In my post entitled, "What A Waste", I hit on the fact that many Christians do not take advantage of this awesome tool called the internet. We blog about our cats, dogs, coffee, just about anything but what really matters. We do not realize that the person that stumbled onto our Blog might be at the end of his/her rope. It may be someone across the street or half a world away. Make no mistake about it. Man may take the credit for the internet, and we sure have messed it up, but God created it. Man can create nothing without Him. We think we are so clever, but without the mind our Creator blessed us with, just how clever would we be?
Anyway, the point I am trying to make is that we must not let the evil that runs rampant throughout the internet win. We must shine our light into the darkness. So, to make a long blog short, please check this out:
http://ied.gospelcom.net/
However, that is just a start. I believe we can, and should make everyday Internet Evangelism Day!
Thursday, February 24, 2005
Terri Schiavo
Matthew 25:31-46 (NIV)
The Sheep and the Goats
31“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’
41“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45“He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
46“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
If these words spoken by our Lord Jesus Christ mean anything to you, I urge you to visit the following link:
http://view.exacttarget.com/?ffcd16-febe13797c67077f-fe0515737460057f70107171
God Bless You!!
The Sheep and the Goats
31“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’
41“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45“He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
46“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
If these words spoken by our Lord Jesus Christ mean anything to you, I urge you to visit the following link:
http://view.exacttarget.com/?ffcd16-febe13797c67077f-fe0515737460057f70107171
God Bless You!!
Sunday, February 20, 2005
The God Game
For many in the Church today, Jesus is not the goal. They simply said their "Sinners Prayer" to get what Jesus has to offer. No, I am not talking about eternal salvation. What people today want is instant gratification. "Give it to me now!", they shout. They do not come to the Master's table to worship and have fellowship with the Master. Oh no, they come to the Master's table for what is on the Master's table.
To these people God is simply a 2nd rate Game Show Host In The Sky. "What have you done for me lately?" is the modern church's battle cry. "Yea, yea, I know all about that dying on the cross stuff, but that was a long time ago. I need help now! Where are my riches?"
However, we are instructed in Hebrews:
Hebrews 13:5-6 (ESV)
5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." 6 So we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?"
The Church today is filled with false converts. People who only accepted the Master for all the goodies they will receive. Just look at what is being taught by "Superstar" Preachers today. They promise unlimited health and wealth. They do not stress the fact that God has already provided us with the ultimate gift. The gift of His Son. Jesus payed our debt for us. A debt we never could have satisfied.
However, the modern Church feels it is not necessary to preach Christ and Him Crucified. They want to preach a kinder, gentler message. One that does not address eternal separation from God. Hell should only be talked about in terms of Hitler or Hussein. To them, God would never send Joe GoodNeighbor to Hell. He helps out at the homeless shelter once a month. He goes to Church whenever he can and even plays on the Church softball team. However, his heart is far from God. He would never dream of talking about his faith to anyone. He would not want to cram it down anyone's throat. He came onboard the Jesus train because he had someone tickle his ears with the promise of riches and health. Of course, Mr. GoodNeighbor will soon take the path of many "converts" before him. When the promised life on the Jesus Easy Street fails to materialize, Ol' Mr. GoodNeighbor will be just another statistic. One that Atheists point to and shout, "Christianity does not work!"
However, true Christianity not only works, it works forever. The God Game is churning out false converts quicker than Michael Jackson changes faces. Jesus never promised us a rose garden. He did not say we might have trouble. He warned us that we would! But He also told us to keep our eyes on Him. He has overcome the world!
John 16:33 (NIV)
33 I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.
When we reduce our Heavenly Father, our Creator and Savior to some sort of impish Game Show Host that only exists to satisfy our every desire, we miss the mark by infinity. What our Lord has planned for us is more, much more than any earthly reward could ever fulfill. We must trust that our Heavenly Father knows what we need, and He will provide. But not only to keep us comfortable, but to enable us to share Him with the world. And in the end, that is all that matters.
To these people God is simply a 2nd rate Game Show Host In The Sky. "What have you done for me lately?" is the modern church's battle cry. "Yea, yea, I know all about that dying on the cross stuff, but that was a long time ago. I need help now! Where are my riches?"
However, we are instructed in Hebrews:
Hebrews 13:5-6 (ESV)
5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." 6 So we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?"
