"Follow Me"

Sunday night, our church had a presentation from Dan the Animal Man. He was very passionate about his animals and God’s Word. At the end he said something that really moved me; we all get in our cars to go home and have blind faith that the other people around us will not hit us. We know that they will drive to the best of their abilities and obey the rules of the road. So Dan asked, “Why can’t we put our faith into Christ like this”? This is an amazing question! Jesus asked others several times in the Bible “follow me”. Some leaving their jobs, families, communities, and lives altogether. Matthew 4:19-"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him. Could you imagine just picking up and leaving to follow someone? Where would you go? How would your needs be met (food, clothing, etc.)? These men did not question and all was provided for them. They trusted Jesus and believed in him. I’m not saying to drop all of your responsibilities and put your family and lives in danger. But it’s the little things that matter most sometimes. Follow…His teachings. Follow…His guidance. Follow…His message. Follow…his laws. Read the Bible and follow. Once you see how easy it is, it will be second nature to you. He gave up His life for us so we could live. Now we must live for Him. “For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:19-20. So why would anyone not follow Christ? Some are ashamed? Afraid of getting labeled as a religious fanatic or “bible beater”? The true shame is in denying Him. "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Matthew 16:24-27. By all the evidence above, I think it would be in everyone’s best interest. If you are not a follower of Christ, then who is leading you and where are you going?? So I challenge you, can you follow?

Want to get closer to God

I was drawing a blank yesterday when starting to think about the message for today. This morning though, at 3:30am, I shot up out of a dead sleep. Do not get excited, was nothing earth shattering. My dog had crawled up in bed with us and wedged herself onto my pillow between me and my wife and licked me in the ear. Now if you are in a sound sleep and that cold snout gets to you, you will wake up, I promise you. But as i was laying there trying to get back to sleep it hit me. She was just wanting to be closer to us. She was not being bad or acting up and she was not looking for attention. All she wanted to do is be where we were and show us that she loved us. Why should we be any different in our lives when it comes to God? We see throughout the New Testament where people flocked to Jesus just to see him or to touch him. In Mark 5:27 we see a lady that was in need of healing. it says when she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak and was healed. She believed so much that she knew that if she could just be close enough to touch his cloak, she would be healed. The centurion in Matthew 8:5-13 traveled far just to ask Jesus to save his servant. His faith was so strong that he knew that Jesus just needed to speak the words and his servant would be healed. Both of these people knew that if they just were close enough to Jesus that all would be ok. We will not even go to church most Sundays. We do not spend time in Gods word so that we can make a connection to Him. We do not pray often enough and talk with him like we need to. We do not do enough to try to be closer to Him. As you go through your day today, take the time to do the little things that you need to do to be closer to Him. Read your bible, pray, whatever you can do to show that you love Him and want to be close to Him. God showed his desire to be close to us by sending His son and giving us His word. What are doing for him?

Stand firm and hold to the teachings

2 Thessalonians 2:15 - So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter. Ok, so it’s Sunday. You got up, went to church, saw some friends, sang some songs, and if you are a Baptist like me, went out to eat (Baptist LOVE to eat). However, did you listen to the message that was being given? Too often, we go through the motion and do what is expected without ever taking the time to listen to what is being taught. Those teachings are what help us to be prepared for the stuff that comes our way that would try to pry us away from God. We are too busy with our own lives and our own things we have going on to stop and listen. I know I am guilty of this. My attention span is not that long most days and as a result, I drift easily. In our passage today, we get a look at a letter to others to encourage them not to drift. 2 Thessalonians 2:15 - So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter. Here we see Paul writing to the church of the Thessalonians. He tells them to be strong and to stand firm in the teachings they have passed to them. These are the teachings from the Bible that was revealed to them by Jesus. Only by standing firm and holding onto God’s word can we ever make sure that we can stand against Satan and his evil ways. We all drift at times, it’s like we can’t help ourselves. We can help each other though as Paul was trying to do with his letter. 1 Thessalonians 5:14 says “And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone”. This means that we are to look out for one another. Warn those that are slipping in their faith or have lost their way. Embolden the timid that are afraid to follow His word and teachings as we are called to do. Lift up those that are weak and fall easily and strengthen them so that they may walk with the righteous. Moreover, be patient with those that are struggling in the word. We are our brothers (and sisters) keepers. We all make up the body of Christ as members of his church. Stand firm, listen to the teachings, and hold onto them for all you are worth. If you do, no one will be able to pull you from God’s side.

