Merry Christmas (and an interesting article excerpt by Bayless Conley)

The holidays can be a depressing time of year for many people, even, surprisingly, for Christian people. Although Christmas for the Christian is a time of great rejoicing because of commemorating the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, many individuals can get to the end of this year and feel like they have run a marathon and that they have had a "kick me" sign on their back all year long. Those feelings are nothing to be ashamed of and are not uncommon. I think an interesting excerpt by Christian devotional writer Bayless Conley can be useful to the Christian in dealing with the trials of our everyday world. He begins by talking about Jesus, and the article is presented now:

In Matthew 3, we find Jesus at an absolutely critical time of transition in His life. We have not heard from Him since He was 12 years old. There has been about 30 quiet, unnoticed years where He presumably was working in His father's carpentry shop.

That is when we read in Matthew 3:16-4:1,

When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

Jesus is about to enter public ministry. The sick will be healed; the poor will have the gospel preached to them; miracles will be worked; the Father will be revealed. So from this point, the battle is on. And we are given a bird's-eye view of the conflict that occurs between Christ and the devil, which we will look at in more detail in the next several devotionals.

But I want to submit something to you today. If it seems that all hell has broken loose in your life, maybe, just maybe, it's because you are on the verge of a breakthrough in your life. Maybe it's a time of very important transition where God wants to lift you into a place where there is going to be greater influence and greater impact through your life.

You see, at about this time last year I was coming to a very difficult crossroads in my life, and yes, I did feel like I had that "kick me" sign on my back. Without going into too much detail my previous chosen career was not working out and I was having a large degree of personal trouble as well. However, I found out in a strong way that God is faithful and He had other, more fulfilling plans for me. If you are a regular on this blog or just a visitor just passing through on the information superhighway, I pray that God will richly bless you this holiday...Merry Christmas to all!

Archaeological Evidence for the Bible Part 2 (New Testament)

Existence of Jesus:

*In Jewish historian Josephus' work the Antiquities, written about the same time as the Gospels, the following is mentioned:

About this time lived Jesus, a wise man, if indeed one ought to call him a man. For he was the achiever of extraordinary deeds and was a teacher of those who accept the truth gladly. He won over many Jews and many of the Greeks. He was the Messiah. When he was indicted by the principal men among us and Pilate condemned him to be crucified, those who had come to love him originally did not cease to do so; for he appeared to them on the third day restored to life, as the prophets of the Deity had foretold these and countless other marvelous things about him, and the tribe of the Christians, so named after him, has not disappeared to this day." (Josephus—The Essential Works, P. L. Maier ed./trans.).

*Tacitus, a Roman historian, wrote the following: born 52 A.D., wrote a history of the reign of Nero in 110 A.D. "...Christus, from whom they got their name, had been executed by sentence of the procurator Pontius Pilate when Tiberias was emperor; and the pernicious superstition was checked for a short time only to break out afresh, not only in Judea, the home of the plague, but in Rome itself, .. " (Annals 15:44)

*Suetonius: AD. 120. In his Life of Claudius: "As the Jews were making disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus, he expelled them from Rome."

*Pliny the Younger: Governor of Bithynia in Asia Minor, wrote the emperor in A.D. 112 about the sect of Christians, who were in "the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day, before it was light, when they sang an anthem to Christ as God."

Although a lot of these references were written about the same time as the Gospels what is truly fascinating is that these references are OUTSIDE of the Biblical account yet match them.

Archaeological Evidence for the Bible Part 1 (Old Testament)

Surprisingly, there is a lot of historical evidence for the places named in the Bible, especially in the book of Genesis. Here are some of the recent finds:

* Ebla tablets were discovered in the early 1970s which verified the existence of the "cities on the plain"---Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboim, and Bela—also called Zoar.

* Ebla also made mention of the city of Canaan, which many liberal scholars had said earlier was not in use at that and was used incorrectly in the Bible.

* A papyrus was found in Egypt in the nineteenth century which describes in detail many of the plagues and the Exodus itself. This papyrus, which currently resides in a Dutch museum, is known as the Ipuwer Papyrus, which was written by an Egyptian who was an eye-witness to these events.

* The Hittites were once thought to be a biblical legend, until their capital and records were discovered in Turkey

* In 1993, archaeologists uncovered a 9th century B.C. inscription at Tel Dan. The words carved into a chunk of basalt refer to the "House of David" and the "King of Israel." And the Bible's version of Israelite history after the reign of David's son, Solomon, is believed to be based on historical fact because it is corroborated by independent account of Egyptian and Assyrian inscriptions.

* Another king who was in doubt was Belshazzar, king of Babylon, named in Daniel 5. The last king of Babylon was Nabonidus according to recorded history. Tablet was found showing that Belshazzar was Nabonidus' son.

