September 2009 Archives

While I love my parents, they weren't the greatest at helping establish in their children a healthy self-esteem. And, I have suffered many issues in my life as a result ... from picking men who were not going to commit to a real relationship or who were abusive ... to always feeling I had to be doing something for someone for them to see any worth in me. The latter became something almost pathological in my life.

Even with God.

I have always loved serving others. And, I have always thought it was because I was just that kind of person. I was just that giving. I was wrong. I am not that giving. I am not that selfless. I am human. I like to do for people but not always. I like for people to do nice things in return ... though I usually do not do anything for what I will get in return. But, I can't say that I don't like it when someone does something nice for me. That would be a big fat lie.

But, behind it all there is a need to be of some worth. To be useful. To be loved and thought well of. I didn't get much of that as a child. I don't think I have instilled much of that in my own children as well, as a result. I didn't even understand until last night that any of this was an issue for me.

Last night we had our third night of revival services and as the speaker started talking, I felt like the Lord was talking through him directly to me. I had spent the last twenty minutes on the balcony irritated, frustrated and in an all-around bad mood. I felt like going home. Then he started talking about how there were people there tonight who just weren't feeling God. The enemy was on them and was messing with them hard (he was much more detailed than I am being right now). And, he asked those people to come to the front.

And, I went.

While I was being prayed over, the man started speaking some things to me that touched me deeply. I won't go into it all here. Some of it was very personal and things God was giving him just for me. But what was said broke something in me. Moments later, a sister in our church came to pray over me and the Lord spoke through her to me as well, confirming what had already been said but expounding on it and adding a few other things.

God brought some things to my attention that I did not even realize were holding me back. He also spoke to some things I knew were issues for me but couldn't find my way around them. Where I couldn't, He could and He did.

But one of the things that He spoke to me was about my service to Him. He doesn't want me to serve Him so that He will love me. He already does. He wants me to serve Him because I love Him. My worth is not in my service. My worth is found in that I am a daughter of the King, loved so much that Christ would die for me.

I have talked before about how our pews are filled with people who are going to hell and they don't think they will. There are a lot of people who used to go to church, but don't anymore and they are going to go to hell. They don't think they will either. They have been socialized as a Christian but they do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ. They have not repented of their sin. They think they are free to do as they wish as long as they tell God they are sorry when the day is done. They are not followers of Christ. They profess belief with their mouths but their actions say otherwise. Christ is not their Lord.

I used to be one of those people.

Are you?


Wake up, Church! You can't have one foot in the church and another in the world. Don't deceive yourself.

A couple of parents get upset that Gideons were handing out Bibles across the street from a school. They either don't understand free speech or they would prefer drug dealers on that corner. Who knows.

Muslims have invaded Capitol Hill to pray. Their time has come. Seriously. Check out their website and scroll to the bottom. You should also read the entire post Steve has up on his blog about this.

September 30, 2009 is the first-ever International Blasphemy Day in Washington. Wow. They are kicking it off with an art exhibit of pictures of Jesus that are ... well, blasphemous. Good thing for them that Christians are not Muslims. We would have to cut off their heads.

I am telling you ... WOW!



What do you think?

Just a little over a week ago, a friend of ours approached us at a picnic. He asked us how things were at church and I told him things were good. He used to go to our church so I wasn't surprised by the question. Then he started telling me about the church that he attends now. He told me it was very nice and how nice the people are there. I smiled and told him that was good and I was glad he found a church home.

He then told me that the thing he liked best about this church was that it wasn't like my church. He further explained by saying that the difference was in that the pastor of his church doesn't preach and our does. I kind of just looked at him for a moment so he went on to explain that his pastor talks to you, like me and him were talking. He doesn't get all excited or get loud (which is not something our Pastor does all the time, but he does on occasion). And his pastor doesn't preach at you. He talks to you like he is your friend.

I walked away thanking God that I have a pastor that preaches. I am glad my pastor gets excited about the Word of God and can get loud about it sometimes. I am glad that he loves us enough to preach at us, to us, around us and over us. When I need a friend, I can call him and talk to him. I can go to his office and see him. And, he is being more of a friend when he stands in that pulpit and tells us the truth. That is a far greater friend than a preacher who is going to stand there and tell you what you want to hear.

I don't always like what my Pastor says, but I have never heard him say anything that wasn't scriptural. Usually when I have a bad reaction to something he says, I can best believe it is my flesh rebelling against the Word of God and it is time to get myself in check. Yeah ... I wish he would focus on local evangelism a bit more ... but his heart is there and I am praying for my whole church in that department.

