Enemies of the Home

With our theme this year taking us through three thoughts, Faith-Family-Future.  We as a church find ourselves looking at the home during the months of May through August. 

The American family has been under satanic attack for the past several decades.  With the invention of the television to the technology we have available to us today the face of the traditional family has changed.  I know sometimes when I glance around our home I see everyone of us, from our three year old to myself engulfed in a screen. 

Now don't get me wrong, I appreciate technology, after all I am typing on a laptop.  I use an iPad, have a television with satellite...we as a family are on the proverbial grid if you will.  But there are dangers in this that can be detrimental to a family if not carefully guarded.

So here are some simple thoughts as a family to place guards to protect against the Enemy of Technology in the Home.

• Put a guard before your eyes and the eyes of your children.   

Psalm 101:3 "I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me."

• Have a set time to turn off the switch and spend time as a family.

(Game night, read a book (One that is made of paper :-)), Tell some family stories, go for a walk together.)

• Ask your children what they are watching and looking at.

 Proverbs 4:23 "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life."

It may seem simple but it is our responsibility as parents to teach and guard the heart of our children and lead and guide them to the Heavenly Father.

• Lead by example.

There are many times we as parents need to take some down time.  In the 1980s a statistic came out that with the invention and implementation of the personal computer by 1985 we would be working less than 30 hours per week because of the convenience of technology.  Just the opposite has happened.  I am answering emails late into the night, social media keeps us constantly connected but many times we are disconnected from the flesh and blood family siting in front of us.  Mom and Dad turn it off and spend time talking together. 

Just some simple thoughts that I believe if implemented with help us protect our families from the enemies that are attacking our home. 

 

Walking in the Light.

We live in a world that though surrounded by light is in spiritual darkness.  Recently I came across an interesting statistic released by the Barna group regarding American Christians and Bible reading.  The study showed that 61% of Americans, who claim that their religious beliefs play a great role in their life, have read their Bible through.  http://www.biblesociety.org.au/news/one-in-five-americans-have-read-the-bible-cover-to-cover-and-thats-not-just-christians

This was startling to me because based upon the society I see each day I thought the number would be much lower.  My thought is that if Americans are reading the Bible as these studies show they are, (and I understand number can certainly be skewed) then why is our country so Biblically illiterate in our lifestyles? 

The fault does not lie in the door way of our government, schools or places of higher learning it lies in the doorway of our churches and Christian homes.  Americans Christians have become enamored with the status quo.  We want to be accepted so much and do not want to be different from the society that we live in.  But we are to be "Salt and Light" in our generation.    1Peter 2:9 "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:"

I understand this is not popular in society today even among Christians but ask yourself this question, "What Biblical sacrifice have I made for Christ lately?"  Lets face it we as a generation are using the Bible to make excuses for sin in our lives and though we are reading the Bible we are not obeying the Bible, we are not, "...walking in the light as He is in the Light...". 

So the issue is not reading the Bible, it is believing the Bible.  If we are spending time musing and meditating upon Gods word then it will change our lives.  It is different from any biography or text book we may read, it is the Word of God.  (Heb. 4:12)  May we determine to not simply have a head knowledge of the Word of God but a heart knowledge (Prov. 4:23) that will change us from the inside out.

Family Ties

Growing up in a home centered upon Christ and Christian principles was one of the greatest blessings I could ever imagine.  I am the man I am today because of the rearing of my mother and father. 

Today's family is vastly different from the families of days gone by.  I understand generations change.  My generation was looked at by previous generations and frowned upon.  The very make up of the family has changed.  The Supreme Court is now deciding what a true "family" will be defined as.  We are seeing our society change its concept and ideas of family right before our very eyes. 

God has established a pattern for the home, He established it in the first three chapters of the book of Genesis and He never changed it.  Mankind changed it, we skewed and tainted what God created in perfection but He has always held to the same pattern. 

In our services for the next four months we will be talking about the family and the ties that bind our families together.  The one constant in our homes has to be the teaching of the Word of God with parents following the teachings of Gods word as well.  The reason we are loosing the next generation is because we, as parents, are sometimes one way on Sunday, and a completely different way the rest of the week.  Our children never see us pray, they never hear us read the Bible, they never see us praise God for what he has done.  They only see us mummer and complain and drudge through our week.  The problem could be summed up like this, unfortunatly, "Church is just something we DO, it is not who we ARE."  Christ is more concerned with me being like him than He is me just attending a service.   

As we enter into this week I want you to read with Rebecca and I as we study through these passages of scripture with our children. Let us all strengthen the Family Ties that God has given for us in His Word. 

