.
Pastor David Jones and his wife Mary were told that they had to pay thousands of dollars to San Diego County if they wanted to have a Bible Study in their home.
Apparently, officials decided that any type of religious assembly required a license.
"The government may not prohibit the free exercise of religion," their lawyer told FOX News. "I believe that our Founding Fathers would roll over in their grave if they saw that here in the year 2009, a pastor and his wife are being told that they cannot hold a simple Bible study in their own home."
"The implications are great because it’s not only us that’s involved," Mary Jones said. "There are thousands and thousands of Bible studies that are held all across the country. What we’re interested in is setting a precedent here — before it goes any further — and that we have it settled for the future." The Jones' planned to take it to federal court if they had to.
Well, the county must not have wanted to take the chance of doing that or set a precendent in favor of Bible studies. Perhaps they wanted to leave this couple alone so that they could mess with some future families trying to pray and study with friends.
The question in my mind: "What was the county thinking?" I try to imagine the mindset of officials that would try to pull this kind of stunt, and all I can think is that some liberals in California are so angry at Christians that they will push them any way that they can.
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Sunday, May 31, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Joel Osteen - a Charlatan?
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"All people can reach their God given potential of health, wealth and happiness," Joel Osteen preaches. He tells women to tell themselves;"Ten years from now I will be married." and "He's going to be rich and good looking!"
OMGosh. Is this guy a salesman? It is true that God blesses. He has blessed me and my family on many occassions. But God's blessings for our family have always been directly connected to the furtherance of HIS plan and ministry, not mine.
For example, did He provide our family with an RV? Yes. But it was after prayer along this line: "Lord, we'd really like to minister at Juventud con Vision in Juarez, Mexico. But as you know, Roland has cancer throughout his bones. If it is your will that we minister in Juarez, please provide comfortable travel for Roland. If it isn't your will, please give us the grace to accept that and show us where and how you want us to minister. Thank you, Jesus."
Had we prayed for Roland's healing? Yes, many times and many ways. Now, we were patient to go ahead with living while waiting God's answer on that. Our prayer wasn't for our own self-indulgence. Our prayer was for God to provide one of the tools we needed in order to fulfill what it was that He wanted us to do.
Remember, God's purpose for us is clearly stated in Genesis 12:1-3 and restated throughout the entire Bible. God's children have a Great Commission - to be a light to the rest of the world, and preach the Word with the courage he provides through the Holy Spirit. And the Word, the Good News, The Gospel is this: that Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, came to die for us in order to save us, despite the fact that we are all sinners and don't deserve his gift of salvation. We have been given the gift of salvation, and all we need to do is realize our sinfulness, humble ourselves, repent, ask for forgiveness, and accept His gift.
Osteen chooses to focus on gifts from God rather than sin. He rarely uses Scripture and instead, thinks he is a "life coach." A purported "Christian" life coach, yet doesn't use Scripture as a text.
At times, he has seemed to deny that Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven.
Sociologist Shayne Lee and historian Phillip Sinitiere state in their book, Holy Mavericks: Evangelical Innovators and the Spiritual Marketplace, that "Osteen's widespread popularity comes from contextualizing Christianity to meet the existential needs and cultural tastes of contemporary Americans."
That's right. I see Osteen as a saleman and "Christian" events are his marketplace. Note the amount of money spent at his events, and remember that neither Jesus nor any of his true disciples required funds from their listeners. In fact, Jesus fed the lot of them - for free - simply because they needed to be fed.
No wonder Osteen doesn't understand the deity and purpose of Jesus Christ, nor the purpose of Scripture, nor the purpose of Christians. Osteen has never studied theology or even religion at a college of seminary. He attended Oral Roberts University for a short time, but apparently didn't take the theology courses while there.
People, pay close attention to God's warnings in Matt 7:15, Acts 20:29, Romans 16:18, 2 Timothy 4:3-4, and 2 Peter 2-3.
