He Is The King Of Kings

A beautiful yet terrifying message for us in these last days; the return of Christ and what it means for all people. We often equate Christ's first coming and His mission to His second coming. We expect a gentle and meek Christ the second time around. That's not what Scripture teaches and Steve Lawson paints a picture of it. "He is not coming to play games. He is not coming to be docile. He is coming to dominate and He is coming to slaughter...He will be ruthless in the execution of His justice"

Time Away

"Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them." Psalm 127:3-5

That scripture has a lot of meaning for me these days!

I won't be writing for a little while. We have a lot going on with little Darian and trying to get some things done to the house before winter sets in.

I went to the doctor Friday for my postpartum check up. Going by questions my doctor asked and the answers I gave, he needed to do a pregnancy test. To our surprise he gave us the news that I was pregnant....again. Already. Ya I know.

Apparently Sharb and I have a lot in common with rabbits. We're estimating I'm about 2-3 weeks along. To be sure, they took blood and I got the call this afternoon. It's official.

I know someones yelling, "Girlfriend use PRO-tection!" I've heard it already from friends. I think I'd actually need something like barbed wire lol. Ah I gotta bust Sharb's chops a little over this...

I wanted to try for another soon, but not quite this soon. Just recently I was telling my husband I wanted to try for another in a few months or so because I'd like my babies to be close in age rather than far apart. Well...Voila!

Once we recovered from the shock (and Sharb stopped sweating) we're good with it. It'll be hard, that's for sure, having 2 babies in diapers, nursing and not even a year apart, but it's God who gives life and takes away. Children are a gift and we're blessed to receive from Him. I know what it's like to grow up alone and definitely don't want that for Darian. If anything were to happen to us they'll have each other. God willing, maybe a few more later.  Maybe I'll have a little girl this time :)

I'll leave you for a little while with a couple of videos. One on educating, training and disciplining children by Paul Washer. The beginning is especially helpful to young, unmarried Christian women as to who is responsible for her when she has no husband?  The second is "A Biblical Husband And Family"



Be back as soon as things slow down. God bless!

The Influence of Unbelievers

I heard another voice from heaven, saying, "Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues;" Revelation 18:4

Recently I ran into a woman from my former church. She's a pleasant lady and I was glad to see her. My husband and I left that church before we were even married. The wolves and goats had taken over and the Leadership was afraid to exercise church discipline as it could bring about law suits thus began a mass exodus. The shepherds responsible for the flock sacrificed the flock out of fear. That's sin and that Leadership will have to answer for that. God noticed hence the mass exodus of genuine Believers.

So I asked her about the church and she suddenly looked sad and said " you know...it's the same." My next question of course was, "why haven't you left?" Her reason for sticking it out was she and her husband had been members for years and, by remaining, she hoped God would use them and the other few Believers to shine light in that darkness and bring about change. That seems pretty noble and I don't doubt she loves the church, but is this the right thing to do?

Maybe you have found yourself in a similar situation and are hoping God will somehow use you as an instrument. Maybe you hang around unbelievers in places you shouldn't be, but rationalize that you can be a witness to them. My husband and I know a guy who frequents casinos and bars to "witness" to all of his worldly friends for hours on end. Maybe your church's doctrine/teaching has changed and they've gone the way of the world to build up their congregation and given up sound teaching which offends the ungodly.

Salvation is of the Lord (Jonah 2:9). He chooses to allow us participation in His work. He doesn't need us. He's been working just fine without us for eternity. We always make more of a mess than help anyway. It's a privilege from God and not a necessity. We can't save anyone, only God can. We can plant a seed and water it, but only God makes it grow (1 Corinthians 3:6). Even the seed we plant or water doesn't come from us, it's the Holy Spirit. Whether there is not a single Believer around for thousands of miles means absolutely nothing. God can and does save without us. He's been doing it since creation.

