North Charleston will host the Low Country’s first ever Gay Pride Parade will be held May 15^th in the downtown North Charleston area.

http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2010/feb/11/parade-will-mark-gay-pride/

 Mayor Keith Summey agreed to be the Grand Marshall of this event, stating that his participation, “…is not in any way saying that (he) is supportive of their lifestyle.”  The Mayor, in great political “wishy washiness” added that being gay did not make them, “any less” citizens and that the decision was an easy one for the long-term North Charleston leader.

 How should a Christian and former North Charleston resident react to such a gesture?  Knowing what I know about how God feels about homosexuality, should I be supportive of the Mayor’s decision?  After all, like Summey suggested, he is mayor for all of North Charleston’s residents no matter what their sexual preference.  Perhaps, as an elected official, Mayor Summey cannot exercise his stated belief that he “is not supportive of their lifestyle.”  Perhaps, he has no choice but to cater to the whims of his citizenry. 

 Mayor Summey has a choice.  What if NAMBLA (look it up), wanted to hold a rally on the steps of North Charleston High School?  What is the American Nazi Party wanted to celebrate Adolf Hitler’s birthday in Park Circle?  Would it be okay with North Charleston’s residents if Mayor Summey was the keynote speaker at such events?  Perhaps his choice of support was not about morality and values, but rather political correctness and influence peddling.

 The Gay and Lesbian movement has made great strides in South Carolina.  The have hosted Gay Pride events from Greenville to Columbia.  Their website SCPride.org boasts a significant number of donors including Time Warner Cable, Marriott Columbia, Wachovia Bank and Food Lion grocery stores.  South Carolina Pride has national backing by such groups as GLSEN who are quickly lining the pockets of politicians as the homosexual agenda is promoted in cities and towns across America.  Mayor Summey is putting political pandering over personal integrity and the will of his constituents by catering to a growing homosexual community in the Low Country. 

I moved to the south because I loved the independent spirit and Christian values here.  However, like most places, the hedonism of the northern communities is finding its way into the bible belt.  Like Sodom and Gomorrah, our Holy City is fast becoming a cesspool of gambling, drugs and now deviant sexual behavior sponsored by our political leadership.  Business as usual in the Washington DC has now taken root in our fair city.  Shame on you Mayor Summey, I thought you were different.

 

During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.   – George Orwell

The Swedish parliament unveiled draft legislation this past June and now under debate which will make home schooling illegal in most situations.  According to many Swedish parents, they home school their children because state-run schools are in a state of chaos due to their adoption of trendy “progressive” educational theories that are outdated and ineffective. “Citing the European Convention on Human Rights, the proposed law only allows parents to home school if “extraordinary circumstances” exist.”    So why, you may ask, is this relevant to American children?

President Obama has already made significant strides in restraining the sovereignty of the United States in favor of throwing in with Europe and the rest of the world.  For example, at the April 2209 meeting of the G-20 in England, Mr. Obama agreed to impose the U.S. financial system to fall under the control of a “Financial Stability Board” and an International Economic Union that would control all financial institutions around the globe.   And most recently, the President amended executive order 12425, removing language imposed by President Ronald Regan and giving Interpol (a global law enforcement entity) full law enforcement authority in the United States without any restriction by U.S. law.  The President has now turned over to international control of our financial markets and our legal jurisdiction.

With the sovereignty of the Constitution eroding in favor world governance, this action in Sweden should alarm parents with school-age children.  When government control of parenting and forced education can be imposed by the state, then any idea can be foisted upon society through indoctrination.  This administration has not been shy about its indoctrination efforts.  First was the appointment of Kevin Jennings, the President’s own “Safe-School Czar,” the plan to indoctrinate our children into accepting homosexuality as mainstream (acceptable behavior) was exposed.  Now with the mandate coming from Sweden to outlaw home school education, our European worshiping President has precedent to pull the plug on home schooling  in America. 

Logically, those who cannot afford a private Christian education will turn to home schooling in order to keep their children from being defiled by the homosexual propaganda perpetrated by Jennings “safe-school” bilge.  It follows the government would then take steps to eliminate the option of home schooling altogether, forcing children into the government controlled propaganda machine.  The socialist agenda has been at work in this country, since the Progressive Movement of the early 1900’s, slowly eroding freedom and implementing programs (social security, Medicare/Medicaid, social welfare programs) designed to garner votes and slowly destroy the engine of Capitalism that made this country an economic superpower.

