serloren's sometimes winsome wordiness

Lip Gloss and the Word of God

2012-01-12T11:24:00.001-06:00

Speaking in tongues is NOT proof of salvation - not ever! Twisting the events in chapter 2 of the Book of Acts to state that glossolalia is an act of the Holy Spirit that occurs on all persons who are saved is just plain false.

False prophets can and often do speak in tongues, demons (fallen angels) can speak in many tongues, as do many occultists who practice forms of it combined with other rituals. Many forms of it are practiced by people involved in false religions. So obviously we cannot say that doing so proves someone is actually born-again.

Stating that it is needed to prove that one is saved is un-Biblical and not supportable in scripture; it also inputs a form of works into people to be able to prove they are saved by an action, and no one can ever completely prove the salvation of another - that is something reserved unto God alone.

Treating the subject of tongues as a needed component of salvation, or even as a certainty to occur when anyone is saved is nothing less than a perversion of the Gospel, and Christians should have nothing to do with this un-Godly teaching.

I have found the following statement listed on a number of church websites, and many of them are word for word identical, including scripture references:

That the BAPTISM IN THE HOLY GHOST and fire is a gift from God as promised by the Lord Jesus Christ to all believers in this dispensation (time period) and is received following the New Birth. This experience is accompanied by the initial evidence of speaking in other tongues as the Holy Spirit Himself gives utterance. Matt. 3:11, John 14:16-17, Acts 1:9, Acts 2:38-39, Acts 19:1-7, Acts 2:4.

Notice the second line, "This experience is accompanied by the initial evidence of speaking in other tongues...". So, "This experience" (meaning being saved and having the Holy Spirit baptize you into the faith and take up residence within you), "is accompanied by" (not even, "may be accompanied by", but "IS"), "initial evidence" (initially = at the outset: it happens immediately (at the moment of salvation)), "speaking in other tongues" (speaking in language(s) you do not know or understand yourself).

So, that second sentence states as a matter of fact, that if a person becomes saved, they will immediately begin speaking in tongues, and this is proof that they are indeed saved.

The statement adds on a small pile of scripture references to back itself up, and the first five references do solid job of showing/explaining that the Holy Spirit baptizes believers at salvation - that we become indwelt by the spirit of God. BUT...they tack on Acts 2:4 at the end in order to make their argument about tongues.

One verse, plucked completely out of context. Why?

Because studying the entire passage will show immediately that the utterances that took place were a specific work by the Spirit for this specific event, used to enable 3K people from all different places to communicate with one another and realize the depth of what was happening among them that day, and that...blows the entire "people must speak in tongues to be saved" nonsense completely out of the water.

"Take heed that no man deceive you. " - Matthew 24:4b

"Some Words In The Bible"... Indeed!

2011-12-29T12:39:00.001-06:00

While visiting the “Reading Room” at my Mom’s house during the Christmas holiday, I was skimming a copy of Reader’s Digest (May 2011). On page 67 in the section titled “MiscDigest” I came across a story titled “Some Words In The Bible”. It read (all italics in this post are mine):

"The New American Bible is missing some words with outdated connotations, reports UPI, and now maybe young children will stop snickering when they hear them. Booty has become spoils of war, and virgin has become young woman."

Being that I am not a Roman Catholic (whom the New American Bible translation is published for) I had not yet heard about this modification of the biblical texts before; but as I am concerned always about any changes made to biblical texts (are the changes needed, useful, harmful, etc), I looked it up.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops states on its website (http://usccb.org/bible/) that this new revision was released on March 9, 2011 as the New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE). It goes on to say that the edition is “the culmination of nearly 20 years of work by a group of nearly 100 scholars and theologians, including bishops, revisers and editors.”, and that it contains a new revision of “the entire Old Testament (including the Book of Psalms)” and a new revision of “the 1986 edition of the New Testament.”

I cannot believe it took almost 100 so-called scholars, theologians, and bishops nearly 20 years to utterly obfuscate the word and term “virgin”, and their meaning from the thousands of years old biblical teachings contained within the scriptures.

The word virgin is (still today) defined first and foremost as, a person (typically a woman), who has never had sexual intercourse. One who is pure, chaste, or unsullied by sexual contact. We can long all we like for a world where any unmarried female would fit that description, but we can in no way infer that that description is indicative or synonymous with the term “young woman” in any way.

The word virgin appears in the King James version of the Holy Bible more than 30 times, and in no instance is it intended to mean merely a “young woman”, in every instance it denotes physical purity.

“very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her” - Genesis 24:16

“A widow, or a divorced woman, or profane, or an harlot, these shall he not take: but he shall take a virgin of his own people to wife.” – Leviticus 21:14

“that is a virgin, which is not betrothed, and lay hold on her, and lie with her,” – Deuteronomy 22:28

It does not take a scholar to understand what is being taught in these passages, in fact it takes some special kind of idiot to imply that anything else is being put forth by the text regarding virgins than what the text actually says.

One of the most important verses in the Old Testament regarding prophecy is found in Isaiah 7:14, which reads:

“Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

Hundreds of years later, the angel of the Lord told this prophecy to Joseph (recorded in the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament):

“Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” – Matthew 1:23

The prophecy was fulfilled in the Gospel of Luke, where he recorded:

“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” –Luke 2:11

Do any of these so-called “theologians” actually believe that the prophet Isaiah meant that the mother of the Messiah was going to be just some “young woman”? Do they truly believe that the angel of the Lord did not intend to convey to Joseph that his betrothed was in fact chaste, and undefiled even though she was now with child?

REALLY???

It is impossible to think that Joseph, who had met Mary already, would NOT have known that she was a “young woman”, and it is ridiculous to infer that were she not yet a virgin impregnated by a direct act of God, but just a young woman who would have been impregnated by a physical sexual act, that he would have remained with her, married her, and then raised Jesus as his own son.

The virgin birth is central to the Christian faith, no less so than is the resurrection of Christ in many ways. To make such a change to the Word of God in order to be more acceptable to modern men and women by wiping out the morality taught in the scriptures as regards virginity and sexual purity, regarding marital values, is nothing less than treasonous by itself!

But, if Jesus Christ was not conceived through the work of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, than He could not have been the Messiah as prophesied.

He could not have been GOD!

That this heinous act was committed by those who claim to be of the Christian faith, and working to glorify God and edify believers, is nothing if not an obvious and glaring example of the spirit of antichrist at work in the world. Make no mistake, this is the work of the worm by his servants to confuse, and mislead men and women with lies that will propel them away from the truth, away from Jesus, away from He who “is the propitiation for our sins:” (1John 2:2) - away from salvation.

Don’t be lead away from the light of truth by someone who teaches lies while claiming to be doing the work of God (1John 2:9). Their capitulations prove that they love the fallen world and would placate its sinful desires rather than stand up for God (1John 2:15-16). Heed well the words of Christ’s most favored disciple John:

1John 2:18-23 –
Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. (19) They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. (20) But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. (21) I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth. (22) Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. (23) Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.

The group of nearly 100 Roman Catholic scholars and theologians (including bishops, revisers and editors), has been at the very best, utterly deceived by satan; at worst, they are purposefully serving satan. Do not let yourselves be deceived!

And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them. (Luke 21:8)

But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. (2Timothy 3:13)
For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: (19) And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. (Revelation 22:18-20)

The world is already filled with false prophets claiming to be of God, and every single day another adds his or her number to those who profess to be Christians serving our Lord Jesus Christ. The wolves are long since inside the doors of the church, and are devouring sheep at an ever faster rate; now more than ever, it is imperative that we be discerning in all things, but especially so when it comes to those who profess to be shepherds of Christ.

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. (1John 4:1)

peace/faith/hope/love in Christ Jesus,

serloren

Who needs the word ‘Trinity’ in The Word to see it

2011-11-04T13:36:00.001-05:00

One of the clearest pictures and most obvious examples of the Trinity in scripture is given to us in the gospel of Matthew where it relates the baptism of Jesus in chapter 3, verses 16-17:

“And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he [John] saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; (17) and behold, a voice [the Father] from heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (ESV)

“And Jesus, when He [Jesus] was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he [John] saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: (17) And lo a voice [the Father] from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (KJV)

“After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he [John] saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, (17) and behold, a voice [the Father] out of the heavens said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.” (NASB)

“As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he [John] saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. (17) And a voice [the Father] from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (NIV)

Translation to translation, it doesn’t change even though some of the wording does. Be it the Geneva, Darby, Bishops, King James; nor in the Weymouth, RSV, HCSB, the BBE, CEV, GNB. Not even in a paraphrase like The Message where the description of the event is clearly and always the same.

In Matthew’s gospel account, all three persons of the Trinity are identifiable and simultaneously present. Each one is doing something apart from the other two, and doing something different from the other two.

God the Son (Jesus) is baptized in the water, and anointed by the Holy Spirit of God.

God the Holy Spirit descends on His shoulder and anoints/empowers Him as Messiah.

God the Father speaks of His pleasure at this event from the heavens above.

I don’t pretend that seeing this, and realizing it as truth is anywhere near being able to fully grasp and understand it, but how much clearer does it have to be given to be accepted as existing?

Luke recounts the exact same thing as happening in the third chapter of his gospel in verses 21-22:

"Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened, (22) and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice [the Father] came out of heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased."

