How To Change the World

Edward Kimball was concerned about one of his young Sunday school students who worked at a shoe store in town. One day Kimball visited him at the store, found the student working in the back stocking shelves, and led him to Christ then and there. Dwight L. Moody eventually left the shoe store to become one of the greatest preachers and evangelists of all time.

Moody, whose international speaking took him to the British Isles, preached in a little chapel pastored by a young man with the imposing name of Frederic Brotherton Meyer. In his sermon Moody told an emotionally charged story about a Sunday school teacher who personally went to every student in his class and let each of them to Christ.

That message changed Pastor Meyer’s ministry, inspiring him to become an evangelist like Moody. Over the years Meyer came to America. While speaking in Northfield, MA a young preacher heard Meyer say, “If you are not willing to give up everything for Christ, are you willing to be made willing?” That remark led J. Wilbur Chapman to respond to the call of God on his life.

Chapman went on to become one of the most effective evangelists of his time. A volunteer by the name of Billy Sunday helped set up his crusades and learned how to preach by watching Chapman. Billy Sunday eventually took over Chapman’s ministry becoming one of the most dynamic evangelists of this century. Billy Sunday’s preaching brought thousands to Christ.

Inspired by a 1924 Billy Sunday crusade in Charlotte, NC a group of Christians dedicated themselves to reaching their city for Christ. The group invited the evangelist Mordecai Ham to come and hold a series of evangelistic meetings in 1932. A lanky 16 year old sat in the huge crowd one evening, spellbound by the message the white-haired preacher gave. Each evening the preacher seemed to be shouting and waving his finger at the young man. Night after night the teen came and finally went forward to give his life to Christ.

That teenager was Billy Graham. Billy Graham has communicated the gospel to more people than any other person in history. And it all started with a Sunday school teacher named Kimball. Millions have been affected by his decision to go into a shoe store and share Christ with one person. Millions more will continue to feel his impact.

Can something like this happen today? Of course! God wants to use you to change the world. Make an eternal difference by sharing the gospel with those around you and by supporting others who do God’s work around the world.

By Their Fruit You Will Know Them...

David Barton of Wallbuilders has come out with a list explaining why Barack Obama is the most biblically hostile President of all time. While most of these stories have been seen before, seeing them all laid out in one list is pretty astonishing. Many of these actions are literally unprecedented. This is the first time they have happened in four centuries of American history. The hostility of President Obama toward Biblical faith and values is without equal from any previous American president. Take a few minutes and read through this list! Remember, "Matt. 7:20 - Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them."

1. Acts of Hostility Toward People Of Biblical Faith:

a.April 2008 Obama speaks disrespectfully of Christians, saying they “cling to guns or religion” and have an“antipathy to people who aren’t like them.”

b. February 2009 Obama announces plans to revoke conscience protection for health workers who refuse to participate in medical activities that go against their beliefs, and fully implements the plan in February 2011.

c. April 2009 When speaking at Georgetown University , Obama orders that a monogram symbolizing Jesus’s name be covered when he is making his speech.

d. May 2009 Obama declines to host services for the National Prayer Day (a day established by federal law) at the White House.

e. April 2009 In a deliberate act of disrespect, Obama nominated three pro-abortion ambassadors to the Vatican ; of course, the pro-life Vatican rejected all three.

f. October 19, 2010 Obama begins deliberately omitting the phrase about “the Creator” when quoting the Declaration of Independence, an omission he has made on no less than seven occasions.

g. November 2010 Obama misquotes the National Motto, saying it is “E pluribus Unum” rather than “In God We Trust” as established by federal law.

h. January 2011 After a federal law was passed to transfer a WWI Memorial in the Mojave Desert to private ownership, the U. S. Supreme Court ruled that the cross in the memorial could continue to stand, but the Obama administration refused to allow the land to be transferred as required by law, and refused to allow the cross to be re-erected as ordered by the Court.

