30 Day Jesus Challenge - Day 10 Not Good Enough

In today's culture, where everyone gets a trophy, where everyone is special, to say, "You are not good enough." is shocking, even hateful is some circles, but it is the truth.  In all faiths, except Christianity, the god asks for you to be good enough, like there is some cosmic scale in the afterlife where your good deeds are measured against your sins.  If you can just be good enough you will get to heaven.  This is not new and it is not enlightened.

Why do you think Muslims blow themselves up in the name of Allah?  Why do you think Mormons walk door to door?  Why do the Jehovah's Witnesses hand out tracks to strangers at a gas station?  Why do Hindus and Buddhist leave food offerings for deities?  Why do all other religions demand that their followers be good enough, do enough....  How do you ever know when it IS enough?   The short answer is, you don't.  Not until you die and then it's too late. Where is the peace in that?

Jesus said "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6.

"For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast."  Ephesians 2:8-9

Pray - Jesus, I know that I am not good enough to save myself.

Can You Be a Christian and a Democrat?

Or restated, if you are a Democrat are you really a Christian?  Jesus was political, don't let anyone tell you he wasn't.  Let's define a Christian as someone who believes the Bible and when God's word contradicts man's desires, the Christian comes down on the side of God.  

1.  Leftists believe in abortion is a "right".  God's word says it is murder and that all life is of value (source)

2.  Leftists believe that Jerusalem belongs to the Palestinians.  God's word says that Jerusalem belongs to the Jews. (source)

3.  Leftists believe a marriage is between people that love each other.  God's word defines a family as a man and a woman.  (Genesis 5:2)

4.  Leftists believe that rights come from the state.  God's word clearly defines that rights come from Him.  (source)

5.  Leftists are largely Humanists who believe that man is the center of the world.  God's word says that He is the center of the world.

This blog could go on and on, the positions held by the left are in direct contradiction with God's word on so many levels.  Gone are the days when a Democrat could easily be a Christian, now the tw are mutually exclusive.

American Pie - An American Prophecy

My college car did not have Air Conditioning, which is fine for the temperate North Carolina mountains but makes for an uncomfortable afternoon commute in Charlotte.  One August day in 1990, I was baking in the asphalt oven, traffic was gridlocked, and my nerves were frayed.  On a whim, I pulled into a restaurant.  Never one to eat by myself, I did not have a book or a cell phone to keep me occupied but the booth was cool and dinning room empty so I settled in patiently anticipating my burrito el grande.

1980 Honda Accord - Air Conditioning Optional

In the quiet, the opening strum of American Pie came over the speakers.  I smiled, as does anyone who grew up in a time when radio stations would actually play an 8:40 song.  My American Pie story is of being a 4 year old with a ruptured appendix being rushed to the hospital while singing the chorus.  I still remember laying down in the back seat and my Mother admonishing me to please pick another song.  I didn't understand why it upset her and it hurt less when I sang.

Anyway, back to the Mexican restaurant:  As I sat there I heard the song for the first time.  Notions of the Rapture and the End Times were a concept that I had the briefest acquaintance and then only because my Dad had begun his journey into eschatology.  I was finishing my burrito as Don was finishing his song and it struck me that this song was about America after the Rapture.  I was stunned.  I remember mentioning it to my Dad later and his warm brown eyes caught that look, the one he got when I would get on his level spiritually and feed him a nugget.  Oh Lord, I miss that look.

So in honor of Dad, who loved prophecy (and pie, by the way), and in honor of Mom who didn't wreck the car on the way to the ER all those years ago, and July 4th, 2015 let's break down American Pie from a Prophetic view point.

This World is on Fire

The World is on fire:  We see it literally, as fires are raging out of control across the planet.  We see it figuratively in Christian slaughter and persecution.

Literal:

I saw a global fire map this week and it shocked me with its imagery.  Lest I be duped, I checked it out, and found it to be legitimate.  Using the Shemitah Cycle as a guide, let's look at a comparative.  Our control will be the image from July 9-18, 2000 which is "before" judgments began.

Global Fire Map July 9-18, 2000

The satellite images detect fire from space, yellow is sustained fires over multiple days.  The full impact is appreciated as the pictures are enlarged, which I encourage you to do on the link.

Global Fire Map July 10-19, 2015

Figurative:

We are witnessing a Christian Holocaust and the world is silent.