Paul, the greatest of the Apostles spoke of it existing in 2Corinthians 13, Galatians 4:6, Ephesians 2, and 5, and Peter expressed it directly in 1Peter 1:2 when he stated how it is put together for our benefit (the Trinity exists for us!!):

“Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.”

Sure, there is a difference of opinion on the inclusion of 1John 5:7, but the difference doesn’t arise from what it says, merely if it originally said it at that spot in the texts. Proof that no difference of opinion exists regarding what it says can be found in verse 8 (which no one disputes) that begins with, “And there are three that bear witness…”

In Matthew chapter 28, verses 18-20 Jesus Himself says:

(18) And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. (19) "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, (20) teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

All I have written here is just scratching the surface of just how often the scriptures speak of, and teach of the existence of the Triune nature of our great God. There are dozens of other verses we could reference, and I would suggest seeking them out and studying them as well, but honestly, I fail to see how anyone can go through even the handful of instances here in this writing and deny the existence of the Trinity; at least for any other possible reason than that they just plain do not want to accept it.

Whether that desire to reject it comes from frustration at not being able to understand the nature of the Trinity more fully (our vanity and pride are always near to the surface), or from some deeper issues (rebellion etc), I don’t pretend to know. I do know that I was baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and only by those three names would I consent to baptize another, in order to do as my God (which they in One are) commanded us.

We can choose to read books and commentaries (and there are hundreds) by the historic church fathers as well as by modern church leaders on the doctrine(s) of the Trinity, both pro and con. Doing this may give a us a deeper understanding of how it works, or a better idea of why it exists than we can manage on our own, BUT…the only thing we actually need to be able to find and prove and accept it, is the Holy Word of God’s book, the Bible, and hearts willing to listen.

(reposted from a few days ago to correct an error)

Every FOUR minutes...

2011-10-28T09:57:00.001-05:00

Every four minutes someone in India commits suicide.

Every four minutes equals 15 suicides per hour, 360 suicides per day, and 131,040 suicides per year...that's the population of Milwaukee (WI) in only 5 years time (assuming the rate doesn't go up).

Pray the Indian peoples would respond to the call of God, rather than the echoes of despair.

Cyrus can't be shamed

2011-10-27T11:04:00.001-05:00

[Chorus]
I can't be tamed, I can't be SAVED
I can't be blamed, I can't, can't
I can't be tamed, I can't be changed
I can't be SAVED, I can't be (can't be)
I can't be tamed

I am most thankful that Miley Cyrus is 100% WRONG, and that my God says she CAN be saved, just as anyone else who truly repents and turns to Jesus can be; and I sincerely hope that one day she actually WILL become saved.

Until then, it is my hope that more moms and dads will refuse to let their daughters (and sons) fill their eyes and ears with the trash and filth this young girl peddles - including her entire Hannah Montana persona. You can't pour crap into a sieve and expect chocolate syrup to run out.

Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? - Matthew 7:16
Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? - 1Corinthians 5:6

(originally posted in my Facebook notes May 5th, 2010)

Occupy Wisconsin High Schools...

2011-10-27T10:49:00.001-05:00

by Loren Sanders on Friday, October 21, 2011 at 9:23am (via Facebook notes)

Concerned parents please read...

(below is what I wrote and sent to a number of online outlets, within minutes I started getting responses from the Great VanSustren site<g>)</g>

Hello,

Below are three questions that were given to 10th grade students at Grafton Senior High School in Grafton Wisconsin the other day – a family friend has two sons there who brought this “assignment” home. She asked my wife and I about our thoughts regarding this.

Below the questions is what I replied with to her, and I thought that you folks should be made aware that this garbage is going on in good ol’ Wisconsin as per usual.

I think you should be informing your audience(s) about it, since we certainly won’t be hearing about it in the mainstream press.

Best regards,

Loren H. Sanders

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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

#1 Does the concentration of wealth in American society inevitably threaten American democracy and democratic institutions? Why?

#2 Would you rather have a more democratic society or society that allowed and encouraged great concentrations of wealth? Do we really have to make a choice between preserving our democratic institutions and protecting the right of large corporations/billionaires to amass great wealth? Why?

#3 Americans have been debating whether large national and global companies/corporations are a benefit or threat to our society and economy throughout the twenty-first century. What do you think and why?

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

Where do her kids go to school, Josef Stalin High? If I were her, I would be at that school ‘raising cain’ with the administration and the school board as well. The baloney excuse would be given I’m sure that they are just using the current political climate to teach kids to think about the issues, BUT, the very framing of the questions proves that they are really trying to push kids to think like they want them to (indoctrination): as hard-left liberal socialists.

Every single question is posed entirely from a socialist/Marxist/liberal direction, and intended to steer the way the kids think from the outset while disguising itself as merely asking their opinions. The bias in all of this is pathetic! If there was ANY intellectual honesty even intended, the first question would at the very least be posed more like this:

#1 Does the concentration of wealth in American society inevitably threaten American democracy and democratic institutions? OR, is it our very FREEDOM that gives each and every one of us the opportunity to make as much of our lives, for ourselves and our children as we are driven to achieve?

Not counting illegal aliens - “illegal immigrants” cannot by definition even exist - who circumvent the existing system by sneaking into the country and living and working here illegally thus draining income from the pockets of all of us who have an actual legal right to be here – thousands and thousands of people from every other country on the earth choose to come here every single day and apply to become actual American citizens. Why? Because for all of its problems and issues, there is NO other country or kingdom on earth that affords people the opportunity to make a better life for themselves and their children the way that America does! People do not give up everything, leaving behind everything they have or know for the chance to live a life of socialism, communism, and Marxism by fleeing headlong to Russia, or Korea, or China, or even to Europe. Why? Because ONLY America offers them the ability to become citizens who have the absolute right to the “pursuit of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” = individual personal FREEDOM!

In fact, the only place that “free socialists/communists/marxists” can even exist is in a democratically run society like AMERICA!

Why don’t people race to Europe to pursue the wealth that will enable them to raise their children in a manner better than they or their ancestors ever could have? Because the governments in those countries are designed to either stop them entirely from being able to succeed, or to only allow them to do so in a way that is controlled by the state and can be taken away by the state as it sees fit.

Why is it that the only people we hear about who go to Europe because it supposedly so much better a place to live are ridiculously wealthy movie and music stars from the United States? And why do they only ‘move’ there, or ‘live’ there and maintain a home here in the USA? Why doesn’t Johnny Depp actually emigrate and become a real French citizen? Because he would become subject to the same laws as all the socialized French people who die in heatwaves because of a lack of energy resources that actually serve the entire society as they are supposed to do. Why doesn’t Sean Penn pack up his millions on his yachts and boat his ass on over to Europe and become a citizen there? Because he’d lose a major portion of his fortune, AND, if he ran his mouth there against the country and government there like he does ours here he’d be run out on a rail or jailed.

Just the other day I ran into a GREAT quote by one of the brightest leaders in modern history that states it really well:

"Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy; its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery."-Winston Churchill

I love Churchill, and I think this quote will share position as my favorite of his, alongside my longstanding favorite:

“If you're not a liberal at twenty you have no heart, if you're not a conservative at forty you have no brain.” – Winston Churchill

Question #2a is purposely written to implant the idea in their heads that being allowed to work and grow as wealthy as you are willing to work for is the opposite of democracy!

“Would you rather have a more democratic society (implying that ours is not democratic as it is now) or (meaning the opposite of) society that allowed and encouraged great concentrations of wealth?” (i.e, an evil society that isn’t democratic because it allows you to keep what you earn by the sweat of your own brow)

Question #2b continues the indoctrination by asking if we have to choose between the evil un-democratic rich corporations or all the rest of us lowly little democracy loving real Americans. In other words: Democracy and the pursuit of personal wealth are antithetical to one another. Which of course, is nothing more than a huge, steaming pile of dung!

On to Question #3.

First of all, to say that people have been debating all of this “throughout the twenty-first century” is about as melodramatic as you can get considering we are only eleven years into the hundred years that will be identified as this century.

Secondly, I think that trying to implant this pile of anti-capitalist horescrap into our kids needs to be heavily confronted and stopped. Our school systems have long since become nothing but factories to pump out brainwashed little foot soldiers in the war against America and the freedom it was built on and stands for.

"Give me the youth, and Germany will rule the World" - Adolf Hitler

“Let me control the textbooks and I will control the state. The state will take youth and give to youth its own education and its own upbringing. Your child belongs to us already…what are you?” – Adolph Hitler

What is being pumped into our kids heads in the school system is no different than what Joseph Goebbels (head of propaganda for Hitler) did in rewriting textbooks, rewriting history books, and controlling what the general public was allowed to know, see, and read. If this continues as it has been, the end results here will be no better.

But if all of this is too deep for the thick socialistic mindset of the teacher that wrote it, I’d add in a simple illustration on the note of wealth alone (even though all of these things are tied together):

If I take a fifty dollar bill out of my wallet and freely give it to someone else who doesn’t have one, that is charity. If I reach in your pocket and take out a fifty dollar bill and give it to someone else, it is called theft.

