Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from 2015

Ahhh, Christmas!

As Andy William's would sing, "It's the most wonderful time of the year!" To me, it most certainly is. A lot of that has to do with the way and the place I was raised. I was raised to enjoy Christmas from every aspect. As with others there were the snowmen, the Santa's, the elves, wreaths and lights etc,... but there was also, and perhaps more captivating, the real meaning of Christmas that never failed to grab my attention -- the nativity of Jesus! One of the things I prized myself on was trying to draw a picture of the Magi coming from the east to encounter the King! Each year through my childhood I would try and replicate a drawing of what it must have been like that very night. To be honest, I was never too good at it but it was always worth the time to try. But as I grew older I found there was something else worth the time to try. I personally met this Jesus that Christmas was all about. Yes, after having trafficked in all the sin and bling the world

Peace, the Saints Greatest Asset

  It was Charles Spurgeon who said, " Saints know that a grain of heart's-ease is of more value than a ton of gold ." The true saint of God knows that a day cannot pass, rather, must not pass, without giving thanks to the Father above and seeking Him for the orders of the day. For what can a saint really do that could carry an eternal weight of glory except it be done in obedience to the One who holds the day firmly in His grasp? Just as a river finds its source from the high mountains that feed the underwater springs so true peace can only flow through the channels of the heart if it is birthed from the high and lofty throne of heaven. Jesus said He came to bring an eternal peace but it was not a peace such as the world flaunts, but a peace which comes from above -- from the true and eternal fountain of peace (see John 14:27). The peace of the world is a counterfeit that leads the errant astray in all of its bling, yet it holds no eternal weight in the sight of God

A World Upside Down

Persecution... One of the topics hitting the newswires this week surrounds the U. S. being hypocritical if it hampers the presidents position on allowing Syrian refugees into the nation. This is especially newsworthy in light of the recent Paris bombings that have killed 129 and injured 350 others. Understandably, American citizens are concerned. How many of the refugees may be ISIS sympathizers or members of ISIS themselves? A recent chart shows since 2012, America has allowed 2,184 Syrian refugees into the nation. CNS News reports, "Of 2,184 Syrian refugees admitted into the U.S. since the Syrian civil war erupted in 2011, only 53 (2.4 percent) have been Christians while 2098 (or 96 percent) have been Muslims, according to State Department statistics updated on Monday . The remaining 33 include 1 Yazidi, 8 Jehovah Witnesses, 2 Baha’i, 6 Zoroastrians, 6 of "other religion," 7 of "no religion," and 3 atheists."1 Clearly there is some lopsid

The Most Amazing Sight

Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would go onward in all their journeys. But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not journey till the day that it was taken up. For the cloud of the Lord was above the tabernacle by day, and fire was over it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys                                                                                                                                - Ex. 40:36–38  Artists have tried to depict it, film-makers have tried to capture it, and authors have tried to describe it, but meticulous as our efforts may be fully capturing the transcendent beauty of the Shekinah glory of God is out of reach. This had to be the most amazing sight in world history.  By day, a huge cloud extending from heaven to earth and by night a towering fire of brilliant luminosity. The Bible states from the time Israel had been delivered from Egypt the clo

On Whose Side Will You Stand?

Workers Remove Ten Commandments, Ok.    Franklin Graham wrote: "Across America, people of faith are under attack, as judges, politicians, activists, and anti-God groups assault our faith and lead our nation toward moral collapse. This vocal and well-organized minority are out to remove Christianity from the public square—and we have little reason to believe they'll stop there. After the Oklahoma Supreme Court declared a privately funded monument depicting the Ten Commandments unconstitutional, it was removed from the state capitol under the cover of darkness last week. The good people of Wilmore, Kentucky, are fighting right now to keep a small cross atop the town’s water tower, which sits on the grounds of a Christian university. Stories like this are no longer rare occurrences—we hear them almost daily." ( Decision America 2016 ) "But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: "We ought to obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29) This spring I wr

Happy Faces Welcome!

The JOY of the LORD is our STRENGTH!   1  If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2  Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3  For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4  When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. Colossians 3:1-4 (NKJV) Life is tough.  We would all be foolish to deny it. There are times when we just want to rollover and give up. But thank God...rather, praise to God, He never gives up. One of the greatest attributes of God is that He has all authority over all things . The Bible tells us, " And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account " (Hebrews 4:13 NKJV). This means we must deduce that even in the severest of trial God is aware of our plight. He is there with us. Colossians 3:2 above gives us the

Jailed! It Can't Happen in America!

