Happy New Year

I don't know what to expect in the new year and I don't know what's going to happen, but I do know that God's will shall be done. Most people hope for a better new year, and in some aspects some things will be better than last year, but in reality this fallen world is accelerating it's slide into the abyss. This is both terrifying and exhilarating. Terrifying because we as Christians know what is in store for this world, and exhilarating because we as Christians know what is in store for us. 

¹⁵ Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. ¹⁷ The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever. (1 John 2:15-17)

When I look at the majesty of God's creation, and my favorite bit of the majesty of God's creation is the Rocky Mountains, it's hard not to love the world, after all He made it for us. It's dizzying to think that the splendor of those mountains - the trees, the rock formations, the minerals that have never been tapped, and the herds of animals that call them home - it's just a temporary thing God threw together in a matter of hours just for us. How much more spectacular is our true home going to be when He calls us to be with Him? 

I like to think that compared to what God has planned for us, this world is equivalent a plastic bowl with a plastic palm tree that we used to keep turtles in. This is not a turtle's real habitat any more than this world is the real home home God originally intended for us. I could go on and on about how moral values are being torn apart, how quoting the bible is now hate speech, and how even prayer is now illegal, 

For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come. (Hebrews 13:14)

So if I care to remember one thing this New Years Eve, it's that not only is it a special day in the lives of Mrs. WideAwakeChristian and myself, but to also discard the worries and fears of the approaching darkness. Yes, it's also one day closer to being with Him, and for that I'm thankful every day. As for looking to the future in 2014, the only thing I know for sure is that I will be seeking the lord

¹¹ For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. ¹² Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. ¹⁴ I will be found by you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.’ (Jeremiah 29:11-14)

Don't Major In The Minors

This weekend Mrs. WideAwakeChristian and I were out of town and were blessed to be able to visit a church where the pastor was Pastor Al Pittman, a godly man whom we hear on the radio every day at 5:30 in our abode 100 miles away. Pastor Al's messages are always meaningful and poignant and have always been an aid in our walk with Jesus, and this time it was an extra special blessing to be able to learn from him as we sat right there in front row center. I don't care what anyone says, recorded sermons loose a little something that happens in a live setting. 

One of the points that Pastor Al made was "Don't major on the minors". To me this sounds like a military phrase that a good NCO will demand of his troops on the lines of "Don't get stuck on stupid", and considering that in the near vicinity of Pastor Al's church there are a minimum of 5 military bases and the fact that Pastor Al's father was a career soldier I didn't think much of the use of the phrase at the time, considering it a throw away "attention getter"that the military loves to use when making a point. But it's really an important concept to keep in mind especially for us Christians. 

Ignore The Breathless Hype

Ignore the hype and hyperventilation, this is the real Phil Robertson

The True Meaning of Christmas

When Mary birthed Jesus 'twas in a cow's stall
With wise men and farmers and shepherds and all
But high from God's heaven, a star's light did fall
And the promise of ages it then did recall.

for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord (Luke 2:11)

This is why we celebrate Christmas, to celebrate Christ's birth, but that's not the true meaning of Christmas. Babies are born all the time, in hospitals, in homes, in barns and in mangers. The true meaning of Christmas is why one very important baby was born in a little middle east backwater village on a lonely night, the date unrecorded in the depths of time so we had to settle on a day to remember why God took off his mantle of Holy righteousness and power and was born to a virgin in a rude manger. 

But the true meaning of Christmas is why God came to earth in the first place. He didn't come to heal the sick and walk on water and change water into wine, but he did that and more. The true meaning of Christmas can be found in the story of the lost birds.

The "Japanization" Of Christmas in America

Christians make up approximately 0.005% of Japans population (about 750,000 Christians in a country of 126 million), so I full well understand that the Japanese will have their own interesting twist on the Christian holiday of Christmas, or Kurisumasu. This is essentially a new holiday in Japan, picked up via radio and TV in the early '60's, and without a body of Christianity in Japan this holiday has gone off into its own direction.

Kurisumasu looks like Christmas in western countries at first glance, Santa Claus, reindeer, Christmas trees, buildings decorated with multicolored lights, the crowds shopping for gifts for their loved ones... but it's just a superficial resemblance. Kurisumasu is not a national holiday in Japan so schools and businesses remain open on December 25th, and the reason for the season is more cake and chicken rather than Christ and salvation.

Speaking with Dunamis

The shrieking hysteria over Phil Robertson's remarks continues unabated, but slowly the truth comes out. It now appears that A&E's shock over Phil's remarks is more contrived than concerned. While Phil was doing that interview an A&E representative was present during the interview and approved of his words. A&E had control over that interview but happily did nothing. Nor was there any surprise at A&E, as they knew full well of Phil's love of God and his distaste for sin long before they signed the Robertson's to a contract. 

