ICarly.. a show to Tweens?

A rather new show on Nickelodeon is ICarly. The kids became quite famous filming short videos things just escalated from there.
The Commercials actually struck my attention this weekend, when both leading ladies (preteens) were fighting over one boy, which they tell you on their website http://www.icarly.com/ How hot he is and tells you to click a link and see for yourself how hot the boy is.

They strike up a deal, the first one to kiss him, wins. Basically even the argument, the one girl accuses the other of her "special helping bra".

Now if you have children, or plan on having children. You know one thing. You want your children to remain pure. You teach them to not get promiscuous with the opposite sex.

But how can this be attained if we let our children watch these kind of shows?
Even on one commercial, one of the girls tells everyone of a new episode. It then cuts to a young man fresh out of the shower in a towel..and she says, "No, not nude, New!" So once again..attention is directed in the wrong kind of attention.

I know when you put on a channel for children, we expect our children to be able to watch shows that are adequate for your age, and yet this is not happening.

Face it.. the devil is after our kids,and he is coming boldly after them.
If you go to the site..even check out their new game. Click on Iplay..and see for yourself this game that is intended for our kids.

To me, I refuse to let my kids watch this one. Teach your kids now what is acceptable, and what is not.. look carefully over that site and see for yourself what are kids are finding in entertainment.

Talk with your kids openly. Explain to them what is acceptable and what is not.

God Bless

Ray Boltz..Comes out of the closet...

I was broken hearted when I was sent this article from the Washington Blade.

Ray Boltz, whom has sold 4.5 million records admits openly he is gay.
For those of you that do not know who Ray Boltz, you may remember his songs, "Thank You", "The Anchor Holds", along with many other inspirational songs that many have clung to in worship around the world since the 90's.

As I read this article, I was moved to tears, as I have witnessed so many lately that I love, know and respect fall away from the Lord. And yet..as I trailed through the comments left.. the 2nd from the bottom on that article broke my heart even more. A 16 year old boy thanked Ray Boltz..as he too recently told his family and friends he was gay.

I want to point out one particular paragraph from this article,

This is what it really comes down to,” he says. “If this is the way God made me, then this is the way I’m going to live. It’s not like God made me this way and he’ll send me to hell if I am who he created me to be … I really feel closer to God because I no longer hate myself.”

Yes God made us with a choice to do right or to do wrong, but he has also told us to resist temptation and the devil will FLEE FROM YOU.

Jas 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

If we use the above excuse to all of our sins.. I find it hard to swallow God would see things our way.

1Co 6:9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
1Co 6:10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
1Co 6:11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
1Co 6:12 All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.
1Co 6:13 Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body.
1Co 6:14 And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power.
1Co 6:15 Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.
1Co 6:16 What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.
1Co 6:17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.
1Co 6:18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.
1Co 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
1Co 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

Ray Boltz says he has fought this for all his life, and he can no longer hide this..he opened up to his family long ago..and to the public this month.



But for now..I want to switch the subject around. Honestly I was troubled about this news last night. As we all tend to put those in leadership and in the ministry on somewhat of a pedastal. And yet I have seen through this breaking story that we are watching many fall away. In the last several years we have watched many in the ministry give into the flesh and lead their lives, and yet many of us still go on to support them. Many will say these people show that you can be both.. like them and still a Christian.

The fact is.. being a Christian is being set apart.. one with Christ. When I reconciled my life with Christ, I made changes. Many things I changed did not come to conviction until I grew closer to the Lord and my walk with Christ strengthened. I found things that displeased God and hindered my testimony had to go as well. I found those friendships I treasured actually hindered even my own walk. I had to choose which to actually pull away from, and then I prayed for Godly friends that would hold me up in prayer..my desire is to daily grow into that image that God wants me to be..not the image I want to be.

I know there will be a great falling away before Christ returns for us..

2Th 2:1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
2Th 2:2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
2Th 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
2Th 2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
2Th 2:5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
2Th 2:6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
2Th 2:7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
2Th 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
2Th 2:9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
2Th 2:10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
2Th 2:11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
2Th 2:12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
2Th 2:13 But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:
2Th 2:14 Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2Th 2:15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.
2Th 2:16 Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace,
2Th 2:17 Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work.

And yet..My heart aches for those I love that have not surrendered or even come to Christ yet.

And Yet, last night I learned something so very important. Watching people like Ray, making life changing decisions that are not of God really hurts. But, we need to walk by faith and not by sight.

2Co 5:7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)

Sin is sin.... and we are all capable of that very sin. God can not look on our sin and why he gave the very life and blood of his son, Jesus Christ to cover our sins. Yet..we need to turn away from that very temptation. Run from it and yet speak boldly against it. How many more will come out of the closet because Ray Boltz did?

How many more will find the very sin justified because Ray thinks this is "HOW GOD MADE HIM."

Fact is.. God speaks out against this sin many times in the Bible.

Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
Rom 1:19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
Rom 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
Rom 1:21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Rom 1:22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
Rom 1:23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
Rom 1:24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
Rom 1:25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
Rom 1:26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
Rom 1:27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
Rom 1:28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
Rom 1:29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
Rom 1:30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
Rom 1:31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
Rom 1:32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

Do not take the word of Ray Boltz over God. Be careful..
Sin does not discriminate.

Is Your Walk a Delusion?

Is Your Walk a Delusion?

Isa 66:1 Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?

Isa 66:2 For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.