Revelations 20:12 - We will all be judged

Revelations 20:12 - And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is [the book] of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. Last night a group from our church finished up a summer long study on the book of Revelations. As I was doing my prep work for last night, this verse stuck out to me. It is saying all of us; regardless of who we were on this earth will stand and be judged the same. In our lives we see movie stars, or star athletes get treated one way and regular folks treated another way. We see those with wealth and power get away with things that the hardworking everyday person can’t. It is not fair, it is not just, but too often that is the society that we live in today. What we see here though is that none of that will matter come judgment day. We will all be held to the same standards. Money will not buy us out, fame will not bail us out, nothing we can say or do will matter at that time. We all have an official record in heaven and He is keeping the books. What we do while we are here matters. If we live for Christ and His kingdom, we will have a place with Him for all times. If we do things our way, live in sin, and turn from God, He will turn from us. It says in Revelations 20:15 “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire”. I do not know about you but the idea of spending the rest of time in a lake of fire (Hell) is not appealing to me. What side of the ledger are you on? Are you bound for the fires or bound for glory? Are you living right with Him or just living for right now? Take the time to ask yourself these things. We do not know when He will come only that He will come like a thief in the night (1 Thessalonians 5:2), so make sure that you do not waste the time we are given. Get right with God, stay right with God, and live right with God. The alternative is not as appealing.

1 John 2:17 - The world and its desires will pass away.

1 John 2:17 - The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever. Ever look back at an old yearbook or old pictures and remember all the stupid stuff that we thought was SO important? We HAD to have the right clothes, or the right car, or get into the right schools. It was always something that was the most important thing at the time that we had to do. But now that we are older and wiser, we can stand back and realize those things were trivial. We can laugh at how we acted at the time. Our passage today is a great reminder for us. 1 John 2:17 - The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever. Just like our younger days, the world, time, and our desires will pass away at some point. With good reason, the old saying goes, “you can’t take it with you when you are gone”. The last part of our verse though is what gives us hope. Here it says that the man who does the will of God lives forever. Understand, this is not saying that if you do real good, help others and give to charity that you will go to heaven. We can’t by our way into heaven. It is saying, we submit ourselves to Him, accept Him into our lives, and believe that He died for us so that we may live. If we live our lives in a way that reflects God and do His will while we are here, we will not die. We will dwell in the kingdom of Heaven forever with our creator. We are here but for a short time in the eyes of God. When we are called home, those things that mattered so much to us at the time will look small and silly. We will laugh at how we were. It is said that perception is in the eye of the beholder and that perception is reality. If that is true, I say we make our perception of our time here through the eyes of God.

Psalms 55:22 - Cast your cares on the Lord

Psalm 55:22 - Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall. Have you ever had a period in your life when you just felt beat down? You have more things to do than you have time to do them and get stressed out? You want to say the heck with it and walk away, but you know you can’t. So you press on making yourself miserable. Things get done, but not as good as you could just so that you can say it’s done. We all do this. It can be homework or a big school project. For those going to college, it can be moving, a huge course load, or exams. For adults it can be bills, a presentation, or marital problems. Bottom line is that we all struggle with something from time to time. But the question is; how do we deal with these things that pop up in our lives? Some of us do not deal with the stress and pressures. We run from them, we abuse substances, we hurt the ones we love and ourselves. We don’t have to go that route though. Our verse says we can cast our cares on the Lord. We know He can take it. He already knows what we are going through. Matthew 11:30 says “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light”. He can handle everything even if we can’t. So why do we insist on going at things alone most times? We saw in a previous verse that He will not forsake us (Hebrews 13:5-6, message from early this week) and we know that He has love for us like nothing we can understand. He wants us to come to him. He is always calling out to us. We just have a hard time getting out of our own way so that we can hear him at times. Do not get frustrated. Do not let the cares and burdens of this life pull you down. You do not have to feel like there is no hope for you. Whatever it is in your life that is going on, cast it all on the Lord and let him sustain you.