I know, I know – like I would ever have a fifty dollar bill nestled in my wallet! ;-)

BUT, I promise you that if I just took a fifty dollar bill out of that teacher’s wallet and gave it to someone else, they’d scream for the police to come and lock me up, and in today’s world, they’d likely file a civil suit against me as well.

If I were that high-school kid, I’d stand in front of the class, put my hand out, and tell the teacher if he/she really believes in this anti-capitalist socialist swill that says we should all have equal amounts of wealth at any cost, and then I’d demand that he/she teach by example and split the money in their wallet and checkbook and savings equally among every one of us kids in the class.

Definition of "two-faced"

2011-10-27T10:29:00.003-05:00

Define: Two-faced (i.e, completely untrustworthy, deceptive)

Kathleen SebeliusWhen asked to give anonymous statistical data regarding abortion stats in the state of Kansas, Sebelius flatly refused saying it was "No ones business for any reason ever", personally, locally, or federally.

In her current position in the Obama administration, she is actively and aggressively pursuing the mandate that the Feds have an absolute right to access and compile all medical information about each and every one of us.

Any questions?

Sebelius-directed Kansas agency destroyed key records in a criminal case against Planned Parenthood

For the moment anyway

2011-09-20T11:00:00.001-05:00

My my my, it has been quite some time since I've posted, and precious little (at least by comparison to days past). Well, life not only takes precedence, but it forcefully sets the pace as well. Being as my family is in the midst of moving (a chore no matter how you accomplish it), consider this a "Hey, how ya' doon?", and when time allows, I'll get back to being a little more frequent in my posting.

God bless and keep you and yours,

serloren

Bunch of NUKE-leheads

2011-07-08T15:59:00.000-05:00

What do The Doobie Bros,.. Bonnie Raitt,.. John Hall,.. James Taylor,.. Carly Simon,.. Crosby,.. Stills and Nash,.. Jackson Browne,.. Ry Cooder,.. Chaka Khan,.. Poco,.. Tom Petty,.. Bruce Springsteen,.. Raydio,.. Jesse Colin Young,.. Gil Scott-Heron,.. and Sweet Honey In The Rock, all have in common?

Besides being decrepit washed-up hippy has-beens and/or never-was in some cases (Gil Scott who anyone? Sweet Honey wha?)?

All of them took part in collective concerts at Madison Square Gardens in 1979 billing themselves as M.U.S.E. (Musicians United for Safe Energy), and it was all released in September as a triple-disc live album titled: “No Nukes: The Muse Concerts for a Non-Nuclear Future”.

What else do they have in common? Pretty much all of them hawked in concerts and the media for Jimmy Carter in his failed (thank you Lord!) re-election campaign in 1980; and of those still alive many of them were just as “activated” for Barack Obama during his presidential campaign, and you can safely bet they all voted for him.

So what does this have to do with anything that you might care to know about?

Well…through the Obama administration, the EPA just issued new stricter standards for air quality that are going to have a BIG impact on Wisconsin (and 25 other states) in terms of energy. Namely, thanks to these new regulations, you can rest assured that your electricity bills are going to continually escalate for the next several years – costing you more and more to heat and light your home.

Okay you say, that’s not good news, but again – what does it have to do with the ‘soft-rock’ seniors I was just talking about?

Before I finish answering that, I do think it is VERY notable that John Hall (once of the band ‘Orleans’) has remained a very liberal activist the last 30+ years, and recently served as a U.S. Representative for the Democratic Party in New York’s 19th Congressional District, and spent much of his time in office campaigning and railing against all things nuclear with a number of activist groups.

Okay, you say, typical whiny spoiled liberal weenie – but what does all this stuff (30+ years of anti-nuke activism) have to do with the new EPA regs that are going to take more and more money from your wallet for years to come?

Better to ask why the EPA put these new standards in place at all – after all we have a nearly immeasurable supply of coal to draw from that would last for a couple more generations at least – right? Right!

But our illustrious demagogue in the White House absolutely, positively, vehemently, with downright malice showing in his sneer when he speaks about it, HATES COAL! He hates coal like Superman hates Kryptonite, he hates coal like ACORN hates Voter ID laws, he hates coal like Hillary Clinton hates our military men and women, he hates coal like Karl Marx hated freedom: HATES IT!

So what alternative to coal does Barack Obama want us to pursue? What is he striving to build in place of using (reasonably clean) coal? What is his solution to all our of our energy needs in the future???

BUILDING NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY!!

Nuclear power - the very object of decades of derision, protests, and vilification by these arrogant sanctimonious obnoxious buttheads on stage, in the media, and everywhere else they can force people to listen to them!

Do you think that you will see even ONE of these half-wits come out and rail publicly against Obama and his administration for these wonderful new changes to our energy policies? Do you think any one of them will be holding concerts where they get fans to chant things like “Go Barack home Obama” leading up to the next election?

Yeah, right!

Concealed Carry Law for Wisconsin

2011-05-25T11:11:00.001-05:00

Wisconsin is considering a “concealed carry” law for firearms. Wisconsin & Illinois are the only states in the entire country that do not have such a law. Opponents to concealed carry say that it will only serve to increase gun violence in our state.

In order for that assumption to hold as valid and true, Wisconsin & Illinois would have to be at the very bottom of the list for gun violence stats in the USA = #49 and #50 respectively.

According to Wikipedia (who anyone will agree leans far more left far than it ever does right), lists Illinois at #7 in the country for gun violence (with 75.2% of homicides being perpetrated by gun). Wisconsin ranks #32 in the country for gun violence (with 64.5% of homicides being perpetrated by gun). Wisconsin currently has more gun violence than 17 other states that all have concealed carry laws, and Illinois has more than 42 other states (41 with concealed carry laws – Wisconsin excluded).

I don’t care if you like guns or if you don’t, the evidence supports the long-known truth that in communities where law-abiding citizens are allowed to carry personal protection concealed on their persons, the amount of gun violence committed goes DOWN not up!

Contact your representatives and also the Governor’s office, and tell them that you stand in support of a concealed carry law being enacted in Wisconsin.

"An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life." - Robert A. Heinlein (Beyond This Horizon)

"Strict gun laws are about as effective as strict drug laws...It pains me to say this, but the NRA seems to be right: The cities and states that have the toughest gun laws have the most murder and mayhem." - Mike Royko (Chicago Tribune)

"History teaches that all conquerors who have allowed their subject races to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by doing so." - Adolph Hitler (April 11 1942)

Radical certainly is

2011-05-22T23:03:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago I read Radical Together for a review, and decided that I most definitely needed to read the seed it sprouted from, so when I found the book Radical (by David Platt) on the site as a review pick, I happily requested it. It arrived just in time to accompany me on a 2 week road trip for business…but it lasted a total of 2 evenings in my hotel room, leaving me with only my Bible for further reading material during the rest of the trip. (oh darn <g>)

I gotta tell you, David Platt is the kind of guy that guys like Rob Bell, Tony Campolo, and the rest of the hipsters should be: truly radical men of God. Unlike the social gospel crowd, Platt understands that while God loves the rainforests, he is far less concerned with their possible extinction than He is with the unending extinction of the lost souls of this world. Unlike the Universalists and Open Theists, Platt not only accepts the reality of hell in God's plan, and that his (and all of ours) real job here is to proclaim Heaven, Hell, and Salvation to everyone else on the planet. In today's pluralistic, uber-tolerant, spiritually dead and blackened society, that is indeed truly
radical.

The fact that he is a pastor and surrounded by other pastors the world over who will not stand behind their pulpits and give people the truth of what they're facing in the who-knows-how-soon future makes him beautifully and wonderfully radical. No one else this side of John Piper would so boldly state: "God is at the center of the universe, and everything He does ultimately revolves around Him." RIGHT!

I thank Holy God that he has given Platt the resources and the courage to issue this challenge to the professing Christian world through this book, and I agree wholeheartedly with Platt when he says, "Every saved person this side of Heaven owes
the gospel to every lost person this side of hell." (Italics mine.) This is a challenge to me, and you, and everyone else who calls themselves a Christian, to submit fully to the scriptural fact that Jesus never gave any suggestions to anyone. Only commands. Our God commands us obey. Again, a very radical stance for Platt to take within our current church culture.

His aim is true and his arrows sharp when he posits that we Christians have traded the gospel for the American Dream; it pierces us through when he expounds on exactly how we've done that and brings the truth he's revealing fully into the light: that every single one of us are idolaters.

This is not a book every Christian should read, it is one that every professed Christ follower must read, and answer the real question at the heart of this whole book: are we truly who we say we are, or will we one day find Jesus saying He's never known us? This book will help any Christian look honestly at the heart of that question by the time they've read half of its 200 pages. I know that I am concerned that I face Jesus one day looking more like Jim Elliot than like Benny Hinn. How about you?

I'll let Platt awake and convict you with his own words to end this: "But there is no injustice in God. The injustice lies in Christians who possess the gospel and refuse to give their lives to making it known among those who haven't heard. That is unfair." Amen brother!

(I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review)

Book Review: Radical Together

2011-04-20T15:37:00.001-05:00

Disclaimer #1) I have not yet read Platt's first book, Radical, so I approached this book without a bias pro or con from the first one.

Disclaimer #2) I honestly didn't expect much from this book when I chose it to review, I've read and seen so many "hot" new things in the Christian realm the last several years that I admit to having grown a little jaded.

