A Warrior's Two-Edged Sword

Readjustment - A Papa Roy Devotional

2012-01-30T00:15:00.001-05:00

Below is another devotional from Papa Roy. Seems like I read the passage that he quoted from Mark earlier today. Enjoy.

A Touch ofEncouragement

Today, Just like Jesus, we are on a mission. Sometimes itcan seem as though we are alone in that mission, but even so, we are called tobe ready. Spend some time alone in prayer today.

Now in the morning,having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to asolitary place; and there He prayed. (Mark 1:35 NKJV)

Experts say that noise pollution is getting worse. In somemajor U.S.cities, noise levels have raised six fold in the past fifteen years. Americanears are bombarded by noise from airplanes, traffic, lawn mowers, TVs, radiosand cell phones. Maybe it’s because we’re surrounded by so much noise that wefind it difficult to appreciate solitude. But getting away alone with God isessential for our spiritual health. Today’s passage shows that Jesus Himselfhad to withdraw from the hustle and bustle to sit quietly before His Father.(Anonymous)

Papa Roy says; with our busy schedules and ourhectic pace of life, we too need readjustment. Demands of work, family, andchurch can require reevaluation. One way we do that is by observing the Sabbathprinciple—making sure to set aside time to rest and prayerfully refocus ourpriorities. When can you pull aside from your activities and prayerfully askGod to reset your spiritual calendar to His Word and His will? Is it time for areadjustment?

In God we trust, so,do you take time to read God’s Word and pray? Try it in the morning. It cantransform your day.

Read through theBible this year: Exodus 7-8, Psalm 29, Proverbs 29, Mark 1

January 01/29/12 click on this Song http://youtu.be/FrCDh3wizQk

RENEW MY LIFE, LORD JESUS http://youtu.be/t7eAgcfLnwM

Papa Roy Devotional: Bow the Knee, Watch and Pray

2012-01-26T11:20:00.000-05:00

Here is another devotional from Papa Roy. Papa Roy is a mentor for a good friend of mine, Dan Shock. He compiles these devotionals on a daily basis and sends them out to his mailing list. Read and enjoy.

A Touch ofEncouragement

Ask the Lord today, as you pray, to help you recognize Satanand his ways so you will not be caught as his prey. God will help you identifyhim if you will only ask Him.

Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spiritindeed is willing, but the flesh isweak.”(Matthew 26:41 NKJV)

Peter yielded to temptation because he did not first takethe time to put on the armor of God. Peter would have been in a much betterposition to overcome the temptation if he had first prepared his heart. Wespend too much time watching television and not enough time reading the Bible.We spend a lot of time talking on the phone with our friends and not enoughtime praying to our Creator.

It takes patience to spend the time in prayer. Satan willtry to remind you about all the important things that you should be doing.However, if you want to see the victories, you must put aside the things ofthis world and put on the things of God. Remember that God does not work onyour timetable so be ready to wait patiently and not give up until HE gives youthe victory. (Anonymous)

Papa Roy says, true Christians do not have theluxury of complacency. He who said, "Watch and pray" meant bothcommands because both are emphatically necessary. Watching implies takingnotice, carefully assessing, discerning details and trends.

Praying implies reflection, meditation; considering God’sways, seeking his will, placing the clues we discern by watching into theframework we have seen in God’s word—and arranging as best we can the minutiaeof our own lives in harmony with the grand features of God’s design. (R. Kindig)

In God we trust, so, bow the knee watch and pray, and putthe weak flesh out and let the willing Spirit in. And watch and see whathappens.

Read through the Bible this year: Exodus 1-2, Psalm 26,Proverbs 26, Matthew 26

January 01/26/12 click on this Songhttp://youtu.be/O1SOivxtaoc

Wonderful merciful savior http://youtu.be/oiVvHxgHL5Q

Check Out Pastor Tommy Kyllonen and Crossover Church

2012-01-03T10:12:00.000-05:00

Greetings from Len Harper at South Brandon Worship Center

2011-12-31T16:56:00.001-05:00

Greetings Family and Friends of SBWC,
        I woke up this morning with great anticipation and excitement for the New Year 2012! The Holy Spirit is doing a "New thing among us. He is making paths in the wilderness and streams in the desert places!" Expect a great harvest in your life in 2012 and in our church! As you celebrate the New Year tonight, dedicate your life, your family, and your church to the Lord. Ask the Holy Spirit to "overshadow you" as He did with Mary, and birth great things through you and through our church in 2012!

Start the "New Year" off right by worshiping in the Lord's House on Sunday morning. We will begin a new message series: "Inspire 2012!"

Also, plan to join us on Monday @ 7 pm for our "Inspire 2012" prayer service, as we pray God's blessing for 2012. Jesus said:"You do not have, because you do not ask . . . ask and it shall be given to you!"

What is "Inspire 2012!" ? We believe the Holy Spirit wants to "Inspire" us as a church family in "2012" to:

1. "Read the entire Bible in 2012!" Through daily Bible readings. The Holy Spirit "inspired" men to write it and is now "Inspiring" us to read it!

2. "Share and Prayer!" Share family devotions after dinner (read 1 or 2 verses & talk about what it means); and then pray for another family (invite them to SBWC).

3. "Worship! Grow! Serve!" Eliminate excuses for missing Sunday worship (be faithful!); grow closer to God (join a Family Group!); serve others on mission (volunteer!).

As we commit to these 3 challenges, "Inspire 2012!" is going to be a great year for your family and for our church. Thank you for the joy of being your pastor. I look forward to sharing this New Year . . . "Inspire 2012!" with you!
Pastor Len Harper
South Brandon Worship Center
www.southbrandon.org

A Papa Roy Devotional for the New Year

2011-12-31T16:41:00.000-05:00

The following came from a friend. It was written by his spiritual mentor, whom he refers to as Papa Roy.

A Touch of Encouragement

Today, when it comes to setting up circumstances, no mere game can top God.Look among the nations and watch—be utterly astounded! For I will work a work in your days which you would not believe, though it were told you. (Habakkak 1:5)

God’s reminder is to watch what he is doing. He is at work even through the seeming injustice. He is not wasting your time even in the pain. Observe the things going on around you. You will be “utterly amazed.” God is doing some unbelievable things. But you’ll have to look up and look out to see them. (R. Moore)

“Be Amazed!” Have you ever stopped to think about the smallest things in life? Just think… the trees that we see, the air that we breathe, and the ground that we walk on our something we take for granted. Think about what life would have been like without any of these things that I have just mentioned. Look at the world and be amazed. God put all these things for us. Yes, we (humans) may have built the roads for us to drive on, but who gave us the land? God provides us with a strong foundation for us to live the way live today. It's too bad that we seem to forget that regularly. (M. Lee)

December 12/31/11 click on this Song [Mercy Me-I Can Only Imagine] http://youtu.be/0xwzItqYmII

“In God we trust”, so, “Just watch!” God seems to be saying. Watch these things work out! Recommended Reading: Habakkuk 1:1-11, Isaiah 45:1-13,

Papa Roy says the purest mark of spiritual maturity is the confident acceptance and assurance that God is in control in all circumstances of one’s life and everyone else’s life as well. We need not understand the whys and wherefores or even the when’s. We need but trust the one who is in control. It’s a waste of time to try to strive for control over what’s in God’s hands. Isaiah makes that clear for us in 45:9. He says, “Woe to him who strives with his maker! Does the clay say to the one who fashions it, what are you doing?”

God of Wonders http://youtu.be/t7F-B2DLvAQ

Rizen You've Done So Much/ We Worship You

2011-12-29T17:09:00.000-05:00

One of my friends from junior high school posted this on his Facebook wall. I thought it was worth posting here!!

God Alone is a Refuge from Treachery and Oppression

2011-12-29T10:56:00.001-05:00

Today I was taking a look at Psalm 62. At the beginning, there is a note that thisis a Psalm of David. As you read thePsalms, you will see that David, shepherd, musician, warrior, king, wentthrough many struggles. Despite thesestruggles, he states that he will put his trust in the Lord.

In verse one, David writes “My soul waits in silence for Godonly.” Ps.62:1. This demonstrates thatas we struggle, we still must wait on Him. In waiting on Him, sometimes we must turn off the noise and thedistraction so that we can hear where he is leading us. Remember in Hebrews, He invites us to boldly (orwith confidence) come before his throne of grace where we can receivemercy. Heb. 4:16. Also, in Hebrews, He promises that he rewardsthose who diligently seek Him. Heb. 11:6.

In the second part of the same verse, David reminds us thatour salvation is from God. When it comes to our souls…eternity…our salvationdefinitely comes from Him. Ps. 62:1. We repent fromfollowing the ways of this world, we turn to Him, who told us to put our trustin His Son. See, e.g. Matt. 17:5. Notonly do we look to Him for the salvation of our souls, but we look to Him torescue us in every aspect of our lives. David faced difficulty when his king, Saul, was trying to kill Him. David was later challenged when his own sonAbsalom, stole his throne. Still, heplaced His trust in God. Not only willGod rescue our souls, He will also rescue us in all of our struggles… if we relinquishour pride and trust Him.

Then, in the second verse, David reminds us of God’snature. See Ps. 62:2. He is our rock! He is our salvation! He is ourstronghold! If we stand on our trust inHim we will not be shaken! If we drop toverse 5, we see the same description, as David reminds us that our hope comesfrom the Lord.

If any of us is struggling, going through a difficult time,we can certainly look to Psalm 62 for encouragement, and see how despite hisoppression, David was willing to put his trust in the Lord.

Remix Church Kids Worship Team performs "Go tell it on the mountain" Bla...

2011-12-27T14:15:00.000-05:00

Thoughts About the Meaning of Christmas

2011-12-21T21:58:00.001-05:00

Is it possible that this joyous occasion that we callChristmas is really about darkness. Ifit was not for darkness, there would have been no need for the Father to sendthe Son. Our sins place us in darkness. Because of our sin, we harm those around us .. . and ourselves. Because of our sin weare on a path of destruction that would take us into eternal separation fromGod. That is a polite reference to hell.We know this is true because the Bible tells us that the wages of sin isdeath. Rom. 6:23.

Despite this depressing outlook, God gives us hope. Although the Christmas story is described inthe books of Matthew and Luke, the often quoted scripture from the Gospel ofJohn should not be overlooked. God hasgiven us an avenue that allows us to turn away from that path ofdestruction. “For God so loved the worldthat he gave his only son that whosoever believes in him will not perish buthave everlasting life.” Connecting theChristmas story to the Gospel of John, we can look at Isaiah 7:14 which is quoted in Matthew and reads, the virgin shallconceive and bear a son and they will call Him Immanuel, which means God iswith us.” Matt. 1:23. God sent his Sonon a rescue operation. He call us toreceive this gift that is eternal life through Jesus his son.

The Father sent this message to Joseph through an angel whosaid “she will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus….Joshua….Yeshua, which means the Lord saves because he will save people fromtheir sins,

So this Christmas will you reject him or receive him. Are you willing to receive the one who cameto save this world. John instructs usthat Jesus is the true light. He remindsus that to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, he gave theright to become children of God. John 1:12.

Morning Worship - You Reign

2011-10-06T13:19:00.000-04:00

Started the morning hearing with this song. This was a great way to get the day moving in the right direction. The kids enjoyed it as well.

Hmmmm . . . Presenting the Here's Hope Bible (or the Pro-Choice Bible)

2011-10-04T19:20:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I heard a radio personality make reference to a Planned Parenthood Bible. I thought this was a joke, but sure enough, a charity that sends funds to Planned Parenthood has its own Bible.

Although some people spend time protesting abortion clinics, that is not my thing. If your pro-choice, I am not going to hassle you. I understand that we have a disagreement as to when life begins. I believe that life begins at conception, which is supported in scripture. The other view says life begins at birth.

Still, if you deny the Word of God is real, active and sharper than any two-edged sword, then why would you have your own Bible. As the Word says, you are either hot or cold, just do not be lukewarm.

So what do you think? Should organizations that make it no secret that they provide financial support to Planned Parenthood and similar facilities have their own Bible?

Interesting thought: When I download this picture and I find it very interesting that a certain number came up in the file name that came from Revelation 13:18. I am not suggesting anything. I just note that this number coming up was interesting.

Why Pastors Need Our Prayers

2011-09-28T12:23:00.000-04:00

Some may not realize that they need to pray for their pastors all the time. He is the pastor. He has a direct line to God. I don't need to pray for him. He needs to pray for me. In reality pastors have a very difficult job as they work to shepherd their flocks. Many work late hours, including taking phone calls, answering emails and counseling church members. While there are superstar pastors that are prominent on television, the substantial majority of pastors are not wealthy. Indeed, there are some who work outside of their churches during the week to supplement their incomes. J. Lee Grady has written an excellent column reminding church members to pray for their pastors. The following is an excerpt of Lee's column:

Often when I speak to a group of aspiring ministers, I greet them by saying: “Welcome to the war.” I also remind them that when they signed up to join the front lines of spiritual battle, a bright red target was painted on their backs. Ministry can be wonderfully rewarding, but let’s not kid anybody: Most of the time it’s a thankless job full of headaches, disappointments, conflicts, loneliness, frustration, petty complaints and tight budgets.

And while we might assume all pastors lead megachurches and drive new cars, keep in mind that the average church in this country has 75 members and the average pastor makes less than $34,000 a year—and may work an extra job to feed his or her family. The statistics are alarming: 90 percent of pastors work more than 50 hours a week; 70 percent say they don't have any close friends; and 45 percent say they've had to take a leave of absence from ministry because of depression or burnout.
The rest of the article is here: Your Pastor is on the Firing Line-Please Pray!

As always, lifting up in prayer: Pastors Len Harper, Brian Jones, Ken Ackerman, Cindy Ackerman, Chuck Ammons, Jeremiah Playle, Michele Playle, and Chris Thomas.

Bone Hampton on Rick James Bible

2011-09-23T12:17:00.001-04:00

The other night we were at a men's meeting at church and ourpastor asked us to turn to Ephesians. Afriend of mine was sitting next to me and he realized he had a problem. There were pages missing in his Bibleincluding, the entire book of Ephesians. I leaned to him and said I hope you got a discount. Later, he said that he wanted to read theKing James Version and he pulled this Bible off the shelf as he headed out thedoor. This was a perfect set-up where Isaid it looks like you have one of those Rick James Bibles. I then told him about Bone Hampton’s comedyact on the “Rick James’ Bible.” Bone Hampton is a lot funnierthan me, so I am posting the excerpt from Thou Shalt Laugh below.

Wisdom From My 17-Year Old Nephew - Abortion

2011-09-15T23:38:00.000-04:00

My 17-year old nephew, Benjamin McKnight III, is not afraid to tackle tough subjects. Even if what he has to say will draw fire from his classmates. Still, I recognize that he has more than 300 followers on his blog. He must be doing something right. Check out what Ben (when he was younger we said Bennie) had to say about abortion. By the way, I think the most heated debate I had in high school involved the Cowboys and Eagles.

My Thoughts on Abortion
Recently, one ofmy Facebook friends put up a status saying, “‘abortion doesn’t make youunpregnant, it makes you the parent of a dead baby.’ pro-life.” AnotherFacebook friend saw this status, and responded with her own status, which said“it literally sends a pain in my stomach when ANYONE trash talks girls who getabortions. you have no idea what you’re talking about.” That status became thebeginning of a four hour, 295 comment discussion between 14 different people,myself included. There were opinions voiced, heated back and forth discussions,and, thanks to one immature girl, some threats. However, I don’t think that Igot my point across as well as I could have. Therefore, here is my full,unsolicited opinion on Abortion.