Psalms 37:8 - Refrain from anger

Psalms 37:8 - Refrain from anger and turn from wrath: do not fret—it leads only to evil. I spent my morning at the DMV getting my drivers license renewed. I do not think that there is a more frustrating place in the world for me to visit than the DMV. I was lucky today though. I was able to get in and out in 20 min (not counting the 40 min I had to wait outside in the line just to get in). I was able to keep my cool though and get through the process. When I got back, i thought about others out there that might struggle with their frustrations at times like me and wanted to pass along some words from the bible that would speak to this topic. In our verse today we are told to refrain from anger and turn from wrath. It is to easy to lose control and lash out. Too often we are ruled by our emotions and we let them get the best of us. But when we do this we play right into the Devil's hands. If you are a Christian, folks are always looking at you. When you blow up and go off, what kind of witness are you providing to the world around you? Besides, you never know how your actions will affect someone else. The person that moves you to anger could be having a bad day or could be hurting. We need to be able to be patient with the world around us. Proverbs 14:32 says "a patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man displays folly". By being patient and understanding we can calm a situation. We can keep an issue from escalating. We can keep ourselves under control. And we can better reflect Christ to the world around us.

Insanity defined

Albert Einstein once said, "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results". Implied is, that if you were to do something over and over, the same way, with the same parameters, any sane person would expect the same results. But what if those results are bad? What if the end result is not a desirable effect? What then? The reason I bring this up is because we as a people are insane. We must be! We keep electing the same people over and over again expecting a different result. Republicans have not controlled the US House since 1994. Since they lost the majority, we have seen the country lose some of its luster. Now the argument that the Left often makes is, "the country is in bad shape because of Bush and his policies." But stop and think about it, who approves the President's policies and plans? Unless the President signs an executive order, the legislative branch of our government (Senate and the House) has to approve his plans and policies. The average tenure for a sitting Senator is over 12 years. A sitting US Rep is over 10 years. So regardless of which President you blame for the mess that we are in, if we go by the average tenure, (Bush for 8 years or Obama for 2), the officials in the House and Senate have been there for all of it and have enabled the President's actions. Yet we continue to vote the same people back into office, election after election. Why? Why are we so blind to what is going on around us? Why don't we realize that the same people that led us down this road the last 10 years are the same ones asking us to vote them back into office so they can "fix" what is broken? It would stand to reason that if they knew what they were doing in the first place, they would not have anything to fix. If we take this upcoming election as a chance to vote in some fresh ideas and some new perspectives, we change the equation. We no longer have the expectations of getting the same sorry excuse for an answer over and over again. We can stop the insanity and get America back on track!

1 John 1:8 - We are only deceiving ourselves

1 John 1:8 - If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. We are by no means perfect. There was only one to walk the earth that was perfect and He was sacrificed for our sins. We rationalize our actions to where we can convince ourselves that we do not really sin. Or we will say "that doesn't really count", but it says in our passage that all we are doing is deceiving ourselves. If it is a sin in His eyes, why should we think that it shouldn't be a sin in our eyes? We have all heard the pledge to the Bible at some point. Look at one of the last phrases in that pledge. "That I might hide its words in my heart so that I may not sin against God". If its spelled out in the bible as a sin, then its a sin. Period. You cant pretend it is not or claim that you didn't know. Thats why we were given His word in written form so that we could know. So that the truth can be in us. 1 Thessalonians 3:13 says "May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.". This is my hope for you as well. We know when we sin, even if we do not want to admit it. Ask Him to strengthen you, to give you the courage to live a Christ-like life, and to strive to live a life free of sin.

Hebrews 13:5-6 - He will never leave us or forsake us

Hebrews 13:5-6 - He will never leave us or forsake us God promised us in several places in the Bible, that He will never leave us nor forsake us. In Hebrews 13:5-6, he promised us "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you". In Matthew 28:20 he promised us "and surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age". He is always with us, we know because he tells us so. What does that mean to us? Several things. First it means we can not run from God. He knows what we are going to do before we do it. He sees us in the darkest places as clearly as He does when we are in the light. when we sin, we put ourselves into the dark places. We can't always get ourselves out of our situations. But He can. It also means that when times get tough, He is there to carry us though. We just have to call out to Him and He will hear our prayers, hear our calls and He will help us through the storms in our lives. When stuff gets rough we have a tendency to feel like no one loves us, no one cares. But it says in Nahum 1:7 that He is our refuge. He is our shelter in the storm and that we can expect Him to care for us if we would only trust in Him to do so. Finally, it means we do not have to be afraid. Again, He is our refuge, our protection. God is with you, He loves you, He is willing and always ready to help you (Isaiah 41:10). So take heart and be strong. You have God watching your back. If it gets bad, we can be sure that He will be there and that His offer for refuge will never fail. He will never forsake you, never leave you. All you have to do is trust Him.