Isa 66:3 He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog's neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine's blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations.

Isa 66:4 I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not.

As I was looking at some of the possible reasons that many in the church are not surrendering wholly to God I came to this verse. My Pastor and I were speaking about several of these issues today after church. The conversation came after we had four people come forward and two for sure who had trusted Christ as their Lord and Savior. The thing is that this happened before service began. As I was in the room with one of the young men he was out there preaching with more liberty than he has had in awhile. We spoke about what had happened and how we do not see the body being affected. With the upcoming elections we see it as the potential for judgment upon America and yet many Christians have given into the affairs of the world which are apart from God. We discussed how they sit back and hear the word yet see it as meant for someone else. They are happy with the way things are and don’t want things to change. As I read through Matthew 24, I saw Christ telling what to look for concerning the end times and as I look around today I see it around me. I then turned to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 and again the comparison is there as I turned to 2 Timothy chapter 3 and again it was there. I then turned to the book of Jude. The more I read the more I wondered how we cannot see things that are before us and then I turned to the book of Isaiah.

It is not the church building that God wants. It doesn’t matter how big it is or what kind of media equipment we have in it or what programs we have going on in the church because these things are nice but they don’t really do anything. It doesn’t matter how much we tithe to the church or how often we volunteer to work at the church or the position that we hold within the church while they are all nice they don’t really mean anything. Now look at verse 2 and see what means something to God. This is the reason we don’t see the power in the church today. It is why the messages do not accomplish anything to the existing congregation and it is why we can’t get them excited about the things of God today. The only way to accomplish revival today is to get people broken and contrite over their sin and their lack of service to Him. In Sunday school we discussed when things seemed to change and we all agreed that a lot of change happened in the 80’s but I am sure it started before then however God tells us here that He has been calling us and no one responded and as He continues to call and none respond He sends them delusions that continue to allow them to think that they are okay. Just listen to the things that they fear. They worry about jobs, about the economy, about their health, their families, their savings, and as the list goes on we can see that none of the things that they mention concern God or the lost. As we come to the end of verse 4 we see that they did the things that do not delight Him. It is not about us but about Him when it comes to our service and our worship.

In Exodus chapter 33 we have God telling the people to go on into the land flowing with milk and honey but He was not going to go with them. Moses replied that he would not go without God and set His tent out away from the people and the presence of the Lord followed Moses and stayed by his tent. Moses would rather stay in that dry desert with God than to go into the promise land without Him and the problem today is that we would rather go into the promise land without Him if it is going to give us a life of ease, a life of comfort and we count the cost as minimal. This is the condition that we currently have in the body of Christ. We go into our churches, sing the praises and worship Him but the problem is that His presence is not even there and what is worse is that it doesn’t even bother us because we are enjoying ourselves. Just what is the importance of chapter 33 of Exodus? It comes on the heels of God giving Moses the moral law. Moses had gone up into the mount to receive the tablets from God and while He was gone his return was delayed so the people built an idol to worship. When Moses came down off the mount the people were naked, dancing around and worshipping the idol.

Today we have gone off worshipping other gods. We claim to worship God yet it is not Him but an image of Him that we have created in our mind. As God called these people stiff-necked so we too are stiff-necked because we refuse to hear Him and refuse His power in our lives. As they denied Him in their release from Egypt, as they denied His continual presence in the cloud by day and fire by night so we deny His miracles over the years. We deny His presence and power in our ability to work, we deny Him His money that He gives us and we deny the sacrifice that was His Son the Lord Jesus Christ and the result is that He has turned us over to our delusions and removed His presence from us. Many times as I walk through our church I can feel sections where the presence of the Holy Spirit is powerful and in other sections are like walking into a brick wall.

Exo 33:1 And the LORD said unto Moses, Depart, and go up hence, thou and the people which thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt, unto the land which I swore unto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, Unto thy seed will I give it:

Exo 33:2 And I will send an angel before thee; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite:

Exo 33:3 Unto a land flowing with milk and honey: for I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiffnecked people: lest I consume thee in the way.

Exo 33:4 And when the people heard these evil tidings, they mourned: and no man did put on him his ornaments.

Exo 33:5 For the LORD had said unto Moses, Say unto the children of Israel, Ye are a stiffnecked people: I will come up into the midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee: therefore now put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do unto thee.

Exo 33:6 And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by the mount Horeb

.

Exo 33:7 And Moses took the tabernacle, and pitched it without the camp, afar off from the camp, and called it the Tabernacle of the congregation. And it came to pass, that every one which sought the LORD went out unto the tabernacle of the congregation, which was without the camp.

Exo 33:8 And it came to pass, when Moses went out unto the tabernacle, that all the people rose up, and stood every man at his tent door, and looked after Moses, until he was gone into the tabernacle.

Exo 33:9 And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended, and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the LORD talked with Moses.

Exo 33:10 And all the people saw the cloudy pillar stand at the tabernacle door: and all the people rose up and worshipped, every man in his tent door.

Exo 33:11 And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.