George Orwell said, “What can you do against the lunatic who is more intelligent than yourself, who gives your arguments a fair hearing and then simply persists in his lunacy?”  The President and his minions in Congress are in control and it appears they intend to establish as much progressive infrastructure as possible despite the loud outcry of the American people.  The Great Society II is after our children and our Constitution and the Progressives will continue in that vein as long as they are in office which could be indefinitely if they continue to wipe their feet with the Constitution they swore before God to uphold. 

Our liberty depends upon we who embrace the Constitution and the biblical principles upon which this country was founded.  We must be informed and we must raise our children in a godly manner despite what the government mandates.  We must understand how God wants us to educate and impart morality into our children and we must be steadfast in the biblical example that we set for them.  Hypocrisy and the absence of daily scripture study have brought us to this place in our history but it will be integrity, character, biblical scholarship and prayer that return us to our greatness.  We must be vigilant and we must understand that from now on we are in a fight for our freedom.

 “Then he (Jesus) said to them all: ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.’ ” Luke 9:23-24

This month Christians celebrate the greatest gift ever given to mankind, the birth of Jesus Christ.  The reason one can make such a bold statement is that God himself chose to become a human being and sacrifice himself to save us from an eternity in hell (See John 3:16).  Why would God do such a thing?  I realize he loved us and He wanted us to have eternal life and not die in our sinfulness, but why such a great gift?

God wants us completely, to serve him by leading others to salvation in Christ.  God knew that if we would fully grasp the sacrifice Jesus made for us our lives would forever change and that change would be apparent to our neighbors and friends.  However, most who call themselves  Christians (that is followers of Christ) have not fully embraced the what God did on that first Christmas.  Many of us  have not demonstrated our relationship with God through changed behavior.  Even though we profess that Jesus is Lord and we believe that he really did what the Bible says He did, our hearts have not been changed in such a way as to make Christianity to others.    Why haven’t we changed as God wants?

I believe the answer lies in Luke 9:23-24.  When Jesus spoke to his disciples about his upcoming execution. He told them, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”  If you want to follow Jesus you must first “crucify yourself!  You must put your own desires, your own wants aside and obey God only.  Jesus wants us to sacrifice ourselves as he did and follow only Him.  We have for too long tried to have one foot in the world and one foot in God’s Kingdom and as a result have been luke warm.  Our lives have not been radically changed by Jesus because we have tried to play both sides.  We have been consumed by the worldly pursuits, job, money, house car, status and have put God’s desires on the back burner.  No wonder why being a Christian is unattractive.  Most of us don’t look any different that the world.

We are called hypocrites.  We preach God’s word with our mouths yet we practice sin in our lives. Many are leaving the Christian faith to pursue New Age  spirituality or other feel good religions because they have spent years watching swindling televangelists, child molesting priests and homosexual clergy leading our faith.  The divorce rate among Christians is as high as the non-christian world and our use of pornography in many cases exceeds that of non-believers.  Our inability to “lose our lives,” in order to walk with the King have rendered us ineffective and made us very unattractive.

A Prayer. Father, help us to see ourselves the way that You see us.  Make or reflection repugnant to us.  Drive us to our knees Lord and give us the desire to pick up our crosses daily and follow you.  Forgive us for our selfishness.  Forgive us Father for putting ourselves ahead of the sacrifice your Son made on the cross.  Forgive us for making our sinful desires a higher priority than a relationship with you.  Forgive us for trying to sabotage your plan of redemption by partnering with the devil in loving the world more than You.  Help us Lord to turn ourselves away from all that we know is displeasing to You, In Jesus Name I pray, Amen.

“The word of God is living and active.  It judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”  Hebrews 4:12

Hebrews 4:12 has been on my mind for the past several weeks. As I listen to debate over bible interpretation surrounding gay rights and the uproar caused by the signing of the “Hate Crimes Bill” under the cover of a Defense Authorization, I wonder what God thinks of our political and social banter about His word.   I wonder what he will have to say to Bishop Spong the outspoken retired Episcopal bishop who said, “ I will no longer engage the biblical ignorance that emanates from so many right-wing Christians about how the Bible condemns homosexuality, as if that point of view still has any credibility….The world has moved on, leaving these elements of the Christian Church that cannot adjust to new knowledge or a new consciousness lost in a sea of their own irrelevance. They no longer talk to anyone but themselves. I will no longer seek to slow down the witness to inclusiveness by pretending that there is some middle ground between prejudice and oppression. “

Is he right?  I don’t believe so.  Does it matter?  To this present world not so much.  To God, I think yes.   Will we solve the arguement now?  No.  Can we move on and do more productive things for the Kingdom? YES!