To the faithful church, the Lord writes:  2 Thessalonians 1:5-10 And God will use this persecution to show his justice and to make you worthy of his Kingdom, for which you are suffering.  (Then He goes on to give encouragement) In his justice he will pay back those who persecute you.  And God will provide rest for you who are being persecuted and also for us when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven. He will come with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those who don’t know God and on those who refuse to obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from his glorious power. When he comes on that day, he will receive glory from his holy people—praise from all who believe. And this includes you, (thus this is a Rapture verse to the church) for you believed what we told you about him.

Abigail and Dolley readers as the birth pangs (Matthew 24:8) increase upon the Earth, this Earth is travailing.  Even unbelievers know that fire is used by God as judgement, we know this in our hearts because God wrote it on our conscience.

Why I'm Sad for My Homosexual Friend

What do I say to my homosexual friends, now?  What I want to say is this:

"Thank you for sharing that with me, please know that I still love you. As a Christian, you know where I stand but I also want you to know that my heart is breaking for you, for what you will go through by making this choice and what you will lose.

I weep for you that you will never experience the tender love between a man and a woman, the way we were intended to experience it.  That you will never know the heart stopping joy of creating a child out of that love and bringing it into the world.

I am fearful for your health and your well being; for it is often an abusive and violent lifestyle riddled with promiscuity, substance abuse, and depression.  Rates of AIDS, hepatitis, suicide and domestic violence are a sad hidden fact.  Because I love you, I don't want you to be hurt.

I worry about your soul and what you will have to do harden your conscience.  By engaging in willful sin, you risk separating yourself from true fellowship with God and the safety that living within those laws bring to you.  (Matthew 13:14-15)

The Lord's laws are no different than the rules our parents made for us when we were kids, "Don't touch the stove, it's hot."  "Don't put the chair on the ladder to climb up there, you'll get hurt."  "Don't hang out with that boy, he's doing drugs and might drag you in."  Those are all things our parents do to keep us safe, how much more are God's laws designed for our benefit, for our good, for our safety?

Personally, I am sorry that you have made this choice but it does not hurt me.  Honestly, in my own skin, I deal with my own struggles and I don't want to know what anybody is doing in the bedroom.  I don't want you to be lonely or hurt or rejected - I don't.  I'd also stand between you and ANYONE who wanted to harm you over this because you are my friend and I love you.  But I am not going to tell you it's okay, I'm not going to tell you I am on board because I'm not.  It's not my approval that you are looking for anyway.

Regarding the politics of the thing, I wrote this after casting a vote (that has been overturned twice now by federal judges) to protect natural marriage:  "At the end of the day, while my human side would love a compromise, the human side of me sees all the gray, and the human side of me knows and loves many different people; I could not in good conscience vote against (natural marriage) something that is explicitly and meticulously clear in the Word of God. I don't raise my hands in praise and fall to me knees in worship to a God that loves me so much he died for me and then spit in His face at the ballot box. I do not pick which Scriptures I like or obey - If you know me, you would expect nothing less."

The rainbow profile pictures are like a middle finger to God.  Scenes of half naked homosexuals screaming at preachers upset me.  It scares me that people who believe like I do are being driven out of business, persecuted, and that the government is doing this in the name of tolerance.  An evil that tolerates everything except me and my Christian principals and beliefs, is an evil that will one day come after you.  So forgive me while I weep and lament, for you, for this Nation, and for the future.  This is not a victory for good and my heart is broken."

The 2015 Super Bowl Through a Christian's Eyes

Abigail and Dolley readers I married a football fanatic; a dyed in the wool, NY Giants #19 jersey wearing, face painting, LT stat quoting, New Jersey boy.  The first fall we were together, I was astounded at how much football a person could watch. Sunday mornings were about "Big Breakfast" and Sport's Center, rarely church.  Then the Panther's came to town and it was about tailgating and games.  In 1997, something happened.... my football fanatic got saved.  For a while he went to games but stopped his covert topless bar forays.  He kept watching but he started looking at coaching decisions, draft picks, and game plans in a more critical light.

In 2004, he led the decision to turn off our cable TV and with it any and all broadcast football.  We have effectively lived for 11 years without it. I write this back story, to properly frame the rest of this blog.  We are not football haters but the time we've spent removed from the game has given us a perspective that many do not have.  It is along that vein that I write about this year's Super Bowl from a spiritual perspective.