Notice that when the presence of God departed from the people Moses went out from the people as well. He camped a long way off from them. These people saw the presence of God and still they would continually disobey Him and rebel against Him and we claim that if God would reveal Himself today that we would be better than they. I say we would be no different than they were. God reveals Himself daily and we refuse to acknowledge Him, we refuse to obey Him in even the smallest of things. Also notice that the presence of the Lord descended upon the tabernacle once Moses had entered in. The one thing that protects many of our churches is the presence of one godly man or women and generally when you find one there will always be another who is willing to stand with them, who will not be willing to leave the tabernacle. We see this in verse 11 in Joshua; even when Moses went back out into the people Joshua refused to leave the tabernacle. He was intent on remaining in the presence of the Lord because he felt as if there was no other place to be. If God was there he wanted to be there! He did not want to relinquish God’s presence to anyone or anything. Is it any wonder that later in life he would state “as for me and my house we will serve the Lord.” Every person who is willing to stay in the presence of the Lord needs a Joshua because they keep their focus where it needs to be and that is on the presence of God; for we have too many who are willing to leave His presence for the comforts of the world.

You see we are too much like Israel who turned to their idols because of the delay of Moses. Since it has been so long and Christ has not returned we have determined that He will not return anytime soon and therefore we are content to live in continual disobedience to Him. We do not concern ourselves with the lack of His presence and to be honest I don’t think many of you would notice the feeling of His presence in the first place because you have aligned yourself with the world so much. We whore ourselves out to the latest fashions the newest cars the larger salary, the bigger houses, the 401k, the huge retirement account and the people who can help us obtain these things and then sit back and claim to be blessed by God when all the while He is the furtherest thing from your heart and minds. We dance around naked in the streets, shaming ourselves and His name and then wonder why people think Christians are hypocrites. We claim to be loving and kind to others when very few of us would actually put our hands into our pockets and pull money out to hand to someone in need. We give to the church so we can justify not giving to others claiming we have tithed our 10% when it all belongs to Him anyways and then we holler about the fact that homelessness and poverty is at an all time high. We blame our governing officials just as the children of Israel blamed Moses for all their trials when it was their disobedience that caused their continual wanderings just as the condition of our country is the result of our own disobedience because as He has been calling us we have refused to hear Him because He might actually require us to sacrifice one of our creature comforts. We blame the school systems for our children’s behaviors when we are to blame because we are too busy to truly pay attention to them after all we have the right to have our own time. We lay the blame everywhere but where it truly needs to be which is on ourselves because we refuse to hear Him when He calls. Our failed marriage is not our fault it is because of society or the other person where our spouse was working; our pregnant teens are not our fault it is because they hand out condemns at school; our convicted child is not our fault it is because of rap music; our money troubles are not our fault it is because of who is in Washington; and the list goes on when in reality it is our fault because we refused to put ourselves under God’s authority first and foremost. Then we refused to treat our spouse as God commanded, we allowed our daughters boyfriend to spend the night and just what are we doing allowing them to date at 13 or 14 years old anyways. Our child is a felon because we were too busy making money to be home with them and because we deny authority in our lives how can we expect any difference in them. We have money problems because we are too busy buying things we really don’t need. We refuse God His portion. Our country is in the shape it is in because we refuse to stand up for the principles this country was founded on and have deemed it more important to please the flesh than to please God. Do you really want to see where the problem is start by looking in the mirror for one because until you surrender it is not going to change a thing. Until you seek to be in His presence continually it is only going to get worse and before you know it the trumpets will sound and it is entirely possible that you will be left behind. It is possible that tomorrow will be the last day for you and when you stand before Him He may say depart from me you worker of iniquity instead of enter into my rest my faithful servant..

Newly Ordained...

Recently I heard how easy it is to be ordained into the ministry. From here, you are more then able to start up your own Church, become tax exempt, order degrees (without going to school) and have all the perks of a minister. You can marry people, conduct funerals and even charge for your services.

So I asked a friend if he would indeed be willing t do this for me. He agreed. We set off to find a Christian site that openly talked about the Lord Jesus Christ. I did not want one that promoted that of the world..that would not be a challenge. Withen 24 hours my friend was ordained. They did not even bother to follow up and ask him when he accepted Christ, or any part of his testimony. They only asked for a brief testimony on the online application.

Here is a video my friend made to show you who he is, (after his ordaining)
ttp://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=41714372 (Please take the time to watch the video before proceding)
Newly Ordained


Yes.. the friend is.. my dog.

Now with this said, this is how easy it is for a false prophet to become a minister in this world. How sad is that?
This is why it is so important to get into a Bible believing Church. Not a "feel good" Church.

Suppose

Suppose you continue to raise up a great nation from this one man. You lead them to ancient Egypt where they are forced to live together for hundreds of years and become a distinct people. They grow to over a million. Yet they soon forget the miracles you did for their forefathers. At the right time you bring them out of Egypt with an incredible display of mighty miracles. In one final demonstration of your power, you show them that it is only by covering their dwelling with the blood of the most innocent of creatures (a lamb) that they can be spared judgment.

You continue to teach them a pattern. You bring deserved judgment on an evil Egyptian nation and kill the first-born child in every household. You separate your people from the influence of an evil world. You bring them through a sea with a wall of water on their right and a wall of water standing on their left to demonstrate that they are being baptised into a new life. Yet, incredibly, they immediately return to their evil ways. They build idols to other gods. They refuse to enter the land which you have provided. They are a stubborn and rebellious people. But you have a plan.

