The Rapture or the The Rescue?

Another year is almost over. Hard to believe. They seem to go by so quickly. Its hard to believe that we have served at KP now eleven years this coming Sunday. We pastored at Terre Haute ten years and nine months. But I think this one has went by even faster with Gabe practically spending all of his school years here in Ohio. We've enjoyed our pastorate here. This area has great people and it is beautiful country. The KP congregation has been great to pastor. Its been an adventurous journey. But Annette says everywhere we go is adventurous. I wonder what she means by that?

What's your plans for New Years Eve? For us, we will go to church and hopefully will say good night to 2009 before 2010 officially arrives. I really believe Jesus could come back for His church in 2010. I'm not just saying that, I really believe it could happen. If it doesn't, then I will expect him in 2011. All the signs we see right now in the bible are pointing us to what will happen in the Tribulation period. You might not think they way I do, but I am anxiously awaiting the coming of Christ. I'm ready to get rescued out of here! This world is a mess and its only going to get worse. It may be called the Rapture, but it could also be called the Rescue. Either way "Come Quickly Lord Jesus!"

-Pastor Randy

Sunday Wrap Up...21 Day Fast Begins Friday

Good service today! A little different than normal, but God's spirit spoke his word to us today. A great report from Ron regarding the mission Saturday morning. Wow, what a great group...thirty-nine people showing up at 4.45 am to go to serve homeless people. Unbelievable! Thank you to all who attended.

We will be doing our 21 day fast again this year. The fast begins Friday. It's your choice on what kind of fast. Please pray about participating. What's the purpose of such a fast? First of all, to get "tuned in" to the voice and will of God. Secondly, to offer your first 21 days as a kind of first fruits to God. Believe me, he will bless you during and after the fast. Thirdly, it will bring some discipline to your life. And there are many other purposes of a fast.

You can fast one meal a day. You could fast two meals a day. You could fast food until 3 pm a day (Jewish fast). You could do a vegetable and water fast. You could do a television fast. You could abstain from food all together and drink just fluids. There are all kinds of fasts, but pray about it and you might even see some web sites on fasting or read some a book on fasting. Just be led of the Spirit of God. He will bless you and the church as we fast and pray together in January.

Have a wonderful week!

-Pastor Randy

Some Very Special People...

Season greetings everyone! Only a few more days to the BIG DAY. I hope that you are done with your Christmas shopping. If not, I hope you like crowds, parking problems, traffic, impatient people. and pressure. Because that's what you have to look forward too.

While growing up, I had a uncle who would go to the local drug store and buy all of his Christmas presents on Christmas Eve night. He was a divorced single and worked two jobs, so it worked for him. However, his gifts were always interesting and of course never wrapped. But I thought that was cool...no suspense, just open the bag and there it was. He probably still shops like that today...some 40 years later. But at least, he was thoughtful enough to get us something.

Annette works today and I am doing a combination of ministry work, some home stuff, and making some calls today. Yesterday, the staff and I had some wonderful visits with Nona Moore, Rick and Kathy, and then afterwards we visited with Betty Noe and Imogene Halcomb. Both Nona and Imogene are such beautiful saints of God. They were a great blessing to our church body for a lot of years. I have never pastored anyone in 29 years of ministry as positive and supportive of the church and her pastor as Nona Moore. Matter of fact, if you knew her you would agree that a negative or critical word about anyone ever came out of her mouth. I am sure she was tempted like all of us with such thoughts. But she was never known to give into them. What a wonderful example of the attitude of Christ! And Imogene, what a great sense of humor! Ima was always teasing, laughing, and having a good time. I visited her many times and talked with her at church before she could no longer come due to health reasons. I never heard her complain. She seemed to always be content no matter her circumstances. Merry Christmas to these beautiful saints of God and their families from Kings Point. We will never forget them.

Merry Christmas everyone!

-Pastor Randy

Sunday Wrap Up

Top Seven Moments From Today

7. Delicious fudge, cookies, and candy prepared tonight for after the service. Some how a lot of it came home with me tonight.
6. Great fellowship throughout today with God's people!
5. Both choirs did a beautiful job tonight. It was really good!
4. Opportunities to preach the gospel today.
3. Widows and Fatherless dinner
2. Powerful ministry to so many hurting people this morning in the altars. It was a tough week for a lot of people. God's grace is sufficient.
1. Christina and Verrick (Mother & Son) received Christ this morning. Possibly many others in tonight's service.

Please remember this week in your prayers the Tim Studdard family and Stan and Gail. Everyone have a wonderful week!

-Pastor Randy

Countdown to Sunday..."Obtaining Real Revival" [please read!]

OBTAINING Real REVIVAL
-Leonard Ravenhill

Revival..... another definition would be to recover, repair or restore.
Hosea 10:12 says: "Sow to yourself in righteousness, reap in
mercy; break up your fallow ground; for it is time to seek the Lord
till He come and reign righteousness upon you." What is fallow
ground? Fallow ground is ground that has been fruitful, and then
it has been plowed over, and no seed has been sown in it, and
therefore it has become unproductive.

Notice, there is a human emphasis here -- it says that we are to
break up -- you break up your fallow ground.

Now take another aspect of it here in Psalm 85:6 - "Would Thou
not revive us again: that Thy people may rejoice in Thee." So,
there is an absence of joy, of vitality -- there is an absence of
ecstasy. The very word "revive" presupposes life. You can only
revive what has already had vitality -- life that has become sick,
weak, or apathetic. I think the nearest analogy I can give you is
a recent case of a man who apparently drowned. He had been
under the water for an incredible amount of time. Then somebody
pulled him out and worked and worked on him, and eventually life
came again. This is actually what it means to revive,
It means to revitalize.
It means to restore lost power.
It means to recover lost energy.

In the Acts of the Apostles 3:19 we read, "Repent ye therefore,
and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the
times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord."
Whatever else we say about revival we have to recognize this,
that revival is an act of mercy in the sovereignty of God. There
is a vast difference between revival and evangelism. When we
speak of revival in America we think of church advertising, "Our
revival will begin next Sunday night at a certain time and it is
going to finish the next Sunday night at a certain time."
Obviously this is something purely mechanical, it is something
which men have engineered. I think that one of the offenses of
revival, in the historic sense, is that it cannot be organized.

As Doctor Tozer said, "When revival comes it changes the moral
climate of a community." You can have revival that covers a church -
Spurgeon had that. You can have a revival that covers a city. You
can have a revival that covers the whole nation -- and I am thinking
in this context more than in the other contexts (though sometimes
revival spreads from here to there -- like fire spreads.) Revival
cannot be organized -- evangelism can be organized. Revival cannot
be subsidized --evangelism can and usually it must be. Revival
cannot be advertised --evangelism can.

It may cost millions of dollars, as it often does, to have one of our
huge, modern, so called revivals. You have to pay vast sums of
money for time on TV, for example -- perhaps a million dollars a
night. That's incredible, that's unthinkable to me in the context of
Biblical revival, or even historical revival. Why doesn't revival need
to be advertised? For the simple reason, that fire is the most self
advertising thing that there is, whether it is a physical fire or a
revival fire. It draws people like a magnet. To bring this down to
modern technology -- revival cannot be computerized. There is
information thatyou can put in computer and presto, you get the
answer predicting an outcome according to the facts that were put
in. But you cannot computerize or predict revival.

There are periods in which one thing predominates.
Sometimes revival is totally taken over by sorrow.
Sometimes revival is totally taken over by joy, ecstasy 'till
you don't know whether you are in the flesh or whether you've
gone out of the earth. Sometimes revival is taken over by
stillness.

There are times when you go to a prayer meeting and the power of
God is there. There is stillness and you feel it is creative. You feel,
"Now something is building up around here, somebody is going to
come out shortly with a heart bursting... with some agonizing
prayer..." Revival cannot be rationalized. Again, one of the offensive
things about revival is you can't put your finger on the spot, usually,
as to how or why or where it began. It is supremely an act of God.

You find a man would go with a series of messages to a community
and before long that community is alive, it's throbbing. He goes to
another town with exactly the same group of men, the same type
of prayer is poured out, the same sweat and soul travail and there
is no response. You can't predict and you can't organize revival.
Why? Because you can't organize where the wind is coming from.
The Spirit, the wind, bloweth where it listeth. If you say it's going
to come this way, it comes that way. If you say God's going to use
that man, very often He doesn't even bother with that man. Revival
so often comes through unknown characters.

I don't think the world has ever been in a greater sense of turmoil
than it is in this moment. I don't think our nation has. Whatever we
shall say about revival we have to recognize this: There are three
things about natural life: conception, gestation, and birth. You can't
alter the program. There has never been revival, that I can trace,
that has not been preceded by agonizing prayer. You might say,
"I haven't got to that stage yet of agonizing prayer. How does is
come?" Well, it comes through VISION. If we are really going to
get a concept of revival we have to get a vision of God's sorrow over
sin. We have to get a concept of how, day by day, we offend God.
As a nation we offend God in millions of ways.