As the backlash against A&E and GLAAD, The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against honest Discussion Discrimination, and their war against Christianity and their selective outrage grows across the country, the forces aligned against God realized that they need more ammo so guess what - they came up with even more contrived, imaginary charges against Phil Robertson.

Duck Hypocrisy

Lost in the media hysteria about Phil Robertson's recent remarks about gays is one important thing; Phil Robertson's recent remarks about gays.

In an interview with Esquire magazine Phil Robertson was talking about sin, forgiveness and redemption, which GLAAD, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against honest Discussion Discrimination, sees as an attack on gay people. I know how these people work, you can say anything about homosexuality, and it doesn't matter what you say, if GLAAD decides you are a homophobe, you're immediately under attack regardless of what you've actually said, and they will lie about what you said to validate their point. However if they think you are of any value, they will completely ignore what you said, and maybe even praise you for it. 

I've been classified as a homophobe for the sin of (if you're easily shocked, please turn away) Telling People That John Shore Is Intentionally Misinterpreting The Bible. John Shore worships the words of Dan Savage more than the word of God, and that's his right, he can worship anything he wants, including Dan Savages bitter hate speech and child abusive rants. But because I pointed out the inaccuracies of Shore's message I am labeled a homophobe (and worse). However the gay community is utterly wrong, I'm not a homophobe, I fear no man, I fear God.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1:7)

Jeremiah - A Blast From The Past

God called Jeremiah to be His prophet in about 626 BC, about one year after Josiah, king of Judah, had turned Judah away from idolatry and toward God. However so thirsty for false idols was Judah that quickly after Josiah's death they immediately returned to worshiping the idols of foreign countries and returned to child sacrifice.

Jeremiah's ministry was one of preaching against false prophets causing him to become persecuted. He laments the difficulty of speaking God's word and is full of regret that being a prophet of the one true God has caused him to be a laughingstock and a target for physical persecution. He was beaten, put in stocks, and thrown down a well, all for preaching the word of God.

Random Stuff... and Things!

This world is not my home

Polygamy Utah style - The state of Utah has eased the restrictions against polygamy because the laws against  bigamy and multiple partner marriages are racist. The court states in effect ruled that banning polygamy was a way to get deviant white people to start acting white. What we end up with is a legal mish-mosh that's not really polygamous marriage, nor is it really monogamous marriage, it's a legal limbo called "religious cohabitation" It gets worse.

Polygamy North Dakota style - North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem filed a legal opinion confirming that North Dakota does not recognize out of state same sex marriages, therefore people already in a same sex marriage can come to North Dakota and marry a person of the opposite sex while still legally being married to someone of the same sex and now all three are in a legal marriage and our legal "guardians" stand to make untold millions of dollars untying the legal knots. No wonder why God wants to burn us.

Do you really trust Second Lieutenant Peachfuzz more than your Pastor? You never met 2Lt. Peachfuzz! I've met 2Lt Peachfuzz, we sent him over to the motorpool to get a bucket of jetblast so we could clean the chain stretcher on a B-52. You should have seen the look on his face when we told him that the empty bucket he brought back was full of propwash, not jetblast. What I'm saying is that most people don't know military officers, have never met military officers, and wouldn't know what to do with a military officer if they got one for Christmas, yet they trust military officers more than their pastor? Maybe if we would take Psalm 118:8 more to heart we wouldn't be in the mess we're in now. 

Little Gods

 “Here then is eternal life...to know the only wise and true God; and you have got to learn how to be Gods yourselves, and to be kings and priests to God, the same as all gods have done before you...To inherit the same power, the same glory and the same exaltation, until you arrive at the station of God”(Joseph Smith, History of the Church, Vol. 6, page 306)

“I’m going to say something, WE are gods, in this earth, and it’s about time we start operating like gods instead of a bunch of mere powerless humans” (Creflo Dollar, April 17, 2002 Changing your World, LeSea Broadcasting). 

"You're all God. You don't have a God living in you; you are one! ... When I read in the Bible where God tells Moses, 'I AM,' I say, 'Yeah, I am too!'" (Kenneth Copeland "The Force of Love," Tape BBC-56).

