PRAYER IS POWERFUL

Please lift up an anonymous prayer request for church families who are really struggling with a lot of private and financial issues right now. The pressures of “life” are putting a real strain on their marriages and there is talk of giving up and walking away from these long standing marriages. It seems to be a repeated theme in our recent prayer requests, and it is definitely an obvious attack from our adversary to discredit and destroy the institution of Godly marriages.
So let’s pray for ALL our church families and their marriages, that God would protect their bond of marriage, and would strengthen it during these challenging times. Finances really put a strain on relationships, and many couples now are fearfully faced with losing their current situations, so lets respond to this by praying for God to intervene and stop these waves that often strike at the base of our relationships. It is like these assaults are like crashing waves in a storm and our marriage couples are in tiny boats on the sea trying to weather out each hit from the stormy angry sea, and yet God is calling us to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the Author and FINISHER of our faith. Let’s pray for God to seal tightly our marriages, to “water seal” them from the assaults of the enemy, that God would hold them in the palm of His hand during these uncertain times, and that our married couples would cling to one another as well as the cross at the core of their relationship. Pray for God to be glorified in the midst of these trials.
I also encourage you to be supportive of one another, and for those struggling. Please do not isolate yourself. The enemy would want to get you off by yourself and beat you up even more about how hopeless things appear. Instead… reach out to your Christian brothers and sisters so we can be here to support you and help in any way we can. That’s what the Body of Christ here on earth is called to do!

Know when to speak #3

What does one have to do to receive this gift? We’ve learned that eternal life is a gift from God. Romans 6:23 and Ephesians 2:8-9 back this up completely.

As we take a look at ‘man’, we see how the verses in Ephesians play an important part. We find in Romans 3:23, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Man is a sinner. That would be everyone except Jesus. At this point there will be those who say they don’t sin very much, and they will let their good deeds weigh against the bad they have done in their life. As you point out that all mankind is a sinner you may run into the objection from some that they don’t believe all that is contained in the Bible. They say the Bible was written by man. Well, guess what! The Bible was written by man, inspired by God
To be more precise, the Bible was written by some forty different people comprising sixty six books, and written over a period of fifteen hundred years. At this point I usually ask the person to imagine that they are God. Would they let the Bible be in error if it was their way to communicate the plan of salvation??

Now we’ll get back to the person who says they don’t sin very much. This would be a good time to define the word sin. Ask the person you are talking to what sin means to them. You’ll receive a number of answers, all of which are probably correct. After about three or four ideas come forth, just mention that sin can easily be defined as something displeasing to God. That would be anything done in thought or deed. With that, let’s look at an example how this works.

A good person probably sins ten times a day. For this example we’ll say the person only sins three times a day. Pardon the expression…that’s just about walking on water. Three times 365 days per year; that’s over 1000 sins. Now multiply that by about 70 years. Wow! Over 70,000 sins. Where do you think you would end up in a court of law with 70,000 counts against you?

As these numbers sink in, explain that God has a passing grade into heaven. Matthew 5:48 says it pretty clearly; “Be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect.” Sounds like 100 percent to me.

Still there are those who think they can hide their ‘little’ sins. Let’s take a look at another example. You are making an omelet. As you are cracking the eggs and putting them in a bowl, you realize you have cracked one that doesn’t look real good. You figure, ‘what the heck’, and finish putting about six eggs in the mixing bowl. You figure, ‘no one will know’. But, you know…The same is with God. You may try to hide the little sins, but God knows.