When I was praying in the Bahamas one day, I saw a great
column of smoke, which happened to be coming from tires that
were being burned. It was as black as could be, and over there
I saw a wisp of smoke going up from the ground. I didn't think
much of it until about a year after, I was praying and the Lord
said, "That volume of black, thick smoke is like the volume of
sin that goes up every day." All the blasphemy, all the unbelief,
all the dirty stories, all the lying, all the deception, all sex-
perversion, all drunkenness-- this tremendous column of iniquity
goes up in the sight of God. And here you have a little wisp -- of
what? That is the praise that God gets out of His people. If we are
going to realize how much we need revival we need to recognize
the dimension of sin. We have to recognize that sin offends God.
Psalm 85:4 says, "Turn us, O God of our salvation and cause
Thine anger towards us to cease. Wilt Thou be angry with us
forever?" Psalm 80 verse 3, "Turn us again, O God, and cause
Thy face to shine." Notice, it's repeated again in verse 7 and in
verse 19, "...cause Thy face to shine"..."cause Thy face to shine."

Thank you for reading this. This kind of revival really is the last remaining hope for America. "God start with me."

-Pastor Randy

How to Restore a Relationship, part two

[continued from Thursday's blog]
4. Confess your part of the conflict. If you are serious about restoring a relationship, you should begin with admitting your own mistakes or sin. Jesus said it's the way to see things more clearly: "First get rid of the log from your own eye; then perhaps you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend's eye." (Matt. 7:5, NLT)
Since we all have blind spots, you may need to ask a third party to help you evaluate your own actions before meeting with the person with whom you have a conflict. Also, ask God to show you how much of the problem is your fault. Ask, "Am I the problem? Am I being unrealistic, insensitive, or too sensitive?" The Bible says, "If we claim that we're free of sin, we’re only fooling ourselves." (1 John 1:8, Msg)
Confession is a powerful tool for reconciliation. Often the way we handle a conflict creates a bigger hurt than the original problem itself. When you begin by humbly admitting your mistakes, it defuses the other person's anger and disarms their attack because they were probably expecting you to be defensive. Don't make excuses or shift the blame; just honestly own up to any part you have played in the conflict. Accept responsibility for your mistakes and ask for forgiveness.
5. Attack the problem, not the person. You cannot fix the problem if you're consumed with fixing the blame. You must choose between the two. The Bible says, "A gentle response defuses anger, but a sharp tongue kindles a temper-fire." (Prov. 15:1, Msg) You will never get your point across by being cross, so choose your words wisely. A soft answer is always better than a sarcastic one.
In resolving conflict, how you say it is as important as what you say. If you say it offensively, it will be received defensively. God tells us, "A wise, mature person is known for his understanding. The more pleasant his words, the more persuasive he is." (Prov. 16:21, TEV) Nagging never works. You are never persuasive when you're abrasive.
During the Cold War, both sides agreed that some weapons were so destructive they should never be used. For the sake of fellowship, you must destroy your arsenal of relational nuclear weapons, including condemning, belittling, comparing, labeling, insulting, condescending, and being sarcastic. Paul sums it up this way: "Do not use harmful words, but only helpful words, the kind that build up and provide what is needed, so that what you say will do good to those who hear you." (Eph. 4:29, TEV)
6. Cooperate as much as possible. Paul said, "Do everything possible on your part to live in peace with everybody." (Rom. 12:18, TEV) Peace always has a price tag. Sometimes it costs our pride; it often costs our self-centeredness. For the sake of fellowship, do your best to compromise, adjust to others, and show preference to what they need. A paraphrase of Jesus' seventh beatitude says, "You're blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That's when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family."
7. Emphasize reconciliation, not resolution. It is unrealistic to expect everyone to agree about everything. Reconciliation focuses on the relationship, while resolution focuses on the problem. When we focus on reconciliation, the problem loses significance and often becomes irrelevant.
We can re-establish a relationship even when we are unable to resolve our differences. Christians often have legitimate, honest disagreements and differing opinions, but we can disagree without being disagreeable. The same diamond looks different from different angles. God expects unity, not uniformity, and we can walk arm in arm without seeing eye to eye on every issue.
This doesn't mean you give up on finding a solution. You may need to continue discussing and even debating - but you do it in a spirit of harmony. Reconciliation means you bury the hatchet, not necessarily the issue.

Have a nice weekend!

-Pastor

How to Restore a Relationship

Here are seven biblical steps to restoring fellowship:
1. Talk to God before talking to the person. Discuss the problem with God. If you will pray about the conflict first instead of gossiping to a friend, you will often discover that either God changes your heart or he changes the other person without your help. All your relationships would go smoother if you would just pray more about them.
As David did with his Psalms, use prayer to ventilate vertically. Tell God your frustrations. Cry out to him. He’s never surprised or upset by your anger, hurt, insecurity, or any other emotions. So tell him exactly how you feel. The apostle James noted that many of our conflicts are caused by prayerlessness: "What causes fights and quarrels among you?… You want something but don't get it.… You do not have, because you do not ask God." (James 4:1-2, NIV) Instead of looking to God, we look to others to make us happy and then get angry when they fail us. God says, "Why don't you come to me first?"
2. Always take the initiative. It doesn't matter whether you are the offender or the offended. God expects you to make the first move. Don't wait for the other party. Go to them first. Restoring broken fellowship is so important, Jesus commanded that it even take priority over group worship. He said, "If you enter your place of worship and are about to make an offering, but you suddenly remember a grudge a friend has against you, abandon your offering, leave immediately, go to this friend and make things right. Then and only then, come back and work things out with God." (Matt. 5:23-24, Msg)
When fellowship is strained or broken, plan a peace conference immediately. Don't procrastinate, make excuses, or promise, "I'll get around to it someday." Schedule a face-to-face meeting as soon as possible. Delay only deepens resentment and makes matters worse. In conflict, time heals nothing; it causes hurts to fester.
Acting quickly also reduces the spiritual damage to you. The Bible says sin, including unresolved conflict, blocks our fellowship with God and keeps our prayers from being answered, besides making us miserable. Job's friends reminded him, "To worry yourself to death with resentment would be a foolish, senseless thing to do," (Job 5:2, TEV) and "You're only hurting yourself with your anger." (Job 18:4, TEV)
The success of a peace conference often depends on choosing the right time and place to meet. Don't meet when either of you are tired, rushed or could be interrupted. The best time is when you both are at your best.
3. Sympathize with their feelings. Use your ears more than your mouth. Before attempting to solve any disagreement you must first listen to people's feelings. Paul advised, "Look out for one another's interests, not just for your own." (Philip. 2:4, TEV) The phrase "look out for" is the Greek word skopos, from which we form our words telescope and microscope. It means pay close attention! Focus on their feelings, not the facts. Begin with sympathy, not solutions.
Don't try to talk people out of how they feel at first. Just listen and let them unload emotionally without being defensive. Nod that you understand even when you don't agree. Feelings are not always true or logical. In fact, resentment makes us act and think in foolish ways. David admitted, "When my thoughts were bitter and my feelings were hurt, I was as stupid as an animal." (Psalm 73:21-22, TEV) We all act beastly when hurt.
In contrast, the Bible says, "A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense." (Prov. 19:11, NIV) Patience comes from wisdom, and wisdom comes from hearing the perspective of others. Listening says, "I value your opinion, I care about our relationship, and you matter to me." The cliché is true: People don't care what we know until they know we care.
To restore fellowship "we must bear the 'burden' of being considerate of the doubts and fears of others ... Let's please the other fellow, not ourselves, and do what is for his good." (Rom. 15:2, LB) It is a sacrifice to patiently absorb the anger of others, especially if it's unfounded. But remember, this is what Jesus did for you. He endured unfounded, malicious anger in order to save you. "Christ did not indulge his own feelings ... as scripture says: The insults of those who insult you fall on me." (Rom. 15:3, NJB)

To be continued on Friday...

-Pastor

Ten Mindless Thoughts Today (well some of them are!)

We are just nine days away from Christmas. I hope you are ready. Just in case you are interested, here are ten thoughts today from my contorted mind concerning this Christmas season.

1. I am excited about this weekend. Sunday's going to be a great Christmas celebration at Kings Point. Mrs Baker, choir director at Little Miami High School does an amazing job. You will be blessed as these young people celebrate Christmas with us Sunday evening.
2. We are preparing for the Widow's Christmas dinner Sunday at 1 p.m. Its always a great time!
3. I am still buying Annette and Gabe's Christmas...got any ideas?
4. So far it seems like we are getting fewer Christmas cards this year but more e-cards. Just noticing.
5. Hazel made us some great pumpkin bread again this year. Too good!
6. Undoubtedly, more people hurting and in need this year which means opportunities for us to help others.
7. Do you ever wonder how Atheists must feel during the Christmas season? It must be a pretty lonely calling. If you know one, be sure to buy them a nice Christmas present...like a bible.
8. Still trying to keep my weight down during the holiday season. So far, since Thanksgiving, I am +3 over par.
9. Right now, other than the Bible, I got four books I'm reading. 1) Church is a Team Sport 2)The Disciplined Life (almost done) 3)The Complete Book of Discipleship 4)The Imitation of Christ. If you got a reading recommendation, let me know.
10. Man, I dislike cold weather!

Have a great day!