Rest of Story is Continued Here.

Communion on the Moon

2011-08-30T17:17:00.005-04:00

I attended the USMA from 1982 until graduation in 1986. During my upper class years, I was in the Company G-1 where I have many fond memories. A comment on Facebook caused me to see what I can find regarding the history of Company G-1. Among other things, I found out that Col. Buzz Aldrin was assigned to that great company. The following excerpt was shared by Col. Aldrin, with his classmates from G-1, 1951.

Communion on the moon! "In the radio blackout, I opened the little plastic packages which contained the bread and the wine. I poured the wine into the chalice our church had given me.

(Full story continues here)

I've heard the story before, but it is good to read Col. Aldrin's version of the events. I have to say, after reading the page, I have a great deal of respect for him and the other G-1 graduates in his class. Go Greeks!

Jesus Said What?

2011-08-15T23:49:00.005-04:00

An intellectual atheist/agnostic has released a diatribe regarding Jesus and scripture. His comments read as follows:

Well, as Jesus said about homosexuality... oh, that's right! He never said a WORD about homosexuality, not one. So how did homophobia become a Christian litmus test for these sex-obsessed fundamentalists? Jesus did say quite a bit about greed, materialism, selfishness, hypocrisy, the importance of paying taxes, and bearing false witness. But who needs to follow his teachings when you commune with him every morning with Fox & Friends?

If you claim to be an atheist/agnostic, how can you comment on what Jesus had to say. If you reject the Bible, how can you use it to state your case on Jesus’ position on a particular subject. Certainly, too much time and effort has been placed on the subject of homosexuality. Still, as a non-believer I hardly think you are in a position to say Jesus never said x, therefore x cannot be true.

If there is any doubt as to the Christian position, consider this, in the opening of the Gospel of John, the apostle writes in the beginning was the Word and the Word was God and the Word was with God. Then, we turn to the Gospel of Matthew and see that Jesus affirmed the Old Testament. Jesus said that he did not come to abolish the Law of Moses and the prophets, but to fulfill it. See Matt. 5:17. Thus, he affirmed the moral laws set forth in the Law of Moses, included the so-called slam verses that define certain moral behaviors as sinful. Regarding the New Testament, we have Paul writing all scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. 2 Tim. 3:16-17.

In the mind of the Christian, this means that the Holy Spirit inspired the writers of the Old and New Testament. Even if certain principals were written by Moses or written by Paul, because all scripture is God-breathed means that Moses and Paul, wrote with God’s approval. Further, if a doctrine is approved by God, it was approved by Jesus. I think somewhere Jesus said I and the Father are one.

Next time, the non-believer decides to pontificate what Jesus may or may not have said, perhaps he needs to first develop a relationship with Jesus.

P.S. If you are getting your theology from Huffpo, Fox & Friends, or Think Progress, your problems are too big for me to handle.

This was not my atheist friend's first diatribe against the Bible and sad to say, it will not be his last.

Seeking Him

2011-07-22T09:49:00.002-04:00

. . . know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will let you find Him, but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever. I Chr. 28:9

This passage comes with a command and a promise. If the command is received, the promise brings comfort. If it is rejected you are on your own.

The Lord wants us to know Him. We are to hold Him in awe. We are to respect His power. It is also important to recognize His goodness and His love.

He asks us to serve Him with our whole heart. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, strength and mind. We are to put everything within us to serving the Lord. We are to willingly offer ourselves as a sacrifice, holy and pleasing to the Lord. Like Isaiah after his cleansing, we must be wiling to say “Here I am send me.” You do not have to be a pastor or a missionary. You can be a teacher, a firefighter or even a lawyer. Wherever you are, submit yourself to the Lord with your entire heart and willing mind.

If you go after Him, if you willingly submit yourself to Him, he promises that you will find Him. It is his desire to have a relationship with you. Ignore Him and you are on your own. Many of us make that choice, but that is a dangerous place to be. Seek the Lord and He will order your steps. Seek the Lord and He promises to guide your paths. These promises are not difficult or burdensome. They are for our good. He tells us that his yoke is easy and his burden is light.

Prayer: Father, help us to willingly serve you with our whole hearts. May we present ourselves as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to you. Allow us to willingly serve you. Thank you for your promise to reveal yourself to us. Thank you for your words of comfort and the assurance that you will never leave us or forsake us.

Stirring Up a Riot

2011-07-02T00:27:00.006-04:00

“they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city.” Acts 17:5

The first few verses of Acts 17 focus on Paul’s missionary work in Thessalonica. In earlier chapters, we see Paul is confronted with opposition. In Thessalonica, the opposition that he faces is more intense. The antagonists did not simply contradict Paul’s preaching. They took things a step further by rounding up some bad characters who incited a riot. (See Acts 19:23-41 about Paul in Ephesus).

I have never been anywhere near a riot before. Nor do I care to be anywhere near one. I have seen them on TV and that is enough for me. People in biblical times are no different than people today. Occasionally, you will see a group in a foreign country rioting for religious reasons. Perhaps a cartoonist will draw an image of a certain religious figure sending people into turmoil. Also, in foreign countries you might see riots driven by political or economic reasons. Here in the United States, as well as our brothers in Canada, you might see riots because your sports team lost or won a championship. (See “The Sports Riot: First We Lose (or Win) Then We Set This Sucker on Fire”). The problem with riots is a large number of people will always get hurt. There are also occasions where some may die.

Returning to Acts 17, we see the intensity of the opposition that is instigated by these unsavory characters. This all takes place because Paul is preaching the Gospel. The scripture is not clear, but it seems that the other believers kept Paul and Silas hidden so no harm would come to them. It was not until the middle of the night that the other believers helped Paul and Silas escape to a town called Berea.

Today, we should not be surprised if we encounter opposition when we go public with our faith. If we imitate Paul by holding that we are not ashamed of the Gospel, we will encounter opposition. See Rom. 1:16. Our society is comfortable with the EC Christians (i.e., Easter Christmas) and the secret agent Christians. The Great Commission Christians, however always attract criticism from the atheists, agnostics, people of other faiths, and even those Christians who deliberately ignore Matt. 28:18-20. Jesus warned his disciples about this. In John 16:33, he said “in this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world!” If Peter and Paul experienced trouble, we should not be surprised if wee too experience challenges because of our faith. At the same time we should remember the promise that he will never leave us nor forsake us. Heb. 13:5.

Prayer: Father, I give you thanks for trusting us with your Great Commission. Whether the times or difficult or easy, that you promised you will never leave us nor forsake us. We ask that you help us to walk in a manner worthy of our calling. Fill us to the fullest measure, enabling us to share your good news with great boldness. All of these things I pray to you in Jesus name.

Thankful for Salvation

2011-06-29T11:40:00.003-04:00

And he brought them into his house and set food before them, and rejoiced greatly, having believed in God with his whole household. Acts 16:34

Unfortunately, many of us take our salvation for granted. We regularly attend church. We sing our favorite songs. We may even pay attention to the message from our pastor. Yet, we frequently forget how we got to the point. What were the circumstances that led us to become regularly attend church.

In this passage we have the story of the Philippian jailer. Paul and Silas are in Philippi preaching the gospel and bringing salvation to the city. While many are being saved, others are opposed to their preaching leading to their arrest. While in jail, Paul and Silas started a mini gospel concert, singing hymns and praising god. Their singing caused the entire prison to shake and their chains were loosed. We need that kind of singing in our churches.

When the jailer saw that the prison doors were open, he believed that Paul and Silas had escaped. He was so overcome with fear that he was prepared to take his own life. In his eyes, suicide was better than the punishment that he would have faced at the hands of the Roman authorities.

Paul managed to get the attention of the jailer, stopping him from killing himself. Immediately, the jailer asked “what must I do to be saved.” Acts 16: 30. Too bad people do not ask us that question more often. Here, the jailer recognized that God was working in the lives of Paul and Silas. His pagan religion was nothing compared to the God who Paul and Silas praised in their singing.

Paul’s response was simple, “believe in the Lord Jesus and you shall be saved, you and your household.” In the middle of the night, when everyone should be sleeping, the jailer brought Paul and Silas into his home. Salvation came to his home that night. The Philippian jailer was full of joy having received salvation. This was an incredible transformation considering the fact that moments earlier he was thinking about taking his own life. He was so grateful to Paul and Silas that he invited them into his home and prepared a meal for them.

Considering the Philippian jailer’s response, are we grateful for our salvation. Is there someone in our lives whom we need to thank for sharing the gospel with us? Is there someone that we should recognize for investing in our spiritual growth? Also, are we excited about our faith? We cannot simply go through the motions each Sunday and say it is time to go to church. Like the Philippian jailer, we should “rejoice greatly for having believed in God,” and receiving the free gift of salvation.

Prayer: Father, I thank you for your love and all spiritual blessings that you have poured on my life. I thank you for rescuing me from darkness and bringing me into your marvelous light. I thank you for those who shared your love with me and spent time discipling me. For every blessing that you have extended in my life I give you all the glory, honor and praise.

Good Friday 2011 - Saying # 7 Be Ready to Face Eternity

2011-04-26T17:39:00.007-04:00

We had a great Good Friday/Easter Weekend at South Brandon Worship Center and the Sunday Night Remix Church. For Good Friday, like last year, six men from my church and I had the opportunity to present the "7 Last Words of Christ." This year I spoke on number 7, which comes from Luke 23:46. My notes are below. Since I was the last of the 7 speakers, my presentation included a challenge.

Luke 23:46 Jesus called out with a loud voice, Father into your hands I commit my spirit. When he said this he breathed his last.

This last saying highlights the importance of submitting to the Lord. Yielding to God’s will. That was the kind of life lived by Christ.

There is no dispute that Jesus was severely wounded; beaten. He was hanging on the cross for hours. Yes, he was dying. But I would argue that at this point he was still far from death. He was in bad shape. He truly was hurting, but take a close look at verse 46 – Jesus called out in a loud voice.

Despite the hours spent on the cross, there was still a certain level of strength in him. His calling out in a loud voice, gives us insight into his death. In dying, Jesus, truly laid his life down on our behalf. It was not the Jews who killed him. The conspired to have him sentenced. They worked towards his execution. But it was not the Jews who killed him. It wasn’t the Romans who killed him. They beat him. They nailed him on the cross, they cast lots for his clothing, but they could not kill him on their own.

John addresses how Jesus death was an act of submission.

John 10:17-18 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life – only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own accord. I have the authority to lay it down and the authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.

The Jews and the Romans could not have killed him, without Jesus willingly submitting himself to the Father.

Again, this statement is a lesson on submission. The word commit means to put in charge or to trust. Jesus last words are teaching us to put our trust in the Father.

Jesus lived his life submitting to the Father. This statement was his final message on the subject. To imitate Christ, we must be willing to trust God. This is revealed throughout scripture. For example, Peter tells us

1 Peter 2:21 because Christ suffered for you leaving you an example that you should follow his steps.

In other words Peter is telling us to follow the example set by Christ to submit ourselves to God’s will.

Peter continues, v.22-23 He committed no sin and no deceit was found in his mouth. When they hurled insults at him, he did not retaliate, when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead he entrusted himself to Him who judges justly.

With this statement, he teaches us to place our trust in Him and the Father. This is an important lesson.

This last saying is interesting because it comes directly from the Psalms. No one was more familiar with the scripture than the Scribes and Pharisees.

While this statement describes what was happening – Jesus submitting to the Father, it also quotes from the book of Psalms, where in chapter 31, verse 5 David writes into your hands I commit my Spirit. The theme throughout this entire Psalm is a lesson on submitting to God. v.1 In you, Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness. v.13 they conspire against me and plot to take my life. But I trust in you, O Lord; I say you are my God.”

So these Pharisees who were looking forward to his death, if they were paying attention received a lesson on trusting God. We who are in need of a Savior, need to receive that same lesson. Hopefully, we do not have the same religious barriers as the Pharisees. Over and over again, the scriptures remind us to trust in the Lord.

Pro.3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight. Mk 9:7 This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to Him. John 14:1 Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.

For those of you who say that Jesus is the Lord of your life, have you made him Lord over every aspect of your life. I am not talking about the Lord over Sunday morning; or the Lord over Good Friday. Have you made him Lord over Monday through Saturday? Is he Lord over your workplace. Is he Lord over your finances. Is he the Lord over your home and your Family. Are you listening to Him.

To those who have not received Jesus; I ask, what will you do with the Cross. What will you do with Good Friday. This is not simply a historical event where an innocent man has died. Jesus has reminded us that God wants to be our Father. He said, when you pray say “Our Father.” Jesus died to reconcile you with the Father. None of your sins are too big for God’s forgiveness. Jesus illustrated this in describing the father running to embrace the prodigal son after he squandered his share of his father’s estate. God’s love for us is great. He wants you to be part of the family. That invitation comes with a promise. John 1:12 tells us, to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.

So, do not leave this Worship Center without doing business with God. Do not leave here without receiving the free gift of salvation. If you have any questions, go to any of the men who spoke this evening, or go to any of the pastors of this Church. Do not leave here not knowing whether you will spend eternity with the Father. Today can be your day of salvation!

Super Bowl Celebration at South Brandon Worship Center

2011-02-04T20:53:00.004-05:00

Super Bowl Celebration at South Brandon Worship Center

We really are having a tailgate at Church this Sunday. There will be dogs and brats on the grill. We will have chips and dip. We may even have wings. Church members will sport their team colors. I am sure we will see Packer green and yellow and Steeler yellow and black. Still, we are not pulling a bait and switch. A church service will take place at SBWC. You will hear uplifting music and Pastor Len Harper will deliver a message entitled “How to Be a Winner on God’s Team.” We are taking advantage of what has become an American Holiday and using it to reach our world for Christ. If you are in the Brandon/Valrico area and have nothing going on Sunday morning, pay us a visit at South Brandon Worship Center at 9:15 a.m. or 10:45 a.m. You may even hear the answer to the question "what must I do to enter the Kingdom of God?"

By the way, we have several small groups at SBWC and each of our small groups will host Super Bowl parties in their homes.

A New Life in Parking Lot

2010-11-18T19:05:00.005-05:00

This afternoon, I went across the bridge to Pinellas County to attend a business luncheon that featured Attorney David Gibbs III as the guest speaker. There were a number of reasons for me to skip the luncheon. I had already heard David speak a few years ago. I had to drive across the bridge. I had a lot of work to do at the office. However, Dan Shock organized the event and encouraged a number of friends and me to attend. Although I was busy, I went ahead and put the luncheon on my calendar. While there, I found that I was truly blessed to be there.

I could go into detail about how great it was to hear David’s presentation. David is the lead attorney for the Christian Law Association, which was founded by his dad, and he played a prominent role in the Terri Schiavo case. David’s representation of Terri Schiavo’s parents attracted national and international attention. He had the attention of the Governor of Florida, the President, and both houses of Congress. He also presented the Schiavo case to the US Supreme Court. So, it seemed that I was privileged to share lunch with David and hear him speak. David was gracious as he talked about the judge that ruled against him, as well as Michael Schiavo. Among other things, during his presentation David pointed to the scripture in Matthew that notes “whatever you did for the least of these you did for me.”

