Homosexuals attack sweet little old lady

And why not? Those little old ladies can be a lot of trouble. Especially ones carrying styrofoam crosses.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_ZvPR09N4Q

Why believe in God?

They are going to run ads on busses in Washington D.C. that ask,"why believe in a god" "Just be good for goodness sake." or something like that. My questions are, how do you decide what is good? Or, why not be bad for badness sake, would it matter?
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,450445,00.html

Cheap entertainment with gospel tracts

Have you seen those gospel tracts that look like envelopes with money hanging out of them? I got some the other day & have had fun laying them around stores & sidewalks & such to see how people react to them. I have enjoyed watching as people pick them up & think they have found something special (they have really, just not what they thought) & pull the "$100.00" out to find it saying to them "You have earned your wages. The wages of sin is death." I've seen one get dissapointed it wasn't real money & throw it down. Another picked it up, chuckled a little bit, read the tract & put it in his pocket. one guy picked it up & stuck it in his pocket real quick without reading it. He looked around like he had gotten away with something. Two young girls stopped and looked at a tract on the sidewalk walked on to their mothers car & told her. She got out of the car, walked quickly to the tract, picked it up & hurried back to her car. One honest soul, picked it up, took it in to the store she had just walked out of & turned it in. Of course there are probably some who wear their underware too tight & are upset because you are "tricking" them to read a gospel tract. Lighten up. How terrible can it be that someone has coerced you into reading about eternal life?

Stop the Trees!

We must be carefull of the not so suttle massages that are being sent throughout the world today. One of them is "Go green, plant a tree." We need to understand the danger that trees really are. Every since Eve picked that fruit off of the Tree of the Knowledge back in the garden they have been giving us trouble. Do you know what more people die from in car wrecks every year? Trees! They are everywhere. Growing too close to the side of the road so you can't see the stop sign on the corner. Children are always falling out of them & breaking their arm. Back in the days when they used to do a lot of lynching of innocent people, you know what they lynched them from? That's right. Trees! Trees are the scourge of the earth. Today in California there are many wildfires spreading across the countryside destroying peoples million-dollar mansions without mercy. One of the main ways these fires are spread is by trees. Our only hope is to start tree-control legislation immediatly. A few weeks ago the house of the parents of a childhood friend of mine was attacked by a tree. In an attempt to martyr itself during a recent storm the suicide tree "fell" on the roof of their house causing thousands of dollars of damage. Thankfully no one was injured, this time. Trees are used to make the paper used in cigarretes, cigars & even reefers. If you hike to the highest point of Mt. Leconte in the Smokies you would think that you would get a beautiful view for miles around but you don't, why? Trees. We must fight back! Join us in our crusade to cut them down & turn them into salad spoons, lingerie chests & picnic tables.

Religious tolerance or religious castration?

A recent survey in this country claims 'religious tolerance' is abundant in this country. A close look might reveal something like religious ignorance, weakness & cowardlyness. These people either don't know or don't understand their own claimed faith. Check it out:
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/jun/24/survey-shows-religious-tolerance/

Evolutionists & Liberals Win Big in Massachusetts

Everyone else is weighing in on the girls in Massachusetts getting pregnant, so I guess I will too. This has to be a win-win situation for evolutionists & liberals. Here's why:
1. Evolutionists: First os all, just think of the evolutionary gene pool distibution there. You know most of these girls will have children again by someone other than the father of their first child. This means there will be a good mixture of genetics floating around Gloucester that you might not get if they stayed bound to one man (or boy).
2. Liberals: This is a real bonus for them. Now they can yell even louder about giving condoms to your children without your permission (even though these girls wanted to get pregnant, so giving them condoms would have been useless, other than having some balloons to play with during recess at junior high). Plus they can drop immediatlty into the welfare system, giving liberals more reason to increase te size of government welfare. It will increase their reasoning for universal Pre-K so they (the state) will be able to take control of the children (I would say our children, but if they have their way they won't be ours they will be the states) at a younger age. And in doing that they (the state) will be able to keep these children out of the hands of those bigoted hate-filled Christians they so despise. They will press harder for sex-education to try to teach children how to have sex without consequences. Although back in the '40s & '50s we didn't seem to be having kids out of wedlock like it was a fire sale. i wonder how they managed that? I guess the next step is to make marraige such an insignificant instituion that no one will take it seriously, oh, wait, they are already working on that one.
http://www.thedailytimes.com/article/20080621/NEWS/176907394

Update on No Special Access for Chistians at School

Apparently there are some places that don't mind God's influence in there children's lives. The courts have now decided to let the school groups in Wildon County Tennessee continue with there activities.
http://onenewsnow.com/Legal/Default.aspx?id=131122

Obama & God

Is Obama a Christian? You be the judge. Check out this interview:
http://falsani.blogspot.com/2008/04/barack-obama-2004-god-factor-interview.html

Man Gets Three Years for Lying

You think lying is not serious? "Everybody lies. God will overlook that." The Knoxville News Sentinel reported that a man got three years in jail for lying. If we can put someone in jail for lying, how much more serious is it to God? Where is the line drawn that says this lie will send you to hell & this one won't? "All liers will have their place in the lake of fire." Revelations 21:8 Ouch!