The Church today is filled with false converts. People who only accepted the Master for all the goodies they will receive. Just look at what is being taught by "Superstar" Preachers today. They promise unlimited health and wealth. They do not stress the fact that God has already provided us with the ultimate gift. The gift of His Son. Jesus payed our debt for us. A debt we never could have satisfied.
However, the modern Church feels it is not necessary to preach Christ and Him Crucified. They want to preach a kinder, gentler message. One that does not address eternal separation from God. Hell should only be talked about in terms of Hitler or Hussein. To them, God would never send Joe GoodNeighbor to Hell. He helps out at the homeless shelter once a month. He goes to Church whenever he can and even plays on the Church softball team. However, his heart is far from God. He would never dream of talking about his faith to anyone. He would not want to cram it down anyone's throat. He came onboard the Jesus train because he had someone tickle his ears with the promise of riches and health. Of course, Mr. GoodNeighbor will soon take the path of many "converts" before him. When the promised life on the Jesus Easy Street fails to materialize, Ol' Mr. GoodNeighbor will be just another statistic. One that Atheists point to and shout, "Christianity does not work!"
However, true Christianity not only works, it works forever. The God Game is churning out false converts quicker than Michael Jackson changes faces. Jesus never promised us a rose garden. He did not say we might have trouble. He warned us that we would! But He also told us to keep our eyes on Him. He has overcome the world!
John 16:33 (NIV)
33 I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.
When we reduce our Heavenly Father, our Creator and Savior to some sort of impish Game Show Host that only exists to satisfy our every desire, we miss the mark by infinity. What our Lord has planned for us is more, much more than any earthly reward could ever fulfill. We must trust that our Heavenly Father knows what we need, and He will provide. But not only to keep us comfortable, but to enable us to share Him with the world. And in the end, that is all that matters.
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Sunday, February 13, 2005
What A Waste
As I sit here while my beautiful wife is putting our almost 23 month-old son to bed, my mind started to wonder how Christians can waste a God-given opportunity? The opportunity I write of is Blogging. There are many professing Christians that make use of these online journals only to go out of their way not to mention Christ. What a waste it is when we have the chance to reach the entire world with our profession of Christ, and we write about some piece of fluff. Yes, I said fluff, because when we get right down to it, nothing but Christ matters.
Oh sure, there is nothing wrong with writing about our children, spouses, parents and numerous other topics. However, when people refuse to express their faith at all, something is very wrong. Christians today would rather "keep their faith to themselves." I am sorry, but contrary to what John Kerry and many others would like us to believe, Christianity is not something that should be kept to ourselves. We need to "Go And Shout It On The Mountain", as the song says.
Everything we do and say should be as if it were unto the Lord.
Colossians 3:23-24 (King James Version)
23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.
Oh sure, there is nothing wrong with writing about our children, spouses, parents and numerous other topics. However, when people refuse to express their faith at all, something is very wrong. Christians today would rather "keep their faith to themselves." I am sorry, but contrary to what John Kerry and many others would like us to believe, Christianity is not something that should be kept to ourselves. We need to "Go And Shout It On The Mountain", as the song says.
Everything we do and say should be as if it were unto the Lord.
Colossians 3:23-24 (King James Version)
23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.
Saturday, February 12, 2005
Change the Subject
I find it interesting that as Christians we are constantly scolded and ridiculed for not being "tolerant." We are told that we are to be accepting of any and every thought and behavior that comes our way. However, this pendulum does not swing both ways. The very same people that berate us for being intolerant have absolutely no tolerance for us! And I have come to realize that the worst offenders of this double standard sadly are - Christians.
A family member summed it all up perfectly when she told my wife that instead of talking to people about Jesus when we see them happily skipping down the broad road, we should "Change the subject." To her it is okay for them to be spewing out all sorts of anti-Christian speech and we are to just sit there and let it go unabated. Would she say nothing to a child that is playing near a busy street? Sure that child is enjoying what she is doing, but she is in great danger! Why ruin her fun? If she said something to the child child, the child may not like her.
My point is that modern Christians care more about everybody being their friends, than they do about their eternal salvation. What has happened? Do you understand what she said? "Change the subject!" Those three words from a "Christian" just blow my mind. Is this the attitude we are to have? Just by uttering those three words, she is pointing her finger at all the Martyrs throughout the ages and saying, You fools! Why did suffer and die when all you had to do was to simply "Change the subject." She is telling all the Missionaries that have given up all they have to follow our Lord's command to "Make disciples of all nations" that they have it all wrong.
