The message of Christ is rightfully embedded in the songs of Christmas, the message of the Gospel in the power of lyric and notes, proclaiming the magic and majesty of what was done for us. Thank you Jesus! Enjoy this version of O Holy Night by Martina McBride, and the blessings of Christ the Lord be with you all this Christmas as we wait in joyful anticipation for His Glorious Return!
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.
There is one thing that we can do, one ally we have which is more powerful than all others. In Christ, we hold the ability to go before our Heavenly Father, to seek Him, to find His comfort, His forgiveness, His healing and His comfort. In life’s struggles, in the battles that rage around us, He remains as close as we allow Him to be. While it seems that the nation has forgotten Him, many of us have not. We need to turn collectively to Him, to seek His hand in this hour.
Mike Huckabee recently stated, “We don’t have a crime problem, a gun problem or even a violence problem. What we have is a sin problem. And since we’ve ordered God out of our schools, and communities, the military and public conversations, you know we really shouldn’t act so surprised… when all hell breaks loose.”
First off, he is right. Secondly, the ugly response to his comment is telling of a people who have forsaken their first love, a people who need revival, who need God in our lives and our communities.
John Adams said, “We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion (Biblical Christianity). Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious (Christian) people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
Government today seeks power to contend with human passions that are not constrained by Christian morality. The solution to our crisis, individually and collectively, is to repent and turn toward God. There is not a single problem we face today that does not find its solution in Him.
We need God!
I’m asking all of you to start a fire, to mark Sunday, August 19th as a day that we will join collectively in prayer for revival and healing in these United States. Blog about it, promote it, spread the idea, and start a fire! Do not surrender to the tides of darkness, but let us turn to Him, our Father, our Creator, and seek His strength to turn the tides that pull us deeper into the abyss. We will not give up, we will not go down without a fight, and in our fight let us cling to our Lord, our Father, our God! As we join together in prayer, we will be heard, for we are His children. Will we surrender so much for so little, or seek salvation, renewal and healing from our heavenly Father?
Our love for one another, and for our nation demand it. If our children were injured, we would pray. This is their future. This is our home. I will be praying on that day. Join me in agreement. PRAY! Let’s join together, and know that as we seek Him, He IS there!
August 19th, 2012! Prayer for Revival and Healing!
It isn’t Obama! There is only one who truly fulfills His promises, who truly brings change we can believe in. There is only one who was, is, and forever will be the Savior! Only Jesus…
It took Joe Biden’s public embrace of same-sex marriage to smoke him out.
But after Joe told David Gregory of “Meet the Press” he was “absolutely comfortable” with homosexuals marrying, Barack Obama could not maintain his credibility with the cultural elite if he stuck with the biblical view that God ordained marriage as solely between a man and woman. The biblical view had to go.
Obama had to move, or look like a malingerer in secularism’s next great moral advance into post-Christian America.
Consider. Obama had an appearance coming up on “The View,” where Whoopi Goldberg would have demanded to know why he lacked the courage of Biden’s convictions. He has a $40,000-a-plate fundraiser at George Clooney’s, where the Hollywood crowd would want to know why he does not end discrimination against homosexuals.
He has appearances lined up before gay activists raising millions for his campaign. Monday, his press secretary was pilloried for his feeble defense of Obama’s now-abandoned position.
His hand was forced. Yet the stand Obama took could cost him his presidency. Same-sex marriage may yet be a bridge too far, even for a dying Christian America.
Read More…
Back in Texas again, which is not bad considering I love this state. I’d be more than happy to call it home. I was talking to a friend earlier and mentioned where I was. He said the Lone Star State should start calling itself the Lone Moral State! I’m not sure I’d go that far, but sometimes it sure seems heading that direction. Given the tug of war between those who wish to redefine our nation and those who see greatness in our culture and values it’s very hard to say where it will all lead. I do know that the latter are not going to surrender, and for that I am very glad.