Suppose you allow your chosen people to spend 40 years wandering in the wilderness in order to teach them many lessons. You teach them that they must depend wholly on you for their sustenance and that they must come back to you each day for refilling. You teach them that they will be healed when they look upon a symbol of evil which is raised up on a wooden pole. You teach them that they must put their sins upon something other than themselves because they can never pay for their own sins. You teach them that life-giving water comes from a rock. You begin to teach them that it is only by the shedding of innocent blood that their sins can be forgiven. Each year they must bring an innocent creature - a spotless lamb - and slit its throat in a gruesome, bloody sacrifice. It makes no sense. But you are laying a pattern. Suppose you finally bring them into a special land made just for them. You delayed until the people living in that land had been given every possible opportunity to turn from their wicked ways. Then you win battle after battle for your people. You show them that you are giving this land to them. You drop walls of impregnable cities...You hurtle meteorites from space to destroy enemy armies...You stop the sun in the sky at their request...You drop giants with a single stone...You destroy entire enemy armies at the request of those who love you. Yet your people refuse to obey you. But it’s okay, you have a plan.

Suppose that time and time again you send messengers to tell your people how to behave. Yet they kill the messengers and always drift back into their evil ways. But you love this people. You tell them over and over again that you are going to send a Savior. You tell them where He will be born. You tell them, hundreds of years before it happens, the exact day when He will enter Jerusalem and declare Himself their eternal King. You tell them that He will become their eternal sacrifice so that they can end their pitiful and hopeless pursuit to work their way into your favor. You describe in minute detail over 300 specific details of what you are about to do for them. Their response is to kill the messengers who bring the promises. But you love these people. Through them you will show all people how much you love them. The time for your plan has come.

The time to complete the plan which You conceived before laying the foundation of the universe...the plan started before the first molecule was created and the first electromagnetic wave appeared... the plan laid out before the first animal was made and you breathed life, spirit, and part of yourself into these people whom You love so much...had arrived. You become a man. Permanently, for all eternity, you become human.

Suppose, at just the right time, thousands of years after history began, it was time to demonstrate to humanity what love means. You did not come to earth as an arrogant ruler... but as a humble servant to wash the feet of others. You did not arrive with fanfare and pomp ... but left the glory of heaven to become a baby born in an animal stall. Your prophets had told of this... but this was not what your people expected.

Suppose that you start your ministry to your chosen people by announcing that you are the Lamb who has come to take away the sins of the world. Surely they will understand the implication after 2000 years of teaching. You demonstrate who you are by healing sickness, restoring blindness, and allowing the lame to walk. You cast out demons which have oppressed your beloved people for millenniums. You show that you control creation by calming storms with a word and walking on water. You create wine from water and food to feed thousands. Yet they still follow you with their stomachs and not their hearts. Your prophets had told them these things would happen... but this was not what your people expected.

Suppose you spent three years patiently teaching your people how to live and who you are. You repeatedly teach them that you are the rock upon which they must build their lives. You hate the arrogant lie that Your children can earn their way into your presence. Your character is justice and justice requires payment for sin. Yet no man can pay the price. Throughout history Satan has deceived your children into believing that religion can save them. You expose the lies and hypocrisy of salvation by religious acts. You hate religion. Your harshest words are for these religious leaders. They are the ones who should know you best...but you are not whom they expected.

Suppose that the climax, which has been building since man first sinned, arrives. You pray for some other way to save mankind from his sin and restore fellowship with the Father. But there is no other way. You allow yourself to be taken. You make no defense in mock trial after mock trial because whom you represent (mankind) is guilty and deserves judgment. You allow Satan to pour his fury out upon you. You are beaten so severely that you hardly look human. You are whipped so severely that your back resembles raw hamburger. Your beard is ripped out, thorns are thrust onto your head, you are slapped, cursed, and spit upon. Nails are driven through your feet and wrists and you are left hanging on a pole to die. You could destroy the entire universe with a word, but you chose instead...to suffer. You become that symbol of sin lifted on a pole which will heal your people. But this is not what they expected.

But suppose this is not the worst. For the first time in eternity, you are separated from the Father. You actually become sin and the part of yourself left in heaven, the Father, pours out his wrath upon you. You pay the price for every sin ever committed by every person in the past, present, and future. The anguish is incomprehensible. Your innocent blood is shed for the sins of humanity. You are the innocent lamb sacrificed for others. You die for them. It is not what they expected ... they do not understand.

Suppose that three days later you rise from the dead to show that...at long last, they can have victory over death. Death has lost its sting. You have shown that there is nothing they can do to bridge the chasm between themselves and their Maker...you have done it all. But it is not free. They must love you more than their wickedness. You have shown them that there is no other way. There is no religious system, or set of rules which will allow them to earn their way to heaven. They have been trying to do this since they first sinned. They have been trying to cover their sins with fig leaves from the very start. You showed them that innocent blood...your blood would be required. But is was not what they expected.

The plan was finally complete. The path back to you is open to all who are willing to accept it. You have done everything you could possibly do to restore fellowship between sinful man and yourself. You have satisfied the perfect justice required of your nature. You took the penalty which they deserved. You have shown absolute mercy by providing a bridge over the chasm between sinful man and a perfect God. You have made it so simple that anyone can understand it. You have done it all. But it was not what they expected.

Suppose that this is history. It is Christianity. It is reality.

Will you accept His love?