"So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!" 1 Corinthians 10:12


"Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position." 2 Peter 3:17

We have to constantly be on guard against our own flesh and fight that war from sun up to sun down. We are prone to sin. We still possess the sin nature. We will continue to be locked in hard battle with it until the day we take our last breaths. We will not influence the group, they will influence us. We will give in to sin  before they give in to godliness. The odds are stacked against us in those environments and situations and not the other way around. We will fall before they rise. We're not here to change the world or build empires. The world will be destroyed. We're here to glorify God. To purposely put ourselves in extremely precarious and compromising situations or environments is not only unwise, but downright dangerous to us...not them.

"Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch nothing unclean; Go out of the midst of her, purify yourselves, You who carry the vessels of the LORD." Isaiah 52:11

"Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you." 2 Corinthians 6:17

We shouldn't be running toward the world, but continuously running from its influence and beating it off with big sticks while grabbing as many as God wants along the way. Right now we can't escape the world. We're here for as long as God sees fit. Like Lot (2 Peter 2:8), we should be looking around us grieving and tormented in our spirits by the unrighteousness that constantly offends God, surrounds and influences us. We see this scenerio played out several times in Scripture with many great kings. God warned the Jews several times to not mix with the people around them lest they fall.We are warned to keep ourselves separate from the world and all that's in it.

When the goats have taken over churches then we must separate ourselves. Church is the one place we, as Believers, are to come together, edify each other, pray for one another, feed and meet each other needs. We can't do that when the sheep have been run out and all that's left are goats. All we're doing is coddling the goats and hoping that by us being sheep and if we squeeze them hard enough, they will somehow turn into sheep. The church is not made up of unbelievers. It's made up of Believers. Christ is the Head and Husband of a regenerated Bride not a Bride that has some regenerated and a lot of those who could be one day if we're holy and righteous enough around them. Church is for believers not unbelievers. The church is to reach out to unbelievers and do all they can to win them, but without lowering Biblical standards, teachings or accepting and enabling worldliness in its midst to attract the world. God makes Himself attractive.

I know, I know, most churches spend countless amounts of money, resources and time to attract the world, but they're wrong. To read more about it from Spurgeon check out Feeding Sheep Or Amusing Goats?  

If we continue in these types of situations, we're having the exact opposite affect. Instead of standing for righteousness, we're enabling. Taking a stand and separating ourselves is like a blaring train horn. When the saints see and understand the assault on God's holiness and character, the insult against His crown, but do nothing, they're accomplices. The greatest harm to the ungodly by Christians is when we talk the talk, but don't walk the walk. When we call ourselves godly, but tolerate and flirt with the world in an attempt to "win" them.

"We live in a day where we think that in order to be relevant to our culture we must be like our culture....in order for the Gospel to be relevant we must somehow adapt it to our culture. And nothing on the face of the earth or in bowels of hell could be further from the truth. The worst thing that could ever happen to a preacher, the worst thing that could ever happen to a church is to become civilized and respectable." - Paul Washer

All churches have a certain amount of unbelievers and no church is perfect, but if your church is made up of mostly the world, governed and taken down worldly paths to please worldly church members, if those unbelievers are perfectly comfortable there, something is very wrong.

I'm not saying we have no influence at all. That's not true either, but we don't have what we like to think we have. We are in enemy territory of which we ourselves were made from and saved from. Throwing a few sheep into a goat pen is not going to make the goats act like sheep. The sheep will eventually mimic the goats. We will eventually participate in their sins and go back to old man habits (Revelation 18:4). This is why we are to be separate. This is why we are to flee and come out from among them.

"As a private member of a church, I have no right to be a member of a church whose doctrines I do not accept; indeed, I ought not to regard it as a possibility that I could remain to profess what I do not agree with. I am responsible, as a member of a church, for all that is taught and all that is done by that church in its church capacity; and if I am protesting in my heart, and yet in my proper person continue part and parcel of that church, I am not acting truthfully to God." -Charles Spurgeon

Iranian Pastor Refuses To Renounce Christ - Possible Sentence Reversal

Newsmax Story

Origianl Post: Iranian Pastor Facing Execution

Youcef Nadarkhani, the Iranian Pastor facing execution in Iran, is standing firm and continues to refuse to renounce Christ and return to Islam while Iran's government continues to unabashedly contradict itself. In order to carry out an unjust execution against Nadarkhani, they came up with the lie that the Pastor was guilty of rape and zionism. Yet he's continually brought before the court and pressured to recant his Christianity and embrace Islam once again. Youcef Nadarkhani continually refuses...

