Church or Social Club?

“The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state. It must be the guide and the critic of the state, and never its tool. If the church does not recapture its prophetic zeal, it will become an irrelevant social club without moral or spiritual authority.”

Dr. Martin Luther King

The United States Has Gone Left!

Wow! It has been a VERY long time since I have posted on my blog. I have recently been encouraged to start again by none other than my 14 year old son. Since the last time I posted, the United States has gone WAY LEFT! Wow! We have elected the most liberal president ever. We are well on our way to becoming a socialist nation. What would the founding fathers think if they were here today? I think they would be utterly disgusted.
How has it come to this? I will tell you how. Man and his evil wicked, selfish ways. Another big contributing factor is the church and its lack of preaching truth. Never would I have thought that a so called "Christian " church would allow an ultra liberal, abortion supporting presidential candidate to come and speak at the church.
I leave you with one question. How can a professing Christian vote for someone such as Barack Obama? God tells us in His word to choose righteous leaders. This really concerns me and I can only think of one answer. Many of those who profess, may not really be!

Lord of the Rings Film Star Rips Out Bible Pages That Speak Against Homosexuality

The Lord of the Rings star, Ian McKellen, has admitted to removing the pages of the Bible that speak against homosexuality. He has admitted publicly to doing this since 2004.

The verse that he says he does not like is Leviticus 18:22, "'You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination." He says that he does not like the verse or the fact that the punishment for it was death. He says, "I think it's rather obscene and pornographic, and shouldn't be there, so I remove it."

This is so absolutely ludicrous. Does he think that by removing those pages that God's word is changed and that all of the sudden homosexuality is okay? In the article he says that others do it too, and send him the pages as proof.

Mr. McKellen and all of you others who vandalize the Word of God:
I have news for you. God does not change. You do not change the Bible or anything in it by tearing out pages or parts you do not like. Homosexuality is still wrong! How are the words in the Bible "obscene and pornographic"? The act of homosexuality is what is obscene and pornographic!

The Bible still says the following, and it always will:
1 Cor 6:9 "Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals"
1 Tim 1:9-10 "realizing the fact that (civil) law is not made for a righteous man, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers"
Rom 1:26-27 "For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error."

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Religious Speech and Religious Freedom Being Attacked

A Federal District Court has ruled in favor of a Pennsylvania school which barred a parent of a kindergarten student from reading from the Bible as part of a social studies assignment. This assignment was supposed to have no content restrictions, but the school felt that to read from the Bible was too proselytizing. In this assignment the students were supposed to be able to share their interests and learn about other's interests. In this case, one of the student's interests was the Bible and he asked his mother to come and read some of the Bible. Part of the assignment included an invitation for parents to come and read part of their child's favorite book. The child's teacher instead suggested that the mother read a book about "witches and Halloween".

This is yet another example of an attack on religious freedom when it involves Christianity and the Bible. It is also an attack on freedom of speech when it involves Christianity or the Bible. I would be willing to bet that if the child had wanted to share about the Muslim faith or an interest in sorcery, then it would have been allowed. It probably would not even have been questioned!

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For Those Who Don't Like the Truth!

Over at Slice of Laodicea a reader wrote in and commented about how she thought it was wrong for the writer of that blog to "call out what they see as false teaching in the church today". The commenter felt that the blog owner and those who comment on the site "seem so filled with hate and rage". I commented on the post and because I felt it pertained to people who have a problem with this site, and some of the topics I discuss, I thought I would post my comment here on my blog. So, here it is:

"When you talk about the people at CT, you are talking about people I know, people I love, people I respect and admire, people I’m guessing most of you have never met." (part of the reader's comment)

Nowhere in the Bible does it say that on Judgment day God will be looking to see if you were , "respected, "admired", or "loved". He is going to be looking at whether or not He knew you and you knew Him, whether or not you are Born Again. Lots of "wonderful" people have been deceived into going the way of ecumenicalism, and trying to be more like the world to "fit in". Lots of "good" people are not really Born Again. "Christian" is a term too widely used today, with too broad of a definition. Far too many pastors have been deceived into believing that they have to change their message to suit "the times".

