I have absolutely nothing to talk about right now. I have searched all day long for some kind of inspirational message to share, but I have found nothing! I wouldn’t even continue reading this entry if I were you. You will just be wasting your time!

So, you are still reading…huh?

In that case, I’ll give you some tidbits on what’s going on in my life, and in the lives of others. First, The Call is this Saturday and practically in my backyard! How awesome is that? Oh, but I can’t go because I’m working. I’ve been out of work for five months with nothing to do, and now I finally have something that I really want to do, and I can’t! However, all is not lost! Lou Engle, who started The Call, will be speaking at my church on Sunday! Yippeee! I’ve heard good things about him, and I have a lot of respect for the work he is doing in our nation and all around the world. He has been obedient to his own call from the Lord, and because of that has changed the lives of thousands! Glory to God!

The past week I have been feeling led to do a fast. Last night I had confirmation when I asked the Lord to speak to me through His Word, and I heard in my spirit to read Nehemiah 1:4. I’m not familiar with the whole story, but the simple fact that the verse is about fasting was enough of a sign for me! Starting tomorrow I will be on a 21 day journey; eating only fruits and vegetables. There are many reasons why I am doing this, but mainly because I want to draw closer to our wonderful God. Please pray that His strength will be upon me!

Did you hear of the rare snow storm that hit the Middle East? What about the two old stars that are getting ready to give birth to new planets? It’s all so fascinating, isn’t it?

Finally, I have to give public praise to our Father in Heaven. I’m constantly in awe of His majesty. It’s been hard getting back to work, and not having as much time with Him, but He hasn’t left me. It’s easy to get caught up in life, and let our relationship with Him slide, but we must fight against this trap with every ounce of our energy. He’s the center of my life, and the reason I am even here to begin with! May we never lose sight of that!

Recently, I received a question from a reader regarding homosexuality and the challenges of walking out of this lifestyle. If this is your first time here you should read, Coming Out Straight, my own testimony of being set free from homosexuality. This is a controversial topic these days, and many are afraid of bringing it up. However, I have been given a voice for this issue, and I will use it when necessary. It is imperative that people start to understand how dangerous this sin is.

If I stole something, I’d be sinning against God. I would also be breaking a moral law. The Bible is clear on this issue, and most people will agree that stealing is not a good thing to do. The Bible is also clear on homosexuality and the consequences for all those who participate in this sin. However, homosexuals have been successful of convincing more and more people that the way they live their lives is acceptable. Could you imagine if a kleptomaniac started telling people that they were born that way, and that makes it okay? Do you see the danger now? We are all born sinners, that doesn’t make it okay!

Now, I’ll get back on track here and show you the question that I received:

I have also read and heard of others who want to walk away from homosexuality, but I have found few who have actually been delivered! Here are a few reasons that might be holding them back from being set free:

1. They don’t really want to be delivered, or their reasons are selfish reasons. Do they want to please the world or God? If they are wanting to please God they might have more success!
2. They don’t understand what truly made them the way they are. For a homosexual, it takes a revelation from God to completely understand that no one is born gay. It is a tangled web of lies, pain, and confusion. It is also a trap, and the hunter (Satan) does not have any intention of letting the prey escape.
3. Time. I think the longer the person has been in this lifestyle, the harder it will be to walk in freedom. I don’t think it is impossible, but it will be difficult.
4. The level of their participation. Someone who made it their complete identity and surrounded themselves with every possible gay-related thing is going to have a harder time than someone who never really identified with gay people or the lifestyle. For instance, I never really got along with gay guys, so I was never active in the “gay community”. It wasn’t part of my identity, so the main thing I was fighting was same sex attractions.
5. The person’s level of surrendering will also make a difference. I was delivered by God, but I also surrendered to Him. When I realized I was starting to have more thoughts about women, I could have easily said, “that’s weird” and continued with looking at guys in an unhealthy way. Instead, I acknowledged that something was different inside of me, and I realized that it was something God had done. After that, I walked in more freedom because I wanted every last piece of the “gay identity” out of me.
6. Same sex attractions will never go away! Let me explain…most cases of homosexuality are a result of the man not having a proper role model, or maybe not one at all. That need then gets perverted, and turns into a sexual need. Now, every time the homosexual looks at a man, all he relates to that man is sex. This is where the lies originate! Instead of just looking at the man for ideas of how to walk, talk, dress, etc. the devil instead accuses the person of something much more perverted. For example, “you are never supposed to look at another man. If you do, you must be thinking sexual thoughts, and that makes you gay.” This is not the truth! I look at men all the time because I never had anyone show me how to be a man. I look to them for help! I notice what they do, so I can do it. This is why I say that same sex attractions will never go away, because the devil will never stop trying to make you feel like you are doing something wrong. We are all guilty of looking at people, but if he can make you think you are doing something wrong, then he has led you down the path to acting it out!

