The bullet train of life

Wow! Has it really been over two years since my last blog post? I guess that just goes to show how fast time flies when your'e juggling work, kids, church, school, responsibilities and such so much  that you kinda forget that you even had a blog :) But in all seriousness, I feel like life is moving too fast and I'm just watching it zip by.. does anyone else ever feel like that? Like your not really in control of your own life, just a spectator that gets all these great memories but not really feel as if  you got to truly enjoy what happened. Of course with raising kids this is greatly amplified, one minute they are in diapers and the next they are driving! There is nothing more rewarding and terrifying all at once than raising children. You try to savor every good moment (the "I love you"s, the birthdays, Christmas' and happy times) all the while wishing  they would grow up (stop making messes, be potty trained, and stop fighting with their siblings) but not too fast. I really wish, just as every parent does I'm sure, that life had a pause button. One where every good time could be paused and thoroughly and completely enjoyed. In reality, the true problem that  we have is that we look at life, and time in general, as a whole and by that I mean that everyone feels, on a daily basis, as if they are going to live forever or at least to a ripe old age. Only when we get those scary experiences, the near death/bad diagnosis'/close calls, do we get a, often temporary, jolt into the reality that all we have is the here and now. If we could all live our lives with this vigor of living in the moment, in the Horace's Carpe Diem style of seizing the day not the pop culture's #yolo of do whatever dumb idea that comes into your head kind of attitude. I guess am just trying to challenge us all to go out and live today like it's your last, be the parent that your  kids think you are, be the employee that you would want to hire, be the friend that would drop what they are doing or come over in the middle of the if needed, be the church member that your Pastor hopes for, be the citizen that your country needs. Just be the person today that you'll not regret being someday on your death bed. And me, hopefully I'll be the guy that blogs more than once every two years, but if not then in between I truly hope and pray that I will live every moment like it was my last on earth.

The truth hurts but an illusion can kill

I am unashamedly pro-life! Even further than that, I truly believe that abortion is the cruelest form of murder and should not only be illegal, for justice to prevail it should bring the death penalty! This rather long blog is my simply rebuttal to a reposted list that some leading pro-abortion websites call the top ten arguments for abortion. Obviously just from stating my strong stance, you, the reader, can already tell I am not going to hold nothing back and my blunt, somewhat sarcastic, responses are definitely harsh, but I feel that speaking the truth is the least I can do to dismantle the lunacy behind their sick attempts to justify murder.

Their (pro-abortion) list is numbered 1-10 and my (pro-life) responses are lettered A-J

1. Laws against abortion do not stop abortion; they simply make it less safe. The number of women who get abortions does not change when it goes from being legal to illegal, or vice versa. The only thing that changes is more women die. Every year, 78,000 women die from unsafe abortions.

A. First off, if I used this same argument for anti-gun control the Liberals would flip! Also a gigantic, obvious flaw in this argument is their 78k statistic that they use to support their claim when baby-murder (abortion) is legal in every state, so therefore, all those dead women are a result of legal abortions, not illegal ones. So they admit to legally killing women, while claiming to be for women’s health. To be usable, this stat would have to zero deaths for legal and 78k for illegal. This is typical liberal ignorance.

2. If people want to stop abortion, they should turn to methods that do work. These include comprehensive sex education and safe, affordable contraceptives. Unfortunately, as illogical as it sounds, the people who are most against abortion are also often most against these preventative measures. If they truly wanted to reduce the number of abortions that occur, they would embrace these methods.

B. This is just false information. There is no viable claim made and that is because there is none to make. Pro-life people are not anti birth control, and they do support these methods. In fact, the argument of sexual personal responsibility is a pro-life stance. Pro-baby murderer’s slogan is that they are pro choice, but in reality they only mean that they support the “choice” to “correct” their mistake. My question is why don’t they exercise their right to choose to take responsibility for their actions. They act as if they have no choice whatsoever to over the actions it took to result in an unwanted pregnancy, but then demand the privilege to choose to destroy the evidence of their uneducated, unrestrained, willful choice that put them in that situation.

3. The politicians pro-lifers so ardently support are only after one thing: self-interest. The majority of them are not “pro-life” because they agree with you; they are because they know you will continue to vote for them—and they know that making women remain pregnant not only takes away their power, but it also keeps them busy, in line, controlled, as well as a baking factory for their failing economy. The more people they have to rule over, the more they have to work and buy. Period.

C. This argument is idiotic. It basically says “because there are corrupt politicians, I must be allowed to commit legal murder”. I am certain that there are those that pretend to stand for what is right only because of self-serving motives, but that does not in any way justify standing for something that is blatantly wrong. Period.  

4. Religious ideology is no foundation for any law. Freedom of religion is guaranteed to any citizen in the United States; so why would the beliefs and values of one religion mandate actual laws for all citizens? It would be unfair, unjust and immoral. We do not have laws against eating fish, nor do we have laws that declare it is legal to sell one’s daughter, rape someone, or keep a person as a slave—all things that are promoted in religious text.

D. This one is really dumb. Where, in their little, convoluted, humanistic world, do they think any of our laws, even our freedom of religion law, came from?  If not for the moral absolutes of the Bible, then we would not have the basic premise for any society, especially ours. Just a casual study of American history should convince even the most ignorant amongst us that our nation was modeled after, founded upon, and strictly adhered to the principles and precepts of the Word of God, the Holy Bible. Also, to extract various, unrelated excerpts from different religious texts to make your point only opens the door for the reverse argument that  nearly every anti-religious text has unsavory, immoral practices in it and are they really promoting that animalistic, survival of the fittest world?