"I am a little god!...I have His name. I'm one with Him. I'm in covenant relation. I am a little god! Critics, be gone!" (Paul Crouch, Praise The Lord, July 7, 1986)

"God came from heaven, became a man, made man into little gods, went back to heaven as a man. He faces the Father as a man. I face devils as the son of God. Quit your nonsense! What else are you? If you say, I am, you’re saying I’m a part of Him, right? Is he God? Are you His offspring? Are you His children? You can’t be human! (Benny Hinn, Our Position in Christ #2—The Word Made Flesh  Orlando Christian Center, 1991)

And now a word from our Savior:

Sozo? Vas Ist Das Sozo?

While reading a post about false teachers at Spirit of Error a commentor mentioned the heresies of "Fire Tunnels" and "Sozo". Fire Tunnels? I figured that was some charismatic goat chow and when I looked it up every article started with the words "Toronto Blessing" in the first paragraph. Roger on that goat chow. However Sozo? At first I honestly thought it was a German brand of Coffee - "Haben leibchen, könnte ich noch einen Sozo Kaffee? (Honey, could I have another cup of Sozo Coffee?)"* Sozo however is goat chow of the nuclear variety. Sozo is the Greek word for save or deliver. Sozo ministries describe Sozo:

Sozo ministry is a unique inner healing and deliverance ministry aimed to get to the root of things hindering your personal connection with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. With a healed connection, you can walk in the destiny to which you have been called.

I don't know about you, but the words "unique inner healing" set off some major alarm bells in my heart. Then I found the Sozo web page concerning curses. According to the practitioners of Sozo us military veterans are cursed. Vietnam veterans have been cursed by Buddist monks who cause my older brothers to be angry men and women all of their lives and never find rest. My younger brothers, we sandbox soldiers, have been cursed with failed marriages and will be haunted by survivors guilt. My stint in the military covered both eras so I guess  I'm in serious Sozo trouble. And it gets worse, Sozo works like this: 

Cling To The Father And His Holy Name

And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. (Luke 1:31) 

She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. (Matthew 1:21)

What is in a name? A rose by any other name would smell just as sweet, right? I wish I knew how many times I've read Luke 1:31 and Matthew 1:21 and just blipped on by with never a thought, except possibly "Didn't Isaiah say His name would be Manuel or Manual or something like that?" The thing is that Jesus has a lot of names, or more correctly Jesus is called a LOT of things through out the Bible. However his name, Jesus, is obviously important as it's told to both Mary in Luke and Joseph in Matthew that they shall name the baby Jesus. The name Jesus is obviously important as there's just a ton of other, more awesome sounding, names used in the bible: 

The Bread of Life

Bethlehem

In John chapter 6 we see that Jesus was having a tough time with his followers. He started this chapter healing the sick and a large crowd started following him out of curiosity. He then took two fish and five barley loaves and fed the crowd of thousands which caused even more people to follow Him. First they were hungry, then they found there was free food to be had!

Now Jesus occasionally had to avoid the crowds to the point where he once took a shortcut across the Sea of Galilee (without a boat for much of the journey). The crowds can see Jesus performing signs and miracles, they can see the dumb speak, the deaf hear, the lame leap, the lepers cleansed, but they're concentrating on the physical here-and-now of the free food rather than the spiritual aspects of Jesus the Messiah. Jesus told them not to work for the temporary food of this world but the food which endures forever which He can give them. Of course they asked what kind of work does God want them to do and...

Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” (John 6:29)

The Three Wise Guys

In church this Sunday Pastor Lovejoy used a term I've heard in the past to describe the three eastern visitors to the Nativity. He was actually talking about the lack of representation that shepherds get in the nativity of the Good Shepherd Himself, they're rarely shown, meanwhile the "Three Wise Guys" get all the good press. 

Pastor Lovejoy has a good point, the angels announced Jesus' birth first to the shepherds who first visited Jesus, Mary, & Joseph, while the Three Wise Guys showed up who knows how much later. Every nativity scene shows one maybe two shepherds, and they were notified first! But the Three Wise Guys always get the grand entrance. Being from New York, the term "wise guys" might have a different connotation to me than west coast born and bred Pastor Lovejoy.

"Hey Joseph, nice manger you got here. Be a shame should sometin happin to it, ya know?"

Kind of a 'Guys and Dolls' nativity scene played by Frank Sinatra, Marlon Brando and Morgan Freeman happening in my mind, well, at least that's MY impression of how The Three Wise Guys would announce their visitation. But what do we really know about these three kings... wise men... wise guys... 

The Greatest Prophesies That Ever Came To Pass

Sometimes I wonder why God made us, we've done little for Him other than cause Him pain and despair. How long was Adam in the garden with Him before being evicted for violating the one rule God laid down?

But create us He did, and when we fell He had a plan of salvation that would give us redemption and save us from ourselves and our sins. One of the best parts of this plan is that over the years God would give us more information in the way of prophesy to let us know what was coming.