It’s a sobering thought to know that your mind is wide open to God.  He knows your thoughts and he judges them according to His word.  He knows when your heart does not line up with your actions. We Christians are called to serve God with gladness and “singleness of heart.”  That is with one heart for our Father through his Son Jesus Christ.  We are not called to debate whether sexual preference is a right or whether homosexuals and transvestites will go to heaven.  We are called to serve the Lord, period.

While I believe Spong’s hermeneutics are wrong, I do agree however that we believers will do more for the King by moving forward with our spiritual walk by helping to win souls with the gospel than by getting caught up in an unwinable debate.  The Enemy would like nothing better for us to waste our time arguing the matter of sexual sin than spend it telling non-believers about the “Good News of Jesus Christ!”  Let’s stop arguing and start praying for the salvation of the lost and let God judge Bishop Spong.

My prayer.  Again Father, your word has humbled us and taught us that our attitudes need some adjustment, if we are to serve you.  Help us to love one another with the passion that you demonstrated to the Samaritan woman at the well.  Lead us Lord in paths of righteousness and make your word come alive in our hearts so that when we stand before You in Heaven You might say “well done good and faithful servant.  Welcome home!.”   In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

God—His way is perfect;   the word of the LORD is pure.    He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.  Psalm 18:30

Christians and unbelievers alike often cast their eyes heavenward when disaster comes seeking an answer to the age-old question,”Why does God let bad things happen to good people?”   I believe that the more interesting and certainly answerable question is, “Why am I not praising God, seeking His help, and waiting on His response when the bad times come?” 

 In the Book of Psalms, I find it most interesting to see where David was in his life journey when he wrote a particular Psalm.  Often he was in a cave or on the run when he poured out his heart and the heart of God in his writings. In the midst of chaos, David  almost always shouted  praises to the King.  The man had a heart for God and God had a heart for him.

 Psalm 18 appears twice in the Bible, once in the Book of Psalms and also in 2 Samuel 22.  This Psalm known as David’s song, reflects David’s life story.  It depicts David’s total reliance for God for the blessings and in the midst of trouble.  In his life David learned to praise God in all situations .  He went to his Father constantly in prayer even when he didn’t need anything from God!

How we could learn from this man of God!   David wasn’t perfect.  In fact,  he could be described as an adulterous murderer ( 2 Samuel 11).  However,  David  always held God in high esteem and even when he sinned, he immediately repented and asked for forgiveness.  David did not allow past sins and disappointments keep him from communicating with his Heavenly Father.   David confided in the Lord always and he found God  always faithful.  

Despite the consequences of his sin and the preponderance of his enemies, David was God’s anointed and they loved each other.  David praised God when Saul was trying to kill him and talked with his best friend when he was on top of the world.  David always had time for God because he loved Him.   What about you and me?  Do we continuously seek His face or do we ignore Him when “life is good,” and beg for help when troubles come?    Do we get mad at God when our prayers seem to go unheard or do we say thank you for not solving the problem in my feeble manner because your way is perfect?

We are facing difficult times.  Recession, job loss, and terrorism are on virtually everyone’s mind.  What will we believers do in these troubling times?  Will be fold our arms and scowl and say how can You do this to me?  Or, will we praise Him and show our unsaved neighbors how much we love our Father and desire to seek Him always?  Brothers and sisters in Christ, the world is watching us and deciding, do I want to be a part of God’s Kingdom or continue the way of the world?   Be the hands and feet of God, who’s ways are perfect and who’s Word is pure.

My prayer.  Father, we love you and we praise you even in the midst of troubling times.  We may not understand your ways but know they are perfect.  We may not enjoy our temporary discomfort but we know that you are with us because you love us.  Teach us to wait on you Lord because your ways,  NOT ours,  are perfect.  In Jesus name we pray, Amen!

“The Lord hears the prayers of the righteous.”  (Proverbs 15:29)

Yesterday I wrote how God answered prayer in the case of the  Texas Planned Parenthood director who resigned and joined the ranks of the pro-life movement.  The apostle James writes, “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (James 5:16), and  today another answered prayer was revealed,  as yet another Abortion Clinic has closed its doors, this time in Florida.  After an investigation by the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) it was determined that the center’s lab license had been expired for 413 days – a violation of state law which resulted in a retroactive fine of $1,000 per day ( totaling $413,000).  “In lieu of paying the fine, the Community Health Center decided to shut down,” said Tiffany Vause, AHCA press secretary.