That said, let's get to the book.

Let me begin by saying that I was not only pleasantly surprised by the theme of Radical Together (Multnomah 2011), but also by the author's unabashed zeal for his material - it's quite obvious that Platt is driven by the message he is promoting, not by the possibility of big sales numbers; that alone is refreshing, that he is so compelled to do so with a message that will not sit well with much of what passes for American Christianity today is commendable.

I'm struggling for the words to explain how I felt in reading a book that seemed page after page to be speaking from the recesses of my own heart, using so many terms and verses that have come from my own lips so many times...it stunts my ability to describe it. Seldom am I at such a loss for words about how I think or feel about anything (ask anyone who's ever even met me).

Nowhere in this book will you find the Gospel being shied away from, sugar-coated, or only half-delivered as is so often the case today. Nowhere will you find the author usurping the Great Commission for the sake of the planet. Nowhere will you find a call to reinvent Christianity in order to draw in the disillusioned, or to repackage it in such a way that it is attractive to "sensitive seekers". In fact, nowhere in this book will you find anything except a bold, honest, unflinching Biblical narrative that is certain to convict anyone who yet has a heart.

Hearts, yours and mine, are what Platt is aggressively trying to awaken, to remind us what having the heart of Christ truly should look like in and among Christians. Hearts that are driven to see people saved, the world over; and what do we need to strip away from our lives in order to fulfill that one true desire of Jesus: to see people redeemed, drawn back from the brink of eternal death into the light of God.

This book is a brash and very needed call to the church to live out what we claim to be about - not ourselves, not our homes and cars, not our jobs or stations, not our fame or wealth, but about Jesus Christ - the Redeemer, the Lord of Glory, King of Kings, the one and only way to salvation.

Radical Together is a fast read at a little over a hundred pages, and I believe Multnomah would do well to bind it together with the first book as a combined reissue (though I'll be certain of that only after I go back and read Radical).

I not only cannot recommend this book highly enough, I encourage you as strongly as I can in a space like this one to buy a copy for your pastor and everyone in leadership at your church or organization. If you have the means, buy it for the entire congregation as well. At the very least, read it, and then place it in as many hands as you can manage and prod them into reading it.

It's not often that I promote any book to more than a few people, and I am very slow to promote any book (outside the Bible itself) to the church as a whole; but this book is not your typical Christianized self-help nonsense, this book is not Christianity for fun and profit, this book is not bed-hair and coffee chic for Christian hipsters, and this book is not simplistic watered down milk for the church-going masses. It is strong meat - lean, wild, and very chewy.

(I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review)

Not only secular professors...

2011-04-19T11:57:00.001-05:00

Apparently, secular professors at Ivy League schools aren't the only ones who can twist, omit, and re-imagine things to whatever shape they want to present as shown by the professor quoted in this article for Christian Today - "Ricky Gervais, the 'good Christian'".

In the article, Gervais is quoted as castigating Christianity and Christians (as per usual), and Dr Robert Johnston, who is a professor of theology and culture at Fuller Theological Seminary agrees with him completely - in essence showing that as a professor he is more concerned with the cultural aspects than he is with theological implications of his opinions.

Johnston stated, "If in the world we live in, Christians are increasingly being perceived as unkind, unforgiving, intolerant, and legalistic, and to the degree that this is true, we have failed to be followers of Jesus. Ricky Gervais probably has a truth that you and I don’t want to recognise.”

So, if someone perceives that I am unkind, intolerant, unforgiving and legalistic it must be true, or at least partly so, according to Johnston - and this means that I am a failure at following Jesus. Since the professor likes to mix terms together to paint his opinions more broadly, let me peel these back apart a bit.

1) If I am truly being unkind to someone, or unforgiving, I am indeed not walking in my masters footsteps...in that instance. To brand me as a failure at being a Christ follower because of that instance is not only over-reaching, but un-Biblical and dare I say it: unkind. In fact, that kind of attitude that allows for only perfect conduct or utter failure is a pretty exacting example of legalism.

2) Being "intolerant" is always a matter of perception. Period! The only line of measurement available when it comes to being intolerant or not is drawn by the person who chooses to accept or decry your behavior as such - it is entirely subjective. That being the case, I choose to do my best to follow Jesus Christ rather than the world for my example of what I should or shouldn't tolerate.

Christ didn't tolerate people abusing the House of God (John 2:16).
Christ didn't tolerate people making excuses (Matthew 8:21-22).
Christ didn't tolerate false teachers (Matthew 7:15).
Christ didn't tolerate anyone trying to dissuade Him (Luke 4:8).
Christ didn't tolerate hypocrisy and bullying (John 8:7).
Christ didn't tolerate anyone breaking the 10 Commandments (Mark 10:18-19); which by the way, Gervais proves he is no better than anyone else by lying and saying that he has not broken any of them (we all have), and in fact breaks one by telling that very lie.

Christ didn't tolerate a whole slew of things in fact, our issue isn't if we should be intolerant or not, it is only that we be so in Christ-like fashion.

3) He uses legalism to accuse others of legalism. Nearly everyone has a tendency to accuse others of problems, issues, SINS, they themselves are practicing; Johnston is obviously no different, but seemingly fails "to recognize" this.

Johnston also said, “And so the task is to recognise that we live in a pluralistic context, [and] the task for us is to model the way of Jesus and to proclaim the truth and beauty and goodness that Jesus embodied and taught.”

If we accept his designation that we are living in a pluralistic context today, that by no means should be seen as a reason for us to live in like fashion. In fact, Christ calls us to be in the world, but not of it, and as pluralism has become a serious infection within the church we should strive all the more to not be led astray by it. We are to be a light to the world, not an additional candle in a worldly chandelier that gives no more light than anything else around it (Matthew 5:14). If doing that means being condemned and rejected by the world, bring it on (John 15:19).

“If our Gospel is heard as judgmental, intolerant and exclusive, then we have a problem and the finger needs to be pointed back at us." Johnston said.

If we proclaim the actual Gospel as we have been charged to do, it WILL BE heard as judgmental, intolerant, exclusive, mean-spirited, wrong, evil, and every other negative connotation you could attach to it; it is SUPPOSED TO have that effect! The truth of the Gospel CONVICTS our wicked hearts just as God intended it to.

1Corinthians 1:18-20 - For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?

Among actual saved Christians, if we are not living out the Word of God within us, we too will be convicted by the Word of our own sins to draw us back to Christ.

The danger for me in responding to this kind of baloney that codifies everything put forth by the world/unsaved as being valid and true while denying what the Bible says is true and demonizing those who try to live by it is that I can too easily end up taking every sentence apart piece by piece; doing that ultimately does little good as it ends up being dismissed by most people as we have a modern society with a very short attention span overall.

So, I'll make another point or two that is obvious from Dr. Johnston's statements in this article and call it a day.

“It’s evident and to the degree you simply become over concerned with truth, you lose your ability to be heard. And what is true in regards to our children is true in regards to our conversation with others as well." he stated.

He has flatly said here and in his previous sentences, that we have to dumb things down for children to be able to grasp them. This is a modern liberal lie. We need to speak directly to children, pointedly, clearly, and succinctly - NOT as if they are mentally incapable.

By his words, we must speak to the unsaved people of the world in the same fashion, as if they were Ritalin-addled incompetents who must be mollified with sugar-coated half-truths else they become incensed and reject us. Again I say: This is a modern liberal lie. We need to speak directly to ~~children~~ them, pointedly, clearly, and succinctly - NOT as if they are mentally incapable.

Anything less renders your words and actions as completely without value. If you treat adults in this fashion you will get one of two responses (possibly both at times). The person will either reject you utterly for what they see as you insulting their intelligence, or they will think you an idiot and use your own words to manipulate you for their own ends...just like children.

I am not saying that Christians do not err, do not screw up, do not sin. Anyone who would argue that point immediately calls into question his understanding of God and the Bible, and quite possibly his/her own salvation.

I am saying that lambasting all Christians for the sake of being seen as friendly and tolerant towards those who hate the God I love (which Gervais definitely does at this point) is not only wrong-headed, it is un-Biblical and on a par with committing treason. I am sure that Johnston would likely brand me as an intolerant legalist for saying these things, but working by the definitions as he has shown them, that wouldn't bother me; I strive to find myself approved by Christ, not men (2Timothy 2:15).

So when a man who considers truth to be at best a secondary issue ("simply become over concerned with truth") to being liked, being friends with the world, tries to tell me how to get along in the world in Christ-like fashion, I tell him that I cannot love my lost neighbors any more than I can love my saved brothers except that I do so truthfully through the in-dwelling of the Holy Spirit (1Peter 1:22), no more than I can love God in "spirit and in truth" as He demands (and is spoken of in 5 books of the New Testament).

One can never be to concerned with the truth, for our God IS thee Truth by which all other truths are even possible.

Cool Shirts For Christians...

2011-04-11T14:42:00.001-05:00

I've been submitting designs to this site for several months now, and decided I should try and promote the site better (as well as my designs) by yakking about it here on my blog.

C28 is the company that prints these (and loads of other Christian stuff) shirts, and they give a percentage of all profits to charity - and even allow you to pick from the 3 main ones to donate profits to.