Romans 8:32 - We have a giving God

Romans 8:32 - He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? We see throughout the Bible where God has provided for his people. In Exodus we see where He gave His people manna from Heaven. Later we see where He gave His people the Promised Land, the land on milk and honey. And finally we see where He gave us the greatest gift of all, His son Jesus, and the gift of eternal life that came as a result of His death for us. What we do not keep in mind often enough is that His gifts did not stop there. Each day is a gift in itself. He loves us and wants to give us life to the fullest. All we have to do is believe in Him and ask. Not buying it? It says in Matthew 18:19 "Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven". So why are we so hesitant to call out to God for help in our lives? Understand, we are not talking about asking "O Lord....we really need to win the lotto" or "Dear Lord....I really need an A on this test". What we are talking about is asking God to meet your needs. You might not always get the answer you want but you will get the one you need. We are His children, He knows what we need and what is best for us. Is this not true for you and your kids? A child can ask you for a beer at 13 yrs old. Can you give it to them, yes, if you really wanted to. Should you give it to them? No way!! We are supposed to protect our children and provide for them. We do this out of love for them. So why is it so hard to know that our Father in Heaven would not provide for us? Today is Sunday. As you go through your day, take time to give thanks. We have a giving God that loves us and wants what is best for us. How awesome is that?

Resist temptations in your life

In Matthew chapter 4 we see the temptation of Christ by the Devil. This is a powerful section of scripture as it shows us that if Satan will be bold enough to tempt the son of God, he will surely come at us. In the scripture we see that Christ was prepared, He knew the Word inside and out. Satan could not trick him or convince him of a lie as He knew the truth. Do we? We are easy pickings compared to Christ. And since we are made in His image, Satan hates us just as much as he does God. So we know he is going to make a run at us and do his best to destroy us and turn us away from the Lord. Satan does not want you to be happy. He does not want you to know God. He does not want you know Gods word. So he tempts you, he lies to you, he misleads you, and he gets you to doubt Gods love for you. How do we fight this though? It says in Ephesians 6:11 to "put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes". We have to do as Jesus did, know the word inside and out. We have to be firm in our convictions and be prepared when Satan tries to tear us from God's side. We also need to be in prayer. Through prayer we can ask God to strengthen us and reinforce us against whatever comes our way. Through Him we are strong, on our own we are weak. Temptation will always be there. Whether it is something small like cheating on a test or something big like cheating on your spouse, you will be tempted. Know the scripture, be in the word, and make sure your armor is on. Satan will not stop coming after you, are you prepared when he does?

2 Corinthians 10:17 - Boast in the Lord

2 Corinthians 10:17 - "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord." What Paul is talking about here is bragging. We all brag to some extent. About our grades, our jobs, our family, or our accomplishments. We take pride in what we do and what we have. At times we can step over that invisible line and that’s when we run into problems. So when it says that Paul is boasting, why is it ok for him to do so and not us? After all, it says in James 4:16 "As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil." So what gives Paul the right to boast??? Notice what he is saying. He is not boasting in his accomplishes, he is boasting in the Lord. When we put the focus on Him and not us, it is ok to brag a little. He is the one that makes all else possible. In fact we are told to shout His name and His works from the mountaintops. Carry the news to all nations so that the world can learn of Him and His greatness. We have an awesome God! Don't be afraid to sing His praises. Get out there and brag all you want to for the Lord! Somehow, I do not think He will mind.

Galatians 1:23 - Anyone can be called to serve

Galatians 1:23 - They only heard the report: "The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy." To understand this passage we need to understand the writer. The book of Galatians was written by the apostle Paul. The same man that as a Roman, before he knew Christ, was considered a terror to those of the Christian faith. He would hunt down Christians and kill them or torture them for their beliefs. Needless to say, he was the last person anyone would have thought to become a messenger of the Lord. Long story made short, Paul meets Christ and is changed forever. He no longer persecutes Christians, instead he teaches them. He no longer hunts Christians, he leads them. It is an awesome message to us of what Christ can do in our lives! So what does Paul's change mean to us? It means God can use anyone at any time to further His kingdom. Whether it be a hard core roman like Paul or a middle school student. He can use a former drug addict or a mother of 3. If He chooses to use you, there is no limit on what you can do. There is no formal application that I know of to be a servant of God. There is no back ground checks needed (after all, He already knows all you did anyway), and no credit checks to go through. All that is required is that you give your life over to Him 100% and just allow Him to use you as He needs to. The problem is, we do not really know how to serve. We think that "being called to serve" means being a pastor, or being a missionary. While that is true, we need to understand that there are a lot of little ways we can serve as well. Be a Sunday school teacher, volunteer, be a friend, whatever it takes. You do not have to reach the world, you just have to be willing to reach out to those around you. If God decides to use you for more, He will let you know. He will open the door for you. When He does, are you prepared to walk through it?

