Tuesday, January 13, 2004
Humility found only in Africa
I’ve come to the conclusion that I’ve never faced a hardship in my entire life. I mean, what I use to consider “hardship” was having to pay my way through college, or having to work 60 hours a week during the summer. To me, in my own little world, these seemed to bring me trouble and caused me to want others to pity me. Well, after taking a recent trip of Africa I now know otherwise. Hardship is being born with AIDS and trying to survive as an orphan. Hardship is not having anything to eat for weeks at a time. Hardship is living on the streets with nothing more than the shirt on your back. Hardship is what the people of Zambia, and many others around the world, face everyday. The sad truth is that even through all my blessings I still fail to love the Lord as I should. My thoughts are impure, lust is a daily occurrence, my prayer times are too short, I fall short for pleasing God, but this shouldn’t be the case. What amazes me is that even through all struggles that the Zambians face, they still exalt the name of the Lord. At one church we visited that had no lights, no water, not a concrete floor, yet they were worshiping as if they’d just won the lottery. What’s wrong with this picture? Nothing at all, what wrong is the picture of my life. There is no excuse for me living the way I am and I thank God for the message He has sent me. I pray for myself and the sake of others that we can live a life that is pleasing to our heavenly Father, for that is the least that we can do. Never forget the blessing you have received and remain humble or you will be made humble. Remember, the Lord will bless those who are faithful to Him no matter the circumstances they are in.
Saturday, January 10, 2004
What WAS the top news story of 2003? I'll tell ya!
Many people, as 2003 drew to a close, were asked what they thought the top news story of 2003 was. After all, a lot happened in the year, including the continuing war on terrorism, the removal of Saddam and California governor Davis, and the gearing up for the 2004 elections.
Brandon, do you want to know what I think the top news story was that was grossly underreported in 2003? The war. No, not the war in Iraq. Not the war against terror. No, I'm talking about the war against Christians that seemed to pick up a lot of steam in 2003. The question is, why? I think that it is because Christians are, for the most part, ignorant of the threat that is posed against them by the forces of evil. Collectively, we Christians keep giving up territory little by little until one day there won't be anything else to cede. Some of the things in 2003 that many Christians either did not pick up on, or were too busy to worry about were some of the following:
The ACLU continues to attack anything and everything that has to do with God, Jesus Christ, Christmas, Christians, Churches or spirituality. The attack on the Boy Scouts in San Diego is a perfect example. You can read about it here.
There were so many stories about people trying to ban the word "Christmas" in 2003 it is hard to imagine. Seems like every year you see the word "Christmas" replaced by the word "Holiday" or "Season." I was told by wise people years ago that certain people would try and take the "Christ" out of "Christmas" and it looks like that plot is well underway.
It is sad to think that the USA, formerly a church-attending nation, is becoming less so with every passing year. Now you can cite poll after poll showing this or that, but no matter what poll you show regarding church attendance, one thing is abundantly clear: THE INFLUENCE OF CHURCH-ATTENDING PEOPLE IN THE U.S. HAS DECLINED TO AMAZINGLY LOW LEVELS over the past 40 years. You can perhaps show that X-percent of the people attend church, but the fact is, no matter what number you show, the influence these people have is very little today. After all, if so many people are spiritually motivated in this country as some polls suggest, then why are there so many so-called pro-choice and anti-God people in elected offices all over the nation?
The homosexual agenda. Seems like every day, there was another story about gay marriages or other such things. So much so that now some polls are showing a lessening a little of the empathy toward so-called "gay marriages." Seems like maybe when it's "in your face" too much, even moderate Americans say, "enough!"
The media. You know, the people who overwhelmingly voted Democratic last election and have a different set of values and world view that I do. These people probably consider Christians like me to be "right wing fanatics" who what to create a theocracy in the USA. Well, the fact is, most true Christians just want to be allowed to have the freedoms that our nation's founders had in mind. Freedoms that are being denied more and more every day by leftist judges who "legislate from the bench."
The silver lining around this dark cloud is that more than ever before, I know that there is good and evil, and forces behind each. I believe more than ever before in my life that God is allowing Satan to "have his way" more than before, but I don't know why. Perhaps it is because we are nearing the "end of the age" and judgment day is not that far off. Perhaps it is because God is allowing so much evil to exist in this world to prove that evolution is a fraud, for if we evolved from slime as some believe, there would not be this spiritual struggle for our souls, since of course we would not have souls if we evolved from slime. One cannot possibly believe that there is a devil unless one also believes that there is a God, since the devil has never stated or claimed that he created himself.