Fireman Gets Burger Before Answering Emergency Call

A fireman in Austin Texas lost his job the other day when he waited for his hamburger to be ready from a fast food place before he responded to a 911 call. We can look at this & say how horribly irresponsible & selfish that was & we would be right. He deserved to lose his job. You guys that say you are a Christian what job did Jesus command you to do? "Go into all the world and make disciples of every nation." (Matthew 28:19) Or are we too busy waiting on a burger?

Judge: No Special Access for Christians at School

A recent ruling in middle Tennessee said that Christian groups have no special access at school. The group Praying Parents were told they could no longer meet at an elementary school. Of course the ACLU was involved. This is always done in the name of separation of church & state. If Christians don't have an influence in school who does? And as the state takes over more & more of our lives, what influence is left for the church? The ACLU & other state-worshippers want to take away every influence the church has. Why? It is easier to answer to a God you can make into your image than to One who does not change & whose standards they have no thought or desire to live up to.

"I Had a Bad Experience at Church"

How many times have you had a chance to speak to someone about the things of God when they make a statement or ask a question & then 10 minutes after you're done with your conversation, you come up with a great answer & think, "I wish I had said that." Well tonight I stopped by the market & had a chance to witness to the young lady behind the counter when that exact thing happened. While I was explaining to her about judgement day & what she must do to receive mercy, she agreed with just about everything. But then she said, "But I'm not going to church, I had a bad experience in church." I hadn't said anything about going to church & I guess if I was going on the psychological theories of today I would have asked her to tell me about it. I'm just not sure how rehashing over old traumas with someone I barely know will keep her out of hell. Basically I told her to repent, trust in Jesus, find her Bible & read it to find out what God expects of her. I told her that on judgement day telling God "I had a bad experience" probably won't fly. Anyhow I left on good terms. But after I got in the car & was driving down the road, I started thinking, "Bad experience? Jesus suffered & died a terrible death on the cross because of me & you, now that's a bad experience. "Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted." (Hebrews 2:18) and "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, But we have one who was tempted in every way - yet was without sin."
(Hebrews 4:15) No matter what you've gone through, or are going through, He's already been there.

The "Great Spirits" Told Him He was Going to Heaven

I was witnessing to a guy Wednesday night outside of Wal-mart. He was smoking, of course, if they ever ban smoking completely, it will be harder for me to find people to witness to. Anyhow, when I asked him if he knew where he was going when died, he said, "To heaven." I asked him how he knew that & he replied, "The great spirits told me." He said he was a Native American, half, the other half was Scotch-Irish & I could see a heck of a lot more of that than Blackfoot. I guess there is kind of a romance to being associated with the N-A way of life. An interesting thing happened to him though, as he was introduced to the commandments & judgement of God. Somewhere in the conversation he concluded he was on his way to hell. The "great spirits" & the Great Holy Spirit don't mix. They will lead you in two different directions. One goes the wide path & the other the narrow. One to destuction the other to eternal life.

California Court Overturns Gay Marriage Ban

California's Supreme Court overruled against the freely elected ban on gay marriage (although rather than calling it a gay marriage ban, the law would better be defined as enshrining God's design for marriage), effectively halting the democratic process there. As the far left continues their attack on everything holy, the court ruled in a lawsuit 4-3 to overturn the law banning gay marriage. A law voted on by the people of California.

"It's about human dignity. It's about human rights. It's about time in California," San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, pumping his fist in the air, told a roaring crowd at City Hall. "As California goes, so goes the rest of the nation. It's inevitable. This door's wide open now. It's going to happen, whether you like it or not."

No, it's about human rebellion. It's about human wrongs. And, as the mayor stated, it usually starts, in this country anyway, in California, with someone pumping his fist at God, while the lost roar their approval. And the door is wide open, just as the wide gate in Matthew 7:13 is open that leads to destruction, whether we like it or not.

To be honest though, if Christians were doing what Jesus commanded them to in Matthew 28:19,20 the courts might not be an issue. If God's Word was preached fully & people were instructed to "Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins will be wiped out,"(Acts 3:19) instead of, "Let me show you how to have your purpose-driven best life now." perhaps this country could avoid the path of destruction it is going down.

"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh." (Genesis 2:24)

"If the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?" (Psalm 11:3)

Click the headline to read the article.

Ronnie Reagan Preached & the Hail Came Down at the Morgan County Prison Tent Revival

As the lightning, rain & hail poured down, prisoners moved swiftly to the makeshift alter Friday evening on the last day of the tent revival at Morgan County Prison. The Lord God Almighty added the special effects as Pastor Reagan preached repentance one more time. Pastor Ronnie said, "When Moses preached on the moountain, lightning ran along the ground like a serpent." Then, as if on cue, lightning flashed & thunder roared while men moved up to the front for prayer. You couldn't have planned it any better.
I spoke to a man who poured his heart out to me in remorse over having "taken five lives," that he wished he could take back. God can even save him. It is amazing how He works.

Planned Parenthood Presents Awards for Sin Promotion

I read where Planned Parenthood of Middle and East Tennessee (PPMET) will present awards tonight in Nashville. They are best known for promoting killing unborn children & sexual promiscuity. Unless they repent God will have another reward for them on Judgement Day.