The greater privilege, however, occurred after the luncheon. During the event a young man came through the door. The room was full of people wearing white shirts, ties, polo shirts and other attire that you would find at a business event. This young man was dressed more casually in overalls. At first I thought he was employed by the church and stopped in for lunch. As people mingled, I had the opportunity to talk to him and learned that he was 25 years old and out of work. I later learned that he was diabetic. I encouraged him not to give up on his job search. I then asked if I could pray for him and put a hand on his shoulder and prayed that he would find work, prayed for his future wife (I noticed he was not wearing a wedding ring), and prayed for his children (I did not think he was a father, but again praying for his future). I also prayed that God would regularly direct his steps. When I was done, he said that the prayer was interesting because he and his girlfriend believed that she might be pregnant.

I talked to a few more people and he stayed nearby. As we left the building, I felt prompted to ask him the critical question. “Stephen, if you died today, are you confident that you will be in heaven.” (or something very similar). He admitted that he was not sure. He talked about people seeming to have it together and being more religious than him. In other words, he was down on himself. I told him how Jesus exposed the religious leaders of the day for appearing clean on the outside, but being filthy on the inside. Then, I asked what does it take for a person to get to heaven. He said, you have to be a good person, and follow Jesus. At that point I stopped him. Those of us who follow Ray Comfort, Kirk Cameron and Todd Friel, know that the key words are good person.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, I presented a different twist on the good person test. It appeared that he was being down on himself, so instead of asking “have you ever told a lie” or “how many lies have you told,” I asked him do you know anyone that never told a lie. He said no. So I said that makes us all liars. I asked do you know anyone that never stole or cheated on his test. He said his grandmother (reveals the high level of respect that he has for her). Then I said besides her, anyone else? He said no. Then I asked do you know anyone that has not taken the Lord’s name in vain. He said no. Then I explained to him that I had just taken him through some of the Ten Commandment and that he and I are guilty of breaking all of them and that his grandmother may have broken 8 or 9 of them.

Then, I explained that God punishes sinners and asked if he knew what God did to keep us from going to Hell. He recognized that God sent Jesus to die for us. Then I elaborated on that by pointing out that Jesus was without sin, which is why he was able to die in our place. At that point, Dan came by and he knew exactly what was going on. I told Stephen, that I was reading in Romans 7 how our sinful nature makes us do the things that we don’t want to do and how it makes us fail to do the things that we want to do. After that I told him about Romans 8 and how the Spirit of God empowers us to walk in accordance with the Spirit and put to death our sinful nature. Then, we talked about repentance and putting his faith in Jesus. I asked him, are you ready to repent and put your faith in Jesus. He said yes. Wow! As I was talking, I started to get emotional, my voice was breaking. I turned to Dan and asked if he would pray with Stephen and he did. As Dan prayed, both Stephen and I were in tears.

Indeed, that was an amazing privilege to watch first hand as God added someone else to his Kingdom. Afterwards, Dan and I spent another 20 minutes or so encouraging him to grow in his faith.

Matt. 25:40 The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.

Two things stood out from this story:

1) How often do we tell someone that we will pray for them. I do it a lot. It is far better to be willing to pray for that person right there.

2) I almost walked away without asking the critical question. He said that was his church and I could have easily assumed he was a Christian.

This Is It and South Brandon's Got Talent

2010-10-29T21:31:00.009-04:00

THIS IS IT

Oct. 31 @ 9:15 am and 10:45 am at South Brandon Worship Center
4929 Bell Shoals Road, Valrico, FL

From Pastor Len Harper:

Have you ever been missing something, but you're not exactly sure what it is that you're looking for? But when you find it, you know it, and you say to yourself: "Yes! Yes! This is it!" This has happened to me only a few times in my life: becoming a Christian; meeting my wife Robin; attending seminary; coming to SBWC.

It happened again about three years ago. I thought to myself: "Something was missing at SBWC." People's lives aren't being transformed as God wants them to be . . . then I knew "This is it!" People need "Three Steps to Transformation!" This is what I was looking for to easily explain to others what is absolutely necessary for TRANSFORMATION to occur in their life. Most believers do Step 1 (60 %) - Worship faithfully! Some do Step 2 (30 %) - Grow in small (family) groups. Less do Step 3 (15 %) - Serve their community and church. We need all three! Join us this Sunday, as we look at why Step 2 "Grow in Family Groups" is so important to our walk with God. Invite a friend to come with you!

Oct. 31 Sunday @ 7 p.m. “ South Brandon ’s Got Talent!”

Join us for a fun-filled night of comedy, music, talent show, and . . . well, you’ll just have to come to see the rest. Bring a friend!

A Lawyer's Calling

2010-10-23T15:01:00.002-04:00

At the end of August I had the opportunity/privilege to be the guest speaker at the Christian Chamber in Lakeland. The following are the notes that I used for the presentation. I won't say script because on more than one occasion, I departed from the outline.

No lawyer jokes here
Christian lawyer, oxymoron or contradiction in terms
More than a small handful of us out there.
Cary Gaylord (West Point ’69 and successful Tampa lawyer)

The Christian life is an adventure. I’ve used that line before our Church, and use it again today. You can experience a lot of excitement when you are about the Father’s business.

To be clear, God has not called us to live a life of excitement and adventure. Still, I do feel a certain level of passion and excitement as I strive to grow in my walk with the Lord.

In a few moments, I will explain why. But first, I would like to read a passage from the book of Isaiah Chapter 6.

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:
"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory."
4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
5 "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."
6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."
8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"
And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"

Verse 5 talks about Isaiah being a man of unclean lips,
That is where I was, coming into the Army
21 years old, graduating from West Point and chasing the coveted Army Ranger Tab

God got my attention as I recovered from the Ranger School injury

Beginning of transformation
Took awhile to get into church
Involvement in small group
teaching Sunday School

1992, left the Army to attend law school
Drawn to group called Christian Legal Society
Although 600 students at law school, we only had about 6-10 members. But during exam time, we had special prayer meetings and our attendance briefly doubled or tripled.

At the end of the 1st year, I was voted as president of the group for the following year
looking back I thought mistake I made; we had a nice Christian club, but we weren’t outreach minded. We did not focus on bringing in other law students, particularly the lost

After graduation another mistake made – primary focus would be on legal career; thus I had no desire to pursue any leadership roles in any church
Thus, I became what I would call a spectator Christian
Faithfully present every Sunday, but not involved in anything beyond that.
Chasing the things of the world during the week.

First I spent two years working for a federal judge in Jacksonville, that was followed by the time spent at a law firm specializing in labor and employment law in downtown Tampa.
Labor and employment law involves legal issues surrounding the employment relationship, including advising and counseling clients on these issues
Nature of Florida law, discrimination and harassment are cases that the courts deal with on a regular basis

Early success
Disability case
whether employer discriminated against employee based on disability
store manager; memory problems due to head injury; store underperformed; claimed needed an asst. mgr
well represented by a Polk County attorney
Court entered summary judgment; assuming all of evidence viewed favorably towards her, she still did not have a case
Harassment case
fast food restaurant; young employees; boy girl; horseplay; claims a couple of touching incidents; including an unwelcome kiss near her ear
summary judgment entered in favor of restaurant
Lessons
documentation is very important; keep good records because if your employment decisions are challenged; you want to demonstrate support for the decision making process
investigate all complaints of harassment; even if you believe that the person complaining tends to cry wolf all the time
Again had early success and there ws definitely a level of excitement associated with that success
As the years went by; I continued to enjoy the work; but I did not enjoy the atmosphere
This was in 2004-2005 time frame when I was really growing in my faith

Earlier mistake; focus on career; avoid church leadership

Then we look at Isaiah 6, and zero in on verse 8, which reads “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?’ Then I said ‘Here I am, Send me!’”

I believe this verse highlights our calling; what is our next step after the Lord tells us that our sins are forgiven . . . at that point we are ready to say “Here I am, Send me”

Before I highlight examples, I want to go back to my first job after law school.
A year before graduating I was interviewed by Judge John H. Moore in Jacksonville
Gator in every corner of the office.
Two strikes
Timing=> worked for Judge Moore the year that Gators were #1 and FSU was #2.

To salute Judge Moore, point to recent history and last 4 years of Tim Tebow, and the things that he accomplished at the University of Florida

Heisman Trophy; two national championships; the Speech

You have to admire his faith

Bible verses on eye black; How many people, Gator fans and opponents, picked up the Bible because of the Bible verses displayed on the eye black
Conversation regarding Eph 2:8-9 “for by grace you have been saved through faith; not of yourselves, it is a gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast.”

God has given Tim Tebow the ability to play football well enough to win the Heisman trophy; and at the UF he has used that gift to share the Gospel w/ anyone who will pay attention

Again, in the words of Isa. “Here I am, Send Me!”

You and I can do the same thing

I am not talking about putting eye black with Bible verses on our faces

What we can do is use our businesses as a platform for ministry

Small group leadership at our church
connecting with families and leading Bible studies (to lead had to be prepared) and that is where the growth kicked in
CBMC
Involvement with this group
Evangelism and discipleship; purposefully, reaching out to the lost and growing and not only converting, but discipling others

With this spiritual growth came the vision of applying this to work
So in 2006, I left the Tampa law firm and my wife and I started our own law practice in Brandon,
The vision that we had was to use our law office as a platform for ministry
Actually, I used the terminology mission and ministry
That through the office we would reach out to the lost and to those who are Christians we would minister to there needs.

Examples

Employment case; discussing the case with a gentleman who lost his job it hit him really hard; some of us get very wrapped up in our work and it really defines us;

on one occasion he came to my office with his sister; on another he came with his mother

on his last visit he started talking about reading a book, sounded like a devotional; to encourage himself while he was feeling down; then he started talking about visiting different churches; at that meeting I had no intention on getting in a religious discussion; but he said something that really sparked a conversation that lead me to discussing different scriptures

I started talking about 1st Cor.; and from there I started talking about Acts. Then I would pause and note, that I am really an attorney and not a pastor.

I knew he was listening
He called me back

Woman came to my office; serious marital problems; concerned about her daughter
after over an hour of listening to her story, I was very direct and said as her, you need to pray for your daughter; but for your prayers to be effective your relationship with the Lord must be right

Then I went to my office; returned to the conference room and handed her a gospel of John;

I also encouraged her to call a lady at my church, who is good at counseling individuals with emotional needs and I also invited her to my church

This is a woman who has almost no spiritual background; her husband resisted her efforts to go to Church; and approximately 2 weeks later she showed up at our church.

Recent adoption case at Polk County Courthouse

young lady wanted her husband to become the adopted father of her daughter;
to adopt, you have to let the father know; we could not reach him, deployed to Afghanistan with Nat Guard

called into court
thought Judge might have challenged us; Judge reviewed filed; we had everything that we needed

granted the adoption; the mother was in tears; her attorney the Army guy was almost in tears as well.

Few other similar stories; I will confess right now, as there are great opportunities to witness to others, discuss my faith, there are missed opportunities as well.

Over the last few years I’ve realized that the investment in the lives of others is worth it;

Jesus told us to “To therefore and make disciples of all nations.” Matt. 28:19

I am involved in a number of ministries in the business community; but my favorite is CBMC

Every Wednesday morning meeting with a group of men at the Village Inn

As a result of these meetings, witnessing first hand the transformation in their lives

Eric has been with us for four years
he is in his 60s. Has a son my age;
grandchildren

he said for a long time he was afraid to read the Bible; not unusual; I believe most American Christians are that way

Now he studies it; he prepares for our lessons; and he is excited about the growth in his life

Dan – who is in his mid to late 30s
he joined us 4 years ago; in a wheelchair; when he joined us he had a hunger to seek God;

watched him move from a wheelchair; to a walker; and to a cane; to now he is on his feet

He has risen up to become a leader in our group;
Followed me as the Chair of Tampa Bay Leadership Prayer Breakfast;

Major role in success of last breakfast; prior events averaged about 500 attendees; he lead our team to bring 1000 attendees to the Joe Gibbs Breakfast

My thing is I love doing Bible Study. I love opening up the Bible and watching it change the lives of others
I’ve concluded that seminary is not for me.
God, has me right where he wants me . . . where I am able to reach people that would not be reached by the pastors at my church.

Again, you can use your work; your businesses to make a difference for the Kingdom of God

You do not have to be the one who approaches people and ask them if they are going to heaven; and you don’t have to be the one who leads Bible Studies,

Rom. 12:4 “for just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function.

v.6 And since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let each exercise them accordingly; if prophecy according to the proportion of his faith; if service, in his serving; or he who teaches in teaching; or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives with liberality; he who leads with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

Many of you have already taken that step to make a difference for the Kingdom of God; for those of you who haven’t I encourage you to consider what gifts have God given you and think of how they can be used to glorify God in the workplace.

Rich's Fundraising Effort: Pocket Testament League

2010-09-24T09:59:00.004-04:00

On September 27, 2010 I will be participating in the 3^rd annual 100 Hole Golf Marathon for The Pocket Testament League. I am doing this because I believe in the power of God’s Word and how the Pocket Testament League is helping to distribute the Gospel of John to its Membership of over 230,000 people who have committed to Read, Carry and Share the Gospel of John on a daily basis.

The Pocket Testament League has been helping followers of Christ develop a lifestyle of sharing their faith on a daily basis since 1893. Currently the vision of the League is to build the largest, most effective and cost-efficient force for one-on-one evangelism in the history of the World. Last year, members of the League were able to share the good news of Jesus with just under one million people!

Contributions are tax-deductible. Simply mark the appropriate box below:

___$1.00 per hole ____$3.00 per hole _____$5.00 per hole

_____$10.00/ hole Other_________ (write in)

You can send a check made payable to: The Pocket Testament League and mail to the address below:

Rich Bradford

Bradford & Bradford, P.A.

150 E. Bloomingdale Ave., Suite 196

Brandon, FL 33511

Click here to make your payment online: http://www.pocketpower.org/appeal/1009-APP/GOLF-FL

Make sure you click “Donate Now” with your amount and then enter 1009-APP/GOLF-FL in the Offer Code

You can send a reply email stating your pledge amount to: rich@bradfordfirm.com or fsusma@verizon.net

I want to personally thank you for the friendship we have. Any support will be greatly appreciated as I know this may have been a difficult year for some.

Rich

I Will Help You

2010-09-02T22:48:00.001-04:00

I Will Help You

See, I am concerned for you and I will come to help you. Ezekiel 36:9

The children of Israel were struggling. They were conquered by a vicious enemy. Their families were torn apart. Many lives were lost, as well as their homes and property. The majority of them were living in exile in a foreign land. In shock, they wondered about their future.

The Lord speaks, through the prophet Ezekiel. The chapters leading to thirty six paint a dark picture. Yet, there is hope. The Lord knows they are suffering. He is aware of their hard times. In response, to their suffering, he lets them know that he is concerned. The God who created the universe, who holds everything together, is concerned about the children of Israel. He feels this way because he truly loves his children. As such, he will pour his love out on his children.

Similar to the time, many generations prior to Ezekiel, the Lord heard the cries of the children and he gave them Moses to deliver them from bondage at the hands of the Egyptians. In the text, the promise is similar. He says he is concerned for them and he will come to help them. He does the same today. We are reminded that to those who received Him [Jesus] to those who believe in His name, He gives the right to become children of God. John 1:12. Then the gospel of Matthew finishes with a promise stating that [He] will be with us always. Matt. 28:20.