WED NIGHT RECAP: 8/18/2010

Last night we studied 1 Peter 3:8-16. We see here that we are called to reflect God through service to others and that we are challenged to not repay evil done to us with evil. This is not an easy thing to do, to walk away or to love those that wrong us. It is too easy for us to lash out and lose control and do something we ought not to do. But when we do this, does it make the situation any better? The answer is usually not. We have to remember that as Christians, we are ambassadors of Christ and the kingdom of Heaven so when we “go off” we have to keep in mind how our actions reflect on Him. We also touched on service, and how when we serve others selflessly and willingly it reflects the passions and heart of Christ. We are willing to help or serve when it is convenient as a rule but hesitate when it involves a cost to us. In this passage of scripture though we see we do not have to worry about the cost, do not have to worry about the consequences because God has our back. It says He hears our prayers and watches over us and will be with us, and at the same time, those who would harm us for doing good, he turns his face from them. The last part of the lesson focused on living a life that is so above reproach that if anyone would talk bad about you, they would look foolish and be ashamed. In order to do this we have to tear down who we were and be built back up in the image of Christ. It is too easy to throw rocks at us without Christ as the foundation in our lives because we are sinful by nature. If you do things your way without Christ, you will fail and those that would be against you would have any number of things to use against you. But if we are really reflecting Christ, no one will be able to speak ill of us without looking foolish. Take the time to look at your life and see if you are above reproach. Ask yourself if you are serving others regardless of the cost. Evaluate your actions to see if you are reflecting Christ in how you live. We are all ambassadors of the kingdom of Heaven, how are you representing it in your life?

Galatians 5:1 - Christ has set us free!

Galatians 5:1 - It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Too often we take for granted the freedom that we have through Christ. We never stop to think about all the things we are able to do and all the goodness that we have in our lives as a result of that freedom. The greatest freedom we have is the freedom from sin. Through Christ's sacrifice, we are freed from sin! So why do we allow ourselves to keep going back to sinful ways? When we do this, we take on the yoke of slavery . We no longer have that freedom that we had when living in Christ. The sad thing is, that its SO easy to do. I am not talking about being a slave to an addiction, that is something we can all see and understand at some level. I am talking about the simple sins we do not think about as a rule. Take Ephesians 4:29 were it says do not let any unwholesome talk come out of you mouths. How often do we commit this sin? Whether it be by cursing, or through hateful words, or by lies, we do this all the time but we do not seem to think of it as a sin most times. But when we sit back and think about our actions, we feel that remorse, that depression in our guts that lets us know we did wrong, that we have sinned. We do not have to live like that though! That is one of the reasons why Christ died for us, to give us that freedom from sin. We are called to live like Christ lived. He gave us the ultimate example to go off of and we have His word to guide us. You are free because He loved us enough to set us free. We no longer have to be slaves to our sin. My challenge to you, pick up your bible, get into the Word, put down the yoke of sin, and live free as Christ intended.

Your Christian Voice: Galatians 5:1 - Christ has set us free!

Your Christian Voice: Galatians 5:1 - Christ has set us free!: "Galatians 5:1 - It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of sl..."

Philippians 3:14 - Keep you eyes on the prize!

Philippians 3:14 - I press on to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus Paul is writing here to the Philippians. What he is saying is that through all his trails and hardships he is keeping his eyes on the prize. His eternal reward in the kingdom of Heaven. It is very easy to get distracted or pulled down by th...e events of our every day lives but we are reminded here that this life is only temporary and that we have a great reward to look forward to. Strive to live above the mess, to focus your energy on running the race the right way and to always keep your eyes on the prize we as believers have waiting for us at the end of the race!

Galatians 6:3-5 - Test your own actions

Galatians 6:3-5 If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, for each one should carry his own load. one of my favorite passages of scripture. really puts us on the spot as far as i am concerned. we all get caught up in the competition that is life. "can you believe so and so got this? i deserved that" or "i know i work 3 times as hard as ...they do" or "i am not sure why they get all the attention, i did all the work"....stuff like that that we all do or think daily in some fashion. but we are reminded here not to worry about what someone else does or how they do it. we are charged to put our own lives, our own actions, our own accomplishments under a microscope instead of looking at others. we need to be able to stand on our own, pull our own weight and take pride in being able to live our lives according to His will.