* The ruins of Sodom and Gomorrah have been discovered southeast of the Dead Sea. Evidence at the site seems consistent with the biblical account: "Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the Lord out of the heavens." The destruction debris was about 3 feet thick and buildings were burned from fires that started on the rooftops. Geologist Frederick Clapp theorizes that that pressure from an earthquake could have spewed out sulfur-laden bitumen (similar to asphalt) known to be in the area through the fault line upon which the cities rest. The dense smoke reported by Abraham is consistent with a fire from such material, which could have ignited by a spark or ground fire.

Reference: http://www.faithfacts.org/search-for-truth/maps/archaeological-and-external-evidence

We Could Learn a Lot From....

Evangelist Wally Tope




Evangelist Wally Tope, who had a history of risky evangelistic ventures smuggling Bibles into communist countries, died on this day in 1992 trying to stop the L.A. riots. The LA Times carried the original story:

Street evangelist Wallace Tope Jr.who was beaten and kicked when he tried to stop looters during the 1992 riots has died after lying in a coma for 19 months, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office said Wednesday.

Prosecutors said they have not decided what additional charges may be filed against Fidel Ortiz, 22, and Leonard Sosa, 24, both of whom already have pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder and aggravated mayhem in the attack on Tope.

Tope's death is the 55th fatality linked to the riots. Officials at the Pasadena convalescent hospital where he died Nov. 24 at the age of 54 said he never regained consciousness after falling into the coma a few minutes after the April 30, 1992, attack.

Police at first were mystified as to why an evangelist such as Tope would venture into a dangerous riot zone to urge an end to the violence. But his friends said he had a history of risky evangelical missions smuggling Bibles into the Soviet Union and Christian literature into Eastern Europe before the fall of communism there.

The friends said that when the riots began last year in Los Angeles and Tope saw the looting on television, he asked associates at William Carey International University, a Christian college in Pasadena, to join him on a pilgrimage to halt the violence. When they refused to go, he went alone. Police say Tope drove his battered 12-year-old car to a shopping center near Sunset Boulevard and Western Avenue in Hollywood and started passing out religious pamphlets.

When looters broke into a drugstore, Tope confronted Ortiz, told him to repent and warned him that he would go to hell if he continued looting, according to court records that include statements by witnesses and police. The statements indicate that Ortiz threatened and punched Tope, who left hurriedly for his car.

Sosa, who was watching from a distance, joined his friend, Ortiz, and the two men chased Tope, beating and kicking him for several minutes, according to the statements.

"This wasn't some hit-and-run type thing," said Los Angeles Police Detective Ernie Basset, who investigated the attack. "They really thumped on this guy for awhile." A bystander flagged down an ambulance. The attendants said Tope immediately began proselytizing, telling them they would find their salvation in Jesus. "God bless you," he said softly on the way to the hospital before lapsing into the coma from which he never recovered.

"I know one thing," Tope's brother, Dennis, said later. "If anyone makes it to heaven, it will be my brother."

Sosa and Ortiz, both of whom wbrked as warehouse workers for a concessionaire at Dodger Stadium, were arrested a few weeks later after co-workers heard them bragging about the beating, police said. The two defendants have been held since their arrests on bail of $750,000 apiece. Marvin L. Part and Harvey E. Byron, attorneys for Sosa and Ortiz, have argued that the defendants did not plan the attack and did not intend to injure Tope so severely.

"They are two working guys who never had been in trouble with the law before . . . who were involved in actions that are still not entirely clear ... who had a momentary lapse of rationality," Part said. "They feel terrible about what happened."

A memorial service for Tope is scheduled for Dec. 10 at William Carey University.

While this is a sad story, Mr. Tope was and continues an excellent story to pattern after. He was a man more than willing to take a bold stand for the Christian Gospel!

Willie Pollard - The 9th Inning

Interesting little story which compares Christianity to a baseball game...definitely worth the time and these guys are doing a good work! They are on youtube under sdmemorylane and do old-time Gospel music.

Working behind the Scenes

There once was an elderly gentleman who was a very good shoemaker. He had wanted to become a minister but the way had never opened up. He was the friend of a young divinity student; and when one day the young man was called to his first charge the old man asked of the young preacher a special favor...In a nutshell his request was to always make the young mans shoes when he went into the pulpit. The young minister agreed and the old cobbler spent the rest of his days making shoes for the young man. The moral to this story? Sometimes the greatest work done for Gods kingdom is done behind the scenes.

Monastery on a cliff (joke)

There was a monastery perched high on a cliff. The only way to reach it was by riding in a basket, which several monks hauled up to the top.

The ride was steep, and to those who visited, it was terrifying.

One visitor was extremely nervous. Halfway up the ascent, he saw that the rope holding the basket was a bit frayed. He frantically asked the monk next to him how frequently the rope was changed.

