OUR CHRISTIAN BLOG - Page 4

Would the Last Honest Reporter Please Turn On the Lights?

Posted: October 25 2008 - 11:43 CT

Once in a great while, a newspaper reporter will shock us by writing an unbiased article against the established liberal media.  Even more rare is to see an article like this actually published.  While most major news organizations refused to run this article, it did get published in The Rhinoceros Times of Greensboro, North Carolina.  This article is one of the best that I've read lamenting the current sad state of so-called journalism.

Now, before our liberal friends begin jumping up and down, screaming about another radical right-wing conspiracy, we must point out that the author (along with about 90% of other journalists) is a registered Democrat.  The author, Orson Scott Card grew up in California, Arizona and Utah, and served as a missionary of the Latter-Day Saints church for two years in Brazil.  He currently lives in North Carolina with his wife Kristine and their five children.  Our ministry obviously has some doctrinal differences with the LDS, but in the article, he is spot on.   Would that more Evangelicals exhibited Mr Card's zeal and courage by proclaiming the truth of our Lord and Savior, rather than "going along to get along".  We salute the author for putting his career on the line in writing this, and the Rhino Times for having the courage to publish it.

Read the entire Last Honest Reporter article.

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Seeds of Hope - Once an Arafat Man

Posted: October 18, 2008 - 14:29 CT

A couple of weekends back, I was privileged to meet a most improbable minister for Christ.  His story is an incredible testimony to the Grace of God.  He is a former sniper, bodyguard and chauffeur for PLO terrorist leader Yasser Arafat, but has now traded in his rifle and grenades for a more powerful weapon, a Bible.  Like the Apostle Paul in the first century, he now carries the Gospel message to the very people he once persecuted.

Taysir (Tass) Abu Saada was born in the Gaza Strip in 1951.  After growing weary of refugee life, his parents immigrated to Saudi Arabia where he was raised a Muslin and was taught to hate the Jews, even their very existence.  After the Israeli victory over the Arabs in the 1967 war, his desire t0 return and fight to redeem the Arab pride boiled over.  Without his family's knowledge or consent, Tass traveled to Syria and joined Arafat's PLO Fatah Forces where he was trained as a sniper and assassin to kill Jews.  He later also trained Arab children to fight and kill Jews.  If he found a home belonging to followers of Jesus, he would sometimes throw a grenade inside and bombard it with a barrage of machine-gun fire.  He has no idea how many people were killed and wounded in such attacks.

In 1974, Tass came to the United States.  He found Americans generally to be loving and caring, completely opposite of what he had been taught, so he decided to stay by marrying an American girl (Karen).  He originally intended to dump her after a few years and go back to the Middle East, but God had other plans for him.  Before long, he achieved success working in the hotel and restaurant industries in Kansas City, Missouri, finally opening his own restaurant.  It was here that he met an American pastor named Charlie Sharpe, a man who would be an instrument in his amazing, supernatural conversion.  One day, Charlie mentioned to Tass about a "spiritual connection" he enjoyed, which brought miraculous blessings and peace.  When Tass asked him what this connection was, Charlie refused to tell him, saying that Tass was "not ready yet".  Weeks went by as Tass pondered what this connection might be.  He had trouble eating and sleeping, finally getting on his knees in front of his customers to beg Charlie to give him the secret.  Charlie told him to come by his office the following week.

Read the entire Once an Arafat Man article.

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Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk

Posted: October 6, 2008 - 23:06 CT

I recently received an email from Rebecca, a friend of mine who wrote:

On November 7 - 9, I'll be walking 60 miles over the course of three days, with thousands of other women and men.  It's for the Susan G.  Komen Breast Cancer 3-Day.  The net proceeds will support breast cancer research, education, screening and treatment through Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the National Philanthropic Trust Breast Cancer Fund.  They are working hard to build a future without breast cancer, and I plan on raising $2,200 to help bring us closer to that goal.  Please consider joining me by making a donation.

During her training, Rebecca has been walking 25-30 miles over a weekend.  I know how tired I get just doing 5-6 miles, so I can only imagine the dedication it will take to finish 60 miles over 3 days.  Rebecca says that she's committed because, without a cure, one in eight women in the United States will continue to be diagnosed with breast cancer... and everyone deserves a lifetime.