-Pastor

Five Biblical Principles When Facing a Devastating Crisis

Here are five biblical principles when you in the midst of massive crisis:

First, release your grief
People feel all sorts of emotions when they face crisis, such as fear, anger, worry, depression, resentment, helplessness, and grief. We must acknowledge these emotions before God. It does no good to stuff emotions or deny they exist. God created us to feel emotions, and he doesn't expect us to act happy when we’re grieving.
Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:4, NKJV). That means it’s OK to be honest about our grief. “O my people, trust in him at all times. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge.” (Psalm 62:8, NLT) God wants to comfort us in tragedy. He is close to the broken-hearted, and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Second, receive help from others
It’s a huge mistake to isolate yourself when you’re going through a crisis. We all need the support, encouragement, and presence of other people, particularly in the aftermath of tragedy. The Bible tells us that when we carry one another’s burdens, we obey the Law of Christ. (Galatians 6:2)

Third, choose not to be bitter
We all have the power to decide how tragedy affects us. If we choose bitterness, then we’ll only end up hurting ourselves -- and we’ll also shut the door on our own happiness because we can’t be happy and bitter at the same time. One of the things I’ve learned through my three decades in ministry is that there’s absolutely no correlation in life between your experiences and your happiness. I’ve seen people go through shocking experiences who are able to maintain a happy, positive attitude, simply because they choose to do so. You are as happy as you choose to be.

Learn to focus on what’s left -- not what’s lost. God wants us to still be thankful for what we have. As I counsel people in crisis, I encourage them to make a list of all the good things in their lives. I find it is impossible to be grateful and depressed at the same time.

Fourth, see what is of real value
A crisis helps us clarify our values by showing us what really matters and what really doesn’t matter. Jesus said, “Life is not measured by how much one owns. ..." (Luke 12:15, NCV)What he’s saying is this: Don’t confuse your net worth with your self-worth. Don’t confuse your possessions with your purpose in life. A man’s life does not consist of what he possesses. A tragedy teaches you that the greatest things in the world aren’t things; what matters are relationships. The Apostle Paul said, “All those things that I thought were valuable just aren’t." What matters most is the health and safety of your family.

Finally, rely on Christ
The Apostle Paul said, “I have learned the secret of being happy at any time in everything that happens; I can do all things through Christ, because he gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:11,13; NCV)If you want to be happy no matter what happens, do the following:
Lean on Christ for stability. “Such a person will not be overthrown by evil circumstances. God’s constant care of him will make a deep impression on all who see it. He does not fear bad news, nor live in dread of what may happen. For he is settled in his mind that God will take care of him.” (Psalm 112:6-7, LB)
Listen to Christ for direction. “'I know what I am planning for you,' says the Lord. 'I have good plans for you, not plans to hurt you. I will give you hope and a good future.'" (Jeremiah 29:11, NCV)
Look to Christ for salvation. “God is our protection and our strength. He always helps in times of trouble. So we will not be afraid even if the earth shakes, or the mountains fall into the sea.” (Psalm 46:2, NCV)

A crisis creates a moment in your life when you can shift your dependence to something that can never be taken from you. Through it, God can teach us that we may lose our homes, our careers, our marriages, or our health, but we will never, ever lose our relationship with God. He promised to never leave us or forsake us -- and that’s an eternal security we can build our lives on.

“We were really crushed and overwhelmed, and feared we would never live through it ... we saw how powerless we were to help ourselves; but that was good, for then we put everything into the hands of God, who alone could save us ... And he did help us and save us ... and we expect him to do it again and again.” (2 Corinthians 1:9-10, TLB)

-Pastor Randy

How You Can Be Used by God this Christmas

God is not arbitrary about who he chooses to use. The Bible says, "God is looking for people to use." And if you'll get useable, God will wear you out. You haven’t really lived until you experience being used by God to bless somebody else.
Some of you are saying, "God could never use me." You're wrong. Dead wrong! Not only can God use you, but he wants to use you.

Just look at Mary, the mother of Jesus. There are a lot of misconceptions about Mary. The Bible doesn’t say we’re to worship her. It doesn’t say she was perfect or sinless. In fact, what is special about Mary was her plain ordinariness. God took an ordinary woman and used her in an extraordinary way. That's what makes her special.
Mary had all kinds of fears, but she never let her fears control her. Instead, she modeled three attributes you must have in your life in order for God to use you. If you'll build them into your life, you'll find God using you in ways you can't even imagine.

1. God uses people who want to do his will.
If you want to be used by God, you've got to want to do his will more than anything else. God has a custom plan for you, but it's not automatic. You must choose to cooperate with God's purpose for your life or you'll miss it.
There are two attitudes that Mary showed that made it clear she wanted to be used by God. They’d also be good attributes for us to emulate.
• Enthusiasm. Shortly after an angel tells Mary that she will give birth to the Messiah, she sings, "Oh, how I praise the Lord. How I rejoice in God my Savior!” (Luke 1:46-47a NLT) Does that sound like someone who is just grinning and bearing it? Of course not! Nothing great is ever done without enthusiasm. God wants you to be an enthusiastic participant in his plan.
• Humility. Then she says, "Thank you for thinking of your humble servant girl." (Luke 1: 48) None of us deserve to be used by God. We're all trophies of God's grace. Mary understood this. God works in our lives and blesses us because he wants to, not because we deserve it. We show God we want to do his will when we are humble.

What do you want most in life? To get married? To be financially independent, to make a million? To retire? You’ll need a greater life purpose or you’ll miss the boat. Some of those may be admirable goals – but they aren’t a life purpose.
In fact there’s really only one place to start when discovering God’s purpose for your life. "The thing you should want most is God's Kingdom and doing what God wants. Then all these other things you need will be given to you." (Matt. 6:33 NCV) It starts with a desire.

2. God uses people who decide to pay the cost.
There is always a cost in following God's plan for your life. You’ll have to give something up. And there will always be risks that will require you to step out in faith. That’s just part of being used by God.
Mary did this. She decided to take the chance, to risk, and to pay the cost. In Luke 1:38, she says, "I am the Lord's servant, and I am willing to accept whatever he wants. May everything you have said come true." (Luke 1:38 NLT) Mary was willing to do anything – regardless of the cost. God knew that. That’s one of the reasons he used her in such a powerful way.

Can you imagine what it cost Mary to be the mother of Jesus?
• Her reputation. She was a virgin. She was pregnant. She was engaged to be married to Joseph. How are you going to explain that to everybody in the community?
• Her comfort. The Bible said Jesus had to be born in Bethlehem. She's in Nazareth. How would you like to be nine months pregnant and take a long journey on the back of a donkey? Do you think that was comfortable?
God's purpose for my life includes some problems. They're not accidental. They're part of the plan. And that's part of the cost.

3. God uses people who dare to trust His promises.
Mary was a woman of deep faith. She didn't have all the answers, but she knew who did, and she trusted him. Mary was a woman who was not afraid of the supernatural. She wasn't afraid of miracles.
The reason God doesn't do miracle in your life is you don't expect him to. You play it safe spiritually. When was the last time you waited to buy something and just prayed about it and gave God the chance to give it to you first? God uses people who dare to trust his promises.
Mary had every reason to be worried. She would carry a great responsibility. But instead of worrying, Mary worshiped. In fact she sang a song of worship to God in Luke 1. Why? She dared to trust his promises. Mary's cousin understood this. Elizabeth told her, "You believed that God would do what he said. That's why he has given you this wonderful blessing." (Luke 1:45 TLB)

If God can take a teenage girl, a poor peasant teenager with no education and choose her to be the mother of Jesus Christ, don't you think your excuse for not letting God use you is pretty puny? Many of you have enormous spiritual potential, but you just don't see it. God can see it. He has given you spiritual gifts, passions, abilities, personality, and experiences. He doesn't mean for you to just use them on yourself. One day you will stand before God, and he will say, "What did you do with what I gave you?" What will your answer be?

It's Christmas time. Let me ask you a very personal question. What are you going to give Jesus for Christmas? It is his birthday. You've bought gifts for everybody else, but normally you buy a gift for the birthday boy. What can you give God?

Yourself.

Tell God this Christmas, "Here I am. All of me – the good, the bad, and the ugly. You do whatever you want to with it. I am yours in 2009 and 2010."

-Pastor Randy

Sunday Wrap Up

It was good to be back today. I don't know how people stay out of church like they do. We usually take four Sundays off a year and I am always excited to get back. "I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord."

I hope that you will prayerfully consider the challenge that I made to you this morning regarding the three goals that we have in 2010 and 2011. Please don't underestimate our God. All He needs is a people that is willing to hear his voice and obey. As we obey, God will bless every individual, family, as well as the church. Please be in prayer what you can do this year. Don't be afraid to step out and trust God for a miracle gift that you can give.

Didn't Beth Hines do a beautiful job this morning? She has such a sweet, humble spirit. And what a anointing she ministers under! Beth blessed us greatly today.

Everyone have a wonderful week! I'll be blogging every day this week. I hope to see you back here tomorrow.

-Pastor

Taking a Little Time Off This Week...A Christmas Classic

Most of you know I am taking a little time off this week. My mother is going in the hospital for surgery this week. Please remember her in your prayers. Also, remember the Phyllis Titus family in your prayers. Phyllis was a beautiful sister in the Lord who will be remembered for being so passionate about her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. She is definitely our loss, but heaven's gain.

Annette and I shopped all day today. Afterwards, I worked out for an hour and then slept for a hour...it felt great! Enough about my boring self. Here's a beautiful classic. I hope you enjoy it. Have a wonderful week!