If these shirts are picked as a winner (which is decided by number of votes, number/type of comments, and a set time each can be voted on), the designers get $1.00 for every item that gets printed with their design on it - so it could potentially add up to a good chunk of dough once in a while. In my case, any shirt designs that I win and get paid out for, ALL of that money will go toward Bibles and supplies that I give away door-to-door, street evangelism, and local events. Not to mention that if there is any one of these that you like yourself, you will (if it wins) be able to order it from the site in whatever quantity you like. :-)

Below are the shirts that are currently up for voting (newest to oldest). I would greatly appreciate your time in looking at them, voting on them, and commenting on them - as well as passing along to other folks who might be interested in voting on the stuff, buying cool Christian stuff, OR designing their own shirts! Just click on any picture to go to that shirt on site.

Of the first 4, 3 are part of a series I have going on living our lives vertically/horizontally to fulfill the 2 great commandments (and thereby the 10 Commandments<g>).

I need reminding as much as anyone about controlling my mind and thoughts...and I'd love this as a decal on my own laptop. :-)

Aimed at younger girls and kids - or at least guys who aren't TOO serious about themselves. LOL.

Guys shirt (though the placement should be a leeettle bit higher when printed).

Gals shirt (coffee not included).

"Mr. Sin is meannnn, Mr. Sin is...Greeeeeennnn!"
Remember those Mr. Yuk ads? Well, that jingle serves just as well for how we should look at our sin.

What do we do when we need help? Pray! Who to? God in Heaven, Jesus Christ - not false idols, not new age spirits, not horned hamsters - God alone!

The church needs to get it through their heads - we who have been saved, are called to be the slaves of Jesus Christ. Not His servants, bond-servants, etc - His SLAVES. "Doulos" is the Greek word for slave, and it is the ONLY meaning the word has ever had - always, always, always. When they translated the NT during the reformation they began changing that word so it would be more acceptable to people's ears; they should not have done so. Read your bible, and substitute BACK IN the word slave every time you see one of it's substitutes and see if the text doesn't take on new meaning for you.

These last two shirts are the oldest I currently have on the site for voting, so if you haven't voted on them yet...please do very soon!

I really look forward to hearing what you do/don't like about them when I read the comments on the site. Thanks again!! God bless you one and all!! :-)

Captivating Thoughts on Canvas...

2011-04-11T11:26:00.002-05:00

I'm trying to get the point across in these newer designs that Canvas wants to start printing designs on more than T-Shirts, and that those of us trying to design for them need to be thinking in those terms when we work - especially scalability. Not that a design won't win if it doesn't work on a certain medium, but the more places it CAN go, the better our chances.

http://www.canvasthreads.com/DesignDetails.aspx?id=7655

Thoughts Nearing Easter

2011-04-09T21:43:00.001-05:00

Most Christians know Jesus was crucified on Passover; But, did you know He arose from the grave on the Feast of Firstfruits?

"But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept." (1Co 15:20)

And He calls us to be the firstfruits of His redemptive work.

"Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures." (James 1:18)

Desiring God 25 years later

2011-04-08T14:23:00.002-05:00

My introduction to Dr. John Piper came at the 2004 Straight Up conference at Harvest Bible Chapel in Illinois. I had never heard of him, and the friend who also there said he had heard him once and wasn't too impressed. When Piper walked up to the podium to speak to the (roughly) 800 of us that were there, his visual impact did nothing to impress either: a simply dressed, slightly built man with receding wisps of gray hair and glasses. He said only "Good morning" before opening his Bible and beginning his message. About an hour later, I turned to my friend who said only "I must have been thinking of someone else".

Minutes later I and hundreds of others were in the bookstore picking up copies of Piper's books - most especially his first book, Desiring God. Which I devoured before the conference ended. I've feasted on this book more than once again in the years since, and was glad to have this new edition offered to me for review as a reason to do so again.

Piper's concept of Christian Hedonism raises as many eyebrows today as it did 25 years ago, and likely will for decades to come - the phrase just plain makes people uncomfortable. I've found in my experience though, that those who hold on to that unease and refuse to consider that Piper may be right have most often not actually read through the material and pondered it prayerfully. I'm not saying that genuine, thoughtful people have not raised honest questions and concerns, only that the most turgid of his detractors on Christian Hedonism seem to always be those who've least investigated it.

The new updated edition is a joy to read, and the changes and updates flow smoothly and logically through the text and make the material seem fresh again even to an old eye like mine. The study guide is a useful addition as well, and I intend to go through the DVD course to see how well this may be adapted to Bible studies and groups - I'm fairly certain it will do so with aplomb.

I know I haven't really gotten into the "meat" of the texts themselves, and I don't really plan to; to dissect this book fully would make this a dissertation rather than a review. Let me just say that it is powerful, eye-opening, deep, and very convicting no matter where you are in your walk when you read it. In one way or another, Desiring God WILL change/impact your walk with God for the better, or else you didn't really read it.

(I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review)

REMcopalian

2011-04-05T14:07:00.002-05:00

On this day in 1980, R.E.M. played their very first live show, at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, in Athens, Georgia. How did no one notice all the way back then that the Episcopalian denomination was apparently losing it's religion???

No Nirvana

2011-04-05T14:03:00.002-05:00

Sadly, on this day in 1994, Kurt Cobain, wildly popular guitarist/songwriter at the forefront of the "grunge" movement in rock music, took a shotgun to himself and found out the wrong way that there truly is no such thing as nirvana...

2 Boys NOT In Heaven

2011-02-24T10:18:00.001-06:00

We can argue and debate about what truly happens during what is commonly known as a "near-death experience" from now until Jesus returns - BUT, the Bible very clearly teaches that none of us gets a return trip from either Heaven or Hell. Tell me all you want about the cool fantastical yadda-yadda you saw while you were swimming between living and dying, and why you think you saw it; but it was not, and you were not, IN Heaven.

Besides which, the idea that anyone would ever even entertain the thought of returning to this existence for any reason once they had been ushered into the kingdom of Heaven and now had eternity with Christ is just plain idiotic.

For a "Christian News Outlet" like WorldNetDaily to be promoting these Oprah-worthy (in other words: worthless) "books" is no better than if they chose to promote other 'spiritualized' nonsense like The Secret or heretical garbage like The Shack.

We have more than enough murky theological gobbledy-gook to deal with in the church thanks to peoples willingness to buy/support anything the local 'Christian Store' or 'Christian Radio Station' brands as being Christian without sources like WND adding to the morass.

Sanctity Of Life

2011-01-26T08:57:00.001-06:00

The more science learns, the more that knowledge supports the pro-life position that life begins at conception, that a baby is a baby from day one not merely once it has been born diapered and weighed by a mother who now decides she wants it to be her baby.

It's Sanctity Of Life Week, Lord God forgive us for over 50 million children killed in this country by Roe v Wade, and provoke us to make the Sanctity Of Life a moral imperative once again in America - each and every day.

Episcopal Church: Christian?

2011-01-19T15:19:00.001-06:00

Kudos to Dr. Youssef, in a church culture obsessed with (false) "unity" and the PC mandate to be always unoffensive even regarding false prophets and little anti-christs loose in the world, his willingness to speak out publicly for the Gospel truth of the Bible is very much appreciated. Here's hoping that more of our brethren come out into the light and loose their leashed tongues in proclamation of the Word of Holy God.

(originally posted: http://www.onenewsnow.com/Perspectives/Default.aspx?id=1276754)

Episcopal Church: Christian?
Dr. Michael Youssef - Guest Columnist - 1/19/2011

Based on everything I am currently reading and what I experienced firsthand in that Church in the past, my answer to this question is a forceful, "No!

Perhaps the last nail in the coffin of that once-vibrant Christian church came as no surprise to many of us when M. Thomas Shaw, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, kicked off the new year of 2011 by performing a lesbian marriage ceremony at St. Paul's cathedral in Boston. Two "priestesses" of the church -- Katherine Hancock Ragsdale (dean and president of Episcopal Divinity School, no less) and Mally Lloyd (canon to the Ordinary at St. Paul's) -- were united in homosexual bliss in the presence of 400 guests. The whole debate of homosexuality has deteriorated into an emotional argument on equality with total disregard to God's created order that marriage should be between one man and one woman.

But how can one be surprised at this defiance of church cannons when the Episcopal leadership has defied God? Once the fear of God and obedience to His Word are trampled underfoot, then any sort of church resolution is not worth the paper it's written on.

Back in 2004, the Episcopal Church, in an act of slight-of-hand (more likely a cunning maneuver), agreed to hold a moratorium in the practicing of all the sordid affairs of "ordaining, marrying, and uniting, and blessing" acts of sodomy. But that was merely a surface declaration. In reality, the blessing of same-sex marriage had been widely accepted in the American Episcopal Church before the time of moratorium.

Can anybody in his/her right mind believe that the Episcopal Church is the Church of Jesus -- the Jesus who left the glories of heaven, came to our broken and dark world, died on the cross to redeem us and give us power over sin, and then rose again to assure us of eternal life with Him? The answer has to be a resounding, "No!"

The Episcopal Church is not Jesus' church. The few...very few faithful ones left within this Church need to run for their lives lest they be held accountable for complacency on the Day of Judgment.