5. Reproductive restrictions do not end with abortion. Many people also argue that contraception itself is wrong—another mainly-religious philosophy—and will deny women the protection they need based on this belief. There are legislative acts that allow actual pharmacists to deny women their birth control because of their beliefs; does this not violate the Hippocratic Oath, especially if thousands of women are on birth control because their very lives depend on it (see #9)? Also, since it is my belief that men should not rape women, if I were a pharmacist, would I have a right to deny a man his Viagra just in case he uses it to rape? You never know.

E. Once again this is misinformation and distorted opinion. I think it is necessary here to ignore the anti-religious slander and flawed premise that most anyone who’s pro-life is trying to subjugate women into slaves and to deal with the root of this argument. The main drive of this stance is guilt brought on by the moral code of the Bible that is against an unrestricted promotion of promiscuity. While it is obvious that the pro-baby murder crowd is in direct opposition of these wholesome and beneficial precepts, they must use this type of anti-woman propaganda to misdirect the attention from their truly immoral lifestyle. Women are not sex objects. By disillusioning them into murdering their own offspring through touting it as a reproductive right, all the while promoting the degrading, anonymously promiscuous lifestyle that leads to unplanned unwanted pregnancy is downright evil.

6. Most people who are against abortion will never even become pregnant. If a law would never, in any circumstance, apply to a man, a man creating that law is preposterous. It is akin to men creating laws that ban women from voting, owning property, or showing skin in public—only much more deadly.

F. Statistically, there are more pro-life women than there are men, but I realize that there are plenty of irresponsible, perverted men out there that are seeking no consequences for their filthy actions. But until there is an un-biological, impossible case of a woman impregnating herself, then this will never be solely a woman’s issue. The father is the second victim of baby-murder (abortion), the first obviously being the baby. Why are a man’s rights to be a father, not even considered in this equation? When a woman consents to create this life with a man, then that same consent should imply rights of that man to claim fatherhood of that child. And if any man is decent enough to stand against the destruction of innocent lives, then he should be treated as a hero. The only thing deadly is abortion.

7. Women who are raped or victims of incest should not be forced to carry out a pregnancy. Odds are that 1 in 3 women will be victims of sexual violence in her lifetime. Does this mean that 33% of all women should be forced to carry out a pregnancy from this violation? Considering how many people are killed during childbirth, should we allow this further risk to endured on top of what has already been done? Many would argue that these women could endure the pregnancy, spending nearly a year of her life simply re-living the rape and its effects over and over again, to give up a baby at the end of it for adoption. However, we all are aware of the fact that there are millions of unwanted children awaiting adoption as we speak who remain unclaimed; in fact, UNICEF estimates that there are 210 million orphans in the world right now. If they have no one willing to be their parent or guardian, why would another baby have a better chance? My theory is that people who spend so much time, energy, and money on anti-abortion campaigns should instead spend it on the precious children they say need saving so much—the ones who are alive and parentless. Imagine if all the funds spent on all those billboards and flyers and campaigns were instead either spent adopting or donating to places that are overrun with orphaned children… perhaps some actual credibility would be given to these people who claim to love children so much. Also, there is the fact of the matter of the more than one million homeless youth in America alone. The number one factor for a child being homeless is physical or sexual abuse at home. Perhaps these “child-lovers” should step in and care for these already-born children as well.

G. This argument is definitely ill-advised and must surely be counter-productive, if actually used to support abortion. By slanderously attacking the pro-life crowd with the moniker “child-lovers” then the only logical conclusion is to label the pro-abortion crew “child-haters”. I would think that they would have more intelligence than that, but obviously not. So basically the argument here, apart from the self-inflicted labeling wound, is that “because there is evil (rape, incest, abuse, homelessness, violence, etc.) in the world, we are compelled to commit a more horrendous evil (torturous murder of the innocent) to off-set that fact.” This is the most pathetic and wicked argument yet. Also it is a very uninformed stance, and I might ask the abortion crowd, who do they think runs the orphanages, homeless shelters, crisis pregnancy centers, abuse safe havens, adoption agencies etc. now? The child-lovers or the child-haters? Just because the child-lovers spend some funds to combat the evil of baby murder, doesn’t mean that we are not also fighting these other battles on other fronts as well. So just as we wouldn’t take a “use your funds somewhere other than seeking stronger prosecutions” plea from a rapist, the cry for less anti-baby murder effort from the child-hater crowd will most definitely fall on deaf ears.

8. Reproductive choice can be the only thing that stands between a woman and poverty. There is a reason that the 1 billion poorest people on the planet are female. In sub-Saharan Africa and west Asia, women typically have five to six children, which leaves them powerless to provide for not only their own families, but themselves.

H. Killing another human being is not a viable solution to eliminating poverty! This “argument” alone should anger any decent human being enough to stand up against baby-murder. A person’s promiscuity and demographic should never condone infanticide. The only goal achieved by this stance is to demonstrate the true nature of the pro-abortion crowd, a mafia-like, selfish, cruel attitude that demands it’s way or else. I just wonder how society would react to hear this same argument made by a group such as the mafia. I can see it now… the Don saying “Your Honor, whacking people is the only thing that stands between a Mafioso and poverty. There are many poor gangsters that would be powerless to provide for themselves and the family if they were not permitted to do away with their unwanted blobs of tissue.” Sadly enough this exaggerated example is happening in the real world. According to the pro-death crowd, abortion is a legal way to eliminate those who can negatively affect your economic status, and no cement shoes are required.

