Walking with Jesus

 . Genesis 16:1-15 1 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. 2 So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the LORD has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai. 3 Then Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan. 4 So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became despised in her eyes.   5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “My wrong be upon you! I gave my maid into your embrace; and when she saw that she had conceived, I became despised in her eyes. The LORD judge between you and me.” 6 So Abram said to Sarai, “Indeed your maid is in your hand; do to her as you please.” And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, she fled from her presence. ...

. It isn't those who don't know any better who frustrate me. It isn't the non-believers; they just make me sad. It isn't even believers who don't know any better; they just need to hear the truth. It's those who do know better and still refuse to abstain. It's those who know Halloween is wrong and still participate. They create alternatives . Why? If you really think Haloween is ok, why do you need to create an alternative option? What is the purpose of a Fall Festival, or a Trunk-or-Treat at church? (We don't have Spring Festivals, do we?) It is to provide an alternative for something we know is wrong . But, that is still participation. We want the pleassure without the guilt. Is it really so much to ask that we simply opt out? Of course, I'd love it if we all really took a stand for God and shared the truth about Halloween, but at the very least we could do nothing. But, we make up excuses for our self-gratification, a self-gratification on ...

. I think this is a good quesiton for us to ask ourselves, and one most Christians have never considered: Does Jesus celebrate Halloween? Does he see it as just a fun thing to do? Or, does he have reject it because of it's false religious roots ? Notice, this is not just a theorhetical exercise! According to the Bible and the Christian Faith, Jesus is alive today, and he has a real opinion about Halloween . The question is not " would he?" but " does he?". The reality of Halloween's origins are not hard to find . But, most of us simply do not bother. Why is this? Are we really convinced that it is an innocent celebration, or do we simply want to do things our way without feeling guilty if Halloween isn't something God would have us participate in. Even The History Channel recognizes that Halloween is a "blended" holiday, a compromise between the Catholic church and the pagan, Celtic world. Why won't so many Jesus followers see at lea...

. See this film . Skip the previews. This movie was one of the best I have seen, from beginning to end. If we lived our lives like this movie challenges us to our world would be a much better place. I cannot give it high enough marks. In fact, the only thing I didn't like about it was the previews. We had to talk to the theater manager about them, because they were so inappropriate.  .

. We are being played. Read the headlines. Follow the news. Trail the "violence." Sex on the street, protestors in muppet costumes, people being paid $20+/hour to carry a picket sign... It's all a joke, an intentional re-staging of the 60's. The only thing missing (so far) are the assasinations. Why? Why the set up? Because the forces in power want to stay in power. They want us so scared that we are afraid to stand, afraid to vote for the best candidate (who btw is not a governor), afraid to actually think that the Tea Party folks may have a point; they may actually be right. Blame the Democrats. Blame the Rhino Republicans. Blame the Administration. Blame the Inside-the-Beltway Politicians. Blame CNN. Blame the Masons or MTV. Blame Hollywood, the Main Stream Media, the Illuminati, Radical Islam, or Dan Brown. OR... Or, stop blaming and start praying. Stop following the crowd and start seeking the Lord.  Does the world seem like it is going crazy? Are you ...

. Ephesians 6:11-13: "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.  Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." Ok, let's get this straight. I believe in the inspiration of the Bible and this has certain necessary consequences. One of these consequences is belief in a certain story of history: God created the world (including humanity) as described. God destroyed the world in a global flood. God saved one family through that flood, Noah's. All of us, all over the world, come from Noah. So, if we all come from the same family, why are there so many religions? Well, obviously everyone on the boat knew who God was. Genesis 7:16 says   ...

. Mark 3:22-27 : And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebub,” and, “By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons .”  So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables: “How can Satan cast out Satan?  If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.  And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.  And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end.  No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man . And then he will plunder his house. . . Jesus was casting out demons. Do we truly realize how important it was that he did this? Or, do we simply look past it as something we believe because it is in the Bible, yet has no real application to our life today? Worse yet, do we write it off as a fiction, something that didn't really happen, just an expression of limited scientific understanding? I just saw ...

. As we speak, Olivia is outside. It's a little cool, but Gracey really needed some groom. So, my sweet wife bundled up both her and Gracey and there they are, working it out. I cannot imagine our life without this little fury blessing. I certainly cannot imagine my life without her "Mama." .