-Pastor


Christmas

by Peter Marshall

We yearn, our Father, for the simple beauty of Christmas -- for all the old famliar melodies and words that remind us of that great miracle when He who had made all things was one night to come as a babe, to lie in the crook of a woman's arm.

Before such mystery we kneel, as we follow the shepherds and Wise Men to bring Thee the gift of our love -- a love we confess has not always been as warm or sincere or real as it should have been. But now, on this Christmas Day, that love would find its Beloved, and from Thee receive the grace to make it pure again, warm and real.

We bring Thee our gratitude for every token of Thy love, for all the ways Thou hast heaped blessings upon us during the years that have gone.

And we do pray, Lord Jesus, that as we celebrate Thy birthday, we may do it in a manner well pleasing to Thee. May all we do and say, every tribute of our hearts, bring honor to Thy name, that we, Thy people, may remember Thy birth and feel Thy presence among us even yet.

May the loving kindness of Christmas not only creep into our hearts, but there abide, so that not even the return to earthly cares and responsibilities, not all the festivities of our own devising may cause it to creep away weeping. May the joy and spirit of Christmas stay with us now and forever.

In the name of Jesus, who came to save His people from their sins, even in that lovely name we pray. Amen."

Countdown to Sunday

I love this. Read it, I think you will too.

John Stott wrote, “I could never believe in God, if it were not for the cross… In the real world of pain, how could one worship a God who was immune to it? I have entered many Buddhist temples in different Asian countries and stood respectfully before the statue of Buddha, his legs crossed, arms folded, eyes closed, the ghost of a smile playing round his mouth, a remote look on his face, detached from the agonies of the world. But each time after a while I have had to turn away. And in imagination I have turned instead to that lonely, twisted, tortured figure on the cross, nails through hands and feet, back lacerated, limbs wrenched, brow bleeding from thorn-pricks, mouth dry and intolerably thirsty, plunged in God-forsaken darkness. That is the God for me! He laid aside his immunity to pain. He entered our world of flesh and blood, tears and death. He suffered for us. Our sufferings become more manageable in light of his. There is still a question mark against human suffering, but over it we boldly stamp another mark, the cross which symbolizes divine suffering.”

Worship like a crazy fan of Jesus this weekend!

-Pastor Randy

THE REASON THEY HATE FOX NEWS

by Perry Stone [if you like this article, check out voe.com]

Every day in my office I have a regular routine when I arrive. I am always in thanksgiving to the Lord for blessing the ministry, my family and my partners. I then turn on my computer, and Fox News on the wide screen to the left of my desk. I keep the news on literally all day long, to observe any breaking report that may occur. In this manner, I can immediately research or make contact with people that may give more insight into the event(s). Often calls will come in with individuals asking questions about what is occurring.

Occasionally I have access to the Nelson Ratings that reveals the number of households watching a particular program. What is somewhat amazing is that out of the ten most watched cable news networks, Fox News has 6 of the top 10 programs. In fact Fox's lowest rated program often beats out MSNBC and CNN by thousands or even hundreds of thousands of viewers.

You may have heard about the verbal attacks going on with the present administration against Fox News. It seems that according to recent reports on the Drudgereport.com, Anita Dunn the White House Communications director said the administration now "controls" the news media (see worldnetdaily.com. Monday, October 19, 2009). It has been reported and proven by Glen Beck that certain networks are owned by businesses that stand to gain billions of dollars if the presidents green agenda and cap and trade pass. Thus, the media moguls express positive comments toward every movement and all legislation passed.

Recently, on the question was asked why the administration hates the Fox News Network. I suggest it is the only network that has individuals asking the tough questions that no one in DC wants to answer. I also suggest that it is the only network that is exposing the corruption of some of the Czars, ACORN, and the double standard of hypocrisy among the legislators...you know, the we pay our taxes but they don't pay them - kind of folks. Literally, no other major network exposes the frightening behind the scenes plan and people that are now in charge.

One of the main strategies being initiated is to paint anyone and everyone who disagrees with the president's agenda of government run health care, more bail out money, and higher taxes as a racist and anti-American. While just this accusation may intimidate a few from speaking out, most Americans are too smart to fall for an untruth that is being propagated by the most liberal elitist donkey cons in U.S. history. It is a strategy to make a person feel "guilty" for disagreeing with our leaders. Recently on Manna-fest, when Bill Cloud revealed his expose of Ezekiel 20, he received very negative e-mails accusing him of being a bigot and racist. We just had to laugh at such a ludicrous charge. When ministers Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson lambasted Regan, Bush I and Bush II, were they being racists? I don't think so. They were simply giving their opinions as citizens and certainly have a right to do so, as do all Americans.

I learned something many years ago. Whenever a person or an organization becomes controversial, the public controversy actually draws more people who will listen, to or check out that person or organization. Thus, negative publicity is still publicity. The more they tell people not to watch Fox, the more people tune in to see what all of the fuss is about. While liberals love to dish it out it is apparent that they cannot take the heat in the kitchen or the sweat in the steam room.

I lived in Arlington, Virginia during the time of the Watergate fiasco. Richard Nixon was so angry at the articles being released by the Washington Post, that he chose to ban them from the White House. This only caused the Post to become more antagonistic against Nixon, and there was a daily barrage of reporting that eventually led to the impeachment of Nixon. At the time my father knew many high level workers in the government that predicted months before it happened that Nixon would step down.

During the Bush years, he could do nothing right according to the secular cable networks. Now, this administration can do nothing wrong according to the Network gods. If Bush were still in office, what would the press be saying about:

The rising unemployment rate
The continual loss of homes
The Americans dying daily in Afghanistan
The government control of the auto industry
The government control of the health industry
The talk of taking over the Internet
Oh, I can tell you what they would say, because they are saying it now. "It's all Bush's fault!" Should we be surprised? When Bush was in office, every day we heard the war in Iraq was failing. Now that there has been some success, oddly I have not heard one report in 6 months saying Bush, the generals and troops did a good job in Iraq. Also, Fox News has a large number of professing Christians on their programming. The other networks seem to lean antichristian, and very socialist in their motivations for reporting. Thus, we have the real root of the conflict: right against wrong, light against darkness, Christianity against humanism, capitalism against socialism and freedom verses control. My suggestion: Keep reading the Word, keep praying, keep being obedient to the Lord and when you want to watch the news, watch Fox for the truth that is being ignored by others. This is just my opinion.

One World Governemnt...what's going to happen next?

It seems as if every day we are getting closer and closer to a one world financial system, a one world government, and no doubt some day a one world religious system. It used to be that bible prophecy teachers and preachers were the only ones that talked about this, but now its in the news everyday...check out this segment that aired on CNBC not too long ago [taken from a segment of Glenn Beck's, Nov 17, 2009 program]...



Revelation 13:11 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon. 12 He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. 13 He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men. 14 And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life. 15 And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed. 16 And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, 17 and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name. 18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six. NASU

If you are still with me up to this point, I have to ask you a question. Do you know that Jesus is coming soon? I don't mean just to come and set up His kingdom here on earth, but He is coming to "catch up or rapture" His people out of here before he does that. Here's what the bible says...

1 Thess 4:16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. 17 Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. 18 So encourage each other with these words. NLT

This will happen before the Revelation 13 (the above stuff) happens according 2 Thessalonians 2:5-7. Jesus is coming for those that know Him, for those who have a relationship with Him, for those that are watching for Him. How do you have a relationship with Christ? It starts by doing what the bible says...

Rom 10:9 If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. 11 As the Scriptures tell us, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced." 12 Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. 13 For "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." NLT

Please receive Christ today. Please get ready to go in the rapture and escape all the terrible things listed in the book of Revelation that is about to happen here on earth. If you have any questions about receiving Christ, please e-mail me at the e-mail listed on our website.

Have a wonderful day!

-Pastor Randy

Paradox of Our Time

-by B. Moorehead

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings,
but shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints.

We spend more, but have less; we buy more, but enjoy it less.

We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences,
but less time; we have more degrees, but less sense; more knowledge,
but less judgment; more experts, but more problems; more medicine,
but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too
little, drive too fast, get too angry too quickly, stay up too late,
get up too tired, read too seldom, watch TV too much, and pray too
seldom. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values.

We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life; we've added years
to life, not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and
back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor.

We've conquered outer space, but not inner space.

We've done larger things, but not better things. We've cleaned up
the air, but polluted the soul. We've split the atom, but not our
prejudice. We write more, but learn less.

We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not
to wait. We build more computers to hold more information to produce
more copies than ever, but have less communication.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion; tall men, and
short character; steep profits, and shallow relationships.

These are the times of world peace, but domestic warfare; more leisure, but
less fun; more kinds of food, but less nutrition.

These are days of two incomes, but more divorce; of fancier houses,
but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers,
throw-away morality, one-night stands, overweight bodies, and pills
that do everything from cheer to quiet, to kill.

It is a time when there is much in the show window and nothing in
the stockroom; Indeed, these are the times!


Have a great day!

-Pastor

Sunday Wrap Up

What a day! What a awesome service this morning! God was defintely in this house today and in the courtyard too. The courtyard dedication was wonderful. What a beautiful day. The sun was shining with a warm breeze. For a late November day, you couldn't ask for better weather. Jennifer Hollingshed and Amy Toney were highly anointed as they read scripture and prayed respectively. The memorial stone in Debbie's honor was beautiful.