9. Reproductive choice can be the only thing that stands between a woman and DEATH. Women who face deadly consequences of a pregnancy deserve to choose to live. Teen girls, whose bodies are not yet ready for childbirth, are five times more likely to die. Not only do 70,000 girls ages 15-19 die each year from pregnancy and childbirth, but the babies that do survive have a 60% higher chance of dying as well.

I. This is fear-mongering and in no way true. The truth statistic is, only 650 total women, from all age groups, in the US die per year from pregnancy complications. While medically, this is still too many and shows that we do need to reform our health care even more; this number is significantly lower than the one they used to try to scare young women into committing murder. And furthermore, to put it into perspective statistically, a woman is more likely to die falling in their own home at the rate of 3000 deaths per year. After some simple research, we can see their stat includes women all over the globe, even in third world countries where medical conditions are abysmal. So for some perspective on death internationally, we can see that more than twice as many women in the world die from diarrhea than from child birth (650k compared to 289k). So while, yes, death is a possibility and that risk should make the reproductive decision all that more important and serious, that still in no way justifies committing murder to bypass risk. And this point does not even consider the serious risk of having a baby surgically destroyed and removed from your womb, which also can result in the death of the mother, therefore committing a double-homicide.

10. Doctors, not governments, should always be the people to make medical recommendations and opinions. Would you allow the government to tell you if you could have a kidney transplant or a blood transfusion? Of course not. The fact that we even consider, let alone allow, governments to regulate a medical procedure is both illogical and foolish.

J. This claim could not have been even remotely thought out before they wrote it! Really, anyone who would want an unregulated medical field is simply illogical and foolish. If that were the case, then I invite them to get their medical procedures done in any third-world country. As for the implied premise that the government shouldn’t be telling you whether or not you can have a procedure, I do agree that governmental regulation should be limited and true medical procedures should not be denied to anyone, but abortion is as much of a medical procedure to a baby as a cheeseburger is to a cow. Abortion is murder and should be, in any civilized society, a crime and any good government makes eliminating crime a priority, plain and simple.

Final note: to anyone out there pondering getting an abortion or even supporting it, I hope and pray that something I have said will convince you to change your mind. Please do not commit this atrocity that you will regret the rest of your life. You can be a better person, you can save a life!

The priceless gift

   Out of all of the existing precious metals such as platinum, gold, and silver, and of all the expensive things we could acquire like mansions, yachts, and private jets there is one thing that is much more valuable than all of that. This one thing is so limited that we never even know from one day to the next if the supply will suddenly run out. Its price is truly invaluable and this priceless commodity is irreplaceable, yet if you are reading this then you have access to it. Yes, that’s right! You have, right now, in your possession the most crucial, indispensable, priceless thing that there is and that vital resource is Time. Time is something that every living person has and yet it is the one thing that we cannot get back once we use it. Everything else is replaceable, but when your time is up, then you cannot get any more. You cannot buy it, sell it, borrow it or steal it and once yours is gone, you’ll either forever regret or forever be grateful for how you used your time. Even time itself is limited, in that, one day time will exist no more and eternity will begin. The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 3:1-9 “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;  A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;  A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace. What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?”  As we understand from this passage that we are allotted a space of time with which we do every single thing that there is to be done. We only get so much time, some more than others, and within it we live and die. If you stop and think about how much time that you have already spent, knowing that you only have a limited quantity, then are you really satisfied with what you have done up to this point?  If not then, what would you do differently? The most pressing choice ever is whether or not you are ready for your time to die. If your time were to suddenly end today and you were thrown into eternity, then would you be forever joyful or forever sorrowful for your spent time? No matter how bad your past is, you can be eternally happy! Right now is the time to ready yourself for the end of your time. Not later, now. Right this very second. Are ready to die? If not, then stop reading and make that eternity changing decision to accept Jesus Christ as your Savior. It is very simple, you just have to believe that Jesus, the Son of God, died for all your sins and then He arose from the dead to eternally be that living sacrifice for you. You must confess to Him and repent of your sins and He will come into your heart and change your eternal destination from Hell to Heaven. And no longer will you have to worry about the end of your time.

  So you say “well I have already done that, I am a blood bought child of God.” Then praise the Lord you are on your way to Heaven, but if you are still reading this then you are not there yet! So the question is to every Christian: What are you doing with your most valuable resource? What have you done for God, the one who changed your time here on earth from Hell doomed to Heaven destined? I think some the best advice for us as Christians can be found in this passage by J. Oswald Sanders, he says “It is often helpful to keep records of how each hour in a given week is spent, and then look at the record in the light of scriptural priorities. The results may be shocking. Often the record shows that we have much more time available for Christian service than we imagine. Suppose that we allot ourselves a generous eight hours a day for sleep (few need more than that), three hours for meals and conversation, ten hours for work and travel on five days. Still we have thirty five hours each week to fill. What happens to them? How are they invested? A person’s entire contribution to the kingdom of God may turn on how those hours are used. Certainly those hours determine whether life is commonplace or extraordinary.” It is a very sobering thought, so I am asking you, saint of God, how are using the time you do have for Him? Jesus gave us His all when laid down His life on Calvary and we must commit our all to Him. He wants nothing less than our best! It is “all or nothing” when serving the Lord because we are not going to accidently fall into Heaven. God requires that we be faithful and that we give Him our all, which means our time, our effort, our devotion, our thoughts, our plans, our dreams, our desires, our ambitions, our heart, soul, mind and strength. When we stop and think about our time as a precious commodity, then really there is no better investment than to give it to God. Nowhere else can one get eternal returns, and reward that is out of this world! So I charge each and every one of us, let’s give our time to God today!