i. February 2011 Although he filled posts in the State Department, for more than two years Obama did not fill the post of religious freedom ambassador, an official that works against religious persecution across the world; he filled it only after heavy pressure from the public and from Congress.

j. April 2011 For the first time in American history, Obama urges passage of a non-discrimination law that does not contain hiring protections for religious groups, forcing religious organizations to hire according to federal mandates without regard to the dictates of their own faith, thus eliminating conscience protection in hiring.

k. August 2011 The Obama administration releases its new health care rules that override religious conscience protections for medical workers in the areas of abortion and contraception.

l. November 2011 Obama opposes inclusion of President Franklin Roosevelt’s famous D-Day Prayer in the WWII Memorial. m. November 2011 Unlike previous presidents, Obama studiously avoids any religious references in his Thanksgiving speech. n. December 2011 The Obama administration denigrates other countries religious beliefs as an obstacle to radical homosexual rights.

o. January 2012 The Obama administration argues that the First Amendment provides no protection for churches and synagogues in hiring their pastors and rabbis.

p. February 2012 The Obama administration forgives student loans in exchange for public service, but announces it will no longer forgive student loans if the public service is related to religion.

2. Acts of Hostility From The Obama-Led Military Toward People Of Biblical Faith:

a. June 2011 The Department of Veterans Affairs forbids references to God and Jesus during burial ceremonies at Houston National Cemetery .

b. August 2011 The Air Force stops teaching the Just War theory to officers in California because the course is taught by chaplains and is based on a philosophy introduced by St. Augustine in the third century AD, a theory long taught by civilized nations across the world.

c. September 2011 Air Force Chief of Staff prohibits commanders from notifying airmen of programs and services available to them from chaplains.

d. September 2011 The Army issues guidelines for Walter Reed Medical Center stipulating that “No religious items (i.e. Bibles, reading materials and/or facts) are allowed to be given away or used during a visit.”

e. November 2011 The Air Force Academy rescinds support for Operation Christmas Child, a program to send holiday gifts to impoverished children across the world, because the program is run by a Christian charity.

f. November 2011 The Air Force Academy pays $80,000 to add a Stonehenge-like worship center for pagans, druids, witches and Wiccans.

g. February 2012 The U. S. Military Academy at West Point dis-invites three star Army general & decorated war hero Lieutenant General William G. (Jerry) Boykin (retired) from speaking at an event because he is an outspoken Christian.

h. February 2012 The Air Force removes God from the patch of Rapid Capabilities Office (the word on the patch was in Latin: Dei).

i. February 2012 The Army orders Catholic chaplains not to read a letter to parishioners that their archbishop asked them to read.

3. Acts of Hostility Toward Biblical Values:

a. January 2009 Obama lifts restrictions on U.S. government funding for groups that provide abortion services or counseling abroad, forcing taxpayers to fund pro-abortion groups that either promote or perform abortions in other nations.

b. January 2009 President Obama’s nominee for deputy secretary of state asserts that American taxpayers are required to pay for abortions and that limits on abortion funding are unconstitutional.

c. March 2009 The Obama administration shut out pro-life groups from attending a White House-sponsored health care summit.

d. March 2009 Obama orders taxpayer funding of embryonic stem cell research.

e. March 2009 Obama gave $50 million for the UNFPA, the UN population agency that promotes abortion and works closely with Chinese population control officials who use forced abortions and involuntary sterilizations.

f. May 2009 The White House budget eliminates all funding for abstinence-only education and replaces it with “comprehensive” sexual education, repeatedly proven to increase teen pregnancies and abortions. He continues the deletion in subsequent budgets.

g. May 2009 Obama officials assemble a terrorism dictionary calling pro-life advocates violent and charging that they use racism in their “criminal” activities.

h. July 2009 The Obama administration illegally extends federal benefits to same-sex partners of Foreign Service and Executive Branch employees, in direct violation of the federal Defense of Marriage Act.