Keep in mind, this advice is from my experience only, and I wouldn’t say that it is the standard for all people stuck in a gay lifestyle. I can only speak from my testimony, but most will probably be able to relate to what I’m saying.

Can you think of something that you have struggled with, and determine if maybe you were unsuccessful for one of the above reasons?

In many atheist circles, I have noticed a common belief that Christians have created a mythical creature known as God. They believe this for many reasons, but from my perspective, the only valid one is that a lot of Christians HAVE created their own God.

Now before you get all defensive, let me explain where I’m coming from here. As a Christian, I have seen where many have missed God, and the consequences have been abundant. I’m not excluded; I was a spiritually dead Christian once, and who knows how many people thought of me as a hypocrite as well. That’s another fancy label Christians have been given, but that’s another story in itself. The point is, people believe these stereotypes, and the stereotypes placed on Christians are partly our fault.

So, where did the idea come from that man created God? Well, one reason is that atheists have no clue about spiritual things because they have not been given the revelation of the Truth. The other reason, is the reason for this post. So the real question would be, what did we do as Christians to make people think we created our God? Consider these popular phrases, and maybe you’ll begin to see the answer:

1. “I believe in some parts of the Bible, but not all of it.”
2. “God is in control, but I still need to live my life.”
3. “He understands.”
4. “Life is too busy to observe the Sabbath. That’s just the way the world is.”
5. “He understands.”

You should understand by now why someone might think that we have created our God; we have literally stripped Him of His Authority. Over time, we have drifted away from sound doctrine. We have drifted away from the Truth of God’s Word, and we have done this to please the world. There are numerous churches being planted all over that are all about making people feel comfortable. A lot of the Bible is comforting, but a lot of it is supposed to make us aware of how filthy and disgusting our sinful nature is so we can repent and realize how much we need Jesus Christ! We can do this humbly as God has instructed, or we can make up a thousand excuses of why we really haven’t done anything wrong. I don’t want to be comfortable. I know what a wretch I am, and I don’t see the benefit of denying that. However, when everyone starts making up their own rules and ways of living, what are they doing?Perhaps creating their own God?

God doesn’t change. He stays the same. If He says women shouldn’t talk in the church (1 Corinthians 14:34-35), then maybe they shouldn’t be talking. For 1900 years that command was obeyed. Now it sounds harsh, inconvenient (for some of you), and chauvinistic, but it is a command from God that we are to obey regardless of what our culture or society is doing!

If God says don’t have sex before marriage, then don’t have sex before marriage! If God says love your enemies, then love them! We have become so wishy-washy about our beliefs; it’s no wonder that people have so many complaints against us! If we stuck to what God has originally instructed us to do, do you really think we’d be viewed the same way?

Please ponder this concept. Search yourself for any areas where maybe you have changed the Word of God to fit your comfortable way of living. Don’t put yourself in the position to be accused of worshipping a man-made god.

By the way, to answer the title question, God doesn’t have a creator. He is simply not in the category of things that were created.

I heard a pastor say one time that the Christian life “isn’t a sprint to the finish line.” When many come to Christ they think they have arrived at that finish line, but as time goes by they realize that it is only the beginning of a long and hard journey; one that requires suffering and endurance.

Some may feel like life was better before they came to Christ. The will fall away before they receive their reward. I believe our Salvation is sealed, as long as we keep our faith in Jesus Christ. However, there are many things that come up in a Christians life that test our faith, and only the elect will make it through the sifting process.