No I say, No! Jesus made it clear that we are to follow His commands. We cannot say that we are Christians and not care about the eternal souls of others simply to keep the peace. There is no such thing as an Undercover Christian. Our light is to be placed high on the lampstand for all to see, not only brought out when the conditions are right.
2 Timothy 4 (NIV)
1In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage with great patience and careful instruction. 3For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.
Mark 8:38 (NIV)
38If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels.
A family member summed it all up perfectly when she told my wife that instead of talking to people about Jesus when we see them happily skipping down the broad road, we should "Change the subject." To her it is okay for them to be spewing out all sorts of anti-Christian speech and we are to just sit there and let it go unabated. Would she say nothing to a child that is playing near a busy street? Sure that child is enjoying what she is doing, but she is in great danger! Why ruin her fun? If she said something to the child child, the child may not like her.
My point is that modern Christians care more about everybody being their friends, than they do about their eternal salvation. What has happened? Do you understand what she said? "Change the subject!" Those three words from a "Christian" just blow my mind. Is this the attitude we are to have? Just by uttering those three words, she is pointing her finger at all the Martyrs throughout the ages and saying, You fools! Why did suffer and die when all you had to do was to simply "Change the subject." She is telling all the Missionaries that have given up all they have to follow our Lord's command to "Make disciples of all nations" that they have it all wrong.
No I say, No! Jesus made it clear that we are to follow His commands. We cannot say that we are Christians and not care about the eternal souls of others simply to keep the peace. There is no such thing as an Undercover Christian. Our light is to be placed high on the lampstand for all to see, not only brought out when the conditions are right.
2 Timothy 4 (NIV)
1In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage with great patience and careful instruction. 3For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.
Mark 8:38 (NIV)
38If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels.
Saturday, February 05, 2005
Jesus or Ozzy?
I am finally getting to this, and as I sit here I don't know what I will write. I am trusting that the Holy Spirit will give me the words. I find it hard to believe that bands that glorify satan and curse the name of Christ would drive a wedge between a "Christian" family. However, sadly, that is what has happened.
This has been brewing for a while, but I will start back in July, 2004. My wife, myself and our son were over at my Mother's house for a family get-together. My brother, brought to our attention that our sister had allowed her son to attend Ozzfest. We did not even know this blasphemous concert was in town. My brother then went on to bring up the web site to Ozzfest. He showed us all of the blasphemous and satanic bands that were performing. He showed us the t-shirts that bore Ozzy's image on a cross. It grieved us. We were discussing the implications of allowing your child to attend such an event. We were talking about professing Christians lending support to these events that mock Christianity.
Well, my Mother stormed into the computer room and started to let us have it. She screamed at my wife and myself that we should not say anything and just pray for them (it was funny, but she did not direct any verbal assaults at my brother, although he initiated the conversation). We tried to explain to her that we needed to do more than just pray, we need to talk to them about this. How could professing Christians support such filth? Well, my Mother let off with a verbal attack that would not end. She was defending them, but attacking us. We decided that we just needed to leave. As we were attempting to depart, she followed us while continuing to thrust her finger at us while vocalizing her disdain at the top of her lungs. We left.
Well, about a month later, we saw my Mother. She took us out to dinner and apologized. She admitted that what she did was wrong. She admitted that my sister and nephew needed to be held accountable.
Well, it was soon Thanksgiving. The family was at my Mother's home, including my sister and nephew. Now we noticed things were a little different. First off, my nephew was dressed all in black, including black fingernails. My sister did not acknowledge us, not even our 20-month old son.
After dinner, we gathered in the living room for my nephew (brother's son) to open his Birthday presents (it was his Birthday as well as Thanksgiving). My sister gave him the gift from her. He opened it with my sister urging him to hold it up. He looked disgusted. He held up a Metallica t-shirt. My sister's son was screaming how great it was while my sister was gawking over her great gift. However, the recipient of the shirt did not like it. My sister's son was telling him he'd better like it because Metallica is "sweet". Keep in mind that all the players in this drama confess to be Christians.