.
"All people can reach their God given potential of health, wealth and happiness," Joel Osteen preaches. He tells women to tell themselves;"Ten years from now I will be married." and "He's going to be rich and good looking!"
OMGosh. Is this guy a salesman? It is true that God blesses. He has blessed me and my family on many occassions. But God's blessings for our family have always been directly connected to the furtherance of HIS plan and ministry, not mine.
For example, did He provide our family with an RV? Yes. But it was after prayer along this line: "Lord, we'd really like to minister at Juventud con Vision in Juarez, Mexico. But as you know, Roland has cancer throughout his bones. If it is your will that we minister in Juarez, please provide comfortable travel for Roland. If it isn't your will, please give us the grace to accept that and show us where and how you want us to minister. Thank you, Jesus."
Had we prayed for Roland's healing? Yes, many times and many ways. Now, we were patient to go ahead with living while waiting God's answer on that. Our prayer wasn't for our own self-indulgence. Our prayer was for God to provide one of the tools we needed in order to fulfill what it was that He wanted us to do.
Remember, God's purpose for us is clearly stated in Genesis 12:1-3 and restated throughout the entire Bible. God's children have a Great Commission - to be a light to the rest of the world, and preach the Word with the courage he provides through the Holy Spirit. And the Word, the Good News, The Gospel is this: that Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, came to die for us in order to save us, despite the fact that we are all sinners and don't deserve his gift of salvation. We have been given the gift of salvation, and all we need to do is realize our sinfulness, humble ourselves, repent, ask for forgiveness, and accept His gift.
Osteen chooses to focus on gifts from God rather than sin. He rarely uses Scripture and instead, thinks he is a "life coach." A purported "Christian" life coach, yet doesn't use Scripture as a text.
At times, he has seemed to deny that Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven.
Sociologist Shayne Lee and historian Phillip Sinitiere state in their book, Holy Mavericks: Evangelical Innovators and the Spiritual Marketplace, that "Osteen's widespread popularity comes from contextualizing Christianity to meet the existential needs and cultural tastes of contemporary Americans."
That's right. I see Osteen as a saleman and "Christian" events are his marketplace. Note the amount of money spent at his events, and remember that neither Jesus nor any of his true disciples required funds from their listeners. In fact, Jesus fed the lot of them - for free - simply because they needed to be fed.
No wonder Osteen doesn't understand the deity and purpose of Jesus Christ, nor the purpose of Scripture, nor the purpose of Christians. Osteen has never studied theology or even religion at a college of seminary. He attended Oral Roberts University for a short time, but apparently didn't take the theology courses while there.
People, pay close attention to God's warnings in Matt 7:15, Acts 20:29, Romans 16:18, 2 Timothy 4:3-4, and 2 Peter 2-3.
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Friday, May 15, 2009
Notre Dame Students Clueless to Christ
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Many Notre Dame Students are supporting Obama and are glad to see him speaking at their commencement. They are outraged that "outsiders" are raising a stink about Obama.
It is unfornate and sad that these students were able to spend four years at a supposedly Catholic Christian University, but learned nothing about God and about being a disciple of Jesus Christ. Obviously, Notre Dame didn't do its job and educate these students. The students that were interviewed were clueless as to why the protestors were there. (How much did their parents pay for the education they received??)
Notre Dame was originally founded with the intention of furthering the cause of Christ and raising up new generations of Christians. When and why did Notre Dame leave their original purpose?
Maybe it's appropriate that Obama receives an honorary degree from this university - a piece of paper earned for just showing up and having paid his dues. Many of these graduates are receiving one as well.
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Many Notre Dame Students are supporting Obama and are glad to see him speaking at their commencement. They are outraged that "outsiders" are raising a stink about Obama.
It is unfornate and sad that these students were able to spend four years at a supposedly Catholic Christian University, but learned nothing about God and about being a disciple of Jesus Christ. Obviously, Notre Dame didn't do its job and educate these students. The students that were interviewed were clueless as to why the protestors were there. (How much did their parents pay for the education they received??)