Hebrews 3:3 NIV says,

If you ask me, that’s a pretty big IF! We have been given the Gift of Salvation for free, and we can choose whether or not we want to receive it. If we choose to receive it, God will never take it back, but I firmly believe that we are able to give it back. Many have fallen away from God, and it’s not a good thing to do!

I’m disappointed when I see people presenting the Gospel as if it were a lottery that was won, and suddenly we have no more worries. We are still living on this planet! We are going to struggle just like those who haven’t received Christ, and we’ll probably struggle more because we are an increasing threat to the enemy! However, we CAN overcome these struggles because Jesus is alive in us. Ever battle won, is a victory for our Lord. Are you playing to win?

Life is not one race, it’s many races. Sometimes we are running cross country, and things seem easier than ever. Sometimes we are hiking up mountains, and it seems like the only way out is to give up. However, God is with us through it all. In fact, He knew everything we were going to go through before time even began! He knows what we are capable of, and He is cheering us on constantly.

It’s time to train our senses (Hebrews 5:14), and to be on the watch for anything that could separate us from the Will of God.

I feel like there was a corporate message from God this past week for all of us to read our Bibles more. I spend a lot of time on the internet, reading different Christian websites, so I pick up a lot of Scriptures in that way, but nothing compares to opening up the Book and letting God do the talking.

One of the reasons reading our bible is so important is stated in Ephesians 6:17. We are told that the Word of God is our “sword”, and when you read this passage in its context, you will find that this sword is our only weapon of defense.

Hebrews 4:12 tells us that our sword is sharper than any other sword. I find it interesting that God relates His Word to a sword for many reasons. For instance, a sword in the hands of someone who doesn’t know how to use it, is rendered useless. How many people have the sword of God, but aren’t using it properly?

What does a sword do? It protects, but it is mainly the means to kill an opponent. When our opponent comes, he has a sword too, but it is no match for the one we have been given. If we practice daily, we will become true warriors in the Spirit. Knowing how to use this sword can and will save our lives!

In other words, we need to be reading daily, and whether you realize it at the time or not, it truly is helping you!

I remember awhile back when I got together with a friend to pray, and we just weren’t really feeling anything. We were use to having the presence of God with us, so when we didn’t feel it, the devil put the thought in our minds that maybe God wasn’t there, or maybe He was too busy for us. The Holy Spirit reminded me of the Scripture that says:

This is a promise from the Lord, and the Lord always keeps His promises! Therefor, I was able to cast down the lies of the enemy and stand on the Truth that God was there whether we felt Him or not! This is just one example, of how knowing the Word of God can help us.

I’m curious to know, how has the Word of the God helped you win battles?

Church was awesome on Sunday! In fact, the whole day was awesome, and the presence of the Lord was upon me continuously!

My cousins are visiting from Pennsylvania this week, and they went with my mother and me to church. My eleven year-old cousin, Jaiden, sat down beside me and all of sudden she started crying. I put my arm around her, and I started to cry. It was almost as if God was allowing me to feel what she was going through. The worship began, and the music was really ministering to me. I noticed Jaiden crying the whole time, and I felt like God was saying to have her come over to my place by herself after church. I could sense a lot of pain in this poor girl’s heart, and I knew God wanted to heal it!

After the music stopped, there was a skit that had me in tears. It was a boxing match between “fear” and “faith”. It was funny because they had peppered the congregation with people to cheer on both contestants, and some even had signs that said “we love fear”. The boxing match froze, and out came a lady on the stage that was stressing over her bills, and feeling like she was going to become homeless. Cue the tears! The boxing match continued with “faith” taking a beating until he was finally knocked down. On the count of 8, the scene froze and went back to the struggling woman. She took out her Bible and started praising God, and saying that she was going to trust Him. The scene went back to the match, and “faith” got up and defeated “fear”. This is the story of my life! I never thought a 10 minute skit could be so profound, and touch my heart in this way.

So anyway, after church I had Jaiden over. I told her that sometimes God lets me feel what people are going through so I can relate to them, and she started crying. I started crying too, and we both couldn’t stop for awhile. It was actually kind of comical, and at one point I said, “look at us, we are both a crying mess.” She is so special to me though, and she always has been. To see her so withdrawn and so dead looking really concerned me. She is only eleven and she looked like she had been so beaten down by life already (she kind of has, but I don’t wish to share those things right now). I knew that she needed something to bring her back to life, and I knew exactly what the something was!