I’ve thought a lot today about that “redefining” and I can not figure it out. Sure they can turn heroes into villains in our public schools, and rewrite history in an attempt to void out the reality, but it doesn’t take much to see that we were a better people, a blessed and powerful people, when we held to our Christian values. And yes, contrary to the effort to erase that heritage, it remains in the pages, documents, and momentos of the past.
Barrack Hussain Obama declared that we are NOT a Christian nation. Of course many before him recognized that we are Christian nation, that those values were essential to our identity as a people. It is those values that made us great, that shaped our views and pushed us forward through the hard times, ever pressing toward an ideal that we knew was unobtainable, but desirable all the same. In those ideals, we were a better people, and we were a nation blessed abundantly by God. We didn’t have a state church, not all Americans were Christians, but it was (and dare I say is) the foundation upon which our constitutional republic was built.
I wish that world view was far more common today.
For example, equality in the United States was born not out of the concept that all are entitled to riches, but rather born out of a more humble place. It was born out of the fact that we are all imperfect, we are all sinners, and salvation is gained not by our glory, but in Christ. It by grace through faith. There is no pride, there is no boasting. Out of that humility it is easy to forgive the shortcomings of others, and to see others as your brothers and sisters, others created in the image and likeness of the creator.
Humility is lost because we fail to recognize our true state. Pride only serves to further divide. It is pride that demands churches conform to their world view, that is offended by truth. It is pride that seeks to elevate self above all else, and set self up on a throne that belongs to God. It is pride that seeks to silence the very faith that is our foundation, a faith that is distorted and attacked by those who declare good is evil. It is that same pride that seeks the politicians will over the masses and demands conformity to a false ideal.
There is more, so much more to all of this. It is true we have not acted perfectly. It is true some very horrible things were done by the United States. Our President is busy telling everyone how sorry we are too. Yet, it remains that our greatness is defined in our Christian heritage, and in the values that have more than proven their worth. Our hope is in a return to an understanding of truth, not based upon vanity that seeks to esteem self over all else, but truth based on an understanding of who we are, in God, with humility and reverence.
Just my random thought of the day! Y’all take care and God bless!!!
A blogging friend of mine from way back in the Xanga days shared this on her facebook. Kelly Stevens shared this from an email she received from Calvary Chapel Phoenix, and this nailed it! I hope y’all read and I’d love to read your thoughts on this as well.
Psalm 9:15
“The nations have sunk down in the pit which they have made;” Psalm 9:15a, NASB
I don’t know what better commentary there could be on the world right now than this verse. The nations have literally sunk into a pit! Our nation is far from what it was even fifteen years ago in terms of morality.
Television offers scores of channels which have desensitized us to violence and sexual immorality.
Life has been devalued to the point that late-term abortions are performed and it is now acceptable to kill a child while it’s being born.
It will not be long and the same devaluation of life that has been placed on the innocent unborn will be applied to the elderly and disabled.
While men and women gorge themselves on Internet pornography, family life has disintegrated to the point that over fifty percent of children live in homes without a father.
Without a moral compass, once righteous, free nations will lose political discernment and fall prey to the power of enemies hell-bent on their subjection or destruction.
Yet, those who dare raise a voice of warning or dissent are marginalized or demonized.
The Bible warns that the pit the nations have dug, they will fall into and this will be the undoing of our society.
There is a moral line, after which a civilization passes, that will cause it to self-destruct. We must realize God‘s judgment is often poured out silently. He gives a society over to its evil desires and it cannibalizes itself. It sinks down into the pit it has dug.
As the pit is dug deeper, the window of escape narrows until there is no possibility of turning back, in the will of God, consequences begin to march the society and/or the civilization to destruction.
What can we do? We can continue to make our voice heard and resist growing callous to sin. We must stay hot-hearted in our love and devotion to our Lord Jesus and take strong, courageous stands for the truth. We must gather together to pray. And we must pray, and when we have prayed, we must pray and pray more.