Evolution: Approaching the Subject

Evolution: Approaching the Subject

Any of you that have teen age children will probably have a difficult time approaching the subject with them because they have already been thoroughly indoctrinated in the subject. You may feel extremely nervous about it because you may feel as if you do not know enough about the subject or about creation for that matter. You may be nervous about having proof for creation versus evolution, especially if you watch the Learning Channel you will see their supposed factual evidence supporting evolution and you can believe that your children have had this information provided to them from an early age. So how do you discuss it? First off if you haven’t been on your knees before God, surrendering your life to Him, I would not even attempt to discuss it with them because as I stated before if they do not see the obedience in you they are not going to believe what the Bible has to say, but if you have surrendered and committed your life to Him the next step is being familiar with the creation story in Genesis. If you have a study Bible use the reference verses to look up other verses that may have relevance. You can also go to Ken Hamm’s “Answers in Genesis” web site to help you in this area.

Whenever I speak to anyone concerning evolution they are always bringing up proof that supports evolution and that if the earth was as young as the Bible claims then there would be sufficient evidence to support it. The problem is not the evidence because the very evidence that they have to prove their point is the very evidence that we have to support creation the difference is the way the evidence is viewed. The important thing is to never lose your cool when discussing it when they can’t seem to see it your way. This is extremely important when it is your child because you are trying to reveal Christ through you. Remember that we are told that the world cannot discern the scriptures because they are spiritually discerned, so do not start by quoting a bunch of scripture. Now if you have younger children reading the creation story is a good way to start teaching them creation.

Much of science is best guess when it comes to determining the answer, while you run test you will always have a percentage of inaccuracy within the test to obtain the desired result so the way that the test is conducted depends upon the result that is desired. If all of my conclusions are based upon the fact that the earth is billions of years old then I know that the different strata layers depict age so if I have retrieved a fossil from the layer that I have already determined to be millions of years ago and I have run a test that shows it to be only a few thousand years old then I am going to add a percentage of inaccuracy to accomplish my desired age of several million years. Now on the creation side because I know from God’s word that the Bible is true then I do not have to add those percentages because the result is accurate. You see the evidence is proof yet it is the presupposed result that generates the difference.

Evolutionists believe in natural selection—that is real science, as you observe it happening. Well, creationists also believe in natural selection. Evolutionists accept the science of genetics—well, so do creationists.

‘However, here is the difference: Evolutionists believe that, over millions of years, one kind of animal has changed into a totally different kind. However, creationists, based on the Bible’s account of origins, believe that God created separate kinds of animals and plants to reproduce their own kind—therefore one kind will not turn into a totally different kind.

‘Now this can be tested in the present. The scientific observations support the creationist interpretation that the changes we see are not creating new information. The changes are all within the originally created pool of information of that kind; sorting, shuffling or degrading it. The creationist account of history, based on the Bible, provides the correct basis to interpret the evidence of the present—and real science confirms the interpretation.’

My point is that if we Christians really understood that all evidence is actually interpreted on the basis of certain presuppositions, then we wouldn’t be in the least bit intimidated by the evolutionists’ supposed ‘evidence.’ We should instead be looking at the evolutionist’s (or old-earther’s) interpretation of the evidence, and how the same evidence could be interpreted within a biblical framework and be confirmed by testable and repeatable science.

In my discussions I attempt to get them to let go of those biased opinions in order to see the results as they are. No matter how much evidence I was to provide for them, they will never see it from the Bible’s viewpoint therefore I must allow God to work in order to break down those presuppositions. When they realize that their logic does not make sense then they will change direction of the conversation to prove their point in another area and even go as far as denying their own theory when discussing morality. In my discussion with the atheist when he had no where else to go he then brought up the legitimacy of the existence of Christ and when that didn’t work he proceeded to call me a liar. He then changed direction and stated that even if there was proof of Christ and His miracles there was no proof that He was the Son of God.

As you look at the many changes in direction it is only to get you first of all angry so that you might say something that you shouldn’t say therefore they have you because if Christ was really the Son of God and you believed in Him the way the Bible says that you should then you wouldn’t say the things that you say, which enforces their theory of evolution with reverting to the animal tendencies. The other reason this is done is to get you to throw out one of the debunked evidences of creation such as the moon dust. You can find these on the Answers in Genesis website. The reason I say they are debunked is because again they utilize the presupposed results, in other words I can run the same test and come up with an answer that would also support evolution in the result. Again if you fall into the trap you will be ridiculed and any progress you had made up until that point will be lost and you will have to start all over again.

The one thing I love is to get them to begin thinking beyond the limits of their teachings, when they have to reach outside of the box in order to provide an answer it is like watching the light bulb go off in their head. The same thing can be realized in a text message because the order of their words reveals the thoughts going into what they are writing. In dealing with your teen it can be the same experience. The best way to discuss evolution with them is in nature itself because when they see the remarkable creation before their very eyes it is hard to deny. Of course the alone time with them is very important for the discussion because it shows them that they are important to you. The other thing that you have to realize is that by forgoing what they have been indoctrinated with at school they are going to be giving up a lot preconceived rights. They will have to begin being responsible for their own actions, which you will have to enforce. The purpose is to draw them to Christ not just remove evolution from their thinking. Again Christ does the work not you; your job is to be obedient to Him. Once we see them begin to understand it then makes it easier to show them the gospel because until this point it is important to remember that to them God has no power and Jesus was just a good man and not the Son of God. They do not see their sins as exceedingly wicked nor do they see their need for a Savior but hopefully with the aid of the Holy Spirit you can plant the seed that God uses to draw them to Him.

