It has been a few months since my last post regarding prayer. On my blog I placed a total of four lessons on this subject, yet Throughout November – January I got caught up on various activities and plans in which I did not continue my postings on prayer. Seeing that the main title for each study was “Lord, Teach Us to Pray”, each study was mainly focused on Christ's teachings and life testimony concerning prayer. Since there is still 3 more lessons which I did not post, I would like to do so now. Have your petitions ever seemed like they were chained up? As if just as soon as your prayer got off the ground, it came reeling back down. Such petitions have been termed “roof requests” meaning that is only as far as they go. Sadly, for me, many of the times that I have felt as such is because of my own “feeble and flippant” attempts to pray. Still, there are times when some of the most heartfelt cries seem to be barricaded by the struggles of every day life. What I long for, as...
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For some reason, yesterday was the first time I heard about the “controversial statements” by Andy Stanley regarding homosexuality. It was the middle of last year when he preached a message urging Christian's to not be so dogmatic over such an issue. I will summarize much of what he said: Jesus loved, he told us to love one another, love is the most important facet of Christianity. Christians do not need to harp on doctrine, only show love because our purpose is to show the world something that they can look at and say, “Wow, that is attractive to me.” He also relayed a story of how two homosexual men came to him and asked if they could be more involved in the church activities. Both were not yet “married”, because one of them was waiting to finalize a divorce with his soon-to-be ex-wife. Andy told them that they could not be involved until the man finalized the divorce with his wife. He then heralded the fact that after the divorce both the homosexual ex-husban...
I hate cliques. In no way do I mean the individuals, but more along the lines of the ideology. As the old adage goes, “It's us four and no more.” Yes, that's the attitude I'm referring to. You may wonder, does my disdain for such “grouping” branch out of a righteous zeal or a compassion for the ones left out? I wish these were the reasons. No, my grounds for contempt is completely selfish for it comes from self pity. You see, my older brother and I were home-schooled. Trust me, I consider it a blessing in so many ways, but in enhancing popularity and instilling a gregarious attitude, it was a curse. Our rides on the church bus and church youth activities were our main outlets to social connection. Yet, many times it was as if we were simply flies on a wall. We were just there, peering at the different groups, while they gave quick glances our way, wondering when ...
My heart goes out to the families in Connecticut who lost their children during that horrific school shooting. I can't even imagine the pain and sorrow they are experiencing, but by all means I pray for the comfort and grace of God to overflow within their hearts. Just today, I received news of the tragic death of a good friend, and a great deacon, Bro. Everett Oliver. He attended Bethany FWB Church in Timmonsville, SC of which I used to minister at. Pray for his wife, Mrs. Sylvia. This world is filled with tragedy and pain and at times it seems like hope can be blown away as easily as smoke in the wind, yet praise God that a Christian's hope is not like smoke, but is a SOLID ROCK. Peter wrote that we have a "lively hope", literally a hope that is alive and well, for our hope is in Jesus and praise be to God, He IS risen! I emailed the poem below to a worker at the school where the children were killed, hoping that perha...
The vice of society and downfall of religious freedom is not and will not be by the utter hatred that is spewed forth from embittered atheists, the flaunting of immorality from sodomite activists, the vile belligerence of the ACLU, nor from the degrading propaganda of Hollywood and the media. No, it will come by the confusion of Truth, the compromise of Holiness, and the corrosion of Unity within the framework of Christianity. If it all could be funneled into a particular, it is the problem of pride within each heart. It is masked in the form of one who boasts over a denomination, almost to the point of worshipping its existence and deifying its function. It is also found in one who feels smugly content to be placed in the camp of Tolerance, fearing holy confrontation in which could vilify his lack of faith and cowardice spirit. Thus, he will never be caught lifting a bro...
(Please know that I will continue my posts on prayer later on. I still have about 2 more studies to publish on this blog.) It takes hardly any mental effort to realize that we live in a country filled with conveniences. We have microwaves, dishwashers, credit cards, keyless entry, power windows, bluetooth, facebook, and the list goes on. I have often heard seniors say, “I don't see how we made it without all these things!” Modern advancements can be a great help to society, but when it comes to the inner being of an individual, no technological achievement or material convenience will ever suffice to restore or strengthen the soul. The great gap of the soul can only be filled up with the one who “ filleth all in all”, Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:23b). Yet, t he road of true Christian living is not some large, smoothly paved interstate lined up with fun filled attractions. No. It is a narrow dirt path lined with high mountains and deep rivers. By no means do I use this imagery t...