Tag-Team Witnessing at Sandy Springs Park

When we saw a Maryville Police Department Officer lecturing some high school-aged kids at the Sandy Springs Park Wednesday evening we decided to hang around until the officer left & give the youths God's version of the Law. Our new friend in the Lord, Eric, joined Donnie & I. We had a lively discussion with about 15 youths, the biggest part of them having little, if any, church upbringing. You definitly can't just give them a "Jesus loves you." & hope they have any clue what that really means. So many of these people you feel as if you are giving them their first Bible lesson. Time is short. The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.

Witnessing for Christ in the Prison

I have to admit, going to the State Prison in Morgan County, Tennessee & looking two (large) convicted felons in the eye with no bars between us & saying to them "you are lying, thieving, blasphemous, adulterers and you have to face God on Judgement Day." sounds a little unnerving, but that is what happened Monday evening when I went to the tent revival with Pastor Ronnie Reagan & friends. We had a big tent (almost 40'x80')set up in the middle of the yard. While they were singing I got to wander away from the tent a little bit & pass out tracts & talk to some of the prisoners who weren't directly at the revival. I was kind of nervous but it turns out that when they are faced with God's Law they are just as helpless as the rest of us & maybe more understanding of His justice than most. As I was handing one man a tract he told me, "I'm good." meanimg he didn't want one. I was thinking, if you were good, you wouldn't be in here. Then he told me he was an atheist. I said to him that wouldn't do him much good on Judgement Day.
I hope to go back up on Friday so remember me, & especially them in your prayers. Jesus died for them also.

Green Meadow Church of God with Pastor Ronnie Reagan Hosting 2nd Morgan County Prison Revival

Monday May 5th will begin a revival at the Morgan County Correctional Facility. Pastor Ronnie Reagan will be the main speaker. We have set up a tent in the outside yard that will hold 300 people. I am going to try to join them on some of the evenings. It should be exciting. Please keep us in your prayers.

"Christianity Isn't Fun"

I was sharing the Gospel with two guys standing out back of Thunderworld tonight. one of them, named Tom, was particularly pleased wit how much he had lied & lusted, he wasn't quite as proud of his blaspheming & stealing but admitted he had done them more than enough. His friend tolg him he needed to "receive" Christ & Tom said he had received Him but he just couldn't stop doing all the stuff he was doing. He told me, "I'm sure there are people out there who can have fun being a Christian but to me it's not fun. I like to lie & drink & gaulk at women & cuss & do what I do." I told him "I'm not trying to get you to become a Christian because it is fun. Jesus told us it often wouldn't be fun. There would be persecutions, tribulations & trials. I'm telling you this because of where you will spend eternity. He admitted he was probably going to hell but he wasn't concerned about it. "It's all up to the man upstairs." he said. I asked him if he broke his arm would he go to the doctor & Tom said he would. I told him, "The reason you would go to the doctor is you don't want to face the pain of having a broken arm untreated. The reason your not concerned about hell is you haven't thought about the pain of it. Jesus said there would be weeping & gnashing of teeth, the flame is never quenched & the worm never dies." At that point he was looking for a way to get out of there. I don't think he had heard it quite like that before.

Some times hearing the truth is like getting a cavity fixed. It hurts but it has to be done.

Best Places in Blount County to Share Your Faith

Blount County's best spots to go witnessing. I'm not talking about going to church & telling everybody how God healed your cold or gave you a raise. I'm talking about going into the highways & byways & compelling them to come in to the Kingdom, cold turkey, just go up & start talking. I'd like to hear your ideas.

1. Sandy Springs Park Especially in the warm weather you will find many people milling around just hanging out with their pals or resting from playing basketball, or going on romantic walks on the greenway (those are always interesting when you mention that if you look with lust you've committed adultery on your heart, talk about letting the air out!). Sometimes you can catch 5 or 6 young people hanging out at a picnic table, kind of like mini-street preaching.

2. Springbrook Park Similar to Sandy Springs but not quite as many people & they are spread out in more inconvenient places. The pavilion is the best spot to catch groups hanging around.

3. Foothills Mall* I have an asteric because it would be better for you than me. We were told not to witness there any more by a security guard after a guy we were speaking to got too loud. But you should try it until they make you stop. Lots of high school kids there for no particular reason other than to see other kids. Good in any weather.

4. Wal-Mart (Alcoa HWY) parking lot & outside front entrance. There's always some guy out there smoking a cigaret while his wife or whoever is inside shopping. He won't run back inside on you because cigarets are expensive & he wants to get his money's worth. We spoke to eight young men who were standing around outside together one night in 23 degree weather! But they were not going in until they had finished their smoke. The new Wal-Mart hasn't quite caught on as well yet as a hang out.

5. Broadway in Downtown Maryville Lots of people here going in & out of the bars from 5:00 pm to midnight. A little older crowd than the average you see at the park, plus they may be drunk, which can make it interesting. Having a partner with you is recommended.

6. Thunderworld Combines aspects of 3,4 & 5 Mostly young people although some mid to older. Once again, they have to go outside to smoke which makes them easy to talk to. There is a bar there so some of these people may well be enebriated. (did I spell that right?)