The pastor of several home congregations in a small Christian community called the Church of Iran, he has refused repeatedly to recant his faith.

Last week, he spurned the court’s ultimatum to reject Christianity during at least one of ritual three chances or face enforcement of his penalty and restated his Christian beliefs instead.

His lawyer, Mohammad Ali Dadkhah is expecting a reversal of the sentence this Saturday from the Iranian Supreme Court. World leaders are calling for all charges and the December 2010 conviction of apostasy to be dropped against Youcef and that he be released from prison.

Keep praying for Youcef Nadarkhani! Pray also for his wife and kids. Remember all others who are also currently imprisoned for the Gospel. Prisoner Alert List

Avoid Being Idle

"An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life. She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands. She is like the ships of the merchant; she brings her food from afar. .." Proverbs 31:10-31  

Fall has arrived! The trees are changing and losing their leaves, the days are getting shorter, the grey clouds have moved in and linger for days, the autumn winds are constantly howling outside and beating against our homes and the last of the sun's warmth is fading fast. Soon, we'll be buried in snow and arctic cold. For those of us who are stay at home mom's or who can't work outside the home, we can find ourselves battling idleness day after day.

Idleness is addressed in several places in the Bible and we're told to avoid it. Idleness not only tempts us to sin, but is the cause of a lot of sin and depression. When we get bored and are idle we tend to over eat, become sick easily, slipping into depression, stressed out, dredging up old memories and marinating in them for hours on end, complaining, in and out of bad moods, laziness, gossipping with friends, sitting on the internet, watching way too much TV, etc.

Winter commonly breeds depression, but this can be avoided with keeping ourselves busy and soaking up sunlight while it's available. Going outside for a short walk or even just to stand in the sun for a few minutes (especially during midday) allows us to soak up some vitamin D from the sun even on cloudy days, which directly impacts the emotional center of the brain.

Outside of the seasonal changes, idleness anytime can be deadly. There is truth in the old saying "Idle hands are the devil's workshop".

"Besides that, they learn to be idlers, going about from house to house, and not only idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying what they should not." 1 Timothy 5:13

"or even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies." 2 Thessalonians 3:10-11

In modern times, we don't have fields of crops that need planting, care and harvesting. Canning and storing food is no longer necessary. We can buy clothes cheaply rather than having to make them. Cooking can be done in 30 minutes or less and we've found ourselves with more free time than we can stand. Therefore, we find ourselves getting into all sorts of trouble or worse watching Jerry Springer.

 "Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy." Ezekiel 16:49
Man was made to be laborers. It's unnatural physically and mentally to be idle even in the work place. Part of the reason the West battles so many illness and diseases is due to lack of physical labor and "life of ease". We have diseases and illnesses, both physical and mental, killing us at high rates that are rare in 3rd world countries. The root cause is idleness.

For us women, there are a number of things we can do to keep us busy and productive especially during the winter months. Learning the old ways, even though we don't need to anymore for survival, has tremendous benefits and I'll throw out some suggestions...

Learn how to can food. Plant a vegetable garden in the Summer and in Autumn can them. It's not difficult, it's time consuming. If you didn't plant a garden this year then fresh vegetables and fruits can be bought cheaply and canned just as well. Canning jars and lids can be bought cheaply also at places like Target and reused. If you don't want to keep the food for yourself give it to others in need.

Save big projects that can be done during the winter for those short, cold, depressing days.

There are so many crafts that can be made at home and make excellent gifts, opportunities to make extra money or can be given to the needy such as homemade soap.