In Genesis 3:15 God said to Satan:

And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.”

God is telling Satan that our Redeemer is not going to be a supernatural being like an angel but born of a human woman, a descendant of Eve, and that while Satan may hurt his heel and cause him to limp, our Savior is going to strike a crushing blow to our enemy.

How Did I Miss Matthew 11:6?

While bopping around in the bible this morning I was in the opening verses of Matthew 11 and read this:

2 Now when John, while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to Him, “Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?” 4 Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. 6 And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.” (Matthew 11:2-6)

I've read Matthew in its entirety four times this year and always loved Jesus' words of encouragement to his cousin, how better to say "Yes, I am He whom you have prepared the way for, thank you faithful servant." than offering the proof that John was so eager to hear. But verse 6 stopped me this morning for some reason - "And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me" I do not remember ever seeing this before, ever. 

False Prophet Dead - She didn't see it coming

Sylvia Brown, a self proclaimed celebrity psychic with a self proclaimed accuracy rate of 80% - 90% died at the age of 77, only 11 years short of her public prophesy of 88. She didn't see it coming. Her accuracy was much lower than her claim of 80% - 90%, in 1992 she was indicted on grand larceny charges - she didn't see that coming either. There's a lot that she didn't see coming until it reached a point where other false prophets were upset that she was giving false prophecy a bad name. Competing false prophet Craig Weller said "Some of the people in the intellectual community who lean toward the psychic side of things did not think much of her," In case you missed it, the punchline was "people in the intellectual community who lean toward the psychic side of things"

It would be so much easier for us if all of the false prophets were like Sylvia Brown and Craig Weller - outside of the church where they could be easily identified and, with the grace of God, saved if possible. Unfortunately it's not that clean and easy. I don't know the reasoning God used, maybe He did it to shake the goats loose from His true church, maybe He did it to bring us back to His word, but what ever His reasoning, many many many false prophets are claiming to be Christian leaders and the only prophesy I will ever make is that it's going to get worse. 

Have a Wonderful Thanksgiving

Normally Mrs. WideAwakeChristian and I are celebrating Thanksgiving with our children a mile up and 1,600 miles west of here, but this year my folks need a little help so we're giving up the snow, the cold, the blowing leaves, the frost, and the frostbite for the beach here in the sunshine state. Personally I like winter, but my folks like summer and never want it to end. This is much like the multitude of ways we love to praise our God. There are many different protestant denominations because God realizes we're not all the same and need to communicate with Him a bit differently, so He gave us different ways to do it. 

And for this, among thousands of other reasons, I am grateful that God made us. Thank you dear Father.

Were Verses Used Out of Context?

I've posted before that it's a bad idea to use a single bible verse, always look for the content first before you use a verse. I'm beginning to see where some modern doctrines come from using bible verses out of context to support a potentially unbiblical doctrine.

While cruising YouTube looking for funny cat videos (well, if I told the truth and said I was looking for steam locomotive videos from the 1940's you'd think I was a nerd) when I stumbled across a video by Monica Dennington about pre-trib vs. post trib beliefs. She starts with the following verse:

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. (John 14:18)

This is a nice verse, but Jesus is speaking of his resurrection and sending the Holy Spirit to his disciples, there's nothing in the context of that verse that has anything to do with His second coming or the tribulation, or the timing of the rapture. And luckily Monica doesn't use it for backing up either doctrine, she just lets it hang there and continues on to speak about the fact that we don't know when Jesus is coming back, even Jesus doesn't know, and He spoke at length in Matthew 24 about His return. So if Jesus doesn't know when He will return, an event which is in the bible, how could we possibly know anything about a pre-tribulation rapture which is not in the bible? Were Bible verses used out of context when formulation the pre-tribulational doctrine? Was the Bible used at all?

Giving Thanks

O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

1 Chronicles 16:34

Buying Your Way Into Heaven One Burger At A Time

For those of you meat lovers that have never had a bison burger I strongly suggest that you do. Bison has less fat, fewer calories, and lower cholesterol than beef while remaining quite flavorful, a delicious richer sweeter flavor than beef. An adequate description of a bison burger was penned years ago  by drug saturated songster Jimmy Buffett: "Heaven on earth with an onion slice." So what does an exquisitely crafted burger have to do with eternal salvation? Nothing, not a thing... unless you're Jane Fonda and Ted Turner.

