The Devil's Kingdom

Amazingly accurate prediction of what has happened in America!
The Devil is the prince of darkness and has been decieving since the Garden of Eden.

Praising God - Fiji Style

 

One of the blessings of serving in a multinational environment is meeting other people, especially men and women who love the Lord. The two men in the video are with the Fijian Army, Ji is playing the guitar and Tui is singing. These are two humble men who love to praise God and study His Word. Its been a privilege to hear their testimonies and fellowship with them.

Enjoy their Fijian praise song!

Persecution

As every true follower of Christ understands, persecution is to be expected in the Christian life. Before I received my calling into ministry I was simply a marginal Christian. I went to church regularly, went to Bible Studies, and perhaps involved myself in mission work from time to time, but I was never fully devoted to Christ like I have been for the past four years. When I put Christ above anything in my life, including my family, and began taking unpopular stands on moral and ethical issues, I felt spiritual attacks like never before. I committed to speaking truth and never being politically correct on issues where the Bible was clear. I was going to take every "thought captive to obey Christ" and I vowed to never be ashamed of my faith. I've never been the kind of person who cares what other people think, which has a lot to do with my upbringing, but mostly a God given confidence in who I am. But I feel led to share this story.
Since June of 2012, I have experienced a unique blend of persecution which Satan has tried to use to discourage and discredit me in my military ministry. This persecution began when some people decided to begin spreading lies and rumors about me. These lies were based upon statements I supposedly said about certain religious groups. As a human I was irritated, as a Christian I immediately began examining my heart to to determine whether I had said the things which were spread. A sense of peace came over me and I felt led to confront the main perpetrator face to face, which I did. As I expected he lied about saying it. To complicate matters, two Army chaplains in the NC Guard were also involved in these lies. They never once called me to find out if they were true, they chose to respond with malicious intent towards me. But as a mature Christian I understand that the battle is not with flesh and blood, but with the powers of the darkness. For the first time in my life I uderstand what Jesus meant when he said "you are not of this world, but I have chosen you out of it, the world hates you (John 15:19).
As I learn of new lies and rumors about me, as crazy as it may sound, I have learned to love those who seem to hate me. It's liberating and joyful to feel this way.

As I was reading Psalm 119, I came across two verses which hit me hard and brought me great comfort, which prompted me to write this post. Verse 51 says that "the arrogant ridicule me, but I do not turn away from your instruction" and then verse 69 says the "the arrogant have smeared me with lies." This accurately portrays what has happen to me and it has driven me closer to the Lord than ever before. Presecution is to be expected and is nothing to be afraid of.

Use the presecution to show Christ how much you love Him! 

Adoption: A Biblical Mandate

Adoption and fostering is something my wife and I have prayed about and talked about for the past year.
Then I realized its really about faith and obedience.

James wrote in James 1:27 that "Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world."

My religion "Christianity" or way of life is based on faith and action not just lip service and empty worship.
The word "religion" in Greek refers to one's personal convictions or principles.
My biblical convictions lead me to care for orphans and widows, so I must simply obey. We have extra space in our home and I am going to use it for the purposes of God, not to fill it up with meaningless possessions.
So how am I as a follower of Christ to obey this scripture.
We need to support oprhans and widows, so how do we do this?

1) We could give money to Christian organizations who care for children
2) We could provide money to our church to set up a program for widows in need
3) We could become foster parents
4) We could adopt children

There are many ways, these are just a few.
Here in Egypt, children essentially have nothing.They will literally tear off your arm to get a bottle of water, they are so needy. It breaks my heart, as it should!

I have been inspired by many Christian friends who have adopted and fostered and God has used their faith and love to inspire my family.
Especially my good friend and Christian brother Brian and his wife Shelly. Praise God for how He has worked through them and used them to save two children through adoption.

If your a Southern Baptist pastor, chaplain, or mssionary, please check out www.sbcadoption.com

Hurricane Sandy Impact

The following shows the eternal impact made by Southern Baptist Disaster Relief teams:

Southern Baptist Disaster Relief Activity in Hurricane Sandy Reported as of December 16, 2012:

Professions of Faith: 82
Gospel Presentations: 791
Chaplaincy Contacts: 2,899
Ministry Contacts: 4,624
Volunteer Days: 30,895
Meals Prepared:1,788,342
Chainsaw Jobs: 594
Mud-out Jobs: 1,019
Repair and Roofing Jobs: 43
Children: 10
Showers: 15,203
Laundry Loads: 5,427
Gallons of Water Purified: 10,201
Messages Sent: 107

Most important are the 82 people who made professions of  faith in Christ and the 791 gospel presentations!
There is nothing God can't use to accomplish His Will....even hurricanes.

While homes and cars might have been lost, souls have been saved!

Praying For Our Wives

For all of the husbands, here are nine things to want from God (and ask from him) for your wife:

1. Increase her faith — give her a rock-solid confidence that your incomparable power is only always wielded for her absolute good in Christ (Romans 8:28–30).
2. Intensify her joy — a joy in you that abandons all to the riches of your grace in Jesus and that says firmly, clearly, gladly: “I’ll go anywhere and do anything if you are there” (Exodus 33:14–15).
3. Soften her heart — rescue her from cynicism and make her tender to your presence in the most complicated details of dirty diapers and a multitude of other needs you’ve called her to meet (Hebrews 1:3).
4. Make her cherish your church — build relationships into her life that challenge and encourage her to walk in step with the truth of the gospel, and cause her to love corporate gatherings, the Lord’s Table, and the everyday life of the body (Mark 3:35).
5. Give her wisdom — make her see dimensions of reality that I would overlook and accompany her vision with a gentile, quiet spirit that feels safe and celebrated (1 Peter 3:4).
6. Sustain her health — continue to speak your gift of health and keep us from presumption; it is by blood-bought grace (Psalm 139:14).
7. Multiply her influence — encourage and deepen the impact she has on our children. Give her sweet glimpses of it. Pour her out in love for our neighbors and spark creative ways to engage them for Jesus’s sake (John 12:24).
8. Make her hear your voice — to read the Bible and accept it as it really is, your word … your very word to her where she lives, full of grace and power and everything she needs pertaining to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3).
9. Overcome her with Jesus — that she is united to him, that she is a new creature in him, that she is your daughter in him…. No longer in Adam and dead to sin; now in Christ and alive to you, forever (Romans 6:11).

Amen!

From a great article from Jonathan Parnell at Desiring God