I felt the leading of the Holy Spirit to not let this opportunity pass. I started to ask my nephews if they understood what Metallica stood for. Mockingly they assured me they did. I asked how they could extol the virtues of bands that mock the One they confess to serve. Again, I was mocked and told that Ozzfest was the best time of my nephew's life. I was near tears trying to reach them when out of nowhere my brother stormed up to me with his fist raised and using every four-letter word there is. He claimed he had been, "Waiting to go off on me for a long time". He then took a few swings at me all the while screaming that it was, "Only a shirt"! Now keep in mind that this is the same "Christian" brother that alerted us to my nephew attending Ozzfest in July.
Now, to make things worse, my Mother stormed up standing next to my brother screaming, "You don't do it like that"! Also keep in mind that she did not even hear my conversation with my nephews. She also screamed that I tried to hit her in July. Now this was a shock to myself and to my wife. I never tried to hit her. In fact, I was denouncing bands that promote violence. By this time the entire household was cussing up a storm at my wife and myself. My "Christian" brother continued to threaten me and proclaimed that he was going to, "Rule in hell".
I went up to my nephew and gave him tearful hug. I let him know that I loved him and wanted him to live forever with Christ.
My wife and I never yelled. We never made a personal attack on anyone. But we were attacked both verbally and physically. We made our way out of the house once again. My wife is pregnant and with the atmosphere in that house, it was no longer safe to keep her there. Also, we did not need our child hearing that language.
Shortly after, we started to receive emails from my sister and mother attempting to defend their actions. They denied things that took place. Now the only problem with that is that first of all, God knows what happened. Secondly, the event was captured on video. Once they found that out, their story changed. Then is was all about justifying their actions.
We attempted to reason with them by using Scripture, but they do not want to be confused with what God has to say. They actually quote things that are not even in the Bible. They use wisdom they received from a song or on Oprah.
Their argument is that we should not "Judge" others. Of course while they are arguing this, they are judging us.
My sister says that we should, "Point out sin, but not Judge". First off, all we were doing was bringing to their attention that they simply cannot serve God and shell out money to those that will use it to further their anti-Christian rhetoric. Also, how can you truly have the Holy Spirit dwelling within you and not be grieved by what you are hearing and viewing? It is sad, but a true convert of the faith should not need anyone to tell them that.
Below are just a few of the Scriptures I have shared with them.
1 John 1
5This is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all. 6If we claim to have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.
Jude 1
4For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.
1 John 2
4The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
Romans 13
11And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.
Ezekiel 33
8 When I say to the wicked, 'O wicked man, you will surely die,' and you do not speak out to dissuade him from his ways, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. 9 But if you do warn the wicked man to turn from his ways and he does not do so, he will die for his sin, but you will have saved yourself.
Matthew 15
8" 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 9They worship me in vain, their teachings are but rules taught by men.'
I could go on, but I will address this matter more fully in additional posts. This sadly shows that there are many that claim to be Christian, but when they are asked to give up something, even something that stands in utter contrast the their beliefs, they choose the wide gate. Please check out these sites for more insight:
http://amawiggins.blogspot.com/
http://walkingcircumspectly.blogspot.com/
http://thereformation.blogspot.com/
http://bloggingteen.blogspot.com/
http://www.wayofthemaster.com/
http://www.myfortress.org/
I will end with these words of comfort from our Lord:
Matthew 5:10-12
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
This has been brewing for a while, but I will start back in July, 2004. My wife, myself and our son were over at my Mother's house for a family get-together. My brother, brought to our attention that our sister had allowed her son to attend Ozzfest. We did not even know this blasphemous concert was in town. My brother then went on to bring up the web site to Ozzfest. He showed us all of the blasphemous and satanic bands that were performing. He showed us the t-shirts that bore Ozzy's image on a cross. It grieved us. We were discussing the implications of allowing your child to attend such an event. We were talking about professing Christians lending support to these events that mock Christianity.
Well, my Mother stormed into the computer room and started to let us have it. She screamed at my wife and myself that we should not say anything and just pray for them (it was funny, but she did not direct any verbal assaults at my brother, although he initiated the conversation). We tried to explain to her that we needed to do more than just pray, we need to talk to them about this. How could professing Christians support such filth? Well, my Mother let off with a verbal attack that would not end. She was defending them, but attacking us. We decided that we just needed to leave. As we were attempting to depart, she followed us while continuing to thrust her finger at us while vocalizing her disdain at the top of her lungs. We left.