Good service tonight. Very different. The P & W was powerful and the testimonies were so uplifting and encouraging. So many spoke of how God takes broken lives and restores them. Erik's testimony moved us all. I loved his brokenness. I believe God has his hand on his life in a special way as he stays humble before the Lord.

We hope to see all the men at the Wild game feast Wednesday night. Come with a great apetite. It ought be a great time. Try to bring a man friend with you. Everyone have a wonderful week!

To His Glory!

-Pastor

Thoughts on Giving Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Its not about the turkey, or the football games (which are pretty lousy this year). But its about resting, being with family, and more importantly, just taking some time to be thankful and count our many blessings. I hope you will indeed do that over the next few days. Reminding ourselves just how fortunate we are to live in America and still be able to experience the greatest quality of life known to mankind.

Yesterday, I got to visit with Arlene Miller for awhile. I left feeling better than she did I'm sure. What a strong woman of faith. She told me she spends her hours often praying and thinking about others just to get her mind off her own circumstances. Physically, she is doing better and better. Please keep her in your prayers however.

Also, please keep the Kilburn family in your prayers this week. This is no doubt a very tough week for them. Please come join us for the courtyard dedication this week and the prayer fountain that will be named in Debbie's honor. Debbie was a great woman of prayer and I am sure her family is now reaping from all the prayers she sowed for so many others.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving tomorrow. You probably won't hear from me until the weekend. May God bless you and your family.

Col 4:2 Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; NASU

Sunday Wrap Up

Big weekend! Love it! Great services...celebrations! I appreciate Open Arms Ministries for their giving this weekend. We assisted people with food on Saturday morning and gave food gift bags to all of our widows and senior adult ladies this past Sunday. Also, we are collecting coats for the homeless that will be taken to the mission this next Saturday morning. If you want to contribute, please bring them by the church.

It was great to see Tim Studdard Sunday Night. Keep him in your prayers. Remember, to keep praying that that he will spend Thanksgiving with his family.

No cells this week. Next week the men have their annual wild game feast Wednesday, Dec 1, 6:30 pm. Be sure to bring a friend guys!

Next Sunday is the dedication of the Memorial courtyard and the Debbie Kilburn prayer fountain. Also, we will be kicking off our pavers fundraiser to pay off our only existing loan and to build two new buildings. Please come Sunday and get on board!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving week!

-Pastor

Friday Countdown to Sunday...Are you a Casual Christian?

Darren Smith is the founder of Streetscape Ministries, an
awesome ministry to the homeless seeing miracles on the streets
in Galveston, Texas.

IS THERE Any SUCH THING AS a CASUAL CHRISTIAN??
-by Darren Smith.

Is there any such thing as a casual Christian? I have heard this
term a lot in recent times and to tell you the truth it makes me sick.
But, as I have thought about this subject and spent time looking
around at the body as a whole, I venture to say for the most part
it is true of most of the church today. Before you get angry and
stop reading, please hear me out. How many believers do you
know that are really sold out for Christ? When I say this I mean
that Christ is the central focus of their life. I mean a person that
has died to self and relies on Christ for his substance, willing to
sacrifice even to the point of their well being, to serve the Lord.

For a long time we have heard sermon after sermon on giving 10%
to the church and yet from the modern church accounts, only 30%
of the people give 10%. This is sad but considering that most of
that doesn't go to do the work of the ministry, its not surprising. I'm
not teaching on the tithe system, I'm using this as an example on
the casual attitude of believers. But I want to take it much deeper
than this and ask some very hard questions. How much of your
time do you give to the Lord? Do you spend more time on you
than you do the Lord? More on entertainment or hobbies than
service to the Lord?

Many times people tell us that we would love to come and help you
guys in the street but we are just so busy we simply can not find
the time. I wonder if they ever stop to think that we have to sacrifice
and make time ourselves. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining,
the Lord blesses us and I wouldn't be anywhere else, but it requires
sacrifice for us to be here as well. I want you to see that if you are
willing to serve, God will bless you. We have people all the time
say, "I have never seen God's power and grace like this in my life."
Many of these guys have been in church all their life and have never
ministered to anyone.

Another response we get is, "I'm not called to do that type of ministry."
Oh, really? I believe we are all called to take the Gospel to the
world, to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and to take care of
the widows and orphans. To be able to put off these things places
you in the casual realm. Many will go to church once a week and
then go right out and serve themselves all week without doing
anything for the Lord. Trust me, "I didn't have time" will not help
them when they stand before the Lord.

What makes this so sad is that many of them will never hear a
message on repentance and total commitment to the Lord because
this type message is not popular in the modern church. It doesn't
fill the offering plate or the seats. Instead we hear funny stories
and jokes from the pulpit as well as humanistic teaching on self-
help and prosperity. This system has created the casual Christian
which is no Christian at all. So many have been converted to a
false religion of self and greed and what is worse, they think they
are fine because everyone they know is a casual Christian as well.

When they come in contact with a sold out believer, it makes them
uncomfortable. When they hear a repentance message they label
it extreme and harsh. These same casual Christians see the world
going to hell around them and are not affected at all. The thought
of sacrifice is foreign to them. Material wealth is equated with
blessings from the Lord - after all, many pulpits teach this for self
enrichment - so in their mind it's OK.

The reason I write this is for an awakening. We all must look into
our heart and see if we are sold out to the Lord. We all have areas
we can improve and should! We must get this type of word out
and the body must mobilize for the battle. We all will have to
sacrifice, but we were not put here to live our best life now - our
best life is yet to come when the Lord returns. I know this is very
convicting, but it must be said. We must repent and give our whole
life to the Lord and that means everything, all of us, everything we
are and all we could ever become - we must give it all to the Lord.

So I ask you again, is there any such thing as a casual Christian,
or maybe more important, are you a casual Christian?

-Darren Smith
http://www.streetscapeministries.com/

The Brown Parrot

A little humor today...with the emphasis on "little." Have a great day!

-Pastor

Three sons left home, started careers and prospered. Getting back together, they discussed the gifts that they were able to give their elderly mother for her 70th birthday. The first said, “I built a huge house for Mom.” The second said, “I sent her a Mercedes with a driver.” The third smiled and said, “I’ve got you both beat. You know how Mom enjoys the Bible and you know she cant see very well. I sent her a brown parrot that can recite the entire Bible. It took 20 monks in a monastery 12 years to teach him. I had a pledge to contribute $100,000 a year for 10 years, but it was worth it. Mom just has to name the chapter and verse and the parrot will recite it.” Soon thereafter, Mom sent out letters of thanks: She wrote the first son, “Milton, the house you built is not practical. I live in only one room, but have to heat, cool, and clean the entire house.” The second she said, “Marvin, I am to old to travel. I stay at home all the time, so I never use the Mercedes. And the driver is so rude!” She wrote the third son, “Dearest Melvin, you were the only son to have the good sense to know what your Mother likes. The chicken was delicious.” We all have different ways to express our love for others. Sometimes it is received well and other times it is not.

Our Response to a Unshakable Government

Hebrews 12:25 See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? 26At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens."[e] 27The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.28Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29for our "God is a consuming fire."

I am so glad that I am a part of a kingdom, a government, that cannot be shaken. As I see governments, corporations, communities, and kingdoms shaken around the world. It really does cause me to be thankful for the unshakable kingdom of God. In others words, I can count on Him. I can depend on His word, His unchangeable character, His promises, His blessings, etc. In contrast, there's nothing in this world I can trust in. Everything changes, everything is fleeting, everything will pass away...but the word of God.

So God says, "Worship Me with reverence and awe. I am a consuming fire." [paraphrase] I encourage you today to do just that. Because you serve a God who is unshakable and His government is unshakable, worship Him today with a great reverence and awe. He will one day burn up all of our works that are shakeable...or outside His kingdom. Our worship of Him today will last, so lets worship our awesome God today!

-Pastor

Sunday Wrap Up

Yeah, its late, and I really should be getting ready for bed. But I'm watching the Colts and the Patriots. Unfortunately, for my Colts, its not looking too good right now. Oh well, you can't win them all.

Great services today...both of them. Tonight's worship was off the charts! People really got in tonight and a good crowd as well. Brother Pendley did a masterful job on the Great White Throne Judgement from Revelation 20. It was really good! Congratulations to Chris who was saved this morning. Please remember him in prayer this week.

Just a reminder, if you know someone that needs help with food or you need help with food, please be at the church this Saturday at 8:30 am. Also, we need donations for Thanksgiving baskets. A list of needed goods was in the bulletin today. Please try to help us out.

Well, the Colts are coming back now. Its a close game with two minutes to go. I better call it a night. I can't believe Belichek went for it on 4th and 2 at their on 27 yard line. I can't believe it! Oh well. Have a great week!

-Pastor

Friday Countdown to Sunday...the Calcified Heart

"This is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it."

Good morning everyone! It's Friday and Sunday's coming. I know for a lot of you Sunday means the end of the weekend and the next day you got to go back to work. So lets focus on today...Friday. And celebrate the beginning of a few days off for most of you. Praise the Lord!

While pastoring in Terre Haute, I knew a woman that was diagnosed with FOP (Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva). It's a cryptic disease that slowly, irreversibly turns its victim into a mass of solid bone. It hardens the soft tissues, like muscles and tendons, rendering an ossified suit of armor. As tragic as this disease is, Scripture describes one even worse. The calcification of the will.