The League:

If sports in America is a god, then NFL football is chief among them, the American Zeus.  He commands sacrifice; time, money, and Sunday church.  We give allegiance to the under gods of teams; we wear their colors, we praise them loudly in the stands, we sing songs of worship to them in the form of "fight songs".  We adore the players, devote ourselves to study and commentary, and trust the appointed coaches to "Take us all the way".  It is in this spirit, this environment, that we enter the final frenzy of the year; The Superbowl.  Through discerning eyes this is a train wreck of American Society.  Let's look at each aspect:

The Commercials:

Through the guise of humor and just darn good fun, we see commercials mocking God and creation, poking fun at the coming judgement, elevating false religions of Scientology and Humanism, glamorizing a drug dealer, perpetuation of the coming deception of Alien life forms and super powered humans - throw in a bit of female exploitation and gender confusion and you've got quite a cocktail going!

Now, there were some great ones in the mix:  the Nissan commercial to Cat's in the Cradle, the Dove Real Men Care Commercial, the touching domestic violence pizza delivery call, the dark Nationwide commercial about childhood accidents, the McDonald's pay with love - those were all great.  What I am trying to do is point out the ones that are not, the ones that will fly under the radar, the ones that you might not ever consciously process.

The Half Time Show:

My son was quite keen to watch the half time show.  I was busy in the kitchen but said to him, "Watch for the Satanic signs and tell me what you see."  He rolled his eyes at me, and started watching.  "Hey, look Mom, she's wearing a dress like she's on fire and there is fire all around her.  Oh, and now she's riding some kind of beast with glowing red eyes and she's roaring!  Geez, Mom maybe you are right."

There is some good analysis by the Vigilant Christian and White Rabbit on the occult symbolism in this performance.  The overt reference to the Revelation 17: 3 of the woman riding the Beast, dressed in the fires of hell (Isaiah 66:24) and the roaring lion (1 Peter 5:8) well, those are right out of Scripture.  Later, they put dancing beach balls and surf boards all around her because "Hey, this is just good clean fun.  Nothing to see here."  As she sings about kissing girls, skin tight jeans, teenage dreams, and going all the way tonight... nope, nothing to see.

The Game:

I didn't watch it but I observed the hubby and son.  They were bored in the first half, my son went off and read his book.  The second half, something was wrong - it was wrong from the start.  Hubby kept exclaiming, "What are you doing?"  "I can't believe they are throwing the ball!"  "What is going on here?"  "You've got to be kidding me!  That is the worst play calling I have ever seen!" and finally, "WHAT?"  He closed the laptop, "That was just awful.  The NFL... it's just not a good product any more."

The Winner:

By all accounts, the winner of the game was not the better team.  The Patriots did not win the game per se, the Sea Hawks seemed to have lost the game.  There is about the winners an air of cheating, the aura that they are shady, and not all together honest.

In all, there is a microcosm of America today, where the best don't win, where the cheaters come out ahead to everyone's surprise.  Where the evil behind the scenes invades your living room with smiling cartoon trees and catchy pop tunes but then you sprinkle in some of the good, some of what is left of us that is still worth celebrating.

It's sad to watch and for those of us who can see, it's hard to look at.

Tomboys - Our Girls are in Danger

Abigail and Dolley readers I've been reflecting on Donna Douglas, the starlet who passed away last weekend.  By all accounts, she was a lovely Christian woman of faith and integrity.  Usually, I would read something like this, ponder it for a moment and then move on.  Apparently though, the Lord wanted to bring something to mind and I kept thinking about her.  Over and over again through the weekend, I found I was drawn back to her story and her character of Ellie Mae Clampett.  Then it dawned on me, Ellie Mae was a tomboy and if she were alive today in Hollywood they would turn her from a beautiful young lady into a lesbian/transgender character.

Our Tomboys are in danger.  Girls of yesteryear who were rough and tumble were never told they were boys in girls bodies! We encouraged them to dress and act as girls, most grew up into fine ladies, wives, and mothers.  They did not dress as men and have their breasts cut off and their genitalia mutilated.  It is a dangerous time to be a tomboy today, because somebody is inevitably going to take it and tell those girls that they are lesbians or transgender.  What a truly evil thing to do to a little girl.

Instead, we should encourage them to enjoy catching frogs and building forts.  We should let them get muddy and play sports but we should remind them that they are young ladies.  We should teach them what a wonderful thing womanhood is and how God made her into a special person who will grow up to fulfill His plan for her.

By rejecting God and all His ways, our minds have become depraved and we no longer recognize right from wrong.  If you have a tomboy, nurture her and love her, guide her through this difficult culture.  Pray and the Lord will give you sound guidance and do not sell her out to the lies of the age, protect her.