After a brief silence, the monk replied, “Whenever it breaks.”

God Story #9 (Prayer Foils a Bank Robbery!!!)

A woman at a check-cashing store in Indianapolis had a rather unorthodox way of foiling a potentially dangerous (and fatal) situation. She used prayer. When Gregory Smith, a 23 year-old male, attempted to rob the store and pulled a gun on clerk Angela Montez, Ms. Montez's first reaction was to start praying. At first taken aback, then the robber began crying. He explained to Ms. Montez that he was an ex-servicemen with a young baby and could not find work. "We're going to be homeless," he said. "I've tried everything." Eventually, he reached into his pocket and the clerk became frightned beause he thought she was going to be shot. However, he said "It's okay" and emptied the chamber and gave her all the bullets. After talking and praying together for about 40 minutes without any disturbances, Smith allegedly left after taking $20 and Montez’s cellphone. The next day Smith turned himself in after his mother had seen him on T.V. and urged him to do it. An awesome story indeed, and we should pray for that criminal to become a Christian and to get on the straight and narrow.

Two wrongs don't make a right but two Wrights made an airplane! (Quote of the Week)

I heard that quote of the other day and just thought it was really neat. When you do the right things then the right things will happen for you. Too often in my life I had to learn this the hard way. Reliance on God, Dedication, determination, perseverance, and the like will help you to become the person you need to be and to find what you are looking for in life.

Letting inmates keep cats as pets

Although this story isn't necessarily Christian in nature, it is still a good story regardless. Indiana State Prison has been, for some time now, letting inmates keep cats as pets and the officials there are quite surprised by the results. In many cases, the inmates morale is much better and fights, assaults, and other general acts of misbehavior are very starkly down. Kudos to Indiana State Prison for their out-of-the-box thinking. Perhaps this is something that other prisons should adopt as well.

God Story #8

When one reads about the Apostle Paul in Acts and how he was converted, one truly does believe in the miraculous. An important thing to remember is that there are conversion stories in this day and age that are just as powerful. Michael "Bull" Roberts is a former Canadian drug lord with one such testimony. Christian Week recounts his story:

BRAMPTON, ON—The extravagant wealth and power former gang member Michael "Bull" Roberts had as one of Canada's wealthiest drug lords reads likes a fantasy. But the road which led him there is the stuff of nightmares.

"I grew up in a very abusive home," says Roberts, who cuts an imposing six-foot, four-inch, 450 pound figure. "My father was a very strict man, very hard. I was bullied at school, and then at home I was physically and sexually abused."

Roberts ended up in foster care. After witnessing his foster father's murder, Roberts hit the streets. Within months he was a "full blown drug and alcohol addict" with a long list of trafficking and assault charges.

When some acquaintances overdosed, police charged Roberts with three counts of first degree murder. At 16 Roberts was tried as an adult and found "criminally insane." He's lost count of how much time he has spent in prisons and mental institutions since then.

When he joined a gang, Roberts says he finally found a "family." A meteoric rise through the gang's ranks followed.

"I became one of the wealthiest drug lords in Canada," he says. "I had stables, boats and every kind of ride you could think of. I was distributing cocaine and crack all over Alberta. I was turning over millions of dollars a week."

But last summer, a partner sent 30 men to kill him. After a cruel beating, Roberts was left for dead, his knees, legs, arms, hands and skull broken. Permanent spinal cord damage means he still walks with a cane.

After his gang ties prompted a release from hospital, Roberts found himself alone in a hotel room facing the news his home had been burned to the ground.

"All I wanted was revenge," Roberts says. "But I was so broken I couldn't even get myself to the bathroom. I fell on the floor and [wet] myself. I spent hours there. I was in extreme physical pain and emotionally spent.

"That was my breaking point. I just snapped. I just couldn't fight no more. I looked up at God and said, 'Fine! You win! I'm done!'

"I just kept praying to Him out of anger, and the next thing I knew I was asking for forgiveness. I said, 'Please, God I just want to feel love!' I just burst into tears. I cried for hours on that floor.

"I really feel like God came into the room that day. I really felt like I was forgiven. I told Him I'd give my life to Him. I'd let Him run it His way."

Through the yellow pages, Roberts found the name of a local pastor who then put him in touch with pastor Ted Brown of Kennedy Road Tabernacle in Brampton. Roberts arrived in Ontario a few weeks later with "nothing but a pair of pyjama pants and a t-shirt.

"My first meeting with Mike was pretty intimidating," says Brown, referring to both Robert's size and the tattoos covering him from head to foot. "Mike is still rough around the edges but…I've seen a man who struggles with unforgiveness—toward the people who hurt him and who he's hurt—learning to forgive."

Roberts now writes the church's "Behind the Walls" prison newsletter. He also talks to school and church groups.