Today, I just want encourage you from Hebrews to keep your heart soft and pliable, and not to "harden your hearts"(Hebrews 3:8, 15; 4:7). In the Old and News Testaments, there are many example of God's people hardening their hearts no matter what God did. God would send plagues, war, blessings, prophets to warn them, etc., but the result was often the same. God says to us in His word, "Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts." [Hebrews 4:7 NKJV] Notice, He says, "Today, if you will hear His voice..." In other words, don't wait until tomorrow or the next day...hear His voice now, today. What is implied is the necessity of hearing His voice. When we fail to hear Him...when we get so busy and we refuse to discipline ourselves to hear the voice of God the result is the hardening of the heart...spiritual stiffness...that immobilizes and eventually destroys you.

How do you keep your heart soft? The hearing and doing of God's Word. God's Spirit in the book of James says "Be hearers of the Word, and not doers only." (James 1:22) So hear His voice today...so your heart doesn't slowly calcify. It can happen...it does happen...it will happen if we don't obey His voice.

-Pastor

The Lifter Up of My Soul

I usually don't post twice in a day. But in my studies today, I found this and wanted to share it with you. May it bless you as it did me.

I am the real vine and my Father is the gardener (John 15:1).

In the above Scripture, Jesus draws on vine imagery familiar to his hearers, and incorporates agricultural principles common to their experience. He does this to teach us the necessity of being fruitful followers. The "fruit" He has in mind is the same as the "fruit of the Spirit" (Galatians 5:22-23), and that which Jesus himself describes in Matthew 7:16-20. Jesus wants each of us to bear spiritual fruit.

Because fertile soil and adequate water were scarce in Israel, the gardener had to ensure that every part of his land, and every plant, was as productive as possible. He made every effort to make sure that each vine would produce as much fruit as it could. Branches bearing fruit were pruned (cut back) to produce even more fruit. The branches not producing fruit were not cut off, for this would have ended their "fruit-bearing lives" and would have undercut the gardener's ultimate purpose to do everything possible to increase his yield. Rather, the gardener would lift up the unproductive branches ("lift up" is the other common meaning of the Greek term usually translated "cut off" in John 15:2). This would better expose them to the beneficial effects of light and rain, and would give them a better opportunity to grow. Lifting up the unproductive branches was yet another part of the gardener's unceasing and tireless efforts to improve productivity.

Similarly, God will do everything possible to help us grow and be fruitful. He tenderly brings some of us to the sun and rain, to give us opportunities to be productive. However, God prunes those of us who are growing and producing well, for even greater fruitfulness. While the pruning is not always pleasant, the results are beneficial. Let us welcome whatever God does to help us grow.

U.S. Congregational Giving During the Recession

I thought I would share with you today the following article about congregational giving in 2009 vs 2008. At Kings Point, we were a part of the percentage of churches across the U.S. that saw an increase in our giving. We give God the glory and are grateful for His bountiful blessings. May we be good stewards of what He gives to us. Have a great day! -Pastor


INDIANAPOLIS -- More than two-thirds of congregations in a new study on congregational finances in the current recession reported that their fundraising receipts increased or remained the same in the first half of 2009 compared to 2008, even as the recession was worsening.

The findings are part of the 2009 Congregational Economic Impact Study, a joint project of the Lake Institute on Faith & Giving at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University and the Alban Institute, based in the Washington, DC area. The study was based on more than 1,500 responses, nearly all from the membership of the Alban Institute.

Almost 37 percent of congregations reported an increase in fundraising for the first half of 2009 over 2008. Another 34 percent reported that fundraising receipts stayed the same between 2008 and the first half of 2009.

Nevertheless, nearly 30 percent of congregations experienced a decrease in giving in 2009. This is 8.1 percentage points more than reported a decline in 2008.

"The recession has affected many congregations throughout the United States," said Una Osili, research director at the Center on Philanthropy. "One-third of responding congregations reported making budget cuts in 2009 and another quarter kept their operational budget the same, not allowing for any increases in the cost of living."

Just 6.8 percent of congregations reduced the number of full-time staff in response to the recession. Slightly more, 10.7 percent, laid off part-time staff. Nearly 16 percent did not increase staff salaries, while almost 15 percent cut utility costs and 13.6 percent reduced program costs.

"While many congregations have been hit hard by the recession, this study underscores the remarkable resilience of congregations, as evidenced in the extraordinary and imaginative ways they are reaching out to meet the needs of their parishioners and people in their community," said William Enright, director of the Lake Institute on Faith & Giving at the Center. "We frequently hear about the experiences of larger congregations and how they are coping with economic challenges, while the story of average and smaller congregations often has been wrapped in silence. This study breaks that silence."

Congregations responded to the recession in a wide variety of ways, from feeding the homeless and providing emergency cash assistance to those in need to hosting community gardens, offering support groups and networking events for the unemployed, helping with financial planning, and increasing partnerships with other community groups.

Some congregations fared better than others. "Growth congregations," those where attendance and finances have been growing over the past five years, were more likely to report positive fundraising results. Congregations with $600,000 to $999,999 in revenue, weekly attendance of more than 300 people, younger congregants (average age under 50), and those reporting a higher average income of congregants (greater than $60,000) were more likely to report an increase in fundraising receipts.

"Survival congregations," those where attendance and finances have dropped by more than 10 percent over the past five years, were more likely to report a decline in fundraising. Other congregations that were more likely to report a decrease included those with annual revenue of less than $150,000, weekly attendance of less than 100 people, older congregants (average age 61 or older), and those where the average income of congregants was less than $40,000.

"This is one of the first looks we have had into the economic realities faced by American congregations during a time of global financial crisis," said Dr. James Wind, president of the Alban Institute. "We are pleased to have partnered in opening up a fascinating and complex story of national significance. The survey results demonstrate that local congregations, which we often take for granted and treat with misleading conventional wisdom, are much more dynamic, creative, and strong than many people think. Clearly, not all congregations are alike -- that is one of the major discoveries of the survey. Some are clearly struggling to make ends meet. But many more - and this will be a surprise to many -- are holding their own and growing during one of the toughest seasons in our national history. More than that, the survey reveals the great variety of ways they are ministering to an overextended nation."

The 2009 Congregational Economic Impact Study, with 1,540 respondents, is not a nationally representative study of all congregations in the U.S., but rather is drawn primarily from the Alban Institute's membership. More than three-fourths of respondents were from Protestant denominations.

Sunday Wrap Up

Super weekend! Another great Women's Encounter. The testimonies were awesome. Many women were delivered and set free. Many were filled with the Holy Spirit.

KP services were good yesterday. We had a young man come back to Christ yesterday morning. Last night, we continued our series on the "The Mark." I think we all came away seeing how our children our being conditioned to accept the system and practices that will one day lead to the taking of the Mark of the Beast. The masses will gladly take it one day and worship the Beast (Revelation 13). We're getting close! One more message in the series next Sunday evening. Join us!

We welcome Tom Ball to our worship band. Tom and Trish and their beautiful girls are relatively new to our church. I encourage you to get to know them. They will soon be opening up a new Insurance office in Maineville. Check them out if you have a need in that area. If not, please pray for their new business.

Everyone have a wonderful week!

-Pastor

Friday Countdown to Sunday

Hello everyone. Kind of late getting it in, but I'm here and ready to roll.

This is the Women's Encounter weekend. I'm sure they are ready to go. They have experienced some great times of prayer and unity this week. I'm looking forward to lives being changed. Remember to come join them at Higher Ground for their celebration service Sunday at about 2:15.

Today, Gabe and I toured Taylor University in Upland, Indiana. Where's Upland? Right smack dab in the middle of a cornfield. Its crazy! But they've been there since 1846. I was really impressed with their sincerity about preparing kids to change a world for Christ. It looks like it permeates everything they do. The chapel service was great. Great praise and worship with most the kids lifting and clapping their hands without being cheerled to do so. They also had a choir (the Gospel choir) with flag dancers (I don't know what else to call them). Nevertheless, it was worship unto the Lord...pentecostal-charismatic style. Pretty cool!

KP folks...please come ready to worship Sunday! Come prepared to give it your best! Sunday night I will be continuing a series on the Mark of the Beast. We will be showing a pretty enlightening video called "The Microchip" and we will look at the second half of Revelation 13. If you will come out and join us, I promise you will be amazed at just how close this thing is (planet earth) to coming apart at the seems (the Tribulation period). Who knows...I might get it going Sunday AM. I'm still hearing from God about the AM. But be there! Don't miss it.

Love you all!