When Ted was 24 his father killed himself leaving Ted to run Turner's billboard company, which Ted did and parlayed it into his multi billion dollar empire. His former wife Jane Fonda says that's it's a miracle that he turned out the way he did:

“"Given his childhood, he should've become a dictator... He should've become a not nice person. The miracle is that he became what he is. A man who will go to heaven, and there’ll be a lot of animals up there welcoming him, animals that have been brought back from the edge of extinction because of Ted... And he says he's not religious. But he, the whole time I was with him, every speech -- and he likes to give speeches -- he always ends his speech with 'God bless'... He’s turned out to be a good guy.”

Ok, let's face it, when you think "biblical scholar" the name Jane Fonda is not in your top 10, and probably not in your top 10,000 either. A miracle that Ted overcame his background and became successful? How about the Robertsons who overcame their background, addictions and sinful natures and became successful Godly men? Has Ted accepted Jesus as the Way, the Truth, and the Light? Does Ted realize that no one comes to the Father except through him? Ted Turner summed up his views on Christianity in one sentence:

"Christianity is a religion for losers."

Food for Thought

But they (the Jews) were deceptive, and Allah was deceptive, for Allah is the best of deceivers (Koran S. 3:54; cf. 8:30)

so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. (Hebrews 6:18)

The Grinch Is An Atheist

The American Humanist Association has sent identical letters to public elementary schools in South Carolina and Colorado and reports of other schools, threatening legal action if the schools participate in Operation Christmas Child. Operation Christmas Child is an annual charitable event sponsored by Samaritan's Purse which delivers thousands of shoe boxes stuffed with gifts to needy children throughout the world every year during the holidays.

For the sin of spreading Christmas joy to poor children around the world the American Humanist Association is threatening legal action to prevent the horrors of small children making other, dirt poor, small children happy at Christmas. East Point Academy in Cayce SC has knuckled under to the atheist jihadi demands that charity to small poor children stop immediately in order to prevent the attempt of exercising the constitutionally protected horror of freedom of religion. In a statement of surrender the principal of the school, Renee Matthews, admitted "There's no religious literature tied with it, there's no speakers who come. There's no religious affiliation at all." yet she still turned tail and ran.

Rant warning.

Officer Getting Back Up

Fund Raiser for my Brother In Law

As I mentioned before, my brother-in-law was very seriously injured in a motorcycle vs semi accident. It's been a very turbulent time in our lives as his condition changed from day to day. At one point his liver and kidneys had shut down, his gall bladder had gangrene, he was unable to breathe on his own, and due to a blood infection he was running a 106.5 temperature. When ever the medical team had one problem cleared another would pop up, and maybe an old one would resurface just to keep them busy.

The outpouring of love and support has been incredible, from blood drives to fund raisers, the people of Ontario CA have been incredible. The Ontario Police Officers Association had a BBQ fund raiser for him, which was so well attended by police, civilians and numerous motorcycle clubs that they ran out of food to serve. Prayer chains from coast to coast prayed for my brother in law and today I'm happy to report that 41 days after being hit by a truck my brother in law has been moved out of the Intensive Care Unit. He's still not out of the woods yet but he is much stronger and his spirits have never been better.

Thank you all so much for your love and prayers, and thank you Father in heaven for your healing and your love.

Why We Expose Emergent, RCC, and Charismatic Nonsense

What Happened to John 5:4???

Pastor Lovejoy and I have been going over my favorite author recently, and while reading the Gospel of John I discovered something that truly shocked me. What I do is simply read the chapters we're going to discuss, take notes on my impressions and any questions and we get together and discuss my notes together. Sometimes I have a problem with a verse so I'll switch versions because many times that gives me a better idea of what is meant or implied. I was reading John 5 in the NASB in parallel with John 5 in the NIV, it's a great way to see the same thing spelled out in two different ways. 

(Disclaimer: avoid reading a REAL translation of the Bible in parallel with The Message. Doing this may cause some unwanted effects such as Chest pain, confusion, irregular pulse, feeling sad or empty, fever, general feeling of discomfort or illness, irritability, lack of appetite, lightheadedness, shakiness and unsteady walk with God, tiredness, trouble concentrating, trouble sleeping, and the urge to burn the Message)

But as I'm reading and taking notes I noticed something odd - the NIV skipped a verse:

1 "Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. 3 Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. 5 One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. (NIV John 5)

Check it out - 1... 2... 3... 5... see it for yourself here. What's going on? The entire paragraph doesn't make any sense unless you simply assume that Bethesda is a place where the disabled gather for coffee and bagels every morning and talk about their recent doctor visit. However if you swap to another version, you'll find this is missing from the NIV: 

My Favorite Quote And My Favorite Egg

“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. 

"That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. 

"You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. 