"I've taken Mike with me to meet with some young men who are close to being in trouble with the law or have already been charged," says Brown. "Mike speaks clearly and patiently to them hoping to direct them on the right path.

"I believe Mike has impacted lives for the kingdom, and in the days and years ahead, he'll impact many more."

Roberts says, "I could go back tomorrow and be that drug lord again, but I've given up all those riches because I want to be with God.

"I know where 'the beast' in me was created—and now I have my heart back. God gave me back the heart of a child and the dreams I had as a kid."

We Could Learn a Lot From...

The Children's Miracle Network
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One of our local convenience stores recently started selling Children's Miracle Network stickers for donations of $1, $5, or $25. After reading up on the Children's Miracle Network and some of the things that they are doing, I was glad to see the walls of this store being filled up with these stickers of people's donations.

Some info:

*founded in 1983 by the Osmond family and John Schneider (played Bo Duke on the Dukes of Hazzard)

*raises more than $250 Million dollars each year. The funds are then provided to a network of 170 hospitals to help provide for the needs of the children who are patients there.

*Funds are raised mostly through the use of corporate partners, such as Walmart, Dairy Queen, Domino Sugar, Phi Mu, Church's Chicken, Zeta Beta Tau, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Sigma Chi and Marriott Hotels to name a few.

This excellent organization exemplifies the biblical concept of "when you give you do it unto me" (Matthew 25:40)

Remembering 9/11

Ministering to the unemployed

Because of the state of this economy, there are a lot of people who are unemployed. These tips won't necessarily help you find a new job, but they will help you keep a positive attitude along the way to finding a new job.

Affirmation 1: Put yourself in a state of gratitude. Thank God for everything, even if it's just for a beautiful day.

Affirmation 2: If you are a Christian or other religious person, always be reminded that God is with you.

Affirmation 3: Remember that God wants you to find a job and will help you to find it. Pray for your job situation.

Affirmation 4: Be on the lookout for Messengers. These are people or events that come your way to help you in your process of becoming employed once more. Have a clear picture of the next job you want and get it in writing for yourself.

Affirmation 5: Remember to bless and love others. It does say in scripture to love your neighbor as yourself, so put that into practice. It will also help you keep a positive attitude.

Affirmation 6: Use your talents.

Affirmation 7: Have people pray for you. One can never have too much prayer in their lives including you.

NOTE: this is only a very abbreviated list. For the full article, go to http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Prayer/2009/05/Seven-Great-Affirmations-for-the-Unemployed.aspx?nlsource=10&ppc=73871&source=NEWSLETTER&utm_campaign=Inspiration&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_source=NL

Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Theologian, Man of God

As we approach the 70th anniversary of what would become World War II when Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939 we would do well to remember Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was indeed a great theologian and even more importantly a great and principled Man of God.

Indeed, from a very young age, Mr. Bonhoeffer had a strong desire to enter the ministry. Expected to follow his father into psychiatry, Bonhoeffer surprised and dismayed his parents when he decided by age of fourteen to become a theologian and later a pastor. When his older brother told him not to waste his life in such a "poor, feeble, boring, petty, bourgeois institution as the Church", 14-year-old Dietrich replied: "If what you say is true, I shall reform it!"

Bonhoeffer did indeed go into ministry and become a theologian. He held several teaching posts in America; one was in the Harlem area as well. He held a teaching post at Union Theological Seminary in New York and several teaching posts in his native Germany as well.

Most importantly, however, was the stands he took against the evils of Nazism. He was one of the founding members of a covenant with other pastors called the Pastors Emergency League, which was to resist the Nazi-sponsored state church. They later would establish the Confessing Church, which did basically the same thing as well. After a brief stint in London, Bonhoeffer would establish an underground theological seminary for those wishing to enter the Confessing Church. Unfortunately, his teaching credential with the University of Berlin was revoked in 1936 as he was deemed an "enemy of the state". Bonhoeffer's efforts for the underground seminaries also included securing the needed funds, and he found a great benefactor in Ruth von Kleist-Retzow. In the dire times that he found himself in, his former students and their wives would take refuge in her Pomeranian estate and Bonhoeffer himself was a frequent guest. By August 1937, Himmler outlawed the education of Confessing church pastoral candidates and In September 1937, the Gestapo closed the seminary at Finkenwalde and by November arrested 27 pastors and former students. It was around this time that Bonhoeffer published his best-known book, The Cost of Discipleship, a study on the Sermon on the Mount in which he attacked "cheap grace" as a cover for ethical laxity and preached "costly grace".