What is good?

Good. What is it? What makes one action good and another one evil? Why do we even have a concept of good and evil at all? These are questions that cannot be fully answered by the atheist/humanist crowd that, on one hand, believes in evolution but on the other, also that man can somehow be good without God.

But  the real answer to these questions can only come from an understanding of God and the absolute truth of the Bible. You see without a constant source of truth, then where does our understanding of "good" even come from? If, as they say, man is just an animal in a world of the survival of the fittest, then what is the basis of good and evil? What they call good come from their God-given conscience and from the Garden of Eden knowledge of good and evil. Without these factors then there is no good and their argument is void. We, as a nation, have gone so far away  from the basic principles of the Bible that our country was founded on that our citizens wrongly believe that we no longer need God to be good (a concept that they have from God). Christianity is the root of morality. Thomas Jefferson said it best in 1809 when he said "The practice of morality being necessary for the well being of society, God has taken care to impress its precepts so indelibly on our hearts that they shall not be effaced by the subtleties of our brain. We all agree in the obligation of the moral precepts of Jesus and nowhere will they be found delivered in greater purity than in His discourses." So not only can a person have real morality outside of Christianity, they wouldn't even know what good is, if not for God. Romans 3:10 tells us that "There is none righteous, no not one"and 3:23 "For all have sinned and, come short of the glory of God." but I am glad that God, in His ever  enduring mercy did not leave us there but He has made a way that we can be counted righteous and that is through the sacrifice that Jesus made by shedding His blood for us on the cross and dying for our sins. In the scope of eternity, good is not determined by our actions and our supposed morality, but by His blood only. Because He is the only good and in Him we are set free. You see, we cannot be good enough in ourselves to merit eternal life, but only by giving our lives to Him. Therefore.....

Good is: being a Christian!  

For a more in depth study on this subject of "good without God" check out:

http://www.reasonablefaith.org/can-we-be-good-without-god 

My Statement of Faith

The following is what I believe, I think that it is good to take the time to study out what you believe and then write it down.....

I believe that there is only one true and living God, eternally existing in three Persons, namely, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. I believe that each part of this tri-unity is a distinct Person, but all of one essence and all having the same nature, perfections, and attributes, and each is worthy of precisely the same worship, confidence, and obedience.

I believe that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is truly man and God, who in His incarnation was conceived of the Holy Ghost and born of the virgin, Mary. In His earthly ministry He lived a sinless life, performed miracles, and died on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins according to and fulfilling the Scriptures. By the power of God, He was raised from the dead in the same body now glorified. He ascended into Heaven where, at the right hand of God, He continually makes intercession for us. Also I believe in His personal and literal second coming in power and glory.

I believe that the Holy Ghost is the third Person of the Trinity, very God, existent with the Father and the Son. The Holy Ghost is the chief agent in regeneration, active in creation, conviction, preservation, sanctification and equipping the believer for a life of purity, power and service. I believe in the empowerment of the Holy Ghost working in the life of the believer.

I believe in the special creation of the existing space-time universe and all its basic systems and kinds of organisms in the six literal days of the creation week as stated in the book of Genesis. Also that the physical universe of space, time, matter, and energy has not always existed, but was supernaturally created by a transcendent personal Creator who alone has existed from eternity and that the miraculous phenomenon of biological life did not develop by improbable chance from inanimate systems but was specially and supernaturally created by the Creator.

I believe that the Bible is the perfect Word of God, inspired by the Holy Ghost, a revelation from God to men; the infallible rule of faith and conduct, and is superior to conscience and reason. I believe in the unique divine inspiration of all canonical books of the Old and New Testaments as originally given, so that they are infallibly and uniquely authoritative and free from error of any sort, in all matters with which they deal, scientific and historical as well as moral and theological. Also that God, in His singular providential care, has kept His word all through the ages, right down to the present day as found in the King James Version. I consider this book my final and absolute authority, above and beyond all other authorities on earth.

I believe that the grace of God, which bringeth salvation, hath appeared to every person, through the preaching of repentance toward God and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ. Humanity is saved by the atoning blood of Jesus through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost, and being justified by grace through faith, and then we become an heir of God and have the promise of eternal life.

I believe that all who have this salvation are entitled to, and should zealously expect, and earnestly seek, the promise of the Father, the baptism in the Holy Ghost and fire; according to the command of the Lord Jesus Christ. I believe that this was the normal experience of all in the early Christian Church and with it, and subsequent to it, comes the enduement of power for life and service, the bestowment of the gifts of the Spirit and their uses in the work of the ministry. This wonderful experience of the baptism in the Holy Ghost is distinct from and subsequent to the experience of salvation.

I believe that the Church is the body of Christ, the habitation of God through the Spirit, with divine appointments for the fulfillment of her great commission. Each believer, born of the spirit, is an integral part of the general assembly and is to not forsake the coming together with other like-minded believers for the purpose of worshipping God, Christian fellowship and encouragement of each other. The commission of the church is to witness concerning Jesus Christ according to the Scriptures, and to preach the Gospel among all nations and to remain faithful until His return.