Even in the midst of trouble and calamity, we can turn to the Lord for strength and encouragement. He promises to express his concern for us and to come to help us. Lord, thank you for your many promises. Thank you for being with us now, and through the end of this age. Help me to love you more with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. In Jesus name.

Devotional on Revival

2010-09-01T17:19:00.002-04:00

The following is not my work. It came from my friend's mentor, whom we know as Papa Roy.

A Touch of Encouragement-REVIVAL! It Can Happen Again!

God desires to wonderfully revive and equip His church today.
Therefore it is our goal to challenge God's people about the spiritual value of child-like faith, deep humility and united prayer as the essential elements in preparing our hearts to experience God's reviving presence. God delights to use the faith-filled prayers of frail and needy people to birth great things into the earth. Remember, the strategy of prayer is God's sovereign design and not the human efforts of overly ambitious men. The inspired Word of God repeatedly exhorts us to pray in cooperation with God's kingdom purposes. (D. Smithers)
Return, we beseech You, O God of hosts; look down from heaven and see, and visit this vine. (Psalm 80:14)
This psalm most likely represents the prayer of a man in the Southern Kingdom for his alienated brothers in the north. He sets aside tribal rivalries and prays earnestly for God to take care of those who are perishing because of the enemy. When revival comes, God's people set aside petty differences and love one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. We do not set aside the essentials of the gospel, such as justification by faith alone in Christ alone. But we set aside our pride over being right on minor points of doctrine and practice. Genuine unity glorifies God. (S. J. Cole)

God will never leave you, but there are times when He may need to withhold His power and blessing because of sin in your life. Are you in need of God's restoration? He hears the prayer of revival. Ask Him to clean your heart.
.Depending on His grace.
Papa Roy ><> ><> ><>
August 21, 2010
In God we trust

Devotional on Worship

2010-08-18T11:03:00.002-04:00

I received this devotional from a gentleman known as Papa Roy entitled Worship. Enjoy.

Good morning, amazing grace! how sweet the sound!
Responding to greatness!

The writer is expressing his attitude before the Lord in worship and adoration. He is extolling the majesty of God, the Kingship, and the Creator of all mankind. In light of all this, he then goes on to say, "O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker." Kneeling and bowing down before the Lord was the most natural thing in the world to do for David. When we kneel before the Lord, we arise differently. We lay our prayers and requests before the Lord in prayer, bowing down before Him and seeking His guidance and help. He sees the humility of our humble heart; He sees our desires and grants our requests. (M. McDonald)

Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. (Psalm 95:6)

It is this that is to be expressed in worship: praise and thanksgiving to God for the personal knowledge we have of him. He is our God, he is our Maker. We have also come out of a distant relationship into a personal relationship with our God. That ought to awaken the love of our heart. We have experienced his Shepherd's care over us as the sheep of his hand, the people of his pasture. That constitutes worship: singing and praying, not artificially, not perfunctorily, but genuinely expressing praise unto God. (R. Stedman)

The greatness of God is the answer to the smallness of man. When you see great sin and great disappointment or when you have a great burden to carry, remember that you are worshiping a great God. As you kneel before Him, He becomes even greater.

Depending on His grace.
Papa Roy ><> ><> ><>
August 18, 2010
In God we trust

p.s. Papa Roy has a website, but I believe that it has been a year or so since he has updated his devotionals. I can say that what I have read has been encouraging.

The Cry of Our Savior

2010-04-04T18:00:00.001-04:00

I had the opportunity to join 6 other men from my Church in presenting the last words of Christ at our Good Friday service. Presently, none of us are serving as pastors. Still, the Lord used us to bless our congregation. I was the fourth speaker and the following is the message that I delivered on Friday evening.

THE CRY OF OUR SAVIOR

Matt. 27:45-47
Now, about the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying “Eli Eli Lama Sabachthani?” that is My God, My God why hast thou forsaken me. And some of those who were standing there, when they heard it began saying, “This man is calling for Elijah.”

The soldiers and religious leaders missed it. In that cry, Jesus was not calling to Elijah. He was crying out to his Father. And this cry was made on our behalf.

What would make the Savior cry? There are a number of places where the Savior cried, but the cry on the cross was different. The cry on the cross was emotional and it showed the anguish that he felt on the cross. The anguish was so deep that the Matthew and Mark wrote it in his native language – Aramaic.

We all know that Jesus suffered a brutal and painful beating at the hands of the Roman soldiers. We also can imagine the pain that he felt when he was being nailed to the cross. But that was not the reason for the cry.

This cry was directed straight to the Father. To understand why he cried out that way, we need to take another look at verse 45, which reads from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour. This was a supernatural event.

Based on the Jewish system for keeping time in that era, the darkness fell at noon and continued until 3 pm.

Some would try to explain away different events in the Bible, by suggesting maybe it was a really cloudy day; or maybe there was a solar eclipse that day. Make no mistake about it, that God was the one who made darkness fall at midday. God’s hand was on the event. The scripture reads that it is God who will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight. Amos. 8:9

Why did this happen? It was at this point that God the Father, turned his back on Jesus, the Christ, the Son of the Living God.

It was at this point, as prophesied by Isaiah that the Lord placed our iniquities upon Him. Is. 53:6.

Before this, the Son always walked with the Father. The Son was always in communion with the Father. As a youth, Jesus told Mary and Joseph that he was about His Father’s Business. Later he said, I and the Father are one. If you have seen me, you have seen the Father. The relationship between Jesus and the Father was the closest that you can imagine.

So, now at this point in history, the one who was always with the Father is now, separated from the Father. So, he cried, Eli Eli Lama Sabachthani.

To understand why the Father would turn his back on his Son, we must consider God’s nature

We know that God is good. God is very good.
We also know that God is love. Because of His love, we know that he has a passionate love for each and every one of us. God is also Holy. Holy, Holy, Holy. He is just and righteous. Because he is Holy he hates sin.

Isaiah tells us that our iniquities separate us from our God. Because of our sins, He has hid his face from ours. Is. 59:2.

But on the cross, Jesus stepped in our place. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us. 2 Cor. 5:21. With Jesus bearing our sins on the cross, the mysterious darkness covered the land, in the middle of the day. It was at that point, that God turned his back on his Son. And it was that separation that caused the Son, our Savior to cry out, Eli Eli Lama Sabachthani.

Jesus cried out in this manner so we won’t have to. He cried in our place. He stood in our place to bear God’s wrath.

Many of us have already put our trust in Christ. For those who haven’t, you should consider a different cry. A cry of repentance.

The cry could be very simple, in your own words. There are also many examples in scripture. Father have mercy on me a sinner. Or in the words of David, Father against you and you alone have I sinned.

Or you could cry out in your own words, representing a heart felt repentance and placing your trust in the Savior.

If you have not turned to God in repentance and put your trust in Christ, I urge you to do it tonight.

It is better for you to cry out for mercy tonight than to wait until Judgment Day when it is too late, and you will be forced to cry, My God my God, why have you forsaken me.

The Jack Bauer School of Evangelism

2010-03-29T15:02:00.009-04:00

This is pretty funny, from the Sacred Sandwich.

Keith Olbermann Mocks Biblical Worldview

2010-03-02T14:48:00.003-05:00

There is no surprise here. In Keith Olbermann's world, if you have a high view of scripture, you may not have a very high IQ. To Keith, if you go to church more than twice a year, you may have mental issues. I found the following excerpt of Mr. Olbermann's words of wisdom at the Crosstalk Blog:

Olbermann Mocks Creationists
And now, the second of tonight’s “Quick Comments,” and a mind may be a terrible thing to waste, but if you waste 15 million of them, apparently you get Texas. If a University of Texas poll is correct, that is how many Texans – 60 percent of the population – either believe humans and dinosaurs lived at the same time, or are not sure. Oh, this gets much worse. Evolution does okay in Texas – 68 percent believe in it with or without the, quote, “guiding hand from God.” Human evolution? Not so much. Fifty percent with or without.

I’d love to be able to pin this on political affiliation, but it’s almost a tie – 51 percent of Democrats said they either never go to church or only go once or twice a year; 45 percent of Republicans said they either never go to church or only go once or twice a year. When pollsters asked Texans if they disagreed or agreed with the statement, “God created human beings pretty much in their present form about 10,000 years ago,” 38 percent of Texans agreed. Okay, the joke that goes with that statistic is so obvious, I’ll just skip it. Conclusion: Ultimately, Texas may not have to secede from the union, it may just collectively drop off like a vestigial tail.

Mr. Olbermann's comments are telling. He was surprised to find that members of his political party actually go to church or believe that God created man in his own image. Mr. Olbermann, there is more to life than politics. Perhaps one day the Lord will open your eyes and you will repent and put your trust in the Savior.

He Makes All Things New

2010-02-04T13:18:00.004-05:00

Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. – Is. 43:18-19 (See also Phil. 3:10-14).

At the beginning of the year our pastor challenged the King’s Men (male leadership at South Brandon Worship Center) to take a close look at this passage as we began a period of prayer and fasting. About a week or so later, I saw that Derek Maul, a local writer for the Brandon News/Tampa Tribune, also was studying the same passage with the men’s group at his church. As I studied the passage, I made the following notes below. Also, listen to the music below from Hezekiah Walker, entitled “Moving Forward.”

Remember ye not the former things
-Do not allow guilt, disappointment, defects to hold you down.
-Do receive correction; gain understanding; walk in obedience, move forward
-Do not let your past hold you back
- - Too often we allow circumstances to hold us back
-Focus on the calling of God on your life

Behold I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth
-God is moving
-He is at work advancing His Kingdom
-He wants us to see where he is working and join him in his work (from reading Henry Blackaby Experiencing God)
-Again, don’t be weighed down by the past because God is doing something right now.
- In the midst of this bad economy and tragedy in Haiti, God is moving. He is making all things new!

Q:God where are you working in my home? Church? Community? Business?

Shall ye not know it?
-Keep your eyes open to what God is doing
-God’s love for us is deep
-He commands us to love Him. With all our heart, soul, mind, strength
-He commands us to love our neighbor
-Jesus came to seek and save the lost
-He instructed us to go and make disciples

Q:How do you see God showing his love? If you don’t know, ask.
Q:What has God called you to accomplish? If you don’t know, ask.

I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert

-God will open up a path
-He will make a way to accomplish (through us) what He wants us to do
-Listen to Him; Listen to His Son (behold my Son, in whom I am well pleased); Listen to His Holy Spirit
-God is moving; God is at work; Listen to Him; Follow Him

No Void Returns

2010-02-03T17:36:00.003-05:00

Almost four years ago, I met with two others on a monthly basis to coordinate a Business Leaders’ Luncheon to be held in conjunction with the 2007 Luis Palau Festival in Tampa. We met for breakfast at the same restaurant and usually had the same server. During one of our earlier meetings, I had handed a server a Gospel of John that is distributed through the Pocket Testament League. Since our last meeting, in February 2007, I do not recall returning to that restaurant, but my friend Hal would drop in from time to time. This morning Hal told me that the same server is still there. I was surprised and encouraged when he told me that she frequently asks him how I am doing. That small gesture from nearly four years ago certainly made a lasting impression.

So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. Is. 55:11

Some Good News from Haiti

2010-01-15T12:14:00.004-05:00

The following came from my good friend, Pastor Ken Ackerman. He is our Outreach/Missions Pastor at South Brandon Worship Center:

Thank you Lord Jesus for your faithfulness and protection of those we love.

I have confirmation from 2 sources that all the children in the orphanage are OK. The back wall around the orphanage fell down and there might be some other structural damages to the buildings.

One source has spoke to Pastor Lucien directly and he is OK as well.

I have wept again over this good news. I am overwhelmed right now with appreciation and relief. Thank you Lord Jesus for your grace.

Lord bring healing to the land of Haiti.

Ken
Luke 4:18

PS: If you wish to make a donation for relief, please make your check to :

South Brandon Worship Center (Haiti Fund)
4929 Bell Shoals Rd
Valrico, FL. 33596

Prayers for Children in Haiti

2010-01-13T17:25:00.005-05:00

From Pastor Cindy Ackerman:
As you know, a devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti. The epicenter was only 10 miles southwest of Port-Au-Prince. The Ambassadors of Jesus Children's Home and Church is located about 2 miles north of the international airport in what we would consider to be suburban Port-Au-Prince. As of this moment, we have been unable to reach Pastor Lucien or anyone else in the orphanage or church. However, our Lord Jesus Christ is fully aware of what is happening. Your prayers are critical at this time. If you are not in a group that is meeting tonight, (Men Who Want More, Ladies Leadership, Girlfriends in God or Youth) please join Pastor Ken in the worship center at 7:00 pm for prayer. The groups who are meeting will also be praying for Haiti.

Ambassadors of Jesus is our sister church, and I can personally assure you that they regularly pray for us. Now it is our great privilege and honor to pray for them. I look forward to the testimonies of God's great power, mercy and love!

From Pastor Ken Ackerman:

Dear Brothers and Sisters of South Brandon ,

I am sure you are aware of the tragedy that occurred in Port au Prince, Haiti . I have wept over the horribleness of all this. The suffering is more than I can imagine. I still hold on by faith and know that the Lord loves these people even more than we do. Please join with me tonight at 7 p.m. in the Worship Center to pray for Haiti and the orphanage that we support there. For those of you who are already meeting tonight, please include them in your prayers. I have attached a prayer outline for all of us to pray.

I have not been able to get through to Pastor Lucien to asses the possible damage to the orphanage, but I am sure this area of Port au Prince was affected gravely. The Lord reminded me that our relationship goes much further than just the orphanage, and I am recalling and praying for many people that I have come to know and love throughout the country.

I am asking you all to come to action now.

Please start praying for all the Haitian people affected.

Ask the Lord to have good come out of this tragedy. Pray that the world's awareness of Haiti 's needs will come into more light now. In the name of Jesus, I am asking for all countries of the world to respond to Haiti .

Please pray about giving to our Haitian relief fund that starts on Sunday. Your checks can be made to SBWC – please indicate “For Haiti ” in the memo section.

Pray that the food I shipped on Monday arrived by Tuesday before the quake.

I will keep you informed as I get more information.

Lord, please help our people!, PLEASE PROTECT THE CHILDREN

In His Name,
Pastor Ken
Luke 4:18

Prayer Guide for Haiti

The Ambassadors of Jesus Ministry , led by Apostle Lucien Almanord is closely united with South Brandon Worship Center . We are spiritual partners in the advancement of the Kingdom of God . Pastor Lucien has been in our pulpit many times, and many of our members have been to Haiti on a variety of mission adventures. Pastors Ken and Chuck have preached in Pastor Lucien’s church. Our bond is a strong one. It is our duty, privilege and great honor to intercede for them in this time of great need and devastation in Haiti . This morning as I was praying, I began to sing and weep over the nation as the images of the crushed and broken buildings came to mind. In my worship time, I declared God’s faithfulness, mercy and love to the nation of Haiti and especially the children and workers of the Ambassadors of Jesus. So as you pray ask the Lord for:

1. Mercy and compassion. Lamentations 3:22-24

2. Aid and assistance from the Church and the nations. Isaiah 58:6-12 and Isaiah60.

3. Salvation and cleansing of the people and the land. Romans 8:28, 2 Corinthians 6:2 and 2 Chronicles 7:14

4. Healing and Deliverance. 2 Timothy 1:7 Ephesians 6:10-18

5. Faith and Hope. Matthew 17:20, Mark 10:27,Psalm 33: 18-22 , Psalm 126, Psalm 34 and 1 Thess. 5:8-11

6. An Army of Intercessors: Luke 18:1-8

Notes from Lifework Leadership Integrity Case Study

2010-01-05T14:46:00.003-05:00

This morning I had the opportunity and privilege to participate in Lifework Leadership - Tampa Bay's session on integrity. Below are some of the notes that I used in this morning's presentation. I will probably come back to edit these notes because there were other thoughts worth sharing, that I did not have the opportunity to address given the time limit of the presentation.