Bonhoeffer spent the next two years secretly travelling from one eastern German village to another to conduct "seminary on the run" supervising of his students, most of whom were working illegally in small parishes. He was banned from Berlin by the gestapo in 1938. It was at this time that Union Theological Seminary in New York extended for him to come back to the states, which he did for a brief time. However, Bonhoeffer felt that he had made the wrong decision. He wrote to fellow pastor Reinhold Niebuhr: "I have come to the conclusion that I made a mistake in coming to America. I must live through this difficult period in our national history with the people of Germany. I will have no right to participate in the recon­struction of Christian life in Germany after the war if I do not share the trials of this time with my people...Christians in Germany will have to face the terrible alternative of either willing the defeat of their nation in order that Christian civilization may survive or willing the victory of their nation and thereby destroying civilization. I know which of these alternatives I must choose but I cannot make that choice from security."

After arriving on the last scheduled steamer to Germany, he continued making brave stands for his underground seminary and churches. He would eventually pay the ultimate price and be executed on April 9, 1945.

I believe that this man was greatly used of God. There was one account from one of the camp doctors on the date of Dr. Bonhoeffer's execution that is particularly telling: “I saw Pastor Bonhoeffer ... kneeling on the floor praying fervently to God. I was most deeply moved by the way this lovable man prayed, so devout and so certain that God heard his prayer. At the place of execution, he again said a short prayer and then climbed the few steps to the gallows, brave and composed. His death ensued after a few seconds. In the almost fifty years that I worked as a doctor, I have hardly ever seen a man die so entirely submissive to the will of God.”

The Painting of Georges Rouault (3 of 3)

Here is the third and final installment of Georges Rouault's paintings of the Christ figure.

The Painting of Georges Rouault (2 of 3)

This is the second installment of Georges Rouault's paintings of the Christ figure. Enjoy!

The Painting of Georges Rouault (1 of 3)

I'm going to devote the next few posts to some of the works of French painter Georges Rouault, who lived from 1871-1958 in Paris. He is noted for his unique portrayals of Christ.

We Could Learn a Lot From....

Charles Stanley
------------------------



For those of you who may not have heard of Charles Stanley, he is has been a long-time pastor of the First Baptist Church in Atlanta and is the founder of In Touch Ministries. He is not a perfect man, as no one is, but his insights into the Christian faith have helped countless people in their growth and maturity. Several of his quotes include the following:

Only God knows fully what is required for wholeness because only God knows fully what it means to be whole, perfect, and complete. Only God knows what is missing in our lives because only God sees the total picture.

All of our needs are secondary to our need to accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, to be born again spiritually, and to live in right relationship with God our Father.

True contentment lies not in having, but in knowing---of knowing that you are accepted, loved, forgiven, and valued in spite of what you may or may not have in your hands or surrounding you.

God wants a walking-and-talking relationship with you. Your appearance, your status before others, and your performance matter little to God. He is concerned about the state of your heart and your innermost desires for eternal things.

Shirley Goodnest and her daughter Marcy...

I read a really interesting article written by Max Lucado recently. He was discussing the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, and the ministry it performs to Christian believers every day.

When you place your faith in Christ, Christ places his Spirit before, behind, and within you. Not a strange spirit, but the same Spirit: the parakletos. Everything Jesus did for his followers, his Spirit does for you. Jesus taught; the Spirit teaches. Jesus healed; the Spirit heals. Jesus comforted; his Spirit comforts. As Jesus sends you into new seasons, he sends his counselor to go with you.

God treats you the way one mother treated her young son, Timmy. She didn't like the thought of Timmy walking to his first-grade classroom unaccompanied. But he was too grown-up to be seen with his mother. "Besides," he explained, "I can walk with a friend." So she did her best to stay calm, quoting the Twenty-third Psalm to him every morning: "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life..."

One school day she came up with an idea. She asked a neighbor to follow Timmy to school in the mornings, staying at a distance, lest he notice her. The neighbor was happy to oblige. She took her toddler on morning walks anyway.

After several days Timmy's friend noticed the lady and the child.

"Do you know who that woman is who follows us to school?"

"Sure," Timmy answered. "That's Shirley Goodnest and her daughter Marcy."

"Who?"

"My mom reads about them every day in the Twenty-third Psalm. She says, 'Shirley Goodnest and Marcy shall follow me all the days of my life.' Guess I'll have to get used to them."
You will too. God never sends you out alone. Are you on the eve of change? Do you find yourself looking into a new chapter? Is the foliage of your world showing signs of a new season? Heaven's message for you is clear: when everything else changes, God presence never does. You journey in the company of the Holy Spirit, who "will teach you and will remind you of everything I have told you" (John 14:26 NLT).



You see, the Holy Spirit has a very, very important ministry. The Holy Spirit convicts unbelievers of their need to become Christians, convicts believers of sin in their lives, and intercedes for the Christian when he or she prays. Thanks be to God for sending His counselor the Holy Spirit!

Omarosa headed to Seminary!