7. Your Living Room This can work well from two angles if you have teenagers. When they bring their friends over you sit them down and take them through the Law, judgement, hell, repentance, the sacrifice, forgiveness & grace. One of three things could happen: <a>.It could go in one ear & out the other, which is not an unusual occurance when talking to teenagers. <b>.They could repent of their sins & put their trust in Jesus Christ as their Lord & Savior (the best option) or <c>.It will really wierd them out & they will leave (not a bad second choice if they don't go for b. My daughter had a particularly seedy friend that she brought to the house one time, we started going through the Law & got stuck on lying & hell. I've never seen or even heard about him since).

8. Any Convenient Store with a Laundrymat People are sitting around outside killing time, & of course, smoking a cigaret, waiting for you to move in with words of life.


Well, I was hoping to do a top ten, but that is all I could come up with. Let me what you think of these & if you have a favorite spot.

Earth Day - Confessions of an Environmentalist

In honor of Earth Day I have to tell you about a witnessing encounter I had a little while back. Really I didn't get to witness to him, we just gave him a gospel tract while Donnie, Ronnie & I were at the park one Wednesday. I don't even remember what the guy looks like, we must have given it to him as he walked or ran by on the Maryville Greenbelt. Later that evening he emailed us since we had a contact address on the tract. Unfortunately I lost my last responce to him. But this is most of the correspondence we had together. It should give you an interesting perspective on the mindset of the environmentalist cult:

from:Matt

" Does your church recycle? I was handed a 'Million Dollar Question' bill this evening while at the greenbelt presunably by a member of your church as they had www.gmcog.com stamped on them and at the least they could have said is "Please recycle this". Or you can have printed with "Please Recycle" on it somewhere. Any thing we can do to save the planet God has given us... "

my reply:

" I am glad you contacted us. We have found that the most favorable way to recycle those bills is to: a. Read the message. B. Obey what you read. C. Pass it on to someone else. Just one of those bills can go a long way when that happens.
thank you for your interest,
faithfully,
Kevin "

from Matt:

" Well, that is a nice thought but not always one that comes to the random people that you are handing these out to. Which shows that you either missed the point of my note or that your church is umwilling to accept responsibility for the fact that it could be contributing to waste and trash. What percentage of the people that you hand these to actually read them and take anything away from this message? What percentage read them and then crumple it up and toss it somewhere? I guess a small percentage might actually carry to a trash can to dispose of it, I bet a very small percentage think of recycling it with their scrap paper or passing it on to someone else.

And how sincere is it ti hand out to strangers as you pass by a clever attention getting fake million dollar bill with some rhetoric to make someone feel guilty or scared, threatened with hell for the life they've lived. My God is about Love, not fear and guilt. I'm not sure why I felt the need to write you more on this subject, it is very unlike me but something really bothers me about it. But I wish you well and just hope you think through your actions as a group. Have a good weekend.

Matt "

my reply:

" Who is your God? "

from Matt:

" My God is the one who sent Jesus to be a teacher among us. He's also the one who inspired Buddha, and is the basis for many of the world's religion's. I believe that God had to appear to different peoples in different ways so that they might understand hin better. I think that for someone (such as Robert J Pruitt) to say that "...there is only one true religion..." to bring his sheep into "...one body - one fold, one Church." is a very dangerous and narrowminded thought. Hitler thought that there was only one true race, and the few radical Muslim terrorists believe that their God is better that ours and their religion will prevail. Dangerous narrowminded thoughts in my opinion. I don't know exactly who your God is, but I don't care much for your religion. Please don't be offended, I'm just sharing my opinion, and you are absolutely welcome to yours.

Funny, you still don't seem to answer my simple question about the issue of recycling the flyers you hand out? My God wants us all to take better care of our planet.

Thanks again for your time. This has been interesting.

Matt "
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I lost my last response! Can you believe it? I am sure it was dynamic words of wisdom. The best I can remember, here is how it went:

" Let me ask you something, if I did not recycle & conserve what would happen? Would it be bad? Should I be scared? Should I feel guilty? Environmentalist use this arguement & it is a legitamate arguement. But, if we should be concerned about what may happen to us on this world which is temporal, how much more should we be concerned about what is eternal?

faithfully,
Kevin "

Hell is bad. If we love people we will warn them about it.

The god Matt is talking about does not exist. He has made up a god in his mind that likes what he likes and hates what he hates. If you don't want to feel guilty you try to make up a god that wont hold you accountable, then you won't feel guilty about your sins. Did you notice when he said, "...something really bothers me about it."? When he read the tract & the Commandments were brought before him the Holy Spirit used them to convict him of his sin. That is what bothered him.

"Expelled" Worth the Risk

I went to see Ben Stein's "Expelled" the movie tonight. First I experienced the humiliation of getting old as I went to buy the ticket. The girl charged me six dollars at the ticket counter. At first I didn't think anything of it, but as I was waiting for the rest of my group (Chance, Michael, Jon & Brook) I remembered when I called about the movie times, the recording said the price for adults $8.50. So I looked at my ticket & it said "child" on it. As I waited outside, Jon & Brook showed up & I joked that I may have to let Brook use my ticket since I may not pass as a child. They informed me that I had been given the senior citizen's discount.