Monday- Begin by spending time thanking God for what He has done.  Go around to each family member and have them write down things they are thankful for.  Post it in a predominate place in your home and look at it through the week.  Add to it as the days go by. 
Reading and Meditation: James 3

Tuesday- Begin by spending time talking about what God is working in your life areas of strength and weakness.  It may be difficult at first but see how the Lord opens your heart of your family.
Reading and Meditation: Proverbs 25:28

Wednesday- Mid week service at 7:00

Thursday-Friday - Camp meeting at Camp Victory.  Bring your family for a great time. 

Let us all Remember

One of the greatest gifts that God has given us is the ability to remember.  It often is a double edged sword because it can bring us pleasurable memories as well as painful ones.  Depending on your view of life one either dwells upon the good or bad in life. 

This weekend we are celebrating Memorial Day.  A time to remember loved ones gone on before, those who have paved the way for our freedom with their lives and to honor them in many different ways.  As a preacher I continue to have freedom of speech today because of the lives of patriots gone on before. 

So, this weekend let us all remember those who have given us the gift of freedom.  May we honor them as we should and as they deserve, but let us not fall into the trap of only remembering on this special holiday.  May we do it with each gospel tract we pass out. With each door that we knock upon to tell the dwellers there that there was one who paid the ultimate price for not only their freedom but for the deliverance from eternal punishment.  The greatest memorial is the cross of Calvary.  And Jesus is the greatest gift that has ever been given. 

As a former president so eloquently stated, "Freedom is not Americas gift to this world, freedom is Gods gift to all mankind." 
Because of Christ we are free.  Let us remember Him and Honor Him this weekend and every day of our lives. 

Christmas time is here...

One of my favorite "secular" Christmas songs is from the Charlie Brown Christmas special entitled, "Christmas time is here".  I know for those who know me well it will come as no surprise, both that I still enjoy Charlie Brown and that this particular song soothes my old Grinch heart this magical time of year. 

It is interesting to note that even upon its first airing in 1965 CBS producers were reluctant to air the program due to the fact that Linus recites the Christmas account from Luke 2 and Mr. Schulz, the creator of the Peanuts characters, had to stand his ground and require the show be aired as it was written. 

In December of 1965 the first airing of the Charlie Brown Christmas special saw fifty percent of American televisions tune in. (It probably helped that there were only a hand full of networks unlike the seven hundred channels we have today!)  The show was met with great reviews and it received and Emmy and Peabody award later that year. 

The point the song always brings to my remembrance when I hear it is that Christians at times, and I certainly include myself in this, miss the opportunity afforded us at Christmas.  Think of the Christmas account in scripture, all who were told of the birth of Christ.  The angels bringing the message to Mary and Joseph and the shepherds.  The celestial star pointing the way for the wise men to find the small child.  God wanted people to know he had sent redemption to them.  He did then and he still wants them to know today.  We are surrounded by the "world", each one around us needs to hear the good news of Christmas.  Yet we, as believers, allow ourselves to be so consumed by the events of the season that we miss the reason of the season.

There are certain current event issues of the day that I, as a regular American citizen, can not change, however I can change a life by introducing them to Jesus.  And when it is all said and done, isn't that what Jesus wants each of us to do...just simply tell others about Him.  That's the true Joy of Christmas...year round.

A Christian and our political responsibility.

This blog is a result of the current events we are seeing in the middle east with American embassy's being attacked and leaders of our country being murdered by Islamic extremist. There are those who have stated that our current administration is headed by a man who, from his own mouth at times, claims to be of a Christian faith.  Yet his policies and the direction he is leading our country are anything but Christian.  Below are a list of statements he has made regarding the Muslim faith and the Christian faith.

 

10 Quotes By Barack Obama About Islam

1. "Islam has always been part of America"

2.  "We will encourage more Americans to study in Muslim communities"

3.  "These rituals remind us of the principles that we hold in common, and Islam’s role in advancing justice, progress, tolerance, and the dignity of all human beings."

4. "America and Islam are not exclusive and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap, and share common principles of justice and progress, tolerance and the dignity of all human beings."

5. 'So I have known Islam on three continents before coming to the region where it was first revealed. That experience guides my conviction that partnership between America and Islam must be based on what Islam is, not what it isn’t.'

6. "Ramadan is a celebration of a faith known for great diversity and racial equality"

7. "As a young man, I worked in Chicago communities where many found dignity and peace in their Muslim faith."

8. "I look forward to hosting an Iftar dinner celebrating Ramadan here at the White House later this week, and wish you a blessed month."

9. "That experience guides my conviction that partnership between America and Islam must be based on what Islam is, not what it isn't. And I consider it part of my responsibility as president of the United States to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear."

10. "I also know that Islam has always been a part of America's story."


10 Quotes By Barack Obama About Christianity

1. "Whatever we once were, we are no longer a Christian nation"

2. "We do not consider ourselves a Christian nation."

3. "Which passages of scripture should guide our public policy? Should we go with Leviticus, which suggests slavery is OK and that eating shellfish is an abomination? Or we could go with Deuteronomy, which suggests stoning your child if he strays from the faith?"