Wow...I just read that Omarosa is now heading to study at a United Theological Seminary in Dayton, OH to become a Pastor. Known for her villianous ways and antics on reality T.V. shows, she has more recently been a goodwill ambassador and has done work for the homeless and poor in Haiti. According to Ivan Hicks, the school's associate dean for African-American studies, this reputation she has for both good and bad will help her as a minister because people will be able to relate to her. It's interesting that she has chosen this route as I myself did not even know that she was a Christian. However, we must remember that God has used many imperfect people before and can use the "foolish things of this world to confound the wise." (1Corinthians 1:27) I wish her all the best and my thoughts and prayers go out to her.

Unwanted Children in the World

Our earth has well over six billion inhabitants. When you consider the magnitude of such a large population, it could be easy to doubt whether one baby is as valuable as the other. While I don't usually post on such hot button issues, we as human beings need to consider that the attitude that not everyone is equally important is the WRONG attitude, and I believe that we need more programs encouraging adoption instead of abortion. Consider the following scenarios:



1. A minister and his wife, who live in extremely modest conditions, discover they are expecting their fifteenth child. Considering their poverty and the excessive world population, is this baby needed?

2. A young man is victim to a number of terrible health problems, and his wife has tuberculosis. Of their four children, one is blind, one has died, one is deaf, and one, like his mother, also has tuberculosis. Now the woman finds out that she is pregnant again. Surely this is an unneeded baby, is it not?

3. As the result of an awful rape by a white man, a thirteen year-old black girl is pregnant. If you were her parents, would you recommend that she endure the risky and emotionally traumatic pregnancy to bring the child of a rapist into the world?

4. In the midst of a society where sexual propiety is regarded as essential, a teenage girl is pregnant. Her betrothed knows that he is not the father of the baby, and he will share in her condemnation if he does not reject her. Does the world need this baby?


Now, all of these situations are very, very difficult and heart-wrenching situations. Can you imagine what each of these individuals must have went through and how much sleep they lost at night? My heart truly would go out to these people, and abortion definitely could be one of the options in each of these situations, but is it the BEST OPTION? If we take a closer look at each of these situations, we would realize that abortion is not always the best option. In scenario #1, if abortion is used, we have just terminated the baby who would become John Wesley, one of the greatest evangelists of the eighteenth century. In the second scenario, we have just deprived the world of composer Ludwig von Beethoven. In scenario #3 we have just lost Ethel Waters, who will inspire millions as a truly great gospel musician. And what of the fourth scenario? Well, in scenario #4 we have just deprived the world of our Lord and Savior Himself, Jesus Christ.

I believe that there is a place for abortion, and I do not believe that violence such as what happened to George Tiller is the option either. However, I do believe that abortion should be a last resort and adoption should be encouraged in every circumstance possible. God bless all of you, and good night.

Looking Heavenward (Joke)

The temporary Sunday School teacher was struggling to open a combination lock on the supply cabinet. She had been told the combination, but couldn't quite remember it.

She went to the pastor's study and asked for help. The pastor came into the room and began to turn the dial.

After the first two numbers he paused and stared blankly for a moment.Finally he looked serenely heavenward and his lips moved silently.

Then he looked back at the lock, and quickly turned to the final number, and opened the lock.

The teacher was amazed. "I'm in awe at your faith, pastor," she said.

"It's really nothing," he answered. "The number is on a piece of tape on the ceiling."

Thanks for the ice!

The other day I was shopping at Alco, which is a chain of lesser-known discount stores. A woman that I have known only casually came up to me and proceeded to hand me ten dollars. After seeing the look of confusion on my face, she said "Ice, Vaden. You got me some ice last week, and I appreciated it and I am paying you back." I was surprised because I just barely recalled the incident but it brought home for me something very interesting. Once again, I feel validation for living a way of life where you do good for others. It's very cathartic, It's very Christian, it's good karma, or it's just a good thing to do...whatever you call it, your life is a lot more fulfilled if you look out for the other person and their needs as well!

Yes, we had a drug problem....

The other day, someone at a store in our town read that a Methamphetamine lab had been found in an old farmhouse in the adjoining county and he asked me a rhetorical question, “Why didn’t we have a drug problem when you and I were growing up?”

I replied I had a drug problem when I was young: I was drug to church on Sunday morning. I was drug to the altar to repent of my sin before Jesus Christ and God almighty when I did wrong. I was drug to church for weddings and funerals. I was drug to family reunions and community socials no matter the weather.

I was drug by my ears when I was disrespectful to adults. I was also drug to the woodshed when I disobeyed my parents, told a lie brought home a bad report card, did not speak with respect, spoke ill of a teacher or preacher, or if I didn’t put forth my best effort in everything that was asked of me.