Views regarding values, character, integrity shaped at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. With the exception of Army Ranger School (which I did not finish), West Point was the toughest thing that I did in my life. At West Point I was challenged physically, mentally, and still had to maintain a level of military bearing. As a plebe or freshman, I had to endure boxing, where I employed the strategy of trying to injure the other guys hands with my head. Then there was gymnastics where I was certainly not the most coordinated person in the world. During competitions/Olympics, you would see the athletes scoring 8s, 9s, etc. At West Point the instructors usually gave me a low 2 or a high 2. And there was swimming, where they made us swim 500 meters, in full BDUs with boots. I think it took me the entire class time to complete that task.

West Point’s motto is Duty, Honor & Country. During time there between 1982-1986 I sat through many lectures and discussions on the subject. About a year or two before passing away, General Douglas MacArthur delivered one of his most famous speeches at West Point, which began by quoting the motto Duty, Honor, Country. This was a speech that he delivered with passion, and no notes. We did not have to memorize the entire speech, but there is one memorable excerpt that we were required to recite.

Duty, Honor, Country. Those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be. They are your rallying points: to build courage when courage seems to fail; to regain faith when there seems to
be little cause for faith; to create hope when hope becomes forlorn.

West Point’s definition of duty is doing what ought to be done, when it should be done, without being told to do so, and with a spirit of service.
-- This is taught from a gradual process beginning with following orders at the lowest level, and moving to leading people and giving instruction.
-- Lots of time invested in teaching cadets how to understand this concept of duty.

The other aspect is instruction on honor. At West Point, the cadets are required to live by an honor code, which is: A cadet will not lie, cheat or steal, nor tolerate those who do.
-- Like duty, a significant amount of time is spent in lectures and small group instruction learning about these concepts.
-- At West Point, honor is taking very seriously.
-- A cadet who is caught violating the honor code will get kicked out of the academy.
--- This is a system that is run by cadets, not by the officers. However, built into the system, the West Point Superintendent (a 3 star general) will review each case before a final determination is made by the Academy as to whether a cadet is separated. There is also a procedure that would allow a cadet to have his case reviewed by the Secretary of the Army. The Superintendent and Secretary rarely overturned a decision to separate a cadet for an honor violation.

Then there is also the Cadet Prayer. There was a time when West Point cadets had to memorize this prayer, but that was no longer a requirement when in the early 1970s, due to a Supreme Court decision, West Point had to abandon mandatory chapel. I did not memorize the cadet prayer, but there is one line that stands out.

Make us to choose the harder right than the easier wrong, and never to be content with a half truth when the whole truth can be won.

These views also spill over in the Army, where things like honor, duty, integrity, courage and respect are taught to soldiers.

Looking back I definitely see the importance of these concepts both at the academy and in the Army. Unfortunately, there is one component that is missing. For West Point and the Army to produce leaders with integrity, the faith component is essential. To me a relationship God is the one thing that would allow a person to be able to hold onto his/her integrity in difficult situations. There were many times instances in which honorable men, including West Pointers, who encountered moral failure in difficult situations. Faith is certainly encouraged in the military, but there are limits because of we live under this concept of separation of church and state. Indeed, when West Point had to abandon mandatory chapel, the administration asked how are we going to instruct the cadets on integrity. Of course, it does not work unless the individual is willing to yield himself/herself to the Lord. Otherwise, you have someone who is mechanically following a set of rules, without purpose. That is the problem with religion and legalism.

In the military, as many know you have the chain of command. Privates, report to Sergeants, who report to First Sergeant, Sergeant Major, Lieutenants, Captains, etc.

With my West Point background and also having a father who served in the Army, I understood respecting the chain of command. It was not in my nature to ignore or contradict those in authority over me. Still, during my time in the military I was confronted with challenges that made me question whether I was doing the right thing.

Fort Benning – School of Americas Story
Multiple units were located at Fort Benning for training, including the US Army School of Americas(“USARSA” aka SOA). At USARSA, Latin-American allied nations would send their soldiers to Fort Benning for training American style. In 1988, I was temporarily assigned to USARSA to assist in the training of Salvadoran Officer Candidates. In El Salvador, officers normally come from their military academy. The class had a total of 81 officer candidates and lasted about 6 months. Working with me were 2 other American officers and 3 Salvadoran officers. About ¾ through the course, there was discussion about sending some of these candidates home because it was felt that they were not meeting the challenges of the training. This challenge was raised by the 3 Salvadoran officers. Some of us however, were skeptical and suspected this was an attempt to railroad some of the officer candidates out of the course.

The challenge presented to us was whether we should concede to the findings of the Salvadoran officers, thus failing the group of about 6 candidates or should we object. We interviewed the questionable candidates and decided that 3 should stay and conceded that 3 should be dismissed. Instead of a decision being made at our level, a formal conference was held with Salvadoran and American senior officers (around the rank of colonel). Long story short, we advocated on behalf of the 3 that we believed should remain in the course and they were allowed to stay.

Approximately, 2 weeks later, I was confronted by an American colonel (also a West Point graduate) who was not happy with how the conference went. He accused us of being poor hosts because we all 3 American officers contradicted the opinions of the 3 Salvadoran officers.

South American Story

A few years later, I was stationed in Panama. A platoon of about 30 American soldiers went to South America for joint training with a South American airborne battalion (approximately 500 soldiers). I was required to lead a team of approximately 10 soldiers to provide service support for the training – i.e., we provided cooks, medics, maintenance support, and ammunition. As part of the exercise, the South American army used some of our materials including ammunition. We probably used about 2/3 of the ammunition that was allocated for this particular training exercise. Thus, for accountability purposes we were required to send the remaining ammunition home. The American colonel that was in charge of this exercise wanted to do a favor for the South American colonel that commanded the airborne battalion. He wanted to let him have the remaining ammunition for their own training exercises. Although may not seem like a big thing, in the 1980s and 1990s, the Army was very serious about ammunition. There was always a requirement to keep an accurate count of ammunition used and ammunition available. The challenge here was do I say yes sir to colonel and let the extra ammunition stay in South America. I told the colonel no. He was disappointed, as well as his South American counterpart. From my observation, maintaining accountability with ammunition was a serious business. The colonel asked me to break the rules to do a favor for his counterpart. Also, if I did the alternative, I would have to face the soldiers and tell them that it is okay to bend the rules because the colonel said so.

Law Practice
It goes without saying that I strive to conduct myself with integrity with respect to the practice of law. Regarding the cases, I try to be upfront with clients and potential clients so that they do not get a false sense of security. I try to present them with both the strengths and weaknesses of their case. If I believe that chances for success are not there, I try to explain that as early as possible. Again, I do not want to give my clients false hope or waste their time, and money.

I admit that I do not get things right all the time. Still, I try to do my best to conduct myself with integrity in the legal practice. People respect that, and more importantly, it reflects well on my witness to others.

Brit Hume Thrown to the Lions . . . But He is Right (Tiger's Confession Part 2)

2010-01-04T17:11:00.009-05:00

Here is another post on the Tiger Woods saga. During a panel on Fox News, the question of Tiger's return to the PGA Tour was discussed. Brit Hume suggested that Tiger will recover as a golfer, but he will not be able to save his family (more later). Hume suggested that Tiger should abandon Buddhism and embrace Christianity.

Tiger Woods will recover as a golfer. Whether he can recover as a person I think is a very open question, and it's a tragic situation for him. I think he's lost his family, it's not clear to me if he'll be able to have a relationship with his children, but the Tiger Woods that emerges once the news value dies out of this scandal -- the extent to which he can recover -- seems to me to depend on his faith. He's said to be a Buddhist; I don't think that faith offers the kind of forgiveness and redemption that is offered by the Christian faith. So my message to Tiger would be, 'Tiger, turn to the Christian faith and you can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world.'"

While Brit's statement was direct, and commendable, I am not sure he was direct enough. Some may ask how can you be more direct than what Brit Hume stated. In part, I would direct the reader to my post below entitled "Tiger's Confession." I would further note that there is a difference between simply going to Church on Sunday and turning to the Christian faith, as opposed to truly walking it out. Tiger not only needs to follow Brit's suggestion. He needs to find someone to be a Paul to him and help him truly grow in his faith. A few weeks ago, Herm Edwards added his take, which lines up with something that I posted here a while back. (See "Need for Accountability")

Britt Hume is telling Tiger to follow Jesus, and Herm Edwards is telling him to choose the right friends. These are messages that Americans do not like to hear. If anyone is paying attention, I am sure that both Herm Edwards and Brit Hume will draw criticism . . . for telling the truth.

Last thought. On a side note, I believe that it is possible for Tiger to reconnect with his family. It will be difficult, but he can salvage his marriage. I recommend watching "Fireproof" and going through the 40-day "Love Dare." Despite his many mistakes, supernatural transformation is possible.

Edit: 1/5/09 - First point. I've always enjoyed watching Tiger Woods golf since he began his career in the mid 1990s. I also followed the bio on how his dad spent time investing in his life to make him a great golfer. Against that background, it has always been my personal take that he should stay out of the Buddhist Temples. In essense, Brit Hume hit the nail on its head. Next, take a look at Ray Comfort's observations on Brit's Advice to Tiger Woods.

Edit:

And the lions are showing their teeth. Guess who just was added to the prayer list.

See: Ann Coulter's "If You Can Find a Better Deal, Take It!" She is close but off on a few comments, but in the ballpark.

About Zeus, Thor, Buddha, and the Flying Spaghetti Monster

2009-12-20T13:54:00.003-05:00

The Angry Atheist dropped by to ask my thoughts about other religions. Although, my reply is posted below in the comments, I thought that these thoughts were worthy of an original post. Thanks to the Angry Atheist for motivating me to post on this subject.

I arrived from Church not too long ago. This morning I heard a great message entitled Our King is Here. That was the follow up to last week's message, Our King is Coming, and the message which concludes next week entitled,Our King is Coming Again.

I am not smart enough to offer you an apologetic that addresses Zeus, Thor, Allah, Buddha, the Flying Spaghetti Monster ("FSM"), etc. I can point you to Norman Geisler's "When Skeptics Ask," or I can point you to Josh McDowell's, "Evidence that Demands a Verdict," or I can point you to a number of Lee Strobel or C.S. Lewis books.

Do not get me wrong. I think apologetics are useful. By the fact that I rattled off those books, shows that I've spent time investigating the subject. Still, I am sure that other Christians, have addressed the subject matter with you. I do not think I can feed you any information that you haven't heard before.

What I can tell you is that Jesus is real. There is ample history indicating that He is real. It is only within the last half century that anyone would deny that He ever existed.

With respect to other religions, I would point you to the Tower of Babel, which is in Genesis chapter 11 a few chapters following the story of the flood. I am just a simple attorney in Valrico, Florida. But, it is my humble opinion, the Tower of Babel is the source of all man made religion. Zeus, Thor, Buddha, Allah, FSM and every other religion on this planet involves "what can I do for god." The person hopes that his good deeds outweigh his bad deeds, then he should be good to go.

God's way is different. God says no matter what we do, we are not good enough. We are too prideful and it is hard for you and I to admit that we are wrong. (I also think that many self-righteous Christians suffer from the same problem).

It is when we recognize that we are not good enough, that God comes to us and says I will provide a way out, if you will receive me. John 1:12 says to those who received him (Jesus) to those who believed in his name, he gives the right to become children of God.

In the book of Acts (chapters 3 and 4), you have the story of how God, through Peter and John, healed a man who had been crippled for life. The religious people (perhaps no different than intelligent religious people of today) of that day were furious. They tried to shut up Peter and John. Peter's reply was "there is no other name (Jesus) under heaven given to man, by which we must be saved." (See Acts 4:8-12).

Religious and secular people like to keep Jesus in the manger, where he can't harm anyone. Jesus is so much bigger than that. Where we can't do enough good deeds to save ourselves, Jesus did, by laying his life down for you and me.

With all that you know about Jesus, the relevant question is what will you do about him? I take you back to the Million Dollar Bill, which you confessed to have reading. I also encourage you to go back to the Gospel of John. Don't simply read it. Study it. After studying John, my question is what will you do about Jesus Christ?

My prayer is that you would repent and put your trust in him. Many Christmas blessings to you.

Tiger's Confession

2009-12-04T18:46:00.004-05:00

Every one heard what has been going on with Tiger Woods. So you have a celebrity, a wife with a golf club, a damaged Cadillac Escalade, and out at 2:25 a.m. Nothing good can come from that combination. Against, that background you start getting a lot of speculation, rumors, and gossip. This is followed by three different statements from Tiger Woods. In his last statement, he finally confesses his indiscretions:

I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart. I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves. I am not without faults and I am far short of perfect.

I will strive to be a better person and the husband and father that my family deserves. For all of those who have supported me over the years, I offer my profound apology.

Throughout this whole thing, Tiger continuously asked the press and the public to respect his right to privacy. On that point, Tiger is partially right. He should be entitled to his right to privacy. Still, when he is who he is and given the public’s obsession with their celebrities, especially when they are caught in a scandal, the chances of him getting the privacy that he desires are slim to none.

So, what is next for Tiger Woods? Going back to his statement, I am not so sure if he was truly repentant or whether this is an instance in which he got caught. Before his confession, he talked about malicious rumors. I think Tiger can learn a lesson from King David. Many are as familiar with David’s “transgressions” as Tiger’s. Sometime after his open confession, David wrote Psalm 51. While the entire Psalm is worth reading, key lessons are highlighted in the following verses:

1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight,so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.

10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,and sinners will turn back to you.

Yes Tiger, you have truly let your family down. For about 13 years, you have been on top of the world. Now, you have fallen hard. Still, there is redemption. Study David’s prayer in Psalm 51. They say it is impossible for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God, but with God all things are possible. Tiger, repent and put your trust in the Savior today.

(See also "Cornered Tiger" by Ray Comfort)

Why Do the Heathen Rage?

2009-11-13T09:25:00.012-05:00

The psalmist wrote:

Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed saying, let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. Ps. 2:1-2.

This is truly prophetic. For the last two months evolutionists have worked themselves into a rage because Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron will release a special edition of Darwin's Origin of Species that has a 50 page introduction challenging evolution. The plan is to go to the campuses of a number of universities and distribute copies of this special edition for free.

This plan has evolutionists in an uproar. On Facebook there is a group entitled "Kirk Cameron has gone too far! But we can stop him." They have called Ray and Kirk liars and thieves and many other not so nice names. (See e.g., Kirk Cameron Lies, Perverts the Origin of Species). There are some groups who are planning on staging counter protests at many campuses. If you read some of the reports, it sounds as if they are accusing Ray and Kirk of blasphemy. Yet they say their belief system is not a religion . . . hmmmmm.

Below is a news release of the mobilization efforts of a group of evolutionists. The news release is kind of tame, when compared to the postings that you will find throughout the internet. Oh, why do the heathen rage? And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness, they may speak thy word. Acts 4:29.