Notre Dame was originally founded with the intention of furthering the cause of Christ and raising up new generations of Christians. When and why did Notre Dame leave their original purpose?
Maybe it's appropriate that Obama receives an honorary degree from this university - a piece of paper earned for just showing up and having paid his dues. Many of these graduates are receiving one as well.
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Sunday, May 3, 2009
Prayer for dealing with hurts
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Continued from Part III, Seven Promises of Forgiveness
Steps in Prayer to find relief and release from the pain of having been hurt by someone -
Some like to have a Prayer Partner to walk through this with. Others prefer it to be just between them and God. Either way, Go before God in prayer and…
END
.
Continued from Part III, Seven Promises of Forgiveness
Steps in Prayer to find relief and release from the pain of having been hurt by someone -
Some like to have a Prayer Partner to walk through this with. Others prefer it to be just between them and God. Either way, Go before God in prayer and…
BLESS YOU -
- · Identify the hurt you feel.
- · Admit you are angry.
- · Admit you want to hurt back.
- · Acknowledge that hurting back is futile, damaging and increases evil.
- · Release the need and choose not to hurt back.
- · Absorb the hurt for Jesus' sake.
- · Turn your self and hurt over to God.
- · Turn your "enemy" over to God, trusting Him for justice.
- · Meditate on the justice and mercy of God
- · Feel your enemy's need for mercy in the face of God's justice.
- · Pray for your enemy from a heart of compassion.
- · Look beyond their faults and see their needs.
- · Respond to their needs rather than punish them for their faults.
- · Thank God for lifting the burden of justice from you and fore making you a minister of mercy, reconciliation and healing.
- · Worship God who is glorious in satisfying both justice and love.
END
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Friday, May 1, 2009
Seven Promises of Forgiveness
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Continued from Part II - What is Forgiveness?
(Pastor Jeff Kingery, Ronan, Montana, sermon Nov. 21, 2004)
Forgiveness does not come easily to most of us. So here are some steps we can follow to help us along, learning to Forgive...
Promises I make, between myself and God:
Stage 1) I Promise....
· I will not return hurt to my "enemy."
· I will not keep thinking about the incident and brood over it.
· I will pray for my "enemy" and bless and not curse.
Stage 2) I Promise....
· I will not bring this incident up and use it against my "enemy."
· I will not talk about this incident to others. (Very, VERY Important...)
· I will not allow this incident to stand between us or hinder our relationship
· I will pray for healing and reconciliation as a brother/sister in Christ.
I will Promise and I will pray for these above points.
But...how do I pray for healing and reconciliation? How do I cope with the tremendous pain I had felt, especially if this other person has not apologized, has not acknowledged being wrong, and remains difficult?
Part IV - Prayer for Dealing with Hurts -
.
Continued from Part II - What is Forgiveness?
(Pastor Jeff Kingery, Ronan, Montana, sermon Nov. 21, 2004)
Forgiveness does not come easily to most of us. So here are some steps we can follow to help us along, learning to Forgive...
Promises I make, between myself and God:
Stage 1) I Promise....
· I will not return hurt to my "enemy."
· I will not keep thinking about the incident and brood over it.
· I will pray for my "enemy" and bless and not curse.
Stage 2) I Promise....
· I will not bring this incident up and use it against my "enemy."
· I will not talk about this incident to others. (Very, VERY Important...)
· I will not allow this incident to stand between us or hinder our relationship
· I will pray for healing and reconciliation as a brother/sister in Christ.
I will Promise and I will pray for these above points.
But...how do I pray for healing and reconciliation? How do I cope with the tremendous pain I had felt, especially if this other person has not apologized, has not acknowledged being wrong, and remains difficult?
Part IV - Prayer for Dealing with Hurts -
.
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