I pray one day my brother learns the difference between someone who tells you "truth" you want to hear and someone who tells you the TRUTH. In the meantime, I am happy where I am and blessed to have a wonderful body of believers to fellowship and learn with. I am especially blessed to have such a wonderful pastor who takes his position far more seriously than we are probably aware. He strives to shepherd the flock the Lord has given him to the very best of his God-given ability. I couldn't ask for anything more.

Seriously. If you haven't ever seen this, please watch it.


Christian ... you can do this. I can do this. But, will we do this?

You know sometimes we are so set on showing someone how sinful something is and how wrong they were to do it, that we forget that there is a soul behind that sin that we are hurting. It is right to explain what sin is. It is right to point out sin. It is right to correct and rebuke and minister to each other.

But ...

Remember that it is a soul you are talking to. And that soul lives in a person who has feelings, hopes, dreams and reasons. And, while they may not have any excuse for their sin before a Just and Holy God ... if you do not remember to temper your admonishment with love and grace and the Gospel ... you may inadvertently assist the enemy in claiming another soul.

How?

By making that person feel that what they have done is so bad that while God may forgive you, the old man in the pew or the sister down the street ... they won't feel like God will forgive them. They won't think there is any mercy for them. The blood of Christ will not be for them and they won't repent and trust in Christ for they will feel damned already. They will feel unlovable and unforgivable.

I have been contemplating this for awhile now. It comes and goes, but has been persistent for the last few years ... with some serious contemplation in the last few months:

Wonders why we call ourselves followers/disciples of Christ? The disciples were in the streets preaching the Gospel and teaching in the synagogues. Now you have a bunch of teaching and not a whole lot of preaching ... and neither is usually the Gospel.

Where do you stand on that?

Funding abortion with tax dollars is unconscionable.

To call this a "phony compromise" as pro-life Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) did is an understatement. What will certainly result from the Capps amendment is a huge check written from the government to the abortion clinics every month.

That was quoted from the Susan B. Anthony List. Pro-Life Democrats even recognize that abortion will be funded in the proposed healthcare reform. DFLA has already spoken out about it as well.

Make your voice heard. Go to www.stoptheabortionmandate.com.

This is one of my favorite open-air videos. Mark Spence totally rocks this ...


Love it! Mark Spence is the Dean of the School of Biblical Evangelism.

Man, don't you love how you tell yourself you are not going to do something and then the first thing you do is do what you said you were not going to do? Drives me batty! It does. And, I have done it.

I took a hiatus from my blog because of politics. Yep. I get so frustrated reading blogs by "Christians" who idolize certain political leaders and then advocate policies that are not biblical, but claim they somehow have the lotto holdings on Christianity. And I put that in quotes because honestly, I don't think some of them are genuine follows of Christ but also because I don't know if they are or not.

I have a hard time reconciling how anyone can be against abortion and then be against the very programs that help women carry their children to term and care for them, like medicaid, food stamps, WIC, daycare assistance, subsidized housing and student loans.

I don't understand people who claim to be so patriotic and all about supporting our soldiers, but then they don't support veterans programs that help our men and women get the medical care they need. Some are disabled and need more than just medical care, like subsidized housing and other programs that help those who need help caring for themselves.

I don't understand how someone can claim to be a bible-believing Christian and then think it is totally appropriate for us to ignore that we are supposed to be caring for God's creation.

None of that makes sense to me. I can't even wrap my mind around it, it is so illogical to me. And, so I end up back in the very same conversations again and again. To me it is not about whether you are a Democrat or a Republican. Really. I vote for both pretty much equally. The issue for me is the hypocrisy of it all.

And I will just be blunt about it. This is how I feel ...

If you have a problem with some of our tax dollars going to care for the poor ... then you have a spiritual issue. Because honestly, I don't see how you can be a follower of Christ and think that it is perfectly okay for people to starve. For children to eat out of dumpsters. For the elderly to be homeless and alone with no one to care for them. For babies to be sick and hungry and no help to be found.

If you are more concerned with big business than you are God's creation, then you have your priorities messed up. If you think it is okay for businesses to pollute our water supply and rape our forests because it is all about the almighty dollar ... then you worship that money and not God.

If at anytime you are more concerned with yourself than you are others, you need to reevaluate your beliefs because nowhere in the Bible does it tell you that is okay. If you concern yourself more with patriotism and nationalism than you do what your Bible says, you have issues.