Anyhow, the movie is worth seeing. It is a disturbing message of repression, censorship & blacklisting of scientist & professors who teach or write about intellegent design in anything other than a negative way. Stein does a good job of combining interviews, humor, inspiration, history & shock value to drive home his point. At first I thought some of the old historical videos might have been over the top, but by the time you see all the evidence you're afraid he might not be off the mark much at all. When you listen to the logic (or lack) of the evolutionists, you start to understand their agenda. It's not about science, it's about money, getting rid of God so they can set their own moral standards, & fear of being wrong in their own religion of evolution that they have invested so much of their life, even their soul in. But don't take my word for it, check it out for yourself.

"I'm Going to Hell"

We talked to a Muslim yesterday evening at Sandy Springs Park who said, "I'm going to hell." even before we could take him through the Law. When I asked him why he said, "because I'm not a good person." So I asked him why he thought that & he said he has done many bad things. So we went through the Law just to verify that & he was correct (there was a girl whose father was a preacher & a young man from the Far East who were with him, they agreed they were going to hell also). He didn't believe though, that you needed someone to pay for your sins. He said that there were scales that would weigh your good against your bad & if the good outweighs the bad, you were in. The only trouble with that kind of thinking is that the Bible says, "there is no one who does good, not even one." (Psalm 14:3) The scales are turned against us.

American Idol Gives Back Because, "We're All Innocent"

I guess it is a little wierd to admit this on an Christian evangelism blog, but I was watching American Idol on tv last Tuesday for the competition part of Idol Gives Back week. David Cook sang a song, We're All innocent (not his best performance) & showed his hand with "give back" written on it. He was then commended by the judges for the nice sentiment. of course my first thought was, "If we are truely all innocent, we would probably have a lot less that we would need to give back to." Does we're all innocent mean that nobody has ever lied, stolen, hated, blasphemed, committed adulterey, murdered, ect.., or does it mean that we are so stupid we don't know any better, or could it be, most likely, that in the world's eyes, there is no such thing as sin so there is no such thing as sinners. If we think that way it is easy to get tears in our eyes about how "unfair" the world is, & if everyone could just be more "tolerant" then we wouldn't have all these problems we are having. When they say that what they really mean is "I want to do what I want to do & you don't have any right to tell me I'm wrong & if there are any consequences for my actions then you need to pay for it & we'll call it giving back" I'm sure there are some good things done with the money donated on that show, but it is not because we're all innocent. The fact is, we are all guilty & have earned the suffering we receive. It is only by God's grace that we have not completely received the just payments for our actions. It is only by humbling purselves & turning to the one who is innocent, Jesus Christ, & accepting the payment He made for our crimes that we will be declared "paid in full" on the day of judgement.

"Commitment to What?"

Last Wednesday I went with Donnie to Sandy Springs Park & we witnessed to 6 people (3 sets of 2). Out of the six there was one particular young man we had a good conversation with who was genuinely interested in how to get saved. He had recently come out of the army & was concerned about where he stood with God. After speaking to him about sin, hell, mercy, repentance, & grace we left him with a small book with the gospel of John in it. He told us he would start reading it that night. Pray that God will do a work in his heart.

Of the other people we talked to, the conversation was much more typical of what I have found of watered down gospel results. It never ceases to amaze me the adjectives you hear over and over again describing someone's "spiritual experience" which produces no fruit. They will say things like, "I got saved when I was 14 but i kind of went back into the world again," or "I made a commitment to Christ 5 years ago, I just haven't been as close to God as I should" or "I received Jesus into my heart, so I'm saved," & then they go on with their life like nothing happened. What did they get saved from? What did they make a commitment to? It is no wonder that the divorce rate of professed "Christians" is hardly different than non-Christians when the Church, out of desire to show a high success rate of "conversions", is willing to take so quickly someone's claim of commitment. If we take our commitment to God so lightly, why should we take marriage seriously? We seem to have forgotten the meaning of commitment. These people have never taken the time to try to understand what they are getting into, or what Jesus is trying to get them out of. "Whoever finds his life will lose it and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." Matthew 10:39

God wants all of you. Not just a little effort every now and then. Not some religious chant you say in hopes of the magic cure. He died for you. Now what?

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed - Movie, Coming Out April 18th

Ben Stein's movie about the suppression of intelligent design study in academia will be coming April 18th, an important date in history (my birthday, I guess that's where the "No Intelligence Allowed" comes from), so we need to see this, here is the trailer:


Here is an interview Ben had with Bill O'Reilly about the movie

Militant Atheist: Rebel Without a Cause

I had a brief comment from a mr. x today who challenged me to go to a website (which turned out to be his) to try to "help" him. Which I guess is a good advertizing ploy to get people to your website.
Of course when you get to the site, most of what you read is a bunch of gobbledygook that really doesn't make a lot of sense, and when you think about it, has no chance of making sense when there is no authority to make sense from. You have to shut off a good portion of your brain to not recognize there is a creator. And if you are shutting it off to that, how much more are you shutting it off to? Is there a right and wrong? By whose standards? And who cares? Which may be the real point anyhow. When someone has decided there is something in their life that they don't want to answer for, the easiest way to solve the problem is to try to eliminate the person they would have to answer to. Why do you think those third graders were plotting to kill their teacher? Or the stories you hear about on the news where children kill their parents. It is the same thing. If we can only "kill" God, we won't have to answer to Him, "let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." A well known publisher understood this concept when he wrote, "I have left my religious conversion behind and settled into a comfortabl state of atheism. I have come to think that religion has caused more harm than any other idea since the begining of time." Larry Flint in his book An Unseemly Man.
Psalm 14:1 says. "The fool says in his heart, there is no God." & verse 4 says, "Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon the Lord." Atheists try to hide their desire to sin under the pretense that there is no sin. That won't hold much weight on judgement day.