-Pastor

The Russians Beat Us To It...They Been There, Done That

I would like to read you something I came across this week. It was written by a man named Tamim Ansary– who is an Afghani-American writer [ taken from Salon.com ]. I don’t generally like to read something of this length, but I think it is important for us to hear. [start quote] I’ve been hearing a lot of talk about "bombing Afghanistan back to the Stone Age." Ronn Owens, on KGO Talk Radio today, allowed that this would mean killing innocent people, people who had nothing to do with this atrocity, but "we’re at war, we have to accept collateral damage. What else can we do?" Minutes later I heard some TV pundit discussing whether we "have the belly to do what must be done." And I thought especially hard about the issues being raised because I am from Afghanistan, and even though I’ve lived here for 35 years I’ve never lost track of what’s going on there. So I want to tell anyone who will listen how it all looks from where I’m standing. I speak as one who hates the Taliban and Osama Bin Laden. There is no doubt in my mind that these people were responsible for the atrocity in New York. I agree that something must be done about those monsters. But the Taliban and Ben Laden are not Afghanistan. They’re not even the government of Afghanistan. The Taliban are a cult of ignorant psychotics who took over Afghanistan in 1997. Bin Laden is a political criminal with a plan. When you think Taliban, think Nazis. When you think Bin Laden, think Hitler. And when you think "the people of Afghanistan" think "the Jews in the concentration camps." It’s not only that the Afghan people had nothing to do with this atrocity. They were the first victims of the perpetrators. They would exult if someone would come in there, take out the Taliban and clear out the rats nest of international thugs holed up in their country. Some say, why don’t the Afghans rise up and overthrow the Taliban? The answer is, they’re starved, exhausted, hurt, incapacitated, suffering. A few years ago, the United Nations estimated that there are 500,000 disabled orphans in Afghanistan--a country with no economy, no food. There are millions of widows. And the Taliban has been burying these widows alive in mass graves. The soil is littered with land mines. The farms were all destroyed by the Soviets. These are a few of the reasons why the Afghan people have not overthrown the Taliban. We come now to the question of bombing Afghanistan back to the Stone Age. Trouble is, that’s been done. The Soviets took care of it already. Make the Afghans suffer? They’re already suffering. Level their houses? Done. Turn their schools into piles of rubble? Done. Eradicate their hospitals? Done. Destroy their infrastructure? Cut them off from medicine and health care? Too late. Someone already did all that. New bombs would only stir the rubble of earlier bombs. Would they at least get the Taliban? Not likely. In today’s Afghanistan, only the Taliban eat, only they have the means to move around. They’d slip away and hide. Maybe the bombs would get some of those disabled orphans; they don’t move too fast, they don’t even have wheelchairs. But flying over Kabul and dropping bombs wouldn’t really be a strike against the criminals who did this horrific thing. Actually it would only be making common cause with the Taliban--by raping once again the people they’ve been raping all this time [end quote]

Economic Decline...Sign of a Nation That Has Turned From God

Jeremiah 2:11-13
11 Has any nation ever traded its gods for new ones,
even though they are not gods at all?
Yet my people have exchanged their glorious God
for worthless idols!
12 The heavens are shocked at such a thing
and shrink back in horror and dismay,"
says the Lord.
13 "For my people have done two evil things:
They have abandoned me—
the fountain of living water.
And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns
that can hold no water at all!

Wow, what a description of America and our cities, towns, and communities inside our nation. Tonight, I am sitting here watching television and I see at the bottom of the screen Little Miami lost its levy bid once again. This kind of scenario is being played our everywhere across America. People are hurting, overburdened with taxes, losing jobs, losing retirement, and losing homes. Here in Ohio, it looks like the casino bill will pass. But it won't be the answer. People in Indiana and surrounding states have all of that and their respective residents are losing jobs, homes, and retirement as well. We are a nation that has lost it's way. We have forsaken, turned our back on the one true God...our cisterns are filled with leaks and cracks...and we don't have any answers for all the problems we face.

Its all so sad to watch this once great nation come apart right before our very eyes. It grieves me. Especially when it doesn't have to be this way. But like Israel, we keep trying to do it ourselves without seeking after Almighty God's help. We keep telling ourselves, "We are self-sufficient. We have always made it. We will save ourselves once again. Good ole American ingenuity...that's all we need." And if that's what we are saying. God is looking down and saying to us, "You must humble yourselves. Seek my face. Turn from wicked ways and I will forgive your sins and I will heal your land." [2 Chronicles 7:14 paraphrase]

Please continue to remember our nation in your prayers. More than ever, we as God's people must pray and seek renewal. It's not too late.

-Pastor Randy

Sunday Wrap Up

Friend Day services were great today. We had many prodigals that came back home to Christ today. What a great spirit of worship in the AM service today. People came ready to worship. I think that was do to the prophetic praise and worship service Saturday night. It just gets people tuned up...ready to enter in on Sundays! Tonight's crowd and service was awesome as well. Different than this morning...but powerful nonetheless.

We said "happy farewell" today to Karen Cook. We will really miss her. Even though new families are coming in, I hate seeing people move. Karen is a great blessing to the church. A good worker and lots of fun. Even though I know we will see her around, we will miss her and Raymond too.

Thank you so much giving in a special offering to Debbie J. today. She's worth it and so much more. We are blessed to have her!

Have a wonderful week!

-Pastor Randy

Sowing and Reaping

Ever hear of something called “jogging in a jug”? “Jogging in a Jug” is a concoction of 4 parts grape juice, 4 parts apple juice, and 1 part apple cider vinegar. Yum, yum! It’s a folk remedy for high cholesterol; a kind of “Drano” for your arteries. Supposedly, two ounces a day of this stuff and your insides will be as slick and clean as a whistle. Now, I don’t know if it works. It’s never been scientifically proven to do anything except cause you to make an awful face when you drink it. But wouldn’t it be great if it did? Just the name sounds appealing: “Jogging in a jug.” Wouldn’t it be great if you could gain all the benefits of jogging without actually having to exercise! If you could lower your cholesterol and improve your health without having to strap on your Nikes and “just do it”. If instead, you could “just drink it”? No getting up before dawn to drive to the gym; no hours of pain on the Stairmaster. Just a shot glass of vinegar and it’s “please pass the jelly doughnuts!”

Take another example. It used to be that if you ate junk food, you got fat. Now, we have Olestra, a fat substitute, so we can eat greasy potato chips and ice cream to our heart’s content without raising our cholesterol. Over the years, we’ve developed a multitude of artificial sweeteners – cyclamates, saccharin, aspartame – so we can drink all the sodas we want without rotting our teeth and expanding our middles. And if you do happen to eat something with actual fat or calories, you don’t need to go to the gym to lose weight. All that sweating and huffing and puffing is so 80’s. Now, you just make an appointment with your friendly local liposuctionist, and for a couple of thousand dollars, he’ll suck that fat right out.

In short, what we’re constantly trying to do is repeal the law of sowing and reaping, sever the connection between action and consequence. Not just with eating and drinking, but in every area of life. It’s a universal human urge: people to want to enjoy the benefits without paying the price. Take money. Why is the lottery so popular? It’s an opportunity to become wealthy without labor. There are other ways to acquire wealth, but they’re not nearly as appealing, because they all involve work. That’s why we love game shows like “Who wants to be a millionaire?” Just answer a dozen trivia questions, and you’re rich. No years of medical school, no years of working late at the office, no years of sacrificing and saving and investing. Just ten minutes sitting across from Regis and – boom! – instant wealth. Now I’m not knocking game shows or saying that Regis is evil [although he does sort of resemble the devil in those dark, monochrome suits]. But we should ask ourselves why these shows are so popular. It’s the appeal of having wealth without having to earn it. It’s the appeal of breaking that link between work and reward [John Houseman commercial: “At Smith Barney, we make money the old-fashioned way. We earn it.” They don’t run that commercial anymore. Why? People don’t want to invest for the long term. They don’t want to “earn” a good return on their money. They want to take a flyer on some “dot-com” stock that’s going to quadruple their money in two weeks.]

Now, while you may be able to acquire wealth without labor, or reverse the consequences of overeating, there’s at least one area of life where the law of sowing and reaping always applies.

And that’s in our spiritual life. Our character, our relationship with God, our relationships with one another, these are ruled by the law of sowing and reaping. It’s part of the moral fabric of the universe. This law can’t be overturned by drinking vinegar; it can’t be repealed by a winning lottery ticket. It holds fast. And so the way of wisdom is not to war against it, but to understand it and live by it and benefit from it. Ignoring the law of sowing and reaping only leads to sorrow and regret. What we need to do is respond to it in a way that’s spiritually healthy and pleasing to God.

“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” – Galatians 6:7-9 (NIV)

What’s Paul’s first point? “Do not be deceived. God cannot be mocked.” Some people today are mocking God. Not explicitly – they’re not glaring up at the sky, laughing at God, taunting Him, daring Him to strike them down. But they are mocking Him implicitly, by the way they’re living; by disregarding His claims on their life. Ignoring God, ignoring His law, ignoring His Son Jesus Christ. Living however they please, with no thought or concern about God. They think they’re beating the system. They think they’re “gettting away with it.” They think that as long as they’re clever enough to cover their tracks, as long as they can avoid discovery and exposure, as long as no one finds out, then they can do whatever they want.

But what Paul is telling us here is that they’re not getting away with it. It’s corroding their soul. It’s destroying their integrity. It’s eroding the foundation of their relationships, and placing a barrier between them and God. And sooner or later, it is going to come out. Sooner or later, they will reap what they’ve been sowing.

Kings Point Updates

Good morning everyone! Please remember the following people that are in the hospital: Kim Moore (pneumonia), Wilma Chess (pneumonia), Arlene Miller (Meadowbrook Retirement Ctr).

Friend Day is this Sunday. Please be praying and then asking friends and family to be your guest this Sunday. If you have "prayers of threes," this will be an excellent time to ask them to come to church. Remember, it could be a day in your friend's life that will last for eternity.