You know, I wish there was a real Christian political force in this country. Our country isn't far behind Europe and godlessness is becoming rampant. But a bunch of hypocrites screaming about welfare isn't going to change that. People hear what we say. They judge us by what comes out of our mouths and we aren't converting anyone by acting like a bunch of selfish hypocrites that talk about Jesus out the side of our mouth while we act anything but Christ-like. We tend to forget that there are a lot of unbelievers out there that know the Bible pretty well. So ... they know what it says about those things.

So, there it is. Maybe now I can talk about other things for awhile. God has been doing some amazing things in my life. Evangelism is becoming more and more important to me. I would like to spend more time on that. We will see ... I guess. :)

From the DFLA newsletter:

DFLA ENCOURAGED BY MAYO CLINICS FINDINGS

DFLA is carefully noting the findings of a physician who works for the prestigious Mayo Clinic.  Dr. W. Harms, a Mayo Clinic obstetrician and medical editor-in-chief, says abortions can cause women problems with subsequent pregnancies.

Canadian researcher Brent Rooney says the information is important for women who are considering abortions because a weak cervix can lead to premature birth in subsequent pregnancies and that can lead to problems for future unborn children, such as cerebral palsy. When the 'gate' (i.e. cervix) to a woman's womb is weak (i.e. 'incompetent cervix'), it will open too early during the pregnancy leading to a preterm birth," he explained. "Thus, when [Harms] admits that surgical abortions can weaken a women's cervix, [he] implicitly conceded that surgical abortions boost the risk of a 'preemie' having cerebral palsy." Although such a risk is rare, Rooney says it is important given that one in every 410 children born in the United States are later diagnosed with the condition.

In 2007, Rooney teamed up with Dr. Byron Calhoun and Dr. Elizabeth Shadigian to release a study that showed that 1,096 newborns under 32 weeks' gestation who had cerebral palsy, was caused by their mother's prior abortion(s). Under DFLA's Pregnant Women's Support Act, this and other valuable information could be provided to women who are considering an abortion.  The hope is that when women and families are facing an unplanned or crisis pregnancy that they will have the facts that will help more women carry their pregnancy to term.

And we need to make sure that there are programs that will help these women carry their babies to term. With growing Republican sentiment to abolish welfare programs, many women will feel more pressure to abort their babies and that is the last thing we want. We want to make sure these women have the support they need to bring their babies to term and to care for them.

Whew! The rhetoric gets pretty loud these days. Politics and faith. Politics and faith ... faith and politics. It is a subject most of us, at least those of us who are smart, try to stay away from. It can get heated. Brothers and sisters in Christ can really start behaving as if Christ did not exist at all. Especially once they figure out that who they are talking to either does not subscribe to the same party line as they do or doesn't go for all that "extremist" stuff.

It can get really nasty.

And, honestly the whole thing fascinates me and repulses me all at the same time.

It fascinates me because it is like this big brain-washing beam came down and attached itself on our Christian heads and began to pour things into our brains like all Democrats are evil, all Democrats are far-left liberals, only true Christians are Republicans, and any person or thing that is not Republican is evil.

It repulses me because I think politics divides the brethren far more than theology does and theology matters far more than politics.

It is something I am getting used to though. Sad, but true.

I have tried to not discuss politics. I know where the conversations can get you. I know how people can act. But, try as I might, I end up responding to some political statement or another on some blog or on Facebook. I usually beat myself up for it later. I know what is going to happen. I will say that I support a healthy welfare system and why it benefits our society and then next thing you know ... other "Christians" will join in and sound beyond ugly with their "let the poor starve and die" commentary that just sounds so Christ-like and leaves all the non-believers talking about how "un-Christian" they sound because Jesus said to care for the poor and they obviously don't.

Today, it was over Obama's speech. All I heard all day long was how Obama is Hitler reincarnated and how we shouldn't let him brainwash our kids and so on and so on and so on. Then John Piper posts about the speech and talks about how good it was, common grace and I am like, "Whew! I am glad I didn't fall for the Hitler stuff." Then I go read the comments to that post and I think, "Wow! Even John Piper gets it when he goes against the status quo of the 'Democrats are Evil' party line." I am not alone!

Makes me feel a little better. :)

Though, really ... I am fine with it. There have been times when I have considered going under the Independent umbrella, but you know ... there is no use. I am who I am who I am and that is a Pro-Life Democrat. I believe in caring for the poor, the disabled, the child, and the elderly. And, I believe in taking care of God's creation. I don't agree with every aspect of the party line, but that is okay too. I disagree with the other side far more it seems and on some serious issues that I just won't give on. Number One being that only Republicans are the real Christians and everyone else is just faking it.