2nd Corinthians 5:17 - We are a new creation!

2nd Corinthians 5:17 - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: the old is gone, the new has come! When we accept Christ into our lives and start to live our lives for Him and according to His will, we die to our old lives. we are seen as dead to sin and we are made a new creation. not one of sin or one of this world but we are born again as sons and daughters of the one true God. for all of my kids out there, please keep this in mind. you are precious in the eyes of the Lord. he has made you new, things that you struggled with in the past, the drama that every school year brings, all the mess that we have in our daily lives.....all that is your old life. you can not be a new creation and live the same way as you always have.

2 Timothy 4:2 - Always be prepared to preach the Word

2 Timothy 4:2 - Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage - with great patience and careful instruction. in other words always be prepared to lead folks to the truth by knowing the Word of God and being able to challenge those that speak false truths and do not fully understand. It also says to be able to encourage or lift up and motivate each other.But to do this we need to know that others will try us, not allow ourselves to be moved to anger and take great care in what you preach to others. Preach the truth and lead folks right because if you do not, you are the one to be held accountable.

1 Timothy 4:1 - You do not have to be older to provide an example for others

1 Timothy 4:1 - Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. Meaning that no matter how old or how young you are, no matter what your experiences are, no matter what your status in society is, you can be an example for others to follow. your everyday life, the way you carry yourself, the words you use, the folks you associate with, all of these things are being looked at by those around you. Being a Christian means that you are held to a higher standard and we need to live in a way that will reflect well on God at all times.

Ephesians 1:7 - We have redemption through His blood

Ephesians 1:7 - In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace What an awesome passage! It reminds us that we have a way out for our sins. That He died on the cross and was broken so that we would not have to face the same. It is His blood that washes us clean, that makes us whole. Through Him we get to know the Father. Through Him, we are forgiven. And through Him we are redeemed in the eyes of the Lord! I am not worthy of this gift but I thank God that He loves me enough to give it to me.

Galatians 5:1 - Christ has set us free!

Galatians 5:1 - It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

Too often we take for granted the freedom that we have through Christ. We never stop to think about all the things we are able to do and all the goodness that we have in our lives as a result of that freedom.

The greatest freedom we have is the freedom from sin. Through Christ's sacrifice, we are freed from sin! So why do we allow ourselves to keep going back to sinful ways? When we do this, we take on the yoke of slavery . We no longer have that freedom that we had when living in Christ. The sad thing is, that its SO easy to do. I am not talking about being a slave to an addiction, that is something we can all see and understand at some level. I am talking about the simple sins we do not think about as a rule.

Take Ephesians 4:29 were it says do not let any unwholesome talk come out of you mouths. How often do we commit this sin? Whether it be by cursing, or through hateful words, or by lies, we do this all the time but we do not seem to think of it as a sin most times. But when we sit back and think about our actions, we feel that remorse, that depression in our guts that lets us know we did wrong, that we have sinned.

We do not have to live like that though! That is one of the reasons why Christ died for us, to give us that freedom from sin. We are called to live like Christ lived. He gave us the ultimate example to go off of and we have His word to guide us.

You are free because He loved us enough to set us free. We no longer have to be slaves to our sin. My challenge to you, pick up your bible, get into the Word, put down the yoke of sin, and live free as Christ intended.

Stand Up and Be Heard

“Stand Up So We Can Be Heard!” I hear this many times a day listening to 106.1 talk

radio. So my question is, are you standing up? Being a Republican means nothing unless

there is action behind it. It is easy to sit back and say you are a Republican if you never

have to do anything or support your beliefs. For too long, many of us on the right have

stayed quiet. We believe what we believe and might have talked issues with friends or

family. Do we really ever step out of our comfort zone for fear that we might be labeled

as a racist or right wing fanatic or worse for what we believe. But why is that? Why

should we not yell out at the top of lungs for the things we feel strongest about? Think

about it, we have no problems telling others about our favorite restaurants, a good movie

to go see, an interesting book others should check out, etc. So why are we hesitant to

reach out to others about what we think of our government?