Can you see why man can not save himself? Next month we’ll see what God has to say about man, and how He deals with the issue of sin.
…Editor

A Little Humor (But a whole lot of truth…)

HEAVEN'S ENTRANCE EXAM

A man dies and goes to Heaven. Saint Peter meets him at the Pearly Gates and says,
"Ok, here's how it works. You need 100 points to make it into Heaven. You tell me all the good things you've done, and I'll award you a certain number of points for each item, depending on how good it was. When you reach 100 points, you get in."
"Okay," the man says...."I was married to the same woman for 50 years and never once cheated on her, even in my heart."
"That's wonderful," says Saint Peter, "That's worth three points!"
"Three points?" he asks.
"Well, I attended church all my life and supported its ministry with my tithes and service."
"Terrific!" says Saint Peter, "That's certainly worth a point."
"One point”?!!
Hey, I started a soup kitchen in my city and worked in a shelter for homeless veterans!"
"Fantastic, that's good for two more points, " Saint Peter says.
"Two points?!!" the man cries.
"At this rate, the only way I'm going to get into Heaven is by the Grace of God!"
"Bingo, 100 points! Come on in!"

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February 2009

Are you standing in the power of Christ?

Ephesians 6:10 tells us to put on the full armor of God. What does that mean in today’s culture? Better yet, what does that mean in the Christian churches of today? Many churches feel that if you just show someone that you are a Christian, that will be just fine. I think we’ve determined the only one to receive glorification is the person themselves. We need to use our mouth to communicate the Gospel of Jesus. And, of course, that’s where the fear of rejection or the lack of knowledge comes in. What do we say to a person who is trying to find facts about the Bible or who Jesus is, and what He did that was so important.

Know when to speak #2

Last month we learned that it was a good idea to have permission to share the Gospel. It’s common knowledge that if you try to share the Gospel without their permission, you might find them trying to end the conversation with; Oh, I’m late to meet someone, or can we hold this thought until next time? Or, I am supposed to pick someone up, and I’m late, or any number of other excuses to get them away.
Ok, we have their permission to speak. What’s next? How about a statement like; we can’t do anything to earn our way to Heaven. This can be followed with another attention getter; Heaven is a free gift! Now you will have to do some backing up of the statements. Start with Romans 6:23. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” Reemphasize that eternal life is a gift, not earned or deserved. As an example of this you might say; If I give you the keys to a new car and tell you it’s a gift, are you expected to pay for it? If you earn it or pay for it, it’s not a gift.
Now is a good time to share another verse from the Bible. Let’s look at Ephesians 2:8-9: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and not of yourself, it is a gift of God; not as a result of works that no one can boast.” At this point you might want to be sure the person you are speaking to understands that Heaven is a gift, not a reward, or not payment for being good, or going to church, or giving to charities. These are all good notable acts, but have nothing to do with entering Heaven.
We are all in the same boat, so to speak. We are all offered this gift. The question here is how to I receive this gift? Let’s go back to our original gift example; what does the person receiving the car keys have to do?
Next month we’ll see how man fits this picture.

Christian Democrat / Democrat Christian
Oxy-Moron?

Whoa! “What do you mean a Christian Democrat fits the description of an oxy-moron? I have been a Christian for over 20 years, and I’m a Democrat.” This is a common response to the term ‘oxy-moron’ and being a Democrat. Actually, many people get quite irate when you make such a comparison. They say things like; “I don’t go along with all the social issues so much, but I think the President has done things wrong with respect to the war in Iraq.” These people are not thinking about the millions of lives lost, and the millions more lives that will be lost to abortion since 1973. More human lives have been given up since the Roe-v-Wade Law passed than we have lost in all the wars the United States has ever been engaged in. Probably the best way to look at this in a completely objective way is to take a look at the Democrat, Republican and Christian platforms. These are the operating instructions by which the outgoing President Bush and the previous Democrat nominee Senator Kerry and the practicing Christian must operate. Each may stress different points during the campaign, but in the end run they will be adhering to their operating instructions, that is, if they wish to have the blessings of their party or God. We’ll take a look at the three platforms, and compare them to see which is closer to which.
The two political parties, Democrat and Republican platforms pretty well define themselves. There seems to be some difference in what the Christian platform is all about. So, right off we probably need to define the word ‘Christian’. We don’t want to include anyone who doesn’t feel they are in this grouping. Webster defines Christian or Christianity as; “the religion derived from Jesus Christ, based on the Bible as sacred scripture, and professed by Eastern, Roman Catholic, and Protestant bodies.” A little further, Christ-like is defined as; “resembling Christ in character, spirit, or action.” This is very close to a simple definition portrayed throughout the Bible as a Christian being a follower of Christ, someone who lives their life obeying the commands of Christ and displaying the love He tells us to have for others.