Americans Don't Like the Direction of Country

A new CBS/New York Times poll (of course we really trust them to tell the truth) reported that 81% of Americans think that this country is "going in the wrong direction". Now let's assume for a minute that the report is accurate. Why do we have such a poor attitude in our country right now? The poll shows that the economy is the most important issue in the political world also. It seems that moral & spiritual issues are hardly even on the map. If this is true about what is first in the hearts & minds of Americans then it is no wonder the country is going in the wrong direction. You would think with all the work everyone has been doing to build each others self-esteem that we would all be content. But I guess the problem is really with everyone else & not me. We need to take a look in the Bible at Matthew 5:25-34 to regain our perspective on what will get us back in the right direction.
Here is the news link for that poll:
http://www.wlbt.com/Global/story.asp?S=8117232

Spiritual Health vs Physical Health

Now that my wife is recovering from her illness I have been back out street fishing again. Tonight was my first attempt alone. I have been out the last two Wednesdays with Donnie, Ronnie & Jeff. We got serenaded one evening by a guy with his friends who were on their way to play music in a bar. In the parking lot he played us a gospel song he had written, although I doubt that was the kind of music they were going to play in the bar. The next Wednesday we got rejected by a guy who told us "I'm good". Although to his frustration his friends stopped and talked with us. Another guy we met was wondering if he might be reincarnated when he died. After we brought the law of God to him and three of his friends one of them used his cell phone to act like his mother was calling so they could get away. It was worth it though when you saw the conviction on one of the young men's face when we were finished. "I am not ashamed of the Gospel for it is the power of God to those who believe". It is a good thing that the power is in the gospel & not me.
The problem was when I went by myself tonight. I went to the park, downtown, to Thunderworld, to Walmart & only talked (briefly) to two young men at the park. I noticed as I was walking around the park that I was seriously out of shape & became tired very easily. Three weeks of doing nothing much more going back & forth to the hospital every day & another couple of weeks of caring for my wife at home had taken a lot of my strength away. Don't get me wrong, I was thankful to be able to do it. Seeing God work in this situation is a privaledge to witness & be a part of. I was just taking note of how being inactive in a certain area can quickly make you weaker. It seemed the same with going out to sharing your faith. I saw plenty of people tonight, but for some reason I couldn't find the right oppotunity. Some of the situations did seem awkward but I think the biggest part of it was that I hadn't done it in a while. I know I have to keep working at it but the hardest part may be training myself to let God do it. Pray for me.

Ten Ways Not to Evangelize

This is pretty good although I'm not sure that slapping someone up side of the head with a Bible is a bad idea.

'ER' Television & Eternity

This about sums it up. Kudos to ER for having the guts to show that scene.

Prayer Update

My wife is doing much better now, in fact, the doctor who told a month ago that it would be a miracle if she survived, has more recently said, "It is a miracle, she is on her way to full recovery!" Praise God. Thanks to everyone who offered up their prayers. Please continue to remember us in them.

Change We Can Believe In?

It is interesting watching political campains to see what thoughts, ideas, ect., catch the public's attention. This year everyone seems to be caught up in the idea of "change", often without taking the time to study what kind of "change" they are talking about. Too often the church mimics the world in the same way. Christians, & especially, it seems, evangelicals, get caught up in the next "new thing" that is going to catch people's attention. New music, new entertainment, new buildings, big screens, home churches, cell groups, ways to build your self-esteem, new diets, how to be "blessed for success" ect. blah, blah, blah. Why is it we want to offer the lost anything but the gospel to try to draw them in? Is it because we have so little faith in the power of the gospel message? Or do our egos lead us to believe we have some special "gift" we can use to draw them in & then eventually we will get around to sharing the gospel with them? Mark Dever, in his book Building Your Ministry on the Gospel wrote,"What you win them with, is likely what you will win them to." What are we winning them to? Did Jesus say, "Try to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature and if you can't do that, keep them entertained."? It is time we got our priorities in order. Sharing the gospel must be first & formost in every ministry we do or we are nothing more than egotistical social workers storing up for ourselves treasures on earth rather than in heaven.

Global Warming?

What does global warming have to do with evangelism? On the surface it would appear, nothing, but lately science, for some people anyway, has become it's own religion which people are expected to believe with blind faith. But some things are not always what they seem. It is good to study as much of the evidence as possible. the enemy attacks from many angles. If they can make you believe a lie, they have another way to steal your freedoms. Check out these two stories:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,3333
http://www.citizensugar.com/109381228,00.html

Joel Osteen's Secret to Success

What does it take to become America's most popular preacher? Easy, say lots of stuff to make you feel better about yourself & don't mention sin, righteousness, holiness, judgement, future punishment, hell, repentance, the Cross, God & especially Jesus Christ. Check out this video, once again, my links aren't working & since the witnessing offsets haven't kicked in yet I'm still too cheap to get a new computer so you will have to type it in:

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?cl=6337685


For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around then a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 2 Timothy 4:3 Give me your best shot.