I started to talk to her about Jesus. I asked her some simple questions, to see if she really understood everything about salvation. She has been going to church since she was born, but that didn’t mean she knew who Jesus was, why He died, and what that meant for us. Besides, what eleven year-old doesn’t question what their parents tell them? Heck, I was casting spells when I was eleven! The devil begins his work when we are still in the womb!

I started to explain the importance of the Holy Spirit, and of the spiritual gifts. Of course, the church that she was going to never explained any of this. The devil has done a fine job of keeping Christians powerless! After it seemed like she understood her salvation and the purpose of the Holy Spirit, I asked her if she was ready to surrender to the Holy Spirit. I could feel an anointing to pray with her, and I figured, “it’s now or never with this little one.” So I had her stand up and I prayed for her to know the Holy Spirit more and for her to be led by the Holy Spirit more. She told me that when her eyes were closed she saw white. She said she had never seen white like that when her eyes were closed, and that the white started to overcome the darkness. Afterwards, she looked so different. She looked full of life again. The sadness and pain appeared to be gone. I asked her how she felt and she said, “I feel stronger”. Bless her heart, and praise the Lord! This is the beginning of her true spiritual life, and she is still so young. I remembered when I asked God to be filled with His Spirit, and how it changed my life. I told her that she can ask God the same thing anytime she feels like she needs more of God, and He will give it to her. Please pray that God will continue to help her mature in her walk with Him. How great is He to reach her at such an age? I really believe that God is raising up a generation that is going to stand up in battle against all that is opposed to His Kingdom!

That same night I got together with my spiritual sisters, Tricia and Lisa, and we had a blow out prayer time. The power of God filled the room, and we were completely drunk with His Spirit.

Like I said, it was an amazing day!

I’ve spotted some interesting new blogs, and some fascinating posts too! Let me share them with you…

1. TWJ Ministries - An incredible blog with six contributing authors including Sidharth, an amazing man of God from India, who stands for Jesus Christ when many around him are trapped in the false religion of Hinduism!
2. Revival Blog - This is the blog of Carl Thomas. He’s got some interesting things on spiritual warfare.
3. Made to Praise Him - Read Mark’s entry about the “spirit of timidity”.
4. Kingdom Living - Matt Dabbs is the author of the first Christian blog I ever put on my blogroll. This week he wrote a story about a tragic situation in his life, and how God has helped him through it. Be prepared to cry!
5. Unleashing Life - This is the ministry of my friend’s brother. It’s based off of the popular Way of the Master.

I have also ran into a couple of not so nice blogs, but of course, I won’t be sharing those! Which reminds me, I have a question for all Christian bloggers out there:

What does your blog say to the world? Does it demonstrate what being a Christian is, or would it scare unbelievers away? When you go through your own archives do you see more complaining, or praising? Think about this the next time you write something that the world is going to see!

I know people have problems, and they want the world to know, but what does it solve? Why don’t you give those burdens to God, and let Him ease your troubled mind. Why don’t you take what God has blessed you with (a computer, the internet, writing skills, etc.), and use it to bless others. We are called to love God, and to love our neighbors. We are also called to love our enemies, and a lot of people seem to forget that. Let’s start doing a better job, alright bloggers?!

Okay, this pep talk is over! Get out there and change the world!

One of the things I hear frequently when I’m reading something by a cessationist is that people in the Charismatic circle defend their beliefs based on their experiences, rather than Scripture. Then they whip out of their pocket the popular phrase “interpret your experiences in light of Scripture, not Scripture in light of experiences.” This phrase actually comes from one of the basic rules of Hermeneutics (the theory of interpretation). I have a problem with this theory (when used against the Charismatic movement) for three good reasons:

1. It is a word named after the Greek god “Hermes”.
2. It limits God, and puts Him in a box. For example, is a person who has never read the Bible not allowed to have an experience with God?
3. It’s as foolish as saying, “I just had a glass of ice tea, but I have to make sure there was tea in it.”