Learn to sew. You don't need an expensive sewing machine to make something. There are several stitches by hand that are just as nice and strong as a machine's and they only take a few minutes to learn via the internet. If you want to sew with a machine then check out second hand stores, flea markets or Craig's List for cheap sewing machines. Patterns for all sorts of things and fabric are cheap. It's also easy to make your own pattern. None of this is hard, it's time consuming and that's what we're after anyway. It's amazing the things that can be made using old and new material from curtains to purses to clothes. Have an old dress or skirt you can't wear anymore, but love? Use the fabric to make something else. If you don't want to make things for you and your family, then make them for others in need. A great example of this is a charity called "Little Dresses For Africa." A group of women make dresses for little girls in Africa from pillow cases.

Make a memory quilt from old material that can be past on as a sort of heirloom. Quilt making it surprisingly cheap and time consuming. You can get good material on discount and pay next to nothing. Or you may have an old quilt that can be refurbished. Buying a good quilt for winter months is expensive. Making your own is cheap and better made than a store bought quilt.

Learn to crochet. Crocheting is very easy. If I can do it I know anyone can. New patterns can be quickly learned from the internet and it's amazing what can be crocheted from some yarn and a needle. Multicolored blankets in soft yarn are awesome gifts especially when they're hand made or they can be given to the homeless.

Learn to make jams and jellies. My sister in law makes different homemade jams and I love walking into her house and smelling the strawberries, grapes or some other fruit being cooked down and prepared for jars. She's offered to teach me and I'm going to take her up on it. Making jam can also be looked up on the internet, is fairly easy to make and it's so much better than anything you can buy in the store. Afterwards they can stored for use, given away as gifts or given to the needy.

 Outside of learning new activities to keep your hands and brain busy, there are a lot of ministries we can get involved in such as collecting mittens, hats and gloves for homeless or needy families. Volunteering at soup kitchens (who always need help), volunteering at women's shelters or teaching other women a craft that you've mastered. You can take classes for something new and interesting at your local community center or community college cheaply or even free.

Not only does God expect us to stay busy, but we were made to keep busy. It's a sure way to beat depression, over eating, warding of sin, providing for our families and helping those in need. The benefits of avoiding idleness are enormous. Happy Fall!

 

Are You A Christian Living In A Muslim Home?

Pastor Tim Conway gives Biblical principals, advice and encouragement to Christians living in Muslim homes and offers help. From I'll Be Honest


Even in a nation like Saudi Arabia who boasts to not have any Christians, there is an underground church in Saudi Arabia. They, like so many other former Muslims in closed nations, are afraid to go public for fear of persecution, imprisonment or death. This video has sound advice to those believers where ever they are. If you're one of them, be encouraged. You're not alone. Stand firm, pray, and show the love of Christ even if it cost you your life. I, and so many others, are always praying for Christians in those nations and the underground church and we will continue to.

Discerning The Voice Of God

This phenomenon has been going on for millenniums. This phenomenon is what the false teachers and Gnostics used to disrupt and divide the flock in Paul's day. It is the method used that's created entire religions that began with people "hearing" from God or an angel that ran contrary to revealed Scripture and has led billions astray (Galatians 1:8) such as Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses, Islam, so on and so forth. Still, Christians are looking and hoping for a voice from God for guidance, for an experience that would bring them closer to the Creator or as a means to puff themselves up over other Christians. Whatever the case may be, there is no method or strategy to hearing directly or discerning the voice of God apart from Scripture. That's certainly not the popular idea, especially these days.

Have you ever heard someone say "God told me..."? It's used in many revelatory ways such as dreams and visions, promptings, voices, visitations, etc. They often have an entire mystical experience to go with it. Most popular teachers use this method to gather for themselves flocks of followers. They portray themselves as being so spiritual, so special, so mighty for God and so learned that God speaks directly to them. And you must listen because if He's not speaking to you in the same way then you're weak, wandering aimlessly and need that teacher's guidance to get on the path they're on. First you must buy their material and send them love gifts. Hey! The path isn't free you know!