With the three platforms established, let’s take a look at some points illustrated in these platforms. We’ll start with:

ABORTION & EMBRYONIC STEM CELL RESEARCH

* The Democratic platform sees it this way. They believe in the privacy and equality of women, and stand proudly for a woman’s right to choose, consistent with Roe v. Wade, and regardless of her ability to pay. They also strongly support family planning and adoption incentives. And, they believe that abortion should be safe, legal and rare. Embryonic Stem Cell research will be pursued under strictest ethical guidelines looking for assistance from the government.

* The Republican platform sees it this way. They desire to keep their pledge to the first guarantee of the Declaration of Independence. They state that the unborn child has a fundamental right to life which cannot be infringed. They support a human life amendment to the Constitution and endorse legislation to make it clear that the 14th Amendment’s protection apply to unborn children. They support judges who respect family values and the sanctity of
human life. Embryonic Stem Cell research is opposed. They believe the current use of adult stem cells should be continued.

* The Christian platform sees it this way. The Bible states it is wrong to take a life in such a fashion. Psalm 139:13-14 gives insight; God formed the baby inside the woman, and is fearfully and wonderfully made. In the Old Testament book of Exodus the case of miscarriage fines were levied if the child died before it was born. It would seem that the Bible takes a dim view on abortion (killing children before they are born). Embryonic Stem Cell research is committing murder. The Bible states in the book of Exodus, “You shall not murder”.

SAME SEX MARRIAGE

* The Democratic platform sees it this way. They support full inclusion of gay and lesbian families in the life of our nation. They support equal responsibilities and benefits for these families. They state that they believe that marriage be defined at the state level.

* The Republican platform sees it this way. They state that a few judges and local authorities have taken it upon themselves to change laws concerning the union of a man and a woman in marriage.

President Bush defended the Defense of Marriage Act, which was supported by both parties and passed by 85 votes in the Senate. This law reaffirms the right of states not to recognize same sex marriages licensed in other states.

* The Christian platform sees it this way. Ephesians 5:31 supports the Christian platform by stating that marriage will take place between a man and a woman, that the two will become one flesh. Romans 1:24-32 spells out how God feels about homosexuality in general. It would easily appear by these platform guidelines that God would turn his back on men and women who engage in a same sex relationship.

LOVE

Interesting…..A topic that perhaps should be listed, seems to be lacking on two out of three platforms.

* The Democratic platform sees it this way. This is not a topic addressed on this platform.
* The Republican platform sees it this way. This is not a topic addressed on this platform.
* The Christian platform sees it this way. It would appear that this item is paramount to this platform. John 13:34 tells us to love one another as He loved us. This is a command. The Bible tells us that this form of love is not just being nice or having good thoughts or intense emotions. He explains that this love is on a much higher level. The love indicated here is one full of sacrificial acts carried out to the Father’s will, not our personal will or satisfaction. The Bible is quite descriptive and makes its point clearly, as stated in 1 John 4:7-8, where we are told if we love we are born of God and know God. It also goes on to say if we don’t love we don’t know God. The Bible is full of this particular subject. It seems to be one of the main topics to supporting the Christian platform.

Even at this time after the election, Love does not seem to flourish. There are many hate comments coming from a wide range of places. Of particular notice are the comments coming from known Democrat figures. In these comments come pieces like, ‘we need to learn how to talk to these people’, (The Red group), or ‘we need to have a rebirth to communicate.’ I have even heard the comment that if Jesus was here today that He would be a Democrat. By the platform put forth by the Democratic party, I seriously doubt whether this would be the case.

ANALYSIS

There are other points that could be discussed here, such as; the environment, and war, but for this discussion we have only addressed the obvious items. From here we will compare the platforms to see which seem to go together.