Dr. Michael Youssef founded The Church of The Apostles in
1987 in Atlanta. Now the church home to more than 3,000, it became the
launching pad for his international radio ministry "Leading the Way."

SO GREAT - Lou Gramm (Foreigner)

2011-01-17T11:43:00.001-06:00

I still remember how happy I was when I saw Lou listed as a back-up vocalist on Petra's "Praise 2: We Need Jesus" album and realized I'd one day hear his voice singing in Heaven. :-)

MLK and the prophet Isaiah

2011-01-17T11:26:00.001-06:00

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” - Martin Luther King, Jr.

"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;" - Isaiah 61:1

Heed His call, for TODAY is the day of salvation!

Me First

2010-12-11T01:55:00.000-06:00

Me First

by Loren Sanders on Thursday, July 29, 2010 at 10:35am (via Facebook "notes")

Matthew 8:21 And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.

Luke 9:59 And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.

Luke 9:61 And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.

In each of these verses, the reason for the unbelief or doubt or rejection is the same, and is stated in the verse: ME FIRST. The seed of all our sins begin in our pride - self over God - and the cancer grows out from there into every form of idolatry we can imagine.

As regards the question of why you were chosen, another verse that contains a useful "me first" in discerning one reason is 1Timothy 1:16 -

"Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in ME FIRST Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting."

In this, "first" is not an adverb that expresses time, but a "noun" that describes the character of Paul who considered himself to be the chief of all sinners. In Paul, Christ presented His abundant longsuffering, exercised towards His elect (Paul) for them to become saved.

In you (like Paul), Christ was waiting in the midst of all your sin to be gracious to you. You, as one of Christ's redeemed creations, His adopted children, are a perfect picture of the love and grace that Jesus offers, and by viewing that picture (your life in Christ), elect will be drawn to their salvation.

Because He is - you are, and only because He is - is what you are, now enough. Be glad that it was He First. Praise God. :-)

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

This is a repost of an answer I gave to a fellow on another site who was questioning the how and why's of his election to salvation. I slightly modified one sentence to stop the text from pointing to one believer in particular, thus allowing it to be applied to all believers. - Loren Sanders 07-29-2010

Dancing With The Network Baloney!

2010-11-22T20:49:00.002-06:00

I just finished watching two of the "final" dances on Dances With The Network Stars, and I am thoroughly disgusted with the entire spectacle of it all. I've seen a handful of dances during this season as my wife has been going to bed much earlier the last few months, and so "we" are not watching it like "we" have previously. Having seen what I have this season I don't care of I ever do again, the show has become a complete joke!

Is the joke that Bristol Palin is in the "Final 3"? You'd think she must be a joke what with all the people all over the country screaming and complaining about her dancing. What with all the people hollering that it's a political conspiracy of some sort, and part of a plot by her mom to win the White House in 2012. What with flippin' idjits right here in Wisconsin blowing holes in their TV sets with shotguns and then having an armed stand-off with police over it. Right?

After watching her dancing tonight, I'd have to say that it is absolutely 100% not Palin that is creating problems with the shows credibility. I saw her start the season, and I saw her tonight, and whether someone likes her or not - or her mom or not - she has made tremendous improvements in her dancing; she was in fact, quite good. She was actually better than many who have made the top 3 in previous seasons.

So, since the entire premise of the show is for people who are NOT dancers in any real form, people who are total AMATEURS to come on the show, and through sweat and practice be taught by a professional dancer how to become a real dancer (so long as they have some spark of it in them)...what is the issue with Bristol Palin who is EXEMPLIFYING the intent of the show?

It is as obvious as it is simple: people who hate her mother are transferring their petty childish baloney onto her daughter - using the kid as an excuse to b!tch and moan as loudly as possible.

Is my opinion on all of this Bristol hatred why I think the show has degenerated to the point of being a complete joke? Nope. Not at all. The reason I say that can be summed up in two words: Jennifer Grey.

I said it the day that she was announced as a contestant. I said it after watching the first episode of the season, and after each bit of dancing I have seem since then, and I repeat it now after watching the final dances of the season: Jennifer Grey has NO business being on the show at all!

She IS a PROFESSIONAL DANCER!!

She has been dancing her entire life, she could likely dance before she could walk - her father is JOEL GREY!!!! I mean seriously! HOW many Tony's and other awards has he won over the last century or so(just for Cabaret ALONE!!)???

She won roles in movies in 80's because she was such a great DANCER. She was PAID to DANCE on stage and in films. She's not a heavyset hormonal teenage boy trying to prove his cool. She's not the awkward teenage daughter of a media savvy ex-Governor trying to break out of her shell. She's not even an obnoxious (and highly vulgar) old geezer trying for a last grasp at the spotlight by being as tacky and crass as possible.

SHE IS A PROFESSIONAL DANCER!

Ridiculous enough that she was ever placed on the show, but NO, the judges have to praise and laud her every jiggle like she was a paraplegic who suddenly was able to stand up and dance the Watusi in stiletto heels!

Lame enough that she keeps coming back on week after week while folks who have really stretched beyond their comfort zones to try and do this get sent packing, but the judges fawn all over her like starstruck teenyboppers.

Downright sickening that each and every week there is some reason given for the audience to feel sorry for poor Jennifer with the sore neck, poor Jennifer who misses Patrick Swayze, etc; but NO, let's make it totally retch-inducing by her continual use of songs from her major hit movie - Dirty DANCING!

A large number of her dances have been little more than re-workings of the dances she did in that movie. Fully 70% of the moves in her dance tonight were directly taken from one of her dances with Patrick Swayze, along with the song itself.

If people really wanted to raise a stink over who was on the show this season, over what is or isn't right or fair or proper, or over being deliberately manipulated at every turn by the show...they'd be yelling and screaming over Jennifer Grey's mere presence on DWTNS!

If SHE wins, the entire viewing audience should boycott any further seasons.

Behold...Thor!

2010-11-05T01:46:00.003-05:00

Pink Ribbons for Planned Parenthood

2010-11-03T00:54:00.001-05:00

"Susan G. Komen for the Cure" posits itself as the biggest grassroots network fighting to cure breast cancer in the world; BUT, gives millions of dollars to Planned Parenthood, the abortion provider. Komen affiliates donated $731,000. to Planned Parenthood last year. Between the years 2005-2010 the donations totaled an incredible THREE million dollars.

One study published in the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons (2007) found women who have abortions increase their risk of breast cancer by 40 percent. There are a growing number of studies supporting that study’s conclusions, and naming abortion as the single most avoidable risk factor female breast cancer.

Doctor Eric Winer (Chief Scientific Advisor for Susan G. Komen) has just released a statement that says in part:

“These facilities serve rural women, poor women, Native American women, women of color, and the un- and under-insured. As part of our financial arrangements, we monitor our grantees twice a year to be sure they are spending the money In line with our agreements, and we are assured that Planned Parenthood uses these funds only for breast health education, screening and treatment programs.

As long as there is a need for health care for these women, Komen Affiliates will continue to fund the facilities that meet that need.”

This is an affirmation that they have in the past, and plan to continue to fund Planned Parenthood.

Winer’s letter then goes on to state:

“One year ago, two Catholic ethicists - Ron Hamel, PhD. and Michael Panicola, PhD. examined the moral implications of our funding decision. They concluded that it was morally permissible for the church to be involved with Komen in light of its funding agreements with Planned Parenthood.

"The fact that some Komen affiliates, at times, provide funding to Planned Parenthood specifically and solely for breast health services cannot on the face of it be construed as wrongdoing," the ethicists wrote. "The good that Komen does and the harm that would come to so many women if Komen ceased to exist or ceased to be funded would seem to be a sufficiently proportionate reason" for Catholics to support our funding decisions.”

I am not a Roman Catholic but have long admired the church’s unwavering stance against abortion and all related atrocities against unborn children, so when I first read this part of Winer’s letter I was taken somewhat aback by it. So I did a little research and found that Ron Hamel and Michael Panicola are part of the Catholic Health Association USA, which endorses and defends Obamacare.

These two “Catholic theologians” focus their energies on defending medical research and treatments that are forbidden by the Catholic Church. They openly and actively support embryonic stem cell research (ESCR) so long as the Catholic researcher does not personally slaughter the unborn child to extract the cell tissue – even though their Pope has published explicit instruction against this for all Catholics.

So then, the opinions of these two men should bear no weight at all with Roman Catholics (or anyone else) as to whether or not it is acceptable to donate money to Komen in light of their support of Planned Parenthood, making Winer’s use of them to defend the practice a waste of time.

Point of fact is that it is entirely unnecessary to look to these men or anyone else to determine the ethical position one should take on this subject as Winer’s explanation that since the money Komen gives Planned Parenthood is strictly for breast exams and are not to be used to fund the murder of unborn children is complete hogwash to begin with.

Simple logic alone tells us that if Planned Parenthood receives grant money to pay for breast exams for women who come to their facilities, that then frees up an equal amount of money in their budgets that can then be used to kill more unborn children than their previous budgets would have allowed them to do.

People like Winer are always attempting to convince the rest of us that things like ethics, honor, integrity, and morals are fluid and murky, hard to understand or determine – thus making them easy to rationalize away. The truth is that ethics and morals are not situational, nor do they change between business and personal relationships.

