What Is The Deciding Factor?

I had some thoughts running through my head today and will try to put them into intelligent form on here. What got me started, was a kid at work. He is around 21-23, and is in charge of setting up our machines. He is somewhat in charge, but doesn't have much authority. He is one of those tattooed & pierced guys. Lately, he has added something else to the mix: mascara. The first day we wore it, I thought surely I was wrong, but indeed, it is mascara, being worn by a heterosexual male in his early 20's.

I don't understand why women wear make-up, much less men! - If some women's husbands and kids met them as God made them - natural hair color, no make-up, they probably wouldn't recognize them! Anyway, this wearing of mascara by a guy got me to pondering: what constitutes something becoming normal that wasn't before? You gotta admit, this ain't normal! Yet, turn back the page several years. Back when men started wearing earrings. Did that seem normal then? Did not men who wore them appear to be sissies or gay? What has changed? If they appeared to be gay or sissies back then, why not now?

Just because a lot of people do something, does it make it normal, or right? If I started playing with baby dolls, wouldn't people think I had a problem? What if 1 in 4 men suddenly started playing with baby dolls? Normal then? No, but it seems if enough people start doing something long enough, it gets accepted as normal, and no one is shocked anymore.

It used to be a woman who got pregnant out of wedlock was looked down on and considered immoral - and it was, though men were left off the hook for some reason. Now, you are considered a freak if you don't engage in premarital sex and live with your boyfriend or girlfriend.

It used to be hidden when people of the same sex wanted to have sexual relations. It was wrong, sinful, and immoral. Now, it is paraded across the TV screen. Rare is the show that does not have a gay or lesbian character. They have marches down the streets of our biggest cities. Anyone who doesn't embrace them and their lifestyle is intolerant and hateful.

Someone said the following, and I don't know who: "All it takes for evil to prosper, is for good men to do nothing". Or something like that. There are degrees of these things. I think any man who wears an earring is a sissy. I don't care if he is 6'8", has more muscles than 10 people should have, plays all the sports, and hunting, etc. He is a sissy. Had people stood up to the men's earring craze and called it that from the beginning, I don't think it would be the craze it is now, but in the grand scheme of things, the men and earring aren't all that important.

If Christians had stood up in bigger matters. Abortion, sex, homosexuality. Stood loud and firm in the fact that they were wrong, sinful, immoral - I don't think those things would be so prevalent today, and at least abortion, wouldn't even be legal. It takes more than a lot of people doing something for it to be considered normal by the general public. It takes people just sitting idly by and letting it happen.

Our compass needs to be God and His Word. Everything should be measured by His standards, not by what the majority feels about the subject. Had we done this all along, the world would be a better place. Without men wearing make-up. :-)

Smart As Bait

Ran across these, and thought some of them were pretty funny. "Politically correct" ways to say someone is not too smart.........

Not the sharpest knife in the drawer.
A few clowns short of a circus.
A few fries short of a Happy Meal.
An experiment in Artificial Stupidity.
A few beers short of a six-pack.
Dumber than a box of hair.
A few peas short of a casserole.
Doesn't have all his cornflakes in one box.
The wheel's spinning, but the hamster's dead.
One Fruit Loop shy of a full bowl.
One taco short of a combination plate.
A few feathers short of a whole duck.
The cheese slid off his cracker.
Body by Fisher, brains by Mattel.
Has an IQ of 2, but it takes 3 to grunt.
Warning: Objects in mirror are dumber than they appear.
Couldn't pour water out of a boot with instructions on the heel.
He fell out of the Stupid tree and hit every branch on the way down.
An intellect rivaled only by garden tools.
As smart as bait.
Chimney's clogged.
Doesn't have all his dogs on one leash.
Elevator doesn't go all the way to the top floor.
Forgot to pay his brain bill.
Her sewing machine's out of thread.
His antenna doesn't pick up all the channels.
His belt doesn't go through all the loops.
If he had another brain, it would be lonely.
Missing a few buttons on his remote control.
No grain in the silo.
Proof that evolution CAN go in reverse.
Receiver is off the hook.
Several nuts short of a full pouch.
Skylight leaks a little.
Slinky's kinked.
Surfing in Nebraska.
Too much yardage between the goal posts.
In the pinball game of life, his flippers were a little further apart than most.

