Focusing on the Wrong Goal

Ask anyone who knows me well, and they will tell you that I am a political junkie. When I get up in the morning and get the kids off to school, the first thing I check is my list of news and politics websites before I begin work. I can name most political figures by sight and I can tell you what and why I believe what I believe in the political arena.

This morning I read an article written by Tim Cameron that apparently God wanted me to read. It spelled out the feelings and beliefs that I and many Americans have and why we are focusing on the wrongs thing.

I have copied the article (edited to save space) for you to read with due credit to Tim Cameron. You can read the original here.

With all the upheaval, all the riots and protests arising in the hearts of men and women everywhere, people demanding death to Israel and death to the U.S.A., aligning in goal and purpose to achieve world dominion through Sharia Law and Islamic Revolution ...causes me to pause and remember.

Remember that The Quran Burning Pastor?

... I must confess a carnal side of me, I have Loved My Country, I've loved being an American, small town born and raised, right in the heart of America ..Grew up going to church, Sunday morning (Sunday school and service), Sunday night, Wednesday night and choir practice night 'cause my mom was the church pianist.

Grew up when you actually "hauled hay" ...The American flag wasn't something you burned but held in highest esteem!

Sitting in a lawn chair, eating homemade ice cream and listening to God Bless America during the 4th of July is a vivid childhood memory!

Playing pool at the local Dairy Queen with a man who had two hooks for hands lost in WWII and hearing his heart of passion for this country.

You'd go to the friday night football game and everyone placed their hand over their heart... because we were "Proud to Be An American".

"God's Country" ...is a phrase I've heard mentioned many times in my 43 years.

But as an American, I've watched things tear at the very heart and soul of this place I've called home.  Abortion on demand, Same Sex Marriage, adult entertainment becoming a leader in industry,  people use to leave the doors unlocked—ADT signs are now everywhere, we've shot our own schools up, we've entertained ourselves til nothing shocks or moves, we let kids play video games that they habitually practice killing others...girls wear less clothes on beaches than what use to be called "adult" and all of that has come from within...and because of that, we've sinned our way to a state where Like in the Days of Jeremiah, enemies of our very existence, have come to and inside our borders, some have bought us, and enslaved us with debt!! (The Debtor is Enslaved to the Lender nearly 15 Trillion Dollars).

What infuriates me and causes my flesh to rise is what I have witnessed through the last two decades. We have been forced to accept in the name of tolerance the liberties given to the very enemy of this nation...they are allowed to come here and preach their indignation against us and cry out for our destruction ...and yet we are scolded not to speak against it or we are accused of "hate speech".

On 9-11-2001, I sat in horror and watched it unfold right before my eyes, I cried and prayed and was hoping, beyond hope, that God would take that awful day and turn it into a time of a great awakening.

Churches were filled all across the nation, as memorials and vigils were held, but those given charge over the masses, had NOT a Word from God but rather, self help, humanistic, self centered, sooth-saying messages. Instead of calling men and women everywhere to repent, they chose to extend the outreach of "tolerance" even further.

Now a decade later, we have a sympathizer as commander in chief, wolves are truly guarding the the hen house and enemies who flew planes into our hearts are now building a momument of victory right there at ground zero???? SERIOUSLY??? "Woe unto that Generation" rings in my spirit.

These people that desire the death of Jews, Christians and Infidels of all kinds demand freedom to worship the god of this world, who has come to steal, to kill and destroy, and we are not only allowing it, we are cozying right up to them, appeasing their every wish..there is talk even now of riots brewing in the USA demanding Sharia Law.

Again, seriously??

Yet at the same time, those very same people will not allow anyone outside their Islamic family to enter into a mosque, they won't allow you near their Mecca, they will kill you for carrying a Bible, they will cut your head off and You Tube the scene!

So yes, I can relate to that Pastor in Florida when I allow my carnal, selfish nature to arise and to think on such things.

But that would be a "Titanic Mistake", if I allow that to blind me from God's greater truth. This is "not my home"..I'm looking for a city who's Maker and Builder is the Lord, and all those who have come to kill, to steal and destroy in allah's name are not my enemy, for I wrestle not against flesh and blood (I say that in faith with my teeth gritting "ok Lord"), but, in fact, I'm to love those who spitefully use me, to bless those who persecute me and none of that is possible unless we, the remnant Church, arise in this hour by bowing on our knees in prayer and repentance!!