I was drug to the kitchen sink to have my mouth washed out with soap if I uttered a profanity. I was drug out to pull weeds in mom’s garden and flower beds and cockleburs out of dad’s fields. I was drug to the homes of family, friends and neighbors to help out some poor soul who had no one to mow the yard, repair the clothesline, or chop some firewood, and, if my mother had ever known that I took a single dime as a tip for this kindness, would have drug me back to the woodshed.

Those drugs are still in my veins and they affect my behavior in everything I do, say or think. They are stronger than cocaine, crack, or heroin; and if today’s children had this kind of drug problem, America would be a better place.

God bless the parents who drugged us.

Quote of the Week #10

"Yes, God can use cracked vessels!" ---Joyce Meyer

Although many times I don't watch the big time T.V. evangelists such as Joel Osteen or Joyce Meyer, sometimes they have some good little tidbits of knowledge to say. Ms. Meyer relates the following story:

A water bearer in India had two large pots hanging at the ends of a pole that he carried across his neck. One of the pots was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master's house. The other pot had a crack in it, and by the time it reached its destination, it was only half full. Every day for two years the water bearer delivered only one and one-half pots of water to the master's house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments—perfect to the end for which it was made. The poor little cracked pot was ashamed of its imperfections and miserable that it could accomplish only half of what it had been designed to do. After two years of what the imperfect pot perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer and said, "I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you."

"Why?" asked the bearer, "What are you ashamed of?"

"Well, for these past two years, I have been able to deliver only half a load of water each day because this crack in my side allows water to leak out all the way back to the master's house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all this work without getting the full value of your efforts," the pot said.

The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, "As we return to the master's house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path." Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot noticed the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because half of its load had leaked out once again.

Then the bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of the path and not on the other pot's side? That's because I've always known about your flaw and took advantage of it by planting flower seeds on your side of the path. Every day as we walked back from the stream, you watered those seeds, and for two years I have picked these beautiful flowers to decorate my master's table. Without you being just what you are, he would not have had this beauty to grace his house." So you see, even with warts and all, we need to stay positive and keep praying for opportunities for God to use us!

Some Funny Church signs...

"Take what you need as the offering is passed."

A church in Argyle, Texas came up with a very unique way to increase their tithes and help people out in the process. They adopted a rule that anyone who was struggling financially could take what they need from the offering plate. The church has since seen their titheing triple, and they have been able to give according to some estimates over a half-million dollars to charities and help people with basic expenses and the like. Kudos to Pastor Toby Slough of Cross Timbers Community Church for his out-of-box (and biblical!) idea of giving!

"Mr. Vandal, Jesus loves you too."

***Jesus and the woman at the well***


A Church in Keene, New Hampshire was recently very badly vandalized with several anarchist and atheist statements spray painted all over the building. Needless to say, the building was very badly defaced. The intial reaction of the pastor of the church and the parishioners was one of anger, however, they have now displayed Christ-like character in that they responded to this terrible act of vandalism by posted a message on their billboard to the passing motorists. The message simply reads: "Mr. Vandal, Jesus loves you too."

Quote of the week #9

"Don't dwell on what you can't do, dwell on what you can do!" ---Author Unknown.

A very wise individual once told me that in any situation, we can always dwell on one of two things: we can dwell on what we cannot do, or we can dwell on what we can do. The ball is in my court; it is my choice. Personally, I now choose to dwell on what can be done instead of what cannot be done. Now, on to the question that many of you reading most likely have: what does the picture I have chosen above have to do with the quote I have? Well, instead of dwelling on the bad things of the world, you can love people, you can accept people, you can treat people as God treats them, as one of His creation that He loves and sent His Son for. Can't go on a missions trip? Pray for those that do go. Can't be the next Martin Luther King or Gandhi? Be the next Martin Luther King or Gandhi in your neighborhood. Can't be a deacon in your church? Be something smaller, such as volunteering to handle the janitorial work, and then move up. Focus on what you can do, instead of what can't.

"My Bible Tells Me So!"

*Mount of Olives in Jerusalem*


NOTE: I originally read a version of this story in the book Share Jesus Without Fear by William Fay.

If you had met Nate, you would swear that he was one of the most cynical, bitter, and atheistic individuals to ever walk the face of the earth. He had absolutely no interest in the subject of religion. Nate even bashed people of faith for fun. He regularly mocked Jews, Buddhists, Muslims, and even Christians. Yes, Nate was indeed a hard case. He was also highly intelligent. He had scored in the upper percentile of all of the intelligence tests, could read 1,250 a minute with total recall, and even scored one of the highest scores on the Mensa test, a test for geniuses.

Now, Nate was in the armed services and was riding a bus with another man named John, who was a Blackfoot Indian with only a 12th grade education. The other soldiers kept on throwing John's Bible out of the bus to tease him. Each time, John would patiently get out of the bus and retrieve it without saying a word. Finally, Nate could stand it no longer and he said to John, "Why do you let those clowns do that stuff to you?"