Anywho ... I will give President Obama credit where credit is due. That was a good speech today and there are many children out there that needed to hear it. Good for him! Too bad there aren't more parents out there encouraging their children to be responsible for their own behaviors and choices. If there were, the president probably wouldn't have needed to address our children in the first place.

Addendum: I got an email reminding me that Ronald Reagan addressed the children of his day and he did! I remember that. So did George H.W. Bush. Hmmm. I don't remember everyone calling them "Hitler" for doing it though.

Can we spell H Y P O C R I S Y? 

I had a conversation with a friend of mine not too long ago and they told me that the word "repent" does not occur anywhere in the Bible and that we do not have to "repent" to be saved. Well, I don't know what Bible they are reading but my Bible most definitely tells me that I must repent to be saved.

To repent or not to repent? That is the question.

³ I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. (Luke 13:3, NKJV)

¹⁰ For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. (2 Corinthians 7:10, NKJV)

¹⁹ Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, (Acts 3:19, NKJV)

³⁰ Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, (Acts 17:30, NKJV)

⁹ The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9, NKJV)

There is only one real reason why someone would want to believe that they can be saved without repentance and I think that is because they want their sin and salvation too. They don't want to turn away from their sin. No, instead they want to embrace it and still go to heaven when they die.

It doesn't work like that though. But there are a lot of people out there that want it to be that way. They want to sin to their heart's content and hope that since God is good that He won't punish them. When it is the very goodness of God that cannot stand sin and will condemn them to eternity in hell.

Sometimes I wonder how much of what we do is actually inspired by God or just because it is what we want to do, but it sounds so much better to say God told us to do it? There has been a few times in the last six months or so that someone has told me that they did something because it is what God told them to do. Then I find out that what they did, that God told them to do, adversely affected other people and interfered in what they felt God was telling them to do. Or as a result, others decided to do something and say it was because God told them to do it.

Well, we know God is not going to tell you to do something that totally conflicts with His Word. We know God is not going to tell you to do something that is going to go against what He told someone else. If what He told you to do is hurting other people unnecessarily ... can it really be from God?

I am not saying that God cannot lead you to do something that will hurt someone else. That can happen. The other person's pride might get in the way or they might feel slighted by your actions. But if you believe God is leading you to do something and everyone is responding negatively to it, I think you need to rethink your position. You can't just grab whatever scripture suits your purpose and go with it. You really need to evaluate whether what you are doing is a "God" thing or a "You" thing.

Honestly, I think a lot of us do what we want to do, for whatever reason, and instead of saying that ... we say, "Well, God told me to do this. It's a "God" thing." I believe I have been guilty of this as well. I have done a few things that didn't turn out too well and totally felt God was telling me to do them. But, in retrospect, I can see it really wasn't a "God" thing. It was totally a "Me" thing. Though, you can do a "God" thing and it not turn out too well ... at least for a bit. The enemy can step in and use the people around you to interfere with God has going on with you. He can only interfere for so long though.

Sounds confusing, doesn't it? It can be. I think the main thing should be that whenever we feel God is wanting us to do something, that we stay in prayer, not do anything rash, and evaluate how much of what we want to do is because we just want to do it. And, then be honest about it. If it is a "Me" thing, say so. Say, "I want to do this." Don't blame God for it. Don't use Him as an excuse to not listen to the advice of others or so you won't have to consider anyone's feelings but your own.

Let's make sure God remains our Lord and not our scapegoat.

From the DFLA newsletter:

FACTCHECK.ORG AGREES WITH DFLA'S ASSERTIONS - ABORTION INCLUDED IN HEALTHCARE REFORM

A nonpartisan web site that routinely serves as a watchdog for public officials, the media and political groups says Congressional Democrats have it wrong when they say abortion funding is not authorized in the new health care reform bill.

FactCheck.org says the current health care plans pending in Congress do authorize abortion funding, contrary to some Congressional Democrat's claims otherwise.

The FactCheck web site, run by staff at the University of Pennsylvania, says "it's true that House and Senate legislation would allow a new 'public' insurance plan to cover abortions." FactCheck also verifies assertions recently made by DFLA when it noted in a past update that the public plan will pay for abortions "so long as the plans took in enough private money in the form of premiums paid by individuals or their employers.

FactCheck.org concluded "As for the House bill as it stands now, it's a matter of fact that it would allow both a 'public plan' and newly subsidized private plans to cover all abortions."

This must be stopped. I am all for healthcare reform, but funding abortion with tax dollars is unconscionable. I wouldn't give someone money for an abortion and I do not want the government using my money to pay for them either.