What happened to relying on the Spirit of Truth? Instead, humans have done what they always do, and they have taken matters into their own hands. “We’re going to do it like this” they say, rather then doing it God’s way. If someone can point out how this practice is supported Scripturally, I will gladly change my views on it, but until then I’m trusting in the fact that the Holy Spirit is fully capable of interpreting what He wrote in the first place.

If my cat is sneezing, and she won’t eat her food, I can search online for these symptoms and probably come to the conclusion that she has an upper-respiratory infection. That is the natural order of operations with the majority of life’s situations. Something happens, and you search for answers.

Sometimes, I’ll ask God a question and He’ll lead me to a specific Scripture. Am I to presume that my interpretation of this Scripture is false if it ends up relating to my question, or is God truly answering me?

These are things you’ll have to decide for yourself, but my decision is to allow God to be God. Keep in mind that the Bible was meant to be understood by anyone who wants to understand it. Nothing has been hidden, and there are no secret meanings. That doesn’t mean that it can’t be misunderstood or refused to be understood by people who can’t accept it’s meaning, but for someone who is truly seeking God, it is unlikely that the Lord would lead them into deception!

I pondered this after realizing the way some people use abuse the Scriptures. I asked myself, “have I placed the Bible and its contents before my relationship with God? Have I turned the Bible into an idol?”

It was a serious question, and one that caused me to turn to my Heavenly Father for answers. I was reminded of the Pharisees who knew the Scriptures so well, but could not recognize that Jesus was the Son of God who came to fulfill the Scriptures. In today’s world, there are many (legalists, fundamentalists, etc.) who rely on the Scriptures to fight their agendas, but still do not understand the purpose of the Bible.

Consider 2 Timothy 3:14-17 which says:

Notice the part that I have emphasized does not say, “through the Holy Scriptures, you have been given salvation.” Instead, we are told that the Scriptures will make us “wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” The Scriptures are there to point to Jesus, and to tell us why we need Him. They are not there to replace Him!

So is it possible to make the Bible an idol? Yes. The bible is one of the gifts God has given us to understand Him, and to understand why we need Him as our Savior. Essentially, it is a manifestation of His will. It’s called the “written Word”, because it speaks about God. However, Jesus is the “Living Word”, and it is only through Him that we are saved. The Bible also helps us to live a life that is pleasing to God, but once we leave this earth, it is only through Jesus that we will come into His Kingdom.

This morning, I had the opportunity to meet with a guy from church, and through him, God taught me some valuable lessons. One of the lessons that has stuck with me through the day is his view on the way a lot of people are talking to God. I’m paraphrasing here, but this is the basic idea of what he said:

I realize this might not apply to you, but it did apply to me. When he said this, I was reminded of a lot of my prayers to God, when I was shouting at Him or demanding things from Him. Not all of my communication with Him has been like this, but enough to be convicted for what I have done. I have spent the rest of the day talking “nice” to God. Mainly, I’m just trying to speak to Him as the Heavenly Father that He is. It has made a huge difference in my prayers today, and I have felt a lot different when talking to Him. I almost feel like maybe I’m being heard more. It’s been a revelation, to know that I don’t need to scream and yell like a child to be heard by my Father.

This isn’t a lesson to be forgotten, and I will surely remember it forever! If you’re reading this, thanks again Keith! To God be the Glory!

Side Note: I apologize to all Internet Explorer visitors. It has been brought to my attention that this website is not being displayed properly in IE (not a shock). I would encourage you to upgrade to a modern browser that supports proper CSS coding. My recommendation would be Mozilla Firefox. It’s free and it protects your computer from viruses, unlike IE (which is harmful for your computer). I am working on fixing the bugs, so that IE will display the page properly, but I’m not sure when this problem will be fixed. Thanks again for reading!

Sometimes I say to God, “Heavenly Father, show yourself to me. Help me to understand your character so that I may be more like you.” Do you know that if you ask God to do that, He will answer you quickly, and with clarity?

While reading Philippians 2, I was impressed with what God began to show me. Philippians 2:3 talks about how we are not to do anything out of conceit or arrogance. Instead we are to regard others as better than us when we are talking to them. What affect does this have? Verse 4 in the Amplified Bible answers that question by saying:

We need to stop thinking about ourselves, and we need to start thinking about the needs of the people around us! A big part of our society in America has turned to the “every many for himself” and “my needs come first” mentality, and who is there to help us when we fall?