"He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” - C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Conversations with an Atheist

Recently I was engaged in an online conversation with an Atheist who knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that prayers don't work. His reasoning: there is no God so there's no way prayer can work. Lets call him Cooter Bucks. The poor souls story goes like this:

He was a born again Christian in a small church when a young girl in the congregation got bone cancer. The congregation prayed for her recovery but she didn't recover, so Cooter prayed for a quick death for the girl, but she lingered on.  Since God didn't answer Cooter's demands then it's plainly obvious that God doesn't exist, prayer is a sham, and Christians are stupid ignorant hillbillies like on Duck Dynasty. Personally I'd love to be a stupid ignorant hillbilly like on Duck Dynasty, they're all college graduates, all millionaires, and all love God, Jesus, and each other with a pure love that's a joy to behold. The diametric opposite of these ignorant hillbillies is, of course, the God denying atheist, and for these people I have pity. 

Veterans Day

This Veterans Day I'm praying all my brothers and sisters in arms find the inner peace that only Christ can bring, and the healing that His love guarantees.

Why I Expose Emergent, RCC, and Charismatic Nonsense

Forging a New Me

Heating the metal with bellows afloat.
The steel blending ready forging, tempering the blade
Hammer and anvil sing to the same.
Folding over and over again, and again
Taking hours and days to meet the grade,
The heart and sound, the heat and sweat.
Injected each blow the numerous repent.

(from Katana by Nigel Wilcox)

Sometimes it seems that the Lord is punishing us, beating us down for an offense we may or may not be aware of, But in truth He's not punishing us, no matter how much we deserve it. Punishing is a punitive act, it is the infliction of a penalty in retribution for an offense,  Jesus took our punishment for us, every sin we ever committed or planned to commit or desired to commit He paid the penalty for. Jesus carried our sins to the cross, the perfect sacrificial lamb, the ultimate scapegoat;

and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. (1 Peter 2:24)

So how come those atheists down the street have the new cars and the ski lodge, and the boat, while we Christians have kids in the hospital, long hard hours at work, and macaroni & cheese three nights in a row before each payday? Oddly enough because God loves us

Precious Lord Take My Hand

I just can't do it without you dear Jesus, take me, lead me

Precious Lord, take my hand
Lead me on,
Let me stand
I'm tired, I am weak I am worn
Through the storm, through the night
Lead me on to the light
Take my hand precious Lord, lead me home

When my way grows drear precious Lord linger near
When my life is almost gone
Hear my cry,
Hear my call
Hold my hand lest I fall
Take my hand precious Lord, lead me home

When the dark appears and the night draws near
And the day is past and gone
At the river I stand
Guide my feet,
Hold my hand
Take my hand precious Lord, lead me home

Y'all Bow Please - Faith Returns to TV

For some reason I get asked a lot by people I know "Are the Duck Dynasty guys are really Christian?" Now personally I don't know the Robertson family, but I wish I did. From what I've seen of the Robertson's they have everything that I've dreamed about: loving family, tons of land to hunt and camp in, and a rock steady unshakeable faith in Jesus Christ. Having been raised RCC the faith was something I had to learn on my own, but having  spent many of my formative years growing up in the woods I can identify with their redneck ways. Although Louisiana appears to have much more tasty critters than upstate NY, and hardly anyone calls someone with a "Buflo Noo Yawk" accent a redneck, a redneck I am and will always be. 

Now I'm not fit to judge the depths of anyone's Christian faith, but I can Google nearly any subject into submission so I think my friends are asking me about the Robertsons for this reason. Personally I don't watch "Reality Television" because; 1. It's not reality and 2. It's stupid. But from what I saw on the internet I just had to take a peak at what was going on in West Monroe LA. 

Emergent Monday: Joel Osteen Heretic Superstar

There's one hard and fast rule about writing about Joel Osteen - it feels best when you pray before and shower afterward. To be honest I was going to write about Mark Driscoll's sinful public behavior at Strange Fire... fish... barrel... open fire. If Mars Hill was a true Christian church Mark would be standing tall before the elders and to quote Ricky Ricardo "He have some 'splainin' to do" But by their silence the elders of Mars Hill are condoning his sinful actions. Then again maybe the elders get pay-per-view access to Mark Driscoll's mental porn channel.

Like Rob Bell, Mark Driscoll is an easy target, you just scuff your heel to find some dirt. Joel Osteen is special though. I mean, who else but someone with otherworldly assistance could step into a pulpit with less formal schooling than the average 18 year old and suddenly have 30,000 followers? There's a spirit influencing there, but is it the Holy Spirit? 

Why I Expose Emergent And Charismatic Nonsense

Happy All Saints Day To All You Saints!