i September 16, 2009 The Obama administration appoints as EEOC Commissioner Chai Feldblum, who asserts that society should “not tolerate” any “private beliefs, including religious beliefs, if they may negatively affect homosexual equality.”

j. July 2010 The Obama administration uses federal funds in violation of federal law to get Kenya to change its constitution to include abortion.

k. August 2010 The Obama administration cuts funding for 176 abstinence education programs.

l. September 2010 The Obama administration tells researchers to ignore a judge’s decision striking down federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.

m. February 2011 Obama directs the Justice Department to stop defending the federal Defense of Marriage Act.

n. March 2011 The Obama administration refuses to investigate videos showing Planned Parenthood helping alleged sex traffickers get abortions for victimized underage girls.

o. July 2011 Obama allows homosexuals to serve openly in the military, reversing a policy originally instituted by George Washington in March 1778.

p. September 2011 The Pentagon directs that military chaplains may perform same-sex marriages at military facilities in violation of the federal Defense of Marriage Act.

q. October 2011 The Obama administration eliminates federal grants to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for their extensive programs that aid victims of human trafficking because the Catholic Church is anti-abortion.

4. Acts Of Preferentialism For Islam:

a. May 2009 While Obama does not host any National Day of Prayer event at the White House, he does host White House Iftar dinners in honor of Ramadan.

b. April 2010 Christian leader Franklin Graham is dis-invited from the Pentagon’s National Day of Prayer Event because of complaints from the Muslim community.

c. April 2010 The Obama administration requires rewriting of government documents and a change in administration vocabulary to remove terms that are deemed offensive to Muslims, including “jihad, jihadists, terrorists, radical Islamic”.

d. August 2010 Obama speaks with great praise of Islam and condescendingly of Christianity.

e. August 2010 Obama went to great lengths to speak out on multiple occasions on behalf of building an Islamic mosque at Ground Zero, while at the same time he was silent about a Christian church being denied permission to rebuild at that location.

f. 2010 While every White House traditionally issues hundreds of official proclamations and statements on numerous occasions, this White House avoids traditional Biblical holidays and events but regularly recognizes major Muslim holidays, as evidenced by its 2010 statements on Ramadan, Eid-ul-Fitr, Hajj, and Eid-ul-Adha.

g. October 2011 Obama’s Muslim advisers block Middle Eastern Christians access to the White House.

h. February 2012 The Obama administration makes effulgent apologies for Korans being burned by the U. S. military, but when Bibles were burned by the military, numerous reasons were offered why it was the right thing to do.

Porn's Effects

Read this: The Effects of Pornography

This is a helpful summary of the effects of pornography on the individuals and families. As I was reading through some of this today I realized how important it is to educate about this scourge. It is at epidemic proportions today. 

Here are some other resources. 

Seasons of Intercession

“But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you.” (1Th 5:1). God sets out His appointed times and special seasons according to His divine purposes. “To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven” (Ecc 3:1). Adam Clarke says: “God by his providence governs the world, and has determined particular things and operations to particular times. In those times such things may be done with propriety and success; but if we neglect the appointed seasons, we sin against this providence, and become the authors of our own distresses.”

“For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Est 4:14.) It is time for us to make bold requests (Mark 10:51) as we recognize the season and realize our place in it (in our family, church, business, community, nation).

Five Reasons Christians Should Oppose Gay Marriage

Read this: Five Reasons Christians Should Oppose Gay Marriage

Here are five reasons Christians should continue to publicly and winsomely oppose bestowing the term and institution of marriage upon same-sex couples:

1. Every time the issue of gay marriage has been put to a vote by the people, the people have voted to uphold traditional marriage. Even in California. In fact, the amendment passed in North Carolina on Tuesday by a wider margin (61-39) than a similar measure passed six years ago in Virginia (57-42). The amendment passed in North Carolina, a swing state Obama carried in 2008, by 22 percentage points. We should not think that gay marriage in all the land is a foregone conclusion. To date 30 states have constitutionally defined marriage as between a man and a woman.

