It's our fault, not His

This is a necessary blog, because confusion continues to run rampant.  There is a serious problem when we try to blame God for the horrible things that happen in this world.  Too many times Christians decide that hurricanes, earthquakes, and insane shootings are God’s judgment on people.  Oddly, they then have trouble answering why God would do that to someone.  Make no mistake, the world is under horrible judgment, and will continue to be so until the day that God reconciles the world to Himself.  We make too many assumptions about how much we know about God.

We know He loves us. He loves us so much that He sent His Son to die on the cross for our sins.  It was a very horrific, beyond understandable solution to the sin problem.  We know His death on the cross provided a method for us to be made right with Him, but that our sufferings will increase.  We live in an evil world, that is filled with pain and suffering.  Our answer is the peace that only Christ can give.  Some will beg and plead for Him to stay out of their lives, and He does, then we get upset because He doesn’t give the protection we so desperately desire.

The recent shootings were horrible by American standards.  I hate to bring this up, because it hurts us so much, but we are a country who turns our heads to worse atrocities around the world to young kids not even able to go to school.  Maybe we should think a little about that.

Is God to blame?  No.  It is man’s fault, not His.  This isn’t His world, not what He designed, not what He wants.  We don’t like His world, we wanted, and continue to want, this instead.  Is it the fault of all the Godless people in our nation?  Maybe, but how do we expect them to act?  They act the way they are born to act.  We can’t hate a cat because it cleans itself, or a bird because it flies.  Sin is the natural man we are born as.  It takes a radical change to become something else, that is where Christ comes in.

Hurt as it may, the majority of any moral responsibility falls squarely on the Christians.  It is the Christians who pray that God will bring this nation to its knees, this may be the last resort.  Natural disasters, financial crisis, and ruthless violence may just be the last resort.  Beyond that, it is Christians who have failed to step-up over the last few decades.  It is Christians who have turned away from God, letting Him be taken out of our society.  We vote for leaders who are against our morals, we show our children how to NOT follow God, and worry more about offending people than loving them.  I do not have to wait until I hear all the details on the recent CT shooting, I can tell you that evil had hurt him tremendously, and that ambassadors of Christ had not been able to share the healing that only Christ provides.  If we want this to end, if we want this country (my state!) and this world to change it will take radical change in the life of those who claim to be Christians.  We should examine ourselves if we want real change.

My prayers are with those who were impacted by this tragedy in CT.  We feel sorrow for the adults in the school, but the concept of all those young kids having their lives ended and horrifically impacted hurts badly.  I pity anyone who has not shed tears for these children and their families.  Gun control, hatred, evil, new security measures, and more education will not fix this.  Only real change in the hearts and actions of first Christians will have any impact.  Showing our love to all we can, especially those who are hurting, is a good start.  Are you ready to do your part?

US Government supports Christ!?

I know many of you are thinking, "No, it can't be true!" but it is.  I just picked up a book of stamps today with Mary and Joseph riding a camel with the star behind them.  The series is called "Holy Family", and has the word "Christmas" right on the front.  The slap in the face to all that is politically (in)correct and offensive to Christians brought a smile to my face.  I felt I needed to share the joy over something so simple, because the anti-PC campaign has already started.  We should fight to make sure our right to say, "Merry Christmas" when ever we want to, to whomever we want to, is just as accepted as saying, "Happy 4th of July."

Let's be honest, most Christians won't even notice what the government did.  They will be too busy looking for all the offensive omissions we are surrounded by on a daily basis during the holidays.  I'm sure there will be no chain letters demanding we overwhelm our elected officials and the postmaster with calls, faxes, and emails supporting the decision to blatantly support our beloved Christ's birth.  We should praise them.  Not for taking a bold stand, but for recognizing that this is a special time for Christians, and acknowledging we have just as much right as anyone to celebrate our special days.

I encourage all of you chain mail writers to do something positive this time.  Thank our officials for reminding our country what Christmas is all about.  Then you can send this to all your friends and relatives who hate Christmas and let them know Jesus came for them, and even the post office wants them to know it.

I want to share some of my OPINIONS on the election.  I know some will be unhappy with what I say, but some of it needs to be said.  Take it as how I see it.  I voted for Mitt Romney, but he lost.  I know that is fine, because God is still in control.  It will have to get a lot worse before America is ready to fall on its knees before God and repent from all the evil.  We obviously don't have it bad enough yet.  Having said that, don't be offended as your read on...

It's been a while since I've posted, but I feel this is a good time to share some of my thinking.  First off, let me share a quote from the Baptist Press...

Fred Luter, the Southern Baptist Convention's first African American president, said the Bible encourages Christians to pray for those in authority regardless of their political affiliation.