Philippians 2:5 begins the reference to having the humble mind that Jesus had, Who had come to the earth as God in human form. Being God on earth, He did not walk around saying, “I’m God, and I’m powerful so you better get out of my way!” No, instead He demonstrated humility by stripping Himself of that dignity. He became like a servant, and through obedience, He went to the cross to die. He led a perfect example of how we are to live our lives for Him. He never asks any of us to do something that He hasn’t already done Himself!

In verse 12 we are instructed to, “work out our salvation”. The goal is to live a life that resembles the life of Jesus Christ. We don’t just say a prayer, and go on living the way we always have. When God is truly in a person, you will see changes in that person. That doesn’t mean we become perfect, but by the power of God (verse 13), we will supernaturally want to attempt perfection throughout our entire life, until we die!

Philippians 2:14 says,

By being obedient to this command we can remain innocent to the world. Imagine Jesus walking around saying, “My feet hurt from walking so much. Everywhere I go, people follow me. I have no privacy. Now I have to die on a cross. I’m always suffering. My whole life is just one big suffering party. I’ll be glad when it’s over!” It’s ridiculous to even think of Him like that, isn’t it? Yet, so many Christians are living their lives like this, and wondering why people dislike Christians. We aren’t setting the example that we are called to set, and because of that the world finds fault in us!

Do you know how foolish it looks to people when one minute you are telling them, “all things are possible with Christ” and the next minute, “I don’t know what I’m going to do, it looks hopeless.” It ruins your testimony, and more importantly it makes our God look weak!

There are many characteristics of God, and Philippians chapter two only reveals a few. Humility, humbleness, and optimism are some pretty important things to consider when looking at ourselves in the mirror. Are we really seeing the reflection of Christ, or do we need to surrender ourselves a little more to the transforming power of God?

This is the kind of news we should be reporting!

Have I turned into a big softy since becoming a Christian, or am I just tired of hearing about all the negative stuff in the news? In my opinion, this kind of news story is more satisfying than a large sweet tea at McDonald’s!

As I was praying tonight, the Lord spoke something into my heart, and instructed me to share it. This is the second time something like this has happened, but I want to make it very clear that I do not consider myself to be a prophet. Sometimes I hear specific messages from God, and sometimes I’m led to share them. I believe that God can use any of His chosen people to deliver a message, so we should all be open to hearing from Him!

Says the Lord:

This is a season of breaking yokes in the Body of Christ. All who have been unequally yoked must be made aware of their disobedience to my command. There will be great challenges and sorrows for those who have allowed themselves to be held captive. Know this, I AM the one who sets the captives free! At the appointed time My anointing will be poured out on the captives, and yokes will be broken! Do not worry about how you will be set free. Do not take the burden of it upon yourself, or you will risk having an increase in the weight of your troubles. Know that you’ve been wrong in your ways, and it is I who will make all things right! When you hear the call, pass your bread to the right, and fear not a single thing that day. For out of boldness, comes new life, and I am the Life Giver! Do not be concerned about these mysteries now, for at the appointed time my Spirit will reveal them to you, and you will know that My anointing is upon you!

This is definitely an exciting word. I have received some knowledge from this, but it’s full meaning is still unknown to me. Even though it begins with saying that yokes will be broken in the Body of Christ, I felt that it was going to be specific people that it applied to. I certainly don’t have it all figured out, but I pray that the Holy Spirit would help us understand its meaning. If it’s meant for you then I pray that you will be able to discern properly the “appointed time”.

I have waited awhile to write about this because I haven’t been able to come to a conclusion about what I really believe. I have found strong sources that support the pre-trib view, and strong sources that support the post-trib view. I haven’t even started looking at the mid-trib possibility, so I’m leaving that out as of now.

If there’s one thing that bothers me about people, myself included, it’s that we frequently believe things to be true just because that’s the way we were taught. I’ve noticed this a lot in Christianity, and I’ve slipped into it a few times myself. However, this is not the way I want to be, and I am making a conscious effort to make sure I know the biblical truth before anything else.