Kim Davis Jailed for Faith!  Courtesy CBS News     The Apostle Paul spent a lot of time in prison. Surely he had ample time to think seriously about his relationship to God and whether the chains he found himself in meant anything of real worth. Do you think Paul thought it was it really worth it? Why didn't he just QUIT? In one epistle and as a minister of the gospel he recounts his painful and trying service for Jesus to those false teachers who liked to boast in their exploits for their own glory (cp. 2 Corinthians 11:18-20). He states that if he were to stoop to their level of boasting he could say: "...in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my ow

The Discipline of the LORD

This is a guess post, by a special brother of mine, Adrian Bateman. He is an excellent teacher of the word and is a Super Moderator of Rapture Forums . Adrian and his lovely wife Andrea are members of First Baptist Church, Springfield Il. No horse gets anywhere until he is harnessed. No steam or gas ever drives anything until it is confined. No Niagara is ever turned into light and power until it is tunneled. No life ever grows great until it is focused, dedicated, disciplined. —Rev. Harry Emerson Fosdick ​ Discipline is a topic we do not like to talk about. The act of discipline itself is unpleasant and usually painful. It was when we were children in our parents’ home. It is as children of the Lord. But, unlike our parents, God’s purposes are never punitive : they are always corrective . In order to understand God’s hand in our lives and to better be able to cooperate with Him

Fox News: Purging Begins - Sifted Generation

As revealed by Todd Starnes and as foretold in The Sifted Generation , Kentucky Prison chaplains have been ordered to quit telling the truth, according to God's word, that homosexuality is sin. According to the report on Fox News : ******** "It wasn’t so much a choice as it was a demand. Chaplain David Wells was told he could either sign a state-mandated document promising to never tell inmates that homosexuality is “sinful” or else the Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice would revoke his credentials. “We could not sign that paper,” Chaplain Wells told me in a telephone call from his home in Kentucky. “It broke my heart.” The Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice revoked his volunteer credentials as an ordained minis

Immorality Piling Up...as the End of the Church Age Approaches!

It is no secret that Planned Parenthood has been carrying out vicious acts against the innocent born and unborn in their clinics. The recent appalling videos, and more to come, are proof positive of their mortifying actions--regardless of the spin the leadership of PP is pushing. On Aug. 5th, Janet Parshall interviewed Abby Brannam-Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood director, during hour 2 of her show, In The Market . You can listen to it here: Planned Parenthood Abby holds nothing back. She tells the world exactly what is told to the women who come into the clinic and even speaks of the incentives offered to PP employees for getting more abortions for their baby limb and organ peddling operations. To add to the outrage, even a select group of clergy members on the Planned Parenthood Clergy Advocacy Board give there kudos to the ongoing work of the clinics calling it God's work!! It is literally a work of the Enemy! Mark Dooley from The Institution on Religi

New Book Seeks to Reveal God’s Purpose in Allowing Christian Persecution

New Book Seeks to Reveal God’s Purpose in Allowing Christian Persecution With today’s culture pushing against the lifestyle of Christians many church-goers may soon find out what Jesus really meant when He said, "A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you," (John 15:20b). BriefingWire.com , - Springfield, Il. The Sifted Generation, Tested, Tried, and Found True is the new title that First Baptist Church Pastor & Author, Michael L. Henderson, has chosen in his endeavor to bring before the world a much needed explanation behind the tide of anti-christian sentiment sweeping across America and the world. Henderson points out,"that today's culture is becoming antagonistic toward biblical Christianity in ways that most Christians would have never imagined in their lifetime. We have gone from a godly nation that, for the most part, resp

The Way to Eternal Life Passes Through the Cross

Tough Words of Jesus: Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them. "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven . (Matthew 7:13-21 NKJV) Strong biblical advice for days ahead: The Sifted Generation, Tested, Tried, and Fo

The Valley of Decision Time is Here?

He will Come With The Clouds To Get His Church!   Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. Joel 3:14 One thing I have begun to notice in the world of Christianity today is that some Christians are already tired of hearing about the assaults on our religious liberty. Many just wish it would go away. I can emphasize. It seems everywhere I turn I am seeing or hearing of some new hostility or act of rage against today's saints of Christ. In my book trailer I place heavy emphasis on what is coming: Like the sound of the trumpet before and during a war I can relate to the prophecy of Jeremiah: Then I said, "Ah, Lord GOD! Surely You have greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, Saying, 'You shall have peace,' Whereas the sword reaches to the heart" (Jeremiah 4:10 NKJV). Although some have thought this passage to mean Jeremiah was just repeating the sentiments of the people I

The Frigidness of Lawlessness and Perverse Sin

But You, O God, shall bring them down to the pit of destruction; Bloodthirsty and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; But I will trust in You (Psalm 55:23) Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; 'For YAH , the LORD , is my strength and song; He also has become my salvation'  (Isaiah 12:2)   This past month has been and will continue to be a trying one for believers across the world. The war of senseless aggression ISIS is waging overseas has barraged us for months with images of savageness such as the world has not witnessed since Hitler, Stalin, Lenin, and Pol-Pot to name a few. City-wide genocides, and the mass persecutions of Christians through beheadings and other despicably atrocious means continues. In America the SBC annual meeting in Columbus, OH. called for spiritual awakening across the land as Christians stood in agreement that our world is heading for destruction. Then, as if what we have seen and heard