Release: Atheist Youth Movement Leads Charge Against Anti-Darwin Book Project
November 10, 2009
For Release: IMMEDIATELY UPON RECEIPT
Contact: August Brunsman – (614) 441-9588 – august@secularstudents.org
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Secular Student Alliance is mobilizing student groups to counter the Living Waters Ministry program to distribute an edition of Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species containing a special introduction misrepresenting the book’s claims. The SSA national leadership is encouraging its campus affiliates to schedule protests, host speakers, write letters to the editor, show films, and distribute the original version of Darwin’s 150-year old masterpiece.

“We’re asking students to respond proactively. We believe the best way to respond to misinformation is with a positive, educational campaign,” says August Brunsman, executive director for the Secular Student Alliance.
Living Waters Ministry, an evangelical ministry group headed by Ray Comfort and actor Kirk Cameron, calls the project The Origin into Schools Project. It plans to print an edition of Origin of Species with a 50-page introduction that attempts to cast doubt on the theory of evolution and connect Charles Darwin to Adolf Hitler. Over 100,000 copies are set to be distributed to over 100 college campus across the country and in Canada.

Students are aware that the distributors have the first amendment right to pass out their anti-evolution literature, but are being encouraged by the Secular Student Alliance to use their own rights to respond with a friendly, science-based message.

The Secular Student Alliance at Yale University, for example, has plans to set up a table promoting “alternative theories on sexual education,” appropriately named Students for Stork Acknowledgment.
“People engaged in such lunatic endeavors are legitimized by opponents who attempt to take them seriously. My organization intends no such legitimization,” stated Michael Wright, president of SSA at Yale, adding that past attempts at rational debate with creationists have failed, “but where reason fails, satire triumphs.”
The Secular Student Alliance is assisting campus groups by providing resources from national groups like The Center for Inquiry, National Center for Science Education, the Brights, and the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science in order to combat misinformation on campus. Secular Student Alliance has also partnered with the creators of Flock of Dodos, the 2006 documentary highlighting the debate over evolution, granting the rights to students who wish to show the film on campus.

Nov. 24 marks the 150th anniversary of the original Origin of Species, and books and protests are set to hit campuses around that time. Students can find ways to get involved at www.secularstudents.org/origininschools.

The Secular Student Alliance is an educational nonprofit whose mission is to organize, unite, educate and serve students and student communities that promote the ideals of scientific rationality, secularism, democracy, and human-based ethics. Learn more at http://www.secularstudents.org.

Edit: Found a site today (Nov. 16, 2009) entitled "Don't Diss Darwin." Source: National Center for Science Education.
Another blog of interest from the "Friendly Atheist."

The Million Dollar Question for those who say "No God"

2009-10-20T18:17:00.003-04:00

On Tuesday, the hottest topic on Twitter was "No God." This started when Reverend Run fomerly of the Rap Group Run DMC, posted the phrase "Know God, Know Peace . . . No God, No Peace." It did not take long for the atheists to take over and start posting their opinions on no God. In response, I am providing the following message from Living Waters and Way of the Master. This appears on their popular Million Dollar Bill.

The million dollar question: Will you go to Heaven? Here's a quick test. Have you ever told a lie, stolen anything, or used God's name in vain? Jesus said,"Whoever looks upon a woman to lust after her has committed adultery already with her in his heart." Have you looked with lust?

Will you be guilty on Judgment Day? If you have done those things God sees you as a lying, thieving,blasphemous, adulterer at heart. The Bible warns that if you are guilty you will end up in Hell.

That's not God's will. He sent His Son to suffer and die on the cross for you. Jesus took your punishment upon Himself -"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." Then He rose from the dead and defeated death.

Please, repent (turn from sin) today and trust in Jesus, and God will grant you everlasting life. Then read your Bible daily and obey it.

Pray something like this: "Dear God, today I turn away from all of my sins (name them). This day I put my trust in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. He is the only way for me to be saved. He is 'The way, the truth, and the life.'" Pleaseforgive me, change my heart, and grant me Your gift of everlasting life. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen."

Attacking a Gator

2009-10-16T15:58:00.003-04:00

Recently, Tim Tebow has been under attack. This is not coming from Nole fan (like myself), or Bulldog fan (like my former roommate and good friend TJ), or Vol fan. Rather, he is being attacked by a group of sports writers who are opposed to him using the football field to speak openly about his faith.

At first glance, I would be inclined to take apart the arguments of the secular sports writers, showing them where they are wrong. After further thought, I welcome their arguments. This debate has created an easy bridge to engage nonbelievers in serious discussions about their faith. Isn't it beautiful to see the secular press has unwittingly opened the door to further evangelism?

For an excellent discussion regarding the criticism of Tim Tebow see Albert Mohler's article "Time to Separate Church and Sports? A New Agenda Takes Shape."

Also, check out the New York Times article entitled "Questioning Sports Evangelism."

Two Attorneys with Ray Comfort

2009-09-14T19:30:00.002-04:00

You have to love the way two attorneys responded to Ray Comfort.

Ray: Have you ever told a lie?
Atty: Yes.
Ray: What does that make you?
Atty: A person who told a lie.

See the rest here.

This Scares Me . .

2009-08-24T18:50:00.001-04:00

“This scares me” were the words of a terrified 15-year old girl on Saturday morning, when she realized that she may have to face God on Judgment Day.

On Saturday, August 22, 2009, our church was doing a water giveaway at the parking lot of a local WalMart. Two teenage girls passed by and rejected offers of bottles of water and flyers to our church.

I decided not to give up and asked the girls if they would be interested in receiving a Million Dollar Bill. They accepted the offer and I pointed to the Million Dollar Question at the back of the bill, “Will you go to Heaven?” The first girl said she hoped so. The second girl laughed. I asked why you laughed at your friend. She said I barely go to church. I encouraged them to look at the good person test as they walked away. I overheard the second girl tell the first, no one is perfect. It seemed the second girl was ready to dismiss the message without giving it much thought.

About 5 minutes later, the girls are coming down the parking lot (going in the wrong direction) in a truck. The first girl was sitting in the passenger seat and holding the Million Dollar Bill, she said “This scares me.”

With the girls’ truck pointing in the wrong direction, I told them not to go anywhere. I ran to my car, grabbed a Gospel of John and told the girl that she needs to read this book. I explained that there are 21 chapters and she can read a chapter a day. Meanwhile, one of the ladies from our church spoke to her friend. I told her, that at 15, I was just like her. Disobeyed my parents, etc. etc. After a brief conversation, the girls left.

Woulda coulda shoulda. Looking back, I know I could have done a better job of presenting the Gospel after the girl said “This scares me.” At that point, I could have said, what about the message scares you. Then I could have said, do you know what God did so that you don’t have to go to Hell. And before the girls drove off, I could have encouraged her to repent and put her trust in Christ. Although I missed it, I still believe that she got the message. Notwithstanding my shortcomings, this story shows that the Million Dollar Bill is a very effective witnessing tool.

Dan Shock: Brought Close to Death That He Might Live

2009-08-06T16:35:00.004-04:00

The following comes from CBMC's website. It is about my friend Dan Shock who recovered from a horrible auto accident three and a half years ago. Since I've witnessed Dan's healing process, it is hard not to get emotional while watching this story. This is an example of CBMC's vision being lived out: 1) the Power of One God; 2) the Value of One Man; and 3) the Leverage of One Team.

Dan Shock Video from Dan Shock on Vimeo.

Daniel Shock, who is the chairman for the upcoming 2010 and 2011 Tampa Bay Leadership Prayer Breakfasts in Tampa Bay, Florida, was hit by a car three years
ago and believed he was going to die. Today, he says, "The Lord has certainly demonstrated His might, love , grace and healing in my life. Praise the Lord!"

The Lord has really turned his life around and used our brother in CBMC to build the kingdom. "I have grown tremendously through Operation Timothy," Dan says. "Most of all, my relationship with Jesus Christ has deepened through my CBMC group of men."

Through leadership training by Patrick O'Neal, the CBMC teams in Dan's area have been working together in different ways. Leader Tom Behrens tells us they are going through The Truth Project in 2-3 YMCAs, working with a YMCA chaplain to put the "Christian" back into the Young Men's Christian Association.

ABC's Nightline Asks Does Satan Exist

2009-05-22T18:07:00.002-04:00

I have no idea how I missed it, but thanks to the blog Ethos (or ethos) I learned that a couple of months ago, ABC’s Nightline held a debate addressing the question of the existence of Satan (or satan). The panelists include, Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church, Annie Lobert, an ex-prostitute and founder of a ministry called Hookers for Jesus, Deepak Chopra (moan) and “bishop” Carlton Pearson (groan). The blogger, a pastor at a church in Sanford, Florida, highlighted the differences between Mark Driscoll and Cartlton Pearson. The pastor’s blog reads as follows:

Watch Nightline’s Face off “Does Satan Exist?” here. Mark Driscoll, of Mars Hill Church, takes on the self proclaimed enlightened one, Deepak Chopra and Mr. Twisted Scripture, Bishop Carlton Pearson.

I thought Mark did a great job in presenting the Biblical view and account of Satan. He was very articulate, concise and authoritative sounding. Annie Lobert, an ex-prostitute and founder of the ministry, Hookers for Jesus shared about her encounter of coming to Christ after being tormented by demonic forces, an incredible story of redemption.

Chopra spouted out his normal dribble of enlightenment and self deification. Pearson demonstrated yet again why he should be branded as someone teaching heresy and nowhere on the radar of teaching sound, Biblical orthodoxy. Watch the show.

The debate is definitely worth watching. Mark Driscoll and Annie Lobert both stated their positions well. The pastor accurately described Carlton Pearson’s performance as scripture twisting. Poor Deepak Chopra is confused.

Need for Accountability Among Christian Men

2009-05-22T17:28:00.003-04:00

J. Lee Grady has written yet another great commentary. Grady is the Editor of Charisma magazine and writes a monthly column in the magazine and a weekly column on-line. The strength of his articles include his willingness to tackle controversial subjects and even if his views may be unpopular.

Recently, Grady has written an article addressing the need for Christian men to have meaningful male friendship. In the introductory line, he states “the epidemic of moral failure among men in the church today is directly tied to our lack of healthy relationships. He goes on to say that Christian men need (1) “Pauls,” who serve as spiritual fathers; (2) “Barnabases,” peer-level encouragers who support and challenge us; and (3) “Timothys,” younger men we inspire and mentor. This is a message that my pastor has been communicating to the men in our church for a long time. I have also taken that message and shared it with Christian men outside of our church. Grady adds, “Jesus destroyed the macho myth by demonstrating that the strongest masculinity is gentle and approachable.” There are other great quotes in the article, which is entitled “Meaningful Male Friendship in a Disconnected Age". (Read article in entirety here).

The Lord is With You, You Mighty Man of Valor!

2009-04-22T18:00:00.002-04:00

This is another devotional that came from a friend of mine today. Although the title reads, "God delights to advance the humble," I used the quote from the book of Joshua for the title above.

God Delights to Advance the Humble

When God brings us to grapple with the magnitude of his sacrificing love through his Son two thousand years ago, he doesn't just leave us there. He doesn't have us grapple with his past act of death on the cross alone. He tells us that he is here with us now! That is exactly what God did with Gideon. God was raising Gideon up for his purpose to rescue and deliver Israel from the oppression. Our God is not God of past, but God who is present now! And, it is his presence of God that made Gideon a mighty warrior. (Steve Kim)

Judges 6:12 And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him, "The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor!"

What we fail to realize many times is, there are lots of little ways God can and will use us if we just let Him. You can't put a limit on God, you can't put conditions on Him. He asks us to be faithful in the small things. Those supposed menial tasks aren't menial at all when you are promoting God's work and His word. The battle is waged and we each need to do our part to be prepared. We don't know God's plan or intention when He uses us, but He does. He can already see the outcome, He knows He picked just the right person to do the job.Pray for our countryGracious and loving God, today we praise You for the kind ways You reach to us, initiating and inviting our communication with You through prayer.In God we trust: If God asks, you must be willing to be used of God and willing to say, "here I am Lord, use me", and mean it.

One last thought: We all have fears of various kinds-from worms to wars. Gideon's story teaches us that we can be confident of this: If God asks us to do something, He'll give us the strength and power to do it."I am willing, Lord, use me."

President Reagan Witnessed to Gorbachev

2009-03-11T18:56:00.002-04:00

On Saturday, I took my son to the library to check out some videos and let him hang out in the children’s area. To occupy my time, I picked up a copy of Friday’s edition of the Wall Street Journal and came across an article entitled “Did Reagan Try to Convert Gorbachev?” Well, I don’t know if he converted Gorbachev, but he certainly witnessed to him. Can you imagine the outrage if this had hit the press at the time, or if he was President today and it made the news. How dare he. What about the separation between church and state. My take, way to go Mr. President.

The Journal’s article is very lengthy, but this excerpt provides the heart of the witness encounter:

"The President asked Gorbachev what if he ruled that religious freedom was part of the people's rights, that people of any religion -- whether Islam with its mosque, the Jewish faith, Protestants or the Ukrainian Church -- could go to the church of their choice."

Gorbachev deflected this question . . . .

Reagan then ventured further, taking a step that quite a few Americans would have found objectionable. The president switched from seeking to persuade Gorbachev of the value of religious tolerance to promoting a belief in God. Reagan did so by telling one of his trademark stories.

According to the notes of their meeting:

The president said he had a letter from the widow of a young World War II soldier. He was lying in a shell hole at midnight, awaiting an order to attack. He had never been a believer, because he had been told God did not exist. But as he looked up at the stars he voiced a prayer hoping that, if he died in battle, God would accept him. That piece of paper was found on the body of a young Russian soldier who was killed in that battle.

Gorbachev tried to switch the subject. Perhaps the United States and the Soviet Union might open the way for greater cooperation in space, he told the president. But the president wasn't to be diverted. According to the transcript, Reagan told Gorbachev that space was in the direction of heaven, but not as close to heaven as some other things that they had been discussing.

As the meeting ended, Reagan became even more direct and personal. He noted that his own son Ron did not believe in God either. "The President concluded that there was one thing he had long yearned to do for his atheist son. He wanted to serve his son the perfect gourmet dinner, to have him enjoy the meal, and then to ask him if he believed there was a cook."

Of the two American notetakers who were present for this extraordinary conversation, one took Reagan's effort at face value. "Reagan thought he could convert Gorbachev, or make him see the light," said Rudolf Perina, who was then the director of Soviet affairs on the National Security Council in a 2005 interview.

Whether this approach was effective is debatable. Maybe President Reagan moved Gorbachev from being an atheist to becoming an agnostic. Too bad he did not receive training from Ray Comfort, Kirk Cameron and the others at Way of the Master.

Gorbachev: President Reagan, we’ve made a lot of progress over the years, but you really need to tone down your “Star Wars” plan. My comrades at the Kremlin aren’t happy.

President Reagan: Mick, since, you mentioned “Star Wars,” do you think Heaven is real.

Gorbachev: You know I am the leader of the Communist Party, as Atheists we don’t believe in Heaven.

Reagan: If Heaven were real, are you good enough to go there.

Gorbachev: Of course, I am. Glasnost and Perestroika were all my ideas. I most certainly am a good person.

Reagan: Mick – you don’t mind me calling you Mick - have you ever told a lie.

Gorbachev: No.

