Wednesday, January 16, 2008

America needs God

America the beautiful,
or so you used to be.
Land of the Pilgrims' pride;
I'm glad they'll never see.
~~~
Babies piled in dumpsters,
Abortion on demand,
Oh, sweet land of liberty;
your house is on the sand.
~~~
Our children wander aimlessly
poisoned by cocaine
choosing to indulge their lusts,
when God has said abstain
~~~
From sea to shining sea,
our Nation turns away
From the teaching of God's love
and a need to always pray.
~~~
We've kept God in our temples,
how callous we have grown.
When earth is but His footstool,
and Heaven is His throne.
~~~
We've voted in a government
that's rotting at the core,
Appointing Godless Judges;
who throw reason out the door,
~~~
Too soft to place a killer
in a well deserved tomb,
But brave enough to kill a baby
before he leaves the womb.
~~~
You think that God's not angry,
that our land's a moral slum?
How much longer will He wait
before His judgment comes?
~~~
How are we to face our God,
from Whom we cannot hide?
What then is left for us to do,
but stem this evil tide?
~~~
If we who are His children,
will humbly turn and pray;
Seek His holy face
and mend our evil way:
~~~
Then God will hear from Heaven;
and forgive us of our sins,
He'll heal our sickly land
and those who live within.
~~~
But, America the Beautiful,
If you don't - then you will see,
A sad but Holy God
withdraw His hand from Thee.
~~~
~~Judge Roy Moore~~

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

New Night Before Christmas

A great message thats been forwarded around the internet.

A New Night Before Christmas

T'was the night before Christmas and all through the town

Not a sign of Baby Jesuswas anywhere to be found.
The people were all busy with Christmas time chores
Like decorating, and baking,and shopping in stores.

No one sang "Away in a manger,no crib for a bed".
Instead, they sang of Santadressed-up in bright red.
Mama watched Martha Stewart,Papa drank beer from a tap.
As hour upon hourthe presents they'd wrap
When what from the T.V.did they suddenly hear?'
Cept an ad.. which toldof a big sale at Sears.

So away to the mall they all flew like a flash...
Buying things on credit...and others with cash!
And, as they made their way home
From their trip to the mall,Did they think about Jesus?
Oh, no... not at all.

Their lives were so busywith their Christmas time things
No time to rememberChrist Jesus, the King.
There were presents to wrapand cookies to bake.
How could they stop and remember who died for their sake?
To pray to the Savior...they had no time to stop.
Because they needed more time to "Shop til they dropped!
"On Wal-mart! On K-mart!On Target!
On Penney's!On Hallmark! On Zales!A quick lunch at Denny's

From the big stores downtown to the stores at the mall
They would dash away, dash away,and visit them all!
And up on the roof,there arose such a clatter
As grandpa hung icicle lightsup on his brand new step ladder.
He hung lights that would flash.He hung lights that would twirl.
Yet, he never once prayed to Jesus...Light of the World.

Christ's eyes... how they twinkle!
Christ's Spirit... how merry! Christ's love... how enormous!
All our burdens... He'll carry!S
o instead of being busy,overworked, and uptight
Let's put Christ back in Christmas and enjoy some good nights!
Merry Christmas, my friends!

Friday, December 7, 2007

My Love Hasn't Grown Cold

The love of God is stronger than any force known to man. It heals wounds, saves souls, and mends broken lives. I remember a time in my life when I felt that the love of God was something that I was no longer worthy of. I had been in church and backslid and been Satan’s best friend. I often told myself that I could come back, but I would never be the same and no one would ever trust me to do anything in the kingdom of God.

I was fully introduced to the lies of Satan.

The thing about Satan is he tells such good lies that we believe them and listen to them as they eat away at us. He’s good like that.

Back to the love of God…..

I am always reminded of the story of the prodigal son. He went to his father and asked of him his inheritance. His dad gave him the money and he left. He went out into the world and found lots of friends and spent lots of money. The bible also says that he ended up penniless and had to work at a pig farm and slop pigs. He even ended up eating the pigs food, which is utterly disgusting. One day while he was in the pigpen he thought to himself, the servants in my fathers house get better than this. So I will go work for my father and tell him I don’t have to be his son anymore. At this moment I am sure he felt a little unworthy and humbled, maybe even desperate. The bible said he went back and his father ran to him with open arms. He took him in clothed him in the finest garments and gave him a ring. I am sure he said something along the lines. Son my love hasn’t grown cold for you…

The bible also talks about a fisherman by the name of Peter. Jesus saved him and made him a fisher of men and changed his whole life. Peter followed Jesus faithfully. But on the day of his crucifixion he denied him 3 times. But when he was resurrected Peter was one of the first to see him alive. Although he had done him wrong the love that God had for Peter hadn’t grown cold.

David was a man after God’s own heart. He committed adultery, killer her husband, and lost a child all in a short period of time. But David sought the Lord and repented. He was remembered as a man after Gods own heart.

Sometimes in life we do things that we shouldn’t. We make mistakes, we fall down. But one thing these 3 all had in common is they didn’t stay where they were at. They came back even though they weren’t sure how they would be accepted. You see the love of God is stronger than anything. The bible says neither life, nor death, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come can keep us from the love of God.

We have all messed up and fallen short but the love of God hasn’t grown cold, nor will it til the end of time.
I remind myself everyday that when the devil lies to me that I will no longer believe him. I am loved by God in spite of who I was. I am so glad that the Love God has for me has never and will never grow cold.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Lost in *Happily Ever After* Mode

Cinderella dreams of Prince Charming and a life better than her humble role as a servant. She sings and has a starry eye out the window and longs for what could be and lives in a world far beyond her own. She is often so day dreamy that she barely realizes she exists in reality. I feel like Cinderella sometimes. Sometimes I want to escape reality and be whisked away by a prince or a knight or just be on a desert island with some peace and quiet. Then I have to snap myself back to reality.