"But isn’t it possible to do so with compassion and the love of God in your hearts?" (part of the reader's comment)

When Jesus went in to the temple and saw what the moneychangers were doing did He confront them in a quiet, somber way? No! But surely it was out of love because God is love!

As for having compassion, when you look up compassion at Websters.com this is what it says..."COMPASSION implies pity coupled with an urgent desire to aid or to spare". This sure sounds like what Ingrid is doing and many others of us who point out the problems with the apostate church of today.
1 CORINTHIANS 5:9-13
I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people;
I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world.
But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a one.
For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church?
But those who are outside, God judges. REMOVE THE WICKED MAN FROM AMONG YOURSELVES.

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Great Quotes

"Christ is the very essence of all delights and pleasures, the very soul and substance of them. As all the rivers are gathered into the ocean, which is the meeting-place of all the waters in the world, so Christ is that ocean in which all true delights and pleasures meet." -JOHN FLAVEL

"Satan promises the best, but pays with the worst; he promises honour, and pays with disgrace; he promises pleasure, and pays with pain; he promises profit, and pays with loss; he promises life, and pays with death. But God pays as he promises; all his payments are made in pure gold." -THOMAS BROOKS

"He that knows nothing will believe anything." -THOMAS FULLER

"Every thing that a man leans upon but God, will be a dart that will certainly pierce his heart through and through. He who leans only upon Christ, lives the highest, choicest, safest, and sweetest life." -THOMAS BROOKS

"There are three things that earthly riches can never do; they can never satisfy divine justice, they can never pacify divine wrath, nor can they every quiet a guilty conscience. And till these things are done man is undone." -THOMAS BROOKS

"Heart-work is hard work indeed. To shuffle over religious duties with a loose and careless spirit, will cost no great difficulties; but to set yourself before the Lord, and to tie up your loose and vain thoughts to a constant and serious attendance upon him: this will cost you something. To attain ease and dexterity of language in prayer and to be able to put your meaning into appropriate and fitting expressions is easy; but to get your heart broken for sin while you are actually confessing it; melted with free grace even while you are blessing God for it; to be really ashamed and humbled through the awareness of God's infinite holiness, and to keep your heart in this state not only in, but after these duties, will surely cost you some groans and travailing pain of soul." -JOHN FLAVEL

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Marriage Before Ministry

"It is tremendously hard to balance a relationship," said the Rev. Cynthia L. Hale, pastor of Ray of Hope Christian Church. "If you happen to be more successful than your spouse or make more money or have greater prestige that is where the challenge comes in. There are many men who are secure in life, but there are also men who are insecure and they have struggled with having their wives [or girlfriends] excel in ways they don't."

This quote is taken from an article about Juanita Bynum being assaulted by her husband Bishop Thomas Weeks. First let me say that I hope and pray that Juanita Bynum and her husband can both repent, put God first and their marriage can be healed and restored. "With God all things are possible." (Matthew 19:26)

"It is tremendously hard to balance a relationship," That is true, and that is why God wants us to always and in all things put Him first. Second should come your family; spouse and then children. Thirdly is your ministry, and last but not least, the community, including your home church. "Who answering, said to them, Have you all not read, for he that made humans at the beginning, made them male and female? and he said, for this cause a man will leave father and mother, and he will cleave to his wife: and they will be two in one flesh. And so they not two now, but one flesh: therefore a human separate not, that what God has joined." Matthew 19:4-6.

It is wrong to neglect your marriage to build your ministry. It is also wrong to neglect your marriage to raise your children. Children need to see a healthy relationship, with God put first. When women submit to their husbands and men love their wives as Christ loves the church it creates a beautiful thing, a God centered marriage. And in case you are wondering, this is tried and true because it worked for my husband and I. God can take a mess, and when you follow His principles and put Him first, He can make it beautiful!

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