I believe that the Scriptures teach a life of Holiness without which no man shall see the Lord and by the power of the Holy Ghost I am able to obey the command, “Be ye holy, for I am Holy.” The doctrine of entire sanctification is the will of God for all believers, and should be earnestly pursued by walking in obedience to commands and precepts of God’s Holy Word. I believe that a Christian should avoid all sin and even the very appearance of evil, patterning our lives after Jesus Christ.

  

I believe that God created man and that He created them male and female. As such He created them different so as to complement and complete each other. God instituted monogamous marriage between male and female as the foundation of the family and the basic structure of human society. I believe that the only type of marriage is between one man and one woman in accordance with the Bible consistent with both the Old and New Testament, and any other type is a perversion and an a abomination to God.

I believe in the existence of a personal, malignant being called Satan who acts as tempter and accuser, for whom the place of eternal punishment was prepared, where all who die outside of Christ shall be confined in conscious torment for eternity.  I believe that the devil and his angels, the beast and the false prophet, and whosoever is not found written in the Book of Life, shall be consigned to everlasting punishment in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.

I believe in a literal Heaven and a literal Hell and that all those who place their faith, hope and trust in Jesus Christ, by having their sins covered by His blood, will spend eternity with the Lord in Heaven, a place of eternal joy and peace, while those who reject the free gift of salvation will spend eternity separated from the Lord in Hell, a place of eternal torment and sorrow. 

Paul's prayer requests

The following is one of my recent assignments for my Master's from Grace College:

 1. Study carefully Paul's requests for himself in the following five passages:

Romans 15:30-32; Ephesians 6:18-20; Colossians 4:2-4; 1 Thessalonians 5:25; 2 Thessalonians 3:1-2

2. Write a short essay answering these 3 questions

A. What is the main (central) thing Paul requested people to pray for?

The central concern that Paul requested prayer for was that the will of God, which is of course that all should come to repentance and not perish, and that God’s will be done through his life and ministry. Paul was focused on one thing only; the furtherance on the Kingdom of Heaven. He desired prayers from others for the Lord to equip him to spread the gospel efficiently. Paul’s main determination was to preach Christ and he required boldness from the Lord to do so. He also needed the liberty and opportunity that only God can give and therefore he directed those praying for him to pray for these things. In his prayer requests, we can see the resolve of the Apostle, that though I am certain he had many personal needs he sought no comfort for himself, but that God alone be glorified and that His Kingdom would prosper.

B. What can we learn about prayer by studying Paul’s requests?

The true lesson that we can glean from studying the prayer life of the Apostle Paul is one of understanding sacrifice. Paul cared nothing for himself, only that God’s will be done. He counted it joy to suffer for the sake of the gospel. I believe that the Paul looked not at the situations of his life, prison, bonds, persecution, etc. as a difficulty that he must endure or a sacrifice that he was making for God. But rather, Paul looked at these circumstances as an opportunity to worship God. We can see from his selfless requests that Paul considered these hardships just as another way for him to glorify God, and thus his real prayer request consisted of bringing more honor to the Lord, instead of relief for his current physical suffering.

C. My thinking about prayer and my prayer activity will change in the following ways because of what I have learned.

Many times I am tempted to request prayer for the hardships in my own life and not for the more important matters such as God’s help to reach my lost family. Based on the lessons I have learned, I am resolving to reserve my prayer requests to others for the more weighty matters with eternal value. My physical needs should not take priority over reaching out to those that are in need of eternal life. I believe that the value of a soul outweighs the pressures of my desires and comfort. There is no cost too high to win the lost! I now see that this goal of spreading the gospel is paramount and that if I equate the sacrifices of reaching this goal with the worship of my Savior, then I will find true joy in doing the will of God. My prayer activity has changed to reflect the knowledge of this lesson learned from Paul’s prayer requests. I now spend much more time in thanksgiving for things that I once considered to be burdens. My continual prayer is that I will conduct myself daily with eternity in mind. 

The constitution of man

Man was created in the image of God. Every person has a free will and can choose to accept the plan of salvation that was made possible by the sacrifice that Christ brought on Calvary. We must have this freedom of choice to be capable of salvation. Salvation comes through our choice to believe, and our willing confession of our sins.[1] Therefore man is not bound by sin and death but can accept the gift of salvation if he so chooses. All of us are born with a sin nature and we are sinners until we come to salvation. But even then we have to make the choice daily to remain a Christian. If we do not make that continual effort to follow after Christ then we are in danger of backsliding. Also if we do fall to temptation, then we have the option to repent and our advocate with the Father[2] will seek forgiveness on our behalf. We alone have to decide our fate, whether it be heaven or hell. The Lord wants to be saved, but He has

left the choice up to us.

---

[1] Romans 10:9-11 The Holy Bible King James Version, (Indianapolis: B.B. Kirkbride Bible Company, 2007), 1200.

[2] 1 John 2:1 The Holy Bible King James Version, (Indianapolis: B.B. Kirkbride Bible Company, 2007), 1296.

Media Free Parenting: A better life!