Evolution: Indoctrinating Our Children, Part 2

Evolution: Indoctrinating Our Children, Part 2

When I first began writing this series I knew that it was by the leading of the Holy Spirit and all that I was doing was being obedient to His direction. The more I wrote the more understanding I myself was getting in relationship to the message He was providing me however there was still some inner conflict that I was facing. I felt that while I knew I was being obedient was I really following His leading or was I putting too much of myself into the text that I was writing. Over the last couple of days I have been in a discussion with an atheistic Jew who also believes in evolution. When He kept trying to push me into providing proof I insisted that any proof that I would provide he would not accept because it did not fit into his presupposed concept of acceptable proof so he attempted to turn the discussion into proof of Jesus and while I gave him the facts that He was mentioned historically and through government documents of the era, he still refused that evidence. Feeling frustrated I found the Answers in Genesis website and lo and behold I was given conformation with what I was writing. I quickly said thank you to the Father and began reading some of what Ken Hamm had written and found that much of his writings coincide with what I felt led to write.

You see while we have not actually discussed evolution in theory we have discussed the effects of it; the reason being is so that we can understand how our failure to put Christ first allows evolution to sink into our children’s hearts. Let me share with you some notes from Ken’s website Answers in Genesis.

So I said:

‘Pastors, here’s the problem. The students know that evolution and its teachings contradicts the Bible’s teaching about Adam and Eve. Then they come to your religion classes and hear you teach from the Bible. However, since they think that the Bible is an outdated book which has been disproved by science, why should they be interested in listening to what you have to say?’

I suggested that before they could really teach effectively about the other issues, they needed to get the students’ attention that the Bible was the infallible Word of God, and really could be trusted.

After all, if the first book in the Bible can’t be trusted in their eyes—why should any other? As one lady put it to me 20 years later:

‘When my church told me that I had to accept evolution, and that Genesis couldn’t be believed as written, I asked, when does God start telling the truth, then?’

Working with the pastors, we devised a series of lessons that showed the students that evolution was just a belief—there weren’t any ape-men—evolutionists had not proved the earth was billions of years old—there were major problems with their theories about the origin of the solar system.

When the pastors presented these lessons—they were astonished. The students sat up and listened. They were extremely interested—and they had lots of questions. ‘What about carbon dating, then? Where do dinosaurs fit in? Why don’t our teachers tell us this information?’

What a difference it made! Many of the students showed intense interest in spiritual things. Later, when the pastors began teaching about Jesus in the New Testament, they had much more success in getting these young people to listen and take note.

At the time, I didn’t realize that I was involved in developing a method of evangelism that I later came to understand as ‘Creation Evangelism.’ Not only is this based on the Bible, but it is one of the most powerful methods for reaching today’s world with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Do you see the importance here? It is not enough to tell them the Bible is true we have to live as if it is true. If they don’t see it in us they are not going to believe it to be true. They have more than enough evidence in the world from evolution that tells them that God doesn’t exist and the bible can’t be trusted. So even if they had been raised in the church they are not going to instantly believe the bible especially if you the parent are not practicing obedience to God. Before you claim that you can believe in both let me show you what Ken had to say about that.

Some are eager to point out that in cases like the Inquisition, and more recently clergy involved in sex abuses against children, ‘the church’ is hypocritical. Of course, the Bible strongly condemns these and other forms of crime, and those acting in these ways are inconsistent with what the Bible teaches.

However, evolutionists who argue this way are being inconsistent with their own philosophy. Because if there is no Creator who sets absolute rules, such as ‘You shall not murder’ (which is what the Nazis did to the Jews, totally consistent with their evolutionary beliefs), then the only rules that exist are what we as a society make up.

A theistic evolutionist may profess belief in a rule-giving Creator, but because of his/her de facto rejection of a reliable revelation, how can the rules be known for certain?

Simply put, if the Bible misleads in Genesis, how do we know when it can be trusted elsewhere, including its moral teaching? Jesus said (John 3:12): ‘I have spoken to you about earthly things and you do not believe; so how will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?’

This is the very thing that I had pointed out before however I feel it does a better job explaining why the two don’t mix. I can’t help but wonder if this is why so many refuse to surrender their lives to Christ. Let’s look at what evolution takes away from us when allowed to be believed in the schools or in the home. This becomes even more dangerous in a Christian home where parents do not believe in the Bible as God’s inspired word or when they include evolution into their belief of the bible.

Consider this:

1. A gospel without the message of the Creator, and the origin of sin and death, is a gospel without the foundational knowledge that is necessary to understand the rest of the gospel. Without this information—who then is Jesus Christ? Why did He need to die? Where did sin come from? Why can we say that all have sinned? Why do we die?
2. A gospel without the message of Christ crucified and raised from the dead is a gospel without power. As Paul said: ‘And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins’ (1 Corinthians 15:17). The only reason our personal sins can be forgiven and our relationship with our Creator be restored, is because of what Christ did on the cross. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is central to the gospel.
3. A gospel without the message of the new heavens and earth, is a gospel without hope. What point is there to a gospel with no future sinless state? Because of sin and the judgment of the Curse, the creation is ‘groaning’ (Romans 8:22). There is death, sickness and suffering all around us. However, we need to understand that death is an intrusion. In 1 Corinthians 15:26, Paul states it this way: ‘The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.’

I would like to include a fourth point here because I believe it to the key point which enforces the gospel message.

4. A gospel message without a life to enforce the message destroys the very message it attempts to

establish. This is the very message of Christ when He stated in Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, “Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” And again in Matthew 10:38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.