Biblically, I have yet to find any scripture that specifically says that we will be raptured before the tribulation. If someone finds one, please let me know!

Jesus said that a tree is known by its fruit, so let’s look at the possible fruit that could come off of either rapture tree.

If the rapture happens before the Great Tribulation (GT), then there really isn’t a need to know bible prophecy related to the last days, is there? What’s the point on spending anytime studying it if we are all going to be zapped out of here? If we are indeed raptured before the GT, then good for us, but what if we are not? There would be a lot of unhappy Christians, and probably a lot of people falling away from the church. After all, we believed we weren’t going to face anything, but now it seems that God has let us down. Not only that, but now we are completely unprepared for what lies ahead. This is all sounding pretty bad, isn’t it? There has got to be something good about the “pre-trib” rapture for the majority of Christians believing it. Oh yeah, it’s the easy way out! Don’t get me wrong, I prefer the easy way too, but what’s the point of warning us about the Great Tribulation if we aren’t going to see it?

So, lets pretend we are believing in the “post-trib” theory. We study all we can, because we are certain that we are going to go through it all, and we want to know what we are up against. We learn about the Antichrist and what he plans on doing, and we are prepared to have our heads chopped off. Sounds like fun, huh? If we are wrong, and those pre-tribbers are right, what have we lost? We still believed Jesus was our Lord and Savior, so we’d be raptured with the rest of them. If we are right, we are well prepared to face the battle that is ahead. Slightly better fruit, but why are so many people against this theory despite the biblical evidence of it? That’s easy, we don’t want to suffer!

There’s simply too much to write about this topic, so consider this an introduction to a new series. Stay tuned for part two!

As I was browsing the web tonight, I found a heaping pile of websites that have inspired me. Isn’t it funny how sometimes we can browse the web and find nothing, and other times we hop from site to site and can’t take it in quick enough. I love when this happens, but sometimes I get really overwhelmed too. To help with the mental clutter, I’m going to organize a couple of the best sites I found into a list. As I write this, I’m listening to an extremely powerful song by Jason Upton called “Gideon (Valley/Victory)”. It’s actually playing on my radio station, which you should check out!

Here goes…

1. Global:FIVEONE - The personal blog of Kyle McDonald. I found this blog while searching for information about “laminin”. Laminin is the stuff that keeps our physical bodies together. It’s like glue for our cells, and surprisingly, it’s in the shape of a cross!
2. The Belmont Foundation - I jumped to this site from the above site after reading about it from Kyle. It’s a foundation dedicated to providing father figures for those who don’t have a father. I wish I would have had something like this growing up, and I think it’s amazing that there is a foundation like this.
3. Spiritual Gifts Test - This is a free analysis that tells you what your spiritual gifts are based on your responses to 140 questions. My top gift was discernment. Next in line was faith, teaching, writing, tongues, and then intercession. There’s 28 possible gifts that they have listed, which include the well-known nine gifts that Paul outlines in Corinthians. I felt like the results were pretty accurate, but you’ll have to try it for yourself!
4. Last Days Mysteries - The author of this site believes in a “Post-tribulation” rapture, and I must admit that his studies have altered a lot of my views on the rapture. His knowledge of bible truth is what appealed to me. He backs everything up by scriptures that are NOT taken out of context.

That’s all for now. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but those four places have occupied hours of my time! Hope you enjoy:)

I’m really excited for this one! I have worked really hard on it, and I have taken my time, ensuring that everything is exactly the way I have dreamed it to be. I began working on a new layout about two months ago, and half-way through I got sick of it, and trashed the whole thing. I guess there was a reason for that!

I’m definitely satisfied with this new layout, and it should last for awhile (hopefully). There are still a few designer tweaks I need to make, along with some coding issues that need to be solved, but for the most part, you are viewing the finished results!

Notice the new spot dedicated to twitter? How about the link to my radio station? It’s so fancy isn’t it?

Alright, I’ll shut-up and let you decide for yourselves. Please let me know what you think though. I could really use the boost to my self-esteem:)

I almost forgot…if you notice anything specific that doesn’t look right, or maybe something that isn’t working properly, please let me know. I try to remember everything, but even at my young age, it is difficult!

I guess you can say this is my Christmas present to you all!