The Lord promises:
“…if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14
Stained glass at St John the Baptist’s Anglican Church http://www.stjohnsashfield.org.au, Ashfield, New South Wales. Illustrates Jesus’ description of himself “I am the Good Shepherd” (from the Gospel of John, chapter 10, verse 11). This version of the image shows the detail of his face. The memorial window is also captioned: “To the Glory of God and in Loving Memory of William Wright. Died 6th November, 1932. Aged 70 Yrs.” (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
To a nation desperate for hope, there is only one true source of Hope! There is only one who can make it right, only one who can save us. It is Christ, and He alone!
If you really love someone, does that mean that you force them to be with you? If it is your mate, your friend, your family, or even your child, would it be right to force them to stay with you? Can you force love? Can you force a relationship? As real as the connection is, as real as the love that you feel, if it is forced, it isn’t love. There is no benefit, no real connection if there is no choice. A spouse or loved one, if they chose to go, you let them go. Your child, if an adult that desired to break bonds with you leaves no recourse but to let them go and hope they will come back. My family will always be my family, but I cannot force a relationship that is rejected. In fact, to force a relationship is to destroy any chance at a real relationship. It is not love. It is not even close.
Yet when people talk about God all that logic goes out the window. Many people say God is love, therefore all must enter heaven, but does that make sense? I have no doubt about God’s love, but does love force someone to stay with someone they want no part of? Apart from choice is there meaning? Does God deserve less than what we want within our own relationships or do we believe because He is God that somehow His forcing someone to spend eternity with Him would be right?
Who would reject heaven? It seems illogical because it is, but people often make illogical choices. It happens every day.
As much as heaven is perfect, would it be perfect for someone who wanted no part of God, who set their heart against Him? Would it be right for God to force that person to share eternity with Him?
It is our choice, a choice that He has given us. He does not wish that any should spend eternity apart from Him, but He does not force anyone to share eternity with Him. To do otherwise would not be love. As horrific as the thought of hell is, where is heaven for the person who rejects God? Would it be with Him for all eternity? There is no heaven apart from Him. Hell was not created for us. In His love He created heaven for us. Eternity apart from Him is not His will. It is our choice.
How does a loving God send people to Hell?
He doesn’t…
A loving relationship does not force an eternal bond upon someone who wants no part of that relationship. Anything else isn’t love. Anything else would not come from a loving God no matter how much He desires that relationship.
Arizona strikes back: State investigates feds over gun-running They absolutely should! As should Texas and Mexico. The Fast and Furious case added fuel to a fire that has resulted in thousands of deaths and subverted the security of the border and a neighboring nation.
And in related news, one Mexican state bordering the US was deadlier than all of Afghanistan last year. It doesn’t take much to see that this is not good for the United States or Mexico.
Speaking of Fast and Furious, Uncle Ted Nugent had a thing or two to say about the subject.
It is already spreading here. 1.4 million gang members and more pour into the United States. That is roughly the size of our joint active duty military, that is before Obama’s military cuts reduce that number by one third.
It is argued that Gay Marriage would not interfere with our First Amendment rights. Guess again! It will be really interesting to see where all of this leads.
I blogged about this, but it bears repeating. As we are in dire need of jobs and oil, our politicians deny us both. Obama’s Keystone Denial Prompts Canada to Look to China Sales. We also dropped the ball on Brazil, as China gets jump on U.S. for Brazil’s oil. It really makes me wonder what they are thinking. The economy, our need for oil, and the instability in the Gulf all make Keystone the right thing for us to do. If the Strait of Hormuz is closed down how high will fuel prices go? Remember, it isn’t just fueling up that Prius, it is every item in your mall and local 7-11 that will cost far more.
They now know who all those body parts at the Hollywood sign belong to. Just another day in paradise!
The battle over our freedoms continues, specifically with regard to the internet. as SOPA and PIPA votes are to be delayed. I hope it isn’t like Obama signing the NDAA. Wait until everyone is hung over and busy with football to sneak the bill into law. After all, no one is looking.
Well, that’s not exactly true, we are looking!
On a lighter note…
Cowboy Press 