"As citizens of the United States, it's now time for us to put away our yard signs and buttons and [pray for] our president," Luter told Baptist Press. "Our nation is in trouble, and we need Believers to pray God's will be done in America. We need to understand it's only going to happen because the people of God start praying for revival in America."

Luter, senior pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans, said God made a promise to His people, not to the government, then quoted 2 Chronicles 7:14. 

"'If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.' So, even though we've just elected a president, it's not dependent on the president, but on the people of God doing our part," Luter said.



I am not afraid to admit that this was the worst election I have ever seen.  It is not easy to choose between a Christian (very liberal, but he is) with morals I and the Bible strongly oppose, and cult leader.  The possibility of 2 Supreme Court judges being replaced over the next 4 years ultimately influenced my decision more than anything else on the moral end.  I would like to encourage Christians to step back from the ledge though.

I am not a prophet, but I don't see Obama's victory as bringing the US under the rule of the Muslim Brotherhood during his term.  In fact, with the GOP maintaining control of the house, it will be a stalemate in Washington for at least a couple more years while both sides argue and fight and the majority of America stays in a recession looking for answers.  Pray that God will change our president's heart more in the area of abortion than anything else, secondly his relationship with God's chosen people and the nation of Israel.

What if Romney won?  My personal opinion is that some real moves in the area of moral issues such as abortion would have happened.  I would like to say Roe vs Wade would be overturned, but it will take an act of God, not of government, to turn this country to Him.

Let's face it, America no longer has a majority of people who have conservative Christian values.  That is not governments fault, it is ours.  It is not on government to share Christ's love, then His teachings, it is on the church.  Our country voted for the values and opinions it cherishes.  I know that THESE moral issues weren't the main voting issues for many, but maybe they should have been for followers of Christ.  God gave us Obama again, what we asked for.  You may be wondering, how is this supposed to encourage believers?

I was saddened by the way some used religion as their basis for supporting Romney.  They didn't like the way Obama lived out his (liberal) Christianity.  I didn't either.  They decided to support the one they made plain in prior elections and nominations to call an anti-christ, not the anti-christ (quoting 1 John 2:22) for religious reasons.  Forgive me if I was bothered by such a thought.

Mitt Romney as president would have made a anti God, anti Jesus, anti Christian, anti Jew (unless you are talking about native americans!) cult gain ground as being normal.  Christians would have been lumped in with a religion that teaches God had sex with Mrs. God and made lots of kids, Jesus, Satan, you, me, and Mitt being some of them.  Mitt was a missionary and teacher in his church, bringing people to Christ, but sending them away from Him!  I find a golden lining to the results of the election.  Romney as president would have been damning to the cause of Christ.  I honestly believe more souls would end up in Hell if a Mormon became president.

These are my thoughts, I realize they are not popular.  I am still upset that either candidate won, but we had no choice.  I sorta wish I would have voted for Big Bird.  I didn't, I voted selfishly for the person I thought could help our country financially, help the Christians have a better life, see our moral values be brought back to where our founding fathers placed them, even thinking it might send people to Hell.  Would he have been a better president?  I know he would have been.  Would he have done horrible things to the cause of Christ?  I know he would have.  More people will be in Heaven because Obama won this year.  There is a silver lining.

Not a small issue

I'm an emotional person, I have no problem admitting that.  There are times when my emotions get the best of me and I am not able to act the "appropriate" way.  I used to laugh about my messages at Sonrise Bible Church in Rotterdam because I got emotional in half of the messages I preached.  I have no problem admitting I am emotional, but it is hard to preach when you have to worry about electrocuting yourself by getting tears in the microphone.  Forgive me if I care too much about some issues (yes, that is sarcasm).  There are things that always get me upset.  I cried when I watched "My Girl".  Call me a pansy for crying, or even for watching it in the first place, but that's me.  The thought of murdering innocent children bothers me.  It should bother you.  The only thing worse than a child's funeral is a funeral where you are pretty sure the person was lost and headed to eternal separation from God's love in Hell.  That bothers me.  It should bother you.

There are many moral issues the church in America is faced with today.  Divorce rates, adultery, fornication, homosexuality, financial integrity (yes, it's a sin to lie on your taxes), hatred and maliciousness in people's hearts, dare I mention selfishness, materialism, or gluttony?  As I mentioned this weekend, these all seem to pale in comparison to the genocide happening in America.  We are shocked and horrified at what happens in places like Rwanda and Darfur, yet seem to be unhappily settled with the the over 50 MILLION murders of children in our own country.  How did the murder of children ever become an option?  How immoral did we become where murder of children is a "moral issue", not to mention a political one?  The disintegration of morality in America centers around the fact that we no longer respect human life at all.  I don't blame our government (not for this).  Just because something is "legal" doesn't make it right.  Yes, we should work to have our government declare that murder is illegal, no matter how young or old the victim.  Our government does not determine our morals, we do.  If a baby has a chance to live, then we do not have the right to kill it.  It's not an opinion, it's normal decency.  I have several friends that have lost babies to miscarriages, many forced because of the impossibility of the baby to live and the safety of the mom.  Most of them can't understand how anybody could end a healthy pregnancy by killing the child.  We ought not to kill children.  What does that make us if we even argue that point?  I am waiting for an enemy to attack America on the premise that they are attempting to stop the immoral murder of millions of helpless children.  I can't say that I would disagree with them (I don't want that to happen, but it is better than the continued genocide).