Rick Warren & Andy Stanley Express Concernes About Christianity's Image

Apparently some well known mega-pastors are worried about how Christianity is perceived by the rest of the world. An article in USA Today that was published four months ago (I'm just now finding it) tells of research done by David Kinnamon, president of Barna Group which he wrote about in his new book, UnChristian, What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianty. The book tells of a survey in which young people reveal their attitude about today's Church. The study showed that of the non-Christian they questioned, 91% said that Christianity was anti-gay, 87%said it was judgemental & 85% believed Christians were hypocrites. When Rick Warren, author of A Purpose Driven Life was asked about it he offered that the Church should be "known by what it is for than what it is against. We've been pretty much reduced to a big mouth." According to the article, Andy Stanley, senior pastor of North Point Ministries in Atlanta suggested that churches should not focus solely on converting people. "I think we should put the emphasis on developing relationships with non-believers, serving them, loving them, and making them feel accepted, only then would we earn the right to share the gospel."

If only Rick Warren's words about the Church having a big mouth were true. It seems as though these days the Church is interested in everything but sharing the gospel. The Law of God, sin repentance are rarely mentioned in fear of offending someone & not "making them feel accepted". Too much of the modern Church is worried about whether they will be accepted by the world. Jesus never told us everyone would like us. In fact He said just the opposite (see Matthew 5:11,12 & 10:34-39). The Apostle Paul was not afraid to open his big mouth in Acts 24:25 As Paul discoursed on righteousness, self-control and the judgement to come, Felix was afraid... Jesus began His ministry with "Repent!" & ended it with "...go and make disciples...teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you..." We should be doing the same, whatever they think of us.

Read the article here:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2007-10-10-christians-young_N.htm

The Joy of Meeting God?

What was your reaction when you first met God? When you first heard about Him, heard what He did for you? When you "received" Him into your heart? Was it overwhelming joy? Happy giddyness? Excitement?

In Matthew 13:20,21 Jesus said, "the one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the Word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the Word, he quickly falls away."

When I first understood my predicament before the Lord, it was not a joyful moment. To understand that my sins and iniquities had separated me from my God so that He would not hear me, is a sobering & humbling thing. You may say, "But we are past that now. our sins are washed away, isn't that joyful?" Should I tell you, "Oh yes, I am so happy to know that what I have done has resulted in the Creator of the universe to be beaten, spit upon, mocked, cursed, stripped & nailed to a tree to be left to die. Isn't that joyful?"

No, the first thought of what God has done for us should bring us to our knees, broken before Him in humble gratitude. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. (Psalm 51:17)

Morgan County Prison Revival

Double rows of chain link fence fifteen feet tall & wrapped in razor wire couldn't keep the Spirit of God out this week as I had the priviledge of joining Pastor Ronnie Reagan while he held a revival at the Morgan County Correctional Facility. Services were held Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evenings from 7:00 to 8:30 PM. I got to go Thursday and Friday along with Johnny C, Marty W, Jeff M, & Daniel S. A couple of Davids went on Wednesday although I'll not sure yet which ones. That was the first time I had set foot in a state prison (thankfully) so I wasn't sure what to expect. Although I am sure we didn't meet the most hardened criminals in the place, I was excited to see how receptive they were to the gospel. I guess that shows that the Law really is a "schoolmaster to bring you to Christ" (Galations 3:24). The chapel we were using was made to seat 60 people but by Friday night we had 85 men in there & had to turn others away for lack of room. The prisoners had their own band & they were amazing! Many of your large churches would be hard-pressed to have music that good. Pastor Ronnie preached hard on sin, judgement, repentance, faith and redemption. Many came to the alter while others prayed at their seats because there was no more room at the front. It was hard to get a gist of how many were save because of our time constraints. Speaking of which; it seemed like the last night we were there God must have held back the clock to give us time to complete everything that needed to be done. We did in an hour and a half (singing, praying, testifying, singing again, preaching, praying again, passing out tracts) what would have normally taken two hours or more. Praise God for His patience and mercy. Pray for those men in prison. It is sobering to know that when we were done we get to go home & back to our own bed while they are stuck with the harsh reality of the consequences of their actions. Remember that we who are saved are forever in debt to the One who took the ultimate consequences for our actions when he suffered and died on a cross 2000 years ago.