The reason our nation's home were once unlocked, was because we loved and served a God who sent His angels charge over us.

The reason school violence used to consist of a fight here or there, and guns were on gun racks in pickup trucks was because "we prayed in school" and one better than that ...We Prayed in Church!

The reason neighbors helped neighbors "put up hay" or help fix their car, was because they prayed beside their neighbor in a pew on Sunday. But the Bible makes it clear, this world isn't going to be getting any better... Love will wax cold, wars and rumors of war, people will be lovers of selves more than lovers of God....it's clear we are living in such a time.

But we've been given a charge to "Redeem the Times for the days are evil".

I liken that charge as one surely given during the sinking of The Titanic.

I'm sure at some point the people were having a great time, so in love with the comfort and surroundings of the Titanic, but once that great and mighty ship had struck the iceberg, and the reality of the destruction that was and had taken place, they didn't have time to mourn the loss of the Titanic.  They had to find a life boat. I'm sure there were some at work trying to save the Titanic, but I'm sure there came a point where it was "just time to save lives".

Should the Lord tarry, I will be crying and praying for God to revive this nation!

However, I believe their's a greater urgency, our enemy would love us to fight for the here and now and forget what's most important, sometimes good can be the enemy of God!! 

Ask yourself this question.

Am I as passionate in my speech for Christ as I am for this Country? Am I longing more for this place than a City who's builder and maker is the Lord? (remember Lot's Wife?)

Again I'm not saying I'm not going to vote and be passionately rooting for a conservative victory in future elections (should the Lord tarry).

But I'm talking about our Perspective!

During the sinking of The Titanic, there was a story told of a very rich woman who had brought great amounts of money and jewelry with her on her journey, this same woman, upon realizing the ship was going down, headed for one of the life boats, but in haste forgot something that was now extremely valuable and turned and ran back to her room, she bypassed the safe which held her precious jewelry and money... .she reached for oranges that sat in a bowl in her room, something that might now save her life....Her perspective had greatly changed from just hours before ...as did all those on board that "unsinkable ship"

During this very perilous time, ... as everyone is busy running to and fro trying to fight for the life of this Ship, by screaming for another bailout or that last ditch bill in congress (debt ceiling), instead of placing your hope and faith in what man can do to save the here and now, be pointing them to a more sure salvation!!!! Jesus, Our Lord and King!!

Instead of burning Qurans, and burning with anger for what we seem to be losing... may we burn with passion and renewed urgency and passion to see Jesus lifted high, that He might draw all men unto Himself, while there is still time.

The charge of our Lord and Savior for this hour is nothing less than "laying down our lives for our friends" HOW? by spending time praying/interceding, and then being willing to reach out by any means necessary to those Our Lord puts on our hearts. Write Letters, send emails, hand out tracts, being willing to look a fool (Like Noah) believing by Faith in God's forewarned Time that is at hand (The Day of the Lord), all being birthed out of spending time with Our Father!!!

Mathew 10:27 “Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. 28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

 I feel foolish wasting so much energy and thoughts on what needs to be done to save America, but that isn't to be our goal. It is to see that lost people are saved for eternity. America is quickly falling apart along with the rest of world and time is running short. I pray that God gives me the passion for others that I have for politics. I won't give two rips about which party could have won once I am standing before God in Heaven.

Ask yourself what is the thing that you spend most of your energy on that is just a waste of time in the grand timeline of eternity.

I was reading Jeremiah and I had one of those times when a passage reaches out of the pages and smacks you in the head. The verse is Jeremiah 2:11.

Has a nation changed its gods, even though they are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit?

He is saying that other nations that worship their false gods do not change their dedication to their gods, but Israel had a problem with always forsaking the one true God for false gods. It stood out to me because I see the same thing today. When I think of religions whose people are known for being completely zealous in their beliefs, I don't think of Christians. We are as guilty as the Israelites for being fickle with the one, true God. The world sees it too.

I am as guilty of this as the next Christian. Why is it a struggle to be the representative of Christ to the world? We are always battling our own pride I suppose.

Another late night

I am up too late because I can't sleep again. This seems to be a recurring problem not just for me but also my wife and oldest daughter. Sometimes my mind can't shut off.

