Dec 152010
 
And God created the heavens

As a Christian, I have seen many charlatans, including having gone once to a Benny Hinn event where, sitting in the stands, I watched as they manipulated the seating to make it appear to cameras that the arena was full, and people pushed and shoved each other to be the first down the stars to the floor, where they could get in line to be touched by Benny - if Benny’s guards, who were stopping and questioning each potential sick-person-in-need-of-healing, allowed you to.  The air was thick with the power of a spirit in action; only I don’t think it was the Holy one…

And yes, I have stood at the prayer altar and felt a pastor try to push me, with two fingers on my chest, back into the arms of someone standing behind me. I stood straight, and kept praying to Jesus that what ever His will was, that I would do. But I wasn’t going to lay down for any man. The pastor seemed to get frustrated with me, and moved on.

However, there was once, at an average chapel service at a small church one evening, where services were sincere and open hearted, but somewhat uneventful, and where the sermon hadn’t even begun yet, that something happened.

It was still in the middle of worship, and a guitarist had stopped playing. After a few moments, it became obvious that he was sobbing. And then…a few in the congregation began to cry.  I don’t know what happened, but within a matter of minutes, several people were sobbing in the congregation…and from there,  some began kneeling in their tears, praying and sobbing….and others went to the side of a crying person, hugging or putting an arm around a shoulder, and began praying for them and with them…and then… I saw someone laying on the floor, and another person, and another, and by this time, almost everyone was praying for someone or crying.  I looked across the heads of praying, crying people, and saw a friend across the room; we caught each other’s eyes. We were the only two left standing.

My friend and I smiled at each other across the room, then turned, went to someone nearby crying, and knelt down and prayed.

This all happened in a matter of minutes, but the prayer went on like that for almost two hours. The Sermon didn’t even take place. The pastor was sitting down on the steps of the altar, crying and praying too. Something like this had never happened before, and I have never experienced anything like it since.

I do believe it is the first and only time I have truly witnessed slaying in the Spirit.

No, it wasn’t mass hysteria. I knew all these people. Some of them didn’t even like each other. And although we went on to have many “good” worship services together, this event has not been repeated – because it wasn’t a cooked up show and no one would want to try to cook up a mimic.  It was too beautiful in it’s simple spontaneity to mess with.  Why would one want to ruin the memory of a night like that by trying to force it to happen again.

But I pray the Lord WILL allow me to experience an event like that again – and again and again – because the feeling of being present during an honest move of the Spirit is too tremendous to describe. I want more of that.

Jan 282010
 

.
Groups claiming to speak for women are upset over a Pro-life Super Bowl ad.

The left goes bonkers over anyone outspokenly Christian or anti-abortion. Sarah Palin was trashed. Focus on the Family has been trashed. Now the Tebow’s.

These – well, truthfully, anti-women’s groups – are trying to make CBS drop an anti-abortion ad featuring 2007 Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow and his family.

They have never seen the ad. They have no real idea what it says. They just don’t want focus on the Family or the Tebow’s to be allowed to speak freely during the Super Bowl, in an ad fully paid for by Focus on the Family.

Let me make something perfectly clear to the anti-baby, anti-woman organizations currently attacking the Tebows:

You do not speak for me. Please don’t pretend to speak for all women.

I look forward to seeing the Tebow ad during the Super Bowl, and fully support freedom of Speech for all individuals and organizations.

“Freedom of speech” is protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and by many state constitutions and state and federal laws. It is not implied, assumed, or conveniently read into the wording. It’s really there.

I oppose any use of public funds for these alleged women’s organizations, especially in light of their efforts to deny other individuals and organizations the right to use private funds in communicating their message.
.

Jun 082009
 

.
I’m not ready to say, as some do, that President Obama is a Muslim. But I certainly question his commitment to Jesus Christ.

The Apostle John, who walked with Jesus Christ, quotes Jesus; “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6 ISV. John also wrote, “And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”1 John 5:11-12 NKJV

President Obama stated, “I am a Christian, but my father came from a Kenyan family that includes generations of Muslims.” He said, “As a boy, I spent several years in Indonesia and heard the call of the azaan at the break of dawn and the fall of dusk. As a young man, I worked in Chicago communities where many found dignity and peace in their Muslim faith.”

But a Christian – a disciple of Jesus Christ – who truly believes Jesus when he says he is the only way, truth and life, and that there is no way to the Father other than through Him, knows there is no other way to peace other than following Jesus Christ. To say that there is, with complete rest in one’s heart, would mean that the person doesn’t believe what the Holy Scripture states for fact.

President Obama went on in his speech, saying, “As the Holy Quran tells us, ‘Be conscious of God and speak always the truth.”

But a Christian would never call the Quran Holy. A Christian knows that the Bible alone is God’s Word, and therefore, the only Holy Scripture.

President Obama stated, “And I consider it part of my responsibility as president of the United States to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear.”