I am not saying that is always comfortable to stand up for what you believe in and that

it will be natural for you to do so. In fact, it will probably be awkward at first as it is not

something that we are accustomed to doing. But we have to get our side of the story,

our beliefs out there. The democrats are experts at this. According to folks like Rush

Limbaugh and Glen Beck, the liberals are a minority. However they are also the ones out

there pushing the hardest to get their opinions heard and acted on. The more discussion

we can generate the more likely we are to win others to our way of thinking, or at least

get them thinking period. But we cannot hope to make an impact if we are not willing to

take the first step and talk about the issues.

My challenge to you is this; take some time to really analyze what you believe. Do some

research; seek out others for information, or whatever you need to do to gain insight to

your stance. By doing this you will be able to stand your ground when someone questions

your stance on an issue. You will be more confident to challenge others as well as long

as you have the facts to back up what you believe in. It requires some work on your part

as well as some time but in the end, isn’t it worth it? We have a duty to our country and

ourselves to be as informed as we can so that we can make the best decisions when our

elections come up. We have an obligation to our beliefs to be able to support them and be

able to defend them. We need to stop being timid and be willing to take the fight to the

liberals for a change and not be dictated to anymore. I trust we will all do our part. If we

do, just think what November can bring.

Party of No

Think about your daily life for a second. Can you think of one thing in that the government does not tax or regulate? The air we breathe is taxed and regulated as is the water we drink. Do not think so? I would invite you to just drive by the huge Environmental Protection Agency offices that we have in the Research Triangle Park. We have the highest gas taxes anywhere in the southeast. The FCC regulates all we see and hear over the TV and radio to make sure we are not subjected to things they think we need not be exposed to. Whenever we leave the house to run to the store, we pay sales tax, we go to a movie, we have an entertainment tax, if we just decide to go to a park and not spend money, sorry, but our parks are controlled and overseen by department of parks and recreation. The point is, our government has its fingers into every possible part of our daily lives.

Republicans have been termed by President Obama and the left as the party of no. He is right, and we should be proud of that moniker and embrace it. We need to stand our ground and say NO to Obama care. We should be saying NO to cap and trade. We have to say NO to amnesty for illegal aliens that are already putting a huge drain on our states. And most of all, it is imperative we say NO to any other program that adds to our national debt or increases taxes on those of us that still pay them (more households ended up paying no taxes that those that did pay last year).

The question then becomes, what do we say yes to? We say yes to tax cuts. This will free up money to Americans to invest with or for business’s to be able to expand and hire new people. A great start would be to make permanent the Bush tax cuts that are set to expire the end of this year. We can greatly reduce the corporate tax and make companies want to keep business here in our country.

We need to say yes to a strong military and secure borders. This will give us the security that we as a nation and allow Americans more opportunities for work and a chance to gain their own economic security without having to rely on government to support them. Instead of granting amnesty to all, we need to get them out of the country. President Eisenhower got rid of millions of illegal’s while president in order to give American soldiers returning from war a better chance of finding work. Why can’t we do that now? According to the numbers we have lost 8 million jobs in America during this last recession. Unemployment is in double digits in most states even today in the middle of our “summer of recovery”. Now I know some will argue that Americans will not do the jobs that the illegal’s will do. Simply not true. If companies are forced to hire Americas and pay them real wages, Americans will go back to work. Do not misunderstand, other changes will need to happen, the so called nanny state mentality will need to be addressed in conjunction with this but it can be done. If people have any pride or ambition for more, they will go back to work, I honestly believe that.

Finally, we need to say yes to reducing the debt. This can be done without raising taxes contrary to popular thinking. By reducing the taxes and giving incentives for companies to bring in more business and hire more people, we create more tax payers. The more tax payers we the more money we collect. We also go into every program and make whatever cuts that we can, even if that means we do a blanket 5% or more cut to every department and every program. Then we stop aide and subsidies to those countries that wish us harm. We take that money and use it to pay down our national debt. Once that is done we use that money to pay back all the IOU’s that our elected officials have issued to social security. I know it seems drastic but we have to understand we live in drastic times.

We do not have to feel like America is lost. Have we taken a few hits? Yes, without a doubt we have. But the spirit that made us great is still alive. I am of the belief that this is still the greatest place on earth and that the American way of life we have always enjoyed is still worth fighting for. All it takes is for like minded people to stand up and say enough is enough. I am a member of the party of no and I am proud of it, how about you?