There are examples in Scripture where God did speak directly to his people to give His will in a matter or offer divine guidance. Before we can point at those and say "See, He does speak!" We also have to consider the context in which He chose to speak. God parted the Red Sea and made a donkey speak as well. Does that mean He'll part the Detroit River for me to get to Canada? Does that mean He may speak to me through my cat? One of the main factors in the methods God used in special circumstances was the cannon of Scripture hadn't been completed yet. It was still in the process of being completed and those experiences were added in Scripture for us to learn from. God speaking audibly to Elijah is not what God wants us to focus on, but rather what He was teaching Elijah and the circumstances surrounding it.

"For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope." Romans 15:4

Today we have the complete Word of God. There are a myriad of reasons Christians don't study Scripture. They'd rather rely on a "moving" from God or a direct "word" or "revelation". There's several problems with this....

1. As fallen creatures we're incapable of discerning God's pure and lofty thoughts.

2. As fallen creatures our experiences aren't reliable as they are tainted by the sin nature and subjective.

3. Scripture warns against adding to the revelations in the Bible (Revelation 22:18)

4. It's putting an awful lot of trust and confidence in our flesh when Scripture distinctly warns that the heart of man is deceitfully wicked (Jeremiah 17:9) and anyone who trusts in his own heart is a fool (Proverbs 28:26). Trusting in a feeling or voice is absolutely foolish and just asking for disaster.

5. There's absolutely no way to test what we've heard. (1 Thessalonians 5:21)

6. Christ is the Word of God made flesh. (John 1:1) Want to know Christ, God's will and direction? Study the Word. It's from this feeding on Scripture does the Holy Spirit lead us, teach us and make Scripture applicable to our lives (John 14:26)

7. More often than not we have no idea what God's doing in our lives or around us until after He's already done it. Even then we don't grasp the magnitude in which He's worked or moved in our behalf.

8. To hear voices and assume it's God is dangerous especially when we have a powerful enemy who is just looking for a foothold to attack and devour. (1 Peter 5:8) How can we know we're hearing the voice of God and not a demon or Satan himself? I heard a girl say she knew God was speaking to her because He used Scripture. Yet, what she claimed God was telling her ran completely contrary to Scripture. Satan distorted and twisted Scripture to the Word of God Himself (Matthew 4:6). How are we safe from him? if we don't know Scripture how can we know Satan's not doing the same to us?

There is nothing...no feeling, no mystical experience, no voice, no revelation, dream or vision that can hold more weight than Scripture itself. It is the divine authority and complete revelation from God. All other promptings or voices is like equating a Ferrari to a huffy...straw to grain...

"'Let the prophet who has a dream tell his dream, but let the one who has My Word speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain?' declares the LORD. 'Is not My word like fire,' declares the LORD, 'and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?'"

God speaks loud and clear through 66 books. If that's not enough for us then we have far bigger and perilous problems than trying to figure out if God is speaking to or prompting us. He's already said everything He's needed to say. We just need to listen by knowing the method He chose to speak to man...the Bible. We don't get to choose how we have a relationship with God or how we communicate with Him. He chose and we must follow. It's on His terms not ours.

"And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts." 2 Peter 1:19

Peter heard God's voice several times and witnessed countless miracles, some even he performed, walked with Christ Himself, was on the mount of transfiguration and saw God move powerfully, but even he knew and understood Scripture trumped all these experiences.

Scripture is sufficient. Scripture is the revelation of Christ to mankind. Christ is Scripture. If Scripture is not sufficient for us or we're looking to add to our walk by other methods and means then we're setting ourselves us for disaster and we've rejected truth, Christ and the only means we have to divine truth...the Bible.

Iranian Pastor Facing Execution

News Article

Iran's State Media (controlled by the government) is reporting that Youcef Nadarkhani isn't being executed for refusing to deny Christianity, but rather for rape. That's convenient. Right. And I'm the headless horseman. Yet the ACLJ found in Iranian Supreme Court documents...

"In a ruling from the Iranian Supreme Court, translated into English by the ACLJ, Nadarkhani was sentenced to execution by hanging for, “turning his back on Islam” and “converting Muslims to Christianity."

Please keep Youcef in your prayers.  If God so chooses that he be put to death for the Gospel, then may God be with him and give him the strength and grace to glorify Christ until his last breath.

"Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." Matthew 10:39