Praise God, “from whom all blessings flow!”  

According to the 40 Days for Life website this is the fifth such closing at a site where a 40 Days for Life prayer vigil has occurred.  “In addition to the Pensacola facility, a Planned Parenthood clinic in Kalispell, Montana announced its decision to close its doors, citing a decline in business as the reason for the closure. That clinic was the site of a 40 Days for Life prayer vigil last spring.”

While babies are still killed at an alarming rate in the United States and around the world, the prayers of the righteous saints are being heard by God and He is moving to put an end to the terror.  According to LifeNews.com,  Planned Parenthood did about 160,000 abortions in 199,  receiving approximately $160 million in total taxpayer funding from various levels of government. In the fiscal year which ended September 30, the organization received $350 million which was an increase of $13 million from the previous year.  Doubling the government slice of the “family planning” pie, has resulted in double the number of abortions (approximately 320,000) in 2009!

I am convinced that God is angry and he will begin to show us His face in more ways in the coming days.  As the saints fall to their knees and humbly approach the throne of grace, God will continue to move.  Now is not the time to ease up, the opposition to life is very strong and shows no signs of retreat in the war against the unborn.  We live in exciting and dangerous times but as children of the light we must take our place on this earth as the hands and feet of God.  Jesus Christ paid the price to make us righteous before the Father and with that gift comes to opportunity to serve Him and bring Heaven down to earth. 

Babies are not killed in Heaven and they must not be killed on earth.  Therefore, continue to pray and watch what God is going to do next.

Often those in the trenches, praying for an end to the atrocity of abortion, do not see much tangible fruit in the physical realm.  Usually we rely on our faith that in the spirit realm the Holy Spirit is working unseen to change the hearts of those who participate in the abortion industry either as providers or clients.  However, on October 2, 2009 God chose to show us physically the fruit of our prayer!

Abby Johnson, the former director of a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic in Bryan, Texas has resigned and joined forces with the Coalition for Life, the pro-life group that started the 40 Days for Life nationwide prayer vigil.  This ladies and gentlemen is not just a career change, it is a transformation of a heart by God manifested through the prayers of His people.  When I read that upon witnessing an abortion on ultrasound, an observation that was not a normal part of her day, Ms. Johnson immediately thought to herself, “…never again.” I knew this circumstance must have been arranged by God to encourage His saints.

Prayer is answered and miracles do happen.  We may not always see it and in some cases we may never see answered prayer.  But, that does not mean that God is not working on behalf of his people to bring Heaven down to earth.  Let’s praise Him today for his mercy and his grace.  Let us thank him that 2000 babies are alive today because he rescued them through the prayers of his people.  Let’s thank him that we can welcome Abby Johnson who has emerged from the darkness and stepped into the light.  Let us thank Him for refreshing us and giving us the encouragement to get back into the trenches and fight some more on our knees.  Let us believe for even greater miracles ahead and for one day when no more babies will be killed at the hands of abortionists.

Maine voters rejected a previously adopted state law Tuesday (November 3, 2009) that  permitted same-sex couples to marry. The voter’s voice to repeal the law comes six months after the measure was passed by the Maine legislature and signed by the Democratic Gov. John Baldacci. Maine is the 31st state to oppose the unions in a popular vote.

This action in Maine, like California, and 29 other states is a strong statement regarding the will of the people over the will of the politicians who are representing them.  This vote points clearly to a divide in this country between its citizens and the ruling power backed by big business and strong political lobbies.  I pray that results like that in Maine be a signal to the power elite in Washington and Statehouses across the country that the people are no longer going to stand by and watch special interests and outsiders bring down this great country. 

 Jesse Connolly of Protect Maine Equality, a pro-gay marriage group stated, “We’re in this for the long haul…..until all Maine families are treated equally,” indicating that pro-gay lobby sees the vote in Maine as only a minor setback.  As citizens who believe in the natural and God-given order of the family and the institution of marriage, we must continue to lovingly teach our children what is right.  We must not push back against these initiatives in a mean-spirited or hateful manner, but we must steadfast in our beliefs in what  is right  and wrong regarding matters of sexuality.  The education establishment has already signaled that homosexual “rights” is on their radar screen and  have begun to indoctrinate public school children to shape the vote when they are 18.  Like Mr. Connolly the homosexual movement is in for the “long haul” to redefine the family and make it into their image against our will

The Progressive movement, while not prevalent in the majority of the population, certainly has the funding and the power to force the changes they desire upon the American people.  Like Stalin and Mao, they will do it through coercion, disinformation and indoctrination until their system dominates.  We as Christian parents must remain strong and, despite the coming persecution, fight for what we know to be right until we meet the Lord.  Your children and the next generation are at stake, don’t give up!