Social vs. Constitutional Rights

Recently, I was given a pocket-sized version of the US Constitution by BJ Lawson (he is running for US House of Representatives in district 4). It is embarrassing to admit but I had never gone through and read the Constitution in its entirety before. I had always assumed that I knew what my rights as a citizen were. Like when an elected official had over stepped their limits or when my rights were being abused. It turns out many of the “rights” I had thought I had are not really rights at all.

This makes me question the difference between social rights versus Constitutional rights. Surprisingly, I am not the only person in America that has not read this important document. Most people do not know what our Constitutional rights are. President Obama and other democrat leaders see the Constitution as a list of negative rights, meaning it says what the government cannot do. Others see the Constitution as an outdated document that is no longer relevant in today’s modern world. However interpreted, it does not change the fact that all the rights we have as American’s are spelled out in our Constitution and nowhere else.

It is natural for us to think of all of the social rights we think we are entitled to. We think we have a right to affordable health care. We feel that we have a right to a well-diversified work place that reflects the area in which we live. We think that we have the right to be protected from bad language or offensive ideas that have no place in our society. None of these “rights” listed above are written in our Constitution.  

The Constitution is still what it was intended to be when it was created. It is a living document that provides for us our rights as well as government’s responsibilities to us all. The founders of the Constitution gave us the power to change it as the needs and the will of the people needed it to. It is still as relevant then as it is now. Why do we so easily ignore it or allow our elected officials to make laws that skirt around it as often as we do?

Do not be like me. Do not wait 35 years before taking the time to read and understand the rights that we have in America as granted by our Constitution. Question everything that comes from your elected officials. Make sure that your rights and freedoms are not being taken from you or are not being sidestepped by some means. No one can protect your rights as good as you can, but you cannot protect yourself unless you know the facts. Arm yourselves with knowledge and you will be ready for any fight that comes your way.

All I Needed to Know To Be a Solid Citizen I Learned in Boot Camp

As we took time to reflect on the sacrifices that the American soldiers, sailors, and airmen made for us over the Memorial Day weekend, it dawned on me that if more of us lived our lives by the values they showed in their military careers, this world would be a better place. I was blessed with good parents, a stable home, a good support system, and family that kept me in line and showed me how to be a man. But I was also able to go and serve my country for 9 years, which meant I had to go to boot camp.
Most all of us have heard Robert Fulgham’s speech, “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten”. However, I learned more about being a man and a citizen in boot camp then anywhere else outside of home growing up. From Day 1 in the Air Force, they hit you with core values. Words like honor, service, and integrity. They expect you to be on time for your appointments, to keep yourself and your surroundings looking sharp at all times and to take pride in them. They teach you that you are part of a greater whole. You are not only responsible for your own well-being, but the mans beside you. They demand that you hold yourself to a higher standard of conduct than the outside world. You do not just represent yourself anymore, but in fact represent all soldiers everywhere as well as those that came before you. And most of all, they make sure that you know that there are consequences for your actions and that failure is not an option.
What if we were to put these lessons into effect for an entire nation? Every day in the political arena we see corruption. We walk out our door and hear and see things we should never be exposed too. I ask you, where is the honor and integrity in this country? When we have elected officials lying to us daily. Our President tried to wiggle out of trouble by saying it depends on what the definition of “is” is. There is cause for concern that the honor we were founded on is gone.
We were also taught that service above self was a core value. Instead we see our elected officials act as if we are here to serve them and to keep them in office. We put them in office to be our public servants, not to get rich from special interest groups or to fly around on our dime. When we ask them to consider term limits they refuse. Does that sound like service to you?
We need to get back to basics! To take responsibility for our own lives and start holding each other and our public servants to a higher standard. Do what you say and say what you do. Do not accept failure, or even mediocrity for that matter. Always reach for the stars. Accept the fact that we have consequences for our own behavior and show some self-discipline in our daily life. America is not lost, our values are not gone, but they have been tarnished over the years. As a republican, I feel it is up to us to lead the way, to shine the light for others to follow. Not all of us have gone to boot camp or ever will for that matter. Deep down, we all know some basic truths. The words: Honor, Integrity, and Service. You can understand them even if you never put on a uniform. You feel them inside you every day when you see something that violates these values. The soldiers we celebrated over Memorial Day gave their lives for these values; can you allow their sacrifice to go unappreciated any longer? I know I can’t.

New Spot!

I have started my own blog so that I can better share my faith and my news articles. Please make sure that you take a look, become a fan, and tell folks about the site! More posts to come soon!