2. The promotion and legal recognition of homosexual unions is not in the interest of the common good. That may sound benighted, if not bigoted. But we must say it in love: codifying the indistinguishability of gender will not make for the "peace of the city." It rubs against the grain of the universe, and when you rub against the grain of divine design you're bound to get splinters. Or worse. The society which says sex is up to your own definition and the family unit is utterly fungible is not a society that serves its children, its women, or its own long term well being.

3. Marriage is not simply the term we use to describe those relationships most precious to us. The word means something and has meant something throughout history. Marriage is more than a union of hearts and minds. It involves a union of bodies–and not bodies in any old way we please, as if giving your cousin a wet willy in the ear makes you married. Marriage, to quote one set of scholars, is a" comprehensive union of two sexually complementary persons who seal (consummate or complete) their relationship by the generative act-by the kind of activity that is by its nature fulfilled by the conception of a child. So marriage itself is oriented to and fulfilled by the bearing, rearing, and education of children." This conjugal view of marriage states in complex language what would have been a truism until a couple generations ago. Marriage is what children (can) come from. Where that element is not present (at the level of sheer design and function, even if not always in fulfillment), marriage is not a reality. We should not concede that "gay marriage" is really marriage. What's more, as Christians we understand that the great mystery of marriage can never be captured between a relationship of Christ and Christ or church and church.

4. Allowing for the legalization of gay marriage further normalizes what was until very recently, and still should be, considered deviant behavior. While it's true that politics is downstream from culture, it's also true that law is one of the tributaries contributing to culture. In our age of hyper-tolerance we try to avoid stigmas, but stigmas can be an expression of common grace. Who knows how many stupid sinful things I've been kept from doing because I knew my peers and my community would deem it shameful. Our cultural elites may never consider homosexuality shameful, but amendments that define marriage as one man and one woman serve a noble end by defining what is as what ought to be. We do not help each other in the fight for holiness when we allow for righteousness to look increasingly strange and sin to look increasingly normal.

5. We are naive if we think a laissez faire compromise would be enjoyed by all if only the conservative Christians would stop being so dogmatic. The next step after giving up the marriage fight is not a happy millennium of everyone everywhere doing marriage in his own way. The step after surrender is conquest. I'm not suggesting heterosexuals would no longer be able to get married. What I am suggesting is that the cultural pressure will not stop with allowing for some "marriages" to be homosexual. It will keep mounting until all accept and finally celebrate that homosexuality is one of Diversity's great gifts. The goal is not for different expressions of marriage, but for the elimination of definitions altogether. Capitulating on gay marriage may feel like giving up an inch in bad law to gain a mile in good will. But the reality will be far different. For as in all of the devil's bargains, the good will doesn't last nearly so long as the law.

Yes sir. We have our work cut out for us this coming election season Christians. Pray, speak out and vote!

Prosperity or Indulgence?

Read this article: TBN Fight Offers Glimpse

Christians please read this article carefully. You can spin this anyway you want but I say this is not what Jesus would do. I spend too much time w/missionaries and believers from other countries who could live a year on what they spend for their "meal expenses" in a month. Prosperity is one thing... indulgence and decadence is another. Send your money to the missionary who struggles to stay on the field preaching the Gospel to the lost or a ministry in a nation that persecutes them every step of the way. Please stop sending your money to people who have (and do not live in) several mansions and rent hotel rooms for dogs for months at a time... please!

He's Alive

How do I know that Christ has risen?
What proof have I to give?
He touched my life one blessed day,
And I began to live.

How do I know he left the tomb
That morning long ago?
I met Him just this morning,
And my heart is still aglow.

How do I know that Christ still lives,
Rich blessings to impart?
He walks with me along the way
And lives within my heart.