A Land of Swedes

Thats the title of the latest Serious Times newsletter by James Emery White.  In this newsletter, he quotes several news sources that state that the percentage of Americans that state that they subscribe to no religion has increased from 8% to 15%.   

As always, Mr. White eloquently quotes other sources to try to explain why this is happening,  what does it mean, and what can be done.

He says that America is becoming like Sweden, a society without God.  Are we really destined for that?  

I believe that God still loves us.  I think that, if Jesus does not return soon,  that we will become a mission field for believers from the rest of the world.   We already see signs of God moving in the Asian and Middle Eastern countries because of the persecution that exists for Christians.  I’m afraid that until we see persecution here, the church will probably continue to decline in numbers.  Will it be in my lifetime?  I don’t know.  But I believe that God has a plan and it will be accomplished in His good time.

Change Me, O Lord, Not Thy Will

*~Change Me~*

Dear Lord change not Thy will in my life,
Or trial and sorrows to be;
Renew my faith and make me strong,
Change not Thy will, change me.

Though teardrops fall when trouble comes,
Like storms on a rolling sea;
Let Thy beacon guide my ship to port,
Change not the storm, change me.

When Thy Holy Word I don’t understand
And Thy glory I cannot see;
Teach my eyes, give me sight and wisdom,
Change not Thy Word, change me.

If the fruit Thou hast given me to eat,
Taste bitter and sour, I plea;
Let not my will but Thine be done,
Change not the fruit, change me.

If sometime I murmur and grumble, dear Lord,
About the cross I carry for Thee;
Keep it firm on my shoulders, but hold my hand,
Change not the cross, change me.

If You change Thy ways to please me, dear Lord,
I would soon grow cold and turn from Thee;
That You may hear my prayers, dear Lord,
Change not Thy ways, change me.

There’s a valley that I must cross,
Someday Thy face to see;
Lest I forget what power is Thine,
Change not the valley, change me.
Author Unknown

Jesus Has Left The Building

This is the title of a book written by Paul Vieira.  A former pastor and musician, Paul writes about his search for an authentic expression of Christian spirituality.  He has put selected readings from the chapters of his book in podcast form that have been a real blessing to me.  You can listen to them on http://paulvieira.podbean.com/ .

Golden Compass

Scheduled to be in theaters December 7 is another movie that is a blatant attack on Christians. This is no hoax according to the below website.  I advise Christians with children to stay away from this one and the rest of the trilogy.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/compass.asp

How Christian Men Get Caught Up In Idols

I race a vintage Porsche and have used racing as a platform to build relationships with men and share my faith. One day a man who never misses a chance to race asked me quite seriously, “When does my passion for racing become an idol?” Good question.

All idolatry is rooted in unbelief. This unbelief can take many forms, but at its root is the powerful lie, “Jesus Christ alone is not enough to make me happy. I need something else.” An idol is something we worship. The issue is looking to anything except Jesus Christ for identity, meaning, and ultimate purpose. An idol is anything that becomes the object of inordinate affection. An idol is anything of which we say, “I must have this to be happy.”

John Calvin said that men are “idol factories.” Perhaps nothing interferes with a man’s faith more than the root problem of making idols—it’s the “next step” after believing a lie. The average American Christian male has made an idol of something that competes with his full surrender to the Lordship of Christ. Men can make idols of almost anything, but common examples today include:

Money
Titles and positions (and especially if their work doesn’t generate large revenues)
Homes (i.e., attaching personal worth and identity to a dwelling)
Country club memberships (i.e., being part of the “right” crowd)
Ministry titles (e.g., elder, deacon)
Relationships (e.g., idolizing a wife)
Affiliations with important people
Cars, boats, planes, motorcycles
Their bodies (i.e., physical appearance)
Superior intelligence
Their own righteousness
The praise of men
As you can readily see, all these affections are horizontal and worldly. All such friendship with the world is spiritual adultery (James 4:4).

Idols make promises they cannot keep, which is why you can be on a winning streak and still feel empty.

The above is a recent Weekly Briefing from the Man in the Mirror written by Pat Morley.

This week I am attending a professional training in New Orleans. This is my first trip ever to this city so I was interested in walking down Bourbon Street. I’ve heard so much about it. A small group of us went there for dinner Sunday night and walked down the street afterwards. You can’t walk down this street without understanding about many of the idols that are mentioned above. This street is a literal temple to the many idols that men can have. As a Christian man its easy to get caught up in the temptations and the atmosphere. But we really need to understand that the people that are so lost in the lifestyles that embrace so many idols are blind to the fact that they are really in bondage. They are blinded by the lie that this is the way to enjoy life. What a shame. How can we not feel compassion for them. They need to know that the only freedom from that bondage is Jesus Christ. Lord, forgive me for not making an effort to reach even one of the lost.