Abortion & Stem Cell Research

The Democratic platform stands alone on this one. It does not mix with either the Republican or Christian platforms.

The Republican platform is advocating many of the same principles as that of the Christian platform. It looks like a good match between these two.

Same Sex Marriage

The Democratic platform stands alone again on this one. It will not mix with the Republican or Christian platforms.

The Republican platform and the Christian platform seem to agree on most points on this item.

Love

The Democratic platform does not address this point on their platform.

The Republican platform does not address this point on their platform.

The Christian platform stands alone on this point.

COMMENTARY

I think we can see where the term ‘oxy-moron’ comes from when we see those who say they are good Christians as well as being a Democrat and supporting the Democratic platform.

From information secured on the internet there appears to be some 224 million people in the United States who call themselves ‘Christians’. This would also take into consideration the children. If we use the average size of a family of four, we find two adults that could vote. That would be some 110 million or more people who call themselves Christians that could vote. The 2008 vote for the Republican John McCain was 57 million plus, hmmmm……

Looking at statistics like these can only make a person wonder. We all go through life with priorities that we have guiding our lives. Those people who live their lives by the Democratic platform guidelines have chosen to place this standard at the top of their priority list. If they claim to be Christians too, then it would also appear that this platform (Christian platform) has been placed in second place. Before we go any further, let’s keep the air clear of any rash conclusions. People who are Democrats or Republicans are good people. The idea behind this comparison is to try to look at where priorities for life are located. It has been said that moral values were a major contributor to the 2004 election.
If we approach this from a slightly different angle, we may become even more confused at the picture that is being portrayed. What does that mean? If we say we are a Democrat and support the Democratic platform, and are a Christian supporting the Christian platform, aren’t we sending out a double signal? The Democratic platform and the Christian platform do not in any way compliment each other, in fact, they are at odds. To say we support both can only suggest a warm support for each of the platforms. I don’t think the Democratic platform really wants their members to be only warm to their cause, and I know the Christian platform does not go along with a warm support. To be more precise, the Christian platform (Bible) specifically has something to say about it. In Revelation 3:15-16 we are told quite bluntly that we are to be hot or cold, not to be warm. Being warm will cause us to be vomited out of the mouth of God.

In closing, I hope people who call themselves Democrats and Christian in the same breath take a look at the picture they are painting. When reviewing this comparison of platforms and how they fit the scheme of life, many of us may re-think our position taken after absorbing the information presented here. If this does not hold true for some, maybe they should consider becoming hot or cold on one platform or another. There are those who think by talking the talk they will gain entry among those who live and believe by the Christian platform. I think they will be in for a shock, as those who talk the talk and walk the walk will be wise to the deception. This, in the end run will divide the platforms even more. Again, let’s be clear. This is not to say that those who are Christians with Republican political views hate all Democrats. That is not true, and anyone who says or thinks it is, is very wrong. If a person subscribes to the Christian platform, and professes anything but love for their neighbor, they will have to answer for that behavior, and I don’t think it will be a reward.

In this comparison I used only information from each of the platforms. Based on the information available, you can now see why many who say they are both Democrats and Christians are referred to as an oxy-moron. If you have an issue with the Democratic or Republican platforms, please contact the DNC or RNC for assistance. If you have issue with the Christian platform, please don’t contact me to argue points. Contact God, as He is the author of the Christian platform. The matter is totally your choice.

From the internet…….

Cell phone vs. Bible

Ever wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phone?
What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?

What if we flipped through it several time a day?

What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?

What if we used it to receive messages from the text?

What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?
What if we gave it to Kids as gifts?

What if we used it when we traveled?

What if we used it in case of emergency?

This is something to make you go....hmm....where is my Bible? Oh, and one more thing.
Unlike our cell phone, we don't have to worry about our Bible being disconnected because Jesus already paid the bill. Makes you stop and think 'where are my priorities? And no dropped calls!