Coversations With Drunks 2

I was out tonight & stopped at the BP station when I saw this worn-looking 40 - 60 year old guy at the corner of the building. He was hollering to at me to ask me a favor. (I have to admit the reason I pulled into the station to start with was because I saw that guy sitting there & decided to try to talk to him. He beat me to it.) He gave me five dollars & asked me if I would go in there I buy him some cigarettes because they would not sell to him since his sister went in to the BP and shoplifted. Of course he would never steal anything but they refused to sell him anyway. You may not approve of buying someone cigarettes just so you can witness to him but that is what I did (I did tell him I would not buy him any beer). After I brought up the things of God he said he repents "every morning". I asked him what he thought "repent" means. He said "To ask for forgiveness." When I explained to him that to repent meant to turn the other way, to get your eyes off sin & get them on the Savior, he said, "But this life we are living is a winding road." I told him "Jesus said we are to be on the straight and narrow path, that is the road that leads to life." When he heard this he said. "Oh, you got me there." I gave him a booklet called "Save Yourself Some Pain" & he asked me for another & one more of the gospel tracts I had given him at the first. Then something a little strange happened. He asked me if I would give him a ride to the jail so he could bail out his sister who had been arrested for the shoplifting. I was a little hesitant & I don't recommend this but after determining he was fairly feeble, I agreed. On the way there he admitted to me he had been drinking & the smell was obvious on his breath. As he got out asked me to pray for him. So there I was dropping off a drunk man at the jail so he could bail out his sister! Something tells me that is not going to work out too well for him. On the other hand, God knows what He is doing.

Conversations With Drunks

You may or may not think trying to witness to a drunk (not driving)person is worth the effort. There could be good arguements either way, but sometimes you don't know what you are getting into until you are already in it. Last night I was witnessing to these two young teenage boys at Thunderworld when this college age guy decides to jump into the conversation. When I asked him where he was going whe he died, he asked me if I knew anything about the Masons & I said "very little," I told him I used to work with one. He sais he was a Mason & his Father was one & his grandfather was one (apperently that will get you priority treatment for salvation). It was hard to get any words in between his talking but I finally got out of him that he had been called to preach four years ago but he had "backslid". He admitted he had been drinking too much that night & had planned on going into Thunderworld to drink some more. He never made it. He told me,"I would give my life to save someones soul." I said, "If that were true you would be out here doing this with me instead of what you are doing." After 20 minute of discussion about the state of his soul, he and his friend decided they had had enough & left, seemingly convicted about his lack of commitment. It is hard to tell for sure what they are truely feeling when someone is under the influence. We must trust that God's word will not return void.

Bargain Shopping On INSP TV

I was channel surfing tonight & came across this Mike Murdock guy on the INSP channel. What a guy! For only 58 dollars seed money he will pray for your business card so you can become a millionaire. The people who developed the beenie babies became successfull because they planted $5.80 in him (that was all the money they had at the time). Another guy gave him a black Corvette & a $25,000.00 Rolex watch as a seed. Whoever that guy was must be a trillionaire by now! I never realized becoming filthy rich was so easy. Of course the only reason you would want to be that rich is so that you could spread the gospel better. We all know that rich people are much better witnesses than poor people. I wonder why Jesus didn't figure that out? Surely He would have been much more successful with His ministry if He would have had His own TV show & lived in a big fancy mansion & drove a Ferrari or something. Everyone would want to be like Him. Perhaps the next time Mr Murdock prays he can ask Jesus to come down and give it another try, Mike's way. God help us.

"Have It Your Way" Christianity

Are you unhappy with your pastor? Unhappy with your church? Have we found the answer for you. Chance sent me this. Unfortunately it is all too close to the truth.

Bitter Cold Better Than Lukewarm

Did some ice fishing tonight at Wal-Mart. After a little success at Thunderworld (inside) Ronnie drove Donnie & I to Wal-Mart where we passed out a few tracts in the cold 24 degree night. We hit the jackpot when we saw seven guys hanging out the front side of the building. Three of them were employees, probably going out to smoke. Some vices are worth any sacrifice I guess. The other four were just friends who apparently didn't have anything better to do than hang outside Wal-Mart in 24 degree weather. We got to give them a mini sermon about death, the law, judgement, forgiveness & repentence while they trembled in fear (or it could have been the cold). Anyhow, it was a good opportunity to spread the Gospel. "Preach the Word, be prepared in season and out of season..." 2 Timothy 4:2

Tom Brady: Super Bowl Rings Are Not Enough

What does the worker gain from his toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on men. He has made everything beautiful in it's time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3:9,10

With all the accomplishments the quarterback of the New England Patriots has achieved you would think he would feel pretty well satisfied with his life. But read this quote from Tom Brady in an intervue on Sixty Minutes a couple of years ago:

"Why do I have three Super Bowl rings and still think there is something greater out there for me? I mean, maybe a lot of people would say, 'Hey man, this is what it is.' I reached my goal, my dream, my life. Me, I think, 'God, it's got to be more than this.' I mean this isn't, this can't be all it's cracked up to be."

What's the answer?

"I wish I knew. I wish I knew." says Brady. " I love playing football and I love being quarterback for this team. But at the same time, I think there are a lot of other parts of me that I'm trying to find."

A good football game is fun to watch, but when eternity comes, how much will Super Bowl rings be worth?

Now all has been heard, here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. Ecclesiastes 12:13

He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly before your God. Micah 6:8

What is the prize worth keeping? Paul wrote about it in 2 Timothy 4:7,8..."I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award me on that day - and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing." Pray that we are included in that crowd.

For some reason it won't let me link it but to read the whole Tom Brady interview got to:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/11/03/60minutes/main1008148.shtml