It has always amazed me how God plans things so carefully. Today, I’m referring to “divine appointments”, or God-inspired meetings. These are situations where you meet with someone and you know that the hand of God is in it.

I have had many divine appointments in my life, all of which have served some divine purpose. It’s interesting to me that, had one circumstance been altered, the entire appointment might not have ever happened.

Recently, as I was leaving for church I saw that my neighbor’s vehicle had a Jesus sticker on the back of it. I have lived in this townhouse for about five months, and never once saw the sticker, or talked to my neighbor. When I got home later that evening, the same neighbor was outside grilling. I pulled into my garage, and I felt the Holy Spirit telling me to go talk to her. This was a little out of my character, not because I’m anti-social, but because I normally don’t initiate conversations with people. You can call it a flaw, I suppose!

However, I walked right up to her, and it looked as if maybe she had received the same message. She was more than ready to meet me, and I instantly felt comfortable around her. She had made a comment that she never hears me, and I laughed at that. I said to her, “I’m shocked, because I’m always up there praising, interceding, casting out demons, and blasting my Christian music.” I had absolutely no fear around her, and as I was talking to her I could see “spirit tears” developing in her eyes (that’s the new name I’m giving to moisture that appears in your eyes when you feel the presence of the Holy Spirit).

She said, “I can’t believe this whole time I’ve been safe. This whole time I’ve had someone praying next to me.” I gave her a hug, and told her that she had to come over some time for worship with Lisa and me.

As I came inside my home, I nearly fell down; the power of God was so heavy. I also couldn’t believe that for five months I had never seen this woman who’s walls are connected to mine. For five months, God had kept her hidden until the timing was right. Now, for the first time in my life, I have a neighbor. A real neighbor!

It’s not over though. That night I was led to write her a letter to let her know how blessed I was to meet her. I ran over and slipped it in her door. The next morning I saw an envelop in the crack of my own door. I braced myself for it’s contents. She had actually written me a poem! The nicest poem I have ever read, and probably the nicest thing that anyone has every done for me! Especially considering the fact that I had only met her the night before. Praise God!

It’s on my refrigerator as a reminder that there are still good people out there, and if you listen to God, and follow His leading, you just might meet some of them!

This article is about persecution, and it inspired me to write my own thoughts about this subject.

The main focus of the article is that American Christians are not ready for the persecution that is coming our way. I don’t think anybody could ever be ready for some of the horrible things that have happened to Christians over the last 2000 years, but it did raise a question in my own spirit; am I ready to be persecuted for the sake of Jesus Christ?

The bible tells that we are practically guaranteed to face persecution for our confession of Jesus Christ as the Son of God. This doesn’t mean we are all going to be martyrs, but it does let us know that we are not going to be loved very much by the world. It would almost seem that something might be wrong with you if you are loved by the world. The enemy hates God, and he hates us for being made in God’s image. When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, He dwells within us, and the demonic forces in the world know it. That’s another topic, but it does relate to the persecution that we face.

My concern is with Americans. Our society (it can also apply to other societies not in America) has become so comfortable with our Christianity. We have been protected, and we have lived in a Christian bubble. We acknowledge all the “feel good” messages of the bible, but we tend to ignore the harsh realities. We even tend to forget the price that many of the apostles paid for us to have the Gospel that we have. Meanwhile, in many countries around the world Christians are still being slaughtered for their beliefs!

No one wants to think about that, because it might make us realize how weak our faith is. Who wants to be faced with the inconvenient reality that someday we may have to accept the death penalty for our beliefs?

If someone held an axe to your neck and told you to deny Christ, would you do it, or would you stand firm in your faith? Of course we all say that we would never deny Christ, but do you know that there are actually people who will? Take a moment to seriously think about your faith, and how much you are willing to give up for the sake of our Heavenly Father.

It’s very humbling, isn’t it? I’ve asked myself the same question that I am posing, and the answer surprised. I decided to ask God to give me so much passion and love for Him that nothing could ever make me deny Him. That passion is growing, and I can say a little more confidently now that I would die for Him.

Don’t be afraid to question your faith. When you admit your weaknesses you are able to ask God for strength. Don’t you agree that it is better to be honest with yourself, even when the truth hurts, than to live in darkness?