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Pulpit Freedom Sunday

Posted: September 29, 2008 - 18:13 CT

Throughout our history, church pastors have, with great passion, spoken Scriptural truth from the pulpit about government and culture.  Indeed, America owes a great degree of its independence to the moral impact proceeding from the pulpit.  D James Kennedy writes that "The road to American freedom was paved in large part by the pulpits of New England.  Sermons from the colonial era helped to shape the American understanding that resistance to tyranny is obedience to God".  Pastors became such a force for freedom during the Great Awakening that they became known as the "Black Regiment" (named for the color of their robes).  Even John Wingate Thornton (1818-1878), a lawyer, historian and sometimes critic of colonization, wrote "To the Pulpit, the Puritan Pulpit, we owe the moral force which won our independence".

Since our founding, anointed preachers have proclaimed Scriptural truth on the many great moral issues of their time such as slavery, child labor, prostitution, and racial discrimination.  In the past, pastors did not hesitate to speak from the pulpit for and against various candidates for government office based upon the Word of God.

This all changed in 1954 with the passage of the “Johnson amendment” to the Internal Revenue Code proposed by Democratic Senator Lyndon Johnson, who later became president.  This legislation was Johnson's attempt to silence churches by restricting the right of pastors to proclaim Biblical truth about political candidates running for office.  The amendment threatened the tax-exempt status of  churches and other non-profit organizations for supporting or opposing a candidate for office.  The IRS, with support from radical organizations like the ACLU and Americans United for Separation of Church and State, have used this law, a clear violation of free speech, to intimidate and silence any church that dares to speak Scriptural truth about candidates or issues.  It is interesting that these organizations are conspicuously silent when a liberal Democratic candidate visits a church, even when the service turns into a political rally and fundraiser for the candidate.

Read the entire Pulpit Freedom article.

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Marriage Mentors - Fireproofing Your Marriage

Posted: September 24, 2008 - 20:18 CT

The past couple of weekends, I attended classes hosted by Kirby Anderson, host of Point of View, a nationally syndicated radio program.  The first weekend, Mr Anderson was participating in the Values Summit in Washington DC, so Neil Jeffrey, the former Baylor University and San Diego Chargers quarterback subbed in (to borrow a phrase from his football playing days).  After watching a trailer from the upcoming movie, Fireproof, Mr Jeffrey spoke fantastically on "fireproofing your marriage".  The second weekend, Mr Anderson presented a program on "why marriages fail".

After the program, I had a conversation with another speaker, Mr Dewey Wilson who, along with his wife Lynne, formed the faith based Marriage Mentors in 2002.  This non-profit organization is a partner for Fireproof, the latest movie from Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia, who previously brought us the inspirational Facing the Giants film.  Senior Pastor Michael Catt says "Fireproof aims to positively affect marriages and relationships."  Fireproof stars Kirk Cameron as fireman Caleb Holt, who will run into a burning building to save someone he doesn’t know, while he watches his own marriage burn to the ground.  Co-writer and producer Stephen Kendrick says “Almost everyone we know, including the cast and crew, has been affected by a broken marriage or relationship in their own family or among close friends.  This story challenges common misconceptions about love, and dares people to try God’s design for relationships and romance".  We encourage all couples and those even considering a future marriage to see this movie.
 

Since its inception, Marriage Mentors has helped almost 200 couples from 4 states restore and enrich their marriages, primarily by teaching them how to apply God's truths to their relationships.  The organization also partners with local churches, supplementing their marriage ministries by developing customized seminars, workshops, and retreat events on an as-needed basis to provide additional training to lay mentor couples.

Marriage Mentors are not counselors in the traditional sense.  They train mentor couples to work with each couple on a one-on-one basis.  Each mentee couple is paired with a mentoring couple who is best suited for their unique situation.  The mentoring couple then comes alongside the mentee couple as friends, guiding, encouraging and imparting life skills that result in an increasingly stronger marital relationship.  Due to the success of their programs (less than 4% divorce rate), the number of applications often out-pace the number of available mentors.  As I write this, there are nine couples on the waiting list for mentors.

So, if you are a married couple who would like to make a difference in the lives of another family, I strongly urge you to prayerfully consider becoming a mentor.  No special knowledge is required.  Marriage Mentors provides all the required training and resources.  God has been using ordinary people in extraordinary ways through this ministry to accomplish His will in the marriage of both mentors and mentees.  We've found that in almost all cases, the marriage relationship of the mentors is also greatly enhanced.

Marriage is a sacred relationship which is ordained for us by God.  The family is a foundational social unit of our nation, so as individual marriages and families fail, the fabric of our country is weakened.  Please pray for the ministry of Marriage Mentors and contact them for more information if you'd like to get involved.  You will be blessed.

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