“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.” 2 Tim 3: 1-5

Consider Paul’s words and think back as far as you can recall.  When was the last time you can say about american business, religion or politics that the participants in them were NOT, lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God?

You can’t!

How then can we claim that America is a christian nation?  How can we hold out hope that under different leadership or a different dynamic, that we can return to a better time?  What era or time in America or the world for that matter would we return and find it a godly place?

Shall we wind the clock back to the good old 1940′s and 1950′s with Adolph Hitler, Mao Tse Tung, Josef Stalin, and Benito Mussolini?  Too soon!  What about to the days of slavery and the Civil War?  Yeah,  still not far enough.  How about the Crusades, certainly men were more civilized then?  Okay, perhaps we need to go all the way back to the days when Paul and Peter were spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Surely these times were full of love.  Surely there was no persecution and men were godly toward one another!

Oh, yeah!  “Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned,” sorry Paul, I forgot!  And remember Peter, he like Paul was crucified by Nero as was Andrew, and Matthew.  What about the rest?  Surely the other disciples found love and comfort in the bosom of their fellow-man.   

No!   James, the brother of John (already exiled to a deserted island), was beheaded.  Jesus’ brother James was thrown from the highest point of the temple and then beaten with clubs.  Jude, another of Jesus’ brothers, was executed with arrows and Nathaniel was flayed with knives and then beheaded.  Finally, Phillip was hanged and Thomas, who put his fingers in Jesus’ nail marks, was run through with a lance and left to die at Coromandel  in the east Indies.  No none were spared persecution and death in “the last days.”

When Jesus was with his disciples, he said to them, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27)  Knowing that each would die on account of the gospel, Jesus comforted his followers with these words.  The peace which the bible tells us, “passes all (human) understanding,” Jesus gave to them and he gives to his children today if we will just receive it.

Times are bad and, brothers and sisters,  they will get worse.  The bible promises it and history confirms it.  The last days began when Christ was born and two thousand years later they are still with us and they will worsen until Jesus comes back for us.  Until then, we must  keep our eyes on Jesus and not let ourselves be caught up in the deception and the lies.   Forget making millions of dollars in real estate and struggling to climb the corporate ladder.  Don’t trouble yourselves with the empty words of politicians more concerned with their own advancement than doing what is right.  Don’t be afraid of the swine flu, HIV, or cancer, trust the Lord and follow him into eternity. 

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.”  (John 14:6)  He did not say I will find a way or the truth, he said he WAS the way and the truth.  In Him is life.  Life cannot be found from any other source especially a welfare check, the lottery or a bigger home.  All of these things are deceptive and will lead you away from the true source of life.  Don’t fall for the lie and the empty promise.

My prayer.  Father, we live in difficult days as your word has predicted and our experiences confirm.  Help us Lord when we stumble, trusting earthly promises which deceive and lead us away from the Way, the Truth and the Life.  Lord, forgive us in our folly and put us back on the path when we stray.  Give us Lord your supernatural peace and help us to realize that we, being full of the Holy Spirit, are kings and priests and it is our godly conduct that will bring heaven down to earth and breathe life into dry and thirsty souls longing to drink of your living water.  In Jesus name I pray, Amen!

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.” (Romans 1:18-23)

This is one of the most powerful  and in my view often overlooked  statements in the Bible.  It rings however, so true today.   Men and women have been blinded to the fact that without Jesus Christ they can never be reconciled to God.  They can never approach his throne in prayer and will never enter the Kingdom of heaven.  God is mad at his children because of their sins.  We stand unrighteous before him unless we except his free gift of salvation given to us through the death of his Son Jesus Christ on the cross. 

Religion cannot save us and good works are useless.  It is Christ and Christ alone who can grant us access to our Creator.  I plead with you all this weekend as you worship in your churches, watch sports, or spend time with your family to consider the reality of God’s wrath against all mankind.  Give heed to Paul’s letter to the Romans and remember that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him will not perish (under God’s wrath) but will have everlasting life.” John 3:16

Praise Him!