Living Life Backwards

I have many faults, and one of them is the fact that I rarely read any books that are not fiction. I love a good fiction book, and as I have said before, have even gotten some help & encouragement, and even convicting on occasion from a Christian fiction book.

A few weeks ago, I ran into an article about a new book on sexual purity that sounded interesting. I checked the book out and found a free download of the book, "13 Ways To Ruin Your Life", so I downloaded it, and thought the author, Jarrod Jones, had a lot of good things to say, and has a great writing style. I may blog about that book some time also. He has another book that he wrote 2 years ago, "The Backward Life", and I found it for one cent on Amazon (why people sell books so cheap is beyond me, but I won't complain!). I got the book in the mail today, and since I didn't have much else to do, read it this afternoon and evening.

I have to say, it is the best non-fiction book I have read for a long time. He goes with the idea that God's way of doing things is backwards from what the world does, and goes on from there to show how we need to live a backwards life. One issue he spent quite a bit of time on, was self. How so often, we even form friendships and other relationships on the basis of what that person can do for us.

I found myself saying "ouch" a few times throughout the book, especially when he talked about self and how we are so concerned about making ourselves happy in all the wrong ways. He also addresses the issues of God loving us, and us loving Him, which is a topic I need a lot of help in. In one chapter, the author takes each phrase in John 3:16 and breaks it down to talk about each part. I have felt for sometime, that one of my many problems, is holding onto guilt. Man, I still feel guilty for things I did as a kid, and all the more for things I have done as an adult. That was addressed in the book also.

There is supposed to be a work book to go along with the book, but I cannot find it anywhere, so I emailed the author. Hopefully, I can get hold of a copy, as I feel it would be helpful to go through the book again using a workbook. In the meantime, Mr. Jarrod Jones has given me a lot to think about and work on.

I apologize to anyone who reads this for the spacing. I try to space between paragraphs, but no matter how many times I try, it won't do it tonight.

Proverb or Promise?

As I stated in my last blog, this whole Christmas month, our Sunday School lessons are on child raising, not Christmas. Can anyone detect my feelings on that? :-) Anyway, the speaker, someone I respect a lot, and a former pastor, made a statement I am not sure I agree with him 100% on. Concerning Proverbs 22:6: "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.". He said this was more a "proverb", than a promise. My reasoning, is if it is just a proverb, what about all of the other verses in the book of Proverbs that we quote as promises. "In all thy ways, acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths."

I asked my dad his opinion, and he has used the verse before, and took the liberty of changing the verse to what he feels might have been the original intent. "and when he is old, it will not depart from him".

I went to my online Bible site, BibleGateway, and read the verse in several different versions, and they all say the same thing. The Amplified adds something interesting: "Train up a child in the way he should go [and in keeping with his individual gift or bent], and when he is old he will not depart from it."

My former pastor, Rev David Blowers, preached on this subject a couple of times, and used what the Amplified Bible says in his message. I can't remember everything he said, but he made the point that every kid is different, and you have to raise each one differently - you can't just throw a child raising blanket over every child and they will all turn out ok. He also made the point that you need to touch the child's spiritual taste buds - make them see how good being a Christian is.

I am afraid if we throw this verse out as a promise, it will give parents something to hide behind when their kids do turn out badly. I do believe there are rare cases where a parent can do everything right, and their child not go the way of Christ, but I do think they are rare. I look at families who raise all of their kids to be Christians. Others, none of their kids take the way. Yet others, some of them do, and some don't. What is up?

Obviously, we all have a will, and no one can force anyone to take the right way, but you can disagree with me if you want, but I think for most of these families who lose their kids to the world, they didn't do 100% right in raising them.

Several months ago, while I was living in Indiana, my church here decided to try something new. Instead of the usual youth service in the main sanctuary, where many others would also attend, they were going to try a "youth focus" in the basement, only for teenagers. There was a meeting about it, and some were against it, and had their reasons. Several for it made the point that we are losing our kids, and need to do more to save them - and guess they figured this youth focus thing was the sure answer. Anyway, my dad stood up and made what I think was a good point and assessment: it doesn't start with the church - it starts at home. We aren't losing our kids because their isn't enough focus on them at church. We are losing them because of the home. Too many parents want to let the church and school have the responsibility, and then blame them if their kids don't turn out right.

