children need movies and sports to keep their interest. Women need pampered or pitied. You are luke-warm. You desire to have one foot in the world and one foot in my kingdom. It cannot be so. You will be numbered with the goats on that final day.

You have kept me in a box and taken away my power by your lack of faith. Your interest in me is so small that you don't even seek signs and wonders any longer. Your doctors and lawyers and educators are getting fat from you. Come unto me for your health and protection and learning. I dare not chasten or rebuke you lest you turn on me or abandon your faith completely. You have been drinking the milk of your religion for too long; you have no desire for meat. The meat you do receive sits heavy in your stomach until you spew it out and reject it completely. Little or none of it has been digested.

Your leaders are like old king David who was concerned with numbering his flock. For this he was punished. Repent and turn back to the young shepherd David who was more concerned with the state of his flock. For this he was blessed. You no longer speak my words in the hearing of the congregation. If you do speak my words, they are so watered down they are barely recognizable. They don't bring conviction. They don't bring repentance. They don't bring self-examination. I will judge those who don't judge themselves.

You too have lost your first love; for me and your brothers and sisters. Your families are falling apart because I am not welcome there. You are not patient with your children, your neighbors, yourselves and especially not with me. You put your trust in yourself. Trust me and my timing. The cross you have been called to bear is not a heavy one. Uncomfortable at times; yes, but not heavy.

There are a few among you who have continued the race faithfully. Those that have not grown comfortable or complacent in the journey. You will be mocked. You will be tried. You will be rebuked and chastised. I chasten and rebuke those that I love. Be faithful and overcome and you will eat with me at my table. Your name will remain as clean in my book as the day it was written. The goats will be blotted out. Their zeal has been forgotten. So too will their names be forgotten.

He that hath an ear. Let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

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