One thing that I have been thinking about is fatherhood. I was listening to a local radio show talk about the modern state of American families and the lack of fathers in the home today. As a father myself, I am constantly aware of my role in the family as God has intended a father to be. Our society has been putting down fathers for decades or has tried to just ignore them, to make them irrelevant. TV shows overwhelming portray fathers as bumbling idiots who can't contribute to their families. The media also glorifies single mother families for their bravery and perseverance in raising a family alone. I don't hold anything against single mothers, I have something against the men who run off and want nothing to do with their children. Fathers have an extremely important role in the framing of their children's identity, especially girls.

The way I see it, Satan has done his job in destroying the family unit. With no strong families, a society will fail and the influence of Christians is greatly weakened, which is exactly what he wants.

The best thing I can do as a father is pray for my family and that God would give me the boldness and direction to be a Godly father. I can't change society as a whole, but I can make a difference, one child at a time.

Why is it so hard for some people?

At the recent Republican debate of mainly 3rd string candidates, a couple of questions were posed that the media uses to discredit Christian candidates. Now, I didn't watch the whole debate, just snippets, but I did hear some of the questions.

First, do you believe every word in the Bible? No, problem. Of course I do! The media types will invariably pull some verse out of context from an Old Testament book like Deuteronomy. The big problem that I see is that there are very few men or women politicians who will stand up and say "yes!".

The next question is do you believe in Creationism? Unfortunately, many Christians don't necessarily believe the account of God's creation that He wrote for us in Genesis. I will always believe what God says about it before I believe what a human says happened. Who is the perfect, all-knowing, all-powerful being who can ALWAYS be trusted to tell the truth? Nope, it isn't Stephen Hawking!

To leave out any confusion, I believe the Bible is the inerrant and holy word of God. I believe in a literal 6-day creation and that it occurred approximately 6,000 years ago. I also believe that Dick Clark was probably there. :)

I'll admit that I don't understand all of the Bible, but that is the short-coming of my imperfect mind that is polluted by sin. We should ask God to give us understanding for that which we don't quite grasp.

Proverbs 2:1-9
 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints. Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.

Two Ways to Think

There are fundamentally two ways to approach any concept, and only two. We can start with God and His Word, or we can start somewhere else; and the "somewhere else" usually boils down to ourselves. 

I recently read an article on the Pyromaniacs blog that contained the above line. It is exactly on point.

 Thinking like a Christian, and thinking like anything else, are two fundamentally distinct processes. They are as different as night and day, and as irreconcilable as left and right.

I have been thinking of writing on the subject of Christians who struggle with humanistic science and the Bible, and this article is an excellent thought on the subject. Topics that come to mind that cause confusion and even division in the Christian community are things like evolution, earth age and cultural issues.

In evolution, science tells us that the Earth is millions of years old and that man has been around for 140,000 years. It tells us that man evolved from simple life forms that evidently magically appeared themselves previously. However, as Christians, should we believe scientists who are just as fallible as the rest of us? Shouldn't we believe the One who created everything when He tells us directly in His word that everything was created in six 24-hour days? Why do we want to believe so-called experts over God's own words? It is in man's sinful nature to do everything possible to exclude God from our lives and the universe. That means ALL mankind seeks to do it, even the Christians. However, we are changed if we have God dwelling in us through His Spirit. We have access to the truth that is God's word. We are to set aside foolish thoughts and focus on God and His Word as the source of knowledge and understanding.

I Corinthians 1:18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

If you find yourself believing in such things that are in total contrast to God's Word, stop and consider the source. Did such expert opinion come from man or God? Who is always right?

More importantly, this needs to be applied to "christian" writers, theologians, pastors, teachers, etc. I think we as Christian put more emphasis on learning about God from writers than from the Bible. There are many, many good Godly writers and leaders and just as many or more of those who have "left the reservation". No matter who we read or watch, we need to compare their message to God's Word. It doesn't matter if it is John Piper or Rob Bell, they all need to have their work measured against the ruler of the Bible.

Personally, I haven't read any of Rob Bell's writings, but have heard more than enough controversy about him. So I can't speak with confidence about him or others in the Emergent movement. I lean more towards writers like Spurgeon, Lewis and Tozer, but I am old-school.

So, how do you do your thinking?

Why Are Churches Ignoring Revelation?