There was a family that went to one of the churches I attended and had several children. Most of whom are not turning out too great so far. I can imagine, knowing the parents, that they wonder when they raised their kids the right way, why aren't they turning out right? But did they raise them right? This family missed church a lot. They were rarely in Wednesday night prayer meeting. They rarely made it to the youth meeting so their kids could be in it. Revival meeting? Forget that. Even their Sunday attendance was sporadic, though I assume they went to visit family a lot, but what kind of message were they sending to their kids?

As their daughters approached the teen years, they let them dress in ways that were not proper. Tight clothes, Fashionable teen styles that didn't belong in church. Is it any wonder their kids have wandered?

My parents didn't do everything right - rare is the parent that does, but I think there are areas that parents should be more careful in, that they aren't. One is friends. You cannot make your kids into greenhouse plants where they are at home all of the time, and only see their parents, but neither can you let them hang around with every kid they come in contact with. Many people go to even our church camp, and let their kids run free with whoever they want. You let your kids become friends with the wrong type of children, and it won't matter what you do in the home, you could lose them. Not every kid in your own church is the type of friend your child needs.

A friend of mine did something that would take tremendous guts, and may sound mean or un-Christian, but she gets this. One of her siblings has gone another way, far from what she was raised. My friend told her she didn't want her own kids hanging out with hers as a result. That she had changed, and knew what was right. Sound extreme? Maybe, but kids are the most important thing you can have, and the only thing you can take to Heaven with you. A former pastor of mine, someone I have zero respect for, did get something right occasionally. His kids were not allowed to go and stay overnight at friend's houses. We need more fences for kids.

Another area: criticizing and talking about church members and/or the pastor. I am afraid more of this goes on than we would know, and it can turn kids against the church, and God.

Consistency. Kids can see if parents aren't being consistent, and that can cause them to not want this Christian life.

As I stated, my parents didn't do everything right, and I was almost 12 when they became Christians. The friend issue was never a problem for me - I just didn't have any at all. :-) We had family devotions nightly, which is something all homes should do. We were in church every time the doors were open. As Mark Lowry says, "if they were washing the windows, we went to watch". If my parents did anything wrong in my raising that I could put a finger on, I'd have to say it was with my self esteem. I don't believe it is their fault. They had no idea how much I got picked on, and the opinion of myself that was forming in those teenage years. Looking back, I can see I needed more assurances of love and self worth. That might have helped, maybe not, but they didn't know, so I don't hold that against them.

Train up a child in the way he should go. Promise or proverb? I believe it is a promise, but compasses so much more than any of us realize.

And my final word: I do believe their are cases where parents do EVERYTHING right, and can lose a child, but it isn't the norm.

The Greatest Name

The Bible is full of names for Jesus and/or God. They all have meaning, and can mean more at different times in our lives. Hungry? He is the Bread of Life. Scared and alone? He is the Rock. Lost? He is the Good Shepherd. Songs are written using different names: "Jesus, Name Above All Names"." Rock of Ages"." I Call Him Lord". The song, There Is Something About That Name", with the beautiful Gloria Gaither recitation points out that there is something more special about the name of Jesus than any other name on earth.

There is a name that means more to me than any other name used for Jesus or God. It's one that is mostly mentioned at this time of year. Emmanuel, which means "God with us". I think all too often, it gets shelved with the Christmas story from January through November, and brought out in December. Isn't that what it was all about? Jesus in the manger being "God with us"?

Ah, but it means so much more than that. Yes, up until that time, God dwelled in temples. He really wasn't a personal God. He spoke to people through prophets and mighty men of God. But then Jesus came as an innocent, helpless baby. The world was changed, and so was the relationship between God and man. Jesus was "God with us" for 33 years as He lived out his purpose on earth - to die on a cross. If that was the end of it, it would still be awesome, that God had actually stepped into His creation, and become one of us. But that isn't all Emmanuel means.

Emmanuel lives 365 days a year, 24/7 in our hearts. He is with us no matter where we go. In the words of the Psalmist, if we ascend to Heaven, or go to the depths of hell, He is there. I lose sight of that sometimes. That is why I like to focus on the name "Emmanuel". Life can get rough. We can go days, weeks, even months, that life is so dark and we wonder where God is. Is He really there, or has He walked off to let us fight the battles alone? But He is there. The same God who laid in a manger 2000 years ago dwells in the heart of those who believe, and He never leaves, unless we walk away from Him - and then He is just a prayer away.