Reagan: Are you sure about that. What about that speech three months ago.

Gorbachev: Oh yeah, I forgot about that. You got me.

Reagan: What does that make you.

Gorbachev: A liar.

Reagan: Have you stolen anything, no matter how small.

And President Reagan could have gone on from there. Maybe one day the archives will reveal that President Bush or even President Obama engaged in a similar conversation with Mr. Putin.

His Royal Treasury

2009-02-20T11:44:00.002-05:00

This came in from a friend fo mine this morning. This is very encouraging especially for our brothers and sisters who are out of work or just struggling. Also, you can always expect a strong message from Charles Spurgeon. Rich

His Royal Treasury
The Prayer Meeting is not a farce, waste of time, or mere pious amusement. Some in these times think so, but such shall be lightly esteemed. Surely they know not the Omnipotence that lies in the pleas of God’s people! The Lord has taken the keys of His royal treasury and put them into the hands of faith. He has taken His sword from the scabbard and given it into the hands of the man mighty in prayer. He seems at times to have placed His sovereign scepter in the hands of prayer. What a victory would come to two who joined in the same wrestling! “One of you shall chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight.” (C. H. SPURGEON,)

Matthew 18:19-20 “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

Prayer changes things -- and people -- and attitudes, thoughts and actions. God wants us to trust Him to do His best for us. Knowing that many are praying with us and for us gives a level of comfort and assurance that is hard to describe. And it makes it a lot easier to meet each day knowing that God is with us in all things.

Pray for our nation

Pray for those who are unemployed and need jobs, for those who have lost their homes and need housing, for those whose business are suffering because of the economic downturn, asking that we, as a nation, will return to God, seeking His wisdom and will.

In God we trust: “If I were hungry, I would not tell you; for the world is Mine, and all its fullness.

Papa Roy
One last thought: When you are looking at someone you love, your pupils dilate, and they do the same when you are looking at someone you hate.

Pure Chance Causes Breakdown of Atheist Bus

2009-02-19T13:10:00.005-05:00

The following story was posted on FoxNews.com:

Italian Bus Boasting Anti-God Ad Breaks Down on First Trip Tuesday, February 17, 2009

The first Italian bus to boast an atheist advertisement rolled out Monday and certainly did not have God on its side. No sooner had the bus — carrying the message, "The Good News Is There Are Millions of Atheists In Italy; The Excellent News Is They Believe In Freedom Of Expression" –- hit the streets of Genoa when it suffered battery problems and had to go straight back to the depot for repairs, UPI reported. ''By pure chance,'' UPI quotes a member of the Italian Union of Atheists, Agnostics and Rationalists, ''the vehicle left the depot bright and early but had to go straight back because of a 'curious' problem with the batteries."

Pure chance? Indeed! They should consider themselves fortunate that maybe God does have a sense of humor instead of sending fire from Heaven. See God DOES Exist and He Has a Sense of Humor Too! (Thanks Trish).

In school, I learned the best response to bad speech is good speech. In other words, don't complain about the misguided message of the atheists. Instead, see what you can do to advance the Truth. The people who put together the God on the Bus Campaign have the right idea. For ideas take a look at Godonthebus.org.

Henry Blackaby on True Revival

2009-02-03T13:14:00.005-05:00

Remember the popular revival from 2008 where the "evangelist" talked about leg dropping a pastor? I will try not to criticize too much. In the following article, Henry Blackaby shares his thoughts on True Revival. Enjoy.

I've heard many "calls" for revival recently but with very little teaching and exposition on revival. It seems that in these urgent days there are too few leaders who actually are leading God's people corporately to repent, pray, seek holiness and return to God. Do we not realize that scripturally it is impossible to have a call for revival without a call for repentance? This has always been God's requirement for His people. The passionate, unceasing corporate prayer that is always present in revival is desperately lacking as well. In short, I see little evidence of sincere brokenness among God's people for our present condition or the condition of our nation.

We call for revival without actually crying with tears and brokenness for revival. The "call for revival" seems almost like a spiritual fad, with no true passion and sincerity of heart. Many will say "amen" when they hear mention of the need for revival. But the "call" is fleeting and soon passes away. And then we quickly move on to other activity and return to our business as usual with no
follow-through by the leaders of God's people.
Click here to continue. . .

Although, I did not post the entire article, I think the following points are instructive:

First, we must seek God to grant us broken and contrite hearts. "For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: 'I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones'" (Isaiah 57:15). And again, "[O]n him will I look: on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word" (Isaiah 66:2).

Next, spiritual leaders must "return to Lord" –- and stay there. (Zechariah 1:3; Malachi 3:1-7; Acts 6:1-4).

Third, the people of God must pray corporately with one heart and one mind. (Acts 1:14; Acts 2:1; Acts 4:31).

Fourth, God's people must be immediately obedient to all God reveals to them. (1 Samuel 15:22-23).

Then, continually bear witness to God's people of all that God is doing. (Acts 1:8; Acts 14:21-22, 26-27).

Finally, we should expect and experience Christ's fullness of joy.Jesus said: "As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full" (John 15:9-11).

I believe Blackaby properly laid out the approach to achieving true revival. Instead of packing your bags and traveling to some distant place, true revival can be achieved right in your own church.

St. Pete Times Covers Super Bowl Outreach '09

2009-02-03T12:45:00.003-05:00

The St. Petersburg Times recently published an encouraging article on street preachers who appeared in Tampa to share the gospel during the Super Bowl. (See “Super Bowl XLIII is no game for street preachers”; see also “Super Bowl Outreach ‘09”). These are not the crazies with the sign boards saying God hates fill in the blank or you are all going to burn. Rather, their goal is to share the Gospel with as many people as possible and hope that many will repent and receive Jesus as their savior. These individuals are willing to stand in enemy territory, face criticism and ridicule, to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is amazing that their biggest critics are not the atheists, but the other “Christians.” Thanks to the St. Pete Times for publishing this article and to the street preachers for hitting the Super Bowl.

Why Would Someone Wrestle With God

2009-01-16T18:26:00.003-05:00

There is lots of stuff to write about, but very little time. Perhaps I will get to those things in the next week or two.

This past week, as I was reading through Genesis, I came across the passage where Jacob wrestled with God. I always had difficulty understanding that passage. After looking at it this go round, I think I am beginning to grasp the passage.

Gen. 32:24=> And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. v.26-28=> And he said let me go for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and has prevailed. v.30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel for I have seen God fact to face, and my life is preserved.

So why would a man wrestle with an angel (or God). The passage seems to point to the question directed to Jacob, "What is thy name?" This is followed by the response "Thy name shall be called . . . Israel." At that point, Jacob received his blessing.

Prior to this, Jacob carried the burden of his name. The name Jacob was associated with deceit. Jacob, the younger brother, used deceit (with the help of his mother) to take Esau's blessing. To escape his brother's desire to commit fratricide, Jacob fled to Haran where his Uncle Laban lived. After giving Laban years of labor, Laban managed to deceive Jacob to get him the marry his eldest daughter Leah. Jacob the Esau's younger brother actually was in love with Leah's younger sister, Rachel. Before taking his leave of Uncle Laban, Jacob engages in further deception to acquire goats and sheep (of course Uncle Laban also did not have clean hands).

After Laban stood down from his confrontation with Jacob, Jacob stops at a point, where he knows he will soon confront his older brother Esau. Although many years have passed, Jacob believe that Esau still wanted to murder him. At that point, in the middle of the night, Jacob wrestles with God and says, I won't let go until you bless me. After years of deceit, Jacob, now Israel, has decided to do things the right way. He cannot acquire a true blessing by deceiving his father and brother. Instead, he turned to God for his blessing. As a result, God gave him a new name. He no longer was known as a deceiver, but as a prince of God.

The message here seems to be where are you going for your blessing. Are you seeking the things of the world. Are you relying on your own understanding. God is calling us to put away deceit and start living like one of his Children. Significantly, Jacob named the place Peniel, which a footnote in my Bible says means "champion of God."

Sunday Jan 4, 2009 at SBWC

2009-01-02T16:43:00.003-05:00

From my pastor, Len Harper at South Brandon Worship Center:

"I am who God says I am!" - 01/04/2009

As we begin the New Year 2009, I want to thank you for the opportunity that you have given me as your Pastor. Thank you for your friendship and for all the support you’ve shown me and my family throughout my 11 years serving you – it has truly been a joy! I look forward to ministering along side of you again in 2009! I want to challenge you for this New Year 2009: Be faithful to worship each Sunday (Step 1: Worship God). Join a Family Group (Step 2: Grow in Family Groups). Change lives (Step 3: Serve Our World!). Follow these 3 Steps and you will have a great year in 2009!

January 4 (Sun. 9:15 & 10:45) New Message Series Begins! “I am who God says I am!” Your identity in Christ!

Encouraging and Anointed Worship

2008-12-31T10:48:00.003-05:00

And I looked, and I heard the many angels around the throne and the living creatures and elders; and the number of them was myriads, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice,

Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.

And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying,

To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.

And the four living creatures kept saying, Amen. And the elders fell down and worshiped.

Rev. 5:11-14.

On Monday, when I should have been working I went on YouTube and this video was recommended to me. It said the Revelation Song by Kari Jobe with Christ for the Nations. I thought that was interesting as I am finishing the book of Revelation in my Bible reading. As I listened, I felt the anointing all over the song and listened to it over and over again. I was so blessed by it, that I forwarded the YouTube link to my wife and fellow Kingsmen at SBWC (as well as our Worship Pastor and Prayer Leader). I later posted this on Facebook. I hope you are as blessed as I was. Happy New Year!

How to Keep Christmas Simple

2008-12-17T18:59:00.001-05:00

At South Brandon Worship Center on Sunday, December 21, 2008, the following message will be delivered by Pastor Len Harper:

How to Keep Christmas Simple! - 12/21/2008

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Christmas is a story of promise, hope, and love. So, what happened? What was once a time to celebrate the birth of a Savior has somehow turned into a season of stress, traffic jams, and shopping lists. When it’s all over, many are left with presents they don’t want or need, debt that will take months to pay off, and this empty feeling of missed purpose. Is this what you really want out of Christmas? What if Christmas once again became a world-changing event?” (adventconspiracy.com)

Join us this Sunday and bring a friend, as we look at 5 "Simple Steps" to make your Christmas both special and memorable!

Testing the Rule of Talking Politics and Religion

2008-12-15T18:24:00.003-05:00

This brave man decided to take the challenge of talking about his faith during a Joe Biden rally. He began his discussion with a few light-hearted trivia questions. The crowd enjoyed his fun and games. Note the hostility near the end when he starts talking about Jesus. I suppose now, it is okay to talk politics, but religion is a big no no.

Spreading Good News During Early Voting

2008-12-15T17:44:00.003-05:00

During the 2008 Presidential election, Florida had early voting for two weeks prior to Election Day on November 4, 2008. One of the locations that had early voting included the Bloomingdale Library that I pass on a daily basis between my home and my office. Each day that I passed the library, I noticed a long line of people waiting to vote. Viewing these lines, I thought that this would be a good opportunity to drop off some tracts. At the same time, there was a great reluctance to try to initiate witnessing encounters with total strangers, some of whom were very passionate about the elections. Who knows, someone may have talked about the separation of Church and State.

Two days before the end of early voting, I had to drop some books off at the library. I had my four-year-old son, with me and decided to take a small handful of million dollar bills with me. For those not familiar with the million dollar bills, they contain the following message:

The million dollar question: Will you go to Heaven? Here's a quick test. Have you ever told a lie, stolen anything, or used God's name in vain? Jesus said,"Whoever looks upon a woman to lust after her has committed adultery already with her in his heart." Have you looked with lust? Will you be guilty on Judgment Day? If you have done those things God sees you as a lying, thieving,blasphemous, adulterer at heart. The Bible warns that if you are guilty you will end up in Hell. That's not God's will. He sent His Son to suffer and die on the cross for you. Jesus took your punishment upon Himself -"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." Then He rose from the dead and defeated death. Please, repent (turn from sin) today and trust in Jesus, and God will grant you everlasting life. Then read your Bible daily and obey it. Pray something like this: "Dear God, today I turn away from all of my sins (name them). This day I put my trust in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. He is the only way for me to be saved. He is 'The way, the truth, and the life.'" Please
forgive me, change my heart, and grant me Your gift of everlasting life. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen."

The time was around 11:00 a.m. and there were more than 100 people waiting in line to vote that morning. After dropping the books off, somehow I got up the courage to hand out the bills. First, I turned to three of the poll workers, and handed each of them a bill telling them thanks for their hard work. Next, I stepped outside and handed the bills to the first 15 to 20 people in line, saying this is not a political message, but it is meant to help in this bad economy.

After my supply of 15-20 bills was exhausted, a lady approached me and said that I skipped her. I was holding the plastic bag and said I think that I am out. Then, I remembered that I had a copy of the Gospel of John in my pocket, with a MDB tucked inside. So, I reached in my pocket, handed her the Gospel and she told me thank you, as she returned to her place in line.

In order for me to do this, I had to step outside of my comfort zone. My only real disappointment is I only had a small handful of bills to hand out. It was also neat to have my four-year-old walking with me as I was sowing some seeds in my community.

Religion and the White House

2008-12-09T19:12:00.003-05:00

This is really a difficult topic to address. Also, I do not want to use this page to address my political views. Still, President Bush has recently made comments that will certainly generate controversy in the evangelical community. See Bush Says Creation Not Incompatible With Evolution. Perhaps his position on faith will be less diplomatic when he leaves the White House, but the following will raise a few eyebrows:

WASHINGTON -- President George W. Bush said his belief that God created the world is not incompatible with the scientific theory of evolution.

Asked about creation and evolution, Bush said: "I think you can have both. I think evolution can -- you're getting me way out of my lane here. I'm just a simple president. But it's, I think that God created the earth, created the world; I think the creation of the world is so mysterious it requires something as large as an almighty and I don't think it's incompatible with the scientific proof that there is evolution."

The president also said that he prays to the same God as those with different religious beliefs.

John MacArthur recently aired a series on whether evolution is compatible with Christianity, which differs from the President's position. He also wrote about this subject in a book entitled, The Battle for the Beginning.

In response to the universalistic statement, Jesus said, I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father but through Me. John 14:6. The Bible also says, He who has the Son has life. He he does not have the Son of God does not have life. 1 John 5:12.

Changing the Conversation on Cold Sales Call

2008-12-09T18:56:00.001-05:00

I received a phone call from a financial rep from the Maxim Group located in New York City. The caller was working in their Long Island offices and this was the second time that he called my office. The first time, I failed to initiate a witnessing encounter.

During the call he was trying to get me to buy some shares in Yahoo! After repeatedly telling him that I had no money, he got the message and prepared to hang up. I decided to turn this cold call into a witnessing encounter.

To be honest, I was nervous and was not sure how to break the ice. So, I asked him about his work, how long he was there, etc. I learned that he obtained my contact information from the Brandon Chamber of Commerce list.

Shifting to matters of faith, I said, may I ask you a personal question? He said, sure if you will make a purchase. I reminded him that I do not have money. I then said, I have a blog that addresses spiritual questions and would like to ask you some questions.

First, I asked, how does someone get to Heaven, assuming you believe in Heaven. He replied that is a hard question to answer. You have to live right, don't do anything wrong. He was setting himself up for the good person test.