So while I was at Ambassador's Academy, I got to meet Steve Sanchez in person and he told me about the Everyday Club that he started. I signed up yesterday pledging to pass out at least 5 tracts a day, to do an one-to-one at least once a week and to open-air when the opportunity presents itself. Not too shabby of a goal, I don't think. :)

Well, I was in the house all day yesterday and no one came to the door. I needed to go to Wal-Mart and I thought that was perfect. I could hand out some tracts there and meet my goal for the day. So off me and the baby went. I ended up buying more groceries than I had planned and spent far more time there than I should have. The baby got really cranky and I hadn't passed out one tract yet.

I couldn't go around passing out tracts with a screaming baby and silly me ... I didn't do it while I was shopping, which would have been the smart thing to do. So, I headed to my minivan feeling a bit discouraged. Little NoNo was screaming her head off by then and I figured I would just not meet my goal the very first day.

I put NoNo in the van and got her all fastened in when two things hit me ... 1.) she was quiet and 2.) I was surrounded by vehicles. So, I grabbed ten Trillion Dollar Bills and found me ten quick windshields to put them on. Goal achieved!

If you are interested in more information about the Everyday Club or would like to join, I pulled this from Steve's website:

The Everyday Club gives you the opportunity to hold yourself accountable to whatever evangelistic goal that you have set for yourself, providing that it's an everyday goal. Your goal can be to hand out one tract a day, or a thousand; it's up to you! (You can join the 80+ others who have already signed up by clicking here!)

So head on over there and join today. :)

I just had to share this. It is so awesome!

Facing Giants from Stuart and Carol Scott on Vimeo.

HT: Tony Miano.

Wow! First let me thank you. I know I haven't written in a bit with it being summer and all. Life has been hectic and I have let too many things distract me. That has changed. A lot of things have changed.

To say that the Ambassador's Academy is a life-changing experience is almost too cliche. Yet, I cannot find better words to express it. It is awesome! I left last Wednesday with much trepidation and came home so refreshed, with more zeal and passion than I have had for a long time and ready to get back in the battle. It was such a wonderful experience. Words truly cannot do it justice. I can tell you this though ... I want to go back and I want others from the ministry I am apart of, to go with me. That is my constant prayer.

I miss the fellowship of the academy already. I have never had the pleasure of serving with such a supportive and loving group of believers in my whole life. It was wonderful to step out of the political arena that our churches can become and hit the streets with brothers and sisters who just want to see you be the best you can be in Christ. There was no jockeying for position, no who is better than who or even who is the most spiritual ... it was all about encouraging you to step out of your comfort zone and be the person Christ wants you to be. I loved every minute of it.

Yes, I have handed out tracts before. And, yes ... I have had one-on-one witnessing conversations. But, I had never done so with complete strangers and I had never stop-light preached. I cannot say that now. :) I had hoped to do a bit more preaching, but a few things came up and I was not able to ... but I know that does not prevent me from doing so in the future.

I did become somewhat discouraged a couple of times. I have self-esteem issues and the enemy knows it. So he did jump up and bite me once or twice. But, just as quickly, I was encouraged and I have a greater desire to witness now than I did before. I also know that I can get up there and preach the Gospel of our Lord and Savior with confidence ... even if I don't feel so confident.

I just pray that if you have ever considered going to the Ambassador's Academy that you do so. Wow! I keep saying that but it was definitely a "wow" experience for me. I loved every single minute of it and wish it could have lasted a couple days longer.

I want to take a moment to personally thank Tony Miano for his encouragement. You and your family are such an inspiration to me. You challenge me to be the best me that I can be in Christ and to get out there. Brother, you are serving the Lord in a mighty way. Thank you!

I also want to thank Brett and Connie Coronado. You two are awesome! I love you and appreciate you! Brett, you challenged me and never let me shy away from the challenge at hand. Thank you! Sherry Pierce ... I wasn't talking just to be talking, sister! Your boldness just makes me want to say more, do more, and be more. I do want to be just like you when I grow up. :) Mark Mackey, you are such an encouragement and I felt I could do anything because of you. You were always there to push me in the right direction. Steve Sanchez ... words cannot express what an inspiration you are to me. Thank you for being who you are! I have learned so much from you.

I also want to thank Ray Comfort and the rest of the Living Waters staff. Your ministry changed my life. I was a false convert and now I am saved by the grace of God. Thank you for teaching the hard lessons and saying the things the world would not have you say. May God continue to bless you and keep you for His Glory alone.