I fervently pray that you avoided (survived) the pagan rituals that swirled around your neighborhood on "All Hallows Eve" and today find your trees toilet paper free and your windows untainted by egg. Today is All Saints Day and mark this day on your calender because today I declare that we Christians usurp this holiday and make it our own!

I was thinking of changing the name from All Saints Day to Take A Saint To Lunch Day, but it just doesn't have the same ring as "All Saints Day". But the idea is good, so from now on let's celebrate All Saints Day not by obsessing over dead people but by taking a saint in our life out to lunch, or dinner, or coffee, or how about just going up to your favorite saint and say "Thank you so much for your guidance/mentoring/love."

No, I don't mean going over to the rectory at St. Timmy's and borrowing the St. Christoper statue off the dashboard of Father DiNozzo's '68 Buick and taking it to Denny's for a Grand Slam Breakfast, I'm talking about the real saints, the saints God talks about in the bible. Take a real saint in your life over to Denny's for a Grand Slam Breakfast... unless (like me) you're not quite sure what a biblical saint is, so let's explore the biblical concept of sainthood for a moment. 

Happy Reformation Day!

Four hundred ninety six years ago we were freed from Theological tyranny and the heresy of indulgence, and the word of God was restored to His faithful and loving flock when the Holy Spirit guided Martin Luther to post his 95 Thesis on the door at Wittenberg Castle Church.

Why in the name of all that is holy are we not Celebrating THIS instead of some pagan candy rite?

Bible Verses for Halloween

¹³ For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. ¹⁴ No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. ¹⁵ Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds. (2 Cor. 11:13-15)

 ¹¹ Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them (Eph. 5:11)

¹⁰ There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, ¹¹ or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. ¹² For whoever does these things is detestable to the Lord; and because of these detestable things the Lord your God will drive them out before you. (Deut. 18:10-12)

Lets Just Skip Halloween This Year

I may just be "chasing after the wind" but I'm really not happy with Halloween and our national orgy of satanic ritual. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a good sugar rush as much as the next seven year old, and my favorite shopping day is November 1st when all the halloween size Kit-Kat's and Almond Joys are 75% off at the local Piggly Wiggly, but what at price are we selling our souls just for a party?

If the words "Everyone's doing it" come to your lips then shame on you. We're Christians! When we see that everyone's doing it we should instinctively turn away! Or at least instinctively find out exactly what is going on. While the whole world was sacrificing their children to Moloch and Baal our theological ancestors were railing against that. While all of the known world reeling in drunken orgies our theological ancestors were burned at the stake for their faith to illuminate those parties. While papistry ran rampant throughout Europe usurping governments and selling indulgences our theological ancestors were hunted down like dogs by the inquisition for the sin of reading the true word of God in the holy scriptures. We Christians are the original rugged individuals putting our faith and trust in Jesus, not in society. Here's my reason why you won't find me unless you know where I'm studying my bible come October 31: 

Officer Down

On October 8th, at 7:10 AM an Ontario CA. police officer was motoring from his dispatch office to another police location for some training. He wasn't on patrol, he wasn't in pursuit, he was just moving from point A to point B on police business. As he drove the 50 MPH speed limit in the right lane of a divided 6 lane street the 18 wheeler in the lane to his left chose to make a right hand turn into a driveway. Without warning the truck slewed right and the officer's field of vision was suddenly filled with 23,000 lbs of steel. His motorcycle struck the front right section of the prime mover and the only thing that kept the truck from rolling over him was the fact that the lug nuts of the trucks front wheel caught his motorcycle's foot peg and flipped the bike launching him over 50' through the air until he eventually smashed into the pavement. Two hours later my wife called me at work, "My brother Rob has been hurt." Thus began the longest October in our lives. 

Obama Ramps Up His War Against Christians In The Military

As I mentioned earlier, the Obama administration has declared war on terrorists - not the type of terrorists who slaughter innocent people in the name of Allah, not the type of terrorists that want to overthrow the rule of law and usurp the Constitution of the United States of America, but the type of terrorists who believe both afore mentioned actions are reprehensible and historically have stood fast in their faith and patriotism to protect the United States and the Constitution thereof. The Obama Administration's previous attack was on National Guard troops on a national guard base. However this month Obama's minions got caught yet again assaulting, insulting, and lying about Christians in the military, however not to part-time warriors, this time he sent his hoard against active duty personnel being shipped out to a war zone. 

Blind Faith = Stupid Faith

One of the classic low-octane assaults on Christianity by nonbelievers is that Christians blindly follow. After that the idea of exactly what Christians are blindly following gets kind of muddled: a god that doesn't exist, a charismatic leader, a paper pope, a real pope, a book filled with fables, a cult built on lies. Unfortunately that's how the fallen world sees us, blindly following something that they know doesn't exist. In their eyes Christians are just plain stupid.