You either have ethics and morals, or you do not.

For Susan G. Komen, an organization whose professed reason to exist is to save women’s lives to donate money to a business whose main product is the slaughter of unborn children – half of whom we can estimate to be female children – and the endangering of women’s health by the means often employed in abortion is clear-cut proof that they have no morals or ethics.

As such, they do not deserve nor should they receive one dime of money in donations from anyone who cares about the sanctity of human life. A few other organizations you could donate the money to who do excellent research on breast cancer are:

Breast Cancer Prevention Institute, The Polycarp Research Institute, and the Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer.

An unexpected proclamation and encouragement...

2010-10-29T11:46:00.001-05:00

Originally posted: http://www.facebook.com/notes.php?id=686226092&notes_tab=app_2347471856#!/note.php?note_id=453874272170

A friend posted this as his Facebook status:

‎"Happiness is an attitude. We either make ourselves miserable, or happy and strong. The amount of work is the same."~Francesca Reigle

I replied with this:

If we spend our lives chasing our own happiness - we end up miserable. If we spend our lives making others happy (caring for them) - we end up with happiness by default. ;-)

(I liked that enough that I reposted just that as my own status)

Another friend of his then replied with this:

if you spend ur life living to make everyone else happy, you lose sight of yourself. How can you truely be happy after youve lost sight of who you are?

And in replying to that, I ended up saying much more than I initially thought I was going to. Thank you Lord Jesus! :-) Here is what the spirit gave me to say...

"It's in letting go of the lies about self that you can come to being who and what you are meant to be: a servant of God, and when your heart resolves that from fighting with your ego - there is true an abiding joy in life, even in the worst of times.

Matthew 20:16 - So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.

Mark 9:34 - But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest.

Mark 9:35 - And He sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.

Mark 9:36 - And He took a child, and set him in the midst of them: and when He had taken him in His arms, He said unto them,

Mark 9:37 - Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but Him that sent me.

We were created to glorify God in all things, and on this earth we do that by being a servant to others, by loving others as God does.

Mark 12:29 - And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:

Mark 12:30 - And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

Mark 12:31 - And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

Simple: Love God, love people. You can't truly do one without doing the other. If you truly love people (supply for their needs not desires), you show the love of God. If you truly love God you will do what He wants you to do by loving people.

We say that that is hard to grasp, or doesn't make sense not because that is true (it's really pretty simple and clear-cut), but because in our hearts we know if we admit that we understand it, then there is no reasonable argument for not doing it; the only true argument against it comes from our selfishness: we don't want to, we want what we want the way that we want and when we want it - and that's all that matters to us.

Gee, where do I get off saying everybody is selfish and cares more about themselves than anybody else?

Luke 18:19 - And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.

Mankind's total and complete self-centered nature is not MY opinion - it IS God's Word, and God has never once lied about anything and never will. All of mankind is FALLEN and we cannot - no matter how hard we try - fix, correct, cleanse (etc) ourselves: We NEED a Savior.

Please notice that I have not said YOU need, or so-and-so needs, I've said WE need, ALL OF US, me included to be saved from ourselves. I am no better in any way than anyone else, not than Xxxxx, not than you, not than George Bush, Pres. Obama, Oprah Winfrey, or Lindsay Lohan. We are all, every single one of us: fallen sinful human beings.

We curse and slander and kill one another, in our bodies and our spirits we destroy and make each other and our world miserable. And we thumb our noses at Holy God and say "This is my life, I'll do what I want".

Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

BUT, the wonderful, beautiful, and downright amazing thing about it is, that even as awful as all the world is...

Romans 3:24 - Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

Romans 3:25 - Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

Romans 3:26 - To declare, I say, at this time His righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

Dig that! All it takes is for us to accept the truth that Jesus gave His life for ours, to accept and submit to Him as being our one and only Savior and King, and repenting of our sins: asking for forgiveness and the ability to be someone else from here on out...and in an infinite amount of mercy, Jesus not only forgives us, but adopts us as His children - Saves us for all eternity...to and for Himself.

And that (I know I'm long-winded - for that I apologize), that, brings us all the way back to the start: If we know Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are changed by Him, and we will do what He wants us to do (loving/serving others and calling them to faith by repentance), and doing that will bring us true joy.

We will never ever find real satisfaction by fulfilling our selfish wants and desires - even if we manage to get all the stuff, still we will want more. We only find and can maintain actual contentment by realizing and being grateful for all we have in the loving arms of Christ.

If you've read all of this, I thank you for your perseverance and patience, and I hope that wherever you are on your journey through this life that you will pause and reflect, not on what I say, Because I am still no better than anyone else, only better off than many because I've been saved from myself and the fires of Hell - but reflect on the words of Jesus Christ. Ponder the gift He offers the entire world, and see that the only thing more beautiful than His promise, is Jesus Himself.

I hope (as it is fast approaching) that you and those you love have a wonderful and blessed Christmas."

After I hit the "send" key, I sat here on my broken (ruined) couch, and thought about my life as it is right now:

No actual job in 1.75 years, bills through the roof, a bad tie-rod on our truck, health problems all over me, my wife and daughter with colds, a sister who is nearing God, and on and on, and the unbelievable amount of stress this brings to me and my wife. I thought about the incredible weight all of this puts on my shoulders. And I could see that I (through the spirit) took part in and wrote all of this exchange for me as well as for the others involved and the still others who may read it.

Where does my complaining, my worrying, my stress and sorrow come from? From my taking the weight of my world on my shoulders and not letting Christ carry it for me as He wants to do. I have my wife, my daughter, and I have Christ - what else do I need? What else should I want?

Thank you Father God for loving me, for your patience with me, and for all the blessings you rain down on my unworthy - too often disbelieving - head.

See, not only did this turn out to be an unexpected proclamation and encouragement to others of God's love and heart, it also turned out to be the same thing to me as well. Thank you Lord Jesus. :-)

Planned Parenthood Smarter Than Science...

2010-10-27T11:01:00.000-05:00

This is a snapshot of our "enlightened" youth...God help us all.

Remember your first Swirly?

2010-09-06T23:49:00.001-05:00

So a couple of days ago, me, the wife, and kid were heading home after some shopping that we had done after dinner. We were driving north on S. 76th Street, when my wife says "Hey, look at that sign!" I look, smile, and drive on...for about 3 seconds before she says "Let's go get some ice cream".

I cross the intersection, switch lanes, and a cut a U-ey at the turn-around and head back to the business where we had seen this sign facing northbound traffic on S. 76th...

A few minutes later we were enjoying rich creamy soft serve ice cream cones. My wife said that when she told the teenage girls at the window, that the sign was the reason we stopped - had in fact turned around and come back - they just smiled and nodded.

While we were scarfing down our ice cream we saw a 40-something man walk out to the edge of the grounds, check the waste cans, pick up some litter, and start back toward the storefront. I hailed him from my car window, and when he came up to the car I asked him if he was the owner. He said he was, and I offered my thanks for his bold witness to Jesus Christ (let's face it, in today's world, for every one like us who drives in because of the sign, there are likely 3 or 4 who do NOT drive in because of it).

The owner said that he considered this public witness nothing compared to the Lord rescuing him from alcoholism 8 years before that by saving his soul and taking away his desire for booze. He gave me the distinct impression that he is pretty bold about his witness everywhere he goes, not just on his business sign.

The sign was more than enough reason for me and my family to throw a little business his way by grabbing a couple of cones on the spur of the moment as we did, BUT...the ice cream also happens to be VERY good soft serve, and when you order a large cone as my wife did for me, brother you get one!!

For a little drive-in joint like this (I believe it used to be a Boy Blue), he has a pretty deep menu of goodies as well, and we intend to try some more of them before winter sets in. You can check the place out at www.swirlys.net, but trust me, you'd much rather just go directly there and get something to eat!

Economic times like these are hard enough on small business owners, but ones who openly proclaim the glory of Jesus Christ are even harder pressed to make a success of it in society today; we are called to love and serve everyone, but we are called to support the brotherhood even moreso, and here is a case where it is easy and enjoyable for you to do it. Give 'em a try, and tell others to do the same.

Swirly's 3928 S. 76th St

(76th & Howard)
Mon-Sat 11am-10pm/Sundays Noon-10pm
(and there are specials 4 nights a week!)

Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles

2010-04-20T15:23:00.001-05:00

With Stage Tricks of TV Faith Healers in the News, Expert on the Occult says the Devil is in the Details
by Staff
April 20, 2010 (Christiansunite.com)

MEDIA ADVISORY, April 20 (christiansunite.com) -- A news article out this week titled "Stage Tricks Of TV Faith Healers Revealed" at Wizbang Pop purports to expose TV Faith healers such as Benny Hinn and others who perform what appear to be awesome miracles of God before an audience of thousands of faithful in auditoriums.

But, the article says, like any stage magic show, many of these stunts are simply clever illusions or business tricks.

The article is certain to increase cynicism and renew interest in recent works such as Bill Maher's Religulous, but corrupt church leadership is a serious issue and should be confronted head on says veteran researcher, writer, activist and teacher Jackie Alnor.

Tricks of the trade used by televangelists, who twist Bible verses to compel the poor to give to the rich, should be exposed so that their damage to the church can be curtailed.