Well, about a month later, we saw my Mother. She took us out to dinner and apologized. She admitted that what she did was wrong. She admitted that my sister and nephew needed to be held accountable.
Well, it was soon Thanksgiving. The family was at my Mother's home, including my sister and nephew. Now we noticed things were a little different. First off, my nephew was dressed all in black, including black fingernails. My sister did not acknowledge us, not even our 20-month old son.
After dinner, we gathered in the living room for my nephew (brother's son) to open his Birthday presents (it was his Birthday as well as Thanksgiving). My sister gave him the gift from her. He opened it with my sister urging him to hold it up. He looked disgusted. He held up a Metallica t-shirt. My sister's son was screaming how great it was while my sister was gawking over her great gift. However, the recipient of the shirt did not like it. My sister's son was telling him he'd better like it because Metallica is "sweet". Keep in mind that all the players in this drama confess to be Christians.
I felt the leading of the Holy Spirit to not let this opportunity pass. I started to ask my nephews if they understood what Metallica stood for. Mockingly they assured me they did. I asked how they could extol the virtues of bands that mock the One they confess to serve. Again, I was mocked and told that Ozzfest was the best time of my nephew's life. I was near tears trying to reach them when out of nowhere my brother stormed up to me with his fist raised and using every four-letter word there is. He claimed he had been, "Waiting to go off on me for a long time". He then took a few swings at me all the while screaming that it was, "Only a shirt"! Now keep in mind that this is the same "Christian" brother that alerted us to my nephew attending Ozzfest in July.
Now, to make things worse, my Mother stormed up standing next to my brother screaming, "You don't do it like that"! Also keep in mind that she did not even hear my conversation with my nephews. She also screamed that I tried to hit her in July. Now this was a shock to myself and to my wife. I never tried to hit her. In fact, I was denouncing bands that promote violence. By this time the entire household was cussing up a storm at my wife and myself. My "Christian" brother continued to threaten me and proclaimed that he was going to, "Rule in hell".
I went up to my nephew and gave him tearful hug. I let him know that I loved him and wanted him to live forever with Christ.
My wife and I never yelled. We never made a personal attack on anyone. But we were attacked both verbally and physically. We made our way out of the house once again. My wife is pregnant and with the atmosphere in that house, it was no longer safe to keep her there. Also, we did not need our child hearing that language.
Shortly after, we started to receive emails from my sister and mother attempting to defend their actions. They denied things that took place. Now the only problem with that is that first of all, God knows what happened. Secondly, the event was captured on video. Once they found that out, their story changed. Then is was all about justifying their actions.
We attempted to reason with them by using Scripture, but they do not want to be confused with what God has to say. They actually quote things that are not even in the Bible. They use wisdom they received from a song or on Oprah.
Their argument is that we should not "Judge" others. Of course while they are arguing this, they are judging us.
My sister says that we should, "Point out sin, but not Judge". First off, all we were doing was bringing to their attention that they simply cannot serve God and shell out money to those that will use it to further their anti-Christian rhetoric. Also, how can you truly have the Holy Spirit dwelling within you and not be grieved by what you are hearing and viewing? It is sad, but a true convert of the faith should not need anyone to tell them that.
Below are just a few of the Scriptures I have shared with them.
1 John 1
5This is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all. 6If we claim to have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.
Jude 1
4For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.
1 John 2
4The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
Romans 13
11And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.
Ezekiel 33
8 When I say to the wicked, 'O wicked man, you will surely die,' and you do not speak out to dissuade him from his ways, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. 9 But if you do warn the wicked man to turn from his ways and he does not do so, he will die for his sin, but you will have saved yourself.
Matthew 15
8" 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 9They worship me in vain, their teachings are but rules taught by men.'
I could go on, but I will address this matter more fully in additional posts. This sadly shows that there are many that claim to be Christian, but when they are asked to give up something, even something that stands in utter contrast the their beliefs, they choose the wide gate. Please check out these sites for more insight:
http://amawiggins.blogspot.com/
http://walkingcircumspectly.blogspot.com/
http://thereformation.blogspot.com/
http://bloggingteen.blogspot.com/
http://www.wayofthemaster.com/
http://www.myfortress.org/
I will end with these words of comfort from our Lord:
Matthew 5:10-12
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
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