Just as there are songs written about other names of God, there are some written about the name Emmanuel, or Immanuel, as it is sometimes spelled. Though my first love in music is Southern Gospel, my friends may be shocked to hear me say this, but 2 songs that stand out at Christmas, and are my favorites when talking about Emmanuel, are CCM artists. The first, simply titled, "Immanuel", by Michael Card, has a line in it that I love: "and if God is for us, who can stand against us". And topping this song, and most Christmas songs - and I have to say, the CD it is from "The Music of Christmas", is one of my favorite Christmas CDs. The song is "Our God Is With Us", by Steven Curtis Chapman. The one line in the chorus that has meant so much to me in the years that I have owned the CD is "and we will never face life alone, now that God has made Himself known, as Father and friend, with us to the end".

Any single person knows what it is like to be alone. To feel alone. Sometimes it seems like the whole world has someone, but us. You go to a wedding, and YOU feel like smashing the cake in the bride & groom's faces - ok, I actually never had that urge, but you get the point. Being alone isn't always fun. Sometimes it is a good thing, but life can be lonely for a single person, but loneliness is not partial to singles. Anyone can be lonely. Even though I was raised in a Christian home for most of my life, I have found myself skeptical of the idea of not being lonely if you are a Christian. To paraphrase a story I heard about a little girl wanting her mom or dad to crawl in bed during a storm and being told God was with her, she said "But I need someone with skin on!". I can empathize. Yes, we have God, but sometimes want someone "with skin on", but that won't always cure the loneliness. God will. As the song says, we will never face life alone.

I know we aren't supposed to do it, but I look ahead at the future and wonder how on earth I will survive the rest of my life single. Alone. Others have done it. To be honest, I have so far to go with my relationship with God, sometimes it feels like I am just starting it. For if we have enough of God - not that we can ever have "enough" - but if our relationship with Him is what it should be, then He is enough. We don't need marriage and kids to be complete and not feel alone.

There was a difficult decision being faced by a church board. After much talk and discussion, someone suggested they pray about it. Someone replied with "my, has it come to that?!" How sad that all too often prayer is the last resort. And how sad that we tend to ask everyone else's opinions and advice before we get around to talking to God about it.

I think most Christians could all improve their relationship with God. I don't mean that in a bad way. I just don't think we truly have a grasp at what we have at our disposal. The very God of the universe wants to hear what we have to say. Wow. For me, it is all too easy to feel He doesn't care, and He has more important things and people to care about, but even I have to admit that is not Biblical, and it is my own weakness and lack of faith that causes those kind of thoughts.

The new year is fast approaching. With it will come resolutions, so many of which are broken before January ends. I have a couple things I'd like to work on. Lose weight - that's a biggie, but we all need to resolve to work on our relationship with God. Pray more. Trust Him more. Depend on Him more, and remember that though He is many things, one of the most important things He is, is Emmanuel, God with us. Today in 2008.

He was Emmanuel in the manger 2000 years ago, but even more so, in our hearts and lives today. No matter where we go or what we do. He is still Emmanuel, God with us. And "we will never face life alone". That's something we need to remember not just at Christmas, but all year long.

Our God With Us, recorded by Steven Curtis Chapman, written by SCC & Michael W Smith

One of us is crying
As our hopes and dreams
Are led away in chains
And we're left all alone
And one of us is dying
As are love
Is slowly lowered in the grave
Oh, and we're left on our own
But for all of us who journey
Through the dark abyss of loneliness
There comes a great announcement
"We are never alone"
For the One who made each heart that breaks
The Giver of each breath we take
Has come to earth
And given hope its birth

(chorus)
And our God is with us, Emmanuel
And He's come to save us, Emmanuel
And we will never face life alone
Now that God has made Himself known
As Father and Friend, with us through the end
Emmanuel

He spoke with prophets' voices
And He showed Himself in a cloud of fire
But no one had seen His face
Until the One most holy
Revealed to us His perfect heart's desire
And left His rightful place
And in one glorious moment
All eternity was shaken
As God broke through the darkness
That had kept us apart
And with love that conquers loneliness
And hope that fills all emptiness
He came to earth to show our worth

(chorus)

What Do YOU Want For Christmas?