"Media is not the devil, but they are good friends!" That quote sums up how I feel about all the different types of electronic media in use today (yes even computers, and I do realize the irony). I am speaking from a vast field of experience, I have spend countless hours in front of a screen and I know first hand how it effects the life of all who are addicted to it. Yes, I said addicted. If you spend any considerable amount of time on a computer, watching tv, chained to a gaming system, or any other form of media and think that it is not an addiction then I have a challenge for you. If you think you are not addicted then here is what I challenge you to do, totally abstain from  all media for at least two weeks and see if you can make it, give it up completely and don't even touch it. I'll wait............................................................. couldn't do it could you? Had to see your show, or beat the next level, or whatever, am I right? Then that, my friend is an addiction and that is exactly what we are all doing to ourselves without even realizing it. That is what I was doing to myself and my family and without God's help I would have never been able to quit. I spent many wasted years in front of a screen "being entertained" and worst of all I let my children do the same. But thank the Lord that my household has been changed over the last year, we no longer own a tv, a gaming system, or even dvds (except a few home movies packed away in storage) and the improvement is unbelievable! If you are a parent reading this blog, please please please listen to what I am about to say. Media deprives your children of their childhood. I have personally witnessed a major change in my children's attitude, demeanor, health, character, and spiritual life since we have went "media free". They have been so much more active now that I am always amazed at how much they can fit into a day! They have taken an interest in things I never thought they would have cared about, like playing music. My boys are becoming really good piano players. And the funny thing is, we have had a piano in our house since before they were born and they never touched it, now they argue over whose turn it is to play it. My children are advancing in every other category as well, they are getting better grades in school, which is no surprise since they read books for leisure now. They are more social and their interactions with each other and other children has improved dramatically, now they actually talk through their problems rather than fight through them. Their health has greatly improved, as well as my own. Before we went media free, in the rare occasion that we did go outside to toss a football around, we were all exhausted after 5 minutes and had to come right back in and sit down for hours to recover. Now they can run outside non-stop for hours and I also am progressing in weight loss, just a little more slowly than them :) A very noticeable improvement in their character has taken place since we went media free. They are more caring, honest, hard-working, kind, patient, individuals than they ever were before. But the greatest improvement of all is that their spiritual life has changed completely, as well as my own. We now spend time in prayer and have a time of daily Bible reading and quoting, they are memorizing whole chapters of the Bible! Our time of daily devotions has given me an opportunity to connect with my children on a spiritual level and has allowed me to instruct them in the ways of the Lord just like the Bible tells me to do in Proverbs 22:6 "Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it." These things that I have listed are just some of the many, many changes that my family has went through over the last year or so. As a matter of fact, I am so media free that it has taken me weeks to write this blog because I spend very little time indoors on the computer. So I do not have the actual time to tell you of all the small miracles that we have experienced but, I encourage every to take inventory of your own lives today and see where they are headed. Are you part of a media-bound family that is devoting your life to something that has a such a negative impact and no eternal value? If so, then there is only one thing that you can do to improve you life in all the amazing ways I listed above, and that is to pray. I strongly urge you to pray right now for God to help with this life-wasting addiction, because that is the only way to ever get out. We can not do it on our own, but God is merciful and compassionate and He will help us if we only ask, I know because He did just that for me. Just remember what the apostle Paul said in Philippians 4:13 " I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Nothing is too hard for God!

The Finish Line - what really matters.

There are many times in life when we set goal for ourselves, some we complete and some we don't. It is a great feeling to accomplish an objective that you set for yourself, finishing what you set out to do. Today I have reached a goal that, at times I thought that I would never see the finish line, but though much determination I can now say I am a college graduate, 17 years after graduating high school. I realize that at this time of year this is a commonplace accomplishment and that there are hundreds of thousands of college grads out there right now saying the same thing. But my case was far from typical, in that I had a completely different set of obstacles to overcome, for instance how many grads can say that they went to college full time throughout their undergrad career while running a small business to support their wife and four children all while living 30 miles from campus. It kinda makes the usual roommate and laundry complaints I heard from my fellow students seem trivial, but even all of the situational  difficulties that I had to endure seem like nothing compared to something great that I experienced last spring. Last year I had a life changing experience that caused me to seriously consider dropping out of college, you see when I started working for this degree 4 years ago I was not spiritually where I should be and my motives for going to college in the first place were completely wrong. I started with the very common, but worldly goal of getting a degree to make more money. Now don't get me wrong, there is nothing bad about making money and having a good job to support your family. And I still do want a better job to be a better provider for my wife and kids. The difference is that I no longer have the life goal of having a high-paying career that selfishly consumes all of my time and causes me to neglect my family and keeps me away from doing something for God. My whole outlook on life has changed over the last year, and now I realize that serving the Lord is more important than anything else and all that matters on this earth is what you accomplish for Him. We are not going to spend eternity wishing we made more money, had a career, or spent more time at work. All that matters in the grand scheme of things is what are we doing for God, right now. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 6:2 now is the accepted time, behold now is the day of salvation. All that is going to matter in eternity is not what career you had on earth, not what car you drove or how much money you had. There are only 2 things will that matter, where will you spend eternity in Heaven or hell and if you make it to Heaven, how many people did you take with you. These two objectives are my life goals, they are the career that I do not need a degree for, so although I am very grateful that the Lord has helped me to reach this finish line of receiving a bachelor's degree, my true desire is to make it to Heaven someday and I hope that everyone can cross that finish line with me. So if you are reading this and you do not know Jesus as your personal savior then I urge you to please reconsider the direction of your own life and change what finish line you will end up on one day when you die. Please give your heart to the Lord and you will be amazed at the difference He will make in your life, take it from someone who knows first hand, there is no greater goal than being a Christian.