Consider this; from very early records we see that man has shown a high degree of culture and understanding in law and moral/societal behaviour. Dating from the 17^th century before Christ is the Code of Hammurabi, a Babylonian king who, according to secular historians, came to power about 1750 bc. This set of laws, governing situations such as marriage, commerce and theft is generally regarded as one of the best and earliest written codes of law for a society. The proper functioning of law depends on the existence of an ultimate authority. Speaking of a society which was crumbling because of a lack of authority, the Bible says: ‘In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes’ (Judges 21:25).

The Ten Commandments are considered, even by many non-Christians, to be a foundational set of rules for moral and ethical living. But if they were written by only a man, then they are no more ‘right’ than someone else’s opposite view. In rejecting Biblical absolutes, will modern law eventually cease from allowing criminals to be branded with ‘wrong-doer’ in favour of the more evolutionarily consistent concept of a ‘socially-unacceptable choice’? Some evolutionists have excused even rape on the grounds that males’ genes and ‘less civilized’ evolutionary past predispose them to such actions.

As the evolutionary foundation of no right or wrong overtakes the Biblical concept of personal responsibility, we can expect people to have less defined boundaries in both young and adult life, resulting in increasing social and family problems.

Can you see the importance of seeking God’s face daily as a part of the training up your child in the way that he should go? Since we have allowed evolution to exist, it is up to us to not only teach our children that it is only a theory but to also live as God has commanded us to live. This is not a salvation by works but evidence of our salvation by our works.

In the next segment we will discuss more about how to discuss evolution versus creation

Another Song kids Love.. Warning Explicit Lyrics

Lil Wayne is taking our youth by storm.
I want to warn you the lyrics to this song is VERY Explicit..and I only post them so that you, as parents are aware of what YOUR children are listening to. I urge all of you with children to remlove them from the computer.

If your child is listening to this one...please sit down with your child and listen to the song with them..and discuss with them why this song in indeed bad.

Now you ask why I am posting this one. On the way home from the bus stop today 2 young girls, a 3rd and 4th grader was listening to this one.

They were singing right along with Lil Wayne with the Lyrics.. now before I go any further, please take the time to visit the Lyrics

Here
http://www.metrolyrics.com/lollipop-lyrics-lil-wayne.html

By now..your sitting there shocked.. Well let us go deeper into the conversation with my 2 small friends.

I asked them what they were listening to and they told me Lollipop... Upon asking if I could hear it, they told me it was the bad version.. I said..what kind of bad version.. they smiled and told me what it was bout.

This song is indeed about sex, oral sex to be exact. And this is what Kids are listening to.

Please take the time to educate yourselves and your children about music like this.

I never thought I would personally see the day when the lyrics got this bad, but indeed they have.

God Bless

Uncovering Hidden Effects of Evolution

Uncovering Hidden Effects of Evolution

As we continue I want to look at one of the effects of Evolution; since evolution in essence denies God or His power it opens up the thinking that we are inherently able to determine for ourselves what is basically good or evil and since these differ from one person to the next just as they do within nature then we are unable to negate another persons beliefs thus the introduction of tolerance. In being tolerant one must accept another’s beliefs regardless of the harm it may to do that person or others around them. It is also indoctrinating others beliefs into your own to create a belief system that will; in their thinking; enhance you as a person. The question then becomes how does one generate this thinking into the general public and especially into the bible believing community? With the general public it was easy because with the teaching of evolution it was obvious that by eliminating a supernatural power, (God) you could essentially establish your own moralistic community in which everyone could do what was right in their own eyes and because man has evolved from animals any behavior that was deemed against the moral laws of the government could be blamed on the influence of their surroundings; and if that is the case, we can then soften those laws through the court system. This concept worked excellently for them and they were soon able to either forego sentences with probation or the transgressor was able to receive psychological evaluations which ultimately proved their case because in most cases the patient recalled suppressed memories. Whether these memories were true or false did not matter because they provided the ammunition that was needed to wage war on those who did not readily accept their new belief system.

This new battle needed even more ammunition then what they had expected so in order to wage a good battle they had to strike at the core of their belief system, which was God. Since they already had evolution as a way to show how the earth could be created without God the next step is to remove God from the school system. When they accomplished that it was easy for them to promote their new belief system and many of the students eagerly accepted it because it diminished the power of the parents. They suddenly had rights that they never imagined and because sin is exciting they eagerly ran head first to these new found rights and while they had found some success it still was not enough. There had to be a way to gain a greater foothold. They needed to be able to establish laws that would protect their new belief system and without a greater foothold that would be impossible to do. They had to soften the views of the holdouts and the only way to do that was through media. What people watch on television and how they spent leisure time greatly affected their thinking, so if they could create media that would seem innocent enough in context they could eventually cause them to drop their guard; therefore allowing them to ultimately change their thought process and during that transformation they could install their new laws.

However; how can you change a person’s viewpoint on something that has long been seen as wrong or dabbling with evil? The answer is you change the perception by making it seem unbelievable or by changing the behaviors of the person performing the act by making them inherently good in deed even though their act is against someone’s beliefs. Hence you have now accomplished a difference in their view of the act. For example if someone has had a hard life and nothing ever seems to go right for them. They are a loving father or mother but they lose their jobs and begin stealing to provide food for their families and then they begin providing for their friends and before long you find yourself cheering for them and when they finally get caught you secretly hope they get let off. Now all along they had a neighbor who tried to help them by providing a job but he wanted them to clean up a little bit. The position required them to have contact with people who would view the way she dressed as inappropriate or the smell of alcohol on their breathe as unacceptable yet we find ourselves pointing our finger at the neighbor for requiring such things.