Alnor draws on decades of experience in documenting the outright heretical claims of some televangelists. "The mixture of true and false has created a mutant faith that Bible-believing Christians need to recognize and renounce," Alnor says. "Does the rise of religious charlatans actually confirm the truth of the Bible? Are they a fulfillment of Bible prophecy?

Is the prince of the power of the air the real master of the airwaves? Could something started with good intentions be utilized for evil? Could Christian television play a key role in the events of the final hours of history as we know it?"

If the church were willing to stand up and stand publicly against these thieves in the temple as it should, many of those outside the church might decide that loud-mouthed morons like Maher and Hitchens weren't worth listening to and begin formulating their own opinions; at the very least, we'd be defending the gospel as we are supposed to do, and that would honor God and also help strengthen the resolve of the body.

peace/faith/hope/love in Christ Jesus,

serloren

Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find? - Proverbs 20:6

It'll be back...sort of -addendum

2010-03-31T00:29:00.001-05:00

Okay, it's all finished and in place at the top of the page. Hope those who liked the old one like the new, and those who didn't maybe like the new better. Either way, I like what it says about me just fine....for now. ;-)

peace/faith/hope/love in Christ Jesus,

serloren

"You shall not distort justice; you shall not be partial, and you shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and perverts the words of the righteous. - Deuteronomy
16:19

It'll be back...sort of

2010-03-30T03:28:00.001-05:00

My thanks to all the folks who weighed in on my blog design/layout; your thoughts were much appreciated. It seems the object that garnered the most interest was the logo with the guitars and crosses - which earned both yeas and nays (mostly in private as most of my comments in this blog tend to be). It's sort of odd that it did since in one form or another, it has been a part of the blog from the get-go.

The development of it went as follows (more or less): Just the title, plain lettering. Then I added my Les Paul behind the title (this had 3-4 variants). Then I added my Mockingbird as well (this one had changes in the lettering 3-4 times). Then I added my Ibanez (this had 2-3 variants). And then I added in the cross...and at that point it stopped developing and remained static for the last year and a half or so. When I started redesigning the blog I removed the Mockingbird from the logo because I no longer own it, and for some reason, THAT layout drew specific attention from some folks. The reason I say that somehow did so is because a handful of the folks who commented have seen the blog numerous times and never noticed it well enough before to comment either pro or con.

Like I said, it was all kinda odd.

Anyway, after weighing the comments and thoughts about it, I decided it could use a redesign that did more than wipe away the pretty bird. Whilst I began futzing with ideas, I somehow managed to blow out the logo as it was, hence why there isn't one now. There soon will be again, but it will be different...slightly.

See, it's like this, as a few mentioned, a blog is generally seen as an extension of the person writing it - unless it is a pro blog of some sort (ala Nike, MGM, etc), or one created for one very specific purpose such as telling huge lies - like say this one: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/.

So, when I began blogging, it was only natural that I would gravitate towards things that I hobby at, etc, like my guitars (It could have just as easily been paintbrushes and Sharpie markers). Even though I said at the outset that it was my own little rant space, and I would endeavor to keep it honorable before God, I didn't see it as being specifically God-focused in nature. I still don't actually - it tends to lean heavily toward social/political commentary. But as I went along, I noticed that there were definitely a decent number of posts that dealt with the things of God and my beliefs about that, so I chose to add the cross at the outset as well. Someone might pop to my blog and think it's about music, but they'll at least know whatever it is, it is from someone who believes in God.

I have a blog (which seldom gets added to at this point) at http://philippians4-8.blogspot.com called (of course) "Think On These Things" that is strictly for writings and discussion on God, and Godly things. It has no guitars, no snazzy graphics of any kind in fact. I would say it is best described visually as "somber". All this to say that this blog will again have a visual logo and when it returns, it will be different, but it will still contain the cross, and guitars.

peace/faith/hope/love in Christ Jesus,

serloren

Then David said to his son Solomon, "Be strong and courageous, and act; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you until all the work for the service of the house of the LORD is finished. - 1Ch 28:20

It was just time...

2010-03-27T03:22:00.001-05:00

The layout of this blog has remained relatively unchanged for a few years now, and it was just time for a change. And with Blogger having added some new functionality and tweaks, no better time than now. Anyone who read this blog before now will obviously notice that this new design utilizes a few of the old elements in some form or another, and that gives the blog a familiar feel even while looking very fresh and new.

Let me know what you think of it.

peace, faith, hope, love in Christ Jesus,

serloren

And Jesus said to them, "Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old." - Gospel of Matthew 13:52

Hinn's divorce and Charisma

2010-02-27T16:28:00.001-06:00

I've been reading a Charisma blog (Fire In My Bones) by J.Lee Grady. I'm always interested in ideas, and while I am not a charismatic by any stretch, I've enjoyed a number of things Grady has written. Recently he wrote an article on the divorce announcement of Benny Hinn. Grady did a commendable job at writing about how much divorce and sexual indiscretion have frequently disgraced the more charismatic Christian ministries, and how that impacts the way the secular world looks at the church. I can't agree with him more at how this awful hydra of sin has repeatedly dishonored God in the public eye, as well as the thousands of believers who have been hurt by it; and I would also note that while we hear more often of it in the charismatic congregations, it is an evil that runs throughout the church and no denomination or grouping has been completely free of it.

What concerned me in both Grady's article, and in the majority of comments posted about it was that so many people hold Hinn in high regard, and believe him to be a true Christian pastor and minister. Grady himself sated in the article (full text): "... I am not attacking a brother in Christ. I honor Benny Hinn..." and in the next paragraph listed Hinn as being among "those who preach the Gospel of Truth".

I understand that Grady is a charismatic, but from the writings of his I had previously read, I would not have considered him to be a charismaniac - which is how I refer to those who are among the most extreme followers of that teaching. But how else could any level-headed and intelligent adult Christian - even a charismatic one - possibly consider Hinn a true brother in Christ?

Hinn has been proven repeatedly to be among the most shameful charlatans on the planet filling his bank accounts with filthy lucre taken from the pockets of the most desperate of people, and leads multiple thousands of people the world over in false worship and idolatry. Does he also believe that all of the other "ministers" he mentioned, and all those left unnamed in this article who follow in the same steps are truly Christians?

I applaud and concur with the small handful of posters on his blog who pointed out that Hinn is indeed a heretic, and while he is deserving (and in need of) of our prayers so that he may come to the truth before he faces the judgment that all of must, he most certainly does not deserve our "support" and encouragement as a brother in Christ.

I posted to the site my thoughts at the time (as such time I had) regarding this issue. I just went back to see how the "discussion" has progressed these last few days, and to see what responses I may have gotten (though not expecting many to be in agreement with me). Having gone through all of the posts from beginning to now, I find that my comments were never added to the rest...

That being the case, I will republish them here (below) on my own blog.

Real people of faith do fail, do fall down, and sadly, do get divorced - God only can heal that, and we should pray that he does in those instances.

However, when it comes to thieves in the temple like Hinn, White, and numerous others, one reason so much of secular America mocks Christianity is because the majority of Christians are unwilling to stand for Christ and renounce these false profiteers publicly (or privately) and have nothing more to do with them as the Bible teaches.

Why do so many refuse to rebuke these liars who profane the Word and the house of God?

Because they fear being branded legalistic more than they fear God; or because they fear the size of their own logs will be made evident to everyone else.

Why do so many choose to FOLLOW these men and women who promote heretical garbage like "Seed theology" , "Name It And Claim It" etc?

Why? Because they want their ears tickled - they want Jesus to be a genie in a bottle rather than a merciful, loving and (rightfully so) demanding Savior.

If Christians in America (real, not just professing) would be willing to be faithful and stand up for the gospel, many "professing Christians" would be turned into true confessing Christians.

I pray for the likes of Joel Osteen, because the damage he is doing is so great, BUT, if he were to become truly saved, truly lit up with the Holy Spirit of God...the amount of true Godly impact he could have on this country is mind-boggling.

Why did John only have one sermon? Because it was the one most needed; it's still the most needed sermon today: REPENT! Repent and be saved!

Lord God, lead us to bow before You, lead us to real sorrow for our sins, lead us to repent and cry out for Your forgiveness, lead us to true saving faith, and then Lord God, lead us home. In the name of the most beautiful and gracious King of all things - Your son, Jesus Christ, I ask these things.

Amen

Planned Parenthood Breaking The Law In Wisconsin

2010-02-24T01:08:00.000-06:00

How many times do they have to get caught pulling this garbage before people will stop lying to themselves and admit that Planned Parenthood is not in business to help women and girls in any way?

They are in business to make money, and they do it by selling products and propaganda to women and girls, and then by murdering their babies.

I'm seldom at at a floss for words (or sarcasm)

2010-02-19T12:49:00.001-06:00

Just posted this on Facebook a minute ago and thought it worth including here also, so:

Loren Sanders C-Span2..."live" (now)...Town Hall Meeting...Henderson, Nevada: President Obama tells the audience "Floss. You gotta floss!" Considering the load of dung he and his administration have been shoving down our throats for the last year straight, I find that bit of advice rather sardonic.

Huckabee, Jesus, & the 'Obama-girl'

2010-02-18T10:42:00.001-06:00