Matthew 7:1

I get this question a lot when witnessing so I think it is needs explaining. People say all of the time "I thought Christians are not supposed to judge" this is usually said after any type of sin is pointed out to them. It doesn't seem to matter anymore what sin they are defending, if you tell  a sinner they are wrong then they fire back with this statement. They are, of course, taking the words of Jesus, whether they know it or not, from  Matthew Chapter 7 verse 1 where while preaching the sermon on the mount Jesus says " Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgement ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again." This scripture is generally taken either out of context, or misunderstood so when I try to explain this to someone who says that I am judging them because I have told them what the Bible clearly says is sin, then I use this example.... Imagine you are speeding down the highway, or committing any other crime for that matter, and a policeman stops you and gives tells you that you are doing wrong. If you were to say "I thought you were not supposed to judge" then of course the officer will say I am not your judge that is someone else's job, my job is to tell you that you have clearly broke the established law and therefore if you do not change your way you will end up in jail. I think that this example makes sense to many who are confused on this issue. As Christians we are not called to condemn and pronounce judgment on other for there sins, just as a policeman cannot give you a life sentence for any crime. But like the policeman, it is our duty to uphold God's law and we are well within our right to tell someone that if they do not repent of there sins and ask the Lord's forgiveness then they are going to face judgment one day, because where would any Christian be if they had not had someone kind enough to share the gospel with them. I also believe that if we do not have the compassion to point out to someone that they are breaking the established laws of the Bible then it could be that we ourselves will be judged one day, I don't want to see anyone die lost therefore I must be vigilant to spread the gospel and show God's love unless with what measure of compassion I give to others it shall be measured to me again in the soon coming Judgment day of the Lord. I want to hear Him say well done thou good and faithful servant, don't you? 

Busy Summer

God is good all the time! This summer I have been truly blessed. Our family has had the privilege of attending 2 youth camps and 3 camp meetings, and we have had an amazing time. I think there is no better way to spend a summer than in the presence of the Lord at a holiness service almost every night. I personally have used this opportunity to draw closer to the Lord than I ever have in my life and I have applied these verses to my life (Hebrews 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.) and I have seen amazing results. The Lord has dealt with me to lay aside weights that used to seem so important, that now seem as foolish as trying to run a marathon while carrying a bowling ball. I am living proof that God can change anyone's hear t if they are willing and can then use them to do things that would previously seem unbelievable. I want to encourage anyone who reads this to spend some time in daily prayer drawing closer to the Lord and you will see what amazing things He has in store for you!

Triple play of happiness

Every individual is made up of three parts, the body, the mind, and the spirit. This is what makes us human and also why we have so many problems in the world today. Most people do not realize this simple fact and in turn, they neglect an important part of themselves. I know this is true because I was guilty of this myself. We go about our daily lives filled with unavoidable traps that are comforting to the body, and spend countless hours occupying our minds with every form of immoral entertainment imaginable, but we do nothing for our spirit. This is why most of the world is miserable and are turning to substances that alter their physical capacity and mental awareness to dull the spirit's cry for attention. I can speak from experience that true happiness is attainable! Anyone on this planet has within them the ability to be truly happy, you just have to follow a simple pattern. Start with improving the spiritual aspect of your being and the other two will immediately fall in line. Most people have it backward, I know I did, they try to please the body with so many things and when that doesn't work they try to occupy or destroy their mind to eliminate the ill effects of living for physical pleasure alone and this pattern only ends in sadness and depression. The physical and mental appetites for pleasure are never filled and they only lead to death and destruction. Without the help of your spiritual side you don't stand a chance. Most everyone knows these facts deep down, but they chose to ignore them or don't fully understand it. Just so we are clear about what I mean when I say physical and mental, unavoidable traps in our daily lives I mean things like lust, alcohol, tobacco, greed, pornography, drugs, mindless entertainment, hate, risky or demeaning behavior, envy, etc. Things that no one really wants to do but they always wind up doing them and then they are filled with regret. I don't think anyone when they are a kid wants to grow up to be a drug addict, a porn star, or an ax murderer, but if you spend your life ignoring your spiritual being, then those things can happen because it is an endless cycle of trying to find more and more new things that please the body and stimulate the mind. All of this can be prevented or stopped and it is not very difficult to do. It is very simple, so pay attention.... the only way to improve your spiritual being, and your whole life, is to pray everyday to God. He will listen to you and help you in unexplainable way. That is it, that is all it takes. Just do this one thing and your whole being, body, mind, and spirit, will be at peace and truly, completely happy and you will be a whole person.

You can make it!

I just want to let everyone know that God can make a change in your life, if you truly want Him to! If you have something that you are struggling with pray about it rather than try to do it yourself. I had things in my life that had me bound for over 20 years, and God took them away in an instant. I could not get over them in myself, I tried many times and miserably failed, but all it took was me determining to let God help me. I hope this encourages someone to give God a chance today to make a great change in your life. Just remember this verse..."And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible." Mark 10:27

New Direction

I now have a new purpose in my life and therefore I feel that my blog must reflect that. So if you have been following this blog because you like to read sporadic rants about traffic, mixed with the occasional random copy&pasted jokes, then I'm sorry. But I don't think anyone will miss them and I did leave the one about the existence of God. Instead I hope you get some encouragement from reading the testimonies of how God is working in my life. Also from now on I will try to regularly update as well, instead of 3 posts in a week and then not another for six months.

God Exists!

(This story was anonymously written ,and sent to my email, I have edited and added some to fill in the gaps. I think it does a good job in showing that God exists.) ~Josh Spurlock~

In a College classroom with a professor teaching a philosophy lesson.......