5:45 am my alarm goes off, time to work again! I often take myself away to another place when I am driving the 20 minute plus drive to work. I think about my future and about how life could be or should be or what not. Sometimes I step into *little girl* mode and think about how my prince would come and save me from this wretched world I am in. Then I really have to snap myself back into the real world.

Sometimes as humans we love to wishful think. I love to daydream. I can’t help it!

But as said before I often have to snap myself back into reality because if I live in *happy every after* land I am no good to myself or anyone else.

So many times I am guilty of thinking of 5 years from now or even longer when today is what matters! If I miss today I am missing my life. I am missing the good things that God is doing for me in the present. I should worry about the future because it is mine to look after, but I shouldn’t live there. It isn’t here yet! Someone once said that if I live in the future I am missing golden opportunities for the present. I should pray for God to lead me today not tomorrow. Tomorrow may never come.

So as much as I love to think about what tomorrow holds for now I will live happily ever after in today…

WHATS ON YOUR MIND?


1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 1Th 4:18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.


Several months ago my heart was stirred and I have found myself pondering a simple question. I have begin to look at everything I do, everything I think, everything I plan, I am looking at my home, and my life. The answer to this question is obvious, it seems we answer this question without thought at time, but I fear that our obvious answer, our quick response is not that answer that shows in our life.
The question that needs to be answered, will determine how our eternity will be spent. 1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 1Th 4:18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
Several months ago my heart was stirred and I have found myself pondering a simple question. I have begin to look at everything I do, everything I think, everything I plan, I am looking at my home, and my life. The answer to this question is obvious, it seems we answer this question without thought at time, but I fear that our obvious answer, our quick response is not that answer that shows in our life.
The question that needs to be answered, will determine how our eternity will be spent.
WHAT'S ON YOUR MIND?
Several months ago my wife awoke early in the morning, I woke up to hear her praying and turned to check on her and she begin to unfold the dream she had dreamed about the endtimes, she told me early in the morning about the things that scared her in the dream, and she said Ryan, the thing that stood out to me the most is that it felt like it was soon, everyone was not much older than they are now. Immediately her dream drove me to prayer, because to often do I think about heaven as being something so distant.
The past year every heaven song I have ever heard has played through my mind. "Some glad morning, when this life is over I'll fly away." "There shall be light in the evening time, " "This is the church of the book of revelation and one of these days we're going to move a little higher." "I'm going to take a trip, on the good ol gospel ship." "When the roll is called up yonder ill be there." "This world is not my, I'm a just a passing through. My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue." "What a day that will be, when my Jesus I shall see. When I look upon his face and thank him for his grace." "When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be." "We're going to sing, and shout and dance about when we get over yonder, oh want we have a time." I will be honest with you, I have heard preaching all of my life. I can count on one hand the services that I have missed. I have heard good preaching since I was a child from my Grand Pa's, Pastor Stan Gleason and Pastor Terry Black. I probably can not recall every sermon my Papa Vanderford preached during the time I attended there as a child, but I can tell you before we dismissed during that prayer, I can quote it about word for word, God keep your hand upon us until we gather together at the appointed time, and help us to be ready to hear those wonderful words, well done thou good and faithful servant.
For the past 25 years my family, my pastors, the ministries that God has put in my life have all be preaching he is coming back soon. These past few months as I have prayed and thought about it. My mind has been filled with men and women of influence in my life, what made them so powerful to me. Of all the ways they influenced me, the one common thread through their ministries, is they had heaven at the forefront of everything they did or said. Their sermons, their songs, their lessons, their talked all had heaven as a priority. I realize that we have to be in this world, but biblically I realize that we don't have to be of this world. I believe there was an era of time the devil was trying to convince the church that hell wasn't real, I think in 2007 he is trying to keep heaven off our mind. I believe the devil is reminded very quickly about the damage that can be caused in his agenda, when a holy ghost filled apostolic man or women gets heaven on the forfront of their minds. I believe his mind drifts back to the apostles. They lived each day as it was there last, they testified, they preached, they prayed, the literally believed that Jesus Christ was coming back during their lifetime. My mind begin to wonder what would happen to us if we got leaving on our mind. What would happen if in the morning we woke up and said you know what this could be my last day, If you don't know, or you cant imagine. I can, I believe we would be getting reports from our local schools of students that caused a disturbance, because a prayer meeting broke out during some conversation, I believe there would be new bible studies started, I believe prayer rooms would be full, I believe we would sort through our homes, our priorities, our life just to make sure our bags were packed for leaving.

LEAVING ON MY MIND by The Bowman Family
This old house I'm living in it sure needs some repair; The windows and the shutters are letting in the cold, cold air. I say to myself, I'm gonna fix them if I can find the time; But all I've been getting lately is leaving on my mind. Lately all I've got is leaving on my mind; It seems that's all I think about most of the time; And soon and very soon I'll leave these troubles far behind; Lately I've got leaving, leaving on my mind. So I guess I should be looking for a better place to live; But I can't seem to get excited about this world and what it can give; I couldn't care less if I could buy it all with one solitary dime. For what good would this old world do me with leaving on my mind? Lately all I've got is leaving on my mind; It seems that's all I think about most of the time; And soon and very soon I'll leave these troubles far behind; Lately I've got leaving, leaving on my mind.
WHATS ON YOUR MIND?