No, the big story of 2003 was the all out attack on Christianity and Christians, and everything we believe in, stand for, or understand to be true. But ultimately, Christ will prevail, and I know that because I have read ahead in the book (The Bible) and know how it will all turn out in the end (I don't want to spoil the ending for you, but in a nutshell, God defeats Satan and the forces of evil, and Christians live happily ever after--literally!). I believe that as we get closer and closer to the "end times" that Satan will be even more "loosed" and cause even more grief for Christians, until some day, maybe not tomorrow, maybe not next week, and maybe even not next year, but some day, Satan will be thrown in the lake of fire to be tormented forever and ever. I know this because of the Revelation to John.
Revelation 20:10 (NIV) states, "And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever."
In a future blog, I will suggest ways that God might use to torment the devil forever and ever.
Finally, then, after Satan and his cohorts are defeated forever, Christians will be able to worship our Lord and Savior forever unimpeded by the ACLU or any other evil anti-God advocates. That will be a day to look forward to! Stay tuned, it's just a matter of time!
Brandon, do you want to know what I think the top news story was that was grossly underreported in 2003? The war. No, not the war in Iraq. Not the war against terror. No, I'm talking about the war against Christians that seemed to pick up a lot of steam in 2003. The question is, why? I think that it is because Christians are, for the most part, ignorant of the threat that is posed against them by the forces of evil. Collectively, we Christians keep giving up territory little by little until one day there won't be anything else to cede. Some of the things in 2003 that many Christians either did not pick up on, or were too busy to worry about were some of the following:
The ACLU continues to attack anything and everything that has to do with God, Jesus Christ, Christmas, Christians, Churches or spirituality. The attack on the Boy Scouts in San Diego is a perfect example. You can read about it here.
There were so many stories about people trying to ban the word "Christmas" in 2003 it is hard to imagine. Seems like every year you see the word "Christmas" replaced by the word "Holiday" or "Season." I was told by wise people years ago that certain people would try and take the "Christ" out of "Christmas" and it looks like that plot is well underway.
It is sad to think that the USA, formerly a church-attending nation, is becoming less so with every passing year. Now you can cite poll after poll showing this or that, but no matter what poll you show regarding church attendance, one thing is abundantly clear: THE INFLUENCE OF CHURCH-ATTENDING PEOPLE IN THE U.S. HAS DECLINED TO AMAZINGLY LOW LEVELS over the past 40 years. You can perhaps show that X-percent of the people attend church, but the fact is, no matter what number you show, the influence these people have is very little today. After all, if so many people are spiritually motivated in this country as some polls suggest, then why are there so many so-called pro-choice and anti-God people in elected offices all over the nation?
The homosexual agenda. Seems like every day, there was another story about gay marriages or other such things. So much so that now some polls are showing a lessening a little of the empathy toward so-called "gay marriages." Seems like maybe when it's "in your face" too much, even moderate Americans say, "enough!"
The media. You know, the people who overwhelmingly voted Democratic last election and have a different set of values and world view that I do. These people probably consider Christians like me to be "right wing fanatics" who what to create a theocracy in the USA. Well, the fact is, most true Christians just want to be allowed to have the freedoms that our nation's founders had in mind. Freedoms that are being denied more and more every day by leftist judges who "legislate from the bench."
The silver lining around this dark cloud is that more than ever before, I know that there is good and evil, and forces behind each. I believe more than ever before in my life that God is allowing Satan to "have his way" more than before, but I don't know why. Perhaps it is because we are nearing the "end of the age" and judgment day is not that far off. Perhaps it is because God is allowing so much evil to exist in this world to prove that evolution is a fraud, for if we evolved from slime as some believe, there would not be this spiritual struggle for our souls, since of course we would not have souls if we evolved from slime. One cannot possibly believe that there is a devil unless one also believes that there is a God, since the devil has never stated or claimed that he created himself.
No, the big story of 2003 was the all out attack on Christianity and Christians, and everything we believe in, stand for, or understand to be true. But ultimately, Christ will prevail, and I know that because I have read ahead in the book (The Bible) and know how it will all turn out in the end (I don't want to spoil the ending for you, but in a nutshell, God defeats Satan and the forces of evil, and Christians live happily ever after--literally!). I believe that as we get closer and closer to the "end times" that Satan will be even more "loosed" and cause even more grief for Christians, until some day, maybe not tomorrow, maybe not next week, and maybe even not next year, but some day, Satan will be thrown in the lake of fire to be tormented forever and ever. I know this because of the Revelation to John.
Revelation 20:10 (NIV) states, "And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever."
In a future blog, I will suggest ways that God might use to torment the devil forever and ever.
Finally, then, after Satan and his cohorts are defeated forever, Christians will be able to worship our Lord and Savior forever unimpeded by the ACLU or any other evil anti-God advocates. That will be a day to look forward to! Stay tuned, it's just a matter of time!