'"Let me explain the problem science has with religion."

The atheist professor of philosophy pauses before his class and then asks one of his new students to stand.

"You profess to be a Christian, don't you, son?"

"Yes sir." the student says.

"So you believe in God?"

"Absolutely!"

"Is God good?"

"Sure! God's good."

"Is God all-powerful? Can God do anything?"

"Yes."

"Are you good or evil?"

"The Bible says I am evil because I was born into sin ,but I have since been cleansed by the blood that Jesus shed to atone for my sins."

The professor grins knowingly. "Aha! The Bible!" He considers for a moment. "Here's one for you. Let's say there's a sick person over here and you can cure him. You can do it. Would you help him? Would you try?"

"Yes sir, I would."

"So you're inherently good then...!"

"I wouldn't say that."

"But why not say that? You'd help a sick and maimed person if you could. Most of us would if we could. But God doesn't."

The student does not answer, so the professor continues.

"He doesn't, does he? My brother was a Christian who died of cancer, even though he prayed to Jesus to heal him. How is this Jesus good? Can you answer that one?"

The student remains silent.

"No, you can't, can you?" the professor says. He takes a sip of water from a glass on his desk to give the student time to relax. "Let's start again, young fella. Is God good?"

"Yes!" the student exclaims.

"Then tell me, son. Is there evil in this world?"

"Yes, sir."

"Evil's everywhere, isn't it? And God did make everything, correct?"

"Yes' God made everything."

"So who created evil?" The professor continued, "If God created everything, then God created evil, since evil exists, and according to the principle that our works define who we are, then God is evil."

Again, the student didn't answer.

"Is there sickness? Immorality? Rape? Hatred? Murder? All these terrible things, do they exist in this world?"

"Yes, they do."

"So who created them?"

The student does not answer again, so the professor repeats his question. "Who created them?" There is still no answer. Suddenly the lecturer breaks away to pace in front of the classroom. The class is mesmerized.

The old man stops pacing. "Science says you have five senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Have you ever physically seen Jesus?"

"No sir.. I've never seen Him."

"Then tell us if you've ever heard your Jesus?"

"No, sir, I have not."

"Have you ever felt your Jesus, tasted your Jesus or smelt your Jesus? Have you ever had any natural sensory perception of Jesus Christ, or God for that matter?"

"No, sir, I'm afraid I haven't."

"Yet you still believe in him?"

"Yes."

"According to the rules of empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your God doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son?"

"Nothing," the student replies. "I only have my faith."

"Ah, yes, faith," the professor repeats. "And that is the problem science has with God. There is no evidence, only faith."

The student stands quietly for a moment, before asking a question of His own.

"Professor, is there such thing as heat?"

"Yes."

"And is there such a thing as cold?"

"Yes, son, there's cold too."

"No sir, there isn't."

The professor turns to face the student, obviously interested. The room suddenly becomes very quiet.

The student begins to explain.

"You can have lots of heat, even more heat, super-heat, mega-heat, unlimited heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat, but we don't have anything called 'cold'. We can hit down to 458 degrees below zero, which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold; otherwise we would be able to go colder than the lowest -458 degrees. Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-458 F) is the total absence of heat.

You see, sir, cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat we can measure in thermal units because heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it."

Silence across the room. A pen drops somewhere in the classroom, sounding like a hammer.

"What about darkness, professor. Is there such a thing as darkness?"

"Yes." the professor replies without hesitation. "What is it you see at night if it isn't darkness?"

"You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is not something; it is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light, but if you have no light constantly you have nothing and it's called darkness, isn't it? That's the meaning we use to define the word. In reality, darkness isn't. If it were, you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn't you?"

The professor begins to smile at the student in front of him. This will be a good semester.

"So what point are you making, young man?"

"My point is, your philosophical premise is flawed to start with, and so your conclusion must also be flawed."

The professor's face cannot hide his surprise this time. "Flawed? Can you explain how?"

"You are working on the premise of duality," the student explains. "You argue that there is life and then there's death; a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science can't even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life, just the absence of it. Now tell me, professor. Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?"

"If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, young man, yes, of course I do."

"Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?"

The professor begins to shake his head no, still smiling, as he realizes where the argument is going. A very good semester, indeed.

"Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you now not a scientist, but a preacher?"

The class is in uproar. The student remains silent until the commotion has subsided.

"To continue the point you were making earlier let me give you an example of what I mean." The student looks around the room. "Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the professor's brain?' The class breaks out into laughter. 'Is there anyone here who has ever heard the professor's brain, felt the professor's brain, touched or smelt the professor's brain? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain, with all due respect, sir. So if science says you have no brain, how can we trust your lectures, sir?"

Now the room is silent.. The professor just stares at the student, his face unreadable. Finally, after what seems an eternity, the old man answers. "I Guess you'll have to take them on faith."

"Now, you accept that there is faith, and, in fact, faith exists with life," the student continues. "Now, sir, is there such a thing as evil?"

Now uncertain, the professor responds, "Of course, there is. We see it Everyday. It is in the daily example of man's inhumanity to man... It is in The multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil."

To this the student replied, "Evil does not exist sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light. And as you have seen, you must accept all these concepts on the premise of faith otherwise you are like a man that was born blind saying that there is no such thing light just because you have not seen it ,although, in reality light is all around and the are many people who are not blind. So professor, take it from those of us that have experienced God, He exists and He is good."

At that, the professor sat down.