I've been told I have blind faith in a God that doesn't exist by a Wiccan. Seriously. In hindsight my rolling on the floor in gales of laughter was probably the wrong reaction, but come on - think about it. It's funny.

In reality if these assaults were educated assaults there would be far fewer assaults. God doesn't want  blind followers Name one religion that demands that you test everything you're taught. A true Christian know that one of his or her  responsibilities is to learn what's good and bad:

19 Do not quench the Spirit; 20 do not despise prophetic utterances. 21 But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; 22 abstain from every form of evil. (1 Thessalonians 5:19-22)

No other holy book asks its reader to put what it says to the test. The Bible can make this bold statement because its truthfulness passes every test put to it.

Obama's War Against Christians In The Military

The American Family Association who's main sin is the unwillingness to allow pornography to inundate the American family was recognized by the US Army for their work in trying to clean up street advertising, radio, and TV. In recognition of their efforts the U.S. Army labeled the American Family Association as a Domestic Hate Group. During a special briefing at Camp Shelby, an official briefing listed the AFA as a hate group and linked the AFA with the completely whacked out Westboro "Baptist Church" (I used the double quotes to signify that Westboro is like Grape Nuts Flakes - the flakes are not grapes and not nuts. Westboro is not Baptist and by they're beliefs and actions they're not Church either) Soldiers were threatened with punishment for participating in groups like the AFA.

The Army's response was swift as it was spineless.

Can A Christian Celebrate Halloween?

The easy answer to the question 'Can a Christian celebrate Halloween' is "It depends" Unfortunately that's also the hard answer. 

The word Halloween comes from "All Hallows Eve", it was the night before All Saints Day (All Hallows Day)  where the man-made saints of the Catholic church were worshiped. At some point the tradition of going door to door requesting small cakes in exchange for prayers for the dead relatives of the house became part of the ritual and eventually became today's 'Trick or Treat'.

Of course an already pre-existing holiday was hijacked by the Catholic church, the Irish holiday of Samhain (pronounced sow-en because that's what it was originally called (Sauin). As for the spelling? Got me, I'm not Irish). Samhain is the shortened version of the Irish word Mí na Samhna which quite literally means "November" and is the celebration of the end of summer, which was a popular celebration among the Gaelic peoples. Samhain marks the end of summer, flocks are brought down from the hills and a great many animals are killed - you can store meat, but live animals have to be fed and winter is a time of near famine for the Irish. Strong breeding stock is separated from the flocks/herds and the rest are slaughtered. When this is complete it's party time. Samhain was celebrated with bonfires (because bonfires and parties always go well together) called samhnagan and religious ceremonies grew up around the celebrations. One of the many ancient Celtic religions beliefs during the time of Samhain is that the doorways to the Otherworld opened enough for fairies and the dead to communicate with us. 

Obama's Shutdown Shuts Down Military Chaplains

Only 17% of the government is shut down, so does that mean frivolous golf outings are stopped? Have multi-million dollar wagyu beef dinner extravaganzas for such non-VIPs as Jay-Z and Beyonce been put on the back burner? Has luxury vacations on the tax payer dime been put on hold? Has the staff of the first lady, who really has no job, been cut to under 1,000 people? (Which would still be twice that of her predecessors) Has the house and senate gyms and cafeterias been shut down forcing the congressmen to carry baloney on white with Miracle Whip to work? Of course not! 

What has been shut down the the ability of the American people to access national parks and monuments regardless of whether  they were managed by the federal government or not, and payments to families of dead soldiers. In this time of financial crisis our president has taken this opportunity to continue his war on christian military members and on the catholic church. But wait! There's more!

Pope Francis: The Church Is A Woman

Today the pope let us know that the church is a woman. Obviously he hasn't read "A Woman Rides The Beast"




Thanks to The Berean Call

A Great Way To Deal With Economic Persecution

As Eternity Matters puts it: Wise as serpents, innocent as doves."

As we've heard, but not in the Lame Main Stream Media, Christian businesses are under attack by the forces of the enemy. Satan is using homosexuals to persecute Christian owned businesses simply for the act of being a Christian owned business. To me this makes sense as a strategy - the United States is a country based on business, so Satan will attack Christians based on business. 

A Christian business in Iowa is under attack for turning down a gay wedding 

A Christian bakery in Lakewood Colorado is under attack for turning down a gay wedding

A Christian florist in Washington is under attack for turning down a gay wedding

So how do we Christians handle these attacks? Simple - we act like Christ.