The Prophetic Praise and Worship service is this Saturday evening, October 31, at 6:00 p.m. Nursery childcare will be available. Come enjoy and relax in the presence of the Lord. No schedules nor time limits...pure praise and worship.

This is the last weekend to register for the Women's Encounter(November 6th thru 8th). Come prepared for a life-changing weekend!

Covenant Marriage Couples Ministry begins this Sunday at 9:45 am. This is an exciting new ministry that will enrich your marriage. I strongly encourage married couples to attend this class. Marriage maintenance should be vital, not an optional thing. Please come and check it out!

Finally, this Sunday at the beginning of the service we will receive a birthday offering for our children's minister, Debbie Jett. We do this annually for ministry staff members to show our love and appreciation for them. Please come prepared to give in this special offering if you can.

Have a great day!

-Pastor Randy Ballard

Sunday Wrap Up

Wow, what a weekend! Long, but exciting! It all started our with the LM/Kings football game Friday night. I really thought Little Miami would win by 2 to 3 touchdowns in a high scoring game. But when Lance Fanthorp (LM's leading scorer and recently set a Ohio state high school record in receiving yards) went down with a injury in the first quarter, then I begin to change my mind. As the game went on, I begin to think to myself "this thing is going to come down to a kick from Gabe." I just knew it. So many times this past spring and summer Gabe while practicing at the school, we would say "this one is to beat Kings." Even in practice, Coach Jordan would say the same thing many times. And what do you know, it came down to just that...not to beat Kings but to give Little Miami a chance to send it to overtime so they could beat Kings. I'm proud of Gabe. He's a good kid. He loves God and he does whats right. He's not a perfect kid. He has his faults. But God doesn't just bless and favor perfect kids or people. God defintely put him in that situation so that He will be glorified. I pray that He will!

One last thing about the game. My mom was with us Friday night and Saturday. It was great having her with us. She has been working a lot lately giving flu shots in Indy. Gabe dedicated the game Friday night to my dad...his papaw. He wrote it on his shoes and went out and bought special wristbands and wrote it on them as well. Maybe he was in the in that great "cloud of witnesses" in heaven watching the end of the game. If he was, knowing dad, he had a little tear in his eye...not a sad one, but a joyful one.

Two great services today with the presence of the Lord just so awesome in both. This morning's message was a true word from the Lord. If you weren't there, you need to watch it on the sermons page when we get it up. If I have ever believed anything in my life, I believe that we are headed for a time of God's habitation with His bride like we have never experienced before. Yes, we will have our time in the wilderness before it comes. But its coming and my prayer and my cry is "God come down and visit your people!"

Have a wonderful week!

-Pastor Randy

Friday Countdown...Trusting in Horses

Dave Daubenmire is a high school football coach from the Columbus area. I enjoy reading his stuff. Dave has a powerful gift of discernment and insight regarding today's culture. This is another good word. Enjoy it!

-Pastor Randy


"TRUSTING in HORSES"
-by Coach Dave Daubenmire.

Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember
the name of the LORD our God. Psalm 20:7

Sometimes when I sit down to pen a commentary I wish I didn’t
have to. I don’t know why the Lord has laid this yoke upon me, but
I try to be faithful to the gift and the calling that He has put upon
my life. They are irrevocable you know, the gifts and callings of
God, so I might as well embrace the work He has left on my desk.

I can’t explain it but sometimes I feel like I have on a different set
of glasses. Not rose-colored mind you, but more like binoculars
that help me see things that are farther down the road. I can’t explain
it, but I know it to be true.

I have always been amazed by guys who can “fix things”,
mechanically that is. I can spend all morning trying to figure out
how to get my riding lawn-mower operational and then my brother-
in-law pulls up, takes one look at the engine, and diagnosis the
problem. It is his gift, and I sure wish I had it.

But my gift is a little different. Although I have never been to
seminary, or spent time at the feet of great theologians, the Lord
has gifted me with the ability to “connect the dots” in regards to
the application of Biblical principles as they relate to cultural issues.
I think it makes some folks mad, especially the “credentialed
pulpiteers.” I know how they feel. I have experienced the same thing
with my brother-in-law. I’m the guy with all of the degrees yet I can’t
figure out that the spark plug needs cleaned before the engine will
start.

Education without application is like tires without air. One without
the other leaves one feeling a bit flat.

(I’m still not sure I am making myself clear.) Solomon put it this
way.“Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with
all thy getting get understanding.” Wisdom is the application of
knowledge. “Understanding” is the offspring of the union of
application and knowledge.

I remember praying a few years ago “Lord, help me see and
understand things that others don’t see and understand.” I’ll let you
be the judge of whether or not He answered that prayer.

The solutions to the problems facing America are so clear to me.
The cause/effect of our cultural collapse is so easy to diagnose. Like
my brother-in-law has often said to me while working on a piece of
my equipment, “Everything is connected together. All you have to
figure out is where the chain is broken. If it isn’t working there has
to be a reason. Just follow the trail.” Sorry to be simplistic, but that
is how I feel about America. Everything is connected…but we refuse
to follow the trail.

So follow along with me as we lift up the hood, check out the spark
plugs, and see if we can figure out how to get this baby running. It
is my opinion that we are trying to replace the wrong parts. Pardon
the corny phraseology, but we are putting the chariot before the
horse.

“Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember
the name of the LORD our God.”

America’s problems are spiritual, they are not mechanical. We can
not get out of this problem merely by changing the horses (parts).

We have tried that cure before. Substituting Republicans for
Democrats, or liberals for conservatives may change the direction
the chariots are pulled but it gets us no closer to the finish line.
Political parties and politicians are merely the horses that pull the
chariot. Changing them has brought us nothing more than a false
sense of hope. Every election we change a few of the horses, hope
that things will straighten out, and then lament the fact that the
stallions we put into office end up being nothing more than the same
old nag.

Trusting in horses has not worked.

Although the word chariot conjures up thoughts of a carriage in which
someone rides, a chariot was actually a weapon of war as
demonstrated in this video of Charleton Heston in Ben Hur. In our
American constitutional republic the constitution has become the
chariot, the weapon of choice, for those who want to over-throw this
nation. Many patriotic-Americans have labeled themselves
“constitutionalists”, and are trusting in that great founding-document
to win the war against an ever-expanding, all-powerful government.
“If only they would follow the Constitution…”

Although their intentions are good, the reality is that chariot
(constitution) is prisoner to the horses and the direction that they
choose to pull it. No matter how much we love to point out “original
intent,” “separation of powers,” and “government of the people…” the
chariot gets pulled in directions that it was never intended to go. The
Constitution in which we trust is the very weapon that the horses
uses to over-throw the will of the people. Extra-constitutional edicts
such at “the separation between the church and state,” the
“penumbras” of the constitution, and “equal protection” clauses have
run the chariot over those whom it was created to protect.

As long as horses are pulling the chariots there is no hope, and no
sense of generational permanence in that document upon which our
nation was founded. Allowing its clearly spelled-out principles to be
changed at the whim of the latest I-know-better-than-you judge has
caused this foundation stone to be crushed into sand. We all know
what happens when one builds upon sinking sand…

Trusting in chariots has led us into a swamp. The Constitution is not
a stand-alone document. James Madison, the “Father of the
Constitution” said, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and
religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any
other.”

George Washington said “It is impossible to rightly govern a nation
without God and the Bible.”

Some men trust in chariots…..

Recently I have been asked to speak at several “Tea-Parties” around
these parts. Word has spread very quickly about the zeal, passion,
and clarity with which I articulate The American View of our national
dilemma. The hearts of men and women are moved as I paint the
picture of the consequences of our national rejection of Jesus. But
my impassioned plea for “remembering the Lord” has tugged on the
bridle of the horses who are not “Christians.”

Some of my recent “invitations” to speak have included a request to
“tone down a bit” the “religious part” because some of the “coalition”
does not hold my same “religious” views. You see, it is easy to
change the horses, or fight with the chariot, than it is to harness the
rebellious heart of individual men and women.

Needless to say, I told them what they can do with the horse they
rode in on…

The god-haters have told us that our Constitution is a “living,
breathing document” designed to change with the times. That
attitude is the same one that gave us “living breathing” marriages
and mortgage contracts. The US Constitution was a contract
between a people and their Creator from whom the rights of the
people had been endowed. A contract is only as good as the people
who sign it.

Funny isn’t it, our once solid American dollar is in a free fall because
the gold that once under girded it has been removed. Remove the
firm foundation and a building is destined for collapse. For over two
centuries the ordinances of God were the pillars upon which this
nation stood. Remove those supports and the Constitution is not
worth the paper it was written on.

"To the kindly influence of Christianity we owe that degree of civil
freedom, and political and social happiness which mankind now
enjoys. . . Whenever the pillars of Christianity shall be overthrown,
our present republican forms of government, and all blessings which
flow from them, must fall with them." Jedidiah Morse

I know what my brother-in-law would say… “Better firm up that
foundation.” Nothing short of a spiritual transformation can save
this nation.

Some men trust in horses, some men trust in chariots….

We need to remember the name of the Lord. Does any national
leader have the courage to say so?

© 2009 Dave Daubenmire - All Rights Reserved

SOURCE - http://www.newswithviews.com/Daubenmire/dave172.htm