Next, I asked are you going to Heaven. He said he didn't know, but did not believe he did anything really bad. So, then I took him through the good person test: lie, stole, Lord's name in vain, lust.

At this point, the nervousness was gone and the conversation flowed well. He admitted guilt on all points and he said, what about you, and I said, I am guilty too.
So, I said recognizing that you are a lying, blaspheming, adulterer uhhh, thief (yeah I almost forgot thief) will God find you innocent or guilty.

He went straight to saying that he would forgive me. I used the timely example of OJ and said that last week he asked the judge for forgiveness and it got him nowhere. He argued that God is different from a judge. I pointed out that God is a righteous judge and he will punish the guilty.

He was really emphasizing the forgiveness issue. I noted that he was missing something and said, you have to repent and put your trust in Jesus. I went into more detail on the repentance issue and talked about David's sin with Bathsheba. I then pointed to Ps. 51 (this is becoming my favorite illustration on repentance) and noted David's sincerity in confessing his sin. I then went back to his earlier statement on how he said he was not sure if he was going to Heaven and noted that 1 John 5:11-13, can give him that assurance.

I thought that he got it, but the last things that were said suggested otherwise. As the witness encounter was ending, he still tried to sell me shares of Yahoo! I then noted that 100 years from now, that won't matter. He said you have to live for the now. I responded that 80 years is a very short time in light of eternity.

I hope this encounter will generate interesting water cooler conversation within his Long Island office.

Witnessing to a Muslim Evangelist

2008-12-01T17:16:00.001-05:00

After church on Sunday, I stopped at a convenience store to pick up a Sunday newspaper. I’ve been to this store about 4-5 times before and encountered the same cashier. As I reached into my wallet to pay the cashier, there were three million dollar bills waiting to be used.

During my previous trips to that store I did not find this cashier to be very friendly and yesterday was really no different. So staring at the million dollar bills, I decided to take a chance on the cashier.

After paying for the newspaper I asked him, if I had ever given him one of these before. He looked at it and initially laughed and I added, this will help you with the difficult economy. Then, he turned the bill over and I told him, “you have to read the message on the back; it asks if you are going to heaven.” Normally, at this point I would leave, but for some reason, I decided to stand by to see his reaction. At the time, I was in a hurry because my family had somewhere to go at 1:00 pm, it was about 12:50 and my wife was waiting for me at home. Also, my four year old, who was with me, started to get impatient and I motioned for him to wait.

Then the cashier spoke. I don’t remember his exact words, but they were along the lines of you need to read the Mary Sura. Mary Sura? Uh oh, this guy is a Muslim. I should have known better, but the possibility that this guy might be a Muslim did not occur to me. He then started talking about if God could create Adam and Eve, he could also create Jesus. I allowed him to draw me in and I almost proceeded to debate with him. As I was trying to tell him, “the Bible says,” he interrupted me and said, you need to read the Mary Sura. Recognizing where he was going I responded, “which Sura is that” – i.e. trying to get him to identify chapter and verse. He replied, you need to read the Koran.

I responded, I have two things for you to look at that shows Jesus was present at the creation, check out Genesis where it says let us make man in our own image and also Colossians. I could not remember the verse (Rich that is Col. 1:16-20). I then told him that I would come back next week to bring him something to read – i.e., a copy of the Gospel of John. He noted that anything I gave him would not change anything and went back to his comment about God creating Adam and Eve.

As we are having this conversation, two men were making purchases as they listened to my poor effort to witness to this Muslim. I think that one of the men, though not agreeing with my approach was amused with our discussion.

As I left the store, I said so, what is your name. He said Abraham. I said, Abraham, I will be back next week with something for you to read. Before pulling away, I decided to check my glove compartment and found a copy of the Gospel of John. At that point, I told my son to stay here and went back into the store and handed Abraham the booklet.

Although, he had dug his heels in throughout our entire conversation, he did not refuse a copy of the Gospel and he also did not return the million dollar bill.

As my son and I drove off, we had a little discussion about what happened at the convenience store. Yes, I had a conversation with a four-year old about sharing the Gospel, which I found interesting since the children in his preschool class had been learning about John 3:16.

As with other encounters, there are quite a few woulda, coulda shouldas in this conversation. For instance, instead of debating the deity of Christ, I should have asked him whether he knew if he was going to heaven and why. Maybe in the next week or two I can follow-up with him and try to pick up where we left off.

As there are many Muslims, who are receiving Christ, do keep Abraham in prayer.

Parallel Universes?!!

2008-11-26T15:12:00.000-05:00

Atheists who rely on evolution can really get irritated when you challenge their views on the origins of life. They will argue that evolution is scientific fact, but have difficult addressing the question of origins. Their thinking goes like this, there was a pond of goo that was struck by something, maybe lightning creating amino acids that formed the building blocks of life. Over time, everything evolved so that we have the life that is walking on the earth today.

Okay. Professor who put the goo in the pond? This is the question that would get the poor college sophomore in trouble with his biology, chemistry, and/or physics professor. In normal settings the professor would proceed to ridicule the student for asking such a bad question.

Dinesh D'Souza revealed that now the atheist professors have a response to students who would dare challenge their views on evolution - parallel universes. This discussion appeared in an article by D'Souza entitled "When Science Points to God." In addressing what evolutionists has termed the "Genesis problem," D'Souza writes:

Science is the search for natural explanations for natural phenomena, and what could be more embarrassing than the finding that a supernatural intelligence transcending all natural laws is behind it all?

Consequently many physicists are exploring an alternative possibility: multiple universes. This is summed up as follows: “Our universe may be but one of perhaps infinitely many universes in an inconceivably vast multiverse.” Folger says that short of invoking a benevolent creator” this is the best that modern science can do. For contemporary physicists, he writes, this “may well be the only viable nonreligious explanation” for our fine-tuned universe.

In other words, the evolutionists reject any role played by God and suggest that somehow we got here through some parallel universe. I guess you can think of evil Spock from the old Star Trek series. So what is next, Space Aliens? If this is the best that they have to offer, there is no need for Christians to be intimidated by their arguments. Paraphrasing something I heard a couple of weeks ago, the more you stare into a telescope or the deeper you look into a microscope the more that you will see the handiwork of God. So, Professor, exactly who put the infinite number of multiple universes in place.

The heavens are telling of the glory of God;
And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. - Ps. 19:1

10 Ways to Pray for Barack Obama

2008-11-21T18:29:00.000-05:00

Immediately following the elections, J. Lee Grady, an editor with Charisma Magazine, wrote a column encouraging Christians to pray for President-elect Obama. Grady made it no secret that he supported McCain. Still, he wrote "when I got up this morning, I turned all my attention to the fact that Jesus Christ is still on the throne." Grady has called for all Christians, regardless of political affiliation to pray for President-elect Obama. Some of his key points are below:

1. Pray for Obama’s protection.

2. Cover his wife and daughters in prayer.

3. Pray that Obama will govern with God’s wisdom.

4. Ask God to keep our president humble.

5. Pray for wise and righteous advisers to surround him.

6. Ask for the spirit of reconciliation.

7. Pray that Obama will adopt pro-life convictions.

8. Bind all evil forces assigned to manipulate our president.

9. Pray that Obama’s door will remain open to the church.

10. Pray that our nation will enjoy God’s peace and blessing during the Obama administration.

You can find Grady's article here in its entirety: 10 Ways to Pray for Barack Obama. See also Dr. Del Tackett's post entitled A New Day: Praying for the President-Elect.

On that note, we should also continue to pray for President Bush. 1 Tim. 2:1-2.

Enough of the political commentary and back to more exciting discussions.

Rich

A Mother is Persecuted for Her 4-Year Old's Wisdom

2008-11-21T17:59:00.000-05:00

At a blog entitled, The Virtuous Woman, a young mother in the United Kingdom tells the story of how her 4-year old daughter came to the understanding that she cannot be good on her own. The child then told her mother that Jesus can help her become good. See A Four Year Old Who Knows She Needs a Saviour. In the post, the lady relates her excitement over her daughter's understanding. The child understands a lot more than many lifetime church attendees. In Matthew, Jesus quoted from the Book of Psalms stating

Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babes thou hast prepared praise for thyself.

Matt. 21:16. The radical atheists got wind of the young lady's post and started screaming child abuse. Sad to say, England's version of the Department of Children and Families is launching an investigation. Prayers are needed for this young lady and the protection of her family. Prayers are also needed for the atheists that they come to a knowledge of the truth.

I wonder if I need to proceed with caution before commenting on the wisdom of my 4-year old son.

Equal Time - the RNC seeking donations

2008-10-29T18:04:00.000-04:00

A couple of months ago, the Obama campaign called my home seeking donations. I turned a political conversation into a witnessing opportunity. Some may claim that I was biased and would not do the same for the other guy. On Sunday, Oct. 26, I had the opportunity to show the lack of bias.

After listening to all the reasons why the RNC needs money – he’s a socialist, we have to stop Pelosi, they will try anything, blah, blah, blah – I attempted to change the direction of the conversation.

I was very disappointed because I was not able to make much progress. Trying to remember the script from the Obama caller, I asked her what will it take to get to heaven. She responded that it would take a good Christian. That was a half way decent answer, though sitting in garage does not make someone a car. So, I asked her, what does that look like. Initially, she said it would take a long time to answer, but then she cut me off. She said her calls were being monitored and she could not answer a question like that because they have very strict rules. I told her that I had a similar conversation with an Obama caller, but that got me nowhere.

Then, I pointed out that matters of faith are more important than election results. She acknowledged that many of the people she called had similar sentiments. With that, the conversation ended. Maybe there was something I could have said that would have kept her on the phone. Needless to say, I was very disappointed with the RNC.

Regarding other callers, I have to admit that I've let them hang up, missing perfect opportunities. I pray that I will do better in the future.

Now Lord . . . enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.
Acts 4:29

Drive Thru Witnessing

2008-10-28T11:27:00.000-04:00

This is a great witnessing tip. This works when you are going through one of your favorite fast food restaurants. Yum yum. Here Trish drops off tracts with the cashier and pays the bill for the car behind her.

I haven't paid for the car behind me, but every now and then I give a million dollar bill to the cashier. So far, I haven't had anyone in the drive thru resist a million dollar bill. Last week, I had to remind one young man that he cannot deposit the bill at the bank around the corner.

A Christian Salesman uses the Good Person Test/Way of the Master

2008-10-23T09:52:00.000-04:00

I am not trying to promote the product that is being sold on this website entitled Selling Among the Wolves. I was impressed on that the author almost missed out on a witnessing opportunity. In the article, the author noted that the last thing he wanted to do was witness to the nearby beer drinker on the airplane. It was after being convicted by the Holy Spirit, that the author decided to witness to this man. Not only did this author try to witness to the guy, but in trying to persuade him, he took the man through the good person test. Take a look at the article entitled "Two Beers Please" from October 23, 2008 and the rest of the article here.

In the time that remained, I asked him if he had ever lied, cheated, stolen or committed adultery. While not being specific, he readily agreed that he had done some of those things. I shared with him that we all have done things like that and we all have fallen short of the standard God has. I let him know there was nothing we could do that was good enough to make it right with God, that Jesus came and gave His life to pay the price we could never pay and give us a life we could never otherwise have.
Amazingly, his heart was pricked and I asked him if we could pray with him to receive Christ. After explaining that a little, the three of us took hands and we all three prayed. His prayer was repentant, genuine and moving. As the plane touched down on the runway he became a new creature in Christ, smiling, teary eyed and holding on to my wife’s hand all the way to the gate.

Posting Articles - Bailouts and Persecution

2008-10-08T18:17:00.000-04:00

I feel like I am far behind the rest of the world in putting these blogs together. There are two articles that are before me that I feel are worth linking to and commenting. The first is from a financial site entitled "Mortgage Bailout Passes, Finally, Now What." The second is from J. Lee Grady of Charisma Magazine, entitled "In India, They Hack Christians to Pieces."

Now, what does the latter article has to do with the former? In Grady's sub-title he writes "Before you spend time fretting about the drop in the stock market, pray for Indian believers who have been attacked in the state of Orissa." The following quote, which is highlighted in the article is telling "While we are complaining about high gas prices in the United States, some Indian Christians are being doused with gasoline and set on fire." Indeed, we worry about bank bailouts literally hundreds of Indian Christians have lost everything -i.e., homes, possessions, their lives - simply because of their faith. This is truly suffering for the sake of righteousness.

Complaining about my inability to decorate this blog is insignificant in light of what our brothers and sisters are enduring in India's state of Orissa.

Obama Caller Seeking Donations

2008-10-03T17:30:00.000-04:00

I've posted this story on about two or three different locations (if not more), but I still enjoy sharing it. I need to do this more often and confess that I do not do this enough. This is probably the best way to respond to those unsolicited phone calls that you receive at home with someone asking you for money or seeking your responses to a survey. Enjoy.

For more than two weeks in August, the Obama people had been calling our home looking for a donation. On Friday, August 15, a man was on the phone and asked for my wife. I told him she was not home and he hung up. They called again on Saturday, August 16, and I said I will keep them on the phone. This time it was a woman and she asked for my wife. I said this is her husband. She then started talking about victory in the primaries and the need for contributors. I told her that I am also receiving phone calls from the McCain campaign. Then, I told her I was not committed one way or the other.

I asked her about judicial nominees and she said Obama would pick someone who followed the Constitution (Sounds like I caught her in a lie).

Then, I asked her if I could ask her a few questions. I said, so what do you think it will take to get to Heaven. She said you have to be a good person. You have to be someone who believes in people and someone who believes in animals (huh?). She then talked about how a horrendous person whom she knew was a heroin addict and turned his life around and changed for the better. (nothing about faith in Christ, repentance etc.).

I then asked her if she was going to Heaven. She said, she did not know. I asked would you like to take a test. I referred her back to her good person comment and went through the good person test. Have you ever told a lie? Yes. What do you call a person who tells lies? Human. But would you call a person who told lies? When I was a child I would call them a liar.
I asked have you ever stolen something? She said when I was a kid I stole a comb. What does that make you, besides a Pittsburgh Steeler? A thief. Then I asked her about taking the Lord's name in vain and if she was ever angry with someone.

Next, I said, if you stand before God will you be innocent or guilty. She returned to this whole good person thing. She was really big on "reforming oneself." I then went straight to saying Jesus said that you must repent and put your trust in him. (whoops, I skipped a step. More practice needed).

She complained a little about trusting Jesus and I explained the difference between receiving Jesus and being a false convert. I used a person who prays a prayer then continues to go to strip bars as an example of a false convert. I talked about true repentance and referred her to Psalms 51. I also told her that feeding the homeless or going to a missions trip in Haiti will not save her. I talked about how salvation is a supernatural work and Jesus will change you from the inside.

I ended by letting her know that I appreciated her talking to me. She also indicated that she appreciated what I had to share. And after two weeks of calling my house everyday, the calls from the Obama campaign had ceased.

Finally My Own Blog

2008-10-03T17:05:00.000-04:00

For nearly a year I wanted to set one of these things up, but it seems that I've been too busy to set one up. So finally, I have sat down to start a blog. For now, I am calling it a Warrior's Two-Edged Sword from Hebrews 4:12. I am an attorney. But more importantly, I hope that people recognize me by my faith. I would like to use this page to present my thoughts on matters of faith and the practice of law. Of course, you must understand that nothing on this page constitutes legal advice and should in no way be construed as a legal opinion, etc., etc., blah, blah, blah. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy.

Rich