I have wondered this question for some time. Why aren't churches preaching and teaching about the rapture, tribulation and His Second Coming? Doesn't the Bible state:

“BLESSED is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.” (Revelation 1:3)  (By the way, this is the only Book of the Bible that promises a blessing for those who read and learn of the things that are written in it.)


Unless you live under a rock, worldwide events show that the time is coming very quickly with each passing day. Only God knows when He is coming back, but we are to study and watch for His coming, not ignore it.


Are pastors and church leaders afraid of broaching the subject today because it might cause fear among the people? Would it affect the amount of money the church can raise from the congregation? 


If we look at the Lord's prayer, does it not say "…Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, as in Heaven, so on Earth."? Luke 11:2


Is it not God's will to set up His earthly Kingdom as He describes at the end of Revelation? Maybe we are too concerned with our cushy worldly lives to be concerned about some distant occurrence. The church should be teaching and preaching all of the Bible, not just what pleases modern sensibilities. 


Yes, the church was called to preach the gospel to all corners of the world. This is because God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9. However, there will be a date in the future when it will all come to an end. The church will leave Earth and Satan will be loosed on the Earth and its inhabitants as he battles God. It will be hell on Earth like has never been seen or experienced before. It is this urgency that should cause us to move with vigor to spread the Gospel to all the Earth. 


The church was not established to build large congregations, collect the most money, have the latest and greatest entertainment to appease the world. This is real life and death. How many in the church will be left here to endure the final act when they thought that they were saved all along and are now left behind? I think we need to be done with the namby-pamby, feel good, seeker-sensitive preaching, because people need to the cold hard truth of death and life in Jesus Christ. Fear is what motivated me to seek and accept the salvation offered in the death and resurrection of Jesus. Fear of being in Hell for eternity apart from God. Fear of death. Fear of denying and blaspheming the One who created me.


Love is important too. His love is what made Him sacrifice His son for us. He is a God of love, but we tend to ignore the God of justice part. Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. Galatians 6:7


I know I have a tendency to not bring up the end times prophecy because people tend to react negatively to the topic or they just want to gloss over the conversation. I pray that we will all begin to speak boldly about Jesus' second coming because people's lives depend on it. 

Is Mankind Always Progressing?

Yesterday's post was actually brought about by a discussion with family a couple of weeks ago. Mankind thinks that we are at the current peak of human development, but we are really at the peak of human degeneracy.

It is tough to think that we really aren't the smartest we have ever been, with all of our computing power, rapid transit to any spot on the globe, etc. You could sum up the difference between progressive thought and Christian thought in this: progressives think man is always improving, and Christians (should) think that man has been degenerating since Adam's fall in the Garden of Eden.

Think about this idea: God created man in perfection! Let it sink in for a while. Perfection! Man was originally created to be perfect, and with a free will. Man was never destined to die, get sick or weak, or work with exhausting labor. Adam's intelligence had to have been off the charts when compared to any modern man. Consider that God gave him the task of naming the animals, and it would have been a logical, orderly system of naming, not just a random thought process. Then take into account that after Adam sinned, he eventually died at the age of 930. Think about how much you learn from infant to senior citizen during our current lifespans. Now multiply that by a factor of 10+, which is being conservative since learning isn't a linear process, but more exponential.

It is quite possible that Adam's descendants had the strength, skill and intelligence to create things that would blow our minds. As the generations passed and life spans became shorter, especially after the Flood, we became "stupider". You can see a small example of this in just the past 1500-2000 years. The Roman and Greek empires were technologically advanced for their time, but when the "Dark Ages" appeared, people could barely figure out how to survive day to day. This was the time when the Black Death and other epidemics wiped out masses of people. Superstition and an apparent lack of intelligence was holding back much progress. Yes, I am making a simplified analogy, but you get my point.

I remember, from Art History classes in college, our discussion about Egyptian art and technology. The pyramids of Giza are built so precisely that no modern technology could reproduce it that accurately. How did they do it? We still don't know for sure, except that slaves were used for laborers. There may have been a continuing knowledge of mathematics and construction that has been forgotten since then. Maybe the knowledge was lost when the Library at Alexandria was destroyed. It was said to have contained the combined human knowledge of millenia and it was all destroyed. I have a feeling that God had a direct hand in its destruction to keep man from getting too prideful again. It happened at the Flood and Babel. It is a recurring theme of ups and downs in man's history, but it is still a steady progression downhill.