Here are a couple of songs I enjoy listening to that gets to what we should all want for

Christmas:My Christmas List (Lonestar)

Filling out that Christmas list just every other kid
Dreamin' big, wishing for a lot
A brand-new bike and matchbox cars
A telescope so I can see the stars
A BB gun or a sling shot
Now I can't remember half of what I got

Chorus:But that's what I wanted
That's all I needed
And I wouldn't ask for another thing
I'd be happy, if only
If I could get those few simple gifts
On my Christmas list

Before I knew a few years passed
I was wide-eyed and growing up fast
Started asking for more important stuff
A stereo to turn up loud
A new guitar so I could rock out
And maybe a car, if it ain't too much
Back then, I thought that would be enough

Chorus:
Cause that's what I wanted That's all I needed And I wouldn't ask for another thing I'd be happy, if only If I could get those few simple gifts On my Christmas list

A few years later here I am
Seeing the world as a grown-up man
Yeah my perspective sure has changed
Wer'e no where close to peace on earth
My new wish for what its worth
Is for the ones I love to be healthy and safe
And all our soldiers come home to stay, I pray

Chorus:
But that's what I wanted That's all I needed And I wouldn't ask for another thing I'd be happy, if only If I could get those few simple gifts On my Christmas list


Grown-up Christmas List (Amy Grant, written by David Foster, Linda Thompson)

Do you remember me?
I sat upon your knee;
I wrote to you
With childhood fantasies.

Well, Im all grown-up now,
And still need help somehow.
Im not a child,
But my heart still can dream.
So heres my lifelong wish,
My grown-up christmas list.
Not for myself,
But for a world in need.

No more lives torn apart,
That wars would never start
And time would heal all hearts.
And everyone would have a friend,
And right would always win
,And love would never end.
This is my grown-up christmas list.

As children we believed
The grandest sight to see
Was something lovely
Wrapped beneath our tree.
Well heaven surely knows
That packages and bows
Can never heal
A hurting human soul.

No more lives torn apart,
That wars would never start,
And time would heal all hearts.
And everyone would have a friend,
And right would always win
,And love would never end.
This is my grown-up christmas list

What is this illusion called the innocence of youth?
Maybe only in our blind belief can we ever find the truth.

No more lives torn apart,
That wars would never start,
And time would heal all hearts.
And everyone would have a friend,
And right would always win,
And love would never end, oh,This is my grown-up christmas list.

The Big Takeover?

I read a couple of alarming news articles today on onenewsnow.com - no surprise really, but it is still alarming. Neither is very long, so I have posted them here:

"With Brazil's government caving in to homosexual activism, many fear America is not far behind.

Brazilian activists have launched several lawsuits to silence Christian opposition of homosexuality, and a Christian author has been both censored and fined over comments in his book. Mat Barber, with Liberty Counsel, believes America will likely follow suit. "It's really chilling, and people need to be aware that this is not a threat that is isolated to Brazil or Europe or Canada," he contends. "It's coming to our shores (America) as well." LifeSiteNews.com reports the Brazilian Association of Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals, and Transgender People (ABGLT) filed a criminal complaint against several websites for exposing their societal leader Luiz Mott's promotion of pedophilia and other illegal sexual acts. Barber explains he has witnessed homosexuals seeking to legally silence Christians and notes similar governmental legislation will be reviewed in Washington in January. "Hate crimes legislation, the Employment Non-discrimination act -- legislation that under a President Barack Obama and with liberals in control of the House and the Senate, we can expect to see passed," he says. Barber cites Colorado as an example that some states already have similar laws in place. "Governor Ritter signed into law a bill that says it is essentially illegal to write anything that's homophobic," he adds. "So based on that law in Colorado now, to actually publish the Bible would be considered a violation of the law."

And the second:

President-elect Barack Obama is moving swiftly to appoint homosexual activists to positions within his administration.

Politico.com reports that 10 national homosexual organizations are working with the Obama transition team to get more openly homosexual people appointed to the incoming administration. Obama's transition team has also reportedly named at least seven openly homosexual people to transition panels assigned to review federal departments and agencies. Three of the seven homosexuals on transition panels have held high-level positions in the Clinton administration.

Matt Barber, director of cultural affairs with Liberty Counsel and Liberty Alliance Action, says Obama is keeping his promises to the homosexual lobby. Obama throughout the campaign signaled…very quietly, but nonetheless signaled on his web page and elsewhere that he essentially had signed off on every major demand of homosexual pressure groups," he said. "So it's not surprising that he has now allowed some of these radical activists to become part of his administration."

According to the Washington Blade, Obama officials also named President Bush's former ambassador to Romania, Michael Guest, to a transition panel assigned to review issues pertaining to the State Department.