4. "Even those who claim the Bible's inerrancy make distinctions between Scriptural edicts, sensing that some passages - the Ten Commandments, say, or a belief in Christ's divinity - are central to Christian faith, while others are more culturally specific and may be modified to accommodate modern life."

5. "The American people intuitively understand this, which is why the majority of Catholics practice birth control and some of those opposed to gay marriage nevertheless are opposed to a Constitutional amendment to ban it. Religious leadership need not accept such wisdom in counseling their flocks, but they should recognize this wisdom in their politics."

6. From Obama's book, The Audacity of Hope: "I am not willing to have the state deny American citizens a civil union that confers equivalent rights on such basic matters as hospital visitation or health insurance coverage simply because the people they love are of the same sex—nor am I willing to accept a reading of the Bible that considers an obscure line in Romans to be more defining of Christianity than the Sermon on the Mount."

7. "I find it hard to believe that my God would consign four-fifths of the world to hell. I can't imagine that my God would allow some little Hindu kid in India who never interacts with the Christian faith to somehow burn for all eternity. That's just not part of my religious makeup."

8. "Those opposed to abortion cannot simply invoke God’s will--they have to explain why abortion violates some principle that is accessible to people of all faiths."

9. On his support for civil unions for gay couples: "If people find that controversial then I would just refer them to the Sermon on the Mount."

10. "I believe that there are many paths to the same place, and that is a belief that there is a higher power, a belief that we are connected as a people."


The reason for sharing this is not to insult or ridicule our President.  He deserves the respect of the office he holds.  However, I would like for Americans to do something...THINK.  This country was founded by free thinkers, those who did not follow the status quo or simply go with the majority.  They allowed the Word of God to be a governor and guide in their lives.  This country was founded by those who held to the Word of God and the Way of God and though they were mere men, they desired to please and honor the Lord with thier lives. 

The sad reality is Christians, today and have forgotten our obligation to be "salt" (Matt. 5:13) and "light"(Matt. 5:14) in this world today.  May we as Christians begin to focus upon the Word of God and let it be our guide daily. 

I encourage you as a believer to begin to pray for the United States of America.  That God would be merciful to us and help us to be a people that He can bless.  We are living in the days in which Paul wrote to Timothy about in 2 Timothy 3:1-5.  It is "perilous times" but exciting times to be in the service of the King.  Lets remember who our Savior is and seek to please Him today with our lives.

Finished Strong

There are several examples in the Bible of men who started right but did not finish strong.  In society today we are seeing the pattern continued of those who have fallen, failed or simply chosen to disobey God and live in morale sin.  I believe we are hearing more and more of this because of the social media and technologically advanced day in which we are living in. 

I could spend the morning talking about the failure of Saul or of Samson or how Demas left Paul having a love affair for this present world but instead of focusing on the negative, as we as Independent Baptist seem to do more often, I want to think of all those who have finished strong. 

In 2 Timothy 4:6-7 Paul declares to Timothy, "For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.  I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith."  Paul declared that the fight he was in was a good fight, a worthy fight and a needful fight.  You and I are in this same contest today.  He declared he had finished the course, the race that God had laid out for him to do.  Remember at his conversion that then Saul asked, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?"  God showed him and he did not waiver from it.  Paul also declared that the faith that had been given to him he did not waiver from.  When we look at this great man of God we would think he was a hero to every preacher, yet there were those who were ashamed of him and questioned his bonds and how effective his ministry really was.  In 2 Timothy he speaks of Onesiphorus not being ashamed of his chains.  In Philippians he speaks of those questioning his chains and afflictions.  Yet through it all Paul remained faithful.  The testing of the servant made him stronger. 

So today Christian, may we think of those who have not fallen.  May we think of the faithful men who have stayed true to the word of God.  I think of men like my Pastor, Dr. Glenn Anderson, faithfully preaching the word for over 31 years at Liberty Baptist Tabernacle.  Planting that church in Stockbridge Georgia and founding the Atlanta Bible College.  Winning souls to Christ and because of him many are in the ministry today.  Today he continues to work with world wide missions, and continues to teach and train young men for the ministry.  He is Finishing Strong

I think of my wife's grandfather, Dr. Evertie Moore for over 41 years serving in the mountains of Kentucky.  There he lead souls to Christ, founded a Christian school and served God faithfully.  Today he is teaching new converts in his sons church and continuing to win souls to Christ.  He is Finishing Strong.

There are others who have been faithful, Dr. Lee Roberson, Dr. Tom Malone, Dr. Bobby Roberson and countless hundreds who we will not know this side of glory.  So when we get discouraged with those who have fallen, chose sin over serving, then lets remember those who have finished strong.  Lets take our eyes and place them upon our Savior who Finished Strong and let us determine each and every day that with the Lords help, we too will Finish Strong.