Let’s take a look at another situation. You have a young boy who is rather plain. He doesn’t fit in with many people and is kind of a misfit. Unbeknown to him he has magical powers that are revealed to him by a friend of his parents who happens to be a wizard and he is invited to a school especially for kids like him but even there he is outcast by the more popular students so he develops these powers and while he never outright attacks his tormentor he does spells to make him look stupid. The premises is that there is good magic and bad magic and one shouldn’t judge the act but the person who is performing the act regardless of where their powers came from. Of course this opens a huge problem because it encourages those who are not readily accepted by peers to seek out a way to obtain these powers and parents unwittingly allow them to not only watch these shows but read the books. The reality is that these powers do exist and they do not come from God but that is a topic for another time the purpose of this is to open your eyes as to how we allow our hearts and minds to be changed from what God tells us in His word to be true.

As you allow them to change your thinking you ultimately become more desensitized to the things of the world and you then begin to accept more and more of their ideology. As this happens you start walking further and further away from God until you no longer believe that He really requires a daily relationship with you and is happy with you living the way you are living as long as you mention Him now and then in a quick prayer or go to church on special occasions; after all He created nature for us to enjoy so what is wrong with worshiping Him at the beach on Sunday instead of church?

As I come to a close here you may be wondering how this applies to evolution? I want you to stop and think about that for a moment. Send me your thoughts on how it either applies or does not apply and I will attempt to answer all of them. Let me assure you of this one thing. Everything mentioned here does stem from the belief in evolution and the question is; how does it affect you.

Introduction to Destruction

As I have read the post here I have not only had my heart broken but I have also became quite angry at the insensitivity of others reading these post. I see the same response from many in congregations across America today. Could it be that we have desensitized ourselves to the things of God that when we read these things or hear the preaching of the word of God that we sit back and tell ourselves that it really doesn't concern us. It is like we think that we are okay and we don't have to worry about these things because we go to church every Sunday and we live in a nice subdivision. These things don't happen to people in our class; they only happen to those who are living in projects or to those who don't go to church. Let me assure you that the influence that is being reported here will affect you and your children much quicker than any one else and here is the reason. We have walked away from God, telling him that, He is fine for Sunday but as for the rest of the week, they belong to us. When scripture told us that we rob God in tithes and offerings it was not merely talking about the money we give but also the time that we need to spend with Him through out the rest of the week. When our children do not see God in us the rest of the week, they are being taught by us that He is not really all that important. We are saying that it is good to have a belief in something because it makes you a good person and this is where the worlds teaching comes in and takes over the job that we are supposed to have.

Look back at the Old Testament at the children of Israel. When they did not live for God their children chased after other gods; they took wives from the world and did what was right in their own eyes. When we allowed evolution to be taught in the schools as fact and not theory it was easy for them to grab the church kids who came from good homes. They were easy to manipulate because they did not see God in their home every day of the week. They did not see Him being important enough for their parents to have a daily relationship with Him and therefore it was easy for them to accept the concept that they were simply following a tradition instead of the living TRUE God.

Pro 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

The bible was not talking about insuring that your kids get a good education and make lots of money. It is speaking of raising them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. As a horse trainer I know that in order for me to properly train a horse it has to be done on a continual basis. it has to be a daily exercise in order to get the desired results. All of the athletes in the Olympics today will attest to this very same concept and yet we as Christians refuse to practice these things with our children. If they graduate from the best college and are making lots of money it does not mean a thing if they are living in habitual sin because the moment they die they are going to be standing before God and are going to have to give an account for their lives and who are they going to point the finger at. You see if you are telling them that they can't listen to Marilyn Manson because his music is bad yet every time you get into the car together you have Styx or Queen playing on the radio are you really sending him the proper message or if you have Faith Hill or Montgomery Gentry blaring on your radio; it is not sending him the proper message because to them you are just not being tolerant of their music just as your parents were not tolerant of the music you listened to at home. You see the daily training is not there.

Now does this mean that the child raised in a home where God is first and foremost won't rebel? No, it doesn't but there will be a less likely chance that they will. If they see the presence of God daily in your life they are less likely to fall into the teachings of the world. The failure of doing this is what evolution thrives on because it offers an explanation that makes sense to them when they do not see God working in your live daily. Let me attempt to make this a little simpler for you. If God is not powerful enough to keep you from listening to secular music then He must not be powerful enough to speak the world into existence therefore He must have used evolution to create the world or He simply does not exist and since He does not exist then there is no judgment for sin and I can live as I want and do what makes me happy regardless, because without judgment there is no condemnation so why should I go to church where there are rules set up by man. I hope that you can see the reasoning here. It is simply an attempt to justify ones actions and behaviors by eliminating God who to them is not worthy of their attention since He is not worthy of your devotion.

If this is getting you angry I hope that you realize it is the Holy Spirit working and not me for my intention is not to glorify myself but God. These are not my words but the words I have felt led to write based upon the scriptures. I have a series that I have put together involving evolution and how it is destroying our homes but more devastating than evolution is our continuance to refuse to surrender our lives to our Savior. The purpose behind the series is to show us how our disobedience is allowing the theory to shut out the truth.

2Ch 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

My prayer is this, that you will allow God to speak to you through this and that it would cause you to draw closer to Him.
Stephen (Hisway)