I do take some solace in knowing these young lives are in Heaven, not having to deal with our messed up world.  I know many people who are waiting to see their aborted children there, and that is the only peace they can find in the midst of their regrets.  Thankfully, God forgives us even for this (and everything else!).  As a church, a country, and a people we need to seek his forgiveness for all our sins, especially this.

Patrick Henry on freedom of religion

I usually avoid to much debate in many of the political issues, but I came across this while preparing for this week's message.

"It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For that reason alone, people of other faiths have been afforded freedom of worship here." - Patrick Henry 1776

God has blessed this country for centuries due to the guiding principles founded on Him and His Word.  For this country to be restored fully, it will require those who follow Him to live the way He has called them to live.  It is not the failure of the non-believers that hold us back, but the failure of believers to live out their Christianity in a real and powerful way.

Cream Cheese and Hell

We had a nice day at the cream cheese festival last weekend.  The boys had fun playing on the bouncy bounces. Westley actually ran from them to get to the playground so he could just play on the slide.  It was great enjoying the day.  It did bother me having Hell on my mind the entire time.  It's amazing the way people disrespect such a horrible place.  We forget all too easily how real it is (no apologies to Rob Bell).
Crowds are an interesting thing.  The energy that comes from them seems to energize everybody.  For a Christian it can also be a reminder of how important our task is.  I can remember it hitting me one day in high school.  I was sitting outside the commons area watching a couple thousand people going about their lives, and I realized that many of them would end up in Hell.  It broke me.  How will they know if nobody tells them?  Barna reports that roughly 1 out of 4 adults do something to evangelize a lost person every year.  That seems like a decent number, except that it represents 3/4 of believers who go a whole year without sharing their faith one time.
One reason this happens is because Christians aren't afraid of Hell.  They are afraid to talk about it, but not afraid of people going there.  There is nothing wrong with enjoying the cream cheese in life (whether eating it or throwing it at people), but we must constantly be mindful of the eternal destination of the people around us.  We must remain broken for the lost, or we lose any credibility of our own beliefs.  We must remember that it is us that God uses to reach others, if we don't do it than more people go to Hell.  We can't save them, but God uses us to spread His love.  "We Will Never Forget"

New Challenges I Get To Experience

This past weekend Pastor Bob Stoudt spoke in our service.  He has done a great deal not only for our church, but for many other churches and individuals in the North Country.  A few people commented that it would be nice for me to "not have to" speak.  Personally, it drove me crazy.  I have gotten used to being able to share how God is speaking to me every week.  It probably didn't help that we didn't have Sunday night service either.  I love being able to share the Word of God with others.  Pastor Stoudt was talking about how long it had been since he had been able to speak in a church, I'm sure it was eating at him, and he did a wonderful job sharing yesterday morning.  I guess it all gave me plenty to talk about in my blog.

We are in the middle of our building project, literally in the middle of it.  We are paused while we seek clarification on the fire code for the state.  We want to do what's right, but we don't want to do unnecessary work if we don't have to.  I have been through several building and rehabilitation projects over the years (6 in 13 years).  This is the first time I have had to fill the role of "fundraiser" though.  I don't like it.  I like realizing God will provide all that is needed, and that those He leads to give will give.  I don't like being in the position of reminding people to give.  I have plenty of issues in my life I have to deal with, but by the grace of God, giving has never been one of them.  I have always loved to give, especially to the things of God.  He has always blessed me for it.  He has always taken good financial care of my family and me.  I know how faithful He is if we are following His will, and I enjoy sharing that with others.  I believe that is the best way to help others learn to give, let them see what God does when people do give. I can look back and remember programs I grew up being a part of.  "Try it you'll like it" when people would be able to tithe, and if they felt they needed the money back over the course of a couple months, the church would refund them the money.  God took care of people willing to join in.  "All tithe Sunday" was another fun one when the members were encouraged to tithe that week, whether they normally tithed or not.  I saw God do great works while doing those programs.  Money is just a difficult subject to address, but Christ dealt with the subject often.  Guess if I want to be like Him that means I have to do it too.  I "love" it when He stretches me!