When did it become the responsibility of the President to “fight against negative stereotypes of Islam”? He has never promised to defend Christianity in the same way, and in fact, appears to go out of his way to distance himself from Jesus Christ as much as possible, from refusing to acknowledge the day of prayer to asking Georgetown University, a Catholic Institution, to cover up and hide its inscription “IHS” during his speech there on April 14. Apparently, he and his staff didn’t want Jesus’ name to show up on TV.

How come he has never offered to fight against negative stereotypes of Christianity? Well, that would involve a daily rebuke of CNN, the ACLU, Wahington Post, the AP, the New York Times, MSNBC, ABC, and too many liberal organizations to mention. Much too time consuming.

Obama’s grasp of and respect for the Holy Bible – the Scriptures from which he told us last year that he was seeking God’s truth – also seems non-existent.

Instead, during his mid-east tour he quotes a Muslim story that the Bible does not support at all.

President Obama said, “…when Jerusalem is a secure and lasting home for Jews and Christians and Muslims and a place for all of the children of Abraham to mingle peacefully together as in the story of Isra — as in the story of Isra, when Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed — peace be upon them — joined in prayer.”

The Bible holds no record of such an event. Interestingly, neither does the Quran. There is even disagreement within the Muslim community whether the event happened at all.

Barack Obama’s Muslim background was taboo to talk about during the campaign. All evidence of his anti-Israel position was hidden. Obama’s friendship with PLO member Rashid Khalidi was important to his world view, but the LA Times refused to release the video proving that this relationship helped mold Obama’s views regarding Israel.

I can’t tell what’s really in President Obama’s heart. I can only discern from the outside fruit. I don’t believe that attending a Christian church necessarily makes one a Christian anymore than sitting in a garage makes one a car. From what I see, it appears that his years at Rev. Wright’s church were more about networking with potential constituents and furthering his political career than it was about giving one’s heart over to Jesus Christ and becoming His disciple. That’s why it was so easy for him to walk away when it appeared that the church was threatening his political career. Outside of South Chicago, it was no longer an asset. It was now a liability.
.

May 262009
 

.
“All people can reach their God given potential of health, wealth and happiness,” Joel Osteen preaches. He tells women to tell themselves;”Ten years from now I will be married.” and “He’s going to be rich and good looking!”

OMGosh. Is this guy a salesman? It is true that God blesses. He has blessed me and my family on many occassions. But God’s blessings for our family have always been directly connected to the furtherance of HIS plan and ministry, not mine.

For example, did He provide our family with an RV? Yes. But it was after prayer along this line: “Lord, we’d really like to minister at Juventud con Vision in Juarez, Mexico. But as you know, Roland has cancer throughout his bones. If it is your will that we minister in Juarez, please provide comfortable travel for Roland. If it isn’t your will, please give us the grace to accept that and show us where and how you want us to minister. Thank you, Jesus.”

Had we prayed for Roland’s healing? Yes, many times and many ways. Now, we were patient to go ahead with living while waiting God’s answer on that. Our prayer wasn’t for our own self-indulgence. Our prayer was for God to provide one of the tools we needed in order to fulfill what it was that He wanted us to do.

Remember, God’s purpose for us is clearly stated in Genesis 12:1-3 and restated throughout the entire Bible. God’s children have a Great Commission – to be a light to the rest of the world, and preach the Word with the courage he provides through the Holy Spirit. And the Word, the Good News, The Gospel is this: that Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, came to die for us in order to save us, despite the fact that we are all sinners and don’t deserve his gift of salvation. We have been given the gift of salvation, and all we need to do is realize our sinfulness, humble ourselves, repent, ask for forgiveness, and accept His gift.

Osteen chooses to focus on gifts from God rather than sin. He rarely uses Scripture and instead, thinks he is a “life coach.” A purported “Christian” life coach, yet doesn’t use Scripture as a text.

At times, he has seemed to deny that Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven.

Sociologist Shayne Lee and historian Phillip Sinitiere state in their book, Holy Mavericks: Evangelical Innovators and the Spiritual Marketplace, that “Osteen’s widespread popularity comes from contextualizing Christianity to meet the existential needs and cultural tastes of contemporary Americans.”

That’s right. I see Osteen as a saleman and “Christian” events are his marketplace. Note the amount of money spent at his events, and remember that neither Jesus nor any of his true disciples required funds from their listeners. In fact, Jesus fed the lot of them – for free – simply because they needed to be fed.

No wonder Osteen doesn’t understand the deity and purpose of Jesus Christ, nor the purpose of Scripture, nor the purpose of Christians. Osteen has never studied theology or even religion at a college of seminary. He attended Oral Roberts University for a short time, but apparently didn’t take the theology courses while there.

People, pay close attention to God’s warnings in Matt 7:15, Acts 20:29, Romans 16:18, 2 Timothy 4:3-4, and 2 Peter 2-3.
.