Lifehouse – Everything

A friend brought this video on Godtube to my attention.  This is a video of a skit that brings into perspective how Jesus is always there trying to help us, no matter what we get ourselves into.  Its done to the music of Lifehouse.  Maybe it will touch you like it has touched so many others.

http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=ee73e63418003b47d7d5

Hindu chaplain opens the Senate

We just celebrated our nations birthday on July 4. That this country was founded on Judeo-Christian values, there is no argument. I just read about our Senate being opened this morning by a prayer by a Hindu chaplain from Nevada. This is the first time for this and is very disturbing to me. Thanks to Sutton Kinter for this short history lesson:

The source for having prayer to open the business of both the House and Senate comes from the Constitutional Convention of 1787. The gridlock from opposing views as to how the country would be governed nearly scuttled the convention. The solution came from Benjamin Franklin, who declared that the Holy Scriptures [ meaning the Christian Bible ] stated that unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain. He pointedly reminded those assembled that they had prayed often during the Revolutionary War, beseeching Almighty God for aid against their common foe of Great Britain. He noted that the Lord repeatedly answered those prayers. Therefore, he proposed that they should open their sessions with prayers to their ‘Powerful Friend’, seeking His help to create the framework for their new government. Which is why they did so as of the next morning. 3 weeks later, the Great Compromise was reached which created the Congress as it now is. It is also interesting to note that the US Supreme Court, when approached by a lawsuit under the guise of ’separation of church and State’, ruled that they had no standing to rule on the practise of such prayer, since it was in place before the Constitution existed. That is why the public purse pays for the 2 chaplains to do their job. The Founding Fathers of this country never intended to pray to any God other than the God of Heaven as revealed in the Christian Scriptures.

I think today is a sad day in America. What do you think?

Operation Arrowhead Ripper

In case you don’t know, our troops are involved in a major battle.  The Battle for Baqubah is going well.  Please read Michael Yon’s dispatch “Surrender or Die”: http://michaelyon-online.com/wp/surrender-or-die.htm

Support Michael’s mission by subscribing to his newsletter and contributing to his work.  He is not paid or supported by any of the news services.  Don’t trust the major news outlets to tell the truth about what is going on over there. Michael gets up close with the soldiers and presents the real picture.

Camping and Geocaching

I had a very humbling experience this last weekend. I’ll try to keep this short. Three families from our house church went on our 1st annual early summer campout. We camped at Canyon Point Campground which is at about 8000 ft. on the Mogollon Rim.  Very nice weather compared to Phoenix up there.

One of the things that John Rowden and I like to do when up there is geocaching. (If you don’t know about this, go to www.geocaching.com for information.) On Saturday we went on a couple of geocache searches. One of them took us deep into the forest near Willow Springs Lake. The whole idea of geocaching is to use a GPS device to locate the hidden cache using the coordinates for the cache from the geocaching website. When we parked my truck at the trailhead, I had the option of setting the coordinates for that location in the GPS so that we could return back. But I did not do that thinking that I could simply reverse the direction we were taking to the cache to return. Well, we found the cache and but returning back we went north of the lake, away from the parking location. After 3 hours and finally coming to the realization that we had gone past the lake some distance, a frustrated John (we had his daughter Toni with us) suggested that maybe we should pray before we changed our direction. We did. After a short distance we came on a road that led right to Willow Springs Lake.

From there we were able to walk to the trailhead parking lot. We were gone for a good 4 hours with most of that in a ‘lost’ state. For me, God gave me another lesson in trusting in Him. I always seem to be trying to do things on my own. But that almost never works out for the best. Only when I trust in my God and Savior, do things always work out for the best. (Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths. Prov 3:5-6)

And, oh yes, I also learned another valuable lesson. You ALWAYS set the return coordinates for the location where your truck is parked.

Those Awesome Days

THOSE AWESOME DAYS

 

Those were awesome days for Jesus and His friends,

The days before the awful cross on which He was to die.

It was not hard for them to see and feel oncoming trends

Of rising hatred and frenzied actions mounting high.

 

It was only days ago the crowds joined voices in the cry

“Hosanna, blessed, He who comes in the name of the Lord.”

How soon the scene was changed like rolling thunder from the sky,

Now, “Crucify Him, Crucify Him, He deserves the sword.”

 

It was the Pharisees and Sadducees, though religious they might be

That forced their accusations false against our Lord be heard.

So roughly bound from court to court unfairly judged was He

Yet to His own defense he would not come, saying not a word.

 

So there atop a skull like hill they nailed Him to a cross

So gruesome was the ugly scene, I almost cannot look.

For there my Lord gave up His life, suffering dreadful loss

So I could be free of sin’s death guilt, which for me He took.

 

I might despair should I not know, though in the grave He lay,

‘Twas only ‘til the appointed time of God’s greatest surprise.

For on day three, first of the week, came His glorious day

As from the chains of death and sealed-tight tomb He did arise.

 

Now I know that I am justified by His great resurrection

And now I live because He lives and will forever.

When He for me shall call, I’ll rise in His perfection

He and I shall live eternally and naught can ever sever.

 

My Jesus, I love You!

Charles Ashman

© March 27, 2002