John replied, "Sir, I am a Christian."

Nate decided to challenge this simple man of faith and so he asked him almost laughingly, "Do you mean to tell me that you actually believe that a man was vomited out of a whale?"

John replied, "Yes, sir, I do."

"Why?" Nate asked.

"My Bible tells me so," John replied. The conversation went on for a long time, and every challenge that Nate gave John was answered in the same way: "My Bible tells me so." As hard as Nate's higly intelligent mind tried, he could not shake John's faith, and this bothered very deeply.

That night he decided to borrow a Bible from a neighbor. The verse Job 5:9: "He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, and miracles that cannot be owned" was stuck in his mind. "Nate could not ignore this truth," William Fay writes, "and it tranformed his life. Now he is one of the strongest defenders of the Christian faith that I know. And it was all because John, a simple man of faith with only a 12th grade education, believed the verse 'Not by might, not by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord (Zechariah 4:6)'''

Imagine how great our God is when He can use a Blackfoot Native American with only a 12th grade education to help convert a man who scored so high on the Mensa test that he even found an error on the test itself!

Chaplain Testimony

Perhaps one of the biggest unsung heroes in the midst of our American troops on this 4th of July is the Army Chaplain. Many of these men and women not only provide spiritual support, but are also on the front lines as often as others. On this 4th of July, I will share the testimony of one such Army Chaplain.

Christian quotes from early politicians, including Founding Fathers

There's been a lot of debate over the last several years about whether the Founding Fathers and other early politicians were really Christians or not. There are many who say that they were atheists, many that say they were deists, and many who say that indeed, yes, they were Christians. Well, the answer to this question is that we don't really know. Only God knows the heart of these great men and (yes) the women that also helped them behind the scenes. What we do know from their writings is that most of these men did have a strong belief in God or some higher power of that nature. As promised, here are some quotes from them on this 233rd 4th of July:

George Washington
1st U.S. President

"While we are zealously performing the duties of good citizens and soldiers, we certainly ought not to be inattentive to the higher duties of religion. To the distinguished character of Patriot, it should be our highest glory to add the more distinguished character of Christian."

John Adams
2nd U.S. President and Signer of the Declaration of Independence

"Suppose a nation in some distant Region should take the Bible for their only law Book, and every member should regulate his conduct by the precepts there exhibited! Every member would be obliged in conscience, to temperance, frugality, and industry; to justice, kindness, and charity towards his fellow men; and to piety, love, and reverence toward Almighty God ... What a Eutopia, what a Paradise would this region be."

"The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity. I will avow that I then believed, and now believe, that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God."
--Adams wrote this on June 28, 1813, in a letter to Thomas Jefferson

"The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever."
--Adams wrote this in a letter to his wife, Abigail, on July 3, 1776.

Thomas Jefferson
3rd U.S. President, Drafter and Signer of the Declaration of Independence

"I am a real Christian – that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus Christ."

Benjamin Franklin
Signer of the Declaration of Independence and Unites States Constitution
"Here is my Creed. I believe in one God, the Creator of the Universe. That He governs it by His Providence. That He ought to be worshipped.

That the most acceptable service we render to him is in doing good to his other children. That the soul of man is immortal, and will be treated with justice in another life respecting its conduct in this. These I take to be the fundamental points in all sound religion, and I regard them as you do in whatever sect I meet with them.

As to Jesus of Nazareth, my opinion of whom you particularly desire, I think the system of morals and his religion, as he left them to us, is the best the world ever saw, or is likely to see;

But I apprehend it has received various corrupting changes, and I have, with most of the present dissenters in England, some doubts as to his divinity; though it is a question I do not dogmatize upon, having never studied it, and think it needless to busy myself with it now, when I expect soon an opportunity of knowing the truth with less trouble. I see no harm, however, in its being believed, if that belief has the good consequence, as probably it has, of making his doctrines more respected and more observed; especially as I do not perceive, that the Supreme takes it amiss, by distinguishing the unbelievers in his government of the world with any peculiar marks of his displeasure."
--Benjamin Franklin wrote this in a letter to Ezra Stiles, President of Yale University on March 9, 1790.

James Madison
4th U.S. President

"Cursed be all that learning that is contrary to the cross of Christ."

There are a lot more quotes and they can be found at http://christianity.about.com/od/independenceday/a/foundingfathers.htm

Happy 4th of July weekend everybody!

Here's a goofy picture of my wife I took this afternoon that has absolutely nothing to do with the 4th of July ;-) but seriously, folks, have a safe 4th of July weekend. I'll probably post some founding fathers quotes in a couple of days so stay posted!